Hey yo :D Happy Tuesday! Thanks to those of you who reviewed last chapter. I meant to get this up yesterday, but my internet at work wasn't working well. This one's shorter and duller than the last, but it needs to be here. I have the next one mostly done, if it's any consolation, so it should be up by Friday. It's a good deal longer.

Enjoy!

Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks / "You broke our spirit," says the note we pass

Despite bruised ribs, bullet grazes, tired muscles, an extreme headache, and the complete lack of energy in her body, Annabeth felt fantastic.

Until now, she hadn't realized how heavy the guilt she'd been carrying really was. But now that the load was lifted, her body felt oddly weightless, as though gravity had completely lost its effect on her. Throughout the CIA infiltration her focus had been set, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that the mission could have failed any number of ways. And since it was her idea, that would have made it her fault. But amazingly, it had worked. They'd found Leo, alive and—oh, not exactly well, but definitely alive. She'd promised Reyna she would do whatever it took to get him back, and she'd succeeded. And the realization that, even somewhat, she'd been able to make up for her past mistakes was enough to blot out the soreness and exhaustion she herself was feeling. She hadn't felt that good in quite a long time.

The elation still hadn't worn off by the time the group made it back to the Marten in Queens, the safest place to get their injuries treated without having to fear CIA retaliation. Percy had called ahead to inform Paul and Tammy Archer, who were overseeing things at the Marten, that they were on their way. Despite the late hour, they found three of Olympus's leaders waiting for them in the lobby when they arrived—Tammy, Harrison Stoll, and Hank Beckendorf.

"Welcome back," Harrison, A/K/A Hermes, greeted them all. His tone was stiff and impersonal but the gleam in his dark blue eyes was a clear mixture of relief and pride. "And let me be the first to say, excellent work. Tonight was a major victory for the organization."

"Indeed," Tammy—Artemis to her organization trainees—agreed with a nod of approval as Harrison checked his sons over for signs of injury. "With luck, they'll think twice before striking us so close to home again."

"Couldn't have pulled it off without you guys' help," Percy said, grinning. "Especially you, Hank. I know how busy you are, and that stuff you gave us really came in handy."

Codename Hephaestus grunted in reply. "Well, you know. Anything for family." His beady eyes shot toward Leo, who was still unconscious and being supported by both Percy and Reyna. "That's the guy, yeah? Doesn't look good. Need help gettin' him down to medical?"

"Yeah, thanks," Percy told Hank as the burly engineer came forward and scooped Leo as up as easily as he might lift a shopping bag.

"You'd all better go along," Harrison suggested with a frown. His eyes surveyed them as he added, "Some of you look like you could use medical attention, too."

As most of the group headed for the nearest elevator, Annabeth looked up at Percy to see him staring at the carpet, a pained look on his face. "Family…" he repeated sullenly.

Annabeth bit her lip. She thought she knew what he was thinking about, but he needed some fixing up as well before anything else happened.

She stepped in front of him and reached toward his face, pushing some stray hair from his forehead and gently touching the nasty-looking cut on his cheekbone. When he flinched, she smiled sadly. "Come on. Let's go get this cleaned up. Then we can… visit your dad."

His expression tightened when he looked at her, telling her she'd been on the mark with that assumption. For a second she feared he would argue, but instead he said tiredly, "Okay. Let's go." Relieved, Annabeth took his hand and led him to the elevators.

-0-0-0-

Despite being in New York for over a week, Annabeth hadn't yet been to see Percy's father Parker in his room beneath the apartment complex. She'd been busy, after all, preparing for their trip to Langley. And the east-coast head of Olympus had had more important visitors. But with her immediate business taken care of, and the dead-of-night activity lull inside the facility, that night finally provided her an opportunity. So after getting her own injuries checked and bandaged up, and changing out of her First Energy jumpsuit and into a much more comfortable ensemble of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, she stopped by Parker's room to find it empty save for the man himself.

Annabeth didn't know codename Poseidon all that well, having only met him a couple of times. But the one thing she'd always remembered most about him was his natural air of calm power—like an ocean about to storm. She'd never seen him angry, but she knew without a doubt how dangerous and terrifying his fury would be. He was strong, just like his late brother, but in a more controlled way.

Perhaps that was why seeing him lying comatose in the bed was so odd to her. He looked like the same man—short-cut black hair brushed with gray above his ears, sun-darkened skin the color of baked clay, once-stern facial lines wrinkled around the eyes from countless smiles. But even among the similarities he was different. His warm, sea-green eyes that looked so much like Percy's were closed, his dark gray eyebrows knitted loosely nearer in subconscious pain. It seemed bizarre to Annabeth that this was the same man who'd welcomed her into Olympus less than three months ago, who'd assured her that her part in Ezekiel Grace's assassination would remain secret. She didn't feel sorrow or loss looking at him now, despite however much she thought she should. It was just that strange.

For a long while she simply sat quietly in Parker's room, watching his chest bob with breath and his eyes shift behind their lids. It made her think about her own father—something she hadn't done since she was very small. She'd never met the man, at least not that she could remember, so the concept was relatively alien to her. All she'd had growing up was her mother, Adelyn. Her mother had been all she'd needed. What was the point in pining after some guy who'd left her long ago? Who might not have even known she existed? Staring at Parker, Annabeth tried to imagine how she would feel were she to discover that her mother was sick and possibly dying. Two years ago, she was sure news of Adelyn Chase's demise would not have affected her too deeply for too long. Now, however, after making amends with the woman who'd raised her, things were different.

Still, even though Annabeth had experienced loss in her life, she didn't know firsthand what it was like to lose a family member, one of the people you loved most. But Percy… He'd lost a brother. He'd lost two close cousins. And now he was losing his father. She glanced at Parker's eyelids—hiding irises identical to those of the man she loved—and for a heartbreaking second imagined that it was Percy lying there dying. It was the only way she could entertain the extent of his pain, and it was awful. She'd felt it for a second during the dream she'd had on the way to Las Vegas, when she'd watched Victor Kronos force-feed her fiancé a bullet. She never wanted to experience it in real life.

Annabeth was so busy breathing deeply and reminding herself that that was only a fantasy that she jumped when the door finally opened and Percy stepped inside. He'd discarded his stolen security guard uniform in favor of faded jeans and a dark green pullover hoodie. His stature was stooped a bit from weariness and his eyes seemed to droop too far down his face.

When he saw her, he gave her a tired smile. "Sorry." He gestured vaguely to the thick wad of gauze attached with medical tape to the side of his face. "Had to get this one stitched. How long you been here?"

Annabeth glanced at the clock. "About an hour. It's okay, though. Some quiet time has been kind of nice after tonight."

"Not a lie," Percy agreed, rubbing his neck. Movements heavy with exhaustion, he pushed the door closed and trudged across the room, taking the bedside seat next to Annabeth. He didn't even look at his father, just hunched forward with a sigh and rested his face in his hands.

Frowning in sympathy, Annabeth scooted her chair closer and slid her arms around him, resting her head on the back of his shoulder. "I know you're worried," she said gently. "And that's okay. Nobody expects you to be all stone-willed about this. But… with everything that's going on… I think you need to consider all possible outcomes."

He breathed out shortly. "I know."

"What are you gonna do if he…?"

His shoulders tensed. "I don't know. Somebody's gonna need to take over, but… It's so dangerous lately and everyone already has enough on their plates. I can't ask any of them to… I mean, not if it'll just…" He shook his head uselessly and fell silent.

Squeezing his arm reassuringly, she said softly, "Talk to me."

He dropped his hands and stared at the floor. He took a slow breath and she felt his muscles expand and contract. Then he turned his head to the side, meeting her gaze, and muttered, "Tell me you don't hate this as much as I do."

She shifted to a more upright position and frowned. He had a wounded sort of look in his tired eyes, but she was aware of a bitter edge to his voice, a hidden harshness even he might not have noticed. She could tell he wasn't just referring to the situation with his father.

"What do you mean?"

The stitch between his eyebrows crept downward into a scowl. "I don't know. I've got this feeling—this… weight. Inside me. And it won't go away. I'm scared, and I'm angry, and I can't help but feel like all these random unseen forces are out to destroy everything I have." He hung his head with a derisive smirk and scoffed. "Is that stupid? It sounds stupid."

Annabeth smiled wryly and admitted, "A little, yeah."

Percy shook his head, pressing a hand to his forehead. "All I want to do is protect my family. But this war is… It's making that impossible. Grover told me to take things slow—one problem at a time. But that won't be an option forever."

Annabeth retracted her arm enough to rub soothing circles on her fiancé's back. "You're thinking too much," she told him. "I know this isn't over, but you need to relax a little. Tonight was good. We got Leo back and everyone made it out okay. We should be celebrating, at least for a bit. Can't we just… take the win?"

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say. Percy tensed and shot to his feet, rounding on Annabeth with a glare in his eyes as she straightened, startled.

"No, we can't," he shot back. "One win isn't a victory. It's just a break between losses. Kronos hit us. We hit him back. Well, guess what comes next?" He turned in a huff and paced toward the wall opposite Parker's bed, wringing his hands agitatedly. "We're digging in deeper here and soon there won't be a way back up."

With a steadying breath Annabeth stood up. She knew from speaking with Grover how volatile Percy's mental state had been in recent weeks, and if she was honest the news had sort of scared her. But meeting with Jason had appeared to help him. And he'd seemed fine during the CIA infiltration, if a little understandably tense. Had something happened during the commotion to set him off? Or was this simply a culmination of stress he'd been hiding as they prepared for the operation? Either way, she would have to be careful what she said.

"Look," she began tentatively. "I know what's at stake—"

"Do you?" he cut her off immediately, turning to face her. She tried not to shrink back at the accusatory look on his face. "This is my family we're talking about. You don't even have a family!"

Annabeth flinched, Percy's sharp voice cutting into her like a knife to the gut. She knew he didn't mean to snipe at her, but that didn't mean she was totally okay with it.

Some mild shock and hurt must have shown on her face, because his angry expression melted. His fists unclenched at his sides and he grimaced like he was in pain, fingers twitching.

"No—I'm sorry," he relented. "That's not what I meant—"

"Enough. I'm not gonna listen to this." Annabeth felt a glare harden her own features. Percy glanced down, avoiding her eyes, and she noticed him grit his teeth as his breathing seemed to speed up. His hands trembled has he clasped them together. He was losing it again—but she wasn't about to let that happen. She stood up straighter, pushing back her shoulders and letting determination flood her.

"I'm not gonna let you stand here and push me away," she told him stonily. "Stop focusing on how much our situation sucks right now and listen to me. I know exactly what's at stake here because I do have a family. You."

Now it was his turn to cringe like he'd been stabbed. Annabeth took a step toward him and forged on, "You don't think I'm scared to death of what might happen to you? You're the leader of Olympus, you moron! Kronos knows you by name! He wants you dead! I should be more afraid than anyone!"

His eyes flashed as he demanded in a shaky voice, "So why aren't you?"

"Who says I'm not?" she shot back. "I'm freaking terrified! You're right about one thing, I don't know what it feels like to lose a member of your family. And I never want to find out. Because just imagining it is bad enough. I think of you getting killed and it hurts worse than any pain I've ever felt. I know you want to protect the people you love. I know you're scared you won't be able to. But I'm telling you worrying about it won't make the fight any easier. If anything, it'll only make things worse. I mean… look at you. You're a mess."

He chuckled weakly at the floor, some of the tightness in his body seeming to recede. "Gee, thanks."

Annabeth smiled. She reached up to brush Percy's bangs aside—a favorite habit of hers—and he lifted his head to meet her eyes as she said softly, "I don't like seeing you like this any more than you do. But the only way I can think to help you is… by being here. And making sure you're here for me." She took both his hands in hers and guided his fingertips to the diamond-faced engagement ring on her left hand. "You and I are in it for the long run, remember? Any problems you have you can share with me. We're a team. I've learned lately that expecting bad things to happen is the same as asking them to. We can't let heavy stuff like fear weigh us down. We have to stay focused on our goal, otherwise we'll never reach it. And we have to do it together."

He seemed much calmer now, which made her heart leap happily in her chest. When he smiled, she could tell it was real.

"I love you," he said simply, tightening his grip on her hands.

"I know. I love you, too." She grinned and stood on tiptoe to press a kiss to his lips. "But don't scare me like that anymore. Next time I'm not talking you down. I'll go straight to knocking you out."

He laughed, and a comfortable warmth bubbled inside her. "Yes, ma'am."

He let her guide him back to his father's bedside and the chairs they'd abandoned. She pulled his arm around her shoulders and leaned into him, smiling as he brushed his fingers through her dyed hair.

"So now what?" Annabeth wondered aloud after a moment of silence. Reveling in their success was all well and good, but they needed a plan of action. As he'd said, the war wasn't over just because they got the jump on their opponents one time. She had to take her own advice and stay focused.

She glanced up to see Percy watching his sleeping father, a troubled frown on his face. "In Langley," he replied, "Atlas said… 'your band of thieves isn't as safe in New York as you think they are'. I don't know if he knows where we are or if he was just trying to scare me, but… either way, I think we should do something about it. I don't want to take any chances. Well—not any more than I've already taken."

Annabeth wondered to herself if this chat with Atlas was what had made Percy so suddenly nervous. "You mean, go into hiding?"

"Not everyone—I don't want to run the risk of taking my dad or anyone else down here to a public hospital. But if we clear most of the building, send people to a safe place… If only a few of us stayed behind for security, I think we'd have the advantage."

"Advantage…" She stared at a spot on the ground, chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. Trading blows with the agency would get them nowhere in the long run. They had to change the game somehow. "You know what you said a minute ago, about us and them taking turns attacking each other? They're up next, but… what if we can use that against them? Keep the upper hand?"

She sat up straight as he twisted around to narrow his eyes at her. "Meaning…?"

"You and I are the ones they're after. If we can draw them out," Annabeth suggested, recalling the con artistry she'd employed during her days as an assassin. "Get them to chase us somewhere safer for us, away from here. Somewhere they think they're catching us off guard."

"Some place we control…" Percy added, catching on, "that they don't know we control."

"Exactly. It might give us just the advantage we need. We can take another small team—nobody else has to get hurt."

He nodded. "I like the sound of that."

"I thought you would." She squeezed his hand. "We should do it soon, though, before they decide to strike here. So… you don't happen to know of a place like that, do you?"

It was a bit of a long shot, but when Percy smirked Annabeth couldn't help a smile.

"I've got an idea," he told her, the gleam in his eyes making him look instantly more alert. "I'll need to fly out to L.A. in the morning—pay a visit to my Uncle Harley. But if he'll help, I think it'll work."

She tilted her head. "What is it?"

He gave her a sideways glance a grin. "It's been a while since we did anything fun together. How do you feel about a rock concert?"

Heh.

So I'll try to get 12 up by the end of the week, since I'm going out of town on a business trip next week and won't be able to work on this at all. Fingers crossed.

Later days!

-oMM