BACK AGAIN SO SOON! I can make no promises how long this will happen, this fast streak, but I have A LOT of ideas and have discovered I can type on google docs app on Ipod during school so we'll see. :) But by November I will be done with swim and have a lot more free time.

So, honestly this one-shot veered in a lot of directions I didn't anticipate. It's a lot different then the other one. I have a lot more ideas so we'll see.

I STILL REALLY NEED OPINIONS! I'm thinking about AnotherFacelessAuthor Twitter account! I've gotten some 'go for it's' but I really don't want to do it unless I' actually have followers.

Anyhoo, here we go.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! MAKES MY LIFE BETTER!

Still Annabeth's PoV!

Read on!

It was the first night after Tartarus that Annabeth didn't have a nightmare.

But that didn't mean she didn't dream.

She fell asleep, curled up close to Percy's side, her head on his shoulder, his on the top of her head. One of her arms were lazily thrown over his chest, one of his holding her close. Earlier, fed up with going to her own bed at first, lying awake for hours, and then sneaking into his room, she had defiantly pushed him into his room and followed behind, uncaring about the stares of the others. Percy's face had been priceless, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

"Uh...didn't they just see that?" He asked nervously as Annabeth closed the door, secluding themselves from the faces of their shocked friends, except Piper who simply smiled.

"Yup," Annabeth responded, pulling her hair down loose, letting it flow wildly on her shoulders. What she would give for a shower, but the lure of bed was too much. A shower would wait. Still standing, she leaned into Percy, who immediately wrapped his arms around her, as if acting on instinct to always hold her, always protect her, to keep her from harm. Annabeth was already half asleep when Percy picked her up, setting her into the bed before falling into it himself. Annabeth, as if acting on her own instinct, rolled over to settle as closely as possible to Percy.

Percy leaned down, kissing the top of her head gently. "I love you," he whispered.

Annabeth smiled dreamily. "Never," she replied, which may seem like an odd response, but it quickly became their abbreviated version of We'll never be separated again. Never.

And, as had become Percy's protective instincts, Annabeth fell asleep first.

At first, Annabeth didn't know she was dreaming.

It was dark out and there was a warm breeze. Annabeth looked around the forested area which she stood. She wore style-less jeans and a clean, plain, fitted white T-shirt, which was weird because Annabeth didn't think she owned a white shirt that wasn't stained or ripped in some fashion. On her feet she wore her normal, beat-up converse's. Her hair was loose, which felt odd considering the only time Annabeth liked having her hair down was when she was asleep. In her hand was her new Drakon Bone blade.

Treading carefully and silently, Annabeth began walking forward. She wasn't sure where she was going, something was just drawing her north. The ground soon became littered with soda cans and wrappers. After a few minutes, Annabeth entered a clearing.

Her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but she saw two forms lying on the ground. Holding her blade out in front of her, Annabeth cautiously stepped towards the closest one, all her muscles preparing to spring into action.

It moved, the creature kicking it's feet out. Except, Annabeth noticed, they weren't feet. They were hooves. It was a satyr, but not any satyr.

"Grover...?" Annabeth muttered.

"Food..." was his only grumbling response.

Annabeth's head quickly jerked to the second form, who she now noticed was a young boy. One with raven hair. Annabeth's heart quickened as she rushed over. "Percy," she whispered frantically. Once she reached his front, her smile died, confusion flooding her face. "What the-"

"Why're you here?"

Annabeth's head whipped around, her blade raising to point outward. Her eyes went wild and wide, the fight or flight reflex embodying her every molecule. Personally, Annabeth was more of a fighter. Flighting seemed too cliche and damsel-in-distress-y for Annabeth. Everything in Annabeth was ready to fight for her life...

Until she saw the source of her voice.

The girl smiled. "C'mon, you're not gonna kill yourself are you?"

It was Annabeth who spoke. A twelve year old Annabeth.

She was leaning against a tree, her knife resting casually in her hands. Her hair was up in her standard ponytail and she was in her typical T-shirt and shorts. Dumbstruck, Annabeth, the original seventeen year old Annabeth, lowered her blade. "What?" Was all she could think of to say.

Young Annabeth snorted. "Is that all the brilliant daughter of Athena could think of to say in a situation like this?"

Ignoring her, Annabeth re-surveyed the scene. The change in Grover was harder to notice, due to the fact that satyr's matured half as fast. Staring at young Percy, which was what had caused her alarm, Annabeth felt a small smile on her face.

With a jarring sense of reality, Annabeth straightened. "This is a dream."

"No, duh?" Young Annabeth quipped. "You are a daughter of Athena aren't you?" Annabeth glared at her younger self. Was she really this aggravating? Young Annabeth seemed unperturbed. "Weird blade. Where'd ya get it?"

Annabeth bit back a cold laugh. "Long story."

Young Annabeth narrowed her eyes, as if trying to read her older self. After a moment, she shrugged. "I'll find out soon enough, I suppose."

That almost made Annabeth want to break down. Here she was, an innocent (in relative terms) version of her self. She didn't yet know war, or death, or...or Tartarus. Gods, Annabeth could barely even think the name anymore. Everytime she did, she wanted to sob or scream, often both. But Annabeth much preferred anger to weakness. Careful planning over confused stumbling. Annabeth returned her attention to the problem at hand, unable to bear the sound of her guard breaking, of her protection wearing down. It was so fragile nowadays, while the younger Annabeth across from her still had hers completely intact.

"Why am I here?" She demanded.

"Didn't I ask you that?" She retorted. "How should I know? It's your dream."

Annabeth snarled. "That's not helpful."

"Yeah, 'cause we're known for being the most helpful person on Earth."

"Stop speaking in plural! It's giving me a headache!" Annabeth shouted. Quickly she glanced over at Percy, worried she'd woken him, but he didn't react.

"How else are we to refer to ourselves? We're the same person, you and I."

Annabeth looked down, her eyes stinging. No we're not, she wanted to say. We are so unbelievably different, you couldn't even fathom it. You're naive. You're innocent. You're unbroken.

Annabeth swallowed those words, defaulting to the words, "Why. Am. I. Here?"

"How many times are we going to put this song on repeat? I. Don't. Know." She answered, mimicking my frustrated tone. "Start with the basics, genius. Who sent you here? Was it the gods?"

Glancing around instinctively, as if she might find them there, Annabeth shook her head. "No. It doesn't...it doesn't feel like one of those dreams. This is...this is different."

"So you sent yourself here. Fine. Why here? What is so special about this moment?"

"I-I don't know," Annabeth admitted, frustrated. "This was the first quest," Annabeth began. "The one for that stupid lightning bolt."

"First quest?" Young Annabeth asked excitedly.

"Don't sound so thrilled. They all were dangerous. I-we-could have died dozens, hundreds, of times."

Young Annabeth just smirked. "Don't lie. You loved it. The thrill. The danger. The pressure." Glancing over at Percy she added, "Always being the smartest in the room."

Annabeth snorted. "I'm always the smartest in the room."

Young Annabeth nodded. "True. So," she continued, back to the original conversation, "what was so important about this quest, this moment?"

"I don't know!" She shrieked. "This moment...here..." She sighed exasperated. "I. Don't. Know. It was...it was the beginning of the quest and my turn to watch just after the Aunty Em incident."

"Percy nearly got us all killed." Young Annabeth pointed out.

"Percy saved our lives."

Young Annabeth huffed and crossed his arms. "Then I'll just save his twice."

Annabeth chuckled dryly. "You save his life far more times than twice." Young Annabeth straightened and smirked in a very I told you so, I knew it sort of manner. "Don't get so cocky," Annabeth told her younger self monotonously. "I'm not sure we're ahead."

"You haven't been keeping track?"

"Trust me, you'll lose track after a while."

Annabeth found herself staring at the young Percy. He was definitely someone who grew into his looks, but you could see the buds of his modern day attractiveness (or, if Annabeth wanted to sound like an Aphrodite spawn, hotness) even in the youth of his first quest. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, careless, as if nothing could go wrong. Every now and then he would twitch, as if he were dreaming.

"Is he having a nightmare?"

"Probably," Young Annabeth replied callously. "How could he not on this quest? You had nightmares, except you never told him about them."

Annabeth flinched. On this quest was the first time she ever dreamed about Percy's death. It had been horrible and bloody and had left her shaken. In fact...if Annabeth recalled right, she had had that nightmare on this night.

Eyebrows furrowed in thought, Annabeth looked back to Percy, understanding hitting her like a wrecking ball. "This is where I began to fall in love with Percy."

Young Annabeth barked a laugh. "Fall in love with Percy? That Seaweed Brain? How many times have I gotten my head hit in the future? Are you insane?"

Annabeth couldn't help but smile as she heard the slightly higher tone in her voice. Denial. Had it really been that obvious.

"Maybe not in love," Annabeth admitted. "But this is where the feelings were born." Quickly, Annabeth glanced around, as if she could spot Aphrodite herself and throttle her. Why the complications? She would demand. My life would've been plenty hard enough without all of this drama in my lovelife.

"Why would I be in love with him?" Young Annabeth demanded. "I mean, c'mon. He's idiotic, and reckless, and impulsive-"

"And brave, and loyal, and caring," Annabeth added. "And he's a great fighter. The best one to have at your back."

Young Annabeth shrugged, but it seemed forced. "He's okay."

Annabeth offered a weak smile. She walked over and sat down next to her younger self. For a few minutes they sat there in silence. It was Annabeth, the older one, who broke the silence, very suddenly. She wasn't sure where the words came from, but it was like they were being pushed out of her throat.

"You know what, I'm gonna tell you something I wish someone had told me. That...that stupidly, idiotically, reckless boy who makes you want to tear your hair out and feed him to a freaking hellhound is the best thing that could ever happen to you. He is so annoying sometimes and so very much a Son of Poseidon but that doesn't mean anything to me anymore other than our lives will always be harder. Harder than any mortal, harder than any half-blood, just...harder. And that sucks." Annabeth realized that her breaths were becoming ragged, her eyes starting to blur, her face becoming streaked with tears. "But I will do anything to keep him alive. Anything, I swear. He's never left. Not...not on purpose. He was always there for me, no one else was. No one. Luke left." Annabeth turned her stinging eyes to the stunned, young girl next to her. "Luke. Left. He left us!"

"He...he promised." Young Annabeth stuttered.

"He did, but he didn't keep that promise." Annabeth returned her attention to young Percy as she fiddled with her sword, an item she'd gotten during their very worst times. "Never," Annabeth whispered. "Percy kept his promise."

"So why're you here?" Her younger self questioned once more. "To cry? To scream about the injustice of your complicated love life? Why are you here, Annabeth?"

"Because I can't lose him!" Annabeth shouted. "I am scared I'm going to lose him. I've loved him since I was twelve. I was so harsh, so disconnected before he came around. I was you. And since this moment here, when I was twelve and began to fall in love with possibly the most frustratingly annoying and idiotically loyal person ever, I began to break. Percy is what broke me, more than anything. I was guarded." I raised my sword to stare at it. "Now I'm guarded in a different sense. I just kill whatever gets near."

"That hardly seems healthy."

"It's safe. It's survival."

"What happened to the Annabeth who wanted to live, not just survive?"

Annabeth's hands begun to shake as she wiped tears from her eyes. "She fell to Tartarus. She died, as far as I'm concerned. The excitement you feel in this quest, it goes away. I admit, the thrill and danger was once addicting." Annabeth glanced down, ashamed. "Now...I would give anything to be mortal. To be normal. To be safe."

"Would you give up Percy?"

Annabeth blinked. "What?"

"Would you give him up for a normal life?" She repeated.

"What? No! No, I would never give up Percy. Never," she repeated. "Never."

"So there goes you having a normal, safe life. Maybe if you were just a child of Athena, you could be safe, but a song of Poseidon? No chance. He's an anchor dragging you down to the pits."

"I dragged him to the Pit! He fell for me!"

"So, Annabeth, why are you here?"

"Because I want to live, and I want to live with him. And nothing will stop me. I want to be safe and happy. And that dream seems so far away but he...he believes it and so do I. This moment? This is where everything became inevitable for me. And I wouldn't do anything differently. My future? The one that is horribly painful...it's also the best one I can imagine. No extreme highs without the lows right?"

"So you gotta fight for those highs, Annabeth, and suffer the lows. You gotta watch Percy's back. He can be a martyr. He'd rather die himself than watch you die. You gotta keep him together, keep the two of you together." Young Annabeth leaned forward. "Have faith, and, more importantly, have strength. Fight for your future, don't fight against the past. Love over hate, loyalty over pride."

Annabeth chuckled. "When did we becomes philosophers?"

"We always have been. We know everything, remember?" Young Annabeth put her arm on the shoulder of her elder."I'm not gone, Annabeth. I'm still in there. As innocent and cynical as ever. We're a weapon as much as that blade." She nodded at the Drakon Bone in her hand. "We can protect and hurt, you just gotta be careful how you use what's inside of you. Use it correctly and that future that Percy sees? You could see it, too." She smiled. "Now wake up. You can't hide in the past forever, no matter how much you may want to."

Annabeth glanced over at young Percy and smiled. "Why live in the past when you can live for the future?"

For once, Annabeth was awake first. She glanced up at Percy, who was sleeping peacefully and, thankfully, not drooling in her hair. He looked so peaceful, so much like his old self. Except, you know, older and well...hotter, Annabeth mentally admitted, blushing.

"Annabeth," he muttered under his breath, still asleep. Annabeth smiled, biting her lip. If possible, she pushed herself closer to him. The future had always seemed so scary and impossible. But in that moment, Annabeth saw it. And she wanted it.

Suddenly Percy took a deep breath, waking up. His eyes fluttered opened, revealing to Annabeth his beautiful eyes. When he saw her he smiled. "Hey, Annabeth," he said, his voice drunk with sleep. "No nightmares?"

Annabeth smiled. "No nightmares," she assured. "You?"

"Nope." He smiled, kissing her gently on her lips. "Guess it was 'cause you were here."

"Same." Annabeth pulled Percy down to her level, pressing her lips to his. "We'll make it through this, Percy. We'll make it to that future. Together."

"We're never going to be separated again," he said with a grin.

"Never," Annabeth agreed, gripping Percy close, swearing to herself she'd never let go.

Never.

That future was hers.

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