My gaze met with Grover's and he brought a finger to his lips, "This is just part of the empathy link Percy. No! Don't speak;" he said suddenly, before I could say anything, "Only I can talk to you. They'll think you're hallucinating if you talk to me and the psychiatric wards are really scary places. Trust me; you don't wanna go down there."

"Chiron sent me to see if Hazel and Frank were with you, they disappeared from camp the day after you guys left. I'm glad they found you," he said, turning his gaze to them. "I have to go soon, and yeah I know this should be in a dream but desperate times call for desperate measures," he replied when he saw my perplexed expression.

"Percy, what are you staring at?" Hazel asked as she waved a hand in front of my face.

"Good luck, and stay safe Percy!" Grover said and he disappeared.

I blinked and shook my head, "I'm sorry, what?"

"What are you staring at?" she repeated, "You've been staring into space for the past five minutes. It's like you completely shut us out."

"N-nothing, just thinking," I said quickly.

Hazel stared at me, her eyes narrowed and man was I getting tired of her trying to get the truth from me.

"Hazel please stop it. I'm tired… So… so tired…" I breathed. It was getting more difficult to keep my eyes open.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, "That's no excuse. You've been lying to us-"

"I never lied. I just didn't tell you the whole story," I interrupted through clenched teeth as the throbbing got worse, the narcotics were wearing off and I struggled to stifle a groan.

"Well then what's the whole story?" she demanded, "I don't like not knowing things Percy."

"Percy are you sure we should tell them?" Annabeth asked, her worried gaze met mine and I nodded.

"I'm dying," I said bluntly and I winced as the pain got worse.

"From poison," Annabeth added before Hazel could ask.

I saw their sombre expressions and I sighed, "We have a plan though," I said in an attempt to change the hopeless mood that was settling.

"Fat lot of good it's done us so far," Jason snapped, "We're getting tossed around like rag dolls."

It was at that moment when I yelped as agony flared through my chest like fire and I doubled over, gasping. My heart ached as its beating picked up speed, the monitor sped up with it and coughs ripped through my throat as I struggled for breath.

"Percy! You ok?" Annabeth asked, rushing to my bedside and Jason quickly sat up in his chair.

Hazel on the other hand backed away, her eyes widened and she reached for Frank's arm, "Don't ever get poisoned," she whispered.

"Good… plan," I told her between coughs, "Try to stick… to it."

The familiar metallic taste was on my tongue when the attack finished and I looked down to my hand to see it splattered with red. Wonderful…

"I'm getting Apollo," Annabeth said at the sight of my blood and she promptly left the room.

I fell back against the pillows, gasping for breath. Each rasp was a stab of pain and I could feel my fingers tingling.

"Don't die, oh my gods please don't die," Hazel begged.

"No not yet," I wheezed with a flinch.

"Bit of ambrosia and a sip of nectar ought to do the trick," Apollo said as he practically glided into the room with the food and drink of the gods.

He handed me the white plastic cup and bent the bendy straw to make it easier for me. I emptied it in seconds, and before I could say anything a square of ambrosia was shoved into my open mouth by Annabeth.

"That's so much!" Frank exclaimed, "Won't he die?!"

"Percy's a special case," Apollo said, "He needs to take it regularly if he's going to keep the poison at bay."

I rolled my eyes. Yes, I was ALWAYS a special case, being a demigod of "The Big Three". Lucky, lucky me.

"Oh yeah I feel real blessed to be so special," I said with as much sarcasm I could muster.

"Don't be like that," Annabeth said, "You're special to me, alright?"

I smiled apologetically and leaned into her touch as she ran her fingers through my hair.

"How're you feeling now?" Apollo asked as he checked the monitors.

"Much better… bit sleepy though," I yawned.

"Get some rest then. If you're feeling up do it, maybe I'll let you leave in a few hours," Apollo said as he left the room.

I let my eyes flutter shut and my breathing deepened, feigning sleep for as long as I could and though I still wheezed a bit it didn't hurt to breathe anymore. Disappointment washed over me when I felt Annabeth's hand retreat but I remained still, eager to eavesdrop.

"So… he's dying," Frank stated.

"No… Really? Thanks for helping me establish that I had no idea." I mused.

"Yes, he's getting worse every minute that passes by. Chiron said around a week is all he has left, but hopefully the nectar and ambrosia can give us a bit more time," I heard Annabeth explain.

"How did it happen?" Hazel asked.

"When those demigods attacked camp. He got pushed off a cliff by the leader of the enemy and he injected Percy with some sort of god worthy poison. All we know about an antidote for it is that you have to have it first to get the poison. So whoever got him must have it," Jason said, "The easier way to fix all this is to turn him into a god."

Hazel snorted, "Yeah that's not an option with Zeus as stubborn as an ox."

Everyone fell silent, waiting for the thunder to roll but there was nothing. Not even the tiniest hint of a thunderstorm brewing. Something had Zeus' attention.

…

I would've updated earlier but things have gotten pretty complicated lately with funeral plans.