A/N: Okay, so I have a few things to say in this Author's Note, so please bear with me. First, I would like to thank everyone for their patience and reviews. I realize I haven't updated the actual story for a while and I apologize for that. I've had a great deal on my plate lately that I'd rather not go into, so I have been unable to make myself write for a while. Second, if you have read this story before, you have probably noticed that I removed the excerpt for my original work. After hearing how it confused almost everyone who read it, I decided that this was probably the best choice I could make, and that I wouldn't add anymore of these excerpts. I'd also like to apologize for putting it up, I suppose I was just eager for you all to see some of what I do on my own, and didn't think it through. Finally, I would like to say that I think I did over sell the guns. I guess I ended up over thinking them, and putting my own disgust with my ideas into them, so I'll probably not end up showing it ever again. So, with that done, let's get to the story!

Disclaimer: *Come here, honey badger. Come to Daddy, you little prick. I've got a king cobra for you.* *honey badger exits its den, with the rights in its mouth* *That's it you stupid little crap. Bring the rights to Daddy.* *honey badger comes forward, staring at the bag with the cobra in it* *That's it. That's it. Now, attack my pretties!* *launches stuffed monkeys at the honey badger, who runs in fear for the first time in its life* *Ha ha! I've got the rights, again!* *slips on ice* *Ouch! Ah, how could I fall, again! What is wrong with me? God, what would Brian Boitano?* *Brian Boitano skates up, and takes the rights while using his magical fire breathe* *Dammit, not again! Apparently, Brian Boitano would take my rights!* *begins sobbing uncontrollably* I don't own PJO or HoO, and for those of you who don't know who Brian Boitano is, go on YouTube and search "What would Brian Boitano do?"

Percy IV

Percy stood at the bow of the ship, looking out at the sea. He had been thinking about everything he had learned yesterday, from both Leo and Annabeth. He looked at the gun again and grimaced. All of the heroes had reconciled themselves with the weapons, but none of them truly liked them. Percy knew why he disliked his. Besides the brutal way that it worked, it also felt unfair for him to use it. At least when he was using his powers or fighting with Riptide, the monsters stood a chance of escaping or not being killed by a single hit, but with the guns, they had no chance. He also hated that every time he touched it, he got a strange urge to pull it out and try it on the nearest living thing. He suspected that Leo's dad had blessed these weapons more than Leo had wanted, and made them far more dangerous than they needed to be.

He grimaced again, turning away from the weapon and looked at the sea below him. The guns weren't the main thing on Percy's mind though. He was far more worried about what Annabeth had said.

He truly doubted that Gaea had power over the seas, but he couldn't be sure. Even if she didn't have power over the sea though, he knew the alternative was nearly as bad. Either Oceanus was rising once again, or one of the members of the royal family had turned against Poseidon, neither of which were good scenarios, because it meant that Poseidon would now most likely have a two front war on his hands.

Percy remembered how Poseidon had looked during his battle with Oceanus, and Percy knew that the fight that was coming for Poseidon was going to be even worse. As he stared at the sea, Percy debated whether he should jump into the ocean and find his dad to tell him what they had figured out. He also remembered what he had done when he they had fought against the Kraken.

He looked at his hands and curled them as the icy feeling rushed through his body, just as it had when he made the giant icicle. He stared at his hands for a few more moments before raising them. A few thin streams of water came out of the sea and began to wrap around each other, until they were so tangled up that it was impossible to follow a single stream without moving onto a different one on accident. With a flick of his wrist, Percy felt the icy feeling rush out of his body as the tangled streams of seawater froze in a matter of seconds. He then used a low-pressure stream of water to move the sculpture onto the deck of the ship so he could look at it more closely.

As Percy ran his fingers along one of the icy cold lines, he heard, "That's really pretty, you know."

Percy turned around to see Annabeth looking at the ice sculpture, and then turning her eyes upon him. Her grey eyes gleamed bright as she looked into his, and he felt his sad thoughts melt away. He hadn't felt like things were normal between them since they had left Camp Jupiter and he felt himself walk up to her and wrap his arms around her waist.

She looked up into Percy's face, a small, questioning smile on her face, until he leaned down and began to tenderly kiss her. He felt the familiar electric shock run through his body as he kissed her, and felt her hands find their way into his hair. He smiled slightly into the kiss and felt her smile into it as well.

Annabeth finally pulled away, her eyes closed and a small, content smile on her face. "What was that for?" she asked, her voice oddly breathy, something that Percy had never heard from her before.

He smiled down at her and asked, "What, I can't give my girlfriend a kiss, anymore?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him, her smile widening. "Maybe…maybe not. Maybe your girlfriend doesn't just want a kiss anymore, and she wants to see what you'll do," she said, saying the last part directly in Percy's ear.

Percy blushed furiously at the implications. He knew that Annabeth had made almost every move in their relationship, but he had still never expected her to make that move so quickly. "Umm," he said, looking away from her.

Annabeth laughed. "Calm down, Seaweed Brain, I'm just messing with you," she said, before pulling him in for another kiss. Percy's embarrassment melted away as the electric shook rushed through him. He ended pulling away this time and looking down at his sweetly smiling girlfriend. Her eyes were once again closed and he could see a great deal of the tension that she had also been feeling had melted out of her. He brought one arm up and began to gently run a hand through her hair. Her content smile grew and she rested her head against his chest, causing warmth to spread from where she made contact with him.

"What are we going to do?" Annabeth asked after a number of minutes had passed in silence.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, already knowing the answer, but not wanting to acknowledge it.

"How are we going to stop Gaea?" she asked, pulling away from him enough to look him in the eyes. "You saw her face the same as I did."

Percy knew what she meant. When they had last seen Gaea, she had obviously been barely asleep. He knew they were running out of time to stop her, and if they didn't find a way to put her back under soon, everything they had done wouldn't matter. Gaea could wipe them out in a matter of minutes if she was awake, and Percy knew that no one, not even the Olympians would be able to stand up to her.

Percy looked down at Annabeth and was surprised to see that there was no fear in her eyes, just a steely determination. "I don't know what we're going to do stop her," he said, truthfully, but then added, "but, whatever it is, it will work."

"Do you think the guns could work?" Annabeth asked.

The idea surprised Percy, and he involuntarily looked down at the pistol at his hip. The lustrous steel of the weapon shined with a strange, frightening light. "Maybe," Percy started to say, but then shook his, "but I doubt it. Even if we unloaded every bullet into her, and Leo made a few thousand more, I doubt it would do much to Gaea. I mean, she's Mother Earth, we'd have to completely decimate the planet to stop her if she wakes up, and that would kind of defeat the purpose of our mission."

Annabeth nodded. "I guess you're right," she said. "I just wish Chiron had told me what his plan might be, but he seemed as scared about it as the idea of Gaea waking up."

Percy nodded, not for the first time wishing that his teacher was there to help guide them. He smiled at her, wanting to get off of the serious subject. "How were things at camp going?"

Annabeth smiled again. "Apparently, Nike's making things interesting for them," she said, giggling slightly. "I'm sure Clarisse is having a great time with her, though."

Percy laughed, certain that the daughter of Ares was keeping the minor god happy by fighting her any chance she got. He looked at Annabeth's smiling face and, once again, felt the problems he had been worrying about melt away. He brought her into another kiss, certain for the first time that they would stop Gaea, somehow.

They remained in the embrace longer than the other two, so long that Percy nearly missed the feeling of a massive body in the water below them.

He immediately pulled away in surprise, and fear, wondering if they were about to face another Kraken. Percy stood still, concentrating on finding any signs of life from the mass below them. He paid everything else no heed until he was certain the mass was inanimate, and until Annabeth smacked him hard on the back of the head.

"Ow!" he cried, opening his eyes. "What was that for?"

"You weren't answering me, so I thought something was wrong," she answered back, as if that was the obvious thing to do.

"But why did you hit me?" he asked again. "What if I had been having a seizure, or stroke, or something? Is hitting someone really the best thing to do then?"

She rolled her eyes. "You definitely weren't having a stroke or seizure, so I thought you might have gotten paralyzed by something and I figured that a shock would be the best chance of getting you out of it," she said, completely calm.

Percy glared at her, then quietly grumbled, "You're really lucky you're cute."

She chuckled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks, now what happened?" she asked.

Percy quickly explained about the mass below them, ending with a shrug while saying, "It's probably nothing, just an undersea volcano, or island, or maybe even a big reef. I guess I'm still just nervous because of the attack by the Kraken."

Annabeth nodded and said, "That's probably it," before stepping away from Percy and heading toward the door to the ships interior. Percy watched as she walked away, and as he did, felt three bodies as large as the Argo II break away for the mass below them and rush up toward the ship at a fast clip. They moved so fast, in fact, that Percy didn't even have time to do more than open his mouth as the masses broke the surface, and surrounded the Argo II.

Alright, that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. As you can see, I tried to get a little more Percabeth in this one, and attempted to dampen the guns bad nature.