The Blood of Olympus

I Percy

Even though it was great to be back in the comfort of the Argo II, the nightmares make it worse.

Demigod dreams are nothing but a scare. They let demigods spy on their enemies, but never shows them the entire story, or if they are as unlucky as Percy proved himself to be, the dreams won't even give them a warning. The most they could do is freak the poor demigods out. And they can't be stopped. 

Going to hell and back with only his girlfriend to keep him sane didn't help much. Percy had thought that his nightmares would be like regular mortal nightmares after traveling around Tartarus. He thought they would attack his fears and show unreal scenes. But no, they show his enemies, but only the negative things. To make things worse, the pictures are more vivid, so Percy won't even realize that it's a dream. 

The minute Percy's head hit his pillow, he fell into a restless sleep.

He dreamed of being back in Camp Half-Blood, only outside of the borders. Octavian was there, leading the rest of Camp Jupiter. 

"Jason Grace has betrayed us by going with those Greeks. Reyna as well, has left us to help. So I will pronounce my self as Praetor of the Twelfth Legion!" He said. The rest of Camp Jupiter cheered, even though half of the people did it half-heartedly. Octavian clearly thought that they were only tired, though. He gave a smile, probably meant to like genuine, even though you can just see some of the evil creeping through. 

Percy chose that moment to wake, so he couldn't see anything else. The dream wasn't half as bad as the ones he had when he just made it out of Tartarus, but it was enough to shake him. The thought that the entire Camp Jupiter were outside of his home, led by a evil person that believed he was the rightful leader of them all was pretty bad.

Percy got out of bed and quietly crept up the stairs onto deck. He had hoped that the ship was in water, so the salty air could help clear his mind, but nothing ever goes Percy's way. They were in the air, flying top speed. Percy didn't exactly know why the ship was going so fast.

He saw Jason and Piper at the helm, and didn't want to intrude. He walked down the stairs again.

Percy wasn't exactly sure why he was standing in front of Annabeth's room instead of his. It might have just been the light streaming under her door. 

He knocked twice, but he didn't wait for a response. Percy opened the door a crack and saw something he didn't expect. Annabeth was lying on the floor with her hands outstretched above her head and her legs tightly together. He felt the air change. It was much more hot and humid in her room.

"Annabeth?" Percy said, his voice low as he took a step inside. Annabeth didn't reply. Percy kneeled next to her and just stared at her to make sure she was breathing. After Tartarus, Percy just can't stop worrying. 

Percy grabbed one of her hands—the one closest to him. He clasped it in both of his. 

That got Annabeth to look at him. "You've got nightmares too?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Percy nodded. 

"You probably hate the heat right now." Annabeth said, causing Percy to crack a smile. "I make it hot and murky, then I turn all the lights on, so I trick my mind into believing that I'm back in Tartarus, because of the humidity, but then there's light where I am."

"I don't get how tricking your mind into believing you're back in hell helps you. And, I don't get why you sleep on the floor." Percy said in return.

"My body feels whatever it felt in Tartarus, but my eyes see light. And I'm not sleeping on the floor." Annabeth said, smirking slightly.

"Then what are you doing on the floor? And I still don't get it." 

Annabeth sighed. "Lie down." Percy obeyed. "See how the floor is cooler? I think I would faint if I stayed upright in this temperature."

"Then why did you make it so hot?" Percy asked.

"I just explained." Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. 

"Oh." Percy said, stupidly. Annabeth just laughed. It felt good to laugh in a lit room.

"You know, everyone else is acting like after Tartarus, we might never be the same again." Percy said, surprising Annabeth.

"I don't think we will. But yeah, they're acting like we're never going to smile again," Annabeth said. "It did change us, though." 

The truth was, they are having trouble smiling. And laughing. It's hard going through hell and then fighting in a war right after.

"Octavian is making all the Romans believe that Jason and Reyna are no longer rightful praetors. I dreamed it." Percy blurted out. He wasn't sure why he chose that moment to talk about his dream.

"Sounds like something he would do." Annabeth replied.

"Yeah, but then he said that he is now their praetor." Percy said. "So even the Romans who doesn't like him have to obey him, and act like he's their superior, even though Reyna and Frank are."

"How do you know there are Romans that don't like him? He's fed them with lies they believe and they think he's her only hope." Annabeth said, bitterly. 

"After he announced he's their praetor—"

BANG!

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A/N: Hey guys! Just to let you know, my next update would, at the latest, be later this week.

DISCLAIMER: I TOTALLY OWN PJO!! Wait...then why am I writing fanfiction?