I'm BAAAAAACK! xD Sorry for the late-ish update xD

First, I'd just like to apologize to Cockapoo... I've made your character a potty-mouth and a bit of a jerk but I PROMISE I will fix it (the jerk part. She will continue to be a bit of a potty-mouth xD) SOOORRY!

Cockapoo: Aww! Thanks! I will! :D

(: :)

GLN3: xD I made Annabeth a bit parental in this chapter... I really am butchering some of these guys, huh? *dies* NO! I GAVE YOU A WHOLE COOKIE! It's right beneath the last response!

(: :)

Remember to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO nor do I own Converse. Actually, I own quite a few pairs of Converse (as they are my FAVORITE BRAND EVER!) but I don't own the actual company... yet. xD

"Annabeth!" I shouted, waving madly at the blonde.

She sat back to back with Percy at the top of the climbing wall, a book clutched in one hand and Percy's hand in another.

The sight of the two of them together surprised me. Not the idea of them together, but the fact of how late it was. Three in the morning was a bit late to just sit there and enjoy the scenery. Which is exactly why I was hoping Annabeth would be alone.

"Layla?" she shouted back. "What are you doing here? It's three o'clock in the morning! You should be in bed."

"I could say the same for you," she chuckled, slipping into the safety harness and beginning to make her way up the side of the rocky wall.

"We're on patrol," she explains nervously. By the slight quiver of her voice, I can tell she's blushing. I guess she understands how many weird conclusions I could jump to at the moment.

"Well, I'm coming up and I need to chat. Percy, scram."

"Aww, c'mon," he pleas mockingly. "Let me stay! I promise I won't tell anyone..."

"Fine, stay. But don't you dare spill this to anyone! I haven't even told my brother yet..." I admit as I pull myself over the edge of the wall and onto the top. I drag myself over to the pair, feeling like a bit of an intruder.

"Well, what's up?" Annabeth asks, her voice now slightly tinged with worry. "Nightmare?"

I nod slightly, my hands clenching involuntarily as I stare at my feet.

"We've all had them," she says soothingly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I'm starting to get the feeling that Annabeth has a motherly streak, something that's kind of weird since I've seen her point a dagger at her best friends' chests.

"But you have to tell us what happened in it," Percy adds. "Sometimes it's just a dream but most of the time it isn't. Like, even if you don't expect it. Annabeth, remember that time Malcolm had that weird dream about the chees―"

"What he means," Annabeth interrupted. "Is that sometimes the gods try to communicate to us through our dreams."

"Oh..." I say simply, now regretting not having told Nico. He had a reason to pry and now I know what it is.

"Oh...?"

"Nico asked me what it was this morning at breakfast. I didn't tell him, though."

Her face grows solemn and her hands trace the racing stripe on Percy's Converse. He takes Annabeth's hand in his and gives it a soft squeeze.

"He... he worries," Percy explains. "Like I said before, after Bianca... you can't really blame him for it. He's scared of losing another sister..."

"I get it," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"B-but anyways," Annabeth stutters. "Your dream..."

They sat there as I recounted the story, spilling as many details as I could remember in hopes that maybe they could explain it all to me.

"Owls are symbols of Athena but that's all I could understand of it," Annabeth sighed, clearly becoming frustrated. "Can you describe the man?"

"I... I don't remember much about him. He was large and he seemed to have some sort of powerful aura about him... there was something engraved in the knife too..."

"What was it?" Annabeth asked eagerly. She was like a detective on a case, her eyes getting a faraway look when she thought and returning to focus on my whenever I told her something new.

"Well, it was in Greek and I don't really know much Greek..."

"Draw the letters for me."

I drew all I remembered into the soft gravel. The first of the two was clearly recognizable due to the fact that it was simply the letter A. Yet the second was a weird symbol, curved and strange.

"Your assassin sure was full of himself," Percy chuckled as he stared at the letters.

"Why's that?" I ask.

"Alpha and Omega," Annabeth explained. "The beginning and the end."

"So he's obviously immortal," Percy continued.

"But the inscription is logically impossible," Annabeth said, eyes shut tight in frustration and a hand stroking her brow. "You can't be both the beginning and the end! He has to have come from somewhere!"

"Who do we know that is ruthless enough to kill a sixteen year old, is so full of themselves that they'd call themselves both the beginning and the end, and that is immortal?" Percy asked, deep in concentration as well.

"Zeus," said a voice from behind me, causing me to jump. "It's totally Zeus. Who else would be such a conceited, murderous bitch?"

"Alisa!" Annabeth scolded. "You can't go talking about immortals like that!"

"Let him come," she chuckled. "Not like I care if I get fried."

Annabeth let out a small sigh, scooting sideways as to let Alisa join us.

"Having a party after hours without me, eh? Not cool, guys," she chuckles. "So why are we talking about conceited and deadly immortals?"

"N-nothing," I mutter.

"The moment those words leave your mouth, I know something's up. Spill, child."

I let out a bit of a sigh before retelling my story.

"So I see you're in a bit of a pickle. I'm not really in the mood for being helpful though, so I think it best I just be going to bed..." Alisa lets out a fake yawn.

"Not so fast," Percy smiles mischievously. "You heard the story so now you've got to help."

"Fine," she sighs. "I say we go on a quest. She's obviously part of that prophecy anyways. And I bet all of us are too. We might as well."

"Chiron will say no..." Annabeth says, knowing she's fighting a losing battle.

"Who cares," Alisa smirks. "We've done worse, eh? Let's go for it!"

And that is how our adventure began. A simple four-letter sentence.

Let's go for it.