Chapter 1
AN:
Harry's current lovers:
Annabeth Chase played by Alexandra Daddario
Choria played by Sienna Guillory
Furusia played by Liv Tyler
Aphrodite is played by Sarah Chalke
Thalia is played by Jaimie Alexander
Zoe Nightshade is played by Clemence Poesy
Artemis is played by Julie McNiven
End AN
June 1st, East 81st Street New York, Goode High School…
Harry pulled up to Goode High School in one of his personally modified vehicles. The car was all electric, built from the technology of the sorcerer's first universe. Beyond the advanced technology the car possessed there were also many enchantments placed on the non-polluting vehicle that made it one great ride. The green eyed water manipulator exited the vehicle and headed towards the building where future ninth graders were entering for orientation. Through his many contacts the wizard had received word that there was monster activity at the school.
Soon after meeting her at Hoover Dam, Harry had contacted Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The physical duplicate of Hermione Granger intrigued the warlock greatly so he pulled out all the stops to strike up a friendship with her. Many times over the last school year the Potter male had met the gorgeous mortal female around New York for what could be construed as dates. Rachel was attending Goode at the start of next term so it was only natural for the son of Poseidon to make sure any threats to her safety were taken care of promptly.
Walking up behind Rachel as she was greeted by one of the teachers the mage stopped beside her.
"Hello, who might you be?" The teacher inquired.
"Percy," a delighted Rachel practically squealed as she hugged her friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh I'm thinking of attending here. Did I forget to mention that?" The powerful sorcerer queried with a grin as he returned the hug that felt so great.
"No, you didn't mention that," Rachel assured the green eyed demigod as she pulled back.
"Mr. Blofis, this is Percy Jackson. Percy this is Mr. Blofis," Rachel introduced.
"Good to meet you Percy," the instructor greeted. "Welcome to Goode."
"Likewise on the meeting you part Mr. Blofis," replied the mage before the instructor directed the pair to the gymnasium for orientation.
Rachel stuck to her handsome companion's side the whole way to their destination.
"So why are you really here?" The chestnut haired beauty demanded when they were out of earshot of Mr. Blofis. "I know you have your own school to attend."
Harry had explained to Rachel all about the Academy. The pair regularly communicated over a messenger program the skilled phoenix animagus had put on the laptop he had gifted Rachel for her last birthday.
"I'm just making sure you are going to be safe here at Goode, Rachel. I have heard some reports about some unsavory characters at this school," explained the warlock.
Rachel caught on immediately as the two entered the gym. Straightaway the brown eyed intelligent young woman's gaze locked upon a group of cheerleaders while she clutched tightly to her companion's arm.
"Percy…do you see them," Rachel whispered in alarm.
Harry knew Rachel could see through the Mist. The artistic young woman was what was termed a clear sighted mortal in the Greek world. It took quite a bit more concentration for the wizard to match Rachel's natural talent but he managed. Channeling energy to his eyes and manipulating the power in a certain way allowed the true nature of the cheerleaders to be revealed.
"Don't worry Rachel. I won't let any harm come to you," the immortal sorcerer assured his companion.
The pair took a seat just before the cheerleaders began speaking.
"Hello new students. My name is Tammi and this is like, Kelli," one monster disguised as a cheerleader bubbled while her companion did a cartwheel.
Tammi explained ways for involvement throughout the school year followed by instructing the new students to break into small groups for tours. As the warlock stood with Rachel clutching his arm tightly he led the attractive young woman out the door and down the hall.
"Where are we going?" Rachel whispered as she stole glances behind her.
"In here," answered the mage while opening the band room door. "This will make a nice trap."
Harry led Rachel over to a chair out of the way before quickly and efficiently erecting protective wards for her. The immortal warrior then walked to the other side of the room and proceeded to conjure a powerful illusion showing a duplicate of Rachel cowering in fear behind some instruments.
"Enjoy the show," Harry suggested at his companion with a grin and a wink that put her at ease.
With a casual flick of his hand Rachel became invisible. A few moments later Tammi and Kelli entered the band room. In what was meant to be an ominous effect the pair of monsters caused the door to slam shut with a bit of their power or more precisely Kelli's power since she was the oldest of the pair.
"There you are clear sighted mortal…it's time for your orientation," Tammi announced with a malicious grin. "But what do we have here…," the monster trailed off as she noticed Harry for the first time.
"He smells like a half blood…a powerful half blood," Kelli spoke up.
"I always liked half bloods," Tammi announced as she stepped towards the immortal demigod while projecting a magical allure that was meant to ensnare males. "…As a snack," the monster added to herself mentally.
The green eyed reality traveler acted like he was enthralled by Tammi's wiles as she drew closer.
When Tammi was only three feet away she turned back towards Kelli and inquired, "May I mistress?"
Before Kelli could grant approval to the younger monster a blade sprouted from Tammi's chest, causing the monster to disintegrate into dust. Harry's magical blade had responded to its master's call and transported from his pocket dimensional storage trunk.
"You killed my trainee," Kelli declared in a cold tone as the illusion she projected with the Mist disappeared.
The head cheerleader's skin began to turn white while her eyes shifted red. Kelli's teeth were sharp fangs. One leg was that of a donkey while the other was human shaped but bronze. Most indicative of Kelli's age was the fact that her hair was composed of dancing flames.
"What are they?" The cowering form of Rachel questioned, her words relayed to the illusion via the wards and enchantments the wizard had erected around her true position.
"Empousai, servants of Hecate," answered Harry. "They were formed from black magic, bronze, and ghost. They feed off the blood of young men which is why the legends of vampires are based off of empousai."
"Very good Percy Jackson," Kelli declared while nodding in agreement. "You aren't as stupid as I would have thought. But I am the senior empousai and haven't been bested for over a millennia."
The empousai charged the water wizard and barely avoided the slash of his blade as she rolled under, crashing into several instruments. The young man who had taken on gods and Titans was baiting the empousai, trying to get her to reveal information and the tactic paid off.
As the two fighters circled claws and a blade slashed and jabbed in a deadly dance.
Kelli taunted, "Soon your precious Camp will be burning and all your friends will be the slaves of the Lord of Time."
Harry was delighted to learn a small amount of Kronos' plans. As a reward the mage let the monster think she had scored a hit on him. In reality her slash had not even broken through his armor and most definitely would not have broken skin. The monster of this universe could only see through limited amounts of the Mist, not wizarding magic. So the illusion fooled the empousai enough to let her think she had significantly wounded her opponent. Kelli darted in for the kill, her right hand slashing towards the warlock's throat. The incredibly fast phoenix animagus caught Kelli's wrist and twisted.
With a snapping sound her wrist broke. The warlock's sword swiftly decapitated the empousai. The wail of rage and pain reverberated throughout the background magic as the ancient empousai disintegrated into dust.
With a cry of "Percy" Rachel ran forward and captured her rescuer in a warm hug.
"I thought you were a goner," the attractive young woman declared.
"Nothing seems to be broken," Harry assured his companion as all illusions in the room disappeared to reveal an unharmed warrior mage.
"Thank you for saving me," the brown eyed beauty spoke with emphasize on her feelings by squeezing tighter. "I'm just surprised nobody heard any of that commotion."
"I'm using a bit of magic to keep the mortals away. You're excluded from its effects of course. So how about you spend the day with me?" The Potter male offered.
"But what about the orientation?" The young woman who loved to learn inquired.
"Well it will be over shortly anyway and I may have used a bit of magic to make the teachers think we've been with the group the entire time," explained the warlock.
"Ok…then I'd love to spend the day with you Percy," agreed Rachel.
"Fantastic, then hold on tight," the wizard suggested before flaming himself and Rachel out for a fun filled day.
Rachel was a bit shaken up from the encounter with the monsters. Harry reassured her that the empousai were gone for now. The warlock neglected to mention that Kelli would probably reform fairly quickly given her nature. The only reason Harry didn't try to permanently destroy her or try something that would have put her out of the fight for quite a bit longer was that doing so would endanger Rachel and any other mortals around. Magic strong enough to take out monsters and immortals for long periods of time could be hazardous to mortals.
On their date Harry and Rachel traveled all over the world via teleportation to tour places of great art that Rachel had always wanted to see. The wizard didn't mind the destination as long as he was allowed to spend time with the beautiful young woman.
After his date with Rachel, Harry returned to Camp. The sanctuary for half bloods had a refreshing feel about it to the magically sensitive sorcerer thanks to the Golden Fleece hanging from Thalia's old tree. The Fleece's magic constantly rejuvenated every living being and plant within the Camp's magical borders. The half bloods of the Camp couldn't really consciously sense the rejuvenating effects but immortals like the phoenix animagus usually could.
The summer session had started the Friday previous so the Camp was full of activity generated by the many demigods, demigoddesses, satyrs, nymphs, and other beings present. The perceptive mage sensed some new arrivals in the sword arena so headed to that location.
"Well she's a big one," the wizard muttered as he laid eyes upon the biggest hell hound he'd ever come across lying in the middle of the arena.
The black hound was larger than a tank. The canine was chewing on a combat dummy. Harry didn't attack or otherwise approach the hound. If the creature wasn't meant to be there then someone likely would have raised the alarm already. In any case the immortal reality traveler was confident he could dispose of the creature if she proved troublesome.
"I'm surprised you didn't attack Mrs. O'Leary on sight," a gray haired man in Greek armor declared as he stepped onto the sparring field. "Most children of the Big Three can be a bit impulsive."
"Not everyone can be defined by their parentage Mister…," Harry trailed off waiting for the man to introduce himself.
"I'm Quintus," the older man introduced himself.
As the perceptive sorcerer shook hands with the gray haired man the younger male could feel a tingle of magic at the surface of the older male's skin. Activating his ability to see through objects Harry swept his gave over Quintus' form. The warlock gazed upon many gears, motors, runes, and automaton parts. Quintus had an automaton body and also a soul. The reality traveler found the idea interesting but had come across many stranger things in the two universes he had lived in.
"I'd be interested to hear sometime how you obtained a hellhound for a pet," the mage suggested.
"It's a long story but I might just tell you sometime. I'm the new sword instructor. I'm helping Chiron out while Mr. D is away," the mechanical man announced.
Dionysus was away from Camp to see what side the minor gods would be on in the coming war. Off to the side six wooden crates started rumbling and vibrating about. Mrs. O'Leary bounded towards them before Quintus halted her. The markings on the crate indicated that the picnic table sized structures were from Triple G Ranch and that the contents were fragile. Sweeping his gaze over the crates revealed to Harry that the contents were anything but fragile. The boxes contained giant scorpions.
"Not another one," the mage grumbled as he realized Quintus might just have the same penchant for large and dangerous creatures as Hagrid.
"Those are for a training exercise you'll be going through tomorrow night. You're going to have a blast," Quintus announced with a grin.
"I'm sure," Harry agreed sarcastically.
"You kids these days need more challenges. There weren't any camps like this when I was a child," Quintus spoke while tossing a shield like a Frisbee for Mrs. O'Leary.
The wizard thought about Quintus' statement. The Camp had been around for several centuries. Given the fact that the sword instructor could transfer his soul into a mechanical body there really wasn't a definitive way to tell how old he was. The telepathic sorcerer could probably find out by entering Quintus' mind but where was the fun in that.
Just then Chiron came trotting into the arena.
"There you are Percy," greeted the Centaur. "I see you've gotten to know our newest instructor. If you don't mind Quintus I need to borrow Percy for a while."
"Not at all," Quintus agreed.
As the wizard and Centaur were walking away Harry announced, "I was right about the threat of monsters at Goode. I ran into two empousai. I slew them both but the one was old enough that she'll probably reform soon enough. The old one hinted at Kronos having plans to attack the Camp."
"This is not good news. But now we must attend Grover's hearing," the Centaur pointed out.
"Ah yes, that is today. I lost track of time while talking with Quintus. I find him interesting," Harry informed Chiron as the pair reached the edge of the woods.
Time was running out before the hearing was supposed to start so the Centaur and Phoenix mage took off at a run. Harry easily kept up with his instructor and soon the pair entered a glade covered with wildflowers. Three fat older satyrs sat on rose bush thrones facing Grover who was surrounded by a ring of younger satyrs. The three fat older satyrs comprised the Council of Cloven Elders who were at that moment listening to Grover's story of his encounter with the magic of Pan the previous summer.
Harry walked over and stood between Thalia and Annabeth.
"Hello lovers," the mage mentally sent to his mates.
"How did it go at the school with Rachel?" Thalia inquired as she and Annabeth sent feelings of love back to their man.
At the speed of thought the wizard caught his women up on the events of his day. In the same way they updated him on the happenings with the Council. It was not going so well for Grover given the tone the fat old satyrs were taking with the hearing. Annabeth was trying to comfort a tree nymph, a dryad, named Juniper who was Grover's girlfriend. Next to Annabeth and Juniper stood Clarisse, glaring at the defeater of her father as usual.
Harry's attention was brought forth to the proceedings when one of the fat Satyrs questioned, "Do you seriously expect us to believe this Master Underwood?"
"You should Silenus because what I've told you is the truth," Grover asserted.
The son of the sea god had helped coach his satyr friend on being more confident. Juniper seemed to calm a bit at her boyfriend's assertiveness. At Grover's response the three fat satyrs began having a whispered conversation while Chiron joined them. Chiron was an honorary member of the council.
"For six months we have been hearing these scandalous claims of yours Master Underwood that you heard the wild god Pan speak," Silenus began.
"But I did hear him speak Silenus," Grover spoke up.
"Impudence," Silenus shouted. "As if the wild god would ever speak to him," the satyr muttered loudly while waving at Grover.
"Be careful what you say satyr," Harry's voice traveled across the clearing. "That is my friend you are talking about. And I sensed the power of pan myself."
Silenus appeared nervous as the defeater of Atlas, Ares, and many other powerful immortals spoke up with power shining clearly in unnervingly bright green eyes.
"I suppose we can give you another chance Master Underwood," Silenus nervously bleated out. "You have one more week before we revoke your searcher's license."
"This hearing is over," another nervous council member declared before hurrying away with the other two satyrs hot on his hooves.
Grover turned and walked up to his powerful friend before embracing the water wizard in a tight manly embrace.
"Thank you Percy," Grover spoke softly. "Although I'm not sure what can be done in only a week."
"Oh don't worry about those fat old goats. If they don't learn their place I'll make sure they regret it," Harry reassured his friend.
As the two males stepped back Juniper was on her boyfriend in a flash, hugging him tightly.
"You know Grover…there is another option to find Pan that might just be possible in the time given," Clarisse spoke up. "You could go through the Labyrinth."
"No, I won't let you," Juniper protested.
Before any further conversation could take place a conch horn sounded in the distance signaling inspection. The group quickly moved towards their cabins. The best kept cabin earned the right for first shower and worst earned kitchen patrol after the evening meal. Harry had long ago inscribed runes all throughout his cabin that kept the dwelling perpetually clean. So the sorcerer had no worries as he stepped inside where he found his Cyclopes half brother Tyson.
"Percy," Tyson called excitedly and rushed forward to give his green eyed brother a crushing hug.
Tyson's hugs were similar in strength to Hagrid's embraces but in this universe the warrior wizard was better able to withstand such a tight embrace.
"I'm glad to see you too Tyson," the mage greeted his brother.
"You are ok then…not eaten by monsters?" Tyson clarified.
"Tyson…what monster have you heard of that could eat me?" The demigod queried.
"Good point," Tyson agreed.
Harry glanced around the interior of the cabin and noticed Tyson had been busy decorating. The windowsills held water filled vases which contained sea anemones and other glowing plant life from the bottom of the oceans.
"You did a great job Tyson," the immortal warlock praised his brother while glancing at the ceiling and noticing a herd of small bronze hippocampi hanging from wires attached to the ceiling.
"Perfect as usual I see Percy," Silena Beauregard's voice sounded from the doorway behind the two brothers.
"With Tyson's help yes the cabin does look pretty darn good Silena," agreed Harry.
"The plant life is a nice touch," the cabin inspector observed as she examined some of the glowing plants in fascination.
The pleased daughter of Aphrodite soon left the Poseidon cabin after undoubtedly marking the sea god's dwelling in first place. Several minutes later Choria, Furusia, and Nico arrived. The two naiads had been helping Nico learn how to hone his powers when Harry wasn't available. Nico practiced every chance he could. The dark haired young boy was determined to help the man he considered as a big brother, the green eyed water wizard.
When Thalia and Annabeth had arrived at the Poseidon cabin the group spent the afternoon relaxing around the Camp. Some time was spent swimming in the lake which everyone enjoyed immensely. Tyson also took the opportunity to show his friends his skills with crafting magical weapons using the forges down by the Hephaestus cabin. The one eyed teen told his friends tales of his time spent under the sea in the Cyclopes' forges. Things were heating up under the sea with the old gods who had ruled during Titan times waging war against the forces of Poseidon. Harry knew all about the status of the undersea war thanks to his daily training sessions with his father. Poseidon had admitted that his skills were also improving thanks to being able to spar with such a worthy opponent. The phoenix animagus wasn't worried about his father because if anything went too badly the sea ruler had the means to quickly contact the sorcerer for backup.
Harry also visited the sword arena to spar with Quintus. The automaton was a very good fighter but still couldn't match the phoenix enhanced male for speed and agility. The duels were close but the Potter male always came out on top. Tyson got along famously with Mrs. O'Leary.
At dinner time Harry, Nico, Thalia, Annabeth, Grover, Juniper, Choria, Furusia, and Tyson all sat together at the Poseidon table. Technically the rules of the Camp stated that campers had to sit at their parents' table. But since Poseidon had personally talked to Dionysus about allowing the reality traveler to have whoever he wanted to sit with him at meal times the wine god allowed it, not that Dionysus could really stop the powerful phoenix mage.
Harry slept amazingly well that night thanks to the efforts of all of his beautiful mates. Thalia, Annabeth, Choria, Furusia, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Zoe all demonstrated their skill with their feminine attributes in order to show their man how pleased they were with him. The expansion charms on the pocket dimension inside the sorcerer's bed curtains were getting more and more energy with every passing year. Zoe and Artemis would teleport in each night from their long days spent hunting the great monsters that would likely join Kronos' armies with the expectation of receiving some loving from their favorite male. Loving the two beauties got in spades because the skilled phoenix animagus pleasured all of his mates and received pleasure in return.
Aphrodite's power only enhanced the magician's performance in the love making department as the goddess of love made sure to join her favorite male each evening as well. During the day the goddesses were simply that, deities of Olympus. But at night they let their cover identities drop and partook in the love Harry offered the immortal super beings.
With Artemis' help Zoe had slowly been enhancing her water based powers. This was possible because of the lead Hunter's connection to her mate and her recently returned natural immortality. With Harry's well of power to access via their bond Zoe was enhancing her immortal physique so that eventually once her body adjusted she wouldn't have to draw upon her chosen mate's energy.
The next morning when Harry awoke and leisurely made his way to breakfast with Annabeth, Thalia, Choria, and Furusia the warlock heard from Tyson and Nico that an Aethiopian drakon was chased away from its testing of the wards bordering the Camp. The mage had long ago turned the ward control over to Chiron and Mr. D because the green eyed young man found constantly being alerted to the frequent challenges the barrier received quite annoying, especially when he was away at the Academy for the school year. So the phoenix animagus was not alerted by the enhancements that he had made a few years back to the Camps dwindling wards before the installation of the Fleece.
Lee Fletcher, a son of Apollo, gave a report to the Camp at breakfast about the size of the drakon and the measures taken to chase it away. Twenty arrows in the beast's thick hide had basically pissed the drakon off. Chiron and Quintus calmed the campers down but made sure to point out that such tests would likely come more frequently, especially given the information given by the empousai about Kronos' plans.
"This increase in monster activity means it is prudent to step up our training. War games are a good test of your skills. We'll see how you lot fare against my challenges tonight," the automaton dog lover declared.
"I will go buff out my fish ponies," Tyson muttered as Grover and Juniper joined the Poseidon table.
"What's with him?" Annabeth questioned in confusion as the one eyed teen left.
"He's afraid of Grover," Thalia explained. "I heard him muttering about fir, hooves, and goats last night in a nightmare when I got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night," the daughter of Zeus explained.
"Odd," was Grover's only comment at the notion of Tyson being afraid of him while the others at the table tried to suppress chuckles, laughs, and smiles.
Chiron trotted over to the side of the table at that moment and inquired, "How did you sleep Percy?"
"I slept fantastically Chiron," an amused Harry declared as his gaze swept over his four lovers at the table. "How did you slumber?"
"Fitfully," Chiron replied. "I have some Iris messages to take care of today but I'll see you all later tonight. I believe Grover has something to discuss with you," the Centaur instructor commented while throwing Grover an encouraging look.
"Chiron wants you to convince Grover to use the Labyrinth," Juniper informed the son of the sea god while throwing a glare in the direction the Centaur had just left. "I think it's a very bad idea to even try."
The Labyrinth had grown huge since its creation by the legendary inventor Daedalus. The living maze existed in another dimension so the tunnels were actually wormholes which made traveling through the Labyrinth much quicker than through the regular world. It was much like apparition, flaming, and travel via portkey, just with a different dimension than utilized by those other forms of magical travel.
"You can get anywhere through the Labyrinth," Annabeth pointed out.
"If you don't die first after getting lost," Grover put forth.
"Clarisse did survive her scouting trip into the Labyrinth," Thalia defended her best female friend's point of view.
"She barely survived and that demigod she found wandering out of the Labyrinth had gone insane," Juniper defended her boyfriend's standpoint.
Harry remembered reading reports on Clarisse's scouting mission into the Labyrinth after she had found an undetermined half blood Chris Rodriguez wandering out of the magical maze near her home. Chris had joined Kronos' army which is what led Chiron to believe Kronos might be considering using the Labyrinth.
"The only useful information Chris revealed was that Luke's minions have been entering the Labyrinth. He also mentioned string. We suspect he was talking about Ariadne's string," Annabeth explained to bring everybody up to date.
Theseus had once used the string to navigate the deadly traps of the Labyrinth.
"The closest entrance of the Labyrinth Clarisse found to the Camp was in Manhattan," Thalia added. "But beyond Luke's plots, Pan being underground would explain why he has been so hard to locate."
"Yes, no sane satyr would ever search underground let alone in the Labyrinth," Juniper agreed.
"Why wouldn't a satyr search underground?" Nico queried in confusion.
"Because satyrs hate going underground Nico," Grover answered. "Underground there aren't any flowers, sunshine, or coffee shops!"
"The Labyrinth can read a being's thoughts. Even though it's designed to trick and fool those within its bounds if a being can make the Labyrinth work for them then they can reach anywhere they desire to go," Annabeth explained.
"Grover you know I'd never let anything really terrible happen to you," Harry assured his human goat hybrid friend.
"I don't think I can do it Percy. Ever since that cave incident in the Sea of Monsters I just can't go underground," Grover asserted.
The telepathic wizard looked deep into the horned teen's eyes and boosted Grover's confidence enough to enter the Labyrinth while declaring, "I have faith in you my friend. You'll have the courage and strength to enter the maze when the time comes."
Grover simply nodded his agreement after a moment of hesitation before suggesting, "Come on Juniper. Let's go spend the day in the sunshine if I have to eventually enter the darkness."
That evening after dinner the campers all geared up in their combat armor and met Quintus at the sword arena near the edge of the woods.
"Gather around campers," the automaton called. "You will be divided into teams of two which have already been chosen. The objective of this exercise is to collect the golden laurels without dying. The wreath is inside a silk package strapped to the back of one of the monsters you will be facing. But there is only one package which contains the laurels while there are five other monsters with false packages. There will be no trading or switching partners. I don't want to hear any whining either."
From a scroll Quintus read the groups: Beckendorf with Silena Beauregard, Travis and Connor Stoll, Clarisse and Lee Fletcher, Percy with Annabeth, Thalia with Grover, Tyson with Nico, and the list continued until all the names had been read.
"You have two minutes to prepare," Quintus announced.
The daylight was fading as Harry and his mate entered the woods and located the giant scorpion tracks. It was rather cool out so the sorcerer cast a mild warming charm at his lover who threw him a grateful look as she kept her perceptive gaze sweeping over the forest looking for threats. The couple could hear the Stoll brothers making a lot of noise as the twin sons of Hermes clumsily made their way in search of the laurels.
When the couple reached Zeus' fist they heard the crashing sounds of much larger beings than the Stoll brothers moving through the woods towards their position.
Peering through the foliage with his magical sight the mage instructed, "Get ready…here they come."
"How many of them are there?" Annabeth whispered as the sounds of approaching monsters came from all around.
"How many of what are there?" A female voice spoke up suddenly from behind the pair of half bloods.
Annabeth jumped in surprise and whirled around but Harry didn't take his eyes away from peering through the trees. The sorcerer had sensed the dryad approaching several moments earlier. Juniper's tree was just on the edge of the clearing that surrounded Zeus' fist.
"Are you guys busy?" Juniper inquired as her mood suddenly darkened, tears starting to come to her eyes.
"Percy is but I'm not Juniper. What's wrong?" Annabeth questioned her tree spirit friend, knowing her mate could handle the monsters.
"Grover is so distraught. He spends all his time away searching for Pan. At first I suspected he was seeing another tree," explained Juniper.
"Grover would never do that Juniper. He loves you," the daughter of Athena assured her friend.
"But he had a crush on a blueberry bush once," Juniper pointed out.
"First of all Juniper that was before he met you. Second, a crush isn't on the same level as love which is how Grover feels about you. And last…I imagine Grover was probably just hungry and didn't actually have any significant feelings for that bush," Harry spoke up, making the dryad feel better.
As the rustling in the trees grew louder Juniper suddenly looked fearful and shouted at the other two to hide before she vanished into green mist. The first scorpion chose that moment to burst forth from the trees and show its ten foot menacing form. Then two more of the monsters burst forth from the woods.
"Just great…they can sense some of your aura," the beautiful young woman groused.
Monsters usually attacked the most powerful half blood in the vicinity if they thought it was within their ability to kill the demigod. The monsters could only detect a small fraction of Harry's true power since he was actively suppressing most of it via Auramancy.
"You go in there while I deal with these things. It won't be but a moment, honey," the sorcerer suggested while nodding towards a crevice in Zeus' fist.
Annabeth squeezed into the crack in the nearby boulders while her boyfriend went to work. The warrior mage made quick work of the three scorpions, slaying the arachnids with efficient strokes of his blade as they were unable to harm him because he moved so fast. When Harry walked over to the crevice with the laurels he found Annabeth missing. It was when the warlock extended his senses into the crevice that he sensed the magic. Some kind of portal was in the ground. The immortal warrior went straight into the portal after his mate. Harry landed on his feet after a short drop. Annabeth was standing nearby.
"Percy, thank the gods you're here," a very scared Annabeth announced as she attempted to squeeze the life out of her boyfriend.
"So where are we?" Harry curiously queried as he examined the long tunnel the couple found themselves in.
"It's the Labyrinth Percy…we've fallen into an entrance to the Labyrinth within the borders of Camp!" Annabeth answered her man with no small amount of fear on her gorgeous features. "We need to find the exit quickly before the Labyrinth shifts on us and we get lost," suggested the daughter of Athena, letting her fear somewhat overpower her logic.
"Or…I could simply apparate or flame us out of here," the mage pointed out.
"Oh…yeah or you could do that," a sheepish brunette agreed with her boyfriend as she hugged him tightly.
The couple vanished through Harry's apparition portal, reappearing at the entrance to the crevice. It was completely dark outside and the duo heard their friends calling.
"We're over here," Annabeth shouted as the couple began to walk around Zeus' fist, running into Clarisse first with the other campers who had been searching nearby quickly running up.
"Where have you two been? We've been looking for you for hours," Clarisse demanded.
Suddenly the campers other than Harry's close friends and lovers plus Clarisse lost interest and headed back towards their cabins.
"A little trick with the Mist," the sorcerer explained at the questioning look coming from Chiron. "We fell into an entrance to the Labyrinth around Zeus' fist."
With a worried look on his features Chiron announced, "We'll talk more about this in the light of day. This is neither the time nor the place to have this discussion."
With a nod of agreement Harry led his friends and mates back towards the Poseidon cabin.
That night the green eyed water wizard had one of his occasional dream visions which conveyed knowledge and information. This vision showed a young boy in a Greek tunic wearing sandals and crouched in some kind of old fashioned workshop. The boy was scared, dirty, and waiting. What the boy had been waiting for was revealed to be an old man as two guards entered through oak double doors and tossed the old man on the floor.
"Father," yelled the boy while rushing forward to the bloodied old man's side. "I'll kill you for this," the boy promised the guards as he noticed all the signs that the old man had been worked over good.
The boy was ignored as a tall neatly dressed man with cruel eyes and a pointed beard wearing a crown of gold on his head entered the room.
"This is what you get for helping the Athenian to kill my Minotaur Daedalus and for turning my only daughter against me," the cruel man who was obviously a king announced.
"What happened with your daughter was of your own doing your majesty," Daedalus managed to wheeze out; earning him a kick to the ribs from the guard on the king's left.
"Since you care so much for this maze you created you will stay here for the remainder of your days, building me new wonders for my amusement. Since every maze needs a monster and you have destroyed mine you will become my new monster Daedalus," the king declared.
"You don't scare me Minis," Daedalus assured.
"No but you fear for your son old man. Displease me and he will be the one to pay. Remember that well," Minis threatened before sweeping out of the room.
"What are we going to do Father? Minis will kill you," the boy worriedly pointed out.
"I will find a way my son. Do not worry," the old man assured his child.
After the vision Harry decided to get out of Camp. It was really early in the morning so most people in the area were asleep. But the green eyed sorcerer wasn't constricted by time. Tapping some runes on the device he always kept on his person the brilliant warlock disappeared from that time and traveled back to the afternoon of the day before. The mage immediately apparated to New York while under his invisibility cloak.
Harry appeared in a somewhat messy but very large bedroom in a penthouse suite in upper Manhattan. Rachel was sitting at her desk sketching out images of her favorite demigod.
"I'm glad to see you're thinking of me as much as I'm thinking of you," Harry purred right next to Rachel's ear, having snuck up on her with ease.
"Percy…don't do that," Rachel Elizabeth Dare admonished after she jumped in fright. "What are you doing back here so soon?" The brown eyed beauty inquired after putting her sketch pad down and turning to face the now visible wizard.
"I just can't seem to stay away from you," answered the water wizard as he reached down and wrapped his arm around Rachel's waist, pulling her to her feet.
The reality traveler leaned down and kissed the curvy young woman. Rachel felt his tongue slide across her lips asking for entrance. She eagerly opened her mouth and slid her tongue against his as his entered her mouth. As their tongue's danced Rachel couldn't help but let a moan escape.
"I had a dream about you last night," Rachel announced a minute later as her forehead rested against Harry's, both trying to catch their breath.
"What was this dream about?" The magician queried while staring into Rachel's entrancing brown eyes that were identical to his first female friend's.
Rachel blushed as images of her erotic dream came to the front of her mind along with the subsequent frustration relief activities she partook in afterwards. The teenage artist didn't realize that her telepathic beau was picking up the projected thoughts.
"No need to answer that," the warlock whispered into Rachel's ear before nibbling on her lobe. "Hmm…you're wearing a skirt…skirts do fantastic things to me Rachel."
"Like…like what?" Rachel wanted to know as her loins burned with desire for the handsome demigod whose hard body was pressed against her.
Smut Scene Redacted (See hpfanficarchive or ficsite for the erotic version)
Chapter 2
A war council was called by Chiron the next morning and took place in the sword practice arena. Clarisse and Annabeth led the briefing.
"It's likely that Luke learned about the Labyrinth entrance during his time here at Camp and never told anybody," Annabeth speculated.
"He did," Juniper spoke up. "I tried to tell you last night before the scorpions showed up that Luke used to use the Labyrinth entrance all the time. It has been there for quite a while. I never knew some nasty old cave was important so I never mentioned it. I wouldn't have even noticed at all if Luke hadn't been the one to come around," Juniper added with a green blush to her skin.
"Due to evidence we've come across we believe Luke is searching for Daedalus' workshop in order to locate a way to safely navigate the maze," Clarisse announced while not wanting to mention the position of Chris Rodriguez.
Chris was the evidence Clarisse spoke of but she had feelings for the currently unhinged unclaimed half blood. Clarisse didn't want to draw anymore wrath upon Chris whom she had found wandering out of labyrinth near her home.
"According to the legends Daedalus' workshop is the center of the maze. If Luke can get Daedalus to help him then Luke could get anywhere he wants quickly, even Olympus," Annabeth explained for the benefit of those who weren't already aware.
The sword arena was silent for several moments until the quiet was broken by the squeaking of the giant pink rubber toy yak Mrs. O'Leary was mauling.
"Annabeth…isn't Daedalus dead?" Beckendorf asked.
Quintus spoke up, saying, "We should hope so. He was born what, three thousand years ago? The old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth."
"No one knows for sure. One rumor says that Daedalus disappeared back into the Labyrinth towards the end of his life. He could still be there. I'm living proof of how long someone can live," Chiron pointed out.
Quintus' long lasting form gave the phoenix animagus a suspicion of who he might be. But the sorcerer wouldn't act on his suspicions yet. Instead, he would wait and play things by ear.
"We need a Quest into the maze in order to locate Daedalus shop and convince him not to help Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists we also need to make sure it never comes into Luke's possession," the brunette daughter of Athena proposed.
Annabeth's suggestion was a good one. It took a great deal of power to permanently seal a Labyrinth entrance. Harry knew he could probably do it but that would reveal too much of his abilities. That was probably the reason Annabeth suggested the Quest, to give her boyfriend an alternative to personally sealing the entrance. For now the mage would erect powerful wards that would at least slow the Titan army down.
"We should also set up defensive lines and prepare for a battle near the entrance if it comes," Thalia suggested.
The gorgeous daughter of Zeus locked eyes with her favorite male.
"I'll stay behind and lead the defenses. If Luke's army arrives before you get back I'm the next best chance Camp has," Thalia sent to her telepathic boyfriend over the bond they shared.
Thalia could channel a portion of her powerful mate's abilities for a considerable amount of time if the need arose. Harry simply nodded his agreement with her plan.
"I agree with your suggestions. Who will lead the Quest?" Chiron questioned.
"Annabeth," Clarisse suggested as others all around the council table nodded their agreement with the nomination.
Annabeth, looking slightly uncomfortable, suggested, "Clarisse, you've participated in this venture as much as I have. You should go along too."
"I'm not going back in that maze," Clarisse firmly declared.
Travis Stoll opened his mouth to tease the daughter of Ares but suddenly shut his trap with the hard glare directed his way by the most powerful half blood at Camp. Harry could sense Clarisse's discomfort at the insanity inducing maze. In the past year Clarisse had been working hard to protect the Camp and provide information for the war effort. The temperamental teen had earned a rest.
"Is there agreement in Annabeth leading the Quest?" Chiron inquired.
There was a consensus with the exception of Quintus who abstained from voting.
"It's your time to visit the Oracle my dear," Chiron told the daughter of Athena.
Juniper approached Harry almost as soon as Annabeth left for the Big House.
"Percy, Luke wasn't the only one poking around the Labyrinth entrance. I also saw the sword master in that area. Time has no meaning for me so I don't know when it was but he creeps me out," the dryad informed her friend.
"Thanks for letting me know Juniper," the grateful sorcerer said.
"I have to get back to Grover now. Keep him safe if he insists on going on this foolish Quest," the tree spirit insisted before rushing off.
Juniper's revelations reinforced Harry's suspicions about Quintus possibly being the creator of the Labyrinth, Daedalus. Naturally the maze's creator would have no fear of entering into his creation.
"I don't think I've ever been so popular," Rachel Elizabeth Dare declared as three visitors appeared in her room.
"I'm surprised at that," Thalia commented as she eyed the attractive artist up and down, admiring the younger female's physique.
"Rachel, this is Annabeth and Thalia. Ladies, this is Rachel," Harry introduced.
"He's told us all about you," Annabeth informed Rachel after stepping forward and hugging the chestnut haired beauty.
"We figured it was time for us to get to know you," the sorcerer's blue eyed girlfriend added as she took her turn hugging Rachel.
"You two don't mind that Percy and I…," Rachel trailed off.
Of course Rachel had heard quite a bit about her beau's other female friends and knew that he had multiple lovers. But Rachel was still unsure how the other women in her boyfriend's life would react to meeting her.
"Had sex," Annabeth supplied helpfully.
"And that's my cue to leave," Harry announced as he disappeared from the room.
"Coward," Thalia called.
"Remember, don't return to the cabin for at least six hours yet,"the powerful mind of the son of Poseidon instructed in the minds of all three gorgeous young women.
Thalia shivered and announced, "I just love it when he does that."
"Why can't you return for at least six hours?" Rachel inquired in confusion as she sat down on the edge of her bed.
When the two demigoddesses took a seat on the bed Annabeth explained, "Because he took us back in time so we would have the time to meet you properly. Things are pretty busy at Camp right now. So consider this your orientation."
"Orientation?" An amused Rachel queried.
"Yes, your orientation into Percy's harem," Thalia confirmed with a smile on her lips and mirth dancing in her bright blue eyes.
"Ok, what do I need to know then?" Rachel asked.
"Well first of all here is your portkey which will take you to and from Percy's cabin at Camp. Now ordinarily mortals can't come inside the Camp borders but that bracelet is enchanted to allow you through without any trouble," Annabeth explained while handing Rachel a gorgeous bracelet with her name inscribed and several precious gems artistically spaced on the band.
"It's beautiful," Rachel commented as she slipped the band on.
Immediately the piece of jewelry resized itself to fit her perfectly. A feeling of safety and comfort came over the heiress as she examined the bracelet.
"They have other enchantments placed on them too," Thalia spoke up as she held up her arm and concentrated, causing a similar bracelet to appear. "Only you or Percy can remove them now. Just think about wanting to be in Percy's cabin at Camp and you'll be transported there. Do the same to get back here. We all share his bed at night back at Camp. You can also speak directly into his mind at any time simply by thinking what you want to say to him while focusing on him. It will also work with any of Percy's other mates provided they have a bracelet. So far all of his mates do have a bracelet since you just received yours."
"You both seem pretty adjusted to this sharing your boyfriend lifestyle," Rachel observed.
The two half bloods exchanged grins before Annabeth explained, "It takes a small amount of adjustment at first but Percy makes it really easy. He's kind, gentle, and loving. Percy also has more stamina than probably even most of the gods."
"Definitely more skill," added Thalia with a grin.
"Best of all…we get these," Annabeth informed Rachel while passing the brown eyed female a small normal looking bottle.
"What's this?" Rachel queried curiously as she opened the bottle and smelled the liquid inside.
The concoction smelled like strawberries.
"That is a contraceptive potion mixed with a potion to regulate our monthly curse. Basically as long as you take that potion you won't have a period and you won't get pregnant. Percy brews a large cauldron of it once a month for us. He's got matching bottles that are enchanted so that when he fills them the contents are transferred to each of our bottles. You only need to take it once a month. Go ahead and drink it now," Thalia suggested.
A smiling Rachel quickly downed the potion.
"That alone makes being with him worth it," Rachel stated, both demigoddesses nodding their agreement.
"The immortality doesn't hurt," Annabeth pointed out.
"Immortality," prompted the surprised young artist.
"When we mature enough Percy has the means of making us immortal," Thalia explained. "The only reason he hasn't made us immortal yet is because he wants to wait until we're physically in our prime. That will probably be when we're in our low twenties. I don't think any of us want to be stuck as teenage girls for the rest of eternity."
Harry had taken the golden apples he had acquired from the garden of the Hesperides the previous year and cultivated the seeds on the terraformed Mars. Those seeds were responsible for quite a few orchards of golden apple bearing trees which granted the eater immortality.
"Wow," an amazed Rachel summed up her current feelings.
"It is a bit overwhelming," Annabeth agreed. "So let's talk about something a little bit more believable, sex."
The conversation from there devolved into what most males termed "girl talk." Most of this talking revolved around the three young female's favorite demigod and his prowess in bed. The trio of beauties grew a lot closer to each other over the course of that afternoon of conversation.
As soon as Annabeth returned from the Big House attic where she had retrieved her prophecy from the mummified Oracle of Delphi she recited it for the assembled group near the Big House.
"You shall delve into the darkness of the endless maze. The dead, the traitor, the lost one raise. You shall be aided or hindered by the ghost king's hand, the child of Athena's final stand," Annabeth stated before looking directly at her mate and mentally projecting, "You shall lose a one you loved like a brother to worse than death."
Harry could tell Annabeth was rattled by the last line which is why she didn't state it out loud. Annabeth had admitted that long ago she had held a crush for Luke, long before she met Percy. But eventually those feelings changed to those somewhat held by a brother and sister. The last line of the prophecy probably indicated Luke's fate with Kronos. Annabeth certainly wasn't the only child of Athena and her boyfriend intended to keep her safe so neither was too worried about that part.
"Were there anymore lines? That doesn't sound like a complete prophecy," the perceptive Chiron pointed out.
"No, it was pretty short," Annabeth lied, which caused a skeptical Chiron to gaze at the young woman. "So who is going with me?"
"I will," Harry answered immediately.
"I'll go too, "Grover announced, thinking that the line about the lost one indicated Pan.
"Tyson you should come too. We'll need you," Annabeth told the one eyed teen.
As Tyson nodded happily Chiron protested, "Annabeth, the ancient laws say a hero is only allowed two companions on a Quest."
"Chiron…when have the normal rules ever applied to me?" Harry spoke up to defend his mate's decision.
"You make a good point," the centaur agreed uneasily. "Very well…so be it. You'll leave at dawn."
Indicating he wanted to speak to the wizard Quintus waved the sorcerer over.
"I do not have good feelings about this Quest Percy," the automaton announced as his hellhound dropped her shield at the water mage's feet. After the green eyed young male tossed the shield like a Frisbee Quintus warned, "Percy the Labyrinth exists to fool and distract those inside. This can be especially dangerous for half bloods who are easily distracted naturally. If you must go on this quest then I want you to take this," the sword master instructed while passing the immortal warlock a whistle made out of ice.
"A stygian ice whistle," observed the son of Poseidon. "I assume this is attuned to Mrs. O'Leary?"
Stygian ice was made from the ice floating on the River Styx. The whistle wouldn't melt but would shatter upon use, so would only work once typically. The warlock suspected he could use a reparo charm again and again so that the whistle would become reusable. Mrs. O'Leary would be able to appear whenever and wherever she was called with the whistle.
"Yes, it is. You are more intelligent than you let on Percy," Quintus observed.
"I have to keep people guessing," the mage pointed out with a small smile. "Thank you."
With that the warlock left to go find his friends and lovers. Packing for the trip was extremely easy thanks to the magical trunks the sorcerer had crafted for his mates which could hold as much as the owner wanted due to the pocket dimensions within.
That night after the sea wizard fell asleep he experienced another dream vision. This time he was onboard the Princess Andromeda once more watching as Luke knelt before Kronos' golden sarcophagus.
"Our spies at the Camp have reported the success of your plan my Lord. A Quest is being sent into the Labyrinth. Our side of the bargain is almost finished," Luke declared.
"Excellent Luke," answered the Titan Lord's evil voice. "I will lead the attack through myself once the means to navigate the Labyrinth has been obtained. Only one more heart joining our cause will raise me from Tartarus fully. Now fulfill the pledge you made to me and ready the strike force to eliminate those annoying heroes. Then from there we shall eliminate Olympus."
Just then there was a knock at the door of the stateroom the coffin was in.
"Come in," Luke commanded as he stood and straightened his garments.
A pair of dracaenae entered flanking Kelli, the reformed empousai Harry had slain in Goode High School.
"Hello, Luke," the bubbly dark creature greeted the demigod.
"What do you want demon? I instructed you not to disturb me," Luke growled, obviously holding no love for the monster sporting a stunningly gorgeous disguise.
"How about a nice shoulder massage to get rid of some of that stress you seem to have," Kelli offered.
"Get down to business or leave," Luke answered.
"You used to be a lot more fun to hang around Luke," Kelli pouted.
"Yes, before I saw what you can really do. I know what you did to that boy in Seattle," the son of Hermes declared.
"That boy was merely a snack and meant nothing to me like you do Luke," Kelli tried. Luke's continued glare caused Kelli to shrug before announcing, "The advance team is ready as you commanded. We can leave…," Kelli trailed off. "There's a presence here. Your senses are getting dull Luke if you can't sense him," the demon declared before focusing on the green eyed mage and lunging with bared fangs.
That was the point when Harry woke up.
"Was it another vision?" Artemis asked her sweaty lover.
The sorcerer sat up between Artemis and Aphrodite, his only two mates not asleep. The two goddesses were more perceptive to their surroundings than the warlock's mortal partners so usually detected their man's visions. It was also obvious that one of the deity's was keeping the other females in the expanded bed asleep.
"Yes, it's confirmed. Kronos plans to lead the attack himself. He's almost reformed," answered the Potter male.
"You'll kick his ass when the time comes. We'll help you," Aphrodite encouraged her favorite male.
With an amused smile Harry also told the pair, "Kelli reformed quickly. She's back working for Luke."
"You thought she would," Artemis pointed out.
"I know…but it was interesting because Luke was just as nervous around her as any other male should be," explained the magician.
"Show us," the Goddess of Love urged.
The telepathic wizard shared his memory of the vision with the two beautiful immortals.
"It is times like these that I really start to hate father's stupid non-interference laws," Artemis grumbled.
"Enough talk of war for one night," Aphrodite declared. "Right now let's do what I'm best at, making love," the blonde suggested before pouncing on Harry.
Artemis obviously agreed because she was only a second behind Aphrodite in jumping the sorcerer. Harry didn't mind the diversion one bit.
It was slightly after dawn when the group of Quest participants gathered at Zeus' fist. It was obvious that Grover had spent the night with Juniper. The dryad was out of her tree to see the group off. The area was buzzing with activity as defensive measures were being put in place to prepare for battle. Harry had already erected wards during one of his little jaunts back in time. The enchantments were currently under the control of Thalia. Thalia knew about her boyfriend's vision the night before and would fill Chiron and the others in after the Quest commenced.
"Stay safe gorgeous," Thalia instructed her mate as she hugged him tightly before capturing his lips in a searing kiss.
The grinning mage nodded his agreement before Choria and Furusia expressed their farewell sentiments as well. All three females who were remaining behind knew their boyfriend could handle himself but had to keep up appearances. Plus kissing the wizard was enjoyable for the trio of enchanting females. The group of Questing Campers bid their friends farewell and descended into the Labyrinth.
The tunnel shifted to a new appearance within a hundred feet of the Camp entrance, disorienting the group. The new appearance of the tunnel was that of a round passageway composed of red brick with iron barred portholes at a spacing of ten feet. There was only darkness through the portholes and what sounded like voices. But the perceptive mage suspected the voices were simply provided to more quickly drive the Labyrinth's occupants towards insanity.
"Perhaps if we keep our hand on the left wall we'll be able to find our way out again by reversing direction," Annabeth suggested, which immediately caused the left wall to vanish into a large chamber.
"I hate magical mazes," Grover declared.
"Me too," Tyson agreed.
There were eight tunnels departing the chamber.
"Which tunnel did we come through?" The satyr queried.
"There's no way to tell," Annabeth announced. "Let's try this way."
The three males followed Athena's daughter down one of the tunnels. The tunnel soon changed to concrete while the ceiling dropped low forcing Tyson to proceed on his hands and knees.
"I can't stand this," a hyperventilating satyr announced. "Are we there yet?"
"Calm down Grover," the sorcerer instructed his friend while channeling calming magic into his tone.
"I just don't get why Pan would ever be down here…this is the complete antithesis of the wild," muttered the satyr.
"Pan isn't necessarily located in the Labyrinth itself Grover but most likely near an entrance," pointed out the grey eyed beauty.
Soon enough the narrow tunnel expanded into a massive chamber. A tiled motif decorated the walls with pictures depicting the Olympians in their Roman deity personas at a feast. An empty fountain lay in the center of the room.
"This looks to be Roman architecture," Annabeth observed just before eerie noises came up the tunnel in the direction the group was headed.
Another short distance through the maze and the tunnel became concrete covered with graffiti and bars once more. The tunnel began switching composition between brick, concrete, dirt, and all other forms as it twisted and turned in odd directions. At one point the Quest goers seemed to have stumbled into a wine cellar that was part of the tunnel but with no other exits. Another section of tunnel went beneath what sounded like a bar with people walking on the wooden flooring above. Shortly after the bar section the first skeleton was found, a milkman.
"Poor bastard must have wandered in here on accident," Annabeth commented.
"Monsters," Tyson announced as he sniffed the air.
The satyr and phoenix animagus could smell the scent of monsters nearby as well. The tunnel seemed to have doubled back because presently the travelers found themselves back in the room with the Roman mosaic. The friends had company. The being present in the room had two faces, on opposing sides of his head.
"Hello Janus," Harry greeted the god dressed as a doorman.
"Your choice will come soon enough Jackson," one face said. "Now it's Annabeth's turn to choose. Hurry up girl we don't have all day," the other face declared. "But she'll talk to me and go this way," the other face urged as it indicated one of the two wooden doors behind the god.
The deity argued with himself for some time while holding a silver key, his sigil of power.
"Where do the doors lead?" Annabeth queried.
"One leads the way you desire to go and the other leads to certain death," the right face explained.
"You don't have to make a choice Annabeth," the immortal wizard soothed his mate.
"Oh yes she does," the left face argued.
With a snap of his fingers the sorcerer caused the Mist to bend to his will and Janus' voice was gone. The god of doors tried to speak but no sound was forthcoming.
At that moment a bright light flared into being in the chamber, coalescing into the form of Hera Queen of the Olympian Gods.
"Now that's a good way to deal with Janus," Hera praised. "You've gotten quite good at manipulating the Mist Percy. But I'd expect nothing less from someone who is being personally tutored by Poseidon."
Janus paled at this news, information the minor god obviously hadn't been privy to. Judging from Hera's feral grin the deity was enjoying scaring the minor immortal.
"Now Janus the girl's time has not yet arrived to make that choice. Here is your choice to make Janus: leave now or be turned into a door before being shattered," Hera threatened.
The silenced Janus raised his silver key, fitted it into the air and vanished.
"You young ones must be famished. Sit with me a while and chat," Hera spoke while waving her hand and conjuring tables of food while the fountain began flowing once more.
As Hera served sandwiches and lemonade to the travelers the green eyed wizard was careful to restrain his aura around the goddess to levels that would be expected of a being capable of going toe to toe with Atlas. Between his time spent with Poseidon, Artemis, and Aphrodite the phoenix animagus had plenty of practice hiding his true power from deities. Poseidon had warned his son about Hera's notions of the perfect family. The Olympian Queen despised most half bloods for what they represented, unfaithfulness. Children of Athena were naturally excluded from this group because Athena was never married.
"Grover, dear, use your napkin properly instead of eating it," Hera admonished the satyr.
"Yes ma'am," agreed Grover.
"Tyson, you're positively skin and bones. Would you like another peanut butter sandwich?" The goddess inquired.
"Yes, nice lady," the one eyed teen agreed after covering his mouth to suppress a burp.
"Queen Hera, what are you doing in the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked respectfully.
With the flick of a finger from the deity Annabeth's hair straightened itself. There was no dirt that would stick to the young woman's body thanks to the enchantments on the skintight armor Annabeth wore underneath her clothes.
"I came to see you of course," replied the elder goddess.
"I was under the impression that you didn't care for heroes," Annabeth commented as the group ate.
"I tell you I've gotten so much bad press over the eons because of my little spat with Hercules," Hera announced. "It's all water under the bridge. My patience wore thin with that one. He was after all a child of my loving husband's and another woman. Marriage counseling has helped us immensely since those times, and especially after this last little incident."
Neither Harry nor Annabeth cared for how easily Hera was dismissing Thalia's conception. For quite some time now the sorcerer suspected there might have been some divine intervention in the deaths of Thalia's family.
"So why was Janus interfering with this Quest?" The green eyed magician inquired to change the subject.
"Janus like all of the minor gods is prone to jealousy. They don't play as big a role in the universe as they would like. Interfering with an important quest is their way to boost their importance," Hera answered.
"I don't think Janus and the minor gods are the only ones that feel that way," Annabeth sent to her boyfriend mentally as she realized why Hera herself was getting involved.
"In times of strife we must persevere and keep our goals in mind," Hera declared.
"What would your goals be in this situation Queen Hera?" Annabeth queried.
"By helping you four I can aid my goals of keeping my family on Olympus together. Zeus only allows me to intervene once every century or so I'm afraid. I can grant you a wish Annabeth. But I can advise you before you make your wish. I know not what fate befell Daedalus but my son Hephaestus just might. Hephaestus admired Daedalus. I suggest seeking out my son at his forges," explained the Queen of the Olympian Gods.
Annabeth thought for several moments on what her wish should be. The grey eyed young woman knew of the history of wishes granted by deities. Gods and goddesses could be tricky and often wouldn't reveal things outright.
"I wish for an enchanted object that will grant my greatest desire when I will it to and think of what I want," Annabeth finally announced.
"Very clever Annabeth," praised an amused Hera. "But I'd expect nothing less given who your mother is."
The Queen waved her hand and caused an attractive bracelet to appear on the gray eyed demigoddess' wrist. At that moment the chamber rumbled and shook slightly.
"My husband has no patience so that is my cue to leave. Farewell," the goddess called before disappearing along with the food and the two wooden doors that had previously blocked two tunnels.
At that moment all three of the male quest participants tensed as their enhanced senses picked up something big and nasty approaching from the right tunnel. Grabbing onto his mate's hand the wizard pulled the daughter of Athena down the left tunnel with Grover and Tyson right beside the couple.
A hundred yards down the tunnel the group was met with a boulder blocking their path.
Without even slowing down the warrior mage shouted, "Tyson cover Annabeth and Grover."
The one eyed teen wrapped the indicated pair in his embrace while turning his back as the phoenix animagus plowed into the boulder, atomizing the rock as the magician channeled a very localized reductor curse into the obstruction. The group moved past the point where the boulder had stood before Harry turned and concentrated, generating a thick wall of ice over the tunnel with jagged spears of frozen water on the other side. The pained scream of whatever was on the other side of the wall was music to the Campers' ears as the creature ran right into the ice spears in the dark tunnel.
"Well that's different," Grover observed as the group turned and was faced with an exit to the Labyrinth into a barred chamber.
Through the bars the group was able to observe rows of cells in a ring surrounding a courtyard, a prison. The group of friends grew silent as they heard deep sobs escaping from the level above. Suddenly Tyson grew excited as a mumbling was heard between sobs. The translation charms on Harry and Annabeth's body armor took a second to adjust to the very ancient language. By that time Tyson had bent the cell doors and ran through with the other three Campers following right behind the Cyclopes.
"This is Alcatraz," Annabeth whispered as she finally recognized the architecture of the structure.
Harry suddenly silenced the entire group of Campers and physically restrained the eager Tyson as he spotted an extremely hideous monster perched on the second floor balcony. From the waist up the monster possessed a woman's body. The monster's lower form was that of a dragon with enormous talons and a barbed tail like a Hungarian Horntail possessed. The female monster's legs were sporting hundreds of poisonous snakes. Where the woman joined with dragon her skin bubbled and boiled, frequently shifting into the head of a deadly animal.
Tyson's fear was evident to his demigod brother as the mage also recognized the monster Kampe from lessons with Poseidon. The phoenix animagus also recognized the language Kampe and the prison cell's occupant were speaking as what the Olympians called the Tongue of the Old Times, what Gaia originally spoke to the Titans and her other children.
The group concentrated on listening in on what Kampe was saying.
"You will work for my master or suffer horribly," Kampe hissed at the occupant of the cell.
"I will not serve," a male voice replied.
Harry used his magical sight to peer through the masonry and steel up into the cell where he saw a vaguely humanoid male that had dozens upon dozens of arms and hands spouting out of his constantly morphing torso.
"There's a hundred handed one up there," the sorcerer informed his lover.
"They haven't been heard from for millennia as far as I know, not since the last Titan war," the grey eyed beauty sent back to her boyfriend with amazement clear in her thoughts.
"Then your pain shall be unbearable Briares," Kampe declared as Tyson gasped.
It was obvious Tyson had caught on to the nature of the occupant of the cell. Cyclopes generally idolized hundred handed ones.
"I'll make your first imprisonment seem like a vacation. Contemplate your fate until I return," the hideous dragon woman declared before jumping off the catwalk and flying around the corner.
When the Titans had ruled they imprisoned the earlier children of Gaea and Ouranos; the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires or Hundred-Handed Ones. Kampe had been the jailer for those two ancient races. The Hundred-Handed Ones were like elder siblings to the Cyclopes. The Hundred-Handed Ones were as tall as the sky and strong enough to break mountains or so the legends foretold. Eventually Zeus had killed Kampe and freed the Hekatonkheires and Cyclopes from Tartarus.
"Well let's go see why Briares hasn't fought his way out of here," the mage suggested while leading the way up the stairs onto the second floor catwalk.
Briares had pale milky colored skin and sported a loincloth.
"Briares, great Hundred-Handed One, help us," Tyson pleaded, causing the strange human sized being to stop sobbing.
"Leave here while you can Cyclops. I cannot even help myself let alone you," Briares warned.
"But you can do anything. You are a Hundred-Handed One," the young one eyed teen argued with no small amount of hero worship written on his features.
The Hundred Handed One's arms played with broken pieces of the bed in the cell, making creations incredibly quickly before dissembling the constructs and building new objects.
"No I can't…Kampe is back. The Titans will rise once more and cast us back into Tartarus," Briares objected.
"Put on your brave face," urged Tyson.
The Hundred-Handed One's features morphed into a facsimile of a brave warrior before crumpling once more into a frightened expression. Hekatonkheires had the ability to alter their facial features into fifty different poses which also allowed their emotions to mimic those expressions.
"I can't. My scared face always comes back," lamented Briares.
"We can talk about this later," the green eyed mage announced. "Now we need to leave here before Kampe returns," the phoenix animagus added while ripping the cell door from its mounting. "Come on Briares, we're getting the hell out of here."
"If I try to escape Kampe will torture me," objected Briares.
"If you stay she'll torture you anyway," Annabeth pointed out.
"Daughter of Athena makes a good point," Briares agreed, recognizing the goddess' features in her daughter. "I will go with you."
Just then the wizard spun around as he sensed Kampe trying to stealthily reenter the cell block.
"Shit," Harry cursed before pointing his hands at the beast just entering the cell block and unleashing his power.
A jet of icy energy impacted the she-demon and encased her in thick ice. The sorcerer continued to poor on the power until a small iceberg surrounded Kampe.
"That won't hold her for long," the warlock declared before generating a slide of ice angled towards the cell that led to the Labyrinth entrance.
Indeed as the group slid down cracks could be heard coming from the ice formation. Just as the group entered the targeted cell the mountain of ice exploded outward to reveal Kampe holding twin scimitars of a size proportional to their wielder, wrapped in glowing green mist that the warrior wizard knew was poison. As soon as the group cleared the cell block entrance the water wizard formed a thick barrier of ice. This time Kampe barely slowed down as she hacked through the obstruction with her blades. By this time Annabeth had located the Daedalus rune and opened the portal into the Labyrinth. The group all jumped inside as Kampe chased after them. But before the she-demon could follow into the maze the immortal sorcerer repulsed her with a well aimed bludgeoning curse while slamming shut the portal.
The group paused in a chamber with several large pipes pouring out streams of water into a pit which drained into a hole in the center of the room. The hole seemed to be bottomless. A slippery walk way ran the circumference of the chamber.
"I should jump in this pit and save you all the trouble. It goes straight to Tartarus," Briares announced as the group caught their breath.
"That would make our efforts in freeing you worthless. Now where are your brothers?" The green eyed sorcerer queried.
With his grieving face in place the Hundred-Handed One announced, "They faded."
The other two Hundred-Handed Ones had become forgotten and lost their will to stay ageless and immortal. The pair just faded from existence. Some immortal beings, like the gods and some monsters, could gain power by mortals investing their emotions in the immortals. Power was gained through belief. The Titans were naturally more powerful than the gods but couldn't gain much power from mortal belief. The Gods on the other hand could gain a great deal of power from belief and could use that to overcome the Titans. The pitfall of such belief was that if the immortal was relying too much on that power and the mortal belief faded then so too could the immortal. Helios the sun god had faded, leaving Apollo his duties.
"We need you to help defend Camp against Kronos' army," Grover suggested.
"I cannot," Briares declared forlornly. "I am weak."
"Will you go visit my father and at least discuss your situation with him?" The water wizard inquired.
After switching to his thinking face for several moments Briares fluctuated to resolve and answered, "I will son of Poseidon. But how will I get there?"
The warlock waved his hands at the water swirling into the abyss around the slippery basin. A shimmering pool of energy was formed.
"By jumping in there my friend," explained the phoenix animagus. "That will take you to my father."
Briares nodded once and dove into the pool, rapidly vanishing through the portal.
Shortly after Briares' departure the group settled to rest in a corridor comprised of large marble blocks. Annabeth speculated that this could mean the Quest was approaching an older part of the maze and therefore Daedalus' workshop but without much conviction. The maze had changed composition so many times there was no way to tell the age. The resourceful immortal erected his wizarding tent for the group to rest in.
The warlock could tell Annabeth was tense so decided to give her a massage to help her relax.
"That feels heavenly baby," the demigoddess purred as her lover manipulated the muscles of her lower back.
"I always aim to please," the mage whispered as he sensuously massaged his mate's exposed flesh with literally magical hands.
"I think you deserve a reward for being so wonderful," the grey eyed young woman announced playfully.
"What did you have in mind?" Harry queried.
"Me," a familiar voice announced from behind the sorcerer.
When the warlock turned he was greeted by the pleasant vision of Rachel wearing a school girl outfit.
"Aphrodite temporarily reprogrammed my portkey. Your other mates have been telling me how exciting it is for them when you explore all of their bodies. You still have one area left to explore on me," Rachel purred sexily as she turned and flipped up the back of her skirt to show her gorgeous uncovered bum.
"Oh I love my life," Harry announced with a grin as Annabeth, having gotten up off the bed, pressed her nude form to his back and kissed his neck.
Smut Scene Redacted (See hpfanficarchive or ficsite for erotic version)