AN: Here I am again, back with another exciting installment of A Light In the Dark! Hope you enjoy, can't say I'm one hundred percent happy with this chapter, but after three attempts I'm content enough to post it.

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( - )

(Last Time)

At the sight of the junkyard, Zoe, who was still at the front, stopped moving.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? Let's go, the town is right there." Thalia said as she made to continue forward.

Before she could, however, Zoe held out an arm blocking her path.

Glancing from Zoe to the junkyard, Percy frowned as he once again felt the air around them grow heavier with foreboding.

Whatever that junkyard was, it was not a normal junkyard.

( - )

Chapter 13

( - )

(With Percy)

The junkyard seemed to go on forever, and with the sunlight beginning to dim as the afternoon rapidly gave way to the evening and night began to close in, the hills of metal and rubbish on either side of them started looking more and more forbidding.

Already, it was starting to feel like the junkyard was a complex labyrinth made up of enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal, with small, narrow pathways twisting this way and that in all directions, and yet here they all were, trying to navigate their way through, with Zoe still in the lead, and Phoebe bringing up the rear.

The ground was litter strewn and mostly flat, and aside from the occasional pile of detritus, it had all been too easy. So far, they hadn't come across any monsters, nor any mortals, or even any animals. The junkyard was completely deserted, and maybe because there was nobody around, an unsettling silence had fallen upon them as they made their way through the hills of both trash and treasure.

Looking around as he walked, Percy could see piles of metal objects glinting in the last remnants of the evening light: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

It was an eclectic mix of old and new, and a clear sign that there was something supernatural about the junkyard.

It definitely had something to do with the divine.

They all knew it, just as they all knew they shouldn't be there, which was something Zoe had impressed upon soon after they entered. Additionally, she had also told them, in the strictest way possible, that they were not to touch or take anything, as apparently, if it had been left in the junkyard then it was most likely either defective, broken, or worst of all, cursed. She'd made sure to give him a flat look as she gave that warning.

Suffice to say, after hearing those ominous words, they'd all agreed to keeping their hands to themselves, even him, and looking around now he was glad they had. He could practically feel the dangerous, forbidding, and suffocating atmosphere, the place gave off.

"The stars are starting to come out," Zoe said suddenly, disturbing the unsettling silence that had fallen upon the group.

Peering up into the dusky sky, Percy saw that she was right. There were millions of them, especially with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"Amazing," Bianca said quietly, looking up too. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way before."

"This is nothing," Zoe replied, a hint of nostalgia creeping into her voice. "In the days of old, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared since then, because of human light pollution."

"You talk like you're not human any more," Thalia replied, her gaze shifting from the stars to Zoe.

Turning his head slightly, Percy couldn't help but smile as he looked between his two quest mates. Despite being allies, and in spite of the importance of their mission, there was still a noticeable tension between the two of them. They just didn't get on in any way, shape or form.

Zoe raised an eyebrow in response to Thalia's statement, her coal-black eyes meeting electric blue. "Maybe that's because I'm not. Instead, I am a Hunter, and unlike humans, we care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"

"For you," Thalia corrected, easily dodging the question, as she instead smirked at Zoe's mistake. "Not thee"

It was petty, and definitely the kind of thing he would have done.

"But you use 'you' for the beginning of a sentence." Zoe scowled back.

"And for the end," Thalia returned, her grin widening. "No thou. No thee. Just you"

"I hate this language. It changes too often!" Zoe groaned, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

"It's a mortal thing. Their language, culture, society, technology, fashions, architecture, and even religions, are all in constantly in flux, constantly changing with the times and trends of the era. Humanity might be a young race, or at least compared to the gods of old. But they're also adaptable, and versatile, and contain boundless, limitless potential. Given enough time, and enough pressure, they will change and conform to not only survive in any situation, but thrive. In some ways, they're like cockroaches." Percy smiled, as an oddly whimsical feeling rushed through him, even as he looked up at the vast, endless night sky and smiled.

At the sight of the moon, he felt a pang of sadness shoot through his heart.

All four of them looked at him, a myriad of expressions on their faces.

"Okay, now I'm curious, are you even human?" Thalia asked dryly, her lips quirking upwards into a bemused smile.

Percy smiled. "Are any of us, considering we're all, as far as I know, at least half divine?"

"Being human is about more than your blood and your origins." Thalia shot back, a frown now on her face. "It's both a state of mind, and a state of being, and it is our humanity that separates us from being like the gods and monsters."

Zoe scowled.

Percy, meanwhile, grinned as he once again felt an influx of amusement rushing through him. Those words reminded him very much of his own thoughts and views on the subject. He and Thalia had a lot in common that way. "True, having a bit of humanity in us is what separates us from being like godless monstrosities, or the monstrous gods..."

Thunder rumbled overhead, making Bianca and the usually tough Phoebe flinch, even as Thalia scowled up at the heavens, and Zoe frowned suspiciously at him.

"That's not the first time I've heard that phrasing…" Zoe muttered, her eyes, which were mirror images of his own, narrowing as she met his gaze steadily. "Or that opinion…"

"Are you accusing me of plagiarism?" Percy shot back mildly. "Because, I'll have you know, I'm entirely original!"

Zoe hummed in response, her eyes still narrowed.

"I recognised it too!" Bianca piped up suddenly, drawing all eyes to her, which in turn made her blush faintly.

"Uh huh," Percy hummed, eyeing the two girls oddly. "Well, what can I say, I'm an easily quotable person, practically a modern day icon!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes.

Thalia let out a snort of amusement.

"It's been nagging at me for a while, but the more time I spend with you listening to what you say, and watching what you do, it keeps reminding me of… someone… someone I've met before, once… someone that I feel like I've forgotten..." Bianca continued, ignoring his previous comment, her brow instead furrowing as she continued to gaze at him, her intense black eyes boring into his own, equally black eyes.

"Like a long-lost lover?" Thalia chipped in, a cheeky smirk on her face.

Phoebe, Bianca, and Zoe shot her looks of disgust.

Percy meanwhile, cringed. "Come on, Thalia, that's gross, she's like thirteen…."

"Point taken," Thalia acknowledged, wincing as she too apparently clocked onto just what she had said. "So…, err, what do you actually mean then?"

"I don't know," Bianca sighed, her tone laced with frustration. "I remember meeting him, or someone like in the hotel, Nico and I stayed at before going to Westover, but it's like, it's like I can't quite remember who it was I met, or whether it was him…, or even how long ago it was, but it can't have been that long ago… maybe a couple of months at most…"

"I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever met you before," Percy replied carefully. "And I've definitely not stayed in a hotel, like, well, ever…. I've mostly been camping, squatting, couch-surfing or, you know, staying in sleazy motels for the last few years."

"I'd never have guessed…," Phoebe muttered snidely. "Scavenger."

Percy shot her a sour look, as did Thalia.

She had a point, but still, it was a bitchy comment.

"Bianca," Zoe suddenly scowled, her expression intense as she tore her gaze from Percy and looked at the younger girl. "This hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

"How did you know that?" Bianca asked, her eyes widening as she turned to look at the older girl.

Phoebe and Zoe both shared dark looks.

To him, it was obvious they knew something the rest of them didn't.

"Wait," Thalia asked, confused. "What is the Lotus Casino?"

"No idea," Percy lied. He'd been given a basic backstory about the siblings by Alecto after he had taken the mission, but no more than that. He had heard they'd been trapped in the Lotus Hotel and Casino for decades, a place where time apparently stood still. But in terms of the specifics... well, he didn't know much more. "I don't think I've ever come across it before..."

"It's the modern day den of the Lotus-eaters. It's designed to make those trapped there never want to leave. In that place, time has no meaning. It exists within a plane separate from the mortal one." Zoe replied, her expression twisting in distaste at the mention of the 'Lotus-eaters'.

"No," Bianca said, shaking her head in denial. "No, that's not possible."

"Wait, what?" Percy piped up, his eyes alight with interest. Zoe apparently knew far more than he had imagined, then again, considering she was ancient, maybe that wasn't such a surprise. "Does that mean you could potentially stay there indefinitely? Like, you could be immortal and stay in a fancy hotel getting pampered for the rest of time? Because I'll be honest, that sounds pretty awesome!"

It sounded a bit like the Hotel Valhalla, only this one was open to more than just valorous Norse demigods. That, and it also wouldn't fade from existence once the Ragnarok began. Previously he'd been thinking of giving it a look, but now it sounded like a pretty cool vacation spot.

"It's not a place anyone should choose to enter willingly, let alone stay…" Zoe cautioned darkly. "The lotuses they eat are a narcotic that causes apathy to anyone who ingests them. Anyone who eats the lotuses, or who spends too long there, they forget their home and loved ones, they lose any sense of ambition or meaning in their lives. They just exist. They don't create anything, go anywhere, or experience anything new or interesting. Furthermore, they are bereft of purpose and meaning, and instead just linger on mindlessly, living for the sake of living. If thou were to stay there too long, thou might eventually lose any sense of self and just… fade away. It's a cursed place, and one that I would warn thou to never venture into, Perseus."

"Noted," Percy nodded, his stomach churning in revulsion at the thought of being trapped in such a desolate, pointless place. Maybe he wouldn't give it a visit after all. "But if that's the case, how did Bianca and her brother end up there, and more importantly, how did they escape?" He knew the answer, but he was curious about whether Bianca remembered too.

"No, that's not…, it's not…" Bianca struggled to speak, stopping entirely now as she instead stared at Zoe in growing horror.

"Bianca," Thalia asked, her expression grim. "Can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"

"D-Don't be silly," Bianca said. "It's George Bush."

"And who was the president before that?" Zoe asked softly, sharing a pointed look with Thalia.

The tone was completely alien to how she normally sounded.

It was full of sadness, comfort and compassion.

It sounded like she was about to try and break some horrifically bad news to someone she cared about.

Which was perhaps apt, as from what he could see, that was exactly what she was about to do.

"Roosevelt." Bianca replied nervously, her eyes shifting from side to side.

"Theodore or Franklin?" Zoe grimaced.

"Franklin," Bianca said, her tone wavering. "F.D.R."

"Bianca," Zoe said carefully. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago…"

"T-That's impossible," Bianca stuttered, her eyes wide. "I… I'm not that old."

Thalia's eyes turned sad. "It's okay, Bianca, The important thing is you are safe. You made it out."

"Well shit," Percy muttered, glancing away from the girl now, even as she appeared to be on the verge of a having a full-blown panic attack.

He couldn't help but feel bad for the girl now that he'd actually got to know her a little bit. After all, everyone she had once known, all the friends she'd had growing up, were all either old men or women at this point, or considering there had been a war on at the time, dead. She really had been dealt a shit hand.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.

Comforting an emotionally vulnerable girl, who was on the verge of having a panic attack, was not his forte.

Looking away instead, he found his eyes drawn to his surroundings, only for him to once again see that very same pair of cold, avian yellow eyes peering at him from a shadowy pile of junk; which consisted of a crown, a cool looking guitar and a damaged, looking solid gold sculpture of a tree.

Licking his lips, he nodded, and looked back at the rest of the group.

They'd come to a stop now, even as Bianca continued to spiral.

"Hey, Bianca, just breathe, it's going to be alright." Thalia said, reaching out to the younger, dark haired girl as she did so.

Zoe looked uncertain, and was biting her lip.

Just like him, she too looked very much out of her element.

Phoebe just looked confused and uncomfortable.

"No, no, I can't…, I just…" Bianca shouted, shaking her head in denial as she flinched away from Thalia's touch, her eyes wide and scared as she looked around at the four of them.

"Bianca-" Thalia tried again.

"No!" Bianca shouted, interrupting her, her voice panicked as she then turned and ran.

"Wait!" Thalia shouted, chasing after her.

"Don't go off on your own!" Zoe added in, her eyes widening as she too gave chase, Phoebe on her tail. Her eyes momentarily shifted to him as she sprinted past. "Come on, Perseus, we have to catch up to her before she gets herself hurt or lost!"

"Right," Percy nodded, sparing another glance over at the now dark and empty shadows, even as he knelt down for a moment to tuck his laces into his boots. "Right."

Taking a moment, he then gave chase as well, his legs pumping as he flooded them with the stored solar energy from within his body, his feet loudly pounding on the frozen, hard packed ground as he chased after Thalia and Phoebe, who were both now pursuing Zoe, who was in turn rapidly catching up to the fleeing Bianca.

Bianca might be a Hunter now as well as a demigod, but Zoe had two thousand years of experience, training and conditioning on her, which meant that despite having a head start and the Blessing of Artemis, it only took Zoe less than a minute to find and catch up with the distraught daughter of Hades.

Skirting around the pathway, Percy caught up with the rest – they'd all come to a stop in a large clearing –, only for his eyes to widen as he saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead, the lights of a distant highway stretching through the desert were just visible. They were nearly out.

Unfortunately, between them and the road, there was a pretty significant obstruction…

"W-What is that?" Bianca gasped, her panic taking a back seat for the moment as she instead stared ahead at the mass of metal in front of her.

Letting out a sigh, Percy eyed it warily.

In front of them was a hill, one which was much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of an American football field and as tall as its goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

"They look like—" Thalia muttered.

"Toes," Phoebe finished grimly.

Bianca, her eyes red and her cheeks still stained with tears, nodded, her mouth agape. "Really, really large toes."

Zoe and Thalia exchanged nervous looks.

Percy meanwhile grimaced, he recognised it for what it was.

His knowledge of mythology was slightly spotty in places, but even he knew what it was he was looking at.

"Let's go around," Thalia said softly into the silence. "Far around."

"Bianca," Zoe said, her hand on the younger girl's shoulders. "You're not alone, you have Lady Artemis and the Hunt, and we'll always be here for you."

"Damn right," Phoebe nodded gruffly.

Bianca nodded, her mouth still open slightly as her still shiny eyes traced across the colossal form in front of her.

It appeared, she too had recognised it, or at least had an inkling of what it was.

"But for now, we need to move, and quickly." Zoe continued, her grip on the younger girl's shoulder tightening.

"I second that." Percy nodded, his expression grim.

"Consider it third-ed." Thalia added.

With that said, they made their move. All five of them walking as quickly as they could as they swiftly and silently found their way around the obstruction, and continued on towards the nearby highway.

Or at least they tried too.

Just metres before they could make it to the lonely, black asphalt road, and freedom, a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal rang out behind them, breaking the silence that had previously covered the ominous junkyard.

Whirling around at the sound, all five of them could only watch as the gigantic scrap mountain behind them started boiling, and rising up.

Craning his neck, Percy felt this throat go dry, even as he unconsciously sent out a final prayer to Melinoe. She might not be his actual mother, and almost certainly had an ulterior motive, but right now, she was probably the only one that truly had his back.

The thing that had risen up from the metal was a colossal, bronze giant in full Greek battle armour.

He was impossibly tall — a skyscraper with legs and arms.

His gleaming metal flesh shone wickedly in the moonlight, even as he looked down on them. His once stern and noble face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints audibly creaked and snarled with rust and neglect, and across his armoured chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words: WASH ME.

But despite the condition he was in, he still cut a terrifying, awe inducing figure.

"Talos!" Zoe gasped.

"W-Who's Talos?" Bianca stuttered.

"One of Hephaestus's creations," Thalia said, her voice shaky. "But that can't be the original. It's too small. A prototype, maybe. A defective model."

The metal giant apparently didn't like the word defective, as at her words, and with a sound like a fast moving avalanche, he moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his gigantic weapon in a single vicious motion. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, it was the sound of metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easily, and despite looking rusted and dull, it still looked deadly.

"Why did it wake up?" Zoe muttered. "It shouldn't have woken up! Unless someone took something?"

She glanced around at the rest of them.

Not that any of them had a chance to respond because at that moment the giant, defective Talos took one thunderous step forwards, closing half the distance between him and them in an instant, and making the ground shake as he did so.

"Run!" Phoebe shouted.

Percy grimaced in response. It was a great idea, except unfortunately it was also pointless.

With just a leisurely stroll, this thing could outdistance all five of them easily with just a few steps.

"Split up!" Percy shouted instead, already running, as he quickly grabbed Bianca and Thalia by their arms and tugged them away.

Reacting quickly, Zoe and Phoebe did the same except in the other direction, both of them quickly peeling away, even as Percy released his grip on Thalia and Bianca, and continued running, both of them now sprinting alongside him.

"Try to confuse it!" Thalia shouted, splitting off from him and Bianca as she tore off down one of the pathways.

Nodding, he also split off, a small ball of fire forming in the palm of his hand as he tried to plan out how best to take down the mechanical monstrosity behind them.

In the distance, he could spy Phoebe and Zoe both doing the same, both of them were nocking arrows on their bowstrings as they ran.

In response, the giant swung his sword around and smashed a nearby tower of junk to pieces, sending tonnes of trash raining down upon them like miniature meteors.

Diving, Thalia, rolled forwards and pulled out her shield, deflecting a scattering of shrapnel.

He, meanwhile, spun around and let loose a blast of explosive fire tearing apart the falling debris, even as he smoothly turned and continued running.

Zoe and Phoebe, meanwhile, were spared from the worst of it as they instead started sending arrows whistling towards the creature's face, only for them to shatter harmlessly against the metal.

Extending her spear, Thalia let loose a roar, and with lightning crackling along the spear's length, she let loose a thick bolt of lightning at Talos. "Percy, some more fire about now would be good!"

"Not exactly the right time of day!" Percy shouted back. His flames were at their strongest during the day. It was also at that time of day that his energy levels were at their peaks. Nighttime was when he was at his weakest.

Gritting his teeth, he started bending the remaining light around him, even as he disappeared from view, becoming all but invisible to those around him, including, he hoped, Talos. "I'll try and get around his back and distract him!"

"'Kay!" Thalia shouted back, more lightning bursting forwards as she continued her assault. "Just be fast! I mean come on, surely you have something in that bag of tricks of yours, some thermite would help if you have it?!"

On the other side of the Talos, Zoe and Phoebe were darting around, and using their remaining arrows to pepper the giant's face.

It all seemed so futile in the face of Talos' raw power.

"I'll see what I can do!" Percy shouted, even as he started sprinting around the outskirts of the battle.

( - )

(With Bianca)

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." Bianca muttered to herself as she hid behind a broken chariot, her head in her hands as she rocked back and forth, and squeezed her eyes tight shut.

From nearby she could hear the sounds of battle continuing as Zoe, Phoebe, Thalia and Percy fought an impossible fight against the giant, bronze thing.

She was scared.

No, not scared, she was terrified.

This entire thing was crazy.

All of it.

Everything that had happened since that fateful night at Westover.

She'd been, well, not happy, but at least content in her ignorance.

She shouldn't be out here, cowering away in a junkyard from near certain death.

She should be safe with her brother.

Her heart clenched at that thought, even as she wrapped her arms around her knees and cried.

Her brother was gone.

Her mother was gone.

Her friends and all the family she had back in Italy, friends and family that she only just now realised she couldn't fully remember, were probably gone.

And her father, whoever he was, wanted nothing to do with her.

She was all alone in the world.

Everyone she had ever known and loved were dead, either taken by monsters, or killed off by time.

Seventy years, she'd been stuck in a damned hotel for seventy years, and then months after apparently escaping from that purgatory, here she was, alone, terrified and waiting for death.

Letting loose a few heavy sobs, she couldn't stop crying.

Zoe and Phoebe had both been so kind to her, and now they were out there fighting and dying.

Thalia had also been kind and supportive, a bit coarse at times, but when she had been panicking, she'd been the one who had tried to reach out and help. She was also out there fighting too. Every now and then she could hear the telltale sound of lighting blasting out and striking the giant golem's bronze flesh.

There was also Percy…, well, she didn't actually care that much for him. No matter how much he reminded her of someone she once knew, he was still a prickly asshole at times. That said, just because she wasn't all that keen on him, didn't mean she wanted him to die either.

But he would anyway, they all would.

They shouldn't have come on this quest, and she certainly shouldn't have come.

She wasn't a fighter or a warrior, and certainly not a hero.

Until just a few days ago, she'd just been an average, awkward school girl.

Burying her head in her hands, she tried to drown out the sounds of combat.

She didn't know what to do.

She needed to do something, but she didn't know what she could do.

"Move!" A voice suddenly shouted.

Looking up, Bianca screamed as she felt herself being hit from the side and hurled away, even as the giant's foot smashed a crater in the ground where she'd just been hiding.

"Bianca!" Thalia shouted, her voice more distant than before.

Whatever had hit her, had knocked her further into the junkyard, and away from the fighting.

Pushing herself to her feet, she looked around and tried to spot her saviour.

There was no one there.

"H-hello…?" She stuttered, wiping away the tears from her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Hello," A voice replied from the darkness, only for the sound of it to then be completely drowned out by a fast moving avalanche of bronze and machinery, as with a loud explosion and a snarling squeal of broken metal, Talos fell. His falling colossal form casting the entire area around her into shadow, even as she turned and looked up at her oncoming doom. He was going to land right on top of her.

Looking up at the falling giant, Bianca could only scream as everything went black.

( - )

AN: So it all got a little chaotic there in the end! I wonder what was happening?

I'll be honest though, I leant closer to canon then I intended, or liked in this chapter. In hindsight, I wish I had done something different when I was in the planning side. But like they say, hindsight is a bitch. Still, things are moving along, and as we get further along, we will rapidly be decoupling from the canon tracks as this arc comes to a close, and events start escalating massively. There is going to be some surprises, I'm sure. Just as there will be conflict, character death, romance and tragedy. All the juicy stuff people come to expect from mythology.

Either way I am looking forward to writing more of this. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it, or continue to do so. If not then please tell what you didn't like, or what you thought could have been done better? Please leave a review, comment etc. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to PM me.

Also I am on a discord with a load of other writers, a bunch of them are PJO writers, so if you fancy popping over to ask questions or offer suggestions about this story, or any of my other ones, or to find new authors you might not have come across yet, please feel free to use the link in my bio.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.

Greed720.