Hey guys. This is probably the last chapter until I come back from vacation on September 5th. It's the longest chapter yet. I'm pissed cuz I left my phone at my cousin's house. Whatever. Anyways, here is the plot twist. When you're done reading I want to know your theories.

Chapter 24

3 months later; Late August

Percy: 25, Annabeth: 25, (Birthday's passed) Olivia: 4

Annabeth lounged in a beach chair. She wore a blue bikini, flip flops and a sunhat. She was trying to soak up the last bit of sun before summer was over. Percy on the other hand was swimming laps in the pool. They were in the backyard of Percy's home. Olivia walked over to Annabeth in her purple bathing suit.

Annabeth had noticed that Olivia didn't consider her a stranger anymore. She talked to her and didn't pretend that she didn't exist anymore. Annabeth and Percy's first project was done, but she was now Percy's official architect.

"Annabeth?" Olivia said. Percy was practicing laps in the pool.

"Yes, Olivia?" Annabeth sat up. She then examined herself. Her tan was even.

Olivia glanced to Percy then back to Annabeth. "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course," Annabeth replied. She moved over as Olivia sat beside her. She was glad Olivia wasn't all wet. Olivia leaned into Annabeth's side and Annabeth wrapped an arm around her.

At first they were just both silently watching Percy do his laps.

"I heard your bear died," Annabeth said.

Olivia sighed. "Yeah. Mrs. O'Leary ripped her."

"That's sad," Annabeth muttered.

"It was at grandma's house," Olivia continued.

"Your dad's mom?" Annabeth asked. She then mentally facepalmed. Obviously.

"Mhm," Olivia said. Her long black hair was in its natural state—curly. Sort of like Annabeth's. "That was when grandma showed me the picture."

"What picture?" Annabeth asked boredly.

Olivia glanced up at Annabeth then looked back down. "You're in the picture."

That caught Annabeth's attention. She looked at Olivia. "I'm in the picture?"

"Yeah," Olivia shrugged like it was no big deal. "I was only just born. And you were holding me like this." Olivia cradled her arms.

Annabeth narrowed her eyebrows. "What—where was this taken?"

Olivia shrugged. "You were wearing like a gown—"

"Hospital? A hospital gown?"

"I dunno."

"I don't—what?"

"Annabeth, it's not that hard."

"You're my mommy."

Annabeth stared at Olivia for a long moment. Then, "You think I gave birth to you?!"

"Shhh!" Olivia hushed. She then explained. "Grandma said don't tell anyone, especially daddy!"

"But—"

"Don't tell daddy!"

Annabeth sighed and pulled off her hat. Was this a joke?

"Grandma also said my mommy died. But you're right here!" Olivia whispered.

"Olivia, I-I've never given birth to anyone," Annabeth protested. She then stopped. "I mean, I have, but the baby is dead."

Olivia smiled. "I'm not dead, I'm right here. You're not dead, you're right here."

"You weren't the baby."

Olivia stared at Annabeth. "But you're my mom."

"Olivia."

Olivia shook her head. "At first I thought, but she looks nothing like me. She has yellow hair—"

"Blonde," Annabeth corrected.

"And storm cloud eyes—"

"Grey."

"And more different stuff." Her voice dropped. "But even with all those, you still look like me." (A/N: I feel like Olivia is pretty smart for a 4 year old. But she is a descendant of Athena, even if there are no gods…)

Annabeth couldn't even deny it. But considering what her mother told her…

"Well, yeah—"

Olivia hugged Annabeth tightly. Annabeth hesitantly hugged back.

"I love you," Olivia whispered.

Annabeth glanced at Percy who was just finishing his last lap. "I…I love you too, Olivia."

Percy climbed out of the pool, and that marked the end of their talk. Olivia gave Annabeth one simple look before jumping off the beach chair walking off. After a while, the three of them went inside. Olivia went off to get dressed because she had to leave soon. Percy offered to help her but she insisted on doing it by herself. Annabeth couldn't blame her. Olivia was a girl and Percy was her dad.

Annabeth sat on a stool at the kitchen island sipping orange juice. She was staring at Percy intently, thinking about Olivia's words. He was currently stuffing his mouth with blue cookies.

"What?" Percy asked when he noticed her staring. Crumbs covered around his mouth. "Is there something on my face?"

Annabeth grinned, "Yes…but that's not why—"

She sighed, cutting herself off.

Percy stood there in his swimming trunks. "Why what?"

Annabeth hesitated. Olivia said not to tell anybody. "I'm just…surprised you even let her out of your sight." Annabeth glanced down.

Percy narrowed his eyes. "That woman is in jail."

"I know but..." Annabeth paused, looking for the right words—the right lie. "Have you ever…seen her? Talked to her? Do you even know what she's capable of? The connections she has?"

Percy shook his head slowly. "Annabeth, it's not like we're talking about a supervillain here."

"I know, but I—"

"I'm ready!" Olivia called. She was completely dressed in a pink leotard and had her bag slung over her shoulder.

Percy smiled to her. "Sure it's not on backwards like last time?"

Olivia examined herself then gave two thumbs ups.

"Okay, go put on your boots and we'll be right there."

Annabeth walked into the living room to grab her clothes where she left them on the couch. She slipped her t-shirt over her bikini top. Olivia was a few feet away at the front door, slipping on her Uggs.

Percy ran a hand through his hair as Annabeth hopped around trying to put on her grey sweats. He leant down and whispered, "After we drop off Olivia, we'll figure it out."

Annabeth nodded solemnly as he put on his own shirt and tugged a sweater over top. He didn't bother changing his damp shorts.

...

After they dropped off Olivia, Percy and Annabeth sat in the parking lot in Percy's car. Percy had grabbed a random bad of Cheetos from the compartment on the passenger's side. He was looking at his phone as he grabbed the Cheetos and stuck them in his mouth.

Now that Annabeth had brought up the topic, she really was curious about Olivia's kidnapper. Annabeth took a deep breath. "I think we should go visit the penitentiary."

Percy froze momentarily. Annabeth, afraid she said something majorly out of bounds, bit down on her lip. Slowly, Percy looked at her. He looked a bit ridiculous with the orange dust on his lips but Annabeth bit back her laugh.

"You want to visit Olivia's kidnapper?" Percy stared at her like she had gone mad.

Annabeth sighed in relief when she heard his voice. "I mean…let's figure out what she wants with Olivia. Maybe she'll leave you alone."

"I think you're missing the point Annabeth. She's already in jail, what more could she do?" Percy stressed.

"Aren't you curious?" Annabeth questioned. She came at him head on. No matter how far he narrowed his eyes, she wasn't going to back down.

"No Annabeth, not really."

Annabeth frowned but leaned back into her seat. "Okay."

"Okay?" Percy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Okay," Annabeth confirmed. "I get it, you don't want to go because you don't—what are you doing?"

Percy had started the car and began to pull out of the parking space. He checked his mirrors.

"We're going to go see her."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"The kidnapper."

...

"We're here to see someone," Percy said as he and Annabeth approached the front desk.

As Percy spoke to the secretary, Annabeth surveyed the scene. There was a row of desks with wooden walls separating the sides. People sat on stools taking to prisoners through the plastic. Small holes were in the plastic so they could hear each other. The booths were numbered 1-15. Annabeth stared. The prisoners were all woman. They wore baggy orange jumpsuits and big, black boots.

Annabeth felt Percy slip his hand into hers. "Ready?" he asked, as he led her towards one of the booths.

They passed a small woman walking away in a rush with tears in her eyes. Annabeth's stomach dropped.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," she whispered.

Percy led her to booth 13 which was already equipped with two stools for them. "Too late."

They both sat down, waiting for the woman to come. They didn't have to wait long. Led by a prison guard was the women. She sat down across from them. She had straight black hair that tangled almost like spider's legs. Annabeth shivered. She had a few wrinkles around her eyes, a gray hair here or there but Annabeth wasn't sure why Percy always described her as old. She didn't appear too old. The woman also had startling purple eyes. Annabeth stared at her intensely.

The woman examined them as well.

Annabeth screamed, almost falling out of her chair. Percy grabbed her arm before she could crash to the ground.

"Arachne?"

...

Surprisingly, no one looked over at the noise. Percy turned his head between the woman and Annabeth. "Annabeth? How do you know her?"

Annabeth stuttered. "She…her…my mother..."

"I could explain." Both heads turned towards Arachne. She was leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. She had long black hair and unnatural looking purple eyes.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Annabeth shook her head firmly. "No. I can explain." She sucked in a breath. On the counter in front of her, her fingers fumbled with each other. She sighed. "A long time ago, before I was even born, my mother and Arachne made a bet. To see who was the best weaver. But they needed a wager. And they went down the road of Rumpelstiltskin. My mother was so confident she would win that she agreed to Arachne's terms of giving up her first born child. If Arachne lost, she'd have to be trapped in a room for twenty-four hours with," Annabeth paused to shudder, "One thousand tarantulas and five hundred Black Widows." She momentarily looked to Arachne who was nodding. "So they had the contest and…and my mother lost. When I was born—maybe five years later—Arachne came for me and my mother refused to let her take me. So Arachne tried to steal me…three times. And then she didn't try again…that's all I know." Annabeth nearly facepalmed. No wonder Olivia's story sounded so familiar the first time she heard it. The same thing happened to herself. Seeing Arachne washed all these memories back in.

Percy grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Okay," he turned to Arachne. "But why are you trying to steal my daughter?"

Arachne grinned and pointed to Annabeth. "She's missing a piece of the puzzle."

"Well then?" Percy said impatiently. "What is it?"

Annabeth on looked curiously.

"First of all, Athena was foolish if she thought spiders would be a proper punishment for me—it didn't even line up with a daughter. Yet, when I came for collection Athena wanted to do anything to save her precious daughter." Annabeth felt a small smile appear on her face. She may not show it often, but Athena truly does care for her. "So she gave me permission to take her first grandchild instead."

Both Percy and Annabeth had a confused look on their faces.

"But…my mother doesn't have any grandchildren yet," Annabeth said slowly. The guard behind Arachne cleared her throat. They were running out of time.

"Yes she does." Arachne pointed to Percy. "Your daughter."

"Olivia is not related to Athena," Annabeth argued. "None the less, me."

Arachne stood slowly and smirked, "You're so naïve, Annabeth. For a daughter of Athena you really should have figured it out."

"Olivia is not related to Athena," Annabeth repeated. She stood up suddenly. Percy jumped back in his seat. Annabeth looked seriously pissed. Her grey eyes were narrowed and her blonde curls flew. "I've had enough of your lies ever since I was, I don't know, three? There's no way Olivia is Athena's granddaughter. I've never had a—" She hesitated. "I've…I've never had a…" her voice dropped to a whisper. Percy barely caught her next word. "Baby." She squeezed her eyes shut, blinking back tears. "…just admit you're lying."

Arachne was slowly being led away by the guard. "Okay, fine. Olivia is not related to Athena."

The last thing they saw was her smirk before she was lead away.

...

Once in the passenger seat, Annabeth slammed the door closed. Percy cringed as he got in the driver's seat. "Annabeth, my car," he whined.

Annabeth blatantly ignored him as she pulled out her phone.

Percy peered over her shoulder. "Who are you calling?"

Annabeth cracked her neck. "Who do you think? I'm calling my mom." She put her phone to her ear.

After two rings, her mother picked up.

"Hello Annabeth, how are you?"

"Mother," Annabeth said, ignoring her mother's greeting. "I saw Arachne today."

"Did you?" Annabeth could hear the worriedness in her mother's voice.

"Mhm," Annabeth said as she picked at her nails.

"Oh."

"I heard you gave up my first child."

"Um…yes."

"Why?"

"Annabeth, you know I did it to protect you."

Annabeth sighed, "I know. I don't blame you."

Athena let out a breath. "Besides, you already had a child, right? Arachne can't come after you."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Uh, yeah. Anyways mom, I've got to go."

"Okay. And Annabeth…I'm sorry."

Annabeth sighed. "Its…its fine. I'll see you around Thanksgiving."

She hung up. As soon as her phone was away she dropped her head on the dashboard and groaned. "I'm so confused."

"It's alright Annabeth. We'll figure it out."

...

Annabeth sighed. "Percy," she swung open the door to the car and got out. "I'll be right back." She swung the door shut and walked towards the building. Instead of going inside, she walked around to the side. Sliding her back against the wall, she sat down onto the grass. She pulled out her phone and fidgeted with it. Finally, she sighed and put in a number. On the third ring, her mother answered.

"Hello?"

"Mother, I have to tell you something," Annabeth began.

"Okay," Athena replied. "What?"

"You know, my client? Percy?" She played with her long hair.

"Yes, of course."

"Well, he has this daughter named Olivia," Annabeth said. "And—"

"Annabeth, please, don't do this," Athena plead.

"What?" Annabeth said. Her mother's voice suddenly turned worried.

"I," Athena paused.

"Mother, just wait," Annabeth said. "I'm not sure why you're freaking out." Before Athena could say anything, Annabeth continued. "So, it's just weird because Olivia is four, and the 'miscarriage' happened just over four years ago and—I know it's crazy but Olivia thinks I might be her mom and I'm starting to believe her." Annabeth, paused, but when Athena didn't say anything, she continued. "I mean, with what Olivia was saying and now Arachne is implying it too." Still no words from the other side. Annabeth could only hear breathing. "And…are you aware that Arachne's tried to steal Olivia too?"

Finally, something from the other side. But it wasn't what Annabeth expected. Her mother swore.

"Mom!" Annabeth yelled. "Did you—"

"Look, Annabeth, I really thought this would make things better but clearly I've done nothing to aid the situation."

"Mom, wait—"

"No, listen to me," Athena said. Annabeth shut her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I did this to you. I never meant for it to happen this way. But you and Percy still made your way back to each other. Olivia—I never wanted to say those words, but I thought I was protecting someone but clearly it didn't work. I…Annabeth, when you figure it out, tell me. But for now I have to go."

Athena hung up. Annabeth slowly lowered her phone and then she buried her head into her knees. She had no idea what Athena was talking about. To Annabeth, it was just mush. After a minute, she got up, and trudged back towards Percy's car. She slipped inside, putting her phone onto the dashboard.

Percy looked confused. He wasn't looking at Annabeth, but straight ahead.

After a moment, Annabeth said, "You heard, didn't you?"

Percy sighed and looked to her. "I was going to go to the bathroom. But I heard my name and that perked my interest. Then I heard Olivia's and I became extremely curious."

Annabeth nodded.

"So…Olivia thinks you're her mom?" Percy asked.

"Yup. Olivia told me a secret. I would tell you but I promised her I wouldn't. And Arachne thinks that, you know, I'm Olivia's mother too and I don't know."

"You don't think you're actually, you know."

Annabeth sighed. "I don't know what to think anymore, Percy."

Percy pulled her into the best side hug he could with the car in between them. "Don't worry, Annabeth. You're not alone on that."

Okay so what the hell was Athena talking about? Secondly, who was she protecting, how was she protecting them, and how does Athena now know that it didn't work? Omg, props to you if you get it.

Does anybody want to play cards against humanity with me on pretend your xyzzy? Just search up cards against humanity and a few links down is Pretend You're Xyzzy. PM me. It is not a game for little kids! Okay, tysm for reading! i'm here until Monday morning. K bye.