The Legacy's End

Chapter 1

PERCY

He was falling, an endless plummet into nothingness, surrounded by darkness, and only one thing keeping him from blacking out.

Annabeth. Don't let go of Annabeth. He could feel her hand in his. Percy could feel her cold fingers slipping out of his grasp. He wanted to scream, but it came out a moan, the rushing air choking him. A part of his mind whispered that this was a dream; that he had to wake up. But he couldn't let go of Annabeth. He couldn't.

Her fingers slipped farther and farther out of his, until they were linked only by their index fingers. The pain was unbearable.

"Percy…I…can't…" Annabeth voice was muffled and full of pain. It was a stab in Percy's heart to hear. His one love, in pain, so close to being lost to him forever. Never again.

They were torn apart, and Percy tumbled through the air. His head smacked against stone. His vision went red, and then black.

ANNABETH

Annabeth sat on the edge of the bed. She twisted her wedding band. Across on the dresser was her engagement ring, which she never wore to bed in fear of losing the gorgeous diamond.

3:00 am. Percy had gone fallen sleep less than an hour ago. It would begin soon.

Three years ago, they fell into Tartarus. Annabeth blocked the images from her mind. If she let them overtake her for even a second, she would become a wreck. It was the last thing Percy needed, his wife to have a breakdown.

She continued to twist the silver band. When Annabeth had been sure she and Percy would both die in that pit, Percy had made a promise that saved both of their lives.

"Annabeth, you will not give up on me. We will make it through. Together."

"Percy…I…can't…"

"You'll survive with me at your side, then I will marry you, and I will never leave your side again. I promise you."

She looked at him with wide eyes, and even in the darkness his green eyes shone. "What?"

"Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"

A smile tugged at Annabeth's mouth. Then it began.

A low moan escaped Percy's mouth as he twisted in the bed. Another nightmare, like he had had ever since they escaped Tartarus. She rubbed his back. What would be worse? Waking up her already sleep-deprived husband or let him endure another nightmare?

Sometimes it was about falling. Other times he dreamt of the horrors they faced at the bottom of the pit. Sometimes it was how Nico Di Angelo sacrificed himself to save the Seven, and how Percy tried to save him before the door shut.

She got up from the bed and walked out of the room. A voice in her head shouted, Coward! But Percy had to sleep, and she couldn't stand his moaning. She would wait until it got worse before she would wake him.

Almost as soon as she left, she could hear him gasping as though he couldn't breathe. He must be dreaming about falling.

She dozed in the leather recliner about an hour until the screaming began. Any normal human would think that Percy was being tortured. But she was not a normal human. She was a demigod, and she knew Percy was just having a nightmare. But that didn't ease the pain of hearing him cry out in agony.

It wasn't until he screamed her name that she ran into the room, ignoring the limp she's had for three years, and flung herself on the bed. She shook his shoulders violently. His eyes snapped open, confused as they met hers. She ran her fingers through his jet-black hair, drenched with sweat. He pulled her close, squeezing her tightly and panting.

"Shh. It was just a dream. We're together."

Percy kissed her, then buried his head into her shoulder and sobbed.

PIPER

"Romans are such JERKS!"

Piper stormed down the path towards the strawberry fields, kicking at anything that came within reach of her feet.

"Why I ever decided to date one, I have no idea!"

"Piper!"

A muscular young man with blonde and well-tanned skin ran to catch up with her.

"Let me explain…"

But Piper interrupted him, speaking through clenched teeth. "I don't want to speak to you right now, Jason!"

"But Pipes…"

"NO!" She yelled, turning on him. "Don't you ever call me that again, you good-for-nothing son of Jupiter! I never, ever want to see you again!"

As she spun on her heel and headed back down the path, her anger slowly turned into grief. How could Jason do this to her? She thought that he had loved her.

She sighed heavily as she sat down next to the lake. The tears started to inch down her cheeks, even though she had promised herself that she wouldn't cry if something like this happened. She had known for a little while now that her and Jason's relationship had been dwindling, but she hadn't thought that he would go this far! She had walked into Cabin 1, and seen her boyfriend kissing another girl. As she thought back on it, the tears started coming more freely. She pulled her legs up to her chest and sobbed. Ever since Jason had moved back to Camp Jupiter six months ago, she knew something had changed. He seemed more distant, and he never had time for her anymore. But he apparently had time for that daughter of Demeter that he'd been kissing.

Things hadn't really been going too well for Piper. She felt all alone. Leo was off taking summer classes in Santa Fe, Hazel and Frank were both at Camp Jupiter, and Annabeth and Percy were starting their new life together. And she was stuck here with nothing to do. She felt useless, bored, and depressed. She missed her best friend, but Annabeth was off with her new husband, probably having the time of her life. It would be lying to say that Piper wasn't jealous of her friend when she got married. Watching her float down the aisle in her beautiful dress, and seeing Percy look at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world, she couldn't help but want that for herself and Jason. Piper smiled grimly to herself. I guess that'll never happen now, huh?

As Piper sat thinking about these things, she stared into the water. Three Naiads were watching her with big pitying eyes. Suddenly, one of them gasped and pointed at her side, and tried to yell something under water, and the water nymphs disappeared into the depths. Piper was shaken out of her daze, and looked down at her legs. With shock she saw that her dagger, Katoptris, was glowing. But wait. It wasn't just glowing. It was on fire! She yelped, and pulled it out of its scabbard, and dropped it on the ground. As the flames died down, she peered into the blade. No! She had promised herself that she would never look into the dagger again, not after what had happened at the Doors of Death with Nico. She carefully picked up the dagger, which automatically burst into flames. She screamed, and dropped it again. If only Leo were here, and then he could help her with this! Katoptris had never acted up this way before. She didn't know what was going on.

The dagger was now back to normal, but Piper had a feeling that if she touched it; the whole thing would start over again! She was scared. There was no one she could confide in. All of her closest friends were gone. Sure, Chiron was here, but she couldn't really talk to him about this type of thing. Well, Rachel Dare, the Oracle, was here, so maybe she should go talk to her. She and Piper had never been best friends, but they got along pretty well. Piper decided to go talk to her, but more for the comfort of being with someone her own age than about the dagger. Katoptris did prove a problem, though. She couldn't just leave it lying around for anyone to find. The Hermes kids might try to steal it. But if she tried to move it, it would probably burst back into flames. She finally decided to just cover it up and let the Naiads watch it. After that was done, she turned from the lake towards Rachel's cave, and started walking.

As she was heading up the hill, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey Piper! Wait up!"

Piper rolled her eyes, and kept walking. She was tired of getting tired of being followed around by her half-brother. If there was anybody at camp who was the ultimate model of what an Aphrodite child was, it was Louis Halvard.

The kid was tall. She said kid because there was no way he could be older than thirteen. He was as skinny as anything, and pale as a ghost. He was stuck up (average Aphrodite kid), and the only person he was more obsessed with than himself was Piper.

It was extremely annoying. Her half-brother comes to camp and finds out that his older sister was one of the Seven and had helped save the world, and suddenly he was following her around and constantly asking her questions. It was annoying and creepy. She couldn't help it, but every time she saw his combed brown hair and large beady eyes her mind shouted, "Stalker! Stay away!"

"What's up, Piper?"

She sighed. She knew what she had to do.

She turned to him, forcing tears back into her eyes.

"Louis, I just witnessed the man of my dreams, my boyfriend, making out with another girl. And then he made it seem like nothing, making it seem like he'd done it a million times, and…and…" she forced charmspeak into every word, emphasizing it with a pitiful sob. "And I hate having my siblings see me in such a mess, or anyone see me like this, so I really want to get away and be with Rachel Dare, since she is the only true friend I have here at Camp…and all my other friends are gone…and…and" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed some more for extra emphasis.

"Oh Piper!" Louis exclaimed, patting her shoulder. "I'm so sorry! Yes, of course you should go. I shouldn't have intruded! Just know that I'm always there for you. Whatever you need, anytime…"

"Oh thank you, Louis! I knew you'd understand!" She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and turned away quickly. She started towards the cave once more, adding a skip to her step, leaving Louis standing there, dumbfounded yet beaming.

Rachel met her at the cave entrance. She shook her head, red curls whipping her face.

"That. Was. Brilliant."

For the first time that day, Piper smiled.

"I know."