Helloooo, dear readers! I couldn't sleep last night and so I started to wright and this is what came out of it. I don't have much to say, so I won't hold you back anymore – here you go!

Percy's POV

I lay in my sleeping bag. My eyes were closed. I was listening. I heard Grover huff quietly and Thalia mumble something unintelligible in her sleep. But above all others I was listening to the calm breathing of the girl sleeping next to me. Annabeth. My heart beat in rythm with her breath. It hadn't been until the moment she'd accepted my apology, when I'd realized how much I really liked her. The way I felt, when I just lay there, listening to her... I can't even describe it. I opened my eyes and propped myself up on my elbows, looking at Annabeth. A few strands of her hair were on her face. I gently brushed them away. Her skin was smooth and warm. Her lips parted, a gentle sigh escaping out of her mouth. The sound of her sigh gave me goosebumps. It was so beautiful. She shifted, facing me now, still asleep. Good, I hadn't woken her up when I'd swept the hair off her face. Annabeth sighed again, her fingers gripping the edge of her sleeping bag. She was definately dreaming. I wondered what she was dreaming of. The sigh had sounded wistful. I was still looking at her face. Her beautiful, calm face, lined with blonde curls. I fought the urge to touch her face again. The feeling of her skin under my hand had been extraordinary. I wanted to feel her skin again. I was just about to stroke her cheek with my index finger, when she mumbled in her sleep. I didn't catch the words. Then she spoke again.

"Per...cy..." Annabeth said and sighed again. She gripped her sleeping bag tighter in her fist.

I couldn't believe my ears. She'd said my name in her sleep. She'd been dreaming about me. Possibly. That might have been a coincidence. But still, she'd sighed my name. Her voice had had the same wistful tone in it when she'd said that. The urge to touch her face grew even bigger. Then, suddenly, her expression changed. Annabeth frowned, her expression worried. What could've happened in her dream? She whimpered quietly, her face changed from worry into agony. Then I heard her sob. She was sobbing in her sleep, now tossing a bit. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. I could tell from her state that she was having a very painful dream. I wasn't sure what to do. Was I supposed to wake her up from her nightmare? Should I? The answer became clear, when Annabeth, now clearly crying started talking again. The tone wasn't wistful anymore. It was scared and painful.

"No... No! Please... Percy!" she cried out. Yup, she'd been dreaming about me, alright.

I didn't think, I just acted. I lifted Annabeth on my lap and held her there, whispering her name in her ear.

"Shh, Annabeth, it's okay. I'm here. No need to worry", I told her. She seemed to calm down a bit. I wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep, but all the same, she let me hold her there, in my arms. Then, suddenly she startled and went quiet. She had woken up. Annabeth looked up at me. She seemed a little confused.

"Percy?" she said, blinking her eyes as if she didn't believe her eyes. Then she started crying again.

"Oh, Percy!" she clung to me, her face buried in my chest. I held her there. I have to admit, I was shocked. How did I end up here in the first place? I was so dumbfounded, that I didn't even think about how wonderful it was to have her in my arms. The only thing I cared about was, that she was upset and I had to make her feel better. I stroked her tangled blonde hair.

"It's okay, Annabeth", I whispered. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real, it wasn't real..."

I started rocking her from side to side, still whispering soothing words in her ear. Annabeth relaxed, her sobs becoming more quiet now.

"You should get back to sleep now", I told her after holding her there for a while. She had calmed down. She looked up at me, her eyes pink from crying, tears still glistening in them.

"Percy?" she asked.

"What?"

"Could you... errm... still hold me for a while, please?" she asked quietly.

"Of course", I told her. How could I ever refuse?

She nestled against my chest and closed her eyes. Her breath was still a bit uneven, an occasional sob or hiccup breaking the rhythm. I rested my chin on her head and started rocking her again. Then, just out of nowhere I started crooning a song. I wasn't sure why it had popped into my mind so suddenly, but I knew where it had come from. It was from one of my mom's favorite movies. She'd sung the song when I was a kid and I still heard her singing it sometimes. I knew the words by heart. As I sang, Annabeth relaxed in my arms. Her body became limp. She was asleep. Still I held her there and continued to sing. When the song ended, I just started it again. And every word I sang, I sang for her and her only:

"Never knew I could feel like this

Like I've never seen the sky before

I want to vanish inside your kiss

Every day I love you more and more

Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings

Telling me to give you everything

Seasons may change winter to spring

But I'll love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may

I will love you until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace

Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste

It all revolves around you

And there's no mountain too high no river too wide

Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side

Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide

But I'll love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may

I will love you until my dying day"

Thalia's POV

I woke up well slept in the morning. I stretched and looked at Grover. He was lying in his sleeping bag, his eyes half open.

"Morning, Goat Boy", I said.

"Hey", he answered.

I looked at my other side and was momentarily stunned. Annabeth's sleeping bag had disappeared. And so had Annabeth. I didn't have to look for them for long – Annabeth was sleeping in the corner, Percy's arms wrapped around her.

"Hey, Grover! Check this out!" I told him. He propped himself up on his elbows.

"Aww, that's just adorable!" he mused. "Hey Nico! You've got to see this. Wake up!" Grover shook Nico.

"What is it?" Nico mumbled, still half asleep. He rose slowly. When he saw Percy and Annabeth, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Wow! I wonder what has happened while we were asleep", he said. We all snickered and got out of the tent. It was pretty cold outside. We jumped to keep ourselves warm and I searched for the ingredients for our breakfast (oatmeal and sandwiches) in my backpack. Grover and Nico wanted to help me, so I asked them to make the oatmeal. It turned out as grey goo. Well done, boys. Well... at least we had the sandwiches. I put a fire on and the boys and I sat around it, eating our breakfast in silence.

"So, Thalia?" Grover asked between munches. "What are we going to do, now that we're here?"

That wasn't something I'd given any thought at all. What exactly were we going to do? I'd been so enthusiastic about going, that I hadn't thought about the activities. Oops. Well, there was always stuff to do in the woods. We just had to wait for Percy and Annabeth to get up. Then we could decide what to do first. I looked at the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day, I could tell. Zeus as my father, I was good with weather forecasts. I suppose if I tried hard enough, I could even learn to control the weather.

"Morning, folks!" Percy crawled out of the tent, rubbing his eyes. His hair was tangled and it stuck out in every direction. He walked to us and sat on a stump of a tree next to the fire. Nico, Grover and I smiled intentionally widely at him.

"A very good morning to you, sir!" I bowed. He looked suspicious.

"What's up with you three?" he asked, when we just grinned at him.

"Oh, nothing!" Grover snickered.

"Yeah, we were just..." Nico started, but stopped, when we saw Annabeth creep out of our tent too.

Nico, Grover and I glanced at each other and burst into laughter.

Annabeth looked at us, then at Percy, her expression confused.

"What is this?" she asked Percy, pointing at us.

"No idea", he shrugged. We managed to keep our faces straight with effort.

"Morning, Annabeth!" I greeted her. "I suppose you slept well, huh?" Grover and Nico giggled.

"Yeah, splendidly", she answered, ignoring the boys. She sat on one of the logs around the fire and grabbed herself a sandwich.

"Oh, by the way, Percy", Annabeth said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks", she smiled at Percy.

"No problem", he said.

"I don't want to be nosy or anything..." Grover said politely. "But what is going on with you two?"

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other and blushed.

"Nothing much", said Percy.

"I just had another nightmare, that's all", Annabeth continued.

"Oh, okay", Grover said, but I wasn't satisfied with their answers. I had to try to speak with Annabeth.

Now that we were all awake, we started planning what we were going to do that day. Annabeth gave me a dirty look when I told I hadn't made any plans for our stay.

"I suggest we go investigate the surrounding area", Percy said.

"Good idea", said Annabeth. I eyed her.

"I just think we should. Nothing funny in it!" she protested.

"Sure, sure", I nodded.

"And you two are right, we should search the area, just in case there's something dangerous... or interesting", said Nico, adding in the last two words, because Grover looked scared about the possibility of something dangerous lurking over here.

"It's also going to be a beautiful day and I wouldn't mind just lying somewhere sunny and perhaps play some poker", I announced.

"Ooh! I definitely want to beat Nico again!" Annabeth got excited. "And I know a perfect place for sunbathing!" she continued.

"You mean the cliff? It's awesome!" Percy exclaimed.

"What cliff? Where have you found a cliff, Annabeth?" Nico asked.

"You'll see", Annabeth grinned at him.

We decided to go exploring first and after lunch we'd put up our very own poker party. I was surprised of the fact, that Percy really enjoyed poker. I had thought he hated it, that it reminded him of his ex-stepfather, Smelly-Gabe.

In any case, we took our weapons with us, just in case we'd run into monsters and went to investigate.

"Yell if you find anything interesting!" Nico told us and we separated.

I occasionally ran into Annabeth and Grover, as they were exploring the same area as I, but mostly I ran alone. I felt at home as I ran through the undergrowth and glancing behind every bush. We did stuff like this every day with the hunters.

I'd run for at least half an hour when I heard Percy yelling:

"Thalia! Annabeth! Grover! You've got to see this! Come on!"

Oh my gods, Percy had found something! I darted towards his voice. What could he have found? I saw Percy waving at me. He was standing on a large rock with Nico and Annabeth was running towards them from the opposite direction.

"Hey, Thalia!" I jumped. Grover had caught up with me. Together we ran to the others.

"Percy! What have you found?" I asked, breathing heavily. I had forgotten to breathe while I ran. I'd been so excited.

"Come on, I'll show you!" Percy motioned us to follow. He walked through a thick shrubbery and we followed his lead.

"Di immortales!" Grover breathed.

We had come to the most extraordinary place. There were these massive rock formations, like pillars all over the place and some of them looked as some rocks had just been piled upon one another. All of us, except Percy stared at the place in awe. Percy was grinning at us.

"Told you, this is awesome, huh?" he asked smugly.

Annabeth's POV

I couldn't say anything. My gods, the place was beautiful! It felt like there was something divine lingering there AND I felt like I'd been there before. What was this place? We walked between the rock formations, admiring them. Soon we found the center of the mysterious place and we faced a large singular rock, with a bronze plate nailed on it. We walked closer. The plate was covered in moss. Nico went to wipe it off.

"Hey! There's writing on this thing!" Nico shrieked. "It's in Ancient Greek! Listen:

'You have entered the Garden of the Gods. Stranger, beware of the Hundred-Handed Ones'"

"What the heck?" Thalia asked.

"I got the Garden of the Gods, alright, but 'Hundred-Handed Ones?' I beg your pardon", Grover wondered.

"The Garden of the Gods..." I mused. That would explain the feeling of divine forces here. But why did I have the feeling I had been here before... Then I realized.

"Oh, shit!" I mouthed.

The others turned to look at me.

"What is it, Annabeth?" Thalia walked to me. The others came behind her.

"I have been here before", I whispered.

"What are you talking about, silly? Seriously, you're freaking me out!" Percy demanded.

"I have been here before", I repeated.

"Annabeth, what is it?" asked Grover.

"Thalia, do you remember when I told you about my dream?" I asked my best friend.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Do you remember exactly where I saw the Oracle sit?"

"Oh... my... gods!" Thalia breathed.

"Ooooh, n-n-no!" Grover stuttered.

They had grasped the concept. The Oracle had sat on that very rock. The weird rocks stacked upon one another were these pillars. Now I understood perfectly. This was the piece I had been looking for. We all jumped as we suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from beneath our feet. Something evil was dwelling here. And we had woken it up.

"Nico..." Percy said.

"What?" asked Nico.

"I'm starting to think that reading the plate wasn't the best idea in the world", Percy said, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm with Percy", Grover mumbled, nibbling on his shirt.

"Let's get back to our camp", Thalia ordered and we ran again.

At the camp, we made some lunch, talking about the Garden of the Gods. I was feeling guilty. Why hadn't I seen it before Nico had read the damned plate on that damned rock? I sat on one of the logs around the fire Thalia had put up again, thinking hard. I needed a new plan now. We needed a plan. Percy came to sit next to me, wrapping his arm around me.

"Don't blame yourself, Wise Girl", he said.

"I can't help it. I could've prevented this from happening if I only had realized it earlier..." I mumbled.

"None of us thinks you're the one to blame, so don't you even dare to think so", said Thalia and offered me a portion of stew.

"It was my fault really. I shouldn't have read the plate", Nico said, looking at his hands.

"The important question isn't who's fault it was, but what are we going to do now? Something is stirring over here. Are we going to stay here and see what it is?" asked Thalia.

"I'm quite sure all of this is a part of the prophecy coming true", I pondered. "So there's no idea in running away, because we'd just come back in one way or another."

"Annabeth's right", Percy confirmed.

"Yeah, I suppose", Thalia said. "Let's stay. Now, Annabeth, where did you mention you had found the sunbathing cliff?"

We went to the cliff, where Percy and I had made up.

"Wow, look at the view!" Grover was amazed.

"Say, Annabeth, could this have been the destination of your midnight walk last night?" Thalia grinned.

"What midnight walk?" Nico said, astonished.

"Just forget about it, okay?" Percy told him.

Then, suddenly the air shimmered, something materializing there. Or someone.

"Good afternoon, heroes", said the man, who'd just come there out of thin air. He had a dark grey beard, grey eyes and was wearing a pinstriped suit.

"Lord Zeus", Grover bowed.

"Rise, satyr", Zeus told him.

"What gives us the honor, my Lord?" I asked.

"It's..." he hesitated. "It's about your prophecy."

Uh-oh, I didn't have any good feelings of this.

"What about it, sir?" I asked.

"I don't know that much of it, but I know someone, who does. Let me summon him here. I ask you not to be frightened. He's... errrm... quite unusual", the Lord of the Sky told us. He snapped his fingers and the air shimmered again. In a couple of seconds, there was a man standing next to Zeus, but boy, oh boy, what kind of man! He was extremely muscular, massive, but that didn't make him that unusual. The main weirdness was that he had numerous heads and arms sprouting from his massive shoulders. I could count up till 44 until I lost count. Grover yelped.

"Fear not, children", the freaky man said. "I have come to warn you about what dwells in these woods. My name is Briareios."

Briareios! Hearing the name made the bells ring in my head. But it couldn't be...

"Familiar, huh?" Briareios asked me.

"Well... yes, sir. Is it possible that you were..."

"The Briareios, who helped the gods defeat the titans? Yes, that's me."

The others' jaws dropped.

"So... errm... Who are you exactly?" Percy asked carefully.

Briareios cleared his throat and then said:

"I am the son of Gaia and Ouranos."

"You mean like... you're a brother of Kronos?" Thalia gasped.

"Yes, although I'm not proud of that relationship", Briareios answered. "But now, young godlings, I need you to listen very carefully. We don't have much time."

Here was today's chapter of Come what may. Reviews are appreciated!

Luv,

AC