A/N: WOOO! I have decided to do another Annabeth's POV! It's from right after she leaves camp to look for Percy. I have no idea why this is so important but you guys asked for it! Here we go!

Annabeth's POV (for people who didn't read the AN)

Blackjack lifted high into the air until we were right above New York City. I could see past the city, to the ocean, and to the land west of it.

"Ra ra ah ah ah. Ro ma ro ma ma Ga ga oh la la la" Blackjack started to sing.

"Blackjack! Are you singing Bad Romance?"

"Uh… no… soooo… where do you think the boss is?"

"Don't try to change the subject, but I have a few ideas. He might be near water. Or maybe landlocked if he was kidnapped."

"So basically any place in the country?"

I sighed. "Pretty much."

"How about we start with Hawaii and work our way eastward until we are back at camp."

"Blackjack, that's a really long way. And I can already tell you are getting tired by floating in midair."

"I'll do anything to help my boss."

"I guess so, but it won't help if you kill yourself in the process."

"Fine, on the way to Hawaii, I'll take a break over Missouri and one over California."

"Sounds like a plan. But what about Alaska?"

He tossed his mane back at me. "Blackjack doesn't do cold places. Never have and never will."

"But New York is cold-"

"Not as cold as Alaska."

"Fine. We won't go there unless we have searched everywhere and found nothing."

"Fine. But I hope you have a different Pegasus for that job."

"Ok, Blackjack, let's head for Missouri."

Blackjack landed softly on the ground and collapsed. He was breathing heavily, and seemed to be sweating, if horses can sweat.

"That was… worse than…the time… boss took… me to… D.C" he said between breaths.

I patted his mane. "I know, Blackjack. You just flew 1,000 miles. And I'm not kidding about that."

Blackjack huffed. "So what? We still need to find the boss."

"I know, but right now, we need to rest. I'm sure that if Percy has been missing for three days that he can wait a little longer."

I put down my backpack and started to rummage through it. I took out two apples, some water, a sandwich that I packed, and a blanket. I tossed the apples over to Blackjack and he ate them hungrily. I looked back into my pack to look for a bowl so Blackjack could drink but didn't find anything that could help. Instead, I poured some water into my hand and held it out for him. Blackjack happily lapped it up then rested his head on the ground.

"Thank you. I just wish that finding the boss wouldn't be so…"

"Hard?" I guessed.

"Ya, ya, whatever you say. Now shush. Being this handsome comes with I price, you know."

"Sure, get some beauty sleep," I said while laughing.

I placed the blanket over Blackjack. It barely covered his legs, but it would make do.

"…Thank you." Blackjack started to snore.

I smiled. "Like father like son. But, well, he's not your dad… oh well… never mind."

I stood up and brush a few specks of dirt and leaves off my pants. I chomped into my sandwich and took big gulps of water. The night was seeping into the day and a sunset was forming. I looked around the wooded area and started to explore. Ok, this might sound a little cliché, but I left breadcrumbs so I could find my way back. The woods were getting dark, but I didn't worry about the creatures inside them. I worried about getting back to Blackjack.

I sighed and stepped into the woods. There was little light, and the leaves made crunching noises under my feet. The chill air stung my throat every time I breathed in. Mist came out of my mouth every time I exhaled. I took a bite of my sandwich, looking at my surroundings. Percy would probably yell at me for going off on my own in some forest, but I can take care of myself.

I heard the rustle of bushes behind me and whirled around. I took out my dagger from my belt loop and pointed it to the bushes. I backed up slowly but carefully. The rustling got louder with each step. The animal/monster/thing was about to come out when I tripped backwards and started to fall down the very steep hill.

"Annabeth!" I heard a familiar voice cry out.

I almost sobbed with joy. I knew that voice. But I kept slipping down the hill, away from it. I was losing my balance and tried to grab a small tree or something. I caught an end of a root a laid there, hoping that the root wouldn't break free and I would slip down the steep hill again. I heard the voice. He must have been there. He must have. That couldn't have been my imagination, it was too real.

A black figure swooped overhead. Something grabbed onto the back of my shirt. It took me flying high into the air. I looked back to where I had fallen, hoping to see the voice's owner. The leaves were messed up from where I was slipped, and I could see the bush that had begun to rustle when I had gotten near it. But it wasn't rustling anymore.

Nothing was there. It was just my imagination.

Brendan's POV. (Yay!)

I turned back to see Lina staring at me. Her black hair was in her eyes, but that made her look more pretty. Her grey eyes were unforgettable, and they were staring right at me. The sounds of other campers came in the distance, until I could barely hear anything. Lina shut her eyes momentarily and all the sounds came back. I could hear the stomping of running feet behind me. Raspy breathing was just to my left. And there- there- there was a small buzzing noise too. Very faint, but I could hear it. It grew louder and louder until I had to clamp my hands over my ears to block the sound out. My body started to glow. I knew it. I was a mutant back from Mars ready to take over the planet. Nothing could stop me now.

But something could. Lina opened her eyes again, and I could see hope in them. I could see belief. That was when the glow finally took over and I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything except for my own breathing. I couldn't feel a thing.

At last, a feminine voice said in my head.

What do you want, lady? I asked.

Don't talk to me like that. I could send you right back to the Roman camp and-

Ok then, never mind. Who are you? I asked.

Lina prayed to me. I'm her mother.

I was momentarily confused. Lina's mother was gone… I mentally slapped myself. Her mother was a Roman goddess.

Kudos to you, Brendan. You got that half right.

Half right? What?

I'm not a Roman goddess. And you can open your eyes now.

I opened my eyes and was startled by the direct sunlight flooding over me.(!) I sat in a little hollow part of a side of a river. The river had eroded the ground so much, that there was a steep slope up the side. I sat there in the wet sand, confused on where I was. Then it dawned on me. I was in the woods behind Lina's apartment. If this is what I think it is, then the tree house shouldn't be far from here. The river, more like a stream, was cold and chilly because of the winter. I didn't care. I took off my shoes and my socks and dunked them in the river. The sensation was overwhelming. But I smiled at it. I remember on warm summer days when Percy, Lina, and me would walk down this river, barefoot.

About seven years ago, Lina discovered this stream behind her apartment when she went exploring. We had explored the whole river, finding hiding places and serenity. When we got to the end of the river, we were disappointed. But not for long, a huge old pirate ship was built in a tree. We assumed that the owner was long gone and/or old. When we climbed higher into the tree house, the vines seemed to have taken over the place. A huge piece of rope swung into the little pond (!) that the river ended in. I tried using it the first time and broke my leg. A month later, we got a new rope so we could still swing into the river. It was our place and we swore to never tell anybody about it.

A few years later, Lina and me met up again at the Pirate ship. I can't remember why Percy wasn't there, but he wasn't. Lina called me and told me to meet her at the Pirate ship with some food that doesn't spoil. We met up again because Lina's dad had done something to her, but she would never tell me why. Lina had brought a blanket and some pillows. I had brought the food. Rice, Twinkies, honey, things like that. I even brought some marshmallows. Her face was still tear stained, but she put a confident smile on. She looked at me and said, "After you."

We climbed up into the Pirate ship and set our things down. It was shaped like an actual pirate ship, so if we got on the top deck, there was no ceiling. The sun was already setting and I was somewhat afraid to be outside at the river in the dark. Lina saw my face and said, "Don't worry, I brought flashlights."

That night, we just slept there. Two best friends in the wide-open world. We lay down on the top deck for hours, just looking at the stars and talking. I would try to crack a joke and Lina would pretend to giggle. I would look over and smile, then wonder why we were doing it. Most thirteen-year-old guys would be embarrassed in this situation, but I felt perfectly comfortable. I remember waking up in the morning, wishing I never had to leave. I wish that the Pirate ship could be our home, forever. Lina woke up and we stashed the blankets and food in a chest somewhere in the lower decks. Lina told me that if either of us were going through a tough time, we would call each other and we would spend the night here, even if we had school in the morning. Over the years, I could only remember meeting her again in the tree house twice. I wish we did it more often because I was always in a better mood afterwards.

Stop dwelling in your memories. Just find it.

Lina's mom's voice surprised me. I set off into the river, with my jeans rolled and my feet bare. Every once in a while, my foot would hit a smooth rock instead of sand and I would yelp. It was really eerie to be traveling in the woods alone, and with a whole Roman camp after you. Every unnatural noise would make me jump. My toes started to go numb, but I kept walking.

The end of the river was the trickiest. I had to try to get across a small pond that was eight feet deep and ten feet in diameter. The lake had eroded the ground to; so nine-foot walls surrounded the pond. The Pirate ship looked as majestic as ever, but it was on the opposite side of the pond. I grabbed a piece of a root that was jutting out of the wall and began to creep my way across. I got confused when I saw wood in the middle of the pond, but it wasn't sturdy enough for me to use. I would just sink. My clothes got as muddy as hell, but I'd rather have muddy clothes than to be sopping wet in the middle of winter. I got to the opposite side of the pond and just stood there, catching my breath. I looked around for the ladder, but I couldn't find it. I checked behind some of the vines, but nothing was there. Then my eyes grew wide. The wood in the pond was my, our, ladder. I silently cursed to myself, how am I going to get up? A realization dawned on me, the rope. The rope was a few feet away, and dangling right over the water. I made a wild decision to use it to get up. I put my shoes and socks back on so I wouldn't have to carry them on the way up.

As if it wasn't hard enough to try to stand on the slopes on the side of the pond, I had to jump off of it and have perfect aim. The rope looked a little slippery and a little greenish at the end. I grabbed hold of a root in one hand, and used the other hand to turn around to face the rope. Imagine standing on a brick. Now imagine that another brick was about the length of a grown man away from you. If you can imagine this, this is what I'm trying to do, but I have to land perfectly.

I took deep breaths and counted to ten. At ten, I quickly let go of the root and used all of my leg muscle to push me up and towards the rope. I spread open my arms so I had a bigger chance of getting it. Momentarily, an image of a flying squirrel flashed through in my mind, but I quickly took it out of my thoughts. The rope's wet and green end slapped me in the face and my hands went scrabbling to grab it. My hands kept slipping, and couldn't get a grip until my hands were almost at the bottom. I just hung there, catching my breath. After maybe a minute, I hauled myself up and climbed the rope. I was in worse shape than I remember because the gym class rope didn't seem so bad anymore. It was even worse when the rope was wet and slippery.

I got to the top and climbed up onto the top deck. I stood there for a second, taking in the view and not believing what I just did.

Quick, your small feat is over now. Go one deck lower. You will see what I mean.

I smiled. Lina's mom was really cool.

Thanks, but just go one deck lower already.

I walked to the other side of the boat and climbed down the stairs. On the second deck was where we stored the food and the sleeping bags. But I stopped halfway down the stairs. In the middle of the deck, a huge fountain took the place of bare floor. Gleaming at the bottom of the fountain, gold coins the size of cookies took up most of the space. A sticky note was on the side of the fountain.

Dear Brendan,

It's about time to get in touch with people. Lina owes me so much for this, but I pulled a few strings. Lina would want you to be ok, and I do to, even if that is Mercury's job. This fountain will help you keep in touch. These coins are called an aureus. Iris should help too; I just hope you know your Roman mythology. And how to make a rainbow…

~Athena.

I stood there, wondering what she meant by making a rainbow. I picked up one of the coins. It looked pure gold. A memory popped into my head.

I was in Ancient Civ. Class. We were talking about the messenger gods of ancient civilizations. The teacher got in a very heated discussion with one of the smartest people in the class. Her name was Kelsey, and she knew almost everything about Greek mythology. Some people joked that her necklace with four beads on it was something she made in kindergarten, but I couldn't help but think it was something more. She had grey eyes like Lina, but she a blond hair. Anyways, they were arguing about what Roman gods were the messengers. Our teacher said that Mercury was the messenger of the gods, but Kelsey said that Iris could be one to. Kelsey jumped up to the board and made a thorough diagram about how Iris could send messages that were like video chatting through a rainbow. The teacher got furious at that and erased the board completely. I guess he just didn't like being shown up in class.

Anyways, Athena wrote that Iris should help… I couldn't help but wonder if it had some connection to what Kelsey said.

Hurry up, boy. I can't help you figure out how to do this, but the sun is almost setting and you can't make a rainbow at night.

Athena had a point. I tried to remember something from the day that I had been in boy scouts. An idea popped into my head. I went scrabbling around looking for a piece of paper and for the flashlight. I folded the piece of paper in half, made a little triangle, and held up the paper to the flashlight. I turned the flashlight on and shined it at the fountain. Instantly, a rainbow appeared. I quickly took one of the aureus and threw it through the rainbow. It disappeared, and I thought of the first person that could come to my mind.

Lina's faced flashed in the rainbow. I was overwhelmed that she was ok and that the camp hadn't hurt her. She was riding in a van. Next to her, I saw Percy. Somewhere in the back, a girl was sleeping.

Lina jumped when she saw my face. She looked really happy and was about to say something when she looked around. Pleased, Lina looked back to me and said in barely above a whisper, "Brendan! Are you ok?"

I smiled. "Obviously, I am. I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"Shh. We are in the car to find you. We can't have anyone else knowing where you are."

"Oh, ok. So what are you doing to find me?"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Brendan, We know where you are. But there is one problem. In order for you to survive, we had to make a deal."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"

"We have to find the missing guy, Jason. We have a prophecy for it and-"

"Lina!" I heard Percy say in a hushed voice, "Lupa can track this Iris message to Brendan!" he looked back to me, "I'm sorry man, but I have no choice."

He swiped through the rainbow, and I lost connection. Great, my two best friends in the world and I can't even talk to them. I slumped backward onto the floor, sitting on my butt and feeling depressed.

"Well, well, well. Isn't it another demigod that came into my trap," I heard a voice say behind me.

!- that little creek actually exists. It's right behind my house. Everything about it is real, except for the pirate ship. That part I made up. But even the lake of doom is real xD