Son of the Moon
Chapter 53
-Percy-
Before anyone could respond to the, admittedly alarming, statement a large wall of shadow rushed at them, "Wroof!" resulting in the four demigods and one mortal being pinned by a massive happy hellhound who was insistent on giving them all a makeshift shower with her tongue.
"Come on girl, let them up." Daedalus chuckled, tugging up his pet even as she pouted and whined at having to stop.
"Thank you." Rachel coughed out, flicking hellhound slobber off her hands before Percy focused and removed the liquid from them all.
"How do you know the Titans are coming? Did you summon them?" he demanded seriously, turning to stare into the eyes of the ancient son of Athena.
"No, I just know they're after you and given that they have the string it won't be hard for them to get here." Daedalus sighed, sounding as old as he was as the man walked over to a worktable which was covered in various scraps and metal shavings, something covered under a tarp.
"They have the string?" Bianca asked, paling to the pallor of a corpse.
"I returned to my workshop recently to find my safe broken into." The old man pointed to the still open container "They broke in at some point while I was teaching at the Camp and made off with it. Minos found it most likely, the dead have no need to fear the traps and tricks of my masterpiece."
"So what now?" Nico asked seriously, Percy's fellow demigods spreading out in case a fight broke out in the loft.
"Now we prepare to deal with the Titan faction before you five get back to camp." Daedalus looked at them seriously "The Titans have an entire army of traitor demigods and monsters in these tunnels all with the sole purpose of attacking your camp. Their only real hinderances were passing through Antaeus' arena and finding a way to navigate my Labyrinth but now both of those problems have been solved."
With a scowl, Nico summed up their collective feelings on the matter succinctly "Fuck."
"Perseus, I have no love for the gods." Daedalus looked at them seriously "I have made mistakes in my life and I know that but I'm not going to subject myself to their judgement, not just yet. But I still think the world is better with them than the Titans."
"Minos working for them doesn't hurt matters either I bet." Amanda snorted dryly.
"Quite." Daedalus smirked before looking serious again, "I have a life that I am rather fond of Perseus. I live and intend to continue living, creating and inventing to help mankind where I can but for the sake of man, not for Olympus. At the moment though, our interests are aligned as the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Gripping the sheet on the worktable, Quintus gained a proud grin, "And you'll find that I make a very good friend indeed." With a flourish the cloth was ripped away to reveal a beautiful shield.
The armament was gold and shone like the sun, the metal dotted with diamonds on the face to form the shape of the constellations his mother had made in honor of Zoe, Castor, and Katie. The shield, which he noted was extraordinarily thick, pulsed with power and magic, its ancient creator handing the shield over to Percy. "Ajax the Greater was one of the heroes of the Trojan war." Daedalus stroked the gold surface of the shield "His shield was seven cow hides covered in a layer of bronze. This shield is made of seven Nemean Lion hides, all covered in a layer of Imperial Gold. Each layer of the shield is infused with its own set of runes and enchantments to absorb or deflect any danger I could think of. So long as the attack hits that shield I can guarantee you that it won't get through. Apart from the Labyrinth I can proudly say that this is my greatest work."
"I'm sure Lord Kronos will be thrilled to carry such a shield himself then." The cold and cruel voice of Minos came from the door as all eyes turned to see the specter at the head of a battalion of monsters and demigods, "And it's even his color, you really do think of everything, don't you Daedalus?"
"I have wished that were true for years." Daedalus sighed before handing the golden shield to Percy. "Children, take the wings and go." Daedalus said seriously, slowing picking up a blade from a worktable, walking almost lazily to the open door "The window will let you out and you can find another entrance into the labyrinth."
"Children, stay right where you are." Minos ordered, sneering coldly and sounding as if he expected them to instantly listen to him without argument, "And as for you Daedalus, do you really think that withered old body has any chance to-" Minos' words were cut off when Daedalus' sword flew through his head, the appendage dissipating into smoke and reforming even as the sword cleaved through several monsters and demigods in its path. "You insolent little-" Minos was cut off again when Daedalus summoned his blade back to his hand with a thought.
"Mrs. O'Leary can get me out." Daedalus told them seriously, I'll hold these fools off, now go!" with a yell Daedalus charged out of the loft, Mrs. O'Leary howling and charging along with her master as the door to the loft slammed shut behind them and the sounds of fighting began to grow.
"Move!" He yelled, running over to the wings and throwing them to the others, "We don't have time to argue." Rushing, they put on the wing harnesses and helped each other, the Labyrinth opening the window on its own to follow its master's command of getting them out. Wings in place, Percy ran to the open window and leapt, wings spread wide as they caught the air and he began to glide, hearing the others jump out behind him. Eyes narrowed, he flapped the wings and shot upwards, the devices amazing.
"Where are we going?" Rachel yelled over the whipping wind as the Labyrinth loft shimmered before vanishing, likely changing location to prevent them getting back in that way or being followed.
"We need to land and find the nearest city!" Nico answered, "Every major city should have at least one entrance to the maze and that's the fastest way to get back to the camp!"
"Well let's hurry up!" Bianca yelled, "These wings are melting, and I'd rather not see if we can survive the fall." Noting the wax feathers were indeed falling off one by one he nodded as they began angling downward, looking for any sign of a road or a city.
-Daedalus-
Coughing, the son of Athena spat out a glob of Ichor and oil, his automaton body running on a mixture of those and mortal blood. His sword was bent badly and one of his limbs was gone, the oil and blood mixture slowly dripping from the stump even if he didn't feel actual pain from the missing limb, having shot down feeling there. "Ah, hello Daedalus." Turning, he saw Chiron sitting on the porch of the big house, not looking surprised in the least that he was there, "Percy sent me an iris message and told me you might be coming. Your warning about the invasion force is greatly appreciated." The ancient teacher nodded to show that despite his overly calm tone he truly was thankful.
"Glad to hear they made it out." He coughed, using his bent greatsword to push himself up, albeit with some help from Mrs. O'Leary.
"So, do you intend to stay and help defend the camp or are you leaving again?" Chiron asked, face still set in a neutral stone mask.
"I've thrown my lot in with the gods, at least for this war." He sighed, cracking his back as he straightened "Might as well see it through for the long haul."
Chiron's stony expression softened, and a genuine smile appeared on the old centaur's face, "It's good to have you back then." Clapping a hand to Daedalus' shoulder, Chiron led him towards the heart of the camp, "I'll have some of the campers make an arm for you to put there, it should do the trick. But still, I must ask, an automaton body?"
"It…it was my nephew's idea." He sighed out, regret and grief still strong after all the centuries.
"It is in intriguing concept, but it feels…" Chiron trailed off.
"Cold." He finished for the ancient teacher, "It feels cold." Which was true, everything about this body was dulled except his mind and his skills. He could see and hear but they didn't have the same spark that sensations did before. He could smell and taste and feel but everything felt dull and muted. He survived, but sometimes he wondered if hew as really living.