I can NOT stop writing. Oh my gosh! So, anyway. Chapter four. It's here. Four chapters in two days? I feel like a badass :D

Reviewers:

Snowstar: Maybe you'll seeeeee :)

eac12897: I think your comments are my favorite. Maybe. Definitely top three :)

lala22: I was thinking about doing that, but in Athena's point of view only.

Percaabeth lover: Ahhh, sorry I made you cry! But I'm glad you enjoy it :)

HotChocolate in the Summer: Awww, poor Magic Cat. -gives MC ambrosia- Don't worry, she doesn't commit suicide. Or does she? -dramatic music-

Aqueendia- CORI! Thank you :D

.jesus: Ohhh my gosh, thank you! You made me wanna cry. So... -high five-

Kilo 'E' Prowers: -screams- OKAY, OKAY! No need to get aggressive! -hands you next chapter- WEEEEEE :D

Disclaimer: -sigh- I don't own Percy Jackson... If I did, he and Annabeth would have gotten together after he saved her life.

"Travis, please! I'm begging you, just get me some ambrosia and nectar from the camp store. I don't care how you get it, I just need it!" Annabeth is prepared to get down on her hands and knees, but apparently the wide grey eye thing works, because Travis Stoll concedes warily.

"Fine, I'll get you some. But," he grins, and Annabeth knows she won't like what he has to say next, "You have to tell me why you need it!"

Annabeth sighs; she had been hoping to avoid this. She bites her lip and looks out at Long Island sound, her eyes distant. "I'm going on an unofficial quest, and... Chances are I'm going to get hurt in the process. So I'm getting all the healing supplies I can get my hands on." It looks like he's going to interrogate further and she raises a hand to stop him. "Look, I can't tell you anything else. It's better for both of us that way, okay?"

"Annabeth, just tell me... Are you... Are you sure you're ready to be on a quest already? I mean, you haven't done a quest without Percy before... Are you sure you can handle it alone?" Travis asks, and something in Annabeth snaps; she is so sick of all the campers pitying her, treating her like a delicate doll. She was upset, yes, but she was also hell-bent.

"Of course I'm ready!" she snaps, throwing her hands up in frustration, "Gods, why the hell is everyone treating me like I'm about to break down crying? I can handle myself, Travis, I don't need you looking after me!"

Her yells are so loud that the silence after the resonating scream is deafening, and Annabeth fidgets awkwardly before continuing.

"I just don't need to be babied," she says, and her tone is less harsh, but not at all kind. "All the campers are staring at me, pitying me, and damn, I'm sick of it. I just... I finally reached my boiling point. So please. Get me the ambrosia and nectar. I will pay you back soon, I just... I need it now."

As Annabeth says this, she realizes she might not be able to pay him back. This quest was the single most dangerous, risky thing she had planned to date. Nobody brought people back from the dead. Nobody. So why should Annabeth be any different? At the thought of failing, Annabeth's chest constricts. No, she can't fail. She refuses to fail.

"Okay... I'm, er... I'm sorry?" He sounds unsure when he says it, as though afraid she might snap his neck if he says the wrong thing.

"Don't be sorry," Annabeth sighs, rubbing the back of her neck as she stares down at her worn grey sneakers, trying to collect herself. She might never see Travis again; she can't keep snapping at him. It wasn't the way she wants to be remembered. "I'm gonna miss you, you know. If I don't come back. Let's just hope I do." 'And let's hope I have Percy with me,' she thinks, staring out at the ocean once more. The color has been greener than usual, and Annabeth can't help but be reminded of Percy's intense eyes, the way that they made her blush every time they connected with her own. The way they always looked to her if he was confused, and how they always managed to make her feel like the most adored person on the planet.

"Gods, Annabeth, where are you going that's so dangerous?" Travis asks. Annabeth swallows the giant lump in her throat and turns back to face the child of Hermes, tears filling her eyes. 'I'm really going to miss him,' she thinks, trying to blink back tears. 'Gods, I'm going to miss everybody. Is this really worth it?'

Percy's face flashes through her mind, and she's sure that yes, this is worth it. Percy is worth everything to her. 'Stupid Seaweed Brain,' she thinks, though she isn't really angry, 'Why did you have to go and become important in my life?'

She swears, she can hear Percy laugh and say, 'Wise Girl, I had no choice. Trust me.' She places her hand on her stomach, at the gaping wound that seems to be getting worse and worse everyday, before looking back up at Travis.

"I can't tell you," she repeats, "I wish I could, but... You wouldn't understand. And it's kind of confidential."

Travis nods unsurely and walks in the direction of the camp store, leaving Annabeth to check her bag to make sure she has everything she needs. She doesn't dare fly all the way to Los Angeles, so she has a bus pass, two hundred human dollars in mortal money, forty golden drachmas (stolen from the Ares cabin), a change of clothes, her bronze knife (which had mysteriously appeared on her bunk with a note that said 'You'll be needing this), her New York Yankees cap, and a mortal first-aid kit, all stuffed into an olive green canvas bag. She sits down on a rock near the woods and stares up at the clouds, trying to look for random shapes in them while she waits for Travis. Unfortunately, the only thing her mind can find is tridents, so she quickly quits that task and instead finds great interest in staring at her cuticles.

As she stares down at her hands, she fails to notice Nico di Angelo appearing from the shadows, his face gaunt as he stares down at Annabeth. A small smile appears on his face as he reaches out and grabs Annabeth by the shoulder, laughing loudly when she screams and jumps about a foot in the air. She whirls around to face him, her face contorted in anger.

"Never do that again, Nico!" she snaps, her hand clutched over her heart as she gasps for breath. 'Stupid son of Hades, popping out and scaring people all the time,' she thinks bitterly as Nico ignores her, laughing too hard to comment on her reaction. Once he finally calms down, he offers an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Annabeth, I couldn't resist!" he chuckles, his arms clutching his stomach; he had probably gotten a stitch in his side from laughing so much. "I mean, come on! You were just sitting there! It was perfect!"

"Very funny. I'm going to get you back for that," she threatens. 'Maybe'. She sits back down and gestures for him to join her; she at least wants company while Travis raids the camp store.

"Sure you are, if you come back alive," he says casually, leaning back on his hands. Annabeth stares at him in shock, her heart racing as the back of her neck starts to sweat. She quickly controls herself and crosses her arms over her chest defiantly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lies. She digs her fingernails into her arm, re-opening the almost healed wounds that marred her tan skin. Her heart is pounding so fast she wonders if it might explode, and Nico's next response sends it into overdrive.

"You're going to try and bring Percy back. I'm not stupid, Annabeth. I mean, going on a mysterious quest, not telling anyone, telling Travis you might not come back. You're going to the Underworld, and... This is the dumbest thing you've ever done," Nico says, his eyebrow raised in a silent challenge: he was daring her to lie to him. She opens her mouth, a perfectly-formulated lie on the tip of her tongue, but she sags and tells him the truth.

"Okay, so I am. Don't try to stop me," she snaps.

"Oh, I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to help you."

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