While Hazel tried to manipulate Deimos's memory, the rest of us tried to relax. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Just then, I got a phone call. The number was not one that I immediately recognized. After three dials, I realized that it was Mr. Molotov. I then answered.

"Hello? This is the number of Annabeth Chase, correct?"

"That's right."

"I have finished my process of elimination and I would like to call you for a final interview. When you do think you'll be available?"

I hesitated. He was all the way in New York City, while I was outside the city limits of San Francisco. It was December 24th, five weeks along. Percy was framed a week ago. So much happened in a single day it seems.

"Could you give me a week?"

"Oh, certainly. I'll give you two weeks due to the holidays. How about on Saturday, January 7th, at say, four o'clock?"

"Sure. That works."

"Great. I look forward to it. Have a good day."

He hung up, leaving me with a dreadful feeling.

"Annabeth, are you okay?" Percy asked.

I looked away sadly. "I would like to say yes, but I can't."

"What's the problem?"

"You remember me mentioning a guy named Mr. Molotov, right?"

"Yeah. Isn't he the guy who thought of hiring you to be an architect?"

"He is. In two weeks, he wants me to come back for a final interview. I'm feeling nervous. What if he doesn't hire me? What if he finds out of my pregnancy and fires me? I'm getting more irrational fears. How will I face the future like this?"

"I don't think that pregnancy would really be a factor in choosing whether or not to hire someone." Leo spoke.

"In some industries, yes." I corrected. "I don't know what they would do if they knew. Also, I can't let them find out. Not until I get some money into a savings bank."

Hazel walked into the room. "Why? Doesn't Percy have a job?"

"I had a job as a swim coach, but unfortunately, I got fired because someone drowned and I couldn't save them in time. This happened about a month before the framing." he answered.

"The framing? Oh right.. Athena." Leo muttered.

"Yeah. You know. Ever since then, I've been a jobless bum."

"Don't call yourself that, Seaweed Brain. It's not even your fault."

Hazel entered the room. "How did the mist manipulation go?" Jason inquired.

She sighed. "It failed. Deimos still remembers."

"Looks like it's up to me." Piper said.

She arose from the bench, got the keys and left.

"Well, if you're looking for a job, you could do what me and Piper have done; become vigilantes." Jason said to Percy.

"Vigilantes? What the heck is that?" Frank asked.

"A vigilante is a non-police officer who fights crime. Bounty hunters are a kind of vigilante. Vigilantism is a rather dangerous business, arguably more so than being a police officer." I answered. "Why did you guys never do anything else?"

"Well here's the thing. After Piper fell into a depression and attempted suicide because of the Curse of Camp Jupiter, I took her to see a therapist to try and get her back on her feet. Neither of us had jobs to pay the therapist, so we tried numerous occupations including servers, chefs, tour guides, cashiers and merchants. Unfortunately, none of them worked out for one reason or another. Then we saw a trio of men trying to rob a bank. Piper charged in, hating the feeling of not doing anything to help, and I followed her. The two of us defeated them. We got a lot of money from that one showdown, and we've been battling crime ever since. To prevent people from finding out our real names, we donned disguises and used the aliases of Sparky and Beauty Queen. Crime fighting has worked out surprisingly well for us. Occasionally, we encounter rogue demigods and monsters. It works so well, so why mess with the program?" Jason explained.

"Me and Calypso run our mechanic shop, which is currently managed by my most trusted employee, Mrs. Leer, while we're away." Leo chimed in.

"I've kinda shifted jobs from time to time." Frank added. "Right now, I'm a candy merchant, and I've been called for jury duty at least three times this year. And we all remember Hazel's a chef."

"Still, I'm nervous..." I said.

Piper exited the bone room. "No luck. Looks like we need a decoy."

She handed the keys back to Frank. "But where are we going to find a person who's willing to impersonate a god?"

We went outside and started thinking of campers we knew. Jacob, Larry, Bobby, Lelia, Octavian, and Hank were all dead, Gwen was on a quest to save Reyna, who was also dead but could be resurrected (assuming Gwen succeeds in her quest), and Nathan and Marcus were under the control of Diana.

"Looks like we have no choice but to ask Michael."

We asked him to help us, but he firmly refused. I sighed. We walked back to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus.

"Now what? We're out of comrades we know." Leo said.

"We could force a random stranger into doing it." Percy suggested.

Frank immediately responded, "No. I don't want us to abuse our power like Octavian did."

"Even then, we would have good reason for forcing a stranger to impersonate Piper's evil half-brother." Jason remarked.

Suddenly I heard a faint sound. "Hey, do you hear that? It sounds like screaming."

Frank looked around and behind him. "I don't hear anything."

The sound got louder and louder. "Ahh!"

"Oh now I hear it." Jason said.

"But where is it coming from?" Frank asked.

Suddenly we got our answer. Dakota was flying through the air. Jason tried to summon wind currents to prevent him from falling, but he fell on the ground at least 100 feet away from us. The impact knocked him out cold. Leo immediately grabbed him and took him to the Infirmary. While we waiting for him to wake up, Percy and Frank thought of an idea.

"Dakota. Dakota!" Jason exclaimed.

He opened his eyes. "Oh, my head. Where am I?"

"You're in Camp Jupiter's Infirmary."

"Camp Jupiter? I must leave immediately! I'm not supposed to be here!"

"Dakota, wait!" Hazel exclaimed.

He stopped. "I know me and Reyna banished you from the camp a couple years back." Frank said. "But we're willing to give you another chance if you do something for us. You won't be allowed to drink in the camp though."

Dakota remained neutral. "That's alright. I learned my lesson the hard way. What do you need me to do?"

"We need you to impersonate Deimos, the god of fear." I answered.

"Deimos? I think he's known as Metus in Roman mythology..." he muttered. "Sure, I'll do it."

We all looked at each other in amusement. "Really? No questions?" Jason asked.

"None. Just tell me what the plan is." Dakota answered.

We told Dakota of the plan. Piper and Hazel did a makeover of Dakota and made him look like Deimos. By the time they were done with him, Dakota had Deimos clothes on and he had his hair dyed black and Hazel used mist to make his eyes look brown (as Phobos had black eyes). We joined the trio in the lobby.

Jason clapped. "Well, well, well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say we're in the presence of a god."

"Now for another thing. Can you mimic his voice?" I asked.

"Well I heard some of Deimos grunts and growls while my stylists gave me a makeover. Let's see." He cleared his throat and spoke in a harsh, raspy voice, "Foolish mortals! You are in the presence of Deimos, and I know what you fear most."

"That wasn't half bad. If you can do that or better, we'll fool Phobos for sure!" Leo exclaimed.

I decided to go for a walk around the camp. Suddenly, an Iris-message appeared. It was from Malcolm.

"Hey Annabeth. Got any advice for us?" he asked. "We could really use it."

"What? Why, what's happening?" I asked in alarm.

"The entire camp is in chaos. You remember that secret council I mentioned?"

"You did. What about it?"

"Someone spied on our meeting and informed everyone about the upcoming disaster. This has caused tremendous panic and no one really knows what to do. Lou Ellen's magic is getting weaker. She's been defending us for three days now."

The barrier phased.

"The phasing... Is that because Lou's magic is getting weaker?"

His face turned grim. "It is. Rachael recited, 'When the barrier phases thrice, someone will pay the highest price.'"

"Oh gods... This is awful. Do you guys think you're ready for battle?"

"No one is ready. We're trying to prepare and get as many demigods as we can. Even those who haven't been here in years or were exiled. We've tried contacting Meg McCaffery, without much luck. Ella, Lou's sister, and only sibling, went out to find Alabaster C. Torrington."

"And the results?"

"She never came back. She either died or got lost, I don't know which."

"Annabeth? Is that you?" a voice asked.

Alyssa appeared with a black eye and several small scratches on her face.

I gasped. "Alyssa, what happened to you?!"

"I spied on the council. I thought their decision to hide the truth was a bad one, so I revealed the truth to everyone. Albert, who originally thought that telling everyone the truth was a good idea, hated me for doing that and we got into a cat fight. And this is the result." She started crying. "Why does everyone think I'm dumb? Why do they underestimate me?"

"Alyssa, you're not dumb." Malcolm said.

"He's right. You're being too hard on myself." I chimed in.

She sobbed. "I fear that I may have doomed the camp."

"It doesn't matter what was done. What matters is that we win this war. Everything will be alright." Malcolm said.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Albert asked.

"We must have faith. The gods will help us." Malcolm said.

"Mount Olympus is in shambles! The peace of Olympus is falling apart! We can't count on them to help us." Eric stated.

"How do you know that?" Henrietta asked.

Eric opened his mouth to say something and the barrier phased again. "That's once..." Albert said.

Then again. "That's twice..." Eric added.

And once more. "That's thrice." Malcolm said. The barrier collapsed as the war horn was blown three times. Malcolm and the rest of my half-siblings ran forth with the crowd. Except Alyssa.

"Annabeth... If this is the end, I want to thank you... For believing in me, when no one else did." She waved her hand through the rainbow, disconnecting me from the battle. I partially wished she hadn't done that, but at the same time, I didn't want to see my friends (or half-siblings) get hurt.

"Good luck... Little sister."

I sat by a tree. I prayed to Ares that my siblings and friends would survive and win the battle. I wanted to have faith in them, that they could win against Lamia and her forces, but I felt so sad. It felt like it was over. I didn't want to cry, but I felt stricken with sadness. A tear slid down my cheek.

Hazel approached me. "Hey Annabeth. Are you gonna join us for dinner?"

I looked at the sky. The sun was setting. "Oh, I didn't realize how late it was. I'll join you."

"Annabeth, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I didn't have the heart to tell her (or anyone for that matter) that Camp Half Blood was under attack. My friends had a battle to fight, and so did we. Tomorrow, we face Phobos in a hostage exchange. If something went wrong... I didn't want to think about it. I secretly hoped for the best.