❛010❜

AFTER IVY WOKE up from her dream of percy and mystery girl in paradise island, she stayed up the entire night replaying it over and over again. over analyzing every detail to try and find some clue to where he was and how to find him. but at the end, ivy had gotten to a hurtful conclusion.

it didn't matter.

it didn't matter because he was fine and perfectly healthy, so if he wasn't coming back it was simply because he didn't want to. he didn't want to come back home, to his mom, friends, and to the people who cared for him enough to be distraught at the thought of him dead. but he seemed perfectly content living his stupid blue lagoon dream with the first girl he came across.

as he gave up on them, ivy gave up on him.

either way, to save everyone the disappointment of knowing their almighty hero son of poseidon abandoned them, ivy didn't tell anyone about her dream. absolutely no one. not even annabeth—and that's saying something. but it was better that way. it's easier to believe someone dead than somewhere else happy while you're suffering on the brink of war. she prefered it to be the only one living with that hollowness in her stomach. especially since she had a feeling of where he was, but ivy chose to not look into it for her own peace of mind.

and just like that, another week went by.

since two weeks have passed since the explosion, chiron couldn't excuse percy's absence as anything other than death. that afternoon, his shroud was set to burn in his memory. ivy had been offered to design it, being that she was the closest to percy, but she didn't have the heart to design a shroud for someone who's very much not dead. so she passed that task to annabeth, excusing herself for it being "too hard for her."

bullshit.

if she ever saw percy again she was going to gut him. like a fish.

still, the seashell necklace remained on her neck. no matter how many times she has looked at herself in the mirror, willing herself to resent him enough to pull it out without remorse. she just couldn't do it. so now, his engraved initials burned on her throat.

but instead she found herself in the archery range, focusing on making bullseyes so she wouldn't accidentally let everything spill in a burst of anger or sadness. she wasn't sure which one could happen first.

"well, hello ivy dear," the playful voice of travis reached her ears as he neared her. "damn, i would hate to be that target."

snapping out of her thoughts, ivy noticed the target she has been shooting for who knows how long. a plethora—more that she could count—arrows were sticking out of the same spot at the center of the target. it made her purse her lips, she could do better, if they weren't off center they would go through other arrows.

"hi, travis," ivy replied, smiling lightly at him as she turned kapsoura back to its keychain form. she noticed the sun sinking in, her stomach lurched. "could you tell me what time it is? i don't know how long i've been practicing," she managed to muster a chuckle.

the son of hermes lifted his left wrist, showing off a rolex that he definitely stole. "it's 4:30," he replied. "so, uh—an hour until..."

he didn't finish his sentence, and he didn't need to. an hour until the funeral, he meant to say. an hour until she burned the memory of percy. because he wasn't dead, and there was nothing more that she wanted to do than forget about him. it seemed an easy thing to do, according to percy on his little island of course.

"you okay?" travis asked in her silence. "i mean, i know you guys were... close. it's not easy to lose someone like that."

ivy shrugged, unsure of what her reaction had to be. she felt disconnected from herself, numb. "okay, i guess. i just feel bad for sally, losing her son and everything."

"and what about you lost?" the son of hermes asked. "percy was more than a friend to you, everyone knows that. you're entitled to grief him just the same as everybody else."

"trav—" the brunette choked on her words. mulling over travis's words, ivy found it impossible to talk about percy. even more now that somebody else acknowledges that they were more, he meant more to her. but the internal guilt of her own ignorance won over the thoughts of percy, at least temporarily.

"i'm sorry," ivy said. and he knew what she meant.

i'm sorry i used you. i'm sorry i'm emotionally unavailable. i'm sorry i can't give you what you want.

travis smiled, with no signs of mischief or flirtation. just a pure kind-hearted smile, and he said, "it's okay, maybe in another life."

"yeah," she agreed, a smile tugging at her lips at the idea. "maybe."

nodding, the son of hermes looked towards the cabins. "we better get going. annabeth and gabriel should be looking for you to get reading for the ceremony."

ivy sighed as she started walking to the cabins, travis alongside her. "thank you, trav," she said quietly.

"for what?" travis asked.

the daughter of aphrodite shrugged, she had a lot of things to thank him for. for keeping her together, for being truthful with her, for understanding her. "everything, i guess."

"after so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. i have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honors," chiron's word filtered through the air.

ivy scanned the crowd of demigods. they were all facing towards her, annabeth, and gabriel. the campers respectfully watched as annabeth took a long green silk burial cloth, embroidered with a trident, and set it on the flames.

annabeth turned to face her best friend subtly, asking a silent question. are you sure you don't want to do this?

i'm sure, the brunette communicated back. annabeth paused for a second, scanning ivy with her piercing gray eyes, before her gaze shifted to the figure beside her. gabriel gave her a reassuring look.

the daughter of athena took a deep breath before facing the audience. ivy took a minute to look at her, annabeth looked terrible. her hair was tangled, her eyes were puffy from crying, but she managed to say, "he was probably the bravest friend i've ever had. he..." annabeth's eyes fixed somewhere in the crowd, her face went blood red. following her line of sight, ivy saw what she was looking at. her blood turned to ice.

"he's right there!" ivy heard annabeth say, her voice sounding far away.

she barely registered the people gasping, turning their heads in disbelief.

this can't be real. this can't be real. this can't be real.

her mind was railing, the world swirled around her. she needed the world to stop spinning. ivy grabbed onto gabriel's arm to ground herself, ignoring how he tried to get her to react.

from a distance, unable to grasp her reality, she watched as he was crowded by campers. curses were thrown around, claps were shared. chiron neared him.

ivy stood rooted to her spot.

a mane of blonde cut through the crowd, followed closely by a tall tan figure. they shared a couple of sentences. but then she felt his eyes on her, just as deep and gorgeous as she remembered them. and he walked towards her, pushing away anybody who tried to engage in conversation.

the daughter of aphrodite felt her hands curl into fists. her manicured nails digging into her skin.

she just couldn't believe it. percy was here. looking better than she had ever seen him. a healthy glow on his skin, his hair windswept to the side, wearing a silk button-up shirt that contrasted with his skin perfectly.

a pit of anger grew inside of her, heating her up from her toes to the crown of her head. after what seemed like a lifetime, he reached her. the camp seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see what they would do.

"princess," he breathed out.

all ivy could do was blink. a single word calmed her building anger enough for the brunette to not punch percy in the face. her necklace felt like it was chocking her. and without saying a word, she turned on her heels and walked towards the big house. walking away from the son of poseidon, just like he had walked away from her. listening to her brain instead of her heart.

ivy didn't look at percy while he recounted his chain of events. he explained how he'd caused the explosion at mount st. helens and got blasted out of the volcano, been marooned—alone—on an island, then hephaestus had found him and told him he could leave. just for magic raft to carry him back to camp like the fucking magic carpet from aladdin.

the daughter of aphrodite wished she could say she detected a lie. the only part of the story that didn't fit was the part she was sure of, he hadn't been marooned alone. if anything, his story just confirmed her silent suspicion of his whereabouts.

percy had been marooned in ogygia.

as annabeth and ivy met eyes, the later figured her best friend had gotten to the same conclusion. gabriel narrowed his eyes at them, not understanding their interaction.

"you've been gone two weeks." annabeth shook her head, blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders. "when i heard the explosion, i thought—"

"i know," percy said. "i'm sorry, but—"

"no, you don't know," gabriel interrupted. the son of dionysus stared down at percy. eyes tinted the slightest shade of purple, arms were crossed over his chest. ivy didn't remember the last time she saw him this angry. "all you know is what happened to you in the explosion, how you got marooned, and how you survived. not for one second asking yourself what happened to the other people that were there, like ivy who didn't a heartbeat for 10 fucking minutes thanks to an explosion you caused—"

percy's jaw propped open at the news, his eyes darting between everyone in the room waiting for someone to deny gabriel's statement. but what he had said was true. after ivy had gotten medical attention and annabeth had calmed down, the blonde was able to recount what had happened. she had found ivy unconscious—still breathing and with a heartbeat—so she managed to carry her behind the metal spider towards hephaestus, to whom she summarized what she saw in mount st. helen. trouble came after she left the god behind, while she had been making her way back to camp.

annabeth said that ivy looked like she was trapped in herself, as if she having a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. after minutes of that, the brunette started to look like she was having a full on panic attack. then... she just stopped breathing and having a heartbeat all together. panicking, annabeth just ran as fast as she could to camp, which the blonde can only estimate it took about 10 minutes.

"—there's also the little fact of finding out how ivy's dad died." ivy flinched at gabriel's words, making the boy pause to take a deep breath. "so no, percy. you don't know, because you were dead for 2 weeks." gabriel finished with a passive aggressive tone, huffing back into his seat. ivy understood why he was mad, and she loved him for him. gabriel had seen first hand how hard these past weeks have been, not only for her but for annabeth, too. if she was in his place, she would be just as protective.

"i—" percy gulped, the guilt was clear on his face. before he could say anything to dig his grave any deeper with the son of dionysus, chiron stepped in.

"we can't change what has already happened," the centaur cleared his throat uncomfortably. "you said you talked to hephaestus, percy. did he mention anything that could be useful?"

"yes," the black haired boy rasped out. "i figured out how to get through the labyrinth with the hints he gave me when we talked."

"he told you the answer?" annabeth questioned.

"well, he sort of told me that i already knew. and i do. i understand now."

percy told them his idea.

once again, ivy felt herself grow angry. a kind of boiling range that threatened to blind her reason. she wanted to scream until her throat went raw. punch something enough times to rip her knuckles open. anything to get rid of the new range of emotions that was found in her heart.

but she remained still on her seat. jaw ticking in fury. the daughter of aphrodite was afraid that any movement would set free everything she had caged inside herself.

annabeth's jaw dropped. "percy, that's crazy!" the blonde turned to gabriel and ivy. "i can't be the only one that thinks this is crazy!"

gabriel let out a puff of air. "no, you definitely aren't. the idea is batshit crazy!"

chiron gave the son of dionysus a reproaching look at his language, then he sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "there is precedent, however. theseus had the help of ariadne. harriet tubman, daughter of hermes, used many mortals on her underground railroad for just this reason."

"but this is my quest," annabeth said. "i need to lead it."

chiron looked uncomfortable. "my dear, it is your quest. but you need help."

"from a completely random girl?" ivy spoke up for the first time in the entire conversation. all of them turned to look at her, they had assumed she would just stay quiet out of spite. and she had planned to, but the mention of this girl brought out a different kind of emotion she had never felt. percy tried to meet her eyes, but she kept her own firmly on chiron. "how do we even know we can trust her? also, what if she isn't even a mortal. like my dad, he could see through the mist because he was a descendant of apollo. if she's like that, this little plan wouldn't work."

"exactly!" annabeth agreed. and this is supposed to help? please! it's wrong. it's cowardly. it's—"

"hard to admit we need a mortal's help," percy said. "but it's true."

for the first time, ivy looked at percy. she gave him a withering glare, worse than the ones she used to give him during their yancy days. "you have no right to tell annie what she can or can't do on her quest!" her voice full of malice, she continued. "if she wants to bring a fucking mule instead of your little friend, she will. and if you have anything to say against it, you can go back to drinking fucking mojitos in that stupid little island for all i care, perseus!"

and she got up from her seat. the chair scraped the floor painfully, loudly bumping against the wall behind it. the brunette stormed off, leaving a trail of hot pink rays burning at her wake.

"she will calm down," chiron's voice was almost inaudible at the distance. "she's jealous, my boy."

"that's bullshit..." ivy heard percy say before his voice turned into nothing.

the daughter of aphrodite had opted for locking herself in her cabin after that, not even going to dinner at the pavilion that night. she didn't want to risk seeing percy anywhere, even more because the instinct to hug him and be glad he came back to her was running high. she was too petty to let that part of her win.

the meeting at the big house didn't end long after ivy stormed out, the little else they discussed brought to her by annabeth and gabriel who came to check on her. which wasn't much, since it was catching percy up to speed with what has happened these past weeks. his mother's distraught at his dead, chris's deteriorating health, quintus's dissaperance. all around good news, note her sarcasm.

also, gabriel struck a deal. since percy got to bring a guest along, gabriel got to come too. annabeth had weakly voted against it because she didn't want him to be in danger, but the son of dionysus wasn't taking any of it. he was determined to go, even if he gave them no explanation for his insistence. ivy suspected that it was because he didn't trust percy anymore—especially around her—since he was even more hostile to the boy than she was.

now they were set to continue their quest in the morning, if ivy ever got peaceful sleep that is...

in her dream, she was underground in a stone chamber. luke and another half-blood warrior were studying a map by flashlight.

luke cursed. "it should've been the last turn." he crumpled up the map and tossed it aside.

"sir!" his companion protested.

"maps are useless here," luke said. "don't worry. i'll find it."

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

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

"but how will we get the thread?"

luke stood, flexing his fingers. "oh, quintus will come through. all we have to do is reach the arena, and it's at a juncture. impossible to get anywhere without passing it."

"that's why we must have a truce with its master. we just have to stay alive until—"

"sir!" a new voice came from the corridor. another guy in greek armor ran forward, carrying a torch. "the dracaenae found a half-blood!"

luke scowled. "alone? wandering the maze?"

"yes, sir! you'd better come quick. they're in the next chamber. they've got him cornered."

"who is it?"

"no one i've ever seen before, sir."

luke nodded. "a blessing from kronos. we may be able to use this half-blood. come!"

they ran down the corridor, and ivy woke with a start, staring into the dark. a lone half-blood, wandering in the maze. she didn't get much sleep after that.

in the morning, ivy was once again packing for a quest she may not come back from. her siblings weren't exactly taking it well, especially how she resurfaced from the maze last time.

currently she was being weighed down by two very annoying twins, who hung to her legs as if they were monkeys.

"you're not going!" luna complained, the sound muffled as she was wrapped around her left thigh.

"you're staying here," luca followed. "and we're watching big hero 6 again!"

ivy groaned, attempting the walk with the menaces attached to her. but they were 11 year olds. the twins weren't exactly lightweight. "i have to go—seriously?! is nobody going to help me?"

sydney was lounging like a cat on her bed, lydia was skimming through a magazine beside her, and james was just straight up enjoying the show. tobias seemed completely out of it, usually he would be the first one teasing her but right now he seemed more interested in the wall.

james grinned, "mhm, no i don't think so. i would rather watch big hero 6."

"and i'm busy," lydia flipped a page, before flipping to another 3 seconds later.

"guys, i'm being dead ass right now. i have somewhere to be," ivy complained. they wouldn't leave without her, but she didn't want to be late either. if she was early, she could pick the farthest seat available from percy. "and where is silena? i could really use her help."

"she's ogling beckendorf," sydney yawned. "it's all she's been doing these past few days, anyway."

ivy groaned again, but this time at her horny sister. it wasn't like she could charmspeak the twins away. first of all, because she didn't like using charmspeak to just get her way. and second of all, it wasn't even going to affect them anyway because of their aphrodite genes.

the big guns had to come out.

"guys," the brunette gave the twins a warning look. "i'm going to count to three."

luna gasped. "you're not doing what i think you're doing."

"one—"

"you wouldn't! you promised chiron you wouldn't do it again!" luca stressed.

"two—"

"ooh, this is going to be fun." sydney rolled on her bed, propping her head on her elbows. lydia looked up from her magazine. james was already laughing. tobias was still zoned out.

the twins tightened their grip on her. "we're not going down without a fight!" they said simultaneously.

"three!" ivy finished.

she snapped her fingers. a burst of pink exploded across the room. shimmering around, a pink energy beam wrapped around her two younger siblings. ripping them apart from her, they were hauled up. the pink energy beam stuck to the ceiling, leaving the twins hanging like star fishes.

"i was doing this for your own good!" luca complained from his spot above, ivy had to crank her neck to look at them.

luna wiggled around, trying and failing to get free. "ugh, lena! lena! get us out of here!"

ivy let out a laugh, taking all of her siblings by surprise. she hadn't done that in a while. "well, you two could put being a beautiful chandelier in your resume."

finally being able to move her legs, she grabbed her knapsack from her bed. ivy double checked her outfit. deciding for a rather simple outfit, she wore comfortable mom jeans with a hot pink wife-beater she cut right above her belly button. paired with white sneakers and her seashell necklace (which she chose to ignore.) her hair was styled in a slick back bun. when silena had advised her fashion choices, she had called it "supermodel out of the job," which ivy agreed on. given the vibe she was going for, ivy had left her makeup simple. mascara, blush, a bit of bronzer, and highlight.

while she had been busy with her reflection. her siblings had started to react, now that their first step back was out of question. once she turned back to the door with her bag on her shoulder, ivy had to sigh in annoyance.

james was guarding the door with a shoe chest and his own body. lydia and sydney were covering the only two windows she could physically get out of. tobias was still non-responsive.

"i hate all of you!" ivy stomped on her foot.

lydia, balancing on the windowsill said, "we love you too much!"

the daughter of aphrodite closed her eyes for a second. "look, i get it. you guys are scared. but i'll come back! i always do!"

"you barely did last time," sydney whined.

"that was just... a different circumstance," she tried to explain. "it won't happen again, i promise. i'm careful for a reason, to come back to you guys!"

james shook his head from his barricade spot. "we know, but last time was too close. plus, gabriel is going on the quest now. they don't really need you there, and—"

"ivy," tobias communicated for the first time that morning. "can i talk to you for a second? in private"

"i—" looking at her very stubborn siblings, ivy realized she wasn't getting out of this one easily. "sure, come on."

tobias led her to the bathroom. he looked like he didn't sleep well, which was rare. he slept like a log. he seemed to act even more weird when he checked under the windows and into every cabinet before he turned back to her.

"tobie," ivy said slowly. "everything okay up there?"

the platinum haired boy came to a stop in front of her, still looking out for eavesdroppers.

"yeah, yeah," he whispered. "it's just... i had a nightmare last time."

"a nightmare?" ivy asked, demigod dreams were normal. by now tobias was used to them, learning to not think much of them. but if he thought it was important to share, it meant that he saw something important.

tobias nodded. "e—ethan was in it."

her eyes widened at the news. ethan and her brother were best friends, as thick as thieves. so close that ivy had question tobias about his feelings, which were platonic, but it was that type of bromance. it was changed when ethan left camp. nobody knew where he went, if he was alive or not. but it had left tobias shattered. ever since then, he hadn't even been able to say his name aloud.

"what was it about?" ivy worded it carefully.

"uh—" he scratched his head, "i—it was weird. i dunno, kinda just him. i only knew it was him because i could hear him. it was really dark, you couldn't really see anything. but he was talking to someone else. he sounded defensive, though. i think he's in trouble."

"gods of olympus," she reached for her necklace. on instinct tugging on it for comfort. "what has he gotten himself into..."

"i just pray he's not with them. luke and ethan did use to spar each other."

ivy scanned her brother's face. he looked terribly worried. and she hated it. the brewing war seemed to take pieces of all of them little by little. it turned people into the worst version of themselves. she even felt the war crawling under her skin too.

"hey," she placed her hand on his shoulders. "when i get back, we'll figure something out. try to contact him somehow. maybe go talk to his grandma down in philly."

that seemed to relax him, tobias nodded his head. "that seems alright," he said. "but don't worry about that right now. you have a quest and a dumbass boyfriend to worry about."

"he is not my boyfriend!"

"whatever helps you sleep at night, baby sis. i'll beat him up the first chance i get anyway."

ivy snorted, as much as she loved him, tobias would so lose that fight. "can you help me escape this jailhouse?"

her older brother jutted his finger behind him, "that window. i can help you go through it."

squealing, she brought him in a big hug. they rocked to the sides slightly. "thanks, tobie. i love you!"

"yeah, yeah. love you too." he untangled her from him and brought her closer to the dorr. "but you promise to be careful! and say goodbye first!"

"sir, yes, sir!" ivy confirmed. she opened the bathroom door just enough to poke her head through. her siblings had remained in their soldier spots. "bye guys, i love you! be safe! don't give the twins sugar after dinner! drew don't chamspeak anyone! i love you all again!"

"what?!" the twins screeched for the ceiling. her siblings scrambled to get to ivy, but she closed the door and locked it before they even got close to it.

"go, go, go!" tobias encouraged her.

both ran to the window that was high on the wall. ivy jumped, grabbing onto the railing. from below, tobias pushed her up by the legs as she opened the window latch. she pushed her backpack through the window, she hoped its fall was soften with a bush. there was a pounding on the door.

tobias wheezed for air once he got ivy completely up in the window. "jeez, no wonder percy wants to get all ripped."

"what are you insinuating, tobias?!"

before he could answer, the bathroom door was finally opened. she didn't want to deal with a bunch of angry aphrodite kids.

"it was tobie's idea!" was her last statement before she dropped from the window. snatching her knapsack, ivy sprinted to half-blood hill. it would just be a matter of time before they came after her.

behind her, she heard silena's voice. "why are the children stuck to the ceiling again?!"

ivy ran faster.

they didn't end up taking the van, they took mr d's suv. which made it worse for ivy, since her space to avoid percy was even more limited. gabriel had called gunshot, taking the best seat available in her situation. and if the fates couldn't be more in her favor, she had to sit next to percy since it was the only seat available due to her tardiness. she thanked the gods for at least giving her the window seat.

nobody talked much in the suv.

annabeth looked queasy, stealing constant glances at gabriel. the boy kept picking at his nails. if ivy had to guess, they knew something that percy and ivy didn't.

"bad dreams?" percy asked, probably noticing their odd behavior.

the daughter of athena shook her head. "an iris-message from eurytion."

ivy perked up at that. "eurytion! did something happen with nico?"

"he left the ranch last night," gabriel turned from his seat upfront to face them. " he's headed back into the maze."

"what?" ivy squeaked. she thought they had gotten him to see reason at the ranch. to imagine him once again going down there made her stomach tighten.

percy frowned. "didn't eurytion try to stop him?"

"nico was gone before he woke up," annabeth explained. "orthus tracked his scent as far as the cattle guard. eurytion said he'd been hearing nico talk to himself the last few nights."

the son of dionysus sighed. "only now he thinks nico was talking with the ghost again, minos."

but something else wasn't clicking to ivy. "wait, which one of you did eurytion iris message again?"

annabeth turned redder than physically possible. gabriel coughed awkwardly, then he said, "that doesn't matter. the point is that nico is in danger in that maze."

deciding she wouldn't tease them, ivy didn't pester for information. she focused on the issue at hand, or better said, another issue added to their very long list. "minos is one of the judges of the dead, but he's got a vicious streak a mile wide," ivy said, her dream coming to mind.

"i don't know what he wants with nico, but—" annabeth started.

"wait, there's something else," percy said. for some reason, he glanced at ivy. "i had this dream last night... " he told them about his dream. the daughter of aphrodite paled with how percy recounted her exact dream.

"i should probably add that i also had the same dream," ivy put in. when she and percy had the same dream, bad things tended to happen. she ignored how his eyes burned into the side of her face.

annabeth's jaw clenched. "that's very, very bad."

"so what do we do?" percy asked, eyes still set on ivy.

gritting her teeth, she looked at him dead in the eyes. "use your awesome plan, of course."

it was saturday, and traffic was heavy going into the city. they arrived at percy's apartment around noon. when his mom answered the door, she brought him into a huge hug. ivy couldn't help but smile at the two, feeling a pang in her heart. she shook the thought of her dad out of her head.

"i told you he was all right, ivy" sally sounded like the weight of the sky had just been lifted off her shoulders— ivy would know. "didn't i tell you he was all right?"

ivy only smiled in return. she hoped it didn't look too bitter.

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

when he got to the part about geryon and the stables, sally pretended like she was going to strangle her son. "i can't get him to clean his room, but he'll clean a hundred tons of horse manure out of some monster's stables?"

ivy laughed at that. she had seen the state of percy's messy room. it was not pretty. mid laughter, she caught percy looking at her. he was smiling at her. for a second, it felt like they were back to normal. but that moment ended quickly. the brunette cleared her throat and focused back on sally.

"so," sally said when percy was done with the story, "you wrecked alcatraz island, made mount st. helens explode, and displaced half a million people, but at least you're safe."

"yep," the son of poseidon agreed. "that pretty much covers it."

"i wish paul were here," she said, half to herself. "he wanted to talk to you."

"oh, right. the school." percy scratched the back of his neck. "what did you tell him?"

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

ivy studied percy. as much as she... resented him at the moment. she couldn't help but feel sympathetic. after all, every demigos has been in similar situations. it's never easy for a half-blood in the mortal world.

"i'll talk to him," percy promised. "after we're done with the quest. i'll even tell him the truth if you want."

his mom put her hand on his shoulder. "you would do that?"

"well, yeah. i mean, he'll think we're crazy."

"he already thinks that."

"then there's nothing to lose."

"thank you, percy. i'll tell him you'll be home..." she frowned. "when? what happens now?"

annabeth broke her cookie in little pieces, while gabriel stuffed his mouth with his. ivy played with the ends of her hair, saying,"oh well, perseus has this amazing plan."

around the table, everybody noticed how she had called him perseus. a name she hasn't called him in years. sally squinted her eyes at the two, but didn't say anything as her son reluctantly told her his plan.

sally nodded slowly. "it sounds very dangerous. but it might work."

"you have the same abilities, don't you?" percy asked. "you can see through the mist."

the woman sighed. "not so much now. when i was younger it was easier. but yes, i've always been able to see more than was good for me. it's one of the things that caught your father's attention, when we first met. just be careful. promise me all of you will be safe."

"we'll try, ms. jackson," annabeth said.

gabriel flashed his award winning smile. "that's what i'm here for, ma'am."

"although, your son's safety is hard to achieve." ivy folded her right leg over her left, arms folded on her chest. percy picked at his napkin, rolling his shoulder in discomfort.

sally frowned. "you two," she said, meaning ivy and percy. "what's going on? have you been fighting?"

neither said anything.

"i see," she had a glint in her eyes that reminded ivy of her own mother, and she wondered if she could see through more than just the mist. it sounded like she understood what was going on, even if they weren't even sure. "well, remember," she said, "grover and tyson are counting on you guys."

"i know," ivy and percy said at the same time. their cheeks blushed in embarrassment while gabriel rolled his eyes. annabeth seemed bored with them.

sally smiled. "percy, you'd better use the phone in the hall. good luck."

once percy was out of the kitchen, ivy felt like she could finally breathe. closing her eyes to collect herself while gabriel and annabeth chatted aimlessly. once she opened them, sally was looking at her with a motherly expression.

"he cares more about you than he can even comprehend, you know," she said in a hushed tone. "i don't know what he did... and you probably are right by being mad at him. but maybe talking can fix stuff for you guys."

ivy watched as sally got up to fetch another batch of cookies. her hand creeped up to her necklace, feeling the engraved letters on the back of the seashell.

percy arranged a meeting in times square. they found rachel elizabeth dare in front of the marriott marquis, and she was completely painted gold.

what ivy meant was her face, her hair, her clothes—everything. she looked like she'd been touched by king midas. she was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic—copper, bronze, silver. they were frozen in different poses while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. some passersby threw money at the tarp on the sidewalk.

the sign at rachel's feet said, urban art for kids, donations appreciated.

they stood there for like five minutes, staring at rachel, but if she noticed them she didn't let on. she didn't move or even blink that ivy could see. she was growing more bored by the minute.

"maybe if we push her over," annabeth suggested.

"annabeth," gabriel chided, bumping his shoulder with her.

ivy tilted her head to the side. "do you think she'll move if i shot an arrow at her head?"

percy scowled at her, "that's mean."

"just checking if she's doing her job right," the brunette said with an innocent expression.

if rachel heard their conversation, she didn't respond. after another few minutes, a kid in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he'd been taking a break. he took a pose like he was lecturing the crowd, right next to rachel. rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"hey, percy." she grinned. "good timing! let's get some coffee."

they walked down to a place called the java moose on west 43rd. rachel ordered an espresso extreme, the kind of stuff grover would like. annabeth, percy, and gabriel got fruit smoothies while ivy got an iced matcha tea latte. they sat at a table right under the stuffed moose. nobody even looked twice at rachel in her golden outfit.

"so," rachel said. "it's annabeth, gabriel, and eve."

"ivy," the daughter of aphrodite corrected, eye turned into slits. "ivy fitzgerald."

"do you always dress in gold?" annabeth asked.

"not usually," rachel said. "we're raising money for our group. we do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? we do this once a month, take in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend. but i'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. you're all half-bloods, too?"

"i'm not a half-blood," ivy said. pushing her father's side of her heritage felt wrong, like she was dishoring his memory. "demigod, but not half-blood."

"what's the difference?" rachel asked. "you can only have one parent that's a god, right?"

"lower your voice a little, please?" gabriel asked patiently.

annoyed, ivy said in a low voice. "no, rachel elizabeth dare. i have more than that."

"how can you have more than one godparent and still be human?"

annabeth looked around, she muttered, "just announce our existence to the world, how about?"

"okay." rachel stood up and said really loud, "hey, everybody! these guys aren't human! they're half greek god!"

nobody even looked over. rachel shrugged and sat down. "they don't seem to care."

"wow," ivy mocked impression. "instead of being a mannequin, why don't you try stand up comedy? really, it just comes naturally."

"hold it," percy warned. "let's chill for a second"

"i'm calm," rachel insisted. "every time i'm around you, some monster attacks us. what's to be nervous about?"

"look," the son of poseidon said. "i'm sorry about the band room. i hope they didn't kick you out or anything."

"nah. they asked me a lot of questions about you. i played dumb."

"easy peasy, then." ivy smiled at the girl.

gabriel spat out his fruit smoothie while containing his laugh. "sorry, sorry," he mumbled as he grabbed a bunch of napkins.

"okay, stop!" percy intervened, exasperated. "rachel, we've got a problem. and we need your help."

rachel narrowed her eyes on ivy. "you need my help?"

ivy sipped on her drink, she shrugged. "not me, this isn't my quest. annie might though."

the redhead pursed her lips, turning to annabeth. "maybe," the daughter of athena said.

percy told rachel about the labyrinth, and how they needed to find daedalus. he told her what had happened the last few times they'd gone in.

"so you want me to guide you," she said. "through a place i've never been."

"you can see through the mist," percy said. "just like ariadne. i'm betting you can see the right path. the Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily."

"and if you're wrong?"

"then we'll get lost. either way, it'll be dangerous.

"deadly dangerous," ivy butted in.

"i could die?"

"yeah."

"i thought percy said monsters don't care about mortals. that sword of yours—"

"yeah," he said. "celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals. most monsters would ignore you. but luke... he doesn't care. he'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. and he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."

"nice guy," rachel said.

"he's under the influence of a titan," annabeth said defensively. "he's been deceived."

gabriel frowned at that, looking out the window.

rachel looked back and forth between all of them. "okay," she said. "i'm in."

percy blinked, he looked impressed. ivy didn't know what there was to be impressed about. "are you sure?" he asked.

"hey, my summer was going to be boring. this is the best offer i've gotten yet. so what do i look for?"

"we have to find an entrance to the labyrinth," annabeth said. "there's an entrance at camp half-blood, but you can't go there. it's off-limits to mortals."

"okay," rachel ignored the condescending tone in annabeth's voice. "what does an entrance to the labyrinth look like?"

"it could be anything," gabriel said. "a section of wall. a boulder. a doorway. a sewer entrance. but it would have the mark of daedalus on it. a greek L, glowing in blue."

"like this?" rachel drew the symbol delta in water on their table.

ivy hummed. "they teach greek at your school?"

"no," rachel said. she pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair. ivy scooted back on her hair as flecks flew out. "let me get changed. you'd better come with me to the marriott."

"why?" annabeth asked.

"because there's an entrance like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. it's got the mark of daedalus."

NOTES...

excuse ivy's pettiness, its the aphrodite in her
this was awful like awful everything ew
but wtvr i just want fitzson to reconcile i already miss them

THOUGHTS ??? QUESTIONS ??? PREDICTIONS ???