Annabeth didn't mean to be distant. She really didn't. She just got absorbed in her work sometimes. Especially when it was a big or important project. And the Mark of Athena quest definitely qualified. However, she didn't realize quite how focused she'd been until she brought her laptop on deck after Jason and Piper disappeared from Hercules's beach, presumably to accomplish some task so they could pass into the Mediterranean, and Percy said, with just a hint of grumpiness, "Hi, stranger."

She blinked at him, a bit taken aback. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Instantly, his shoulder sagged, the tension dissipating. "Nothing. I just missed you. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean and I barely saw you."

"Oh." Annabeth blinked again, as if coming out of a daze. That was how it felt sometimes when she emerged from her intense focus on research or a design. "I guess I was kind of focused on research."

"Yeah, babe, just a bit," Percy said, but there wasn't much bite to it.

While she was still processing the warm feeling of him calling her "babe" so casually, he added, "So did you learn anything helpful?"

"Maybe." She gestured him over to a shady section of the deck, where the foresail blocked the sun, and sat down with her back against the railing. When Percy sat down cross-legged next to her, his knee lightly brushed hers, sending a pleasant jolt up her leg, and making her think that maybe she had been spending too much time alone in her room. Scooting a fraction closer to her boyfriend, she opened her laptop and pulled up a couple of files. "So these had some interesting theories…"

Annabeth had forgotten how much she enjoyed talking through her plans with Percy. Occasionally he lost focus, and once in a while, when she went on a really long tangent, his eyes glazed over. But mostly he was a pretty attentive listener. And he had a knack for pointing out things she had glossed over, but that were significant or helpful. Plus, she just felt like she thought more clearly when he was around.

"So it sounds like you're making progress," Percy said finally.

"I think so." Annabeth bit her lip, studying the files on her laptop. "It's hard to know for sure, though. The legends are so obscure. And I'm still not totally clear on what all I'll be facing. It's hard to make a plan for the unknown."

"You'll improvise." Percy gently lifted her left hand off the laptop's keyboard and laced their fingers together. "You're good at that."

She smiled at him gratefully. Part of her wanted to tell him exactly how terrified she was of what she was pretty sure awaited her at the end of the trail. But she knew that would just make it harder on both of them. So instead, she simply laid her head on his shoulder and said, "Thanks for listening."

"Anytime, Wise Girl."

She laughed. "Are you bringing that back?"

"I've got to have some sort of comeback to 'Seaweed Brain.'"

"You wish."

He chuckled, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Annabeth closed her eyes, letting herself relax against him, just for a few moments.

Because a few moments, naturally, was all they got. Annabeth was dragged back to reality when Percy said, "Uh, Annabeth?"

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes, already resigned to trouble just from his tone, and found an I-M of a completely drenched Piper floating in front of her. Immediately, Annabeth sat up straight. "Piper? What happened?"

"Long story." Piper waved her hand as if shooing the story away. "Listen, we have a problem. But I have a plan."

By the time she finished explaining, Percy was grinning. "It's insane. I love it."

Annabeth had some misgivings, but she trusted her friend. She nodded to Piper. "Do what you need to do. We'll take care of everything else on our end."

Once the I-M disappeared, Annabeth and Percy shared a look. Then she kissed him. "For luck. Because this could go really badly wrong."

Fortunately, it didn't. Piper's wild plan worked, and they were off into the Mediterranean.

Which sucked.

The monster attacks were continuous and unrelenting. After about an hour, it became clear that having the entire crew on deck wasn't a good idea—it would be a serious problem if they were all worn out at the same time. So they set up a tentative watch schedule, and everyone but Leo and Jason went down for a few hours.

Not that it helped much. Annabeth's dreams weren't exactly restful. The nightmare started off back in her bedroom in Virginia, when the spiders came, the night she ran away from home. Only this time, a thick web of spider silk bound her to the bed, keeping her from getting away. More strands covered her mouth, preventing her from calling for help.

Gaea's soft voice filled the darkened room. "I know your fears, child. You will not overcome them. Such a pity. But you can still be my sacrifice, even if the weaverdrives you over the brink of madness."

Panic surged through Annabeth as the spiderwebs constricted. "I hope you survive, my dear," Gaea murmured. "If you do, there are so many terrible surprises in your future. Perhaps a glimpse of the past, to give you a taste of what's coming?"

Annabeth thrashed against the spider silk binding her, but it was no good. And then, very suddenly, she could breathe again. Gaea's taunting laugh lingered in her ears as her bedroom in Virginia faded. Instead, the dream shifted to a beautiful beach. The dark sky was sprinkled with stars as waves gently lapped against the shore.

Normally the beach made Annabeth feel better, but she doubted Gaea had brought her here for any good reason. There was a splash behind her, and Annabeth spun to see a girl standing near the water, tossing rocks into the waves. The girl's long, braided hair hung over her shoulder. Her silky white dress glimmered in the moonlight. Annabeth moved closer, but the girl didn't seem to notice her. Tear tracks streaked her face as she threw another stone into the sea. "Stupid, lying hero," she muttered. "I hope…" her voice caught. "I hope his girlfriend feels abandoned like this one day." The girl gave a small sob, then flung her final rock into the ocean.

The scene didn't make total sense to Annabeth, but she didn't have time to think about it as the dream spun again. Suddenly, she was back in the palace on Mt. Othrys, watching Luke stalk forward, his face twisted into an evil expression, his eyes a horrible, hard gold. Just as suddenly, she spun once more and was seated in the mess hall on the Argo II, unable to breathe as Percy's eyes turned that same terrible color.

Someone was shaking her shoulder, softly saying, "Annabeth." When she opened her eyes to see Percy standing over her, she gasped and scrambled away until her back hit the wall. But after a moment, her brain caught up with her surroundings and she could see, even in the faint glow of the Celestial bronze lamp, that his eyes were normal green, not gold. He took a step back, hands up. "My bad. Didn't mean to startle you."

"S-sorry," she stammered. "Nightmare."

Percy nodded grimly. "Yeah, I had one, too. Listen, I didn't want to wake you up, but I'm going on watch and you need to hear what I dreamed about.

His news didn't surprise her. It was unsettling, for sure, but not shocking. It only confirmed what she'd already suspected. She pressed her lips together, then said, "Percy, you have to promise me something. Don't tell the others about this dream."

He stared at her. "Don't what? Annabeth—"

"What you saw was about the Mark of Athena. It won't help the others to know. It'll only make them worry, and it'll only make it harder for me to go off on my own." Which was already going to be difficult enough, she suspected, and Percy's current reaction wasn't making her believe that any less.

"Annabeth, you can't be serious." His eyes were intense, focused on her face. "That thing in the dark, the big chamber with the crumbling floor—"

"I know." Her stomach clenched. "But I have to do this alone."

He studied her face. "You know what's in that cavern. Does it have to do with spiders?"

Her stomach clenched even more tightly. "Yes."

"Then how can you even—" He stopped himself and abruptly turned away from her, looking out to sea. Well, out into the fog anyway. The visibility was horrible right now. The waves were heaving around them, but it was hard to feel too afraid at sea with the son of Poseidon standing next to her, even if his fists were clenched on top of the railing. She wanted to take his hand and uncurl his fingers, but she wasn't sure this was the right moment to reach out. She understood his frustration. If their roles were reversed, she would have been acting the exact same way. It reminded her a little bit of last summer in Manhattan, when he'd gone into the rivers to negotiate with the gods there. She'd wanted to go with him, but, as he pointed out, she couldn't breathe underwater. Instead, she'd been forced to stand on the bank and watch him walk in alone. And it sucked. But sometimes they just had to do their duty, even if it wasn't pleasant. His words were running on repeat in her head, though: Does it have to do with spiders? Then how can you even— She didn't know how she was going to manage her fears. All she knew was that she had to try. Finding the statue could be the difference between winning and losing this war. And that made it worth the risk.

"We're not far from the Italian coast," Percy said finally. "Maybe a hundred nautical miles to the mouth of the Tiber."

"Good," Annabeth said, grateful that he was trying to make conversation. "By daybreak, we should—"

"Stop." For a moment, she thought he was talking to her, but then she saw his face. "We have to stop."

Annabeth's hand went automatically to the hilt of her dagger. "Why?"

Instead of answering, Percy turned to the helm and called out, "Leo, stop!"

The next moments were a blur. A ship rammed them so hard, Annabeth would have been flung overboard if Percy hadn't grabbed the back of her shirt at the last second. Before she could gather her wits, they were surrounded. Even more alarming, when the guy in golden armor approached them, he disarmed Percy so quickly and effortlessly, Annabeth barely saw the movement. She gripped her dagger more tightly, but the gorgon-masked warrior didn't seem interested in disarming her. His masked face did turn towards her creepily, though, when he told Percy, "I want everything you have."

Quite frankly, that pissed Annabeth off more than anything. Sure, Percy was her boyfriend, but she didn't belong to him. This wasn't ancient times. Her irritation grew as she watched the dolphin-men carrying their supplies around, being a little too casual with some seriously dangerous weapons. And it boiled over when Chrysaor referred to her as a "sidekick."

"I'm nobody's sidekick," she growled. If there hadn't been multiple weapons pointed at her, she would have gotten in his face and proved her point (or at the very least given him a hard kick in the shins). As it was, she had to settle for explaining that his accent sounded familiar because they'd killed his mother in New Jersey. It took Percy a second to get it (Seaweed Brain), but the two of them managed to keep Chrysaor talking, which was something—buying time while they tried to come up with a plan. Annabeth had nothing at the moment, though. Her brain was buzzing with an underlying current of concern about the others; she really didn't like how quiet it was downstairs.

She felt mildly relieved when the dolphins hauled up Coach Hedge, still kicking and mouthing off. Indignation swelled as she watched them truss the satyr and toss him with the other things they were trying to commandeer from the ship. "You can't do this!" she told Chrysaor, but he only laughed. Her eyes started traveling over the deck, trying to think of what resources they had left at their disposal. She was a bit surprised that Percy hadn't used the ocean, but if Chrysaor was also a son of Poseidon, maybe he'd wrested away control of the waves. That meant one less major resource at hand. So what else did they have? Not much. Annabeth's frustration was starting to turn to desperation, especially once the dolphins dragged the rest of her friends onto the deck, all looking a little worse for wear. They were alive, so that was something. Frank was missing, though. Annabeth's stomach twisted. Where was he? Had they left him belowdecks, badly injured?

Her attention was snapped back to the present as Chrysaor leered at Piper and Hazel, then turned his gaze on her. "…we have an understanding with the witch Circe. She will buy the women—either as slaves or trainees, depending on their skill. But not you, lovely Annabeth."

Annabeth wasn't an idiot; she heard the undertones of his words loud and clear. Instinctively, she recoiled, drawing a little closer to Percy. "You are not taking me anywhere."

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Percy's hand twitch in the direction of his pocket. Had Riptide returned? That would be helpful. Of course, that didn't change their odds much, but it was something.

"Oh, sadly, Annabeth, you will not be staying with me. I would love that." The way he said that made something inside her coil up like a snake, fangs bared. "But you and your friend Percy are spoken for. A certain goddess is paying a high bounty for your capture—alive, if possible, though she didn't say you had to be unharmed."

Annabeth's lip curled and she started to snarl a reply, but before she could, Piper wailed loudly and deliberately fell into the nearest guard, knocking the dolphin-man over. Hazel also dropped to the deck, thrashing around and bashing into the warriors surrounding them.

Annabeth barely had time to think, Nice move, about her friends before Percy's sword was in his hand. In one smooth movement, he uncapped the pen and lashed out at Chrysaor. It was a great strike, lightning fast, but Chrysaor parried it. Annabeth held her breath as they went back and forth. Percy was good—she'd actually forgotten just how good of a swordsman he was, because she hadn't seen him fight an opponent at this level in a while—but it quickly became clear that Chrysaor was better. With a sinking feeling, Annabeth realized that the so-called pirate was mostly toying with Percy. Her tension didn't ease when one of the dolphin warriors stepped to her side and laid a knife against her throat. They must have seen her muscles shift as she was debating whether she could attack Chrysaor from the back while he was distracted with Percy.

So there was nothing she could do but stand there as they traded blows. It was one of Annabeth's least favorite situations, playing out again like it had on the deck of the Princess Andromeda or in Antaeus's arena in the Labyrinth: having to stand to the side and watch Percy fight for his life against a powerful opponent. It always made her sick to her stomach. It wasn't that she doubted him; she just also didn't want to watch him die.

Chrysaor knocked Riptide out of Percy's hand again, and the sword flew into the sea. Annabeth's heart leapt into her throat, but Chrysaor merely rested the tip of his sword against Percy's chest.

"A good try," he said. "But now you'll be chained and transported to Gaea's minions. They are quite eager to spill your blood and wake the goddess."

About a dozen different cuss words, in both English and Greek, ran through Annabeth's mind. This was not good. Her eyes darted around the deck, her mind racing, but she came up blank.

And then she saw the corner of Percy's mouth twitch, like he was trying not to smile. What the Hades? Before she could wonder further if he'd finally lost it, he yelled, "Fine!"

A couple of the dolphin-men jumped, including the one holding the knife to Annabeth's throat. He realized what he'd done and, with a small, apologetic chitter, lowered the knife.

With everyone's eyes on him, Percy continued, saying loudly, "Take us away, if our captain will let you."

Annabeth fought hard to keep her face blank. Where was he going with this?

"What captain?" Chrysaor asked. "My men searched the ship. There is no one else."

Percy flung his hands in the air theatrically. "The god appears only when he wishes. But he is our leader. He runs our camp for demigods. Doesn't he, Annabeth?"

Oh my gods. She understood in a split second, putting the story together as he must have. She nodded enthusiastically and poured as much confidence into her voice as she could. "Yes! Mr. D! The great Dionysus!"

The dolphin-men shuddered. A few uttered nervous squeaks. The one who'd been holding a blade to her throat dropped it.

"Stand fast!" Chrysaor yelled at his men. "There is no god on this ship. They are trying to scare you."

As Percy continued his ridiculous pronouncements, including roping in Piper and Hazel to start throwing fits again, Annabeth just watched in awe. She was waiting for an opening, and paying attention in case she was needed again, but mostly she just wanted to cheer. If this worked… When he pulled a Diet Coke out of the cooler and told the dolphin-men to tremble before its horror, she could have kissed him right then, he was so brilliant.

And then Frank turned into a crazy dolphin.

That was the final straw. Chrysaor's crew lost their minds. They couldn't get off the Argo II fast enough. Annabeth took advantage of the chaos and darted over to Hazel, Piper, and Coach Hedge to cut their bonds. Jason and Leo were still down for the count, so she left them alone for now—Chrysaor needed to be dealt with first.

The five of them—Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, and Hedge—closed ranks on Chrysaor. They were weaponless except for her knife, but they weren't helpless. And she liked the odds of five on one a lot better. Riptide would return to Percy's pocket any second. They just needed to keep Chrysaor distracted long enough for him to uncap his sword or for Annabeth to get in range with her knife.

Before any of that could happen, though, just as Chrysaor growled about his revenge, Frank the grizzly bear charged across the deck and swiped Chrysaor across the face with his massive paw.

The golden warrior screamed as his mask was ripped away. There was no time to see what was under it, though, as he covered his face with his arms and dove over the railing, into the sea.

For a split second, Annabeth thought Percy was going to go after him, which didn't seem like the best idea, given Chrysaor's demonstrated prowess. However, he seemed to think better of it.

"That was brilliant!" Annabeth couldn't wait any longer. She put a hand on his neck and kissed him, ignoring for just a moment that their friends and the coach were standing nearby.

Percy gave her a tiny smile, even as he said, "It was desperate. And we need to get rid of this pirate trireme."

"Burn it?" she asked. That seemed like the most efficient option.

Percy glanced down at the Diet Coke he was still holding and she saw an idea flicker across his face. "No. I've got another idea."

So they sank the ship in a stream of Diet Coke from Piper's cornucopia and offered it as a tribute to Dionysus. Annabeth could tell Percy wasn't thrilled about it, and he clearly had to force the words out, but she was proud of him for swallowing his pride. Giving the ship to Dionysus was a good idea. At this point, they could use all the help they could get.

Once most of the crew headed back downstairs to get a few more hours of sleep, leaving Jason and Coach Hedge on watch, Annabeth stopped Percy at his door. "Seriously," she told him, "that was amazing. You did great."

"Thanks." His half-smile told her he didn't totally believe her, though. "I'm just glad we all didn't end up captured."

"Definitely." Annabeth couldn't suppress a shudder as she thought of Chrysaor's tone. "That guy was seriously creepy. And it wasn't just the mask."

"Yeah." Percy met her eyes. "You okay?"

She nodded, but when he held out his arm, she stepped into his embrace. The situation with Chrysaor and his dolphin-men had proven that the Argo II wasn't an impenetrable fortress by any means. But just for a few moments, while Percy held her, Annabeth felt safe and protected.

Still, she knew he was also more bothered by what had happened with the golden warrior than he was letting on, so she tried not to lean on him too long. Instead, after a few moments, she took half a step back so she could meet his eyes, then touched his cheek gently. "Get some sleep," she advised. "It's going to be a crazy day tomorrow."

His arm tightened briefly on her waist, signaling that it wasn't only the Chrysaor fight that was bothering him. "Yeah, it will." His eyes searched her face for a moment, then he leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him back, pressing close, just for a moment, because, right now, they were safe. "G'night, Annabeth."

"Night, Percy." She kissed him once more, lightly. "See you in the morning."

"I'll be here." He smiled, and she returned it before heading back to her room.

She wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep with everything that had gone on and everything that was coming up, but she also knew that she needed it. If she was going to survive her Mark of Athena quest, she needed every advantage she could get. And that included forcing herself to grab a little more sleep. So she tried to imagine sitting peacefully on the beach at Camp Half-Blood with Percy, just holding hands and watching the stars, no quests, no monsters, no interruptions. With that image in mind, Annabeth drifted off to sleep.

For the record, "I'm nobody's sidekick" is one of my all-time favorite Annabeth lines. I actually used it as the title for an essay that I wrote about her, describing her own hero's journey through the series.

I also wanted to add that this story is definitely meant to be read in tandem with the books, just picking up some missing moments or looking at scenes from other characters' POVS. That's why I gloss over a lot of scenes, to avoid having to completely rewrite what the book already covered. Ideally, I want this story—and the HoH and BoO stories that are coming—to sort of be having a conversation with the books, supplementing and enhancing what is already there and awesome.

The final chapter of this MoA missing moments story will be posted next week. Then I'll also have an announcement about what's coming next and when to look for the HoH missing moments story to start being posted (it's looking like it'll be in January).