Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable, Rick Riordan does.
EDIT: Now with paragraphs :P This is just a edited version!
Annabeth felt as if she was squeezed through some sort of a tube, managing to land on the ground, directly on her back. Disoriented, she got up and looked around. Everything was out of place: candles were floating in the air, talking hats were appearing out of nowhere, and it seemed as they were having some sort of a spelling contest. A badger, an eagle, a snake, and a lion were playing chess near a river, all wearing glasses and pointed hats. She shook her head a few times, even rubbed her eyes, but nothing seemed to help; she was awake. Suddenly, the ground opened up, and a horrifying baby head stuck up. It had scratches, bruises and cuts everywhere, and Annabeth could only watch petrified, as it crawled closer. She let out a scream, and tried to turn around. Sure, she could fight Hydras, Echidna, Hellhounds and even Furies, but this baby was scaring her. An arm grabbed her shoulders, and she kicked out, her foot collided with something soft, followed by an "oof!" sound. She reached out and turned on her lamp on her nightstand. On the ground, Percy was lying, looking strangely uncomfortable, until she realized where exactly she had kicked him.
"Oh my gods! Perce, I'm so... Wait! What are you doing here?" She swung around in her bed, got a hold of his arm, and yanked him roughly up.
Percy stood a little unsteady, before managing to gain balance, and looked sheepishly at her. "Why, am I not allowed to visit my favorite girlfriend?"
"I am your only girlfriend, you dolt! Or at least, I hope FOR YOU that I am." She smiled, while mock-eyeing her knife stationed on the nightstand.
"Yes, yes. Well, I feel my presence is unwanted, so I'll go off." He turned around, and quickly dashed out of the room, leaving Annabeth thoroughly confused. 'What just happened?' she thought to herself. Weighing the option of either getting out of bed or catching more sleep, the first one got to her, mainly because her curiosity overruled her being tired. She quickly pulled off her pajamas, and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Putting her hair roughly in a ponytail, she walked out of Cabin six, and darted towards the big house. She was sure that Percy would be there; it was, after all, half past six, which meant breakfast. The cold, damp grass tickled her ankles, and it sent chills up her spines.
When she got to the big house, she decided to go inside, not because she didn't like to be outside, but those dark clouds promised nothing but rain. When she got closer to the door, she could hear a faint whispering from inside of the big house. She leaned closer, but the whispering stopped. Her brain weighed the choices she had: if there was an attack from inside of camp, then she should probably alert Chiron or Mr. D, but if it was just a prank, she could (and would) stop it before it got out of hand. She sneaked around the house, and peeked inside from one of the windows. It didn't seem as anybody was there, and that was when, she carefully, and as silent as possible, opened the window and slipped inside. Suddenly there was an outline of a person near the door. She took her chance, rolled on the balls of her feet, and jumped. She reached for her dagger, the one she always carried around her, everybody knew she was useless with a bow and arrow, and smashed her foot into the small of the back of the intruder, effectively knocking him/her down. There was a sharp intake of air from the person below her.
"Who are you?" She hissed near the person's ear, focusing her dagger right above the head, taking no chances in case of a surprise attack.
"Damn it, Annabeth! Get off of me!" Annabeth gasped, the voice belonged to no one else, but Thalia Grace.
"Oh my gods, Thals! I'm so, so, so sorry! But what the hell are you doing hiding in the big house? You were lucky that I decided not to attack and ask questions later."
Thalia snorted, wobbling a little when she stood up. "Oh yeah, if what you just did wasn't attacking, I wouldn't want to be near you when you decide to attack."
Annabeth blushed, and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to steady her further. Suddenly the room was surrounded by twenty shadows, all taking a deep breath before screaming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Annabeth blinked once, she blinked twice, starring fondly at the group. The lights went on, and she saw almost every camper.
"Wow... Thanks guys!" She said quietly, she was still recovering from the thought of being overpowered by twenty people six thirty.
Percy was one of the people closest, so naturally he congratulated her personally first. Adding a sweet kiss on the cheek, he made room for everyone else who wished to pass their congratulations to the birthday girl. After a little while of "Your Welcomes" and "Thank Yous" she got a little while to eat breakfast.
Soon it was time to open their presents. It was not a camp tradition to give each other presents, but they had decided that a little boost of happiness always helped the camp mood, so presents were bought anyway. She knew of that, but the stack this year clearly surprised her. There were almost 15 small and medium packages, all in different colors. She reached for the closest one, and saw that it was from her mom. A small card was stuck under the ribbons, and she carefully read the card first.
My dearest Annabeth,
You are seventeen already. Young, beautiful and unimaginably talented, both in the arts of wisdom, but also in the art of friendships. You know that I am proud of you, and I truly am. You have shown the whole Olympus not to challenge a daughter of Athena. Other than that, I shall try to Iris Message you soon, preferably today. The package that you are getting is a gift, with the help of Lord Hephaestus and Lady Iris, I have made so that it will be easier to communicate. It will be called a "Drachma necklace", and it works like the Iris messaging, just a faster and more secure way. You rub the drachma, call the name of which person you want to talk to, or what location. It also has a password function, so that it will not be possible for any who wish you harm to abuse it. To activate your password, rub the drachma twice and clearly state your wish for password. I hope it will be appreciated. Take care and stay safe.
Mother, Athena Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategies.
PS. Try not to stay to close to Perseus, I still think that he is a bad influence to you, my dear.
Annabeth snorted at the PS, but was nonetheless extremely pleased with the gift. She unwrapped the drachma, and put in on, making a note to remember setting a password.
She opened present after present. From Thalia, she got a small golden dagger and a holster to tie to your leg. From Percy she got a ring, after the pointed look she had sent him, he quickly reassured that it was NOT an engagement ring, nor a purity ring. Probably a disappointment to her Mother, she wished for her to stay "pure" for as long as possible. What did that make her now? Dirty? She mused inwardly, cracking a small smile. He explained that it was a relationship ring, supposed to bring luck and happiness. Inside was her and Percy's name. She kissed him for quite a while for that present, promising that she would wear it every time she dressed up.
From Nico, she got a book on architecture. She was thrilled for the present, already planning to bury her head in it at the first chance she got; she thanked Nico and added a quick kind of awkward hug. The rest of the presents were mostly books, and a few of them were makeup, obviously from the Aphrodite Cabin. She had also gotten a multi colorful bag with white beads sown on. She put everything in it, surprised how big it really was. Finally there was one last present back. It was small, way to girly and shocking pink, no doubt on her mind who it was from. She clenched her teeth, holding the package at least half a meter away from her body, and apparently, Travis and Connor thought this was hilarious. She opened the package, so she could barely skim, what was inside. She yelped and threw it away from herself, anything but that, she certainly hadn't expected that. How dared she? She thought angrily, and quickly checked that no one had noticed the little outburst. She quickly regained her composure, got up and picked the pink box of the floor, before sliding it into her new bag. Excusing herself for a short moment, she walked down towards the bathrooms. When there was a stall empty, she sneaked inside and opened her present of Aphrodite. Peeling the wrapper off, and shaking its content into the palm of her hand, she realized just what it was.
Aphrodite's 100% accuracy pregnancy test for when you are expecting a little demi-god.
She gritted her teeth again. What the Hell was wrong with this woman? Couldn't she get it through the thick skull of hers, that she wasn't pregnant? Probably not, she muttered to herself, the fumes from the hairspray had probably killed the Goddess' brain cells.
Weighing the pro's and con's, the final decision was to just take the damn test, proving every single person wrong. Taking the pregnancy test was easy enough, and after reading the instructions on the back, it said to wait 5-10 minutes for total accuracy. She put it in her pocket, but away from public view, and got back into the great hall. Just before entering, a hand was placed on her arm, twirling her around. Percy stood, casually leaned against a pole, looking, well, hot, for a lack of a better word.
"What up, Wise Girl? Did you fall into the toilet or what? We haven't seen the birthday girl for quite a while, Thalia was about to organize a rescue team." He said cheekily, earning himself a smack on the arm, and a glare.
"Well, I was just..." She wondered if she should tell Percy the truth. He deserved to know, didn't he? She took a calming breath. "Aphrodite gave me a pregnancy test for my birthday, can you believe it? Well, she has some crazy idea about me being pregnant, totally out spaced, right?"
"A pregnancy test? Well, is it a boy or a girl?" he said smiling; surely she was not pregnant.
"Haven't checked yet. Want to go down to the lake and check it there?" Annabeth thought the whole thing was rather ridiculous, but she couldn't wait to rub the smug smile away from Aphrodite's face.
"Sure, why not?"
They walked in comfortable silence down to the lake. When they got the edge, they took a hold of each other's hand.
"Are you ready to not be a father?" She asked him in a mock-serious tone.
"Yes." With that they drew the pregnancy test. They stared at the pregnancy test, then at each other and then back at the test. Annabeth let out a yelped, as if it had burned her fingers, and the pregnancy test flew into the lake.
"Yo-you don't reckon there's a chance it's wrong?" She asked shakily, her eyes following the slowly sinking test.
"I don't kn..." Percy got interrupted by a golden light, so powerful that they had to shield their eyes. As the light slowly dimmed, they blinked to erase the black spots dancing in front of their eyes.
Before them stood the most terrifying sight known to mankind. Athena, Goddess of Battle Strategies and Wisdom, was currently standing in front of the two demi-gods, dressed from head to toe in golden armor and a sword in hand. Her hair danced in the wind, and her stormy grey eyes literally stormed.
"Perseus Jackson, what a nice surprise." The Goddess said, sarcasm almost dripped from her voice. "How I shall enjoy cutting you into teeny, tiny pieces and feeding you two your daddy's fish."
Percy was not one to get scared, but an angry God or Goddess was never a pretty sight, it didn't help when the anger was directed at you. He gulped rather loudly, but took a step towards Athena, while pushing Annabeth half behind him. She huffed in annoyance, and got up to his sight, arms crossed.
"Nice to see you too, Mother." Her eyes were ice cold and piercing.
"Annabeth." She nodded shortly, indicating that she was still pissed; she turned her glare towards Percy once again. A wave roared, and Poseidon stepped out of the lake. He too looked angry, but more at Athena than at Percy or Annabeth.
"What do you think you are doing?" His trident in his hand, almost itched to be used as a weapon.
"I am trying to get it through your son's thick kelp brain that I am going to cut off his manhood and fit it to your darling fish." Athena seethed with anger, and so did Annabeth. She was tired of this discussion, and it was soon to be turned into a Ping-Pong match of insults between Athena and Poseidon.
"HEY! Would you two knock it off? Yes, I am unfortunately..." A hand shot over her mouth, and Percy looked warningly upon the sky. He put a finger to his lips, ssh-ing her.
"Percy is right; you never know who is listening. Come with me." Poseidon's angry façade was replaced by a friendlier smile, as he looked at his son.
Poseidon waved his trident, and a wave came rushing towards them, absorbing them in a dry whirlpool. The last to be heard was "THERE IS NO WAY I AM GOING TO SOME SEAFISH PALACE!" clearly from Athena, before all four were lost from sight.
TO BE CONTINUED *DUN DUN DUUUNNN*
Hey Guys, sorry for the evil cliffie ;( Be sure to leave a review, even if it is just a "MORE!" (I like suggestions though :} )
BTW I am answering reviews when I get back, 'cause I'm going to ATHENS on Sunday, and I'm back the next Friday.
Talk to you soon, XOXOX Luna the vamp
Beta: Hey!~ My name is Queen NekoChan, and I justhadto say something about this chapter. One, the first paragraph had me laughing like hell and thinking "WTF?", and two, the last part was HILARIOUS XD. Luna the vamp told me she was going to Athens a while ago, and I was sad.~ I WANNA GO TO ATHENS TOO!~ Anybody else crying because of the cliffhanger? Because I am. I want the next chapter!~ Lol, this is longer than the A/N XD. Bye!~