-Percy-
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"JASON!" Piper screamed, running to him and throwing her arms around him. Jason held Piper to him, burying his face in her neck.
Hazel gave me a quick hug. She looked tired, but I saw the anxiety in her eyes.
"Where's Frank?" she whispered to me. "Is he okay?"
"In his room resting. He's fine Hazel."
She nodded her head and gave Nico's arm a quick squeeze. She whispered something to him, and then left to go see Frank.
"How did you get them back?"
"Nico, Addie, and I went to get them," Thalia said plainly. I looked around for Addie, but I didn't see her anywhere. Annabeth walked up beside me, leaning against the ship railing. Dorianna, Thalia's second, followed behind. They had been downstairs with Frank, but I assumed they had wanted to give Hazel and him a little privacy.
"I've got to go back, Addie's waiting for me," Nico explained. "We're going to try and find her brother."
"Wait a minute," Annabeth protested. "You mean to tell me that the three of you just waltzed into Gaia's army's camp, rescued two demigods, got out safely, and now you want to go back so you can find Addie's psycho brother!?"
Thalia and Nico looked at each other, and Nico just shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Annabeth proceeded to go into a rant. She started yelling about how dangerous it was, that they could have been killed or worse, and that it was stupid for them to go in so unprepared. Even Dorianna piped in to yell, explaining that Lady Artemis had forbidden Thalia from going. That started a whole other bout of yelling from Annabeth.
"Percy! Tell them how crazy they were!"
I just looked at Annabeth, and then back at Nico and Thalia.
"Why didn't you ask me to go?"
"Ugh!" Annabeth stormed back downstairs, and then Thalia fell over laughing.
"You know, normally she is yelling at me for doing something stupid," I reminded them. "Nico, want me to go with you?"
Nico shook his head, but he wouldn't meet my gaze. "I don't have the strength to shadow travel two. We won't be long, don't worry."
Nico left, and that made me anxious. I spent at least thirty minutes pacing the ship, hoping beyond all hope that they would come back safely. I knew Addie cared about her brother, but I hoped that didn't blind her.
"Percy, calm down."
Annabeth had finally come back up after stewing below deck. She had watched me pace in agitation, but her features finally softened. She came to stand in front of me. I stopped, and Annabeth wrapped her arms around my waist. I took a deep breath, pulling her against me and burying my face in her hair. We stayed that way for a few minutes, and my body finally relaxed.
"You know, you're really cute when you get all worried and stuff," she teased.
"I don't like being on this side of things. I prefer to do the reckless and stupid stuff myself."
"I know you do, but I'm glad that this time, you are safe here with me," she whispered as she pressed her lips to my cheek.
I pulled her down to sit beside me on the deck. We talked for a little bit, about pointless stuff, but it was nice. Like a calm in the storm. Thalia was quietly talking to Jason, Piper, and Dorianna, and she looked worried.
Footsteps echoed on the gangway, and Nico walked on the deck, a blank look on his face. We all turned to look at him. Thalia held a puzzled expression, her eyebrows pushed together in concern.
"Where's Addie?"
Nico just looked up, his expression never changing. It looked guarded, like he was still trying to figure out how he felt. The bad feeling in my stomach intensified.
"She wasn't there," he muttered quietly.
"What do you mean she wasn't there!?" I snapped. Annabeth's hand gripped my own in an attempt to comfort me.
Nico began to slowly pace in between the two groups, looking extremely agitated. He kept muttering random things in Italian under his breath.
"I looked for her, everywhere, but she wasn't in the tunnel. There was nothing out of the ordinary," he said in an exasperated tone. "No blood. There was no sign of a struggle."
It was silent for a moment, but you could feel the tension in the air. Although we hadn't known Addie very long, besides Thalia, we all counted her as one of us, even though sometimes she acted more like an immortal than a demigod. None of us wanted anything to happen to her, especially if she didn't have a choice about it.
"Maybe we are all getting worried over nothing. She could have received orders from one of the gods. She would have had to leave for that," Thalia reasoned.
"And she would just leave without telling any of us where she had to go?" I spat back. They all looked at me. Annabeth even narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, because if she left a note, there was a chance they might find it. It wouldn't have been smart because then they would have known someone was coming back," Annabeth patiently explained. "Not that any of you care about being smart," she mumbled. I chose to ignore the last comment.
"Oh."
"Look, Addie knows how to take care of herself, so I'm sure she is fine. She's been alive longer than any of us, and she's spent each one battling monsters. We'll just wait for Lady Artemis to return, and she will know. No point in worrying until there is something to worry about. It's late, so why don't we all get some sleep?"
Thalia sounded so confident, I just nodded my head. Maybe she was with another one of the gods. Maybe she was just off with Apollo. No matter how much I told myself she was fine, the bad feeling I had just wouldn't go away. After what Rachel had said and the prophecy, I was convinced Addie was in trouble. I decided to go to bed, hoping beyond all hope that my half-sister was okay.
The next morning, Addie had still not come back. I couldn't stand to look anyone in the eyes. I was going to talk to Thalia to see if she had heard anything. I didn't know if Artemis had come back or not, but maybe she had sent word or something. I walked through the woods, not really paying attention to my surroundings. I heard something move on the path up ahead of me, and I looked up in surprise. Apollo was striding purposefully towards me, but he was looking down at the ground mumbling something to himself. He looked up at the last minute to see me, a little startled.
"Percy! You haven't seen Addie have you?"
"No, no, I haven't seen her, not since yesterday," I muttered. "She's not with you?"
"No, she's not with me," he said in a guarded tone. "Why would you think that?"
"No reason, we just haven't seen her so we assumed she got called away to follow an order or something."
The color drained from my face. If Addie wasn't with them, did they capture her? Was she already dead? I had the sneaking suspicion Apollo would be in a far worse mood if she was. I kicked a few leaves on the ground, and I just kept my eyes on my feet. I could feel the heat of his gaze on me, and I knew I was toast.
"Why have you not seen her?"
"Um, I don't really know-"
"Jackson, I may like you, but remember that I am an Olympian. I don't tolerate being lied to," he said menacingly. "What did you do?"
Why did they always assume it was something that I did?
"I didn't do anything! This time, it has nothing to do with me! I got left!"
He simply narrowed his eyes at me, the irises dancing in golden light. I'd never seen Apollo angry, but I did now. An angry god is something I never want to be around.
"Left behind on what exactly?" he ground out through his teeth. I quickly explained what happened in hopes that the god of the sun wasn't going to blast me to smithereens.
"SHE WHAT!?"
Apollo grabbed my arm, dragging me to the Hunter's camp. He walked into a central tent, and I was kind of nervous for a moment. Artemis was sitting in a huge chair, Thalia speaking in front of her.
"Do you know?" he snapped at his sister. She looked almost bored at the moment.
"Hello, brother. Know what exactly?"
"That your head Hunter went with Addie and that damned son of Hades to rescue the demigods last night."
Artemis looked at Thalia, and I saw the same look of rage on her face she had when she had looked at Atlas. It was a little disconcerting, seeing as then she looked like a twelve-year-old then, where now she looked about sixteen. She looked more regal and menacing.
"I thought I told you not to go," Artemis said in an icy tone. "Addie had orders not to go with you. And yet you both defied them?"
The cold rage in her voice made me want to shimmy out of the tent. I took a step back, but Apollo gave me a look that made me freeze in place.
"Yes, I did, and technically, we didn't. I went with her and Nico, and we went after three demigods, not two. It was my brother, my Lady. Our siblings were in trouble, and we were not about to leave them in that state. Surely, you would be able to understand. I felt it was better to ask forgiveness than permission, and I'll take whatever punishment I have to. I saved my brother, so I do not regret my decision."
Thalia looked straight at Artemis with a calm determination in her eyes. Artemis's face was strangely blank. She snapped her fingers, and Nico appeared in front of us.
"I will deal with you later," she responded quietly. "This will not go unpunished, Thalia. Welcome, Son of Hades. Now where is Euadne?"
"She's not with one of the gods?" Thalia asked incredulously.
"She's missing, Artemis," Apollo said pointedly. Artemis's expression didn't change in the slightest, but I noticed that Apollo and she had a moment. Their eyes met, and I swore Artemis's eyes crinkled in worry for a split second.
"Explain everything."
Thalia told the story, going into a lot more detail than she did with us. Nico added in some details, and took over telling them about he went to look back for Addie.
"Nico, go back, look again for anything out of the ordinary," Artemis ordered. Nico nodded his head, melting back into the shadows. "Addie always comes when I summon her. Either she is under an order, or something is keeping her from it. Our father wanted her to stay here, to help with the demigods, so I doubt she is under any new orders from the council."
We all sat in silence for just a moment. Apollo moved over by his sister, sitting on the floor beside her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Artemis place her hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Minute after minute ticked by, each one seeming more slow and agonizing than the one before it. The others had gotten back right before midnight, so Addie had been missing close to twelve hours now.
"Umm, and just so you know," Thalia muttered. "They are planning on attack both the camps tomorrow. Jason found out while they were captured."
Artemis nodded her head, but Apollo's face was like a stone. A spark of anger ignited in me, and I turned towards Thalia.
"I'm just left in the dark about everything now?" I huffed indignantly. I didn't know about their rescue mission, and now this? We had to find a way to warn the camps.
"We already got word to both, so get your panties out of a wad, Jackson. The bulk of the Roman Army is at Camp Half-Blood, but Reyna said she had a plan."
"And you know Reyna how?"
"Through Jason, duh!"
I was about to snap back at Thalia, when I heard someone clear his throat from behind me.
Nico stepped into the tent, looking a little unsure.
"The opening we went through is blocked off now, about half way in, it's solid stone. I found something, but I'm not sure what it means."
He held up a tiny thing, something that almost looked like a dart. Apollo stood up and took the object from Nico. He smashed it open, a tiny amount of liquid appearing on his fingers. He put it to his lips tasting it. He looked confused for a second, and then realization hit him. He turned to Artemis, a blank look on his face.
"There's no way they could know, not unless that bastard told them," he muttered.
"What was in the dart, Apollo?" Artemis questioned.
"Essence of dreamshade," he said as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Dreamshade? But that…Oh, no."
Apollo looked at her, and he was no longer hiding how he felt. I saw the rage and fear.
"What about the dreamshade? It just makes you sleep without dreams, right? How would that hurt her?" Thalia reasoned.
Something clicked in my head at that moment. Annabeth would have been proud. Addie had a weakness, something that Ares used to render her helpless. What else could elicit such a look from Apollo?
"It hurts her. Dreamshade messes with her system, makes her sick. They have Addie, don't they?"
-Addie-
My head was pounding. It was hurting so bad that I was scared to open my eyes. My thoughts felt like they were dragging. Where was I? I couldn't remember. What was so cold around my wrists? Apollo and I were fighting, that's the last clear thing I remember happening…
"Has she come to yet?" a deep voice asked.
"No, not yet. It was a heavy dose. I don't know how it will affect her."
That voice sounded so familiar. Maybe I was just asleep in my bed? I blinked my eyes, trying to get a sense of where I was. I couldn't see anything clearly. It was like I was looking through water or beveled glass. Everything was distorted and blurry. My neck was sore, like I had got stung.
The memories came flooding back.
Someone knocked me out.
My wrists were in chains, and I was lying on the ground.
I couldn't feel a thing in the rock I laid on.
"Well, well! Seems sleeping beauty has finally decided to grace us with her presence," a deep voice boomed. Something flicked my chest, and I hit a rock wall. All my breath left me, and my eyes began watering. I started coughing, clutching at the pain in my chest. Something large, as big around as my leg, pinned me against the wall. I couldn't see detail, but I didn't need to see it to know that it was a giant.
I got captured.
"To Tartarus with you!" I choked out. He pressed harder against my chest, making me moan in pain.
"Not so big and bad when you can't do anything, huh?"
I shot him a glare, and he chuckled.
"We have orders to keep her alive," the familiar voice said again. It was my brother.
"Keep her alive so she can pay her debts!"
"Polybotes, I have an arrangement with the earth mother. She is not to be harmed!"
"Yet," Polybotes sneered. "She will pay for her insolence and for disrespecting the Earth Mother. She will make a beautiful sacrifice."
"Excuse me? That's not what we agreed to."
"Plans change, Son of Poseidon. She is a traitor and will be treated as such. Will you side against the Earth Mother as well?"
"I've made my allegiances quite clear," Ry sneered after a moment. The giant scoffed, and he removed his finger. I fell to the ground, coughing. I opened my eyes, my vision slightly clearer than it was before. Orion knelt beside me. He had a rag in his hand and began dapping at my forehead. His hands were shaking slightly, and I wondered why.
"Hang in there, Addie," he whispered so only I could hear. I met his eyes, but I was close to tears.
"You told them about the dreamshade."
Orion stopped, staring at me with an unfathomable gaze.
"Addie, I-"
"You hate me that much, brother? To condemn me to death?"
He didn't say anything. Ry kept dabbing at my forehead, wiping at something gently. My head was awfully tender, and I was trying to wrap it around everything that happened. I pushed him away, tears stinging my eyes.
"Addie, please!"
"Don't. Don't touch me."
"Addie, I'm not going to let anything-"
"Happen to me? It's too late for that, Orion."
I tried to push him away, but I was so weak. Orion grabbed my arms, keeping them pinned to my sides. I fought him, and he patiently held me to him.
"Let go!"
"Addie, why did you come back? Why were you waiting in that tunnel?"
"T-to…to save y-you," I croaked. "a-and"
What little I had tried to fight had already drained me so much that I couldn't even get the words out. He betrayed me, my own brother. He let go of me, tears of his own falling down his cheeks.
"Addie, I'm so sorry."
"Just go," I whispered tiredly. Orion stood, walking out of my stone prison. There would be better protection on it now, more security. A rescue mission like the last one wouldn't be an option.
I curled up in a ball on the stone floor, too tired and weak to think how I was going to get myself out of this mess.
A/N: Sorry its been a few days. Please don't hate me. It won't be nearly as long before I post the next chapter. I hate making you guys wait!
Poor Orion, and Poor Apollo...what do you think will happen?
Remember, if there is anything you would like to see, backstory, other scenes POVs, or if you have headcannons, I'd love to here them! Leave them in a review or PM me.
ALSO GET EXCITED! For those who read my Teen Olympians story and know of Mirelle's artwork, she is doing an Apollo/Addie commission for me! EEEKKK :D
Review please, and until next time! :)