Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

Chapter Five

After the prophecy was finished, I went to the Athena cabin. I knocked and some new girl answered. She had the signature blonde hair grey eyes, but she didn't look a thing like Annabeth. Her hair was straight and her eyes didn't sparkle. And she wasn't beautiful, like Annabeth. She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't pretty.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

"I need to see Malcolm…" I said looking over the girl's shoulder. I spotted Malcolm towards the back of the cabin. "Malcolm!" I yelled. He saw me and walked to the front of the cabin. The girl left the doorway.

"Percy, what's up?" Malcolm asked.

"We need to talk. It's about Annabeth," Malcolm stepped out of the cabin.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We need to find Grover. Then I can tell you both."

"I think I saw Grover in the strawberry fields." We walked to the fields and, sure enough, there was Grover.

"Grover!" I called. He saw me, and I waved him over to us.

"Hey Perce! Malcolm! Good to see you!" he sounded very cheery. I don't think anyone has told him the news about Annabeth. I told them we should see Chiron, so we walked to the Big House. Chiron was on the porch with Mr. D.

"Chiron," I said. He saw us and asked us to come inside. We followed him and sat on a couch.

"Grover," I said, not sure how to tell him about Annabeth. Chiron saw my loss of words and spoke.

"Grover," he said, "Annabeth has been taken." He told Grover the story.

"What are we going to do?" Grover asked. Chiron turned to me.

"Percy?" he said. I told them all the prophecy.

"And I want you two to come." I told Grover and Malcolm. They both agreed.

"When do we leave?" Malcolm asked.

"As soon as possible," Chiron said, "I suggest that you all get you stuff together and leave in an hour." We all nodded and went to gather our stuff. In my cabin, I grabbed a backpack and packed it with nectar, ambrosia, an extra set of clothes, mortal money, and drachmas. I made sure my sword, Riptide, was in my pocket. When I was sure I had everything, I went to the Big House to wait. Grover was already there.

"Hey man," he said as I walked up.

"Hey," I said. I sat down next to him on the ground.

"You okay?" Grover asked. I knew he already knows the answer.

"No," I told him anyway, "I feel like there's a hole in my heart. Like a piece of me is missing."

"Is that how it felt last time?"

"No. Last time it was different. I didn't love yet her last time. Now I do." Just then, Malcolm came up.

"Ready?" he asked. I nodded and we stood up.

"The prophecy said 'the land that rarely sees frost' so I think we should go south." I said. "I think there's a good chance she's in Florida. Or another state like Mississippi, Alabama, or Georgia."

We decided to travel by boat. We would sail along the east coast until we got to Key West. We would search Florida until we got into Alabama and so on. We said our goodbyes and headed to the beach. We had a nice boat. It had two levels, the bottom had a room with a bunk-bed and a sofa-bed. It had a bathroom and a small kitchen. The upper level had a small living room area and a large deck with a small hot-tub. There was a big wheel for steering, but I would put it on auto-pilot most of the time. I would have enjoyed it under different circumstances.

We boarded the boat and set off. The boat knew where it was going, so we just sat on the couch. Nobody was happy. The TV was on, but I wasn't watching. I was thinking about Annabeth, and before I could help it, my eyes started to water. The tears spilled over, and I went into a steady sob. Real heroic of me, right? Malcolm and Grover probably thought I was a baby, but I didn't care. I went out onto the deck. I put my hands on the rail and leaned out into the wind. I was still bawling my eyes out. I wanted Annabeth to be with me. I was just starting to see her more. I could handle it before because I knew where she was. I knew she was okay.

I went down to the bottom level and lay down on the bottom bunk. I cried myself to sleep.

In my dream, I saw Irin. He was walking towards Annabeth's cell.

"He's coming," Irin said, "I knew it would work."

"I had no doubt that he would come." Annabeth said matter-of-factly.

"You didn't even think for a second that he would leave you here?"

"No."

"Why not?" Annabeth smiled.

"Because I know Percy. But I don't know you. I still don't understand why you want us."

"I need Percy Jackson's help."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Are you evil?"

"I don't know. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen. Why?"

"No reason. How old is your boyfriend?"

"Sixteen…"

"Who's older?"

"Percy is older."

"Is he protective of you?"

"Yes. And you should know, he's probably dreaming our conversations."

"Good. If I did anything to you, such as hitting you…or kissing you…would that reduce the chances of him helping me?"

"If there was any chance to begin with, it would be gone."

"Well…how would he find out?"

"Dreams. And I would tell him when he gets here."

"I doubt he'll find out." Irin walked into Annabeth's cell. He closed it behind him. "So, Ms. Chase…have you ever kissed a mortal before?"

"No, and I don't plan on it." Annabeth said, showing no fear. Irin punched her in the gut. She coughed.

"I would have hit your face, but I don't want to mess it up." Annabeth was about to strike his face, but Irin's hand caught her wrist. He had really good reflexes.

"Don't struggle." Then, he kissed her. Annabeth's eyes widened. She tried to pull back, but Irin had pushed he against a wall. She couldn't get away.

Annabeth's POV

I was pushed against a wall, so I couldn't get away. Irin's mouth was violently against mine. He forced his tougue into my mouth. I stuck mine as far back in my mouth as I could, but he still found it. He had hold of both of my wrists. He pulled back and whistled. The sphinx came in. She had two metal cuffs. She put them on my wrists and attached them to the walls so that I was pinned there. She left and Irin kissed me again. He was back in my mouth, but now his hands were free. He pulled his body against mine. When he finally pulled away, he just smiled and left. I was still cuffed to the wall. I stood there and cried. I felt like a baby, but I cried. I had been totally invaded. Now, more than ever, I wanted Percy. I wanted the safety of his arms around me. I can take care of myself, but it does make me feel safe when I'm with Percy. I wanted him to be with me. Irin said Percy was coming. I knew he was. Percy probably thinks this is his fault. And if he dreams about this, he'll hate Irin even more than he probably already does.

Percy's POV

She was crying. This hurt me more than watching Irin kiss her. Annabeth is strong. Even though it still infuriated me, she can fight through being kissed against her will. But seeing her cry is different. The only thing I want to do is comfort her. I want her in my arms so she can cry on my shoulder. I want to tell her that everything will be okay. But I can't.