Demigod dreams were usually terrible because they showed something terrible and ominous about the quest at hand. Percy was used to being plagued with dreams like that. In fact, they were pretty darn useful.

But now, his past scared him more than the present - even more than the future. What was some silly earth goddess after he and Annabeth had escaped Tartarus? Now, the dreams that made him wake up screaming were twisted versions of events that had already happened.

Tonight, he was fighting Akhyls again. She ran away from her own poison as Percy caused it to flow along the ground toward her, rushing and churning like floodwater, picking up small pieces of debris along the way. As the poison reached her she shrieked and turned around. She went silent, and her face began to morph. The air reverberated with a ghost of her cries. Ahkyls face was replaced with another - Annabeth, staring at him in silent determination as the poison engulfed her. The last thing Percy saw were her eyes, before they too were drowned in the horrible liquid Percy commanded. Then Percy could do nothing but watch as her form and her very essence began to dissolve. He could not tell if she was gone in an instant or if it took thousand years for her to disappear. When it was over, he was standing there, alone in the near darkness, breathing the toxic air, as a puddle bubbled at his feet. And then his memories of her became dim, the once sharp outline of her face blurred in his mind. He looked down at his hands and they were melting, dripping into the poison at his feet. As each drop fell, the puddle fizzed - boiling, forming a cloud of vapor just above Percy in the air. He could almost see a face in the cloud - a ghost of a ghost. He heard a voice whisper, "Goodbye." Then the cloud began to fade into nothingness.

That was when he screamed, "No, Annabeth! Come back!" He was startled awake by the sound of his own voice. He was still on the ship, the Argo II. Annabeth was probably in her own room. She had come back safely from Sparta earlier that day with Piper. "She's fine," he told himself. But doubt was creeping into his mind. How did he know she was there? Anything can happen in the night. Maybe his dream meant something after all. It would be just his luck for her to get kidnapped, from right under their noses. He swung his legs out of bed and uncapped Riptide.

Just then, he heard a knock at the door. Annabeth's voice asked, "Percy, are you ok?"

"Fine," he said, shakily, trying to convince himself.

"Yeah, right," came the reply, then, "I'm coming in. You'd better be wearing pants."

He allowed himself a hesitant laugh. "I am. Leo found me some pajamas after what happened the other day." He was glad it was dark in his room, though. Leo's idea of a joke meant Percy got to choose between Strawberry Shortcake and Barbie themed sleepwear. Percy was still trying to figure out how Leo had found a My Little Pony nightgown in his size.

"What's going on?" asked Annabeth as she came in and sat next to him.

"Well, I had this dream..."

When Percy had finished relating it to her, she said, "That's terrible. I read a book once about how to control your drea-" she stopped, then said, "No, you can't fight fear with logic."

"I hope your mom doesn't hear you say that," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's just something Piper taught me today." she explained. "You know I'm terrible with this sort of thing, but I'll try my best. Dreams mirror our feelings, so talk to me about how you feel."

He took a minute to gather his thoughts, then said, "I'm afraid that I'll loose you. We can fight our way out of a lot of situations, but there are some things I can't protect you from. In my dream, you were," he hesitated, "disappearing... dissolving."

"Well I'm here now." She brought his hands to her face, his palms on her cheeks. "I'm fine," she said, her voice shaking a bit.

"You're lying. You're not fine. Neither am I. Stop trying to be brave for me."

"Told you I was bad at this." She laughed nervously. "The point is, we're going to be fine, even though we aren't ok yet. The worst is over. We're together. We can see the stars again. And every day gets a bit easier."

"I hope you're right." He found her hand in the darkness and held it. As always, she found a way to pull him back and give him hope.

"If you want, I can stay here tonight. That should help keep the nightmares at bay."

"I'd like that," he said, "Hopefully it'll help with your nightmares too."

"How did you - "

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a total idiot." He smiled and kissed her softly.

A few minutes later Percy was drifting off to sleep, Annabeth in his arms, when she said "Oh and Seaweed Brain?"

"Yeah?" he answered, groggily.

"Keep your mouth closed while you sleep. I don't want to wake up covered in your drool."

"Hey! I haven't done that since I was twelve!" He poked her in the ribs.

"Not that much has changed. It's a good thing I love you, huh?"

"Oh you can't help it. I'm irresistible."

"Whatever."

And with that, the happy couple fell asleep.

Author's Note: Question for y'all: What do you think happened to Apollo? Everyone on Tumblr thinks he was sentenced to take over Camp Half Blood for Mr. D. But honestly, he would have fun with that. What would Zeus do to him as an actual punishment?