Sorry for the long delay, life is still dragging at the moment but I am still here! Enjoy this chapter- in which Percy is in some parts stood there like 'Hmm, that's suspicious'.
Replies:
Undeath9087: I'm glad you enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy the next couple of chapters- it's gonna be fun!
RuthTheRavenclaw: Yeah Annabeth commited a truly unforgivable crine, however will her girlfriends move past this?

The girls managed not to give anything away during dinner or the campfire that evening, though once everyone gathered in Percy's cabin Percy, Annabeth and Piper pulled Luke aside to talk quietly about what would come the next day, and Grover joined them about ten minutes into their talk.

Thankfully Nico and Tyson were distracted. Tyson was letting Nico practise his bandaging techniques on him.

Honestly it was kind of adorable. But Percy wasn't able to focus on it.

They all knew what would be coming soon. Annabeth would likely have to go to May in the morning to get her Prophecy. Percy wasn't sure if Chiron would call for a meeting but it was possible. And she knew that she and Piper would go on this quest with Annabeth, as would Grover. He'd made that very clear to them.

He wanted to help and stick with his friends. And besides, as he pointed out, maybe Pan hadn't been found because he was somewhere hidden away.

Perhaps the Labyrinth would help him track down the god in question. They couldn't be sure but it was a possibility that Grover wasn't willing to risk losing.

And Luke had also told them he wanted to come.

He was still shaken by the realisation of what he'd brought to camp- that soon enough their enemies could breech it because of him. He wanted to try and fix it, to make it right and the only way he could do that would be by helping them stop Kronos' attack.

Of course they'd have to wait for the prophecy to know anything for certain but Annabeth had agreed to the group for the quest for now at least. Things might change but it was a solid group that worked well enough together. Any awkwardness between Annabeth and Luke would be smoothed over by Percy's presence.

And after their discussions they moved to their beds, Percy cuddling up with her girlfriends, letting them wrap themselves around her.

But even that didn't stop the dream.

The first thing Percy noticed was a boy in a Greek tunic and sandals, crouching alone in a massive stone room. The ceiling was open to the night sky, but the walls were twenty feet high and polished marble, completely smooth. Scattered around the room were wooden crates. Some were cracked and tipped over, as if they'd been flung in there. Bronze tools spilled out of one—a compass, a saw, and any number of tools- most of which were unfamiliar to Percy. The boy huddled in the corner, shivering from cold, or maybe fear. He was spattered in mud. His legs, arms, and face, were scraped up as if he'd been dragged here along with the boxes.

Then the double oak doors moaned open. Two guards in bronze armor marched in, holding an old man between them. They flung him to the floor in a battered heap.

Percy felt her heart aching for the man. But she knew it was a dream, almost certainly of the past though she wasn't sure why yet. Hopefully it would be reasonably clear. She hated the Cryptic ones.

"Father!" The boy ran to the old man. The man's robes were in tatters. His hair was streaked with gray, and his beard was long and curly. His nose had been broken. His lips were bloody.

The boy took the old man's head in his arms. "What did they do to you?" then he yelled at the guards. "I'll kill you!" And Percy found a strained smile forming on her lips. The boy had spirit she'd give him that. Though that may not be the best thing in this situation.

"There will be no killing today," a voice said.

The guards moved aside. Behind them stood a tall man in white robes. He wore a thin circlet of gold on his head. His beard was pointed like a spear blade. His eyes glittered cruelly. "You helped the Athenian kill my Minotaur, Daedalus. You turned my won daughter against me."

Percy gasped, eyes widening in shock at that. And that cleared some things up at least. Labyrinth, dreams about it's creator. That made sense. Perhaps there was some hint as to what had happened to the string to be found in the dreams. Or perhaps just an understanding of the past.

"You did that yourself, Your Majesty," the old man croaked.

A guard planted a kick in the old man's ribs. He groaned in agony. The young boy cried, "Stop!"

"You love your maze so much," the king said, "I have decided to let you stay here. This will be your workshop. Make me new wonders. Amuse me. Every maze needs a monster. You will be mine!"

"I don't fear you," the old man groaned.

The king smiled coldly. He locked his eyes on the boy. "But a man cares about his son, eh? Displease me, old man, and the next time my guards inflict a punishment, it will be on him!"

The king swept out of the room with his guards, and the doors slammed shut, leaving the boy and his father alone in the darkness.

"What shall we do?" the boy moaned. "Father, they will kill you!"

The old man swallowed with difficulty. He tried to smile, but it was a gruesome sight with his bloody mouth.

"Take heart, my son." He gazed up at the stars. "I—I will find a way."

A bar lowered across the doors with a fatal BOOM and Percy flinched even as she woke, gasping and shivering.

Well. She knew the tale. It was one of the most well known ones of Greek Myth.

And she knew that it would end in tragedy. She was glad she hadn't had to watch that. Icarus- for that was who the boy had to be, was young. Younger than her certainly.

Percy shivered a little. He couldn't have been more than ten. Around the same age as she'd been when her life had been thrown into chaos.

Percy shifted slightly, her gaze focusing on the two girls on either side of her, both holding her somewhat loosely. It was dark but she could make out their forms, soft golden curls spilled on one side and short choppy brown hair already messy on the other.

They both looked so peaceful, younger and untouched by the world.

Moments like this had always meant the world to Percy but.. She shook her head, letting out a slow exhale.

She needed some air.

So she carefully wriggled out from between Annabeth and Piper, watching as they noticed her absence and felt around for her, though they quickly latched onto one another, and once Percy was sure they wouldn't wake up she slipped outside, only opening the door a crack as she slipped out of the cabin, careful not to wake Argos who was curled up on top of Tyson- those two were adorable together, and Argos and Nico.

Once the door was closed Percy padded past the rest of the Cabins. It wasn't easy- it was still pitch black darkness so she couldn't see much, but with the more frequent visits recently Percy had gotten to know the camp reasonably well. And she knew the walk to the beach incredibly well.

Soon enough she felt sand beneath her bare feet and she could see the light of the moon reflected off the waves.

Percy didn't hesitate, heading straight to the water and wading out until it was deep enough for her to dive down deep.

Just the feeling of the water around her soothed the heavy feeling in her heart, brought her a certain level of comfort that she desperately needed.

She let herself just float beneath the water, let the feeling of the currents swirl around her as she savored the moment before swimming deeper, until she could walk along the sea floor, plucking a few pretty shells from the sand beneath her feet. She'd have to add them to her collection. They were pretty enough and maybe she could make some jewellery for Annabeth and Piper. Matching sets for all three of them maybe. She knew that they both practically melted at that sort of thing.

Especially Piper who was so against the feeling that anyone would try to but her affection due to the constant gifts that were sent by Jane on behalf of her father.

Percy was sure he probably meant well but honestly one of these days she was going to have it out with that man and he would be incredibly lucky to come out of it with his jaw intact.

He might love his daughter but he did not have a good way of showing it and it really would have caused damage if it wasn't for the fact that Piper had one of the strongest support systems available.

Eventually Percy returned to the shore, and when she did she had to blink rapidly, surprised to see Mrs. O'Leary happily wandering across the sand.

That almost certainly meant that somewhere there would be- ahah! "Quintus!" Percy waved, a jaunty little thing.

And Quintus aimed a wide smile at her as she approached, though it was difficult to see his features in the darkness. "Ah, Miss Kane we meet again. Is your Argos with you?"

"Not right now." Percy admitted, "He's curled up asleep in my cabin. I needed some air."

"Oh? Is something troubling you child." And Percy could see curiosity in his gaze as she reached him.

"Demigod dreams. Or I assume they're demigod dreams not prophetic dreams."

"Ah, both Magician and Demigod. That must complicate things." There was a hunger for knowledge in his gaze, Percy could see it. She'd seen it often enough before, in Carter and Annabeth- both of whom loved learning.

"Oh you could say that." Percy rocked back on her heels a little. "It does feel weird sometimes." She'd have to be careful talking to him. She could remember Chiron's expression the day before, the hesitance around Quintus.

It might be a good idea to do some gentle prodding, see if there was anything interesting she could pry from him. But if she wanted to get something there needed to be a little bit of give.

"I can imagine it would. The Egyptian gods always were rather different form our own."

"Oh?" Percy blinked, tilting her head, "You know of the Egyptian Gods?"

"Of course." Quintus chuckled, "Don't look so surprised girl. I admit I believed them faded as most others seemed to have but I have travelled much during my lifetime. I've been to Egypt though I've never met any of your gods."

That was.. interesting. Percy had never met any Greek demigods who'd known about the existence of the Egyptian gods before she'd gotten involved. How had Quintus found out about them? Surely he'd have assumed they had just never existed rather than thinking that they'd faded. Unless he'd met a magician but then he'd know they hadn't faded.

Only those old enough to have experience with Magicians before Iskander had become Chief Lector and started binding the gods seemed to know enough to say they'd believed them to be faded.

But- Quintus wasn't that old.

Was he?

Percy looked at him closer. She'd never met an old demigod before. It was possible that if they managed to survive, they could grow old slower but he'd have to be very old indeed.

Still she didn't want to give away her suspicions too quickly. "Seems like everyone thought they were faded." Percy let out a laugh, slipping into acting mode. "Most of them are pretty okay." She shrugged, "I get along really well with Bast and Bes- they're two of my favorites. And Osiris, obviously."

"Your father is his Eye yes?"

"You've done your research? Watched my movies?"

"And read the books." Quintus chuckled, "I wanted to learn about the hero who struck Zeus. What can I say you caught my attention when I heard of that."

"That was one of my better moments." Percy smiled wryly, "I look back on it with some fondness."

"You have courage I must admit that child. To stand up for what you believe in."

"My girlfriends say it's more a lack of any kind of self preservation instincts." Percy shrugged, "I've been told I don't care for my own safety enough."

"Perhaps." Quintus chuckled, "I myself was once like that. But I warn you Miss Kane, if you aren't careful your enemies will use those that you love against you." And that look in his eyes… Percy knew in an instant that he was speaking from experience.