Please note: I do not own Percy Jackson or related characters. This story is just an opportunity for me to play around with these characters and my creativity. I love getting feedback and you all deserve the best stories, so feel free to review so I can be the best storyteller I can be! Thank you!

Percy

As Percy made a right onto Lincoln road, he started the song over. He knew he would probably wake his passenger up if he started singing, but he thought it was only appropriate.

"There's a road I'd like to tell you about, lives in my hometown. Montauk Beach the road is called, and it'll take you up or down. From rats on up to riches, fifteen minutes you can fly. Pretty blue lights along the way, help you right on by," Percy sung as he turned onto Monroe Drive.

"And the blue lights shining with a heavenly grace, help you right on by," he finished as he straightened the wheel out. Even though the windows were down and wind was blaring through the old car, his singing was still just loud enough.

Annabeth stirred and chuckled sleepily as Percy badly imitated the instruments. "Nice remix. I didn't know the original song said Montauk Beach. I always thought it was something like...Lake Shore Drive? Maybe? Or do I have that wrong?"

Percy didn't fight the smile that spread across his face. He was nearly exploding with excitement to take Annabeth to Montauk for the first time, somewhere he hadn't been since he and his mother went years ago. It had been a crazy couple years, with some very sad moments. Percy still found himself getting sad sometimes, even during the happy times. It was like those times of happiness were contaminated with an intersection of mourning and guilt. During those times, Percy wouldn't be able to shake the thought that he doesn't deserve to be smiling as much as he was when so many of their friends were not around to smile with him.

Percy and Annabeth had not only survived, though, but they finally had some time to breathe. Despite scratching his head through half of his college career, Percy and Annabeth had both somehow graduated with respective oceanology and architecture degrees.

The oceanology degree was not his idea.

They proceeded to do Frank and Hazel a favor by spending the summer after graduation to act as orientation leaders for the University of New Rome's incoming cohort of demigods and legacies. The job was not hard at all; it wasn't too different from being camp counselors for Camp Half-Blood. Both jobs basically included herding a bunch of powerful teenagers around, answering weird questions, and getting a few people in the back to shut up.

The end of the summer, however, marked the time to start searching for jobs and to maybe look for apartments together. The end of the summer also marked Percy's birthday season. Annabeth mentioned while they had their last three orientations on August 17-19, they could take a road trip to Montauk from August 20-22 as a late birthday present. Finally, that trip was here.

About 43 hours and 3,000 miles later, they were finally turning in.

Annabeth sat up with a groan. "You know, I think it's 'rags on up to riches,' not 'rats.'"

Percy looked over at Annabeth. She looked so comfortable that Percy was almost jealous. Her seat was reclined back, and she had a fuzzy gray blanket over her. Her shoes were resting on the dash. Annabeth's sunglasses were perched on top of her head, accenting her ocean of curly blonde hair. She had started to grow it out over the past year, and Percy was not complaining. She wore a big white shirt, ripped jeans, Adidas sneakers, and a light windbreaker. Annabeth's hand rested on her head, and her father's ring glinted in the sunlight. Her Camp Half-Blood necklace, for the first time in a while, was tucked into her shirt rather than out for all to see. Salman Rushdie's book, Midnight's Children, lay three-quarters open in her lap.

When she saw him looking at her, she smiled. Percy could not fathom how she could have gotten even more beautiful over the years. It was that smile, those eyes that pulled him out of the Styx. He couldn't be more grateful.

Percy cleared his throat. "Uh...I think it is rats on up to riches. That's what the great Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah intended. Trust me, I know these things."

Annabeth stretched. "Yeah? How exactly do you know what they intended? And why would it be rats on up to riches in the first place? The phrase is 'rags to riches.' Rats doesn't even make any sense."

"I'm from New York. From rats to riches sounds like a pretty large improvement on the quality of life," Percy muttered.

"Whatever," she laughed.

Percy hooked a left onto Old Montauk Highway. He could see the water in the distance, and he felt all the stress evaporate. It seemed like the same salty ocean breeze that had first greeted him as a kid. It was like seeing an old friend.

When the song got towards the end, Percy heard Annabeth humming, "And there ain't no road just like it, anywhere I found."

She then sung, "Running south on Montauk Beach, heading into town. Just snaking on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound."

Percy grinned. Annabeth played with his hair as he searched for a place to park.

Then, it hit him. "You ever notice that this song is about LSD?"

Annabeth stopped playing with his hair. "Percy. LSD stands for 'Lake Shore Drive.' Not LSD, like acid."

If minds could explode, Percy's did at that moment. "What?!"

Annabeth seemed to have trouble closing her mouth. "You thought they were talking about the drug?"

"Yes…?"

"How long have you known this song?"

"Six years."

"You thought they were talking about acid for six years?!"

"Look, it's an easy mistake! I mean, 'just snaking on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound?' What else would you be doing that would get you in trouble on Friday night?"

Annabeth closed her book. "You know, it was rumored that drugs like acid and weed helped mortals...er, people...see through all the different kinds of Mists that other religions have?"

"You mean like when people hallucinate and have those trippy visions?"

Annabeth nodded and packed her bag. "Yeah, I heard that that's the human mind beginning to become aware of the higher worlds. Not just Greek, though. Those kinds of drugs can't necessarily control or filter what kinds of things people see. As a result, people may end up seeing or feeling things from Christianity, Egyptian, Buddhism, all those things. They see or feel it all, just in different ways. They may see demons and ghosts, but may also be able to feel the flow of qi in the world- whereas they would have previously been incapable of comprehending such things. That's the psychoactive effects taking place. However, the mind can only process it so long as it's affected and changed by the drug itself. Once it wears off, the mortal mind begins to shut those images out to bring them back to this reality."

Percy shook his head. He remembered being in high school and hearing stories about kids who took LSD and, suddenly, understood the universe.

"Huh. Maybe Hunter really did touch God that day."

Annabeth snorted. "Yeah, I bet."

Percy pulled up to the rental cabin. It was the same old brown cabin that he remembered staying in with his mother, only a little bit smaller. The gravel popped as he stopped and parked the car. They had gotten there as sunset was ending, but the cloudy sky was still golden and purple as if the gods were waiting for them to arrive before they let the sun fully set.

Even though the sun was setting, Percy couldn't look away from Annabeth.

"Wow," Annabeth said as she looked from him to the sea green water. "I see why you loved this place."

Percy watched the light in Annabeth's eyes turn her eight years old again. For a second, Percy wished that Annabeth had never met him.

Percy wished she had a normal life. Not that she wasn't great, but he wished that, at eight years old, she would have been taking trips to the beach rather than killing monsters with hammers. Part of him wished that Annabeth had a normal life, and that she was the typical California kid that he initially thought she was; one who went to the beaches all the time, who hiked up mountains, and who enjoyed eating avocado toast or whatever Californians ate.

Then again, if that happened...Annabeth would not be who she was today if she was "normal." Percy knew since even before Yancy Academy that he was not "normal." Whatever "normal" meant.

Percy sat on the hood of the car. Annabeth leaned against him and pulled his arms around her. They stayed there until night fell. Even though he had blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, blue corn chips, and blue s'mores packed for the trip, he somehow knew that this night would be the favorite night of the weekend.

After the sky turned a dark blue, Percy and Annabeth made a fire. Even though it was technically still August, the breeze showed them that fall had come early this year.

Annabeth's hair blew with the wind.

"I'm glad I brought my jacket. I told you that you should bring one," she teased.

As they sat around the fire, a few thoughts crawled through Percy's head. Annabeth finished a marshmallow and grabbed a bottle of water. "What's on your mind?"

Percy looked into the fire and thought of Hestia. Home.

"My mother used to tell me stories here. Stories of when she was a kid."

Percy turned his s'more around in his hands. "I used to think she was even worse-behaved than me, from the stories she would share. Just for a second, I would see that rebellious streak in her. The streak that would get her into fights, or that would intimidate a creepy guy at the subway."

Annabeth gave a small smile. "Maybe that's what drew Poseidon to her. You know the gods like strength and wisdom, and all that."

The fire burned. Percy couldn't take his eyes off it. "It's not even that she was just strong or wise. She was resilient. Anything life threw at her, she'd knock out of the park with a baseball bat of determination and will."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Look at you, getting the literary genes from your mother. That was a quality metaphor."

Percy finally looked up from the fire to meet Annabeth's eyes. Somehow, it was an even more captivating sight than the flames.

Annabeth held his gaze. "That's not the only thing you get from your mother, though."

Percy had a hard time believing he got anything from the best person in the world.

Annabeth said, deadly serious, "You got her resolve and resiliency as well."

Percy thought about all those who had fallen in battle. "I don't know if I'm as strong as you think I am. If I was, maybe..."

Annabeth stood and sat next to him, lacing her fingers in his. "Ah. Stop that. You can't say anything like that. You've literally been to Tartarus and back. Your fatal flaw literally has to do with saving people. You have faced gods. And that is not hyperbole. You are strong. And you are-"

Annabeth lightly pushed Percy's chest with her finger. "-good."

The heat from the fire started to increase in intensity, almost burning his face. Percy thought of what they had seen in Tartarus, and he instinctively turned his head away from the fire and to the sea.

"Sorry," Annabeth muttered, as if she could tell what he was thinking.

The water crashed, unbothered by the small fire in front of it.

"You know I have never read any of my mother's writing?"

"Really? None of it?"

Percy shook his head. His mother would always be too embarrassed to show him, even when he asked. "She'd tell me that I'd read it when it was on the bookshelves in libraries."

Annabeth nodded. "Still haven't seen it yet, have you?"

Percy shook his head. With Estelle, Paul, and Percy, his mother had stalled her writing and took up work as an editor. She always said to be an author, you needed true, intrinsic motivation. For her, intrinsic motivation came from being centered mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. Whenever she was centered in one, though, another would go right down the drain.

"Well," Annabeth said as she leaned back on the log. "I'm sure she's great. I wish she was my mom. Athena's great and all, but...I kind of feel like she's more of a coach or a strict teacher who wants the best for me. Part of me just wanted a mother to take me to soccer practice, you know?"

Percy felt his gut relaxing rather than the tugging it takes to control the water. Rather, it seemed more like the water was controlling him, pushing and pulling with the waves.

He felt a weird sensation that prompted him to train his vision east. When Percy did so, he thought he saw something in the water. It looked too small to be a cruise ship, but too big to be an animal. It had a glowing light on the front of it and it sailed towards shore rapidly.

Percy noticed Annabeth stand up. "Do you see that?"

Percy squinted. It was coming up fast. "Yeah, I see that."

He reached into his pocket and thumbed Riptide. He was surprised that he didn't feel irritated, angry, or even scared. He felt adrenaline and...power.

You could sink that boat right now.

Percy shook his head. The voice in his head seemed like it was not his own. It barely seemed like a voice, though- it was like it was vibrating through his very core.

What was that?

Percy frantically flipped through thoughts of Estelle, which always relaxed him.

The object arrived at shore after about a few minutes later. Percy turned to Annabeth, who was wielding the bag of graham crackers. She turned and nodded to him. Percy knew that Annabeth's knife was somewhere in the car, but it would take too long to find it. Annabeth probably felt the same way too, which is why she settled for perhaps the most tasty demigod weapon Percy had ever seen.

The two of them walked up to the object in the night. Percy had Riptide out, but in its pen form. Annabeth had wrapped the large graham crackers bag around in her fist, almost to make a s'mores themed boxing glove.

As they got closer, they not only saw that it was a small raft, but that there were people on the raft. About twenty high school-aged girls were dismounting. Five of the girls immediately drew bows and arrows on Percy specifically as he approached.

He stopped in his tracks. He hadn't had a bow pulled on him since New Rome's last training session.

Wait...a bow?

A tall girl, about 5'9, with short black hair stepped off the raft. She was wearing a silver parka, along with a black athletic shirt, black pants, and hunting boots with silver lacing. She was wringing some water out of some cloth, and wore a pin that indicated that she was the lieutenant for the Hunters of Artemis. When she looked up, her bright blue eyes shined in recognition. The air began to electrify and smell of ozone.

"Thalia?!" Annabeth asked.

Thalia walked up like she was going to tackle both Percy and Annabeth. Instead, she pulled them both into a hug that almost cracked Percy's back. "Thank the gods you're safe."

Annabeth slowly patted Thalia on the back and gave Percy a look like, What's going on?

Percy shrugged. Usually, it was a nice surprise to see Thalia. Now, however, she seemed genuinely shaken up. Percy looked towards the Hunters, who all stood in formation like Power Rangers. Their expressions made Percy want to keep Riptide out just in case this was an ambush. They all had identical scowls except for one close to the middle. Her expression was nearly unreadable.

Percy gave her a wave. "Hey, Reyna!"

Reyna cleared her throat and looked to the ground. "Hello, Percy Jackson."

She had grown more muscular and toned during her time in the Hunters, and her hair was pulled back into two long braids. Her militaristic attitude remained intact, as if she was ready to lead the Spartans into battle. Percy couldn't help but think that she and Zoe would have gotten along.

Thalia stepped back from the hug and gave a crooked smile. She looked like she had aged a few years as well, which Percy was confused about.

"Hey, Thalia. Um…"

Thalia seemed to know what he was going to address. She opened her mouth, and then closed it. "I'll explain another time. Hopefully, for burgers at McHale's?"

Percy grinned in confirmation. He loved McHale's.

Thalia looked at the two of them, and her smile faded. "We have to-"

Her gaze trained on something on Annabeth's person. Annabeth frowned. "What are you-"

In a movement so quick that Percy didn't even have time to react, Thalia executed a karate chop that brushed the side of Annabeth's neck. It would've hit Annabeth square in the throat if she hadn't dodged at the last second.

Annabeth gripped her neck. "What...in...Hades...was that for," Annabeth said through gritted teeth.

"It's happening, it's happening," Thalia kept muttering over and over again. She brandished her bow and nocked three arrows. She had an expression of pure fear.

Annabeth backed away from Thalia. "What's happening?!"

Percy saw something black move up Annabeth's neck. He got a little closer and saw that it was a large, hairy, black spider.

Percy's mouth went dry. The air got uncomfortably warm like the fire had moved right in front of his face. "Uh, Annabeth? There's a...um…"

Thalia jumped in, "A spider! On your neck!"

Annabeth yelped and brushed it off. Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth watched it fall to the ground. Percy stepped back from it while Thalia lifted her foot, hesitated, and then stepped on it.

"Ugh," she uttered.

Then, something else happened. It sounded like raindrops were falling, except they weren't falling to the ground. They were coming up. Instead of raindrops, however, it was spiders. There were at least three hundred spiders of all different sizes, colors, builds, and types that crawled out of the sand. The Hunters began to shoot streams of arrows at the spiders, with pretty good aim as well. Each shot seemed to kill at least two spiders.

Percy uncapped Riptide and the bronze blade sprung to life. He began to play Whack-A-Spider with the arachnids, trying to avoid cutting off Thalia's toes as he whacked. Percy watched, in horror, as the spiders stopped skittering at once. They all turned towards Annabeth like clock hands being adjusted, then rushed towards her. Percy and Thalia tried to attack the spiders, but were ultimately powerless to stop it. Annabeth was swarmed with a dark wave of spiders. The spiders knocked her to the ground as she writhed, screamed, and swung the bag of graham crackers.

"NO!" Percy screamed and dove into the fray. He felt spiders crawl all over him as he reached for Annabeth's flailing hand. He endured several bites on his arm and hand, but arrows would take out each one that bit him. Then, Percy felt multiple gusts of wind circle around him and into a mini-tornado. The sheer force of the wind was beginning to pick Percy off the ground. Before he got too far up, Percy managed to grab onto Annabeth's wrist. He held onto her as the wind pulled them out of the cocoon of spiders and ripped the remaining spiders off Annabeth. Percy and Annabeth flew twenty feet in the air, floating towards the water.

He saw Thalia closing her eyes with her hands out. The wind pulled him and Annabeth right at the shoreline, about forty feet from the raft.

The air drafts finally dispersed, allowing Percy and Annabeth to fall safely by the water. Percy scrambled to hold Annabeth, but her body was convulsing slightly. Her eyes were rolled back. He couldn't see any spider bites based on his initial observations, but something was wrong with her that had her shaking like that.

Percy looked up to see Reyna throw a Molotov cocktail-type weapon, which hit the sea of now confused and scattered spiders. The weapon exploded into Greek fire. Some of the spiders were burned alive, while others simply began to regroup elsewhere.

Thalia caught his eye. She gestured wildly towards the raft. "GO! They can't swim!"

Percy watched in horror as the mass of spiders did the clock-hand turn again, and then headed towards Annabeth. Percy knew if he tried to drag Annabeth to the raft, they would be intercepted by some of the spiders. The raft wouldn't be effective at all if the spiders chewed it and them up for dinner.

In desperation, Percy pushed his hand out towards the water to call the raft to him. He felt it respond to him, like the feeling he got when he would call someone and they immediately pick up. His concentration was broken, though, when the ground began to shake violently. His legs gave out from under him. He fell to the ground with Annabeth as the ground exploded.

A disgusting creature arose from the ground about fifty feet away. Percy smelled her before he saw her. She smelled of honey buns and rotten flesh.

Then, he saw her. He recognized her from the split second when he and Annabeth encountered her in Tartarus.

"Arachne," Percy growled. Anger washed over him. He never got a chance to thank her for what she did to Annabeth. He gripped Riptide so hard that he was sure his knuckles were turning white.

Arachne, like a gross human-spider centaur, gave a disgusting smile of nothing but needles. Her insect-like eyes crinkled with the smile. The spiders stopped chasing Annabeth and retreated back towards their mother, crawling all over her.

When she spoke, Percy found that his mind began to focus on one thing for the first time in a while; his usually hyperactive mind focused on her sickly sweet voice. He could tell why Annabeth had frozen up in Tartarus when Arachne pounced on her.

"Little Athena-spawn...Athena's most talented child and prized possession. More valued than Aegis. More cunning than Daedalus. A better leader than Erikthonius. Annabeth Chase. You are mine." Arachne began to creep closer to them, and Percy got a better view of her.

Her body was that of a monstrous black spider, with red markings on her abdomen. Some of her body looked melted, as if she was the source of a new disgusting dip. Her large mandibles shook with excitement. Her top set of eyes darted back and forth between Percy and Annabeth like a kid opening Christmas gifts, while her bottom set of eyes was focused on Annabeth.

Arachne's smell paralyzed him, and based on the lack of the arrows buffeting Arachne, he could assumed that it was probably happening to the Hunters as well. Suddenly, three spiders as big as Percy's car climbed out of the ground and followed behind Arachne. Percy began to feel hopeless as Arachne got closer.

I lost.

A feral scream snapped Percy back to reality, and an arrow flew in front of Arachne's face. Arachne blinked, and paused, turning towards the source of the shot. Percy did the same, to see Thalia struggling to nock another arrow. Unfortunately, Thalia looked like she had taken a lot of LSD. She was swaying back and forth and stumbling around the beach while the rest of her Hunters seemed paralyzed.

The smell was throwing the Hunters off-balance.

That was the kick in the butt he needed, though- Percy summoned a ten-foot wave to rise from the water and crash down on Arachne. The wave knocked Arachne off her feet and doused the Hunters in some spray as well. That seemed to be enough to wake them up, and they started attacking the three large spiders.

Percy felt Annabeth stir, and exhaled in relief as she stood to her feet.

Thank the gods.

Annabeth blinked a few times, locked eyes with Arachne, and put up her hands like she was ready to box. "Oh...she's back."

Percy looked at Annabeth, and held out Riptide. "Take it."

Annabeth looked at him. "What will you use?"

Percy tapped his temples. "My greatest weapon. My mind."

Annabeth laughed, and even in this crisis, that laugh reminded him of what he was fighting for. It was the same laugh that saved him from the Cocytus.

Annabeth grabbed the hilt of Riptide and, together, they attacked Arachne. Annabeth hit a baseball slide as she swiped at Arachne's legs. Percy shot a concentrated jet of seawater towards Arachne. It hit her in the face, making her thrash wildly. Percy took a page from Thalia's book and used the water to spin it around in a tiny vortex around Arachne's eyes. This seemed to successfully block her sight, giving Annabeth an advantage.

Annabeth popped up from her slide and stabbed Arachne's abdomen with Riptide. Arachne gave a piercing shriek, and one of her legs instinctively shot out. It grabbed Annabeth and flung her away. Percy's water vortex disappeared when Arachne began chasing after Annabeth. Percy ran after her and jumped on her back. He held onto her shifting furry hide, and made eye contact with Annabeth. She grabbed the flat of the blade and threw Riptide on a frozen rope, hilt first.

In one motion, Percy caught the blade and brought it down in a golden arc. Arachne moved her head at the last second, so Percy sliced out one of her eyes rather than cutting off her head. Arachne screamed as green and red blood poured from where her eye used to be. She then did something that caught Percy off guard.

She jumped.

Arachne used her legs to jump into the air and execute a flip. Percy held on for dear life, but quickly found that was the wrong move. He hit the ground hard, and Arachne landed on him. The wind was knocked out of him, and he struggled to get up. Arachne swiped Riptide from his hand and tried to use it to stab Percy. Percy barely caught the blade before it could pierce him. If he wasn't fighting for his life, he'd be impressed his reflexes were still so good.

Arachne was strong, though, and Percy's arms were shaking as he tried to hold her back. He felt Riptide pierce his hands. Blood began to stream out of his hands as the blade slowly inched towards his eye.

He heard a whistle. Arachne looked up to see Annabeth jump off her abdomen and flip over her head. Arachne opened her mouth for something; Percy assumed it was to roar or spit or deliver some more bad breath.

Whatever the reason, Annabeth took that opportunity to throw the huge bag of graham crackers into Arachne's disgusting mouth. The velocity at which Annabeth threw the bag was too much for Arachne to keep up with. The bag forced its way down her throat, prompting Arachne to stagger back while clutching her throat. Riptide nearly dropped from her hand as she stumbled.

Annabeth helped Percy up. "I'll buy you some more later."

Percy and Annabeth looked towards Arachne, only to see her clutching her chest and her eye. Annabeth looked at Percy. "Let's finish this?"

Percy nodded. He felt the wolf come out in him. Something in him told him to tear Arachne apart slowly, so she could feel every tendril of skin pulling from each other.

Percy and Annabeth crept towards Arachne as she retreated from them. They started to jog as they advanced towards her. Percy, out of the corner of his eye, saw Thalia shoot a lightning bolt and kill one of the large spiders. Reyna took inspiration from Annabeth while fighting the second spider. She expertly forced the creature to swallow a Greek fire bomb, however, rather than graham crackers. Percy saw the spider shake as its thorax and abdomen glowed green. It then fell down as the fire burned it from the inside out. The other Hunters were working on the last spider.

They were winning. Rather, they were surviving.

Thalia turned to check on Percy and Annabeth, and saw them creeping towards Arachne. Thalia then began to run towards Arachne as well, as if to say, Oh, no. You all are not going to leave me out of the fun.

While Percy was distracted, a tendril of webbing attached itself to his leg. Before he could look down, he was pulled forward so hard that he fell on his back and began to slide on the sand towards the choking and now-foaming Arachne. Annabeth's hand shot out and grabbed Percy's wrist.

For a second, Annabeth and Arachne were in the most painful tug-of-war that Percy had ever participated in. Percy felt like his bones were about to pop. Annabeth started to lose her grip, and her hold slipped from Percy's wrist to his fingers. Percy saw Thalia yell and threw her spear towards Arachne.

Percy, for a moment, thought that was the end of Arachne. Few things or beings have experienced the end of Thalia's spear and lived to tell the tale.

However, a bright light and clap of thunder erupted near Arachne as if she had exploded. The light almost blinded Percy, and he barely shut his eyes in time. When he opened them back up, the sight before him almost made him close and open his eyes again. A fierce Amazon seemed to have entered the fray.

Rather, it wasn't an Amazon. It was a tall, battle-ready woman that glowed with divine power. The woman's hair was tied back, and she was dressed in black and gray armor. Her gray eyes almost glowed white. Her jaw was clenched with irritation.

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, had arrived on the battlefield.

She was standing in front of Arachne in full battle armor, and seemed to have caught Thalia's spear.

Percy heard Annabeth's voice behind him, "Mom?"

Percy was about to celebrate Athena's arrival when Annabeth stopped pulling.

She forgot to let go of Percy, though.

Subsequently, one savagely strong pull from Arachne resulted in both Percy and Annabeth sliding across the sand towards Arachne. In a maneuver that could only be executed by having eight arms, Arachne used a few of her limbs to toss aside the webbing and the poor demigod attached to it. One more of her limbs sliced through Annabeth's grip on Percy, while a few more grabbed Annabeth and held her against Arachne herself. One more limb held Riptide to Annabeth's throat.

Percy landed hard on the ground and scrambled to his feet. He tore Arachne's webbing off him, making sure not to repeat Annabeth's mistake in the past. One strand of webbing could result in them tumbling down a hole straight to hell.

In the strangest plot twist in Greek mythology, Athena held her hand out. She seemed distressed, but determined. "Stand down, all of you."

Percy felt uneasy. He thought Athena's arrival signaled a victory for them. Arachne was holding her daughter hostage right then and there. Yet, Arachne was still standing...with her head still attached to her body.

He looked to Thalia. "Am I seeing things right now?"

Thalia looked mortified. The color had washed from her face and she was trembling.

Percy turned to Arachne. He felt the wolf nearly bursting come out. Riptide's normal golden glow looked silver in the moonlight.

He heard Annabeth croak with the blade under her throat, "Mom? What are you…"

Percy said slowly, "I'm only going to say this once. Let her go."

Thalia stepped forward. "Yeah. Unless you want to find out how it feels to get drowned and struck by lightning at the same time."

Percy noticed the Hunters coalescing around the group in a semicircle. The only open side led to the sea as if they were challenging all of them to take a swim. The Hunters' bows were all nocked with at least five arrows.

Arachne used her mandibles to chitter in amusement. "Big threats coming from such tiny gods. Why don't you tell them, Athena? Tell them what happened."

Thalia swallowed. "No. Hunters!"

In one motion, the Hunters released their arrows in streaks of silver. Percy yelled Annabeth's name.

Athena's form shimmered in a multitude of afterimages around her. After less than a half second, Percy's eyes focused to see Athena in front of Arachne, holding a stack of arrows.

Athena looked up at Thalia. "Enough. You know what happened, do you not, Hunter?"

Thalia clenched her jaw. Percy looked at Thalia. "Thalia, what's going on? Can someone tell me what's going on?!"

Thalia shook her head. She looked disgusted with Athena. "You lost, didn't you? You lost your stupid competition."

Competition? Percy looked to Athena.

Athena had not responded and was standing still like a statue.

Thalia continued. "That's why...that's why you're protecting Arachne."

Percy's world spun. "Wait...Athena, you are protecting Arachne because of...a competition?"

Arachne made a hissing sound that must have been laughter. "Oh, yes, sea-spawn. Athena and I had a rematch. A weaving contest for the ages. The Muses, bless their soul, actually have taste. They, without knowing the stakes or who belonged to what artwork, chose my own tapestry to be superior. Superior...over Athena herself."

Percy almost laughed at the ridiculousness of such a claim. "You've got to be kidding me. This is a joke, right? We're not here fighting for our lives over a weaving contest, are we?"

"Percy…"

Percy saw Annabeth struggling to get air. Just from her saying his name, he knew it wasn't a joke. He remembered Annabeth telling him that when she faced Arachne, she had doubted that Athena was truly better than Arachne at tapestry. Something Annabeth said about that encounter stuck with Percy: What if the story we heard was the story written by the more powerful? What if Athena hid the truth and tried to rewrite history?

"So...Arachne challenged Athena to a weaving contest. And Athena lost. So, Athena has to….what? Protect Arachne?"

Athena looked to the ground in what almost looked like...shame? Thalia didn't have to say anything for Percy to understand.

The waves crashed onto shore, wetting Annabeth's feet.

The air turned cold. "You gambled Annabeth, didn't you?"

Athena kept her eyes to the ground.

"SAY IT," Percy screamed. In reality, every fiber of him hoped she would correct him.

Athena inhaled and opened her mouth, only to get struck by a blast of lightning. Percy whipped his head around to see Thalia with her hand out.

"Thalia..." Percy began. He couldn't finish his statement, as he heard a volley of arrows being released once more. Thalia sprinted towards Arachne.

Percy held his hand out to the water, but nothing happened. Percy's heart beat as he tried it once more, but nothing happened. He knew Riptide was going to return to his pocket in a few minutes, but they didn't quite have a few minutes.

Percy gave up and ran towards the monster. He could only run and watch as the arrows lit Arachne up, forcing her to drop Annabeth and Riptide. Then, three things happened.

Annabeth coughed and reached for Riptide.

Thalia's thrusted her spear towards Arachne's heart.

In a clap of thunder, Annabeth was suddenly empty-handed, and Percy heard a ching.

Athena had used Riptide to parry Thalia's strike at the last second. The two weapons meeting with such force resulted in a blast of concussive energy that pushed Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, and Arachne away. Percy used his hands to painfully break his fall, and tried to run towards them again. He didn't know what he was going to do, he didn't know what his plan was, but he knew he had to try.

Annabeth was coughing as she tried to crawl towards Percy. Percy yelled her name when Athena materialized next to Annabeth, grabbed her by the ankle, and dragged her towards Arachne. Percy could only scream as Athena handed Riptide to Arachne. Arachne picked a flailing Annabeth up.

Arachne took Riptide to Annabeth's throat.

Percy desperately reached to the sea, but received no response once more.

Arachne used Riptide to brutally slit Annabeth's throat in a motion so deep and strong that it nearly beheaded her.

All sound drained from the beach. The moon disappeared behind the clouds.

Percy fell.

He could perceive nothing but sensation and emotion as he tried to process seeing Annabeth's nearly severed head dangling from her body.

The wolf was released.

Percy no longer felt isolated from the seawater; he was the water now. The next thing he knew, half of the water in the Sound rose and spun in a funnel of seawater. The funnel/tornado of water crashed onto the beach and wiped everything and everyone away.

Everyone except Athena.

Percy felt his eyes sting with tears. A hurricane had arrived at Montauk, producing harsh winds and rain. He felt the same voice that told him that he could sink the Hunters' raft. However, this time, it was telling him to sacrifice the goddess to the sea.

Percy advanced towards Athena with his hand out to his side. A jet of water shot towards him, carrying Riptide straight into his hand. He saw Athena with an expressionless face.

When Percy got closer, though, he recognized fear in her eyes.

No, not fear.

He saw weakness.

Percy gripped Riptide. He took on Ares. He took on Hyperion.

He could take on Athena.

Athena materialized a long, golden and silver spear and got into a flawless battle position. Her eyes were looking him up and down, likely analyzing battle strategies.

"Kill me, Jackson, and you will never be able to come back from this," she warned.

"You don't deserve to live," Percy growled. His muscles tensed as he prepared to attack.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw red in the water. Annabeth's body bobbed up and down in the water, floating about forty feet away from him.

Percy snapped out of his rage.

Athena no longer mattered. Percy raised his hand, and redirected the current to bring the body to him.

Annabeth's body floated into his arms, and he cradled her gently, even in the midst of the wind and rain.

Percy threw his head back, and his screams were lost to the waves.