Percy

"Let's go, guys!" I yelled, exasperated. "You're taking forever, come on!"

The Questers were definitely taking forever to get ready. We were at the stables, saddling up the horses to get ready to go. I was anxious to get going. Don't blame me. At this very moment, Annabeth was captured and in the hands of someone hostile, most likely Luke, and they were headed to a small island that could only be the headquarters of this bad guy group. Whatever you want to call them.

I don't know how my dad knew they were going there, because I still can't connect with my dad. Trust me, I've tried, I need more information about Annabeth. All I know is that they had left about thirty minutes ago. That scared me. A lot of things can be done in thirty minutes, but I hoped they hadn't gotten too far. I was determined to track them down, I couldn't let them take Annabeth or harm her.

I was on Blackjack, waiting impatiently for the Questers. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Kronos, the Titan of time, was making everybody go in slow motion. At least, it seemed like that to me. My foot bobbed up and down in the stirrup, and the inside of my cheek was bleeding because I had bit it so many times. Jason was trying to rally everybody together, but unfortunately, most of the Questers weren't as good as Jason or Nico. You see, I'm lucky to have them as second-in-commands. Most people, upon finding out that someone had been caught, would ask countless questions, pointless questions. Like how, when, where, why, and who. It was obvious that I didn't know the answers, and that me not knowing them was making me extremely agitated. So if I didn't know the answers, do you think I would tell answers to them?

But Jason and Nico understood. They knew I didn't know much, so they just nodded, accepted their job, and did their best to get everybody ready, despite the confusion of the situation. But the rest of the Questers weren't like that. They insisted on knowing the full story. Where was I when I heard Poseidon? What did he say exactly? What was blocking him from talking to me? Who took Annabeth? Where was she? Where is she? Why am I still alive when I just had a meeting with Athena, who wanted nothing more than to kill me?

With each question, I got closer and closer to exploding. If someone asked something one more time, I think I might punch the person. Blackjack sensed my restlessness, and was skipping around, whinnying nervously. I just glared at anyone who came near me, other than Jason or Nico, and they pretty much stayed away from me. I think they started to realize (finally) that I wasn't very calm right now, and maybe they should focus on getting ready like I asked.

But they were still so slow.

I growled. "Hurry up!"

"Percy." I whirled to face Hazel, who was atop her horse, Arion. I glowered at her too, but she held her stance. "Stop yelling at everybody, they're going their fastest," she said, chastising me.

I threw my hands up. "Well, then, we better get some lessons on how to move quicker, because it is taking a whole lot of time to just saddle our horses and roll up our bedrolls." I said that last bit with a pointed scowl at Connor Stoll, who was carefully inching his bedroll together, making sure it was neat. He caught my eye, his eyes widened, and he went back to work, rolling faster and messier.

Hazel rolled her golden eyes. "Percy, if you think about it, this is the fastest we've ever gotten ready. Usually we have at least a few hours notice, so we can get all packed up. You're trying to cram a few hours together into about ten minutes. Just cut them some slack, okay?"

I sighed. Now that she said that, I realized that this is the fastest we have ever gotten ready. But that still didn't change my attitude. "I know, I know, but every second we spend dawdling, Annabeth is getting taken away, and she is getting more and more in danger the farther she gets. They already have a head start on us, how do you expect us to catch them if we are two hours behind? We can't! We need to get going!"

"Percy, look around you. Do you think any of us are 'dawdling'?" I did as she said, and found she was right. All of the Questers were working hard to get ready. I was blind to that, only seeing the small, insignificant things that were stirring on my anger. "We are trying! Plus, an hour isn't that bad. We have some incredible trackers, amazing and loyal fighters, and quite a few quick minds. A little delay won't be that terrible. Alright?"

She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly, soothing my racing mind. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Alright," I said slowly. "I just- I'm just scared. Gods, Hazel, I'm so scared." Now that I had let that one statement out, the rest just came tumbling out of my mouth. "Annabeth is captured, probably by Luke. I know what Luke does to his prisoners… Annabeth doesn't deserve that. What if she's being tortured right this second? For information or whatever? Every minute, something else could be happening to her. I'm just scared for her." My shoulders slumped, anger leaving me for the moment and pure worry and anxiety replacing it.

"I thought you just said you knew what Luke did to his prisoners?" Hazel said with a of hint of a smile. "I know that Luke values his prisoners information, and needs that. So until he gets that information, he won't harm them too badly. I also know that Annabeth has one strong and obstinate mind." I smiled slightly, nodding in agreement. "So Luke won't get information easily. We'll get her, okay?"

I bobbed my head again, and turned to look at the rest of the Questers. Who were just about done getting ready. They were still fearful of me, thinking I would yell at them any time. I was about to tell everybody to take their time when I felt a little tug on my feet. I looked down into the young, frightened face of Harley. His big brown eyes were wide, staring at mine. His other hand was clenching his green tunic with anxiety.

"Is Miss Annabeth going to be alright?" He asked quietly, timidly.

I sighed, my heart breaking for this little kid who was worried about his new friend he made yesterday. Yesterday was when we had that meeting. It felt like it had been a week ago.

I kicked my feet out of the stirrups and dismounted. When my feet hit the ground, I knelt on one knee, so I was face to face with Harley. His eyes were searching for reassurance in mine that Annabeth was okay. I wish I could give him that reassurance, I wish I had that reassurance. But I couldn't. My jaw clenched.

"Harley," I began, searching for the right words. "I honestly don't know. I hope she is, but all we can do is try to go bring her back safely. We have to be strong for her, okay?" I put my hand on his shoulder, looking straight into his eyes. "You're going to help us, too. You're not really a child, Harley, you're a man, a demigod fighter, a Quester. With your help, and with all the other Questers' help, we have a good chance of bringing Annabeth back." Even as I said he wasn't a child, my mind told me otherwise. In my eyes, Harley was an innocent kid who shouldn't have to have the dangers of being a demigod. Everyday, a demigod's life is plagued by monsters, quests, gods, and dangers of the world. Mortals could think they had peril in their lives, but it was nothing compared to that of a demigod's. I could deal with it, but I wish I could take all the danger off of young children like Harley, who did nothing to have that hostility thrust upon them. But I could only try to help them.

Harley thought about this for a moment, his eight-year-old mind trying to comprehend that he was a man, a fighter who would help rescue people. Then he looked up, hope in his eyes. He nodded, "Yes, I will help. We'll go save Miss Annabeth, who's really nice. She'll be okay." He said that with such confidence that even my spirits lifted a little. It wasn't until I looked that I realized every Quester had stopped, going silent, listening to mine and Harley's conversation. They all were hanging onto my words. I had not before known how much Annabeth had grown onto every one of them. She was a Quester, in our eyes. A part of our family. We were all determined to get her back.

I nodded slowly, looking around at each one. "Alright, you heard me. Every one of us will have to help to get Annabeth back. We can do this. We have to trust firmly in each other, fight our hardest, and have constant hope." I stood up and looked down at Harley, who was beaming up at me, grinning, showing me two missing teeth. I smiled at the sight, then faced my group. My friends. My family. "We can do this."

As one, they all roared their approval, and then, mounting, Blackjack galloped off. Nyssa picked up Harley and he rode with her, and Harley pushed his small fist in the air, yelling with the others. We rode hard and fast towards the direction of where Luke had headed.

Even after that little time of assurance and confidence, I still worried. But I knew, without a doubt, that I would always worry about Annabeth, only stopping if she was right next to me, smiling and unharmed. That thought sent a wave of determination flowing through my body, and I prayed to every god, even Athena, to help me on this quest. I will bring her back.

Annabeth

Some of my senses started to return. First, I could feel. My body was curved at the waist, something holding me up from my abdomen. It was a bumpy ride, and I knew I was strapped across a horse that was cantering. Then I could hear. The thumping of the horse I was riding along with several others that were running alongside mine. Next, I smelled the sweat of the horse in my nose, making my face scrunch up as I wasn't used to it at the moment. Taste returned and I realized I was parched and hungry. My chapped lips cracked when I tried to move them. I couldn't tell if I could see, for it was pitch black in my sight even when I was sure my eyes were open. So either they blinded me, or a cloth was covering my eyes. I hoped for the latter.

I wiggled a little, testing how secure I was. I found out my wrists and ankles were tied together. Tightly, too. When I wiggled a finger, tingles went sprinting up my arm. The circulation was being cut off from my outer limbs. My body was in a sack, no doubt disguised among packs and blankets so whoever captured me doesn't look like an obvious kidnapper. I mean, seriously, I doubt they would've been able to take me too far if everybody in the towns we may have passed saw an unconscious girl slung across a horse.

I don't know how long we kept riding when I was conscious, my senses were still a little fuddled. But eventually, a male voice yelled for his horse to stop, and the rest of the people did the same. Someone must've stopped my horse for me, then I heard the thudding of feet as people jumped down from their horses. I hoped they would take off the sack on my head, it was getting really stuffy. Someone rustled my bag, and I thought of a plan quickly. I decided to try and play unconscious, then if they freed me I'd try to get out of here. I didn't know how many people were around me, but if I could act quickly, maybe I could stun them just long enough for me to get away. It was a far-fetched hope, but I had to at least try.

Hands grabbed me, pulling me off my horse. I forced myself to go limp. It wasn't easy when you were as tense as I was, waiting for the right moment to reveal my fib. The person carrying me wasn't especially careful, and only holding my upper body when he dragged me from my horse, my lets fell to the ground. I winced, then cursed myself for it, even though nobody could see my face because it was covered. I was lugged over to a tree and plopped on it, my back held firm by the trunk so I was sitting up. The sack was taken off of me, and I could see sunlight through the cloth over my eyes. I heard some whispering, and strained to decipher the quiet words.

"... leave her bound?"

A man answered, "No, Luke won't like it if we cut off her blood and her limbs fall off. She's still knocked out, if she wakes we can easily subdue her."

I felt satisfaction and anger at the same time. Satisfaction because I had obviously fooled them, anger because they think I could be subdued "easily." My jaw threatened to clench, as did my hands, but I told them no. Amazingly, they listened.

A cutting sound, then my hands were loose, they fell to my side. Next were my feet. As soon as the bands were cut, my knee came up forcefully.

To free my ankles, the person's head had to be relatively close to my knee. I took a guess, and I was correct. My knee made contact with what felt like a nose, and I heard a crack and felt the nose jerk into a different direction. I smirked. Won't feel much like a nose now. I heard stand up, move back and curse. I ripped off my blindfold, jumped to a crouch, and swung my legs around. Tripping him, I gave myself that free second to assess the situation. The man I had just tripped had long, stringy brown hair. He was clutching his nose, which was pouring out blood. Two swords currently in a scabbard were hanging from his belt. I was crouching in a clearing surrounded by forest. At least fifteen other men were staring shocked at me. They were in the midst of setting up tents and untacking horses. Most of their weapons were on the ground, in the packs, or not in sight. They obviously were relaxed and weren't ready for an attack. Idiots.

The man on the ground was getting up, and I helped him. I seized the collar of his tunic and hauled him to his feet. But then I sent him back down with a solid right-hand punch onto his jaw.

"'Easily subdued', huh?" I growled into his face. But he couldn't hear me, because that last punch had knocked him out. By then, most of the others had come out of their stupor, and were running towards me. I sidestepped the first hastily thrown punch, then shoving the dark-haired man face first into the tree I had just been sitting against. He slumped against the trunk, but I was already ducking under a different fist. I tackled the stomach of the new attacked, just like I did when I was first being kidnapped. We both fell, but I felt new hands grab my arms and jerk me back up roughly. I tried to shake the hands off, but they wouldn't budge. I twisted, and got free of the hold. I had hurt my elbow in doing that, but I was free. I met the eyes of the man. Well, the eye.

I recognized him. It was the man that had tried to assassinate me all that time ago. His one brown eye was fierce. I thought he was still in captivity. Hmm. Must've escaped. With that thought, I kicked my foot up in between his legs. He grunted, doubling over, and I took that as an open sign to knee his face. So I did.

But I took too long, five other men were upon me. I kicked, bit, scratched, and punched. But in the end, I was restrained. Two men were unconscious, five noses were broken, and nail and teeth marks were visible, but I was restrained.

I still felt pretty good. I wasn't really expecting to escape, especially when I saw that there was more than a dozen men, but I got some sufficient damage in.

"'Easily subdued'?" I repeated, smiling at the kid with the eyepatch. Ethan Nakamura. "Well, Nakamura, I beg to differ. The broken nose fits you, goes along with your personality."

He snarled at me, crimson liquid flowing from his nose. My smirk grew at that. Two guys were holding fast to my arms, I tried to kick back at them with my feet, but they dodged. Hauling back to the tree, they yelled for someone to tie my feet. I felt my ankles being pulled back, fastened to the tree, and then my wrists were both tied together but around the tree, so I couldn't move anything except for my neck. My back was against the trunk, my body faced outward so I could still see everything.

The men around me were nursing their wounds, and the ones with broken noses had gone over to find a canteen to clean off their faces. I hadn't gotten off uninjured either. During the fight, someone's knee had slammed into my stomach, and the result was a lot of throbbing in my belly. My elbow had been twisted painfully as well when I got out of Ethan's hold. I dodged a stray punch, but I wasn't quick enough, and the man gave me a dead leg as well. So add my thigh to the list of throbbing body parts.

But you wouldn't be able to tell from the outside. In my body, I was hurting and wincing, but I was all smiley and smug on the outside. The men weren't the same. Glares, scowls, rude gestures were all being gestured toward my direction. I looked behind me at the tree I was tied to. Then I stared back at them, shaking my head.

"It's not nice to do that to Mr. Tree," I said in a reprimanding tone. "What did he do to you, hmm?"

"One day, that sass is gon' get the best o' you, little girl." That was a tall, beefy man who looked like he could pack a punch pretty powerfully. His murderous glare could probably make the Furies back off.

I didn't let fear take me, however. I raised an eyebrow, carrying on my sassy act. "Just like I got the best of you?"

A low growl erupted from his throat, and I went tsk tsk. "Oh, stop growling. You're hideous enough as it is."

He growled more ferociously and started forward. Then, a little fear visited me as I watched his extremely thick arms swing back, and his fist clench. I cringed back into the tree as discreetly as I could. But before he could do anything, a loud voice called out.

"Kapaneus, stop." The voice had commanding ring to it, obviously belonging to someone in charge.

The man who was about to hit me, Kapaneus, paused in his actions. He looked like he wanted to continue, but knew better than to disobey his leader. He snarled at me one last time, then spit on my tunic. I made a disgusted face, looking at the bubbly glob on my shoulder. Kapaneus then turned and strutted off to stand by another burly man. His moving gave me the sight of their leader.

The first thing I noticed was the scar. It stood out like a sore thumb in his handsome face. Running from the bottom of his eye down to his mouth, it disrupted his features. But other than that, he had a pretty nice face. Pale blue eyes gleamed with an evil glint, and a tiny sneer was on his mouth. His close-cropped sandy blond hair shone in the sunlight of the day. He walked slowly towards him, broad shoulders swinging tan arms. He had an athletic form, muscular, but not too burly.

I felt like I had seen him from somewhere. But I couldn't place it, and it drove me crazy.

"Annabeth Chase," he stated. His tone was thoughtful, as if he were deciding what to say. "You definitely surprised my men, I see."

I realized that he didn't have any injuries on his body. He must've sat out, or was like one of the others who didn't get injured, just waited and watched. Either way, it was cowardly.

"They were easy to surprise," I replied, keeping my voice cool.

His sneer grew. "That they were."

"Also, they aren't very good at fighting. I got quite a bit done, and when it's one against more than a dozen, that either means the one person is really good, or the others are really bad." I shrugged. "I think it's both."

He chuckled. "I would agree."

I raised an eyebrow, "Don't talk much, do you?"

"Oh, I talk like everybody else," he explained. "You just talk way too much."

I narrowed my eyes at him, cutting the fluff and getting to business. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I want a lot of things. Like some new armor, and my wrist still hasn't completely healed from when it got cut." He counted the things on his fingers as he continued. "I also saw this extremely beautiful girl a couple days back. I can't tell you how much I wanted her. Then there-"

"Oh, stop being stupid," I said, rolling my eyes. "You know what I meant."

He smiled. It reminded me of a tiger baring his teeth as he got ready to catch his prey. "Well, you see. I need to get some things done, and unfortunately, I can't do that without your help. So I kidnapped you, and now you can help me."

I snorted, "Don't count on, buddy."

He frowned. "Let me rephrase that," he said in a dangerously low tone. "You will help me. You don't really have a choice."

I rolled my eyes again. "Whatever." A question struck me. "How'd you know about the tunnel?"

"Oh, Silena found a drawing on your desk of the mosaic tiled 'P' in the fountain area in Athena's temple. We figured it out pretty easily after that. And you weren't very quiet when you came in, either." I cursed, forgetting about that. I was trying to figure out the mechanisms behind the floor opening, so I drew of picture, basically drawing out a step-by-step picture of how to open it. I exhaled angrily, but my anger was directed at myself. I hadn't even thought of that when we found Silena rifling through my desk. Silena... so it was true. She actually was working against me. It was painful to know that she was an enemy. I always thought that she was a pretty good friend.

"How long has Silena been working for you?"

Luke lifted a shoulder, "About three years or so. She's been very helpful. It's nice to have a direct spy in Athena's temple, watching you. Helps that she is your personal servant. We also have a spy in Percy's group. Chris Rodriguez... yes, he's nice to have in their group as well."

I filed that piece of information away for later. If I made it out of here.

"Why are you even giving me this knowledge?" I knew I should just keep going, keep on raking in the information. But I couldn't help but wonder why he would.

He sneered, "It doesn't matter that you know. I don't plan on letting you get away, so it's safe to tell you."

"Well, you didn't plan on me beating up about fifteen of your men, either. Seems like you aren't as good as you think you are, Luke Castellan." I knew this was Luke. Who else would kidnap me? Actually, don't answer that.

He raised his eyebrow. "Percy told you about me?"

"Uh, yeah he did," I said, nodding like it was obvious. "He said to watch out for you, but I didn't have much to worry about. You aren't very good at planning or fighting." That last part wasn't true, but I didn't feel like letting him know that we had to fear him, because he was a substantial enemy. Definitely no.

But Luke just chuckled. "I doubt Percy Jackson said that. He knows how capable I am."

I barely heard that last part, because I remembered where I had seen him. In the Twin's Fortress, in the hall with tons of paintings and portraits. He was the demigod in the one depiction lit up by regular, scarlet fire, the only one like that. There were three pictures surrounding the main one of him. It was Luke fighting what seemed like a big ball of light, another one was where it was pitch black and you couldn't see anything except for his eyes and his scar, and the last was him covered in crimson blood and smiling like a madman. I shuddered inwardly.

I also remembered that Percy harbored a deep hatred towards Luke, but I didn't know why. He never would tell me. I knew Percy should probably be the one to tell me, but maybe I could get Luke to tell me why.

"And why would he know that?" I asked.

"Oh, we go back a long way," Luke said. "We used to be best friends, you know." My eyebrow rose at that. Percy was best friends with this monster?

I questioned him further. "What made you guys hate each other?"

"Why are you asking so many questions about this?" He inquired, looking at me curiously. "Hasn't your boyfriend Percy told you everything?"

A scowl was visible on my mouth. "He isn't my boyfriend, and no he hasn't. I was just asking."

Luke shrugged. "Well, I was just wondering. But I guess it won't hurt." Luke stopped, gathering his thoughts. "When we were early teenagers, I found a thirst for power. It wasn't bad, because I know I'm a good leader, and if I have power over petty mortals and demigods, even the gods themselves, the world would be a better place." He breathed in deeply, getting a far-off look in his eyes, as if imagining the power he would have.

Meanwhile, I was trying to hide my smile, but failing deliberately. "Right, that'll happen."

He faced me again, focus returning. "Oh, you can be a disbeliever in me, but you'll be surprised what I can and already have accomplished. Unlike a lot of other heroes, I actually plan out ahead of time, and I will be the greatest hero in Greece, if not the world. "

"Okay, first, you don't belong in the class of heroes. I think 'bad guys' would accept you." He crossed his arms, but he just looked amused. I continued. "Second, do you mind telling me these plans?"

He gave me a do you really think I would do that? look.

I shrugged as best as I could while being tried to a tree. "Just wondering. But seriously, what plan would be big enough to overthrow Olympus? I think you took too many beatings to the head, Castellan. You just don't have enough power to overthrow Olympus, the gods' home."

He smiled wolfishly, "Oh, I know I don't. But I can get the power." I narrowed my eyes. I was about to ask more questions, but he raised a hand, signaling me to be quiet. "But enough of that, we are talking about Jackson."

"Fine, continue."

He took a deep breath. "Anyways, Percy didn't agree with me-"

"For good reasons," I muttered.

"-so he separated himself from me. To be honest, he was like a brother to me, and I wanted to convince him to join me and my band. So I invited him over, he didn't come. So I captured him, and asked him to join us. He refused again. I told him he was making a mistake, but I let him go. Then he went and saved a bunch of mortals, did some things mortals would say was 'heroic.'" He snorted. "So the gods made him and his little band of demigods the Questers. Their quests were insanely annoying. They kept getting in our way, as if they knew what we were doing and where, and would disrupt any little plans I made. But the thing was, those little plans I had were crucial to the big plan, so naturally, I had to stop these questers from interfering. I knew the only thing drastic enough to stop the Questers was a death."

I stared at him incredulously. I was so disgusted by this monster standing in front of me, telling me that the only way to stop the Questers was to kill someone. Was he really serious? He certainly looked like it. I shook my head slightly.

Luke kept talking, each word that came out of his mouth enhancing my new sense of hatred for him. "My first thought was Percy, but to be honest, I still thought of him as a little brother just a bit, so I dismissed that idea." Good thing he did too, because if he had continued with that plan, I was sure he would be dead right now, courtesy of the rest of the Questers. Not that Luke being dead was bad, but Percy was an entirely different matter. "It would've been too hard to capture one Quester too, because they always travel together, and would notice if one got taken. So I settled for someone else. Calista Blofis."

It took me a second, but then I remembered. Calista. That was Percy's little sister. Answers to questions I hadn't realized I have been asking in my mind rushed into me. That's why Percy suddenly seemed so sad when I asked him about his family. That's why he always seemed like he had a sorrowful past. Something had hurt him profoundly recently, but I didn't know what. My horror grew as I listened to Luke.

"So I took Calista, easy, for she wasn't at all guarded. Percy took the bait, and came to save his sister. But, unluckily for him, he didn't think to bring that many Questers with him, and I was smart and had many fighters on my side. We overcame them effortlessly. I gave Percy two choices. He could stop saving all these mortals and interfering with mortals, he could give up being a Quester, turn against the gods, and just stop fighting at all, and he could have his little sister back. If not, then I would kill her." He started pacing around, but talking nonchalantly, as if this didn't bother him at all. "Calista was brave for being a six-year-old mortal. She told Percy not to give up, and keep fighting, she told him to not give up being a Quester and to help mortals and demigods more. To fight for the right cause."

He chuckled a little, but the sound was like coals grating across my chest. "He listened to her, and with a bunch of reluctance and curses and crying- what a wimp, he was actually crying- he refused again. So I killed her. Right in front of him." He said that casually, as if he were telling me that it was going to rain tomorrow. I felt tears well up in my own eyes. Even though I didn't know this little girl, if she was a sister of Percy, I liked her. And Percy… what he went through. A sob rose in my throat.

"That's horrible!" I screamed at Luke's face. My stomach resisted the sudden exhalation of oxygen. It pummeled against my side, hurting me, but I turned a blind eye to it right then. "She was just a child! Why?" Luke gazed at me with a slightly amused expression.

"Oh, I had my reasons," he replied, picking at his fingernails. "It definitely got to Percy, but unfortunately, not the way I wanted it to. He hated me so much after that, and attacked. I almost killed him as well, but he got away, lucky coward."

The barbarity of it all overwhelmed me. I was past words. I wouldn't've been able to even convey my feelings towards Luke in words.

"So that's why Percy hates me. Took it a little too deep, if you asked me." Luke shrugged, then told his men to get ready to move out. I couldn't hear him anymore over the roar in my ears. He killed Calista. He just murdered Percy's little sister. I felt so bad for Percy. I couldn't even imagine the pain he went through. And he still got up each day, fought for the gods that basically were the reason for his sister's death. He still kept on going. How? How could he have that strength? I got forbidden to see Percy and I had only known him for a little while, and even then, I almost fell apart. That seemed so pathetic compared to what Percy has gone through.

Someone undid my hands and feet, and people got ready to fight, but I wasn't even really paying attention to my surroundings, I was stuck in my thoughts. I fell numbly to my feet, letting them retie my limbs without any opposition. Time passed in a blur. They ate and went to sleep, except for the two guards that took the first watch.

I couldn't sleep. There was one opening in the canopy of trees overhead. Through that, I could see two stars. Through the night I just stared at those two stars, shining brightly and looking like a spec of hope in the bleak and dark sky. But I couldn't figure out what I hoped for, my thoughts just wouldn't organize.

So I just looked at them, sleep never taking over me, and my eyes just resting on the two glistening orbs in the sky.

O.O I got so sad just reading this. Poor Percy. *sniff sniff* Also, I have to go soon, so I didn't get to fully proof-read this, so if you see any mistakes, PLEASE tell me, and I'll fix it. Thanks! :)

On the bright side, I got an Instagram! Yeah, you're probably like, "umm, okay?" But to be honest, I had no social networking things. I have a Facebook, sure, but I didn't have a Twitter, Instgram, Kik, etc. etc. So my friend made for me and ordered me to use it. Yeah, pretty lame. But that's the only good thing I could think of right now. :\

Sorry, for not doing this for the last chapter, but thanks to these people for reviewing on Chapter #44! : IIII Winter Wolf IIII, ahjegqdfvxgu (- gee whiz, man, that was not fun typing.), I Need To Change My Name, ishippercabeth1234, Castle-of-Dreams, EatBlueFoodAlways, Kayla Daughter of Thanatos, Kathie, Drafgon, Ohmyasdfghjkl, and the goes that reviewed as well. You guys seriously made me get off my butt and write this next chapter. Thanks again!

Q&A and chit chat (I'll get the questions from Chapter #43 too)

Turquoise Crystal : Well, I didn't think of the Test for the War Games from Divergent, but the fear thing a friend suggested, cause I couldn't think of anything.

AnnabethChase712 : o.o I love you. I really do. You are sooo understanding. You probably aren't reading this, I bet a lot of the usual readers stopped reading, cause I didn't update for 2 freaking months. I'm so sorry. But I seriously love looking back over your reviews, they always put a smile on my face! Thank you so much!

Maddie : I don't know how long this story will be. Do you guys think the story is too long? :\ I hope it isn't.

Drafgon : Best friends are friends you love you no matter who you are, what you do, and what your mind is like. They will stick with you through everything, with a shoulder for you to cry on and shovel to hit anybody that makes you mad or sad. :) And yeah, I need more Leo in here. Sorry. I'll try.

Kathie : Please don't kill me. If you kill me, I won't be able to make more chapters, so would you rather have a dead Sophia (me) or more chapters, hmm? ;)

Okay, guys, I'll try to update soon. I love you all! :P :) :) :D XD