Guys, guess what... WE GOT 500 REVIEWS!

You people are actually so awesome, I love you so much! :D

And sorry for another long wait, but I do have a legitament excuse this time, I had this chapter and the second chapter for Cast Away already written but my computer didn't save it and I had to start again, and I have a pretty bad viral infection and I've been really sick.

I realise my chapters are too short for the waits you guys have, so I'll try to make them longer ;P

Percy's POV

My wrists ached with the strain of holding my body off the ground.

Every now and then I'd manage to grab the chain and pull myself up to relieve them, as well as loosen the shackles, but a man can only hold that position for so long.

Ethan had dismissed the two other guards after the first five hours, seemingly certain I wouldn't try to escape. And, foolishly, he also seemed confident in his ability to stop me if I did.

"Sore, Jackson?" He mocked.

I bit back a remark and stayed silent.

"Tomorrow, you won't feel any more pain, trust me."

His wicked smile made me laugh. "You would be right, Ethan."

I'd been teasing him the entire time. Giving him little hints, but nothing that would give the others away, just enough to drive him mad. And it worked.

Nakumura finally snapped.

He slammed his fists against the wall behind him and stalked over to the cell, bringing his hands up to bars as if he could strangle me from the distance. "Alright, what are you planning, Jackson? What are you and your disgusting rats up to?"

I flashed him a lop-sided smile. "The gods know I'll never tell."

Oh gods, I love stirring him up. It was hilarious.

Ethan fumed. "I'll figure it out, sooner or later."

Then he left, replaced by the other guards.

Thalia's POV

The Argo and the Princess Andromeda sailed side by side. Hidden by the night sky, we drifted closer to the Mainland.

The citadel loomed on the coast, over the hundreds of wooden houses and stores. And in the middle of it all, was the pier.

I stood on the deck of the Argo and stared at the city, at the fortress where I was Luke's trusted assassin. Somewhere in that fortress, Percy was being held prisoner.

And further inland, Annabeth was locked up in Luke's estate.

At nine o'clock this morning, Percy would be taken to the town square, and my cousin would be executed.

"Thals?"

I knew who it was immediately. Only two people called my Thals; Percy and Jason.

"Hey," I turned to face him, looking up at his face. "You really grew fast, Jason. Seriously, you're six years younger than me!"

Jason smiled. "You're just short."

I smiled back at him, before the reality of our situation came back to me. I frowned and stared back at the city.

"I know you're worried, but we will get to him in time. We'll get to them both." My brother put his hand on my shoulder.

I sighed. "I never imagined you'd become captain of a pirate ship, you always seemed to...reserved for it."

"I never imagined you'd become the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis." He retorted.

Well played, I thought.

"Well, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Annabeth's POV

I watched from the window with horror as the sun rose over the estate. Only a few hours until Percy's hanging.

Even though I knew the crew had a plan, I couldn't help the anxiety gnawing at my heart. What if they were too late? What if they were caught? What if all those dreams were coming true.

I bit my lip to stop the tears burning behind my eyes. No Annabeth, he's not going to die! You're not going to let him!

But it was't up to me. I was over here, and he was all the way over there, on his own, about to be sentenced to death and hung.

I hadn't seen the two pirate ships on the ocean yet, but somehow I knew they were there, hiding from sight of the citadel.

I prayed to the gods that I could speak to Percy one last time, and tell him again that I really, truly loved him. And that he might say it back and wrap me in his arms and wash away all my troubles with a kiss.

Every single dream a little girl has about falling in love with her knight in shining armour, I prayed that they would come true and I'd be with Percy.

Suddenly, I couldn't hold back the tears.

I rushed to the bathroom where I could lock myself away, and then slide down the wall to the floor.

I hugged my knees to my chest, my breaths coming out in strangled sobs. Tears streamed down my face, soaking the fabric of my sleeves as I buried my head in my arms.

I cried harder than I ever had in my entire life.

"Percy...I love you," I choked out. "Oh gods, I love you."

Percy's POV

It was time.

The guards opened the cell door and Ethan entered. More than five extra guards waited outside.

"Really? You need seven armed men to detain one defenceless prisoner?"

Ethan bit his lip to hold back a comment, and released my wrists from the chain. I dropped to the floor, managing to land steadily on my feet.

Before I even had to chance to massage the feeling back to my hands, Ethan had tied them behind my back.

"Get moving, Jackson, and don't even bother trying anything."

The guards circled around me, escorting me through the dungeon. The all held two-metre long spears, each of them pointed in my direction.

It took 10 minutes to reach the courtyard.

Luke was waiting, surprise surprise. He sat atop a pitch black mare, his smirk gleamed in his eyes even his face was an expressionless mask.

He rode behind us as I was prodded in the back and made to walk towards the gates of the citadel.

The walk through the town was agonising. People lined the streets, and all of them stared at me. Some with hatred, I was a pirate after all.

Others looked at me in wonder, like they couldn't believe that Percy Jackson was alive and not a ghost.

One woman had such sadness in her eyes, like she knew what I was going through. I managed to give her a small reassuring smile as I passed.

The city square was filled with people. The richer families, like Luke's, were sitting in a special stand at the edge of the square. I spotted Annabeth's parents among then, and her mother's glare was full of hate.

She still believe I had Annabeth. Luke hadn't even told her family she was safe.

Rage boiled inside me. He was going to keep her locked in his estate. She wasn't going to see her family again.

As I was moved to the centre of the square where the execution would take place, peasants booed at me and threw fruits, though most of it got the guards surrounding me.

I was dragged onto the hanging station. The executioner pulled a noose around my neck, asking if I wanted a blindfold.

Not exactly protocol for a pirates hanging, but I refused. I needed to be able to see.

Luke stepped up to the stage.

"Perseus Jackson," He voice thundered through the crowd and everybody fell silent. "You are charged with piracy, murder, conspiracy, treachery, kidnapping and multiple accounts of theft. You are charged with attempted escape from prison, and hereby sentenced to death by hanging."

I took a shaky breath, staring at my feet, praying that my friends would come soon.

I love you Annabeth, I'm sorry, but I love you.

"Do you have any last words?" He whispered to me.

I looked up at looked him in the eyes. Behind him, I saw a movement.

"Duck." I replied.

Luke whirled around as the arrow whizzed through the air, cutting clean through the hanging rope.

Within seconds the scene erupted into chaos.

Guards poured in the square, people ran screaming as arrows rained on the area from all sides. Pirates flooded the place, wielding swords and cutting down any soldiers in their way.

An arrow cut my ties just as Grover tossed Riptide to me.

I caught the sword in time to block Luke's strike at my head.

"You are not escaping again! This is my happy ending!" He screamed. He brought his sword back and swung at me hard. I blocked his strike and jabbed at his sternum.

He dodged to the side and swept at my feet. I jumped and brought my fist down on his head, then rammed the hilt of my sword into his chin. I shoved him hard off the stage and the impact pushed the air out his lungs. He was unconscious in seconds.

Then Grover was at my side. "Captain!" He beamed.

"Grover, my man," I clapped him on shoulder.

We sprinted to the edge of the square, in the direction of the pier.

The rest of the pirates gradually starting falling into step behind us as we ran from the army of guards pooling from the citadel.

The Hunters of Artemis lined the streets on either side of us, picking off any stray soldiers that pursued us.

"Percy, we docked the boats off the coast. If we get to them in time, you can use your powers to speed us to the ships right?" Jason questioned as he ran on the other side of me.

I nodded. "But what about Annabeth?"

Jason bit his lip and gulped down a breath of air. "We'll go back for her. Luke will surely take her somewhere secret, and we'll need Calypso and the Hunters to find him."

"Calypso's on the ship?" I asked incredulously.

"Leo's watching her, its fine."

Shouts echoed along the street as soldiers turned the corner. We ran harder, pressing on despite becoming rapidly breathless. The city square was roughly an hours from the pier, and we were over half way there. At this speed, we would hopefully reach them in five minutes.

Jason was holding Piper's hand, pulling her along. Grover limped, favouring his bad leg, but he kept going without a complaint. Several pirates tripped, but only one was caught. I didn't see who it was, but I did see Clarisse turn to go after him, before Chris grabbed her arm and told her something.

Finally, we reached the beach. One by one, we poured onto the row-boats.

I got on the boat and stood, raising my hands and concentrating hard. A wall of water rose out of the ocean and blocked the fast approaching squadron from the dock.

With every on safely, I sat back down and concentrated on propelling the boats towards the Princess Andromeda and the Argo.

Annabeth's POV

All I could see from the window was the wall of water rise over the beach, and I knew that Percy had escaped.

Relief washed over me. Oh thank gods!

My happiness was short lived however, when Luke stormed into the room after ten minutes. He was so angry, he punched a hole on the wall and threw a bedside lamp to the floor.

The crash was so loud it made me flinch as I stepped away from him.

"How did he do it, huh? How'd the filthy little maggot get past me this time, Annabeth?" He demanded.

I stuttered, trying to get away from Luke. "I- I don't know."

"LIAR!" He bellowed.

He lunged and grabbed my wrist. "Let me go!" I screamed. I pulled back, but his grip was like iron, he was too strong.

"He'll come back for you Annabeth, and when he does, I'll kill him! I will, I promise! But we're not staying here, I'm taking you somewhere they'll never find you."

Wow guys, I actually think Luke's crazy!

Well, what do you think, that was twice the length of a usual chapter, so hopefully maybe that makes up for the wait ;P

Please R&R :D