A/N: We are almost to the end of the book! I am going with one or two more chapters before we start Ignite Me :D I can't wait for that pager scene! Thanks to sweetwaterspice for her help with the Anderson/ Warner convo. I have it on good authority she will be posting an exciting Warner POV this week, so keep your eye out!

Percyjacksonfan16: I reread Ch 62 last week and I seriously was like, WTF JULIETTE! Right after he is totally vulnerable to her. Low blow. Anyway, thanks for not hating me!

Christa: On the bright side, without this scene, we wouldn't have all of the awesomeness that is heartbroken warner in Ignite Me. Also, I have this theory, that if Juliette hadn't said "Adam", Warner would have stayed, Anderson would have collected both of them, killed Juliette, and maybe killed Warner too (but either way he would not have been left in charge of the sector). So basically, her saying "Adam" saved the world :P

Everyone else: Thank you so much for your reviews! I believe I PMd everyone!

I follow my planned escape route in a daze, my mind spinning. What had just happened?

A trail of kisses down her stomach.

Her hands gripping my hair.

The searing pain of betrayal.

I lean against the wall in the darkened corridor, breathing heavily. White walls. White walls. But for once I couldn't picture them. I couldn't picture anything but her horrified face as she realized what she had done.

Kissed me. Let me hold her.

Repulsive. What kind of person could care for me?

She felt sorry for me, for the monster inside.

I had shown her everything, allowed myself to be completely vulnerable. I laugh, thinking my father could never have inflicted this torture, but I had learned my lesson all the same.

I could never allow myself to be weak again.

Determined to put distance between myself and the woman who had ripped out my heart, I take a deep breath, steadying myself. Looking up, I see two guards between me and the exit. These are the last two blocking my path.

I march towards them with shoulders straight. One of them steps in front of me, "It's past curfew. You need to go back to your room."

Fear. Well I still have that working towards me.

"Castle gave me permission to be out of my room. You can check with him if you'd like," I lie steadily. "I'm helping him with last minute plans for tomorrow."

The two guards look at each other, conferring, but I know I've won. The guard steps aside and I turn a corner to the exit.

Blackness surrounds me. I have no idea where I am besides in a barren field in the middle of nowhere. I glance around but see no lights or sign of life. I look up and see a few stars barely visible in the haze of Earth's dying atmosphere. Luckily, one of the soon-to-be-banned books I had studied had covered astronomy. With a general sense of the direction I should head, I set off in a run, eager to put distance between myself and this place.

Running at a decent pace, I allow the routine of exercise to quiet my mind. Focusing on the rhythm of each pounding step, I make a plan.

Force the first person I see to take me back to base.

No.

Unbidden, the image of Juliette's slender neck, covered in red marks fills my mind and I stumble.

I can't put her in danger. I need to get farther away from Omega Point so my father doesn't find out its location.

Trying to find the rhythm of my run again, I can't get her face out of my mind and the agonizing pain creeps back into my chest.

Dear God, I couldn't stop caring about that woman when she shot me with my own gun, what did I expect?

I try to focus my mind. White walls. White walls crumbling too fast to keep up with. White walls. White walls with a thin mattress inside. Juliette, wide-eyed, staring at my tattoo. Juliette leaning against a white wall, talking about reading books. Juliette standing above me, pain etched on her face, asking about my scars.
Feeling sorry for me.

My legs have been cut out from under me and I fall into an abyss of pain. My knee hits a rock, but the sting is nothing in comparison to the ache in every cell of my body. I love her. I love her more than anything in my God-forsaken life and it doesn't matter. She will never feel the same. In the morning she will run into Kent's arms and forget I exist. Forget about her almost-mistake, her charity case. Poor Warner with the evil father and no one to talk to.

I have nothing. I am nothing.

Where am I even going? Back to base? Last time I saw my father I was holding a gun to him. I shiver at the thought of his retribution. He will kill me.

I hope.

The weakness I showed in opening myself up to her, the words that poured out of my mouth, is enough to make me sick.

Perhaps this agony was retribution from the universe for my crimes. I think back to the hardened shell I had created for myself before Juliette had walked in and destroyed it with a flick of her hand. I want to go back to that. I want the hate and apathy to once again fill me. To never allow another person to break me like this.
But I know I can't go back. This yearning, all-consuming love I feel for Juliette will never disappear and I will spend the rest of my miserable life thinking of what could have been if I was the man who deserved her.

I punch the ground. Anger. Yes, this I can do. She made me fall for her. Then when she knew how I felt and she crushed me. For him. Adam Kent. God, I hate him. And her, for loving him and not me.

But I know I don't deserve her. She should be happy, and if she is happy with mindless Kent, the one thing I can do is try to keep her from getting killed.

I stand up.

Take a step forward.

Take a step away from Juliette.

I can do this. I can walk away. I will never rid myself of this agonizing love, but I can hate her for what she has done to me. I swallow back my feelings, emptying myself. Hardening myself.

I will go back to base. I will not betray Juliette. My father will most likely kill me.

If he doesn't, I will try and protect Juliette. After my father leaves, I can keep the soldiers away, allow her to live in peace.

Away from me. But alive. And happy.

And I may hate her for what she has done, but she will be alive.

I hear the tank before I see it. I'm running down the middle of the road. It is still dark out. I stop, crossing my arms in my most intimidating stance, until the headlights pass over me and the tank rolls to a stop.

A gun pops out of an open door, followed by a soldier. He is storming towards me, ready to arrest me for breaking curfew or obstructing the mission. When he gets close enough to see my face, he halts.

"Com- Commander Warner?" He stutters. I stand glowering until he pounds a fist to his chest and lowers his eyes.

"Right. Well if you have decided not to run me over, please take me back to base." The soldier is shocked at the word "please" and I internally kick myself. I've spent too much time at Omega Point, I need to have myself under control before I am face-to-face with my father.

Climbing into the front seat of the tank, I am met with the shocked expressions of two other soldiers.

"Should we comm ahead, sir? To let the Supreme know you have been found?" A soldier asks from the back seat.

"No." I command. The last thing I need is to give my father any time to prepare for my homecoming and for his revenge. "The prodigal son's return will be a surprise." When I am met with three blank stares, I roll my eyes, looking again out the window.

I wonder if Juliette would have understood the reference.

Pain causes me to double over in my seat and I find I am unable to find my next breath.

I will never see her again. I will never hear her voice or be responsible for an adorable outburst of irrational anger or a sweet sigh from her lips or a burst of unbelieving laughter.

"Adam," I hear her whisper, the word repeating again and again in my mind to torture me.

"Are you alright, sir?" The driver asks.

"Fine," I manage, sitting up straight again. The shock of the night is not helping the situation I am in. I clear my mind again, trying to realign myself with the person I was before I got myself into this mess. I glance at the wary soldier before realization hits me and I swear under my breath. He thinks I am injured. Of course, a prisoner of war would be injured. I should have considered giving myself a few injuries before heading back. My father might take my unscathed state to mean I had colluded with the enemy instead of being held prisoner. Too late now. I will not be left alone for long enough for self-harm to be an option.

The sun is coming up over the horizon and we are pulling up to base before I finally have an idea resembling a plan.

Ignoring the surprised stares of those who wished me dead, I walk straight to the office my father would be using during his so-called surprise visit. I would have rather gone to my own room to take a hot shower, or to my training facilities to punch something, but I don't want to risk my father finding me with my guard down.

I take a deep breath, hiding my heart like I had learned to do long ago, before opening the door.

My father is surrounded by a few of his guards, deeply concentrating on a document in front of him.

"Father," I state coolly.

He looks up. Surprise. Satisfaction. Distrust. My new understanding of my gift is already proving useful. He leans back in his chair, studying me. "Aaron. You look well."

"Yes, thanks for the rescue party," I say sarcastically.

"I knew any half-competent son of mine could handle a few freaks," he says and I do not flinch at the slur. Especially when your son is one, I think. "Sit," he says to me, motioning at his guards. To my chagrin, they do not leave, but stand at attention against the walls, surrounding us. Maybe I was right and he will kill me.

"Now, Aaron. It seems we have a lot to discuss. Where were we when we last saw each other?" He pretends to consider and I can see the wheels turning, making me nervous. But I keep a calm exterior and maintain eye contact. "Ah, that's right. You pointed a gun at me and then your girlfriend shot me." Fury. "Would you like to see what she has done?" Unsteadily, he stands up, supporting himself with a cane. If not for the murderous look in his eye, I might be tempted to laugh. I had no idea Juliette had done so much damage. The thought sends chills down my spine but a sense of satisfaction through my heart. His knees are shaking as he takes slow steps towards me and I know his retribution will know no bounds.

A hard slap rings across my cheek and I force myself to look back in his general direction, ignoring the burning sensation in my cheek. I know whatever his plan is for me will be a lot worse than this. "This is your fault, you idiot," he seethes. "Look at what she did. Because you allowed her to make you weak." This level of his wrath has never been directed toward me. In situations I've felt it before, it is usually followed by death.

"I know," I interrupt, and I see surprise register in my father's expression. "She made me weak and I will not let it happen again." I swallow the bile rising in my throat at the thought of Juliette and remind myself to hate her. This is as close to an apology as he will extract from me and he knows it. I can feel his satisfaction.

My father smiles and takes a seat next to me, and my skin prickles at his closeness. My legs ache at the need to escape this room, but I know this is far from over. "I take it your reunion did not go as you had hoped?" He says dryly.

"You mean when she kidnapped me and held me prisoner?" I deflect.

His eyes darken threateningly. "Yes, how did she manage that?"

"Knocked me out. I'm not sure how, I had lost a lot of blood, if you remember," I accuse not-so-subtly.

I can tell by my father's expression he had forgotten about his mistreatment of my bullet wound until I mentioned it. His eyes are raking over me but I keep my gaze steady on a point on the wall behind him. Suddenly, he reaches over, grabs the collar of my shirt, and rips my shirt down the front.

An exhale catches in my throat and I brace myself against the inevitable pain he will inflict. Surprised, I jerk back with disgust when his fingers brush the point where my bullet wound once was. Greed. Jealousy. Anger.

"How?" He growls.

I stare at the wall, my face blank of emotion. I don't look at my torn shirt, my dignity stripped for the audience standing around me. I control my breathing but I can't stop my ears from burning with humiliation.

I can't hide the obvious miraculous recovery of my injury. My answer, though unprepared, is concise. "Two girls with a healing ability, I was told."

"Were you on vacation?" My father smacks the table hard and the guards surrounding us jump. I remain still, being the focus of my father's anger is not new to me. His voice is slightly raised, tinged with frustration. "You don't have a scratch on you and you expect me to believe you have been held against your will? Why would they waste time healing my pathetic son? What did you tell them?"

"Nothing," I lie smoothly. In the haze of my night with Juliette, I had forgotten to account for the healed bullet wound, but this line of questioning I was prepared for. I had decided to remain as close to the truth as possible. "Their operation is crude at best. They didn't even have a cell to keep me in, much less a way to torture me. Their interrogator was inexperienced, nothing I couldn't handle." I do not let my mind wander to my "interrogations" with Juliette, but I feel the pain return to my chest, a fresh reminder of her betrayal. "All they ever asked about or concerned themselves with regarded your two hostages, which I could honestly tell them were under your control, not mine."

"And where is this base?" he asks, through a tightly clenched jaw.

"I don't know the details we need. I was unconscious when I arrived and it was dark when I left. All I know is that it's underground," I say, knowing he already has this information from when we took the hostages.

"You got out just fine, Aaron," he states accusingly. "Could you at least recall in that useless brain of yours at least the entry point?!" his voice climbs and ends in a thunderous growl.

I bite the inside of my mouth to keep the lies as steady as my voice. "I wouldn't be able to find the entrance again. It didn't seem to be in the same area from which we collected the hostages, they must have been on some kind of mission," I know exactly how to return to Omega Point and I know the hostages were, in fact, found directly outside of the well-hidden mouth of the base. But to admit it would put Juliette in danger, a risk I am not willing to take.

He snickers. "So they just let you walk out?"

"I escaped. Convinced them I was on their side and left last night." The easiest way to protect yourself under interrogation is to stick as close to the truth as possible, a tactic my father himself had taught me.

"And they just believed you?"

"I was compliant. The model prisoner. And they were told the last time I saw you I held a gun to your head. It didn't take much convincing. They are naïve, inexperienced and far too quick to trust."

A knock on the door draws my father's attention and I am thankful for the reprieve. I want to limit the focus of my disobedience at our last meeting. I don't want him to get ideas about reuniting me with Juliette under similar circumstances. He motions to a guard to open the door and another of his elite guard walks in.

"Sir!" The soldier stands at attention.

"Stop wasting my time and get on with it," my father commands, annoyed at the interruption of his interrogation.

"Sir, a group of rebels has gathered near the compounds. They are attempting to prevent the arrests of conspirators, sir."

"As expected. Take care of it. And let me know as soon as information is extracted about their base."

Take care of it. Extracted. My mouth goes dry. He is going to torture and kill them. Juliette is somewhere out there. I pray she's not captured. God, why didn't I try harder to convince her to come with me? I push the thought away. She was never mine to begin with, she made that clear from the time she jumped out of the window to run away from me. And now our survival depends on me focusing. When the guard leaves, I say, "What is the update on the compounds?"

My father eyes me curiously. I hope I have done enough to convince him he can trust me to some degree. I'm holding my breath and exhale slowly, relieved as he divulges, "I have sent most of your men, as planned, to the compounds. I assumed the rebels would be anxious to protect the civilians, and it seems I was right. I will find the location of their base and destroy it."

I nod once, and a small voice in my head wonders what will happen to the girls who healed me, to naive Castle, to Kenji, who must still be in the hospital wing. I shake my head. Commander Warner would not care about them.

And Juliette…

She is strong. Stronger than my father would have expected. She can peel apart steel like it was made of paper. She can take care of herself. And she doesn't need me or want my help.

I stare at the table, building white walls in my head.

My father speaks, "Now where were we. Ah, yes. My idiot son fell in love with a girl and pointed a gun at my head." His eyes narrow. "I confess, I didn't actually expect you to show up here after that stunt. I thought you would either join your girlfriend to be slaughtered on the battlefield, or you would die at Omega Point. You must have considered my unfavorable reaction before you returned here." I remain silent. "Never mind, I have something quite appropriate planned." My shoulders tense automatically. Retribution. Never before had I so vehemently disobeyed my father. Whatever he has planned will be violent and painful. I digest his threat. He is an unforgiving man so I expect the price I will pay will be a high one. I stare at the wall, steeling myself for whatever is to come. "I'm not quite ready yet, however." He waves a guard over before turning back to me. "You will remain in your quarters until I corroborate your story with one of your rebel friends." Before I can say another word, he waves his hand in dismissal.

Hours later I ride the elevator up from my training facilities. My shoulder throbs, although it had been completely healed it is weak from misuse and hadn't been ready for the hours of exercise I had just completed. With nothing else to do, I had spent time on cardio, followed by a punishing date with a punching bag. I tried to put everything into my punches, the pain, betrayal, and anger building inside me. I hoped that if every part of my body ached with pain, everything else would go away. So far it hadn't worked, although imagining the punching bag as Adam Kent had been momentarily satisfying. Stepping out of the elevator, I find my father sitting at my desk. Stifling an internal groan, I say, "What do you want?"

He is twirling a pen between his fingers, not looking at me. "To let you know I've cleared your story. The gentleman my guard had the pleasure of meeting didn't know all of the details, but said you had been kept prisoner under locked guard before their leader announced you would be fighting with them. It seems they were all quite angry with your betrayal." He pauses, watching me. I do not release the breath I am holding. I'm waiting for him to say he knows of my gift, but he doesn't. Instead, he gets up and walks to the door. "Come, we have work to do."

He gives me enough time to change from shorts and a tshirt into my suit before we are marching down the hall and back to his lair. I am dirty and sweaty, which irks me to no end. But so far I am not dead, which is both less and more than I had hoped for. Awaiting my father's vengeance was not ideal, and I know forcing me to anticipate what he might do is part of his plan.

"Update," my father says as we walk into the office.

The head of his elite guard answers, "We approximate less than 100 losses. All major civilian sympathizers have been disposed of, although some of their families escaped with rebel help."

"And the battle?"

"Ongoing, sir. The intensity of their… abilities seems to be less than last time. We think some of those with the stronger abilities may have stayed behind to protect the base after Commander Warner's escape." Juliette. Would she have stayed behind? Did she think I would betray her? Probably. Apparently any feelings I thought she'd had for me must have been imagined.

"The other matter we discussed?"

"Taken care of, sir. Awaiting your attention." I look to my father questioningly but he is ignoring me.

The door bursts open and a guard enters. "Sir, we have the location of the base. Awaiting your orders."

Now my father looks at me. "Blow it out of the sky. I want no survivors." My mouth goes dry and for an instant my face betrays me.

My father smiles.

No, she isn't in there. She wouldn't have stayed behind.

A video plays on the screen in front of us. Planes are taking off, streaking for Omega Point.

My heart is pounding and I clench my fists to stop them from shaking. She is on the battlefield fighting.

Dying.

No.

After what seems like an eternity, the bombs begin to fall.

No survivors.

My father's eyes are on me again but I stare straight ahead. Juliette is alive. I would feel it if she weren't. I imagine the warmth of her energy, as if I could feel it from here, but I know it is my imagination.

My father stands up, "Get the tank ready, I will be leaving momentarily," he says to one of the guards.

"Where are you going?" I ask, my voice sounding strange.

"I have work to do. You will stay here and oversee the aftermath."

Burn bodies. Force widows back to work. Rebuild my sector, the lives he has destroyed.

I nod, looking at the table, when he slides a pager into my line of sight. "Tomorrow you and I will take care of some unfinished business. Do be prompt." My blood runs cold.