AN: Hello again. Stephanlongboard I have put you in the story. I will probably not be adding anyone else unless they have been following the story and reviewing frequently.
I'm not sure what Annabeth should/ would do, so please comment with any suggestions.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.
Annabeth was in a huge, brightly lit room, which greatly resembled a school gymnasium. She was hidden underneath the bleachers. Scanning the gym she realised three things simultaneously. The first; her dad, step mum and step brothers were all tied together, and gagged, underneath the basketball hoop at one end of the court. The second; at the other end of the basketball court were the surviving dracnae from the shopping centre earlier that day and a single Empousa. And lastly; her family were covered in bruises and scratches. Her father was by far in the worst condition as he looked like he had a broken ankle and a black eye as well as multiply bruises and scratches. Annabeth longed to run out to her father, but she knew she couldn't. This was a dream after all. So she crept along, under the bleachers, towards the dracnae. She could hear them hissing in delight.
"The tagging has gone well, my lady," One of the dracnae reported. The Empousa nodded.
"The girl was shot with an arrow, but otherwise they escaped harm," Another said. The Empousa scowled at her.
"And the other dracnae? I sent at least 40 of you." She asked scowling at the small number of dracnae present. They all shook their heads.
"This is all that survived the attack." She said. The Empousa roared and stomped her foot angrily. The metal let out a resounding metal clang as it hit the floor.
"They have gotten away AGAIN" She roared enraged. The dracnae shifted uncomfortably and shuffled back slightly. They slithered around nervously.
"What would you like us to do, my Lady," one of the braver dracnae asked timidly. The Empousa smiled at her coldly.
"Nothing, they will come to us. Either her family survives or her camp does." She smiled. The dream began to fade around the edges and pull back. Annabeth looked around her, but saw no one.
"What will you choose young demigod?" A women voice whispered in her head. Then the scene changed. She stood on half-blood hill looking over the valley below her. The camp looked fine physically, but she could see how the campers glanced nervously at Thalia's pine tree that stood proudly near her. The dragon was still curled up around it and the Golden Fleece still shimmered in its branches. The tree looked healthy and the valley was safe. So what was wrong? Then her and Percy's conversation with the cabin counsellors flooded back into her head. No demi-god could leave the camp without immediately summoning a monster. Annabeth frowned. Maybe this had something to do with 'the tagging' the dracnae where talking about. There had been a huge number attack her and Percy recently. Had they all been tagged? It sounded ridiculous, even in her own head, but she couldn't help, but wonder if it was true. What did it mean for her and the other campers? A small movement on the edge of the hill caught her eye. The flash of an orange camp half-blood t-shirt startled her into action. She ran towards the person. It was Stephan from the Ares cabin. He ran towards the boundary as if expecting to get caught. Warily he looked back over his shoulder and kept going. He crossed the boundary line and stood there momentarily shocked. He had obviously been expecting a monster to pop up and attack him. None did. Disappointed Stephan jabbed his sword into the air and sliced it wildly. Annabeth inched closer. Then she heard a weird popping noise. Stephan had heard it too as he turned towards the noise. Five hellhounds shimmered into existence, not ten metres from where Stephan stood. He called a battle cry and ran towards the first monster slicing at it. The hell hound shimmered into dust, just as the next one launched itself at him. Stephan ducked and rolled swinging his sword into the legs of another hell hound. The second hell hound turned to dust. There were three left and Stephan smiled confident. The hell hounds growled at him and started to circle him. Then, as if on command, they all ran towards him at the same time. Stephan jumped and they collided. One disappeared into the wind and Stephan landed on another. He sliced at it and watched its glowing red eyes crumble. He yelled in victory momentarily losing his focus. The last hell hound hit his back, hard and knocked him to the ground. It tore at Stephan's flesh and Annabeth screamed. Blood stemmed from the wound and as the hell hound prepared for the final kill an arrow stabbed its back. The hound looked up in surprise before fading away. Stephan moaned and Annabeth looked up in surprise at the new comer. It was Will Solace from the Apollo Cabin. He had his bow in hand and another arrow notched in it. The scene disappeared.
Annabeth blinked slightly disoriented. She sighed realising she was at her dad's house and she was currently laying on the lounge in the living room. The lounge moved and Annabeth froze. She cautiously looked underneath her and relaxed. It was just Percy. She suddenly remembered falling asleep on the lounge the night before with Percy. Then she remembered her dreams.
"Percy." She said shaking him. He groaned and swatted her hand away. "Percy." She said more urgently. His eyelids opened slowly.
"What is it Wise Girl?" He asked. He looked so adorable with sleep coating his eyes that she laughed and leaned down to kiss him. Then she frowned.
"Percy. I have to tell you something." She said. Percy sat up quickly, almost knocking her off the lounge.
"What?" He asked cautiously. She told him about the dream and his face got graver with every word she said. When she finished she sat there in silence looking down at her hands.
"So what do you think we should do?" He asked. Annabeth looked up at him and stared into his sea green eyes.
"I don't know." She said quietly.
