So, so, so sorry I haven't updated this in a while! I've been obsessed with a couple other stories of mine (mostly UnTamed, Battle of the Roses, and Nobody's Prize- for any of you reading UnTamed, I'm really sorry for how I left you last chapter...). However, I figured I should update this one so enjoy :)

Chapter Quote:
"With love and patience, nothing is impossible."
~Daisaku Ideka
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Chapter 23: Sucks To Be You

Shiloh

Luke had been mute ever since he woke up a week ago. I'd tried calling Chiron to see if he knew what could've caused this but the centaur wouldn't answer. I even tried calling my brother so I could talk to him or Annabeth but they were both MIA. I started worrying about them. Even mentally, I couldn't reach Percy. Poseidon picked up on my anxiety. When he asked me what was wrong, I replied, "Chiron won't answer my calls. Percy won't respond to me at all. Annabeth isn't answering. Luke is mute and I just have this awful feeling that something really bad is happening."

"Well... you wouldn't be wrong. I haven't told you anything because I figured you had enough to worry about with your boyfriend not saying anything. Where is he by the way?" Poseidon inquired.

I sighed. "Sitting on the balcony of our room as usual. What's happening that you haven't told me about?"

"First off, the gods have cut off all communications with their children. Zeus's orders. The only reason I'm able to talk to you is because, well, you're here. Second, your brother is... missing."

"Missing?" I demanded.

"I've been looking everywhere, but wherever he is, he's blocked from me. The reason no one is answering your calls back at camp is probably because they're busy looking for him."

"I need to be out there too!"

"If you leave, I can't talk to you until Zeus lifts his order, and for all we know, that could be centuries."

"You're Poseidon, you'd find a way. And we've gone long periods of time without talking before." I walked out of my dad's throne room. He followed me out. When I entered my room, Luke was in the same position I'd left him. He didn't even turn around at the sound of me and my father entering the room.

"What are you going to do about Luke? It's not exactly like you can take him. He won't even move let alone go with you on a cross-country trip to find Percy. You either have to stay here or go on your own."

I nodded, and with a kiss on my head, Poseidon left. Without saying a word, I began gathering my belongings. I didn't have much. Most of my stuff had been destroyed on my poor ship that was now floating in the Caribbean as nothing but debris. A shame, really, especially since it'd taken so long to get up and running.

Shuffling in the corner caught my eye. Turning around, I saw Luke stuffing things into a backpack.

"Luke, what are you doing?" I asked. Unsurprisingly, he didn't respond. "Listen, I have to leave. Percy is missing and Camp Half-Blood needs my help. I want to bring you but in the state you're in, I don't know how safe it is to bring you."

"I'm coming with you," Luke said softly. Stunned that he had actually spoken, no words could form in my mouth to reply for a good minute.

"Are you well though? That's the first time you've spoken in a week. What happened to you after the arai? What did they do to you?"

Luke shook his head, repeating, "I'm coming with you."

"Okay." Finishing packing up my stuff, the two of us walked to my dad's throne room. Poisedon sat talking with one of his generals. Luke and I waited patiently for him to be done. When the conversation was finished, he motioned for us to come forward.

"You're both leaving?" Poseidon asked.

"We're going to camp first, get the entire low down of what's happened and then I'm going out to search for Percy. Dad, stay safe. Whatever is out there, it's nasty," I warned.

"The same goes for you. Luke, watch out for my daughter. Both of you, make sure you don't get into too much trouble. I love you, Shiloh," Poseidon said.

"Love you too, dad. I'll see you again. Promise." With that, Luke and I were escorted out of the palace.

We surfaced Camp Half-Blood. Luckily for me and Luke, we were in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. Much better than that Greek attire we'd been wearing in Atlantis.

"Come on, we need to find Chiron and see what's been going on." Luke and I trekked over to the Big House. Camp itself was eerily silent. Even though it was eight at night, we passed no campers. That was definitely unheard of. It almost made me wonder if they'd all gone off to fight a war we didn't know about. I knocked on the door of the Big House. Chiron opened it. His face showed his evident surprise that I was back, and with Luke.

"Shiloh, Luke, what are you doing here? I thought you were still travelling?" Chiron said.

"Change of plans. We were attacked by some monsters called the arai and then Luke is pretty much mute, we've been stuck in Atlantis while Luke was healing, and Poseidon just told me about Percy. We're here to help," I told him. He moved aside so we could enter. Shutting the door, I asked, "What exactly happened to Percy?"

"Annabeth came in here saying he was nowhere to be found. She said the last time she saw him was entering his cabin. When he didn't show up for breakfast, she came searching for him and he was just gone. We had everyone search the entire camp and there was no trace of him. We have groups searching for him right now. Over half the camp is gone looking for him. So far, no leads." Chiron settled his eyes on Luke. "Something's wrong with you my boy. What is it?"

Unsurprisingly, my boyfriend stayed silent. I spoke for him instead. "When we were attacked by the arai, Luke took on most of the curses. I don't know what they did to him but earlier today was the first time he's spoken in a week."

"One of the curses, while he was healed physically from it, may have caused mental pain beyond our comprehension. The most we can do is wait. I'm going to assume you came back to search for Percy?"

"Yes, sir. Where do you have people searching? Wherever you don't have them, Luke and I will take it," I declared.

"Is it a good idea to bring him along? Luke doesn't seem well."

"I'm coming with her," Luke said quietly but firmly. The centaur raised his eyebrows at the son of Hermes. Quickly I explained, "That's all he's been saying. It's what he said to me earlier too."

"All right. We have people pretty much everyone on the east and middle of the country. We need people on the western side. I'm wary sending you there though."

"Why's that?"

"There's things over that should not be found for your safety and our own."

"But if Percy is over there, we should be there too."

"I know. Annabeth is heading to the Grand Canyon. I didn't want to send any demigods to California because no one here really blends in there."

"And you need someone who fits one of the stereotypes so no one becomes suspicious and it makes it harder for monsters to find us. Well, turns out you have two perfect candidates right here. I fit the California girl stereotype and Luke is tanned and toned. How should we get there?"

"I can get you a car. If you're going to California, you'll probably want a convertible. You two leave tomorrow. Oh, and Shiloh, if you could, would you mind checking up on Sally Jackson? I want to make sure she's doing well."

"Yes sir. I'll see you in the morning." Luke and I left the Big House, heading to our own cabins. At the last minute, I asked Luke to stay with me for the night. Maybe it seemed irrational but since Percy had been alone in his cabin when he disappeared, I didn't want the same thing happening to me. My boyfriend obviously had no qualms about it and if he did, he didn't say anything.

I curled up in Luke's arms, resting my head on his shoulder, staring at Percy's bed, wondering where my brother was. I was terrified for him. If and when we found him, would he even be alive? I could only imagine the pain Annabeth was going through since she'd known Percy longer than me and had been through so much more with him. I wanted to call her, just to see how she was doing but decided against it. The last thing she needed was me bothering her on her cell phone which would give monsters a better chance of tracking her.

Luke must've sensed my distress over the whole situation because he lifted my chin up so he could kiss me. It was a welcome distraction. Giving a contented sigh, I closed my eyes.
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Eight months later...

Luke and I had been searching for my brother for over half a year with no leads whatsoever. The only thing we had going for us was that my gut was telling me he was in California. The two of us went back to camp at the end of each month to restock on supplies and gather information from the other searchers. Chiron wouldn't let anyone else but me, Luke, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson into California. Whatever it was he didn't want us finding (or maybe it finding us) must've been pretty big.

Luke still didn't talk much. I was able to get him to say 'yes', 'no', 'okay', and 'I love you'. That last one was my favorite improvement to be honest. Once in a while he'd crack a smile at something I said. But still, overall, he stayed quiet.

The two of us were walking in downtown San Francisco when I heard people talking behind us.

"Can you believe they've hidden this Greek camp from us for so many years?" A boy hissed. "And why do the Greeks get to be closer to the Olympians than we do? The Roman Empire was so much better than the Greek one."

"Are you sure Octavian was right about this? For all we know it could be the wrong person," a girl said.

"Why do you think he sent out twenty demigods to capture one guy? He has to be super dangerous," the boy responded.

"Every time we've come out here, he has said absolutely nothing. How dangerous can a guy be who says nothing?"

"We're about to find out."

I whispered in Luke's ear. "We're being trailed. Head to the wharf. When we get to the docks, run!"

Luke nodded, giving me a smile and acting as if nothing was wrong. That boy, for good or for bad, was blessed with phenomenal acting skills. It took about ten minutes for us to get to the wharf. In that time period, I figured out that there were ten demigods behind us. I wondered where the other ten were, searching for them without seeming overly suspicious.

We crossed the street to the wharf. A bus blocked the others from following us. I used that opportunity to bolt from the scene. Two blocks down I heard the people shouting after us.

"Luke! This way!" I shouted, dodging between tourists who were getting quite angry. We ignored their cursing at us, making our way onto the wharf. I thought we were in the clear until something wrapped itself around Luke's feet. He went down, his head hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

"All right, that's how you want to do it, then let the games begin," I muttered, elongating my sword. One demigod came at me. I didn't want to kill them, only seriously injure them so I could get away with Luke. I spun away from their attack and kicked them in the back, sending them sprawling onto the ground. Another one grabbed me from behind. I thrust my legs out and using the momentum from bringing them back down, flipped the person over my shoulder. I kicked them in the head to knock them out for good measure. I had about a ten second break before the next person came. I sliced through the rope binding Luke's feet. He groaned as he rolled over, rubbing his bleeding forehead. I wanted to make sure he was okay but with eighteen other demigods coming at us, I decided against it.

"Who are you people?!" I muttered, swinging my sword at a guy's legs.

"Enough!" One commanded. I whirled around, fully intending to give the person a piece of my mind. That was until I saw four people holding a struggling Luke. A fifth person, a guy, held a dagger at my boyfriend's throat. "Drop your sword or we kill him."

Reluctantly, I did as he said. Two demigods came up behind me, forcing my hands behind my back. I glared at them before asking, "Who in Hades' name are you?"

"My name is Hal. We're here to bring you to our leaders. Come."

"Who are your leaders exactly and why do they want us?" I demanded as the troops began leading us away.

"You'll meet them soon enough. As for why they want you two, they don't actually want you," Hal said, pointing at me. He pointed at Luke and said, "They want him. Well, Octavian does. Said something about vengeance. I just know better than to question that psycho. We're bringing you in to find out why you're hanging out with the guy that wanted to see the world destroyed."

"And when they're done interrogating us?"

"They just want to see if you're dangerous."

"If they deem us dangerous?"

Hal grimaced. "Then it sucks to be you. You'll be tried and given the death sentence."
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Dun dun dun... hope you enjoyed! Reviews would be lovely :)