Hey peoples of the fandoms!
Sorry that it's been a couple of days since I said I would update, it just took me forever to decide how this chapter would play out. If you haven't noticed, there will be a part two.

So a couple things about this chapter: it takes place after HoO, but Percy and Annabeth are at Camp Halfblood; beware of some spoilers (this goes for all my one shots); and part one takes place in Percy's third person POV.

Also, both of these parts were inspired by the song Sad Song by We The Kings. Honestly I don't know why. But it's a good, emotional song that I listened to on repeat while writing this. Most of the actual Percabeth will take place in part 2 tho.

Sorry for long A/N!!

Percy had a lot on his mind.

The war with Gaia was finally over.
He could finally focus on school, life, and especially, Annabeth.

Currently, the couple stood outside of the forest at Camp Halfblood, their weapons drawn.

Both of them had wanted to get some practice in, and Annabeth, albeit reluctant to admit, needed practice with her new dagger.

She came at him, her weapon's blade down, readying to strike. She attempted an uppercut.

Percy brought up Riptide and easily parried. Annabeth was an extremely skilled fighter, and Percy was a very experienced swordsman.

It was a good matchup.

Annabeth wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and smiled. "Just like old times, huh?"

Percy returned the smile. "Yeah. Old times."

They continued like that for the next few minutes: slice, block, strike, parry.

It came naturally for Percy.

Slice.

Block.

Strike.

Parry.

Slice.

Grrrr.

Block.

Percy's head snapped to the woods where he had heard the all-too-familiar growl.

Annabeth saw her opening and knocked Riptide from Percy's hands swiftly before sheathing her dagger and turning to face the forest.

Percy didn't even flinch. "Should we check it out?"

Annabeth nodded. "Better us than some newbie."

He agreed.

And boy, did he wish he hadn't.

                ~ BOB SAYS HELLO ~

Five hellhounds.

How they got in the border?

Zeus only knows.

Annabeth drew her dagger and crouched. Percy knew how much she despised not knowing things, and he could practically see the gears turning in her head.

He reached for the pen that had reappeared in his pocket, uncapping it. "This should be fun," he muttered.

The couple advanced without a word. Knowing each other for so long had that effect. So many years of fighting alongside each other resulted in something similar to telepathy.

He knew what he had to do.

She knew what she had to do.

Two hellhounds dove at Annabeth, while three directed their attention towards Percy.

Percy hated killing hellhounds. Each one reminded him too much of Ms. O'Leary. And his fatal flaw didn't help much either, constantly getting in the way.

The first hellhound of the three was foolish enough to charge at him when he was on full alert.

Percy brought up his sword and slammed the blade into it's side.

Although the tip didn't make contact, the beast was thrown to the ground, still alive, but shaken up.

The other two were smarter. They advanced slowly, pressing in from two different sides.

Percy stole a glance at Annabeth, who had already taken down one hound. The second one circled her, but he knew she had it under control.

He focused on his own problems. Two against one - not counting the very much alive one that was already getting to it's feet.

He needed the upper hand. But there wasn't a lake, river, or stream anywhere nearby.

He'd have to play fair.

Both hellhounds pounced.

Percy ducked and rolled forward. He raised his sword above him, point up, as he moved under one of the hounds.
He closed his eyes, wishing it's whines didn't sound so similar to Ms. O'Leary's.

One down. Two to go.

The one he'd knocked aside earlier charged. It's claws met the skin on his shoulder right before he had the chance to dodge. He winced, but used his sword to throw the hellhound once again.

It landed on its side with an ear splitting squeal.

Percy brought his sword up for the kill. He made the mistake of looking into it's eyes.

Beyond the dark, black pits of hunger was a small plea for mercy.

And so he hesitated.

And that was an even bigger mistake.

Strong, rough arms wrapped around his torso and a blade was brought to his throat. Riptide fell to the ground.

"This is the great Perseus Jackson? Can't even finish a fight properly?" a deep, throaty voice boomed from behind him. The giant figure lowered his head. "Time to die, little hero," it hissed in his ear.

Percy ignored the taunts. His eyes found Annabeth.

She was now surrounded by three hellhounds. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she stared at Percy, still crouched in a battle stance.

He gave her one of his goofy, lopsided reassuring smiles, and her eyes narrowed in determination. She nodded slightly.

"Who are you?" she asked his captor.

A slow, amused laugh was her answer. "That doesn't really matter, now does it?" He whistled, and all three hellhounds sat on their haunches. "But, if you must know, I'm a mere bounty hunter."

"You're a cyclops."

"Your point?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Who do you work for and how did you get here?" she demanded.

"Full of questions, now, aren't we? I work for myself. And as for how I got here...well, it sure wouldn't be nice of me to reveal my inside man. Surely you would understand, daughter of Athena."

The dogs were getting restless now.
Percy looked for a way out of the situation he was in.

He came up with nothing.

In other words, it was up to Annabeth.

"Enough talk," the cyclops said, tightening his grip on the knife. "It's time to see what you're capable of...or else you can say goodbye to your friend here." Percy could almost hear the evil smile in this guy's voice.

Annabeth tensed. She raised her dagger.

The cyclops let loose another deafening whistle, and the hellhounds eagerly charged at Annabeth.

Percy had never felt so helpless. The fight was mostly a blur to him, but in less than a minute there was one less hound and Annabeth had an ugly gash on her forehead.

She ducked as the two hellhounds pounced, and they ended up crashing into each other mid-flight.

She quickly finished them both off. As she turned back to Percy and the "bounty hunter," Percy had a strange urge that told him the fight wasn't over. He wanted to tell Annabeth to stay alert.

Not to let her guard down.

But she didn't see it coming.

Percy watched in horror as another hellhound came out of hiding in the forest and knocked Annabeth to the ground.

It wouldn't have mattered as much if her head hadn't landed on a good chunk of schist (haha I'm so funny).

Annabeth lay unconscious, completely vulnerable to the now advancing hellhound.

Anger boiled in Percy's stomach. She was not going to go down like this.

While the cyclops was focused on the soon-to-be over fight, Percy swiftly uncapped Riptide and used it to pry the knife away from his throat.

He disarmed the monster using a technique taught to him long ago, and, without hesitation, stabbed him straight through the heart.

A gutteral scream ripped through the trees.

But Percy turned away. The hellhound was almost on top of Annabeth now.

He intercepted it and threw it to the ground. This time, he killed it, no uncertainty.

Percy had no idea what mad force allowed him to take down these monsters so quickly.

Love is a powerful force. It can make you do crazy things, Aphrodite had once said.

He reminded himself never to get on her bad side.

He knelt next to Annabeth's unmoving figure.

Percy knew she'd be fine - a little nectar and ambrosia would do it - but Percy felt the familiar, unresistable feeling of guilt burst in his chest.

As he picked her up bridle style, it was like a wildfire, spreading through his being.

His veins flowed with guilt, and his mind went to dark places.

With each step, a new memory surfaced. All the times Annabeth had gotten hurt, whether it be a scrape to the knee or a knife to her gut.

It all hit him at once.

Everything was his fault.

He reached the end of the forest, and called for some Apollo kids.

As they made their way to the infirmary, he stayed by Annabeth's side the entire time. But his thoughts were elsewhere.

Ooookay! That's it for part one. I felt like doing a bit more of a serious one, so all that will be in part two.

Go check out bianaeliot - she recently started a Percabeth One Shots book, and so far it's amazhang! She has tons of content and is such a beautiful inspiration.

Thanks for reading, and leave a vote or comment your thoughts.
Remember, you're piperfect just the way you are. <3

Stay Persassy and find the dam snack bar!!

~ Grace

*Edit: I've got a new cover!! I just realized I've already tagged her twice before in this book, but her profile is literally above. bianaeliot I don't even know what to say to express my appreciation for the beautiful cover she made––I'm at a loss for words. She's. So. Dam. Awesome.