I do not own PJO or any of the characters. Rick Riordan does. This story takes place after BOTL. I'll try to update as much as I can, I promise! Enjoy!!

Chapter 1: A Wise Girl Comes To Visit

"Seaweed Brain! Wake up!" said a familiar voice. I mumbled something really intelligent like, "Mmm, uh gmft" and then turned over. Suddenly I felt a pain in my gut, like I'd been punched. I opened my eyes and I didn't comprehend what I saw.

There was a girl about 15 sitting next to me on my bed with wavy blond hair, and stormy gray eyes. She was wearing little silver owls in her ears, an orange T-shirt, and jeans. Her face looked familiar. Then it hit me. I sat up straight and screamed, "Oh my gods, Annabeth! What in Hades are you doing here? And why did you punch me?"

She grinned. Normally, I would've grinned back. Normally, I would've been happy to see her. But right now, I just glared, my sea green eyes filled with hate and anger. And not because she punched me or she woke me up. Annabeth got the wrong idea. "Hey, don't be mad at me, Seaweed Brain! I had to wake you up, didn't I? It's time for school!" She was grinning again.

"You didn't answer my question" I muttered, still glaring. She just laughed and pulled me up. I didn't laugh back. She smiled and left the room to let me get ready. I sighed. Why was she here? There must be trouble at camp, I thought. No, that couldn't be true. If it was true, Annabeth wouldn't be in such a good mood, and that would be the first thing she would tell me.

I rubbed my eyes and went to take a shower. I was putting on my shirt when Annabeth knocked. "Gods, Percy! How long do you take for a shower! Come out here, we're going to be late for school!" We're? She was going to school with me? What in Hades? I needed an explanation.

"Go to Tartarus" I cursed, hoping she heard me. I quickly combed my hair and went out into the hall. Annabeth was sitting with my mom on the dinner table, and they were quietly talking. It sounded like Annabeth was explaining something. "Mom? Annabeth? I need an explanation!" I was frustrated. I didn't understand anything that was going on here.

"First you have to get to school. Let's go." Annabeth demanded. She put on her backpack, which was blue with an owl on it, the symbol of her mother, Athena.

"Annabeth, I didn't even have my breakfast." I said coldly.

"You should've thought of that before you took so long getting up and taking a shower", she lectured and walked out the door. I groaned and reluctantly followed her without saying anything.

The bus was waiting outside the building. We got inside and I saw my red-headed nightmare. "Hey Percy! Over here, I saved you a seat!" said my mortal friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I walked up to her and grinned.

"Hey Rachel Elizabeth Dare" I said, and sat down next to her, leaving Annabeth to stare at us with a shocked expression. I ignored her. She looked down dejectedly and sat in an empty seat, glowering at the window. "So what's up?" I asked Rachel casually.

She raised an eyebrow. "I should be saying the same thing. Why is Annabeth here?" She didn't ask that in a rude way, but like she was simply curious. I doubted that Annabeth would be that polite about Rachel. I still didn't understand why she hated her so much. It seemed like Rachel knew, but she refused to tell me, always saying that it's not for her to tell, that Annabeth would tell me someday.

I sighed, feeling more confused than ever. "I don't know, Rachel. When I woke up, she was just there. She wouldn't explain anything to me." I said. Rachel nodded and looked out the window, but didn't say anything. I shifted in my seat awkwardly. The silence made me uncomfortable.

"Um, so… how is it going with your parents?" I asked, just trying to avoid the silence.

Rachel's face hardened, and she glared at me. She hadn't told me much about them just that they didn't care about her that much, that she was trying to make things better. After that, no matter how much I tried, she wouldn't say anything else. I realized I really didn't know much about Rachel, just 

the basics, even after she went on the quest with me, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson in the labyrinth. So much for being a "close friend". Rachel sighed. "Percy, I don't want to talk about it, okay? Why do you keep pressing me?" she snapped.

Reluctantly, I told her the truth, figuring I owed it to her. "Look, Rachel… look, I just want you to know that you can trust me. And I'm curious."

Rachel glared at me. "If you think I don't trust you, then you're wrong. And I don't think it's curiosity, I think it's nosiness. Look, I just don't want to talk about it, not to you, not to anyone. Is it a crime to have secrets?" I flushed. Rachel had never spoken to me or anyone in such an angry way. She just seemed so… laid back. Something must be really wrong.

The rest of the bus ride was in silence. When we reached Goode High School, I walked straight to my locker. I felt someone put their hands on my shoulder, and turn me to face them. I was looking at Annabeth.

"Percy, I don't know what your problem is. Why are you so mad at me?" she asked. Behind the anger and annoyance, I knew there was hurt.

"First tell me why you're here" I said. Annabeth nodded.

"I had too many monster attacks all this time, Percy. Way too many. But my dad, he—" her voice broke a little. "He wasn't mad at me. Neither was my stepmom. They said if this wasn't a safe place for me, then… they would move. I couldn't believe it. And now… now we're living in Manhattan. In your building, same floor, two apartments away", she said, smiling. When I didn't say anything, she continued on. "Now it's your turn. Why are you so mad at—" I didn't let her finish.

"Oh, why am I mad at you?" I yelled furiously, my temper rising. "I don't know Annabeth, maybe it's because of the last time we saw each other. Maybe it's because, the whole time, you never made an attempt to contact me, no IM, no phone call. Maybe it's because every time I tried to talk to you, you acted like you have to do something. Maybe it's because you were ignoring me this whole time for Zeus knows what reason!" Thunder rumbled in the sky as I said this. I sighed. "Sorry, even Zeus doesn't know."

I saw that the expression on Annabeth's face changing- from shock, to confusion, to hurt. "Percy, I—I don't—I didn't mean to…" she trailed off, not sure what she was going to say. "Look, Percy, I just… You don't understand, I—"

"Save it, Annabeth." With that, I walked to my first class. Part of me didn't want to hurt her like this. But another part of me was really mad at her, and that part was way too proud. I guess there's something to say for being a Son of the Sea God. The proud Sea God, that is.

That day was pretty miserable. I was pretty much not talking to Rachel or Annabeth, and those were about the only friends I had in school. When I was about to leave, Rachel caught up with me.

"Hey, um Percy? I… look, I'm sorry about—" she started. Then she suddenly froze. She pointed to two guys sitting on a bench outside of Goode. They were grinning wickedly at us. Instantly, I knew why Rachel was so scared. At that moment, Annabeth came out. I didn't want to talk to her, but I knew I had to.

"Annabeth! Those two guys on the bench! They're monsters!" I yelled. First she glared at me, and then she seemed to realize what I had said. Her eyes turned hard.

"Come on. Let's fight them. Mortal Girl" –I winced when she called Rachel that name—"you have to go inside. Now." Annabeth sounded like she had a plan. I took a deep breath.

Suddenly, the boys changed into monsters. I didn't even know what kind. They had the upper body of a huge lizard, with a face like a human's, with fangs. Their lower body was the weirdest. It had the paws of a lion, and the legs of a… well, a furry animal, I didn't know which. I had a feeling I was looking at a very, very old monster.

"Annabeth? What kinds of monsters are those?" I asked her. She didn't answer. I had a feeling that she didn't know. The monsters walked up to us.



"Perseus Jackson", one of them spat. "Your time has come, little hero. You shall serve the Titan Lord, or you shall die. You may pick which. The same goes for you, Daughter of Athena. This is your last chance. The Titan Lord himself has sent us,the Kings of Monsters, to capture you. Now surrender!"

I smirked. "I'd rather die. Of course, that doesn't mean I will. I think it's you that will", I said arrogantly, in a smug voice that I never thought I had. That wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say to deathly monsters with claws and fangs. The one that spoke growled and pinned me to the ground, his claws on my feet and fangs at my throat. I tried to get the Riptide out of my pockets, but my hands were pinned. I struggled to get up but couldn't do anything.

I was surprised the other monster didn't get Annabeth yet. He just stood there, looking bored. I was guessing if Annabeth tried to do anything, he would attack. I looked her in the eye, and she nodded.

"I… I agree to join the titans. I'd rather do that than die. I'm sorry, Percy. I value my life too much", Annabeth buffed. She was a really bad actress, but I still hoped the monsters bought it. They were strong, they were deathly, but they weren't exactly "smart". I tried hard not to smile, what with the monster on me that basically spelt death. The other monster sneered.

"See, Perseus Jackson? Your friend here, or former friend, shall I say, has some sense." He told me smugly. While he was talking to me, Annabeth pulled out her knife. I nodded, and then she attacked.

She almost hit the monster's throat, but he blocked it just in time. He let out a low growl then started fighting with her like crazy. Good thing she was really good with her knife, because the monster was really, really good too. Once, when the monster was on the ground, she quickly took out her Yankees invisibility hat out of her bag, and put it on. Instantly, she was gone. The monster seemed a little dazed, and Annabeth took the advantage of that. She slashed her knife right in his stomach, and he turned to ashes.

All this time they were fighting, I wondered why the monster that was on top of me hadn't killed me yet. As if he had read my mind, conveniently, he said, "Oh, I have only spared you because I wanted you to see your friend die. But, unfortunately she didn't. Now, she shall see you die!" And with that, he threw his fangs at my throat, and just as I was about to suffer from a very painful death, the monsters eyes bulged like he just saw something impossible, like a winged horse, which wasn't exactly impossible in the Greek world. He, like the other one, turned into ashes, too, and I saw Annabeth's knife was in his stomach. Suddenly I was aware of all the mortals around us. I wondered what they were seeing, but if they saw anything strange through the Mist, they didn't let on.

Annabeth helped me up and glared at me. "I… uh. Sorry I didn't really help." I apologized, trying to sound sincere. The truth was, I wasn't. I was still too mad at her. Annabeth sighed and pursed her lips. "Percy, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to… I… I was just feeling really confused about, just, everything. And… and I was scared—I mean, the end of the world isn't far away Percy, I'm scared for you—for everyone. I—", she drawled on. She stopped when she saw me rolling my eyes.

"Are you done, Wise Girl?" I asked her. She nodded, looking slightly confused. Then I smiled, and gave her a hug. When I pulled away, she grinned.

"So… we're cool now?" she asked me, already knowing the answer. I laughed, and together, since the bus was gone, we walked to back to our building.