Hey everybody! This is the next chapter of…The Mission! Hope you enjoy; thank you guys for your wonderful remarks! Anyways, please take the time to enjoy!

Annabeth POV:

The moment I saw Percy collapse, I froze. I was protected, and before I knew it, I felt blood on my fingertips.

"YOU!" I screeched, sudden tears forming in my eyes. "YOU DID THIS TO HIM!"

"Yes dear, I had," he explained.

"Dear? Don't call me dear your wreckless fool! I'll show you how good it feels to get shot-,"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hang a second Annabeth, you're not going to do this to me," he said.

"Too bad," I shouted.

And instead of shooting him, I knocked him out flat. I saw Aunty Em's cold eyes stare at me.

"Run child," she said, tears falling in her eyes. "Run."

"Shut up…you're a betrayer," I whispered.

"Dear…"

"Don't call me dear," I said, tears falling down. "You are working for Professor Jack…the…the murderer of my parents."

"Dear-,"

"STOP! Stop calling me dear! You are so disgusting to even approach me! I…" I said, tears falling down. "You can't do this to Percy."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Aunty Em whispered.

"No," I said back. "He's not. But…he means something to me."

I soon calmed down, and Aunty Em was brushing my hair. We became friendly after she explained that she had to work for him, or else she would pay the ultimate price.

"When you walked in this door," Aunty Em said. "I needed to alert you. But you already cracked the code to find him."

"Aunty Em…have you ever considered escape?" I asked, curiosity building over my mind.

"Don't dare work for him…ever," Aunty Em explained. "He is the nastiest boss I had ever met!"

"Escape. Escape with us…Aunty Em, I can't leave you."

"Annabeth," Aunty Em said, tears glistening in her eyes. "You don't know how much your parents were here. I wish…I just wish I could be the old happy woman who would have tea with your mother and secretly grill hamburgers for your father. I was waiting to see you…I was indeed. You…Annabeth Chase…is going to prove righteous. Don't be greedy about things."

"I promise," I whispered.

"Good," she said, tying a rubber band on my hair.

"Pony-,"

"This isn't a pony-tail dear," she said. "This is a braid."

"A braid?" I asked. "I had never seen myself with braids-,"

"You look exactly like your mother," she said, smiling at me. "She always used to wear on a braid. You have the eyes of your father, and the hair of your mother. You look absolutely beautiful…"

"Thank you," I whispered. "Escape-,"

"I can't…and I can never. Someday…if you can, save me. And make Professor Jack pay for what was wrong!"

I nodded. Then, Aunty Em told me to go out.

"Disconnect the tracker device immediately," she whispered before I left, dragging Percy on my shoulder. "He tracks YOU with that file."

I nodded, and hurried out the door. I went into the isolated building, and realized what the real quest was about.

Save this school.

I saw Percy moan, and I whispered in his ear, "Percy Jackson…I…"

He was silent.

"I like you," I whispered. And I blushed automatically. What were those words? But I really liked him…I really did.

"You what?" I heard a faint voice say. I turned at him, who stared at me directly on the eyes. Shoot!

"Percy, you okay?" I ask. Nice Annabeth. He won't notice…

"Was I dreaming? Sorry…it's nothing," Percy said, blushing.

"Okay," I said. "You're awake. That's good…"

"Thought you would be whining that I woke up. You hate me…"

"I don't," I whispered back. Shoot.

"Oh," he said. "Let's go-,"

"We're not going," I whispered.

"Annabeth…I am really sorry to ask this…but can you hold my hand?"

I froze. Did he really ask me to hold his hand. He put his hand out, and I stared at his hands. Did he really ask?

"Sorry," he said. "If you feel uncomfortable-,"

"I'm fine," I said, holding his hand quickly. This is so stupid of me. I'm surprised by myself!

"Okay," he said. "Annabeth…are you okay?"

"Right," I said. "We have to disconnect and leave quick."

"Disconnect what and what?" he asked.

I grabbed the backpack hastily, opening the flap of the laptop and clicking onto the files.

It took me a lot of minutes to just disconnect the file. It was so hard. It was blocked with security, and I can see his tactics on the technology. I was so tired, and finally when I did, I told Percy to run.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry for being a burden. I always make you save me…and I'm sorry."

I cried. Not in pain, but in real emotions towards him. I was so stupid. I wiped away my tears, and I can see his face stare at me. What's wrong with me? Why am I the one looking at his face and stuff? Why am I such a foolish idiot?

"Annabeth-,"

"Sorry," I whispered. "Anyways…let's go."

"We're not going," Percy said. He grasped my hands.

"We have to," I whispered back. "And…we need to do something else."

"What?" Percy asked.

"We have to start the real quest. We have to…we have to actually venture out and follow Professor Jack. And we have to save Aunty Em-,"

"Don't save her! She's evil-,"

"She's not! Don't say that. There's seriously no time to explain, we have to go. We have to retrieve information, and hand him to the police!"

"Annabeth-,"

"Just go!" I scooted him towards the door. And we went. He held my hands, and weirdly, so did I. I don't know if I had ever hugged him, but I wanted to so badly. I wanted to hug him, and hold his hand every day. But of course, my "reputation" in his world isn't that…you know…amazing. I stared down at the floor as we walked the street.

"Annabeth…I know where he's going to go," Percy whispered.

"What are you-,"

"I remember Aunty Em's words. She gave me a code!" Percy whispered excitedly.

"What are you-,"

"I'll tell you later. Let me lead you to the area," I said. "Well…at least for tomorrow. For now, we have to buy you a gown, and me a tuxedo."

"Excuse me?"

"He's going to the party of spies! She gave me a hint, emphasizing the p when she asked me for pies. She emphasized o by asking 'are you okay?'. And she emphasized the s in spies by saying 'Scooby Doobie Doo!"

"Awesome," I said. "You did a great accomplishment Seaweed Brain…for the first time!"

"Thanks," he said. And soon we went towards a grand mall, having sales. It was Christmas, and it was lovely decorated. We passed by a store, and I stared at the money.

"Annabeth, the money-,"

"I can take care of that," she said, digging inside her boots. She took out her credit card, and smiled.

"Mr. Walker gave this to me before I would leave," she explained. "Food, emergencies, or even something to plot our plan…you name it!"

"Whoa," Percy exclaimed.

"I know right?" I replied back. We went to the tuxedo store, which we quickly picked out. Then, we came towards my shop, where I'd be buying my dress.

"NO pink," I exclaimed.

"Alright, alright, alright!" Percy said. "How about this?"

And he led me towards a dress that was pale green. It was beautiful, plain but attractive. I liked it so much. No sequins or jewels perched on the dress. It was just stylish, and of course, spectacular.

"I like this," I said.

"Go to the fitting room, and wear the dress," Percy said. I went in, and dressed up. When I came out, I stared at the mirror, and all I saw was Percy's awed face.

"You look…you look quite beautiful," Percy said.

"Thanks," I said, blushing so hard. "How much does it cost?"

"$23, sweet!" Percy exclaimed.

"I know right? Your tuxedo costed…"

"30…they're expensive!" I exclaimed.

"They are. You got a REALLY good discount," I exclaimed.

"Stop," he whispered. "We got to go."

"What?"

"We got to go!" he exclaimed. "I forgot…it was today!"

And after hastily giving cash to the cash register, we ran off, I following Percy to the place that Professor Jack would be seen…

Sup everybody! I planned to you know...give you guys double the chapter today because I felt so bad not updating as much, so yeah. Anyways, thank you all for your supportive reviews!