Note: Yay, another update! I am soo proud of myself! And you can thank all your awesome reviews for that! I swear they are my motivation! So, thank you all! Love you! :D Oh, and I apologize before hand for the random switches which will happen in this chapter! Just bear with me please, it is necessary!

WARNING:: PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS IS AU! WHICH MEANS IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THE TIMELINE OF THE REAL STORY BY RICK RIORDAN, THE KING OF TROLLNESS! THANK YOU! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson! :(

Enjoy the chappie! ;)

-.-

Chapter 6

The sea serpent twirled around itself frantically. Its tall flicked out, trying to find an anchor. Percy concentrated and the hurricane pushed itself further away from him, before it slammed the serpent into the wall. The monster cried out.

Tyson cheered from the sidelines.

Forming a fist, the son of Poseidon swung it to the side. The water obeyed him. The serpent was hurtled towards the far wall before raising and being swung towards the pit. Percy concentrated with all his might and the water pushed the serpent back to the pit where it belonged.

"Yay, brother!" Tyson cheered, swimming over towards Percy.

Percy collapsed on his knees, feeling his lungs with water that was exactly like oxygen to him. His pocket was warm, and he smiled as he felt the pearls shifting in it. Tyson helped him to his feet.

"Great hurricane!" Tyson exclaimed, giddily.

Percy grinned tiredly. "Let's not try this anytime soon again."

Tyson opened his mouth to say something, but the whole place began shaking. They could hear the distant cry of the monster and abruptly, boulders and chunks of rock were falling from the ceiling like deadly rain.

"Go!" Percy shouted. Just as he moved away, a rock crashed on the place he was standing at.

Percy and Tyson swam as fast as they could; Percy calling the water to help them move faster and easier. They had made it out of the front door and into the open vast ocean when the whole fort collapsed on itself. Diamond dust swirled around the broken building and multiple schools of fish swam away in panic.

Tyson winced. "Father is going to be mad." He muttered, wringing his hands.

Percy sighed. "Well, it's not like we could have done anything." He placed his hand in his pocket, clenching his fist around the pearls. "Do you want to go back to the ship with me?"

"Yah." Tyson smiled. "Annabeth there?"

Percy grinned. "Yes, she should be there, by now." He looked up at the darkening surface of the water. It must already be sunset.

He couldn't wait to see Annabeth.

-.-

Piper watched the sun setting beyond the horizon.

Day two has gone by without a monster attacking. The Rome was traveling as fast as it could, and they were still a long way off towards Viscaria Port, Italy. It looked like it was going to be another night adventure. She just hoped it wasn't in a forest again.

Fluff cried out in agitation from behind her. Piper turned around and was greeted by the sight of Frank trying to feed the eagle some crackers.

"Come on, Fluff," Frank complained. "Just eat it. We don't have rats."

Fluff snapped its beak, glared at the son of Mars, and turned its head away, buffing its chest proudly. Zeus' eagle in flesh and blood, ladies and gentlemen, Piper thought, hiding her smile.

Hazel walked up to Frank, patting his shoulder sympathetically. "Just leave it alone for a moment, Frank. Leo is hunting some rats."

Piper left the deck and decided to search for Jason. She wanted to see if he was alright. He had been acting really strange ever since they had decided to have the Romans help with finding the missing items. It was like he was reluctant to be with his family. Piper didn't know if she had to think of this as a good sign or a bad sign. On one hand, of course she didn't want to lose Jason. But on the other hand, she knew she couldn't keep him away from his family.

But she often wondered, if the time ever came, will she be able to let him go back to Camp Jupiter? Will she be able to wake up and not see him waiting and smiling at her in front of the Aphrodite cabin? Will she be able to give all the long nights stargazing and talking in the strawberry fields?

"Jason, have you thought about what I told you?"

Piper stopped. Okay, this was wrong. She shouldn't be eavesdropping. She should move along. She shouldn't—

"Not really," she heard Jason's voice echoing from the small crack of the door to her left. He sounded strangely guilty. "I—well, everything happened so suddenly."

Behind the door, Reyna sighed. "Of course."

Silence.

Piper leaned silently beside the door, her breathing ragged. She really shouldn't be listening in to their conversation, but she couldn't contain her curiosity.

"I don't mean to sound so…impatient," Reyna began, tentatively. "But I would really like an answer from you. I can't do this anymore on my own, Jason. I need you there. It's getting really hard trying to stop Octavian from turning my legion against me. Do you know how much your family needs you?"

"…"

Piper closed her eyes. Her worst fear was unfolding right before her ears, and she couldn't do anything but wait and listen.

Finally, Jason exhaled. "But, I…Camp Half-Blood is…"

"Jason, Camp Jupiter is your home," Reyna informed him, her voice clipped. "And you're barely there. You spend most of your time at the other camp, which I could understand," her voice turned bitter, and Piper felt strangely guilty, "but Camp Jupiter needs you, Jason. I need you."

-.-

Nico di Angelo wanted to find a hole, dig it deeper, and bury himself alive. Well, he actually preferred that than to have him face the son of Poseidon. For now, he was safe. Travis and Conner Stoll informed him that Percy had not returned to the ship yet, so Nico had a few more minutes to figure how to break the news to Percy.

He still didn't understand it himself.

It all happened so fast! He was helping Annabeth away from the hellhounds, clutching his father's sword on the other hand. And then, he was thrown backwards with a cry of surprise. He might have hit his head hard enough to blackout because when he came to, he was alone in the Fields of Asphodel, his father's sword by his side, and Annabeth nowhere to be found.

Katie Gardener had bombarded him with questions, worriedly, but Nico had no answers. Why did this happen? How did he allow it to happen? Where was Annabeth? Wasn't she in the Underworld still? If she was, Nico would have sensed her, but she wasn't. He was sure of it.

"Nico, you better get your explanation straight," Grover muttered nervously, shuffling on his hooves. His eyes were watery. "Percy is coming."

Nico gulped.

Percy and Tyson merged from the water. Conner lowered the gangplank and the two climbed aboard the ship. Tyson waved excitedly to the crew, and Percy's eyes flickered from face to face until they landed on Nico's.

The son of Hades held his breath. Percy advanced towards him. "Did you retrieve the sword?"

Good question. It had a simple answer. "Yes." He pointed a shaky finger towards the sack where they kept the items. "Um…"

Percy's eyes dimmed. "Where's Annabeth?"

Bad question. It had no simple answer. "Percy…I…you should probably sit down…"

The son of Poseidon scanned the crew again, and his eyes narrowed with each face that wasn't Annabeth's. Finally, his eyes settled on Nico again. "Where. Is. Annabeth?"

Shaking, Nico explained what happened in the Fields of Asphodel, how they found the sword, how they were attacked by hellhounds, how they were escaping but something went wrong and Nico woke up and found no Annabeth around. There was a very long silence when he was done.

"Percy—"

A huge wave crashed on the deck of the Poseidon's Sea Pearl, drenching the crew to the bone. Percy Jackson was shaking badly, and his green-eyes were so livid.

"What do you mean she's missing?" Percy questioned, quietly. Nico would have preferred he shouted.

"Percy, I swear, I don't know what happened. I was helping her along, when something seemed to slam into us. I blacked out. I woke up and she wasn't there."

"And she's injured?"

"Yes, a hellhound—"

Another wave crashed on the deck. Grover spluttered out a small fish. "I am a vegetarian, man!"

Percy ignored him and advanced towards Nico. Nico backed up. "And you're sure she's not in the Underworld?"

"She's not," Nico confirmed. "But Percy, she's not dead either. I would have known."

Even though the news were a relief, it still wasn't enough to soothe away the worry and anger. "You were supposed to protect her."

"I know." Nico hanged his head. "I am sorry."

Percy wanted to scream that Nico should be sorry. He wanted to throw another wave at the son of Hades. But he simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Grover bleated nervously. "Per-rr-cy…"

But before Percy could utter a command, a horn blew. Everyone looked up to see a ship docking beside the Sea Pearl. The last faint rays of the sunset allowed them a glimpse at the name—The Huntress.

Thalia Grace stood at the helm, grinning. "Came as fast as we could." However, upon seeing the somber expressions of the crew, her grin faded.

-.-

Night has fallen.

Jason walked down the hallway towards Piper's room. The torches along the walls burned bright, the flames flickering every now and then. It reflected his thoughts to a certain level. He knocked at the door three times. A soft come in could be heard and he pushed open the door.

Piper smiled small at him in greeting. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied, closing the door and sitting down beside her on the bed. He reached out and took her hand, running his thumb along her knuckles. He always did that when he needed to sort something out in his mind.

Piper was silent, studying him.

He cleared his throat. "We should be nearing the port any minute now."

"Yeah."

He looked up at her. His blue eyes clashed with gray. Jason blinked. He had never seen that color in her eyes before. Piper's eyes were always playful—changing from green to blue to brown. But never gray.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, worried.

Piper blinked, and her eyes changed to green, confused. "Yes. Why?"

"You've been acting strangely lately," he frowned, trailing a thumb down her cheek. "Distant in a way. And you keep getting sea sick. You never got sea sick before."

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I am the only one who's acting strange."

Jason flinched. He opened his mouth, but a loud knock interrupted him. Leo poked his head around the crack.

"We're here." He announced, grinning. "And thankfully, there are no trees in sight. Just houses."

Piper stood up. Jason's hand fell away from hers. "Where did the map say it was again?" she asked.

Leo consulted his notes. "Some small beauty salon named La Bella."

Jason stood up as well, running a hand through his hair. "Let's go then." He looked at Piper. "Can we talk after this?"

She nodded. "Sure."

-.-

Thalia sighed as she watched Percy pace the length of the deck over and over again. Nico sat in the end of the stairs, looking dejected and guilty. Thalia knew that the son of Hades was blaming himself, but really, he couldn't have done anything! If it was a surprise attack, it was a surprise attack!

The whole crew was muttering together, and Grover bleated nervously from her right.

"Do you think he'll be fine?" he asked, munching his shirt.

Thalia tugged it out of his mouth. "Just give him time."

Percy paused. He rounded towards his crew. They all gave him their utmost attention. "Alright. Here's what's going to happen. Thalia, you'll have some of us with you and go find three items or something. Jason, Piper, and Leo should have retrieved at least two items now and are on their way to the third."

He looked at Grover. "You'll take the Sea Pearl and find Dionysus's wine bottle. Bring it back."

Grover gulped. "What about you, Perce?"

Percy's eyes flashed. "I am going to find Annabeth."

Thalia shook her head. "How in Zeus's name are you going to find her?"

Percy tightened his hold on the scroll he held. "The map should be able to locate her. I'll follow where it points."

"I'll come with you." Nico said, getting to his feet. "I am worried about Annabeth, too. And…it's the least I could do after…" the son of Hades trailed off.

Percy sighed. "Look, Nico, I am sorry I doused you in water—"

The whole crew coughed. Percy winced. "And to everyone else, I am sorry!"

They nodded.

He turned back to Nico. "But I can't ask you to come with me—"

"You're not asking. I am offering. And I am not taking no for an answer." Nico said, determinedly. "So, open the map and ask for Annabeth's place."

Percy looked down at the scroll in his hands and unrolled it. He stared at the blank map for a long moment, his mind and heart racing. Nico said she wasn't dead. She wasn't dead! But what if the map couldn't find her? It did find her before, when the stupid map decided to embarrass him in front of everyone.

He took a deep breath.

Show me the thing I need the most, he thought, desperately. He opened his eyes to find small lines crawling along the blank page.

I thought you'd never ask, the map wrote, before the lines vanished and a new set of figures appeared.

-.-

La Bella was a small shop. It wasn't anything fancy and it did not stand out between the two set of apartment buildings beside it. Leo gave it the look. "Bad feeling."

"Bad feelings are everywhere." Reyna replied, shrugging. "Are we entering or what?"

Jason and Piper shared a look. "Leo, open the door."

Leo looked shocked. "Why should I open the door?"

"Because if anything comes out, you'll be the one taking the hit," Piper explained, smiling lightly.

Leo scowled. "I feel the friendship and love, people."

Reyna suppressed her smile. Hazel and Frank decided to stay on the ship and take care of Fluff, since the eagle had a fond habit of chasing Octavian around and poking him every time the bird had a chance. It was safe to say that Octavian was ready to slice the bird like one of his sacrificial teddy bears.

Bells tinkled as Leo pushed open the door. The four demigods' eyes widened. The shop was huge. One one side, a comfy looking corner with leather couches sat around a cozy fireplace. In the far left, there was a door that probably led to the basement. Three sets of mirrors were pinned to the wall directly in front of the wall with a small table in front of each and a chair. The tables were full of beauty products. On their right side, a fancy looking counter curved and a young woman sat behind it. She stood up when she saw them, smiling.

"Welcome to La Bella. Mistress C. will be with you shortly," she greeted, smiling at Piper and Reyna, before she gave a disapproving glance at Jason and Leo. "I am sorry; gentlemen, but we only treat ladies. Men are not allowed here. My mistress does not like it."

Baffled, Jason and Leo glanced at Piper and Reyna. The girls shared a quick look, before they nodded to the boys. "Just wait for us outside." Reyna said.

"It won't take long," Piper reassured.

Reluctantly, the boys stepped out of the salon. The receptionist beamed at the two girls who turned to face her. "If you'll just—"

"Oh, costumers! Quanto è sorprendente(1)!" a tall woman exclaimed, emerging from the door at the corner. She was gorgeous with green sparkling eyes and dark hair braided to one side with threads of gold. Her dress was long and dark and fit her figure perfectly.

She smiled prettily at the two girls. "Such beauty! Such young souls! Are you here for the special treatment? Or maybe you'd like the daily one? But I would recommend the special. It'll bring out your potential beauty that you keep hidden."

Piper and Reyna shared a confused look.

Mistress C. laughed melodiously. "Oh, no need to be hesitant, dears. It's all for you, you see." She advanced towards Piper, smiling hugely. "You don't need a lot of work, my dear. That glow around you is so natural! Perfetto!"(2)

Piper frowned. "What glow?"

The lady winked, smiling secretively. "Oh, you know, that glow that a woman gets when she's expecting…" she chuckled.

Piper paled. Reyna's eyes widened. Mistress C. skipped away to the mirrors, picking something up from one of the tables. "No, I don't think you will need this…" and she went on searching her collection.

Piper swallowed, pushing her current thoughts out of her mind for now. "Um…Mistress C, we are actually looking for something that we heard only your salon can offer."

This seemed to interest the lady for she gave Piper her whole attention. "Did you now?"

"Yes," Piper managed a smile. "I heard it was the sweetest perfume ever and that it attracted every man on earth."

Mistress C's eyes sparkled. "Oh yes, I do have that." She disappeared before their eyes only to reappear again beside the door. She hurried inside and in a matter of seconds, came back with a bottle the size of an apple with pink, glittering liquid sloshing inside it.

She chuckled. "A spray from this perfume is supposed to attract men who find you attractive. I do believe the lady that I brought it from said it might have been Aphrodite's perfume…" she smiled wickedly at the girls. "Do you want to try it?"

"No, thank—" Reyna began, but Mistress C. has already sprayed both her and Piper with a good amount of perfume.

Reyna inhaled. It really was the sweetest thing she had ever smelled. She wasn't exactly sure what it was made of, but it smelled of everything Reyna had every wanted, loved, and desired.

Piper forced a smile. "Yes, that's the kind of perfume I want."

Mistress C. smiled. "Are you ready to pay the price for it?"

Reyna frowned. "What price?"

"My assistant has told me two young men came in with you." The lady said, still smiling. Reyna and Piper shivered. "They will make excellent guinea pigs, don't you think, dears?" she shook the bottle of perfume.

Reyna sheathed her sword as Piper drew her dagger. "No!"

"Why not?" Mistress C. asked gently, looking at Piper. "Did he trust you with what was bothering him? Did he tell you anything? Didn't he keep you in the dark when it was something important?"

Piper's hand shook. Yes, it was true. Jason didn't trust her with the information that he was given the choice to go back to Camp Jupiter. He didn't not tell her when it was obvious that it was something important that could affect both of them and their relationship.

"Piper!" Reyna screamed. "Snap out of it. She's using charmspeak on you!"

The daughter of Aphrodite blinked, shaking her head vigorously. "Who are you?"

The lady laughed. "I am Circe, my dear. The greatest sorceress of the time."

"You can charmspeak?" Piper asked, awed.

"Of course," Circe smiled. "And I can do a lot of other things. She has told me that a group of demigods would come looking for this bottle. I think she'll be happy to know that I was able to destroy you!"

"She?"

But Circe has already thrown her first ball of fire. Reyna and Piper scattered out of the way. The fireball hit the leather couch, and it exploded into flames. The sorceress laughed. "Such fun, my dears! I usually reserve this to worthless men, but as you are wanted dead, I might have to bend my rules for this time only."

Another fireball was thrown. Reyna rolled to her right and slashed her sword towards the sorceress. She was able to cut through her dress, but Circe was unharmed.

Piper struggled to her feet. "Stop!" she ordered, putting as much charmspeak in her voice as possible.

Circe laughed. "Your charmspeak does not work on me, daughter of Aphrodite. I have had centuries of practice to resist it."

"Who wants us dead?" Reyna asked, readying her sword. "Who is she?"

Circe grinned wickedly. "And I should tell you why?" she fired another fireball. Piper rolled forward then scrambled to her feet, placing her knife right under the sorceress's throat. The latter gasped.

Piper reached with her other hand and wrestled the bottle out of Circe's hand. "Give it to me!" she demanded, putting all her confusion, anger, and sadness in those simple four words.

Circe hesitated and her hand slackened. Piper grabbed the perfume and backed up towards Reyna. The daughter of Aphrodite glanced at the daughter of Bellona. "Do you have it?"

Reyna nodded and took out a small vial with poisonous green liquid inside. Circe's eyes widened. "You wouldn't—"

With all her might, Reyna threw the vial of Greek fire into the middle of the shop. A flash of green light, an explosion, and the two girls tumbled out of the shop in a hurry, leaving behind a shrieking sorceress and a mildly burned shop.

They met Jason and Leo around the corner. The guys rushed towards the two girls as they fell to their knees.

"What happened?" Leo asked, looking at both of them.

Reyna shook her head. "Sorceress. Managed to take the perfume. Greek fire."

"Greek fire?" Leo exclaimed. "Why in Zeus' name did you have Greek fire on you? That is dangerous!"

Reyna glared. "It was Piper's idea. She saw it with her dagger or something. And besides, it was only to cause a distraction. We should head to the ship im—"

"Jason!" Piper yelped from their side, distracting the son of Hephaestus and the Roman praetor.

Jason Grace was gripping Piper's shoulders tightly, staring intently at her eyes. He seemed to be drawing her closer as she struggled out of his grasp. "Jason, what's wrong with you? Let me—"

"Piper…" he whispered, breathily, before his lips silenced hers swiftly. Piper's eyes grew wide with shock. She struggled to get out of his grasp, for it was becoming painful, but she had to admit that she did miss his lips on hers. It has been too long…

But what was happening? Jason was never one for public display of affection. He was usually calm and collected, and only preferred to show his feelings when they were very well alone and he knew no one would interrupt them.

The way he was kissing her now, though, needy, desperate, hungry. Like she was water and he was a dying man. Why was he…?

A spray of this perfume is supposed to attract men who find you attractive…

Piper gasped and pulled away from him. "Jason…" but he only took it as a moment to trail fire down the column of her throat. Piper gasped.

"Piper…" he whispered again, his eyes glazed over as if in a trance. "They say they need me. They say they can't do without me…"

"Jason, please—" Piper tried to form a coherent thought, but her mind was racing.

"But I need you." He whispered against her throat. Her breath caught. She can feel the sincerity of his words vibrating into her skin. "I need you, Pipes. Why can't they understand that? Why can't they let me be happy?" he inhaled her scent.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. "Jason, stop inhaling the perfume. It's addling your mind. You're not thinking straight."

He picked his head, and looked her dead in the eyes. She had never seen him so serious before.

"I love you."

And he slumped forward against her, unconscious.

-.-

The first thing she knew when she opened her eyes was that it was too bright. She couldn't have been in the Underworld anymore. Annabeth Chase sat up slowly, wincing when her head throbbed uncomfortably.

She looked around.

The blue sea stretched out before her. The sand under her was smooth and comfortable. She looked behind her. A path lead to what seemed to be a village with palm trees lining each side of the path. Annabeth frowned, confused. She was on some sort of an island that was for sure.

But how? The last thing she remembered was a hellhound biting her leg, Nico trying to help her away from the creatures, and then…nothing.

She glanced down at her leg. Surprise flickered across her face when she noticed the bandages wrapped around the wound. But how…?

"You're awake."

Annabeth looked up, and her eyes widened.

"Luke Castellan?"

-.-

Note: You know what keeps me motivated? Reviews! So please leave one to tell me what you think of this chappie! :D Thanks for reading!

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Take care... :D

(1) How wonderful!

(2) Perfect!