A/N: Like I said in the daily updates, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and anyone who celebrates it. Otherwise, happy Thursday! I felt like this would be a nice little appetizer, you could say, until December begins. Remember that I'll be posting a twelve part story every day for the first twelve days of December. This also means that the next chapter of The Future will be moved forward to Christmas Eve. Warning: This short has spoilers for Mark of Athena! Don't read this if you haven't read it yet, seriously, you'll regret it!

Pain

"We're staying together. You're not getting away from me. Never again…"

The only thing that Percy knew that he was doing was falling, falling…

The wind whistled through his ears as he and Annabeth fell down the deep chasm that would eventually land them into Tartarus. It was too dark to tell how much they were going to fall, and how deadly it was going to be. While he was busying himself with thinking about how painful the drop was going to be, it showed him. The two of them slammed into sharp, razor-like rocks at the bottom of the pit, and he almost immediately felt them cutting through his shirt and skin.

"Arrgh!" He cried out, gripping Annabeth's hand tighter. They tumbled over top of each other as they rolled down a steep and seemingly never ending hill of jagged stones. After what seemed like an eternity of pain, they got to the foot of the gravel pit, rolling one final time onto the dirt ground. Percy felt numb with pain as he reached up and ran a hand through his hair. It was sticky and matted with blood. But he could save it for later. He immediately got to his feet as soon as he heard Annabeth groaning in pain as he had earlier, "Annabeth?" He croaked.

"I'm here," She said as he heard rocks shifting here and there. I'm here, didn't help much, considering it was pitch black. He squinted his eyes, hoping he could figure out the whereabouts of his sword. Percy spotted a faint glow under some rubble, and he stumbled over, practically blind. He crouched down, removing the rocks off of Riptide. He picked up his sword, gripping the handle tighter than usual to try to relieve the tension and pain in his hand and the rest of his body. Percy turned around, his back slightly hunched, as he pointed the sword towards the ground like a metal detector. Riptide casted a faint glow on the dirt, and finally Annabeth. In the simplest of terms, she looked awful. Her orange Camp Half Blood shirt was nearly in tatters, along with her jeans. And her face was seriously bruised and bloodied. Annabeth's eyes were clamped shut, her face grimacing in agony. He crouched down beside her, gently taking her by the shoulder and turned her over.

"Annabeth, are you okay?" He whispered.

"No…not really," She replied, sitting up slightly and grabbing her leg. He had completely forgotten about her injured leg. It had already been bad enough before they had fallen down a dark hole, and now that they had, it could be broken by now. Percy sat down, flinching a little when a rock snipped at his hand.

"Well, we're in Tartarus now," He mumbled quietly. Percy tapped lightly to the beat of some water dripping nearby.

"Percy, we should try to find our way out of here." Annabeth suggested.

"Oh, right," He said, standing back up. Percy put out his hand, getting Annabeth up on her feet. When she was, he got her arm around his neck, leading her around as he searched for an exit. Annabeth's head drooped more and more each step they took.

"Annabeth-Annabeth," His hand fumbled around as he tried tipping her chin up, "Hey, you need to stay awake."

"C-can we just rest for a minute…please?" She managed to say.

He nodded, pointing his sword over towards the pile of rubble they had fallen down from.

"Sure. C'mon, let's get you back over there." He led a limping Annabeth back and set her back down. He flinched once more as a few more rocks nipped at his already sliced-open arms.

"I'm going to look for a way out of here. I'll check on you in a few minutes. Just try to sta-" Annabeth fiercely grabbed him, pulling him into a kiss. She let go after a few lengthy, but calming moments. He gulped, "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."

Riptide led the way around the perimeter of the cavern. Percy pawed the wall for anything. Even the smallest hole or crack in the walls would make him happy right now. He didn't want anything more other than to find a way out and for Annabeth to make it through this.

Despite the fact that they hadn't been down in Tartarus for that long or hadn't seen any monsters yet, it was already taking his toll. The darkness, isolation, and the evil lurking through every crevice in the place blanketed him with sadness. His thoughts were interrupted when his hand ghosted over a small crack in the dirt wall. It was a little bigger than an eyeball, convenient for looking over to the other side, or trying to at least. Like the cavern they were trapped in, it was pitch black on the other side.

"Annabeth! I think I found a way out!" He called, to excited to get an answer from her. He split his sword through the hole, and it easily split through the dirt as he began hacking at it. After it was loosened up enough, he dropped his sword at his feet and began clawing at it with his hands. Dirt quickly got caught under his nails, but he ignored the increasing pain of it as he dug. With a final and firm kick, he broke through the wall, making a small tunnel to the other side. It was still dark, but he swore he could faintly see a greenish light in the distance, "I found a tunnel!" And then he suddenly remembered his vigil for Annabeth. He scooped up his sword, running back over to her spot. She was no longer there. But something else was, or its legs were, at least.

When Percy looked up, he was face-to-face with something that looked similar to a twelve foot tall praying mantis. But instead of long in slender arms, it had slimy, tentacles like an octopus. And one of them held Annabeth. The mantis let out a shrilly and ear-shattering wail, and Percy bared his teeth like a wild animal,

"Let go of her!" He bellowed. The mantis' mandibles chattered, almost as if it was laughing at him. He gripped Riptide harder than he ever had before, "I said-" He ran forward, jumping up with all his might, "Let GO!" He sliced through the air, and through the tentacle that held Annabeth. The appendage split off with a sickening sound, and fell to the ground. Percy's foot caught under its massive wait, and he slammed back to the ground with it. He was nearly winded from the force of the fall, but he quickly caught his breath, "Get to the other side of the tunnel." Annabeth was able to crawl out of the loosening grip of the tentacle, and limp away into the darkness. Percy crawled a few feet before grunting as he got to his feet. Only a few seconds after standing, another tentacle engulfed him in a slimy and constricting grip. He gasped for breath as it quickly got harder to get one. He struggled to get his arm out so he could slice himself free. He managed to quickly chop yet another tentacle. He landed on his feet this time, and managed to wriggle into the tunnel as the monster wailed in pain and went after him. But the tunnel was too narrow, and Percy was able to escape.

The tunnel was narrow, even for him. But what he found strange was how it continued on past where he had dug. He ignored it, and kept his eyes fixated on the glowing green light at was seemed like the end of the tunnel. After a half an hour of forcing his way through a narrow and musty tunnel, he found himself in another chasm. But his mouth dropped open when he found the source of the glowing green light. All around the walls and ceiling were jade-colored crystals of varying sizes that pulsated with light. Sitting up against the crystal wall was Annabeth, who had her injured leg splayed out. Before walking over and taking a seat next to her, he broke off a crystal so he could take a better look at it.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth mumbled.

"As best as you can be after you fought a monster that just tries to kill you and the person you love." He mumbled back as he rolled the crystal around in his hand.

"Percy…oh my gods," She gasped as her hands ran across his back. He winced as they went over the razor stone that had lodged in his back.

"I guess I hadn't noticed them."

"You need to get these-" She paused as she suddenly and very quickly yanked one out of his tender back, "Out!" She shouted over his scream. He waited patiently as she pulled them out of his back, one by one. After she pulled the last one out, he only let out a small grunt, and then a sigh of relief,

"Thanks." He looked over at her. She had her own share of injuries. His hand took her propped one in his own.

"Hey," He brushed his other hand on her cheek, "We're going to be alright."

She shivered, "…Okay." He pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. As long as he had her, he could keep his sanity down here…

A/N: This obviously isn't my best work. I kind of wrote it in an hour or so. But you know. I'll probably update again this weekend.

Bye!

~Leaded-Pegasus