Protecting Home: Forgotten Power, Part Two!

Chapter 13: Traitor - Percy

A/n: Yep. I'm back! And more news: I'm going to attempt another Percy chapter... If I totally fail, don't judge please. I haven't had the chance to read any PJO or HoO for a while, so this will probably be inaccurate... Well, I hope you enjoy anyway!

PoV: Percy

I still felt like a failure. Sure, I was acting, but who would reveal they did actually feel like a mess up to their friends? I just wanted to find a way out, or for Annabeth to come and rescue everyone and defeat the Neverseen and then we could live happily together for the rest of our lives without having to fight anymore monsters. 

And that, my friends, is why I don't let my ADHD brain explore the toxic thing called "imagination".

We'd been there for a few days. Twice a day, Neverseen members would untie everyone's hands and let us eat for 15 minutes before binding them again. Frank would save food for Hazel and give it to her when no one was looking. This was also the 30 minutes a day that Piper could actually talk to people, though it was mostly her telling Jason she was fine and answering questions the rest of us didn't know the answer to. It made me feel bad whenever they put her gag back on, but I had to act like I didn't care.

During those few days, I learned the names of many Neverseen members. Alvar was a Vanisher and Fitz's brother, and his hate for him was evident by the way he treated him after he woke up. Gethen was a telepath, and Fitz was pretty sure that he was the one who had transmitted to Dex and himself. Gisela was one of the leaders, a Polyglot, and Keefe's mother. Vespera, an Empath, liked illusions and stuff like that. There were many more, but those were the reoccurring members who came to watch my friends and myself.

There was also a girl who's name I didn't know, since everyone called her different things. She was young with long, dark hair, and fair skin. She was about as tall as me, and didn't talk to anyone. The weirdest thing, though, was her eyes. From a distance, they looked blue grey, but the closer she got, the blue changed to green. Her interesting eyes caused a few of us to ask questions, but that's when we learned she didn't talk. Whatever elven ability she had was never used, nor was it mentioned by any other Neverseen members.

Whoever this new person was, though, she seemed important. The only people she listened to were Gisela and Vespera. Everyone else seemed almost afraid of her. They would stiffen and stop talking if she even looked at them, including Gethen and Alvar. An aura of unique honor followed her.

As I sat, thinking about her strange level compared to her age, the girl came up the steps. Every camper went silent as she slowly walked back and forth down each row. Her light footsteps were loud in the quiet, and a small smile danced on her face. She came to a stop in front of Hazel, and knelt over so she was eye level with her. She gently untied Hazel before leaning over and whispering something in her ear. Hazel's eyes fluttered open, but before she could close them again, the girl grabbed her chin. She whispered something else and Hazel calmed down. 

The girl whispered one final thing to Hazel before turning away and walking back the way she came. Hazel just sat there, unmoving. "Hazel!" Frank hissed, causing Hazel to turn her head towards him, "You aren't tied up! Leave!"

Hazel looked at her hands as if she'd just realized she was free. She then looked back up and met Frank's eyes before looking at me. Slowly, she shook her head. 

"...Hazel?" Fitz asked, " You can leave, you know? "

Hazel shook her head, "No, I can't."

" Why not? " Frank exclaimed, "You aren't tied up and there's no one else here!"

" Because of this, " Hazel pushed her cinnamon hair over her right shoulder, revealing a weird device on the left side of her neck, "This keeps my demigod abilities from working, and it's a tracker. So, even if I wanted to leave, they could always find me again. Not to mention what would happen if I went to Annabeth for help."

"Wait, you know where she is? " Jason asked.

Hazel nodded, "Well, it's just a guess, and I could be completely wrong, but I think I do."

" Where?! " I asked. I had no idea where Annabeth was, and I'd been dying to know.

Hazel shook her head, "There's a reason they've waited this long."

" Who? " Jason asked, "Annabeth?"

" Them. " Hazel motioned with her head towards three black cloaks that were slowly approaching. 

I don't think anybody understood what she was saying by the time the three figures arrived. One was the girl from minutes ago, and the other two were Gisela and Gethen. Gethen and the girl looked stoic while Gisela looked excited.

"Ah, Miss Levesque! I was wondering when you'd wake up! You know, some of us thought you were dead. But you have experience with that, don't you? "

Frank growled and Piper tried to break her bonds off. Everyone nearby looked angry except Hazel, who just sat there with her hands on her lap. She shrugged, "I guess so."

Gisela stole a glance at the girl beside her before looking back at Hazel, "So, I'm guessing Tempest told you why we were waiting for you?"

Hazel shrugged again, "Not really. I kinda put the pieces together over the last few days."

Gisela then looked over at Gethen , who grabbed Hazel's wrist. I watched Hazel rise without resistance and Gethen dragged her out of the room. Gisela whispered something to "Tempest", who nodded and Gisela left. The girl used telekinesis to grab a chair from behind her and sat down as she pulled her hood down. She sat there quietly, as if waiting for something to happen.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to act annoyed. Tempest shrugged, and I rolled my eyes, "Can't you talk? You were talking to Hazel, so why don't you talk to us, or something?"

All Tempest did was stand up and walk over to me quietly. She knelt beside me and whispered so just I could hear, "Hazel knows where the others are, and they want to know. I'm supposed to keep them from learning. I'd suggest you do the same." Her voice was gentle and quiet, and it made me want to stop talking for the rest of my life. I shook my head to snap myself out of it and turned to face her. Her weird green eyes simmered and she stood.

I watched Tempest walk out of the room. Wherever she was going didn't matter; I was just confused. She had used a new kind of charmspeak that I could shake off. Hazel either couldn't or didn't want to shake it off, but it was still making my head spin. I didn't get how I would be the only one able to not be affected.

"Uh, you good Percy?" Frank asked as I shook my head again.

" Yeah, I'm fine. " I looked towards where Hazel was taken, "I just hope Hazel is as well."

A/n: Well, there you have it! My first chapter since I came back! I can't wait to write later chapters! This story is going somewhere, I promise, but these strange fillers are necessary.

Also, in case you were wondering, Tempest is my character. I came up with her while I was at Camp with @Cheshire_SK 's help. She'll play an important role later. For now, I hope you enjoyed! See you later!