So, this is the slightly sad Percabeth chapter. It's definitely not as good as the last one, but I don't think it's too bad.

Also, double update, guys, and I hope to get plenty of reviews for both chapters!

Sorry again about the late update. It really wasn't my fault.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter XLI

Percy

Percy falls asleep soon after Annabeth; her soft breathing is like a lullaby. But then the dreams start, and the nightmares are the worst they've ever been.

He's back in Tartarus, his lungs burning from the acidic air. He's kneeling in front of the arai, burning in agony from dozens of curses, the worst of which is gorgon's blood. Annabeth is crying, calling his name in despair, blind and thinking he's abandoned her.

This already happened, He thinks. This already happened.

But no matter how many times he repeats it, he remains in the same place, and the pain racking his body is so real he's having a harder and harder time convincing himself it's just a dream.

"Bob," he croaks, just like he did in real life. "I need you." He felt the hopelessness all over again.

You see the horror of the pit? the arai said soothingly. Give up, Percy Jackson. Isn't death better than enduring this place?

"I'm sorry," He murmurs. Why am I reliving this? He thinks inside.

He apologizes! The arai shriek with delight. He regrets his failed life, his crimes against the children of Tartarus!

"No," He says. "I'm sorry, Bob. I should've been honest with you. Please...forgive me. Protect Annabeth."

He feels the peace that came with clearing his conscience, all over again. He climbs to his feet, raising Riptide, feeling his legs shake and seeing the steam rise from his whole body.

In real life, now would be when Bob came and killed the arai, saving him and Annabeth. But now, there's nothing. The arai continue to stare at him, waiting for him to die.

No, he thinks, this isn't right. This isn't how it happened.

He waits for Bob to show up and use his broom to destroy the arai, but still nothing happens. Instead, the arai at the front speaks with Gaea's voice.

You have cause me too much trouble, Perseus Jackson. Percy is reminded, ridiculously, of a time five years ago when Alecto, in the guise of Mrs. Dodds, said something similar. If you had joined me, or given yourself up, the life of your friends may have been spared. I might even have chosen to use the blood of a female demigod other than that of your girlfriend, Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth's voice seems to grow louder and even more desperate when Gaea mentions her name. She stumbles forward until she stands at the very edge of the cliff, the same one the Bob saved her from falling over in real life. Except he's not here now.

"Annabeth...no." Percy croaks, taking a shaky step towards her, even as the burning agony inside him intensifies. But the arai possessed by Gaea hisses and pushes him back, causing him to fall to his knees.

A noble try, demigod. But I'm afraid there will be no saving your love this time. Because I always win, in the end. And so you will die in agony, many times more painfully than gorgon's blood.

Percy somehow manages to struggle to his feet again. "You will never win, Gaea." He says, his voice quieter than a whisper.

No? Then what am I doing right now, Perseus? She says, her voice barely even the least bit dreamy and trance-like. You will die, Perseus, and I will kill you, but first I think you should have the chance to watch your lovely Annabeth die, because you are helpless to save her.

Annabeth shuffles closer to the edge, so that she would fall if she so much as shifted her weight forward.

"No," Percy whispers, stumbling forward. The arai don't even bother to stop him. They know he won't make it in time to save her from Gaea.

You don't know when to quit, do you, Perseus? It's hopeless. You cannot save her. You cannot even save yourself.

He persists, struggling towards Annabeth. She turns her head, her blind eyes searching, looking endlessly for what's right in front of them.

"Percy," she says, crying, "Why did you leave me?" And her voice is as full of despair as it was filled with love earlier-

Percy snatches that thought from the rest. Stars, he thinks. Dancing. We were dancing on the deck, underneath the stars. We're out of Tartarus.This isn't real. It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream. He chants in his head.

But it seems so real. He can feel the hot air against his skin, scorching his throat and lungs with every breath. He can feel the poison coursing through his veins, and all the other curses. The ground beneath his feet is solid.

He lurches forward again, towards Annabeth, reaching out to her with his hand.

"Annabeth!" He calls in despair, knowing she can't hear him, knowing she thinks he abandoned her.

She leans forward, about to take another step, and starts to fall instead. Percy lunges forward, tries to catch her, but she's too far away. He's forced to watch as she loses her balance, flailing her arms, and tips backwards over the edge of the cliff...

But before she can fall, something far stronger than Gaea, or anything, rips through the dream and tears it to shreds, shocking him awake.

The sound of Annabeth's scream.

"Annabeth!" He shouts, part of him still stuck in his dream. Then he realizes that he's not in Tartarus, Annabeth isn't falling. They're on the Argo, in Annabeth's room. It was just a dream.

But Annabeth is screaming, flailing around next to him. Tears are falling from her eyes, but she's still asleep.

Percy sits up and reaches for her, trying to wake her up. But she flinches away from him.

"Percy!" She screams, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"Annabeth, it's okay!" He says. "We're out, we're not in Tartarus anymore." He tells her. He pulls her to him, ignoring her flailing arms and legs, even when she punches him in the face. He holds her tightly to his chest, talking, trying to wake her up.

"Shhhh, Annabeth, it's okay. We're out. We're together." He murmurs. She starts to quiet down, curling against his chest, sobbing.

"Percy," she cries. "Percy." She buries her head against his chest, and he holds her there, petting her hair.

"I'm here, I'm here. Shhhh, it's okay. It was just a dream. Just a dream." He reassures her.

"Percy-it was Arachne-she was there, and-and you weren't fast enough-" She starts crying harder.

"Arachne's dead, Annabeth, remember? I killed her. She's dead, and we're not in Tartarus anymore." He soothes. "I was fast enough. I'm fine, and you're fine, and we're together."

The door opens, and Hazel appears in the doorway, looking around wildly. "What is it? What's wrong? Is Annabeth okay?"

"She's fine, Hazel. Just a nightmare. She's fine." Percy explains. He can see a few others standing behind her, but he can't tell who it is. "You can all go back to bed. Everything's fine."

Hazel opens her mouth to protest, but she must see something in Percy's face, because she closes her mouth and nods, backing out into the hallway and closing the door. Percy feels a little bad dismissing her like that, but he knows there's nothing she can do. It'll be easier to soothe Annabeth without an audience.

He just holds her, murmuring to her, not really paying much attention to what he's saying.

"We were dancing, Annabeth, remember? And the stars were singing for us." He tells her, talking about all their good memories. Her shaking starts to slow a bit.

"I love you, Annabeth. I love you. I love you. I love you." He repeats it over and over, whispering it into her ear.

Finally, her shaking stops completely, and she lifts her tear-streaked face up to look at him.

"I love you, too, Percy." She says, her voice thick. She rests her head back on his shoulder, but wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him back.

They hold each other, and they don't say anything. But they don't need to talk. Being together is enough.

Light starts to seep through the window, and Percy shifts his weight slightly, thinking. Annabeth raises her head.

"What is it, Percy?" She asks.

Percy hates to say anything. But he knows he has to. "We should probably go ahead to the mess hall. They'll start wondering where we are."

Annabeth sighs, but nods. "Yeah, I know. Do you think they'll say anything?"

"Probably not. They might stare a little, and they'll probably go quiet the minute we step into the room, because they were talking about it, but they won't mention it to us. They're not that insensitive." He says.

Despite her recent nightmare, Annabeth smiles. Then she sighs again. "I guess we better go, then. Come on, Seaweed Brain. Time to get dressed."

"I am dressed." He replies, pretending to be confused. She shoves his shoulder playfully.

"You wore those clothes all day yesterday. And you slept in them." She points out. "Besides, even if you don't want to change, I do. So go. Shoo." She drags him off her bed, with him protesting all the way, and shoves him out the door.

Out in the hallway, Percy smiles. At least he got her mind off of her nightmare. Then he heads to his room to get changed, putting on a clean Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and a pair of old jeans-almost identical to what he was wearing. Then he meets Annabeth outside her room, and they head to the mess hall together.

They pause outside. Percy looks at her. Ready? His eyes ask.

She nods, and they take a deep breath before walking into the room, preparing themselves for the silence and the staring.

The silence is as expected. But instead of staring, everyone looks pointedly away from them, looking everywhere else except for them.

"Good morning." Annabeth greets them cheerily, as if nothing happened. She walks to her place at the table, with Percy right behind her, and sits down.

"Morning." Is the general reply. Percy has to resist the urge to grin. He was right for once.

Piper clears her throat. "So." She says. Everyone looks at her. "If the scenes in my knife are anything to judge by, Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge are almost to Camp Half-Blood."

For a few seconds, there's silence. Hazel is the one that finally breaks it.

"How close are they? Are they okay? Are they having any trouble with the statue?" She asks. Percy does smile then, at her gentleness. Whatever happens, he hopes Hazel never changes.

"According to Katoptris, they're right outside camp. With the Romans." She raises her hand to forestall everyone's questions. "No, they weren't captured. Reyna confronted Octavian, I think. Anyway, they all seem to be okay, although Nico looks a little tired. That's kind of expected, though, considering. The good news is, though, that they're this close to returning the statue, and finally putting the schizophrenic gods back to normal."

Again, silence. And then everyone starts talking at once.

Percy looks at Annabeth and they share a smile. Then he turns back to his plate and takes a bite of his blue pancakes.

Okay, guys, just realized that I may have possibly delayed that action for a bit-for maybe two or three more chapters. But next chapter is Leo, who I haven't done in a while, and the chapter after that contains some Frazel, so you should be happy. Then it's a Nico chapter, which may or may not have the start of some action at the end, although it will be, for the most part, a very emotionally confused Nico. The chapter after that, though, which is Reyna's, will most definitely contain some action. You guys will just have to be patient.