So close to chapter 30! Remember what I said about how your reviews motivate me to write faster? Well- review! Anyway, as I said, we are super close to chapter 30 and I've had so much fun doing this! I think I started in October of last year or something like that, but it's been a blast! (If you can't tell, I love writing!) What do you guys think of my grammar and such for my first story? Oh, and just a side note, I did figure out that the story stats thing from the last chapter's A/N was just a glitch! Sorry for acting all crazy about it! Fanfiction is working on fixing it though, according to their Twitter post. Anyways, let's begin! (Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, though I would like to, hehe!)

Percy's POV

Percy got out of the bath, dried, and changed into some fresh clothes- a Camp Jupiter T-shirt, some jeans, and some sneakers. It's not like he owned much else. There wasn't a large variety of clothing that you could attain in New Rome. Sure, they had togas, but anything else wasn't a huge seller. Not that he was ever casually in New Rome looking for some new clothing anyways. Most teens contemplated which pair of shoes matched a given pair of pants. Percy's only worry over clothing was whether to wear a Camp Jupiter T-shirt or Camp Half-Blood. But other than that, there wasn't much else to worry about.

He had told Annabeth that he would be checking up on the other returnees of the quest. He knew that Reese and Saul were feeling better, but the other two were still stuck in the infirmary.

He knocked on one of the doors, assuming that it was one of those two's rooms. "Come in!" He heard from inside.

Percy walked in to find Sierra sitting on the edge of her cot with her boyfriend, Saul, standing next to her. As soon as Sierra saw Percy, she attempted to stand up, most likely as a show of respect for the praetor, but she just winced and ended up sitting down again.

"Hey," Percy said.

"This is unexpected, praetor," Saul said.

"Do you want me to leave?" Percy asked, gesturing towards the door.

"No, you're fine," Saul answered. "Sierra has been getting a lot of visitors, anyways. Just... not a praetor." He looked at his girlfriend.

"I just wanted to check up on you," Percy said to Sierra. "What happened?"

Sierra cringed as if talking about her injury physically hurt her just as much. "I was shot with a celestial bronze pointed," she explained, gesturing to her bandaged thigh. "That's why it's painful to stand."

Percy nodded. "Ouch," he replied.

"I keep telling the healers that a wounded leg shouldn't be keeping me in here." Her blue eyes sparkled dramatically. "They keep saying that I should stay in here, so I don't make it worse. I just need a little more Ambrosia, and I'll be good!"

Saul rolled his eyes. "It's a lot worse than Sierra's been making it sound."

Percy nodded knowingly. "I'm glad that you're at least determined to get better," he said. "That's half of the process, anyway."

Sierra huffed. "Come on, what do the healers know that I don't?"

Percy laughed. This girl was a fireball. Takes one to know one after all.

"They know a lot more than you. You're not a daughter of Apollo, remember?" Saul replied reprimandingly.

"You know, for a child of Mars, you are super sensitive," Sierra retorted, trying to stand up again. Her attempts were in vain, and she cried out.

Saul sat down by her side and took her hand. "I'm only sensitive for you," he answered. "I'm your boyfriend."

"You know, I hate to say this, but maybe it's a good thing you're here," Sierra teased, wincing again. She touched her inner thigh tenderly. "So I don't do anything stupid."

Saul chuckled. "Yeah. It's for the best."

"Well, I'll leave you be," Percy said, turning. "I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks, praetor," Sierra said. Saul nodded.

Percy exited the room and shut the door. The two made a cute couple. In a way, their situation reminded Percy of when he had insisted on taking Reyna to the infirmary, because of her wounded arm, but she claimed that she had felt fine. She was in fact, not fine, for a hellhound had stabbed her arm. Percy didn't see himself as a particularly pushy person, but when it came to people he deeply cared about (like Reyna) he was definitely persistent. He supposed that was the same for Saul, but hsi feelings were for Sierra.

Percy couldn't help but think how chill they were despite one of their friends just dying. They were probably mourning on the inside, but they thought it best not to talk about it out loud. Sometimes that helped.

As Percy was leaving the infirmary, he could've sworn that he saw movement around the corner. It sort of looked like a flash of gray...

Percy peeked cautiously over the corner of the infirmary. He saw the movement again, this time right next to the Little Tiber.

Percy jogged toward the body of water. He was slightly on edge, for he had no clue of what could be moving this fast. And why was it gray?

Percy arrived at the Little Tiber, its current roaring along. He looked around but didn't see anything, or anyone for that matter. The good thing about being where near the Tiber was that if this thing was an enemy, he had the high ground, technically speaking. He was near water, so he was in his dad's territory. Unfortunately, no water could prevent the flying bust from appearing.

Percy was about to leave and call his search quits when he heard something. A thump sounded a few yards behind him. He turned. Percy was shocked to find Terminus sitting (or standing, or whatever statues with no lower body did) not too far behind him.

"Terminus!" He exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

The god did not answer. He didn't even move. Well, he didn't move until he unexpectedly flew at Percy, hitting him, and knocking the son of Poseidon out.

Reyna's POV

Reyna had just finished overseeing the cleaning up of the funeral. Not that there was much to clean up or put away for that matter. Hannibal was taken back to his area, the Third Cohort had finished mourning, and the temple of Ceres had been briefly cleaned. Reyna made sure that everyone was in their respective areas and she left. At this point, all she wanted to do was relax, though that was a near-luxury for praetors. Still, she had to finish her training with the probatios. It seemed odd that right after a funeral, the camp continued to go through with their regular activities, even though someone had just died. That was custom at Camp Jupiter, though. Haha, your friend is dead? You can mourn while you clean the stables!

She sighed, and made her way to the arena, hoping that all the probatios would be there. Most likely they would skip and hang out somewhere, but she would take what she could get.

Once she arrived, she did find a surprising amount of teens ready to continue their training from earlier. Even some of the biggest gigglers were in attendance. Maybe they were willing to be true Romans after all. It was hard to believe that these guys had made it through Lupa's harsh training.

"Well, let's get back to work!" She exclaimed, making sure that all twenty-three of them could hear her. (They not only excelled in acting like little children, but they tended not to listen.)

Some grumbled, but most of the group did not complain. They picked up their weapons and continued to practice the latest move that Reyna had taught them. She walked around correcting some of the probatios forms, and the way they struck with their gladius or dagger. One definite daughter of Venus stopped her. "So, praetor, where's your boyfriend? I haven't seen him since the funeral. Maybe he ran off with Annabeth. I feel bad for you."

Reyna gritted her teeth. "Get back to work, or I will assign you an extra hour of practice," she said. Just to be clear, she added, "and Percy's not my boyfriend. He's dating Annabeth, anyway." She couldn't hide her downcast tone.

The girl jumped back to her dummy and continued to slice at it, though she still had a slight smirk on her face.

Reyna did, however, wonder where Percy was. He usually didn't just disappear. Of course, though, the girl was right. He was probably with Annabeth. The thought only made her more upset, though she wouldn't show it.

Soon training was over, and the probatios left to clean up, or do more chores, or gods know what else. Reyna however, walked toward the mess hall. She wanted to see if she could find any of her friends. She didn't know why. Talking just sounded good right then.

Reyna arrived at found Annabeth. Surprisingly, Percy wasn't with her.

"Where's Percy?" She asked, sitting down next to the blond.

Annabeth wrung out her hands. "I was hoping you would know. He took a bath and told me that he was going to go check up on the guys in the infirmary. It's been about an hour, and I can't find him. I walked over to the infirmary and he was not there. They told me that he had already left. I'm not surprised, though. He's probably off doing some Seaweed Brain-ish stuff; being stupid and all."

Reyna didn't know for sure why, but this made her uneasy. She didn't know where he was, and Annabeth didn't know where he was. Reyna wanted to believe Annabeth, and that Percy was just doing something stupid. But, her heart told her that something was off. Way off.

"I haven't seen him," Reyna replied. "I'm sure he's fine." Annabeth seemed to agree with that just as much as Reyna did.

"Well, I feel like something is off, so I'm going to look for him," Annabeth said, standing up. Reyna thought, protective girlfriend, much? But she knew she couldn't judge. She was just jealous after all. Of course, Reyna would do the same thing, and she was going to do the same thing.

"I'll help," Reyna said, a bit too eagerly. Annabeth looked at her suspiciously but didn't say anything.

"We'll split up," the daughter of Athena said. "We'll meet back for dinner. If we don't find him, I'm sure he'll turn up for dinner. He always does."

Same POV

Reyna didn't know where to start. The Little Tiber, possibly? It was water. Water was his sanctuary.

She headed into that area, and a sense of dread overcame her. She instantly knew that she would find him there, but it wouldn't be pretty.

Her gut was correct. Percy was there. On the ground and passed out. How long had he been there? She ran to him.

First of all, Reyna checked his pulse. It was there, and his heart was still beating. She checked his lungs. They were still active. His chest slowly rose and fell.

"Percy!" She exclaimed. He didn't respond. She shook him. How had he simply passed out? He didn't look pale or sickly. She glanced around. There weren't any monsters in the vicinity, as far as she could tell. So... how?

"Percy!" She yelled again. "It's me, Reyna!" She could feel tears building up, but she wouldn't cry. No one was around, but she refused to show weakness at all. Maybe something had hit him? She didn't know! Her thoughts were running on overdrive.

She checked his head. Nothing. She took off his shirt. Dang, he had a nice body. Argh! Besides the point. She flipped on his back. There it was- a big red mark. So, something had hit him. But what? Oh, gods, she hoped he was ok. Just the thought of him kept her company at night; when she wished that he would give her kisses, hugs, cuddles...

Speaking of which, she really wanted to kiss him. She flipped Percy over. His lips looked so enticing. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Even when he was unconscious, his lips tasted salty. A taste she had grown to love. Was it weird that she was kissing a still, seemingly dead body? Yes, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away.

She felt something move beneath her, but she didn't open her eyes. Percy shifted once more. He was awake! Reyna still didn't let go. The thought of Percy dying (though he was definitely still alive; he had a pulse) made her want to stay by his side forever. Loving him.

Percy's arms encircled her waist. Reyna was brought on top of his shirtless chest. She opened her eyes to find his eyes closed. She closed her own, fearing to ruin the moment. The two stayed that way until Percy needed breath. Reyna could've stayed longer. She didn't care.

"Wow, you're a good kisser," Percy said as Reyna sat back up, kneeling by his side. Percy grinned that playful grin that Reyna mentally swooned over. "You brought me back to consciousness."

Reyna rolled her eyes. She then realized how weird it would look with Reyna right next to Percy and his shirt off. Of course, he brought it up. "Why's my shirt off, anyway? Were you-"

"No!" Reyna exclaimed, clapping her hand over his mouth in order to shut him up. "I was checking to see if you got hit."

"Right," Percy said sarcastically. Reyna punched him in the arm.

"What happened to you, anyway?" Reyna asked, touching his arm.

He put a hand to his forehead and winced. "Unless I'm mistaken, a certain boundary god came flying at me and knocked me out," he explained.

Reyna gasped. "Terminus? Here? Inside the camp?"

Percy nodded. "He didn't talk or anything. He just... flew at me."

Why would Terminus do such a thing? He was usually a peaceful god unless someone was trespassing or breaking rules. And why would he just show up now? It didn't make any sense whatsoever. Had Percy done something to insult him? Terminus was usually a very opinionated and loud statue, so why hadn't he said anything? These burning questions filled Reyna's mind. She would have to think about it later. Her first priority was Percy.

"That's weird," Reyna said.

"Yeah. Weird," was all Percy replied.

"Well, are you OK?" Reyna asked Percy, helping him sit up straight. She put a hand against the skin of his back. The contact made both of them shiver.

"Yeah, but my back hurts," he replied before cheekily adding, "your kiss made it feel better, though."

Reyna smiled awkwardly. "Glad I could help. That sentence was really cliche, though."

"Yeah, I just realized that."

Reya laughed. She knew that she should bring Percy back to find Annabeth. The poor girl was probably worried sick by now. Not to mention that Percy was in pain and quite possibly had a serious injury. She didn't mean to be selfish, but she wanted to stay like this. Besides, he looked so hot when he was shirtless. Not like he didn't look gorgeous in general. His green eyes and raven hair were enough to make any girl pause and check him out. She just felt that no one else was worthy of seeing this. Only her eyes and Percy's were allowed to be here, at this moment. It was magical. Besides the fact that a potentially dangerous bust god was probably flying around somewhere knocking people out. That was enough to stir Reyna.

Nevertheless, Percy looked really good, and his lips were as enticing, seductive, and salty as ever. "If you want, I can kiss you again," Reyna said.

Percy smiled. "I'd like that."

Percy's POV

Reyna helped Percy stand up. He clutched his back, cringing. Who knew simply standing could be so pain-inducing?

Percy looked down at his discarded shirt. Reyna seemed to notice that it was there, too, but neither of them said anything. Percy didn't have to be a genius to know that Reyna liked him shirtless. Annabeth did, so why wouldn't she?

"Can you walk on your own?" Reyna asked Percy, looking at his shirt again.

"Yeah, I think so," Percy replied. It was his back that hurt, not his legs.

"Well, I'll be right next to you for support," Reyna said, sidling up next to him. "We'd better get back to Annabeth. She was looking for you, too."

Percy nodded, and the two began to walk. "Keep an eye out for Terminus," Percy pointed out.

Reyna visibly tensed, as if expecting to get pounded in the back with a statue. "Right," she said. "I really hope we can find him. I need to talk to him. I personally have no clue why he would be acting this way."

Percy shrugged, which for some reason hurt. He hissed.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Reyna asked, stopping Percy by stepping in front of him.

Percy nodded gingerly. "Yeah, I'll manage."

They continued to walk. Percy couldn't help but smile past the pain. That moment they had shared was really nice and romantic. Reyna had even suggested that they kiss! That was seriously an improvement. He remembered when he had first met her and she was so serious and stern- a true leader. She was, still serious and stern, just not as much towards him. If they did end up in a real relationship, which most likely wouldn't happen with Annabeth and his current romance, but if they did... He could only imagine. It would be amazing, though Reyna would obviously be the Alpha. He knew that she wouldn't have it otherwise.

The two arrived at the mess hall where Annabeth was pacing frantically. When she saw Percy, she ran toward him and embraced him, unknowingly hitting his bruise. He winced and visibly grabbed Annabeth's shirt tighter. She pulled away. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah you just hit-" Percy gestured towards his back.

Annabeth turned him around and saw his bruise. "Oh..." She gasped. "What happened?"

"Terminus," Percy said, turning back around.

He relayed the situation to Annabeth. As he did, he could see her gray eyes growing cold. "Why did he just show up now? And why did he attack you?"

Percy shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense to me either."

Just then, Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Frank ran in. "What happened?" Piper asked, stopping. She must've seen Percy's bruise.

The other three noticed it too and walked over to Percy. Piper joined them. Percy again told them about his encounter with the boundary god.

"For so many reasons, why?" Hazel asked.

Everyone else in the room looked as confused as she did. Why would Terminus attack Percy? Why now? And why had he acted so out of character while doing it? No one knew, but the answers couldn't be good.

Did you guys like this chapter? I hope so, but I'm really sorry that this took so long to get out. It's been, what, over a week? I'm sorry, I have had a busy weekend. Anyways, a little breakthrough in Preyna, and a twist with Terminus. Where could this go? No one knows...! Except me. I know. Of course. Anyways, I hope you liked it. I had so much fun writing the part with Reyna and Percy by the Tiber. I got super happy thinking about the amazing Preyna to come. This was simply a glimpse. There will be so much more romance! And the action of course, I mean, they still have to find out what happened with Terminus. Anyways, I'll stop being a weird narrator and let you guys move on with your lives. I will get the next update out as fast as I possibly can. Until then I hope this will suffice. Review, review, ad REVIEW! (It makes me right faster!)