Even though Elina was new, she knew that something was wrong with two of the seven heroes of Olympus.

In fact, pretty much everyone knew. One of the first things the campers had told her was, "Don't mention Tatarus to Annabeth and Percy. They fell in there."

"Can you imagine how horrible that was for them?"

"They're lucky they survived."

Elina agreed with the last remark. She'd heard quite a lot of things about the spirit of the pit, and none of them were good.

She liked Percy and Annabeth, though. Annabeth was an amazing knifeman, and she was way smarter than Elina could hope to be. Elina was a dreamer, and she always had this slightly glazed look in her eyes, like she was daydreaming and sparring at the same time.

(She actually tried that once and nearly impaled herself with a spear)

Percy was great, too. He was funny and outgoing and nice to pretty much everyone. He was the best swordsman in the last 300 years, and a natural born leader. Elina found herself looking up to him, even though she was secretly jealous. How could she compare to someone like that? No wonder her father hadn't claimed her yet.

But if you looked closely, there was something wrong weigh the way they acted. Sometimes their smiles or laughs seemed forced, and there was a dark look in their eyes, liked they'd seen something too horrible for anyone to imagine. Not to mention there were dark bags under their eyes, and according to her older cabin mates, Percy wasn't as easygoing as he used to be.

When Elina first saw the eye bags, she was shocked. She loved sleeping, loved dreaming, loved the feeling of being transported to another world. How could anyone not have enough of it? But after asking her friend Wren, she found out that practically all of the demigods hated dreams, because they were usually nightmares and in Wren's words, "Super creepy times ten".

Elina had noticed a change in her dreams, but not in a really bad way. Her dreams were always pretty vivid, but now they were so real that she wasn't even sure when she was awake anymore. That was kinda scary, but it wasn't really terrible. It was actually pretty fun, because now it felt like she was awake all the time.

Also, for the last few days she'd been at Camp, she had started experiencing dreams that she was sure weren't even hers. What was going on?

"Who stole my pillow?"

"Your foot is jabbing into my head!"

"I don't have it!"

"Um, excuse me? Your head is beside my foot!"

"Do you always smell like you haven't bathed in 3 months?"

"Ugh! Shut the Hades up, for Zeus's sake!"

"I don't have any clean underpants!"

"WILL EVERYONE JUST BE QUIET?!"

The chaos in the Hermes Cabin would make a battlefield seem tame. The level of noise was so loud that it canceled out any chance of sleep. Thankfully, after three warning screeches from the harpies, two fistfights, and a lot more yelling, the entire cabin quieted down, and Elina finally drifted off.

Elina was in the Camp's strawberry field, for a second, she didn't even know whether she was really here or just imagining she was here,- but she was pretty sure it was the latter. She was pretty sure she'd just been lying down on her cot in the Hermes Cabin, and it wasn't like she possessed magical teleportation powers or anything.

(Not that she knew of, anyways)

"Katie!"

Elina whipped around. Had that been,-

"Travis?" That was Katie's voice.

"Katie!" Travis sounded happy and relieved at the same time. "You came!"

"'Course I came!" Katie's voice had a 'well, duh!' tone. "Why wouldn't I? Where's that strawberry plant that need reviving?"

"Er, about that..."

"Yes?" Katie's tone was impatient.

"I might have, I kind of,- um, that is, there is no plant that needs reviving."

"TRAVIS STOLL!" Down on the strawberry field, Katie looked like she was going to strangle Travis. "Ugh! Are you normally this annoying, or do you just love to torment me in particular? You know what? Don't answer that! I'm leaving!"

Katie swerved around and made her way to the exit. Elina winced. Practically the entire camp knew how much Travis liked Katie,- and how much Katie hated Travis. Or at least pretended to hate Travis. The entire Aphrodite Cabin,-including Piper, so they might actually be right,- thought that Katie actually liked Travis and was just too stubborn to admit it.

Elina didn't really have an opinion. She wasn't the best with romance.

"Katie! Wait!" Travis's tone was desperate. Elina watched as he ran after her, catching up to her no matter how fast Katie tried to walk away. Children of Hermes were really fast,- Elina could vouch for that after all the times she'd been beaten by her cabinmates. "I-I'm sorry for lying, okay? It's just that, I really wanted to talk to you, and I didn't think you'd come if I was being honest about it."

Katie stopped mid-stride and turned around slightly, a smile dancing on her lips. "Wow, Travis, that was, well, pretty sweet actually. For you, anyways."

"Huh?" Travis's voice was both surprised and disbelieving at the same time. Elina could sympathize,- she was shocked. Usually, all Katie did was insult Travis, why was she having a change of heart? Then again, this was probably a dream. Judging from the characters and actions, it was probably Travis's.

Just when things were getting interesting, Elina felt a tug in her stomach and her eyes widened.

The scene changed abruptly.

Elina stiffened. She had a sudden feeling of dread, and for some reason she felt like she was going to die. The sky above was blood-red, rocks loomed overheard in the shape of a ribcage. The ground beneath had bubbles of gas that contained half re-formed monsters. There was only one place this could be...

Tatarus.

Elina stifled the urge to scream and whipped around. This was by far the worst dream she'd ever experienced. And the strange thing? Just like the dream before, she knew with shocking certainty this dream wasn't her own. Which left one question: who's dream was it?

She felt like she could take a guess.

"Percy!" Annabeth's voice rang out through the vast chamber of horror that they were both trapped in. "Percy! Percy, where are you?"

There were some scuffling sounds, and Elina was tempted to run over there to see what would happen next. However, she hesitated. Did she really want to know? Was it worth it?

She waited to long. A second later, a scream full of terror and agony was unleashed, and Elina would remember that terrifying moment for the rest of her life.

The next day, Elina sat up in her bed abruptly. The dream had ended, so Annabeth was probably awake, too.

( At least, she guessed it was Annabeth's dream)

She didn't know why she kept getting their dreams, but she wondered if it was on purpose. If so, why show her? Why not show someone with more experience? And besides, what did it even mean? Was she supposed to help Tratie get together? Was she supposed to help Annabeth deal with those nightmares? And how?

With a wave of shame, Elina remembered how she'd been frozen with fear and unable to move. That always seemed to happen when she was about to do something the least bit heroic. Face it,- she sucked. Epically. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do!

It wasn't like she could ignore it. Or could she? Elina shoved that thought away. Ignoring it was a coward's way out. She needed to help at least Annabeth somehow. So, what exactly was she supposed to do for that to happen?

"Ugh!" Elina banged her head repeatedly against her pillow. After a few times, she noticed a lot of people in the Herme's Cabin were staring, so she stopped and went to breakfast instead.

After eating, Elina spotted Annabeth at the archery station and decided to go say something.

"Hey Annabeth," Elina tried to think of something encouraging to say. Don't worry, they're just dreams? They'll go away eventually? No, all of those were basically lies. She would have ended up standing there looking awkward forever, but Annabeth chose then to reply.

"Hi Elina," Annabeth looked extremely tired, and her grey eyes didn't have their usual spark in them. "What's up?"

"Um, um, Zeus," Elina stammered, hating how stupid that sounded. "So..., ugh..."

"I have to go," Annabeth stood abruptly and walked away.

"Um...okay?" Elina sighed to herself. She didn't really blame Annabeth for being so distant,- she was probably going to search for Percy, Elina would too, if she'd just dreamed of Tatarus and been in it. The dream was frightening enough, and Elina probably didn't even experience the entire one.

She frowned and decided to let Annabeth have some space. She obviously wasn't any help, so she decided to wait until dinnertime and pray to her father. He was a god, maybe he would do something?

It wasn't much to go on, but at least it was something.

The conch bell blew, a deep, resonating sound that carried all the way throughout camp. Elina put her sword down and breathed deeply, wiping the sweat from her brow. Catching up to her Hermes cabinmates, she waited for their camp counsellor to call them in, and then headed over to the bonfire with her meal.

She took a bad of Smarties and raised her hand. Now all she needed to do was toss it in and pray.

Elina hesitated. For ages, all she'd prayed for was to be claimed. Was she really willing to sacrifice that chance to pray for something different?

She closed her eyes and imagined the lava. The screams. The despair on Percy and Annabeth's faces, the tired look in their eyes at morning.

They had done so much for the world, and for nothing in return. Sure, everyone called them heroes now, but that came with a cost too. And besides, being a hero wouldn't take away the dreams they'd been having. This was her chance to pay back the favour of what they had done.

Dad, she prayed, dropping a slice of garlic bread into the flames, I don't care if you don't claim me. I'm not sure I've done anything to deserve that honour yet, but I know two people who deserve some rest. Please help to banish Percy's and Annabeth's dreams about Tatarus! They're great people! They don't deserve it!

I sure hope that works, Elina risked a glance at Poseidon and Athena's tables. To her, it was unfair that you had to sit at the table represented by your godly parent. Annabeth and Percy acted like it was torture, glancing at each other with wistful looks, and sending encouraging smiles, like, this will be over soon, and I love you.

Elina was envious that they could be so close. Someday, I want to love somebody the way they both love each other.

After the campfire, Elina noticed that Percy and Annabeth didn't seem in a hurry to go back to their own cabin's. Her stomach tightened. Every night, she only saw a bit of their nightmares. How hard was it for them to relive the entire nightmare experience all over again every night?

"Travis and Katie, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Travis smacked his brother on the head with a pillow.

"Shut up! Why do I have to put up with you everyday?"

If it wasn't for the fact that it was practically past midnight, Elina would have grinned. Travis's face was beat red, and she knew all too well what he dreamed at night.

"Oh yeah? I have to put up with you everyday!" Connor retorted.

"And the rest of us have to put up with both of you everyday!" Chris snapped, obviously missing his sleep very much. "Will you two please shut up?"

The twins complained and bickered for a few more minutes, but eventually they too hit the sack. Elina sighed with relief and lay down to get some shut-eye.

Elina opened her eyes, well aware she was only dreaming. Where was she, though? Who's dream was this?

"Leo?"

Elina swerved around. Who'd said that?

She was standing on a pristine beach, which looked like something out of a travel magazine. Their were so many exotic plants that even the Demeter Cabin couldn't name, and the scent was like caramel, chocolate, and coconut all mixed into one. The only thing out of place was an area of the beach that looked charred, and were those,- Elina squinted and made out a broken teacup,- was that a dining table?

"Calypso!" That was definitely Leo's voice.

"Y-you came back." The speaker said it like a question.

"Of course I came back!" Leo yelled. "I promised you I would, didn't I?"

Finally, Elina was able to pinpoint Leo's location, and she watched as he made his way toward a gorgeous girl with cinnamon coloured hair, whose mouth was swinging wide open. Elina thought the girl was going to pass out from shock.

Though now that she thought about it, Elina mused, the girl was probably Calypso. She'd heard rumours that Leo had visited Ogygia, and fell in love with the same goddess who feel in love with Percy. But she never really considered it to be true until now. The Head of the Hephaetus Cabin did spend a lot of time in the forges working on something, though not many people seemed to know what it was. Could it be something to help him rescue Calypso?

"You did," Calypso's voice brought Elina back to reality. "But I didn't- I never would,-" a sob broke through her words. "Oh, Leo!"

They surged towards each other. Leo's hands went to Calypso's waist, and Calypso threw her arms around Leo's neck. They leaned towards each other, and just when it seemed like they were about to kiss,-

Smoke. Lava. Rock.

Elina had experienced this dream before, even though she wished she hadn't. She knew who's dream this was,- well, she was pretty sure, anyways. There wasn't much of an option, really, it was either Percy's, or Annabeth's. She hoped it was Annabeth's,- the daughter of the wisdom goddess would probably get the fact that Elina was in her dream faster than Percy would.

(Not that she wanted to be mean or anything, but truth was, the son of Poseidon could be pretty dense)

Elina wondered what she should do, which seemed pretty stupid. She'd prayed for the dreams to be stopped,- yet here she was, which meant either person was still dreaming it. Or was her godly parent giving her permission to stop the dreams, and she had to figure out how on her own...?

Ugh, why did gods have to be so complicated?

You will die, hero.

"What?" Elina said aloud, until she realized the person, whoever they were, wasn't talking to her. She felt a rush of relief. Dying wasn't one of her favourite hobbies.

She heard someone else say something, but she didn't catch in. Turning, she ran towards the sound.

And hesitated.

And then kept running.

Die!

Elina swerved around, confused about where to run. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere, and the walls of Tatarus seemed to be pressing in tightly, suffocating her.

Where to run? Where to run? Where to run? Elina wondered and whipped around, not even trying to locate where she was. She somehow knew monsters were in the distance, an entire army of them, about to do something. What, she didn't know. But she didn't think it was going to be nice.

In fact, it was probably going to be the oppo-

Elina ran into someone.

That person swore.

That person turned out to be Percy.

"Elina?" His voice was full of disbelief. "What are you doing here? Is this part of the dream?"

"Um, um," Elina said, struggling to explain. "Ugh...hi. I mean no. I think?"

"Your right," Percy decided. "We should get out of here first."

The both stood up and started running.

"Where are we going?" Elina yelled, her voice full of panic.

"Somewhere," Percy panted. After a pause, he said, "Elina... this is a dream. My dream. So how are you even here?"

"Dunno," Elina replied. "Sometimes I just catch snippets of other people's dreams. I had one of Leo's earlier. And now I'm in yours."

"Have you ever been in any of Annabeth's?" Percy asked.

"Um, yeah," Figures he would ask about Annabeth. "I was in one of hers yesterday. But I couldn't find her in the dream, and I only got a bit of it."

"Just as well you didn't experience the whole thing," Percy muttered under his breath, but Elina still caught it anyways. She was extremely glad she didn't see what made Annabeth scream. "Okay, Elina, I need you to stop running."

Elina stopped, but she stared at Percy like he was crazy. "But we'll die!"

"It's a dream, we can't die," Percy said, though he didn't sound too sure. "Elina, I think I know who your father is. Do you know the god of dreams?"

"Morpheus? You think he's my dad?"

"Yeah, him. It makes sense, doesn't it? You can travel into other people's dreams. Can you chose when you get another one, or...?"

"It changes randomly," Elina told him. "But what does that have to do with this?"

Percy winced, and he said," I was wondering if you can take people out of their dreams. That would be very useful right about now."

"Oh." He had a point, Elina realized."The truth is, I've never tried to control my dreams."

"Well, try now," Percy suggested. "Quickly. Before those monsters catch up,- it's a miracle they haven't already."

That wasn't exactly encouraging, but Elina closed her eyes and pictured the strawberry field in Travis's dream from the night before. I want to go there, she willed the dream to bend and distort, and for good measure, reached out for Annabeth, too. I want to go there. Strawberry field dream! Percy, Annabeth, and me! Now!

Elina opened her eyes.

She was in the strawberry field and felt unnaturally tired. She'd never tried doing that before. Swaying on her feet, she tried to maintain her balance, but felt like she was going to fall when she realized Percy and Annabeth weren't there. Had she failed after all?

Stumbling, she tried to find where Percy and Annabeth were. Maybe they'd just traveled to a different part of this dream. Or had she dropped them off in another dream entirely? Or-

"You are such as Seaweed Brain," someone said affectionately.

Elina's heart soared when she spotted Percy and Annabeth lying together in the fields. She was about to go over to them, but then thought better of it.

So Elina, daughter of Morpheus, the god of dreams, stepped back and let the happy couple have some privacy.

Because they were fine, weren't they?

As long as they were together.

The next morning, Elina spotted the happy couple and noted with joy that for the first time in forever (A/N: FROZEN QUOTE! XD) they looked well rested.

Wow. This was long. Elina is one of the few OCs that I like. Very little fit into that category,- mostly I don't like them, but not all. Writing this was a real challenge, partly because it turned out to be much longer than I anticipated and partly because I didn't want to accidentally make Elina into a Mary-Sue and give her too big a part.

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