Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing guys! Sorry for the cliffhangers, but I love 'em. :) And yes, Annabeth's dad is named Frederick, not Michael. I now know that thanks to xxanonymouswriterxx. But I'm not going to go back and change all of that, because I'm just...lazy. :) Hope you like the chapter!

Percy searched her face over and over again, incredulity in his eyes. "Wh – what?" He stammered out. Annabeth was snuggled into Luke's side, and he had placed a protective arm around her shoulders. He, too, was staring at Percy, but there was something in his eyes that had Percy fuming.

He knew.

He knew that Percy was in love with Annabeth, he knew that Annabeth loved Percy. The look in Luke's eyes was almost smug, and simultaneously, a little apologetic. Percy ground his teeth, and turned away from Luke to Annabeth, once again. She seemed a little scared, if not disgusted with Percy's behavior. To her, a stranger had barged into her home following her two best friends, and had asked for a hug. And that same stranger had sent her a very perplexing letter a few days before.

Grover and Thalia were looking on with bewilderment, but didn't know what to do.

"How – how do you not know me?" Percy asked, swallowing. He blinked furiously, holding back burning tears.

Annabeth shook her head, puzzled. "I just – just don't. We've never met before."

"Never met before…what?" Percy gaped at her. She was slowly, and unintentionally, breaking his heart. "We've met, we've met, I swear." He pleaded, as she shook her head back and forth quickly.

"No, no, we haven't." Annabeth was shaking now, her voice quavering. Luke held her tighter.

"What? No…no…" Percy said frantically, looking to Grover and Thalia who were standing there, open-mouthed. "Wait! Wait!" Percy shouted, making Annabeth alarmed. He fumbled to pull out his wallet from his pocket, and flipped it open. There, in the front window, was Annabeth's photo, in which she was smiling sweetly. "Look, look!"

Annabeth drew back from the photo, appalled and cross now. "Look, I don't know who you are, and why you have a picture of me in your wallet, because that's really creepy. And I know you sent me a love letter, which was definitely a little weird. But I let it slide. But now, you show up at the doorstep, and ask me to hug you? I don't think so. You're lucky I didn't call the police. Now, if you don't mind," She took a deep shaky breath, and aggressively brushed her hair out of her face, her eyes blazing in that oh so familiar way. "I'd like it if you got the hell out of this house."

Percy walked, the winds billowing around him, making it unnaturally cold for the summer. The rain was pounding hard against the sidewalk, and it blended with the salty tears streaming down his face.

He didn't know what to feel anymore. It was as though he was empty, utterly and completely. Sure, he was crying, but he didn't know what for. Were they angry tears, sad tears, tears of confusion? The answer to that wasn't simple. Were they tears for himself or for Annabeth? Were the tears for everything, or for nothing? It certainly felt as though there was nothing left…not even Thalia or Grover. Percy had stormed out of the house, obeying Annabeth's command, but only because he wanted to hide the flood of tears threatening to break through. Thalia had stayed, for Luke, which Percy understood but didn't appreciate. However, when Grover followed him out of the door, Percy yelled at him to leave. Grover, shocked, and a little offended, left easily with six bitter words.

"I was only trying to help."

It was then that the city was suddenly overcast with thunderous and mysterious clouds that carried tons and tons of cold, hard water. They rumbled, and rain began to fall.

Percy had walked perhaps a mile now, and he didn't know where he was. He was simply heading for the lights in a distance, and he assumed that that was Times Square. Not that he cared where he was going.

As he walked, he thought. Why did Annabeth not remember him? Actually, why didn't Annabeth even like him? He had seen the repulsion on her face when he had said her name the first time, and right before he had left, her face was a mixture of fear and loathing – two things he knew that the old Annabeth would've never been in this situation. She didn't hate people easily – it took time, and a lot of irritating habits. She wasn't easily scared, either. She usually took charge, and faced the impending doom with a brave face. That was why he loved her.

Thalia's words replayed in his head. Had she been hit with an arrow of Eros? But, they usually made you love someone with the deepest depths of your heart. Could they work backwards?

Percy stopped abruptly, his brain working at twice it's normal pace. Could the arrows make you hate someone? It seemed as though there was an old Greek myth related to this situation, but he couldn't recall it well enough to relate it to his own life. He cursed under his breath, and wished Thalia was here.

Well, there was only one way to find the answer to his question.

Not even a block from Times Square, Percy made a split second decision. He turned sharply, and headed for 5th avenue, where the Empire State Building proudly stood.

Percy stood in the elevator, waiting, as it made its way up to the 600th floor. He shuffled back and forth in the tiny elevator, cursing it for going so unbearably slow. He bit his lip, thinking all the while, what he was going to do when he got to Olympus. The first thing he wanted to do was speak to Eros, but he had no idea where to find him. He supposed that his best bet would be to go to Zeus. He contemplated this again, and thought about how Nyx had said Zeus was 'helpless' and 'weak' at the moment. Percy shook his head – no, Zeus would be his best chance.

The elevator whooshed open to expose Mt. Olympus in all of its glory. It was just as impressive as Percy remembered it, with colossal marble pillars, countless fountains, and a shimmering golden sidewalk leading to the place where all of the gods met. That was his destination.

He walked, avoiding the gazes of the other immortals that lived there. They stared at him, their lovely faces curious. They knew he wasn't a mortal, but he, of course, didn't look like an immortal either. So, now they simply wondered which god or goddess was his father or mother?

As they gazed, Percy strode faster, and at last, came upon the enormous room where the twelve major gods and goddesses of Olympus were situated. The door swung open in a painfully slow and dramatic fashion. Percy slipped inside.

The room was vast, dome-shaped, with more massive marble pillars. It had a strange shine to it, as power itself was radiating from every corner. Percy walked in a few steps, and found that most of the chairs were empty, including Zeus' and his father's, whom Percy assumed was in his ocean kingdom below the surface of the sea.

"Percy Jackson."

Percy had never heard his name spoken with such contempt. He glanced around, his hand automatically fingering Riptide in his pocket, although he knew that it would have no effect on the immortals here.

There sat Annabeth's infamous mother, on her large throne that sat amongst the other twelve. She smiled at him, but the smile never reached her cold, grey eyes that resembled Annabeth's.

"Athena." Percy immediately bowed slightly – after all, she was a goddess of immense skill and power.

"Percy Jackson." Athena said once more, this time softer, but the disdain in her voice was still obvious. Percy narrowed his eyes a little, speculating why she was speaking his name like that.

"Yes?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Looking for somebody?" Athena asked smugly, as if she knew why he was here.

"Yes…" Percy said warily. "Where's Zeus?"

"Ah, my dear father." She said leisurely, lounging comfortably in her chair. "I assume you'll find him somewhere here on Mt. Olympus. Probably off in a corner where no one can find him."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "Why –"

Athena cut him off suddenly with a raised hand. She stood, towering above him, and approached him slowly, taking her time, with that haughty look on her face. "Poor Zeus can't do anything anymore. He's…helpless."

"What's going on?" Percy asked, backing up, as Athena came closer to him. Her eyes were set with a cruel determination that made Percy nervous – he couldn't defeat her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Athena waved her hand, beckoning to something behind Percy. Percy turned his head carefully, not wanting to expose his back to Athena. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a muscular man, much older than Percy, perhaps around 25. He had soft golden curls, and his eyes were a sky blue color. But the strangest thing about him was a pair of wings that stuck out his chiseled back, enabling him to fly into the room fluidly.

Eros. This was notorious son of Aphrodite that threw love stories into turmoil.

"Eros." Percy said under his breath. But this didn't escape unnoticed by Athena.

"Oh, very good, Percy. I'm surprised you even know his name, what with the size of your brain." Athena smirked. "Well, I suppose you get your brain from your father."

Percy's eyes widened, and then immediately narrowed. How dare she? "Don't talk about my father that way." He retorted.

"Don't talk about my father that way." Athena mimicked in a high-pitched voice. She placed a hand on Percy's shoulder, and he could feel her sharp nails digging into his skin. She leaned in close, and whispered, "Boy, your father isn't here to protect you. I can say anything I want."

Percy crumbled under the pain of her hand, and fell to his knees, gasping. She let go, and raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Oh, you gave up already. See, you're just like your father and your dear uncle…weak."

"Hey!"

Percy heard a new, deep voice echo out from behind one of the doors behind the circle of enormous thrones. The door was blasted open, and Percy shut his eyes and ducked his head as the debris scattered all over the room.

"I told you to stop doing that!" He heard Athena snarl.

"Oh, calm down! It's just a door." The man's voice snapped. "And I'm his uncle too. I am most certainly not weak."

Percy coughed as the dust cleared, and he opened his eyes carefully. Through the dust emerged a man, dressed in all black, with blazing eyes that were centered on Percy.

"Hello, Percy Jackson." Hades growled with an evil grin.

"Psst…Grover." Thalia hissed, giving Grover a look around the corner. She was standing in the middle of Luke's kitchen, pretending to get a glass of water. Grover was seated on the couch with Annabeth and Luke in the living room, watching an insanely boring war movie that Luke found fascinating.

"What?" Grover turned to face her slightly, confused.

"Come…here." Thalia said in a low voice, jerking her head. Grover scrunched up his face, but nevertheless, got up to talk to Thalia in the kitchen.

"I am…going to get a glass of water." Grover announced awkwardly to Luke and Annabeth, as Thalia slapped her forehead with her palm. When he finally reached the kitchen, Thalia smacked him on the arm.

"Ow, what was that for?" He whispered loudly, pouting, rubbing his arm – she had quite the power in her hand.

"For being an extremely obvious dummy." Thalia growled.

"Okay, well, what do you want?" Grover asked, rolling his eyes.

Thalia hesitated, and cast a short look over at the couch, making sure that Annabeth and Luke hadn't noticed. Luke was sitting there, an arm around Annabeth, staring at the screen, captivated. "Have you heard from Percy?" She asked quietly, her eyes concerned. She had been hoping that Percy had contacted Grover through their empathy link in the past hour.

Grover shook his head, and shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine."

Thalia groaned. "We don't know that! Don't you even care for your best friend?"

"Of course I do!" Grover exclaimed. "But what do you want me to do?"

"Contact him." Thalia said, her eyes pleading. "Please, Grover, he could be committing suicide by jumping off of the Brooklyn Bridge right now." Thalia wrung her hands. One of her major flaws – jumping to the worst case scenario.

"Percy wouldn't do that." Grover said dismissively.

"Well, his girlfriend just…forgot him." Thalia said incredulously. "That's pretty bad."

"Yeah, why do you suppose that is?" Grover said slowly, lowering his voice to the point where it was almost inaudible.

Thalia bit her lip, and then shook her head. "I don't know. I kept saying it was the arrow of Eros, but they don't make you forget someone or hate someone…they make you love someone."

"Well, she couldn't have just forgotten, like, 10 years of being with Percy." Grover said obviously.

Thalia threw him a look. "Oh no, didn't you hear? She just hit her head on a rock and got amnesia. But she remembers everybody else, just not Percy." Thalia said sarcastically.

Grover frowned. "If you're going to be like that, I'm just gonna leave."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Thalia buried her head in her hands, and sighed deeply. "It's just…it's been an overwhelming for the past few days. Luke coming back, coming here, now this…"

"Hey, it's okay." Grover gave her a small, comforting hug.

"Thanks." Thalia closed her eyes. It was quiet for a few seconds, before Grover broke the silence with a tense question.

"Are you buying the reason for why Luke came back?" Grover asked suspiciously. Luke had explained why he was so suddenly back from the dead, while they had listened with shocked faces – they had never known Hades to give up a person from his Underworld.

Thalia chewed her bottom lip a little bit more, and gazed once more at Luke. "No…not completely."

"Yeah, it doesn't seem…likely." Grover said thoughtfully. They stood there staring at the couple on the couch for another few seconds, without speaking.

"Well," Thalia began. "You better try to contact Percy."

"Sure." Grover closed his eyes.

Percy was in a dark room. The only light in the room came from a small sliver of a window in the heavy door, which had been closed shut only a few minutes ago. Percy sat there, on the cold ground of the cell, helpless. His hands were chained to the wall, and no matter how hard he thrashed around, they would not give away.

"Ah!" Percy screamed, straining as much as his body could, without physically over-exerting itself.

"Screaming is not going to help, Percy." Athena's cruel eyes appeared in the window, framed by the golden light of Mt. Olympus outside.

"Why are you doing this?" Percy shouted at her, fuming. "Why do you want to kill me?"

"Oh, I don't want to kill you." Athena said softly, smiling. Somehow this didn't come as a relief to Percy. "I just want you to forget."

"Forget? Forget what?" Percy asked heatedly, irritated by her riddles.

"Actually forget would be an understatement." Athena said slowly, ignoring Percy's question. "I want you to hate."

"HATE WHO?" Percy bellowed, pulling on the chains even more.

Athena smirked. "Those chains are unbreakable, Percy. Don't try. You'll just hurt yourself."

"Answer my question!" Percy grunted, breathing heavily.

"Sure." Athena smiled. "I want you to hate my daughter, Percy Jackson. I want you to hate her with every ounce of your being. I want you to hate her so much that you'll never want to go near her again."

Percy gaped at her, mouth opening and closing. He was taking shaky breaths now, praying that she meant a different daughter other than the one he was thinking of.

"I want you to hate Annabeth." Athena smiled a harshly beautiful smile.

"Why?" Percy's voice broke, and his tears were falling rapidly to the floor. Hate Annabeth? How could he? That would be like hating a part of him. It would be like hating the most beautiful thing in his life, like hating the thing that brought him the most happiness in life. Because Annabeth was, truly and sincerely, all of that.

"Because you don't deserve her, you dirty little son of Poseidon!" She roared. "How dare you love my daughter, you filthy little sea urchin!" She breathed before continuing. "In a few minutes, once Eros is done making his lead-tipped arrow, you're going to hate Annabeth more than you would have thought possible."

"A lead-tipped arrow?" Percy willed himself to ask, although a part of him didn't even care anymore.

"Yes, stupid boy. Eros has two types of arrows – gold-tipped and lead-tipped." Athena explained, rolling her eyes. "Gold-tipped arrows make you love someone, and lead-tipped arrows make you hate someone."

"You used them on Annabeth." Percy whispered slowly, realization washing over him like an enormous, depressing wave.

"Yes. One gold-tipped arrow for Luke and a lead-tipped arrow for you. Finally getting it, Percy?" Athena laughed, and her eyes disappeared from the tiny window, leaving Percy to dwell on his miserable thoughts alone.

"WAIT!" Percy screamed after her, not done with his questions. Athena reappeared, an irritated look on her face.

"What?"

"How did you bring Luke back?"

"You haven't figured that out yet?" Athena raised an eyebrow. "Your lack of common sense amazes me."

"Just answer the question." Percy said, ignoring her jibes.

"Hades, stupid boy." Athena said. "He agreed to bring Luke back as long as he was allowed to come back to Mt. Olympus to be one of the twelve major gods. We're thinking about replacing your father." Athena smirked.

"Why bring Luke back?"

"Oh, Percy," Athena smiled a sickeningly sweet smile. "I have a heart. I wasn't about to let Annabeth live alone."

Percy stared at her, open-mouthed. "Why are you doing this?" He asked again blankly, his face wet.

"I told you why. You don't deserve her, and your father doesn't deserve to be powerful."

"I thought you two had worked it out…" He said weakly.

Athena shook her head, smiling. "Being an immortal, you can hold grudges for a very long time." With that, she left, and Percy heard the swishes of her dress disappear into the next corridor.

What had Percy gotten himself into?