Here's the new chapter EARLY! You. Are. Welcome. Hahah, anyways, I hope you enjoy it. Don't be shy to ask any questions, cause I'll answer within the next chapter! (at the end) Sooooo...

Without further ado, here's the chapter that will most likely kill you-

LALALA!

*dramatic music plays*

Chapter #4: Hurts

PERCY POV

~Did you find your way?
Oh I wished you'd stayed
Did I make things worse?
You said that you needed time but this time it hurts
Cause I've been waiting for you today,
I wish you could be here to see that I've changed
Did you find your way and finally escape?
So far away from the memories we made.
And when you find your place,
I hope you see someday
Am I still in your thoughts?
No, did you really think I would walk?
Did you find your way and finally escape?
So far away from the memories we made.
And when you find your place,
I hope you see someday
Maybe I did something wrong, so wrong
There is a place where you belong
Somewhere called home
So come home
Did you find your way and finally escape?
And when you find your place,
I hope you see someday~

"Perce... You alright?"

I turned around and faced a concerned looking Frank. The others --Jason, Annabeth and Hazel-- must have gone below deck.

I plastered on a smile. "Yeah, I'm good."

But to be completely honest: I wasn't. Just moments before the one and only missing demigod contacted me. Out of the blue I heard him calling my name as if he were talking right in my ears, yet he was nowhere to be found... Unbelievable! The information he gave me was surprising to say the least. And to surprise Perseus Jackson, it takes a lot nowadays. Why Aphrodite? That was the question that was bothering me to no end. We should have brought Piper! If I had just listened to Jason... Anyway, I was torn up trying to decipher the message Nico had given me. What was I going to do? Nico himself didn't know where he was! And if the cavern wasn't on any map... Then where was it?

I tugged on my hair and groaned. This was extremely confusing. How were we supposed to find it if it was invisible to the outside world, guarded, occupied by a goddess, and not on any map? Thanks, Nico, you're message was incredibly helpful! Wait... I couldn't pick on the guy. He was probably going through hell right now. I barely recognised his voice at all when he had called! And it has only been, what... Two, three days? How long would that have been in the cavern? So many questions that were yet to be answered... It drove me crazy.

I needed to help Nico, you see. The guilt of his sister's death, how he was always wandering alone, traveling the Underworld like a shadow, his tortured adventure back to Camp Half-Blood-- and now this? It was the least I could do. I felt like it was my job to protect him now, and it was extremely hard to do that when he was being held prisoner by a crazy Greek goddess. I mean, seriously. What would the goddess of beauty and love want so badly from a dark, mysterious wallflower son of Hades? What was she doing to him? I couldn't bear the thought of Nico being hurt again... The kid has had more than enough.

I sighed deeply. Not a tired sigh, or a defeated sigh, but a sad sigh. We needed to get to him. I needed to get to him. Soon. Like Nico himself said- how much longer will he last?

"Um... Percy?"

I wondered what to expect when we did find him...

"Percy?!"

I mean, it mustn't be good. I just hoped to get there in time and save him from whatever Aphrodite planed to do to him before it was too late.

"Percy!"

He would be okay when I got to him, right? He would be alright... Nico was a tough guy, he would be okay. Yeah, especially with the others with me, we would do everything we could to get him back. Yeah... We would succeed if it was the last thing I-

"ARES' ARMY, MAN, LISTEN TO ME WILL YOU?! GODS OF OLYMPUS!"

I yelped and turned around, facing a red-faced Frank once more.

"Gods, Zhang." I said, frowning slightly at the muscular guy in front of me. "No need to yell. I bet the naiads back at camp can hear you from here! And- wait... Aren't you the son of Mars, not Ares?"

He threw his arms up in exasperation, huffing in the process.

"Just... Are we calling a meeting, Percy?" He finally asked, sighing in defeat.

I chuckled. "Yup! Round 'em up, Frankie!"

He glared at me as I laughed, but soon gave in and smiled back. I smirked as he rolled his eyes and eventually left on his way to get the others below deck. Okay... Here goes nothing.

~

"Why would Aphrodite want Nico? It makes no sense that she would just pluck him from camp for no reason and hold him prisoner somewhere where no one can find him... It's just not right! There must be a reason for her taking him. But what...? It's so frustrating. Nothing is adding up." Annabeth rambled angrily as myself and the four others watched halfheartedly. "Ugh, I just don't understand... Where do you guys think she's hiding him? The cavern is somewhere, just not on a map. So we can still get there... somehow..."

"Any ideas?" Frank asked around the huge wooden table we sat at.

I pursed my lips as I observed the frowns of concentration on each demigod's face as they tried to come up with anything they could possibly think of. Then Jason's eyes suddenly widened until they were the size of golf balls, as if realisation had just hit him the face. With a brick. By an enraged elephant.

He cleared his throat. "I think I know where he is. But you're not gonna like it."

Hazel scoffed, breaking her streak of silence since her brother's disappearance. "When do we ever like where we're heading?"

Mutters of agreement were heard all around the table as Jason explained his thoughts and theories. Dam, this guy was good, but I still had a feeling he knew something the rest of us didn't. Or... At least me.

~

How were we sailing this thing without Leo Valdez, you might have asked? Let me tell you- we weren't. The Argo II was sailing so roughly that you could mistake it as a roller coaster. And not the fun little rides at the amusement park in Wonderland. Nope. It was more comparable to a flying bull on a rampage through the clouds as it tried to hit every bird possible and bucked the ship in every direction in an attempt to make us eat deck wood. As soon as you thought you were safe, you ended up head first in one of the wooden masts. Good thing I was addicted to playing Wii Fit over summer vacation, so I tried my best to control this massive war ship as Jason guided us through the skies to our destination.

I almost jumped for joy as we passed safely into the suspicious glowing pink magic dome barrier of a secluded romantic Caribbean island. Annabeth was running around the deck with her telescope, yelling out orders to either me or Jason, and discussing a plan with Frank and Hazel between quick breaths. I swung the Wii remotes forward, which the ship responded to quite satisfyingly, and began descending onto the tan sand of the island's shore. Frank anchored the ship as Hazel jumped off, crouching in the sand with her hand on the ground, sensing whatever underground activity was happening on the island. I glanced around myself. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, which I would take as a good sign-

"PERCY!"

-Really?! Seriously... Was this some kind of joke to the gods?! I dismissed my irritated thoughts as it turned out it probably was a joke to the gods. After all, Aphrodite was the cause of us being here in the first place.

I looked towards the ground and saw that I was now the only one on the ship. I jumped up, uncapping my celestial bronze sword Riptide, and ran down to meet the others. Once I was standing beside Hazel and Jason, I groaned. We really could do without this, I thought to myself. We put it off a day already, thinking Nico might have just come back the next, but now we had another delay? In front of us stood three empusai, barring their fangs and crouching in an attack position. Jason and I shared the same look, then turned toward the three vampires. One moment there were three empusai lunging towards us, and the next there were three piles of monster dust and two swords laying at their feet. One of us must have pierced two as we threw our swords like javelins at them.

"That was quick." Hazel said, impressed.

We all agreed and began making our way into the heart of the island. Hazel was leading us now, this being her territory in two ways: #1. She could feel every twist and turn in the ground, including caves and caverns (kind of like earth benders in the Avatar!), #2. She could sense when we near Nico, being a mere child of Hades instinct or something involving the sense of shadows. Or something... I don't know, I just trusted her to be our best and only choice to reaching Nico.

I sighed as we began trudging through trees, bushes, vines, shrubs, leaves, exotic plants, and long knotted grass. We were now using our swords and daggers as machetes, hacking at the obstacles in our way.

Hazel abruptly turned towards a ledge. I frowned and realised the others had the same expression as mine.

"This way." She assured us. "I feel something... uh, quite odd. No metals, no jewels, just a hollow chunk of rock somewhere ahead. And I also sense..." She paused and shivered slightly, staring at her shoes, her eyes wide. "Death."

My breath hitched. No... It couldn't be- it wasn't- was he...?

No. I refused to think Nico di Angelo was dead. It couldn't be him. We had to find him. The suspense was killing me. I needed to know if he was alright. I sort of promised him that I'd save him. And I will. I told him I'd be there as soon as I could. And I will. I will be there for Nico and I will not let him die. It was the least I could do for him. The very least. He probably got fed up and fought back. Maybe he killed one of Aphrodite's monster minions. Maybe that was it. But right now... One can never be too sure about anything.

I decided to break the chilling silence. "Let's go. We have to hurry."

That got everyone's attention. They immediately snapped out of it and we slowly slid down the ledge Hazel led us down. We became quiet once more as we ventured deeper into this strange island. The sand was a unique colour. Almost a gold infused fuchsia type of colour. Strange... The sky seemed to be forever stuck in an array of sunset blends and wild flowers of all sizes and shades grew on anything it could leech off of. Yet there seemed to be a hidden mystery behind everything. It gave me the creeps, whereas any normal person would have stopped and stood in awe at the most beautiful and romantic looking island in history. The others became suddenly tense, also, I noticed. Something was definitely up...

Everyone had their weapons drawn, and I stood closer to Annabeth, ready for combat with my usual sparring partner at my side. It gave me a slight bit of comfort, but not much in a place like this. Frank gasped and my head snapped up immediately.

"We're almost there! It's just over the small clearing, I can feel it!" Hazel breathed in relief. "I can feel... Nico."

My stomach twisted. Just over the clearing, huh? Piece of blue cake!

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Annabeth scoffed, speaking everyone's minds. "Let's go!"

But before any of us could even blink, a voice interrupted us from behind.

"Where do you think you no good demigods are going, huh?"

We turned around, slowly taking in the sight before us. It wasn't a pretty sight, might I add. In front of us stood two large bodies. The one on the left was a black creature with leathery skin and claws jutting out of each finger, a deep, sunken skull filled with two scarlet red eyes stared at us as if they were peeking into our souls, sharp fangs rested on the monster's lips and it wore dark coloured robes that flapped in a non-existent wind that made my bones chill. On the right stood a large figure that was slightly hunched over, its skin was a dark ashen grey covering four arms and two reptilian legs, completely black eyes reflected nothing but the darkest fears in life while it's lips were peeled back in a frightening snarl. All five of us paled. Something about them made the tropical island feel like the Himalayas.

Annabeth was the first to snap out of it and think, of course. "Who are you?"

The grey monster on the right cackled, the sound like broken glass falling from a burning building. "I have a feeling you know quite well who we are, daughter of Athena."

"Phobos and Deimos." She answered in a heartbeat, noticeably gulping.

I frowned and looked over at her, only to find her biting her bottom lip. Uh oh. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all. If these guys posed a threat, then it would only hold us back even longer from saving Nico. We needed to deal with these guys fast.

The black one stretched out its talons. "Fear."

"And Terror." The other one snarled, flexing all four arms.

Phobos and Deimos; Fear and Terror. Who would have guessed? I mean, I still couldn't even tell what kind of freaking species these things were, so I couldn't even imagine what they planned on doing to us-- and I didn't want to find out. I looked to Jason and we immediately came up with a plan just by speaking to each other with our eyes. We were going to split up to get this job done. But who said it would be easy when Fear and Terror were trying to test your courage? I could already feel my bravery slipping through my fingertips, so I decided to act quickly and take charge.

"Frank, Annabeth, Jason-- you stay here and deal with this! Hazel-- you're coming with me!" I shouted as I grabbed Hazel's wrist and began running. "Jason, I'll need you after Hazel helps me, so be ready to fly over when I call your name!"

He gave me a chaste nod and stood beside Annabeth and Frank --Frank now an enormous black bear-- forming a strong offensive line but keeping some defensive stances to balance it out in case one of the two minor gods decided to pick a target and single out one of my friends. Hazel tugged on my arm, sending me slightly to the left. We quickly stumbled towards a giant block of rock in the middle of the island. Deciding that this indeed was the cavern that Nico had warned me about, I stopped a few meters away from the entrance. I turned to Hazel and stopped her from getting any closer, just in case some of the cave's defences were to go off and a flying monkey came springing towards our faces. I wouldn't want that.

"Hazel, can you tell if there's any magic binding it?" I asked hopefully.

She pursed her lips. "I can try."

She closed her eyes, then reopened them, squinting at the dark rock. I didn't question her as her yellowish eyes seemed to sparkle as she made her way closer to the entrance-less cavern.

"It's nothing much, I can tell. I think I can just manipulate the Mist and it will reveal the way to get in..." She trailed off quietly.

She rested her hand on the surface of the rock as I carefully made my way towards her. The cave suddenly gleamed, as if it were covered in a silver polish, and then darkened once more. I frowned when I didn't see any hole that could lead me into the cavern. Then a big flash almost blinded me, sending Hazel and I stumbling backwards. Our heads shot upwards, and we directed our eyes curiously back to the rock. And there, a hole in the rock appeared. I smiled, but it fell almost instantly after it came. The hole wasn't in the side of the cavern. Oh no, because everything wasn't hard enough already, they had to put it right on top. Major sarcasm was present here. I groaned, turning back to a stunned looking Hazel, her brown curly hair sticking up everywhere.

"You should get back to the others." I told her softly. "I need Jason with me the rest of the way."

She nodded her head slowly, standing up, ready to head back to battle. But before she left, I spoke:

"I'll get to your brother, Hazel. Everything will be alright." I promised, a light smile playing on my lips.

She sighed as she began walking away. "Thank you... Please bring him back alive, Perce."

"I will." I said firmly, standing up straighter. "GRACE! I NEED YOUR HELP HERE!"

Not a minute passed and Jason landed by my side. He was panting as a layer of sweat covered his forehead. He looked at me determinedly and I pointed up to the top of the cave. He looked back at me, a confused look taking over his features.

"Think you can fly us both up there, Superman?" I asked him.

He smirked. "You make it sound like a question."

~

"How in Hades do you get lost in a one-way cave?" Jason muttered under his breath as we both shuffled around quietly.

Okay, so we didn't immediately drop down into the cave where Nico was being held. Did you know this cavern had separate parts? Aphrodite must have somehow bewitched it, and now we were hopelessly running our fingers over the rough walls of the cave in search of some kind of passage or doorway. As soon as Jason flew us in, we were engulfed in complete darkness, making everything that much worse. So yeah, we were a little lost. Although, every once in a while I could have sworn I heard some kind of noise-

"OH MY-- !" I let a startled scream escape my lips as my fingers passed through the rock and I fell sideways.

"Ouch." I groaned and picked myself up just as Jason joined me in an ironically more graceful manor.

Well... We just passed through a solid wall. Huh. Harry Potter déjà vu, much? Anyway...

Now I could hear the noises clearly. It sounded like a fight was being taken place. Snarls, yelps, scrambling, and the constant 'whoosh'ing sounds. I frowned to myself. What in the name of the gods could be making those sounds? When I shifted on my feet, making the rocks under my shoes crunch, the cavern quieted. Oops.

Jason elbowed me hard in the stomach, making me glare at him after brushing myself off. "Percy. Look."

I stared at him, confused by his urgent and worried tone. Then he gestured with his chin in front of me. I didn't question him and looked up for the first time since I fell through the stone wall. My eyes widened twice the size of golden drachmas as I took in the scene in front of me. A dozen or so shadowy beasts all turned to face Jason and I, slowly advancing on us, their lips peeled back in snarls. Long black, bloody claws were visible in the dark and the coal coloured eyes made me shiver. Some of them had weapons, whereas some were empty handed and confided in their wicked claws. The figures seemed almost shadows themselves. Their bodies practically drifted across the cavern floor, which seemed to shift beneath my feet.

Jason pulled out his roman gladius as I uncapped Riptide, the pen growing into its full length celestial bronze sword. The creatures then lunged toward us, seeming to overwhelm us at first. But Jason and I wouldn't stand to be beaten by eleven slightly creepy dudes when we had endured war after nightmare after war. No, that was not how the children of the Big Three worked.

I took on three at once, killing the first in one perfect arc of my blade as I witnessed Jason skewer another out of the corner of my eye. Nine more to go. Oh, make that seven. As I was about to bring my weapon down on another one of the monsters, something caught my eye that I must have missed earlier.

In the far right corner of the room, a shadow occupied a portion of the prison's floor. If I squinted hard enough through the dark, I could make out its shape. When I realised what it was, my heart leaped out of my chest and my eyes bulged out of my head. I brought my sword down on the creature underneath me, then took a few steps closer to the shadow, leaving Jason to fight the others on his own. As I got closer and closer, my breathing picked up until at one point, it hitched all together.

I dropped down on my knees beside the dark, limp body of a boy, sprawled out in a puddle of his own blood; battered, beaten and broken.

When I tried to speak, it came out more of a croak.

"... Nico?"

Then all hell broke loose.

~~~

End of Chapter

... Does anyone want to murder me now? Nah, just wait, I promise it will get a whole lot better :) 

To answer your question about Nico and Percy being able to contact each other, it's not really a power. Like, they don't actually have telepathic abilities, it's just that because Nico was in the cave of the goddess of love, and he loved Percy, he could contact him for a short amount of time (if he thought of the one he loved hard enough) because they have a strong connection. Something like that will come up again in the next few chapters, so... Just thought I'd clear that up a bit, even if you understood!

~Cliffhangers Are Feel Killers

Hello! It is Author of the future!

I'm editing this four years after I first wrote this story... Wow, lol, I'm in university now and I'm honestly reading this story like you guys: a reader, not the author. And I'm actually really into this...? LOL! Props to little me! Anyways, hope everyone's doing good! I might comment again later on, so watch out! xP