Sorry for the long wait. I'm sure Hades will punish me severely when I die.

Annabeth

"Piper!"

That was the first word I heard when I and the rest of the demigods who came from Athens landed in the camp of the Questers.

It had been a quiet trip to Astros; no monster attacks or any gods interfering. It was nice for a change. The trip had taken a little longer than Percy had thought, however. So the Questers had been waiting when we finally reached the outskirts of Astros. They had set up camp about a mile away from the town, shielded from view behind the crest of a hill. The pegasi touched down after circling the area once. Leo had taken the harnesses off the pegasi in Corinth, wrapping it into a surprising small space, and sticking it into his tool belt. Since the horses no longer had to carry the weapons, we didn't have to double up anymore. The pegasus I was riding dropped down next to Blackjack. Percy got off the black pegasus, then put his hands up to help me down. I gave him a small smile as I slid into his arms, which he returned tiredly.

I was concerned for him. He had been so bothered by that earthquake. I knew he beat himself up for it, and I wanted to help him, even if it was just stranding by his side each day. He was a good person. An amazing person. If only he could see that.

Also, he had gotten absolutely no sleep last night. Well, neither did I. As a matter of fact, he and I have been getting some rough nights of sleep, if we even got some shut-eye. I knew we had better get some sleep in. I could see dark bags under Percy's eyes. His eyelids looked like they had invisible hands that were trying to push them down. His clothes were dirtied and rumpled, and his hair was a big, ebony mess.

But he still looked incredibly handsome.

His eyebrows drew themselves together into a frown, and I realized I was staring.

"Something on my face, Wise Girl?" He asked jokingly.

I glared at him, but to be honest, my heart lifted a little, like a moping puppy when it hears a familiar voice. Percy had cracked a joke, and no matter how small it was, it was still a joke, which meant he wasn't totally distressed still over the past events.

I tore my gaze away from his sea green eyes, looking instead at the Questers around us. Jason had been the one to shout out the daughter of Aphrodite's name, and he now ran up to her, practically dragging her off her horse and into a tight embrace. I smiled at the sight. Thalia dismounted, rolling her eyes.

Frank and Hazel were next, Frank hugging his girlfriend fiercely, Hazel being almost squashed by Frank's giant bear hug.

Silena hopped silently off her pegasus, then looked around uncertainly, rubbing her arm. Charles Beckendorf walked up to introduce himself, and get her settled in.

Leo hopped off Guido, then spread his arms out wide, grinning like a madman. He waited for a second, then sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes toward the sky when nobody moved towards him. His eyes said, Your loss.

Percy exhaled largely, shaking his head at the fire user. He and I watched as the rest of the Questers came up, bringing an onslaught of questions with them. The son of Poseidon smiled, greeting them all, and held up a hand.

"Whoa!" He said, pausing the questions. "Yes, we got the weapons to the mermen. That's the big answer."

"What happened? How did you get the weapons?" Nyssa asked from the back.

Percy's eyes darkened, and I knew he was thinking about the earthquake. "It's a long story, and we need to get going. I trust Jason and Nico let you guys get some rest?"

They nodded.

"Good, so we can start up again. Everybody, let's get packed up, and we'll get going." Percy shooed them all away, and they left, complaining like little kids that they didn't get to hear the story.

I frowned at Percy. "Don't you think you should get some rest?"

"Nah, I'm good," Percy replied, shrugging. Then he paused, struck by a thought. "Unless you want some sleep. Did you want to pause and rest? We can stay here for a bit more if you need."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine, Percy." He relaxed, nodding, but he still looked at me with concern. I almost told him he didn't need to worry about me, but I realized I was doing the same thing. Worrying about him, that is.

I sighed, then trudged over to grab my pack and get back onto my pegasus. More traveling.

"Alright everybody! It'll be about twenty minutes until they get here!" Percy shouted over the din of the Questers chatting with one another.

We had reached Neapoli, a small town on the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the sea. We were getting closer to Antikythera, where we would no doubt see a battle. Some of us were getting hyped up for it, while others were looking around fearfully, anxiety biting at them. Harley was one of those. He was hardly eight. Though I had seen him practicing with Leo, and I figured he would do pretty well. Demigods tended to learn faster than mortals. Their lives depended on it every day.

We were all camped on the beach. The big question had been how in Hades will we get to that island?

"We could ask for a ship at the dock in Neapoli," Jason had suggested.

Frank shook his head. "We're trying to stay inconspicuous. If we do that, rumors are going to start, and then somebody will find out, and word might get to Luke and his cronies. We want the element of surprise on our side."

"Then we steal a boat!" Leo said enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up with a mischievous fire.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "No, Leo. We won't do that the people."

Percy had been quiet, thinking. "We won't be able to use a boat."

Leo added a sarcastic comment. "Oh, that's wonderful. We can just strut right up to the island and declare war. But wait... it's an island. Usually islands are surrounded by water. But no-oo. Let's just see how long we last walking out on the ocean." He started to walk to the shore dramatically, but Frank grabbed the cuff of his shirt collar and jerked him back while Percy answered.

"Hippocampi." The word Percy uttered was so quiet I thought he was just thinking out loud.

"Hippo-wha?" Leo asked, still in Frank's clutch. "That sounds kind of made up to me, man. "

Percy ignored him, turning to me. "I could get hippocampi. I bet I could." I knew what they were. They were the horses of the sea, swift and strong. If Percy could get enough, we could make it to the island in half the amount of time it would take by boat. I nodded, and he walked over to the sea, standing in the waves and looking out at sea.

Leo pursed his lips. "Well. Staring out at sea will definitely help us."

"Frank," Hazel said, making it sound like a command. Frank nodded and clapped his hand upside Leo's head. The fire user yelped, glaring at the big man holding him. He stuck out his tongue, wriggling out of Frank's grip. I turned my attention back to Percy. He was walking back already. That was fast.

"They should be coming soon," he said.

Leo raised his hand like a curious schoolboy. "Um, who is 'they'?"

The son of Poseidon frowned, standing by me. "I told you. The hippocampi. But there's not going to be enough for all of us. We'll have to double up."

I nodded, and Percy started to explain to the Questers what was happening. I frowned at the ground. We were going to have to travel lightly. Doing a quick assumption, I guessed it would take about four hours or so to reach Antikythera. By then, we'll have to fight. The force of how unprepared we were at the moment hit me hard, and my breath came out in a ragged gasp. What were we thinking? I looked around. There were about thirty demigods. I knew Luke had at least fifteen men with him; men who could fight. And that was just one party. Also, if he somehow was the one behind the dozens of hellhounds appearing in my room, then he probably had more monsters at his side. Plus, the gods were cut off from us somehow, so they would be no help. We had the mermen, sure, but they can't go on ground. They'll be helpful holding off attacks in the water, but the main attack will be on land. They won't be able to assist us.

My mind wandered back to my brothers, and what I had asked of them when we were retrieving the daggers for the mermen. If they could do what I asked, then we might stand a chance. But I hadn't seen or heard from them, not even one bit. Who was I kidding. Did I really think they'd be able to do that?

I watched the Questers bustling around me. Jason and Piper talking quietly; Leo setting Nico's ponytail on fire, then guffawing as Nico yelled and slapped at his own face, trying to put it out; Hazel conversing with Nyssa while Frank told Harley a story; Silena standing silently, Beckendorf's giant figure next to her. I wondered who was going to come out of this battle alive, if any of us were.

"Hey." Percy's voice came from behind me, and I spun around to look at him. His eyebrows were bunched slightly, looking at me in a bit of concern. "You okay?"

I nodded quickly, rubbing my arm. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured him with a lie. I didn't want to talk about the fight coming up, so I just changed the subject. "How long until the hippocampi get here?"

Percy shrugged. "Should be any minute now. I- uh, do you want to ride with me? I just- I kind of want to talk to you."

I nodded, trying to act nonchalant. "Sure. As long as you let me get some sleep," I replied jokingly with a small smile. Well, half-jokinly. I was really tired. He smiled back, making the day a bit brighter, then turned to go see how the Questers were doing. As he was walking away, I saw something glint out in the sea. I peered closer, squinting. It looked like dolphins skimming the tops of the ocean.

"They're here!" Connor said. He was watching the sea with his brother, and they started racing back to the rest of the demigods, shoving each other and trying to trip the other to get ahead. I rolled my eyes, grabbing my pack off the ground. I had already packed really lightly, so I didn't need to let anything go like some of the demigods had. They had put their extra clothes and bedrolls and such in a big sack, and stowed it on the shore in a clump of bushes, planning to come back once the battle is done.

I looked at the hippocampi. They were beautiful. Their scales glistened with multiple different colors, like the rainbows of the ocean. They looked proud and majestic, but also friendly and fun. There were about fifteen of them, all wading out a little ways from the shore. They whinnied at each other, dancing in the waves, their scales casting lights out on the water.

Shouldering my bag, I went to go find Percy. He was saying that he was going to summon the water forward so the hippocampi can come closer, then we all had to mount fast so Percy didn't have to do that for too long. They nodded, hugging their packs. Harley was beaming and pointing out the hippocampi to Nyssa, who was smiling fondly down at him and nodding like a mom to her toddler. Percy thrust his hand out towards the sea, then pulled it back slowly, fist clenched. The water responded. The waves receded, all bunching up with the water the hippocampi were in. The water started rising up. It was like a wall of liquid approaching us. The hippocampi rode the water, coming closer, until we could touch them.

I saw some of the Questers hop on, pulling their partner up with them. I glanced at Percy, asking him silently which one I should get on. He nodded at a far one that seemed to be waiting. It looked like the biggest, the leader. Percy didn't say anything, but I knew he summoned that hippocampus. The hippocampus came forward nobly, dipping his muscled neck when it reached me. I smiled timidly at the beast, then slung my hand around it's neck and lifted myself up. I was surprised to find that the seat wasn't that uncomfortable, because the back of the water-horse was arched. I settled in, swinging my pack around my shoulder so it was kind of in my lap. The mane of the hippocampus was the same colors as its scales. So basically it had all colors squished together, rippling like the sea. I tentatively touched it, finding the soft hair under my fingers. The hippocampus snorted and tossed its head, neighing at me. It sounded like he was letting me hold on. I clutched his mane tighter, then looked back at Percy.

Percy was watching the progress of the Questers. When the last two people had gotten on, he relaxed his muscles, and the water went back to normal. The hippocampi had drifted back slowly, and we all waited for Percy. The son of Poseidon jumped into the water, propelling himself over to me. I held out a hand to help him, and he grabbed it, pulling himself onto the hippocampus behind me. Percy was dry, not a drop of water clinging to him. He nodded, and the hippocampi started moving, spinning around and shooting out towards the south. They were fast and smooth, and I marveled at their speed. A spray of water went up behind us, but the hippocampi had split up so we were all in a sort of loose formation so no one got wet.

I couldn't help but notice Percy's arm around my waist. I know, call me a love-sick girly-girl, but I couldn't help it. He was holding onto my waist, but it felt more like he was securing me than himself. I cleared my throat.

"So, you wanted to, uh, talk." I grit my teeth at my voice, which was about an octave higher than normal. I forced myself to get it back together.

"Yeah," Percy replied simply.

"Well," I said, pleased to find my voice was normal, "Shoot."

Percy was silent for a moment, and his hand around my stomach shifted. I could feel puffs of his breath on my hair as well as his eyes staring at the back of my head, but I resisted the urge to turn around and look at him.

In the silence, his words from earlier echoed through my head. You are absolutely beautiful, my Annabeth.

First, he had called me beautiful. I didn't hear that a lot. Sure, Piper told me she envied my looks sometimes, and Artemis had told me I was pretty when I was younger, but I thought little of it. I assumed they were just trying to be nice. However, when Percy had said it, I'd heard it. Like, really heard it. He had utterly meant that he said, and it made peculiar feeling bubble up inside me, making my chest contract, but not painfully. Just thinking about it again, my stomach seemed to do a backflip.

Second was that he said "my Annabeth." My. Like he was claiming me, but not a commanding way. More like he was reassuring himself that I was there, with him. I was his friend who would stick by his side.

Friend? A little voice inside me questioned. I tried to shove it down. That voice had been pestering me about Percy for the past week or so, demanding to know my status with Percy. But the problem was, I didn't know. We were definitely friends. Best friends. But then the gods had forced us apart, and we had kissed (I tried to calm the frantic butterflies raging around in my stomach as I recalled that), and parted. But then he showed up at the War Games, and I have to say, seeing him again made me feel so happy and relieved, more so than I had ever felt upon seeing a friend after a long time. Then I take in the confusing feelings I know I have for him, despite how many times I might deny it, and I think maybe we're more than friends. But we aren't, and what if he doesn't even feel the same way? I couldn't just ask him to tell me how he felt, and tell him how I felt.

Then there are the people who keep telling me I need to tell the people I love that I love them.

Woah, I thought. I was getting ahead of myself. Love? I loved Percy? Unlike a lot of people in the world, I took that word very seriously. Love to me was a commitment, something so strong I thought most people never felt true love. Love had been watered down over the centuries, so now it was way too overused. But it still meant something to me. Meant a lot, actually. I don't know if I felt that much about Percy. But, at the same time...

Gods, things are complicated.

"I was thinking of my sister." Percy's words pulled me out of my thoughts and into reality. I cocked my head a little to hear him better.

"After she... she died," Percy said, his voice trembling slightly, "I brought her to Olympus, planning to rant and rage to the stupid gods. But once I got there, I just collapsed. I couldn't say a thing, the sorrow was too overwhelming. The gods seemed shocked. Some were more sympathetic than I expected. They tried to make it up to me, offering me anything." Percy paused, and I kept my gaze ahead. But I let my left hand fall down to hold his hand which wasn't around my waist. He clenched it, and continued to talk. "For a second, I was temped to ask them to take my life."

My hand tightened almost imperceptibly at this, but Percy noticed, and he gave my hand a small reassuring squeeze. A splash of water came up, covering our hands, but Percy's stayed dry, and he kept my hand dry as well.

"But I thought better. I couldn't do that to my mom. She already lost her daughter, why would I take her son from her as well? But my mom... she was the only reason then. I wanted to die." I didn't know why he was telling me this, but I let him. If he needed to tell someone, needed someone to help him with his burden, then I was more than willing to help him.

"Instead," Percy said," I asked that they let Calista into Elysium, and that should my mother have another child, he or she would be protected from the life of a demigod. The gods agreed, and that day I buried my sister." Percy's breathing was heavy. I couldn't blame him. He was sharing something personal and tragic. With me.

Percy's hand tightened around my waist, and he leaned his forehead on my shoulder, silent for a minute. His head came back up. "Calista was always one of the most precious things in my life, and when she left, I became obsessed. I still clung to her, too tightly. Even though she moved on, I never did. I was always tied to the guilt- that losing her was my fault."

I opened my mouth to protest to that, but Percy held up his hand, stopping me.

"But I've realized something." Percy paused, and I waited. "In the recent past, I've been undoing that knot that made me cling so tightly to that day. I'm- I'm finally letting go, bit by bit. I will never get over what happened, but I've learned to... accept it. It was what the Fates destined, and I can't change that. Calista is still precious to me, and my memories with her can never be replace. But... something- or more like someone- else has started to fill that gaping whole Calista left. Actually, that person has kind of filled it up so much, it's overflowed into something different."

"Annabeth," Percy started uncertainly. My hands were getting sweaty. What was he trying to say? "When I first saw you- well, I thought you were beautiful. But to be honest, I just didn't give you much though. I thought, with your beauty and wonderful mind and title, that you would be the snobby girl with a line of adoring men you would just play with.

"But gods, was I wrong. You're the complete opposite. But not the beautiful part," he rushed on assuredly, causing my face to heat up. I was glad he couldn't see it. "You're even more beautiful that the day I met you. But you weren't snobby, or mean. Though you are stubborn beyond belief..." I shot a glare over my shoulder, seeing his smirk twisting his face. "So we became friends. Reluctant at first, but then we became better friends. Then we got split up by the gods, who thought I would cause you harm. Trust me, thought, I would never forgive myself if I caused you any harm. So we left each other, and that was the worst goodbye ever." He thought for a moment. "But... one part of it was amazing." I felt the sheepish smile in Percy's voice. My face grew hotter.

"Anyway," Percy trekked on. "I hated those few weeks we weren't together. I missed you, Annabeth. I missed you a lot. I was sulky, didn't eat as much, and I was never really happy."

I nodded slightly in understanding. I could relate to that. I was pretty much the exact same way.

"So I was beyond happy when I got to see you again, even though we had the threat of Luke and all." A slight bit of silence. "I guess... I'm trying to say that... that you've become a part of my life now. I can't imagine living without you. You're my best friend, but... I don't think of you as a best friend anymore. No- no, I don't mean that." He sounded agitated, and I bet he could hear my heart pumping right now. It sounded like a drum to me, and felt like one too. "I still think of you as a friend, just not as a friend..." He trailed off, probably grimacing at his choice of words.

Oh gods. What was he trying to say? Was he saying... was he saying that he-

"Percy!"

I glanced once more back at Percy to see if he heard his name being shouted by someone. He clenched his jaw.

"Now?" He muttered under his breath, obviously irritated at the interruption of... whatever we were talking about.

He twisted in his seat to try to see who called. I did as well, looking around. I guess when Percy had been talking, I had totally been wrapped up in his words, and I hadn't really focused on the things around me. And that's bad, especially for a demigod. Demigods never know when a monster might come and attack them, so they always need to be watching.

Like now. I didn't see anything, but the Questers were all tense, and the hippocampi were tossing their heads and gathering together, including ours. Percy was frowning at the water. When I followed his gaze, I saw ripples moving through the water like there were sharks following us. But that didn't make sense, because Percy was basically their prince, they wouldn't attack him. Actually, I can probably make the safe guess and say that most times Percy was safe at sea. He was Poseidon's son, prince of the sea.

"Percy, what is that?" I asked frantically, drawing my knife as the hippocampus we were riding rushed around, whinnying to the other horses.

Percy's face was lined with rage. "Mermen."

I was about to ask what he was talking about, for we had basically just allied with the mermen, when I remembered the fight. The fight with the drakon to get into Mount Olympus, and me falling into the ocean, and those mermen jerks that tried to kill me.

"Shar." The one word uttered from my mouth made Percy nod, Riptide glinting deadly in his hand. He started shouting orders to the Questers as they drew their own weapons, telling them to get into a formation. I saw Thalia with her drawn bow, waiting for the mermen to show their faces. I was sure it was mermen, for even as I looked, I saw a flash of a tail next to the hippocampus Nyssa and Harley were one. Nyssa tried to slice it with her axe, but she was too slow, and it slipped out of her reaches.

The next victims were Percy and I. A few feet away from us, a merman shot out of the water, a blade in its hand. It came from behind us, and I turned in time to see fangs slashing at me. But Percy was quick enough. Riptide came up in an arc, slicing through the merman. The fish-man dropped into the water, staining it pinkish. Percy's free hand was tightened protectively around my waist. Water surged up, spraying us. I closed my eyes to protect them from the salty liquid, and when I opened them back up again, I barely had time to swing my dagger around to parry a slash delivered from a different merman. I tried to retaliate, but the merman slipped back into the water, it's tail flashing as it streaked into the darkness.

I looked over at the rest of the Questers. Jason was doing pretty well, and Nico and Leo had teamed up, their hippocampi following each other as Nico made a merman jump out of the water and Leo would send a fireball after it. But there were so many mermen. I hadn't seen Shar, but if he showed his ugly little head, I was going to do my best to part his slimy face from his body.

I felt Percy move behind me, and I watched as he slid into the water, chasing a merman. I wasn't so worried about him, though. He was safer in the water than he was on a hippocampi. The water was where he belonged.

My breath had started to turn ragged, and salt water continually dripped from my face and into my eyes. I amazingly hadn't gotten that badly cut yet, but I couldn't say the same for some of the Questers. Silena took a nasty cut up her leg, and Beckendorf yelled in rage, decapitating the merman before it had even gone back down into the water. Jason also had a laceration on his wrist, and it was slowing his movements down. Thalia was by his side, however, looking like the patron goddess of danger herself with her glistening silver arrows and a deadly calm, threatening glare to anything hostile that came near her.

But it was still going badly. I couldn't tell how many mermen would keep coming, but they would eventually win. I couldn't see Percy, I just hoped he was okay.

I was fighting a merman right now, and though I was winning this small battle, another came up behind me. I tried to swing around to block the new merman's blow, and I did, but I unbalanced myself. The hippocampus I was riding tried to hold me up, but then a merman grabbed my arm, yanking me off the horse. I didn't even have time to yell before I was underwater, cold darkness swirling around me.

I pivoted, trying to find the two mermen who were fighting me, my blade still tight in my grip. I saw one coming right at me with feral-looking eyes. I couldn't move fast enough to dodge him in the sluggish water, so I just brought my blade up, parrying his attack. He backed off, and I shot for the surface. I broke through, taking in a deep breath. I saw Percy, but he hadn't seen me underwater. Silena had, though, and she was pointing at me, yelling for help. But then something grabbed my ankle, and I was jerked back under the surface, going farther down this time.

My ears popped, and I anxiously tried to disengage myself from my attacker. But he was strong, and I didn't stand a chance. The grip on my ankle tightened painfully, and I let out a small yelp, watching the precious pocket of air floating towards the sky. It was growing darker and darker, and I could only see dark shapes moving around in the water surrounding me. My vision was tunneling, and my movements were becoming slow as my lungs screamed and beat at me for oxygen.

Bu then the merman let go. I was free. But I still needed air. I glanced down to see if the merman was coming back, but I saw something wrestling with the merman. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't have time. I was losing consciousness. I kicked for the surface anxiously, but I couldn't make it. I almost lost my dagger, but I clung to it desperately. A pair of arms wrapped around me from behind, and I lashed back, trying to free myself. But they held on, lugging me upwards.

Wait. Upward?

I took a risk and relaxed, letting myself be pulled up. I didn't know if the merman was trying to bring me to the surface to kill me, or if Percy had somehow managed to get me, but I still had to reach the surface. Black spots were dancing in my eyes. But my surrounding was getting lighter.

We broke through the surface, and I coughed out water, gasping in air. The person holding me pulled me over to my waiting hippocampus, and pushed me onto it. I grabbed the mane, dragging myself onto the horse. Surprisingly, the pack around my shoulders had stayed on, not falling off, though it was dripping wet and was dead weight at the moment. I turned around, expecting to see Percy, but someone else had helped me, his long brown hair dripping and green eyes sparkling.

Adrian. "Needed a little help, huh, Miss Chase?" He smirked, and I shook my head at him, but I couldn't help the wave of relief overtaking me as I saw Adrian hadn't come alone. As I watched, two of the mermen attacking Jason and Thalia were dragged underwater by two equally fierce mermen. You could easily tell which ones were on our side. Shar's men looked like half-sharks, not very human. The mermen Adrian had brought, however, were fully human on their upper bodies, with armor and celestial bronze daggers in their hands.

More of Adrian's men started coming out, easily overtaking Shar's men with the weapon of surprise. I watched Adrian draw two deadly looking broadswords from criss-crossing scabbards on his back, and he started chopping down Shar's men left and right. Percy had seen all of the new mermen helping, and his gaze spotted Adrian. He grinned a greeting, which his friend returned, then went back to fighting with renewed vigor upon seeing allies helping.

In no time, all of Shar's men had either been defeated or had retreated back to wherever they came from. Tartarus, probably.

Everybody started recovering, checking on friends to see if they were okay. Many kept an eye on the water, just in case any bad mermen came back. "Get ambrosia to the injured," Percy ordered. He was holding up an injured merman, one on our side. Nico took the merman from him, feeding him some of the godly food. Percy swam over to me and Adrian, who was beside me in the water.

"You okay?" He asked desperately, searching me over for any sign of wounds.

I gestured to the merman beside us, "Thanks to Adrian, yes, I am."

Percy dipped his head towards Adrian, "My thanks to you." Adrian smiled at him, nodding in return.

"We were actually on our way to deliver some news, and it's a good thing my men showed up when we did," Adrian said. Not cockily, just relieved.

"Again, thank you. And the news?" Percy said. He pulled himself out of the water, sitting behind me again. His hand came around my waist, and I realized how tired I was. My muscles felt like jelly, and I was still out of breath. I wanted to just lean back into Percy and take a nap, but Adrian's next words snapped me out of my moment of exhaustion.

"Unfortunately, the news I'm bringing isn't very good."

I looked at him with dread. All we needed right now- right before a big battle where the chances were thinning- was bad news. Sarcasm intended.

Percy exchanged a glance with me. Then he sighed, looking back at Adrian. "Tell me. Please."

Adrian pursed his lips. "We know why we can't communicate with the gods."

Adrian then proceeded into his story. On their way here, they encountered a couple of dolphins. They were sent by Poseidon to tell the mermen the reason he wasn't able to communicate with them or Percy or any of the demigods. Apparently, Luke did something to Iris, the goddess of communication. Either he made a deal with her, which the gods are finding it hard to believe that another god would betray them like that, or he's somehow taken control over her and forced her to stop communication between the gods and mankind and demigods.

"Iris has enough power to overrule even Zeus on that?" Percy asked, astonished.

Adrian shrugged. "I guess. That's all we could figure out from the dolphins. I bet it was hard for Poseidon to find a way around Iris to get a message to us."

Percy was quiet, pondering this new information. "This isn't good." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the obvious statement.

"Well," Adrian replied, "Lord Caspion told us to escort your group to Antikythera, and the rest of the mermen are planning on meeting us two miles off the shores of the island. One of Poseidon's old palaces is there, and it should be safe from the enemy's eyes." Percy nodded, then beckoned Jason and Nico over. They moved their hippocampi over. Piper was riding with Jason, and Nico had taken Harley from Nyssa so the daughter of Hephaestus could tend to Silena's arm. Beckendorf watched Silena being treated anxiously. I would have to ask Silena about her new friend sometime.

Percy repeated Adrian's words to his two second-in-commands, then proceeded to tell them what we were going to do. I watched him as he talked, his jaw moving up and down, his hand shifting on my waist. His sea green eyes would flash over to me every once in a while. I couldn't help but recall our interrupted conversation. What had he been trying to say? The curiosity was biting at me, and I wanted to ask, wanted him to keep talking, but we had more pressing matters on our hands right now.

This was going to be a big battle, and we needed a plan. As daughter of Athena, I know I'm going to be expected to come up with that plan. Even though I thought of it as a privilege sometimes, and I was proud to be able to make a plan, it was a heavy burden on my shoulders now. I was basically handed the lives of everyone in our group, and Adrian and all the mermen. Their lives depended on whatever I came up with. I was now responsible for every life here.

No pressure, huh?

Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Being busy sounds like a lame excuse, but it's true. I'll try, promise. On the river Styx. *thunder*

Thanks to IIII Winter Wolf IIII, bmftas101, CandyLover4180, PoseidonPrince, Turquoise Crystal, FanaticPj2003, krazy. khik. noelle, OMGOMGOMG, Aruniga, drafgon, nicky, Son Of Oblivion 7, Castle-of-Dreams and the guests for reviewing!

Q&A and the likes.

IIII Winter Wolf IIII: Little Percabeths running around... XD That made me laugh, thank you! :)

bmftas: Well that was a slim chance of finding this story out of all the other fanfics! :)

Son Of Oblivion 7: Yeah... I've looked back and cringed at some things too. Oh well, not like it's getting published or anything! But I'll try to keep the time period in mind. :P

I seriously love your guys' reviews. Thank you all so much! I'm already working on the next chapter! Sorry this story is sooooo long. BUT!: I've already got a plan for a new story after this, and I'm kinda sorta REALLY EXCITED! Anywho, have a great day! :)