Act IV - To Stop The Tide
Part IV - Though there's no one there to guide you, no one to take your hand, but with faith and understanding you will journey from boy to man.
Luke knelt on a Persian rug in front of the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. "Our spies report success, my lord," he was saying. "Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted. Our side of the bargain is almost complete."
"Excellent," the voice of Kronos was freezing with cruelty. "Once we have the means to navigate, I will lead the vanguard through myself."
"My lord, perhaps it is too soon. Perhaps Krios or Hyperion should lead-"
"No," the voice was quiet but absolutely firm. "I will lead. One more heart shall join our cause, and that will be sufficient. At last I shall rise fully from Tartarus."
"But the form, my lord..." Luke's voice shook.
"Show me your sword, Luke Castellan." Luke drew his sword. "You pledged yourself to me," Kronos reminded him. "You took this sword as proof of your oath."
"Yes, my lord. I just-"
"You wanted power," the titan continued. "I gave you that. You are now beyond harm. Soon you will rule the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?"
Luke shivered. "Yes."
"Then make ready the strike force. As soon as the bargain is done, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-Blood will be reduced to ashes. Once those bothersome heroes are eliminated, we will march on Olympus."
There was a knock on the door. Luke rose. "Come in."
Two dracaenae slithered in followed by Kelli, the empousa. "Hello, Luke," she smiled.
"What is it, demon?" his voice was cold. "I told you not to disturb me."
Kelli pouted. "That's not very nice. You look tense. How about a nice massage?"
Luke stepped back. "If you have something to report, say it. Otherwise begone!"
"I don't know why you're so huffy these days. You used to be fun to hang around." She shrugged. "The advance team is ready, as you requested. We can leave-" she frowned.
"What is it?" Luke asked.
"A presence," she said. "Your senses are getting dull, Luke. We're being watched." Kelli's eyes found Andy and she lunged.
Andy fell off the bed, her body shaking. As she tried to easy her breathing, she noticed that same strange light coming from the fountain. Desperately, she looked for a drachma everywhere until she found one and threw it into the mist.
Nico appeared, but he wasn't in the Underworld this time. He was in a graveyard instead, under a starry sky, watching some gravediggers at work. "Is it deep enough yet?" he asked, irritated.
"Nearly, my lord," it was the same ghost from before. "But this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."
"I want a second opinion." Nico snapped his fingers, and the digging stopped. Two skeletons climbed out of the hole. "You are dismissed. Thank you." The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.
"You might as well thank the shovels," the ghost complained. "They have as much sense."
Nico ignored him. He reached into a large Wal-Mart bag next to his feet and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He popped open a can and poured it into the grave. "Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."
"In my day; we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "They can't taste the difference."
"Be quiet," Nico ordered and began chanting in Ancient Greek. The grave started to bubble. The fog thickened. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones.
"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."
"I've got it under control," Nico said. He drew his sword – a short blade made of solid black metal. The shades retreated. "One at a time," Nico commanded. A single figure floated forward and knelt before him. "Who are you?"
"I am Theseus." Andy stared at the ghost-man. He was young – younger than she would'd thought – with curly hair and green eyes like hers.
"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked.
"Do not try it. It is madness," Theseus warned him.
"Tell me!"
"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth. I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."
Nico's ghost hissed, "Ask him about the soul exchange!"
Theseus scowled. "I know that voice."
"Answer the lord's questions and nothing more," said the ghost.
"I know you," Theseus insisted.
"I want to know about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"
Theseus's emotionless voice said, "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."
"We don't need any of that," complained the ghost. "I will guide you, my lord. Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."
"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"
"Yes. But the specter-" The other ghosts stirred nervously. "He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."
"Who?"
"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us!"
The fountain began to crack; the whole cabin was shaking. Andy realized the ghosts were trying to escape right out of the fountain. She uncapped Riptide and slashed at the fountain, cleaving it in two. Salt water spilled everywhere.
Andy sank on the ground, shivering. Tyson found her there in the morning, still staring at the pieces of what had once been a fountain.
Juniper was holding Grover as if they were one. Chiron, Quintus and Mrs O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish them well. Anthony was doing one last check on his supply pack. When Tyson and Andy came over, he frowned. "Andy, you look terrible."
"She killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.
"What?"
Before Andy could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!" Andy glanced at the crack between the boulders. "Take care and good hunting."
"Well," said Grover nervously. "Goodbye sunshine."
And together, the four of them descended into darkness.
They made it a hundred feet before they were hopelessly lost. The tunnel looked nothing like the one they had stumbled into before. Now it was round like a sewer with iron-barred portholes every ten feet.
Anthony tried his best to guide them. "If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," he said, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course." As soon as he said that, the left wall disappeared. They were in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out. Anthony swept his flashlight beam over the archways. "That way," he said.
"How do you know?" Andy asked.
"Deductive reasoning."
"So you're guessing."
"Just come on," he said.
The tunnel he'd chosen narrowed quickly. Grover's hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze. "I can't stand it anymore," he whispered. "Are we there yet? I mean, why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"
Suddenly the tunnel opened into a huge room covered in mosaic tiles showing the gods at a feast. "What is this place?" Andy asked. "It looks-"
"Roman," Anthony finished. "About two thousand years old."
"How can they be Roman?"
"The Labyrinth is a patchwork," he said. "I told you, it's always expanding, adding pieces. It's the only work of architecture that grows by itself."
"You make it sound like it's alive."
They heard a moan from the tunnel ahead. "Let's move," Anthony said.
Every few feet the tunnels twisted and turned and branched off. After several hours, they found their first skeleton. He was dressed in white; a wooden crate of glass bottles sat next to him. "A milkman," Anthony said.
"What?"
"He used to deliver milk."
"Yeah, man, I know what a milkman is," she rolled her eyes. "But what is he doing here?"
"Some people wonder by mistake, I suppose. Some come exploring on purpose and never make it back." Without another word, Anthony led them to the right, then the left, through a corridor of stainless steel. Then they arrived back in the Roman tile room. But this time, they weren't alone.
He had two faces. They jutted out from either side of his head, staring over his shoulders, so his head was much wider than it should've been. "Anthony," his left face said. "Hurry up!"
"Don't mind him," said the right face. "He's terribly rude. Right this way!"
Tyson frowned. "The funny man has two faces."
"The funny man has ears!" the left face scolded. "Now come along, Anthony."
"No, no," the right face said. "This way, Anthony. Talk to me, please."
The two-faced man regarded Anthony, waiting for him to choose. Behind him were two exits.
"Where do they lead?" Anthony asked, his voice was barely a whisper.
"One probably leads the way you wish to go," the right face said encouragingly. "The other leads to certain death."
"Come one," said the left face. "Choose, Anthony. We don't have all day."
The right face smiled. "You're in charge now, Anthony. All the decisions are on your shoulders. All the responsibility. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"I-"
"We know you, Anthony Chase," the left face said. "We know what you wrestle with every day. We know your indecision. You will have to make your choice sooner or later. And the choice may kill you. Or... someone who matters the most?" he suggested.
The color drained out of Anthony's face. "I don't-"
Andy stepped forward. "Okay, guys. Enough of this bullshit. Who are you again? I'm not good with faces, if you know what I mean."
"Well, I'm your best friend," the right face said.
"I'm your worst enemy," said the left.
"I'm Janus," they said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."
"I'll see you soon enough, Andromeda," said the right face. "But for now, it is Anthony's turn."
"One bad choice can ruin your whole life," said the left face. "It can kill you and all your friends. But no pressure, Anthony. Choose!"
A brilliant light flooded the room and a woman appeared. She was tall and graceful and extremely blonde, like a barbie doll. "Janus," she said, "are we causing trouble again?"
"N-no, milady!" Janus' right face stammered.
"Yes!" the left face said.
"You know very well your visit is premature," the woman said. "The boy's time has not yet come. So I give you a choice: leave these heroes to me, or I shall turn you into a door and break you down."
Janus bowed and disappeared.
The woman turned toward the others and smiled. "Sit with me," she invited them. "Let's talk." She waved her hand and a picnic towel appeared on the ground with lots of platters sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade.
Andy sighed. "Alright. Who are you now?"
She raised her blonde head. "I am Hera. Queen of Heaven." She sat down, served them sandwiches and poured lemonade. "Grover, dear, use your napkin. Don't eat it."
"Yes, ma'am," Grover said.
"Tyson, you're wasting away. Would you like another peanut butter sandwich?"
Tyson stifled a belch. "Yes, nice lady."
"Queen Hera," Anthony said. "What are you doing here?"
Hera smiled. "I came to see you, naturally."
"I didn't think you liked heroes."
"Because of that little spat I had with Hercules? Honestly, I got so much bad press because of one disagreement."
"Didn't you try to kill him in, like, several different occasions?" Anthony asked.
Hera waved her hand dismissively. "Water under the bridge. Besides, he was one of my loving husband's children by another woman. My patience wore thin, I'll admit it. But Zeus and I have had some excellent marriage counseling sessions since then. We've aired our feelings and come to an understanding – especially after the last little incident."
"You mean Thalia?" Andy guessed.
Hera's eyes turned toward her frostily. "Andy Jackson, is it? One of Poseidon's... children. As I recall, I voted to let you live at the winter solstice. I hope I voted correctly." She turned back to Anthony. "At any rate, I certainly bear you no ill will, boy. I appreciate the difficulty of your quest. Especially when you have troublemakers like Janus to deal with."
"Why was he here?"
"To drive you crazy, no doubt," Hera said. "You must understand, the minor gods like Janus have always been frustrated by the small parts they play in the universe. Some, I fear, have little love for Olympus, and could easily be swayed to support the rise of my father. We must watch the minor gods. Janus. Hecate. Morpheus."
"Isn't that what Dionysus is doing?" Andy asked. "Checking on them?"
"Indeed," Hera said. "You see, in times of trouble, even gods can lose faith. They start putting their trust in the wrong things, petty things. They stop looking at the big picture and start being selfish. But I am the goddess of marriage, you see. I am used to perseverance. You have to rise above the squabbling and chaos, and keep believing. You have to always keep your goals in mind."
"What are your goals?" Anthony asked her.
"To keep my family, the Olympians, together. At the moment, the best way I can do that is by helping you. Zeus does not allow me to interfere much, I'm afraid. But once every century or so, for a quest I care deeply about, he allows me to grant a wish."
"A wish?"
"Before you ask it, let me give you some advice, which I can do for free. I know you seek Daedalus. His Labyrinth is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. But if you want to know his fate, I would visit my son Hephaestus at his forge. Daedalus was a great inventor. There has never been a mortal Hephaestus admired more. If anyone would have kept up with Daedalus and could tell you his fate, it is Hephaestus."
"But how do we get there?" Anthony asked. "That is my wish. I want a way to navigate the Labyrinth."
Hera looked disappointed. "So be it. You wish for something, however, that you have already been given."
"I don't understand."
"The means is already within your grasp." Hera looked at Andy. "Andromeda knows the answer."
"I do?"
"You'll have to be more specific," Anthony told her.
Hera shook her head. "Getting something and having the wits to use it... those are two different things. I'm sure your mother Athena would agree." The room rumbled. Hera stood. "That would be my cue. Zeus grows impatient. Think of what I have said, young hero. Seek out Hephaestus. You will have to pass through the ranch, I imagine. But keep going. And use all the means at your disposal, however common they may seem. And one more thing, Anthony. I have postponed your day of choice, not prevented it. Soon, as Janus said, you will have to make a decision. Farewell." She waved a hand and turned into white smoke.
"What sort of help was that?" Andy complained. "Here, have a sandwich. Make a wish. Oops, I can't help you. Poof!"
"Poof," Tyson agreed.
"Well, she said you know the answer," Grover said.
"You think that if I knew the answer for this, I would be keeping it to myself?"
Anthony sighed. "We keep going."
"Which way?" she asked.
Grover and Tyson both tensed and stood up together. "Left," they both said.
Anthony frowned. "How can you be sure?"
"Because something is coming from the right!" Grover said.
"Something big," Tyson added. "In a hurry."
"Left it is!" Andy decided and together they plunged into the dark corridor.
