AHHH! The Last Olympian is out, and it was amazing! I have a lot to say about it- read it on my profile.
But anyway, here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Quick recap: Calypso has suddenly disappeared after the invasion and Percy can't stop blaming himself.

There was less than a week left before I turned sixteen.

The world was on my shoulders.

I had spent the past days dreading over Calypso, and as pathetic as it was, I couldn't help it.

The guilt wouldn't leave, and my dreams were getting worse and worse. I heard Calypso's piercing screams almost every singe night in my sleep; reminding me of all the unnecessary pain I had caused her.

The grief didn't stop there: The borders weakening, the invasion, the injured campers…everything was because of me.

"Dude, it's faith," Bekendorf told me as I stood giving him company in the camps forge, "It was always meant to happen."

I watched Bekendorf slide a worn out sword along burning coals as they sharpened the dull blade.

"No it wasn't," I muttered, "I changed faith. If I hadn't had wished for her…"

Bekendorf looked up from his work, "You did what's right Percy. You freed her."

"Freed her?" I began to get angry at myself all over again, "She's probably somewhere in Kronos' cage right now."

"That's not you're fault." Bekendorf told me, "Look, if you got the chance to make you're decision all over again- would you wish for anything different?"

That was something I had never thought about.

"Would you just leave her on her island?" Bekendorf said.

"At least she was safe there." I looked away, "And it would have kept things a lot better here at camp. The borders would be okay, no one would have gotten hurt, the world would be balanced…Annabeth wouldn't hate my guts."

Bekendorf rotated the hilt of the sword and the other side of the blade sizzled in the jumpy fire. "She doesn't hate your guts, dude."

I was tempted to prove him wrong and tell him how much things had changed. Annabeth and I were still talking to each other like everything was okay, but it wasn't the same. Our conversations were dull and forced. Annabeth barely laughed anymore, and when she revealed one of her rare smiles, her heart wasn't in it.

Bekendorf pulled the blade out of the heat and it glistened newly sharpened. "Maybe that's why you're blaming yourself so much." He said.

I looked at him, "What?"

"I don't know," Bekendorf said, wiping his hands on a torn rag, "I guess, you just can't stand seeing Annabeth this way."

I didn't know what he meant, but a strange tugging in my stomach told me not to think too hard on it.

"Cheer up, man," Bekendorf said as we exited the forges. "You've got other things to think about."

He was right. As difficult as it was, I distracted myself that day. Most of my time was spent in the sword arena.
During the past few days, it felt like I had I found new inspiration with Riptide. I felt like I needed to get better. I needed to win the next time I saw Luke. I needed to make him regret what he did to hurt Calypso. He needed to regret leaving camp, his cabin, his brothers. He needed to regret betraying Annabeth. That thought was enough to get me through the day.

--- star things---

That night, my dreams were relentless.

"It's only a matter of time..." The Titan Lords voice echoed against the ceilings. "How long do you expect to run, Jackson?"

I could feel my hands clutching in my sleep.

"You will have to chose one or the other." Kronos stood from his thrown, " The day is nearing."

Time sped. In a zip of air I saw snippets of camp. Monsters invading. The woods and cabins in flames. My friends on their knees pleading with me. It was everything I feared.

"Perrccy!!" Calypso's sharp scream rang through my head, "Please! Save me! Don't let it happen! Don't-" Her voice was cut off.

I shot up in my bed. My hands felt sweaty and my heart was racing.

My cabin was pitch black and it felt like the air itself was cutting through me. I stood abruptly, and exited my cabin.

I probably wasn't thinking to have gotten up and left in the middle of the night, but I seriously had to get away.

Kronos' words repeated themselves in my head over and over. My prophecy was coming and I had no idea what choice I was going to face.

I felt helpless.

Was Calypso warning me? Was she in trouble?

Thoughts after thoughts zapped in and out of my head. I slowly strolled the edge of the fields as I gathered myself.

The night was quiet, except for the howls of the winds and the distance voice of the sea. I kicked a pebble out of the grass underneath me as I walked forward aimlessly.

I would have to choose one or the other. Kronos words crept in the back of my mind.

I was nearing the borders when suddenly, I saw a figure in the distance.

It was hours past camp curfews. Who would've have been up this late at night?

I felt Riptide fill my pocket. Walking over the hills, I approached and the sea came into view.

The waves seemed to be fiercer than usual tonight. They rose high above the earth and crashed back into the currents without restrain.

The air was frigid and the wind was restless.

I had gotten close enough to get a clear view.

The next thing I saw struck me. The figure standing in the ocean was Annabeth.

Before I could allow my mind to pull out a conclusion, I inched forward.

She was standing a few feet into the deep water. It looked like she was talking.

I couldn't hear her over the roar of the currents that wrestled against themselves, forming violent waves.

"Annabeth?" I called out, but my voice was faded away into the night wind.

I took another step forward.

The wind swayed her blonde hair in different directions. I stopped at the edge of the ocean, right behind Annabeth.

Waves crashed around her knees.

When the wind would take silent breaths, I could hear snippets of what she was saying.

"Don't you remember any of it?" She was looking up into the sky. Her voice weak.

"You were the only thing I ever had!" She cried, her voice picking up.

At that moment I forgot everything. My dreams, the prophecy, Calypso- they suddenly vanished from my head. All that mattered to me right now was Annabeth and what she was saying.

My heart sank. She was talking about him. Luke.

Annabeth stepped farther into the ocean, "Don't you remember all those nights you sat next to me until I fell asleep? You took care of me!"

The sea rose up high and then back down.

"How could you do this, Luke? Do you have any idea how much it hurts?" She ran the back of her hand across her eyes, wiping tears.

"You made me believe. You told me about happy endings!" She walked in deeper. The water whirled around her waist now. "Family, Luke! Did you mean anything you said?"

She was almost screaming now, but it didn't matter. The growl of the ocean cut her voice off before it could get back to camp, and I could barely hear her.

"Was it all just a lie?"

I stood there frozen, watching Annabeth scream away her hurt for Luke.

"I trusted you!" She screamed.

Her next words stung into me, "I loved you, Luke!" She allowed her knees to collapse, the restless ocean crashing at her chest. She didn't avert her eyes from the pitch black sky. "Luke!"

Her words washed away into the air. I stood there, watching the waves rock around her.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Then -without any warning- a tall wave suddenly rose deep in the ocean, towering above Annabeth.

I didn't mean to, but reflexively I stepped into the water.

Before Annabeth could react, the wave crashed down and she went under.

My heart raced and threw myself into the currents.

To my relief, a few seconds later, my eyes caught sight of Annabeth. She hovered near the rim, gathering her breath.

Annabeth was a pretty strong swimmer, but for some reason she wasn't trying tonight. The waves tossed against her.

I knew the sea's will, and if she didn't get out soon the tides would collapse down on her.

"Annabeth!" I called, commanding the ocean to carry me towards her.

Higher waves stood, threatening to drown anything in their path. I swam faster, skyscraper-like waves rising above me.

Just before a fierce curl of water hurtled down, I reached and managed to pull Annabeth out of the way.

For a quick second, when Annabeth realized it was me, her gray eyes widened.

Before either of us could say anything, another wave crashed down on top of us, forcing both me and Annabeth under the surface.

I gathered my thoughts, concentrating the will of the sea away.

"Hold on," I told Annabeth underwater, trying to surface.

Annabeth was clenching onto something silver in her hands that I couldn't quite make out clearly.

Even being the son of the sea god didn't have many advantages tonight. The ocean was reckless, trying to break free.

We were only inches away from the rim when another huge load of water boomed down and pushed us farther back. Bubbles escaped Annabeth's lips and I didn't know how much longer she could hold her breath.

It was hard concentrating with everything going on, but I managed to calm the ocean's force. I tried making an air bubble, but my mind was split in a thousand different places to fully concentrate.

"No!" Annabeth suddenly cried, reaching forward. Water filled her mouth. I realized that the small that object she was clenching onto had washed out of her hand down into the ocean.

There wasn't any time. I gathered the currents underneath us and willed them to push us up.

Our heads came above the surface and Annabeth gasped for air. "Percy!" She said, "The ring!"

"What?" I screamed over the waves.

"Please! Percy, I need it!" I held Annabeth back as she reached down cravingly.

I realized she was talking about the small object that had fell out of her hands.

"Annabeth!" I shook her. We were far out into the ocean and we had to get back to shore.

For a second, her eyes looked so pleading, it was as if they were reflecting the entire sea itself.

I looked back down at the dark purple water.

There wasn't anytime to argue. I looked at Annabeth, and without thinking I plopped my head back under the rim and swam towards the ocean's floor. It took me a minute, but a flashing object caught my eye and I scooped it up.

Annabeth was calling my name above the surface as I came back up.

"Percy," She gasped, fighting the waves crashing at her face. I gripped Annabeth's hand as I commanded the ocean to carry us back to camp.

Minutes later the water finally got shallower and shallower and we climbed out of the water until solid ground met our feet.

Annabeth and me crashed right there on the sand, taking in everything that had just happened.

Now I had no problem breathing under water, but Annabeth on the other hand didn't look too good.

I opened my hand, revealing a small circular object, and Annabeth snatched it. Her eyes shooting me a quick thank you as she caught her breath.

I watched her stare at the sand as we finally settled, her fingers tightly closed around the mysterious object.

Collecting a steady breath she turned to me, and it was as if her breathing got panicked all over again, "Percy!" She hissed, "What are you doing out here?"

"Me?" I said, "What were you doing out here?"

"That's none of you're business," she snapped, "How long have you been here?"

I took a breath, "Look, all I was doing was taking a walk and then I saw you. Annabeth, the borders aren't protecting us anymore- the ocean isn't restrained. If you hadn't gotten out, the waves would've..." I didn't finish the thought.

Annabeth looked back towards the sea calming her breath.

"Taking a walk?" She said, "It's the middle of the night."

"Yeah," I answered honestly, "Couldn't sleep."

Annabeth suddenly coughed up water.

"Hey, you okay?" I leaned towards her.

"I'm fine." She looked at me. "Um...thank you."

"No problem," I managed. Annabeth's soaked curls hung in ringlets over her shoulders. She had swallowed too much water. Her hands clenched open and close around the small object in her grasp.

"I didn't know the waves were going to drown me like that." She spoke staring forward.

It took me a minute but I finally asked, "Annabeth, really...why were you out here?"

She looked at me and I was expecting her to snap, but then she exhaled, "I couldn't sleep either. Just wanted to come out here."

There was a lot I wanted to ask her, but I knew better. This wasn't the time.

Annabeth hugged her knees to her chest, "Percy,"

"Yeah?"

"Exactly how long were you standing behind me?" Her voice steady.

I opened my mouth, but the words came out a second later, "Not that long..."

"Did you hear anything?"

"No," I lied.

I remembered Annabeth's words for Luke and I felt like the entire sea was wrestling in my own stomach.

Annabeth's hands were still closing around the small item. I waited a long time before asking, "What is that?"

"Huh?"

"The thing in you're hand,"

"Oh..." She looked down at her clenched fingers. "...it's nothing."

I remembered the look in her eyes when it had washed away from her. It definitely wasn't nothing. "Annabeth..."

She looked at me. It felt like her gray eyes were evaluating me, observing my every flaw before she could decided whether I deserved to know. Then she opened her hand, "It's a ring."

Sure enough, a glistening silver ring laid in the center of her palm. It had a blue stone on it; reminding me of electric blue shade in Thalia's eyes. Looking closer, there was a miniature owl carved in the middle of the jewel.

I looked back up at Annabeth. She was studying my reaction intently.

She took a breath, "It's Luke's ring."

My mouth opened, and the words followed a second later, "What?"

Annabeth closed her fingers around the silver again and set her eyes on the ocean. "The day of the battle," She said slowly, "when I pulled Luke's scythe back from Calypso's neck, this ring fell off of his hand. He was wearing it."

Thoughts began to flow slowly. Suddenly it seemed more like a blade that had drawn innocent blood rather than a simple ring. Annabeth closed her hand.

"What he said to you," I looked forward, "about doing a lot of things for you even though you don't notice. It's really getting to you, huh?"

Annabeth stiffened. "You don't understand, Percy. Luke...he wasn't always bad."

"But he is now," I muttered before I could stop myself.

Annabeth exhaled, turning her head, "Forget it, Percy. I can't even talk to you."

I looked at her, "Look...I'm sorry. It's just-" I stopped in loss of words.

"Whatever," she said dryly.

We sat there in silence.

"You said you couldn't sleep." Annabeth finally broke the barrier.

"Yeah...bad dreams," I told her.

Slowly, Annabeth pressed and I began to tell her about my recent dreams of Kronos.

"He tells you the time is nearing? What?" She said.

"My prophecy. There's only a week left."

A dark shade passed over Annabeth's face, and I had a feeling that she had began thinking.

"And...Calypso," I said cautiously, "I think she could be in trouble." I told her about Calypso's screams that usually woke me up.

Annabeth stared ahead, "At least now you know that she's alive."

I didn't answer to that. Again; silence.

Annabeth suddenly stood up. "Percy, it's almost morning. Look…thank you for pulling me out of there…" she looked at the sea.

I stood after her.

Annabeth crossed her arms as a gust of wind came forward, blowing her hair back. "It's late. We should get back."

"Right."

She looked at me, and I wasn't really sure what to say. It felt like we stood there in silence forever.

"Right…" She said, "Get some sleep."

I nodded. "You too," A part of me just wasn't satisfied. I felt like I wanted to say something. I wanted to ask her about Luke. I wanted to tell her it would be okay. Luke was evil, and she shouldn't waste her breath on him.

Then Annabeth turned and headed towards the cabin. I watched after her as the ocean's thick mist slowly surrounded her and she disappeared into the fog.

Okay…I've seriously been tweaking with this chapter forever. I hope they aren't OOC. I really tried. Tell me what you think! I know that some of the character's died in TLO, but at least they can still live on in this fic! ^_^ Please review!