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THEY FOLLOWED THE SPIDER INTO THE VOLCANO. and were doing okay until they hit the tree roots. the spider raced along and they were keeping up, but they spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots.

grover stopped dead in his tracks.

"what is it?" percy asked.

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

"oh gods. . ." evander trailed off. he gulped as he looked into the darkness of the tunnel.

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

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

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

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

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

"i can feel their health," evander leaned into the path. "it has to be here."

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

the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor.

"we'll come back," annabeth promised, tugging on evander's hand. "on our way back to hephaestus."

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

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

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

andromenda did. but still, it was hard to come to terms with it. ofcourse, she wanted grover to succeed in his lifelong purpose. but they had a time sensitive situation going on at hand. and the only way they could manage to do both tasks was. . .

"we'll split up,"

"no!" annabeth shut down percy's idea. "that's way too dangerous. how will we ever find each other again? and grover can't go alone."

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

"tyson, are you sure?"

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

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

"i'm coming with you."

"what? no. no!" annabeth shook her head.

"look, annabeth," evander told her. "when i signed up for this quest, i said six are just two sets of three. and right now, that's exactly what we need to be. two sets of three. four. . .four and two is risky."

andromeda couldn't hear the spider anymore.

"but. . ." annabeth frowned, her hand shivering in evander's.

"i'll come back to you." he promised.

andromeda knew annabeth was holding back tears, her deep eyes glistened. she looked at grover.

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

"i know i am."

"be careful," percy told him. then he looked at tyson. he gulped back a sob and gave his brother the tightest hug. andromeda smiled.

"you'll do great, grover." she assured him. she looked at evander. "don't die."

her friend smiled. and just before following grover and tyson into the tunnel, he turned on his heel, grabbed annabeth's hand and gave her a kiss.

"i'll be back." he said one last time before he dissapeared.

"i don't like this." annabeth shook her head, her eyes glassy. "splitting up is a really, really bad idea."

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

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

the stone walls glowed. the humid air stuck to her skin. the tunnel sloped down and she could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. the spider skittered along, with annabeth right behind.

andromeda stopped.

"what's wrong?" percy asked.

she felt it before she could understand it. waves of overwhelming surges of magic erupted from wherver they were going. it wasn't the good kind. it made her alert and nauseous. her head throbbed with how powerful it was, she knew this was no magic of the forges. this was whatever was the invader here. the monster.

"'rome, what's wrong?"

"magic."

"wrong magic?"

"yes. from in there. loads of it."

she glared down the path.

"a monster who has magic. . ." annabeth thought. "let's hope they don't excel at it."

the roaring got louder. after another half mile or so, they emerged in a cavern. the spider escort stopped and curled into a ball. the forge of hephaestus.

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

annabeth picked up the metal spider and slipped it into her pocket. "i can. wait here."

"hold it!"

annabeth turned invisble.

andromeda was worried, but she wasn't intent on going near whatever was radiating that magic. it made her feel dizzy. so she put together her hands and worked the mist around annabeth to cover up her scent. if those things out there could sense a god coming, it would be safe to mask annabeth's scent.

"what are you doing?" percy asked.

"working the mist around her," andromeda answered.

"is the mist down here?"

she actually couldn't answer that. she could feel it's aura around her, but the mist worked in weird ways in greek places. she could only hope she had dealt with it enough to be able to manipulate it.

percy crept along the outer rim of the lava lake, leaning inward.

"what are you doing?" andromeda scolded.

"trying to see what's happening in the middle."

"hero, get the fuck away from there. your eyeballs will melt before you get a chance to see."

and when he leaned back, he was indeed wiping sweat away from his eyes. he moved along the edge.

"come back here!" she whispered.

"we can't just stand here and do nothing!" percy countered.

andromeda sighed. she knew she couldn't stop percy jackson from doing what he wanted, risky or not. the only thing she could do was accompany him and save his impulsive heroic ass. so that's what she did.

"i'm telling annabeth this was your idea."

percy smiled. andromeda glared at him.

they trying to keep away from the edge, until they were blocked by a cart on metal wheels. percy lifted up the tarp and found it was half full of scrap metal.

"just move around around —"

voices erupted from a side of the tunnel.

"bring it in?" one asked.

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

percy turned to her. "invisible?"

she shook her head, pointing to the spell she was already casting with the mist. she hadn't learned how to multitask her magic, but just the thought tired her out.

percy looked around in panic. his eyes landed on the cart. he scrambled inside and guided her by the elbow, pulling the tarp over them. he uncapped riptide and the golden glow showered on them both.

the cart lurched forward.

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

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

they got pulled along, andromeda washed the mist over them, moreso on percy than herself, she tried to weave it around him and annabeth simultaneously. she hoped she could reach annabeth.

percy leaned into her, "did you feel the magic from them?"

andromeda tried to focus on their aura. she could sense no magic from them, but something about them. . .it unnerved her.

"no," she whispered back. "but don't let your guard down."

his eyes shifted between looking through her's, and she felt a little breathless because of how close he was. it was already hot in the forge, but some other sort of heat seemed to fan her face.

"your eyes sparkle."

"what?" she breathed out.

"they sparkle in the dark. purple sparks. i've never seen them do that before," he tilted up her face, the golden light from his sword filling straight into her pupils. he smiled. "they look pretty."

the cart jerked to a halt, nearly shoving their faces together.

she heard lots of talking, chattering voices that didn't sound human, and other sounds too — an old-fashioned film projector and a tiny voice narrating.

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

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

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

"gods," she scowled. "do monsters menstruate too?"

percy snorted, quickly covering his mouth to muffle the sound. but she smiled nonethless, she couldn't think of the last time he laughed. and she realized she liked making him laugh. making him smile.

excited snarling sounded from the outside room. the teacher told the younglings to be quiet, and the film continued. it kept talking about growth spurts and acne problems caused by working in the forges, and proper flipper hygiene, and finally it was over.

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

"sea demons!" one of them barked.

"no. anyone else?"

"telekhines!" another monster growled.

her stomach dropped. there were telekhines here? at hephaestus's forge? just their luck.

"very good, and why are we here?"

"revenge!" several shouted.

"yes, yes, but why?"

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

percy's vibrant eyes shifted to her.

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

she gulped. the telekhines made fierce weapons. poseidon's trident was the epitome of this. and she didn't think they were here to enact revenge just by speaking of it. . .they were probably an army making a weapon for kronos.

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

"kronos!" they shouted.

yep. weapon for kronos. check.

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

"yes!"

telekhine army. also check.

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

there was a rush of movement and excited voices coming toward the cart. the tarp was thrown back. they jumped up, percy's bronze sword was poised before him, and andromeda was forced to break the spell as she pulled out strýchnos and split it into two.

dog faces with black snouts, brown eyes, and pointy ears faced the two half-bloods. the bodies of telekhines were sleek and black like sea mammals, with stubby legs that were half flipper, half foot, and humanlike hands with sharp claws.

"demigods!" one snarled.

"eat them!" yelled another.

but that's as far as they got before percy pulled her back and slashed a wide arc with riptide, vaporizing the entire front row of monsters.

"back off!" he yelled fiercely at the rest.

andromeda conjured a shield in front of them, enclosing in a dome.

"magic!" said the telekhine instructor behind them, standing at six-foot-tall with his fangs snarling at them. he advanced forward, but percy's sword reached out of the shield, the celestial bronze tip aimed at the monster's throat while he stared him down.

"new lesson, class," he announced. "most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword. this change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you right now if you don't back off!”

the monsters backed up, but there were at least twenty of them.

"we can take them," andromeda encouraged, holding onto the shield.

"can't risk you." percy shook his head. "no magic and combat together. can you hold it until we get out?"

"one side," andromeda assured.

"do your's," percy said. "i'll take the others we go."

"jump and run on three." andromeda told him, her shield depleting into a rectangular shape. "three!"

"class dismissed!" percy said as the shield before him shortened, he slashed his blade through a couple oncoming monsters before they bolted for the exit.

percy caught her elbow as they ran, andromeda's shield defending them from the back. telekhines couldn't run very fast with those stubby little legs and flippers, but they waddled along pretty fast.

percy led them into the main cavern, pulled her in and slammed the door shut behind them, turning the wheel handle to lock it.

"i doubted it'll keep them long." andromeda panted.

"annabeth's out here somewhere, invisible." percy ran to the platform at the centre of the lava lake, andromeda's hand in his. "annabeth!"

"shhh!" an invisible force wrestled them down behind a big bronze cauldron. "you want to get us killed?"

andromeda found her head and took off her yankees cap. she shimmered into existence in front of them, scowling, her face streaked with ash and grime.

"what did you two get into?"

"it was his idea!"

"we're going to have company!"

they explained quickly about the monster orientation class. her eyes widened.

"so that's what they are," she muttered. "telekhines. i should've known. and they're making. . .well, look."

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

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

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

"what is that?" percy whispered.

annabeth shook her head. "they keep talking about fusing metals. i wonder —"

"they were talking about the greatest titan weapon," andromeda said.

"and they. . .they said they made my father's trident." percy frowned.

"the telekhines betrayed the gods," andromeda said, telekhines were one of the few mythical things she remembered, partly because they dealt with element of magic. "they were practicing dark magic. i don't know what, exactly, but zeus banished them to tartarus."

"with kronos."

she nodded. "we have to get out —"

immediately, the door to the classroom exploded and young telekhines came pouring out. they stumbled over each other, trying to figure out which way to charge. andromeda held them back with a forcefield.

"put your cap back on," percy instructed. "take her, and get out!"

"what?" annabeth shrieked.

"no! i'm not leaving you." andromeda held his hand tighter.

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

"but you'll be killed!" annabeth countered with a frown.

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

"yes!" andromeda insisted. "yes we do. and i'm taking the other one." she stood up and took out half of her split spear.

"andromeda," percy caught her shoulders. "i know you know this is the right one to make. hephaestus needs to know. this quest needs to go on."

"annabeth can go," andromeda persisted. "you're not getting away from me again. i'd rather die."

"stop talking like that!" he scolded. "you won't die saving me! i won't let you. you'll go with annabeth and —"

"if you don't want me saving you, don't do shit that gets you in trouble!"

the forcefield cracked.

"you need to go." percy said. "please go."

"no." andromeda shook her head with a determined look. "annabeth, you go invisible and move past them, i'll barricade them to one side and —"

suddenly grabbed her face and kissed her.

and she almost impaled him for it. looking back, she would like to have impaled him, but instead, she stood completely still, unsure of what to do. her spear fell from her hands, clattering onto the rocks. the beat of her heart became maginified in her ears. those mere moments felt like ages.

he pulled away, and she saw her own breathless expression mirrored in his face. it made her want to kiss him again.

"i'm sorry about this."

her expression turned to confusion. but before she could even vocalize it, he spun them around and pushed her away.

"percy!" she shrieked, but he'd already closed the door as she fell behind, the telekhines were on the other side with him.

"no!" she pounded on the door, cussing him out, kicking and hitting the door repeatedly.

"andromeda, we need to go!" annabeth urged.

"not without him!" she insisted, tearing herself away from her friend. she put in all her magical effort to rip the door off it's hinges, but it barely budged. "i'm not leaving without him!"

she tried again, and again, and again, until all she could do was hardly breathe because all her energy was going into holding back the angry tears that threatened to spill.

"andromeda," annabeth slowly turned her to face. "the sooner we get to hephaestus, the sooner we can help him."

she breathed unevenly. "where is that pesky insect?"

annabeth plucked out the disc with distaste and pressed the button on it, it transformed into a spider.

"take us to hephaestus," andromeda demanded.

the spider scuttled away, and andromeda ran behind it. it lead the two girls back into the labyrinth, they had barely covered a mile or two when a shock went through the earth, rattling the caverns of the labyrinth.

andromeda and annabeth shared a look.

"if he dies, i'm going to fucking nurder him." andromeda said with a strangled voice.

rocks fell down into their path, but andromeda flicked them away with a gesture of her finger, speeding up the journey. the spider crawled and they ran behind it, andromeda didn't even care about the monsters at this point, she would disembowel them if they stepped in her way. the labyrinth seemed to understand her frustration, because it didn't infuriate her more. they were faced haphaestus's workshop soon enough.

she barged in.

annabeth and andromeda took turns telling him what happened.

"he caused an earthquake. . ." hephaestus trailed off, eyes unfocused.

the girls looked at him quizzically.

he snapped, and a screen popped up before them, with a touch on it, it showed a drone shot of mount st. helens, a coloumn of fire erupting outward, ash circling the sky, a corner of the screen occupied by a lady in a suit.

"still uncertain about further eruptions," she was saying. "authorities have ordered the evacuation of almost half a million people as a precaution. meanwhile, ash has fallen as far away as lake tahoe and vancouver, and the entire mount st. helens area is closed to traffic within a hundred-mile radius. while no deaths have been reported, minor injuries and illnesses include —"

hephaestus switched it off.

andromeda gulped back the plethora of tears threatening to overflow.

"let's get you to camp." hephaestus said with a strange voice.

he snapped his fingers, and andromeda could've sworn everything imploded. her brain collapsed in on itself and when she managed get a sensation of it again, she opened her eyes, struggling to steady her balance.

"hold the fire!"

fire?

she adjusted to the bright sunlight that was shining down. they were at camp, near zeus's fist, the archers had their bows drawn, but on chiron's command, they put them down.

"lord hephaestus!" chiron clip-clopped forward. he saw andromeda and annabeth, and smiled. then it fell.

"where are the others?"

and that was the last straw.

her throat felt heavy, her eyes stung, her bottom lip quivered. she doubted she could hold it back now. he was supposed to make it back here. . .she wiped a tear that escaped her eye.

"maybe —" annabeth stuttered, holding back her own tears. "maybe we should talk in the big house."

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me crying as i seperate my two otps

i am having too much fun with this act.