AN: Here's another one! Just a heads up, the confrontation of Hera and Percy will deviate from the movie. I'm thinking maybe two more chapters after this then it's all done.

Percy struggled to break free of the guards as they hustled him down the hall to the courtyard. He could see the gallows in the centre of the yard, and gulped. The last time he had seen one of those was in his home in Atlantis. His father had forbid him from going to the lower levels of the castle after that.

The group of guards and Percy were at a section of the corridor where four hallways intersected. Percy noticed a tiny ceramic unicorn in an alcove where a candle should be. He was confused at first then remembered Vladimir. As Percy thought this, the door right in front of them closed, as did the doors to the hallways adjacent to them.

"What's this?" Captain Jason, who was leading the execution procession, said. He pounded on the door, "Open up!"

"What's the password?" A clearly intoxicated thug asked, opening the little window door.

"What?" Jason said.

"Nope."

"Open this door!"

"Not even close!"

"You have three seconds." Jason threatened, and began counting down.

"One..." A guard suddenly disappeared from next to Percy. "Two..." The other guard disappeared. "Three..." Jason said, turning around. He saw Percy standing alone, a helmet rattling on the ground. Percy waved at him, and the large thug, Vladimir, knocked Jason out with a frying pan.

"Frying pans! Who knew right!" Percy said as a thugs practically started coming out of the stonework. Vladimir freed Percy and they started running. More guards swarmed out of the guardhouses.

They made it to the courtyard, where the thug with a hook hand placed Percy in a specific spot, and started giving him instructions.

"Head down,"

"Head down." Percy responded.

"Arms in,"

"Arms in."

"Knees apart,"

"Knees apart..knees apart? Why do I need to keep my-AHHHHHHH" Percy was going to ask, but was suddenly flying through the air. He kept his head down, arms in, and knees apart, and landed on something relatively solid and comfortable. It was Blackjack.

"Blackjack? you brought them here?" Blackjack nodded slightly, "Thank you, no really, thank you. I feel maybe this whole time we've just been misunderstanding one another. And we really just-" Blackjack gave Percy a bored look, "yeah, you're right, we should go." Percy said and the horse took off across rooftops. They slipped and slid, but eventually stuck the final landing.

"Okay Blackjack, let's see how fast you can run." Percy said and urged the noble horse on.
_

Percy dismounted at the base of Annabeth's tower. There were no lights, and the eerie dusk light made the tower seem more ominous than the first time he saw it.

"Annabeth?" Percy called. No answer. "Annabeth, let down your hair!" Still nothing. Percy waiting a moment more before he started climbing the tower by its uneven stones. Just as he was headed up, the end of Annabeth's long hair was thrown out the window. Percy sighed in relief and climbed. He didn't care how much his arm and shoulder muscles burned with the exertion, all he cared about was getting to Annabeth.

He scrambled over the window sill just as he did a few days prior. "Annabeth, I thought I'd never see you again." Percy said as he straightened up and looked around. The tower was dark, but the meagre light from the open window shone on a sight Percy hoped he'd never have to see again.

Annabeth was on her knees, her arms chained behind her, a gag over her mouth. She was pulling on the chains trying to get to him, her muffled screams of his name not getting past the gag. Just as Percy was taking this all in, he sensed someone behind him, and a knife blade was pressed against his throat. Percy was forced to lift his chin back to avoid getting his throat cut.

"Well, looks like the prince has shown up to rescue his princess." Hera said into his ear.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, lady!" Percy said, clenching his fists.

"Oh but I do. You're the runaway prince from Atlantis. Did you really think your family would accept you after all this time?"

"No, I don't expect them to. I just want to be with Annabeth." Percy said, looking at Annabeth. The girl had tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Hera scowled and drove the knife into Percy's ribs. Percy felt the knife and grunted in pain. Hera let him fall to the ground, clutching the fatal wound. Annabeth screamed behind the gag.

Hera stepped over Percy's prone body, "Now look what you've done Annabeth." She said and went over to the pillar where Annabeth as chained. "Oh don't worry dear, our secret will die with him." Hera unchained Annabeth from the pillar, and struggled to keep Annabeth from rushing next to Percy. "And as for us? We are going where no one will ever find you again." Annabeth struggled and struggled to get away. Hera opened the trap door leading out of the tower, and attempted to force Annabeth down the stairs. Percy tried to get to her, but every move he made sent another wave of pain through his side all the way to his lungs, taking his breath away.

"Annabeth, really. Enough already! Stop fighting me!" Hera ordered Annabeth. Annabeth wriggled away from Hera again, and her gag slipped off.

"NO! I won't stop. For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight. I will never stop trying to get away from you." Annabeth said, "But if you let me heal him. I will go with you."

Percy moaned and gasped, "no Annabeth."

"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him, and you and I will be together, forever. Just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise." Hera looked at Annabeth skeptically. "Just let me heal him." Hera sighed and unchained Annabeth, but caught her arm.

"Just wait a second." Hera dragged Percy to the pillar and wrapped the chain around it. Percy once again felt the cold metal of a cuff on his wrist. Hera held the shackled wrist in an iron grip. "In case you get any ideas about following us, or going to your home land for help." She dropped his arm and Annabeth rushed to his side.

"Percy! Oh, Percy I'm so sorry." Annabeth said. Percy was trying to stop the blood flow from his side, but a large amount of blood was oozing out and pooling on the floor. "Everything is going to be okay in a moment." Annabeth said, taking a look at the wound.

"No, Annabeth." Percy coughed.

"I promise, you have to trust me." Annabeth said, trying to put some of her hair over the wound.

"No, I can't let you do this." Percy gasped out, coughing a few times.

"And I can't let you die." annabeth said, fresh tears forming in her eyes.

"But if you do this..then you..will die." Percy managed to gasp. Annabeth shushed him.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright." She said.

"Annabeth, wait..." Percy said, brushing hair from her face. He leaned forward as best he could, as if to kiss her. I know what I have to do. Even if I die, she must live he thought. Percy gathered her hair in his fist and in one swift motion, used a chard from the broken mirror to slice off her hair just below her shoulders. The cut hair turned brown, and lost its power.

Hera's face went white; not merely pale, but old lady white, and got all wrinkly. "No! What have you done!" She cried out in an old lady, haggard voice. She clawed at her failing eyes and stumbled around. She tripped over the hair that had once kept her young, and plummeted out the window to her death. Annabeth reached for her in vain, for she didn't want to see anyone die, even someone so evil as Hera.

Annabeth turned back to Percy and saw his pale face and his life draining out of him onto the floor.

AN: There's the climax. I'll probably have the next and last chapter out today, but it might not be til later. anyways, please tell me how it is, and I will brainstorm what kind of unique plot twist I can put into my little mermaid story.