"You never thought to summon them before?" Annabeth asked me while we walked quickly through the many empty corridors of the labyrinth. This specific corridor had fluorescent lights above providing bluish hue around our surroundings, but were spaced out far a part. So every so often, we would walk through a brightly lit tiled hallway only to reenter the shadows. It's as if the Labyrinth was building our path in real time and needed to darken the room so we could not see the new space it would create ahead of us. Luckily, we were walking under the light, which calmed our nerves just enough for us to talk.

I smiled as Argentum bounced in the air with a skeleton's bone in his mouth, proud of his performance in our last confrontation with the monsters of the labyrinth . "No, I've never summoned them outside of Camp before. Didn't think it was possible."

Annabeth patted Aurum's back, which made her sliver tongue drop to the side of her mouth in excitement. "Well, these boys are amazing. Makes our fights with monsters far more tolerable."

I turned around to face Annabeth, walking backwards. "No, Aurum here is a girl. Argentum is a boy."

Annabeth glanced at the two dogs. "How can you tell?"

I shrugged. "I can't. I just made it up. I think for John, their owner before me, he referred to them as girls. Argentum just gives me...... boy vibes, y'know?"

Annabeth chuckled. "No, I don't. I guess it doesn't matter to them, right Aurum! Your such a good bo-I mean girl............ No, Aurum gives ME boy vibes."

I spun around, facing forward. "You can call HER whatever she wants. Right Aurum?"

Aurum barked gleefully, which made Annabeth smile. "Okay, Aurum. I'm so sorry girl. Yes. Yes, I'm sorry. Good girl. GoOood Girl! Hey! Watch the legs!"

I laughed again, relishing in the experience. The last few hours have been a nightmare with us running through the labyrinth and fighting monsters at almost every corner. All the while re-playing Max's horrid crimes in my head.

"Sacrifice, Reyna. We needed to sacrifice them for the ones we love." Max told me, his eyes lost in grief and anger.

The smile on my face disappeared as I dwelled on the memory. Aurum and Argentum rushed by my side, as they usually did when they sensed my mood turning for the worst. Annabeth seemed to pick up on this.

"Are you okay?" She asked me.

We walked for a few more minutes in silence, as I contemplated how to answer that question. "I'm fine." I finally said.

"Who's Max? Who is he too you?" Annabeth asked. She said Max's name without a hint of bitterness or anger, which surprised me.

I wiped my eyes, tears falling quickly and without warning. The hounds moved closer to me, as if expecting me to crouch down and hold them again. "He's.... Nobody. He's a monster. Whoever he was before...... is dead."

Annabeth gently grabbed my arm, which stopped us in our tracks. Her grey eyes surrounded by a web of red veins. "I understand what your going through. More then most. You can tell me."

I pushed her hand away. "What is there to understand? Max killed your friends. He's taken control of the Legion and we need to stop them."

Annabeth leaned against the labyrinth's walls. "And I want to make sure your not distracted before we face him. Because we WILL face him."

I scoffed. "And how does talking about how I feel going to help?"

Annabeth pushed off the wall. "Luke did the same thing. He betrayed me, in the worst way possible. I know-"

"Stop." I said and started marching forward again. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

"But Reyna." Annabeth said, grabbing my arm.

I took a deep breath and grabbed her hand. "I dumped ALL of my feelings and thoughts onto Max for months. It was about me, me, me and ME." I swiped her hand off of me. "The last thing I want to do is vent about how I feel. As far as I'm concerned, if I had just taken a moment to listen to HIM, we may....."

The dogs pushed against my legs, sensing another panic attack building within me.

Annabeth shook her head. "What Max did has NOTHING to do with you."

"Do you feel the same way about Luke?" I countered, my voice shaking. "Do you think you could have done more? To stop him from going down this path."

Annabeth looked like she got punched between the eyes. She blinked a few times, but tried to recover. "Your deflecting."

"So are you." I said right back to her. "Are YOU ready to face Luke? Because eventually we WILL have to face him."

Annabeth took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled out from her mouth. "I don't know if I am ready." She said. "Honestly, I'm scared and worried and.... Angry that it's even come to this. There so many things that I think about that its just-"

Watching a daughter of Athena lost for words must have been a rare occurrence. Annabeth threw her arms in the air. "So who knows, maybe your right. Maybe I'll never be ready. All I know is what I know. I'll keep planning, strategizing and fighting. And if all else fails, I'll do the one thing that's never failed me."

"And what's that?" I asked her.

She wiped her eyes. "I'll trust my family. My friends. It's never failed me before."

"Wasn't Luke your friend once?" I asked her.

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know. There was a time I he was family. But...... Maybe he was never who I thought he was."

Annabeth grabbed my hands. "But that's how I feel. How do YOU feel, Reyna? I need to know your still on the same page with me."

I opened my mouth, but my voice failed me. I shook my head slowly and avoided her gaze. "I'm.... Done sharing. Just trust that I-"

Argentum and Aurum shocked Annabeth and I into defensive positions with loud barks. I spun around and pulled my sword, facing the corridor ahead.

The corridor ahead was pitch black and I could hear heavy boots walking slowing towards our direction. The dogs took point and stood as still as statues, staring at the darkness ahead. The four of us remained still, waiting for whoever was coming our way. The footstep gradually became louder as they came closer.

Suddenly, the dogs perked up and titled their heads just before the person ahead of us approached.

"Y'know," The familiar voice said, the person still shrouded in shadows. "A friend once told me that sharing our deepest, darkest, stinky-est feelings is not about resolving them...."

The person walked into the light and I immediately dropped my sword.

Sam smiled at me. ".... its so that we can endure them. Together."

********************************************

"Rey! Te amo, pero me estás matando!" Sam begged while I hugged him to death.

"Dioses, te extrañé mucho." I said, blinking tears out of my eyes.

Annabeth lowered her dagger. "So, I'm guessing you both know each other."

Sam gave her two thumbs up. "I would shake your hand, but I'm too busy fighting for my life right now. Ow!"

I gave Sam one more squeeze and finally let him go. He readjusted his praetor armor and his cloak. "Cha Cho. I missed you too Rey, but you were driving my breastplate into my breasts."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "You don't have breast."

Sam blinked and looked at me. He smiled, a devious look in his eyes. I sighed and patted Annabeth on the shoulder. "Good luck girl. If you want him to be less annoying, don't take anything he says literally."

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but Sam was already on her. He extended his hand out. "Sup, the name is Sam. Sam Martinez. Yours?"

Annabeth shook his hand. "Annabeth Chase. Nice to-"

"What's two plus two?" Sam asked quickly, cutting her off.

Annabeth blinked and leaned back. "Four. Why are you-"

"WROOOOOOONG!" Sam yelled, letting go of her hand and dramatically shouting into the corridor, his voice echoing across the labyrinth. "It's fish."

Annabeth went from confused to annoyed. "Oh no. Your a moron."

Sam gave her a grin and crossed his arms. "Says the girl who got my riddle wrong."

Annabeth opened her mouth, but then let out an exasperated sigh. "Your not going to get me. Your not. I've had enough practice with Seaweed Brain."

Sam raised an eyebrow and scratched his head. "Seaweed brain? That's a new one. As far as insult go, you could-"

I patted Sam's back. "She's talking about your brother, Percy. But Annabeth, Sam's on a different level then the seaweed brain you know. Sam's brain is more like a sea stone."

Sam and Annabeth looked at each other.

"YOUR A SON OF POSEIDON?" / "I HAVE A BROTHER!?"

The two of them said at the same time.

Sam shook his head and made a time out symbol with his hands. "Whoa whoa whoa, let's take it back from the top. First, Rey-" He gave me the middle finger. "That's for basically saying I'm as dumb as rocks-"

"That's cause you are." I added.

"- And Second." He gave me two middle fingers for the comment, which made me snort in satisfaction. " And third, I have a brother? Seriously?"

Annabeth seemed just as overwhelmed as him. "Another child of the big three? Oh my gods...." She began muttering to herself, calculating all the possibilities.

"Yes." I answered. "His name is Percy Jackson. Technically he's your brother. I'm not sure what the differences are between Greek and Roman gods, but your basically brothers. He's a son of Poseidon. Neptune's Greek Form."

Sam's eyes lit up. "Can he talk to horses?"

I was about to say I had no idea, but Annabeth answered. "Yes he can." She said, and then continued muttering to herself.

Sam's eyes lit up so much, they were practically beaming. Seriously, his usual light green eyes glowed sea green. "Awesome. I've got to meet him. Is he down here now?"

Annabeth and I looked at each other, our enthusiasm deflating. Especially Annabeth, a worried expression returning on her face. "We don't know. We were.... separated."

"Sam," I turned to him. "How long have you been down here? Did you hear about Mount Saint Helens blowing up?... Actually, why are you down here? Shouldn't you be back at camp, stopping Max?"

"One, not long. Two, yes I did. Three, looking for you and four....... "Sam seemed to deflate as well at the mention of Max. "I.... We have a lot to catch up on. Let's sit and talk for a bit."

**************************************

"-murdered them." Sam explained. "Selina was already scheduled for execution, so her death was considered... distasteful by many in camp, but was hardly worth talking about. No offense." He said quickly to Annabeth. "For the record, I was against the death penalty."

Annabeth nodded her head, a sad look in her eyes. "Go on."

"But It was the big guys death, Beckendorf, that really caused havoc." Sam continued. "He was just captured a DAY before his death. A day. We found him on the field of Mars shouting for Selina. He must have came from the Labyrinth."

Annabeth leaned forward. "Was Selina given a proper trial? A death sentence? That's extreme."

I shifted my self to face her, the three of us sat cross-legged in the corridor. We sat across from each other, like a triangle. Argentum and Aurum sat still, watching the corridor on either side. "Annabeth, she already admitted it. Remember-"

"I remember!" Annabeth said quickly. "But there was a lot going on when she admitted to that. For all we know, Max could have just forced her to-"

"No, she did it." Sam cut her off, his tone deadly serious.

Annabeth looked at him, baffled. "I... That can't be. I've known her since I arrived at camp. She would never do such a thing. Never."

"Well she did." Sam said plainly. "Max may have been out for blood, but that trial was air tight. Max's powers as Praetor are limited, he's a temp. I oversaw the whole thing. He had no say in the actual trial, outside of being a witness, since he was the one that caught her-"

"My point exactly!" Annabeth shouted. "Maybe- Maybe he had some leverage on her. Maybe he's working for Luke and this is all a ploy to pit us against each other. Or-"

"She told me." Sam said, his voice cracking. "We sat alone and she told me. No torture. No mind tricks. Nothing. She told me."

Sam leaned back and wiped his eyes. "She was being manipulated, but not by Max. Luke ordered her to assassinate Jason. Selina is a skilled charm speaker, as I'm sure you know. She was able to convince many campers, including Terminus when he found her at the border, that she was one of us. She presented herself as one of the campers on my scouting expeditions. Created this whole elaborate story about how the Greeks killed her entire squad and she barely got away. She hid in the third cohort, she charmed-speaked Rebecca into thinking she was one of them. Cause you know, Rebecca is a sucker for the ladies."

Sam looked at me and I nodded in agreement. Rebecca flirted with me for a whole week once I settled in Camp Jupiter. She tapped danced a lot, wasn't sure what that as about.

"If she went that far, why did she just, admit it to you?" Annabeth pressed.

Sam blinked a lot, trying to calm himself. "Uh... Um... She felt remorseful. Am I using that word right? She felt terrible about it. I'm not sure if Jason remembers when she stabbed him that night but... He protected her. When he summoned the lightning, according to her, he pushed her to the ground before the building exploded. He kept asking her if she was okay."

Sam chuckled. "The guy was asking if she was okay while he had a sword in his gut that she put there. Can you believe that?"

"Yes." Annabeth and I said at the same time without hesitation.

Sam looked between the two of us, a little confused, but continued. "Anyways.... She admitted to it. Felt remorseful and was even willing to work with us..."

"I hate buts." Annabeth said underneath her breath.

"But many of the old heads in the court were insistent on execution. Arduous was the prosecutor, so he pushed hard for it. He was able to convince the court and jury it was the best course of action. 'Something, something, tradition.' Is what he said." Sam explained. "But we still had a chance to save her. The court may decide if the party is innocent or guilty and issue a punishment, but it's my legionnaires that have to act on said punishment. Which gave me some wiggle room."

"How did you figure that out?" I asked him, impressed. Sam knew almost nothing about his job.

Sam's response surprised me, his tone melancholic. "I studied hard. I know that sounds surprising to you, Rey. But......" He looked away, sniffling. "I wanted to save her. She didn't deserve a fate that terrible. There had to be another way..."

We sat in silence. I thought back to our conversation on the bridge, where he told me about how his mother was executed in front of him back in Mexico. I extended my hand and placed it over his own. "Thanks, Sam. For trying." I told him.

Annabeth wiped her eyes, but avoided eye contact. "Tha..... Thank you, Sam." She said, finally.

Sam cleared his throat. "Yep..... But, it didn't matter. Max took that choice away from all of us. Especially for Beckondorf. Max said the two of them managed to free themselves and he had no choice but to defend himself. I felt like there was more too it, but-"

"There isn't." Annabeth said, her eyes closed and her fist clenched. "He killed them in cold blood. He lied. Right, Rey."

Sam turned to me. "How do you know that?"

I explained to him how Max used an Arcus message to broadcast their deaths in front of everyone at Camp Half-blood. I spared the details, as Annabeth became visibility emotional at the retelling of those events. Sam's mouth gapped open. "That...... He actually did it?" Sam said softly to himself, baffled. "That explains that message we got from the crazy lady."

"What message?" Annabeth asked.

Sam explained how a girl named Clarisse sent an Arcus message (Iris Message, the Greek version according to Annabeth) too Max during a meeting with the other centurions. "She was besides herself about Selina and Beckondorf. She threatened to burn Rome to the ground. It was a clear declaration of war...."

Sam shook his head. "That son of a..... He's going to kill them all. Kill them all for his stupid revenge!"

Sam shot to his feet and paced around. "He's going right now." He said. "He's marching the legion to the Garden of the Gods, in Colorado. The fifth cohort stayed behind, for security and obvious reasons. Their loyal to you guys."

I stood up. "Then what are you doing here Sam? Shouldn't you be out there, trying to stop him?"

Sam kept his back to us and cleared his throat. "I...... Ran out of options." He said. "Max had garnered to much support. War had been declared. I.... Ran away. Like I always do. I hoped that if I had found you all. Maybe there was still hope."

"We have to stop them." I said.

Annabeth stood up. "But we need to find Daedalus' workshop too."

Sam spun around. "Why?"

"Its not a coincidence that Luke sent Selina to Camp Jupiter." She explained. "He was hoping for this very scenario. Pit the two camps together, sweep in once the fighting is done. Divide and conquer, oldest tactic in the book. Luke and Justice can use the labyrinth to prepare one large, unstoppable assault right in the heart of each camp. With the Greeks and Romans at War, the actual camps themselves will be vulnerable. Doesn't matter if the Greek's win or the Roman's, they won't be returning to the home they know."

"And there are  still to many variables we don't know." Annabeth said. "With fate in disarray, we have no roadmap to follow. No prophecy to outline how this plays out. Jason, Percy and Nico are M.I.A. Gwen, Grover, Tyson and Bronk are still lost somewhere down here. Maybe they've already reached the workshop. Maybe-"

Argentum, who guarded the dark portion of the corridor where Sam had appeared, got onto his feet and let out a warning bark. Again, much like before, we all stood in defensive positions with our weapons drawn.

"Gods, I hate fighting with my cloak on." Sam noted, holding his sword up. "Hopefully its a friendly?"

Annabeth shook her head. "For every lucky break I've ever received-"

Argentum growled, aurum joining his side. Up ahead, I could hear shouting and roaring. Multiple people heading our direction.

"-There are ten more worse case scenarios that follow." Annabeth finished.

We all braced ourselves as Sphinx herself lunged herself towards us, roaring.