((A/N Guess who's back? :) This kid. I know this chapter isn't the longest, but I'll be updating more now that I'm home. Love your reviews!))

Annabeth POV

It's dark to the extreme that I can barely see my hands when I hold them an inch from my face. Wherever I am is cold and dank. A breeze blows my hair backwards, but from a strange angle… from the ground.

I bend down and run my fingers along the floor, which happens to be slick, ebony rock. I'm feeling around for stairs, or maybe whatever is causing the breeze, when my fingers hit something warm and soft. I jerk back, realizing they are someone else's fingers.

"Annabeth!" Percy grunts. As my eyes adjust, I can just make out his body, hanging from the edge of a cliff. His face is clean and untouched, but he looks strained, as if he'll fall at any moment. I scramble forward quickly and grab his hand. His eyes shine through the blackness.

"Annabeth, please!" For a moment I think Percy's begging me to help him again, but then I realize that there's someone else hanging next to him, reaching out for my other hand. Luke.

I grit my teeth as I shift over to help Luke while still holding Percy's hand. They're just far enough that I can reach, but only if I stretch my arms wide.

Luke's hand is cold and calloused. He looks up at me with bright blue eyes, and for a moment I glance back and forth from Luke's blue to Percy's green. They both plead with me.

Under the weight of both of them, I begin slipping towards the edge. Wind whips around me, threatening to pitch me over the side, but my hands tighten.

My feet slip and I land hard on my stomach. I'm being pulled towards the cliff.

I grip tighter until I realize that we're all going to fall unless I let go of one of the boys' hands. I squeeze my eyes shut, my mind logically telling me that it'd be better for one to fall than three.

Tears spring into my eyes. One of my hands loosens. I feel our fingers slip apart. Then he's gone.

And I open my eyes to blue.

I wake up quietly, although tears stream down my face. I don't open my eyes right away, in fear that all they'll see are Luke's grateful eyes pleading with me to pull him up. But when I do open them, I'm staring up at the gray ceiling of the Athena cabin, plastered with posters and blueprints from past projects.

I take a few deep breaths, thinking over my dream. After re-assessing the situation, I shake my head and sit up, unable to keep my mind running any longer.

It's early, about five, so I decide to clear my mind by taking a run. I slip on my shoes, pull my hair into a ponytail, and slip out into the dark morning.

The entire time I run, my mind circulates the thought 'it was only a dream'. I circle camp twice, and then find myself running on the trail to the beach. I'm about to hit the sand when I see a figure sitting there, staring out at the water. His familiar black hair whips around messily, and he looks confused and worried. I'm about to go out and sit with him, but something stops me.

I wonder if he's still angry with me from yesterday. I mean, he probably didn't even sleep, let alone have a mind-twisting dream involving me. But just seeing him sitting there physically brings me illogical relief, as if I might have actually dropped him off a cliff in place of Luke. Which I would never actually do. Right…?

I turn around and jog back towards my cabin, where I shower and get ready for the day. Once everyone else has woken up, we head up to breakfast. I don't eat much, just an apple. My mind is elsewhere, and my stomach is queasy. At one point, Percy meets my eyes and I give him a weak, apologetic smile. His eyebrows pull together and he frowns, looking back down at his cereal without any more of a response.

After breakfast, we have our daily training sessions, which seem so completely foreign now. I used to have the same routine every day for years, but now that my life is hectic, I barely ever get to simply climb the lava wall, or take archery lessons. It feels nice to be able to be a normal camper for a day.

At least, it feels nice until I get to hand-to-hand combat, where Percy and I have to give a demonstration to the new campers.

"You want your knees slightly bent, and a straight back. Have your right foot be a step forward, and grab your opponents wrist," I hesitate before wrapping my fingers around Percy's wrist. It feels too much like my dream, and my mind is suddenly far away.

Percy gives me a strange look when I don't continue with instructions. His eyes meet mine and they seem to say 'Hey, you okay?' before he remembers that he's angry with me. I bite my lip and take a deep breath.

"Pull them towards you in one quick motion and then snap your wrist downwards. Make sure it's fluid and not jerky, otherwise you could break a bone. Then extend your arm fully forward and they should-" I grunt, playing out my instructions. Percy flips through the air and lands on his back with a thud. "Do that."

The crowd erupts into applaud, and then they team up to try and judo flip each other. It would be funny to watch, if Percy hadn't stood up beside me. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but then it snaps shut. He searches my face. He opens his mouth to say something again, but before he can form a word, a student comes up to us, bouncing on her toes.

"Can you show us how to do the flip one more time?" she asks eagerly.

I force a smile, "Sure."

We get into position, and I flip Percy four more times before the class ends. We go to different lessons afterwards without a word.

After dinner Alex finds me and pulls me aside. He smiles encouragingly, as if he knows how hard this situation is for me. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, of course." I lie.

"Okay… well I just wanted to let you know that the hearing is on Thursday. You can come if you want. Actually… I'd like it if you did." He blushes and looks at the ground.

I swallow the lump in my throat, "Where is it?"

"Olympus. Luke shouldn't be there. You know, unless he qualifies for rebirth…"

"Alex, I don't know if I should go." I bite my lip.

His eyes widen, "Please? I mean, I'm not sure I could handle it by myself, and you were Luke's best friend, right?"

"Actually, that was Thalia. But… she would kick his ass if she knew he was coming back."

Alex gives me a strange look, "I'm seriously confused."

"You haven't met Thalia?" My eyes widen. I hadn't meant to keep Alex a secret from Thalia, but that's the way she's going to take this news. Thalia's really the only person I'm actually afraid of. "Crap."

"Who is she? Can I… should I meet her?" he can obviously study expressions well. I suddenly feel vulnerable, and harden my features into my all-too-perfected mask of nonchalance.

I shrug, "Maybe. We should see how the hearing turns out first, though."

"Yeah. Okay." Alex smiles lightly, "So you're coming?"

I pull my lips into a thin line, thinking hard. "I suppose."

"Awesome!" He looks like he's about to throw his arms around me, but he pulls himself back at the last moment. I feel a tug at my heart, wishing I could hug this boy without feeling guilty. "Oh, one more thing… Don't bring anyone else. Hermes said I could invite you because, well, you know."

"No problem," I bite my lip, because it really is a problem. If I tell Percy I'm going to Luke's sentencing alone, with Alex, and he can't come, someone is going to lose a limb. Or their mind. But if I don't tell him, and Luke gets reborn, then Percy is going to find out some way, and that could cause an even bigger fight.

"See you later," Alex smiles, turning to leave. He turns around quickly, but then looks over his shoulder at me, "Thanks, Annabeth."

I watch as he jogs down towards the campfire, where everyone has gathered but me. Every camper, at least. There's still one person that I really want to talk to, though… someone who isn't necessarily a camper.