Chapter Quote:
"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
~Unknown
______________________________________

Chapter 12: I'm Engaged?

Bryn

"Bryn! It's time to wake up!" Luke's voice encouraged. Bryn's eyes fluttered open. She was greeted by her boyfriend's smiling face staring down at her. He let out a chuckle when he saw her awake. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty!"

"Why are you waking me up, and why are you so cheerful?" she murmured.

"Because we have about an hour before we need to leave for our trip today."

"What's that again?"

"We're going sailing for the day. We're going to snorkel in some caves, have dinner by a fire on the beach, and have a catamaran all to ourselves. It's a great start to our honeymoon."

"Our honeymoon," Bryn repeated, the word sounding strange on her tongue. As much as she enjoyed the thought, something about it felt off. "Where are we again?"

"Puerto Vallarta. You feeling okay there, Cat Woman?"

"Yeah, yeah, just disoriented. I'm really sleepy."

"Maybe this will wake you up a little." Luke leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. Bryn melted into it, suddenly becoming much more awake; but she was only aware of her body against her husband's. "Did that work?"

"Yes, very much so," she murmured. "Luke... what happened with the Eidolons?"

"You don't remember?" He scrunched up his face. "Are you feeling okay? Did you hit your head earlier?"

"I feel fine. I don't think I hit my head earlier. That's the thing... I can't remember anything up until this point. What happened?"

"We won. Like we always do."

"I get that we won, but how?"

"I really don't know. I think we just got lucky. Now come on, I don't want to be late for our sailing trip!" Giving her one last peck on the cheek, her husband bounded off into the bathroom, turning on some music, and singing quietly off-key. Bryn rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, but something was still wrong. As much as she thoroughly enjoyed the fact that she and Luke were on their honeymoon, she couldn't shake the feeling that she should remember a lot more than she did, which was practically nothing. She remembered going to Pollux's house and having a heart-to-heart with Derek about letting Amara in and then going to sleep, but she didn't remember saving Silena or Hallie, or getting the Eidolons out of Bradley and Luke, or rescuing the entire planet from the Eidolon's world domination plan. Most importantly, she couldn't remember her own wedding.

"Gods, what's wrong with me?" Bryn whispered to herself, rubbing the sides of her head.

"Nothing, dear," Aphrodite chimed, suddenly appearing in front of the demigod and making her jump.

"Now I know how my friends feel when I show up unannounced. What is this? What are you doing here?"

"Just having some fun!"

"Is this the future or something?"

"A few details have been altered, but yes, for the most part."

"Luke and I get married?"

"Oh honey, you know the answer to that."

Bryn fiddled with her necklace. "So why does it feel like something's wrong? Why do I feel like this shouldn't be happening?"

"I'm not sure, darling. But I... I sense it too." Aphrodite frowned, searching her granddaughter's hazel eyes for a clue. Something must've dawned on her because the color drained out of her shocked face. "Bryn, what have-"
______________________________________  

Bryn's eyes shot open, a thin layer of sweat covering her body. What just happened? She craned her neck to look at the alarm clock; it read 5:30 a.m. Letting out a quiet groan, she sat up, rubbing the sides of head and mumbling, "Amara, is this a side effect of you being in me?"

Sorry, child. She suspected what you have done, and if that were the case, there would be a battle between her and me, and you would be caught in the crossfire. I had to protect you because who knew how long that battle would last and what damage it could cause you. Amara's sing-song voice responded.

"Well, you are hitching a ride in her granddaughter," I pointed out.

A favorite granddaughter. I could sense that straight away. And she would've kicked me out as I'm not strong enough to hold my own right now. Then the plan to get my comrades out of your family would fail.

"Okay, well, let's get this through so we don't have to worry about a battle between immortals in my own head for a while."

Smart, dear.

Bryn rolled out of bed, grabbing some fresh clothes on the way to the bathroom so she could shower. Her mind flooded itself with all her thoughts. But one thought lingered in her mind, a nice one. A hopeful one.

So she and Luke married in the future? Part of the idea was incredibly nice because it meant Bryn got to marry the guy of her dreams. She never even thought she'd find a guy, let alone marry one. On the other hand, she wondered if she would live long enough to see her wedding. Between saving the world not once, but twice (and maybe a few times in between then- who knew how many of those small battles could've turned into something bigger), it was a lot to handle. Why had the gods, the Fates, entrusted her and her friends with such great responsibility? Probably close to a decade had been knocked off of her lifespan from all the stress that she'd endured over the last few years. Possibly more than a decade. Surely there were other demigods capable of saving the world? But then again, she wouldn't wish what she and her friends had been through on anyone.

Stepping out of the shower and getting dressed, Bryn made her way into the kitchen. By now, it was seven in the morning. She'd taken her time getting dressed. Derek had slept through it all and was, in fact, still sleeping. Brady and Alec were too. She knew being possessed and being held captive drained you. Isabelle was up though, much to her surprise. She was conversing with Pollux while he made breakfast.

"What are you doing up?" I queried.

"Woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep. You?" Isabelle took a sip of her coffee.

"Half nightmare, half good dream. What's for breakfast?" Bryn peered at what the son of Dionysus was cooking; her mouth watered at the sight of freshly cooked eggs and bacon. This would probably be one of the last good meals she had in a while. "So, I say once everyone has woken up, eaten, and gotten everything sorted, we head out."

"Any idea where we go?"

"I think we get to the airport closest to the Tianzi Mountains and go from there. Derek can shadow-travel us there if he's up to it. If not, we'll have to buy plane tickets."

"Could you call Adler?"

"Who's Adler?" Pollux questioned, sliding the pieces of bacon onto plates. The smell of the cooked food must've roused everyone else in the house because they all came shuffling into the kitchen. Alec had a serious case of bedhead. Brady and Derek appeared slightly disoriented.

"An angry, immortal eagle," Derek grumbled. "I still hate that bird."

Bryn smiled. "He couldn't carry all of us over there anyway, so don't worry. How are you feeling?"

"Like someone microwaved my insides. Whatever you used to get that monster out of me has some nasty side effects."

"Do you need any ambrosia or nectar?"

"I already had some. It'll pass. This just happens."

"We need to either fly there or shadow-travel there."

"I could maybe take myself and another person, but any more might kill me. I'd like to live to see my girlfriend and to see these monsters put down," Derek remarked grimly. Silence ensued as everyone pondered the best option to choose when the son of Hades snapped his fingers. "Mrs. O'Leary! The hellhound!"

"She should be able to help! She's helped me, Alec, and Isabelle on this quest once already. If it's to get to Luke or Silena, I know she'd be willing to help again."

"Why am I just now hearing about this hellhound pet you guys have?" Brady interrupted.

"Have we not told you about Mrs. O'Leary?"

"No!" he answered indignantly.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly before giving a brief explanation of the hellhound's background. Then she switched gears back to the main topic of conversation. "Okay, let's do that. Derek, take Isabelle. I'll take Brady and Alec on Mrs. O'Leary."

"First, breakfast," Pollux said. "You'll all need your strength."

"Oh my gods!" Derek suddenly exclaimed. His fork clattered on his plate, startling everyone around him. "The Trident! Where's the Trident?!"

"Relax, it's in my bag. I have it safe and secure," Bryn consoled.

"We could use it against Phlegon," Isabelle suggested.

"But let's remember that's still my brother in there. We can't kill him. I'm going to go grab my things and call Mrs. O'Leary." Just as Bryn stood up, her phone rang, blaring out the ringtone for an unknown caller. Bryn frowned at the code in front of the number, not recognizing it. But, curiosity got the better of her, and she answered, "Hello?"

"Bryn!" Silena exclaimed in a ragged voice. "Thank the gods."

"Silena! Where are you?!" Bryn demanded worriedly.

"Silena?!" Derek practically shouted, jumping out of his chair and nearly knocking it over.

"I'm in a hotel, the Shānqū jiǔdiàn, on the outskirts of the Tianzi Mountains."

"Okay, hang tight, we're coming to get you. Where's Phlegon?"

"Not sure, but probably closing in on my location. Please hurry, Bryn. I can't hold my own for much longer."

"We're leaving now. See you soon." Bryn hung up and turned to her group. "Change of plans. Grab your things and eat up. Silena is safe, but only for a short time. We need to get to her before Phlegon."

"Bryn, you take whoever is ready with you now, and I'll meet up with the last person there," Derek suggested.

"Alec and I have our bags packed already. We're ready to go," Isabelle informed.

"Then I'll get Mrs. O'Leary and we'll head out. Derek, Brady, we'll see you soon." The three demigods met outside in less than five minutes. Pollux joined them in order to see the hellhound. Giving her best cab whistle, Bryn waited for the dog to show up. It didn't take long either. Mrs. O'Leary came bounding out from a tree's shadow, sliding to a stop in front of the daughter of Zeus.

"Hey girl, how are you doing? Want to go save Silena?" Bryn queried, scratching the hellhound's ears. Mrs. O'Leary let out a bark of agreement. "Then take us to the Shānqū jiǔdiàn in China.

"That's amazing," Pollux said. He stared in awe at the black, tank-sized dog in front of him. "And this belongs to Percy?"

"Yeah, he took ownership of her after Daedalus died in the labyrinth. She loves him and everyone he loves. Thankfully, I'm in that category. Pollux, thank you so much for housing us. You helped us out a lot. Again."

"Anything to help out Percy and Annabeth's family. See you soon, Bryn. And next time, bring Luke. I want to meet him."

"We'll definitely try. See you around!" Bryn hopped onto the hellhound with Alec and Isabelle quickly following suit. Within the blink of an eye, the demigods were pulled into the hectic shadow-world, where it felt like Bryn's face was going to be ripped off by how fast they were going.

Then, as quickly as it happened, it was over. The three demigods caught their breath as they disembarked off the exhausted hellhound who chose to plop underneath a tree to sleep.

"That was how you got us to Camp Jupiter?" Alec asked, bracing himself on his knees.

"Yeah. Don't ask how I held onto the two of you because I really don't know. Let's go find Silena," Bryn encouraged, setting off into the hotel. Behind her, she heard Alec mumbling under his breath how he couldn't understand how she had so much energy after that. He truly didn't understand how anxious Bryn was to get to her friend, how much adrenaline currently pumped through her veins. She'd probably crash right after they won this battle, but for now, she was pumped because once they rescued Silena and Bradley, it meant they were almost done with this quest.
______________________________________ 

 How do you think Silena escaped? Find out in the next chapter!