Hello, everyone !
I'm back with the seventh chapter !
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as well~
Disclaimer: I own this plot and OCs only
Salacia thrust her trident and more guards appeared.
"Alex! Get Anput!" Annabeth said.
"How long can this bubble hold?" Alex asked.
"Enough for you to get her!" Percy answered and pointed down. "I can see her!"
Alex glanced down and saw Anput was being brought back by the guard. Her hands and feet were chained, and her face was pale, but she looked pretty much alive. Alex wasted no time and swam down to get Anput. He kicked the confused guard hard, sending him spiraling down.
"GET THEM!" Salacia growled.
"Let's get out of here!" Annabeth said.
They swam as fast as possible back to the land. Halfway through, however, Percy's bubble burst. They gasped for air and just then, Salacia swung her trident. The wave sent them out from the sea and Salacia followed. The queen appeared along with a big wave, and the mortals ran away while screaming.
The demigods coughed as they breathed for air, while Anput laid down on the sand. She was so weak after being kept under the sea for so long, she didn't have any strength to stand up.
"I WILL KILL YOU!" Salacia said. The siren for tsunami rang, alerting everyone nearby.
"We have to stop her before we create more panic." Annabeth panted.
"What's our plan B?" Jason asked and coughed out some seawater.
"Will the cream still work?" Alex offered.
"We'll give you the cream!" Percy said.
"I don't need it!" Salacia hissed.
"Wait!" Annabeth stood up, her brain spun to find a way out. "You can't kill us!"
Salacia glared at her. "You don't have any right to say what I can and what I cannot do!"
"I'm sure your order goes like this: kill the demigods before they can set the desert goddess free." Annabeth said and by the way Salacia pursed her lips, Annabeth knew she hit a jackpot. "But now, we succeed in setting the desert goddess free. Your order is invalid."
Salacia widened her eyes and hesitated. She then shook her head and glared back at Annabeth. "I have another reason to kill you!"
"Because we brought Poseidon's mortal child?" Annabeth asked. "Did you ever say we can't bring him before we stepped into your castle? I don't see any warning about that."
If it was possible, Percy was sure he fell in love with his girlfriend all over again.
Salacia hesitated once more. Her guards looked at her, weren't sure what to do. The half-mortal did say logical things.
"Any other reason you should kill us?" Annabeth asked. "You got your sea clean back now that Anput is gone, and I'll give you this cream."
Salacia eyed the cream on Annabeth's hand and she gripped her trident. Now that the demigod had broken every reason she had for killing them,—not to mention her intriguing offer about the cream—Salacia knew she couldn't no longer forced her way to kill them. But what about her?
"If you're thinking about the one who gave you the order, then let me tell you this. You're a queen. You have more than one sea under your control. How come you let some other woman rules over you?" Annabeth said.
Salacia widened her eyes. The demigod was right. She's a queen. She wasn't going to let some other woman ordered her without a care for her? She even received the order to imprison the desert goddess with the risk of dirtying her sea.
"Fine." Salacia finally said after debating within herself for a few minutes. "I won't kill you. But let me tell you something about the one who gave me the order. She's dangerous and full of tricks. But I think you can stand up against her. Tell her to screw away if you see her."
Annabeth nodded her head and presented the goddess with the cream. Salacia took it and turned her body away. "You'll be a good debate match with her, child of Athena."
Then the goddess disappeared back into the deep sea with the wave. Annabeth sat down on the sand and let out a relieve sigh.
"You're amazing!" Percy ran to Annabeth and gave her a hug. "I hardly do anything, but you amazingly stood up against Salacia! Wait, does that mean she's my step-mom?"
"Don't bother with it, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth chuckled. "I'm just glad this is over. How's Anput?"
"Weak, but alive." Alex answered as he set Anput free from her chains. "Anput, can you hear me?"
Anput nodded her head weakly.
"We need to send her back to the desert." Alex said and fished out the portal orb he received from Apollo. He then threw the orb hard and it burst out, creating a portal on the beach.
Anput groggily stood up and Alex helped her to walk. Anput stood in front of the portal, then turned her face. She smiled at the demigods who rescued her. "Thank you." She then turned to face Alex. "Be brave, Alex. Don't hesitate. She needs you."
Alex blinked at her words but Anput didn't have any strength to elaborate more. She stepped into the portal and she disappeared along with it. The wind rustled, and Alex wondered about Anput's words in silence.
Don't hesitate., she had said. Alex somehow guessed it was about the choice he was supposed to make.
You have to make your choice alone., Brigitta's words rang.
"Well," Jason said, breaking the silence. "time to go home, I believe."
It had been a while since the last time he had dream, but Nico recognized this feeling anywhere. The pain in his chest grew, and Will gave Nico a sleep potion. Nico hoped for a good rest, but of course, in this kind of time, that wouldn't happen. Nico found himself in the Underworld. He was standing in front of his father's throne, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"He's gone."
Nico turned his body and was surprised to see Hazel Levesque standing behind him.
"Hazel?" Nico asked. "What are you doing here?"
"We're connected through this dream." Hazel answered. "He needs our help. We have to find him."
"By he, you mean… Dad?" Nico asked which Hazel answered with a nod. "Hold on, I don't get it. This is my dream, which means this is the Greek's Underworld, right? How come you're here?"
Hazel shook her head. "The border is thinning out. Pluto was gone first, now Hades follows."
"Gone?" Nico asked. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know." Hazel shook her head again. "For these past few days, I keep sensing a turbulence in the Underworld. I met Pluto once, but he told me it wasn't his business. And then, two days ago, he appeared in my dream. He didn't say anything, but I could see his form was disappearing. I tried to contact you, but I cannot get through for some reason. Now you're here—which means, I finally succeed in contacting you—, and this is what is in the present."
Nico turned his head to face the empty throne. His brain spun to guess where his father might be. "He… Might be captured somewhere. Just like Anput."
Hazel raised an eyebrow. "An… Who? Nico, what is happening?"
Nico shook his head. "Not now. I don't even know myself. All I know is that there's some serious trouble."
"Artemis's daughter." Hazel said. "The Child of Artemis. Is it true? Some Roman hunters came to our camp to find information, they knew about Camp Jupiter's good relationship with Camp Half-Blood. But we don't know anything."
"The child is true, I've met her." Nico admitted. "But she's hiding right now, and we are left with a rescue mission."
"A rescue mission? Rescuing who?" Hazel asked.
"Anput, the Egyptian goddess of desert. Oh, and the goddess of funeral and mummification." Nico answered, his tone was as flat as ever.
Hazel choked. "Say what?"
"I know, it's crazy." Nico said. "But that's what we're facing right now."
Just then, whispers came from around them. Hazel and Nico eyed their surroundings. "What's happening?" Nico asked.
"The dead." Hazel said. "Their souls are growing restless. The Underworld is falling apart without our dad."
"So, the turbulence has finally spread." Nico mumbled.
"Spread? Spreading from where?" Hazel asked.
"The Egyptian Underworld." Nico answered.
Hazel gawked. She stared at her half-brother and Nico stared back at her. She knew Nico wasn't lying, it was said all over on his eyes.
"You owe me an explanation." Hazel decided to say.
Nico nodded his head. "I'll give you the long version once I got the chance."
"Fine." Hazel said. Her form then flickered. "Our connection is getting unstable. Both of us are waking up."
"Stay safe, Hazel." Nico said.
Hazel smiled at him. "You too, brother."
Hazel's form disappeared, and the dream ended. Nico snapped his eyes open and sat up. The pain in his chest hadn't eased yet.
"Hey," Will touched his shoulder softly. "are you okay?"
"Have they returned yet?" Nico asked.
Will nodded. "A few minutes ago. Soaked, but they succeed. They managed to bring the goddess back. You're in a long sleep, Sleeping Dead Boy."
Right on time, the door opened, and Nico saw his friends. They had changed their wet clothes with new dry clothes.
"We bring good news, Nico!" Percy said. "We succeed in—"
"My dad is missing." Nico cut. "We have to find him."
"—nevermind." Percy muttered. "Another rescue mission."
"How do you know Lord Hades is missing?" Chiron asked. Nico told them his dream.
"I assume, we don't have any lead clue?" Annabeth asked which Nico replied with a shake of his head.
"But if Pluto is missing first, it means the turbulence attacks the Roman Underworld first." Jason said.
"But even Hazel doesn't know where her father is." Piper said. She had woken up from her fever right before Percy and the others came back.
"With Anput back in the desert, I assume Kebechet is also back in the Underworld." Alex said. "Or they are both back in the Underworld."
"Which means, the Egyptian Underworld is somewhat safe." Chiron said.
Annabeth crossed her arms. "I guess, this is the time to wait for the gods' voices?"
Chiron took a moment of silence to think then nodded his head. "I believe so."
It was Alex who got a dream. He was standing in a desert, but Anput was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Kebechet was standing in front of him. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she looked like a fifteen-years-old. Alex recognized her immediately through her snake face and her starry skin.
"Thank you." Kebechet said. "You bring my mother back."
"Is she okay?" Alex asked.
Kebechet nodded—or he thought she nodded. He couldn't be so sure with a snake. "The desert is healing her."
"She's not staying in the Underworld?" Alex asked.
"It's not safe for her." Kebechet said. "The desert is so much safer. If she stays in the Underworld, the same thing will just happen all over."
Alex's brain spun to connect the dots. "You mean… All this started from the Underworld? Not just because of Artemis's daughter?"
"The child is the reason everything can happen, but she is also the greatest threat for the enemy." Kebechet said. "She's the only one capable to stop this, but as you know, she has her life to think about at this moment."
"The Doors of Death." Alex said. "The turbulence started in the Egyptian Underworld to weaken the doors. Artemis's daughter weakened the border from the moment she was born."
Kebechet nodded. "Although there's a bigger reason why the turbulence started in the Egyptian. You'll find out that soon, but I don't have much time. I'm still recovering from my mother's disappearance. I came here to help you, though. To find the Lord of the Dead, you have to go to where it began."
"Where it began? What do you mean?"
"You know the answer, Alex Rebel. Think about it." Kebechet said as her form slowly disappeared. "Which counterpart goes missing first? That's where you have to go."
Kebechet's form disappeared and Alex opened his eyes.
Which counterpart goes missing first?, Kebechet said.
Alex knew right away what Kebechet meant. "Camp Jupiter."
Done !
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