Needle and Thread

Find a Way!

Andesine wrinkled his nose. "Let's just find out how to summon someone first," he said. "We know it's possible."

"It's no use," East said. "I know this kind of zone. You can't form any weapons here."

"My keys are inter-dimensional portal unlocker-thingies," Lyra said. "They aren't weapons!" There was a tinkling sound, and her keys fell to the floor in front of her. Lyra scooped them up calmly. "There."

"Dangit, Lyra, stop being smarter than me," Andesine grumbled. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm allowed to do things sometimes," she said.

"Yeah, fighting things," Andesine whined. "Why don't you let me be the brains?"

"Maybe 'cos you don't have any," East muttered.

"I heard that," Andesin snapped.

"You were supposed to."

"Stop arguing, ladies," Lyra called. "Now let's go. I spy with my little eye, a big decorated pair of doors that might lead to a final boss."

"Don't just go charging in there!" Andesine yelled, before Lyra could push open the golden doors. "You'll immediately get crushed. There are probably all sorts of booby traps. And anyways, the final boss is going to be way insanely powered up. Send in a decoy."

Lyra considered this. "All right! Turn into a rock, Andy. Don't worry, I've got a pretty good throwing arm."

"What?!" Andesine looked as though he were about to have a heart attack. "No! I was talking about demigod Lyra. Demigod Lyra!"

"Oh. But... what if she dies?"

"She won't! She has to live, because of the freaking paradox! She has to live up till the point when you first summon her!"

"Oh, right." Lyra held up the gatekeys. "I summon thee, girl of the Riordan Dimension! Come forth, my patron demigod, Lyra Deighton!"The gate shimmered into existence, and the double-sworded figure of Lyra's counterpart stepped through.

"Hey," she said calmly. "Are you going to interrupt my quest too often? I don't want it to be the middle of some monster fight when you next come calling."

"You're on a quest?!" Lyra exclaimed. "That's so cool! What's it for?"

"Ah, some mortal got a big head just 'cos they could see through the Mist and McFreakin' made a deal with one of Kronos' conscious fragments. So I've gotta kill them. They're annoying, though. They always seem to know when we're coming to their hiding spot and leave."

"That sucks," Lyra said sympathetically. "Anyways, due to some paradox mess, you kind of aren't going to die. So we're sending you into a death trap!"

"That sounds dumb," Demigod Lyra replied.

"Don't worry," Andesine said. "You'll be fine. We just need you to scope the place out and tell us where the key is. And also distract the boss while we get it."

"All right," Demigod Lyra said suspiciously. "I'll do it. But if I start yelling, you'll come, right?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Lyra asked. The other just smiled and walked towards the golden doors. She cracked one at first, then turned back. "Okay," She said. "There's a mountain with a bunch of holes in the floor. A little girl is skipping around the mountain— prob'ly your boss right there— and on top of the mountain is a pedestal. I can't see the key, but let's assume it's up there. Ready?"

"Let's-a go!" Lyra yelled. Her counterpart ran through the golden gates.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" East said, as Lyra and Andesine prepared to go through the door.