Hello! Guess who's back with another chapter already? That's right- me! I'm excited that I got out two chapters in one weekend, so that set the bar pretty high for weekends to come. Speaking of weekends, it won't be until the next one before Chapter 7 comes out :( . Enough chit-chat. Let's get own with the story!

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor Heroes of Olympus.

Annabeth's POV

It was a good thing that Annabeth had already had lots of practice in running away from monsters; if she hadn't, she would've been dead faster than you can say "Cheriskia."

As Percy had distracted the big-handed monster, Annabeth had been able to squeeze her hand around her dagger's grip and lurch it to the side, shoving it deep into one of Cheriskia's dark, shadow-like fingers.

Now she and Percy were running towards the anonymous reddish-orange glow lining the distance as a man with shadows for hands screamed empty threats at them from behind, furiously chasing them down.

"I will rip your limbs off one by one!" the monster had screamed.

"Already experienced that feeling!" Annabeth called back at Cheriskia, reminiscing about her time at Crusty's Water Bed Palace.

"Then, I'll throw you into an exploding volcano!"

"Been there, done that!" was Percy's reply.

"Uh…I'll poison you and kill you slowly! A slow death!"

"Check!" both Percy and Annabeth responded in unison, Annabeth referencing the time she took Kronos' blade for Percy and Percy referring to his present situation.

They continued their sprint, the light ahead growing brighter, closer, and longer in length as they neared their destination.

"Um, I'll throw you both off a cliff!" Cheriskia threatened, desperately trying to find more ways to torture the two demigods in ways they hadn't already experienced.

"Did that in Alaska!" Percy commented casually, while Annabeth added, "I did that while wrestling a manticore!"

"Yeah? Well, I fell off the St. Louis Arch!"

"I almost fell off of Olympus!"

"I fell down a pit into Tartarus!"

"So did I, Seaweed Brain!"

"Oh, right…"

Cheriskia had been silenced by the couple's bickering, stunned by all the dangerous events they'd already encountered in their lives.

It wasn't long before Annabeth was able to see what was creating the light that had been their guide. It was…a river. Made of lava. As Annabeth, Percy, and Cheriskia neared the end of their sprint, Annabeth could now see that up ahead Tartarus cut off into a sheer drop leading into a jagged ravine below. The rocks that jutted out from the ravine's floor looked brown and occasionally tan in the hot light emanating off the lava, shaped in odd formations and sharp points. The river must've started at the cliff's base and flowed off into the distance, washing the land around it in a deadly glow. The river probably supplied the geysers earlier with lava, Annabeth thought, connecting the dots between the two sections in Tartarus.

Wait, back up. They were headed for a sheer drop? Annabeth watched as the dark edge came closer and closer to her and Percy. They were running straight for the cliff! Annabeth understandably didn't want to fall off anything anymore, and even if she wasn't afraid to do so, she'd end up burning in the river of lava or impaling herself on the sharp rocks below. The thought was so eminent in her mind that she subconsciously let go of Percy's arm and tried to slow herself down.

Suddenly, Percy let out a loud gasp as his legs just couldn't carry him any farther and he collapsed onto the hard-packed ground, a yard or two from the cliff's edge. Oh my gods, Annabeth fretted, rushing to his side. The disease! How could I have been so stupid? Running like this…it must have been so hard!

"Percy. Percy, speak to me! Are you alright?" Annabeth asked, brushing his dirty black hair out of his face.

"Just…tired," Percy mumbled, going limp in her arms.

"Oh my gods, Percy. Don't fall asleep, okay?" Annabeth said, shaking with panic. If he fell asleep and didn't wake up…

"Looks like….Looks like I've got you now!" Cheriskia panted, coming to a stop behind them. "The reward is mine!"

The monster of shadows had been lifting his unnaturally enlarged hands to snatch the two demigods up off the floor when the bottom of his toga, where his body met the air, began to turn gold. Not just a dull, yellow color that resembled gold. He was turning into real gold, the precious metal flowing up his body, encasing his entire torso, neck, and eventually his surprised face in perfect detail. The golden transformation expanded out through Cheriskia's broad shoulders, traveling down to his elbows and then his hands, solidifying them in their outreached position. Soon, a perfect golden statue of the partially formed Cheriskia stood snarling in front of Annabeth and the collapsed Percy, its hands inches from their faces.

"Sorry," a new voice apologized, though it was evident in the person's voice that he or she could've cared less. "But that reward belongs to me." A small "ouch!" escaped the unidentified person as a second voice added, "Part of it goes to me, remember?" The second speaker had been female; Annabeth could tell by the pitch of her voice.

A man's voice angrily shouted, "It's a three-way split, you know. Don't leave me out!"

Emerging from behind the now-golden form of Cheriskia sauntered three people, each grinning evilly. The first man, the one who seemed to be the eldest of the three with his graying hair and wrinkled features, wore a bathrobe and bunny slippers. Astonishingly, that wasn't his most prudent feature. Sprouting from the sides of his head were two furry donkey ears. Not only that, but his fingers seemed to be glowing with a dim golden light, one that could only be visible in complete darkness, sparking an old memory of a myth telling of a man who wished everything he touched to turn to gold- King Midas.

The second person was the only woman, and she had her right hand hidden behind her back as if she was concealing something from Annabeth's sight. Hopefully it's not a knife, the demigod thought to herself. Something told her it wasn't one. The woman, if she'd been a bit younger, could've passed for a super model. She was slender and tall, and she had long dark hair that she kept drawn over her shoulder. The mystery woman had on a long, regal black gown and expensive-looking jewelry around her neck and hanging from her ears. Annabeth, despite her expansive knowledge of Greek Mythology, did not know who this lady was. Maybe she was from a Roman myth? Annabeth doubted it; she had that Greek look about her.

The third and final person in the trio was a bit displeasing to look at. He also adorned a bathrobe (what was with that, anyway? Was it the style for older men now?), though this man's robe was stained and severely worn out. In some areas it even looked shredded, like it had fought a battle with a weed whacker. His bald head was decorated with a variety of scratches, some worse than others, and his pale, creamy eyes didn't seem to focus on anything; they just stared off into the distance. Is he blind? Annabeth wondered to herself. He also wasn't a familiar figure, and Annabeth was sure she'd never heard of a dangerous blind man in a wrecked bathrobe.

"We've come here to collect our bounty for Gaea's reward," the woman spoke sweetly, acting as if she was informing the daughter of Athena that there was a chance of rain tomorrow. Then, her tone strangely switched a little, and she said, "Bring the other demigod with you and turn yourselves in to us."

Annabeth oddly felt obliged to follow the lady's orders, ready to drag Percy over to the trio, but from living with Piper on board the Argo II, Annabeth quickly realized what was going on. The woman was charm-speaking Annabeth, and if it hadn't been for her practice in blocking out Piper's words, Annabeth would've given in right then and there.

"No," Annabeth replied, shocking the woman. "That's not going to happen."

The over-dressed woman narrowed her eyes at Annabeth, pondering the reason to why the demigod had been able to resist her charm speak. Then it hit her.

"You've been hanging around that Piper girl, haven't you?" she snarled exasperatedly at Annabeth.

"You know Piper?"

"Of course I know that wretched daughter of Aphrodite! She ruined my perfectly good store just to save her two little friends, some useless venti, and a paralyzed satyr." The woman snorted. "I would've let her have them, too, if she'd just agreed to pay the right price!" Annabeth could hear the frustration and pent-up hate building in the lady's voice. "All I wanted was to sell my goods to the world! Everyone would know of Medea and her amazing, life-changing merchandise! So many favors I'd have, so many people would do my command for just one of my precious potions…"

"I'm sorry, uh…Medea," Annabeth replied softly, trying not to set off the woman's temper any more. "I'm sure that one day you will have that dream reputation. Right now, however, Percy and I really need to get going…"

"Percy?" the disheveled, dirty man spat, turning to face Medea and Midas. His blindness caused him to look a tad to the left of where they actually stood, but they simply pretended that he was facing them. "Percy Jackson? That's the darn demigod we're after? I thought it was just another famous half-blood like Hercules or Jason, but Percy Jackson? Oh, he'll be going to Gaea alright," the old man snickered menacingly.

"How do you know him?" Annabeth asked while she subtly scooted back from her position on the ground, afraid of his answer.

"How do I know him? Ha! He was the cause of my demise! That brat of a demigod tricked me into drinking bad gorgon's blood and giving him the location of Alcyoneus' camp. My remains have only just gotten back together, and I still am not well enough to leave Tartarus. My oracle abilities had been stripped from me, so now I only see some things rather than all. I will never forgive Percy Jackson for that."

"Serves…you right, Phineas" Percy shot back, lifting his tired head up in order to confront his old enemy.

"You and him have met?" Annabeth questioned her boyfriend, helping him into a sitting position in which he used her for support.

"Oh yeah," Percy replied bitterly. Turning back to Phineas, Percy continued, "You…You were…horrible to those…those harpies…All they wanted…was some food, and…and poor Ella was…practically starving when we found her! She's…still unhealthily skinny and…and afraid of most people. You scarred her for life."

"So you did keep her?" Phineas smirked. "She is of great value, as I'm sure you've noticed by now. She will aid you greatly later on, if you ever live to see that harpy again. Right now, however, that is not a path in your foreseeable future."

Phineas, Medea, and Midas all approached the two demigods, arms at the ready to grab them as their prisoners. Quickly thinking, Annabeth whipped out her dagger and stole Riptide from Percy's pocket, clicking into a full sword. She then, after softly laying down Percy on the ground once more, she stood to face the three enemies.

"Don't come any farther," Annabeth threatened, waving the weapons in front of her. "I'm doubly armed and very experienced in using two swords at once." Okay, that was lie. But they didn't have to know that, did they?

The trio did hesitate, luckily for Annabeth and Percy, and they stopped in their advance at the tips of Annabeth's dagger and sword.

"It was expected that you'd resist. Very well, I guess we must compromise," Medea sighed. She removed her hand from behind her back, revealing a small, sparkling blue bottle.

"This is a vile of pure, cleansed water mixed with a few chemicals of my own. This is guaranteed to heal Percy and return him to his strong, healthy, and truly annoying self once again."

"Hey," Percy mumbled, not strong enough to retort any better than that. He was presently lying on his stomach with his eyes closed as if he was falling asleep.

Annabeth gulped. "I take it you're not going to just give it to me, are you? What's in it for you three?"

Medea let out a small laugh, "I knew you were a smart one, Annabeth. We'll heal Percy and let you go if you leave him to us. We want that reward."

Now it was Annabeth's turn to laugh. "Yeah right. I'm not going to just hand him over to you. You three and half of Tartarus want that reward; what makes you any different?"

"If you don't give him to us, he'll just die from his sickness," Midas said offhand, seemingly uncaring about what was going on. To prove the King's point, Percy let out a racking cough as the illness began to reach his lungs.

Phineas raised a finger pointedly and, smiling viciously, said, "I can verify that he won't make it to the Doors without this potion." Percy coughed again, drawing in a labored breath. "He's already nearing the end."

"To sum up," King Midas announced, "It's either live and give a healed Percy to Gaea, or let him die now and move on knowing you did nothing to save him."

"Will you give him the potion immediately?" Annabeth asked, trying to keep them talking and form a plan to get out of this situation. So far, it wasn't looking too good. Percy would die without that potion; Annabeth knew it. However, what if Medea was lying about what the potion does? At this point, Annabeth had no choice but to try it.

"Of course," Medea said with false sympathy. "After all, we can't turn in a dead sacrifice to Gaea, now can we?"

The proved that the potion would indeed heal Annabeth's boyfriend.

"O-Okay," Annabeth sniffed, putting on a fake show of sorrow. She had a plan. "Could…Could I say goodbye to Percy first?"

"Ugh, fine," Phineas grumbled, crossing his arms and rolling his white eyes at her sappy "teen romance" attitude.

Annabeth knelt down next to the son of Poseidon, and she began whispering in his ear. She even managed to cry a single tear to sell her act as she murmured, "Percy, I've got a plan. Just stay awake and listen to me, okay?"

Percy mumbled something back that vaguely sounded like, "Okay."

And so Annabeth told him her plan, to which he readily agreed. Standing back up and stepping away, she sighed, "You can take him now."

Medea approached the demigod, picking him up in a bridal style. "Thank you for your cooperation," she smirked at Annabeth.

"Feed him the potion," Annabeth demanded.

"What?"

"Feed him the antidote. I want to know he took it and had some last hours of health before the sacrifice."

Midas, Medea, and Phineas all thought about it before Midas said, "Just give the boy the potion, Medea."

"Fine, but only if you hold back the girl so she doesn't get any ideas."

Phineas grabbed a hold of Annabeth's arms from behind. This wasn't part of the plan, Annabeth thought, but it won't be much of a problem. I can work with this. Then, noticing who had her prisoner, scoffed, Way to go, Medea. Give the blind man the prisoner.

"Blast this stupid curse," Phineas mumbled as Medea popped open the vile and poured it into Percy's mouth. "I can't see the outcome of this; whether or not he will survive the potion is unclear."

"What?" Annabeth coughed, panicking at Phineas' words.

"Some of Medea's potions can be a little too strong for their cause. I've seen people go up in flames after a taste of one. Let's just hope your little boyfriend is strong in that regard."

Annabeth turned her worried gaze back to Medea and Percy. The son of Poseidon coughed once more before opening his bright green eyes, peering up at Medea.

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief. Thank the gods, she thought happily.

"See? All healed," Medea grinned.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Percy smiled mischievously, looking up at Medea with knowing eyes. "However, you forgot to ask how I felt about being the sacrifice." With that, Percy's fist shot up from his side and slammed into Medea's nose.

"OW!" she screamed, dropping Percy to the ground. He swiftly stood up, suddenly filled with renewed energy.

"It's a 'no' from me," he answered. "Great potion, by the way. I feel amazing already!" He kicked out his leg and tripped the woman, sending her flying to the ground. "I think you also forgot the consequences of healing a demigod into a ready-to-fight state. Not a smart move." Percy then turned to look at his girlfriend.

"Annabeth, sword!"

Annabeth, now grinning like a madman at the success of her plan and the now healthy Percy, chucked him Riptide. He caught it easily and sliced it through Medea's midsection, dissolving her into dust. Simultaneously, Annabeth launched her foot backwards and kicked Phineas in the groin, making him squeal and fall to his knees. She turned around and sank her dagger into his leg, transforming him into dust as well.

The fighting duo then faced Midas, who lifted his glowing hands in surrender. Then, he lunged forward and tried to grab Annabeth's wrist in a last attempt to turn her to gold. Fortunately, Annabeth had ADHD and quick reflexes, so she simply hopped backwards and avoided the touch.

She and Percy made eye contact and knew what to do.

"Nice meeting you, Midas," she said with a salute before turning around, grabbing Percy's hand, and running straight for the cliff behind them.

"Where are you going? Don't you know what monster lives down there?" Midas called out incredulously.

"We'll take our chances!" Percy yelled over his shoulder, and he and Annabeth leaped off the edge into the ravine.

And that's where I'll leave you all. What do you think? Don't be afraid to leave comments and reviews for me! I love reading and replying to them all, so please post your opinions, ideas, and/or advice!

Thank you to twilotter for the author favorite and follow, and thank you to Kersteen and aishacake220 for the story follows!

Hibye: Haha you're welcome! Thank you so much for your multiple reviews, by the way! They make me smile :)

Athena: Has the goddess Athena herself reviewed my story?! :0 Haha just kidding, but thank you for the review! I will continue to update when I can, and I'm so pleased you like this story!

Please review/follow/favorite, and stay tuned for Chapter 7!

-8DemigodRunner8