Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO.
Thalia
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Annabeth insisted after hearing Chiron's confirmation.
"Now hold on, Annabeth, it is best not to rush into the labyrinth- it's cruelty is only matched by its size." Chiron reasoned gently.
Tyson nodded at Chiron's words, "maze is scary," he added plainly.
Thalia snorted at the son of Poseidon's simple and yet painfully accurate description of the ancient maze as she did her best to ignore the dozens of eavesdropping campers. Not even the Hermes camper's were being at all subtle about their efforts to learn about what they were talking about it.
"Chiron, shouldn't we talk about this in the Big House?" she asked while motioning to their enthralled audience attempting to act natural.
Chiron nodded simply and turned to face the baby blue building when Tyson spoke up.
"Is Percy at Big House?" he inquired excitedly unable to read the troubled expressions on his companion's faces.
"Tyson-" Chiron spoke softly.
"Percy!" he yelled energetically as he lumbered towards the Big House with a spring in his step, excited to be reunited with his big brother.
"Oh, dear…" Chiron muttered and swore in a language both Thalia and Annabeth couldn't even comprehend as the three of them jogged to catch up with the cyclops.
"Peeercy!" Tyson called as he peered his head into the Big House's homely parlour, his exuberant smile quickly dropping when he didn't receive a response from his brother.
"Tyson," Chiron began, his brow furrowed in thought and his shoulders tense. "Perhaps it would be best if you sat down," he continued, motioning towards the row of faded sofas resting against the wall.
Tyson tilted his head but shuffled further inside the Big House and dropped his hulking form, eliciting a moan of protest from the decades-old recliner.
Chiron eyed Annabeth and Thalia desperately, pleading with them to break the news to him carefully.
"Hey, buddy," Annabeth softly spoke while looking into Tyson's calf-brown eyes sadly. "We need to talk to you about Percy."
Tyson perked up at the mention of Percy's name, ready to hear where his brother was hiding.
"Percy- Percy won't be around for a while," Annabeth added cautiously, not wanting to upset the already drained cyclops.
Thalia kicked Annabeth's shin in protest and eyed her menacingly. "Annabeth," she hissed, "what are you doing?"
"Percy?" Tyson inquired, his eye pleading with Annabeth's hard grey orbs.
"He'll be back," she reassured him, her voice breaking. Thalia couldn't tell whether she was convincing Tyson or herself, but whatever the case was, Annabeth was digging a hole for herself that she would eventually get buried in.
Seeing the brewing conflict between the two demigoddesses, Chiron intervenes hoping that Tyson doesn't get caught in the crossfire. "Tyson, how about I help you resettle into the Poseidon cabin," he suggested warmly, offering the confused cyclops a reassuring smile.
Tyson nodded before following the centaur out the door of the Big House, having to duck his head.
"What was that?" Thalia fumed at Annabeth once Tyson and Chiron were out of earshot.
Annabeth stood firm against Thalia, refusing to back down. "I couldn't tell him that his brother- the person he looks up to most in the world- is dead," she spat the last word venomously.
"That's not fair, Annabeth," Thalia retorted, her temper growing, "who are you to decide that?"
The daughter of Athena steeled her gaze and crossed her arms petulantly. "He might not even be dead," she countered, matching Thalia's ferocity.
"So? Tyson has feelings, Annabeth, he deserves to hear what you saw" Thalia rinsed, "and from the looks of it, he's got more feelings than you," she snarled. The sky above Camp Half-Blood had responded to its mistress' outburst and prepared to meet her call.
Annabeth turned on her heels and stormed out of the Big House to the surprise of Thalia- she had expected an all-out screaming match with the stubborn daughter of Athena.
"Unbelievable…" she muttered before storming out herself to her cabin.
Thalia was training at the arena against a straw dummy when she felt she was being watched. Halting her rage-filled onslaught on the helpless dummy with her celestial bronze spear crackling with electricity, she paused hoping to hear movement before making her next move.
The soft crunch of the coarse sand allowed the daughter of Zeus to hone in on the mystery observers location and she pounced without delay, lunging with her spear with superhuman speed and stopping just as the wickedly sharp tip would've impaled whoever it was.
She only paused when she heard a familiar cry of shock and a deep blue New York Yankees hat fell to the sand and the daughter of Athena glared at her with fire in her grey eyes.
"Sorry-" Thalia offered, but Annabeth's indignation wasn't going to be cooled by a half-hearted apology.
"What in the gods' name was that?" she screeched. "You could've killed me!" she continued stepping towards Thalia angrily.
"Or you could have approached me like a normal person and not invisible, Annie. How was I supposed to know it wasn't some monster or someone trying to kill me?" she retorted, matching Annabeth's tone. Thalia couldn't believe Annabeth- she snuck up on Thalia and somehow when she acted in self-defence it wasn't Annabeth's fault.
The two demigoddesses stood staring each other down before Thalia turned back to the mutilated combat dummy and adjusting her stance. "Well? Is there anything you wanted to talk to me about or were you just stalking me?" Thalia asked, the anger quickly evaporating.
Annabeth huffed and rolled her eyes. "We still didn't get an explanation on how Tyson was clear-sighted," she began, "and it's not like we can corner him and demand an explanation after the whole Percy fiasco…"
"You mean your Percy fiasco," Thalia replied swiftly, "I had no part in that and you know it. This one's on you, Annie."
Annabeth didn't respond as Thalia shuffled her feet in preparation for another calculated strike on the dummy. If she wanted to survive in the labyrinth she'd need to train every opportunity she got.
"Well, didn't Percy say that Tyson was homeless for a while?" Annabeth inquired slowly, trying to jog her and Thalia's memory.
"How would I know?" Thalia snorted in amusement. "If you didn't remember I was a tree for quite a while," she continued as her spear shot forward and penetrated the straw, ripping to dummy from its wooden post.
"So let's assume he was," Thalia continued, "so what?"
Annabeth stared at her as Thalia started to backtrack. "I don't mean it like that. Tyson didn't deserve to be homeless, but how does it help solve the clear-sighted issue," she reiterated raising her hands in defence.
Annabeth hummed as her lithe fingers drummed rhythmically on her short jeans. "I could've sworn he mentioned being tormented by a sphinx," she mumbled.
"Is there any reason for that?" Thalia hummed as she gazed at the feisty daughter of Athena.
"Of course," Annabeth spluttered. "When we were in the labyrinth for the first time with Percy, we met a sphinx, and Tyson was really scared of it…" she began.
"What? So Tyson has some form of PTSD from some run-in with a sphinx?" Thalia summed up.
"More or less," Annabeth mumbled, miffed at Thalia's constant interruptions.
"Ok, Annie, so if he wasn't clear-sighted he would have thought it was just some animal?" Thalia asked, her eyes shut in thought.
"First of all," Annabeth snapped, "you know I don't like being called Annie, and secondly, I think so?"
"Wow, Annabeth Chase doesn't know!" Thalia teased, her laughter lowering the tension from their earlier arguments.
The daughter of Athena scowled at the raven-haired demigoddess as she stomped her foot in frustration.
"I'm just joking," Thalia continued struggling to hold in her laughter. If there was one thing she knew about Annabeth, it was that she hated not knowing something or being wrong.
"How about this," Thalia offered after some thought, "We just assume that he is clear-sighted because of the golden glow he mentioned him guiding him to camp, and we continue with the quest. It's not like we have much time or any other options," she concluded.
Annabeth nodded, her golden princess curls bouncing off her shoulders. "Ok, we should leave today for the best chance of stopping Kronos's army."
"More like Luke's army-" Thalia muttered, receiving a poignant stare and scowl from Annabeth as she stormed off to find Tyson with Thalia staying a few steps behind as to not incur the daughter of Athena's wrath.
All of the campers the pair passed on their short walk from the training arena to the Poseidon cabin spread around them, clearly seeing Annabeth's brooding look and not wanting to cross her. Regardless of their distance, Thalia still noticed their stares and whispers. Another quest after Percy's loss was big gossip and after all, his loss was still fresh in all of their minds.
The son of Poseidon was quite possibly the most powerful half-blood to walk the earth in hundreds of years, regardless of Thalia's annoyance, and he was the Camp's figurehead- a hero of the ages that inspired confidence in all of them. Thalia, however, inspired fear.
The hearth crackled softly, the flame a low orange, reflecting the camp's generally sombre mood and the hearth goddess being nowhere in sight. Annabeth's quick strides slowed as they reached the Poseidon cabin. The low and long cabin was made of a grey stone that looked as if it has been dredged up from the ocean floor and encrusted with fossils of starfishes hand dozens of other creatures Thalia couldn't even name.
Taking a deep breath, Annabeth knocked on the door. Thalia hadn't even realised how silent camp was until Annabeth's knock reverberated in her mind. The silence of the two girls waiting for Tyson to greet them was even more deafening.
"Tyson?" she called out gently.
"Maybe we should just go in," Thalia shrugged.
Ignoring Annabeth's protest, she slowly turned the brass doorknob and the door creaked open. It had been so long since both of the girls had been in the cabin- without Percy, they had no reason to enter. There was a row of three bunk beds along the wall, all with pristine white silk sheets. The one closest to the corner had Percy's bed- still unmade and with empty food wrappers erupting out from underneath.
The interior of the cabin exuded a calming feeling. Thalia wasn't sure whether that was because of the faint scent of salt-water, the beautiful ethereal glow of the countless strange coral-like plants on the long window sill, or the gentle gurgling of the salt-water fountain in the corner.
"Tyson?" Annabeth repeated as her and Thalia slowly entered the cabin, not wanting to startle the cyclops.
"Tyson!" Thalia cried, "we thought you weren't here," Thalia called out in relief as she saw the hulking form of Tyson lounging on one of the bunks, fiddling with a small bronze figurine.
He looked up from his work and his face lit up seeing Annabeth, "Annie!" he cried as he kept up from his bed, narrowly avoiding smashing his head on the top bunk and crushing the daughter of Athena in a hug.
"Ow-" Annabeth moaned as she could feel her joints pop and crack. "Tyson- can't breathe-" she mouthed and his eye widened as he released her suddenly.
"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly. Thalia wondered whether he truly knew his strength.
"It's ok, buddy," Annabeth laughed. Despite his 6ft height, Tyson was still a child at heart and it was refreshing for both Annabeth and Thalia- in a world of pain and violence, Tyson stood there as a naive flower, brightening their moods.
"We have to leave for the quest now," Thalia began, gazing around the almost pristine cabin, her blue orbs locking on the bronze creation hanging delicately from the ceiling.
He nodded slowly, doing his best to hide his apprehension.
"Don't worry, Tyson. We'll be safe together," Annabeth reassured him as she squeezed his hulking hand gently. It astounded her how such large and strong hands could create such delicate and intricate works of art.
"We need to tell Chiron, but after that, we'll head off as fast as we can," Thalia explained. "Do you want to come with us to tell him or get ready?"
Tyson paused as he frowned in thought. "I prepare," he concluded simply smiling at his two friends.
"Alright," Annabeth interrupted softly, "we'll come straight back after we've talked to Chiron."
Tyson smiled as he lumbered back to his bunk to prepare whatever a cyclops needed to take for a quest into a murderous maze.
"Annabeth, Thalia," Chiron greeted warmly, "I was about to come and find you two." The ancient centaur looked on two of his favourite and sometimes most challenging pupils kindly and without judgement. Annabeth would be Annabeth, with her hubris, and Thalia would always be fiery.
"We think we need to leave on our quest right now," Annabeth blurted, foregoing any greetings or formalities.
Chiron looked puzzled but motioned for her to continue.
"The labyrinth is unpredictable and the more time we have, the higher the chance is that we can find a way to reroute Kronos's army," she explained. Annabeth was far better at planning than Thalia, being a daughter of Athena, although, even Thalia had to agree that this was the best and simplest course of action.
Stroking his thinning beard, Chiron nodded slowly. "It seems that you are correct. In that case, it would be best for you two to get Tyson and depart with haste," he agreed.
"We've already talked to him," Thalia explained, "he should be packing as we speak, although I didn't see many possessions when we were in the Poseidon cabin-"
Chiron shushed her gently, "it is best not to pry, Thalia," he chided firmly.
The daughter of Zeus nodded stiffly before motioning for Annabeth to follow her back to the Poseidon cabin to collect Tyson.
"Well that was… weird," Annabeth stated with a puzzled look on her tanned face.
"Pfft, tell me about it," Thalia muttered dryly, "it was hardly prying," she complained.
"I guess cyclopes have different needs to normal demigods," Annabeth concluded.
Thalia laughed at Annabeth's summary heartily to her displeasure. "What?" Annabeth snapped sharply.
"Normal demigods," Thalia panted, almost out of breath from her laughter. "Good one, Annie."
Annabeth huffed and sped up her pace leaving Thalia to hurry to catch up, not that it was difficult for the former lieutenant of the Hunt.
The two half-blood's continued towards the Poseidon cabin. Each time Thalia saw it, she saw something different embedded within the massive grey slabs of stone that made up the bunker. Different fossils with different shapes and the light being reflected by specks of something she didn't even know. She was sure that Annabeth could explain it far better and was noticing more.
"Tyson!" Thalia called somewhat impatiently. "Are you ready?" her voice reverberated off of the dense walls of the cabin and she wasn't even sure whether sound could even penetrate the grey stone.
Her question was answered when she heard the stomping of cyclops feet- something that she was strangely familiar with given her run in many years ago with Annabeth and Luke.
"Annie!" Tyson cried as emerged from the cabin and lifting his head back up to his full height. Thalia could never get over how… innocent he was, and that he really adored Annabeth. It didn't matter to her that he never addressed her, but at least with Annabeth with them, there would be at least some conversation.
"Are you ready, big guy?" Annabeth asked as if she was talking to a puppy.
Tyson's calf-brown eye gleamed as he showed her his duffel bag- which compared to his massive frame looked minuscule. Feeling that their departure from camp was imminent, Thalia instinctively grabbed onto the straps of her torn black backpack.
"Great!" she called impatiently and with mock glee, "let's go towards our death's!"
Tyson cowered behind Annabeth at her mention of death but the daughter of Athena assured Tyson that Thalia was only joking.
This time, it was Annabeth who had to catch up with Thalia as she was marching through Camp Half-Blood towards Zeus's fist. Ever since the entrance to the labyrinth was discovered, the towering rock formation was cordoned off and avoided like the plague. The forest itself was dangerous enough with its thriving monster ecosystem, but the entrance to an endless homicidal maze really took the cake.
Having to wade through the quickly flowing stream didn't do any favours for Thalia's confidence. All that it meant was that she had to survive the labyrinth with wet feet for however long it took them to complete their quest.
Tyson, however, enjoyed the brief trip through the stream as he joyously hopped through the water laughing along the way. Thalia wasn't sure whether water had the same healing and energising effect on Tyson that it did on Percy, but she wouldn't be surprised. He was still a child of Poseidon, not just a simple Cyclops.
Annabeth, however, took the brunt of Tyson's splashing- she was wet from head to toe. "Tyson!" she scolded only to look away as he gave her a whimpering look. No matter how uncomfortable the water made Annabeth, both her and Thalia couldn't be mad at Tyson- especially not after what happened to Percy.
Just beyond was Zeus's fist and one of the thousands of entrances to the ancient labyrinth scattered throughout the world.
"I still don't get how that stupid maze spread outside of Ancient Greece," Thalia muttered in annoyance.
"Crete," Annabeth corrected.
"What?" responded the confused daughter of Zeus.
"Crete. The labyrinth was originally constructed in Crete, not just Ancient Greece. Honestly, sometimes I wonder about the intelligent of children of the Big Three," she chided before becoming silent after reminding herself of Percy.
Thalia felt it too- Camp just wasn't right without the loveable yet infuriating son of Poseidon regardless of his intelligence. The only things that mattered to Thalia were that he was family and that he was better in battle than anyone she knew. Even herself.
Climbing up the first few boulders was far more difficult and infuriating than being splashed by a little water, even if the whole stream was almost dumped on her. Tyson, however, had no such difficulty as he trudged up the smooth boulders effortlessly.
Once he had reached the ledge that formed a natural wall against the sunken entrance to the maze, he looked back on the two struggling girls and gave them an encouraging thumbs-up and a toothy grin.
Thalia scoffed, only to be scolded by Annabeth.
"Well, there's no turning back now," Thalia muttered to herself.
Annabeth nodded and Tyson happily copied Annabeth's nod. Thalia had to give Tyson credit. Despite his fear of the labyrinth, he didn't even hesitate to accept their- Annabeth's- invite to join them as their guide.
"So how does your maze-vision work?" Thalia asked, her voice tinged with apprehension. The facade she had maintained for years had always been one of nonchalance and confidence, but at the thought of walking through this death trap, even she appeared to be visibly nervous.
Tyson thought for a second before shrugging his broad shoulders. "Follow golden glow on floor," he stated firmly.
"Great," Thalia muttered before dropping down from the ledge, landing heavily in the tunnel below.
The three questers had been wandering the ever-changing passage-ways of the labyrinth for what seemed like an eternity. After the architecture of the tunnels had changed ten or so times, Thalia had begun to zone out and ignore the countless style changes. At first, it had been a roughly carved tunnel through rock, then it was paved in grimy brick having lots its red hue decades ago. The most recent facade of the maze was Roman-style columns and millennia-old and destroyed floors, the stones having been worn away unevenly.
Annabeth was enthralled with it all- the magic of the maze and the dozens and dozens of different styles it used. She had been 'entertaining' the trio for hours telling them about the subtleties of the columns, size of bricks and countless other things Thalia shuddered to think about. Tyson, however, enjoyed Annabeth's musings as he led the way in the dark passageway lit up by the occasional lamp, fire, or the slight glow of their celestial bronze weapons.
"Hey, Annabeth?" Thalia asked slowly as if her brain was only firing on one cylinder, "how are these torches burning if they've been abandoned for millennia?"
Annabeth scrunched her face in thought as her blonde eyebrows furrowed to Thalia's delight- she loved seeing Annabeth's 'thinking face' because of how comical she found it. "I don't know," she mumbled dejectedly, "the maze is magic, or maybe someone has been here recently."
Thalia realised that Annabeth was onto something, and it only meant one thing- "Luke's men have been here recently!" Thalia cried in shock.
"Kronos's men," Annabeth screamed, "you keep saying Luke's this and Luke's that but it's Kronos. He tricked Luke and has taken over his mind," she continued devolving into muffled sobs.
"Come on, Annie," Thalia begged, "you have to get over your crush on Luke or else it will get us all killed. He betrayed us. End of story and he has tried to kill us and Percy on multiple occasions. What part of this are you not seeing?" she yelled in exacerbation.
Annabeth stayed silent, a deep frown etched on her face. Her silence said more to Thalia than any flawed explanation- deep down Annabeth knew that Luke was the enemy and had abandoned them, but her heart couldn't let her believe it.
That made her miss the Hunter's of Artemis. They never had to worry about issues like that- or almost never.
"I'm sorry, Annabeth," Thalia sighed, "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." She knew that she was right but antagonising the proud daughter of Athena would get her nowhere, and Annabeth was her little sister. She could never stay mad at her.
The trio continued to walk through the winding corridors in awkward silence until Tyson perked up and stopped causing Thalia to walk right into him.
"Ow, Tyson!" she hissed. Walking into Tyson was like walking into a brick wall, only he was a wall of solid cyclops muscle.
"What is it?" Annabeth inquired, ignoring Thalia's outburst.
"Voices…" he whispered.
"Do you know what they're saying?" Thalia asked cautiously, hoping that it was just some random passersby that were just out in the labyrinth for a leisurely stroll.
Tyson nodded before opening his mouth and speaking in a frightening eery tone, "Master Luke told us that the three questers had entered the labyrinth only a couple of hours ago…"
Both Annabeth and Thalia recoiled at Tyson's uncanny ability to perfectly imitate random voices. It brought them right back to being trapped in the cyclops lair as they and Grover had been travelling to Camp Half-Blood in search of safety and the cyclops had almost driven them mad by imitating their voices just as Tyson had.
"I forgot you could do that…" Annabeth mumbled.
Thalia shot her a confused look only for the blonde-haired demigoddess to mouth 'I'll tell you later.'
They stood frozen in their tracks and in almost complete darkness as they waited for Tyson to recount any more words but he just whispered: "they are gone."
"Well, shit," Thalia drawled, "this is just great."
"Let's keep moving," Annabeth interrupted, her voice small and unsure. Tyson, however, immediately pushed forwards at Annabeth's instruction blissfully uncaring about the danger they could be walking into.
"Am I going crazy or is there a loud noise literally shaking the walls?" Thalia murmured.
"Going crazy?" Annabeth retorted only to receive a shove.
Tyson tilted his head, listening for any noises or vibrations, before turning quickly to face his companions with his eye wide open.
"They coming!" he gasped as Thalia responded in shock.
"What? Who's coming?" she questioned desperately before the eery silence of the labyrinth was broken by a frenzied yell.
"There! Get them!"
Tyson, Annabeth, and Thalia's heads all shot forwards as they saw figures illuminated by torches sprinting towards them with weapons aimed.
"Hold still!" a figure clad in celestial bronze armour that looked suspiciously like the armour camper's wore for capture the flag. Thalia would have responded to his threat, but the sword pointed at her convinced her otherwise.
"You're all coming with us. Master Luke will be very pleased," the figure sneered.
Authors Note: I'm going to start to slightly change the original story slightly, and I hope that this chapter is better than the previous ones in terms of making it not as rushed. Regarding what Annabeth told Tyson, I honestly don't have the ability to write something like Tyson finding out that Percy has died. Also, I quite like this 4k+ word chapter length, let me know your thoughts in the reviews or just send me a PM.
I just want to clarify some things regarding Annabeth's temperament. Normally she is the level headed one, being a daughter of Athena, but I'm liking how she is slightly unbalanced by the Percy fiasco and the Luke situation. Especially the Luke situation. Thalia, however, always had a temper- it's just how she is.
Also regarding ships, Perlia does actually sound really good and makes sense but I don't know whether I can do that to poor Calypso although there's always a possibility that the story could go that way- sometimes things don't go to plan ;)
Regardless, all of the favourites, follows, and especially reviews mean a lot to me and it's exciting passing my longest word story and still not burning out and having a general clear direction for the story, which is a good omen in my books.