A/N Hey guys here is the next chapter on Sunday as promised :)

I have lotsa news:

1. Last week I went to see The Hoosiers live and they were awesome! And we got to meet the band afterwards and Irwin is sooo nice (if you haven't heard their songs, I recommend - Goodbye Mr. A, Bumpy Ride, Glorious and Worried About Ray)

2. The weather has been nice! Apparently it was hotter in England than California last week, but then again it is supposed to snow next week... I really hope not!

3. I watched the Hunger Games last week and it was really good, but they missed some bits out that annoyed me :/

4. This is the last one :L I read The Odyssey and it was rather interesting. You guys should read it - you will get some of the inside jokes in the Percy Jackson series like the Lotus-eaters/Lotus Hotel and Casino. Also it has been said that the Sea of Monsters is basically the Odyssey which is fair enough because the plot line is similar, but obviously SoM is modernised, funnier and easier for young readers to follow...

Anyone wanna discuss any of the above? Just send me a review or a PM :)

Anyways...

Special thanks to PercyplusAnnabeth for all the lovely reviews which made me smile :D

Phew that was a long A/N.. Sorry!

Now you'll find out where Annabeth's body has gone...


CONNOR

"Come on!" Connor urged Travis, tugging his brother behind him, "It's the first campfire in ages and they'll have started by now. You can loot the shop later."

"But Connor, no one's around! This is a perfect moment to–" Travis was cut off by the glare his brother gave him. "Ok, fine! Maybe afterwards," he mumbled hopefully. It was unlike Connor to reject the idea of looting, but he had been looking forwards to the campfire since Chiron announced it at dinner two nights ago – it had been a long time since they had done anything fun at camp, what with preparing for the war – and he could already hear the singing coming from the arena.

They hurried along to the arena as the rest of the campers finished off a song. Just as they approached the entrance, something appeared a couple of metres in front of them. They stopped in their tracks, "what is that?" Connor asked. Travis drew his knife as they warily inched closer to the large object, squinting in the darkness and trying to make out what it was. Travis froze and grabbed his brother's arm, "is that a foot sticking out from there?" he whispered. Connor's heart jolted as he saw what Travis was gesturing at. He had a deep feeling of dread – which he could tell his brother shared – as he now realised what the object was: a body underneath a shroud.

"We need to get Chiron," Travis choked out replacing the knife. He didn't want to know which of his friends was hidden underneath. Connor skirted round the body and ran into the arena. The camp fire was blazing bright orange and soaring many feet in the air as campers laughed and joked, getting ready to start the next song. "Chiron!" Connor called across the arena beckoning over to him urgently. Chiron looked over and seemed to read the panicked expression on his face. He trotted towards him, the smile melting off his face and his tail flicking side to side anxiously. Connor tried to keep his voice low as he told Chiron what he and Travis had found, but the arena was cramped and quiet as the campers watched the exchange and it wasn't long before someone heard the news and it spread quickly. The fire burned low and blue-black as people began to realise that someone had died.

Connor led Chiron out of the arena to where the body lay and a group of the older demigods followed. Travis was standing awkwardly and anxiously to the side. "Connor, please pull back the shroud," Chiron asked in a tight voice; he had seen so many heroes die and he was dreading finding out which of his students this was. Connor looked around nervously taking in all the sad faces of his friends as he knelt down next to the body. He took hold of the corners of the blanket and pulled it back halfway his heart sprinting as if he had just taken part in an intense chariot race. There were gasps all around as they saw who it was: Annabeth. There was a bloodied bandage around her waist and a bronze flower in her hands. Her eyes were closed and her face looked peaceful as if she was sleeping, but her skin was pale and cold.

Chiron fell to his knees and let out a strangled cry. He had known Annabeth for ten years and she had been like a daughter to him. Tears rushed unashamedly down his face; no one had ever seen Chiron this way before. The other campers seemed to get over their shock and the floodgates opened – even Clarisse had tears snaking their way down her face. Malcolm had hastily called over the other children of Athena that were still sitting in the arena and they all held each other and cried for their dead sister. Connor was shaking and his heart had not slowed down. Annabeth had been a particularly great friend to him and Travis at camp, always teasing and making jokes while they acted like idiots with Percy… "Oh gods, Percy!" Connor exclaimed to no one in particular. He must be absolutely devastated, to lose his best friend and girlfriend whilst being on a quest trying to save the world. He prayed that Percy would be alright and not do anything drastic, but he knew that the metal rose indicated that their friends were supporting him all the way.

A couple of minutes passed and Clarisse was the first to speak. "We need to contact Grover and Thalia. They should know what's happened." People nodded morosely in agreement, but no one wanted to be the one to break the news. Chiron seemed to snap out of his mournful state and ordered everyone back to their cabins except Cabin 6. He waited until everyone had filed away, some leaning on others for support, before he addressed the children of Athena. "We need to arrange funeral plans," he told them. Their grey eyes shined with grief as Malcolm stepped forwards and said, "I know what Annabeth would want." Chiron nodded as Malcolm told him that their cabin would begin constructing a mausoleum of white marble the next day.

"That sounds wonderful, Malcolm, I'm sure Annabeth would be very pleased with it," Chiron spoke sadly, "now you'll have a busy day tomorrow, so you had better go and get some sleep." They all nodded and trudged miserably to their cabin, but none of them slept a wink that night – they could not stop thinking about poor Annabeth and the life that had been taken away from her too soon.


THALIA

Thalia sat down heavily on the edge of the rocky precipice as the Iris Message that had sent her the horrific news dissipated in the cool mountain breeze. Annabeth is dead. Annabeth has gone. I will never see her smile again. These thoughts circled round and round her head, never ceasing. After the initial shock wore off, the tears started rushing down her face like one of her father's thunder storms, staining her cheeks and dripping into her lap. She rubbed at her eyes roughly attempting to dry her wet face and tried to come to terms with what had happened.

Thalia had always thought that, of the three of them – Luke, Annabeth and herself – Annabeth would be the one to outlive them all, especially after Thalia had sacrificed herself on Half-Blood Hill. Annabeth was the smart one, the one who had always had a plan and she was a fighter too. Thalia remembered when she and Luke had first met Annabeth. She had been merely seven years old and yet so brave, wielding only a hammer to fend off any monsters. She had been grubby and tired, but the joy of joining Thalia and Luke had lit up her stormy eyes. It was mainly for Annabeth's sake that Thalia had stayed behind to fight the monsters, allowing her, Grover and Luke to get to the safety of camp. And, as she lay dying at the top of the hill, she prayed that Annabeth would be okay. Then when the unexpected happened and Thalia came back from her life as a tree, she saw, to her relief, that Annabeth had grown up and was safe. Thalia cherished all the memories they had had together over the years that she would never have dreamt could have been possible after that fateful night so many years before.

Now the realisation that she would never have any new memories with Annabeth struck her hard. She had known from the moment she had become a hunter that she would watch Annabeth grow older as she remained young and she would have to lose her eventually, but she had always thought they would have more time – more than ever after they had both survived the Titan War. She couldn't have been more naïve. A deep pain cut through her at all these thoughts and she collapsed into the foetal position on the hard ground, clutching her middle to hold herself together. Shuddering, she held back the heart wrenching sobs that threatened to explode from within her, until she couldn't bear it any longer. Her eyes squeezed shut and wept as she let all her pain out through her tears, until Artemis finally gave her the gift of a sweet dreamless sleep.


Aww poor CHB and Thalia :( As you can now see, I wanted to do the reactions to Annabeth's death from all angles - Percy and co., godly parents and friends - but next chapter shall be from Annabeth's POV again (if you've forgotten the first time, please refer to chapter 6) which will get exciting :D

Help me get to at least 50 reviews guys! There must be something in this chapter that moved you or that you thought was good... I really do appreciate them all :)

Next chapter in a couple weeks.. maybe if I get a lot of reviews I'll upload quicker ;)

Thanks again