And we are back ladies and gentleman! I am so sorry about the delay between chapters, but I had a really hard time getting motivated enough to write. But I am back now and ready to keep writing an epic story.

(Annabeth POV)

Annabeth was nervous. And really, REALLY hot. She was also really uncomfortable in her serving-maiden outfit.

"Almost there," Piper said. "You're doing great." She wasn't talking to her though; she was talking to Jason. While the two of them were dressed as serving-maidens, Jason looked and acted like an old man.

"Worst idea ever," Jason huffed. "Hazel's magic is too good. If I have to fight, I'll be useless."

"It won't come to that," Annabeth said. She adjusted her outfit. "We infiltrate the palace. We get the information we need, and we get out."

Annabeth was very anxious to get this over with quickly. This was the first time since they had left Epirus that she had dared leave Percy. Sure, she had slept a couple of times and left someone else to watch him. But she had always been a short distance away. This was different. She was leaving the ship, and he stayed behind. Everyone had agreed it would be a good idea to have him watch for naval threats, but she was still nervous.

It had been almost a week since they had left Epirus, and Percy still scared her. He never initiated conversation anymore. Before, even when he was stressed, Percy talked a lot. He was a jokester, and he was sarcastic. He always had a quick comeback in any situation, even ones where he really SHOULD keep his mouth shut. But now? Now he was withdrawn and sullen. He never joked, never smiled. Annabeth was the only one he would actually carry a conversation with.

The worst part was that he still wasn't sleeping. The first few days he had slept, mostly because he was so exhausted from Tartarus. He also passed out after Panic attacks. But those had decreased noticeably. Annabeth wasn't sure if it was because Percy was adjusting, or if the rest of the crew had learned to avoid his triggers.

But now that he wasn't sleeping, he would just sit on the deck at night. It was probably the only time you could hear him talking on his own. He would just sit, lean against the mast, and talk to the stars. He mostly talked to Zoë and Bob. It worried her, he talked more to people that weren't there than his friends that cared about him.

They had managed to glean a few more things from him. He fought a lot of old enemies down there; Geryon, Thorn, the Minotaur. He had even fought against Hyperion again. But Percy never talked about how he did it. He was terse with any details. And he shut down if anyone pressed him. The only ones who could get away with prying were Annabeth and Piper. Piper had the advantage of Charmspeak, and Annabeth knew her boyfriend well enough.

BOOM! The hillside rumbled, and Annabeth was broken out of her thoughts. They had managed to make it to the top of the mountain. They peeked through some olive bushes, and before them was a massive gathering of zombies and spirits.

She gripped her dagger fiercely. She was so grateful that Percy had given it back to her. It made her feel safe. Percy had said that it had saved his life in Tartarus, so now every time she held it, she thought of him.

They conversed briefly and dispersed among the crowd.

Annabeth was instantly disgusted. These ghosts and zombies were handsy. They tried to flirt with her, and when she didn't respond, they grabbed her. If it weren't for the greater mission at hand, she would have had hands and heads rolling. Instead, she just gracefully slipped out from their grasp. She went about pouring her wine.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Jason sitting at the head table. That was good. Even if she wasn't getting anywhere, it looked like he was getting the intel they needed.

But then things started to shift. She could see that some of the other suitors at the head table were glancing suspiciously at Jason. She made her way over to their table.

She walked up to Antinous. "More wine, my lord? Oops!" She let her hand slip and proceeded to spill half a pitcher of wine on the ghoul's neck. She could say it was an accident, but she would be lying.

"Gah!" The ghoul arched his spine. "Foolish girl! Begone!"

Before she slipped off, she caught Jason's eye and gave him a nod. She saw that he needed encouragement, so she gave it.

She went back to serving drinks and holding back her violent impulses. She had to trust that Jason would be able to do what needed to be done. All she could do was offer support and provide backup if everything failed.

Things seemed to be working well for a while. She saw Jason from a distance, talking comfortably with the leaders of this dumb gathering of ghosts. But then all of a sudden, the crowd parted to reveal Thalia's mom. She had only seen a picture of her once, but it was definitely her.

For a second she didn't understand what was happening, then she almost dropped her pitcher in a panic. This wasn't just Thalia's mom; it was also Jason's.

"My dearest, you have come home."

Jason was frozen in place. Annabeth watched as his disguise melted. He was not standing in his plain camp clothes, holding his sword.

"Mom?" his voice was barely audible.

"Yes dearest. Come embrace me."

"You're – you're not real."

"Of course she is real," some modern looking ghost was walking up behind Jason. She wanted to warn him, but her disguise was still intact.

"Did you think Gaea would let such an important spirit languish in the Underworld? She is you mother, Beryl Grace, star of television, sweetheart to the king of Olympus, who rejecter her not once but twice, in both his Greek and Roman aspects. She deserves justice as much as any of us."

Piper spoke up, completely blowing her cover. "Jason, look at me." Her disguise faded. "This is not your mother. Her voice is working some kid of magic on you – like charmspeak, but more dangerous. Can't you sense it?"

Well, it looked like stealth was no longer an option. "She's right," She spoke up as she climbed onto the nearest table, dagger in hand. "Jason, that's only a remnant of your mother."

"A remnant!" His mom's ghost screamed. "Yes, look what I have been reduced to. It's Jupiter's fault. He abandoned us. He wouldn't help me! I didn't want to leave you in Sonoma, my dear, but Juno and Jupiter gave me no choice. They wouldn't allow us to stay together. Why fight for them now? Join these suitors. Lead them. We can be a family again!"

"No," Jason stood firm. "I don't believe you. I fight for the gods. I won't turn my back on them. You're not my mother." With that, he made the ancient sign for warding off evil – three fingers thrust out from the heart.

Once he did that, the ghost of Beryl Grace shrieked and faded.

The ghost Antinous tossed aside his goblet. He stood up. "Well then, I suppose we'll just have to kill you." With that, all the enemies closed in.

Before any of them could get to her, she threw her emergency flare. They each had two. They had been smart enough to make two backup plans. One, Leo launched every weapon he had on the ship and blew the surface to ash. The other…well, Annabeth just hoped she threw the right flare.

Once she threw the flare, she started to fight. She slashed left and right with her dagger. She saw Piper and Jason fighting at the edges of her vision. Jason was impressive, he had shifted his sword into a spear and was stabbing enemies left and right.

Then everything went wrong. Jason had cleared a significant portion of the suitors but had left his back exposed. Suddenly, she felt a chill in her neck as she watched the modern ghost stab Jason in the back. Everything grew quiet, and from across the courtyard she heard him speak, "Born a Roman, die a Roman."

She then heard Piper scream as she ran towards him. The enemies around her laughed and watched her run. Jason tried to lift his sword, but he fell over. The ghost stood over him and smiled.

"Jason!" Piper slid to her knees and grabbed him. "Hold on!"

The ghost smiled. "Ah, excellent, another offering for Gaea." He moved to stab Piper, only to suddenly be slashed in half when Percy dropped from the sky.

(Percy POV)

Percy was almost grateful when he saw the blue flare. They had all been standing on the deck, slowly watching the three climb the mountain. He was anxious, he didn't want to let Annabeth go, but he knew she would beat him up if he expressed his concern for her safety. He was just grateful that he had gotten them to agree to the "Percy backup plan".

By now, everyone knew that Percy was no ordinary fighter. He was a one-man army. He had had a sparring match with both Frank and Jason at the same time and had wiped the floor with both of them. It was hilarious in hindsight actually. This time, it had been a straight sword fight. They had also been clear with rules beforehand, no powers, just skill. Jason and Frank had a sword each, and to make things fair, Percy dual-wielded his Drakon-bone swords. If the two of them had had more experience working together, they might have stood a chance. But instead, Percy kicked both of their asses.

After that, they had agreed, Percy was enough backup on his own. So, they had come up with two backup plans. There was Code White, which involved Leo incinerating Ithaca. And then there was Code Blue.

The moment the blue flare went off, Percy was on his way. Frank was quick to action. He transformed into an eagle and caught Percy just as he dove off the ship.

In absolutely no time, they were approaching the top of the mountain. As they got closer, Percy saw how dire the situation was. Jason was lying on the ground, with Piper kneeling over him. They were surrounded by over a hundred enemies. Worst of all, there was Michael Varus standing over the two of them.

Percy remembered seeing a picture of him back at New Rome. The Legionnaire who had led the first mission to Alaska. The guy who had lost the eagle standard that Percy had ended up having to save.

He looked like he was going to say something.

"Frank! Drop me!" Percy yelled. Instantly, he did. On the way down, Percy pulled out Riptide. He came down on top of them and slashed Michael in half before his feet even touched the ground.

He stood over Piper and Jason. "Hey guys," he said. "Don't worry, I got this."

And with that, he charged the enemy.

Aright, Part 2 is now underway.

I hope you like the change that I made to the original version of this.

I know some of you love Jason and won't like me nerfing him, but this is a Percy-centric story so I kinda have to.

Do you guys what the fight against the ghosts to be epicly long and detailed, or should I just skim over it the way Uncle Rick did? Should I keep the whole Juno thing too? I think it might be fun to have Percy interact with one of the gods again.

Let me know what things you want to see in future chapters. I really benefit a lot from your feedback. That is doubly true for Part 2 of this story as Part 1 was something I had had in my head for a long time before I started writing. I only decided to do Part 2 recently, so I don't have as many ideas.

All that to say, please leave lots of reviews, and don't hesitate to PM me with story ideas.

Hope you liked it, and sorry again about the delay.

Peace.