Yep…so I'll explain why I changed this chapter in the AN that I am shortly going to post. There are going to be some big changes occurring in this story.

Till then, enjoy this chapter.

Happy reading!

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

Chapter 10: Can't We Ever Get A Break?

Camp Half-Blood hadn't changed at all.

It almost felt like Percy and I had never left the place. This was the first time we were coming back after two years and it was like coming home after a long and tiring quest.

When we had left camp, we had been seventeen. Most campers started leaving at the ages of seventeen and eighteen, when they became old enough to survive in the outside world all year around by themselves.

I had arrived at camp when I was seven. I left when I was seventeen.

For a decade, camp had been the only place that was a safe refuge; the only place that I could call home.

I still remembered the day I left, clear as anything. It was only that day, when I was going to leave, that I realized how hard it was. There were so many memories that I would connect to this place.

"Feels like it didn't change at all, doesn't it?" Percy murmured beside me, echoing my thoughts. I nodded, reaching out a hand to place it on Thalia's pine tree, remembering when I had thought it was going to die.

I looked down at the valley, where satyrs and campers mingled together, training, playing volleyball, plucking strawberries.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked, feeling a smile curve my lips.

I didn't wait for his answer, just shot down the hill like a bat out of hell. But I knew Percy was matching me stride for stride, and my competitive side kicked in. I wouldn't lose this.

I sped up, but Percy was still just as fast, and I could see him smirking, not even breaking a sweat. I ignored the gasps and whispers of the campers who saw and recognized us, but I still heard snippets of their conversation.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase…"

"Leaders of the war against Kronos…"

"Held off the entire Titan army in Manhattan…"

"I heard they're together…"

The last one was probably by a child of Aphrodite.

Just as we reached the Big House, someone came down the steps; someone with fiery red hair and fashionably ripped jeans…

And who I was on a direct collision course with.

"Rachel! Move!" I yelled, but Rachel only had time to look up and see me before I crashed into her and sent both of us sprawling into the grass.

"Ow," Rachel groaned. "Is this how you greet everyone, Annabeth?"

I was brushing the dirt and grass of my jeans as I replied. "I'm sorry, Rachel," I apologized. "I couldn't stop in time."

Rachel laughed as we both got to our feet. "It's okay. It was sort of my fault too, wasn't it?"

She looked from me to Percy and frowned. "Are you guys here because of the…ah, problem?"

"What problem?" I asked.

Rachel looked back at the house nervously. "I'll let Chiron tell you that himself. You should hurry; everyone else is there. I'll see you later at the campfire?"

"We'll be there," Percy promised and, waving goodbye, we sprinted up the stairs and into the rec room. All the camp counsellors were already there, including Clarisse and Jake Mason, who still stayed at camp as heads of the Ares and Hephaestus cabins.

There was a chorus of 'hellos' and Chiron came (or trotted?) forward, smiling. "What is this about, Chiron?" I asked before he could say anything.

Chiron's smile faded. "I have been noticing some disturbing changes lately, Annabeth," he sighed. "Perhaps you should sit down first." He gestured to a couple of empty chairs near Jake. Percy and I sat down, waiting anxiously.

"For the past year now," Chiron started, looking troubled, "have any of you been having trouble with monsters?"

I frowned, thinking. The last time I had had to fight monsters had been the night of the prom, when Kelli had attacked. I was nineteen now – a whole year without any monster attacking?

Something was wrong.

Everyone else seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Monsters haven't been attacking," Clarisse spoke first. "That's not normal. The most we've ever gone without some monster trying to kill us has been a couple of months."

Chiron nodded. "Indeed."

"So, what does this mean?" Grover, who was chewing on a tin can, asked nervously. I hadn't seen him for a few months; he had been sent on some mission to rescue demigods.

Chiron looked grave, folding his arms across his chest. "I do not know why they have suddenly stopped coming for demigods. But I know this; it cannot be anything good."

"Maybe they've just been trapped in Tartarus or something?" someone – I think it was the new head counsellor of the Apollo cabin – asked hopefully. Chiron shook his head. "Monsters cannot be trapped in Tartarus. The only way that could happen is if the Doors of Death vanished completely – and that is impossible."

"The Doors of Death?" Percy questioned.

"The Doors of Death connect Tartarus to the mortal world," I explained to Percy and the confused faces at the table. "They're elevators – like the ones that connect Mount Olympus and the lobby of the Empire State Building. Thanatos – the god of death – uses them as his personal gateway to travel from the Underworld to the mortal world and vice versa. He's the only one who knows exactly where they are at all times."

"What do you mean, 'at all times'?"

"The Doors of Death continue to move around. If they stayed in one place, monsters would keep re-forming as fast as we killed them, because they would know exactly where the doors are."

Everyone at the table shuddered at the thought.

"Hold on a minute," Percy said, "isn't Hades the god of death?"

"Hades is the god of the Underworld, Seaweed Brain," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Thanatos is the one in charge of bringing people to the Underworld and making sure they don't escape. Sort of like an Angel of Death."

"He isn't a pleasant guy," a voice said from the other end of the table. I saw Nico, seemingly having popped out of nowhere. "Dude," Castor complained. "Could you stop doing that?"

Nico shrugged, not looking particularly repentant.

"I wouldn't think he was the sort of guy you could have a cup of tea with," Percy said dryly. "Angel of Death and all."

Travis leaned forward. "So, what do we do now?"

There was a silence at the table. Every eye turned to Dionysus, who as usual, was buried behind some magazine. He glanced up at us, looking nonchalant. "Don't look to me," he shrugged. "I may be a god but even I do not know everything."

"Great," Katie Gardner muttered. "Tell me it's not another war. Anything but that."

I wished I could say the same but something inside me told me otherwise; that something was coming for us and it wasn't going to be good. My eyes flicked to Percy as the lines of the previous prophecy ran through my head.

A half-blood of the eldest gods

shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep,

the hero's soul cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days,

Olympus to preserve or raze

My blood ran cold in my veins. Not again…it couldn't be Percy who had to fight again. Once had been enough.

He was leaning forward on the table, the muscles in his arms tensed. His eyes were expectant but resigned; he had already accepted the fact that if another war came, there would be a likely possibility that he would be the one who would have to carry the burden of saving the world again.

"We will have to keep a closer look-out," Chiron was telling us. "Be on the alert. But we cannot fight; we do not know enough, and who will we accuse? Kronos has been destroyed – and it is not possible that he will re-form this fast. We will have to bide our time."

What Chiron was really saying was that we would have to wait.

I hated the thought of waiting, of allowing the enemy to leave this dangling over our heads, making us anxious and worried.

"Can't we ever get a break?" Nico complained. "It feels like we just finished one war and boom! Here, you get another one as a reward!"

Something stirred in the depths of my memory, something that Kelli had said a year ago when I had been held with a knife to my throat, helpless and at her mercy.

"When you brought down Kronos, you destroyed our leader. And how could I allow that to pass? You have made many enemies, Jackson."

And something my mother had said when I had been lying in Apollo's hospital, recovering.

"It is my belief that she knows to get Annabeth is what would hurt Percy the most."

Kelli.

She had been the last monster to attack before suddenly all monsters seemed to have withdrawn. She had obviously been intent on revenge. Maybe she had simply intended to want to kill us, but what if it had actually been a warning?

A suspicion started to grow in my mind.

Kelli could have simply killed me the minute she captured me, but she had dangled me in front of Percy like a worm on a stick, enjoying the fear and panic in his eyes. She hated us.

My instincts told me that I was correct. Kelli's attack had simply been a warning, like an appetizer before the main course.

I voiced my opinions to the table.

Everyone was quiet after I had finished. Chiron stroked his beard thoughtfully. "You may be right Annabeth. The gods have noticed this problem, and I have heard rumours that they are facing problems of their own. They will discuss this issue at the Winter Solstice."

"But that's two months away!" I protested. "And the Winter Solstice – Chiron, it's the time that evil magic, the most ancient magic, is at its strongest. You know that."

"I do," Chiron sighed, "but I cannot persuade the gods, Annabeth. Zeus insists that nothing is wrong, and no one argues with the king of the gods."

"Di immortales," I cursed, leaning back in my chair. "Why does he persist in thinking that everything is alright?"

Chiron crossed his arms across his chest. "Because it is easier than facing the alternative. And as of this point, nothing really serious has happened. Monsters not attacking is, in retrospect, a good thing although what it means in the long run is not good. Zeus wants proof that the problem is real."

There was a rumble of thunder.

Percy mumbled something that sounded like drama king.

I elbowed him in the side.

"Ow," he complained although I knew perfectly well he had experienced no pain. "What was that for, Wise Girl?"

"You can't just insult Zeus!" I hissed. "Not unless you want to be vaporized!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Like I said: dramatic much?"

"Percy."

"Fine."

The rest of the counsellors wore amused smiles. "Ah, I'll never get tired of it," Connor proclaimed loudly. "Seeing you two arguing is just priceless."

I rolled my eyes.

It was another regular day at Camp Half-Blood. Problems, possible wars and teasing.

Just like home.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" I persisted as Percy led me to the beach.

"Annabeth, I told you it's a surprise," he said sternly, although he still wore a cocky smile, the infuriating jerk.

I was about to retort when I heard a whinnying noise. I could spot something bobbing up and down in the water. When we walked a little further forward, I realized that it was Rainbow. "You brought me here just to talk to Rainbow?" I asked quizzically as I walked into the water to pat his head. "Hey, buddy."

"No. Rainbow is going to be our ride."

"Ride to where?" I questioned.

Percy grinned. "You'll see."