I did not really have time to think. When you are in a fight, your instincts take over. I had done it for so long, my body reacted before my thoughts could direct my body. My daggers formed in my hands, and I used them to block the pincers that were coming down towards me. Pain flashed through my ribs, and it was hard to breathe. Apollo must not have had time to heal them. Honestly, the way my chest was protesting, they might be possibly broken. Arachne knew it, too. Powers were all a mental game. If you could not concentrate, it made it that much harder to use them. Right now, I was seeing stars in front of my eyes because the pain was that blinding.

"Daughter of Poseidon, we meet again."

Arachne was very close to my face, and I could see her fangs hanging down from her mouth. She had a wicked triumphant gleam in her eyes. We had a brief run in when I was in Athens, and it was not pretty. It involved olive oil and an object similar to a frying pan today (do not ask). I beat her, but she always took that loss to heart. Now, she had the upper hand, which I was determined to get from her. Not many monsters or immortals could catch me by surprise, but she had.

I tried to push off of her, but I was weak. The pain exploded in my chest, and Arachne chuckled. I had definitely broken them. I tried to heal them with a spell, but it would not happen. Apparently, my dreams and my injuries had taken more out of me than expected.

"Having trouble, Euadne?" she asked condescendingly. She pressed harder against me, my daggers digging into my chest. The pressure was awful. My body was sweating in effort to keep her back, and I hoped and prayed Percy and Annabeth had enough sense to stay out of it. I willed a rock to slam her in the side of the head and then rolled out from underneath her grasp. She wailed in frustration, and I looked around for Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth was against the cave wall, looking frightened but determined, and Percy was racing forward towards me.

Arachne turned in his direction, and an evil sneer appeared on her face. Percy slashed at her, but she easily sidestepped him. She shot out webbing towards him, and it hit his sword hand, binding his entire arm to the rock wall behind him. Percy struggled to free his arm, glaring back in her direction.

"Yessss, two demigods for Gaia, and one to join our rankssss," she said as she started towards the two of them. She was working her way towards Annabeth, and I could see the fear in her gaze. Not many children of Athena would stand up to a spider, especially the mother of all of them. She held her dagger in her hand, ready to defend herself. I concentrated on my magic, feeling the deep pull within me, and the sense of weightlessness overcame me. Suddenly, I appeared in between Arachne and Annabeth. I felt the drain on my system, and I knew that would be the last magic for a while. Adrenaline was the only reason that spell even happened.

"Get Percy," I said quickly to her.

Annabeth took off, and I began to fight the giant spider. Arachne was good- she had the speed and strength of the gods, and all of the righteous anger and resentment to go with it. We were all slashes and movement. My ribs were screaming in pain, and I was starting to feel dizzy from my lack of breath. It took all my concentration to keep fighting. She was smart to injure me while I slept. The pain kept me from being able to concentrate, so I had to rely on my fighting skills. Occasionally, I could use my earth powers, but it was extremely draining. Percy and Annabeth were working together furiously, from what little I could see out of the corner of my eye. I was tired, the lack of sleep and my injury were wearing on me, draining me.

That's all Arachne needed.

She saw the opening, and her pincer slammed into me, pinning me to the rock wall. Agony flared in my chest, and the howl of pain escaped me before I could stop it. She quickly bit my arm, and I felt my system start to go. I was going numb all over. I would be paralyzed in a matter of minutes. It did not stop the pain, however. My whole body pulsed with it, and I could not move to find relief.

"We've been here before, Euadne. Too bad I do not have permisssssion to kill you or the other two. I sssure would love to have another one of your patron's children on my list of murdersss. My mistress wants you alive and well. Someone elssse is looking forward to seeing you again asss well," she teased me as she began wrapping me in webbing, turning me into a human cocoon. I opened my mouth to snap something back at her, but I could not even breathe. It was getting harder and harder to control my body, to make it obey my will.

I hoped and prayed Annabeth and Percy had gotten away. They knew who to talk to, where to go. I had bought them some time, and I could die for them. As long as they got away, it was all worth it to me. I know I had been commanded, but I wanted to help them. I wanted good to win. She had made it to my torso by this time, my arms pinned to my sides underneath all of the webbing. I coughed, and I felt a metallic- tasting wetness against my lips. I felt my chest rattle, and I knew I was on limited time. I had punctured my lung. At least I would be dead before I got to Gaia.

Arachne dropped me, and I wanted to scream. Nothing came out, except a weak cough with more blood mixed in it. Something had hit the spider, and she hissed in frustration.

"Thanks for dropping my sister, you overgrown bug!"

Percy and Annabeth charged the spider, Percy fighting fiercely. Annabeth helped for a moment, stabbing her dagger into one of the pincers. Arachne howled in pain, and she retaliated by knocking Annabeth back. She came to rest near me, and she seemed okay, just out of breath. I tried to lift my head, but I could not move at all now. Misery engulfed me, and Annabeth hurried over.

"Oh, gods! Addie, I'm getting you out of here-"

A different kind of affliction hit me, and a sharp stabbing hit my head. Percy must have gotten hurt. Now, I could drown in my own blood, and I could die in enormous amounts of pain from not following orders. My eyes wildly searched for the pair fighting, and sorrow blotted every other feeling out. I did not want to watch as another member of my family died right in front of me. Maybe my last act could be something to help Percy defeat her; maybe I had just enough strength to access my magic…

But I did not need to. Percy was just as good of a fighter as Orion or Tiberius was. I watched them, and I found myself internally cheering Percy on. He could do this! I blocked out everything else. I forgot about the nagging stabs in my chest as Annabeth cut the webbing from me. I forgot about the warm blood dripping out of the side of my mouth. I was proud of my half-brother, for the fighter he had become. Call it the Roman in me, but fighting strength was something to be admired.

Arachne paused, and Percy got the upper hand. Arachne slashed at Percy, but he slid underneath her and stabbed her up through her abdomen. Arachne cried out in pain, and Percy rolled back out from underneath her as she crumpled in on herself, turning into monster dust.

My vision was starting to blur, and I could feel life slipping away from me. The pain in my head was starting to fade. Sounds and faces blurred together, and I closed my eyes, welcoming the darkness. Something opened my mouth, and warm, delicious liquid traveled down my throat. It tasted like my favorite cake that a peddler would sell just outside of the Coliseum. If this is what death was like, I did not mind it very much…

"Addie, come on! You can't die," I heard a voice whisper.

Part of me wanted to.

"Maybe we were too late for the nectar," another voice countered in distress.

Why were they so worried? Did they not know that I wanted this? Why would anyone care what happened to me?

Come back, Apollo's voice commanded in my head.

Percy and Annabeth needed my help.

I could not leave them just yet.

I still had some strength left in me, strength to fight.

You are strong enough, Tiberius said. And he was right.

I felt as if I was rising out of the depths of darkness, and my eyes fluttered open. Soft, muted light lit the alcove we were now in. Percy and Annabeth stood over me, concern and anxiety etched on their features. They both looked fine, a little dirty, but fine. I felt myself let out a breath I had not realized I had been holding. They helped me into a sitting position, and I groaned. My ribs were not hurting as much, but they were nowhere close to being fully healed yet.

"How do you feel?" Percy asked.

"Like I got my ribs smashed in and bit by an overgrown spider."

I looked at my arm, and the bite was slowly starting to fade. There were still black tracts racing out in my veins from the bite, and I felt absolutely awful. It would take a little while to recover from this.

"What do you need?" Annabeth asked.

"My bag," I responded. Gods, I sounded awful. "Tiny green bottle in there and more nectar."

Percy had the bottle in his hand, but he looked at me questioningly.

"We already gave you about an eighth of a cup," he stated.

"I can take more than most demigods," I said, reaching for the bottle. I wrapped my other arms around my chest, trying to stabilize it as much as possible. I put the bottle to my lips, and drank deeply. Most demigods could take an ounce or two. I could drink a cup or more before I started to get heated. With this extra strong kind, I could do about half of a cup. The warmth of the liquid spread throughout my body and I sighed.

Thank you for the nectar, I silently sent up to Apollo. One thing I learned working for the gods- when they help you out, you better say thank you or they will not be doing it again.

"How can you take that much? I took a swig, and I feel hot," Percy said exasperated. He took the vile from me and re-corked it.

"I've got a lot more divine blood than you do," I slowly explained. They both paused in surprise, but then continued what they were doing.

"Like how much?" Annabeth questioned. She pulled out the tiny green bottle and handed it to me. I ripped out the stopper with my teeth and drained the contents. Energy flowed back into my system, and I felt almost ok.

"My grandmother was Hecate, my great-grandfather was Zeus, and my great, great grandparents were both demigods, children of Hermes and Aphrodite, if I remember correctly. It has been some time," I responded meekly.

"Good gods," Annabeth muttered.

"You should have seen the family reunions," I laughed. They both laughed with me and it lightened the mood up slightly. I smiled at them, and for a second they both relaxed and smiled back. I could slowly feel the energy potion take effect, and the nectar was slowly healing me.

"Thank you for saving me. Are you two okay?" I asked tentatively.

"Percy just had a bad cut on his leg, but the nectar took care of it," Annabeth supplied. "I'm fine, just got tossed around a little."

I nodded my head, and I looked around. I recognized the alcove. When I was scouting earlier, I passed it as I found the path to the Stone. I started to pull myself up, and fatigue flooded my system. I needed to rest, but we had to keep moving. Percy's hand caught underneath my elbow, and he helped me the rest of the way up.

"I think you need to rest, Addie," Annabeth suggested softly.

I shook my head, and took a deep breath. "This is not the first time I have been this way. I know my limits. Gaia will expect us to rest, so we need to get moving. The Stone is not that far away. We can go, and then rest once we have questioned the Titans."

"Are you sure?" she asked, concern in her voice.

I felt my resolve harden. I had to do this; I had to do this for them. Apollo had commanded that I come back, and so I had to try.

"Positive."

I hope ya'll enjoyed this! Please review! I love to hear what you are thinking! And who is excited for HoH? Only one more day, eek! :)