Delaney jumped every time she heard a noise, fearing it would be another god trying to stop them.
Eventually, they met a pair of cyclopes, and they all drew their weapons. Nico slashed at the middle cyclopes, while Annabeth and Percy worked in synch on the second.
Reyna slashed with her gladius on the third cyclopes, who soon disintegrated into ashes. Delaney, Reyna and Thalia switched between the two cyclopes, helping where needed.
Minutes later, the six demigods stood in front of three piles of ashes, exhausted. They waited a few minutes to catch their breath, and then resumed walking through the labyrinth.
Delaney gripped her daggers so tightly her knuckles turned white. "This is stupid, we're the most powerful demigods in the world, yet the only things to attack us are one minor god and a trio of cyclopes."
Reyna nodded. "I agree. I think a powerful force is at work; I think the minor gods want us to find the magical disturbance."
Thalia gripped her spear tightly. "I don't like it, but we'll continue. Nico, are you sensing any underworldly-stuff?"
Nico shook his head. "I honestly don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing."
Annabeth turned to look at Percy. "Seaweed Brain, what are you staring at?"
Percy turned around. "What?" He asked. "I'm just looking at this carved portrait of the gods. I especially love their interpretation of Zeus."
Delaney turned her daggers into a pendant and turned to look at the portrait Percy was pointing at. It showed a fat, hippie Zeus with a ridiculous looking grin on his beard-free face. Delaney turned to glare at the son of Poseidon.
"What?" Percy asked. "Even you have to admit; it is pretty funny."
"Maybe I should run you through with this." Delaney said, fingering the pendant her father gave her. "Surely it would be the best revenge."
"Well, well, well." Said a low voice that sounded very familiar. "Who knows, you might be my child."
Delaney whirled around, her daggers in her hands. Reyna, Annabeth, and Thalia had their weapons ready, and Nico and Percy unsheathed their swords and Nico summoned undead soldiers, while Percy tried to summon what little water he could.
The voice belonged to a man, and it took Delaney a second to recognize him. Elijah. "You're not Elijah." She spat.
Thalia glared at him. "It's Nemesis."
Nemisis laughed. "Finally, something gets into that thick head of yours, hunter. Who do you all see?"
Thalia spoke first. "Orion." She spat. "I'd kill him a thousand times to make up for the brave hunters that died fighting him."
"Albania." Nico and Reyna said at the same time.
Everyone turned to look at them.
Nemesis chuckled. "These two had quite a time in Albania with that satyr."
Percy spoke next. "I see Smelly Gabe. I'd give my right arm to run him through with my sword."
Annabeth spoke last. "Uncle Randolph. I kept trying to convince Magnus that he was family; there was still good left in him, but that doesn't get rid of the fact he got Magnus killed."
"Now," Delaney said. "What are you doing here? I thought you were against the Olympians."
Nemesis nodded. "I am. I was simply sent here to distract you."
Delaney cursed, several lines in Ancient Greek, and several in Latin.
She whipped around, and came face-to-face with Deimos, and she panicked, dropping her daggers.
"Run!" Percy shouted, stabbing Phobos.
Delaney took out her lances and tripped as many gods as she could as she fled, with Reyna and Thalia on her heels.
Percy was fending off Nike, asking for participation awards. Nike screeched in anger and lashed out, hitting Percy on the head with the hilt of her sword. Percy crumpled to the ground, and Nike dragged him away.
"NO!" Annabeth let out a guttural cry and charged Nike, with Nico watching her back.
Delaney charged forward, but Thalia held her back.
"We have to go!" Thalia shouted; her eyes full of tears.
"No!" Delaney screamed. "We have to help them!"
"We need the quest to succeed!" Thalia shouted. "It's the only way we can win!"
Reyna grasped her arm. "Centurion, we need to go. That's an order."
Delaney followed the two, but she obviously didn't like it.
The three girls raced through the labyrinth, ignoring the sounds of battle behind them. Reyna touched the blue delta symbol on the wall, and they raced through it, and into the mortal world above.
The three demigods didn't stop until they were several blocks away.
"What—should—we—do—now?" Thalia panted.
Delaney squinted at a nearby sign. "I think we're in Greece." She said.
Reyna stared at her. "You're reading the sign wrong."
"It's Greek." Delaney insisted. "Otherwise I would have had trouble reading the sign, with my dyslexia."
"Also," Thalia added. "I think I see the Parthenon over there."
Reyna turned around, and they saw the Parthenon, although it looked slightly different, with a giant-shaped dent in the floor, bits and pieces of ballistae, and a piece of wood that said Argo II on it.
"Well then," Delaney said. "Welcome to Athens."
They decided to catch their breath in a nearby Starbucks. They found a satyr working there, and they each ordered a nectar with whipped cream.
The satyr grabbed nectar from his secret storage compartment, put whipped cream on, and served it to them.
The girls sat down in a table far from the mortals, and they sipped their drinks, enjoying the brief peace.
"So," Thalia said, sipping her nectar. "What now? We found the magical disturbance; I'm assuming it is, since the minor gods chose to stop us when we got there."
"We go into the labyrinth and rescue them!" Delaney said, as if it were obvious.
Reyna shook her head. "We don't even know where they took them."
"But," Thalia interrupted, before Delaney could protest. "We could wander through the labyrinth, and, gods forbid! Happen to stumble upon them."
Delaney's lips curled into a smile. "Of course, we'd never do such a thing on purpose." They turned to look at Reyna.
"Fine." Reyna said. "We'll accidentally stumble upon them in the labyrinth."
They finished their nectars and searched Athens for the symbol of Daedalus, and surprise, surprise, they found it on a statue of Daedalus in a museum.
Delaney hesitantly touched the delta symbol, and the doorway to the labyrinth appeared. Thalia brought out Aegis and her spear, Reyna unsheathed her gladius, and
Delaney's daggers flashed into existence.
The three "wandered'' through the labyrinth, "totally not searching" for their friends.
