HI EVERYONE! SO I WAS, LIKE, SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS!

Hopefully, some interesting stuff will happen in this chapter! Let's find out!

Just going to say - Really sorry about lateness of this chapter, but I have been very busy writing my own book with all my characters and a new story idea. Also, it could get a bit 'deathish' at the end. Nothing major though.

Annabeth's POV

"He's my boss."

"What do you mean?" I ask, completely bewildered. Why would he say that? Luke has never worked here as far as I know. He's not even a demigod. So, why would he come anywhere near here? It doesn't make any sense at all. If Luke was ever here, he's been lying to me all this time. I thought he was my friend. He wouldn't lie to me would he? Or would he? I don't know him that well. I don't know his past. What if Grayson is right and Luke worked here? But he wouldn't. He would tell me.

Why do you doubt him then?

"He's my boss, Miss Chase." he laughs. "I mean what I say. I assume you have heard of hierarchy. Luke is just a little higher than me in the one at this work. I'm sure you can understand the words."

"Of course I understand. It's the premise that I don't understand. He's about twenty years old and you are, what?" I look at him closely, taking in all of the thin lines of aging over his face. The few grey wisps of hair and the occasional moment when his eyes aren't quite focused. "Fifty? I shouldn't be ageist, but isn't that strange in a company like this one?"

"It would be, but Kronos has his favorites," Grayson mutters, looking down at his feet for a second before glancing back up again. "Luke was always a suck-up and Kronos likes that. He wants people to be his slaves, not people who do the work properly. People like me." I have to say, if this man hadn't almost killed me, tied me up, tried to kill my friends and destroyed my perfectly decent life; I might feel sorry for him. As it happens, I don't care too much. But I should try and get as much information on Luke in this country and Kronos as possible. If Kronos is here, then something is very wrong. He was dead; in Tartarus; and was never coming back. How did he get here, more or less the opposite of the world it used to be. This is the mortal world. Then again, how did I get here?

"Kronos is here?" I ask quickly.

Grayson nods and says, "He's the head of the company. I thought you'd know, being an employee." So, that's why he's here. He can be here to destroy all the demi-gods. At the top of the food-chain; right where he wants and needs to be. But I just can't remember what he needs the demi-gods for. It's stuck at the back of my brain, covered in cobwebs and long forgotten. "It was Luke who suggested you to be taken. He knew you and knew what Kronos wanted. He got you here as our most determined and ruthless killer. He said you had brains to 'thwart us all'. Obviously, you were perfect because Luke chose you. Nothing I do is ever right - apart from getting that Jackson kid." I hear the envy in his voice as he mentions Luke's name and the resentment as he mentions Percy. "I plan this thing and I don't even get a thank-you, John. You did well to start the completion of the plan. Good job! Nothing! Ha!"

"What is the plan?" I ask, trying to squeeze out all the information of him that I can. He is vulnerable; easy to manipulate and influence. And use for my own information.

"If I knew, I wouldn't tell you. It's very confidential between Kronos and Luke. No one knows what they're going to do." Damn, I spoke too soon. "But, there is rumour of this boy that is going to kill Kronos for his own good and say 'that's Karma, baby', but it's just a rumour."

"Sounds like Leo," I mutter, trying to wriggle out of my insane bonds. Maybe I can get out here with emotional probing. Who knows; because I certainly don't?

Leo's POV

This girl is so hot right now. I mean, she actually can work with materials like a proper engineer and has really good strategies to get this whole thing started. I have no idea how she does it - especially all that attention-span - but I wouldn't change it. Also, I think if I ate her eyeballs, I wouldn't be able to stare at her. She'd just look like some kind of zombies. And she'd be very much dead. I'm glad I didn't eat her eyeballs.

I finished taking down the defenses of the building a couple of minutes ago and now we're in a laboratory making some bomb stuff like true pyromaniacs. A genius that can work with chemicals; I have been looking for her for a long time. Well, not that long in relation to some dudes out there. Because Lauren worked for the company from the inside for a couple of years, she knows her around this place, so that's how we ended up here. It's good I'm with someone who is experienced and very interested in me. It must be my amazingly good looks.

"Leo, hand me that blue liquid?" she says, holding out her hand. I pass her the small test-tube of blue liquid and pour in some clear liquid, over the purple wire beside the red one.

"I'm going to blow this building sky-high and say 'that's Karma, baby' when we save everyone," I say grinning at her. She smiles back and screws on the final piece to make the mega-bomb. I take it and put it into my tool-belt, ready for a fight to come. I don't know if I can save everyone, but I hope Annabeth and Percy are re-united before I blow everything up. Or not, because then it might be more of a cliffhanger for this weird story that I call life.

Slap!

"What the hell was that for?!" I yell, seeing Lauren's hand retracting from my face with a grin on her face. What was that for? Is she some kind of evil child? Maybe. Then I'm in big trouble. If she'd going to attack me now, then I might have to fight her. Then I could eat her eyeballs. What if she isn't rogue and she was just getting information out of me? Argh, Percy is going to kill me - right after she kills me. I'm going to die by a woman's hand. Damn. I wanted to be blown out of a volcano with the words 'TEAM VALDEZ' written in a puff of smoke. Disappointed again at life. Why didn't she just kill me sooner?

"That's Karma, baby," she whispers, her face very close to mine. Damn, she's going to eat my eyeballs!

But then she doesn't.

Then she kisses me.

Right. On. The. Lips.

WHAT IS HAPPENING!

I'M DYING IN HEAVEN!

She's not killing me... She's kissing me. Same amount of letters... but so different.

"You're not going to kill me, then?" I ask, my voice cracking a little from surprise. She shakes her head, laughing.

"I'm balancing out the slap and the kiss. Now, let's go kick some enemy butt!"

Girls are so confusing.

Percy's POV

"That's the one, I think," Nico says, stopping in front of a steel door with the name 'M. Grayson'. No kidding Nico. "Leo's probably finished with the whole electric stations by now. Hopefully.

"Do we knock?" Grover asks, looking left and right, then back to me. I shake my head, frown and open the door, thinking it would be open. It is, and I know it must be too easy at this point, but don't even bother complaining. As we walk in, I see Annabeth leaning over the desk, a knife at Mr Suit-guy's throat - apparently now named 'M. Grayson', unless he's an impostor.

"Annabeth?" Thalia asks, staring at the girl with a grin planted on her face. Annabeth turns to us and smiles, lets go of Grayson and walks over to us. In the distance of my mind, I hear a click - sort of like opening a door - but disregard it quickly. I jog toward Annabeth, feeling elated and my heart light. It's a strange feeling. My mind aches and I can't help but grin, glad that there is nothing stopping us now. I reach my hand out and time slows down as we grab hands.

Just then, the door slams and I break away from Annabeth to turn toward the door. A tall blonde boy with a large scar down one side of his face, from his pale blue eyes to his lips, chapped and cut in various places. The thing that catches my eye is the gun in his hand - why does everyone have guns? - which is only when he fires it. Straight toward me. I feel a heavy place on me, and a cold feeling spreading over my skin. People should stop with the guns and the fighting all the time.

I look down to see where the shot had planted itself and see it is not even on me. There is no pain; there is no feeling of life flashing before my eyes; and there is no blood on me. The blood is on the blonde girl right in front of me, her chest pressed against mine as the blood flowed onto me from her. My eyes widen and my heart drops like a stone. I feel my mouth fall open and start to dry as Annabeth starts crying.

"Luke?" she utters before crumbling further into my arms, liquid leaking from her eyes and a dot of red blood turning into a cruelly beautiful butterfly of red ink over her chest. I look back at 'Luke' and see a golden glint streak across his eyes, but not before the small amount of remorse crosses his features. His name sounds familiar, but I can't place that face; it's not like anything I've seen before. I don't know. My mind is strange. Only one thing matters most right now.

"Annabeth!" I whisper, voice rasped and harsh. I watch her as her pupils dilate and breathing became ragged, slowing down as I hold her. Time is slow, but it doesn't seem to last long enough. I know she is gone; dead. I'm gonna kill that boy, Luke! He will die no matter what! I don't care about the consequences! He will pay for what he has done! I'm gonna rip his head off and throw it t some lions then tear him limb by limb, tearing apart every bit of him that I can. I will make sure he can feel all the pain possible then times it by ten so his insides are outside and outsides are anywhere away from his body with his skin - what the hell is going on?

Something strange is happening - as usual - but I feel weird. Something is holding me back. I feel weightless but heavier than ten tons at the same time. I turn my head back to Luke and see the golden glow in his eyes have taken over more than just his irises. The room has faded into a misty mess where only Luke and I stand, the room a blur of colors and several dark outlines - which I assume are my friends. They are faceless people in a world of darkness now. I try to move, but watch in horror and terror as my arms move twenty times slower than I want them to. Luke just smiles at me, almost knowingly, and approaches. Whereas I appear to be stuck in invisible jelly, Luke is on the invisible speed train. His body moved quick through the air, almost as if he had crafted time and sense itself.

Time. It doesn't even seem relative.

Then I am falling, further than ever before. The darkness is back and Luke has disappeared, as well as the rest of the room. Things just don't disappear like that - not now, not ever. Not even in Annabeth's world. What's happening and when will it stop?

Lauren's POV

"Annabeth!" I shout, shoving Luke against the door - or what was left of him. It seems Kronos has taken this world as well as the last. Now he has taken my sister as well. It's all up to Percy to wake us now.

Annabeth's POV

Something weird is going on. All around is this dark weird mist and I can't move properly. I can't see anyone. I remember being shot, then there was nothing but silence and this dark mist. Maybe this is Kronos; maybe it is Luke - which means it could be both. I don't know what their plan is, but I have no intention of being involved. Then again, I'm not sure I have a choice in that.

Suddenly there is a humming noise in the background. It gets louder, like a computer processing something - I remember it from Daedalus' laptop back at camp, all those miles and worlds away. An image flickers onto a patch of mist in front of me. It's Percy. All I see is him. The world grows up around me, turning to 3D, rather than the movie-like picture from a moment ago. My feet begin to walk towards him and I smile and he smiles back. I know it's okay; we'll be okay.

"Percy!" I shout, still grinning. Then I stop. My feet won't move. Percy crosses the road, watching me and not the car that hits him. He is knocked away and rolls over the windscreen of the car. I see the person in the car and try to run. Luke - or rather Kronos - steps out of the car and walks to where Percy is sprawled across the pavement, a giant gash over his forehead and a blooded nose. I try to run, but am trapped. If it was real, I would be able to move. It's not real.I shut my eyes and chant the same thing in my head, trying to erase all thoughts about that car and that boy and Luke.

It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. Percy isn't dead. Percy isn't dead. He can't be. It's not real.

I open my eyes again and the scene has disappeared, along with Percy and Kronos and the car. It's all gone. It was just a horrible nightmare. It wasn't real.

"Annabeth?" My body goes cold. Percy is here. But how? "Annabeth, help... help me," he chokes. I look around for him and see his body at my feet, just inches away from me. He reaches up and puts his hand in the air and I go to touch it, but something cold and hard is in the way. Glass. I can't reach him, can't touch him, can't make sure he is okay. There is nothing I can do. I don't know if it's real or not anymore, because I can't tell. So I do the worst thing possible.

I curl up in a ball and cry. I cry until I can't cry anymore.

Lauren's POV

Where did everyone go? They were all here and now they're not. What do I do now? I was supposed to save everyone, but I can't save people who aren't here. I don't know what to do. I need help, so I call to the one I think can help me.

I call my mother.

Percy's POV

How did I get in a cave? Well, from what I can see, it's a cave. There is rock and a tiny bit of light. Who knows, I could be in a mine. I was in this weird misty land and now I'm in a cave, with Thalia and Nico and they are arguing again. They always seem to argue. I wonder why that is? In the background, I can hear something and it's getting louder but I can't hear properly with all the shouting!

"Guys, just shut up a second, will you?" I ask, my voice raised. They stop shouting and glare at me and I can't help but retract a little. Honestly, it's not the scariest glare - like that of Annabeth's - I've seen, but pretty intimidating. "Look, I think I can hear something, so just shut up, please." Thalia sighs and Nico just shuts up, but it's better to have annoyed friends than a humming noise that you can't quite hear. Well, in some cases anyway.

"Wait, Perce, is that..." Nico trails off, listening to the noise as it gets louder. Thalia confirms his answer.

"Growling," she says. "But coming from where?"

"I think you mean from who," Nico mutters. "Or what."

"It's coming from that way," I say, pointing ahead of me. "Anyway, how did we even get here?"

"Well, I was in the building, then I was here. So, I have no idea," Nico concluded, giving a grin. Then Thalia smacked him on the head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"I dunno. I just felt like it." Thalia answered.

"Yeah well - what is that!" Nico shouts, staring up at a dark object in the cave, a shadow or something; but definitely a big shadow. We are in some serious trouble. I suddenly have an instinct to reach inside my pocket and retrieve my favorite pen, with the words 'Riptide' inscribed on the side. I have no idea what it means but, like most things, I have double memories about this pen. One where I have been just writing with it in exams, and others where it turns into this crazy sword and appears in my pocket - which is kind of impossible, but useful.

"What's happening?" Thalia yells over the sudden noise. She glances at Nico and see's he is just disturbed by the noise as she and I are. "Is that water?!"

"I think so," I confirm, also shouting to speak over the sudden rush of water. Or, it could be water, anyway. It might not, because that's the kind of day it's been. Ah, to think that, this morning, I was worried about how it would go with Annabeth and if she liked me. Now I'm in a cave - we think - about to drown with a pen that may or may not be a sword and some friends who are supposedly my cousins.

A tall figure steps out of the shadows.

Oh, and there's that giant monster that looks hungry enough to eat us. This should be interesting.

Hi everyone... so, yeah. Sorry for not updating. I hope you like the chapter. Review if you did, review if you didn't. Reviews = happy writer. Happy writer = motivated to update.

Thanks to all those who did review last chapter and have supported this little story through my lack of updates. Hello to all the new followers and I hope I didn't disappoint you all.

Just know that I might not update too often because I am writing my own book, am going on holiday and have way too much to do, despite it being summer. Also, read my blog if you want to see what I do on a daily basis. ' . '

Ummm... hope to speak to y'all soon on this update. I think there will be about two-four chapters left of this to write. Have fun :)