A / N: Sorry, it's not a long chapter, but I wanted to post it anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO *insert witty joke here*.

8

I was trapped. I knew it. I was in no state to run, or fight for that matter. Then Stylaen let out a deafening screech. At first I thought it was a battle cry, but then I realised it was a howl of pain. A sword was cutting its way through the thin leathery skin of the Stylaen's wing. Only the point of the sword was visible, but I recognised it immediately. I only knew one person with a black tipped sword. Leo.

The Stylaen retracted its injured wing to reveal Jack and Leo, standing side by side, covered in sweat and dirt. Even though I was angry with them, I couldn't help but feel relieved. Leo began to fight the Stylaen, darting back and forth, stabbing and slashing where ever he could.

"Maia!" called Jack, beckoning me with his hand.

Should I follow them? I needed to at this moment, but if Leo was going to be just as insensitive, I wouldn't stay with them. Jack reached out to grab my arm, but the invisible barrier that my charmspeak created was still there, blocking his way. His face fell.

"This way," he said.

I hobbled as fast as I could towards Jack, as he pressed a little triangle in the wall. An exit to the outside world. I stumbled a little on my way but Jack couldn't get close enough to help me, and I didn't want him to.

When I was outside, it felt like I was feeling the heat of the sun for the first time. An incredible warmth spread through my body, and all my limbs relaxed. Leo hurried after us, and closed the door to the labyrinth behind him, slamming in on the Stylaen's terrifying jaws.

We had ended up in a small patch of green grass next to a stretch of pretty cafes with hanging pots dangling from hooks along the buildings. I was so happy to see the sunlight, I tried to run out. I fell against the wall, desperately trying to keep my face clear of pain. I looked down at my leg. The blood had completely soaked through the bandages, and was dripping red spots on to the ground. I caught Leo looking at it, but he quickly averted his eyes. Jack too, stayed silent, but handed me a fresh roll on bandages. I began to unroll the bandages to reveal the wound. The cut was ugly and mangled, looking worse than before. The skin around it was green and purple.

I grimaced, and began to apply the fresh bandages. Jack looked like he was going to be sick.

Leo looked furious.

"What were you thinking!" he burst out.

"Trying to find my Dad," I said, my defiance slightly muted by the fact that I almost fell over trying to standing up. "And I'm going to do it without your help."

Leo's face was stormy. "I have to help you Maia! You aren't capable of holding the fight by yourself! And all of us –" he gestured to the three of us "- come first, before anyone, including your Dad, but you don't seem too care if your father makes it or not, because even though you are his last chance, you are out there risking your life, and his too. When we saw the crumbled concrete, I thought you were dead, Maia. I really did. But you don't seem to care. You never think before you act, Maia. You're ruthless and irrational, and I really don't need that right now."

I was furious. "Well, unlike you, I put my Dad first. And I'm sorry Leo, but I have lived with my dad all my life, so I suppose befriending you last summer was just another one of my ruthless, irrational decisions."

Leo looked shocked, and Jack looked confused and conflicted. He looked like he was about to say something, but I cut him off.

"Seeing as I'm the only one who cares if my Dad actually makes it or not, I'm leaving," I said.

"Maia, that's not what I meant," said Leo lowly.

"No," I said. "Don't try to apologize Leo. You've already made your opinion perfectly clear."

With that, I picked up my bag and walked out on them, leaving the boys in shocked silence. Leo had made it very clear that if the choice came up, he would chose me over my Dad. However sweet it might seem, I came here to get my Dad, no matter what happened to me in the process. And why did Leo hate the labyrinth so much? I mean, I now hated it too, but his hate seemed to run much deeper. Still, his personal issues shouldn't be able to get in the way of me and my Dad.

My lip started trembling anyway, not because of the pain it was taking to walk, but because no matter how furious Leo had made me, I didn't want us to end up like this. The hole in my heart had grown, from Emma to Dad and then to Leo. But I was strong. I wouldn't lie around and cry like other girls. I would keep on going, the way I always had.

I looked around at where I was. I was walking down the strip of that ran from the park we had first popped up in to what looked like a harbour. The labyrinth had taken us somewhere completely different. Where was I? At least I wasn't in the middle of the country.

I began to look at the signs on the shops, trying to distract my mind. It didn't work. What was it with Leo? He was just so angry all of a sudden. In a way, he was right, too. I did make rash decisions, and now I'd stuck us in who knows where. I don't care what he thinks, I reminded myself. I'd save my Dad alone.

I stopped dead, facing a hardware store. Not because I wanted tools for home renovating, but because of the sign. It read: San Diego Hardware. San Diego. My dad was here somewhere …

I smiled to myself. Another rash decision turning out the way I meant it to. I sat down on a bench on the edge of the sidewalk, letting out a sigh. I had made it.

"Hey! That girl has a knife!" said a man as he walked out of the hardware store, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

I looked down at my waist where my sword was still strapped in its sheath. Every now and then it would flicker to the image of a knife, and then back to a sword. The Mist was making it look like a knife to the mortals. I hurriedly unstrapped my sword and shoved it into my bag. The bag was limp and ragged; its left strap was almost completely severed, only a few threads keeping it together. I pulled some bobby pins out of my hair for a temporary fix, and started walking. It was best move on, away from the hardware store, and hope that the man hadn't spread the news of a teenage girl carrying a knife.

Now that I was here, in San Diego, I realised that I still didn't know what I was looking for. My Dad could be anywhere, from a rundown house to an underground lair, and I didn't know San Diego well enough to spot something out of the normal. I guess I could ask the locals …

I stopped at the nearest café, and approached the nicest looking lady at one of the outdoor tables.

"Excuse me?" I asked timidly.

The lady looked up. She appeared to be middle aged, and there were friendly laugh lines around her eyes. "Yes?

I bit my lip, unsure on how to begin. "I was just wondering … have you noticed anything unusual? I mean, something odd? Just around the city?"

Wow, I was bad at this.

The lady looked puzzled. "Not really. Actually, yes," she amended. "A couple weeks ago a large cruise ship arrived in the harbour, not that that's unusual, of course, but this one had these funny symbols on it. They looked like Greek writing, actually."

Bingo.

The lady frowned. "Are you a journalist or something?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm just looking for someone. Thanks heaps."

The lady gave a confused smile and wave, and then went back to sipping her coffee.

I began hobbling off to the harbour. A ship? Maybe. It would explain the water and the rocking feeling, I guess. It might not be it, but it was worth checking out. The Greek runes definitely made sense anyhow.

Within the time it took to walk to the harbour the temperature had risen by the tenfold. Clusters of people were huddled underneath the shade of trees and buildings. I pulled of my red jumper, sticky with sweat.

At the harbour, I didn't even have to walk to the end of the pier to find the boat. I saw the cruise ship straight away, and the lady was right; there were Greek letters in it, painted in blood red on the hull. The ship was the only boat on its section of the pier, pumping out oil into the water in grey rainbow swirls. There was an environmentalist glaring at it from the dock, yelling stuff like "Evil polluter!" and "Smelly petrol face!"

The only way on to the ship was by walking up the thin metal ramp that led from the ship to the pier. Direct approach it is.

I began to walk down the floating wooden pier and the further I got, the colder it was and soon enough I was reaching for my jumper again. Up close, the ship was ginormous. It was the sort of ship that you would hope to buy after you won 50 million in the lottery. I didn't have much time to admire, however, as the moment I put my foot down on the metal ramp three ugly bronze Stylaens flew down from the ship and blocked my way. The middle Stylaen clicked together its thin pointy teeth, and I drew my sword out of my backpack. So what if I had to fight them to get to my Dad? I brandished my sword and the Stylaen backed away, hissing.

"You wouldn't really try to hurt my pets, would you now?" said the voice.

A / N: Review unless you wish to suffer a very untimely death! ... not really, I just wanted to quote Dumbledore.