CHAPTER 2:

"I knew I loved you then, but you'd never know,

'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go.

I knew I needed you, but I never showed,

But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old."

~Say You Won't Let Go, James Arthur

When Annabeth Chase had first seen the drooling face of Percy Jackson, she hadn't really thought of him as someone remarkable. Sure, his eyes were an astonishing colour, and together with his dark hair, made for a perfect combination, but still, she didn't think he would ever mean more to her than her own life.

The first time she had kissed him on Mount St Helens, she had told herself that it was just because what Percy was doing was extremely risky. There was simply no other reason. She certainly didn't focus on how soft his lips were, or how much she liked the smell of the ocean that permeated the air around him. She didn't like him. She repeated it to herself, again and again.

Soon after, when Percy failed to return, Annabeth was sure that the world around her had been leached off its colour. She couldn't think, a first for her, and couldn't help but close her eyes to alleviate the pressure behind them. Ultimately, the thought of losing Percy had broken her down.

On the day that his green silk burial cloth, embroidered with a trident, was burning with the flames, she couldn't help but think that Percy would have liked his shroud to have been blue. She wiped the tears off her face, disregarding any concern for how she might look to anyone glancing her way.

She had let her hair fall loose around her face, having found no energy to tie it back. She tucked her hair behind her ear before she turned to face the others.

"He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had.", she said. Saying the word 'friend' left a bitter taste in her mouth, but that's exactly what they were, right? She continued, "He . . .", and then she saw him.

He looked ridiculous in his white, cotton clothes, but it was definitely him. She could see the bright green of his eyes, and fought a smile off her face. She was sure everyone could see her growing relief at having her Seaweed Brain back. She was also sure that her face was turning red. She was so exhausted, and so relieved.

Annabeth surged forward, shoving away the other campers. "Where have you been?", she shouted.

Percy looked almost scared as she headed towards him, but she couldn't control herself. She crashed into him, wounding her arms around his neck, burrowing her face into his shirt.

He smelled of the ocean. He reminded her of the happiness she hadn't felt in two long weeks. She took in a deep breath, and suddenly realised the implications of hugging him so intimately in front of a crowd.

She stepped back and saw his face once more. His messy hair, the bright pink spots on his cheeks, his palpable relief at seeing her, she loved them all. In that moment, Annabeth knew, that no matter how annoying Percy could be, he would always be hers. In that moment, Annabeth Chase knew that she loved Percy Jackson.

She smiled.

Piper noted with an increasing panic that she hadn't seen Annabeth smile for three long days. She hadn't seen anything but Annabeth's blank face, and her dimmed eyes. She grimaced when she saw Annabeth stay awake late into the night, sitting at the foot of Percy's bed, working on her silver laptop.

The first night, all the demigods aboard the ship, save for Annabeth, had gathered in the mess hall, picking through the food that they had no will to eat. Dinner that night was a silent affair. Even when their plates cleared magically, none of them moved.

Percy Jackson was gone. He had fallen into Tartarus.

Piper didn't have to be best friends with him to feel the pain that came with the impossible task that lay ahead of him.

"He is a strong demigod, the strongest I know. If anyone can survive Tartarus among all of us, it's going to be him.", said Nico di Angelo, in a soft voice.

He leaned heavily on Hazel, and Piper resisted the urge to force feed him more food. He looked far too pale and thin for it to be considered healthy.

Jason fisted his hand tightly in his lap, his fingers turning white, and Piper reached for it under the table. She could feel him relax slightly against her.

Leo had been staring off into the distance, and if Piper hadn't been worried enough with his silence, the fact that Hazel kept worriedly glancing at him every few minutes just made it worse. Had something happened that Piper wasn't aware of?

The crew descended into silence once more, broken only by the screams they heard from Annabeth's room. Piper jumped up, as did Jason and Frank. She rushed to her friend's room, moving past Coach Hedge's room, even when he opened it holding a club, shouting, "Who do I have to kill?"

Annabeth had wound herself tightly into her blanket. Despite the temperature in the room changing based on her comfort, she was visibly sweating. Her hands held on to her pillow as if to prevent her from drowning. She groaned as she twisted herself, and Piper moved to stand over her.

She slowly held onto Annabeth's hand and gently tried to pry open her fist. She noted that Annabeth's body was warm, but not high enough for it to be considered a fever.

When Annabeth started to scream Percy's name, Piper called, "Annabeth! Wake up!"

She gently shook Annabeth's shoulders, waiting for her eyes to snap open. Piper sighed in relief when she saw her friend's grey eyes. She fell onto the bed, sitting next to Annabeth's sleeping form.

Annabeth rose and sat upright. She clutched onto Piper's hand and looked around wildly, as if just registering that Percy really wasn't with her. She fell onto Piper, and Piper wound her arms around her friend's shoulder.

Piper stroked Annabeth's hair, hoping that it would comfort her friend. She then heard Annabeth whispering, "I should have gone with him. He's all alone down there. Oh, Gods, he is all alone."

Piper choked back a sob of her own. Even she knew just how unfair it was that in just a few weeks, Annabeth and Percy had been separated once more. But this was not the time for her to wallow, so she said, "Percy did everything he could to save you, so don't think about what it would have been like if you had gone with him. We'll do everything we can to make sure he comes back to you, okay?"

But Annabeth didn't really hear her, and Piper understood. She didn't know what to say about the fact that Percy was indeed all alone in a place where he had only foes. Something clicked in Piper's memory, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

She wondered if that was what the prophecy had meant. It hadn't been about the Greeks and Romans working together, but perhaps referred to Percy working with someone else in Tartarus. The thought of that scared her more, so she refrained from saying anything to Annabeth.

Annabeth had slowly started to nod off again, the events of the past day having caught up with her, so Piper laid her down on her bed once more. She still held Annabeth's hand though, to show her that at least she wasn't alone.

A few minutes passed when Annabeth gripped Piper's hand tightly.

"Piper, it hurts.", she said with half-closed eyes, and Piper wiped her eyes at the pain in her friend's voice, "I know, Annabeth. I know. I wish you didn't have to go through this."

But Annabeth had already fallen asleep. That night, Piper stayed awake, stroking Annabeth's hand. She didn't leave her even when the others tried to convince her to get some rest. She didn't want to tell the others just how many times Annabeth had woken up with wild, panicked eyes. She didn't want her friend to be alone, not now, not ever.

The second night, it came as no surprise to Piper that Annabeth had chosen not to sleep at all. Annabeth hadn't come to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. She hadn't responded to anyone who had tried knocking on her door.

While Hazel, Frank and Jason stood guard to the Argo II, Piper started to walk back to her room at the end of her shift when she noticed that the lights in Percy's room were on.

She silently walked over to the door, and was surprised when it easily swung open. Annabeth was sitting on Percy's bed, scribbling furiously at papers as she worked on her laptop. She absently looked up and saw Piper standing a few feet away from her.

Piper resisted the urge to ask her if she was okay. She wasn't. No one was okay, but Annabeth was 'not okay' more than the others.

That night, no words were spoken by her. Piper sat on the bed beside Annabeth, and spread her legs across the blue sheets as she occasionally stared at what Annabeth was writing.

Piper couldn't understand much of her friend's messy scrawl, so unlike her usual handwriting, but she did see a list of Greek words that tugged at her memory.

Minotaur

Medusa

Chimera

Echidna?

Nemean Lion?

Manticore

Kelli

Kampê

Geryon

Typhon

Telekhines

Antaeus?

Polybotes

Hyperion

Kronos?

Battle of Manhattan monsters?

Piper realised that Annabeth seemed to be making a list of monsters, and not just a list of all Greek monsters, but a list of all of Percy's enemies that resided in Tartarus. The list seemed to go on and on, with Annabeth writing down every possible name.

If Piper hadn't been convinced by the stories she had heard of Percy Jackson back at Camp Half-Blood when she had first arrived, this exceedingly long list would have sealed the last nail in the coffin. But still, she didn't say a word.

She was just drifting off into a much needed sleep, ignoring the lights that flashed in her eyes, when she heard Annabeth say, "Thanks for staying, Piper. I'll do better tomorrow."

Piper made a low assenting sound and rested her head against the headboard as she fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning, Annabeth was sitting in the same place, still awake.

The third night, the crew decided to try to force Annabeth out of Percy's room. Not because it was against the rules, which it was, but because they hadn't made any plans as to where they would go next. The Athena Parthenos had begun to attract an increasing number of monsters each day, and Jason was hoping that Annabeth would know exactly what they would have to do with the statue.

Annabeth had taken to eating food in the comfort of her boyfriend's room that day, with help from Piper. So Piper really wasn't surprised when they all turned their attention on her. She sighed and got to her feet.

She hadn't taken more than two steps when the door to Percy's room opened and Annabeth stepped out. Her hair fell to the middle of her back in waves, and her eyes were drooping, as if all the sleep she had not had in the past two days had finally caught up to her. She looked startled to have everyone's attention on her.

Piper signalled for the others to sit down for dinner. At first, there was only the sound of scraping plates. From the corner of her eye, Piper noticed Annabeth fingering a red coral pendant hanging around her throat.

After a few minutes of wary glances being thrown her way, Annabeth looked at Nico, and hesitatingly asked, "I know I should've asked you about this before, but is he still . . ."

Annabeth let the sentence hang, and looked away with glistening eyes. Nico nodded understandingly, "He is, yes." He twisted the ring on his finger, pausing from eating his food to help Annabeth feel better.

"Percy is the most powerful demigod I've ever met, no offence to you guys," he started. He waited until Annabeth looked back at him before he continued, "He will survive this, and he will come back."

Annabeth dropped her fork onto her plate. She whispered, "You don't know that."

Nico's forehead furrowed. "Annabeth, he has been defeating monsters and even Titans ever since he was twelve. I'm not saying it'll be easy, of course not. But of all of us, he is the most skilled demigod, both in terms of his swordplay and his powers."

Annabeth rubbed her hands over her face. In a terrifyingly even voice, she replied, "Exactly, Nico. He has been fighting monsters since he was twelve. All those big bad Titans and monsters that he defeated over the past five years, they all went to Tartarus. And that's where he is."

Nico flinched and leaned against the back of his chair. In a surprising turn of events, he started to laugh humourlessly. He sighed. "I know. I can't even convince myself."

Annabeth tilted her head to the side. Piper had a feeling that she was trying her best to get through all her questions before she went back into Percy's room and had another breakdown.

"Is he in Tartarus yet?"

Nico looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Hesiod, he speculated that it would take nine days to fall into Tartarus. Of course, since it's purely a speculation, there is no saying what is true and what isn't. There is no way to know if time runs differently there, considering Gaia and Tartarus are two separate entities borne of Chaos."

"I can't really say. I just know he is alive."

For now, was left unsaid. No one needed to be reminded of it though. It was like a constant thorn in their side, the idea that one of them had actually fallen into a place no one had any idea about.

Annabeth nodded, still holding on to the pendant. Piper had been told a few months ago just how much her friend liked what Percy had given to her as a gift when they had begun dating. If the way her heart seized from thinking about them being so far apart was even a fraction of what Annabeth was feeling, she wondered how Annabeth even had the desire to go through life.

What if it had been Jason instead of Percy?, she asked herself. She couldn't handle the thought of Jason being wrenched from her grasp like Percy had from Annabeth's.

If all of them had been prophesied to play a role in bringing down an ancient goddess that represented the earth, the least the Fates could have done was let them do it together.

She leaned forward and made eye contact with Jason. Annabeth looked at her when she moved.

"Annabeth, I understand that this may not be the best time to ask you this, but what are we supposed to do with the Parthenos? Do you have any idea?"

Annabeth looked a little confused for a moment, but Piper could see it when the haze of misery cleared from her eyes. She nodded slowly. "I had a dream, a few days ago, and my mother told me to help unite the bridge between the Romans and the Greeks by helping them let go of their past. In my dream, the statue stood on Half-Blood Hill, a gift returned to the Greeks by the Romans."

"By the Romans? I doubt any one of them will want to help us, considering they are all marching towards Camp Half-Blood right about now.", said Leo in a resigned voice, scratching the surface of his half-eaten plate with the sharp end of a fork.

"Yes," Piper started slowly, "but Reyna might help us, right? She did say that she would try to buy us some time."

"She must have tried, but there are no guarantees, especially since Octavian would rather have war than entertain the idea of peace.", said Jason, running a hand through his hair.

Annabeth had been silent for some time. She looked to be deep in thought. "We have a little less than a month before Gaia attempts to wake up. In this limited time, we now have to ensure that the Parthenos is taken to Camp Half-Blood, preferably before the Roman army reaches there first. We must also get to the House of Hades before Tartarus empties its monsters onto earth, and this must somehow miraculously coincide with when Percy will have to reach the Doors. That doesn't sound difficult at all.", she finished sarcastically.

"You think we should go to Camp Half-Blood all the way from here?", asked Jason.

"I don't know yet. To go or not to go, both have their pros and cons. If we go, and somehow convince Reyna to hand over the statue to the Greeks, then the Athena Parthenos would serve as an offer of reconciliation, an olive branch if you will, which seems fitting. It could unite the Greeks and the Romans. The gods wouldn't suffer through schizophrenia anymore, and maybe they would be willing to help us."

"However, we will lose time if we do decide to make the trip back. The Romans will no doubt attack us before we can get the Argo II safely within the borders of the Camp. Also, not to alarm you, but Jason did say that any Roman soldier would have the authorisation to kill you on sight since you crossed the Mare Nostrum and entered the ancient lands."

Leo was staring at Annabeth with his mouth hanging open.

"Not to alarm us?", squeaked Frank, looking thoroughly alarmed. If they went back, he would have no choice but to fight against his friends from the Fifth Cohort. He shared a glance with Hazel, who was sitting quietly next to him.

Hazel laid a comforting hand on Frank's shoulder and turned to look at them all. "We have to go back though, no matter the risk it poses to all of us. If this can prevent war and bloodshed between both sides, then we should put in our best effort."

Annabeth and the others nodded.

Another few minutes passed in silence. They all focused on their cold food. Annabeth looked at the images of the Camp and wasn't surprised to see that the forest looked different from when she'd last seen it. She could easily spot the traps that had been laid down in response to the coming war. Camp Half-Blood had been her home since she was seven years-old, and as much as it pained her to even think of making this journey away from where Percy was supposed to be, she knew she would have to go back home.

"What do you all think? Do you think we can make it? Gaia will no doubt throw everything she has got at us. She wouldn't want the Gods to be lucid enough to help us. If they even choose to help. I have learnt not to depend on them for help."

An awkward silence followed. Everyone knew what she had been talking about. They had heard her scream it at the top of her lungs as she had been pulled back from the wide chasm and onto the Argo II.

Annabeth cleared her throat, "One of you has to speak at some point."

Piper tapped her finger against her now clean plate. "I think we can make it. We'll have to work ourselves to the bone of course, but it will help unite the camps, and maybe we can take this time to figure out when we will have to be at the House of Hades to get to Percy."

Annabeth gave her a grateful look. She still didn't smile, not that she had any reason to, but after having seen it for so long, Piper really couldn't hide how much this little change affected her.

"So it's decided then. We're going back to Camp and then heading on to Epirus, unless Leo has any repairs that must still be done?", asked Jason.

"Nope," said Leo, his voice emphasising on the 'p'.

Annabeth rose from her chair, clutching onto the table to steady herself. "I'll just be going- "

Her voice broke off when green mist, quite literally, popped into existence over the table. It extended towards the walls of the rooms and began to disappear, uncovering the vision that played out for all to see.

It was quite unmistakably Percy, standing over misshapen ground. Piper gasped when she saw how his body was covered all over with ichor. His face and palms were streaked with blood so dark, it nearly looked black.

Annabeth drew in an unsteady breath and Hazel had put a hand over her mouth. Jason stood up noisily as he stared intently at what had appeared before him. No one even paid attention to Coach Hedge as he came out to complain that his television had stopped working, only to freeze at the scene playing out in front of him.

As they all watched, Percy fell to his knees on the ground, letting his blood stained palms touch the rock below him. Drops of ichor that covered his body fell onto the earth, each drop of blood and ichor mixing to produce a sizzling sound upon contact.

Somehow, through the vision, they could feel the earth shifting beneath them, even though they were several hundred feet in the air aboard the Argo II. The vision tilted to the side with a groan, and the wind seemed to blow faster, ruffling Percy's messy hair.

Gentle laughter rang through the mess hall, and Leo and the other demigods suppressed a shiver at how chilling it was to feel the Earth Mother laugh.

I see you are just itching for a fight, my little pawn. Let me show you what a grave mistake you've made in thinking that you could defeat me, said a cool, female voice, undoubtedly Gaia's.

Percy looked up then, and Annabeth let out a sob at seeing the tracks of tears that ran down Percy's face. They fell onto the ground, alongside the ichor, only instead of seeping into the earth, each tear drop rose again and started to swirl around Percy's body in a spiral as he stood up.

It grew and grew as the water seemed to take a life of its own. Percy's eyes flashed brightly as the water dispersed from him and hovered around his body like a halo. His eyes glowed eerily and the vision went dark.

You must come home, Annabeth. Now.

Annabeth winced when she heard Rachel Dare's voice reverberate around the room. She exchanged a glance with all those around the table who recognised the Oracle's voice.

Annabeth's heart thundered in her chest. Percy had made it out of Tartarus. The relief she felt at knowing that he would be safe was short lived. Her mind was still trying to process Gaia's words. She had heard the blood from his palms sizzle as it had touched the ground. It was well known that Gaia needed the blood of two demigods to wake up fully, and Annabeth was trying to convince herself that Percy had not deliberately woken up the Earth goddess.

He hadn't, right?

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but did we just see a vision of Gaia rising? Did we just see a vision confirming the very thing that we're trying to prevent?", asked Leo, standing up to pace around the table.

"Whose voice was that? Anyone you guys know?", asked Hazel.

Piper nodded. "That's the Oracle of Delphi, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, from Camp Half-Blood."

"The priestess of Apollo?", Frank tried really hard to tone down the awe in his voice. He had once wished for Apollo to be his godly parent, and in all the stories he had heard about the god, what interested Frank the most was that Apollo was not only the god of archery but also the god of prophecies.

Nico nodded solemnly.

"Does this kind of thing happen often? Sharing visions across the world?", asked Hazel. Nico shook his head.

Jason quietly sat down, "We all saw the same thing, right? Percy literally offered the blood that Gaia would need to wake up. Am I the only one fixating on that?"

"He wouldn't do that. At least not without a good reason.", said Annabeth quietly. She was starting to feel quite lightheaded.

"There is no reason that could justify how waking up Gaia is a good idea," said Jason.

Annabeth's back straightened involuntarily. She had clenched her fists at her side.

Piper cast a wary glance at Annabeth, and addressed Jason, "We don't know what happened. Maybe that's why Rachel sent a message for Annabeth, and I suppose by extension, all of us, to come back to Camp."

Jason nodded tightly. He didn't want to believe that Percy would betray them in the future just because he was 'itching for a fight'. Jason didn't want to make false accusations against someone he had trusted so far without having the full story.

"Then it's a good thing we were already planning on going back, isn't it?", said Leo, as he clapped his hands in a subdued show of excitement.

No one felt any better.

Annabeth brushed past Piper and avoided looking at any of them. When she started to walk towards Percy's room, she felt someone touch her lightly on her shoulder. She stiffened. She turned around slowly, brushing off the hand that had touched her.

It was Coach Hedge. His brown eyes were hazy with unshed tears.

"I know it may not provide you with any comfort, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry I couldn't be a better protector for Percy."

Annabeth nodded through her tears. She reached out and hugged the Coach briefly, knowing that he shouldn't blame himself. He may have been unlike any satyr she'd ever met, but she knew that he would have done everything in his power to protect any one of them if he'd had the chance.

She quickly walked into Percy's room and shut the door behind her. She didn't bother turning on the lights. Instead, she leaned against the door and slowly fell to the floor.

She didn't know what she'd heard. She didn't know what was happening to Percy right now. She didn't know what would happen to Percy once he came out of Tartarus. She didn't know why it had looked like Percy had chosen to wake Gaia. She had so many questions, and no answers at all.

She hated not knowing.

But Gods, what had he done?

What will he do?

Word Count: 4,582 words in the main content.

Date: 19th March, 2021

References: 'The Lightning Thief', 'The Battle of Labyrinth', 'The Great Prophecy of the Seven', 'The Mark of Athena'.

Disclaimer: Characters, place settings and basic plot is taken from Rick Riordan's work. The lyrics at the beginning of the story are from the song 'Say You Won't Let Go'. I own nothing but the plot. I make no profit from this work.

Author's Note: I will post as regularly as I can. Thank you for all your love, and thank you for sticking with this story! Please let me know what you think of this chapter in a review.