Well...I've decided to make this 6 chapters long instead of five. There was just too much to fit into one segment! I guess it's just more for you to enjoy :)

This one's sort of a filler chapter that I thought was necessary in order to prepare for the climax. It spans throughout the end of BOTL into TLO. R&R

And by the way, I don't own PJO!

August 10, 2006. Long Island Sound, New York. Camp Halfblood.

I had never been so angry to have my best friend back from the dead. Well not immediately of course- I was too relieved and elated at first to care about where Percy had been for the last couple of weeks. But when the Seaweed Brain stated stupidly that "he got lost," the incompetent answer set me off.

"LOST? Two weeks, Percy? What in the world!" I was screaming at him, my buildup of stress and emotions being blown out in one breath. I could have spent the rest of the day yelling at him and hitting him and hugging him- heck, just being with him- if Chiron didn't have the sense to step in and allow the poor guy to explain.

He had been with Calypso. I mentally face palmed myself for not seeing this coming. Of course Percy had to get himself blown up and land on the island of seductress that he had most likely fallen in love with. Just the thought of the two of them getting cozy, all alone, on an island of paradise without me... it made my face burn with fury.

How could he have allowed the time to slip away like this? We were in the middle of a quest, my quest, and he decides to take a vacation with another girl for a couple weeks? I took a deep breath, trying to control my breathing. I knew Percy was staring at me, but I pretended not to notice.

Did he not know how little time we had? Time was ticking away for our friendship. Somehow we were going to have to break out of denial and face the truth about our feelings for each other- or at least, my feelings for him. Things were running smoothly before, how could everything suddenly go so wrong?

They were about to get worse. The moment Percy mentioned that mortal girl, I felt like I had been betrayed. Percy had chosen Calypso over me. Now he was choosing Rachel! This was supposed to be my quest. Percy and I would work it out, just like we always had, just him and me. The two of us. No one else. And then after we found out how to defeat Kronos, we would surely figure out our relationship, right? That had been my dream plan I had devised during my weeks of grief and solitude. Apparently unhappy souls are tragically misguided.

"You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!" I shouted at The Traitor, running away before he could see the hot tears in my eyes.

As far as winning over Percy went, I had lost 1,000 points.

August 11, 2006. New York, New York. Jackson residence.

"Promise me you'll be safe," Sally sighed, wringing her hands in visible worry.

"We'll try, Ms. Jackson," I assured her. "Keeping your son safe is a big job, though." I deliberately looked avoided eye contact with Percy. Just looking at his big green eyes would make me want to forgive him.

Sally's eyes narrowed as she noticed the cold gesture. "What's wrong with you two?" Neither of us said a word. I folded my arms across my chest for good measure. "Have you been fighting?" she said slowly, pursing her lips. More silence. Gods, I didn't want this! I didn't want this rift between the two of us; giving Percy the silent treatment almost hurt more than thinking he was dead.

"I see," Ms. Jackson said, a ghost of smile on her face. I swear, that woman could see right through us to the heart of the situation. The way her eyes glanced over my stony face knowingly, if not amusedly, alerted me that my crush was no secret anymore.

If only Percy could pick up on a hint! I'd kissed him, for Zeus's sake, but apparently that didn't matter to my Seaweed Brain.

I was now at -2,000 points.

August 14, 2006. San Francisco, California. Mount Othrys.

Luke's golden eyes were burned into memory and I couldn't shake the hellish image out of my mind. Every inch of my body was frozen, numb. Luke had always been there for me, a strong, comforting figure to hold my hand and flash me an encouraging smile- and now his entire self had been swept away for an evil soul. The thought curdled my blood and turned my heart to ice.

Not in touch with my senses, I went limp as Percy grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the horrid scene. Blinded by my tears and impaired by my grief, I stumbled down the passage like a wasted drunkard. Surely Luke wasn't gone. He would come back, the light in his tainted eyes would fade, and all evil resolve would dissipate.

Remaining in denial was not a good coping strategy and I was aware of it. But the thought of accepting Kronos was alive, in Luke's perfect body, elevated the pain to extremes.

"You saw when Rachel hit him," I insisted to Percy, who had all too easily jumped to worst-case conclusions. "When it hit him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses!"

"It doesn't mean Luke was in control," Percy snapped back, set on the idea that Luke was beyond saving.

"You want him to be evil, Percy," I screamed, my voice shrill. "You didn't know him before! I did!" He was being so unfair! How could he understand all the times Luke had been there for me, to fight beside me, to support me?

"What is it with you? Why do you keep defending him?" Percy demanded, and for the first time, I detected jealousy in his voice. Why would Percy be jealous of Luke? And then I remembered how he had suspicions of my feelings for Luke even when we were twelve. Could Percy possibly feel threatened by him, thinking that maybe Luke stood in the way of the potential relationship we could have?

This was a new breakthrough.

"Whoa, you two," Rachel said, stepping in between our heated argument. "Knock it off."

"Stay out of this, mortal girl," I snapped icily. "If it wasn't for you..." I bit my tongue. If it wasn't for Rachel, then what? Where would Percy and I be? Closer friends? An item? Already broken up and not speaking to each other? Or perhaps constantly bickering, like we were right now.

I supposed I should subtract another 1,000 points.

August 25, 2006. Long Island Sound, New York. Camp Halfblood.

I was quite aware of how important this day was, as far as my relationship with Percy went. We kept heaping one issue on top of another, and now we were staring up at a tower of problems, ready to tip. I knew if Percy and I were concerned about maintaining a friendship, this was a crucial moment to start tearing it down.

But, despite my longing to regain my old friend back, I kept snapping at the worst moments and provoking us into further argument. This was our last chance to talk before the summer ended, and I was blowing it!

"I'm sorry," I told him. He'd never know how sincerely I meant it. "I-I should go back. I'll keep in touch."

"Listen Annabeth..." Percy began. This had better be good. Maybe he would finally spit out how he felt about me, reveal a clandestine epiphany he'd experienced about our relationship, apologize for the whole incident with Rachel-

The conch horn rang in the distance, and I closed my eyes for a second to compose my frustration. Chance gone. Maybe we'd figure this out later, after we had time to cool off and think things over. Maybe distance would make the heart grow fonder. At this idea, I started running away from him, hoping each step would make me miss him more and more. Don't look back, Annabeth. Don't look back, I told myself. We need this time apart.

Reflecting on the fiasco of a conversation, I miserably realized I was probably at -4000 points.

June 27, 2007. Long Island Sound, New York. Camp Halfblood.

Gods, I had missed him. His awkward smile, his goofy laugh, his jokeless punchlines, his playful jabs, his green eyes. And here he was, almost to the top of the hill, and I couldn't run up to greet him. I couldn't even move my legs. I had waited all year to see him, yet I remained motionless. This was ridiculous.

Percy waved uncertainly at me, and smiled back.

"Hey," he panted, still breathless from the hilly ascent. There was an awkward moment of hesitation as he contemplated sitting next to me or moving on to unpack in his cabin. I made the decision for him.

"Sit down," I laughed with forced cheeriness, and he immediately dropped his bags to plop down beside me on the porch.

"So," he said slowly.

"So..." I raised an eyebrow.

He punched my arm. "So how was your school year?" A totally awkward, contrived question. Most definitely worthy of the Percy I'd come to know and love.

"As good as you can get when you're a dyslexic, ADHD-diagnosed halfblood living in 'Frisco," I said with a mouthful of dry demigod sarcasm.

"Sounds lovely," he grinned at me, because he knew this answer meant my year had been fairly hitch-free.

"And how was Goode?" I asked, adding kindling to fuel the little conversation.

Percy gave me the trademark lopsided grin. "You'll never believe it, but," he paused for dramatic effect. "I got my first B!"

"What!"

"Well, it was a B minus, but still!"

"Percy, that's great! Has Paul been working with you?"

"Yeah, he's got me plugged in with a homework club after school and hooked me up with an awesome science tutor. That's the class I scraped a B in."

I thumped him on the back. "I never thought I'd see the day!"

"I know right?" he laughed, and I joined in .

Maybe Percy and I could get back on the right foot. I allotted myself 500 points.

July 9, 2007. Long Island Sound, New York. Camp Halfblood.

One night, as I had let my my wander, I remembered Eros's deadline set on Percy's sixteenth birthday. Sitting bolt upright in my bed, I had realized in horror that I had a little more than a month to get Percy to admit any feelings he had for me. Throughout the rest of the night, I weaved together a conversation that could possibly lead in this direction. The next day, I commenced the conversation in my cabin.

"You know," I began, nervously brushing a bang behind my ear. "The whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. It kind of makes you think. Like... what's important. About losing people who are important." I couldn't help but think of Percy's prophecy as I said this, and how Percy's fate hung on a single thread. Literally. And it had a very good chance of being cut.

"Oh-oh yeah," Percy stammered stupidly. "Like...is everything cool with your family?" I felt like punching him in the face. The guy was skirting around the truth every time I brought something up! How could he be so blind?

The conversation twisted and turned, and suddenly we were headed in a direction I had not intended.

"Look at the camp," Percy was complaining, talking about the futility of the upcoming battle. "We can't even stop fighting each other. And I'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped!" Oh no, there he went, talking about his horrible fate that I couldn't even speak about myself. I threw down my scroll in frustration.

"I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy. All it does is make you scared. And you run away from things when you're scared!"

"Me?" Percy demanded, stunned. "Run away?"

"Yes you!" I yelled right in his face. "You're a coward, Percy Jackson!" It felt so good to finally say it. He'd been running away from the truth about our relationship for the longest time, and now I could finally scream out what I thought about it. But things were quickly getting out of hand. "If you don't like our chances," I continued, "then maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel."

"Annabeth-," Percy sighed, but I wasn't done venting.

"If you don't like our company!" I knew he was just frightened about the prophecy, but suddenly I was piling the blame on that mortal who has shaking our friendship to the foundation.

"That's not fair!" he demanded, but I pushed past him, toward the strawberry fields. I passed a tetherball on my way and smashed my fist into it, imagining the ball as Percy's face.

Now I was at -4,500 freaking points.

August 2, 2007. New York, New York. Preliminary battle of Manhattan.

Things were really getting crazy, and that's coming from a demigod. Spears and swords smashed angrily against each other, battle cries and shouts of pain were emitted from all over the grounds, and shields glinted in the sun. But the craziest part of the battle was the premier of New Percy. The boy was jumping this way and that, stabbing left and right like no tomorrow. Wherever he turned, swirls of disintegrated monster dust billowed in the air like pregnant rain clouds preparing for a storm.

He was a magnificent maniac, and though I stood watching in admiration, I also looked at him with fear. No demigod should have to wield this much power. It came at too great of costs. Right on cue with my jinxing thoughts, that Ethan Nakumara came up from behind Percy, knife in hand. My blood chilled as the weapon crept dangerously close to Percy's back. Something was wrong. Percy was in serious, life-threatening danger.

Without further thought, I threw myself in front of my best friend, protecting his back and potentially his life. A deep, throbbing pain screamed in my stomach as the blade dug into me, and I hit the ground with a sickening thud.

It was quite disconcerting because even though my vision was all a haze, my hearing remained crystal clear. Percy's anguished cry echoed in my mind, and I heard a loud clang and the crumbling of Ethan's body.

"Stand back!" Percy was screaming. "Nobody touches her!" Safe, I thought before blacking out. With Percy standing vigil, I was safe.

"Why did you take that knife?" Percy whispered, his hands squeezing mine gently.

"You would have done the same for me," I said softly, smiling at the cute concern on his face.

"But how did you know?" he asked, thoroughly confusing me.

"Know what?"

He leaned in so close I could count the number of freckles on his nose. My heart skipped a beat or two. "My Achilles spot," his hot breath spoke quietly in my ear. "If you hadn't taken that knife, I would have died." I gasped. Now we were both bonded by this secret, the secret to Percy's chance of survival. I couldn't believe I had been that close to losing my Seaweed Brain forever.

But I had saved his life, surely that counted for 4,500 points! Now I was back to zero and determined to only build up from there. I didn't even want to think about the consequences if I failed.

Wow! That was the longest chapter I have ever written! Now I only have one more left. Please, please, pleeeeaase review! :)