"Stop! Right there!" Annabeth yelled over the wind.

Using the winds, I slowly lowered us on a roof of a lavish home located on a hill overlooking a two lane road. From here, the garden of the gods was in clear view too our right. The rock formations towering over this part of the region like great walls that had crumbled a millennia ago. Just beyond the formations, I could hear the battle rage on. Black smoke flowed up into the sky, my father's domain.

I wonder if he was even paying attention up there, while the two camps slaughtered each other.

"The wars already started." Sam said, disheartened.

"And we should be there to stop them." I noted. "Chase, why stop here?"

Annabeth pointed her attention to our left. "Sphinx told us that an attack would soon follow once the dust settle between our camps. Luke's army has to be on standby somewhere." Annabeth pointed towards a large complex building. "You see that over there? If my memories right, that should be the Garden's trading post. A big tourist gift shop."

Sam whistled. "Your like a living google search bar, Chase. Can you tell me what this weird mole on butt cheek means? I've have this feeling that-"

Annabeth cut him off. "Shut it, Martinez." A small smirk on her face. "I have a near photographic memory. Perk of being Athena's daughter. You see the foot traffic coming in and out of that place? Something's off."

"Its a tourist shop." Sam pointed out. "Isn't it supposed to have a lot of foot traffic?"

"No." I answered. "Section 3 in New Rome's rules of engagement. A barrier of mist preventing mortal intervention must be set and maintained in a 3 mile radius for the duration of the battle at ALL cost. The battles is little over a mile away, we're within the mists range."

Grover, who had remained mostly quiet since Pan's passing, leaned over the edge. "Jason, winds coming from our backs. You think you can change that?"

"Done." I answered, raising my left hand so the winds would follow its direction. The winds were... easier to manipulate then usual. Usually, it would take a little more effort to re-direct them.

Maybe my old man was taking pity on me. I guess I'm still-

"Ow!" Sam called out, putting his finger in his mouth. "Watch it Jason. Your sparking." He said while flicking his hand.

I unclenched my right hand and took a deep breath. My body was extremely tense and I hadn't noticed. I glanced at Annabeth, who stared back, concerned.

"Sorry, Sam." I finally said.

Grover sat against the side of the roof, still staring at the trading post. "Yup. It reeks of monsters and demigods. The place is definitely a stronghold."

Annabeth bit her thumb. "How to handle this...." She muttered to herself.

I cracked my knuckles. " I could blow off some steam."

Sam pushed past us. "No, you all need to stop our camps from killing each other. I will keep them occupied."

"Stop with the hero stuff." I said, adjusting the straps in my armor. "We need to be smart about this."

"Jason, we need to stop our friends." Sam responded with a grim expression. He pointed his finger at the garden, where black smoke rose higher and faster. "Stopping Saturn's army won't matter if our camps destroy each other. Besides, Chase?"

"Yeah." She muttered, staring at the trade post below.

Sam spread his arms out. "Has the great daughter of Athena, thought of a better plan?"

She scrunched her face up, annoyed. She groaned. "Martinez is right, we have to split up."

Sam bowed. "Thank you. I'm here everyday, except Fridays." He placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled in a specific tune. "Besides, I made sure someone would keep in eye on Max's movements while I was away. So I won't be alone."

The sound of beating wings and neighing forced us to crane our necks. Scipio descended onto our roof and neighed proudly. Sam rushed over to her, a giant smile on his face.

"Skip!" Sam exclaimed, hugging her neck. "How's my favorite unicorn doing?"

Scipio bit his hair and pulled. Sam yelped. "Ow! Okay, okay. You hate that joke. I get it."

Annabeth walked over and greeted Scipio by petting her neck. "She's beautiful. She's making me miss blackjack now."

"Black who?" Sam asked while trying to pull his curly long hair out of Scipio's mouth.

"Doesn't matter." I said, walking up to Sam. "Are you sure about this?"

Sam lightly slapped Scipio a few times, with her eventually letting go. "Yes I am. I'll be fine." He said, extending his hand to me. "You just make sure to set things right. Alright?"

I looked at his hand. My first instinct was to shake his hand and promise him, but something inside me held me back. I couldn't decipher it. Was it anger? Doubt? Fear? Regret?

My heart was racing, but eventually I shook his hand. "I'll try." I told him, avoiding his gaze.

"I'll go with him." Grover said quietly, still sitting on the edge of the roof, staring at the trading post below.

Annabeth was prepared to say something, but she restrained herself. Grover could use a moment to blow off some steam as well. "Alright, just be careful down there."

Grover shrugged, his back still turned to us. "Always."

BOOOOOOOOM

Our heads snapped towards the direction of the garden. An explosion had gone off North of the garden. From here I could see a small mushroom cloud made of black smoke and green flames rise into the sky.

Annabeth cursed. "She brought Greek fire!? Jason! We need to go!"

Sam mounted Scipio and quickly accepted Grover's hand to help him aboard. "We'll do our part!" Sam exclaimed while Scipio took flight. "Make it right!" He shouted before taking off towards the trading post.

I summoned the winds while holding Annabeth in my right arm and we took off to..... try and make things right.

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

"ARE YOU BOTH OUT OF YOUR MINDS!!" Gwen shouted at the top of her lungs.

We were back in the Labyrinth, Percy and I leaning against an old fountain that had long since stopped working. Overhead, a skylight that once glinted from the light of the sun now had to deal with a large stalactites sticking out within it. Gwen paced in front of us, seething. Rachel examined the pathway ahead of us, trying to ignore Gwen's rant.

"Going to Saturn's palace all by yourselves!" Gwen continued. "Rey! What were you thinking? I'd expect an idea like that too come from Percy, but you?"

"In fairness to Reyna, it was my idea." Percy added.

"Zip it water boy!" Gwen snapped back. "I promised Annabeth to get you back in one piece. I'm yelling at Reyna first because she knows better!"

"She's dead." I said, playing with Argentums and Aurum's ears while they rubbed their noses against my knees in a effort to consul me.

Gwen faltered. "She..... Who's dead?"

"Luke and Justice." Percy responded, playing with his watch. "Their.... Kind of dead."

Rachel joined us, steering clear of Gwen's path. "Dead? Kind of dead? Set the record straight you guys."

Percy explained in simple term what Justice and Luke had done by allowing Kronos/Saturn's mind to.... inhabit their minds. As Sphinx would have put it.

Gwen's expression was hard to read. The news calmed her, at least. "So..... There might be a way for her.... them to come back?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Does it matter?" Percy asked, staring at the floor. "Both of them....... The people they were died a long time ago."

Gwen swallowed, immediately grabbed her necklace. She slowly spun around, facing the wall behind us while she composed herself. "Yeah." She finally said, her voice trembling. "I guess your right."

Percy straighten up, his sea green eyes unfocused. "There gone. Lets move on."

Rachel helped him up and then took point while we gathered behind her near the pathway ahead of us. "We're not far. Daedalus's workshop is close."

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

Daedalus's workshop, the heart of the chaotic labyrinth, was a lot neater and brighter then I was expecting. I had imagined a crazed old man stuck in a workshop with robotic bodies stacked to the ceiling. All lit by a dinghy light bulb and a pit of lava at its center.

Instead, his workshop could be best described as a really lavish, expensive, well maintained condo unit you would find in one of New Rome's few skyscrapers. The ceiling could have been thirty feet high and held bright white industrial lights. The floor was polished stone covered in perfectly angled lines written with chalk. As if Daedalus used the chalk to format his space during construction, but forgot to erase them. Rachel seem to appreciate this, crouching down to read the specific measurements and notes Daedalus must have scribbled down.

To my left, a spiral staircase guided my eyes and its users to a second story platform where I could make out a messy Queen sized bed resting on it. Below the platform; a space large enough to fit two cars laid bare with white chalk lines leading towards a large glass window. Opposite of the window hung four intricately woven wings vertically along the blank white wall. The wings were made with a combination of imperial gold and celestial bronze.

To my right is where I imagined the great inventor did his magic. The space was dominated by an industrial sized work table surrounded by other, smaller work bench's that hugged the walls filled with various tools and equipment I, for the most part, could not recognize. I imagine Bronk would have had a field day in this place.

On the oversized work table, laid two robotic bodies. They were smaller, more fitting for the size of a boy, not a man. Many notes were scribbled on the table. I got certain key words and phrases that peaked my interest.

Perdix

Icarus

Boys

The Fields

Soul transfer without living body?

We turned our attention to a man standing just across us with his back turned. He stared intently out of the ten foot tall glass window while hold something in his right hand. From here, I could make out black smoke rising into the sky in the distance.

I looked at Argentum and Aurum and they understood immediately. They ran off towards the door and disappeared.

"Daedalus." Percy said, taking point while Gwen covered his left and I his right. Rachel stayed put near the exit. "Or should we still call you Quintus?"

The man turned around, revealing Quintus. He was dressed the same way when I first met him. As if I never stabbed him in the neck multiple times. This time, however, he let his tattoo of a bird show on his neck without effort to hide it.

"Percy," Daedalus said, raising his cup of coffee (can robots drink coffee?) " Reyna. Gwen. How are you?"

Percy's eyes glowed dangerously. "Nothing much. Getting real sick of people stabbing me in the back."

"We were told that Luke and Justice already controlled the Labyrinth." I said. "Why are you here?"

Daedalus stared at the floor for a minute, his grey eyes unfocused. "It seems you were all too late. I had hoped you all would make it here on time, but that wasn't the case. Luke and Justice paid me a visit personally. Offered me a deal..... I could not refuse."

"No doubt some empty promise." Gwen said, an arrow still notched in her bow. "So what did they offer you? You've already found a way to cheat death. What more do you want?"

Rachel yelped behind us, forcing us to spin around. Ethan Nakamura rested a sliver blade on Rachel's throat. "I would drop those swords if I were you." He said calmly, pressing his blade against Rachel's throat. A trickle of blood falling down his dagger.