A/N: Hello. This is the sixth chapter. Enjoy!

To returning readers: All of the chapters before this point have been rewritten. They are different. Please read them before reading this chapter. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Annabeth's POV

The boy stood alone, surrounded by thousands of monsters. He was their sole target. Behind the army of monsters stood a huge figure, laughing maniacally. The boy held a small button in his hand, pressing down so hard that it left a imprint behind in his skin. The monsters surrounded him, all trying to kill him in a thousand different painful ways.

The button in his hand disappeared, and the boy let some tension out of his features. With one obstacle now taken care of, he gathered some of his confidence back up to see the villains in front of him. He stepped forward, determination clearly visible on his features, as he prepared to take on the rest of the monsters.

He was stopped by the primordial.

The single boy, the only one of his kind in the millions of beings around him, stood tall in front of the huge creature in front of him. He held his sword tightly, eyes locked on the threat in front of him. He would do everything he could to get back to his family.

The primordial reached down for the boy, grabbing him in a hand and squeezing him tightly.

And although pain joined the features on his face, the determination never left.

The red glow of Tartarus cast dim light on everything it touched. The howls of monsters echoed across the barren fields, and blood red clouds drifted above the horizon.

In the corner of the pits of hell, a boy leaned against a canyon wall. He lifted one foot after the other, panting more than a healthy human should when doing the same movements .The red glow reflected off of his black hair, which hung in front of his eyes and dripped sweat. He clutched an arm to his chest, attempting to stop the blood flow from a wound, although it didn't appear to be doing much. He kept another hand on the wall, trying to steady his shaking and unsteady body.

He stopped for a minute, sliding down against the wall and resting on the ground. He rested his hands on his knees and tried to gather some strength. After a few minutes he pushed himself back up to a standing position, placing both hands on the wall to help him move forward. He didn't stand up for long.

His body gave out for a final time as he collapsed to the dirt once more, coughing a couple of times before he stopped moving.

I bolted upright. "Percy!" I shouted.

As I blinked away the sleep, I remembered the dream in vivid detail. That had to be Percy. There was no way it couldn't be. Demigod dreams weren't usually imagined. Most of the time, they were actual events that were currently happening, events that had already happened, or events that would happen. Either that, or correspondence with a god or strong enough monster.

Now it was only left to determine whether or not that had happened or would happen. I hoped that it hadn't happened. It looked like Percy had died there. I didn't want to imagine Percy being gone forever. We both knew that demigods didn't get happy endings. But I had hoped that he would live up to his namesake. A life full of pain with a happy ending. I wanted to be by his side for the rest of our lives, and I knew that he wanted to be by mine.

I almost flushed a lifetime of dreams down a mental toilet. Yet, I didn't give up hope. Something told me he was still alive. Tartarus the Primordial hadn't killed him. How could I expect hell to kill him when he survived it's most powerful being?

He had survived after Damasen had died, and he had escaped from the field with all the millions of monsters as well. He had cheated death many times before that as well. He had done so much already. I couldn't image an end where Percy died from exhaustion. I knew it was entirely possible, but I just didn't want to believe it.

In the corner of my mind, I knew that I was only telling myself these things because I didn't think I could handle him being dead just yet. But that was okay. If it got me through this quest, then it would be okay. I couldn't despair now. I had to keep going. Maybe Percy was telling himself the same thing as well, far down below the surface of the mortal world? I would get him back. I would meet him again. I refused to let this be the end.

With that, I rolled out of bed. We needed to move forward in our quest, and I couldn't let thoughts that may not even be true dictate what I knew was real, and what I actually had to accomplish.

I padded softly towards the bathroom, grabbing a change of clothes from the dresser in my cabin. They felt so soft against my fingers, and I for a moment realized how completely torn apart my current clothes were. There were holes and burns and slashes and they were covered in blood and dirt. I shuddered, and quickly peeled them off, stepping into the shower. It was a lovely feeling to be able to wash away the dirt. I stood under the spray for a little while longer, allowing the heat to warm my bones. It felt amazing.

Eventually, I turned off the tap. That was enough. I was clean. There was no sense in wasting both water and time. I slipped on the fresh clothes, marvelling at the feeling of the soft fabric. I knew that I had touched softer fabrics before, but right now these clothes felt like the lightest silk ever created on Earth. I glanced back at my dirty clothes. Grimacing, I picked them up and deposited them in the trashcan. There would be no saving of those clothes.

I faced the mirror. A girl with shattered grey eyes stared back at me, like last night, but at least this time I wasn't covered in blood. I looked like I could be someone you could see in the city, although many would cross streets to avoid walking around me. I wouldn't blame them. I glanced down at the comb on the small counter in the bathroom, then back at my reflection and the tangled mass of curls that I sported.

I stepped out of the bathroom with a stinging head, but combed hair and a clean appearance. All that I needed was to heal the mental damage. But I figured that would take years.

Keep moving, I urged myself. Keep moving.

I stepped up the stairs and dining room. When I opened the door, I noticed the others in the room stop talking. They were probably talking to me, but I didn't mind. I sat down in the chair I usually took before I fell into Tartarus and stared at the plate in front of me.

I didn't think I could eat anything. I hadn't eaten anything in so long, but I didn't feel any hunger. My thoughts drifted to Percy, and our struggle in Tartarus. We would have given anything to be able to carry one of these plates into Tartarus with us. But now that I had it in front of me, there was no urge to eat anything. I wondered where Percy in Tartarus was right now. I considered my dreams. If they were something that had already happened, then Percy may have been lying on the ground still, somewhere in Tartarus.

I swallowed, and forced my gaze away from the plate. The others were watching me. There was an awkward silence in the dining hall as everyone attempted to figure out what to say. Normally, I would diffuse the situation from this, but I didn't feel like it this time. I would rather sit here passively and think.

On the walls of the dining hall, images from Camp Half-Blood flashed. I stared longingly at them. It was evening, and the sun was setting. I watched the one directly viewing the beach, and watched the sky gradually grow darker. The water lapped peacefully at the sand, and I could almost smell the salty breeze. I remembered Percy and I sitting in the pavilion after the Second Titan War had finally ended. I wondered if we would survive to be able to have that feeling again. One where the future didn't feel stressful. Where our next greatest challenge would be only to clear out the surrounding area of monsters and tackle our required public schooling. Where we could relax with our friends and smile and know that the future would be okay for a little while.

For so long I had been focusing on enjoying the little moments I could find. Laughing when we could. It almost reminded me of those cheesy messages that were sprinkled everywhere. But I did have to acknowledge how true a few of them were. If I only allowed myself to feel happy when there was no stress on my shoulders, I would live a life of misery. And I was already quickly approaching the age most demigods were said not to live to. I was surprising myself by waking up, mostly whole, every single morning. Percy was the same way, and I bet the other demigods next to me felt the same way.

I wondered if we would all make it through the upcoming battle. We knew that someone might have to die at the end of this battle. Two sacrifices were needed to wake Gaea, and the prophecy made it clear that she would wake up eventually.

I shook my head. In all my years as a questing demigod, I had learned one main thing. Do not try and figure out a prophecy. Just make the decisions that seem better at the time. Reference the prophecy if stuck, but do not ever try and outsmart the prophecy.

Someone cleared their throat. I looked up from the table, where my eyes had focusing while I thought. The others were still watching.

"Hey, Annabeth," Piper's voice was soft. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but could you please tell us what happened in Tartarus? We need to know." It almost felt as if they were talking down to me, treating me like I was a child. I felt a little rise of anger surge within me, before I calmed myself down. It was unlikely they meant anything to offend me.

A thought hit me. Maybe they thought I was mentally unstable. I knew I was not the same, but I was still okay for now. They probably didn't know. I had barely said anything to any of them.

I nodded slowly. I would tell them. They deserved to know. I worried about possible flashbacks, but I allowed myself to step past that. If I experienced a flashback, my friends were here. They would help me. I had to overcome the fear and tell them.

"We only survived the fall because of Percy," I said. I focused on Piper, and her alone. She was the one I felt closest to here, and she was the easiest for me to talk to. I projected my memories without thinking of them, giving only a basic rundown of the events. As I spoke, the memories began to feel lighter and lighter inside of me. It got easier to speak as time went on.

I was about halfway through when my voice gave up on me. No sound came out. I swallowed thickly, and cleared my throat, and tried to speak again. Leo slid a glass of water towards me, and I stared at it for a second before taking a quick sip. It was only then did I realize that there were tears sliding down my cheek. Part of me felt a little embarrassed for crying in front of them, but i pushed it back. I didn't need that right now. I just needed to keep talking.

I kept going, wiping the water away from my face. I could finish this. I would finish this. Keep going. I told myself

Eventually, I finished. The words stopped coming, and there was nothing else to tell. We sat in silence again while the others contemplated my story. I knew there wasn't emotion behind it, but I had told what had happened. I had achieved what had been asked of me.

I felt a little lighter. If I thought about Tartarus too long, I could still feel the breath of the monsters on my neck, and I swore that I could see the shadows of them in the corners of the room, but I knew that at least now, it wasn't all trapped inside me. The others could understand what had happened.

My voice had almost given up again, but this time all I had to do was listen. "Your turn," I rasped. "What happened since I… left?"

The others glanced among themselves, and I noticed that they looked to Jason. It was a strange feeling. Back at camp, all the others had looked to Percy. I wondered if they would do the same if we got him back. When we got him back. How would the people at camp react when they heard what happened. Did they know that Percy and I had gone through hell? What was happening over there? I hadn't heard from Camp Half-Blood in ages.

Piper began to speak, telling me of their adventures, and what they had accomplished. I looked at the others, observing the changes. Jason seemed a little more relaxed, less like Superman and more like a human. When I glanced over at Frank, I had to look twice. He had gotten a several inches growth spurt. Hazel seemed as if she was still adjusting to this change. Piper didn't appear to have changed much at all, but I could tell that she had a little more confidence than before. Leo, on the other hand, was completely different. He was quieter, and got lost in thought much more than I ever remembered him doing. He seemed nostalgic for something that happened while Percy and I were in Tartarus. Everyone was slightly different, and a little closer. It felt as if I had stepped out of a film for a few second, and in that space of time, a major plot twist had happened and I was now out of the loop. I didn't like it, but I figured that the best I could do was be here for the rest of the quest.

Percy would miss out on much more. If he got out by himself and made it to Mount Olympus, he would miss out on the journey. If he didn't get out by himself, he would miss the rest of the quest. And if he didn't make it in Tartarus, he would miss out on the rest of our lives together. I was praying with everything I had that the third scenario would never happen. I would speak to every god on this planet if I had to, pray to any god that ever existed, of any faith, of every faith.

I needed Percy to be here. Without him, my entire plan for the future crumbled into pieces.

It also struck me, at this moment, that this would be the first quest that I went on by myself. Even if I had started the quest with him, this was the first time that I had ever been out questing without him. It was strange. Percy had been there since I was twelve. I was now seventeen. He had been with me for about half a decade, about a third of my entire life so far. It had felt like an eternity. I knew that he was always a minute away, whether that be through in person communication or through use of an Iris Message. It was weird to not have him right there. I didn't know how I would react. One day at a time, I supposed, but still. I tuned my ears back to Piper's voice.

Piper finished speaking, and I let the tale sink in. They had accomplished so much. I knew they weren't my children, and it sounded like I was talking down to them, but I was so proud.

Hazel raised her hand.

"Before Nico left with Reyna yesterday, he contacted Chiron. Since he's not here right now, he asked me to mention it. He said that he informed Chiron of the current situation, and that Chiron told him about what's happening at the Greek camp. It isn't good. The romans are gathered outside the camp barrier, and they're preparing for war. They are having a camp counselor meeting today to discuss their options, but Chiron doesn't think that any attempts at peace will work. He isn't optimistic about their chances in a battle either.."

Jason nodded. "If there is one things Romans don't do, it's negotiate a peace treaty when there's been an attack.'

I nodded grimly. "We should probably hold a meeting of our own. What are we planning on doing from here?"

Leo looked around at the others before speaking. "We should continue to keep the Argo II in the air for sure. I don't think we can even plan on setting it down anywhere on the ground. It's a pretty short distance from Epirus to Mount Olympus, but I'm sure that we'll meet tons of monsters on the way. It should get harder the closer we get."

Piper nodded. "I've been seeing things in Katoptris as well. It doesn't really look good. We all are at Olympus, and there are monsters everywhere. Things at camp don't look too good either. But we shouldn't put too much faith in Katoptris. It's like a prophecy. It tells me things, but it won't tell me the outcome, or give specific details."

Another beat of silence. Was it just me, or did there seem to be much more silence than I remembered when all seven of us were just starting out? The meetings before we came seemed much more lighter, full of both laughter and seriousness, never a moment of silence. I remember being reminded of the counselor meetings back at Camp Half-Blood. Why was this so different? Was it just me? I shook the thoughts from my head. All of us were different. There was bound to be an adjustment period. I had just gone through hell, and the others had gone through other experiences only they could share. It was almost as if we were strangers, and strangers weren't friends immediately. That didn't mean they were completely different, but I had to give all of us a little space.

I thought back to my dreams. I wanted to tell the rest of the crew. They should know, just like I told them of Tartarus. We were a team. Perhaps we could work out its meaning together. I gathered my courage and prepared to tell them.

I opened my mouth and had barely let out a noise when several heavy thumps hit the deck above us. Almost immediately, the alarm sounded.

Leo was the first one to get up and bolt up the stairs. "Whatever it is better not be hurting my ship!" He called behind him. The rest of us scrambled to get our weapons and climb up to the top deck.

I could hear more sounds as we barreled up the stairs. Leo was shouting. When we burst through to the top deck, I paused for a moment. Everything was in disarray. Some type of monster was flying above the roof, picking things off of the deck and flying away with it. I watched as once came down to grab a plank of wood attached to the deck before flying off.

I looked at the beasts closer, trying to determine what it was. I whispered to myself a list of mythical greek monsters before settling on one. Griffins, I said to myself. They have to be griffins. But that couldn't be true. Griffins weren't greek. They were egyptian. Depending on our location, which on a global scale wasn't far from Egypt, I could see them flying over, but it was weird that they chose to be here, especially this close to Mount Olympus, the greek homeground.

Another one of the griffins snatched the hammer out of Leo's hands. "Hey!" He shouted.

I pulled myself back to reality. I could wonder about why the griffins were here later. Right now they were destroying the ship, and we needed them gone now.

I ran towards the others, drawing my drakon bone sword as I did so. I wasn't as skilled with the sword as I would have liked to be, but my ability was passable. I would have much rather had my dagger. I thought back to Arachne's cavern and shuddered. I would just get a new one when we got back to camp.

My friends had grouped together near the center of the deck in a circle. We were on the defensive right now, but we needed to be more offensive if we wanted to salvage anything from our ship.

"What's the plan?" Piper shouted. "They're taking everything!"

"Attack!" I said back. "We have to stop them. Just go!"

I charged one of the griffins, hoping the others would follow suit. It bit down at me and I leaned underneath to take a swipe at its wings. It shrieked and backed up away from the sword. I jumped towards it and slashed at it's side. The hit was right on, and it cried out in pain. I spun around and stabbed right through its chest, dissolving it into dust.

Behind me, Leo lobbed balls of fire at a griffin's feet, in an attempt to make it fly off. I glanced towards Frank to see him picking off the griffins in the air with a bow. Hazel was defending him with her spatha. Jason and Piper were back to back, fighting two griffins and covering each other. For a moment, I flashed back to Percy and I and how we used to do that. I shook my head, clearing the thoughts from my memories. I didn't need that right now. Not in the middle of a battle.

I ran at another griffin, this one digging through an opened crate. It saw my approach and pulled out of the crate, several vials in its talons. As it prepared to take off, I swung my sword at it, slashing the front of its chest. It looked down at the wound for a second before attempting to cut me with its beak. I backed up and slashed towards its neck. The blade passed through, and more dust rained down upon me.

I panted heavily, my sword drooping. I felt dizzy. Something wasn't right. I felt weaker than usual. The ground swayed underneath my feet.

Another griffin approached me, and swiped a talon at me. I sidestepped, but not enough, and a bright flash of pain exploded from my left arm. The pain, while distracting, served enough to get me back to reality. I pushed the ill feeling back. There was no time for this right now. I had to fight.

The griffin swiped at me again, and I met its talon with the sword, pushing it off. It fell, unbalanced, and I stabbed through its chest, watching as it dissolved. The dust floated away in the slight wind.

There was shouting behind me, and I turned to look. Leo was waving a hammer at another griffin, this one pecking at the ship's control board. I moved to help him. He sent a glance of thanks my way, and I nodded at him before looking back to the griffin. It pulled a key from the control board, and Leo jumped at it.

"Leave that alone!" He shouted. The griffin flew up before dive bombing at the board again, grabbing the wii remote that Leo used to control the boat. Almost immediately, the ship tilted sideways. A few crates slid down and flipped off the boat, where a few griffins grabbed what they could. The rest crashed down to the Earth. I tripped as the boat moved, falling to the ground and slipping towards the railing. I glanced downwards, off the boat, and saw several nests below.

It dawned upon me that they weren't attacking. They were defending. We were in their territory. Griffins also tended to be greedy creatures, ones that snatched the shiniest things possible, or anything they could reach. If we moved forward, they should leave us alone. I looked towards Leo.

"Hey!" He shouted again, lighting his hammer on fire and swinging it at the griffin.

It took off again, and Frank landed an arrow in its wings. It spiralled towards the deck, where I slashed at its neck. Monster dust flew everywhere. Leo retrieved his wii remote and righted the ship with a wave, then slipping it back into its place on the control board.

I got to my feet and ran towards him. "Leo! Make the ship go forward as fast as it can!" He nodded, accepting the order without question. He stepped up to the control board, and started messing with several buttons. I stood in place behind him, preparing to guard him from any attacking griffins while he did his thing.

Another griffin swooped at the console, and I jumped up to slash through its underbelly. More dust rained around. As I wiped the sweat from my face, something glinted in the sun, and I turned to get a better look. Archimedes sphere. I looked around, and realized that this was the shiniest thing on the top deck.

"Leo," I said. "They're going for the Archimedes Sphere. Secure it."

He nodded once more, steering the ship right to avoid hitting a flock of griffins flying up towards the ship. The wind whistled in my ears, and I noticed how fast we were speeding through the air. Quickly, he darted a hand out from the wheel and grabbed the sphere, slipping into his belt.

For just a moment, I was thankful that Reyna and Nico had taken the Athena Parthenos. It was giant and glittery and gold. If we had had it right now, the griffins might have followed us to the ends of the earth.

A few of the griffin on the deck took off and flew away. I smiled lightly, realizing that we were leaving a few of their nests behind. Leo let out a sigh, noticing the reduced amount of feathery beasts. Frank stood tall firing at the remaining griffins. He wasn't aiming at the fleeing griffins. Hazel was near several of the crates that had slid to the railings, and was fighting several griffins at once. She was managing pretty well. Jason and Piper were surrounded as well, many of the griffins attempting to get Jason's gold sword. They were a team, taking down the few griffins that remained.

We were winning.

Eventually, the last of the griffins were either dust or long gone back to their nests. All of us stood silent for a moment, breathing heavily, and allowing ourselves a moment to relax after the battle.

Leo was the first to pull himself out of the moment, and he headed towards the crates. He checked through the remaining supplies, before pulling out some nails and a hammer. He began to fix the broken crates, replacing the contents of the crates that he could salvage. The sound woke the rest of us up, and we headed over to help him. There wasn't much speaking, beyond asking which object went where, if anyone needed any help, or where the crates were supposed to go. The job was done quickly, and we all stood up.

I stretched, feeling the burn. It brought me back to reality. We dispersed quietly as well, Hazel pulled Frank into the infirmary to fix a nasty cut on his shoulder. Jason headed downstairs to grab something to eat, and Piper stood at the railing, looking behind at the retreating griffins nest. I wondered what she was thinking. Leo headed downstairs as well, claiming the need to check up on the engine room. I noticed that he didn't put the Archimedes Sphere back in its spot in the control board.

I headed downstairs to my room. I had only just taken a shower, and I was already in need of another one. The room welcomed me, and I pulled the chair out from my desk. I sat down and sighed, staring at the pictures I had pinned onto my desk. They were both from Camp Half-Blood and from here on the Argo II. I leaned in closer to one from directly after the Second Titan War. We were all sitting around the campfire, Percy's arm around me as I Iaughed at something he said. I didn't even remember what it was. There were no words for how much I wanted to feel that feeling again. The war we were currently in didn't feel like it would have the same happy ending. Something would go wrong, I just knew it. I wondered if that had already happened, with Percy staying in Tartarus.

Again, I could feel the waves of sadness as I thought about my separation from Percy. I felt like cursing the gods to Hades, but I knew that Percy wouldn't want to deal with them either. I felt incredibly lonely. Then I shook my head.

I had to stop thinking this way. I needed to remember that the entire world wasn't against me. I had my friends. Percy was the closest to me, and had stayed around the longest. But that didn't mean that my relationships with my other friends weren't important. I was Annabeth Chase. Not a weak girl who depended on her boyfriend to survive. I had found my way from California to New York on my own, when I was only seven years old. I could manage by myself. And even now, I wasn't alone. My friends were here to support me, and I was here to support them. We would hold each other up. They were more of a family than anything.

I could always count on them, and they would always be able to count on me.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review!

Updated: November 26th, 2017