The fisherman and the doctor wasted no time in getting to the hospital room. Despite the composure she had developed over the years, the doctor couldn't help but slowly edge away from the fisherman. Under the circumstances, no one would have blamed her, mortal or otherwise. The man's presence was becoming palatable again. With each step it seemed that a giant wave was crashing down onto a little beach village. The doctor frowned as she used this metaphor. That wouldn't be the type of thing she would have said under any circumstances. In fact, she had never used any simile or metaphor to do with the any large body of water. She suffered from sea sickness. And had the man she was walking with known that, his effect on her would have been a million fold. After all, you just don't tell the Sea God you get sea sick. That just won't do. It won't do at all.

What can anyone tell you about a general hospital? It's big, it's old, it's ugly, it smells of drugs and somehow, despite all the new laws, legislations and incentives the government uses, it's always understaffed. That's democracy for you. So I don't think anyone will be surprised when they find out that the entire basement of the hospital flooded because of some "rusted" pipes. The hospital had to spend thousands of dollars on repairs, and because some intensive care patients' lives depended on a fully functioning hospital, thousands more were spent paying patients' paying off the patient's litigation charges. That's U.S.A for you. The only place where money is valued more than lives … or rather where lives are valued in terms of money … or whatever.

As of now, the two new parents were embracing the child, nearly choking him to death, and the only thing doctor could think at that moment was the calming sound of waves crashing onto a rocky shore, the sound gulls overhead, and the salty smell of the sea. Again, she mentally shook herself of those strange thoughts. It was … unusual to have calming thoughts that could also cause you to have nausea and vomit at the same time. She took this chance to prattle on about the baby's specifics, and then left them to own company. It was only ten second later when she heard a scream. Rushing back to the room, she opened the door, heart thudding with fear. What she saw inside made her faint where she stood, and a moment later it also made a matron who had been passing by sink to the floor because of all his legs had become to shaky to support his rather bulky frame. And what was it they saw that reduced them to this state? Well, that's answered easily.

The entire room was covered in blood, blood they knew amounted to at least 20 pints. A human body only has 8 pints. That meant that two people were dead, and one in critical condition. But both of them were season medics, and a little blood wouldn't have gotten in the way of the duty they were required to perform. No, the only reason was they allowed this lapse in protocol was that under all those bloody sheets, wallpaper and damaged machinery; the room was absolutely empty …

Annabeth slowly walked downhill. She had been depressed ever since she came back, and now that news of the last mission as a failure had leaked, she was even more so. This had been the last chance. Chiron had given in grudgingly, saying that if something went wrong this time, missions would be suspended indefinitely. He said they were all just too young and lacked the training necessary to survive monsters. As it was, three had been seriously injured, and one had nearly died had it not been for Chiron's own medical expertise. He was now lying in critical condition, facing a slow recovery. The sloth-demons they had encountered were more numerous and more powerful than expected. Only Luke's guidance, fighting experience and unwavering command had gotten them all out alive, if barely. She felt her chest swell with pride … and something else, but today she didn't feel inclined to pursue those feelings. Losing out on missions was just too much for her to handle in one day.

She made her way to the arena, and watched Clarisse pounding some Demeter kids to the ground in the palaestrae. She considered joining to vent some of her emotions and also to give Clarisse someone her own size to pick on, but then remembered that she wanted to speak to Chiron. Something had been bothering her for a long time now, and after what had happened previously, she couldn't keep it to herself anymore. She had thought of telling Chris or Luke, but she didn't want to sound whiny in front of them so she had opted for the lovable centaur instead. She just stared blankly at the people training below, her heart undecided. She kept running through all her past memories, and the more she gave thought to it, the more the ache in her heart increased. And yet she couldn't go back on what she had said. It was all so confusing!

She stood up suddenly, determined to get these feelings off her chest. She rushed down the stairs to the ground, and even ignored Clarisse when Clarisse said, "Running away, Wise Girl?" If she didn't resolve this now, she would be forever wracked with guilt. She jogged to the main house, and found Chiron alone on the porch, reading a book and sitting in his magic wheelchair. He didn't acknowledge her as she sat down next to him, and his only response when she cleared her throat loudly was, "Mr. D will be back very soon. You know he doesn't like it when someone sits in his chair." Annabeth squared her shoulders and said, "I need to speak to you, Chiron." Chiron lowered his book and to her amazement, he was smiling.

"I was expecting this conversation to pop up one of these days," he said.

"You were?" she said, now nervous.

"It's about Percy, correct?" She nodded mutely. Chiron sighed.

"I thought as much," he muttered. He was quiet for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts.

"Percy's case is … complicated." Chiron stopped again, frowning. He opened and closed his mouth several times, obviously trying to regain his tongue.

"Who's Percy? Is he the kid that yesterday's teams met near Montauk? And is it true that he ran from the fight when his dear mommy was killed?" Both Chiron and Annabeth started and looked toward the front door to see who had been eavesdropping on them. Annabeth wasn't at all surprised to see that annoying little kid, Keith or whatever his name was.

"What do you want?" she asked aggressively.

"Annabeth," Chiron chided. Annabeth gave the kid a filthy look before looking away.

"Keith," Chiron said, "I hear your grades are dropping, especially in your archery lessons. Perhaps if you spent more time practicing, you'd give your father reason to be happy." The barely veiled threat instantly made Keith stand straighter, and with a filthy look at the two of them, he marched down the porch stairs and toward the range.

"Heroes these days," Chiron muttered, shaking his head. "Back in the day …" Chiron didn't bother to finish the sentence. Instead, he turned back to Annabeth and smiled.

"Things used to be simpler back then."

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not changing the subject. Percy's is one case that is very complicated, though it shouldn't have been." Again, Chiron paused, and this time Annabeth had to wonder if he was stalling until Mr. D showed up or if he was thinking up some lies. She wouldn't put it past a guy who loved to mentally torture his pupils. Chiron put a marker on the page he had been reading and then put the book aside. He rested back in his seat and looked at the sky.

"Percy was the most untalented hero to come this way. You know all this; he was in your team. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't develop any abilities. He couldn't even mould chakra, something even a five year old can do. He -" Annabeth cut Chiron off, he face livid.

"What are you trying to hide? I already know all this! We were in the same class!" Then Chiron did something Annabeth wouldn't have expected. He smiled.

"I'm not saying this for your benefit. I'm saying this for Sam's benefit." Annabeth frowned.

"Sam? What has Sam got to do with anything? Surely you're not saying that he's been here all the time …" Annabeth suddenly stood up and looked all around the porch but couldn't find Sam. She suddenly heard a chuckle from above her. She looked up and saw Sam vault onto the porch from the side of the roof. That's where he'd been listening in on them from. The roof. She shot daggers at him. He held up his hands apologetically.

"You've been on a war path these past few days. I just wanted to find out what was wrong with you is all." Annabeth simply looked at him, not answering.

"Calm down children," Chiron said. "Now, as your team mate, I think he deserves to know the history of Team 7." Annabeth looked away, fuming silently. Chiron gazed at her for a few seconds, but she just ignored both of them. He shook his head and turned back to Sam.

"Percy Jackson," Chiron said. "A half-blood, though no one knew who his god-father was. His mother absolutely refused to tell anyone who it was, for whatever reason, the gods know why. He was as the least talented hero I have ever come upon, and bare in mind I taught Telamonian Ajax."

"Ajax the Great?" asked Sam. "I thought he was one of the greatest heroes ever."

"He was," Chiron, "but only after years of hammering that big skull of his. It took me over a decade to teach him proper strategy, and even after that he was the dimmest commander you could ever come upon in the Trojan War. Still, he was a great fighter, only second to Achilles, and I suppose it was muscle rather than brain that meant survival." Chiron sniffed a little, just enough to let his opinion be known on such a matter.

"Anyway," he continued, "he possessed no natural talents. He could not mould chakra, which immediately meant he could not do any illusionary techniques or any elemental techniques like the rest of you. The only thing left for him was taijutsu, hand-to-hand combat, and weaponry, but his mastery of those aspects was sketchy at best. So in the end all I could do for him was give him extra lesson with Gai, but even those weren't enough for him to keep up with the rest of his class. With such massive disadvantages, he always lost to anyone he challenged. I'm not trying to put him in a bad light. The lad tried his best. He always practiced every chance he got. He put his heart and soul into those arts he was capable of mastering, but he just couldn't match up. Besides, this is the most talented class we've ever had at camp. There was simply no way hard work could overcome genius, but he wouldn't accept that -"

"And neither does Gai," added Sam. Chiron smiled.

"This is exactly why I scheduled extra classes with Gai. They are remarkably similar, Percy and Gai. Anyway, the Chunin exams came, and Percy did very well in the first two tests. In fact, in the first written exam, his mark was only second to Annabeth's. And in the second exam he managed to find the other scroll he needed on the second day. It was only in the preliminary matches that things went wrong. He was matched up with Luke, Chris, Clarisse and even some of the Apollo kids. He never stood a chance. Each match he was either grievously wounded or an inch from death. His mother decided she had had enough then. She pulled him out of camp. We tried to persuade her otherwise, but she said that being the "bottom feeder" was depressing Percy into fits of rage, and besides, she could protect him if some monsters came."

"What happened," Sam asked in a hushed voice.

"She found a sorcerer, the gods know where, and had Percy's memories of camp, of his entire life basically, removed. He no longer had to put himself in life or death training to match up with the other kids, and he could go to a normal school and live as normally as possible." Chiron heaved a great sigh and looked toward the camp's borders, deep in thought.

"So that's what's been bothering Annabeth," Sam said. "Looking into someone's eyes you have known for your entire life, and him not being able to recognize you. Ouch."

"Only four years, actually," Annabeth suddenly said. "I came to camp when I was six."

"Really?" Sam asked, intrigued. She rarely talked about her past. "Why did you come here?"
"That," she said, standing up, "is none of your business, half-brother." With that, she turned round and walked back to the cabin they both shared, Athena's.