SORRY FOR THE WAIT LIFE IS DEMANDING. Oh and it sucks too. Going through a bit of a rough patch… story of my life though.

This chapter takes place at the beginning of the Last Olympian.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the song "Sparks Fly".

"I'm sure everything with be fine Silena," I said as reassuringly as I could.

The beautiful daughter of Aphrodite looked over at me and smiled weakly. "Do you really think so?" she asked hopefully, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear. Everyone else in the room looked at me with curiosity, eager to hear my opinion on the mission.

"Absolutely," I said with as much confidence I could muster. "Percy and Charlie are both highly trained and capable demigods- blowing up the Princess Andromeda should be a piece of cake for those two."

Silena looked at me in relief. "You're right," she said, exhaling to calm herself. "I'm worrying too much, aren't I?"

"I think so," I said, smiling convincingly.

"Right," said Silena, standing up. "I'm going to go for a walk."

"Okay. We'll let you know when they're back," I told her. She smiled gratefully at me and walked out of the Big House, visibly more at ease then before.

"So," said Clarisse La Rue, raising her eyebrows at me. "You really think Percy and Beckendorf have this mission in a bag?"

"Absolutely not," I said wearily, sitting back in my chair. Everyone else seemed to deflate a bit, looking worried again.

I had lied to Silena, but I simply couldn't tell her the truth. It was a dangerous mission- incredibly dangerous, borderline insane. But we couldn't pass it up; all of Luke's forces in one convenient, easily destroyable location where no mortals could witness the destruction of hundreds of mythical creatures. Luke had practically painted a huge target on the back of the Princess Andromeda.

And we had sent Percy. Of all people.

Not that I didn't have faith in him. I did, really, but I had no idea what tricks Luke had up his filthy sleeves or which god was plotting to kill Percy at the moment. Really, the odds were always against him.

Sighing, I fidgeted in my chair around the ping pong table as the other counselors talked quietly. My eyes had been doing a strange little dance, flicking between the top of Half-Blood Hill and the clock on the wall anxiously.

"You okay, Annabeth?" asked Katie kindly, breaking my spell.

"Oh, yeah," I said lamely. "I'm just worried about him." Katie raised her eyebrows at me. "I mean... them."

"No, you meant him," she said pointedly. "As in Percy."

"Them," I emphasized, slightly irritated.

"Percy," said Katie triumphantly.

"I meant them, I'm worried sick about them both!" I snapped angrily.

"Okay!" said Katie, looking startled at my outburst. "Fine, you're worried about both of them. Calm down."

"I'm calm," I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh sure, an ocean of serenity," said Travis, who had just seated himself next to Katie. "You look on the cusp of nirvana."

"Shut up, Travis," I grouched.

"She was nicer when Silena was here," whispered someone from the back of the room, earning them a first rate death glare from yours truly.

"Whatever," I grumbled, standing up. "I'm going to get some air," I declared to the room at large, and traipsed out of the Big House and onto the rolling lawns of Camp Half-Blood.

Why did I even bother fighting it anymore? I knew I liked Percy. In fact, I had liked him for several years, but my brain had gotten in the way of my heart, so naturally I had been the last to know of this hormonal phenomena. Well, last to know... besides Percy. That kelp head was as clueless as ever. For once, I was grateful for his blindness. It would be the epitome of embarrassment for me if he ever found out that I liked him.

And just why did I like him? I had no idea. He was exactly the opposite of a child of Athena, couldn't do math to save his life, had no appreciation for art, obviously didn't feel the same way about me, and was the kind of reckless that should send me running... not that I'd get very far.

Oh yeah, and he had a thing for the red head wonder, Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

In other words, I had no business having a crush on him in the first place. But… it was just wrong enough to make it feel right. There was something about Percy that kept me coming back for more, something that haunted me when he wasn't around... I somehow couldn't imagine being without him. When I thought of my life after the war was over (if I lived that long) I couldn't help but think that we'd grow up and...

What, get married?

I pushed the thought away. I wasn't some giggly girl who fantasized about her wedding, much less who she would marry. But in all honesty... I currently couldn't fathom growing old and living my life without a certain Seaweed Brain next to me. It was always him and I through think and thin, wars and family feuds... wars that were family feuds... there was just something about him that kept me captivated like a firework show. My mind simply forgot to remind me that he was a bad idea.

I froze mid step in front of the sand volleyball court, horrified with myself.

I had just compared Percy to a firework display.

Shaking my head vigorously, I resumed walking.

I really need help. I'm morphing into a lovesick Aphrodite girl.

That lovely thought was interrupted by the golden sound of the conch horn from the beach.

They were back.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I broke into a jog, trying to outrun the mobs of campers that were already beginning to form.

"Percy's back!"

"He's saved the day!"

"Maybe he brought souvenirs!"

Pushing his way through the swarms was Chiron, whose hooves were incentive enough to convince the crowd to part for him. I stuck behind him as we made put way to the dining pavilion where Percy and Connor stood waiting.

There faces were grim. I knew immediately something was wrong, and I had no doubt it involved Beckendorf's absence.

"Percy!" called Chiron as we approached, and I had to run again to keep up with his centaur strides. "Thank the gods. But where..."

I dashed up the stairs into the pavilion, and Percy and I locked eyes. I tried to ignore the wild thumping in my chest, suddenly very aware that my curly blonde hair was a ratty mess and I was wearing an old faded and ripped camp shirt.

I wanted to ask him something more civil, like how his summer was, but I figured if there was ever a terrible time to flirt, this was it. Besides, I was pretty sure that I knew the answer was 'Pretty freaking awful' so I didn't peruse that notion.

I settled for something a little less romantic. "What happened?" I asked roughly, grabbing his arm. "Is Luke-"

"The ship blew up," he said tersely. He looked as though he had aged ten years in his eyes. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where-"

Silena Beauregard pushed her way through the crowd, her usually perfect hair uncombed.

"Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around as though he was hiding behind Percy.

Percy glanced at Chiron helplessly, who cleared his throat hesitantly.

"Silena, my dear, lets talk about this at the Big House-"

"No," whispered Silena, who looked at me in horror. "No. No."

She began to cry, her body convulsing quietly as we were all stunned to silence. We'd already lost so many, and with Charlie gone, it was like a major piece of camp was missing. And despite my joy to see Percy alive and well, a tear trekked its way down my cheek as I remembered all the good times I'd had with Charles with a pang.

Finally, Clarisse came forward, her blood red armor nudging people out of the way. She scowled at everyone, but her expression softened as she wrapped an arm around Silena.

"Come on, girl," she said soothingly. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

I decided not to point out that hot chocolate wouldn't be very refreshing on that particular blazing summer day, but stayed behind with Percy and Chiron as everyone else wandered off dejectedly.

I wiped a tear from my cheek and looked at Percy, who had a pained expression on his face.

"I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain," I said automatically, without thinking.

Damn, I'm good at flirting... not.

Luckily Percy didn't seem to pick up on my lack of tact. "Thanks," he said. "Me too."

"I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy," said Chiron gravely, putting a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Will you tell us what happened?"

Percy grimaced, but told us the story from start to finish, including the details of the mission and a strange dream of his. When Percy mentioned a spy, Chiron and I exchanged an uneasy glance—we had been worried about something like this—but Percy continued to talk without noticing. When he finished, Chiron exhaled deeply and looked down at the valley.

"We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters."

"Poseidon mentioned another threat," Percy said. "Bigger then the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream."

Chiron and I exchanged looks again.

"We will discuss that also," promised Chiron.

"One more thing," said Percy nervously, taking a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy."

My breath caught in my throat—after all these years of shielding Percy from the prophecy, we were just going to throw it all at him? I looked at Chiron, whose shoulders had sagged, but did not look especially surprised.

"I've dreaded this day," said Chiron. "Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth—all of it. Let's go to the attic."

The attic. I willed myself to turn around and trudge to the Big House, not at all looking forward to the task ahead of me. I'd known the contents of the Great Prophecy since I was ten, and there was a reason that we generally didn't discuss what it said. And there was definitely a reason that we hadn't told Percy; Percy, my best friend, who was about to be informed of his closely-looming death. Not exactly the romantic setting that I had been fantasizing about for the majority of the summer.

We didn't speak on our way to the Big House. We climbed the spiral staircase in silence, where a ladder to the attic dangled ominously. Percy licked his lips in anticipation, no doubt trying to prepare himself for the mysterious prophecy that had marked his life for so long.

Chiron surveyed us both with sad eyes, before addressing me. "You know where it is. Bring it down, please."

I nodded. "Come on, Percy."

As soon as it became just Percy and I, I relaxed. I was on my guard for the rest of the world, but by now I knew that with Percy it was no good. Light from the setting sun filtered into the attic, casting odd shadows and making the entire scene eerier then the attic typically was. I snuck a glance back at Percy, whose features looked even more enchanting as the lights went down. Pulling myself together, I turned around and picked my way across the room toward the Oracle.

Percy was less focused, and took his time inspecting the generations of artifacts that cluttered the room. He picked up a mangled sword gingerly. I recognized it from one of the battles down in the Labyrinth.

"You remember Briares throwing those boulders?" he asked, grinning his adorable lopsided grin that made my stomach do intestinal cartwheels and sent sparks flying—

Snap out of it.

I tried not to smile, but to no avail. "And Grover causing a Panic?"

We locked eyes. He stood there in front of me, close enough to touch. As a vision of our kiss at Mount St. Helens flickered in my memory, I hope he wasn't close enough to see what I was thinking of.

I cleared my throat. "Prophecy," I said curtly, turning away as I collected myself.

"Right," said Percy, carefully replacing the scimitar. "Prophecy."

We walked over to the window, where the fading light barely illuminated the rickety three-legged on which the Oracle was perched. She was looking as lovely as ever, her black hair sticking up in shaggy tufts against her skull, her withered and waxy skin stretched thinly across her bones. I had mentally nicknamed her 'Rachel'.

No relation, of course, to Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Nevertheless, I kept my pet name to myself.

We stopped at a respectful distance from her, and stood in silence as we both processed the moment. Here we were, after all of these years, about to realize Percy's destiny, which happened to involve the reaping of his soul and the entire fate of the world.

And the only thing my brilliant mind could think about how badly I wanted him to kiss me. To just drop everything now, forget about the Gods and the Titans and the rest of camp and to kiss me in the pouring rain. To just erase all of the pain. To turn his green eyes on me and whisper something slow—

"I never understood this," whispered Percy slowly.

Not what I meant.

"What?" I asked, biting my lip and looking at him, trying to act natural.

"Why it's a mummy."

"Percy, she didn't use to be a mummy. For thousands of year the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Chiron told me she was like that fifty years ago," I said, gesturing to the mummy. "But she was the last."

"What happened?"

I opened my mouth to tell him, but I couldn't—memories of Luke and his mother were not something that I wanted to discuss. "Lets just do our job and get out of here."

Percy looked apprehensively at the Oracle. "So what now?"

I walked up to the mummy and, taking a deep breath, turned my palms upward toward the rafters. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy." I gingerly removed one of her necklaces, a native American pouch, careful to avoid contact with her leathery skin. I turned around to see Percy looking slightly dumbfounded as I opened the pouch and extracted a small roll of parchment.

"No way," said Percy. "You mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and its been right here around her neck?"

"The time wasn't right," I said thinly. "Believe me, Percy, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it."

As soon as I had said it, I realized that it probably wasn't the most comforting thing to say.

"Great," said Percy grimly. "Can I read it now?"

"Downstairs at the war council," I said. "Not in front of… you know." I eyed the oracle, whose features looked, if possible, even more disturbing in the fading light. It was definitely time to leave.

I followed Percy down the stairs to where the war council and his fate awaited, pushing away any lingering thoughts about kissing in the pouring rain on the sidewalk. We had the world to save.

Thank you, please leave a review!

I know that I type this all the time, but since I'm just really in a rut right now I could use some internet love. Feel free to PM me about life or the story, and be sure to leave a review. I live for reviews. Much love.