A: Seven horcruxes - The Diary, The Ring, The Locket, The Cup, The Diadem, Nagini and Harry. Congrats to those who got the right answer.

Listening to – Mistakes by Haimin

Words: 6896

"One last thing, Annabeth. I have postponed your day of choice, I have not prevented it. Soon, as Janus said, you will have to make a decision. Farewell!"

Hera waved a hand and turned into white smoke. So did the food, just as Tyson chomped down on a sandwich that turned to mist in his mouth. The fountain trickled to a stop. The mosaic walls dimmed and turned grungy and faded again. The room wasn't any place one would want a picnic in.

Annabeth stamped her foot. "What sort of help was that? 'Here, have a sandwich. Make a wish. Oops, I can't help you.' Poof!"

"Poof." Tyson agreed sadly, looking at his empty plate.

"Well, " Grover sighed. "She said Percy knows the answer. That's something."

They looked at Percy.

"But I don't." He said. "I don't know what she was talking about."

…

They crouched in the shadows, but the monster wasn't paying us any attention. It seemed to be talking to someone inside a cell on the second floor. That's where the sobbing was coming from. The dragon woman said something in her weird rumbling language.

"What's she saying?" Percy asked, more like whispered to Tyson who seemed to know what was happening. "What's that language?"

"The tongue of the old times." Tyson shivered. "What Mother Earth spoke to the Titans and her other children. Before the gods."

"You understand it? Can you translate it?"

Tyson closed his eyes and began to speak in a horrible, raspy woman's voice. "You will work for the master or suffer."

…

"One game of rock, paper and scissors." Percy blurted out. "If I win, you come with us. If I lose, we'll leave you in jail."

Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy. He felt like it. He felt desperate enough to save someone from their own fear.

Briares's face morphed to doubtful. "I always win rock, paper, scissors."

"Then let's do it!"

Percy pounded his fist three times. Briares did the same with all one hundred hands, which sounded like an army marching three steps forward. He was reminded of the rogue monster from Briares's family that had attacked them on DJ's birthday. That one had been terrifying. This one was terrified of himself.

Briares came up with a whole avalanche of rocks, a classroom set of scissors and enough paper to make a fleet of airplanes.

"I told you." He said sadly. "I always – " He face morphed to confusion. "What is that you made?"

"A wand." Percy said, showing him his extended index finger. "A wand would beat anything."

"That's not fair. Demigods are not fair."

"Sorry." Percy told him. "But Kampê going to be even less fair than me if we hang around here. She's going to blame you for ripping the bars. Now come on!"

…

"The wax compound should hold for several hours," Daedalus said nervously as his son worked. "But we must let it set first. And we would do well to avoid flying too high or too low. The sea would wet the wax seals—"

"And the sun's heat would loosen them," the boy finished. "Yes, Father. We've been through this a million times!"

"One cannot be too careful."

"I have complete faith in your inventions, Father! No one has ever been as smart as you."

The old man's eyes shone. It was obvious he loved his son more than anything in the world. "Now I will do your wings, and give mine a chance to set properly. Come!"

It was slow going. The old man's hands fumbled with the straps. He had a hard time keeping the wings in position while he sealed them. His own metal wings seemed to weigh him down, getting in his way while he tried to work.

"Too slow," the old man muttered. "I am too slow."

"Take your time, Father," the boy said. "The guards aren't due until—"

BOOM!

…

"Well, well," the king said with a cruel smile. "Going somewhere?"

Daedalus and his son froze, their metal wings glimmering on their backs.

"We're leaving, Minos," the old man said.

King Minos chuckled. "I was curious to see how far you'd get on this little project before I dashed your hopes. I must say I'm impressed."

The king admired their wings. "You look like metal chickens," he decided. "Perhaps we should pluck you and make a soup."

The guards laughed stupidly.

"Metal chickens," one repeated. "Soup."

"Shut up," the king said. Then he turned again to Daedalus. "You let my daughter escape, old man. You drove my wife to madness. You killed my monster and made me the laughingstock of the Mediterranean. You will never escape me!"

Icarus grabbed the wax gun and sprayed it at the king, who stepped back in surprise. The guards rushed forward, but each got a stream of hot wax in his face.

"The vent!" Icarus yelled to his father.

"Get them!" King Minos raged.

Together, the old man and his son pried open the manhole cover, and a column of hot air blasted out of the ground. The king watched, incredulous, as the inventor and son shot into the sky on their bronze wings, carried by the updraft.

…

"Stop that!" Daedalus called. But the wind carried his voice away. His son was drunk on his own freedom.

The old man struggled to catch up, gliding clumsily after his son. They were miles from Crete, over deep sea, when Icarus looked back and saw his father's worried expression.

Icarus smiled. "Don't worry, Father! You're a genius! I trust your handiwork—"

The first metal feather shook loose from his wings and fluttered away. Then another. Icarus wobbled in midair. Suddenly he was shedding bronze feathers, which twirled away from him like a flock of frightened birds.

"Icarus!" his father cried. "Glide! Extend the wings. Stay as still as possible!"

But Icarus flapped his arms, desperately trying to reassert control.

The left wing went first—ripping away from the straps.

"Father!" Icarus cried. And then he fell, the wings stripped away until he was just a boy in a climbing harness and a white tunic, his arms extended in a useless attempt to glide.

Percy woke with a start, feeling like he was falling. The corridor was dark. In the constant moaning of the Labyrinth, I thought I could hear the anguished cry of Daedalus calling his son's name, as Icarus, his only joy, plummeted toward the sea, three hundred feet below.

…

"Triple G Ranch," Percy said, suddenly remembering. "Your mark was on the crates at camp. Quintus got his scorpions from you."

"Quintus…" Geryon mused. "Short gray hair, muscular, swordsman?"

"Yeah."

"Never heard of him," Geryon said. "Now, over here are my prizestables! You must see them."

…

"Oh, save it, sea boy. You ocean-god types always think you're soooo much more important than some little river, don't you? Well let me tell you, this naiad is not going to be pushed around just because your daddy is Poseidon. This is freshwater territory, mister. The last guy who asked me this favor—oh, he was way better-looking than you, by the way—he convinced me, and that was the worst mistake I've ever made! Do you have any idea what all that horse manure does to my ecosystem? Do I look like a sewage treatment plant to you? My fish will die. I'll never get the mulch out of my plants. I'll be sick for years. NO THANK YOU!"

The way she talked reminded Percy of Harry. He really missed him right about now. Wizards and witches could probably just wave their hands and clean up entire spaces. Percy thought of the mortal, Rachel Elizabeth Dare and realized that this naiad and Harry reminded him of her —kind of like she was punching him with words. He couldn't blame the naiad. Now that he thought about it, he'd be pretty mad if somebody dumped four million pounds of manure in his home. But still…

"My friends are in danger," Percy told her.

"Well, that's too bad! But it's not my problem. And you're not going to ruin my river."

She looked like she was ready for a fight. Her fists were balled, but Percy thought he heard a little quiver in her voice. Suddenly I realized that despite her angry attitude, she was afraid of me. She probably thought he was going to fight her for control of the river, and she was worried she would lose.

The thought made him sad and tired. He felt like a bully, a son of Poseidon throwing his weight around.

He sat down on a tree stump. "Okay, you win."

The naiad looked surprised. "Really?"

"I'm not going to fight you. It's your river."

She relaxed her shoulders. "Oh. Oh, good. I mean—good thing for you!"

"But my friends and I are going to get sold to the Titans if I don't clean those stables by sunset. And I
don't know how."

The river gurgled along cheerfully. A snake slid through the water and ducked its head under. Finally the naiad sighed.

"I'll tell you a secret, son of the sea god. Scoop up some dirt."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Percy crouched down and scooped up a handful of Texas dirt. It was dry and black and spotted with tiny clumps of white rock…no, something besides rock.

"Those are shells," the naiad said. "Petrified seashells. Millions of years ago, even before the time of the gods, when only Gaea and Ouranos reigned, this land was under the water. It was part of the sea."

Suddenly he saw what she meant. There were little pieces of ancient sea urchins in his hand, mollusk shells. Even the limestone rocks had impressions of seashells embedded in them.

"Okay," Percy said. "What good does that do me?"

"You're not so different from me, demigod. Even when I'm out of the water, the water is within me. It is my life source." She stepped back, put her feet in the river, and smiled. "I hope you find a way to rescue your friends."

…

Geryon laughed. "You fool! One arrow is no better than one sword."

He raised his swords and charged. Percy dove sideways. Before he could turn, Percy shot his arrow into the sideof Geryon's right chest. I heard the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP as the arrow passed clean through each of his chests and flew out his left side, embedding itself in the forehead of the grizzly bear trophy.

Geryon dropped his swords. He turned and stared at me. "You can't shoot. They told me you
couldn't…"

His face turned a sickly shade of green. He collapsed to his knees and began crumbling into sand, until all that was left were three cooking aprons and an oversized pair of cowboy boots.

…

Percy didn't know exactly how much time passed. Like Calypso said, it was hard to keep track on the island. He knew that he should be leaving. At the very least, his friends would be worried. At worst, they could be in serious danger. He didn't even know if Annabeth had made it out of the volcano. He tried to use his empathy link with Grover several times, but couldn't make contact. He hated not knowing if they were all right.

On the other hand, Percy really was weak. He couldn't stay on his feet more than a few hours. Whatever he'd done in Mount St. Helens had drained him like nothing else he'd ever expected.

He didn't feel like a prisoner or anything. He thought about Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson constantly. He remembered exactly why he needed to leave. He just…couldn't. And then there was Calypso herself.

…

"The gods do not trust their enemies. And rightly so. I should not complain. Some of the prisons are not nearly as nice as mine."

"But that's not fair," Percy said. "Just because you're related doesn't mean you support him. This other daughter I knew, Zoë, Nightshade—she fought against him. She wasn't imprisoned."

"But, Percy," Calypso said gently, "I did support him in the first war. He is my father."

"What? But the Titans are evil!"

"Are they? All of them? All the time?" She pursed her lips. "Tell me, Percy. I have no wish to argue with you. But do you support the gods because they are good, or because they are your family?"

He didn't answer. She had a point. Last winter, after Annabeth and I had saved Olympus, the gods had had a debate about whether or not they should kill me. That hadn't been exactly good. But still, he felt like he supported them because Poseidon was his dad.

"Perhaps I was wrong in the war," Calypso said. "And in fairness, the gods have treated me well. They visit me from time to time. They bring me word of the outside world. But they can leave. And I cannot."

"You don't have any friends?" Percy asked. "I mean…wouldn't anyone else live here with you? It's a nice place."

A tear trickled down her cheek. "I…I promised myself I wouldn't speak of this. But—"

She was interrupted by a rumbling sound somewhere out on the lake. A glow appeared on the horizon. It got brighter and brighter, until they could see a column of fire moving across the surface of the water, coming toward us.

Percy stood and reached for his sword. "What is that?"

Calypso sighed. "A visitor."

As the column of fire reached the beach, Calypso stood and bowed to it formally. The flames dissipated, and standing before them was a tall man in gray overalls and a metal leg brace, his beard and hair smoldering with fire.

"Lord Hephaestus," Calypso said. "This is a rare honor."

The fire god grunted. "Calypso. Beautiful as always. Would you excuse us, please, my dear? I need to have a word with our young Percy Jackson."

…

Hephaestus switched it off. "You caused quite an explosion."

Percy stared at the blank bronze screen. Half a million people evacuated? Injuries. Illness. What had he done?

"The telekhines were scattered," the god told me. "Some vaporized. Some got away, no doubt. I don't think they'll be using my forge any time soon. On the other hand, neither will I. The explosion caused Typon to stir in his sleep. We'll have to wait and see—"

"I couldn't release him, could I? I mean, I'm not that powerful!"

The god grunted. "Not that powerful, eh? Could have fooled me. You're the son of the Earthshaker, lad. You don't know your own strength."

That's the last thing Percy wanted him to say. He hadn't been in control of himself in that mountain. He'd released so much energy he'd almost vaporized himself, drained all the life out. Now he found out that he'd nearly destroyed the Northwest U.S. and almost woken the most horrible monster ever imprisoned by the gods. Maybe he was too dangerous. Maybe it was safer for everyone to think he was dead.

"What about Grover and Tyson?" he asked.

Hephaestus shook his head. "No word, I'm afraid. I suppose the Labyrinth has them."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

Hephaestus winced. "Don't ever ask an old cripple for advice, lad. But I'll tell you this. You've met my wife?"

"Aphrodite."

"That's her. She's a tricky one. Be careful of love. It'll twist your brain around and leave you thinking up is down and right is wrong."

"Is this part of her plan?" Percy asked. "Did she land me here?"

"Possibly. Hard to say with her. But if you decide to leave this place—and I don't say what's right or wrong—then I promised you an answer to your quest. I promised you the way to Daedalus. Well now, here's the thing. It has nothing to do with Ariadne's string. Not really. Sure, the string work. That's what the Titan's army will be after. Btu the best way through the maze…Theseus had the princess's help. And the princess was a regular mortal. Not a drop of god blood in her. But she was clever, and she could see, lad. She could see very clearly. So what I'm saying—I think you know how to navigate the maze."

It finally sank in. why hadn't he seen it before? Hera had been right. The answer was there all the time.

"Yeah," Percy said. "Yeah, I know."

"Then you'll need to decide whether or not you're leaving."

"I…" He wanted to say yes. Of course he would. But the words were stuck in his throat. He looked out at the lake and suddenly the idea of leaving seemed very hard.

"Don't decide yet," Hephaestus advised. "Wait until daybreak. Daybreak is a good time for decisions."

"Will Daedalus even help us?" Percy asked restlessly. "I mean, if he gives Luke a way to navigate the Labyrinth, we're dead. I saw dreams about…Daedalus killed his nephew, Perdix. He turned bitter and angry and—"

"It isn't easy being a brilliant inventor," Hephaestus rumbled. "Always alone. Always misunderstood. Easy to turn bitter, make horrible mistakes. People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed."

Hephaestus brushed the last drops of Pepsi off his work clothes. "Daedalus started well enough. He helped the Princess Ariadne and Theseus because he felt sorry for them. He tried to do a good deed. And everything in his life went bad because of it. Was that fair?" The god shrugged. "I don't know if Daedalus will help you, lad, but don't judge someone until you've stood at his forge and worked with his hammer, eh?"

Percy shuddered.

Too many things had happened and now he was headed back to camp in the tiny raft that had drifted aimlessly about at first. Time had passed by without track and he would look at the little sprig of moonlace that Calypso had given him. The small flower seemed to glow dully and he wasn't even completely sure if his decision was the right one. He had thought about staying back. He had thought about it for what had felt like days. What if he could just live happily ever after with Calypso? It was so close and could be real but it wasn't reality and he knew he'd never forgive himself if he took it. So he hadn't.

He saw the coast of Long Island Sound. If he steered the waves right, he'd end up at the beach inside camp's boundaries.

It was a lot of drama. When he stepped onto the sand, his legs trembled. He still felt weak from whatever he had done to himself. Percy swallowed back the fear and strode up the beach feeling weaker the more distance he put between himself and the ocean.

There was a loud argument going on in the arena. Most of the campers seemed to be gathered there. Harry and Clarisse were yelling at each other and everyone was staring openly at them, too wary to break it up. Annabeth hadn't even bothered to move, simply standing beside Beckendorf who had a huge arm over her shoulders in comfort.

It must have been days since he'd gone missing. Percy stumbled down the path towards the crowd.

Mrs. O'Leary looked up, bounding towards him, sniffing happily. Percy smiled faintly, running his hand through her thick coat. She gave a whine and started jumping up and down with such fervour that the ground shook and people started to panic.

"Stop that! Crazy hellhound!"

"Don't call her crazy!"

"I'll call her what I want!"

Clarisse and Harry started arguing again, except it was on a different track. Unbeknownst to them, the others caught sight of Percy.

He nodded. "'Sup."

Camp burst into applause and whistling. They clapped him on the back and hugged him. Percy wasn't sure but he thought someone kissed him when Annabeth shoved everyone away in one move and launched herself at him.

Percy grunted, stumbling a few steps back when he weight fell one him, but without hesitating, he threw his arms around her as well, hugging her tightly. It was one thing to find out that she was alive and safe and another thing entirely to feel her hugging him so hard that their hearts beat in tandem.

The silence was what had made him open his eyes and watch the rest of camp staring at them.

"I told you he wasn't dead!" Harry said with such attitude that Percy burst out laughing.

The happiness wound down when he found out that Camp had no idea about Grover and Tyson. It fell further when Chiron told him that Nico and Quintus were missing.

Percy blanched at the news. "Did he kidnap him? Why would he do that? What's Quintus want with Nico? When did they leave?"

"Actually, we think Nico left on his own." Annabeth said quietly. Her eyes seemed huge in the light of the hearth. Chiron sighed.

"It seems that he has been conversing with Minos for a while now."

"Minos? King Minos? The one who owned the Labyrinth? The one who released the Minotaur? What does he want with Nico?!"

"Percy, calm down!"

"You calm down! I'm the one who has to tell my mom that Nico's gone! Again!"

Chiron placed a soothing palm on his head. Maybe it was the prolonged weakness but Percy nearly succumbed to the weight of his hand. His knees bent without his accord and Annabeth caught him before he could hug the floor.

"Get him to the Infirmary." Chiron said. "Don't worry, Percy. Your mother knows about Nico. Harry called her. He is probably talking to her right now about your arrival."

Percy pushed away her hands and stood up shakily. He could feel the moonlace quivering inside his jacket. "Wait. I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

"He told you the answer?"

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do. I understand now. It's like Hera said."

Percy was halfway in telling them how Rachel was the key or rather the string to get through the Labyrinth when Annabeth exclaimed, "Percy, that's crazy!"

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

"But this is my quest," Annabeth said. "I need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

"And this is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy admitted. "But it's true."

Annabeth glared at him. "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!"

She stormed out of the Big House. Percy's shoulders slumped. He'd thought they were getting along so well.

"She will calm down," Chiron promised. "She's jealous, my boy."

"That's stupid. She's not…it's not like…"

Chiron chuckled. "It hardly matters. Annabeth is very territorial about her friends, in case you haven't noticed. She was quite worried about you. And now that you're back, I think she suspects where you were marooned."

Percy stared out the door she had exited. It made sense why Annabeth hadn't liked Harry so much. The feeling had been pretty much mutual. They had both been territorial about their friendship with Percy. But Percy wasn't a territory and he knew this idea would work. Rachel was the strongest lead they had and Luke and his army did know – could not – know about this.

Chiron led him to the Infirmary. He wasn't surprised when he saw Harry and Kayla Knowles, another Apollo half-blood, leaning against one of the beds. Surprisingly, there were no other campers occupying the beds.

"Hey." Percy said, falling down on the nearest mattress heavily. It dipped comfortingly and he shot Chiron and smile as the mentor left. Kayla immediately gave him a glass of nectar to consume slowly.

"The term burnt-out is referred to people undergoing their midlife crisis." Harry said expeditiously. "Or to someone like you, right now."

"Adele." Was all Percy retorted between sips. The nectar felt like the usual chocolate chip cookies his mother would make, flowing down his throat gradually. The warmth spread through his body and he relaxed against the pillow.

Harry tilted his head, frowning. "Seems slow. You still look half dead."

"What?"

Percy finished his glass and set it down. He felt better, but the tiredness lingered and he was about to shrug it off when Harry took his hand.

"Bro?"

"Shh." Harry said. He cupped Percy's hand with both of his. Percy sat up about ask if Harry was really praying to Apollo or someone else when a bolt of heat went through his hand right up his palm, filling his chest, far more swiftly than what the nectar did.

He gasped at the onslaught of energy filling his body. He felt so energized so suddenly that his legs jerked straight and he pulled back yanking his hand from Harry's grip. Percy took in deep breaths feeling his chest hurt no longer. He felt so great that he wanted to run a few laps around camp and then have a go on the mats with Clarisse.

Harry grunted and folded like a cheap suit beside him. Percy jumped out of bed and caught him.

"Whoa! What did you do?!"

After a bit of heavy coughing, Harry shook his head as though he needed to clear his thoughts. He was the one who shivered now.

"Just a new thing that I'm trying…"

Percy stared. "Seriously? Dude, you didn't have to do something like that, I just had the nectar! Oh my gods, am I talking too fast? It feels like I'm talking too fast. Like I had a lot of caffeine and sugar in one go. Did you know ten tablespoons of sugar can make someone hurl? I used to take six tablespoons with my milk in the morning, remember? Wow, I can't stop talking. Don't ever do this, Harry. I like the rush, but next time, let's stick to the nectar, right? Gods, I need to run. Maybe I'll pop by the house and come back. Did you tell mom about Nico? Thanks for that. I couldn't have done that. I owe you. I feel like having strawberries. Ooohhh! Harry could you make me some blue strawberries?! I could give some of them to Annabeth like peace offering! Not godly offering. That's for the gods. That's when you burn your food before eating. It's pretty awesome. What happened to your glasses? Where are they? You look good. I love you, Harry. I missed you so much. I'm going to hug you now."

"… yeah, I'm never doing this again." Harry muttered. "Stop with the hugging. Just…. get Katie to give me a watermelon and I'll be fine."

Luckily, the energetic boost slowly fell and he was back to normal in no time. Percy had hoped that the plan would work and unfortunately, he'd spilled it to Harry who wanted to accompany them into the Labyrinth.

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Percy –"

"No way!"

"I'm coming with you, like it or not." Harry said so decisively that Percy pushed out his chest and bumped into him.

"No, you're not. I won't allow it."

"You won't? You won't allow it? You're not my keeper."

Percy poked him with Riptide in pen form. Harry brushed him away, pushing past him and exiting the cabin.

"Actually, I am." Percy said. "As long as you're in my camp, you're playing by my rules."

"Too bad. I've never been one for rules."

Percy blew a raspberry at him. "Chiron said no. And I'll tell mom."

"Go ahead." Harry said, grinning too widely. "I'd love to hear that conversation."

They shoved each other at the same time and end up knocking their elbows out. Percy pulled at Harry's collar and they ended up roughhousing a little.

"You're… not… going!"

"Oh, yes… I am!" Harry knocked him down and leapt out of the away. Percy said, "OW!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean –"

With a quick swipe, Harry found himself on the ground, blinking blearily. "Not funny. Percy, I'm coming along and that's final."

Annabeth was not happy. She glared at both boys so furiously that any moment now, her eyes would probably release laser.

"Since this is my quest, I suggest you retreat." She told Harry, coldly.

"Really? I thought we'd waved the white flag? C'mon, Annabeth. You know I can help. I can find Pan too. I'll probably lead us straight to Grover and Tyson." He argued. Percy watched them noting that there did seem to be less hostility among the two. That was good news.

"But it's two against one." Percy pointed.

"Not unless the one is pretty capable of a lot of things. Annabeth knows this." Harry said pointedly. Percy looked at her. They were still standing beside Peleus and Thalia's Pine Tree.

Annabeth looked like she was still calculating the odds. He could see the battle in her eyes and saw when it looked like Harry's point won.

"No!" He said, but Annabeth was already shrugging. "You'd make good odds. But have you been on a quest before?"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I helped get you from Mount Tamalpais. I can fight. I have magic. You have no reason to say no."

"We don't need a reason." Percy muttered, not liking it one bit. He remembered the dream where Luke had been trying to convince Harry to do something. He was sure that it would happen if Harry was in the Labyrinth.

Annabeth looked at him. "Sorry, Percy. He does have magic."

Percy spluttered. "We all have a little magic! We're children of the gods, for Olympus' sakes!"

"Well, for the sake of our magical gods, please find a better phrase to call in vain." Harry said. Percy hit him on the back of the head but Annabeth finally said. "Fine. You're in. Now we need to find Ms. Clearly wasted Mortal."

"Her name's Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Whatever."

Percy remembered her number even though the bright red digits had faded from his arm days ago. It was a fact that Annabeth hadn't taken to. Rachel was surprisingly alright with talking to them about the labyrinth. They found her outside the Marriott Marquis. She looked out of place in front of the iconic landmark. Rachel had gold body paint all over her, clothes, face and hair included.

She stood along with a few others painted in copper and bronze. At their feet was a fancy sign that took Percy a few tries to read. URBAN ART FOR KIDS. DONATIONS APPRECIATED.

"Hey Flo." Percy said, waving his hand in front of her face.

Rachel didn't reply. She didn't move or even twitch. As far as Percy could see, she didn't blink.

"Does she have to do this in front of a J. C. Portman?" Annabeth muttered, looking up at the building with reverence.

"And just for that…" Harry tossed five dollars on to the tarp where the models stood.

They waited for a few minutes until a boy painted in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand where he'd been taking a break. He took up her spot and Rachel unfroze, jumping down the tarp and grinning at them.

"Thanks. Hi, Percy. Good timing. Walk with me."

They went down to a coffee place called Java Moose. Percy and Annabeth took up one side of the booth while Rachel gestured Harry into the other. They ordered small espressos while Rachel started to brush her hair. No one looked twice at her, even though she seemed like the most atypical person among their group.

"So," she said, "…it's Annabelle, right?"

"Annabeth," Annabeth corrected. "Do you always dress in gold?"

"Not usually," Rachel said. "We're raising money for our group. We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? We do this once a month, take in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend. But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. You're a half-blood, too?"

"Seriously?!" Annabeth looked around. "Just announce it to the whole café."

"Okay." Rachel stood up and said really loud, "Hey, everybody! These three aren't human! They're half Greek god!"

"Not me!" Harry joined in. He seemed to be enjoying himself. "I'm a wizard!"

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm Harry –"

"I remember you. Where are your glasses?"

"He got a makeover. Are we done with the niceties, mortal?" Annabeth interrupted.

"I like being nice. People get scared when I'm not nice."

"Is that a threat?"

"Whoa." Percy said, holding out his hands. "Guys, chill."

Rachel shrugged. She took out a hand towel and rubbed at her face. Glitter dust fell all over the table and over Harry.

The moment her face was free of paint, Percy felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

If he thought that DJ looked a bit like Harry, it was nearly nothing compared to how much Rachel resembled him. They had the same sloping nose, sharp eye shape and colour. Same shade of green too if Percy stared long enough. They had similar fringes as well, covering nearly all of their foreheads. Except Harry had jet black hair and Rachel's was a slightly darker shade of red. Exactly like Lily Potter's, come to think of it.

Harry brushed the glitter off his hair and looked up not seeming to realize what Percy saw. He frowned at them.

Annabeth cleared her throat and looked towards Percy, eyes wide as though she were thinking, 'WTF?'

Percy swallowed. He remembered hearing about Harry's twin. Little Rosie had died that night and yet, here sat someone who could very easily be a teenager Rosie. Or just Rose.

What were the odds? Percy's imaginary friend turns out to be a lost sister.

Or… what if it was all a coincidence?

The moment he thought that, he sighed. Things couldn't be that easy, could it?

"What?" Rachel asked, setting her brush down, 86% free of gold powder paint.

Annabeth and Percy looked away from them immediately, staring at everything else. He could tell that they were both blushing.

"Nothing." Annabeth said, sounding uncharacteristically chirpy, especially towards Rachel. Harry frowned at Percy whose eyes were still darting back and forth Rachel and Harry.

"Well, it looks like there's something bothering you." Rachel pointed out.

"It's not what you think?"

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"I didn't –"

"Are demigods mind readers?"

Percy leaned his head towards the side and started to cross his eyes. Luckily, it caught Harry's attention and not Rachel.

What?, Harry asked silently.

Wallet. Percy mouthed.

Harry frowned and Percy had to whisper yell it until he understood the word. Harry passed his wallet under the table.

"Look, let's get back on track." Annabeth said forcefully. Rachel seemed determined to steer the conversation away towards psychics.

"We think… well, Percy thinks that you're our best chance to cross through the Labyrinth. And you noticed my Yankees Cap which defeats the purpose of it, so you may be clear sighted enough to track down Ariadne's string…"

Percy shifted through Harry's wallet. Five kinds currencies were floundering in it and he was surprised the slim patch held so many things. He dug his hand deeper, finding that he could fit his lower arm into one of the pockets of the wallet.

It had to be somewhere safely concealed… aha!

He pulled out a small folded photograph of a laughing couple. It had been years since he'd seen it. James and Lily were smiling and waving at him from the picture. Percy held the photo up and tried to compare Rachel's face with Lily's.

It was surreal. Either there was some weird magical hocus pocus going on, or the gene pool had been very favourable for the red heads, because the mother daughter pair were a go.

"Percy!" Harry hissed from across the table. "Put that away! What are you doing?"

"Hold on." Percy said and showed the photograph to Annabeth. She stared at the moving components, clearly mystified.

Rachel looked confused as to why Harry was going red.

"Oh my gods." Annabeth whispered taking the picture. She looked up at Rachel and then at Harry and back down at the little photo. "The resemblance is uncanny."

Harry took out his phone and started typing furiously into it. Rachel peeked over his shoulder. "Why are you Googling me?"

"I have some personal questions. You might be offended if you heard them." He replied.

"Is this a coincidence or what?" Annabeth asked Percy quietly. He shook his head.

"Harry was a twin. Did I tell you that?"

"What? No, you didn't."

"Well, I told you now. Her name was Rose and everyone thought that she died that night along with their parents. Now, I'm not so sure."

Annabeth and Percy stared at a completely confused Rachel who looked frustrated by the lack of proper conversation at the table. "Seriously! What is going on?!"

"Ha!" Harry exclaimed. He held up his cell phone and Percy leaned in to get a better look at the picture in his screen.

"What's that?"

"That happens to be her parents. So give me my wallet." Harry said, tapping the table.

Percy stared at the picture. Rachel looked to be about eleven or twelve, wearing a business shirt and skirt, similar to an older woman. A man walked beside her, holding her hand. All three wore sunglasses and were in a mid-walk candid pose right before boarding what looked like a private jet.

"Oh." Percy flushed. "Sorry. She just… you guys look really –"

"Coincidence." Harry said forcefully, snatching his wallet from Percy. As he pocketed them, Bolt jumped out from behind his hair and landed on the table.

Rachel spat out a mouthful of espresso onto Annabeth's cup. She shrieked. "What the hell?! What is that? OMG, it's so adorable!"

"Bolt! Not in public!" Harry complained, but the tiny puppy looked up at Rachel curiously before bounding towards her. Rachel giggled as Bolt nudged her hand with a cold nose.

"Urg." Annabeth said, grabbing some of the napkins from the center of the table to wipe her hands. "We're wasting time! Dare, are you in or out?"

"Huh?" Rachel seemed much too preoccupied with Bolt while Harry kept hissing about how they were going to get caught. Percy's face still felt hot. He'd honestly thought that Rachel was a Potter. It would have been so far-reaching and pretty fantastic. Harry never spoke about it but he knew that he missed his sister, no matter if he didn't remember her.

"Er… I'm in! I… " Rachel stopped and turned to look at Harry. "You're coming along too?"

One of Harry's eyes twitched. "You know what? No. I'm going back to camp and I'm forgetting this ever happened. I don't need any more crap in my life."

"Excuse me?" Rachel demanded. "Who are you to talk to me like that?"

"Don't worry. I'm not talking to you." Harry got up glaring at her like she'd personally offended him. "Bolt, let's go."

Bolt gave a whine. "Why can't we stay, though?"

Rachel practically jumped out of her seat. She stared at the puppy, wide eyed and incredulity etched into her body language, "Wha – how… that… puppy…?"

"Ignore her." Harry said scooping up his familiar, but Bolt wiggled around and slipped through his hands, landing neatly on the table.

"What are you – we have no time to fool around!" Harry's voice went high with frustration. Some of the neon lights in the shop started to flicker. "I don't know why you're acting like a baby! You were never like this before! Are you ageing backwards or what?!"

"Harry, dude!" Percy said in shock. Harry's face was turning red again. "You've gotta calm down."

"Stop yelling at it. It's a talking puppy!" Rachel squealed.

"She's not a puppy! Bolt!"

"Can I stay with her?" Bolt asked, seemingly oblivious to Harry's tantrum.

Rachel and Bolt locked eyes as though something intricate and ancient passed between them. Percy's jaw dropped slightly when Rachel seemed to accept the little puppy with no hesitation. Annabeth leaned towards Percy.

"Use the mist. People are staring."

Percy jumped, guilty of enjoying her voice so close to his ears. He looked and saw most of the customers and the baristas staring at the altercation. He snapped his fingers and said loudly, "Nothing to see, people. Move on!"

Miraculously, it worked. The patrons and café workers turned their attention away as though nothing had happened in the first place.

Harry was glaring at Rachel and Bolt. "Fine. Stay with her. See, if I care. It's not like we're bonded or anything."

He stomped out of the shop. Percy was so stunned he didn't move for a minute. It was the longest he'd ever sat still. Rachel was tickling Bolt beneath her chin. Annabeth finished her drink and set her cup down.

"Right. So, you said you saw the Delta mark in the hotel basement of the Marriott Marquis?"

Was this fun? So what do you think? Stay tuned for the next update.

Q: Is Rachel really Harry's sister? Or is it all a ploy?

Cabba.