A/N: This one took much longer. I apologize. Inspiration escapes me at time.

Inspiration came from a dance routine choreographed by So You Think You Can Dance team members, Tabitha and Napoleon.

Sorry for using a well-known song. I know I usually don't, but I just had to. =)

Thanks again to Kioko and believeinthegods for their beta work! Couldn't have done it without you two.

Anyways, please enjoy~! Reviews are always appreciated.

Song: Love Lockdown by Kanye West

Forced

It's as if they're thrown together by complete chance—almost as if she has picked his name out of a hat.

"Pick a name, sweetie," they say.

She reaches into the grubby cap. Percy Jackson. Who in Hades is that?

"Ah, yes, Son of Poseidon. Enjoy your life, Annabeth Chase! Here is your partner."

Then they're latched together by the ankles, the lock is turned. They have the key, but they hesitate to use it.

Of course, that never really happened. But it may as well have.

They journey together to the deepest pits of Tartarus, and it feels as though their invisible chain draws them together, bites at their ankles—rubbing them raw and irritating the Hades out of them. They're both unhappy with the pairing, to say the least. Even if she did want a quest, she was starting to doubt wanting one this much. But she seems to have ten times his smarts. Twenty times his temper. She doesn't even try to make nice. For some reason, the key seems to taunt her. But it doesn't tempt.

The two save Grover from matrimony (and the following consumption), and the chain is still there. They've nearly forgotten their partnership wasn't their own choice. Now they seem to be at least mildly friendly towards each other, facing dangers together and being scared out of their skins every moment of it. But somehow having the other there, a friend in a world of enemies, is a small comfort. And a welcome one.

The chain is strained when she is taken from him. Strained, but never broken. With each step closer to her he takes, they feel more whole. All the while he remembers why he's doing what he's doing. He's traveling across the entire country for her, because she deserves it. She deserves to have her prince in shining armor; whether she wants him or not, and whether he knows it's him or not. And suddenly, their chain is stronger than ever, and they're on Olympus, enjoying a dance — relishing the fact that they're together again, even if they still don't quite see each other.

Before they know it, they're stomped on by many, and they're weak. Rust seems to cover every rung of the precious metal. Luke, Rachel, Kronos, Athena, and even themselves—they're all causing a painful breakaway. It's as if they're escaping a prison they didn't know they were in. She kisses him, and the bond is strengthened. He is sent to Calypso's island, and the links are weakened. The strength fluctuates, and when she leaves him standing alone on Half-Blood Hill, they all but snap.

Their connection is growing stronger by the moment, though, as soon as he comes back, partially exploded, and Beckendorf is gone. It's a sad day, but it has to be. So she takes the moment to be glad that she still has him. He takes a dip in the River Styx, and that seems to mostly reinforce their bond as much as it makes him mostly invulnerable. He finally owns up to his feelings, but in the chaos, the moment is lost. Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right? But she must have seen his desperate cry for her, because she doesn't abandon him. Not even when she sees Luke. By practically killing herself for Percy, she seems to fortify their link.

By the time they've settled their problems for the moment, they've all but forgotten the key. When they share a kiss underwater, they're basically feeding it to the fish. That's how they see it, at least.

Maybe they were forced into partnership. But they weren't forced into love. They chose that for themselves.

And somehow, they know they won't need to unlock their chains ever again. In fact, they never really did.