A/N: Oh my goodies! I practically disappeared from the face of , didn't I? You see…I got abducted by the cookie monster…

No, I didn't really. Just had exams, homework, and the business of life… that kind of stuff. I've been thinking about you guys though! I got tons of people reviewing even though I hadn't updated for weeks and thought, "Wow, they must be really liking this story if their taking the time to ask me to update instead of reading other fanfictions." I feel bad for not updating. I'm sorry! Anyway, here's the next chapter. Freaking finally!

Disclaimer: Check earlier chapters and look below the author's notes.

Percy POV:

When they unhand-cuffed us from the wall, I was very happy. But then they were probably thinking, "Hey, we'll show these kids how much we love them by releasing them from the wall, to handcuffing them to benches!"

Yes, benches.

As soon as they let us out of the wall-cuffs, (that's what I decided to call them, though Clarisse thinks that's 'a stupid name to call them') they forced me down on my knees so I couldn't get away. I still shook from being nervous. At any moment they could pull out weapons…

"Stay here," the guard ordered.

I obeyed, seeing as how if I didn't that I would have at least twenty guards chasing me down.

Clarisse, however, didn't really like being told what to do. You know her, always, "I don't take crap for anybody!" She fell to her knees for a moment, but looked up with anger in her eyes. She screamed and ran for the door, punching guards in the face as she passed them. Connor, Nico, and Annabeth had already been thrown over the shoulders of a couple guards and were handcuffed to the wedding benches before Clarisse's "smart" escape.

The grand doors were about twenty meters away, and I could tell she wasn't going to make it. Two guards chased after her, the others blocking my way so I couldn't follow her lead. Her speed increased each minute, and I was guessing her heart rate would too.

Then, she stopped.

Clarisse must've been planning it because she smirked as the guards ran straight past her. They spun their heads around quickly and changed their direction. She headed right towards them with a look of determination. At the last minute, she held her arms wide out and balled up her fists. Her fists slammed into the faces of her chasers and they got knocked backwards. It was obvious that they were knocked out: eyes rolled into the back of their head, bloodied noses, and as still as a rock.

They never got up.

The guards around me stood in shock for a moment, and then sprung into action. They leaped over the two unconscious men and dived for Clarisse. She made it to the door and opened it quickly. There were only three guards right behind her, one right behind her, and the other two (that were clearly not as fast as him) a couple of meters away. She closed the door tight, and I thought she was gone. Boy was I wrong.

The guard was banging on the door, jiggling the doorknob, anything he could possibly do to open it. She had locked it from the outside, but the guard didn't give up. Over all of the commotion, he probably couldn't hear his comrades coming up behind him…or the door unlocking.

The door swung open and flung a man into the wall it was attached to. She slammed the door into the wall at least three times, saying, "Hi-ya!" each time it collided with his face. The other two guards took action, grabbing her from behind. They lifted her off of the ground, and she kicked them in the stomachs. Both recoiled, but lunged at her as she tried to shut the door. She used her foot to kick them away from the door, and slammed it once more. The guards banged it like the last one did, but this time Clarisse didn't come back. She had locked the door behind her, and was gone.

And that, Prissy is how you beat the crap out of super-strong, weight-lifting guards. You should try it some time instead of being a 'good' little hostage. I could practically hear her say in my head.

She would definitely get us out of this, right?

All of the men turned towards me, and within the minute they had pinned me to the bench and placed handcuffs on my hands.

I was shaking slightly, seeing as how they could kill us any minute. They would probably use Nico, Connor, and Annabeth as hostages to get me to tell if we had made that plan.

What were they going to do? They probably saw us as garbage and would lock us up after the wedding…or execute us.

And what about my friends? They were five, and they would most likely get killed before the sun went down.

"Now, since we're stuck in here thanks to your…sneaky friend, we'll be watching your every move," the guard stepped closer to me, invading my 'personal bubble'.

Suddenly, the door swung open. A scrawny boy in a guard's uniform ran inside frantically.

"What is it, Shawn?" a guard watching us snapped towards the boy.

He was panting as he spoke. "The girl, sir…she just…attacked…she's…escaping the castle."

"How many of us did Veronica's father ask for?" the guard said, sounding impatient.

"All…she's a big threat."

"Very well. You four, stay here. We have security cameras all around this room. We can always come back and hurt you like we're going to do to your friend."

They followed the boy into the hall, and we were left completely alone.

"Poor Travis, he has to marry a girl he doesn't even know!" Annabeth said.

"He'll survive," I told her. "He's always has the power of stealing. And annoying people."

We looked around the room in silence for a moment, and I realized the wedding was coming quicker than expected. Pink and blue balloons were lying on the ground, bouncing around a little bit. Streamers hung from the walls, and the two windows taking up the whole wall had light shining through them.

"It looks exactly like a church," I murmured.

"Well, he is the god of marriage." Connor pointed out.

I could help but say, "No, duh, Captain Obvious."

Connor just smiled, which was unnatural for someone his age, who would start crying at the tone of my voice.

Nico straightened up a little. "Captain Obvious? So does that mean he's related to Captain Terror the Third?" he said excitedly.

Connor rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a skeleton to you?"

"You will after the guards come back and lock us in the grimy dungeon…"

"Percy, why do you think they haven't killed us yet?" Annabeth asked me.

I thought for a moment before answering, "I honestly don't know.

I then realized Nico and Connor had started fighting…again. I didn't know what they were arguing about, but it was either stupid or pointless. Or both.

"Guys, we don't have a lot of time—" I started to say, but that's when the wedding song started to play.