SNOW DAY! So I got extra time to work on this. :)

Percy

It was dark and silent as Blackjack flew over Athena's temple. His wings glided smoothly, slicing through the air as my eyes strained to find details of Athena's city that would help me and Leo. The moon was bright, and it left an ethereal shine on the ebony wings of Blackjack. Down beneath me, I could see the bustle of Athens: people moving around, even at this hour, venders shouting out to passing pedestrians, horses randomly around the town, and the sparring duos in small arenas placed about. I could see it all, but I couldn't hear anything. Up in the sky I was shielded from the view of the mortals underneath me, and I myself was shielded from the sounds. All I could hear was the whooshing of Blackjack's great wings as he lifted himself and I higher.

It would have been peaceful, just gliding about on the quiet night, but I was beyond nervous. To tell the truth, I had no plan whatsoever to distract everybody in Athena's temple. Annabeth, Hazel, Piper and Thalia needed me and Leo, who was on another pegasus not twenty feet behind me, to empty out the temple. When I told her that we would create the distraction, I had felt like Annabeth had a lot weighing down her shoulders, so I wanted to take some of her burden. Unfortunately, I did that without registering very thoroughly through what that would mean. I know, right. You're mind is saying, Percy? Not thinking all the way through something? Pssh. I know. Doesn't sound like me, huh?

Anyways. I had no plan. Correction: I have no plan. So I'm trying to come up with one. But still, I can't think of anything.

"Come on, come on," I muttered, racking my brains for something.

"Percy!"

I heard Leo call from behind me, and I whirled in my position to shut him up. We probably were out of hearing range to the people walking below us, but I didn't want to take my chances. I saw Leo on Guido, waving to get my attention. I rolled my eyes, but told Blackjack to slow down. If he had any sort of plan, I was welcome to hear it. Even though Leo's plans did tend to be even more risky than my own.

Once I next to Leo and his pegasus, I signaled for him to follow me, and then Blackjack dropped down towards the beach, the line of other pegasi following. We would be safe talking there. It was a rocky beach, and the horses had a tough time finding a place to land, but soon they all touched the ground and Leo was telling me what he had found.

"Nothing," he said. I sighed, biting my lip. We had very little time. Actually, we could only have about ten minutes to think of something. As far as I knew, Annabeth and Hazel were going to meet Thalia and Piper outside of the temple, sneak in, get the weapons, and get back out. When we had split, Annabeth and Hazel didn't have to go too far to get to the spot where they would meet the other two girls.

"Leo, we have to think of something!" I said desperately.

I was pacing back and forth on the sand when Leo piped up, "Hey, isn't Poseidon the earth shaker?" I nodded distractedly, still trying to think. "So... can I take a wild guess and say maybe you can create an earthquake?"

I paused. Then I turned and stared at him. "First, I've never tried to create an earthquake. Second, don't earthquakes, like, destroy cities? I don't think that'd be very safe, Leo."

"Well, then make a small one," Leo said simply. "I was overhearing some mortals from Athens the last time we were here, they were saying that they never had earthquakes. Athena always protected them. But just in case something like an earthquake or tidal wave happened, they had an olive grove, sacred to Athena, just outside the city. If any hazard like that happened, they were to all go there."

"So if I made a small one, they'd probably freak out," I said, my sunken hopes at finding a plan rising slowly.

"Exactly. Who ever said I couldn't make a decent plan?"

"I still don't know if I could make one, or if it would be effective," I reminded the son of Hephaestus. "I've never made one, mind you."

"There's always a first time," Leo said with a grin, then he hopped back onto Guido. I took a deep breath. Maybe this could work.

I was standing in the middle of one of the larger courtyards in Athens. There wasn't anybody here, Leo and I had made sure to pick the most deserted one, as to not hurt anybody when I caused the earthquake. I was going to try to make sure the earthquake didn't get too out of hand for any damage to happen, but you never know. Leo was on Guido flying above me, watching to see if the plan worked. As I looked up, I couldn't see anything but the dark sky. I just had to trust that he was up there with the other pegasi.

I inhaled. Exhaled.

Dad, if you can hear me, please help, I said in my mind, my fingers drumming nervously on my thigh.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.

I raised my hand, holding it up, palm out. I closed my eyes. Exhale.

I imagined the ground shaking, earth trembling, the dirt under my feet not standing still. I imagined my powers reaching underneath the layer of stone tiles I was standing on. I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining in it clearly, and trying to make it come to reality. I thought it so well I could almost feel the earth moving below me. My eyes cracked open.

No, I wasn't imagining it anymore, it was actually happening. The ground was moving, almost imperceptibly. I took a deep breath, then urged the shaking to grow. There was a tug in my gut, similar to the one that happens when I take control over water, and the earthquake became bigger.

Too big.

Quicker than my heartbeat (which was going pretty fast), the earthquake intensified. The ground rumbled, like an upset stomach, just a hundred times magnified, sending a chill through the earth. I smiled. I could do this. I could move the ground, the actual ground, just with a little motion or thought. I had that power.

Power. My mind seemed to latch on that word. I had never realized what a beautiful and significant word that was. Power. I had this power, but with more, I could do things in the world. I could make everything better. A new world, with no hunger, no hurt, no poverty. My own world. That I was in charge of.

My smile grew, but I could almost feel the power-lust in me laced through it. I watched as a shack became collapsed, its foundation no longer stable. I watched as lights in buildings flickered on, as the people of Athens finally realized what was going on. I watched as the earthquake started to grow stronger, and screams started to pierce the silence of the night.

I had this power. My smiled had turned into a sneer. A shiver of dark glee went up my spine. Another building, this one bigger, fell to the shaking ground, and the shapes of mortals flew through the night, desperately trying to find safety.

I was enjoying this.

Somewhere in me, a resistance passed through me. This wasn't right. I shouldn't be doing this. The earthquake shouldn't be this big, people could get hurt, and I would be the cause of it. I shouldn't be liking this. Gods, I shouldn't even be permitting this. I should stop this, before the problem escalated. I needed to stop this.

The moonlight waned, becoming faint as the dust from the earthquake clogged the night air. The dust seemed to overtake my mind as well, fighting back that one feeling that was pure, the feeling telling me to stop. Another building fell, and a fire started. The flames licked at my thoughts, burning away the last seemingly sane part of me, removing my doubts, coaxing me onward. My sneer returned, and I kept looking at what I was doing. But it was like I couldn't control myself, my actions. I couldn't control it, but I didn't try too.

The night air was filled with shouts, people running, dust, collapsing buildings, and shaking. Men held their wives as the wives held the children, trying to comfort their wailing. I saw a beam fall, trapping a young man under it by his legs. A twinge went through me, but went away just as fast. The greed for power was the dominating action in me, it allowed nothing else to affect me. An elderly lady crumpled, coughing violently. The dust running through her lungs was too much.

More screams. My smile grew.

But then my eyes fell upon a lone figure standing about twenty feet away from me.

It was a little girl, with dark brown hair, big brown eyes. For a moment, Calista flashed before me, but I blinked and she was gone. It was just a little girl, the bright fire in the background lighting her up, so I could barely make out any features. But I could see shiny trails going down her cheeks. She was crying. Absolute fear was in her eyes as she looked at me.

I couldn't breathe.

My whole life, I've befriended the commoners, looked after them, hoped for them to see me as a friend and someone who would help. But now, I might have destroyed a life-time's work. I was creating all this destruction, and I could see it plainly in the eyes of the small girl before me. I didn't want her to look at me like that. I hated that look.

Again, Calista took the place of the girl in my mind, and instead of fear, I saw utter disappointment. She looked almost sad, as if she couldn't believe I would do this.

It was like a punch to the gut. I doubled over, my breathing returning in gasps. In the blink of an eye, the earthquake stopped. The fires were still going on, and some parts of the buildings were still falling, supports collapsed and gone. But that was all fading to me. I was looking at the ground. I had done this. And instead of feeling triumph, like I had before, I only felt disgust.

Now that everything had clicked off, the energy that had been used to make the earthquake suddenly disappeared, and I felt the ground rushing up towards me. My legs just wouldn't hold me anymore. I fell to my knees first, then onto my stomach, curling up on myself. My breath was ragged, my memory of the despicable feelings I had felt during the earthquake too vivid. Calista's brown eyes in my mind, full of dismay at my actions. The little girl… with a startled groan I opened my eyes, looking for her. She had to be safe. If I had hurt her like I had hurt the others, I would never forgive myself. But I couldn't see her.

I felt a tiny hand on my shoulder, and my head whirled around. It was the little girl, but instead of fear, she now had concern in her eyes. Her now dirty nightgown was resting on the dirt as she kneeled beside me, and a small doll was held tightly in the crook of her arms.

"Are you okay?" She asked timidly, in that soft musical voice that children had.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to a sitting position. "Yeah, I'm fine, are you?"

She nodded, looking at me through long, dark eyelashes. "I recognized you."

I frowned, "From what?"

"You saved my brother, a long time ago. Thank you, sir."

Again, I frowned, still confused. She noticed this look, and continued, her small hand still on my shoulder. "My brother was in an inn a long time ago, and it fell. He was stuck inside, with a lot of other people. But you save him, and all the others. You saved my brother. I was just a baby, but I know you, from people telling my family more stories, that you have done a lot for commoners like me and my family. You help us out. Even though a lot of people in Athens don't like you, because of our patron goddess, I still thing you're one of the best heroes in the world. I was scared just now, that you were going to get hurt."

She was scared for me. Not of me. She didn't believe I was the cause of this earthquake and destruction.

I looked at her for a second, relief rushing through me. But then I was stabbed with a blade of shame and guilt. Should I tell this little girl that I was the one who made this earthquake? Should she know?

No, I thought sternly. Some things are better kept secret to little kids, it was for their best.

Another wave of exhaustion raced through my body. It was all I could do to stop myself from falling asleep, welcoming the enticing darkness unconsciousness would bring. But I had to stay awake.

With the exhaustion came a heavy load of self-hatred and disgust. I did this, and probably hurt some people. It was another side of me, an evil side. And I hated it with every ounce in my body. I hated what I had done, I hated myself for doing it.

Leo had dropped down on Guido, running over to me. As he ran, I said to the little girl, "You're welcome, then. Now go to your parents, and get somewhere safe, okay?" She flashed me a small smile, then turned and ran off, her pattering footsteps leaving imprints on my brain. Another pair of footsteps came to my ears, and I turned as Leo knelt down beside me. He gazed curiously at the receding back of the small girl, but didn't ask any questions. Then his gaze shifted to me. In his countenance, I could see awe, but also wariness, the way someone might look at an extremely powerful but dangerous monster. My stomach contracted. I didn't want to be looked at like that, especially by one of the Questers.

"Are you all right?" The fire user asked.

I ignored my spinning vision, the exhaustion going through my body, and the multicolored lights dancing in my eyes. Instead, I just nodded, standing up to prove I was fine. Well, I wasn't, apparently. I could barely balance on my feet, and my legs threatened to give out when I put weight on them. I shook my head, trying to rid it of the constant throbbing jerking at my brain. Leo reached out a hand to steady me, but I shook him off.

"I'm fine," I said angrily. The anger I was feeling was directed at myself, but Leo didn't know that. I felt a pinch of guilt, and I softened my stern look as he took a step back.

"I'm just a little tired," I amended in a kinder tone, though there were still waves of self-revulsion racking my body.

I took a deep breath. "Come on, let's go get Annabeth and the others." Leo nodded once, then turned and jogged back over to Guido, mounting the pegasus. I paused for a moment, watching as more people ran south, towards the safety of the olive grove. I grimaced, then whistled for Blackjack. He landed seconds later, and I tore myself from the sight of the bedlam, swinging myself onto Blackjack. The black pegasus immediately sensed that something was wrong with me.

What's up, boss?

I sighed. "Nothing, Blackjack. Let's go find Annabeth." I knew he didn't believe that nothing was wrong, but the look on my face must've urged him not to pursue the matter. Blackjack spread his wings, then with a small running start, he lifted us both into the sky. I closed my eyes, letting the night air sweep over my face, which was beaded with sticky sweat. When I opened them back up, I wished I hadn't.

I saw collapsed buildings, people streaming to the olive grove, fires still burning through parts of the town, and heard screams piercing the air. The earthquake hadn't just affected the section of the town around the courtyard I had been in, but had gone way further than I had expected. At least a quarter of Athens showed signs of the earthquake. I cringed. I did this. I made all this destruction. If I could hate myself anymore, I did then. I bit my lip. Hard. I wanted to hit myself over the head repeatedly, but I knew that would accomplish nothing, other than giving myself an even bigger headache. I cursed myself. How could I have been this stupid?

Quicker than I expected, we had reached the courtyard in front of Athena's temple. The pegasi all hovered above it, looking for four girls in the dark temple. The earthquake, thankfully, hadn't reached the temple. I would never have forgiven myself if I had somehow hurt Annabeth inside. But the earthquake had done its job. I couldn't see any guards, demigods, nymphs, dryads, or mortals anywhere. Though that still didn't make me okay with it.

Annabeth and the other girls still couldn't be seen, however, so I told all the pegasi to just wait a few minutes. Maybe they weren't ready yet.

After about ten minutes, I was getting antsy, and thoughts were filling my head. What if they got caught? Just because there were no guards outside didn't mean there weren't any inside. My fingers drummed along my side. Just when I was abut to barge in there myself and make sure they were all okay, I saw figures appear, flitting in and out of sight as they walked through the columned hallway. I caught Leo's eye, and motioned for us to land. The pegasi all dropped to the earth, and I dismounted as the girls came out of the shadows of the temple.

But I couldn't see Annabeth, it was just Piper and Thalia and another girl I didn't recognize.

When the three girls reached the spot were I was standing, I immediately said, "Where's Annabeth?"

Thalia sighed exaggeratedly, her electric blue eyes rolling towards the sky. "It seems like every time we see each other after a fairly long period of time, you always demand to know about Annabeth. Gods, you two are so lovesick. You should just get married and skip the boring drama." I scowled at her, turning to Piper. I trusted she would be a better help than Thalia. I bet even Hypnos, who never wakes up, would be a better help than the hunter.

Piper's eyebrows were furrowed. "She's not with you?"

A cold hand touched my heart. "No. Weren't you supposed to be together? You, Thalia, Annabeth, and Hazel?"

"Well, yes," Piper replied, a hint of worry growing in her voice. "But then she told us to come get Silena." She gestured to the girl standing on her left. I may not have been familiar with the girl's face, but I knew her name. She was the one who had betrayed Annabeth, who led Luke to Annabeth so he could capture her. I narrowed my eyes at her, studying her suspiciously.

She was pretty, I guess, though not my type. Long, silky black hair floated down her back, and a servant uniform was clad to her slim body. Her blue eyes were shifting constantly, not meeting my gaze for more than a second. Her hands played with each other, and she was biting her lip. I looked back a Piper, who was giving me the it's okay, we've got it under control look. I shrugged.

"Well, any idea where Annabeth could be?" I asked anxiously.

Piper bit her lip, thinking. "I don't know, I honestly don't. But we can just circle around the temple, see if we can find her." I nodded; it was kind of the only thing we could do. I went back to Blackjack, remounting. The others did the same.

"Come on Blackjack, let's find Annabeth." I relayed the same message to the rest of the pegasi as well. They all took flight. Once we were in the air, we headed left. Piper and Silena rode together, and Thalia, after giving Leo a withering glare full of unspoken warnings, climbed onto Guido. But she demanded to be in front, and I think Leo was too scared by the hunter to contradict her, so he complied. I would almost smile at the sight of the two- Thalia focused on the temple, but casting a glower over her shoulder every once in a while, and Leo struggling to stay on the horse without touching Thalia in front of him- if the worry creeping up on me didn't force my face into a constant frown. I prayed to my dad that Annabeth and Hazel would be alright.

Piper, on the pegasus a little behind Blackjack, called out to me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "We should check her room, maybe she went back to get something." I nodded, then slowed Blackjack down a bit so Piper could pass us, Silena glancing over at us with big blue eyes as she sailed through the night. She definitely was pretty, a girl that would make guys slow down to stare longer at, but I preferred blonde girls, with fierce grey eyes and sass in the abundance.

Piper led us all around a corner of the temple, permitting a view of the ocean. I could see the glittering image of the moon reflected on the surface of the sea. By the position of it, I could tell that we only had about five or six hours of nighttime left. We would be traveling slower on the journey back to Corinth, for the weapons would weigh us down. Therefore, we only had about an hour at the most to get going again, or we would miss Lord Caspion's deadline. I clenched my jaw, worries piling on top of me, pushing me down. I had to get these weapons to the mermen because without them, we probably wouldn't stand a chance; I didn't know if the rest of the Questers are all right, a lot can happen in a night; I just made a huge earthquake that I basically couldn't control, and I didn't really want it to stop when it was happening, and it hurt people and trashed a part of Athens; and now Annabeth is missing. Why was my life so difficult, like, all the time?

Boss, you're a demigod. Kinda comes with the powers, huh? I sighed. I knew Blackjack was right, but I couldn't help but wonder how much better my life might be if I wasn't a demigod. I would have no worries, other than maybe doing a chore my normal dad made me do, or eating my vegetables each day so my mom wouldn't get mad at me. Gods, those worries sounded so petty. But it was true. If I wasn't a demigod, I wouldn't have to take care of monsters and Luke and all this. And Calista might still be alive.

No. I stopped myself with that word. Whatever the Fates designed, it was meant for a reason. Besides, if I hadn't become a demigod I might not have met Annabeth. And that, right there, made me so glad I was a demigod.

But now I needed to find Annabeth.

I yanked myself back to the world, and saw a balcony spread out over the rocky beach beneath it. It had two large double glass doors, and I squinted my eyes to try to see more clearly. I couldn't see anything, though, and I needed to get closer. I told the pegasi that would bear the weapons to stay up, and then motioned for the rest of the demigods to land with their pegasi. The balcony wasn't too small, big enough so that thee horses could easily fit.

I got a feeling that something wasn't right, however. It was dark in the room beyond the doors, but I could still see movement. My heart started thumping. What was happening in there? Blackjack sensed my anxiety and fear, and landed quickly. The other horses touched down as well, Guido being the last. But as his hoof was placed upon the white tiled balcony, one of the glass doors exploded.

My arm flung up to shield my face, and my other went to whoever was closest to me, to try to do the same. Glass was flying everywhere, making the balcony look like it had a cloud raining crystals above it. Thalia had been closest to me, and when the glass finally stopped falling, she shoved my arm off her.

"I can shield myself, thank you very much, Kelphead," she said in a fierce tone. I rolled my eyes, muttering "you're welcome" under my voice. But my sarcasm faded as I looked at the ground in front of the now barren door frame that led to Annabeth's room.

Laying at the foot of it was a hellhound, twitching, near death. A stab mark, clean and not bleeding quite yet, for it had been too recent, was in its shoulder. Its yellow eyes gleamed with evil. For a second, we all just stared at the monster. Then it stopped moving, and a few seconds later it dissolved, going back down to Tartarus. When it disappeared, I was thrown out of my stupor. My head jerked up, and I saw through the empty doorframe that there were more movements, much more. With a shout behind me to tell the others to follow me, I sprinted to the door, drawing Riptide as I did so. Glass crunched under my boots as I hurdled myself into the room. I barely managed to evade hellhound teeth, for another of the monsters had thrown itself at me. I stepped to the side smoothly, swinging Riptide up. My blade cut easily through the fur of the beast, and I scanned my surroundings as it did the same thing as the previous hellhound we had just seen.

Despite the moonlight wafting into the room, it was still dark. But my eyes adjusted quickly enough, and I could see what was around me.

The room was huge, with another walled off room in the corner, which I was assuming was the bathroom or closet. A bed and desk was in another corner, but other than that, it was pretty empty. But it didn't look barren, it just looked extremely neat. Like a child of Athena's room.

But what drew my attention more were the figures darting around in the interior of the room. Hellhounds, at least two dozen of them, were leaping everywhere, snarling and growling. Foam dripped from their open mouths, making them look sick and deathly, which they were. But that didn't make them any less good at fighting. They all seemed to be grouping around something at the side of the room, and I strained my eyes to see what it was.

One of the hellhounds was cut down by something, letting me see a flash of what was behind it before more monsters took it's place. A flash of blonde hair.

"Annabeth," I whispered under my breath. Fear coursed through me, but also rage. How dare these hellhounds try to hurt her.

With a burst of anger spurring me on, I leapt into battle, the others following behind me. I slashed and dodged, making my way through the monsters as quickly as I could, towards Annabeth. She and Hazel- Hazel was standing beside her- hadn't seen us yet, they were focused on fighting. They had their backs to the walls, and were mostly unhurt, but a few scratches were visible. A large sack lay next to them, against the wall. I assumed the weapons were in there.

I sliced down a hellhound, giving it barely the chance to yelp before it turned to dust. Annabeth saw this, and her eyes met mine. I saw relief flood into her grey orbs, and she smiled at me. Hazel did the same.

But they had let their guard down for a second. And second was long enough for something to happen. And that something did happen.

A hellhound threw itself forward, towards Hazel. She saw this, and tried to dodge, but didn't make it in time. The hellhounds teeth clamped around her upper left arm, and with a cry, she dropped her spatha, sinking into the wall with an anguished look upon her face. Annabeth's eyes widened, and she shouted the daughter of Hades' name. Her dagger flew upwards, killing the hellhound that had hurt Hazel instantly. Stepping in front of Hazel, she started to defend her friend.

Hazel supported herself onto the wall, grimacing, her golden eyes filled with agony. Her sword arm was the one that had been bit, and now she was defenseless. My eyes were tinged with red as the rage in me grew. They had hurt Hazel, these monsters. Hazel. Kind, sweet Hazel, who didn't deserve any pain. I pushed myself forward, even more determined. The air smelled of sweat, dog, and blood. I watched worriedly as another hellhound slipped past Annabeth, who was trying hard to hold back the dozens of hellhounds. But Hazel managed to kick out, hitting the monster in its snout. It jerked back, growling, right onto Piper's dagger. Piper and Thalia had made it to the two girls, and were fighting furiously. Annabeth allowed herself a moment's respite.

She looked dead on her feet, so tired. I wanted to go support her, help her, but I held myself back. I still couldn't get the earthquake out of my head. I could hurt anybody, and I had. I was no better than these hellhounds. Annabeth didn't want to be near me.

Instead, I called out, "Leo! Get the weapons outside!" The son of Hades finished a hellhound with his hammer, bashing it back to the Underworld. He nodded, slipping his hammer back into his tool belt, then ran to the sack of knives. Silena, I saw, wasn't fighting, but had gone to Hazel, helping the injured girl. I was grateful of that, but I still didn't totally trust that daughter of Aphrodite. But Hazel needed help, so I let it go. Silena lugged Hazel out of the room onto the balcony. Piper stayed with them, making sure no hellhound got past her to the two girls.

Thalia, Annabeth and I all stayed and fought. Only about a dozen hellhounds remained.

Somewhere during the fight, a hellhound had gotten to me. Two claw marks had spit open on my chest, and they were bleeding. They weren't deep, but they were still painful. I ignored the two slashes as best as I could, finishing off the last hellhounds. Soon there was only one left. It tried to shadow travel back to the Underworld, but a well placed arrow from Thalia's bow stopped it.

We were all breathed heavily as we looked at the carnage around us. Dust littered the floor, which had blood drops woven between it. The bed was trashed, and the papers on the desk were scattered across the room. There was a hole in the wall where I had thrown a hellhound against it. Evidence of the claws of the hellhounds were visible on the wall also.

"Well," Thalia stated, looked around the room, "I think you're gonna need to redecorate this room." Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she smiled in Thalia and my direction. Thalia returned it, and I tried to, but my face wouldn't smile. Annabeth frowned at me, but I avoided her gaze.

Thalia looked between the two of us, then pursed her lips. "I'm gonna go check on Hazel." She walked out of the room, and I went to follow her, but a small hand stopped me. I turned my neck to look back at Annabeth. I raised an eyebrow at her hand.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, looking for words. "You're hurt," she finally managed to say. I glanced down at my chest, which was bloody through the torn fabric. Her hand came up, and she gently touched the wound.

I cringed away from her hand. She shouldn't touch me after what I just did. I tried to pass the wince off as pain, but I wasn't a good actor in times like this. Her eyebrows furrowed even more deeply as she took her hand away from my wound.

"I'm fine," I muttered, then turned and tore myself away from her before I broke down and told her everything. This was my burden. I had to bear it. I practically sprinted out of the room towards the balcony. When I reached the night air, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

I didn't want to push away Annabeth, but at the moment, I didn't think she deserved to have a friend like me. I bit back another wave of self-hatred, and moved over to where the five demigods were standing. The sack of weapons was discarded next to the small crowd. Silena was wrapping up Hazel's arm with a cloth, but it had already soaked through with thick blood. The daughter of Hades winced whenever there were smalls movement on her arm. As Silena frowned and went to take off the cloth to replace it, my breath caught. The teeth of the hellhound had gone all the way through, leaving three gnarly punctures oozing blood on her arm. She seemed to be trying to avoid looking at her own arm, and I bet she would've been green in the face if she had enough blood to do so. Her face was alarmingly pale.

"Hazel!" I said, running up to her.

"I'm alright," she said breathily, "I'm good. Just a small bite."

I raised an eyebrow at her. That was definitely not a small bite. Silena lightly wrapped her arm once more, and this time it held better. But she was still losing blood.

Thalia spoke up, her face pinched with worry, "We need ambrosia. Didn't you have some in the pack, Annabeth?"

"Yeah, I did." Annabeth had come up behind me, and I resisted the urge to turn around and look at her. "But now... I can't find it. I must have dropped the ambrosia during the fight. I just looked, but there was nothing." There was so much anguish in Annabeth's voice that I turned to see her. "I'm so sorry, Hazel! I should've been watching!" Annabeth looked near tears, and she was biting her trembling lip hard. I was just about to get up to comfort her, but Piper beat me to it.

The daughter of Aphrodite put her hand on Annabeth's shoulder soothingly, "It's all right, Annabeth. If we travel fast, we can get to Corinth and get some there, okay?" Annabeth took a deep breath, nodding. She never let a tear spill. She didn't cry much, I realized.

I still felt a pang, though. Watching Piper comfort Annabeth, not me in the daughter of Aphrodite's place. But it is better for Piper to comfort her, I told myself sternly. You can't provide much comfort right now, anyways.

I put attention back on Hazel, "You think you can make it back to Corinth."

Hazel nodded, her golden eyes shining.

"You're going to ride with me." I said that partially because I was worried about her, and partially because everyone else I didn't feel like riding with. Leo, Thalia, and Piper would ask questions, and I didn't want to answer any. And Piper, well, I didn't know her. So I didn't want to ride with her, not to be mean or anything.

And Annabeth. Definitely no. If she rode with me, I don't know what I'd say. I wanted to tell her, I wanted to tell someone, but I didn't want her to think of me as a monster of some sort. Maybe I was, but I didn't want her to think I was someone to be feared. Gods, I would hate that.

Hazel nodded, and I helped her up gently. The slashes on my chest protested as I bent down, but I ignored them and helped her over to Blackjack, lifting her onto the pegasus. I got on behind her, and watched as the rest mounted. Piper and Silena rode together again, and Thalia and Annabeth were on Porkpie. Leo hauled the sack of weapons over to the middle of the balcony as I called down the other pegasi. They hovered above us, the straps to hook onto the weapon bag dangling in the air. Leo caught one, and hastily attached each one. Then he mounted Guido, and we were off.

I made sure Hazel was secure, then told her to get some rest. She needed to sleep, as did all of us. But I had a feeling I would get much sleep tonight.

The entire ride to Corinth, my mind was stuck on that earthquake that shook me up as much as it did the earth. We took a different route, so we never passed over Athens. Consequently, nobody saw what had happened to the city. They hadn't asked either, because Hazel had taken up most of the attention. But I knew questions would come, and I loathed the answers I would have to give.

As we flew threw the dark night, I could feel two eyes piercing my back the whole ride. Dark grey eyes that I was now afraid to look at, despite their incredible beauty. I didn't turn, just felt her gaze upon me as we quickly made our way to Corinth.

"Percy! Over here!" Leo called to me. I turned to see him beckoning me over to the side of the street. He was standing near an inn inside the city of Corinth, one that the girls had chosen to take a break at.

It had been a quick and silent ride back to Corinth. Once we were at the periphery of the city, we decided that Leo and I would take the weapons to the mermen, and the girls would go get some ambrosia, fix Hazel up, then find a place they wanted to stop at before we continued down to Astros, where the rest of the Questers were heading to.

Lord Caspion's instructions had been to just leave the sack of weapons on the beach next to the water, he would have mermen watching. So Leo and I did just that, leaving the sack on the sand, the waves licking at the base of it. Before we left, I took a quick dip into the water, healing myself. A sigh of relief was torn from me as I felt the wounds closing up. They had hurt more than I expected. I switched the torn up tunic with a black one, then got up to go. When we lifted into the air, I looked back, and it was gone. Nodding once in satisfaction, I turned forward again, looking towards the city ahead of us. It wasn't long before we reached the outskirts of Corinth. We left the pegasi under the cover of some trees, then trudged into the town. Piper had contacted us through Iris Messaging, telling us both that they had found ambrosia, and Hazel was almost as good as new now. Relief hit me like one of Apollo's red bulls when I heard that.

She also told us that they were on the main street. I was a bit skeptical, but I figured nobody would really recognize us. I made my way through the throng of mortals, muttering "excuse me" as I bumped into people. Gods, I thought, traveling across Greece on a pegasus is easier than navigating this street. When I finally made it over to Leo, who was waiting for me by the brick building, I could see the five girls standing with him.

Hazel looked much better, almost as if nothing had happened. I once again marveled at the things ambrosia could do as I gave her a quick hug.

"I'm glad you're better," I said. She gave me a bright smile.

"Thanks, me too," she replied. "Now let's go eat and rest up."

"My favorite words," Leo said as he walked behind Hazel into the inn. Piper and Thalia both rolled their eyes simultaneously, then took their place behind Leo, chattering about whatever girls talk about as they went into the building. I was about to follow them, but Annabeth stopped me again.

But this time she didn't talk at all. She just latched her hand around the crook of my elbow, and dragged me away.

"What are you doing?" I said indignantly.

She ignored, like usual. Her grey eyes scanned the streets, and then lightened up when they found what they were searching for. She hauled me to an alley on the side of the inn, me struggling to stay on my feet. When we stopped, we were out of sight of the road. We couldn't see anybody on there, and they couldn't see us. The brick wall of the inn was dirty, and there were trash bins lined up against the building. As I watched, a cat jumped from one of them and made its way up the pipe of the neighboring structure. It was quiet, though. Well, as quiet as you could get on the main street of a town.

I looked back at Annabeth and met her keen gazed. She was studying me, and I knew I should look away. It was like she could see straight through my eyes and into my soul. And right now, after that earthquake, my soul probably wasn't looking too pretty.

"What happened?" Annabeth demanded, her grey eyes sparkling. The din from the town was now a background drabble. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" I asked, playing dumb. I didn't want to tell her. But it didn't work, my acting. Big surprise. The daughter of Athena raised an eyebrow, giving me a pointed glare.

I sighed. "Nothing. I'm just tired."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, saying sarcastically, "Yeah, right, and I'm pregnant." I scowled at her. "Just tell me, Percy," she continued. "I'm your friend, you can tell me anything." I cringed inwardly at the word "friend," but then I chided myself.

All the while, my brain was racing through the list of things I most definitely couldn't tell her, even if she was my best friend. One being my feelings for her, despite the fact that I barely acknowledged those feelings myself. I tried to shove them down, ignore them, but they were so hard to ignore. I mean, it's like she just gets more beautiful each day I see her, and I sometimes wish she'd stop being so drop-dead gorgeous, with those perfect, golden curls, piercing, storm grey eyes, and that breathtaking smile. It made it super hard to bury my feelings if they just constantly resurfaced whenever I laid eyes upon her.

Even now, glowering at me, with her hair pulled up messily into a ponytail, respiration frizzing bits of it and making her cheeks flush, she still looked amazing.

"Come on, Perce," she begged. "Just tell me, please. I want to help." The last part came out as a whisper, and I exhaled again, resisting the overwhelming urge to reach my hand up and brush the stray stand of hair from her cheek.

"It's just..." I sighed again. "The earthquake."

Annabeth frowned. "What?"

It all just tumbled out of my mouth. How the distraction had been an earthquake, Leo and I just hadn't told them. How I've never created an earthquake before, and when I just did, I didn't want it to stop. I explained the feelings of greed for the power I was exploiting, and how things got out of hand. I told her about my dark glee when I collapsed the buildings and heard the people scream.

"I hated it, but I loved it." I frowned, then amended my statement. "I hated that I loved it."

Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed as she took it all in. I bit my lip, waiting for her response with anxiety.

"So..." she trailed off uncertainly. "I know you didn't want that love for power, but what exactly is bothering you?"

"You!" I replied without hesitation, then blushed a little and fixed my words when she raised an eyebrow. "And Jason, and Nico, and the Questers, and- and everyone else around me! I couldn't stop the destruction I was making. If I did that again, I could hurt you guys, and I'd hate myself even more." My head was in my hands, and my fingers were running through my already messed up hair. I was rambling, and my breathing was ragged. Why wasn't Annabeth scolding me? Why wasn't she telling me the truth, that I was a despicable demigod with powers that could hurt lots of people?

A soft hand came up under my chin, lifting my head. My hands fell away from my hair as I looked into Annabeth's eyes, bracing myself for hatred. But what I saw wasn't disgust, wasn't anger or fear or even disappointment. Annabeth's grey eyes held concern and care, a gentle look that made me think everything would be alright. I closed my eyes a moment, then opened them back up.

"Why don't you hate me?" I whispered, my voice in shreds.

"Hate you?" Annabeth asked, genuinely confused. "Why in Hades would I hate you, Percy?"

"Because!" I started wildly. "I'm like a- a monster! A power-hungry monster with powers I can't control. I couldn't stop myself! The people running by all looked at me with so much fear. I don't want anybody looking at me like that. I hate it."

"Percy," Annabeth said.

"And now I hate myself, because of what I can do. It also scares me! Who's to say when it will happen again, and I won't be able to stop it? I don't want to be like that. It seems like every time I try to do something good, it only comes back to bite me. Like Calista." My voice cracked at the name of my little sister.

"Percy," Annabeth said once again, her tone more insistent, stopping my mad rush of words. "Percy," she repeated, "You are not a bad person."

"Really?" I asked darkly, my brow high on my forehead with a doubting arch. "And can you prove that in any way?"

Her grey eyes were sharp, as if looking directly through to my heart, then scrutinizing it, searching me.

"Percy, I can't prove anything," she began. "That's going to be up to you. But I can give you perfect reasons to show you have a good heart. You always want to help people, you're kind and caring. You're loyal. You stick with your friends through anything. If you and others are in danger, your first instinct is to help everybody else. And when I say instinct, I mean you don't even have to contemplate it, you'd risk your life to save others. You strive to do the right thing for the right cause, even if it's hard. You make difficult decisions for the right reason. You think of other matters before your own. You are so selfless. If the world or people in it tear you down, you stand right back up again. You keep going, even if it seems impossible. You are strong. You are all these things, and these things I can prove. But you are the one who gets to decide if you are a good person or not. You can look at everything you've done, and ask yourself if you want to keep doing the right thing, keep persevering through hard times, or you can look at this one little incident and let it rip up your walls and bring you down. You have to choose. You. Nobody else can choose for you. And I believe you will choose the right thing."

I had stared at Annabeth, my heart getting lighter as she named off everything that she thought of me. I felt breathless. She really thought all that about me? She believed I was good?

Bu the thing was, as she named off all of those, I felt good. Just looking at her looking at me, I felt worthwhile. She saw all the good in me even when I didn't. She believed in me even when I didn't. She looked at me like I was something good, like she knew even though I mess up, I would always be a good person in her eyes. With her, I could feel like a good man.

This girl, I thought in admiration, adoration, and awe, is the most amazing girl in the world.

As she looked up at me with those amazing grey eyes, full of faith in me, I chose to do the right thing. I would try so hard to do good to people around me, to keep going even if I fell. I knew Annabeth would help me, pick me back up if I fell too hard. Keep me going if I ever give up. She made me stronger. I never wanted to loose her.

I lifted my hand, placing it on her neck, my thumb caressing her cheek. I gave her a little smile before leaning in and planting a gentle kiss onto her cheek. I didn't lean back after that, but put my lips next to her ear.

"You are absolutely beautiful, my Annabeth," I whispered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her cheeks heat up. I had meant to say "thank you," but the words came out differently. Not that I was going to take them back. I looked at her face as she smiled.

For a moment, we just sat under each other's gaze. But then Annabeth said, "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Before the others think we've left them or something." With a final smile at me that made my heart skip a beat, she turned and walked out of the alley, back to the streets and inn.

Just then, I realized that when I said I never wanted to lose her, I really meant it. I couldn't bear the thought of not having Annabeth with me. I needed her with me. She was the better part of me, no matter how cliché that sounds. Somewhere along the time of knowing her, I had gone from thinking to she was pretty and nice to liking her, then to something more.

I think, my mind said as I followed Annabeth out of the deserted alley, I am in love with her.

Scratch that.

I am totally, helplessly in love with Annabeth Chase.

D'awwww. So sweet! Percy's finally admitted he's head over heels for Miss Chase. :)

QUESTION: How did you find my story? Like, were you just looking for random stories and chanced upon mine, or did a friend suggest it, or... what? Shanks, ya'll da best. ;)

Thanks to krazy. khik. noelle, Darkness's Stars, MaximumRide126, bmftas101, iheartpickles, and the guess that reviewed! (small crew, but I still loved your reviews!)

Q&A and Chatter :)

krazy. khik. noelle: Was it your birthday when I posted that? If so, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! If not, then... umm. Nvrmd, then. XD

MaximumRide126: I'm glad you like it!

Darkness's Stars: I'm trying! That was some Percabeth, right? :)

bmftas101: Thanks, and you're welcome! ;)

iheartpickles: We ALL need Percabeth. Gods, think if Percabeth didn't exist... my life wouldn't have a purpose. XD

Soooo... review and love you all! Ta ta for now, hopefully I'll update soon. I've already started on the next chapter, soooo... yeah. :) Love ya!