Hey guys! :) Hows it going? How was your holiday? Did anyone get anything good? Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, on an unrelated note! :) I really appreciate it. Don't worry about offending me when you throw your own creative ideas out there. Some of my stories were about to head one way before someone threw out a creative suggestion and I suddenly said, "Oh! This is the best thing ever!" And totally changed the direction of the story around. Moral of the story, I don't mind if you throw stuff out there. :) I encourage it, actually! I barely even realized this little fun fact, but we're at over 50 chapters here! Whoop whoop! ;) That's pretty awesome, right? No one...? Tough crowd. (Im teasing. You guys are awesome.) Anyways, I also wanted to say that I know I don't have to warn people for explicit language because this is rated T, but I don't use swears a lot in this (they're sprinkled in, but not everywhere) and I have a feeling that if I suddenly start having the characters shouting words they don't usually shout, there's going to be someone that gets mad at me. I'd prefer to keep everyone happy and not hating my guts. You know? Thanks for understanding guys! I own nothing, but please enjoy this chapter. :)

Percy's POV

"Don't mess with us. Especially don't mess with me. I wouldn't hesitate to kill any of you, except those pardoned, but killing has been forbidden until the first battle. Otherwise Poseidon would be dead," I spat. "See you at the battle."

(In lamest terms of recap, Poseidon got his ass handed to him because he pissed off Percy.)

Back at the ship, I fell onto the couch and tried to relax. My heart was still beating faster than normal, but not fast enough that i would immediately lose control again if anything happened.

Behind me, I could hear everyone else filing into the room. The couch sagged as a single person sat down on my left; the seat to my right remained vacant. My head was in my hands, my elbows resting on my knees, so I couldn't see where everyone was.

"Dude, you okay?" The person on my left asked suddenly.

"I'm peachy."

"Really? Cause you don't look—"

"Sarcasm, Luke. That was sarcasm."

"Oh. Sorry." Luke said from my left before he let the silence envelope everyone again.

Bianca couldn't let the silence last, it seemed. Suddenly, she blurted out, "Well, are you okay? No sarcasm this time."

"I'm fine," I lied, still not revealing my face.

"That's a lie," Calypso said.

Bianca sounded angry when she spoke. "You lied? Tell us how you really feel!"

"I'm fine!" I insisted. "I feel fine! Okay?"

"I'm pretty sure he's still lying."

"Calypso!" I barked. "Just shut up, already!"

"She's just worried about you, Percy! We all are! Tell us the truth!" Bianca pleaded.

I snapped. "Don't call me Percy!" I roared. "I am NOT Percy Jackson! He died when his dad and everyone else he trusted stabbed him in the back and left him to die!"

Tense silence followed my outburst. I could tell someone wanted to say something, but restrained themselves. I was breathing heavily, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I tried to control my heart rate. However, I could feel myself losing the battle, the tense silence causing my brain to turn their words around over and over in my mind, reliving them again and again and again. Each time they were played in my mind, I felt my heart begin to beat a little faster, my adreniline level rising.

Someone out a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down," they demanded. My head was throbbing, my mind foggy, so I could only vaguely tell that they were a woman. And the voice sounded familiar. Who was it?

I think ink I might've choked out something non-intelligible, but I couldn't be sure. All i knew was that the hand left my shoukder, only to slap my cheek. The same voice ordered, "Get ahold of yourself, man! This isn't you."

I was shocked by the sudden change from gentle and caring to slapping my face. My cheek stung, no doubt a hand print beginning to form. If I hadn't pulled my hood down, I bet she would've ripped the fabric with that slap.

The fog in my mind slowly began to lift. I could feel myself resisting, part of me longing to delve deeper into the murkiness. The two parts of myself were battling it out, the clear part vs. the muddy one.

The muddy part of my mind was winning, about to drag my subconsciousness deeper into the fog. However, a slap on my other cheek stopped me. It was like getting splashed with icy cold water when the warm blankets around you were trying to make you fall asleep.

The water was good temporarily, but the blankets would win in the long run.

"Don't give into it!" Someone commanded. I couldn't tell where their voice was coming from. Whose voice was it even? Did I know them? I thought i knew them. I couldn't be sure.

I grumbled something that I hope translated to, "I want to sleep." I don't think it worked, though, seeing as how in the next second, someone was grabbing both of my shoulders and shaking them, chanting, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Its not a very considerate thing to do when someone obviously wanted to nap.

I felt my head leave my hands as my elbows slid off my knees. I crashed sideways on my right, which was fortunate because someone was sitting on my left. Who was it again? My arm hurt slightly from the fall, but not too much. Whatever I was laying on cushioned it. What was this squishy thing I was on?

I could vaguely hear voices around me, but they were beginning to fade out. The war in my head was ending, the muddy part of my mind winning. I quickly surrendered and let myself be enveloped by the fog. The voices shouting around me increased in frequency, until they faded out all together.

Hey guys! Quick thing: due to New Year's Eve, next update will be Wednesday. Sorry that I'm taking two days off, but I'll probably be exhausted the night after new year's, and I don't want to not plan for it and end up writing you guys a crappy chapter. Happy New Year (in advance)!