"And you agreed to this?" Annabeth demanded.

She was lying on the couch, with one of her hands resting on her abdomen. Her stare was a little more intimidating than her mother's (trust me when I say that). She was wearing her nightgown because it was still night time when I got back to our own private house, so both her legs were bare. Her messed up blonde hair would have made her cute if it weren't for the outraged look in her eyes.

I explained what Zeus asked Jason and I to do, but Annabeth didn't take it as well as my mother who I talked to before I talked to Annabeth.

"Annabeth," I tried reasoning with her, "I know that this is a bit of a shock. However, Jason and I have got to do this."

"Can't someone else go?" she demanded desperately.

"They can't," I told her for the seventh time. "They're too scared to do this."

"I wonder why." She looked away from me.

I knew she would take this badly. And the reason why was because she wanted me to help with everything until the baby came. She needed all the help she could get - me going to Everest and most likely die on that mountain would literally crush her.

She was already desperate as it was at the moment. Lately she was more concerned about looking after both of us - she just quit a job that she didn't like (she worked as a building manager at the principia back in the camp) and was now living as a house wife at the moment. Me on the other hand - I worked as a training instructor for anyone who wanted to learn more about my combat experience. Annabeth wanted to get a job as an architect, which was her biggest dream. Reyna, who is still praetor at the camp, told Annabeth that there will be a job of that description for her soon but Annabeth has gotten more anxious about the whole subject.

I sat down on my armchair and clasped my hands together. "Annabeth, I know it's a lot to ask. Believe me, I don't want to leave you here alone on your own while I go on a mission like this. I'd rather stay here and take care of you and look after the baby."

"Then why are you going?" she asked me, looking like she was about to cry.

"Because Jason is going," I said. "You know what he's like Annabeth - he would only do a quest if he has someone to watch his back. And I can't exactly leave my best pal to do this on his own. That's just not me Annabeth and you know it."

She knew me enough to say that I'm way more protective of my friends than she was. It was my fatal flaw - relentless loyalty. I care so much about my friends, because when I make friends they're not really my friends - they're my family (which is ironic because every demigod in the mythological world is pretty much related to each other).

Though at the same time, Annabeth knew I was reckless when she isn't around to calm me down. When I'm trying so hard to protect my friends I forget that I don't take in the situation sometimes. My ADHD allows me to assess the problem at hand, but not the entire situation. Annabeth helps me in all of that thanks to her quick thinking - it made me realize that I depended on her a lot of times.

Annabeth looked at her abdomen and sighed deeply through her nose. "I'm just worried about you, Seaweed Brain. What if something goes wrong and I have to look after our boy on my own?"

"Wait a second," I raised my finger. "Its a boy? How do you know that?"

"I just know, Percy," she suppressed a small smile. "Whenever I imagine the baby, all I can see is a boy who looks very much like his dad."

I smiled back at her. "Though with his mother's intelligence and quick thinking."

"A best of both," Annabeth mused. She then looked straight at me. "See? This is what I want - the two of us together, with a family of our own and right now you're talking about climbing Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, where over a hundred people have died on?"

To be fair, I could see where she as coming from. Heck, I knew about the 1996 disaster, where Beck Weathers barely got off that mountain alive. After he was taken back home, he had to have both his hands amputated and his nose removed because he had suffered from severe frostbite. But Rob Hall, Andy Harris and several other climbers didn't survive the storm and some of them are still on that mountain as it was.

"I know sweetheart," I told her gently. "But listen to me: no matter what happens, I swear on the River Styx that I'll come back to you. You have my word on that. You know for a fact that whenever I make a promise to someone I really care about, I mean it from the bottom of my heart and from the deepest part of my soul."

A tear trickled it's way down Annabeth's cheek as she looked at me. She looked at a nearby photo of the pair of us and picked it up. She took the photo out of the casing and passed the photo to me.

"Keep that with you at all times," she told me in a serious tone. "Just in case."

I looked at the photo. It was when we defeated Kronos in 2009, and Chiron took this picture. I was taller than Annabeth because she rested her head on my chest. Jeez, I must've been...what - over 6 foot 2'? Whatever the case, we were smiling for the first time in days and it was when me and Annabeth first started dating. It was one of the best days of my life, if I wasn't reminded of the fact that I lost so many friends that day.

"I promise," I told her.

===========

Jason and I were standing outside Los Angeles Interntional Airport when the rest of the team arrived.

I had a huge luggage bag with me while Jason had his rucksack on his back. We were both pretty impatient, because when you're an ADHD kid like us it's very hard to stand still. To pass the time, we were both drinking coffee because coffee helps us calm down (because we're demigod and all that). Just when I thought I couldn't stand still any longer, three white vans pulled up.

The first to step out was Reyna and Nico, two of our closest friends who we've known for years. Then came out Clarisse La Rue, from the Ares Cabin and Frank Zhang the son of Mars. Then came two new others I didn't know. From the Orange tops they were wearing and the bead necklaces, they were from Camp Half-Blood, which was alright with me. Others included several members of Camp Jupiter's legion and a few centurions. I could see Dakota in the background, drinking away on that Kool-Aid drink of his.

Nico came up to me and gave me a handshake and a pat on the back. Over the last few years, I've grown to really respect the guy, mainly because he was so alike to me and Jason. Even though he was the son of Hades I made sure everyone treated him like all the rest. This time he had grown up to about Reyna's height which was about maybe 5 foot 9 inches. He had his hair shortened and he was now wearing a new aviators jacket.

"And I thought I'd never see the day when I see your face again," he greeted me.

"Yeah well..." I said, barking out a laugh.

Jason came over and gave Nico a rib breaking hug.

Reyna came over and embraced me tightly. She was smaller than me by far, but I knew she could take me down easily in a fight if I let my guard down. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she seemed to have gained like a stone of weight.

"Well, I must admit," she said to me, clutching both my shoulders, "this is different from all the other quests that you've previously done. Climbing the highest peak in the world? You still know how to amaze me, my former praetor."

"I guess that's because it's one of my amazing qualities," I joked.

One of the campers from Camp Half-Blood came up to me. He was a tall guy, I'll give him that. He was thin and he had that kind of hair that almost covered his eyes it it grew longer. I should know because he had the same hairstyle as I did, except that mine was pitch black and his was more dark brown.

"Are you Percy Jackson?" he asked me in a stunned British voice. "I mean THE Percy Jackson? Son of Poseidon and all that?"

I frowned while smiled. "Last time I checked, it was still Percy Jackson."

"Oh my god," the kid said, literally taking my hand and shaking it. "I can't believe it. I'm meeting a Camp Half-Blood legend!"

I looked at Jason for an explanation.

"Most of the campers think that after everything you've done for them, they decided to make you a living legend," he told me in a amused tone. "They still talk about you these days, you know that right?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. Then I turned back to the camper. "What's your name kid?"

"Aaron," the boy excitedly said. "Aaron Bailey."

"Well Aaron, I hope you are ready to do this," I seriously spoke to him. "Because when we get to Nepal, me and Jason will be giving you the run downs of the whole operation. You think you can keep up with us on that?"

"Yes sir," Aaron promised.

"Alright then." I turned to the crowd of campers and legionnaires. "Alright guys, thanks for coming to help us on the mission. As you are all well aware, the king of Olympus has giving me and Jason a mission to do and complete. You are our helpers so any information you can give us is very much appreciated. This mission is going to take us to Mount Everest, which is in the borderline between Nepal and China so we will be going to the Ancient Lands, which I know is asking a lot."

Several Camp Jupiter centurions muttered to each other.

"However," I spoke over the growing noise, which effectively made them silently, "me and Jason, as well as Nico and Reyna, will help give any information we can give to you and how to best survive in places such as the one we are travelling to. If any of you want to turn around and go home, that's fine with us, but this is gonna be your only chance to do so - because if you're gonna go on this mission there's no turning back."

No one looked at the vans - only at me and at Jason.

"I'm looking at your expressions and I'm guessing you want to come," I announced. "Alright then - let's climb this thing!"