Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO
AN: Tried to post this yesterday but kept getting an error message. So annoying! Thanks to everyone who reviews, follows and favourites this story, it really makes me so happy. I have over 100 followers for this now! You guys are all amazing, seriously. In case anyone is interested I have two other stories being regularly updated. One is a Star Trek fanfiction but the other is a fem!Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief. I'll keep on with Goddess of Heroes, though don't worry, fight scenes are causing me trouble but soon enough I'll be marking it as complete and starting on a HoO rewrite! Enjoy, IWantColouredRain.
Camp had changed over the past few months. In addition to Peleus, two other dragons had been brought in to act as guards. The bunkers from the Civil War had all been revealed and re-opened by the gods.
Cabin One's bunker mostly contained old battleplans and weapons in it but there were other things too. It was designed to not only be an escape route with various prototype flying machines but also to let you hide out for months on end. The Cabin 9ers were salivating in delight at the weapon designs their dead half-siblings had left behind.
Automatons in the shape of various creatures wandered around under the careful eyes of the Hephaestus children and the nature spirits all carried various weapons around. On top of all that, and the new rules that no one could be outside their cabins without at least one other person, a new teacher had been brought in to help Chiron.
Thalia had been shocked to learn that Quintus was nearly thirty-years-old, the longest surviving demigod she'd ever heard of. She was even more shocked by him bringing in various scorpions and other large monsters for training and protection services.
"Why do we even still bother with playing Capture the Flag?" She asked Luke bitterly as they traipsed through the forest. "We'll all be dead in a year anyway."
"We're not going to lose the war Thalia," Luke snapped back, looking strained. "I know you, you'll make the right decision."
Thalia bit her lip and glanced away. The pressure of being the one predicted to either save or destroy was getting on her. She sincerely hated Bianca, who had not only abandoned her baby brother, but also escaped any chance of being the Prophecy Child.
Thalia would've done anything to see Jason again, but Bianca had abandoned Nico, who obviously adored her, without a second thought. "Jason's alive," she reminded herself. "Save Olympus and they've agreed to start trying to merge the camps."
That had been Akantha's promise. For now, the situation was too unstable to risk reuniting the camps, but if, when they won the war, the gods would start trying to introduce them. Thalia wasn't good with patience but the thought of Jason being hurt or killed in another civil war held her back from simply tearing through San Francisco until she found the Romans. And maybe she was a little worried that he didn't remember her. Maybe.
She had become so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the gap in the rocks until she tumbled headfirst down into the hole, screaming as she did so.
"Thalia!" Luke yelled. "Are you okay? Can you hear me? Thalia!"
"I'm fine," she yelled back, rubbing her head and leaning against the wall for support. "I'm in some kinda tunnel. It looks like it's been abandoned for years."
"Could it connect to the Bunkers?" Luke asked and Thalia instinctively shook her head before realizing that he couldn't see her.
"No, the style's wrong. I dunno what it is."
"Can you climb back up?"
"No, my ankle's at least twisted. It might be fractured and I definitely have a concussion. I can't get up on my own."
"Alright," Luke answered. "I'll come down and get you up, then we'll report the tunnel to Chiron."
He scrambled down but almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, the entrance to the cavern sealed itself and the place went dark.
"Shit!" The two exclaimed in unison.
"Well now what?" Thalia demanded grumpily, crossing her arms and wincing at the ache in her head and ankle.
Luke sighed and shuffled around for a moment before finding and clicking on his flashlight. "Let me check you over first," he suggested. "Then we can try and find our way out of here."
Thalia nodded and sat down on the ground as he approached her.
"The Labyrinth," Akantha stared grimly at the scene. "The Labyrinth has an entrance straight into the heart of Camp Half-Blood. This is a disaster. Annabeth Chase was obsessed with the damn thing, she must know about the entrance."
Apollo nodded, a frown twisting his lips. "Do you know where Daedalus is now?"
Akantha shook her head. "No. He forfeited his right to be called a hero when he murdered poor young Perdix. He has hidden himself somehow in that thrice-damned maze. I haven't been able to locate him at all since 1636."
"Will he aide the Titans?" Hermes asked with an unhappy frown. "Athena is his mother after all."
The loyalty goddess pursed her lips. "I don't know if she would even accept him if he did go to her," she admitted. "She has always despised him for killing Perdix. Agata was her favourite daughter after all. But she might have decided that it was more important to take advantage of his knowledge.
In any case, Athena knows as well as any god that all you need is a clear-sighted mortal if you want to navigate the Labyrinth. They don't need to get Ariadne's string when they could simply kidnap a clear-sighted mortal."
"They won't consider it," Apollo predicted, an unfocused look on his face. "Not until they're truly desperate. Their arrogance is too strong."
She nodded, frowning deeply. On the face of the mirror, Chiron and the other Greek campers were pulling Thalia and Luke from the tunnel. Thalia was protesting that they'd only been missing a few minutes. In reality, they'd been gone for over three hours.
"Well we know what has to happen, don't we?" Hermes said finally after they'd been silently watching the half-bloods for several minutes in silence.
"We have to order another quest," Akantha replied darkly. "This time into the Labyrinth itself." And they all knew that quests involving the magical maze never went well. In any way.
Several thousand years B.C
Lysander's favourite brother was Daedalus. The man himself was generally considered to be the cleverest of all of Athena's children, and the only one of her husband's siblings to agree with their marriage. All the others had condemned and disowned Lysander for his actions, save for Daedalus.
It was fitting, therefore, that Akantha be with his mortal wife as she laboured to birth their first child.
Eupraxia was a mortal twelve-year-old and the nearly thirty-four-year-old Daedalus' third wife. His first wife Phile had been a daughter of Aphrodite, killed by a Cerberus just three months after their wedding. His second wife Xanthippe was a granddaughter of Hecate who died in childbirth with a stillborn son.
Secretly, Akantha feared that her brother-in-law was cursed by the gods. He was clever and his fatal flaw of arrogance was strong in him. She worried over his frequent comments that he would discover how to become immortal. Truthfully, she was so worried because she thought he might actually succeed in his quest.
Eupraxia let out another scream and Akantha gave a subtle wince of sympathy. Her own son, Alekios, was four months old and Akantha stood firmly by her belief that nothing was as painful as giving life to another. Women deserved more credit for their efforts, in the daughter of Poseidon's opinion.
"You're doing so well, my dear," she reassured the younger girl. Eupraxia simply sobbed in reply. As she reached for the water bowl to re-wet the cloth, Akantha spotted a worried look passing between the two midwives. "I'll be right back," she murmured gently to the mother-to-be, hurrying over to them.
"What's wrong?" She whispered urgently. "Are she and the baby well?"
The elder midwife gave her a grim look. Theokleia was the most experienced and talented midwife in Greece, a daughter of Eileithyia. Daedalus had paid a fortune for her and her apprentice to travel to his home and deliver his child.
"She's not well Akantha," the woman answered softly. "She's too young for this. Her body doesn't have the strength."
Akantha closed her eyes in grief. "And the child?"
Theokleia shrugged doubtfully. "It depends on whether or not Eupraxia can last long enough to push. But it's all in the hands of the Fates now."
Akantha nodded slowly. "Let us make her as calm and comfortable as we can then," she breathed. "And try and let her see her baby before Thanatos comes for her."
Theokleia nodded solemnly and Akantha returned to her young sister-in-law's side.
"What's wrong?" Eupraxia panted out weakly. "Is it the baby?"
"The baby's going to be fine, dearest." Akantha soothed her, dabbing her forehead with a cloth. "I promise."
"Just one more push," Theokleia's apprentice, Rhode, declared. "You're almost there!"
Eupraxia sobbed her thanks to the gods before desperately screwing up her face and letting out her loudest scream yet. This time, instead of the sounds of worried murmuring, Theokleia let out a call of triumph as the newborn howled its protest at being brought into the world.
"What is it?" Akantha asked hastily. She knew Daedalus would not be pleased with anything less than a healthy boy. He was too vain to think that a girl would be a good exchange for his young and beautiful wife.
"It's a boy!" Rhode answered with a bright beam. "And as a healthy child I've never seen."
Eupraxia let out a breathless laugh, reaching out her weak arms for the sobbing infant. "Give him to me please," she begged. "Let me hold him once before I die."
The atmosphere went solemn at the reminder of Eupraxia's looming fate and Theokleia gently handed her the baby, adjusting the cushions so the young mother could support her baby.
"Beautiful," Eupraxia breathed, tears welling in her eyes. "My beautiful Icarus. May the Gods bless you my sweet boy." After giving him one kiss on his forehead, she leaned back, her chest stilling.
The three women bowed their heads respectfully, Akantha taking Icarus before he could fall from his mother's lifeless arms.
"I will present his son to Lord Daedalus," she sighed, wrapping him quickly in a white blanket before heading for the door as the midwives moved to begin cleaning the chamber.
Daedalus waited impatiently with Lysander and Herakles, a frustrated expression on his face. It said a lot about the man that Herakles was his closest friend and as far as Akantha was concerned, none of it was good.
She paused briefly to wish that Lysander wasn't so blinded by hero-worship of his brother before stepping forward, the precious bundle held close to her chest.
"Eupraxia's last words were that his name is to be Icarus," her voice was full of steel as she handed Daedalus the child. To the inventor's credit, he didn't hesitate.
"Then Icarus he will be," he agreed. "Icarus, grandson of Athena, son of Daedalus and Eupraxia." His expression was full of awe and love as he glanced down at his son. "Icarus," he repeated softly. "My son. At last, I have a son."
The only redeeming factor Daedalus had had, as far as Akantha was concerned, was how much he loved his son. Even then, it was ruined by Icarus' death. His grief and bitterness had led to an innocent child being murdered, the inventor preferring his own sister be childless than to suffer the reminder of his own child. Then the coward had hidden in his Fates-cursed maze, escaping the judgement he rightfully deserved.
Akantha inhaled and exhaled deeply, reminding herself that both boys had been reborn. Icarus was now a son of Apollo's Roman aspect named Christopher Addams and Perdix was a mortal named William Hunter. They were safe and happy.
She stepped into the rec room. Unlike the Romans, who conducted their meetings formally at the Senate building, the eldest Greek campers were gathered around the ping pong table with grim faced expressions.
She frowned slightly when she saw Quintus standing in the corner with his arms crossed. He said he was an unclaimed demigod who had attended Camp Half-Blood in the late eighties for two summers. And she did remember him, but he felt strange to her. She didn't trust him, especially since they hadn't had any contact with him from the time he left Camp to his appearance at the border a month and a half ago.
The half-bloods bowed their heads politely.
"Mother!" Lena exclaimed, her face brightening. Lukas grinned happily at her as she quickly moved to them, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to embrace her children.
"My darlings," she murmured as she pressed soft kisses into her childrens' hair. The others respectfully looked away until she reluctantly pulled away, though she kept her arms around the twins' shoulders.
"You all know why I'm here," she said as she surveyed the room. The demigods gave nods and Thalia spoke up.
"The Labyrinth," the daughter of Zeus offered. "You're here to order a quest."
Akantha nodded. "Yes, I am," she agreed. "And Apollo has decreed that Luke Castellan will lead it."
They all darted at anxious looks the now-pale son of Hermes. Luke sighed and pressed himself off from the wall, raising his chin.
"I'm honoured to have been chosen for this task," he said. "Will I go to the Oracle now?"
Akantha nodded with a tired sigh. "Yes, it's better to get this done quickly. We don't know when the Titans will attack."
The room was silent as they waited a tense ten minutes for Luke's return. When he finally did, his face was pale. Akantha stepped forward, releasing her children.
"Well?" She asked. "what did she say?"Luke let out a shaky breath before he replied.
"You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,
Watched over by the twins of loyalty's gaze.
You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,
The child of Athena's final stand.
Destroy with a half-blood's final breath,
And lose a brother to worse than death."
The silence seemed to scream as everyone looked at each other in horror, the dark prediction echoing grimly in their ears.
