I am so sorry I was gone for so long. I've been busy as usually. Also, I was sick for a couple of weeks, but I'm back now.

Disclaimer: I do not on Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Percy's POV

"You have a quest, will you accept it?" Chiron asked.

I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly, then at Annabeth who gave me an intense stare as if saying, "You know what you have to do."

I was actually thinking about saying no for the fun of it, but instead I said yes.

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, and Chiron looked surprised that I said yes with no questions asked.

"I'll just go upstairs and see the Oracle then." I said. I stood up.

"How do you know so much, Percy?" Chiron asked. I really need to learn to shut up sometimes.

"Uh, I have an amazing teacher." I smiled at Annabeth. Her cheeks turned slightly red.

Chiron turned towards Annabeth, "Is that true?"

"Yes sir, I taught him everything he needed to know." Annabeth said.

"Well that's good. Percy, you may now go visit the Oracle."

The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things—severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, and various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.

By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was a human female body shriveled to a husk. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if marbles had replaced the real eyes; she had been dead a long, long time. No matter how many times I come here, she still freaks me out.

She sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trapdoor, but it slammed shut. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

I took a deep breath, "What is my destiny?"

The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his friends.

Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: You shall he betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

Finally, Eddie, our building super, delivered the worst line of all: And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

The figures began to dissolve. The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.

Well that was a delightful visit.

"Well?" Chiron asked me.

I sat down next to Annabeth at the pinochle table. "The Oracle said I would go west, and face the god who has turned, and find what was stolen, and see it safely returned . . ." I didn't get to finish because Annabeth interrupted me.

"That's it. The Oracle didn't say anything else. Right Percy?" Annabeth said.

"Yup that's it."

After are little group chat, we went to go pack our bags. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn and instead brought some extra clothes and a toothbrush. I shoved them in a backpack Grover had found for me.

The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. Chiron gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and her long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green Rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus in a chauffeur's uniform.

"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, err, well, keep an eye on things."

"Percy, this is a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one." He handed me a black pen. I immediately took off the cap and it grew larger and heavier in my hands. In half a second, I was holding the sword I loved so much, Riptide.

I heard footsteps behind us.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you." I frowned.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."

He handed me the sneakers, and I scowled. I remembered how much trouble these shoes gave us in the future.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad, although I didn't pity him.

"Thank you so much for these amazing shoes! I am sure they will help us in our quest! I love them so much!" I said with sarcasm. Annabeth hit me upside the head for doing that.

"Listen, Percy ..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?" Luke smiled.

We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who reluctantly hugged back.

I picked up the flying shoes and gave them to Annabeth. She asked, "What am I suppose to do with these?"

"Well, we are definitely not taking it with us, so find a way to get rid of it."

"Why can't we bring it with us?" Grover asked.

"The shoes are cursed. You can try it on now, but that's the last time you're using it." I said.

"How do you know it's cursed?" Grover asked.

"Yeah, Percy, how do you know it's cursed?" Annabeth asked with her arms crossed.

"I just have this feeling that it's bad news. All it is going to bring is trouble." I said trying to sound convincing.

Grover must have believed me because he put on the shoes. "Maia!" he shouted.

Grover was flipping and turning as he went flying into the air. "Aaaaa!" Grover yelled as he went tumbling towards Thalia's tree.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

Annabeth and I went running after him. When we reached Grover and Thalia's tree, we were too late. Grover slammed into the branches, and one of the branches hit him right in between the legs.

I winced, "Ouch!"

Annabeth called up to him, "Grover! Are you okay?"

We heard rustling in the tree before Grover answered, "Yeah, I'm fine, but I am stuck!

"Oh great! What do we do now?" Annabeth said.

"Uh, should we make a human ladder?"I grinned stupidly.

Annabeth looked at me and said, "That is a great idea!" I laughed.

Grover called down again, "Guys, I got free, but I don't know how to get down."

"Jump!" I yelled at him.

"Yeah, we'll catch you."Annabeth agreed.

"We will?"

"Of course we will!"

Annabeth and I put our arms out. "On the count of three. One! Two! Three!" Grover jumped from the tree.

At the last second, I pulled my arms back. Grover landed right on top of Annabeth, sending them both to the ground with a thud. I started laughing. Annabeth pushed Grover off of her and stood up. She faced me and looked pissed off.

"Should I run?" I asked.

"Yes!" Grover said while standing up.

I took off sprinting down the hill with Annabeth right behind me.