Author's Note: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the support, it means everything. So, this chapter is entirely from Annabeth's point of view, and the next will be entirely Percy's. I promise Chapter 5 will be in both of theirs, but I really want to have an opportunity to establish both of the characters in their own chapters, so give them some love!

I'm looking for a beta reader, so to any who like to edit, hit me up! *finger guns*

Ok, thank you! Love you guys!

Annabeth

Annabeth tapped her fork against the edge of her plate, deep in thought. The other seven's eyes bore into her, but she kept tapping away. Piper was making her eat full meals, but Annabeth didn't think she could swallow another bite of her penne, but Piper had enough of a death glare to make Annabeth uncomfortable. She had devised the plan of moving her hands around her food enough to make Piper think she was eating.

"This is ridiculous," Annabeth said finally. "Isn't anyone going to say anything?"

Silence.

"Can we at least talk about Hazel's latest adventure?" Annabeth said, waving her fork in the way of the embarrassed girl. "With Hecate in that mysterious tornado storm?"

"Yeah," Leo pipes up. "What happened there?"

Eyes left Annabeth to shift to Hazel, and Annabeth breathed a soft sigh of relief, before she remembered that she was supposed to be the strong one. She was supposed to be the leader here. How could she lead when she couldn't speak? Leading without a voice is like playing piano with no hands. You could attempt it, but it would only end badly for all of those involved.

As Hazel recounted her tales of Hecate, all that Annabeth could think of was magic. Magic could help Percy. If Percy had magic then he could escape. If only the magic Hazel had could transport its way down to Tartarus-

Annabeth shook her head softly and tried to focus once more on Hazel's words, to no avail. Her mind was elsewhere, and there was no use trying to tether it down once more.

Annabeth sat at her desk, trying to calm her mind. She was going to sleep in her room tonight, she was determined. She was going to lie down in her bed and shut off her mind, fall asleep and not think. That was what Annabeth desperately needed. She needed to not think. Her brain was active every waking moment, pounding in her skull. There was no distraction from the torment of herself, and she had to deal with that. It first became unmanageable when Percy left the first time. Then she had to berate herself with problems and solutions and that fact that everything seemed to be her fault. It had soothed for a while, once they knew where her Seaweed Brain was, and had almost disappeared when she got him back. Now it was back with a vengeance, here to remind her that her mind was the one gift that her mother gave her. To be thankful for this mess of a blessing, or a curse in disguise.

She just needed to turn it off. Just… switch it.

Sighing, Annabeth switched off her desk lamp and climbed into bed, resting her head against the headboard.

"What are you doing?" Came a voice from the wall behind her. Annabeth turned her head to press her cheek against the wall, listening.

"I'm… reading," Jason replied, and Annabeth fully pressed herself against the wall, listening.

"It's midnight Jason, on your nightshift," Piper said, distress barely hidden in her voice. "Please, it's time to sleep."

"I-I know," Jason said. "I just… I need to prepare. To know what's coming."

"Why?" Piper asked, sounding exhausting. Annabeth could hear bed springs as Piper sat on his mattress, and a sigh.

"Because Percy's gone, okay?!" Jason's voice cracked, and Piper gave a small gasp. "And I know that Annabeth is the leader of this quest, but with Percy gone she's practically left with him as well. I need to step up, because it's my duty."

There's silence for a while, and Annabeth leaned against her pillow, pulling the blankets up to cover her ears. Jason's words stung more than anything had before, and she didn't want to deal with any others that sting. She's practically left with him as well. Who was she kidding? He was right. Annabeth was gone everywhere.

But she couldn't think of that. That was tomorrow morning's depressor. Annabeth needed to focus on sleeping for one night, in her own bed. For the first time in three days.

She needed to try.

Annabeth's dreams were fitful, as normal. What was she expecting as a demigod? They were always nightmarish, predicting of messy futures that had no positive outcomes. With Percy in Tartarus, she had no doubt that she would dream of him. It was a given, seeing as demigods tended to dream of those they loved. With Percy and Annabeth, loved almost seemed like an understatement. Needed was more accurate.

Annabeth dreamt of a ghostly skeleton, mist wrapping between it's bones, back turned to her. It moved sluggishly, slowly limping forwards. Ripped shreds of orange covered it's torso, jeans loose on the figure. It turned around, and Annabeth gasped.

The dead face of Percy looked around furtively, straight through her, before returning on his way.

Annabeth screamed.

"You're awake!" Hazel said, opening Annabeth's door. Annabeth was sitting up, hair mussed, her oversized school t shirt wrinkled and her eyes blazing with a wild look. "It's time for breakfast."

Annabeth nodded as Hazel closed the door, before sinking back against the pillow.

Percy was dead in that dream, Annabeth was sure of it. His face had been so gray and thin, eyes hollow and skin sagging from his skeletal figure.

He couldn't die! Annabeth clutched her head in her hands, distraught. She needed him. He couldn't just die on her- she couldn't allow it.

Annabeth sorrowfully tugged on jeans and a camp t-shirt, trudging to the mess hall. The rest of the group were already eating, but they looked up when she came in.

Jason was sitting in his normal seat next to the head. Annabeth was a little taken aback by this- she had expected after his conversation with Piper last night for him to take charge. Instead he smiled at her and waved her to the head of the table, uttering a greeting as she sat down.

Leo and Hazel both looked exhausted. Hazel was understood, of course- she had been guiding the ship through the mountains all night. But Leo had dark circles under his eyes, and Annabeth was worried about him. Was he not getting enough sleep? Of course not, she chided herself. He was a demigod. She was a perfect example- the dreams are worse than being awake.

Frank and Nico sat on either side of Hazel, both looking grim. Frank was still wearing his centurion badge, which surprised Annabeth. They were hated in Camp Jupiter right then, so why was Frank still displaying his old rank?

Nico wore his darkness as always, a somber look etched onto his face. Annabeth still had pangs when she looked at Nico- they had replaced Percy on the ship with him. Annabeth couldn't not have mixed feelings about this swap.

Piper wasn't at the table, which made Annabeth uncomfortable. Piper was her second safety blanket after Percy, there to control her emotions and pull her back out of her frustrations. She was at the helm with Coach Hedge, a cycle they'd all agreed on, yet Annabeth furiously wished that someone else could take the job right now.

"I communed with the dead last night," Nico said, and Annabeth snapped to attention. She wasn't aware that there was a discussion going on.

"I was able to learn more about what we'll face," Nico continued, and Annabeth bit her lip. "In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek Pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors."

"Sounds like Día de los Muertos," Leo muttered, making a face. "My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."

"Chinese have that too-ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime." Frank cracked his knuckles in the least menacing way Annabeth had ever seen. "Your Aunt Rosa would've gotten along with my grandmother."

Annabeth cleared her throat, and everyone looked surprise that she was drawing attention to herself. "Okay, guys, can we return to the topic?"

Nico cleared his throat. "A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honor the dead, but the House of Hades was open year round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way throw different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions-"

"Special potions," Leo murmured. "Yum." Jason elbowed him and flashed a look.

"Um," Nico said, looking around for confirmation to continue. Annabeth nodded to him, grabbing at straws to steady herself in the leadership role. "The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future."

"And if they weren't pleased?" Annabeth asked, leaning forward and resting her hands on the table.

"Some pilgrims found nothing," Nico continued, looking down at his hands while Hazel watched him intently. "Some went insane, or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again."

"The point is," Jason said quickly, "Nico found some information that might help us."

"Yeah," Nico said hollowly. "The ghost I spoke to last night… he was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She slew one of the giants- one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius."

Leo's eyes widened a little, and Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows, but decided not to push it. "Tell us about Clytius, Nico."

"He appears as a dark figure," Nico says. "Wrapped in shadows."

"Pleasant," Frank mumbled, fiddling around with his french toast.

"So the giant is Clytius, suppose he'll be waiting for us, guarding the doors of Death." Jason looked around, trying to connect to someone's thoughts.

"I need to work on my magic," Hazel said, looking down. "I'll need it to fight against Clytius."

"Do you know magic?" Leo asked.

"No," Hazel admitted.

"There's a little good news," Nico said, coughing. "The ghost I spoke to explained how Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness."

Annabeth, along with everybody else, turned to Leo. Jason looked excited, but Annabeth felt hesitant. That had to have a trick. Some sort of double side. But for now, she'd take all the good news there was.

Hazel nodded softly. "Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaea's forces-"

"Plus a bunch of ghosts," Nico added grimly. "The spirits in that temple may not be friendly."

"-and find the Doors of Death," Hazel continued, glaring at Nico. "Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and rescue him." She looked gently at Annabeth. She was still walking on ice. They all were.

"We can do it," Frank said. "We have to."

"So with this detour," Annabeth said, calculating. "I'd estimate four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays."

Leo snorted. "Yeah, 'cause we're that lucky."

Jason looked over at Hazel. "Hecate said that she was planning her wakening for August first, right? The Feast of…."

"Spes," Hazel filled in. "The goddess of hope."

"Theoretically," Jason mused. "That leaves us enough time. It's on July fifth. We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giant's headquarters and stop them from waking Gaea before August first."

"Theoretically," Hazel agreed, twirling her spoon in her yogurt. "But I'd still like to know how we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying."

Annabeth was tempted to say too late, but figured the mood setting was that accommodating quite yet.

"I think.." Annabeth stood and pushed her chair in. "I'm going to go sketch some plans out. Keep having this discussion but… I just need to slip out for a second."

"Annabeth," Jason said, stopping her. "Thank you for coming to discuss with us. For… rejoining."

"I'm the leader, aren't I?" Annabeth asked, smiling before leaving.

The smile didn't cover up the anxiety in the depth of her heart.