Hi! Before I start, I would like to thank all of the people who have reviewed my first story, Memory Lane! It means a lot! Every time I get a review (a good one) I literally jump up and down and dance around the house! It annoys my family a lot… Well, here you go! The first chapter of The Giant War!

Leo was scared.

The Argo ll had finally made it to Athens, after many monster attacks, giant attacks, and who-knows-what attacks. There would be no more wondering if they would get there in time, no more nightmares from Gaea about "stopping their futile attempts", no more supply runs. There would also be no more resting in his cabin, no more finding comfort at the controls, no more having fun with the only friends he's ever had. The war was here, and Leo couldn't charm it into waiting a couple of years.

It was July thirty-first. The next day, Gaea would awaken. Leo could see that most of the others were trying to be optimistic about the circumstances, but he could also tell that they were all thinking the same questions he was.

What if we haven't won by tomorrow?

What will we do if two of us get captured?

How will we fight all these giants, along with Gaea's army?

Will the gods help us?

None of them knew what to think, what to say, how to reassure each other. At the moment, Leo felt very pessimistic, which surprised him. Only something absolutely terrifying or utterly hopeless could keep him from encouraging the others and cracking a couple jokes.

Oh yes, Leo was very scared. But, he put on a grin and faced the crew anyway.

"Alright, we are officially 'in Athens'," he informed them. "Where, exactly, should I land?"

"Well," Jason answered him. "That, is a very good question."

"It should be somewhere that benefits all of us," Annabeth stated. "So that we have an advantage. It should be above sea level for Jason, close to the coast for Percy, and maybe Frank, Festus can do a scan underground for metals for Hazel, not foggy for Leo (so that it doesn't extinguish his fire), quiet for Piper (the enemy needs to be able to actually hear her charmspeak), and… I don't know for me."

"You don't need a specific place, Wise Girl," Percy pointed out. "You are amazing anywhere!" He grinned like a madman.

Annabeth just stared at him, then put her hand to her forehead, lowered her head, and started shaking it, muttering,"Oh, what are we going to do with you, Seaweed Brain."

Leo watched this and smiled. Well, it looked like a smirk, but he meant it as a smile. Even in the most helpless situations, with no known help, his friends could still at least appear cheerful.

He saw Annabeth pull Percy in for a kiss, and decided that this would be a great time to continue the conversation.

"So! Where am I going?"

Annabeth glared at him. "Head to the coast."

Leo hurriedly turned the ship to the coast. Hades, that girl scared him more than Gaea ever would.

"Wow, am I tired," Percy declared, looking very awake. "Hey, Leo, do you think Festus can go on autopilot? I think everybody deserves a nap before 'our final hour'."

Leo turned around to see Percy looking at him expectantly, holding Annabeth with her arms around his neck, her feet touching each other behind his back, and her head on his shoulder.

"I think so," he replied. "Do you think we need to keep watch?"

"I don't think so," Piper told him as she walked over. "Gaea probably will make all the monsters wait until the war has officially started to attack us."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it."

They all headed to their cabins, expect Annabeth. She was still in Percy's arms, and they went to his room together. The two had been close before, but after their trip to Tartarus, they were inseparable. They slept in the same bed (with clothes on, of course), and they were always holding hands. Whenever they had time, their lips would be touching. Almost every night, the others would hear one of them screaming, and the other calming them down. They were very worried about them. Strangely, it was more often Percy than Annabeth. On some unlucky nights, both of them would have a nightmare at the same time (they usually woke up a lot during the night) and when Leo would check on them, he would find Annabeth calling for Percy, and Percy taking shallow breaths, his face pale, and faintly whimpering like he was in extreme pain. About a week and a half earlier, it had gotten so bad that every night, the person who was on watch would check on them a few times, and if they were having a nightmare, the person would do their best to wake them up. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

As Leo lay in his bed, he hoped that just this once, Percy and Annabeth would be able to have a dreamless rest. But, just as he was falling in to his own personal void of sleep, he heard a bloodcurdling scream of immense pain from Percy.

What in Hades…

Leo was right across the hall from them, so he was able to hear Annabeth attempt to calm Percy down, saying, "Shh, you're fine, you're fine. Damasen healed you, remember? Remember that drakon soup? It's just a dream, it's just a dream…"

No matter how hard he tried, some things Leo would never understand.

Yay! First chapter done! This is the edited version. You know would be fun for you to do now? Hover your mouse over that box in the bottom corner, click it, and review! I'd find that very fun…..

I try to update at least once every weekend, sometimes during the week. I always have a lot of homework. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon! Bye!