I know, I know, I deserve to travel to the depths of Tartarus for making you all wait this long. *PLEASE DON'T KILL ME*

Here's the new chapter though!

"Well well well. Are you in a bind, Princess?"

"Julian?" Penny recognized the voice and looked up, but only turned slightly. She knew that the owner of the voice would be nowhere in sight. "What do you want?" she asked, her tone scathing. "Unless you can get me out of this godsforsaken palace and save my friends, go away. I'd rather not have a partner in this misery."

"Well, as a matter of fact-" Julian started, but Penny cut him off.

"You're not serious?"

The deep chuckle reverberated through the room, and Penny fought the urge to shut her eyes. For some reason, that tone never failed to leave her uneasy. "I can give you anything you've ever wanted, Penelope. I just need your full cooperation."

That didn't sound good. "Ah, the catch. What do you want? I can't really guarantee you can get it; if you haven't noticed, I'm sort of a Roman slave locked in my room at the moment."

"No worries, dear; you'll get me exactly what I want," Julian replied. "It all depends, however, on how much you are willing to work against your captors."

"The Romans deserve a long, grueling time in Tartarus," Penny said in a heartbeat. "I'm a slave, my queen is a prisoner, and my best friend is about to be executed-"

"Best friend?" Now it was Julian's turn to interrupt. "I could've sworn that there was something else there."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Best. Friend. No requited feelings of love. I'm pretty sure Nico is betrothed anyways. Speaking of which, what will I tell her if I return home without him? I cannot let him die, but the only feeling of love I have for him is that of a brother. Believe me."

"Oh, I have no trouble believing you, dear. But I do know of a certain general who seemed to have more than one reason for wanting your friend dead, and not all of them were for the selfless patriotism of his country."

"What?"

"Forgive me, dear, but I'm afraid the stereotypes seem to be quite correct. Children of Neptune really aren't good with subtlety."

"What in Hades' name are you talking about?" Penny asked, still confused.

"Never mind. Now, do you know the best way to injure a person, particularly a powerful one?" Julian asked, his tone still patronizing.

"Um... Stick him with a sword?"

Another chilling laugh. "As I said, my dear, you lack subtlety in all of its forms. No, Penelope, the best way to injure a person is to hurt his heart. The figurative heart, not the literal one. Now, of all the people in Rome, who holds the heart of your greatest enemy?"

Leo? No, he wasn't the power player, the one calling the shots. Jason was her greatest enemy, the one who had ordered her to be beaten and locked away and enslaved. And his heart was held by-

"Piper, the empress." Penny stated, somewhat relieved that she had the answer. But... "I don't want to kill her. Piper may be in love with the biggest crow in this country, but she's helped in ways that she could. I owe her a debt."

There was a sigh, then Julian continued. "I had a feeling you would say something like that. It's a good thing I have another plan. Look on your bedside table and tell me what you see."

Penny turned away from her place at the window and looked. A bowl of fresh fruit, as there always was when she retired for the night, a pitcher of water, and... A glowing red vial. "What is it?"

"That, princess, is the key to your freedom and that of your friends. Do you remember the tunnel that your former general friend pointed out to you when you were first given this room?"

Penny's eyes widened. She had forgotten about the escape tunnel.

"Use it. Your general won't be there; the Imperial army left the city less than half an hour ago. They're on their way to meet your brother's army north of the city. If you plan your escape correctly, you'll be away before anyone notices that you've escaped and back with your own people. But you'll need to follow my directions perfectly. Listen carefully."

Penny grasped the vial between her fingers, staring at the glowing bottle as she listened to Julian's plan. So close to freedom. She could see it through her fingertips.

Penny carried the red vial in her left hand and held a dagger to her waist in her other hand, walking confidently through the palace halls. A lesson that she had learned as a young child: if you gave off the appearance that you were supposed to be where you were, only a few people would question it. And since the only people she passed were other, lesser slaves carrying out their own jobs, she wasn't questioned at all. Getting into the emperor's quarters was supposed to be a more difficult challenge, but she was ignored as she entered the wing of the palace and reached her destination with no problem. There weren't even guards at the door. The emperor really needed to fix his security problems. She entered through the servant's entrance and glided soundlessly across the floor to the figure seated on the other side of the room. She was staring closely at a weapon in her own hands, and only gasped a split second before Penny reached her. Piper whirled around, dagger flashing through the air, but Penny knocked it out of her hands easily and pointed her own weapon at the empress.

"Sit," Penny ordered, and Piper did so, with the grace only possessed by people of her position and beauty.

"I must say, Penelope," Piper said easily, without a hint of fear, "I expected that you'd be a little more trouble than my husband thought. He underestimated you."

Penny rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to kill you, Empress. I need the keys to the dungeons. And then more you to do me a favor."

Piper smiled. "And why do you think I would do anything for you?"

"Because we're both fighting for what we know is right, and you respect that. Besides," Penny wiggled the dagger in front of her. "I believe I have the leverage in this instance."

"You're quite a terrible diplomat, Penny," Piper said, with a lilt in her voice to let the younger girl know that she was kidding. "But I'll agree to your terms, as long as they don't mean killing myself." She turned slowly, leaving her open to show Penny that she wasn't arming herself, then handed Penny a chain with multiple keys hanging from it. "There. Now, for the second task?"

Penny held out the vial to Piper. "Drink it. It'll give me time to escape before the entire Roman army comes after my tail."

Piper took the bottle into her hands and examined, shaking the contents. "How do I know this isn't a poison designed to kill me?"

"You don't. You'll have to take my word for it."

Piper sighed, then stood, walked to her bed and sat down again. "I'll trust you, Penelope. It seems that the fates of both Greece and Rome are in your hands. Be careful that the burden doesn't become too much." With that, the empress uncorked the vial and drank the potion in one swig. She gasped, then stuck her tongue out. "Revolting. You know, no matter the potion-" Suddenly she gagged, hands moving to her throat and head. "Penny, what have you done? This isn't just a sleeping potion, you've let them through! They're passing my wards! They'll kill every-" Piper coughed again, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed onto the bed. Penny rushed to her bed and felt for a pulse. Unconscious. But that wasn't the plan. What had gone wrong?

She barely had time to think things through before the main doors opened and Jason walked through, armored but with a smile plastered on his face. The moment he caught sight of Penny beside the fallen empress, though, his gaze widened and he made to draw his sword. Penny used the pause to escape the room, ramming into him and causing Jason to lose his balance and fall to the floor. She turned back only once, to see the emperor rushing to Piper's side and grasp the sides of her face, calling her name. Then Penny ran for her life.

There were some benefits to living in the palace as a slave for so long; she knew every secret passage, every shortcut through the grounds. She knew that Nico would be the most heavily guarded and rushed to the part of the palace that held him first.

There were five guards outside his cell. She caught the first guard in the throat with her dagger, then took his sword from its sheath to stab the second and third guards through the gut in quick succession. The fourth guard was smarter and lept on top of her after she finished off the third guard. They struggled for a moment, before she head-butted his helmet-less head, giving her the precious seconds she needed to recover a sword and stab it into his back. The fifth guard grabbed her from behind, but she reached her hands to his head and jerked, snapping his neck.

She hadn't felt so alive in months. She hadn't felt like a killer in months.

She opened the cell door as quickly as she could, only to be nearly blinded by a light so bright she could hardly see through it. She shielded as much of her eyes and she could and ran into the cell, looking for Nico. In the end, she nearly tripped over him, a ball of a person crouched down in an attempt to cover his eyes. She felt for the chain that linked him to the wall and jammed a key into it. After a couple of tries, she managed to unlock it and bent down to the man.

"Nico!" She shouted, in case he couldn't hear. The light produced a loud, ear-splitting sound that threatened to drive her insane. "You need to stand up; I'm here to get you out!"

Without waiting for confirmation, she hooked an arm around his waist and dragged him upward, half-pulling, half-leading him along to the exit. They managed to stumble out of the cell when Nico tried to speak. "Penny?"

"Yes, it's me, half-wit. Hurry up, I've got half of the army on my tail and we still need to save Annabeth. I hope you can walk on your own, otherwise you and I are dead."

Nico managed a half-chuckle, half-groan and spit out on the ground. His eyes opened slightly to glance at the former 'battleground'. "Seems you've taken care of half the army already."

"Shut up. When we get out of this and you recover, I'm punching you for making this mess. Why would you ever try to rescue me here; it's an idiot's plan."

"I'm an idiot." Whack! "Hey!"

"I gave up on self-control and hit you anyway." She looked down at him, which was an odd enough gesture; Nico was usually at least half a foot taller than her, but now he was hunched over and looking up at her. His face was bruised, bloody, and torn, not to mention the rest of his body. Now she felt guilty about hitting him. "Hurry, there's not much time left." They both grabbed swords and hurried down the hall.

Annabeth's cell only had one guard, who Penny managed to frighten away with a threat and her obviously bloody appearance. She unlocked the door as quickly as possible and rushed inside, Nico at her heels. Annabeth lay on her cot, eyes shut, but they opened as Penny walked toward her. "You're back. And a mess," she said softly, her voice weak.

Penny managed a small smile in an attempt to keep Annabeth from worrying. "That I am. I've brought a friend."

Nico hobbled up to her bedside. "Hi there Annabeth. You look... Bigger." Whack! "Hey!"

"You deserve that one," Annabeth managed to say, her voice happy. "I would've done the same if I were feeling like I could actually hit something."

"My queen, we're going to get you out of here," Penny said, her tone confident. "Nico, you can shadow travel in here, right?"

Nico's eyes widened and he turned about the room. "I can do it. Nice dark cells are perfect for it. But Penny...I don't have the strength to take more than one, excluding the baby. It doesn't count."

"It is your future ruler, Nico," Annbeth reprimanded. "Be nice. But Penny... No, you can't!"

Penny took a deep breath, then held out her hands to Annabeth. "I came here with a sole purpose, my queen. And now I have don't have a choice. You're not just taking care of yourself anymore; you have the baby to think of. And I'll die in both of your places in a heartbeat." Shouts carried down the hall, and Penny nearly yanked Annabeth into standing position despite her protests. "Go!" Nico and Annabeth clasped hands, hardly able to say goodbye. "Tell Percy that I'm sorry!"

They disappeared into the shadows seconds before the door crashed open, but Penny was ready. Armed with two swords made for men much large then her, she managed to cut down four others before a dagger hit her in the shoulder and she collapsed, her arm frozen and covering in blood. An order was barked, but Penny couldn't hear anything but a ringing in her ears. In a desperate attempt to protect herself she summoned the water sitting in the pitcher at Annabeth's bedside to cover her like a shield, but an angry shout called forth a lightning strike that traveled through the water in a current and entered Penny's body. The last thing she saw was a burst of light, and then darkness.

Poor Penny. No escape for her... Is she alive? Is she dead? Will I end the story there (Hint: Na)? Did Nico and Annabeth actually managed to escape? Where's Leo? Do you all hate me for waiting so long to update (Hint: Probably)? Still, don't hate me so much that you don't review. It lets me know that you all still care. :)

Valete!