A/N: Hey! This is such an important chapter! Percy goes crazy! But more on that later!

*DISCLOSER* Yep still no ownership!

Thalia

Percy didn't move, not even noticing my presents. I just stood there. The sunset was very pretty, but it didn't seem so important any more. Nothing seemed important anymore; not even the soft pink sky, bright orange streaks, and the deepening purple sky that seemed so different from New York's. Looking into the depths of the orange rays, I recall the last few hours.

It took about four hours to locate Percy. Grover, I, and a few people from Camp Jupiter were combing the western coast to fine him. I was getting updates ever few minutes from the search crew. I knew Percy, but not a heart broken one. I had a gut feeling that he wouldn't be in an expected place. I followed my instincts and climbed a ridiculously steep hill of outer San Francisco. When I reached the top I had wished someone had been with me, but the closest person was several miles away.

Percy was just sitting there, not saying a word. He had thrown his cape down the hill. Well it was a stupid cape. He just sat there against the tree. His back was against the bark. He had a purple tee-shirt that had rips and holes all over it. His head was hung it utter despair. I could see his hands grasped in fists around the grass, like he was trying to stay grounded to the earth. I thought I was speechless, but words still came to my lips. I made an unintelligible sound and whispered a condolence, but he stopped my words with a sound that can only be described as a broken whimper. I tried again; the only response was a raised head looking into the western sky. This was the saddest thing I had ever seen, the confident and ever annoying Percy Jackson, was utterly broken.

I sat next to him in silence, just feeling the sun on my face and trying to erase the past days stress from my body. After a while I leaned over and whispered, "You need to come back." His raspy voice returned a single word. "Why." "Because you can't live sitting here against a tree!"

He turned toward me. I could see the tear stains on his cheeks, and the red around his eyes. He looked like a mess. He turned back to the west, to the ocean. His eyes searched the heavens for an answer and, almost absentmindedly, mumbled, "What if life's not worth living anymore?"

Week one…

Week two…

Week three…

Week four…

Week five…

Week six…

Annabeth

There he was again. Still sitting on the outer eastern hills of camp, always faced west, toward the sea. The long grass is blowing in a lazy August wind, Percy's long hair waving with it. He was skinnier than any person should be; his cloths hung on his body in such a way that he seemed sad. His once clear eyes had seemed to glaze over in despair. He sat with his arms around his knees, still staring out to the sea. He was in two places at once, you could just tell. He was distant in a faraway place, yet trapped and grounded in this nightmare. He seemed on edge and, frankly, just a bit little nuts.

I stood on the top of the hill, just feet away from him. A ripple of unease and awkwardness moved through the heavy air. I didn't belong. This wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, I constantly felt out of place. I sat down a few feet away from Percy. "Hey." That's all I said, just "Hey".

"What do you want?" He growled, through gritted teeth. "Umm, Thalia wanted to know if you were ready to leave." I shrugged.

It wasn't a total lie, she did want to know. I just wanted to sit next to him. The boy was still a stranger. He was the only person not trying to always talk to me. He wasn't prying into my head, or trying to get to know me. He was quiet. I was quiet too, whenever I was around him. So that made it calming. I also sat here hoping he would talk to me in a different tone. In the last few weeks, whenever Percy Jackson was forced to talk to me, he would talk business like. If no one was around, he would be spitting words at me, or sounding hurt like a puppy. I didn't like the idea of hurting him. I wanted him to talk to me like everyone else. Like I was a friend. He was a good guy, I think. He always was.

"Why would Thalia send you?" Percy whispered. He stared off into the blue sky and puffy clouds again. I was very quiet. "I'm not sure," I answered softly.

After a long awkward pause, I tried again. "Are you ready to leave?"

His voice softened somewhat as he whispered sadly, "I don't think I'll ever be able to leave…"