PoV: Hazel

The moment Dex and Fitz collapsed, Percy just had to charge through the door. As soon as he saw Nico, me, and the unconscious elves, he shut and locked the door. "Okay, what's happening?" He demanded .

 "We don't know!" I exclaimed, hurrying over to Dex, who still looked really pale, "Fitz just told me he was going to check on Dex and then asked for my help, so I came to find them and ran into Nico and when we arrived Dex was pale and couldn't hear us and suddenly both of them just collapsed!" I trailed off, putting the back of my hand against Dex's forehead.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nico checking on Fitz. "Maybe we should take them to the infirmary. Will might know what to do."

 " I don't think that's a good idea, Nico. " I replied, removing my hand, "I mean, you heard Fitz. They aren't demigods, remember? Who knows what ambrosia or nectar could do to them?" I sighed as Nico's shoulders slumped, "Nico, I know how you feel about Will, but I don't think he can help with this." 

Nico nodded before standing up again, "Well, if we can't help them, we should try figuring out why this," he gestured towards the inert elves, "happened."

 I nodded and adjusted how Dex was laying before sitting down, letting Percy pick up Fitz. "Maybe Fitz would know..." He muttered as he set him down on an empty bunk.

 " Maybe, but we can't ask him right now. " I pointed out as Nico took a seat on the floor and Percy on his bunk, "So we'll have to figure it out a different way."

 "We were talking about the Neverseen when he left," Percy remembered, " And he told me when he was, what, 11 or 12 that he got kidnapped by those guys. "

"What?!" I exclaimed, looking back at Dex, "Why?!"

Percy shrugged, "He said he was looking for Sophie and they both got kidnapped. I think that may have been what he was implying when he said they put them in 'life or death scenarios.' Maybe it triggered a flashback?"

 I shook my head, "As a person who actually gets flashbacks, I'm fairly positive that's not what happens." I looked towards Nico , "Do you think that this maybe has to do with that spirit problem you were telling me about?"

Nico shook his head as Percy spoke up, " Hold on, what 'spirit problem'? I never heard about that! "

"I'm sorry I caused this, Nico." I whispered as he frowned.

Percy ignored me, " I mean, why wouldn't you tell me? " 

"Percy. Stop." Nico said , but Percy ignored him as well.

"Is it because I'm -"

" Percy. "

"-Not the type-"

"I swear, if you don't stop right now-"

"-Of person you'd tell?"

Nico burried his head in his knees, but not before I saw an embarrassed blush flood his face, "If I weren't concerned about these people, I'd be leaving right now."

I gave a small smile before putting my hand on Nico's shoulder, "Well, that means you care about more people besides just people you know well. And that's good. "

Nico sighed and lifted his head, "Well, to answer your question, Hazel," he shot Percy a look, " I'm pretty sure this doesn't have to do with... that. I'll bet it has something to do with the Neverseen, or Sophie and the others he knows. "

"Or maybe both! " Percy shot up off the bed. Nico and I must've looked confused because he clarified, "This morning, like, at 4 or something, Dex and I had a lengthy conversation about dreams. He said that his had to do with Sophie just saying his name and apologizing repeatedly for no said reason. That's when he told me about the whole kidnapping thing, but he also looked kind of lost as he talked, like he wasn't there. 

"When he ran out of the meeting earlier, he had that same lost look, except, it was... different? Ugh, this is really hard to explain, but, what if it was Sophie apologizing again or something? I mean, if the Neverseen really do have her, then maybe they could be making her apologize to... I don't know. Elves are different!"

"I guess it makes sense, " I started, "But, why would he react to strongly now than he did earlier? And how would it affect Fitz?"

" I'm... still trying to figure that part out. " Percy admitted, "But at least it's a start. And we can always ask them when they wake up."

" except we don't know when that is, " I pointed out, "For all we know, they could wake up after the Neverseen come or in a few secon-"

I was interrupted by Fitz jerking up and panting. "Well, that was perfect timing!" Nico exclaimed as I rushed over to him.

"Fitz! Are you okay?" I asked , grabbing his shoulder to steady him.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said softly before his eyes widened as he looked behind me. His voice dropped even quieter as he whispered, "Dex." He pushed me out of the way and hurried over to Dex , who was still laying down, unmoving. "Why...." He trailed off as he turned around.

" Fitz, what happened? " Percy asked, surprisingly able to get straight to the point.

He looked back at Dex, "Not sure, but I do know it's not good."

" Well there's a shock. " Nico stated sarcastically.

Fitz pointed at him, "You know, you remind me of Tam. And, anyways, I only heard a few seconds of it."

" A few seconds of what? " Nico questioned, "And who's Tam?"A

" Someone I know. And, I'm just going to be straightforward here, but I only heard a few seconds of what he was thinking. Basically, it was a much harsher version of Sophie saying the same thing over and over again."

I looked over to see Percy dawning a small smile since his theory was semi-correct, at least. "But, why would Sophie's voice cause that bad of a reaction? " I asked, watching Percy's smile fall as he remembered the gravity of the situation, "I mean, even if it was harsh, it wouldn't do anything like that, would it?"

 Fitz shook his head, "I'm not the best telepath in the world, but I do know that this isn't supposed to happen. All I know is that it definitely wasn't Sophie talking to him." Realization appeared in his eyes, but was suddenly replaced by anger. "Gethen." He whispered to himself, "It's got to be Gethen."

" Who's Gethen? " Percy asked.

"A Neverseen telepath. Maybe even their only one, who knows? Anyways, about a year or two ago he came with some other Neverseen members and attacked Sophie, me, and our body bodyguards. Dex ended up saving us, but Gethen was still forged into Sophie's nightmares, and I think Dex felt responsible for that. Still, there's no way he's alive. We destroyed that Neverseen base long ago. But, if we killed Gisela, Gethen, and Alvar, " Fitz said the last name like it left a horrible taste in his mouth, "Then who is it? "

" Hate to break it to you, but you kind of just denied your own answer was true. " Nico pointed out.

"Well, it just doesn't make sense! Gethen is the only telepath the Neverseen have ever sent out, so it has to be him, but that would mean the others weren't dead, either."

" We can figure out who hurt Dex later, " I said, becoming anxious, "Right now, we should figure out why both of you guys passed out."

Fitz gave a grim laugh, "Hazel, I don't think it was just us. I wasn't using  telepathy when you guys came in, and I never started after. Whoever this person was, I think they transmitted to every elf on the Forbidden Cities. And, somehow, they managed to transmit energy with similar properties to that of a melder."

"Melder?" I asked.

Fitz nodded, " a medler can basically shoot pain into someone, similar to that of an inflictor. Too many blasts can actually kill someoneI don't know how long each blast lasts, but I do know that 3 paralyzed Dex for a while after a while kidnapping incident, so, I'm guessing that is how much I recieved, since I was out for a fairly short time."

"But that would mean Dex..." I trailed off , not wanting to face that truth entirely.

Fitz turned back to Dex, who still hadn't moved. "My guess was that they were using Dex to figure out where camp was. Once they knew that, they didn't need him anymore. Who knows how hard they hit him, or when he'll wake up? "

Nico looked at the unconscious figure Fitz was facing for a silent moment before he spoke, "Or if he'll wake up at all. "

Okay, that was way to fun for me to write! Idk why, but I really liked writing this chapter! If any of this doesn't make sense, I can clarify things in the comments or the next chapter, since I know this is a lot of information. I will try to update tomorrow, since I don't think I'll be busy, but, until then, feel free to come up with your own idea as for what you think will happen. Until next time, goodbye!