So, here's chapter 2. Yay! Percy's here. So is Annabeth. Grover is coming, just wait a bit longer. I forgot to mention, Percy and Annabeth are together. And, I want to clarify a few things:

Commercial Supersonic flight: Flight at the speed of really fast gov't fighter jets, available to everybody (for a fee, of course). I'm talking at the availability of current commercial planes. (Like 747's)

Chiton: Ancient Greek maxi-dress. What girls wore.

Why a monastery? Because men live there. And, Hosios Loukas is very beautiful and I hope you all look it up and appreciate it for its artistic and architectural qualities.

BTW, I like men! I like them a lot! But Artemis doesn't, and I couldn't think of anyone else who was really losing out in the modern world. Honestly, though, I like men. That's why the good guys in the story are trying to protect them!

This chapter is really nice and long. The first one was kind of short, but this one is good. Ten pages! Yay!

Theoretically, I could update my sister's, but it has abuse in it, which I think is boring. I could pull the old 'it was all a dream' and start over again. But she wouldn't let me do that.

I guess here's where I tell you to review. REVIEW! I need more than my sister!

Disclaimer: I do not own.

Percy Jackson awoke with a start. He couldn't remember why he'd woken up, but it was very late (or was it early?) and he was tired. The dim light that was always in New York filtered through the shades on his window, making bars that fell in waves over the gentle folds of his sheets. Groggily, he turned his head to peer at his clock. The glowing red letters stood out harshly against the dim light of his room, and it was with bleary eyes that he managed to make out the time: 4:36.

Percy groaned and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep. After a half hour of trying, he knew it was futile. Grudgingly, he left his warm bed and dragged himself over to his desk, where he sat down and proceeded to log on to his laptop. Mr. Blofis, Paul, had gotten him the computer two weeks ago, and Percy had been on it every spare second he got. Annabeth had a computer, too, and Percy had seized the opportunity to become familiar with IM.

Eagerly, or, as eagerly as could be at such an hour, Percy logged on to his IM account and said a brief prayer to Poseidon that Annabeth would be on. He opened one eye warily and, to his delight, saw that she was. Unable to suppress the grin that bloomed on his face, Percy quickly typed a hello to her.

Annabeth, it seemed, was less head-over-heels, and had the prudence to ask Percy why on earth he was awake at this hour.

Percy couldn't think of a good answer to that, so he settled for the truth: "couldn't sleep" Then, he had a flash of genius: "why are you up?"

Annabeth wrote back, again having outsmarted Percy. "I'm still in California. It's only 1 here. And I'm on spring break, so I can stay up."

In his room 2500 miles away from Annabeth, Percy could've slapped himself. Spring break! Of course! Annabeth went to a private school, and their break was later than at Percy's school. Percy had returned to school a few days ago, while Annabeth's break had just started. Percy perked up again. She had told him that she was coming to New York for break to look at colleges.

He typed back: "when are you leaving for here?"

Annabeth responded: "Tomorrow, or, today."

Percy smiled. New York, or anywhere, for that matter, was awfully boring without Annabeth. He, however, was not happy to see that he'd changed the subject of their conversation.

"Have you talked to your dad recently?"

Percy knew she meant Poseidon. He also didn't want to talk about it. He knew that Annabeth blamed herself for what had happened between them, but it really wasn't her fault. She had drawn up plans for all of Olympus, brand new. Unfortunately, Zeus had a fit of power-control, and had rejected changes to the throne room. This had been the central piece of Annabeth's plans, and Zeus's insistence that the throne hall not be changed had left Annabeth very miffed, to say the least.

So, she had asked Percy to help her.

Percy remembered that conversation.

It had been a clear night—a rarity in New York city. Percy had just gotten back from the movies with friends. He walked into the door of the apartment he, his mom, and Mr. Blofis shared. His mom had been in the kitchen, bending over some chicken dish.

"Hi, mom," Percy said. He took off his coat and threw it over the back of a chair.

"Percy, Annabeth called. She wants you to call her back," his mom said, not looking up from whatever she was preparing.

Percy had instantly lit up. He raced to the nearest phone, a corded one in the family room, and flopped down on the couch, already having dialed her number and hearing it cheerfully ring in his ear. A few rings later, Annabeth's golden voice floated through the speaker, making Percy feel like nectar was warming his insides.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Annabeth!"

"Oh, hi Percy."

"I heard you called earlier, what can I do for you?" asked Percy. Anything, anything, he thought, hating that she was all the way on the other end of the continent. Sometimes in history class he would stare at the globe Mr. Lang had on his desk, and imagine how far it was from California to New York. Across many different colors, all of the states, standing between the two like an army, ready to attack from both sides.

"Look, I need to ask a favor," Annabeth said, sounding unsure.

Percy grinned even wider. "Sure," he said. Anything I can do for you miles away, just name it.

And then Annabeth had explained to him how her proposal had been rejected, and how Zeus would not change the throne room at all.

"Oh, Annabeth, I'm so sorry," said Percy, eyebrows knitting together. He leaned against the giant cushy arm of the couch. "I always knew Zeus had power issues, but I didn't think they were this bad," he said.

"Do you think you could ask Poseidon to get my plan approved?" Annabeth had asked.

2500 miles away, in a living room in New York City, Percy's smile fell. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Annabeth?" he asked. "Zeus is like, a god."

"Percy, please?" she asked. And her voice was so sweet that Percy couldn't refuse, he had to say yes.

A week later, Poseidon had appealed to Zeus for Annabeth's plan. Zeus had ridiculed him, in front of all the other Olympians, for bending to the will of his kid's girlfriend. Poseidon had blamed Percy, and had spent an hour yelling at him after the meeting. He had flooded Manhattan for three days afterward, for good measure. And Zeus had struck a power plant, cutting off part of New York's power for five hours. Percy had felt horribly guilty, and Annabeth blamed herself.

On the computer, Annabeth asked again: "Have you talked to Poseidon recently?"

Percy drew a deep breath before responding, "no."

"I'm sorry," wrote Annabeth.

Percy tried to change the subject. "Which schools are you looking at?"

Annabeth began to type: "NYU…"

Percy didn't let her finish. "Are you sure? It's really spread out."

"What do you mean?" typed Annabeth.

An hour later, Percy looked up at his clock. The light outside had changed, and was now a bit lighter. The hazy, mud-brown of the sky was still there, only now with a few tinges of pink. His clock read 6:14. He was going to be late for school if he didn't hurry. Listening closely, Percy could hear Paul rummaging in his closet in his and his mom's bedroom.

"Annabeth, got to get ready for school," Percy wrote.

He shut his laptop without waiting to see her reply. Percy flicked the swithch to turn on the lights in his room, and then followed Paul's lead, rummaging around in his droors for a clean uniform to wear. After not too much searching, he pulled one out, and made it out of his room in time to walk with Paul to school.

They stood at a corner, waiting for the walk signal. There was an awkward silence between Paul and Percy. Paul had been trying to make small talk ever since they left the apartment, and Percy had been unresponsive. It wasn't personal, Percy was just thinking about his dad—his Olympian dad. Being yelled at by Poseidon had been one of the worst experiences of his life—and Percy had had a lot of bad experiences. The humiliation, and the feeling that he had let him down had ridden on Percy's shoulders for weeks afterward, and were still there.

Paul Blofis was used to Percy staring into space. He seemed, to him, like a real quiet kid. Thoughtful, meditative. So, when Percy refused to respond to any of Paul's attempts to make conversation, Paul ignored it. Still, he was somewhat relieved when his cell phone rang, and broke the heavy silence that had descended over the pair.

"Paul Blofis," he answered. He jerked the phone from his ear when the microphone immediately filled with sounds of wailing. High-pitched, loud wailing. He fumbled with the volume button, adjusting it to as low as it would go. Then, gingerly, he put the phone back to his ear. "Hello?"

"Paul!" wailed the voice on the other end. It sounded like a woman. More sobs followed.

"Hello? Who is this?" asked Paul, ready to hang up. Percy was giving his a questioning look.

"I-it's A-A-Alina!" she cried through the phone.

"Alina Thomas? From school?" Asked Paul. Mrs. Thomas was the Art History teacher where he taught. She was known for being very emotional about art, and, really anything.

Paul walked forward as Percy tugged on his arm. He looked up briefly. The crossing sign had changed from the red hand to the white walking man. Paul stumbled a little stepping down from the curb onto the street and he saw Percy roll his eyes out of the corner of his eye. Paul winked at him in return.

"Y-y-eeessss," moaned Alina. "Paul! It's it's G-GONE!" she wailed, initiating a fresh bout of sobbing.

Paul frowned. Alina was very annoying. Percy was now showing signs of wanting to talk to him, and he didn't want to blow this opportunity to figure out what went on in that boy's head. "What's gone?" he pressed, impatiently, eager to get Alina off the phone.

"Hosios Loukas!" She dissolved into tears again, and, frustrated, Paul told her he had to go and then hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Percy.

"Mrs. Thomas," responded Paul.

"What did she want?" Percy wanted to know.

"Something happened to some piece of art. I'm not sure, but she's really upset about it," he said.

Percy made a face. "I am so glad I'm not taking her class," he said.

"Yeah, you know she takes attendance very seriously," said Paul, somewhat bitterly. He regretted it the instant the words were out of his mouth. "Percy, I didn't mean…" but it was too late, the damage was already done. Percy had turned, and was no longer looking at Paul, but off into a distance that Paul couldn't see. Paul knew he was being tuned out, but he deserved it. He told himself that Percy probably had a good excuse for missing so much school, after all, Sally seemed to thing he did. And, though Paul, what's good enough for Sally is good enough for me.

Paul sighed, and concentrated on walking. He'd blown it, again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Percy sat in Greek class, ignoring the teacher. He had been delighted to discover that his school offered Greek. It was the only class he could really sleep in and still get an A. The course was half modern and half ancient, but the teacher really didn't care which the students used, so long as they learned something. Now, Percy pulled the map of the United States out of his pocket that he'd clipped out of a newspaper article. He had carefully marked where Annabeth lived, and where he lived.

He couldn't have picked two points further apart from each other. There was a whole continent between them. Percy put the map away, dismayed. He knew it was irrational, looking at the map, imagining the distance. It only made him depressed, and Percy didn't like to mope.

He tuned in for a moment to what his teacher was saying. "Let's talk about modern stuff!" he said, desperately trying to get the class's interest. "Um, today, who knows what happened?"

Nobody raised their hand.

"A medieval Greek monastery, Hosios Loukas, burned."

Somebody raised their hand. The teacher called on them, almost too quickly, betraying the teacher's desperation. "Mrs. Thomas was crying about that today. Isn't it, like, stone?"

"Yeah," the teacher nodded his head up and down repeatedly. "But they kept gasoline there for travelers and it exploded," he said.

There was a bit of excited murmuring. Explosions were far more interesting than Greek.

A girl raised her hand and was called upon. "Did anybody get hurt?"

"There weren't any survivors," said the teacher.

"None?" she asked, in disbelief.

"None," the teacher affirmed.

The rest of the school day was hideously boring for Percy, the only bright spot was the sight of Paul, while Percy was walking to English. Paul was walking to class, his arms full of books, trying desperately to balance them while being accosted by Mrs. Thomas, who was wailing and flailing around like a goalie.

Paul liked to stay after school, and today he had a staff meeting, so Percy was left, as usual, to walk home alone. He was glad to be alone, finally, after school, and was relieved to not have to spend more one-on-one time with Mr. Blofis.

He walked home in a daze, barely taking in his surroundings, thinking of Annabeth and trusting that he knew the route well enough for his feet to take him there. On a corner beside a small church, however, he stopped. The air had changed. What had been, just minutes before, a bright, sunny, and cheerful day, was now dark and stormy. Percy looked up at the sky, his eyes going wide. Oh, no, he thought.

The sky was a sickly green color, with thick, gray clouds swirling about. Lightning flickered among them, occasionally striking the ground in the distance. Thunder rumbled ominously, like a warning growled by the gods.

It probably was a warning from the gods, thought Percy. The realization that he was in a lot of danger suddenly occurred to him. He thought, furtively, of somewhere he would be safe and came up with nowhere. Well, maybe not nowhere. Percy said a quick prayer to Poseidon, hoping he still liked him enough to at least not want him dead, and took off at a dead run towards central park.