Hi guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter and more to come!

Ch 16: The Labyrinth and the Big Mouth Nudge-like mortal

Maximum Ride was a very fun book. It was around 9:00 p.m when I began reading. I don't know how long I have been reading, but when I looked at the page, I was on page 377. Oh man, it was so addicting. Basically, I was reading about a group of kids named Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel who were 2% avian and 98% human. They were running away from Erasers and scientists that were there to capture them back.

At first I was shocked. How could a measly girl lead a whole flock? Sexist right? Deal with it. Fang was alright. He kind of reminded me of Nico. Iggy was definetly an interesting character. Being blind must've have had its perks and disadvantages. Well, more disadvantages than advantages. Nudge was definitely a loudmouth. Her talking got so annoying, it gave me migranes. She was like Willow, but besides her big mouth, she was pretty cool. Definitely someone I'd love to talk to when I'm bored. Angel was defintely someone that gave mixed feelings. Being the youngest of the group next to Gazzy, she was just adorable. Her mind controlling skills were pretty impressive also. I wish I could do that, although I'd hate it if someone invaded my privacy. Gazzy or Gasman was Angel's little sister and had a digestive problem, hence his name Gasman. Though his craving for bombs was amazing. I felt Gazzy needed a bigger role in this book.

Damn. Sorry people. I must've gotten carried away. I didn't mean to rant, honest. Anyways...after reading up to page 390, I finally fell asleep, the book sprawled on my chest. I had a dream, but it was very unusual. I was greeteed by this girl.

"Hey," she told me.

I looked at her.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She just smiled as she showed me her whole form. Her wings extended out of her back as she looked at me.

"Y-Your Maximum Ride," I replied, "I was just reading about you and your flock. You aren't real."

"I'm not real," she agreed, "You're right."

"Then how are you speaking to me?" I asked her.

"Don't you hate dreams like this?" she asked, "Some dreams are based off of what you were thinking before you sleep and I'm guessing you were reading about me?"

I nodded as she smiled again.

"Anyways, I was just wondering, where are we?" she asked, confused.

I looked around equally confused. It was a hazy world. This wasn't like any dream I've ever had. We stood there in comfortable silence, taking in this beautiful yet extremely simple world. My vision went blurry for a bit before I was standing in front of 5 other people with wings. My mouth dropped open as I recognized them immediately.

"Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel," I whispered, awe in my voice.

They looked at me confused as Max beamed at me.

"Who are you?" Fang asked, the dark emo looking dude.

"I'm Percy Jackson," I replied, extending my hand.

Fang looked surprised, but he took my hand. It went through.

"Yeah, it's a dream. That won't work," Max mused.

"Your Percy Jackson, the Percy Jackson," Nudge gasped, "I thought you were just a book. I read all of them you know? The Battle of the Labyrinth? The Last Olympian? Where's Piper? Jason? Leo?!"

Iggy immediately pulled her back.

"Hey, hey, please keep quiet," he hissed as Nudge glared at him.

I didn't get anything she was saying.

"I thought you guys were a book by James Patterson," I replied as they, except Max, looked at me like I was a weirdo.

"James who?" Fang asked confused.

"That's enough guys," Max warned as she turned to me, "I believe you have another dream coming. I can guarantee you this will be the last time you will be seeing us. Enjoy those books, work hard, and good luck!"

I was about to speak, but wind ripped us apart as I fell into a void. This time I was next to the pits of Tartarus.

"Jackson," Kronos said as I loooked in the pit.

"What did I say about sparing the girl?" he softly asked.

I paled and stepped back.

"Answer me when I speak to you," Kronos hissed with each word. I felt an uknown force push me to the pit, "You had a perfect opportunity to kill that Hades and Athena spawn, but you didn't. Instead, you gave them a better chance to win through this war."

"I just couldn't do it Kronos," I replied.

"It's Lord Kronos to you now," he said venemously, "I'm having second thoughts of allowing you to have control of your body. After all, your incompetence may jeopardize our mission and we can't have that, can we?"

"Please. Give me another chance. I know I love her and it's just too hard for me to kill her," I explained to Kronos, "If it was killing anyone else other then someone who I care for, it'd be much more easier."

Kronos seemed to ponder this for a while.

"One more chance Jackson," he told me, "I have a feeling you will run into your friends in the labyrinth and I want them eliminated, alright?"

I nodded.

"Good," he replied, "I am almost prepared to rise. I will be able to rise this year. All you have to do is recruit more and more half bloods. I need...exactly 1 more half blood who will renounce the gods! This is perfect timing! The closest labyrinth entrance is in Central Park. It won't be too hard to find. Before you venture into the labyrinth, I must warn you and everyone that you will easily get lost in the Labyrinth. Be careful, Perseus, and kill the enemies."

"Oh my Titans," I muttered under my breath as the light shined in my eyes.

The Maximum Ride book was still sprawled on my chest. I grabbed it, panting. Did this actually happen? Was this dream real? I got up groggily and washed up and got ready for the day. I went down to the Dining Hall to get breakfast.

I was still creeped out about the fact of Kronos being disappointed in me, and killing Annabeth and Bianca.

Annabeth, I could have killed her with a few hesitant thoughts. But Bianca was just a big no-no.

Swallowing, I went into the hall and stood in the line for breakfast. Willow and Bob and Luke were already eating. Thalia was nowhere to be seen.

Soon enough, I was ordering my breakfast.

"The usual please," I said, and the chef nodded. In a speedy minute or two, the chef handed me a plate full of food and I made my way to the table.

Sitting next to Willow, I joined in on the conversation.

"How was your sleep Percy?" Bob asked as I wouldn't look at his eyes.

"Uh yeah, very good! Why wouldn't it be good, you know?" I asked.

It was obvious everyone saw through my lie.

"You lie," Bob replied.

"What gave it away?" I muttered sourly.

"Your eyes dilated, your breath became shaky, you were sweating, fidgeting, and your a horrible horrible liar," Bob told me as I sighed.

Willow snickered, but then turned serious, "Why? What was in your dream? Can you tell us?"

I sighed, but relented when I saw the looks of Luke, Willow, and Bob. And Thalia wasn't here so that was a plus. She'd probably tear me apart.

"Ok so I was met by Kronos again," I began, completely disregarding my dream about Max, "He told me that the closest labyrinth entrance was in Central Park and he will rise when 1 more person joins him."

"That's amazing news!" Luke exclaimed, "Why were you so reluctant to tell us this?"

"Kronos wants me to kill Annabeth and Bianca the next chance I get," I sadly explained, "And I could kill Annabeth with slight hesitation, but I don't think I'll be able to kill Bianca."

Luke growled, "She was the bitch who pushed you off the cliff and you still want spare her? Percy, this is crazy!"

"She may have pushed me off, but that won't be able to tear our love apart," I declared, "Our love is capable of going through twists, turns, strains, and trials, but my love for her will never waver!"

I winced, realizing how much I sounded like a child of Aphrodite. They were staring at me like I was crazy.

"Ok, ignore that rant, it's just...man, I'm so glad Thalia's not here right now," I said and at that exact moment, Thalia decided to come.

"Why are you glad that I'm not here right now?" came the voice.

"Umm, how much did you hear?" I asked.

Thalia glared at me and I knew she heard at least a lot.

"Oh, you know, up to the part where you confessed your undying love to Bianca!" she exclaimed, "Are you that stupid? She's going to get you killed and also, she's a daughter of Hades! Hades! If you won't kill her, I will."

I narrowed my eyes, "You will do no such thing Thalia. You're gonna have to get through me if you want Bianca dead."

She took out her spear, knowing fully well I was invincible. I took out Hellfire. We glared at each for a while, the others looking at us warily.

"Woah guys," Luke said warningly.

"I will kill her," Thalia spat, "She almost killed you! You want me to spare her?!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do!" I hissed. "Don't you dare touch her."

"You'll actually forgive her? Wow, your fatal flaw is really loyalty," Thalia said bitingly. "You really are a weenie."

"I'll take care of her myself," I snapped, not in the mood for a fight.

Thalia blinked. "So you're going to kill her?"

"No," I exclaimed. "I thought I made that clear! I'm just going to...uh...deal with her."

Thalia glared at me. I thought she'd snap back, but surprisingly, she relented. "Just hurt her a bit."

I nodded, and we both sat down.

I saw Bob letting out a breath. What a weenie. Ha.

"Anyways, are we going to Central Park or what?" Willow asked, lightening the mood. I nodded, and inhaled the rest of my food and we headed out of the hall.

"I'll get the pegasi," I muttered, and went to the stables. I particulary enjoyed being in the stables. It smelled sweet, like oats and alfalfa, but overall, horses just connected with me easily.

"Hey boss," Blackjack knickered. "Need to get somewhere?"

"Yup," I said, before thinking a minute, "And this time, there'll be donuts."

"DONUTS!" Blackjack whinnied.

"Donuts, did he just say donuts?" Guido exclaimed.

"Mm, I haven't had me some keylime for a while!" Porkpie said dreamily.

"If we get there extra fast, I'll get you extra," I promised.

"I knew I had to eat the rest of my oats!" Blackjack said, "This day is just my day!"

"Alright, let's go," I said.

I opened the stable doors and Blackjack rammed past me, to the deck.

"Wait for us!" Guido and Porkpie exclaimed, and they ran ahead too.

Grinning, I raced to the deck, where Thalia, Willow, Luke, and Bob stood. My eyes widened.

As I approached them, Willow raised an eyebrow. "Leave it to Percy to forget the number of people he was going with."

"We'll have to share," Luke said, taking lead. "Bob can go with Percy, Willow, you get Porkpie to yourself."

Willow smirked smugly at me and I groaned.

"The feeling's mutual," Bob muttered into my ear.

I shuddered and motioned Bob to go first. He made a face.

"I don't want your arms around me," Bob hissed, glaring at Luke.

Luke raised his arms. "Okay, okay. Willow with Percy, Bob, you go by yourself."

Willow shot me a look I couldn't read, and she got on first.

I climbed on the back, wrapping my arms hesitantly around her waist.

"Uh...I'll go with Thalia," Luke blushed, and they sat on Guido. I snickered.

"Okay guys, to central-WOAH!"

The pegasi took off before my signal, and we were up in the air. The loved the wind blowing in my face and I sighed.

"Faster, faster!" Blackjack urged, and my eyes widened.

So the whole ride, we were speeding through the air at probably 90 miles per hour. It felt like I was riding a rollercoaster.

When we approached Central Park, I was sure we had gotten there in 15 minutes.

When we landed, Bob hurled into a hedge. Willow smirked, her hair windblown and wild. Thalia, however hadn't recievered the blessing of having perfect hair after riding a pegasus, 90 miles per hour.

Her hair was spiky and tangled.

"Thalia, honey," Luke said, his eyes widening.

"That's a hot mess," I cackled. Willow kicked me in the shins.

Luke stepped away from Thalia, abandoning his attemps to tame her hair.

"Anyways, we need to find the Dedalus mark," Luke said loudly. "C'mon, let's search."

"What exactly does it-"

"Oh. My. Gosh!" a girl's voice shrieked, and I looked up, seeing a redhead barreling towards us.

My eyes widened, and I took out Hellfire and stabbed her gut. Except it passed her.

"Mortal," Luke hissed.

"What is that?!" the redhead screeched. "Is that a sword? Wow, that is-Gah! How do you have that? And the pegasi over there. Am I dreaming? I knew my hallucinatios are true? Are these real?! Let me touch one. Move it! And why are you guys glaring at me? I mean, who are you people, carrying illegal weapons and riding pegasi? I mean-"

I snapped my fingers. "This is a dream. It isn't real."

The girl blinked, staring at me. At first I thought the mist worked. "Uh...weirdo."

Thalia rolled her eyes and stepped up to the girl. She snapped, and the saw the Mist ripple.

"This is a dream. Percy's holding the swords in Star Wars, and the pegasi are fat pigeons."

The redhead's eyes widened. "There it is again! The ripples in the air!"

"Sight," Willow mumbled under her breath.

"Can you tell me anything about what I'm seeing? I know you guys aren't normal people; you guys have a different aura. Why am I seeing things? Why do you-"

"You're like Nudge," I mumbled, and my group stared at me.

"What?" Luke demanded.

"You read Maximum Ride?" the redhead exclaimed. "So do I? Who's your favorite character? I like Nudge, personally. Max is too...I don't know, she's obviously a bit bossy and I just don't like her whole attitude..."

"Well...Max is the leader of the flock so in order to keep the flock in check, you must be firm. I mean I respect her skills. Who knew she could keep the flock in check?," I said excitedly.

"My name's Rachel Elizabeth Dare, by the way," Rachel said, her eyes glowing. "And totally, I agree."

"I'm Percy Jackson," I answered, "Nice to meet you and these are my friends Bob, Willow, Luke, and Thalia."

She stared at them with awe and looked back at me, smiling.

"Sorry to break the party up, but we need to go," Willow cut in, her voice tight.

"Do you have to go so soon? We were just getting started," she hinted winking while I stared at her dumbly.

"I can't believe your warming up to a stranger this quickly," Luke muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, sorry Rachel," I apologized, "Got to destroy the world, you know?"

Willow hit me hard.

"We're trying to make the world a better place, not destroy it," Willow told me.

I ignored her as Rachel's eyes softened with disappointment.

"Call me," Rachel said quickly and grabbed a marker from her pocket and scrawled a number on my forearm. "See you. You need to explain a bunch of things."

She ran off, and I stood there, stunned.

Willow glared at me. "You're not going to call her...Right?"

"Of course I'll call her! Actually I'm not really sure yet," I smirked, "Let's go find the Daedalus sign already."

"If you plan on forming a relationship with her, go ahead," Thalia grinned, "Dump Bianca for that mortal. That would make my day."

"Yeah, cause I'd do that," I replied sarcastically.

"Don't you

"Donuts!" Blackjack cried.

"Uh, Thalia, can you go to the donut shop and get us two boxes of donuts?" I asked. "The mist can be money."

Thalia gave me a grudging smile and left.

A few minutes later, we all were eating donuts. The pegasi got one box, and we shared the second box.

"This is delicious," Luke moaned.

"I know right," I said, "Glazed donuts are the best!"

"You know how bad donu-" Bob began, but Luke and I shot Bob a withering glare.

"Shut up Bob!" we yelled as he put his hands up.

Thalia tried not to hard to snicker, but failed and ended up laughing.

Willow glared at us. She was the only one who hadn't had seconds for donuts. "I found the Daedalus mark. Let's get to business."

"Eh," I muttered.

"Come." Willow kicked Luke and me on the back. "On!"

"Sheesh," Luke mumbled. "Women."

"What?" Thalia and Willow asked deathly calm, "What about woman? Choose your words wisely Castellen or goodbye to your tongue...forever."

"Nothing," he squeaked.

I grabbed the last glazed donut and took a big bite of it.

Luke licked his lips as he looked at my donut with envy and determination. I narrowed my eyes.

"Okay, where is it?" I asked.

Willow sighed. "Over there, by the wall."

The "wall" was the stone engravement that showed the park's name, which was obviously, Central Park.

In the corner was the Dedalus sign. Luke pressed it, and it opened. My eyes widened as I saw the dark tunnel.

I ate the rest of the donut, savoring the sweetness. Luke looked at me with disappointment, but he looked at my fingers which were covered with donut shavings...if that's what you call it. He licked his lips.

"Don't you fucking think about it Luke," I warned, "I'll pound your face in before you even touch me."

Luke looked shocked for a second, but he immediately covered it up with a grin. He approached me slowly as I backed away slowly. I was staring at him to see what he would do next. As he approached me again, the walls slammed shut as the darkness receded into the labyrinth.

"Are you serious you guys?" Willow asked, "As you were joking around being dumb-asses, the labyrinth closed shut. What the heck is your problem? Do you guys think this is funny? Why are you guys idiots? Can you guys do anything correctly? How limited are your brains?"

I went behind her and clapped her on her temple, rendering her unconscious. She fell to the ground, but I held her before she could hit the ground.

"Bad idea you know that?" Bob whimpered, "When she wakes up...she'll be pissed. Oh titans."

Luke was pacing around, perspiration evident.

"Don't worry, I have the Styx's curse, remember?" I asked, but that did nothing to ease the worry.

"Yes, but the Styx won't protect you against migraines," Luke told me, "Or massive headaches that will give you suicidal thoughts."

"Your kidding," I told them, traces of humor gone.

They shook their head mournfully as Thalia snickered.

"Good luck Percy and oh look," Thalia said, "She's waking up."

We looked at her nervously as she blinked once, twice.

"W-Where?" she asked as she rose up.

I fake smiled and waved. Her face turned from curiosity to realization to anger to pure rage.

"Perseus Fuckson, your fucking DEAD!" she yelled as she ran to me.

Crap was the only word I thought as I braced myself.

End of Chapter. Sorry about the Maximum Ride reference...I just couldn't resist. :(