~ #MeToo ~

"Grab the dagger. Let's go." Percy demanded in a hushed voice.

I snagged it and tip toed up to the front door with the couple. Percy had Annabeth looked through the windows on the left side while I searched the right ones. From what I could see, there wasn't anyone moving around. Annabeth confirmed that there was nobody on her side either. So we opened the door as quiet as possible. The floors were wooden, so there was a chance they would creak, but we were willing to take that chance. Percy was the first to cross the empty room. It was completely empty other than a few bugs and dust bunnies. Annabeth crossed after and I followed. We could see around the corner that the room was crowded with books, bottles, and strange ingredients. It was clear that the enchantress had gotten frustrated earlier. A bowl of some red substance was laying on the ground. Near a wall the red liquid looked like it had been thrown against it.

A sudden bang came from above us. We jumped as the ceiling rattled and dust particles fell from it. The clicking of shoes was the next sound we hear above us. It was heading straight for the staircase. As they began clicking down the steps we scrambled for a hiding place. The only place seemed to be a small and empty closet. We crammed ourselves in and listened as the enchantress stepped in the room.

"Heart of an innocent, a tear of loss, the song of the broken, and the eye of the blind."

She muttered this to herself over and over again while rummaging around the objects around her.

"Great. She's already gone 'virgin killing' psycho." I whispered.

Annabeth gave me a stern look. (I saw those a lot from her...) I raised my hands in a short defeat and stepped back. That's when my foot was pricked by something sharp. I yelped quietly and examined the floor where I was stabbed. There I found a hatch. It was a door in the floor. Curiosity told me to open it while everything else screamed to stop and let Percy do it instead. Just in case it might blow something up.

I tapped his shoulder then pointed to the floor door. "I found something that might be useful."

Percy informed Annabeth of it as well and then knelt down to open it. Thankfully, it didn't creak when he lifted it slowly. All we saw was pitch black. Like nothing but a dark basement. Only the light from the closet illuminated a small square bit on the stone floor down there.

"Leo." Percy grabbed my attention.

"Hm?"

"Light it up."

I smiled and lit my hand on fire. I threw the small flame and watched it glow in the dark room. All of it was just the same. Then it faded out. Because of how small the door space was, we weren't able to see how big the room was but we estimated that it was fairly large.

"Hello?" A raspy voice beneath us echoed.

I could recognize that gloom and doom sound anywhere.

"Nico??" I called.

"Leo?" He almost sounded disappointed.

"Yea, I'm here with the love birds. How ya holdin up down there?"

There was a short moment of silence where he could either be dead or making a sarcastic pause.

"If I was doing fine I wouldn't be here..."

Sarcasm it is.

"We're gonna find a way to get you up here buddy."

"Don't call me buddy." He muttered darkly.

It took almost fifteen minutes to figure out a way to get him out. Our plan relied mostly on me. I would hope down there and try not to break my legs, figure out the lock that kept Nico chained, then find use my shoulders as a stepping stool for Nico, and then I'd be pulled up by a rope from my belty.

We put the plan into action and completed it with no casualties. Once everyone was up and safe Percy wrapped his arms around Nico's shoulders. Nico just stood there awkwardly. "What is this for?" His words were muffled by Percy's shirt.

"I'm sorry." Was all he replied with before pulled away and straightening himself out.

"You idiots better have a plan." Nico eyed us suspiciously.

"Well, we kind... have one." I scratched the back of my neck.

"We found a dagger. One that'll separate the enchantress from (y/n). If we stab her with it (y/n) will be fine but the enchantress will die. We just need to figure out how to get close enough to her without dying." Annabeth explained.

"Let me do it. I know what she has planned and I think I can get close enough." Nico replied. "She wants to completely kill (y/n) by tonight, so this is the only time we have left to save her."

"What if we don't make it in time?" I asked.

"Then the world is good as dead."

~Sorry for my absence again. I'm really trying to get these chapters out.

This one may be just a filler, but hey, at least I finally posted something.

Thank you to everyone that has still stuck around. You guys really help me get through the day. Thanks for reading and have a great day or night. Ily!♡~