Oh, and here is a link to that photo I mentioned, a classmate who looked like a double to Alexandra Daddario, the girl who played Annabeth in the Percy Jackson film. Don't worry, it's not a virus, just a link to my photobucket account.

i78 . photobucket . com/ albums / j98 / AWB_2006/ twinsalmost. jpg

Just remove the spaces.

Also, thank you, dear reviewers who reviewed that last chapter, StoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, C-Nuggets N.L, Deviant1 UK, yfit, past Decembers, readingrox101, and last but not least, filmyfurry. I greatly appreciate all reviews, and rest assured, I see and read each one.

Oh, and if you like this chapter, when you're done reading, leave a review! :)

Percy

I remembered everything. Not just the foggy stuff, I remembered everything. Like life was a film, and I could mentally rewind it and pause. I could remember that night I offered Annabeth the apples, I remembered the blinding light when Hera kidnapped me… all of it. It's an amazing feeling, to go to sleep partially amnesiac after eating a golden apple, and wake up remembering everything.

Other than that, I was perfect. No morning soreness, tiredness, no urge to stay in bed, just a dry feeling in my throat. I found some fruit juice in the minifridge and poured myself a tall glass, downing it quickly before slowly lying back down and pulling the covers up. I was careful, but she woke up anyway.

I smiled instinctively when I saw her roll over.

"How do you feel?" I asked, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

"Wonderful." She grinned, leaning over and kissing me back. "You don't even have morning breath." I didn't correct her.

"We'll have to send a thank you to Z, tell him he gives good presents." I joked. "I didn't think it would be that great."

"One step below invincible." Annabeth murmured. "I wish I had done this first time you offered."

"I remember it, now." I said quietly. "I remember all of it. Everything that's ever happened to me." Annabeth grinned and hugged me.

"I can to." She sounded amazed. "Little details, tiny things… it's easy."

"The apples." I decided. "They must make your memory perfect, too."

"No kidding, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth laughed. She sobered when she noticed the time on my bedside clock. "Uhh… Chiron won't be happy we're breaking rules. I didn't mean to fall asleep here."

"He won't mention it." I assured her. "With Mr. D. away, he'll just be glad we're alive."

"Maybe he won't, but my siblings will." Annabeth moaned, getting up.

"Going to tell them you're immortal now?" I asked curiously, remembering the taste of the apple.

"Chiron yes, everyone else, no." Annabeth found her socks under my bed. "That is, if you're telling him."

"I think we should." I agreed, browsing through my dresser, knowing exactly what was in each and every drawer. "He kind of deserves to know."

"We should get together with him and a few of my siblings later today, decide on a team." Annabeth changed the topic. "You know, for when the Argos II is ready."

"Better idea. Let's skip camp, go see a movie, eat in fancy restaurants, all that stuff." I proposed. "And I need to go see my Mom, let her know I'm not dead." Annabeth smiled faintly.

Tell Chiron. That wasn't quite necessary.

"Di Immortales!" Chiron uttered as soon as he got near me. Several other campers turned, and he quickly recovered. "It is truly wonderful to have you back, Percy." He patted me on the shoulder, acting fairly normal. For a centaur. The other campers went back to their meals, and he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You and Annabeth the Big House, ten minutes after the meal's over." He trotted off. I sighed and poked at my fruit and whole wheat raisin bran, wishing for something sugary.

I loitered around near the front of the Big House until I saw Annabeth coming near.

"You too?" She asked. I nodded, and we kinda fell into step, like two pieces of a puzzle clinking together.

Or two soldiers on their way to be executed.

"Chiron." I greeted him, carefully clicking the door shut behind us. He turned away from the fireplace, now in his wheelchair, looking like a grave old professor.

"Apples of Immortality." He stated. I nodded. "You stole two apples, and ate them."

"What's the point of stealing them if you don't eat it yourself?" I wondered. Annabeth smirked at my comment.

"Considering that Zeus and Hera are already not on good terms with you, did you consider that stealing apples might shorten your life instead of prolonging it?" Chiron inquired.

"How exactly could you tell?" Annabeth interrupted. "I didn't do anything differently, and we look just the same."

"Trust me, it's easy to recognize if you know what it is." Chiron shook his head. "I do trust that you will refrain from informing others about this?"

"Oh, yeah." I agreed quickly. Annabeth nodded. Chiron looked like he wanted to start lecturing us, but he changed his mind.

"Have you two decided on the team you'll be taking with on the Argos II?" He asked. "Leo Valdez estimates it will be finished in four days." We hadn't, but Annabeth probably had given it thought. She replied easily enough.

"Leo and a few of his siblings, as crew." Annabeth started. "Five of my siblings. Piper McLean and one other Aphrodite girl, as negotiators."

"At least eight Ares fighters." I joined in. "And six or seven Apollo archers."

"We can't risk the Romans being bold enough to try to take us prisoner." Annabeth picked up. "I spoke with Vincent, in Ares. They've got flash grenades and tear gas, if we need less than lethal force. If lethal… well, they're covered there too, assault rifles and 40mm grenade launchers. Apollo has sonic arrows, great for crowd control."

"I was afraid of this…" Chiron muttered. "You're supposed to form an alliance, but you're preparing to kill them. Exactly why the gods separated the two camps in the first place... to much bloodshed."

"Sic vis pacum parrabellum." Annabeth said in Latin. "If you want peace, prepare for war."

"So, the point is to make peace, but be ready to win a fight if they don't want to?" Will asked. We were all in my cabin, around the main table—me, Annabeth, Will Solace, and Vincent. To my relief, neither of the two said anything about me and Annabeth seeming different.

"Yeah." Annabeth nodded, sipping an icy Dr. Pepper. "Me, Percy, and Piper will be in charge of negotiations. You guys will be there so they don't get any ideas."

"Full tactical gear, heavy weapons?" Vincent questioned, looking mildly bored. "That is, max intimidation? We can do that."

"Great." Annabeth finished up the little meeting. "You'll each be in charge of your own teams. Make sure to pick well."

"Clarisse is the head counselor of Ares." Will pointed out, taking a sidelong glance at Vincent.

"She'll be in charge of camp defense while we're gone." Annabeth replied evenly. "And, really, she's a little too easy to tick off for this mission."

"Hence why I'm going." Vincent smirked, heading towards the door. "I'll give my guys notice, we leave in four days." He gave a short laugh. "Four days… we could drive there and take over their camp in that amount of time."

"But we don't know who the seven demigods in the prophecy will be, exactly." I said cautiously. "So, we can't really kill anyone."

"Like that'll happen." Will muttered. "You do know that if the Romans decide to attack, there will be casualties, right? Either on our side or theirs."

"With any luck, they won't shoot." Annabeth said. She drummed her fingers on the table. "They're military trained, legion-focused, not like us. We train for fighting at the individual level. They'll be acutely aware of how any actions will affect the unit, and their commanding officers will be hesitant to start a war." I smiled—she was smart as ever. Well, she literally was a brainchild from Athena's divine thoughts, so I guess that was the normal level of brilliance for her.

"Good to know." Vincent nodded.

"You nervous? About going back there?" I asked her, interrupting my cabin's new TV and the movie that was playing.

"Yes." She admitted, shifting around so she could look me in the face. "It's a little odd… but I don't feel as brazen as I did on our other quests. I want to be more careful." She hesitated for a moment. "I am scared, Percy."

"More to lose." I realized. "All those 'life's short,' sayings don't apply so much now."

"Nope. We're not kids anymore, not so bold." She smiled faintly. "We've got quite a lot of time, you know. We'll be able to build, to change things…"

"Assuming we don't die horrible demi-god style deaths." I joked. "Poisoned, or eaten by dragons…"

"Don't say that stuff." Annabeth elbowed me, but since we were side-by-side, she couldn't get much force. I laughed. "You know what it says in the Bible? 'The power of life and death is in the tongue.' By saying something will happen, you make it more likely that it could."

"Kind of weird, for you to be quoting the Bible when our parents are gods." I remarked.

"The Olympians and God are completely different." Annabeth explained. "The existence of one does not disprove the existence of the other." She had a point.

"Let's skip camp tomorrow." I proposed, changing the subject. "Go walk through Central Park, see a movie, eat a fabulous restaurant… have a good day."

"I'm good on that offer." Annabeth grinned. She paused for a moment. "Oh, and I'm putting five thousand in precious metals. Silver and gold." I sighed.

"What?" Annabeth demanded, making me laugh.

"Just… your timing." I smiled. "I say we should spend all day tomorrow out together, and you suddenly bring up investments." She pushed me back with both hands and moved so that she was lying on top of me.

"Sorry." She grinned, her face now inches from mine. "Didn't mean to spoil the moment."

"Oh, it's fine." I assured her, now feeling very forgiving. "Good stuff, gold, silver."

"Yeah… with the dollar devaluing against foreign currencies, less gold being mined, silver's use in electronics, and China hoarding all the gold they can get, prices are going up." Annabeth said matter-of-factly, as if it was fascinating. I remembered when she was thirteen, and she had used to just be interested in architecture, but as years went by, making money became a subject of interest for her.

"Well, I'll make sure to follow your lead." I kissed her softly, relishing the moment. The warmth of her body, the taste of her lips…"Athena's always got a plan, right?" I felt her hand running through my hair, and I did the same to her, then broke the kiss and went down her neck, putting a trail of kisses down to her collarbone.

"Always, Seaweed Brain." She said, her voice a little huskier than usual. I paused for a moment, looking at her face, her stormy gray eyes…

"You're perfect, you know that?" I asked. "Like, completely. Not a single flaw, anywhere." I kissed the corner of her mouth as it pulled up into a smile.

"Back at you, Percy." She whispered...

That was the end of the discussion for the night.