Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor the Vampire Diaries

English's not my native language, so I'm deeply sorry for any mistake I might have.

...

Chapter 9

...

Mason Lockwood thought at first that he was dreaming. How else could he explain seeing a small puppy walking innocently towards him, only to then have said puppy transform into an enormous beast right before his eyes?

A yell escaped his mouth and he backed away immediately, hitting roughly the edge of the well and nearly stumbling down it. His fright was short lived, because in that moment, a young girl appeared from between two massive oak trees. Even in the distance, he could recognize her easily.

"Down, girl."

Surprisingly, the beast sat down obediently, tail wiggling as it turned its enormous head back and seemed to be looking for the source of the voice. Percy smiled at him, and gently pat the beast's head. Something about her smile annoyed him, he wasn't sure if it was the sarcasm there or something else.

"Hi Mason."

But his view was firmly set on the beast. Looking better at it, he realized it was more of an overgrown puppy than an actual beast. It was scary, he couldn't deny that, but it looked almost harmless.

He couldn't say the same for the girl silently approaching him.

"Persephone Jackson," Mason nodded at her, hiding his hands on his pockets. "Hi." His neck tingled, and he felt the strangest sensation of being observed. He looked back discretely, but at the other side of the well there was nothing, just vast trees and bushes.

Percy smiled again, which for the werewolf wasn't a reassuring sight. After a small pause where they simply addressed themselves, she sighed deeply. "I have questions-"

"Go to school," Mason retorted easily. "You'll receive all the answers you need there."

"Don't get all smart on me, it doesn't suit you."

He considered ignoring her and leaving, but he didn't want to turn his back on her, not when he wasn't sure she wouldn't suddenly attack. But then again, behind himself was a small source of water, one she could very easily attack with.

He pushed the thought aside, and pursed his lips. "Ask."

Percy addressed her surroundings before lowering herself into the floor and sitting cross legged, pointedly letting Mason know it was more than one question. She looked relaxed and not bothered by her surroundings, but he saw how her eyes kept stealing glances at the well behind his back.

"How do you know what I am?"

The question had not been completely out of her lips when he started to laugh. He shook his head and gave her a small incredulous look.

"You're a legend. Percy Jackson, savior of Olympus. I wasn't expecting you to be so-"

"Feminine?" Percy sighed, running her hands over her tights distractedly. "Do you have a problem with me being a female? Because if you do, then let me tell you you are a piece of shit and-"

"They say you held the sky once, that monsters now-days tremble at the very mention of your name," Mason continued, bothered by her words. "I don't care that you're a female, Percy. I belong to a pack where the alpha is a female too, that's the least of my problems right now."

When she looked at him, an unknown emotion sparkled in her eyes, but it was impossible for Mason to understand what it was. After a small pause of seconds, she nodded, looking less annoyed, "Then what were you going to say?"

"Young," Mason's annoyance had disappeared, his voice now sounding almost gentle. "They say you've saved the world more than once, and you're just seventeen years old. My nephew is your age. I don't think he'd be able to do all the things they say you've done."

"Exaggerations," Percy shook her head. "I've done nothing of the such."

Mason eyed her. "You're not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I thought you were one of Artemis' hunters," Mason admitted. "I heard a demigoddess of one of the Big Three joined Artemis some years ago..." He trailed off. "I see I was wrong."

She found it very amusing. "I have a great deal of respect for Lady Artemis, but I never joined her. I believe you had me confused with my pine-coned face cousin."

"My apologies." He didn't sound very apologetical. If something, he sounded more curious.

Percy observed him for a little while, before straightening and looking away. "You came after me yesterday, you sought me out, made it clear that you know what I am," She paused. "You must've had a reason for doing that, and I want to know what is it."

He nodded. "Yes. I want your help."

Percy was more than confused by then, because it seemed like every monster in Mystic Falls was seeking her help. It was completely ridiculous, monsters and demigods don't mix. It was as simple as that.

So she shook her head and laughed, "I don't help monsters."

But she'd already started to think of Bob, and with him came Damasen.

What kind of person was her now? How was she supposed to ignore the hypocrisy of her own words? Not every monster was a sadistic beast, that much was very clear.

She'd tried to convince herself multiple times in the past that Damasen and Bob weren't monsters. They had acted like heroes, they sacrificed themselves for her. It was a mere offense to even think of them as something less than heroes!

But deep down, a logical part of her was telling her that just like them, other monsters could have the capacity to make right decisions. She couldn't take that from them, she couldn't really say that they weren't monsters. That was their species, even if they didn't behave like it.

They had been monsters, but they made right choices and behaved like heroes.

Percy was so lost in thoughts that she didn't realize Mason had been talking, and only heard the end of his monologue.

"...Vampire's don't know what that means. They will kill you when they cease to need you-"

Percy tried to ignore his words, but some part of her couldn't. She wasn't sure how he'd jumped from wanting her help to taking about vampires, but she realized it was because she hadn't been listening to him.

A bitter laugh escaped her mouth, and she gave him the hardest stare she could come up with, trying to ignore the way her body was screaming at her to move, to do something. She'd been sitting for a long time and her hyperactive nature was against it.

"You speak as if you wouldn't do the exact same thing."

He shook his head. "You haven't done anything against me. I have nothing against you." Not believing his words, she looked into his eyes, trying to find dishonesty there, but there was nothing to find. Her stomach lurched when she realized he was saying the truth, guilt tearing her stomach to shreds and forcing her to look away from his face.

"Mason, you have to leave town." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself, and she wasn't even sure why she cared so much about his safety. Was it because he showed kindness and morality? He was still a monster...

But she couldn't just let him die like that.

What was she doing, what was she thinking?

"I just wanted to meet you properly," Mason admitted, shaking her off her thoughts. "You protect humans, I want my nephew to be-" A twig snapped in the distance, and he stopped talking.

Percy cursed under her breath.

"What is that?"

This time Mason turned to stare at the demigoddess. At her side, the beast was happily munching on her own paws, scratching and scratching, but relatively calm. Percy started to get up from her seat, which alarmed Mason.

"Relax," Percy told him, then looked over his shoulder and said, "I just realized how rude it is for you to eavesdrop on our conversation like that. Come out, Wise Girl, it's alright."

A blonde girl materialized at the other side of the well, grasping a Yankees' cap in one hand and a small dagger on the other. When his surprise died away, Mason narrowed his eyes, looking back at Percy, who was calmly twirling a ballpoint pen between her fingers and staring at the newcomer.

"Mason, meet my friend. Dear friend of mine, meet Mason Lockwood."

Percy's dear friend nodded at him, unsmiling. "Hi."

Mason stared at the daughter of Athena, then looked at the daughter of Poseidon. "This is a trap, isn't it? You wanted to distract me so your friend could stab me in the back."

Somehow, Percy noticed distractedly, he didn't sound very alarmed by that. He didn't even look annoyed, he was accepting what he thought was his fate. Curiously, she wondered just how much of a curse being a werewolf was. It sounded painful...it probably was.

"You're smart," Annabeth addressed. "For a monster. But no, that wasn't the plan. Now please, do continue talking. I find it more entertaining and reasonable than half the things that come from her mouth-" She pointed with her chin at the other demigoddess.

"Watch it, Wise Girl."

"You protect mortals," Mason said, stopping them from bickering. "I want to know my nephew will be protected too. He doesn't deserve to go through the same pain and suffering as me. I want him out of this mess."

"Your nephew, Tyler-" Percy shared a thoughtful look with her best friend. "His werewolf side is still dormant. Take him with you, I'm sure he'll be better with someone like you on his life. You can protect him."

"The pack would pressure him to turn," Mason shook his head. "He can't come with me, and I can't stay here."

"You can't?" Annabeth frowned, observing him.

The other demigoddess already knew the reason he needed to leave town. With another pang of guilt and disgust, she remembered the nauseating dream she had where she saw how Damon Salvatore ripped his heart out and threw it across the room.

The green-eyed demigoddess wasn't sure why that killing technique bothered her so much, she'd seen and used worse techniques than that. But there was just something about it that made her cringe and want to puke.

"If he stays, he dies." Percy explained to her friend, already picturing his heart across the Salvatore's living room.

The blonde girl was about to say that she didn't see what the problem was with that, when the cruelty of her own thoughts shook her, and she forcefully closed her mouth.

They were right, Tartarus brings the worst side of everyone.

The daughter of Athena was looking at her friend, thinking of how real that statement was. They had changed, both of them. One more than the other, but the change was still very noticeable. She was finding it hard to see the heroine her friend used to be, and she was sure Percy was surprised with her own changes too.

"...You hid the moonstone there, in vervain induced water. If I were you, and if I wanted to break a spell, I'd never be away from that stone," Percy was smiling sarcastically now. "But then again, I could never be a werewolf, I don't know how your canine mind works."

The werewolf looked away, and when he spoke, his voice was low and cautious. "Some things are not worth the sacrifice one has to go through to get them."

"Are you saying you don't want to break the curse?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"You two don't want to be involved in this mess, believe me," Mason's eyes darkened. "The less you know, the better. Stay away from this curse."

"But turning into a beast every single full moon must hurt like hell," Percy pointed out, tactlessly. "All your bones constrict and your whole body changes and morphs into a wolf, an animal. Then there's this spell that will lift the curse, and you just don't want it?"

He said nothing, the only thing betraying his cool mask being a twitch on his jaw.

There was a long moment of hesitation, with the two girls sharing a long long and seemingly over thinking their whole encounter. They had arrived there with a self-imposed mission, and now they were drowning in new doubts and burning curiosity.

What really was that curse?

"Fine. We'll leave you alone now."

They had only walked about four or five steps when Mason stopped them, his voice full with confusion.

The blonde teenager blinked innocently at him, which her raven-haired friend had to admit was a nice look on her, she looked almost angelical with her blonde hair and grey eyes; only that Percy knew that she was more of a devil than an angel.

"I thought our conversation was over," Percy looked impatient. "Is there something else you'd like to say, Mason?"

"Come with me. My girlfriend wants to meet you."

The request didn't surprise them. Nearly every monster they encountered had some ulterior motive or someone to please, so therefore they were more than used to being asked- or forced- to meet someone new.

"Your girlfriend?" Annabeth frowned, confused.

They weren't sure, however, of how important it could be to meet that woman. It could help them, sure. They could get more information about the curse, but it could also be a waste of time.

Percy slowly realized that he'd learned about demigods because of his girlfriend. Unlike vampires, werewolves didn't get to live forever. And Mason Lockwood was young, mid-thirties probably, which meant that someone older and wiser must've told him...

"A vampire," The daughter of Poseidon spoke, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Annabeth came to the same conclusion, blonde curls jumping as she nodded. "Makes sense. Mortal monsters are unaware of our world until they personally get involved in it. Someone old and cunning must've told you. Not another werewolf, certainly not a witch, and not a mortal. A vampire."

For the first time that day, the daughter of the sea was finally able to see the werewolf within that young man. His eyes flashed amber, making her breath get stuck on her throat because- bloody fuck- those brilliant eyes reminded her of Kronos.

Before her mind could betray her again and force her to have another hallucination, she pinched herself, willing to go through pain just to ignore the nagging sensation on her mind.

Mason growled. "You two don't know what you're talking about."

Percy forced herself to laugh sardonically. Her heart was hammering wildly, her grip on Riptide tightening.

She could already start to hear his laugh, that deep low rumble that always made her flinch, it was just a matter of time before she started seeing him again...

"What happened to the rivalry between both species?" She asked, trying to find something to anchor herself to reality, something that Nico had advised her to. "Does dating her make you an outcast? That is so cliché."

Her words touched a nerve. He snarled at them, eyes flashing amber again. This time it was the other demigoddess who looked uncomfortable with that sight, but a lot more annoyed than frightened.

"We love each other. She's going to lift the curse for me. She's going to do that because she loves me and wants me to be happy."

"Forgive my imprudence and my potty mouth," Percy started to say, "But that is absolute bullshit. Curses don't work like that, it has to be broken by the person that wants to receive the results. If she breaks it, the vampires are the ones that will receive its power, and vice-versa."

"Also, you sound like you're trying to convince yourself," Annabeth pointed out. "You keep repeating that you'll be happy, but will you really?"

The werewolf was in denial. "No, she said-"

"You hid the moonstone in a well filled with vervain," Annabeth interrupted him. "You don't trust her."

He said nothing for a long moment. He looked between both teenager girls, his expression showing so much devastation that they were forced to look away, feeling sympathetic for him in that moment.

"I love her..." He said.

"You feel something for her, I won't invalidate your feelings," The raven-haired demigoddess sounded almost gentle, something that the young werewolf never thought possible. "But without trust, there's no love."

Not finding anything else to do or say there, the green-eyed girl grabbed her best friend's hand, and pulled her away, not wanting anything more than just going back home.

"Let's go, Mrs. O'Leary-"

The hell-hound quickly followed them, the blonde demigoddess gently caressing her fur and smiling softly when she received a couple of friendly licks for that action. Percy looked back at the werewolf, and pierced him with a stare.

"Don't say I never warned you, Mason Lockwood." She paused for a moment, ignoring the way her friend was looking at her, and then said, "Leave town and never come back. You know the consequences you'll face if you decide to stay."

"Percy-"

"Tyler Lockwood is under my protection now," The daughter of Poseidon announced, still sounding strangely soft and gentle. "I'll make sure he remains human, I can promise you that."

Mason opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, lost for words. He weighed his options, weighed the way she was looking at him, and the strange emotion on her eyes, and then he made his mind.

She was showing him kindness...

"Thank you." He said.

"Don't make me regret it," She warned him.

"I won't," He promised.

The demigoddess walked away with her hell-hound and her best friend following closely. He watched them disappear through the vast thickness of the forest, and then he was gone too, walking as far away as he could on feet. Behind his back, the old well was relatively calm. But if he had taken one last look inside, he would've found that the moonstone was gone.

...

The trip back to the Jackson's house was relatively quiet.

The blonde girl kept looking around, still unused to the constant feeling of monsters closing down on them. On the backseat, almost occupying the whole car and almost breaking its roof, was Mrs. O'Leary's, who was too tired to shadow-travel back to the house.

Percy was distracted the whole way back to the house, so much that she hadn't realized they were at her house until she saw she'd parked the car and that her friend was already opening Mrs. O'Leary's door and helping her out.

Sighing, she got out of the car and closed the garage behind their backs. She'd started to walk inside when laughter stopped her.

Inside her house, her mother and step-father were laughing, probably being happy and relaxed for the first time in ages, and she realized it was because she'd been gone from the house all day...

She heard Kronos laugh again, accidentally missing her footing at the sudden sound and crashing against the porch's columns.

They don't love you anymore, Kronos seemed to say. They're happy you're gone.

"That's not true, Seaweed Brain. You know they love you." Annabeth's voice brought Percy back to reality.

"I made the sink explode," Percy reminded her miserably.

Annabeth shook her head at her, giving her a gentle look. "They're not going to hate you for being moody and breaking things. Sally is the sweetest woman I've ever met, and Paul adores you like a daughter. It's going to be okay."

She's lying, Kronos chuckled. She hates you too, look at her, she's only been a day here in your company and she already wants to go back to her own home. She's tired of you, you disappoint her.

"I hope so."

She'd already lost too many important people in her life, she didn't want to lose them too.

You're a disappointment, you can't do anything right. You didn't even kill that werewolf, out of what? Pity? You're so pathetic.

"Let's go to the music room, hmm? Your room makes me claustrophobic."

Percy wanted to shake her head and never step foot inside that room again, but she didn't want to explain the reason, and she knew her friend was so smart that she'd get it instantly, and the pity-stares would return. She was lightheaded and felt like crying after hearing his voice again, her body reacting almost as if she were about to have a panic attack.

But she didn't want her friend to know that.

So they entered the house, stopping briefly to notice that Sally and Paul weren't alone, and quickly went upstairs.

"I didn't know they were expecting visit," Percy stressed, hoping that her friend would forget about the music room and would follow her to her room.

But Annabeth was already stepping inside the music room, looking over her shoulder at Percy and raising her eyebrows. Percy's heart hammered wildly, but she swallowed and followed her. Upon entering, her friend looked around in amazement.

"This place is so pretty. Do you come here often?"

"Not really," Percy trailed her fingers over a rusty-looking lyre by the windowsill. The sound was nice, familiar. It made her heart ache so she quickly moved her fingers away and walked towards the only love-seat in the room. Sinking down on it, she tried not to acknowledge the familiar sight before her, a blonde person at a piano, their hands itching towards the keys...

The ache in her heart died away when instead of listening to a soft, perfectly played melody, the sound the piano emitted was cringe-worthy.

She found herself laughing. Kronos' voice seemed to disappear. Her friend blushed, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, but her embarrassment was too strong for her to be able to say anything at all.

"Instead of laughing at me, you should play me a song," She fixed her best friend with a pleading stare, knowing fully well that the raven-haired girl couldn't resist her puppy-dog eyes. "Pretty please with ice cream and a blue cherry on top?"

Percy was startled. "Wise Girl-"

"C'mon, I want to hear you play. It's been so long."

The daughter of Poseidon was tempted to say she didn't know how to play, that her ex-boyfriend's attempts at teaching her had been unsuccessful...

The thought of lying left a sour feeling on her mouth.

If there was something she was proud of, it was of having an artistic side. Her mother loved literature, and she hadn't inherited that, but she could appreciate a good book. Her ex-boyfriend was the god of every kind of art, and she had learnt to play different instruments and admire most kinds of art.

She was proud of all that.

It made her feel as if she was more than just the savior of Olympus. She was also a teenager, someone that enjoyed art, someone that could be almost normal...

And it made the ugly thoughts and memories disappear, which was a plus.

Without any hesitation now, she joined her friend at the piano. As soon as her fingers itched towards the keys, her heart ached. She had a sudden flash to his laugh- not Kronos, no, this time it was someone she was happy to remember briefly- as he directed her fingers to the right keys, and then his soft voice sending shivers down her spine as he sang softly by her earlobe, his voice relaxing her and coaxing her to play.

Her fingers danced across the keys, unmistakably producing a soft and tender melody that filled her with a sense of familiarity and peacefulness...

She was warm all over, warm and content for the first time in a long time. The thought of him made the ghost that was Kronos disappear, and while her heart ached, it was something she was immensely glad for.

That was, perhaps, the moment when she most felt like herself. Not Persephone Jackson, not one of the seven, not the heroine of Olympus.

Percy.

Just Percy.

When Percy was younger, she went through the inevitable phase of not knowing who she was. It was easy to ignore the emptiness inside of her with war raging over her head, but as time passed and dull days appeared, it was more and more evident how lost she actually was.

Hermes had visited her once, and said something that had sent her on the long and torturous path that was finding herself and discovering what made her different from the rest of the world.

"Humans are constantly plagued by that special doubt. My dear girl, no one really knows who they are. There's nothing wrong with that, I promise. Discovering oneself is a very long path, just remember you are not what others think or expect from you." Hermes smiled gently at her, hesitantly taking one step forwards and sweetly grasping her shoulders, "They know nothing, and you are more than that."

She had retorted with saying that they knew her, that what they said must be what she was, because she herself didn't know how to describe herself, and the others did it so easily...

"They know nothing," Hermes repeated firmly, "They only see what you choose to show them, they don't see who you are when you're alone, what you think when there's nothing to do or say. You're not what anyone says, you're your own person. You're the choices you make, the things you chose to say, the things you like the most..."

It was easy, sometime after the first war, to say who she was.

Persephone Jackson, sixteen years old, a troubled girl with a troubled life, but with the best friends she could ever have, with a boyfriend that adored her very existence, with a family that stayed together through everything. Someone that loved the sea and loved most aspects of modern art, someone who adored the color blue and couldn't imagine life without her family and friends...a heroine.

But things had changed.

The second war destroyed everything she had settled for herself.

How could someone lose everything and go trough hell itself, and still conserve their very essence and what makes them themselves? The answer was: they can't.

The song ended.

"I cannot take this anymore. Do you have any idea what it's like to feel empty inside? I know that logically, there's nothing missing but I swear to the gods that I feel like there is something deep inside of me missing. I don't want this, I don't like this feeling..."

A small sigh echoed in the room, the blonde demigoddess was opening her eyes, a wishful smile on her pretty lips as she sighed once again, still mesmerized by the music that she'd been hearing.

"You asked me what's wrong...this is what's wrong. Victoria from Cabin Five is in the infirmary right now, barely alive. I almost killed her, Apollo. I almost killed someone innocent. What kind of monster am I now? Is that what you meant when you said things would change? Did you know I would become this monster?"

"Oh, Seaweed Brain, that was breathtakingly beautiful." Annabeth beamed.

You are not a monster.

Percy swallowed back a gasp, and instead choose to close the piano, hands trembling wildly, something she briefly hoped her friend wouldn't notice.

"You don't understand, you don't feel this that I'm feeling-"

He shook his head. You're broken. Ripped at every edge if you must, but you're still a masterpiece. You're still human, still kind and generous. You could never be a monster, I know that because you're scared of yourself, and that alone shows that you are good at heart. You are good.

"What are you thinking about, Seaweed Brain?"

When she received no answer, Annabeth watched her intently. Briefly, she thought back of what she'd read about post-traumatic stress disorder, more specifically, about flashbacks. Percy looked disoriented, out of it, completely lost in thoughts. What hurt the blonde girl was the way that she was holding back tears and grabbing her own tight, nails butting into the skin there.

She pried her fingers open very gently and intertwined their hands together, trying to give her some amount of comfort.

It worked for a moment, Percy blinked and focused on her friend's face.

Then a tear escaped her right eye, red blossoming her face as she drowned in embarrassment.

"I'm going to-" The green-eyed demigoddess sounded at the verge of breaking down, and this time her friend noticed. After a couple of deep breaths, she composed herself. "I'm going to the bathroom for a second, okay? I'll be right back."

"Do you want me to-" Annabeth started, but stopped herself. She knew her friend needed to be alone in that moment, even when being alone wouldn't do her any good. Something came to her mind, and she blurted out a, "Wait."

Percy stopped.

"I know why you decided not to kill Mason," She started. "And I'm proud of you. I don't know how often you hear this, but I truly am extremely proud of you. You made the right choice. I know what you're frightened of right now, and I can assure you you will not turn into a monster as long as you have compassion in your soul. You can have this urges you always talk about, this hollow feeling in your chest-"

There was a small pause, barely a couple of seconds, but it was enough for the two demigoddess to lock eyes and speak without really talking, their unbreakable bond seemingly getting stronger in that one specific moment.

"You can be dark, you can have those urges and do that thing you're most scared of doing. But if you ask me, you will never be truly evil."

She's lying. The old Titan of Time was back, golden eyes locked on her as he leaned against the blonde demigoddess, a smirk appearing on his lips as he saw her flinch.

How could Percy explain that while she was terrified of that, in that moment what really was bothering her was everything?

Everything was hurting her, everything brought old memories that were better left buried, everything reminded her of Kronos, of the friends she lost, of her old self.

Everything felt like Tartarus.

Percy sighed a little, looking down at the floor and refusing to look up. "How can you be so sure?" Her voice was low, but it echoed in the vast space of the music room, hitting her best friend in a way that none other words ever had. She was smart, wisdom's daughter, but there was no way she could explain properly how she knew that.

And they both knew it.

Kronos laughed, She isn't, she's lying.

"I love you," Annabeth said simply. "You're part of me- some times an annoying part- and I can truly tell you that you will never be a monster because you are capable of feeling so much."

It was a simple phrase, a short answer to a very important question, but her words were so sincere, her voice sounded so truthful, that it was enough for the raven-haired demigoddess to cut the distance between them and throw her arms around her.

"I love you too," Percy admitted in a whisper.

Kronos disappeared.

Percy was met with an unfamiliar feeling of comfort. She finally felt safe and at home. She was with her, and that's all that mattered. An asteroid could've destroyed the Earth in that exact same moment, and she wouldn't have cared as long as they were together.

She was safe.

"When I saw you controlling that poison and choking Misery," Annabeth started quietly. "I was terrified. The expression on your face was one of corrupt power and hatred. Percy, you looked so terrifyingly powerful. You were drunk on that feeling, that power, and I was so scared and upset-"

Percy tried to pull away from her, but she held her tight against her.

"It was the same expression Luke wore before turning against us."

Percy stopped struggling, everything falling to piece together. She left the smallest, "Oh..." escape her lips, and before she knew what was happening, her friend had tightened her grip on her, their hug tightening and becoming bone-crushing.

"I'm sorry-"

Someone cleared their throat, forcing them to separate abruptly and a little alarmed. One look at the door and they managed to relax, both of them sighing in relief. It was Paul, smiling at the sight before his eyes and looking content and safe.

"Lunch is ready," He told them. "Let's go downstairs, Jenna brought her niece and she's getting bored being with us the boring adults-" Percy scoffed; he was everything but boring. He continued with a smile, "I thought you two could spend some time with her, maybe you'd even get a new friend."

The green-eyed girl forced herself to blink back her tears and try and react as she normally would, trying to ignore the wariness still creeping on her chest and burning her, a little painfully, but comforting nonetheless.

"The name Jenna rings a bell. Isn't she- oh no."

The daughter of wisdom sniffled, composing herself too, and stared at her friend, her gaze holding an incredible amount of curiosity. Percy watched as her step-father walked ahead of them, though still clearly keeping an ear on them.

She shook her head, pointing with her chin at him.

When they reached the living room, they were greeted with a scene that would, perhaps, stay forever in their heads. Three figures sprawled on the floor, unconscious and unmoving. Paul reacted as anyone would, gasping and then quickly moving to approach his unconscious wife, but a second later, a blurry figure threw him against the wall, and he too joined the other unconscious figures on the floor.

Percy and Annabeth gasped for a second, the stench of death and putrefaction making them recoil and take one step back unconsciously.

When the blurry figure stopped moving and stared at the two demigoddess, she was met with a familiar sight; two teenage girls, glaring coldly at her and hoarding weapons of mass destruction. She couldn't do anything but smile at them, a brilliant smile that betrayed the fire in her eyes.

For a moment, they simply studied each other.

The newcomer was a gorgeous woman, familiar looking, but at the same time quite different.

"Hello, girls," Her voice was almost a purr, it sent shivers up their spines. She walked in circles around them, watching them like a predator watching its pray. For the first time after meeting mortal-monsters, Percy finally was able to see what a real vampire looked like. Not so human-like as the Salvatore's, someone that actually had an aura of danger.

It made her heart jump and her stomach clench, something very alike adrenaline and excitement cursing her veins. She forced herself to remember that her parents were unconscious- and breathing heavily- on the floor, that she had to keep a straight mind for their safety...

"Katherine," Percy greeted smoothly, copying her movements and never once looking away from her.

The vampire stopped moving, and her seductive smile widened even more, if it was even possible. Annabeth seemed as mesmerized as her friend, though she was seeing a mortal monster, a real vampire for the first time in her life, so her fascination was different from Percy's.

Anger flared in the demigoddess when the door opened and Mason Lockwood strolled in. Before they could say anything to him, or even try and attack him, the vampire closed down on them.

"You've heard of me, good." Katherine eyed their weapons like one might watch a dog toy. "I believe it's about time we have a little chat, don't you think?"