༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 014. no time for flying lessons.

BEFORE THEIR QUEST, Annabeth had described to Vivi what she should expect when they ( if they ) arrive at the Daedalus's workshop. This, however, was much better then what Annabeth had explained to her. 

The first thing that struck Vivi noticed was the daylight ─ blazing sun coming through giant windows. And then, she held in breath as her eyes wandered around the workshop.

The workshop was like an artist's studio, with thirty-foot ceilings and industrial lighting, polished stone floors, and workbenches along with windows. A spiral staircase led up to a second-story loft. Half a dozen easels displayed hand-drawn diagrams for buildings and machines that looked like Leonardo da Vinci sketches. Several laptop computers were scattered around on the tables. Glass jars of green oil ─ Greek fire ─ lined one shelf. There were inventions, too ─ weird metal machines Vivi couldn't make sense of. One was a bronze chair with a bunch of electrical wires attached to it, like some kind of torture device. In another corner stood a giant metal egg about the size of a man. There was a grandfather clock that appeared to be made entirely of glass, so you could see all the gears turning. And hanging on the wall were several sets of bronze and silver wings.

"Di immortales," Annabeth muttered. She ran to the nearest easel and looked at the sketch. "He's a genius! Look at the curves on this building!"

"And an artist," Rachel said in amazement. "These wings are amazing!"

For the first time, Vivi admits Rachel was right. The feathers were tightly interwoven with self-adhesive strips ran down the sides. 

Apparently Daedalus was not at home, but the workshop looked like it had been recently used. The laptops were running their screen savers. A half-eaten blueberry muffin and a coffee cup sat on a workbench. Vivi walked to the window. The view outside was amazing. They were high up in the foothills, at least five hundred feet, and down below a valley spread out, filled with a tumbled collection of red mesas and boulders and spires of stone. Percy walked over to her and looked out of the window.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Colorado Springs," a voice said behind them. "The Garden of the Gods."

Standing on the spiral staircase above them, with his weapon drawn, was Camp Half-Blood's missing sword master Quintus.

"You," Annabeth said. "What have you done with Daedalus?"

Quintus smiled faintly. "Trust me, my dear. You don't want to meet him."

"Look, Mr. Traitor," the blonde growled, "I didn't fight a dragon woman and a three-bodied man and a psychotic Sphinx to see you. Now where is DAEDALUS?"

Quintus came down the stairs, holding his sword at his side. He was dressed in jeans and boots and his counselor's T-shirt from Camp Half-Blood, which seemed like an insult now that they knew he was a spy.

"You think I'm an agent of Kronos," he said. "That I work for Luke."

"Well, duh," said Annabeth.

"You're an intelligent girl," he said. "But you're wrong. I work only for myself."

"Luke mentioned you," Percy said. "Geryon knew about you, too. You've been to his ranch."

"Of course," he said. "I've been almost everywhere. Even here." he walked past Percy and Vivi, and stood by the window. "The view changes from day to day," he mused. "It's always some place high up. Yesterday it was from a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan. The day before that, there was a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. But it keeps coming back to the Garden of the Gods. I think the Labyrinth likes it here. A fitting name, I suppose."

"You've been here before," Percy said.

"Oh, yes."

"That's an illusion out there?" the boy asked. "A projection or something?"

"No," Rachel and Vivi said in union. They looked at each other briefly, before averting their gazes.

"It's real. We're really in Colorado." Vivi said.

Rachel nodded, "It's true."

Quintus regarded two girls. He looked at Rachel "You have clear vision, don't you? You remind me of another mortal girl I once knew. Another princess who came to grief." he then looked at Vivi, "It's not just lies your able to see, daughter of Hermes, it's much more, more dangerous if someone must know of it.

"Enough games," Percy said. "What have you done with Daedalus?"

Quintus stared at Percy. "My boy, you need lessons from your friends on seeing clearly. I am Daedalus." 

Vivi stared at the man in shock. She waited for the lies to appear around him, but nothing happened. He was telling the truth. The girl couldn't wrap her head around it, but then again, it was so obvious.

"Holy Hera." she murmured.

"But you're not an inventor! You're a swordsman!" Percy said.

"I am both," Quintus said. "And an architect. And a scholar. I also play basketball pretty well for a guy who didn't start until he was two thousand years old. A real artist must be good at many things."

"That's true," Rachel said. "Like I can paint with my feet as well as my hands." 

"You see?" Quintus said. "A girl of many talents."

"But you don't even look like Daedalus," Percy  protested. "I saw him in a dream, and. . ." 

"Yes," Quintus said. "You've finally guessed the truth."

"You're an automaton. You made yourself a new body."

"Percy," Annabeth said uneasily, "that's not possible. That ─ that can't bean automaton." 

Quintus chuckled. "Do you know what Quintus means, my dear?"

"The fifth, in Latin. But ─ "

"This is my fifth body."

The swordsman held out his forearm. He pressed his elbow and part of his wrist popped open ─ a rectangular hatch in his skin. Underneath, bronze gears whirred. Wires glowed.

"That's amazing!" Rachel said.

"That's weird," Percy said.

"That's unnatural." Vivi said and looked at the man.

"Oh, I assure you, my dear, it's still me. I'm still very much Daedalus. Our mother," he looked at Annabeth, "Athena, makes sure I never forget that."

He tugged back the collar of his shirt. At the base of his neck was the mark in a dark shape of a bird grafted to his skin.

"A murderer's brand," Annabeth said.

"For your nephew, Perdix," Percy guessed. "The boy you pushed off the tower."

Quintus's face darkened. "I did not push him. I simply ─ "

"Made him lose his balance. Let him die."

Quintus gazed out the windows at the purple mountains. "I regret what I did, Percy. I was angry and bitter. But I cannot take it back, and Athena never lets me forget. As Perdix died, she turned him into a small bird ─ a partridge. She branded the bird's shape on my neck as a reminder. No matter what body I take, the brand appears on my skin." 

"You really are Daedalus," Percy decided. "But why did you come to the camp? Why spy on us?"

"To see if your camp was worth saving. Luke had given me one story. I preferred to come to my own conclusions."

"So you have talked to Luke."

"Oh, yes. Several times. He is quite persuasive."

"But now you've seen the camp!" Annabeth persisted. "So you know we need your help. You can't let Luke through the maze!"

Daedalus set his sword on the workbench. "The maze is no longer mine to control, Annabeth. I created it, yes. In fact, it is tied to my life force. But I have allowed it to live and grow on its own. That is the price I paid for privacy."

"Privacy from what?"

"The gods," he said. "And death. I have been alive for two millennia, my dear, hiding from death." 

"But how can you hide from Hades?" Percy asked. "I mean. . . Hades has the Furies."

"They do not know everything," he said. "Or see everything. You have encountered them, Percy. You know this is true. A clever man can hide quite along time, and I have buried myself very deep. Only my greatest enemy has kept after me, and even him I have thwarted."

"You mean Minos,"

Daedalus nodded. "He hunts for me relentlessly. Now that he is a judge of the dead, he would like nothing better than for me to come before him so he can punish me for my crimes. After the daughters of Cocalus killed him, Minos's ghost began torturing me in my dreams. He promised that he would hunt me down. I did the only thing I could. I retreated from the world completely. I descended into my Labyrinth. I decided this would be my ultimate accomplishment: I would cheat death."

"And you did," Annabeth marveled, "for two thousand years."

She sounded kind of impressed, despite the horrible things Daedalus had done. Just then a loud bark echoed from the corridor, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded into the workshop. She licked Percy's face once, then almost knocked Daedalus over with an enthusiastic leap.

"There is my old friend!" Daedalus said, scratching Mrs. O'Leary behind the ears. "My only companion all these long lonely years."

"You let her save me," Percy said. "That whistle actually worked."

Daedalus nodded. "Of course it did, Percy. You have a good heart. And I knew Mrs. O'Leary liked you. I wanted to help you. Perhaps I-I felt guilty, as well." 

Vivi stared hard at the man; her curiosity and amazement, turning into anger and worry, "Guilty about what?"

"That your quest would be in vain."

"What?" Annabeth said. "But you can still help us. You have to! Give us Ariadne's string so Luke can't get it."

"Yes . . . the string. I told Luke that the eyes of a clear-sighted mortal are the best guide, but he did not trust me. He was so focused on the idea of a magic item. And the string works. It's not as accurate as your mortal friend here, perhaps. But good enough. Good enough."

"Where is it?" Annabeth said.

"With Luke," Daedalus said sadly. "I'm sorry, my dear. But you are several hours too late."

With a chill, Vivi realized why Luke had been in such a good mood in the arena. He'd already gotten the string from Daedalus. His only obstacle had been the arena master, and Percy'd taken care of that for him by killing Antaeus.

"Kronos promised me freedom," Quintus said. "Once Hades is overthrown, he will set me over the Underworld. I will reclaim my son Icarus. I will make things right with poor young Perdix. I will see Minos's soul cast into Tartarus, where it cannot bother me again. And I will no longer have to run from death."

"That's your brilliant idea?" Annabeth yelled. "You're going to let Luke destroy our camp, kill hundreds of demigods, and then attack Olympus? You're going to bring down the entire world so you can get what you want?"

"Your cause is doomed, my dear. I saw that as soon as I began to work at your camp. There is no way you can hold back the might of Kronos."

"That's not true!" she cried. "I am doing what I must, my dear. The offer was too sweet to refuse. I'm sorry."

Annabeth pushed over an easel. Architectural drawings scattered across the floor. "I used to respect you. You were my hero! You ─ you built amazing things. You solved problems. Now. . . I don't know what you are. Children of Athena are supposed to be wise, not just clever. Maybe you are just a machine. You should have died two thousand years ago."

Instead of getting mad, Daedalus hung his head. "You should go warn your camp. Now that Luke has the string ─ "

Suddenly Mrs. O'Leary pricked up her ears.

"Someone's coming!" Rachel warned.

The doors of the workshop burst open, and Nico was pushed inside, his hands in chains. Then Kelli and two Laistrygonians marched in behind him, followed by the ghost of Minos. He looked almost solid now ─ a pale bearded king with cold eyes and tendrils of Mist coiling off his robes.

He fixed his gaze on Daedalus. "There you are, my old friend."

Daedalus's jaw clenched. He looked at Kelli. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Luke sends his compliments," Kelli said. "He thought you might like to see your old employer Minos."

"This was not part of our agreement," Daedalus said.

"No indeed," Kelli said. "But we already have what we want from you, and we have other agreements to honor. Minos required something else from us, in order to turn over this fine young demigod." she ran a finger under Nico's chin. "He'll be quite useful. And all Minos asked in return was your head, old man."

Daeadalus paled. "Treachery."

"Get used to it," Kelli said.

"Nico," Percy said. "Are you okay?"

He nodded morosely. "I-I'm sorry, Percy. Minos told me you were in danger. He convinced me to go back into the maze."

"You were trying to help us?"

"I was tricked. He tricked all of us."

Percy glared at Kelli. "Where's Luke? Why isn't he here?"

The she-demon smiled, "Luke is. . . busy. He is preparing for the assault. But don't worry. We have more friends on the way. And in the meantime, I think I'll have a wonderful snack!"

Her hands changed to claws. Her hair burst into flame and her legs turned to their true form ─ one donkey leg, one bronze. Vivi took off her bracelet and let her dagger appear.

"Percy," Rachel whispered, "the wings. Do you think ─ "

"Get them," Percy said. "I'll try to buy you some time."

And with that, all Hades broke loose.

Annabeth and Percy charged at Kelli. The giants came right at Daedalus, but Mrs. O'Leary and Vivi leaped to his defense. She has no idea why she was even helping the man who tricked them, but she still didn't want anyone to die.

Nico got pushed to the ground and struggled with his chains while the spirit of Minos wailed, "Kill the inventor! Kill him!"

Rachel grabbed the wings off the wall. Nobody paid her any attention. Kelli slashed at Annabeth. Percy tried to get to her, but the demon was quick and deadly. She turned over tables, smashed inventions, and wouldn't let them get close. 

Mrs. O'Leary chomped her fangs into a giant's arm while Vivi raced at him, using her superspeed and slashing at his other hand, sliding as she did that onto the ground as he wailed in pain and flung the hellhound around, trying to shake her. Daedalus grabbed for his sword, but the second giant smashed the workbench with his fist, and the sword went flying. A clay jar of Greek fire broke on the floor and began to burn, green flames spreading quickly. 

"To me!" Minos cried. "Spirits of the dead!" he raised his ghostly hands and the air began to hum.

"No!" Nico cried. He was on his feet now. He'd somehow managed to remove his shackles.

"You do not control me, young fool." Minos sneered. "All this time, I have been controlling you! A soul for a soul, yes. But it is not your sister who will return from the dead. It is I, as soon as I slay the inventor!"

Spirits began to appear around Minos ─ shimmering forms that slowly multiplied, solidifying into Cretan soldiers.

"I am the son of Hades," Nico insisted. "Be gone!"

Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the lord of spirits! The ghost king!"

"No." Nico drew his sword. "I am."

He stabbed his black blade into the floor, and it cleaved through the stone like butter.

"Never!" Minos's form rippled. "I will not ─ "

The ground rumbled. The windows cracked and shattered to pieces, letting in a blast of fresh air. A fissure opened in the stone floor of the workshop, and Minos and all his spirits were sucked into the void with a horrible wail. The bad news: the fight was still going on all around them.

In the corner of her eyes, Vivi saw Kelli pounced on Percy so fast the boy had no time to defend himself. His sword skittered away and he hit his head hard on a worktable as he fell. Vivi's eyes widened. With a determined look on her face, Vivi charged at the empousa, feeling her head pounding from using so much of the superspeed, a gift from her dad she was still exploring. 

Kelli laughed. "You will taste wonderful!"

She bared her fangs and Vivi felt anger washing over her. With grinded teeth, the girl stabbed her dagger into the monsters back. Empousa's body went rigid. Her red eyes widened. She gasped, "No. . . school. . . spirit. . ." and Vivi took her dagger out of the Kelli's back. With an awful screech, Kelli dissolved into yellow vapor.

Vivi helped Percy up, but she doubled down. The girl groaned, the headache throbbing in her head that made her feel dizzy and disoriented. Percy held her up.

"Bibi?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she said, standing on her own, "Just a headache."

Mrs. O'Leary and Daedalus were still locked in combat with the giants, and the girl could hear shouting in the tunnel. More monsters were coming toward the workshop.

"We have to help Daedalus!" Percy said.

"No time," Rachel said. "Too many coming!"

She'd already fitted herself with wings and was working on Nico, who looked pale and sweaty from his struggle with Minos. The wings grafted instantly to his back and arms.

"Now you!" she said.

In seconds, Vivi, Nico, Annabeth, Rachel, and Percy had fitted themselves with coppery wings. Already, the girl could feel herself being lifted by the wind coming through the window. Greek fire was burning the tables and furniture, spreading up the circular stairs.

"Daedalus!" Percy yelled. "Come on!"

He was cut in a hundred places ─ but he was bleeding golden oil instead of blood. He'd found his sword and was using part of a smashed table as a shield against the giants.

"I won't leave Mrs. O'Leary!" he said. "Go!"

There was no time to argue. Even if they stayed, the four demigods couldn't help.

"None of us know how to fly!" Nico protested.

"Great time to find out," Percy said.

And together, the five of them jumped out the window into open sky. 

niki speaks!

we're almost done with this act,
i can't believe it!!
i might start updating two times a week
because of city love;
i'm almost finished with writing that book.

going back to school today after
a week cuz i was sick.
we'll see how that goes cuz i'm in
in speaking terms with ome of my friends,
because she's mad i called her mother
when she was so drunk; she hasn't texted
me since that day.

but anyways,
have a nice day/night
bye!