Scene 8

Annabeth is holding up her dagger as a half-women half-spider approaches

Arachne
I have been waiting for you, my sweet. Revenge.

Annabeth
It would be a shame to kill me, you know. These tapastries- they are wonderful. I doubt even Mother could do this.

Arachne
You would say that?

Annabeth
Yes. My mother disowned me, too.

Arachne
I can feel for you.

Annabeth
It's just- I was put as designer for the new Mt. Olympus. I think your artwork would look perfect. I have an Idea. (she pulls out her Daedalus laptop, and opens the 3D imaging program, where the design of a Chinese handcuff finger trap is still up.)

Arachne
That would take me an awful lot of silk. I'd have to unwrap the statue.

Annabeth
Well, I've got the time. Not like I could get away of fight with a broken ankle.

Arachne
I guess. (she climbs the statue and starts to unravel. Cut to ARACHNE climbing down, a large pile of silk on the ground. She starts to weave. Cut to the finished product lying on the ground, a larger-then-life finger trap.)

And, done.

Annabeth
Let me check. (she crawls in, wincing, but being careful not to touch the sides.) There is a flaw.

Arachne
(shrieking) What? No!

Annabeth
Right in the middle. But, you can easily fix it. Crawl in and see for yourself. (Arachne crawls in) 

Arachne
I don't see any flaw.

Annabeth
Let me check again. I may have imagined it. (Arachne struggles to come out, but is stuck.)

Arachne
What? Ack, I'm stuck!

Annabeth
That's right.It is a finger trap known as the Chinese handcuffs. But, you made a larger one, one that I call the Chinese Spidercuffs.

Arachne
(screaming, she blindly rips tapastries off the walls with silk.) I'm not going to see you win!

Annabeth
Oh, well. (An explosion shakes the chamber, and cars fall from the sky. A bright red sportscar punches a hole in the ground over Arachne. She falls, screaming. Annabeth stares at the hole in the ground, not even noticing when the Argo II drops a rope ladder.)

Percy
(wrapping his arms around her) Oh, Annabeth, what happened?

Annabeth
Long story. I'll tell you on the ship.

Hazel
First, cut the spider silk. We don't want to drag... anything... out. That goes to -I don't want to say. (Percy cuts the silk off of her, picks her up, and carries her to the ladder.)

Leo
(From above.) Here! (he presses a button on his Wii controller, and the ladder changes into a self-retracting escalator. Percy, still carrying Annabeth, steps on along with Hazel and Frank.)

Percy
You made Arachne weave her own trap? My gosh! And with a broken ankle? Annabeth, you're a genius! Well, a genius even for an Athena kid.

Leo
You did it! You found the Athena Parthenos and won today's lottery! Luck o' the Irish!

Piper
Leo, be quiet. That's not nice.

Leo
(ears turning red) Sorry.

Percy
I'm just glad you're alive.

Annabeth
Yeah. But we've got a lot to talk about!

====Note: In the book, Percy and Annabeth fall into the pit together, but in this version, they don't. I didn't want to leave you hanging as I have for the past eight months. The House of Hades is the next book, and comes out October 4, 2013.====