When Annabeth got ready the next morning, her hands were shaking as she packed her backpack with supplies. Get a grip, she scolded herself. It's just another quest. But it was a solo quest. And it had been assigned to her by her mom, who needed her help. And succeeding might be the only way to stop Gaea, not to mention keep the Greeks and Romans from destroying each other.

So no pressure.

Once she felt like she was dressed and ready, Annabeth took a deep breath, swung her backpack over her shoulder, and took one last look around her room. Her eyes fell on her formerly magic Yankees cap hanging on the wall. Part of her wanted to grab it; she'd never gone on a quest without it. But what was the point? It didn't work anymore. Her eyes stung as she turned away, and she blinked fast to clear them. Focus on what's ahead.

Rome was beautiful. That was the good news. And Percy was coming with her for at least the start of her quest. That was probably good news. She had been massively annoyed on the ship when he refused to back down, say good-bye, and let her go. But a part of her was also relieved that he insisted on coming along. She wasn't sure she was ready to let him go yet.

And it was great to walk through Rome together. The architecture blew her away and getting to hold Percy's hand as she observed it all made it even better. The way he smiled at her and told her to keep being awesome when she produced the credit card from Daedalus's laptop made her heart dance.

By the time they stopped for lunch, though, her nerves were mounting. It was so comfortable being with Percy. And while she knew this quest was hers to undertake alone, she really wished he could go with her. So she was more than a little relieved when they reached a riverside café and he said, "It's about lunchtime. How about we try your credit card again?"

After they ordered, and possibly offended the Italian waiter, they sat quietly, just holding hands and enjoying the warm afternoon. Percy's posture was relaxed in his chair, but she knew him well enough to recognize the lines of tension in his jaw and along his shoulders. The fingers of his free hand tapped against his knee. But still, there was something a bit tender in the way he was looking at her that made a lump rise in her throat. It wasn't hard to imagine what this lunch would feel like if they didn't have a deadly quest looming over them. Annabeth could remember their one-month anniversary date night in Paris, and the amazing dinner they'd had on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Seine. Still, this pretty peaceful lunch was more than she'd thought she would get today. And she would soak it in, along with Percy's face in the sunlight. She wasn't trying to be morbid, but probably a tiny part of her was memorizing it, just in case she didn't get to see him again.

Because she was focused on him, she noticed the tiny furrow between his brows, and the way his mouth tightened, just a bit, the way it did when he was internally beating himself up. So she took a guess. "You shouldn't feel ashamed." When he gave her a questioning look, she added, "You're thinking about Chrysaor, aren't you? Swords can't solve every problem. You saved us in the end."

His eyes widened briefly in surprise, then he smiled. "How do you do that? You always know what I'm thinking."

She squeezed his hand. "I know you."

He glanced down, his eyes on their clasped hands.

When he didn't say anything, she added, as gently as she was capable of, "Percy, you can't carry the weight of this whole quest. It's impossible. That's why there are seven of us." She bit her lip, then added, "And you'll have to let me search for the Athena Parthenos on my own."

A litany of emotions flashed across his face. He was still looking at their hands, his thumb slowly tracing her knuckles. Finally, he raised his head and admitted, "I missed you. For months. A huge chunk of our lives was taken away. If I lost you again—"

The waiter appeared then, interrupting whatever Percy was going to say next. He let go of her hand as the plates were set on the table. Annabeth was both sorry and relieved. Her fingers immediately felt the absence, but she also needed a moment to compose herself, because what he'd said made her want to cry.

They ate quietly for a couple of minutes. Percy looked mildly disappointed with his pizza. Annabeth's panini was good, she supposed, but between her nerves about the quest and trying to figure out how to respond to what her boyfriend just said, she could barely taste it. She wanted to reassure him that everything would be fine, that they'd both survive this day and this quest and make it home again and start planning the future he'd mentioned (and that she'd spent more than a little time thinking about alone in her room at night, after she'd shut Daedalus's laptop and before the nightmares grabbed her). But that wasn't necessarily the truth. She had no idea what challenges awaited her and if she would be able to overcome them. She had confidence in herself and her abilities, true, but some things were just out of her control. And she wasn't the only one doing something dangerous. Once they split up, Percy would be heading back to the ship to reconvene with the rest of their friends and try to track down some giants to fight before they killed Nico di Angelo and destroyed Rome. But if she started to think about all of the things that could go wrong today, she'd scream. Instead, she needed to focus on believing that somehow they'd come through it all and still be standing together on the other side. Keeping her eyes on her sandwich, because it was easier than looking at her boyfriend, she said, "You'll have to trust me. You've got to believe I'll come back." I need to hear you say that.

"I believe in you," Percy said, and she appreciated the confidence in his voice. "That's not the problem. But come back from where?"

Gods it was annoying when he asked reasonable questions. That was the part Annabeth couldn't answer. She didn't know where exactly this quest would take her, or for how long. But she needed to believe she would find her way back to him. They'd always found their back to each other before.

Before they could continue their conversation, a baby blue Vespa rolled up with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn riding on the back. Annabeth blinked hard, wondering if stress was messing with her vision. But nope, it was actually Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn on the back of a baby blue Vespa. Sure, why not?

It started to make slightly more sense when they introduced themselves as Tiberinus and Rhea Silvia. Annabeth was a little leery of trusting them, as she was with pretty much all immortals, but something about Tiberinus and Rhea Silvia felt solid and reliable. Maybe it was just because it was hard to believe that classic movie stars could be dangerous. Or maybe it was Rhea Silvia's cheerful brightness and Tiberinus's commanding presence. Or, just maybe, it was the Mark of Athena calling to her.

Either way, when Tiberinus said, "Well, your documents seem in order. We should get going. The Mark of Athena awaits!" she found herself ready to follow him and start her quest, even in spite of what he'd also just said about her siblings who'd attempted it dying painfully. It was time. She did her best to squash down the nerves churning in her stomach as she reached for her backpack.

Meanwhile, Percy gripped her hand, eyes on the river god, and said, "Tiberinus, let me go with her. Just a little farther."

Annabeth's heart ached at the look on his face as the immortals explained why he couldn't go. A moment ago she had felt ready. But now, at the actual reality of walking away from Percy and into the unknown, fear seized her. It rose in her throat like bile, threatening to choke her. She swallowed it back and squeezed his hand. "It's all right, Percy. I need to do this."

"Annabeth—" His voice trailed off when he met her eyes. She thought maybe he read the fear there, even as she was forcing herself to be calm and keep it together. Please, Percy, she thought. But she wasn't sure whether she was pleading for him to let her leave or convince her to stay. After a few moments, though, voice tight, he said, "You're right. Be safe."

She kept her eyes on his as Rhea Silvia spoke. She didn't say anything, but she hoped he got the message in her head. I'll come back to you. Somehow.

Annabeth stood up. Percy was still holding her hand. She walked around the table, then leaned over to kiss him, her free hand coming up to his cheek. His found her waist. For a few moments, she didn't care about the immortals standing a few feet away. She just wanted to exist in this moment with Percy.

When she pulled away, she debated for a moment about whether she should say, I love you. But she thought that would only make things harder for both of them. So instead, she squeezed his hand one last time, then let it go before grabbing her backpack and climbing onto the back of the scooter.

She looked back one last time at the café before they turned the corner. Percy was still sitting in his chair. He managed a faint smile and raised a hand in farewell. Annabeth gave a small wave before the Vespa went around the corner of a building and Percy disappeared. Annabeth faced forward again, biting her lip hard. But she figured it could have been worse. If she had to go on a horrifying solo quest, at least she'd gotten to have lunch with Percy on the banks of the Tiber first.

The walk back across Rome alone was a blur. Percy barely remembered crossing the city to get to the Argo II. He was trying to push away the panic, but he couldn't suppress the feeling that he'd made a terrible mistake in letting Annabeth go. There was nothing he could do about it now, though. He just had to trust her. And he hadn't been lying—he did believe in her. But he could be terrified for her at the exact same time.

And since nothing in his life could ever be simple, his girlfriend wasn't even the only person he was worried about. Nico was apparently running out of time. And, when he got back to the Argo II, it was to discover that Hazel and the guys hadn't returned yet either. Percy was starting to feel like the wheels were coming off of this entire day. It didn't help anything when they reached the ruins of the Forum and Piper shrieked, "No!" when Jason volunteered to walk down the creepy, spider-laced, stone staircase.

Things got even better when she admitted, "I saw the room down there filling with water. I saw the three of us drowning."

"I can't drown?" Percy said. At her words, though, illogical fear started twisting his intestines and he almost thought he could feel the press of the muskeg. He forced himself to take a deep breath. Don't be stupid. You can't drown. "Look, I'll check it out first. It's fine. Be right back."

There was no water in the bottom of the empty well, though Percy felt its absence keenly. There should have been gallons upon gallons. When he stepped into the middle of the room and green and blue lights flickered to life, his heart skipped a couple beats. When nothing else happened, though, he frowned and took an extra beat to look around. There were niches in the wall, but no other doorways. The only entrance or exit seemed to be the stairway he'd walked down. When he stepped back, the lights cut off. When he stepped forward, they came back on. Off, on, off, on. Like a motion sensor at the bottom of an ancient well. Weird. And then suddenly the back of his neck prickled like someone was watching him. He turned quickly, but there was no one else down there. Just the empty niches. Feeling a little jumpy, his dam inner guinea pig coming out again, Percy climbed out of the well and back up the stairs to grab his friends.

Of course it all went to Hades shortly after. Percy had seen some horrible and terrifying things, but the mummy-nymphs were a new one he would almost definitely be having nightmares about. The thick, choking water was also for sure going to haunt him. When he dove toward the bottom of the well and too late realized he couldn't breathe underwater, panic nearly swallowed him. He was so disoriented he almost didn't make it back to the surface. It was the most terrifying experience of his life, even more so than the muskeg, because the water was supposed to behave for him. It always had before. To be cut off from it hurt him in a way he hadn't even realized could happen.

Things didn't get better from there. Even trying to tread water in this sludge was draining. All of Percy's internal alarm bells were ringing. This should have been his territory, like on the sea against Chrysaor. But just like then, his control over the water had been wrested away from him, leaving him feeling helpless. It wasn't a feeling he liked.

And then Piper proposed her cornucopia idea. Truthfully, Percy was skeptical. But they were out of options. He flashed back to sitting in the sun at the café, holding hands with Annabeth. He had to survive. He had to be there waiting when she came back from her quest. So when Piper told him to think of the sea, Percy tried.

He thought about waves crashing on the beach, the power of a hurricane, the briny smell, the taste of salt on his lips. He remembered being out in the middle of the Atlantic, surrounded by his father's element, and feeling a surge of power, as well as a swell of peace. This is my domain. He recalled the aquarium in Atlanta and forcing the water to respond to his call. He tried to do that now.

But nothing happened.

"No good!" Jason yelled. He spit out a mouthful of dark water, making a face.

Percy had to agree. "We're getting nowhere."

Piper's face looked pale but determined, even as she struggled to keep her head up. "You have to work together! Both of you think of clean water—a storm of water. Don't hold anything back. Picture all your power, all your strength leaving you."

Percy almost snorted, but the fear was swelling in his chest as the ceiling came closer and he felt more and more drained by the evil nymphs' power. "That's not hard!"

"But force it out," Piper demanded. "Offer up everything, like—like you're already dead, and your only goal is to help the nymphs. It's got to be a gift…a sacrifice."

The word resonated like a gong had been rung in Percy's head. A sacrifice. That, he understood. Percy met Jason's eyes briefly and the son of Jupiter nodded. "Let's try again. Together."

This time, Percy didn't just focus on the ocean. He thought about what the ocean meant. He thought about going to the beach in Montauk, and the way his mom smiled as the waves brushed her toes. He remembered standing on the beach in Santa Monica, near the end of his very first quest, feeling his father's power thrumming through the surf. He thought about fireworks on the beach at Camp Half-Blood, their flashes turning the waves gold and purple and blue and red and green and silver as the campers around him oohed and aahed. He remembered holding Annabeth's hand as they sat on a picnic blanket spread across the sand. The ocean was family and friends and love. The ocean was home. The water was everything.

And he thought of one other thing. His first day at Camp Jupiter, when Hazel had walked him through New Rome, he'd seen the couple sitting on the fountain, watching their toddler play in the square. That moment had created a vision of the future for himself and Annabeth that he'd never imagined was possible before. The nymphs wanted a sacrifice? Here, he thought, keeping that image in his mind, along with the sense of the cool water from the fountain misting in the air. This is what hope feels like. Take it.

A jet of clear water blasted from the cornucopia. Even the rain changed to clear, cold drops. Percy almost laughed with relief, until he realized just how fast the ceiling was approaching now.

Jason was almost grinning. "It's working!"

"Too well," Percy pointed out. "We're filling the room even faster!"

"Don't stop!" Piper called. "We have to dilute the poison until the nymphs are cleansed."

"What if they can't be cleansed?" Jason asked, which Percy thought was a pretty reasonable question; it had crossed his mind, too. "They've been down here turning evil for thousands of years."

"Just don't hold back," Piper insisted. "Give everything. Even if we go under—"

Percy's head scraped the ceiling. He closed his eyes. He thought of his favorite water memory, kissing Annabeth in a bubble under the lake at Camp Half-Blood. He remembered the way his hands fit at her waist and feeling his pulse pound against her palm on his neck. She'd tasted sweet, like blue cupcake icing. And all he could think was Yes, finally! right before he stopped thinking much at all and tentatively pulled her closer to him. The memory felt sharply present in this moment, all the newness and the strangeness and the awesomeness. He gave it all to the nymphs because maybe there was the slimmest possibility it would help. You want to take everything? Here it is.

His head went under. Panic crushed his lungs. But he forced himself to keep the image of Annabeth at the café in the sunlight today in the front of his mind. Unbidden, he thought to her, I love you.

Then suddenly, he could breathe. The water was clear. Piper yanked his head above water, but Percy didn't need it. Still, it was a relief to take a couple of gasps of clean air. He made a tiny wave move in the opposite direction, just to see if he could. It worked. Percy started to grin. Holy Aphrodite, Piper's plan worked. He stopped smiling, though, when he realized Piper was yelling Jason's name, shaking him, but Jason was completely still.

Percy's mind, which had been blissfully relieved for a second, ground back into overdrive. How long had they been under? As the water drained out of the room, the three of them sank to the floor. Jason was flat on his back, Piper huddled over him, calling his name, looking frantic.

"Piper." Percy put a hand on her shoulder. "I can help."

He didn't know how he knew. He just did. It was like his water senses had come back roaring loudly like a freight train in his body. His fingertips tingled with power. He could feel the water filling Jason's lungs. Which meant he could hopefully make it do what he wanted.

So he knelt next to Piper and put his fingertips on Jason's forehead. He closed his eyes, took control of the water his friend must have inhaled, and directed it out. It obeyed.

And then a clap of thunder echoed around the room and Percy was flung backwards. When he sat up, his ears ringing, Piper was hugging Jason, who was sitting up, coughing and pale, but otherwise appearing fine.

Relief swept over Percy and he couldn't hold back a grin. "In case you're wondering, that was clean water in your lungs. I could make it come out with no problem."

Jason reached across Piper's back to shake his hand. "Thanks, man. But I think Piper's the real hero. She saved us all."

Percy nodded agreement just as the nymphs made their reappearance.

They looked much better now, but Percy didn't have a lot of patience for them. The nymphs had tried to suck out their lives. I'm sorry didn't quite do the trick at the moment. He also wasn't excited about the prospect of moving forward to some other weirdly named place. But he did want to rescue Nico, if for no other reason than to throttle the guy for pretending not to know Percy when he first got to Camp Jupiter. And because he still owed Bianca, probably. And because he'd felt protective of the kid since he'd shown up at camp talking relentlessly about Mythomagic.

He tuned back into the conversation though, when Hagno mentioned wanting "to see the forests and grasslands again, and the clear running water."

With a twinge, thinking of Grover, Percy said, "Uh, things have changed up above in the last few thousand years."

Hagno waved a hand. "Nonsense. How bad could it be? Pan would not allow nature to become tainted. I can't wait to see him, in fact."

Percy's mind flashed back to a cavern and the death of a god. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. The nymphs had proven they weren't completely stable. No need to hit them with the truth of Pan's demise right now.

To his relief, the nymphs dissolved, leaving Jason, Piper, and Percy alone again at the bottom of the well, with dancing ghosts apparently, according to Piper. Percy wasn't in the mood to dance, so he said, "Alright, guys, let's get out of here," and took the lead crawling down the damp drainage pipe towards whatever waited for them next. Hopefully nothing with water. Gods, Percy was tired of water.

After it was all over—Nico had been rescued, Frank, Hazel, and Leo had been found, the giants had been destroyed (with a little help from Bacchus—ugh)—it still wasn't done. Annabeth, Percy thought as they hovered over the parking lot behind the Emmanuel Building. His focus was on the relatively clear space near the middle of the lot, where only a handful of empty cars were parked.

"Alright, Coach," Percy called. "Let's do it!"

BOOM.

Hedge was maybe a little too enthusiastic on blowing up the parking lot. As the cars fell into the massive sinkhole the explosions had made, Percy's heart was in his throat. Please don't get hit by a falling car, he thought. Mostly just because he wanted his girlfriend to be safe, but also because he could picture the look on her face if he got her killed in such a stupid way. She would totally haunt him forever.

As soon as the dust cleared enough to see, Percy told Leo, "Take us down."

The ship descended. Percy felt sick. He was trying to brace himself for the worst, but his heart kept hammering hope against his ribcage. Shut up, he told it. This could be bad. Really, really bad.

Or great, his heart insisted. Really, really great.

As soon as they were low enough to make out anything below, Percy leaned as far over the railing as he could without quite falling over.

And then he saw her, huddled at the base of a massive statue. Alive.

Such a massive wave of relief rushed through him, he was momentarily light-headed. "Annabeth!"

"Here!" she yelped, and it was all Percy could do not to leap over the railing and run to her.

"I don't want to take the ship too low," Leo called from the helm.

"It's fine," Percy barked. "Where's the ladder?"

Two minutes later, he was scrambling down the rope ladder and dropping to the ground. He picked his way across the rubble, avoiding the holes in the floor, until he reached Annabeth's side. Spiderwebs covered her like a really gross lace veil and she was staring over the edge of the floor into the dark pit below. Percy took her hand. When she looked at him, he could see a thousand things going through her mind, and he could tell that a lot of them weren't pleasant. So he gently turned her away from the darkness below and pulled her close.

He didn't truly breathe until his arms were wrapped around her. She was shaking. With her face pressed against his shirt, he could feel her tears through the fabric. "It's okay," he murmured into her hair, ignoring the spider silk. "We're together."

She nodded against his chest and her fists tightened in the fabric of his t-shirt. Percy could have stayed like that all day, but their friends had now climbed down and were gathering around them. Everyone wanted to hear Annabeth's story.

And it was pretty freaking incredible. Of course, so was his girlfriend, so Percy wasn't exactly surprised. There was something gratifying about their friends' reactions, though. And Percy couldn't help grinning when he said, "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera—Annabeth, you did it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"

The way she smiled at him made the room seem brighter before they all turned to survey the statue. And then she asked about what had happened with the rest of them. Percy skipped over the well (there would be time for that later), instead focusing on rescuing Nico and what had happened with the giants and Bacchus in the Colosseum. Then, he told her what Nico had revealed about the Doors of Death.

When he finished, Annabeth frowned, as if thinking. "So the mortal side is in Epirus. At least that's somewhere we can reach."

"But the other side is the problem," Nico said. "Tartarus."

Just the word made Percy shudder. He felt a cold gust at his back and glanced at the pit a few inches behind him. A feeling of unease settled in his stomach and he guided Annabeth a little farther from the edge. He started to talk about what Bacchus had mentioned, about Percy's journey being harder, but just at that moment, the Athena Parthenos tipped and chaos broke out around the cavern.

Their friends took off or moved towards the ladder as the floor shook. Percy cursed himself. How stupid were they all? The first thing they should have done was secure the statue and get the hell out of the chamber. Standing around talking on an unstable floor over an abyss was the dumbest thing any of them had done on this entire quest (which had included some pretty dumb decisions). They had just all been so relieved to be together again, and so worn out from the draining day, they'd lost track of the details.

When Percy glanced at Annabeth, her eyes were fixed on the Athena Parthenos. She looked about ready to throw up. He tightened his grip on her hand. "It'll be fine."

She bit her lip, eyes darting between Frank and Jason as they secured the lines on the statue. Percy thought they had it handled, so as Nico reached the ladder, he tugged on Annabeth's hand. They needed to get off this floor. Now.

Annabeth gasped and stumbled.

Percy turned. "What is it?"

She seemed to be struggling to walk. Before he could even move, her legs swept out from under her and she went down, hard.

Percy bent to help her up, not sure what was going on. Had her ankle given out? Dimly, he heard Hazel yell, "Her ankle! Cut it! Cut it!"

What? Percy thought as he reached for Annabeth's hand. And then she was yanked back by an invisible force, towards the edge of the pit.

Horror froze Percy for a fraction of a second. Then he lunged forward, diving across the ground to grab her arm. His brain seemed to be short-circuiting, not understanding what was happening and why as his fingers closed around her wrist. He tried to find purchase on the web-strewn ground, but there was nothing he could do to slow them down as Annabeth slid towards the chasm.

He heard Annabeth sob as she went over the edge and determination gripped him. No way. He was not losing her. But what the hell was going on?

As she slipped over the side, the light glinted on the spidersilk in her hair, and Percy's stomach dropped. "No." Gods, how could he be so stupid? All those pieces of the floor falling into the pit, coated in spider webs? They should have cut that crap off first thing. "My sword…" He fumbled with his free hand for Riptide, but it was no use. The pen was in his other pocket. He couldn't reach it without letting go of Annabeth. And that wasn't an option.

They went over the side.

Percy flung his arm out, fingers scrambling, and just managed to grab a skinny ledge of rock jutting out. Annabeth's body hit the side of the pit hard. The sudden jolt almost yanked his arm out of the socket. But he gritted his teeth and held on. There had to be a way out. One of their friends would spot them. Jason and Frank would fly down and grab them. It wasn't too late.

Except that it was.

Even as Nico leaned over the side, holding out his hand, Percy could feel a force pulling Annabeth down. It wasn't just whatever piece of rubble was tied to her leg. Holding her was starting to feel more like resisting against gravity getting ratcheted up, like a magnet was pulling her down. And she wasn't struggling. When she looked up at him, he saw the exhaustion written on her face. She didn't have anything left. Percy flexed his arm, trying once more to pull them up. But his strength was fading, too.

"Percy, let me go. You can't pull me up."

Each word hit him like a rock thrown at his chest, leaving him winded. She was right. He couldn't pull her up.

But that didn't mean he had to let go.

"Never."

In an instant, he saw the plan. There were a million moving pieces and a million more things that could go wrong. But it was the only way forward. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"

Nico looked horrified. "But—"

There was no time. Percy's muscles were screaming. "Lead them there! Promise me!"

"I—I will."

Okay, then. Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist, feeling her pulse beating wildly under his fingertips. It matched his own. But when he locked his eyes on hers, he also felt the faintest rustle of hope, deep in his chest. "We're staying together. You're not getting away from me. Never again."

He saw the moment when she understood. But her eyes stayed on his when she said, "As long as we're together," and he could hope that maybe, somehow, this would turn out okay.

Letting go of that ledge was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. And the easiest.

His fingers released.

And the darkness swiftly swallowed them.

Whew, and that's a wrap on the first part of the story. I've wanted to write this story for sooo long, looking at these missing moments in MoA, which is one of my all-time favorite books—it has everything I love: a great ensemble cast, Percy and Annabeth and showing how their relationship developed post-TLO, a massive roadtrip, humor, adventure, romance, and so many other things! This was the book that sold me on the series. I genuinely enjoyed the original series, but I think what Rick has done with the two follow-up series, Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo, is so interesting. How do you meet your characters after their adventures have ended and push them farther? How can you help them to grow more or keep developing them? On a purely nerdy, writing craft level, it's absolutely fascinating to me. So anyway, I wanted to play around in the HoO series a little bit more and have some fun with those elements. In particular, I wanted to focus more on Percy and Annabeth. I was on the fence about whether to do missing moments from HoH because I feel like there aren't that many—we're pretty much with Percy and Annabeth every step of the way through Tartarus. But I have a few ideas for a couple of scenes, and there are a handful that I want to write in the other one's POV from what the book POV was, so those will be coming. The big one, though, will be missing moments with them from BoO—because I have thoughts lol There are some great canon moments in that book, for sure, but I wanted more with Percy and Annabeth. So I'm just going to write it. You're welcome to come along for the ride : )

The first chapter of the HoH missing moments story will be posted in the first week of January, as a new, separate story. If you follow me as an author, I think it sends a message when a new story is posted. If not, just check back on my author page around January 7th for the new story. The BoO story will start being posted after the HoH story is finished, so probably sometime in February. Take care and have a great holiday season, everyone!