"Alright," I screamed. "Let's GO!"

All of us ran towards the helicopter that had landed the base that we arrived at. We immediately threw all our equipment inside and stepped inside the chopper, where the pilot took off as soon as the doors slammed shut.

Now again, I am not so good in flying vehicles. The air pressure, the agony in my ears and the constant worry that Zeus would blast me out of the sky...well, let's just say that I seriously hated every moment.

I actually got a warning off Zeus via dream messaging. He told me that I must not go any higher than 29,000 feet, because he will be alerted to my presence at that height. If I go any higher than that, I'm so screwed - like burnt to a crisp by electricity kind of screwed.

"I know you've been in the air before," he reminded me, "but I let you off at that time. And I'm warning you now - no higher than 29,000."

I really love having him as an Uncle (!).

========

I was sitting next to Reyna.

It was pretty awkward, mainly because we didn't speak much at all. Everyone was taking an hour's worth of sleep while me and Reyna stayed awake, mainly because we're the ones who can't sleep at the moment. Jason, who sat opposite me, was snoring his head off so I wasn't completely sure if he was pretending or just sleeping.

"Why do you look more grown up than usual, Percy?" Reyna asked me out of the blue.

I looked at her, smiled, leaned back and closed my eyes. "I'm just excited."

I couldn't see her (no kidding) but I could tell that she was frowning. "Because you're climbing Everest?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm excited about Annabeth."

"Why?" the praetor asked.

I opened one of my eyes and looked at her. She looked confused.

"Didn't Nico or Jason tell you?" I asked Reyna. "Annabeth is pregnant."

Reyna might need an eye surgery when we get back home because her eyes bugged out so much that they might sting for a while.

"You're joking!" she whispered her surprise. "Oh, my god! Seriously?"

"Four months pregnant," I confirmed. "I only just found out before Jason and I were given the quest. So, I'm pretty much gonna be a dad."

"Oh, congrats Percy," Reyna said, wrapping an arm around my neck. "God, when do you think the baby will come?"

"Hold on, let me think," I asked, holding up my fingers and counting the time left until the baby comes. I started muttering under my breath. "Its April now...maybe August...probably around mid September, Reyna. I honestly don't know."

Reyna gave me a sympathetic look. "Still can't do the math?"

"Oh, I can do the math - I'm just really shit at it."

Reyna barked out a laugh. No one jumped at the sound.

"God," Reyna finally said, fanning her face to calm down. "How are you dealing with the news so far?"

I thought about it, but not too long. "I'm still stunned. Believe me - but in a good way. You know, when me and her first decided that we should start a family together, I didn't know if we would to be perfectly honest, Reyna. But now that she's pregnant, I really am starting to believe it now. It still kills me that I'm here and she's all the way back in California - I'm doing nothing to help her while I'm here."

Reyna patted my back - at least tried to. I was taller than her by far. "Don't worry about it Percy - you'll be back home soon after this is over."

I was really thankful for Reyna being supportive. Jason would've been good enough company, but I found out early in life that I'm better with a larger group of people. And I really struck a amazing friendship with my friends - I meant what I said before: I don't have friends, I've got family. Reyna was part of that family as well as Jason, Piper, Hazel, Nico, Frank but most importantly Annabeth. She was my world, my lifeline.

Just then, the pilots voice came over the speakers. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we are coming in to land. Please keep your seat belts on until we have landed."

Everyone woke up and some of them strapped themselves in. A minute later the helicopter landed and the chopper blades stopped rotating. The doors opened and everyone jumped out and was met with a warm gust of wind.

========

Three hours later, and we were still trekking up to Base Camp.

"Hey Percy," Nico called from the back of the group. "Honestly man, how long have we got to go? My feet are killing me!"

"Not far now!" I shouted back.

Just then, we came to a bridge that swayed in the wind. Everyone stopped and looked at me, questioning looks on their faces.

I looked at Jason. "This is your mission as well - we'll go first."

Jason nodded and went in front of me. He only made it halfway until he looked to his right and stopped. His mouth dropped open in awe.

"Uh...Percy?" Jason called in the distance. "You should come and look at this."

I frowned at his request, wondering what he was looking at. I walked across the bridge and stopped right in front of Jason. I turned to my right and what I saw made my heart miss a step.

"Holy Poseidon," I muttered.

In front of us, rising above the clouds, was the biggest mountain I have ever seen - it's massive peak broke through the clouds like it was trying to grow beyond the planet's atmosphere. The amount of ice and snow that lay at its peak made it look like an oversized ice cream cone. The mist that hung around it made it look as if it had come out of a freezer that housed it for thousands, maybe millions of years.

"There it is," Jason said, his eyes glued to the mountain.

"No doubt about it," I agreed. "That there, right in front of us...is Mount Everest."