Chapter 23
/\/\/\/\/\
Last time
Nico was about to try and take revenge on the daughter of Zeus when an echo came down the tunnel from the volcano "run! Annabeth hurry! Annabeth watch out! Noooo!" voice that sounded like Zoe's shouted.
/\/\/\/\/\
And Now
At hearing Zoe yell in concern, Thalia's body stiffened and her eyes turned a glowing white as she disappeared in a flash of blue lightning outlined in black. She suddenly appeared in front of an unconscious Annabeth as some type of creature resembling a dog was about to finish her off with its weapon. "NNNNOOOO! Get away from her you fucking mutt!" Thalia bellowed as raised her hand and blasted the creature out of existence.
"Tha…Thalia wha…how…did you get her?" Asked a surprised Zoe
"I…I…don't…know. Nico…Nico and I…heard you or rather your echo's and here…here I am." Thalia responded as she called forth her spear. "Take Annabeth get back to the tunnel and start making your way back to Hephaestus's workshop as quickly as you can, I'll be along shortly."
"You…you can't stay …by…by yourself." A fearful Bianca said.
"I'm not going to stay, I'm just going to show these ugly ass mutts that you don't mess with or hurt my friends and then I'll catch up with you," Thalia said with a strange grin as her aura flared in blue outlined in black.
"But…but…" Bianca began to say when "Bianca you will not be able to convince her otherwise," Zoe said as she observed the creatures gathering for an attack. "Help me with Annabeth and let us leave before we get caught up in this," Zoe instructed.
As Bianca and Zoe began to carry the unconscious Annabeth down the tunnel that reconnected to the labyrinth she and Bianca found themselves surrounded by another group of the monster like dogs "damn it to Hades we are trapped!" Zoe bellowed as the ground rumbled as she and Bianca turned to see Thalia hurling incredibly destructive bolts of lightning.
Thalia looked back and quickly raised her left hand towards the demigods and concentrated as a portal soon opened "Go now!" Thalia yelled as her aura became even brighter.
"Be safe daughter of Zeus I do not want to see what would happen to Lady Artemis and Perseus if anything should happen to you," Zoe said as she passed through the portal.
"I will, but I would worry more worried for those Benjy rejects over there than me. And Zoe… thanks." Thalia said with a smile.
Zoe nodded with a smile and hurriedly resumed her trip back down the tunnel leading to the labyrinth.
"Zo…Zoe…we…we just…can't leave her!" Said a heavily crying Bianca.
"Bianca, I…I understand your feelings, truly I do…but if we did not leave as she had instructed us to, we would have died because of what she is about to do. Do not underestimate her chances, we have seen her power if any demigod has a chance in there it is her." Zoe replied trying to console the young demigoddess.
Soon the demigods reached the labyrinth to find Nico still waiting for them. "Oh, gods! Oh, gods! What happened is she alright? Have you seen Thalia? I don't know what happened to her." Nico said quickly rambling.
"Yes, Thalia appeared in the forge and saved Annabeth and then …" Zoe was saying when suddenly a "BBBBOOOOOMMMM!" was heard followed quickly by a shockwave that shook the tunnel they had just come down and the part of the labyrinth they were standing in causing dust and debris to fall once more.
"Never mind that, we need to leave and leave now!" Nico exclaimed as he began walking back the way they came.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Bianca asked in concern.
"It doesn't matter where I'm going as long as it is nowhere near here! I don't feel like being blown the fuck up again, and if we stay here… that's exactly what's going to happen!" Nico bellowed
"Wha…what happened Nico?" Zoe asked as they made their way back down the debris filled Labyrinth.
"It…it seems that Thalia got…got mad at something while you three were gone, and she made a lightning bolt energy thingy and threw it down the labyrinth that way." Nico said pointing ahead "we stood there and watched as it made its way down the tunnel until we could no longer see the light. We figured that it must have fizzled out but it didn't, it finally hit something and exploded, the resulting shockwave hit us all the way back here. You think I want to be around when she release's one of those in a volcano? Not just no but FUCK NO! Now let's go."
At that, another bigger BOOM was heard as the labyrinth began to shake even more than it did before. "Nico's right let's go!? Yelled Bianca as the demigods stumbled down the shaking tunnel still carrying the daughter of Athena.
"UUUHHH…wha…what's going on?" Annabeth asked as she rapidly regained consciousness.
"Thank the gods your awake! Can you run?!" Zoe asked. Annabeth replied, "I…I believe so." At that Bianca and Zoe, both let go of her arms and she stumbled at first but was able to regain her balance.
"Come we must hurry!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Wh…why? Wher…where is Thalia?" Annabeth asked.
"No time for answers we have to get as far away from here as possible." Zoe answered, "Now run!"
/\/\/\/\/\
Meanwhile back in the volcano
"Wh…who…what…what are you?!" snarled one of the doglike monsters
"Me?" Thalia said with a smirk "I'm Thalia Grace daughter of Zeus, fiancé of Perseus Prince of Asgard, and resident dog slayer."
"That is impossible! You lie, the Asgardians faded long ago!" Came the accusations from the group of Telekhines.
"Oh it is very much possible, and because you insulted my fiancé I'm gonna…ah…I guess the best way to word it, is neuter and then obliterate every one of you ugly… ugly ass mutts in this volcano." Thalia boasted.
"We do not fear a daughter of Zeus, not here…not in a place where we reign supreme!" One of the larger and older Telekhines bellowed as he picked up a hand full of lava.
"Are you sure that you really want to do that? Once you throw that lava at me you will die painfully. It would be better for everyone involved if you just let me put you on a leash and take all of you to the Olympian dog pound." Thalia stated as she watched the Telekhine gather the lava.
"You are a weak daughter of Zeus! We will burn you alive and send the ashes back to Olympus in a box!" the lead Telekhine said as he hurled the lava at Thalia.
As the lava flew towards Thalia, it suddenly stopped as it came in contact with Thalia's aura. The lava floated there for just a moment as the steam from it seemed to flow into the demigoddess as the lava turned to stone. "Throw more!" Ordered the lead Telekhine as the group behind him all picked up a hand-full of lava and threw it at Thalia, only to have the same thing happen.
"BBBUUURRRPPPP! Oh, gods was that me? Sorry, but it was just so tasty." Thalia said licking her lips as her aura flared once more. "Bad ugly doggies, no Milk Bones for you. Didn't I tell you not to throw that lava at me, so since you didn't obey like good little ugly doggies, I guess it's time for your punishment. By the time I get through with you doggies, you'll wish I had used a rolled up Newspaper on you." Thalia said sarcastically as she held up one finger.
The Telekhines were frozen in awe at what they just witnessed and watched as the daughter of Zeus held up one finger and observed as a small lightning bolt of energy appeared on the tip of her finger. At this, the Telekhines began to laugh as the leader said: "how arrogant you are daughter of Zeus to think that such a puny attack will harm us."
Thalia just smiled as she brought her finger up to her mouth and blew on it. As the small bolt of energy slowly floated towards the leader of the Telekhines, it began to glow brighter and brighter and once it touched the chest of the Telekhine it exploded with a "BBBBOOOOMMM!" as the small group gathered behind the leader were instantly obliterated. "OOPS, did I do that?" Thalia asked laughingly as all hell broke loose.
As Thalia fought the Telekhines she couldn't help but think how much fun she was having. Unfortunately, for one Telekhine Thalia was able to grab him by the scruff of the neck and bellowed "The next time I tell you puppies to do something I expect you to obey! When I say no shitting on the floor, I mean no shitting on the floor!" As Thalia continued to beat its ass with her electrified spear. "Trust me this hurts you a lot more than its hurts me! Now stop being an ugly bad doggie and learn to do as I say!" (Note to our readers, no animals or Telekhines were injured in the writing of this scene, so get off our asses ASPCA) (Okay maybe one or two but that's it I swear).
"Kil…kill…her!" Shouted one of the Telekhines as the remaining Telekhines began to grab their weapons. Arrows flew and knives were thrown but neither could penetrate the aura of the demigoddess.
As the Telekhines mounted their attack once more, Thalia gathered some energy in her hand and called forth a lightning bolt. Once the bolt struck her hand she infused it with the energy she had gathered and fired it at a large group of Telekhines. The bolt exploded as it struck instantly killing the Telekhines and causing a small quake in the volcano as lava began to rise higher and higher. Thalia struggled to keep her footing as she watched the forge start to fall apart from her attacks. "Damn it, I have to be careful I don't want to cause an eruption." Thalia thought to herself
"The sword! Save the sword! The sword must not be captured!" A Telekhine bellowed out as a few of them made for smelting area where the sword was being forged.
"Why are they so concerned about that sword?" Thalia asked herself "whatever it is I can't let them take it!" At this Thalia quickly started to summon the energy from within herself and soon held a baseball bat sized bolt of energy she watched as the Telekhines were about to grab the sword when she quickly threw the bolt of energy and hit the smelter directly where the sword was laying. Once the bolt of energy hit the smelter it exploded immediately killing all the Telekhines in the area and caused the sword and other debris to fall into the now active volcano. The shockwave from the explosion knocked Thalia back into a wall knocking the breath out of her. Slowly she struggled to her feet, as she was exhausted from overusing her new powers as well as being thrown into the wall from the last explosion. Once she regained her composure Thalia quickly observed the condition of the volcano and exclaimed: "fuck I need to leave now, no telling if this thing is gonna blow or what!"
At that, Thalia felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and fell to the ground unconscious.
/\/\/\/\/\
Back in the Labyrinth
"I hope Thalia's ok" muttered Annabeth as she and the rest of the group minus Thalia naturally, stumbled after the cute mechanical puppy hurrying through the shaking and debris filled labyrinth back to Hephaestus's workshop.
"I…I… am sure she is fine daughter of Athena," said Zoe pantingly answering Annabeth's question. However, Zoe's reassurance did little to soothe the girl.
Bianca who was keeping an eye on Nico as he was walking a bit further ahead with the puppy just rolled her eyes at Annabeth's question which she had asked a thousand times already. She quickly brought her full attention back to Nico when he let out the most girlish scream ever, something which he would deny later on. This caused Annabeth to lash out with an arm and promptly slapped something soft almost like animal fur.
"Oww...motherfucker!" Hissed a rough but feminine voice. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"
The four demi-gods who had their weapons out ready to strike at anything just stared at the creature as it rubbed its sore cheek.
"Well...?" it repeated.
"Our most sincere apologies, it's just that you startled us," said a still wide-eyed Annabeth.
"Oh, well I guess that makes it all good and dandy I suppose?" It retorted.
"Yo...you're a Sphinx," whispered a wide-eyed Nico who had recovered from his shock.
"Give the boy a gold star," said the Sphinx sarcastically causing Nico to shrink back slightly behind Bianca.
"Enough with the chit-chat, why are you blocking our way!" Demanded Zoe.
"I am not blocking your way," the Sphinx said huffily in offense "just answer my questions and I'll be glad to move."
Zoe didn't even bother to retort with an answer on how the Sphinx had just contradicted itself. "Very well ask your question so we can move on" Zoe replied in irritation.
"Oh no, not question little hunter, questions, notice the plural as in more than one" replied the Sphinx condescendingly. "Well, actually there riddles but whatever.
"But…but…you're only supposed to ask that stupid riddle about what walks on two legs or some shit like that" hissed Zoe annoyed.
"And that's why I'm not asking that question anymore, you already know the answer to it, so I've come up with much better riddles" answered the monster happily. "Now who will be the contestant?" asked the Sphinx as all eyes fell onto a smiling Annabeth who readily stepped forth.
"Very well, are you ready daughter of Athena?" asked the Sphinx who received a nod of confirmation from Annabeth.
"Alright, the first riddle is, many have heard me, but no one has seen me, and I will not speak back until spoken to. What am I?" The Sphinx asked as the theme song to Jeopardy started to play.
Annabeth contemplated the riddle for a few minutes until her face morphed into a smile and answered. "You're an echo."
"Correct, next riddle is. Alone I am 24th, with a friend I am 20. Another friend and I are unclean. What am I?" Asked the Sphinx.
"Oh, that's easy. The letter 'X' is the 24th letter of the alphabet, and XX in Roman numerals is 20, and XXX is the rating for adult movies" Annabeth answered smugly.
"Annabeth why does it seem like you know a lot about adult movies? Is there something we need to know?" Bianca teased causing the daughter of Athena to try and stutter a response "it…it…was…was one…one time! Mr. D and…and Chiron were away… and …and the…the Hermes cabin…" but she was suddenly cut off when the Sphinx congratulated her.
"Well done, now for the next riddle..." began the monster.
"ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING RIDDLES!" screamed Zoe making everyone go wide-eyed in astonishment. "WE HAVEN'T GOT BLOODY TIME, NOW MOVE YOUR BIG FURRY ASS OUT OF OUR WAY SPHINX!"
Blinking her eyes in rapid succession, the stunned Sphinx eventually came to her senses and stated quite clearly with a growl, "You cannot pass by me until you have answered ALL, of my riddles girl!"
"Or else what!?" spat Zoe.
"I'll rip your fucking titties off and use them as cushions," hissed the Sphinx "although your titties are so small I'll probably have to use them as coasters. By the god's hunter, the boy over there has bigger titties than you do!" And at that Nico turned red with embarrassment and tried to hide his face.
Turning red from the insult of supposedly having a flat chest (which she certainly doesn't believe us) Zoe drew her weapons resulting in the others to arm themselves as well. "Have at thee foul perverted creature!" Zoe yelled.
"The…the arrows… don't seem to be doing any good!" Yelled Annabeth.
"I can see that but I'm sure they must be hurting it, though!" Bianca retorted as she let loose another arrow which pierced the monster's ear resulting in an angry yell from said monster.
The Sphinx wasted no time in launching forward again and batting the daughter of Hades to the side with its massive paw and held her down, her jaws opening wide as she prepared to take a chunk out of Bianca.
"BIANCA!" Nico screamed, "by the gods why didn't we bring some freaking catnip with us!"
At this, the Sphinx screeched to a halt upon hearing Nico's words. "Why should you have brought catnip with you demigod?!" The Sphinx demanded.
Nico was shaking like a leaf on a windy day at having the monster's attention focused on him. "Well,…it's just that your part cat and…well…you know cats love catnip."
Over to the side of the male demigod, Zoe was practically rolling her eyes, but she quickly dropped to her knees and began praying to her mistress. "Lady Artemis, I am in need of your assistance. Please answer my prayers."
Seconds passed, as Zoe hoped that the son of Hades could keep the Sphinx distracted by talking about the subject at hand.
"Zoe is everything alright?" the voice of the moon goddess echoed throughout her mind. "I cannot talk right now milady but I require that you do me a favor and send me some catnip?"
"Catnip? Why on earth do you want ca… hold on, Zoe you are not going through another one of your substance abuse phases again are you? Remember what happened last time when you became addicted to Viagra? It had some rather unusual side effects that I'm sure you don't want again." Artemis said to an embarrassed Zoe.
"WHAT! Milady please that was ages ago" said a red-faced hunter "we are fighting a Sphinx and believe that some catnip would be of great help in defeat…oh and a ball of yarn as well."
"Well, this will be an amusing story to hear when you get back…alright sending them to you now. Just remember you did not get these from me." Artemis said to her Lieutenant.
Zoe could practically hear the smirk her mistress was wearing. "Thank you milady." Wasting no time Zoe quickly gathered up the items and pushed Nico who was in mid-speech aside. "Here Sphinxy, Sphinxy. Come and get it Sphinxy. That's a good Sphinxy, who's a good Sphinxy? Mommy has a present for you." Said Zoe as she tried to use playful tone and the items to lure the Sphinx away.
"This…this is catnip?" Asked the Sphinx with a curious frown on her face and let out a kitten-like meow which she quickly shushed by slamming her paws over her mouth and blushing (if possible for a monster to do) from embarrassment.
"Yes, it is" continued Zoe in the voice which girls reserve for cute animals.
"I…it…it's…*meow*…oh my gods" the Sphinx was unable to continue as a look of relaxation came upon her face and she began to somewhat rub herself against the catnip which Zoe was holding, purring like a little kitten.
"Excellent work Nico, I do not think anyone of us would have thought of this," the hunter said in praise to a somewhat beaming son of Hades.
"I…it was…nothing" replied an embarrassed Nico. "But how are we going to get…you know…rid of it?"
"Do not worry that is what this ball of yarn is for" and with that Zoe held aloft the other item she had requested from her mistress, the ball of yarn.
"Ehhhh…" began Annabeth but she was cut off straight away before she could retort.
"Yes I know it's a ball of yarn daughter of Athena," Zoe said giving Annabeth a pointed look "we will use it to dispose of…" and sent a sideways glance to the Sphinx which was rolling around on the floor and kicking its paws into the air meowing in happiness.
"How is a ball of yarn supposed to do that?" asked Bianca.
"Watch and learn…watch and learn" taking the ball of yarn, Zoe slipped the catnip into the middle of it and held it above her head and began once again talking to the Sphinx. "Here Sphinxy whinxy, come see what mommy has for you…come on now" teased Zoe holding the yarn aloft even though the Sphinx was towering over her. "Does Sphinxy want the catnip?"
Her only response was a yowl and more playful meowing.
"Alright, let's play a game. Fetch Sphinxy, go fetch the ball of yarn" and with a hurl, Zoe threw the ball of yarn down the corridor of the labyrinth, where it seemed to disappear in the darkness on the floor which the Sphinx immediately ran for.
"That's your plan, it wi…" began the daughter of Athena but was cut off when Zoe held her finger to Annabeth's lips.
"Watch and learn" responded Zoe and pointed to the monster who jumped at where they assumed the yarn was. They waited for the inevitable thud of the Sphinx hitting the ground but none came. In fact, there were no sounds of the Sphinxes heavy movement at all.
"Uhm…not to sound ungrateful but where'd it go?" said Nico asking the question that was on Bianca and Annabeth's mind as well.
"The vile creature has just taken a one-way trip straight to Tartarus the slow way. If you remember there is a gap in the floor of the corridor the leads straight to it. I am shocked that you of all people forgot that Annabeth, what with being a daughter of Athena. I thought you would have caught onto my plan." Zoe said Annabeth whose face was turning red with embarrassment.
"Wh…what…yes…of course…of course, I knew" stuttered said girl unconvincingly causing Zoe to merely roll her eyes.
"Now come along girls we need to get back to Hephaestus's workshop" ordered Zoe getting straight back to business.
"Hey! What about me?!" Nico hissed.
"I stand by my statement, now move!" Zoe exclaimed in amusement.
Quickly the demigods came to the gap where the sphinx and fallen into Tartarus.
"How…how are…we supposed to…to get across this now? We don't have Thalia with us!" Nico exclaimed.
At that moment, another quake wave reached the group. "Back up!" Zoe yelled as she didn't want anyone falling into the gap.
Fortunately, for the demigods the quake wave ended just as quickly as it began, even better for them is that part of the ceiling of the labyrinth had collapsed allowing some sunlight to shine in. "Look!" Annabeth exclaimed, "it's sunlight!"
"Yes, we can see that daughter of Athena. How does that help us?" Zoe huffed.
"Sunlight in the tunnel equals shadows, shadows equal shadow travel for children of Hades," Annabeth explained.
"By the gods you are right!" Zoe exclaimed as she grabbed Annabeth and kissed her. The kiss meant to last a few seconds but seem to last hours as Zoe moved her hands down Annabeth's side and roughly grabbed her ass as Annabeth moved her hand up towards Zoe's breast.
Both had begun to moan when suddenly "what the fuck is wrong with you two?! My brother is standing right here and he's just ten years old!" Bianca yelled at the two demigoddesses.
At that, they jumped apart each having a beet red face. "Sorry," Zoe whimpered out "I got to excited." As Annabeth just looked towards the floor not believing what just happened.
"Well, as you keep telling Thalia keep it in your pants!" Bianca replied gruffly. "Now come on the ceiling is slowly repairing itself so we need to hurry!"
Zoe and Annabeth looked up to see that Bianca was indeed correct. Zoe took Bianca's hand, while Annabeth took Nico's and shadow traveled them across the gap and appeared on the other side as the ceiling had just finished repairing itself.
"Whew! That was close." Said Annabeth who was still red after the kiss from Zoe.
"Come let us continue, we should be at his workshop soon," Zoe ordered.
"We need to rest a bit first. Shadow traveling at our age is exhausting." Bianca said.
Zoe looked at Bianca and Nico who both looked like they were about to pass out and said: "Yes, let us take a break to rest and refresh ourselves."
Approximately thirty minutes later they resumed their trip to Hephaestus's workshop.
Soon the demigods noticed that the puppy had stopped and was barking at a door. "This must be it," Annabeth said as they approached the door.
/\/\/\/\/\
Stopping at the door of Hephaestus's workshop, Bianca quickly scooped the mechanical puppy up turning it back into a medallion and pocketed it ignoring the eye rolling she was receiving from the others. "What?!" Bianca asked, "he's cute and I wanna keep him."
The others just shook their head in amazement at the daughter of Hades.
Knocking on the door a few times and hearing a gruff voice telling them to enter, they pushed open the door and once more came face to face with the god of forges.
"We have identified the trespassers in your other forge Lord Hephaestus, we believe that they are what is known as Telekhines. Although we did run into some problems but hopefully, Thalia is disposing of the problems as we speak." Zoe said respectfully.
"Telekhines, this does not bode well for Olympus," Hephaestus mumbled to himself.
"Did you say something Lord Hephaestus?" Zoe inquired.
"Hmm… no…no, it's nothing, just thinking out loud. Now as promised, in regards to finding Daedalus, here's what you need to know..." Hephaestus began to say when a lightning bolt thundered and boomed across the sky. "Fuck! Not again!" Hephaestus bellowed "I am sorry demigods but I must leave it is urgent. However, I will send you back to camp before I leave." And waved his hand and flashed the group of demigods back to Camp Half-Blood.
"No! Wait…" Annabeth started to say to the god of the forges but it was too late as she was already back at camp with the others. "Gods damn him! Where does that piece of fucking Minotaur dung get off just leaving us like that?!"
"Ahem!" came the sound of someone clearing their throat. "Annabeth…what have I told you about using such language?" Chiron said with an eyebrow raised.
"Sor…sorry?" Annabeth said gingerly "It…it was…was just…Hephaestus didn't give us…wha…what he promised."
"I do not believe that is a sufficient reason to be using such colorful and descriptive language. Two weeks of cleaning the Pegasi stables as punishment." Chiron told the now embarrassed daughter of Athena. Looking at the group of demigods Chiron quickly noticed something was amiss, "where is Thalia?"
The group looked down as no one answered. "I see," said Chiron "come let us discuss this at the Big House." At that, the quest members and Nico made their way to the Big House trying to figure out what to tell the ancient Centaur.
As the demigods sat around the ping pong table, Chiron took his place at the head of the table and asked: "what happened in the labyrinth and where is Thalia?"
The demigods remained silent for a moment as they looked at each other, each wanting the other to say something. Finally, Annabeth said "the quest started out well. Zoe was doing well leading us through the labyrinth when we came to a door. We opened the door only to find ourselves in Alcatraz. We found a hundred-handed-one named Briares who was imprisoned by Kampe." Annabeth went on to tell Chiron how they rescued Briares and everything else from Thalia continuously slapping Zoe on the ass (which Chiro really didn't want to hear about) to running into Janus and Hera, to finding Nico at the Triple G Ranch, to Thalia fighting in the arena and destroying Antaeus, and finally going on a mini-quest for Hephaestus that took them to Mount St. Helens.
At this Zoe took over "the monsters, I believe them to be Telekhines had found us out and began to attack us. We quickly made our way towards the exit but one of them got a lucky hit on Annabeth and was about to finish her off. Neither Bianca or I could reach her in time, fortunately, Thalia had heard us yelling at Annabeth to be careful and she suddenly appeared and saved her. Then, Thalia took part of the energy that she had been absorbing from the volcano and opened a portal that took the three of us back into the labyrinth. She said she would rejoin us after she had taken care of the Telekhines. Unfortunately, the energy she unleashed was staggering, as it caused a number of shockwaves and earthquakes in the labyrinth itself." Zoe said "so we quickly made our way back to Hephaestus's workshop only to be stopped by the sphinx who wanted to play a bloody stupid game so we took care of it and then we made our way to Hephaestus who was about to tell us how to find Daedalus but flashed away because of an emergency but he flashed us back to camp before he left. The last we saw of Thalia; she was in the volcano."
"I do not understand what you meant by Thalia was absorbing the energy from the volcano," Chiron stated.
At this Zoe began to tell the centaur about the powers Thalia would have and already has received from her bonding with Perseus due to their impending marriage.
"Oh, my…that…that certainly explains what else has happened," Chiron replied.
"What?! What else happened?!" Asked a concerned Annabeth.
At this Chiron creates a rainbow and throws a drachma in and asks Iris to show them Mount St. Helens. Instantly a video pops up as a reporter can be heard saying "yes Katie, the country's leading seismologist are baffled at the sudden reactivation of Mount St. Helens. Reports from a renowned seismologist at Cal Tech who is currently hiding his chubby ass under a big fucking table, (yes I watched San Andres) is thatthe tectonic plates underneath the volcano started shifting creating small earthquakes that could be felt for hundreds and hundreds of miles. In fact, there is a danger that the shifting plates under the volcano could affect other tectonic plates as far away as California. Also, we have been told that the temperature of the volcano has increased exponentially as steam can now be seen rising from the volcano as well as an increase in lava production. Seismologist are fearful of an eruption and are asking for the National Guard to start emergency evacuations in all of the towns surrounding the volcano immediately."
"OH MY GODS! THALIA!" Annabeth bellowed as tears began to flow for her best friend.
"Anna…Annabeth…do not…give…give up hope. We knew that her energy would cause havoc inside the volcano, she is very resourceful and I have faith that she found a way out." Zoe said trying to reassure the daughter of Athena.
"REALLY! DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT! THALIA WOULD HAVE TO BE A GOD TO SURVIVE THAT OR HAVE A GOD SAVE HER AND WE ALL KNOW THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" Hissed a visually upset Annabeth .
"Annabeth" …Chiron said "do not lose hope, remember in our world anything is possible. Do you truly believe that Perseus would let Thalia die if there was anything he could do to prevent it? I think not. It has been a trying week for all of you go and get some rest and let us see what we can find out."
"Your…your…right. I…I'm sorry guys I'm upset and just lashed out, I shouldn't have done that." Annabeth said to the quest members.
"It's okay we understand; it was a difficult situation for all of us as well." Bianca said as her eyes suddenly went wide and exclaimed: "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!"
All eyes turned to the screen as someone or something seems to have appeared on the rim of the volcano.
"By the gods!" Zoe bellowed "It…its…"
/\/\/\/\/\
Back on Olympus while Thalia is in the volcano
"Artemis" Perseus called out "we need to go to the council chamber and call for a meeting."
"Why? What's happened?" Artemis asked in a serious tone.
"Things are reaching a breaking point in the labyrinth and he is about to make his move," Perseus said struggling to restrain his anger.
Quickly Perseus and Artemis appeared in the council room to be nearly empty with the exception of Zeus and Hestia who was tending the Hearth. Zeus looked up surprised to see the two gods and asked: "what has happened?"
"Nothing yet Lord Zeus but the quest in the labyrinth is about to reach a critical stage and Ares is about to make his move," Perseus replied.
At this, the sky rumbles as Zeus hissed "Why! Why can we not get one day of peace before everything goes to shit again?!"
"Father please, I understand that this is a stressful time, however, if we can resolve this quickly and efficiently we will be a step ahead of Kronos and deal with that pig of a war god in one fell swoop," Artemis said to her father in an encouraging tone.
"Yes…yes you are right, I am extremely stressed with everything happening all at once. I wish I knew how Lord Odin is able to deal with situations such as this?" Zeus asked out loud.
"Thousands and thousands of years of practice and a loyal council doesn't hurt," Perseus replied with a chuckle.
"I suppose you are correct," Zeus replied with a chuckle of his own as he raised his master bolt and sent a signal for the council to meet.
Soon twelve of the fourteen thrones were filled with that of the war god and Hades being the only one's empty. Zeus looked at his brother's throne and silently cursed as he knew Hades was currently in Hel get his brains fucked out by Hela. Zeus was about to speak when the Bi-Frost opened in the throne room only for it to deposit an unmoving and barely breathing, Hades on the floor.
"Apollo!" Zeus bellowed "See to the condition of Hades! Perseus I thought you said Hades would be fine with Hela?"
"I believe I did Lord Zeus. However, if you remember correctly I also said he would not be the same when he returned. I can assure you that Lord Hades is fine, he…is…just a little…worn out I believe the mortals say." Perseus replied with a smirk.
"Are…are you…telling me…tha…that this is from them having sex?" Asked a surprised and jealous looking Zeus.
"Yes, Hela possess talents in that area not even the love goddesses can match. Or so I have been told." Perseus answered.
At that, Aphrodite sent Perseus a glare that promised death if he repeated that again.
Suddenly an "uuuhhh" came from a prone form of Hades.
"Father, it seems that Uncle is severely dehydrated and has almost no energy left, he will recover with some rest and large doses of Nectar and Ambrosia," Apollo stated.
"Very well help Hades to his throne and provide him with Nectar and Ambrosia." Zeus instructed before he mumbled "lucky bastard."
"What was that dear?" Hera asked with a scowl on her face.
"Oh, I…I just said…he…he was…a dumb bastard, for letting himself get put in this condition" Zeus answered.
"I thought as much," Hera said as she glared at Zeus.
At that, a cough could be heard and everyone turned to see Hades as he struggled to say "brot…brother…I…I may be….be a dumb…dumb bastard…but I…I have the…great pleasure…of…of knowing that… YOU…WIL…WILL NEVER…AND I…I MEAN NEVER…BE…BE FUCKED LIKE I WAS! It…it was… wor…worth this and… so much more." As Hades was remembering his time with Hela and just smiled as he sat back drinking Nectar and eating Ambrosia.
"Uncle H just what did she do to you and is it something I…" Apollo was saying when a silver arrow landed between his legs just before it could hit lil Apollo. "What the fuck sis! That was uncalled for!"
"We are here for a serious matter not so you can satisfy your perverted urges, you moron!" Artemis hissed in return.
"It's still no reason to act like a bitch!" Apollo bellowed trying to be hurtful.
At this, the room went silent as Perseus turned to look at Apollo like he was a soon to be dead immortal. Perseus walked towards his throne with purpose and once he had reached Apollo's throne said in a serious tone "excuse me, but would you mind repeating that?"
"I…I…don…don't remember." A stuttering Apollo replied.
"Oh, you do not remember, well I guess it is a good thing I am the god of time." Perseus said as he waved is hand and a portal appeared and began to replay what Apollo said: "It's still no reason to act like a bitch!"
In the blink of an eye, Perseus had Apollo by the throat and lifted into the air as he feet dangled while he struggled to breathe. "So you call my future wife a bitch because she is concerned for the wellbeing of our other future mate because you have to be immature. I am giving you this one warning do not ever and I mean ever insult her or Thalia again or I will end you!" Perseus bellowed as he dropped Apollo to the floor gasping for air.
"Hermes! Help Apollo back to his throne!" Zeus ordered "and Apollo it would do you well to take these meetings more seriously before something unfortunate does happen."
Apollo nodded as he rubbed his throat while he tried to recompose himself.
"Perseus, Artemis why have you called for this meeting?" Zeus inquired.
Perseus stepped forward and spoke "Lord Zeus, the quest involving the labyrinth has experienced some problems. Unfortunately, the biggest problem has yet to happen, but it will very soon and Ares is about to make his move to capture Thalia."
"Coul…couldn't…the other…quest members…help her?" Zeus asked in shock.
"I believe Hephaestus can give us information on what is happening with the other quest members," Perseus replied.
At this Zeus looked to Hephaestus who nodded and went to speak "yes the demigods had found their way to my workshop through a device I had given Eurytion for allowing me to observe some animals on the Triple G Ranch." Hephaestus went on to describe the offer he made the demigods for their service and what he had discover when they returned, after which he retook his throne.
"Hephaestus, where exactly was this workshop?" Perseus inquired.
"It is in Mt. St. Helens." Came his reply.
"I…I am not familiar with that can you be more specific?" Asked Perseus.
"Yes, it is a volcano," Hephaestus responded.
"Fuck! It is worse than I thought." Perseus hissed surprising the council.
"Perseus, what's wrong? Why is the fact that it is a volcano a problem?" Artemis asked in concern.
After a few deep breathes Perseus asked: "can anyone create a viewing portal and focus it on the volcano in question?"
Zeus nodded at Hermes who created a large portal and focused in on the volcano. When the picture finally appeared the only sound that could be heard was Hermes saying "Fuck me."
"Wha…what…is…is happening…with the vol…volcano?" Zeus asked stuttering the question out.
"There is nothing wrong with the volcano," Perseus replied.
"Are you blind?! It looks like the damn thing is about to erupt!" Zeus exclaimed.
"No, I am not blind and yes I can see that it is about to erupt; however, there is nothing wrong with the volcano. That…" Perseus said pointing towards the portal "That is Thalia and at this moment she is a much bigger problem than some erupting volcano."
"WHAT! Ho…how can…can that…be Thalia?" asked a surprised Zeus.
"Men! Cannot remember a god's damn thing!" Artemis hissed.
At this Zeus looked around confused at why Artemis would say this. Finally, Athena spoke, "father when Lord Odin and yourself announced an alliance between the pantheons through marriage is was said that whomever married Perseus would share in his domains of power. It is relatively safe to assume that this situation with Thalia concerns this power increase. Am I correct?"
"Yes, that is indeed the problem," Perseus replied.
"But why there? Why now?" Hera asked.
Perseus looked at Artemis who nodded and began to speak "it is evident that our godly essences knew we were fated to be before we did. So as we grew closer the bonding ritual had already initiated itself. This allowed us to tap into a part of the powers we will receive once we are married."
Zeus looked on in stunned silence as it took him a moment to comprehend exactly what he had just heard. Thankfully for him Hera asked the question he wanted to ask, "Alright we understand that but what does this volcano have to do with young Thalia?"
With a sigh, Perseus responded "as a child of Zeus, Thalia has control over lightning, however, what most gods do not realize is that lightning is energy given form. As I possess a domain over one of the fundamental forces of the universe so shall Thalia; however, hers will be different than mine. While my domain is over time, hers shall be over energy, meaning she will be able to absorb different types of energy."
"NNNOOO!" Came a loud yell came from Athena, "we must get her out of there! Now!"
"Why Athena? Why?" Zeus asked pleadingly.
"The volcano…" Athena started to say before Zeus interrupted her "what the fuck is it about this volcano?!"
"The damn volcano is active which mean it is creating and spewing heat and lava exponentially. Like with Perseus's situation earlier, it is literally looping itself to create more and more geothermic energy. And if you do not understand what I just said here is the Poseidon version, Thalia will continue to absorb all of that energy until she explodes causing an eruption the likes we have never seen." Athena said in exasperation.
Everyone turned to look at Perseus who just nodded at what Athena had just said.
"Wha…what…ca…can we do?!" Zeus asked in a panic.
"I will go and retrieve Thalia so that I can take her somewhere safe so that she can release the energy without destroying or hurting anyone. And this will allow me to keep her safe from Ares as well." Perseus said, "but first I need information about the volcano from Hephaestus."
"Uumm…yes…from what I can tell at the moment the forge itself is just about destroyed; however, there are secret rooms scattered through the forge that I use for personal projects or to hide from unwanted company." Hephaestus said "you must be careful for if Ares gets to her first and finds one of these room it is possible he will find celestial bronze chains…uh …just laying around."
"What does celestial bronze chains have to do with this?" Perseus asked.
"It…it…will…will restrain… her…her demigod power which might affect the power she gets from you." Hephaestus stuttered out fearfully.
"Fuck! I must leave now!' Perseus hissed as he called out "Heimdall!" to which the Bi-Frost opened. As Perseus walked towards it, he felt a sharp "WHAP!" on the back of his head as he collapsed unconscious as the gods where shocked at what they had just seen. Three seconds later the Bi-Frost disappeared.
/\/\/\/\/\
Meanwhile in an undisclosed location
"UUUUUUHHHH…my…my… head. Wha…what hit…m…me?" came from the mouth of the semiconscious demigoddess. "Wher…where am…I?" Thalia asked as her eyes fluttered open.
She tried to bring one of her hands only to find it bound with chains. Sobering up quickly, Thalia looked around to see that she was bound in chains to a wooden slab and hissed "WHAT THE FUCK! WHERE AM I?! WHO DID THIS TO ME?!"
She lay there and struggled, trying to escape when the sound of a creaking door opening, echoed throughout the room. "Good your awake. Now the real fun can begin." Said a gruff and harsh voice.
"Who the fuck are you?! What do you want?! You have no idea who you're messing with!" Thalia bellowed.
"OOOHHH, feisty just like I like'em." Said the mysterious voice as the figure came into view.
"ARES!" Thalia yelled in surprise.
/\/\/\/\/\
TO BE CONTINUED