A/N: Hey, forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but Shaggy is actually a real singer and he has a real song called "Mr. Bombastic". Look it up!

•••

"We'll never be separated." She had said.

Liar.

It had been a lie, I had trusted her, and now I was being dragged away by a Minotaur with Jack next to me.

Why?

Why must the gods be so cruel?

Anger and confusion clouded my thoughts. It was bad enough that a felt completely betrayed, but now I...well I just had this vision.

Bianca, being dragged away by an evil snake lady. I couldn't remember the name of them, I was too angry and just plain messed up.

It was weird, I felt like she had seen me too. Was it possible that the gods had forged this connection? Had they known that Bianca and I were going to be separated?

I huffed in frustration and gave the ground a good punch. The rock beneath me cracked.

"Whoa, Hercules," Jack said, doing his best to scoot away from me. I shot him a glare.

The Minotaur grunted at us. "OH FOR THE SAKE OF THE GODS!" I yelled at it. "DIDN'T MY UNCLE KILL YOU WHO-KNOWS-HOW-MANY YEARS AGO!?"

I think I offended the Minotaur, because it adjusted its hold on me so I whacked my head on a rock. I heard a snort beside me and I slapped Jack's arm angrily. He shied away from me.

"Well, somebody's got anger issues." He muttered, rubbing his arm.

•••

Ten minutes later, with my back and head sore, Jack and I were tied up together in a white room with a slippery floor. "Hey, uh, Asha?" Jack asked.

I rolled my eyes and, with a sigh, looked at Jack. "What?"

"Can't you use that Underworldy magic of yours to get us out of here?"

I stared at Jack for a moment, feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet. "I...uh...er..." I stammered stupidly.

A wicked grin flashed across Jack's face. I blushed. "You didn't even think about it!" He yelled, laughing. I scowled at him. "Shut up, Jack!"

I would have liked to say that I was drained and tired, but I actually wasn't.

"Alright, Jack, I guess we can shadow travel our butts out of here." I muttered, turning and holding out my tied-together hands for Jack to grasp. I felt his disgustingly sweaty fingers wrap around my cold wrists and concentrated on Camp Half-Blood.

HAHAHA!

IF ONLY IT HAD BEEN THAT FREAKING EASY.

When I tried to shadow travel, I realized that these ropes were made of that weird fabric that gods and demigods and second generations can't escape from.

I sighed and scooted away from Jack, wiping off my hands as I went.

"Well, we can't give up!" Jack said determinedly. I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chest. "Really, Jack, there's nothing we can do." I muttered.

Jack bit his lip and fell silent, gazing at the ceiling. Asha went silent as well, trying to think of another way out.

Suddenly, it hit her. "JACK!" She shouted a little louder than she had meant too. Jack jumped. "What?"

"I can summon the dead!" I said a little quieter. Jack looked like he was about to face palm, but he realized that his hands were tied behind his back just in time.

So, Jack being the idiot he is, slammed his face against his knees.

Ignoring his stupidity, I placed my hand on the ground and reached deep down. I felt the dead stirring beneath me, and with a great mental pull, I heaved them to the surface.

"THIS IS WICKED!" Jack screeched as skeletal hands broke through the hard floor.

"Cut me loose." I ordered, squirming in my ropes. A skeleton clawed its way over to me and...well he bit through my ropes. I was still free though, so I didn't really care.

Once I was free I let the skeletons cut Jack loose. He kept flinching away from the skeletons when they opened their mouths. I could feel their agitation.

"Jack stop getting freaked out!" I snapped. "The skeletons can sense your fear."

"Oh, they can smell fear?" Jack asked, his voice squeaking. "Nice. Very dog-like. Creepy. Dog-like."

I smirked. "Afraid of a couple dead people, are you?" I asked.

"Me? Afraid?" Jack's voice continued to squeak. "No! No of course not." If it was possible at this point, his voice got higher.

The skeletons finally managed to cut the ropes off of Jack. The last skeleton gave him a good slap in the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Jack kept his head turned and his lips puckered oddly for a few moments.

I stared at him, amused. The skeletons gathered around me, an army of bony unarmed warriors.

Intimidating.

Note my extreme sarcasm.

When Jack didn't move, I seriously considered slapping him again. Instead, because I'm a "nice" and "civilized" person, I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Now all we have to do is get back our weapons and fight through a sea of Hades-knows-how-many monsters." I said cheerfully. "Why can't we just shadow travel the Zeus out of here?" Jack asked.

I sighed. I didn't want to admit it, but I was already tired from summoning my fifty dead people. I didn't know how far away we were from Camp, and if I attempted to shadow travel, I could easily get myself killed in the process.

"It's too risky, Jack." I said quietly. My army, sensing my distress, shifted a little.

Jack didn't seem to realize that I was angry with myself, because he replied with a cheery: "Alright then! Let's go kick some monster booty!"

"Slow down," I said. Jack tilted his head at me. I shook my head, half amused and half ashamed of his idiocy. "You really think we're going to charge into a battle completely unarmed?" I asked.

"Unarmed!?" Jack roared in disbelief. "YOU'VE GOT A WHOLE SKELETAL ARMY BEHIND YOU, AND YOU'RE SAYING WE'RE UNARMED!?"

"Shut up, Jack!" I warned. "Besides, we have to think logically. If all of the skeletons fall, because they're not exactly made of titanium, uh, no offense guys." I added as the skeletons behind me lurched angrily. I cleared my throat and continued. "We're going to need backup, Jack."

Jack smirked. "When did you become a child of Athena?" He asked my crossly. I grinned. "My mother was a strategist, and, whether you like it or not, we're getting our weapons back first."