[A/N]: Wow. Okay, so I just checked fanfiction after…uh…about half a year? Yeah. And I see that this story has been nominated for the Veritas (an award site for PJO fanfics). Whoo! :D Thanks to whoever nominated me, I appreciate it. So therefore, because I'm happy, I get to update this chapter…after forever. If you can't remember what happened before, that's okay, because I can't remember either. .

Synopsis of past two chapters: Rachel Dare is lost in the city while on vacation. She's captured by a gang led by Ethan Nakamura. The next day, Ethan and Annabeth call Warren Dare, Rachel's father, for a ransom. Back at the gang's hideout, Thalia explains to Rachel that Rachel is being held ransom for money, as the former lead of the gang, Luke, is striving to kill them all. Ethan appears, and Rachel demands an answer from him for why she has to go through all this trouble. The chapter ends with Warren Dare agreeing that he will give anything to get Rachel back to a 'mysterious stranger.' (coughcoughhinthintluke)

Thanks to The Midnight Doe for beta-ing. You rock! :D

-Epsilon-

By: zynaofthenight

Chapter II: That Dark Place Under

For a girl as fierce as she was, Rachel Elizabeth Dare felt rather helpless under the amused grin Ethan Nakamura was giving her. This was most definitely not the reaction she has been anticipating; no, she had been hoping that the boy would at least have the decency to look ashamed at her angry statement, 'You have some explaining to do, Nakamura.'

Overall, Rachel could not imagine being more surprised until Ethan straightened abruptly from his slouch in her doorway and jerked his head out of the room. "Walk with me."

Maybe it was the shock—but she had no idea why she suddenly found herself rising to obey Ethan's request. However, Rachel kept enough sanity to ask (with as much venom as she could muster at the moment) where they were going. Ethan didn't deign to reply, though, and she was left with no choice but to follow him out the room into an intricate-looking passage, full of twisting paths, doors, and maze-like hallways branching out all over the place.

The boy led her past corridor after corridor of rooms, never hesitating at the turns. They climbed up so many flights of stairs that Rachel was lost in the vastness of the place. She caught glimpses of ornate statues and expensive-looking paintings hanging on the richly red walls of the hallways, which were lit by torch-like lamps. However, they were walking too fast for her to investigate further, although she did get the overall impression that though it must have once been a grand, royal place, the building she was in was quite old and worn down.

Finally, Ethan stopped in front of a door, which looked no different than the others. He turned to look at Rachel, who immediately stopped and glared at him. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

He sighed, looking bemused. "You asked for answers."

"And what does this door have to do with anything?"

"It's not the door," he replied slowly, enunciating every word carefully as if she was too stupid to understand him, "it's the room behind the door."

Rachel gritted her teeth. "All right then. What does this lovely room have to do with anything?"

"I want to show you something." Ethan cocked his head towards the door, and gestured. "Look. I'm not going to tie you up and kill you. I'm not going to hurt you. Are you coming or not?"

There was nothing else for her to do, except to run off into the maze of halls. Rachel glared at Ethan one more time, and then nodded. "Fine. But you go first."

Ethan shrugged and opened the door. "Suit yourself." He stepped past the door, into the room. "Coming?"

She gave her surroundings one last despairing glance, then followed the boy.

The room was bare, its walls painted a washed-out, pale blue. There was nothing special in the place as far as Rachel could see, and she shot Ethan a confused look. He walked forward in response, reaching for a long, thick string dragging on the floor. Rachel looked up and instantly understood. She had not noticed it when she first came into the room, but a soft light lit up the space. The source of the light seemed to come from a silky, transparent fabric hanging in the air, and with a start, Rachel realized that they were curtains.

Of course. The light had to come from somewhere. And just because she couldn't see it didn't mean there wasn't a window. Still, she gasped when Ethan pulled on the string and the curtains went up, revealing an enormous pane of glass. The room was flooded with light, and Rachel walked towards Ethan, marveling at the window. Rising from floor to ceiling, it expanded across an entire wall and overlooked the lively city of Manhattan.

For the first time since she was captured, Rachel felt her spirits rise slightly. Manhattan was beautiful in the day, under the bright blue sky. Though the vastness of the city made her despair (for how was she ever to get out?), she couldn't help smiling at the scenery before her. Rachel began to commit the picture to mind; she was going to have to draw this when she got out of this infernal place…which reminded her of why she came here…

Rachel turned to Ethan, opening her mouth to ask him why he had brought her to the room, but upon seeing him, all intentions of questioning him flew out of her mind. In the streaming light, the boy looked almost angelic, his dark hair light brown at the edges where the sun illuminated it. His right eye—the one without the patch—stared out the window, and the expression on his face was so sad that Rachel stepped back, not wanting to disrupt his silence.

"Well? You wanted answers. Ask questions."

Blinking, Rachel realized that Ethan was now looking at her, his expression amused. After all, she had been staring at him. Rachel tore her gaze away from him, feeling her face heat up. "Where are we?"

"An abandoned hotel near Central Park. This place hasn't been used for years and years, and it costs too much money to tear down, so it's perfect for a hideout. If you were referring specifically to where we are at the moment, this is the Observation Room. It's a room I found when the gang first moved here. It has a clear view of Manhattan, which is useful for lookouts." He pointed towards a group of maze-like alleyways in the distance, and Rachel was struck by how so many places in this city seemed maze-like. "This is where we found you."

"Huh?" She frowned. "Where you found me?"

"Annabeth and Percy, actually," Ethan said. "You know. Yesterday. When you were wandering around and we found you." He ignored Rachel's glare, and continued. "Anyway, the point is, this room is useful for searching the city. Especially after we had to move here because it was the one place we could think of to hide from Luke…" His voice trailed off, and he gazed out the window. Looking down, Rachel noticed that his hands were clenched tightly into fists.

"Alright, then," Rachel said softly. "I guess I have to ask this. Why? For everything that's happened?"

"Thalia's talked to you?"

"Yes. Right before you came to my room."

"So you know why we took you."

"Yes…" Rachel paused, hesitating. "I know why."

"Then what else do you need to know? In a week your father will pay the money we need, and you'll be free, off to go back home, happy in your family's love." His voice was bitter.

"But why bother taking me?" Rachel asked. "If Luke is so intent on killing you, then why do you try so hard to get the money? I think that inside, you know that no matter what you do, Luke will continue trying to kill you all. Why not contact the authorities? Plus," she added, a note of accusation in her voice, "by taking me for hostage marks me as a target for Luke."

The silence that followed was so tense that Rachel almost regretted that she had said anything. Almost.

"My mother," Ethan said finally, "is quite a hypocrite. She raised me on the belief that I would be great and important. She promised me I would change the world." He jabbed his index finger towards his eye patch. "And you know what she did? She told me that to change the world, I needed to pay something. 'Nothing is free in this world,' she said. So she took my eye. My own mother!"

Rachel kept silent, not sure where this was going. Still, she couldn't help but shudder. Sure, her parents didn't show much affection towards her, but they would never be so…dementedly cruel. And the fact that her father was willing to pay for her…well, either it was because he had the money to lose, or it was because he truly cared for her.

"So I ran away," Ethan continued, his voice now dangerously quiet. "And I found this gang. They are my family. My parents don't give a damn for me." Rachel winced at the comment, but the expression on Ethan's face was so pained and angry that she didn't dare to comment. "If I contact the authorities, they'll just take us apart and force us into juvenile prison, or send us away," the boy concluded. "And yes, I know Luke will do anything to kill us. But I have no other choice." He turned away from her, and walked towards the door of the room. "I'm sorry about taking you, Dare. I didn't realize Luke would try to kill you too."

He sounded sincerely sorry, even though Rachel wasn't exactly keen on the idea of being targeted by a killer. In the end, all she could manage was a sort of strangled "It's okay…kind of. Not really."

Ethan laughed, though he was still turned away from her. "Dare, I'm not going to keep you confined to your room." He opened the door and pointed to the floor outside. Rachel walked over to him and followed his gaze, realizing that a pattern had been marked on the floor.

"There are signs around main passageways to help navigate through this place. But if you follow the pattern on the floor, it will always lead you to what used to be the ballroom. That's where everyone else stays—it's sort of our headquarters. If you want, you can…uh, stay with us there." He walked out of the room, and turned to Rachel. "I've got to go now. You can stay here for a while, if you want. I'll see you in the headquarters."

"Wait!" Rachel called out, as he turned to go. "Yesterday, when you took me—well, you said that this place is hell. So…why all the niceness?"

Ethan turned to her one last time, raising an eyebrow. "Would you rather have me not be decently nice?"

He walked off, leaving Rachel even more confused than she was before.

Warren Dare was having second thoughts. Sure, employing that mysterious young man to find the captors of his daughter was useful, but when the young man requested that he would have legal permission to kill the captors—well, it didn't make the businessman quite comfortable, exactly.

However, the stranger had already departed on his mission to find Rachel, and the only way Warren Dare could avoid any messy legal affairs was to get someone else to find Rachel first. So he found himself standing in front of a stately mansion in Manhattan, trying to swallow his pride down.

The door opened, and a young lad with light brown hair and bright blue eyes appeared. Warren Dare smiled stiffly and shook the boy's offered hand. "How do you do, Mr. Solace?"

The boy smiled, a much more carefree and natural smile than the businessman's forced expression. "Mr. Dare, I think I'm too young to be called 'Mr.' Please, come inside, and call me Will."

"No time, no time," Warren Dare muttered, frustrated. The boy's smile slipped and he looked questioningly at the man, his expression serious. The famed executive only dropped his professional in extreme, desperate cases.

"What is it, Mr. Dare?"

"It's Rachel. She's been taken and held hostage. Mr. Solace, you must help me find her."

Will Solace frowned. "Then by all means, Mr. Dare, come inside. I have to help you save your daughter."

[A/N]: And the plot thickens! Kind of.

Reviews are appreciated :D

Now, a word on the Veritas. Go to www dot fanmortals dot webs dot com for more information. Voting starts ends September 18th. Support me, por favor (: