ALL RIGHTS TO THE CHARACTERS (except Celeste, she's mine) BELONG TO RICK RIORDAN! I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO SERIES OR THE KANE CHRONICLES SERIES!!!

Chapter 23 - Sadie

Sadie could see the worry in Percy's eyes as they walked towards the Empire State Building.

In fact, she was pretty sure that the same look of worry was plastered over her own face as well.

The walking and the silence seemed to stretch on forever. Sadie hoped that the others had been able to make it to the other camps to awaken the other demigods from their mind prisons.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Empire State Building loomed over Percy and Sadie as they got closer to it.

Manhattan, normally busy and bustling with life, was now dead silent as all the mortals laid on the ground in their death-like state.

Percy looked pale as he looked at the mortals, as if he knew some of them. Maybe he did. Sadie didn't think she should ask.

As they approached the building, they noticed a dark looming cloud hovering over the top of the building. Quickly, Percy opened the doors and stalked inside, Sadie on his heels.

They passed by all the unconscious tourist mortals and made their way to the elevator.

Percy, still not having uttered a single word as they entered the elevator, pressed a button that had the number 600 on it.

Sadie's eyes widened. She was pretty sure the Empire State Building wasn't that tall.

When she looked over at Percy, he looked unfazed by the fact that they were going to an inexistent floor.

The elevator began to move and that was when Sadie actually began to question why they were going to the Empire State Building. Why was it so important?

"Percy, um, so where exactly are we going?" Sadie asked.

"Well, Olympus is on the 600th floor but recently it disappeared. The gods are nowhere to be found. No one's made contact with them since before this whole thing started. But I know Celeste, Walt, and Celeste's clone are here. Celeste spoke to me in my mind." Percy explained in a monotone.

"Spoke to you in your mind!? How?" Sadie asked incredulously.

Percy shrugged. "I have no idea. But you can ask her if you want."

The elevator jerked to a stop and Percy winced as his already twisted ankle turned unnaturally.

"Are you going to be okay with that ankle?" Sadie asked.

"I've been fine this whole time. It's nothing." Percy said.

Sadie sighed and nodded.

Then Percy gasped and grasped his head, sinking slowly to the ground.

"Percy, what's wrong? Is it Celeste?" Sadie asked nervously.

Percy nodded weakly and then released a relieved breath when his headache ended.

"She was telling me where she was. Apparently Olympus is back and Celeste, Celeste's clone, and Walt are in the god's throne room."

"What about the gods? And not just the Greeks, but the Egyptians and the Romans?" Sadie asked.

Sadie had a few godly friends and her heart felt as if it was being stabbed at the thought of them dying.

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure they're not here. Come on, we have to hurry." Percy said. He got to his feet and pressed the open door button on the elevator.

The doors opened eerily, as if in a movie, and Percy and Sadie were greeted with darkness.

Percy's eyes widened. "No, Olympus doesn't look like this normally. She did something to it. Celeste's clone destroyed Olympus."

Sadie looked around at the ruins that were supposedly the great Mt. Olympus.

She closed her eyes, trying to draw the Duat, but realized that was messed up as well.

Worriedly, both the magician and the demigod stepped forward.

They walked until they reached a throne room. Sadie gasped as she saw 12 giant chairs surrounding a large table.

Each chair had obviously held a god previously, but the room was now creepily empty and their footsteps echoed across the floor.

"Be quiet. They could be anywhere." Percy warned in a whisper.

Sadie nodded and drew her staff from the Duat. She was surprised she could still do that with the shape the Duat was in. She thanked the gods that she was still able to retrieve things because she had kept a few things in her Duat storage area that she wanted back.

Like cupcakes or embarrassing pictures of Carter.

Stuff like that.

Percy drew his sword beside her, the cap of the pen falling off as it extended into Riptide.

Every time he did that Sadie resisted the urge to ask him if he could write with it.

I mean, one minute you're writing and the next your paper is ripped to shreds by that strange bronze that the Greeks use.

Suddenly, a laugh echoed through the room.

Sadie and Percy snapped to attention, their weapons at the ready.

"Oh this is too good!" Celeste's clone called from the shadows.

But where was she!?

"Go right, I'll go left." Percy whispered to Sadie.

Sadie nodded and walked right. She was on high alert, ready for anything to jump out at her.

What she hadn't expected was Walt running at her and pinning a sword at her throat.

Her eyes widened and then she saw that his own eyes were milky white.

She stated into him and could've sworn she saw Anubis behind the milky whiteness. He was pale and weak, struggling against the sickness that Celeste's clone was putting on the gods.

Sadie couldn't help feeling mad at Celeste for being able to fight her clone's powers. Why couldn't Anubis fight it!? Why did Celeste's clone have to be so powerful!?

All she had done was combine her powers with Celeste's, giving Celeste a slight spark of evil which always worried Sadie, and suddenly she was indestructible.

As terrible as it sounded, what was wrong with Celeste sacrificing herself? Sadie knew magicians and demigods alike sacrificed themselves for others, so why couldn't Celeste?

Why was she so special?

What was different?

WHAT WAS IT!?

Sadie's thoughts were interrupted as Walt pressed the blade at her neck deeper into her flesh, making her wince.

She saw Percy across the room, cornered by Celeste, who's eyes were a similar white.

Percy's sword arm was pinned to his side and Celeste drove her sword into Percy's shoulder. He cried out, his twisted ankle betraying him and making him collapse to the floor.

Celeste's clone appeared out of the darkness, no longer looking like Celeste.

She still had her thick black hair, but it was now pixie cut instead of long and her once sea-green eyes were now obsidian black.

She wore a long black dress with a cloak thrown over her shoulders. Black stiletto heels were on her feet and clicked against the ground as she emerged from the pitch darkness. The dark smoke she used to send people into their mind abyss billowed around her swiftly as if it was part of her.

"Well, well, well. You two came for the ones you love. Sadie for your boyfriend, or should I say boyfriends. And Percy for his precious older sister. Too bad she's already working for me." Celeste's no-longer-really-clone said with a smirk.

"She's not working for you, you've brainwashed her! She's trapped! Let her go!" Percy screamed, still on the ground with Celeste holding her sword to his chest.

Sadie was barely aware of Walt still holding the sword at her own neck. She felt something warm trickle down her neck and realized it was her blood.

"I will enjoy killing you two. I have already won, so I don't know what you're fighting for. You have lost your camps, your friends, and even your families. Give up now and maybe I'll let you live to be my slaves." No-longer-clone said.

"Never." Percy spat out.

"Sadie?" Not-clone asked, turning to the magician girl. "I can spare your little boyfriend. Unfortunately, not his little godly companion, but I know about Walt's little curse. Dying at a young age, oh honey I can fix that for you! He'll be back to normal if you just surrender. You can both live together."

For a moment, the offer sounded tempting, but Sadie knew better than to conspire with the witch.

"I will never surrender." Sadie hissed.

Not-clone tsked disapprovingly and gave a fake pitying look. "Oh well. Celeste, Walt...kill them."

Sadie heard Percy's screams as Celeste drove her sword into his bad ankle.

But then she realized Celeste's order was to kill Percy, not hurt him.

That meant she was fighting it from the inside.

A spark of hope sprang in Sadie, but she forgot about herself.

She barely felt the sword as Walt drove it into her side, barely missing her lung.

She screamed and heard Percy call her name.

Not-clone laughed evilly and the world spun in Sadie's vision.

She saw Carter waiting for her at Brooklyn House, waiting nervously but still injured in his ribs.

Sadie had to live for him.

She looked up at Walt's blank eyes and used her little bit of strength to kick him in his "special spot".

He groaned and collapsed to the ground.

Sadie had done that enough times to Carter that it was almost second nature.

She thanked the gods for an annoying brother.

She pulled the sword out from her side and felt blood flow from the wound. She was dizzy from blood loss but she managed to reach Walt's side.

"Walt, wake up." She whispered in his ear.

After a few seconds, his eyes melted from white back to their original color.

She would've hugged him, but Not-clone started to scream, drawing her own sword.

Celeste was still fighting her bond, stabbing Percy repeatedly in his ankle instead of in his heart.

Percy kept crying out every time the blade hit home and Sadie knew it was hurting Celeste more than it was hurting Percy.

Sadie couldn't imagine having to do the same thing to Carter.

Not-clone came charging at Sadie who deflected her blow with ease.

She may be a powerful, evil, and psycho goddess, but her sword skills weren't all that great.

Especially since the bond between her and Celeste was starting to fade.

Sadie didn't know what Celeste was doing, but it was working.

Not-clone looked weakened by the second, and finally, Celeste's eyes returned to sea-green.

Her sword dropped out of her hand and she tackled Percy with sobs.

Percy tried to hug back, but his ankle had to be hurting severely.

Sadie, still struggling with Not-clone, called out to Celeste.

Celeste turned and narrowed her eyes. She picked up her sword to where she had dropped it and walked over to the fight.

Not-clone stopped fighting and Sadie backed away, knowing if she killed Not-clone, she'd kill Celeste. That part of the bond was still in play.

Sadie took back her previous statement of sacrificing Celeste.

She was special.

Celeste stepped up in front of her no-longer-clone and gestured for Sadie to tend to Walt and Percy.

Sadie scurried away, dragging a groaning Walt towards Percy and watching in worry as Celeste raised her sword.

Celeste smirked.

"Let's finish this shall we?" Celeste said.

And the sound of swords clanking began the duel.