The newcomer was a woman standing by the fountain. She had a regal air about her, tall and graceful with chocolate-coloured hair. Said hair was braided in plaits with gold ribbons. She was also clad in a simple white dress that seems to shimmer with colours as she moved.

She spoke in a scolding tone, "Janus, are we causing trouble again?"

The right face turned pale and stammered, "N-no, milady! Not at all."

However, the left face cheekily quipped, "Yes."

Right snapped, "Shut up!"

She raised an eyebrow, "I do beg your pardon?"

The right-sided face paled even further, "Not you, milady. I was talking to myself!"

She smiled sweetly, bit with a slight edge to her voice, "I see. You know very well your visit is premature. The girl's time has not yet come. So I give you a choice: leave these heroes to me, or I shall turn you into a door and break you down."

The left face babbled, "What kind of door? French doors are nice! Lots of natural light."

His twin wailed, "Will you shut up! No not you, milady… I'll take my leave! I was just having a bit of fun just doing my job, offering choices."

The woman corrected, "You are causing indecision, you mean. Now begone!"

Janus raised his silver key and his left face muttered, "Party Pooper…"

He soon disappeared in a flash of light. This left the five of them with the regal woman. She turned to them and sized them up for a minute, before smiling. She lightly said, "You five must be hungry. Sit with me and talk."

With a wave of her hand, the fountain sprung to life. At the same time, a marble table materialised, laden with platters of sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade. As they sat, the woman introduced herself, "I am Hera, Queen of the Heavens."

Harry scrambled to his feet, ready to bow, but she stopped him. She assured, "None of that, my dear. There's no need to be so formal."

Annabeth voiced the question that they all wanted to ask, "Queen Hera. I can't believe it. What are you doing in the Labyrinth?"

She smiled gently and waved her hand again. This time, all the dirt and grime on everyone's faces and bodies, were magically wiped away. The goddess simply said, "I came here to see you all, naturally."

Grover and Percy exchanged looks, knowing that Hera probably wanted something. Annabeth nervously said, "I was under the impression that you were not too fond of heroes."

Hera performed a dismissive gesture, "Oh dear… That little spat with Herakles? Honestly, I got so much bad press because of one disagreement. It's all water under the bridge, my dear. Besides, he was one of my loving husband's children by another woman. My patience wore thin, I'll admit it. But Zeus and I have had some excellent marriage counselling sessions since then. We've aired our feelings and come to an understanding – especially after that last little incident."

Percy looked like he wanted to blurt something, but Harry anticipated that and elbowed him. Nevertheless, Hera glanced at Percy, "Percy Jackson, isn't it? One of Poseidon's children. As I recall, I voted to let you live at the winter solstice. I hope I voted correctly."

She gazed back at Annabeth, "At any rate, I certainly bear you no ill will, my girl. I appreciate the difficulty of your quest. Especially when you have troublemakers like Janus to deal with. You must understand, the minor gods like Janus have always been frustrated by their small parts to play in the universe. Some, I fear, have little love for Olympus, and could easily be swayed to support the rise of my father."

Harry asked, "Milady, will they be a problem?"

She tapped her chin, "Hmm… The likes of Janus, Morpheus and a few others may be worth watching. Hecate, if I'm not mistaken, seems to have decided to stay out of it. Harry Potter, I'm sure you know of her whereabouts, right? After all, she does have her own domain to look after."

Harry nodded, "Yes Ma'am. When I spoke to her, she admitted that she saw the signs, but wanted to stay away from the conflict. The Wizarding World at large, is mostly unaware of the demigod world. She is hoping that it stays that way. Kronos hasn't found out about it because I took away Luke's memories of me mentioning magic and the Wizarding World."

She smiled at him, "That is rather clever. The Fates know how messy it would have been if those Death Eater ruffians and the late Voldemort allied with the Titans. You see, in times of trouble, even gods can lose faith. They start putting their trust in the wrong things, petty things. They stop looking at the big picture and start being selfish. But I'm the goddess of marriage, you see. I'm used to perseverance. You have to rise above the squabbling and chaos and keep believing. You have to always keep your goals in mind. I wish to keep my family, the Olympians together. The best way I can do that is by helping you. Zeus does not allow me to interfere much, I am afraid. But once every century or so, for a quest I care deeply about, he allows me to grant a wish."

Annabeth tilted her head curiously, "A wish? What kind of wish?"

Hera didn't elaborate, but said, "Before you ask it, let me give you some advice, which I can do for free. I know you seek Daedalus. His Labyrinth is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. But if you want to know his fate, I would visit my son Hephaestus at his forge. Daedalus was a great inventor, a mortal after Hephaestus's heart. There has never been a mortal my son has admired more. If anyone would have kept up with Daedalus and could tell you his fate, it is my son."

Annabeth asked, "But how do we get there? That's my wish. I want a way to navigate the Labyrinth."

Hera looked mildly disappointed, "So be it. You wish for something, however, that you have already been given."

The girl was puzzled, "I don't understand."

Hera explained patiently, "The means is already within your grasp. Percy knows the answer."

This time, it was Percy's turn to be puzzled, as all eyes turned to him, " Wait… I do?"

Annabeth protested, "That's not fair! You're not telling us what it is!"

Hera tutted, "Getting something and having the wits to use it… those are two different things. I'm sure your mother, Athena, would agree."

Just then, the room rumbled, like a distant thunderstorm. Hera sighed and stood up, "That would be my cue. My husband grows impatient. Think on what I have said, Annabeth. Seek out Hephaestus. You will have to pass through the ranch, I imagine. But keep going. And use all the means at your disposal, however common they may seem. One last thing, Annabeth. I have postponed your day of choice. I have not prevented it. Soon, as Janus said, you will have to make a decision. Farewell!"

She waved her hand, causing her to disappear along with the picnic. The fountain also trickled to a stop and the mosaic walls grew mouldy again.

Annabeth was annoyed, "What sort of help was that! Make a wish, sorry I can't help you and *Poof*!"

Grover clasped his hands, "Well… She did say that Percy knows the answer."

Harry quickly interrupted, "Maybe she means not this very minute. Let's just keep going and maybe the answer will come to Jackson later."

Annabeth sighed, "Okay, let's just keep going ahead. So, left or right?"

Grover and Tyson stood up in unison and blurted, "Left!"

She glanced at them curiously, "Why left? Are you sure?"

Grover gulped, "S-s-something's coming from the right. Something big."

Harry immediately armed his bow and arrows, "Alright! Left it is. You guys go ahead, I'll cover your flank."

Together, they rushed into the inky black darkness of the left corridor with Harry bringing up the rear. The group of five sprinted down the tunnel, which went straight with no turns. Unfortunately, it led straight to a dead end, namely an enormous boulder blocking the path.

Tyson shoulder-tackled the boulder, but it budged only slightly. Then Harry stepped up, swapping his bow and arrows for his wand. He pointed it at the wall and chanted, "Bombarda!"

On cue, the boulder exploded into smithereens. They rushed into a small room before Harry turned around and yelled, "Reparo!"

The boulder then re-formed and plugged up the entrance once again. Their unknown pursuer roared in frustration and stomped away. Percy breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh good! We trapped it."

Grover stammered, "Umm… Perce… I think we trapped ourselves."

Sure enough, the five of them found themselves in a six-metre square cement room. The opposite wall was covered in metal bars. Harry groaned, "Oh bollocks! Don't tell me we accidentally landed in Azkaban. This is going to take a lot of awkward explaining to Sirius and Remus."

Grover shushed him, "Listen!"

Everyone fell silent and then they heard it. Above the group, a deep sobbing echoed through the building. There was another voice, which sounded raspier, and muttering in an unintelligible language.

Tyson's eye widened, "No! It can't be!"

Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed two bars and bent then wide enough for him, and by extension, everyone else to slip through. Harry was the last one out and he fixed the bars once again.

Annabeth breathed, "I know this place! This is Alcatraz! My school took a field trip here. It's like a museum."

They kept following Tyson when Grover hissed, "Freeze!"

Everyone froze, except for Tyson. It took both Grover and Harry to stop him and the former pointed upwards. On the second floor balcony was a terrifying monster. It was clearly female, because of its upper body, but the lower body was that of a seven metre long dragon. The monster was black and scaly, with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Her legs were made up of hundreds of snakes writhing around, and even her hair was made of snakes. By her waist, was a morphing belt that showed the heads of various animals one at a time.

Tyson whimpered fearfully, "Oh no! It's her!"

Everyone stuck to the shadows, but she was focused on a cell on the second floor. The sobbing sound was coming from where the monster lady was. Tyson shivered as she spoke, "The tongue of the old times. What Mother Earth spoke to Titans and… her other children. Before the gods."

Percy whispered, "Can you translate?"

Tyson closed his eye and began mimicking the voice. He spoke, "You will work for the master or suffer."

Annabeth shuddered, "I hate it when he does that."

Harry shuddered as well, "Is this what it feels like when I speak to snakes?"

Tyson then mimicked the other voice, "I will not serve!"

The other voice sounded deep and wounded. The Cyclops switched voices again, "Then I shall enjoy your pain, Briares!"

At that moment, Tyson's voice faltered and let out a strangled gulp. He continued, "If you thought your first imprisonment was unbearable, you have yet to feel true torment. Think on this until I return."

With that, the dragon lady walked away and spread a pair of huge bat wings that were on her back. She flew away, and the Group hid again, hoping that she hadn't seen them.

Grover hyperventilated, "I-I've never smelled a monster that powerful before."

Tyson looked terrified out of his mind, "Cyclopes' worst nightmare. Kampê. Every Cyclops knows about her. Stories about her scare us when we were babies. She was our jailer in the bad years."

Annabeth nodded sagely, "When the Titans ruled, they imprisoned Gaia and Ouranos' earlier children – the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires. The Hundred-handed Ones. They called them that because… well, they had a hundred hands. They were elder brothers of the Cyclopes."

Tyson gushed, "Very powerful. Wonderful! As tall as the sky. So strong they could break mountains!'

Then his tone changed to a more serious one, 'Kampê was the jailer. She worked for Kronos. She kept our brothers locked up in Tartarus, tortured them always, until Zeus came. He killed Kampê and freed Cyclopes and Hundred-handed Ones to help fight against the Titans in the big war."

Harry asked, "You mentioned a name, Briares."

Tyson perked up, "Yes, he is one of the Hundred-Handed Ones."

Harry grinned, "What do you say, mate? Want to lead a jailbreak?"

Annabeth agreed, "Yes, let's do it before Kampê returns"

They snuck towards the cell to see a human-sized person. His skin was very pale, the colour of milk. He wore a loincloth like a big diaper. His feet seemed too big for his body, with cracked dirty toenails, eight toes on each foot. The top half of his body saw a hundred arms sprouting from his body. The arms looked like normal arms, but there were so many of them, all tangled together, that his chest looked kind of like a forkful of spaghetti somebody had twirled together. Several of his hands were covering his face as he sobbed.

Tyson sank to his knees, "Briares! Great Hundred-Handed One! Help us!"

Briares looked at them miserably, "Run while you can. I cannot even help myself. Kampê is back! The Titans will rise and throw us back into Tartarus."

As he spoke, his arms appeared to be doing different things. Some played with pieces of metal and wood, others scratched at the floor, some played rock, paper, scissors, and few others made shadow puppets.

Harry checked his backpack, before an idea struck him. He pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and turned to Tyson. He said, "Mate, could you do the honours?"

Tyson dutifully bent the bars and a slightly hopeful look was on Briares' face, before it morphed back to a miserable one. Annabeth breathed in wonder, "Incredible! I heard that the Hundred-Handed Ones could make fifty different faces!"

Tyson urged, "Come on! We can help you!"

Annabeth murmured sadly, "The poor guy is terrified. Kampê imprisoned him in Tartarus for thousands of years. That must have taken a toll on him."

Eventually, they managed to coax him out, and Harry threw the Cloak over him. Miraculous, it was able to cover Briares, and Harry grabbed a hand and held on tight. The six of them slowly made it out of the prison, making sure to stick to the shadows.

There was a hairy moment when Kampê came swooping overhead. Briares whimpered, "She will punish me."

Annabeth soothed, "It's all right. You fought the Titans before, and you won, remember?"

They couldn't see his face from under the Invisibility Cloak but he said, "I remember the war. Lightning shook the world. We threw many rocks. The Titans and the monsters almost won. Now they are getting strong again. Kampê said so."

Harry murmured, "This time, I'm sure that we will win if we do go to war."

Annabeth guided everyone, having remembered the route from her tour. Soon, they exited the prison building and found themselves in the prison yard, ringed by security towers and barbed wire. After being inside so long, the daylight was almost blinding. Tourists milled around, taking pictures.

In the north of San Francisco, huge storm clouds swirled over Mount Tamalpais. The whole sky seemed like a black top spinning from the mountain where Atlas was imprisoned, and where the Titan palace of Mount Othrys was rising anew.

The lone girl on the quest gazed in that direction and muttered, "It's even worse. The storms have been bad all year, but that-"

Suddenly, from inside the building, there was a horrifying roar. Evidently, Kampê had returned and discovered the jailbreak.

They took their cue to run, and as they got to the far end of the yard, the wall exploded. The tourists wasted no time running helter-skelter, screaming their heads off. Kampê appeared from the dust and rubble, her wings spread out as wide as the yard. She was holding two swords – long bronze scimitars that had a weird greenish glow.

Grover yelped, "That's poison! Don't let it touch you!"

Tyson whipped off the cloak and handed it to Harry, who stuffed it in his backpack, "Briares, fight! Grow to full size! You can take her on!"

However, the newcomer was frightened out of his mind. Watching an enraged Kampê thundering towards them, they wasted no time in running away. The questors ran for their lives and Tyson yelled, "We need to go back to the maze! Only chance!"

As they passed a metal lamppost, Tyson ripped it out of the ground. He hollered, "I will distract Kampê! You run around and go back to the prison. Poison will hurt Cyclopes. A lot of pain, but it won't kill."

Percy yelled back, "Are you sure!"

"Go, brother! I will meet you inside!"

Tyson slowed and faced the monster, while the others ran faster. She had been glaring at Briares, but Tyson got her attention as soon as he nailed her in the chest with the pole, pushing her back into the wall. She shrieked and slashed with her swords, slicing the pole to shreds. Poison dripped in pools all around her, sizzling into the cement.

They kept running and finally reached the cell block when an angry roar sounded behind them. Harry and Percy risked a peek and spotted Tyson running at top speed after them. Kampê was also going as fast as she could.

They returned to their cell, but the back wall was smooth. Annabeth yelled, "Look for the mark!"

On cue, Grover touched a tiny scratch and it glowed and became a Greek Delta. The wall slid open and they went inside one-by-one. Tyson was a few metres behind, but Kampê was catching up. Harry turned and fired a few fart arrows to buy some time and it worked. Tyson dived through and Kampê charged after him, but it was too late for her. The stone door closed and its magic sealed the six of them in. Percy could feel the whole tunnel shake as Kampê pounded against it, roaring furiously.

Not taking any chances, they ventured deeper into the Labyrinth. The group continued forward until they reached a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. Around them water tumbled from huge pipes. It spilled down into the pit, and even when Percy shone a light, he couldn't see the bottom.

Briares slumped against the wall. He scooped up water in a dozen hands and washed his face. He murmured, "This pit goes straight to Tartarus. I should jump in and save you trouble."

Annabeth snapped, "Don't talk that way. You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

He lamented, "I have nothing to offer. I have lost everything. My brothers are no more. They faded.'

The waterfalls thundered. Tyson stared into the pit and blinked tears out of his eye. Percy asked, as if dreading the answer, "What exactly do you mean, they faded?"

'Grover bleated, "Percy. Even immortality has limits. Sometimes… sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

It clicked for Harry, "Does that explain what happened with Medusa? Remember she told us once: how her sisters, the other two gorgons, had passed on and left her alone."

Annabeth jumped in, "Oh yes! Then last year Apollo said something about the old god Helios disappearing and leaving him with the duties of the sun god. I'd never thought about it like that."

Briares shook his head, "I must go…"

Percy grabbed him and led him aside. He insisted, "Briares, we need you. In case you haven't noticed, Tyson believes in you. He risked his life for you."

However, the Hundred-Handed One still shook his head. Percy sighed in defeat, "Maybe that's why monsters fade,' I said. 'Maybe it's not about what the mortals believe. Maybe it's because you give up on yourself."

Briares looked down in utter shame and trudged down the corridor. Tyson sobbed, "He was my hero…"

They stood in silence for a while before Annabeth made a move, "Come on… This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for now."

The group, without Briares walked down a huge corridor made of marble blocks. Then it changed to a dark stone tunnel. The walls were dark and slimy and even the floor was wet. They forged ahead until there was an audible crunch. Annabeth looked down and recoiled when she saw that she had stepped on a rat's skull. They shone their flashlights on the ground to see the floor littered with small animal bones.

Annabeth led the way, and nearly screamed when she rounded a dark bend. Percy and Harry rushed to her, when they saw it. The boys could just make out the outline of something huge and curved, lying right across the tunnel.

Harry tip-toed forward with his flashlight, and then breathed a sigh of relief. He called back, "False alarm! It's just a skin, and I know this place. We're in the Chamber of Salazar Slytherin."

Then a thought struck him, "Oh bollocks! The Labyrinth reaches as far as England!"

This time, it was Harry who led the group, as it was familiar territory. The area was no longer caved in, so Harry assumed that the Labyrinth's magic repaired it. Eventually, they saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

Harry approached, cleared his throat and hissed, "Open."

On cue, the serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and the group walked inside. They soon found themselves in a long, dimly-lit chamber, which Harry found very familiar.

Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

Grover then clutched Harry's arm fearfully and pointed ahead with a shaky finger, "Wh-what's that?"

Harry looked at where he was pointing, "That's the Basilisk that I faced in my Second-Year."

Annabeth shrieked, "YOU FACED THAT THING ALONE!?"

He quickly placated her, "I had some help from Katie."

Percy took one look at the 60-foot headless corpse and shuddered, "Dude! You have my respect. How tough was this thing?"

"Think Medusa, but as a literal 60-foot snake, and you can't even use a mirror to see it."

Annabeth tilted her head curiously, "Why not?"

"Looking at it in the eyes directly means instant death. Looking at it through a reflective surface causes petrification. I was basically fighting the bloody thing blind until Hedwig and Buzz pecked and clawed its eyes out."

They walked past the Basilisk corpse and continued down the chamber. After even more walking, the serpentine pillars were left behind and the walls turned back to marble blocks. Bronze torch holders were spread evenly along the walls and it looked like an older section of the maze.

Annabeth stopped walking and called out, "Get some rest, everybody. We'll keep going later on."

The five sank to the ground in exhaustion, as the adrenaline finally wore off. Grover was out like a light, but Tyson took a lot longer. Then it was just Percy, Harry and Annabeth.

She sarcastically quipped, "First day leading the quest. Just great."

Percy assure her, "We'll get there. We'll find the workshop before Luke does."

The girl whined, "I just wish the quest was logical! "I mean, we're travelling but we have no idea where we'll end up. How can you walk from New York to California in a day? And we ended up all the way in Great Britain! I was kidding myself. All that planning and reading – I don't have a clue where we're going."

Harry spoke up, "You're selling yourself short, mate. Everything's going to work out. We survived Waterland, Circe's Island…"

She snorted, "Percy was a cute guinea pig. And I still can't believe you had a magic duel with her."

Harry scoffed, "I didn't beat her. We only made it out because her other prisoners transformed back. In a real duel, she would have kicked my arse."

She turned to Percy, "Speaking of Percy, what did Hera mean when she said that you knew of a way to get through the maze?"

He adopted a deer in headlights expression, "I honestly don't know."

Harry chipped in, "Like I said, maybe the answer will be clearer, much later."

Finally, Percy and Harry slept while Annabeth kept watch. A few hours later, Harry woke up with a lot of concern on his face. She shifted closer, "Harry, you okay? You look pretty spooked."

He said, "Hey remember when Nico said that he was heading to the Underworld to get some extra training? I had a dream about him, just now. I think he found the Labyrinth and found a path straight to the Underworld. He was also talking to this spirit who promised him power. Didn't get a good look at the spirit though. I found out what was troubling him a lot earlier. During the Horcrux Hunt, he had a bad encounter with one of them and it implanted a false memory of Bianca dying and he wasn't strong enough to stop it from happening."

Annabeth was quiet, "I'm worried about him. But we can't afford any side-quest to search for him. Hey, can you take over? I'm going to get some rest."

After a while, everyone was sufficiently rested and they resumed the trip. After what seemed like hours, the old stone tunnels changed to earth with cedar beams lining the walls, like a mine. Annabeth's brows furrowed, "Did we take a wrong turn? This place should still be stone."

Then, the tunnel opened out into a cave. Stalactites hung low from the ceiling, but the thing that stood out was a rectangular pit on the floor. Percy shone his flashlight and spotted a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown carbonated muck.

Annabeth guessed. "Someone must have been summoning the dead. I'm guessing that its Nico."

The group forged ahead and ducked into a tunnel. Then they saw light up ahead and they rushed towards it. Sure enough, there was light, but it was coming through a steel grate made out of metal pipes. On the other side of the gate were trees and blue sky.

Then a shadow blocked the sunlight, and the owner of the shadow was a cow. It looked a lot like a normal cow, except that it was bright red, like the logo of The Laughing Cow cheese brand. It mooed and put one hood on the grate before backing away.

Grover groaned, "It's a cattle grid. They put them at the gates of ranches so cows can't get out. They can't walk on them. Pain in the neck for animals with hooves."

Tyson was about to swat the grate away, but Harry stopped him. He said, "Don't do it. You might hit a cow, mate. Here, let me handle it. Alohomora!"

The grid opened up, and everyone crawled out and observed their surroundings while Harry fixed the grid back. They were on a ranch, with rolling hills on the horizon. The area was dotted with oak trees and cacti and boulders. A barbed-wire fence ran from the gate in either direction.

Annabeth looked at the cherry red cows, "Red cattle. The cattle of the sun. 'They're sacred to Apollo."

Just then, there was a distant baying sound, like a pack of dogs. The sound grew closer and closer until the underbrush rustled. Then, a dog with two heads burst forth from the bushes. It looked like a greyhound, long and snaky and sleek brown, but its neck split into two heads in a V shape, both of them snapping and snarling.

Then its master lumbered out of the woods. He was a huge guy with stark white hair, a straw cowboy hat and a braided white beard. He was wearing jeans, a Don't Mess with Texas T-shirt, and a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off so you could see his muscles. On his right bicep was a crossed-swords tattoo. He held a wooden club about the size of a nuclear warhead, with twenty-centimetre spikes bristling at the business end.

He drawled, "Well, well, well… What have we got here? Cattle rustlers?"

Annabeth replied, "Travellers. We're on a quest."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Half-bloods, eh? I'm one myself. My name is Eurytion, the cowherd for this here ranch. Son of Ares."

Annabeth decided that she was the one doing the talking, ""I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena. This is Percy, son of Poseidon. Harry, son of Artemis, Grover the satyr. Tyson the Cyclops."

He shot Harry an appraising look, "Son of Artemis, eh? That's a first. I reckon you five came through the Labyrinth like the other one?"

Percy perked up, "Other one? Was his name Nico di Angelo?"

Eurytion ignored his question, "We get a load of visitors from the Labyrinth. Not many ever leave. Listen, I'm only going to say this once, demigods. Get back in the maze now. Before it's too late."

Annabeth stood firm, "Not without this other demigod."

He grunted in response, "Guess you leave me no choice. I've got to take you to see the boss."