The whole next three weeks that we studied Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome basically turned into Percy teaching the class. As soon as the bell rang, Ms. Ivy would call on Percy to talk to the class about a certain part or parts of Greece or Rome. Weather he was talking to us about their religious beliefs, their life styles, their history, anything at all.

Now, it was the last day of the section over Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and we were all taking the test. Except, that is, for Percy and I. Ms. Ivy knew that I knew all about Greece and Rome as well, so I didn't have to take it. And since Percy taught everything, what's the point in him taking the test?

Percy and I sat in the front of the room with Ms. Ivy, watching as the other students worked on the test.

"This is pretty cool, huh?" Percy leaned over and whispered into my ear. "Teaching the class and watching them learn. Seeing things spark interest in their eyes? It's a fun thing to watch, and it feels good to share something I love with other people and see that they love it too." I looked over at my boyfriend, his eyes were shining with happiness. He was positively glowing. I smiled widely and nodded.

"Yeah, it really is." I muttered in his ear.

"This is what it feels like when I'm teaching sword fighting at camp too. Is this what it feels like when you talk about architecture? And when you teach younger and newer campers to read Ancient Greek?" I nodded again.

"It is. It really is an amazing feeling." I said as Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket, twirling the pen/sword around in his fingers.

-------------------------------------------

It was almost the end of class, most of the kids had finished their tests and were now waiting silently for everyone else to finish or for the bell to ring, which ever came first.

Suddenly, Percy tensed, his hand immediately reached into his pocket and he pulled out Riptide, clutching the pen/sword tightly in his hand.

"Percy?" I whispered in his ear, tensing in response to his actions, my hand reaching down towards my boot where I kept my dagger stashed while at school instead of hanging in its usual spot on my belt. "Percy?" I asked again quietly. "What's wrong?"

But Percy didn't say anything. He just passed his eyes over the silent students, his gaze calculating and searching for the threat that he had sensed. I looked around to, trying to find whatever it is that set my boyfriend on edge.

Suddenly, the fire alarms went off. Everyone jumped but remained silent. They stood up quickly and walked to the door.

"Everyone, you know where to go. But be fast. I was not alerted that we would have a drill today, so this is either real, or a sick prank pulled by some idiot thinking it would be funny." Ms. Ivy rushed everyone toward the door and toward the stairs so we could get outside.

I was pulled along by the throng of students, Percy by my side. But when I turned to look at him, for reassurance in his presence, and to take his hand in comfort, he wasn't there. I started to panic.

"Percy!" I called, frightened. "PERCY!"

There was no answer. No voice calling back to me, no hand suddenly on my side to reassure me because he'd only been on my other side or behind me, no beautiful sea-green eyes that forced their way into my field of vision to calm me and hold me with their intense gaze.

"PERCY!" I screamed his name, tears falling freely down my cheeks. "PERCY! WHERE ARE YOU? PERCY!" I called his name desperately as other students dragged me outside. But I didn't want to be outside. Percy would be glued to my side if he was here. If he was here, he would be answering my calls. If he was here, he would have rushed to me and held me close, he would have been here to calm me. So, therefor, Percy is inside. And he would only still be inside if he was in trouble. And therefor, if he had not already taken care of said trouble, he would need my help. Which means that I need to be in there, and not out here.

I struggled against the arms and hands holding me back from the burning building. There really was a fire, not just some idiot playing a sick prank. I was still screaming, and my throat hurt. And tears blurred my vision so much, I could barely see. But none of that mattered. Where was Percy? Where was my boyfriend? Where was my other half? Where was Percy?

I was vaguely aware of voices, vaguely aware of the things happening around me, of the sirens of the fire trucks signaling their arrival, of the electric-blue eyes staring at me, of the dark brown eyes looking at me with concern from a pale white face, of the multi-colored eyes like kaleidoscopes gazing at me with worry, of a scrawny body slipping inside the burning building unnoticed, of the big, strong arms that were not Percy's wrapped tightly around me, arms that did not give no matter how hard I fought. Vaguely aware of a brown face with golden eyes fixed on mine, of so many other things that were barely noticed, but noticed and stored somewhere in my memory.

Only vaguely aware of these things because the only thing that matters is Percy and he's not here. And because images flashed across my vison, flashbacks to our time in... that place. The fire had brought it on. It started by making me remember the phlentegon.

I saw Percy passing out into my arms before he could drink from the river of fire, saw myself forcing the vile stuff into his mouth to make him drink it, saw myself holding him as his body spasmed and convulsed with the liquid fire running through his veins. I saw all of our journey through hell flash in front of my eyes as the burning building trapped him inside, and huge, strong arms kept me from running inside to help. One image kept reappearing in my mind. The one image that would haunt me for the rest of forever.

The image of Percy lying on the ground, covered in sweat and his own blood mixed with monster dust, his body smoking. Seeing him limp and watching the light as it slowly began to fade from his eyes. Seeing how he wouldn't respond to me, how he couldn't respond to anything at all because he was far too weak. Watching as he died.

That image of Percy dying after fighting the arai and after Bob had healed my sight by placing his hand on my forehead and removing the curse by saying 'owie'. That image kept throwing itself into my mind, reminding me of that horrid place and of what would happen if I didn't find him, and trapping me in my own memory, not letting me go.

I fought and I fought and I fought against the arms holding me back, I ignored the voice urging me to calm down and stop fighting, I forgot the difference between what was real and what was only flashbacks. I forgot everything except that Percy needed my help, and that image of him dying on the ground in hell.

After the gods know how long, I finally regained some sense and made a plan to get into the burning building and save my Seaweed Brain.

I stopped fighting and let my knees give out, only the arms wrapped around me kept me from hitting the ground. I faintly heard voices, saying something, I think they were saying my name. But I ignored the voices. I heard my own heartbreaking sobs, felt my chest heaving from the force of them, and my body shaking from the effort I had put into trying to get away. I still could barely see through the tears that filled my eyes and streamed down my face.

The arms around me loosened their grip and slowly let me sink to my knees. A face appeared in front of me, hands held my face and tried to make me look at them. Voices tried to make me listen. Then, the face disappeared and the other bodies I could see moved away, the voices quieting to hushed tones. The arms slowly let go of me, hesitantly, the person they belonged to backed away. I stayed on the ground, feigning defeat.

I waited a few more seconds to make sure that no one was close enough to catch me. Then, I was on my feet in an instant. I screeched and dashed inside the burning building that trapped my Percy. Voices screamed at me, hands brushed me, but no one could stop me. I was inside and running through the burning halls and looking in the burning classrooms before anyone really knew what was happening.

"PERCY! PERCY, WHERE ARE YOU? PERCY, I'M COMING! PERCY!" I screamed and coughed in the smoky air. "PERCY!" I ran through the burning halls, looking in the burning classrooms. The heat was intense, everything was washed red from the flames. The tongues of fire licked hungrily at everything they touched. The smoke lay in the air like a suffocating blanket.

I raised my arm, putting my sleeve over my mouth and nose to try and block some of the smoke. I was coughing as I screamed my boyfriend's name. My voice became horse and my throat raw from the smoke that hung heavily in the air.

I climbed raggedly up the burning stairs. If downstairs on the first floor had been hot, then up here was burning. It was so much hotter up here, I felt like I would melt from the heat alone, forget touching fire and burning, the heat alone up here will melt me.

The smoke was even thicker up here too. It hung over everything, making it almost impossible to see. I stumbled down the hallways, clutching at doorways as I leaned into them to look for my Seaweed Brain. I hacked and hacked and hacked, more tears falling from my eyes because the smoke was stinging them.

"Percy!" My weak voice croaked into the next doorway I came too. I looked in and through the haze of smoke, tears, exhaustion, and the huge flames running through the room, I saw a body lying on the floor with a burning beam trapping it there. It could be Percy! I was so glad that I might have found him, but scared that he could be seriously hurt, or even dead already... But I can't think like that. He has to be okay. He has to.

I staggered into the room, looking for a way around the worst of the flames that danced through the room. I manage to weave a path through the hungry fire and make it to the person trapped under the beam. And... oh, gods! It is Percy! It is my Seaweed Brain!

He's pinned down by a heavy wooden beam, lying flat on the floor. The fire had leaped off the wood and was dancing across his back, his legs, his arms, and was now making its way toward his ash-covered face. His eyes were closed and he was barely breathing. I could tell that he was out cold. I wrapped my hands around the burning beam, ignoring the burns that raced up my hands and my arms from the intense heat, forgot about the blisters forming on my face and my body. I had to get Percy out from under the beam. I had to stop the fire that was burning him from killing him. That meant that I had to move the burning beam that trapped him on the floor and stop the spreading flames before they burned him to severely.

I heaved and I pulled at the burning wood. But it wasn't budging. I looked along its length and saw that one area had been reduced close to ash by the fire that had clung hungrily to it before moving on. I brought my hands together and smashed them down on the weak point in the wood. It shuddered and broke where I had hit it. The wooden beam was now in two smaller pieces that I could move. I grabbed one and heaved it off to the side. I then grabbed the other piece and threw it off my boyfriend.

I ripped off my shirt and threw it over his body, smothering the flames and putting them out just as the tongues of flame began to lick at his face. Still burning up in my tank top, I pulled Percy away from the worst of the fire and to a semi-sheltered part of the room. I laid him down across my lap, still on his stomach, and pulled out my knife. I very carefully cut the remaining fabric of his shirt from his burned back. Pulling it away, I stared in horror at the burned skin.

His tanned skin was black and red. Charred skin turning to ash mixed with blood. I looked away quickly; I couldn't bring myself to look at that marred flesh. Instead, I looked at his face. It was covered in ash and soot from the floor. A large burn covered his cheek, most of his forehead, his eye, and half his mouth. Basically, it covered half his face. The skin was red, raw, and bleeding. In some places, the skin was even black and charred like his back.

I didn't dare look at his arms or legs, because I knew they would be just as bad, if not worse. I staggered to my feet and then struggled to lift Percy and lean him on my shoulder so I could drag him out of this burning hellhole.

I had just succeeded in hauling Percy up and slinging his limp, burned arm over my shoulder, when there was a pinch in the side of my neck. I frowned as I coughed and reached one hand up to brush my neck. There was something there. I grabbed it with shaking fingers and yanked it out of my skin. I brought it around to look at. I stared at it. It was a dart. But what kind of dart? Then it's contents began to work in my body.

My eyelids drooped and I staggered this way and that as I tried to make it out of the room. "Oh..." I muttered. My knees buckled and the world went black as I hit the floor...

A/N Word Count: 2430