Just a quick warning - Minos's death is a little rough, though not super gruesome. If you don't want to read that, you can skip to the first line break - you won't miss too much.


That night, Thalia had dreams. As ever.

An old man sat in a bronze bathtub filled with steaming water and frothy bubbles, attended by three beautiful young girls who brought him wine and cheeses. She'd seen him in enough dreams to recognize him by now, even in this new older form - King Minos. The girls were new, though - they looked fairly wealthy to Thalia's eyes, almost as though they were royalty themselves.

"Your father was wise to give me Daedalus, you see," Minos explained self-importantly to one of the girls, who nodded sagely. "I have been doggedly pursuing him for ten years now. There is little I would not do to gain my revenge."

The girls shared a look. "Oh, indeed, my lord," said the oldest one, a brunette. "He warned us of much the same thing."

"Daedalus spoke of me?" Minos asked with a frown. "You should not believe a word he says - the old man is a liar and fraud, far too clever for his own good and a bad man besides. My own daughter fell victim to his guile, you know. None should listen to him."

"We expected such cautions from you, and perhaps you are not wrong," said the youngest, a blonde. "But he has taught us much, you see. He was the first to treat us as though we were truly human, rather than pretty faces to be seen and not heard. Perhaps your daughter felt the same?"

Minos tried to rise and make a protest, but the middle daughter - a redhead - held him down firmly in the bath. "Struggle not, milord," she said, dropping three bronze beads into the water. From each sprouted a fine mesh of bronze wires, which slowly began stringing themselves into the bath basin itself, coiling themselves around Minos as they did so and securing him to the tub, immobile.

The eldest daughter snapped her fingers. "Daedalus has been kind to us, King Minos," she said. "But more importantly, you have threatened our father. We do not appreciate this." The tub lifted into the air on stilts, and beneath it the other sisters began building a fire. Minos thrashed mightily against his restraints but nothing came of it.

"What do you want?" He demanded, bronze wires winding their way up towards his throat now, a few at a time. "Money, riches, men, women, whatever your hearts desire! I can get you the finest tutors in all the land! A dozen castles each, suitors galore!"

The youngest daughter laughed. "No, King Minos," she replied. "We know better than to take the word of a thief - or indeed a warlord. We simply desire security for our family. Safety for our children. A world without men such as you." Her beautiful face, barely into her twenties, twisted into a sneer.

The bathwater was nearing a boil now, and Minos was gasping for breath between agonized bellows. It was difficult to watch, but Thalia couldn't turn away - the dream would not let her.

"Curse you!" Minos ground out, even as bronze wires continued to encase him, now cocooning all but his face. "Tell Daedalus, if there is any justice, in this life or the next, I will hound his soul for eternity! He shall never know freedom from fear again!" The pain became too much, and Minos let out a single, final, bellowing roar before the bronze threads covered his mouth and cocooned him entirely.

"Silence at last," one of the sisters sighed. "Daedalus, you may come out now."

Thalia's blood ran cold at the casual way they treated such a gruesome death, but the vision faded before she had the chance to think any more of it. In its place came one much shorter.

A small group of demigods marched forwards through a wide marble hallway, their single-file column in lockstep behind a young but stern-looking demigod. All of them were too old by far to have survived on their own - and yet Thalia didn't know any of them from Camp. Even stranger, they wore some sort of uniform, purple shirts and golden armor over leather padding.

As they strode forwards, a massive set of double doors appeared at the end of the hallway, easily thirty feet tall and ten feet wide each, and their leader held up a fist. Despite his youth, the authority he wielded was clear - they all halted immediately, silently preparing their weapons and lining up on the side of the hallway as they prepared to breach the doorway.

The leader edged out to press the doors slowly, but the moment his hand landed on the door's oak planks they swung open of their own accord, and behind their massive span stood a dozen drooling monsters, slavering at the sight of demigod flesh. Another group of monsters appeared out of the mist of the hallways and encircled the strange demigods.

"Greetings, demigods," came a booming voice from well within the doors. "We've been… eagerly awaiting your presence." The demigods quickly formed themselves into a tight circle, facing outwards at the monsters, but it was clear that they didn't stand a chance - more than a hundred monsters approached them now, slowly drawing the circle tighter and tighter around the purple shirts like a noose.

"Come inside," the voice said, "and you will be unharmed. I'm sure you can see the wise choice here, my friends."

With a deep sigh, the leader lowered his golden spear, and slowly the others did the same. The last thing Thalia saw before she awoke were his startling blue eyes. Even once she had showered and prepared to return to the maze, they haunted her vision, floating just out of reach in her mind's eye.


When the frigid air of the Labyrinth enveloped Thalia once again, a shudder running down her spine involuntarily, she really wasn't in the mood for an argument.

So, of course, that's what was waiting for her at the bottom of the ladder. There Rachel waited, arms crossed. The glare she sent Thalia could probably have killed lesser mortals, but the daughter of Zeus was unfazed by the venom contained within those beautiful greens. "Thalia," the redhead said curtly. "You look tired."

"Rachel," she responded, equally snippy, while casting an eye up and down the mortal girl. "You look… cold." The other girl flinched, and Thalia couldn't help but smirk. Rachel was wearing clothing that wasn't impractical, per se, but was certainly showing off more skin than was really required when venturing into a millenia-old maze. In fairness, so was Thalia - but that didn't matter.

"Are you going to blow up on Percy again when he gets down here? Should I seek shelter?" Rachel said, a strong riposte despite the subject change. "Or is the temper tantrum finally over?"

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "I thought we buried this issue, Rachel," she returned fire, "Like I buried my friends. You don't know what that's like."

"Don't I?" Rachel countered. "Percy's my friend, too. Unless you've forgotten how I got here? You remember the Hoover Dam, surely."

Thalia flexed her fingers - they'd closed into fists unconsciously. "That's not… not the same, Rachel. But let's not do this. I thought we were past this - that things were okay between us now." Half of Thalia really did want to just be done with it, to move on and just get things over with - but the other half, the less rational half, wanted nothing more than to wipe that red lipstick off Rachel's face with a well-placed punch.

"We were," Rachel acknowledged, "But two things have changed. One, Percy's not dead anymore, and two, you've treated him like dogshit since he came back. I understand why - but Christ, girly, you can let up a little. The guy's beating himself up enough without you blasting him with lightning on top of it."

Was she really being that harsh? "Gods, not Christ," Thalia corrected automatically, but her brain was whirling. Percy had apologized - at least, as well as Percy was capable of - and she'd forgiven him, mostly, even if she was still a little angry at him. But she hadn't apologized for the frosty reception she'd given him, for beating on him in front of the whole Camp because the Fates were playing games again, for ignoring him when all he really wanted was to return to the only real home he had left.

"Coming down," Percy called from above, drowning out whatever exasperated theological remark Rachel was muttering to herself. Slowly, he lowered himself down the ladder, stopping at the top to shake hands with Will Solace and Beckendorf before descending the next twenty feet and hopping spryly to the bottom - only to grunt and stumble slightly. Thalia and Rachel both stepped forwards to offer him support, but he straightened out with a stiff smile fixed on his face. "Ready to get moving?"

"What took you so long?" Thalia asked, half impatient and half worried. Percy's face dropped for just a moment, but then the brave smile returned, a little less brightly than before.

"I was, uh… talking to Will, about some things." Unconsciously, he rubbed his chest, and Thalia knew instantly what things had been talked about: his wounds from yesterday, when she'd blasted him thirty feet through the air with a single bolt of lightning. "Oh, and I Iris-Called my mom. You know. Told her I'm not really dead, and all that jazz."

Regret flooded over Thalia like the creek had after that Capture the Flag match so long ago - but before she could muster the words for an apology Percy shrugged and turned to Rachel. "So, Rach," he said. "Where do we start?"

Thalia did her best to ignore how much the nickname felt like a blade twisting in her stomach.

"Uh," the redhead said, stammering slightly as she looked at the branching maze around them, where passageways winked open and closed in the shimmering inky darkness. "Left," she decided.

"You don't sound very sure," Thalia said. "I was hoping for a little more out of your big plan, Percy."

"No, it's left," Rachel said insistently. "You don't see it? There's, like, a brightness on the floor. Like a path."

Thalia and Percy exchanged a look.

"Uh, Rachel, I believe you and everything," Percy began tactfully, "but I'm not seeing shit. It just looks like a hallway."

"Well goddamn, Percy," Rachel said, "this whole thing was your idea anyways. I'm telling you what I see. It's glowing. It's the way we should go. To the right… well, to the right there's a bunch of chains moving around like feelers. Dead ahead is no better - there's a big hole in the roof, probably for a trap of some sort. It's left."

Thalia blinked. "But that section looks new. Shouldn't the workshop be in the old section… like to the right?"

"No." Rachel's answer was firm.

"Fuck it, let's go," Percy said. "I trust her."

They went.


Following Rachel's uncanny directions, they meandered through the maze, twisting and turning, climbing and diving and taking miscellaneous turns. Thalia's anxiety grew with every step, worried that perhaps they were being led astray or simply not led at all, but Rachel seemed both confident and consistent.

Eventually, however, the silence grew thick and uncomfortable. Thalia had to break it somehow before she choked on the stifling air.

"So, uh, Rachel," Thalia began uneasily. "I guess I haven't been the friendliest."

Percy snorted a few paces back, and Thalia sent him a halfhearted glare over her shoulder. He held his hands up in a gesture of feigned innocence and mimed looking around for a culprit. In spite of herself, Thalia smiled.

"No," Rachel agreed good-naturedly, "But I get it. I haven't been the nicest either."

Thalia wasn't really sure how to respond to that and let the silence linger awkwardly. Behind her, Percy coughed, the sound echoing down silent hallways as Thalia scrambled for something to say.

"Uh," Thalia said again. "So… Where are you from? Won't your parents notice you being away at Camp all the time?"

"Brooklyn," Rachel said. "And, uh, no, they won't notice. I don't think my parents would notice if I blew up a car on the front lawn, to be honest," she continued after a moment.

Thalia knew the feeling. "Yeah," she said, realizing how lame it sounded. "Been there."

Rachel looked sideways at the girl beside her, and Thalia got the distinct feeling she was being sized up - though for what, she couldn't say. "I guess I don't have much to complain about, huh? My parents might not be the most attentive, but they're not literal omnipotent deities. Hard for me to complain about missed birthdays when your father is, well, basically God."

There wasn't really a good response to that. She grunted in agreement, shrugged. "It's part of the deal, I guess." She hoped she didn't sound too bitter. "You get kickass powers, you look hot, and you die an incredibly early death. Plus you don't even have to worry about disappointing your parents, 'cause they don't give a shit. Really, there's no downside."

Rachel snorted and nodded. "Point taken." Thalia watched the redhead carefully, who was somehow impossibly well put together despite being hundreds of feet below the earth in a magical maze and also wearing workout clothes that were half-covered in dozens of paint colors, but couldn't find any hint of sarcasm or mockery - just understanding of a suffering. "Hey, uh, by the way," Rachel said, slightly quieter. "What's the deal with… you and Percy? Like…"

"What do you mean?" Thalia said, instantly defensive again.

"Just… what's the story? You guys seem… pretty close. How come?"

Thalia chafed internally - that was a personal question, she thought, and downright rude besides - but for some reason she answered anyways. Maybe it was the way her gut twisted with jealousy every time Rachel glanced over her shoulder at Percy walking behind them, just out of earshot.

"Well, uh," Thalia began. "You've probably heard about how I was… gone, for a bit. When I woke up, Percy was the first person I saw. Pulled me out of the ground and took me to the infirmary." She paused. Rachel was watching, green eyes wide with interest. The tunnel wound downwards. "For a long while… nobody could piss me off like he could. Still, sometimes. Most of the time, really. But we went on a quest together - he literally died for us. And he just did it again, or we thought so. Oh, and he held the weight of the sky for us - we both did, technically, but…"

She swallowed unconsciously, fingered the gray streak in her hair.

"So yeah, I guess, long story short… we've been through a lot. We trust each other. Watch each other's backs. It works out." She almost blushed. "I guess that's why we're… close."

"But you're not dating?" Rachel asked bluntly. "Like, there's nothing going on… that way."

Where the hell did she get off asking - "Uh, no, I guess not," Thalia said through clenched teeth. "We're not dating."

"So, you wouldn't mind if I, like, asked him ou-"

Metal hinges squealed in the distance and interrupted that thought. Heavy footsteps began thundering through the maze, drawing closer by the second. Dust and rocks began to be shaken loose from the ceiling above with each footstep, larger and larger quantities tumbling down as the footsteps approached.

"So… I'm thinking run," Percy said from behind. "Run, fast, now?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Rachel agreed.

"Run," Thalia concurred.

They ran.

Behind them, the footsteps grew steadily louder, shaking the entire tunnel as they did. It sounded like a herd of stampeding elephants running on a tin roof, the unholy noise reverberating through Thalia's skull. Left turn. Noise is getting louder. Right turn, up a spiral staircase - enormous footsteps getting closer. Dead ahead - screeching stop. Footsteps still getting closer.

In front of the group, just a hundred yards down the tunnel, stood a group of well-armed dracaenae with a cheerleader in front. The cheerleader had a donkey's leg and looked just like the one Percy had nearly punched in the face, just a few weeks before. Actually, it was the one from his high school.

"Running so soon?" She taunted. "And taking your mortal pet for a walk… so dangerous. They're so fragile, you know, so easy to… break." The footsteps slowed and eventually appeared out of the gloomy darkness - a gigantic dog-beast with three horns protruding from its forehead, the height of an elephant and longer than a city bus. "Oh, and this is Odie the Odontotyrannos. He's harmless, really."

The Odontotyrannos snorted and ground one of its horns into the wall. A massive granite chunk essentially disintegrated, and the beast's horn pulled another one loose to drop to the hall floor - it crushed a dracaenae who disappeared with a squeal, but nobody seemed to care much.

"He almost killed Alexander the Great, you know," the cheerleader said. "So I can't blame you for running." She scratched her ear, almost embarrassed. "But I guess now I get to take you to my boss. I was hoping for more of a fight, but…"

They marched slowly down the tunnel, flanked by dracaenae, with Odie the three-horned, fifty-foot dragon bringing up the rear and the donkey-cheerleader - who introduced herself as Kelli - leading the way.

"Uh, guys," Rachel whispered over her shoulder. "They're taking us down the path."

"Is that good or bad?" Percy whispered back.

"How the fuck should I know?" She asked.

The only answer they got was a whack with the butt of a spear from one of Kelli's bodyguard snake-women, so they shut up. Still, it was strange for several reasons - the monsters could navigate well enough to trap them, and yet were leading them down the path they wanted to follow? Thalia had to put such questions out of her mind because in short order, they arrived at a gigantic set of bronze double doors that looked like something you'd have seen on an evil vampire's castle lair. Worse still, they were worryingly familiar - the doors she'd seen last night, in her dreams.

That probably wasn't a good thing.

"Oh, Percy," Kelli simpered. "I'm so excited to have you meet our new host… you two have so much in common." She laid a flirtatious hand on his chest, and Thalia nearly snarled - out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rachel glowering also, but both of them managed to fight back the urge to do anything. "And I can't wait to see you die terribly."

"Gee, thanks," Percy muttered. "I've always dreamed of being threatened by the Donkey High Cheer Lead. Number one fantasy, seriously."

Kelli's face dropped, and she bared ferociously pointy teeth at Percy. He stared coolly back at her, yawning disaffectedly, and she gave up after a minute. "Stupid half-blood," she growled. "We'll see who's laughing soon."

Percy shrugged.

Together, Kelli marched them through the imposing doors - and out into perhaps the strangest arena Thalia had ever seen.

It took the shape of a massive oval, with a domed roof almost as though somebody had cut an enormous rugby ball in half and stuck it underground. The circular central floor was lined on all sides by enormous stadium seating, filled with a capacity crowd of jeering, bellowing, belligerent monsters and demigods. Massive pillars of skulls stood at random intervals around the arena's dirt floor, and at the far end stood another set of doors, identical to the ones they had just entered through. From the roof dangled chains, each carrying a massive meathook upon which was suspended the corpse of some unlucky creature or human. Halfway around the arena, situated at the middle of its longer arc, was a massive throne made of skulls, flanked on each side by sickly-green banners with a black trident emblazoned boldly into them.

Next to this throne was another, much smaller one - sized for perhaps a normal human. It was not made of skulls but rather of arm bones, and looked rather hastily constructed, as though it had been prepared for an unexpected but venerated guest. Across the arena from the thrones was what worried Thalia the most, though - a set of sharp-tipped iron spikes buried deep into the ground, forming a cage wall that couldn't be climbed over. Dozens of small cage segments were visible, each separated by earthen walls and containing terrified demigods, satyrs, and even the odd monster.

Without much ceremony, Kelli shoved the trio into one cell and scampered off into the stands, leaving Odie behind to curl up on the floor and await her return. After a few minutes of anxious waiting, during which Odie the horned dragon-dog-thing chased his own tail for amusement, a bellowing laughter echoed through the arena.

An enormous figure stepped out from a tunnel and settled into the skull throne with a contented sky. "Well, son of Hermes," said the figure. "Today has been a delight! Full of entertainment. But I still feel like something is… lacking. Your contestants have died too quickly, have lacked skill." The figure belched. "Show me something beautiful."

Thalia's heart dropped as Luke stepped out from the same tunnel that the giant had. "Very well, Lord Antaeus." His voice was Luke's, but not quite - too silky, too deep. "Today, we have the good fortune of having captured several very skilled demigods. Among them, one of your very own siblings! Another son of Poseidon, by the name of Percy Jackson."

"Ah! A son of Poseidon," Antaeus said with an ugly smile. "Then he should fight well - and die well!" For his part, Percy simply looked sick as he gazed out from the cage bars towards the mounds of skulls decorating the arena, juxtaposed against the sea-green banners to their shared ancestor. "And who shall he be dueling, pray tell? What competition shall prove worthy for a son of the sea god?"

"That is a wonderful question," Luke said. "In from California, we've captured a strapping young man. You've seen him in combat before, as I'm sure you remember."

"Ah, yes - the slayer of the Trojan Sea Monster! A worthy champion."

The name sounded worryingly familiar. But if this demigod was such a legend, why didn't Thalia know him? How had he survived in California, so near the Titans and the Underworld, for long enough to be here?

"So please, dear audience," Luke bellowed, "Raise your glasses! Prepare for bloodshed! A fight to the death, in single combat, between our newest contestant, Percy Jackson - and his opponent, leader of armies… Jason!"

A blond teenager walked out into the arena, squinting against the bright lights and roaring fires, but even across the entire arena Thalia could see his eyes. Those piercing blue eyes still floated in front of her when she closed her eyes, lingering from her dream, but now they laid themselves atop the sharp blue eyes of the young man preparing himself for a battle.

Thalia felt her knees buckle from underneath her.


"There's no need to fight me," Percy called out to the demigod - Jason. Thalia barely heard him over the buzzing in her ears. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. There was no way. The demigods circled each other slowly on the dirt and rock floor, and Thalia's mind whirled.

"I don't wish to," responded the other demigod. "But I must, to protect the lives of my friends."

"I understand that completely," Percy said. He still hadn't drawn his sword, opting instead to simply circle the arena slowly, probing its walls with his eyes in search of a way out. "You know, we could work together… kill our gracious host, save our friends, escape with our lives." Percy paused, stood still, gestured upwards. "I'd certainly prefer to get back aboveground."

Taking that stop as an opportunity, Jason lunged, a probing jab with a shimmering golden spear. Percy sidestepped it easily and rushed to make space between the two again. The crowd jeered at what they viewed as cowardice. "You seem a reasonable fellow," Jason called. "I'd hate to kill you."

"You seem a reasonable fellow," Percy responded with a smile. "I'd hate to die."

Jason probed again at Percy's defenses, but his moves were rigid, as though he were used to fighting in ranks. Percy smiled and drew Riptide, batting the spear to one side. A second spear thrust from Jason was swatted to the side, and Percy countered with a lazy slash that Jason easily blocked using the haft of his golden spear. "Ah, I see you are using Bonetti's defense," Jason said as he backed away to open the range again.

"I thought it fitting, considering the rugged terrain," Percy responded easily. Another quick exchange of blows, even less anger behind it, serving only to appease the crowd for a little longer.

"Naturally, you must expect me to counterattack with Capa Ferro," Jason countered. Now neither of them were looking at the other, only making the barest pretense of a duel as they took stock of their surroundings.

"Naturally," Percy agreed. Suddenly, they seemed to come to some hidden agreement - Percy stabbed his sword downwards into the ground just as Jason pointed his spear aloft, and suddenly a great rift opened in the floor. At the same moment, a bolt of lightning erupted from Jason's spear and leapt across the chains of the roof, jumping to some of the monsters in the crowd and electrifying them. As they popped into dust, the crowd began to roar in anger and fear, churning in newfound chaos. Half a dozen of the chains on the roof popped and dropped to the floor, some vaporizing monsters beneath them but others simply coiling down into loops on the floor.

"What is this?" Antaeus screamed. "Teamwork is forbidden! Interfering with the audience is forbidden! Kill them! Kill them!" At his command, some semblance of order returned to a few of the monsters in the audience, who leapt into the arena after the demigods at its center. Unfortunately, many of the monsters didn't get the message but still entered the arena, perhaps to escape Jason's electricity where it still arced from the chains.

Meanwhile, Percy's rift shot across the ground and swallowed the bars of the cages whole, leaving Thalia and Rachel - and Jason's group, who up to now had been blocked from view by a wall - just a short leap away from the relative freedom of the dirt arena floor. His rift cut the arena nearly in half, being significantly wider for most of its length and only narrowing to allow the prisoners to escape into the arena.

"Jason," Thalia muttered. "Jason… with lightning…"

"What?" Rachel asked incredulously. "Come on! We have to get to Percy!" Shoving Thalia forwards, the redhead leapt the rift Percy had created and then dragged Thalia over the gap. "What is wrong with you, Thalia?" Jason's group followed closely behind.

Thalia shook herself. "That's my brother," she said quietly.

"Okay?" Rachel asked incredulously as they moved towards Jason and Percy, weaving through the throng of confused monsters.

"He's supposed to be dead," Thalia managed.

"Oh." There was no cruelty in Rachel's voice, only understanding.

In short order, they arrived next to Jason and Percy.

"Jason?" Thalia asked, voice trembling. But when the young man turned towards her, there was no recognition there, no love, no heartfelt reunion - only confusion. "Jason Grace."

"How do you know my last name?" He asked, even as he thrust his spear into a particularly tall Laistrygonian. Percy, for his part, was scything through the crowd in short bursts, out and back, in vain attempts to clear a path to the doors.

"Because, Jason," Thalia said. "I'm your sister."

Jason stopped fighting entirely at that, turning to look at Thalia with an impossible fury in his eyes. "Impossible," he said. "My sister is dead."

The rage in his eyes burned so hot that he didn't even flinch as a dracaenae thrust her trident at him - Thalia blasted the serpent woman into oblivion with a twitch of her finger without breaking eye contact, the lightning coursing through several other monsters afterwards.

Jason's eyes widened. "How?"

Rachel snagged a sword from a fallen monster and began fighting next to some of Jason's group, doing an admirable job for a first-timer. Percy fought like a man possessed, or really more like a hurricane, slashing through everything that drew near to the group while staying constantly on the move. From time to time he would slam his fist into his thigh and the earth itself would shake, unsettling monsters by the dozen and leaving them vulnerable to attacks - but every time he did, the arena itself grew less and less stable, his pull on the magic of the Labyrinth itself sapping the strength of the very room.

"I thought you were dead too, Jason," Thalia said. "Hera took you… stole you. Killed you. But here you are."

Antaeus roared with rage once more. "Worthless beasts!" He berated his monsters. "Son of Hermes, your competitors are destroying my arena, and your foolish army is useless to defeat them! Must I do everything myself?"

Luke shrugged smugly. "I suppose so, yes."

With an inarticulate bellow of rage, Antaeus leapt from his seat. When he landed in the arena, half a dozen monsters were crushed into dust beneath his enormous boots, but he didn't even notice. Instead, the giant gesticulated towards the earth - and Percy's rift, which so far had managed to keep the majority of the monsters safely away from them, sewed itself shut instantly. Thalia and Jason stood, spellbound, and stared at each other.

"Guys, not that this isn't super touching and everything," Percy interjected. "But maybe reunion later? Kill bad guys now?"

"Right," Thalia and Jason said in unison. Jason turned on his heel and together they strode forwards, spears in hand, and set to work. Behind them, Percy formed a small phalanx with Jason's group, working their way through the teeming crowds of monsters like a brutal lawnmower.

Thalia struck forwards with her spear and sliced open Antaeus's thigh. Simultaneously, Jason leapt into the air, supported by wind, and struck at the giant's eyes, piercing one. But instead of blood, or even ichor, only sand drained from the wounds. The giant cackled.

"You fools try to hurt me?" He bellowed, clutching his wounds. From the earth beneath his feet rose pillars of dirt which clung to him and coalesced onto his form. "The Earth Mother ensures I will never die!" As the earth fell away, Antaeus's wounds were healed completely, and the giant dropped into a wrestler's stance as he squared off against the bewildered children of the sky god. "Now come, let me kill you. You will not suffer long," he promised.

"Shit," Thalia chorused with Jason. Simultaneously, they rolled sideways in opposite directions, just in time to avoid a massive hand cleaving downwards into the dirt. Antaeus dragged his hand sideways towards Jason, bringing with it a tidal wave of stones, rocks, and dirt which surged up from the floor. Percy swore and gestured with his hand, summoning a massive crack through the wave to protect the group of Jason's friends and Rachel. The Labyrinth shook slightly as he drew more and more magic from its reserves, the arena itself quivering. Jason, without the protection of Percy's new canyon through the earth, simply leapt into the air to try to avoid the twenty-foot earthen wave.

Thalia couldn't afford to look at her newly-resurrected brother as he soared into the air, because Antaeus had turned his attention to her with a growl. The giant clapped his hands together in front of himself, and a spike made of solid stone shot from the ground to hover in front of him and then rocketed towards Thalia.

Acting purely on instinct, Thalia roared and sprinted forwards toward the spike, leaping into the air just in time to step onto the spire and leap off it again. A sudden gust of wind pushed her forwards and she slammed her spear into and then through Antaeus's skull. The giant bellowed and swatted at the air, but Thalia grabbed the other end of her spear, wrenched it from the giant's head, and tumbled to the ground. The enormous rock spire slammed through a dozen monsters before burying itself thirty feet deep into the stadium seating which ringed the arena, but Thalia didn't have time to gawp - Jason went rocketing through the air and made to plant a kick on Antaeus's chest but was swatted by the giant's blindly-flailing hands before he could actually strike the son of Poseidon.

Thalia screamed inarticulately, but in the distance Percy thrust out a hand which glowed with purple flames and Jason's body slowed down significantly. When he landed, it was a gentle landing on his feet rather than what would surely have been a violent kinetic death, though he was certainly not safe yet. Dirt flowed up to Antaeus's face and covered his head completely, leaving him blind, but the enormous wrestler flailed around and nearly struck Jason again. As she watched the earth fall away from what should have been a definitively fatal wound, Thalia came to a realization: simple combat wasn't going to cut it.

She glanced around desperately for a solution. Clearly if the ground could reach him, he would be healed - no matter how serious the wounds. It was taking quite some time for the wound Thalia had inflicted to be healed, but nonetheless the dirt was falling away from the giant's face as he flailed blindly in search of the demigods.

A worried yelping gave Thalia a flash of inspiration - Odie the big fucking dog was backed up against one of the walls, barking helplessly as the crowds around him panicked. All at once, a plan came together. She snagged one end of the chain which had fallen to the ground and slung it over her shoulder, then set to work.

Hurling her spear into Antaeus's spine, she sprinted between the giant's spread legs towards the Odontotyrannos, shooting a small bolt of lightning behind the creature in the hopes of scaring it into action - and it worked. With a pitiable yelp, the enormous beast set off on a crazed sprint through the arena, zigging and zagging as best it could around the relatively tiny monsters which surrounded it at every turn. Thalia leapt into the air and whirled the chain into the air behind her, miraculously passing it around the beast's enormous horns and snagging the other end to form a makeshift pair of reins.

"Jason!" She screamed, hoping he could hear. "The hooks!" She gesticulated wildly at the hooks which had fallen from the roof, hoping that he would understand. As he ducked another blow from Antaeus, Jason nodded, then began making his way as quickly as he could towards the most proximal chain. Beneath her, Odie spun around and tore off for one of the doors - directly away from her target - and Thalia swore. With a glance over her shoulder, she saw Jason vaulting off the son of Poseidon's enormous leg into the air. More worrying, however, was the glimpse she caught of Luke's sandy blonde hair ducking out the opposite set of double doors.

For his part, Percy was slowly guiding the group of demigods (and Rachel) towards the opposite set of doors, the same ones which Odie was barreling towards. The sea of monsters which surrounded them seemed almost impenetrable, but the group was wading through it, almost up to their knees in monster dust.

With a mighty heave on the chain-reins, Thalia slowly managed to get Odie to turn right, flexing his ribcage and forcing him to face back towards Antaeus. Jason was rushing through the air around the giant, snaring the chain around Antaeus's neck and shoulders. Another lightning bolt got the beast moving forwards again, and Thalia rushed forwards, spurring the beast onwards with more lightning even as she fought to keep him aligned.

"Thals!" Percy bellowed. They were at the door - the right door, considering Rachel's insistent beckoning. At some point, they'd split off from Jason's group, who now were at the other door. Both groups fought desperately to hold their positions at the doors and wait for their friends.

"Coming!" was all she could manage. As she drew nearer her target, Odie seemed to understand the concept and found the idea inspiring. Maybe it reminded the monster of his campaign against Alexander in India, or maybe he just really liked impaling giants on his three ten-foot horns - either way, as he neared the arena master, he quickened his pace and lowered his head down, his central horn digging a trench into the dirt for a dozen yards before the larger twin horns slammed straight through Antaeus's shoulderblades from behind.

The giant attempted to scream but the only sound was a wheezing gasp, which redoubled when Jason's hook sliced upwards through the giant's guts until it found purchase on his sternum. As Antaeus's entrails spilled out onto the floor, Jason's hook and Odie's horns swung him upwards into the air and held him there, beyond the reach of the earth. Small sand dunes piled up underneath the giant, trying to reach upwards and heal him - but Gaea's son was too far above the ground, and as Odie's feet scrambled on the arena dirt floor for purchase, he wiped out the piles of sand even as they formed.

The giant's final, weak exhale spewed dust into the air which slowly filled the arena. Odie pulled his horns free and Thalia scrambled down off his neck just in time to allow the beast to rush off into the maze. Still seated in his small throne, Luke cackled, raising a wine goblet in a mocking salute. "Thank you, Thals!" He shouted over the din of combat. "Now that I don't have to deal with that idiot, killing your friends will be even easier!"

Finally, there was a pause in the combat. Panting, she met her brother's eyes, saying as much as she possibly could without saying anything at all. Jason seemed to be doing the same. After a moment, he spoke up. "Which way are you going?"

Thalia pointed at the door where Percy and Rachel were backed against the door. "Daedalus's workshop." Jason's brows tightened together, like the term was unfamiliar to him, so she explained further. "We need to… it doesn't matter. I need to save my friends."

Jason's eyes hardened in firm understanding. "Me too," he said, pointing at his compatriots who were backed against the opposite door. "We need to get to the Legion. It's that way. I think. Hank knows the way."

What the fuck was a legion? Was Jason in some sort of cult?

Evidently, her concern and confusion were evident, because he explained too. "The Legion… it's complicated. My family, now, my new family." His eyes softened when he saw the sadness Thalia felt, and he searched for a better explanation. "They… took care of me, when I was a baby. They're good people." A hellhound leapt towards them, but was evaporated without a second thought as two massive bolts of lightning struck it in the maw.

"Oh," Thalia said. She didn't know what else to say, but she desperately wished she did.

Silently, Jason stepped forwards and enveloped her in a hug. "Come back to me," he said.

Thalia looked deep into Jason's eyes. "I'll find you again," she whispered, "I promise."

He nodded. Then he was gone.


The dead rise! Jason's back early.

Well, I'm not... super happy with it. But it's been written, all or in parts, for nearly two weeks now. I figure y'all can tell me if it's terrible, as ever. I really appreciate all the support you guys give me - it means a lot.

6,637 words after the edit, which is a fair chunk. Thalia is way easier to write still. Originally I was thinking about taking this all the way to the battle at Camp but that would have been absolutely massive and super hard to tie up with Tyson/Grover, so that got nixed.

Sorry about the delay. Gonna be another long wait but... maybe May? No promises.

Hope you enjoyed. See you when I see you.

Edit 4/19/2024 for clarity on which way Jason is going. Sorry about that.