Song Recommendation: "Ripple Water Shine" by Pianos Become The Teeth. I love this song, and this band, and this album. Generally just the work as a whole. It's great. A very soft, almost bittersweet song. It reminds me of a long night in a way. The instrumentals work well along with the relaxed, almost atmospheric vocals. It's a lovely listen, and it's one I strongly associate with Percy. There aren't a whole lot of specific lyrics, but the song to me sounds very much like it's about being stuck in the mud, slowly trying to get back to when everything was okay. And if that doesn't describe Percy, who knows? Point is, it's definitely worth a listen.

Also! Important! Sorry I've been gone, been having some pretty serious writer's block so I started writing a new thing. It's just a little one-shot or exploration of the style of Moonlit Liquor with my own little touches. It's not one-to-one but I felt the same way writing it as when I read it, if that makes sense? Only took me about an hour to write, and I don't think it's great, but I figured I'd ask if anyone wants to read it? It's nothing crazy, only a couple thousand words, and I don't really intend to update it that often or at all really unless people are super super interested.

"Alright," Thalia clapped her hands, "What think we?"

"About?" Percy asked, glancing around them. There wasn't much evidence of their brawl from the previous day, but he could still vaguely feel the presence of monsters. Maybe that was just due to their proximity to a labyrinth door. Who knew though?

"Our plan," Thalia stared at him, "Have you not been paying attention?"

Diana grinned at him, choosing to answer, "Did you really expect anything else?"

Percy looked at Nico for support, but the Ghost King just shrugged, causing Percy to relent, "Yeah pretty much. I was thinking about something."

"Anything of importance?" Rachel asked curiously. The Oracle had also been surveying the area, obviously considering something.

"Not really," Percy admitted, "Just thinking that there isn't much evidence of our fight from yesterday."

Nico agreed, "We didn't really do that much damage so it makes enough sense."

Thalia shrugged, "Speak for yourself. I vaguely recall Percy shattering several parts of the floor."

The son of the sea grinned, "Like you didn't leave lightning scars all across it as well."

Nico cut in, "Alright alright we get it. Moving on."

Percy chuckled as they went back over the plan. Really, it wasn't anything all that complex. Get in, look around, maybe kill some monsters. Easy enough. The current plan was for Percy to be the dagger, heading up the front and cutting into the enemy lines if there were any. Nico would be right behind him while Diana would be a little ways back to cover them where needed or to help Thalia and Rachel who would be in the back. Thalia had range with her bow and powers, so it made more sense for her to stick back a little. Diana had offered, but Percy had thought it wiser to have her be in the middle where she could easily move forward or back to help wherever she was needed.

Then again, that was only if they actually encountered monsters. Otherwise, it was best for Rachel to be second in, behind any of them really just in case something happened. They needed her eyes to help lead them so she and Nico would be leading for a little bit. "Leading" was a rather loose term though, as they'd only be a few feet from each other anyway.

The Labyrinth was rather cool as Nico pushed a small symbol on the wall, and Percy could feel a slight rush of cold air blow past him. Well, it seemed like it was still the same old maze he knew and hated. Even as they pushed into the first little corridor, the son of the sea noted how it still had that same stale, decaying atmosphere it used to. Still, the walls weren't exactly oozing blood like they once had.

"Still disgusting as ever," Rachel remarked dryly, stepping over a puddle of some viscous, brownish liquid.

"Agreed," Percy nodded, "Any idea where we're going now?"

Rachel shrugged, "Not sure what we're looking for."

Nico chimed in, "Monsters really. We'll go for a little while before we turn back."

Rachel nodded as Percy fell in step with Diana, "How familiar are you with this place?"

The goddess made a face, "I know where we are, and I can navigate as usual, but I do not enjoy being here."

"No kidding," Percy smiled, "Wonder what time we'll get out of here."

Diana shrugged, "I'm not sure. Though I certainly wouldn't mind it being sooner as opposed to later."

"Agreed," Percy nodded.

Conversation was rather sparse, even between Percy and Diana. Something about the damn maze just made them keep quiet. Other than the occasional direction from Rachel, and the very rare input from Diana, everything was nearly silent. The natural sounds of the labyrinth echoed through the various chambers. Percy noted that the structure seemed sleepier than it had. Malevolent, yes, but not outwardly so as it once had been. At least their biggest concern was monsters now, and he'd much rather have to deal with those. Far less trouble than navigating a literal death maze.

That being said, it didn't make it any less concerning when Percy turned down a corridor at Rachels's direction, only to come face to face with a spear. He ducked out of the way while pushing Rachel away from him as well. Diana was quick to draw her bow, easily dispatching the assailant before it could take another step towards them.

Percy was up, blade drawn, but found nothing to attack. Rachel, meanwhile, was a bit slower to respond, instead sucking in deep breaths.

"You alright?" The son of the sea made sure to offer the oracle a hand so that she could pull herself up. She took the offered hand a moment after, letting him pull her up.

"Decidedly not," Rachel rubbed her neck as she swayed a bit unsteadily.

Percy stowed his sword before turning back to Diana, "Thanks."

The goddess chuckled, trying to cheer them up, "Was I supposed to let it run you through?"

Percy grinned, "Maybe if you were mad at me?"

"And why," Diana questioned amusedly, "Would I be mad at you?"

Percy shrugged, "No idea."

Thalia and Nico exchanged another glance before they all continued along. This time however, Percy led by a few feet, making it so that he'd take the first attack. The oracle had very nearly been run clean through by that spear, with Percy just barely managing to get her out of the way. Not exactly how they wanted their little excursion to go. Nobody would be dying if they could help it, and they most certainly could.

Still, a little caution never hurt which was precisely why Percy was going to be in front. No unnecessary risks. At least until there were. Percy hopped over a rather deep hole in the ground, making sure to point it out as soon as he was over. It didn't pose much of an issue, but it was still good for them to all know about it.

Gods he hated this damned maze. It narrowed and widened at seemingly random intervals, all while changing elevation, composition, and just about anything else you could think of. There was little to no consistency outside of the feeling that the maze was trying to kill them. How wonderful. And despite all of that, despite all the changing scenery and styles of the maze, it somehow all felt the same.

"So," Percy attempted to break the monogamy, "Have we seen anything or felt anything yet?"

Rachel shook her head, "Haven't noticed anything we should follow, but I think Lady Diana has?"

The goddess in question nodded, "The scent of monsters has grown steadily stronger, but they are still far."

"Huh," Thalia's eye twitched a little, a telltale sign that she was annoyed, "Couldn't they at least save us the trouble of having to find them?"

Nico spoke up, "Well we did sort of massacre them last night. Don't imagine they'd want to stick around, especially given how quick it happened."

"I definitely wouldn't want to hang out where all my friends died," Rachel agreed.

"Fair enough," Percy agreed before turning back to walk.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sleep like a vampire?" Thalia asked, turning to the younger man. In an effort to get everyone to relax, Thalia had taken to teasing the various members. At the moment, Nico was in her sights.

"Has anyone ever told you that you were better off being a pine tree?" Nico grumbled.

"So yes?" Percy chimed in.

"You've said that?" Rachel asked curiously, stepping up so that she was standing next to him.

Percy chuckled, "Maybe once or twice."

Rachel elbowed him in the shoulder, and Diana felt a distinct pang of annoyance course through her but chose to stuff it down. Gods, what was he doing to her?

Percy wasn't paying too much attention to where he was going, instead focusing on his friends.

"Oh well I'm pretty su-" Percy's sentence stopped suddenly as he turned a corner, only to find a cyclops leering at him, "Uh hello."

Percy, ever the quick thinker, sat there for a second, mildly perplexed as to why he had such bad luck when it came to coming around corners. Thankfully though, it didn't matter as Diana sunk an arrow straight into the monster's one, giant eye. Their peace didn't last much longer as they observed the room in front of them, choc full of enemies. Why exactly there was a rather large room decorated like a roman colosseum placed randomly in their path, none could be sure.

"Oh joy," Percy said flatly, drawing his blade, "Think this is where they all ran off to?"

"Must be," Thalia answered as she drew her bow, "Seems like they multiplied overnight."

"Agreed," Nico casually spun his blade, "Try to keep one or two alive, yeah? Preferably one of the skeletal ones."

"Shouldn't be much of an issue," Thalia snickered, "Seeing as only you and Lady Diana can kill them, there should be plenty left."

"Actually," Nico disagreed, "I'm fairly certain Percy could too if he ever decided to use a different sword."

Percy grinned, hefting Riptide with practiced ease, "Not wrong, but I am rather fond of her."

"Right," Rachel spoke stiffly, "Can we focus? You know, on the giant horde of angry things ready to kill us?"

"Buzzkill," Percy looked at the redhead and muttered something, causing Diana to laugh, "Fine. Nico and I are going."
"Correction," Thalia grinned at him, drawing her bow back, "Nico's already gone."

Percy looked over to see the Ghost King neck deep in monsters, cutting through them with practiced ease. He supposed he should help his friend then, and so he launched himself forward. It was many of the typical enemies, a few hellhounds, a few giants, a couple of cyclops. Oh, and a drakon. Percy was quick to meet up with Nico before bounding past him and straight into the horde. A little further past him, he noted that Diana had moved to deal with the draconic beast, having identified it as the largest threat. Good. He would have been hard pressed to deal with it in the middle of all of this, and Nico was engaged as well.

Percy had no doubt that she'd make quick work of it, and so he turned back to his own opponents. It seemed that a few of them had survived the previous day's massacre and weren't eager to end up dead themselves, leaving him plenty of space as monsters gave him a wide berth. It didn't matter of course. He simply went to them, hacking through them with ease. Sure, there were a few that he had to focus on, but the majority of them were fodder before his blade.

He'd lost sight of Nico, and he was faintly aware of monsters falling to Thalia's bow, but he was doing quite well. He'd yet to be hit, which was about par for the course, but the monsters had been falling even more easily than normal This, naturally, was leading him deeper and deeper into their lines. He didn't mind that one bit. More fun for him actually.

Percy leapt forward, slashing downward and cleaving through a young hellhound before rolling off to one side and annihilating an unsuspecting giant. One of the beauties of his fighting style was that he was mobile. Sure, the lack of armor left him mostly unprotected, but it only really mattered if they could hit him. He was far more nimble, capable of outmaneuvering just about anything under the sun. And, that meant he could perform seemingly impossible sets of moves to throw off his enemies, as he had just done. Artemis preferred doing much the same, and Diana as well he supposed.

Speaking of the goddess, she seemed to have dealt with her foe quite handily and had taken to wiping out swathes of monsters that came near her. She looked quite entertained, but Percy had imagined that'd be the case given how long it'd been since she got to stretch her legs. Still, he made sure to not divert his focus too much. Wouldn't do him well to get skewered because he wasn't putting all of his focus on his fights.

Currently, he was dealing with a small contingent of dracaena. This time, he didn't find himself surrounded, rather they were holding him away with spears in a line. It made it harder to get to them, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. Their rather rigid formation would have been great had he not been able to shake the very earth beneath them, forcing many of them to lower their weapons in favor of not being swallowed up as the ground split and crumbled below. Not that it mattered anyway. Percy punched through them like a hot knife through butter, easily hacking them down as soon as he got close.

One nearly managed to catch his arm with their weapon, but he'd summoned his trident at the last second and completely locked the weapon down with the prongs, snapping it with ease. He'd have to thank his dad again for it. Percy rather enjoyed using it, even if he didn't get the chance to very often. Honestly though, he preferred using it as a throwing weapon since it'd just summon back to him. Plus, if he was really feeling creative, he could turn it into water midflight to mess with his enemies.

He took a moment to refocus, easily parrying a strike before completely disarming the enemy and dealing with them. It'd hardly taken a minute to wipe out the current group. Still, their fight seemed almost never ending as monsters poured towards him. The only ones that really caught his eye were two centaurs. A bit odd to see them, but he supposed not all of them could be like the party ponies or Chiron.

What interested him more was the way that Diana's head seemed to snap towards them. In an instant, the monsters around her vanished into dust, courtesy of her blade. The next second, the goddess was racing past him, telling him that they were hers as she punched a gaping hole into another monster's chest. She did much the same to the monsters' line, instantly cutting into them and making her way straight towards her two targets.

Percy knew she could easily handle herself, and so he fell back a little, letting some of the remaining monsters come to him as Diana disappeared into their ranks. He'd take over for her and play around in the middle ground. So far, it didn't seem like Thalia had needed help, but one never knew.

In fact, as it happened, nearly as soon as Percy considered it, he heard the sound of metal clashing behind him. Well. What timing? Still, the son of the sea wasted no time dealing with his current enemy, cracking the ground beneath them so that he could dispatch them while they were unsteady. Percy rushed back, making sure to deal with anything between him and his friends. There weren't many, but it never hurt to be pragmatic about that.

Percy found himself crashing into their lines to help Thalia, battering them much like a wave on rocky shores. They hardly stood a chance as he joined up with Thalia and Rachel. He made sure to place Rachel firmly between them so that either her or Thalia were on one side. It was a good thing as well as he had to cut a set of arrows out of the air that would have most certainly struck his friend.

Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly locate the archers in the middle of his battle, and it eventually led him to getting struck. Percy grunted as two arrows sprouted from his shoulder, but it didn't stop him from killing the monster he was dealing with. He barely had time to cut another set of arrows out of the air, before pushing Rachel out of the way and parrying another strike with his trident. He could feel his wound screaming at him, but forced himself to work through it. He managed to cut another several monsters down before stumbling a little. Again, he forced himself to work through it, but he could feel his movements becoming messier as blood leaked down his arm.

Percy had to imagine that fighting with two arrows sticking out of his shoulder couldn't be a great idea, but he didn't have much choice until they could deal with all the monsters. Thalia was otherwise occupied, and Rachel was trying to fend off a hellhound. She wasn't doing awfully, but Percy had to hurl his trident to skewer an approaching cyclops. His arm begged him to stop, but he didn't think about it too much. Instead, he chose to focus on his newest opponents.

They hardly lasted a second as Percy hacked through them, using them as cover from any arrows while still making sure that none could get near Rachel. It was a tough battle to balance the two, but he managed well enough until Diana found them.

He actually breathed a sigh of relief when the goddess sent a giant crashing down in front of him. The arrows had since stopped, but it was nice to know that he didn't have to worry as much. Unfortunately, it seemed that the goddess wasn't happy. Still, her eyes softened a little as she saw the two arrows sticking out of him like some target dummy. He winced as she swung her blade and absolutely decimated a dracaena that thought that she'd been sneaking up on the goddess. The poor monster had no idea what hit it as Diana's blade cut cleanly through its blade arm before doing the same to its neck.

"What happened to you?" Diana asked as she batted a blade away, focusing her attention on a few of the other monsters.

"Oh you know," Percy grunted, dropping like a stone and catching a monster's legs with his trident, "Just the usual."

"The usual doesn't involve getting struck by arrows," Diana's voice was even, but he could tell she wasn't happy. Naturally, this meant that any of the remaining monsters were dealt with extremely quickly as the goddess practically vanished, leaving dust piles all around them.

Finally, after what felt like several hours (but was actually closer to fifteen minutes), they were finished. They'd neglected to leave any of them alive, unfortunately, but they could track the ones that had escaped towards the end. At the moment, it was more important to deal with Percy who was trying not to groan in pain as he moved to sit.

He ended up sitting letting himself drop rather roughly onto a stony outcrop in one corner of the room as the others gathered around him. Diana, obviously, was the one closest to him as she was tending to him.

"What happened to you?" Thalia asked curiously. Percy could tell that she wanted to tease him but was more concerned about the two pointy sticks stuck in his shoulder at the moment.

"Oh you know," Percy shrugged, "Got careless."

"That's an odd way to say that you saved my life," Rachel grumbled, kicking a rock somewhere behind Diana.

Percy stopped himself from grinning, "Guess so. Better me than you anyway."

Diana stared at his shoulder for a second, gently prodding it while making sure that she didn't move it much. After a second, she clicked her tongue, "Take off your shirt."

Percy blinked, "Come again?"

He heard Thalia snickering but ignored it as Diana told him that she was going to have to remove the arrows, explaining that she was just going to snap the shafts and pull them out through the way they came in.

"That's going to hurt like hell but it's definitely your best option," Nico agreed, "Doubt you want to push it all the way through with the fletchings or arrowhead on either side. Probably hurt even worse actually."

"Yeah," Percy hissed as he tried to move his arm to remove his shirt, "You might just have to tear it off for me. Don't think I'll be able to get it off myself."

The goddess regarded him carefully for a moment before bending down. She was as gentle as possible as she removed the item of clothing. Instead of ripping it, she cut through it with her knife, but it still had involved jostling his injury a little. Percy yelped as pain coursed through him, causing the goddess to grimace.

"You're not going to like this next part," Diana explained, leaning him forward so that she could get to the front end of both arrows, "I'm going to remove them and then stop the bleeding."

"I can do it," Percy's voice was strained, and his face was a bit paler than normal, "Stop the bleeding I mean."

"How?" Rachel asked.

"There's water in blood," Nico answered simply as Diana went about snapping the arrow shafts and swiftly yanking them out of his shoulder. Percy muffled a scream, but managed to make it through.

"Arrows are out," Diana said, gently bringing her hand to the entry wound and forcing some energy into it, "But this next part is going to hurt."

Percy's breathing was a bit ragged, and they could all see the sweat pouring off him, "Sounds great."

Diana smiled lightly as she cupped his cheek and forced a bit more energy into him. He instantly felt a bit better oddly enough. Diana answered his unasked question, explaining why she'd done it, "I'm just forcing your body to continue pumping adrenaline into you. You're going to be exhausted after."

Percy let out a long breath, wincing as he did. It hurt, but not as badly as before, "Hell of a thing."

"Truly," Diana nodded, "Now shut up while I put your muscles back together."

Percy nodded, not interested in interrupting her as she worked to repair the damaged muscle, tissue, and nerve endings. It took her a second, but he was finally given the go-ahead to let the blood flow freely through the damaged area. A little leaked out, but most of it stayed where it was supposed to.

"That's pretty cool, actually," Thalia commented, "Being able to control your own blood."

"Pretty sure you could control your nerves if you really wanted to," Percy commented, looking up wearily. The others had gathered around him in a loose semicircle as Diana healed him, though they'd given them a few feet of space for the goddess to work, "It's just electricity isn't it?"

Nico was the one to respond as he considered the logistics, "In theory I guess. Probably a lot harder in reality. I'm not sure many could fine tune their powers enough to control individual nerves."

"Well," Thalia considered, "I could always just shock myself. Wouldn't be feeling anything that way."

"Or moving much either," Percy chuckled weakly, "Not sure that's the greatest course of action."

"Fair," Thalia nodded, "We're going to have enough trouble taking care of you while you heal."

"I am fairly certain that Lady Diana is the one doing all the caring," Nico commented.

"True," the goddess smiled as she continued her work, "But I'm sure Perseus appreciates the sentiment."

Percy just rolled his eyes tiredly, instead leading his head tilt back a little. After a moment, he let his eyes close as he focused on the feeling of Diana's hands softly pumping divine energy into his wound. She'd taken to tracing small circles around the edges of it, and he could feel things healing. It was an odd sensation.

Percy, understandably, felt a little strange as the goddess traced small circles around his back while delicately weaving strands of muscle back together. At first, he thought it was just the feeling of his body literally regrowing itself in front of him, but as his healing progressed, he couldn't help but notice the way her hands felt on his rather cold skin. At some point, it was all that he could think of and the odd, churning sensation only grew.

Still, another part of him was enjoying it, and that much was undeniable. Quite a large part actually. Whether this weird feeling was because of his nervousness, or because of his actual nerves being knit back together, he couldn't be sure. For now, it was best to enjoy the little pleasures in life.

His healing took significantly longer than it usually did, but he did have to imagine it was because they were healing a whole hole left in his shoulder, courtesy of not one, but two arrows. Really, if he hadn't been the target, he would have been impressed by how close the grouping on those arrows was.

Still, the goddess did eventually finish and Percy watched as she examined his newly grown skin and muscle with a look of satisfaction. Her hand didn't stray for a moment, but as she began to draw back, she let it trail up a bit to help her adjust him. She had him shift a little, lean, and then stretch before moving up to his face. She had to make sure it'd healed properly, after all.

Percy felt her hand trace his jaw a little as she examined him. He couldn't help but feel like she let her hand linger a little longer than necessary for two friends, but he wasn't going to complain about the warm feeling that rushed through him. That thought made his stomach churn a little, more than it already was anyway.

As she pulled away, Percy had to stop himself from staring at the goddess who now had her back turned so that she could speak to the rest of the group. He'd have to thank her in private later.

Hey guys, how have you all been? I've been busy with some car things and then I was in the hospital for a while. Unlucky but what can you do? Sorry, won't be able to respond to reviews again, but know that I'm reading them and very much appreciate them. I've got a few plans for the next few chapters since I want to get Diana and Percy on their own so the next chapter (if it comes out in time) should be finishing up this little mini arc and setting up a little more stuff before I bring them for some one on one time. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. There's not a lot going on in this chapter, little bit of fighting, and setting up some fun stuff for later. Anyway, let me know. Also, if you want that other really quick one-shot style story to be posted or sent to you, let me know. Have a good day!