A/N: Hey guys. Here is the second chapter of finding Balance.

I know that the action scenes may be few and far between during these first few chapters, and I apologize in advance for those people waiting to read them. I promise, I will definitely try and reward your patience with longer chapters and bigger scenes.

I'm happy you guys already saw this story and started to review it; I might be able to get another update in by tomorrow, but don't count on me updating another story on top of this one by then. I do have quite a bit of work on my hands, you know?

I'm happy some of you were able to work your heads around the parallel universes concept I put up, and one of you in my PMs even managed to guess what I was trying to convey properly just from the first chapter.

I'd like to thank all of you for your dedication and support to my stories, and I promise I will be updating both of my previous stories very, very soon.

Anyways, enough talk, on with the story.

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapter.


Annabeth was silently stalking the fruit stalls. She would have pinched the vegetables first, but Percy had this weird obsession with blueberries. He had pleaded her to get a few for him while he went and 'collected' some meat and potatoes. The two of them had been living, running, travelling together for the past eight months. They would usually pull of a 'big heist', like Percy called it, every two weeks, living off what they had managed to gather until the next golden opportunity to grab food. They were lucky the cities and towns they passed through set up a market on the streets at some point in the week; it was extremely hard to steal groceries any other way. It was even harder to steal food from restaurants; but they had managed to pull it off easily enough.

It went against both their morals, of course, to steal more than necessary. So they ended up paying, some times. Any time they could, they paid. Other times, they ran. Annabeth smiled at the thought; they had both become very accomplished long distance runners. As she nicked a handful of blueberries, she heard a loud rumbling noise in the distance. She muttered silently that it was a necessity; Percy really liked the blueberries, but it was more to herself than to appease whichever god or goddess that might have been watching.

She wondered why she had gone to get the blueberries first; then she realized that it was so that if she was caught, she could still run away with something for Percy instead of the vegetables. As she realized what she had done, she tried to rationalize it. Why did I do it for Percy? We need those vegetables more! Unfortunately, she couldn't come to a conclusive, rational reason.

Thankfully, she had not been found out, and the duffel bag she carried was big enough to fit most of the delicious food she wanted. Annabeth hadn't been much of a cook when she ran away from her father and step-mother; but right now, even her step-mother would be proud of her skills. It was kind of necessary; Percy was absolutely hopeless when it came to gastronomy. As a trade-off, though, she forced him to clean up afterwards, secure their small camp all of the time. She also made him wash their clothes; she figured it was easy enough for him anyways, drying with a bit of hand waving and all. He never complained about his chores, or anything Annabeth did for him, for which she was grateful, but he annoyed her to death with just about anything else.

As she reached their small 'encampment', as she liked to call it; or their tent and fire pit, like Percy called it, she heard the sound of feet shuffling, very quietly, behind her. She smiled; she knew Percy was the only likely culprit; they had fought off all the monsters for this week, if the numbers and her tingling senses were any indication. She allowed herself to be surprised, hand covering her eyes, asking her to guess who it was, as she thought about how they had been killing exactly four monsters each week. The gods should pay us; we're doing Olympus and demigods tons of favours, she smirked internally. She was jostled back to reality as Percy, too impatient to wait for her, grabbed her shoulders and turned them around excitedly.

"Wise girl, see what I got!" She stared at his palm as he uncovered a small bottle of... blue food colouring? She didn't know what to make of the situation.

"What the Hades is that, Percy? Where's our food? What do you want me to do with that?" She was starting to get really frustrated with him now. He tended to get side-tracked if he didn't have a clear goal, and she was worried he had not picked up his part of their supplies.

"Relax, Annabeth," Percy was taken aback by her sudden hostility. "I have all the stuff in my bag. No, I was just showing you that I managed to find some blue food colouring!" Annabeth sighed as Percy's face lit up at his own words. Why does he like blue food so much... Oh right. A son of Poseidon. She ventured the question to make sure of her answer.

"Percy, what is it with you and blue food?" Percy had been expecting the question for a while; he had meant to explain to her before why he liked blueberries so much, but with his ADHD he had quickly forgotten about it.

"See, it's this argument that my mom had with Smelly Gabe. He said there was no such thing as blue food, and then the next day mom went and got us blue food colouring and made us some blue pasta. I really liked blueberries, too, so I decided they were blue enough to fall under this category. So, yeah, I'm really happy I finally found some blue food colouring. Do you think you could make us some blue pasta? I haven't had that in ages. Trust me; the blue colour only makes it better!"

Annabeth chuckled; she finally understood Percy's odd obsession. Sure, Annabeth liked apples; she just wasn't as crazy about them as Percy was with blueberries. She decided to grace him with a smile; this was a matter that Percy obviously held close to his heart, and she would definitely help him.

With a mock glare, Annabeth replied. "Fine, Seaweed brain. I'll do it. Now go start the fire while I decide what to do with these," she said, taking out some carrots. She knew Percy hated lighting the fire, and she figured it had something to do with it being a volatile object that Percy could only quench. She still made him do it ever since the day they had found out that he could touch a flame and not be burnt easily; it made both their jobs that much easier.

His father's element. He's such a lucky guy. Annabeth chided herself for thinking like that. Even if her mother hadn't given her cool powers or gifts, she knew that by being extremely smart, she more than made up for Percy's lack of knowledge. She also had a small feeling that maybe her mother's gift was that she didn't stop her from joining Percy; Annabeth knew that Athena probably didn't like the fact that she was travelling with Percy.

As she went through their bag of supplies, she noticed that somehow, Percy had managed to find them more than enough pasta for a whole week. She grinned; she had initially planned on getting the pasta fully cooked blue even if it meant having to take some of it, but now she could keep some normal pasta for herself as well. I guess Seaweed brain might actually have a brain. She smiled at the thought; they had found their nicknames for each other within the first week. It had initially been meant as an insult, but both names had stuck.

The rest of the weekend went by quickly; since they didn't have much in the way of entertainment, they would usually talk a lot, evading talk of the reasons behind running away, but still talking about their old lives. Percy didn't mind it at all; in fact, he loved telling Annabeth of his mom. Annabeth was somewhat wistful when she heard how kind and gentle his mother was; she wished her step-mom had been that way. When the talk turned to her father, she had tears in her eyes. He had been such a nice person, and yet, after the marriage, he had stuck by her step-mom, which in turn brought about her running away.

Percy saw those tears and felt extremely bad; he hated to see her sad, and always tried to cheer her up any way he could. He always thought of it as his one gift; he could cheer anyone up. To him, that gift was as precious as Anaklusmos; he wouldn't have traded it for anything. He got up and sat right next to her, putting an arm on her shoulder and squeezing it; she seemed to like it a bit, even if she didn't show it much. He decided he would talk about his own step-father; at least something to help her relate, something to help her understand that it was going to be okay.

So, almost in a whisper, he started to tell Annabeth about Smelly Gabe. How he was nice the first time he and his mom met him, how he showed his true colours later on. Percy almost told her about how Gabe used to hit him, but decided that would not have been a good idea. So he described how he got his nickname, and almost every bad thing about him. Throughout the story, Annabeth had calmed down. In fact, at the current point in time, she had a frown on her face. Percy knew that frown; she was wondering about something and she was about to ask him. He waited for the question, gesturing to Annabeth to ask away.

"Percy, tell me. Did he hit you?" Her voice was so gentle and mesmerizing that he almost forgot the question.

Hearing the question from Annabeth struck a nerve; he didn't want anyone to think of him as a weakling, least of all Annabeth. But there was something about her demeanour that chipped at his inner walls. She truly meant well, and for the first time ever, Percy didn't know what to say. He didn't need to; Annabeth took his silence as confirmation and returned the hug he had given her, a long hour before. They both stayed that way until the moon was starting to dip in the sky; Artemis was finishing her nightly run. The two separated and went into their tent, each mulling over the events of the day.

In the morning, after a very light breakfast of energy bars and some hot chocolate, Annabeth asked him a question that surprised him.

"Percy, does your sword have a name?" He wondered why he hadn't told her that; it should have been one of his first topics.

"Um yeah, I'm sorry; I can't believe I haven't told you this before. Yeah, it's called Anaklusmos."

Her eyes widened a fraction, she knew exactly what it meant, and she figured she had an English name for it. "Sweet. The tide that takes you by surprise... How about you call it Riptide in English, seeing as it means the same thing?"

Percy had of course never thought of that. He was genuinely happy to be able to introduce it to her properly; the two would train, sometimes, against each other, but the name was engraved in a place you don't really notice while duelling. He was glad she had been able to help him; it kind of embarrassed him to keep on having to introduce it by its Greek name. "Riptide... I like it." He smiled.

She grinned back at him as well, before hearing a ridiculously powerful roar behind her. It seemed far away, but both demigods knew that this was their monster of the day. Percy, of course, being less knowledgeable about the identities of all the monsters in Greek lore than Annabeth, turned to her with a questioning look.

"Seaweed brain, that's so obviously the Nemean lion... Didn't you read the myths?"

"I did, but they're so lengthy! Anyways, how do we beat this one?"

Annabeth pursed her lips before answering. "I'm not too sure. Heracles beat him by strangling him, but I'm not sure either of us can strangle it."

Percy nodded, it didn't sound as if the roar came from a pygmy lion; he was only strong enough to strangle those, and he wasn't even sure they existed. Then suddenly, something clicked inside of him.

"Wait... Heracles? As in Hercules, the one who did the twelve labours?"

Annabeth sighed; he really was a seaweed brain. "Yes, that Hercules. Listen up, his skin is nearly impenetrable; you're not gonna be able to cut through it with Riptide." Percy's momentary smile at the name of his sword faded when he understood what it entailed. Nothing good for him or for Annabeth. He shivered at the thought.

"So what do we do?" Annabeth's brain went into overdrive as she planned different plans and back-up plans for each, all at the same time. The fact that bothered her was that each of her plans outlined the necessity to run more than finding a possible answer. The million drachma question; what do we do?

She couldn't come up with a suitable plan in time, though. Just as she was about to tell Percy to separate and poke for a weak point, the beast itself jumped out into the clearing and tried to pounce on Annabeth. Key word, tried. Percy heard the beast nearing while he was waiting for Annabeth to come up with something; he knew that Athena always had a plan, and so he trusted Annabeth to tell him what to do. He wore a face that radiated the urgency of the situation, however, and when the lion actually appeared in front of them and went to attack Annabeth; he knew he couldn't wait anymore. Certainly not when it was about to attack her.

Gathering as much strength as he could, Percy powered into the side of the great lion that was in mid-air. Both of them rolled clear of Annabeth, the lion clearly not expecting that much strength from the young son of Poseidon. Annabeth saw a primal look in Percy's eyes and wondered what had happened to him. What Percy did next, however, shocked her completely. He punched the lion on the side that he had collided with. You idiot of a Seaweed brain! You're going to break your hand!

She was not prepared for what happened instead. The lion went flying sideways into a nearby giant oak tree and broke the tree in two. She turned to cheer at Percy, not quite comprehending how he had gotten that surge of power, but what she saw instead worried her immensely. Percy was a dozen metres from the lion, moving towards it, but at each step he faltered until finally dropping down, unable to move a few metres from the monster. She started to run towards him; she absolutely needed to know he was okay, but as soon as she reached him, she saw the lion staggering up.

She cursed under her breath and cursed again when she realized she had left her dagger behind. She looked around Percy for a weapon and found Riptide. Uncapping it, she prepared herself to the best of her ability. Percy came round to see the lion about to jump on Annabeth, when dozens of silver tipped arrows were shot at the lion. All of them hit it; even if none of them did any damage it was enough to distract the lion so that Annabeth had the chance to stab it. And so, Annabeth Chase stabbed the Nemean lion with Riptide through the mouth. All the way up to its brain, she suspected.

As the monster dissolved around her, Percy got up and was met with a fierce hug from her. He was slightly surprised, but immensely glad that he was alive with her. He wondered what to do next as a whole group of what looked like girls with bows and in silver outfits strutted out in a ring next to them. They sneered at him; disdain clear in their eyes as he wondered what he had done, while Annabeth looked wide-eyed at them. She whispered into his ears that these were the Hunters of Artemis, and his eyes fell on one of them who looked twelve and had auburn hair. The same girl walked up to both of them and was about to demand why they had interrupted the hunt when Percy fell to his knees with a protective arm around Annabeth, whom he dragged down next to him.

"We apologize, Lady Artemis, for disturbing you. It was truly not our intention, and we apologize if we have kept the Hunt from getting its prey. I am none the less extremely grateful for your compassion and for the help you gave my friend in taking the monster down." Percy decided this was good enough as an ice-breaker; he certainly didn't want Artemis to provide the first few words of their conversation. He noticed that the Hunters seemed taken aback at his attitude, almost as if they had not been expecting this. Artemis watched the two demigods with a slight tinge of amusement; this demigod definitely knew how to tread carefully with her.

"Rise, maiden, and rise, son of Poseidon. Yes, I know who you are, and don't worry, I'm the only goddess that does, though I suspect Poseidon may have mentioned it to Hestia. Either ways; you are safe at the current moment." When Artemis finished, Annabeth saw some of her Hunters had astonished looks on their faces, and one, with something like a tiara on her crown, which she guessed marked her as the lieutenant of the Hunt, seemed downright perplexed; as if she couldn't reconcile Percy's parentage and gender with his behaviour and attitude. Annabeth turned and noticed there was a spoil of war from the Nemean lion; its skin. She decided it would be perfect as a peace offering.

"Lady Artemis, please take this cloak, as it is so rightfully the Hunt's." She looked over to Percy and saw him giving her an approving look.

"No, child. It belongs rightfully to you, for you were the one to pierce the monster with your sword, were you not?" Actually, that wasn't true.

"No, Lady Artemis, I was not. I used Percy's sword, Riptide. After I ran to him I noticed I had left my dagger behind and so I grabbed the nearest weapon I could." Annabeth said, pointing to Riptide. She noticed Artemis staring at the weapon in a weird fashion; the lieutenant of the Hunt seemed to be doing the same thing.

"May I see, the weapon, my dear?" Artemis asked Annabeth, who shrugged and pointed to Percy, who graciously handed over his only means of defence to the Goddess of the Hunt. Percy noticed that the huntress he had seen looking at him earlier came over and whispered something to Artemis, who gave her a questioning look before nodding.

"Boy, this weapon has a tragic past. I hope for your sake that you wield it rightfully, and properly. Now, Hunters, hand over the cloak to this boy; it is his by right." Annabeth looked at the both of them, wondering how that had happened. Artemis then explained that Anaklusmos could not be used by anyone other than Percy without him giving them express permission.

Annabeth reeled at the thought; that must have meant that Percy's subconscious took over at some point and helped her take his sword, thus protecting her. She turned to him and saw him giving her an apologetic smile. Oh, you Seaweed brain. You don't have to be sorry for that; I'm happy you were able to help me! Annabeth was jolted out from her thoughts as she heard Artemis speaking again, looking directly at her.

"Normally, I would offer you a position in the Hunt, and indeed, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, you are welcome to join us, but I believe this boy," Artemis said, pointing to Percy in a condescending manner, "is good enough a travel companion. Let us hope for both your sakes that you live until the next time we meet." Artemis, having finished her speech, was about to turn when she saw Percy take off the lion skin cloak and drape it around Annabeth. The Huntresses were slightly taken aback, they expected the boy to act like the arrogant, usual male and keep it for himself, their prejudiced beliefs taking a blow.

Artemis chuckled inwardly before asking what he was doing. He answered that Annabeth had saved his life, therefore without her, he would be nothing, and thus she deserved it more than he did. Artemis' lips curled the slightest bit possible before she bade them farewell and left with her Hunt.

Meanwhile, Annabeth pondered on his choice of words. He would be 'nothing' without me? Why didn't he say he would be 'dead' without me? I'll have to ask him that later on.

Percy smiled internally as he saw Annabeth wondering about something. He hoped it was about his intended pun, because he felt like he truly meant it. He was glad to be rid of the Hunters, they scared him so much that if Annabeth had not been there, he would have definitely been stuttering and mumbling the second he started speaking.

Sally Jackson gazed wondering at her marvellous son. She had lots of questions on her mind; namely, where had her son found enough strength to ram into the Nemean lion and punch him hard enough to send it crashing into a tree; but she realized she would have to wait for the answer. Her time at the Elysium Scrying Pool was up; it was time for the next person to watch over whoever they wanted to.

Artemis pondered on what she had seen; the Hunt had not actually been chasing the lion, it had simply caught onto its trail by passing near the forest. When they had arrived on the scene and noticed the lion about to pounce on the two demigods, Artemis had waved off her Hunters. She had wanted to see what would happen next.

What transpired after that left her stunned; she wasn't sure if sons of Poseidon could be this powerful. She certainly hadn't heard of one being given the blessing of super-strength like Hercules had. She had then gestured at her Hunt to help the demigoddess out before she got killed.

Now, she was wondering if she had done the right thing by letting the pair of them go. She had sensed almost immediately that Perseus Jackson had no blessing on him whatsoever, yet she could have sworn that at the moment when he had punched the lion he had an aura of power and... harmony surrounding him. As weird as that sounds, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it was. She decided she would keep an eye on them, whenever she could. They promised to be extremely interesting.


So, again, what are your views on this so far?

I have to say I liked writing certain parts of it, while others were extremely unappealing.

I'll be updating this and Godly Dissension as soon as I hit 10k combined views (Hint: We're not too far off).

Until next time, les amis!