Percy's POV
Dreams. More specifically, demigod dreams. Demigod dreams weren't about unicorns and happy memories. No, they were the type of dreams that tapped into you deepest fears, exploited them, and left you haunted and sleepless for the night.
Percy had thought he had been scared before. He'd been the hero of the Titan war. He'd faced death countless times, watched too many friends die, and had literally been from hell and back.
But then there was the horrifying moment that Annabeth's foot had gotten caught in Arachne's web, quickly pulling her down to Tartarus.
That's right. The Tartarus.
Of course, Percy did the only rational thing to do. As Annabeth fell, he tried to pull her back to safety, but the weight of the giant spider was too much, and he had fallen in with her.
That's when Percy experienced real fear.
And in his dreams, he relived it. Every. Single. Night.
After escaping Tartarus, Percy thought the worst was over. The horrifying things he saw couldn't touch him anymore.
Boy was he wrong.
His dreams would start out normal enough. At least, for demigods. Percy might be listening into a conversation back a Camp Half-Blood, or watching a scene unfold in front of him, usually not making any sense at all. But then the dreams would shift.
He would be watching Annabeth fall into Tartarus, but this time he didn't get to her in time, and he could hear her pleas for help echoing in the lair of Arachne.
And then the dream shifted before he could scream.
He would be watching her loose her mind, thinking Percy had abandoned her, even though he was right next to her.
And before he could reassure her, the dream changed.
It would go on like this for hours, with Percy not able to wake up, until the last, and definitely the worst and best dream there could be.
Percy would be back at Camp Half-Blood, walking on the beach, hand and hand with Annabeth. Gods, she was beautiful. Percy stopped and snaked his other arm around her thin waist, and leaned down for a kiss.
And then she would die.
Just like that. No reasoning. She would just, die.
And Percy couldn't do anything about it.
Annabeth would go limp in his arms, her once strong form lifeless now, her heart not beating and her eyes not blinking.
Only then would the dreams let Percy wake up. Only then could he scream for Annabeth to make sure she was safe.
Some nights are better than others. But most nights…
Tonight was one of those nights.
Percy dreamt of every single instance that Annabeth was hurt or dying. He dreamt of the pure fear that oozed from The River of Pain, telling him all of the blood and murders on his hands, convincing him that it was somehow his fault. He watched Annabeth get ripped to pieces, the Titan's and Giant's slowly eating at her life force, only to bathe her in the Phlegethon so that they could rip her apart again. And last of all, he was at the beach, watching as Annabeth disintegrated into gold dust, her soul crossing the River Styx.
And Percy finally woke up.
"ANNABETH!" he screamed over and over again, sobbing his heart out, unable to move out of fear that if he went looking for her, he would find she wasn't alive. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Annabeth sprinted into Percy's room, her gray eyes finding him curled up into a ball, screaming her name. She immediately embraced him.
"Percy, it's okay. I'm here. I'm alive. We're alive. We're together. We made it out together." She whispered this in his ear several times, until Percy could calm down enough not to scream. Then he would sob into her chest, while Annabeth stroked his hair, consoling his until his tear ran dry.
"I-I was w-watching you die, i-in every way p-possible" Percy croaked out, unable to finish. He embraced his gray-eyed love, and he hugged her tight to make sure that she was there and real, and that he wouldn't loose her again. Then he would curl up with her, knowing that his lifeline was right there in case he needed it again.
And the next night, it was Annabeth.
Percy woke up from dreaming that he was holding up the sky as he watched Annabeth get stabbed in the back by Luke. He wasn't sure why he woke up, until her heard her wails.
They weren't wails. They were blood-curling screams. She was screaming his name.
So Percy ran.
He found her room on the Argo II, and ripped open the door to find Annabeth covering her ears and huddled up in a ball in the corner of her bed. Percy rushed over to comfort her, pulling her into his lap, and cradling her head, stroking her hair.
"Shh, Annabeth. I'm here. It's okay. She can't hurt you anymore, there's no reason to cry." He consoled. Annabeth slowly regained her senses. She looked up at me, her usually bright and intelligent gray eyes dark and broken. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but as quickly as she started to fight them, she let go, and buried her face to his shoulder. Percy kept murmuring to her, stroking her hair and kissing her head, until she stopped crying. She shuddered once, and they ended up falling asleep together again.
In the morning, they would put on false facades, claiming they were just ordinary demigod nightmares. They would go on normally throughout their day, putting the images out of their head, and ,occasionally, forgetting them.
But even demigods can't stay awake forever.
And when they fall asleep, the dreams come.