Rosaline didn't get to say any more about the subject, as they reached their destination. And even if she could, the murmurs of soldiers were so close they sounded like beating drums.

They peeked around the corner. In just a few dozen minutes, the headquarters had been transformed. Long gone were the corners where different people worked. At the far end of the room, facing them, a stage had been rigged, empty for now, stretching from one wall to the other, easily being a mile wide. Hundreds upon hundreds of chairs faced the stage, almost all of them filled by soldiers.

"We have two minutes before they bring the Chaos soldiers out," Adriana warned, having to shout to be heard over the masses.

"Looks like they're on alert for you guys," Leon observed. "The moment you do free them, we got to get out of here."

There were soldiers at every passageway leading into headquarters, who looked around furtively as though watching out for them. They neglected to look behind them, which was why Percy, Rosaline, Adriana, and Leon could observe the assembly conspicuously.

"Alright," Rosaline said. "Here's the plan. It looks like they haven't blocked the passageways behind the stage. Leon and Percy will create a distraction once they lead Psi, Theon, and Tania up to the stage, preferably diverting everyone's attention to you two."

Percy smiled. "You don't need to say anything else. This'll be fun."

Rosaline continued. "When we hear or see your distraction, whatever it might be, Adriana and I will neutralize everyone on the stage, and start freeing the captives. Percy and Leon will then run to the stage, take anybody who hasn't been taken by Adriana and me, and we'll run out through the nearest tunnel. Any questions?"

"What happens if we run into one of the Generals?" Leon asked tentatively.

"If it comes to that, run as fast as you can and hope for a miracle."

Leon gulped nervously at what that meant but looked as ready as he could ever be.

Percy started to say a compelling speech but was interrupted when a sudden, familiar, and burning sensation went through his body. Not again.

He leaned on the cavern wall and tried to control his breathing but to no avail. No. It couldn't be happening now. Not when he was needed.

Not when he couldn't be weak.

The world went dark as his consciousness was sucked into his body, where he was fighting an internal battle. The taste of blood kept him anchored to the real world as he bit his lip, refusing to let out any sound of agony. It felt as though every ligament, tendon, and molecule of skin in his body was burning up. Tears fell from his eyes. He would not show his weakness. But then . . .

Percy.

The voice was like cold, soothing water, numbing the pain wherever it passed through. He sighed in relief as the agony faded to a dull, throbbing hum. Artemis?

The beautiful voice didn't seem to hear him. Be strong, my hero. Everything will be alright.

No. It sounded slightly different. Slightly . . . Void?

I'm here, my love, she said, a smile being conveyed with her words.

He didn't care that he was talking to the enemy. All the pain was gone.

And who said he considered her as an enemy?

I have to go now, my hero, she said softly. You will always have me on your side, no matter what.

He felt someone shake him, and suddenly, he was back into reality. "Finally!' Rosaline exclaimed in relief. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Percy muttered, rubbing his face. "Void wanted to talk to me."

Rosaline would only worry more if he told her about the pain. Besides, it wasn't something he wanted to talk about.

Rosaline looked like she didn't believe him. "I have to go now. But we will talk about this after."

Then, she was gone along with Adriana.

"You think this is going to work?" Leon asked him.

Percy sighed. "We can only hope."

Getting into the assembly was the easy part. Since Leon was a guard, hence having an official uniform, he confidently walked past the soldiers who were guarding the passageway. Meanwhile, Percy followed him, ducking his head to look as unobtrusive as ever. The guards didn't even bat an eye at them.

After that, they had free roam, given Percy stayed with Leon.

The harder part was finding a distraction.

"Unless we burn some soldiers alive, we're not going to have a big enough distraction," Leon grumbled.

"Great idea," Percy said sarcastically.

They were at the back of the assembly, close to the back wall, looking for anything that could be used as a diversion before Psi, Leon, and Tania were moved onto the stage. But all that they could see was rock, rock, and more rock.

"We could always kill some soldiers," Leon suggested.

"And get killed in the process by the thousand others? No thanks." Percy sighed, letting out all of his conflicting emotions. He knelt, pulling at the ground to see if he could knock loose a big enough shard of rock to throw at the stage and create chaos, but nothing budged. He opened his mouth to express that the task was near hopeless, but was interrupted when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

In the reflection of Leon's sheathed sword on his waist, there seemed to be an alcove in the corner behind Percy. But when he glanced behind him, there was only rock.

Percy narrowed his eyes in thought and quickly stalked over to the corner, with Leon following closely behind. "There's no hope, Percy," Leon told him. "They're going to bring the captives any second. We need to kill the soldiers to—"

Leon's voice seemed to die in his throat in surprise when Percy raised a hand to touch the wall and it went . . . through. It looked like he had lost his hand, but Percy could still feel his limb perfectly.

"It's an illusion," Percy told Leon and led him through the wall.

They appeared in a small room that had just enough space to hold the two comfortably in addition to dozens of woven baskets stacked on each other. Each basket was filled to the brim with a blackish, charcoal-like powder that bore a resemblance to coffee grains. When Percy dug his hand into the powder, it came out covered with the chalky substance.

"Gunpowder," Leon explained. "To make bombs."

From outside, the mindless chatter of soldiers gave way to a smothering silence, finally allowing Percy to think. He shared a glance with Leon, knowing what he was thinking since he was thinking it too: the captives were being brought up to be executed, and Rosaline needed the diversion now.

As one, they began snatching baskets and quickly pouring them on the ground, making sure it was spread evenly.

Meanwhile, the Generals marched up onto the stage, with Eon in the front, wearing a triumphant smirk. "Welcome, soldiers of Void," she began, her voice effortlessly carrying through the full room, making Percy stiffen when it reached him. "You might not know it, but you all have been graced with an incredible gift."

However, as Percy and Leon dumped more and more gunpowder on the floor, the guards seemed to notice. One soldier made his way towards them, his hand tightening on his sheathed sword. Leon quickened his pace, throwing empty baskets carelessly while Percy stood and prepared to greet him.

"What is happening here?" The soldier asked stiffly, pointing to the gunpowder. Behind him, his fellow soldiers prepared to back him up, meaning Percy had to make up an excuse, not just clobber the poor guy.

"Er . . . Lady Eon ordered us to lay out gunpowder and light it to make her speech much more dramatic," Percy said in the most genuine tone he could muster, pasting a smile on his face.

"Sounds like her," the soldier muttered under his breath, probably not meant for Percy to hear. The soldier pointed to Leon who was sprinting from one place to another. "Seems like you're in a rush."

Percy's smile turned into more of a guilty one. "Well . . . we were already supposed to light the gunpowder but we kinda . . . had . . . trouble finding it . . . yeah."

The guard bought it. "All right. I'll be right there if you need any help." He pointed towards his buddies.

"Appreciate it!" Percy called out to the guard as he left. Then, when he started helping Leon again, he muttered, "That was way too close."

At the same time, on the stage, Eon continued. "Many of you might not know who I really am, and to refresh your memory, My name is Eon. The head of the Generals, advisors and guardians to Lady Void herself." The room broke out into soft murmurs as people exclaimed their shock at her power but soon returned to silence as she started talking. "This . . . gift of sorts could have been shown to any of the regiments of the Army of Void, but to reward your valiant effort of being on active duty, I have chosen to let you all see it." She paused, making it seem more dramatic before starting again. Without further ado, let's begin the recruitment process!"

Huh? Percy looked up in confusion as Psi, Theon, and Tania appeared on the stage, not bound by anything, and not looking like they were in distress. Even the guards which were escorting them seemed to be there to protect them, and not suppress them.

"Leon, we gotta blow up the gunpowder now—" He stopped midsentence when he felt the cold, sharp metal of a sword on the back of his neck.

"Not on my watch," Leon said, his tone changing from a meek kid to a cold, trained soldier following orders. "Move." He pushed Percy towards the stage, who couldn't do anything except listen.

Things weren't looking so good now.