Annabeth POV

I was walking. And walking and walking. I had no idea how long this had been going on. Honestly, I wished there was something to fight. Maybe a monster to take down. Yet, in however long this had been occurring, nothing had happened.

I wanted to fight to get out. I wanted to get back to Percy. Back to my friends. How had the battle affected camp? Did everyone make it out okay? I wanted to check on Piper and Reyna and Allie and Jake and Frank and Hazel, Nico and Will, my cabin, everyone. I wanted to check in with Leo and Calypso and see their new baby boy. Would I ever get out?

I wandered around nowhere. I had started in Percy and my apartment, but as soon as Hera left and I stepped out, it disappeared. I'd been endlessly wandering ever since.

The landscape was plain. It shifted between nothing and grasses and trees, but never any water. Not that I got thirty. I wasn't thirsty or hungry or anything. I just wish the scene would change to the sea to remind me of Percy. Gods, did I miss Percy.

I continued to walk until I stopped in my tracks. There was someone up ahead. I didn't have a weapon, but I stayed on guard. Maybe this was my chance to fight a monster. But, upon closer examination, this person was clearly a monster. She was a teenage girl. I got close enough to be in talking distance. My heart pounded in my chest. I could feel it, this would be a turning point in wherever I was.

"Hello?" I asked. It almost hurt to speak not having done it in so long. The girl turned around.

She must have been around fifteen or sixteen but was mature for her age. She had mid-length brown hair and stunning eyes. They were green with a hint of gold and grey in the middle. She let out a big smile, something shocking in this white landscape.

"Nanabeth, I figured I'd see you here," the girl said still with a wide smile on her face.

I took a step back. "What?"

"And wow, you're so young and beautiful," her eyes widened. "Not that when you're older you're not, it's just different. And like, wow, Nana, if mom and dad heard how I was talking right now. Papa would be laughing at me and grandma and you would be glaring at him."

I held up my hand. "What is going on? You're the first person I've seen here in," in how long? How long had I been here?

"Right, sorry. Here, time is just a construct. Everything is happening at the same time, yet no time at all. Papa loves to tell us stories, he told us about the time you were here," the girl said.

"Papa?" my mind was reeling.

"Sorry, right. I forgot," she stuck out her hand. "I'm Jacelyn Jackson, your granddaughter."

"My what now?" my eyes widened.

"Nana, keep up," she quirked her brow and dropped her hand as I didn't reach out. "For being a direct daughter of Athena, you're kind of slow right now." Her eyes widened. "Again, sorry. You're just the first person I've talked to in a long time and you like, always get me. It's hard to remember you don't know me. Not yet anyway."

"Granddaughter?" I asked.

"Yep," she said popping her p. "Like I said time here is weird. Even though we are in this place years apart, our consciousness are here together. I think it's to help each of us get out in one piece."

"Wait, if you are my granddaughter, who are your parents? Do you have other siblings? Do I know your other grandparents? I have a kid? Are they your mom or your dad?" questions flew through my head.

Jacelyn just let out a smile. "You won't remember this when you wake up, but I shouldn't give away all my secrets. Come on, I want to show you something I found."

The girl started off without any further explanation and I hurried after her. It gave me time to process this. This girl was my granddaughter. I would have a granddaughter.

"Only if you make it out of here," Jacelyn said breaking my thoughts.

I stopped abruptly. "Can, can you read minds?"

She laughed and turned her head to look at me but didn't stop. "Nanabeth, I don't have to. Papa always says we're too much alike in thought. I know what you're thinking." I continued to follow her. "I'll only be born if you make it out of here." She gave me a pointed look. "You've got to make it out of here. I really like being alive. And mom and dad need to get together. You can't die and leave one without the other."

"But," she held up her hand.

"Don't think about it too much. Let's just keep moving."

I didn't want the silence to continue and I could tell Jacelyn didn't either. "Why Nanabeth?"

I was next to her so I could see the smile twitch on her lips. "My parents didn't know where I picked it up, probably from a book they read to me, but when I could talk, I called my one set of grandparents grandma and grandpa. Papa Percy had a ring to it. Grandma Annabeth was too long apparently for me and when I was learning to talk, I sort of combined your name with Nana, so, Nanabeth was born. Since I could talk first, Alec just followed my example."

"Alec?"

She cursed softly under her breath. "One of my secrets is out, I guess. Alec is my twin brother. But, I am the older one."

"Twin brother," I mumbled. "I have a granddaughter and a grandson." I paused keeping up with Jacelyn's pace. "Do you have any other siblings?"

"I guess I kind of spoiled that one, didn't I? So yeah, I do," I paused waiting for her to elaborate. She sighed. "I have two younger brothers, Parker, who's thirteen and Bailey who's eleven." Jacelyn let out a laugh. "There was a lot of testosterone in the house for a while, but mom and dad had an 'oopsie' baby. Lizzie's almost two now."

"So, you'll let me know my grandkids' names, but not my son or daughter's?" I quirked a brow.

"Nope, Leon warned me about that. My generation is farther remove than your kids are. Even though you won't remember, grandkids are okay, kids are not," she said.

"Who's Leon?" I questioned.

I could have sworn a blush rose to her face, but she turned her face to hide it. "I guess I can tell you. From what I remember Papa and you telling us, this happened to you right after the battle at Camp with Bia and Kratos?" I nodded and she continued. "Leon is Emilo's son."

"Emilo?" I questioned.

"Right, you know of him, but they hadn't named him yet. Emilo is Calypso and Leo's son," she went on. "Leon knows a lot about time dimensions and stuff with his grandma being stuck on Ogygia for thousands of years."

"And Leon is?" I let the question hang.

"A friend," she emphasized, but still wouldn't look at me. "Just a friend."

There was one question still gnawing on my mind. "So, if you talked to Leon about this place, did you know you were coming here? How'd you get here?"

Jacelyn sighed. "Peace can only last in our world for so long. This place, a goddess placed something here that could help us. I needed to get it so," she swallowed. "So, I sort of almost just killed myself."

"Jacelyn!" she shrunk into herself.

"No one knew," Jacelyn continued. "There's no way I could have told you or anyone else. I hinted at it for some time, trying to get some information out of you, but you obviously didn't remember. Leon only knew of my plan and explained this to me to try and warn me to stop. Other than him," she sighed. "Alec knew I was going to try. It took me weeks to get far away enough from him to try, but I only had one shot."

"And it worked," I said.

She nodded. "Only because Alec found me in time and saved me otherwise," she bit her lip. "But Leon's warnings were true. Time is weird here. I could have been here for seconds or decades. The war may already have been lost before I can find what I need. Which is where you come in."

"Where I come in?"

She nodded. "I need to find the item and you know where it is. This place is a manifestation of our memories."

"What exactly are we looking for? Didn't you say a goddess hid it here?" I asked.

Jacelyn bit her lip. "Hera hid it here."

I gritted my teeth. "That, Di immortals, she hid it here, so my granddaughter had to kill herself to come find it?"

Jacelyn winced. "Sorry, I know she was kind of a bitch towards you. But she's not all bad, at least not all the time." She sighed. "Trust me."

"I, okay," I don't know what came over me. This girl, my granddaughter, hadn't given me any reason to doubt what she said. "But what is it we are looking for?"

"Your dagger," Jacelyn said matter-of-factly.

"My what?" I furrowed my brow.

"Your dagger. The cursed blade that Luke Castellan gave you."

"But I lost that in Tartarus," I said.

Jacelyn shivered. "Yeah, you and Papa don't really talk about that." She sighed. "You more use it as a warning. You told us how Papa," she gulped. "How he controlled the goddess because of the water. How terrifying it was."

I shut my eyes, trying to block out that memory. "Yeah. It's not something we like to relive."

"You thought he was going to die down there," she said.

I nodded. "The poison. I was so afraid of losing him. I still am afraid of losing him."

"That's the problem," Jacelyn said.

"Excuse me?" this sixteen-year-old was trying to psychoanalyze me.

"Why do you think this landscape is so bare? You're so afraid Nana, you don't even realize it."

"I'm not afraid," I tried to defend.

But deep down I knew this girl was correct. I was so afraid. I was afraid of losing Percy to things like death. I was afraid of losing Percy to someone else once he realized I wasn't good enough for him. I was afraid of the future falling apart.

Jacelyn took my hand and I swallowed. "It's okay to be afraid. You just need to learn to embrace your fears." She squeezed my hand. "I'm afraid too."

"You, you are?" I mean, it made sense she was scared. She had almost just killed herself on the chance that I would be in this place at the same time as her to help her get my dagger to save the world.

She nodded. "The world is riding on Alec's and my shoulders. I'm afraid of not being able to save it. My parents and my younger siblings, I need to save it for them. For you and Papa and grandma and grandpa." Her shoulders fell. "You and Papa saved the world so many times, what if Alec and I can't just this once? Would all of that have been for nothing?"

And as she said that, something changed. The landscape around us began to form more. Instead of walking in a grassy field, the landscape developed. It was woods. The woods outside of Camp Half-blood.

"How, how did you do that?" I questioned.

She shrugged. "I told you about my fears. The reason we aren't quite dead and not quite alive is because we're scared. We're holding onto something, not admitting things." She let out a long breath. "That's the first time I ever admitted I was scared about this whole thing. I haven't even said anything to Leon about it."

"And speaking of fears, what do you happen to have any fears about this 'friend' Leon?" I arched my eyebrows.

A blush rose onto her face. "Possibly. I have to save the world first though."

"You know Percy and I first kissed right before he was about to die in a mountain," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Papa has told us this story like a thousand times. It's just, Leon's, Leon." She shrugged. "He's Alec's best friend, I can't do that to him."

I shrugged. "Poseidon and Athena hate each other, and look at Percy and me."

Jacelyn smirked. "It's weird to hear you call him Percy; you always call him Papa around us kids. And trust me, I know about love not supposed to work. My parents were exactly 'traditional' in their relationship."

"So, what's there to worry about with Leon?" I shrugged.

"Everything. The world is counting on me, I can't let some boy get in the way."

"Does he make you stronger?" I asked and she shrugged in reply. "Does he make you smile? Make you laugh?" a small smile came to her face. "Does pushing him away only make you want him more?" She stayed silent. "Jacelyn, I think you know what you need to do."
She sighed. "Gods, Alec is going to kill me." But then she smiled. "Thanks Nana. Now, your turn."

I stepped back. "My turn for what?"

"What are your fears?" She asked it so directly, I was expecting it, it just took me by surprise.

"I," I swallowed. "Losing Percy. Not being good enough."

She smiled but rose an eyebrow when nothing in our scenery changed. "Sure, I bet you're scared of that, but what else?"

I gulped. "I'm, I'm scared of normalcy." I swallowed. "Of living a normal-ish life. I broke up with Percy over it once. I want him, I want the future you are giving me." I smiled at her. "Having kids and grandchildren. Being called Nanabeth and Papa Percy, but what if I can't handle it?" I shook my head. "You obviously know, I've had the world on my shoulders for so long, what if I can't handle being just normal? What if I mess up being with Percy or being a mom someday or a grandma?" Tears were flowing down my eyes.

"Nana," my granddaughter pulled me into a hug. "It's okay to be scared, but just do it anyway." I sniffled and she continued pulling away. "My wise Nana taught me that."

"But I'm not living it."

Jacelyn sighed and sat down on a bench. When did that get there? "Obviously, from being a great-granddaughter of Poseidon and my other lineage," she didn't elaborate on what it was, but she continued. "I have special powers. You know who helped me accept them?" I shook my head. "You and my grandma. Neither of you has powers, but you two helped me to accept them. I was so scared for so long to use them, but you both coaxed me to try it, even though I was scared."

I sighed. "So, you're saying?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do it even though you're scared, Nanabeth! You're one of the most fearless people I know. You've saved me countless times from monsters without blinking an eye. You're fearless there, be fearless in this." Her eyes were pleading. "Can you at least try?"
I sighed. Could I? Could I try and be normal? Could I try to live my life in fear, but at least embrace it? Jacelyn was right, I could face monsters easily, but facing life? Could I do that?

Then I looked at Jacelyn's face. She was pleading with me. Obviously, there was a lot riding on this, but I couldn't help but stare at her. This was my granddaughter. And she had four other siblings. I had a child. Her eyes were partially a mix of Percy and me, grey and green, although the gold must come from the other side of the family. But gods, her pleading looked just like Percy. How could I say no to that?

"I can, I can try," I breathed out. "Can you just tell me if your mom or dad is my child?"

She smirked. "Not going to work Nana. But look!"

The woods around us began to develop even more. We weren't just in the woods around camp, a boulder formed. It was Zeus's fist; the entrance to the Labyrinth. Jacelyn bounded towards it.

"Jacelyn don't!" I pulled her back before she went in.

"Relax, it's just a cave," she said nonchalantly, not knowing.

"Jacelyn, that's not," I gulped. "That's the entrance to the Labyrinth. Or whatever is left of it or whatever it is in this world."

Her face paled. "Oh, my gods," she shut her eyes. "Alec, Leon, and I must have been 7 or 8. Parker and Bailey were with my other grandparents; they were too young for camp. You and Papa took us to camp letting our parents have a weekend alone. We loved it." Her lips shook. "Alec and Leon thought it would be funny to run away into the forest. We hid in the cave underneath here. It took you hours to find us and once you did, you wouldn't stop holding us."

"You could have been gone forever," I said knowing the Labyrinth's way.

"Nana, I'm so sorry." She gulped. "But it showed here for a reason. We need to go."

I nodded. "Okay, just be careful." I would have taken the lead, but she headed down ahead of me. She shot ahead but suddenly stopped abruptly.

"What?" but then I stopped as well. It was us.

On one side of the room was Jacelyn. She was lying in a bed that was in the Camp's infirmary. But she wasn't wearing what she was wearing now. Where we were, she had on just a plain sweatshirt and leggings. Something identical to my outfit currently too. But in the bed, she was different.

Her face was pale, and she wore an orange Camp Half-blood t-shirt, but her arm had an IV in it. It was in her left forearm, clearly showing off her SPQR tattoo. The top of the tattoo had three different markings. An owl, a trident, and a lyre.

"You're Roman?" She nodded but was memorized by the scene.

Holding her left hand was a boy who was obviously Leo and Calypso's grandson. He ran his thumb up and down her hand. Just friends my ass. Pacing behind him was who I could only assume to be Alec, Jacelyn's twin. He had a matching tattoo as Jacelyn, just one less dash than him.

"She should be waking up soon," Alec burst out.

Leon didn't take his eyes off of my granddaughter. "She won't wake up until her plan works. You know it's your fault she's like this."

Alec's eyes darkened. "If you're implying," but Leon cut him off.

"You didn't bring her back completely. You knew what she was going to do. You could have saved her, but you didn't."

"She would have just tried it again," Alec argued.

"She wouldn't have; I wouldn't have let her," Leon said.

Jacelyn beside me scoffed. I rose an eyebrow. "He couldn't have stopped me," she commented.

"It doesn't matter anymore, she's in this mess now," Alec sighed and took a seat next to Leon. "Man, I'm sorry."

Leon still didn't take his eyes off of Jacelyn. "Why would you be sorry for me? She's your sister."

"Dude, seriously? Which one of us is sitting here holding her hand and looking at her like she's the only thing that matters in the world?" Alec asked.

"That obvious, huh?" he let out a sad laugh.

"And just to let you know, not that it matters, but I approve," Alec said. "Jacie would kill me if I told you this, but she likes you too."

Leon's eyes perked up. "She does?"

"Dude, seriously, you two are so oblivious," he said leaning back into his chair.

Jacelyn's jaw dropped next to me as I nudged her. "See?"

She quickly turned towards me. "Okay, we need to find that dagger then figure out how to get out of here so I can talk to Leon then kill my brother."

I laughed and then we both shifted our attention to the scene of me. I was lying in a hospital bed wires all around me. Percy's hand was gripping mine. He didn't say anything. It looked as if he'd been there for a while. Confirming my suspicions, Allie came into the screen with a coffee.

"Here you go Perce," she handed him his coffee.

"Thanks," he took the coffee but didn't look up at his friend.

She sighed. "She'll wake up Percy, I know she will."

"Allie, it's been almost five months, three since we knew she was aware of somewhere in her mind," he replied.

I swayed on my feet. Gods, five months? Jacelyn grabbed my arm and gave me a sad smile.

"Sorry, I didn't tell you how long you were in a coma for," she sighed.

Percy spoke again, tears in her eyes. "Allie, I don't know how long I can keep seeing her like this."

She pressed a friendly kiss to his head. "Just let her keep fighting," and off she went.

Jacelyn shook me out of the vision. "Nana, this is it!" She ran to the dagger in between the two of our scenes. "What if we have to connect with our bodies?" She tried to run into her scene but frowned when she hit an invisible wall.

"What about denouncing our fears as we did before?" I asked her.

Her eyes widened and she turned towards the scene. "I'm," she gulped. "I'm scared of loving Leo," she took a step forward and this time wasn't block by the wall. "I'm scared of messing up and not saving the world." Another step forward. She was so close to her body. "I'm," she glanced back at me. "I'm scared of the prophecy." She gulped. "Of what it means." Suddenly, a veil tore back. She was able to approach the bed. She turned towards me. "See you soon Nanabeth. It'll be a while before you see me, but live your life, even if it's scary."

Then she matched herself up with her body and she dissolved. It was only a moment later that she shifted in the bed again and opened her eyes.

"Jacie!" her brother exclaimed pushing Leon aside to give his sister a hug.

"Alec," too much she breathed out.

"Sorry," he pulled away and looked at his friend who now had tears in his eyes. "Did you get it?" She nodded and pulled up my dagger.

He took Jacelyn's hand again. "You scared me, Jackson."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Valdez." But then she softened.

Alec cleared his throat. "I'm going to go let everyone know you're okay. Parker and Bailey are outside and mom and dad are coming with Lizzie." He squeezed his sister's shoulder. "You worried us Jace." His eyes darted between them. "But I'll give you two a minute."

He left and Jacelyn played the dumb card. "Give us a minute?"

Leon suddenly wasn't so sure. "Umm, yeah. You had me so scared and I realized, uh, I realized."

She hit him lightly and swung her legs, so she was facing him. "Oh, shut it, dork. I heard everything you just said."

His eyes widened. "Uh, about what?"

She just rolled her eyes and pulled him in for a kiss as the scene dissolved. Okay, now it was my turn.

I stepped until I felt the invisible wall. "I'm scared of losing Percy." A step forward. "I'm scared of not being enough." Another step. "I'm afraid of not getting something permanent or getting it then losing it." One more step. "I'm terrified of the normalcy awaiting me, but I'm ready to embrace the fear." The wall broke. Time to see Percy again.

I laid on the bed and the next moment everything came into view again. I could hear beeping and feel the IV in my left arm. I could feel a hand squeezing mine. I slowly opened my eyes. He wasn't looking at my face, just kissing my hand.

"Hey Seaweed Brain," I muttered.

Percy's eyes snapped up to my face. Tears sprang to his eyes. "Annabeth!" He dropped my hand and wrapped his arms around me. "Gods, Annabeth!" I sat up to met him.

"Did you miss me or something?" I teased.

He gave me a deep kiss. "With all my heart. What happened?"

"I," but then I frowned. I knew something happened, but what had happened? It wasn't in my memory. "I'm not sure." I touched his damp cheek. "I just know I'm ready for whatever life throws at us. I love you, Perseus Jackson."

"And I love you, Annabeth Chase," and he kissed me again and I'll be damned if I wasn't going to say that wasn't the best kiss ever.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a long one! I wanted to switch it up a bit and I hoped you all enjoyed. As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed it.