I'm sorry, I had to, it was killing me to leave a cliffhanger, though I really wanted to post up the next one. So I'll do a favor and post the next couple up today to make up for it. Thanks for the reviews!
-Sadie Kane-
Watching Thessaly was the general goal of this group. This didn't make sense to me as we kept hold in the square. "What are we doing here again?" Sean asked.
"Keeping post in the city, make sure nothing suddenly shows up here," Annabeth explained.
And I highly doubt anything was going to attack the city if they were purely focused on this silly mountain. I relaxed against a pillar and pulled a pack of gum out. I then proceeded to exchange gum to those who wanted it before pulling a stick out myself and chewing my frustration out on it.
"Sadie?" A familiar voice started.
I peered to my right to see Amos giving me a confused look as he quickly approached. I suddenly found myself in a hug, which I gave back before he pulled back to peer at me. "What are you doing out here?" He asked.
"Never mind that, what are you doing out here?" I asked now as Alyssa shot me a worried look.
"I managed to escape and found myself here," he explained. "I've been trying to track down Carter for some time as well. No luck yet."
"Carter escaped too?" Hope rushed through me now.
Amos frowned quickly, "No, he was brought up with an escort."
"Uh, Sadie?" Alyssa finally spoke up.
Amos took in everyone else finally. "I see you brought the gang with you, where are the others?"
"Sadie," Annabeth quickly stopped me, "how sure are you that is your uncle?"
My eyes narrowed to her words as Amos grinned. "How else would I have found all of you?" Amos pointed out.
Alyssa's eyes narrowed. "Gaia sent him," she snarled.
I pulled my staff out towards everyone else pulling theirs to attack Amos. "What is wrong with you people?" I snapped.
Alyssa slammed her staff to the ground, which I watched Amos suddenly freeze and then crumble to dirt. "Shabti," she informed as I took in that detail myself.
"It looked just like him," I cried.
"Yeah, how did you two know?" Nico asked.
"I can sense shabtis," Alyssa confirmed.
"He wasn't acting like the Amos I've seen," Annabeth clarified.
Almost on cue, an army of Amos' suddenly surrounded us in the square. "Oh great, it's never going to end!" Leo complained immediately.
"Fake!" Alyssa screamed repeatedly to the crowd of wannabe Amos' trying to be our friend.
I never really imagined that the power of Geb would become this useful, but I am certainly glad we have her with us. Otherwise I would be falling for every single shabti that claimed to be him. Which is honestly pathetic of me to admit, but it's the awful truth.
So when Set showed his ugly face, I immediately threw the ha-di spell at him. "Hey now, I know we're not on good terms, but stop threatening and I think we can live through the day," he snapped.
"Sorry, you just look like the shabtis," I explained as the rest of the group continued to fight them off.
"That's weird," he observed. "Then fair warning, Amos is approaching."
"You mean real Amos or the shabtis?" I asked.
"The real one, why would I care about these guys?" Set snarled.
"Okay, then have him use chaos so we can spot him easier," I continued.
"That would be great, except my connection is still severed. Also, he's not acting like his usual self," Set confirmed.
"Uh, what?" Julian started in surprise.
"Do I have to spell it out for all of you?" Set growled. "Amos is approaching in a foul mood and I can't tell you why."
On cue, Alyssa screamed out the word, "Real! That's the real Amos over there!"
And sure enough, he didn't seem all too pleased himself as he walked amongst the melting shabtis. "Hey Amos," I started warily to see if I could earn a response.
"Sadie Kane," a weird echoed voice left his lips that now held a wide grin.
His eyes were not the familiar twinkling brown set that Brooklyn House knew too well. Instead, they were a bright golden hue that was obviously not normal for anyone. "Well, that makes a little more sense," Set whispered.
I prepared for a fight, something I still struggled against myself mentally. "You're not my uncle," I started coldly. "What are you to think it's funny to even consider possessing him?" I snarled, staff ready with my wand.
"You must come with me or fight your uncle," it continued.
"Awe, that's a lot of fun you can't pass up!" Set informed me quickly, as if his opinion even mattered.
"Set, how about offering helpful advice?" I snarled.
He cleared his throat as Amos readied his staff, "Fight him until one of you tire."
With my luck, it would be me. Besides, there is a reason why Amos is the most powerful magician and I only rank third. "Well, don't get all upset, I'll help a little," Set continued, a reassuring tone that I was used to Amos having.
Annabeth had her eyes fixed on his, as he remained oblivious to everyone but me. "Sadie, it's an Eidolon!" She yelled out as he threw his staff, transforming into a snake before me.
Set rolled his eyes, grabbed it by the head casually, and threw it a few yards away. "I'm getting royally sick of snake staffs," Set growled at Amos.
Amos' grin became large in seconds. A large funnel stood between Amos and Set now, which Set's eyes narrowed to the magic before him. "Do something; it's going to burn him out quick if this keeps up," he announced as he killed the funnel with a wave of his hand.
"The one thing you fear," the voice laughed. "You won't find another host that understands you as well as Kane, will you? And he knows it just as much as you do."
Set's eyes narrowed, "You read his thoughts?"
"All of it, just like you do," it confirmed. "Except, I'm the one thing keeping you on a timer in this world."
"You little fucker!" He formed a small whirl of wind that knocked Amos into a stone pillar.
"Hey," I scolded, "that's my uncle!"
"No, keep it up!" Annabeth encouraged. "The only way to get rid of him is to knock him out."
Set grimaced for a second as he took in how Amos peered back at him. "Everyone, stand back," he instructed now. "I have a different way of going about this; just hate having to do it."
"Do what?" Jaz demanded.
"I'm forcing myself in," Set explained. "Might cause some mental problems for Amos, but what's new?"
I wanted to protest further injury, but Set probably had the right idea. This foreign monster is going to burn him inside out if it keeps up and I did not like the idea of slamming him into things to 'knock him out'. Moreover, Amos already endured a list of mental problems thanks to Set alone.
Set nodded as if he understood my conflicted expression and suddenly transformed into red mist, and seeped into Amos. In seconds, my uncle was on his knees, clawing at his throat and thrashing around as if fighting himself. I held the group back as they showed signs of wanting to help the Chief Lector.
A minute passed when he suddenly slackened, the tension quickly vanished from him as the gold light disappeared into the air. His familiar brown eyes scanned the square as he hands collapsed to the concrete. "Amos?" I asked.
He peered at me and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. My eyes worried as the red mist formed back into Set beside Amos. "He needs some assistance, Jazz," Set informed, "the Mud Goddess muted him."
"It's Jaz, with one Z," she corrected before approaching Amos, taking a knee to let her hand hover over his forehead.
Then she pointed her index and middle finger to his neck and spoke 'regurgitate'. In compliance, Amos suddenly heaved up mud in a vicious manner. Set placed his right hand on Jaz's head. "You are good," he praised before disappearing.
Amos groaned once he managed to relax, arms trembling from the heaving session a few seconds ago. "For once, I'm glad to hear your voice," he grumbled, probably meant towards Set.
Jaz stood up and let me kneel before my uncle, which I attacked him with a hug as I let tears roll down my face. He was alarmed at first, but relaxed once he took in that it was me. "Hey, it's okay," he tried to sooth, but his words didn't seem to mean much to me at the current moment.
I took a deep breath and let go of him. He lifted my chin up to gain eye contact, which he handed me the warm smile he always gave us. "As long as you're okay, I'm okay. Understand?"
I gave him a confused look now, which I suddenly remembered why he was missing for so long. "Amos, what happened?" Julian asked before I did.
His smile slipped away now as his eyes drifted into his thoughts for a few seconds. He then stood up and brushed dust off his crimson suit. Then offered me a hand to stand as well. "Where are the others?" He asked now. "And, uh, where are we?"
"Thessaly is where we are. The others are going towards Mount Olympus," Nico replied quickly.
Amos' expression hardened, "We need to catch up to them."
"Uh, you're forgetting something," Sean stopped him quickly.
"Is it really that easy?" Set's voice roared through Amos, who quickly clamped his hands on his mouth out of alarm.
"Set, you shouldn't be talking through Amos like that," I snarled. "And what is he talking about?" I turned to Amos as he let his hands go back to his sides.
Amos hesitated as he took all of us in, "Have you been keeping contact with Isis?"
"Every now and then, but not a lot. Now that I think about it, she hasn't been as annoying as she usual gets-" I admitted.
"It's because she is being conflicted with the other two," he quickly explained. "Isis is pretty important in this situation, despite the many choice words Set is firing off as we speak. In other words, we need you if there is any hope of overcoming this."
"Amos, when do you guys not need me?" I pointed out.
He placed his right hand on my head, just as Set had to Jaz only a minute ago. "If there's something I learned from the many years of causing havoc, it's that you should always have a woman nearby," Amos continued. "Now, we need to catch up to the others. Carter is heading their way."
My eyes widened as he removed his hand. "Wait, what?" I spoke through my alarm.
Amos frowned now, "It is as I said, I do try to speak with a one-sided tongue Sadie. She's wanted to stir a war, and she might even get that if we don't hurry up."
