Given to Fly (PJ/MR Crossover)

Book 1: Chapter I

Percy had ran forward to meet the hellhound and was now brandishing his glowing celestial bronze sword, dodging all of the oversized dog's wild attempts at biting him, and yelling childish insults at it. This only seemed to make the monster angrier, however, as the hellhound decided to swipe one of its giant paws at him. Percy saw the limb coming and moved just in time, bringing up his three-foot blade to deflect the razor-sharp claws.

The son of Poseidon then went on the offensive and slashed Riptide across its now exposed foreleg, eliciting a pained howl from the monster. Come on, Percy, stop playing with it and get your butt over here, I thought. Seeming to hear me, Percy wizened up and made to stab at its side before dashing down the alley with the hellhound hot on his tail.

"Anytime now, Annabeth!" Percy huffed out. His breaths were now coming out more ragged then usual, a harsh reminder that we were, even months afterwards, still battling with the aftereffects of our trip... down there. Along with the intense nightmares, unexplainable new phobias, and occasional flashbacks, we had also developed asthma from inhaling the poisonous air for so long. Though it was one of the least of our problems, it was definitely one of the most annoying, especially at times like these.

Percy was almost directly below me now. I held my breath for three, two, one... and jumped. With a painful thud, my body connected with the shaggy beast and I quickly grasped handfuls of its corse fur so as to not slide off. I then swung one of my legs around so that I was straddling the monster like a horse and started to carefully shimmy my way towards its head.

By now, the hellhound had realized that it had an unwanted passenger on its back and halted its mad chase after the tasty smelling demigod. The black beast, in an attempt to dislodge me off its back, threw itself against the wall of the alleyway. An involuntary scream cut through my throat as my shoulder connected with the unforgiving brick wall, but I swallowed the pain and tightened my loosening grip on the monster's scruff.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Percy trying to distract the hellhound, running behind it and slashing at its heels. He succeeded in gaining its attention for only a second, yet that was all the opening I needed. Just as the hellhound turned to snap at the half-blood scratching up its legs, I lunged forward with my dagger and imbedded the blade into its exposed throat, effectively slicing straight through its esophagus. The monster let out a surprised yelp before exploding into yellow dust.

I had a split second to register that there was nothing supporting me anymore before falling to the ground in a graceless heap. That probably wasn't the - ow - smartest plan I've come up with, I thought as I struggled to my feet while clutching my shoulder, maybe I've been spending too much time with Seaweed Brain. My body was still tingling in pain from the fall when I heard it.

"Um, Wise Girl, I still can't see you. Are you oka-" Percy's voice came to an abrupt stop when the muffled sound of a gun being fired filled the alleyway, along with the thud of a body hitting the ground. I turned around as quick as my throbbing body would allow to see two black-suited men dragging a body around the corner of the alley. I only caught a flash of the black hair and bright orange shirt of the slumped figure - Percy! - before all three vanished from view.

No, no, NO! This couldn't be happening, not again! I could barely hold back the frustrated scream building in my throat as I ripped the cap off my head. Why did everyone want to kidnap my boyfriend?! Shoving the baseball hat into my back pocket and tightening my grip on the small bronze knife, I started sprinting after Percy and his captors, but before I could take more than a few steps in their direction, something heavy knocked into me. The next second, my head hit the asphalt and everything went black.

*                     *                     *

The first thing that I became aware of was the pain. It encompassed me like a fleece blanket in the desert - that is, stifling, uncomfortable, and really unwanted. Trying to think through the thick soup that my mind had been reduced to, I took stock of my injuries. Left shoulder seemed to be dislocated, bad ankle slightly sprained (again), head possibly - okay, most definitely - concussed, and innumerable bruises. Now on to step two: what happened?The concussion was a physical entity, scrambling my thoughts like eggs. I couldn't remember where I was or why. Speaking of... I lifted my eyelids, glancing around my surroundings as I tried to focus.