Hey guys. I took a bit of a break, but I'm back now. I don't really know about this story. I've been kinda thinking about a concept like this for a while now and I'm going to give it a try. It probably wont be very good and also contains some dark Percy, but for a reason. It's confusing, but you'll see. Anyway, hope you guys like it. All rights to Rick Riordan. Please review!

Annabeth

It had been four days since Percy Jackson had closed the doors of death and blown Annabeth's life apart. Four days since everyone started talking about him in the past tense. Four days since Annabeth was whole.

She was empty now. A silhouette of who she used to be, what she used to feel. She felt no emotions now, just the exhausting and constant grind forward. More battle plans, more strategies, more articles to read. Her eyes constantly ached now. Ached with the knowledge that she would never see him again.

So much had happened recently. A quick downward spiral, one that had winds so strong it pushed your skin back, so quick that your neck could no longer support your head staying upright until you just gave up and moved wherever gravity wanted you to. Annabeth was just moving around where ever the wind pushed her now. Yet she continued working.

It was hard to measure where everything went wrong. Some would say it was when Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus in the first place. But, Annabeth disagreed. Then, they had their spirits, they had their health. They were doing pretty well in the beginning, fighting monsters, getting in as much sleep as they could, finding the little amounts of food sprinkled around. No, Annabeth decided that when everything went wrong was when they fought Akhlys.

Annabeth could picture that moment so vividly. It flashed before her vision every time she closed her eyes. That along with so many other horrors from her past. She could remember the exact pitch and sound of the scream from Percy's mouth. How he was choking on that gods awful poison. Sometimes, she let herself go back to that time, analyzing every moment of it, trying to see if she could have changed anything. If she could have changed what had happened.

Annabeth had been thrown to the ground. Her head had hit the corner of the rock, sending her vision into an explosion of light. Pain ripped through her body, she couldn't get up. She groaned, but no sound greeted her ears. It was all masked by the steady ringing. She blinked once, twice, hard. Her vision cleared enough for Annabeth to see Percy.

He was pinned on the ground, struggling under Akhlys's grip. Akhlys grinned in his face, the only delight Annabeth had ever seen on her face. She enjoyed his pain, enjoyed seeing him squirm.

"Annabeth!" The sound ripped out of Percy's mouth as he desperately tried to throw her off. Annabeth tried to get to her feet, but collapsed. She had to save him, but she could no longer tell what direction he was in. She had an odd desire to throw up and could feel the warmth of the blood trickling down her face.

"How about a nice little death for the 'hero of Olympus'" She was taunting him.

"Annabeth!" Percy voice was filled with pure fear, but not for himself. He had seen Annabeth hit the rock. He couldn't see her now. Annabeth wanted to yell back, but every movement sent tendrils of pain through every surface of her body.

"Slow and painful." Akhlys cackled, followed by a sickening gurgling sound. Annabeth pushed herself to her feet, running practically sideways. She was falling, and she hit the ground, but not before driving her sword straight through Akhlys's chest. She screamed and then was no more.

Percy pushed himself into a sitting position, poison dripped down his chin. He looked pale and he was trembling. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Did- did you swallow any?" Annabeth closed her eyes, trying to drive out the pain. Percy gave no answer. She looked up at him and knew all she needed to know.

"I-I couldn't stop her. She was sh-shoving it down my throat. W-what's going to happen to me?" The horrified fear in his voice was like a punch to Annabeth's stomach. "slow and painful" Akhlys had said. Annabeth was shaking herself.

"We-we can find a cure when we get out. Are- are you okay now?" Annabeth glanced at him, unable to meet him in the eyes. She didn't want to see how scared he was.

"Yeah. I-I feel completely fine. Completely. Are you okay?" His voice was ragged. He wiped the remaining dark liquid off of his chin. Annabeth just nodded, the simple movement causing a pounding through her skull.

"We're gonna be okay, Percy. I promise." Annabeth whispered. Percy nodded, still shaking. That's when Nyx showed up.

Even almost a week later, Annabeth could still picture his eyes, wide with fear and uncertainty. She closed her eyes, tears refusing to be withheld. She took in a shaky and stuttering breath. If she had been seconds faster, if she had been thrown inches to the side. If anything had happened differently, maybe he would be here with her. Because after that, he'd been distracted. Almost... irritable. Short tempered. Unlike his usual self. And Annabeth knew exactly why.

Percy was asleep, laying next to Annabeth near the base of a cliff. They were in a small dent in it, not exactly a cave, but not wide open either. She was stroking his hair has he breathed softly. Annabeth stared past the line of trees to the distant, towering doors of death. They decided to get a couple hours of rest before jumping into yet another battle.

Bob sat with his knees pulled to his chest, playing with Small Bob with a thread he'd pulled off of his own clothes. Small Bob leaped after each movement of the string, but Bob's eyes were distant. Annabeth and Bob had been silent the whole time, not a word uttered between them. But, there was a question burning in Annabeth's mouth that she had to say before Percy woke up.

"Bob?" Annabeth asked in a low voice. He looked at her, large silver eyes staring into grey. Annabeth took a deep breath, gathering the courage to ask the question she didn't want the answer to.

"Do you know what Akhlys gave Percy?" She hugged her knees. Bob's eyes filled with unimaginable sadness. He turned away.

"Yes. Yes I do." He murmured, scooping up his kitten, ending the playful game. He seemed unwilling to answer.

"What is it going to do to him?" Annabeth found a knot in Percy's hair and gently disentangled it with two fingers. The conversation seemed to be putting a weight on her chest. It was becoming harder to breath.

"I have seen many die from that poison. I don't want my friend to die." Bob eyes flickered, showing the shatters of memories he had as Iapetus. Annabeth's blood went cold. The doors trembled with force, another group of monsters in the mortal world. It sounded like thunder, the way it shook the ground. If Annabeth closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was in Camp Half-Blood, listening to the thunder storm that resided right outside the magical borders. She could picture the dark sky, but the absence of rain. She could picture the lightning. But, she opened her eyes, and all she saw was the red tinted sky, covered by boulders and fog.

"How long do we have to find the cure." Annabeth refused to say "how long until he died". No. There was always an option, always a way out. If she had been taught anything, it was that.

"It is different for all. Maybe a week. Maybe more." Bob scratched Small Bob behind its ear, giving a small, sad smile at the apparent purrs coming deep from its throat.

"Is there anything I should look out for?" Annabeth tried to make her voice clear and collected. She couldn't afford to think that Percy could be dead in a week.

"Yes. Side affects from it slowly killing him." Bob choked on the words, unable to accept that it actually applies to his friend. "He will become angry, slowly loosing what makes him, him. He will be in pain too. Become weaker and weaker until he can't anymore." Bob lapsed into silence. Annabeth didn't need anymore. Tears burned her eyes and nose. She looked down at Percy as if already expecting him to be dead.

"Angry? Will he be angry at me?" Annabeth couldn't look at Bob anymore.

Bob nodded. "At everything."

And that became apparent. Slowly, not easy to tell at first. Just a couple of comments, snaps at people. He seemed more on edge, but it hardly mattered. He always regretted his anger as soon as it left his mouth, apologizing over and over. Embarrassed that this was happening. Annabeth always consoled him, but that fact became distant in both of their minds the second the battle started. And, of course when he closed the doors.

Annabeth hadn't told anyone else what had happened with Akhlys in Tartarus. It didn't seem to matter to her. Percy was dead. Everyone else seemed to think so. And even if he could survive Tartarus and all the monsters it throws at him, he'd be dead in a couple weeks anyway. He was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode.

Thinking of all of this, Annabeth collapsed on the deck, overwhelmed with emotion. The sobs ripped at her throat as she was reminded that she would never see him again. Maybe he was already dead, rotting corpse at the bottom of Tartarus. Or maybe he was still alive, slowly loosing his mind, becoming rageful to everything and everyone, his time left alive slowly ticking down like a clock.

Annabeth hoped he was dead. For his sake.