hey, if there are some timeline details in this, i apologize. i'm twisting some details to fit, so if things seem off... just go with it or feel free to ask me!

i've missed you guys. hope i don't disappoint with this one, love you all <3

7 months previous.

"Hey, Will?" Percy called out to the blonde, knocking twice on the door frame leading into the infirmary.

The son of Apollo glanced up from where he stood finishing dressing a younger daughter of Hecate's arm, the wound compliments of the climbing wall. "Hiya, Perce."

"Percy!" the girl squealed, jumping down from the counter Will had set her on before running over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Percy laughed, reaching down to ruffle her thick wavy locks. "What'd you do this time, Dallas?"

"Lava. But I got all the way up the climbing wall," she grinned up at him.

"No way! That's awesome!" Percy knelt down so that he was eye to eye with the ten year old before offering his hand up for a high-five. She was young, but her dad had sent her to camp along with her thirteen year old brother- a smart decision in retrospect, considering the monsters would flock to them now that they knew they were demigods.

Dallas nodded proudly, smacking her palm against his before leaning in, as though she was prepared to tell him a secret. He obliged, offering his ear.

"Keegan only got half-way," she whispered mischievously, giggling about her achievement over her brother.

The son of Poseidon laughed at her comment before slowly rising to a stand. "Good job, kiddo," he winked down at her, his sea-green eyes sparkling.

Will smiled at the two. "Dallas, make sure you stay off the climbing wall for a bit, yeah? And stay out of the lake for a couple of days. We don't want that getting infected."

"Okay!"

"You're good to go, you have about twenty minutes before lunch. Be careful!"

"Thanks Will! Bye Percy!" the younger camper shouted before sprinting out of the room off. Percy shook his head. That kid was adorable.

Will turned to clean up the mess he had made. In between throwing plastic wrapping away and hiding gauze and scissors in the cabinet, he looked over his shoulder at the dark-haired teen, who had jumped up onto the blue bench with a grunt. "What's up? Something I can help with?"

He was acutely aware of the dark bags underlining his friend's eyes, and the exhausted expression that appeared the instant Dallas left the room.

Percy nodded, looking uncomfortable. His calloused fingers danced along the edge of the exam table paper. "Yeah, uh... remember a couple months ago? When we talked about the concussion or what not?"

The lanky blonde nodded, leaning against the counter.

"Yeah, well... um. The symptoms haven't really stopped. I mean they're better, they're not that big of a deal, but-"

"Which ones?" Will inquired, reaching for his notebook with a forced frown to hide his shock. Percy could say that the symptoms weren't a problem, but the fact that he was even expressing concern about them spoke volumes. He never came to the infirmary willingly... usually it was him or Annabeth dragging the son of Poseidon up the Big House stairs.

Annabeth was sometimes too prideful to ask for help, but Percy was just too darn stubborn to admit something was wrong.

Percy bit his lip, staring down at his feet. "Not being able to sleep," he admitted. "I don't know, getting sick sometimes. It's just, I thought they would've gone away by now. I mean, I'm fine-"

"What about the vertigo?"

"Yeah, that's probably the... wait," Percy paused, furrowing his brows. "How'd you know about that?"

Will winced. He was going to get murdered, brutally, for admitting this. Whether by Annabeth or Percy was the question. "Annabeth's talked to me a couple times about it. She's worried."

Still, it wasn't as though he needed Annabeth to know something was wrong. It was almost more often than not Percy missed breakfast, or politely excused himself from a class to deal with a vertigo spell alone in his cabin. Will was setting in a game of volleyball when the son of Poseidon had veered to the left and into the sand waiting for a serve.

The boy in question gave a haggard sigh, rubbing the side of his face tiredly. "Yeah, she got scared the other day. I just stood up too fast..."

"And fell?" Will finished, asking although he already knew the answer.

"She caught me before I hit the ground, but yeah. Everything just started to like... spin, and then- yeah. I was down. It's just... It's been three months. How long does it take to go away? Do I have to do anything? Ambrosia, maybe?"

Will smiled sadly at the son of Poseidon. "Unfortunately, a concussion isn't like a broken leg, or ankle. Especially when you've had one before. The effects don't just... go away.

"You nailed the back of your head pretty bad when you... fell," Will continued, dancing around the subject. "Your brain slammed into the side of your skull pretty damn hard."

Percy snorted, his fingers subconsciously searching for the small patch of hair they had shaved to stitch his head back together. "Yeah, no kidding."

"That's some serious trauma. And given that you had absolutely no time to recover... Hades, you instantly began subjecting it to intense stimulus- the symptoms will get better in time, but there's no saying if they'll go away completely. It's kind of like... with Annabeth's ankle, she used it before it had a chance to heal fully, so it healed incorrectly... she's always going to have that slight limp. Your brain didn't heal at all, so you're going to have the sickness and dizziness for a while."

Percy sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. "Awesome."

"It'd probably help to get some sleep, though," Will offered. "The fact that you're not sleeping is probably escalating your symptoms. I can get you something for that if you'd like."

His friend waved his hand. "That's alright. I'll just go to bed earlier."

"Percy, it'll help."

"Seriously, Will. I appreciate it man, but I really don't want to mess around with that kind of stuff. It'd probably screw me up more," he laughed, jumping down from the table with a painted smile. "So, more sleep?"

"More sleep, don't hit your head anymore, and take a break every once in a while," Will confirmed, eyeing him warily just as the conch blew for lunch, already calculating a way to get Annabeth to force melatonin or a Hyonos cabin special down his throat. "Stay out of trouble!"

The son of Poseidon snorted as he walked out, grabbing the door frame to spin back to face him. "Don't jinx it, Will," he grinned, before disappearing out the door. "Don't jinx it."

Present Day.

Percy flashed back to his friend's warning about protecting his head as he held it in his hands, praying the pounding would dissipate shortly. He had tried to hold on to the edge of the seat, as instructed: but he wasn't anticipating to be flipped and spun around the metal van like he was in some sort of makeshift blender.

He groaned as he opened his eyes, fighting off a wave of nausea as he picked himself off the floor, side-stepping as he attempted to find his balance. "Annabeth?" he called out hesitantly, not before a loud BANG resounded through the small cabin. It took Percy too long to realize the sound was of someone forcing open the back doors of the utility van.

Light flooded in, bathing the wreckage in a bold golden hue, compliments of the setting sun. A shadow fell over them again as the silhouette of three men appeared in the opening. The son of Poseidon made a move to fight them off, but his movements were delayed and uncoordinated, his thoughts tangling together. The sound he'd grown to memorize entered his ears- the sharp POP of a gun firing.

There was a sudden pinching sensation in his shoulder. He felt himself fall back, desperately curling his head into his chest to avoid jostling it further. He gasped in pain as he landed, bringing his hand up to the source.

He barely had the time to comprehend that the wound was wet, that he was still conscious, that the burning agony had yet to disappear, before hands were roughly pulling him to his feet and dragging him backwards. Gruff voices shouted around him, the noises pinging painfully within his skull.

"Let go," the demigod growled, thrashing slightly when he was dropped harshly onto the pavement. He had to bite his lip to keep from crying out when he did so, pain enveloping him. A rag was shoved over his face, damp and wet and sweet. His eyes flew open, bright with fear. No. He needed to breathe he needed to breathe he needed to breathe-

A burst of adrenaline forced the hand away. It took him seconds to wrestle to his feet, the panic driving his punches and kicks hard into the attackers. His shoulder screamed in protest, but was overridden by his determination to escape. A man wrapped an arm around his neck behind him, but Percy had him flying over his shoulder within seconds. The man barreled into another with a loud curse, the two tumbling to the ground like bowling pins. The demigod stuttered backwards, panting.

"Percy!"

His head snapped up at the sound of Annabeth's voice, who was just barely holding her own against a beefy guy three times her size. He turned to race towards her, but his moment of hesitation was not lost on their kidnappers. His blood ran cold as the metal barrel of a gun connected with the side of his head, his feet skidding to a stop underneath him without his approval.

The action of the scene died in light of the new tension. The man holding the weapon leaned down, his sour breath grating Percy's eardrums. The man's steely grip tightened painfully on his good shoulder when he flinched back. "Now, you and your pretty little girlfriend over there are going to be good little children and cooperate, or I'll blast your brains out. Understood?"

He swallowed down a retort, his sarcasm stifled by Annabeth's terrified expression locked on him. The burly antagonist grinned. "Fantastic. Come on, bring them to the van 'fore the police show up. He's not gonna be conscious for much longer anyway."

The two men he had sent to the ground grabbed him roughly from behind. He yelped in a mixture of surprise and agony, earning a laugh from his captors and a heart wrenching plea from Annabeth to leave him alone. Anger rushed to the forefront of his mind, but dissipated in a rush of dizziness. He stumbled, only to be hoisted up with a curse by his new captors. Hoisted up, under the arm, the pressure going straight to his wounded shoulder and resulting in a burst a pain he could only relate to the Styx. His mouth opened in an involuntary cry, but before he even had the chance, was enveloped once again in the sickly wetness of cloth.

He thought to rip it out of his face, anything to avoid the thought of suffocating or not breathing, but suddenly he could only comprehend how hot it was outside, yet how cold he was. Was that normal?

He was floating, but heavy all at once. He didn't know what that meant. He didn't have the chance to before his back slammed into metal. 

And he was out.

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Annabeth felt sick. 

She awoke with a start to darkness, her head spinning and stomach churning. Her breath caught in her brief confusion before the memories rushed back to her all at once. 

Memories, of freedom and crashes and Percy bleeding out and black vans and the sweet tang of ether against her lips.

She gagged, barely keeping her stomach.

Dear gods, she hoped that whoever this new enemy was hadn't actually used chloroform or other strand of ether to draw them out of consciousness. She couldn't afford respiratory problems at the rate her life was going right now: two kidnappings within a week. It wouldn't make much sense: the rag they had used wouldn't gave knocked them out as fast as it did. The substance only performed as such in books and movies. But then again, when had anything made sense? Her mom was Athena and her boyfriend ate blue food.

Her stomach lurched again. This time she groaned in pain as she swallowed back bile. She didn't even have the energy to jump when the door clanged open; she merely rose to a sitting position to meet the three faces waltzing in with an air of faux significance. 

"Sorry if you're not, mm, feeling well," a husky voice mocked. "We're still working on adjusting the formula for the sedative."

A sharp laugh filled the room, polished and practiced for the evil minion role. "I quite like the side effect. It's more fun." 

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fuck you," she deadpanned. She was bored. Sick, yes. Tired. Scared, sure. Percy was gods know where in bad condition, probably, and she had know idea where she was, but did their captors have to take their entire intimidation technique out of a Bond movie? It was ridiculous. 

Percy probably would have made some witty side comment at their expense, but she figured her response worked just the same. She wasn't too inclined to earning their respect as a comedian. 

She counted her breaths to hopefully settle her stomach as a glare settled in her gaze. She directed the gray flames at the chiseled man who had opted to crouch in front of her. Her battle against her stomach was almost lost  when the musky mint of his aftershave hit her nose. She couldn't help but acknowledge his attractiveness, but a cold shock ran through her when she met his caramel eyes. 

She'd seen crazy, mad, furious. 

But everything about this man screamed evil.

He didn't speak at first, tilting his chin every so slightly as he studied her. Her skin crawled, and she briefly considered surrendering to the urge to vomit so that she could do so all over the asshole's shoes. She wasn't restrained- just seated on cool concrete flooring- but his gaze held her rooted to the spot. 

His dark eyebrows quirked upwards once before he stood. His hands came to rest on the holster around his waist. "Annabeth Chase," he said.

"Asshat," she greeted in return. 

He grinned with a slight laugh, shifting his stance and crossing his arms. His posse- Annabeth chose to believe they were bodyguards- remained stoic behind him. "Deserved," his lips curled, "But officially it's Ward."

"I didn't ask for an introduction," the blonde grunted in return. Once again she forced down a wave of sickness. Gods, she hated being nauseous. She felt a newfound wave of sympathy for Percy, wherever he was- the vertigo gotten much better, but he was in a near perpetual state of feeling like he had to throw up for a few months after Tartarus when the attacks hit. 

Or just throwing up in general.

Sometimes all over his mom's new carpet.

Fuck, she should stop thinking about vomit while she was trying not to vomit.

"You want to tell me where Percy is?" she demanded impulsively. "Because this could go a lot easier if you hand him over and let us go before one of us gets angry."

His eyebrow lifted in near delight, which unnerved her. "You're not angry now?"

"I'm upset. You'll know when I reach the angry stage."

Asshat shook his head. "You remind me a lot of someone, you know. I think you got to spend some time with her lately, no? Skye. Although, she goes by Daisy now, doesn't she." He followed his comment with a chuckle, but there was no trace of pleasure in it. Annabeth shifted backwards uncomfortably.

"The act is fun" he restarted. "But this isn't S.H.I.E.L.D. Petty threats aren't threatening.  Welcome to Hydra."

"Is that a stupid acronym too?" 

"It's metaphorical. You're familiar with Greek mythology, are you not?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, feeling sick all over again- but this time she didn't think it was from the drug. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, we know exactly who you are. I owe a thank you to S.H.I.E.L.D.- they did the hard work, finding the two of you. Coulson got the head start on taking you custody. I can't say I agree with his decision to let you walk, with everything you could do for him... but I suppose that  made things easier for us, didn't it?"

"Everything we could do for him," she echoed. 

Ward tinkered with the safety on his glock. His eyes shot up to meet hers. "Manpower. Experimentation. Your boyfriend can heal in water, if the paperwork wasn't mistaken. Abilities like that would be invaluable to our team."

"We're not going to help you," Annabeth sneered.

Ward smiled, strutting over to the door with his men in tow. His tone was cold when he replied.

"You will comply. What other choice do you have?"

The door shut with a bang, the demigod left alone in darkness once more.

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oh my gods it's an actual update :)

literally love you all so so much. 

justanothergirlcmg

p.s. how were your summers?? tell me all about them!

p.p.s. oh my gosh GUYS i need to tell you this: if you haven't already PLEASE check out @aletheia_cosplay on instagram for the best annabeth cosplay i have ever seen. it's honestly what i imagine when I read and write annabeth. just... wow, go appreciate this girl.