Hey guys. Sorry about the cliff hangers accompanied by not updating in forever. I know it's annoying (in a kind of fun way, I know the feeling. I get it from reading Dancing-StarryEyedDemigod's work. I think she (I think she's a she… haha wow I don't even know :P) is my favorite author on FanFic :P I hope she was okay with me saying that haha :P) but I haven't even been home much, and when I have it's been busy. I mean I'm always busy, with Tae-Kwon-Do, Church and 2 youth groups, Girl Scouts (yes, yes I am a bit old to still be in G.S.), friends, school, and having recently gotten my first job. But things are extra busy as my grandma is dying of Breast Cancer, accompanied by Alzheimers (which is total crap, btw.). So… I felt the need to tell you cuz nothing else is a legitimate excuse for how much I've neglected you :P Haha :P Anyway, on to solve that little cliffy I gave you. It was a killer one, huh?

Oops. :P

Do I use too many cliffhangers or is it ok? Feedback please :)

Annabeth's POV, by the way. :P

3

Percy and I were… alright fine I'm going to be brutally honest. Percy and I were making out when the best day of my life got slightly screwed up. Nothing could have completely countered that day, though. Seriously, best day of my life.

But when a dark form jumped over us and landed in front of us, I had flashbacks of five years before, and I knew that was the intent.

"Luke," I snarled, detaching myself from Percy.

"Annabeth," he said, too sweetly. "You look amazing."

He started walking towards us and reached down the brush his hand along my cheek. I knew Percy was just letting him get close, but I had no idea how fast he could be. Somehow Percy had thrown me behind him and gotten up, Riptide in sword form and in hand, and was behind Luke with the sword poised in front of his throat. I could see the faint confusion on Luke's face. He wasn't used to being beaten, but then again Percy was the first camper to disarm him on their first day sword fighting. He should have expected it. Percy stood behind Luke, not even panting, and I could only watch from the ground. I gathered up my strength and walked over to Luke, who couldn't even flinch, the blade was so close to his throat.

I walked over, wrapping the cardigan around me and crossing my arms, feeling self conscious with Luke looking at me.

"Luke," Percy and I said simultaneously. I let him go first. "Luke, you got a thing for Annabeth now?"

"Now and always," he replied.

"Ha," I scoffed. "Not always. Not when I wanted it. Not when I didn't. But now, when I would consider killing you for it, suddenly I'm incredible? No way, Luke."

I did the only thing I could think of. I slapped him across the scarred side of his face.

"Ouch," Percy taunted. I glared daggers at Luke, still recoiling from my slap. He looked back up, flipped his hair out if his face, and glared straight back.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth…" he began. "You should know better."

"Why should I know better than to slap a jerk like you? Luke, I liked you once. Liked. I've never loved anyone the way I love Percy. You never truly had a chance. Go away and get a life. I'm sure there's some disgusting, Kronos-loving jerk who's perfect for you. But seriously, give it up, because I'll kill you before I'll even like you again. In any way. Just go."

Luke stared at me and I knew what I was saying was going in one ear and out the other.

"Luke," Percy began, and suddenly I had a bad feeling. "Luke, you really shouldn't be hitting on my fiancé."

Bad thing to say.

"Perseus Jackson. You. Will. Die."

Luke spun and lunged with his sword, but Percy was quicker. He jumped back, did a backward somersault, and landed in the ocean.

Luke's chance was gone.

Percy stood up, letting himself stay wet, and ran to Luke, slashing out with Riptide. Luke's sword, Backbiter, glistened eerily in the moonlight, like only a weapon could. I stared at them, unable to comprehend that this stupid rivalry could still be going after ten years, and all over me.

Soon it was flipped around and Percy was on the sand side instead of water. I knew, of course, that that would make him insecure. But he usually compensates. Then next thing I knew Luke had jumped and Percy had dodged, but not quite enough, leaving a gash in his arm stretching along his bicep, almost all the way from shoulder the elbow. Percy's winced in pain and fell back, trying to catch himself in his right arm, the injured one, and falling back, therefore filling the gash with sand. Something as small as that might seem like nothing to a Demigod, but seriously, that hurts no matter who you are. Percy looked up at Luke and through the pain, I saw hatred burning in his eyes.

Mine burned with a passionate hatred. Luke would die.

I lifted my dress to halfway up my thigh and uncovered my knife, strapped to my leg (I know, it's kind of reminiscent of movies where the heroine is simply the hot girl in the background, but I couldn't think of another way). I whipped it out and leaped at Luke in an attempt to stab him. He spun and his sword barely caught my forehead, leaving a thin gash a few inches long. I barely felt it through the pain of having seen Percy in pain, no matter how minor it was compared to other things we'd been through.

"Luke Castellan, Percy is not going anywhere. You will die."

Luke looked at me and his eyes glistened, sparkling with the power of knowing something that we didn't, the feeling of being on top of the sick game that this was.

"Ah, my dear Annabeth, that is where you are wrong."

He stepped toward me again and reached out to caress my cheek with his hand. I struck without thinking and cut his hand off, blood pouring out in front of us. He screamed in agony and caught his hand (ew) with his still attached hand.

It was one of the grossest things I'd ever seen and that is saying something.

"Luke, I've never said this and meant it, but seriously: go die in a hole." I jumped at him to strike again and he dissipated in yellow dust like most monsters. There was only one explanation: someone powerful was still on his side.

I was standing there panting and shaking in disbelief that I had cut someone's hand off. I was almost disgusted with myself, even though I knew he deserved it. But I was still shaking. Someone once said you can live with anything if you don't think about it too hard. But how can you now think about that? All that blood… and I've seen a lot of carnage, seriously. But usually when I'd killed people… well first off, most of them weren't people, which made it easier (as sick as that is). But also, I'm a good shot; I usually make it quick and less painful. But Luke… all that blood…

I was crying before I knew it and Percy was behind me, wrapping his uninjured arm around me and comforting me, swiping my hair around to one side my head and kissing my cheek, my neck, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me backward in against his warm body, knowing I felt safe there. Soon I stopped crying and I realized how dumb it was. It's not like I had killed him. I just cut his hand off. Whatever. He didn't need his left hand, anyway.

"Okay, I'm okay," I told him, telling him my revelation that I shouldn't feel bad. He agreed. Suddenly he winced in pain and I realized that we hadn't done anything for that arm yet.

"Come on Percy," I said, grabbing his hand (on the non-injured arm, of course) and dragging him off. We'd pick up our stuff in a few minutes, after his arm was bandaged and Chiron was alerted of Luke's return.

Chiron couldn't believe it at first, and once he thought about it… well, of course he could believe it.

"Chiron, what are we supposed to do?" Percy asked as an Apollo camper cleaned and bandaged his wound. It must have hurt even worse than it looked like it did, because he kept wincing, and he's generally rather silent about pain. I held his hand and hoped I was helping some. I looked at his face and he was mostly at peace, closing his eyes to try and not watch, but I knew he was still in pain. I turned and kissed him gently, the Apollo camper laughing a bit. I laughed at him and turned back to Chiron.

"Well, of course I would allow you to move in to Camp," he began. "But I have this feeling that wouldn't be very safe for the campers. You could go to Olympus, but that would only make Luke madder. You could go to Percy's dad's palace, but that's too obvious. Obvious-ness goes along with the other options as well, I suppose. The only thing I can think of is to go into hiding."

I looked at Percy, who's eyes were wide open now. Our eyes met and I remembered I was supposed to be communicating with him about something, but suddenly his seaweed green eyes had the control and I was swimming in memories of him and the realization that I was the lucky girl who got to marry him.

"Annabeth!" Chiron almost yelled. I snapped out of it finally and turned to face him.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. I was becoming so girly and not me. Weird.

"Percy, what do you think?" I said, turning to him, with a clear head this time.

"Well… alright. But we have to tell my mom we're disappearing. She'll be anxious because she was kind of excited in anticipation of… you know…"

"We'll go to her house on the way to… wherever. Alright Chiron," I said skeptically. I was not excited about running away. But whatever. "We'll do it." It seemed like the only way.

"I'll start finding people – or centaurs, or other creatures… – who will help you on your way. Now where would Demigods not go…"

Percy and I looked at each other and knew immediately.

"San Francisco."

I'd better stop before this gets insanely long. It's just I finally know where I'm going with this! Haha :) Hope I'm doing ok! Hopefully I'll be back soon, too. I'm gonna see if I can go write an Interview now. Bye!