The first few hundred words are the last of the edited chapters. After this, it's all me.
"So Malcolm... You saw a shiny button... And then you just pushed it," came the tired voice of Percy Jackson. He looked every bit as punk as he did just over two years ago, but with a lot more grey hair than an eighteen year old normally would have.
His outfit included a gold wristwatch, courtesy of Apollo, and a silver trimmed black outfit from Artemis. He wore a black mesh shirt under the trimmed leather jacket, and his lips were pierced in spider bite fashion. Silver, of course, was the color of everything that was trimmed, and his piercings. Artemis denied his requests for more black, and vowed to not let him shop alone. Ever.
It made Percy very sad, but he resigned himself to that fate.
Thalia sat beside him, with a silver piercing in her left eyebrow, and a lightning bolt tattoo was on her exposed right bicep. She wore a black leather vest, and a black tank top under it, as well as black skinnies and black, knee-high, platform boots.
On her side was Clarisse, who was dressed in army regulation camo, complete with black combats and a tight green tee shirt. A tattoo of a boar with two spears behind it was on her right shoulder.
They were sitting in Cabin Three's study, talking to Malcolm, and waiting for Chiron to return from Olympus with instructions.
"We'll have to see about going into the tunnel," Thalia said. Percy looked at her like she was nuts. Which she was, in this case.
"I've made some dumb choices before, but wow. That's the LABYRINTH, Thalia! We'd get lost, and never find our way out," Percy said.
"Not if we get Adriane's String!"
"It's lost! And the only one who knows how to find it is Daedalus, who's dead! D-E-A-D, Pikachu!" Percy was zapped.
"Don't call me Pikachu," Thalia said.
The other duo sighed, as Percy made water fall on Thalia's head.
"We'll just wait on Chiron," Malcom said. Clarisse nodded, watching as Percy and Thalia began to fight.
I woke up to two weights on my side, and the clear sky of dusk above me.
Thalia, who was on my right, was already awake.
"Good morning, Pufferfish," she said. I shook my head and sighed.
"Good morning to you too, Lamebolt." Beside me, Claire snorted.
"Worst jokes ever. Of all time."
Ali flipped her the bird, and I chuckled.
I heard a loud clamor approaching, and turned my head in it's direction.
My eyes were slightly narrowed as I saw the latest Quest members return.
Mostly, at least.
Chris Rodriguez was babbling incoherently, and was covered in blood. He wasn't part of the quest, but he'd gone missing last summer.
Behind him, one of the sons of Athena that had went with the quest was shaking. He was paler than normal, and was carrying an arm in his one arm. Blood was splattered over his clothes, and his eyes were wide with fear and insanity brimmed in them like tears.
The final member, a son of Hephaestus, was being carried, and was missing his legs. He was also covered in blood, and I spotted dust on him as the procession came closer.
I clenched my fist, and scowled.
The camp looked up to me as a leader, just under Chiron and Mr. D. I was the de facto general of the Demigod Army of Olympus. I was in charge of making sure the Demigods of Camp Halfblood survived.
Seeing the two campers come back in varying degrees of insanity and pain was something that was my fault. I hadn't trained them as well as I should have. I was in charge of the swordsmanship classes after Castellan left. I should have made sure they were ready.
I felt Ali's arms wrap around me.
"They knew the risks, Perce. They knew what they were getting into when they accepted the quest. This is not something you can blame on yourself," she said.
I slumped, and leaned against her.
"It doesn't change the fact that my training could have saved them."
"You shall delve into the darkness of the endless maze, the dead, the traitor, the lost one raise. You shall rise or fall by the Ghost King's hand, Child of Wisdom's final stand. Destroy with a hero's final breath, and lose a love to a fate worse than death."
I paled as the third prophecy I'd ever heard was recited by me.
"So we're going to the Labyrinth. The Dead, the Traitor, and the Lost One are unknowns... The Traitor could be anyone that left to join Castellan. Rise or Fall by the Ghost King's hand... That could only be Hades, Nico, or Thanatos," I said. Chiron, who was beside me nodded.
"Percy, you will lead this quest," he said. I nodded.
"I'll be bringing Claire, Ali, and Malcom," I told him as I stood up to leave.
Chiron nodded.
"May the Gods be with you." I nodded once, and left the Big House.
The four of us stood in front of Zeus' Fist, staring into the darkness of the Labyrinth.
"This is the worst idea we've ever had," I mumbled as I jumped in first.
Shortly afterwards, we were lost.
No surprise there. We were without the string, and I had no sense of direction underground.
A massive door appeared when we took the next left turn.
With no better options, I opened it, and frowned at the sight.
The room was an arena, with several hundred monsters in the rows, cheering as a demigod fought a pair of snake chicks.
I scowled as the largest being turned to me, and laughed.
"Fresh blood has arrived! You! Brother of mine! Come forth and fight," he shouted.
I scowled.
"Very well. I pass your challenges, and you let me and my companions pass," I shouted back. The giant nodded, and I stepped forward, ice forming a trident in my hand.
The demigod fighting the serpent chicks died, and his opponents lunged at me the second I set foot in the arena. I dodged both spears, and thrust my trident into the first snake lady's chest. She hissed and exploded into dust, much to Antaeus's displeasure.
"You only kill when I give the command," he shouted. I flipped him the bird and killed the second monster with a stab in the eyes.
My actions apparently pissed him off, because he came down from his throne of skulls and stepped into the arena with me.
"I will add your skull to the temple of our father," he shouted.
'Move over, kid. I want a crack at this fucker,' I heard in my head.
I smirked.
"Hey, Antaeus! I hope you brought some heat," I shouted as I slipped into my mind.
Chryos exhaled slowly, the air rapidly becoming frigid as ice formed around his body.
There was a silent pause from the crowd as Chryos opened his eyes.
Percy's sea green eyes had become ice blue, and he began to glow a blue-gold color.
The ice under his feet began to spread, and the crowd panicked.
The trident of ice his hand pinned Antaeus to the wall, and the shaft broke in half. The second half shattered, each shard finding it's place in a monster's head. Only the Demigods lived, and that was because any smaller shards would have been useless.
"Run, godlings. Run before I beat you into a pulp," Chryos said. The crowd of demigods ran away very fast.
Chryos smirked, and turned to the Quest members.
"I am Chryos, son of Hydros and Nyx, the Titan of Ice and the Cold. Your friend is safe, don't worry. Now come with me. We need to get to a safe place, and I know of one," he said.
There was a lull in the quest as we walked through the halls. We were looking for Hephaestus, who would lead us to Daedalus if we helped him. He sent me a demigod dream, and I accepted his help.
All I knew is he had a workshop down here, and that was our next destination.
I paused as a large door appeared in our path, and grinned.
"Now we're gettin' somewhere."
DONE!
Now I officially have taken over the story. I do hope you enjoy where I take it.
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