Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Continuing seemed like a great idea, right?

So when everyone stared at Sarah expectantly, she heaved a breath, a glance at Percy, who was drumming his pen on the desk with a vacant look on his face.

To think this pen was an actual legitimate weapon. A weapon that could slash and stab and kill. That it could kill all four of these people. And he was so calm about it, so… skillful in handling the pen like it was a routine for him.

Which it probably was.

In any case, a fake sword and a cheap ballpen were getting painted gold as of now.

Others didn't fare much better, too engrossed in whatever they were doing (in Leo's case) or peering at a piece of paper indignantly (Annabeth and Jason, although, seemingly, for different reasons altogether).

Since they didn't object, it was fine. Right?

“All right,” she muttered to herself, leafing to the next page.

“NICO BUYS HAPPY MEALS FOR THE DEAD,” Sarah faltered, her mind double-checking the words. By themselves, they were totally fine; together, they made little sense, like everything in this book tended to.

Someone sighed. Heavily. Defeated. It would be something crazy again and, again, they would be lacking important pieces of information.

Not that those hindered understanding… Not really. Maybe. Probably. They'd get there, eventually.

At least I got a good night’s sleep before the quest, right?

“That was fast,” Leo muttered, eyes flickering toward Percy who was whirling his pen, his full attention on the desk. Annabeth next to him heaved a sigh and shook her head.

“That was a disaster,” she replied in an undertone; whether to Leo or no, no one knew. “Maybe.”

Percy hummed in agreement.

Wrong.

Because demigods didn't get restful nights apparently. They got scenes from their enemy's lairs instead. Like the ship, Princess Andromeda, for example.

Luke 

Sarah's voice died down so suddenly, Leo jolted at the lack of background noise.

“Uh, he's… alive?” Steven asked, hesitantly, almost dreading to hear the answer.

Luke had been a weird presence in the book so far. Sometimes, evil; usually, evil. Antagonistic. Yet, not the biggest threat, maybe because he wasn't in it as often.

There wasn't a single person having any strong feelings towards him. Not a single person cared much when he fell to his death. More talks surrounded a dead ancient girl and a couple of stray kids than Luke ever did.

But that's understandable. They didn't live it. They didn't have any history with them and he appeared in the story so rarely, hardly anyone would be able to draw conclusions about him. What moved him? What exactly had caused him to turn on everybody? Had he been hurt?

knelt on a Persian rug in front of the golden sarcophagus of Kronos.

A few people straightened up. This sounded like an essential piece of information.

Leo blinked, tilting his head to the side.

“Sounds dangerous.”

Annabeth grimaced as Percy gritted his teeth. Neither explained it. No one asked.

What answers would there be except 'well, that's a super dangerous sarcophagus with remains of this dead guy that would destroy the world'? So far, barely anything that was presented to them, was innocuous. Usually, it was deadly and terrifying like all those monsters that roamed the streets nowadays.

(No one was going to get over them, ever. That was a given.)

…Luke’s blond hair looked pure white ... The white clothes made him look … like one of the minor gods on Mount Olympus. 

Thunder broke everyone out of their daze. Mike blinked the window into the focus, his eyebrows furrowed.

It seemed like the comparison offended the sky much worse than a normal one would. It felt personal. Like the gods held a grudge against the guy.

With everything he'd learned so far, the possibility didn't feel too far-fetched.

…Now he looked perfectly fine. Almost too healthy.

“This is not good, right?”

Peter's question rang in the air like a particularly nasty alarm. Danger. Bad. Leading to a complete and total disaster.

The air felt thick with alarm; so much, Peter could hardly take a breath. Maybe it was in his head. Maybe he was overthinking.

The reality… it didn't look great either way.

“Got it,” he added, motioning Sarah to continue.

Her own expression was a mask of concern, but she didn't complain. Didn't say a word.

What was there to say when the camp had spies?

“Like, they eavesdrop on all your conversations and tell Luke?”

Perhaps, it wasn't as much of a stupid question as it was a very sensitive topic. To Annabeth and Percy. Only to Annabeth and Percy. Leo and Jason exchanged a lost look, though there was some smpathy in there they certainly would not be sharing.

“That sucks, man,” Steven decided, missing a grimace on Annabeth's face.

“It was a hard time.”

Did Percy imbue his voice with strain and tension on purpose? Who the hell knew anymore. No one would bug him for details anyway; they'd learned that lesson.

“Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted…

Kronos(?!) was glad. And cold. His voice like a dagger in the mind, which might be a mental picture no one really wanted to have. It was obviously cruel. How could Kronos' voice not be cruel? Even with Sarah's someone monotonous reading the words punctured through their brains, leaving the fear and uneasiness.

And these four had his as an enemy!

The thought alone didn't want to settle.

Once we have the means to navigate, I will lead the vanguard through myself.  

That was sick. Plain and simple. Mind-numbingly awful.

“This does not sound good.”

Which was an apt description for just about everything in this part.

When had the chapters gone from 'Oh, wow, these ancient myths are real?!' to 'What he hell, why are kids dying?' They still were in a 'It's horrifying I can't look away' kind of way, but they left you with a daunting sense of doom.

Luke closed his eyes … “My lord ... Perhaps Krios or Hyperion should lead–”

Lyssa blinked. A second later, she opened the search bar, hurriedly typing in the names like she was afraid they might evaporate if she waited one more second.

No ... I will lead ... At last I shall rise fully from Tartarus.  

Sarah faltered. Looked up at Percy. Took a deep breath.

“That sounds bad,” Steven commented, maybe a little brazen.

In fact, he was horrified and terrified. Yeah, he might not know much about Kronos or understand the terror of his existence, but he had read the myths. He did know Kronos had not been the best guy to lead anyone and had a huge grudge against his own children.

A wonderful guy all around, certainly.

How in the world had they all missed whatever Percy got involved in? Some of it sounded big enough to be on the news, yet, it wasn't apart from…

His eyes widened. Oh… there was news about weird occurrences, right. Stuff no one could explain. Stuff that got silently wiped from the public eye like it never existed and Steven let it stay that way. He recalled the questions he was having tbacl then. He had a lot of those, yet he hadn't thought of a single one in more than a year. Even now, after… after all of this, he didn't really think much about them.

Lyssa most likely had. Other girls, too, if their conversations were anything to go by. Steven usually reacted to things he heard, never applying them to those unexplained moments.

Maybe he should. Maybe there was something in there.

“But the form, my lord…” Luke’s voice started shaking.

“Is he... afraid?” a voice piped in, a little confused; though, the person looked less than enthusiastic about getting the answer.

That might be the most baffling part about Luke, him having emotions. So far, he'd been shown as nothing but a charming yet a little deluded guy that was hell-bent on making the gods pay. Learning anything more about him scared them. Knowing more might add more details to the picture of him and make him seem more real, remind that sometime somewhere he'd done… all this.

“He might be regretting whatever he's done.”

All eyes on Kylie. A hum. Everyone turned back to Sarah, who sighed and cleared her throat.

Show me your sword, Luke Castellan … Luke drew his sword … half steel, half celestial bronze.

“Did he call it Backbiter?” Levi muttered to himself.

The guy didn't even hide, now did he?

 I’d almost been killed several times by that sword.

Sarah made a weird throaty noise before continuing like nothing out of ordinary had been said.

Percy's life being threatened? Not the first time. Would be not the last, by far. Nothing to see here, yeah.

A part of her pitied Mr. Blofis greatly. No wonder he'd gone grey within what felt like months.

It was an evil weapon … the only blade I really feared.

“So, the guy's bad bad, right?” Peter ventured, probably a tad too tentatively.

Annabeth huffed, yet no rebuttal came. No comment. Nothing. She blew her cheeks and stared at that folder of hers like it personally offended her.

“All… right? This sword then, how'd he get it?”

Percy caught Jason's curious look and grumbled something under his breath. Jason wouldn't know anything about it, he supposed. It's not like anyone had talked about it in front of him; they still didn't talk about any of it. Not after… not after everything.

Apollo's cabin had set up a conversation once, days after the battle, but that drowned in the sea of sorrow and mourning. When a kid from Demeter's cabin burst into tears, they just… cancelled it. Everything. They clearly weren't in the right state of mind to approach the topic.

“He got it from K—you know,” Percy's voice got hollow. He obviously didn't tell everything he knew, but what he implied, that would be enough to cause even more nightmares in the future.

“And he… never questioned it?”

Percy shrugged. “I'm—I'm not sure what, uh, that time was confusing, all right?”

Could a slightly raised voice be considered snapping? Peter wasn't about to test him, so he just nodded, gesturing Sarah to read.

You pledged yourself to me … You took this sword as proof of your oath.

“This is so messed up on so many levels,” Cassandra said under her breath.

“Yes, my lord. It’s just—”

“He's afraid,” Mike affirmed, mostly to himself.

He might have a reason. Probably. The relationship between an immortal supervillain and a kid was confusing enough as it is; they got no context for most of Luke's reasoning to begin with.

The only thing Mike could he fully certain about was Luke's fear of the titan. Who wouldn't be afraid of that?

You wanted power. I gave you that. You are now beyond harm.

A few people perked up at that, although their questions remained silent. There was still a tiny bit of hope they'd get explanations for that one. They would, obviously. It was important. They usually didn't skip super-important parts where consequences would play out in the future.

Maybe.

Probably.

No one could be sure about the book anymore.

Soon you will rule the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?  

“One hell of a wish,” Levi muttered, rubbing his forehead.

... “Yes.”

Steven leaned closer to Peter. “I'm not sure he's happy about it.”

Peter nodded. Glanced at the four. Shuddered at the darkest look on Percy's face he'd ever seen. Apart from some hiccups in the beginning, Percy tended to be a chill guy; he gave off both a soothing and alarming vibe that permanently confused everyone.

Right now? He seemed murderous. Not even annoyed like he did most of the time in his class, just murderous and a little hurt.

Well, the guy had tried to kill him numerous times after all, no judgement.

All the judgement on Kronos and his cronies wanting to burn down the camp—the place they had not even seen once but were attached to—and then marching on Olympus.

Well, Olympus might go; that was perhaps one of the few things anyone in this school unanimously agreed on. Gods were gods, yeah, immortal divine beings that barely had a grasp on anything human, but it didn't mean humans liked that. They certainly didn't. Many were… well, they heard from Mike who heard from Riley who overheard a conversation with the sophomores on how Luke might be right in his quest and those abominations must go. Quite extreme but the sentiment was understandable.

Except, many innocent would die and they can't have it.

But if it didn't involve innocent… And if they trusted gods or Kronos even a little bit—which they didn't… Maybe… Maybe it wouldn't be such a horrible idea. But the promise of an apocalypse, parts of which they had witnessed a couple of years ago, reminded that maybe Kronos ruling wasn't that great a future.

The present—past? weird dream world?—didn't sound all that wonderful either, because Luke let monsters come in and interrupt this conversation.

The images of snake women with serpent trunks were something else entirely. Someone gagged, asking loudly why in the high heavens were those even a thing.

A humorless chuckle was their response.

Between them walked Kelli … from my freshman orientation.

“Oh, goodie, she's alive,” Steven cheered monotonously.

She wasn't only alive and well but also Percy had the need to remind everyone what she really looked like. As though they didn't remember. As though that image wouldn't be stuck in their heads for the rest of the day.

An offer of a 'nice shoulder massage' from this vampire donkey girl would be a part of their nightmares for sure.

At her own voice reading those words Sarah couldn't help herself, she yucked.

“This is disturbing,” Cassandra rubbed her eyes.

This was more than disturbing. A flirty vampire cheerleader that had trued to kill two people they knew. Yay.

“I don’t know why you’re so huffy these days. You used to be fun to hang around.”

“This whole exchange is unsettling to me.”

Luke seemed unsettled as well, although no one could be quite sure. He might just be annoyed with her. Or repulsed.

“This is something I would happily live without knowing,” Jenna said softly, feeling the wave of nausea washing over her.

“That was before I saw what you did to that boy in Seattle.”

Scratch that. This is what she'd happily live without knowing.

“Oh, … Just a snack, really. You know my heart belongs to you, Luke.”

To no one's surprise, Sarah's face went green-ish as she swallowed hard, her voice getting lower. She struggled with this part. Who wouldn't. Mr. Blofis' grimace proved that even he wouldn't want to touch that part of mythology with a ten foot pole, ever if preferably, now that it wasn't just stories.

Conversations after class would be interesting, that's for sure.

... Now report or get out.”

The report? The advanced team ready. A presence—

…We’re being watched.”

“How's she—”

“I bet it's some weird godlike magical power that none of us can make sense of.”

Levi and Peter glanced at Percy.

“You're probably right,” Levi conceded.

Sarah pretended nothing had been said, raising her voice just to get everyone back on track.

God—gods?—knows she'd rather go over whatever their curriculum actually had than read this book. It wasn't fun anymore. Anything but fun. She wasn't burning with curiosity on what her classmate was up to. She'd do fine without knowing a single thing about him

But now, with new developments, it was necessary to learn everything they could firsthand. Just to be ready for the inevitable if news reports turning exponentially more baffled was anything to go by.

Soon, they might need all the information they could gather. Soon, it might be too late to learn because these… these creatures might catch their scent as well. Many already didn't mind hunting m-mortals (as weird as it sounded to say the word even in her head). What would the rest do?

Reading about Percy, Sarah realized that a lot, and she less than willing to be part of it.

…Her eyes focused right on me … She bared her fangs and lunged.

Sarah faltered, a full body shudder visible to everyone.

“Man, your dreams suck.”

“Tell me about it,” all four chorus in varying levels of dejected.

I woke with a start ... I could’ve sworn the empousa’s fangs were an inch from my throat.

“They probably were,” Annabeth said, numb and indifferent.

Percy nodded. Sarah instantly cleared her throat and continued reading so she wouldn't be able to hear details of that.

Oh Lord, why was this chapter so damn hard? She'd take attacks on her school any day if it meant there were no dreams about vampires and… and… Even in her thoughts Sarah refused to acknowledge Luke being involved in any of it.

Tyson was snoring in the next bunk.

A few people smiled at a sudden appearance. But what could they say? Tyson being in the story was the highlight of the book. It calmed everyone down just as it did Percy for sure. And he did need to calm down after the scare of that damned vampire and the reveal of there being an army ready to attack.

And what was that about a labyrinth?!

“Wait, wait, wait!” Steven shouted, making his neighbors wince. “What labyrinth?!”

His question sank into the void of dead silence and wide eyes as kids turned to Percy for explanations.

Percy grimaced. Annabeth scowled, gripping her pen a tad tighter. Leo blinked and opened his mouth only to shake his head in resignation.

“Where?” was all he asked.

Percy jolted, his hand flew to his neck. “Zeus' fist?”

Leo cursed. His attention turned to Jason, who shrugged helplessly. “I mean, it makes sense. Dryads did try to shoo us away.”

“Doesn't make the knowledge any less appalling.”

“It crumbled,” Annabeth added as though it would make it less appalling.

Leo titled his head, hummed thoughtfully then nodded. “Well, all right… I guess. Yeah. Go on, Sarah.”

Sarah started, her eyes wide, like she hasn't expected Leo to know her name at all, let alone call her by one.

I was tempted to go wake up Annabeth and tell her... 

“You should've,” Annabeth muttered.

Maybe then a lot of what had happened wouldn't have happened at all.

She shook her head, ignoring a raised eyebrow from Leo. No, it wouldn't have changed anything no matter how much she hoped. She… she had had a hard time reconciling that Luke with her Luke; she sometimes still did, and the book bringing out those memories and feelings didn't always help.

... A … glow was coming from the saltwater fountain … I got out of bed and approached.

If anyone noticed curious glances thrown at their own fountain standing in the corner, they didn't say a word.

No voice spoke … asking for a deposit.

Mike leaned forward, his own eyes trained on the fountain. Them running out with it had not erased from his mind; it did pique his curiosity from time to tome, usually when Lyssa started asking questions. She asked a lot of questions.

That fountain… was it sentient? Magic? If Percy thought it was waiting for him then it totally was. If he believed he should've gone back to bed, he absolutely should have.

Instead I thought about … the weird image of Nico at … the River Styx.

'Huh?' might have been the only verbal reaction anyone had. Apparently, it wasn't that important to anyone. To the book, least of all.

Not like Percy would explain, judging by his pursed lips. He may have gotten more lax about that, but it didn't mean he was going to spill all of his secrets.

“You’re trying to tell me something,” I said.

No response from the fountain.

“I would've gotten worried if it answered you,” Levi said with a strained laugh, though the joke didn't land as well as he might've hoped, leaving everyone more tensed that before.

“All right,” I said. “Show me Nico di Angelo.”

Mike caught Lyssa sending glances at the fountain. She wasn't the only one. Hell, even Riley stared at it with an unreadable expression and he was probably the only one in this class that preferred to merge with the wall—confusing Mike more than anyone, though they also wondered what the heck had possessed him and turned him into a bearable human being.

Riley was always bearable. Good even. He had his… moments, though; moments, Mike himself had as he realized now that he talked to everyone and not just his team.

They just didn't show those that often, preferring to be open only with those they trusted; that's what bonded them in the first place, on that fateful day in middle school.

He must be disturbed, Mike had decided at some point; that's why he was so quiet and didn't throw a fuss over Jason joining the team despite having taken part in no tryouts.

Either way, the influence of the book was real and palatable; something was telling Mike it might get even more visible in the next weeks.

The fountain was a point of interest of many now. He'd seen freshmen sneak into the classroom to ogle it on at least three separate occasions in the last week alone. After this part, it seemed the fountain would suffer from too much attention.

Mike, too, would like to know how this thing worked. It was a little bit freaky; maybe a little bit weird. But also cool if he could understand the inner working of this magic.

I didn’t even throw a coin in, but this time it didn’t matter.

Okay, it indeed was getting a tad too freaky, he must admit.

…like some other force had control … besides Iris the messenger goddess. 

“But you did nothing about that?” Jason asked in outrage, snapping Sarah out of the reading daze.

Annabeth heaved a sigh, “It's Percy we're talking about.”

Percy opened his mouth to retort but closed it immediately.

The water shimmered. Nico … was standing in a graveyard... 

Sarah faltered. Everyone could see her confusion shining through.

“How in—How'd it do it?” Jenna asked.

“Why's he in—What's going on?” Cassandra's voice rang through.

“Why are we even reading about him?” Peter added.

“Is it a communication device?” Steven bellowed, eerily excited about newfound prospects.

Everyone went silent and peered at Percy expectantly.

Percy groaned, slumping on the seat, and rubbed his forehead.

“That's… yeah, it's a communication device. We cannot really have phones, they draw attention of monsters, so we… yeah,” he gestured at the wall and turned to Annabeth, who rolled her eyes but otherwise didn't add a word.

Steven nodded. “Cool!”

“I—Should we drag Nico into this?” there was genuine concern. Annabeth pursed her lips. “No, we shouldn't.”

That was the last thing he said, so Sarah continued.

Which was… Nico. In the graveyard. With gravediggers digging something. And Nico had a Wal-Mart bag.

“Huh?”

Okay, they did not know Nico apart from that one chapter where he was an overly excited little thing and Percy wasn't inclined to talk about him. Fine. It was fine. They did not know what Nico was capable of and liked. They were strangers.

It was fine.

But Leo and Jason looked on at the book with mixture of concern and mild befuddlement, so… was it normal for Nico to do things like this? Was it not normal? Their definition of 'normal' certainly had broadened in recent weeks, so who the hell knows anymore.

“Uh, is it his normal behavior?” Steven asked tentatively.

Percy glared at him. Honest-to-god glared. Leo shook his head and muttered something only Jason heard.

“No, I don't think so,” he replied, a little perplexed.

“Still less baffling than excitement,” Leo shrugged. “Go on.”

“Is it deep enough yet?”

Nico asked… a ghost. A shimmering form of a man.

“He's talking to a ghost?”

This chapter was bound to make them go grey, wasn't it? What's next? Raising the dead?

“Why are you so surprised?” Leo frowned. “He's a son of Hade—”

“He's a what?” the class chorused, staring at him in bewilderment. 

Leo's eyes widened as he clapped his hand over his mouth, terrified of his own words. Jason huffed softly but didn't say a word. Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look that didn't explain a single thing.

“Uh, you didn't hear it,” he mumbled, covering his face.

“What do you mean 'Hades'?”

Leo gritted his teeth, hiding behind Jason, who didn't seem to mind, although a tiny smile played on his lips.

“Are there any problems with that?”

Percy might have not meant to imbue his voice with that much threat, yet, he sounded on edge like he was ready for an attack.

Steven raised his hands in defeat. “Okay, whatever. It's not like I care about the guy that scared you. Nope.”

All four instantly looked out of the window, yet the sky was calm.

“Dude,” Percy said, “don't. Just don't.”

“But, my lord ... You already have me for advice.”

“I want a second opinion!” 

“A second opinion on what?”

Silence was Cassandra's answer which she accepted stoically.

Nico snapped his fingers, and the digging stopped ... They were skeletons in ragged clothes.

Sarah's throat made a weird noise as she sucked in a deep breath.

“This is so…” Peter started.

“Unsettling,” Cassandra finished. 

“That's awesome!” Steven protested. 

Mike stifled a chuckle. Truth to be told, it did sound awesome. Pretty uncanny, he would most likely not enjoy standing near skeletons, but the idea of controlling them sounded… fun? In some twisted way. That was one hell of an interesting trick, for sure.

“Mike?” Riley elbowed him, to which Mike pulled a face and shook his head.

“You are dismissed,” Nico said. “Thank you.”

The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.

Steven's eyes lit up. He didn't attempt to force Percy into introducing them, however, remembering how badly Percy had reacted to him meeting Tyson.

He obviously didn't want to mix his two lives together. Steven could sympathize. He would admit he'd been a bit too… overzealous with this book and this new world. Now the feelings were settling in, allowing him to not react so hastily to any piece of them he was getting. Would he want to meet Nico? Absolutely if only to ask him about those cool powers of his.

Or his non-reaction to ghost's complaints.

Instead, he took a can of Coke and poured it on the grave. Because he could. Because it was a normal occurrence. Because all the four did was Jason raise his eyebrows and blink and Leo tilt his head, slightly confused but not concerned at all.

Leo wouldn't be the only one lost. This chapter might be the most confusing of all. Yeah, others were… less than straightforward, too, but at least they made sense. Pouring Coke into the grave was just… it made no sense whatsoever.

“Err, what's… What is he doing?”

“Feeding whoever that is?”

“He's odd, isn't he?”

The four glared at the one who'd said it, but they didn't notice, too engrossed in the story. Nico was odd, yes; but he wasn't a bad odd. Something clearly had happened—implications from that one chapter still hanging in the air—and that changed him from an overly excited hyperactive little boy to the one spending time at graveyards and talking to a ghost. How one could be mad at an obviously traumatized boy? He could handle his hurt in whatever manner he preferred.

“Let the dead taste again,” ... “Let them remember.”

Cassandra blinked, thoroughly lost. Was he… was he summoning someone?

Of course, he was! With Coke and Happy Meal of all things, which was disturbingly creative.

“He's trying to raise the dead?” she faintly heard someone ask.

“With Happy Meals?”

Two students exchanged looks and burst into fits of constrained laughs. That was far from a laughing matter. 

It so wasn't. For one, Nico seemed pretty serious about the task of his, continuing chanting in Greek and feeding the dead hamburgers. Eventually, it worked. It couldn't have been any other way when Nico had taken it upon himself to accomplish whatever he'd set out to do. Even the ghost's complaints didn't faze him.

Nico had summoned the dead with Coke and cheeseburgers.

However delightful it might be, the ghost was not happy and didn't hesitate to express the sentiment. His concerns might be reasonable too, for albeit Nico's assurance it was under control, it wasn't. 

Or maybe he did have everything under control, and it were children's own feelings devouring them. Then again, what reaction one could provide to the facts read out in the book?

“Who?!” Lyssa exclaimed for the fifth time in the last minute. 

“Theseus, McKeenley,” Kylie said, rolling her eyes. “Move on already.”

“How don't you—” Lyssa's voice was drowned out by Sarah who'd started reading again, having been bumped up by the pleading looks of seventeen kids. 

No way, I thought. This couldn’t be the Theseus. 

“This is what we are—”

He was just a kid. Sarah all but yelled the line, making several people wince. … The ghost … wasn’t strong or … any older than I was.

“How can I retrieve my sister?” Nico asked.

“What happened to his sister?” Levi asked immediately.

“He has a sister?” Peter wondered at the same time. 

“Where were you a chapter ago?” Kylie's voice rang through the classroom, her usual sneer back in place. For all her disdain, Kylie had been one of the most protective of the four, even if in a more discreet manner than one would expect her.

The two had enough sense to show sheepishness. And not ask more questions.

(They'd forget about her in a second.)

… “Do not try. It is madness.”

“Whatever he's doing, it must be super stupid,” Cassandra said, her eyes flickering to the book, although half her mind still on Kylie in case she decided to attack.

She hadn't yet, though a tired Huff carried through the air almost pointedly like she wanted Cassandra to know.

“Of course, it is!” Peter objected, half-whispering, “a ghost is telling him that!”

Although everyone was fully agreed with the statement, there was still one huge opposer: Nico himself. He kept on stubbornly nagging a ghost to help him, ignoring evident—though, unconscious—ghost's attempts at diverting his attention and potentially making him drop the subject. 

What's worse, there was another ghost interfering and delaying the solution. For Nico, of course. He seemed to not care one bit about the ghost drama. 

“I want to hear about my sister,” ... “Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?”

“What labyrinth are we talking about?”

Sarah hesitated for a moment, her eyes filled with concern. “Uh, it's capitalized?”

Lyssa blinked. Turned to disturbingly calm and silent Percy. Hummed. Turned back to Sarah and rubbed her forehead. “Why in the world did I think it could be something different?”

Earnest pain and disbelief in her question forced others to harp on her. Metaphorically, of course. No one in their right mind would argue with Lyssa when she obviously knew better.

“Spill,” Jenna ordered instead.

“What in this world of yours is not real?” Lyssa complained instead, rubbing her temples.

“Obviously, nothing.”

She groaned. Loudly. “Why am I surprised?” she muttered, yet in the dead, somewhat tense silence of the classroom, her words carried around. “The Labyrinth is extremely dangerous, isn't it? It did sound like this in the myths.”

Percy nodded grimly. “It's worse.”

Lyssa heaved a sigh. Of course.

“Uh, we're listening, too, y'know,” Peter even waved his hand as though reminding her they were here as well.

“The Labyrinth from the myths,” Lyssa replied, strained. Peter made a face, although it was clear he didn't quite understand the reaction. “Super bad. Like, super bad.”

“It was also alive and could lead you in any and every direction regardless of where you were actually going,” Percy added.

Annabeth started. Leo and Jason stared. Percy shrugged.

“What? It's true. We ended up in places I'd rather never step my foot in.”

“You reeked of shit for a couple of days after that,” Annabeth smiled, though it came out a bit fake as well.

In the background, Mr. Blofis raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He might have been just as curious as the rest of them. It did not seem like Percy had told him everything, probably trying to spare the scare and the worry.

Percy pulled a face. “Yeah, that was unfortunate. Still not the worst we got.”

“Oh, far from it.”

Both faltered, now watching the class with amusement like they were waiting for them to get the joke. They didn't. So they moved on to a more persistent problem.

“So, in short, the labyrinth is a bad, bad, terrible place that's also sentient and it chooses where you'll go,” Steven concluded.

“Pretty much, yep.”

“And Nico wants to go there as well.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is he… insane?”

The question was uttered with a lot of uncertainty and in a whisper. Steven might have glanced at the ground, or he might have not; no one would be able to tell.

“That ghost looks madder,” Mike pointed put, effectively leading them away from Nico and his, uh, quest.

It worked because he was. The ghost, whose identity no one knew, could not stop being annoying with his constant pleading. 

They had a lot to complain about.

At least, Theseus appeared fine. He was a ghost, so probably that's why, but he didn't annoy. He didn't really do anything except telling Nico how he'd gotten through the Labyrinth.

“Didn't Ariadne give him the string?”

“Who?” Peter mouthed, frowning. Asking louder, though, he refused.

“She was clear-sighted,” Annabeth announced? proclaimed? told them?

 Whatever the case, it didn't actually clear anything up, but girls nodded anyways, then Lyssa gestured Sarah to continue.

To the annoying ghost. Talking about exchanging souls, which sounded creepy in the very not good way.

“What has Nico gotten himself into?” Jason took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“You wouldn't want to know.”

Jason's muffled groan came out resonating enough for others to get distracted for a moment.

“A soul for a soul,” Nico asked. “Is it true?”

“He's asking!”

Leo patted Jason on the shoulder but didn't offer any other solace nor did he take his eyes off whatever he had in front of him.

“Nico will be fine,” he said almost as an afterthought.

Jason grumbled something under his breath. Sarah started at the unexpected behavior of his then immediately started reading to avoid questions.

She also wanted to get through this chapter as fast as she could. Why and when these chapters had gone so terribly wrong? Or was it just Percy's life gone off the rails? Neither thought made her feel better.

It must have been especially disturbing to watch Nico command an ancient ghost. Even more disturbing to him ask about his sister. Others might not have noticed yet, but Sarah had a better view of the class and saw the tiny, all but invisible flinches on his face. She wouldn't be calling him out on those because Nico's sister was dead. Sarah didn't know how and when it happened but it had and Percy didn't like being reminded of that.

Then things got worse. Theseus was disturbed.

“He comes to find the source of this power,” ... “You must release us.”

“What has he done?” Jason muttered.

This time, Leo didn't move, just watching him with the mixture of worry and resignation. 

There was a lot to take in. The fountain trembled. The whole cabin shook. Nico glowed. Percy panicked and tried attacking the fountain. And only Tyson slept through the chaos.

He must have been super lost in the morning, but no one asked Percy for more details. The chapter was already a rollercoaster and it was only getting worse.

The quest was starting.

I’d packed my knapsack–thermos with nectar, … and lots of extra batteries. 

“At what part of the quest did you lose it all?”

Leo's question came out unexpectedly and unexpectedly baffling.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance, immediately feeling and looking mortified. Leo chuckled.

At least, the morning from Percy's point if view didn't sound ominous. Not at all. Nope. He totally wasn't resentful of the fact they'd go underground.

“It's underground, too?”

“I don't think we'd miss a huge labyrinth in the middle of the country!”

A few people snorted, definitely thinking they'd easily miss a labyrinth in the middle of the country. Of New York! At this point, what did they not miss?

 Apparently, they'd missed Grover's girlfriend as well. Which shouldn't be surprising; they'd clearly skipped anything and everything romantic, which… come to think of it, none of them was particularly interested in the hows and whens of Percy's private life.

There was a whole new world to explore and potentially defend themselves from.

Then there were Chiron… Quintus? Mrs. O'Leary?

“Who?” Levi wondered.

How come every time they opened a new chapter, someone else was introduced?

“Mrs. O'Leary is my pet hellhound,” Percy stated calmly, a faint shadow of a grin on his lips.

Sarah lowered her book to stared at him. The rest of the class followed suit, all varying levels of stunned.

Percy deflated, his s eyebrows knitted together at all the silence and staring. “You know, right? I'm pretty sure you know.”

Someone's stifled exclamation of realization brought everyone back to reality.

“How come a pet hellhound is something I've completely forgotten about?” Mike rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Dunno, man; she's unforgettable.”

Mike forced an urge to scowl down and turned back to Sarah, who couldn't stop blinking rapidly.

“Quintus?”

Traces of mirth evaporated, leaving nothing but sourness and dejection.

“It's… complicated.”

Percy obviously didn't plan to say anything else, so Sarah had to continue reading, still a little baffled at new information.

So, now they guarded the entrance to the Labyrinth because it was obviously inside the camp borders. Obviously, the dream messed Percy up pretty badly. Obviously, Chiron was anxious—who wouldn't be when a whole bunch of kids under your command were in mortal danger from the army of monsters. Obviously, Percy had to add to his plate, which made both Jason and Leo raised their eyebrows, though neither said a word.

At least, Percy talked about his problems and worries.

“I feared this,” … “Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight.”

And Chiron still sucked at reassurance. He also manages to push Percy into thinking about this one fact barely any kid in the school felt comfortable with: familial relationships.

Why did they have to be related to one another?

“Doesn't it make you feel weird?”

Sarah lowered the book upon hearing the question. Truth to be told, it was the one that had bugged her for days now. Even without DNA gods were… well, weren't they family? They were technically related to each other, right?

“Does it make him your uncle?” Peter asked.

“Does it make any monsters your relatives?”

“Isn't Kronos gods' father, too?”

“Is he your grandfather?”

“Did you fight your grandfather?!”

Percy's face contorted as he cast a pleasing glance at Annabeth, who herself seemed a little too pale, her eyebrows drawn together and her lips in a thin line, although she was hiding behind Percy, so it wasn't really a given.

Mr. Blofis was a godsend. He caught Sarah's look and motioned her to continue. Yell if it came to it. Maybe fight. Anything to cut this line of questioning—he must be severely disturbed himself—and draw their attention back to the book.

Sarah could proudly say she managed. The book didn't give her much leeway because they still were talking about that.

 At least, no one dared to interrupt as Mr. Blofis hadn't scolded her for being too aggressive, so Sarah was able to just move through that part and into something more bearable—Sarah couldn't believe she thought discussions about a Kronos twisting a long-dead mythical inventor was bearable and sane.

Well, not long-dead. Apparently, famous inventors could live for millennia.

Yep. That's fine. Not the craziest fact they'd learned.

Still, Lyssa motioned Sarah to stop, then turned to Percy.

“He's alive?” she asked.

Percy did something unexpected, which was saying a lot because Percy did many things they didn't even think of. He stared at Annabeth with open sadness.

Annabeth started, casting her gaze downward.

“He's not,” she answered, voice clipped.

Lyssa nodded.

Only to turn back to Annabeth when she heard Kronos not only wanted to get a passage through the Labyrinth from Daedalus—who had been alive at that point, holy!—but also… something. Something Annabeth might help with. Annabeth loved architecture; that was probably the one thing even janitors knew about her by now, though no one was quite sure what he project was. Annabeth would absolutely have looked up to Daedalus. She would know. Lyssa would never believe she didn't.

Annabeth shook her head. Distressed for whatever reason.

Was it confusing? Always. Lyssa decided not to press, though.

“What else would he want?”

Not a single person was surprised at the answer. A coffin. Raising Kronos. New recruits.

“This is so messed up!”

“He didn't get back to life, did he?” Sarah glanced at the four, all of whom were doing all but looking at her, which confirmed a deeply concealed fear that she had. 

Who was she kidding? There would be no damn book if Percy and his friends had gotten by with just a scratch and a few vengeful monsters! But an optimist didn't want to go down so easily, forcing Sarah to grasp at straws. “Tell me it didn't happen, goddamit!”

Paul instantly began coughing as though endeavored to point to the outrageous behavior she was exhibiting while several students snickered. But those were the minority as most of the children seemed to be on the same page ass her: the most profound kind of fear know to humanity. 

Annabeth stared at the pen she'd been fiddling with this past hour, probably unconsciously, looking both dazed and bemused; Leo didn't hear her and Jason pretended he hadn't heard a thing. Percy, on his part, pursed his lips which no only further confirmed Sarah's fears but also sent a clear message to everyone around, something along the lines of oops, didn't mean to happen. Comforting (not). 

She groaned. Heaved a sigh. Stared at the book.

They would win, one was or another. Right?

... “He said they would make Kronos a new body, worthy of the forges of Hephaestus.”

Sarah closed her eyes, momentarily faltering. That was not happening! 

“Is she ok?” someone whispered, intended to remain as discreet as they could in this classroom, but, of course, everyone heard him. 

“Nope, dude,” Steven shook his head in remorse. 

Not like he was either. He might not understand the depth of the roblem but it did not sound good anyway. Someone trying to forge a new body?? The idea itself didn't want to settle in his mind.

Yet, here it was, a definite example of someone somewhere doing just that.

Their world was crazy. All of it.

…“Daedalus … created the Labyrinth, ... Automatons, thinking machines… 

“Automatons?”

Annabeth rubbed her forehead.

“Think robots,” she said flatly.

Peter's frown deepened at that as his mind processed the words. “He created robots?”

“Basically.”

That was amazing what one could learn from history. Especially, when this history still existed, still walked the earth, and still was somewhere at the periphery of the present.

If only is didn't scare this much…

What if Kronos wishes Daedalus to make him a new form?”

Sarah let out a strangled sound but otherwise didn't show it was bothering her much. 

That was a real pleasant thought.

“Indeed,” Cassandra muttered.

Honestly, why was every new addition to the plot some kind of a problem? Daedalus? The greatest ancient inventor? Suddenly a problem—or seven if Percy's account of the Labyrinth was true, though Cassandra wouldn't be arguing with the guy who'd actually been there.

She bet Quintus would be a problem as well. Mrs. O'Leary would be as well, a pet hellhound or not.

And Percy had to deal with all of them, because what else was a teenager do? Convince the said inventor not to turn evil, of course. After dealing with the last soul joining the cause, whatever the ever loving hell that one meant.

At that point, Sarah straight up cursed, closing the book shut. Mr. Blofis, bless his soul, didn't bat an eye, waiting until she got a hold of herself and could continue.

Others didn't utter a single word of protest, simply waiting. There was a lot to mull over as it is. A lot to fear, probably.

Sarah took a deep breath then continued as though nothing had happened.

I kept my mouth shut … about Nico being a son of Hades. The mention of souls, though—

“You wanted to give him time,” Annabeth said softly, pressing her shoulder to his.

Those few who'd heard her, hummed in agreement as Percy from the book himself confirmed her words. He was kind of spiraling there, wondering if Kronos knew about Nico and would turn him evil.

He, however, did not tell Chiron even if it were the most important thing he could do.

Except telling him about the Quintus guy poking around where he didn't belong.

Cassandra sighed. Of course, he was a bigger problem than just a problem. Obviously, Chiron didn't really trust him either! He wasn't even surprised this Quintus went where he shouldn't have!

The worst thing? Percy shrugged at Leo's questioning look then Annabeth whispered something to him, which made his eyes widen and a grin spread across his face.

What the hell? She wanted to ask what the heck it meant but knew they wouldn't actually answer her.

“It doesn’t sur—you mean you know?”

“Yeah,” Cassandra grumbled, “he knows?”

“Percy, … I would have to be a fool not to be suspicious.”

“Then why did you accept him?”

Cassandra's neighbor patted her on the shoulder in commiseration.

Not that she cared. This whole chapter was damn frustrating! From Nico and ghosts to the revelation the camp would be attacked to this, she was stressed. Plain and simple. And she didn't even know anyone but the four!

“Then why did you let him in?”

“Thank you!” she whisper-yelled, earning a few strained chuckles from people around her.

There wasn't a single person in this class not stressed about the chapter. Except the four, probably, but they didn't seem too concerned about the conversation or any implications. It must be not so bad, right?

“Because sometimes it is better … that you can keep an eye on him. 

“It really isn't the right time for that, is it?”

Cassandra rubbed the bridge of her nose, hoping—just hoping!—that Percy had been just as befuddled and stunned by this decision as she was. It would mean she didn't overreact. That she was right to suspect foul play and in her need to know answers.

“Cassie, I'm sure he's trying his best,” her neighbor said, not making it any better for her at all.

Because Chiron certainly was not making it any better, although Leo's bemused frown and a silent question confused. At least, they were suspicious. Right? Right?!

My hand slipped into my pocket, where I kept the ice whistle Quintus had given me.

Peter opened his mouth to ask then closed it, nodding to himself.

I … saw Quintus ... He raised his hand in farewell.

Our spies report success, Luke had said. 

“He's not a spy,” Kylie said suddenly. 

Sarah faltered, staring at her dumbfounded. Steven opened his mouth. Closed it. Frowned.

“There's something we agree on then,” Lyssa added.

Silence stretched out for an uncomfortably long time before Peter hiccupped, snapping everyone out of the daze.

“Uh, we'll circle back to it sometime later,” Steven decided, fully realizing they would not be circling back to anything.

Because Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson were going underground.

It would be fun.