Chapter 2: The Minotaur
The day had finally arrived. The first day back to school at Prometheus Academy, but it wasn't just any new start of a school year. It was both the start of me being clean and away from working for Hades and the start of my senior year. Yeah, I know, I'm sixteen so I should technically be a junior, but last year when I enrolled, Hades accidentally wrote down that I was a junior instead of a sophomore. But, hey, at least now I'd get another school year with my friends, and hopefully mend those broken bridges from what happened last semester.
Anyway, I won't bore you all with those details anymore for this part of my story. Let's get to the part you've all been waiting for.
The day started off pretty normal. I had just gotten myself dressed and ready for school and Mom was getting the store ready to be opened for the day. While I was at one of the shop's tables making sure I had everything I needed, Mom went to get the morning mail. But the moment she opened the door, a blue blur flew right into the store.
"Oh, my goodness!" Mom gasped.
I whipped my head around, and the blur flew up right next to me, showing a familiar figure holding Mom's copy of the Greekly World Newsscroll.
"Hermes?" I questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd drop by and tell ya the latest news:" Hermes said as he opened up the newsscroll. "Today's top story, the fabulous Prometheus Academy welcomes back the oh-so-happening Ariadne."
"It does not say that." I scoffed.
"Well, it didn't make the valley edition." he said as he put the scroll down on the table. "But at Prometheus Academy, all your classmates are, heh, hyped, babe."
"Oh, c'mon, you're just saying that to be nice." I said.
"I'm serious. Herc couldn't stop talking about you being back in town." Hermes told me. "He's got all your school friends totally jazzed to see you again."
"Well, we appreciate you dropping by." Mom smiled at him as she went to the kitchen. "Aria, hon, what do you want for breakfast?"
"Two eggs and some toast, please." I requested.
Hermes then got up and flew towards the kitchen himself. "Here, allow me."
"That's very kind of you, but you don't have to do all that." Mom told him.
"It's no problem, really. I insist." he said as he started getting things ready to make breakfast for both me and Mom.
"Well, thank you. Thank you very much." Mom smiled at him.
Hermes gave a nod and went right to work. Meanwhile, I sat there in amazement as I watched him cook. I've read countless of mythology books about how Hermes was known for many talents aside from delivering messages, such as swiftness, luck, trade, travel, communication, and even thievery. But ever since I started living in this world and got to know him better, he never ceases to amaze me with any other surprise abilities he had. I still don't think I was really crushing, because I'm not; it was more like I was starting to appreciating Hermes as a person more.
In the midst of my gawking, I noticed Mom was giving me a strange look. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just thinking." Mom smirked at me.
I blinked for a moment but considering that she saw me smile at him just a minute ago, I could tell what she was thinking. "You don't mean-"
"Well, he's charming, funny, nice, knows his way around a kitchen," Mom listed all the good qualities Hermes had. "And he makes you smile."
"Be serious, Mom. He's a god and I'm…" I gave a defeated sigh. "I'm no one."
"You're someone to him." she said.
"Just don't say anything to make it awkward, please?" I asked her. "I don't know if my feelings for him are positive or negative yet."
"I'm your mother, it's my job to make things awkward for you." she reminded me in a joking way. "But I won't this time."
"Your breakfast, ladies." Hermes announced as he set two plates of toast and eggs in front of us.
"Thanks." I told him as Mom and I began eating.
"You're not nervous, are you?" Hermes then asked me.
"A little." I said after I ate one of my eggs. "I just really hope my friends all forgive me and aren't pretending to make me feel better."
"Sweetie, it's been months." Mom said as she drank some tea. "They've surely forgiven you by now."
"Yeah, babe, you shouldn't let all that guilt get to ya." Hermes agreed before he patted me on the shoulder. "C'mon, it's a new school year! You can make a difference for yourself."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." I said as I checked my phone for the time -7:45. "Oh, better get going!"
I finished up my eggs and took my toast with me on the go, giving Mom a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to school.
"Good luck on your first day back, sweetie." Mom wished me luck as Hermes waved me goodbye.
"Thanks." I said as I grabbed my satchel and headed out the door. "Love you!"
The moment I got outside, I remembered that Hermes was still in my house when he heard me say that and my face immediately turned red at the realization. I had a weird thought thinking that I told him that I loved him instead of saying that to my mom. Maybe it was an intrusive thought getting the better of me or maybe it was an adverse effect of hanging around Panic too much, but I pushed the thought deep down and walked it off. For one thing, I'm smart enough not to think those thoughts, and for another, I was not crushing on Hermes. At least, I'm ninety-eight percent sure I wasn't.
Later
I walked into the outdoor school known as the Prometheus Academy. A large smile grew on my face when got into school and as I kept Hermes' little pep talk earlier in my mind. This was my senior year in high school. I now had the chance to make amends for pretty much everything I did last semester. No more hiding secrets, no more schemes with Hades, and no more lying to my friends. Speaking of which, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed Hercules and Cassandra chatting by their lockers when I was heading towards my own.
"Hey, you guys!" I walked towards them.
"Glad you could make it." Hercules was the first to greet me as he shook my hand.
"Glad I could too." I told him before I noticed that we were short one friend. "Hey, where's Icarus?"
Cassandra gave a somewhat surprised look. "Well…"
"Oh, there he is!" I stopped her when I noticed Icarus on the other side of the lockers and waved to get his attention. "Hey, buddy!"
Icarus looked up and gave a nervous grin before quickly running off towards his locker. Something wasn't right. Back at the Titan Smitin' Festival, Icarus was totally jazzed to see me, but now it's like he was afraid to even come near me or even look at me. As if I was a gorgon or something What the heck happened in that one week before school started?
"What's the matter with Icarus?" I asked them.
Hercules and Cassandra looked at each other nervously before Cass started talking. "You might wanna check Daedalus' class list."
I was confused at first but decided to do exactly just that. The three of us went towards the Shop Class building to finally see what all this fuss was about, and that's when I saw it. Nailed outside the Shop Class door was a piece of paper with a list of all the students who were attending this school year's class, but when I looked to see my name on there like how I did last school year, I didn't see a thing. Which meant one thing and one thing only…
"I'm not in the class?!" I yelled in disbelief.
"We were pretty surprised too." Hercules admitted. "You did so well in his class last year."
"But I need those credits or else I won't graduate! What's going on?" I panicked. "Does Icarus know about this?"
Cassandra and Hercules shared a sad look before she looked back at me. "I think he's the reason."
The three of us looked back towards Icarus as he was getting some school stuff out of his locker, but when he noticed us looking at him -most specifically me- he gave a nervous look and turned away. Almost as if that he was afraid of me. No. As if he was afraid of seeing me. I pieced it together that even though Icarus forgave me after finding out my secret and what I did, especially after we met up at the festival, someone else he knew wasn't too happy about finding out about my secret. Daedalus purposefully left me out of the class because of my history with Hades.
Later that Day
I walked back home pissed off. Scratch that. Ever since I found out that Daedalus purposefully kept me out of his class because of what happened last year with my involvement with Hades and pretty much all of the stuff he did to disrupt the balance of the cosmos and his attempted takeover of Athens was just ridiculous! A little understandable, I admit, but ridiculous! I'll be stuck in high school forever if that's the case! So, I pretty much had a nasty attitude all day because of that lingering thought, and it became way more apparent the moment I got back home.
"Hi, Aria," Mom greeted me as I stormed into the shop. "How was your first day back?"
"It sucked!" I growled.
A spoon dropped to the floor and my mom and I went silent as we turned to see few customers looking up from their tea and newscrolls to eavesdrop in our private conversation. To keep this more between mother and daughter, Mom ushered me to the back counter, and we had a whispered conversation about my problem.
"What happened now?" Mom asked me.
"My shop teacher is purposely not having me in his class!" I complained to her.
"What? Why?" Mom asked in concern.
"Well, for one thing: He's Icarus' dad." I said as I folded my arms. "Icarus must've told him that I worked for Hades a few months back and now his dad won't let me in because of it."
"That still gives him no excuse." Mom growled at the situation. "Your friend's father or not, making sure a student purposely doesn't take their class because of something that happened months ago is completely ridiculous!"
"You're not gonna go all Karen on the school, are you?" I asked her nervously.
"No, but I will write your teacher a very stern letter." Mom said as she went to the back room to do what she needed to do.
I turned back around to see confused customers in the shop. "Sorry, folks, I know you're trying to enjoy your tea. I'll be with the next person in line in just a minute."
I set my satchel down and clocked in for work in the shop. I only hoped that whatever my mom was planning on doing, it won't end up getting me into more trouble with Daedalus. The last thing I needed was to not graduate just because of something I did months ago or because my mom threatened one of the teachers. If anyone at school ever found out, mainly Adonis, I'd never hear the end of it for the rest of the year.
The Next Day
Well, the second day of school started off pretty rocky for me. I wasn't still mad at Daedalus or anything, but you know that feeling when you fail a test and are mortified for if or when your parents find out? That's how I was feeling the entire day. Mom had sent her letter about how unfair it was that Daedalus didn't put me in Shop after he found out I used to work for Hades pretty much two minutes after I told her about it, and I was absolutely scared about how it would turn out. I didn't want to get into more trouble than I already was in.
And when I was getting ready for my seventh period study hall by getting some notebooks and stuff to make necklaces with -I do that when I'm bored sometimes, that's when things all went down…
"Ariadne?"
I gave a nervous look as I slowly turned around and saw Daedalus standing behind me. "Yes, sir?"
"Might I have a word with you?" he asked me as he returned to Shop Class.
I gulped in nervousness. What did Mom write to him? Please say she didn't threaten him. The last time my mom wrote to one of my teachers talking about a problem I was having in school, I had to go to school wearing a rain poncho to protect myself from getting milk thrown at me. And I already had a good status going for me to even allow that to happen again. Fortunately for me, the teachers here aren't childish bullies.
I followed Daedalus into the empty Shop Class and prepared for a really long, rambling apology to my former teacher about why I worked for Hades. "Look, I understand that you're mad at me, but I really had no choice to work for Hades. You see, it all started when I met the Fates in a museum basement, and-"
"That is not why I asked to speak to you, young lady." Daedalus stopped me.
I blinked. "It isn't?"
"I received a letter from your mother. And she was quite… straight forward with her statements." he explained. "And after much deliberation, I have decided to give you another chance."
I blinked. "Really?"
Daedalus nodded. "I am going on a business trip to Crete for several days to invent the greatest invention of the world, and Icarus is to accompany me as my assistant. If you're interested, you can accompany me as my other assistant. Should you do as you're told, I will allow you back into my class."
I smiled widely at the offer. This was perfect! I play a Marty McFly role to Daedalus' Doc Brown, I get back in shop class, and I graduate high school with honors. No more problems for me aside from making sure I pass Shop and all my other classes. Tyche really must've been looking out for me today! And here I thought I would get into more trouble.
"I'll do it!" I said without a second thought.
"However," Daedalus stopped me with a warning tone. "If I spot you conspiring with Hades in any means necessary, I will see to it that you will never rejoin my class ever again. Do I make myself clear, young lady?"
"Yes, sir." I nodded.
"Excellent." he said as he gave me a slip of paper. "Have your mother sign this permission form. The ship leaves the port tomorrow at dawn. Make sure you're on time."
"I will!" I told him with an excited grin. "I promise you won't regret this!"
I ran out of the classroom with the good news and my ticket to graduating being held tightly in my hand. Extra credit for going on a trip to Crete to help Daedalus and Icarus build something? As weirdly familiar as this scenario sounded, it was perfect! I play my cards right, don't do anything Underworld-related during the trip, and I'm back in Shop and I graduate with high school honors! I was right! Tyche is looking out for me!
The Next Morning
Well, after I told Mom about Daedalus' offer, she was more than happy to sign the permission form to help me get back into shop. While I was a little nervous about going to Crete, I think I remember reading a cautionary myth about it once, but I couldn't seem to remember which myth, I was mostly excited to go on the trip. Not only was this a golden opportunity to prove that I was no longer loyal to Hades, but I got to go on an adventure and get out of classes on the third day of school. Win-win for me.
That morning when I was to meet Daedalus and Icarus at the docks, Mom dropped me off to see me go on my newest adventure. "Okay, you be careful in Crete. Make sure you stay close to Daedalus."
"Don't worry, Mom, I'll be fine." I assured her as I strapped on my satchel.
She gave me a smile as she ruffled my hair. "Hey, I worry about you."
"I know." I grinned.
"You have the permission form?" she asked me.
"Yes, Mom." I answered as I patted my satchel. "I put it right back in my satchel after you signed it."
She smiled before giving me a quick hug and a kiss. "I love you."
"Love you, too!" I said back before heading off to find Daedalus' ship.
When I was on my own, I wandered around the docks to try and find the ship but ended up becoming so fascinated by all the ships they had there. I think the only time I visited the docks was when Cassandra and I went to snoop on Hercules and Meg during the whole missing amphora incident, but even then, I didn't get a good glimpse or even bask in the moment of those amazing looking sea vessels. No matter how long I've lived here, I still find even the little things about life in Ancient Greece so fascinating. Imagine: Using wooden ships with sails and astrologic navigation instead of speedboats and internet maps! We've certainly come a long way since this time in history, but living in it is something else.
Anyway, while I was wondering around, I finally spotted Daedalus' ship on the far-side of the pier. And with him was -of course- Icarus as well as Hercules and Cassandra. My guess was the two latter of the group wanted to see Icarus off before we left for Crete, but the conversation I happened to walk into sort of proved to be a more disbelieving concept rather than the usual short and sweet farewell.
"Crete?!" Hercules asked Daedalus in disbelief. "As in the island of Crete?"
"As in the enemy of half of Greece?" Cassandra asked.
"As in ruled by King Minos?" Hercules continued.
"As in the most twisted tyrant in the entire Aegean region?" Cassandra went on.
"I think he gets it, you guys." I added into the conversation as I walked up and handed Daedalus my permission form.
"Ah, right on time." Daedalus stated at me before continuing his conversation with the others. "And Crete, as in the patron of my genius."
I gave an excited smile towards Icarus, who did what he could to avoid any eye-contact with me. What was going on with him?
"Son, you are able to look at her now. She's not a gorgon." Daedalus told him. "Besides, if she is to join us, I expect you two to work together."
"Thanks, Dad-alus!" Icarus smiled as he gave me an excited look.
I only responded with a smaller, more weakened smile. So, that's why Icarus avoided contact with me the other day? His dad said that he couldn't see me anymore and Icarus took it literally. That's a really low blow, but I guess I get it. Daedalus loves his son and wants to keep him safe, by any means necessary. Even if it means banning Icarus from seeing his friend after a year's worth of lies and schemes. Like I said, I get it, but it's still kind of hurtful.
Just then, a loud commotion occurred from the ramp up to the boat. Our heads turned to see some dockworkers struggling to carry up some very large and heavy-looking crates onto the boat. And by carry, I mean sort of handle the crates very irresponsibly by rocking them side-to-side to try and provide less weight within the crates. And speaking from experience from working in my mom's shop, it really does nothing but spill the contents.
"Gently! Gently with the crates!" my teacher told the men. "They contain my life's work."
"Oops." one of the dockworkers commented when one of the smaller crates fell on the ramp and busted open to reveal a pulley.
Daedalus stormed towards them to better handle the equipment. "That's not gently!"
"So, you're going to Crete too?" Hercules asked me to break an awkward silence.
"Daedalus said that if I go with him as his assistant, he'll let me back in Shop Class." I explained to him.
"Speaking of which," Icarus stated as he turned to his returning father. "Dad-alus, do we really want your genius at the disposal of a twisted and evil cretin?"
"Icarus, did you just call a king an idiot?" I asked in surprise and pride.
"No, I meant Creten. As in, someone who lives in Crete." he corrected me before giving me a thumbs-up. "But I'll keep that in mind for the next time Adonis wants to insult me. Thanks."
"I care not about Minos' politics." Daedalus interrupted us to answer the earlier question. "I care only that he is my stepping stone for greatness! For he has commissioned me to build this most excellent and enormous maze."
"The Labyrinth?!" I felt my voice crack when I saw the blueprints for his invention.
No wonder this whole thing seemed familiar to me. This was the myth that stapled Daedalus and Icarus as well-known figures in Greek Mythology: The Labyrinth and the Minotaur. I should've backed out of my deal with Daedalus when I realized that this trip was a death trap set by King Minos, but my entire future was on the line. So, I stayed where I was. Jaw-dropped at the sight of the most infamous maze in all mythology.
"You seem surprised." Daedalus stated.
"Well, I-I didn't take you for the maze-type." I thought of a good lie.
"It looks ridiculously complicated." Cassandra stated.
"Well, that's the point." Daedalus stated as he put the blueprints back into his pocket.
Just then, the captain of the ship blew a conch shell to signal that the boat was about to depart for Crete.
"Come, Icarus and Ariadne. Next port, Crete." Daedalus told us.
Icarus and I said our goodbyes to Hercules and Cassandra -the latter giving a disgusted face as Icarus hugged her very tightly- and we got onto the boat with Daedalus. After some ropes were removed from the docks and with the mainsail being reefed down from the mast, the boat sailed from the docks, and the three of us were on our way to another adventure. One I knew would be extremely dangerous -just the way I like them.
Later
Well, aside from the immediate threat of what Minos was planning and the idea that I would actually see the creation of the infamous Labyrinth, the trip to Crete was actually very fun. I always loved sailing. Back home, my uncle used to take my mom and I out boating on the ocean whenever we had the chance, and the feeling of the ocean breeze and nothing but calmness surrounding me on the Crete trip was nothing short of relaxing.
"Isn't this great?" I asked out loud as I enjoyed the breeze against my face as we sailed on. "Cool ocean breeze, endless sea. This is Elysium."
"Yeah, it is pretty great!" Icarus agreed as he watched the waves move up against the ship.
"There it is, children, Crete!" Daedalus announced. "The future sight of my greatest triumph!"
I hopped off the rope I held onto and went to Icarus' side on the ship as we saw Crete up ahead in the distance. It was an impressive island city-state, but I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the middle to low class houses were all stacked up on top of each other while Minos' palace stood on top of the hill. The place almost reminded me of one of those towns with the school-to-prison pipeline inflicted within it already. Probably symbolizing just how twisted and cruel King Minos really was.
To get my mind off that topic, I decided to finally speak up. "Well, it's a… good start to build a wonder of the world."
"But, Dad-alus, teaching was good, right?" Icarus asked his father.
"Yeah, you certainly brought out our young minds when it came to inventing." I added.
"Plus, you got summers off-" Icarus cut himself off when he noticed something in the distance. "Whoa! What is that?"
Our heads turned back towards Crete, where we saw something coming right towards us. A strange creature about the size of Echidna was marching into the ocean as if it was defending Crete from the oncoming ship. I couldn't tell what that thing was. It wasn't a giant, especially since it was made entirely out of brass. I then remembered reading something in one of my old Greek Mythology books about a thirty-meter brass creature that protected Crete. Talos, the first animatronic.
"It's a robot!" I exclaimed.
"A Talos robot, to be exact. Crude and effective invention," Daedalus stated. "Crete's most famous attraction."
"Your future has robots?" Icarus asked me.
"The closest thing we have to actual robots look like discuses and are used for cleaning." I told him.
"Really?" he asked in interest.
"Yeah, but they're not as useful as you think." I continued. "They mostly just sweep up crumbs and dirt."
Icarus nodded in understanding before he looked back towards the robot with widened eyes. "And, let me guess, they don't hurl giant boulders at oncoming ships?!"
"But I am an honored guest of King Minos." Daedalus assured us. "You have nothing to fear."
"Someone should tell Talos that!" Icarus shot back as he pointed at Talos.
We turned with shocked faces to see that, in fact, Talos was preparing to throw a large rock labeled in big red letters Welcome to Crete towards the incoming ship that -newsflash- we were on! Talos then chucked the rock right towards the boat. Indicating that if we didn't scram soon, we'd either be crushed to death or drown. Frankly, I don't prefer either death option. Either I die old and satisfied, or I get cursed as something for all eternity. No crushing or drowning for me or my friends.
"Abandon ship!" I screamed as I pulled Icarus by his chiton collar and jumped into the ocean right as the rock crashed into the ship.
Five Minutes Later
Well, aside from that salty arrival, we all managed to swim to Crete safely. Even Daedalus' equipment made it to the island unharmed. But I still had a bad feeling as we were all escorted up to the palace. I knew that Minos had the minotaur hidden somewhere in the palace to keep any looky-loos from sneaking a peek, but the question was where? And how do I warn Icarus and Daedalus without either one of them accusing me of conspiring with Hades?
Those questions had to remain unasked for now, because the moment we got up to the palace, we were welcomed by a rather short, slightly chubby older man dressed in purple robes and wore a crown on his head. Yep. Based on previous experiences with twisted Grecian kings, I assumed this guy was the infamous King Minos. To be honest, though, I thought he'd be a lot taller.
"I apologize for Talos' rude welcoming." King Minos apologized with a voice that sounded like a dog with some phlegm in his throat.
"No problem, your highness." Daedalus assured him. "Thankfully, the children are safe and so is my equipment."
"Children?" Minos repeated before noticing Icarus and I literally standing next to Daedalus.
Daedalus nodded as he introduced us. "My son Icarus and his friend Ariadne."
"I had a daughter named Ariadne. Stubborn girl, married Bacchus." Minos stated before he glared at me suspiciously. "She won't cause trouble, will she?"
"Certainly not." Daedalus assure him.
"Good." Minos gave a chuckle as he clapped his hands together. "Now, I'll show you where you will be working."
Minos led the three of us through his palace, where I noticed a specific theme going on with the decor. Marble bull statues with ruby encrusted eyes were placed on each side of every door we passed by. Heck, even the guards who helped escort us had bull-like horns on their helmets. To say that Minos was obsessed with the bovine animals would be an extreme understatement. Seems like ever since the creep held the minotaur captive, he's been obsessed with the creature's quote-unquote "better half". All the more reason for me to keep a close watch as to where the minotaur was hidden.
After a while, Minos led us to the back of the palace and revealed an open area where tons of construction workers were already building parts of the Labyrinth. My guess was Daedalus had already sent a copy of his blueprints to Minos and the king had begun construction prior to our arrival. Rather generous for such an evil king.
"All this is at your disposal." Minos explained. "Just build me the best Labyrinth in the world."
"All this, and no abnormally strong students to wreck it." Daedalus marveled at the thought.
"Dad, just ask him what it's for." Icarus whispered to his father.
"I can't ask him what it's for. He's a king. I can't just-" Daedalus stopped himself when he noticed Minos was standing in front of him. "Uh, tell me, King Minos, for what purpose do I create this Labyrinth?"
Minos eyed him suspiciously. "Hmm. Kind of nosy for an inventor."
"He prefers to be called an inventist, your highness." I corrected him. So, what? I learned how to boot kiss higher-up officials from the imps. This is my future education on trial here, I get a pass.
Minos rolled his eyes at my comment. "Whatever."
Daedalus continued. "I only ask because I've heard vivid and ugly rumors about-"
"You have? Which ones?" Minos asked with glee.
"Oh, well, I don't know, the one where you hurl boulders at innocent people!" Icarus pointed out sarcastically.
Minos gave a laugh. "Oh, ho, ho. A bit of shipwrecking never hurt anyone."
"That's because they all probably drowned before they could complain." I cynically remarked under my breath.
"Besides, this nasty gossip you've heard about me is all in the past. I have reformed." Minos assured us. "Crete is chummy with Athens now. We just signed a new treaty. So there."
"What about the Labyrinth?" I decided to ask.
"The purpose of this Labyrinth is strictly top-secret." the king snapped at me. "Only kings and inventists are to know. Not children."
"Oh, come on. We're almost 17. We can handle it." I assured him.
"Actually, I'm almost 18." Icarus corrected me.
"Really?" I blinked at him.
Wow. He did not look like he was a whole year older than me. Then again, Hades did place me in a grade up when he applied me at Pro Ac in the first place. So, maybe that's why I didn't know. I really should've asked, now I even feel more like a crappy friend than I did when I was practically forced to lie to everyone about who I really was and hiding my secret life as one of Hades' little helpers.
"I think not." Minos disagreed to the earlier point. "Your young Athenian minds could not comprehend what I have in store for this Labyrinth."
Minos then led Daedalus to discuss more important matters regarding the Labyrinth while Icarus and I were left to look around. Unfortunately, I still couldn't stop thinking about how all this was a bad idea. For those who don't know or are completely oblivious to the details I've previously given, the Labyrinth was built by Daedalus for two reasons: One was to keep the minotaur imprisoned so that the citizens of Crete would be safe from it, but the other reason was for Minos' own, twisted entertainment. Fourteen Athenians, seven males and seven females, would go into the Labyrinth, but none of them would make it out alive. That is, until the minotaur was eventually defeated by Theseus, but unfortunately, we had no Theseus to defeat the minotaur. Which meant that I had to figure out how to sabotage Minos' plan.
Two Nights Later
Well, it took a while, but the Labyrinth was almost complete. Daedalus' dream was almost complete. And as Icarus and I went to check up on the inventor, we saw Daedalus hard at work on creating some new sections for the large maze. Reminding me a little bit of the times Hades used to stay up late at night for hours on end just to get some paperwork done. I guess work is never truly finished for those who do their job properly.
"Busy at work I see." Icarus commented on his dad.
"Heh, reminds me of-" I stopped myself when I remembered why I joined Daedalus on this trip in the first place. "Never mind."
Icarus gave me a confused look. "Hey, you okay?"
"Look, I get that you were mad at me when you found out that I worked for Hades, but I never asked for it to happen." I told him with a disappointed look. "You didn't have to squeal to your dad and cost me my chance of graduating."
"I'm sorry, Ari. I really am." Icarus apologized. "But I tell Dad-alus everything! If I lied to him about you and everything that happened, he'd be really disappointed in me."
"And coming from the single-parents clubs, I get that." I said.
"Not entirely single," Icarus stated. "My parents are divorced."
"Yeah, but it still hurts." I brought back my main point.
"How 'bout I make it up to you?" he offered with a smile. "I promise to keep your personal life a secret if you promise to not try to kill me, Hercules, Cassandra, or any of our other friends."
"I wouldn't kill you guys even if I was mind-controlled by an evil witch." I told him. "But I promise."
We shook on it and then Icarus immediately pulled me in for a hug. Had to admit, he was pretty stubborn when it came to certain things, but when it comes to loyalty and caring about his friends, Icarus had those qualities in spades. We broke off our hug and went to see if his dad needed any help with anything, but on our way over, something caught our attention. I pulled out two small balls of glowing, golden thread found on Daedalus' workbench and handed one of them to Icarus -who was immediately fascinated by the sparkly trinket.
"So, Dad-alus, what's this?" Icarus asked.
"What's what?" Daedalus asked before he noticed the balls of thread. "Oh, our workers use that when they're lost in the maze. It's magic thread."
Icarus gave a grin. "Oh, cool! It shows them the way out?"
"Exactly."
"Can we keep one?" I asked him.
"By all means." Daedalus gave a shrug.
"Gonna make me some magic socks." Icarus grinned as he put a ball of magic thread in the pocket of his chiton.
"And I could use a new magic beanie or a new sash." I thought out loud as I did the same with the one I had. "I'll decide later."
"Children, why don't you two go and unpack that new crate King Minos brought?" Daedalus suggested as he pointed towards a large crate. "He said it's crucial to Project L."
Icarus and I nodded and started making our way towards the direction the crate was in. A large crate labeled Danger in big red letters and literally roared at the mere mention of Project L. Something was up, and I wasn't liking it.
"Why do you think Minos wants Dad-alus to build the Labyrinth?" Icarus asked me.
"I have a hunch, and it's not good." I told him my fears.
Icarus blinked. "Whaddya mean?"
I narrowed my eyes when I saw the bull statues standing next to the palace doors. "Notice anything strange about the decor?"
"Yeah." Icarus seemed to understand what I was trying to imply while pointing at the red banners. "Those banners don't match the palace at all."
"Not the banners! The bull statues!" I scoffed in an annoyed tone. "They're all over the palace. At every door."
"Well, who wouldn't like bulls?" he said. "They're strong, and big, plus they make good steaks."
"Okay, stay with me here." I tried my best to get the information through him. "The truth is that I actually know why Minos wants the Labyrinth, and it has to deal with the whole bull-thing."
"So, what do we do?" Icarus asked me.
I started to explain to him my plan. "In the dead of night, we go into the castle's dungeons, and if what I think is in there, is in there, we could be in big trouble."
He nodded as we started to approach the crate Daedalus told us about. What I found odd about it was the fact that it just sat there in the open. No guards, hardly any equipment there aside from a crowbar. It was as if nobody wanted to go anywhere near it. And as Icarus and I were approaching it, a foul and rather hot stench filled the air. A stench that reminded me of the old dairy farms Mom and I used to get cream and milk for her teas and treats from back in Salem. And trust me when I say this, that was not a very pleasant smell. I started to think maybe that's why there were no guards for it.
"Oh, gods, that stinks!" I gagged as I held my nose.
"What is that smell?" Icarus said in disgust as he took the crowbar opened a small window in cage. "Smells like a-"
"Touch me again, boy, and I'll rip off your arm!" a growl came from the crate as a muscular hairy hand punched through the window and pulled the crowbar out of Icarus' hand.
Icarus gave a yell as he fell backwards, accidentally bumping into me from the creature's force, and we both fell down in a heap. We both watched as the crate shook from the inside and managed to remove all the pieces of wood from it. Revealing a cage and the terrifying creature inside it that was a six-foot-tall, dark-haired muscleman with the head, horns, legs, hooves, and tail of a bull.
Icarus stood up in horror. "It's a min-min-min-"
"-Otaur, kid." the minotaur finished for him with a chuckle.
"Guess we won't have to sneak around after all." Icarus nervously gulped at me as he helped me up.
"No kidding." I pipped in fear.
"A minotaur?!"
We turned around and saw Daedalus standing in horror as he saw the beast within the cage. I knew it. Minos didn't tell him about the minotaur being the main captive within the Labyrinth, and that lie was only fed further like a wildfire when the king had heard all the commotion and came to Daedalus' side to give him some quote-unquote "reasonable" information regarding the caged minotaur.
"This is why I brought you here, Daedalus. That beast has been the scourge of Crete for generations." Minos lied. "We need your Labyrinth to imprison it, and to keep my people safe."
"Well, that is truly a noble goal, and a great challenge for a manipuladore of mazes!" Daedalus stated proudly. "No monster will ever find its way out of the Labyrinth of Daedalus!"
"Oh, so I'm a monster now?" the minotaur snapped as he folded his arms. "I couldn't pick my parents, you know."
Minos scoffed as he led Daedalus back to his workbench, leaving Icarus and I only a few feet from an annoyed minotaur. Perfect for trading plans on how to stop Minos from using the minotaur for his cruel entertainment.
"You were right. This is not good." Icarus whispered to me. "But at least Dad-alus will make sure it won't hurt people."
"That's not entirely true." I said.
"Whaddya mean?" Icarus questioned.
"Minos doesn't want to keep people safe." I told him. "He's gonna put Athenians in that Labyrinth and personally give the minotaur an all-you-can-eat buffet. All for entertainment."
"Is that in your myth or what will actually happen?" Icarus asked me.
"Both." I stated. "And I know, it's sounds crazy, but you gotta believe me!"
"I do, Ari. I do. But it still doesn't make sense to me." Icarus pondered out loud. "Why would Dad-alus make something so bad?"
I glared back at the twisted king as he walked and kept talking to Daedalus about the "plan" to protect his people. "Because Minos has been lying to your father this whole time."
The Next Morning
The Labyrinth was now finished. All it needed was the minotaur. Daedalus, Icarus, and I watched from a large viewing palanquin as King Minos ordered some guards to use a lever system to lift the minotaur's cage over the maze. The minotaur was dropped through a trap door within his cage, and he fell right into the Labyrinth. And we all watched from above as the monster started getting more and more frustrated with every dead end he came upon. I almost started feeling bad for the guy if it weren't for the fact that he was going to eat unfortunate Athenians who would potentially be dropped into the Labyrinth as well.
"This is getting monotonous." I heard the minotaur grumble when he found his third dead end.
"What's the matter, bull-head?" Minos taunted. "Didn't they teach you about Labyrinths back on the farm?"
The minotaur panted as he tried to find another way out of the maze and I heard him questioning the Labyrinth's design. "Man, what is up with this place?"
Minos gave a laugh. "You've really done it, Daedalus. I think we just might just have a wonder of the world in our hands."
"Hey! Why don't you try the next hole over? That's a dead end, too!" Daedalus laughed at the struggling minotaur. "In your face, moo-boy!"
"Moo-boy?" I repeated in a confused way.
"Dad-alus, please, gloating does not become you." Icarus told his father.
"Now for the real fun." Minos clapped his hands together.
The king then ordered a guard to lower down another cage over the Labyrinth and right in front of the palanquin balcony, so we were all able to see the first poor, unfortunate Athenian candidate for the maze of death. My eyes widened in horror when I saw that the teenaged boy in the cage had red hair and was dressed in very, very familiar armor.
"Hercules?" Icarus said in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh, I'm on some ultimate combat deal." Herc told us. "I figured it was the only way to visit you guys."
"He's dead." I started to panic. "He is so dead."
Hercules looked down at the Labyrinth below him. "This is where the combat happens, huh?"
"Combat? Don't be ridiculous, young Hercules." Daedalus told him. "The Labyrinth below is for Minotaur containment only."
I exchanged a nervous look at Icarus before he tried to speak up to his father. "Uh, actually, Dad-alus-"
"Not now, son." Daedalus didn't listen and turned back towards Minos. "Isn't that right, King Minos?"
"Actually, yes and no." Minos answered with a mischievous grin. "The combat is down there, and the Athenian youth won't survive."
Daedalus' eyes widened in fear at the revelation. "My wonder of the world is to be used for such an atrocity? It is not possible!"
"It is possible." Minos corrected.
"Oh, man. We gotta help Herc!" Icarus worried.
"That's not possible." Minos snapped at him. "It'll ruin my fun."
"Psychopath!" I yelled at the king.
"Too kind, Ariadne." Minos said before he turned his direction towards Hercules. "Let me give you a little advice, son: Scream loudly!"
"The name's Hercules." Hercules corrected as he folded his arms. "I'm a fighter, not a screamer."
"Oh, really?" Minos arched a brow before pulling a lever.
And with that, the floor beneath Hercules gave out, and Icarus and I watched in horror as our friend screamed as he fell into the Labyrinth below. It's official, we had to find a way to save Herc before he ended up a burger for the minotaur.
"Ho, ho, not a screamer? That's a beautiful scream! Kid's got great pipes." Minos laughed.
Daedalus tried to help Hercules by instructing him on how to escape the Labyrinth but was immediately stopped by Minos. Not that it would've helped any, Daedalus' instructions did leave Herc a bit confused -although that could've been a side effect from crashing headfirst into the Labyrinth. So, there was nothing much else to do except wait and listen to Minos taunt the young demigod as he tried to navigate the maze.
Fortunately, the minotaur hadn't sniffed Hercules out yet, which meant that it gave me plenty of time to come up with a plan to save Hercules. But the plan I had come up with only ended with one thing and one thing only: Me going into the Labyrinth, myself, to save my friend.
"This is getting boring." Minos sighed before turning towards Icarus and I. "Who's next?"
I stood in front of Icarus so Minos wouldn't get any more ideas about sending my other friend to his death. "If you want somebody to give that bull a proper fight, then leave Icarus out of it!"
Minos' smile turned psychotic again. "If you insist."
Just then, he switched another lever down, and I felt the floor beneath me suddenly disappear. The next thing I knew, I was sent falling and screaming from the trapdoor and down into the Labyrinth. I tried my best to not fall face or feet first into the stone below me, but when it was obvious trying to aim for one of the spiked edges of the maze was a bad idea, I ended up falling into the maze itself.
"ARIA!" I heard Icarus and his father yell my name.
"I'm okay!" I shouted back up towards them.
Well, that statement was actually a half-truth. I was fine physically, miraculously due to the long fall and attempt to save myself from any major injury, but now I was stuck inside the most complicated maze to ever be created with a man-eating monster somewhere inside. Clearly, I was going to die if I didn't find Hercules and get out of the Labyrinth soon. Probably exclusively in that order.
"Okay, no big deal. It's just like those forest mazes back in Girl Scouts." I stated as I looked at my surroundings before panicking again. "Except those mazes were too easy."
I started off with what I could remember from my Girl Scout days by following the right-hand rule. Which was where a person could get out of a maze by putting your right hand on the wall to try and navigate your way out to find an exit. But after coming up to find so many dead ends, I knew that trick was useless. So, I began to panic a little and started going in any direction I could find all scared and confused like Fleur Delacour and hoped I get lucky.
I got lucky, but my luck consisted of me bumping into two other people at a crossroads within the maze and falling back on my back. I sat myself up and saw that I had bumped into both Hercules and Icarus. The minotaur hadn't got to them first!
"Guys!" I exclaimed happily.
"Aria! Icarus! You're okay!" Hercules smiled as he hugged Icarus and I.
I broke off the hug when I got confused how to how Icarus was in the Labyrinth. "How'd you get down here?"
"I fell in trying you to save you guys." he explained.
"We appreciate the help, Icarus, but right now, we've gotta find a way out of here." Hercules gulped as the minotaur started to approach us.
The minotaur stopped right in front of us with a coy smile as he folded his arms. "You know, sometimes I wonder, why have two horns? But then situations like this arise."
I gave a rude laugh. "Jokes on you, there's three of us!"
"I'll go easy on you, little girl." the minotaur told me before sniffing once again, only to get a confused look when he stared back at me. "Wait, you're not Athenian."
Finally, being from America pays off!
"No, I'm not." I started to smile wildly.
"Then what are you?" the minotaur demanded an answer.
"I'm an Oregonian, sucker!" I smirked before blowing a raspberry at the minotaur.
"Hey, Herc, you can take this guy, right?" Icarus asked Hercules.
"You bet." Herc nodded.
"Good, 'cause he's got the magic thread that'll show the way out of here. No pressure." Icarus nervously added.
"He what?!" I repeated with widened eyes.
"Ah, so that's what it's for?" the minotaur grinned wickedly as he tossed the ball of thread in his hands. "First, I get out of here, then I gore on that arrogant egghead."
"Not my Dad-alus!" Icarus cried out.
"Make that Dead-alus." the minotaur laughed as he did the finger across the neck implication.
The minotaur then went off to leave the maze, and the three of us tried to run after him to try and save Daedalus before the minotaur could get to him first, but we weren't so lucky. Thanks to the mishap, the minotaur now had a huge advantage against us with the ball of magic thread. After a while, Hercules, Icarus, and I stopped running to catch our breaths. I only stopped for a moment until I felt something in my pocket. I pulled out the magic thread's twin and marveled at the little thing. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Tyche was looking out for me.
"How are we ever gonna find our way outta here?" Icarus panted after a bit. "We'll never catch up to the minotaur."
"We don't need to catch up to him," I said as I him and Herc my spare ball of magic thread. "We just need to get outta here before he does."
Why I didn't think of doing this when I fell in is beyond me, but I'm glad the minotaur reminded me of this little trick. I placed the ball of thread on the ground in front of the three of us and waited for it to move. When it didn't budge, I started to fear that this was a fake Minos gave the workers just to be more of a generic jerk, but then, the magic thread ball started to glow and then rolled rapidly to lead us out of the maze.
"Quickly!" I shouted at the guys. "Follow the trail!"
I caught Hercules giving an impressed smile as we ran. "This is way easier than what I was thinking."
"Lemme guess: Punch holes through the maze?" I cynically asked him.
"Ooh, Dad-alus would've freaked if he saw you do that to his masterwork." Icarus added.
The three of us then continued to run after the ball. Going through all sorts of directions through the maze without bumping into any dead ends. The magic thread was really working! I was starting to think that I was doing the job of my namesake; leading a young hero out of the Labyrinth safely to fight the minotaur and free any other captive who wasn't eaten. I would be more impressed if this situation didn't have another brush with death if we didn't win.
"HELP!"
Icarus' eyes widened in fear at that voice as he stopped in his tracks. "It's my Dad-alus! He's in trouble!"
"We have to save him!" I exclaimed.
"But where do we go now?" Hercules asked as he pointed down at something. "Something's wrong with the thread."
I looked down and noticed that the ball of magic thread had stopped moving. I gave it a little nudge with my foot, but it didn't budge. I tricked kicking it, and that did nothing either. It was as if the ball refused to move no matter how much force I tried to use with my foot. I started getting really annoyed at this as I picked up the ball of magic thread.
I gave a growl. "Why won't this stupid thing go any further?"
"This must be the last wall." Hercules stated as he knocked on the hollow wall.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"Look! The thread's pointing right at it." he explained.
I looked down at the ball of magic thread once again, and sure enough, the thread's end was pointing up at the wall. Hercules was right. If the whole ball stopped moving and was pointing at the wall, then it must've been the last one! Well, now I feel kind of bad for yelling at the thing and calling it stupid. I put the ball back in my pocket for safe keeping, and so that the minotaur wouldn't steal mine so he could escape the Labyrinth again if he got imprisoned in it again.
Hercules readied a punch to -well- punch a hole out of the Labyrinth. "Come on, guys. Follow me."
"Wait a minute!" Icarus stopped him with a facepalm. "Oh. I'm so stupid."
"What?" Herc and I asked him.
"Dad-alus installed these secret doors throughout the Labyrinth." Icarus explained to us as he knocked a pattern on the wall and opened a secret door in the maze that revealed the outside.
I gave him a mean look. "And you're just mentioning this now?"
Icarus gave a sheepish smile. "Heh. Silly me."
Hercules and I shook our heads before the three of us ran outside and saw quite the sight. Talos had arrived and started running amok across the hill. But that wasn't the strangest part. The strangest part of that whole thing was the two figures running around on top of Talos' massive shoulders. I squinted when I saw them and was able to make out that the figures were both Daedalus and the minotaur.
"Oh, good, sweet Zeus." Icarus exclaimed.
"We gotta stop that thing." Hercules told the two of us. "But how?"
A thought came into mind when I began to remember how exactly Talos was defeated by some twin Spartan princes and the witch Madea -not the Tyler Perry Madea, people. And a rather useful thought at that.
"I think know how!" I stated.
Icarus looked at me. "You do?"
"Let's hear it!" Herc smiled at me.
"Y'know how everybody's got a weakness? Well, that includes giant robots." I explained to him. "And Talos and Achilles have one shared weakness."
"The heel!" Hercules said in realization as he looked up at Talos. "Hang on tight, Daedalus!"
Herc ran towards Talos, and instead of punching the heel like I assumed he would, Hercules instead lifted up Talos by the heel and shook the minotaur off the giant robot. Daedalus, thankfully held on and remained unharmed. Things were starting to seem pretty good for everyone.
"Alright, come on down, Dad-alus. All's clear." Icarus shouted up to his dad.
Just as he said that the minotaur came charging right at Hercules, ramming into him and sending them both over a hill into a clearing below.
"On second thought, better stay up there for a bit." Icarus yelled back up. "We got a situation down here."
We watched as Hercules fought the minotaur as best as he could and was able to get the monster off of him by thinking back to the lever-slash-catapult from last semester. Y'know, when Hades got the idea to turn Athens into his domain involving the River Styx? If you don't remember that, I suggest you go back and read that chapter. Anyway, Herc managed to pull back a tree, getting the minotaur's horns stuck in the trunk, and released the tree. Sending the minotaur flying towards the Daedalus-controlled Talos, and was thrown back into the Labyrinth, only this time, he had no magic thread with him to get out again.
Just then, we heard footsteps approaching, and saw an angry Minos leading the charge with two armed guards heading right for Icarus and I. My guess was that after the Minotaur, Hercules, Icarus, and I busted out of the Labyrinth, Minos wasn't too happy to see us all survive the maze and was going to kill us all himself. Well, sucks to be him, because after I glanced back towards the secret door Herc, Icarus, and I came out of, I had an idea.
"Icarus, get Herc and your dad somewhere safe." I told my friend as I started making my way towards the secret entrance.
"What are you doing?" he asked me.
"Just go, I'll catch up!" I told him as I got into position.
Icarus reluctantly nodded and ran towards the downed Talos to help his dad and Hercules. Meanwhile, I was starting to plan the greatest stunt I've ever pulled in my entire life. Well, maybe second greatest. I still think that cornucopia-tuba idea to help defeat the Orthus and me turning into a freaking dragon to protect my friends from Hecate's stupid wolves last year were still pretty cool.
"Oy, you bunch of cow butts!" I taunted Minos and his guards. "You want an Athenian? Then come and get me!"
Minos and his guards charged right for me, but thanks to Icarus' little tip from earlier, they were all falling right into my trap. Just as Minos' hand was about to grab me, I jumped out of the way and closed the secret door. Locking Minos and his guards inside the Labyrinth. I laughed proudly as I heard the sweet, sweet sounds of angry pounding of fists against the stony wall of the Labyrinth.
"I order you to let us out this minute!" Minos yelled.
"Newsflash, ya moron," I smirked at the wall. "I'm not a Cretan, therefore, you have no rule over me!"
Before Minos could retort back, I heard the sweet sound of him and his guards screaming followed by the clamping of hooves charging at them. Yep, the minotaur finally had a meal worth chasing after. I turned around and joined my friends and my teacher as we started to leave Create with the proudest grin on my face after what I did to Minos. That's the third king I've pissed off from being in Greece and lived to tell the tale. That's got to be a new record or something.
Later
The trip back to Athens was a long one. Hercules and I took turns rowing the boat as our teacher and Icarus sat quietly. Honestly, I almost didn't really care if I got back into Shop now, all I really wanted was to get back to Athens. Although, since Daedalus' dream didn't go as well as he had hoped, I didn't even want to bring up our agreement for the trip to Crete. Whether or not he accused me of conspiring with Hades the entire trip even though I didn't, he'd probably wouldn't let me back in as a reminder of his failure to create a wonder of the world. What can I say? He's a tough teacher. Besides, I can always take summer school to make up for the missing credits.
"And so, I begin the long journey back to status quo." Daedalus sadly sighed.
Icarus gave a confused look. "I thought we were going back to Athens."
I facepalmed with a groan. "Oy."
"That's what he's talking about Icarus." Hercules told him. "His dream, it didn't work out."
"Oh, right." Icarus said. "That wonder of the world thing."
"I am, once again, Daedalus the Shop teacher." Daedalus said sadly.
Before I could say something to cheer Daedalus up, something large in the sky caught my attention. "Uh, hate to break up the tender moment, but what is that?"
Daedalus stared up in disbelief. "It cannot be!"
Hercules and Icarus then looked at what Daedalus and I were looking at, which was a hot-air balloon that looked like it was made entirely out of some type of reed and -I think- the many bladders of some animal. But inside the large balloon basket, I was able to make out multiple figures to be students from school. But not just any students. Cassandra, Melampus, Adonis, and all the other students I took Shop with last year. They came to save us!
"Wow." Icarus said in amazement. "Well, that's edgy."
Hercules waved up at our classmates. "Hi, guys!"
"Hey, you guys! Need a lift?" Cassandra waved at us as she and Melampus threw down a rope ladder for us to climb on.
The four of us each climbed up and were helped onto the hot-air balloon by the others, and we all flew back to Athens on a yet another ancient invention more popular in my future times. Again, it's amazing stuff like this that makes life in Ancient Greece in this dimension worth living!
"The Hanging Garden of Babylon cannot compare with this!" Daedalus said proudly to his students.
"Hercules was the one who started it." Cassandra explained.
"Let's not forget who paid for all these sheep bladders." Adonis remarked.
"You made me proud, my once and future students. You are my legacy, my wonders of the world." Daedalus told the others before turning his head towards me. "All of you."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You mean?"
"Starting tomorrow," Daedalus announced to the whole class as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ariadne shall rejoin my class to continue shaping her bright and clever mind!"
The entire class started clapping and cheering for me rejoining the class. If this is what being welcomed back as a hero from war felt like, I could understand why Hercules like the idea so much. Hearing all that praise after working so hard to accomplish a goal did feel kind of good. I'm no hero, we all know this, but it did feel good to almost feel welcomed as one. Once a few spoken congratulations were passed around, I turned to my teacher with the most determined smile on my face.
"I won't let you down, sir!" I told him.
"I know you won't." Daedalus smiled. "My student."