σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I Get a Makeover

I couldn't help but smile a bit.

Theo: You're definitely Athena's daughter, alright, Wise Girl.

Annabeth: (chuckles) There the Pinhead I know.

I chuckled as well.

A few hours passed, and we sat in silence, taking tiny sips of the Dr. Pepper. Then Annabeth spoke.

Annabeth: I was wrong. About Tyson. I just...wish I could tell him that.

I put my hand on her shoulder for reassurance, and she looked at me and nodded.

But there was something that was bugging me for a while.

Theo: Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?

Annabeth: Theo, I shouldn't—

Theo: I'm not Percy. I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell him, but he didn't say anything about me, did he?

Annabeth: Knowledge isn't always good for you!

Theo: You're the daughter of the goddess of wisdom.

Annabeth: I know! But every time heroes learn the future, they try to change it, and it never works.

Theo: The gods are worried about something Percy will do when he turns sixteen.

Annabeth: Theo, I don't know the full prophecy, but it warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three—the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches sixteen will be a dangerous weapon.

Theo: How dangerous?

Annabeth: Dangerous enough to decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods or destroys it.

Theo: So that's why Kronos didn't kill Percy. He wants to use him.

Annabeth: Yeah. If he can get Percy on his side, the gods will be in serious trouble.

Theo: (sighs) Well, we don't have to worry about that, at least. Percy's gone. Tyson's gone. Thalia is a tree. And Hades is the only one who actually held up his end of the pact.

Annabeth nodded solemnly.

Annabeth: We'd have known that if Percy had survived three more years. That can be a long time for a half-blood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed she was the one in the prophecy. That's why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think.

Theo: Then came Percy.

Annabeth: Yeah.

Theo: Was I in the prophecy? Did the Oracle say anything about me?

Annabeth: No.

Theo: (sighs) Figures.

Suddenly, a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. Annabeth looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into her lap.

Annabeth: Land! There's land nearby!

I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.