I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted- I've had a rough start to the semester but it's getting better now :)

Chapter Quote:
"I'm so used to hearing so many lies, that the truth doesn't even seem real."

~Unknown

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Chapter 17: I Didn't See that Coming (Part 1)

Brady

Bradley avoided Brady when he came back with the others with their food. Brady didn't mind as he was still semi-ticked off at his twin despite having the conversation with Silena who had told him to consider the possibility that fear had overcome his brother, paralyzing him. It was only in the morning when Brady found the motivation to talk it out, to get his brother's side of the story.

"Hey, can we talk?" Brady asked, walking up to Bradley who had crashed on the couch in Bryn and Luke's living room last night rather than be in the same room as his twin.

"Sure," he answered.

"What happened? In the cave?"

"I don't... I don't really know. I saw that thing grab onto Bryn's leg and all of a sudden my body froze out of sheer terror and panic at the thought of losing her again. I tried so hard, so hard, to get my body moving so I could fly to her rescue, but it was as if all my muscles just froze. They only unfroze when I saw her being pulled down," he confessed, looking down at the carpet near the end of his story, as if he couldn't bear to look his brother in the eye. "I nearly got her killed because of that."

Brady sighed. As much as he wanted to be mad at his brother, he could also pick up on the complete and utter remorse through their emotional connection. "We've all been through a lot recently. None of us are the same and we don't know how we were affected by it. It's not your fault."

"Are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good. Let's go check on Bryn, see what she's doing, if she's even up."

The twins made their way to Bryn's room. They found their sister still curled up under the sheets but she was awake watching television, albeit with her eyes half closed. Luke, on the other hand, was passed out next to her.

"Hey sis, how you feeling?" Brady queried. The brothers leaned against the door frame.

"I'm still on the cold side but I can at least get up and walk around without shivering. What about you two? Something was wrong earlier. I could sense it."

"Just a discussion we needed to have," Brady remarked.

"I'm sorry, Bryn," Bradley whispered.

She scrunched her face, confused by his apology. "For what?"

"If I hadn't froze, maybe you wouldn't have nearly died."

"I froze right after the first time the monster grabbed me. If I hadn't, it wouldn't have gotten hold of me again. The only person at fault is me."

"But I was close enough to get to you if I hadn't-"

"If there's a way to blame yourself for everything that goes wrong, believe me, you'll find it. I've been where you are before Bradley, blaming yourself for something you couldn't control. I'm telling you right here and now that I don't blame and you shouldn't blame yourself either. Please don't."

"Protect... the queen..." Luke mumbled. All the Winchesters turned to look at him but he was still fast asleep.

"Think he means the Queen of England?" Brady mused, a grin on his face.

"As incredible as she is, I'd venture he's talking about Kate. More his type."

"Kate's married and Luke's taken," Bryn said.

"Considering how much he loves you, maybe he's talking about you," Bradley replied.

"Nice save. I'm going to get dressed. I'll wake Luke up so he can pack. Would you mind telling the others to start getting ready to leave? I want to get this quest over with sooner rather than later."

"Are you up to fighting? It's the last weapon so it's going to be heavily guarded," Brady pointed out, trying not to sound too overprotective.

"I'm up to fighting. I'll take some ambrosia and nectar and will be as good as new. I promise."

The twins nodded and left her be. When she was out of earshot, they shared a glance with each other that clearly said they both believed she was far from ready.

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Bryn

The daughter of Zeus was far from ready. She honestly just wanted to bury herself back underneath the covers and curl up next to Luke. But work needed to be done. Besides, if she got this last weapon back, then she could go home sooner and curl up next to her boyfriend as much as she wanted. With a sigh, Bryn rolled over and shook Luke's arm.

"Sharkboy, it's time to wake up. We have a mission to complete," she whispered. He didn't budge. When shaking his arm for a minute didn't work, Bryn took her last resort. "Sweetie, I'm really, really sorry for this."

She sent a small jolt of lightning at her boyfriend's arm, nothing dangerous but enough to wake him up. It worked brilliantly as Luke jumped into sitting position.

"What's happening?!" he exclaimed.

"Nothing, you just weren't waking up so I had to take a last resort," she informed.

"You shocked me," he stated.

"I shocked you," she confirmed. Sheepishly she added, "Sorry."

"I've had worse wake-up calls," he chuckled tiredly. "So what's going on?"

"We're getting ready to head to New Zealand. Since we have the Helm of Darkness, Derek or Hallie can use it to get us there instead of us having to take an airplane."

"Are you up to it?"

"The thought of getting this blasted quest over with is more than enough to make me feel up to it. Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You were talking in your sleep. You were saying 'protect the queen.' What were you talking about?"

"I honestly have no idea. How are you doing?" he queried, rubbing her back.

"I'm okay. I've at least stopped the incessant shivering. You know, if you keep rubbing my back like that, I'm not going to get out of bed."

"Maybe that's the point," he teased. Bryn leaned down and kissed him. Her boyfriend mumbled, "Now you're going to keep me in bed."

"Gods, we leave you two alone for five seconds and you're making out already," one of the twins remarked.

"My eyes! My innocence!" the other shouted. Bryn and Luke jumped apart.

"This happens way too often," Luke groaned.

"Well maybe if you two weren't always attached at the lips, it wouldn't be," Brady joked.

"What do you two want?" Bryn interrupted before they could tease her and her boyfriend anymore.

"We wanted to let you know that Silena, Hallie, and Derek went to get breakfast. They wanted to know what you wanted," Bradley explained.

"Egg and bacon sandwich please," Bryn requested. Luke repeated the order. The twins left so the couple rolled out of bed to get dressed and ready for the next adventure. Bryn threw on a new outfit, one that was more suited for trekking through a New Zealand cave, before heading into the bathroom to do her hair and makeup. Luke was brushing his teeth when she entered. He looked tired which made her wonder how much sleep he'd actually gotten last night.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could.

"Here and there. Kept waking up. I think I'm starting to sleepwalk. I ended up on the floor next to the couch Bradley was sleeping on."

"Why was Bradley sleeping on our couch?"

"Because he and Brady were having some sort of argument which they've gotten over now."

"What were you dreaming about when you were sleepwalking?"

"No idea. I have no memory of hardly any dreams unless it involves killing you or one of the others."

"That's cheery."

"You're not bothered by me having dreams of killing you?"

"No, because they're just dreams that Tartarus have caused you to have. Your darkest fear, which apparently happens to be mine, is killing those you love most. It's not going to happen."

"How do you know?"

Bryn gave him a cocky smile. "Because if you attacked me, who do you think would win?"

Luke pretended to be offended. "I don't know, I think I stand a pretty good chance."

"Oh please Sharkboy, you might be stronger, but I think I'm slightly smarter."

"I've taken you down in capture the flag."

"You had back up."

"So did you."

"As I remember, my brother was being violently attacked by someone in your group. I was distracted."

"That's a low blow. You know he had no control over it."

"One day, I think you and I need to have a one-on-one battle. See who really is the better fighter."

"Once this quest is over, I'm holding you to that," Luke stated. He gave his girlfriend a playful nudge. "I'm going to go finish packing. I'll see you in a bit."

With a kiss on her cheek, he disappeared into the bedroom. Bryn shut the door out of habit. She'd just always liked having doors shut around her. It made her feel safe because it felt like a barrier to anything evil that wanted to come for her. She knew Luke was on the other side though, which was her only hesitation in shutting the door because if anything did come, he would be left alone to defend himself, even if only for a couple seconds, but even a split second could be the difference between life and death in a battle. But then Bryn reminded herself that the only battle they had coming up was in New Zealand, and hopefully that one wouldn't take too long to accomplish.

Putting the finishing touches on her makeup, Bryn decided she was ready for the day. She opened the door and let out a scream. Overwhelming fear gripped her as she stared at the red and black abyss of Tartarus.

Silly girl. A voice whispered around her. Did you think these past few months were real? Did you really believe that your brothers and Hallie were able to get the Physician's Cure and save your pathetic life? Did you really believe you made it out of here alive? You poor, pitiful soul. No, everything that's happened since you 'came back to life' have been your own imagination. Sleeping with your boyfriend every night, having fun at camp, getting your family back, that splendid night in Paris... all your own imagination. I must say, you've entertained me vastly with the fake life you envisioned for yourself. Although what I can't figure out is why you would make such a daring quest happen? You let your boyfriend get hurt, you let Silena nearly die, you let Derek and Hallie nearly kill themselves while shadow-travelling. You nearly let yourself get killed. Is there some twisted part in your mind that enjoys getting injured? That enjoys seeing others you love in death-defying situations?

"Stop it! Why are you doing this?!" she cried out, shutting her eyes to avoid seeing the horrors around her.

Because there is nothing more devastating than being so happy and then having that all ripped out from underneath you in one fell swoop. And the funny thing is, you're going to go back to your little imagined life with this conversation in mind and despite how real everything is going to seem, you're always going to know in the back of your head that none of it is real. Not Luke, not Silena, not Derek, not Hallie, not the twins, not your parents, not camp. They're all up above you, living their lives now.

"Shut up!" she sobbed. "Just shut up! You're not real!"

"Bryn!" Luke shouted. She opened her eyes to find Luke in Tartarus with her, sliding to a stop on his knees in front of her.

"You're not real... you're not real..." she mumbled, shaking her head and trying to scramble back. But she couldn't move. She looked behind her to see what was preventing her from moving backwards but there was nothing to do so. It was open space behind her.

"Bryn, look at me, I am real. Whatever you're seeing right now, whatever is happening to you is an aftereffect of Tartarus," Luke stated, cupping her face to try and get her to meet his gaze. She just continued shaking her head and trying to pull away. "Cat Woman, please don't hate me for doing this but we need you to snap out of this."

A sharp pain erupted in her hand, causing her to open her eyes to see what had happened. A long but shallow gash was bleeding on her left hand. She looked up to find Luke staring with wide, worried eyes at her. Bryn blinked, suddenly confused be her surroundings. She was back in the hotel bathroom. Luke was sitting in front of her, dagger in his hand, and her brothers were kneeling on either side of her.

"You with us?" Luke asked softly. Bryn nodded shakily.

"What happened?" Brady inquired.

"I-I don't... I was... Tartarus. I was there again," she stammered. "A voice was telling me everything since I came back from the dead has been my imagination and that I'm in Tartarus."

"You are very, very far from Tartarus and I'm never letting you go back there," Luke told her.

"How did you snap me out of it?"

"I made a cut on your hand. Sometimes pain came make things clearer for people."

"That was really smart," she praised quietly.

"I have my moments," he said with a shrug.

"Do we need to spend another day here?" Bradley questioned.

"No... No, we need to continue on with the quest. I don't want to stay another day in Mother Russia. The past few days have not been my best," she replied.

"Not by any fault of yours," Brady consoled.

"I think I hear Derek, Hallie, and Silena. Guys, would you go help them out with the food and get it all on the table? We'll be out there in a minute. I'm going to heal Bryn's hand for her."

The twins nodded with an understanding seeming to pass between them and Luke. The latter helped his girlfriend stand up. He turned the sink on and ran his hand and her hand under the running water, willing the liquid to close up the wound. Bryn watch as the ripped skin on her palm slowly attached itself back together.

"There," Luke said, turning off the water. "Good as new."

"Thank you," she told him, rubbing her newly healed hand.

"Hey," he whispered, lifting her chin up with his knuckle. "Are you okay?"

Her head began nodding but that quickly turned into shaking it as tears started falling down her face. Luke pulled her into a comforting hug as she cried into chest, allowing herself to feel the fear that she'd encountered just a few minutes ago.

"It felt so real," she cried softly.

"I know it did. Trust me I know. But I'm very real. Silena, Hallie, Derek, your brothers, they're all very real too. I mean, I don't care who you are, you can't make up of the crap we say and half the stuff we get into. Also, of all the guys you could've imagined ending up with, you chose me so that tells you right there that you can't have been imagining things," he joked, causing Bryn to let out a small laugh. He kissed her on top of the head before adding, "And you can't make up a love like ours."

Bryn pulled Luke's lips to hers, savoring the kiss, melting into his arms. Every noise, every thought, every sensation save for the parts of her body that were pressed up against Luke, disappeared.

"That was-" he began.

"Just checking sure that you're real. Guys don't say lines like that except in books and movies."

"You are welcome to check if I'm real any time you want, especially if you're going to kiss me every time."

"We should finish getting ready," she said.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes. We have a mission to complete. But after the mission, I say we head to Montauk for a weekend. All by ourselves."

"I love the sound of that."

Bryn and Luke left the bathroom and went into the living space in their hotel room. Their friends were waiting for them.

"You okay?" Derek asked, walking up to Bryn and giving her a hug. She replied she was. The group then proceeded to sit down on the couches and devour their breakfast before hurriedly going to pack their things. They reconvened in the living room ten minutes later where Hallie put on the Helm of Darkness and transported us all to the entrance of the Waitomo caves.

"The water is too deep for us to walk through so we'll need a boat," Silena remarked. "When does the last tour group come out?"

"In about ten minutes. We'll convince them to exit the boat prematurely and I can transport them back to the main base and then come back here before you set off. I've always wanted to see the glow worms," Hallie said.

"Then everyone hide. Bryn, Brady, Bradley, prepare to use your Charmspeak to convince them to get off the boat," Silena announced. The demigods hid behind rocks that allowed them to see the exit of the cave. Just as predicted, a boat full of passengers came out of the tunnel around ten minutes later.

"Stop!" Bradley commanded.

"Listen to us carefully, our friend will transport you back to the main base and we will take your boat," Brady explained.

"And you will not, under any circumstances, breathe a word about us or our taking the boat," Bryn finished. Hallie, with the help of Silena, walked on the water so she could get in the boat. Bradley ordered everyone on the boat to grab each other's hands. In the blink of any eye they were all gone, and in another blink, Hallie was back, grinning at her success. She shoved the helm into her backpack while her friends got on the boat. Bryn gripped Luke's hand because she was once more going into an area where she was both underground and on top of water. There was no place for a child of Zeus to escape if the cave decided to collapse or if the water decided to flood the cave and try and drown them.

Silena and Derek sat in the front guiding the boat. Luke and Bryn took the back. The boat slowly started moving on its own into the darkness of the cavern.

"So how long until we see the glowworms?" Bradley whispered.

"I don't know. Soon I hope because I don't like this darkness," Brady muttered.

"Here," Derek said. A dim, flickering flame appeared at the front of the boat. "I don't want to do any damage to the wildlife since I'm pretty sure none of them have actually seen sunlight or fire before."

"Guys, you might want to look up," Hallie said softly, her head craned up towards the ceiling. The rest followed in suit. Bryn felt her mouth drop in amazement at the sight before her. Blueish-green entities dotted and hung from the rock ceiling above them. For a brief moment, any fear of being underground, any fear of being on top of water, disappeared. She was entranced by the glowworms because the light they emitted was calming to her, which would probably explain why it was so effective in luring prey into the larvae's threads. If it was making Bryn want to reach up and touch them, she could understand why their prey would want to as well.

By now Derek had extinguished his fire because the glowworms were so bright they lit the path before them perfectly.

"This is incredible," Silena whispered in awe.

"I could honestly lay here in a boat and stare at them for hours," Bryn remarked.

"They might end up falling on you though," Brady said.

"You had to ruin the moment, didn't you?"

"Hey, I'm surrounded by three couples here. I had to kill the mood before you all started getting lovey-dovey with each other."

"As much as I would like to go with Bryn's idea, we need to figure out where Zeus's master bolt is," Silena interrupted. "Winchesters, this is up to you. We could sense ours, so you can probably sense your dads."

"It's here but not in the glowworm area. It's farther up," Bryn answered. Silena and Derek directed the boat farther in the cave. Slowly but surely, the lights from the glowworms were replaced by manmade lights illuminating the massive caverns.

"Derek, Hallie, can you sense it? I know it's not your dad's weapon but you can search for things underground right?" Bradley queried.

The kids of Hades shut their eyes, searching for the Master Bolt. It was Derek's eyes that flew open first.

"Follow me!" he exclaimed. He ran off with the demigods hard on his heels. Bryn was confused by her friend's sudden, hyper behaviour, but attributed it to his excitement that they were almost done with the quest once they had the bolt. Then, once it was in their hands, they could use the helm to transport them to Olympus where they could return the weapons to their rightful owners. Derek came to a sliding stop in front of a massive rock formation that towered up stories high in front of them. Above it hung the lightning bolt, blending in with the stalactites.

"Okay, seriously, whoever put that up there, did they really think Zeus's master bolt would blend in with those stilettos?" Bradley inquired.

"You mean stalactites?" Bryn corrected.

"I always forget which are stalactites and which are stalagmites so I just call them stilettos," he commented.

"I mean to be fair, both look like the heel part of a stiletto," Brady added.

"It's like you two didn't even learn about geology," Bryn said.

"You only attended one year of high school. How do you know all this?"

"Because Chiron homeschooled me and other campers during normal school years. I also read the camp library more than once."

"This is why you're the brains in the family," Brady told her.

"She's also the brawn half the time too. I mean when she was training us, she kicked our asses more times than I care to admit," Bradley confessed.

"Enough chit chat. Let's get this bolt and get out of here," Hallie intervened.

"Right, I'll head up and grab it. If it decides to shock me, I'll at least be able to- Luke, what are you doing?" Bryn called out as she watched her boyfriend ascend the steep rock.

"I'm grabbing the bolt!" he shouted back as he reached the top. Bryn shot up into the air in an attempt to catch up with her boyfriend but the air, or lack of, prevented her from flying too high without using unnecessary amounts of effort that extremely winded her. She caught her breath on a ledge as she watched Luke yank the bolt out of the ceiling. He was examining it as she finally climbed up to the top. From her position, he was a just a few steps away from her but slightly higher so she had to look up at him when she said, "Luke, give me the bolt."

"Why?" he asked, facing her.

"aThat's my father's bolt and if used incorrectly, you could kill any of us, including me. It's the most unstable of the three weapons because it's the most powerful."

"I don't think so," he told her raising the bolt so that it pointed at her chest.

"L-Luke, what are you doing?" she breathed.

A malicious smile formed on his face and he replied, "Sorry Miss Winchester, but Luke's not home right now."

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Hope you enjoyed! Now the real fun begins!