I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! You all make me so happy. :)

Alright, here we go again:

To Reese123: A response to your review of the previous chapter: I'm not entirely sure how long this story will be. Originally, I was thinking around 70 chapters, because that's about how long the other HoO books are. But it'll probably end up running a little longer than that.

Icehawk54: Yes. Yes I am. That is exactly what I'm implying.

untill i have a name: Yes; you'll find out what she said to him next Percy chapter. Hopefully. Nice name, btw. :)

Bookworm3501: This chapter is longer than usual like the Hazel chapter, so it really isn't that it takes me a long time to right longer chapters, it's just that there are certain ones that I'll find the perfect place to end them, or I won't be able to continue with the topic it's about, but I just can't cut it out because it's important to the storyline. Understand? Probably not, but that's cool. I confuse myself all the time.

Happy Reading, my lovelies!

Chapter XLV

Reyna

When Reyna wakes up, the tent is dark. Squinting, she can just make out the shapes of the furniture in the tent, but not much more than that.

She swings her legs over the side of the couch to stand, but instead of the ground, her feet make contact with something soft and squishy.

"Owwww." Nico groans. Reyna jerks her feet back up. She'd stepped on Nico.

"Sorry, Nico, I didn't know you were there-why are you sleeping on the ground anyway?" She asks, looking curiously down at him.

He lifts his arms up and scrubs his face with his hands, trying to wake himself up. "I didn't feel like sleeping on the bed, and you were on the only coach."

Guilt fills Reyna. "Sorry." She apologizes again.

"It's okay; you needed sleep more than I did. Besides, I slept fine on the floor. It's a hundred times better than sleeping in a cramped hole, or on the rocky ground."

Reyna smiles a little. "Yeah, probably. Better than rocky beaches, too."

"I wasn't awake at all for that one, but I think I've still got bruises." He replies, rubbing his lower back dramatically.

"Drama queen." Reyna teases. Nico grins, his white teeth bright in the darkness.

"That's drama king, thanks." He sniffs. Reyna laughs.

"Did we really sleep all day?" He asks when she's done, glancing around.

"No, Nico, we didn't, it just got dark early." She answers sarcastically. "Yes, we slept all day! I hope Coach was alright without us..."

"He's older than everyone here; I'm sure he's fine." Nico reassures her.

Reyna wonders briefly if Octavian might have done something while she was sleeping. But then she dismisses it. If he had, she wouldn't be in this tent, and she'd probably have some of his 'followers' pointing their weapons at her.

"What time do you think it is?" She asks Nico.

"Nine or ten. Maybe a little later." He answers. Reyna ponders this before asking her next question.

"What would the kids at Camp Half-Blood be doing about now?" Nico looks a little surprised at her question, but he doesn't waste time answering.

"This late? Most of them are probably asleep, and if not, they'll at least all be in their cabins. There might be some stragglers at the campfire, but I doubt it."

Reyna nods thoughtfully and leans back.

"Why? Are you thinking of going now?" He asks.

"Yeah. It'd be less of a hassle to go now, while everyone is asleep, but I was hoping that we'd be able to meet someone that would still be awake when we shadow-traveled into the camp." She explains.

"If we did go, I doubt the campers that are sleeping would stay asleep for long." He says.

"Why not?" Reyna asks, confused.

"We'll have Coach Hedge with us, won't we?" He says. "And that statue isn't exactly discreet."

"True." Reyna mutters. Then she looks at Nico, where he's still sitting on the floor. "Here, Nico, sit next to me. You don't have to stay on the floor, I promise I won't bite. Not right now, anyway." She adds with a grin.

He hesitates, and then scrambles to his feet before sitting on the cushions next to her.

"Alright," Reyna continues, "so you think that someone will come out to meet us if we shadow-travel there?"

"Almost definitely. We'll just have to hope it's not Clarisse." He tells her.

"Who's Clarisse?" She asks, curious.

"Daughter of Ares. And just so you know, Ares is a bit more violent than Mars."

"Got it." Reyna says. "So, do you want to?"

"Want to what?" He asks blankly. Reyna rolls her eyes.

"To go ahead to the camp now, instead of waiting. What else?"

"Oh. Well, you're right, it would be less trouble. But won't the Romans realize you're gone?"

"They shouldn't. Not if I'm back by morning."

"Well, okay, then. If you want to. But instead of shadow-traveling to the middle of the camp, why don't we just get to the top of the hill? Isn't that where the statue is supposed to go anyway?"

Reyna remembers Annabeth's letter. "Yeah. And you're right, that'd probably work better. Let's just hope the campers don't think we're attacking them, okay?"

Nico grins. "With our luck, they probably will. And the Greeks-the Ares cabin, anyways-tend to attack first and ask questions later."

"Great!" Reyna says with fake enthusiasm. "We can bond over a nice long battle, with lots of blood and concussions."

Nico laughs, and Reyna feels a rush of affection towards him, and...something more. But before she can dwell on it, Nico stands up and holds out his hand.

"Come on, then, let's get going. We'll have to find Coach Hedge first, and we'll have to be careful if he's asleep. Otherwise, our chances of getting out of here undetected are one in a million."

Reyna takes his hand, and feels her cheeks color slightly. She's never held hands with anyone except her sister, Hylla, when they were younger, not unless she was shaking someone's hand, and that's definitely not the same.

He lets go as soon as she's standing, though, and she can't help but feel a pang of disappointment. But she pushes it away and starts to walk towards the tent entrance, taking care not to trip over the furniture. Before she can reach the tent flap, though, she hears something outside.

She stops, putting out a hand for Nico to do the same, and listens intently.

Scuffling. A muffled cry...then a dull thud as a body hits the ground.

Reyna looks at Nico, her expression stony, and puts a hand on her sword. He does the same, but doesn't unsheathe it just yet. The sound would give them away.

The tent flap moves, just slightly. Reyna gestures to Nico to crouch down, and they both do it at the same time, hidden by the table and chairs between them and the exit.

A hand pulls aside the tent fabric as quietly as possible, and a person steps through. It's too dark to see who it is, but it'd be hard to miss the Imperial gold dagger glinting in his right hand. The blade, Reyna is relieved to see, is clean. No blood. Which means he-or she-probably just knocked out the person they attacked outside the tent, not killed them. It wasn't really likely in the first place, but all the same, Reyna is glad to be sure.

The person walks closer until all Reyna can see is their feet. They move slowly, careful to make as little noise as possible.

They get closer and closer to where Nico and Reyna crouch behind the table, hidden. Closer...closer...Reyna's about to signal to Nico to attack, but before she can, another person bursts into the tent after the first-someone short, furry, and wielding a baseball bat.

Without saying a word-which is very unlike him-Coach Hedge swings his baseball bat at the intruder's skull, and it connects with a crack. He drops like a sack of potatoes.

Coach Hedge peers around the tent. "Nico? Reyna? Cupcakes?" He whispers-at least, a whisper for Coach Hedge. Reyna still winces at the loudness of his voice.

"Here." She calls softly, standing. Nico does the same beside her.

"Hey, kiddos. What was that all about?" He asks.

"You mean you don't know?" Reyna responds, puzzled.

"Nah. No idea, cupcake. I just saw this guy" he points his baseball bat at the unconscious body on the floor, "sneaking through the camp. Decided to follow him. He knocked one of the guards patrolling outside unconscious, but the guy looks like he'll be fine."

"Good." Reyna replies. She walks over to the person on the floor and flips them onto their back.

"Who is it?" Nico asks, coming to stand beside her.

"It's Larry. One of the centurions." She answers, her voice flat. "He was one of the ones who was most opposed to letting the Argo into camp. He didn't like Percy much, either, he was one of the ones who got blasted off the wall when Percy blew up the water cannons. He'd also been talking to Octavian a lot, before I left to follow you, and I doubt they were just having a few friendly chats."

Nico and Coach Hedge are quiet at hearing that.

"What do you think Octavian's up to?" Nico finally breaks the silence.

"The usual. Getting rid of me, replacing me as praetor, turning the others against me. And, of course, attacking the Greeks. Destroying them once and for all."

"I think he'll find it just a little difficult to do any of those things." Nico says.

Reyna glances at him quickly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're impossibly stubborn-" Reyna opens her mouth to protest, but he talks over her, "-and the Greeks are pretty good fighters. They might be outnumbered, but they're using fighting tactics unlike anything you guys have ever seen before. That'll give them an edge. Also, while the Greeks aren't particularly strict, they're still formidable warriors, and they're organized in battle."

"If you say so." Reyna replies, still a little doubtful.

Coach Hedge, who's peeking out of the tent entrance, interrupts them.

"You guys had better get out there, and quickly." He tells them in an uncharacteristically grim voice

"Why?" Reyna and Nico ask at the same time.

"Because all Hades is about to break loose, and you two are in the middle of it." He replies.

I rather like that ending. Nice and mysterious. Of course, you guys can probably guess what's happening.

Warning: Next chapter ends on a severe cliffhanger. Just thought you might want to know in advance so you can brace yourselves.

Smileyfaces!