Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO.
Annabeth POV
Gods he was absolutely infuriating. Why did he have to play the hero all the time?
Those thoughts, as well as some less savoury regarding Percy plagued my mind as I attempted to traverse the ancient maze back to Hephaestus's workshop. It should've been a simple task, especially because I'm a daughter of Athena, and yet I've been walking for longer than I had on the way to the forge.
When Percy and I, and that automaton had left the workshop to seek out the haunted forge the sides of the tunnels had been a hideous mix of both ancient Greek-styled columns and marble, as well as Victorian thatched style, and grimy and cracked maroon bricks.
But now, the walls surrounding me were sleek and sterile metal with lights sparsely occupying the corridor. The coldness radiating from the metal was seeping in through my skin and chilling me to the bone.
It was the complete opposite type of design and architecture that I loved and excelled in. I preferred Ancient styled architecture, with large open spaces, ample light and mighty and ornate columns protruding from marble floors. That was comforting and cozy to a demigoddess such as myself.
But this monstrosity was the complete opposite. Unfeeling, unoriginal and sinister. It was like I was locked up with a deranged surgeon, awaiting my impending gruesome death.
"Wait what-" I stammered in complete disbelief.
I was staring straight at a dead end. The tunnel had been blocked off with earth.
I couldn't help but scream out my frustrations. There was no way I could've gotten lost, I was just retracing my steps. The only reason why I got lost must have been the maze trying to trick me in hopes that I would die of starvation or dehydration.
Yeah. It was the maze's fault.
I turned around ready to retrace my steps to the entrance to the forge, because if I did that, one, I would have Percy to comfort me, and two, it would be a piece of cake for me to find my way back to the blacksmith god.
'Nice thinking Annabeth,' my mind congratulated me. I was tempted to reply but I have standards, and if Percy or Thalia ever found out about me talking to myself I would never hear the end of it.
My footsteps echoed softly throughout the desolate hallway; tap tap tap. The sound was so mechanical; like the ticking of a watch or the flowing of a river. It seemed so… permanent.
I continued my brisk pace until the ground started shaking violently and I could hear a deafening explosion.
BOOM.
3rd Person POV
The brutal release of energy from inside Mt St Helen's crater shook the very earth; including endless miles of the Labyrinth's tunnels, causing the blonde-haired daughter of Athena to fall to her knees.
Her sharp cry was silenced by the sound of falling and collapsing earth that rushed through the passageway. Not only had the son of Poseidon triggered a massive eruption, but he caused the mountain to tear itself apart.
The influx of hot rock into the crater developed into an internal pyroclastic flow. More specially, a wave of volcanic material blocking the tunnel and heading straight towards Annabeth at hundreds of miles per hour.
Annabeth POV
Once the shaking had finally subsided I managed to get up to my feet only to have grief smash into me like a landslide.
He was gone. There was no way he could survive being in the heart of a volcano during an eruption, child of the Big Three or not. I couldn't help but cry. I never even told him how I really felt about him. Sure I kissed him, but he probably thought it was out of sympathy.
"WHY?!" I screamed at no-one in particular.
The affliction his death had caused me was clamping down on my chest making it hard to breathe. What will I tell Thalia? Hades, what will I tell Sally? The swirling torrent of emotions was too much for me to handle.
I fell to my knees in defeat with my head in my hands sobbing my eyes out, only to be knocked out of my thoughts by the sound of rumbling earth mixed with that of a freight train. I looked up and saw a mixture of red hot and black rock barreling towards me only a few hundred metres down the tunnel.
'So this was it' I mused dryly. I probably wouldn't even get into Elysium with a death like this, and I would never get to see Percy again.
In the blink of an eye, the tidal wave of volcanic debris had reached the spot where I was kneeling. I closed my eyes in defeat with my hands dangling uselessly to my side. The air around me had heated up to an unbreakable level, but before any of it could touch me, I felt my stomach churn and turn, and a searing and bright light consume me.
Thalia POV
"Thalia!" called Phoebe. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with you in her tent."
"Okay, thanks Phobes," I replied sarcastically eliciting a scowl from the oldest hunter. But before she could respond I briskly walked off to Miladies tent wondering why she would need to call me.
Her tent was only about 20 metres away from where I had been sharpening my spear. Ducking under the opened flap in the heavy canvas, I bowed my head and cleared my throat. "Milady, you called?"
"I just thought that I would inform you that we will be heading towards Camp Half-Blood later today," she answered, her normally vibrant voice was monotone.
I couldn't hide my excitement of seeing Annabeth and Kelp Head again, it's been so long since I've last seen them. "That's great news Milady," I beamed in an uncharacteristically optimistic tone only to have my hopes slashed when she explained why.
"Unfortunately Thalia, we heading off there because Chiron has informed me that there is an impending battle." she started.
"Oh-"
"He says that Kronos's army is using the Labyrinth to strike deep into the heart of camp in an attempt to destroy Olympus from the inside." she continued, ignoring my quickly deteriorating mood.
"Why do we have to leave later today? Why not just now?" I questioned indignantly. "What if we arrive too late? Annabeth and Percy could be killed because we were just lounging around!"
Artemis silenced my rant by simply holding up her hand and giving me a stare that threatened an unpleasant future should I continue to question and push her.
"As I said, we will leave later. I trust that you will ensure that the camp is packed up by 3 PM. That is all Thalia, you may leave."
"Yes Milady," I murmured dejectedly.
This was so unfair. Why couldn't we leave as fast as possible? It would take a few hours to reach Camp, but it would only take minutes for it to be destroyed and overrun. 'Calm down Thalia' I mentally chided in a useless effort to regain my stoic and proud composure.
By now, all twenty-two hunter's were staring at me with worry present in their eyes.
"Thalia, what did Lady Artemis talk to you about?" Phoebe questioned.
"The camp must be packed up by 3 PM, which is when we depart to Camp-Half Blood," I proclaimed confidently, but on the inside, I was that scared little girl fighting for her life with Annabeth and Luke when on the run.
"Annabeth! C'mon, we're almost at the safe-house," I shouted over the deafening storm. The rain was hammering the exposed Miami Coast, and the waves were battering the white sands like artillery fire.
We had been constantly chased by monsters of all types- hellhounds, cyclopes, dracaena you name it- for days on end. My choppy and short black hair was matted on my forehead by the torrential downpour, with golden monster-dust mixed in. My arms and legs were littered with scrapes, cuts and bruises.
Why was Annabeth taking so long? Sure she was only a little girl, but she had been able to keep up with Luke and I every day. I was knocked out of my thoughts by a high-pitched scream.
"Annabeth!" I yelled while turning around, only to see her face to face with a 9ft tall cyclopes. His single eye was filled with pure malice, along with a maniacal glint.
"What do we have here?" he boomed. "A daughter of Athena," he spat Athena's name like it was poison, which only infuriated the little blonde haired girl.
"Lord Poseidon will be pleased to hear of your death indeed little wisdom spawn," the monster snarled viciously.
Just as he raised his ragged and rotten club high above his head in preparation to flatten Annabeth, both Luke and I broke out of our trance by screaming, "No! Stay away from her!"
Our distraction worked. The cyclops shifted his gaze away from the cowering daughter of Athena to us and his stare was met with equal ferocity. My bright, sky-blue eyes and Luke's dark blue orbs met the monster's massive sea-green eye.
Not wanting to waste any opportunity I let out a cry and charged the beast with my trusty spear fully extended and ready to impale its eye. Luke was not far behind me, gripping his celestial bronze xiphos so tightly that his knuckles turned a deathly white.
I dodged the cyclops's first swing by a millimetre and proceeded to jab my 6ft javelin into his gut. He bellowed in pain before launching his meaty fist towards me. I had been so preoccupied with my small victory that I didn't see it coming until it was too late.
"Thalia-" Luke cried as I flew through the sky landing a good 10ft away from where I was previously standing.
Luke narrowed his eyes at the monster before swiftly charging and swinging his sword at the monster's legs, only for his bronze blade to be deflected by his club. The force of the impact caused his sword to fly out of his grip and land 15ft away.
"Ah," thundered the Cyclops, "It seems you will be my first demigod meal tonight," before grabbing Luke by his neck and lifting him up towards his wide open mouth. Despite the predicament we were in, I couldn't help but feel nauseous at the sight of the monster's hideous teeth. They were stained a bright yellow and the ends were chipped and jagged.
"No!" I screamed desperately, before feeling a strange tugging sensation in my gut and smelling the overwhelming stench of ozone.
The hairs on my arms stood up and I saw an ethereal blue tendril of electricity make its way down from the heavens itself.
The light was so bright that I had to shield my eyes, lest I go blind, and when I opened my eyes I saw Luke sprawled on the ground surrounded by a small mountain of golden dust.
I sprinted towards his weary form, and Annabeth and I embraced him in a deep hug, letting out all of our worries and fears in a river of tears.
Annabeth POV
'So this was what death feels like' I thought dryly. As I opened my eyes I expected to see a hellish landscape of red and dead souls, but what I saw shocked me even more.
I was back in Hephaestus's workshop, with the burly mechanic hidden under the broken Toyota Corolla. "Oh, my gods. I'm alive!" I sputtered in complete disbelief at my luck. "I'm alive!" I screamed blissfully.
My sudden outburst must have shocked Hephaestus because I saw his body jerk upwards in fright and then I heard a loud bang, accompanied by a disgruntled grunt.
"Yes you are indeed alive, daughter of Athena," he stated as if it were obvious. "Although had I not intervened, you would most certainly be in the underworld while your body was burned and buried under a mountain of molten rock."
"Thank you so much, Lord Hephaestus!" I exclaimed hurriedly before the reason why I was running through the corridor flashed through my mind once again.
"Percy…" I muttered under my breath.
"Um, Lord Hephaestus?" I stammered out, my confidence was dwindling every second.
He looked towards me and motioned for me to carry on with his scarred and burly hands, and unlike Percy, I feared the wrath of Olympian's, so I continued.
"Is Percy dead?" I whispered hoarsely. As I asked the question, my eyes started to brim with a sea of tears.
"I'm not sure, daughter of Athena. I cannot sense him, but I believe that is due to divine interference," he replied, seemingly deep in thought.
That simple, statement caused my curiosity to overpower my grief for Percy. It reignited the fire inside of me that could only be quenched by knowledge.
"What do you mean Milord?" I implored, only to have him ignore my question entirely, causing my eyes to narrow.
What is he hiding? Does that mean Percy is alive? Or is he just trying to make me feel better?
My mind was assaulted by a flurry of unanswered questions. It was simply infuriating.
After what seemed like an eternity, the god finally responded, "I believe you should be headed back to your Camp now. I'm sure Chiron would be pleased to hear what you have witnessed in the depths of the Labyrinth, especially pertaining to Kronos's army." he stated matter-of-factly.
"But Lord Hephaestus, how will I get back to Cam-" Before I could finish my question he clicked his oil-stained fingers and I felt the strange sensation that I had felt earlier; my stomach churned, and a bright light consumed me.
Authors Note: I would like to thank you all for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following the story so far! Also, I would love to hear feedback on how I can improve the story, especially in relation to dialogue and incorporating it into the story because I feel that I can't do that at all. Anyways, thanks for reading!