Chapter 5

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O-O-O-O-O

"No no no no NO!" The Sphinx howled, pulling at her hair. "You can't talk, you can't read, you can't write, how do you expect to get anywhere in life without BASIC EDUCATION?!"

Below, in front of the Sphinx's dais, the Minotaur shuffled awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. He had been meandering his way through the maze's tunnels when he had stumbled into the Sphinx's chamber and been bombarded by questions.

"I had prepared for the inevitability of an illiterate contestant you know," the Sphinx continued her rant. "Some of the monsters and mortals that come here can be dumb as bricks." Her glare zeroed in on the Minotaur, filled with burning rage. "But to have a contestant who doesn't even know what a pencil is? To have a contestant that can't even distinguish an alpha from an omega? This is beyond infuriating! This is insulting! I am not a kindergarten teacher!"

The Sphinx began to pant, recovering from her tirade about the Minotaur's illiteracy. Sensing she was done, he stepped forward

"OooOuUhh?"

The Sphinx narrowed her eyes at the sound of his voice. "Well," she snarled. "any contestant who can't answer a question is terminated." She rose from her seat on the dais and settled into a crouching position, poised like a wildcat prepared to pounce. "Prepare to-"

"...!"

In the blink of an eye, the Minotaur had already unraveled his weapons, holding them out to the side and entering a battle stance. His muscles tensed in anticipation, and his breaths grew heavier and quicker. The hulking beast of the Labyrinth already gave off an aura of menace before, but in his home territory, that aura was practically tangible. And the Sphinx felt it.

As the Minotaur took a step forward, she scrambled back, nearly falling off her dais in the process.

"BUT!" she cried, halting him in his tracks. "Hang on, hang on, there's a but! I can see that you've clearly been through some extenuating circumstances to not know how to read basic phrases," She caught herself before she could become too agitated again. "So I'm willing to give you a free pass, just this once."

Fumbling for a hidden button on her platform, she pressed it and lifted the bars covering the chamber's exits. Cautiously, the Minotaur relaxed his posture and made his way to one of the tunnels, keeping his eye on the Sphinx the whole time.

"Mph." With a brief grunt of farewell, the Minotaur departed.

Once she was sure he was gone, the Sphinx's lips peeled back into a snarl once more.

"Doesn't even know which side of the pencil the eraser is." she scoffed. "What, did he spend his whole life in a box or something?"

Truthfully, while the Minotaur was more than strong enough to slay the Sphinx, combat was something he was aiming to avoid. The only "true" fight he ever had in his first life was against the hero, a fight which he of course lost. Since he had gotten Labrys back, he had practiced swinging them in different ways, picturing an enemy wielding some other weapon facing off against him in his mind's eye.

And since he entered the maze, he had gotten the chance to face real enemies, in the form of monsters who had gotten too full of themselves, and the wandering corpses and bones of mortals reanimated by lingering insidious magic or possessed by some of the few souls of those who had slipped out under Hades' watchful gaze.

But even that aside, he was still new to true combat. His strength and Labrys' blades could only get him so far, so he needed to continue training himself until he could hold his own against a more seasoned warrior.

As the Minotaur fled from the Sphinx's chamber, his feet led him towards a long staircase leading upwards. Sensing through his weak, peripheral connection to the maze that at the end of the staircase lay an exit, he opted to climb it. He had been down here for what felt like several days, though the distortion effect that the maze had on time meant that it could've been both much more or much less. Regardless, he felt like it would be nice to get a little sunshine.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he pressed his hand on the stone wall before him and the maze responded, opening up a doorway to the outside. As he stepped out, he shielded his eyes from the sunlight to allow them to adjust to the new brightness. When they had acclimated, he took in his surroundings.

He was in another city, though this one was clearly far larger than the one he had last been in. Stepping out of the alley the maze's exit had been in, he was greeted by a bustling street filled with cars and pedestrians. Massive buildings stretched as far as he could see, crowding the sky itself. In the distance, a particularly large building stood, sharp like a needlepoint in the sky.

The Minotaur looked at the mortals around him, each of them commuting and rushing around to the places they needed to be and things they needed to do. The mist still held strong, with none of them making a big fuss about him, the colossal masked man with bull horns. He did notice that they all gave him a wide berth, with some of them shooting him with wary glances, though they ultimately did nothing.

It came to his attention that he was still holding Labrys, both uncovered after his encounter with the Sphinx. Even if they seemed like a slight cause for concern, it looked as though whatever the mist made them appear as was not enough to send away the mortals screaming for their lives. Confident that he could wander and sightsee the city without any issue, he wrapped his weapons back up in cloth and set out for his day in the city.

Confident as he was, he had not yet noticed the watchful gaze of a pursuer.

The woman in the black suit followed her quarry from a safe distance, slipping a flip-phone from her pocket and dialing a number.

"Boss?" she reported as the person on the other end of the line answered. "Yeah, we got another Intruder of Interest. No, not a Demigod. You're going to want to see this for yourself."

Perfectly blended into the crowd, the woman trailed the Minotaur, sending updates to her employer all the while.

Although it had taken him some time to realize, the Minotaur was sure he was being followed. First, it had started as just a sense of unease. As he enjoyed his time seeing all the wonderful sights the city had to offer, he could not shake the feeling of being watched.

Then, he saw the woman in the suit. Her suit was crisp and black, standing out from the other blander suits worn by the men and women rushing about to their jobs. That, and he had caught a glimpse of her once more after all those other men and women in suits were busy working indoors.

After that, more women began showing up. In the corner of his eye, he would see other women in the same black suits nearby. When he turned to look, they were occupied doing other things, but he was sure that they were the reason he felt like he was being watched.

He confirmed his suspicions in the afternoon when the mortal crowds had thinned out and most of them were busy at work. With the streets now clearer of people, he smelt the faint scent of divine blood from all around him. The Minotaur was not the cleverest monster around, but he could fit the pieces together. These women could see through the mist and were following him.

Though it seemed like a good idea at first, the Minotaur tried avoiding them. When he spotted one in his peripheral vision, he would turn away and leave as casually as he could.

This was a mistake.

Realizing that he knew about them, the women got bolder. They did not conceal the fact that they were watching him, leering at him like hawks. They began to draw closer and closer until eventually, they were no more than a road's width away from him. Then, they began to corral him. Showing up in alleyways and across the streets and ushering him from taking certain routes. They were now controlling where he was running to, and with their numbers, fighting them was an absolute last resort.

After being practically herded across the city, the Minotaur and his pursuers arrived at the construction site of a building.

And now that the rabbit had stepped into the snare, the trap could be sprung.

More women began to emerge from the building's skeleton, all of them armed with spears, swords, shields, and all sorts of weapons made from celestial bronze. They encircled the Minotaur, cutting off any chance of escape he might have had.

"MMmOoOooOO!!" The Minotaur bellowed in panic, tearing Labrys free from their wrappings and brandishing them towards the warrior women to ward them off. While they backed up slightly, none of them were deterred in the slightest, still keeping their formation around him intact.

"HA HA HA!" A booming laugh tore out from behind the women's ranks. The warriors on one side of the circle immediately parted and knelt as a woman clad in full Greek armor strode forth, flanked by two aides. "Well well well, I was wondering when you all would show up! What took you so long?"

One of the women who had chased the Minotaur here stepped forward past the warriors' formation. "Boss." She replied in a formal tone, her posture snapping straight. "My apologies. It took us a while to figure out how to corral it towards the meeting place. It took lots of coordination, and this thing nearly lost us on several occasions."

"Well you still managed to get him here, so I'd say this was a job well done. You're dismissed, Alexis."

"Boss." Alexis nodded, retreating behind the formation once more.

Turning her attention back to the Minotaur, the boss swaggered forwards, taking off her helmet to get a better look at him, shaking her shoulder-length brown hair free. The Minotaur huffed in alarm and backed away, but the warriors behind him bristled, raising their weapons in warning and preventing him from retreating any further.

"God damn!" She laughed. "You are one big motherfucker!" She began to circle around the Minotaur, inspecting him up and down. "Ever since we moved into Seattle, we've had to keep a pretty tight lockdown on all the Demigods and monsters wandering into our territory. We've only just recently claimed it, so it would be prime time for an opportunist to oust us out." The boss paused and laughed again. "So imagine my surprise when Alexis rings me up to tell me that the Minotaur himself was visiting my fair city!"

"RrrRMm?!"

Pausing in front of him, she leaned forward conspiratorially, a curious glint in her eyes. "And just how did you get into my city, I wonder?" Her jovial voice slipped away into a quieter, more serious tone. "I'd think that my top perimeter guards, all of them former Huntresses, would've noticed a figure as prominent as yours frolicking into my turf, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Muscle-man?" The woman stepped even closer, now almost touching him. Though he stood head and shoulders over her, it felt as though she was staring him directly in the face. Then, in the softest whisper, she spoke again. "Maybe you could tell me where you came from, how about that, hmm?"

"..."

The boss smiled and skipped away to her attendants, tossing one of them her helmet. "Ha! Well, I tried. It doesn't really matter where you're from if you're just going to die, right?" The other attendant knelt and offered up a lengthy object concealed by red silk cloth.

It clicked in the Minotaur's head what she meant. As she gripped the silk and tore it away, he threw himself to the side just in time for a massive fireball to crash where he once stood. As he scrambled to his feet, he hastily entered a battle stance, facing off against the warrior woman.

She stood before him, posed in an esoteric fighting stance he could not recognize. In her hands, she wielded two spears, one made of celestial bronze, the other made of some strange golden metal. Both crackled with magic, coursing through the bright red engravings running across their shafts.

"Monster of the Labyrinth!" She boomed. "Son of Pasiphae, Wanderer of the Maze, Bull of Minos! Before you stands a daughter of Athena and a champion of countless quests! You have intruded upon the territory my people have rightfully claimed as their own, and for that, you must be slain!"

"OOOOOUUUUUUU!" The Minotaur bellowed in response, the panic he once felt burning away and being replaced by the roar of his heart beating for combat.

"By my authority as the Queen of the Amazons, I, Nausikaa the Flame Pillar shall strike you down!"

Though it may have just been the orange glow of the setting sun, it seemed as though the entire world began to catch fire as two immensely powerful warriors clashed in one-on-one combat.

The Amazon warriors broke their formation and scrambled for cover as their Queen did battle with the monster. Nausikaa was the first to strike, lunging forward to stab at the Minotaur with her bronze spear. He raised one of Labrys and diverted the strike, the spear gliding harmlessly past his head. He raised Labrys' other half, intent on lashing back at the Amazon queen with a vicious counterattack, but-

"Burn up!"

Suddenly, the engravings on the spear pulsed, sending out a wave of intense heat. Even with a body far tougher than any mortal and most Demigods, the Minotaur was staggered, stepping back to escape the burning spear.

The brief reprieve was all Nausikaa needed to press her assault, stabbing and slashing at the Minotaur as he tried to recover, twirling and spinning her spears as easily as an expert performer might twirl a baton in a dance or parade. The Minotaur fought back, slashing Labrys in an X to drive her back, then lunging forward to begin his own assault when-

"Fly away!"

Pointing her gold spear at the ground, a burst of wind exploded, shooting her into the air and out of the Minotaur's range. Landing with catlike grace in front of the unfinished building a dozen meters away, she smirked at her opponent's bewilderment.

"Impressed? Ember and Bellows here are what earned me my title." Nausikaa settled into a stance, one different from the one she had begun the battle in. "I went through hell to get these two, so let me show you just what the Flame Pillar is capable of."

The Amazon clashed the spears together, then began dragging her bronze spear, Ember, across the blade of her gold spear, Bellows. Sparks began to fly from Bellows as the engravings on both began to flare, and then-

WHOOOOOOSH

Another giant fireball hurtled towards the Minotaur, but he was ready this time. Stomping on the pavement beneath him with all his might, the ground cracked and buckled upwards enough for him to hook it with the bottom of Labrys' blade and fling it up, then slamming it with Labrys' backside to launch it into the burning projectile, causing it to burst in a fiery roar.

"HAAAAAAH!" Nausikaa leaped through the flames, carving through them with a blast from Bellows. Gripping both her spears by the butt of their shafts, she brought them both down like a hammer. The Minotaur responded by blocking with Labrys, halting her attack entirely. Even after landing, she kept pressing her weapons down on Labrys, attempting to force him backward and keeping their weapons locked.

But as powerful and skilled as Nausikaa was, her strength paled in comparison to the Minotaur's. Pressing back, he turned the tables on the warrior queen, pushing her back with their twin weapons locked together. Then, with a roar, he lashed his foot out with a kick, catching Nausikaa in the abdomen and launching her backward.

"Guh!" Landing painfully away from her opponent, Nausikaa struggled to her feet. Her armor was visibly dented where the Minotaur had kicked her, and while this was not a major impediment for now, it would begin to hinder her if this battle were to become drawn-out. She needed to end this quick, but to do that she'd need to-

FWOOOM

The Amazon just barely stepped to the side as an axe whizzed past her as fast as a bullet, nearly shattering the sound barrier and devastating the unfinished building behind her.

"Oh, shi-" Nausikaa brought Ember and Bellows up just in time to block the second axe, which slammed into her guard with such force that she was knocked off her feet.

But the Minotaur was not done yet. Before she had even hit the ground, he rushed forward, smashing her down with a punch that would've killed any other human. Then, grabbing her by the leg, he ripped her off the ground and spun around, letting her go and tossing her into the ruins of the building like a hammer thrown by an Olympic athlete.

Several of the Amazons watching gasped in horror as they watched their queen brutally defeated by a monster.

"Lady Nausikaa!" A younger warrior cried. Brandishing her sword, she stepped forward to avenge her queen when Alexis held out her arm to stop her.

"Watch," Alexis instructed, pointing to the rubble Nausikaa lay beneath.

The Minotaur scooped one half of Labrys where it had rebounded too after being blocked by Nausikaa. She was a strong opponent, and she seemed like she was a good person. But at the end of the day, she was the one who attacked him, threatening his life over something he had no idea about. He had no choice but to take her out before she could do the same to him.

He turned to the ruins of what was going to be a building to retrieve his other axe. Since he had beaten their queen and champion, he hoped that the other Amazons would be frightened enough to let him go without too much trouble. Aside from the fact that he had no idea how he would fare against a large group rather than a single opponent, he would rather not have to kill anyone else. Even the savage way he had defeated Nausikaa was starting to leave a foul taste in his mouth…

Suddenly, the rubble exploded, scattering large chunks of concrete everywhere. The Minotaur was able to brush them aside with ease, although-

"You dropped this."

Before he could react, Labrys' other half shot forward, cleaving into his mask. The impact carried him off his feet, sending him sprawling onto his back.

Sitting up from his position, he saw Nausikaa standing atop the rubble from his mask's remaining eye hole. Despite the mighty blows he had landed on her, she was unscathed. No, she was more than unscathed. She was brimming with power. Though he had paid it no mind before, the belt she wore with her armor glowed with energy, radiating it off in waves before being absorbed back into her body.

Nausikaa hopped off the rubble and advanced towards him, not even bothering to pick Ember and Bellows back up. She looked down at him, but there was no malice or hatred in her eyes. Just indifference, like someone looking down at an insect.

The Minotaur understood how strong this belt was making her just from the power she radiated. She could've easily split his head open with Labrys, but had chosen to only use enough strength in her throw to knock him down. Before, he had the advantage. Now? He was hopelessly outmatched.

Dragging himself to his feet, the Minotaur gripped the Labrys lodged in his mask, yanking it free.

"Gh! Huh, huh, huh…"

Nausikaa raised an eyebrow to the panting beast who was trying his best to form a proper fighting stance in his exhausted state. "You realize you're going to die, right?"

"N-" The Minotaur's voice warbled, his mask's curse distorting the sounds escaping from it, even with the new gaping rend in its form. "N-no… die. No die…"

For a moment, a brief pang of sympathy washed over Nausikaa. From the way he spoke to the way he acted, he was just like a human infant. He hadn't hurt anyone that she'd known of, he had just been wandering around and lashing out when someone strange had threatened him. Was he really…

Was he really a monster?

She shook the thoughts from her mind. Monster or not, she had a territory to uphold and people to protect. She couldn't allow him to live. Drawing her fist back, she gave her opponent one last look of pity.

"I'm sorry." she whispered and struck.

The Minotaur had been running in circles playing someone else's game ever since he arrived in Seattle. Followed and herded by others, at the disadvantage constantly in battle, falling for one trick after another. Yet in the last moment, when it mattered the most, the trick was his to play.

Just before Nausikaa's fist hit his body, he went limp. The impact was dispersed across his body, minimizing the damage, if only by a bit. But that small amount made the biggest difference. The Minotaur was launched backward, soaring through the air like a ragdoll. He twisted as best he could in midair, regaining control over his body just enough to roll when he hit the ground, stumbling to his feet.

He had been launched to the edge of the construction zone where the Amazons had watched his fight from. Not expecting him to have survived, the warriors were caught off guard when he stood, crying out in alarm as they scrambled for their weapons. The pandemonium lasted long enough for the Minotaur to gather all the strength he had left in his legs for a massive jump, leaping clear of the construction area.

Nausikaa watched the Minotaur escape. She didn't know why she wasn't pursuing him. She had more than enough power to beat him in any footrace or long-jump, and yet she stood still.

Why? Why did she let him go? Was it his final plea for life? His desperate struggle to continue living that struck a chord with her? The human face behind that bronze mask? The look that face held, the look of someone lost with nothing at all, searching for meaning and acceptance? The look of someone who didn't even have their own name?

She remembered that look well. She remembered when she had last seen it. Before she got her twin spears, before she became the queen of the Amazons, before the person known as "Nausikaa" truly existed.

Yes, perhaps that's why she let him go.

"Will I be able to call you by name if we ever meet again, I wonder…?"

When he got out, he sprinted. He ran as fast as he could, even though he could hardly feel his legs anymore. He didn't think of where he was running, trusting his instinct to guide him back to the maze as it had done before. He barrelled down a familiar alleyway, slamming into the dead-end as it opened up and swallowed him into the Labyrinth. Hurtling down the stairs, more falling than running, he hit the bottom and collapsed, the last dregs of energy sapping from him as he slipped from consciousness.

********...

*s******...

A**e****...

**t*ri**...

*s*e**os…

A**eri*s…

*ster*os…

As*erios…

It's time to wake up, Asterios.

Cing Krimson's Qringe Korner: *Line break intensifies*

Seriously, sorry for all the line breaks. I'm uninspired.

This chapter may or may not be important for events and characters that may or may not be established in the future.

In the next chapter, If I ever get around to writing it, will have our beloved bull-boy crashing back into the rails of canon.

As a little fun fact, I spent an hour researching the Amazon company to figure out when they were founded and when they established their HQ in Seattle. After much deliberation, I have concluded that at this point in PJO's timeline, the Amazons' Amazon company would have started up, but they would not have yet had the massive warehouse they do in Son of Neptune.