Percy
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Zoe and I told Chiron, Killian, and Lilly what happened to us the next day. We explained about the voice that separated us, then about us going to Olympus. In return, Killian told us what they went through. They had been captured by some monsters and forced to fight in an arena. Killian fought Antaeus and killed him. Then they had found Hephaestus and he asked them to clear out his forge. Why the god didn't do it himself, I didn't know, but I hoped he was taking some responsibility for awakening Typhon.
He skipped the part about where he had been for the last two weeks. I knew where he had been, though. I'd been to the same place. Ogygia. Calypso's island. But if he didn't bring it up, I wasn't going to make him.
"So now that we failed to find Daedelus," I said, "how will we go forward? I'd say we need a clear-sighted mortal, but I don't know any. Chiron?"
The old centaur shook his head. "None that would dare join you for such a quest."
"Do you know anyone who is good at manipulating the Mist?" Zoe asked.
"I knew someone, but I haven't seen her in a long time," I said. "It would take a miracle to see her again. Or the work of the devil."
"Then we have no choice but to go in blind," Killian said. "We can't risk waiting for Kronos and his army to appear. We need to find Daedalus, no matter what."
"I agree, but how?"
"May I be of some help?"
We all turned and were surprised to find Artemis standing at the entrance to the rec room.
"My lady!" Zoe exclaimed, shooting to her feet. "What are you doing here?"
"You need a clear-sighted mortal, right?" she asked as she walked up to us. She summoned a chair before sitting in it. "There is one in my Hunt. Her name is Mimi. She, along with the rest of the Hunters, is getting comfortable in my cabin."
I glanced at Killian. "Guess you won't be sleeping in there any time soon."
"Why is he in my cabin?" Artemis asked dangerously.
"He and Michael sleep in the cabin, on the beds farthest from me," Zoe explained to her. "We have sort of made it a cabin for children of Titans like ourselves."
Artemis gave Killian a measuring look. "Good. I would hate to regret my decision about you."
He swallowed. "What decision, my lady?"
"The decision to threaten my father with war should he attempt to kill you."
Silence.
Then Chiron said, "My lady, you would threaten Lord Zeus with war for Killian? I am extremely grateful as Killian is one of the greatest heroes I have ever had the pleasure of training, but whatever for? You are not known for your kindness to men."
Artemis took the knife that was strapped to her thigh and ran her fingers over the blade. "He has proven to indeed be a great hero. He freed me from under the sky, a debt I do not know if I will ever be able to repay. He is open-minded, a trait that is rare amongst men. Not only that, but he is friends with my former lieutenant and friend, who I see as the greatest judge of character. If she deems him worthy as a friend, I do not see why I should doubt him." She looked Chiron dead in the eyes. "Your heroes nowadays are much better than the ones you once had. Theseus, Achilles, Orion. Heracles was one of the better ones, I will admit, but he has a long way to go if he wishes to even be in my presence.
"I am not the only one who sees this. My brothers Apollo, Hermes, and Hephaestus all backed me up. Even Athena, father's favorite," she spat the word like it was poison, "threatened him with war if he tried to kill this demigod. He has done Olympus great services, and we expect much more from him in the coming future. I expect this caliber of demigods to keep coming. I will be very disappointed should he be the only one."
Chiron nodded. "Yes, my lady. I will try my best."
Artemis, apparently satisfied, turned to Zoe. "Your sisters await your visit. Mimi has been informed that she may be needed, so she is ready to leave whenever you are."
"We should leave as soon as possible," Lilly interjected, speaking for the first time this meeting. "We need to hurry."
"I agree," I said. "Tomorrow morning at dawn. That'll give us the rest of today, which, let's be honest, is about three hours, to prepare and rest."
Artemis nodded. "Wise decision, Perseus."
I bowed my head. "Thank you, my lady."
Artemis stood up and sheathed her knife. "Zoe, come with me. We will go tell Mimi the news at once. The rest of you shall do whatever you need to." And with that, she turned and stalked out of the room.
Zoe pushed herself out of her seat. "I will meet you all in the morning," she said. She hurried after Artemis.
I turned to Killian and Lilly. "Get some food, then get some sleep. I'll go grab some of your things, Killian. And like Zoe said, I'll see you in the morning."
I found everyone by the entrance to the labyrinth the next morning. Artemis was standing with Zoe and a Hunter who I guess was the clear-sighted mortal we needed. Killian and Lilly were a bit off to the side.
"Morning!" I said brightly.
"Morning," everyone responded, mostly out of weariness.
"You must be Mimi." I walked up to Artemis, Zoe, and the girl. She had dark hair, a bit lighter than mine, and greenish-blueish-brown eyes. She wore a normal Hunter's outfit, packed with her little bag and knives strapped to her thighs.
She turned her nose at me. "Yes I am," she said. "Lady Artemis told me you need my assistance?"
"We need someone who can see through the Mist," I explained. "It's the only way through the labyrinth."
"Hm." She turned to Artemis. "Are you sure, my lady?"
The goddess nodded. "You have my full support. All of you. Do not disappoint. My Hunters will remain here until you have succeeded in your mission and have saved Camp Half-Blood from Kronos's army."
"Your faith is greatly appreciated, Lady Artemis," I said with a bow. I straightened and clapped my hands, making the others jump. Artemis chuckled slightly. "Alright, let's get going. The sooner we go, the sooner we can save camp."
Artemis waved us goodbye as Zoe led Mimi to the entrance. She pushed herself through and we followed. Soon, we were underway.
The dirt tunnels turned to stone. They wound around and split off and basically tried to confuse us, but Mimi had no trouble guiding us. We told her we needed to get to Daedelus, and she hardly even paused when the tunnels offered a choice.
As Zoe and Mimi talked, I wondered what Michael was up to. No one had heard from him, Bianca, or Katie since they left, which was slightly worrying. It was normal for demigods to not contact camp while on quests, but they were taking a long time. I couldn't help but wonder what trouble they had gotten themselves into.
I was so lost in thought, I ran into Mimi, who'd stopped in front of me. We'd come to a crossroads. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right—a circular shaft carved from volcanic rock.
"What is it?" I asked.
Mimi stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like one of Nico's specters.
"Is it that way?" Zoe asked.
"No," Mimi said nervously. "Not at all."
"Why are we stopping then?" I asked.
"Listen," Mimi said.
I heard wind coming down the tunnel, as if the exit were close. And I smelled something vaguely familiar—something that brought back bad memories.
"Eucalyptus trees," I said. "Like in California."
"There's something evil down that tunnel," Mimi said. "Something very powerful."
Zoe and I exchanged glances.
"Luke's entrance," she guessed. "The one to Mount Othrys—the Titans' palace."
"I have to check it out," Killian said.
"Killian, no."
"Kronos could be right here," he said. "I have to find out what's going on."
Zoe hesitated. "Then we'll all go."
"No," I said. "It's too dangerous. If they got hold of you or Mimi for that matter, Kronos could use you. You stay here and guard the others. I'll go check."
Killian shook his head. "I won't be seen. Trust me."
"Killian, don't," Lilly said. "Don't go up there alone."
"I'll be quick," he promised. "I won't do anything stupid."
With that, he snuck down the hall into darkness.
I hated waiting. It was the worst feeling in the world. Add the fact that I couldn't for the life of me remember what was down that hall and I was loosing my mind with worry. All I knew was that it was bad news, and if Killian wasn't back in ten minutes, I was going to go find him.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait ten minutes. Seven minutes after he disappeared, the entire tunnel shook and a hot wind blew past us. Not two seconds later, I heard a voice bellow. It was one I would never forget, one that still gave me nightmares to this dare.
It was the voice of Kronos.
"What was that?" Lilly shouted, scrambling to her feet.
"Run!" Killian shouted as he ran towards us. His face was pale and slick with sweat, his eyes full of fright. "Go!"
"Killian, what–?" Lilly didn't get to finish as Killian grabbed her by her shirt and dragged her along.
"No time!" he yelled. "Hurry!"
I hauled Zoe and Mimi after them, knowing full well what Killian just saw. It terrified me as much as it did him.
We ran until we were exhausted. Mimi steered us away from traps, but we had no destination in mind—only away from that dark mountain and the roar of Kronos.
We stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock, like part of a natural cave. I couldn't hear anything behind us, but I didn't feel any safer. I could still remember those unnatural golden eyes staring out of Luke's face, and the feeling that my limbs were slowly turning to stone.
"I can't go any farther," Lilly gasped, hugging her chest.
Killian, too, seemed like he had reached his limit. He slumped against the wall, huffing and puffing.
Zoe and Mimi both seemed fine, though their eyes were still full of terror.
"What," Zoe breathed, "was that?"
I didn't answer. I looked at Killian, who had fallen to his knees. "What did you see, Killian?"
"I..." He could hardly get the words out. "I saw...him. Kronos."
His name sent a chill through my body. The cave suddenly seemed a lot less tranquil.
"The Titan Lord?" Mimi exclaimed. "How? There's no way he could have reformed!"
"He hasn't," Killian told her. "It's not his body. It's...It's someone else's. Someone...Someone named Alex."
I jumped at the name.
"Percy?" Zoe asked cautiously. "Do you know him?"
It couldn't be... "Yes."
"Who is he?"
I swallowed. "He's Alex Mare. Son of Poseidon."
"A son of Poseidon?" Mimi exclaimed. "As the Titan Lord's host? Impossible!"
"It's him," Killian said. He explained the rest of what he saw. The way the last piece of Kronos's spirit had entered Alex's body when Ethan Nakamura pledged his service.
"That's bad," I said. "Very, very bad. Alex is powerful, even without Kronos. The fact that Kronos managed to sway him...We need to get back to camp. As fast as we can."
"Agreed," Zoe said. "But first, we must find Daedelus. We must make sure he has not given this Alex boy Ariadne's String."
"We don't have time!" I protested. "We need to get back to camp now!"
"It is my quest, Perseus!" Zoe shot back angrily. "We will do what I say!"
Anger coursed through me. Fear flooded my mind. Camp was in danger, and Zoe was saying we still needed to find Daedelus? It felt like the room was shaking. Then I realized it really was.
"Earthquake!" Mimi shouted. Killian and Lilly shot to their feet. We were almost to the far tunnel when a column next to us groaned and buckled. We kept going as a hundred tons of marble crashed down behind us.
We made it to the corridor and turned just in time to see the other columns toppling. A cloud of white dust billowed over us, and we kept running.
"You know what?" Lilly said. "I like this way."
It wasn't long before we saw light up ahead—like regular electric lighting.
"There," Mimi said.
We followed her into a stainless steel hallway, like I imagined they'd have on a space station or something. Fluorescent lights glowed from the ceiling. The floor was a metal grate.
I was so used to being in the darkness that I had to squint. Zoe, Mimi, Lilly, and Killian all looked pale in the harsh illumination.
"This way," Mimi said, beginning to run. "We're close!"
"This is so wrong!" Zoe said. "The workshop should be in the oldest section of the maze. This can't—"
She faltered, because we'd arrived at a set of metal double doors. Inscribed in the steel, at eye level, was a large blue Greek ∆.
"We're here," Mimi announced. "Daedalus's workshop."
