Author's Note: I'm sorry this is kind of a lame chapter, and I hope you don't hate me for adding in OCs. :D LOL. I promise that these are the only two OCs that I make that will be major characters. There may be some OCs later in the story in a battle scene or something like that, but they'll probably only be featured in a chapter or two. Who do you like better, Layla or Milo? Leave your opinion in a review. Also this is really random and unrelated to the story, but I forgot to mention in the previous author's note that I am currently obsessed with Miraculous Ladybug. I love Cat Noir so much and Plagg is my favorite Kwami. I also ship Lady Noir a lot. And again, I don't own Percy Jackson.

Chapter Sixteen: Annabeth POV: Into The Labyrinth

The three of us hopped in the van and Argus drove us into the city. For a daughter of Athena, it was scary for me to say that I had absolutely no idea where to start. I wasn't even sure if Percy was being kept in New York, although the fact that we were supposed to be travelling through the maze was an indicator that no, Percy was not in New York. He could be all the way across the world, for all I knew.

Layla fell asleep on the way into the city. I wasn't surprised. She was a child of Hypnos, after all. Layla was the most powerful demigod at camp. She could make twenty people in a room pass out asleep for days. She could also make them sleepwalk, which was terrifying, as she could make you take a swim in the canoe lake in your sleep. Outwardly, she seemed like she wouldn't hurt a fly, but get on her bad side and she could be dangerous. I definitely wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of her in a battle.

Milo sat all the way in the back, wide awake and looking around with bright blue eyes, fiddling with a stone from his backpack. I didn't know why he was carrying a stone, although I knew that it must be because it was powerful in some way. Milo was not someone you wanted to be opposite of in battle. The other campers basically just avoided him during capture the flag. He was powerful enough to make you lose the bones in your legs for a week (it had happened). I was glad to have him on my side. With Milo siding with Camp Half-Blood, I almost felt sorry for Kronos.

All in all, those two and I made a great team. Argus dropped us off at Central park. I had to shake Layla to wake her up. She slept like a rock. I figured our best bet, as much as I hated to say it, would be to find a maze entrance. And I knew exactly where to find one.

We gathered around a statue of Shakespeare to develop a plan. I told them my idea, and, much to my dismay, neither of them seemed to have a better one.

We took a taxi back to the basement where Percy, Rachel, and I had found the entrance to the labyrinth a few years ago. The mark of Daedelus was still there, glowing faintly blue. I hesitated, my hand hovering over the mark. Did I really want to do this? When I thought of Percy, alone and tied to a chair, my answer came immediately and without hesitation. I did.

My hand touched the cold stone wall and an opening appeared. I looked around, remembering my surroundings. The huge skeletons suspended over the door. The warning signs. The dark tunnels leading to the right and left.

"Which way?" Milo asked, voicing all of our thoughts.

I shivered. There was a cold draft coming from the left passage, and I felt an evil presence. I hated to say it, but I knew in my heart that was the way. "Left," I said. Neither Layla nor Milo questioned me, just followed my lead silently.

The floor of the tunnel was covered in an inch or two of water, and I could feel it seeping into my shoes. I could tell that the water was flowing back the way we had come, because it splashed when it hit our shoes. I was shaking from the cold, but I pulled my arms tight to my body and continued on. I knew that I couldn't stop. Percy only had a few days left, and I couldn't take any chances. As much as it hurt me to admit it, I knew that there was even a chance that I might not find him.

No, I told myself. I won't let that happen. I will find him, no matter what it takes. I wished I could contact him, but I couldn't risk another Iris-message, for obvious reasons. What was I going to do? I'm the daughter of Athena. I'm always supposed to have a plan. So why didn't I have one then?