Protecting Home: Forgotten Power, Part Two!

Chapter 9: The Neverseen - Hazel

A/n: I'm so sorry it took so long to update!!!! I've just been really busy and lost motivation to write. On the other hand this gave me time to come up with more ideas for what happens in this story, so I guess some good came out of the wait. Now, here's the chapter!

PoV: Hazel

When I regained consciousness, the first thing I noticed was the lack of metal, or rather, it's pull. My connection to metal was gone, and I could only describe it as strange. An ominous buzzing filled my head, like a fly was buzzing in my ear and wouldn't leave.

As I opened my eyes, I saw only Piper, Percy, and Frank awake. Frank sighed in relief when we made eye contact, and I smiled back before I realized where we were. Every demigod at Camp Half Blood was in the Mess Hall, and the tables had been moved into straight rows, with demigods tied to each one. While it seemed a bit simple, considering how strong most of us were, whatever was holding us in place wouldn't budge as I tried to break free.

That's when I decided to look around at my friends. Piper must've gotten her charmspeak to work at some point, because she had a gag in her mouth to keep her from talking. Frank had a few cuts on his arms and one down the side of his face, but they didn't seem too bad. Jason was still unconscious and had a bump forming in the back of his head; he must've hit something and it knocked him out, along with probably giving him a concussion. I couldn't see Nico or Dex anywhere, and I just had a few small scratches that were even insignificant compared to Frank's. Fitz was also still unconscious, and he just looked bruised.

The person who looked the worst was Percy. It wasn't any physical injury that looked so bad. It was his expression. He just looked... tired. Tired of everything. As if life had no meaning anymore. I knew he had missed Annabeth, and that they promised never to leave each other again, so losing this battle must've been hard on him.

As I sat there, the realization that Dex and Nico weren't there sink in, and, despite what was happening, it caused me to smile. I was still worried about Dex and if he'd woken up, but the fact that he wasn't here gave me hope that maybe they hadn't found him, or that Nico managed to get him out. Either way, he was safe for now.

I turned my head at the sound of footsteps approaching. As I saw the dark hood rising up from the stairs, a strange instinct told me I shouldn't act awake. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Frank slouch over, so I tried to force myself to relax as I closed my eyes.

I heard the footsteps walk on the pavilion floor come towards me before stopping near me. Trying to keep my breathing slow, I let him jerk my chin up as he inspected me before letting it drop. 

His footsteps stalked towards where Percy was sitting, "So, it's just you two still?" He asked. His voice sounded very similar to Fitz's, with a sharp, crisp accent.

 " I guess. Though, if you wanted us awake, maybe you shouldn't have knocked everybody out! "

I had to keep myself from cringing as I heard the sound of a hand hitting Percy's cheek hard. "You don't get to order us around. Maybe you were great to these people, but compared to us you deserve no more respect than a child."

" It was just a suggestion, " Percy grumbled, "Besides, why do you want them awake anyway?"

" Not all of them need to be. Just you, the curly haired girl, and Fitz. We don't care about anyone else. "

I felt someone's eyes land on me. Why I was important to the Neverseen's plans was unknown to me, but I had a feeling it had something to do with a certain child of Athena.

Percy must've come up with the same conclusion I had, because I heard him laugh, "You really think we know where they are? Annabeth doesn't tell me any of her plans when they're important! And Leo's just... well, Leo. How are we supposed to know? "