❛008❜

IVY THOUGHT THEY had lost the spider until tyson heard a faint pinging sound. they made a few turns, backtracked a few times, and eventually found the spider banging its tiny head on a metal door.

the door looked like one of those old-fashioned submarine hatches—oval, with metal rivets around the edges and a wheel for a doorknob. where the portal should've been was a big brass plaque, green with age, with a greek êta inscribed in the middle.

they all looked at each other.

"ready to meet hephaestus?" grover said nervously.

"no," percy admitted.

ivy pushed down her fear. she was pretty sure hephaestus didn't like any of her mother's mortal children, or any of her children with someone other than him. "maybe we should knock—"

"yes!" tyson cut it gleefully, turning the wheel without listening to her suggestion.

as soon as the door opened, the spider scuttled inside with tyson right behind it. the rest of them followed, not quite as anxious. ivy tailed behind them all in hopes of hiding from the god.

the room was enormous. it looked like a mechanic's garage, with several hydraulic lifts. some had cars on them, but others had stranger things: a bronze hippalektryon with its horse head off and a bunch of wires hanging out its rooster tail, a metal lion that seemed to be hooked up to a battery charger, and a greek war chariot made entirely of flames.

smaller projects cluttered a dozen worktables. tools hung along the walls. each had its own outline on a peg-board, but nothing seemed to be in the right place. the hammer was over the screwdriver place. the staple gun was where the hacksaw was supposed to go.

under the nearest hydraulic lift, which was holding a '98 toyota corolla, a pair of legs stuck out—the lower half of a huge man in grubby gray pants and shoes even bigger than tyson's. one leg was in a metal brace.

the spider scuttled straight under the car, and the sounds of banging stopped.

"well, well," a deep voice boomed from under the corolla. "what have we here?"

the mechanic pushed out on a back trolley and sat up. ivy had seen hephaestus before, briefly on her visits to olympus, so she thought she was prepared, but his appearance made her gulp.

the daughter of aphrodite guess he'd cleaned up when she saw him on olympus, or used magic to make his form seem a little less hideous. here in his own workshop, he apparently didn't care how he looked. he wore a jumpsuit smeared with oil and grime. hephaestus, was embroidered over the chest pocket. his leg creaked and clicked in its metal brace as he stood, and his left shoulder was lower than his right, so he seemed to be leaning even when he was standing up straight. his head was misshapen and bulging. he wore a permanent scowl. his black beard smoked and hissed. every once in a while a small wildfire would erupt in his whiskers then die out. his hands were the size of catcher's mitts, but he handled the spider with amazing skill. he disassembled it in two seconds, then put it back together.

"there," he muttered to himself. "much better."

the spider did a happy flip in his palm, shot a metallic web at the ceiling, and went swinging away.

hephaestus glowered up at them. "i didn't make you, did i?"

"uh," annabeth said, "no, sir."

"good," the god grumbled. "shoddy workmanship."

he studied annabeth, percy, and the half-hidden ivy. the god's expression didn't change when looking at her. "half-bloods," hephaestus grunted. "could be automatons, of course, but probably not."

"we've met, sir," percy told him.

"have we?" the god asked absently. ivy got the feeling he didn't care one way or the other. he was just trying to figure out how their jaws worked, whether it was a hinge or lever or what. "well then, if i didn't smash you to a pulp the first time we met, i suppose i won't have to do it now."

he looked at grover and frowned. "satyr." then he looked at tyson, and his eyes twinkled. "well, a cyclops. good, good. what are you doing traveling with this lot?"

"uh... " said tyson, staring in wonder at the god.

"yes, well said," hephaestus agreed. "so, there'd better be a good reason you're disturbing me. the suspension on this corolla is no small matter, you know."

"sir," annabeth said hesitantly, "we're looking for daedalus. we thought—"

"daedalus?" the god roared. "you want that old scoundrel? you dare to seek him out!"

his beard burst into flames and his black eyes glowed.

"uh, yes, sir, please," annabeth said.

"humph. you're wasting your time." he frowned at something on his worktable and limped over to it. he picked up a lump of springs and metal plates and tinkered with them. in a few seconds he was holding a bronze and silver falcon. it spread its metal wings, blinked its obsidian eyes, and flew around the room.

tyson laughed and clapped his hands. the bird landed on tyson's shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately.

hephaestus regarded him. the god's scowl didn't change, but ivy thought she saw a kinder twinkle in his eyes. "i sense you have something to tell me, cyclops."

tyson's smile faded. "y-yes, lord. we met a hundred-handed one."

hephaestus nodded, looking unsurprised. "briares?"

"yes. he—he was scared. he would not help us."

"and that bothered you."

"yes!" tyson's voice wavered. "briares should be strong! he is older and greater than cyclopes. but he ran away."

hephaestus grunted. "there was a time i admired the hundred-handed ones. back in the days of the first war. but people, monsters, even gods change, young cyclops. you can't trust 'em. look at my loving mother, hera. you met her, didn't you? she'll smile to your face and talk about how important family is, eh? didn't stop her from pitching me off mount olympus when she saw my ugly face."

"i thought zeus was the one that did that," ivy blurted out. she slapped her hand to her mouth when she realized the whole purpose of her staying in the background was broken now.

hephaestus raised her an eyebrow, but just cleared his throat and spat into a bronze spittoon. he snapped his fingers, and the robotic falcon flew back to the worktable.

"mother likes telling that version of the story," he grumbled. "makes her seem more likable, doesn't it? blaming it all on my dad. the truth is, my mother likes families, but she likes a certain kind of family. perfect families. she took one look at me and... well, i don't fit the image, do i?"

he pulled a feather from the falcon's back, and the whole automaton fell apart.

"believe me, young cyclops," hephaestus said, "you can't trust others. all you can trust is the work of your own hands."

ivy frowned at the depressing outlook of life. it seemed like a terribly lonely way to spend your days. she didn't trust hephaestus's work in any way. that time in denver with the mechanical spiders meant for her mother and ares. and last year, a defective talos statue cost bianca's life.

still, the brunette somehow felt empathy for the god. from day one, he was neglected by hera and the rest of the olympians because of his looks. his wife—despite being her mother—publicly cheating on him. besides, hephaestus was a god. he has been living with his internal pain for centuries by now. ivy couldn't blame him for resenting the world, it wasn't like it treated him very nicely to begin with.

the god focused on percy and narrowed his eyes, as if he were reading his thoughts. "oh, this one doesn't like me," he mused. "no worries, i'm used to that.

then his eyes went to ivy. he raised an eyebrow. "and you... pity me. now that's new. what would you ask of me, little demigods?"

"we told you," percy said. "we need to find daedalus. there's this guy luke, and he's working for Kronos. he's trying to find a way to navigate the labyrinth so he can invade our camp. if we don't get to daedalus first—"

"and i told you, boy. looking for daedalus is a waste of time. he won't help you."

"why not?"

hephaestus shrugged. "some of us get thrown off mountainsides. some of us... the way we learn not to trust people is even more painful. ask me for gold. or a flaming sword. or a magical steed. these i can grant you easily. but a way to daedalus? that's an expensive favor."

"you know where he is, then," annabeth pressed.

"it isn't wise to go looking, girl."

"my mother says looking is the nature of wisdom."

hephaestus narrowed his eyes. "who's your mother, then?"

"athena."

"figures." he sighed. "fine goddess, athena. a shame she pledged never to marry. all right, half-blood. i can tell you what you want to know. but there is a price. i need a favor done."

"name it," annabeth said.

ivy's eyes widened at her best friend's immediate response. what if he asked them to be their work slaves for a century or something?

hephaestus actually laughed—a booming sound like a huge bellows stoking a fire. "you heroes," he said, "always making rash promises. how refreshing!"

he pressed a button on his workbench, and metal shutters opened along the wall. it was either a huge window or a big-screen tv, ivy couldn't tell which. they were looking at a gray mountain ringed in forests. it must've been a volcano, because smoke rose from its crest.

"one of my forges," hephaestus said. "i have many, but that used to be my favorite."

"that's mount st. helens," grover said. "great forests around there."

"you've been there?" percy asked.

"looking for... you know. pan."

"wait," annabeth said, looking at hephaestus. "you said it used to be your favorite. what happened?"

hephaestus scratched his smoldering beard. "well, that's where the monster typhon is trapped, you know. used to be under mount etna, but when we moved to america, his force got pinned under mount st. helens instead. great source of fire, but a bit dangerous. there's always a chance he will escape. lots of eruptions these days, smoldering all the time. he's restless with the titan rebellion."

"what do you want us to do?" percy said, sounding on edge. "fight him?"

hephaestus snorted. "that would be suicide. the gods themselves ran from typhon when he was free. no, pray you never have to see him, much less fight him. but lately i have sensed intruders in my mountain. someone or something is using my forges. when i go there, it is empty, but i can tell it is being used. they sense me coming, and they disappear. i send my automatons to investigate, but they do not return. something... ancient is there. evil. i want to know who dares invade my territory, and if they mean to loose typhon."

"you want us to find out who it is," percy concluded.

"aye," hephaestus said. "go there. they may not sense you coming. you are not gods."

"yeah, i'm just noticing," ivy muttered, causing her to get pinched in the arm by annabeth.

"go and find out what you can," hephaestus said. "report back to me, and i will tell you what you need to know about daedalus."

"all right," annabeth said. "how do we get there?"

hephaestus clapped his hands. the spider came swinging down from the rafters. annabeth flinched when it landed at her feet.

"my creation will show you the way," hephaestus said. "it is not far through the labyrinth. and try to stay alive, will you? humans are much more fragile than automatons."

THEY WERE DOING okay until we hit the tree roots. The spider raced along and they were keeping up, but then they spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots. grover stopped dead in his tracks.

"what is it?" percy said.

he didn't move. he stared open mouthed into the dark tunnel. his curly hair rustled in the breeze.

"grover? you okay?" ivy asked.

"come on!" annabeth said. "we have to keep moving."

"this is the way," grover muttered in awe. "this is it."

"what way?" percy asked. "you mean... to pan?"

grover looked at tyson. "don't you smell it?"

"dirt," tyson said. "and plants."

"yes! this is the way. i'm sure of it!"

up ahead, the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor. a few more seconds and they had lose it.

"we'll come back," annabeth promised. "on our way back to hephaestus."

"the tunnel will be gone by then," grover said. "i have to follow it. a door like this won't stay open!"

"but we can't," annabeth said. "the forges!"

grover looked at her sadly. "i have to, annabeth. don't you understand?"

the blonde looked desperate, like she didn't understand at all. ivy didn't understand much either, but she knew she had to support grover in the search for pan. the spider was almost out of sight. but before she could come up with a plan, percy gave his take.

"we'll split up," percy said.

suicidal take, that is.

"no!" ivy stressed. "have you ever seen a horror movie? you're asking for death!"

"exactly!" annabeth said. "that's way too dangerous. how will we ever find each other again? and Grover can't go alone."

tyson put his hand on grover's shoulder. "i—i will go with him."

percy gaped at his brother. in both concern and impression at his bravery. "tyson, are you sure?"

the big guy nodded. "goat boy needs help. we will find the god person. i am not like hephaestus. i trust friends."

grover took a deep breath. "percy, we'll find each other again. we've still got the empathy link. i just... have to."

ivy didn't blame him. this was his life's goal. if he didn't find pan on this journey, the council would never give him another chance.

"i hope you're right," percy said.

"i know i am." ivy had never heard him sound so confident about anything, except maybe that cheese enchiladas were better than chicken enchiladas.

"be careful," percy told him. then he looked at tyson. the cyclops gulped back a sob and gave his brother a hug that just about squeezed his eyes out of their sockets. then he and grover disappeared through the tunnel of tree roots and were lost in the darkness.

"this is bad," annabeth said. "splitting up is a really, really bad idea."

"the labyrinth makes the perfect scenario for a horror movie and everything," ivy huffed. "and the pretty ones always die first. and you know who's the pretty one?"

"me," percy said jokingly.

ivy glared at him. maybe she was being petty, but she couldn't let go of how stupid she felt after their almost—not really—actually really close to—kiss. "no, me," she said coldly. "let's just hope grover and tyson don't have the same fate i have."

"we'll see them again," percy, tried and failed to sound confident. "now come on. the spider is getting away!"

it wasn't long before the tunnel started to get hot.

the stone walls glowed. the air felt as if they were walking through an oven. the tunnel sloped down and ivy could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. the spider skittered along, with annabeth right behind.

"hey, wait up," percy called from behind ivy.

both girl glanced back at him. "yeah?" annabeth asked.

"something hephaestus said back there... about athena."

"she swore never to marry," annabeth said, her voice sounding restrained in laughter. sharing a look with ivy, they both knew where this conversation was going. "like artemis and hestia. she's one of the maiden goddesses."

percy blinked. he looked like he just discovered if the glass was half filled or half empty. "but then—"

"how come she has demigod children?" ivy asked, trying her best to not burst out laughing.

the son of poseidon nodded. his cheeks were scarlet red, it could have been from the hot temperature or from his embarrassment. either way, he looked cute and ivy hated it because she was supposed to be mad at him.

"percy, you know how athena was born?" annabeth said slowly.

"she sprung from the head of zeus in full battle armor or something."

"exactly," the blond shrugged. "she wasn't born in the normal way. she was literally born from thoughts. her children are born the same way. when athena falls in love with a mortal man, it's purely intellectual, the way she loved odysseus in the old stories. it's a meeting of minds. she would tell you that's the purest kind of love."

"so your dad and athena..." percy realized, his eyes wide and jaw propped open. "so you weren't..."

"i was a brain child," annabeth said. "literally. children of athena are sprung from the divine thoughts of our mother and the mortal ingenuity of our father. we are supposed to be a gift, a blessing from athena on the men she favors."

percy blinked. he turned to ivy, "your mom isn't a maiden."

"nop," ivy said.

"so you were—"

"yes, perce. my parents had sex. just like yours."

the black-haired boy's face contorted in disgust at the thought. tends to happen when asking around too much.

"now, the spider's getting away," ivy's blue eyes twinkled, annabeth suppressed a snort. "you don't need me to go into detail into how babies are made, right?"

"um.. no. that's okay."

ivy smirked. "i thought not." she ran ahead, deciding that leaving percy with the traumatizing image of how he came to be was enough for her to feel better about being ditched in a bathroom.

the roaring got louder. after another half mile or so, they emerged in a cavern the size of a super bowl stadium. their spider escort stopped and curled into a ball. they had arrived at the forge of hephaestus.

there was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below. they stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. a network of metal bridges spanned across it. at the center was a huge platform with all sorts of machines, cauldrons, forges, and the largest anvil she'd ever seen—a block of iron the size of a house. creatures moved around the platform—several strange, dark shapes, but they were too far away to make out details."

"we'll never be able to sneak up on them," percy said.

ivy picked up the metal spider and slipped it into her pocket. she could turn invisible, but she always ended up exhausted to the point of passing out after. being invisible woman for an hour wasn't worth it.

"i can," annabeth said, as if reading her thoughts. "wait here."

"wait!" ivy said, but before she could argue, the blonde put on her yankees cap and turned invisible.

ivy didn't dare call after her, but she didn't like the idea of her approaching the forge on her own. if those things out there could sense a god coming, would annabeth be safe?

"i'm gonna look for her," she told percy.

"with the woo-woo thing you do?"

ivy looked at him blankly. "i've told you, it's not magic. it's like you feel when stuff is in the sea."

he shook his head, at complete loss at what ivy meant no matter how much she explained. "yeah, but light isn't the sea. and you get this weird look when you do it, it's freaky. so it's like magic."

giving up, she rolled her eyes. "whatever, i just have to find her and then i'll keep a lock on where she is."

with that, the daughter of aphrodite closed her eyes. she let herself fall into the light that filled the earth's surface. from the burning rays all the way from the core of the sun, to the small twinkles of reflection. ivy felt like she was swimming on them when spending too much time in this state of time, there was no true way to describe the feeling.

annabeth, she kept in mind, find annabeth.

then she could feel the light molecules tracing what she knew to be her  best friend's. ivy concentrated on the exact warm signal annabeth transmitted and she snapped her eyes open.

percy jumped in fright, the brunette gave him an odd look. "what happened?" she asked.

"nothing," he breathed out. "it's fucking freaky how you just—blank out."

when he got his breathing right, the son of poseidon  looked back at the labyrinth tunnel. ivy pursed her lips, knowing he was thinking of grover and tyson. she missed them already.

"we can't stay put," percy decided. he started to inspect around them, booking for something to do.

"we can't stay put," percy decided. he started to inspect around them, booking for something to do.

ivy shook her head, it was best for annabeth to scout and then get back to them. "no, perce, let's stay here. it's better if—" before she could finish her sentence, percy started to crept along the outer rim of the lava lake.

"perseus achilles jackson!" she hissed. "come back here!"

"come on, fitzy!" he said. "i can see the middle from here!"

the daughter of aphrodite hesitated, but gave in after a few seconds of pondering. if she could make herself of use, she would do it. even if it was the dumbest plan ever.she went after him along the rim of the lava lake, hoping percy wasn't lying about seeing what was happening in the middle.

the heat was horrible, even for her, who tolerated heat well. geryon's ranch had been a winter wonderland compared to this. in no time both demigods was drenched with sweat. her eyes stung from the smoke. they moved along, trying to keep away from the edge, until they found their way blocked by a cart on metal wheels, like the kind used in mine shafts. percy lifted up the tarp and found it was half full of scrap metal. ivy was about to tell percy they should squeeze around it when she heard voices from up ahead, probably from a side tunnel.

"bring it in?" one asked.

percy turned to ivy wide eyed. she signalled him to stay quiet.

"yeah," another said. "movie's just about done."

ivy panicked. they didn't have time to back up. there was nowhere to hide except... the cart. she pushed percy inside and scrambled after him, pulling the tarp over them. she curled her fingers around her golden pick, just in case she had to fight.

the brunette noticed the technical difficulties in her plan when the cart lurched forward.

she was thrown against percy in the small space they had. they were so compacted that ivy wouldn't be able to turn around in any direction. percy had it worst though, given that in her rough landing her knee hit where it hurts him the most.

percy almost let out a howl of pain, ivy restoring to placing her mouth above her mouth to muffle the sound. she moved her knee to stay between his legs so it wasn't pressing anything.

other than that, the daughter of aphrodite tried to keep her cool at how close she was to percy.their faces were so close, the only thing separating their lips was ivy's hand. the brunette could see the remaining pain in percy's eyes, she hoped her apology was visible through her eyes.

"oi," a gruff voice said. "thing weighs a ton."

"it's celestial bronze," the other said. "what did you expect?"

they got pulled along. with the starling tug, percy placed his hand on ivy's hip to keep her in place. the heat was making it very difficult to breath, she figured. they turned a corner, and from the sound of the wheels echoing against the walls ivy guessed she had passed down a tunnel and into a smaller room.

hopefully they were not about to be dumped into a smelting pot. if they started to tip them over, they would have to fight their way out quickly. something that would be difficult given the position they were in the moment. ivy heard lots of talking, chattering voices that didn't sound human—somewhere between a seal's bark and a dog's growl. there were other sounds too—like an old-fashioned film projector and a tinny voice narrating.

"just set it in the back," a new voice ordered from across the room. "now, younglings, please attend to the film. there will be time for questions afterward."

the voices quieted down, and ivy could hear the film.

"as a young sea demon matures, the narrator said, changes happen in the monster's body. you may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. these changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters."

ivy and percy locked eyes, both thinking the same thing. monster sex ed. she pushed down the memory of being in the same biology class as percy when getting the talk by a "specialist." when in reality, all they did was scare girls into not having sex for the rest of their lifes and push homophobic views on boys. it's safe to say ivy did not keep her mouth shut on how she disagreed with the lesson.

excited snarling filled the room. the teacher—ivy guessed it must have been a teacher—told the younglings to be quiet, and the film continued. she didn't understand most of it, and neither her or percy dared to look. the film kept talking about growth spurts and acne problems caused by working in the forges, and proper flipper hygiene, and finally it was over.

"now, younglings," the instructor said, "what is the proper name of our kind?"

"sea demons!" one of them barked.

"no. anyone else?"

"telekhines!" another monster growled.

"very good," the instructor said. "and why are we here?"

"revenge!" several shouted.

"yes, yes, but why?"

"zeus is evil!" one monster said. "he cast us into tartarus just because we used magic!"

"indeed," the instructor said. "after we made so many of the gods' finest weapons. the trident of poseidon, for one. and of course—we made the greatest weapon of the titans! nevertheless, zeus cast us away and relied on those fumbling cyclopes. that is why we are taking over the forges of the usurper hephaestus. and soon we will control the undersea furnaces, our ancestral home!"

ivy cursed to herself, recognizing the monsters who betrayed the gods.

"and so, younglings," the instructor continued, "who do we serve?"

"kronos!" they shouted.

"and when you grow to be big telekhines, will you make weapons for his army?"

"yes!"

"excellent. now, we've brought in some scraps for you to practice with. let's see how ingenious you are."

there was a rush of movement and excited voices coming toward the cart. in their desperation, ivy and percy managed to have a grip on their weapons. the tarp was thrown back. they jumped up with the best of their abilities, percy's riptide and ivy's kapsoura springing to life in their hands, and found myself facing the telekhines.

their faces were dogs with black snouts, brown eyes, and pointy ears. their bodies were sleek and black like sea mammals, with stubby legs that were half flipper, half foot, and humanlike hands with sharp claws. if a kid, a doberman pinscher, and a sea lion got melted together, the result would be something like what ivy was looking at.

"demigods!" one snarled.

"eat them!" yelled another.

but that's as far as they got before ivy shot five perfectly aimed arrows at the monsters, percy slashed a wide arc with riptide. they vaporized the entire front row of monsters and five unlucky ones, just as a warning.

"back the fuck off!" percy yelled at the rest, sounding fierce. behind them stood their instructor—a six-foot-tall telekhine with doberman fangs snarling at them. ivy did my best to stare him down.

"new lesson, class," the daughter of aphrodite announced. "most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword."

"this change is perfectly normal," percy continued. "and will happen to you right now if you don't back off!"

to her surprise, it worked. the monsters backed up, but there were at least twenty of them. the fear factor wasn't going to last long.

percy jumped out of the cart, ivy followed him down. he yelled, "class dismissed!" and they for the exit.

the monsters charged after them, barking and growling. ivy hoped they couldn't run very fast with those stubby little legs and flippers, but they waddled along pretty well. thank the gods there was a door on the tunnel leading out to the main cavern. percy slammed it shut behind her and turned the wheel handle to lock it, but she doubted it would keep them long.

ivy didn't know what to do. she could feel annabeth was somewhere near them, invisible. their chance for a subtle reconnaissance mission had just been blown. with percy, she ran toward the platform at the center of the lava lake.

"let's go find annabeth," ivy told percy.

he nodded. before ivy could inform of annabeth's close whereabouts, percy yelled, "annabeth!"

"shhh!" an invisible hand clamped their arms and pulled them down behind a big bronze cauldron. "you want to get us killed?"

ivy found her head and took off her yankees cap. she shimmered into existence in front of them, scowling, her face streaked with ash and grime. "percy, what is your problem? ivy probably knew where i was!"

"telekhines!" ivy stressed. that got annabeth's attention. taking turns with percy, they explained quickly about the monster orientation class.

"so that's what they are," the blonde said with wide eyes. "telekhines. i should've known. and they're making... well, look."

they peeked over the cauldron. in the center of the platform stood four sea demons, but these were fully grown, at least eight feet tall. their black skin glistened in the firelight as they worked, sparks flying as they took turns hammering on a long piece of glowing hot metal.

"the blade is almost complete," one said. "it needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."

"aye," a second said. "it shall be even sharper than before."

"it couldn't be the... " ivy whispered, annabeth understood were her mind had gone. if the teleknies worked with kronos, there was one weapon they could be making for him.

annabeth shook her head, desperate for answer. "they keep talking about fusing metals. i wonder—"

"they were talking about the greatest titan weapon," percy said. "and they... they said they made my father's trident."

"the telekhines betrayed the gods," ivy said.

"they were practicing dark magic," percy recalled. "i don't know what, exactly, but zeus banished them to tartarus."

"with kronos," annabeth deadpanned.

the brunette nodded. "we have to get out—"

no sooner had she said that than the door to the classroom exploded and young telekhines came pouring out. they stumbled over each other, trying to figure out which way to charge.

"both of you, turn invisible," percy said. "get out!"

"what?" ivy shrieked. "no! we're not leaving you."

"i've got a plan," he insisted "i'll distract them. you can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to hephaestus. you have to tell him what's going on."

ivy scowled at him. she turned to annabeth, "you go, i'll stay with percy."

"is his dumbness sticking to you now?!" annabeth exclaimed.

"no, fitzy!" percy protested.

she was done listening to both of them. "go, and don't look back until you're safe," ivy told annabeth with as much charmspeak as she could. against her will, the daughter of athena followed her orders, running towards the exit.

"what's the plan?" ivy asked percy.

he gripped riptide tightly. "you getting out of here."

"perce, don't—" if percy had been praying for a way to make her leave, they were answered. the weight of the metal spider made itself known in her pocket. "fuck, i have the spider." there was no way annabeth would be safe in the labyrinth now, much less alone. ivy glared at percy. "i have to get it to annabeth."

"go," percy told her firmly, pleading her with his eyes. "she'll need you if she's going back in the maze."

"what if you get killed?!"

"i'll be fine. besides, we've got no choice."

maybe it was the rush of adrenaline. or the suppressed feelings she has been carrying for the past year. but ivy couldn't bear another moment without letting her emotions known. so she did the best thing that came to mind. she grabbed his face between her hands and pulled him down to her level.

ivy kissed him.

full on the lips and pouring every once of emotion in the short moments they had. his lips felt chapped and dry against hers. they were warm, full and comfortable too. it was perfect.

and she pulled away.

"be careful, seaweed brain." ivy clicked her fingers, the light turned pink and meshed her into the background.

with her heart being left with the son of poseidon behind her, ivy ran to where she felt annabeth was. she felt her to be already in the maze, but not deep enough for her to lose her connection.

"annie!" ivy yelled as she entered the maze. close, she could feel it. annabeth was close.

she ran deeper into the maze, following her best friend's warmth signal. it didn't take longer than a minute when ivy finally found her.

"ivy mary fitzgerald, i could kill you right now!" annabeth stomped towards her when she came into view. "are you crazy? where's percy?"

"i had to leave him behind," ivy panted out, showing the spider in the palm. "i had the spider, you would've gotten lost in here."

the blonde shook her head, scowling. "we're splitting, again. this is—"

boom!

a loud explosion was heard from where ivy had come from. her ears perked out for any other sound, then worse than the explosion, a scream was heard. not the type of scream heard while watching a scary movie, or when getting jump scared. it was a scream that put your hairs on end, a cry of pure pain and misery. someone pleading for their life.

ivy felt her blood run cold. it was percy.

"wha—" annabeth started, but ivy's mind was already on a roll.

the brunette thrusted the metal spider in annabeth's hand. without waiting for complains or suggestions, ivy said full of charmspeak, "stay here."

annabeth's eyes turned hazy and she stayed put.

the daughter of aphrodite took off without another thought. she ran as fast as she could towards percy. her ears were ringing, from the explosion or her panic. she could hear percy screaming, screaming, and he just kept on screaming. she wasn't sure if it was really him or the echoes of it in her mind, but she followed it with no hesitation.

when coming up the labyrinth entrance, ivy saw the damage whatever explosion had caused. debris had fallen on it, blocking her way entirely from going in. she frantically tried to push it out of the way but it was too much.

"percy!" she screamed, banging on the rocks before her. "percy!"

with a blurred vision, ivy brought her palms up. if the rocks weren't moving for her, she'll make them. the light answered to her, turning a hot pink color. she made it hot enough to burn through the rock, pink energy covered the rocks and made them dissolved faster than ever before. her mind was on overdrive, only one thought was in her mind. percy. get to percy. save him.

it wasn't a minute before ivy had made progress in her frenzy. she could see the high spurts of lava from gapes, but they weren't big enough for her to fit into. the black-haired boy's screams still rang in her head. she took a deep breath, preparing her final blow to get through. a ball of dark pink energy hit the wall of fallen rocks. at the same time, the earth started to rumble.

afterward, ivy could never describe what happened. an explosion, a tidal wave, pink energy molding around her. fire, water, and raw solar power collided, superheated steam, and she shot backwards, away from the volcano. the last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was the pink that surrounded her.

she wished she hadn't lost consciousness. she would have taken the pain of all her wounds and blows with no medication. because the dream she was pulled into was something she wished she had never seen. or better said, remembered.

a speaks!

look two chapters in one weekend wowww.

i am giggling and clacking at this chap... no im not bc i am extra emotional rn but i write best that best and i love how this chapter turned out so :)
next chap will have percy pov hehe

thoughts???