Chapter 11

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You dashed through the forest, hoping to find that glimmer of golden blonde hair, bleached nearly white from all the time Will spent outside in the sunshine. Finally, you ran into him, guarding the flag just like the plan told him to. You ran up to him, panting heavily from your long sprint.

"______, what's wrong?" Will inquired, becoming more concerned by the second as he saw the desperation in your demeanor.

"Percy...huff...bitten...huff...basilisks!" You panted out. Will jumped back in surprise.

"B-Basilisks?!" Will exclaimed. "What are those things doing in Camp Half-Blood?!" You growled and grabbed his wrist, tugging him behind you.

"Where's Annabeth?" You asked as the two of you rushed through the forest towards the Big House.

"What? Who said my name?" You heard a familiar voice call out. You stiffened, then ran towards her, grabbing her wrist in your free hand.

"There's no time! We have to go to the infirmary, now. Nico's waiting there for us with Percy," you explained, running ahead.

"What's this about Percy?" Annabeth questioned, becoming increasingly frantic.

"Don't worry, I'll explain when we get there," you calmed her down. The three of you ran across camp to the Big House's infirmary.

There, Percy was sprawled out on a bed, Nico sitting beside him in a chair and looking...paler than usual. Like there was less substance to him. Will rushed over to Percy and began inspecting him immediately.

You took the chance to place a hand gently on your half-sister's shoulder and tug her out of the room. The way her stormy gray eyes were fixated on Percy's unmoving, pallid form worried you. You gently pulled her out into the hallway and shut the door behind you.

"______, I need you to tell me what's going on," Annabeth pleaded. You nodded.

"When I was by the river, Nico, Percy, and I were cornered by basilisks and Percy got scratched by one," you explained frantically. She shushed you slightly.

"How many basilisks?" She asked.

"Three," you replied nervously. You were expecting her to launch into some diatribe about putting yourself in danger  or letting her boyfriend get hurt.

Instead, she pulled you into a hug.

Her hug was tight and warm, arms circling around you like a sister trying to protect you. You could feel her body shaking, hear her tiny sobs. You knew she hated looking weak; you squeezed her gently anyway and patted her back soothingly.

"I'm glad you and Nico are safe," she whispered. Suddenly, you heard a whoosh in the room beside you, and you opened the door to the room to see four teenaged boys standing where there were only three teenaged boys a moment before.

"Now you know this means we're even, right?" A deeper voice than you expected echoed from the one you didn't recognize. He looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, with unruly golden hair and wore shades; he had on one of those sleeveless tops that showed he had a golden tan.

"There's nothing better you could do for me than saving one of my friends," Will said, looking at the slightly taller man. "Thank you."

With that, the man whooshed out of the room again as quickly as he had come.

"W-What was that?" You stuttered. Will rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"My father."

You felt your mouth drop open. "That guy was your dad?!"

Will laughed. "He owed me a favor, so I called upon him to heal Percy." You let out a breath of air you hadn't even realized you'd been holding, but sucked it right back in when Will spoke again. "But he couldn't heal him completely, he just slowed down its effects," Will clarified. "There's a special cure we need to heal Percy."

"Yeah?" You responded. "Well then, let's go get it!"

"Hold on there! You don't even know what you're signing up for!" Will protested, waving his arms around. "You're brand new to this stuff, you'd be in serious danger."

You only smirked. "Percy's my friend," you said confidently, "and I'm not going to leave him to die. Now, where is this 'miracle cure'?"

"That's the problem," Will ran his long fingers through his golden hair. "It's--"

"It's in the Underworld," the dark corner of the room spoke; Nico hadn't said a word since you'd arrived. Now that he had spoken, you could tell from his voice he was exhausted. You looked from Nico to Will, and then back at Percy. His eyes were closed and his skin was pale, paler than you'd ever seen it. "So I'm going to go get it alone."

"You what?" you protested. Nico looked up from where he had been scowling at the floor and stared you in the eye, dark eyes piercing into yours and making you feel tiny.

"My father is the ruler of the Underworld, why shouldn't I go?" Nico spat. "Besides, it's my fault Percy got hurt. I need to fix that." With those words, Nico rose from his chair and walked towards the door. As he passed you, you grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, effectively stopping Nico in his tracks. You were surprised that he actually stopped; you had thought you weren't strong enough. But Nico was tired, you remembered. 

"By your logic, I have to go too," you argued. "And..." you trailed off, not wanting to say what came next. 

"'And' what?" Nico asked.

"And," you said, lowering your voice so that only he could hear, "I can tell you need rest. You can't do this by yourself, Nico." You looked him in the eye again. "Let me help you."

Neither of you moved for a moment. Then, the silence was broken as Nico tugged his arm away from your grasp, and kept walking out of the room. 

"Annabeth," you heard Will ask, "do you think he's--"

"Yeah," Annabeth gulped. "I think he is." You had forgotten that the two were still in the room.

"What's going on?" you asked. "Where's he going?" Annabeth's solemn gray gaze met yours.

She took a shaking breath before saying, "Nico's going to see the Oracle."


...and so the adventure begins! I actually typed this up in two days. I'm going to start updating way faster because all of my books on my main account are finished and I actually have a schedule now.

Here's your fun fact for the chapter: On May 3rd, 2016, The Hidden Oracle is slated to be released! The story features a now-mortal Apollo stuck in the human realm, who must seek the help of the demigods of Camp Half-Blood. Find out more on the wiki article here: http://riordan.wikia.com/wiki/The_Hidden_Oracle . Personally, I'm looking forward to it ;) 

See you guys next time!!



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