Author's Note -

Hey all!

I wanted to put a quick author's note - we are officially in the last few chapters of Missing! Missing will have 50 chapters total. It ends slightly after MoA begins.

I wanted to thank everyone who has commented, reviewed, liked, followed, etc. my first fic! I am so glad you are all enjoying the story!

I also wanted to mention what's next. I'm not done with Annabeth's point of view - I'm really enjoying it and I hope you are as well! That said, since I like to stick as close as possible to canon and Annabeth's a narrator for both MoA and HoH, I will not be writing her point of view for either of those books. There are a couple scenes I may write, but not full chaptered stories. So, my next Annabeth fic will begin at the end of HoH and roughly covers Blood of Olympus. It is called "Something Permanent".

Fair warning - it may need a slightly higher rating as there may be a bit more adult stuff in it, just due to it being post-Tartarus and dealing with the trauma, etc. Still deciding on that. I have already written several chapters of Something Permanent and will be posting the first handful at once, so you have a significant piece to read, similar to how I did Missing at first. There shouldn't be a gap in my posting schedule - Something Permanent will begin the week Missing ends. If you are enjoying my writing style and Annabeth's point of view, I hope you'll join me for that fic as well.

Chapter 45 - So Long, Farewell, Bon Voyage

For once, I overslept. Running in the dreamscape had really taken a lot out of me. And then there were the nightmares, of course. Wouldn't be a proper punishment from my mom without another night of nonstop terror in my sleep. I stumbled to the bathroom, grateful that my cabinmates were already gone. I looked terrible. The circles under my eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them, even during the Titan War. I took a cold shower to get the night sweat off of me, got dressed, and sat on the bunk with a sigh.

I was exhausted. Worry about the quests - both Gaea and the Giants as well as my new solo quest - loomed over me each day. At night I couldn't even get a moment's peace with me staying up till past midnight to try to contact Percy and then having nightmares every moment I actually slept. Briefly, I wondered if this was the way the gods would kill me - just make me so sleep deprived I did something stupid like walk off the Argo II when it was in the air. I shook my head and made my way to the dining pavilion. The nightmares had made me not want food, but I ate a piece of toast anyway. I told my magic cup to give me a double espresso - normally I'm not big into coffee, but I needed it today. Then I made it give me another.

When I felt almost alive I made my way to the Bunker, only to find it mid-disaster. We should've been leaving today, going to find Percy and maybe put a stop to these dang nightmares. Instead, Leo was running around screaming "Stop! No! I said No! Bad Crossbows!" as the crossbows turned to fire on him again. I sighed. This had become a common issue - any time Leo decided to add a new way to control the ship, the crossbows would have to be reprogramed not to fire on us.

I yanked a hammer from a nearby workbench and threw it at the first crossbow, knocking it enough off balance that Leo wouldn't be shot. The second turned to fire on me but I had a wrench in the air already. It landed with deadly accuracy, knocking the crossbow to the ground.

"Uh, thanks." Leo said, looking winded. "I just decided to add this super cool -"

I held up my hand to stop him. "Leo. At this point, I just want the ship to function. Can it function? Can we leave today?"

There were a few moments of silence. Then, his voice sounding strange, called down to me, "Uh, not quite. We'll need to repair the crossbows. And we're having a few issues with the hover-mode, when we stay in place in the air."

I sighed. "Fine. Tell me what to do."

Another strange silence. "Annabeth, is everything ok?"

I shook my head. "We reached Percy last night." I admitted, softly, my voice carrying in the cavernous room. We were alone, I could tell. Otherwise, someone else would've disarmed the crossbows - we'd all had plenty of practice.

"Oh?" Came Leo's curious question. "And how did that -"

I brushed a tear I hadn't noticed from my cheek. "He…. didn't remember me. Or Grover. I knew…. I mean, I knew that was a possibility….. But now -"

"It's real." Leo supplied. Carefully he made his way down from the ship and wrapped his arms around my waist. I was shocked by the show of affection. Leo still seemed scared of me a lot of the time. I returned the hug. Leo and I had gotten close over the weeks working on the engine. We'd be alone down there a lot of the time, and we'd started to tell each other some of the harder things from our pasts. The time on the streets. Parents, or foster parents, in his case, that didn't want you around. We were different in a lot of ways, but we were like siblings.

"Humans are harder to fix than machines." He said quietly. "And sometimes they can't be. But…. ah, I'll help. If I can. To fix him, make him remember."

I nodded, holding Leo tight. It felt so good, so safe. Finally, I pulled away. "Thanks. For now, though, let's fix the ship. Let's get going."

He nodded, then turned to look at the ship. "I'll finish working on reprogramming the navigation. Can you remount the crossbows and fix them again? I sent the others to finish making arrows for the crossbows." We climbed the ship and got to work.

The rest of that day and the next were much of the same - small issues popping up that made it unsafe to sail. Leo and I figuring out how to fix it. Me, grinding my teeth in frustration to the point that I'd probably messed up my teeth for the rest of my life. Grover and I tried the dreamscape again but we couldn't find Percy's dreams. Finally, it was the morning of June 23rd. Two days after the Solstice. But everything was as ready as we could make it. It was time for the official send-off of the Argo II. The entire Camp was there, ready to send us on our way and hope we survived.

I hugged Clarisse, which earned me a growl. "Thanks for trying to keep me sane. Take care of the Camp." I told her, then pulled away before she strangled me.

I hugged Will next. "I can't thank you enough."

He wrapped his arms around me. "You'll do well, Annabeth. You can keep them safe, you're a skilled healer, even if you aren't an Apollo kid."

I smiled and shook my head at him. "Thanks to you."

I looked at Chiron who pulled me into a hug and stroked my hair, the way he used to do when I was tiny and had a nightmare. "I love you, Annabeth. You're the closest thing to a daughter I've ever had. Remember your strengths and your weaknesses - plan for both, child." I nodded, not sure I could speak without crying.

I looked at Jess, Livy and Milo. We had all had our big goodbyes last night, but Milo ran forward to give me another hug and the other two weren't far behind. I held them tightly. "Train hard. Listen to Chiron. Protect each other. Ok?"

They nodded, trying not to cry.

"When will you be home, Annabeth?" Milo asked sadly.

That lump reappeared in my throat. "Uh, I'm not sure. When I can." I didn't want to say that it would be a miracle if we all returned home safely.

Slowly, they pulled away, Livy wiping tears from her eyes. I looked at my cabinmates. I'd had a goodbye party with them last night and said most of my farewells then. But I still hugged them each in turn. I looked at Malcolm last and jerked my head towards the boat.

"I need to talk to you." I told him. He looked confused but followed me aboard. I led him to my cabin. It was sparse, the way I liked it. I had hung a couple of the drawings my mortal half-brothers had made me on the wall, as well as a handful of pictures. I shut the door behind Malcolm.

"I-I need to tell you something, a warning. Uh, if you see Mom…. Don't talk to her."

His eyebrows raised and his mouth opened, ready to ask me a million questions, but I shook my head and sat on the bed.

"I can't say much. But, she's not in a good place. The Greek-Roman schism seems to be affecting her badly. She wants to destroy the Romans." I tried not to touch the coin in my pocket. "Just… promise me, ok? And warn the others. She's not safe right now. She'll try and get you to turn against the Romans. We need to unite to defeat Gaea."

Malcolm looked troubled. "Did you meet her? What did she -"

I shook my head. "Trust me, Malcolm. It's better that none of you know. Just…. Promise me you won't make the same mistake. I need you to promise that. I need to believe the rest of you will be safe."

That only seemed to scare him more. "Annabeth, what's going -"

I looked away. We stood in silence for several moments.

"I promise, Annabeth." He said at last. And I believed him. "I won't talk to Mom. And I'll make sure the others know not to as well. Uh, just our cabin or -"

"Just our cabin." I whispered. "She wants her kids to avenge her, no matter the consequences."

He looked troubled, but finally said. "I'll protect our cabin as best I can."

I nodded, looking at him. "That's all I ask." I pulled him into a hug. "You've always been my true brother."

He hugged me back. "Annabeth, I-I don't know what I'll do, if -"

I shook my head, still in the tight hug. "Don't think about it until it happens, ok? No need to invite bad luck."

Malcolm left the ship and it was finally just Piper, Jason, Leo, Coach Hedge and I aboard. We tried to look strong, but I could tell from the grips everyone had on the railing they were just as worried as I was. Well, everyone except Coach Hedge, who was waving his bat in the air at his girlfriend Mellie, calling out all kinds of promises that he'd defeat the Giants and Gaea single-handedly, no worries. The rest of us waved farewell to our friends, our family, and tried to ignore the feeling that this was the last time we might see them.

"Let's go meet our Roman cousins, gang!" Leo announced and the ship lurched into the sky. A chill crept over my back and my worries flooded over me again. Everything that could possibly go wrong. I wanted to pray to the gods for protection but the coin in my pocket reminded me not to attract any more godly attention right now.

Piper and I took the first watch. Blackjack and his pegasi friends flew alongside us for a while and I liked their company. While I still couldn't understand Blackjack, he seemed to understand me and I'd told him I was going to go find Percy. What I hadn't told him, or most of the others at Camp, was that Percy hadn't remembered Grover and I. We'd told Chiron, and he looked so disappointed that we hadn't wanted to disappoint the others. I know they were all hoping, as I had, that Percy would remember us and want to come home. But now I was looking at a very real possibility that Percy had found a new home, a new family, and wouldn't be coming with me. He'd feel loyalty to this new group of demigods. I remembered him telling me about Calypso's island, his feelings of loyalty to her and that had only been two weeks.

It was almost time for dinner and I was in my cabin, reviewing all the plans again, just to have something to do. In reality, all I could think about was Percy. In less than 2 days, I would see him again. The emotions washed over me, threatening to drown me. Hope, worry, anxiety, and a bunch of other feelings I couldn't begin to place. I would finally see Percy, in real life. Even though he wouldn't know me….. Well, it was something, at least. To know he was alive and safe and in front of me. The real work was about to begin.

"Annabeth!" A voice called out behind me. I turned. It was an Iris message of Tyson.

"Tyson! Are you ok?"

He nodded. "I am ok. I found Percy's voice."

My heart stopped. I lunged towards the Iris message, momentarily cutting it off. "You what?!"

Tyson smiled at me. "I found Percy's voice. He said find a red harpy. She is Percy's friend. I will find the harpy and go to the Caldecott Tunnel. He will meet me there."

My pulse raced. "Did he remember? He knew who you were?"

Tyson smiled at me, tears filling his eye. "Yes. He said he missed me. He knew I was his brother. He remembered."

I let out a sob. Everything felt like it was swirling around me, like I was in the middle of a hurricane. Percy remembered. He remembered Tyson. Did that mean he was getting his memories back? It felt like too much to hope for. Was it possible that he would really remember me?

Tyson looked at me, shocked. "You are sad?"

"No." I said, trying, and failing, to smile. "I'm very happy Tyson. I am relieved. I am…. Well, a lot of things. But none of them are sad."

He grinned at me. "I will find the harpy. I will see you in California. Percy said to tell you something. He did not say what to tell you."

"He…. he said my name?" I could barely breathe, the hope felt like it would crush me, more than the weight of the sky ever had.

Tyson nodded, grinning. "Percy said -" Then his voice morphed to an exactness of Percy's. "Tell Annabeth." Then his voice changed back to his own. "But he did not say what to tell you. I am sorry."

I shook my head, grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't stop myself. "That's more than enough, Tyson. Thank you. Thank you so much."

The Iris message faded out. I sunk back onto my heels, sitting on the floor of my cabin, grinning with tears running down my face. I probably looked more than a little crazy. But Percy remembered. He remembered something, at least. He knew my name. He wanted to talk to me. And after months of nothing, this felt like everything I could have hoped for. I laughed, a crazy, totally not-me laugh. Piper opened the door and seemed stunned to find me like that.

"Annabeth! Are you, uh, okay?"

I was still grinning, and I felt more tears fall down my face. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm great, actually. Tyson called. Percy remembered him. And I'm pretty sure he remembered me too."

I went through my day in a haze of happiness. Percy was ok. He remembered his old life. Maybe not all of it, but he would. And we were so close. For dinner I ordered all blue food in his honor. I was nearly giddy with excitement. I was counting down the hours, constantly nagging Leo for updated arrival times. We would be there so very soon. And while a lot of things could go wrong, suddenly, everything felt like it was going right.

When it was time for bed I grabbed the picture of Percy from my desk and flopped down on my bed. I was wearing the sweatshirt I had taken from Percy's closet, so many months ago. It didn't smell like him anymore, but that was ok. It was faded after all the adventures it had been on, but t still made me feel closer to him. I looked at his face in the picture.

"You remember me. You really, truly remember me." I could feel tears streaming down my face again. I hugged the picture close, even though it felt silly to do. "I'll see you soon. I promise."