A/N: Tada! Less than a year later! That's a good thing ... right? ... PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. Here is the next chapter. Please enjoy with my heartfelt thanks for all the lovely, lovely, lovely reviews.

Disclaimer: I believe people that actually own stuff have to update regularly, so that counts me out ...

Daleks and Demigods

Chapter 3: The Conundrum

With a deep breath, Annabeth continued, "Which means, I think, that-"

"We need a quest," Percy interrupted, finishing her sentence and surprising everyone with what he said next. "And I think the Doctor should lead it."

A brilliant smile broke across the Doctor's face as he whispered: "Molto bene."

Annabeth, however, wasn't quite so impressed with Percy's "brilliant" idea. "Uh, Percy- the Doctor's not a demigod. He can't lead a quest. And … would he-" Realizing that the person she was talking about was right there, Annabeth turned to him. "Sorry. Would you know how to go about leading a quest?"

"I-" the Doctor began.

"Wait, what?" Percy interrupted, glaring at Annabeth. He was, kind of, vaguely annoyed with Annabeth. This Doctor- he was one of the most amazing people they'd ever met … and they knew the gods. Half the time, the demigods heading up the quests didn't know anything more than how to not stab themselves with their own sword. Chiron knew the Doctor – the Doctor had met Odysseus, for Zeus' sake. He had a bigger-on-the-inside, time traveling blue box … He'd set up the non magic equivalent of their monster-be-gone field. It might have been just him, but Percy kind of felt like if their was anyone who was qualified to lead a quest involving part alien monsters, it was the Doctor. "How- why do you think he can't do it?!"

Annabeth, having belated realized the same thing Percy had, knew that the Doctor would probably be more than capable of leading a quest … it appeared he'd been doing the layman's equivalent of that for years. "Seaweed brain, cool it - that came out wrong. Doctor, I have to say, you're pretty impressive- ok, seriously awesome, and I think we all know that. But- you wouldn't happen to be even part demigod?"

The Doctor's lips twitched into the suspicion of a smile. These two … they were incredibly old for their age (fighting a war for the survival of the planet at age 12 could do that to you). But they were also still teenagers. They were … together, right? And the Doctor figured that they were the fight and make up kind of couple - they both had the fire for it. So this was going to have to stay between them. The Doctor wasn't a demigod expert and the best use of his very considerable intelligence at this point probably wasn't in asserting himself in a very minor power struggle. While the Doctor normally couldn't keep his mouth shut when the opportunity to assert himself presented itself, in this circumstance, he was remarkably silent and instead, just shook his head to note the negative.

"And you're not related to the gods in any way?"

"No. Not yours anyway." He was sometimes called the lonely god and his people had been likened to gods on many occasions but not by people on Earth.

"Ok. See, Percy?" Annabeth turned back to her sparring partner. "He can't lead a quest – the oracle doesn't just give out quests to anyone. You have to have relation to the gods or at least the greeks. I don't think alien covers that ..."

Percy looked ready to argue again but then he stopped, seeming to consider what Annabeth said. "Huh. Hadn't thought of that. Well ..." This was a conundrum. It seemed the Doctor couldn't lead an official quest – but at the same time, he was really the only one who could lead it. He knew more about what they were looking for than anyone else. Annabeth's gave showed that she was wrestling with the same problem that he was and despite the fact that they had a bit of a problem (i.e. a whole new species of monster to worry about that they knew nothing about), Percy was happy that they were on the same page again. He hated fighting with her (although at the same time, if they weren't fighting, he would know that something was seriously wrong with Annabeth).

Belatedly, Annabeth realized that the person who might have the answer to all their problems was right there in the room with them. "Chiron!" she exclaimed. "We need a quest – what do we need to do?"

Amused that she'd just then remembered his existence, Chiron decided that a little exercise was just what his heroes needed. They'd recently saved the world but since then they'd done really nothing to challenge themselves and were growing a bit … lazy. They were going to have to figure this one out on their own – he was sure they'd come up with a solution soon and it'd be good for them. "Oh, I'm sorry but- I don't believe I can be of any assistance to you in this instance. However, I have no doubt you will quite well on your own, so if you'll excuse me, I have a few pressing matters that must be attended to …" With a small smile, he inclined his head towards the Doctor and then left.

Percy and Annabeth were confused as evidenced by the looks on their faces and the sputtering Annabeth began when Chiron left.

"Right," the Doctor began. "Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I would love a banana right now. Oh! And possibly a cup of tea. Tea! That's just what you two need. Some tea to invigorate the synapses and and fire up your brains." He finished and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking on his heels, smiling.

If the two demigods had been confused before, their whole world was spinning now. "... Tea?" Percy questioned, blinking. "What are you, a British alien?"

The Doctor chuckled a bit at that, thinking of his fondness for that foggy little island. "Ah, well, the Brits are quite right about a few things – tea being one of them."

"Hope you didn't want any cream or sugar. I kind of forgot them ..." a new voice said, breaking in. The Doctor looked up towards the voice and was confronted by vivid green eyes, a sprinkling of freckles, and a shock of envy-inducing, ginger hair. It was a girl who stood in front of the Doctor with those attributes. A girl holding a steaming thermos and a mug.

"Nice one, Rachel," Percy commented with a grin. Rachel's gift was always good for impressing/scaring the pants of visitors. "Doctor, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She's-"

"Your oracle," the Doctor guessed, holding out a hand towards Rachel to greet her. He received, instead, a mug of hot tea, which was just as good.

"You're right, of course," Rachel admitted.

"Uh, Doctor?" Percy asked, a little more impressed than he wanted to be. "How did you know that?"

"I spoke of tea, and a moment later, she appears with tea, although no one sent for her or spoke to her. Also, we were speaking of a quest a minute ago and here she is. She seems to have rushed here and seems almost drawn. She clearly has some measure of telepathic and psychic abilities and also, a nice smattering of prophetical abilities as well. Who is the only mortal (and she's clearly a mortal – gods have a different feel to them) in Greek mythology that possessed those kind of abilities and would also be allowed to roam free around this secret camp of yours? An oracle. I assume oracles still need to give out prophesies for quests, which makes her a crucial part to this puzzle of yours."

"Uh, yeah, Sherlock. You're right. Again," Percy acknowledged.

The Doctor grinned, considering the comparison to his favorite consulting detective quite a compliment. "Sherlock! Yes! My favorite detective. Brilliant man, although between you and me, Sir Arthur got a lot wrong. Take Watson, for instance. He- oh, wait! Rachel Elizabeth Dare!" He spun back around to the oracle. "You have something to say, don't you?"

Rachel was a very energetic and alive person, so she found nothing about the Doctor's manner strange or uncomfortable. But still, she was a bit surprised – so much so that she began to laugh, a lovely, long peal. When she finally finished, she was able to answer. "Yeah, I do. Um, so, background … when I give a prophesy, I go into a bit of a trance. I don't control it and I don't ever remember much of it. There's this green stuff and- well, it's weird. Point is, when you get an official prophesy from me, the Oracle of Delphi, you'll know it."

But there was more. The Doctor could tell. "But?" he prompted.

She looked down, almost sheepish. "Well … I don't have a prophesy like … that for you. But- there are these words I know I'm supposed to tell you. It's like- like this quest is forbidden but Apollo is … breaking the rules? Kind of … using a backdoor. Telling me, not the oracle, what to say."

Annabeth and Percy were on the edge of their seats. A forbidden prophesy? A favor from Apollo? What was going on here? "Rachel – what are you supposed to say?" Annabeth asked, eagerly pushing.

Rachel took a deep breath and almost recited slowly. "3 shall fall through time and space, back to find the secret race. To the great wall to smash, the goddess, the pretender, the lord will clash. A broken oath, a forbidden tryst, a way to see behind the mist. The heroes strong will right the wrong but 'ware the sirens call as 'twill cause the greatest fall. One will break, one will bend, but tis the lonely god that will end. And- HE WILL KNOCK FOUR TIMES."

A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you all liked it- you've certainly waited long enough for it. Again, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. I will be even more thankful I you could possibly take the time to hit that small button and review. You will? Wow. Thanks. I love you guys.