Hey guys! Hope you are having the happiest of holidays :) Mine have been awesome, but I'm depressed that school starts on Thursday.

Ugh

Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter! A question is answered in this chapter, so hold onto your seats, because it's a big one.

Let it commence.

Percy

How we managed to get in and out of the armory without being seen was beyond me, but a miracle I was extremely grateful for.

If I didn't have Annabeth pulling me along, I think I probably would have passed out on the ground in a second.

We stumbled into the clearing when Annabeth suddenly stopped.

"Oh, gods no," she whispered, a hand over her mouth.

The clearing was a mess. People were lying on the ground, groaning. Some were bloody, and some looked completely knocked out. Jason was standing over a girl on the ground, who was kneeling. He was rubbing her shoulders as she sobbed into her hands. Piper was sitting next to her, trying to calm her down.

It was Bethany.

I never thought I would see her break down. She seemed too much like Thalia. Too strong and definitely not the one to show tears.

Annabeth dropped my hand and hurried over to her side. "Tell me what happened."

Before she could answer, I said, "Wait."

All eyes swiveled towards me. "Jason, Piper, you stay here. Everyone else who's conscious get everyone unconscious back to the prison. Leo, please tell me you got some ambrosia and nectar in your belt. You can heal people there, and it'll be a safe place for them. Tell Reyna what's happened. Now."

People shuffled to their feet and carried out what I'd told them. Once the clearing was empty except for the five of us, I turned to Bethany.

She wiped at her eyes and sucked in a shaky breath. "We were ambushed and they took him. They took him when I could have stopped them. And I didn't." Tears started to fall down her cheeks again.

"Who did they take?" Piper asked gently.

"Nate," Annabeth said. "I don't see him. They took Nate captive."

Bethany nodded.

"He had his arrows, and I thought he'd be fine," she said thickly. "But they slashed him from behind. They stabbed him through his armor. I tried to get him. I tried. But they took him away. Why did they take him?"

"Bethany, you are not to blame," Jason said. "I was supposed to be covering him, but I let my guard down. It's my fault."

"Let's not play the blame game," Annabeth said. "It won't get us anywhere. What we need to do is get him back. Who knows what Octavian could be doing to him—especially since Nate betrayed him."

Piper squeezed Bethany's hand. "Everything will be fine."

"What you need to do is rest," I said. "We've been working hard. You're not a machine."

Annabeth looked at me and gave what was almost a smile. "Neither are you."

I barely shrugged my shoulders. "I want to talk to Jason about what we should do next. Assemble a search party to find Frank and all that."

She nodded. "After that, Percy, you need to rest. If you don't, I will personally knock you out long enough that you will."

I tried to smile, but it felt like the muscles in my face were paralyzed. I probably gave her a grimace. "It won't take long."

She turned back to Bethany, and I faced Jason.

"So, what are you thinking?"

Annabeth

"Do you want to go somewhere a bit more private?" I asked Bethany.

She nodded, and I helped her stand up. Jason and Percy were muttering to each other, and Piper was still sitting on the ground below them, picking at grass and occasionally giving input.

We moved over to a secluded bit of the clearing and I waited for her to say something. I didn't want to push her.

She sighed. "Why do I feel this way?" She wiped at her eyes and looked at me.

"Because you like him," I replied. Bethany opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "I know, it's hard. Sometimes, liking—even loving—someone can be considered a weakness. You don't know what you'll do without them, and you feel full around them, but empty when they're gone. And believe me, I know firsthand how it feels to lose someone."

Bethany glanced over at Percy, who was still talking to Jason. "He went missing for six months, didn't he?"

"The hardest six months of my life," I said. "But I never gave up. I kept searching. And you should too. Stop pushing him away, because you won't know what you've missed until he's really gone. If you get past your fear, I promise your life will be so much easier. Don't view it as a weakness, Bethany, because seeing love as a weakness, is a weakness."

"You're amazing," Bethany breathed. "How can you make me feel so much better? I would think a child of Venus would be the one to give love advice."

"Sometimes they are," I replied, looking at Piper. "But sometimes, they can be extremely shallow. It's better to get advice from someone who's actually experienced a tough love life."

She smiled, and I grinned back.

"You're sure everything's okay?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She tensed slightly, but slowly relaxed.

"Yeah, everything's great," Bethany said. "Well, besides an impending war, the guy I like is kidnapped, and I might not live to see the next day. Other than that, I'm fine."

"There's the optimism I'm looking for." I laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "What's for breakfast? I'm starving."

I rolled my eyes, and she walked over to the manhole and slid down.

I sighed. Bethany was so…complicated. She always seemed so tightly wound, and had built so many walls around her, and when they would crumble, she would feel like she's nothing.

I rubbed my temples, thinking. If only she could just tear down every wall and just start over. And unfortunately, even though she's a daughter of the goddess of Victory, she hadn't had much victory in a love life.

It seriously amazed me how demigods want and hate relationships. I guess it's part of the job.

Shaking my head and sighing again, I walked over to Percy and Jason and sat next to Piper.

Percy stopped the conversation with Jason and turned to me. "Is everything okay with Bethany?" he asked.

"She'll be fine," I said. "I think she just needs to get her thoughts together."

"I know the feeling," Jason muttered.

"Are you guys done talking?" I asked. "Because I wasn't kidding about knocking Percy out."

"Yeah, I think we're done," Percy yawned. "Do you think it's possible to sneak some pillows from the barracks?"

"I highly doubt it, Seaweed Brain," I said. I stood up and took his hand. "Let's go lie down."

The four of us jumped down the manhole and closed it behind us. We walked down the tunnels, Percy and me in the front, and Jason and Piper behind us. I could hear Jason and Piper talking quietly together, but their voices echoed off the walls, and I couldn't understand what they were saying.

I probably didn't want to know anyway.

We soon reached the door to the prison, and Percy practically collapsed on the ground in exhaustion when we stepped inside.

Reyna saw us walk in, and stormed over to us, probably to interrogate our ears off, but Percy and Jason shot her down.

"Not now, Reyna," Percy mumbled. "I need…I need to sleep."

"I want to know what's been happening!" she yelled. "Your group get's back with most injured and unconscious, and we're missing a soldier. I need to know!"

"I'll tell you what's happened," Piper said.

Reyna recoiled. "You?"

I saw her eyes dart to Piper's hand in Jason's, and I knew Piper saw it too.

"Yeah," Piper said, trying to make peace. "Jason has enough on his mind, and Percy's about to fall over." She bit her lip. "I'm your girl."

She tugged her hand out of Jason's grip and started to walk over to a corner of the room. Reyna was still standing there, looking at Piper.

"Do you want to know?" Piper asked.

"Yes," Reyna said. She hesitated a bit longer, and then strode to where Piper had sat down.

"Now that that's settled, can I sleep now?" Percy whined.

"I thought you didn't need to," I said, guiding him over to what looked like the softest spot that stone could have.

"You were right," Percy said. "You happy?"

"Yes," I said.

He shot me a tired glare, and then lay down.

"G'night, Wise Girl," he murmured.

"Same to you, Seaweed Brain," I replied, taking my spot next to him. He rolled onto his side and then pulled me closer to him so I was against his chest.

I tried to hide my smile as I closed my eyes.

Octavian

Octavian pulled off his helmet and threw it into the corner of the room.

He sat down in a chair and was about to relax when a knock sounded at the door.

"What do you want?" he yelled.

The door swung open, and a guard walked in with a prisoner with a bag over its head. Its side was bloody, and they stumbled forward.

"Well, well, who's this?" Octavian asked, leaning forward.

The guard forced the prisoner to its knees and whipped off the bag.

The prisoner blinked. They had a bruise on their eye, and small cuts lined their cheeks. Its hair was disheveled, and their hands twitched.

"Nate, son of Apollo," Octavian mused. Nate stared defiantly at Octavian without saying a word. "What are you doing here?"

Nate just glared.

"What do you have to report on the Greeks?" Octavian asked.

"I'm not your spy anymore," Nate spat.

"Oh, really?" Octavian said. "If I remember correctly, you were the one who volunteered for the job. You were one of the closest people on my side."

Nate refused to answer.

"I see." Octavian smirked. "I think I understand perfectly. It's that girl, isn't it?"

Nate stared at him straight in the eye.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Octavian crowed. "Bethany. That's her name, correct? You volunteered because you knew she would be there. You had no intention of changing sides. You were going to bring Percy and Annabeth straight to me. You had no idea that Bethany would be on their side. You expected her to help you, and you had hidden affections for her."

Octavian clapped his hands, smiling wickedly. "And then you saw how good the Greeks were, and how loyal and kind."

Octavian stood up and circled Nate until he was behind him. He placed his hands on Nate's shoulders, and Nate tensed sharply. "It's amazing how love can twist you; change your feelings, your emotions, even your standards. I never saw you as a weak person, Nate." Octavian leaned down until his mouth was right by Nate's ear. "And now I know I was mistaken," he whispered. "Love is a weakness. It tears you down. It makes you delirious, mad. You'll do anything to get back to her, am I correct?"

Nate bit his lip, staring straight ahead.

"You know, you remind me of a certain someone by the name of Percy Jackson. You're loyal, and you've let love consume you. I'm sure you don't want to meet the same fate as him, am I correct?"

Fear took over Nate. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Nate had one thing still on his side, but he didn't know if he could say it. If anything happened to Bethany…it would be his entire fault. His entire stupid fault that he was the one who was captured.

Octavian squeezed Nate's shoulders and then straightened.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Nate," Octavian said. "You can either return to my side and continue spying, or Lethe might find its way into your next meal."

That sent Nate over the edge. He stood defiantly, knocking Octavian into his desk. "There's a weakness you have, too, Octavian, and don't think I don't know it!" Nate yelled. "You recently received a letter, with a black seal?"

Fear flickered on Octavian's face. "How did you—?"

"And it burned when you touched it. You thought it was an advantage. But you were so wrong," Nate said. His voice shook with anger. "It was a message from my father, Apollo, god of music, poetry, and Oracles. Your patron. He knows what you've done! He knows where your allegiances really lie. You think you can hide from the god of prophecy? You're a fool! That was a message of your doom, not Percy's. And you've been too blind to see it."

Nate gained courage with every word until he was screaming. "I may have been on your side, Octavian. I may have been your spy, but that's over. You're almost over, too! You'll regret everything you've done! Your fate is sealed! When my father unleashes his wrath—"

"ENOUGH!" Octavian screamed. "TAKE HIM AWAY!"

The guard grabbed Nate and dragged him out of the room, who was still yelling. "Destroying me will just destroy you! Don't think Apollo will take it kindly when he finds you have ruined his son!"

The door slammed shut, cutting off Nate's cursing.

And Octavian was alone.

Have a fabulous week! I'll see you in the next update.

OKAY BYE.