It was dark. Percy couldn't even see his own hands when he placed them in front of his face. Even though he couldn't see his hands, he felt them shaking. Tremor after tremor raked through his body as his mind firmly settled on one thing.

Annabeth.

Where was Annabeth? He thought to himself.

He tried to yell her name, but his throat suddenly feels like he drank fire.

The River of Fire.

He was back in Tartarus, without Annabeth, without his Wise Girl. Without her strength, he didn't know if he could make it out without her.

A slow, steady pain made its way through his body, and the next thing he knew Percy was on the floor, withering in pain. He felt the ground shake, and a rough voice spilled from beneath him.

You'll never be free. Not really, Son of Poseidon.

Percy eyes stung as he jolted up from his bed, Riptide uncapped and pressed against the throat of whoever woke him.

Grover bleated weakly, his hands up and his legs shaking.

"P-Percy?"

Percy quickly released Grover from his grip and capped Riptide. He let out a shaky breath as he sat down on his bed. He ran his fingers through his inky black hair and looked up at his longtime friend.

"I'm so sorry, G-man. I-I'm not sure what's happening to me," Percy whispered as Grover took a seat next to him, "Ever since Annabeth and I came back from Tartarus, I've been having these nightmares. I didn't mean to scare you."

Grover laid a hand on Percy's shoulder, "Don't apologize, Perce. What you and Annabeth went through down there…" Grover trailed off.

"Don't worry about it," Percy forced out, "I'm fine. C'mon Grover, let's go get breakfast."

When Percy and Grover made it to the dining pavilion for breakfast, Annabeth was waiting for them. Percy grinned when he spotted her curly blonde hair amongst his friends. He hated being part from her for too long. He didn't want to lose her, and he knew she felt the same about him.

Annabeth looked up as Percy approached the table, as if she could feel his presence. She smiled and got up from her seat.

He pressed his lips against hers and he slipped an arm around her waist, needing to feel her against him. Having her in his arms made his nightmares disappear from his mind.

Annabeth ran one hand through his hair and another gripped his shoulder tight, as if she never planned to let him go, and boy would he be okay with that.

"Well! Good morning to you to Percy, yeah I'm great thanks for asking."

Percy and Annabeth reluctantly pulled away from each other, but they never stopped touching. Percy grabbed her hands and winked at her now red face.

"I'm glad you're doing well, Leo." Percy said as he sat down in Annabeth's seat and pulled her onto his lap.

Percy and Grover said their hellos to everyone at the table. Percy sat across from Jason, who had his arm around Piper. Hazel and Frank sat next to them, and Leo and Calypso sat to Percy's right.

"What do you want for breakfast? Cause you're not having my eggs Seaweed Brain." Annabeth smiled.

"I'm not hungry," Percy shrugged carelessly. Ever since Tartarus Percy hasn't had much of an appetite.

Annabeth narrowed her stormy gray eyes at hm. He did his best to give her a nonchalant, but he can tell by the expression on his girlfriend's face that it wasn't fooling her.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, her eyes softening as they searched his face, for what, Percy didn't know.

He grabbed her hand and absentmindedly ran his thumb on the palm of her hand.

Percy looked into Annabeth's eyes "Will we ever be?" he whispered.

Percy and Annabeth hadn't realized that the chatter coming from their friends had died down. Jason, Piper, and Leo shared uneasy looks. Frank and Hazel looked away, wanting to give Percy and Annabeth their alone time.

Annabeth lifted her hand and cupped Percy's cheek. She lowered her forehead until it rested against Percy's and stared unblinkingly into his sea green eyes.

"As long as we're together."

Percy opened his mouth to respond when a loud cry caught everyone's attention. It was Jake Mason, the head of the Hephaestus cabin. Percy and his friends were up in an instant, as well as the other demigods that heard Jake. They all ran towards Jake, who was bent at the waist and trying to catch his breath.

"They…the forest… monster," Jake breathed.

Percy and Annabeth, hand and hand, didn't wait to hear the rest. They darted towards the forest and began to hear the sounds of a fight by the beach.

Percy spots Clarisse La Rue and some of her half-siblings with their shields up and in line formation. They were pushing back a monster that Percy had seen once before.

The Chimera.

Percy encountered it when he was 12 on the Gateway Arch in Missouri. He was forced to jump out and down about 630 feet, and he'd barely survived.

The Chimera had the head of a lion and the body of a goat. It had a rusty red mane, and a 10 foot long diamondback serpent tail. Clarisse stepped forward and pointed her electric spear towards the Chimera.

It didn't like that very much.

The Chimera opened its mouth and spewed fire at Clarisse. She threw her shield up and dove to the right, jumping to her feet and jabbed her spear into the flank of the monster. Her siblings moved forward crowding the Chimera and pushing forward. The Chimera howled, the serpent tail foaming with poison.

"Try to get it in the water," Percy ordered to his friends as he let go of Annabeth's hand and brought out Riptide.

The seven, excluding Grover who stayed behind with Jake, finally made it to the fight. Clarisse turned, gave Percy and his friends a once over, and then concentrated on the Chimera.

Frank turned into a hawk and flew up into the air and dove towards the Chimera. Frank got a good swipe at its eyes before the Chimera pawed at him and narrowly missed hitting him.

Jason lifted his sword and summoned a bolt of lightning. The Chimera yowled, but the lightning only made it angrier.

"Push it back!" Clarisse ordered, putting her troops in line formation once again. Everyone began to push the Chimera back until it was knee deep in the water.

Percy jumped in front of the Chimera. It seemed to remember him, because its eyes never left Percy's.

"Percy," Annabeth hissed, "What are you doing?!"

The Chimera breathed fire, but Percy summoned a wall of water to block it. He dropped the water and used it to lift himself towards the monster slashed down its neck with his sword. It didn't kill the beast, but it did wound it. The Chimera lashed out, and Percy dodged its venomous serpent tail.

"Percy! The Chimera was killed by Bellerphon," Annabeth began.

"Thanks for the information, Wise Girl!" Percy shouted as he dodged another ball of fire and sank his sword into the beast.

"He killed it with lead poisoning and suffocation!" She finished.

Percy's mind raced with ideas. He didn't have any lead, so he would have to somehow suffocate the Chimera.

As he was thinking, he didn't see the Chimera's serpent tail until the last second. He tried to move out of the way, but the serpent tail was moving too fast. It sank its fangs into his shoulder, its poison beginning to seep into his blood stream.

His shoulder was on fire, and he distinctly heard someone, probably Annabeth, screaming his name.

He couldn't think about his pain just yet. The camp was still in danger. He summoned more water, his depleting energy seemingly restored for the moment. He surrounded the Chimera with water until it was submerged. He watched as the Chimera thrashed in the water bubble, trying to get air. It slowly stopped, and then a flash of golden light.

Percy let go of the water, and felt his energy leave him once again. His shoulder was burning, and the sensation was spreading all over his body. He fell down, falling down into the water. He slowly felt himself slip away, and the last thing he saw was a golden haired angel screaming.