FANCY SEEING YOU HERE

Silena had been promised one thing in exchange for her services: safety.

If she patched Headmaster Titanus into CHB's system, her father's debts would be paid.

If she gave a report on the school happenings every week, Charlie would get a steady job somewhere.

If she betrayed all her friends, no one she loved would get hurt.

But they'd lied. Of course they'd lied. She'd been stupid to think otherwise.

CHB was being attacked today. There was no other word to describe it.

Every single person that had ever been pissed off by the high and mighty Olympic family was standing by the school's doors, waiting for the Headmaster's go signal. And did the wealthy business men and women care? No, of course not. That had been the first thing the Headmaster had ever told her. They didn't care. They never would.

So there she sat, guilt-ridden and miserable, in the tiny apartment above her chocolate shop, wondering and regretting all the things she'd done.

At least, she thought to herself as she shifted stiffly in her couch. Charlie, Dad, and I are safe. I was promised that much.

Silena clung to this shred of optimism for almost a full second before something came along to tear her back down to reality.

"Silena!" a ragged voice called out, loud and desperate against the shop door's quiet creak. "Silena, come down!"

Her feet were carrying her down before she could even register what was happening. The urgent tone of the voice sent a chill down her spine. To hear voices that had so tenderly said 'I love you' only an hour ago sound so crushed…

She'd been stupid. So, so, so stupid.

~O~o~O~

Right, left, right again, down a staircase, left, straight, right…or was it left?

Annabeth ran through the mental map she'd drawn of the school, making sure each and every turn was accurate. She was glad her escort had been so deathly silent as they walked. The silence had been a welcome comfort, however awkward it was.

It had been around twenty minutes since she'd left CHB. Hopefully, that would be enough time for someone to figure out what was happening. Though, with whatever was happening at the school, Annabeth wasn't expecting the cavalry to be coming anytime soon.

But she was absolutely certain that the key to all of this conflict was somewhere in Lord Cronus Institution. She'd bet her life on it.

Everything that was happening had one thing in common, Headmaster Oras Titanus.

No one would believe her if she strutted along spewing conspiracies about a rival school. So there was only one thing to do: go in herself. Luke had practically sent her in anyway. It was perfect.

There was one hiccup to her hastily formulated plan, though. Currently, she was locked in a spare classroom with absolutely no way out.

And like an answer to her unsaid prayer, a metallic click cut through her thoughts.

Annabeth froze; even though she knew whoever had just picked the door's lock couldn't see her. Getting a hold of herrself, she grabbed a chair and held it aloft with a grunt. However pathetic it was, the chair was a weapon. The door inched open, slowly revealing the intruder.

"Eek!"

"Silena!" Annabeth hissed, mid-swing. The chair grazed the girl as it came crashing to the ground.

"Oh my God, Annabeth," Silena muttered, wide-eyed. "You could have bashed my head in."

"Well I didn't really expect to see a friendly face here!" the bookworm retorted. She looked her friend over. Windswept, Silena's breath came in short pants. "Did you run all the way here or something?"

"Yeah," she replied, grasping Annabeth's wrist. "Now hurry up and let's get going."

"Wait, what?" Annabeth was confused. She didn't like being confused. "Why are you here? Did you come from the school?"

Silena didn't stop to answer as she dragged Annabeth through the halls.

"Silena! We're not even going the right way!"

"Yes we are," the brunette said, pausing at a fire escape. Something glinted from her wrist as the door swung open. "It's a shortcut, come on."

"I can't leave now," Annabeth protested. Their footsteps echoed in the narrow space as she explained herself. "I haven't learned anything about what's going on."

Silena stopped so suddenly that Annabeth almost crashed into her. She looked down to blonde friend, face harsh under the stark fluorescent lights of the fire escape. "I'll tell you what's going on. The school's being attacked by every enemy our parents have ever made; the Headmaster is hiding out somewhere that's definitely not the school, and the only way we can stop what's happening is to convince Luke to abort the plan."

Dumbstruck, Annabeth swallowed, trying to digest that information. The gears started turning as she asked the next logical question. "Silena, how do you know all this?"

There was some hesitation before the answer came. "I'm his spy."

…everything clicked into place and Annabeth wished she could go back to not knowing anything. "You're part of this?"

The accusation stung at Silena, but she grit her teeth and bore it. It was well deserved, after all. "Yes, Luke's just a courier. I'm the main spy."

"So you're the reason that every half-blood is in danger?" Annabeth asked, keeping her voice level.

The white light cast shadows on Silena's pretty face. "Yes."

Anger and irritation bubbled up inside her, but Annabeth repressed it. This might be her best way of getting any information. "So why are you doing this?"

"The Headmaster," Silena scowled. "He… he broke his promise."

Despite herself, Annabeth felt a stirring of pity as Silena's voice cracked and she choked on her words.

But the brunette gathered herself, swallowing down a sob and blinking away misty eyes. "That's why I need you, Annabeth. You're the only one who can fix things."

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"Luke."

"What?"

"The Headmaster trusts Luke," Silena started. She turned away from the blonde and climbed a few more steps, trusting Annabeth to follow. "He's the last turning point of the plan. Luke will listen to you. I know he will."

"So that's your plan? Just let me talk Luke out of endangering hundreds of students?"

"Look," the brunette said, not stopping. "I know I'm being horribly selfish, asking you to do something just to make me feel better about what I've done. I know I'm just using you the same way Kronos was using me. But it's not something anyone else can do. Are you really going to pass this up because you're mad at me?"

Annabeth couldn't argue with that logic. Besides, she'd planned to search through the school from the beginning. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Good," Silena sighed, relief flowing through her. At least something was going to turn out alright today. Fiddling with her wrist, she held a glinting scythe charm out to Annabeth. "Here, take this."

"What is it?"

"It's my don't-attack-me-even-if-I'm-a-half-blood, charm," Silena replied, coming to a stop at a door marked 'main floor'. "As long as you're wearing that, you won't be questioned. It also doubles as a lock pick."

Annabeth watched with a calculating eye as Silena rattled off directions to the Headmaster's office where Luke would be. "What about you? You're not coming along?"

"There's only one scythe," Silena explained. "Without it, you're basically a sitting duck. Besides, I have somewhere to be."

"So you're just going to leave me here?"

Silena bit her lip and a horribly forced smile spread across her face. "I'm a horribly selfish person, remember?"

And with another metallic click, she was gone.

It would be a lie to say that Annabeth wasn't curious, but there were more pressing things at hand. She couldn't just stand there wondering about Silena's personal life, not while opportunity was nipping at her.

So pushing thoughts of her not so one-sided friend out of her mind, Annabeth crept out of the fire escape.

She blinked at the darkness that met her. After the bright lights of the fire escape, the unlit upper corridor was just one shade of black to her. Slowly closing the door behind her, Annabeth watched the little stream of light it let in narrow before disappearing.

They must have turned the lights off so no one could see that they still have electricity, she thought to herself as her eyes adjusted to the gloom.

Quietly, she made her way through the school, fingering her scythe charm and walking like she had purpose. Luckily, there weren't many students wandering around. There must have been an early dismissal. The Headmaster wouldn't have wanted kids around to ruin the plan. Annabeth stiffened at the thought. That meant that only the Headmaster's most trusted students would be roaming the halls.

By the time she got to the Headmaster's office, Annabeth's nerves were fried. Though apparently, she had no reason to worry. The few people who she had encountered only had to look at the charm on her wrist before carrying along.

Nervously, she slipped the pointed scythe into the keyhole. She turned it back and forth, mimicking Silena.

Click

"Annabeth?"

The blonde paled as she recognized the voice. She felt a familiar wave of annoyance wash her anxiety away. There was only one person who could irritate her enough to lose her cool.

"Percy," she started, staring at those sea-green eyes with frustration. "What the HELL are you doing here?"

Note: We're getting close to the end people. Any guesses as to how many chapters Notes has got left to give? Because each one has been planned out and is ready to be written :D