A/N: So please don't hate me, I'm sorry I didn't get this posted until today! I was kind of in a rush.

More at the end!

-Percy-

When I woke up the next morning, anticipation hung thick in the air. We were all ready for this, whatever it may be. Everyone hoped that we would find the books, and that they would have answers on how we were going to defeat Gaia.

We had arrived at Delfi the night before, and Leo had found the runes and a museum dedicated to the temple of Apollo and the one that housed the oracle using the Archimedes sphere. Addie cast a spell to verify, and we had taken rotations between sleeping and watching.

The biggest worry we all had was that it had been way too quiet since we left the House of Hades. Other than the dreams and the drakon, there were no monster attacks whatsoever. Being a demigod, when things are too good to be true, that's because they usually are. The lack of monsters had us more on edge than if we had been fighting monsters the whole entire time.

We had just walked into the museum, and thanks to Hazel and Addie, the security guard let us right through the metal detectors. Addie spoke to him charmingly in Greek, to which he replied with a lot of enthusiasm. It seemed Greek security guards loved when tourists took the time to know the language well.

We walked into the section dealing with the history of the Oracle. We were all armed with some form of weapon, and we were all wearing the armor that we had brought. Hedge was back at the ship, guarding it with the new security system.

"So… what now?" I asked.

"Well, the mortals think they have found the runes, but the real stuff is always underneath what they find. If I had to guess, the Sibylline books will most likely be guarded at Apollo's temple," Addie said pointedly.

"Really now?" I teased her. Addie glared at me, and I tried to stop myself from smiling.

"I don't think he would let something that important sit around in the open, if it does exist. It will be in the shrine, which is below the temple. Only the priests and oracle could enter there. "

"There's a tunnel running in that direction underneath us," Hazel said. "The entrance is….. over there," she said pointing to a statue. I think it was a depiction of the Oracle. Leo walked over to it, running his hands over it.

"I don't see a latch or button or anything."

"Allow me," Addie said happily. The statue lifted up and over, but nothing was there.

"Uh, are we supposed to see something?" Jason asked.

"You don't see it?" Addie replied. I didn't see a thing. Jason shook his head, glancing around at the others. They all seemed just as stumped as we were. Hazel however, looked at the floor wonderingly. She looked at Addie, who gestured at her and then the floor. "Why don't you show them, Hazel?"

Hazel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. One minute, the floor was just smooth marble, and the next a trap door appeared.

"How in the world?" Frank asked, amazement on his face.

"Mist," Hazel replied simply.

I knelt at the door, and pulled up the iron ring that was attached to it. I lifted it, but only a tiny crack showed from my efforts.

"Little help guys?" I grunted. Frank and Jason grabbed the door, and together, we managed to get it open. There was a ladder that led down into the darkness, but I couldn't tell how far down it went.

"Umm, who's first?" Leo asked uncertainly.

Nico rolled his eyes and began the dissention. The rest followed, leaving Addie and me as the last ones.

I stepped down on the rungs and looked up at her. Addie seemed distant, her face strangely blank.

"You coming?"

She nodded her head, joining me on the ladder as we descended down into the darkness.

Once we got to the bottom, Hazel led the way. She knew exactly where to turn and which tunnels to avoid.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Jason asked. "I know the books, but what will they look like? How will we know if we find them?"

"I don't know. This is kind of a wild hunch. We had no idea when we came to look, and that was a very long time ago. From experience, if we find it, we'll know it. Powerful objects like that give off a powerful aura, unless it's masked somehow," she added sheepishly.

"I thought you were supposed to be knowledgeable about this stuff," Nico snapped at her.

"I'm still a demigod, di Angelo, and they try to keep me in the dark just as much as you guys. If I find out too much, they can always make me forget," she finished bitterly.

Nico started mumbling incoherently, and I felt the ground shake around me. I looked at Addie. She looked stern, and her eyes were narrowed in Nico's direction. I placed my hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She looked back at me, and her face fell.

"Sorry," she mouthed.

"Are you okay? You seem on edge."

"I'm fine," she muttered.

After walking for what felt like forever, we came to a stone archway. On it were some words inscribed in Greek: τὸ πεπρωμένον φυγεῖν ἀδύνατον.

"It's impossible to escape from what is destined," Addie translated quietly.

"That's appropriate," Annabeth whispered.

"I think we are under the temple now," Hazel stated.

Addie walked through the archway, and we all followed. It was an empty room, with columns surrounding it about every five feet on all sides. On the opposite side where we had walked in was another archway, around twenty feet across. In the middle stood a statue of what I assumed was Apollo. Parts of it had withered away, but other than that, the place looked like it was in good condition.

"Let's spread out, and see if we find anything," Annabeth proposed. We all nodded our heads, branching off into different directions. Addie stayed where she was looking at the statue. The look on her face was unreadable. She shook her head, wandering off in another direction.

We looked for over an hour, probably closer to two. We can up with nothing. I mean, not even a crack in the marble. I had wondered closer to Addie, who was leaning against a column, looking at the statue.

"It looks nothing like him," she whispered. "They never look anything like them."

I came to stand beside her. "You didn't happen to ask him if it existed and where it was at, did you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I didn't. He wouldn't tell me anyways, even if I asked. They know what we are trying to do. If they thought we needed a hint, they would have given us one."

"Which means they think we can do it on our own?"

Addie nodded her head, a puzzled look on her face. Her hand went up to her forehead, rubbing it just above her eyebrows.

"Are you being summoned?" Annabeth asked. She had walked up from behind us with Piper.

"No," she said distractedly. "Has anyone checked the statue?"

I walked forward, looking at the statue. Hazel and Jason walked with me, and we began examining it. After about five minutes, I heard Hazel inhale sharply.

"There's something here," she said excitedly.

At the base of the statue, right below Apollo's feet, was the symbol of the sun, with a large snake intertwined with it. I touched it, and a surge of something strange and powerful rocked through me.

"You felt it too, right?" Hazel asked. I nodded my head, excited for the first time.

"Hey, guys," I called out. Everyone ventured over. I explained what we found, and Nico looked impressed.

"I've seen my dad do something like this before. It's a mark of the seal of magic. There is something hidden there, something Apollo did not want found," he explained.

"Any ideas on how to get it open?" Jason questioned.

"Each one is different, so no, not really."

At that moment, Addie fell to her knees, her hands clasped around her head. A chill spread itself throughout the air. I could see my breath, and the others looked around as Addie's feeble cries filled the room. I rushed to her, and put a hand on her back. Leo's hand erupted into flames, and everyone drew their weapons. We formed a defensive circle, ready for anything. Addie was trying to be quiet. She had bitten her lip so hard blood was trickling down it.

"Khione again?" Piper said.

"No, I don't think so," Leo muttered. A rumble echoed throughout the shrine, a few cracks appearing in the marble.

Little demigods, you are in my center. How foolish of you to seek answers at one of my strongest domains.

Dust flew up from around the shrine, condensing into a corporal form. It was Gaia. She was wearing the same cloak, but this time, her smile was a lot less sleepy and way more evil. Her lips were not moving, but her voice still echoed inside of my mind. Addie's body was shaking, her muscles straining against herself. She fell against me, and I tried to comfort her.

You will not have the help of the child of the earth. I have other plans for her. Let's see if you can defeat my child. He is not very fond of the God of Prophecies, as you will quickly learn.

She disappeared, the dust basting out into our faces. Addie was taking deep breaths, trying to control her sobs. I could feel her tears soaking my arm. A roar echoed throughout the temple, and the thud of something very large reverberated in the room.

"Addie, you've got to move," I said as I picked her up. She just shook her head, muttering to herself.

"It's my entire fault, I did this," she wept. "It hurts, please, I'll do…just don't…. hurt..." Her eyes were wild, like she was in another world. Another roar sounded, and we all looked at the end opposite of where we came in. A dragon slithered in, larger than the drakon that had attacked us. It was a covered in scales in shades of red and green, and its eyes were a sinister red. Its wings were pressed against its back, flames darting out of its mouth.

"Is that what I think it is?" Leo asked shakily.

"That's Python," Annabeth breathed.

I felt Addie's weight leave me. Piper pulled Addie's arm around her shoulders, helping support her weight. Python blew flames in our direction, but Leo ran forward, parting the flames around us. Jason and Frank followed, along with Hazel, Nico, and Annabeth who were moving to flank the beast.

"I've got her, Percy," Piper assured me. "Go, they need your help!"

Piper began to drag Addie backwards into the alcove at the side of the shrine behind the columns. I darted forward and began fighting the beast with the others. Python snapped at Leo, who shot flames in its face. Jason slashed down with his gladius, nicking the beast in the wing. We all worked together like a flawless machine. Jason used his wind to part the flames as I slashed at Python's claws. Leo kept the flames from destroying everyone, occasionally using them against the beast. Frank slashed and hacked, along with the others, but Python was a formidable foe. The more we attacked it, the angrier it got.

"How are we suppose to kill this thing!?" I yelled.

"It has to be harmed in sunlight!" Annabeth cried. "Apollo killed it with his arrows! They are made from sunlight!"

I turned to Hazel, who gave me a quick nod. She ran over to Nico, and I hoped they together they could figure out some way to get some sunlight into this place.

I felt rocks and dirt rain down on top of me. A hole the size of a manhole in New York City opened up above us. Light shone down, just behind Apollo's statue. Nico stood above the hole, and he shadowed traveled back down to Hazel.

"We've got a problem," he yelled jumping back into battle.

"Tell me something I don't know," Frank yelled back, as he parried Python's fangs. Leo used the flames to back Python into the statue, as soon as the sunlight hit it, Annabeth screamed.

"Now!"

We all gave one last flurry of blows, and I sunk Riptide to the hilt in the dragon's side. It gave one last feral roar, and it began disintegrating into ashes. A little of green tinted blood had spilt on the statue. As soon as the blood hit the sun insignia, the sound of stone grinding filled the temple. A pedestal was rising in front of Apollo's statue right in the middle of the front half of the room. There was a book the exact same size as my history book lying on top of it. It had what looked like a real gold cover, an ancient language etched into the metal.

"The Sibylline books," Annabeth breathed. She walked forward, taking the book in her hands. We all stood around her, looking at it in awe. The blood of Python had released the seal. We had gods knows how many prophecies in our hands.

We had some hope. Nico cleared his throat, and we all looked towards him.

"That army we have been missing?" Nico said breathlessly. "It's here."

"Time for reading later," I advised Annabeth. "Back to the ship before we get run over by monsters."

"Where's Addie and Pipes?" Jason asked worriedly.

We ran over to the alcove, where Piper had dragged Addie. Piper was lying on the floor, Katoptris lying beside her. Jason ran to her side and picked her up. He checked for a pulse and then sighed in relief.

"Pipes! Piper, what happened?" he said as he gently shook her awake. Piper groaned, a hand flashing to her side. Hazel quickly knelt beside her.

"Nectar! We need some nectar!"

Annabeth pulled a vile from the bag Addie gave her and handed it to Hazel. Hazel put it to Piper's lips. I looked around for Addie, my desperation getting the best of me. I ran around the temple, but there was no sign of her.

I will rise, and it will be your doing.

Gaia words were on repeat in my head. What did she want with Addie? Did she finally get the demigod she needed?

By the time I made it back around, Piper was waking up. Annabeth knelt beside her as Piper's eyes finally focused on us.

"Piper, are you okay?" Jason demanded. Piper nodded her head and took a deep breath. A panicked look crept on her face.

"He took her."

-Addie-

The minute the pain hit my head, I wanted to scream. It wasn't the worst thing I had ever felt, but it was the most crippling. Visions swam before me, blocking everything else out. I was on that field again, kneeling before Mars and the other gods, right before I was cursed. There forms were flickering back and forth so fast, and I experienced every emotion all over again. But this time, it was worse. The shock was not there to help numb the pain. Everything was as fresh and real as they day it happened and the worst part was that I knew what was going to happen.

You couldn't come to me before, even if you had wanted to, the female voice said sadly. Gaia, this voice had to be Gaia. You paid the ultimate sacrifice, child, and now, I will help you achieve your revenge. You deserve greatness. You deserve to rule. My servant will tell you the truth. He has come back for you, to avenge you and the others.

Something covered my mouth, and I felt myself sink into blackness. I had no idea how long I was out; I was just thankful the visions were not swimming in my head any more. As I was coming to, someone set me down against something hard. My hands reached behind me, meeting a stone column. I coughed, my chest feeling unnaturally heavy. An unfamiliar smell and taste was in my nose and mouth, like they had been numbed.

A hand reached for my face caressing it gently. Lips touched my forehead, and I felt this person rest theirs against my own. Our noses touched, and the hands gripped my neck.

"I've got you, Addie. You won't have to worry about them again," a male voice stated.

It was the same familiar voice I heard in my dream. I almost had forgotten what it sounded like.

I blinked open my eyes, but the world swam in front of me. The figure in front of me was blurred, but I noticed one feature the stood out among the haze: a pair of bright blue-green eyes. The same exact eyes as my own.

My vision started to clear, and I saw the boy. He was just as I remembered him. He had the same wavy brown hair that hung across his forehead. A scar, one from Mars, ran from his forehead down his temple. He had that same smile, the one that had always put me at ease. His eyes sparkled at me, nothing but concern and love in them.

He was my other half and one of my best friends.

And he was supposed to be dead.

"Orion?" I whispered.

So...what did you guys think? Any theories on what is about to happen?! Anybody freaking out?

Thank you to the guest who reviewed and to everyone else if I didn't PM you! Also to the new follows and favorites. You guys rock, and thank you for reading my story! I'm over 10,000 views, which blows my mind. If you feel embarrassed/uncomfortable leaving a review, feel free to pm me or get with me on my Tumblr (link is on my profile). If I can improve or I'm doing something you like, let me know!

I may not be able to update for a day or so. My finals are this week, so I hate to leave you guys hanging. I know I did.

Muahahaha.

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