This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but it grew waaaay too long, so now it is its own separate story! The first chapter is also posted on my Heroes of Olympus One-Shots story collection. (Also, on a side note Percy and Annabeth are not together, just super best friends).

He was a hero.

A child of the Big Three.

The best.

He defeated Kronos, lived through two wars, fought countless monsters, and survived Tartarus.

And who were you?

You were just some lowly child of Morpheus.

Morpheus, who sided with Kronos during the first war.

You barely fought in the wars, never had a quest, and your first monster was nowhere near close to a Minotaur.

So of course he would never notice you. You don't know why you thought otherwise. You knew it would only lead to crushed feelings in the end. But some part of you always clung onto that hope whenever he looked in your direction. Even if it was only for a split second.

Even if it was a mistake.

What made your crush even stupider was that you were afraid of water. Of water, of all things possible. And for whatever reason, you liked the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Honestly, you frequently wondered what went on inside your head. Most of it was jumbled up nonsense that related to him and translated into 'feelings'. But those feelings were freaking confusing, and you drove yourself crazy trying to guess what they meant.

Somehow, no matter how many times you berated yourself and how hard you tried to convince yourself you felt nothing, the feelings always came back. They rose up in your chest, overtaking all common sense and reduced you to a quiet, shy picture of yourself. You couldn't stop them. You couldn't stop yourself.

You couldn't stop yourself from having a crush on Percy Jackson.

(~)

You weren't one of the kids that everyone knew at camp. Not like Nico and the Seven. You had your own little group of friends with which you spent most of your time with. You often faded into the background until no one was aware that you were even there. You were just a regular camper.

So it came as quite a surprise when one day Annabeth Chase ran up to you, breathing heavily as though she had sprinted from across camp. You waited, confused, as she caught her breath, wondering why on Olympus one of the Seven wanted to talk to you. "(Y/N)," she greeted after a few seconds.

"Erm..." You didn't know what to say. "Hi, Annabeth. Did you... need something?"

She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Yes, actually. I need your help."

You swallowed nervously and willed yourself to not stutter as you spoke. "Is something wrong?" you asked.

Annabeth sighed, and with that one movement, all previous composure seemed to escape her. She sagged, shoulders slumping forward, a weary expression on her face. It was then that you noticed the dark bags under her bloodshot eyes, how her shirt was rumpled and creased, how she held her knife loosely in her hand.

She looked downright exhausted.

You took a step forward in concern. It looked like she would collapse at any given moment. You reached out a hand, intent on setting it down on her arm, but hesitated halfway through. You barely knew each other; she probably didn't want you to worry or pity her. Instead, you asked, "Are you alright?"

Her head shot up as though she had forgotten you were there. She dragged a hand across her face tiredly. "It's not me you should be worrying about- it's Percy."

Immediately, you felt your heart rate speed up and your palms get sweaty simply by mentioning his name. Honestly, you were like any other girl with a crush, and you hated yourself for it. Especially right now. Now was not the time for your hormones to act up. Not when something bad could have happened to Percy.

You spoke rapidly. "What happened? Is he okay? Why do you need my help?" You sighed internally. So much for acting calm and collected.

Annabeth looked around, and you, copying her, noticed that there were quite a few campers eavesdropping on your conversation. They were probably wondering what a demigod like you was doing talking to a demigod like her.

Her voice dropped down to a quiet murmur. "Let's talk somewhere else. Your cabin?" You nodded. Cabin 24 was empty right now, your 2 other siblings being elsewhere. You were actually supposed to be in a canoeing lesson right now, but considering your fear of water you decided to ditch.

It didn't take long for you to arrive at Morpheus' cabin, one of the few cabins that had a circle design. Its white wooden walls did not stand out much amongst the other cabins. However, after opening a plain door with an intricately carved closed eye knocker, a whole different world opened up to people. The walls smoothed out to light beige-gold marble, on which there were swirls of black lines that gave off the sense of wind caressing the cabin. A few bunks hugged the walls to leave the middle wide open, where the softest feather chairs invited you to sit down and take a nap. The domed roof had a cacophony of dream catchers hanging down, all created with the detail only Hephaestus had an eye for. Being inside would make one feel as though in a fog, like they were dreaming, and a twinkling tune was always playing.

You loved your cabin.

You shut the door behind the two of you and looked at Annabeth expectantly. Her previously tired look hardened unexpectedly and you took a step back involuntarily, eyes widening in surprise. You hadn't done anything to anger her, had you?

She must have noticed how you were basically trembling in fear at her (because she could be seriously scary when she wanted to be) since she softened her gaze almost immediately. "I'm sorry," she sighed, "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that... I don't know how to deal with this." She hesitated for a few seconds, then the story came rushing out of her. "Percy's been having nightmares. Really bad nightmares. He's been waking up every night, screaming, and I'm the only one that can calm him down. We've tried drinking nectar before sleeping, having me next to him all night, and even mortal techniques. I just... I don't know what to do. Nothing's working." She looked at you helplessly, an expression so foreign on her normally collected face that you had to blink twice to make sure you saw it correctly. "You're the daughter of the god of Dreams. Can you help?"

Oh.

Oh.

It made sense, after all. With everything he'd been through, he was bound to have nightmares. How had you not noticed it? It was obvious. He looked so tired during his sword lessons, and every one of his smiles seemed forced. You could've done something. You could have offered your help before it became a problem. Now it was too late, and Percy was suffering. You felt disgusted with yourself.

But with that came a newfound determination. You wanted to help him get better. This was your area of expertise; you knew what to do and how to do it. You were (not to brag) the Morpheus child with the most control over your powers, and the oldest. If you couldn't, than who could? It would have to be you, no matter what.

You nodded. "I think I can."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and all of a sudden, pulled you into a tight hug. You froze. "Thank you so much," she murmured, and just as quick, released you as if nothing had happened. "But there's one condition; you can't let Percy know that you're helping him. He refuses to accept any help. And I doesn't want others to know of his sleeping problems. So, if you can, try to be discreet."

You barely managed to nod again before she was out of your cabin, leaving the door swinging wide open. Slowly, you relaxed once more, until the realisation of the situation hit you.

What exactly had you gotten yourself into?

(~)

From there, night came quickly. Annabeth had told you earlier that Percy had a fixed sleeping schedule; he always went to bed at 10:15, directly after the campfire sing-a-long, and usually fell asleep around 10:30. So, you were lying in bed waiting nervously until the minute hand hit the 30 minute mark. Your siblings were asleep already, which was why you were staying as silent as possible. If they woke up, Percy's secret could be exposed, and you really didn't want to have to deal with a furious Annabeth.

A few minutes later, and it was time. You let out a long, slow breath, trying to calm yourself before you entered his dream. You knew what you would be seeing would be terrifying, if Percy Jackson woke up screaming because of it. But you needed to steel your nerves and get on with it if you wanted to help him.

You inhaled, and broke the barrier between reality and dream.

The first thing you noticed was the heat. The air was scalding. You hissed with pain as your arms broke out in angry red rashes. Every breath you took rattled, the sulfurous air making it sting your lungs. You were sweating up a storm, but the sheets of sweat on your body evaporated the second they were exposed.

But in a split second, the temperature dropped to freezing, the air becoming colder and thicker. You shivered, yet at the same time your skin was burning from the sudden climate change. Your teeth chattered noisily and you rubbed your arms in an attempt to warm them up but also get rid of the pinpricks of fire all over them.

Once your eyes adjusted to the darkness, you could see your surroundings. You were in some sort of forest. Branch-less black trees soared into the sky, disappearing among the dark fog. The ground was smooth and pale, almost like ice coated it.

A shout startled you from your thoughts, and you turned to see Percy, Annabeth, and some giant with wild white hair surrounded by a dozen winged hags with brass talons and glowing red eyes. They were attacking the trio furiously, snarling and slashing with their claws.

The first thing you did was hide behind one of the thicker trees. Percy could not see you. In demigod dreams, the dreamer is still conscious, so should he realise you were in his dream, things would escalate badly.

Once you were sure that you were well hidden, you allowed yourself to peek out from behind. What you saw horrified you.

Percy was swinging his sword at each monster that launched itself at him, and with each kill, he grimaced in pain. Blood drenched his shirt, especially on both sides of his rib cage and was dripping from almost every point on his body. His eyes were solid and terrified, but his gaze was focused elsewhere.

"Annabeth!" he shouted desperately. You shifted to see Annabeth, stumbling around with her arms straight out in front of her as though she were blind. "Annabeth!" he shouted again.

However, she seemed to not hear or see him as she continued to walk in circles. "Percy!" she cried out. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" He sliced through another monster and doubled back in pain, clutching his stomach. "Please, Annabeth!" he croaked.

Annabeth shrieked as she stumbled into a tree, stabbing at it with a rock. "Why did you leave me, Percy?"

"I didn't! Come on, Wise Girl!" Percy pleaded. When that didn't work, he whirled back into the monsters, snarling. "Take her curse away!" he snapped.

They cackled in response. Yes, indeed, take her curse away we shall, they hissed. And they started to move toward Annabeth, talons extended eagerly.

Perry's furious expression shifted into one of horror. "What are you- No- no get away from her! Get away! ANNABETH!" he screamed, and they pounced.

Up until this point, you had been watching, entranced yet horrified by the actions taking place. Percy's anguished screams were what broke you out of your spell.

You shook your head, tearing your eyes away from the gruesome scene before you. You needed to change the dream into one of happiness, and that required concentration. Especially on a dream as terrifying as this.

You closed your eyes and started imagining the changes. The forest became the one back at camp. The giant disappeared altogether. The mass of monsters attacking Annabeth morphed into one very playful Mrs. O'Leary. Annabeth's screams of pain changed into laughter as the hellhound licked her face and clothes. All the blood and wounds on the two of them faded away, as did the heavy aura of death.

You watched as Percy slowly realised what had happened, that it had all been a nightmare now changed to a dream. He looked at Annabeth, who was now trying to push the giant dog off her, without much success. And he started to laugh, even when Annabeth threatened to eat all his mom's cookies if he didn't help her.

You sighed in relief. You did it. You made his nightmare into a good dream, one he probably hadn't had in quite a long time. It made a tinge of pride force it's way into your chest and glow brightly, knowing you had done something nice for the person you admired most.

However, you knew you had to leave. It was his dream. You couldn't interfere any more. As you prepared to open the rift between dream and reality, a sudden shift in the dream made you pause.

You looked up, and with growing horror, saw something that terrified you more than anything you'd seen today;

The dream was changing back into a nightmare.

Before Mrs. O'Leary could start eating Annabeth, you hurriedly set the scene back to what you'd envisioned earlier, then staggered back and sat down heavily.

It wasn't possible. That shouldn't have happened. Once a dream was changed, it couldn't revert back to its original state. That wasn't how it worked.

The only way for that to happen were to be if somebody else were fighting your changes as you made them, but who...?

You glanced up again and had to quickly wrap several strands of the dream around the scene for it to turn back.

Every time you turned around, the dream started to change. And you didn't know who or what was causing it. So, you decided, until you did know and found a solution, you would have to stay in Percy's dream for the rest of the night.

And that you did. You stayed all night to make sure that the dream wouldn't turn back to a nightmare. The only time you left was when you felt Percy waking up, to return to the real world. You opened up the rift and jumped through, but an uneasy feeling stayed with you as you did.

(~)

You awoke with a gasp, sitting up suddenly in your bed, then falling back down again with a groan.

You felt like complete crap, even with sunlight brightening up the already luminous white cabin. Your eyes felt heavy and threatened to close, but that was to be expected considering you spent the whole night fighting an invisible foe.

Rubbing your eyes, you glanced at the clock. 7:32. That gave you enough time to go the bathroom and get changed. Hopefully, splashing some cold water on your face would wake you up.

By the way, it did not.

You made your way to breakfast, feeling grumpy and miserable as hell. One of the downsides to being a child of Morpheus was that you needed to dream or at least sleep well every night in order to feel rested, that of which you did not do. You plonked yourself down at the Morpheus table, wished for a glass of water and pancakes, and began eating.

"Hey, (Y/N)? You okay?" You looked up from your food into the faces of two worried kids sitting across from you. Your siblings, Rex and Charity.

Rex was a tiny, fiery redhead with a bubbly and sweet personality that made you want to hug him as tight as you can, but was also the sassiest 9-year-old you've ever met. His freckles and high-pitched voice would make anyone melt, though you learned the hard way what a bit of cuteness can really hide.

Charity was the exact opposite. She had long, silky blond hair and foggy grey eyes that always looked like they're staring at something into the distance. She seemed to float as she walked, constantly in a dream-like state, and when she spoke, her voice held a faraway time to it, as though she was speaking to you but wasn't as the same time.

You loved them both.

Today, however, you were not in the mood to deal with them, or anybody. You just wanted to sleep and be done with the day. You signed and dragged a hand across your face. "Yeah, I'm good, just tired. I'm pretty sure a Hypnos kid played a prank on me. I feel like I haven't slept a wink." You felt bad lying to them, but you couldn't tell them about Percy.

They nodded in understanding. Well, Rex did. Charity was staring at something behind you. You assumed she had zoned out again, until a voice sounded from behind you.

"(Y/N), can we talk?" It was Annabeth.

You nearly fell backwards in surprise, but managed to control yourself (while glaring at a snickering Rex) and turned around in your seat. "Yeah, sure." You got up to follow her as she walked to the Athena cabin.

The second the door closed behind you, Annabeth's face broke out into a grin and she hugged you tightly, much like last time. This time, however, you hugged back, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"Thank you so much, (Y/N). You have no idea how grateful I am." She gave one final squeeze before stepping back, still grinning widely. "I don't know what you did, but it worked. Percy woke up normally this morning, and told me he felt really rested. He looked really happy."

You tried to smile back, but you knew right away that it came out more like a grimace. You yawned and rubbed your eyes. "No problem."

Her smile vanished, mouth curving down into a concerned frown. "Are you alright? You look really tired."

You hesitated to tell her. After all, she had looked so happy a moment before. Then you went and ruined it with your terrible acting skills. But then again, she deserved to know what was going on with her best friend.

"I've... got some bad news," you said dejectedly.

"Oh," Annabeth murmured. "Of course. Of course there's bad news. We never get a break." She sighed. "Lay it on me."

Feeling even guiltier, you told her of how the dream didn't stay the same, and how you believed there was another force at play, watching as her frown deepened with every point.

When you were finished, she didn't say anything right away. She simply stood there, staring at you, as you grew more uncomfortable under her gaze. Eventually, she said, "So, what are you going to do now?"

You really only saw one option, even though that option was the one that would cause you the most mental pain. "I suppose I'll have to keep manually changing his nightmares until I can figure out what's happening."

Annabeth hesitated. "But then you'll never get any rest."

Although that was true, you could see in her eyes how much she wanted you to keep helping him. You could see how badly she cared for him like a sister would to her brother, how she hated seeing him in such agony. She would do anything to help him, because he'd already been through so much.

"I would not, that's true." You bowed your head down, not daring to look at her. "But he deserves it," you finished quietly.

"Thank you," Annabeth whispered.

As you turned to leave, however, she grabbed your arm to ask one last thing. "What does he dream about? He won't tell me, but I need to know." Her eyes were pleading, desperate.

You closed your own, turning the dream over in your head. "It's this forest of trees with no branches. You and him are there with some giant with wild white hair, and are being attacked by some harpy things. But you're blind and can't see or hear Percy. The harpies go after you and... I changed the dream at that point." You opened your eyes.

Annabeth had gone as pale as Nico di Angelo. She obviously recognized the dream, and it terrified her. She drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly. "Ok," she whispered. "Thanks." She let go of your arm, and you left to allow her to organize her thoughts.

To be honest, all you wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep for the rest of the day, but unfortunately, you had lessons to attend. You sighed and set off for your first one, sword and shield with Clarisse. You mentally prepared yourself to get your butt kicked.

And that you did. By the end of the lesson, you were sporting multiple new blooming bruises, aching ribs, and several cuts around your arms. You weren't good at sword fighting at all, and Clarisse did not hold back. Your choice of weapon was a staff, smooth and graceful, a perfect fit for a delicate person like yourself. Even though you were better with throwing knives, you would turn to your staff in times of need.

Throughout the rest of the day, you proceeded to be thrown off a Pegasus, make a fool of yourself in front of the Hermes cabin by constantly losing your shoe (or did they keep stealing it?), and nearly seared half your face off on the climbing wall. You were so tired, because not only were you technically awake the whole night even though you were sleeping, you had been over-using your powers. You almost fell asleep in Arts and Crafts and would have dropped a scorching hammer on your foot had someone not poked you.

All in all, today was turning out to be absolutely awful. You dreaded to repeat it again tomorrow.

The only good part of it was that you had Swim and Beach time with the nereids, so you could skip and go to your bed. And after that was an hour of free time, so you got 3 whole hours of sleep before dinner. Also, you mused, if I skipped my lesson and the campfire after dinner, I could use that time to work out what's happening to Percy. Yes, perfect.

You nodded your head firmly to yourself. That was a good plan.

"Uh, (Y/N)? Who are you nodding to?"

You sighed. But it will be a long 4 hours until then.

(~)

Once dinner rolled around, you felt much more cheerful and less gloomy than earlier after your nap. You went to eat, finishing your food in a hurry, and left without so much as a word. You wanted to get this thing done with so that Percy would stop having nightmares as soon as possible. Luckily, Annabeth had allowed you access to the Athena kids' library, and you took full advantage of that permission. Grabbing several books about nightmares and demigod dreams, you made your way back to your cabin and plopped yourself down in a chair, opening the first book and starting to read.

Three hours passed by a lot quicker than you had expected. And in that time, after getting through one very, very thick book, you learned basically nothing. Any useful information was just what you had already gathered and inferred, like how a dream could only change if the dreamer or someone else in the dream forcefully changed it. You managed to find just one piece of info that could help, a single line at the end of the paragraph;

If a demigod is having a recurring nightmare of the same thing, it could mean that something bad will happen in relation to it, a glimpse of the future of sorts. Use the nightmares to try and prepare for what they are indicating will happen. If the nightmares are constant, but of different scenes, another being could be altering their dreams in order to cause the nightmares. In these cases, the demigod should be able to gain control over themselves and change the nightmare to a peaceful dream. However, if the demigod is unable to do so, two things may be happening; One, the being is so powerful that it has complete control of the demigod's dreams, or two, the nightmare is happening from somewhere within the demigod.

You scowled at the book and snapped it shut. That had been a complete waste of time. All you got was more questions instead of answers. Plus, you still had 3 books, all quite thick thank you very much, to get through. You groaned and flopped down backward on your pillow.

Glancing sleepily at your clock, you noted it was... Holy Hera! It was already 10:28! You scrambled to shove all the books underneath your bed (sorry, Athena kids) and turned your light off, plunging your room into darkness.

This was going to be one long night...

(~)

Unfortunately, you were right. You felt like a zombie once you 'woke' up, yet adrenaline was also strumming through your veins at the same time. The nightmare had been even worse than the night before. However, that's not why you were pumped up. No, you discovered something.

You spent a good portion of the night delving deep into Percy's nightmare. You went straight to the core of it, which was normally not a good idea, since seeing the raw roots of a nightmare could make a demigod go insane. Thankfully, you were skilled in your powers, and just barely managed to avoid going crazy.

But the core of the nightmare horrified you so badly, you almost threw yourself out of his head to escape it. Normally, nightmares and dreams develop in the brain, so you expected yourself to be led up to his head. But this nightmare... this nightmare...

Why did this nightmare take root in his soul?