As Annabeth cooked the Turkey, Malcolm set up his telescope in the grand living room under the window in the roof. Annabeth watched as her son easily read the instructions and knew where everything went.

"Mamma!" Malcolm called to her.

"What? I'm busy stuffing a dead bird!" Annabeth lied.

"I know that you were just staring into space. And I heard you put the turkey in the oven 20 minutes ago."

"Sometimes I curse myself for passing down my smartness to you." Malcolm laughed as he joined her in the kitchen.

"Sorry. I'm just a little…. worried I guess."

"Why? Because you like what's-his-name?"

"No, its because i'm several ranks higher than him and id like to not make a fool of myself." Annabeth glared at him. "Now go get a shirt on. I think I saw some girls staring at your six pack through the window."

"I've got hoes! I've got hoes! In different area codes!" He sang as he strut up the stairs.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. " And get some pants on will ya? I don't even know why you just walk around here with nothing but boxers on."

"I look so perfect standing here in my american apparel underwear!"

"Ugh I've heard enough of that song!" Annabeth shouted.

Malcolm gave a terrifying laugh and closed his room door. Annabeth sighed and took out the bird from the oven and soaked it in cooked juice. She set the table and put the dishes full of food in the middle and ran up to her room to put something on. After 20 minutes of trying on outfits, she decided on a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and tucked the shirt into jeans. Her dog tags from the marines laid on her chest, and her short blonde hair barely touched her shoulders.

Malcolm came into the room and gave handed Annabeth her combat boots.

"I think they're here." He said. She hopped on one foot down the stairs as she put the boot on the other. She reached the door and opened it. Percy and his daughter smiled at her. Pearl waved.

" Hey guys! Come on in!" Annabeth said. Malcolm took their coats and hung them on the rack.

"Thank you for having us Annabeth." Percy replied.

"These are for you." Pearl handed the general flowers.

"Oh my! These are very pretty! Malcolm, go put these in a vase please." Malcom took the flowers from his mother and went to the kitchen.

"So the dining table is in there, and if you need to use the restroom it's over here." Annabeth pointed to the entryways and then walked towards the kitchen, then sat down at the table. Percy sat across from her and began looking around.

"Your house is lovely." He said.

"Thank you." Percy nodded then glanced at the diner.

"Is it thanksgiving already?" He joked. Everyone laughed.

For the rest of the evening, Percy cracked jokes, Pearl and Malcolm were discussing sea life and astronomy, and Annabeth felt free for the first time. Never had she laughed this much in a night, and she had never fully enjoyed herself, unless it was with Thalia. For once, everything was fine. Everything was okay.

LINE BREAK

"So I was thinking about enlisting again." Thalia said as she bench pressed 200 pounds. Her and Annabeth were at the gym for their daily exercise with Malcolm and Luke tagging along.

"Why would you do that?" Annabeth asked, bewildered.

"Because they 'haven't seen a breaker like me in ages'." Thalia replied. She racked the bar and got up. Annabeth got on and put another 50 on.

"You don't have too. I mean, What about Rose? Or Jet? And Jason? What would he say? He was heart broken when you left."

"I know, I know. But they really want me too-"

"Screw them." Annabeth snarled. Thalia stepped back, shocked, as her friend sat up and threw on some gloves for the punching bag.

"You want to know why I left, Thalia?" She was about to explode. "I left because I finally got to base headquarters. And what I found was hundreds of rows of green liquid filled tanks in the basement. And in those tanks were humans, Thalia. Humans. And the headquarter Captain told me to watch over them for the night.

"I did as I was told, and around midnight, something happened. A tank exploded, and a man with rotting flesh ran towards me. The only thing I could do was shoot the hell out of him. He died, but he gave me this." Annabeth lifted up her tanktop to show a black bite mark, with green viens around it. Thalia gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

"Ever since then, I can feel something swimming inside me, Thals. I've never felt the same. I never told the Captain, because I knew what he would do. He would kill me and hide my body, so all I said was the man died before he got to me."

Annabeth turned towards Thalia and pleaded. "Please do not go back. Please. I don't want you to get hurt." Her friend nodded. "Promise me, Thalia, that you will never go back."

"I promise."

When they were done, Annabeth let Malcolm go to a car show with Luke, so her and Thalia went to a cafe across the street. They ordered some food and sat down in the very back.

"So, has anything happened to you since then?" Thalia asked.

"Yes." The blonde said. "Nightmares. Daydreams. One time I was in the shower, and as soon and the water touched me, my skin started to burn. It felt like agony. And it only lasted 6 seconds. And then a few days later, I was blinded while I was out in the yard. I couldnt see anything for 13.67 minutes."

"So are you sure this is because of the bite?"

"Yes. I'm sure, because everytime, right after something happens, the bite starts to hurt like hell, and starts to pulse. Like, slightly bump up and down, and the area around it turn a sickly shade of green."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah. Somethings wrong with me."

"Something been wrong with you since you were little." Thalia tried to lighten the subject.

"Yep." Annabeth said. Sipping her hot chocolate, she thought back to Percy. He was a captain, so hes been to headquarters, right? And down to the basement?

But Annabeth was only assuming. No concrete evidence. How old was Percy anyways? He seemed the same age as her, maybe a year younger or older. He was so calm, so nice. She can't possibly be thinking that hes been down there. But she felt it, something telling her the answer.

But they're all what ifs, right?

"Well, I have to go home. Maybe we can have lunch sometime?" Annabeth got up and put on her coat. Thalia did the same and they exchanged times they were available. After saying their goodbyes, they left seperate ways and drove home.

When Annabeth got to her house, she sat down on the couch and watched tv until her chest felt like it was pounded on.

"Oh Jesus!" She exclaimed as she kneeled to the chest felt like it was caving in, and Annabeth slowly started to breathe, but then air was sucked out of her lungs. She wheezed and clawed at her shirt, tears pouring out of her eyes and she screamed and screamed in pain. Annabeth was blind again. She heard the door open and someone shout her name, and felt strong hands lift her and spread her on the floor.

Annabeth thought she was dying. The misery was too great, and she prayed for it to end. She cried in agony and arched her back and arms restrained her. Then her sight was back, but what she saw was not her home.

It was the Base Headquarters basement. The tanks were there, shining in all their twisted ways, and the people inside them were not asleep this time.

They were awake.

Some were laughing at her, baring their inhumanly teeth and letting out screeches. Others were snarling, growling, kicking at the glass. Then a man stepped forward in front of her, between a row of monsters. It was her father.

"I'm still alive Annie." His voice boomed on the walls and sounded tuned down so low that it sent vibrations through her spine.

"Come find me." Her father's face slowly started to rot away and fall in pieces.

"End this torment for you and the captain." He howled, and faded off, along with everything else.

LINE BREAK

When Annabeth woke up, it wasn't because she was hungry, or because she naturally did. It was because the bite mark on her side started to hurt worse than ever before. She grunted and fell off the couch.

"Shit shit shit." She muttered and opened her eyes as she heard someone come to her.

Percy sat down next to her on the floor and lifted her shirt to find the injury. When he saw it, he didn't look surprised, and started to quietly work on it with a pack of ice and a needle. He thrust the syringe into the mark and extracted glowing green liquid. He pulled it out and kept the ice on it.

Percy glanced at Annabeth grimly. "How did you get that?" He asked softly.

"I won't tell you until you tell me what you are doing in my house, soldier." Annabeth wheezed.

"Your son called me."

She nodded. "Okay. I got the bite at Base Headquarters."

"In the basement?"

She knew it! "Yes."

Percy clenched his jaw and hit the floor with a fist. Then he lifted his sweater and revealed a mark just like Annabeth's.

"Went there too. Had to do night watch, and those...things escaped. Its been difficult to do things after that."

"Same here."

Percy nodded and looked her in the eyes.

"Will you help me, General?" He asked. "I need to find a way to stop this, but only with you. Will you help me?"

Annabeth didn't even think for a second. "Yes Percy. We're in this together."

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