Chapter Ten

Theo wasn't sure how he felt about the Labyrinth. It was confusing, and he had almost died several times by the time they met with Hephaestus, but then again, that was a normal Tuesday for Theo at this point. Being sent to find out information, however, that was new. Normally, it was 'recover this' or 'kill that.' Being sent to find something out was much nicer. Or, it normally would have been. When they had arrived, he and Annabeth had found the door blasted open, a thin layer of monster dust covering the ground. They had snuck into the forge, ready to fight if they had to. Instead, they were greeted by a horrifying sight.

Perseus, his missing half-brother, had his hand thrust into a lava stream by a large, silver haired Titan who was cackling manically. Theo could see the flesh melting off, but Perseus had a blank expression on his face.

"Soon, Kronos will rise, and you'll be back where you belong, Destroyer!" The Titan gloated.

"And how does he plan to do that in a million pieces again, Iapetus?" Perseus asked, though his voice was terse. Theo didn't blame him—he'd be screaming if his hand was being held in lava.

"Do you think me foolish enough to tell you?" The Titan, Iapetus, laughed.

"Honestly?" Perseus grinned, though his teeth were stained with blood. Iapetus roared and slammed a fist into his face. Perseus' head rolled to the side, and when his eyes opened, he made direct eye contact with Theo. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes, and then it was gone.

"Well, Iapetus, this has been enlightening, but I've got things to do now, and you're not being very forthcoming." Perseus said, before his free hand broke free of a Celestial Bronze manacle, his hand coming across and breaking Iapetus' hold on his other arm. The arm that had been submerged in the lava came out, and to Theo's immense surprise, his bones were still there. Already, muscles, ligaments, and skin were growing back, and within five seconds, his arm looked as if it had never been gone. His right hand clenched into a fist and slammed into Iapetus jaw, sending him reeling. A sword materialised in his hand, and came down, cutting off Iapetus' right hand—the one that had been holding Perseus' under the molten rock. Iapetus cried out, but it was quickly cut off when the sword came back across, decapitating him. The Titan vanished in burst of golden dust.

Perseus clenched and unclenched his hands several times before turning to where he and Annabeth were hiding.

"You can come out now," he called out, and Theo slowly did so, but Annabeth didn't. He could see a shimmer as she moved to flank around Perseus, but for all he knew, it could've been a heat mirage. Unfortunately, he did know better and Perseus' hand shot out, snatching Annabeth's hat off her head. "Points for the effort, but an 'f' for the result."

"How did you—" Annabeth began.

"Blood is made up of water," Perseus shrugged, "I can sense water. I've known you two where here since you arrived. You're lucky my power smothered yours, otherwise Iapetus may have noticed you as well."

"Are you implying you're more powerful than both of us combined?" Annabeth sounded affronted, but Theo wasn't sure that this was the demigod to question.

"Well, yeah," Perseus replied, "I mean, no offence, but you two don't even come close to my level."

"That's—" Annabeth tried again, only to be cut off again.

"There's something coming," Perseus frowned, "actually, there's a lot of somethings. It feels like… Telekhines," he grimaced, "I'd recommend returning to Hephaestus, let him know that his forges are being used to reforge weapons for the Titans. And tell him to let the council know that Iapetus has been dealt with—for now."

"Wait!" Theo exclaimed, "Tyson said you were missing! How'd you end up here?"

"Oh, boy, that's a long story," Perseus sighed, "turns out Daedalus' little tunnel system really does spread across the world, and that includes the Deep Trenches. I accidently burst my way in, and I've been wandering around here for a few months now. That Iapetus found me was pure chance. Now go! I'll hold the Telekhines off!"

Theo opened his mouth to argue, but Perseus launched Annabeth at him, and the two went flying out the shattered remains of the door. The sound of fighting sounded after a few moments, and the earth began shaking shortly after. Annabeth seemed to be in a stupor, so he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her along. He recognised the power that was coming from the forge—it reminded him of his father, and of Zeus. He didn't want to be anywhere nearby while Perseus was doing anything.

The mechanical spider led them back to the other forge where Hephaestus was. He seemed surprised to see them.

"You're still alive?" He blinked several times, before frowning, "do you even know what happened at my forge?"

Theo nodded and explained everything that had happened. Hephaestus' face darkened with each passing word, though whether it was because Perseus was still alive, or the news he was receiving, Theo didn't know.

"Mount Saint-Helens erupted," the God of Smithing said once Theo was finished, "it's loosened the chains on Typhon's cell. There's a high possibility that Perseus just made it possible for one of the few beings the Olympians fear to escape. That is… not good, admittedly."

"Oh," Theo wasn't sure how else to reply.

"'Oh' is correct," Hephaestus nodded, "the spider will lead you back to Camp Half-Blood. Inform Chiron on what you have learned. I will speak with the council."

The spider scuttled off, and they went to follow it.

"Theseus," Hephaestus called out, making him pause. The god looked nervous, "if you see Perseus before I do, tell him I'm sorry. For everything."

Theo opened his mouth, closed it, and then nodded, before jogging off to catch up with Annabeth. They didn't speak the entire way back. Things were, admittedly, complicated. But Theo hadn't missed the way that Hephaestus didn't mention where Perseus was, or even how he had made Mount Saint-Helens erupt.

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Calypso had seen Perseus Apollyon three times in her life. The first time was when he appeared at Mount Orthys, springing from his father's head. She had been serving as a cup-bearer to her father. The second time was during the Battle of Mount Orthys. She had watched as he called out challenges to all of the Titan lords, and any monster that was brave enough to confront him found themselves gone to his blade. The third time was during her trial, where he spoke passionately in her defence, but in the end, the will of the gods won out, and she was sentenced to Ogygia. To say that she was surprised to see him again would be an understatement.

And oh, how he had changed. He was handsome, and Calypso didn't think he would ever not be, but it was different now. Before, he had been handsome in the conventional sense—unmarred skin, sharp features, and piercing eyes. He still had the last two, but his skin was far from unmarred now. Scars lined his face, on the bridge of his nose, his cheeks, his brow, his chin. Small, but visible white streaks on his otherwise bronze skin. He was also in impeccable shape considering he had fallen from the sky onto her island.

It had been three days and he was still unconscious, which surprised her. She knew he couldn't be killed, she had witnessed the attempts personally, but from what she understood, he would have normally healed by now. Or rather, he should've been awake by now. He had healed. There were no broken bones, no open wounds, but he was still unconscious, and Calypso wasn't quite sure as to why. The good news was that unlike the others, she didn't have to care for him, which made it all that easier to avoid him, and therefore, fall in love with him. But she knew she'd be royally screwed when he woke up, because, as she knew from experience, it was very easy to like Perseus.

So, while he slept away in the room, she sat outside her home, letting the invisible, silent spirits serve her. She thought of all the heroes she had known in the past. Odysseus and Francis chief among them.

"You know, for all that the gods did, they could have sentenced you to an uglier prison," a deep voice rumbled out from behind her. It was the fifth day now, and she had been staring at the setting sun, taking in the beauty as the last rays of light dipped below the horizon.

"Why did they send you here, Perseus?" She asked, not daring to look at him, "you know of my curse."

"Curse?" She could hear his frown. "Do you even know where I've been?"

"I was under the impression that you had retired to some farmstead to live your life out in peace," she replied, "that is what you always wanted, was it not?"

There was a bitter laugh, and after a moment, she felt him sit down next to her. Still, she didn't shift her gaze from the sunset. She wouldn't.

"I was exiled to Tartarus by the gods in the aftermath of Troy," he said.

Damn it. Her head whipped around to look at him, but he was staring at the sunset like she had been.

"I killed many Achaeans during the sack," he admitted, "I was in the horse, I was there when the city burned. We went too far. Achilles' bastard son tried to end the line of Hector, so I killed him. I set off a rage I hadn't felt since Orthys. I slaughtered any man who was found raping or murdering the innocent, despite knowing it was the norm at the time. Ajax the Lesser fell to my blade. Agamemnon too. Diomedes tried to stop me, and I almost crippled him. Dozens of soldiers died to my blade. The gods found me guilty of treason and cast me off."

"The… the scars?" she asked tentatively, "and the tattoos?"

"Gained in Tartarus," he replied with a nod, "it seems my healing factor doesn't work as well in the Pit, though Tartarus himself admitted he had something to do with that. That tattoos, however? Those were to commemorate victories. I believe I have your father somewhere on here."

"When did you return?" she almost squeaked when he leaned backwards, the shirt she had left in his room riding up his torso.

"Close to a millennium ago," he answered, "Tartarus got sick of me not dying, and killing everything else, so he kicked me out. Branded me, too, so that I can never return to his Pit. I think he did it to spite the Gods. But enough about me, what's this curse you speak of?"

Calypso blinked, and before she could stop herself, began explaining the situation, and what had happened since Troy. She wasn't sure why the flash of anger in his eyes made her feel better, but she knew why she was becoming more comfortable with his presence. She hated herself for it.

MMXVIII

So, Percy ended up on Ogygia. I'm thinking that this is going to be Percy x Calypso, because the girl deserves better. Also, Percy pretty much committed mass genocide in the Deep Trenches, and while Theo and Calypso didn't know about it, the gods most certainly do. But for now, he's getting an island vacation. As always, feel free to leave a review, or send me a PM. Also, to the person who was wondering, I'm a senior in high school, which is why I sometimes have more time and sometimes have very little. College Prep is hard, my dude.

Cheers, CombatTombat