✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 005. dreams, gods and goddesses.

ANNABETH HAD EXPLAINED TO Vivi that, sometimes, their godly parent visits their dreams so they could talk with them. Vivi didn't think much of it. So far, her only dreams were either blank or random stuff ─ she once had a dream that Travis was riding some kind of one tire bike. It was weird, so she never brought it up. But now, she didn't know if she should be honored, mad or just wanting to wake up as fast as possible.

Vivi dreamt of some kind of open market. The dark sky was decorated with shinning stars as the lanterns glowed around the stands filled with various foods. She could smell the distant scent of cooked rice that brought joy to her. The streets were crowded with chatting people, all looking excitedly around. 

"Vivienne."

She jumped at the sound of someone calling her name. People around her were moving, not paying attention to her nor the figure that appeared. Vivi looked next to her. The man had a muscular build. His curly black hair sat short a top his head and blue eyes fixed ahead, not onto her. His elfish features, and a sly grin that decorated his face seemed familiar to her, seeing it everyday in the mirror.

"Hermes."

His gaze went down to her. A sad look adoring his features, but Vivi didn't care. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to see the man who left her. She didn't want to see the man who she wished was there when her mother died. She didn't want to see the man who never once cared to visit his daughter. She didn't want to see him.

"Not dad? Father? Fùqīn even maybe?"

"Why are you here? What do you want?" her tone was harsh as ice, but she didn't care.

Hermes sighed, and looked back at the crowd of people happily shopping, "Whenever I come here, I think of Amelia. She loved this place. She always told me it was like a small part of her tradition was with her."

Vivi stayed quiet as Hermes guided her down the street, stopping in front of a fountain surrounded by young couples, elderly one, parents with their kids. It was crowded, but no one seemed to mind. They were enjoying the place none the less.

"When you were a baby, the Fates already decided your future." Hermes said after a few quiet moments, "They shared your prophecy to your mother, grandmother and I, but, like you know by now, godly parents cannot be with their children as they grow up. I wanted to. I wanted to be there for all of my children, but Zeus never listens. It's forbidden."

Vivi frowned. She heard from Annabeth that Zeus is, well, not a very parent oriented figure.

"But you had someone watching over you. You just didn't realise it."

"What?"

Hermes sat down at the side of the fountain, tapping place next to him for Vivi to sit. She did.

"A heavy layer of Mist covered everything," Hermes said, "Do you remember your babysitter? Julie?"

Vivi thought back to it. When she was younger, Vivi had this babysitter that she loved. Her name was Julie. Whenever her mother went to work, Julie would be called to watch over Vivi. She was nice, kind and friendly. She was a teenager if Vivi remembers correctly, just finished High School where Amelia used to work at. Julie needed a job and Vivi's mother gave it to her. Vivi can still remember the beauty that Julie possessed. With her curly, blonde hair that went past her waist and smile that always met her eyes; with porcelain clear skin and plumb, pink lips, Julie was nothing but beautiful.

Vivi nodded, "She used to bring me macaroons whenever she came to babysit me."

"Yes," Hermes said, "She loved you. She still does."

"How would you know?" Vivi asked, "She moved away from collage when I was young, few months before mom died."

"But she didn't move away. She just couldn't be there anymore."

Vivi was extremely confused right now.

"Like I said, it is forbidden for a godly parent to look after their child. But, it is not forbidden for another god to watch over a half-blood. Julie was not a mortal. She is a goddess, a goddess of human soul, that's why she loved you so much. Psyche didn't want to leave you, but she couldn't be there if you were to move to your grandma's house."

"Psyche is. . . Julie?" Vivi asked, her brain buzzing with information. "My babysitter is a goddess?"

Hermes hummed, "She's more then your babysitter. You're her legacy, her descendant. If gods had DNA, she would be your great-grandma."

"She's granny's mother?"

Hermes smiled, "You're smart, just like she said. . . You destiny is hard, I won't lie to you. Not anymore. Hardships await you in life. But you won't be alone. Your friends, grandma, Psyche, I, will be there for you from now on, but we can only guide you so far."

"I don't want to think of it," Vivi grumbled, "Future is future, it can wait."

Her father laughed, "You're so much like your mother. Amelia loved to live in the moment. I miss her."

"You have loads of children, you surely can't remember all."

"That is bold even for you to say," Hermes raised an eyebrow, "You don't believe me?"

"No. I don't want to believe you."

"Yet, you're lying right now."

Vivi stammered, "No, I'm not."

"You're doing it again," Hermes sighed, "You inherited a very rare ability of mine, not a lot of people posses it."

"So, I wasn't hallucinating the other day."

Hermes shook his head, "The ability comes from me being a god of thieves. I can tell when someone wants to trick me and prevent it from happening. It rare, for any of my children to posses it, but I'm glad you're the one who got it."

The people's voices around them started to get louder. There was buzzing in Vivi's ears, making her cover them.

"This is my cue to leave," Hermes said, "But this won't be the last time we're going to see each other. Next time, I'll even bring you a gift," he sighed, "Hardship awaits you, Vivienne, but I know you can win it all."

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist. Travis and May packed Vivi's bag for the quest last night ─ thermos with nectar, bag of ambrosia, bedroll, some snacks, water, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. Her bracelet was on her wrist, shinning in the morning sun. The Hermes children, plus Isa, walked with Vivi to Zeus's Fist where everyone else stood around. Isa wouldn't let go off Vivi's arm, not wanting the older girl to leave.

"Do you have to go?" Isa asked, still clinging to Vivi's arm.

"Annie needs me," Vivi said, "And I'll be back before you even know it. Take care of yourself."

"I will. . ." Isa sniffled, before breaking down. "I don't want you to go," she spoke, "I don't want something to happen to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to," Vivi assured her, hugging the younger girl, "I promise."

"I'm going to miss you so much, eonni," Isa mumbled, squeezing Vivi more tightly, "Come back safe, all of you need to come back safe. Promise."

"We will."

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue. Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt. Since they had no idea what they would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.

Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish the group well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided that they needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case. 

"Well, it appears you are ready!" Chiron tried to sound upbeat, but Vivi could tell he was anxious. 

"Hey, uh, Chiron," Percy said, "Can I ask you a favor whileI'm gone?"

"Of course, my boy."

"Be right back, guys." Percy nodded toward the woods and he and Chiron disappeared.

Annabeth walked over to her best friend, "You ready?"

"Not in a slightest bit."

"Me neither," Annabeth sighed, "Thank you for coming."

"Annie, we talked about this," Vivi said, "Of course I would come. You're my best friend. I'll do anything for you."

Annabeth smiled, before her eyes travelled to Percy and Chiron, "What are they talking about?"

"I don't know," Vivi said, "But I'll find out." she trudged over to them, "Percy, you ready?"

The boy nodded, putting his hand in his pocket and looking past Vivi's figure. She raised an eyebrow and turned around. Quintus was watching Percy carefully. He raised his hand in farewell.

"Take care," Chiron told them. "And good hunting."

"You too," Percy said

The pair walked over to the rocks, where Annabeth, Tyson and Grover were waiting. Vivi stared at the crack between the boulders ─ the entrance that was about to swallow them.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."

"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.

And together, the four of us descended into darkness.

They made it a hundred feet before getting lost.

The tunnel looked nothing like the one Percy and she had stumbled into before. Now it was round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron barred portholes every ten feet. It opened into infinite darkness. Annabeth tried her best to guide them. She had this idea that they should stick to the left wall.

"If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," she said, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course."

Unfortunately, as soon as she said that, the left wall disappeared. They found themselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how they had gotten there.

"Next time, let's not speak our thoughts out loud," Vivi said.

"Um, which way did we come in?" Grover said nervously.

"Just turn around," Annabeth said.

Vivi  turned toward the tunnel in front of her, while everyone turned to a different tunnel. It was ridiculous. No one knew which way led back to camp.

"Left walls are mean," Tyson said. "Which way now?"

Annabeth swept her flashlight beam over the archways of the eight tunnels. 

"That way," she said.

"How do you know?" Percy asked.

"Deductive reasoning."

"She's lying." Vivi said. Even in the dark, she could see the words leaving Annabeth's mouth, swirling around her.

"Piss off," Annabeth said.

"She's swearing," Vivi said, "She's mad."

"Just come on!" 

The tunnel Annabeth had chosen narrowed quickly. The walls turned to gray cement, and the ceiling got so low that pretty soon we were hunching over. Tyson was forced to crawl. Grover's hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze.

"I can't stand it anymore," he whispered. "Are we there yet?"

"We've been down here maybe five minutes," Annabeth told him.

"It's been longer than that," Grover insisted. "And why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"

They kept shuffling forward. Just when Vivi was sure the tunnel would get so narrow it would squish them, it opened into a huge room. She shined the light around the walls. The whole room was covered in mosaic tiles. The pictures were grimy and faded, but you could still make out the colors ─ red, blue, green, gold. The frieze showed the Olympian gods at a feast. There was Poseidon, with his trident, holding out grapes for Dionysus to turn into wine. Zeus was partying with satyrs, and her father was flying through the air on his winged sandals. In the middle of the room was a three-tiered fountain. It looked like it hadn't held water in a long time.

"What is this place?" Percy muttered. "It looks ─ "

"Roman," Annabeth said. "Those mosaics are about two thousand years old."

"But how can they be Roman?" 

"The Labyrinth is a patchwork," Annabeth said. "I told you, it's always expanding, adding pieces. It's the only work of architecture that grows by itself."

"You make it sound like it's alive."

A groaning noise echoed from the tunnel in front of them.

"Let's not talk about it being alive," Grover whimpered. 

"I agree." Vivi said.

"All right," Annabeth said. "Forward."

"Down the hall with the bad sounds?" Tyson said. Even he lookednervous.

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "The architecture is getting older. That's a good sign. Daedalus's workshop would be in the oldest part."

That made sense. But soon the maze was toying with them ─ they went fifty feet and the tunnel turned back to cement, with brass pipes running down the sides. The walls were spray-painted with graffiti. A neon tagger sign read MOZ RULZ.

"I'm thinking this is not Roman," Percy said helpfully.

Annabeth took a deep breath, then forged ahead.

Every few feet the tunnels twisted and turned and branched off. The floor beneath them changed from cement to mud to bricks and back again. There was no sense to any of it. The group stumbled into a wine cellar ─ a bunch of dusty bottles in wooden racks  ─ like they were walking through somebody's basement, only there was no exit above, just more tunnels leading on. Later the ceiling turned to wooden planks, and Vivi could hear voices above them and the creaking of footsteps, as if walking under some kind of bar. It was reassuring to hear people, but then again, they couldn't get to them. They were stuck down here with no way out. Then, the first skeleton appeared. He was dressed in white clothes, like some kind of uniform. A wooden crate of glass bottles sat next to him.

"A milkman," Vivi said.

"What?" Percy asked.

"They used to deliver milk, bèndàn ( idiot )."

"Yeah, I know what they are," he rolled his eyes, "but. . . that was when my mom was little, like a million years ago. What's he doing here?"

"Some people wander in by mistake," Annabeth said. "Some come exploring on purpose and never make it back. A long time ago, the Cretans even sent people in here as human sacrifices."

"How nice," Vivi grumbled.

Grover gulped. "He's been down here a long time." he pointed to the skeleton's bottles, which were coated with white dust. The skeleton's fingers were clawing at the brick wall, like he had died trying to get out.

"Only bones," Tyson said. "Don't worry, goat boy. The milkman is dead."

"The milkman doesn't bother me," Grover said. "It's the smell. Monsters. Can't you smell it?"

Tyson nodded. "Lots of monsters. But underground smells like that. Monsters and dead milk people."

"Oh, good," Grover whimpered. "I thought maybe I was wrong."

"We have to get deeper into the maze," Annabeth said. "There has to be a way to the center."

She led them to the right, then the left, through a corridor of stainless steel like some kind of air shaft, and back to the Roman tile room with the fountain. This time, however, they weren't alone. The man with two faces stood in front of them. His two faces jutted out from either side of his head, staring over his shoulders, so his head was much wider than it should've been, kind of like a hammer head shark's. He was dressed like a New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes, and a black top-hat that somehow managed to stay on his double wide head. 

"Well, Annabeth?" said his left face. "Hurry up!"

"Don't mind him," said the right face. "He's terribly rude. Right this way, miss."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Uh. . . I don't. . ."

Tyson frowned. "That funny man has two faces."

"The funny man has ears, you know!" the left face scolded. "Now come along, miss."

"No, no," the right face said. "This way, miss. Talk to me, please."

The two-faced man regarded Annabeth as best he could out of the corners of his eyes. It was impossible to look at him straight on without focusing on one side or the other. And Vivi knew what he was asking ─ he wanted Annabeth to choose. Behind him were two exits, blocked by wooden doors with huge iron locks. They hadn't been there their first time through the room. The two-faced doorman held a silver key, which he kept passing from his left hand to his right hand. Behind them, the doorway they had come through had disappeared, replaced by more mosaics. 

"The exits are closed," Annabeth said.

"Duh!" the man's left face said.

"Where do they lead?" she asked.

"One probably leads the way you wish to go," the right face said encouragingly. "The other leads to certain death."

"I-I know who you are," Annabeth said.

"Oh, you're a smart one!" the left face sneered. "But do you know which way to choose? I don't have all day."

"Why are you trying to confuse me?" Annabeth asked.

The right face smiled. "You're in charge now, my dear. All the decisions are on your shoulders. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I ─ "

"We know you, Annabeth," the left face said. "We know what you wrestle with every day. We know your indecision. You will have to make your choice sooner or later. And the choice may kill you."

The color drained out of Annabeth's face. "No. . . I don't ─ "

"Leave her alone," Percy said, stepping forward to defend her. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm your best friend," the right face said.

"I'm your worst enemy," the left face said.

"I'm Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."

"I'll see you soon enough, Perseus Jackson," said the right face. "But for now it's Annabeth's turn." he laughed giddily. "Such fun!"

"Shut up!" his left face said. "This is serious. One bad choice can ruin your whole life. It can kill you and all your friends. But no pressure, Annabeth. Choose!"

The child of Athena's final stand.

"Annie," Vivi shook her head.

"I'm afraid she has to," the right face said cheerfully.

Annabeth moistened her lips. "I-I choose ─ "

Before she could point to a door, a brilliant light flooded the room. Janus raised his hands to either side of his head to cover his eyes. When the light died, a