Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO.
Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase chased after Hephaestus' gleaming bronze spider.
The 4-inch long creation was made out of the highest quality celestial bronze; gleaming even in the dull light that emanated from the direction of its creator's workshop, and from a distant opening at the end of the tunnel.
Each of its eight legs was carefully constructed, with each section fitting perfectly into the chain of bronze that made up its spindly legs.
The body itself was a work of art in itself. Not only was it made of glowing bronze, but it was covered in intricate carvings that seemed to illustrate a scene from long ago; the hustle and bustle of Ancient Rome, with the Coliseum in the background.
Both demigods gasped at the images they saw. It should be impossible for the hulking and hideous blacksmith god to create such complex and beautiful carvings.
Despite them having to sprint to keep up with the scurrying automaton, they continued to observe more details on its polished body.
There was a tall hill which was blanketed in what seems like temples to the Olympians, with the grandest looking structure sitting proudly on the summit. It was at would have been at least 50ft tall and it had a tiny inscription just below the roof, and although the demigods couldn't read it due to their fatigue, it read: Jupiter Optimus Maximus.
Their attention was shifted to a military encampment a mile outside of the densely packed and ancient-looking city. It was a two-hundred-metre wide square fortress. Around it on all sides lay a deep but dry moat, which itself was bordered by sharp logs and sticks poking outwards from the main structure.
The walls were made of a mixture of stone, concrete and mighty oak logs, with 25ft towers looming over it menacingly at each of the corners.
But before they could examine the endless images on the spider's abdomen, it stopped, before scampering back the way it came; the tiny taps produced by its bronze legs on the hard stone echoed endlessly through the mismatched walls of the Labyrinth.
Ignoring the retreating automaton, Percy shifted his gaze to the distant exit to the vicious maze; all he could see was a bright and searing light filtering in through.
"Annabeth," he whispered to his blonde-haired companion.
"Look! I think that's where we'll find Lord Hephaestus's haunted forge." he continued, earning a glare from Annabeth.
"Of course it's his forge. The spid… automaton," she quickly correcting herself before continuing, "would lead us to the forge. Lord Hephaestus said that himself. Seriously, sometimes I wonder whether you have anything in your brain at all." she reprimanded.
"And also, it's not haunted." she snapped. "He just thinks that it's being used without his permission."
"But if a god can't even find what's supposedly using their property, how could it not be haunted and full of ghosts?" Percy innocently rebutted.
Although his valiant efforts only rewarded him with a sharp and incriminating glare from the annoyed daughter of Athena.
A comfortable silence fell over the companions as they edged towards the entrance of not haunted forge as the light emanating from the narrow doorway begun to heat up the stagnant air of the ancient maze.
"Is it me or is it getting hot in here,?" Percy mumbled to Annabeth's shock.
"Ugh, get over yourself, Seaweed Brain. I think it's just the fact that this forge is a bubbling crater full of magma. Which for your information, can be over 3000 degrees!"
Percy released an involuntary moan at the thought of Annabeth turning something as cool as the crater of a volcano into a lesson, only to receive a sharp elbow to his ribs.
Before he could retaliate the sight left him speechless- a massive lake of molten rock bubbling and spattering with an eery orange glow.
"Whoa…"
Percy's sense of wonder was cut short, however, as he saw figures moving throughout the bubbling cauldron of death. Dark grey figures with the body of seals but heads of dogs toiled away within the forge, angry red burns speckled throughout their tough leathery exteriors.
"pssst, Annabeth," Percy whispered.
"Wha-" she started before Percy clamped his sweaty hand over her mouth in desperation before bringing his index finger to his lips.
She nodded swiftly before Percy released his grimy hand and her look of shock was replaced with one of disgust and horror- "Why would you do that?" she hissed vehemently, her grey eyes narrowed.
"Because of that," he deadpanned motioning her eyes to the centre and outskirts of the forge, "there are weird seal-dog hybrids in the crater."
"Telekhines…" she murmured in disbelief.
"Tele-what's?" Percy questioned swiftly.
"I thought Zeus cast them into Tartarus," she added wearily, ignoring Percy's question to his annoyance.
"Wait what exactly are they, Wise Girl? And why would Zeus throw them in Tartarus?"
Annabeth paused as if she was deep in thought before rolling her eyes and continuing, "They made Kronos's scythe and I think they made your father's weapon of power. But as far as I know, they were cast into Tartarus because they used black magic."
"Oh," he replied eloquently. "But why would they be working in Hephaestus's forge?" Percy continued unaware of the look of disbelief dawning on Annabeth's face.
"They're reforging Kronos's scythe," she mumbled.
Silence ensued only to be broken by the hypnotic bursting of bubbles of magma as the realisation dawned on the two Half-Bloods as they realised the danger that this posed.
"Annabeth, we can't let them-" Percy began before being cut off by ungodly screeches and howls in the distance which was accompanied by the clang of metal being dropped to the ground.
"Oh shit!" Percy yelled as he grasped Annabeth's arm in panic.
"Percy, language!" Annabeth begun before Percy pulled her face close to his.
"Not now'Beth!" he yelled. "You need to get out of here now."
"You're coming with me Percy," she replied desperately but her expression faltered when she saw the frown in Percy's face.
"No, I've got to get rid of them for Lord Hephaestus," he announced, but despite the confidence in his voice Annabeth saw the trepidation in his eyes, the maelstrom of green giving away his emotions.
After pausing, she conceded. "Fine." she snapped. "But be safe, come back soon. Please," she begged in a defeated tone.
Percy's eyes locked onto Annabeth's grey orbs as he nodded his head, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
She quickly leaned in towards him and planted a soft kiss on his lips before releasing his arm from her grip and running back through the dark corridor that brought them there, not once looking back.
Percy's expression remained frozen in disbelief and despite the dire situation, he was on cloud nine, only to be brought out of this thoughts when a lump of bubbling magma struck him in the chest.
As the molten rock fell away from him the damage was clear; the orange fabric of his Camp Half-Blood shirt was burnt away and his skin was blistering with unbearable pain.
He fell to his knees unable to vocalise the sheer agony, it felt like getting doused in boiling water, but times a thousand.
Once the first wave of pain subsided, Percy let loose a guttural scream as the Telekhines launched volley after volley of molten rock only to be silenced by magma smashing into him- his chest, legs, arms- every surface of his skin was burning under the searing heat of the magma.
"Curse his father's nature. It makes him hard to burn. But not impossible…" a Telephone muttered to its companions before they resumed their barrage and scooped up more magma with their bare flippers.
Percy was frozen in pain, all he could do was stare as the Telekhines readied themselves for another barrage of agony while one of their brethren rushed off with what he could only guess was Kronos's unfinished scythe. He could see their skin starting to blister and burn but they ignored it; either that or they just didn't feel pain.
Seeing volley after volley of molten rock hurtling towards his vulnerable form sent a rush of adrenaline throughout his body as he released a deafening roar of pain.
The Telekhines dropped the magma and covered their ears while replying with their own pained wails.
As Percy's bellow continued, the earthen walls of the forge began to shake violently and the expanse of magma began to bubble and swirl dangerously.
As the son of Poseidon channelled all his remaining energy the sheer cliffs of rock began to collapse and plunge into the dense magma, creating deadly waves that washed over both him and the Telekhines.
The searing pain added to his frenzied shriek as his vision began to fail until all that was left was a massive explosion below him.
When he regained consciousness he was souring through the sky, hurtling throughout his Uncle's domain as his trajectory began to dip as gravity began to kick in.
'Damn,' he mused. 'I'm so high Zeus will never forgive me.'
As his descent back to Earth continued, Percy realised what he had just thought- he had somehow managed to prove himself so high that he was well into the stratosphere.
Percy's barely lucid mind continued to attempt to figure out what had happened as he was knocked out of his thoughts when some feathered creature knocked into his badly burnt head and sent him hurtling down to Hades.
Percy's mind was brought back to falling out of the St Louis arch and his strange lack of flashbacks that he failed to notice the lone peacock feather calmly drifting in the wind.
Authors Note: Its definitely been a while… I've decided to rework and improve this story and see where the story and current plan takes me ;)