And touchdown! We have officially landed... on planet... erm, i don't know where that was going so I'll just stop now.

Good times, though. Anyway, yet another chapter as Aran comes closer to fulfilling his prophecy! Or not... Only I know!

On another very important note, we must discuss the amount of reviews I have... or rather the lack of reviews. I previously stated on my profile that I would not continue this story - or any stories for that matter - until I got 25 reviews. My dear sister told me that 25 is rather a lot, so maybe I underestimated the amount of good in peoples' hearts. Is it really that difficult to even type something such as 'good'?

So, after some thought, I have decided to lower the amount of reviews I need to 5 or 10. Honestly, 5 would be great, but if I get those five within a month, then I would update my profile daily again and then probably wait for the next five until I post another chapter. If you happen to like this story, then review! Tell all your friends to as well! As of now, I have written up to chapter 19, and I can say that the story WILL get more interesting. The prophecy has yet to be fulfilled, and it won't for several years if no one reviews! So please, REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 10

That's One Big Shell Ya Got There

Naturally he wouldn't make it easy for me; nothing ever does. I had had it with this guy.

As we fell through the air we continued to fight. He somehow brought out a curved dagger from his back pocket and fought me. We still had a hold on each other and it was hard to use my sword like a sword, so I spun it around and held it so that the blade would be facing down if I held it in front of me.

We continued to fight for a bit before I got a good slice on his shoulder and his dagger left his hand. I followed up by driving my sword through his chest. As I pulled my Falcata out he turned into a cloud of dust. Then I remembered there were still two problems: I was still falling through the air, and the giant green shelled and blue bodied turtle opened his mouth to swallow me whole.

I couldn't do anything sadly, and the giant turtle below me would definitely be the last of me, except I got extremely lucky. I was still swallowed by the turtle, but amazingly I slid down his throat without being crushed and sort of landed on a pile of undigested corpses. I immediately felt queasy from the stench and the thought of standing on dead people, but that subsided when I remembered I was alive and I needed to get out.

"Ok big fella, time to find out if you're a monster," I said to myself. Scattered around the pit of stomach acid faintly lit by my sword were other piles of deceased people. I very carefully jumped from one pile to the next without placing a foot in the acid.

Finally I reached the side of the stomach and raised Sophia high over my head. I brought it down and made a huge slit going down the turtle's stomach. I cut right through to the outside and I could see the pool. Then the turtle got up and started to move towards the pool. Oh you son-of-a-titan, I thought when I realized that it planned on drowning me.

That plus my panic PLUS the acids in the stomach going crazy I thought there was a slim hope of surviving. As I was about to sit down and give up I had a flashback to a couple of minutes before, to the time when Lyra kissed me.

Why did she do that? Was it a good luck kiss or does she actually like me? I asked myself. That enough gave me the strength to do what I did next.

Instead of trying to slip out I jumped from each precariously unstable pile of bodies around the rim of the stomach, driving my sword through its side every chance I got.

I heard one last grunt from the turtle and then it collapsed on its stomach. I was starting to cheer and head towards the widest opening, but then the turtle started shaking violently.

I remembered one of the first things I was told when I knew I was a demigod: monsters turn to dust when you kill them. In other words, Oh Styx! I made a mad dash to the opening, but in the next second I was sprawled on my back with a mouthful of sand, and covered in at least a good ten feet of it. My last thought before choking to the point of blacking out was a pair of bright, sea green eyes that I recognized. I saw these eyes and closed my eyes before being engulfed in a light.

The next thing I knew, I had a familiar feeling of being ripped from my own body. I was about to have another one of my "experiences." I remember opening my eyes and getting up. I walked a bit through the sand and came out just a step away from taking an unintended dip in the pool. I stopped myself and walked around the other side of the mound of sand to see just what I had done.

I saw a smaller yet much wider pile of sand a couple feet away from the late turtle. That was what I presumed was the mound for Sciron. I tried kicking it, but my foot just passed through it.

That was the only part that killed me the most about this "state". I could hear and see everything, yet I couldn't feel or touch anything. It pained me even more when I saw Percy and Annabeth being led around the corner by a watery eyed Lyra. As soon as she turned the corner and took a quick glimpse of everything she sprinted to the huge pile of sand that I was under and started frantically digging. She called for the others to help, who were previously staring in shock at the scene, and they came as well. They were digging for a good two minutes before my shoe became visible.

Lyra had dug it out and then called the others to dig with her in that area. Soon my other shoe was found, then my legs. Lyra ran around the other side and started digging where my head was. She found it as Percy and Annabeth dug out my arms and torso. Lyra pulled me up and flipped me over, more sand pouring out from my mouth.

"We need to call an ambulance," Lyra said as she dragged me out to the edge of the pool. Percy and Annabeth had been silent the whole time, but Annabeth didn't waste any time pulling out her cell phone. She hesitated though, probably to see if I was ok.

"Lyra, see if you can do mouth to mouth before we call," Percy said. Lyra was about to shake her head, but then laid me on my back. She kneeled next to my head and tilted it backwards and opened my mouth. Then she placed her mouth to mine and puffed air into my chest. I saw my chest rise, but as it happened, the world around me seemed to get brighter then it darkened. I turned around to see a two-faced man in a blue suit standing before me, with a small box in each hand.

His faces were where his ears should be, and his ears were where his face and back of his head should be. I found it impossible to focus on one side without quickly glancing back towards the other. I could see the corners of one eye on each side if I looked at his ear and the two sides seemed to have different personalities.

"Well young demigod? It is your choice. Pick me, I guarantee a short, safe life," said the face on the left.

"Oh, no, don't pick that grouch. Pick me and you'll live a long, very difficult life," said the face on the right.

I was confused until I got a closer look at the boxes. One was pale white and had a picture of my friend and son of Hades, Nico. That was held by the left side. The other had a pair of bright, sea green eyes hovering above a black dirt road leading into a forest, which was held by the right side.

"That's life and death isn't it? And you're Janus?" I asked, although I already knew it was Janus, the god of beginnings, ends, and choices.

Grumpy, or the left face, said, "Well duh! Now hurry up and pick before we pick for you."

"Oh no, let him wait. That way he can lose all brain function then he can choose more easily," said Happy, or the right face. I paled at the end of his statement. Then I got an idea.

"Do you swear on the river Styx that these boxes show exactly what they depict?" I asked.

"Of course they do you dimwit!" said the left side.

"Why yes dearie," said the right side.

Then, as if rehearsed, they both said at the same time, "We swear upon the river Styx that these boxes show their exact outcomes." Thunder boomed in the distance.

I was pleased with that because gods were known to be tricky and untruthful, but then I felt light-headed and I stumbled backwards. I had a feeling that I was dying. The world around me started to get brighter again, but this brightness was almost harsh.

I turned back to the right side and said, "I pick you, the one with the forest."

"Ah, good choice master. Here is the key and please do open the box," said the right side with a smile. He handed me a key and I clumsily walked towards it, tripping several times, but not falling. I took the key and the box and, with much difficulty, managed to get the key in the hole.

I turned the key and the box sprung open, sending a wave of blackness out. I heard Janus laugh and then everything was quiet. I felt a sucking sensation and made no attempt to stop it. My last thought was, I swear to the gods, if he pulled a trick I'm gonna give him Hades in the Underworld.

I remember coughing and sputtering and spitting out a bunch of sand before I opened my eyes. I was lying on my stomach at the edge of the pool and I was gasping for breath. I was coughing for a couple of minutes afterwards while all was silent around me, not even the pool seemed to be making any noise. Then I glanced at it and saw that it had frozen over. I was back to breathing regularly, but I was still coughing. I was remembering who I was, what had caused this, my past and the present.

Then I remembered the box that I had chosen. I whispered, "Bright Eyes." I smiled at my choice because I knew it was the right one. I rolled back over onto my back and stared up at the sky. I silently thanked Athena and focused on a pair of bright, sea green eyes that appeared above me. I was still smiling at that point.

"Bright Eyes, thank you," I told her, wiping away one of her tears and tucking some hair behind her ear. I managed to sit up against a diving board. Percy and Annabeth walked over to me looking relieved and shaken at the same time. Lyra looked like a bunch of emotions decided to take a trip into the blender and then one turned it on.

She said, "You Bonehead. Why do heroes always jump?"

I laughed and coughed a bit more which earned me concerned looks, but I waved my hand dismissively. "Don't worry guys. I'm fine. Help me up and let's head to our room. I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted."

Percy laughed while Annabeth smiled. Lyra smiled but was still crying a bit. She said, "I'll help you. Do you trust me enough?"

I smiled and said, "Of course. Now let's go, I'm hungry!"

Percy and Annabeth decided to walk behind us to watch out for any more monsters and I leaned on Lyra for support until I could walk upright.

When we arrived on our floor, again, the fence was gone and there was no platform outside the window. I smiled at that and Percy opened the door to our room. He held it while the rest of us walked through, then shut it and went to one of the bedrooms and collapsed on a bed. I could have sworn I heard snoring, and then Annabeth rolled her eyes and said she'd stay with Percy and watch some TV.

I managed to walk over to the kitchen unattended while Lyra plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. I pulled out a TV dinner and put it in the microwave. I brought it into the other bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed while turning the TV on to watch something on the History channel.

By the time I finished my "dinner", the show had ended and the sun was going down in the distance. I yawned but shook it off and turned my attention to a commercial about pet dander.

As I placed my food down on the night table I heard the door to the bedroom close. I whipped my head around to see if it was a monster and sighed in relief when it was only Lyra. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which was unusual for her, but then I realized how good she looked. It had to have been the first time because I was spellbound.

"What?" she said walking over to me and sat down.

I shook my head and blushed, "Nothing. I was just surprised to see your hair in a ponytail." She smiled and I looked back to the TV.

"So Lyra, what's your last name?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know. I can't remember what my life was like before I washed up on the shore," she responded.

"Do you think you'd know if I shouted off a bunch of random names?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I don't know. Why don't you find out?"

I turned to her and started spouting a bunch of names. She just stared at me with her bright green eyes.

"… Bright Eyes – " and then I stopped abruptly. I hadn't meant to say that but now that I had I looked at Lyra and wondered what her reaction would be.

"Bright Eyes… I don't think it's my last name, but it definitely would be a nice nickname, dontcha think?" she asked amused.

I blushed and said, "Well Bright Eyes, what do you think?"

She giggled and said, "I think it sounds perfect." Lyra scooted a bit closer to me so that her hand overlapped mine. I looked down at our hands then back up at her. We stared at each other, unaware of the extra presences in the room. I don't know when it happened, but the next think I knew we were an inch away from each other. I could feel her warm breath on my lips.

My heart was banging like a madman and I was still looking at Lyra. I moistened my lips and we leaned in closer. We were a sheet of paper's width away when we closed our eyes. I closed the gap and placed my lips on hers.

It was a light kiss, but it lasted for what seemed like a long time. I felt like my brain packed up and left my skull. I pulled away reluctantly and opened my eyes to see that pair of bright, sea green eyes. We smiled and kissed again. This time Lyra pulled away and rested her head on my shoulder. I placed my head on hers and whispered, "Lyra. I think I like you."

She looked up at me and said, "I like you too, Aran."

I wouldn't know how to explain it properly, but being with Lyra just felt right. It's like looking for a bed. You look and look, but then you spot that special one and you think that's the one I want. Lyra placed her head back on my shoulder and we watched the next show, about the HMS Victory, together.

We stayed that way until we heard the door close to our left. We both glanced over at the doorway but saw nothing. I looked back at Lyra and she yawned, and then blushed. I chuckled quietly at how cute I thought she looked. I said quietly, "Do you think we should tell them? About us I mean?"

She nodded sleepily then yawned again. I smiled and got up holding her hand. She followed and I walked around to the side of the bed. "C'mon, it's getting late. You should go to bed," I told her.

She nodded and got under the covers, letting go of my hand. I leant over the side and kissed her forehead, "Goodnight Bright Eyes."

"Night Bonehead," she said quietly before yawning again and closing her eyes. I silently left the room and closed the door.

I turned around to find a Percy and an Annabeth staring at me. I jumped in surprise then said, "Oh, it's only you guys." They said nothing. "Well, I'm going to go to bed on that there couch. If you'd please, vacate the premises before I call the SWAT team," I said with a joking smile. I yawned and they still stood there. Eventually, Percy said, "You need to come with us."

I nodded warily and followed them into their room. Here they had a chair set up under a lamp. I laughed at the interrogation room. "Ok, I get it. I'll sit down." I sat and they stood in the shadows.

Then Percy closed the door and Annabeth spoke, "Aran, tell me what you did today."

I was caught off guard because she had been there the whole day, "Well, I was driven here by Percy, I was attacked on the platform by Sciron and I was eaten by a huge turtle. Then I was buried alive in monster dust and Janus offered me death or my life. I chose my life, and here I am." I ended with a smile.

Annabeth nodded and stepped back while Percy stepped in, "And what caused you to come back to life?"

I was a bit puzzled by this. "Well, I still had a quest to finish and I had to make sure my friends made it back safe…" I said. Then Percy stepped into the light and I looked at his eyes, which was a mistake, because I subconsciously said, "… and because of Lyra."

My eyes widened as Percy grinned and turned off the lamp while Annabeth turned the lights on, also smiling.

They started laughing and I sat there bewildered. "Oh, we had a hunch that was it." Annabeth said. "I went back to see what was taking you guys so long and I just saw Lyra kiss you before you fell off with Sciron. Then, just before, we saw you guys kissing."

I blushed wildly, "You saw that?" I asked.

Percy nodded with a grin. "I do want to know one thing though." He said, all traces of joking disappearing, "How well do you know her?"

I hesitated before answering, "Um, well I know the reason she came here, sort of. I know she's deathly scared of heights. And, um… that's it, but I plan on talking with her more tomorrow." I added quickly.

Percy nodded and then turned to Annabeth, "I don't know. If they get too close, then we may have trouble."

Annabeth nodded and I asked, "Wait, what? What would be more trouble?"

Annabeth sighed and walked over to me, "Aran, we need to tell you something." She was starting to tear a bit. "Percy had a couple dreams about you. You are the one in the prophecy that will be forgotten and go missing." My heart stopped for a second.

"But, I've had dreams too, and I thought they were about Percy," I told them before explaining all of my dreams as well as Lyra's.

Annabeth and Percy both shook their heads. "No, when I was fighting you back at camp," Percy said, "your blessing activated and you started to glow a faint gray. Annabeth says that when you were with Sinis, you glowed a stronger gray. That has to be you." I got up and walked over to a window and stared out it, thinking about what had just been said to me. I was the hero to go missing.

"This means that I could potentially be gone for a lifetime," I said still facing the window. "You guys need to make it a priority to make her forget me. The sooner the better." Tears were starting to form, but I held them back. This was the first girl I liked, and I liked her a lot, and I really didn't want this to happen. But the Fates say this will happen. I saw them nod in the window and gave a small smile.

Annabeth and Percy came over and gave me a hug. "Thanks, guys. For being supportive and, you know." They both nodded and then let go. I smiled at them on my way out and lay down on the couch, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up, somehow, on my own. The room was dimly lit by the early morning light.

My brain was still slow, though, so I ended up rolling off the couch and landing with a THUD! followed by a groan. I looked up in time to see Percy spring through his door half awake with Riptide in his hands with Annabeth behind him yawning and holding her dagger.

"Really Aran? We were trying to sleep here, but someone had to fall off their," Annabeth managed to say before she yawned, "… couch." Percy relaxed and capped his sword and made a failed attempt to put it in his pocket.

I noticed this and decided to be nice for once, "How about you guys go get ready and I'll make us some breakfast." They stared in shock at me.

"But Aran, you don't know how to –" but he was cut off by another voice.

"Oh yes he does, right Bonehead?" Lyra said as she stepped through her doorway. She looked half asleep, but she was awake enough to remember that conversation I had with her a couple of nights ago in one of the hotels:

"Aran, what really happened to you when you were little?" Lyra asked as she sat on his bed.

I hesitated a bit before telling her what really happened, "Well, my dad was a terrible person, as you know, but sometimes he acted like he hated me. Sometimes he would take his anger out on me and other times he said he would be 'saving money for college' by not feeding me," I said."When he would go to bed I would cook something I'd seen on TV: lasagna, meatloaf, ravioli, chicken parmesan, grilled cheese, you know things like that. I never burned anything and I always cleaned up afterwards to make sure he wouldn't know. He was too stupid to see his food supply dwindling, though, so I did get a bit lucky."

"Oh my gods, that's really terrible and amazing at the same time. Can you really cook?" she asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes I helped out in the kitchen at camp making the dinner. The recipe for the pizza came from me." I told her. Her eyes sparkled.

"You made that? That pizza is the best I've ever tasted!" she exclaimed.

I chuckled and said, "Yup, that came from me. It was one of the first things I made when my dad didn't make me dinner. I'm the only one who knows it too." I said adding a smile.

I made a delayed smile and said, "Yeah, I really can. If there are ingredients I could make pizza or maybe even some grilled cheese and meatloaf." Percy's eyes shined and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Lyra stared at me, leaning against the door frame. "Now, I will need Lyra's help. I want this to be a surprise for our older siblings."

Annabeth nodded and Percy still stood there, mesmerized by his own daydream about food. Lyra rolled her eyes and went to get changed. I stayed in my dust covered clothes and planned on cleaning up after breakfast was made.

I was sure to make this the best breakfast ever, for my friends and for me. One of our last breakfasts together before the prophecy destroys it.

Aww, how depressing. It only gets worse from here :P

Anyway, I think the people who have read the Percy Jackson series many, MANY times over will like what happens next... or not. but whatever.

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! DO IT FOR ARAN AND LYRA! DO IT FOR THE GOOD OF THE 2ND BEST COUPLE OF THE MILENNIUM (aside from Percy & Annabeth, of course)!

Remember, December 25th is the deadline. Review by then if you want the story to continue!