Sophie Foster

This is a terrible idea. Sophie thought as the demigods moved and thrashed as they light leaped. Mortals weren’t supposed to go to the Lost Cities, much less light leap. But, they had to do the quest. They didn’t want anything bad to happen to either world. When the light dimmed, Sophie opened her eyes. They were in an unfamiliar dark room. Sophie heard soft breathing and when her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw the most horrifying thing ever.

“Elwin,” Sophie whispered.Tears began to form and she clinged onto Keefe’s hand. “He’s…”

Sophie let go and ran over to him. The gag looked painful and the cuts on him were new. The ropes holding him down were imprinting on his skin. Sophie gasped as she saw what was on Elwins wrist. The same branding Dex got when he fought back during his and Sophie's kidnapping. Sophie stood up and Keefe had to resteady her so she didn’t fall down. 

“It's ok Foster.” Keefe comforted. “We can fix this. We will fix this.”

Sophie looked at Keefe with her teary eyes and quietly added. “But why him?”

Percy turned on a flashlight and Elwin groaned. 

“Oh my gods,” Annabeth said. “W..we need Will. These look really bad.”

Sophie shook her head. “We can’t go back. Or light leap again with Elwin barely conscious.”

Dex rummaged through his bag. “I might have something that could work. Maybe some wound wipe and a bottle of youth.”

Percy held up some ambrosia and nectar. “Can he have this?”

Annabeth smacked his hand. “Are you insane? We don’t want him to die!” 

Percy looked down at the floor. “Sorry.”

Dex looked at Annabeth with curiosity. “What do you mean? How will Elwin die with ambrosia and nectar?”

Frank spoke up and made everyone jump. Frank had been so quiet since they left. “Ambrosia and nectar will kill anyone if they aren’t a demigod. That's pretty bad.”

Everyone nodded as Sophie checked her pockets for her home crystal. She patted her pockets over and over again. Once she had realized the harsh reality, she slid to the floor against the wall and started to breathe heavily.

“What's wrong Foster?’ Keefe asked as he sat next to her.

Tears began to form even though Sophie tried to hold them back. “I lost my home crystal.”

Percy Jackson

“What do you mean lost?” I asked. “And what the Hades is a ‘home crystal’?”

Annabeth glared at me as she ran over to Sophie. I probably said the wrong thing at the wrong time, again. 

Fitz walked over to me as he watched Keefe and Sophie hold hands and talk to each other. “A home crystal is a leaping crystal that takes us to our home. Nothing special.”

A nodded and stared back at Sophie and Keefe. I looked at Fitz who I expected to be mad but surprisingly he wasn't; he was sad.

“Are you ok with this?” I asked him.

“What do you mean?” Fitz answered as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.

“This.” I pointed to Sophie and Keefe. “I thought you and Sophie were a thing.”

Fitz looked at the ground. “Not anymore. Just forget it.”

Fitz put his hand in his pocket where a lump was that wasn’t there before. I stared at him skeptically and then let it go. It was probably nothing.

“Hey,” Leo sighed as he walked over. “Does something feel..off..to you?”

I nodded and motioned for Jason to come over. “Bro,” he said. “What is it?”

We told Jason all about our weird feelings and about how everything has been going wrong. He just laughed. 

“Are you kidding?” He said as he laughed again. “This place is awesome! By the way, Fitz makes great snacks!”

Leo and I just stared at Jason as he walked away. Yep, something was definitely not right.

                                                   Sophie Foster

“How could I be so stupid?” Sophie asked Keefe. “I lost something that could put Grady and Edaline in serious danger!”

Keefe sat next to her, holding her hand. “You probably left it in your cabin. Everything is OK! How many times do I have to tell you this, Foster?”

Usually, that remark would make Sophie smile. But she was so scared and worried. Smiling now felt like a gift.

“Hey guys!” Fitz said as he made his way over to the group. “This is cute and all, but how do we get out of here?”

Sophie was confused by the way Fitz talked but she was even more confused by his accent. It was just gone. Keefe got up and slowly walked towards Fitz like he was trying to approach a dangerous animal.

“Who are you?” Keefe asked. “And what did you do with my friend?”

Fitz just laughed and put his hand in his pocket. “Come on Keefe,” Fitz smiled like he had the perfect plan. “I am your best friend. Don’t you remember?”

Percy, Leo, and Frank all ran over. Percy was next to Annabeth, getting ready to fight. Leo’s hand ignited with fire and Frank turned into a grizzly bear. Sophie jumped up with her Suckerpunch ready. This wasn’t Fitz. Sophie looked around for Jason but he was sitting in the corner, shivering and knocked out.

“Who are you?” Sophie asked Fitz, one final time. “Just tell me.”

Fitz looked away from everyone, with his hand still in his pocket. “Fine, I’m-” Fitz pulled out a melder and tackled Annabeth. He put the melder next to Annabeth. “That wasn’t too hard. Very easy to disarm. Now, do what I say or the girl gets hit with this. Trust me, you do not want me to hit her more than once.”

Percy trembled, his sword shaking in his hand, “Who are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Perseus Jackson.” Fitz said as he looked at Percy with an evil smile.

Leo’s flames stayed strong as he glared at Fitz. “Listen buddy, I don’t know who the Hades you are but you are going to put Annabeth down and surrender your weapon or else you eat flames. Got that?”

Fitz laughed, a usually beautiful sound. “I have that power demigod. Pyrokinesis? Yeah, I wouldn’t do that.”

Everyone but the demigods gasped. 

“Fintan,” Sophie whispered. “But..how?”

Fintan/Fitz laughed and smiled. His eyes flickered from teal to sky blue. The same color as Fintans eyes. “Well, I was about to poison Fitz when he practically begged on his knees for me to spare his life. He had already joined the Neverseen but I had other plans. Every once and a while I speak through him because our new member with a rare ability helped me out. He did all of this willingly. You can’t trust anyone Sophie. They will just betray you.” His eyes flickered back to teal, still smiling. 

Sophie's eyes watered. The boy she had a crush on for so long was the unthinkable.

“You’re the spy,” Sophie gasped. She was extremely ready to inflict but she couldn’t risk Annabeth's life. “It's you and Alden. You’re with the Neverseen.”

Fitz smiled like he was waiting for Sophie to find out. “Join me Sophie. We can be together forever. Defeat the council and create a utopia together. Just take my hand.”

Fitz had put the melder down to offer Sophie his branded hand. Sophie was very tempted to take it but instead she motioned for Percy to attack Fitz from behind. Still trembling, he hit Fitz’s head with the back of his sword. Fitz crumbled to the ground, unconscious but breathing. 

Sophie started to breathe slowly and tears raced down her face. Then she fell to the ground, crying her eyes out. Sophie couldn’t hold it back anymore. Her entire life, every moment she spent with Fitz, was a lie. A trick, to get her to give him information that he could use against her. 

Everyone backed away so they could untie Elwin, help Jason, and tie up Fitz. Sophie thought everyone had gone to the other side of the room when she looked up. The only person left was Keefe, sitting next to her and holding her hand.

“You good Foster?” Keefe said as he added a sad smirk. “Or do you need another minute? Either way, I’m here for you.” 

Sophie stared at Keefe. She hadn’t realized it but he had always been there for her. He had done everything for her and was always willing to wait. Sophie gave him a hug and started to cry on his shoulder. Keefe was more than a friend, he was the one. 

                                                           Percy Jackson

Everyone stared as Keefe and Sophie hugged. They had been through so much today but they seemed to find peace in each other. Annabeth came over to me while continuing to stare and pointed at them. 

“Why can’t we be like that?” She asked. “They are so cute and happy. You know? Just like, improve your boyfriend skills. Ok?”

I sighed and continued to tie up Fitz. The melder definitely didn’t do any damage to her. I was continuing my job with Frank and Leo when Fitz’s eyes popped open. His teal eyes were almost mesmerizing to me. Voices were yelling in the background but all I wanted to focus on was those beautiful teal eyes. I felt like I would do anything for him. Next thing you know, I hear a clang and I have to fight out of the trance.

“What happened?” I asked. “I can’t remember.”

Leo sighed. He was holding Riptide and he was breathing heavily. “I had to hit Fitz again. You were under some sort of spell. You were saying something under your breath. I only caught ‘directions’, ‘Neverseen, and something in latin. Deos, I think.”

A sudden migraine hit me and I wobbled. “It means ‘Gods’. I think I know what they were trying to get me to say. I don’t know why though.”

Annabeth looked at me and motioned for me to come over. “Jason is waking up but he keeps murmuring something in latin. I don’t understand it. We need a translator.”

I crouched down next to Jason and held my breath so I could listen. He kept murmuring a sentence that sent chills down my spine. He kept saying, Perseum Jackson. I looked at Annabeth and frowned.

“He’s saying ‘Kill Perseus Jackson’.”

Sophie Foster

After a bit of crying, Sophie sat up and sniffled. She wiped away her tears and gave Keefe a huge hug.

“Thanks Keefe,” she thanked. “That...that was nice of you.”

Keefe laughed, “Anything for you Foster! I have a shoulder you can cry on any day.”

Sophie stared at Keefe for a moment. “Did you know about Fitz and Alden?”

Keefe’s face darkened. “Actually, I didn’t. I know Fitz was my best friend and all but he never told me that. Neither did Alden. I hung out with them almost every day! They were like-”

Sophie nodded understandingly, “Family.” She finished for him. “They were like family. They have done so much for me.”

Keefe looked away. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have known you existed. I wouldn’t have-” Keefe stopped himself. 

“You wouldn’t have fallen in love?” Sophie smiled. “We both wouldn’t have.”

Keefe’s eyes widened as Sophie pulled Keefe towards her. Then they did the unthinkable. They kissed. Sophie could feel everyone else stare but she didn’t care. For once, Sophie thinks she found love.

                                                   Percy Jackson

“What?” Annabeth asked. “He’s saying to kill you? Why though?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess they know I’m an enemy. But this is like a spell or manipulation. I don’t-”

Annabeth's loud gasp cut me off. “Spell? Manipulation? This sounds like Hecate or Aphrodite! Maybe their-”

Jason quickly woke up and yelled. “No!”

Everyone ran over, including Sophie and Keefe.

“What happened?” Sophie asked weakly.

Jason stared at everyone in horror. He kept opening his mouth but it refused to make a sound. I put my hand on his shoulder. This wasn’t like him at all. He was acting and looking different.

“You can tell us Jason!” Leo said with a smile. “It’s OK!”

Jason nodded. “I saw the camps! They were in a weird flame and cloaked people were running everywhere, spreading fire to whatever they touched. I also saw Drew wearing a cloak and Lou Ellen was too! They were laughing like they did this but their eye color was different! Drew had piercing blue and Lou Ellen had gold. It was terrible. Thank gods it wasn’t the future! ...right?”

Everyone looked away. I didn’t want to tell him.

“Is there anything else you remember, Jason?” Keefe asked. “Like anything else?”

Jason thought for a moment and then nodded. “I remember...us. We were fighting back but we couldn't win. We started going down, dying. They made us watch everyone else die. It was worse than anything I have ever seen.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, letting that sink in. Then Dex started searching through his bag.

“What are you doing?” Sophie asked.

Dex shrugged. “Hoping I have some sort of crystal in here. We have to leave. But I guess it won’t just reappear.”

Leo gasped like he actually had an idea for once. “My toolbelt! I can get a leaping crystal from it!”

Sophie Foster

Everyone started to talk loudly. Most of them were excited but Sophie was a mixture of emotions. They had been in the empty room for hours and Sophie was going a little crazy. She decided to stay quiet because she didn’t want to cause more trouble than there already was. When Leo started to rummage through his bag, he gasped and pulled out Sophie’s home crystal.

“My crystal!” Sophie snatched it from Leo and then paused. “We need light to, well, light leap.”

Leo smirked as he lit his hand with fire.It was a long shot but it was also worth a try. Keefe grabbed Fitz while Percy and Jason grabbed Elwin. They immediately went to Havenfield. When they got there, Sophie felt light headed but it immediately went away after Sophie blinked a few times.Sophie looked at the demigods and they were in shock.

“This place is beautiful..” Annabeth said. “The architecture is immaculate!”

Sophie remembered her first time seeing Elvin houses. The demigods were a bit more chill then Sophie was. 

I guess when you have seen Olympus, everything seems normal to you. She thought.

Yeah, Fitz said in her mind. Guess so.

Sophie jumped and she grabbed onto Keefe’s arm. Nobody said anything and Sophie turned to face Fitz. His eyes were wide open and smiling like a maniac. He sounded like Brant for some reason but still scared Sophie half to death.

“Hello Sophie.” He cackled as Sophie tried to move towards him. She was stuck in place. “I missed you.”

Sophie tried to move but she couldn’t. Everyone continued to walk to Havenfeild. Sophie was facing Fitz as fire ignited in his hand. He walked toward her, ready to burn her.

“Come back!” she screamed. “Please!”

Keefe turned towards her and frowned. “You keep trying to fix everything, Sophie. You even fixed Exilium. But you can’t fix me.”

Tears welled in Sophie's eyes. She hated it when he said that.

“You will never win,” Fitz said. “Your friends will betray you when you need them most.” 

This can’t be real. Sophie thought. But if it is...no...it's not.

Grady and Edaline walked outside, coming to hug Sophie. Sophie put her arms out for them. Despite this all not being true, they looked so real. Right before their hands met, They stopped and stood normally with a frown on their face. 

“We are cancelling your adoption.” Edaline said.

The words echoed in Sophie's head. 

“We don’t love you.” Grady laughed. “Not one bit.” 

The world started to spin. Sophie collapsed to the floor while she heard the voices of people talking.

“Join us Sophie.” Fitz said. “Help us fix the world.”

Then everything went black.

   Percy Jackson

“Oh my gods.” I said as Sophie’s body started to lose color. “What's going on?”

Dex was rummaging through his bag and Keefe was right next to Sophie, watching her every movement. Keefe looked at me with a worried look.

“She’s fading.” He said. “But I don’t know why. I was putting some of my concentration on her even! Something happened.”

Dex pulled out a bottle and put it under Sophie's nose. She inhaled it and color started to slightly come back.

“This is Fade Fuel.” Dex explained. “Luckly, she hasn’t faded too badly this time. In the meantime, let's get some more help. Keefe, get Edaline and Grady. I will stay here with Sophie.”

Keefe nodded and ran towards the giant house on the hill. A million questions echoed in my mind.

“What's fading? How come the rest of us aren’t fading? Is she going to die? Where are we? What is going on!” I said out loud. I immediately wanted to take it all back, especially since Annabeth was hardcore glaring at me.

“Fading is something that happens when not all of your body comes together during a leap.” Dex said quietly. “Sophie keeps fading over and over for some reason. Oh, and we are at Sophie's home. Havenfield.”

Everything started to come together. I opened my mouth for another question when Annabeth pulled me away.

“What?” I asked, knowing very well what she was about to say.

She looked at me with the one look she always gave me. The angry yet knowing look. “You know what.” She said with the look still on her face.

I shook my head and used my best acting skills, trying to fool her. “I really don’t.”

Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. “You are acting weird. Do you....like Sophie?”

I gasped and grabbed Annabeth into a tight hug. “No! Never. I love you and only you. Don’t worry about us. Ok?”

I let go of her so I could see her face. She nodded slowly and then we went back to the group, where three adults were surrounding Sophie. Then, one with crazy glasses called out. 

“She’s awake!”

Sophie Foster

Sophie slowly opened her eyes and then looked around. She saw Elwin, Edaline, Grady, Dex, Keefe, and both Annabeth and Percy running over. Sophie looked at her hands and sighed.

“Not again!” Sophie groaned. “How did it happen?”

Elwin shrugged. “I, once again, have no idea. Keefe said he focused on you a lot. Maybe you focused too much on the other kids or-what happened to Fitz?”

Keefe frowned. “Long story.”

Elwin nodded. “I got that. But could Fitz have done anything?”

Keefe opened his mouth to talk and then got really angry. He stomped off towards Calla’s tree. Sophie tried to get up and follow him but once she got up she collapsed. Luckily, Elwin got her just in time. 

“Slow down!” Elwin said. “You need a minute to rest. And a bottle of youth.”

Sophie nodded and slowly sat back down. She just hated seeing Keefe like that.

“How long do I have to rest this time?” Sophie asked Elwin. 

Elwin smiled. “Maybe a few minutes. Luckily, Dex helped you out before I came. Anyway, here is the bottle of youth and Edaline thought you might want Ella. After what I heard so far, you have had a rough day.”

Elwin handed Sophie her stuffed animal, Ella. Sophie squeezed it tightly. Then, she heard a small snicker.

“You still sleep with a stuffed animal?” Percy asked.

Elwin looked at Percy like he was inspecting him. “Yeah, after being traumatized, you kind of need one. Do you want one? I have extras!”

Percy laughed a bit. “No, I’m good.” 

Elwin shrugged. “Ok. But you will need one eventually.”

Percy laughed again and then freaked out. “Hold on. Where is Jason and Frank?”

  Percy Jackson

“I can’t track their thoughts.” Sophie said.

“You can’t do what?” I asked. 

“Track thoughts.” Dex said. “Another rare thing Sophie can do.”

I thought that was super cool but I needed to find Frank and my bro. 

Annabeth looked around. “Is Fitz still here?”

Everyone looked around. He wasn’t.

“Oh gods.” I said. “This is really bad.”

I heard a soft yelp and then I saw that Edaline and Grady had disappeared too.

“Everyone get together!” Annabeth yelled.

Sophie was yelling at Keefe to come. She was tearing up and then ran towards him. 

“Sophie!” Elwin yelled. “Come back!”

Keefe saw Sophie and jumped up. He was about to move when he turned invisible. Sophie collapsed to her knees and started to cry. Everyone was yelling so I couldn’t exactly hear her. Then all the sudden, she turned invisible too. I saw a flash of light, which Dex said it means that they left. 

“What just happened?” I asked as I looked around me.

Everyone, except me, was trembling. 

“A mass kidnapping.” Dex said. “Sophie, she could have inflicted on them. She didn’t though. This is really weird.”

Elwin patted Dex’s back. “She was in shock. She just watched Grady and Edaline get kidnapped, Keefe, and she was still a bit weak. But I do agree that it was a little strange that she didn’t put up a fight.”

Annabeth looked like she got an idea. “Could they be recruiting demigods? Pelios is the god of emotions! He has a few kids at camp. Maybe they were helping?”

I considered that and then got really scared. “We have to go back to camp. We have to.”

I picked up the leaping crystal that Sophie dropped and handed it to Elwin. He nodded and everyone grabbed hands. We picked up unconscious Elwin and then we leaped back to Camp Half-Blood.

“Oh my gods.” I gasped as I realized what was happening.

 Percy Jackson

Ok, let me backtrack real quick. Sophie, Keefe, Jason, Frank, Edaline, and Grady all got kidnapped by the Neverseen. Yeah, pretty crazy if you ask me.  Then, while we were light leaping, I realized what was happening. If Elwin was light leaping us, then whose body was I carrying? When we got to the forest next to Camp Half-Blood, I grabbed Annabeth who grabbed Dex and I ran far away enough so Elwin couldn’t hear us.

“Guys,” I said worriedly. “That is Elwin, correct?”

Everyone nodded, not really realizing the truth. 

“Then who is this?” I asked, pointing to Elwins unconscious body.

Annabeth and Dex’s eyes widened. Then, luckily, Annabeth got an idea. 

“Dex, you can wake this guy up. Right?” Annabeth asked.

Dex nodded while Annabeth motioned for him to do so.

“Percy, watch me while I go to the other Elwin. I’m going to test something out. If anything happens, attack him. Ok?”

I nodded and quietly walked to a bush by Elwin. Annabeth followed but made herself seen by Elwin.

“Hi Elwin!” Annabeth said with a warm smile.

“Hi Annabeth!” Elwin replied.

“I don’t suppose you do but I was wondering if you had something I could defend myself with.” Annabeth patted her pockets. “I guess I left my knife in Havenfield and I don’t think we should go back just for a weapon.”

Elwin nodded and looked around suspiciously and then looked back at Annabeth with a smile. “Actually I might have something. Come here so I can give it to you.”

Annabeth slowly walked towards Elwin. Once she was close to him, he grabbed her, tackled her to her stomach, and covered her mouth. Elwin put his foot on her back and he was holding her arms together. 

“Guess everyone was right.” Elwin laughed. “Humans are pretty stupid.”

I didn’t realize that I was frozen until Annabeth started to hyperventilate. I jumped out of the thorny bush, bad idea, and pulled out my sword.

“Let. Her. Go.” I growled.

Elwin looked at me like I was a new species that he had never seen before. Then he looked at Annabeth with anger.

“A trick!” He yelled. “You tricked me!”

I laughed. “It wasn’t a trick. It was a plan. Apparently, you don’t know anything about Annabeth.”

I quickly checked on Annabeth, who was now motionless and her eyes were closed. She looked...dead. I knew she wasn’t though, not yet. But I couldn’t risk it. I charged at Elwin. His face was frozen with fear. Then, just in time, he disappeared and Annabeth started to breathe again. 

“I have places to be!” Elwin called while he was invisible. “Bye!”

The flash of light appeared and he was gone. I quickly went to Annabeth and cradled her head in my arms.

“It’s ok.” I said to her, “We are so close to camp. We will get there soon.”

Sophie Foster

Darkness filled Sophie’s mind. Sadness, betrayal, and misery were the only emotions Sophie could feel. Muffled voices were all around her. Sophie could feel something on her wrists, eyes, ankles, and waist. Restraints? Sophie could barely think. Despite the clouds in her mind disappearing, everything hurt still. Sophie conjured up the energy to try to talk.

“Where am I?” Sophie asked, not expecting an answer. 

“Good morning Sophie Foster.” A familiar voice said. “We are happy to have you here.”

Sophie couldn’t identify whose voice it was but it brought back both happy and angry feelings.

“Who are you?” Sophie growled. “Tell me.”

The voice laughed. A beautiful sound. Then, it clicked. It was Fitz, the boy Sophie loved and got betrayed by. 

“I think you just figured it out.” Fitz said. 

He can’t be reading my mind.

“Oh, but I am.” Fitz replied to Sophie's thought. “I never told you since we were cognates that I can still get past your blocking without you feeling me. Another thing the Neverseen taught me.”

“Why?” Sophie said weakly. “Why would you join them?”

Fitz was quiet for a moment, then he finally spoke. “Alvar and my dad. They were my heroes. I wanted to be just like them. So, I joined the Neverseen. I joined them. The funny thing is that I did it after I joined the Black Swan. Easier to earn your trust.”

Sophie coughed. Her throat was so dry. “That's not all and I know it.”

Fitz laughed. “You know me too well Sophie. I guess I will continue. I hated that Keefe got all of your trust. Even after he joined the enemy! But I try to kill someone and everybody is against me. It gets old if I’m being honest. So, are you happy now?”

Sophie could feel her mind getting clouded again. “Not yet.” She was slipping back to the darkness. “Let us go.”

All of the sounds started to fade away. All she heard was Fitz laugh before silence and darkness consumed Sophie.

 Percy Jackson

“Dex!” I yelled. “Come here!”

Dex ran over with Elwin running behind him.

“Elwin!” I exclaimed. “You’re awake!”

Elwin looked at me with confusion. “D...do I know you?”

I sighed. I had totally forgotten that the evil Elwin knew me, not the regular one. I opened my mouth to talk when Dex interupted me.

“Nevermind that! Why did you call?” Dex asked.

I was tempted to slap my face. How could I forget? 

“It's Annabeth!” I said worriedly. “She won’t wake up!”

Elwin knelt down to her and snapped his fingers. A ball of light was over Annabeth and Elwin kept changing it.

“A broken ankle,” Elwin began. “With some damaged cells. She is going to need lots of bottles of youth and some wound wipe. Man, this is bad.”

I shrugged. “We fell into Tartarus. This is nothing compared to what we went through.”

Elwins jaw dropped. “You fell into the Underworld?”

I nodded as Dex rummaged through his bag. Then, he pulled out some ambrosia and nectar.

“Will Solace gave this to me,” Dex said as he handed me the ambrosia and nectar. “I don’t know what to do with them and you need it more than me.”

I quickly thanked Dex and started to feed Annabeth. She was slowly waking up and as she did so, Dex explained everything to Elwin. Elwins expression continued to change from confusion, anger, sadness, betrayal, and then all over again. When Annabeth woke up, she was shivering.

“What’s wrong, wise girl?” I asked, reaching for my jacket to cover her.

She looked at me with sadness and failure. “We won’t win.”

Sophie Foster

When Sophie woke up again, she could barely remember anything. She couldn’t remember who this boy was next to her or where she was. But tiny details seemed to linger in her mind. It was a puzzle that was missing pieces. 

“Who are you?” The blonde boy next to her asked. 

They were sitting on a bench next to a really tall tower in a city. 

The Empire State building. Sophie thought but she didn’t know how she could tell.

“Excuse me.” The boy said again. “Who are you?” 

“Sorry,” Sophie apologized. “I’m Sophie Foster. You are?”

The boy thought for a moment. “Keefe.” He finally said. “Keefe Sencen.”

Sophie smiled at him. Keefe had messy blonde hair with ice blue eyes.  He seemed like somebody who would be friends with her. But, she couldn’t remember. That bothered her. 

“Listen,” Keefe said. “I can’t remember anything about me but I feel like we know each other.”

Sophie nodded. “Yeah. It’s one of the only things I can remember. We are supposed to be friends.”

Keefe nodded. “I also have this strange feeling that we have to go north to find the answers. To find our memory.”

Sophie nodded. “Well, we need a compass. And a taxi. New York City isn’t a safe place for us by ourselves.”

Keefe looked at Sophie with confusion. “How do you know this? All I can remember is that we are, call me crazy, elves?”

Sophie nodded. “I think so. I just know it. Anyway, we have to find a compass unless “elves” have this uncanny ability to tell direction?”

Keefe laughed. “That's ridiculous! Why would you-”

Sophie stopped listening. Keefe's laugh was melodious like a bird's song. Then, something clicked.

“Song..” Sophie whispered. “That sounds familiar.”

“What was that?” Keefe asked. 

Sophie nearly tripped when he said that. She didn’t even realize that they were walking in the park.

“Sorry,” Sophie apologized. “The name Song sounds vaguely familiar. Gods, this will be fun.”

Keefe smiled. It was happy but it had sadness in it. Love? Sophie couldn’t tell. 

“This is North? Right?” Sophie asked.

The two of them were now exiting the park's gates. 

Central Park. Sophie thought. 

Sophie didn’t realize that she was zoning out until Keefe held her hand. Sophie looked at their hands and back at Keefe who was looking straight ahead, blushing.

I’m sorry Keefe. Sophie thought. I am really, really sorry. This feels like it's all my fault.

“It’s not though.” Keefe said, as if Sophie was talking to him through her mind.

“What?” Sophie asked, very confused.

“It's not your fault.” Keefe repeated. “It never was. I made a choice, Sophie. We both did. I knew what would come with that choice. We knew.”

Sophie looked at him, nearly tearing up. “Yeah. Wait, how did you remember that?”

Keefe paused and then groaned. “I don’t know. I just knew that we did that but now, the details are just gone. This is going to be annoying.”

Sophie laughed and then realized they were walking through the woods. “What are we doing here? Is this the way?”

Keefe nodded. “Yeah, it just feels...right. Doesn’t it?”

Sophie nodded. She didn’t realize the weird sensation of safety until now.

“You know Sophie?” Keefe asked. “Even though we can’t remember anything, I feel like we love each other. Don’t you?”

Sophie paused and then pulled Keefe in for a kiss. If she remembered anything, it was that she loved this guy.

Percy Jackson

“What do you mean?” I asked Annabeth. “Of course we will!”

Annabeth had tears streaming down her cheeks. “No, we won’t. They have the most structured plan and we wouldn’t be able to beat them if we tried. Its-”

“Impossible.” I interrupted. “But, we won every battle thought to be “impossible”. We defeated the literal Earth and a titan. We can win this too.”

Annabeth shook her head and quickly stood up. She wobbled and then motioned for everyone to follow her. “Let's at least get to camp while we still can.”

I was still in shock. Despite me following Annabeth, I knew she was wrong. But if she wasn’t, things would be very, very bad. 

“Do you think she is right?” A voice asked from behind me.

I turned around. It was Dex with tears about to come from his eyes.

“Is she?” Dex asked again.

I shook my head. “No,” I said. “She can’t be.”

I didn’t want to break it to Dex. When I first met him, he told me he had two loving parents, 3 slightly annoying siblings, and an entire business back at his home. I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t know. I had to keep that alive. That spark of hope that was always keeping us going. I zoned out for a minute and before I knew it, we were at camp. It was empty and you weren’t able to hear a thing.

“Hello?” I called. “Anyone here?”

There was no response. Then, Annabeth tried calling for campers by name.

“Travis!” She started with. “Connor? Katie? Lou Ellen? Will? Chiron? Mr.D? Where is everyone?”

I shrugged. I decided to walk into the Healing Center to check if anyone was there. Then, I gasped from what I saw. Everybody was asleep and something in there was making me want to fall asleep with them. I shook it off and started to run out of the Healing Center.

“Annabeth!” I yelled. “Dex! Elwin! Get out of camp now!” 

I heard coughing from the Athena cabin and I ran there first. It was Annabeth. She was on the floor, curling up into a ball. I held my breath and ran in there.

“Come on Annabeth.” I struggled to say. “We have to get out of here.”

Annabeth tried to get up but she could barely stay awake. I managed to grab Annabeth and run out. I took her out of the gates of camp, where Elwin and Dex were waiting. They were coughing like crazy but it was slowing down. I was coughing a bit too but after I got out of camp, I stopped.

“What was that?” Annabeth asked, getting to her feet.

“A spell or-” I said before I got interrupted by Annabeth.

“Hypnos!” She exclaimed. “Oh gods. If I could just get my notebook-”

Annabeth moved back towards camp before I grabbed her. 

“No.” I said sternly. “I am not going back in there with you. You were weak enough after almost dying and you almost just fell asleep. So, no. We can do it without your notebook. Ok?”

Annabeth nodded reluctantly. 

“Good.” I said. “Now, let's try somewhere else to go. Maybe an apartment in Manhattan?”

Annabeth smiled and held my hand. “Let's go Seaweed Brain.”

Then, the four of us set off to Manhattan.

Sophie Foster

“Are we almost there?” Sophie asked Keefe.

“I think so.” Keefe replied.

They had been walking for a while and Sophie's legs were starting to hurt.  But if she could get her memory back, she would go to the end of the Earth.

“Stop!” Keefe yelled adruptadly. 

Sophie almost ran into Keefe’s back. 

“What?” Sophie yelled back.

“It's moving.” Keefe said. “They are moving.”

“Wait,” Sophie paused. “The thing we need to get our memory back is a person?”

Keefe nodded. “I think so. It's on the tip of my tongue. I’m getting really tired of not knowing this stuff.”

Sophie laughed. The smirk on Keefe’s face implied that he was joking around and after this long day, Sophie needed something to cheer her up. Then, Sophie gasped.

“Percy!” Sophie exclaimed. 

“What?” Keefe asked, slightly confused and surprised.

“Percy Jackson.” Sophie repeated. “That's his name. Right?”

Keefe smiled with joy. “Yeah! I think so!”

Then he picked Sophie up and hugged her. “Gods, Sophie! You are amazing!”

Sophie blushed and got butterflies. She didn’t know why but she knew she was very used to it. All because of teal eyes. She couldn’t remember anything else. Sophie was getting really tired of that.

“Keefe,” Sophie said, pulling away from Keefe. “What if we don’t find Percy? How will we be able to get our memory back? How will we remember our families and friends? How will we remember who we are?”

Keefe frowned with anger, sadness, and resentment. “I know that my family wasn’t good to me. It's like I know but don’t know stuff. I just know that they weren’t very loving or caring. I have a feeling one of them is actually evil but I don’t know for sure. But Sophie, we will find Percy. No matter how far he is, I will find him for you. For us.”

Keefe grabbed Sophie's hands and kissed her forehead. “Sit down, Sophie. Let's rest for a bit. I know that it's a bit random but you are barely keeping up. You need to sleep. I will stay watch. Ok?”

Sophie nodded and sat down. She put her head on Keefe’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She could feel herself going into the darkness when she said her final words before sleep.

“Thank you Keefe,” Sophie whispered. “I love you.”

Then Sophie drifted off to sleep.

Percy Jackson

“Percy!” My mom said as she opened the door. “Annabeth!”

She gave us both a hug and looked at Dex and Elwin, very confused.

“Who are these?” Mom asked.

“Dex and Elwin. But that doesn’t matter. Mom, we have to talk.” I replied in my most serious voice.

Mom rushed us in and closed the door. She made sure it was locked and then closed all of the blinds. The only source of light was a small flower lamp. 

“What is it, Percy?” Mom asked, very scared. “Is your father sending you on another quest? I can help! I will-”

Annabeth cut her off. “No, Ms.Jackson. Well, yes and no. We do have another quest-”

“What?” My mom exclaimed.

Annabeth continued. “But Poseidon did not send us on it. We have to save two worlds this time, from chaos. We lost more than half of our group and we desperately-”

Mom nodded and smiled. “You need some help. Percy, find somewhere for you and your friends to sleep. I will prepare some stuff for you all when you decide to leave. Ok?”

I nodded, feeling quite happy to be home. I needed sleep, especially after the day I had.

“Thank you Mom.” I thanked her and then motioned for everyone to follow me to my room. 

I pulled out some sleeping bags from my closet and told everyone to sleep. A minute later, everyone was snoring. I decided that I should too so I closed my eyes and almost immediately fell asleep. 

“Who are you?”A familiar voice asked.

Sophie, I thought. She's OK.

“I’m Percy.” I said. “Are you Sophie?”

Sophie emerged from the darkness. She looked at me like she didn’t know me.

“You’re Percy?” She asked.

I nodded and smiled. “Yeah.”

I couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. She was alive and that is all that mattered. Then, her face twisted from happiness to seriousness. 

“Percy, listen to me.” Sophie told me as she took a deep breath. “Where are you? We need to find you. We can’t remember anything and if we find you, we will be able to find everyone else. So, where are you?”

My mind was racing with questions. They can’t remember? Who is “we?” I pushed them aside and looked at Sophie.

“Sophie, meet us at the Empire State building at 12. Ok? We will find you there.” I said.

Sophie started to fade away, back into the darkness. I was tempted to run and try to grab her. Keep her here so I can make sure she is safe. I knew her for only a few weeks but she felt like a little sister. We shared so many secrets, so many hard times. We were so alike. But I knew that I couldn’t save her from the darkness. I had to watch her fade away. No matter how much pain it caused me. 

Goodbye Sophie. I thought, hoping she could hear me. 

Then I drifted into the darkness.

Sophie Foster

Sophie jolted awake. Keefe was still awake. He had horrible baggy eyes and he had a sad smile.

“Good morning, Foster.” Keefe greeted. “You slept in today. I heard somebody say that it’s 11:30. No idea what that means but I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Sophie jumped up. She instantly got lightheaded but she shoved that away.

“I know how to find Percy.” Sophie said. “He said that he will meet us at the Empire State Building at 12. That gives us less than 30 minutes to get there. We have to hurry.”

Keefe smirked and jumped up. “Whatever you say, Lady Fos-Boss.”

Sophie looked at Keefe with confusion. That name that Keefe had been calling her since she woke up felt right but it still made Sophie wonder.

“How do you remember those names?” Sophie asked Keefe.

Keefe shrugged. “I don’t know. It just felt right.”

Sophie shook it off, even though the nicknames did annoy her a bit. Then, they started to walk out of the forest to the Empire State Building. 

That’s where we will get our memory back. Sophie thought. 

Sophie was absolutely terrified. What if her past was terrible? What if there were things that she didn’t want to remember? Then, out of nowhere, Keefe laughed.

“That's a major wave of worry you are hitting me with.” Keefe laughed again. 

Sophie looked at Keefe with, once again, confusion. “How do you know that I’m worrying?” Sophie asked. 

Keefe shrugged. “I’m getting really tired of saying this but, I don’t know.”

Sophie shrugged it off but she knew that all of the answers will be here soon enough. Everything will soon make sense.

Percy Jackson

“Where are they?” Annabeth complained. “We have been waiting forever!”

I stood there patiently, tapping my foot. When I woke up, it was 11:45. Plus, we had a car to get there. Sophie had only her feet and Zeus knows how far she is. Then, in the middle of the crowd. I saw two kids that looked to be about my age. I pointed to them. 

“I think that’s them, Annabeth.” I said. 

Dex looked a little closer and his eyes widened. “Its Sophie and Keefe!” He exclaimed.

Elwin started to get a little excited too. He smiled really wide and was talking to Dex in a language I understood but couldn’t identify. It wasn’t Latin or Ancient Greek but somehow, it came naturally. Anyway, Sophie saw us and she smiled. She ran towards us, smiling wider with each step. Keefe followed her, smiling a bit with each second. 

“It's them,” Annabeth whispered. “They made it out.”

Once Sophie and Keefe got to us, I gave Sophie a huge hug. I had been so worried that she wouldn’t make it. Keefe hugged Dex and slowly, it formed into one big group hug. Then, Sophie put her hand to her head, wobbled for a moment, and collapsed. Keefe, luckily, caught her.

“Memory overload.” Keefe said with a gentle smile. “You know how that is.”

I nodded. Sure, I hadn’t passed out, but it came a little more slowly and it gave me a crazy headache almost every time I got a memory back. Sophie’s eyes blinked open and she slowly stood back up. 

“What happened?” Sophie asked, putting her hand on her head.

“You passed out,” Elwin said with a laugh. “Is it because you missed me that much?”

Sophie looked at Elwin with a smile. “I missed you so much. Now with my memory back, I can remember what everything means. Everything that happened-oh my gods.”

Sophie started pacing back and forth. She was whispering random stuff under her breath like “the kidnapping,” and “faint smell of raspberries.”

“Sophie,” Annabeth asked. “What are you doing?”

Sophie looked at Annabeth with worry. “I have clues to where everyone else is being held captive.”

Jason Grace

Laughter and screams of terror echoed through my mind. I knew I was mostly unconscious. It was a sort of familiar feeling. Despite not being fully awake, I could feel somebody's hand. It was Sophie's hand. I drifted fully into the darkness but when I fought out of it more, Sophies hand was gone. My only sense of reality was gone. 

What did they do to her? I thought. They couldn’t have-

I cut off that thought. The guilt could break my mind and I would be like one of those criminals in Exile. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let it happen.

“Jason?” A sweet voice called. It was motherly and soothing. “Are you OK?”

Edaline. I thought. She was awake. Now, I was hoping I had enough energy, like her.

“Edaline.” I whispered. “Is that you?”

Something started to move across the cold, flat floor. She was probably crawling, trying to get to me. I was trying to open my eyes but they were heavy. So very heavy. I decided to keep them close, hoping the dark misery doesn’t come back for me. 

“It’s going to be fine, Jason.” Edaline whispered and a motherly way.. “We will all be fine. Just sleep.”

I heard heavy footsteps come. Edaline gasped.

“Misbehaving, I see.” A deep voice said. “That's very naughty. And right before I was going to stop sedating all of your friends. Guess the telepaths will have to do mental torture.”

“No,” Edaline said sternly. “You won’t hurt us anymore.”

The deep evil laughter echoed through the room. I heard hard noises, like attacking and defense. Then, Edaline screamed. I peeked through my eyes, which were now much more open, and saw Edaline unconscious. The cloaked figure was dragging her out of the prison. Then, my eyes closed again, hoping this was all a dream.

Sophie Foster

“Clues? Why just clues?” Percy asked, extremely confused.

Sophie paused and just stood there for a moment. She was looking at two different colored ants fighting. One ate the other one. Everyone was disgusted but she had no reaction. Then, her eyes flickered teal and back to brown. She looked at Percy with tears streaming down her face.

Sedate me. She said telepathically. I’m too dangerous.

Then, Percy did something she wasn’t expecting. He went and hugged her.  Sophie could feel her tears leak into his shirt and she tried to push him away. He refused to move. 

“I can’t Sophie.” Percy said, almost crying. “You are like a sister to me. I can’t do it.”

Sophie went to Annabeth and grabbed her arm. Sophie felt her eyes flicker to teal again.

“Annabeth, listen to me.” Sophie said with a Vacker accent. “Capture me or sedate me. I don’t care what you do. But, you can’t let me stay awake. I’m trying to break through it. I just can’t stay out here or I will kill all of us. I will end the world and nobody will be safe. So I beg of you, hide me and put me to sleep. Don’t let them find me.”     

Annabeth nodded, also crying. She must know the feeling of being a weapon or having your mind messed up. Whatever it was, she disappeared with Sophie, taking everyone with her. 

Before I knew it, we were at Percy’s moms house. It was strange yet cozy. Percy pulled everyone to his room. Once they arrived there, Elwin looked at Sophie.

“Listen Sophie,” he said. “If we do this, you may not wake up for months to come. Are you really OK with that?” 

Sophie nodded and walked over to Percy’s desk. There was a piece of lined paper and a pen. Then, she started to write. Everyone watched for a few minutes as she wrote, never taking the pen of the paper. 

“Read this.” Sophie said, folding it up. “But only after me and Keefe are asleep. You can’t tell anyone what it says and you must burn it after you commit it to memory. Promise me this.”

Keefe looked at everyone with confusion. “Wait, I’m going to sleep? I don’t-”

Elwin shoved a sedative down his throat. Sophie muffled a scream as Ewlin did the same to her right after. They both collapsed to the ground, motionless and dead-like.

Then, Sophie faded into the teal abyss. She hoped everything would be fine when she woke up.

Percy Jackson

“How do you do that?” Annabeth asked, staring at the two motionless bodies on the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes and she reached for my hand.

“What?” Elwin asked, nearly crying too.

“How do you do that?” Annabeth repeated. “Without hesitation? It must be a terribly hard thing to do.” 

Elwin nodded, bending down to pick Sophie up. “It is. But when you do something so often-”

Annabeth finished his sentence. “It becomes too easy. I know the feeling.”

Elwin nodded and laid Sophie down on my bed. He tied her arms together and her legs together. Then, her whole body onto the bed.

“It’s not much different from what you do.” Dex said, touching Sophie's hair. “Killing monsters everyday with a weapon? Yeah, this is just like that for us.”

“Is that sarcasm?” I asked.

Dex looked at me with a blank stare. “No, it's true. Our fragile minds will break even if we slightly hurt somebody. So this is just...brutal.”

Annabeth nodded while I just stared, hoping my mind would cooperate with the rest of my body. I still didn’t really understand it that much. The awkward silence in the room started to get worse. Everyone was just staring at Keefe and Sophie. They were both tied up on the bed, passed out.  They seemed so...dead. 

It's ok. A soft voice said in my head. It started to fade. I’m going to be ok.

Tears started to stream down my face. I never cried this much. Not even when my mom was taken to the underworld or when Annabeth fell off a cliff. Sophie was just...special. I started zoning out and repeating those words in my head. Then, I felt someone grab my hand. It was Annabeth.

“You ok, Seaweed brain?” She asked, holding the note in her hand. “We have work to do.” 

I nodded slowly, trying to hold back the tears. “Yeah,” I whimpered. “Let's do it.”

Annabeth opened it and read it over and over again. Her eyes were tracing over the paper for at least 10 minutes. I tried to peek over a few times but she would always pull it closer. 

“You good, Wise girl?” I asked, very impatient. ADHD really sucked sometimes. 

Annabeth put the note down and laid her hand on her head. She sighed and just sat at the table, breathing slowly.

“This is a lot to process.” Annabeth said. “I mean, a lot.”

Dex picked up the paper and instantly dropped after a few seconds. He backed away from the paper like it had some sort of disease and he was afraid of it. I decided to pick it up next.

To my dearest friends, I read. I have these memories implanted in my brain. Straight from the Neverseen. Some of it is impossible to understand. But, I need you to know something first. Everyone's lives are in danger. 

“What else is new?” I groaned. Then, I continued to read.