It's been too long since I've updated, hasn't it? Nine days, I think? (Or was it 10?) Oh well, it's been over a week, that's for sure. And that's too long. Sorry, guys. :( Also, I felt kind of bad about giving you so many questions last chapter and no answers, so I tried to squeeze a couple answers into this chapter. Not many, but a few. Shout outs:

Myusernameisorigional- No! Not Frank! Ugh, I really don't want to see any of the seven die. :( I love them all. (I've heard some people say Piper's annoying, but I love her.) Oh, well.

8EternallyMortal8- *Spoiler!* So far, you have been the first and only person to guess correctly! :) Nice job! (Should I have lied and said you were wrong for suspense purposes? Oops…)

Also, quick thanks to everyone who favorited/followed/reviwed! Thanks so much! You guys are the best!

Disclaimer: Me: Grab your pitchforks and torches! We're off to hunt down RR!

Readers: *Grabs weapons and started walking toward fanfic author*

Me: Ack! No! I'm not RR! HELP!

Annabeth's POV

"Rachel, has Chiron come back yet?" I asked, walking into the big house. The silver cabin I'd chosen to sleep in was just perfect, and I'd gotten a good night's sleep. But now that morning was here, it was time to start looking for answers.

"Huh? Oh, no," Rachel replied, looking distracted.

"What's wrong?" I asked, studying the bags under her eyes and the nervous way she wrung her hands.

"It's just… I had another dream last night," She confided, so quietly I almost didn't catch the last words. Almost.

I felt a chill run through me at the whispered words. Rachel could dream the future, past, or present, and her dreams always, always meant something. It was her gift. And we all knew not to ignore a dream from Rachel.

"What was the dream about?" I asked, sitting next to her on the white porch that wrapped around the big house.

"In the dream, Chiron was talking to a man that looked like Percy, just older," she began, her eyes unfocused as she recalled her dream. "They were talking about us," she told me.

"What did they say?" I asked urgently, staring at her intently. Rachel frowned, looking away.

"I don't know, really. The dream got really weird. They kept talking about Unions and Defenders, and the earth-bounds. Apparently them being in the city really bothered them. And there was something else… a stone of some sort…" Rachel trailed off, struggling to remember.

"What are Unions and Defenders? And what stone?" I asked, confused. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I have no idea what any of it means," Rachel admitted. "I was hoping you might."

I just shook me head, deep in though. Union… a union of what? How did that pertain to us? And Defenders? Defender of what? Rights? Liberty?

"Hey, guys."

I looked up at the familiar voice, offering a quick hello before returning to my thoughts. A stone? Why would they talk about stones?

"Did I miss something?" Percy asked, waving his hand in front of my face. I pushed his hand away, trying not to break my train of thought.

Beside me, Rachel was telling Percy about her dream. He frowned.

"A man that looked like me?" He asked, looking doubtful.

"Wait," I said suddenly. "Chiron said he was going to talk to Percy's dad, remember? That must have been him."

"You dreamed about my dad?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Maybe Sally knows something," I suggested, looking up at my boyfriend. "Maybe your dad told her something."

"It's possible," Percy agreed. "We could go ask her."

"You just want an excuse to see your mom," Rachel accused.

"Yeah, that too," He admitted sheepishly, offering us a lopsided smile. "Please?"

"It's a good idea," I agreed, standing up.

"Chiron told us to stay here, though," Rachel objected, also standing up.

"So? This is a chance to get some answers," I pointed out.

"You could be attacked again!"

"No, we might be attacked," Percy corrected. "You had the dream, you should come."

"We could be attacked. Captured. Killed, even."

Percy shot me a look, and I shrugged. It was a fact, that much was true.

"Yeah…" Percy admitted.

"Fine," Rachel sighed. "I'm in." I blinked in shock. Guess Rachel was just full of surprises.

-Line Break-

"Mom?" Percy called, opening the apartment door and letting Rachel and I in.

"Percy! Where have you been?!" Sally cried, engulfing Percy in a killer hug the moment she saw him.

"Mom…can't breath…" he managed, trying to act nonchalant, but I could tell he was really, really glad to see her again.

"And… Annabeth?" She asked, sounding confused, but giving me the same crushing hug nonetheless. "Weren't you catching a plane back to California?"

"Things came up," I told her, pulling Rachel forward. "Sally, this is Rachel. She's a gifted kid, like Percy and me. Rachel, meet Percy's mom."

"Nice to meet you, Rachel," Sally told her genuinely, smiling warmly but still looking confused. "Why don't you take a seat and tell me where you've been?" She suggested, ushering us all into the living room.

We took a seat and Percy began to explain, Rachel and I chiming in to fill in parts he'd forgotten. We told her about getting attacked by the earth-bounds, Chiron rescuing us, and Rachel's dream. Sally was a good listener- she waited until we were done to ask questions, and gave the appropriate reactions to various parts of the story.

"I see," she murmured, and unlike the rest of us, she looked considerably less confused.

"Can you explain any of it to us?" I asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"Not as much as I wish I could," Sally admitted. "But I can shed a little light on things." We waited eagerly, motioning for her to continue.

"When Percy's father and I were… together… he did tell me about the Unions. I don't like that you've gotten mixed up in this, Percy. It's dangerous. Very, very dangerous." She warned, her lips pursed.

"Mom," Percy wheedled. "Just tell us! We can handle it!"

"Please," I added quickly. "Just tell us, please."

"Very well," Sally sighed. "Percy, your father was in the Union of the gods, or just gods for short. The gods, as they called themselves, were a bit like you three and your friends. Gifted. But they were much more powerful- some of the most powerful in the century. Percy, you control water, right? Your father controlled the entire ocean."

"He what?" Percy gasped, his eyes wide.

"They renamed themselves after the ancient Greek gods whose power best matched their ability. Percy, your father's name was Poseidon. One took the name Zeus, another Hades, Aphrodite, and so on. These… gifts… you have weren't given to you by some random fluke of nature. You inherited them from whoever your parent was. That's were you get your water powers, Percy," Sally explained, giving him a sad smile. "From your father."

"But.." I said, grappling for some explanation. "But my parents were completely normal."

"Your biological parents, dear?" Sally asked gently. "Did one leave when you were just a baby?"

"My mom," I managed, my throat closing up. "She left right after I was born. Are you saying that she was… she was…"

"A goddess, yes. That may be why she left. She was probably in the same Union as Percy's father."

"I don't get it," I croaked. "Why would that make her leave? Dad told me she left because she didn't mean to have me." Sally sighed like she wished my Dad was here to explain this all.

"It's not really my place-" She began uncomfortably.

"Sally," I begged. "Please." She sighed, but obliged.

"If you were in the Union of the gods, you weren't allowed to have children," Sally admitted. "The rule was put in place by Zeus himself, although he did break the rule himself a few times. If you did have kids, you couldn't stick around. You had to leave. It was just too dangerous. Your parents didn't leave because they didn't care. They left because they did care. They didn't want to put you in danger."

"Danger from what?" Rachel asked, making me jump slightly. I'd almost forgotten that she was there. Sally took a deep breath, shifting nervously.

"That's a long story-"

"We have time," Percy interrupted. "Mom, please. We need to know what we're up against."

"The gods weren't the only people born with special abilities," she murmured. "There was another union- The Union of the Titans. They took the name hoping it would show superiority over the gods. Similar to your parents, they also picked names to match their abilities, only they took the Titan's names, instead of the Greek gods."

"So… when we fought Kronos at the MIST Academy…" I realized, horror bubbling up inside me.

"You were fighting a Titan," Sally confirmed. "That was why you were put in the MIST Academy. Somehow, Kronos found out that you were children of the gods, and what better way to weaken your enemy than to hurt their children?"

I felt my stomach knot as the true nature of Kronos's plan hit me, and I felt like I might be sick. Next to me, Percy and Rachel looked like they felt much the same way.

"He was the leader, though, right? I mean, there can't be Titans worse than Kronos, can there?" Rachel asked, her voice faltering slightly.

"Kronos was pretty bad," Sally admitted. "But he wasn't the Titan's leader. Trust me when I say this, their leader is much, much worse." At her words, an involuntary shiver of fear coursed through me. Who could be worse that Kronos?

"And the Defender thing? What was the stone about?" I asked, not even sure I wanted to hear the answer anymore. Sally just shrugged.

"I have no idea," she admitted. "But if it involves the Titans, it can't be good."

A heavy silence followed her words as we took it all in. When we'd defeated Kronos… well, we thought we'd done it. We'd won. We'd escaped. And now we were being told that there was a whole group of people just like him. I felt completely cheated.

"On that happy note, who wants a cookie?" Sally asked, breaking the silence. I accepted one from her, although my stomach was so knotted in fear and unease, I wasn't sure I'd be able to eat it.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, making us all jump.

"Oh, that must be Paul," Sally said, her eyes lighting up.

"Paul?" I said at the same time as Percy said, "Who's he?" She hurried over and opened the door, revealing a guy who looked like a movie star with salt and pepper hair and a crisp, black suit.

"Sally," he greeted, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Beautiful as always. You ready to go?" Then he seemed to spot us in the background for the first time. "Um, hello?" He said, shooting Sally a questioning look.

"Oh! Paul, this is Percy, my son," she said.

"Nice to meet you at last," Paul smiled, shaking Percy's hand. Percy, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to swallow a quarter.

"You got a… boyfriend?" He managed, looking between his mom and Paul.

"This is Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend, and their friend, Rachel," Sally continued, not meeting Percy's gaze.

"Nice to meet you," Paul said, shaking my hand, and then Rachel's. I couldn't help but notice that the edged of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, so he must have smiled a lot. Percy was still staring between his mom and Paul like they'd announced they were aliens.

"We have a date, so…" Sally trailed off, looking between us and her boyfriend helplessly.

"We need to be getting back anyway," I said awkwardly. "Thanks for everything, Sally."

"Anytime, dear," she said, looking relieved. She gave Percy a quick hug, murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like a "we'll talk later, ok" into his ear, and then turned to leave.

"Oh no," Rachel muttered suddenly. Everyone, Paul and Sally included, turned to the window Rachel was looking through. On the street below, an earth-bound lumbered past. Otherwise, the street was completely empty.

"What's wrong?" Paul asked, looking confused. After a moment, I realized that for some reason, he couldn't see the earth-bound.

"Nothing," Rachel croaked, apparently coming to the same conclusion. "See you later." Paul still looked a bit confused, but left with Sally regardless for their date.

"We should get back," I managed, Percy still staring at the door his mom and her boyfriend had disappeared through.

"The others need to hear what we've learned. And Chiron has a lot of questions to answer."

Well, there you have it. Hopefully that cleared a bit of it up. :) Also, the Thalico I promised will be coming in soon. Just a heads up! Reviewer's question: Has anyone read Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan? I just finished it this afternoon and am currently an emotional train wreak. It's a great book, and I officially now ship Molly and Teddy. (If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about!) Until next time!