Hello, gorgeous/handsome! Welcome. FYI it is currently raining where I am; yay! Thanks for returning for Part 13, and to all those who read/reviewed/followed/favorited last chapter: THANK YOU. Here is Chapter 13:

"Percy."

My name. Someone said my name, but I barely heard whoever it was. I was too focused on Beckendorf and his still chest, his closed eyes, to register anything around me.

"Percy," the voice said, more insistent this time. I felt a gentle tug on my sleeve, the fabric all battered and ripped, and I looked up. It was my mom. "Percy," she implored, a hint of desperation creeping into her tone. "Please, we have to go, sweetie. Right now."

"But," I whispered, though there was nothing more to the phrase than that.

"Honey, I know how much pain you're in right now. Trust me, I get it. And as your mom, I wish nothing more than to be able to take all of that pain away from you. But I can't, and I know that you understand that all of this," she said with a wave at her hand, glancing down dejectedly at Beckendorf's body, "is part of life, whether it's the mortal world or a crazy world filled with gods and monsters and glowing weapons and goat men, it's the same. Death hurts, no matter what. And I hate it. But right now, we have to keep moving, or some other monster might track us down and kill us, and there won't be any chance of easing the pain, or of anything getting better for you ever again. Do you understand?"

When I didn't respond, which was a reaction caused both by grief from my friend's still-fresh death and the astounding speech she'd just made, she knelt down in front of me, gazing into my eyes, and put her hand on my shoulder. Though her hand was soft, I could feel through my ripped shirt the faint callouses that were there at her fingertips.

"Let's go," she murmured gently, so much love in the words that I felt my body stand upright and my legs begin to move through a force of their own. Although my mom was just a human, she had the capabilities of a charm-speaking child of Aphrodite without needing any godly blood in her veins.

"But where -" I cleared my throat, embarrassed at the very manly squeak that appeared in my voice, interrupting me. "But where will we go?"

"I just called her," she said naturally, holding up her phone and shaking it slightly for emphasis. Unlike us demigods, who can't carry cell phones because it makes it that much easier to be tracked by monsters, my mom was a regular human, and she was perfectly able to own one. However, whether it was out of politeness for me not being able to have one or if it was just a mom-thing, she opted for an older model instead of the newest iPhone, Samsung, or Android. She decided to go with one of those clunky old phones that's as close to being a typewriter as it is to a phone, with nothing but an option to dial and the bulky keyboard buttons (letters and numbers only). A Blackberry. A Blackberry, for cryin' out loud!

"You just called who?" I asked.

"I think you know."

"Yeah," I said with a sigh, "I do."

...

Knock knock.

My mom and I were waiting outside of a lovely townhouse, a two-floored beauty that rose up before us, its impeccably-chosen gray color - considering who its residents were - a nice blend with the subdued dark green shutters.

I glanced next to me, to my mom. She was biting her fingernails absentmindedly, and I had to remind her not to chew her nails. She responded with a dismissive wave of her hand before going to work on her left hand's once-polished nails.

"Mom, you okay?" I still didn't quite understand why she was so nervous.

Her eyes darted towards me, and away. "I... I'm fine. What about you? You doing okay?" She rubbed my shoulder lovingly, and I mustered up a small smile.

"I'm fine, actually." And I was. I was fairly calm, surprisingly, and wasn't all that worried about seeing her again. I mean, it had only been a day or two since I'd seen her, so nothing could have changed all that much, right?

Wrong. When she opened the door, I felt like my world had been flipped upside down. Her clothes were uncharacteristically rumpled and wrinkled, in contrast to her normally clean-looking attire, and I noticed that she so golden and contained in delicate curls, looked about ready to take a vacation, the normally-golden locks a dirty blonde color, while the locks were matted against her sweaty-looking forehead. Even her startling grey eyes, which usually had that spark of intelligence in them that only the greatest of geniuses possess, had dimmed to a subdued hue, like a boring broth color.

But, I was pleased to see, her eyes lit up considerably when they set sight on me, and mine on hers. When our grey and sea green orbs met, I swear it was like magic, with sparks flying and everything. It was possibly the best romantic reunion we've ever had. We even said each other's names, all whisper-y and dramatic and stuff, though I swear on my own grave that was our raw reaction. (I secretly think that if I auditioned for the male lead on a soap opera, by now they would have no choice but to cast me for the role.)

"Annabeth."

"Percy," she whispered quietly with a short intake of breath, her gasp no less prominent than the now-illuminated eyes that were practically bulging out of her head.

I said nothing in response to that, and for a moment I was feeling kind of awkward, a feeling which made me feel even more awkward, because Annabeth is my girlfriend and best friend, so we should never experience an uncomfortable moment like this again. She, however, seemed to be experiencing none of the awkwardness, as she just stared at me, before stating:

"I didn't believe Sally when she told me."

"Told you what, specifically?" I glanced behind me for some sort of explanation from my mom, but for whatever reason, she had disappeared, abandoning me on the front steps of the townhouse to explain this ridiculous story all by myself. What is with people and running off without saying anything? I wondered. First Cat, now my mom. I only hoped that my breath wasn't bad enough to run off Annabeth too after our beautiful reunion we'd just had. I still hadn't kissed her yet, I realized. I hadn't even hugged her, really, and I decided that needed to change very soon.

"That you weren't really dead."

I looked up at her in surprise, not from the words she'd spoken, but the way that she'd said them. So disbelieving and emotionally detached. I had expected plenty of emotions upon seeing my girlfriend, but, for whatever reason, call me crazy, indifference was not one of the many emotions I'd thought I would see in her.

"I know. It's pretty crazy,. I still don't completely understand it myself, though that's not such an uncommon thing with me, is it?"

I was again surprised by Annabeth's reaction to my words, though this time it was from the ghost of a smile that flashed across her face, disappearing as soon as it had appeared.

"But... How - ? When - ? I don't... I don't... oh!"

Her not-so intelligent words (which are by no means a judge of her excellent mind, a mind that could rival even the likes of Athena herself; maybe even mine!) were cut off as I pressed my lips to hers firmly. For that one moment, it was perfect. Everything was perfect.

Of course, that was the moment my mom chose to return.

"Oh, look at you two!" she cried joyfully, and she even did the mom-thing where she clasps her hands when she's really excited, and then she just places a hand over her heart and shakes her head when she's too happy to even say anything of great importance. "The finest couple on Earth, finally reunited!" I could practically hear her pulling out her figurative camera and snapping at least a dozen photos for our theoretical (and yet-to-exist) family scrapbook.

Go figure.

If you're reading the story right now, then hi! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please tell me what you thought with a review. Following and favoriting works too. Also voting on my profile's poll. But mainly reviewing.

Have a great week!

Love,

~Princess Andromeda II