Hi guys! Back with another chapter! - Spathi


December 2nd, 2010

7:00 A.M (Around 8 hours after the last chapter)

Annnabeth's P.O.V

He's gone. He's gone and he's not coming back. That's the only thing I can think of as I sit on my bed in Cabin 6. I'd been sitting there since he left, still in my CHB T-shirt and jeans. What makes it worse is that he didn't do it because he was overcome with grief. He didn't do it because the rest of the seven, Reyna, and Calypso turned their back on him. He didn't even do it out of fear for his own life. He did it to protect those he cared about. He did it because of his stupid fatal flaw. Percy couldn't even be a little selfish and take me with him because he wanted my life to be as good as possible. He didn't even care about the fact that his life would pretty much suck more than it already does. I sigh. Stupid Seaweed Brain. Around me, my siblings sleep peacefully, oblivious to my pain. There are no children of Minerva, but I know that in every other cabin, Roman demigods are bunking up with their godly parent's Greek children. I'm suddenly extremely glad I'm not a daughter of Aphrodite/Venus, Apollo, or Hermes/Mercury. I remember how crowded it was in Cabin 11 when the gods weren't claiming their children. It's a good thing Percy made them promise on the River Styx to do so. Percy made me promise on the Styx to try my best to move on. But it's going to be hard. He's been a constant in my life for so long that without him, it feels like there's something missing. No matter what I think about, my brain always goes back to him. It's no use trying to think about something else, so I continue thinking about Percy's choice. At 8:00, the alarm clocks in the cabin go off, and my siblings wake up. I run a brush through my hair, wash the dried tears from my face, and get ready for the day. Once I'm ready, I grab my Yankees cap, strap my knife to my wrist, and start walking to the amphitheater for breakfast. At breakfast, everyone notices that Percy's gone. Every couple of seconds, someone glances at the Poseidon table, then at the cabins, as if they're expecting Percy to burst out of Cabin 3 and sprint over here. After breakfast, I see the rest of the seven, Reyna, and Calypso walking towards Percy's cabin. I pull my invisibility hat on, and follow them. Jason bangs on the door.

"Oi. Jackson. Come out of the cabin. You missed breakfast.", he says with a harsh tone. Obviously, there is no answer. Reyna raps on the door again.

"C'mon Jackson. Come out of the cabin. You obviously don't care about Sally and Paul's death, seeing as you killed them, so I don't know why you're moping.", Leo says, rolling his eyes.

"Guys, maybe he's asleep. And he could have killed his parents because he went insane from Tartarus. Maybe that's why he looked so shocked when he heard the news." Frank suggested. I glare at them. They don't know him at all. Granted, no one knows him like I do, but still. Percy's either the strongest person I've ever met, or the most stubborn. Probably the latter. Percy absolutely refuses to do anything he doesn't want to, and that includes going insane. What's his catchphrase again? Oh yeah. The sea doesn't like to be restrained. I miss him so much. While I think about Percy's endearing stubbornness, the rest of the seven, Reyna, and Calypso have kept trying to get into Percy's cabin, to no avail. They try to open the door, but I locked it last night after I left. Finally, Jason growls in frustration.

"Screw it. I'm breaking the door down." He backs up a few steps, and shoulder-slams the door, making it pop open. He storms angrily inside (no pun intended), and stops in his tracks once he takes a look at the cabin.

"Jason?", Piper asks tentatively. The rest of the group walks inside, and I follow. I lean on the doorframe and struggle not to laugh as every one of their faces expresses complete bewilderment.

"Where is he?", Hazel asks, her eyes full of worry. I snort mentally. Didn't they turn their backs on him just yesterday? Yeah, I get that they misunderstood him, but seriously. They have no right to worry for him after they essentially unfriended him. I take my cap off and glare at their backs.

"He's long gone.", I say. I fight to keep a straight face as the group jumps and whips around to face me. Immediately, their faces turn to dislike. I laugh out loud.

"What gives, guys? I thought we were friends.", I comment, with a mock hurt expression on my face.

"Enough games, Chase. Where's Jackson.", Reyna snarls. I sneer at her.

"You guys are all imbeciles. You come up with such piffle about Percy, and then you have the audacity to not ask for his side of the story? You guys are great friends.", I growled.

"He killed his mother and step-father. What else is there to know?", Leo says. I scoff at him.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe that his fatal flaw is personal loyalty, so he'd never do that? Maybe that he'd blame himself for their deaths anyways, because a monster could have done it as revenge towards him? Maybe that he wouldn't swear on the Styx because he thinks he can't say for sure that it wasn't his fault? Maybe that he actually cares for all of you deeply? Oh, but it's not like any of that's important anyways. It doesn't matter whatsoever.", I snap sarcastically. The entire group looks horrified.

"Annabeth?" Calypso asks.

"Where is Percy?" I turn towards her and sigh.

"He left camp at around midnight. Apparently, he had a dream of the Olympian council. They don't know he's innocent, and some were contemplating killing him. He told me that since they wouldn't ever kill him outright, they'd probably send some powerful monsters after him. Percy left to protect the camp from danger. He also realized that staying would make the entire camp hate me for associating with him. I couldn't even go with him because he wants me to try to have a happy life and move on. Percy made me swear on the River Styx to do so." I say, my eyes filling with tears. Jason, Leo, and Reyna look extremely guilty and horrified at their own actions. Hazel, Calypso, and Piper are near tears, and Frank is in shock.

"But where is he going?", Frank says. I look at the shapeshifter with solemn eyes.

"I don't know.", I whisper.

Hazel sobs, and Frank immediately goes to embrace her.

"Shhh. It's okay. It's going to be alright.", he says.

"But we turned our backs on him. We didn't even try to listen to his side of the story.", she sobs.

Leo looks down at his feet.

"I didn't mean to get so mad at him. I feel like such a hypocrite. I thought I had killed my own mom, but it was Gaea's fault, not mine. I got over it once I realized that. But you said that his fatal flaw is personal loyalty. So that means that..." his eyes widen in horror.

"It means that no matter what anyone says or does, a small part of him will always blame himself for anything that goes wrong. He may accepted that those situations weren't his fault, but it always comes back to haunt him when he's feeling down. Like, a couple years ago, he blamed himself for the death of Nico's sister, Bianca di Angelo. And he also blamed himself for the deaths of Charles Beckendorf , son of Hephaestus, and Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, during the Titan war. Leo, Piper, you've heard of them, right?", I watch them nod in affirmation.

"Percy knew Bianca?", Hazel asks.

"Yes, he and Grover brought her and Nico to camp. He accompanied Bianca on her first quest after she joined the hunters. The quest was to save myself and Lady Artemis. They were headed to Mt. Tam when they ran into Talos. Percy saw a way to defeat Talos and told Bianca his plan so she could cover him. Instead, she sacrificed herself to bring down the metal giant." Talking about Percy makes me feel better.

"Guys. We have to find him." Jason yells. I shake my head.

"Jason, that's not a good idea. I want him back here as well, but he'd never agree to come back with us unless his name was cleared and the gods decided not to try to kill him. He's too stubborn to do anything otherwise. Percy's stubbornness is what got him out of the pit alive and sane, not to mention gave him the willpower to hold up the sky for me when he was 14. His stubbornness gave him the courage to stand up to gods, titans, and primordials alike, what makes you think that we can convince him to back down?", I reason. Jason sighs and stares at his hands. The entire group looks discouraged. I try to cheer them up.

"If we do manage to find out who did it, and clear his name, we could convince the gods not to try and kill him. Then it's only a matter of locating him, and bringing him back.", I say.

"Then again, that last part's hard enough to do without him consciously trying to avoid us.", Jason replies.

"True. If we can't do that, then all we can do is wait.", Reyna responds. I nod. All good things come with time, after all.


On the other side of the world, on a beach in Greece

A lone teenager walks along the beach. His sea green eyes flash in the darkness.

"This is going to be sooo fun.", he grumbles. He stops, gazes at the moon, and then turns around and vanishes into the night.

The trees stir and grass trembles, but there is no wind. Suddenly, a titan's burden lessens, and everything in nature is still. Time is suspended.

The wind whispers: Brace yourself.

A second later, everything goes back to normal, as if nothing happened.


How'd you like it? Review and tell me! - Spathi