Chapter 14: And BOOM Goes the Dynamite

3rd Person POV

The group of 5 demigods, a cyclops, and a satyr sprinted through the Labyrinth to keep pace with the CD turned mechanical spider that was leading them to Hepaestus' forge. Annabeth shrieked when it turned into the spider, much to the amusement of the other 4, but quickly set them straight with a hard glare.

It was difficult to keep up with it, given all the twists and turns it was making and they almost lost it several times if it wasn't for Percy's sensory abilities. They lost sight of it again and nearly cursed when they came across the Sphinx and then proceeded to curse.

"Welcome, lucky contestants!" the Sphinx announced and Tyson whimpered given his… poor history with the beast. "Get ready to play… ANSWER THAT RIDDLE! As always, I am your host, the Sphinx!" she chirped cheerfully and Annabeth's eyes sparked with determination.

Applause erupted all around and Percy tensed and looked around warily with both his eyes and his senses, but saw nothing as a result. "Fabulous prizes! Pass the test, and you may advance. Fail, and I get to eat you! Who will be the contestant?" Sphinx asked and Annabeth stepped forward without even looking at the others.

"Welcome, Annabeth Chase. Are you ready for your test?" Sphinx asked and Percy tensed again and kept a hand firmly on Kurouzu, since Annabeth hadn't mentioned her name. "Yes. Ask your riddle," Annabeth said confidently.

"Twenty riddles, actually!" Sphinx chirped and Annabeth frowned. "We've raised our standards since the old days. To pass, you must show proficiency in all 20! Isn't that great?" the beast continued and the applause erupted again.

"What… is the capital of Bulgaria?" Sphinx asked and Annabeth blinked. "Sofia, but-" Annabeth tried to argue, but was cut off by the Sphinx. "Correct! Please be sure to bubble your answer completely with a standard number 2 pencil!" Sphinx added and in a poof, Annabeth was seated at a desk with the materials in front of her.

"Now, next question! What is the square root of 324?" Sphinx asked and Annabeth replied instantly, "18. But-"

"Correct! What-" Sphinx began, but was cut off by Annabeth this time. "What happened to 'What walks on 4 legs in the morning?'. These aren't riddles, they're just questions!" Annabeth protested and Percy swore in Japanese.

Percy POV

'Gods damn it, Annabeth!' I swore internally and a few Japanese curses escaped my mouth. "Another unwilling contestant. You forfeit then and I get to eat you!" Sphinx exclaimed and I leapt into action. I sped ahead of the group and pulled Annabeth back to cover while Steven engaged the beast.

"You should have just answered the questions. I already told Steven to curb his pride. The same applies to you," I growled at her and leapt back to fight Sphinx before she could pick up her argument with me.

I was impressed with Steven. He had really improved since the last time I saw him before I left for my training as the Sphinx was riddled with an abundance of cuts and gashes while Grover was playing his pipes to try and tangle her up in vines.

I sheathed my katana and drew my bow, firing two arrows into both of her eyes which made her howl in pain. Steven capitalized on the attack and drove his blade into the Sphinx's mouth, effectively turning her to dust. I still didn't trust him yet, but gave him a nod at his work which he returned and we sprinted after the spider again.

Another series of twists and turns and Grover suddenly stopped on a dime and looked down another corridor. "Grover? What's wrong?" Annabeth questioned, but he only spoke one word with his eyes glazed over. "Pan," he whispered and Annabeth and I looked at each other.

"That's your chance, Grover. I won't stop you, but be careful," I told him and he looked at me hopefully before looking at the others. There was a brief silence before it was broken by Tyson and Steven. "I'll go with him," they said at the same time and looked at one another. Tyson smiled, but Steven's looked forced and I narrowed my eyes again.

"But-" Annabeth began to argue but I cut her off. "We don't have time," I told her and turned toward the others. "Watch each other's backs," I told them, but more so to Tyson and Grover. Annabeth ran up to Steven and slapped the back of his head before she kissed him. It wasn't long or passionate, but I could tell there was more to it than both let on.

A piece of me was jealous; not of Annabeth or Steven, but more so of the fact that they were and could be that open about it. It made me think of Thalia. "You better come back, Seaweed Brain," she whispered and we parted ways. As Annabeth and I continued chasing the spider she said, "Not. One. Word," to me and I rolled my eyes.

3rd Person POV

The now duo finally came to the spider in front of two massive doors where it turned back into a CD and Percy picked it up and pushed the doors open. Inside felt like 1000 degrees and even Percy had to admit it was hot. They saw a deformed giant laboring over a hunk of metal and Annabeth and Percy knelt.

"Lord Hepaestus," Annabeth greeted and the two rose. "Demigods. What do you want?" he grumbled and Annabeth picked it up. "We're on a quest to find Daedalus. Can you help us?" she asked and Percy jumped in before he could blatantly refuse. "We will perform any favor to receive your aid."

Hephaestus rubbed his singed beard and spoke gruffly. "There is someone using one of my forges- Mt. St. Helens. But everytime I go to see, they're already gone," he started and cleared his workbench. "here , gimme that spider. I'll tinker it to take you there and back here. Find out who's using my forge and I'll aid you," he said and Percy did so.

Once again, the two were racing through the maze after the spider and couldn't tell how long it had been when they came to another set of doors. Annabeth slipped her cap on and Percy crept into the forge. "It's nearly complete," a voice that sounded like a dog mixed with something else said and Percy and Annabeth peeked from behind a mining cart.

"Telekines," she whispered and Percy cursed. "I-Is that… There's no way," she began and Percy peaked again. The group of telekines was working on Kronos' scythe, trying to return it to its former glory. Percy's mind raced until he heard more voices and shuffling headed their way from another corridor.

"Annabeth. Take the spider and let Hephaestus know who was using his forge. Also, apologize for any damage to it," Percy said quickly. "What are you going to do?" she asked worriedly and less hushed, drawing attention to their vicinity. "Buy us some time," Percy said and nearly shoved her through the doors. She looked back and forth between the group and Percy and finally nodded. "You better come back too," she said and disappeared as the group was nearing.

Percy POV

"Doton: Doryuuheki!" I yelled as I sealed off the entrances and exits to the forge, trapping all of in there. It wasn;t my smartest move with the latent earthquake energy in my technique and the forge kept rumbling as it approached instability.

"Get him! He must be stopped to ensure Lord Kronos' rise!" one of the beasts yelled and the others scooped up lava in their fins and threw it at me. I dodged most, but a couple stray throws hit me due to the sheer numbers and burned my clothes.

I drew Kurouzu again and began slashing my way through the telekines, bringing one down with each slash of my sword, but their numbers were more superior than I had initially thought and the rumbling was steadily increasing. "Shit!' I berated internally and let my mind analyze as I cut down another half-dozen.

'Sorry Annabeth. Pheebs, Thalia… Mom,' I made peace internally and leapt back a dozen feet. I flashed through my new hand signs. "Hyoton: Hyogaki!" I yelled and the forge froze over instantly for a brief second. The rumbling of the volcano reached a crescendo and as the ice hit and ensuing blizzard raged, the mountain exploded.

My memories were spotty at best after the explosion. I remember flying through the air for longer than should have been possible before I blacked out. When I came to again, I couldn't move, but I smelt the ocean and saw a girl with caramel colored skin before I blacked out again.

Artemis POV

We were stopped for the night on our way to camp when I felt it. A searing pain erupted in my head and I screamed and fell to my knees with my head in my hands. "Milady!" I vaguely heard Thalia and Phoebe yell as the other hunters ran toward me.

"Milady, what's wrong?" the two asked me worriedly as the tears started falling from my chin uncontrollably. My head snapped up to them and the Hunt saw the state I was in and adopted nervous expressions.

"Percy," I whispered. That was all that needed to be said.

3rd Person POV

The Hunt and Artemis arrived at camp 3 days later and Artemis marched straight up to Chiron who was speaking with Annabeth, who was also in a dire mood. She grabbed Annabeth by her shoulders and nearly screamed. "Where is my son?!"

Annabeth looked down at her feet and Thalia and Phoebe came running up behind her shortly after. The 4 girls and Chiron went into the Big House as the rest of the Hunt went to their cabin and Annabeth relayed what had happened in the Labyrinth and who was missing.

Thalia and Phoebe began crying after hearing that, but Artemis went deathly calm, which was far scarier. Without another word, she rose from her seat and left with Phoebe soon after her and Thalia had a moment with Annabeth before she followed suit.

Meanwhile, Percy came to a cave, somewhere he didn't recognize. He tried to spring up, but immediately hissed in pain and couldn't move his body. "Easy, young hero. You are safe, but your wounds were great," a voice sounded to his left and we slowly turned his head to see a beautiful girl with caramel colored skin, chestnut hair, and warm eyes.

"W-Who are you?" Percy croaked and the girl smiled at him. "I am Calypso. You have crashed on my island, though I do not know how," she told him and Percy's brain made the connection from myth. "C-Calypso?" he repeated as the tears gathered in his eyes and she nodded hesitantly at his utterance and reaction.

"Rest, hero," she spoke gently, but with the same firmness Zoe would give him years ago. He saw the resemblance between the two daughters of Atlas, though faint, but still present. The tears spilt from his eyes for a moment as he felt unconsciousness begin to take him again. Before he succumbed completely, he saw Zoe in Calypso again and whispered, "Zoe," as he passed out.

Calypso heard him and widened her eyes as her mind raced. She gathered her wits a moment later and left him in the cave to rest.

'Why did he say my sister's name?' Calypso mused as she left to tend to her garden, wondering just exactly who this hero was.

AN: Chapter 14! Pretty short, but it is what it is. So far the polls for the ship have PercyxOC 6 votes to PercyxThalia 5 votes. The polls are still open and will be probably for another week (hard to tell as I try to manage a chapter for each of my stories during the week and grind out 2-3 on the weekends due to work).

I believe I might introduce an OC Daughter of Amaterasu regardless as either the love interest, enemy, or friend, but let me know! Also, should I introduce dojutsu since he is a Son of Susano'o? It would make him stupid OP which is why I'm hesitant, but instead of the curse of Achilles, this could be his trump card for Kronos.

Please review and as always: Until next time!