As Reyna tried to escape the choke hold, she knew it was a losing fight. The person was much stronger than her, and she was already hurting from fighting Thalia. Reyna watched helplessly as a black bag was thrown over Thalia's head, and she was carried out of the room.
"Two down," a voice said. They were the one holding onto Reyna. After a few, precious seconds of struggling to reach her belt, Reyna's fingers wrapped around her knife. She pulled it out of her waistband and stabbed the person in the thigh. They instantly let go of her.
Reyna stumbled forward and tried to breath. She was lightheaded and not quite sure where she was. Reyna stumbled for where she had left the gun, but someone wrapped both arms around her waist. They turned and threw her to the side like she weighed nothing more than a soccer ball.
Reyna hit the desk jaw first, and she collapsed to the ground in a heap. She placed both hands to her jaw and could instantly feel swelling. A few teeth were spat out a moment later, and Reyna laid her head back in agony.
A face appeared over hers a minute later. Reyna stared up at the hooded woman. She felt the woman gently lower her hands and examine her jaw. The woman spoke, "Sorry about that. You'll get a doctor soon."
Reyna kicked the woman, and she stumbled back in surprise. Reyna struggled to get to her feet, and she grabbed the gun from the ground. She fired three wild shots in the woman's general direction. Then, she turned and fled the room.
Reyna ran straight down the hallway and slammed into the door for the stairs. She ran down the stairs almost tripping multiple times. When she made it to the bottom floor, she slammed into the door once again and ran down the hall.
This night wasn't suppose to be like this. Hylla was missing, taken by three women working for Zeus. Her one chance to find her sister had been stolen from her. Reyna made it outside and stared. She could Thalia was being stuffed into her car. A tall, slender figure looked in Reyna's direction.
Reyna raised the gun with a shaking hand and tried to fire it. When it just clicked, she threw it to the ground and turned to run. A fist uppercutted her jaw, and everything went dark. When Reyna came to, she was laying on her back and staring up at the stars.
A glance to her right showed that a car was turning a corner, so it seemed like only a few seconds had passed. Reyna blinked a few times and heard sirens in the distance. She laid her head back and debated just laying there on the ground. It wouldn't be long before she was found out anyway. Her blood, and a few of her teeth, were back in the office. The Olympians would have proof she was alive.
Reyna slowly sat up and placed both hands to her jaw. Blood was trickling out of her mouth, and she could feel how swollen it was. Reyna slowly got to her feet and stumbled. Between the fight with the three old ladies and those hooded figures, she was completely exhausted. She had to get moving though.
Reyna walked through the night. Her ribs ached with each step, and pain constantly ran through her jaw. Reyna cradled her side and came to a stop. She stepped into an alley and sat down. Reyna closed her eyes painfully and laid her head against he wall.
After a few minutes of relaxing, Reyna forced her eyes opened. She pressed her fist into the ground and slowly got to her feet. When she got back to the Titan base, she could collapse into her bed. As she walked, her eyes stayed focused on the ground, but her mind was racing.
Thalia said that Kronos was the one who shot Reyna, and that there was proof. That had to be a lie though. It had to be. Reyna shook her head and tried to change her thoughts to something else. Instead, all she could think about was the possibility that Thalia could be telling the truth.
Thalia tried to kill her though. This was part of all of the mind games. Thalia was trying to distract Reyna, since she knew Reyna was coming to get her. But, what if? What if Thalia was telling the truth?
The entire walk back to the Titan base was filled with Reyna torturing herself with thoughts of Thalia and if she was telling the truth. There was a time that Reyna knew she loved Thalia. It all ended when Thalia betrayed her and shot her in the head. According to Thalia, the truth was on Iris' website.
Her thoughts moved to the fact that Thalia had been kidnapped as well. It wasn't the Titans, since they would have told Reyna. It couldn't be Zeus, so who was it? Who kidnapped Thalia? Did they have something to do with Hylla being kidnapped?
An angry sigh escaped Reyna. Her jaw ached and caused her entire head to throb. She just needed to get checked out and get some rest. Reyna wanted to shut all of her thoughts down. Part of her debated just finding a nice alley to curl up in. Instead, she kept walking until she made it to the Titan base.
Reyna stepped inside and pushed the door open. She cradled her jaw and heard the distinct sounds of yelling. Reyna walked a little further into the base and saw that Kronos and Mnemosyne were having a screaming match.
"She makes you too emotional," Mnemosyne yelled. She slammed her fist into the table. "We all warned you about this! She disappeared because she is going to sell you out once again."
"I wish they would stop arguing," Tethys muttered. She was leaning against Oceanus' back and rubbing his shoulders. Reyna started to walk past them. "What happened to you?"
"Hylla wasn't too happy to see me," Reyna lied. Her jaw hurt to move. She glanced back at Tethys and wanted to elaborate on her lie. Instead, she walked towards the kitchen and grabbed two bags of ice. Reyna walked towards her room and left behind the sounds of Kronos and Mnemosyne arguing about Rhea.
As Reyna made it towards her room, she stopped outside of Tethys' room and glanced around. No one was looking at her. She stepped into the room and grabbed the laptop that was on the bedside table. Reyna left the room and then walked to her own room.
As Reyna made it inside, she closed her door and collapsed onto her bed. It sent more pain shooting through her body, and she groaned in pain. Reyna pressed one of the ice packs against her ribs and rested her jaw against the other one. She opened the laptop.
The laptop was password protected, but considering the only thing Tethys could talk about was her husband, Reyna tried that first. The laptop unlocked, and Reyna pulled up a tab for the internet. She went to Iris' website and stared at it.
The homepage showed a news report on the breakout at Tartarus. Reyna studied the page and looked at the search bar in the top left of the screen. She studied the rest of the page and closed her eyes. What was she doing? Why was she letting Thalia get into her head?
"Praetor," Reyna muttered, as she typed it into the search bar. Dozens of results appeared, and it only took a few moments for Reyna to find the video that she was looking. "Praetor's death. If Thalia shot me, why was it recorded?"
Reyna slowly clicked on the video and watched it in its entirety. She watched Kronos hold a gun to her forehead and taunt Thalia. She watched Kronos force Thalia to make her choice, and she winced as the gun was fired into her own head. Reyna looked away and swallowed painfully. She couldn't remember this happening, but there was video proof of it.
Reyna slowly looked back at the video and watched Kronos kick her into the ocean. She stopped the video and started it from the beginning. Reyna watched the video over and over again, until the anger that was boiling beneath her chest threatened to break out to the surface.
Kronos had shot her in the head, and the Titans lied to her about it. They made Reyna believe that she had been killed by her girlfriend. Or, was the video fake? Was it all a fabrication? Reyna dropped the laptop and placed both hands to her face. She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember?
Reyna stood and slammed her fist into the bedside table. There was one person who could tell her the truth. It was the same person who told her that they could bring back her memories. Reyna turned and left the room. As she left, she almost ran into Tethys.
"Hey, you okay?" Tethys asked. Reyna shook her head and shoved past the Titan. Tethys didn't stop her, and Reyna didn't look back. She just hurried back to the living room. Kronos was gone, and Mnemosyne was sitting at the kitchen table.
"We need to talk," Reyna muttered. Mnemosyne looked up at her and nodded. She stood, and Reyna led her out of the base. She walked across the street and headed towards the alley. Mnemosyne followed her in silence. Most of the Titans were out, preparing for the next step of the plan.
"You have your suspicions about Rhea too?" Mnemosyne asked. Reyna remained silent and walked towards a trash bin. She grabbed the metal pipe that was behind it. Then, she turned and slammed the pipe into Mnemosyne's skull. The Titan collapsed, and Reyna felt a sick sense of satisfaction. She threw the pipe down and pinned Mnemosyne.
Reyna peeled off her glove and placed her hand to Mnemosyne's temple. She spoke, "You are going to show me who really shot me in the head."
Reyna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had not practiced using her powers on Mnemosyne, but it seemed simple enough. Reyna felt flashes of memories that weren't her own, and she slowly focused on one. She could see the view of someone on a swing set. Reyna tensed and let go of the memory. She tried to focus on the other flashes.
Her focus was suddenly broken, and she was pulled to her feet. An arm wrap around her neck, but it wasn't tight enough to choke her. Reyna tried to fight, but she was dragged a few feet backwards. She scratched at her attacker's arm.
"She knows," Mnemosyne said. She slowly stood and grabbed the metal pipe. Mnemosyne grinned. "Kronos said that we couldn't put our hands on you, but I think we'll call this self defense."
Reyna kicked at Mnemosyne, but she felt the arm around her neck tighten, and she couldn't breath. Reyna tried to desperately fight and kick at them. She was lifted off of her feet and thrown directly into the side of the trash bin.
A cry of pain escaped Reyna, and Mnemosyne pinned her. Mnemosyne grabbed her jaw tightly and examined it. The Titan spoke, "Did Thalia manage to turn you? No matter. I'll just take your memory again."
"Kronos shot me in the head," Reyna said through gritted teeth. Mnemosyne smiled. "You were using me."
"Don't sound so upset. It's hard to know the truth when you can't trust your own memory," Mnemosyne taunted. She grabbed Reyna's forehead and pressed her fingers against Reyna's temples. Reyna tried to lash out, but Tethys grabbed her arms and held them against the ground.
A darkness suddenly filled the clearing. Reyna couldn't see anything, and she started to panic. The grip on her wrist disappeared, and the weight on her chest did as well. The darkness disappeared, and Reyna could see once again. She quickly sat up and looked around.
Tethys was laying unconscious in the alleyway. Mnemosyne was being held against the wall by a large man. Reyna had seen him before, in the last cell of Tartarus that she had opened. Reyna slowly stood and tried to leave the clearing. She saw another man blocking the way. He was the same lawyer that she had seen on television.
"Calm," the lawyer said. Reyna backed up and hit the trash bin. Her foot hit the metal pipe. She picked it up from the ground and swung at the lawyer. He caught it and twisted it out of her hands. He easily slipped around Reyna and grabbed her shoulders. Instead of hurting her, he gripped her shoulders. "Our quarrel is not with you, Reyna."
"How do you know my name?" Reyna demanded. She looked around. Mnemosyne was staring at her with horrified eyes. The man from Tartarus, Hades, slowly looked at Reyna. His dark eyes held no emotion.
"We suspected that you were alive, and we suspected that the Titans were using you," Hades answered. "You freed me from my cell in Tartarus, so I will free you from your brainwashing."
"What the hell do you want?" Reyna demanded. The grip on her shoulders disappeared. Hades smiled coldly.
"I want an end to the heroes," Hades said. He looked at Mnemosyne. "I want revenge for the death of my son. Nico did not deserve to die."
"Wait," Reyna interrupted. She stared at Hades. "Nico? He can't be dead."
"Mnemosyne killed him," the lawyer said. Reyna stared up at the Titan. Mnemosyne didn't say a word. "Reyna, come with us. You will be safe, and we can treat your injuries."
Reyna shook her head and looked around the alleyway. She wanted to run. It wouldn't be too hard to make it towards the Titan base, but could she trust them? Hades studied her eyes, and he spoke, "We have your sister."
Reyna stared at Hades. He nodded once and spoke, "I did not mean for you to be harmed during any of this. Hylla was suppose be taken without a fight. Thalia was as well. It was unfortunate that you were caught in the middle."
"You took Hylla and Thalia? Why?" Reyna asked. She glanced back at the lawyer.
"I wanted Hylla to be safe," Hades answered. He was relaxed, but his eyes stayed focused on Tethys. Reyna glanced back at the base. Kronos seemed to have left after his argument with Mnemosyne, so only Hyperion and Oceanus were inside. "We have another use for Thalia. If you come with us, you will be safe."
"Safe from what?" Reyna questioned. She studied Hades and tried to focus. Pain and exhaustion was making it harder. "What are you trying to keep me and Hylla safe from?"
Hades looked at Mnemosyne and grabbed her face tightly. He spoke, "The end of the Titans and the end of the Olympians. Those who have abused their powers for years will finally meet their end. When I am done, there will be no more villains, and there will be no more heroes."