"An-Annabeth?" Professor Chase choked on his own voice. "Wh-wh-what is- How in the- Are you?- I-is everything- *Huff*... An-Annabeth?" He stuttered relentless, finally settling on her name once more. He couldn't believe it. His daughter was standing right in front of him. And he doesn't have the courage to take a step forward fearing she'll disappear in a fog like so many times before... But, this just seems so real. It has to be real! It is, isn't it?

"Yes dad. It's me." Annabeth kept her arms by her side. She doesn't know what to do with them. She ran away. Yet, the look in her father's eyes struck love and longing. That wasn't fake. Oh gods please don't let it be fake. She's bad mouthed, insulted, and slandered her father. But here he is now, tears begging to show with lips quivering just mentioning her name. This is real. He does care, he does love her. But...

"Annabeth!" He rushed her in a strong loving embrace, bringing her in close, "Annabeth, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" That's it, Annabeth collapsed into his hug and began crying herself. "I'm so very sorry." He whispered in her ear as he brushed his hand over her head while rubbing small circles on her back. Annabeth grasped his dirty shirt and shoved her face in close letting her tears escape freely now. The familiar smell of his study soaked her nostrils.

His hug is stronger than anything she's ever known, as if holding her wasn't quite enough, she has to feel every ounce that she is pressed into every ounce that is him. In that moment of feeling him so close her worries melt away, taken away by a deeply caring father. The fears of being alone, the ugly monsters that haunt her, the inevitable fate bestowed upon demigods. Just gone, for a clear moment. For there are times Annabeth wished that things didn't have to be so hard, to be safe within walls, protected. That's what she feels. It helps. "It's okay. I got you." Oh how she missed this feeling. Forgetting about looking over her shoulder, about training, about wondering if she'll live till tomorrow. For just a moment things felt okay. Honest to gods okay.

"Dad I'm-" Annabeth began between her soft sobs.

"Shhh, I know... I know." Annabeth choked, relieved beyond belief that he said so. She dreamt of a nice go happy reunion, but actually getting one was as if the Isles of the Blest opened her doors. It was without words. Beyond a dream come true. Something she felt she didn't deserve. That perhaps they didn't deserve either. After her own actions and the way they reciprocated. A fantasy.

Yet, here they are holding each other. Forgetting the company that gathered, choosing to prolong this one moment. It's been over six years, without face to face interaction. Any real family would leap for joy in this situation. And this is an extenuating circumstance.

"Honey? Who's at the door? You're letting all the warm air out!" A women called out from within the home sending an icy chill to run down Annabeth's pine. A home that the other's noticed was littered with small toys. Along with the wild chatter of children playing. Somewhere in that chatter a very loud Ow cut through the house. Followed by even louder noises bouncing around.

Dr. Chase didn't answer. Just a moment longer. "Honey?" Her voice was closer now. As was the tap tap of her slippers. She rounded a corner and saw her husband on his knees hugging someone. And three others awkwardly standing back whispering amongst themselves. Zoe, Thalia, and Bianca noticed her right off the bat. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun. An apron across her waist and oven mitts covering her left hand. Plus jeans and a plain white shirt. "Is something wrong?" She tilted her head in question.

"No, nothing's wrong." Frederick smiled widely, "In fact, I couldn't be happier." He stood up while holding his daughter without turning around or letting her go. He didn't want to.

"Oh?" Mrs. Chase kept walking.

"Look who's here." His voice was soft, as he took a step away bringing one hand up to wipe away the tears with the other holding her shoulder. With one step aside, Mrs. Chase gasped in shock bringing her hands to her mouth. Which was quickly replaced with a fond smile and an awkward air. Neither knew what to do.

On the one hand she was thrilled. On the other, she wasn't exactly the best stepmom. A hug seems like too much. Sure they've communicated slightly in the last couple of years, mostly through Frederick. But... How does someone make up after acting the way she did? "Hi Annabeth, I'm really happy to see you again." She chose to go with that for the moment.

"Me too."

"Please come in. You guys must be freezing." She gestured them to come in, closing the door behind them. Frederick was glued to Annabeth while Zoe, Bianca, and Thalia stood off to the side. "I'm sure you know who we are by now, but I'm afraid we don't have that pleasure." Without much else to go on they introduced themselves politely. Mrs. Chase, seeing that things were leading towards a private discussion excused herself. She would love to catch up with her step daughter, perhaps another time. "Would you like to have a snack?" She asked before completely disappearing. She got her answer when the stomachs of her guests rumbled in protest.

"Come on, let's head up to my study. We have plenty to discuss." Frederick coughed into his hand, gesturing towards the stairs. No one else moved from their positions.

"We do, but that will have to wait until later. This isn't exactly a social visit." Annabeth puffed out her chest, set in her stance. Of course she would much rather continue the pleasant feeling welling up from within her. However, she is a realist and knows that they can't afford to waste any time.

"Oh?" His voice dropped an octave. In his mind, he knew that that was most likely the case. But a man can hope. Only to have it crumpled later... It's the principle of the thing.

"Sorry to do this to you sir, but we came here in hopes of obtaining a ride to Mount Tamalpais." Bianca cut in hoping to ease off some of Annabeth anxiety here. It's strange, coming back home only to ask for something from people you care about. Then leave. It is straight up rude, not to mention beyond disrespectful. To family nonetheless.

It's either this or water travel. And water travel has a strange way of messing with their senses and such. Plus, coming here gave the chance for Annabeth to confirm that her family is alright. Like really alright. It was a massive relief, not that she'd announce it anytime soon.

"Why?" It sounds like such a simple question. It seems like such a simple answer. But, that one question has a long backlog of answers. It will take a long time to ever get the chance to even decipher what they should or shouldn't say. What they can or can't say. So that three letter word met silence. Even if they can say something, where do they begin? "...Listen, I'm not just gonna give my keys blindly without knowing what's going on. I at least earned that much with you coming here personally." He did make a fair point.

To further his position, he made himself comfortable on the steps stubborn in his decision. Seeing that the light outside was beginning to dim, Annabeth brought forth the story of their quest. She left out a bits and pieces knowing they weren't pertinent.

"This Percy fella. Is he the one you wrote about?" He asked honestly. Annabeth didn't answer, but she bit her lip. Something he managed to notice somehow. "I see. Then we better get going!"

"We?" Thalia questioned. They can't bring someone else, let alone a mortal.

"Of course! I'm coming too. There is no way I can sit this out now." Frederick stood up abruptly pumped full of adrenaline. 'Oh my gods, he thinks he's actually going!?' They all thought.

"But-" Someone placed a hand on Annabeth's shoulder before she could finish. Once she looked she saw Zoe, to which she shook her head slightly. In a way that conveyed she got this handled.

"Sir, as lovely as an idea that may be. Thou can't. A mortal hast no chance to enter as simply as we can. Even if thou can enter, there is no guarantee it will be in one piece. Plus there is your family, here. Don't do something as reckless as this." Zoe made her point. And she made it well. Even if parts of it were deceitful. Also, as a huntress she has seen the toll a family has when a father doesn't return home. It's devastating, she can admit that.

As Dr. Chase thought about it for a second, things became clear. He knows that currently Annabeth is safe, she has some capable friends, and he has three other's to look after. As daring as he thinks he may be, it's not like he his rushing off to save his daughter up their. In fact it's just a boy... A boy she is concerned over. He wants her to be happy, but being selfish won't help with that... Then there is the big one. The what if. A dangerous concept to be left alone with.

"...Fine. Now where are my keys?" He pats himself down. Nothing. Alas then came the jingle jingle of his keys from behind the group.

As they all turned, they saw a tray of sandwiches with bottles of water, or soda. Also, Mrs. Chase standing their wiggling the keys chuckling slightly to herself. Sometime during story time she showed up silently, listening in. Only for the sake of making sure Annabeth was alright mostly. "Honestly, how many times have we done this now?"

"Too many. Still haven't learned apparently." He chuckled to himself knowing full well this is all too common. So he took a couple of steps over to her ready to take the keys. Only she didn't think so. Before he could grab them, she placed them behind her back denying him.

"These aren't for you." She wiggled her finger tossing them to the seemingly most capable driver, Zoe.

"But-"

"No buts! I know exactly what you're planning and you. Can't. Go... Have a little faith." She was being surprisingly calm about the whole situation. It was pretty damn strange. Maybe the mist was having some sort of affect on her hearing or something. And that is making her believe that something else entirely is going on.

"She's right, we can handle this no problem." Bianca spoke up all cheerful. She is way too innocent for this line of work. "Come on." She waved over her shoulder exiting the front door, towards the VW convertible parked in the driveway. Everyone followed.

"Annabeth!" Mrs. Chase called out before she closed the car door. "You'll always have a place here. I just wanted you to know that."

"I do." Annabeth smiled and shut the door signaling Zoe to go ahead and drive. A massive wave of relief washed over the step mom and daughter duo. There is only so much one can say without over doing it after so long.

Zoe was not well known for her careful driving skills. In fact they were none existent. The wind pushes on the car to no avail. They are going forwards and nothing but a blessed tragedy can change that. The tires make their monotonous hiss over the wet-washed highway and the air that makes its way though the filters is sickly-sweet. All around, through these tinted windows flashes of the Golden Gate Bridge pass by. If they could look out the window long enough before being pushed into the doors from constant lane swerving that is.

Zoe somehow manages to fiddle with the radio to fill our ears with the latest popular tunes, starlets, the new pop "idols." She hated all of it, so she smashed the power button. Enough was enough. Their only escape was the insanely narrow roads off the highway leading up to the mountain. Three of the four passengers closed their eyes. Steep ravines happily filled one side of the road... Water travel felt perfect right about now. Zoe, clueless to their estranged behavior thought it was motion sickness. Thus, she rolled down the windows, one hand on the wheel the entire time.

Nothing beats shutting your eyes, then having wind punch your face full of crisp mountain air. Yet, it wasn't all that great because eucalyptus filled their nostrils instead. It reminds them of monster breath. Yes, a weird thing to compare it to, but monsters love the stuff for some god forsaken reason. So the smell lingers.

A couple more minutes passed and they finally arrived. A small clearing for parked cars, slightly overgrown from not being used by mortals. Onshore breezes climbed the mountain slopes until the air became cool enough to condense its vapor into a thick mist. A swirling spiral of despair hugging the mountain top. Not a good sign. "Where's Triton?" Thalia asked looking around the eucalyptus expanse.

"Perhaps he went ahead?" Annabeth input.

"I would never. I merely did the job I stated I would." The guy's voice drifted along a breeze of fresh sea air. "Though it seems that we aren't the only ones ahead of schedule." He threw in.

The four ladies circled around, not knowing where his voice came from. "Oh yeah?"

"Of course. The Princess Andromeda is docked right below the cliff to your left." He spoke like he was giving a tour, stunning them into silence.

They ran over to peer over the edge and it was just as he said. Great, just great. Far below them was the demon cruise ship. Apparently it's been modified. Bigger, thicker, just more of everything it seems. Must have been after the sea brothers little side quest. "Is the ground moving?" Bianca asked timidly even though the answer is obviously no, "Gotcha, just making sure."

"What the?... Move!" BBBOOOOMMMM! Thalia barely managed to shout before the edge of the cliff exploded in a heap of rubble, knocking them backwards. The entire cliff side quaked, leaving the demigod heroes from getting any footing. Chaos ensued.

Thalia flew back hitting her head against a rock. Her vision went blurry as tears filled her eyes. Biting the pain was barely an option as agonizing waves of nausea punched her with any attempt to move. The pain beat her head like a drum, flaring up with seemingly increased intensity. The pain shouldn't be more than a minor nuisance to her, but right now it was far more than that. She saw the thing fly at them. A damn celestial bronze cannonball exploding on impact. While it would potentially be possible to block out the pain usually, there was no way to block it out now with the extra effective artillery. But she felt sore all over, the injury was clearly taking its toll on her entire body. She refused to let this day go to waste. So Thalia forced herself up on her feet. Only she got about halfway up, resting her hands on her knees for stabilization.

Zoe gasped for air and stumbled on her feet, the world spun completely around her. Panic slowly took over as, for a moment, a way out of this pain began to seem more and more unrealistic. For a second Zoe considered listening to her body which was telling them to stop, to just give up and drop to the floor. It became harder and harder to swallow the pain, to ignore the sensations and the voices telling her to stop. Yet, she couldn't shake out of her daze. Slowly her mind drifted towards the others.

Annabeth felt lucky being knocked to the side along the ledge. Her head felt heavier and heavier as each pulse of throbbing pain pounded their senses over and over again. Desperate for some form of relief she sought out every solution. Ignoring it, working through it, using it to fuel strength. But nothing seemed to work. The pain shouldn't be more than a minor nuisance to her, but right now it was far more than that. She took a deep breath, then another and then another. A state of calm returned to her mind for a moment. With her new sense of calm she stood and made her way over to the other's. She doesn't know their states, but she has to at least check. They are so close damn it!

Triton was mostly fine... Physically, at least. Even a god can be shocked... He should've seen this coming. He should have been faster. Peering over the edge Triton saw her, about forty feet below. A quarter of the way down. This was certainly not good. A ledge, only big enough for one. Triton is a sea god, he can't exactly fly. And the see isn't answering his call. Damn it! Suddenly, a wave arrows whizzed past his head. No doubt tipped lethally. This forced the god to take a step back. Only to look over once more. This time however, cannon fire like before took the arrows place. Damn it, if he doesn't do something, she'll die!

Terrified she kept her eyes clamped shut. Whatever caused the agonizing sharp pains in her legs, she was sure it wouldn't look pretty. For a moment she thought about just giving in to the pain, letting it consume her completely as there seemed to be no way out. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, or at least gather enough of them to think a little clearer. Fighting through the pain was becoming increasingly difficult, but above all else it became increasingly annoying to have to deal with. They longed for their bed, a hot bath or just a fluffy pillow to lie on, but right now that wasn't an option to them. Right now all they cared about was carrying on and ignoring the pain. 'Oh god, it hurts!' She mentally screamed.

A concoction of metallic screeches, like those of a raven swarmed her ears. Stymphalian Bird. She'd be a useless hunter if she couldn't guess that. They are made of metal, have black feathers, and are the size of ravens. Nasty bastards. Wait. Oh shit! "Somebody help!" Bianca cried out, but her legs weren't moving. She kept her eyes shut. Nope, there was no way in hell that this was happening. "Somebody please!" In a flash she felt the ruffle of metallic feathers brush up against her harshly. It stung her exposed skin.

Any attempt to wave them off only caused her arms and hands to bruise. It also riled up the metallic bastards. "Hang on!" Triton shouted though he wasn't sure what he can do. His eyes dashed around trying to find something. Anything! The sea won't answer! He can't fly! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Bianca could barely move, her body screamed for the hurt to stop. Every muscle has seized up. Her body is struggling to recover, to gain what little energy survived the fall to fight back. Unable to move with any grace her movements are jerky. Triton peeked over, horrifying as the birds changed from beating to picking only to dodge a stupid bronze ball. On each arm there are great purple welts that only deepen with the continued onslaught. Against her ghostly skin they are grotesque, but that soon turned red as flesh began to peel off... "Make it stop!" Bianca cried out as, she felt overwhelmed. At least they didn't go for her face. "Please!"

Her body is shattered, she can feel it clearly. A body shouldn't be able to lay in this position, but she is. Warped and twisted, with nobody to help her. She can't move her body, she can no longer even move her head. All she can do is look, but that is far too terrifying at the moment. She can't take this much longer. Her entire body screams as her living flesh is removed bit by bit. Bianca can feel her body giving out.

In a split second Triton realized he had a choice. Saving can't be done... As much as he hates it. But he can grant her some mercy. Painless. Either this or leave her to suffer.

Triton stands tall on the ledge. Attacks coming.

He takes out his trident.

Takes aim.

An arrow grazes his left bicep. Another his right forearm. A couple in his thigh. A cannon ball almost smashes his midsection, but he leaps over.

And throws...

...

Straight through her skull...

...

No more agony...

...

Silence...

Triton extends his arm and calls back his weapon. Ashamed it was used to shed innocent blood. But...

*Sigh*

Sorry for the late post. I was busy with college finals and work. I hope you enjoy!