Chapter Six: We Plan to Break Into Olympus

ANNABETH'S POV

Annabeth sighed as she set down yet another book of useless information. Her and Percy had spent their free time in the library each day for about two weeks, reading through entire books, and all they could find was the basic information that they had already had on the first day: that Eirene was the Goddess of Peace and one of the three Horae. As helpful as that information had been, it wasn't going to help them find the goddess.

They were also searching for information on the other major part of the prophecy: stripping a goddess of her powers. But no matter how many books they read from cover to cover, they couldn't seem to find an account of anyone stripping an immortal deity if their godly powers. Annabeth was almost starting to believe it couldn't be done. She wondered if she had somehow interpreted the prophecy wrong; Chiron had always said they had double meanings. Still, the more she stared at those stupid lines of writing, the less she seemed to get out of them.

Maybe Nico had repeated it wrong. Maybe he hadn't heard Rachel correctly in the first place. Maybe, but probably not.

Unanswered questions roamed through her mind. Could a demigod do such a thing? Would she have to wait until she was a goddess herself? Would Annabeth have to keep the powers in her body until she gave birth to the baby? If not, how on Olympus was she supposed to keep the goddesses' powers? I mean, it's not like they could just trap them in a jar... Right?

In the time that Annabeth wasn't sitting at a table in the library, sleeping or eating (which didn't amount to much) she was thinking about her pregnancy and the baby. She was now about seven weeks pregnant, and her stomach was starting to show if you looked closely. Although she knew it was true, she couldn't seem to grasp the fact that she was actually having a baby.

Their lives seemed to be going so normally; well, as normally as two famous demigod/soon-to-be gods' lives could go. Despite her pregnancy, they were still doing a quest, fulfilling a prophecy, the norm. And thankfully, none of her friends were treating her differently, except for the fact that Piper kept glancing down at Annabeth's stomach. That girl sure seemed excited about the baby.

"Percy," Annabeth sighed as they ate lunch at home while pouring over books they had checked out, "I think you were right." 

Percy looked confused. "I was right?" 

"Yes, Percy," Annabeth confirmed, a small smile making its way into her face for the first time in a long while. Her husband wasn't dumb, but he definitely looked it sometimes. The weird thing was, it didn't annoy her in the least. Actually, she found it cute.

"What was I right about?" he asked, his brow furrowed. And at that point, Annabeth just couldn't restrain herself. Her and Percy hadn't had enough time together recently where they could just be themselves with each other. So, she reached over (Percy was sitting next to her) put her arms around her husband, and kissed him. Kissed him passionately like there was no tomorrow, while he energetically returned it. They kissed until Hazel walked into the kitchen to grab some lunch and cleared her throat quite loudly.

"Sorry," Annabeth muttered, her face turning red. While she did have to admit she was embarrassed  getting interrupted by Hazel, she felt better, more refreshed than she had since they started this project. 

"What was I right about?" Percy asked with a smirk on his face. This time with a clear mind, Annabeth became serious again.

"On the first day we did this, you suggested they might be on Olympus, but the only way to find out would be to go there. I think you're right."

"You really think we should go back to Olympus?"

"Yes," Annabeth agreed, "but we need to have a plan. We can't just go walking around there because we feel like it."

"Couldn't we just ask the gods for help? I mean, your mom would probably know if there's some insane goddess of peace on Olympus," Percy suggested.

Annabeth twisted her lips to the side as she considered the idea. It's not like she had any doubt about Athena knowing. However, she was hesitant to ask her mom for help. Since the gods had explained how they would be given immortality after five months of being watched, she felt like she was being tested. She felt that she had to show she could be independent and succeed without the gods' help. 

"I think it would be better if we did this alone," Annabeth finally said. "Athena might help, but remember that the gods are watching us."

"I guess," Percy gave in, "Do you have an idea, then?"

Annabeth sighed yet again. "I'm still working on that part."

"I'll take that as a no," Percy concluded.

"Yeah," Annabeth smiled wryly. She sat there thoughtfully, munching on her sandwich. Her book was propped open in front of her, but she wasn't reading it. A book wasn't going to help her now.

Annabeth thought of the other times she had been to Olympus. They had all been for important occasions, like being offered Godship, or, you know, saving the world.

Except for one time. Once she had gone up to Olympus to see the remaining buildings, take some measurements and decide what would look good in the area. Although the major buildings, like the Gods' and Goddesses' throne room, were already designed and built, she still wasn't anywhere near finished with the project. Perhaps she could use that as a good excuse. She could say that she wanted to take some more measurements or something.

Before she told Percy her idea, though, she wanted to think it over more carefully. She didn't want to get his hopes up and then have her plan fail. 

"I think I'm going to go do a little work," Annabeth told Percy as she finished her sandwich. "I mean, I've been working, but not on my architecture stuff." 

Percy looked like he disapproved of the idea, but he knew how seriously Annabeth was taking her job of redesigning Olympus. To Annabeth's relief, he let it slide. Before he could think further about it, she had gotten up and shut herself in her office.

She lay back in her chair at the ceiling. Her plan was going to take a lot of thought. She couldn't just call up Athena on the phone and ask for permission to come to Olympus. Daedalus's laptop (he had had a secret copy that Annabeth didn't know about until Athena gave it to her when original was destroyed) had all the measurements, blueprints and images of Olympus that she would really need for her project, so she wasn't sure how she was going to pull it off.

She opened the laptop and scrolled through a list of all the buildings she still had to design. There were many minor ones that she hadn't payed much attention to yet, but now she read the title of each one. It amazed her how many buildings the Gods needed.

Poseidon's Pool, Olympian Ambrosia, Magic Pizza... Magic Pizza? No, those weren't going to help. That's when something caught her eye.

Olympian Retirement Home. Annabeth didn't know that Gods could retire, but then again, she'd seen Pan, god of the wild, fade away before her very eyes. If they were going to find a wild, senseless goddess, this would probably be the place.

Come to think about it, she didn't remember seeing the Retirement Home when she did her survey of Olympus. If she had seen it before, she surely would have remembered.

So, she had a plan of sorts. She'd say that she needed to see the Olympian Retirement Home and the buildings around it, because she didn't think she had covered them before, which was true. In actuality, she would search the Retirement Home for the Goddess Eirene. Hopefully she would be able to find a way to include Percy in her journey, too.

But there was a major obstacle she had to tackle before she could even begin the rest of her plan. She had to get in contact with Athena. It was interesting business, trying to talk to your godly parent. You couldn't just send them an Iris Message.

Annabeth knew she could pray to her mother for guidance, like Percy prayed to Poseidon for help in the water. However, that wasn't exactly having a conversation. Athena decided when she would talk to Annabeth, not the other way around.

Mother, she thought, closing her eyes. I need to talk to you.

She waited. Nothing happened.

Athena, she tried, please hear me. I need to talk to you.

A new email beeped on her computer but she ignored it.

"Mom, would you please listen to me?" She finally said out loud. Maybe the Gods were over their days of being prayed too.

With a sigh, she positioned her gaze back on the computer screen and checked who the email was from.

 Athena.

Really? The goddess Athena was responding to her prayers by e-mail? Athena was her mother and all, but still. If she'd known the Gods were that modernized, she never would have made a fool of herself praying to them. She opened the email, which was titled, "You can stop praying to me now".

Hello Annabeth,

You know us, Gods are beyond our prayer days. We now prefer to use more modern technology. What is it that you needed to talk to me about?

Annabeth clicked reply and began typing her own message.

Hello Mother,

I didn't know you had an email! You are much more modern than I knew.

For my architecture project (redesigning Olympus), I came across a few buildings I didn't recognize and would like to see, particularly the Olympian Retirement Home. It would be great if you could grant me access to Olympus for that reason.

Also, would you mind if Percy came along? I know you are not fond of him, but he can be trusted and I would like to have his company. 

Your daughter,

Annabeth

Annabeth read over her email before clicking send. She purposefully praised her mother's use of twenty-first century technology. If there was one thing she knew about the Gods, it was that they were very proud and loved compliments. She also tried to sound formal and businesslike because, no matter how modern Athena could be, she was still a Greek Goddess who had lived for thousands of years.

Athena was quick to give a reply:

Annabeth,

I would be happy to grant you access to Olympus for your project. I myself will be busy, but I will see that a tour guide be there to assist you. I will allow Percy to accompany you, so long as he's okay with your guide keeping an eye on him.When would you like to come?

Olympian Goddess of Wisdom, Battle Strategies, Arts and Crafts, Patron Goddess of Athens and Your Mother,

Athena

Annabeth laughed at Athena's signature. Leave it to the Gods to be so prideful. She replied to her mom that she would be ready to go tomorrow, if possible, and Athena replied that that would work. She'd email her again tomorrow morning with the exact details. 

Annabeth's plan was going better than she expected. The only flaw so far was the tour guide. Athena would surely inform whoever it was (wether it be a nymph, minor god or goddess or some other creature) that Annabeth's goal was to see the buildings for architecture and that alone. In order to get her desired information about the prophecy, she'd have to look around the rooms in the Retirement Home, search for Eirene, and talk to her if she found the goddess. That would take some thought, but it really wasn't anything she could plan in advance. She'd just have to go and hope that between her and Percy they'd come up with a good plan on the spot. Thank Gods Athena had allowed her to bring him with. Annabeth knew it would make it a lot easier.

***

After looking at the 3D model that Athena had provided of the Olympian Retirement Home to familiarize herself with the current building, Annabeth called Percy in and explained the situation to him. She told him about the Retirement Home, how they'd have to fool the guide, and that Athena had agreed to letting Percy come along. He had kept quiet during most of Annabeth's explanation, but when he mentioned that part he looked utterly surprised.

"She was actually okay with me coming along? After all the trouble I've caused and how much she hates me?"

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, but, make sure you behave yourself."

"Of course... is something wrong?" Percy asked, concerned.

"Well, Athena said she'd make sure to have our 'guide' watch over you closely. So, knowing her... you better be a gentleman. If that's possibly." She smirked at him.

"Hmm..." Percy said in mock deep thought. Then he replied, "I'll be such a perfect husband that Athena herself will have to love me."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Like that's gonna happen, Seaweed Brain."

**So, there's another chapter! I don't think it was my best, but, oh well. 

Just out of curiousity, how old do you guys think I am? Post your guesses below and I'll tell you with my next upload. Don't be afraid, come on now. :D

Hope you enjoyed it!**