✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 004. some serious shit is about to happen.

VIVI DIDN'T know why she was invited for a war council. As far she knew just the Cabin leaders were called, which meant only Travis ( and Connor; did you expect for him not to go ) was supposed to go. But, no. The brothers dragged Vivi with them, pulling her away from where she was training martial arts ─ tai chi to be more specific ─ as Chiron had request for her to come as well. She really didn't want to leave her training session to listen to a upcoming war that was going to happen.

"Don't worry, council meetings aren't that bad," Travis said, as the two walked towards sword arena where the meeting was taking place.

"I've been here a month or so and already in big leagues." Vivi mused, "Good for me."

Travis laughed. "What were you even doing before we showed up?"

"It looked like you were dancing, but not really doing it right."

"It's called tai chi," Vivi rolled her eyes, "One of martial arts I've been training."

"You know those?" Connor asked, looking pretty amazed.

Vivi nodded, "Been training since I was five, which means I can beat your ass any time."

"Oh, I believe you."

Trying to discuss the fate of the camp while Mrs. O'Leary chewed on a life-size squeaky pink rubber yak was not something Vivi expected at her first ( and hopefully last, but she doubts it ) war council. Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing. Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible. Also present around the table: Juniper the tree nymph, Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo, even Argus, their hundred-eyed security chief. Vivi sat in between Travis and Percy, fiddling with her necklace. It was technically her mother's necklace, but Vivi liked to wear it as it gave her comfort she desperately needed.

"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "He knew everything about camp."

Vivi thought she heard a little pride in her voice, like she still respected the guy who betrayed her in so many different ways. She understood that Annabeth and Luke had past, but even if he is Vivi's brother, she doesn't want anything to do with him.

Juniper cleared her throat. "That's what I was trying to tell Vivi and Percy last night. The cave entrance has been there a long time. Luke used to use it."

Silena Beauregard frowned. "You knew about the Labyrinth entrance, and you didn't say anything?"

Juniper's face turned green. "I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves."

"She has good taste," Grover said.

"I wouldn't have paid any attention except. . . well, it was Luke." she blushed a little greener. 

Grover huffed. "Forget what I said about good taste."

"Interesting." Quintus polished his sword as he spoke. "And you believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"

"Definitely," Clarisse said. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."

"He's been sending scouts into the maze," Annabeth said. "We know because. . . because we found one."

"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said.

He gave Quintus a meaningful look.

"Ah," Quintus said. "The one in the. . . Yes. I understand."

"The one in the what?" Percy asked.

Clarisse glared at him. "The point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus's workshop." 

"The guy who created the maze."

"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted ─ quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then. . . to Olympus."

The arena was silent except for Mrs. O'Leary's toy yak getting disemboweled: SQUEAK! SQUEAK! 

Finally Beckendorf put his hands on the table. "Back up a sec. Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'? Isn't Daedalus dead?"

Quintus grunted. "I would hope so. He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"

Vivi tilted her head. There was something in Quintus's voice that wasn't normally there. Maybe she was tired and hallucinating, but she swears that words appeared out of the mans' mouth and lingered around him before dissolving into nothingness. But it was just some of his words, not everything. Vivi shook her head. 

Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors. . . well, there are many disturbing rumors about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth toward the end of his life. He might still be down there."

"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Luke does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Luke's hands."

"Wait a second," Percy said. "If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?"

"Great idea!" Grover said. "I'll get the dynamite!"

"It's not so easy, stupid," Clarisse growled. "We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well."

Annabeth nodded. "The Labyrinth is magical architecture, Percy. It would take huge power to seal even one of its entrances. In Phoenix, Clarisse demolished a whole building with a wrecking ball, and the maze entrance just shifted a few feet. The best we can do is prevent Luke from learning to navigate the Labyrinth."

"Oh, that's what the news were mentioning," Vivi said, "Thank you, Clarisse, for getting me out of school for three days.

Clarisse rolled her eyes with faint smile on her face.

"We could fight," Lee Fletcher said. "We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them. If an army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with our bows."

"We will certainly set up defenses," Chiron agreed. "But I fear Clarisse is right. The magical borders have kept this camp safe for hundreds of years. If Luke manages to get a large army of monsters into the center of camp, by passing our boundaries. . . we may not have the strength to defeat them."

Nobody looked real happy about that news. Chiron tried to be upbeat and optimistic, but if he was predicting we couldn't hold off an attack, that wasn't good.

"We have to get to Daedalus's workshop first," Annabeth insisted. "Find Ariadne's string and prevent Luke from using it."

"But if nobody can navigate in there," Percy said, "what chance do we have?"

"I've been studying architecture for years," Annabeth said. "I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody."

"From reading about it."

"Well, yes."

"That's not enough."

"It has to be!"

"It isn't!"

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Vivi's head turned back and forth between the two. It felt like she was watching intense tennis match.

Chiron cleared his throat. "First things first. We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus, and prevent Luke from using the maze to invade this camp."

"We all know who should lead this," Clarisse said. "Annabeth."

There was a murmur of agreement. Annabeth, however, looked uncomfortable. "You've done as much as I have, Clarisse," she said. "You should go, too."

Clarisse shook her head. "I'm not going back in there."

Travis laughed. "Don't tell me you're scared. Clarisse, chicken?"

Vivi looked over at her brother, "Insensitive much?"

Clarisse got to her feet; her voice shaky when she spoke, "You don't understand anything, punk. I'm never going in there again. Never!"

She stormed out of the arena.

Travis looked around sheepishly. "I didn't mean to ─ "

Chiron raised his hand. "The poor girl has had a difficult year. Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?"

Everyone nodded except Quintus. He folded his arms and stared at the table. Odd.

"Very well." Chiron turned to Annabeth. "My dear, it's your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what todo next."

Waiting for Annabeth was not as exciting as Vivi wanted it to be. Vivi was in a corner of the arena, continuing with her training she did earlier. Percy was pacing the arena. Mrs. O'Leary ate her lunch, which consisted of a hundred pounds of ground beef and several dog biscuits the size of trashcan lids. Chiron was deep in conversation with Quintus and Argus. It looked tome like they were disagreeing about something. Quintus kept shaking his head. On the other side of the arena, Tyson and her brothers were racing miniature bronze chariots that Tyson had made out of armor scraps.

"Where's Annabeth?" a voice spoke from behind Vivi.

The girl screeched slightly, loosing her balance and falling onto the ground. She looked up at saw George Yoo, son of Ares, standing above her, an apologetic smile on his face. He extended his arm for her to take and pulled her back onto her feet.

Vivi didn't know how she and the son of Ares became friends ─ she thinks because she spends most of her time with Annabeth, and the boy seems to be everywhere the two were. If you asked him if he is stalking them, he would say no with red cheeks, a hint that he was lying. In conclusion, Vivi thinks, knows, that George has a crush on Annabeth.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay," Vivi said, dusting herself, "Annie's visiting the Oracle. . . you did not hear that from me."

"Oracle? For a quest?"

"Yah! I said you didn't hear it." Vivi said.

"I saw Clarisse storming out," George went on, "What happened in there."

"George, you're not getting anything out of me."

"Oh, come on, Vivi! Something is up. Clarisse was mad and terrified when I saw her."

Vivi sighed, "Look, something bad is going on ─ "

"I knew it!"

" ─ but I won't tell you what."

"That's not fair!"

"It is fair."

"You were talking about Luke, I heard that bit." George went on, not letting go.

"How did you. . . ? Were you eavesdropping?"

George looked like he got caught in a lie, "No, of course not!"

There it was again, the same thing that happened when Quintus spoke. Vivi didn't know what it meant, but certain words coming out of people's mouths that she could probably only see, wasn't good even in demigod world.

"Liar."

"Am not!"

"Oh, you so are."

"What! No!"

"Yes, you are!"

"My dear," Chiron voice broke the small argument between the daughter of Hermes and son of Ares. "You made it."

Annabeth walked into the arena. She sat on a stone bench and stared at the floor.

"Well?" Quintus asked.

Annabeth looked at Percy first, then at Vivi, and finally, she focused on Quintus. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop."

Nobody cheered. It was not like they didn't want her to have a quest, but this one seemed insanely dangerous. People who went there never returned from it; and even if they did, they go insane after seeing the horrors of it. Take her brother for example.

Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah. . . well, it said, You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze . . ."

Everyone waited.

"The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."

Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"

"With the dead and the traitor," Percy added. "Not so great."

"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"

"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Annabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good. Vivi now had things to worry about. Annabeth Chase was her first friend ( beside her siblings ) at Camp since she arrived. The blonde girl welcomed her with open arms after learning about her. Vivi didn't want to think that the line was about Annabeth.

"Hey. . . we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?"

"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.

No one answered. 

"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."

Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory around the Camp. She never forgot something she heard. Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about. . . Destroy with a hero's final breath."

"And?" Chiron asked.

She stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And. . . I need help." she turned to Percy. "Will you come?"

Percy didn't even hesitate. "I'm in."

"Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."

Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The line about the "lost one" had completely energized him. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"

"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."

"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs. O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner.

"And Vivi, too."

The brunette blinked, glancing at Annabeth, "Huh?"

"The quest," Annabeth said, "I need you there. Will you come?"

"Me? Annie, what use do I have? I've only known about this for two months."

"And you have proven yourself a lot by now," the blonde girl walked up to her best friend, "You're the one to find the entrance with Percy and knew how to get out. Your memory amazes me at how you remember everything I tell you about. Your reflexes and speed can help us in difficult situations. I need someone like you on this quest. I need my best friend."

Vivi stared at her, before laughing a bit, "Didn't know I was getting a pep talk. . . I'm in."

"Wait, Annabeth," Chiron said. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."

"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."

"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, five went on a quest to save Artemis. Only three came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three Fates, three Furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Five. . . this is risky."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."

Vivi could tell Chiron didn't like it. Quintus was studying then, like he was trying to decide which of them would come back alive.

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."

Vivi knew when things were troubling people, and something was troubling her best friend. Whether that was the quest that she was given, the prophecy the Oracle had told her, or any other stuff, Vivi could feel that something was troubling Annabeth's mind. Taking off in direction of Cabin Six, Vivi wanted to make sure her friend was alright, before going back to her own. 

The Athena Cabin was a silvery building, nothing fancy, with plain white curtains and acarved stone owl over the doorway. The owl's onyx eyes seemed to follow her as she walked closer. 

"Annie?" Vivi called inside.

Nobody answered. Vivi stepped in. The place was a like a workshop. The bunks were all pushed against one wall as if sleeping didn't matter very much. Most of the room was filled with workbenches and tables and sets of tools and weapons. The back of the room was a huge library crammed with old scrolls and leather-bound books and paperbacks. Too bad Vivi suffered the dyslexic part of being a demigod, or she would have love to spend time in here. There was an architect's drafting table with a bunch of rulers and protractors, and some 3D models of buildings. Huge old war maps were plastered to the ceiling. Sets of armor hung under the windows, their bronze plates glinting in the sun. Annabeth stood in the back of the room, rifling through old scrolls.

Vivi knocked on the door gently, "Hey, can I come in?" 

Annabeth turned around, breathing out a sigh at seeing who it was. "Oh, V. . . hi. Sorry. I didn't hear you. Come in."

"You okay?"

She frowned at the scroll in her hands. "Just trying to do some research. Daedalus's Labyrinth is so huge. None of the stories agree about anything. The maps just lead from nowhere to nowhere."

"We'll figure it out," Vivi promised. "We have you in our team."

"I've wanted to lead a quest since I was seven," she said.

"And, you're going to do amazing."

She looked at the brunette gratefully, but then stared down at all the books and scrolls she'd pulled from the shelves. "I'm worried, Vivi. Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to do this. Or Percy, or Tyson and Grover."

"Hey, we're your friends." Vivi turned the girl around, placing her hands on her shoulder, "We're always going to be there for you no matter how deadly the situation is. I may be new to all this shit, but I trust you with my life."

"So do I," Annabeth sighed, "I've never made friends with someone this fast. I'm usually all to myself and relucted to open up. But, I find comfort in you, like I can open up about anything and everything."

"And you can," Vivi said, "I would never judge you or be dishonest, unless you tell me to."

Annabeth laughed, "Appreciate that. But. . ." she stopped herself from saying more.

"The prophecy is troubling you?"

"I'm sure it's fine," she said in a small voice.

"If you're not ready to talk about it, then don't. But just know, I'm always here for you. You hear me Annabeth Chase? You're not alone, not anymore."

Annabeth smiled slightly, then she did something that was first for her. She blinked back tears and put out her arms. For the past few months, it was usually Vivi who was the one who wanted physical touch. Vivi smiled and stepped forward, hugging the blonde girl. 

"It's okay. Everything is going to be fine." Vivi patted her back. 

Annabeth was shivering. "Chiron might be right," she muttered. "I'm breaking the rules. But I don't know what else to do. I need you four. It just feels right."

"Then do what your gut is telling you," Vivi said, "Don't question yourself. We've got this. You've got this."

Behind the pair, somebody cleared his throat. It was one of Annabeth's half-brothers, who Vivi remembered was named Malcolm.

"Don't you see we're having a moment," Vivi said, her arms still around her best friend.

Annabeth laughed, shaking her head.

Malcolm's ears went red, "Um, sorry," he said. "Archery practice is starting, Annabeth. Chiron said to come find you. And, Connor is also looking for you, Vivi. He's looked everywhere."

"I better see what he wants before he looses his last braincell," Vivi said, releasing Annabeth from a hug.

"Tell Chiron I'll be right there," Annabeth said, and Malcolm left.

Annabeth rubbed her eyes. "You go ahead, V. I'd better get ready for archery."

Vivi nodded, "I'm happy to call you my best friend, Annie."

"I am too." Annabeth smiled and Vivi exited Cabin Six.

niki speaks!

am i about to post weekly chapters?
maybe. . .
not 100% sure, but i do have a lot
prewritten and i'm
in love with them and this whole series!

vivi ( and other ocs that
you'll meet more)
have my soul!
i just love them so much!

thank you for reading
and let me know what you think!
bye and have a nice day/night!