/Author's Note - This is my first time posting fanfic, so hopefully you like it! Please review!

/ As always, I own nothing PJO, HoO, etc.

Chapter 1 - I Play the World's Worst Game of Hide-and-Seek

Let me explain. I have played some bad games of hide-and-seek, mostly from monsters. I remember some particularly bad times before I teamed up with Luke and Thalia, when all I had was a hammer to defend me. Hide-and-seek became my go-to tactical move. But that didn't really compare to the morning I found Percy missing. We had had a great day the day before, snuggling at the fire pit during the sing-a-long. When I didn't see him at breakfast I got concerned, but not worried. He often got woken in the middle of the night to go save some sea creature or another. He may have simply overslept. I went to his cabin to check.

"Percy?" I knocked on the door. No answer. I tried again, but louder. "Hey, Percy? It's me." No answer. Gently I opened the door. "You awake?" When I walked into the cabin I could tell he had been there but didn't see any sign of him. His clothes laid on the floor, the armor was in disarray, and the place was generally a mess. But hey, that was all normal. But his bed was made. Not just made, it was neat. Percy doesn't make the bed and he certainly doesn't make it neat. Not unless Tyson was here to do it for him. And Tyson wasn't here. Alarm bells started going off in my head. "Ok, don't panic Annabeth. He's faced down gods and Titans. Chances are, he's fine. Maybe he had a reason to actually make his bed for once." That seemed unlikely, but I decided to go look for him.

I was supposed to have laundry duty today, so I quickly grabbed the laundry bags outside each cabin and walked them to the Big House to wash. I started a couple loads (this chore was SO much easier in the winter with fewer demigods) and was leaving when I noticed Chiron.

"Hello Annabeth! How are you doing?"

"I'm ok…" I decided to tell him my concerns, "but Chiron… uh, I think something happened to Percy. He's missing."

Chiron frowned. "Missing? I know we did not see him at breakfast -"

"And he didn't meet me for chores. He always meets me before chores, so we can do them together."

Chiron's lips twitched, perhaps hiding a smile, "My dear girl, Percy avoiding chores seems like a rather normal thing, wouldn't you think?"

That I had to agree with. I took a breath, "I know. But Chiron, uh, his bed was made. And like, neat."

Chiron frowned at that, "That does seem odd. Have you talked to Grover? Perhaps he and Percy are spending time together."

I nodded and turned to find him, calling out behind me, "You're right, I'll go find Grover. I'm sure that's all it is." I was not sure that was all it was. But Grover had the empathy link, so maybe he would know what was going on.

I found Grover and Juniper by the canoe lake, no Percy in sight.

"Hey Annabeth!" Grover called out and waved me over, "What's up?"

"Hi Grover, hi Juniper. Uh, have you seen Percy anywhere?"

Grover frowned. I had my answer right there. "Uh, no, why? Did something happen between you two?"

Good question. Had something happened between us? I really didn't think so.

"I… don't think so. But I can't find him."

Grover didn't look too concerned. "It's close to Christmas Annabeth. Maybe he just snuck off to get you a gift or something, where he wanted to surprise you."

I nodded. "Yea. Yea, ok, sure. That must be it. Thanks Grover."

I kept going with my routine but when Percy wasn't at lunch I grew even more worried. Percy doesn't skip meals. Percy certainly doesn't skip two meals. I went to the armory, the smithy, the Amphitheatre, and all the cabins. After my talk with Grover, I was kinda expecting him to jump out and yell "Surprise!" and have some kind of date planned. But nothing like that happened. I went through my afternoon routine, helping Chiron teach weapons classes and strategy. But still no Percy. By dinner with no sightings I was just pure panicked. Where in Hades was he? And preferably not in Hades this time. No one else seemed to notice, after all, Percy had just arrived for the winter session, so no one was used to his table having someone there.

After dinner, I realized I needed to try one more thing before putting out the demigod version of an Amber Alert for the guy. I went back to my cabin and got ready to make an Iris-message.

When the woman appeared in the mist, I called out, "Mrs. Jackson!"

Percy's mom turned to me, "Oh! Annabeth!" She clearly noticed my expression. "Is something wrong?"

How to explain it….. "Well, maybe…. Just…." I decided to blurt it out, "Have you heard from Percy?" I held my breath waiting for her to assure me that he was right there, there was no reason to worry. Instead, her brow furrowed.

"Um, no, why? What's wrong?"

"I just…. Can't seem to find him. Anywhere. He was gone this morning. And his bed was made -"

Her eyes widened.

"And I just… I don't know what's going on." I finished. She looked troubled.

"Annabeth, have you told anyone else? Has anyone else seen him?"

"Yes, I mean, no, I mean…" I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "I've asked around, Mrs. Jackson. Chiron hasn't seen him, or Grover, or Blackjack. At least, I don't think Blackjack knows where he is, he can't talk to me so much… everyone keeps saying he'll be right back, but…"

"But demigods can't exactly wait 24 hours to see if they are really missing, can they?" She finished for me.

I nodded. I was now well and truly frightened.

"Annabeth… were there any other signs…." I could tell she was struggling with the words. "That he might have gone on… on a quest, dear?"

"No… I mean, Rachel's in New York, she hasn't given a prophecy or anything that I know of…"

"I'll call Rachel," She assured me, "You go talk to Chiron. Make him understand. This is not normal Annabeth, he needs help."

I nodded, waved my hand through the mist, and took off running to the Big House.

When I explained everything to Chiron about where I had looked at that there was still no sign of Percy, things started moving very fast. Dryads were sent to gather each cabin back to the dining pavilion. There, Chiron split us into groups, sending us to search the woods, the beach, the cabins, anywhere he could be. We had to search fast - dark was coming and it would be too dangerous for us to be in the woods. Especially since the Hephaestus Cabin had kinda lost a giant bronze dragon in the woods that wasn't always on our side. Within an hour the word had come back - there was no sign of Percy anywhere. I tried to breathe and not let the panic overwhelm me like a tidal wave. Chiron made me sit down next to him on the steps of the dining pavilion. Grover brought me something to drink. I sipped it - just apple juice. The last campers reported in. Chiron sent them back to their cabins to get some rest, with the same cheery send-off he had told the others -

"I'm sure its fine, he probably went on a little mission for his father. He'll be back in the morning and we will all have a wonderful holiday."

When they had left and it was just Grover, Chiron and I, though, his eyes became worried. Chiron turned to me.

"Annabeth, child, think carefully. Did Percy say anything, anything at all, about going somewhere, or hearing something suspicious, or a message from the gods? Anything at all that could give us a hint?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. We had a great night. He kissed me goodnight at the campfire and that was the last I saw of him."

Chiron nodded, slowly. "Grover, any feelings with your empathy link?"

Grover shook his head. "Nothing. Which probably means he isn't dead. Or in a ton of danger. Or, at least, I hope not."

Chiron sighed, "I wish Mr. D were here. Perhaps he would be able to tell us. But the gods have cut off all communication. I'm afraid…" It is NEVER a good sign when Chiron is afraid! He continued, "I'm afraid we will have to find Percy without their help."

That, I was almost ok with. Godly help was usually not much help after all. It typically came with strings attached, and those strings typically had to do with accomplishing tasks with big scary monsters. I was perfectly fine with them staying away from the both of us. I just needed to find him, and fast. It felt like each minute my chances of finding him dwindled.

Chiron announced, "Well. It's late. We must go to bed. We can continue the search in the morning."

"But-"

"NO." Was the firm reply. He knew as well as I did I was about to launch myself into the woods, night or no, to find Percy. Chiron continued, in the same voice he used to use to comfort me when I was small and woke to nightmares. "Annabeth, you are no good to anyone like this. You need to rest. Go to sleep. Tomorrow, we can come up with a plan. But you MUST sleep."

I nodded. I knew it was true, but I hated it all the same. I stormed back to my cabin and threw myself on the bed. I tossed and turned for hours, my mind racing. I came up with idea after idea of who could have taken Percy. That was just the problem - by this point, especially after the war, Percy kinda had a lot of enemies. I had a lot of people I'd need to track down. But finally, I drifted off to a fitful sleep.