Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson.

A/N: Thank you to BubbleEwa for helping me with this! You're amazing.

Reyna's P.O.V:

The dark had never scared Reyna.

Even when she was just ten years old, and the lights flickered on and off while it was night. To her, darkness was nothing to be afraid of.

She even remembered this particular night where her father had gotten too drunk, when her fear of the dark had vanished.

"Reyna," her father growled. "I will kill you, I swear it."

"No," Hylla, her sister, said. "You won't hurt her. You're too drunk, go back to sleep, Reyna and I can handle it."

Her father had laughed, then. Reyna wouldn't ever forget the furious glint shining in his eyes as he eyed them. Like prey. "Don't act like you're older than you are, girl."

Hylla snorted and rolled her eyes.

That had set something off in her father's mind, and he shouted and grabbed the nearest item he could find.

It was a picture of Reyna, Hylla, and their mother. Before things had changed.

Aiming it at them, he threw it, and it hit Hylla, the glass shattering into her skin.

Still, Reyna's older sister had not cried out. She'd simply stared at her wound in shock, and remained calm.

Their father had ripped the cord that provided them with electricity, and switched it off. Thee entire house went black.

Storming out of the house, he'd left them in the dark, Hylla bleeding out, and Reyna crying.

They were barely pre-teens, then.

He never came back.

But when she looked into Ethan's eyes, the darkness made shivers crawl up her spine. Nothing had changed about him.

Except for everything.

For at least two minutes, they just stared at each other, until Thalia finally sighed.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Thalia had asked, watching the two of them intently.

"Nothing," Reyna replied.

But it was something. Something that Reyna wished she'd never have to remember.

Yet, here she was, walking alongside the person that had torn her heart into millions of unfixable pieces.

Somehow, she felt safer, since Thalia was right next to her.

"Look," Thalia warned, as they continued walking, "you're unarmed, and if you do or say something that's suspicious, my gun will meet your face. Understand?"

Ethan nodded. "I won't hurt you."

Thalia scowled, "Then who will?"

"Nobody."

"So, then," Thalia said, "where the hell are we going?"

"Ethan," Reyna said, softly, "where did you come from?"

He offered her a sideways glance. "I can ask you the same thing, Reyna."

Reyna was fully aware of the fact that Thalia didn't trust Ethan. She was just wondering where he would leave them, but something, to her, didn't feel right.

They were walking in full darkness, around the warehouse, the footsteps echoing throughout the whole room.

Or, hallway. Reyna couldn't decide where they were.

Suddenly, Ethan abruptly stopped, and put his hand out. It rested against a door, which he quietly opened with another hand.

"Come inside," he told them.

Thalia crossed her arms, "I'm not going in there."

"Why?"

Glaring at him, Thalia responded, "I don't trust you."

A gunshot.

"You're going to have to."

"Why?" This time Thalia asked.

Ethan shook his head, and switched the light on in the room. He gestured around the completely deserted room. "Do you see anything here?"

"I see a door." Thalia stated. "I see a lock."

"You have a gun," Ethan pointed out. "Not me."

Shrugging, Thalia huffed. "I'm standing in the doorway."

"Fine."

They entered the room, Thalia bracing herself against the doorway.

Reyna stood near her, an eyebrow arched.

"Okay," he breathed. "Annabeth's in here. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

Thalia's mouth was open. "Where is she?"

Ethan shrugged, helplessly. "I don't know. He's with his wife, or fiancée somewhere here."

"What will he do to her?"

Wincing, Ethan replied, "He wants to sell her."

Thalia almost doubled over. When she looked up at him, her eyes were glazed over with darkness and anger. "To who?"

"A man."

"What's his name?"

Ethan cast a glance at Reyna before responding.

"Octavian. His name's Octavian."

Annabeth's P.O.V:

The next time Annabeth woke up, she almost yelled.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that her hands were still tied, and she couldn't feel them anymore.

Her legs, however, were free, and she wriggled them around, wincing at the pain. How long had they been tied? Who untied them?

She almost cried out in pain as she crossed her legs, all her muscles feeling as though flames had enveloped them.

Since when had they been that tight?

The next thing that Annabeth noticed was the fact that there was a presence sitting next to her, breathing softly.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth recognized that voice. It was the same voice she'd been hearing about for months.

Rachel.

Annabeth looked up at her, the dim light coming from a doorway illuminating the fire truck red hair that was let down. She was sitting naturally on a chair. Just the sight of her made Annabeth grit her teeth. "Why are you here?"

"I need to tell you something,"

"Rachel," Annabeth said, her nerves crackling. "I'd like you to leave."

Rachel had her eyebrows raised. "Seriously? You're near death and still you want to be as far away from me as possible?"

The glare that Annabeth shot Rachel answered her question.

"I hate you," Annabeth said. "You ruined my life."

Rachel held her hands up. "No, I didn't. Luke did."

Scowling, Annabeth replied, "You wouldn't care. You're happily marrying him."

"No," Rachel admitted. "I'm not."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "So then why are you here?"

Rachel raised a glinting item in the air, twirling it in her fingers, which also held a ring.

"I have the key to unlock you," Rachel said.

"How?"

"Luke gave it to me," Rachel told her. "To make sure nobody stole."

"And you're here telling me this because..?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, as if it were the stupidest question she'd ever heard. "To get you out of these."

Annabeth stared at her, "Why?"

"I don't know much about you, Annabeth," Rachel looked at her. "But I know you aren't anything like what Luke describes you as. You're obviously something amazing, and you don't deserve to live with Luke."

"Nor do you," Annabeth couldn't restrain herself from saying those three words.

"You know," Rachel said, getting up and unlocking the handcuffs before continuing, "I don't think we are all that different."

Once her hands were free, Annabeth got up from the platform she had been trapped in, and stretched. All her muscles protested, and she groaned softly as she stretched her back.

"I'll have to put you back in both the leg locks and handcuffs," Rachel told her, almost sadly. "Before Luke comes back."

"Okay," Annabeth said. "Where's Luke?"

"He's out with some person named Octavian. Refuses to tell me who he is, but I don't think Luke is the only enemy here."

"You're on my side now?"

Rachel sighed, crossing her legs as she sat back down on the chair, just as Annabeth sat down on the platform. "I've always been on your side, Annabeth. Trust me."

"You're the one that unlocked

my legs?" Annabeth continued asking question after question, rubbing her arms together.

"Yes," Rachel answered. Suddenly, she stood up. "Hey, I'll be back in a second. I'll go get you some mints and water, along with some fruits. You haven't ate."

All Annabeth could do was nod, realizing that Rachel was right.

As Rachel was walking out, she turned back to Annabeth. "Don't leave this room."

"I won't," Annabeth promised.

She didn't know why she trusted Rachel, for all Annabeth knew she could just be trying to fool Annabeth. But, for some reason, she believed if that were true, Rachel would care so much.
All Annabeth could do was nod, realizing that Rachel was right.

As Rachel was walking out, she turned back to Annabeth. "Don't leave this room."

"I won't," Annabeth promised.

She didn't know why she trusted Rachel, for all Annabeth knew she could just be trying to fool Annabeth. But, for some reason, she believed if that were true, Rachel wouldn't care so much.

Yet Annabeth kept her guard up.

When Rachel returned, she placed the tray that she had been holding onto the platform next to Annabeth, and sat back down onto the chair.

Glancing at the tray, Annabeth saw that it was neatly organized, with a glass of water, an apple, and perfectly sliced oranges on the side.

"Thanks,"

"It was no problem," Rachel said. "Just be sure to eat it before Luke comes back."

"When is he coming back?"

Rachel shrugged. "Probably a couple hours from now. I don't think he gets any sleep. Then again, he never seemed normal to me."

With different circumstances, Annabeth might have even laughed. This time, she just nodded grimly. "Is there anyway I can get out of here?"

"Well," Rachel said, "I think I have a plan."

"What is it?"

Shaking her head, Rachel replied, "It's risky."

"I am up for it," Annabeth said.

"Okay," Rachel told her, leaning towards her, hands crossed. "Here's the plan.."

Poseidon's P.O.V:

(4 hours later)

"Hades, you understand that this will not work, right?"

"You can't know that," Hades responded. "Octavian claims to be smart, but is the complete opposite."

Poseidon looked up at Hades, "Barging in will make everything better? What about the other boy, Luke?"

Hades laughed. "He's barely an adult, Poseidon. What makes you believe he's all so powerful?"

"If he has business with Octavian-"

"Who isn't all that great, either." Hades interrupted. "Poseidon, we've experienced this before. I came from New York to fix this, and if you aren't going to-"

"Having experience isn't something to be proud of," Poseidon said, softly. "But if you insist that this will, by some miracle work, fine."

"Good," Hades said, standing up. "It's about time we agreed on something."

Percy's P.O.V:

Percy couldn't believe he was doing this.

It was well into the morning, yet here he was, standing in front of an abandoned warehouse.

Or, at least, it seemed like that.

He'd given up on all hopes of sleeping, and Poseidon had told him to "visit whenever".

So, visiting at 5 in the morning was logical.

This was where Poseidon's business card had led him, and he didn't know how to react. Did his father actually work here? What was his job?

The wind blew around him, and he considered going back, realizing how much of a bad idea this was.

Somehow, something made him not leave.

He stepped up against a door, and twisted the knob, shivers running through him.

The door easily clicked open, creaking as it opened. Percy held his breath.

What he saw, then, was worst than anything he'd ever seen in his entire life.

A/N: Okay, I'm sorry that this is short, and long awaited for. Obviously, the next chapter will be better, but this is kind of a filler chapter. I bet you guys have a different perception of Rachel and Ethan now. Anyway, onto the reviews.

KHCMC36: I hate Luke, too. Like, really, even though I choose to write about him, I despise him. I understand your pain. Your reviews make me just as happy as this story makes you, believe me. Thank you so much! Your reviews leave me speechless.

BubbleEwa: This review makes me laugh and smile. I love the fact that you're getting so worked up over this. I look forward to your review for this chapter, too! Thank you so much!

unspoken-code: I bet you I'm the one getting emotional. Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter! :)

Guest (shattered owl): You killed him. RIP George. And, by the way, I have no idea what I'm doing. But I'm doing something, alright. Something..

aniarenee: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

hiimkassandra: So am I! :D

theartnerd333: Christine..I've blushed about 40 times just reading this. You're honestly too sweet. I love your reviews so much. And you. Thank you!

PrincessOfAtlantis101: Thank you! Making you cry is an accomplishment ;)

IamCrystalClear: Thanks! You'll have to see ;)

Wisegirl369: I agree.

clo7615: Thank you so much! :)

Greekly Chic Chick: Thank you! I'm so glad you think so :)

.just. : Thanks! I appreciate it. I agree with you on those interpretations, and hopefully, Rachel isn't as OOC. I really look forward to your next review! :)

Guest: Yes, they're in the same building!

CassylovesPercabeth: Thanks! I hate Luke too. I hope you liked this chapter :)

Guest: Thanks! I will! :)

AutumnLeaves03: Thank you! Yeah, Rachel's in the dark here. I hope you liked this chapter! :)

Frazel: I'm not sure. If you have a suggestion on how to add Frazel, let me know.

Athena's Prideful Daughter: Sorry for the wait. :)

As clever as Annabeth2001: Here it is :)

ryanloves percy and annabeth: I totally understand! Thank you so much. I love you too! I hope you liked this chapter :)

BookLuver4ever7: Thanks! Let me know what you think of this chapter :)

And that's it for the reviews! Thank you to all of those who reviewed! And all those that read this, I love you guys too. Keep smiling, xxx.

P.S. Have a happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful to have such amazing readers. :) Stay safe.