Jason's breath caught in his throat, his hand automatically wanted to reach for his coin, and he also kind of wanted to run out of the room knowing the kind of turmoil Percy was going to go through when he had to fight Tyson to the death?!

"Jason?" Thalia called in concern, quickly breaking up any other little conversations that had sparked up in the momentary lull.

He wanted to hide the book behind his back and pretend he hadn't read that to himself. He still kind of wanted to run out of the room too. "Percy, take a deep breath for me," Jason tried to caution.

Percy scowled and called him an asshole, following this up by saying, "I'm not that bad!"

Jason read each word carefully, bracing himself for impact with each new one.

Percy went white as Chiron's hindquarters as an icy force of water blasted through the room. "We what!?"

There wasn't much choice in the matter after that. Jason kept reading after Thalia snapped at him to get a move on while Percy sat frozen in place like he'd never move again for these horrible implications. He could very well be an iceberg in Antarctica for the sheer coldness radiating off of him.

...faint blue symbol etched in the metal.

"So how did Rachel find it?" Alex asked with interest, flicking his half frozen hair over his shoulder so that it smacked Magnus in the face. "Does she regularly go around behind dirty laundry bins to see what's behind them?" A hobby he surly had himself.

"Hopefully an answer that does not involve the words, the Labyrinth called to her," Magnus begged.

..."I tried to open it once, just out of curiosity. It's rusted shut."

Percy still wasn't maintaining his calm very well as images of Minos driving him mad caused him to chase Tyson around with his sword kept flying through his mind as wild as Icarus; but the initial shock of those words had dulled into a fanciful fear hopefully fueled by his ridiculous brain. Surely, surely, if he'd ever hurt Tyson he would have known that, felt that, long before now. With any luck Tyson had just beaten him to a pulp in the first five seconds of whatever this was and he'd been healed by ambrosia...

Whatever dull feelings of adrenaline that were trying to rush through him gave his brain enough of a cool down to give a shaky laugh and say, "I knew she'd fit right in, curiosity is our number one brand."

"And look where it leads you," Thalia sighed in exasperation.

...unsealed and creaked open...a staircase leading down.

"Anybody else feel like the stairs are a bit of an extra insult?" Will sighed. "Why couldn't it be a slide? At least have fun on the way down."

"Will, no," Nico frowned in concern.

"How would you get back up?" Jason asked.

"I don't think the maze's goal is for you to do that," Will shrugged, at least fully aware of his insanity it seemed. "I just think it would be nice if it gave you some fun in its hellscape."

"Will, no," Nico sighed again.

He had the most experience with this place, so Will decided not to push further.

...Rachel looked calm, but I couldn't tell if she was pretending or not.

"She's in acting clubs," Thalia nodded, "it is hard to tell how much she's faking it, but also she doesn't go out of her way to hide her emotions that I could tell." She had never spent any significant amount of time around Rachel, but Annabeth had in recent months and mentioned a few off hand times about the blow out fights the red head had with her dad that resembled Annabeth's own with hers.

... traces of the gold glitter on her face. "So, after you?"

"So polite," Magnus waved his hand about in a very posh way.

"She's certainly in the right kind of adventuring outfit," Alex chuckled, "easy to spot in the dark."

"That finally explains the camp shirts," Nico smirked.

"You're the guide," Annabeth said with mock politeness. "Lead on."

"So she can die first," Jason mock whispered in case anybody had missed that.

Percy was not in a laugh it off kind of mood though. He felt like someone was trying to force that hairbrush of hers down his throat spine first. Annabeth and Rachel were going to make him go bald with stress before he even found Tyson.

...A skeleton was grinning at us.

"Sadly nothing new at this rate," Thalia shook her head.

It wasn't human.

"That is," Magnus's brows leaped up to his hairline in surprise what else could it be. Didn't anything other than a human turn to dust?

... the single black eye socket in the center of its skull.

Percy shivered so hard dust rained down from the ceiling once more, with cracks to large to ignore much longer. If the roof caved in, would their protection go with it?

"How, is that even possible?" Alex asked with a very dry mouth.

Nico didn't particularly want to answer, because he knew what a freak it made him to have studied this. The right combination that went from torturing to killing to preserve the trophy you wanted from that monster.

Jason wasn't waiting around for an answer regardless, and it wasn't all concern for his own safety. It wasn't Tyson, it was not Tyson, he wasn't that big!

But it would be nice if the book confirmed it.

..."It's very old. Not, anybody we know."

Percy's brain scattered off into about twenty questions over that, starting and stopping so fast in his mind he couldn't manage any of them. Why would she phrase it like that? Did she know how old it was? What kind of archeologist half-blood book was she sleeping with nowadays? Was she just as afraid as he was saying Tyson's name right now in fear he would show up next...on and on it went...

...Whatever could kill a grown Cyclops, I didn't want to meet.

"One of these days, Tyson is going to be a full grown cyclops, and I certainly want to meet him," Alex reminded in case anybody forgot.

"I bet he'll have no choice but to give Percy nice, non-rib breaking hugs then," Magnus said in a pouty kind of voice as if this were a truly heart wrenching affair.

Percy gave a begrudging laugh he didn't feel just for their attempts to liven the mood.

..."Hopefully we'll find him and Grover. He's a satyr." ... "then we'd better keep on."

"Information that really should have been shared before hand Percy," Jason sighed. "She thinks she's just in there to help you find Daedalus, now you're adding extra."

"Hopefully she doesn't charge by the side quest or I'll never pay her off," Percy said lightheartedly enough like he wasn't still internally screaming.

...knelt under the skeleton's arm to go. Annabeth and I exchanged looks, then followed.

"At least we're avoiding the really not fun phrase of the blind leading the blind," Nico offered.

"Nah, that was the first time with Percy and Annabeth," Thalia chuckled.

"Hey," Percy sighed.

"Don't make me pull Jason out and tell you how many wrong turns you took," she insisted with a smirk.

"There's no such thing as a right turn in that place," he tried to insist even knowing he'd lose.

"Every other turn was a right turn that led to more death," Percy was instantly proven right as Jason rolled his eyes. How was it even when he was right he still never won an argument, Percy sighed as he let the reading continue.

...I saw nothing except well-worn bricks and mud.

"What a shame, I'm sure the maze is trying its hardest to make them seem like awesome, original bricks and mud," Alex chuckled.

"It can try a lot less harder any time it wants to, I always encourage laziness," Percy promised. "Like just making one path!"

... tree roots are moving like feelers...don't think we should risk it."

By the time Jason was done describing that he was pretty thoroughly convinced he could be in a room full of zombies and be none the wiser if Rachel wasn't around to tell him he was being an idiot. It was a skin crawly, terrifying feeling to be so blind, so powerless and have no way to get out of that. There was no training, nothing more he could do for himself to circumvent the fact he had no idea what was down a tunnel.

"The maze is learning?" Magnus's voice shook with terror and he was making no move to hide it. "It knows those are the paths you'd want to pick from last time and it's adapting?!"

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat. They were all quickly going to lose the thread of being in this together and start freaking out as bad as he was, and he didn't want that.

"Yeah, but, that's why we brought Rachel," he reminded with a nervous laugh. "It's good to have friends." His voice was shaky, he was toying with a frayed bit of his jeans and only hesitantly meeting all of their eyes as he looked around the room, but it was clear he meant every word.

Percy was no more happy about this than any of them, but he'd lived through it and wasn't actively complaining about every step, so Magnus tried to keep himself in check while Jason nodded his agreement.

...Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but waved at Rachel to lead on.

Thalia released a sigh of relief echoed all around. It was worrisome for a moment, that Annabeth was going to actively argue the point with the girl they'd brought down there for just this reason and insist she knew better.

Annabeth proved she was smarter than that in this very moment though. She didn't have to like it, she didn't even have to trust Rachel, but it was clear she trusted Percy enough that this time, maybe it would work out.

..."No traps?" I asked anxiously.

"I like to think she'd mention that before you have to ask," Nico offered.

"You never know with those artsy types," Percy tried to say with a straight face. "She needed to be invited onto the quest, maybe she needs voice activation."

"Just because you need explicit instructions and a map to find anything in your own room doesn't mean the rest of us do Perce," Thalia smirked.

... "Should it be this easy?" ... "It never was before."

"You got decently far in before and nobody almost died," Jason offered.

"I was trying this new thing where I wasn't planning on jinxing myself," Percy rolled his eyes.

... What planet are you from? But Rachel didn't look offended.

"Rachel has clearly studied up on her mythology and knows that the planets were named for the Roman deities and thinks it a compliment Annabeth is now trying to include her, even going about it in a silly way," Will said in a very peaceful kind of tone that was so full of it the others had no choice but to laugh.

..."Aren't your parents going to be worried if you're out late?"

Jason stumbled over that in surprise as he realized he'd never questioned the same. Not once while she'd been in here or somehow appeared in two random states.

... Having trouble with parents was something she understood.

Magnus raised his hands in mock celebration. "Who knew all it took was a little shared trauma to make friends?"

"Chiron apparently figured it out and that's why he set up Camp," Nico snorted.

"And we commend him for that," Will grinned.

..."Oh, that's very helpful. I mean, what is it?"

"Why would she know that?" Jason groaned. "She didn't grow a third eye down there!"

"I wouldn't mind if she did right now," Percy tried hard not to squeak.

..."Run," Rachel agreed. We turned and fled the way we'd come,

"It's nice to hear Annabeth sure didn't question that one," Alex muttered.

... Standing between them was Kelli, the empousa cheerleader.

"Just once!" Percy snapped in outrage as he glared at the book and his hands shook, "just once can't this maze work in our favor! Can't a trap door open under those monsters sending them to Tartarus! Or hell, sending us to where Grover and Tyson are chilling with Pan! How did they circle around us?! How-"

"I know Percy," Thalia placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Her worry for Annabeth and him obvious in every creased line of her face she hadn't been there to know how bad it got.

It took a lot of concentration for Percy to focus on her, her voice, her touch, but when he did he saw that this room was hanging on by a thread and they hadn't even gotten to the worst of it yet. They were captured, no way around that.

Where was Tyson?! What had happened to Grover!? Those were things he needed to know, that he nodded gratefully at Thalia for to assure her to keep going.

...  holding tight with her talons at Rachel's neck.

Percy might as well have painted himself gold and struck a pose. He used up every bit of his concentration not to move, to so much as breathe wrong. Rachel was fine. She'd been in here but a few days ago. He would not break this Titan's bathhouse and possibly get his friends killed because she was fine. His shaky exhale caused a few more around him as the others had sat tense waiting for him to react, but Thalia just smirked with a know it all expression that he was going to be fine.

"Taking your little mortal pet for a walk?... So easy to break!"

"How ridiculous, Rachel doesn't even have a leash," Magnus sniffed.

"I knew we should all still be wearing armor though, I don't see enough downsides to have stopped," Alex huffed.

Magnus's mind suddenly fritzed like bad reception as he imagined Alex in traditional viking armor, metal bra and all. He quickly turned away.

...The giant licked his lips when he saw us. "Can I eat them?"

"I bet that any monster that did try to eat you would just spit you right back out," Jason offered.

"Thanks," Percy sighed.

"No really," he insisted with an odd smile. "You'd either slash your way out before you even hit their stomach, or you'd taste so bad he'd spit you out anyways."

"So I can be covered in monster saliva, thanks Jason, really wanted to visualize that," Percy mock promised.

... "Now march, or you all die here, starting with the mortal girl."

"Who sets the beat?" Magnus asked blankly. Alex smacked his shoulder and called him an idiot.

...pretty much my worst nightmare, believe me, I've had plenty.

"I've been keeping track," Jason promised. "This is probably number two after Annabeth was nearly crushed by the sky you thought was a cave."

"Thanks," Percy said with his shaking hand pressed against his stomach.

Thalia would have snatched the book away to smack Jason with it if it wouldn't have taken extra time to get past this moment.

... a dracaena up close... wasn't real thrilled to have the opportunity.

Will had, and his breath passed out in a shallow wisp as he swallowed a scream, memories flashing behind his eyes to fast. Nico felt the shiver that passed over him, not a physical one, but the manifestation of death that oozed right off of Will just from mentioning those things. It saddened him greatly Will had such vivid experience with the feeling Nico so easily associated with many in camp at his mere presence, but Will never moved an inch away from him as the moment came and went.

Jason, of coursed, sounded thrilled like somebody was waving jerky under his nose. Percy found an easy distraction of watching this guy go nuts over a new description of a monster about to eat him mildly better than thinking about said monster ripping off Rachel's throat and hitting him in the face with it.

... moved by a combination of slithering and walking, as if on living skis.

"That is so cool!" Jason grinned. "Why do you think they developed a second snake trunk? Do you think the area where they join is the weak spot, I can't imagine they can fit armor around there. Oh, how potent do you think their venom is-"

"Jason," Thalia sighed patiently, "can we do this after everybody isn't about to die?"

"That's never," he huffed, but obligingly read on all the same. He was worried about Tyson too.

...You'll get along furiousssly. He'ssss your brother, after all."

Percy's innards went on an entire rollercoaster without him, he lurched in his seat and even dug his fingers into the beanbag like he was hanging on for life. Oh gods, he already thought he'd lost Tyson once, he didn't know how he was going to do this again! An arena, Luke had mentioned something about that, he'd know Tyson and would save him for a battle to the death against him while Annabeth was forced to watch-

Percy heard the book keep going with a kind of fuzzy, background noise like Tyson's snoring he'd learned to fall asleep to. It helped though, the buzz of voices the smallest reminder he wasn't alone in this, that he had others he had to focus on too like making sure Annabeth and Rachel got out of this.

... that was impossible. What was she talking about?

"Would it be possible for Percy to have a long lost half sibling down there?" Magnus asked in surprise. "If some poor Greek kid went in there way back when and time was that messed up and they managed to survive on their own up until this point?"

"Even the maze wouldn't make them immortal," Nico shook his head. "That person would still have died of old age, granted far, far later than they should have if they had managed all that, which is like a 1% chance of happening."

"I'm now over here wondering if they found Polyphemus and dragged him off that island," Jason admitted. Cyclops kind seemed the only direct links associated with Percy at any rate and if it wasn't Tyson at least this was a deserved rematch, but could lead to the same problem of Percy being unwilling to kill his opponent.

... already confiscated her knife and my sword.

Alex knew he shouldn't but he started chuckling anyways as he imagined a feisty kitten who thought she was tough. Annabeth of course was, and most likely considering seven other ways to kill that giant, but it was still amusing.

Kelli laughed. She still had her claws at Rachel's neck.

Will kept the nasty idea to himself Kellie probably got some perverse pleasure out of feeling Rachel's pulse going a mile a minute, feeling the fear leaping right through her skin. He felt like his skin was going to erupt in hives in moments at the idea of that snaky, scaly flesh all over him, that was probably his personal nightmare.

...nodded as much as she could with a demon at her throat. "That would be nice."

"This girl is being way to chill about this," Magnus frowned in concern if she was in shock.

"She lied to a bunch of zombie guard's upon first meeting me," Percy reminded with a shrug. "This is not her first encounter with monsters, gods knows how many others she's just had to walk past in the street without reacting."

... I walked out onto the floor of an arena.

Jason checked his tone of voice, making sure he didn't sound as nervous as he felt, but calm. Not casual, not while Percy was fighting for his life, that would feel heartless. It was an easy feeling to pull up inside himself, it always felt natural to fall into the roll of calmly studying the worst outcome.

I guess it wasn't the largest arena I'd ever been in,

"What is?" Magnus asked.

"Fields of Asphodel," Percy said without hesitation.

Magnus shivered for that answer, but maybe just a tad less than the last few times.

...The centaur was galloping around his enemy.

Why did it have to be a centaur? Thalia fought the urge to rub her shoulders and huddle up tight in her seat. She would have had the same reaction had it been anyone familiar in that arena. A satyr, a half-blood...

... the skulls.... hung on chains from the ceiling...various decay... you don't want more.

Alex swallowed a nasty feeling in the back of his throat. Oh, he agreed. He normally would have laughed and said bring it on and dared himself he could have made something more grotesque than any of those fleshy skulls...but it just would not make anybody laugh right now.

...a green banner with the trident of Poseidon. What was that doing here?

"Really, really misunderstood capture the flag?" Magnus asked in a squeaky voice.

"I'm still on Percy's team," Will raised his hand.

...sitting in a seat of honor, was an old enemy. "Luke," I said.

"You keep saying that like you have other enemies to identify as new," Nico snorted.

"Do you count?" Percy asked with a raised brow.

Nico flushed and looked away, and Percy instantly felt bad for embarrassing the kid on a snap comment he didn't really mean.

"What about the Labyrinth?" Percy continued in a much more obvious joking tone. "What about-" he stumbled to a quick stop. He'd been about to say Calypso, because she had been an impediment to his quest, but that just made him feel bad because she hadn't done it on purpose.

... he still wasn't wearing his sword, which I thought was strange.

"Way more than strange," Jason agreed. "I'm wondering if he gave it to Quintus as some kind of trade maybe? The excellent swordsman he was might have considered it a trophy?"

Percy didn't think that was right, but the answer settled somewhere in him. A trade, a gift...it nagged just on the edge of his mind close enough to be chewing on his ear but too loose for him to bat it properly away until he was more thoroughly distracted.

Next to him sat the largest giant I'd ever seen,

"Why do they get bigger every time you meet a new one?" Magnus sighed. "Can't you fight a tiny monster for once? The kind that you'd feel bad for stepping on?"

"If I could let you pick the monsters I face, I would," Percy promised. "And only Magnus! The rest of you assholes would take a tiny squishy shape and drop it in water and then it's a demon hippo about to murder me."

"Guilty," Thalia nodded without remorse.

"You got us," Alex snickered while Jason tried to hide his smile behind the book.

"I wouldn't make you fight any monsters," Will said in a pouty kind of voice he wasn't an exception too.

"But then he'd never get any training again," Nico reminded.

Will looked like he was reconsidering his comment now, and Percy crossed his arms triumphantly he'd been right from the start.

... wore only a loincloth, like a sumo wrestler.

"Does he follow the ancient traditional ways too?" Nico asked with honest amusement.

"What monster have I yet faced that had a shred of honor?" Percy scoffed.

... must be Luke's new bodyguard or something.

"That was, cool," Jason tried to say like he meant it.

"I'm guessing that's the guy related to you," Alex used the whole deductive reasoning of him having waves etched into his body to make that brilliant leap. "If so, props for irony."

"No, no I will not be giving props to any giant who is red and has blue waves and is hoarding a flag of my dad," Percy huffed.

"Is it just those specific requirements?" Alex asked.

"For now," Percy frowned.

... the centaur crashed to the dirt beside me. He met my eyes. "Help!"

They had been hazel. His coat had been a speckled grey color.

He was nothing like the Party Ponies, nor did he resemble Chiron in any way. Percy didn't know if Centaurs were like nature spirits and would be reincarnated as a plant in some happy other life.

Percy knew he never learned his name.

... my sword hadn't reappeared in my pocket yet.

Nico still vividly imagined Percy lunging forward barehanded, strangling that giant without a second thought, the dust of his life force dripping through his hands as he brushed himself off and looked around with that smirk and a 'who's next?' Because Percy was supposed to be the hero who would never let anything bad happen to anyone.

Bianca might as well have been rolling her eyes at him, trying to snatch his cards away so he would pay attention to what was really going on. The panic, the guilt on Percy's face as his hands actually spasmed in frustration and concentration, the care he had to put into not actively murdering them all over a memory that pained him.

He still wished his stupid active imagination would end soon and he could burn Percy's made up card and stats already he'd latched onto and be done with it. On the other hand, the idea of hero's had also gotten him through a lot of lonely times and was quite entertaining letting his mind wander for a moment knowing those monsters and hero's could still come to life in his mind on those cards even if it wasn't real.

So long as he kept that in mind, that normal balance, he just let himself smile with sorrow for a moment as the book continued.

..."you won't interfere. This isssn't your fight. Wait your turn."

"What an awful merry go round, I want off this ride," Magnus shivered with a horrible churning in his gut. How on earth had everybody made it out of this alive? If they even had... but he'd gotten pretty good at following Percy's impulses over the last few days. He kept reaching for something in his pocket, though he was fidgeting with his pen in his non-dominant hand to keep himself from fully pulling it out. Percy was agitated, prepared for a fight, but he'd been much, much worse when he felt the sense of somebody being in real danger that wasn't him.

... the sumo dude held out his hand and gave the thumbs down sign.

"Why does that somehow feel more disappointing than if he'd just started chanting death too?" Alex frowned.

"Note to self," Percy said none to quietly.

... They roared their approval.

He would not picture Chiron right now, he would not picture Chiron right now...and yet his mind was as unhelpful as ever as it offered up his mentor, the great white stallion himself crumpling, his camp in ruins. The first slayed in the coming war so no more hero's could be trained if they failed this mission.

... the giant marched out in triumph.

"I hope he dies first when you burn this place down," Thalia said in a calm, deadly voice.

That giant sadly did not even crack the top three of monsters that needed to die first in that place, number one of whom was Luke. He didn't think Thalia would appreciate him correcting that though.

...Luke's jaw tightened. I could tell he didn't like being called son of Hermes.

"Then maybe he should do what the rest of us do and just disown his parentage instead of causing mass casualties in a war," Alex threw his hands up and looked very much like he was trying to explain this to the densest of people.

"He had to be extra about it, I bet Hermes is the god of theatrics too," Magnus grumbled.

... he seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

"Never a great thing for my day," Percy frowned.

"Pessimism like that is why we can't have world peace Percy," Jason chuckled.

"Yes, I'm the problem here," Percy rolled his eyes.

..."A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled. "I want entertainment!"

"And Grover said those tap dancing lessons would be of no use," Alex scoffed, "look at you already needing him."

"I have several good book and movie selections I'd be willing to offer him?" Will said half-heartedly.

"I'm wondering how other people could possibly get through this without a horde of disposable monsters behind them," Jason frowned. "If they just offer themselves up as a tribute, who are they fighting? The sumo guy?"

"I'm sure sumo guy keeps prisoners alive in cells for just that reason," Nico unhappily answered. Whether monster, mortal, or anywhere in between, everyone wound up traversing the labyrinth.

... I have a brother of yours." He pointed at me. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

Percy felt a tidal wave of emotions hit him for that, most of all relief. Tyson was still down in this crazy dangerous place somewhere with Grover, not about to fight him to the death! The relief caused the others to even let out their own sigh of the pressure of the room lifting.

Second was disgust. Geez, he wished he would stop seeing other products of his dad getting around!

The crowd began throwing stones... one caught my cheek.

Percy flinched, his fingers grazing the spot now. It shouldn't be any reflection on the forthcoming fight he was coming into it with a silly cut...but still his worry only grew. This was going to be a nasty fight.

... "A son of Poseidon? Then he should fight well! Or die well!"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Thalia asked with a raised brow.

"That this guy who's name I don't want to pronounce is clearly biased and an idiot, unlike other sons of Poseidon," Percy grinned.

"Oh, okay," she grinned.

...as if warning me that I'd better die in a really spectacular way or I'd be in big trouble.

"Minos wishes he had the kind of vengeance Percy's ghost would cause," Will scoffed.

"Luke really deserves whatever he gets coming, he can't even broker a deal with a cheapskate. Hermes should really disown him himself," Alex nodded.

... He looked stunned for a moment. "Annabeth?"

Percy felt an immediate sense of regretful guilt. Luke probably never would have taken Annabeth onto this quest, it was to dangerous.

And she would have smacked Luke with her knife for trying to leave her behind, Percy found himself smiling instead.

...I stared up at Antaeus. "How can you be a son of Poseidon?"

Not one joke of a family resemblance passed the room, and Percy's smile grew.

"Don't look so smug Percy, we'd never insult Tyson's looks by comparing any of you," Thalia smirked, while Percy sighed.

"I am his favorite son!" Antaeus boomed.

"Psssh, I'm sure he loves all of his kids equally," Will mock tried to correct.

"Oh yeah," Percy grinned, "I don't see Antaeus being kidnapped into the ocean against his will."

"Percy," Thalia frowned at him, "please stop phrasing that like it's a good thing."

... never ask me for a Father's Day card, much less somebody's skull.

"Everybody has their own hobbies?" Will tried to say through an awkward smile.

"I wish Poseidon's was caving this place in ages ago," Thalia scowled.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled at me. "His mother is Gaea! Gae—"

Nico's breath caught. He was grateful to be trapped under the ocean for the first time, because even down here he picked his feet off the floor and looked wearily down to see if a new abyss was opening up. Annabeth had invoked her name, in her own domain...Gaea stirs the ghosts kept whispering in his dreams...

Will felt the distress shivering right off of Nico and watched him for several moments with deep concern. It made total sense if Nico had a thing against the Earth goddess herself after being trapped underground for so long. He wanted to offer him something, comfort, some sense of a promise he didn't have to deal with it alone. Nico had actually reciprocated the last few times he'd tried...but he had hesitated a moment to long, and Jason kept reading. Nico glanced over at him and gave him a weary smile which Will instantly returned, and the look in his eyes seemed grateful enough as he smacked Will's side and muttered about him hogging all of the couch again.

Her captor clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Rude," Alex sniffed with a perfect roll of the r's.

"Like Luke doesn't use every life-line and cheat code at his disposal," Percy agreed with a scowl.

...Maybe just because the guy had two godly parents.

"Don't most monsters?" Magnus asked.

"They're not even two opposing gods, ocean and earth," Jason nodded there seemed no specific connection.

Percy was just to grateful nobody was asking where Gaea and Poseidon connected on the family tree for this to even be possible.

...Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?"

"A flamethrower's been an option this whole time?" Magnus spluttered.

"Sounds like an OP kind of weapon, no good entertainment," Alex said in what he obviously thought was an impression of Antaeus.

...The bronze blade glowed with a faint light.

"Imagine if Riptide had killed any of the monsters in there before and you didn't know," Nico grinned.

Percy gazed down at his pen with a fond smile. Riptide had been Hercules's first, and as much as he loathed the guy now, he had been one hell of a monster slayer.

... a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other— classic gladiator style.

"Someone's trying to earn extra credit," Jason sniffed, his full confidence in every word Percy wouldn't bat an eye at this fight.

"I'll show her some extra practice Chiron taught me," Percy grinned. It was a casual enough expression for him, but there was a hint of something else behind it already. This wasn't just any fight to Percy. He could not lose.

...she vaporized into nothing, and the cheering of the crowd died.

Percy threw his arms wide with a mocking smile.

"I don't think they're very entertained Percy," Thalia said with mock sympathy.

"You should try fireworks, or at least some sparklers," Will offered.

"I could try shoving a grenade in somebody's mouth too," he shrugged as his arms fell. "Oh well, I've never cared what my peers think of me anyways."

... "You've gotten better with the sword. I'll grant you that."

Percy's skin crawled and he fought the urge to gag. Luke praising him once would have been the coolest thing after that very first quest.

...Wait for my call before killing anybody. OR ELSE!"

"Or else you get two thumbs down," Alex said with confidence.

"Remind me not to ever disappoint you," Percy theatrically shivered.

..."Ethan Nakamura," he said. "I have to kill you."

They knew there were other, actual people in Luke's army, Chris's vegetative state still sat heavily on their minds as a constant reminder. Another boy walking through those doors was still the last thing they wanted to hear. Give Percy a rematch with that Chimera, let him go toe to toe with any monster. It would not have been Pleasant, but it still would always feel better than two barely teenagers trying to kill each other.

... "Only way to join up." And with that he charged.

Will swallowed several foul things he'd like to say about that. Gods, he'd never wanted to know any step of the 'process' of Luke inducting kids to his side. Did Janey the seven year old chased to camp by a sphynx and vanished a month later have to prove herself? Did Christopher Sanders, only nine?

He'd been much happier with his own delusional idea every new half-blood that joined Luke's side was in a safe space, a new camp he was building away from this army of monsters being treated like fodder.

...didn't want to entertain monsters, but Ethan wasn't giving me much choice.

Neither were the monsters behind him holding Annabeth and Rachel prisoner. Most people got carrots and sticks, noooo, he got sticks and sticks!

Percy was keeping his anger at the situation mostly in check still. Sometimes there were campers around to watch the goings on in the arena, he'd fought in front of people before and he tried to spend a moment convincing himself Ethan was just a new camper and somebody would blow a whistle before anybody got hurt.

...been fighting with only one eye for a while... excellent at guarding his left.

Jason read that with such interest Percy felt like he was under a microscope. He and Thalia exchanged bemused looks what this guys deal was, he read like he was dying to take notes and probably share them with the class as soon as possible. Percy was now half convinced he must have been tortured by a teacher in his past life and had needed this rescue.

...He needed to impress them. I didn't.

"I don't suppose the case of, you are your own worst critic will come in handy?" Alex offered.

"He clearly judges himself good enough," Percy said with begrudging respect. He'd held his own, though Percy hadn't exactly been fighting all out. He didn't want to kill this guy.

...locked his sword hilt in mine and twisted. His sword dropped into the dirt.

There was no triumphant shout of joy in here. Instead the heavy weight of memory left them all flinching like Percy had gotten another scratch.

Thalia wondered if Luke had seen that, been proud and hopeful Percy would still join his side someday.

Or if he'd just been watching Annabeth, making sure that Giant didn't squeeze the life out of her. She was never sure of his priorities anymore.

...fell on his back, dazed and tired. I put the tip of my sword on his chest.

"You should post videos online," Alex sporadically decided. "You'd go viral, kids would never shut up about the cool thing they learned watching Percy Jackson fight every kind of opponent."

"Um, pass," Percy frowned at the idea of random people walking up to him on the street and congratulating him for kicking a monster sized rat to the curb.

"We can always post the footage of the play we do," Will offered oh so helpfully. "We get some really cool stunts and moves depicting most of it as being fake anyways."

"Will!" Percy spluttered while Alex smiled in delight. "Man you have got to stop with that joke, tell me there's no play!"

Will opened his mouth with a troubling smile on his face that didn't feel like it was going to be a helpful answer before Jason continued anyways.

..."Forget it." I sheathed my sword.

There had been no moment of suspense between those last two sentences. Nobody had thought for a second Percy was going to kill this kid.

There was a sad, lingering silence as Jason took a breath though to realize Ethan had been about to accept it.

..."No one dishonors the games!" Antaeus bellowed.

"Well that's what they get for inviting two Nobody's," Nico rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure Rachel would happily make three if we had time to explain," Percy agreed.

... "When you see your chance, run." Then I turned back to Antaeus.

Jason felt a troubled knot already forming in his gut, and they hadn't even gotten to the escape part yet. Now Annabeth's group was going up to six members? It would be an act of the gods if they all made it out of this alive...

... If you've got Dad's favor, come down here and prove it!"

"Mmm," Alex smacked his lips in appreciation as if just sampling his favorite flavor. "Calling out the big boss to post up or shut up. Gets um every time."

"Yeah," Percy said with a weary sigh of agreement. His bones were already trembling against each other like they were about to break out into song as he scrambled in his mind trying to figure out how he won this one.

... He couldn't say no without looking like a coward.

Thalia did offer Alex a high five which he happily air slapped.

...wrestling since the first pankration!" "Pankration?" I asked.

"I'm assuming that has nothing to do with the rations of the color pink?" Will frowned.

"I said pank, like pain with a k," Jason frowned.

"Potato potato," Will shrugged. "Don't get me started on how hard it is to understand some of yawls accents if I'm not paying attention."

"I swear if we weren't all reading a magic book for dyslexic's we would have murdered each other by now over a fight of spelling Percy's name," Thalia sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

Nico was personally amused at Thalia's point being proven by not one of them actually seeming to stop and think to ask what the heck a pankration was in all their sporadic chatter.

..."No rules. It used to be an Olympic sport."

"And they stopped that one?" Magnus scratched absently at his neck where his hair was tickling him to long. "Man, no wonder the turn out for those is lacking."

"You know how we all say a normal person should be thrown into one of those to see what an average person is like against these trained athletes," Alex smirked. "Yeah, I don't think anybody would be volunteering for this one."

"Except you," Magnus frowned accusingly.

"Yeah, but after I won ten years in a row I bet people would stop volunteering," Alex shrugged.

...Annabeth shook her head, the Laistrygonian's hand still clamped over her mouth.

"You just know she's thinking up some new swears for you she's pissed she can't shout." Thalia said in sympathy. "I've wanted to call you a shrimp faced twit for the last hour."

"And she's much more creative," Percy chuckled.

...I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx."

"Look at you learning your lesson about that," Jason nodded with a slow clap.

"Like it'll do any good," Percy scoffed with a raised eyebrow, well aware even when he won he'd still have to escape Luke next.

..."Good luck," Ethan told me. "You'll need it." Then he backed up quickly.

"Antaeus would probably accuse you of cheating," Will sighed, "but I wished Ethan had volunteered to help you. You just saved his life!"

"He's already helped enough by telling me there's no rules," Percy shrugged with that kind of grin on his face, the light in his green eyes that made all of them brace themselves and wish for a strap on their seats.

... his teeth were etched in wave patterns...must've made brushing a real pain.

Thalia burst out laughing hard. "Like he brushes his teeth."

"Note to self, his breath is probably worse than a dragon's," Percy gagged.

... Luke, you will referee this one." Luke smiled down at me. "With pleasure."

"Percy takes a step and a whistle blows for a foul," Nico rolls his eyes.

"What's a referee even for if there are no rules?" Magnus frowned.

"To judge if the death was worthy," Percy shrugged, "which personally I don't think an immortal should get to be the judge of anyways!" It had never done anyone any good that he could tell.

Nico gave a slight cough and Percy frowned at him for a minute before he just said, "oh," without taking it back and Jason awkwardly moved on. Yeah, Hades had still kidnapped his mom.

...dirt collected around his leg... When it fell away, the wound was gone.

"Well that's, not great," Magnus offered. It really was no guessing he was Annabeth's cousin.

"So I'm imagining a catapult right?" Alex began. "Percy lures him one way while we strip the stadium for parts and once he's strapped in for liftoff we add-"

Now thoroughly convinced Alex was on somebody's watchlist, Jason casually reminded they should focus on what Percy's actual plan was going to be.

...I was thrown across the arena, weaponless.

Percy had no reaction at all to his mind remembering that pain. The bruises he'd have had all along his back, the tense muscles it would take pure ocean water to fix after the stress of this place. His eyes were only on the prize.

...No monster had ever withstood a direct hit from my sword.

"Geryon did," Jason uneasily corrected. "Your blade doesn't always mean you're going to win the fight Percy."

He sounded friendly enough, like he was coaching him, but Percy was to pent up to do more with the advice than nod his thanks.

...Antaeus groped for the hilt, pulled out the sword, and tossed it behind him.

"At least he didn't use it like a toothpick?" Thalia offered.

"I'd have to find a way to burn my sword," Percy shivered.

...sand poured from the wound, but again the earth rose up to cover him.

"How sensitive do you think that ability is?" Nico grinned a very unwelcoming smile. "If he gets a paper cut? If he stubs his toe does mommy make it better?"

"You and Percy are never allowed on the same quest," Will frowned at the idea these two would be playing tennis with each other and the monster was the ball.

...He was just toying with me now. He had me cornered.

"Now the only question left is, are you a wind up toy or do you need batteries or rechargeable, or what?" Thalia tapped her chin.

"I'm the kind that'll bite your hand if you reach for my fries," Percy reminded.

"You could never prove I did that," she sniffed.

...dangling the skulls of his enemies on hooks. Suddenly I had an idea.

"Oooh, here we go again," Magnus sighed.

Nico tried hard not to flinch at that, but it was hard now knowing Bianca had once been a part of Percy's crazy plans.

... The crowd jeered and screamed at Antaeus to finish me off...having too much fun.

"Not so easy now is it," Percy waved at the book like Antaeus was here to show his own hypocrisy to.

"I genuinely worry none of you guys are remotely worried about any of this anymore," Magnus sighed.

"We all deal with stress in our own ways," Alex shrugged.

"Puny boy," he said. "Not a worthy son of the sea god!"

Percy's jaw clenched tight. The entirety of the ocean sparked in his eyes. The easy going smile they all knew to be on him finally slipped away to that look of intense concentration that was born to control more of the surface of the planet than Gaea could.

...He would think my goal was my sword. It wasn't much, but it was all I had.

"You've won worse with less," Thalia said with a dark undertone to her voice that was still waiting for the worst to be revealed.

... He straightened up indignantly and yelled "HEY!"

"You are the definition of a pest," Alex laughed approvingly.

"I will be the unkillable fly!" Percy joyously agreed.

... It took me two tries, but finally I snagged Antaeus's loincloth.

Will gasped and covered his eyes like a dork, Nico snickered for himself, while the others all continued to listen with their mouths hanging open which was just as amusing to Percy. His hands ached from the callouses he'd ruptured and he wouldn't be surprised to be picking unpleasant things out of his palms for weeks after this...but that friendly smile was already right back in place as his confidence grew.

... I don't know how I did it. My mom always said I have a gift for getting stuff tangled up...

Anyway,

"Yeah, like that's ever something somebody should just talk right past," Magnus frowned.

"Do you want to stop and discuss all of those bullet points?" Percy asked in shock. "Because I can personally promise if we start with just the one about all my tangled up shoe laces we'll be here a good twenty minutes."

Magnus sighed in defeat. "Anyways..."

"Correct answer," Jason nodded.

..."Free him!" Luke ordered. "He is our host!"

"Does anyone else feel like he just said that out of obligation," Jason rolled his eyes.

Six hands went up and Jason looked way to pleased about getting a unanimous vote that at least three of them promised not to do it again on principle.

...too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to help him.

"I guess some birds shouldn't be kicked out of their nest," Nico snorted.

"That is somehow the opposite of what just happened," Thalia looked at him mildly.

"And yet it still works," Nico shrugged.

... grinning skulls dancing above me like they had finally had something to smile about.

"So which one did you claim as your trophy Percy?" Alex asked with a clear winner in his mind.

"None," Percy frowned.

"I would have taken the sand, put him in an hour glass so he never misses game night," Alex sighed at his clear lack of creativity. Percy was mildly offended after the way he'd just thought up killing that monster, but really, would it do him any good to argue the point?

..."I should have killed you long ago!" "You tried," I reminded him.

"And thankfully, practice doesn't seem to make perfect in this case," Thalia grumbled.

"Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes progress," Will said with chipper. Of course, he knew everybody came out of it alive, but to everyone else he sounded a wee bit like a maniac.

... since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll have you killed quickly."

Percy had seen it coming, he was in no way surprised, and yet he still hadn't come up with a second part to his brilliant plan to actually get them out of this!

Jason fiddled with the pages for a few seconds as he wondered at Luke casually ordering Percy's execution. Had he lost all hope of recruiting him and claiming the Prophecy for his side? Did he somehow think he could talk Thalia out of her oath and use that to his advantage?

They were questions without an answer.

... "I would speak to her before our great triumph."

Thalia wished that would stop hurting her so much every time. To hear her friend wounded, looking desperately for help in his family, and knowing Annabeth would not give it to him. He was hurting them both, and no matter how she longed to just cut ties with him completely, Luke was to far gone to see any other way.

... We were trapped. Hopelessly outnumbered.

"Yeah, yeah, how many times have I heard that before," Thalia yawned, mock checking a watch she did not wear.

"Until you let me borrow your fart arrows, you're not allowed to be that confident about my mortality," Percy frowned.

"Hard pass," Thalia said while patting his forehead.

...made no sound as it shattered into shards of ice, melting in my hand.

Now Jason couldn't help an accidental dramatic pause as his mind whirled with possibilities of all the ends and outs, paths and plans that could lead to Mrs. O'Leary showing up at this time, friend or foe...until Thalia smacked him and said, "stop leaving everyone in suspense if this chain saw massacre lives another hour."

"That is the coolest thing you've ever called me Thals," Percy grinned.

"Don't make me regret it," she grinned right back.

Luke laughed. "What was that supposed to do?"

"Actually summon a taxi, guess nobody's invented an app for that yet," Nico snipped.

... Kelli the empousa screamed as a five-hundred-pound black mastiff picked her up like a chew toy and tossed her through the air, straight into Luke's lap.

"Dang I love this dog," Thalia yelled like she'd just won them a game against Air Bud at the playoffs.

"She gets extra treats and belly rubs for life," Alex cooed for the good girl. Magnus swallowed automatic revulsion and decided he'd better start getting used to this dog.

... For a moment the monsters in the audience were caught completely by surprise.

"Always nice when you surprise the monsters that have seen everything," Percy grinned, his talent for startling Chiron getting a nice flip side on the bad guys.

"The only thing that would make this moment better was if she was a pink poodle instead of a massive tank dog," Alex chuckled.

... the disorganized sounds of an entire army trying to follow us.

"I hope those monsters all trampled each other like you were a Black Friday sale," Alex grinned.

"Who knew it was so easy to relate these monsters to real life problems," Magnus frowned.

Jason sighed his turn was up while he was still mapping out strategies of how to funnel the monsters in one by one while tossing Mrs. O'Leary some bacon bits as he got up to hand the book off.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

Gods do I wish Hunger Games had come out just a few years earlier! I wanted to make so many references...