-Addie-

I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. My eyes popped open, and I saw Percy and Annabeth standing over me. They both look worried, and I sat up quickly. I knew I had not been asleep long. I used my left forearm to wipe my forehead. That was where Arachne had bitten me.

"That bite still has not healed, has it?" Annabeth pronounced knowingly. I looked down at my arm, and I saw that the blackness had soaked through the fabric.

"It's fine," I said, blowing her off, but I was worried. I grabbed my pack and set it beside me. I felt around for the gauze that I had, and as I found it, Annabeth gently took it from me.

"You took care of us, let me return the favor."

I nodded my head, and my chest felt heavy, in a good way. A small smile crept on my cheeks. Annabeth sat in front of me, rolling up my sleeve. What I saw was not good.

The ooze was a reddish black, and the black in my veins and spread farther up my arm. I saw Annabeth's eyes tighten, but nothing else changed in her expression.

"Do you have any nectar?"

I nodded my head and reached into my bag. I had a tiny vile of regular, plus the bottle that Apollo had given me. I hand Annabeth the smaller vile and took a swig of Apollo's super stuff. Annabeth began working on my wound. She poured the nectar on it, which stung like Hades. The black receded, just enough so it was noticeable, but it did not go away. Percy was sitting beside us, worry etched on his face.

"The nectar should have healed it," he muttered to himself.

"It's poisoned. Arachne did it when she bit me," I explained. As Annabeth dressed my wound, I told her and Percy of what I learned. I did feel different, but not deathly injured. It felt like that one time I had gotten the flu, but not quite as severe. Ever since I became ageless, I hardly ever got sick. The few times I did get sick…. They had not been pretty. I felt sluggish and sore like my body was not willing to move or do what it needed to do.

"I don't like the sound of us getting cornered by titans, at all," Percy stated solemnly after I finished. "It would be best for us to stay ahead of them."

"That won't be a problem. I can make sure that we do. The only issue we have is finding out the words, and that I have no idea how to find. I would say go back to Iapetus, but I know he will not tell us. Plus, I do not fancy walking back through an army to get to him."

"Maybe we can figure it out on our way there? Or find a way to speak with Thantos? There has got to be someone down here who knows, or maybe there is a code on the door. I could ask my mom, maybe she has some wisdom on this," Annabeth said. She was putting her brainpower to work, and I admired her for that.

"Worse comes to worst, I can turn myself in, and try to find out from Hyperion or Krios," I said aloud to myself.

"No!" Annabeth stuttered.

"Absolutely not!" Percy said at the same time.

I shrugged my shoulders, my eyes staring at the tie Annabeth was doing around my arm. If it came down to protecting them, there was nothing I could do about it. I would have to do it.

"Let's just focus on staying ahead of the army and getting all three of us out of here alive. That's the wisest thing to do," Annabeth said firmly as she pulled my sleeve back down.

"That's the best thing you've said today, Wise girl," Percy said proudly. I saw Annabeth cut her eyes at him playfully, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. I handed them both a pack of crackers out of my bag, and leaned back against the rock.

"Aren't you hungry, Addie?" Annabeth asked hesitantly. I knew I should be, but I could just not stomach anything right now. I felt weak and woozy, something I was not accustomed to at all. I had to find strength from somewhere to make sure Percy and Annabeth stayed safe.

"No, I'm fine," I said softly. "You two eat. We need to get moving."

It only got worse the farther we walked. Hyperion was right- the poison was starting to take effect. The bite on my arm was throbbing, sending painful pulses around my body. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and rest, but I could not do it. I had more important things to do.

Percy held out his hand for me, and I gratefully took it. He helped me up over the ledge, steadying me as I stood. I was covered in a slight sheen of sweat, but I was freezing, despite the heat around me. I could feel my body shivering, and even that was mildly painful. My body felt heavier, which was from the spell I was casting to keep us healthy in Tartarus. We had been walking for about three or four hours, I had guessed. Percy and Annabeth were up ahead of me, talking quietly to each other. We walked in silence for a few minutes, nothing but the sounds of our breath and footsteps filling the tunnel. We came to a fork, and Percy looked back at me.

"Which way?"

I closed my eyes, steadying myself by holding onto the rock wall. I could feel something behind it, but it was muted. They must have been far away, which was good.

"Go left," I whispered to them. They began to walk into the tunnel, and I followed.

"Do you know how much farther, Addie? Do you have any idea?" Annabeth asked.

"Not really," I responded. My voice was getting weaker. I cleared my throat, attempting to make it sound steady and comforting. "Time and direction in Tartarus change. This path could take us to the doors in two hours, and tomorrow if we tried it again it could take us two weeks."

"Are you sure we don't need to stop and rest?" Percy asked me.

"Do you need to?"

I felt something, and it was a lot stronger this time. But why did it still feel so far away? Maybe it was just a big fight or something. Maybe Hyperion fell on his fat ass, I don't know. There was a corner up ahead, and you could see the red glow from the river coming from it.

"No, I'm fine, I was just asking-"

Percy stopped, and I ran into him. He was frozen in place, Annabeth right beside him. I looked forward, and panic took over.

Hyperion was standing right in front of us, with about twenty other monsters all around him. Percy pulled out his sword, while Annabeth unsheathed her dagger. I could not even move I was in so much shock. How had I missed this?!

"Hello, Jackson. We meet again."

"I thought we turned you into a tree, Hyperion?" Percy snapped back at him.

Hyperion looked a little amused, and I felt a rumble in the ground some distance behind us. They were trying to flank us, surrounding us from all sides. I sent out a small tremor, to map out the tunnels around us.

"You did, but Gaia had other plans for us," he sneered back. There was an empty tunnel to our right, heading farther away from the river. The wall felt about twenty feet thick. Could I create a hole without collapsing the tunnel on top of us? Hyperion caught my eye, and his solid gold orbs seemed to twinkle in my direction.

"And you must be the famous, Euadne! You have been the talk of the immortals for the past couple thousand years, have you not? Have you given consideration to Gaia's offer?"

"What offer?" I said breezily.

He was stalling, waiting for the rest of the army to trap us. I had to move quickly. I started forming cracks in the wall, trying to loosen the rock. My body grew steadily weaker with my work. Hyperion must have noticed, because he laughed, and all the other joined him.

"Venom is taking its toll I suppose?"

"Go to Hades," I said enraged.

"Already been there, sweetheart. Seize them," he added off-handedly as he waived a lazy hand in my direction.

I released a huge chunk of rock from the wall, sending it in Hyperion's direction. A loud crunch echoed through the tunnel, letting me know that I hit some of them. A few of the monsters had ambled past, and some were leaking in from behind us. I kept bashing at the hole in the wall, but my powers were slow to react. It was taking twice as long and twice as much work as it normally did. Adrenaline had flooded my system, but while my body felt fine, my mind was sluggish. I yelled in frustration, and a good chunk of the ceiling raining down in between us and Hyperion's group.

Well, at least that worked out.

Percy and Annabeth were fighting some monsters. They seemed to be holding their own, so I finished the hole with two more blows. My heart was beating out of my chest, and my head swam dizzily. More monsters came around the corner, and I summoned my daggers. I quickly dispatched two telekhines and a few earthborn. I made my way to Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth took down an empousa with her dagger, and I protected her back from another.

"GO! Get to the other tunnel," I yelled back to them.

Percy dispatched another monster and grabbed Annabeth's arm. We took off into the hole, monsters following us. I could hear them yelling and calling through the tunnels, the echoes bouncing sinisterly back to us.

"Right!" I yelled as we hit a fork. My breathing was labored; harsh ragged gasps were rocking my chest. A few telekhines busted out of a side tunnel, but we quickly dispatched them.

"Up!" I screamed. Up ahead, a tunnel opened up above us. There was a tunnel to our left as well, and as we ran past it, a disturbance rumbled through the rock. Percy hoisted himself into the hole, and he reached down for Annabeth. Just as she made it up, Krios, along with a Gorgon and two dracanae slid into view.

"Addie, come on!" Percy said, reaching for me. I shook my head.

"Go, follow the river. I will catch up I promise."

I did not wait to hear an answer. I launched myself at the group. I threw one of my daggers at a dracanae, hitting it perfectly in the chest. I used the other to parry a blow from the other. As I held her sword back, I summoned the other dagger back into my hand and stabbed the second dracanae in the stomach. Both turned to ash, and I kept my eyes down on the floor.

"Medusa," I yelled. I prayed that if Percy and Annabeth were still within earshot, they would hear me and know not to look.

"Yes, Euadne. I cannot wait for you to see me."

I blindly grabbed on the wall, and I shot a rock into the direction I thought she was in. I squeezed my eyes shut, tight as they could go. Laughter filled my ears, and I felt them draw closer. Normally, I could feel where they hit the earth, but now…. It was like I was drunk. I could feel them, but I could not tell how far away they were. Suddenly, I was being pressed up against the wall. Medusa leaned into me, and I could feel the little snakes on her head licking me and biting strands of my hair.

"How noble of you, Euadne! Letting yourself be the sacrifice," she breathed. Her sweet, monster-ridden breath hit my face. I gagged, and her hand came to my cheek. "Why don't you open your eyes? I can free you from that awful curse. You'll never have to listen to them again, and it would be a lot less painful than dying from this poison."

"Stop, Medusa. She is to come alive, that is what mother wants," Krios said. He was close, how close I was not sure. I was afraid to open my eyes. I could not even tap into my magic to help me.

I swung out with my daggers, slashing through the air, but it was no use. I could not see them, and I could not feel them through the stone. A set of hands took mine, pinning them to the wall. This was a strength I could not match. I tried to fight back, but I was just growing weaker.

"The poison will kill you, Euadne, unless you come to our side," Krios breathed into my ear.

"Then I suppose I will die," I spat.

A wet sound filled the cavern, and as Krios yelled in frustration, a wet thud sounded in the cave. I felt something swing in the air beside me, and I was released.

"Come on, Addie! We need to go! DO NOT LOOK DOWN!"

Percy grabbed my hand, pulling me up into the hole. We ran, him half dragging me along.

"Wait!"

I stopped, pulling my hand from him. I concentrated with all of my might and made the tunnel that we had come from and where we had come into this one collapse. I felt super drained, but now, at least they could not follow us this way.

I realized something as I began sluggishly moving with them.

I was dying.

And the more I fought, the faster it happened.

We ran, as far and as fast as we could. I finally felt my body give, and I collapsed. I was so tired. Every single bone and muscle in me was screaming, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Some hero I was. I could not even stay upright.

"Addie!"

I pulled myself up, my body protesting. I managed to get up again, but as soon as I let go of the rock wall, I stumbled once again. I caught myself on the rock, scraping the bottom of my hands. Something came underneath my arm, helping support my weight.

"I've got you," Annabeth said in between her breaths.

"No, you go," I muttered, trying to pull away. Percy lifted my other arm over his shoulder.

"No, we are all getting out of here, alive. No one gets left behind," he finished.

They both helped me along, and I fought passing out. We trudged forward, Percy supporting some of my weight. Annabeth had moved a little ahead, looking for something.

She disappeared inside a crevice in the tunnel and poked her head back out.

"Addie, are we far enough away?"

I nodded my head. I could not even feel any tremors.

Percy pulled me into the cavern. The way to get in was narrow; Percy was barely able to squeeze through.

Annabeth was already going through my bag, looking for my nectar. She pulled out the bottle and handed it to me. I took a swig, and I started to feel more like myself.

"Is it working," she asked breathlessly.

I did not respond. I felt better, but I still felt bad. I closed my eyes and leaned against the rock.

"I need to seal us in, I-"

"No, Addie. You just saved our skins, again. Sit down, drink the damned nectar, and rest," Percy ordered.

"You saved me," I said to them. "We're even."

"Not even, close," Annabeth said. "We will watch out. Get some rest. I know how to get food and water. We will wake you up if we hear anything."

"Thank you," I whispered to them.

"Anytime. What are friends for?" She smiled at me.

I nodded my head weakly. I curled up against the rock and earth, using my good arm as a pillow. I closed my eyes, and my body finally gave in. Sleep overtook me, and I had never been more grateful for my friends.