Percy

Uh, boss? Blackjack asked me uncertainly. Are you sure you want to try this?

I waved off the question with my hand, "It'll be fine, don't worry. We've got it all planned out."

Blackjack shook his mane. Well, oaky, then. But we're relying on Leo here for success. You sure you trust that kid to do his job right?

"Blackjack, his job is to cause mass confusion." I smiled a bit, "That's, like, his major talent. I think he'll do his job right." Blackjack tossed his neck, but didn't say anything else. He and I were about fifty feet away from Luke's camp. I were waiting for Leo's signal, telling me that I had the distraction and I needed to go get Annabeth. Blackjack was going to stick here until I bring Annabeth back, then we would meet Leo. I fingered the smooth hilt of Annabeth's knife, which was sheathed and attached to my belt. Piper had given it to Jason when she and Thalia told them to come to Athena's palace, and Jason gave it to me. I was holding onto it until I could return it to its owner.

It was dark around us, and the only noise was the trees rustling in the wind. The silence was eerie, and I was thankful for Blackjack's presence. My fingertips drummed against the bronze knife. I'm not saying I'm scared of the dark (which would be perfectly reasonable for a demigod, though, seeing as it is Hades' realm), but when you're a demigod, monsters could be anywhere, and they could jump out anytime. Unfortunately, I'm a child of one of the Big Three gods, so I stink. Like, major stink.

There, boss, Blackjack said to me. I followed his gaze and sure enough, I saw three bright flashes through the trees. Leo knew where I was, and he was going to start the distractions. It gave me enough time to get up and positioned while the guards weren't aware. I said farewell to Blackjack, then moved forward through the forest.

Stealth has never been my major talent, and when I had gotten about ten feet away, I stepped on a branch small enough to snap, but large enough to make a sound that was similar to a Fire Bomb exploding in the silence of the forest. I winced, and I could hear Blackjack chortling and making fun of me. I shot him a look over my shoulder and continued again, trying to be careful of where I put my feet.

Fairly soon, I could see the dying embers of the fire in the encampment ahead. A few more steps and I froze. Just a little ahead was a guard, close enough that he could probably see me. Lucky for me, however, Leo had already started, so the guards line of sight was trained on the trail of fire that was growing from the fire out. Leo's job was to light up a trail from the original fire and set a tent ablaze. I wanted it to be from the original campfire because it would make it less obvious that they were getting attacked, hopefully they would just think their fire got out of control. It was a far-fetched hope, but it seemed to be working.

I had stopped, my foot in midair, watching the guard who was watching the fire. The small flame burned through the tough and dry grass to the corner of a tent. It flickered a little, then caught onto the fabric. Also fortunate for me and Leo was that the tents were previously soaked in oil, then dried to make the tents waterproof. Smart when it rains, but stupid when there's a fire.

The small patch of fire quickly spread up the tent. The guard in front of me yelped in surprise, running forward and calling for help. I took that time to move quickly around the outskirts of the clearing to where Annabeth was. I saw the two people who had been in the tent that was now on fire jump out and start grabbing anything they could to put out the fire. A creek wasn't close enough, so they resorted to beating it was heavy sacks and clothing. But then the fire went out, not due to their attempts, but Leo had quenched it. The guards all stopped, confused and looking around. They pointed dumbly at each other, silently asking who had just put out the fire. I could imagine Leo snorting in the trees, having fun playing with their minds.

But then, a different tent set on fire, and then another, on the complete opposite side of the camp. I was really liking Leo's powers at the moment. The guards rushed to extinguish the new fire, and more guards joined in. The ones in the trees jumped down to help. It was working, everybody was trying to rescue the tents, not looking for people to attack. I know, they should've realized something was suspicious, but I guess Luke picked guards with brawniness, not brains. I tried to look for Luke, but I couldn't see him. He was either still asleep (though I don't know how he could sleep through this racket) or I just couldn't pick him out from the many men rushing about. Annabeth's guards were the only ones who hadn't moved. They watched, but they were probably obeying Luke's orders of sticking by Annabeth, not letting her out of their sight. But Leo and I had planned for that too.

The tents that were currently on fire abruptly extinguished, and then two more were set ablaze. Leo was leading the group of hurrying guards slowly away from where Annabeth was positioned. When they were on the opposite side of where Annabeth and her three guards were, Leo turned his attention to the tent closest to her guards. This one he set totally ablaze, fire heating up the guards torsos, causing Annabeth to turn her face away and bury it in her shoulder. I cringed, I hoped she didn't get hurt. I snuck up behind the three guards and Annabeth, staying out of sight. Annabeth's guards knew that the other men wouldn't make it back in time, plus there were still four tents on fire, and the other men had their attention fixed on those. So they abandoned their post, desperately beating at the fire. I crept forward, tiptoeing loudly (is that possible?) through the stick-covered forest ground. Annabeth was watching the guards process with squinted eyes. She was even confused, wondering what was happening.

I moved, placing my hand on her mouth quickly so she wouldn't make a noise. I felt her jerk in surprise and alarm, but she relaxed quickly when she saw me. Relief flooded her eyes, and I felt her smile beneath my hand. I smiled back, then took my hand off her mouth. Uncapping Riptide, I swung it swiftly, slicing through the chains around her abdomen. Her ankles were next, and then I undid her hands. Once she was loose, she shook her hands, twirling her wrists to bring the blood flowing into them again. She got up slowly on shaky feet, watching the guards. They had no idea that she was loose, they were still focused on the blazing tent in front of them. Annabeth quickly moved swung around the tree to where I was. We were out of sight, but we still had to make sure they wouldn't notice her missing.

Annabeth grinned again at me, and then enfolded me in an embrace. I wasted no time in putting my arms around her shoulder and waist, hugging her tightly. Her head rested on my chest, and her soft but firm hands were delicate against my back. I breathed in the scent of her curly hair, relief making me giddy. She was safe, she was with me. I smiled into her neck.

"Thank you for coming," she whispered into my ear.

I spoke quietly, "There was no way I was letting Luke keep you, Wise Girl." I could feel her smile into my chest, then I pulled back reluctantly. "We have to get going before they realize." She nodded, and I remembered her weapon. I unhooked it from my belt and gave it to her. She gave me a thankful look, and tied it onto her belt.

"Let's go," she said when she was finished.

"Woah, there. Not so fast, lovebirds."

That voice made us both jump and turn around. Luke was standing a little behind us, leaning casually on his sword. I glared at him, memories rushing into me. Sad memories, ones that I didn't want to go through, for it would only make me want drown in guilt or sorrow. Annabeth glanced at me, at the deathly glower in my eyes looking at Luke. But instead of being so confused as to why I seemingly hated Luke so much, she looked a me with a sense of understanding. I was confused. Did she know what happened?

Before I could think further, Luke picked up his sword and swung it around nonchalantly. I tightened my grip on Riptide, which I had stabbed into the dirt for a moment while I had hugged Annabeth. The daughter of Athena stood beside me, dagger in hand, staring at Luke with narrowed eyes. So far, everybody else was still focused on the fire. It was just Luke, Annabeth, and I.

"I have to say, I'm impressed, Percy." Luke was now studying the edge of his blade. It was half steel, half bronze, meaning he could kill monsters as well as mortals. My nostrils flared as my grip on Riptide tightened. I hated that blade. I knew first-hand that it could kill mortals, no matter how innocent they were. "How've you been? And how's Leo, your fire user, the one I'm assuming is accompanying you? But it's just you two, the rest are about nine miles back, setting up camp, waiting for you to come back. Didn't that daughter of Hades tell you not to do anything, like try and rescue Annabeth on your own?" He turned his attention to me, one slanted eyebrow high up on his forehead. I scowled at him. I didn't know how he knew all this, but at the moment, all I wanted to do was bash Luke upside the head.

Annabeth seemed to sense my intentions, and she stopped me with a hand on my arm, saying hotly to Luke, "Save it, Luke. Gods know you're going to need it when you're whining to get out of the prison you're soon going to be in."

Luke smiled at her, "Sweetie, I don't think that's going to happen. You and Mr. I-Am-So-Cool-I'm-A-Son-Of-Poseidon aren't strong enough to capture me. Sorry to burst your bubble." Annabeth wrinkled her nose, but I knew her too well to know that she didn't care about the rest of Luke's statements. She couldn't get past the sweetie reference he used on her. She hated pet names like that.

"Don't call me 'sweetie,' that's repulsive," she reprimanded.

"Like your face."

She rolled her eyes, shrugging off the comment, but I didn't take it that well. I tried to jump forward, bringing my sword arm out to attack, but Annabeth kept a firm grip on me, stopping my actions.

"Percy, stop," she said to me. "He's just jealous nobody would look twice at him."

Luke chuckled. I hated that laugh. "Oh, sweetheart, you make me laugh." He ignored the low growl that came from Annabeth at the word sweetheart. "Percy needs to be held back by a girl? Gotten a little soft, haven't you?"

I clenched my teeth, but I didn't take the bait. A rustle behind me sounded, and I looked briefly over my shoulder to see Annabeth's three guards. Apparently they finally realized Annabeth was missing and had come looking for her. Nobody else was here, though. They didn't attack either, and when I turned back I saw Luke was motioning for them to not attack.

"I guess you have gotten soft. You won't defend yourself, but you can defend the gods? Even when a little girl's life is on the line?" Luke made a tsk tsk noise, shaking his head mockingly. "Well, I can't blame you. Siblings can get a little annoying, can't they? But don't worry, her death was fast. Almost too fast. I was thinking about how I did it, and I was wishing I made it slower, more agonizing to you. Seems like her death wasn't enough to turn you to the good side. Oh well, there are many more people I can k-"

That's it.

I yelled, tearing myself from Annabeth's grip. I'm surprised I held out that long. When he started talking about what he did... The rush of agony was too forceful for me to cry, scream, or just curl up and bawl like a baby. No, I was past that.

My sword whistled through the air, faster than I ever imagined I could swing a sword. It was like an arc of lightning, a flash of bronze. Even Luke, who was one of the best swordsmen out there, looked surprised as he barely got his sword up in time to parry the oncoming blade. Behind me, I heard grunts and clangs as Annabeth took on the guards. I knew I should be worried about her, but the only thing in my mind was blinding, white hot rage coursing through me. Blow after blow landed on Luke's sword, which always managed to block my attacks before they landed on him. But I didn't care, I just hit and hit and hit. Luke didn't have time to do an attack of his own, he could only stick to defense.

I don't know how, maybe my wild anger was helping me out or something, but I found a flaw in his stance and was able to take it before Luke could parry my blade. He was leaning to far to the right. Most of his weight, that is. Upon seeing this, I faked an attack to his right side, and as Luke's sword came up to block it, I reversed my sword. Using the momentum of a full swing, I brought my blade around in a whistling circle, slamming the flat side into Luke's unprotected thigh. His body, which was leaning to the right, did not expect this sudden movement to the left when Luke attempted to block me, and therefore he was thrown off balance as my blade made contact with his leg. Even I winced as I heard the piercing crack that rang out when I hit his leg.

Luke's face contracted in pain, and he grimaced and grunted, but he didn't yell out. Instead, his leg, unable to hold his weight anymore, collapsed, bringing Luke down with it. He clutched his broken thigh, looking at me through the sweat pouring down over his head.

"What?" He asked, teeth gritted. "Too cowardly to finish me off?" I stared at him, hatred overflowing onto Luke, whose eyes slowly started to glow with the same loathing. I raised my sword, ready to run it through him. But all that was forgotten when I heard Annabeth cry out in pain.

I cursed, eyes widening. Stupid, stupid, Percy! I yelled at myself. How could I have abandoned Annabeth? I left her to fight three guards while I took one person? And I was saying earlier that all I really cared about was her safety. Idiot! I kept yelling at myself as I turned around, not caring about Luke anymore. Not like he could do much.

Annabeth was doing the best she could. Her dagger was slicing through the air, parrying attacks from both sides of her. One of the guards was on the ground, knocked out. The two others were still up and determined, although one looked to be sporting a hurt knee. Annabeth was definitely limping, favoring her left ankle. A small cut right above her eyebrow was bleeding into her eye, forcing her to blink rapidly and wipe her eye a lot. As she did this, I noticed a gash in her wrist. Droplets of her blood littered the ground. My anger had returned, but this time it seemed even more fervent.

I rushed forward, taking one of the guards by surprise. He didn't have time to stop Riptide from slamming into his helmet. He crumpled.

One down, one to go. This won't be that bad.

Of course, I just had to think that. Right as I thought those words, five more guards came from the camp. They had finally noticed what was happening. I started up a fight with three of the men surrounding me. I glanced over my shoulder to see more men coming to join the fight. Annabeth could hardly stand up, and I watched as one guard came up behind her and slashed at her leg. A shallow but probably painful cut was opened on her shin. I roared in defiance, pushing away the number of guards attempting to attack me. Dodging blades, I rushed to Annabeth's side. She was leaning against a tree, desperately trying to defend herself. I cut down a guard attacking Annabeth, and stood right in front of her, protecting her. Any guard that tried to get past me to Annabeth was done for. I wasn't letting them get to her.

But there were so many. I felt Annabeth say something to me, I think it was "Let me fight, Percy!" Either that or "Hades' right, Percy!" And since the latter is almost never true, I was assuming it was the first. Sorry, Uncle Hades.

I shook my head, not looking back at her. She was already injured, I wasn't going to let her get any worse. But it was getting overwhelming. I felt a blade connect with my leg, but for the moment I didn't feel any pain. I stabbed forward, hitting the guy back. My hilt came in contact with so many heads. But it wasn't enough.

Just when I thought I was going to drop, I heard a rush of powerful wings, and a horse whinnied. Next thing, a black hoof slams into the head of the guard that was about to attack me. A pegasus followed the hoof, and I was looking Blackjack. The pegasus had a murderous look in his eyes.

Nobody hurts my boss and his girl! He yelled telepathically. I was the only one who could hear him, but I don't think that mattered to Blackjack. He just shoved his way through the throng of attackers, kicking, bucking, and planting hoof-sized dents in people's skulls. I sighed in relief, breathing deeply. Pivoting, I looked at Annabeth, hoping she was still alright. She was leaning heavily against the tree, her face contorted in pain. Blood pooled in her hand from her wrist, and more was dripping from the cut by her brow. I looked at her ankle, but didn't see anything on the surface, so it must've been twisted or broken. I knelt beside her, but kept Riptide with me just in case Blackjack missed a few guards, which was doubtful but possible. She looked at me with an anguished expression that stabbed at my heart.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth, I forgot. I'm so stupid!" I said, biting my lip and forcing myself not to punch the tree in frustration. She was hurt, and this was my fault. Her countenance softened, and some of the pained look went away, but I knew she was just faking it for me.

She said, "Don't beat yourself up, Percy. It's fine." Her voice caught on the last words because she had moved her wrist, and I could only imagine the pain that was jarring her arm.

"Don't move, we need to get you some ambrosia."

Boss? You ready to go? I looked over to see Blackjack still fending off guards. He was unharmed, thankfully, but even he had a hard time. I'm thinking I'll swing by and you can quick grab onto me. You'll probably have to help Annabeth, by the looks of it.

I nodded, assuring him I was ready. Then I told Annabeth what we were doing. "Do you think you can move?"

"No, I really don't," she answered honestly.

"Well," I said, still cursing myself, "I'll help you on." She nodded, and sat up a little. I picked her up, trying to be careful of her ankle and wrist. One arm went under her knees, and the other held her shoulders. She held on, looking up at me. We were really close. Like, kissing distance close. I remembered our first and only kiss, when Annabeth was leaving. That was amazing, and I often found myself reliving it, even if it was full of sadness.

Her grey eyes captivated me, I never wanted to look away. I could hear her small puffs of breath flowing in and out of her slightly party lips. Her curly hair was dirty and matted, but it still looked better than Aphrodite's in my opinion. She was warm in my arms, and I realized how chilly the night air was now that we were done fighting. One of her hands was around my neck, and her fingers were curled lightly so I could feel them on my skin.

Boss, I'm coming! Blackjack's frantic cry jerked me out of my thoughts, and I looked up abruptly, seeing Blackjack charging at us with quite a few guards following him. He skidded to stop, just long enough for me to get Annabeth on, then Blackjack was moving as I swung up behind her. His massive wings unfurled, beating at the air. Within seconds we were off the ground.