Well, let's have us some fun here. Hopefully you guys like this rewritten version. This story I feel needed the rewrite a lot more than my first story did. This story has a lot of potential, but I really screwed myself with my original version of the story.

I know a lot of people liked it, and I can understand that. It most certainly wasn't terrible. The problem was that it was getting away from me. I had my ideas for how the story would go, and the more I wrote, the more it got away from me. I also made a few major mistakes that I intend to correct this time around.

Ah, before we get to the story, one final reminder: This is not an Athena friendly story. If you are fond of her, you will not enjoy this story. I personally cannot stand Athena; this story will make that rather clear. Also, I needed some god to have an evil plan to bring down Percy, and since I know she kind of dislikes him, I chose her for the role.

Anyways, lets get to the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of them other books that are related.

-Athena POV-

I was not in a good mood. I had warned that sea spawn multiple times to stay away from my daughter, but he never listened. Now, my daughter seemed to believe that she was in love with him as well. That thought was disturbing on multiple levels. For one, he was a sea spawn, a child of the most vile god on the council. My children should all know better than to spend time with his kind, let alone fall in love with one.

The thought made me sick. Annabeth had potential, a wonderful future ahead of her. If she spent too much time with this waste of breath sea spawn, his lack of intelligence could rub off on her and bring her down. I would not stand for that. Something needed to be done.

If he was any normal demigod, a simple accident is all it would take to end him and bring about a resolution to the problem. Unfortunately, the boy had somehow managed to save Olympus. Sure, he was good with a sword, but his intelligence was abysmal. However, due to having helped save Olympus a few times, if he suddenly died, there would be an investigation and it might get traced back to me. Then, I would have a war on my hands. I needed some way to break him and my daughter up, but I had to be careful how I did it. If I messed up, things could get ugly. I needed a plan.

The war with the giants had been over for several months before I finally got my plan. I would make Annabeth fall in love with some other guy, one that I approved of. Hephaestus has some decent children, maybe one of them will work. All I needed to do was get rid of the sea spawn for long enough to get my plan rolling. I might need some help with this, but I could do it. This plan would work fine. Yes, I could almost taste the success.

-Percy POV-

It had been several months since the war against the giants and Gaia, and things had finally calmed down. It had taken a little time for Annabeth to get over the fact that I had been missing for eight months, but now that she had, our relationship was stronger than ever. On top of that, Rachel hadn't produced any new Great Prophecy, so I was holding out hope that maybe my troubles were behind me, maybe I could settle down and have a calmer life.

My biggest concern at the time was Athena. As much as I tried to respect her, she still didn't approve of me. If I had simply wanted to be friends with her daughter, she might not have minded, but the thought that the son of her greatest rival was dating her favorite daughter just didn't sit well with her. I hoped that eventually she would accept me, but for the time, I simply tried my best not to anger her.

That night, as I made my way to my cabin, I felt a presence appear near me. I turned to see what it was and found myself face-to-face with Athena. Her visit surprised me, but remembering that I was trying to make her like me, I quickly bowed to her and showed her respect. I wanted to ask her what she was doing here, but I knew it would be rude to speak first. If she wanted to tell me something, she would do it without my prodding.

Athena looked into my eyes and it felt as if she was trying to pick my mind. Of what, I wasn't sure. After several seconds of this, she offered a thin smile and spoke up, "Perseus, as you know, I do not approve of your relationship with my daughter. However, after thinking things over for a while, I've decided to give you a chance to earn my approval. I've seen you save Olympus and help your friends, with plenty of help from others, I would like to test you and you alone though. If you pass, I will give you my blessing to court my daughter."

She smiled at me again, but I could see the ideas spinning around in her mind if I looked at her eyes. Now, I wanted to yell at her, to explain everything I had ever done for Annabeth, but I knew that would just make her angry and it wouldn't change anything, except maybe making Athena hate me even more. She was giving me a chance to earn her approval; I had to take this opportunity. I smiled at her, "Lady Athena, I am willing to do whatever it takes to prove myself worthy. Just tell me what this test is, and I will get right to it."

Now Athena was grinning at me, which should have tipped me off that something wasn't quite right, but alas, I was hoping that she was genuinely giving me a chance to prove myself. "Okay Perseus, tomorrow night at 10:00, be at the top of Halfblood Hill by the pine tree. You will leave then to complete the tasks I require. There are three tasks, you will probably be gone for several months."

I gaped at her. I mean several months? I didn't want to be gone that long, Annabeth hadn't done too well when I had been kidnapped for eight months, but I didn't really have much of a choice here. I would tell Annabeth why I was going to be gone and hope she would understand. I needed to get Athena's approval; it would make things so much easier. "All right, I'll be there. 10:00."

"Good. For now though, sleep well Perseus, and be prepared come tomorrow evening. The challenges won't be easy, that I promise you." After she was finished with her final warning, Athena teleported away, leaving me in front of my cabin wondering what exactly she had planned for me. Knowing Athena, nothing good.

With a sigh, I turned and walked into my cabin. I lay in my bunk and thought about how I would tell Annabeth about this. She wouldn't be too thrilled with the idea, but hopefully she'd understand why I needed to do this. With another sigh, I lay back in my bed and drifted off to sleep.

In my dream, I was in a forest. I didn't recognize it, but I hadn't really explored many forests except the one at camp. I noticed I was in some sort of camp; there was a tent set up behind me as well as a tarp over my head. In front of me was a fire pit. Wherever I was, it appeared I'd been there for some time. As I looked around the camp, something else caught my eye, something pretty major.

I was surrounded by monsters. There must have been over 100 of them and they all looked like they wanted to kill me. My first thought was to draw my sword, but my dream self seemed to have a different idea. He looked at the monsters and spoke, "So, you finally came. I've been waiting for you. Well, if you want to kill me, have at it."

Then, my dream self did something really strange: he sat down. He turned his back to the monsters and faced his tent before simply sitting down. I heard the monsters snarl and roar at this insult to them, and then I heard the sounds of them begin their attack. If my goal had been to anger the monsters, I'd certainly succeeded. I now expected myself to jump up and at least try to fight. Once again though, I was surprised. I just remained seated as the monsters came.

I felt claws bite into me and then a javelin pierced my side. I could feel the pain and tried to cry out, but in my dream, I simply smiled. Before I could question anything beyond that, I heard the sound of a hunting horn and I awoke.

It was early morning and I tried to make sense of my dream. None of it made any sense to me. Why was I living in a forest? Camp was my home. Why hadn't I tried to fight back against the monsters? Why did I smile when they were about to kill me? None of it made the least bit of sense to me. However, I decided to keep this dream to myself. It didn't concern anyone other than myself, and I didn't want to worry anyone else. This dream was my problem; I had to deal with it myself.

That morning, after breakfast, I pulled Annabeth aside and told her about my encounter with her mother the night before. She looked at me and I could see the annoyance and anger in her eyes. I hoped she wasn't angry with me, but I couldn't be sure. For several minutes, she just glared at me.

Finally, she let out a sigh, "My mother can be too stubborn for her own good. I really don't want you to leave again, but I do understand why you agreed. Our relationship would be so much easier if she would just accept it. Your father doesn't care who you date, my mother should really feel the same way. Oh well. You'd better complete her trials as fast as you can. I'll kill you if you delay and make me think you're just, gone, again."

I could see she was close to tears at the idea of me disappearing again, so I wrapped her in a hug and tried to soothe her. "Don't worry Annabeth. I won't be gone for too long. Your mother said it would take several months. If I had to guess, I would say that means somewhere between three and five months. Maybe a little longer. I will hurry and get back as quickly as I can though, I don't like being separated from you anymore than you do. I will do these tasks for Athena because I love you and want to be with you. Nothing will stop me from returning."

She smiled at me, "I know you will Seaweed Brain. I know. Now, since you're leaving tonight, how about we skip our activities for the day and just hang out together?"

I smiled at her, "Of course. That sounds like a terrific idea."

For the rest of the day, we just walked around with each other. We also spent several hours relaxing on the beach. It was calming and peaceful, a good way to spend the day before I'd have to leave for a while. It was also nice to know that once I got back, I'd be able to spend more time with Annabeth without Athena interfering.

Eventually though, the day ended and made way for the night. After the campfire, I said goodnight to Annabeth before making my way to my cabin. I grabbed my stuff I'd packed for the journey before making my way towards Halfblood Hill.

Once I arrived, I checked the time. It was 9:45; I had some time to spare. I sat down and leaned back against Peleus. When I did that, he swiveled his head around and relaxed it into my lap. I smiled at the dragon and began rubbing his head. His job was to protect the fleece, but he had a soft spot for some of us older campers.

For several minutes, I just sat there, with my back against the dragon and his head in my lap. Every now and then, he'd release a puff of smoke, indicating his contentedness. I sighed before leaning back and closing my eyes.

Well, that is the rewritten first chapter. I didn't add a lot, but I did try to clarify several things. Several parts felt quite rushed to me and I made sure to fix them.

Now, reviews, PM's, and stuff are always welcome, so please, let me know what you think.

Anyways, I should have the next chapter up soon. Check back regularly.

Rewritten 7/16/2012