009.
















✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 009. meeting with the god.


















"NICO, you could come with us." 

Seven days since they left the Camp. It was June thirteenth; Grover saw it on the TV and Vivi couldn't believe it had been that long. It was that moment that Vivi started to miss her family. She wondered what her granny was doing. Was she back in the hospital working, or was she home painting like she does in free time ( Vivi thinks it's the first one, because Violeta Wu does not rest ). She wonders what her siblings are doing; are they causing any trouble? She thought of Isa. Was she getting better at her pegasi lessons, because that girl has some talent for that.

Nico shook his head. Vivi doesn't think any of them had slept well in the demon ranch house, but Nico looked worse than anybody else. His eyes were red and his face chalky. He was wrapped in a black robe that must've belonged to Geryon, because it was three sizes too big even for a grown man.

"I need time to think." his eyes wouldn't meet Percy's. From his tone, he was still angry at what happened. 

"Nico," Annabeth said. "Bianca just wants you to be okay."

She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away and trudged up the road toward the ranch house; the morning mist seemed to cling to him as he walked.

"I'm worried about him," Annabeth said. "If he starts talking to Minos's ghost again ─ "

"He'll be all right," Eurytion promised. The cowherd had cleaned up nicely. He was wearing new jeans and a clean Western shirt and he'd even trimmed his beard. He'd put on Geryon's boots. "The boy can stay here and gather his thoughts as long as he wants. He'll be safe, I promise."

"What about you?" Percy asked.

Eurytion scratched Orthus behind one chin, then the other. "Things are going to be run a little different on this ranch from now on. No more sacred cattle meat. I'm thinking about soybean patties. And I'm going to befriend those flesh-eating horses. Might just sign up for the next rodeo."

"Well, good luck."

"Yep." Eurytion spit into the grass. "I reckon you'll be looking for Daedalus's workshop now?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Can you help us?"

Eurytion studied the cattle guard like the subject of Daedalus's workshop made him uncomfortable. "Don't know where it is. But Hephaestus probably would."

"That's what Hera said," Annabeth agreed. "But how do we find Hephaestus?"

Eurytion pulled something from under the collar of his shirt. It was a necklace ─ a smooth silver disk on a silver chain. The disk had a depression on the middle, like a thumbprint. He handed it to Annabeth.

"Hephaestus comes here from time to time," Eurytion said. "Studies the animals and such so he can make bronze automaton copies. Last time, I ─ uh ─ did him a favor. A little trick he wanted to play on my dad, Ares, and Aphrodite. He gave me that chain in gratitude. Said if I ever needed to find him, the disk would lead me to his forges. But only once."

"And you're giving it to me?" Annabeth asked.

Eurytion blushed. "I don't need to see the forges, miss. Got enough to do here. Just press the button and you'll be on your way."

Annabeth pressed the button and the disk sprang to life. It grew eight metallic legs. She shrieked and dropped it, much to Eurytion's confusion.

"Spider!" she screamed.

"She's, um, a little scared of spiders," Grover explained. "That old grudge between Athena and Arachne."

"Oh." Eurytion looked embarrassed. "Sorry, miss."

The spider scrambled to the cattle guard and disappeared between the bars.

"Hurry," Percy said. "That thing's not going to wait for us."

Annabeth wasn't anxious to follow, but they didn't have much choice. After saying their good-byes to Eurytion, Tyson pulled the cattle guard off the hole, and they dropped back into the maze again.


































Why was that tiny spider so fucking fast! It scuttled along the tunnels so fast, most of time Vivi couldn't even see it, nor could she see where she was stepping. If it hadn't been for Tyson's and Grover's excellent hearing, they never would've known which way it was going. The group ran down a marble tunnel, then dashed to the left. Vivi stopped just in time or else she would have fallen down the missing part of the path. The mechanical spider was about halfway across, swinging from bar to bar by shooting out metal web fiber.

"Monkey bars," Annabeth said. "I'm great at these."

She leaped onto the first rung and started swinging her way across. She was scared of tiny spiders, but not of plummeting to her death from a set of monkey bars. How and why. Annabeth got to the opposite side and ran after the spider. Vivi followed after her, easily swinging across. She looked and saw that Percy was halfway down the path. He landed next to her with a grin on his face. They looked back and saw Tyson giving Grover a piggyback ride ( or was it a goatyback ride? ). The big guy made it across in three swings, which was a good thing since, just as he landed, the last iron bar ripped free under his weight.

They kept moving and passed a skeleton crumpled in the tunnel. It wore the remains of a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie. The spider didn't slow down.

Suddenly, the tunnel opened up onto a large room. A blazing light hit them. Once Vivi's eyes adjusted, the first thing she noticed were the skeletons. Dozens littered the floor around their feet. Some were old and bleached white. Others were more recent and a lot grosser. They didn't smell quite as bad as Geryon's stables, but almost.

Then, there was the monster. She stood on a glittery dais on the opposite side of the room. She had the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman. She would've been pretty, but her hair was tied back in a tight bun and she wore too much makeup. She had a blue ribbon badge pinned to her chest that took me a moment to read: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY!

Tyson whimpered. "Sphinx." 

Spotlights blazed on either side of the creature. The only exit was a tunnel right behind the dais. The mechanical spider scuttled between the Sphinx's paws and disappeared. Annabeth started forward, but the Sphinx roared, showing fangs in her otherwise human face. Bars came down on both tunnel exits, behind us and infront. Immediately the monster's snarl turned into a brilliant smile.

"Welcome, lucky contestants!" she announced. "Get ready to play. . . ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"

Canned applause blasted from the ceiling, as if there were invisible loud speakers. Spotlights swept across the room and reflected off the dais, throwing disco glitter over the skeletons on the floor.

"Fabulous prizes!" the Sphinx said. "Pass the test, and you get to advance! Fail, and I get to eat you! Who will be our contestant?"

Annabeth turned towards Percy and Vivi. "I've got this," she whispered. "I know what she's going to ask."

"She's all yours." Vivi said.

Annabeth stepped forward to the contestant's podium, which had a skeleton in a school uniform hunched over it. She pushed the skeleton out of the way, and it clattered to the floor. "Sorry," Annabeth told it.

"Welcome, Annabeth Chase!" the monster cried, though Annabeth hadn't said her name. "Are you ready for your test?"

"Yes," she said. "Ask your riddle."

"Twenty riddles, actually!" the Sphinx said gleefully.

"What? But back in the old days ─ "

"Oh, we've raised our standards! To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn't that great?"

Applause switched on and off like somebody turning a faucet. Annabeth glanced at them nervously. Vivi smiled and gave her thumbs up, while Percy gave her an encouraging nod. 

"Okay," she told the Sphinx. "I'm ready."

A drumroll sounded from above. The Sphinx's eyes glittered with excitement. "What. . . is the capital of Bulgaria?"

Annabeth frowned. "Sofia, but ─ "

"Correct!"

More canned applause. The Sphinx smiled so wide her fangs showed. "Please be sure to mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a number 2 pencil."

"What?" Annabeth looked mystified. Then a test booklet appeared on the podium in front of her, along with a sharpened pencil.

"Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle," the Sphinx said. "If you have to erase, erase completely or the machine will not be able to read your answers."

"What machine?" Annabeth asked.

The Sphinx pointed with her paw. Over by the spotlight was a bronze box with a bunch of gears and levers and a big Greek letter Êta on the side, the mark of Hephaestus.

"Now," said the Sphinx, "next question ─ "

"Wait a second," Annabeth protested. "What about 'What walks on four legs in the morning'?"

"I beg your pardon?" the Sphinx said, clearly annoyed now.

"The riddle about man. He walks on four legs in the morning, like a baby, two legs in the afternoon, like an adult, and three legs in the evening, as an old man with a cane. That's the riddle you used to ask."

"Exactly why we changed the test!" the Sphinx exclaimed. "You already knew the answer. Now second question, what is the square root of sixteen?"

"Four," Annabeth said, "but ─ "

"Correct! Which U.S. president signed the Emancipation Proclamation?"

"Abraham Lincoln, but ─ "

"Correct! Riddle number four. How much ─ "

"Hold up!" Annabeth shouted.

Vivi really wanted to tell her to stop complaining. She was doing great! She should just answer the questions so they could leave.

"These aren't riddles," Annabeth said.

"What do you mean?" the Sphinx snapped. "Of course they are. This test material is specially designed ─ "

"It's just a bunch of dumb, random facts," Annabeth insisted. "Riddles are supposed to make you think."

"Think?" The Sphinx frowned. "How am I supposed to test whether you can think? That's ridiculous! Now, how much force is required ─ "

"Stop!" Annabeth insisted. "This is a stupid test."

"Um, Annabeth," Grover cut in nervously. "Maybe you should just, you know, finish first and complain later?"

"I'm a child of Athena," she insisted. "And this is an insult to my intelligence. I won't answer these questions."

Vivi felt proud of her best friend for standing up like that. But part of her thought Annabeth's pride was going to get them all killed. The spotlights glared. The Sphinx's eyes glittered pure black.

"Why then, my dear," the monster said calmly. "If you won't pass, you fail. And since we can't allow any children to be held back, you'll be EATEN!"

The Sphinx bared her claws, which gleamed like stainless steel. She pounced at the podium. 

"No!" Tyson charged. 

He tackled the Sphinx midair and they crashed sideways into a pile of bones. This gave Annabeth just enough time to gather her wits and draw her knife. Tyson got up, his shirt clawed to shreds. The Sphinx growled, looking for an opening. Vivi pulled of her bracelet and her dagger appeared. She and Percy, who drew Riptide, stepped in front of Annabeth.

"Turn invisible," Percy told her.

"I can fight!"

"No! The Sphinx is after you! Let us get it."

As if to prove my point, the Sphinx knocked Tyson aside and tried to charge past Vivi and Percy. Grover poked her in the eye with somebody's leg bone. She screeched in pain. Annabeth put on her cap and vanished. The Sphinx pounced right where she'd been standing, but came up with empty paws.

"No fair!" the Sphinx wailed. "Cheater!"

With Annabeth no longer in sight, the Sphinx turned on Vivi and Percy. The girl had her dagger ready, tightly holding it, ready to charge, but before she could make a move, Tyson ripped the monster's grading machine out of the floor and threw it at the Sphinx's head, ruining her hair bun. It landed in pieces all around her.

"My grading machine!" she cried. "I can't be exemplary without my test scores!"

The bars lifted from the exits. They all dashed for the far tunnel. The Sphinx started to follow, but Grover raised his reed pipes and began to play. Suddenly the pencils remembered they used to be parts of trees. They collected around the Sphinx's paws, grew roots and branches, and began wrapping around the monster's legs. The Sphinx ripped through them, but it bought them just enough time. Tyson pulled Grover into the tunnel, and the bars slammed shut behind them. 

"Annabeth!"

"Annie!"

"Here!" she said, somehow in between them. "Keep moving!"

They ran through the dark tunnels, listening to the roar of the Sphinx behind them as she complained about all the tests she would have to grade by hand. 































Vivi thought they'd lost the spider until Tyson heard a faint pinging sound. The group made a few turns, backtracked a few times, and eventually found the spider banging its tiny head on a metal door.

The door looked like one of those old-fashioned submarine hatches ─ oval, with metal rivets around the edges and a wheel for a doorknob. Where the portal should've been was a big brass plaque, green with age, with a Greek Êta inscribed in the middle.

She took a deep breath.

"Nervous?" Percy asked beside her, taking a hold of her hand and rubbing circles on it. A small habit Vivi remembers clearly of him doing it whenever he got nervous.

"Nah," Vivi said, "Just hoping he ain't like the last goddess we met."

"Hephaestus is chill," Percy recalled, "from what I remember at least."

"You met him?"

Percy nodded, "Last year at the Winter Solstice."

"Ready to meet Hephaestus?" Grover said nervously.

"Yes!" Tyson said gleefully, and he turned the wheel.

As soon as the door opened, the spider scuttled inside with Tyson right behind it. The rest of them followed, not quite as anxious. The room was enormous. It looked like a mechanic's garage, with several hydraulic lifts. Some had cars on them, but others had stranger things: a bronze hippalektryon with its horse head off and a bunch of wires hanging out its rooster tail, a metal lion that seemed to be hooked up to a battery charger, and a Greek war chariot made entirely of flames. Smaller projects cluttered a dozen worktables. Tools hung along the walls. Each had its own outline on a Peg-Board, but nothing seemed to be in the right place.

The hammer was over the screwdriver place. The staple gun was where the hacksaw was supposed to go. Under the nearest hydraulic lift, which was holding a '98 Toyota Corolla, a pair of legs stuck out ─ the lower half of a huge man in grubby gray pants and shoes even bigger than Tyson's. One leg was in a metal brace. The spider scuttled straight under the car, and the sounds of banging stopped.

"Well, well," a deep voice boomed from under the Corolla. "What have we here?"

The mechanic pushed out on a back trolley and sat up. He wore a jumpsuit smeared with oil and grime. Hephaestus, was embroidered over the chest pocket. His leg creaked and clicked in its metal brace as he stood, and his left shoulder was lower than his right, so he seemed to be leaning even when he was standing up straight. His head was misshapen and bulging. He wore a permanent scowl. His black beard smoked and hissed. Every once in a while a small wildfire would erupt in his whiskers then die out. His hands were the size of catcher's mitts, but he handled the spider with amazing skill. He disassembled it in two seconds, then put it back together.

"There," he muttered to himself. "Much better."

The spider did a happy flip in his palm, shot a metallic web at the ceiling, and went swinging away.

Hephaestus glowered up at us. "I didn't make you, did I?"

"Uh," Annabeth said, "no, sir."

"Good," the god grumbled. "Shoddy workmanship." he studied Vivi, Annabeth and Percy. "Half-bloods," he grunted. "Could be automatons, of course, but probably not."

"We've met, sir," Percy told him.

"Have we?" the god asked absently. "Well then, if I didn't smash you to a pulp the first time we met, I suppose I won't have to do it now." he looked at Grover and frowned. "Satyr." then he looked at Tyson, and his eyes twinkled. "Well, a Cyclops. Good, good. What are you doing traveling with this lot?"

"Uh. . ." said Tyson, staring in wonder at the god.

"Yes, well said," Hephaestus agreed. "So, there'd better be a good reason you're disturbing me. The suspension on this Corolla is no small matter, you know."

"Sir," Annabeth said hesitantly, "we're looking for Daedalus. We thought ─ "

"Daedalus?" the god roared. "You want that old scoundrel? You dare to seek him out!" his beard burst into flames and his black eyes glowed.

"Uh, yes, sir, please," Annabeth said.

"Humph. You're wasting your time." He frowned at something on his worktable and limped over to it. He picked up a lump of springs and metal plates and tinkered with them. In a few seconds he was holding a bronze and silver falcon. It spread its metal wings, blinked its obsidian eyes, and flew around the room. Tyson laughed and clapped his hands. The bird landed on Tyson's shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately.

Hephaestus regarded him. "I sense you have something to tell me, Cyclops."

Tyson's smile faded. "Y-yes, lord. We met a Hundred-Handed One."

Hephaestus nodded, looking unsurprised. "Briares?"

"Yes. H - he was scared. He would not help us."

"And that bothered you."

"Yes!" Tyson's voice wavered. "Briares should be strong! He is older and greater than Cyclopes. But he ran away."

Hephaestus grunted. "There was a time I admired the Hundred-Handed Ones. Back in the days of the first war. But people, monsters, even gods change, young Cyclops. You can't trust 'em. Look at my loving mother, Hera. You met her, didn't you? She'll smile to your face and talk about how important family is, eh? Didn't stop her from pitching me off Mount Olympus when she saw my ugly face."

"But I thought Zeus did that to you," Percy said.

Hephaestus cleared his throat and spat into a bronze spittoon. He snapped his fingers, and the robotic falcon flew back to the worktable.

"Mother likes telling that version of the story," he grumbled. "Makes her seem more likable, doesn't it? Blaming it all on my dad. The truth is, my mother likes families, but she likes a certain kind of family. Perfect families. She took one look at me and. . . well, I don't fit the image, do I?"

He pulled a feather from the falcon's back, and the whole automaton fell apart.

"Believe me, young Cyclops," Hephaestus said, "you can't trust others. All you can trust is the work of your own hands."

Vivi couldn't decide if she liked or hated the gods. Hephaestus seemed lonely, but at the same time what Hera did to him didn't stop him from doings things he loved. Sure, he may look different, but so what? No one is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. But throwing off their child! Vivi didn't like Hera one bit.

"It's good not to trust my mother," Hephaestus said, his eyes focusing upon Vivi, "You don't know the real intention behind her sweet words."

Vivi felt her cheeks heat up.

"What's your name girl?"

"Vivienne Wu, daughter of Hermes."

Hephaestus raised his eyebrow, "You're Violeta's granddaughter, aren't you? Yeah, there are the genes."

"You know my granny?"

"Please, everyone knows the young hero who saved Camp Half-Blood." his attention went to Percy, "Oh, this one doesn't like me. No worries, I'm used to that. What would you ask of me, little demigod?"

"We told you," Percy said. "We need to find Daedalus. There's this guy Luke, and he's working for Kronos. He's trying to find a way to navigate the Labyrinth so he can invade our camp. If we don't get to Daedalus first ─ "

"And I told you, boy. Looking for Daedalus is a waste of time. He won't help you."

"Why not?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "Some of us get thrown off mountainsides. Some of us. . . the way we learn not to trust people is even more painful. Ask me for gold. Or a flaming sword. Or a magical steed. These I can grant you easily. But a way to Daedalus? That's an expensive favor."

"You know where he is, then," Annabeth pressed.

"It isn't wise to go looking, girl."

"My mother says looking is the nature of wisdom."

Hephaestus narrowed his eyes. "Who's your mother, then?"

"Athena."

"Figures." he sighed. "Fine goddess, Athena. A shame she pledged never to marry. All right, half-blood. I can tell you what you want to know. But there is a price. I need a favor done."

"Name it," Annabeth said.

Hephaestus actually laughed ─ a booming sound like a huge bellows stoking a fire.

"You heroes," he said, "always making rash promises. How refreshing!"

He pressed a button on his workbench, and metal shutters opened along the wall. It was either a huge window or a big-screen TV, Vivi couldn't tell which. They were looking at a gray mountain ringed in forests. It must've been a volcano, because smoke rose from its crest.

"One of my forges," Hephaestus said. "I have many, but that used to be my favorite."

"That's Mount St. Helens," Grover said. "Great forests around there."

"You've been there?" Percy asked.

"Looking for. . . you know. Pan."

"Wait," Annabeth said, looking at Hephaestus. "You said it used to be your favorite. What happened?"

Hephaestus scratched his smoldering beard. "Well, that's where the monster Typhon is trapped, you know. Used to be under Mount Etna, but when we moved to America, his force got pinned under Mount St. Helens instead. Great source of fire, but a bit dangerous. There's always a chance he will escape. Lots of eruptions these days, smoldering all the time. He's restless with the Titan rebellion."

"What do you want us to do?" Percy said. "Fight him?"

Hephaestus snorted. "That would be suicide. The gods themselves ran from Typhon when he was free. No, pray you never have to see him, much less fight him. But lately I have sensed intruders in my mountain. Someone or something is using my forges. When I go there, it is empty, but I can tell it is being used. They sense me coming, and they disappear. I send my automatons to investigate, but they do not return. Something . . . ancient is there. Evil. I want to know who dares invade my territory, and if they mean to lose Typhon."

"You want us to find out who it is," Vivi said.

"Aye," Hephaestus said. "Go there. They may not sense you coming. You are not gods."

"Glad you noticed," Percy muttered.

"Go and find out what you can," Hephaestus said. "Report back to me, and I will tell you what you need to know about Daedalus."

"All right," Annabeth said. "How do we get there?"

Hephaestus clapped his hands. The spider came swinging down from the rafters. Annabeth flinched when it landed at her feet.

"My creation will show you the way," Hephaestus said. "It is not far through the Labyrinth. And try to stay alive, will you? Humans are much more fragile than automatons." 









niki speaks!

sorry for the late update,
but here you go!
updating this as i go to bed, have to
wake up in about sixish hours for school
so yeah. . .

nothing much last week,
but that's okay cuz this week is going
to br a chaos.

have a nice day/night!
bye!

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