Title: Through the Fog
Set: During SoN
Summery: She's had a thousand dreams about him since he left, but none like this. Oh no, none like this. This one is real.

A/N: So, timing: First, my timing on this. -_- I apologize. But I looked at Flying Higher, and decided that it sucked, so I completely re-wrote it. New concept, new title, new quotes—everything. So yes, that took a little time. Then I had not one, but four school papers to write in less than a week, and then we went out of town… yeah. Sorry. But hopefully you like this one! I definitely like it way better than the other. :) (Obviously, since this is the one I'm posting.)

Second: the timing for the whole Percy/Annabeth separation thing. They started going out on August 18th. That's clear. In TLH, Annabeth tells Piper that she and Percy were excited to have a three-week winter break together. She says they had been there one night/day/whatever and poof he vanished. Then at the end of the book, when the Argo II is being discussed, Chiron says they have six months to build it, since they must sail by the summer solstice. The solstice is generally around June 22. That puts TLH taking place in December, which fits with winter break. This has them dating for about four months, give or take. However, in SoN, Percy says he and Annabeth had two months together, and he's been gone for eight. That would put him going missing in October. I don't know any schools that take winter break in October. Annabeth clearly tells Piper that Percy's been missing for "three days, six hours, and about twelve minutes." I'm too lazy to figure out how long Jason, Piper, and Leo's quest took, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't any more than a week, and the Argo II was discussed very soon after they got back. So, to end this all: I'm talking Annabeth's word over Percy's and saying he's been gone for six months (and maybe a week or two) when the CHB crew sails. :P We'll say his amnesia kept him from counting properly. Or maybe he just never got his memory of October–December back. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Annabeth, Percy, or any other characters. The Heroes of Olympus belongs solely to Rick Riordan. Quotes are from The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune.

He was reluctant to share his one clear memory: Annabeth's face, her blond hair and gray eyes, the way she laughed, threw her arms around him, and gave him a kiss whenever he did something stupid.

She must have kissed me a lot, Percy thought.

Some people talk about "the worst day of their lives." And trust me, I've had a lot to choose from. But my final answer wouldn't be a day so much as six long, hard months. I was kind of surprised, sometimes, that I kept managing to get out of bed each day. (You know, the nights I actually slept.) I felt like someone had plunged my insides into a deep freeze. Everyone that I had ever really cared about—counted on—was gone. Tyson and Grover were searching the country whenever they could, in between their duties. Thalia was roaming with the Hunters. And Percy…

Well, all indications were that he didn't even remember I existed.

Sometimes my life is so darn frustrating.

I sighed deeply and flipped over in my bunk, facing away from the center of the cabin. I have my area of the wall plastered with architecture—postcards, drawings, photos… you name it. I even have one of Percy's old math worksheets that I'd designed a museum on. I'd asked him before I started, but he'd been mixed up and hadn't realized he needed to turn the sheet in the next day. His math teacher thought I showed real promise as an architect. But Percy still got a D on the homework.

I shifted again, to my other side and then onto my stomach. The inside of my sleeping bag felt like it was a thousand degrees, and I impatiently tossed the top of the bag to the side. The zipper was only up about an inch at the bottom, and I withdrew my bare feet. Unfortunately, it didn't bring much relief.

I hugged my pillow with both arms, and one of my fingernails caught on the corner of a picture. I drew the pillow all the way under my stomach. While I had lots of non-architecture pictures, there were only two up in my bunk. They were on the slat that ran behind my pillow, so I could reach up and feel them when I went to sleep. A deep sigh slipped out as I looked at them now.

The one on the outside was from years ago, of Percy, Grover, and I just after we'd gotten Zeus's bolt back. Our heads and shoulders filled the shot completely. Percy was in the middle, with an arm stretched around each of our shoulders, and we were all laughing. We looked so young… and so happy.

The other picture was much more recent. It also featured three people, but in this shot, Thalia was the third. She, Percy, and I sat on the couch in the Big House living room, and we were all asleep. I was cuddled up to Percy, with my head on his shoulder. His cheek was against the top of my head, and we were curled toward each other. The cutest part of the picture, though, was Thalia. She had her head resting on Percy's other shoulder, and looked perfectly content. Of course, when she'd woken up, she'd just about had a heart attack, but Chiron was able to get the picture first.

I flopped back onto my back and groaned, then glanced around the cabin. At two in the morning, no one else was stirring.

The smart ones.

Another moment of silence passed in the oven that was the Athena cabin. Finally, I growled and sat up. It was time to accept that there would be no sleep tonight. Again.

Normally, when I was back at Camp and unable to sleep, I would head over to the Argo II and work. The ship was nearly finished now, though. Nearly was the most frustrating part. Twice we'd been ready to leave at the crack of dawn, only to find that the steering on the ship had mysteriously broken in the night. The first time, we chalked it up to a maddening coincidence. The second time? Not so much.

But fixing the steering didn't need more than one person, two at the most, and I knew that Leo, Jason, and Piper were all already camped on the ship's deck.

I slid my feet under the edge of my bunk and drew out my flip-flops, then stood and grabbed my Yankees cap from on top of my trunk.

The cabin door opened without squeaking, thanks to the oiling I'd given it a few months back. I slapped the cap over my loose curls, glancing around for harpies. Not that any of them would ever be able to catch me—I was far too practiced at dodging.

In the stillness and the silence, I could hear the waves crashing on the beach. My feet automatically shuffled toward that way. It was one of my favorite places to go when I couldn't sleep, along with an old dock that Percy and I had found. Sand is a lot softer to lie on, though.

A gibbous moon shone in the sky, casting a beautiful light over the sand and the water. The surf was much rougher than usual, I noticed. It almost seemed—excited?

Had something good happened to Poseidon? Did it have anything to do with Percy?

I jerked off my hat and stood motionless for a long moment. The t-shirt of Percy's that I had—ahem—borrowed and was now using as a pajama top whipped around my hips as the wind picked up. I held my breath, waiting in silence.

Nothing happened. After a bit, the wind died back down, and the water calmed. I sighed and let my shoulders slump.

It was official. I was way too tired.

A sudden lump rose in the back of my throat, and I turned away from the ocean before I could start bawling. Nobody was around to see me, but still—the more you let yourself break, the harder it is to keep it together when you can't afford to.

I climbed a sand dune, sliding back many times on the loose footing. Finally, however, I made it to the top and plopped to my seat. The water was now pounding steadily against the sand, exactly like it did every other night. Nothing special.

I leaned my head back to look at the stairs. Zoë was almost directly above me. I thought of the moment when Artemis had sent her into the sky, and sniffed hard. Ugh! I was not going to spend the night crying like some… some… spineless wimp.

I closed my eyes and wished for Thalia. Unlike everyone else at camp, she never shied away from mentioning Percy. Nor did she look at me like I was going to shatter whenever he came up. There were no awkward pauses in her stories. If Percy was in it, he was in it.

I sighed. Thalia had been to camp several times, but she hadn't come to see me. She'd been "bonding with Jason." I didn't have anything against Jason as far as his personality went, but sometimes I just felt like feeding him to Mrs. O'Leary for being Percy's "replacement". Hera's plan was so demented—Jason was not Percy. Not even close. You couldn't just "switch" people like they were pieces in a chess game! Really, there's no better way to send the message to demigods that their lives don't matter than to steal their memories and yank them out of their homes. Gods.

I pull my thoughts off Hera before I could get even madder. At least I had stopped crying. I focused on the edge of the sand, where it had been worn smooth by the tide. The dune underneath me was becoming uncomfortable, and I squirmed around until I was settled in a kind of hollow. The night was warm, but the sand cool enough that a few goose bumps popped up on my arms. I sighed and fanned my hair across the dune, trying to ignore the thought that it was going to be a mess in the morning.

I lay back, and refocused on the glittering stairs above me. There was Orion, and Canis Major… Ursa Minor… the Gemini Twins… Slowly, my eyes fluttered closed, and the beach faded away.

Mist surrounded me. I seemed to be standing on a narrow walkway. It was made of some kind of crumbling stone (shale, maybe?) and visible only for about a foot in front of me and behind. To the side, it faded into mist inches from the edge of my flip-flops. That was weird… My surrounds were abnormal, but they seemed so real.

A spark of hope rose in my chest, and I caught my breath. Could this finally be something significant? My heart raced. Other than Hera's oh-so-helpful order to go get Jason, my dreams for the last few months had been nothing of significance: regular old nightmares that reflected my fears and made almost no sense.

I peered into the curling white stuff, but I couldn't see anything. It almost seemed as though there was nothing else.

"Well, okay then," I said aloud. My voice didn't seem to make a dent in the heavy silence around me.

I took a deep breath and marched forward. Soon the place where I had arrived was out of sight—not that it was any different than the rest of the path. Nothing stirred, except for the mist, which floated and twisted a bit eerily.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

A dark shape appeared in the midst, steadily coming toward me. I stopped and squinted, trying to make it out. It looked humanoid, maybe a little larger than me. It—he?—was accelerating rapidly, and I stumbled back as I realized it we were going to collide. I glanced to the side, wondering it was safe to jump into the fog. Something told me it wasn't. I got ready to duck, hoping I could somehow avoid getting bulldozed.

At the last possible second, the person—who did not seem to be moving of his own will—swerved sideways. He slowed greatly as he passed, head and shoulders visible through the mist.

"Grover!" I shouted.

He jerked around, staring at me with wide eyes. Delight, confusion, and worry were all mixed together on his face. "Annabeth!" he exclaimed in shock.

The mist was pulling him away from me. I took a few steps back the way I'd come. "Grover, what—"

"Go forward!" he shouted. "Keep going! Tell him to stay put! He's close, but he won't find him if he leaves!"

"What?" I stopped. Grover was speeding up again. "What are you—"

"Catch up to him!" Grover cried. "Annabeth, tell him not to move!"

He was flying now, and I could hardly hear him. "What? Who? Grover!"

He was a speck in the distance again, and I stood still in mist reached out a curling finger for my ear, and I flinched away. As it eased past, I heard Grover's voice, as though shouted from a long way off. Just one single word, but a word that made my heart skip a beat: "Percy."

I spun around and ran in the direction Grover had come from. Heedless of the crumbling rock scrapping against my feet, or the way my flip-flops kept tangling, I went as fast as I could. The mist on my left started to thin, and a platform of red rock appeared. It was moving, like a giant conveyor belt. A single person stood in the center of the cleared area, facing away from me.

My breath caught, and I choked on a sob. Even from the back, I would recognize him anywhere.

Percy Jackson.

I put on another burst of speed. Grover knew where he was! He and Tyson had been searching, and… Oh, gods! "He's close, but he won't find him if he leaves!" Tyson was close to finding him! That had been what Grover meant.

Rock crumbled beneath my feet, but I reached Percy's side. He turned, confusion in the sea-green eyes that I had so missed. I reached out for him. "Thank the gods!" I cried, forgetting for a second that I was mad at them all.

Recognition crossed Percy's face, and hope.

"For months and months we couldn't see you!" I cried. "Are you all right?"

Percy stared at me, as though drinking me in. Two emotions battled in his eyes: joy and disbelief. "Are you real?" he whispered.

The question startled me, and I sucked in a breath. Are you real? I'd asked the same question to a thousand Percys in a thousand dreams over the last six months of torture. The answer had always been no. Well, no and who the Hades are you? But there was none of that now. The Percy facing me knew who I was—he was just afraid I was going to disappear.

The mist hissed suddenly, and whipped out to wrap around my ankles. I looked down in disbelief. It felt like any regular fog, but my skin faded where it touched me. No!

Percy's platform was accelerating, and he turned to keep looking at me, his face desperate. The mist was coating all of me now, and my vision was going foggy. All the things I wanted to say to Percy balled together in the back of my throat. In desperation, I seized Grover's instructions.

"Stay put!" I screamed. "It'll be easier for Tyson to find you! Stay where you are!"

I thought of one other thing I had to say, but before I could, Percy's platform sped out of sight. The mist reached my face, and whiteness took over everything.

"Ah!" My eyes flew open, and I flailed my arms wildly against the cold stuff surrounding me. The ground gave way, and I was halfway down the dune before my brain kicked in and told me where I was. I reached out and stopped my fall, loose sand crumbling beneath my fingers.

I stared at the water, eyes wide. What just happened? My entire body trembled, and I couldn't decide if I felt more like laughing, screaming, or sobbing.

Finally, I couldn't be still any longer. I vaulted to my feet, and that sent me sliding the rest of the way down the dune. I snatched up my hat and bolted toward camp, exhilaration flowing through me.

Tyson was going to find Percy. We would fix the Argo II and sail tomorrow or the day after—I'd be back with Percy by the end of the week.

I was shedding sand as I flew toward the Big House, but I didn't care. Percy was alive! He was okay, and he remembered me!

"Chiron!" I shouted. Okay, it was three in the morning, but this was important enough to wake a few people. "Chiron!"

A light in the Big House flashed on, and Chiron appeared in the door. "What—Annabeth? What's wrong?" He was clearly expecting an attack of some kind.

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I slowed down in front of him. "Chiron!"

He sighed. "What, Child?"

A thought occurred to me, and I actually laughed out loud. "Do you know how strong scarf magic is?"

"Do I what?"

"I'm going. Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you."

A/N: *Whispers* That's my story. Or my take on the story we all know, more accurately. Did you like it?

A thousand thank-yous to my reviewers, especially those of you who have reviewed each and every chapter. I'd go through by name, but I'm afraid I'd miss someone. You know who you are—and this cookie is especially for you. *Smiles and hands over your favorite kind*

Now. BIG, BIG hugs for Zeb (PercabethAndZebrasFTW) who's sweet as can be, and so wonderful to have around. I'm so glad I've gotten to know you. (And I think I have a PM to answer, as well, but I wanted to get this posted while I can. We're out of town. I shall do it… soon. :P) Lots of hugs and thanks also go to LiveLoveTwix27 and Aariya. By the way, if you're looking for a good story to read, check out any of these girls. They're awesome. :) In addition, TheGreekGirl348 deserves much thanks for her reviews, as does LAUGHwithaSMILE. So thank you. :)

I know there are several of you that have asked me to check out your stories. I plan to, but things are really crazy for me now. Let me get through the next month or two, and I'll have more reading time. I've got lots of cool stuff I want to check out.

Thank you a hundred times over for taking your time to read Aphrodite's Scarf. Some final hugs and butterflies!

-Dovewings