Hey y'all! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! Between school and a new job and life, I've just been insanely busy. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter Quote:
"I don't agree that when you love, you are blind or fool. You just get wiser and see clearer what is best and of worth."
~Hark Herald Sarmiento
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Chapter 2: She's Falling Into Our Trap

Silena

When Silena woke up, she was on the ground of what appeared to be a rainforest, judging by the dampness of the soil and air. Her head pounded to the point where all she wanted was to go back to sleep to get rid of the pain, but she couldn't. She needed to figure out where she was so she could figure out a way to get back to her family.

"Ah, you're up," Bradley commented. "About time. You've been out for, oh... twenty-four hours. I guess that spell worked a little too well. That or you really needed your sleep."

"I needed the sleep," Silena muttered. "I don't sleep well at night."

"I would assume that would be from the nightmares Tartarus has given you."

"Where am I? Where's my family?"

"Well I can't tell you exactly where you are, but you're in China. Far away from civilization and in a place you won't be able to escape unless you want to plummet to your death. Your brother, or my brother now, is somewhere in India, and your boyfriend, now my other brother, is somewhere in California. We figured it was best not to tell each other our exact locations so if that pest Bryn Winchester finds us, we can't help her find each other or the others."

"You mean when she finds us," Silena corrected. "You have no idea what she's capable of, do you?"

"Enlighten me."

"She will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She would take on the gods if it meant getting us back. So it's not a matter of 'if' she finds us, but 'when', and you better be good and ready when she does because you might be possessing her brother, but she won't hold back, and you can bet your ass she'll know every way to strike that will hurt you but not Bradley. She's died for us. More than once if you want to get into the technicalities of it. And I know she would do it again."

Phlegon smiled. "She's good."

"The best. Even my dad said he wouldn't want to cross her if she was after something. Once she sets her mind to something, only death would stop her, and even then, I feel like she'd somehow find a way around that."

"Believe it or not, despite how we treated you and her and Hallie, we don't want any of you dead. We want you alive."

"Why?"

"Because we need you. Besides, we know Bryn is coming after us. And when she does, we'll be ready. We need her too. Although I have a feeling if anyone is going to capture her, it's going to be Baltazar. Can I get you anything to eat? Drink? I'm going to head over into a city and get some food. You know what, I'll surprise you. Bradley knows that you like... dumplings. I'll try and find some for you. There's no official toilet here so I've made a makeshift one over there, leaf curtains and all for privacy. I might be a monster in your eyes but I'm still civilized. Also, I'd tell you not to run off but you're leashed to that tree so, no worries for me there. Okay, I'll be back. Try not get into trouble."

Silena watched as Phlegon took off into the air, quickly disappearing from view. Once he was out of sight, she dashed over to the left where she sensed some water far below her. She came to a skidding halt however, when she saw the four-thousand foot drop. Only one place was coming to mind when she thought of it, and that was the Tianzi Mountains in China. If that's where she truly was, then she was in major trouble. Discouraged, Silena made her way back to the tree she was tied to. Closing her eyes, she sent out a telepathic message to her brother, or at least tried to. There was no response from him so it was impossible to tell, unless her brother couldn't even respond with the Eidolon possessing him.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" she grumbled. "Why can't any quest we go on be just like 'here's the object you need to find, it's a two hour drive away, and you can be home before dinner'? Why does it always have to be 'the object you need to get could destroy the world and is halfway around the world surrounded by monsters that could kill you just by snapping their fingers' quest?"

Suddenly Silena realized she was talking to herself, causing her to lightly bang her head against the tree and say, "Great, I'm already losing my sanity and I've only been here twenty five hours, twenty-four of which I've been asleep. Okay, think Silena. You're a granddaughter of Athena. You've gotten out of Tartarus. You can get out of this."

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Brady

"Gods, do you not know the word air conditioning?" Brady complained when he woke up. "Why is it so bloody hot in here?"

"Because we're under one of the hottest places in America: Death Valley," Damianos explained.

"Please tell me you did not choose this place because it has the word 'death' in it and you're currently possessing a son of Hades."

"No, but it is rather poetic, don't you think?"

"It'll be really poetic when I get out of these bonds and kick your ass out of my friend."

"Oh you won't be getting out of those chains anytime soon. Not unless your sister can get the key off of me and she's MIA at the moment. She's blocked her mind from Derek talking to her. Probably because she knows I'm listening in. Smart girl."

"Then let me correct myself: it will be really poetic when my sister kicks your golden little ass back to Tartarus where you belong."

"I mean I can't wait to see her try. And unlike my brother Baltazar, my eye color is not gold. It's blue. And what's that face for? You don't think I know she's on her way to save you?" Damianos cocked his head in amusement as it dawned on him that Brady really hadn't thought the Eidolon had known. "Please, I know her history thanks to probing Derek and-"

"That sounds wrong but continue."

Damianos seemed not to understand what was wrong with his choice of words considering the expression on his face but he didn't ask why. "I probed Derek's habits and thoughts and memories and found out everything I need to know about Bryn Winchester. The things she's told Derek is great stuff for ammo against her, which I will be alerting Baltazar to for when she comes for her boyfriend because she will. She'd be in a world of hurt without him. So for the time being, you get to spend joyous company with me."

"Yes, in this bloody heat. How kind of you. Could we maybe go somewhere cooler?"

"No, the heat sucks out the oxygen so if your sister tries to fly in here, she won't get very far. Can I get you anything? Food? Water?"

"Uh, no. Why are you even offering that kind of stuff to me? Aren't hostages and their captors not supposed to get along or something?"

"Well believe it or not, I do actually like you. You're quite spiffy, and your brother is too. And I appreciate how protective you are of your sister. It will at some point be used against you as it was against your brother when she was attacked by that water monster, but-"

"What are you talking about?" Brady asked sharply.

"That wasn't Bradley freezing up. That was my own brother taking temporary muscular control while letting your brother continue having full mental control so he thought he was just panicking when he froze up."

"That nearly killed my sister!"

"Exactly. We knew Luke was down there and that he'd come save the day. Plus we wouldn't let her die. We just needed to break her."

"Why do you need to break my sister? She's already been broken before. She just came back from the dead, she's still pulling herself together from the last prophecy. Leave her alone!" Brady snarled.

"We need her broken for what we need. All of you play a part in our mission. Wait and see."

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Hallie

Luke, or Baltazar, was reading a book on a couch a few feet away from the bed Hallie was on. Trying not to alert him to her waking, she took in her surroundings. Other than some things smelling slightly musty, the room itself was grand. The walls were beige with intricate decorations lining the wall. The furniture was old but elegant, most likely expensive. But where on earth she was, Hallie had no idea. She also had no idea how to escape.

"Where am I?" she croaked out.

"Jal Mahal Palace. In other words, you're in India. You have free reign of this room but your tether won't let you go any farther than the bathroom," Baltazar said.

"This is surprisingly nice quarters for what would be considered a hostage situation."

"Be glad. Your friends are in nature. You at least have a building. I'm also more refined than my brothers."

"And we're surrounded by water, your host's element," she added.

"How perceptive of you. You've heard of this place then?"

"I had a lot of time on my hands before I met the Winchesters."

"So I know. Luke has memories of going out to your place after Bryn demolished it with a twister."

"That place was a hell hole. Now where are my friends? Are they okay?"

"Silena and Brady are fine. Who knows where Bryn is but I'm sure she's fine. She always is when she's by herself. It's just when you all are around her that she goes to hell."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't let you in on all my secrets. Besides, it doesn't matter. Despite her being better by herself, she is inexplicably and irrevocably attracted to all of you, whether in a romantic way or in a familial way. She can't stay away from you."

"She would stay away from us if she needed to. If it meant our safety, she'd stay away from us."

"Like she did when you were fighting Hannah? How she said she'd stay away from Luke, Silena, and Derek to protect them from finding out her secret so that she could help them save the world? But hang on, Bryn went and saw them multiple times, didn't she? And you and the twins didn't even try and stop her."

"It helped her to know that what she was doing was the right thing."

"Right. Keep telling yourself that."

"Tell me what you want us for. You know Bryn is coming for you and you know that she'll find a way to defeat you."

"You're very smart Hallie. Yes, we have you here for a reason. Because we need her, but I know exactly what she's going to do before she's coming here. She is falling right into our trap and she has absolutely no idea."

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Hope y'all enjoyed :)