I'm alive!

Sorry that this story has been put on hiatus. I should've given you some warning, but now that I've been accepted to the college I want to go to, scholarship applications and housing contracts followed suit. And LOST might have gotten in the way too. (I love LOST) Can I just say-to whoever has seen the TV show-that Charlie is my absolute favorite? Same with Sawyer and Jack. And Claire, Kate, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Boone...I just love them all! But mostly Charlie. Because it's Dominic Monaghan. And who doesn't love Merry?

Anyway.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I really have missed writing this. When I started writing this chapter, it made me feel so happy. Gah.

Let it commence.

Annabeth

Percy clutched at my shirt, and I gently loosened his grip.

"Percy, you still need to rest. Especially now," I told him gently.

"No," he said, trying to stand up again. "I'm fine. They need me." I pulled him back down, and he didn't fight back.

"What did you get?" I asked. "About two hours, at the most? I'm not letting you go until you've had at least five. Maybe six."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I shot him down.

"Don't you dare argue with me right now," I ordered. "My head still hurts, and I'm tired too."

"Sorry," Percy muttered. "Fine. But you're staying with me."

"Of course," I said, lying back down. Percy hesitated before lying next to me. I took his hand in mine and rubbed it with my thumb.

"We're in this together, okay?" I said.

His eyes were already fluttering shut, and he groaned in response. I smiled as his breathing became slower.

I closed my own eyes and waited.

Ten minutes later, Percy was breathing deeply and his hand was slack in mine. I gingerly pulled it away and he didn't even move. Keeping my eyes fixed on him, I unbuckled his belt and slid the keys off where he had kept them. I knew he would have given them to me if I had just asked, but I didn't want to wake him up.

I slowly sat up and scooted away from him. My foot accidently nudged his head, and I froze. He muttered to himself and rolled over, and I let out a huge breath. Once I was a foot away from him, I quickly stood up and walked away. I let out a quick prayer to Hypnos that Percy would remain asleep long enough for me to get back.

I walked over to another secluded corner in the room and knelt next to Bethany.

Bethany heard me walk up and looked up from her knees, her eyes still slightly red.

"Everything is going to be fine, Bethany," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"How do you know?" she asked quietly.

I tossed her a knife and she caught it, looking surprised.

"Because we're going to get Nate back," I said.

"What?" She looked stunned.

I stood up. "Are you coming or not?"

She reached for my hand and I pulled her up. "Let's go."

When we left the prison, no one even gave us a second glance. I guess everyone was just expecting us to do something about everything that was going on.

"Why isn't Percy coming with us?" Bethany suddenly asked. We were standing outside the door, and her question stopped me from walking.

"Because he doesn't know I've left," I replied.

"He's not going to be happy when he finds out," Bethany warned.

"There are a lot of things that happen that don't make him happy," I said. "He won't stay mad for long. I'm his girlfriend he hasn't seen for six months. He won't hold any grudges."

"I hope so," Bethany muttered. "So what first?"

"First," I said, "We rescue Frank."

"But I thought we were getting Nate?"

"Frank'll help us get Nate. Guards are still trying to find us for blowing up the shop, so they won't be down here. They'll be searching up above," I said. "Plus, I have a strong feeling that Frank is down here. Once we get him, he can go all animal-commando and bust Nate out."

"You make it sound so easy." Bethany smirked. "Unfortunately, I was never told where Frank was kept. I guess Octavian wanted to have very little people with the information." Bethany sighed angrily. "If Nate were here, he would've known. He was in Octavian's inside circle."

"Was he?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I'm glad he's on our side then."

"Me, too," Bethany said. "So, right or left?"

"Right is the exit to the manhole, and I didn't see any other doors, so left it is."

Bethany twirled the knife in her fingers before she set off down the tunnel, and I followed right behind her.

We didn't say much to each other. The only time we spoke was when we found a bolted door. We would peek inside and say if it was empty or not.

I walked over to another door and looked inside. A hand flew to my mouth. "Oh, gods."

"What?" Bethany asked. "What is it?"

The door was still unlocked, and I swung it open and went inside.

It was my prison cell.

This was where it all happened.

I could still see some dried blood on the ground where my forehead had bled. There were scuff marks on the ground where Percy had fought Octavian out of anger. The cork from the vial where the Lethe was kept was still lying on the floor.

I bent over and picked it up, not sure if I was angry, ready to cry, or just thankful that Hypnos had returned my memories.

"What is that?" Bethany asked.

I thought of how Percy had forced the Lethe into my mouth and broke my heart. I remembered the pain and agony of being betrayed. Even if it wasn't true, it still hurt, and I knew I wouldn't be the same again.

A sharp pain shot through my palm, and I realized that I was clutching the cork so hard my fingernails had bitten into my skin.

"It's nothing," I said. I dropped the cork and it bounced into the corner. I hoped I would never see this place again. "Let's get out of here."

Bethany still looked confused, but she followed me out. I didn't look back at the horrible door as it banged shut, and we walked the rest of the way in silence.

Five minutes later, the silence was broken again. "Is Percy alright?" Bethany suddenly asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't he be?" I asked slowly.

"I saw him freak out earlier," Bethany replied. "It looked like he was going to throw up."

"Oh," I said. I walked over to another door and looked inside. It was empty. "It was just a bad dream."

Bethany frowned. "I had one too."

I tried to look aloof, but I had a feeling that I already knew what it was about. "What happened?"

"It was so strange. There was this pithos standing in the middle of a field. I felt like I had to open it, and there was whispering coming from inside. It kept saying, 'free me'. I was so scared, but then I suddenly understood why I had to open it. When I did—" Bethany suddenly froze. "What was that?"

My ears perked up, and I heard faint moans coming down a side corridor.

"I hear it too," I said. "Let's go check it out."

I pulled out my knife and Bethany did the same. We kept close to the side of the wall until we came across a door made of solid metal. The groans were coming from the inside. There was a small peephole bolted from the outside, and I slid open the lock.

The moans abruptly stopped. "Who's there?" it asked in a shaky voice.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you know if you're the one who put me in here?" the voice snapped, gaining strength.

"Who are you?" Bethany repeated.

There was a pause. "Frank."

"Thank the gods," Bethany muttered. She opened the peephole and peered inside. "Frank, we're here to bust you out."

"Does this feel a bit too easy to you?" I asked Bethany. "I feel like there should at least be a guard here."

"I'm glad that it is easy for once," Bethany said. "I'm tired of having to fight our way in."

"Bethany?" I heard a rattle of chains, and I could tell that Frank stood up.

"It's me," she said. "Hand me the keys, Annabeth."

I took the keys off of my belt and Bethany shoved each one inside the lock until it opened. She rushed inside and started unlocking Frank's shackles. I stood in the doorway waiting for them to leave.

"Who's that?" Frank asked Bethany, gesturing to me.

"I'm Annabeth," I said, walking forward and shaking his hand.

His eyes widened. "You're Percy's girlfriend."

"He talked about me?" I asked, trying to ignore the pleased blush that had formed on my cheeks.

"You were the only thing he remembered," Frank said. "He talked about you a lot."

Bethany saw my face and smirked behind Frank's back.

"Anyway," I said, quickly changing the subject. "Why didn't you escape?"

Frank shrugged. "I knew you guys would come get me. Once I helped you and Percy escape, I wanted to keep it on the down low. If I escaped again, I would've gotten killed." He looked around. "Speaking of Percy, where is he?"

Bethany and I exchanged glances. "He kind of doesn't know we're here," Bethany said.

"We left while he was sleeping. If we're lucky, we can sneak back in before he wakes up," I said.

"Is Hazel okay?" Frank asked.

"She's fine," Bethany replied. "They all are. We've set up a base, and that's where everyone is."

"How come I have a feeling we're not going back yet?" Frank muttered.

"We need your help," I said. "One of us has been captured by Octavian, and we're going to get him back."

"Oh," Frank said. "Then can we go back?"

"Let's just get out of here," I said, shifting on my feet. "I really don't like this place."

The three of us left the cell and closed the door behind us. Bethany locked it for good measure, just in case someone came by to check, and we quickly left Frank's prison behind.

"So who are we rescuing, anyway?" Frank asked.

"Nate, son of Apollo," I answered.

Frank stopped walking. "We're rescuing him?"

"Is that a problem?" Bethany demanded.

"Well, yeah," Frank admitted, looking slightly embarrassed. "He's the one who put me in here."

"He's on our side now," Bethany said firmly. "Most of the people on Octavian's side are there because they don't want to get thrown in jail. He's part of the resistance."

Frank opened his mouth to retort and I cut him off. "Do you have any idea where he might be held?" I interrupted quickly.

"I think I do," Bethany said. "Octavian—" She was suddenly cut off with a squeak.

Whipping around, I saw Frank with a sword at his neck and Bethany with a knife at her back.

"Hello," Octavian smirked.

I hope I'll be able to "see" you guys soon! I want to keep writing this, and I will. THIS STORY SHALL NOT BE CANCELLED. Questions still haven't been answered and the group hasn't left for Rome!

Also, just a little side note, I have a Tumblr! It's my fanfiction username: littlebitclever . tumblr .com. If you want to visit it or give me a follow, that would be splendiferous!

Later.

OKAY BYE.

P.S. Thank you for all of the book recommendations. Now I have a lot to read!