Lauren's POV

The wind swept my hair as I followed the vague path that curled through the meadow. The lustrous colours of the flowers were radiating a feeling of mysterious happiness. Clueless, I followed the path, not expecting anything. Suddenly, the path halted as a pair of feet appeared in front of me. Cautiously, I tilted my head upwards. He was standing right in front of me. I whispered his name.

"Lauren, Lauren," said a voice. It seemed to be coming from his mouth, yet the voice wasn't his. The voice sounded urgent concerned and definitely feminine. Suddenly, I jolted up from my deep slumber. Annabeth was shouting my name. My instincts prompted me to snatch my dagger and shout,"Where are the monsters?" Annabeth looked at me with a concerned look, like very worried big sister. Then, I noticed the tears that were spilling down my cheeks.

Annabeth took up a very big responsibility when she and Percy found me at the Lotus Casino. And to just add on top of Percy's responsibility, Poseidon claimed me as soon as we returned to Camp Half-Blood. So now, I am officially Percy's half sister. It was really awesome to be at camp, until he showed up. He and his friends showed up just after Percy disappeared. After over 6 months, we finally figured out where Percy was and now, the demigods from the prophecy were going to retrieve Percy.

"Lauren, are you okay? You keep whispering something like neo or veo," said Annie. Oh right, she REALLY didn't like me calling her Annie.

"No, I'm fine. Just a bad dream, that's all," I said. Annabeth gave me that look that always meant that there a lecture coming up about sharing feelings. So before she could start I blurted out,"Can I come on the quest with you?" Annabeth rolled her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time this week and shook her head.

"But the last time you went on a quest, you almost died. If you did, then how would I live? And anyways, I have the most powers," I said, pouting.

"Lauren, we talked about this. First of all, if we came close to dying that means the quest is dangerous. Percy and I would never forgive ourselves if you died, even in death. And you are very young, only 14. And secondly, the more powers one has, the more weaknesses. You know how fragile your life is," explained Annabeth. I wanted to shout that if I didn't go on the quest, I would die, literally!

Annabeth, gave me a stubborn shake of the head. That was it, my last straw. I had one plan left, it was crazy, but hey, crazy is my best friend! With the blood of 5 gods, a lot can be accomplished. I put my plan to action.

"Annabeth, can I have your invisibility cap, since it doesn't work anymore? I just want to keep it as a token. Please?" I asked, trying to hide the mischievous look dancing in my eyes. Annabeth looked at me quizzically and considered the thought for a moment. Then, she gave me a warm smile and handed the cap to me from her bag. Being very closely related to Athena, I was very clever, although one can never ever tell where Annabeth's cleverness goes to.

Annabeth said that the cap didn't work because her mother and she had an argument about finding the Athena Parthenos. I did a lot of research upon that subject and found that according to myths (which were the main source all demigods rely upon), Athena would send her most witty child to look for the Athena Parthenos every few years. The child must go unarmed and alone. That was probably why the cap didn't work for her. I didn't tell Annabeth, in case that meddled with the quest. Anyway, just because the cap didn't work on her didn't mean that I couldn't use it. When Annabeth had left the cabin, I slipped on her cap and set to work.

Annabeth's POV

Lauren had been worrying me for a few days. I always saw her falling asleep randomly and moaning something. It was all muffled, but she always woke up looking miserable. I took Lauren under my wing ever since Percy disappeared. She really loved her big brother, and when he disappeared, she was shattered. Talking about Percy, I would finally see him tomorrow. After 6 months of pain and mourning, I would finally see him. I walked into Bunker 9 to give Leo a visit. Leo was adjusting his hull when I walked in.

"Hi!" Leo exclaimed. Ever since he started on his ship, he could never wipe that smile off.

"How is the ship going?" I asked.

Leo beamed, 'Well, everything is ready. Somehow I seem to have made genius adjustments without even realising. And when I do realise how mastermind they are, I can't find myself to remember or believe I did them." Leo chuckled with delight. Of course, I knew how they came to be. As much as Lauren tries to hide it, she loves tinkering. She is very closely related to Hephaestus. She always gives me some ideas that might be great on the Argo II, and somehow they appear by the next day when Leo is on break. Thinking of Lauren brought me back to the worry I was feeling in the morning. Leo seemed to observe my face. Before I could remove the troubled look on my face, he asked, "How are things going with you?"

I shook my head, 'It's just that Lauren has been acting so odd lately. She always seems to avoid talking and falls asleep in the middle of things. She keeps muttering this one word until I wake her up. Unfortunately, her voice is muffled so I couldn't understand what she was saying. And her curse-" I abruptly stopped myself. I WAS NOT allowed to tell anyone about Lauren's curse.

Leo raised an eyebrow, "Lauren. She always seems really reserved to me. Frankly, I don't even think I have ever talked to her other than the occasional hi."

"Actually, she was always the funny, light-hearted type. Very outgoing. But ever since Jason, Piper and you showed up, she became different."