***

"So," Loki said, "here we are."

I glanced at the stairs leading down into the ground, too familiar to a place I had tried to drown out of my thoughts.

Annabeth clutched my hand.

"We can do this," she said, trying to hide the slight tremble in her voice.

"If you don't want to-"

Annabeth shook her head. "We do this together."

"Okay."

I squeezed her hand tighter as Loki faded away into the shadows, a little section of him completely disappearing as he walked further and further down the steps.

Wobbling slightly, Annabeth and I stepped down the first step, which didn't seem to step off any traps, or fall down into a trap hole, so that was good.

We started steadily travelling down the steps, Annabeth still squeezing my hand, as the echoes of our every move bounced off the walls.

"Percy," she said, "I don't have a good feeling about this."

I met her steel gray eyes. "If you don't want to do it, we can go back."

"No, it's not that. Something just seems wrong."

I wanted to reassure her, to tell her everything would be alright, but I didn't dare to speak with the unconvincing shake in my voice, the nightmares threatening to consume me every second econd.

If it was dark before, it suddenly got even darker, and almost thicker, as if the inkyness was trying to form itself into something physical.

We trudged through the tunnel blindly, stumbling a few times as we tripped on the inconsistency of the earth.

Annabeth was forced to let go of my hand, and the only reason I knew she was with me was the loud thumping of her feet beside me. She was walking heavily on purpose.

The oynx colored space around me groaned as the ground started to shake, seeming to dip downwards.

My heart picked up speed, so loud it was shaking my ears.

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth shout in desperation.

I looked around for her, forgetting I couldn't see in the dark. "Annabeth!"

"Percy help!"

I made my voice travel out. "I'm coming!"

Something bumped into me, and I involuntarily took up it's hand, reeling back instantly as I felt the smooth, hard bone of a skeleton.

"Annabeth!" I called again, my voice breaking in pure terror when there was no reply.

"Annabeth! ANNABETH!"

Still no reply. The world seemed to shake as tears streamed down my face.

I couldn't-shouldn't have let Annabeth come.

It was my fault of anything happened to her.

This was all one big mistake.

***

The charcoal color of my surroundings dimmed to a dusky gray as I forced my eyes open, nearly breaking down in tears of relief when I saw Annabeth standing slightly to my front, bruised and shaken up, but okay.

My breathing hitched as I caught sight of the walls, lined with hundreds and hundreds of the remains of skulls, stained red with dried blood.

"Hurry up," Loki said, navigating his way through the tunnel, almost as if he was late for something.

I shrugged it off, dismissing it as nervousness, and followed him, carefully keeping an eye on Annabeth, to make sure she wouldn't stumble.

From the side of my vision, a hazy red glow seemed to follow me, just bright enough to raise my irritation levels.

I itched for my sword, realising that I was starting to use it like a comfort crutch, and I could hardly go more than an hour without it.

"When are we going to get to Hel?" I asked, my voice echoing as it resonated against the walls.

"Soon," Loki called, from somewhere down the tunnel, "very soon."

I nodded, a slow chill running down my back as his sing-song laugh haunted me from somewhere I couldn't see.

All the hairs on my back stood on end as I felt the slight fog of power run through the air, only growing in strength as we walked on.

Nudging Annabeth, I gave a sharp nod backwards, signalling for us to go back.

She eyed Loki and shook her head as we approached a crumbling archway, announcing our arrival. Too late.

Walking as slow as possible, we inched into the room, smelling the scent of rotting carcasses before we sighted them, dumped ruthlessly in a corner.

My heart came to a complete halt as I recognised the room we all stood in.

It was the place from my dream.

***

The first one to move was Loki.

He waltzed right up to the throne and bowed.

"Sire," he said, "the demigod Annabeth Chase, and the god Perseus Jackson, as you requested."

Traitor.

The laugh that followed could only be described as terrifying. It reached into my chest and grasped everything I knew, threatening to make them vanish if I didn't abide.

"Annabeth Chase," The Master drawled, "I have heard many stories of your bravery and wit. You and I will have so much fun together."

"Never," she spat, her stormy gray eyes cold enough to put the entire world back into an ice age.

Standing protectively in front of Annabeth, I felt the Master's presence float closer to us, and I flinched in pure disgust.

"Ah," he said, "so loyal, so loving. We'll break that out of you soon enough."

"Don't you dare lay your filthy little fingers on my girlfriend," I snarled, my voice dangerously low.

The Master only laughed. "I've waited a long time to finally meet you, Perseus."

"I don't think I can say the same."

I vomited in repugnace as a long, slim finger cupped my chin and forced me to look straight into the Master's burning sliver eyes.

Even after hardly glancing over him, my eyes were watering and burning with an unimaginable pain.

"You would be a very useful asset Percy," The Master said, drawing out the sounds of my name.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

I dared to glare at the Master's feet. "I said no."

The air cracked, and I heard a blood curdling scream. Annabeth.

She hung limply in the air, shaking uncontrollably as each strike of the Master's hand brought on a shock of excruciating pain.

He was breaking every single bone in her body.

"STOP! PLEASE!" I cried out, desperate to stop the heartless torture my wonderful, wonderful girlfriend was going through because of me.

"Join me," the Master replied coolly. "Swear your life to me."

"Percy," Annabeth rasped, tears running down her eyes as she shook in pain, "don't do it."

I stared at her. "I have to. It's the only way."

"No," she begged, "please don't. Just let me die. Let me die."

"I CAN'T LET YOU DIE!" I screamed at her. I was nothing without my Wise Girl.

She smiled, a faraway look in those gorgeous gray eyes. "Sometimes, you just have to let go."

And with those words, Annabeth Chase, the architect of Olympus, breathed in, and closed her eyes for the last time.

***