Hey guys, I hope you all enjoy this chapter- I have to say I've enjoyed writing the last few chapters that I've done- Percy is so done with bullshit and she will kick the ass of anyone who tries to cause trouble. Always, please do read and review. Also, Daedalus definitely has a soft spot for Percy.
Percy woke up from a dreamless sleep with a start, Leo was shaking her shoulder, yelling as he did. "Earthquake! Wake up." And Percy sat up quickly, her eyes wide- sure enough the room was rumbling around them- and Percy saw Rachel from across the remains of the fire- Annabeth was dragging her to her feet, the red haired mortal dazed and still half asleep, she wasn't used to waking up at a start from deep sleep, not like Percy was.
Percy snatched up her pack- they'd have to abandon the bedrolls, they didn't have the time to waste packing them.
Leo already had his pack slung over his shoulder, and together the four of them ran, Annabeth dragging Rachel with her.
They were almost to the far tunnel when a column next to them groan and buckled. They kept running as a hundred tons of marble crashed behind them and they made it to the corridor and when Percy glanced back it was just in time to see the other columns toppling. A cloud of white dust billowed over them and they kept running.
"Rachel c'mon." Annabeth's voice was panicked, and she yanked the mortal's arm hard, dragging her with them, and it wasn't long before they saw light up ahead- normal electric lighting.
"There!" They'd been able to flow down slightly, the shaking had stopped and they were no longer at risk of the building collapsing on top of them, and Rachel pointed ahead of them, "This way," and she pulled forward, leading them into a stainless steel hallway that made Percy think of space stations- all high tech and modern, certainly not ancient like Annabeth had thought.
Fluorescent lights glowed from the ceiling. The floor was a metal grate.
It was shocking, stepping into it from the darkness, Percy found herself squinting- and when Percy looked at Annabeth and Rachel they both looked strikingly pale- and even Leo looked almost washed out by the brightness.
"It's this way." Rachel declared before she started to run, "We're close."
"This doesn't make any sense! The workshop should be in the oldest section of the maze-"
"Should it?" Percy asked suddenly, "If Quintus is Daedalus that means he's been alive for a long time- and that he's still alive. This place is his place." Percy pointed out as they ran, "Wouldn't you keep updating it if you were him?"
"I-" Annabeth faltered, "I didn't even consider-"
"I'd keep adding stuff!" Leo piped up, "Making it more and more badass-"
"I feel so stupid-"
"It's not your fault."
They came to a halt only because they'd arrived at a set of metal double doors. Inscribed into the steel, at eye level was a large blue Greek Δ.
"Oh." Annabeth was staring at the door with wide eyes, "Oh this.." she swallowed hard. "I can't- do you think he's here? As in... do you think he's really here?"
"I'm sure of it." Percy took a deep breath, reaching out to lay a hand on her girlfriends shoulder, squeezing gently. "The real question is if he's given Alabaster Ariadne's string."
"We have to hope he hasn't or all of this has been for nothing."
"We ready?" Rachel's voice was soft, "Are you guys ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be." Annabeth let out a breath, "It's time to get some answers from Quintus." she pressed the symbol on the doors and they hissed open.
The first thing that struck Percy was the daylight—blazing sun coming through giant windows. Not the kind of thing you expect in the heart of a dungeon. The workshop was like an artist's studio, with thirty-foot ceilings and industrial lighting, polished stone floors, and workbenches along with windows. A spiral staircase led up to a second-story loft. Half a dozen easels displayed hand-drawn diagrams for buildings and machines that looked like Leonardo da Vinci sketches. Several laptop computers were scattered around on the tables. Glass jars of green oil—Greek fire—lined one shelf. There were inventions, too—weird metal machines Percy couldn't make sense of. One was a bronze chair with a bunch of electrical wires attached to it, like some kind of torture device. In another corner stood a giant metal egg about the size of a man. There was a grandfather clock that appeared to be made entirely of glass, so you could see all the gears turning. And hanging on the wall were several sets of bronze and silver wings.
The noise Leo made was almost comical as he surged forward, eyes shining, "Oh wow- oh wow this is my new home now."
"Di immortals," Annabeth muttered. She ran to the nearest easel and looked at the sketch. "He's a genius. Look at the curves on this building!"
"And an artist," Rachel said in amazement. "These wings are amazing!"
The wings looked more advanced than the ones Percy had seen in her dreams. The feathers were more tightly interwoven. Instead of wax seals, self-adhesive strips ran down the sides.
Percy looked around slowly- much less enthusiastically than the others did.
There was no sign of Daedalus- or Quintus. Whatever she should call him, she honestly wasn't sure at this stage but the workshop looked like it had been recently used. The laptops were running their screen savers. A half-eaten blueberry muffin and a coffee cup sat on a workbench.
Percy walked to the window. The view outside was amazing. She recognized the Rocky Mountains in the distance. They were high up in the foothills, at least five hundred feet, and down below a valley spread out, filled with a tumbled collection of red mesas and boulders and spires of stone. It looked like some huge kid had been building a toy city with skyscraper-size blocks, and then decided to knock it over.
"Where are we?" Percy breathed out.
"Colorado Springs," A voice said behind her. "The Garden of the Gods."
Standing on the spiral staircase above them, with his weapon drawn, was Daedalus.
All of them turned to look, and Percy let out a slow breath as she stared up at the man.
Percy pulled Riptide from her pocket, uncapping it, staring up at the man as Annabeth, Rachel and Leo all shifted, moving towards her.
"Quintus." Percy's voice was tight.
"Persephone." Daedalus' expression was almost sad, "I assume you're here looking for Daedalus- I'm afraid you may not like what you find- but I am glad to see you. I feared the worst at first-"
"We're looking for you." Percy cut him off. "We know who you are. You're Daedalus aren't you. I had dreams- you told Ariadne pretty much the same thing you told me."
"Very good." he looked almost proud, "You're a smart one- smarter than people give you credit for." he came down the stairs, holding his sword at his side. He was dressed in jeans and boots, and his counsellors T-shirt from Camp Half-Blood. "You think I'm an agent of Kronos, that I work for Alabaster."
"Yes-"
"No." Percy and Annabeth spoke at the same time and Daedalus raised an eyebrow.
"You're both smart girls. But, Annabeth, you're wrong. I only work for myself."
"You're not a spy." Percy shook her head, "But you were in contact with them. And you brought something from Geryon's ranch-"
"Of course. I've been almost everywhere. Even here."
He walked past them as if they were no threat at all and stood by the window. "The view changes from day to day." he mused. "It's always some place high up. Yesterday it was from a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan. The day before that, there was a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. But it keeps coming back to the Garden of the Gods. I think the Labyrinth likes it here. A fitting name, I suppose."
"You've been here before."
"Oh, yes."
"That's an illusion out there?" Leo asked, trying to hide the curiosity in his voice. "A projection or something?"
"No," Rachel murmured. "It's real. We're really in Colorado."
Daedalus regarded her. "You have clear vision, don't you? you remind me of another mortal girl I once knew. Another princess who came to grief. I'm glad you figured out my advice Persephone."
"It took a dream of Ariadne and Theseus in the Labyrinth." Percy admitted. "And then when I was figuring it all out- when I thought about what you told me- it clicked. And I dreamed of Perdix-" Daedalus winced at that.
"You know then. How I did it."
"I do." Percy nodded, "You're an automaton. You made yourself a new body."
"Percy," Annabeth said uneasily, "that's not possible. That—that can't be an automaton." Daedalus chuckled. "Do you know what
Quintus means, my dear?"
"The fifth, in Latin. But—"
"This is my fifth body." The swordsman held out his forearm. He pressed his elbow and part of his wrist popped open—a rectangular hatch in his skin. Underneath, bronze gears whirred. Wires glowed.
"That's amazing!" Rachel said, and Annabeth had to catch Leo's arm to stop him from rushing forward to try and get a closer look.
"Oh wow- that's so cool-"
"Leo!" Annabeth's voice was tight, horrified, "Don't- gods you found away to transfer your animus into a machine? That's…not natural."
"Oh, I assure you, my dear, it's still me. I'm still very much Daedalus. Our mother, Athena, makes sure I never forget that." He tugged back the collar of his shirt. At the base of his neck was the mark Percy had seen before—the dark shape of a bird grafted to his skin.
"A murderer's brand," Annabeth said.
"For your nephew, Perdix. The boy who's idea you stole and then you pushed him off the tower."
Daedalus's face darkened. "I did not push him. I simply—"
"You made him lose his balance on purpose!" Percy snapped, "You let him die Quintus- Daedalus, whatever you wanna be called." her voice shook, "I- I wanted to trust you! I really really did."
"I regret what I did, Percy. I was angry and bitter. But I cannot take it back, and Athena never lets me forget. As Perdix died, she
turned him into a small bird—a partridge. She branded the bird's shape on my neck as a reminder. No matter what body I take, the brand appears on my skin."
"So it should!" Annabeth declared angrily, "How could you do that?"
"And why did you come to camp?" Percy asked, "Why? What's the point?"
"To see if your camp was worth saving. Alabaster had given me one story. I preferred to come to my own conclusions."
"So you've talked to him. Did you at least keep in mind the things I told you-"
"I have talked to him several times, he's quite persuasive- but yes I have kept in mind what you said."
"But now you've seen the camp!" Annabeth persisted. "So you know we need your help. You can't let him through the maze!"
The man set his sword on the workbench. "The maze is no longer mine to control, Annabeth. I created it, yes. In fact, it is tied to my
life force. But I have allowed it to live and grow on its own. That is the price I paid for privacy."
"Privacy from what?"
"The gods," he said. "And death. I have been alive for two millennia, my dear, hiding from death."
"But how can you hide from Hades?" Percy frowned "I mean…Hades has the Furies."
"They do not know everything," he said. "Or see everything. You have encountered them, Percy. You know this is true. A clever man can hide quite a long time, and I have buried myself very deep. Only my greatest enemy has kept after me, and even him I have thwarted."
"You mean Minos," Percy grimaced, "He tried to manipulate Nico- he was trying to get to you somehow wasn't he?"
Daedalus nodded. "He hunts for me relentlessly. Now that he is a judge of the dead, he would like nothing better than for me to come before him so he can punish me for my crimes. After the daughters of Cocalus killed him, Minos's ghost began torturing me in my dreams. He promised that he would hunt me down. I did the only thing I could. I retreated from the world completely. I descended into my Labyrinth. I decided this would be my ultimate accomplishment: I would cheat death."
"And you did," Annabeth marvelled, "for two thousand years." She sounded kind of impressed, despite the horrible things Daedalus had done.
Just then a loud bark echoed from the corridor. Percy heard the ba-BUMP, ba-BUMP, ba-BUMP of huge paws, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded into the workshop. She licked Percy's face once, then almost knocked Daedalus over with an enthusiastic leap.
"There is my old friend!" Daedalus said, scratching Mrs. O'Leary behind the ears. "My only companion all these long lonely years."
And Percy couldn't help her relieved breath as she stared at the hellhound before her brows furrowed.
"The whistle. Why did you give it to me?"