A/N: Guess who did it!? Guess who wrote an over 2,000 word chapter, on the first week of school! I DID! YAY! Now you guys all get a little to tide you over, since as you can see, I am at 107 reviews! YAY! well . . . yeah. school. Pre-Calc and Spanish 3 are rather homework-intensive classes, and so is Expository Writing. The updates may be a little . . . irregular from now on out. Sorry.

This chapter is dedicated to Nik1627 , who's been waiting for this chapter for . . . forever. Enjoy, and I hope it lives up to your expectations!

R&R Everyone! Enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed the others. Or even more. That would be great too!

Percy POV

It had been startling, really. Percy had flickered out for a moment, just for a moment had he closed his eyes and felt darkness encroach around him. He'd fought back, straining to see light in the darkness, straining to shut out the sound of Tartarus' laughs. They grated on his ears and his mind and his being.

Then he had snapped back to awareness, only to find Jason gone. The other boy had disappeared without a trace. What . . . ?

Your friend came for the son of Jupiter. Tartarus' voice echoed through his head, and Percy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the voice out of his head. It didn't work. She came for him, and left you. This actually didn't have the effect Tartarus was hoping for, assuming he didn't want to give Percy hope. Jason must be alright. Someone had healed him. So, now they'd be coming for him.

No- Tartarus said, sounding annoyed.

Yes, thought Percy, loudly as he could. Yes, they will. And no one would ever be able to convince him otherwise. Tartarus was silent, and it stayed that way for a few minutes. Then something happened. Something white and cloudy seemed to be obscuring his vision, making the ship around him fade out of reality. But for some reason, Percy didn't really feel all that worried.

"Percy," came a voice, one he hadn't heard in a long time. Actually, he really hadn't heard a girl's voice for a long time.

He turned and saw Hazel, looking a little unsteady on her feet, flickering slightly as she stood in front of him. "Hazel . . . are you . . . ?"

"Here to heal you?" she asked with a smile. "Yes."

She walked toward him, and he tried to move towards her, but it felt like something was grasping at him, pulling him back, keeping him in place. The pain of moving before, which was noticeably un-sentient, simply there just because, was gone. It must have disappeared with the image of the Argo II. This pain felt malicious. Sentient. Alive and very powerful. As if I'd let you go so easily. You are mine, and will forever belong to me!

Hazel's eyes widened. "Percy!" She leapt forward and grabbed his outstretched hand. He noticed that his own hand's solidity was fading as Hazel grabbed at his upper arm. "You need to follow me! Quickly!"

Somehow, where Hazel touched him seemed to be solidifying, as if her . . . almost physical touch was bringing him back. She dragged him forward, but something was digging claws into his shoulder and Percy cried out at the pain.

"Percy! What's . . . ?"

"Tartarus!" he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain. Tartarus wasn't letting him go. Hazel put a hand on his shoulder, looking up into his eyes.

"You need to follow me, Percy," she said, and the seriousness in her voice somehow negated some of the pain. "You need to come back to us. To Annabeth. Please Percy!" Hesitantly, he took a step forward. Towards Hazel. The claws dug into him and he yelped.

The Mist swirled around them, coming closer, the magical aura surrounding the two demigods. The feeling of pain was muted again, and Percy took another step forward as Hazel took a step back. "Come on Percy," she says. "You can do it." He follows, but the pain just keeps mounting. Percy can feel himself shaking, and something hot and sticky is running down his back.

"Hazel," Percy says, and his voice is brittle like glass, so brittle, he feels like it will break if he speaks much louder. His throat feels sore and there's a coppery taste in his mouth. "Hazel, I can't . . . ."

She's still looking at him with a determined set to her mouth. "Don't you dare give up now, Jackson," she says. "Annabeth is waiting for you to wake up. You got through Tartarus, don't you dare give up when you are so close."

'So close to what?' he wanted to ask, but Percy simply nodded, taking another step. He felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as pain shuddered through him again. Hazel tightens her grip on his right arm, pulling him forward even as cries of pain are drawn from his lips. The pain is blinding him, and Percy can no longer tell where its origin is. The Mist surrounds them now, darkening into a thick, murky grey as he lets the blackness of his mind overtake him.

It was a few moments before Percy realized that the darkness was now the kind that came from closed eyes, rather than unconsciousness. Slowly, he opened his eyes, dragging heavy eyelids apart. The first thing he saw was Annabeth's face above him. He'd never seen her expression change so fast. Great worry morphing quicker than his mind could follow into even greater relief. "Anna-" was as far as his cracked voice got before she pressed her lips to his. It was just a quick thing, the pressing of their lips together, but it still sent a thrill through him.

"You're alright!" she said breathlessly. Percy nodded with a small smile. He moved to sit up, but pain lanced through him and he gasped. "Percy?" worry had crept back into Annabeth's face.

"My back . . ." Percy said, panting slightly, eyes closed. He felt a cool hand on his forehead, and then someone pulled him up. He groaned as the pain shot through him again.

"Hazel, I need bandages, now!" The voice was unfamiliar to Percy, and for a moment he thought that perhaps it was Piper's charm-speak. But when he opened his eyes, an unfamiliar face swam into view. Pale skin and light brown hair that framed a heart-shaped face. Her gentle eyes a light shade of brown like dry sand on a beach. "Child of Athena, if you could cut away his shirt?"

Percy blinked as he felt Annabeth's hand on his shoulder to steady him, cutting away his shirt from his body with a cold, cold, cold knife. Did he mention it was cold? The air kissed his skin, and he noticed for the first time that he was covered in a sheen of sweat. And that his back was still coated in something sticky and warm that oozed slowly down his skin. Oh. That would be blood, he supposed. Most likely his blood.

He felt the unfamiliar woman's cool hands against his back, and he hissed as her touch sent waves of pain through him. "I am sorry, son of Poseidon," she murmured. "This will hurt."

She pressed the cloth of a bandage to his back, and he screamed. His every nerve was on fire, but his blood was frozen. Percy's world was blacked out, but he could still feel everything. He screamed and screamed and screamed. The pain was unbearable, and Percy felt his heart stutter in his chest. He screamed his voice hoarse, until he was too exhausted to continue.

Percy let his head fall forward, onto Annabeth's shoulder as she looped an arm over his shoulders, careful to avoid the new bandages. Her other hand carded gently through his damp hair. "Shh, you're alright," she was saying, rocking him slightly. Hazel appeared beside her.

"He needs to sleep," she murmured to Annabeth, and the daughter of Athena nodded. She lays him down again, and he whimpers as his back hits the mattress.

"You're alright," Annabeth repeated. "I know it hurts, but the wounds were infected. It's much less painful this way." She shook her head, and Percy was surprised through his exhaustion at the tears that gathered in his girlfriend's eyes. "Tartarus is cruel," she said, still carding her hands through his hair.

The rhythm soothed Percy slightly, and he fell into a restless sleep.

Annabeth POV

Annabeth stayed for a few moments after Percy's breath had evened out slightly, tear-tracks glittering on both their faces. "Come on," Hazel murmured, pulling Annabeth up, and embracing her for a moment. "Let's go get something to eat. I never got my pizza."

Annabeth let the other girl pull her out of the room, to the eating area. She glanced at the images of Camp Half-Blood, but where it was evening here, it was early morning in New York. The sun had yet to rise, the sky tinged with pink, and the only figure that could be seen was Hestia, crouching over her hearth in the middle of the camp. Annabeth couldn't say she was particularly surprised that Hestia wasn't at horrible odds with Vesta, her Roman counterpart. She could easily be as Aphrodite, love and home the same however you put it. Besides, Hestia had always struck Annabeth as the kind of goddess who had complete control over her mind.

Frank was already in the eating area, along with Piper and Jason. Jason had recovered pretty quickly, and sat at the table eating pizza as if he hadn't eaten in days which, Annabeth supposed, he hadn't.

"How's Percy?" Frank asked as they entered, and Jason's head shot up, looking from Hazel to Annabeth, swallowing quickly.

"Sleeping," Hazel said quietly. "His power's pretty drained. Panacea said that we might be able to give him some Ambrosia and Nectar when he wakes up."

"Why not now?" asked Piper.

"Apparently it would be better for his body to heal naturally for a while," Hazel said, moving to get some plates from the cupboards that lined the wall. "His spirit needs to acclimate to his body again." Piper nodded as Annabeth sat at the head of the table.

"Did she say where he got those wounds?" the daughter of Aphrodite asked.

"No," Hazel said. "But I think I know."

Annabeth buried her head in her arms for a second. She knew too. Tartarus.

Of course it was me, darling. No one else could touch dear Percy as a spirit. And no one else ever would have been able to. Ever. You really should thank me.

I'm thanking you for nothing, devil, Annabeth thought furiously. Percy was hurt, back torn down to the bone, and this monster was asking her to thank him!? No. Just . . . no. And get out of my head, she added, for good measure.

"I think it has something to do with Tartarus," Hazel was saying. "Tartarus was what pulled him into the veil after all. I think Tartarus didn't want to let him go."

"Then . . . what about Jason?" Piper asked. "How come he's not . . . ."

"Because I wasn't Tartarus' original target," Jason said. It was the first time since he'd woken that Annabeth had heard him speak. His voice was hoarse and tired, as if he'd been trapped in a demigod dream for the past few days without ever actually going to sleep. "For some reason, Tartarus really hates Percy. I imagine it has something to do with the two of you-" here he glanced at Annabeth. "-escaping his domain." He sighed, leaning back from his plate, staring at the spot Percy normally took. "He said Tartarus spoke to him, trying to break him. And that he had no idea if Tartarus would succeed."

"I know the feeling," Annabeth murmured. Jason stared at her. "Tartarus told us he . . . would 'do us an honor' by killing us to raise Gaea. And . . . I thought he meant right then. And maybe he did. But . . . Bob and Damasen gave us time. Tartarus . . . he . . . he must have known that he wouldn't get to us. So . . . I don't know how he does it, but he speaks to us." She felt herself shudder involuntarily. "It's . . . not pleasant."

Annabeth looked at the plate before her, and with a quick application of concentration, an apple appeared against the gold. She bit into it to avoid looking at anyone else. She really just . . . wanted to be left alone to think. But she also supposed that it was good to have people around her right now. Tartarus seemed more likely to talk to her when she wasn't concentrating on anything else. But she was so tired. They all were. Angrily, she tugged on her hair.

Hazel had gone to sit beside Frank, who asked "Where's Nico?"

"Resting," Hazel answered. "He over-taxed himself getting back, even with Mrs. O'Leary to help."

"Where is the dog?"

"Probably still on the ship," Hazel said. "Leo seemed a little annoyed about it, a dog on the Argo II, but what are we supposed to do with her? Besides, I think she knows Percy's in danger. We couldn't get her to leave even if we tried."

A/N: Please a review? A little of your time for a poor author . . . . Yeah. A little melodramatic, but I get that way when school starts :P. I hope you enjoyed, and am VERY SORRY for wasting your time if you didn't. But I still hope you enjoyed. XD