A/N Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? TWO updates in ONE day? The world is ending!

Nope, sorry to disappoint you. I'm just sick at home.

And for PandasWithBazookas, and anyone else who noticed that Nico was not only still at camp, but knew he was a son of Hades . . . Uh . . . I forgot about that, but it's an AU story, so he stays. But thanks for pointing it out.

. . . . . Nothing else to say, really.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Checkmate!"

"That's chess, dumbass."

". . . This isn't chess?"

"Nope. Checkers, I'm afraid. King me."

"Damn," Luke mumbled as he sat back down, and Thalia laughs at him.

"I thought you were supposed to be amazing at these types of things." She told him, wearing a dry smile.

"Well, I'm not gonna cheat with you right there," He replied.

Thalia smiled, genuinely this time. "And for that, I thank you." She then put her elbows on the small table, resting her head on her hands. Luke, taking the hint, leaned down to close the distance.

That's when one of his generals knocked on the door.

Luke pounded the table as he stood up, and Thalia rolled her eyes.

He opened the door furiously, scaring the recruit half to death. "What?"

"Uh- W-Well, sir. You wanted me to remind you that today's the day you're going to IM the-"

"Yes, yes! Goodbye." And with that, he slammed the door. Then he turned back to Thalia, the mischievous glint returning to his eyes. "Now, where were we?"

Thalia smirked at him "About to make an Iris-Message?"

He glared at her. "I hate you."

"Love you too," She replied, walking past him to their adjoining rooms.

They both make their way to the fountain, and Thalia looked at Luke expectantly.

"What?" He asked innocently.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you can't expect me to pay for it."

Luke dug into his pocket, muttering something about 'ungrateful girlfriends' that Thalia pretended not to hear.

When he handed over the golden drachma, she said," Do me a favor? Step out of frame. Let me tell them first."

He rolled his eyes, but did as told.

Thalia threw the coin into the rainbow. "O goddess, accept my offering. Annabeth Chase, at Camp-Half-Blood." The image shimmered to life, showing their friend in a familiar place.

Meanwhile . . .

Annabeth walked sullenly into the Zeus cabin and sat down on the bed dejectedly. Looking around, she understood why Thalia preferred to sleep in the corner. She put her head in her hands.

"Hey, Wise Girl," Came a voice from the doorway. Annabeth looked up as Percy walked through the door.

"Where could she have gone?" She asked sadly.

He shook his head. "I don't know. She was right behind us, until we got to the end. Me and Nico-"

"Nico and I."

He smiled. "Nico and I looked all night. We couldn't find her anywhere."

"She was taken, wasn't she?" Annabeth looked as if she was about to cry.

Percy sat on the bed next to her. "Nah. She probably just left to get some space. That mountain thing with Luke was really hard on her. You know how she is."

"What's that supposed to mean, Kelp Head?" A girl's voice said behind them.

The duo turned around, startled, only to face Thalia through an IM.

"Thalia!" They shouted in unison.

"Where have you been?" Annabeth asked angrily.

Thalia looked down sheepishly. "Uh, well." Just then, Luke walked into frame behind her.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Thalia," She said slowly. "Don't be alarmed, but there's someone behind you that you should probably see."

Thalia turned slowly, eyebrow raised in confusion. She scowled at Luke. "Does 'out of frame' mean nothing to you?" She sighed.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Please tell me you've been kidnapped."

"That's not something you hear very often," Percy mumbled behind her.

"Uh, define kidnapped-"

Annabeth interrupted her. "Kidnap- To steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom."

Thalia sighed. "Always taking things literally, aren't we? With that spot on definition, I'm gonna have to say no, I haven't been kidnapped, but-"

Annabeth cut her off by throwing the nearest thing - which happened to be Thalia's bedroll - at the IM, dissipating the misty figure.

She then sat down again, head in hands, and cried. Percy sat as well and put his arm around her.

Meanwhile . . . (Again)

Thalia bowed her head. "That didn't go quite as planned."

Luke walked forward and put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey," He said, "She'll come around. No worries. Besides, you've still got me."

"Great," She replied sarcastically.

He frowned, so she turned and kissed him.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N Aw, end with something sweet. Sweet, sweet, Thuke. How I love thee.

And yes, that definition for kidnap comes directly from dictionary(dot)com.

So, it's a little short, but it did its job. I'm happy with it. Poor Annabeth, her entire family on the dark side. Did you know they don't actually have cookies? How sad.

And you should definitly go read my new One-Shot, My Monkey!

REVIEW! Or Luke dies! (Just kidding. I couldn't kill Luke. Then who would Thalia love? Nico? Ew. Apollo? . . . Maybe. ;)

Peace, Love, and Pokémon-
Mercu