CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

₊˚࿐࿔ 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉. 𓏲｡

Percy Jackson's funeral was June 27th and held in the amphitheater.

Smoke rose so they could burn his shroud—Mickey had made it, despite her fit of rage earlier in the week. It was a long green silk burial cloth, embroidered with a trident. Sylvie gripped it tightly in her hands as she stood with Annabeth and Chiron. It must've been a pitiful sight—Annabeth, with her reddened eyes from crying, and Sylvie, with her emotionless expression and braid so messy that it was barely a braid anymore. Chiron didn't look like he wanted to speak, but he stepped forward and began the ceremony anyways.

"We all know why we're here right now," Chiron said, shifting in discomfort. "The quest group that entered the Labyrinth faced a treacherous journey. Percy Jackson in particular heroically sacrificed himself on Mount St. Helens two weeks ago. While we have been holding out hope for his perseverence and survival, we must now assume he is dead." Chiron paused, trying not to seem as devastated as he was. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friends to do the final honors."

Sylvie, hands shaking, brought the shroud over to the flames. She set it on fire. It took all of her effort to turn and face the audience.

Somehow, she managed to say, "Um, Percy—" her voice immediately cracked. That wasn't a good sign. "Percy was probably the best person I know—Or, knew, I guess... He was loyal and kind and funny and smart and strong, and he was so amazing that he barely even realized any of that. He was everything, really." Sylvie swallowed past the choking of her throat. "Percy sacrificed himself for us, because that's the type of person he was. I was really fortunate to know him. We all were. And now that he's..." she couldn't finish. "Let's just keep on going, okay? Live without fear. It's what he would want."

Don't be afraid without me, Applejack.

Before Sylvie broke into tears in front of everyone, her wobbly legs walked herself back by Annabeth and Chiron. If she said one more word she would keel over. So, instead, she looked at Annabeth, as it was her turn to speak. Sylvie and Annabeth shared a nod, and just that gesture alone said so much.

Annabeth added, "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He..." Then her face went blood red. "He's right there!"

Sylvie's head whipped to where Annabeth pointed, as did everyone else's. The campers gasped.

Annabeth wasn't lying. It really was him. It was Percy.

He was standing there, crashing his own funeral, like nothing had gone wrong. He was healthy, and he had that messy black hair, and he wore his signature troublemaker smile, and he was standing right there.

"Percy!" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded around Percy and clapped him on the back. There were a few curses from the Ares cabin, but Clarisse just rolled her eyes, like she couldn't believe Percy had the audacity to survive. Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him.

"Well," he sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me—"

Sylvie ran forward and shoved Percy back with an unreadable expression. He stumbled back a little, face shocked. But nothing could have surprised him more than when Sylvie immediately faltered, stood on her toes, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She hugged him.

Percy returned the embrace right after.

"'Sup," he grinned.

Sylvie hit Percy in the back, then tightened her grip, wishing she could strangle him. "You're such a stubborn asshole, Perseus Jackson."

"Yeah, I've been told that before."

Before either of them knew it, Sylvie was being yanked as hard as she could away from Percy. For a moment, Sylvie thought it was Annabeth wishing to greet Percy, but everyone gasped in shock when Mickey charged forward to slam Percy in the chest.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Mickey interrupted. Sylvie thought she was going to punch him, and she probably was, if Phoenix hadn't held her back. It was odd for Mickey to be the angry one and Phoenix trying to calm her down.

Percy just blinked back stupidly.

Then Annabeth appeared. "Well?" she interrogated, in regards to Mickey's question. She hugged him almost as fierce as Sylvie had. "We thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry," Percy said. "I got lost."

"LOST?" Mickey and Annabeth yelled in unison—only, one of them tried to pounce at him, and the other didn't. Take your guesses as to who fell into what category.

Phoenix wrangled Mickey to the back of the crowd, trying to drag her back to the cabin.

"Two weeks, Perce," Sylvie could barely breathe. "Two weeks. Where in the world—"

"Sylvie," Chiron interrupted. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

Without waiting for them to protest, ignoring the fact he usually only carried two campers at once, Chiron picked up Sylvie, Percy, and Annabeth as easily as if they were kittens. He slung them all onto his back, and galloped off toward the Big House.

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Sylvie could tell Percy didn't tell them the whole story.

He explained how he'd caused the explosion at Mount St. Helens and gotten blasted out of the volcano. He told them he'd been marooned on an island. Then Hephaestus had found him and told Percy he could leave. A magic raft had carried him back to camp.

Sylvie believed all that was true, but it wasn't the whole story.

"You've been gone two weeks." Annabeth's voice was steadier now, but she still looked pretty shaken up. "When we heard the explosion, I thought—"

"I know," Percy said. "I'm sorry. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

"He told you the answer?" she asked.

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do. I understand now."

Percy told them his idea.

Sylvie couldn't even look in his direction.

"Percy," Annabeth's jaw dropped, "that's crazy!"

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne."

"But this is my quest," Annabeth said. "I need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

"And this is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy said. "But it's true."

"Oh, shut up, island boy!" Annabeth glared at him. "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!"

And she stormed out of the room.

"Sylv?" she heard Percy say. "It's not that bad of an idea, right?"

Sylvie finally looked over to him. She finally met those green eyes, and the only thing they made her feel, was sick.

"The best," Sylvie answered stiffly.

"Sylvie," he pleaded.

She stood up in her chair, right hand fidgeting with her fingerless glove. "Tell the truth," Sylvie ordered. "Were you on Ogygia with Calypso?"

Percy looked like he'd been hit with a hundred bricks. For a moment, it was just that. Sylvie staring down at Percy, fists slowly clenching tighter, and Percy staring up at Sylvie, going pale in the face.

"Wh—" His voice sounded like it hadn't been used in years. "How'd you... What?"

"Were you," Sylvie asked firmly, "or were you not with Calypso for those two weeks?"

Another long pause from Percy's end. It looked like his breathing was speeding up, and his eyes darted hastily around the room. Like he was desperate for help, but there was no one to give it.

Finally, Percy connected their eyes again.

"Yes," he forced out, like it physically pained him.

Sylvie let out a laugh, but the methodical noise had never sounded so ugly. It cracked a little, just like Sylvie's heart was doing on the inside.

"I'm such an idiot," she huffed.

Then Sylvie stormed out of the room, too.

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Let it be known that Sylvie would have preferred Percy Jackson be dead than find out he was spending two weeks in luxury with a beautiful sorceress who Sylvie couldn't even compete with.

Was this entirely the truth? No. But she wasn't the only one lying lately.

This time when Sylvie boarded herself up in her cabin, it wasn't out of grief. It was out of the sheer embarrassment that Sylvie had ever believed she was more than a friend to Percy Jackson. It was a laughable idea for Sylvie to ever let herself think he'd actually kissed her at Mount St. Helens. Because Sylvie was Sylvie, and Percy could never want an undesirable being like her. Not when there's girls like Calypso or Rachel Elizabeth Dare out there.

What chance did Sylvie have?

And, now, Sylvie knows what you're thinking. It couldn't get any worse for her. There was absolutely no way the gods despised her so much. They wouldn't add more heavy shit on top of the already present heavy shit she was dealing with.

Wrong!

When Sylvie went to bed that night, she was in a horrible mood. Unpleasant dreams found her in her state of unconsciousness, and she wasn't even surprised.

In this dream, Sylvie was underground in a stone chamber. Luke and another half-blood warrior were studying a map by flashlight. For once, it wasn't Eurydice.

Sylvie hated herself that she was disappointed because of that.

Luke cursed. "It should've been the last turn." He crumpled up the map and tossed it aside.

"Sir!" his companion protested.

"Maps are useless here," Luke said. "Don't worry. I'll find it."

"Sir, is it true that the larger the group—"

"The more likely you'll get lost? Yes, that's true. Why do you think we sent out solo explorers to begin with? But don't worry. As soon as we have the thread, we can lead the vanguard through."

"But how will we get the thread?"

Luke stood, flexing his fingers. "Oh, Quintus will come through. All we have to do is reach the arena, and it's at a juncture. Impossible to get anywhere without passing it. That's why we must have a truce with its master. We just have to stay alive until—"

"Sir!" a new voice came from the corridor. Another guy in Greek armor ran forward, carrying a torch. "The dracaenae found a half-blood!"

Luke scowled. "Alone? Wandering the maze?"

"Yes, sir! You'd better come quick. They're in the next chamber. They've got him cornered."

"Who is it?"

"No one I've ever seen before, sir."

Luke nodded. "A blessing from Kronos. We may be able to use this half-blood. Come!"

They ran down the corridor, and Sylvie woke with a start, staring into the dark. A lone half-blood, wandering in the maze. It was a long time before she got to sleep again.

The next morning Sylvie was absolutely positive her life couldn't get worse.

Guess what?

Wrong!

Before Sylvie could resume her quest with Annabeth and (unfortunately) Percy, setting off for Manhattan under Argus's care, Sylvie surprisingly received an Iris-message. She was even more shocked to find it was Eurytion from Triple G Ranch, and a little disappointed to hear it wasn't because he wanted to chat with her.

Of course Eurytion didn't come bearing good news, because the news was for Sylvie, and Sylvie couldn't have anything good in her life. Apparently.

Long story short, Eurytion worriedly confessed to Sylvie that when he woke up, Nico was missing from the ranch. Eurytion tried tracking Nico's scent using Orthus, but that only led them to the cattle guard. Nico went back into the maze.

And, no, it doesn't stop there. Why would it stop there? Such a silly idea!

Eurytion told Sylvie that he'd been hearing Nico talk to himself at night. He just thought the kid was going crazy before, but now Eurytion had the creeping idea it wasn't himself Nico was talking to. It was Minos.

So, a quick summary: Sylvie had a dream that Kronos's forces found a half-blood in the Labyrinth last night. Nico went into the Labyrinth last night. After talking to an evil ghost spirit who probably supported Kronos's forces.

Sylvie's mood did not lift. If that wasn't apparent.

Regardless, Sylvie still hiked over Half-Blood Hill and met Percy, Annabeth, and Argus on the road.

They didn't talk much in the van. Well, Argus never spoke, probably because he had eyes all over his body, including—so she'd heard—at the tip of his tongue, and he didn't like to show that off. But for Sylvie, Percy, and Annabeth it was uncommon. Sylvie guessed she could be talking to Annabeth, but she felt too queasy to even try.

"Bad dreams?" Percy asked her suddenly.

Sylvie's heard slowly turned to him. Percy's cheeks tinted a little under her gaze, and he seemed rather sheepish. She exhaled tiredly, letting her defenses fall for a moment.

"Sort of," she answered. "And I got an Iris-message from Eurytion."

"Eurytion!" said Annabeth. "Is something wrong with Nico."

Sylvie frowned. "He left the ranch last night, heading back into the maze."

"What?" Percy asked. "Didn't Eurytion try to stop him?"

"Nico was gone before he woke up. Orthus tracked his scent as far as the cattle guard. Eurytion said he'd been hearing Nico talk to himself the last few nights. Only now he thinks Nico was talking with the ghost again, Minos."

"He's in danger," Percy said.

"No kidding," Sylvie scoffed. "'Cause that's not all."

Annabeth threw her arms up in exasperation. "Of course that's not all."

Sylvie gave her a humorless laugh, glad to see someone else noted Sylvie persistent streak of unfortunate events. "Yeah, I had this dream last night..."

She told them about Luke, how he'd mentioned Quintus, and how his men had found a half-blood alone in the maze.

Annabeth's jaw clenched. "That's very, very bad."

"So what do we do?" Percy asked.

Sylvie raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the one with the amazing plan?"

It was Saturday, and traffic was heavy going into the city. They arrived at Percy's mom's apartment around noon (Percy wanted to reunite with her after being proclaimed dead). When Sally Jackson answered the door, she gave Percy a hug so overwhelming Sylvie was almost worried his ribs broke. Almost.

"I told them you were alright," Sally said, but she sounded like the weight of the sky had just been lifted off her shoulders.

She sat them down at the kitchen table and insisted on feeding them her special blue chocolate-chip cookies while they caught her up on the quest. They tried to water down the frightening parts (which was pretty much everything), but somehow that just made it sound more dangerous.

When Percy got to the part about Geryon and the stables, Sally pretended like she was going to strangle him. "I can't get you to clean your room, while Sylvie over here will clean a hundred tons of horse manure out of monster stables?"

Sylvie laughed. It was the first time she laughed in a long time. Percy's head whipped toward the sound, like a man finding water after being dehydrated for months. Sylvie pretended not to notice. Her gaze stuck on Sally.

"So," Sally said when Percy was done with the story, "you wrecked Alcatraz Island, made Mount St. Helens explode, and displaced half a million people, but at least you're safe."

The bright side was nice to hear. Sylvie hadn't been over there in a long time.

"Yep," Percy agreed. "That pretty much covers it."

"I wish Paul were here," she said, half to herself. Paul was apparently Sally's boyfriend, or something like that. "He wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, right. The school." Percy asked, "What did you tell him?"

Sally shook her head. "What could I say? He knows something is different about you, Percy. He's a smart man. He believes that you're not a bad person. He doesn't know what's going on, but the school is pressuring him. After all, he got you admitted there. He needs to convince them the fire wasn't your fault. And since you ran away, that looks bad."

Alright, now Sylvie was feeling bad for Percy. It was hard not to. She'd been in too many similar situations. It was never easy for a half-blood in the mortal world. Maybe Sylvie could grant him some grace.

"I'll talk to him," Percy promised. "After we're done with the quest. I'll even tell him the truth if you want."

Sally put her hand on Percy's shoulder. "You would do that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, he'll think we're crazy."

"He already thinks that."

"Then there's nothing to lose."

"Thank you, Percy. I'll tell him you'll be home..." She frowned. "When? What happens now?"

Sylvie crossed her arms. Annabeth broke her cookie in half. "Percy has this plan," Annabeth said pettily.

Reluctantly Percy told his mom.

She nodded slowly. "It sounds very dangerous. But it might work."

"You have the same abilities, don't you?" Percy asked. "You can see through the Mist."

Sally sighed. "Not so much now. When I was younger it was easier. But yes, I've always been able to see more than was good for me. It's one of the things that caught your father's attention, when we first met. Just be careful. Promise me you'll be safe."

"We'll try, Ms. Jackson," Sylvie said. "Keeping your son safe is a big job, though."

Arms still folded, Sylvie glared out the kitchen window. Percy picked at his napkin, trying not to say anything.

Sally frowned. "What's going on with you two? Have you been fighting?"

Neither of them said anything. They didn't catch the look Annabeth sent Sally, either.

"I see," Sally said. "Well, remember. Grover and Tyson are counting on you."

"I know," Sylvie and Percy said at the same time, which embarrassed Sylvie even more.

Sally smiled. "Percy, you'd better use the phone in the hall. Good luck."

Relieved, Percy scurried out the kitchen. Sylvie felt she could breathe again in his absence. The second he was out of earshot, Annabeth blurted what she'd been holding in.

"It's your son's fault, by the way," she told Sally. "Not Sylvie's."

Sylvie's eyes widened in shock, incredulous that Annabeth was saying this in front of Percy's mom.

But Sally just hummed. "I figured," she sighed. "Well, Sylvie, if it's any consolation, I'm sorry for whatever stupid thing Percy did this time."

Sylvie's face flamed at the words. She couldn't hold eye contact. "Uh, it's really not—"

"Just promise me you won't give up on him?" Sally asked. "You mean more to him than he even knows. Whatever he's doing, he'll get over it. If he doesn't apologize soon, I'll ground him for life."

Sylvie couldn't really tell if she was joking about that last part or not.

She wasn't going to ask, either. She was talking to Percy's mom.

"Well," Sylvie swallowed. "Um, thank you, Ms. Jackson. I think?"

Sally laughed fondly. "You can just call me Sally. Both of you."

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. "All good things" meaning, talking to Sally Jackson. "Coming to an end" meaning, Percy heading back in the room.

He'd arranged a meeting in Times Square. They found Rachel Elizabeth Dare in front of the Marriott Marquis, and she was completely painted gold.

And Sylvie meant her face, her hair, her clothes—everything. Rachel looked like she'd been touched by King Midas. Now, Sylvie hadn't seen Rachel since last winter at the Hoover Dam, but she was pretty sure Rachel didn't look like this last time. She was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic—copper, bronze, silver. They were frozen in different poses while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. Some passersby threw money at the tarp on the sidewalk.

The sign at Rachel's feet said, URBAN ART FOR KIDS, DONATIONS APPRECIATED.

Sylvie, Percy, and Annabeth stood there for like five minutes, staring at Rachel, but if she noticed them she didn't let on. She didn't move or even blink that Sylvie could see. Being ADHD and all, Sylvie could not have done that. Standing still that long would've driven her crazy.

"Maybe if we push her over," Annabeth suggested to Sylvie. Sylvie sent her a look to try and be nice, which made Annabeth grumble.

After another few minutes, a kid in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he'd been taking a break. He took a pose like he was lecturing the crowd, right next to Rachel. Rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"Hey, Percy." She grinned. "And girl from the Hoover Dam I never got the name of. Good timing! Let's get some coffee."

They walked down to a place called the Java Moose. Rachel ordered an Espresso Extreme, the kind of stuff Grover would like. Sylvie, Percy, and Annabeth got fruit smoothies and they sat at a table right under the stuffed moose. Nobody even looked twice at Rachel in her golden outfit. Sylvie was starting to understand what Percy said about New York all that time ago on the Queen Anne's Revenge.

"So," she said, "it's Silvia and Annabel, right?"

"Sylvie and Annabeth," Sylvie corrected. "Do you always dress in gold?"

"Not usually," Rachel said. "We're raising money for our group. We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? We do this once a month, take in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend."

Sylvie hated to admit, "That's actually... really cool."

"Hey, thanks," Rachel smiled. Oh, great. She was charitable and nice. Sylvie was cooked. "But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. You and Annabeth are half-bloods, too?"

"Shhh!" Annabeth said, looking around. "Just announce it to the world, how about?"

"Okay." Rachel stood up and said really loud, "Hey, everybody! These three aren't human! They're half Greek god!"

Nobody even looked over.

Rachel shrugged and sat down. "They don't seem to care."

So she was charitable, nice, and funny. Sylvie seriously didn't stand a chance.

"That's not funny," Annabeth said, disagreeing with Sylvie's thoughts. "This isn't a joke, mortal girl."

"Hold it, you two," Percy said. "Just calm down."

"I'm calm," Rachel insisted. "Every time I'm around you, some monster attacks us. What's to be nervous about?"

"Look," Percy said. "I'm sorry about the band room. I hope they didn't kick you out or anything."

"Nah. They asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb."

"Was it hard?" Annabeth asked.

Sylvie put her forehead against the table.

"Okay, stop!" Percy intervened. "Rachel, we've got a problem. And we need your help."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Annabeth. "You need my help?"

Annabeth stirred her straw in her smoothie. "Yeah," she said sullenly. "Maybe."

Percy told Rachel about the Labyrinth, and how they needed to find Daedalus. He told her what happened the last few times they'd gone in.

"So you want me to guide you," Rachel said. "Through a place I've never been."

"You can see through the Mist," Percy said. "Just like Ariadne. I'm betting you can see the right path. The Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll get lost. Either way, it'll be dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

"I could die?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you said monsters don't care about mortals. That sword and those daggers—"

"Yeah," Percy said. "Celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals. Most monsters would ignore you. But Luke... he doesn't care. He'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."

"Nice guy," Rachel said.

"He's under the influence of a Titan," Annabeth said defensively. "He's been deceived."

Rachel looked back and forth between them. "Okay," she said. "I'm in."

Sylvie finally took her head off the table. "Are you sure?" she blinked.

"Hey, my summer was going to be boring. This is the best offer I've gotten yet. So what do I look for?"

Sylvie's chances were dropping by the minute. So she was charitable, nice, funny, and brave. Fuck Sylvie's life. Seriously.

"We have to find an entrance to the Labyrinth," Annabeth said. "There's an entrance at Camp Half-Blood, but you can't go there. It's off-limits to mortals."

She said mortals like it was some sort of terrible condition, but Rachel just nodded. "Okay. What does an entrance to the Labyrinth look like?"

"It could be anything," Sylvie said. "A section of wall. A boulder. A doorway. A sewer entrance. But it would have the mark of Daedalus on it. A Greek L, glowing in blue."

"Like this?" Rachel drew the symbol Delta in water on their table.

"That's it," Sylvie said, taken aback. "You know Greek?"

"No," Rachel said. She pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair. "Let me get changed. You'd better come with me to the Marriott."

"Why?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"Because there's an entrance like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. It's got the mark of Daedalus."

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BAILEY YAPS...

Hello Second-Half-Of-Botl Sylvie we've been expecting you...

Anyways uh oh in aisle Persylv

And you were finally doing so good Percy :/ Who's plotting on your downfall

It's me btw

Random question how do y'all feel about the lyric "When you hold me it holds me together, and you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever" :)

Percy told me he said My gf mad at me I hope I die

Imagining Sylvie with her forehead on the table for 60% of that conversation with Rachel is so silly to me like Yeah okay sweetie take a breather We'll get you a hug and some warm soup soon

Actually idk bout all that 😛🫵🫵🫵

Mommy and daddy are fighting @POTUS do something...