It's been like a month since I last uploaded. I've been running on 3 hours of sleep lately, but I have found the time to write this chapter for all you lovely readers. I hope you enjoy, and as always, please leave me a review.

Note to all you fantastic people: Please PM me your best jokes. Big thanks to PoppyOhare for that lovely joke. If any of my other readers (if I still have any) have something hilarious, please send them to me. I need happiness. Thank you all you beautiful readers and enjoy!

I don't own PJO/HoO.


I woke up to a loud crash outside my room. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I pulled open the door to find Percy standing up and putting the small hallway table back against the wall.

"There's someone at the door. I, uh, tripped," Percy admitted. I nodded at him with an amused smile and went to open the door.

Jason stood outside with an obnoxiously happy smile. I was about to close the door in his face when he stuck his foot in the doorway.

"Nope. Not today, Annabeth. You're stuck with me today. We're going to have lots of fun," Jason quipped with his happy, happy face. I stepped on his foot, and when he moved it away, I shut the door in his face, never removing the apathetic look on my face.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I grabbed a slice of buttered toast from the counter and opened the door again. Jason sat on a straw chair on the porch. He stood as I appeared.

"There you are. Let's get started, shall we?" he asked, offering me his arm. I took it and he led me down the sandy road towards the beach. Neither of us spoke, agreeing to enjoy the cool wisps of wind that remained from the night.

"Jason," I said, breaking the silence. He turned his chin towards me in acknowledgement. "Hazel… She told me about you. And your powers. And the rest of the Councils'," I continued.

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked, turning his head fully towards me.

"Do you think… you could… show me?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure whether these things were openly talked about and didn't want to seem disrespectful.

"Of course. You're actually the first person to ask me that. Most people ask what it's like being different or how long I've been able to do it. It's nice for a change," Jason answered kindly, smiling at me. I smiled back.

The sand beneath my feet became looser and my pace slowed. Jason however, with years of experience walking on sand, forged ahead. Once he realized I was no longer by his side, he turned and called out to me, "Come on, Pirate! Get your sand legs on!"

"Put a cork in it, Land Legs! It's been a while!" I shouted back, unable to hide the grin spreading on my face. Focusing on my gait, I managed to catch up with Jason as we continued our walk on the beach. Once we reached the shore, Jason stopped.

"Alright, enough fun. We're here to work," Jason said, with a serious face. I nodded along. "Let's sea what you can do Boats," he continued, smiling at his own joke. My smile disappeared and I groaned. "Come on, Boats. That was pretty good. Anyway, I promised you a show of my ability. It's really nothing impressive to watch. However, I can tell you that the next storm to hit this village won't be for a good fortnight. Now then. Shall we begin?" he asked.

"What are we doing?" I asked, curious about today's activities.

"Cleaning up the beach, checking for washups. Survivors who appear on our shore. Storms bring a lot of debris from nearby beaches. The wall of trees we have surrounding this area does a fairly good job of keeping it off the sand, but that means we have to climb the trees and pick off the debris," Jason explained, handing me a large sack.

He started off towards to the left end of the beach, so I headed right. Craning my neck upwards, I found a lot of trash stuck in the treetops like Jason said there would be. I tied the bag to my waist using the string handles and began to climb.

The sun beat down on my back for hours, and I wiped the sweat off my brow. My once loose shirt now stuck to my figure, drenched in sweat. Though the work was tedious and took an immense amount of balance, I found myself enjoying the thrill of being so high up in the treetops.

Jason called me down for a quick lunch and then it was back to work. Around mid-afternoon, a cool breeze swept through and I sat up higher on my perch above the treetops, savoring the feeling of the wind blowing my golden locks away from my face. As the breeze died down, I slowly opened my eyes and took in the scene laying before me. Trees dotted the area, growing fewer in number as they gave way to white sand. The clear blue waves lapped at the shore, as if beckoning to come join. A bird soaring through the sky called to its mate and I turned towards the sound, freezing as I noticed a shape in the water that seemed oddly familiar.

"Jason! Jason! JASON!" I yelled, sliding down the trunk of the tree and jumping off far to early. I stumbled as I landed on the sand and sprinted towards my cleaning partner as soon as I'd regained my balance. "Jason!" I continued to yell, running towards him.

"Annabeth? Annabeth! What's wrong?!" he yelled back, running in my direction. I skidded to a stop in front of him, nearly losing my balance.

"I-I'm not. Sure. I. I don't know. But. But there's something. In the water. It looked. Like a hand. And a head. In. That direction. A little bit. Off the shore," I panted out between gasps for air.

Jason nodded at me and then sprinted back into the village. He returned shortly after with Percy in tow, barechested and clad in only a pair of shorts. Jason pointed in the direction I had shown him. Percy glanced at me and exchanged a look with Jason. Jason shook his head.

"There's no time. Go," Jason demanded. Percy nodded and took off towards the sea.

I watched, mesmerized, as he entered the water but never slowed his pace. Slowly, he began to gain speed and I noticed his legs fusing together to form what appeared to be a shiny scaled green tail. Percy sped towards the shape in the distance that was beginning to float closer to shore. He grasped onto the object, hoisting it onto his back, and made his way back to the beach. As he neared the shore, I stared with my mouth open in astonishment as his tail separated back into human legs and he ran up the beach carrying the body.

While Percy had gone out into the water, Jason had gone into the infirmary to inform Will. They appeared now, carrying a stretcher between them for the newcomer. Percy was quick to deposit the body and then it was whisked away to be treated.

I sprinted after them, wanting to catch a glimpse at the washup. Inside my mind, I prayed to the gods that it was one of my crew and that at the same time it wasn't. I so desperately needed to know that I wasn't only one to survive. But I also knew that I wouldn't be able to survive the burden of another death on my hands.

The stretcher was carried onto the infirmary and placed on a bed, where Will and a team of other doctors promptly went to work. Jason stepped outside the room and shut the door behind him. I stood in front him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Let me see the body," I said, standing up straight.

"I can't let you do that, Annabeth," Jason said with kind eyes.

"It could be one of my crew," I begged, raising a desperate look to my face.

"I know. And that's why can't let you go in there," Jason replied. I knew he was right. The anticipation may be torture, but it would be knowledge of the actual truth that would kill me.

"Jason, please. I know I shouldn't, but I just, I need to know. Please. I just have to know. I can deal with the truth. I'll find a way to. But I have to know," I trembled.

Jason stared down at me for a long time. I never broke eye contact with him, giving everything I had to ignore the loud voices barking orders within the room. Finally, after what seemed like eons, Jason stepped aside. As I reached for the doorknob, Jason placed his hand on my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. I looked at him. He nodded reassuringly and I turned the knob, gently pushing the door open.

The noise within the room silenced until all that was left was the roaring in my ears. The doctors rushing about ceased to exist, disappearing into the blurry background as I stepped closer to the table.

Laying on the sheets, pale as snow, hair splayed out onto the table, yet still as beautiful as ever lay the one person I had so monstrously wished I would never see again.


So that's the story. JK. That's not the end. It could be, if you guys don't tell me what you actually think. I need to know that you guys are out there and are actually reading. So many authors have stopped writing because they feel like no one actually reads their stuff and I don't want to be like one of them, so please please say something. It really does make my day. Even a simple "hi. how are you?" is perfect. I just need to know you're there. (Do I sound too clingy? Oh well.) Anyway, hope you enjoyed and love you all!