Chapter 35! Lots of answers to reviewers at the bottom of the chapter. Tongue Twister: Speak Freaking Greek Sphinx - Wow, that's definitely a tongue twister! (Thanks to the guest who provided that!) Please review!

Percy

"Percy, on your left!" Nico shouted, right before slicing the head off of one of the two dozen dracaena that had attacked us.

I pivoted, holding my sword out. I heard a satisfying crunch as Riptide made contact with one of the dracaena. Her eyes slid up into her head, and her limbs started to shake. I pulled Riptide out, and pushed her to the ground, then thrusted my sword into her stomach. After she disintegrated, I turned back to the rest of the fight.

It wasn't that hard of a fight for my questers. We had about fifteen demigods fighting, so that meant we each got about one and a half opponents.

We had been traveling for two days now, and this was the first real attack. The other two had consisted of three Earthborn giants, which got easily taken care of by Hazel, who could kind of control dirt, and the other was just one Laistrygonian giant. Leo turned him into a charred monster pillar.

A five day journey was left until we got to Aegium. That is, if we don't have any major delays.

I saw one dracaena try and stab the back of Frank while he was fighting another monster in human form.

"Frank!" Even as I yelled his name in warning, my sword arm went back, then I whipped Riptide forward. It sailed, hilt over blade, in the air. It's landing spot was where I wanted it, the back of the dracaena. Let her get a taste of what she was about to do.

Frank turned as I said his name, and in the span of two seconds, he saw what just happened, turned into a lion, and swiped at the dracaena before him, finishing it. He bounded off to help his girlfriend, Hazel. Yeah, they're a couple, if you didn't know.

I didn't have Riptide, but it would come back soon. Sure enough, after I had dodged a few thrusts and slashes directed towards me, I felt my sword return to my pocket. I flipped it open, and killed the dracaena in front of me.

I was sure we were almost done, but we still had two dozen dracaena left. I just killed three for sure, I know, and Frank did too… they can't regenerate that fast can they?

I killed one more, then sat back and did a quick head count. Still two dozen. Wait, there's two more than two dozen. What?

Then I saw one come out of the forest to our left. Then another. Two more joined the first.

How many were there in the forest? I jumped down and went to work, clearing a pathway to where I saw the dracaena emerging. I turned five she-dragons to monster dust patties, but more kept coming. Finally, I made it to the spot, and peered in.

My heart sank. There were several dracaena in a clearing just beyond the first bend of trees. I counted as many as I could before I got attacked by two. I had only counted a quarter of them, and it had been at least twenty.

I demolished the two dracaena fighting me, then ran back to my group.

"More in the trees! Tons of 'em!" I warned them all. Jason looked at me, finished his opponent, then came to stand by me, panting.

"How many?" He asked.

"There's at least sixty of them back there. I have no idea how they've been traveling in a pack like that without anybody seeing them, but I don't know if we can take them."

"Sixty? Oh gods. I'm just gonna go wet my pants now." Nico, who had come up just in time to hear the amount, was now shaking his head.

"I call that tree to do my business, Nico." Leo stated, walking over to a tree.

I rolled my eyes. "Leo, get back here." Leo swung in his path and walked back to me, grinning like a madman.

"Come on, cap'n! We can take those suckers!" The fire user had now set one hand ablaze and was juggling a few fireballs in one palm.

"I don't know, Leo. That's a lot, and many of us are drained already what with the attack last night and how we didn't haven't gotten much sleep lately." I was thinking hard. I needed a plan. For the millionth time that week I wished that Annabeth was by my side. "What should we do?"

"Well, you're the captain. The decision is yours." Nico said, fending off another dracaena that had decided to charge the small group of demigods.

I chewed my bottom lip. We might be able to take them all, but it would be a risk. I didn't want any of my men or Hazel to get hurt. I didn't know if we could outrun them though, for this forest was pretty dense and thick, and horses wouldn't be very fast in it.

I was about to answer when something sliced into my left arm. A ragged gasp was torn from me as I staggered at the sudden and piercing pain racing up my arm.

"Percy!" Jason shouted frantically. I grasped the last strand of my strength strength and swung my sword, pivoting in a circle. My sword made contact with a dracaena that had come up behind me. It's sword wasn't red with my blood though, so that blade hadn't wounded me. What had? Wet blood was running down my arm, making a puddle on the ground. Nico, Leo, and Jason all took up a protective stance around me, stopping anything from coming closer. I had sunk to my knees, and was breathing deeply.

"Percy, you alright, man? Percy answer me!" Nico commanded.

"I- I'm fine." I coughed, then looked at my arm. My head spun as I saw the dark arrow stuck in my arm. I could see the glinting celestial bronze tip protruding from the opposite side of my arm. The puncture from the tip was oozing dark blood. I was losing blood quickly. It wasn't fatal, but it soon would be if all my blood started gushing out and didn't get stopped. "How did it get me without any of us seeing it?"

Leo answered me grimly. "I saw a bow in her hands. They have archers."

Oh no. We barely would've been able to take on dracaena with swords, but now they have archers? They could sit back and pick us off, one by one. We needed to fall back and attempt to escape, it was our only chance of survival.

Gritting my teeth, I broke off the long end of the arrow. Fortunately no barbs were on the arrow, but that still didn't make it any less painful when I dragged the arrow out of my limb. Jabs of shocking pain wove up my arm, serpentining throughout my whole body. I ripped off some fabric from my tunic, wrapping my arm as best as I could. It almost instantly leaked through the bandage, but it would have to do for now. Searing pain shot up my arm, but I ignored it as best as I could. I had to wait until after this fight was finished, then I could get some ambrosia.

"We need to get out of here. Jason, call the command." I got up, leaning on a tree for support as I felt a wave of pain overrun my body, making me dizzy. Shaking my head, I tried to clear my clouded mind.

I heard Jason telling everyone to retreat. Nico and Leo were fighting off more monsters, but right now, thankfully, no more archers were in sight. I saw another dracaena about thirty feet from Jason, and decided to take it. My left arm was out of use, so I could only wield my sword singlehandedly. I sidled up to it, and was twenty feet away when I saw a bow in the beast's hands. The dracaena drew back it's bowstring, an arrow fitted to it, and aimed. But it wasn't aiming at me. It's tip was going straight to Jason.

My eyes widened in alarm. I wasn't going to make it in time. I considered throwing my sword, or yelling at Jason to move, but I doubt either of us would act quick enough. In horror, I watched as the dracaena's fingers slipped off the string, releasing it. The bow bucked, and sent the arrow flying.

It whistled through the air, straight towards my second in command.

Ten feet away from Jason, it's flight was interrupted. A silver arrow came from the forest, penetrating the shaft of the dracaena's arrow and sticking it to a tree. My jaw dropped. That was an impossible shot.

Another one came not a second later, and then another. One embedded itself in the left eye of the dracaena, and the other in the right, turning the monster to dust.

I whirled around, searching for the archer. The only person that I've seen come close to that aim is Thalia, when she got me by the cuff of my sleeve. I had a pretty good idea who taught her, and I'm pretty sure that person was here.

Sure enough, Lady Artemis came out of the woods, firing two arrows faster than I could blink.

A huge sigh of relief was emitted from me, knowing that we had a way better chance of beating the monsters now. I realized that we probably should help Artemis, cause all of my questers were frozen, staring at the impressive goddess. We needed to regroup, and charge as a full body of warriors.

"Everybody, to me!" I ordered, jerking myself out of my stupor. Jason tugged himself out of his frozen state and started rallying people too. By the time we had gotten everybody together at the edge of the trees, Artemis had gotten rid of at least a third of the monsters. I was astounded at the amount of kills she had done, but even more so that she helped us. Usually gods didn't interfere on demigod quests.

With Artemis's help, we killed the last of the dracaena. My sword ripped through the last monster, and I turned to look at everybody. A sharp jab of pain reminded me of my earlier injury. I bit down my whimper, cradling my arm. Jason yelled for someone to get ambrosia.

A few seconds later, footsteps pounded over to me, and Hazel knelt down. She handed me a block of ambrosia. I grabbed it and stuffed it in my mouth, anxious to get rid of the pain. It tasted like my mom's desserts that she would make. As much as I liked the taste, it made me incredibly homesick, and I was glad when the taste faded away. I looked up at my group, smiling slightly. They were all clustered around me.

"I'm fine, guys," I said, reassuring them.

Artemis had been studying the carnage on the ground, but she soon walked over to me.

"Captain." She said with a slight nod. Normally she wouldn't greet a man like that, if she even greeted him. But she and I have learned to respect one another. I admired her fierceness and skills, and respected her like I respected men. It seemed fair. As you may know, I hate it when girls get disrespected because they are females. It just so cruel and biased. Likewise, she respected the me because I esteemed the female race.

"Lady Artemis. May I ask what brings you here?" I said. I looked around, and Artemis was the only new person here. None of her hunters were present.

"I was on a mission to find a group of monsters that had been crossing Greece. This was the group. However, it seems as though my job is only half done, for another group is crossing into the southwestern part of Greece." Her silky voice sounded like it came from the young teenager form she was in, but it was deceiving. Artemis was really old, but being a god she can change her form. Her auburn hair flowed around into a braid, weaving over her light grey tunic. Her bow was nowhere to be seen right now, but I had no doubt that she could whip it out in less than half a second.

"Well, thank you for helping. We weren't going to do so well."

Nico snorted. "That's for sure."

Artemis turned her piercing gaze on him. "Ah, yes. The son of Hades."

Nico dipped his head, but Artemis did not return the gesture. She turned back to me.

"Have you seen any sign of more monsters?"

I shook my head. "Not that I know of. We're just on our way to Aegium. Oh, that reminds me. Jason can you go get Nakamura, then we can head out again," Jason nodded and went off. We had tied Ethan Nakamura's horse to a tree when the fight started to get him out of the way. My voice was now directed towards Artemis, "My thanks to you again, Lady Artemis. We'll leave you to your tracking now."

Artemis seemed to think about something, then shrugged and reluctantly said, "Well, the monster pack that I am tracking is in the southwestern parts of Greece, and if I'm not mistaken, Aegium lies there. I might as well accompany your group. As much as I dislike that it is mostly males, I should not leave you when there is a large troop of monsters on the loose."

I slowly bobbed my head, "We will be glad to have you as company."

Jason arrived with Nakamura, and we all mounted. I wasn't exactly dreading the trip with Artemis, but it wouldn't be the best. We have a hard enough time avoiding monsters that follow our demigod scent, but having a god with us? That would magnify our scent tenfold. Well, I guess Artemis can kill the monsters that follow her.

"Let's move out. I hope to reach the next town by sundown." I said, then turned Blackjack away. I kicked my heels slightly into his sides, and he spread his long black wings. After a mighty leap, we were in the sky. We circled around my group a little, waiting for them to start riding.

I'm usually up in the air with Blackjack, scouting things ahead, and looking for clear paths. Jason is my substitute for a commander on the ground until I get back down.

Shifting my gaze to the south, I stared down our path that we were headed down at the moment. It was clear for now, but monsters could pop out at any times, and hellhounds could shadow travel at any moment, so we had to always be alert.

My bandage wasn't needed any more, so I tore it off and put it in my pack. The puncture wound had been mostly healed, all that was left was a slight scar that faded away as I watched. Blackjack glided low over the trees, permitting a view that showed what was ahead of us, but I could also keep an eye on my group.

After about an hour of traveling I spotted a pond up ahead. We needed more water, so this would be a good time to get it for the rest of the journey.

"Blackjack, let's get down, I need to tell the group to go to that pond."

Alright, boss.

I held onto Blackjack's mane as he went into a steep dive, whipping through opening in trees. The group was right ahead, and Blackjack put out his wings, buffeting the air as he slowed down. His hooves touched the ground, and he cantered over to the pack of demigods and the goddess, who was running alongside. She apparently can do that for a long time, and has great endurance, for she has been running this whole time and keeping up.

"There's a pond up ahead, we should refill our waters," I said. Jason nodded, and we started over in the direction of the pond. Upon reaching there, we all stopped and took out our water flasks. We gave the horses a drink, and I told the line of people waiting to fill their bottles.

The water was dirty, but it didn't matter to us, cause I could filter it with my demigod powers. I just took the fresh water out, and left the dirt on the ground.

I filled flask by flask, and finally we were all done. My strength had ebbed a tiny bit from filling so many flasks, but after I had a drink of water, strength and energy coursed through me, reviving my senses that had dulled from fatigue.

I assumed we had about two more hours until we reached the point where we would stop for the night. We don't sleep in the towns, for we didn't want to attract too much attention, and no need in letting our enemy know we are traveling towards Aegium if they really are there. If we needed food, two or three people went into the town to get it, but not all of us.

Mounting, I decided to walk alongside my group on the ground instead of flying. Blackjack's massive ebony wings were folded along his sides as we cantered along, Artemis easily keeping up, swiftly running next to us.

Dusk was approaching, and soon I went back into the air to see how close we were to the town we were planning to stay next to.

Veroia was a decent sized town, and in the last light of day I could just make out tiny ant-like dots moving along the busy streets, which were mortals getting back to home before night. Random puffs of smoke rose up from the village from small fires.

I kept my gaze searching until I found a relatively small clearing- but big enough to fit my group- in the forest about a half of a mile to our left. I signaled Jason, who was waiting for me to tell him the direction. Jason raised his hand in acknowledgment, then urged the questers forward. They followed Blackjack and I, who kept redoubling back to make sure the group hadn't become lost.

I landed Blackjack on the side of the clearing, then told him, "You can go now. Actually, can you see if there is water nearby so we don't have to go into Veroia? And I think we are going to get going early tomorrow, due to the small delay today."

Gotcha boss. Hey, can I falsely say that there is no water so you can go into town and get me some sugar cubes?

I rolled my eyes. "No, Blackjack. Now shoo." I sarcastically pushed his head, smiling at him.

My pegasus tossed his head in disappointment, then cantered away, spreading his wings and taking off. No sooner had he disappeared from my sight when the group of questers traipsed into the clearing in a thick line. They all dismounted, tying their horses to trees. Ethan Nakamura was taken down off his horse, led to a tree by Jason and tied with a thick celestial bronze chain that we used to keep Nakamura from escaping. His cuffed hands were attached to the chain, which was secured tightly around the broad tree. Once Jason was sure it could not be undone, he walked over to a spot in the clearing and started to pitch his tent. I walked around, directing the camp layout. After I instructed Leo to make a fire in the middle of the clearing, I told Frank and Hazel to take a walk around the circumference of the glade to make sure we weren't going to be attacked anytime soon.

"Sure, Percy. We'll be right back." Hazel said, taking the hand of Frank.

But Frank hesitated, and turned back to me, "Um, Perce? Can't Hazel stay here? What if we actually run into some monsters and it's just us? What if Hazel gets hurt? Can't she stay and help Leo make the fire or something?"

Hazel rolled her golden eyes, smiling slightly at her boyfriend, "Oh Frank, we'll be fine. I won't get hurt, and we are more than capable of taking down a few monsters. Besides, I don't feel very safe when you aren't there to be my cute protective boyfriend." Hazel poked Frank's side. She said this half-jokingly, but she meant it.

Frank looked a little better after what Hazel said, and reluctantly agreed on having Hazel come.

As I watched them walk away, hand in hand, I felt a wrenching pain in my gut, sadness overtaking my body as I thought of Annabeth. Her smile. Her grey eyes. Her laugh. Her sarcastic joking manner. The way one touch from her could send lighting bolts shoot through my body.

The sorrow was always present in me, always threatening to make me go insane. But I forced it away, knowing that I shouldn't let it overtake me. I shoved it back down now, gritting my teeth. I stowed the memory of her beautiful face in the cupboard of precious things in my brain, shutting away the image for a while until I decided to open it and have a glance again.

Pivoting, I trudged over to where Jason was setting up his tent, and started to unpack my things between his and Nico's spots.

About a half of an hour later, Frank and Hazel were back, reporting no signs of disturbance around us. The fire was set up, and Leo was looking through our rations of food for dinner. We couldn't cook anything, cause the fire was already enough of a risk. The cooking meat would send up additional fumes, attracting more things that may be unwelcome.

We all sat down and ate some fruit and dry, hard meat, with some cold water for our drink. I wished more than anything for a cup of strong honey mead. The gods know I could use something to keep me going. But I wasn't that hungry, even though I hadn't eaten anything since lunch. I took a slice of an apple, chewing on it, but my meat was left untouched.

I felt someone tap my shoulder, "Dude, you gonna eat that meat?" Leo asked hungrily.

I shook my head, and handed it to him. "Thanks, man, much appreciated!" He said before launching into the meat.

Jason was looking at me funny, and I gave him a questioning look. He opened his mouth. "Percy... why aren't you eating? You're always hungry. And never full. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," I lied. Jason didn't really believe me, but he let the topic go. Truth be told, it wasn't my physical state that was making me not hungry, rather my mental state- and the ever present sadness that was in me.

I grabbed the remnants of my apple, then walked over, out of the fire light. Blackjack had returned, and was grazing with the other horses at the edge of the clearing. I went to stand by him.

"Here you go, Blackjack." I tossed him the apple, which he accepted gratefully. His black eyes peered up at me.

You doin' alright, boss? When are you not hungry?

I rolled my eyes. "Jason asked that too. And Hazel was looking at me like I was weird or sick. I'm just not hungry."

Blackjack shrugged (if horses could do that, but it seemed like he did), finished his apple treat, then went back to the grass. I stayed with the small herd of horses for a little while, asking some how they were doing, or if anything was making them uncomfortable during the ride to Aegium. My glance kept going over to the group by the fire, too. Captain's instinctive move. I had to be always checking to make sure everything was going alright and was okay.

The silhouettes by the fire were sharing jokes, laughing, and having a good time. The group we had were all close, basically like a big family. Every one of us had known each other either since infancy or before ten years old, so we all knew each other pretty well. Artemis wasn't with us at the moment, she was out for a little bit, seeing if she could find some tracks to tell her if the monster pack she was tracking had changed directions at all or if they were staying true to the path towards southwestern Greece.

After a little while, I decided I had better go back. I took a seat on a fallen tree trunk that some of the questers had dragged into the clearing to make a bench. Connor Stoll, a son of Hermes, was sitting next to me. His slightly older brother, Travis, was one more seat down. If you didn't know them, you would think that they were twins. They each were tall and skinny, with a mop of brown hair that hung down, sheltering their blue eyes. The only difference was that Travis was a tiny bit taller than Connor, but it wasn't very noticeable.

"Hey Perce. How did you like your great and sumptuous meal of rock hard meat?" Connor asked with a sarcastic and pompous voice, flourishing his hand towards his plate.

Travis' head popped out from behind his brother's body, and he added in the same tone, "And don't forget the two day old scrumptious fruit on the side, with the all new and healthy nutritious water."

I smirked, shaking my head at the two jokers. They and Leo got along fine, being the sarcastic jesters in our group, full of wit. But they were also known for being the biggest trouble-makers as well. Their crooked smiles and the glints in their eyes just screamed trouble, making you look to see if you still had your money on you or if they had stolen something of yours. Their pranks were entertaining, but not to the victim. I laughed hard when they put a never melting layer of ice in Jason's blanket, resulting in a freezing cold night for the son of Zeus, but I wasn't as happy when I woke up on a tree branch sixty feet in the air. I don't even know how they accomplished that.

"It's better than most things we've had to eat." I commented, reflecting on the many disgusting and unappetizing meals we have been forced to eat.

Travis nodded emphatically. "Like when Nico cooked that one time."

"I'm pretty sure I got food poisoning." Connor added, agreeing with his brother.

"It wasn't that bad," Nico protested from his seat on the other side of the fire. "It was just a little… hard."

"Well, next time Nico cooks, we'll just have to make sure the food doesn't cook for longer than an hour," Leo said, smirking at Nico. The son of Hades huffed and crossed his arms, looking like a two year old who was mad. I chuckled at the little banter, and watched as Hazel reassured him.

"It didn't taste that bad," Hazel said. Then she shrugged, "It was kinda like crispy steak."

"Except for the taste, smell, and look of it. But otherwise, yes, exactly like crispy steak," Travis said matter-of-factly. Hazel gave up, and turned back to Frank, who she had been previously holding a conversation with. I left the argument that the Stoll brothers, Nico, Jason, and Leo were having, which was if crispy steak tasted like rocks, smelled like sewage, and looked like a burnt monster butt, then it would be Nico's cooking, and went to talk with Frank and Hazel.

They were currently discussing who the main leader of the bad guy group could be.

"It could be a god, but it seems a little farfetched, don't you think?" Hazel was asking.

Frank shrugged. "There are a lot of minor gods out there who probably want revenge, don't ask me what for, but they probably do. Or it could be a crazed demigod in want of something. But I still am confused on why they would want Annabeth." I grimaced slightly at the name, but composed my features quickly, joining the conversation.

"Frank's right, there are many minor gods that are standing in the shadows of the Twelve Olympians. They have good reasons to be mad, but a rebellion might not be the best way to approach it."

Hazel looked at me, her golden eyes reflecting the fire behind me. "It must be a pretty big problem for the gods to address it so intensely. I hope it doesn't turn out badly." We all went silent, each one of us playing different scenarios of what could happen in the end of the present one.

I shook my head, releasing the flow of thoughts. "Well, now is the time to focus on our present quest. We'll worry about events past that later. We should probably get a good night sleep, because we had a little delay today, and we need to catch up on some time tomorrow. So we're getting up bright and early tomorrow." I raised my voice on the last part, letting it carry out over the group, signaling the time to get to bed.

They all stood, stretched, yawned, and trudged to their own tents. "I'll take first watch," I said, helping Nico and Leo clean up dinner. "Travis, Connor, I'll wake you up in three hours, then Jason will take it from you and wake us all up before dawn so we can pack and get ready to leave."

After everybody was in their tents, and Riptide was attached securely to my waist, I walked over to the horses. I checked on them all before going back and sitting against a tree, alert for anything out of the ordinary. Every once in a while I would walk around the sides of the clearing, then go back and settle down again.

About an hour through my watch, when I was sitting on one of the benches by the fire, something caught my attention. I stood up quietly and placed my hand on the hilt of Riptide.

I sighed in relief and relaxed again when the rustling turned out to be just Artemis walking back to the camp, her silver hunter outfit glowing in the dark. I nodded a greeting to her, and she returned it. Her feet made a way to the bench, and she sat beside me, staring at the fire.

For a long time we just sat side by side in silence, just watching the flames flicker under the dark sky.

Then Artemis took in a little breath, and started talking in her smooth voice. "Are you still irritated with the decision that has taken place as of three days ago?"

I knew she was implying the decision that forbade me from seeing Annabeth, and vice versa. I nodded, "I don't think I will ever stop being angry at that."

Artemis studied the fire, thinking. "May I ask why you are so vexed about it?"

I turned to her, an incredulous look upon my face. "Why am I so vexed about it?" I repeated, my voice quiet but urgent. "She was one of my best friends, and then I got forbidden to see her! Isn't that clear enough?"

Artemis shifted her gaze, her dark eyes searching me. I felt strangely exposed beneath her watchful eye. She said, "As her friend, you would understand her mother's want to keep her safe, and therefore not be as opposed to it, wouldn't you?"

I reluctantly nodded, "Yes, but surely Athena knows that never in a million years would I harm Annabeth. I would try my best to not let any harm fall upon her as well."

"I do know that. I am sure Athena does as well. But you know of her… disagreement with Poseidon. Your father was the one that murdered Annabeth's father, and if it was my daughter, I would take certain precautions as well."

"I know. But still, it seems unfair. Do our parents get to govern who we make friends with?"

Artemis frowned. "You keep referring to Annabeth as your 'friend'. Do not be mistaken, I know what has happened between you two, especially the moment before she left," I blushed slightly at this, and listened as the goddess continued in a tone that wasn't approving. "Are you not more than friends?" I could understand her, cause she wasn't very appreciative of marriage and deep relationships. Well, she would be fond of it if the female of the relationship got everything.

I sighed, not answering for a little bit. "No, we are just friends right now. I know I think of her as more than a friend, but I don't know about her. But I do know that if it should be, I will let my longings go, and try to forget if it would be best for Annabeth." I don't know why I was confessing all of this, but every word was true. As much as it would tear me apart, I would try my hardest to forget my desires and Annabeth if it would be for Annabeth's sake. "I'd give up the world for Annabeth, and my thoughts are but of one billionth, if less, of the world. Therefore I will let them go. For Annabeth."

Artemis stared at me, her eyes expressionless. Then she stood, looked down at me, and said in an admiring tone, "I have never been fond of the male race. Nor have I liked the relationships that come about between male and female. Recently I have tried to get Annabeth to join the hunters, seeing as I thought that if she came upon a man whom she admired, he would be like all men I usually encounter: use her, and then drop her and continue with his life, leaving her heartbroken."

She dipped her head. "It seems as if I am mistaken. Your words are true and pure. Percy Jackson, you are one of the very few men that I have met that are so heartfelt and humble as yourself, and if you mean everything you said, then I think you are one hundred percent worthy of Annabeth." She grimaced. "Even though what I am saying goes against everything that I normally think, I know that if Annabeth doesn't join the hunters because of you, it will not grieve me. I have absolute certainty that you will protect her, care for her, and love her. Now, I can relate to the rage that you are feeling from the recent decision made during the council of the gods. My deepest regrets now consist of not stopping this decision that tore apart so pure a relationship." She had a pained expression upon her face, with a touch of sadness.

With that, the goddess of the moon turned and strode off, vanishing into the forest, leaving me to my thoughts.

Well, more like thought. Lately my brain has been turned towards only one thing.

One person.

One girl.

Well, that was another fairly long chapter for you guys. PLEASE review. You're reviews make me soooo happy, and in the sadness of my writing (poor little Seaweed Brain) I need some cheering up. :) Love you guys!

Thanks and shout outs to the (awesome) people who reviewed! henrie locker, S, ICECREAMROCKS don't dis me, XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX, Percabeth4eva, LalaMay, eyes-front-soldier, .noelle, 123, GoldenAppleGirl98, Sperry, AnnabethChase712, Percabeth12-7, beatubad88, Demigods4ever0520, CandyLover4180, awesomeness, and the guests that reviewed.

You guys are awesome. Thanks so much! Answers to reviewers!

Q: How old is she now? A: Annabeth is 16 years old now. It says that in the 5th chapter, I think. :)

Q: Is Athena's temple the Parthenon, or just another temple outside of Athens? A: Yes, it is the Parthenon, but in Forbidden Percabeth, it has much more temple to it, which consists of rooms and such.

Q: But Janus is Roman… A: Yes, I'm aware of that. However, in the Battle of the Labyrinth, Janus is in there. I've kinda made the Roman's greek… Like Jason is a son of Zeus, and Hazel a daughter of Hades, etc.

Q: Why is Poseidon showing them around? Shouldn't it be Hermes? A: To be honest, I have no idea what you mean… like Poseidon is showing them around at Mt. Olympus? If so, Hermes doesn't always show the demigods around. And Poseidon wants to do it cause he hasn't seen his son in a while.

I think I got all of them… but I will definitely accept more! LOVE YOU! :D