Hello everyone! I'm so excited you guys have liked the story so far. Thank you all for reviewing! I love hearing your thoughts. Without further ado, let's continue the story!

The plot is heavily inspired by marvel and the characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Annabeth wished she hadn't let the bowl, with the only edible thing, fall to the ground. The chicken was extremely burned, and the potatoes were underbaked. She tried to save the few good parts by cutting them with her knife and putting them aside on her plate. She didn't want to seem rude, but as her hosts were doing the same, she thought it was acceptable.

After the awkward moment in the living room, the atmosphere had changed completely. Their hosts were rather quiet, and Annabeth was too stunned by the sudden arrival of her husband to think about making small talk.

It was a nice ambiance though. They had put on candles on the table and had turned off a few lights around the house, to give their setting a cozy style. A soft ballad was playing on the record player close to the chimney. It was nothing at all like the world she had designed at the center of town, which was usually practical, open-spaced, and organized. However, Annabeth welcomed it with open arms.

From time to time, Annabeth would shoot discrete glances towards her husband throughout the dinner. She didn't know why, but each time she expected him to be playing with his food or having a smirk on his face or opening his mouth to tell a joke, but he did nothing of the sort. He was politely eating all of his food in silence, and Annabeth would feel his curious eyes on her now and then when she wasn't looking. Something inside her told her that it was an unnatural behavior from him. But she let it drop.

When it was time for the dessert, the silence was so unbearable that Annabeth decided to take matters into her hands.

"So…" she started saying when Christine put a piece of the pie in front of her. Three heads snapped in her direction with almost a nervous stance. She tried to ignore the dizzy effect that those beautiful sea-green eyes could have on her. "You wanted to have this encounter to get to know each other better, right?" she asked, grabbing her fork.

Bill and Christine shared a look before nodding.

"Well, then tell us a little bit more about you," Annabeth said, giving them a reassuring smile. "How did you, two, meet?" She wanted to help the situation, but clearly, she made it worse. The couple seemed alarmed by her question and they looked at each other for support.

"Honey," Bill started, "you love sharing that story, don't you?"

Christine picked at the pie with her fork a little too strongly. "Oh, but I like your way of telling it."

"You do have a better memory than me, dear."

"I think they wanna hear both sides of the coin too."

"Then you can start…"

"I'm sure you'd like to begin…"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at the bickering of the couple. On the inside, she was glad she wasn't the only one having memory problems of her married life. In a moment of weakness, she turned to look at her husband, who seemed both amused and irritated at the situation. He turned to look at her and gave her a smirk that almost melted her heart.

She let out a sigh of relief as if that single smirk was the sign that her husband was still there. He then cleared his throat loudly, and the lovebirds finally stopped their arguing.

Bill sighed before giving Annabeth a polite smile. "We met at a supermarket…"

Christine frowned and crossed her arms. "That's not romantic at all."

"Well, that's how we met, sweety," Bill answered with a faked heavy laugh. "If you wanted a more romantic encounter, you could have spoken first…"

They had a staring contest before Percy (Annabeth congratulated herself for remembering his name) cleared his throat a second time with a more urgent tone. Bill resumed eating his pie and Christine was holding back the urge of rolling her eyes.

Annabeth just blinked. What a weird night.

"But enough about us," Christine said with a little bit of irritation, and Annabeth had to bite her lip for not replying with a snarky comment. They hadn't said anything about them. "I asked you the same question at the kitchen and you didn't answer…"

"I was just asking because you asked first. You were the first one to be nosy," Annabeth couldn't help but defend herself. Percy snorted and tried to die down his laugh with a glass of water. Annabeth gave herself a mental pat on the shoulder. Even Billy had an amused expression.

Christine's smile wavered but she ignored the comment. "Shall we continue, anyway?

Trying hard not to be rude against their hosts, Annabeth gave her a strained smile before saying, "What was the question again?" She knew damn well what the questions were, but she wanted to see if her neighbor had a new interest in mind.

"Where did you move from? How long have you been married and why don't you have children yet?" Christine asked with a self-satisfied smirk in her face. As Annabeth had imagined, her neighbor had decided to make things more uncomfortable. Deep down she knew that the questions were normal when one wanted to meet the neighbors, but everybody at New Athens had been so reserved that now she found it annoying when someone asked about her personal life.

She focused for a few seconds on her pie. She now had a lot of memories from Percy and her, but none were of how they got married or when they had moved into town. She blushed at the thought of not remembering if they had talked about having kids or not. It was an essential thing to know before getting married.

Did he want kids? Weren't they too young for that?

"Um…" Annabeth started saying, trying to figure out how to divert the subject. Could she say that her headache was back? Tell them it was too late, and they had to work the day after?

"We moved from New York," Percy said suddenly, startling her. She turned to look at her husband with astonishment. His eyes had an annoyed look towards Christine and Annabeth noticed Bill averting his eyes from her husband's as in embarrassment. He had finished his dessert and was now tapping his long fingers on the table. "We've been married for a couple of months and we're planning to wait a little longer before starting a family."

He had answered as if he had rehearsed the story a thousand times before the dinner. Annabeth frowned. Something in the way he said was too mechanical, too unnatural. But at least one of them remembered their story.

"Any other question?" Percy dared their hosts. Christine leaned back on her chair before looking at her husband, Bill, who just shook his head in response. Annabeth couldn't understand how quickly the atmosphere had changed since she stepped a foot on the house. It was the first time she felt uncomfortable since she had arrived in New Athens.

After everyone was finished with the dessert, Bill stood up and started picking up the dishes with Christine's help. Annabeth tried to help them, but they refused her help politely. As they took away her glass, Annabeth thought back at Percy's response.

She pinched her nose bridge and leaned on the table. They had been married for a few months…how couldn't she remember her wedding day?! Or their previous home?! Why was she so out of control that night in particular?

She began to feel frustrated as a new headache grew inside her skull. Her world was supposed to be perfect. Things like awkward and nosy neighbor encounters shouldn't happen in New Athens.

She sighed.

Everything had been going so well…

She felt a soft touch on her shoulder and her head perked up to see gorgeous ocean-like eyes staring at her with concern.

"We should go home," Percy whispered, and his low voice made her whole-body shiver in a pleasant way. Well, maybe not everything had been a disaster that night. She had gotten the love of her life after all. She stared at his suit and thought or at least a version of the love of my life. "You're clearly not feeling well."

Annabeth wanted to say that she was feeling okay, but she wanted to leave that house as soon as possible. She nodded before pushing her chair back and going to the kitchen to say goodbye to her hosts.

"My husband and I are going home," Annabeth announced, grimacing again at the chaos in the kitchen, as she held the swinging door open. Bill and Christine were bickering on whose turn was it to wash the dishes. "But thank you for the dinner. It was…interesting."

Christine raised an eyebrow. "So soon? Wouldn't you like…"

"Of course," Bill cut her off, earning an assassin look. He looked around uncomfortably before continuing. "And sorry about…well, the dinner. It wasn't the best but…we figured it was time we shared a little bit more like neighbors."

Annabeth gave him a shy smile. "I understand. Thank you for the invitation, and I'm sorry too for your bowl."

He smiled warmly, "It's fine. I wanted to buy a new one anyway."

Suddenly, her husband Percy appeared next to her holding what looked like a fedora hat in his hands. Something inside Annabeth wanted to laugh at the scene. She had the impression her husband didn't like wearing any formal clothes, and the uncomfortable way he moved his shoulders to adjust his suit every five minutes, affirmed her suspicion.

But it was the sixties. People dressed like that all the time.

He nodded slightly at their hosts. "Thank you for everything."

Annabeth caught a glimpse of something in his beautiful eyes when they met with Bill's. As if they were trying to send a message that she couldn't quite comprehend. But Bill just smiled and said, "Anytime."

Neither of them said we must do this more often, which gave Annabeth a wave of relief. They waved goodbye, Annabeth grabbed her purse from the rack, and they finally exited the cursed house.

Once outside, Annabeth took a deep breath as if she had been struggling to breathe while they were dining. The night was so full of stars to the point of seeming heavy to her. Instinctively, she went to grab a strand of her hair to look at it, expecting to see a silver flash. But it was a normal blond curl.

"It's a beautiful night," Percy said as if reading her mind. He was standing next to her, his eyes fixed on the sky. He had a tired expression as if he had overworked himself that day. When he noticed her eyes on him, he turned his head to look at her and gave her a warm smile. "It almost looks unreal."

Annabeth blinked before looking at the sky again, and she could have sworn that something that looked like a wave of static flashed before her eyes and then disappeared instantly. She deviated her stare from the sky. "Yeah, almost."

She started walking to their house and Percy followed her close behind. She grabbed her purse tighter. It was a weird feeling, walking with her husband back home. Deep inside, it was what she'd always wanted. Feel safe, warm and loved in a cozy home. But her body was having a repulsing reaction to it.

Throughout the evening, she had wanted nothing more than touch her husband, hug him, kiss him, caress him… but her body was resilient to do it. As if touching Percy would overwhelm her senses, not only in a good but in a bad way too. As if experiencing all the love for him, would also bring up painful memories to it.

Was that the reason for her lack of memory?

The weird thing was that Percy was keeping his distance too. He had only touched her once, and his posture was on high alert at every movement she made. He seemed a little anxious to her every action…

Her head started throbbing again. She crossed her arms and frowned. Everything was becoming too real, and she was tired of it. She wanted her life in New Athens to be back to normal, and that night to be just a bump in the road.

But her chest ached for Percy. She couldn't imagine waking the next morning and finding someone else at his place. Not now, that she had finally felt what real love was. And something told her that having Percy around would only complicate her world.

Annabeth walked quietly to their door and she opened it. She felt Percy stop a few feet away and she turned back to see what he was doing. He buried his hands in his pockets before sighing.

"I'm…I have some stuff to do," he said quietly.

Oh no. Had the universe heard her struggle? Was it going to take him away from her? No, she wouldn't allow it…But maybe it was for the best? Didn't she want to continue her normal life?

"Oh," she said, and she was sure her face was revealing her anxiety for him because he said, "It'll be quick," he reassured her. Then he walked up a little closer to her and reached for her hand. Sparks flew inside her when he interlocked their fingers gently. "I won't leave," he said. Not this time, she heard his voice inside her head, and she flinched away from his grasp.

He frowned with concern, his whole body assuming a defensive stance. "Is something wrong?"

Annabeth had clearly heard his voice, but his lips hadn't moved. Did she imagine it? "Nothing," she assured him. She grabbed her throbbing head. "Just the headache."

Percy shoved the hand back in his pocket as if he were ashamed of what he had done. "It'll be quick," he murmured. "Just some work stuff…"

"It's okay," she quickly said. She was used to the situation anyway since all of her previous husbands disappeared at night. She hesitated on entering the house. Percy was different than all those men, and she didn't want to risk the chance of letting him go. However, something inside her urged her to trust his word. "I'll probably go straight to bed."

"I'll join you in a few minutes," he said with confidence, giving Annabeth some kind of relief. She gave him a smile.

"Wake me up when you do. I want to know…"

"That I'm home safe and sound," he finished for her as if he had heard her say it thousands of times before. "I know, I know." A warm smile was spread along his lips.

Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled too. "I just need to say it several times so it can stick to that thick head of yours."

Percy chuckled. "I know that too."

If it was up to her, Annabeth would have chosen to stay there, looking into Percy's eyes for all eternity. But she knew the longer she grew attached to the idea of having him, the stronger it would hurt the day after when she'd realized he was gone. So, like ripping a band-aid off, Annabeth turned her back to him and said, "Goodnight."

"Wait," Percy said, and she turned on her heels quickly. He was embarrassingly looking at their car. "I kind of need the car…I mean if it's not a problem."

A million questions popped on Annabeth's head. He needed the car. For what? None of the others had ever asked her to use the car. However, deep inside, Annabeth knew she was better off on her ignorance bliss, so she just nodded and looked for the keys on her purse before tossing them to him. "Not a scratch," she mocked him, earning an honest laugh from him.

He winked at her, saying, "C'mon. It's me we're talking about."

"Hence, the warning," she said, shaking her head and turning her back to him one more time. "Goodnight…please, be safe."

…

35 days ago.

The world surrounding her was constantly changing. With her eyes closed, Annabeth could feel the swirls of colors flashing before her eyes. She felt her body tingling with different sensations as reality morphed around her.

Finally, the tornado of scenarios stopped swirling. A sticky and salty warm air surrounding her. A smell of sulfur and desperation filled her nostrils, and with every breath, she felt like she was auto-intoxicating herself. Her body was shivering of coldness, even if the atmosphere was so humid and sweaty around her.

Oh, gods. She knew where she was.

Tartarus.

She could never forget that feeling.

Gathering all the courage she could muster, Annabeth opened her eyes only to find herself on the edge of a cliff. There was anything but darkness on the horizon, and only the idea of knowing that the house of Nyx was somewhere around there, would send shivers down her spine.

But this time, there was something else that was bothering her. Beyond the darkness, Annabeth could feel something incredibly horrifying. An infinite vacuum. An endless and timeless power. Something that would surely dissolve her into nothingness, into oblivion.

Only looking at the void in front of her would give her vertigo, so she tried to keep her eyes fixed on the leather-like floor at her feet.

It had been a couple of years since she had had a nightmare in Tartarus. Usually, she found herself running away for her life or trying to save an agonizing Percy. This time, she was completely frozen in spot, and everything was terrifyingly calm and silent.

Her heart started to beat faster, and she couldn't breathe. She tried not to grow desperate and keep her eyes focused on the floor.

It's just a dream, she told herself. Percy is safe, I'm no longer there…this is not real.

Suddenly, she noticed a red light out of the corner of her eye. It was a burning light, and Annabeth felt her skin toasting just in its presence. She tried to keep her eyes away, afraid of being blinded if she dared look in its way.

But it was calling her. It ached for her. And she ached for it.

So, she looked, and it was as if every part of her body was awoken by the light. As if every cell in her body had finally found what it was searching for.

A red stone, floating a few meters away from her.

Annabeth's mind got lost instantly in the waves of power that the stone was emanating. Flashing images, showed her the past, present, and future. The infinite possible scenarios, what could have been and what could possibly be. Unlimited knowledge and power…and they were all for her.

A part of herself was screaming to look away…but the majority of her soul had already succumbed to the will of the stone. It was her destiny.

She took a step forward. Her skin was burning.

Another step. She was starting to suffocate in the heavy and powerful aura. As if her life force was being drained by it. But she fought against it. She needed to know…

Another step. The images in her mind were flashing at such speed that she was losing the grip on her thoughts. It was too many and too fast. She couldn't concentrate, but she didn't need to. Her only purpose was to touch the stone.

She went to take another step, but her foot never touched the floor.

She felt the wind in her face, and she had just a tenth of a second to realize she was falling.

Annabeth had stepped into the abyss.

She was frozen, thanks to the power of the stone. She fell, motionless, as her eyes watched the ever-bright light of the stone get dimmer and dimmer. And when she couldn't see it anymore, her soul came back into her body, and she felt it.

Her body was dissolving.

Every part of her was being absorbed by the void. Her soul was being sucked, and it was too late to fight. She was becoming one with endless nothingness. But she didn't want to.

She screamed. Not because it was painful, but because it was the only thing that could make her feel alive. She needed to hear her voice before she was turned back into existence itself. No memory, no body, no soul…

She tried screaming louder.

Maybe someone would hear her.

Maybe…

Just maybe…

And that's when she felt it.

A voice calling her.

It was not too late.

She still existed.

…

"Annabeth."

The daughter of Athena slowly opened her still burned eyes. Her mind was dizzy from the nightmare, and it took a few seconds for her to adjust her vision to her surroundings. A flash of light appeared in front of her, and she sighed of relief when she noticed it had been a lightning bolt (miles away) outside the window. The raindrops hitting the glass, soothed her. She was not in Tartarus.

"Annabeth," the voice whispered again, and she felt a warm hand softly shaking her shoulder. Her eyes traveled through the dark room until they stopped on the figure sitting at the edge of the bed. Even in darkness, Annabeth would recognize that figure anyway.

Another lightning flashed through the window and showed her Percy's face. He was wet, surely due to the heavy rain, and his clothes were full of mud and leaves. He had a tired expression, but his eyebrows were all scrunched up which meant he was worried about something.

"Hey," she greeted him, groggily. She went to turn the bed lamp in her nightstand on, before sitting up on the bed. She scanned his face for possible injuries, but he was fine. Just tired looking. "You're back," she said, putting her hand against his cheek. He closed her eyes, gave the palm of her hand a gentle kiss before leaning his head into her touch.

"Yeah," he said heavily. "It's good to be home."

"How was the quest?"

He grimaced. "As good as quests can go."

"And Grover?"

"He's fine. Back at camp to pass some time with Juniper."

"I'm glad it all went well," she said, frankly. Annabeth rubbed her thumb against his cheek in a soothing way. He sighed and opened his eyes. They were dark and tired. "What about you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know. The usual. Internship, friends…" and training, she thought. With the hunters. She had finished her training so tired, that she had barely had the energy to take a bath and go directly to bed. She hadn't told him about the quest. Annabeth thought it was best to discuss it in person.

"You seem tired," he said. He grabbed her hand between his and waited for her answer. He knew her too well.

"Just a nightmare," she said. His eyebrows scrunched up again and Annabeth laughed softly. "Nothing that I couldn't handle though."

"It's the first time in a long time…"

"I know." She took a deep breath. "But it comes with the job of being a demigod, I guess."

There was a moment of silence.

"Was it…" he began asking.

"Yes," she answered truthfully. "But nothing I hadn't seen before," she lied. Percy seemed so tired; she didn't want to worry him more at two am.

He nodded, grimly. Sighing, he stood up from the bed and headed towards the kitchen of their small studio in New Rome. He turned on a few lights on his way. "What are you doing?" Annabeth asked as she watched him scavenging the cabinets. "You're tired. You should be getting into bed," she told him, patting the empty space beside her.

"Remember that recipe Nathan showed us?" he said, his voice muffled as he shoved his head into a cupboard. "The head counselor at Cabin 23?"

"Yeah…" she bit her lip, remembering the day she had asked Nathan for his help when she and Percy were sleep-deprived. "That tea could knock the minotaur out." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you still have that paper?"

"Um, no," he said, getting a small metallic box. "Last summer, I asked him for a stash of it…Just for emergencies." He clarified under the inquisitive look Annabeth was giving him. "And Tartarus's nightmares qualify as one, in my opinion."

Before Annabeth could protest, Percy was already putting some water in the boiler. Nevertheless, she said, "I can't drink that, Seaweed Brain."

"Why not?" he asked as he went to the bathroom and began filling the bathtub. Just then, in the warm lights of the apartment, Annabeth realized how dirty Percy was. She wrinkled her nose at the dirty spot he had left in the silver blanket.

"Because that thing is gonna knock me out for an entire day."

"So?" he said, putting his muddy backpack on their closet, and taking his hoody off. "Tomorrow is Saturday," he reminded her. "No internship, no university. Just a relaxing day."

Annabeth bit her lip. She had training with the hunters. Six am sharp. She watched as Percy took off his worn-off snickers and just as the water finished boiling and Percy went to grab it, Annabeth figured it was time to tell him the truth.

"Percy," she called, and he stopped just when he was about to pour the hot water into the cup. She took a deep breath. "We…we need to talk."