A/N Okay so today is a double update day. It just is, for some reason.

I'm not sure what to think. You guys really seem to think I'd kill Annabeth... so maybe I should! *Dodges knives* Kidding! I'm kidding! I wouldn't break up Percabeth. Not in this Fic anyway... :-P

Thanks for the reviews guys, it means so much to me that you take the time to write one!

"Annabeth!"

The blond girl gasped for breath as Thalia placed her gently onto an empty pallet.

"Will! Snap out of it, and do something!"

Will gaped at her. This was proof that he was still dreaming. This sort of thing happened to other people- it didn't happen to Annabeth. Annabeth was one of the constants in camp, one of the people who made it home, one of the things that never changed. She couldn't be dying now. She couldn-

Thalia slapped him hard across the face. It hurt- she'd chosen the side with the black eye.

He gaped at her. "Th- Th- Annabeth- Wha-"

She slapped him again, in the same place. Tears glistened in her eyes.

"You snap out of it right now, William Solace! Snap out of it and heal her! If you let her die, I'll- I'll-" They spilled over her cheeks, carving glistening paths over the silvery skin. "Annabeth is my oldest friend! I've already lost Luke, and- and Zoë, and if you let her-"

Will found his voice. "I won't! Let me see her..."

He trailed away, glancing at Nico's translucent form. Thalia raised her hand and he flinched. "Your boyfriend can wait! He's not dy- dying..." her voice broke.

Will almost protested that Nico and himself were not an item, and why did everyone seem to think that they were; a glance at her face told him that this was a bad time, however.

He bent over and examined the wound.

"I need a clean towel, some gauze, and bandages."

Thalia passed them to him with trembling figures.

He looked at her. "Go outside. I can do this. She'll be fine."

Thalia left, whiter than Nico usually was.

He started talking as he used the towel to apply pressure around the wound. "Annabeth? Can you hear me, Annabeth?"

"Mmn- P-Perce?" She whispered.

Will felt his heart contract. "Tell me about him. Tell me about Percy, Annabeth."

Haltingly, slowly, she started talking. She wasn't talking to him, though. Between gasping breaths, she told the air around them about how Percy had kept her sane through Tartarus; how he was always there for her; how much she loved him. When she gasped, "And here- here we are again, Sea- seaweed brain. I took -took the knife for y- you again, Sea-seaweed b-brain...", Will recalled that time during the Titan war that she had jumped in front of Percy and took a poisoned blade to save his life. He hoped that that wasn't where this wound came from, but knew in his heart that it was.

As he slowly removed the knife, he sang a hymn to his father, praying for his help. Annabeth's breathing grew more laboured; he sang louder and louder. He was sure her skin was glowing a faint gold, but that may have been his own exhausted state.

When he got the blade clear of her skin, however, he saw that he was wrong. A bright light, like a miniature sun, shone from the wound, and then it closed up completely, leaving only a small scar.

His song had worked.

Annabeth's breathing grew steady, and she drifted off to sleep.

Will sat back, drained. Then a hand grasped his shoulder. "You did it."

Nico.

He spun around to start apologising, but Nico cut him off. "No, you did the right thing. I'm fine, but if you had gone to help me, she would have died. You saved her life, Will."

He smiled wanley.

Will, however, set his jaw. "This has to stop."

"I know it does, Sunshine. I know."

He didn't understand. "No. I mean, this has to stop, now."

Nico looked at him. "How will you manage that? You can't do anything about it."

Will glared at him. "How many have died, Nico? How many?"

Nico bowed his head. "Four."

"Four dead, Nico. How many more will die if this keeps going? How many more will die over a petty squabble?"

Now Nico looked angry. "It's not a petty-"

"I know what they did to me, Nico. They did it to me, after all!" His voice was getting louder; he would be shouting soon. "Don't you think I should be the one to decide on what happens to me? Don't I get a say in my life?"

Nico looked slightly afraid. "Of course, Will. I just wanted to protect you..." he whispered.

Will sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, Nico."

Nico just nodded.

"I have to stop this. I am going to go out and stop this. And you aren't coming: you're dead on your feet."

"Will, you-"

But Will's blue eyes held a steely glint, and Nico stopped talking.

"Four people are dead, Nico."

Nico flinched. "Six. Don't be one of them."

"I won't. I'll end this."

He ruffled the other boy's hair, then stood up to leave.

Nico watched him go from the shadows, then flinched again. "Seven."

A/N I'll tell you who died in a later chapter...

I didn't kill Annabeth though! That's the important bit, right? :-D

Reviews mean everything! Please leave one!

As always, hope you enjoyed it!

~Fi