Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson, nor Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan does

Percy's POV:

I can officially say that I prefer fighting monsters constantly over giving Rachel Dare a tour of camp. I had just finished with the tour and I flopped onto my bed in my cabin too tired to notice Tyson looking at me with concern.

"Brother what's wrong?" He asked and I turned my head over to him

"Never giving Rachel a tour again. I would rather fall into Tartarus than spend another minute with the love-struck girl" I said in an exhausted tone

Instinct had passed out around the rock wall as he didn't want to deal with Rachel, and I couldn't fault him for it.

Tyson just dropped what looked like a fish stick and a croissant roll into what looked like tartar-sauce, at what I just implied. I just chuckled at his face too tired to be angry that he was eating fish.

"But why would you want to go to Tartarus brother?" Tyson asked and I noticed his eye tearing up and I sighed

"Tyson, I don't want to go there, but I really don't want to spend another moment with Rachel, she is way to clingy and I don't like it. I already have feelings for someone" I say honestly and Tyson nods and looks down and frowns at the tartar-sauce covered food and mutters something that sounded like 'symbolism'

Not caring what he meant I faced the ceiling and let out a long yawn as I closed my eyes getting ready for the event that was taking place tomorrow.

~

I woke up the next morning and slipped out of my cabin early and walked to the training arena where I heard someone training. I frowned and walked in and the first thing I noticed was a massive hell hound laying down curled up and asleep. I drew Riptide and uncapped the magical blade but as I prepared to charge I noticed that it had a collar.

'So that is the hellhound Dionysus mentioned yesterday, cool. Now we have a nigh-invulnerable tank and a massive hellhound, what's next? A Giant scorpion?' Instinct asks tiredly and I chuckled as I shook myself awake as I scanned the room and saw Quintus going through a complicated technique and I walked over to him

"Hey, Quintus, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked and Quintus stopped moving and turned around

"Ah, the young Hero, Perseus Jackson I presume?" Quintus asked and I nodded but frowned

"Just Percy please" I said and I saw him tense slightly but relaxed quickly

"Alright, what did you need to talk to me about?" He asked and I smiled slightly

"Mind if I help instruct with you today?" I gave him my best pleading face and I could see his resolve melting but it came back in an instant

"Why?" he asked curiously and I sighed and slumped my shoulders

"I want to avoid Rachel at all costs. She is clingy as anything and I think it's bad for my health" I say seriously and Quintus nods

"Very well, but there will be no slacking unless you are taking a break. When you help train, you will be constantly moving, and by the looks of your arsenal, changing weapons often. I will have you spar against the more experienced campers while I train the younger ones, alright?" Quintus says and I fist pump

"Certainly, but the first person I want to fight is Shane, Guardian of Dionysus and daughter of Demeter" I say confidently and Quintus looks stunned

"Are you sure? She is a guardian for a reason you know." Quintus says worried about me

"I'll be fine. What's the worse she can do? Except for use my head as a new yo-yo" I say sarcastically and Quintus chuckles as the aforementioned Guardian walks through the doors

"I heard my name and someone saying, 'new yo-yo'" Shane says as she notices me holding Riptide and her eyes widen "How in Phoenix's and Nico's father's name did you get Zoe to give you that?"

"I am a very talented person, in fact, she gave it to me right before my dance with Artemis." I say calmly and Shane's jaw drops before she closes it and just shakes her head

"You are one of a kind Perseus, I'll give you that" Shane said as she took a fighting stance "Now, I also heard you wanted to try your luck at beating a guardian eh? I will warn you though, the only ones to be able to beat me are Phoenix and Percy" She finished as she flung her Yo-yo to the side and I watched in amazement as it disappeared and her sword appeared

"Well, I guess I will have to get myself on that list" I say as I get into a comfortable stance using Riptide with both hands

"Well, you can try," Shane said as she waited for me to put my hood up "Aren't you going to put your hood up?" She asks and I shake my head

"Don't need it, now come on" I say as Instinct fully wakes up and I feel my senses heightening

Third Person POV:

Shane raced forward at incredible speeds, but Percy just met her charge and swung Riptide down diagonally across her chest. Shane blocked it and thrusted forward attempting to end this fight quickly as she knew how powerful and skilled the son of Poseidon was.

However, her attempts at a quick and easy match failed as Percy spun out of the way of her thrust. Percy then went on the offensive, he feinted quickly but as Shane went to block it, Percy stopped mid strike and got inside her guard, he then Sparta kicked her back. She stayed standing but was stunned at how easily the demigod could stop his strike to do something completely unexpected.

Before Shane could recover and try to take back the offensive, Percy surged forward, the look on the demigod's face was the thing of nightmares. It wasn't a face of anger, or rage or any emotion, it was blank, his normally mirth filled, mischievous sea green eyes were now a dark green, one that you would find at the depths of the sea. But what scared her the most was not the color or what it represented, it was the lack of self-preservation she didn't see, it was as if he knew he was going to win and survive, and he did not care how many injuries he would get. This is the side of the demigod that everyone feared, this was what his name meant, Perseus, the destroyer.

Percy thrust forward and Shane had abandoned all thoughts of going on offensive for the time being and focusing solely on protecting herself. She parried the strike and attempted to counter but was forced to duck as she found Riptide already flying toward her.

Shane dropped into a roll to get behind Percy but was stunned to see him already mid-swing with a heavy downwards strike. Shane blocked the attack and kicked Percy back far enough to give herself some breathing room.

Shane was panting already despite the fact the match was had lasted only three minutes. She glanced around quickly trying to find anything she could use to her advantage but before she could think of anything she was forced to defend herself from an onslaught of attacks. She blocked, parried, and countered when she could but nothing connected with the son of Poseidon. He moved so fluidly, she almost believed he was water and not an actual human.

Quintus watched in a stunned silence as the Guardian of Dionysus was forced on pure defense in a matter of moments. He knew the fifteen-year-old was good, but from the stories he has heard, he thought people were exaggerating the skill this kid had. But now that he has seen the Son of Poseidon in combat even if it was only for a few minutes so far, he felt that they were downplaying the kid's skill.

Percy struck like lightning; quick, fast, and deadly. Every strike he made would have killed Shane had she not been trained the way she was, that and he knew not to cause serious harm to Dionysus' guardian. After a few more minutes of Shane being on defense, Percy quickly preformed a disarming technique and sent Shane's blade flying out of her hands and put the tip of Riptide under her chin.

"I concede, I know when I'm beat" Shane said tiredly

Shane's POV:

I watched as Perseus' eyes lightened and returned to their normal color and regained the mirth and mischievousness. I sighed in relief as he smirked at me and pulled Anaklusmos back and capped the sword before putting it back into his pocket.

"I told you I would add my name to that list" Perseus commented cheekily and I rolled my eyes as I walked over to my sword and willed it back into its yo-yo form

"You got lucky" I said weakly but he just kept smirking

Percy's POV:

'Dude, I think we scared her for a moment there' Instinct commented humorously and I agreed as I watched Shane turn around and walk out, playing with her Yo-yo sword

"I have to say, you are one remarkable swordsmen Percy" Quintus commented and I turned to him and gave him an over-exaggerated bow

"Thank you, Sir Quintus, Master of sword fighting skills and techniques" I said sarcastically as I bow again and Quintus' face turned to one that conveyed the message 'I am not amused' perfectly

"Could you lay off the sarcasm? I can smell it from here" Quintus said and I laughed before tapping a finger to my chin in mock thought

"Nah, I'm good. I would rather not lose my greatest weapon" I say cheekily as the first group of campers walk in and I notice Rachel with them "Shit!" I yelp as I run behind the hell hound who woke up during my fight with Shane

"Quintus, have you seen Percy?" I heard Rachel ask and I prayed to every god I knew of to let Quintus cover for me

"No, I have not seen him. Have you checked his cabin?" Quintus asked

"Yeah, and he wasn't in there. I thought maybe he was at the Arena training." Rachel said worriedly and I kept mentally thanking Quintus for covering for me

"I thought I saw him at the Lake" I heard Connor say and I smiled knowing that the Hermes Cabin had my back as well

"Yeah, he was just getting out and it looked like he was heading to the rock wall" Travis said and I let out a sigh of relief

"Alright, thanks guys!" Rachel said enthusiastically and I heard her run out of the arena

"Coast is clear Percy" Quintus said and I walked out from behind the hellhound and scratched her head which she seemed to like

"Thank you guys so much for that, you have no idea how much that means to me" I say as the entire Hermes Cabin smiles and nods at me

Quintus just chuckled as I walked over to stand by him.

"Today, Percy will be assisting me in training you all" Quintus said and everyone's jaws dropped

"Why not Luke? He has been here longer than Percy" I heard Annabeth say as she walked in with a confused face

"Has Luke ever beaten Shane in a fight?" Quintus asked and everyone just looked at me, their mouths still wide open

"No, but no one is able to beat Shane, she is like the final test to see if a demigod is ready for the outside world" Luke says and Quintus smirks

"Well, Percy here just beat Shane right before you walked in" Quintus explained before he chuckled "It started off as an even fight, but then it quickly turned into Shane being put solely on defense as Percy struck like lightning, fast quick and deadly. That's the only way to describe the ferocity and speed of the attacks that Percy sent towards Shane" Quintus said cheerfully and everyone stared at me in fear

"Don't worry he is just over exaggerating it. It was a tough fight, believe me" I said humbly and everyone relaxed and smiled

"I'm sure glad you're on our side Perce. If you were on the enemies' team, I would probably just cut my losses and join you" A random Hermes camper said and everyone nodded "In fact, anyone who goes against us is a fool" the camper said and I chuckled

"Alright, enough of that, you all know the rules of sparing. Luke will be the first to fight Percy, those who aren't fighting can either watch or train against the dummies, the younger campers are training with me" Quintus announced and I made my way over to the fighting area and waited for Luke

Luke came over a minute later and we both took a fighting stance.

"Good Luck" I stated and Luke nodded as a crowd surrounded us

~(After dinner and everyone is preparing for the event)~

I was strapping on a set of lightweight armor over my other clothing when Chiron and Dionysus came over to me. I faced Dionysus and bowed slightly and he rolled his eyes.

"Perseus, are you ready? Who is your partner?" Chiron asked and I looked around

"I am" I heard Nico say and I smiled as I ruffled his hair "Hey!" He cried indignantly

"Yeah, Nico here is my partner" I said and Dionysus smirked while Chiron smiled gently

"Very well, remember. Find it, then tell us" Dionysus said and I nodded

'Or, we could find it. Tell Nico to go and tell them, and we go out on our own to find secret paths to lead us places so Quests won't take as long' Instinct said and I agreed

"Good luck you two" I heard Luke call to me and I smiled at him

Quintus stepped onto a raised platform and cleared his throat. Everyone turned to him as he started speaking.

"Attention, Campers, the goal of this exercise is to better your teamwork, as well as communication. There are giant scorpions that have a small pouch attached to their tails. Your goal is to get all five of these pouches, now I do understand that you might not be lucky and find all five monsters, so whoever has the most of these pouches will win. Furthermore, there will be other monsters in here as well, so good luck" Quintus announced and he sent us off

Everyone started running into the forest, Nico was by my side wielding a Stygian Iron sword and wearing light armor like me. As soon as I knew we were out of sight of everyone else I turned and made beeline toward Zeus' fist.

"Percy, where are we going?" Nico asked as we ran through the forest

I spun around and back pedaled as I looked at Nico.

"I found something the other day and I need to check it out for Dionysus and Chiron" I say as I jump over a branch and continue back pedaling

'Duck' Instinct instructed and I bent forward just narrowly avoiding getting concussed by a branch

"Alright, but this better be an important find" Nico said excitedly and I smiled as I spun around and leapt over a rock

We broke into a clearing and I noticed Zeus' fist, right in front of us. We ran to the pile of boulders when I heard something land behind us with almost complete silence. I spun around and saw a truly nightmare inducing sight.

'Next time, don't jinx anything' I muttered to Instinct as we saw a giant scorpion with a blue bag stalk towards us

"Nico, go into the crevasse in the boulders on this side wait for me there" I instructed and Nico nodded as he ran into the hole in the boulders

I pull Riptide out of my pocket and uncap it before tapping my watch to summon my shield. The monster rears its tail back before striking at me. I jump back so my back is against Zeus' fist. Suddenly Instinct appears to the side and smirks.

"Hey Ugly! Come on!" Instinct yells and the Scorpion turns to Instinct and I slip into the hole in the boulders as Instinct returns to my head

'Thanks' I think to him and he nods mentally as I reach the center of the hole where I see Nico looking at a faint blue glow in the shape of a delta symbol

"Go ahead, press it. I know you want to" I say and Nico whirls around and holds his heart as he backs up into the symbol

"You nearly gave me a heart atta..." Was all he got out as the floor beneath us opened and we fell into the Labyrinth

We hit the ground and I looked around, and what we saw didn't amaze us, it was pitch black, I couldn't even see my own hand.

"P-Percy, where are we?" Nico asked fear very evident in his voice

"We're in a maze, now Nico, I want you to go tell Chiron and Dionysus alright?" I say as I condense the lingering water vapor in the air and feel the rough outline of a ladder behind Nico

"O-Okay" Nico stammers out as I lead him to the ladder and he starts climbing it until he reaches the top where he sees another blue delta symbol and presses it

The stone moves back and Nico climbs out. Once he's out I turn to the maze and I feel power flow through me steadily and a light appears directly where I am looking.

'So, the glowing eyes double as a flashlight, good to know, now let's get going' Instinct says and I laugh as I start racing down the corridors

Nico's POV:

As soon as I get out of the maze I rush out of the crack in the boulders, not even bothering looking for the giant scorpion. I raced through the forest stumbling over roots and rocks trying to get to Chiron.

"Oh gods, I need to get to Chiron as fast as possible" I panted to myself as I decided it would be quicker to try a trick I've been practicing

I ran towards a shadow and imagined myself dissolving into it and reappearing next to Chiron. As soon as my foot hit the shadow I felt myself drop into it and get launched forward before rocketing out of the shadow of a tree and slamming into an Apollo camper who I remembered as Will Solace.

"What the Hades!" I heard Will yell but I disregarded him as I picked myself up and ran to Chiron

"Nico my dear boy, where is Percy" He asked worriedly

"Percy... Zeus' fist... glowing blue triangle... maze... need a nap" I said panting

Dionysus eyes widened as Chiron sighed and shook his head. I slowly closed my eyes as I collapsed from Shadow traveling.

Luke's POV:

When I heard that Percy was missing I started to freak out, along with the rest of the camp. And for good reason, to lose our strongest fighter in the middle of the war, he could have been kidnapped, or worse, captured by Kronos' army.

"Wait, what happened to Percy?" I heard Rachel ask and I rolled my eyes

"He and Nico stumbled into what is known as the Labyrinth" Chiron says "Apparently, Percy told Nico to come and tell us about it while I think he stayed behind for some unknown reason." As soon as Chiron finished, the entire camp went into an uproar

"HE'S A TRAITOR!" someone yelled

"NO, HE IS NOT! HE WAS PROBABLY CAPTURED" I heard Katie Gardener yell

"HE RAN OFF TO DO SOMETHING STUPID!!" Connor and Travis yelled and for some reason I found that to be the most logical

"SILENCE!!" Dionysus yelled as his eyes flashed a dark purple color

Instantly, everyone stopped talking. They all stared at Dionysus in fear.

"Perseus is not a traitor, that much we know. Now, there will be a quest issued to someone to try and find our dear friend Perseus, who is willing to go" Dionysus asked and I instantly raised my hand along with Annabeth Grover, Tyson and almost the entire camp "Annibell will be the leader of the quest, you leave as soon as possible"

With that, Annabeth turned on her heel and raced towards the attic of the big house to get her quest.

'Percy what have you gotten yourself into now?' I thought to myself as I walked to the big house along with the rest of the camp

Percy's POV:

"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!" I chanted as I ran through the tunnels and corridors of the Labyrinth being chased by something large and angry

'What have you gotten us into now!' Instinct shouted at me and I rolled my eyes

'You were thinking the same thing' I replied mentally and then we both had another crazy idea

I quickly pivoted on my right foot and swung Riptide around as the massive monster that we couldn't see reached us.

"Hey, try to make it a point to not chase people aight?" I said as Riptide bit into the black beast right in between the eyes causing it to turn to dust

'Well, now that, that crisis is averted let's keep going, I'm feeling something up for more exploration' Instinct said and I smiled and kept walking, my eyes providing the light needed to see.

After a few minutes, I reach a room that seems isolated with a podium in the center of the room. On that podium was a pair of looked like vambraces with blades hidden on the underside of them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I say intrigued as I step into the room and pick the vambraces up "These seem..." I trail off

'Familiar?' Instinct supplied and I nodded

"Yeah, familiar..."

A/N: How did you like the chapter? I don't have time to write a proper A/N so, until next time my Fellow Demigods and Demigoddesses, Take Care!

~Major Nich