Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to Rick Riordan, Greco-Roman mythology, and/or their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Hi, everyone! Welcome back!

Just an FYI, I might not be able to post next Saturday. I don't think I won't be able to, but just in case, I'm warning for it now. The health issues, chronic illness and not, are kind of kicking my butt this summer. Yay, me! /s

As always, I hope you enjoy. Until the next chapter,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

~The Finding Home Saga~

~Finding Home~

~Chapter 99: The Clear-Sighted Rachel Elizabeth Dare~

That night, I slept in my own bunk, but that didn't mean I was protected from the dreams because some god out there decided to take mercy on me and give me some rest. Quite the opposite, actually.

I was standing at the top of a stone tower in my first dream, overlooking rocky cliffs and the ocean below. The old man Daedalus was hunched over a worktable, wrestling with some kind of navigational instrument, like a compass. He looked years older than when I'd last seen him. He was stooped and his hands were gnarled. He cursed in ancient Greek and squinted as if he couldn't see his work, even though it was a sunny day.

"Uncle!" a voice called.

A smiling boy about Nico's age came bounding up the steps, carrying a wooden box.

"Hello, Perdix," the old man said, though his tone sounded cold. "Done with your projects already?"

"Yes, Uncle. They were easy!"

Daedalus scowled. "Easy? The problem of moving water uphill without a pump was easy?"

"Oh, yes! Look!"

The boy dumped his box and rummaged through the junk. He came up with a strip of papyrus and showed the old inventor some diagrams and notes. They didn't make any sense to me, but Daedalus nodded grudgingly. "I see. Not bad."

"The king loved it!" Perdix said. "He said I might even be smarter than you!"

"Did he now?"

"But I don't believe that. I'm so glad Mother sent me to study with you! I want to know everything you do."

"Yes," Daedalus muttered. "So when I die, you can take my place, eh?"

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh, no, Uncle! But, I've been thinking...why does a man have to die, anyway?"

The inventor scowled. "It is the way of things, lad. Everything dies but the gods."

"But why?" the boy insisted. "If you could capture the animus, the soul in another form...well, you've told me about your automatons, Uncle. Bulls, eagles, dragons, horses of bronze. Why not a bronze form for a man?"

"No, my boy," Daedalus said sharply. "You are naïve. Such a thing is impossible."

"I don't think so," Perdix insisted. "With the use of a little magic – "

"Magic? Bah!"

"Yes, Uncle! Magic and mechanics together – with a little work, one could make a body that would look exactly human, only better. I've made some notes."

He handed the old man a thick scroll. Daedalus unfurled it. He read for a long time. His eyes narrowed. He glanced at the boy, then closed the scroll and cleared his throat. "It would never work, my boy. When you're older, you'll see."

"Can I fix the astrolabe, then, Uncle? Are your joints swelling up again?"

The old man's jaw clenched. "No. Thank you. Now why don't you run along?"

Perdix didn't seem to notice Daedalus' anger. He snatched a bronze beetle from his mound of stuff and ran to the edge of the tower. A low sill ringed the rim, coming just up to the boy's knees. The wind was strong.

"Move back," I wanted to tell him. But my voice didn't work.

Perdix wound up the beetle and tossed it into the sky. It spread its wings and hummed away. Perdix laughed with delight.

"Smarter than me," Daedalus mumbled, too soft for the boy to hear.

"Is it true that your son died while flying, Uncle? I heard you made him enormous wings, but they failed."

Daedalus' hands clenched. "Take my place," he muttered.

The wind whipped around the boy, tugging at his clothes, making his hair ripple.

"I would like to fly," Perdix said. "I'd make my own wings that wouldn't fail. Do you think I could?"

Maybe it was a dream within my dream, but suddenly I imagined the two-headed god Janus shimmering in the air next to Daedalus, smiling as he tossed a silver key from hand to hand. "Choose," he whispered to the old inventor. "Choose."

Daedalus picked up one of the boy's metal bags. The inventor's old eyes were red with anger.

"Perdix," he called. "Catch."

He tossed the bronze beetle towards the boy. Delighted, Perdix tried to catch it, but the throw was too long. The beetle sailed into the sky, and Perdix reached a little too far. The wind caught him.

Somehow, he managed to grab the rim of the tower with his fingers as he fell. "Uncle!" he screamed. "Help me!"

The old man's face was a mask. He did not move from his spot.

"Go on, Perdix," Daedalus said softly. "Make your own wings. Be quick about it."

"Uncle!" the boy cried as he lost his grip. He tumbled towards the sea.

There was a moment of deadly silence. The god Janus flickered and disappeared. Then thunder shook the sky. A woman's stern voice spoke from above: "You will pay the price for that, Daedalus."

I'd heard that voice before. It was Annabeth's mother: Athena.

Daedalus scowled up at the heavens. "I have always honored you, Mother. I have sacrificed everything to follow your way."

"Yet the boy had my blessing as well. And you have killed him. For that, you must pay."

"I have paid and paid!" Daedalus growled. "I've lost everything! I'll suffer in the Underworld too, no doubt. But in the meantime..."

He picked up the boy's scroll, studied it for a moment, and slipped it into his sleeve.

"You do not understand," Athena said coldly. "You will pay now and forever."

Suddenly, Daedalus collapsed in agony. I felt what he felt. A searing pain closed around my neck like a molten-hot collar – cutting off my breath, making everything go black.

In my next dream, I was underground in a stone chamber. Luke and another half-blood warrior who I couldn't see, but I knew had to be a half-blood, were studying a map by flashlight.

"Shit, it should've been the last turn," Luke said. He crumpled up the map and tossed it aside.

"Luke!" his companion protested. Their voice was familiar. Still, I couldn't place it for some reason, even though I knew I should've been able to.

"Maps are useless here," Luke said. "Don't worry. I'll find it."

"Luke, is it true that the larger the group – ?"

"The more likely you get lost? Yes, that's true. Why do you think we sent out solo explorers to begin with? But don't worry. As soon as we have the thread, we can lead the vanguard through."

"But how do we get the thread?"

Luke stood, flexing his fingers. "Oh, Quintus will come through. All we have to do is reach the arena, and it's at the juncture. Impossible to get anywhere without passing it. That's why we must have a truce with its master. We just have to stay alive until – "

"Luke!" a new voice came from the corridor. It was his one and only mortal half-sister, Mia Argent, wearing ancient Greek and carrying a torch. Her face seemed a little less full than the last time I'd seen her, and her face was grim. "The dracanae have found two half-bloods!"

Luke scowled. "Alone? Wandering the maze?"

"Yep! You'd better come quick. They're in the next chamber. They've got them cornered."

"Who are they?"

"No one I've seen before – but that doesn't mean much."

Luke nodded. "A blessing from Kronos. We may be able to use these half-bloods. Come!"

They ran down the corridor, and I woke with a start, staring into the dark. Two lone half-bloods, wandering in the maze. I had a feeling of who they might be.

It was a long time before I got to sleep again.

The next morning, I made sure Mrs. O'Leary had enough dog biscuits. I asked Beckendorf to keep an eye on her, since she didn't seem to mind him or the other children of Hephaestus as much as everybody else, sans me, though she still didn't like them too much. He didn't seem too happy about it, but he agreed. Then I hiked over Half-Blood Hill with Alabaster, Silena, Callie, Bianca, and Connor Stoll, who said goodbye to me, Katie, Annabeth, and Travis.

We climbed into the back of the camp's white van, while Argus was in the front. He would come back and drive Travis' "borrowed" car back to the city later, to make it less likely of us experiencing a run-in with the police or something, even with the Mist. None of us talked much during our ride to the city.

It was Saturday, and traffic was heavy. We went to Queens first, arriving at my mortal parents' house around noon. When my mom answered the door, she gave me a hug only a little less overwhelming than having a hellhound jump on you.

"Oh, Percy!" she cried. "Oh, I've been so worried! Chiron told me that you were told you had to go on this quest, but – "

"I know, I know," I said into her shoulder.

She pulled away from me, though she kept a hand on my cheek, and looked over at my friends. "Katie, dear, it's so good to see you. And you must be Travis and Annabeth. Please, come in. Jean had a meeting with a museum for one of his meetings, but he'll be so happy to hear you've come by if he doesn't get back soon enough."

She sat us down at the kitchen table and insisted on feeding us her special blue chocolate-chip cookies while we caught her up with the quest. Even more so than usual, I tried to water down the frightening parts (which was pretty much everything), but somehow that just made it sound more dangerous.

When I got to the part about Geryon and the stables, my mom gave a hysterical laugh. I had the feeling that this entire ordeal was going to give her more grey hairs than she already had. "I can't get him to clean his room, even since he's gotten pregnant, but he'll clean a hundred tons of horse manure out of some monster's stables?"

Annabeth and Katie laughed. I realized it was the first time I'd heard them both laugh in a while, and it was nice to hear.

"So," my mom said when I was done with the story, "you wrecked Alcatraz Island, found out info that contributed to the reason why Mount St. Helens is now erupting and has displaced over half a million people, but you're as safe as you can be. At least you're safe." That was my mom, often doing her best to look on the bright side.

"Yep," I agreed. "That pretty much covers it."

"Does..." My mom looked at Travis and Annabeth, obviously recalling the extent of knowledge that they now knew, despite how reluctant she was to get into it with them there. "Does Luke know that you've gone on this...quest? You didn't say anything about that."

Travis' expression was carefully neutral.

"No," I admitted. "Not yet. We'll probably come across him eventually on this quest, though. We always do."

My mom frowned. "Percy, he is the father of your unborn children. He deserves to know if – if you're putting yourself in..." She sighed, shaking her head. "Oh, never mind. Just, tell me...what happens now?"

Annabeth broke a cookie in half. "Well, we have this plan."

Reluctantly, I told my mom about it.

She nodded slowly. "It does sound very dangerous for this Rachel. But, if she's willing, it might work."

"You have the same abilities, don't you?" I asked. Again, not because I wanted her to go on this quest – but because I wanted her input on it, now that she knew. "You can see through the Mist."

My mom sighed again. "Not so much now. When I was younger, it was easier. But yes, I've always been able to see through the Mist. It's one of the things that caught your father's attention, when he and I first met. Just...I need you to be careful, Percy. I need you to be safe. I know it's not my right to interfere, but if something were to happen to you, you or your babies..." Her bottom lip warbled.

"We'll try, Ms. Jackson," Annabeth said. "Keeping your son safe is a big job, though."

My mom smiled. "You don't need to tell me. Percy, you better use the phone in the living room. Good luck."

I brought out the slip of paper Callie had given me, which Rachel Elizabeth had given to her. It had Rachel's phone number on it, as fortune would have it. Otherwise, this whole step might've been a lot more complicated.

Then, I went into the living room and to the phone, and placed the call.

We arranged a meeting in Times Square. We found Rachel Elizabeth Dare in front of the Marriott Marquis, and she was completely painted in gold.

I mean, her face, her hair, her clothes – everything. She looked like she'd been touched by King Midas. She was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic – copper, bronze, silver. They were frozen in different positions while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. Some passersby threw money at the tarp on the sidewalk.

The sign at Rachel's feet said, URBAN ART FOR KIDS, DONATIONS APPRECIATED.

My friends and I stood there for like five minutes, staring at Rachel, but if she noticed us, she didn't let it on. She didn't move or even blink as far as I could see. Being ADHD and all, I could not have done that. Standing still that long would've driven me crazy. It was weird to see Rachel in gold, too. She looked like a statue of somebody famous, an actress or something. Only her eyes were their normal green.

"Maybe we should push her over," Annabeth suggested.

I thought that was a little mean as Katie and Travis snorted, but Rachel didn't respond. After another few minutes, a kid in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he'd been taking a break. He took a pose like he was lecturing the crowd, right next to Rachel. Rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"Percy Jackson. Long time, no see." She grinned. Her eyes briefly flitted up and down my form. "Good timing! Let's get some coffee."

We walked down to a place called the Java Moose on West 43rd. Rachel ordered an Espresso Extreme. Annabeth and Travis ordered some other types of coffees, which wasn't exactly great for the ADHD but whatever, while Katie and I got fruit smoothies. We sat at a table right under the stuffed moose. Nobody even looked twice at Rachel in her golden outfit.

"So," she said, pointing fingers at my friends. "Katie, Travis, and...Annabelle?"

"Annabeth," she corrected. "Do you always dress in gold?"

"Not usually," Rachel said. "We're raising money for our group. We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? We do this once a month, take in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend. But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. Percy said you all are half-bloods, too?"

"Shhh!" Annabeth said, looking around. "Just announce it to the world, how about?"

"Okay." Rachel stood up and said really loud, "Hey, everybody! These guys aren't human! They're half Greek god!"

Nobody even looked over. Rachel shrugged and sat down. "They don't seem to care."

"That's not funny," Annabeth hissed. "This isn't a joke, mortal girl."

"Hold it, you two," Katie warned. "Calm down."

"I am calm, for somebody who only recently found out the Greek gods exist, and only months after I saw Percy here waving a sword around at the Hoover Dam," Rachel said. "Oh, and did I mention that I only found out the Greek gods exist because they attacked Percy's half-sister during my student orientation?"

"Callie said she's sorry about that," I said. "And she wanted to make sure that you're doing okay."

"As well as I can be."

"That's good," I replied. "Because we need your help."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Annabeth. "You need my help?"

Annabeth stirred her straw in her smoothie. "Yeah," she said suddenly. "Maybe."

I told Rachel about the Labyrinth, and how we needed to find Daedalus. I told her what had happened the last few times we'd gone in.

"So, you want me to guide you," she said. "Through a place I've never been."

"You can see through the Mist," I said. "Just like Ariadne. I'm betting you can see the right path. The Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll get lost. Either way, it'll be dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

"I could die?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you guys said monsters don't care about mortals. That sword of yours – "

"Yeah," I said. "Celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals. Most monsters would ignore you. But as for almost everybody else siding with Kronos..." Travis rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Rachel glanced over at him, her eyebrows furrowing. "Well, they don't care. They'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. And they'll kill anyone who gets in their way."

"'Almost everybody else?'"

There was no point in hiding the truth from her, I thought. She hadn't remarked on my belly if she could see it past the ἒνδεσμα – albeit I knew she must be able to because of her earlier reaction – and I was extremely thankful for that, but I had told her that I was pregnant during my earlier call with her. She hadn't really had much to say about it then, either; maybe she thought I was trans or something. Maybe she just didn't care.

"I...may or may not be in a relationship with the head demigod working for Kronos," I said. "Luke Castellan. Son of Hermes. Half-brother of Travis here."

Rachel's eyes widened. "No shit."

"It's true," Travis said blandly.

"Is he the father of your – ?" Oops. Guess I'd spoken too soon.

"Yes."

She whistled, sitting back in her seat. "Damn. Are you really sure that you should be going on this quest, given your...condition?"

"I was told I didn't have a choice."

"Right. And this Luke guy, is he going to be nice only to you if we come across him, or – ?"

"He's under the influence of a Titan," Annabeth suddenly spoke up defensively. "He's been deceived."

"He'll be nice, if he can," Katie added. "He has been in the past when he's around Percy."

"Katie..."

"What? It's the truth."

Rachel mulled it over. "Alright," she said finally. "I'm in."

I blinked. I hadn't figured it would be so easy. "You are?"

"If it's really dangerous as you're saying it is, with your condition, I'd feel incredibly guilty if I didn't help you," she said. "Besides, my summer was going to be boring. This is the best offer I've gotten yet. So, what do I look for?"

"We have to find an entrance to the Labyrinth," Annabeth said. "There's an entrance at Camp Half-Blood, but you can't go there. It's off-limits to mortals."

I noticed the way that she said "mortals" made it sound like it was some horrible condition, and Katie made a face at it too, but Rachel just nodded. "Okay. What does an entrance to the Labyrinth look like?"

"It could be anything," Annabeth answered. "A section of wall. A boulder. A doorway. A sewer entrance. But it would have the mark of Daedalus on it. A Greek Δ, glowing in blue."

"Like this?" Rachel drew the symbol in water on our table.

"That's it," Katie said, leaning forwards in her seat to peer down at it better. "You know Greek?"

"No," Rachel said. She pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair. "Let me get changed. You'd better come with me to the Marriott."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because there's an entrance like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. It's got the mark of Daedalus."

Word Count: 3,343

Next Chapter Title: I Get Busted