Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews last chapter! :) This story now has over 200 reviews! Congrats to son of hades1 for being the 200th reviewer! Thanks to everyone for helping this story get to over 200 reviews before 12 chapters were even posted! :) I'm low on time because I had a thing in school Tuesday night, but I didn't want to miss updates for longer than necessary so here we go! It might be a little short— I apologize in advance. No review responses today. Sorry! I own nothing but please enjoy this chapter!

Remember, I'll update again on the 23rd. Not before (probably), and not after (hopefully). If it's past the 23rd and I haven't updated, I'll post an AN explaining why. That probably won't happen though. See you in summer! (Or winter, depending on where you are in the world, I guess.)

Zoë's POV (recap only)

The drakon growled, a low rumbling noise. I made my choice and started running.

A second later, the drakon pounced. Someone screamed.

Percy's POV (few seconds before Zoë's POV ended)

I saw the drakon pounce towards me. Accepting the inevitable, I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.

It never came. Instead, a chilling scream echoed in my ears. My eyes flew open.

Standing in front of me was Zoë. She was trying to shield me from the drakon's claws. But in front of her was the person screaming. (Plot twist! Did anyone see that?!)

He looked to be African-American and over six feet tall. He wore a black trench coat with what looked like dust spots all over it. On top of his head sat a black fedora with a white stripe, hiding most of the man's curly black hair. His arms were thrust out towards the drakon, holding up a shield of some type of energy. He was screaming from the effort it took to hold up the massive shield.

Taking advantage of the moment, I sprinted to scoop up my fallen sword, then sprinted back to Zoë. Reaching her, I pulled the ex-huntress behind me, before staring at the back of the man's head.

I think he somehow sensed my unrelenting gaze on his back, for he turned around to meet my stare.

I gasped. The man's eyes were black, like most children of Hades' eyes. However, these eyes had moving spots in them, all different colors, across the iris. Red spots, green, white ones. Blue and orange. Yellow and purple. A message flashed through those eyes, directed at me. Run.

I obeyed the mysterious man's command. Taking Zoë petite hand in mine, I turned and sprinted away. She stumbled across the red ground, having difficulty matching my speed.

Making a decision that would probably earn me pain later, I slowed my speed. Zoë caught up, running next to me. Yet we weren't far enough from the drakon. So I put an arm around her waist and another near her legs. Then i scooped up her legs, holding her in my arms. I altered her positioning so I was carrying her bridal style. She fidgeted in my arms but I held on tightly.

I wouldn't let her go. I wouldn't let her fall. Not like how I let Annabeth fall.

The scream from the man abruptly stopped, leading me to think that his life was over for defending us. I couldn't hear anything from the drakon, meaning it might've gotten bored and walked away. Or it might've been busy chewing silently on the corpse of the poor man.

I couldn't look back. I had to keep running. Whether it had walked away or was busy eating the man's bones, it might be able to catch up to us. I had to keep running until I was sure it wouldn't be able to get us.

I had been jogging away (to conserve energy) for at least five minutes when Zoë yelped. She was looking over my shoulder, watching our backs. "Something's coming!" she warned.

I cursed under my breath, picking up the pace. "How fast is it going in relation to us?" I asked her.

A moment later, she responded, "It's gaining on us. It's faster than we are."

I swore louder, using a few more colorful terms than I did previously. "We can't let it catch us!" I exclaimed, trying to increase my speed. Unfortunately, I was already sprinting at my top speed. I couldn't go any faster. We'd both die.

Zoë voiced my thoughts, except in a more detailed way. "It's the drakon!" She groaned. "It has to be. It's going to be here soon, and then it's going to pluck us up off the ground and gradually dig it's claws into our skin, killing us slowly. After were dead, it'll peel our human meat off our bones with its teeth, nibbling our mangled corpses. Then it'll use our bones as toothpicks, before sucking the marrow out as a final snack. We'll be nothing more than the drakon's daily meal, which it uses to kill more people and things!" She sighed. "We're both going to die, after so much struggle."

I pulled her away from my body to stare at her downcast face. She wanted to see the moon again before she died. She wanted to get out of here.

She might hate me for this later. But I won't be around to witness her hatred.

Looking the ex-huntress in her beautiful onyx eyes, I said, "We won't both die."

The certainty in my voice made her look up into my dark green eyes. A ghost of a frown cast a shadow over her face. She knew there was no way we'd both be able to escape.

I knew that too. Good thing I wasn't planning on both of us escaping.

"We won't both die," I repeated to her. "Only I will."

Zoë looked shocked for a moment before she opened her mouth to say something, most likely an objection. I didn't want to hear it though. If I did, all my courage would evaporate into the acidic air of Tartarus. Then we'd really both die.

"Smile at the moon for me Zoë," I begged before I took her in my arms and threw her to the side onto the few bushes that weren't made of tiny needle-like branches. She landed safely, if a little winded, stunned into motionlessness.

I stopped running and drew my sword, staring down the cloud of dust that I one contained the drakon. It kept drawing closer and closer...

I was ready to die. To save Zoë's life, I'd do anything.

I'll see you guys on the 23rd! ¡Adiós!