A/N: Hi Sparks! I forgot to add this in yesterday's note, but I have been a member on Fanfiction for a month now! Yay! Now, review time:

.562-Awwww yisss things be getting interesting/Yes they are! Thanks for reading!

weezergeek-Great chapter! Can't wait for more. P.S., happy birthday. :)/Aw, thanks! And here's more right now!

Guest-Don't like flames? Well I suggest you better stop writing atrocious things like this. This really sucks. I hope you know./Well, that was rude. First of all, no one likes flames (at least no one I've ever met), and secondly, there is nothing here that tells me what to improve on. I really hope that you're not the same person that's been giving me grief since Sea Angels, because I would hope by now you would realize that I'm not going to stop doing something I love to do. If you don't like my story, fine, go find an author on this website you like and stick with them. But if you're going to review, either tell me what you liked or leave constructive criticism, not just criticism. I will ask this of you nicely, if you're not going to help me improve my writing, please just stop reading.

Whew! Sorry about that, Sparks. It's just I've seen reviews like that on other stories as well as my own, and it aggravates me when someone feels the need to write something mean without leaving anything useful to the author.

Please enjoy this chapter! And sorry again about my rambling! :)

Disclaimer: I wished I owned these characters...


The first thing that Nico felt was pain lacing his body, as even the simplest tasks such as breathing caused his chest to feel like he was being pierced with a heated piece of metal. He groaned, and tried to sit up to the best of his ability while having his hands bound behind his back, and his eyes blindfolded.

The small motion of sitting upright sent a jolt of pain up his right arm, where Vicky had slammed into his shoulder with her armor-covered shoulder. Then there was the matter of the piece of leather around his wrist, which he had no idea what it did or why it was there. But he had a feeling he wasn't going to find out for a while.

Nico heard some of the others shifting around slightly, and soft moans escaped their lips, most likely from the injuries they sustained as well. At least they were still alive.

With that single thought, Nico felt a wave of guilt rush over him. His friends were still alive-just extremely battered-but all the others, the older campers that were also his friends, and the younger ones looking for a safe place from the monsters, they had been violently slaughtered in their own home. And the supposed "Heroes of Olympus" failed to keep them safe.

The worst part was that the soldiers had taken them out with ease. Vicky was eleven, seven years younger than Nico, but the skills she had showed just how deadly these warriors could be. She looked like she hadn't even broken a sweat when she just about gave Nico a concussion with the hilt of her sword.

Speaking of which, it was then that he started to feel an unbearable pounding right at his temples and at the base of his neck. Even without the blindfold, he doubted he would've been able to see correctly, vertigo making it impossible for him to get his bearings.

Nico heard someone hit the metal bars of the holding cell abruptly, causing for him to jump, sending a flare of pain through his already pounding head. He grit his teeth in pain, while some of the girls outright screamed.

"Good to see you're awake," a distorted voice said, almost like they were talking through a mouthpiece. Nico couldn't tell if it was a male or a female talking to them.

"What do you want?" Annabeth hissed.

"You want to set us free," Piper said in her most soothing voice. But for some reason, Nico felt no urge to comply with her command.

The voice laughed. "Your charmspeak has been deactivated sweetheart, so don't even try to use your Siren magic on any of us."

"Deactivated?" Leo asked. "Like you just turned off the part of her brain that controls that? That's so cool!" Nico heard Leo wince when something collided with what he guessed to be Leo's body. "Okay, not cool in this situation, but still!"

"Not the time, Leo," Jason said. "So, are you gonna answer my friend's question? What do you want?"

"As if I'd let prisoners such as yourself know. I'll give you a hint, they're all on board." The person speaking hit the metal bars again, leaving them vibrating in their posts, before Nico heard the sound of their heels softly retreating up the stairs.

"Is everyone alright?" Nico asked, turning his head in the direction he heard the voices.

"Other than being bound, again, and kidnapped, again, I think I'm fine," Will said, sarcasm heavily lacing his voice.

"We're all pretty beat up," Annabeth said, and Nico heard her wince. "Damn, those soldiers treated us like we were children. I don't even remember landing a blow on the one I was sneaking up on before falling unconscious."

Nico grimaced. "Yeah, Annabeth, it was Vicky who took the both of us out."

"Vicky Jensen? That one chick that's always wearing army stuff, and is one of the buffest eleven-year-olds I have ever seen?" Leo asked, before giving a low whistle.

"That's her," Nico confirmed.

"I swear, she could probably take Harley down without breaking a sweat."

"She did," Jason pointed out. "Remember how many other soldiers there were? They practically killed all the campers. I don't even know how many, if any, survived."

"There were survivors," Chiron added, speaking for the first time since the conversation had begun. "Not many, but at least on demigod made it out alive, I promise you."

Nico scoffed. "Yeah, one of two-hundred. And if Camp Half-Blood's gone, I can guarantee you that Camp Jupiter's next."

"And we have no way of messaging them," Annabeth said in a resigned tone. "But it looks like they're going after the immortal demigods and the camp leaders."

"So Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and Lupa are going to be joining us?" Piper questioned. "That's just peachy. Hopefully…" Piper stopped talking, cutting off her train of thought.

"Hopefully what, Beauty Queen?"

"I don't want them to go after our parents."

Will made a distressed noise. "I hope you mean godly parents, Piper…"

Nico could imagine the daughter of Aphrodite shaking her head solemnly, even though no one could see her. This situation seemed to be getting darker by the second.

"No, our mortal ones. They're our weakness other than our loyalty to our friends, and how it's looking right now, we're all going to end up in a cell together."

"I could get us out of here," Nico offered. "There must be shadows somewhere, and I can shadow travel us back to Camp Jupiter to warn them."

"You are not using your Underworld-y magic!" Will protested, making his chains rattle as he tried to pull on them.

"Don't think about using your powers in general," the same robotic voice said over the PA speaker that was somewhere in the room. Nico looked side to side, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but he was beginning to get seriously pissed at the blindfold.

"Explain, soldier," Chiron said in a cool, calculating voice while keeping his tone neutral.

The person speaking broke off laughing, which sounded really strange through the mouthpiece they were using. Nico shuddered at the sound, which was like a car engine revving up, except this car wanted to run you over, and once you were flattened like a pancake, they would keep running over you just for kicks.

"Are you all that dense? Especially you, daughter of Athena," the voice crooned. "None of you noticed the cuffs? Well, it's no wonder Olympus will fall so easily."

"The cuffs!" Jason exclaimed, the tugging on his chains increasing in frequency, until Nico had gotten used to the feeling of the metal plate by his feet constantly vibrating.

"What about them?" Chiron asked.

"Gods, you're dense." The person gave an exasperated sigh through the speaker. "Wait until Hecate's protégée shows up, she'll be able to explain everything then."

"Don't you dare touch my sister!" Nico roared, violently pulling on his own restraints as well. "Leave her alone!"

"Orders are orders, di Angelo. Maybe if you had just listened to your father all those years ago, you may have escaped this fate. But, oh, the things we do in the name of love! You're pathetic, son of Hades. And you always will be!"

The speaker cut off abruptly, and Nico wanted nothing more than to rip the speaker's head off their shoulders. But the way he worded his sentences…almost like he had known Nico from before. Could it have been…? No, that's ridiculous. If it had been Percy, wouldn't he have been trying his hardest to get back to Nico? But then there was the whole ordeal with the Soul Switch magic…

Nico didn't know, and it was driving him insane with worry and anger. Worry, because he wanted to be wrapped in Percy's arms again, and he wanted to know that his boyfriend was safe from all harm. Anger, because he wanted to murder the people that abducted his boyfriend, making him believe for almost six months that he had died from the disownment.

He stopped pulling on the chains, feeling blood drip onto his legs from his chaffed wrists. Nico decided to slump back against the cool metal sides of the cell, using the cold as a distraction from the huge mess they had gotten into.

"Well," Leo said, breaking the silence. "We're massively screwed, aren't we?"

Then Chiron replied. "Yes, Mr. Valdez, I believe we are."


For the first time Percy could remember, he had actually stayed mostly still during the duration of the flight. He had slept for about two hours, and then he stayed in the control room, watching the prisoners sleep, and later on, talk amongst themselves.

Yeah, he knew it sounded kind of creepy, but there was something about this group of people that tugged at him, as if hurting them ended up with him hurting himself. He had sent Vicky to give them their extremely watered down explanation as to why they were here in the first place, and the voice speaking through the speaker had been him.

When Percy saw one of the boys, Nico, recoil at the harsh words he said like he had been slapped, it felt like he had been slowly pushing a dagger into his heart. Something about the dark-haired teen intrigued him, like an old memory that had faded with time, but he couldn't place a finger on it.

He had been taught to hate the name Nico di Angelo ever since he had been under Pontus's wing, but looking at the boy behind the name, he couldn't find it in his heart to hate him. Being bound and blinded would've fried his nerves completely, yet Nico seemed to react so calmly about it, except for that one part where he rattled the chains so bad, it looked like he was going to cut through his bone just so that he could escape.

Percy fought the blush rising to his face when Nico defended his sister. He had never seen anyone with that kind of loyalty before in the army. Not amongst the barracks, or the generals, or even with Pontus and Thalassa themselves. They all wanted the same thing: world domination and revenge, leaving Percy as the odd one out. He put a mask on every day, making people believe he was this cruel, cunning general that would destroy anything in his path, but at nights, when he was positive he was alone, he would silently cry himself to sleep for killing so many innocent people in the name of Pontus.

No matter how much training Pontus provided for him, Percy was weak. He felt things when he was fighting instead of being on autopilot, stabbing everything that moves through the heart. And he had to hide that every single day, lest he end up being whipped, or worse yet, spend the night in Thalassa's torture chamber.

Percy pushed all those thoughts aside, trying to embody the soulless soldier Pontus wanted him to be. Yes, he would always get the job done, but that didn't have to mean he liked it.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, before clicking on his earpiece. "General to Howard. Come in Howard."

The response was immediate. "Yes sir?"

"I want both you and Melissa to go check up on the prisoner's injuries. And put some sort of bandages on their wrists. If they insist on yanking on their restraints, at least don't let themselves rub their skin raw."

"On it, sir!" Howard replied.

"Let me know when you're done," Percy told him, turning the volume of his earpiece down. He was to always have that piece of equipment on-unless he was fighting, then he could turn it off.

Percy watched on the screen as his two medics went to fix up the injuries of the prisoners, and he fiddled with the gold chain around his neck. It had become a nervous habit of his in the short amount of time he had had it.

He watched as the prisoners lashed out at his medics, whether it be them trying to bite or kick them, or making snide remarks. He pushed a button on the control panel, and within moments, the prisoners were out cold. The cuffs Melissa had made didn't just prevent them from using their powers, it also functioned as a way to regulate them. Percy had just released a large wave of melatonin into their blood stream, the chemical that prepares your body for sleep. He could release other chemicals into them such as adrenaline and dopamine to make them feel fear and joy, respectively.

It didn't matter that he had sent them to sleep anyways. Percy was going to have to do it soon, as they were approaching the Mariana Trench, so it was better that he did it now. The ship rocked back and forth for a few moments as it entered the water, but the descent smoothened out soon after.

Percy left the control room, heading up to the cock pit with the pilot. The co-pilot gave him a glance, and quickly switched positions with him as he helped the pilot, Mary, navigate them to the bottom of the ocean without crashing into the rocky ravines on the sides of the trench.

And if you're wondering how the pressure didn't crush them into a smooth paste, Pontus had enchanted all his mobile forces that could carry soldiers to not crumple under the pressure. The palace was under the same enchantment, so no one needed to worry about their body squishing together like putty.

"This is aircraft PT1437 coming in," Percy said over his earpiece, slowing the jets down slightly as they moved deeper. "We'll be reaching base in T-minus four minutes. Are we cleared for landing?"

"You're cleared, sir," a female voice said kindly through the earpiece. He recognized that voice immediately: Andy.

Percy motioned for the other co-pilot to take his seat while he spoke in private. He slammed the door shut to the strategy room, putting Pontus on the same airway with him. A hologram of Pontus appeared, giving Percy a questioning look, while he pressed a finger to his lips, indicating silence. Percy increased the volume on his earpiece until it was like he was speaking to someone in person.

"What do you want Andy?" he asked, causing for Pontus to narrow his eyes at the earpiece.

"The prisoners on board, Percy," she replied smoothly.

"You hacked into our information, cadet. And you're a traitor. You know what the punishment for betraying the crown is." Percy clenched a fist, awaiting the snarky remark the daughter of Ariana would give him.

"Yes, death, and Erebus sending my damned soul to Tartarus. Such a shame, seeing you of all people send people down to that hellhole when you've been there yourself."

Pontus clenched his teeth through the hologram, obviously seething with anger at what the traitor had to say. But he stayed silent, watching the conversation play out.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Percy said, his voice a steely calm, like the calm before a storm. If she kept pushing and prodding, he knew he would blow up. "Now, stop lying to me and go back to the Olympians that sent you here in the first place. I know all about your little Special Ops buddies, but we have ears everywhere."

Andy laughed bitterly through the earpiece, clearly annoyed. "They've been lying to you, Percy. Ever since you've been with Pontus, they've fed you lies."

"That's enough!" Pontus declared, finally speaking through the hologram. "General, destroy that earpiece now!"

"Then you'll never know-"

Andy's sentence got cut off as Percy threw the piece of metal onto the floor, smashing it underneath his boot repeatedly, until only sparking wires and crushed plastic was left. He had wanted to hear what the traitor had to say, but this was a direct order from Pontus-he didn't have any other choice but to obey.

"Lord, what was that about?" Percy asked, after a few tense moments of silence.

Pontus regained his composure, but the anger in his eyes was clearly evident. "It's nothing of your concern, Perseus. Trust me, this has nothing to do with you."

"If you say so, milord." Percy sighed, running his fingers across the cool chain around his neck. "How do we proceed about landing? It seems as if the base's position has been compromised."

"Land immediately. Once everyone is accounted for, I'll teleport us elsewhere. You'll be told within the week."

"Understood. I'll see you soon, milord. Over and out."

The hologram winked off, leaving Percy with another thing to worry about piled onto everything else he was dealing with. He shut everything off in the strategy room, even going so far as to change the password on the keypad to the one Leto always used.

He checked over the equipment once more, and returned back to the cock pit, both pilots looking at him with worry. Percy brushed them off, taking his seat beside Mary once more, prepared to bring them all home.


The second the connection was cut off with Perseus, Pontus put his fist through the nearest wall. Rivulets of lava flowed from the hole down the wall, singeing the carpeted floors. Two guards ran to the hole, and began to patch up the hole with tape and plaster (he had no idea where they got the plaster from on such short notice). Pontus waved them off, and with a motion of his hands, the obsidian wall was restored back to normal.

"Are you alright, milord?" one of the guards asked, keeping their head down, while bowing as wall.

"Did I grant you permission to speak?" he lashed out, backhanding the guard into the newly restored wall. Wisely, the guard kept their head down and didn't respond. "At least you realize your mistake. Ten lashes from Nyx, to be carried out within the hour. And to answer your question, I am fine."

The other guard forced their partner's arms behind their back, cuffing their hands together, leading them in the direction of the Punishment Room. Pontus smirked at the sight. He loved the fact that loyalty only went so far in the army, in which people were willing to put other people's necks on the line if it meant keeping their hide safe. Cowards all of them, but cowards willing to die for him nonetheless.

Pontus began walking in the direction of the barracks with one sole purpose: sending all of Andromeda's bunkmates into the Punishment Room for a special night with his generals. If he found one more traitor from Barrack 81, he was going to execute them all.

Later that night

(A/N: There's going to be mentions of torture, so read at your own risk)

Pontus was already seated with Thalassa by the time Helios joined them. Great, all his generals were here to deliver the verdict. A careful eye passed over the assorted Titans, protogenoi, gods, and the single demigod that were his generals, making sure they were up for the task.

But for the most part, he was worried about Perseus. While everyone else had this sort of lust for pain in their eyes, his were devoid of all emotion, as if the thought of torturing a whole barrack of soldiers bored him. Just how far had he pushed the boy?

No matter, it was too late to change plans now. He stood up, and all in the room bowed in his direction, minus the few in chains. As for the other guard he had sentenced for Nyx, her punishment had been received over two hours ago. Tonight was all about getting answers from these nine traitors Olympus seemed to be so fond of.

"Generals, it is time!" Pontus declared, drawing Mors from his scabbard at his waist. "Punish the traitors. You're up first, Nyx."

Nyx grinned like a Cheshire cat, the stars on her clothes shimmering brightly for the primordial of Night. She slowly unfurled her whip until it was just a heap by her feet. "With pleasure, milord."

She gave the standard forty-five lashes for breaking the rules on all the nine traitors back's, leaving their skin a bloody, raggedy mess. She hadn't held back, letting them feel the full pain of a protogenoi's symbol of power against a human. Those would most definitely leave nasty scars that would never fade.

His generals and their choice of lieutenants cheered as each beating ended with a spray of blood tainting the whip, running down their bare backs. All except for Perseus, who watched with what appeared to be indifference.

Soon Nyx finished doling out her punishment, and her husband, Erebus, took her place. He pulled out his sword made of pure darkness, and began carving words such as traitor and backstabber into their already ragged flesh. Each one screamed out in pain, but his generals were relentless, wanting to hear them scream their vocal cords raw with agony.

Then came Helios, Selene, Perses, Hecate, Leto, and Triton, all taking their time with their bloody playthings. New brands were left on their smoldering flesh from Helios. Selene penetrated many uninjured parts of their body with her poison-tipped daggers. Perses carved matching 81's on any part of their body it would fit, such as their thighs, or shoulders, or biceps, never letting them forgot that they were once a part of a powerful army.

Hecate and Leto teamed up, showing them their worst fears for fifteen minutes as screams of fright were ripped out of their throats. It was a wonder that all of them were still conscious. Triton would keep them in a bubble of water until their faces turned purple, gave them a moment to catch their breath, and repeated the process over and over again.

After Triton came Kronos, who with his scythe left tally marks right on their faces, each cut causing a little bit more of their soul to drain from their body. He did…worse things, but Pontus didn't want to relive them a second time. There were some things that were better off forgotten.

"Perseus, my boy, it's your turn," Pontus announced. The generals whooped and wailed with a sadistic satisfaction, and Perseus merely sighed, uncapping the ballpoint pen that transformed into his sword, Riptide.

The son of Poseidon observed the already broken demigods and ran a tired hand over his face. Reluctance was clear in his features and by the way he was positioned, but he did as asked. He turned the demigods around so that their front side was facing him instead of their backs. With a few expert strokes, only the bras of the females and the torso of the males was left showing. What was he planning?

Perseus walked over to the flaming brazier that had been going, before sticking in the tip of his sword until it was glowing red from the heat. He slipped a gold chain off his neck, finding the little teardrop charm at the end. He then proceeded to press the charm against their stomachs, and with his burning sword, held the sword over the charm, leaving a blackened square of skin with the teardrop forever emblazed onto them. Perseus did it quickly, leaving his sword only long enough to leave the mark before rapidly moving on. It was obvious he didn't like this, and he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Once he finished, he slipped the chain around his neck once more, doused the tip of Riptide in a small bucket of water, and capped his sword. He took a seat next to the other generals, who were mostly giving him looks of shock and disappointment as his lieutenant gave him a reassuring smile and a pat on the back.

Thalassa gave them all a wicked smile, but instead of doing anything to them, she looked up at Pontus. He nodded his head in approval, already knowing where this was headed, and watched as the ten of them vanished into thin air. Seconds later Thalassa came back, blood staining her hands and blue dress. She pulled Pontus into a chaste kiss, before looking back at the others.

"We will try to get information out of them tomorrow," Pontus said.

"A night in my chambers should do them some good," Thalassa added sadistically.

His generals praised her idea, and they barked for the janitors to begin cleaning up the blood stained…well, everything in the room. The second Pontus released them back to their chambers, Perseus zipped out of the room like someone was chasing him.

He would need to have a conversation with his youngest general sometime soon, but for the rest of the night, he was content knowing that the largest group of traitors had been weeded out of his army.

Victory seemed to be falling into the palm of his hand.

Smirking, he kissed Thalassa on the cheek, and they returned to her chamber, prepared to listen to the sounds of kids screaming in agony for as long as they wanted to.


A/N: Yay, I updated for the second day in a row! Well, Monday was really my only break, but pfft, technicalities. Leave a review if you liked! And please, NO FLAMES! *stares at the guest that feels the need to write mean things* See ya Sparks soon! ~RainbowSpark18 (::) (::) (::)