Chapter 1

POV: Annabeth

Before I came to Camp Half-Blood I was a a runaway. I met Thalia Grace and Luke Castilian after a few months of surviving on my own. At least that is what I told Percy. The fact was I wasn't alone. There was another person with me. I lie about it because it's too painful to talk about. The boy was my age. His blond hair was not long but not quite short ether. Even though he was seven he radiated this intimidating aurora. It was his eyes. They seamed to stare right through me. They analyzed every part of me like they were thinking on how best to kill me. He had that instinct to. If he deemed something as a threat the only hope the pour thing had was to die quickly. I wasn't scared of him though. The fact was that every thing he did was done to keep us safe. This boy with the analytical eyes and the killer instinct was my brother. Not half brother like the other children of Athena, he was my twin. I may have described him as mean so far but he wasn't. He was kind and caring. He smiled a lot. The optimist of the two of us. He was the won to laugh at the most messed up situation we used to get ourselves into and say "What? Thats it? Thats all these guys got?" He used to sing too. Late at night, when we were gathered around the small fires we would make, he would sing some songs that would ether make you happier than you thought you could when you were on the run or make you cry in despair. I never saw him as depressing though. He protected me. His name was Tony. He was my hight with mid-length blond hair and pail skin. The pail skin was the only difference between us. I had a californian tan but he was an average caucasian color.

My story really began the night he saved my life for the first time. I was being attacked by cannibals about an hour after I ran away. I was stupid to run alone but I didn't think about the consequences. Then the cannibal pinning me to the ground burst into dust and Tony stood there with a bronze knife. I never did ask where he got it from. The other two cannibals attacked him and before I could react Tony had jumped. He did a back flip through the air and slashed the throat of the cannibal to his right. It burs into dust. Then he landed upright on the last cannibal's back and stabbed it's neck. The monster burst into dust and Tony fell through the dust. When the dust settled he was standing there with his knife glaring at me.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He demanded. "You had me worried sick." I was an intelligent, seven year old chilled of Athena who was jest saved from a pack of cannibals by her brother. So naturally, I broke down into tears. I was on my knees sobbing into my hands. I felt my brother rubbing my shoulder. "It's ok." He said. "You're ok."

Several weeks later my brother had left me at an abandoned warhorse to go and find food. When he returned I was talking with Luke and Thalia. They had found me behind a panel where I was hiding. They took me in right away though. They wanted to leave but I would't budge until Tony got back. He didn't announce his arrival either. I was talking with Thalia when Luke yelped. I looked over and saw Tony was diving through the air towards Thalia. Luke was on the ground clutching his leg. Thalia raised her spear to try and skewer her attacker but Tony corkscrewed in mid air. The maneuver caused the spear to miss his stomach by less then an inch. He slammed into he and nocked he off balance. She fell flat on her back.

"Run!" He screamed at me as he started to run. Then Luke garbed him from behind and tried to hold him but Tony wasn't that easy to capture. Tony swung his elbow back to hit Luke's nuts. Luke saw this attack coming however and moved his hips away from Tony to dodge the attack. That played right into Tony's plan. By moving his hips away Luke had to lower his head. Tony used both his legs to shove off the floor and head but Luke in the jaw. The impact jared Luke and he let go of Tony. Tony took a step fowerd, spun around, and launched an elbow strike that made contact with Luke across the side of his face, nocking him unconscious.

"Tony!" I screamed. "Stop it!" Jest then Thalia was back on her feet and rushing Tony from behind. He ran forward and jumped towards the wall. Then he used one leg to jump off the wall and redirect the jump so he would land on Thalia. She raised her spear but Tony slapped it aside as he fell and tackled her to the ground. Then he held his knife to her throat. If she tried to move the knife would cut her. "Stop it!" I screamed again.

"Jest get out of here, Annabeth!" He screamed. Thalia gazed up at Tony in a defiant way.

"Jest get it over with." She growled. Tony's eyebrows went up in surprise. He hadn't been expecting a response like that.

"What do you want?" He demanded. "Why are you after us?" Now it was Thalia's turn to look surprised.

"We're not after you." She said. "We were hunting down some monsters and we jest so happened to come across Annabeth. Next thing I know, you're attacking us." Tony frowned and leaned back slightly but still held the knife to Thalia's throat.

"82nd, Fox company." Tony muttered. To most that would sound like nonsense but to us it was a way to make shore every thing was ok. If I was being forced to do some thing I would muddy the facts from what ever historical event he asked me about. Being that I was not being held captive right now I would give accurate facts. We both knew all about the 82nd fox company disaster and there for this was one of our more common challenges.

"World War II." I began. "Normandy. Fox company was told the french resistance would light a small fire in the field jest out side the town as a marker for the plains to drop the troops onto. The pilot made a miss drop though. The church in the town was on fire and the pilot thought that was his signal. He gave the green light and dropped Fox company right into the town. unfortunately all the germans were awake and trying to put the fire out in the town below. Well fire creates light so the americans were illuminated from below and picked off by the germans before they even set boots on the ground. The few that made it to the ground were killed or captured. Very few americans escaped that fight." Tony stood up off of Thalia immediately and walked towards me like nothing happened. Thalia sat up while rubbing her neck.

"So, I take it this is your brother?" She asked. I nodded.

"Thalia, meat Tony." I said. "Tony, thisis Thalia. She's the daughter of Zeus. And that," I said pointing at the unconscious body a few feet away. "Is Luke. He's a son of Hermes." Tony nodded a greeting to Thalia. Then he reached out a hand to help her up. She took it.

"Sorry about that." Tony said in a sincere voice. "I thought you were trying to kill us." Thalia accepted the apology.

Several weeks went by and Thalia and Tony became good friends. Luke was slow to trust him but he came around eventually. It was more the fact that a seven year old kid had kicked his but and nocked him unconscious that made him slow to like Tony. Tony was jest to lovable though. He joked, sang, and was always offering encouragement when he thought we needed it most. The only time he was ever depressed was when Thalia had told stories by the camp fires. They were the tales of the old heroes. Hercules and all of them. Tony would stare at the floor and wait for the stories to be over looking very angry. One day Luke made the mistake of asking him what was wrong.

"Every thing." Tony responded. "The hole world."

"What do you mean?" Asked Thalia.

"We call our selves heroes right?" Tony asked in a tone that didn't sound like a question.

"Yeah." Said Luke. "But you have to prove your self a hero to actually be one."

"Thats jest it." Tony said. "I've already fought so many monsters and in the week and a half I've bin with you guys I have saved each of you at least twice."

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, Tony." She said. "You have really earned your tittle. The youngest hero to modern date." She laughed a little but Tony's face fell.

"I don't want to be a hero." He said. Luke frowned at that.

"Why?" Thalia asked, looking puzzled.

"In all those stories from ancient Greece." Tony began. "How many of them have a happy ending?" He asked as if it were a challenge to us to try and name the happy endings. "The fact is the heroes don't go home." He said this bitterly, as if on the edge of tears. "They don't live happily ever after. They die a painful death and the world jest moves on." He shook his head. "People don't remember them either." He paused. "Oh, shore they remember the fights and the adventures but they don't remember the person." He looked up at Thalia across the fire. "Is the story of how Hercules met his wife remembered?" He asked. "Or what of Precious jest chilling with some friends?" He glared at the fire in despair. "No," He said. "We only remember them fighting and how they died. There had to be more to them than that. More then jest their deaths. I don't want to be remembered for my death." He shook his head. "I'd rather be forgotten completely." He looked up at me. The fire casted an omen-us glow on his face. "Promise me." He said. "When I go, jest let me go. Don't even tell my story. I don't want to be one of those legends where my life is forgotten. I don't want my only surviving memory to be of me fighting." I remained silent. I didn't want to answer that one. "Promise me." He repeated. Eventually I agreed. The next big moment in Tony's story would be the last time I would speak to him. I still remember the dark look in his eyes. The look that made me scared to ever see him again. Im ashamed of what I did. We had met Grover and he was taking us to camp half blood when we were attacked by cyclopses. We were climbing Half-Blood Hill when Thalia turned to fight the cyclopses. There was a small army of them.

"Jest keep going!" She called to us as we ran. Grover was unconscious and being carried by Tony and Luke. "I'll cover you!"

"You'll never make it!" Tony called. "There's too many!"

"Jest go!" Thalia screamed as the small army approached. We made it a few yards when Tony dropped Grover and started to run back towards Thalia.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"No time to argue." He said. "I'm going to help Thalia. She can't hold them for long and the distance to the top of the hill is to much. If I don't go back none of us will make it."

"Look Tony." Luke said. "Your all ready a hero. You don't need to prove your self anymore."

Tony gave one of his half smiles. The ones that clearly said 'I'm about to do something really stupidly dangerous.'

"Haven't you heard?" He asked Luke. "Heroes don't go home." He turned to me. "Jest make it count." He was referring to my life. Make my life count. Make his sacrifice worth something. Then he ran off. I scrammed and was about to chase after him when Luke called out.

"Annabeth!" I turned to him. His face was one of strain and pity. "I can't move Grover on my own." He said.

"But Tony." I said in shock.

"You heard him." Luke said. "Make it count." That snapped me out of my daze and I helped Luke get Grover over the hill. We carried him to the Big House and a few minutes later a large pine tree appeared on Half-Blood Hill. I could have gone back to help my brother at any time but I stayed at the Big House. I have always bin ashamed of that. His body was never found. Some said that it was possible he survived but me and Luke knew the Cyclopses jest ate his corps. Years later I found out how he died. A day or so after Thalia woke up under the tree I pulled her aside to talk to her.

"Look." I said. "I know you've been out for a few years now but I need to know." I paused. "Thalia, what happened to Tony?" Her face fell.

"You don't want the answer to that." She said.

"You're going to tell me what happened to my brother." I said in a stern voice. "I've bin in the dark for six years." Thalia nodded.

"I was holding my own for what felt like a few minutes when he entered the fight." She said. "I had been stabbed once and was bleeding heavily. He came flying off a rock to my left and killed the cyclops that was about to finish me off. I was on my back clutching my gut. I was loosing so much blood that my vision was going in and out. I saw him slashing and kicking. I saw him get stabbed in the left arm. He backed up a little. The next thing I know he was on one of their backs while slitting it's throat. Then he was on the ground with a giant spear in his right shoulder. It looked like his arm was being held on by half a tendon." She paused. "Then he was kneeling by my head clutching the aria where his right arm used to be. Apparently it had fallen off. He was starring at me in that reassuring way he had. "It's ok." He said. "It'll all be over soon." I could still hear the cyclopses coming towards us. "We did it," He said. "Annabeth and Luke made it over the hill." He gave me a sad smile. "They made it. So jest take it easy." My vision started to fade again and the cyclopses were getting louder. Like they were practically on top of us. "I'll see you on the other side." He said." Thalia broke off. "Then as my vision went dark I saw what looked like a blurry spear going right through a blurry Tony and wedging in the ground on the other side. The next thing I know I was waking up yesterday." Tears had formed in my eyes. She was right I didn't want to know that. But at the same time it was nice to finally have some closure.

Fast forwarding through the years again I was standing on Half-Blood Hill jest after the battle with Gaia. I remembered my brother. I remembered what he did here to keep me safe. And even though he didn't want me to, I knew I had to tell his story. It was then that I spotted the Dead Unit leaving the battle field. They were a highly trained unit. They used celestial bronze-bulleted guns and some pretty genius tactics. They wore enchanted sunglasses that disguised their faces and voices. To their enemies they looked like any mortal or demi god that they had harmed. To our enemies they looked like an army of the dead that they had killed come back to haunt them and take revenge. It usually terrified them. Dead Unit had a lot of branches but the field commander today was a friend of mine. His code name was Patton, like the famous general from World War II. Cocky and rude but the best tactician we could ask for. I don't know what his real name is because Dead Unit refuses to hand out their names. They say it is so they can easily be the dead come back to haunt the enemies but I'm not shore.

"Yo Chase!" Called out Patton. "Glad to see you made it!"

"Too bad Leo didn't." I said in a way to show how upset I was. Patton nodded.

"It was a war." He said. "You can't save every one. But still, I'm sorry for your friend." I nodded.

"A lot of people have died on this hill over the years." I said. "Leo's jest another face in the crowd now." Patton frowned.

"Well that's no way to look at it." He said. "Honor his memory. Live the way he would want you to. Don't jest let his death mean nothing." I nodded.

"You know my brother died here." I said. "I never told any one but he existed and he died here." I gazed at Thalia's tree. "He died right under that tree. He was buying me time to get to camp."

"Sounds like a nice guy." Patton said looking a little uncomfortable with the subject. Then Percy found me.

"Annabeth!" He shouted. He pulled me into a hug. "It's over!" He said with excitement. "We made it." He looked me in the eyes. "We mad it."

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: I know it isn't the best intro chapter but I needed to set up Annabeth's background for this story. Thaks for reading and PLEASE post your thoughts in the review section or PM (Privet Message) me. I will update when I can.