Chapter Ten: Nowhere To Hide

June 19th 2011 - 4 days before the Feast of Fortuna, 0200 hrs, Amazon Headquarters - Seattle, Washington, United States - Percy Jackson

It was dead silent in the middle of the night.

Percy glanced outside the cell and saw only one guard standing in the dark hallway, lit up by the faint flames of a handful of torches.

The sole guard was leaning on the wall, her eyes closed as if sleeping. The rest of the guards would be staying in the guardhouse a few meters away, right outside the dungeon's only exit.

The silence of the night was shattered by the whipping sound of arrows piercing through the air, burying themselves into the unsuspecting Amazon guards. Arrow after arrow struck soundlessly, killing the guards in their sleep. A guard's eyes snapped open, an arrow plunging into her beating heart as she reached for a spear.

None of the guards wore their body armor, their weapons discarded on the ground as they wandered in the land of Hypnos, and they never returned.

Percy uncapped Anaklusmos, the legendary Celestial Bronze blade shimmered a vivid glint that lit up the dark cell.

"It's time," He whispered.

Zoë and Hylla wordlessly stood behind Percy, their eyes staring outside the cell, hoping to catch a glimpse of their rescuers. They were not disappointed.

Kinzie approached the cell from across the dark hallway, her facial expression visibly tense. She held an Imperial Gold spear in one hand and removed a torch from the dark walls with her spare hand. The faint flames of torches beamed onto Percy's face, making the demigod to temporarily squeeze him eyes shut, adjusting the sudden brightness after hours of darkness in the dungeon.

Behind him, Hylla led out a loud sigh of relief.

"It's good to see you again," Kinzie smiled at the former Amazon Queen, removing the keys from her belt and screwing open the locked cell door, before her eyes landed on Percy, "Do we have to bring him with us?"

"How are our numbers?" Hylla inquired as she stepped outside the cell, promptly ignoring Kinzie's last question catching the blunt end of a spear from one of the warriors trailing her.

"I only reached out to two dozens warriors I trusted completely," Kinzie said, "Otrera has eyes and ears everywhere."

Hylla nodded at her sternly but gratefully.

"You got one of those for me?" Zoë raised an eyebrow at Kinzie's spear.

"Zoë Nightshade," Kinzie turned to her, "Never thought I'd see you again, though I remember you weren't very impressed with our weapons the last time you were here."

"A good warrior makes do with whatever they have," Zoë replied.

"Hold this, will you?" Kinzie said, thrusting the torch she was holding at Zoë without a reply, then reached for her belt again and pulled out gleaming Celestial Bronze dagger.

"Where did you get this?" Zoë weighed the perfectly balanced dagger with her hands. The dagger looked very familiar, but the huntress couldn't remember where she'd seen it. Percy's eyes narrowed at it for a brief second but quickly looked away.

"You know what they say," Kinzie shrugged, "Weird things wash up at Florida all the time."

"And here," Kinzie turned to Percy, acknowledging the son of Vesta for the first time, "You probably want your things back, I volunteered to 'lock' them away. Baseball cap, necklace, ring, and watch, you carry a lot of toys."

Percy ignored Kinzie's comment and gave Zoë the silver necklace, which was a gift from Artemis that actually turns into a bow by pulling the bow charm. He tugged his baseball cap away, put on his ring and watch, and quickly muttered his thanks to Kinzie. He'd hate to imagine what would happen if all these dangerous items fell into Terra's hands.

"Let's go," Hylla ordered, Percy caught at least a glimpse of the formidable warrior the former Amazon Queen was now that she was replenished with some much-needed Nectar and Ambrosia, and held a weapon between her hands. The Amazons still loyal to Hylla fell into battle formation behind their queen and marched across the narrow hallway quickly. Percy gave the dungeon a last, distasteful glance, while Zoë walked out without turning her head back.

June 19th 2011 - 4 days before the Feast of Fortuna, 1045 hrs, Crawford, Nebraska, United States - Thalia Grace

Someone once said all dreams come true. That someone must have forgotten that nightmares are dreams too. Or maybe he didn't, maybe that's what he meant. Your worst nightmares will come true just like your most glorious dreams.

That's how Thalia found herself watching a horror film through a strange, slow motion filter. She was frozen. She could not move, she could not make a sound, she was frozen in time. And it wasn't until Piper had screamed so loudly, that she realized it wasn't a horror film she was watching, it was a horror film she was living.

It was like Celyn never existed. This place, this cursed land, whatever it is, it wiped her out, it consumed her soul.

A few of her hunters had tears in their eyes as they were comforted by their sisters, while Phoebe, the most senior member of the hunt, just blankly stared at the spot where Celyn stood moments ago, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It's not possible," Phoebe's numb voice barely came out as a whisper, and Thalia almost missed it.

"What's not possible?" Thalia asked, looking at her lieutenant sharply, "Do you know what just happened?"

Phoebe nodded slowly, fighting back sobs. Judging from her pale expression, it was as if they were already dead.

"During the very first days of the hunt," She began, "Lady Artemis once spoke of a place that even she feared - a purgatory that exists somewhere between different dimensions where time and space cease to have any meaning. She thinks it was created when the Titans destroyed Ouranus, but not even the Gods know for sure."

"What does that even mean?" Piper jumped in while Thalia digested what Phoebe just told her.

"Isn't that obvious?" A grim voice came from behind her, and only the does Thalia remember her brother's presence. Thalia searched her brother's face and found just one thing - despair, utter and complete despair, "It means we are all dead."

"We need to know more," Thalia said, trying to not let her brother's pessimism get to her, "What else has Lady Artemis told you?"

"She wouldn't speak of it any further," Phoebe shook her head, her voice still shaken.

"How the Hades are we getting out of this one?"

June 19th 2011 - 5 days before the Feast of Fortuna, 1930 hrs, Seattle, Washington, United States - Hazel Levesque

"How are we getting out of the city?" Hazel asked glancing across the car at the man behind the steering wheel.

"That's the billion-dollar question, isn't it?" John replied, "Every pair of eyes in the mortal world is looking for you. This whole city is locked down, SWATs and Amazons have set up checkpoints at every exit, the National Guard is patrolling every road, every airfield and every port and uniforms are knocking on every door in the city. In other words, we are trapped."

"There has to be a way to get past their perimeter," Hazel insisted, her chocolate brown eyes stubbornly firm. Her mind drifted back to Percy and Zoë. Her friends fought to give her a chance, and she had to make sure it didn't go wasted. For all she knew, the sadistic Amazon Queen was putting them through horrific tortures in some dark dungeon and she was New Rome's only hope. Gods forbid she fails to free Thanatos in time…

"There is," John confirmed, breaking the daughter of Pluto out of her train of thoughts, "If we can find a safe house, we can stay there and lay low for a few weeks. They can't maintain a manhunt this intense forever, and they second we spot a window, we take it."

"But we can't do that!" Hazel protested, her eyes incredulous but determined as she looked at John, "The world will be laid to ruins if we don't free Thanatos in five days! There has to be another way."

"With those things flying around?" John laughed humorlessly as he pulled the car over, his finger pointing overhead where the sound of a helicopter's propellers could be heard clipping. The playfulness that was always in John's light brown eyes was gone as he turned to look at Hazel. His eyes were cold as ice and beamed a harsh light that gave Hazel a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, "There is only one other way." John said, and he pulled out his com from the inner pocket of his jacket.

"All units come in, this is special agent John Smith, I have Hazel Levesque in custody. Repeat, I have Hazel Levesque in custody."

"What are you…" Hazel was so shocked that the words choked out of her mouth, eyes widened in horror. Her mouth was wide open and barely a few words left it before John suddenly drew his gun and slammed the butt of his weapon directly onto her forehead while the daughter of Pluto was too stunned to react.

"The suspect attacked me! I need backup!" John shouted into the radio before dropping it and connecting his foot with the machine, effectively crushing it.

John raised his gun again, this time the barrel was pointed at Hazel, but the daughter of Pluto had already recovered. Breaking out of her initial shock, Hazel threw herself at John before he could discharge his weapon, catching him off his guard as the back of his head slammed onto the window painfully, cracking the glass with a loud bang.

John swung his arm wildly and pulled the trigger, but Hazel shoved his arm away at the last second, the bullet missing its target as it struck the windshield glass, punching a hole through it and shattering the glass. John fired another shot, the bullet landed much closer to its target this time, only missing Hazel's face by mere inches as the daughter of Pluto's ears rang loudly. Her left cheek stung where the bullet bruised pass her skin, leaving an ugly red bruise visible. Hazel slammed John's hand onto the steering wheel, forcing him to drop his gun. Hazel brought up her fist, sending John a right hook aimed at his jaw, but he dropped his head, dodging the blow. Using the daughter of Pluto's own momentum against her, John grabbed her outstretched arm and twisted it. A sharp snap could be heard as Hazel cried out in pain, and the opportunity didn't go unnoticed by her opponent. His fingers still clutching her forearm, now bent at an unnatural angle, and shoved her broken limb onto her face, sending the back of her head colliding into the windshield painfully.

Taking advantage of his opponent's current state, John lunged at Hazel, wrapping his fingers around her neck tightly before swinging her body across the front row. Hazel's back crashed into the door hard but her instincts took over. Months of intense training took over as the daughter of Pluto mustered whatever strength she had left in her body and brought up her leg with all her might, kicking John hard in his exposed stomach. The force of the kick sent John flying backward while Hazel took the opportunity to swing open the door and stumbled out of the car.

Out of nowhere, a hand pulled Hazel from behind, slamming her head against the door with a loud bang. Blood poured from Hazel's forehead as the daughter of Pluto collapsed, a massive headache exploding behind her skull. Grunting loudly in pain, Hazel managed to roll herself on her back, only to find the pitch-black point of a gun glaring at her. She struggled to get up, but her body finally gave out, completely exhausted from a day of non-stop fighting and running.

Sirens could be heard in a distance as John spoke, his tone flat and emotionless, "I'm sorry Hazel, but the only way for you to escape is death."

Hazel closed her eyes, and John pulled the trigger.

June 19th 2011 - 4 days before the Feast of Fortuna, 0205 hrs, Amazon Headquarters - Seattle, Washington, United States - Zoë Nightshade

"Stay close," Kinzie whispered. Zoë nodded and closed her fingers around the hilt of the dagger rightly as Kinzie made a quick hand gesture, silently instructing her warriors to form diamond tactical formation around the duo, covering every angle around them with their eyes alert and weapons ready. As the Amazons fell into position, Zoë couldn't help but feel a strong sense of dramatic irony. They last time she encountered the Amazons, she was still Artemis' Lieutenant, and she didn't hold the Amazons in a particularly high regard, a feeling that was doubtlessly returned. This time around, the huntress and the Amazons found themselves in need of each other's help as they were both interested in the same goal: preventing Armageddon from happening.

It was dead silent as Hylla's warriors marched dutifully, their trained footsteps betraying no sound. Zoë had no led go of her dagger since Kinzie gave it to her, the huntress held her dagger with so much force that she probably couldn't release her hold even if she tried. Two thousand years of training took over Zoë's body as the huntress' eyes darted around in the darkness rapidly, searching for signs of trouble. Her muscles were tense as they passed yet another empty hallway, her mind screaming that something was not right. The halls were narrow and long, dimly lit by faint flames coming off the torches on the stone walls, providing little visibility and zero room to maneuver if a rain of arrows descended on them without warning. Her dagger was raised subconsciously, be it paranoia or experience, and Zoë held her breath in suspense as they approached the end of the hallway. There was no indication as to what was on the other side of the corner as it was covered by shadows and Zoë's body tensed.

They made the turn.

And nothing happened. Another hallway, dark and narrow, the perfect setting for an ambush.

"That's the last turn," Kinzie whispered, gesturing in front of her, "Go across the hall and we walk out of the front door."

Zoë glanced at her companions, Hylla's body language was as tense as her own, her knuckles white as she clutched onto her spear tightly while Percy's face betrayed no expression, but his right hand was in his pocket, where Anaklusmos' pen form was. Kinzie's words didn't ease the huntress. In fact, it only caused Zoë to tighten her grip on the dagger more, if that's even possible.

There's no way they haven't realized that we are gone.

Zoë caught movement at the corner of her eye as sharp metal pierced through the air, accompanied by the familiar sound of an arrow being led loose. Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to warn Percy, but the arrow already whipped past her. Her hair flew back wildly as she turned, only to see Percy sidestepping the arrow and holding his hand up, snatching the arrow before it could hit its target.

With a twisted grin on her face, Otrera stepped out of the shadows, with scores more Amazon warriors pouring from every corner in waves. The Amazon Queen held a broad Imperial Gold bow in her hand, gleaming ominously in the darkness. She wore typical Amazon battle armor, which was only a thin piece of chest plate made of Imperial Gold by Roman standards. Her red eyes, painted by the blood of her enemies, gleamed triumphantly, the way a predator would at its trapped prey.

"Going somewhere?" Otrera smirked smugly, her blood-red eyes burning in a way that reminded Zoë of Ares, "Rather rude to try to sneak out without telling your host."

Percy wordlessly slipped his spare hand into his pocket, his shoulders fell back slightly and his legs moving apart at a rate too slow for the Amazons to notice. Zoë noticed what he was doing right away, and closed her fingers around her silver necklace.

"Forgive me, your highness," Said Percy sarcastically as he dropped into a deep, mocking bow, "I thank you for your warm hospitality, but my mother is expecting me home."

"No, that won't do," Still smirking, Otrera shook her head at Percy with a pitiful tone in her voice, "I promised the Mother Earth I would deliver you and the huntress bitch, you don't want to make me a liar, do you?"

Before Percy could retort, Otrera moved her line of sight away, her icy eyes landing on Kinzie, who was standing next to Hylla protectively, her spear at hand.

"Isn't it my loyal lieutenant?" Otrera snarled, the disgust in her voice was abundantly clear, "I have you to thank, Jackson, I wasn't sure about where the loyalties of some lied. Now I know."

"You are no queen of mine!" Kinzie spat, holding Otrera's glare with her head high in defiance.

Otrera's eyes narrowed dangerously and her mouth opened to give the kill order. Percy took it as his signal.

"NOW!" He shouted to Zoë, throwing his entire weight into a drastic spin around his left foot, bringing up his right hand in the process and hurling the arrow at Zoë with dead precision. The huntress pulled her necklace with all her might, the silver charm transforming into a beautiful bow radiating a faint glow of moonlight. Zoë leaped, and snatched the arrow mid-air. Using the arrow as a lever, the huntress flipped herself around elegantly and, as her right arm fell down, notched the arrow. Zoë caught Otrera at the edge of her sight. The Amazon Queen was looking right at her. Zoë pulled back the string and led loose the arrow.

The moment Zoë led go of the arrow, she knew it would be a bullseye hit.

With a whipping sound, the arrow pierced through the air at a speed quicker than the human eye could register. A golden blur launched itself at Otrera and she sidestepped at the very last second. The arrow only caught a strand of the Amazon Queen's hair as it swirled through the air. A nameless Amazon dropped to the floor dead as the arrow lodged itself into her throat and Otrera raised her spear.

"Kill them," She ordered coldly, and dark walls of golden arrows came crashing into them from all around. Zoë spared a second to admire the spectacle before hitting the dirt. Dozens of arrows struck a few of Hylla's warriors and they fell down wordlessly.

Drawing back the string of her bow furiously, Zoë pulled out one arrow after another from the quiver strapped onto her back and released them into the sea of Amazons without aiming - there were so many of them that it was impossible to miss, and yet another Amazon would take the place of her fallen comrade not a second later.

Zoë took a look around her. She was quickly running out of arrows, and the Amazons showed no sign of slowing their advance. Most of Hylla's warriors were pinned down, completely exposed to arrows coming from all directions. The handful archers they had were just as hopelessly outnumbered as Zoë. Hylla was ordering her warriors to form a circle with little success. Percy was doing marginally better, his watch had transformed into a circular Celestial Bronze shield with Medusa's face embedded into the surface, thanks to Apollo for working his magic on Athena, but he too, was pinned, shrinking his body into a ball and miraculously covering all of his skin with the hard Celestial Bronze metal. It seemed that not even Medusa's petrifying glare could save them this time.

"We can't stay here!" Percy shouted to Kinzie.

"No shit!" The Amazon snapped.

"Follow me!" Percy shouted back, before taking a deep breathe and retracting his shield.

Percy twisted his ring, and a very familiar-looking blade came into life. Kronos' Scythe gleamed viciously, and time literally froze. Orange flames shot up from the son of Vesta's palms and beams of golden light as bright as the sun itself radiated from Percy until it completely engulfed him, forcing Zoë to squeeze her eyes shut.

When Zoë opened her eyes again, she had to hold back a gasp. Percy's entire body was caught on orange flames, tearing through the sea of Amazons at lightning speed. An orange tornado smashed right through the Amazon lines like paper, dozens of warriors fell down screaming piercingly as Kronos' Scythe mercilessly tore open their skin. The Scythe, now soaked red with dripping Amazon blood, gleamed again, and for a second, Zoë thought she was staring into Kronos' golden eyes.

"Let's go!" Hylla cried, her words snapping Zoë out of her stunned trance. The huntress and the Amazons followed Percy through the wide gap in the Amazon lines he had single-handedly created. The Amazon formation in their north had been completely torn apart and Zoë realized with a jolt that there was no one left between them and freedom. Otrera too, must have realized this, because Zoë could hear the Amazon Queen barking loud orders at her lieutenants.

"In the name of Terra! How hard can it possibly be to kill twenty people with a fucking army!"

The rain of arrows resumed, except this one, they weren't aimed at Percy. One Amazon running directly in front of her collapsed without any warning as an arrow lodged itself into the back of her spine. Zoë jumped over her fallen form, leaving her behind and fighting back the urge to go back and help her as she lied in a pool of her own blood gasping in pain.

She saw Percy up ahead. The son of Vesta was deflecting arrows and fighting off pursuers as he held the exit open for the column of Amazons. One warrior tried to stay and help Percy, but he quickly waved her off while dodging another arrow.

"Go," He said, his voice filled with determination, "I got this."

The Amazon looked at him dubiously, but nodded anyway.

Percy didn't look well. Not at all. All color was drained from his face and large beads of sweat were on his forehead. Zoë noticed that Kronos' Scythe had returned to its ring form on Percy's finger, and the son of Vesta was now wielding Anaklusmos, though his grip on the Celestial Bronze blade was shaky at best, and it appeared as though he was leaning on the sword for support.

"Are you alright?" Zoë inquired with concern as soon as she caught up with him, dropping her head artfully to dodge an arrow in the process.

"I'm fine," Said Percy dismissively, and she could tell right the way that it was a lie.

"Come on," Kinzie said as she arrived with Hylla, oblivious to the fact that the warrior on her tail suddenly dropped, "We have to-"

"Watch out!" Kinzie was abruptly cut off by Percy as a dozen arrows entered his sight, approaching them rapidly. They all scrambled for cover, all but one.

Kinzie's eyes were wide in disbelief as they landed on the arrow that was stuck in her throat. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She fell.

"NO!" Hylla cried heart-piercingly as she threw herself at the body of her friend. Kinzie's eyes were still wide open, filled with disbelief, but she was already dead.

"She's gone," Zoë said sorrowfully as she tugged Hylla's arm, trying to pull her away, but she wouldn't budge.

"We need to go. Now," Zoê tried to pull Hylla up by her arm again. This time, she didn't resist her. In fact, she didn't react at all. She just allowed herself to be pulled up numbly.

"Percy?" Zoë called out, but the son of Vesta didn't respond. With a sinking feeling in her heart, she turned to where she last saw him, only to find the son of Vesta lying on the floor, his eyes closed.

"Is he shot?" One of Hylla's warriors, whose name Zoë vaguely remembered as Isabelle, asked.

"No," Zoë shook her head, "The powers must have exhausted him."

"Let me go," A voice came from next to Zoë. Only then did she realize that she was still holding Hylla's arm. The huntress did as she was told promptly.

"Get him out of here," Hylla said. She had turned to face Otrera's army that was almost upon them, her eyes were hard and her voice firm, "I'll buy you some time."

Zoë's eyes widened when she realized what Hylla was hinting, "But-"

"There's no time to waste!" Hylla snapped, turning to look at Zoë, her eyes making it clear that she wasn't asking for permission, "Get to Alaska, find Thanatos and free that son of a bitch so we stand a chance of winning this war, do you hear me."

Zoë could only manage a nod.

"Good," Hylla said, before turning to Isabelle, "Protect Percy Jackson and Zoë Nightshade with your life. Make sure their mission succeeds, whatever it takes."

Isabelle nodded at her queen solemnly.

Without another word, Hylla picked up her spear and charged at Otrera's army. Zoë swung Percy's arm over her shoulder and lifted him up.

Then, they ran.

"Still no sign of him?" Chiron asked the figure in front of him.

"I'm afraid not," Clarisse La Rue shook her head tiredly as she sat down in the big house and removed her chest plate. The heavy Celestial Bronze metal landed on the ground with a loud thud, "Has Grover's team checked in yet?"

Chiron closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I knew Rhode Island was a bust," Said Clarisse as she dropped her spear onto the table and rubbed her eyes, "I knew if Jackson was really gone, he wouldn't stick around, not after how the Gods treated him like trash. We've swept through the entire Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, but still came up empty-handed. I just wish we knew where he is. We need him now more than ever."

"I know child," Chiron put a hand on Clarisse's shoulder reassuringly, "I know."

"I just don't get it, why can't we search the West Coast?" Clarisse questioned, "You said it yourself, the ancient lands are forbidden. He has got to be somewhere on the West Coast."

"I'm sorry child," Chiron sounded sorry, "But I took an oath a long time ago to never reveal it. Let's just say that the world is in a very delicate state, and we can't afford to upset that balance."

"Fuck the Gods!" Clarisse suddenly snapped, flipping the table and sending various items flying across the Big House, "I'm sick of being their pawn! Look at us, my family is torn, our home is in ruins and we are on the verge of annihilation! None of this would have happened if not for the Gods and their stupid paranoia."

Chiron could only agree with Clarisse, but instead of feeling outraged, he felt terrified, utterly terrified.

Please, he thought to himself as his eyes landed on the map, his eyes fixed on the words San Francisco, please let me be wrong about this.

Outside, the alarm rang sharply in warning. Demigods scrambled for their armor and hurried to their battle stations - everyone at Camp Half-Blood carried their weapon with them at all time now. Sighing, Chiron gave a hard look at his bow, before picking up his trustworthy weapon and heading outside the Big House.

Hey guys! I'm SO terribly sorry for disappearing for eight months without a warning (only Percy gets to do that). I don't want to find any excuses, but life has been pretty rough and this chapter has been sitting on my computer forever until I finally found the time to sit down and finish it. Anyways here it is! If you like it, hate it or feel indifferent, let me know by either taking five seconds and leave a review or taking five seconds and send me a PM. As a rule of thumb, the more I feel this story is engaging you guys, the more I feel motivated to rise above procrastination and write a new chapter. Also, I just realized that Zoë is speaking perfect modern English. About that, let's just say that I haven't gotten then faintest clue about Shakespearean English so let's just say this is an AU where Zoë speaks the English language as we know it. I also want to make it crystal clear that under absolutely no circumstances am I ever abandoning this story and I can not thank everyone who's stuck around and continued to support me, you are my inspiration. Until next time!