Chapter 20

I don't know about you guys, but I am incredibly proud of myself here. This is my 20th chapter in this story and I have kept my promise from chapter one about updating at least once a week. This chapter will also put me over 80,000 words. As of my last chapter, I was averaging 4,160 or so words per chapter, which is about twice as much as I had originally expected to be writing.

When I began writing, I wasn't sure how long my story would be, or if anyone would even read it. The response to this story has been incredible. I am averaging about 10 reviews per chapter and am getting over 1,000 views on days when I don't update. 2,000+ views when I do update. 150 people have favorite this story and a few more than that have this story on alert, or whatever. So far, this story has over 40,000 views.

Several of you guys have even listed me as a favorite author, which I must say makes me feel incredibly special. Right now, 28 people have me listed as a favorite author, so thank you to any of you guys.

The responses to this story and positive support I got even got me to start a second story. After I finish this story, whenever that happens to be, due to all the positive feedback I have gotten I will continue writing and write more stories.

At this point, I do not have an ending planned for this story. That means that there are still plenty of chapters and adventure left here, so don't worry about that. At the same time, I won't drag this story on forever, that would be cruel.

Anyways, I threw all that fun stuff in because I feel special about having gotten so far in this story thanks to all of you guys who read it. So once again, thank you all.

Now, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or the associated books and stuff.

After a few minutes, I felt a presence. I looked over at Miranda and saw that beside her was a tall figure who looked incredibly similar to Percy.

Poseidon looked at Miranda's sad face and then at me, "Where is Percy? What has happened to my son?"

Zoë POV

I looked up at Poseidon and answered him, "He was taken by Gaea and Nyx."

Poseidon looked like he was going to explode. Miranda started crying again. I wanted to join them, but I had to think things through and try to save Percy. Poseidon finally managed to talk again, "What happened? Tell me, I must know this."

I sighed, "I don't know all the details, but I will tell you what I saw. I woke up early and saw Percy teleport away, I got a bad feeling so I walked out of the bighouse to look around. I saw some commotion at the top of Halfblood Hill and ran up there as fast as I could. I looked down the hill and saw Percy talking to Daniel who was holding Miranda, probably as a hostage. Behind them were several of Nyx's children. Percy managed to get Miranda and threw her to me before I could run down to save him. I then looked down at him and saw he was being taken by Gaea and wasn't able to teleport away."

When I finished, I was looking down at my feet and feeling guilty. I should have done more to try and save him. If I had gotten there sooner or done something differently, I could have saved him. I felt terrible about what happened. I felt someone's arms around me and looked up to see Poseidon looking at me.

"Don't feel bad Zoë, if you had left the safety of camp, you would have been taken as well and Percy would feel terrible. Right now you just have to focus on how you plan on saving him. Or, based on how strong he is now, he could probably free himself if he tried hard enough." His face then turned angry, "Where is Daniel though? He dares to betray his won family? I will have him KILLED!"

I gave Poseidon a small smile, "Daniel is dead. The oath he swore on the Styx after his fight with Percy killed him. I watched as his body dissolved and he went through tremendous agony. His punishment is now up to Lord Hades."

Poseidon grinned, "I will go have a word with my brother after I leave here. For now, you know the most about Percy and his situation, what can we do about it? How can we save him, or should we let him save himself?"

"Percy is strong. I don't know if Nyx and Gaea realize the extent of his power. If they trap him the way they would trap a god, he should be able to free himself and then teleport back to camp," I explained. I saw Poseidon smile at that, but I continued, "However, they know he is powerful and that he destroyed Alcyoneus back in Alaska as well as Kampê. If Daniel served as a spy for them and gave them intel, they would know that he has extra strength granted from Chaos. That would probably lead them to lock him up extra securely. Whether or not that would be enough to stop Percy is not something I am sure about at the moment."

Poseidon frowned, but then seemed to get an idea, "Chaos," he said. "Can't you contact Chaos and get information? Chaos would want Percy to be alive and helping us prepare for the war, right?"

I sighed, "Chaos never talks to us. Occasionally we get some message, but for the most part we are expected to be self-reliant our here. As for contacting Chaos, we have not been given any ways to do so other than just regular praying, and you know how gods are about answering prayers," I said looking at him. Poseidon gave a sheepish smile before I continued. "Anyways, I have an idea on how to save Percy, I just need to know where he is so that I can do so."

Poseidon seemed to contemplate my answers, "Well, if Chaos won't tell you anything, my guess would be that since Gaea took him, he is being guarded my some of her children. If she has any raised yet, that is. You should begin your search for him in the locations where you would expect her children to reside. However, if you do search for him, be careful. If you get hurt or worse, Percy would never forgive himself."

I nodded my head, "Well, do you have any suggestions as to where they would be? The titans would be on Mount Othrys, but you would know if they were there. I have no clue where to search for the giants. During the first war, they were raised in Pallene, but that is in Greece. Do you know where that would be moved to in modern America?"

"If you asked Athena, she might know, but I do not. If I had to guess, I would say Florida. Pallene was a peninsula. If it moved here, that is where I would look for it. For now, I should report the current situation to the gods; they will want to know about Percy being taken. If you do plan to head out and find him, make sure the gods are informed before you leave."

I nodded to the sea god before returning my gaze to the ocean. It was such a sad sight without Percy around. I looked over at Miranda and she seemed pretty miserable as well. Poseidon must have noticed this because he walked over to her and picked her up.

He looked down at her and smiled, "Don't worry Miranda. Percy will be fine. He is the strongest demigod ever and he has Zoë trying to save him. It won't take long for him to be back here at camp again."

Miranda gave him a hug and started crying. She tried to talk but I couldn't understand anything through her tears. After several minutes she finally calmed down enough to be understood, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault Percy was taken. He saved my life once to get me to camp and when he saved me a second time, he was taken prisoner. It's all my fault he's in danger." She then broke down into sobs again.

I couldn't help but smile at her. She reminded me of Percy. She was blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault. I walked over to Poseidon and took Miranda from him. I made her look at me and then smiled at her, "It's not your fault. I promise. It was Daniel's fault. He kidnapped you and tried to give you to Gaea. Percy simply did what he has always done and will always do: risked his well being for the sake of another. If you want to blame someone for his being taken, you have to blame Daniel. Now, come on, it's time for breakfast and after that you have your classes and training to do."

Poseidon smiled at the two of us one more time before dissolving into the ocean. Miranda then made me put her down and walked towards the pavilion. I knew breakfast would be unpleasant, as would the meeting that was sure to follow, but I steeled myself for it and followed.

As I suspected, breakfast was miserable. I sat at the Poseidon table with Miranda in order to keep help comfort her, but I wasn't hungry and neither was she. The constant looks we were getting from everyone weren't helping. They tried to hide it, but I could see all of the campers glancing over at the table every couple of seconds and then glancing at the head table. They all could tell that something was wrong based on the way Miranda and I were acting and from the fact that both Daniel and Percy were missing.

Up at the head table, Chiron was looking pretty miserable as well. Lady Artemis gave me a sad look and I figured Chiron had told her what had happened. About halfway through the meal, Chiron stood up and made an announcement. "As I am sure you have all noticed, we are missing Percy and Daniel today. Following breakfast, there will be a councilor meeting in the bighouse to discuss this."

I smiled gratefully at Chiron. Now that he had announced that, I no longer felt obligated to sit here and get pitying and questioning looks from everyone. I stood up and walked out to the bighouse. Miranda followed me and I let her. She missed Percy and felt guilty about it, so I figured it would help her to sit through the meeting about what we were going to do about his being taken.

We arrived at the bighouse and unsurprisingly found it empty. I took a seat by the Ping-Pong table and sat Miranda on my lap. We sat there together in silence until all the councilors arrived along with Chiron, Artemis, and Dionysus.

Once everyone was seated, Dionysus broke the silence, "Is it true?" He asked.

"Is what true?" I heard Annabeth say.

Dionysus ignored her and looked at me, "Chiron told me what he saw last night, and I got a message from Hermes about it as well. Apparently Poseidon told Zeus and the others on Olympus. Is it true, and if so, what really happened?"

"Is WHAT true?" Annabeth yelled. "You all are talking as if we should know what is going on. Does this have to do with why Percy isn't here and why Daniel is missing as well? What is going that you aren't telling me?"

I glared at her, "Sit down and shut up. Lord Dionysus was asking me a question. If you want to get your answers, you would do well top listen, not scream." I then turned to the god of wine, "Yes it is true. Last night Daniel betrayed us and kidnapped Miranda. In order to save her, Percy left the safety of the borders and was taken by Gaea and Nyx's forces."

Percy POV

After the Earth swallowed me, I blacked out. When I woke up, I noticed I was in a cave. At least that's what my senses were telling me. The air was dank but fresh. The wall behind me was rough and the ground was rocky. I couldn't move my arms or legs. My head was immobilized as well. I could feel metal shackles attached to my ankles and wrists, keeping them in place. Around my forehead was a metal band anchoring it to the wall and preventing my head from moving.

I slowly opened my eyes, but since I couldn't rub them with my hands, it took a while for them to adjust. After a minute or so, I was able to see clearly and looked around. From what I could see from my limited position, I was indeed in a cave. I couldn't see very much due to the poor lighting, but I could see enough to make out the general outline of my prison.

It was a square shaped room maybe ten feet across. Directly across from me was a passageway leading out. It curved to the left almost immediately and the only light source was at the bend in the passageway. The light came from a torch hung on the wall.

Once I had gathered my bearings, I tried to fell out with my powers. That failed pretty quickly. As soon as I tried, I felt incredibly weak and all of my energy left me. I tried to teleport away and once again had no success. I heard footsteps approaching me so I tried even harder to break free from my bonds.

From around the corner, I heard a voice, "I wouldn't try that if I were you Jackson. You are tied down with celestial bronze shackles on your limbs as well as on your forehead. They will prevent you from using your powers. We know you are strong, so we have enough power-blocking restraints on you to immobilize half of the Olympian council."

The voice was female and I felt as if I had heard it before. After hearing about my constraints, I gave up trying to break free; instead I tried to figure out who was approaching me and why they sounded familiar. After several more seconds, a fat figure appeared around the corner and I groaned, "Echidna."

The fat lady smirked at me, "I'm honored you remember me, Perseus Jackson. You were lucky to escape me the first time. This time, I truly hate you. First, your plan allowed the gods to send my husband to Tartarus, next, you aided greatly in the defeat of my mother, now, you are once again trying to fight my mother and prevent her from claiming what is rightfully hers."

I glared at her, "That's all fine and dandy, but what are you doing here? If you were going to kill me, I would be dead already. If you want information, forget it. If you came for a social visit, kindly turn around and leave."

"Ah, but Percy, I have come to make you an offer," she said with a grin. "We cannot kill you or there is a chance Chaos will just revive you as he did with that dead hunter girl. If we leave you imprisoned, there is a chance you could be freed by your friends. It is a small chance, nearly non-existent in fact, but as we have learned over the years, nothing is impossible with you annoying demigod brats. What I come to offer is a deal to set you free."

"Give it up, I'm not going to help you here. Whatever your deal is, shove it up your ass and leave me alone. And why are you offering me a deal, isn't Prometheus your deal broker? He was certainly better at it than you are."

Echidna glared at me and spat in my face. "Insolent boy, you need to learn your place. I will come back tomorrow to offer you the deal since you seem so uninterested in it right now. Hopefully, after a little bit of social time with our torturers, you will be a little more polite and willing to listen."

I smiled at the mother of all monsters, "Maybe, but I doubt it. I have given my very existence to Chaos. Compared to Chaos, you all are nothing and stand no chance of getting me to make some deal with you. Give up now and just torture me until I escape. I will escape, that I can guarantee."

Echidna turned around and walked over to me. She glared at me, but I just returned the glare. She then raked her claws against my stomach and walked out. As soon as she turned the corner, I yelled out to her. "You know that anteater the Australians named after you? Well, I'm pretty sure it could hurt me worse that what you just did."

I heard her scream in frustration, but she didn't turn around this time. Once again, I was alone in my prison.

I tried to relax and assess my situation better. I was a prisoner of Gaea and Nyx. I was chained down and my powers were being suppressed. No one knew where I was and I couldn't hope for being rescued. I didn't want to be rescued either; it would be too dangerous for people to leave the safety of camp to look for me. I needed to free myself. The problem with freeing myself brought me back to the problem of not being able to use my powers. Once again, I tried to summon water and shake the ground. Nothing happened except for all of my energy leaving me and me getting a headache. After an hour of my futile efforts, I fell back asleep.

Annabeth POV

I hadn't been in a good mood since Percy showed up with Zoë. I knew it was my fault he was with her instead of me, but I still hated it. What really sucked was the fact that I couldn't find any way to break them apart and get Percy back. He had even told me that if I tried he would make me regret it.

At first, I wasn't sure about the level of their relationship. They had hung around each other a lot, but there was no public kissing and hugging to be seen. After a few days though, they started kissing. Every time I saw it, I felt a deep emotional pain as well as immense jealousy.

I was way better than Zoë, so why wouldn't Percy just forgive me and get back together with me? I had apologized for my mistakes and truly regretted what I had done, what else could I do to get him back? I was going to ask him about it at breakfast, but when I got to the pavilion, he wasn't there.

I looked around and saw Zoë and his half-sister Miranda sitting at the Poseidon table without Percy or Daniel. I didn't care about Daniel, in fact, I was glad he was gone. Percy being gone though, that was a problem. I saw the looks on Zoë's face as well as Miranda's and knew that something was wrong.

After breakfast, I went to the bighouse for the councilor meting that Chiron had mentioned. He said it was about why Percy and Daniel were missing. I didn't care about Daniel, but I needed to know where Percy was.

Dionysus turned to Zoë and asked her if it was true. I had no clue what was going on so I spoke up. Of course, I was being ignored. Everyone was focusing on Zoë for answers and ideas. She had taken my boyfriend, now she was taking my place at camp. I was the one that was supposed to know what was going on, not her.

Finally, I couldn't take the not knowing and I yelled at them all, "Is WHAT true? You all are talking as if we should know what is going on. Does this have to do with why Percy isn't here and why Daniel is missing as well? What is going that you aren't telling me?"

"Sit down and shut up. Lord Dionysus was asking me a question. If you want to get your answers, you would do well top listen, not scream." I couldn't believe her. She had no right to talk to me that way. However, I wanted my answers so I was quiet and waited. Zoë turned back to Dionysus and said, "Yes it is true. Last night Daniel betrayed us and kidnapped Miranda. In order to save her, Percy left the safety of the borders and was taken by Gaea and Nyx's forces."

I stood up and glared at Zoë, "YOU BITCH!" I screamed. "I knew you weren't good enough for Percy. You let him get captured by the enemies while you stayed at camp safe and sound? How could you? Percy loved you and you just stood there watching this happen?"

I was going to say more, but an arrow was fired into my left shoulder and then my right one. A knife was then being held at my throat. Zoë's voice whispered in my ear, "If you speak one more word at this meeting without my permission, I will send you Hades. I will then tell Poseidon about why you are there and he will make sure Hades sends you to punishment. Is that clear?"

The knife was digging into my neck and I couldn't move my arms at all; the arrows had paralyzed them. I gave a small nod of my head so that I would cut myself on her knife and I felt the pressure disappear. She then pushed down on my shoulder, forcing me to take my seat.

I watched as she slowly walked back to her seat and then turned to face me, "After this meeting is over, you should go and get yourself healed. For now, I don't want you to be able to use your arms." I glared at her, but there was nothing I could do.

Zoë then turned back to Dionysus and spoke, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Percy was taken by Gaea and Nyx's forces. After this, Daniel was killed due to breaking his oath on the Styx he made after his fight with Percy."

All the campers looked at me as well as the gods and Chiron. I sighed, "Before you all freak out, I have an idea on how to save him. You see, if I had left the borders like Annabeth seems to think I should have, I would have been captured as well. Since I stayed, I am now able to rescue Percy myself. A much smarter choice if I do say so myself."

I glared at her again, but she just smirked at me. Lady Artemis then spoke up, "How do you propose to rescue him? It is dangerous to leave the borders of camp at night and we have no clue where he is."

I figured that would take Zoë's confidence away, but she just smiled at the goddess. "Well, I know you are having the hunt stay here because there are too many of them to protect with your powers, but I was wondering, how many people could you shelter from the eyes of the night?"

Artemis seemed to consider this, "Probably three or four people. I suppose we could do that, send me with a few others to try and rescue him, but there needs to be more than that for this mission."

Zoë smiled again, "Well, I had a little talk with Poseidon this morning and have a pretty good idea of where Percy has been taken to. As for who should go, I would go as well as you. In theory that is all we would need, but I think Nico should go as well. He is Percy's best friend from before meeting Chaos and from the look on his face, I can tell he really wants to go and help out."

I was pissed. Zoë was organizing a plan to save Percy and I wasn't part of it. I couldn't even voice my opinion or Zoë would kill me. What was really bad was that no one was asking for my opinion on this. They were all smiling and nodding at Zoë like she was the greatest person ever. Even Chiron was happy with her plan and ignoring me.

Nico smiled at Zoë, "You're right, I do want to go on this quest. However, don't we need a prophecy for this kind of undertaking?"

Zoë looked at him, "Well, for most quests yes, but Chaos is beyond the power of the oracle and since Chaos has provided both myself and Percy with Chaos's blessing, we too have moved beyond that realm. It is why none of you were able to undertake quests to search for Percy while he was missing. The only way to find him is by using your own intelligence or getting help from Chaos."

Nico nodded at that and Artemis spoke up, "I suppose that makes sense. I would also like to say that I will help out with this quest. I will provide protection from the night as well as help fight any titans or giants we may come across. Right now, I need to go to Olympus and explain the situation to my father so he knows what is going on. I propose we leave tomorrow at first light."

Zoë and Nico nodded their approval and Artemis flashed out to Olympus. Chiron then dismissed the meeting and I left to get healed. While I was being bandaged up I tried to think about what I should do. There was no way I could travel unnoticed by a goddess on the quest. I also couldn't follow alone or else Nyx would find me at night. I groaned in frustration and made my way back to my cabin.

My life sucked. All I wanted was my boyfriend back but fate seemed to be working against me. I wasn't the least but tired; yet I found myself falling asleep.

Well, that's the chapter. I know it has been a while since my last update and I apologize for that. I will try to update again in a few days, but I make no promises on that. I will update within a week though.

Now, the mission to rescue Percy has been set up. The next chapter will involve the search for him as well as how he is being tortured and the offer Echidna had for him that he wouldn't even listen to this time.

Once again, I would like to thank each and every person out there who has read my story and possibly even reviewed it or favorite it or something. It really does provide me with inspiration to keep writing.

For those wondering about the timeline for the rest of this story, there will be the mission to rescue Percy, a little more on the training of the campers, the final war preparations, and then the war. There will be a conclusion following the war to wrap things up and then the story will be done.

Like always, please let me know what you think about this chapter, this story, or me in a PM or review. Suggestions and constructive criticism are appreciated as well.

Until the next time, enjoy other stories. I myself am currently reading a few other FanFiction stories as well as the book A Game Of Thrones.