Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 9

After Percy capped Riptide, he walked back to the extinguished fire, and continued his searching. The fire that had once been crackling with heat was now just water blobs on the ground. The trail went on for a couple of meters before it stopped abruptly, showing the end of the road.

It was a cliff. Percy could clearly see the bottom was far away. He swallowed nervously. Was he very high up to be blasted by Zeus? Then he remembered that this was Alaska, the gods couldn't really do anything in the country.

Talking about the bottom, Percy thought, looking down once again. Is that orange I see...? He groaned as he thought about it again. Either that, or a camp T-shirt, which means that someone's coming to save me and die...

Erasing that thought out of his head, Percy pulled his head back up from the cliff. There was a chance that the skull was down there but it was far down, he could die, or be severely injured...

"You know why you keep failing to find the skull?" A quiet voice asked.

Percy turned around, his heart hammering in his chest. He breathed out once he saw it was the attacker.

The attacker responded to his own question, making Percy wonder why he ever asked the question in the first place.

"It's because the skull is in a flame," the attacker answered. "If you extinguish the flames, then the skull won't be there."

"So I just walk in the fire without any water helping me?" Percy asked, bemused.

Nodding, the attacker vanished, leaving Percy with the 'the attacker is Zeus' idea in his mind again. The thought vanished along with the attacker though, leaving him with more questions and thoughts. He thought it would be painful, walking through the fire.

It was just a thought however. And reality hurts more than just a thought. Mix that thought along with the thought of how to get down, and you get one really painful, sore body in the end.

Percy searched inside his bag for any items that might help him get down.

Nothing.

Which usually meant that either people would give up, or go down rock climbing style. And the son of Poseidon would most definitely not give up. The hard way then.

Rock climbing for Percy was one of the hardest activities in camp. There were others too, but rock climbing was one of them. And that was for going up. He didn't exactly want to see the results of him going down, with the possible option of death to go with that if he made on wrong move or slipped.

A nonexistent light bulb went of in his head. For a second, Percy remembered his Achilles Heel. It turned off after he also remembered the part where he got attacked.

Just to make sure, however, he touched the part on his back where his Achilles Heel used to be. No spark or tingle erupted when he felt it. It was officially and truly gone.

Great, Percy thought sarcastically, before he sat down on the edge of the cliff, studying where he would place his foot first. He didn't see many places, all of them looked slippery and a very bad grip.

And then he saw it, a place where he could put his foot. It consisted of two big rocks that were slightly squashed together. Bits of frost were attached to them, but nothing too major.

Is it possible? Percy thought as he fished an apple out of his bag. Could I actually climb down...?

It would be possible but hard. There were some rocks leading a miraculous trail all the way down, but still, it would be tough. He shivered as a cold blast of wind hit him. He nearly fell down the edge, but he steadied himself quickly.

Anything for family, Percy thought, as he took one bite into his apple, put it back in his bag and started climbing down.

In Camp Half-Blood:

Flashes of light either meant the Stolls or the gods. But seeing as the Stolls were in the infirmary because of a prank that backfired on them, it had to be the gods.

"I'll see who it is," Chiron said, already going out the door. "You stay here and rest."

Annabeth didn't protest as she watched her mentor gallop out the doorway, his bow and arrow already in his hands. She guessed by the colors that the Big Three might have come, no matter how incredulous that idea was.

Will was currently trying to figure out how to turn the Stolls' hair back to its natural color, when he heard loud galloping.

"Children," Chiron announced rather hurriedly. "Gather all the campers and bring them to the dining pavilion. The Big Three are here, and they have an announcement to make."

And with those words being spoken, Chiron left, leaving all the conscious campers in the infirmary wondering what the Big Three had to say.

Annabeth began sitting up. "I'm getting my siblings."

Will ran over to her and pushed her back down. "You need to rest."

"Didn't you hear what Chiron said?"

"I have ears."

Annabeth refused to lie back down again. "I'm doing what Chiron says, and I suggest you call your siblings as well."

Eventually, after taking out her dagger and lots of glaring, Annabeth decided to make a run for it after lying down. When she saw that Will was getting out some nectar, she pulled away the blankets silently, and ran away discreetly, the son of Apollo not even noticing anything.

The first thing Annabeth did when she got out the door was lean on the railings. She felt dizziness spread through her and she waited for it to go away, before she continued running to her cabin.

This time, Annabeth made sure to look where she was going. She ran carefully, speeding in and out of the trees instead of into the trees. She spotted her cabin, and started putting on more speed, curious of why all of the Big Three were here. Usually it was Hermes who delivered all of the messages.

"Everyone to the pavilion," Annabeth spoke once she arrived at her cabin and went inside. "Apparently the Big Three have an announcement to make."

A/N: Hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was kind of short. Thanks for all the support, I appreciate it!

: You'll find out in the next chapter, don't worry.