Percy and Annabeth have a heart to heart

Percy was resting in the Poseidon cabin late Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect in Camp Half-Blood, as always, and his cabin was disorderly - with clothes on the floor, and trash strewn about around the trash can. Now, Percy wasn't the cleanest guy around, but he certainly was normally this messy; he was having a stressful week, and he kept forgetting to clean up. It was no help either that the cabin inspectors this week were old friends, and they gave him a respite, deciding not to give him too many demerits.

Anyways, Percy was lying on his bed, trying not to focus on anything negative. See, the source of his bad week wasn't school work, an injury, a falling out with a friend, or anything of a trivial nature. Percy was having nightmares, crippling, severe nightmares. So much so that even Mr. D refrained from calling him anything bad this week. Instead he just ignored Percy. Percy's nightmares ranged from memories of Tartarus, to his fights with Kronos/ Luke, to - worst of all - nightmares of his dying friends. He woke up every night, without fail, screaming and in a cold sweat, his heartbeat racing. Will Solace had tried to calm him medically. He was given ambrosia, nectar, and numerous other treatments. He had spent time with his mom, Grover, Clarisse, Nico, and Annabeth, but their company only quelled the pain. He even went to Clovis, but that didn't work either. The pain never went away. This week, the nightmares became even worse, to the point where he would hurt himself to stay awake, but it was all to no avail. Sleep always found him, and the nightmares always returned, and he began to wonder about their origin. He had thought they were merely the result of trauma, that's what everyone else thought, and he had no reason to question it. It was odd though, he had rarely had these nightmares before, and it had been months since the second giant war. He finally began to wonder that maybe the fates were playing a game with him. He felt that maybe they were trying to tell him, in their not-so-subtle way, that there's a price to pay for defeating the giants and the titans. Maybe they were trying to tell him he was on the wrong side, and now he'd have to pay for it with pain and misery.

This idea began to gnaw at his psyche, so he decided to look into the possibility. He thought about everyone that had died:

Bianca, Zoë.

Silena, Charles.

Ethan, Luke.

Lee Fletcher, Castor.

Scipio the Pegasus, Bob, Damasen.

And all the hunters, amazons, dryads, satyrs who fell in battle.

Had their deaths been avoidable, and had their deaths been for the right cause at all? Or… worse, had they been meaningless… for the wrong cause? Gods, Percy thought, he hoped not.

But Percy dismissed the notion, it was dishonorable, and worse, disloyal, but it kept coming back. And, as Percy lay there in his bed, he decided he would tell Annabeth about it. Surely, he thought, she'd be able to set him straight and knock the foolish thought from his head. Without further contemplation, he swung out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and walked outside. It was moments like these when he envied mortals with their phones. He couldn't contact Annabeth at the moment, since he didn't have a drachma. He'd have to just find her the old-fashioned way; by looking around. He took in his surroundings: a bright blue sky, a beautiful sun. The gods' cabins formed a semicircle with a hearth in the middle, and at that hearth sat a young girl he knew to be Hestia.

He decided to start his search at the Athena cabin. On his way over he noticed other demigods walking around. Friends were talking amongst each other, others were heading for the showers after training. Others were heading for the cabins for a rest from the day. Everywhere he looked, he saw happiness in the faces of the campers, and a small smile graced his face. It quickly disappeared though, as his pessimistic thoughts returned.

In a few more steps, he reached the Athena cabin. He rapped his knuckles against the door. "Just a moment!" he heard from inside. A couple seconds later, the door opened, and he saw Malcolm was standing in front of the doorway.

"Hey Percy," he greeted, "what's up?"

"Uhhh… nothing. Hey, is Annabeth here?"

"No man, sorry. Last I saw she was headed for the Big house."

"Alright, thanks," Percy said. "See ya later." Percy began to walk away, but Malcolm interrupted him.

"You alright Percy? You seem a little off. It's not the nightmares again, is it?" Malcolm asked earnestly.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't worry about me, Malcolm." He started to walk off again, but decided to turn around. "Thanks though, I appreciate it." He meant it. He ran off to the Big house. He just reached the porch and began to climb up the stairs, when Annabeth walked out. She was as stunning as always, and Percy couldn't help but smile when he saw her. She was wearing the usual: Orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, jeans, her necklace of beads for each year. Her long blond hair swept past her shoulders, and her face lit up in a smile when she saw him.

"Hey Seaweed Brain!" Percy laughed at her nickname for him. It had been so long since she first called him that.

"Hey Wise Girl!" He responded, equally enthusiastic, with his nickname for her. If possible, her smile widened even further.

"Whatcha doing here?" She inquired, "I thought you were resting at your cabin. Are you feeling better?" At the last sentence, he could hear the hope in her voice, but he knew she didn't believe it. Percy's smile dropped from his face. His shoulders hunched over slightly, and his eyes grew just a little more tired, as he was reminded why he came. Annabeth noticed the changes in his appearance though, and guessed something was wrong. She rushed over and took Percy in her arms, while gently lowering him until they sat together on the stairs. He rested his head on her shoulder and she put her arm around him. "What's wrong Percy? You can tell me." Her voice was kind, and soft. So, Percy told her.

"I… I was thinking earlier. I mean, when I was in bed. Anyways… I was thinking, what if, what if we were wrong. With Kronos, Gaia, the Giants, do ya think there's a chance we're all wrong.

"Whaddya mean?"

"This week, my nightmares have gotten even worse, so bad in fact, I haven't been able to get more than an hour of sleep the last few days." Annabeth gasped, she hadn't known this. "Maybe they aren't the result of trauma. After all, I've tried everything, and they're only getting worse, and I'm the only one who gets them this bad. I was thinking then, what if the fates were giving me the nightmares as a sign. Maybe they're a sign that we were wrong, and now I'm being punished for it."

"No, Percy-"

"Seriously, Annabeth, I think about all our friends that died in the wars, and all I can think is what if their deaths are meaningless. Maybe they could have been avoided! I mean, look at the facts, the gods have done practically nothing for us, they order us around while they sit on their thrones up in Olympus!" Percy was starting to get angry now. "And worse, look at humanity! Grover's shown me what we're doing to nature, maybe we are the danger, and Gaia could've saved earth! I mean, why do humans deserve the earth anyways, what have we done for it! There's so much sh- so much horror and pain inflicted on people everyday, and maybe Gaia, or Kronos, or anyone but us really… Maybe they could've fixed everything!" Percy sat up and looked Annabeth in the eyes. Her stormy, calm gray met his manic sea green, and she saw that he needed her help, desperately.

"Listen, Percy." He started to interrupt, but she stopped him. "No, seriously, listen to me. Maybe you are right, maybe some of our friends' deaths could've been prevented, but that's in the past. They died protecting us. They sacrificed their lives for us, and it was their choice. They weren't forced, or threatened, or merely doing it for some flippant reason. They made their decision; to fight for humanity, for our lives.

"And you're absolutely right, sometimes the gods are pretty shitty…" Percy let out a snort of laughter "... but they are the lesser evil. They allow freedom. Kronos would raze the earth and destroy humanity. Gaia would destroy humanity as well. They aren't better. We are merely fighting for a different earth than them. Maybe not a better one, but also not a worse one, just… different. We all see the problem of humanity. They would've fixed it, you're right-"

Percy scoffed, "is that supposed to help?"

"Let me finish. As I was saying, they would've fixed the problem by destroying it. Now, I believe, we can save the world as well, along with humanity. I believe we are on the right side of the conflicts, because, like it or not, the safest hands are our own. And I don't think it's right to shirk that responsibility in favor of the mass genocide that Gaia or Kronos would've inflicted."

"You know," Percy thought for a second, "You may be right."

"Well, I am the daughter of the wisdom goddess," Annabeth jested. She did, however, sense that he was unconvinced. Wordlessly, she pulled out a drachma, and a water bottle. With them, she created a small rainbow and tossed in the drachma. "Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Sally Jackson at her apartment." Percy glanced up, his interest piqued. In the rainbow, Sally and Paul were faced away, cooking lasagna together. Percy made to speak, but Annabeth stopped him. Sally laughed at a joke Paul made, and Paul put his arm around Sally. "See Percy," Annabeth whispered, "this is what we're fighting for," she gestured at Sally's pregnant belly, "we're fighting for the future." She gestured around to all the young kids playing Basketball, Volleyball, and other activities in Camp Half-Blood to emphasize her point. "We are fighting for people. Human beings, with thoughts, feelings, love and joy. Don't forget that." She reached over and hugged him tight.

Percy shuddered. "Th-Thank you, Annabeth. I really needed that. I love you."

"I love you to Seaweed Brain." Annabeth pulled him up and they walked away. Behind them, Dionysus stepped out on the porch, and unbeknownst to them, let a small smile grace his lips. Percy had never slept better that night.

The End