Hey guys! So, this chapter is SUPER delayed and I am so so sorry but so many things happened. First, I went on a trip to Washington DC which was so fun! But then the inevitable mountain of work was waiting for me when I got home and I got an average of five hours of sleep each night for an extended period of time which was NOT fun, but that also meant that unless I wanted less sleep, I couldn't work on a chapter. And then I went on a band trip to Disney World last week, which was so fun until one of my friends and fellow band member died while we were on the trip, due to pneumonia and other complications. And I really wanted to work on this but ever since I got back from that trip I've been sleep deprived and depressed SO here is this chapter now and I hope it's not too shitty. But it'll probably be a little shitty, just a warning. I got 9 hours of sleep last night (the most I've gotten in one night in the last five weeks, maybe) so I feel pretty good about this. Anyways, without further delay, here is the chapter! I own nothing, but please enjoy the chapter. :)

Third Person POV

Last time, with Percy:

Looking around the corner at the end of the hallway, Percy faced a blissful sight. There, at the end of another, very short hallway, was a door with light streaming in through the frosted glass window. He just found his way out of Apollo's temple.

Travelling the length of the hallway he was just in took Percy a long time. The next hallway was much shorter, but it took probably the same amount of time. He could feel how weak he was, could feel the way his legs trembled beneath the weight of his body. He could feel his joints creak with each slow, exaggerated movement, protesting the probably-comical motions he attempted. He felt like an ancient tortoise, skin dry and wrinkled in the sun, its movements dried out and reduced to a slow, crawling shell.

He was like a tortoise, slow and hiding within his shell. Except he was worse, so much worse, because a tortoise wouldn't have brought Kronos to Olympus to kill all his friends.

That was a reason to keep going, he said to himself. Kronos is going to kill all your friends. You can't let that happen, you can't let that be your fault too. You already have enough to be guilty for, don't be guilty for something else.

A small, traitorous voice at the back of his head whispered that his friends might already be dead. Kronos might've already found them all, killed them all, and was on his way to find Percy and make him immortal just so he could torture him for the rest of eternity.

The son of Poseidon wouldn't be surprised. At this point, a happy ending would be more of an introduction to a heart attack than Kronos's victory.

With a grunt, he made it to the end of the hallway and leaned against the door with the window made of frosted glass. Mercifully, it opened outwards, so all Percy had to do was twist the knob and keep leaning his weight against it. With shaking fingers, he lifted his hand to the doorknob and twisted it softly. In a matter of a minute, he was on the other side of that frosted glass.

Looking around, Percy found himself in a garden. The few labelled plants were labelled with different medicines, so Percy guessed that this had to be a medicinal garden that Apollo used to create some of his more rare medical concoctions.

Behind the son of Poseidon was a golden wall of Apollo's temple. In front of him, beyond the garden, was a little stone fence. But on the other side of that fence was Olympus.

Percy was almost there. Grover, Luke, Silena, Beck. Annabeth. He was on his way.

Last time with Silena and Beckendorf:

The son of Hephaestus smiled reassuringly. "I'll be as careful as I can. I don't want to lose you, either." He leaned forwards to press a sweet kiss to her lips, pulling back too soon for either of their liking. He started to move away in the direction of his father's workshop. "I'll be back soon!"

Before Silena could shout a reply, the son of Hephaestus had disappeared around the corner.

Silena waited by the helicopter. She stood for a while, mind not fully accepting the idea that if she turned her head to the left, Charlie wouldn't be there. Her mind also couldn't accept the idea that if she turned her head to the right, she would see a black stealth helicopter. The same helicopter Kronos was using for some nefarious purpose.

When had this become her life? Just a year ago, she was sitting by the campfire with her siblings and her friends, singing camp songs and eating marsh mellows. Now, they were at war. How many beds in her cabin would be empty by the time this was over? How many of her siblings wouldn't be coming back? The Aphrodite campers were always underestimated. They weren't always given the same training as the tougher, hardier members of the camp. The Ares kids had it easy; none of them ever had to worry about whether or not they would be able to fight. That's what they were born to do.

Silena was born to look pretty. She was born to look pretty, be a seductress, and use her voice to manipulate people. (Drew was the only other member of Cabin 9 that had the same ability, but the other girl used it too often to make Silena comfortable.) She wasn't born to fight in wars.

Where was Charlie? Shouldn't he have been back by now?

Silena glanced over her left shoulder from where she was sitting, nestled in the shadow of some temple or memorial to some long-dead hero. Maybe Charlie came back already but she couldn't see him. Or maybe he didn't see her, so he kept going, looking for her. Or maybe he got stopped by monsters that invaded Olympus and he's sprawled across the ground somewhere, bleeding out, all because he went by himself and she was just sitting there in the shade like another useless Aphrodite girl, it's all her fault an-

Wait, what was that noise?

Silena stopped her process of thought to listen harder. For a long moment, there was nothing.

She could've sworn she'd heard something...

Wait, there it was again! A faint scratch on rock, like the sound of the sole of a shoe going over brick. Was that Charlie? Silena almost sprang from her spot, but some instinct made her hold her position.

The scratching, scraping noise grew louder until it seemed like the person would round the corner at any second. Silena hid in the shadows, waiting.

A second later, a humanoid figure lurched around the corner. Knife held tightly in her dominant hand, Silena leapt forwards.

Hey guys! Very short chapter, but I hope it's okay since I haven't updated in FOREVER! Anyways, I will try super extra hard to post the next chapter April 28 because April 21 is Easter. Thanks! :)