Annabeth Chase and the Last Olympian

Chapter 1

Chapter One

I was worried out of my mind.

I stood next to Beckendorf in the dimly lit stables while he was saddling up Blackjack. He was getting ready for a special mission that we had been planning for weeks. It involved Greek fire and explosives, like any other standard demigod mission. This one was exceptionally dangerous, though. Beckendorf was going to hijack the enemy ship, a cruise ship filled with monsters to the brim, as well as the titan lord, Kronos.  Beckendorf was taking Percy with him and they were facing The Princess Andromeda, the most dangerous cruise ship on Earth. Percy and I had been on there once before, and let me just say - not your typical cruise type vacation.

We were there about two years ago, trying to figure out what Luke was up to. We found out that he'd been secretly raising Kronos out of Tartarus, piece by piece. With each follower added to the cause, another piece transferred to a coffin. By the time Kronos' essence was entirely out of Tartarus, Kronos needed a new body, a form worthy of the king of the Titans. Somehow, he had forced Luke to host him, a process that couldn't have been anything but excruciatingly painful. I don't really know how it worked, but my guess is that Like had to be carefully conditioned to be able to withstand hosting a Titan. Little by little, he made himself stronger so that when the Titan took his place, he would be able to use Luke's body as his own. So whenever Luke opened his mouth, Kronos' voice came out, replacing the kind voice I was used to. Instead of bright, beautiful blue eyes, harsh, golden eyes took their place.

But I knew he was still in there. Last summer, in the Labyrinth, when Rachel hit him in the eye with a hairbrush, just for a second, you could hear Luke's voice. Percy didn't believe me when I explained this. But I just knew that Luke was still in there. And that there was still good left in him.

Anyways, Beckendorf and Percy were supposed to set up the explosives in the control room, set the timer, get out, and detonate the explosives, maybe a good mile away. And this was all supposed to be done in a couple of hours. But there was just so much that could go wrong. As a child of Athena, I could see every single flaw in their plan. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't get ambushed. There was no guarantee that they would have enough time. There was no guarantee that they would set the explosives properly. There was no guarantee that they would survive.

But I didn't say any of that out loud. Instead, I tried not to sound annoying as I told Beckendorf, for the twenty-seventh time, to be careful. He smiled. "Don't worry, Annabeth. Like I said, we have this all under control."

Beckendorf continued to pack his supplies, and I smiled and nodded, hoping to look like I was in control. Which I was. Of course.

Silena, on the other hand, wasn't taking it as well as I was. Her usually glowing face was dull and on the verge of breaking out. Her brown hair was in a frizzy braid, like she hadn't brushed it in a while.

I wondered if my hair looked like that. I hadn't really taken the time to brush my hair in weeks. There was definitely not any time for that. With the prospect of war coming up, there wasn't any time for anything except for planning, designing, and training. My cabin had been going absolutely bonkers. Well, as bonkers as a bunch of braniacs can get. We had been designing weapons and drawing maps. We had been studying attack formations and defense strategies. We had even completely reorganized the weapons shed. My life had become draw, plan, design, eat, sleep. And squeezing training in between. All packed in a tiresome never-ending schedule.

Silena grabbed Beckendorf's hand, which he didn't seem too annoyed about, even though he was doing a job that clearly needed two hands. I patted her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. They'll be fine! You heard him!"

Silena looked back at me with a smile. "Yeah, I know. I'm just really going to miss Charlie!"

Beckendorf looked back, grinning. "And I'll miss you." 

I was really happy for them. Really, I was. I mean, they had been crushing on each other for years until Beckendorf mustered up the courage to ask out Silena. They had been a happy couple for close to a year now. But seeing them like that... felt weird. I wasn't sure if it was just general awkwardness. I had a feeling it had to do with Percy. 

You're not focusing, I thought. Focus. Deep breaths.  There were maps to draw. Weapons to design. I tuned into the conversation.

"Sounds great!" Silena exclaimed. "So I'll see you on Saturday then!" She threw her arms around Beckendorf's neck, having to stand up on her toes. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She blushed.

"I really have to get going," Beckendorf said, looking a bit worried now, "Percy's waiting for me on the South Shore with Rachel. As soon as I- "

"He's with Rachel?" The words tumbled out my mouth. Instantly, I wished that I hadn't said anything. My face grew uncomfortably warm. What was I thinking? Silena bit her lip, obviously trying not to laugh. Ever since I sort of asked out Percy to the fireworks last summer while I took him hostage (long story), Percy became a very... touchy  topic with Silena. 

Beckendorf let out a nervous laugh. "I probably shouldn't have said anything. But yes."

Before I could reply with a witty remark, like I don't care, Beckendorf had already mounted Blackjack and was ready to take-off. Or whatever you'd call that with a flying horse.

As I watched Beckendorf lift into the sky, I realized that if Beckendorf and Percy had done a mission like this a few years ago, the entire camp would've come to say goodbye. But with all of the campers leaving on missions,  there usually wasn't much preparation for anything. Nobody consulted the oracle anymore, like you were supposed to. Sometimes Chiron wasn't notified until the very last moment.

"You'll have to do better than that, Chase."

I whipped around. "What?" Silena had been walking right behind me and I hadn't even noticed. 

"You heard me." Silena continued, "What was that all about? It was totes obvi!"

Being around Silena so much got me used to her crazy lingo. "Totes obvi," meant totally obvious. I didn't understand why she couldn't just say that.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, a little uneasy of what might come next. 

"I'm talking about Percy." I stared at her. She sighed. "You know, when Charlie mentioned Rachel? And you went all psycho? That was way  too obvious. You can't go around telling everyone you're jealous of Rachel! I mean, come on, Annabeth!"

I stopped walking. As much as I loved Silena, all her talk about love and gossip just got to me sometimes. Luckily, we were still in the cover of the trees, but I couldn't be sure that the nymphs weren't eavesdropping. As far as I knew, they liked gossip too.

"Silena, please, please, try to understand," I begged, "there is nothing going on between me and Percy." 

Silena smiled knowingly. "Stop lying, Annabeth. You know it. I know it. We all know it. So stop pretending," she paused. "Besides, don't you want to know some advice? From a very special little birdie?"

I scowled. "Thanks Silena, but I don't need any advice on my love life."

She squealed. "So, you mean you have one?"

I jogged all the way back to my cabin, leaving Silena in the dust. I felt kind of bad, but she was pushing me. I could deal with my own life, no matter how hard, or how confusing it was. I didn't need advice. 

As I stepped into my cabin, I realized what a mess the place was. Well, I knew it was messy already because we had been so busy lately. But now all of my siblings were all crowded around one of the desks. Malcolm was the only one sitting down, and the others were all bending over him, trying to grab something out of his hands.

He turned back, trying to get away. As soon as he saw me, a wide grin broke out on his face. "Annabeth!" he yelled. "You're just in time."