Ok so i know that i haven't been posting for a long while...i'm sorry.

Its just that i'e been really busy, and still am. I probably won't post another chapter till around three weeks later.

NOw, before you start screaming at me, i have to inform you that my end of year exams are starting, and for the past few weeks, i've been studying, so no time. Also, writing this story already caused me quite a fair bit of time, so yea.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's a little foreshadowing at the end, and i'll leave the rest to your imagination until next time.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews! AND please bear with me till my exams are over! :D

R&R!

Nico's POV

Something was off. I could tell by the constant scrutinizing looks shot at Micheal by Annabeth, and the fact that Percy was missing from class merely proved it even further.

Even though Percy is rather known for missing a few classes, very rarely did he miss the first class of the day, unless he was busy or had something on.

However, seeing that he had arrived with Annabeth to school, he probably wasn't busy or anything. I mean, if he was, would he have walked all the way in, put his bag in the locker, and disappear into thin air?

Annabeth wasn't looking the least bit worried about Percy's absence either, which either meant that she had forgotten about him, or she knew why Percy wasn't attending the class. Ninety percent chance it's the latter.

Grover seemed to have noticed it too. He turned to me and gave me a questioning glance, as though I would know what's happening. I shrugged and shook my head. I didn't know a thing.

I wondered what Percy and Annabeth had talked the day before. I know that Thalia had interrupted an extremely important conversation when she barged into the house, but I didn't know what the conversation was all about. And I haven't gotten a chance to ask since then.

After the bell rang, I immediately stalked up to Annabeth. "Hey," I greeted her as I stood in front of her desk whilst she packed her stuff. She looked up and gave me a small smile as she realized whom it was.

"Hi," She greeted in a pleasant voice. "What is it?" She asked quizzically. I pretended to be offended.

"Can't I just say hi to a good friend?" I asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Ha. Ha. Like you ever say hi to anyone. You're like some emo boy unless you're with Thalia." I sputtered excuses out instantly, but knew I had lost as Annabeth chuckled.

"So, what's this about?" She asked as she zipped up her bag and stood up. "Walk and talk?" she offered. I nodded and walked alongside her to our lockers.

"So…Where's Percy?" She gave a sideway glance at me, and sighed. She looked like she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't.

"I don't really know…" She replied. When she saw my skeptical face, she sighed in exasperation.

"I really don't know. The last time I saw him was when we were at the class entrance. He said that he needed to go blow off some steam and told me he'll come find me later." She explained. I studied her expression, and figured that she wasn't lying.

"Aren't you worried?" I asked. Annabeth frowned at that.

"Of course."

"Then why…"

"Let's just say…" Annabeth exhaled heavily. "I may have an idea why he needs to blow off the steam." She explained. I was really tempted to ask her what it was, but I knew that she wouldn't tell me.

"Oh…okay." I replied simply, not knowing what else to say. A somewhat comfortable silence descended upon them. He wasn't as close to Annabeth as Percy was, but he and Annabeth was,

It actually hurt a bit to know that Percy told Annabeth but not me, but I had to admit, albeit a little reluctantly, that Percy and Annabeth had a bond that not many did.

Comparing our their bond to Percy's bonds with the rest of the gang, even to mr and Grover, their bond was much more...strong. Much more sturdy. They were closer to each other than they were to any one else. As though they were brother and sister.

A small thought flitted through my head. Looking at them…they may actually be a couple in the future. Of course, there was a large possibility that they would never become a couple at all. I shook the thought out of his head.

We passed by the training hall for the Weapon Art class as we walked silently to our lockers. Annabeth suddenly halted in mid-step, a frown appearing onto her face. I stopped walking and looked back, his eyebrow raised.

"…I think I might know where Percy MIGHT be…" Annabeth told me. My eyes widened a little in surprise.

"Where?" I asked curiously. Annabeth pointed right at the door beside her- the door to the hall for training.

"…I get it." I said, feeling a little stupid that I never even thought he would be in there. I mean, it was a well-known fact that Percy adored practicing with his sword. He even had his own training hall in his house to practice.

Since he was in school, the only place to practice-and let off some steam- was the Weapon Art Class training hall.

"Wanna check it?" She asked me. I nodded immediately. She then opened the door and stepped in quietly, as though she didn't want to disturb anyone who was inside. I followed suit.

We both breathed a small sigh of relief when we saw Percy practicing in the hall. He was sweating profusely, droplets of sweat already dripping from his face and hair to the ground. His muscles were all tense and his face told us that he was fully concentrated on slashing through all the straw dummies before him.

Even after so many years, I still couldn't help but admire his swordsmanship. I've watched the world championships for swordsmanship before, being a swordsman myself, and I've seen plenty of professional swordsmen who wielded their swords as though they were as heavy as a twig.

Even after all that, I still am certain that if Percy actually participated in the world championships, he would be in the top four in the world, maybe even the top two…maybe even the best! Even though for that, I'm not quite certain..

The best in the world…I watched his performance, and the only thing I can describe him is the word "monster".

The way his sword flew, the way he moved, rolled, jumped, as though he was doing a graceful dance. He parried blades as though they moved at a centimeter per hour. He struck as fast as lightning and dodged like it was a piece of cake.

He had stayed as the world champion for five years already, including this year's one. He was a prodigy, achieving the title "world champion" only at the age of sixteen. Extremely hard to believe, but it's true. He beat way older, and way more experienced swordsmen.

But, as I looked at Percy, I realized that I've never actually seen Percy go all out before. Even now, as he "killed" the straw dummies, I could see that he wasn't putting all his effort into it, and he was already comparable to the world champion.

"Man…sometimes, I wonder…" I couldn't help but mutter out loud. Annabeth looked at me quizzically.

"Wonder what?" She asked me. I sighed and gave her a tiny smile.

"Sometimes, I wonder whether how good he really is with that sword of his."

"You mean Riptide?" I nodded.

"…Yea, I wonder that too," She said after a moment of silence. She stared at Percy as he continued hacking through dummies. "He had never given his all. Heck, none of us are at the level that can make him give his best." She chuckled as she finished. I chuckled too, totally agreeing with her. I've tried to spar with him many times, and he swept the floor with me all the time.

"I wonder whether he can compare with the world champion…" I said. "What do you think?" I asked Annabeth.

I was a little taken aback when her head snapped towards me so quickly, so suddenly that I even jumped away from her. At that very moment, I saw something that I would never be able to forget.

In a split second, her face had turned form healthy red to pale, oh so pale white. Her eyes were really, really wide, and her grey eyes were filled with pure shock and…fear. Her facial expressions were all tensed up, and her body was hunched, as though it was prepared to flee at the first sight of any danger. Her mouth was parted slightly, and she looked like she was ready to scream.

She looked traumatized, scared, fearful, and what was worse, was that there was a hint of insanity and madness in her already dark aura.

She looked like a cornered, abused animal.

She looked at me as though I was about to kill her…or rape her.

Another split second, and she was out of the hall, leaving me behind to stare at swinging door and process what had just happened.

Percy did not notice us at all, and neither did he notice me leaving the hall as I recovered from my shock and went to search for Annabeth.