Chapter 9

Percy's pov

After dinner we all walked down to the campfire and as we sat it shot up. All through the campfire I kept looking at Emma. she seemed to be having fun, but I couldn't tell if her laughing was real or forced, it seemed real but you can't always tell with her. After the campfire I was walking to my cabin when the attack horn sounded. I grabbed Riptide and ran to Thalia's tree. I was the first one there, with Emma right behind me. When I got to the tree I was shocked at what I saw. There were thousands of monsters, but the most shocking of all was the fact that Tartarus, Kronos, Gaei, and Nyx were there. When Emma caught up to me I heard her gasp. "No no no not her please not her." Emma whispered as she took a few steps back. I looked at her and saw she was staring at Nyx. "Oh Emma nice to see you again." Nyx said with a devilish glint in her eye and a smirk on her face. As I looked back at Emma she said, "No not again please?!" but this time she said it a little louder. "Emma whats wrong?" I asked worried about her. She looked at me and whispered. "Missing me tortured her blackout." That was when realization dawned on me. Nyx had been the one that kidnapped her and she tortured her for some reason which caused her to have blackouts. I looked around at everybody they were all watching us with confused looks.Even the gods who had apparently showed up.That's when Emma screamed.

Emma's pov

After Luke said that we all ran out of the cabin. Apparently I'm the fastest and I was right behind Percy when we got there. I saw Her. It was Nyx. I gasped, this couldn't be happening not again."No no no not her please not her." I whispered as I took a few steps back. I knew Percy was watching me but I didn't care. All I could do was stare at Nyx. "Oh Emma nice to see you again." Nyx said to me. "No not again please?!" I said but this time a little louder. "Emma whats wrong?" Percy asked. I looked at him and whispered. "Missing, me, tortured, her, blackout." You could tell he had figured out what had happened and what I meant when realization dawned on his face. I looked around at everybody they were all watching us with confused looks.Even the gods who had apparently showed up. Just when me and Hecate made eye contact and her eyes went wide I got immense pain in my head. I screamed. There isn't much that makes me scream like that but this hurt so much worse than what Nyx did to me last time we met. Imagine someone stabbing a knife into each leg and each arm then stabbing you in the stomach and head all at once. Then imagine all that pain in one spot. Your head. Now times that by one million and you have the pain that I felt. After I screamed I had a blackout.

blackout

It was the same girl again and she was walking through what looked like a red pit. The girl looks older and tougher so I'm guessing it's been a couple years and this must be Tartarus. The girl was wearing what looked like a leather shirt that was the same color as the pit so she blended in. She was wearing long pants that looked like green scales, and red combat boots that looked like dragon hide. As she walked, an Empousai started to sneak up behind her. The girl slowed down and without turning around said, "Kelli are you really going to try to attack me again?" "Oh yes Shadow I will never stop." The Empousai answered. Without looking the girl or Shadow whipped around throwing a dagger at Kelli. The dagger struck its target and Kelli turned to dust. Shadow then turned back around and walked away as if nothing had happened, and I went into a dreamless sleep.

blackout over

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Will standing over me. "Twice in one day?" He said with a smile. "You know if you want to talk to me you can just walk in not go and hurt yourself." He said jokingly. "Yea i know but this is more fun." I said with a smirk. Throughout the day me and Will had become really good friends. "Anyways, how long was it out?" I asked. "Three days." He answered. "THREE DAYS!!?!" I screeched. "Yes and also I think you broke my eardrums." He said, "Oh I'll be right back Percy's been really worried about you so I have to go tell him you're awake." As he left I thought about my blackout. It was weird, it's like I'm all of a sudden following her life. Just then the door banged open and Percy came running through with Will right behind him. "I….. got ....him…." Will said in between breaths. "EMMA!!" Percy yelled. I got up and hugged him. As we pulled apart I felt another blackout coming and started to sway on my feet. I felt myself being pushed back down onto the bed. Then everything went black...Again...

Blackout

This time Shadow was a lot younger than the first time I saw her. She was running around in a park, laughing as a man watched her with a look of happiness. As I looked around more I saw Hecate. I realized that Hecate was the woman in the throne room. That means that Shadow is probably her daughter. As I watched the little version of Shadow she ran over to the man watching her. "Daddy it's my birthday!" "Yes it is pumpkin." Her dad said as he picked her up. 'Wow' I thought 'she's changed a lot since this little girl.'When he set her down on his lap he started tickling her. "Daddy….stop...it!!" Shadow said in between giggles. That's when a growl came from behind them and Shadow screamed.

Blackout over

"Emma Emma Em Come on wake up!!" I heard Percy say, "I am up Percy. Now stop nagging me." I said with a smirk as I opened my eyes. "EMMA!!" He yelled. "PERCY SHUT UP! You should know by now that I get headaches after my blackouts." I said. "Ok ok gheesh apparently your grumpy afterwards too." He mumbled when he said that I sat up and punched him. Hard. "OW!!" He shouts. I heard Will chuckle and turned around. "We need to stop talking like this." He says. "Like what?" I said faking ignorance. He just chuckled and gave me some ambrosia. I was sitting on the infirmary bed talking to Percy when I realized it was my birthday.

"Hey Perce guess what today is."

"What."

"Seriously my best friend doesn't even know when my birthday is?"

"Wait today's your birthday?" He said with a worried look. "Um yea?" I said but it came out sounding like a question. "Why do you look so worried?" "It-its nothing, I'll be right back. I need to find Nico." He said as he turned around. 'Nico me and him had become really close the few times i was awake here, and he is pretty cute… Ugh why am i thinking he's just a friend that's it i don't like him! Plus he would never like me! Right? That's when Percy walked back in with Nico. "Why am i here Percy?" Nico said, sounding a little annoyed. 'Am i really that annoying to hangout with?' "Yea Percy, why is he here." I huffed. A little annoyed.

Nico pov

After Emma collapsed i made sure she was okay and wasn't planning on leaving her side but Percy came in and he and Will forced me to go eat something and maybe train. So after i ate i checked in but she was still asleep so i went to the training area. I was training and slashing dummies when I heard someone coming up behind me. I whipped around and saw Frank. "Hey." He said. "Hey." I answered. "Want to train?" He asked. "Sure,'' "Ok." We were circling when Frank jumped forward and stabbed, I dodged and slashed at his chest. He ducked, rolled and jumped back up to his feet, then we circled again. I took the first move this time with a slash at his feet. He jumped but didn't expect me to follow it with a tripping trick I learned a few years ago. He fell and was about to yield when Percy came running in "Nico Emma's awake you have to come with me.!" He yelled. I looked at him, subconsciously lowering my sword. "Give me-" All of a sudden I was on the ground looking up at Frank's face. "Yield?" He asked. "Fine." I grumbled. He stuck out his hand to help me up and I took it. "Percyyyyy you made me lose!" I pouted as I walked over to him. He ruffled my hair. "Awww did wittle deathbreath lose a fight?" "Shut up." I grumbled as I smacked his hand away. "Anyway." he said, his smile fading. "I need you to come with me. I'll explain when we get there." "Ok." I said. We turned towards the infirmary and he yelled "race ya!" "You're on kelp face," I shouted, already sprinting. Somehow he caught up and we tied. We stood outside for a second to catch our breath. Percy walked in with me following him. "Why am i here Percy?" I said, still a little annoyed he made me lose my fight. "Yea Perce, why is he here." I Heard Emma huff. I looked up at her and she was glaring at me. Why is she glaring at me? She can be so scary although she is kinda cute..ah nico this is not why you're here. "Percy seriously why is he here?" Emma said "Well first off Em." Percy started, "He refused to leave your side until me and Will forced him to because he was really worried and I thought he should know you were awake." I could feel my cheeks flush a tiny bit as Emma looked at me with a surprised look. "Second." He continued as he turned to me, "It is her 18th birthday." And Emma collapsed.