Thank you for sticking with me through everything you guys! I'm sorry for how long it took me to finally update- but I must admit that I had a concussion, so I couldn't exactly go on my computer. Now the headaches have dialed down and I have a new keyboard for my surface… so I'm ready to go! I hope you all have a great holiday season!

~GoGreen43

Taken

Chapter 13- The Labyrinth

-Percy POV-

It was dark. As I woke up, I couldn't tell what was up and what was down. I could feel my throat clench and my heart start to beat faster as I reached out into the darkness, looking for anything that could possibly tell me where the hell I was.

As soon as my hand hit concrete, a breath I didn't know I was holding escaped from my lungs. I used the wall as a support to help me stand up and enjoy being free of restraint.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized where I was. It looked like a tunnel of some sort… but only there were no ceilings. It seemed as if the space above me was even darker than the space in front of me, which was a little creepy. The concrete walls stretched far beyond where my eyes could see. That was when I realized what had led me into this position.

"Luke!" I called, "Where the hell are you, you coward!"

My voice echoed and with each echo my heart beat seemed to get faster and faster. I was starting to understand what was happening.

"What do you want from me?" I yelled, and a cold sense of dread washed over me as my voice continued to echo, followed by an abrupt silence. I didn't know what was more terrifying, the echo or the silence that followed.

I knew that I wasn't getting anywhere yelling at the darkness, so I decided that I would start to make a use of myself. Bracing myself with a hand on the wall, I slowly started to walk forward.

It felt as if all my senses were in overdrive. The touch of the concrete, the smell of death, the absence of sound, and the strain of my eyes as I tried to see what was in front of me.

After moving about twenty feet, my legs were numb and I held onto the gasp that was trying to escape my mouth. I came to a sudden stop, and I felt my eyes go wide. I knew where I was. Luke placed me inside some sort of maze!

Sweat started to drip from my hair and mix with the blood and grime that had already made its home on my forehead. "What the hell is this Luke? Huh? Planning to make me claustrophobic? Yeah, well screw you!"

I knew that claustrophobia as definitely a fear of mine, but if there was one thing Chase taught me- it was to face my fears. God, I bet she does that every day. I was going to conquer this thing for her. I could only hope that she was doing the same thing for me. I need her to be okay.

We need each other to be okay.

I mean, I might not be in love with her and all, but that doesn't mean that I don't care for her. It took a while for me to trust her, but now that I have, there's no going back. Not with Chase.

My thoughts carried me into a sitting position. The concrete was cool against my back and head, and I kept my eyes peeled for any threats, but I doubted any would come. I knew that Luke doesn't like others doing his dirty work for him; coward or not.

Instead of walking further into the maze and playing along to Luke's fantasy, I decided I would wait. What was he going to do about that? Smoke me out? I'd gladly die of smoke inhalation than go through whatever he has up for me next.

I don't even want to think about what that creep is capable of.

"No! Please no!"

My breath got caught in my throat.

"Mom?" I choked, barely hearing myself over the echo.

"Please just make it stop!"

"Mom! No!"

I took off into the maze, trying to find where her voice was coming from. Tears welled up in my eyes as I started to think of how they must have gotten her to beg like that. What a sick son of a bitch!

"Percy! Please help me!"

"Mom! Where are you?"

I ran into a dead end and kicked the wall in frustration. "Mom?"

A shriek of terror was my only answer.

My blood was running cool in my veins and chills ran up and down my spine. It got worse and worse with each scream that echoed throughout the maze. Tears were falling down my face as I ran through the maze like a mad man, trying to find anything that would help me find my mom. Are they going to kill her? Is Luke going to torture her to death because of me?

"Mom! Please just hold on!" I begged, desperately trying to find where the screams were coming from. But they seemed to be coming from everywhere.

The screaming stopped and my feet stopped with it. I now knew that the silence was worse than the screams, at least I knew that my mother was alive when she was screaming… but now… now I don't know. The silence was taunting, mocking me.

"Mom!" I mindlessly started to jog through the maze, searching for any noise that could tell me she was alive. "Mom! Please answer me!"

I hit another dead end and it was as if all hope was lost. I didn't know what to do, where to go, and whether or not my mom was alright. I could use Chase's genius-ness right about now.

Wiping my tear stricken eyes I braced myself up against the wall of the dead end and looked into the maze as far as I could. What would Chase do? I knew she wouldn't stand here and cry… she would surely be able to think of something.

I tried to calm myself down as much as I could and think clearly about this. I know that Chase would do that. If there are screams coming from multiple directions, what does that mean? Could it be fake?

Speakers. Luke must be playing an audio recording of him torturing my mom… stupid, messed up son of a bitch! I am going to kill him!

All of the sudden, a voice cut through the silence. "Percy! Help me!"

"Jason."

Logic long forgotten, I ran right back into the maze, screaming Jason's name. "Jason buddy, just hold on!"

"Someone please help me!"

"Jason! I'm coming!"

My breathing started to come out ragged and stars started to cloud my vision. Jason's screams of terror and mine following his started to sound farther and farther away as my lungs constricted and my airway became blocked. My body started to go numb as a ringing sound drowned everything out in my ears.

I'm not in the shape I was before… Luke had malnourished Chase and I, breaking our resolve even further, and I was powerless to do anything to stop it. I collapsed against the wall, closing my eyes and trying to drown out Jason's pleads for help.

"It's not real, It's not real, It's not real…" I started to mumble, before I caught myself. What would Chase do?

"I need to save my friends," I decided. Hearing those words out loud seemed to create a second-wind for my body and as adrenaline pumped through my veins I found that it was easier to breathe again.

"Stop! Please stop!"

"Grover!"

Grover was my best friend. He stuck with me through thick and thin, and now I need to do my damndest to help him. He needed me to be strong.

But when Grover's pleads for help were soon joined by Leo, who was joined by Nico, shudders started to rip through my body and I could feel the optimism fade away, only to be replaced by fear. Fear of what has already possibly happened to my friends. And it was all my fault.

The screams from my friends started to taunt me, and pick at my conscience little by little and I found myself starting to be driven insane. But I was determined to figure out how to stop this madness.

I started to sprint back into the maze, much like I had before, but this time the screams and begging of my friends and mother started to get to me. My sprint slowly turned back into a jog which ultimately turned into a defeated walk. I could feel my very resolve start to crumble, and I didn't have the heart to put it back together again.

Now I understand what Luke wanted to happen. He wanted me to break… and it looks like he was getting what he wanted. I was nothing without my friends, and this proves it. I was practically at the edge, and all I needed was a little push to be past the breaking point.

It seemed as if the push had come right on cue.

"Percy!"

"Rachel! No!"

It was then that the dam was broken and the tears streamed down my face. Rachel's screams tore at the very root of my existence, and my heart seemed to be breaking with every echo that her scream made.

"Percy, please! Make it stop!"

"Rachel!" I screamed, not knowing what else to say. "Rachel!"

"Percy!"

The screams in pain that followed my name were the worst. I was sobbing now, unable to attempt to control my emotions. Luke had Rachel. He had her, and he was torturing her. I loved her, and he was going to kill her… it's all my fault.

"Luke!" I pleaded, falling to my knees. "Luke! Please, stop this! You've won, just please stop this!"

Rachel's screams continued to echo throughout the maze and I continued to choke on my own sobs. I had lost everything… my mother, my friends, the girl I loved. Everything had been taken away from me. All reasons to move on and continue were long gone. Chase couldn't even save me now.

Then, all of the sudden, the screaming stopped. I immediately became quiet as well, and lifted my head up from where it had been hanging in my hands. Half-expecting some gas to seep through the walls or something to knock me out, I hesitantly took a step forward.

When nothing happened, I took a shaky breath. "Luke! You're one sick asshole! You got that? I'm going to kill you for this! I'm going to fucking kill you!"

When I stopped seething in anger, I realized something. My voice didn't echo. What the hell?

"Jackson! Get your ass over here and help me!"

"Chase?"

I took off back into the maze, a new fire now fueling my bones.

-Annabeth POV-

I woke up in what could possibly be considered the worst way possible. I was tied to a chair and my neck was as stiff as a rock. The chair was a cool metal and the shackles that bound me down were digging into my flesh. I was placed in what seemed to be a glass-like box that had no lid. In the corner I could see a ladder and next to it was a sound-board looking thing, but that was it.

For some reason, I felt like I had been here before. And honestly, I probably have.

"Sleeping beauty has finally awaken," a voice rang out. A man with sandy blonde hair and icy blue eyes stalked forwards from the shadows with a cool grin on his face. He was approaching me as a predator would approach a prey, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Where the hell am I?" I spat, my lips curling into more of a feline growl.

Luke's smile turned into a steely strait glare that was directed at me. He's not a stupid man. Everything that he does, he does it for a reason, and he knows it. I know it. But I don't think Jackson knows it yet.

"Besides spiders, I've come to learn what you fear. After your previous visit, some of my men had been checking up on you, learning your likes and dislikes. All so that when the time was right, I would be able to try some new things. It was certainly luck that you and your beloved 'Jackson' were together when I found you. Saved me some time."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Luke's steely expression turned into a care-free smile as he laughed, "Annie, you crack me up! You were never a target. You see, Mr. Jackson was always the one that I wanted. You, my dear, seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What do you want with Jackson?"

He chuckled as his eyes stared me down with arrogance. "His father is rich, and worked with my father. His father raped my mother and drove her insane, which is exactly on what I plan to do to Poseidon's young child. He needed to feel the pain that I did as I take away the sweet light of his life."

He had moved toward me and slammed his hands up against the glass, causing me to flinch. For the first time I saw Luke for what he really was. A revenge-seeking asshole.

"That doesn't mean that you have any right to lock others up for this! Revenge does no one any good, and besides, I'm sure that your mother misses you, Luke!"

"I doubt she even knows that I have left."

I let out a bitter chuckle, figuring a way to gain the upper hand. "You're mother definitely knows that you have left her. I go and keep her company, since you and Malcolm used to be close. It's the least I can do, especially since we have both been hurt by you!"

"Shut up!"

"You killed your best friend, Luke! You killed my brother! Hell, he was your brother too! And that's not the only thing, you left your mother to die!"

His face turned red and his eyes went glassy as he banged up against the glass with more fervor than he did the last. I couldn't stop myself from flinching from the force. "My mother is gone. The woman I once knew does not exist. And as for your brother… he knew the truth about my intentions, Annie. Therefore, he needed to die."

"Are you going to kill me now? I guess now that I know about your true intentions you're going to have to kill me!"

"Not yet, not yet."

"And who's to stop me from telling Jackson? You want to keep him alive to drive him insane right? How are you going to do that if I tell him?"

In response, Luke's icy glare made me catch my breath. "If you think about telling Percy Jackson about what my true intentions are, Annie, I will kill everyone you care about and leave you in a cage where you will rot for all of eternity. I don't give a damn about what happens to you or your friends. After all, Miss Chase. You're just a pawn."

My eyes widened and I held the tears back. It was important that I didn't show weakness, and I refused to let him get the upper hand, here. He already has me tied to a chair.

"So you are going to kill me?"

Luke's response sent shivers down my spine. "Of course, dearie. It was a part of my plan all along."

"Wha-"

"Luke! Where the hell are you, you coward!" Jackson's voice echoed throughout the chamber. Luke smiled a bit as he turned on a control that immediately brightened up the room.

"Jackson?" I asked, my voice dripping with confusion.

"What do you want from me?"

I frantically looked at Luke, who's face was lit up in amusement. "What are you doing to him?" I demanded. "What have you done?"

"Nothing yet, sweet Annie. Nothing yet. Please, just wait and listen to the show."

"What the hell is this, Luke? Huh? Planning to make me claustrophobic? Yeah, well screw you!"

I was trying to see if the chains would give to anything that I was doing, but the metal cuffs around my wrists made it hard for any movement to occur. I was stuck, and I knew it.

"No! Please, no!"

My head snapped up with a gasp as I saw Luke finish fiddling with the sound board. My eyes were wide and searching as I suddenly realized where I was. Luke's Labyrinth. Now I knew why this place had seemed so familiar at first! I had been here before.

"Luke, no!" I yelled, thrashing against my restraints. "Please don't do this to him!"

Luke just laughed as a feminine scream sounded through the walls. "I told you I was going to break him, Annabeth. I have a tendency to stick with my plans."

I winced as I heard another scream sound, this one more masculine. "Percy! Help me!"

I gasped, recognizing the voice. "Jason." I met eyes with Luke, silently begging him to stop this. "Jackson won't be recognizable at the end of this! You won't be able to do anything else to him if you continue!"

"Why, Annie?" Luke mocked. "Malcolm was able to withstand this little method, and didn't you tell your little Jackson that he was even braver than your brother?"

"How did you know that?"

"Darling, I have eyes everywhere."

I closed my eyes, knowing this was no use. I tried to pretend the screams weren't there and completely breaking everything in their path, which included Jackson. No, I couldn't think that. But tears welled in my eyes as I remembered that this was all too familiar.

A shrill shriek cut through my thoughts, causing my eyes to snap open. "Percy!"

"Rachel! No!" Jackson's cry of terror made my heart clench, and the world seemed to stop for a second.

I started to thrash against my bonds again as I heard Jackson's sobs coming from the labyrinth. Soon realizing that I wasn't getting anywhere, I turned to Luke and begged like a madwoman, "Luke! Please, stop this madness!"

He laughed at my desperation. "And why should I, Annie? Why should I end his suffering when that is exactly what I want?"

Tears started to pour from my eyes as I heard Jackson beg for Luke to stop. "Jackson may love Rachel… but I know that he cares for me. If you want him to break, you break his rock- you break me."

His eyebrows shot up, and an evil smirk crossed his face. "You want me to kill you, why, I never thought I'd see the day where Annabeth Chase begs for death."

I shook my head wildly. "You can't kill me yet, Luke. I thought you said that you always stick to your plans?" he laughed, and I continued, "Just don't make him listen to her."

"Why? Are you jealous, Little Annie? Are you jealous that he loves another who betrayed him, and not you-you who has been with him through thick and thin?"

A feeling of absolute depression took over me. "Just stop the recording, Luke."

He laughed. "You are just playing right into my hands, Annie. I thought you were smarter than that."

"Just do it!"

He slowly and methodically pressed a button, and the screams stopped. I could clearly hear a ringing sounding through my ears from the noise level in this room.

"I hope you know I'm not messing with little spiders again, Annie," Luke informed. "If I were you, I'd start calling for help."

He pressed a different button, and I heard a gurgling noise below me. There was a little drain that started to spout water and my eyes went wide.

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me!" I exclaimed, looking up at Luke's amused expression.

"Like I said, you better start calling for help, or I guess my plan will need to be slightly altered without you in it."

He disappeared, leaving me gaping at him like a fish. How could I have been so stupid?

"Jackson!" I yelled, "Get your ass over here and help me!"

-Percy POV-

"Jackson! Hurry up!" Chase's voice gave me more strength to keep on moving- it was a strength that I didn't know I had. I knew I could still save her, and I was going to do just that.

Chase's voice led me to yet another dead end, and I had no idea where to go. I swore that her voice was coming from the wall, but that didn't make any sense. "Chase! Where are you?"

"Jackson!" her voice sounded. "You need to push through the wall! That's the only way to enter from the labyrinth!"

I carefully stepped forward and pressed my palms up against the concrete wall of the dead end, praying that this works. With a spirt of energy, I pushed the wall and the concrete somehow gave. It fell, revealing a brightly lit room, and couldn't help but squint at the sight before me.

I nearly laughed in relief when I saw that Chase was there, but my relief was short lived with I saw where she was.

Chase was surrounded by an aquarium-looking thing with the top left open. She was chained to a chair, and I could see that water was seeping in from somewhere on the bottom. It had already reached her shins, and I knew that I had to hurry.

"What do I need to do, Chase?" I asked, walking up the glass container and pressing up against it. "This shit is unbreakable."

Chase just nodded and looked at me with a look of complete calmness. It was as if she was in the middle of a grassy field and not facing death. She must have been able to sense my distress, and I'm lucky she did. I don't know how much more I can take.

"Jackson, somewhere in the labyrinth there is a key. You need to find it, then bring it back here to get me out of this case. In the corner of the room there is a ladder where you will use to jump in here and free me from this chair. When you release the chains, the walls of this case will come down, and free the both of us."

"Okay," I said. I backed up to the door I had just previously entered. "I'll be back. Just hold on."

She laughed, but I could hear a tinge of nervousness in her voice. "Go save my ass, Jackson."

"You got it!"

I took off back into what Chase called a labyrinth, having no idea how to find that damn key. I started to run around like a madman, checking every possible crevice for a sign, or anything. I just needed to hurry.

"Annie! Just wait, okay?"

"Malcolm! The spiders are scaring me!"

"I know, Annie, I know!"

I came to a halt when I heard the voices. There was no echo like there was before, and it was so clear that I could almost follow the voices. I know I had been asking for some sort of a sign, but this just seemed so easy.

I decided to follow it anyway.

"Malcolm, I'm scared!"

My heart clenched for the younger girl, who I now know was Chase.

"It's okay, Annie! Just be patient for me, okay?" Malcolm's voice sounded breathless, much like mine did now. "I just need to find the key and it will all be over!"

Following the voice of Chase's brother, my heart went out to the little girl who never had the chance to be with her brother after her escape. But in my heart I knew that Chase wasn't going to go through that again. I was sure of it.

"Jackson!" Chase cried out, "Hurry up!"

My heart started to beat faster from the desperation in her voice, and I started to push myself to go faster. Images of Chase being completely submerged in water taunted me and forced me to push myself even harder. I wasn't going to let her die. I owed her my life- and she wasn't going to get away from me that easily.

"Chase! Hold on!"

"Hold on to what? I don't see anything to hold onto!"

"Relax, okay? I got this!"

I could hear a faint reply from Chase, which caused me to forget about the pain in my legs. She was obviously nervous, which caused me to worry. What if I'm too late?

"How high is the water?" I called out to her.

My chest tightened as it seemed like it took her forever to answer, "Just to my knees, Jackson! But hurry up!"

There was a tremor in her voice that told me she was lying.

"Shit!" I yelled, as all of the sudden, the voices of Malcolm and a younger Chase sent me into a dead end. "Shit, shit, shit, shit! What am I supposed to do?"

"What is it?" Chase's worried voice rang out.

"Dead end!" my eyesight blurred from the tears that were starting to form. It felt like I was holding the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I was about to collapse.

"Don't worry! Just try what you did to get into the room that I'm in!" I held onto her words like they were a rope pulling me out of the depths of Tartarus.

I went back to the dead end and pushed it down, and took a second to reign in my shock at what I saw. Televisions were playing footage of me outside of this place. Me walking out of my apartment, out of school, at the beach…

Chase needs me.

The key was on a mantle in the middle of the room, and when I grabbed it I half- expected to have a giant boulder start to chase me. But when nothing happened, I ignored Indiana Jones and started to run out of there, temporarialy forgetting what I saw.

I ran back to the room, running toward the faint glow in the distance. Now that I had the key, a new feeling took over me. Hope. This hope was stronger than my fear of being too late, forcing me through the pain and fatigue.

"Jackson! Help me!"

I was so close.

"Please help me, Jackson!"

Almost there.

"Jack-"

Gurgling. Choking.

She had gone under.

"Chase! No!"

I ran through the door into the room, a sob breaking through my throat at the sight in front of me. Chase was under water, and her stormy gray eyes were wide and terrified. The water had gotten and high and her golden blonde hair was loose and astray, forming a halo over her head.

I quickly got the ladder and climbed into the tank. I dived down into the tank, grasping her forearm in an assuring squeeze, then went to work. I fumbled with the lock and key, and released the chains from her body just in time for her to go limp.

The sides of the tank collapsed, and I hoisted Chase's body out of the chair and laid her on the ground. I put my ear to her heart, searching for any signs of life. Her heart was beating, but she wasn't breathing.

She wasn't breathing.

I was at a loss of what to do. I had no idea how to do CPR or mouth to mouth, so I improvised. I started to pump down on her chest, giving compressions just like I had seen in the movies.

"C'mon Chase!"

Pump. Pump. Pump.

"I need you!"

Pump. Pump.

"You can't die on me!"

Pump. Pump. Pump.

"You're my best friend!"

Pump.

"Please! Please wake up!"

I mindlessly begged for her to wake up, giving up on the damned chest compressions. I found myself with no control over my emotions. "Please, please, please…"

When my mind snapped back into place and I realized nothing was working, I leaned back on my heels and sobbed into the open air. I felt a feeling of loss that I have never felt before.

"Luke! I give up! You win!" I announced, my hands dropping from her chest to my sides. "Please just save her! Do whatever you want to me, just save her!"

I started to slap Chase's cheeks lightly, feeling bile rise in my throat at how white her skin was under my fingers. "Please, Annabeth! Please wake up. I need you."

All of the sudden, a man came running from the shadowed part of the room and started preforming CPR on Chase, leaving me to look on in shock.

I was barely aware of hands holding me back and the feeling of a needle being stabbed into my neck. My eyes started to droop and I collapsed next to Chase, tears in my eyes as I watched a stranger try to save her life.

She's beautiful.

Well… that was long. Anyways, I hope you all have a happy holidays!
~GoGreen43