AN: Hey, guys. I know it's only been a few days, but I feel like I haven't updated forever! Anyway, since it's Spring Break now, I'll probably be updating a lot this week. I'm also thinking about starting another story as well, about Percabeth moments before, and after they started dating. Sorry, if any of you are Lukabeth, or Prachel, but I'm Percabeth all the way! Anyway, I'll probably start that too, so check it out! And let me know what you think. Thanks!

All rights go to RR

We exited the strawberry trucks, and I walked up to Percy. Where in the world had he been?

He looked . . . different somehow. He seemed to have a more powerful aura or something. It was weird. I decided to save questions for later. I looked into his eyes, to find him studying me. Did I look that bad?

I frowned," What is it?" I'm sorry, even if I found it cute when he stared at me, it was kind of creeping me out. Usually when he saw that I saw him looking at me, he turned away and blushed. But he didn't. Like I said, something was different.

" What's what?" Percy asked.

" You're looking at me funny."

" It's, uh, nothing." I rolled my eyes. Seaweed Brain was such a bad liar. I wanted to know more, but before I could ask he continued," Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you."

Chiron shook his head," I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."

" But you're our leader."

Chiron smiled," I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be to late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers her, Percy. You are the leader." I watched Percy gulp. Why didn't the guy believe in himself?

When I looked at him, I saw a loyal, brave powerful, leader. Who was also an amazing friend, and well . . . extremely gorgeous. Ok, I admit it again. But after knowing Percy for so long, I was beginning to realize that he didn't realize how well, absolutely awesome he really was. And how outstanding the things he had done really were. I didn't get it. Why was he so down on himself? Did he even realize he was being down on himself?

Percy collected his braveness, and took a deep breath. I realized that the entire world rested on his shoulders. No wonder he didn't realize, he was to stressed too. But if I had to pick one person I'd ever known to lead this war, I would choose Percy. And, deep down, I knew that since his heart was so . . . just pure goodness, he would choose the right thing in the end. I believed in him, and awaited instruction.

" Okay," he started. He told them about the message on the phone, and explained how there was going to be some sort of a trap tonight. We had to convince Zeus to guard Olympus, along with the other Olympians. It sounded like a smart plan.

I watched Argus turn sad looking, as Percy asked him to watch Mrs. O'Leary, who didn't look to happy about it either.

Chiron, obviously noting Percy's insecurity, shook his hand," You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths, and beware your weaknesses." Percy shivered. I got the feeling that in some way, what Chiron had just told him to comfort him, had resulted in the opposite effect.

I watched Percy nod, and somehow manage a confident smile." Let's go."

We had to deal with the dumb security guard at the desk, until he let us go up to Olympus.

I went in the first group, up to the six hundredth floor, and stood next to Percy. I just couldn't believe the guy was so insecure! He had so much going for him! The only downside was that whenever I tried to drop hints, he either ran away, or was a total Seaweed Brain, and didn't even realize the message. What a Kelp head. But, sometimes I liked it that way.

I studied Percy one more time, and confirmed my suspicions of how he looked different. I just couldn't tell how. I decided now was a good time to ask," You look . . . different." I told him." Where exactly did you go?"

The elevator doors opened a second time, and the other group of Half Bloods joined us.

" Tell you later," Percy responded, a hint of mischievousness in his eyes," come on."

We walked across the sky bridge, and I gasped. The place was completely abandoned. I remembered how lively the place had been when I first came. Noisy, and filled with sweet aromas.

But, with less here, it gave me more space to appreciate the architecture. I thought in my head of how I would have built certain things differently. But, I knew it was hopeless, it's not like the Gods would ever let me change the architecture here. Anyway, soon this place might be destroyed anyways.

We passed under a marble archway, that had a statue of Zeus o one side, Hera the other." Hate her." I muttered. Ever since last year, when things had gotten personal.

" Has she been cursing you or something?" Percy asked.

" Just little stuff so far," I explained," Her sacred animal is the cow, right?"

" Right," he said as if he recalled it. He probably had never known, and I resisted to urge to roll my eyes.

" So, she sends cows after me."

I saw him try t suppress a smile. Did I mention, it was really cute when he did that?" Cows? In SanFrancisco?"

" Oh, yeah. Usually I don't see them, but the cows leave me little presents all over the place- in our backyard, on the sidewalk, in the school hallways. I have to be careful where I step."

" Look!" Pollux cried out, pointing at the horizon," What is that?"

Everyone froze. Thin blue lights were stripping across the evening sky, and seemed to be aiming at Olympus. They were coming from all directions. They seemed to slowly vanish as they came close enough to here to damage it. There was silence for a few minutes, and everyone seemed to hold their breath, but no damage was done.

" Like infrared scopes," Miceal Yew muttered," We're being targeted."

" Let's get to the palace," Percy seemed like he had meant to speak it, but it came out a whisper, that echoed across the stone walkway, and back a few times from the sky. Everything just felt so lonely.

I was surprised to find, that when we came to the Hall of the Gods, it was unprotected, and the doors lay wide open.

" Moo." I heard from the corner of the room. It was the Ophiotaurus, that Percy had saved. Gods, even with the risks, he couldn't bear to kill the creature. Percy was just too loyal. Though part of me liked it.

I saw Percy smile that troublemaker smirk out of the corner of my eyes.

" Hey man," Percy said," They treating you ok?"

I barely heard the next moo, because a woman's voice interrupted." Hello again, Percy Jackson. You and your friends are welcome." Wait, when had Percy seen Hestia?

Percy bowed, and we followed his example," Lady Hestia."

Hestia glared at Percy for a moment, and then her eyes slowly softened," I see you went through with your plan." What plan? " You bear the curse of Achilles."

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. Oh. My. Freaking. Gods. Did . . did he bathe in Styx? That wasn't possible, right? But I remembered about how he had seemed different. Had he even known how dangerous that was? Being a Seaweed brain, he probably didn't. I decided not to jump to conclusions.

" You must be careful," Hestia warned," You gained much on your journey. But you are still blind to the most important truth. perhaps a glimpse is in order."

I nudged Percy," Um . . . what is she talking about?" His eyes widened, and turned a deeper green than I'd ever seen. He stared at Hestia. Out of nowhere, his knees buckled, and he collapsed, as I grabbed him. Was he ok?

" Percy! What happened?" I asked quickly.

" Did . . . did you see that?"

" See what?" I glanced at Hestia, and found that she was expressionless. I seriously needed to know what the heck was going on here, and the curse of Achilles.

" How long was I out?" Percy muttered, and it seemed to me he was asking himself.

" Percy, you weren't out at all. You just looked at Hestia for like one second and then collapsed." I could feel everyone's eyes on us. I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

" Um, Lady Hestia," Percy said," we've come on urgent business. We need to see-"

" We know what you need," a mans voice boomed. Next to Hestia, I watched as Hermes appeared.

" I will leave now," Hestia said. She bowed, and then shimmered out of existence.

" Hello Percy." Hermes said darkly. Uh-oh. I knew what this was about.

Percy bowed awkwardly," Lord Hermes."

" Hello, George, Hey Martha." Wait, could Percy talk to the snakes?" Um, Hermes. We need to talk to Zeus. It's important."

" I am his messenger," Hermes glared coldly at me," May I take a message?" Behind me demigods shifted restlessly.

" You guys," Percy said, practically reading my thoughts," Why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in Olympus. Meet Annabeth and me back here in thirty minutes."

I watched Silena frown," But-"

" That's a good idea," I said," Connor and Travis, you two lead." Aren't I smart? Now, we were sure to get more privacy. They would want to be responsible in front of their Dad.

" We're on it," Travis said excitedly. They herded the others out of the room.

I nervously glanced at Hermes, scanning him. How angry was he at me? " My Lord," I said with as much respect I could possibly muster," Kronos is going to attack New York. You must suspect that. My mother must have foreseen it."

" Your mother," Hermes muttered," Don't get me started on your mother, young lady. She's the reason I'm here at all. Zeus didn't want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop. 'It's a trap. It's a diversion. Blah, blah, blah.' She wanted to come back herself, but Zeus was not going to let his number one strategist leave his side while were battling Typhon. And so naturally he sent me to come talk to you."

" But it's a trap!" I shouted, Hermes was really starting to piss me off, imitating my mother," Is Zeus blind?"

Thunder boomed in the distance. Who cares? I stared at Percy, helplessly. He looked . . . kind of angry, and confused. Did he think Hermes was mad at him? I wondered. As I said, Percy was too loyal. He probably thought that he had done something stupid, and now the God hated him. Why did he always think things were his fault?

I know, I keep questioning these things, on why the guy doesn't see any of it, but he doesn't. I mean, from one stand point, I sort of like that he's this powerful, and doesn't get a big head about things, but blaming himself for everything? The guy really put a lot on to himself.

I sighed, and realized an entire conversation must have gone on, while I was lost in thoughts. I just needed to know if there was any message from my mother. This could be important. I cleared my throat and asked," Please Hermes. You said my mother wanted to come. Did she give you any messages for us?"

Hermes began talking to himself, something about people not caring about his say. Well, not when I needed to hear the message from my mom! Percy looked at me weirdly, and I realized I was doing that big grey eye-pleading thing. Before I stopped it, Hermes gave in.

" Bah," he said," Your mother said to warn you that you are on your own. You must hold Manhattan without the help of the Gods. As if I didn't know that. Why they pay her to be the wisdom goddess, I'm not sure."

" Anything else?" I asked, trying desperately to keep my voice level.

" She said you should try plan twenty three. She said you would know what that meant." I felt all the blood in my body drop to my feet.

" Go on."

" Last thing," Hermes looked t Percy," She said to tell Percy: ' Remember the rivers.' And um something about staying away from her daughter." I felt my face go red, and watched Percy's grow that way too. Athena knew I liked him, and she couldn't stop my feelings. Why did she have to mess with my relationship with Percy? Plus, at the moment, our relationship status was friends. Ok, maybe a bit more after our kiss last summer, but it was a year ago. Can't my Mom worry about more important things? I mean more important things to her? Percy was one of the most important things to me, so why didn't she just let it be?

" Thank you Hermes," I finally said. I also wanted to apologize. " And I . . . I wanted to say . . . I'm sorry about Luke."

Hermes face hardened, and glared at me. " You should've left that subject alone."

I nervously stepped back," Sorry?"

"SORRY doesn't cut it. You should've saved him when you had the chance. You're the only one who could have." I was suddenly filled with remorse. He was right. I could have prevented all of this . . . one way or another. I could have killed him before he became Kronos, or tried to change his mind. This war was my entire fault, and here was my friends, and Percy, who were going to risk there lives in this.

To make me feel even worse, Percy stepped in-between me and Percy," What are you talking about? Annabeth didn't-"

" Don't you defend her Jackson!" Hermes intensified his glare," She knows exactly what I'm talking about."

" Maybe you should blame yourself," Oh, Seaweed Brain. Why was he risking himself like this, for . . . for me?" Maybe if you hadn't abandoned Luke and his Mom!"

Hermes grew until he was ten feet tall. He was about to strike Percy, and I was prepared to jump in the way, when George and Martha whispered something in Hermes ear.

He shrunk down to his normal size, and spoke," Percy Jackson, because you have taken on the curse of Achilles, I must spare you. You are in the hands of the fates now. But you will never speak to me like that again. You have no idea how much I've sacrificed, how much-" His voice broke." My son, my greatest pride . . . my poor May . . ."

Wow, I didn't know a God could get that devastated over a demigod. Or mortal, for that case.

" Look, lord Hermes," Percy said softly," I'm sorry, but I need to know. What happened to May? She said something about Luke's fate, and her eyes-" Oh, gods, he sounded terrified, of a mortal. Why was so much being kept from me? I sighed in defeat.

" I will leave you now," Hermes looked depressed," I have a war to fight." And with that, he shimmered, and disappeared, leaving me and Percy alone. I sat at the foot of my mothers throne, and couldn't take all of this anymore. I had been holding in that time with Luke, for two years. Percy might die. I might die. The world might end. On top of that, I had been holding in my feelings for Seaweed Brain so long. All of this was bottling up inside me, and I exploded into tears. I had finally cracked.

" Annabeth," Percy said, and I stared into his gorgeous green eyes," It's not your fault. I've never seen Hermes act that way. I guess . . . I don't know . . . he probably feels guilty about Luke. He's looking for somebody to blame. I don't know why he lashed out at you. You didn't do anything to deserve that."

I wiped my eyes, and stared at the ground. Should I tell him?

" Um," Percy shifted uneasily," you didn't, right?"

" Percy," I asked," what did you mean about Luke's mother? Did you meet her?"

He nodded reluctantly," Nico and I visited her. She was a little . . . different." He told me about some green-eyed fit she pulled, and muttering about her son's fate. Just the look in his eyes was enough to creep me out. But there was something else I needed to know.

" That doesn't make sense. But, why were you visiting-" I realized that you needed a blessing to bathe in Styx. Had they been trying to confirm that? Did . . . did Percy really bear the curse?" Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles. Hestia said the same thing. Did you . . . did you bathe in the river Styx?"

" Don't change the subject." Ugh, why was he being so annoying?

" Percy! Did you or did you not?"

" Um . . . maybe a little."

Percy described everything that had happened with him and Nico. I was hyperventilating. He did it. My crush was freaking invulnerable. He was even more powerful now. We . . . we could actually win. But the other part of me was lecturing me, what would have happened he not lived? I shook my head," Did you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

" I had no choice," he told me meaningfully," It's the only way I can stand up to Luke."

Luke . . . how had Kronos gone into his body without burning him away. It hit me like a whack from a frying pan. He had done it too." You mean . . . di immortles, of course! That's why Luke didn't die. He went to the Styx and . . . Oh, no. Luke, what were you thinking?"

" So now you're worried about Luke again." I heard Percy mutter. I always was concerned for Luke, it's not like it just started now.

" What?" I asked.

" Forget it." He said, looking hurt. Could it be . . . was it possible . . . was Percy jealous of Luke? The host of Kronos. The enemy. I liked Seaweed Brain. Not Luke. Luke was more like a brother. Percy was my crush. Maybe even more. I didn't want to discuss this now though.

" The point is he didn't die in the Styx," Percy looked straight into my eyes again, and I couldn't help but melt," Neither did I. Now I have to face him. We have to defend Olympus." I studied his face. How had he changed since the Styx?

He still had the long bangs, that were blown back perfectly, liked he'd just strolled on the beach. As I said before, the same sea green eyes, that just captivated me, surrounded by full black eyelashes. Slightly chapped lips. But his expression. He just seemed more dangerous. More powerful. More lovable. It was as if everything about his personality had been magnified. There was just more him.

I broke myself from my daydream and muttered," I guess you're right. My Mom mentioned-"

" Plan twenty three."

I rummaged through my pack, and found my laptop. I opened up a few files, and started to read, half hoping I had been wrong about what plan twenty three was. I gulped. It had been the statues." Here it is. Gods, we have a lot of work to do."

" One of Daedalus's inventions?"

I told him how desperate the situation was if my mother chose this plan. Suddenly, Connor ran in, telling us there was something horribly wrong.

I ran over to where the crowd of demigods was. Some thing felt, wrong. Then it hit me," I don't . . . hear anything."

"What did they do?" Percy screamed, and it echoed across the stone. It vaguely reminded me of the scream of pain I'd heard from him last year, while I had . . . left him in the volcano. His tone scared me," What did they do to my city?"

He pushed Michael away from the binoculars, and looked down.

" Are they dead?" Silena asked. I was wondering the same thing. Then Percy said something wise.

" Not dead. Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."

No. This couldn't be. But yet it was. The fighting would begin. By the time things were peaceful again. . . someone will have won, one way or another.

AN: I really want to know what you guys think. So, please, review!