AN: I'm really, really sorry I didn't update sooner- I tried I really did but I couldn't seem to find the time between everything that was going on and every time I sat down to write this I simply couldn't find the motivation or muse to write. I really am sorry.

But just know that even if sometimes I don't update- this story will never be abandoned. It will be finished, I can promise you that. Besides I have aspirations to do the whole series so it really would do no good to give up on the second instalment.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or the HoO series. All rights belong to Rick Riordan.

Beams of golden light danced across the planes of Annabeth's face, turning her hair to molten gold and bathing the room in a soft glow. The warmth of the sun and the slow, circling motion of fingers on her lower spine was what woke her.

Annabeth opened her eyes to see Percy gazing at her, sea green eyes sparkling in happiness and the demigod felt the breath catch in her throat.

''Hey, wise girl'' he greeted, tenderly cupping the back of her head in his palm.

''Hey'' she replied, tilting her head to capture his lips with hers in a loving kiss.

''Aren't you worried about morning breath?'' the blonde teased when they pulled away and Percy grinned.

''I've seen you at your worst, covered in blood, dust, mud- you name it. And still you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen'' he ran his fingers through tendrils of her hair as her breath hitched ''so no I don't think a little morning breath will stop me.''

Annabeth giggled and pushed him away slightly when he leant in, greatly amused as a small pout adorned his lips ''how are you feeling this morning?'' she questioned- tracing his lips with her index finger.

''All the better for seeing you?'' Percy teased and Annabeth laughed.

''Glad to see you're feeling better'' a voice spoke and Percy swore, whipping his head around to come face to face with a grinning Apollo.

Percy let out a breath, head dropping to the pillow beneath him with a thunk.

Annabeth laughed into the hollow of his neck- breath tickling his skin- before turning to face Apollo ''are you going to let him out?'' she questioned smiling.

Apollo nodded, moving over to the side of the bed and taking a small torch from his back pocket ''hopefully you should be out in time for breakfast but we'll see how you are first.''

The god made Percy sit up then shined the light into his iris ''I want you to follow the light'' he instructed, after that the god felt the back of Percy's head for cracks or breaks and checked his ribs by applying light pressure to the area.

Apart from a few winces here and there Apollo deemed Percy well enough to be released and soon the demigod was leaving the room; Annabeth in tow.

Just outside of the doors the pair ran into a familiar god of war limping up the corridor, ''Ares?'' Percy called- surprise colouring his tone as he took in the sight in front of him.

Ichor was plastered all over the gods face and various body parts, where his hands were supposed to be was blackened and smoking and his mouth seemed to wheeze with every breath.

''What happened to you?'' Annabeth questioned though by the look on her face it was obvious she had an inkling.

''What do you think?'' Ares tried to snap only it came out as a croak and after sending one last glare at Percy the god of war entered the infirmary.

''You don't think-'' Percy started once he was out of sight but Annabeth cut him off.

''Oh I do, I really do'' she answered and Percy snorted, amused despite himself.

''It's strange seeing him so beaten down'' Percy answered finally, after his snickers had subsided and they'd begun walking to where breakfast usually was.

''I think he needs it though, he needs to be taken down a peg or two'' she replied; snuggling into his side.

Percy couldn't agree more with that statement.

They arrived at breakfast soon after and Percy was mobbed by everyone as they questioned how he was feeling. Luckily that was over quite quickly as those in the room were distracted by the appearance of food.

Percy and Annabeth didn't mention the appearance of Ares- wanting to see how everybody would react when he reappeared for good.

All too soon breakfast was over and the throne room began to fill up once more as they all filed in to continue reading.

Athena was already seated when they walked in, glaring at the wall and refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

Poseidon looked a little too pleased with himself at this development, which left Percy to wonder exactly what his father had said to the goddess of wisdom; a look to his side found Annabeth with a similar look on her face.

Apollo walked in a little later, not even mentioning the appearance of Ares as he took his seat and raised his hand to indicate he would like the book.

''I'll read'' he said as Zeus threw the book, settling comfortably into the chair.

10. WE HITCH A RIDE WITH DEAD CONFEDERATES Apollo began.

Clarisse chuckled as she realised what was going to happen, snuggling into Chris' side.

"Thermos!" I screamed as we hurtled toward the water.

"What?" Annabeth must've thought I'd lost my mind. She was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch.

''I thought you'd lost your mind a while ago'' she whispered in mock seriousness, lips tilting in amusement when Percy pouted.

But Tyson understood. He managed to open my duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat.

Arrows and javelins whistled past us.

I grabbed the thermos and hoped I was doing the right thing. "Hang on!"

"I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled.

"Tighter!"

I hooked my feet under the boat's inflatable bench, and as Tyson grabbed Annabeth and me by the backs of our shirts, I gave the thermos cap a quarter turn.

Percy thought back to what a sight that must have made and laughed slightly, Annabeth turned to him with an eyebrow raised but he waved her off- hooking his arms around her waist instead.

Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled us sideways, turning our downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.

The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free. As we hit the ocean, we bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then we were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in our faces and nothing but sea ahead.

Poseidon let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, glad his sons and Annabeth seemed to be out of danger for the moment.

I heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind us, but we were already out of weapon range.

''YES.''

The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.

As we raced over the sea, Annabeth and I tried to send an Iris-message to Chiron. We figured it was important we let somebody know what Luke was doing, and we didn't know who else to trust.

The wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight— perfect for an Iris-message—but our connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show us Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.

Hermes (along with quite a bit of the room) chuckled as he pictured Chiron in a nightclub with his tweed jacket.

We told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the Princess Andromeda and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on our end, I'm not sure how much he heard.

"Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—"

His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.

"What?" I yelled.

"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece—"

''Like I was going to be able to stop you'' Annabeth muttered, poking him in the side.

"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woo-hoooooo!"

The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate.

''I want to party with the centaurs'' Hermes said and Leo high fived him.

"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—"

Our misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

An hour later we spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. I guess it isn't every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.

''No shit.''

''Language.''

''Sorry dad.''

"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as we approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like—"

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," I said.

She stared at me. "How did you know that?"

''With his awesome water powers'' Leo said, wiggling his fingers where fire erupted from the tips.

It was safe to say that those in the vicinity leaned away from the demigod so as not to be set on fire.

"I—I'm not sure."

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"

"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," I said immediately. Then I shook my head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"

"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool."

''It still is pretty cool seaweed brain'' Annabeth said; smiling at him warmly.

''Why thank you wise girl'' Percy answered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

I wasn't sure about that. I didn't want to be a human GPS unit. But before I could say anything, Tyson tapped my shoulder. "Other boat is coming."

I looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on our tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.

''Why do you always end up in trouble?'' Piper asked in mock seriousness.

''It's a talent'' both Percy and Annabeth said in sync.

"We can't let them catch us," I said. "They'll ask too many questions."

"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."

Thalia and Luke made a noise of realization as they recalled their old hideout.

I didn't ask what she meant, or how she knew the area so well. I risked loosening the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent us rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. We didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered the mouth of a river.

I could feel the change from salt water to fresh water. Suddenly I was tired and frazzled, like I was coming down off a sugar high. I didn't know where I was anymore, or which way to steer the boat. It was a good thing Annabeth was directing me.

''Annabeth always directs you'' Thalia pointed out and Percy smirked.

''That's because I would be lost without her'' he cooed, looking down at his fiancée and completely missing the fake gagging Thalia was doing, much to the amusement of Nico.

"There," she said. "Past that sandbar."

We veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. I beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress.

Vine-covered trees loomed above us. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river. Basically, it wasn't Manhattan, and I didn't like it.

''So picky'' Travis mocked and Percy shrugged.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."

"What is?" I asked.

"Just follow." She grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."

After burying the lifeboat with branches, Tyson and I followed Annabeth along the shore, our feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past my shoe and disappeared into the grass.

"Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm.

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust, snuggling into Hephaestus' arms as if that would banish the image.

After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."

All I saw was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and I realized I was looking into a camouflaged shelter.

The inside was big enough for three, even with Tyson being the third. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty water-proof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too— bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.

''Cool.''

''Awesome.''

''Wicked.''

"A half-blood hideout." I looked at Annabeth in awe. ''You made this place?"

"Thalia and I," she said quietly. "And Luke."

That shouldn't have bothered me. I mean, I knew Thalia and Luke had taken care of Annabeth when she was little. I knew the three of them had been runaways together, hiding from monsters, surviving on their own before Grover found them and tried to get them to Half- Blood Hill. But when-ever Annabeth talked about the time she'd spent with them, I kind of felt ... I don't know. Uncomfortable?

No. That's not the word.

The word was jealous.

Annabeth laughed gently as she looked at Percy in the eye, hand coming up to rest on his cheek ''there's no need to feel jealous seaweed brain- I chose you. I'll always choose you'' she pressed a kiss to his lips and drew back ''and if it makes you feel better, I do kind of wish you could have been there with us.''

''Really?'' Percy questioned dubiously, tightening his hold on her.

''Really'' she confirmed, which left Percy grinning like an idiot.

"So ..." I said. "You don't think Luke will look for us here?"

She shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."

''I remember'' Luke said and looked at the ground sadly ''but at that point I didn't care.''

Hermes gazed at his son for a moment before motioning for Apollo to continue.

She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.

"Um, Tyson?" I said. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"

"Convenience store?"

"Yeah, for snacks. Powdered donuts or something. Just don't go too far."

"Powdered donuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered donuts in the wilderness."

He headed outside and started calling, "Here, donuts!"

This caused a few laughs as they pictured the sight it must have made.

Once he was gone, I sat down across from Annabeth. "Hey, I'm sorry about, you know, seeing Luke."

"It's not your fault." She unsheathed her knife and started cleaning the blade with a rag.

"He let us go too easily," I said.

I hoped I'd been imagining it, but Annabeth nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'... I think he was talking about us."

Poseidon glared at Luke and the demigod shrunk back in fear.

"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?"

She studied the edge of her knife. "I don't know, Percy. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."

''I'm sorry'' Luke apologized to Thalia but she shook her head.

''It's too late for that'' she replied and Luke nodded in shame as Nico put his arm around Thalia in comfort.

"What did he mean," I asked, "that Thalia would've been on his side?"

"He's wrong."

''Dead wrong.''

"You don't sound sure."

Annabeth glared at me, and I started to wish I hadn't asked her about this while she was holding a knife.

''Still scared of me seaweed brain'' Annabeth teased.

''I'm always scared of you'' he replied smiling ''I've just learned to live with it.''

"Percy, you know who you remind me of most? Thalia. You guys are so much alike it's scary.

I mean, either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other."

''A little of both'' said pair answered, remembering their fight during capture the flag.

"Let's go with 'best friends.'"

"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. Would you turn against Olympus because of that?"

''Definitely not, they're family after all'' Poseidon beamed at his son for that statement.

I stared at the quiver of arrows in the corner. "No."

"Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stuck her knife blade into the dirt.

I wanted to ask her about the prophecy Luke had mentioned and what it had to do with my sixteenth birth-day. But I figured she wouldn't tell me. Chiron had made it pretty clear that I wasn't allowed to hear it until the gods decided otherwise.

"So what did Luke mean about Cyclopes?" I asked. "He said you of all people—"

"I know what he said. He ... he was talking about the real reason Thalia died."

''Oh Annabeth'' Thalia sighed, smiling warmly at the blonde in comfort.

I waited, not sure what to say.

Annabeth drew a shaky breath. "You can never trust a Cyclops, Percy. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill—"

She was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open. Tyson crawled in.

"Powdered donuts!" he said proudly, holding up a pastry box.

''Well that's strange.''

Annabeth stared at him. "Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for—"

"Fifty feet," Tyson said. "Monster Donut shop—just over the hill!"

"This is bad," Annabeth muttered.

''Very bad'' Artemis announced, having deduced what was going on.

We were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. We could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even I could read, it said:

MONSTER DONUT

A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate donuts.

"This shouldn't be here," Annabeth whispered. "It's wrong."

"What?" I asked. "It's a donut shop."

''Oh Percy, you have so much to learn.''

"Shhh!"

"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."

"He's a monster."

"Aw, c'mon, Annabeth. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."

"A chain," she agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get donuts? Right here in the middle of the woods?"

I thought about it. It did seem a little weird, but, I mean, donut shops weren't real high on my list of sinister forces.

This caused a few laughs from everyone in the room.

"It could be a nest," Annabeth explained.

Tyson whimpered. I doubt he understood what Annabeth was saying any better than I did, but her tone was making him nervous. He'd plowed through half a dozen donuts from his box and was getting powdered sugar all over his face.

"A nest for what?" I asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" she asked. "One day there's nothing and then the next day—boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four— exact replicas spreading across the country?"

''Nope'' the Stoll brothers muttered in unison.

"Um, no. Never thought about it."

"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"

She froze.

''Well that can't be good'' Leo said and Piper shook her head at him.

''You think?'' she asked incredulously.

"What?" I demanded. "They breed what?"

"No—sudden—moves," Annabeth said, like her life depended on it. "Very slowly, turn around."

Then I heard it: a scraping noise, like something large dragging its belly through the leaves.

I turned and saw a rhino-size thing moving through the shadows of the trees. It was hissing, its front half writhing in all different directions. I couldn't understand what I was seeing at first. Then I realized the thing had multiple necks—at least seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: I'm A MONSTER DONUT KID!

Poseidon had to glance at Percy to confirm his son was still sitting there, alive.

I took out my ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes with me—a silent warning. Not yet.

I understood. A lot of monsters have terrible eyesight. It was possible the Hydra might pass us by. But if I uncapped my sword now, the bronze glow would certainly get its attention.

We waited.

The Hydra was only a few feet away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Then I noticed that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas—one of our duffel bags. The thing had already been to our campsite. It was following our scent.

My heart pounded. I'd seen a stuffed Hydra-head trophy at camp before, but that did nothing to prepare me for the real thing. Each head was diamond-shaped, like a rattlesnake's, but the mouths were lined with jagged rows of shark-like teeth.

''Why do you always get the worst monsters?'' Katie asked and Percy shrugged.

''I have no idea.''

Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward us and hissed.

"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled. She dove to the right.

I rolled to the left. One of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that shot past my shoulder and splashed against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight toward Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.

Poseidon grew alarmed at the thought of his other son being hurt, panic spreading across his features.

"Tyson!" I tackled him with all my might, knocking him aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads.

Relief flooded the sea god as he realized Tyson was fine.

The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.

"Move!" I told Tyson. I ran to one side and uncapped Riptide, hoping to draw the monster's attention.

It worked.

The sight of celestial bronze is hateful to most monsters. As soon as my glowing blade appeared, the Hydra whipped toward it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth.

The good news: Tyson was momentarily out of danger. The bad news: I was about to be melted into a puddle of goo.

''That's wonderful, absolutely marvellous'' Chris said sarcastically.

One of the heads snapped at me experimentally. Without thinking, I swung my sword.

''Dammit''

"No!" Annabeth yelled.

Too late. I sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon. In a matter of seconds the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now I was looking at an eight-headed Hydra.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!"

Cue more laughter as Annabeth turned red when she realised how the statement sounded.

I dodged a spray of acid. "I'm about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?"

"Fire!" Annabeth said. "We have to have fire!"

As soon as she said that, I remembered the story. The Hydra's heads would only stop multiplying if we burned the stumps before they regrew. That's what Heracles had done, anyway. But we had no fire.

I backed up toward river. The Hydra followed.

Annabeth moved in on my left and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with her knife, but another head swung sideways like a club and knocked her into the muck.

Quick glances were shot at the blonde to assure them she was alright.

"No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Annabeth.

As Annabeth got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it reminded me of the whack-a-mole game at the arcade. But even Tyson couldn't fend off the Hydra forever.

We kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off, but I knew we were only postponing our deaths. Eventually, we would make a mistake and the thing would kill us.

Then I heard a strange sound—a chug-chug-chug that at first I thought was my heartbeat. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.

Clarisse sat up and smirked smugly, knowing she was about to come to the rescue.

"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.

"Steam engine," Tyson said.

"What?" I ducked as the Hydra spat acid over my head.

Then from the river behind us, a familiar female voice shouted: "There! Prepare the thirtytwo-pounder!"

I didn't dare look away from the Hydra, but if that was who I thought it was behind us, I figured we now had enemies on two fronts.

''Thanks for the vote of confidence'' Clarisse muttered sarcastically and Percy shrugged.

''Can you blame me?'' he asked.

''I guess not'' she shook her head.

A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"

"Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"

''That's nice.''

"Aye, m'lady."

"Fire at will, Captain!"

Annabeth understood what was happening a split second before I did. She yelled, "Hit the dirt!" and we dove for the ground as an earth-shattering BOOM echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of us, showering us with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.

"Steamship!" yelled Tyson.

I stood, coughing from the cloud of gunpowder smoke that was rolling across the banks.

Chugging toward us down the river was the strangest ship I'd ever seen. It rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top—a wild boar and spear on a bloodred field. Lining the deck were zombies in gray uniforms— dead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls, like the ghouls I'd seen in the Underworld guarding Hades's palace.

The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. I could just make out the name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS Birmingham. And standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed us, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.

"Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."

''That's the end'' Apollo declared, holding up the book ''who's next?''

''Me'' Artemis announced and snatched the book from her brother's hands.

11. Clarisse Blows Up Everything she read.

AN: So there you have it, I hope you like it and please let me know your thoughts. I don't think it's my best chapter because I couldn't seem to find the right motivation to write it so I apologise if you think there is anything wrong with it.

Also thank you to anyone who had favourited, followed or reviewed in the past- you guys seriously keep me going.