Leo

        When we reached the first archway the farting weasel found us.

        "Not the farting weasel again. If that thing gets loose in close quarters like this, with my fire and all, we're gonna explode." I complained, earning a barked insult from it.

        "Stop it, you two! We don't have anytime to waste, let's go!" says Hazel. I gave the weasel one last glare before following after Hazel.

        Hazel's face suddenly darkened, "Leo, be ready, we're getting close." she whispered.

        "Close to what?" I asked, I wasn't sure if she meant the Doors of Death or to this Pasiphy-woman or Porphyri--

        "Close to me." said a woman's voice. Hazel and I stood, unmoving, but for some reason we suddenly ended up three hundred feet down the corridor, at an entrance of a chamber. "Welcome," said the woman's voice. "I've looked forward to this."

        I looked around searching for an exit, but I saw none. Then when I looked at the center of the room, I saw doors, elevator doors, standing fifty feet away, their panels etched in silver and iron. Rows of chains ran down either side, bolting the frame to large hooks in the floor. The floor around the door was littered with black rubble. I met Hazel's eyes, "Yep, those are doors, all right. The Doors of Death." She suddenly tightened her fists, she was upset because an ancient altar of Hades had once stod there, and it was destroyed to make room for the Doors.

        "Where are you?" she shouted.

        "Don't you see us?" the voice taunted. "I thought Hecate chose you for your skill." I comeback from Hazel, but instead it was the weasel, who had also farted, and that didn't help one bit. In other circumstances, I would've given the farting weasel a mean glare, but now wasn't the perfect timing.

        Suddely, it seemed like everything was turning black. Just as I thought I was going blind a giant twenty-foot-tall shadow loomed next to the Doors. I assumed this was the giant Clytius, he was shrouded in black smoke and his legs looked dragon-like with ash-colored scales his hair was long and braided that seemed to be made out of smoke and he had a massive Stygian armor, he carried no weapons, but that didn't make him any less terrifying. And damn he had a very feminine voice. He'd be great at imitating a woman asking for help out in the streets. Poor guys who only wanted to help.

        I whistled, "You know, Clytius, for such a big dude, you've got a beautiful voice."

        "Idiot," hissed the woman's voice, I didn't see Clytius lips moved at all. It's either he was telepathic or someone else was here and she was the owner of the voice.

        Suddenly, the air shimmered in between us and Clytius. A woman appeared, wearing an elegant sleeveless dress that seemed to be of woven gold, her dark hair piled into a con on top of her head, encircled with diamonds and emeralds. Around her neck hung a pendant like a miniature maze, on a cord set with rubies. The woman was beautiful in a timeless regal way, but she was cold, not cold like Khione, but like a statue, her eyes sparkled with malice, she can never compare to Calypso who radiated warmth, none of the could.

        Now is not the time, Valdez!

        "Pasiphae," Hazel said.

        The woman inclined her head, "My dear Hazel Levesque.."

        I snorted, and I tried to hide it with a cough. "You two know each other? Like Underworld chums, or--"

        "Silence, fool." Pasiphae said, her voice was soft but full of venom. "I have no use for demigod boys--always so full of themselves, so brash and destructive."

        "Hey lady," I said, "I don't destroy things, I create things, son of Hephaestus here."

        "A tinkerer," snapped Pasiphae. "Even worse. I knew Daedalus, his inventions brought me nothing but trouble."

        I blinked. "Like Daedalus. . .the Daedalus? Well then you should know us tinkerers. We're more into fixing, building, occasionally sticking wads of oilcloth in the mouths of rude ladies like y--"

        "Leo," Hazel put her arm across my chest. "Let me take this, okay?"

        "Listen to your friend, boy," Pasiphae said. "Let the women talk." she paced in front of us, like she was debating whether to turn me into something unpleasant, but she had her eyes on Hazel, examining her, eyes so full of hate.

        "You're--you're friend doesn't say much." Hazel noted, breaking the cold stony silence. Pasiphae turned to look at the giant and sniffed with disdain. "Pray he stays silent, my dear, you have no idea what will happen when he talks," Pasiphae leaned near to Hazel, "Gaea has given me the pleasure of dealing with you, but Clytius is my. . .insurance. Just between you and me, as sister sorceresses, i think he's also here to keep my powers in check, in case I forget my new orders. Gaea is careful that way."

        "Whatever you're planning," Hazel said, "It won't work. We've cut through every monster Gaea's out in our path. If you're smart as you say you are, you'll get out of our way."

        The farting weasel gnashed its teeth in approval, but Pasiphae didn't seem impressed.

        "You don't look like much," the sorceress mused. "But then you demigods never do. My husband, Minos, king of Crete? He was a son of Zeus. You would never have known it by looking at him. e was almost as scrawny as that one." She flicked a hand toward Leo.

        "Wow," I muttered. "Minos must've done something really horrible to deserve you."

        Pasiphae's nostril's flared. "Oh. . .you have no idea. He was too proud to make proper sacrifices to Poseidon, so the gods punished me for his arrogance."

        "The Minotaur." Hazel said. Well, this rude lady gave birth to the Minotaur, because Minos didn't make proper sacrifices to Poseidon, well, the ironic thing is, Percy, defeated the Minotaur twice. The first time he didn't even know what he was doing. I heard many triumphant stories of Percy back at Camp Half-Blood, and this was one of them.

        "Yes, my disgrace was unbearable. After my son was born and locked in the Labyrinth, Minos refused to have anything to do with me. He said I ruined his reputation! While it was his fault in the first place. And you know what happened, Hazel Levesque? He was rewarded! He was made a judge of the dead in the Underworld, as if he had any right to judge others! Hades gave him that position, your father." I don't blame Pasiphae for hating Minos, it seemed like the dude was a big douche bag. It was his fault in the first place.

        "Pluto, actually." said Hazel.

        Pasiphae sneered. "Irrelevant. So you see, I hate demigods as much as gods. Any of your brethren who survive the war, Gaea has promised me, so that I may watch them die slowly in my new domain. I only wish I had more time to torture you two properly. Alas--"

        In the center of the room, the Doors of Death made a pleasant chiming sound. The green UP button on the right side of the frame began to glow. The chains shook.

        "There you see?" Pasiphae shrugged apologetically. "The Doors are being used by someone else. Twelve minutes, they will open."

        "More giants?" asked Hazel.

        "Thankfully, no. They are all accounted for--back in the mortal world in place for in place for the final assault. Pasiphae gave us a cold smile. "No, the doors are being used by someone else. . .someone unauthorized."

        I clenched my smoking fists, realizing who she meant. "Percy and Annabeth."

        "Oh, not to worry," Pasiphae waved her hand dismissively. "Clytius will deal with them. You see when the chime sounds again, someone on our side needs to push the button UP button or the Doors will fail to open and whoever is inside--poof. Gone Or perhaps Clytius will deal with them in person. That depends on you two."

        "How exactly does it depend on us?" asked Hazel.

        "Well, obviously, we only need one set of demigods alive, the lucky two will be taken to Athens and be sacrificed to Gaea at the Feast of Hope."

        "Obviously," I muttered.

        "So, will it be you two, or your friends in the elevator? Let's see who is still alive in twelve. . .actually, eleven minutes, now.

        The cavern dissolved in darkness.