alone at the edge of a universe

by Zaniey013

This is not my story. I'm only publishing this here for my own convenience. The sea is not unlike the abyss; it is deadly, destructive. It hides secrets in its depths and threatens even those that know it well. The sea easily swallows life with no trace left behind. See the rest of the summary inside! Check out the original story on AO3 by SarcasticMetaphor

14. running through hurdles, running in circ

running through hurdles, running in circles (i)

As campers began flowing in over the next week, either arriving alone or with a parent, Percy had to actively stop himself from searching for Annabeth among them. She wasn't coming back, neither was Thalia. So he tried to busy himself with other things. He gave orientations for new demigods, of which this year there were a few more than he expected. He sat through the first official camp singalong, and also forced Nico to participate because-if I have to go through it so do you-and did his best to keep the new campers and Kampê as far from each other as possible.

But to those familiar with Camp Half-Blood, the feeling of dread hanging in the air was almost palatable. It was in the way eyes grew wide at all the increased security measures, it was in the new sections of the woods (namely, where the entrance to the Labyrinth was) that were now barred for all campers. It was in Chiron using the camp's funds to purchase more medical supplies and celestial bronze, and it came with each beat of Kampê's wings. It was in the camp counselors, too.

Beckendorf, now with a full cabin of siblings, could do more regular checks on traps surrounding the border and within the woods. Plus, his ability to forge fresh weaponry multiplied with each of his oncoming siblings. And with her cabin filling up, Clarisse was running more drills than ever. The Ares kids were all pretty tough, but not even they were safe from getting their asses handed to them if Clarisse felt they weren't up to snuff. It was a full time job for the Stolls to keep their siblings and new campers alike in check, and Silena was busy coaxing her cabin into more frequent combat training.

For Percy, the summer brought on expectations he forgot he had. As an actual counselor himself, he had to vie against others for inane things shower times and activity slots.

But all that was trivial work compared to the day Chiron assembled the counselors in the Big House's rec room. It was two weeks since the start of summer, and everyone was antsier than usual. Maybe some were afraid they'd already have to begin fighting for their lives. It didn't help that Quintus and Argus were also called to sit in.

"In light of the troubling times our camp currently finds itself in," Chiron began, which didn't instill Percy with a lot of confidence to begin with, "I've come to a decision."

"Chiron?" Percy asked, unseasy.

Their mentor looked how he looked every summer, freshly trimmed beard and old wool sweater traded for an argyle vest. But his eyes betrayed how many sleepless nights he'd been having recently. He spoke calmly, regardless. For the recently-arrived counselors who didn't yet know that the Labyrinth was currently beneath the camp, Chiron quickly filled him in. Everyone else waited with rapt attention until Chiron finally said, "And I have thus decided to resume exploration of the Labyrinth."

Percy's heart skipped a beat as his breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened and he pushed his bangs out of his face to stare at Chiron more clearly. All around him, voices erupted with questions and objections.

Travis said, "No way!"

"That's suicide!" Silena added.

Katie Gardner asked, "Why now?"

"We don't have campers to spare, Chiron." Clarisse's voice rang out louder than the rest. She added, "Most of the newbies don't even realize there's a godly war brewing, we should focus on training them instead."

Chiron nodded and stroked his beard. He glanced at Percy, who had the misfortune of choosing the seat directly to Chiron's right. "As the camper with the most experience navigating the Labyrinth, what say you, Percy?"

All eyes turned on him. Chiron continued, addressing them all, "I have only considered this option seeing as the Labyrinth poses a significant security risk to us. More so now that the camp is fully active for the summer. Any future missions wouldn't be to explore it, but to seek means of destroying it."

From the corner of his eye, Quintus sat ramrod straight.

Clarisse spoke up, slamming a fist on the table. "I've already tried seeing if the Labyrinth can be destroyed,and it didn't work."

Percy remembered when Clarisse explained to him how she used a wrecking ball of all things to demolish the building residing over an entrance to the Labyrinth. The hole only shifted a few hundred yards, untouched.

"What if it can't be destroyed from the outside, though?" Quintus was next to speak up. He added, "I'm familiar with the mythos of the Labyrinth. Created by Daedalus, supposedly his old workshop is at its center. If that isn't the key to destroying it, there may be some kind of clue within."

Murmurs rippled across the table.

"But to do that, you'd have to find the workshop first," Percy said. Judging by the look Clarisse was giving him, she was thinking the same thing.

Despite everyone else's hesitancy, Percy's own logic hadn't changed with the seasons. He was the only one among them who got an automatic reset switch if he were to die, along with his pack and all the other unwelcome blessings Chaos gave him.

"It would be dangerous, undoubtedly," Quintus agreed.

Percy didn't hesitate. "I'll do it. I'll go in."

He also had unfinished business with Camp Jupiter.

Despite further questions and objections, Chiron nodded. "This will not be like our previous attempts to understand the Labyrinth. This time, I'll be calling for a proper quest. Which means Percy will be given resources and companions to aid him, as well as a prophecy from the Oracle."

Clarisse was the first to stand at that impromptu end of the meeting. Percy tried to keep the promise he made to her months ago, to stay out of the Labyrinth until summer. He was successful for the most part.

Clarisse stormed out, closely followed by the other counselors. Quintus lingered a moment longer until Chiron shooed both him and Argus out. When they were alone, Percy suppressed his own desire to bolt. The first thing he said was, "I wish Annabeth was still around."

Chiron nodded, "She undoubtedly would have wanted to accompany you. But now that we are in agreement and a quest will soon be made, I want you to promise me something, Percy."

Chiron continued softly, but firmly. "I am… very aware of your penchant for rule breaking. Allowing Nico to live in your cabin, I am content to turn a blind eye toward." He paused to study Percy's reaction. He tried not to show any outward emotion, even though there was a rising panic in his chest. His mentor continued, "My boy, you have power within you far stronger than what blood from your father should grant. Taming hellhounds, emerging from the Labyrinth unscathed, your return from death, and now your amicable relations with Kampê… the laws of our world often fail to apply to you."

Percy didn't know how to respond to that so, rather uncharacteristically, he kept his mouth shut. He was silent as Chiron leaned over and clasped a hand over Percy's shoulder. "For my sake, for the sake of your mother and our camp, swear to me you will do your best to avoid causing anything…catastrophicwhile on your quest."

That last word sent chills down Percy's spine. Chiron's touch suddenly felt less fatherly and more like a lead weight on his shoulder. After struggling a moment to find his voice, Percy said, "You know it's trouble that always findsme."

"I know, Percy. I know. Just please, swear to me regardless that you will at least try your best. That you will not actively seek out your own destruction."

Thinking about how his mother always seemed so relieved when he came back from quests in one piece, Percy nodded. "I swear… I swear on the Styx I'll do my best."

The earth and skies alike trembled for a moment. It was done.

And Percy, not for the first time, wondered what the punishment was for mortals who broke oaths made upon the Styx.

After only a day, news spread fast that Percy was going on another quest. At their meeting, Chiron made the decision to have the Labyrinth be common knowledge among all campers. It was only fair, seeing as how everyone was at risk with it around.

Which meant that everyone figured out pretty easily that Percy was going to go into the Labyrinth. Some new campers stared at him with surprise when they first met him, as if expecting the Percy Jackson to be someone older. Others, who had little knowledge of Greek mythology before finding out they were half gods, caught on quickly enough that Percy was very much the outlier when it came to demigods. More familiar campers shot Percy worried looks, as if wondering whether they'd ever see him again.

Percy ignored them all, of course. He'd gotten very good at ignoring unwanted attention over the years. And he already knew who he wanted his companions to be. The only two people he was worried about were his mother and Kampê.

When it came to Camp Half-Blood's head of security, Percy went to Kampê's cave in the woods after curfew to discuss tactics with her. Her cave was actually not far from the entrance to the Labyrinth. The walls were decorated with luminescent moss and brackets for mounting weapons, while the ground was padded by various animal pelts. It was just large enough for Kampê to comfortably live in, which meant it was massive for Percy. She spoke to him in her native primordial tongue.

"You should bring me with you, Percy Jackson." He didn't know why she liked to refer to him by his full name. "Yes… I'd surely be the most suitable option of the meager allies you have here."

Percy did not appreciate that tone. "I trust everyone in the camp. They're all my allies."

Kampê narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that so?"

She leaned forward and rested her arms over a boulder, very much looking like a cat observing its future prey.

"You swore to me you'd give me your loyalty," Percy said.

"I did," Kampê agreed. "However, I will not prance for that old centaur or bow to the little children you so desperately want to guard. Do not treat me as Kronos did, Percy Jackson."

"I'm not. I won't."

Though he didn't want to, Percy took a step closer to Kampê. He ignored how he was literally walking into the beast's den. He pointed a finger at her. "I've decided who to bring with me. I'll need my brother with me. Tyson might even be able to make sense of Daedalus' workshop if we do find it."

Kampê cocked a brow. "And?"

Gods, Nico was barely eleven. Percy hoped he was making the right choice. "You must have sensed it by now. Nico has a closeness with the dark. I want him with me when I go into the Labyrinth. In exchange…" Percy held his breath, knowing he had Kampê's attention.

"In exchange, I've realized that while I'm gone, the camp loses one of its strongest fighters. That's why I want you here. No one would dare attack if they found you here."

Percy was met with a laugh that sounded like a hundred hissing snakes. "Flattery can be so soothing. But do not rely on it, Percy Jackson."

He pursed his lips. Percy refused to take a step back as Kampê reached out for him. His mind immediately went to what it'd feel like to be crushed to death.

-I'll come back I'll come back I'll come back-

She paused just shy of grabbing him. Kampê smiled at him and withdrew her hand. "You have quite the confidence, son of Poseidon."

Percy didn't realize he'd been holding his breath. He exhaled and spoke in Greek. "There's a war coming anyways. You'll get your chance to fight soon enough. We both know it."

He turned his back on Kampê to leave. As Percy exited her cave, Kampê said in return, "Indeed. Maybe then, you'll realize how much you need me."

That night, Percy told his cabin-mates he was going on a quest to destroy the Labyrinth. Both of them already figured as much, and both of them agreed to go with him.

"Now is a good time, then." Tyson said. He went through his bags, searching for something. "I have been working on it since last summer."

He pulled out a small package wrapped in white cloth and handed it to Percy. "For you!"

Percy took the gift and unwrapped it. When he saw what was inside, he raised a brow. "Oh, wow. This looks awesome, big guy."

It was a watch with a bronze face and a leather strap. The stitching in the strap and the tiny cogs in the watch face had to take such precision, Percy wondered how Tyson did it. Nico leaned in close to get a better look.

"Not just a watch," Tyson said. "Turn the dial."

Percy cocked his head to the side. He turned the watch over in his hands until he found the small dial. When he twisted it, Nico let out a sharp, "Ah!"

The younger boy stumbled out of the way as a full-sized shield unfolded in Percy's hands. "Whoa… Ty, this looks incredible."

The front of the shield was decorated with images of their quest into the Sea of Monsters. Percy strapped it to his arm and found that it wasn't too heavy for him to wield. "It's perfect."

Tyson beamed. Nico ran his fingertips over the shield, studying the images of Percy on his mishaps. Tyson clapped Nico on the back hard enough to send the younger boy staggering. "I can also make something for you. You will need it for the quest."

Percy wondered what Tyson had in mind. Nico was a lot smaller than they were. His sword given to him by Hades was even too large for him, clearly intended for Nico to grow into it.

But with his companions taken care of, that left just one thread hanging: his mother.

Percy's mom was still working full-time while attending night classes, but she could afford to spend more time on weekends at camp. Which meant she got to see Camp Half-Blood as most of its inhabitants knew it: lush strawberry fields, kids running rampant, canoes on the lake, and the pavilion brimming at every meal. She swapped private archery lessons for helping Chiron coordinate camp affairs, particularly when it came to younger demigods. Some had mortal parents that didn't know their various past partners/one-night-stands/etc. were gods, so Percy's mom was the closest they got to a parental figure who could finally start explaining things to them.

Did it feel weird for Percy to have his mom be this presence in camp? Somehow fitting in better than he did at first?

Because in the first few weeks, he was surprised by how basically no one teased him for having his mom around. Maybe it was because a completely mortal woman hanging around Camp Half-Blood wasn't too outlandish compared to Quintus or Kampê. Maybe it was because she started tending to the particularly young or troublesome kids that counselors couldn't handle when they had full cabins to take care of.

Regardless, Percy didn't get the chance to tell her about his future quest. Quintus beat him to it.

He lost track of time running drills in the woods with Nico and his hellhounds. Percy didn't even realize it was Saturday until they wandered back into camp and he saw his mom walking with Quintus.

She caught his eye and waved him over.

"Percy, what's this I hear about a quest?"

Percy glanced at Quintus, wondering how much she already found out.

He said, "I've decided to go back into the Labyrinth. I'm the only one who's willing."

There was a spark of recognition in her eyes. Percy's mother was one of the few people aware of his life-regenerating circumstances. She pursed her lips tight and Percy was sure she was upset with him.

To his surprise, his mom nodded and tucked a stray lock of his hair behind his ear.

"You might want to consider letting me cut your hair before you go. For visibility, and to make sure it doesn't bother you."

"Oh, uh. Thanks, mom."

Percy didn't know if he could spare any idle time on non-essential things, but he appreciated how much his mother cared about him.

Percy and his chosen companions weren't going to leave until the next morning, but there was something that had to be done beforehand. He took a deep breath before climbing up the ladder leading to the Big House's attic. He remembered the sight of the Oracle from when he was twelve, and wasn't looking forward to a repeat encounter with her creepy mummy body and the ghost snake in her mouth.

But he was going on a quest, and tradition dictated that he commune with the Oracle first. So Percy dusted off his hands on his shorts when he reached the attic. The shelves overflowing with memorabilia from past campers were still the same, as was the desiccated body by the window.

"Uh, hi." Percy said. "Remember me?"

He'd heard rumors that while he was captured by the Titans, the Oracle actually walked out of the Big House to reach Artemis' late lieutenant, Zoë. He wasn't sure if he believed that or not, but stranger things have happened.

Percy took a step closer to the Oracle, but nothing happened. He waved a hand in front of its face. "Hey, so I've got another quest. And I kind of need you to do your thing."

The Oracle's jaw dropped. Percy took a few steps back as a plume of green smoke billowed from the mummy's jaw. He swore he saw the outline of a snake's head somewhere in the fog as it collected around his ankles.

A voice whispered to him.

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze…

The Labyrinth, that was clear enough. Percy held his breath and waited, but the Oracle failed to deliver him more.

"Hello?" That couldn't be all there was.

The Oracle seemed like it was staring right at him. The spirit of Delphi repeated itself,You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze…

Percy got a sudden bad feeling in his stomach.

The voice began sounding like a stuttering breath or a skipping record.

The dead- King's hand - child of- the breath-

The Oracle kept repeating words or bits of phrases. It repeated it's only full line several more times.You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze…

"What is going on…"

The Oracle couldn't be broken, right?

He heard the same voice speak two different lines at once.

-the child of Poseidon-and-the child of the abyss-

The Oracle's body convulsed, or it could have been Percy's mind playing tricks on him. He wanted to flee the attic as fast as possible.

After a few seconds, the voice and the fog began to recede. As the whispering faded, Percy heard …the darkness of the endless maze…one final time.

Then the Oracle went quiet. Despite his confusion just a few seconds prior, Percy waited in the attic for another minute or so. He wanted to see if the Oracle would correct itself and deliver a proper prophecy, but nothing came. Percy rubbed his arms to chase away the goosebumps he had before retreating from the attic.

Down on the first floor of the Big House, his mom, Chiron, Tyson, and Nico were waiting for him.

"What did it say?" Nico asked.

Percy shook his head. "It uh… it said I was going to delve in the darkness of an endless maze."

"And what else?" His mom asked. Percy fumbled for a response.

"The Oracle- it said lots of things. Lots."

Percy received various surprised and skeptical looks. Chiron cleared his throat. "Perhaps Percy is choosing to withhold his prophecy on purpose. Sometimes, knowing the future only complicates matters occurring in the present. Am I correct, lad?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, exactly."

Without waiting, Percy hurried out of the Big House. He didn't care how strange it was. He didn't look back. He needed to get ready.

Percy heard the Oracle's echoing voice trail behind him, lingering in his ears. He was so consumed in his thoughts of a broken Oracle that he didn't realize it when he ran right into someone.

"Shit."

"Percy!"

It was Grover. Percy's eyes widened and he tried to school his expression. "Oh, hey. Is something wrong?"

Grover looked past him, toward the Big House, before glancing back at Percy. "Have you seen the Oracle?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, why? Is everything okay, dude?"

His best friend gave Percy a familiar nervous smile. Grover said, "Sorry, I've been so busy preparing."

"Preparing?"

"For the quest," Grover said, gesturing to the woods, "I'm coming with you."

Oh.

Oh,no.

Percy assumed from the beginning that Grover would refuse if asked to come. He always did poorly underground. Besides, Percy knew how important Grover's search for Pan was.

"Grover," Percy started, "are you sure you want to come? I already talked with Nico and Tyson-"

He stopped when Grover put a hand on Percy's shoulder. Up close, Grover's horns made him feel taller, older.

"I'm coming. I can't let my friend go barreling into danger without me. Especially since you won't let me renew our empathy link."

Groverdidknow a degree of healing magic. But together, there'd be four of them delving into the stupid endless darkness of the Labyrinth. Quests always worked in sets of three. Percy thought about the quest of five that left camp to save Artemis, only to lose two forever.

"But what about your search for Pan?"

He must have struck a nerve. Grover winced before gesturing for Percy to walk with him. As they walked past the strawberry fields, Grover explained how he was at risk of losing his searcher's license.

Percy said, "Then you should get back out into the world! Why risk losing your license for me?"

"Cause you're my friend, remember?" Grover sighed and fiddled with the panpipes hanging from his neck. "Besides, I'll probably lose it anyways. I'd rather risk my life helping my friends and protecting my home than waiting on the Cloven Elders."

Percy didn't know what to say. He hated seeing his friend so upset, but he didn't know how to help. And he put the Oracle out of order by doing nothing, so what did tradition even matter to him at this point? Besides, if Grover was really willing to come, why shouldn't Percy let him?

After a moment, he said, "If you're sure, then it'll be the four of us. Together."

"Together," Grover agreed.

It could have been five, with Annabeth. Percy refused to dwell on that fact.

Meanwhile, there was something more important he had to worry about. It was strong enough to compel him to sneak into the Big House after dinner, rifle through the various medicine cabinets until he found a bottle of non-drowsy sleeping pills. He needed guaranteed sleep that night. And not just for his quest in the morning.

Percy took the two little pills after lights went out, swallowing them in the dark. Not long after, he felt himself being pulled away from the waking world.

When he next opened his eyes, he was in a blank void. He looked down at his hands and found them stripped of human skin. His body was what he could only callcelestialwith familiar pale green, translucent flesh.

Was this the version of him that hid under his skin?

Percy concentrated, willing his cosmos-y inner self to be masked by the body he knew best. His translucent skin was replaced by mortal flesh and a familiar orange shirt.

"Chaos," Percy called out, realizing he now had a physical mouth with actual vocal cords now, "I need to speak to you."

He was met only with the void.

"Chaos," he tried again.

Why was the void so empty?

Percy treaded through the abyss. There was only empty space below him, but the illusion of solid ground under his feet urged him forward. He said, "I went to the Oracle today, and it couldn't give me a prophecy. Was that you, did you do something to it?"

Percy knew his future was no longer certain, Chaos' meddling made sure of that. The Great Prophecy might not come about as intended, but did that mean his future was completely unintelligible? Was there no guaranteeinganythingabout him anymore?

Percy pressed on, "Chaos? I know you're here."

A whisper answered.You know how much I care for you, my child. I cherish when you call for me, but I am growing tired of how quick you are to blame me for all your troubles…

The void began to be replaced by the universe, distant stars and galaxies burning into existence all around him as Chaos made their presence known. No body manifested, but Percy could feel the primordial all around him. Watching.

You are clever, Percy. More so than you think. Surely, you have the means to answer your own query.

Too late, Percy realized the maker of the universe was actually upset with him.

The presence of eyes watching him from all angles turned more menacing. This being could easily annihilate Percy from existence with nothing but a thought.

"I'm sorry," he tried to say.

For what, exactly? For what do you have to be sorry for?

His maker wanted to hear Percy swallow his pride. Even Percy knew when it was best to bite his tongue. He said, "I've blamed you for my problems. A lot of them."

Is that all?

Percy went quiet. He wouldn't say he'd rather be in with Chaos than on Earth. It'd be a lie, and they both knew it. Even though he kept taking gifts from Chaos, Percy continued to run away from them.

Instead, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blame you. I was just… I was worried I… broke our Oracle."

Percy felt a breath of amusement flow over him. Not a laugh, just a sense that the tension between them was dissipating. Not gone entirely, but lessened.

Indeed, your future is quite clouded. Unlike a thread woven by the fates, you exist as a great mass of tangled lines that extend in many directions. You should be grateful; unlike even your gods, you are free.

Freedom from the gods was typically welcomed by Percy, but not here. Not now. Not when he knew he was fully capable of being the demigod that could end the world.

But if it is a prophecy you wish for, I will provide you with a hint of your most likely future, Chaos said. In exchange for your company, for as long as you are able to stay.

Percy frowned. "I have to leave in the morning for my quest."

Then you will watch the heavens with me until then.

Even though Chaos was offering a bargain, they spoke with complete certainty. A part of Percy felt the urge to resist, only because resisting gods was a gut-reaction for him. But he quelled that part of himself and nodded.

Very well.

The universe began to condense into a human-shaped body with no facial features other than their black-hole eyes. The corners of Chaos' eyes creased as if smiling. Or as if mimicking the way Percy's father smiled.

Sit, my creation. Watch my handicraft in motion.

Percy sat, willing a stretch of solid mass beneath him so he could sit cross-legged in empty air. Chaos, the creator of the universe, sat besides him. And as if they were watching the clouds on a sunny day, or the stars on a clear night, Percy watched as whole galaxies blinked and swirled.

But Percy had a hard time sitting in one place for very long, so he wasn't surprised when he began toying with his necklace of clay beads. Eventually, he stood up and began wandering through the cosmos. Periodically, Chaos would manifest next to him to point out particular celestial bodies they created. Either to balance a galaxy, to bring light to a solar system, or just out of sheer amusement. Chaos also showed Percy gaps in the universe where whole galaxies once existed, extinguished when their maker grew bored of them. Nothing here, not even the grandest of galaxies, was sacred or safe.

The rest of the time, Percy spent what felt like hours just watching the twirling planets. If he didn't dwell on how easily everything around him could be destroyed, it was like the visual equivalent of falling asleep to the sound of rain, just so calming.

After some time, Chaos reappeared and brushed a stray bit of hair from his face. Percy fought the urge to wrinkle his nose.

I see that I have yet to lure you away from your original petty life. But you have stayed, so I ask you this. You do not fear what is inside the Labyrinth more than you fear what you may not find, correct?

He nodded. "I need to find a way to destroy it."

A waste of time, Chaos said.

Percy tried to keep his voice even, "Why do you think so?"

It is a waste of time, Chaos said as they turned to Percy, to search for something you already have.

His eyes widened. "What?"

You need only realize what, or rather who, is truly at your disposal. That is your gift from me; to achieve your goals, you hardly need to set foot within the Labyrinth at all.

Chaos stood and waved a hand. The universe melted and warped like a stone thrown into a pond. The stars were replaced by dark earthen tunnels stretching endlessly before him. A slight wind blew, promising a far off exit somewhere in the dark.

The original primordial studied Percy closely as the Labyrinth warped around them. The end of the tunnel appeared in the distance, a glowing light promising escape.

Now, go.

Percy brought himself to his feet just as the mouth of the tunnel eclipsed him.

When his eyes adjusted to the fading light, Percy found Nico standing over him. The younger boy was unusually solemn. "Come on, Percy. We gotta get ready."

Percy sat up, blinking slowly.

Grover waved at him from where he stood by the door, a knapsack slung over his shoulder. "Hey, Percy. We're all getting ready to go."

Tyson was up as well, sitting cross legged on his bunk and polishing his war hammer, so Percy must have slept through the morning wakeup call. When Percy got up, their eyes met.

"What's the matter?" Tyson immediately asked.

"Huh?"

"You look… afraid. Uncertain."

At that, Nico paused in the middle of attaching his sword to his belt. Percy glanced between his companions.

"I just didn't get much rest last night."

"I didn't, either." Nico said. He paused, then asked, "Was it something about your prophecy?"

Percy studied the Stygian iron sword hanging from Nico's side. Did Hades really have confidence that Nico would someday grow up to match his weapon?

Nico was so young. Percy was young. They all were. But he just didn't see how their answers could possibly already be at camp. At the same time, was it really fair to be risking their lives for something they apparently already had?

"The Oracle didn't give me a prophecy," Percy said. "We're in the dark."

Tyson blinked at him. "Oh."

Grover let out a nervous bleat. "How could that be? Is something interfering with the Oracle?"

Nico asked softly, "Percy, do you think it's because of your- you know…"

Right. Nico learned of Percy's three-way parentage before his best friend or brother. Gods, he hated giving that stupid spiel.

To his friends' credit at least, Tyson and Grover seemed to take it as well as possible. Or rather, Tyson seemed to take it well after finally wrapping his head around the fact that Chaos was Percy's third parent. Grover, meanwhile, paled terribly when he learned that Percy could come back from the dead. Hence why he was so willing to undertake the quest to go back into the Labyrinth.

"Oh, great Pan. Our empathy link…"

Percy said, "Exactly. That's why I didn't want you to remake it, it just puts you in more danger."

Grover collapsed on the nearest bunk, fingers drumming on his panpipes. "This… actually explains some things."

"Yeah?" Percy asked.

Grover nodded. "On the quest to save Artemis-"

"The one my sister went on?" Nico asked. "Bianca?"

His voice wavered as he said her name, but no one commented on it. Grover gave Nico a slow nod. "Yeah, the one I went on with your sister. Part of the prophecy that we were given included a line about being led by a bane of Olympus."

Grover said bane of Olympus with air quotes. All eyes turned on Percy as a chill went down his back.

He recalled reading the Great Prophecy at Camp Jupiter.

…Olympus to preserve or raze…

It was still technically possible that Percy wasn't the child of the prophecy. It was still possible. Especially with the way Chaos had already meddled with the fates' design. But he did not like the idea that the Oracle called him the enemy of Olympus twice already.

"Let's just focus on our quest for now," he ended up saying. "Chaos said we already had the means of destroying the Labyrinth, but unless anyone has any ideas, I think we're still going to have to go in."

Nico said, "Right. We should focus. It'll still be dangerous."

"Then these were a good idea," Tyson said. He reached under his bunk and pulled out a package wrapped in brown cloth. He presented it to Nico. "Gift for you, as promised."

Surprised, Nico took the package and unwrapped it. Percy raised a brow. "Those definitely suit you."

He was glad for the distraction. At first glance, Nico's gift could almost be mistaken for emo leather bracelets. But when Nico buckled them on, they reached almost from his elbow to his wrists. Leather bracers, dyed black and complete with cascading celestial bronze plates to protect the outside of his arms.

Percy was honestly relieved that Nico had an additional source of both protection and defense, he was the smallest of the group with the least experience questing.

Now they were armed, armored, and had nothing left to do but begin.

Percy was almost glad his mom wasn't able to be at camp the day they were supposed to leave. Unfortunately, that meant there was no buffer between him and Quintus.

After a quick breakfast, Percy was stopped by the swordsman and pulled to the side.

"I'm still not sure about this. I admit, I don't like the idea of you, of any of you, going into that thing."

"Join the club," Percy said.

Quintus gave him a brief smile. "Be warned, the Labyrinth thrives on distraction. And that can be a dangerous thing for us demigods. We are easily distracted."

Percy asked, "You've been in it?"

"Once," Quinus admitted. He let out a ragged sigh. "A very long time ago. I was lucky to escape with my life, but most aren't as fortunate."

His gaze flickered off to the side. "But at least you have good company. Those hounds of yours, I expect they'll come in handy."

He let Percy go. As he rejoined his group, Percy wondered what to make of Quintus yet again.

His pack and his team of four journeyed through the woods and entered the Labyrinth. Percy wished he could have said goodbye to his mom, but also found himself relieved that she couldn't be at camp when they had to go. He didn't want to see how worried she'd surely be.

With the hounds carrying saddle bags with the bulk of their rations, bedrolls, spare clothes, and medical supplies, that left Percy and his companions only needing to carry only their bare essentials. Tyson had a bag of spare parts for emergency repairs while Grover carried his panpipes and a knapsack full of nuts and berries. Nico brought only his sword, bracers, and aviator jacket with him. The jacket bore tears from their battle at Camp Jupiter, mended to the best of their combined abilities, but had plenty of pockets for things like a spare flashlight and batteries.

As for Percy, he had only Riptide and his watch/shield hybrid on his person. Plus a flashlight. As the leader of the quest, he jumped into the Labyrinth first and everyone else followed.

"Alright, I want everyone to stay close," he said. Percy switched his flashlight on and shined a beam down the dark tunnel ahead of them. "And keep your eyes peeled for a triangular Delta symbol."

"Right," Nico said. He had one hand on the hilt of his sword while the other held onto Ruby's harness. His white knuckled grip on Ruby's gear betrayed his nerves.

Percy nodded to Tyson, "Alright, big guy. You and Onyx should guard our rear in case anything tries to sneak up on us. And Cass."

Percy whistled and gestured down the tunnel. Cass barked once and hurried ahead of them. She kept just a few paces ahead of the group, nose to the ground and walls. She had the best sense of smell in the pack, if they were to stumble upon an exit by accident, she'd be the first to notice.

"Let's go," Percy said.

As they left Camp Half-Blood behind, Percy felt a sort of familiar anxiety surround him. Yes, they were just a gaggle of demigod and monster kids with some dogs. Yes, they had no backup or real plan, only the goal of destroying the Labyrinth. It was the same realization Percy had when he was twelve on his cross-country quest to the underworld, or when he was thirteen and navigating the Sea of Monsters. Alone, he wasn't afraid of what he might find. But on a proper quest?

He glanced at Grover, who walked between him and Nico. Percy had friends he was responsible for. Whatever happened to them was on him.

And that was more terrifying than any kind of death.

It didn't take long for them to be attacked by monsters. Most were half-blind from spending years in the dark, even more creepy and feral than the average monster on the surface. The group's combined presence probably attracted a lot more attention than Percy would have alone. And it wasn't like Percy didn't try to will the Labyrinth to reveal Daedalus' workshop. He did, quietly and with the hope that his connection to the place was what Chaos meant.

But it didn't work. For the first time, Percy found the Labyrinth resisting his will. It contorted, sometimes leading them in circles before opening back up again. As if it was still subject to his influence but still didn't want to show him its core. And every time he tried to force his way through, the Labyrinth just spat some more monsters at them.

After a narrow miss when Nico shadow traveled just in time to avoid being ambushed by a pack of motley, balding harpies, Percy decided to give it up.

Once they dispatched the harpies, Nico clutched Percy's arm. "Can't you get it to show us the workshop?"

"I've been trying! It's not working!"

Grover let out a nervous goat bleat. "So we're really blind down here?"

"Hey, I mean we have a cyclops, a satyr, and a whole pack of hellhounds with heightened senses of smell," Percy said. "We'll get somewhere eventually."

The brick tunnel they were in gave way to cement walls with broken fluorescent lights affixed to the ceiling.

"See?" Percy said, "I can at least make it do that."

"Yay!" Tyson said, at least giving one person in Percy's corner.

Taking stock of the degree of gold dust (and regular dust) on their clothes, Percy said, "But how about we try to find someplace relatively safe to take a break and rethink our strategy?"

"Yes, please," Grover said.

So the group followed the cement tunnel until it suddenly shifted into faded mosaic tile and cobblestone floors. In just a hundred feet or so, they came across the first thing that didn't look exactly like a horror movie setting.

"This'll do," Percy said.

The architecture was either inspired by ancient Rome, or actually Roman. The walls were covered in mosaics; Percy caught glimpses of red, blue, and gold behind all the grime and dust. It took him a second to realize he was staring at images of the gods at some kind of party.

In the center of the room was a dried up fountain, and just one other exit on the opposite side of the room.

Percy said, "We can rest here."

Canteens of water were passed around as Tyson pulled out an electric camping lamp from Onyx's bag. Meanwhile, Grover scattered some acorns on the floor. He played a simple tune and the acorns wobbled, assembling into another random assortment. Grover hummed. "My tracking spell isn't giving me anything. I doubt it could lead us to Daedalus' workshop."

He tried to play his pipes again and a half-dozen nuts rolled across the floor until they collected at Percy's feet.

"Uh, Grover?" Percy asked.

His friend didn't look surprised. "This happened on my quest to save Artemis, too. Sorry, Percy. But you're the closest landmark around."

"What about these ones?" Nico asked. Percy squinted in the dark, spotting a few acorns that settled by the other boy's foot.

Grover said, "If my spell's sensing you too, it must mean you're a powerful demigod."

Nico and Percy shared a look. It made sense, since Nico was also a child of the Big Three.

So why did Percy feel so uneasy?

After enough time to catch their breath and collect their nerves, they returned to exploring the Labyrinth. The other exit across the room had the same kind of cement walls as before. Here and there, they even found some modern graffiti in cobalt blue and neon green.

Eventually, the broken lights overhead became replaced by functional ones. The walls got cleaner, the ground less coated by muck and dust. If he didn't know better, he'd say they were in a relatively newly-made maintenance tunnel.

"This feels familiar," Nico said.

Percy stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, fuck me."

Tyson walked right into him and almost sent Percy to the ground.

"What's the matter?" his brother asked.

Percy shook his head. "Hang on, give me a second."

He jogged ahead of the group despite their protests and glanced around the corner a hundred feet ahead of them. A familiar metal service door sat at the end of the hall.

As the others caught up to him, Percy said, "Nico, I think I know where we are."

He didn't mean to bring his quest-mates with him, but it seemed that the Labyrinth shaped itself to what Percy was subconsciously yearning for.

"Is that…" Nico started.

"Yeah, it is."

The latin graffiti scratched onto the walls of the modern service tunnel also gave it away. Percy accidentally led his quest to Camp Jupiter.

Under other circumstances, Percy probably would have found it funny how Tyson and Grover reacted to the existence of a whole other demigod camp. Tyson looked like he was still trying to wrap his head around the idea while Grover started muttering to himself. Asking himself things like, how many kids?... How many satyrs?... Cloven Elders didn't know?

Percy wished his quest didn't have to include dropping so many bombshells on his friends but honestly? His luck had never been very good to begin with.

But they were on a quest, so it wasn't like they had to stop. However, with no new leads on how to find Daedalus' workshop or any other weakness in the Labyrinth to exploit, they might have been better off finding someplace safe to recuperate and plan. And the nearest relatively safe place was just on the other side of a single maintenance door.

"They know me, and they didn't try to attack the hellhounds or Nico when I vouched for them," Percy said. "Plus, Nico and I sort of did them a solid a few months back."

"We fought in a battle with them," Nico said.

Percy added, "The Labyrinth isn't just our problem. It's a threat to these other demigods, too."

"Oh, Pan…" Grover said. "They're so close to the Titan's base!"

Exactly. Even more reason to shut the Labyrinth down. They'd be helping their sort-of allies.

Once it was decided, they all did a quick search-over to hide traces of Camp Half-Blood. Even though Percy didn't see the reason why the camps were kept separate, it would make things easier if he could keep up the illusion that he was one of the Romans. Percy swapped his orange camp shirt for a spare plain blue one and tucked his beaded necklace under his collar. Nico did the same, trading an orange shirt for a black one. Grover had a beanie with the initials CBH stamped on the hem, but even then he chose to stuff it inside of Andrea's saddlebag.

When they were ready, Percy pushed open the maintenance door.

And almost immediately tripped over a line of barbed wire.

Someone grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him upright.

"Freeze!" Someone shouted.

Percy raised his hands as he was met with a different view of Camp Jupiter than he remembered. The signs of the battle from months ago had faded. In its place were fresh lines of barbed wire, trenches, and a few catapults set up outside the camp's earthen walls. If he had to guess by the dull light, it was either early morning or late afternoon.

And a team of demigods with locked shields had a line of spears pointed right at them.

Percy raised a brow at them. "We come in peace?"

"Oh gods," the one in the middle said, "Lower your weapons!"

The line dismantled and the teenager Percy assumed was in charge pointed to another. "Go get Jason! Tell him Percy is back."

Then the burly teenager turned his attention to Percy. "You know, we've got an actual entrance to camp. You don't have to keep coming through the Labyrinth."

"This way's easier for me," Percy said as he lowered his hands. He stepped aside, letting his friends and pack emerge from the Labyrinth. Though Tyson and Grover got some surprised looks, Percy and his team weren't met with much resistance as they picked their way down Camp Jupiter's hill.

Waiting for them at the entrance to camp was none other than Thalia's Roman brother himself. Alongside Octavian.

"You're alive," Jason said. It sounded like a question.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Percy responded. "And you guys look like you've been busy."

Jason studied him carefully, his eyes scanning over the group that came with him. Before he could speak, the other blond cut him off.

"Busy indeed! Have you come to warn us of another attack?" Octavian asked.

Percy shook his head. "No, we've just come for someplace safe to rest."

At that, Jason raised a brow. "You're with more monsters than demigods."

"Hey!" Grover objected.

"Hello!" Tyson said.

"They're our friends." Nico stated flatly.

Octavian's eyes sparked with interest. Meanwhile, Jason's face went through a complicated array of expressions. He looked like he was torn between laughing out of disbelief, sneering, and experiencing plain resignation. He concluded with, "The hellhounds and cyclops stay out of camp."

"Hell no," Percy said. He bit his tongue to keep himself from saying that the cyclops was his half-brother.

Jason pointed behind them. Percy saw a cluster of white tents sitting by the river. Teenagers carried supplies from inside the tents up the hill and vice versa. Jason said, "We have some spare tents. Either they stay out, or none of you come in."

The water of the nearby river thrashed against its banks.

"Perhaps we should be more considerate toward our guests," Octavian said. He flashed Percy a smile he didn't appreciate. "After all, they must be tired."

A hand fell on his shoulder. Tyson leaned down and whispered, "It's alright."

"Tyson-"

"It's alright," he said again, "I'll watch the doggies."

They were only staying for a little while, but Percy hated that he had to leave his brother behind. But it was just for one night. Even less, if they decided to leave early.

"Fine," Percy said.

He, Grover, and Nico parted ways from Tyson and the pack.

Wandering through camp, Grover was immediately appalled by the way the satyrs, or fauns, behaved. Unlike Grover's determined, environmental-activist vibes, the fauns behaved more like stereotypical hippie stoners.

"No elders, no respect…" Percy heard Grover mumble. When Grover started debating with a group of visibly-high fauns, Percy decided to let his friend fight that battle.

But for the most part, Camp Jupiter was as Percy remembered: more boot camp than summer camp, with more than double the size, numbers, and resources of Camp Half-Blood.

And no possible way for him to blend in. Percy didn't like the way the other campers and even the ghosts stared at them. It took a moment, but he realized the specters were pointing at Nico as well. Percy heard the word Greek in both English and Latin be tossed their way, which set the hairs on the back of his neck on end.

Jason shot Nico an apologetic look. "You'll have to forgive the ghosts. They probably think that you're actually Greek."

"I'm Italian," Nico said.

Jason let out a short laugh. "Close enough for them, I guess."

Inside the safety of the camp's walls, Jason's stony exterior from before melted partially, giving way to someone more akin to a normal teenager. Percy wondered how much more Jason would show if Octavian wasn't also present.

Jason said, "Since you were last here, our attacks have gone down by more than half. The battle you were here for was a major victory for us."

"Glad to hear," Percy said. He was still mad about Tyson, but he had to remind himself that he and Camp Jupiter shared a common enemy. Their victories were his victories, sort of.

"We've been able to maintain better defenses now," Jason added, "but I assume you two won't be staying for long."

"No, sorry. We were just hoping for someplace to rest for a while. Just one night at most."

It was nice to know Camp Jupiter was holding its own, but he was already the freak of one camp and Percy just wanted to be on his way.

"Well, you are certainly invited to stay for longer," Octavian said.

Jason studied them with his cyan eyes, reminding Percy of how easily Thalia could look like a wolf judging its prey. Not necessarily menacing, but calculating. Jason asked, "What is it you're still searching for in the Labyrinth? Where did you go when you left?"

Percy struggled to think of a response. After a few seconds, Nico said, "We've been looking for a way to reach Daedalus' workshop so we can destroy the Labyrinth."

He could work with that. As far as the Roman campers knew, Percy and Nico were some weird, homeless, rogue demigods. This didn't sound too unrealistic, right? He added, "Exactly. With the Labyrinth around and Saturn growing in power, no demigod is safe."

Jason didn't look unconvinced per se, but he did regard Percy as if he were a little insane. "I'd say you'd be better off learning to fly but…" he shrugged, "You're definitely one of few demigods around even willing to go into the Labyrinth."

"Of course he is," Octavian said. "As to be expected of a hero with such promising power."

Percy made a sound and raised an eyebrow. He did not appreciate how Octavian stopped them by stepping in front of Nico. "You were here before, correct? With Perseus?"

The sound of his full name made Percy scowl. Nico glanced at Percy before looking back at Octavian. "Yeah, I was."

"Perfect! It would be my pleasure to read your auguries in that case."

Nico's brows furrowed. "Huh?"

"It's sort of like your future," Percy said, "Octavian is like an oracle."

"You flatter me," Octavian said. "But yes, it's the standard for every new recruit."

Jason said, "They're not staying for long, remember?"

Octavian smiled. "Then I'll make it quick."

Gods, even when Percy was his prisoner, Luke was better at showing hospitality than this guy.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," Nico said.

"I insist, it would be my pleasure." Octavian said. Without waiting, he put a hand on Nico's shoulder and began steering him toward the temples. Nico shot Percy a look over his shoulder and he was about to follow, but Jason stopped him.

He whispered, "Percy, I need to talk to you. It's important."

Nico can shadow travel, Percy reminded himself. Nico was capable of getting himself out of a situation if it turned sour. So against his gut instinct, he followed Jason to the Roman equivalent of their Big House.

Alone, Jason returned to giving him that wolf-stare and asked, "So you're searching for a way to destroy the Labyrinth… on your own, with no support from us. That's awfully altruistic."

"I meant what I said."

Percy didn't have to give away the existence of Camp Half-Blood, but it was true. None of them would be safe if Kronos got ahold of the Labyrinth.

"Fine," Jason said, "Say I believe you. But what's with the monsters you travel with? Every time you come back, you bring more and more."

The answer came easily to him. "They're all my friends. I trust them."

He studied Jason in turn. "But that's not all you wanted to ask me about, is it?"

"No," Jason admitted. "Honestly, I hoped you wouldn't come back so soon."

Riptide was in Percy's hand before he even knew it. Jason saw the pen in his hand but hardly looked surprised. "Listen, things have gotten strange since you last left. And Octavian has gotten," Jason's face pinched as if he was tasting something bitter, "ideas about you."

Percy had no idea what to make of that. "Like?"

Jason didn't waver when he said, "He's convinced you're a god."

From far away, Percy heard the sound of a pen hitting the floor. He gaped at Jason. "He what?"

"Exactly. It's insane, but when you come to camp, it's always with monsters or other demigods. Octavian is convinced they're your followers and-"

Percy couldn't concentrate on whatever else Jason was saying. He thought back on the few stray dreams he had, of a temple and a brazier and sacrifices to a god.

To him.

And they worked. Percy had woken up from dreams like those with the taste of food on his tongue.

He never meant for this to happen. He had no desire to have people see him as a deity when all he wanted was to protect those he cared about. When all he ever used to want was some semblance of normalcy.

He bit his tongue to keep from cursing Chaos' name.

He realized the room was now silent.

"Percy?"

He stared at Jason. His quest never should have left the Labyrinth. Now, there was a freaky cult growing in his name and Percy was only adding to the fire by coming back.

"I have to go."

Without waiting, he fled the building and began sprinting for the temples. Gods, he left Nico with Octavian.

Percy whistled and the shadows on the ground condensed. Onyx emerged by his side and with practiced ease, Percy hardly broke his stride as he climbed into the hellhound's saddle.

The two of them plunged into darkness and reappeared within the temple to Jupiter.

Nico whipped around, eyes wide. "Percy? What's wrong?"

He dismounted and pointed a finger at Octavian. "What makes you think I'm a god of all things?"

Next to him, Nico let out a confused sound. But Octavian hardly looked surprised.

"Ah, Jason must have explained. Well, I was about to gain insight on Nico here, but I can explain myself."

Octavian approached Percy, but he refused to back down. "Though I'm not sure why you would be so upset, unless…"

Percy tried to calm himself. He was aware of Nico next to him, could see the glint of his bracers from under his jacket sleeves in the corner of his eye. And based on the wind kicking up outside the temple, Jason was closing in as well.

Percy said, "It's insane to call a mortal a god. There's all sorts of ancient stories where things go very poorly for people who try to pose as something they aren't."

Octavian's eyes glinted like he was issued a challenge. Blood rushed in Percy's ears.

"Octavian! Percy!" Jason shouted from somewhere behind him.

Nico made a move from the corner of Percy's eye. Octavian saw it as well.

All Percy could register was the flash of a golden blade before his body was moving on its own.

The next thing Percy knew, he was frozen in place as blood dripped down his arm.

His eyes went wide.

Octavian had pulled a knife, but lunged for Nico.

Nico did as he was trained to do. He had one arm raised, poised to block the attack. He kept a white knuckled grip on his sword.

But Percy had managed to get between Nico and Octavian. He had grabbed the older boy by the arm, but Octavian managed to twist his wrist to send his blade piercing Percy's forearm.

He pulled out of Percy's slackened grip and tilted his knife in the light.

Percy's blood glinted on the blade with a shimmering copper color. Not quite gold, but not red either.

"What is this?" Octavian marveled.

"Percy?"

That was Jason.

Percy realized he was between two Romans who now knew he was not as human as he should have been.

The strange silence between them all was broken when Nico lunged at Octavian and jabbed him in the ribs with the hilt of his sword. Octavian dropped the knife and wheezed as Nico grabbed Percy by his uninjured arm, shadow traveling them both onto Onyx' saddle.

"Onyx! Go!" Nico shouted. They shadow traveled out of the temple before anyone could stop them. Percy and Nico found Grover before warping out of Camp Jupiter. The other hounds could sense something was wrong and followed as Percy brought Onyx back to the entrance of the Labyrinth.

"What's happened?" Tyson asked.

Grover slid out of the saddle. "Yeah, why are we leaving so soon? You said this place was safe!"

Percy had gathered enough of his senses to say, "We can't stay here, everyone back in!"

He was still the leader of the quest. The hounds and his friends trusted him and returned to the endless darkness they came from, with Percy sealing the door behind them.

They didn't stop moving, even though Percy didn't think they'd be followed. Guided only by their flashlights, they somehow managed to return to the mosaic room. Except now, the Roman architecture seemed to mock Percy. The domed ceiling above felt like it was pressing down on him.

But it was their only option now if they wanted to rest.

"Percy, how long have you had that?" Grover asked, pointing at his injured arm.

"This crazy guy stabbed him!" Nico said as he rummaged through Andrea's packs. He pulled out a baggie of ambrosia and handed it to Percy. "He just attacked us out of nowhere."

Percy accepted the ambrosia. He sat on the edge of the dried up fountain and ate without tasting. The dull throbbing in his arm began to fade. The Romans thought he was a god… and now they knew they weren't completely wrong.

Percy took first watch. Of course everyone objected, insisting he should rest, but Percy was running on both adrenaline and ambrosia. No way he'd sleep anytime soon.

So Tyson ignited the torches mounted to the walls, giving them just enough light to save the power in their portable lamps. It was still mostly dark, and eerily silent. Percy sat on the lip of the fountain, Riptide in hand. It was just him and Onyx, his dutiful second in command, back to back and watching the two entrances to the room.

Every now and then, Percy absentmindedly rubbed his forearm. He had ripped off the sleeve of his undershirt because it was so sticky with his blood, but without it he couldn't help but glance at his freshly-healed skin. All that remained of Octavian's knife wound was a thin, white line.

Looking back, it was probably never Octavian's intention to actually hurt Nico. His friend was the bait, and Percy fell for it perfectly. He'd curse his fatal degree of loyalty, but Percy didn't have it in him.

But now they were back at square one. Without Camp Jupiter to collaborate with, how were they ever going to destroy the Labyrinth?

Percy propped an elbow on his knee and rested his cheek on his hand. He was focused so much on listening for sounds of monsters- footsteps, growling, hissing- that he startled when Onyx nudged him with his nose.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Percy whispered.

Onyx let out a sound and began pacing around the fountain. Percy stood up and finally noticed what got Onyx so agitated.

Nico's sleeping bag was empty.

"Shit."Percy listened in the quiet of the Labyrinth, straining his ears for any sign of his friend.

How did Nico manage to slip away? Unless he shadow traveled right out of his bedroll…

Percy froze and craned his neck. He caught the sound ofsomething.It was extremely faint, coming from the tunnel not in the direction of Camp Jupiter. He wouldn't call it wind or even whispering. Just a different frequency from the ringing in his ears and Tyson's snoring.

"Stay," Percy said, and Onyx stood at alert over their companions.

Percy forced his eyes to adjust to the darkness and began slowly walking into the shadows. Maybe fifty or so feet from the mosaic room, the sound he was hearing was slowly turning into a hushed human voice, one he recognized.

"-no…no… I told you, I said to leave me alone!"

Percy paused. Nico was just a few yards ahead of him now, speaking as if there was someone in front of him. But no matter how much Percy squinted into the darkness, there was no one there.

He strained to hear what Nico was hearing and felt a tug in his gut. It was the same pulling force as when he used his powers to manipulate water. This time, the slightest draft flowed through the Labyrinth and with it came a voice.

"I am afraid I cannot, dear child. You need me, and you know it. Do you not want your beloved sister back?"

Sister? As in Bianca?

"Stop it!" Nico said. His voice cracked. He sounded distressed.

"Are you not the son of Hades?" the voice asked. Percy thought it sounded like an adult male. "You have more power than you know, but you are blinded by your choice of companions. That fool, Perseus Jackson, hinders the growth of your abilities. Why trust a whelp such as he? Is he not always keeping some sort of secret from you?"

"He's… he doesn't any-"

"He does so because he wants to keep you weak. Weak and reliant upon him! But I can make you a true lord over the dead, master. There will come a time when-"

Percy heard enough. He shouted, "Hey!"

He felt the attention of both figures turn to him. Nico's eyes were wide, and he did look upset, but his gaze burned with something beyond that. Percy wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Nico look so angry before.

Percy swore he heard a laugh. "You will see, my lord. The boy will not be able to hold you back forever."

Whoever the voice belonged to, it faded as the Labyrinth trembled again.

Nico wiped his eyes with his sleeve as Percy approached him. "Nico, who were you talking to?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

Nico tried to push past Percy, but he caught the other boy by the aviator jacket.

"Hey, that didn't seem like nothing." By the faint glow that Riptide gave off, Nico's pale face looked especially flushed. From frustration or being upset, Percy couldn't tell.

"I try to talk to you about my secrets, don't I?" Percy asked.

Nico's jaw clenched. He said nothing.

Percy tried something else. He let go of Nico and asked, "At least tell me if you're alright or not."

At last, he cracked that hardened exterior. Nico let out a shaky breath and nodded. "I'm alright."

Good. The two of them began heading back to the group. Nico shuffled a half-pace behind Percy with his hands stuffed in his pockets. After a moment, Nico said, "That voice belonged to a spirit of the dead. He calls himself the King of Ghosts."

Strange. "I would have figured that was your dad."

Nico shrugged. "It's what he says. I see dead people in my dreams all the time, but he's the most persistent."

"That sounds rough," Percy said. And he meant it. What did the dead look like in dreams? More ghostly, or more human? Which was worse?

"It is," Nico agreed. He left it at that, and Percy didn't feel the need to pry. Not yet.

Percy got the strangest feeling, a shiver from some unknown cause. It was the animal part of his brain trying to tell him something he wasn't yet aware of.

He threw his arm out to the side and Nico grunted softly as he walked into Percy.

"What-"

"Nico." Percy said, panic swelling in his chest. "Look."

He raised Riptide and the glow of his sword revealed a solid wall where the entrance to the mosaic room should have been.

Percy couldn't shadow travel without a hellhound, and Nico could see well in the dark, but not perfectly. So Percy had to depend on Nico to move around and Nico had to rely on his vision as the two of them tore through the lightless Labyrinth.

"Try again," Percy said, gripping Nico's arm. The son of Hades took a breath and tried to teleport them to the approximate location of where they left their friends and pack. Again, they ended up back in just another tunnel.

"Where did they go? How come you can't bring us back?" Nico asked.

"I- I don't know. Something's stopping me."

For the very first time, Percy felt the fear that something like the Labyrinth should have inspired. This was the place that drove ordinary demigods to madness and made even ones like Clarisse hesitate to ever return. It was a monster in its own right, and now Percy could no longer control it. The Labyrinth shook and twisted, forcing them down winding paths made of cobblestone, wooden archways, and moldy brick.

It was like something was fighting him in a game of tug-of-war, pulling at him while Percy could only do his damndest to dig his heels into the dirt. The Labyrinth obeyed when he wanted it to change, but it refused to return him to his friends.

Which begged the question, what (orwho) else could be controlling the Labyrinth?

Besides him, Nico was breathing hard and fast. Percy ignored his own hammering heart, reminded that it wasn't just his life at stake. He grabbed Nico by the shoulder and pulled him to the side. He urged Nico to sit with his back against the wall while Percy knelt in front of him. He ignored how hard he was holding onto Riptide as he said, "Look, Nico. It's gonna be alright. We're kids of the Big Three, after all. It's clear we're lost, but we can fix that. First we…" he paused as a slap-dash idea started forming in his head, "... first we find an exit. We get out of here, get our bearings, contact camp, and try to recover our friends after that. Okay?"

Nico swallowed a breath of air and nodded. "Okay."

"Good, now do you still have your flashlight?"

Nico's eyes widened. He fumbled with his jacket pockets until he pulled out a small, aluminum flashlight. In their initial panic, he must have forgotten he had it. Nico switched it on and its LEDs made a bright circle on the ceiling of the tunnel. It wasn't very big, but it was something.

"And how many spare batteries do you have?"

Nico reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed pack of four AAA batteries.

"That'll have to do. Are you ready to get going?"

Nico pocketed his batteries and nodded. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

They had no food, water, support, or idea where they were going, but Percy picked a direction and they started walking. They fought a pack of rodent-like monsters the size of dogs and quickly backtracked when they walked into the den of a sleeping drakon.

When the stretches of empty halls and tunnels got to be too much to bear, Percy found himself rambling softly.

"You've gotten good at shadow travel, you know? Really good- I bet you don't even need Ruby's help anymore…"

"Sometimes it still makes me feel sick," Nico said, voice equally as soft. Just loud enough to be heard, but soft enough to hopefully not alert any nearby monsters.

"Is anything else getting easier?"

He'd seen the ways Nico could manipulate shadows, Percy had even seen him crack the earth open in a vision. Percy could also tell when Nico was having a particularly bad nightmare because the cabin would drop in temperature and the shadows would condense around the other boy's bed.

"I don't know. I guess I can tell when someone I care about d-dies."

Percy's gut twisted and he chose to drop the topic.

Both their stomachs started growling when at last, Percy caught a speck of blue out of the corner of his eye. He turned on his heel and spotted the blessed glowing Delta symbol belonging to Daedalus. He punched it hard and the stone corridor they were in groaned. A set of steps revealed themselves, leading up to the mortal world.

The two of them thundered up the steps and heaved their first breaths of fresh air after far too long in the Labyrinth. Percy looked up and saw a setting sun tinging the sky with shades of red and orange. The air was humid and sticky against his skin.

He spun in a slow circle to gather their bearings. It looked like they were in a fenced-off parking lot behind an old building. A scraggly stretch of woods extended beyond the fencing. Looking behind them, Percy saw that their exit from the Labyrinth took the shape of a set of storm cellar doors. The hinges were rusted over, showing their age.

Looking back at that awful darkness, Percy made the decision to slam the doors shut. He found a discarded wrench laying in a trash heap nearby and wedged it under the door handles. It probably wouldn't stop even a mildly determined monster, but it still made him feel better.

"Where are we?" Nico asked.

"No idea, come on." Percy said. They walked around the building and found themselves in another empty parking lot next to a secluded two-lane street. It looked like the building the cellar was attached to was some kind of abandoned hardware store. Old flyers for sales were plastered inside the window. Nico tugged on Percy's sleeve and pointed across the street.

"Percy,Percy!"

He followed Nico's frantic gesturing.

Across the street was a fucking McDonald's. It's yellow sign a beacon in the dying light.

The two of them shared one look before searching their pockets for any kind of mortal money. Nico had a wrinkled ten dollar bill and two singles in one of his jacket's inner pockets and Percy had a crumpled five he never noticed in his back pocket- definitely something that got caught in the wash once or twice. But combined it'd be more than enough for a meal.

When Percy had asked the cashier for the time and date, plus where they were, he was given a strange look. But they had wound up in North Carolina, and he was at least relieved to know it was only three days since they left camp. On the downside, that meant they wasted three days with nothing to show for it.

Percy ate to fill his empty stomach but felt terrible knowing that his brother and best friend, plus his pack, were still down in the Labyrinth. But on the plus side, the hounds could protect his friends and Percy had faith that they'd all manage to survive. The pack had basically all the supplies their team was given, anyways.

"How are we gonna get back to camp?" Nico asked.

Percy didn't answer right away. He drummed his fingers on the table.

"I don't know. The Labyrinth would have been our fastest bet, but something's keeping me from being able to influence it."

Nico's brows bunched up. "You think it's the spirit of Daedalus? Maybe he's mad we're trying to destroy his Labyrinth."

Percy paused mid-bite. He stared at Nico. "That would actually make a lot of sense."

Nico bit his lower lip. "You think so?"

Percy shrugged. What else could it be?

They finished eating in silence, though Nico looked troubled by something. Percy nudged his foot under the table. "Hey, what're you thinking?"

Nico picked at a napkin, slowly tearing it into thin strips. "If the spirit of Daedalus is giving us trouble… I could try summoning him."

Percy blinked. "Can you do that?"

The other boy nodded. "I should. The dead have whispered instructions for ancient rites every time I fall asleep."

That was also new to Percy. He knew Nico had frequent nightmares, heknewthe son of Hades was intrinsically connected to the dead. But Percy still had to remind himself that this was not the same innocent, defenseless kid he risked his life for in Westover. He even acknowledged it in the Labyrinth. Across from him was another kid of the Big Three, and right now Nico was their only shot at solving any of their problems.

The first thing Nico needed was an offering. Hence, spending some of their leftover money on a Happy Meal.

The second thing he needed was a pit. Thankfully, after slashing open a few locks they snuck their way inside the abandoned hardware shop. There wasn't really a suitable pit inside the store, but they made off with an old shovel and some gardening trowels. He wasn't really eager to be digging a ditch in the woods either, but Nico seemed to have better ideas.

"Give me a second," he said.

Nico stretched his arms out in front of him and let out a breath. He closed his eyes and lowered his hands toward the ground. Percy felt the faintest tremor.

Nico clenched his hands into fists. He kept his eyes closed, face pinched in concentration, as he said, "Rise."

Percy scrambled back as a hand burst from the dirt. He watched, captivated, as a pair of skeletal figures pulled themselves from the ground. They wereliteralskeletons with white bones under grayish skin and ragged clothes.

The part of Percy that wasn't human nor god absolutely relished the sight before him. There were no words in his mind, just feelings that weren't his own. Bending laws of nature and commanding forces not meant to be commanded… Percy had plenty of experience with that. But he just tried to push down the part of himself that was so pleased. He didn't care for Chaos' stamp of approval on his friend, he didn't need it.

"Dig," Nico said. The skeletons picked up the tools that Percy dropped in his haste and began digging.

"Didn't know you could summon your own gravediggers," Percy said.

Nico stared at him. "I've never needed to."

The way he said it left Percy on edge. Nico didn't at all seem surprised that he could conjure up some skeleton zombies to do his bidding.

While they worked, Nico asked Percy to go back to the McDonalds for a few sodas- why, Percy had no idea. But he did it and in a surprisingly short amount of time, a hole roughly the size of a grave was dug out. The skeletons climbed out and looked to Nico for further instructions.

"You're dismissed," Nico said. He added, "Thank you."

The skeletons said nothing as they dissolved into dust, leaving only their tools behind. Nico gestured for Percy to hand over the sodas.

"Let the dead taste again. Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

Slowly, Nico began pouring cups of Coke into the pit, muttering under his breath. As he did so, the birds and insects stopped chirping. The wind died down. Even the traces of sunlight felt like they were fading away. Percy continued to hand Nico drink after drink as thick mist began to cluster at their feet and the pit filled with a dark brown, bubbling liquid. When at last they threw in the chicken nuggets from the Happy Meal, Percy felt a chill wrack his whole body.

"It should still work even if it's not fully night yet…" Nico murmured.

"Uh, Nico?" Percy asked. He spotted some columns of mist forming into human figures.

"Stop them!" Nico said quickly, "Only the spirit we want can drink."

Percy pulled out Riptide and slashed through the ghostly figures while Nico kept murmuring ancient Greek incantations.

"Ah, I see that I have been summoned," a familiar voice said. Percy wheeled around. One of the ghosts got past him and had his cupped hands filled with liquid from the pit. "Gratitude for the offering, master."

"That wasn't for you!" Nico shouted.

The ghost solidified into a man in white robes and a circlet of gold atop his head. He smiled, "Apologies, I could not resist."

Was this the guy Nico was talking to in the Labyrinth?

The ghosts began multiplying, hissing and trying to skirt around Percy's blade. Nico knelt and resumed his chanting.

"Yes, yes. Continue your chanting, child. Keep the ungrateful at bay and in turn," the ghost's eyes fixed themselves on Percy, "I will guard you from this unsightly abomination."

"Whoever you are, get lost!" Percy said, "We're looking for Daedalus."

The ghost raised an amused brow."Daedalus?That old fool?"

He turned to Nico. "Master, what you are doing here is a lost cause! Daedalus' spirit still walks this world in solid form. He has been escaping your father's realm for millenia."

"And how do you know that?" Percy asked.

The ghost's smile turned cold and cruel. "He and I are quite old friends, don't you know?"

Nico looked beyond frustrated with the specter. He stood up and pointed at the supposed King of Ghosts. "Go. Now."

"Awfully testy today, my lord. Have you not had the time to consider my proposition?"

Nico sucked in a breath through his teeth. His shoulders quaked for a moment.

"Don't," he said.

The ghost began walking slow circles around them, observing Percy and Nico as other spirits parted ways for their king.

Nico said, "I told you, I've got no soul to trade."

"Trade?" Percy asked, stepping closer to Nico. "Trade for what?"

"For his dearest, most beloved sister of course!" the Ghost King said. "A life for a life, a soul for Bianca di Angelo."

Percy felt a bone deep outrage when he saw the face Nico made when he heard his sister's name. Nico made a sound as if all the air was ripped from his lungs and he was struggling to replace it. Percy leveled Riptide at the spirit, even when he knew he probably couldn't hurt him.

"I already tried," Nico said. So soft, Percy almost missed it.

"Nico?" he asked. Didn't Percy say to not trust beings that promised such powerful things?

"I've tried," Nico said, eyes glued to the ground. "But my father has no interest in souls he will eventually have anyways. Mine cannot bring my sister back."

Percy's blood ran cold. He was going to ask when Nico would ever be able to make a barter like that, but more than one opportunity flashed in his mind. When he vanished for over a week on an early expedition into the Labyrinth, when Nico first followed him to Camp Jupiter and wound up in the underworld along the way.

He stared at the sword hanging at Nico's side, given to him by Hades.

"Yes," the ghost said, "But you know of more than one soul who would suit your purposes, one that has escaped death. If you could find Daedalus. Or, in a pinch, if you could find a certain Hunter of Artemis, one that now lives on borrowed immortality."

Percy had heard enough. He lunged at the Ghost King and tried to conjure up just a fraction of his powers from Chaos. As Percy slashed through the ghostly figure, the air all around them dropped in temperature as the spirits dispelled.

Only one remained, and it rippled fiercely in the wake of Percy's power.

Nico stared at it. He murmured in ancient Greek, an invitation.

The spirit knelt by the pit and filled their hands with drink. They sipped and suddenly, Percy was staring not as a column of mist but at a young girl. She stood up, revealing a silvery parka and a bow slung over her shoulders. She looked remarkably like Nico.

It was Artemis' fallen Hunter. The daughter of Hades.

"Bianca," Nico said. He reached out, as if to touch her, but hesitated. She smiled and met him halfway, holding his hand in both of her own.

"Hello, Nico. You've grown since I last saw you." She reached up to tuck a stray lock of his hair behind one ear. "Your hair's so long now."

"Bianca,"he said again, desperate and relieved and afraid. It made Percy feel like he was intruding on something.

"Shh,"his sister said. She glanced at Percy for just a moment. Bianca cupped Nico's face in her hands and he clung to her jacket as if it were the only thing keeping his sister from vanishing. Percy wondered if, in all his dreams, Nico ever managed to find his sister.

Bianca spoke softly, "Don't listen to the Ghost King, Nico. He's trying to lead you down a dark and violent path. Even if you don't want to, you have to learn to let go."

Nico shook his head. "I don't understand."

Bianca gave him a sad smile. "You're angry at Annabeth Chase."

"Because she let you die!"

Percy's stomach churned. He wanted to object, but he saw thehurtin Nico's eyes.

"Did she?" Bianca asked. "The choice to sacrifice my life was my own. But Nico."

She said something in a language Percy didn't understand. It wasn't Greek or Latin but sounded vaguely familiar. Italian?

Bianca said in English, "More importantly, I know you're mad at me as well."

"I'm-"

"You're mad I left you for the Hunters, you're mad I left you alone when I died." She glanced at Percy again, "But you still have those that care for you. Please, focus on what you've made for yourself instead of what you've lost."

She let go of Nico. "Goodbye, Nico. I love you."

"Bianca! Don't go!"

But the ghostly figure of Bianca di Angelo faded away. The pit drained of its frothy offering, and the wind returned to the woods.

Then it was just Percy and Nico again.

Percy didn't have it in him to press Nico.

It was dark out, so it'd be hard to make a rainbow to contact camp. They could have tried to find a payphone, but Percy felt that chances were slim. Instead, he wanted to make sure they at least got some rest. They made camp inside the old hardware store, pushing together the chairs in a breakroom into a makeshift bed. Even though Percy hadn't slept for longer, he let Nico rest first while he took on guard duty.

He didn't get much sleep himself, too sick with worry for his friends.

In the morning, Percy taught Nico one his fundamental lessons of being a demigod- do whatever it took to survive. Using shadow travel, they stole just enough food from the McDonalds to qualify as a breakfast.

After they ate behind the hardware store, the two of them stared down the entrance to the Labyrinth. They needed to find their other friends, or at least a way back to camp.

"Ready?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded. Percy wasn't sure the other boy spoke a word since yesterday.

Percy tugged the wrench jamming the cellar doors free and opened them up.

By then, the Labyrinth was hauntingly familiar.

As they walked, using only Nico's small flashlight to light the way, Percy felt like he needed to confront the obvious. It'd been on his mind since the ritual the previous night. Percy wasn't going to let Nico try- he'd already made enough of a mess of the natural order of the world, but he thought he should make sure the idea was not going to become an attempt.

Percy spoke, keeping his voice low, "Nico… I don't know if you've thought about it. But you know I don't stay dead."

"I know." Nico said. He didn't say anything else for a long while. Percy began to wonder if the other boy was dropping the subject.

"It'sbecauseyou come back that I don't think it'd work," Nico said. "Is it cheating death if that's part of your nature?"

Percy didn't know how to answer that.

"Besides… if Bianca did ever come back, she'd just go back to being a Hunter." Nico said. And he did leave it at that.

Percy didn't know how much time passed, punctuated by the occasional monster.

Eventually, they came across a literal light at the end of the tunnel. It became visible around the same time Nico's flashlight began reflecting off of bronze pipes running along the walls and cables tangling across the floor. Percy and Nico shared a look. They had their swords drawn, just in case, as they approached what looked like an old-timey submarine hatch with a wheel for a door. The bronze plated door was studded in brass rivets, a single fluorescent light affixed above it.

Percy ran his fingertips over the door, cocked his head to the side, and pressed his whole palm against it.

"It's warm," he said. As if there was a heat source on the other side.

"So it's occupied," Nico said.

Percy nodded. They could turn back, or they could risk a quick peek inside. He didn't know about Nico, but Percy was tired of wandering in the dark. He capped Riptide and turned the wheel. It groaned, as if it hadn't been opened in a very long time. But the other side was… not what they were expecting.

"Huh," Nico said. Percy could have said the same.

It looked like a modern industrial garage. The walls were lined with workbenches and racks of tools while a line of hydraulic lifts took up most of the floor space. There were a few cars, but some weirder things like a chariot made entirely of fire suspended above the floor. Percy also caught sight of a line of furnaces to the side; they looked like more beefed up versions of the kind that Camp Half-Blood had for their forges, probably the source of the heat in the room.

Percy's eyes landed on a pair of legs sticking out from under a Toyota Corolla suspended on a lift. After a moment, he heard a rumbling voice mutter something about a draft. The mechanic slid out from under the car and sat up. Percy's eyes zeroed in on the name stitched in bronze on the front pocket of the guy's oil-smeared jumpsuit.

Hephaestus.

Maybe that wasn't a terrible thing. This god at least didn't vote to kill Percy at the previous winter solstice.

Hephaestus' eyes narrowed at the two of them. He hobbled closer, one of his legs supported by a metal brace that creaked and groaned.

"Ah, the son of Poseidon." He leaned over them as he stroked his beard. The guy was huge, tall and burly like an even bigger version of Tyson. He glanced at Nico and frowned. "Are you something I've made?"

Nico blinked at the god. "Afraid not."

"Oh," Hephaestus said, as if disappointed. "Another little hero, then. I must say I've seen better workmanship elsewhere."

Percy and Nico shared a glance as Hephaestus wandered over to a workbench and shifted through some images of diagrams and schematics. He spoke, his voice akin to a running engine, "Tell me, what are you demigods doing in my forge? You better have a good reason for disturbing me."

Percy cleared his throat. "We didn't mean to seek you out. Your workshop was sort of in our way. We came from the Labyrinth."

Hephaestus shot them a curious glance. Or as curious as one could be with a perpetual scowl like his. "The Labyrinth? That hunk of junk? What're you looking for in there?"

"We're searching for Daedauls' workshop. Or Daedalus himself, either one."

Percy thought that maybe he said something wrong when the god of fire burst into flames. Or maybe that was a good thing.

"Excuse me?"

Oh, that was definitely bad.

The flames died as Hephaestus soothed over the sparks flaring up in his beard. The god asked, "That disgrace? What do you need him for?"

"We're trying to destroy the Labyrinth," Nico said. "So we need to find Daedalus' workshop."

Hephaestus shook his head and returned to his workbench. "Nonsense. He won't help you."

Percy took a step closer. "What makes you think that?"

Hephaestus pulled a pen from his pocket and began adding to one of his designs. He made perfect straight lines without any kind of assistance, and in seconds had what looked like all necessary parts for a car engine aligned on his paper. Nico stared at the way the god so effortlessly hand-drew his designs.

"Remember when us gods voted on whether you deserved to keep your life? I said back then that I knew the cruelty that could come from family."

Percy nodded. He could vaguely recall.

Hephaestus continued. "My own mother flung me from Olympus when I was not to her liking." The god pulled random spare parts scattered across hisworktable and assembled them as he spoke, "Hera is a goddess of a highly particular taste. She is the patron of families, but only wants a family she deems perfect. So she turned on me. And in the right circumstances, any kind of kin will turn on kin. That is how I learned to trust only myself and what I could make with my own hands. In Daedalus' case, his lesson was even more severe. The old architect will only serve his own interests, he will not help you."

Percy sifted through what he knew of Daedalus' myth. He lost his son Iracus, who famously melted the wax in his wings and plummeted to his death. But he didn't see how that was relevant.

Hephaestus put the finishing touches on his creation, a golden hawk that let out a mechanical squawk before taking off.

Nico spoke up, "That's nice and all, but our camp is in danger. Your kids are in danger. And you know, you madethem.So if you know anything about how to find Daedauls, we could really use it."

Hephaestus laughed loud enough for Percy to feel his own chest vibrate. "You demigods, always so gutsy. But no, if you had come to me for gold or a flaming sword, even enchanted armor or a flying chariot, I could provide that with ease."

The god held out his arm and his hawk perched neatly on his jumpsuit's sleeve. He pulled a single feather and the entire mechanism fell apart. "But a way to Daedalus is an expensive favor. First, I want to ask you two for something in return."

Percy had no choice but to listen. Hephaestus wanted them to sneak into his favorite forge under Mount St. Helens to find out who or what had been using it while the god was absent.

Hephaestus warned, "But be careful. Mount St. Helens is where Typhon resides. Pray he remains undisturbed while you are there."

Great,Percy thought.A side quest.

But it was their only shot, so they had to agree. Hephaestus picked up some bits of the automaton hawk and put them back together. This time, a mechanical spider sat in his palm.

"Follow my creation. It will lead you to my forge. Best of luck, little heroes."

With no other choice, Percy and Nico followed the spider through the tangled web that was the Labyrinth.

Notes:

I have no idea how or when or why but this chapter really turned into a fairly Nico-centric one, didn't it? Not that I'm complaining. I just wanted to explore what his character would be like if he didn't blame Percy for Bianca's death and also had access to readily available love and also didn't get his emotional support from manipulative dead kings. Therefore, he is now firmly Percy's weird, emotionally-traumatized emo little brother and the second son Sally can and will shower with the love he deserves.

Part 2 to my rewrite of BotL is already in progress. Hopefully soon I can bring this whole labyrinth arc to a close. And after that, we'll be hitting the Last Olympian.

Comments are greatly appreciated! This chapter's another big one and I'm excited to know what people think of it :)