KARINA WAS FUMING. she had never felt this upset at jason— or anyone for that matter, in a very long time. her hands were shaking, and her chest felt like it was about to explode. she felt the urge to hit something, or just completely release her powers out of her and on to everyone else. but, at the same time, she was scared. when she lashed out earlier, she felt as if something had come over her, and something was urging her to get that angry. she didn't feel as angry as she did before she lashed out, but once she made her point, she felt as if she wanted to beat the crap out of jason and leo.

and that's why she left. she left because she knew that if she didn't soon, she'd do something she'd regret, and she didn't want to feel that way. she hated the way she felt right now, and she wasn't sure why she was feeling it. she never got that mad over things, no matter how bad they were. but for her to actually harm jason was a whole different level of angry.

maybe this was what gaea meant by her saying: i await you. once she left that dream, she wasn't going to be the same karina she was the night before.

she was now with gaea.

gaea was slowly changing her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

karina stayed by herself for a while, and shortly after, piper had arrived. she brought karina a plate of white-chocolate-macadamia-nut cookies, claiming that percy had told her to bring karina those before he left, since he knew that they were her favorite.

karina felt as if she wanted to cry from the gesture, but she reframed from doing so, and let piper enjoy the cookies with her as well, starting up a conversation.

"i'm sorry about jason," piper said, shaking her head. "you know him, he's very . . . cautious, when it comes to his friends. he just wants us to be safe."

karina nodded, taking a bite out of her second cookie. "i know. i should've known better than to blow up like that. i should've talked to him."

piper smirked. "i think you gave him just the right reaction. put him in his place."

karina looked at her with a gleam in her eyes. "really?"

piper nodded with a grin. "yeah, really. jason needs to know when to shut up, and you made it known. it was pretty badass."

karina scoffed, but piper's words made her feel better. "thank you, piper. i'm glad jason has you to keep him in check."

piper sighed, and let out a breathy laugh. "i don't know how you dealt with him for so long. that man is high maintenance."

"oh, i didn't," karina responded. "whenever jason was being annoying, i would just leave and not talk to him for days, until he'd force me to pull a prank on octavian with him again."

piper giggled. "i think i have to start doing that."

karina nodded in agreement, and then went silent for a moment, thinking about what to say next.

"you know," piper began. "you were the only thing jason thought about when he first got to camp half-blood. you kept his mind stable, even if it was just your name. you kept him going."

karina took a deep breath. "jason was my first friend when i first got to camp. i was ten. six years of friendship really does something to a person."

piper nodded, and swallowed. "i was scared at first. i even sort of . . . resented you. i was scared that when he got his memory back, that you'd be his girlfriend, or something, and that he'd leave me."

karina immediately shook her head, and put a hand on her knee. "jason and i will never be more than family. he's my brother, and i love him with my whole heart. but not in the way you love him, or the way he loves you. i promise."

piper gave karina an amused smile. "i know, karina. i'm a daughter of aphrodite, i can tell when people love each other in different ways. and . . . once i finally saw you, i could tell that there was nothing to worry about."

karina rolled her eyes. "could you tell that to percy, please? i swear he's convinced i'm in love with jason every time i touch him."

piper laughed. "percy is just protective of you. i can see the way he looks at you when you're not looking. that man is completely wrapped around you finger, karina."

karina looked down bashfully, her ears burning. "i would hope so. or else this would all be for nothing." she said sarcastically, giving piper an amused smile.

piper grinned at her. "true that," she said, and then turned to the door, looking back to karina. "i need to go talk jason out of his funk. but, i think hazel and annabeth are down the hall in hazel's room. i think hazel needs some more cheering up."

karina nodded, and went to the door, but, before she left, she stopped piper. "thank you," she told her earnestly. "this actually helped a lot. i'm glad that you're here."

piper gave her a soft smile. "well, what else was going to do? go sit with jason while he complains about everyone yelling at him?"

karina let out a laugh, and turned to hazel's room, bidding her goodbye's to piper, before entering the room.

"yeah, and so then he just jumped right off the mountain, after tricking me into thinking there was a spider on my shirt— "

annabeth paused, and turned to see karina standing in the doorway with a plate of cookies, a confused look on her face. "did i miss the party?"

annabeth grinned at her. "not at all," she said, and scooted over on hazel's bed, making room for her. "i was just telling hazel about the time percy basically suicide-jumped off a mountain, after tricking me to look away so i don't stop him."

karina snorted. "of course he did that. i mean, he —quite literally— almost killed me, after literally exploding a glacier that we were standing on in alaska."

hazel bit into a cookie, a smile presented on her face. "yeah, and then he acted like he was a hero for saving you," she added, and karina smiled even wider.

"i know!" she exclaimed. "like maybe if you hadn't let me drown in the first place, percy, we wouldn't be in this position!"

the three girls burst into laughter, and that's how the rest of the day went. annabeth and karina both took turns relating hazel with percy's greatest seaweed brain moments— though, karina mostly told her stories to annabeth, since hazel was there for most of them. but they were interrupted when frank stumbled down the hall and burst into her cabin.

"where's leo?" he gasped. "take off! take off!"

the three girls shot to their feet.

"where's percy?" karina demanded. "and the goat?"

frank grabbed his knees, trying to breath. his clothes were stiff and damp, like they'd been washed in pure starch. "on deck. they're fine. we're being followed!"

karina pushed past him and took the stairs three at a time, hazel and annabeth right behind her and frank trailing, still gasping for air. percy and hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted. hedge was missing his shoes. he grinned at the sky, muttering, "awesome, awesome." percy was covered with nicks and scratches, like he'd jumped through a window. he didn't say anything, but he grasped karina's hand weakly as if to say, be right with you, as soon as the world stops spinning.

leo, piper, and jason, who'd been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.

"what? what?" leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. "can't a guy even take a lunch break? what's wrong?"

"followed!" frank yelled again.

"followed by what?" jason asked.

"i don't know!" frank panted. "whales? sea monsters? maybe kate and porky?"

"who the hell is porky?" karina asked frank, trying to get percy to his feet.

annabeth looked like she wanted to strangle the guy. "that makes absolutely no sense. leo, you'd better get us out of here."

leo put his sandwich between his teeth, pirate style, and ran for the helm.

soon the argo II was rising into the sky. annabeth and karina manned the aft crossbow. she saw no sign of pursuit by whales or otherwise, but percy, frank, and hedge didn't start to recover until the atlanta skyline was a hazy smudge in the distance.

"charleston," percy said, hobbling around the deck like an old man. he still sounded pretty shaken up. "set course for charleston."

"charleston?" karina and jason both said in sync, which made them turn to each other. karina quickly averted her eyes, focusing on something other than him. they said the name as if it brought back bad memories.

"what exactly did you find in atlanta?" jason asked.

frank unzipped his backpack and started brining out souvenirs. "some peach preserves. a couple of t-shirts. a snow globe. and, um, these not-really-chinese handcuffs."

karina knew annabeth was forcing herself to stay calm. "how about you start from the top— of the story, not the backpack."

they gathered on the quarterdeck so leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. percy and frank took turns relating what had happened at the georgia aquarium, with coach hedge interjecting from time to time: "that was awesome!" or "then i kicked her in the head!"

at last the coach seemed to have forgotten about percy and karina falling asleep in the stable the night before. but judging from percy's story, karina had worse problems to worry about than getting grounded. (yeah, piper told her).

when percy explained about the captive sea creatures in the aquarium, she understood why he seemed so upset.

"that's terrible," she said. "we need to help them."

"we will," percy promised, winding his arm around her waist. "in time. but i have to figure out how. i wish . . . " he shook his head. "never mind. first we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

coach hedge had lost interest in the conversation— probably because it was no longer about him— and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique.

annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. "a bounty on our heads . . . as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"do we get wanted posters?" leo asked. "and do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

hazel wrinkled her nose. "what are you talking about?"

"just curious how much i'm going for these days," leo said. "i mean, i can understand not being as pricey as percy or jason, maybe . . . but am i worth, like, two franks, or three franks?"

"hey!" frank complained.

"knock it off," annabeth ordered. "at least we know our next step is to go to charleston, to find this map."

piper leaned against the control panel. she'd done her braid with white feathers today, which looked good with her dark brown hair. karina wondered how she found the time. karina could barely remember to water her plants on time.

"a map," piper said. "but a map to what?"

"the mark of athena." percy looked cautiously at annabeth, like he was afraid he'd overstepped. they must've talked about this together before hand.

"whatever that is," he continued. "we know it leads to something important in rome, something that might heal the rift between the romans and greeks."

"the giants bane," hazel added.

percy nodded, his fingers fiddling with the hem of karina's shirt. "and in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

"um . . . " frank rolled his not-exactly-chinese handcuffs between his fingers. "according to phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. but what is it?"

everyone looked at annabeth. karina and jason both studied her, as if they were thinking the same thing she was.

"i— i'm close to an answer," she said. "i'll know more if we find this map. jason, karina, the way you both reacted to the name charleston . . . have you two been there before?"

jason and karina glanced at each other, and karina beckoned for him to explain, before he glanced uneasily at piper.

"yeah," he admitted. "reyna, karina, and i did a quest there about a year ago. we were salvaging imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S Hunley."

"the what?" piper asked.

"whoa!" leo said. "that's the first successful military submarine. from the civil war. i always wanted to see that."

"it was designed by roman demigods," jason said. "it held a secret stash of imperial gold torpedoes— until we rescued them and brought them back to camp jupiter."

hazel crossed her arms. "so the romans fought on the confederate side? as a girl who's grandmother was a slave, can i just say . . . not cool?"

jason put his hands in front of him, palms up. "i personally was not alive then. and it wasn't all greeks on one side and all romans on the other. but, yes. not cool. sometimes demigods make bad choices." he looked sheepishly at hazel and karina. "like sometimes we're too suspicious. and we speak without thinking."

hazel stared at him, and karina crossed her arms over her chest, leaning into percy. slowly it seemed to dawn on them that he was apologizing.

jason elbowed leo.

"ow!" leo yelped. "i mean, yeah . . . bad choices. like not trusting people's brothers and best friends who, you know, might need saving. hypothetically speaking."

karina pushed her tongue against the side of her mouth, tilting her head at the two boys quizzically.

hazel pursed her lips. "fine. back to charleston. are you saying we should check that submarine again."

karina shrugged. "well . . . i can think of two places in charleston we might search. the museum where they keep the hunley— that's one of them. it has lots of relics from the civil war. a map could be hidden in one. i know the layout, but, i'm not very interested in walking around old u.s history relics. so, jason could lead a team inside."

"i'll go," leo said. "that sounds cool."

jason nodded. he turned to frank, who was trying to pull his fingers of the chinese handcuffs. "you should come too, frank. we might need you."

frank looked surprised. "why? it's not like i was much good at that aquarium."

"you did fine," percy assured him. "it took all three of us to break that glass."

"besides, you're a child of mars," jason said. "the ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. and the museum in charleston has plenty of confederate ghosts. we'll need you to keep them in line."

frank gulped. karina remembered percy's comment about frank turning into a giant goldfish, and she resisted the urge to smile. she would never be able to look at the big guy again without seeing him as a koi.

"okay," frank relented. "sure." he frowned at his fingers, trying to pull them out of the trap. "uh, how do you— ?"

leo chuckled. "man, you've never seen those before? there's a simple trick to getting out."

frank tugged again with no luck. even hazel was trying not to laugh. karina pushed the side of her face into percy's chest, trying to hide her smile.

frank grimaced with concentration. suddenly, he disappeared. on the deck where he'd been standing, a green iguana crouched next to an empty set of chinese handcuffs.

"well, done, frank zhang," leo said dryly. "that is exactly how people bear chinese handcuffs. they turn into iguanas.

everyone busted out laughing. even karina let out a small laugh, even though she tried not to. frank turned back to human, picked up the handcuffs, and shoved them in his backpack. he managed an embarrassed smile.

"anyway," frank said, clearly anxious to change the subject. "the museum is one place to search. but, uh, karina, you said there were two?"

karina and jason's smile faded. whatever they were thinking, everyone could tell it wasn't pleasant.

"yeah," karina said. "the other place is called the battery— it's a park right by the harbor. the last time we were there, with reyna, we saw something in the park. a ghost or some sort of spirit, like a southern belle from the civil war, glowing and floating along. we tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close." karina cleared her throat awkwardly, not wanting to finish the story, and jason noticed, and took over.

"then karina and reyna had this feeling— they said they should try it alone. like maybe it would only talk to a girl. they went up to spirit by themselves, and sure enough, it spoke to them."

everyone waited. karina leaned further into percy's chest, not wanting to talk.

"what did it say?" annabeth asked, the question mostly directed toward karina.

karina's stuttered, and percy looked at her with slight concern. "i . . . "

"reyna wouldn't tell me," jason admitted quickly, getting the attention off of karina. "and karina still won't. but it must have been important. reyna and karina both seemed . . . shaken up. reyna never acted the same around me after that. and karina . . . " he looked at her. "she just sort of went blank."

karina pursed her lips, and the whole group of demigods stared at her.

when karina made no intention to speak up, percy did, saying, "she doesn't have to tell us, if she doesn't want to, okay?"

annabeth nodded in agreement. "yes. it's not our problem, anyway."

karina let out a breath of relief, and reached up to place a small kiss on percy's jaw, showing him that she appreciated what he just did. he gave her a soft smile in return, kissing her forehead.

"a girls' adventure, then," annabeth said. "piper, hazel, and karina can come with me. are you okay with going again, karina?"

karina hesitated, but then nodded. "of course."

annabeth gave her a small smile, and hazel and piper nodded, though hazel looked nervous. no doubt her time in the underworld had given her enough ghost experience for two lifetimes. piper's eyes flashed defiantly, like anything reyna could do, she could do.

karina realized that if seven of them went on these two quests, it would leave percy alone on the ship with coach hedge, which was maybe not a situation a caring girlfriend should put him in. nor was she eager to let percy out of her sight again— because the last time she did, he came back acting like he lost a lung. on the other hand, percy looked so troubled by his experience with those imprisoned sea monsters, she thought maybe he could use a rest. she met his eyes, asking him a silent question. he nodded as if to say, yeah. it'll be fine. and he squeezed her hand.

"so that's settled." annabeth turned to leo, who was studying his console, listening to festus creak and click over the intercom. "leo, how long until we reach charleston?"

"good question," he muttered. "festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us— long-range radar, still not in sight."

piper leaned over the console. "are you sure they're roman?"

leo rolled his eyes. "no, pipes. it could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. of course they're roman! i suppose we could turn the ship around and fight— "

"which would be a very bad idea," jason said. "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of rome."

"or i've got another idea," leo said. "if we went straight to charleston, we could be there in a few hours. but the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. we take the ship on a detour, go the long way to charleston, and get there tomorrow morning— "

hazel started to protest, but leo raised his hand. "i know, i know. nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"it's june twenty-seventh," hazel said. "after today, four more days. then he dies."

"i know! but this might throw the romans off our trail. we still should have enough time to reach rome."

hazel scowled. "when you say should have enough . . . "

leo shrugged. "how do you feel about barely enough?"

hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. "sounds about typical for us."

karina decided to take that as a green light. "okay, leo. what kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"i'm so glad you asked!" he punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and repeatedly pressed the A button on his Wii controller really, really fast. he called into the intercom. "buford? report for duty, please?"

frank took a step back. "there's somebody else on the ship? who is buford?"

a puff of steam shot from the stairwell, and leo's automatic table climbed on deck.

karina hadn't seen much of buford during the trip. only seeing him when leo brought her to meet him, (don't ask), but other than that, he mostly stayed in the engine room. (leo insisted that buford had a secret crush on the engine.) he was a three-legged table with a mahogany top. his bronze base had several drawers, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. buford was toting a bag like a mail sack tied to one of his legs. he clattered to the helm and made a sound like a train whistle.

"this is buford," leo announced.

"hi, buford," karina waved to the table.

"you name your furniture?" frank asked.

leo snorted. "man, you just wish you had furniture this cool. buford, are you ready for operation end table?"

buford spewed steam. he stepped to the railing. his mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wooden glades. the blades spun, and buford took off.

"a helicopter table," percy muttered. "gotta admit, that's cool. what's in the bag?"

"dirty demigod laundry," leo said. "i hope you don't mind, frank."

frank choked. "what?"

"it'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"those were my only extra pants!"

karina snorted into her palm, turning her head into percy's arm. she knew that she shouldn't be laughing, but she couldn't help it.

leo shrugged. "i asked buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. hopefully he will." he rubbed his hands and grinned. "well! i call that a good days work. i'm gonna calculate our detour route now. see you all at dinner!"

percy passed out early, and insisted that karina stay with him while he sleeps, claiming that she helps him have good dreams.

"what about my sleep, fish face," karina asked as she climbed into percy's bed next to him, shifting slightly as he laid his head on her thighs, wrapping his arms around them.

"you can sleep too," he said, lifting his chin up to look at her. "but . . . can you play with my hair for a little while? just until i'm asleep?"

karina drew her finger above his eyebrow, smiling softly at him. "yes," she gave in, though, she wasn't going to say 'no' either way.

she leaned down and softly pecked his lips. "now, lay down," she commanded softly, pushing his head back down.

percy smiled at her, before plopping his head back on to her legs. "you're the best girlfriend ever," he mumbled, his voice muffled from his face being pressed against her legs.

karina felt her heart patter, and she began to softly weave her hands through percy's hair, looping it through her fingers slowly. "and you're the most needy boyfriend ever," she responded, and he felt percy let out a sound of protest.

karina giggled softly, and poked his head softly. "i'm just messing with you, idiot. now go to sleep."

"okay, baby," percy mumbled, his body already half-asleep, and karina knew that pet names always slipped through his mouth when he was in this state, and she couldn't help but smile at it. she sighed deeply, feeling her body relax as she continued to run her hands through percy's hair.

karina didn't know when, but she eventually dozed off as well, sleeping peacefully until the sound of the dinner bell sounded, making both of the demigods jump up in shock.

percy groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly, and looked at karina, who had at sometime during their nap, laid down fully on to the bed, and percy had adjusted with her, his head moving to rest on her chest rather than her legs.

percy smiled down at his girlfriend, pulling a few strands of hair away from her face. "did you have any bad dreams?" he asked her, his husky voice prominent.

karina shook her head, stretching her arms and legs away from her, groaning tiredly. "i don't want to get up," she whined, looking at percy with glazed eyes.

percy laid on his stomach right beside her, his face only inches away from her's. "are you not hungry?"

she shook her head again, and percy sighed, pulling the covers off of her, which made karina let out a sound of protest, curling her legs closer to her body.

"okay, well, i'm hungry," percy said, attempting to pull karina up into a sitting position, but she didn't budge.

"okay?" she mumbled. "go eat then."

percy rolled his eyes, and leaned down to her face, peppering small kisses across her lips, cheeks, and nose, and he saw karina's eyes open for a moment, a small smile forming on her face.

"i don't want to sit up there without you," he said in between kisses, placing his lips on the tip of her nose, and right below it.

karina pouted, and forcefully pulled herself up into a sitting position. "fine," she said. "but only because i know you wouldn't leave me alone until i said 'yes'."

percy grinned, and grabbed her hands, pulling her up from the bed, and she let out another groan, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "come on," percy chided as she stumbled behind him, her eyes seeing stars after she had pressed her hands against them.

"i'm coming, you needy bitch," she said, walking faster so that she could catch up to percy, who was waiting for her by the stairs.

percy grinned amusedly at her, and pulled her closer to him by her hips, kissing her lips softly.

karina sighed, and reciprocated the kiss, any annoyance towards percy leaving her body.

they stayed like that until someone cleared their throat behind them. karina and percy both pulled apart, turning around to see annabeth standing in front of them, her hands on her hips.

"i'm sorry to interrupt," she said. "but you're sort of blocking the stairs." she directed most of her annoyance toward percy, because she knew she could never get mad at karina.

percy smirked at her. "you could've gone around,"

annabeth raised an eyebrow. "really?"

percy shrugged. "there was enough space around us."

annabeth looked to karina with an expression that said, are you seriously dating that?

karina rolled her eyes. "i don't know how you dealt with him for so long."

annabeth glared at percy. "i didn't," she said. "i hated him for the first two years of our "friendship". he even tried to go against me in a chariot race. as if he would win."

percy scoffed. "you don't even know if you would've won. killer birds swarmed in before we could even decide. so shush."

karina pursed her lips. "annabeth still would've won." she decided, which made percy turn to her with a look of betrayal.

"my chariot was amazing!" he defended.

"mine was better," annabeth added.

"i highly disagree with that statement."

"do you seriously want to have this conversation right now?" annabeth snapped, raising her eyebrows challengingly.

before percy could respond, he saw frank poke his head around annabeth, a slightly awkward look on his face.

"i don't really know what's happing here," he said, waving his hand around the three of them. "but, you're causing traffic in the hallway."

karina looked at the best friends, who were glaring at each other. but, she knew that they were harmless. "why don't you two finish that conversation after we eat?"

percy pursed his lips, and grabbed karina's hand. "only because you said so," he told her, and he began to walk up the stairs with karina in tow, shooting the middle finger behind him at annabeth, not looking back.

the rest of the night was smooth sailing, and after dinner, karina immediately retired to her own cabin, bidding percy goodnight, and attempting to fall asleep.

but, when does that ever happen?

her dream was different that night. she was laying the grass, swirling a dandelion through her fingers subconsciously as she stared at the setting sun fall behind the horizon of camp jupiter. she was sitting in the garden of bacchus, with lush grape vines surrounding her, and the air smelled of fruit, and wine. but, the smell wasn't bad, it was almost . . . nostalgic.

next to her, a younger jason grace laid beside her, his arm looped through her's as they stared into the sky together. his face was less defined, his hair was choppier, and longer in length, and he had on a pair of blue rimmed glasses, which made him look more sophisticated than he actually was.

karina guessed that they were both fourteen, considering she looked younger as well, and her hair was lighter in color—more like a dirty blonde, than the present honey brown hair that she now had, and it was shorter, hitting just below her collarbone.

"what did you get on the test in geometry?" jason asked the girl as he turned his head towards her, his vibrant blue eyes glowing brightly in the setting sun.

karina gave him a bemused smile. "sixty-seven," she said dryly, and jason snorted.

"really? this was the easiest test of the year, you idiot!" jason said, his laughing becoming louder as she leaned forwards to smack his chest, narrowing her eyes at him.

"have we not established by now that i suck at math?" karina exclaimed, raising her eyebrows at him.

"yeah, and that's why i tutor you, stupid." jason responded, flicking her forehead.

karina rolled her eyes. "okay, well, maybe you're a bad tutor," she said, and jason gasped at her.

"i'm an amazing tutor, flower face," jason said, taking full offense to her statement. "maybe you're just a bad learner."

"how is that even possible?" she asked.

"um, maybe because you have ADHD, and dyslexia?" jason asked in a are your dumb tone.

"my dyslexia isn't even that bad!" karina said. "it's my ADHD that's worse."

"exactly," jason confirmed, a playful smirk showing on his face.

karina rolled her eyes. "i'm going to ask reyna for help next time. you suck."

jason's smirk grew. "no i don't," he said. "and you know it, too."

karina glared at him. "if you were good, i wouldn't have failed."

"if you had actually listened to me," jason countered. "and payed attention, instead of making origami flowers, than you would've passed."

karina stared at him, her lips pursed. "i hate you."

jason grinned at her, poking her cheek with his finger softly. "no you don't."

"i do right now," she said with a snag of sass in her tone.

jason huffed, and turned back to the setting sun. his skin looked gold in the sunset, and the tiny freckles that littered the lining of his nose became visible, making younger karina stare. "what do you think will happen when this war is over?"

karina went to respond, but then did a double take. "what?"

jason turned to her, but when his face aligned with karina's, his eyes were pure gold. "you heard me," he asked, but now instead of his voice, she heard the guttural, early voice of gaea. "what do you think will happen if you manage to win this war?"

karina scooted back from jason in fear, immediately releasing her sword from her neck, and pointing it at him threateningly. "come any closer, and i'll slice your neck."

jason's face contorted into a sadistic grin. "you can't kill me in your dreams. you can try, but you'll get nowhere."

karina's lips pursed, and she swallowed. "what do you want?" she asked hardly, her voice remaining steady as she slowly lowered her sword.

jason's eyebrows raised. "i don't necessarily want anything," he said— well, she said. "but i am here for something."

"and what could that possibly be?" karina asked.

gaea smirked. "i simply need your . . . confirmation."

karina's train of thought halted slightly at her words. "my confirmation for what?" she asked slowly, and carefully.

"for me to become one with you, of course," gaea said simply, and karina furrowed her eyebrows. "in order for another entity to enter a host's body, one must have permission from the host. it's simple knowledge, dear."

"i— " karina stuttered, at a loss for words. "i refuse then," she exclaimed. "i— i don't give you permission."

gaea sighed. "i figured that would be your answer," she said sadly, but karina knew she was faking it. "so, you leave me no choice, but to take it by force."

karina's head began to pound, and she tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't move. nothing would. her arms were glued to her sides, and her legs felt as heavy as lead, as did her head.

"wh— what are you doing?" karina asked in a panicked tone, watching as smoky green tendrils began to flow out of jason's body, and slowly snake their way over to karina's body, like vines.

"taking it by force," gaea responded, watching through the body of her best friend as the green tendrils began to wrap around her arms, and karina let out a cry of pain, feeling a sensation of searing hot spikes run up her arms, and she realized that these weren't just normal clouds of mist. they were lethal.

"i'm giving you one last chance," gaea warned. "before i have to force it out of you. give me your permission."

karina clenched her teeth together, watching as the tendrils released themselves all throughout jasons's body, and started wrapping around her body, and she felt the burning pain begin to fill up all her senses, and she breathed out, a small whimper of pain escaping her lips.

"burn in hell," karina growled, and gaea smirked.

"very well then," gaea said, and she stared directly into the eyes of karina, and she felt the burning pain begin to expand to every inch of her body, and she let out a scream of distress, feeling it inside her as the thick tendrils wrapped around the base of her neck and chest.

karina tried her best to keep her tears at bay, but she couldn't help the few that streamed down her face at the immense amount of pain she was experiencing. it felt as if someone had doused her whole body in lava, and then forced it down her throat, exposing it to all of the inside of her body.

karina writhed in pain, trying to move anything in her body, but to no avail. she was completely trapped.

"changed your mind yet?" gaea asked in false sympathy, tilting jason's head to the side slightly.

karina groaned in despair as she felt a tendril snake around her neck, making it feel as if she was coated in lighter fluid and someone was tracing a match over her. she wanted nothing more than to just wake up from this dream— no, nightmare— and just pretend that this was all in her head.

karina didn't respond to gaea's question, which only made her more angry, and she began to tighten hold the tendrils had on her, making the pain even worse.

karina's eyesight blurred, and she saw white spots in her vision as the searing pain indulged into her head, and it felt as if her brain was being fried on a grill. she let out an ear-piercing scream, that was followed by a guttural sob. she didn't know how much more she could take of this.

"give me your permission," gaea demanded. "and the pain will go away. you'll be free."

"i'll never be free with you!" karina screamed as she writhed erratically. "you'll always be with me! i can't escape!" her pain was being directed into her words, screaming at gaea to channel out her unbearable pain into anger.

"you're a stubborn one, aren't you?" gaea teased. "it seems i might have to go a little farther in order for you to comply."

karina began to feel the tendrils loosen slightly around her, and the pain subsided slightly, making her vision clear slightly. but, even then, the burning didn't go away.

gaea chuckled. "oh, dear, you're selflessness will get you killed one day. that is your fatal flaw, am i wrong? you'd die in place for someone else to live, without hesitation."

karina's throat felt raw. "shut up," she said hoarsely, and she felt her hands begin to lose feeling, a strong static sensation forming around her fingertips.

"maybe if i show you something, a little . . . different,  perhaps, you'll comply." gaea offered, and all of a sudden, the scenery in front of her changed, and a sort of screen-like panel appeared in the air.

"what is this?" karina asked weakly as the burning sensation continued to spread through her. "what are you doing?"

gaea turned to her. "i'm merely showing you what will happen if you refuse anymore."

the screen showed percy asleep in his room, and you could hardly see the outline of his figure through the dim light in the room— but karina knew it was him.

"no," karina whispered roughly. "don't hurt him, please."

"you give me no choice," gaea said sadly. "if you do not cooperate, then i must begin hurting you from the outside."

karina shook her head. "this isn't real," she said. "you're lying! this isn't him!"

gaea smirked. "oh, really?" she turned to the screen again, and karina saw the slow movement of thick, bright green tendrils begin to flow beneath his door, and creep threateningly towards his bed.

karina felt her heart fall into her stomach. "stop tricking me!" karina cried. "this isn't real! it's all in my head!"

"maybe it is," gaea agreed. "but it doesn't stop it from being real."

karina turned back to the screen, and she saw the vine-like mist slithering up the side of his bed, only inches away from his fingertips, and karina began to stress.

"stop it!" she exclaimed. "please! do anything you want to me, just not him!"

"if you would give me your permission, than this would all stop." gaea said, and she could tell that the earth goddess was becoming irritated.

karina's eyes danced between gaea and the screen, watching as the tendrils got closer and closer to percy, until she finally couldn't take it anymore.

"okay, okay!" she said, her breathing heavy. "i . . . i give you my permission. now stop."

gaea turned to her, a satisfied smile on her face. the tendrils on the screen immediately reclined from percy, and dissolved into thin air. and the tendrils that were wrapped around karina also disappeared, making her fall on to the floor in writhing pain, burn marks scattered across her body.

"that wasn't so hard, was it?" gaea mocked, smirking widely at her.

karina looked up at her with hooded eyes. "you . . . are, horrible. we will kill you. i will kill you. and that's a promise."

gaea chuckled. "whatever you say, dear. now, ive got what i need. enjoy the rest of your slumber."

her dream faded, and when karina opened her eyes again, she was back in her room on the argo II.

karina immediately shot up from her bed, her eyesight blurry, and arms and legs screaming in pain, but she stumbled down the hallway, and hastily went into percy's room.

her breathing was erratic, and she ran over to the side of her boyfriend's bed, shaking him, desperately saying, "percy, wake up! please, please, wake up!"

percy opened his eyes in surprise and confusion, but it immediately subsided once he saw the tears in his girlfriend's eyes, and the look of terror and desperation that was plastered on her face.

"oh— oh, thank the gods," karina cried in relief, taking percy's face into her hands and placing her forehead against his.

"karina, what's wrong?" percy asked worriedly, pulling her closer to his body as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, tears falling onto his bare chest as she cried.

"i— i just had a bad dream," she lied, struggling to breathe. "i was ju— just making sure you were okay."

percy stroked the back of her head comfortingly, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as she silently cried into him. karina wanted to tell percy about her dream— she really did— but, she almost felt . . . guilty about laying all of this on him. she's told him so much about what's been happening with her, and she felt bad that she was having him shoulder some of this responsibility that was only supposed to be her's. so, she decided to keep this to herself for now, and let percy stay in the unknown.

"it's okay," he whispered. "i'm here, i promise."

karina shuddered a breath, and removed her head from his shoulder, glancing at all the parts of his face, letting her hands travel softly over the skin of his face and neck, taking it in. "i know that now," she said softly, her voice quivering, and he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss onto her forehead.

"do you want to stay with me?" he asked her quietly, rubbing her shoulders.

"what if we get in trouble— "

percy shook his head, cutting her off. "i don't care about coach hedge finding you in my room. all i care about right now is making sure you're okay."

karina swallowed, and after a moment of silence, she nodded. "please stay with me," she whispered, her voice cracking.

percy smiled at her, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "i wasn't even thinking about leaving."

he wrapped his arms around karina as they laid down together, and she placed her head on his chest, right above his heart, wrapping her arm across his stomach. percy pulled her closer to him, making sure that she was comfortable before gently placing his arms around her figure, noticing that she was still shaking slightly as they laid down.

"goodnight, percy," karina whispered.

"goodnight, karina," percy said softly. "i'll be here when you wake up. i promise."

karina didn't respond, but he knew that she knew.

percy waited until he felt karina's breathing slow to a normal pace, before finally allowing himself to close his eyes, and he slept with not a single bad thought in his mind that night, knowing that the girl he adored was right there next to him.

forever and always.

7145 words

ok this chapter was ,,,,, a lot !

lol gaea's such a noob ,, asking for permission?? to take over our bad bitch karina?? dumb hoe 😂🤣