"This is your worst memory?" Annabeth asked, watching herself dangling over Tartarus, Percy being the only thing keeping her there.

Percy shrugged. "All of my Tartarus memories are terrible. But this… this one takes the cake. I thought I was going to lose you."

Annabeth looked down, into the abyss. "We have to go down there, don't we?"

"I─" A deep, rumbling laughter filled the cavern. The Percy and Annabeth from the memory didn't acknowledge it. Percy grimaced. "Yeah, we have to go down there." He leaned over the edge. "How do we defeat it?"

Annabeth took his hand. "I have no idea."

And together, they stepped further into Percy's memories.


Clarisse's head was pounding. She struggled upwards into a sitting position, clutching at her temple.

Last… the last thing she remembered was Hazel and Percy. And Annabeth. Annabeth Chase, who was very much dead and very much a declared traitor. Hazel had… snapped her fingers and then Clarisse had fallen down.

Clarisse jumped up, looking around. She didn't see Hazel, Percy or Annabeth.

Instead, she saw Thalia and Nico in the distance. She hurried towards them. "Clarisse?" Nico asked. "We didn't know you were back. What─"

"It's Hazel! And Percy─and Annabeth! They were here and─and Hazel was talking about a surprise and─"

"Clarisse!" Thalia exclaimed. "Slow down. What happened?"

"I─I was with Hazel. She told me she had some surprise planned for Percy. We got here and then Annabeth came out from behind Zeus' Fist. Hazel just clicked her fingers and then I was down."

"Annabeth?" Thalia repeated.

Nico shook her head. "That wasn't Hazel. She's unconscious. In the infirmary. Has been since last night." He exchanged glances with Thalia, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I doubt that was her. Or Annabeth."

"They kidnapped Percy," Clarisse said. She frowned. "Where did they go?"

"Perhaps I could assist you." They spun around. Hazel was there.

"Told you," Clarisse muttered.

"Hazel?" Nico asked, tentatively stepping forwards. "What are you doing out of the infirmary? Will said that you wouldn't wake up until tomorrow, at least."

Hazel looked down at her body. "Oh, right. I haven't changed yet."

"Changed?" Thalia asked. Hazel snapped her fingers. Clarisse watched in shock as Hazel's appearance supposedly melted away and was replaced with Lou Ellen. "What?!"

"I can explain─"

"Why were you impersonating my sister?!"

"What did you do to me?!" Clarisse interrogated. "Why did I see Annabeth?! Where's Percy?!"

"I'd answer if you let me," Lou stated. "Alright. It's a long story so─"

"Short version, please," Clarisse ground out, baring her teeth.

"Okay, sheesh." Lou shrugged, relaxing against Zeus' Fist. "Three years ago, Annabeth came to me and told me to help her and Percy fake their deaths. Everybody was making them depressed or something. So I made Annabeth a body but then I heard people so I left. I had only made Percy's arm. Blah, blah, Percy was accused, I felt bad, went on a few 'finding Percy' missions, met Chaos, yada yada. Flash forward a couple of years, Percy is kidnapped so I go to Annabeth and tell her what Chaos told me─Gangrow started possessing him. There's some ritual to get rid of the all powerful Eidolon and Annabeth is in Percy's head doing that─but I was going to be getting them out with Chaos' help but he bailed on me so I need help. Two children of the Big Three and a daughter of Ares would be strong enough to help me."

Clarisse's mouth was dry. "What?"

"Really? I have to repeat myself? Okay─"

"No, no, no," Thalia interrupted. "You're saying that Percy and Annabeth are alive and well?! And that neither of them are evil?!"

"Pretty much." Lou shrugged.

"Why didn't you say something?" Nico asked. "This all could've been avoided if you said something!"

Lou bit her lip. "I already told Annabeth that I wasn't going to risk my neck if things went badly─they were bound to. So I put some protections around their house as an apology. No god, demigod or monster could find them. Percy was found in the woods, not their house, so that's not my fault."

"Where are they?" Thalia asked. "You said there was some ritual to get rid of Gangrow─he's the head Eidolon, right?"

Lou nodded, frowning. "Um, yeah, actually. How do you know that?"

"We've been doing some of our own investigations. Anyways, what do we need to do?"

"Nothing much," Lou said. Her voice was way too nonchalant for something like this. "I'll be doing all of the work─you guys just have to lend me your strength."

"How do we do that?" Clarisse questioned, tilting her head. 'Like Reyna does?'

"Just have to stand around them. You guys have to chant 'προσφέρουμε στον Lou την δύναμή μας' while I do all of the actual work, including making that sentence actually give me strength." The sentence was quite literal. 'Lend Lou our strength'.

"Well then," Thalia crossed her arms. "What are we waiting for? I'm going to kill those two when we finish this shit."

"Cheers to that," Clarisse agreed.


The Eidolon was standing alone on the jagged rock of Tartarus. Percy glared at it in disgust.

"Gangrow," Annabeth acknowledged. "You look terrible."

"Why thank you!" Gangrow viciously grinned. "As do you, Miss Chase! Positively… glowing."

"A few weeks too late, Gangrow," Annabeth replied. Percy looked at her in shock. Annabeth had given birth?! Percy had just assumed she had chosen not to have a belly upon entering his head with Lou's help─she'd filled him in as they travelled through memories.

Gangrow chuckled. "Well then. Why don't you do what you came to do, then?"

Annabeth paused. Percy's brow creased. "What?"

"You're not going to defeat me," Gangrow smirked grotesquely. "It's physically impossible."

"Physically?" Annabeth grabbed her sword, testing its weight before throwing it like a javelin. It passed through Gangrow, as if he were mortal.

"You see, Annabeth Chase, nobody can be harmed inside of a head. Or else your boyfriend would be long gone."

'Shit. What do we do? If we can't fight him, then how do we get rid of him? Draw him out? Truck him? I doubt that'd work. Annabeth looks as lost as I am. How do I get an Eidolon out of my head?'

"So, you see, you might as well give up. This body is mine to control."

'Out of my head. Out of my head.'

Percy met Gangrow's gaze. He willed─wanted, practically begged─his mind to do something to Gangrow.

And then Gangrow sailed backwards through the air, landing uncomfortably on the jagged landscape of Tartarus.

Percy grinned maniacally. "This is my head, Gangrow. My domain." Percy willed him to sail towards them, stopping a metre away, hanging mid-air. It reminded Percy of controlling water. It came to him so naturally.

Percy imagined a door appearing beside them. Percy needed to get rid of Gangrow.

Annabeth grabbed his arm. "Imagine that it leads us to the real world─but put Gangrow in something. Something that he can't ever leave." A small pocket knife materialised in Percy's hand. Gangrow drifted towards─then inside─of it. Percy looked at the door, taking Annabeth's hand.

"Ready, Wise Girl?"

"Always, Seaweed Brain."


(A/N And now everything seems to be going well. Oops. I'll let up on them for a chapter. But Thalia, Nico and Clarisse─everybody, actually─are going to be so pissed! I can't wait! Also, the obligatory 'I used Google translate for the Greek'! Because I did. I don't speak Greek. Anyways, theories! Comments! Let me know how you guys feel!)