Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This is my first story to reach double digit chapters, so I hope you like this part! Also, thanks to my fellow writer for giving me enough ideas and encouragement to continue this story.

Enjoy!

S
A
D
I
E

I missed Nico.

After he left me by myself, I did the only thing to let out all the pain: I cried. Let's get this straight: I never cry, but let's see what you will do if you were captured by a sadistic bastard who keeps telling you that you're his. I blamed myself. I blamed myself for ever getting to know him, I blamed myself for not reacting fast enough when he took me, I blamed myself.

Stop it, Sadie. IF you feel this bad, just imagine how Nico feels right now. Isis chided.

"Nico, please help me." I whispered to myself, hoping against everything that he would hear me.

I didn't know how long it has been since Cade kidnapped me, but I was sure of two things: one, he will do absolutely anything to make me feel like I was his, and that includes forced kisses and groping my body, and two, that Nico, Carter, and probably Percy and Annabeth are coming to save me, I'm sure of it.

Those two things were the only ones that kept my hopes up; everything else, all I can see is hopelessness. I'm chained to a ceiling, inside a dark room that doesn't have anything inside, nor any windows. I can hear Cade's sadistic laughter through the metal door placed directly in front of me, mocking me of the fact that freedom is right in front of my face. Worst of all, I don't even know where I am.

Cade said he was working with Apophis; I took comfort at the fact that Apophis double-crossed every promise he ever made, and I hope that for my sake, that Cade's death will be excruciatingly painful.

N
I
C
O

While we were in the van I fell asleep.

Nico, please help me. I heard Sadie say.

Her voice woke me up, and I turned around frantically, searching for the origin of her voice. "Sadie! Sadie, where are you!"

That's when I realized that I was alone in the van. The others were already outside, looking at me strangely, but I ignored them. I kept calling out to Sadie, hoping that she would answer. "Please Sadie! Tell me where you are!"

Behind me, I saw Drea whisper something to Carter, and, after giving me a few strange looks, nodded in assent.

I had a feeling that I knew what they were talking about. "I am not crazy!" I snapped. I got out of the van, and for the first time, I noticed that were on the highway in the middle of a desert. I didn't even know there was a desert here.

"Yeah right." Iris commented.

"I'm not! Really!" I groaned.

"Nico-" carter started to say.

"He's a piece of work, isn't he?" I heard someone say.

I jerked around, and saw a guy with dark red skin, a pointed beard, long black hair, and red eyes. He wore a suit that looked identical to my dad's, except it was red. His first impression? Evil.

"Who in Hades are you?" I demanded.

Carter gave me a Nico, shut up look. I gave him a death glare in return.

"Now, now boys, let's reserve the fighting for oh, a few more minutes, shall we?" The man said cheerily. He clapped his hands in delight and grinned at us evilly, as if he was expecting something horrible to come and eat us.

I turned to Carter again. "Who is this joker?"

"Set. God of evil, chaos, and desert storms." Carter informed me, but never took his eyes of Set. So that explains why we were in a desert.

That alone gave me enough information. The fact that Carter's eyes never left him means that he shouldn't be trusted, and possibly that he would stab our backs the moment we turn our backs on him. The way he said his name proves that there was some history behind them, and it wasn't pleasant. I had dealt with these types before in the underworld; people who pretend to be your friends, but the moment you turn away, they won't even hesitate to kill you, just because you're Hades' son.

"So, he's Egyptian then? Cool." Drea said. She was gazing at Set like he was the next big thing, with his Mick Jagger suit and evil grin.

Set nodded his head in assent, grabbed her hand, and kissed it. "Pleasure to meet, you miss-" she grinned, and looked directly in her eyes.

"D-Drea…" she answered. Her cheeks were red. I saw Iris behind Set, and if looks could kill, set would be.

"Pleasure, Miss Drea. And a daughter of Eos, I see. Your mother's domain reminds me of Ra, our sun God. His arrival during the dawn would empower us, and as his most loyal servant, he made sure that I was always in tip-top shape. Good time, good times." He said.

Carter scoffed. "Most loyal servant? Please. You tried to destroy the world."

"Oh don't take it like that, Carter Kane."

I was getting very impatient. We have to find Sadie!

"Guys, we better get moving!" I groaned. "Sadie could be anywhere."

I started to walk, but Carter stopped me. "Nico, I hate to tell you this, but the prophecy said that Percy's group was supposed to save Sadie, not us. We're going to find Apophis' soul, and banish it back to the duat." He pointed out.

My jaw hung at the revelation. "But-"

"Sorry, Nico. But it was stated." Iris said.

A rumble emanated from down the road. "Perfect!" Set exclaimed. "Here's the start of your quest. I better be going now, things will get pretty ugly! Oh and Carter, don't die yet, we still have plenty more ahead of us." He winked at Carter, who shivered in disgust.

"Ewww." I commented.

Set glared at me, and disappeared in a cloud of sand.

I was about to ask Carter what Set meant by things going ugly, but then Iris shouted, "Guys, incoming!" he pointed behind my back.

I turned around, and sure enough, a massive collection of things were coming for us. They looked humanoid from the feet up to the shoulders, except that their skin was red and they had wicked sharp claws. Don't ask me how I know, I don't either. But the weirdest part about them was that their heads seemed to be made up of kitchen utensils. One had a head shaped like a corkscrew. Another had a battle axe mounted on his shoulders. Another one had a knife instead of a head.

"Demons." Carter growled. "Great. That means we're on the right track."

"Demons?" I asked. "What happened to the monsters?"

"Demons are Egyptian servants of Apophis. If they're here attacking, that means that Apophis is nearby." He explained. "Besides, these things are easier to beat than monsters. Compared to the Minotaur, these guys are pushovers."

I grinned manically. If what he said was true, and these guys were pushovers, then this would be an excellent war-up for us.

Carter reached forward with his hand, and it suddenly disappeared.

"What the Hades!" I screamed.

"Relax Nico. Let me concentrate." Carter chided. HE pulled back his hand, and his curved sword appeared in his hands.

"Cool." I commented.

"Yeah. Cool trick, Carter." Drea agreed.

"Thanks. Now, let's slice up some demons." He said. The demons were approaching us very close now, about thirty feet. I estimated there to be at least forty demons, ten for each of us.

Through corner of my eye I saw Carter close his eyes. A golden form of a hawk covered his entire body, glowing with power. In its hands was the same khopesh he was wielding. He was easily twenty feet tall. I admit, I was a little jealous. Maybe if I could learn how to do that, maybe then I would be tall enough to go to the adults-only rides at the park. I'll ask him to teach me later.

He pointed his sword at the demons, and yelled out the same spell Sadie used during the Capture the flag, of at least I think it was the same.

"Ha-di!"

A golden hieroglyph shined in front of the mob of demons. They stopped, and most of them tried to run away, but before they could, the hieroglyph exploded.

Those who were nearest got blown to bits by the spell; those that were a little luckier got tossed backwards a good twenty feet. They all hissed at us in anger, and resumed attacking.

"Do it again!" I ordered.

"Sorry, kid. If I do that again, I'll pretty much be useless in a fight." He said.

I was a little miffed to be called a kid; I was freaking thirteen years old, I think. Bianca and I were never sure of our ages, ever since our oh-so-great father had us dunked in the river Lethe. I remembered Alecto holding Bianca upside-down by her feet. I remembered Bianca crying, and the feeling of uselessness I felt when she was dunked head-first into the water. Her scream still terrorized me to this day.

That memory made me angry. When I remembered that memory, I promised myself that I will never let anybody close to me down again, and I am most definitely not breaking that. For Bianca, and for Sadie. I promised myself. I will save Sadie no matter what.

I lunged at the demons, my anger fueling my every strike. Demon after demon fell beneath my sword; I was unstoppable. I parried one strike from one demon, before stabbing my sword through another one's chest. It dissolved into smoke. I ducked another attack before I kicked another one on the face, and sliced its throat off. Two demons came from either side; I ducked and rolled between one's legs, before stabbing upwards, catching it in the…soft spot. I wonder if demons can get castrated.

For Sadie, for Sadie, for Sadie, for Sadie… I kept repeating inside my head. More demons came, and I dispatched them just as quickly. I saw Carter blocking one strike with the tip of his sword, before coming in an arc and slicing a demon in two. Drea and Iris were shooting demons from afar with their bows, getting a headshot each time. From their kill, I could've said that they were children of Apollo.

Another demon lunged at me, but I was prepared. I pushed the blade to the right using my left hand, and the strike came inches from my right shoulder. I stabbed the demon in the gut, but it just laughed, like it was finding the whole situation funny.

The rest of the demons stopped in their tracks. Carter and I stood back-to-back against the demons. But we were at a disadvantage. We were at the center of the mob, completely surrounded from all side. If Annabeth were here, she would've slapped me upside the head.

The demon I stabbed morphed. It's body turned to smoke for a second, before changing into a completely new look. It's body was cylindrical, about thirty feet long, and very big, with no arms, no legs, and very ugly face, one that even a mother couldn't love. In short, it was a very large, very ugly snake.

"Apohis." Carter hissed. He narrowed his eyes at the snake. "Back to the duat with you!"

Apophis laughed, or what I think was a laugh in snake language. You think you can boss me around, eye of Horus? I am Apophis, the primordial lord of Chaos! What you see now is only a sliver of my soul, about a hundredth of my true power. But even now, you are at a disadvantage. My minions surround you, and even with a spawn of Hades at you side, you will eventually tire, and provide a snack for me. Surrender and bow down to me, mortals, for even your gods cannot help you now!

I was pissed off. How dare he treat me like some useless human? "Listen here, you-" I tried to think of an insult, "you-!"

Couldn't think of an insult, demigod? Or are you afraid of me? Apophis mused.

"That's it!" I cried. Then I did the stupidest thing I ever did in my life, which was basically a lot.

I charged Apophis.

A challenge! Good! I accept.

He form changed. A man that looked a lot like Set appeared in front of me. He had the same Kool-Aid-colored skin, bald head, and goatee. But his eyes were that of a snake's, and fangs were protruding out of his mouth. Armor covered him from the neck down. It was like what knights from the medieval age used to wear (metal plating, metal-covered gloves, and a metal breastplate) except for two things: his feet were like a raptor's, with three wickedly sharp talons on each end, and the armor seemed like it was made from snake skin, complete with the scales. It was pure black, like Hades black, and on his shoulders was a cloak made from darkness. An evil smirk grew on his face, and he raised his khopesh for battle.

I could've told you that it was glorious fight, blah, blah, blah, with neither of us backing down, but it was far from that. The truth? The battle didn't even last ten seconds.

The moment I brought sword down on him, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke. I sensed him behind me, and turned around. I appeared for a second, so I aimed for a stab in his stomach, but he disappeared again. Suddenly, pain erupted from my back. I cried in pain, and fell to my knees, right in front of Apophis. He had slashed me in the back. Him disappearing, that was all a trick. I didn't have time to admire that.

He kicked me back to Carter, who was trying to give him a glare and look at me sympathetically at the same time. Drea and Iris were at our side in an instant, bows aimed for Apophis.

He raised his hands in a gesture for them to stop.

Do not try anything anymore, demigods. Your best fighter lay at your feet, defeated. How do you think you could defeat me? He laughed.

"I…will…kill…you." I moaned in pain. I tried to stand up, but the pain in my back was too much. I fell back down on the pavement. Carter slung my hand over his shoulder, and acted as a support, helping me stand.

Please, don't get up on my account. Apophis said.

I glared at him, which only made him laugh.

That was an interesting fight, Nico di Angelo. For that, I will leave you with two gifts. The first one: I will let you live, for now. The second one…" he mused.

"What?" I asked, curious.

Tell me first, do you love Sadie Kane? He asked.

"I do, with all my heart." I declared.

She is rather beautiful, isn't she? He said.

"Yes, she is. And if you do anything to harm her, you'll have Tartarus to pay!" I threatened.

He smirked. Now, why would I want to harm my future wife in any way, shape or form?

I gulped. "Wi-wife?"

His face hardened. The black smoke crawled all around us. Yes, di Angelo. I will take Sadie Kane to be my wife, whether she wants to or not. She will bear my children, and she and I will rule this world together!

"No." I whispered.

Yes, it will happen. You see, she is already with me. My servant is currently in the process of breaking her. He said.

"You will never break her." Carter barked.

Apophis grinned widely. Just watch me.

My grip around my sword tightened. "No! Sadie will never be your wife!" Just the thought of Sadie being with Apophis made me shudder. With the last bit of my strength, I threw my sword at Apophis.

It caught him by surprise. The blade sunk in the center of his chest. But he didn't even flinch. He pulled out the sword, and threw it away.

It seems you still have some fight left in you after all, di Angelo. I can't wait for our next…meeting. With that, he disappeared, along with all the demons. Once again, were alone on a deserted highway.

But somehow, I had the funny feeling that was going to say something worse than "meeting".

That's it! I did my best on the fight scene, but centered it on Nico. I hope you like it! Tell me, push that button below, and REVIEW!