𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐗𝐈𝐑, 𝐏𝐉

𝟎𝟎𝟓.𝟒

𝟎𝟎𝟓.𝟒

The next morning when Percy trudged out of his cabin for breakfast there was extreme excitement around the camp.

He heard the entire thing from Travis while walking together to breakfast, apparently there had been an Aethiopian Drakon spotting and the campers of Apollo cabin had gone out to hunt it. They hadn't been much successful because of injury to one of theirs but they had injured the drakon making it retreat.

"Who was injured one?" He asked Travis, his blood slightly chilling as he realised Juliet might've gone on the hunt too.

"Oh it was Austin, he injured his leg, it's not serious so he'll be good with a little rest. He just landed on it funny." Travis's words brought him some kind of assurance but when he didn't spot Juliet amongst table 7, his mind was running around with wild thoughts.

"It's still out there,' Lee warned them during announcements, he looked weary as if he'd been crying, "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was ten metres long and bright green. Its eyes –"

"Where's Juliet?" For the first time it wasn't Percy asking this question but rather Augustus from the Hermes table, he looked worried and though it made Percy's jaw clench, he was worried too.

"She," Lee ran a hand through his hair, a broken look on his face making Percy freeze up, "She um," he looked at Clarisse and something passed between them because Clarisse looked at him with wide eyes, "She's.....lost."

"What?" He didn't recognise his own voice, it was sharper, edgier and more furious than Percy had ever felt. The campers all turned to him in surprise but Percy didn't care, Juliet had been taken again.

He kept loosing her. How the fuck did he kept loosing her!

"We'll discuss more later Percy, personally perhaps." Chiron gave him a look which clearly meant, 'Talk to me alone', "You did well, Lee." He patted Lee on the shoulder. "Everyone stay alert, but stay calm. This has happened before."

"Aye," Quintus said from the head table. And it will happen again. More and more frequently."

The campers murmured among themselves.

Fuck this shit, That's all that was going through Percy's head because something was happening and nobody was telling him about it and apparently Juliet had been lost due to that something and he was not going to sit idle and wait for her to just show up. He was going to find her.

*****

"Normal cheese burgers are all normal but the quarter pounder with cheese bacon, now that's a good burger." Juliet mused while stuffing three fries in her face.

She was sitting on the dusty ground of the labyrinth, not knowing how long she had walked but apparently not much time had passed according to Nico.

"You do know buying McDonalds requires money, right?" Nico sassed her back while eating his cheeseburger.

He'd found her in the middle of the Labyrinth, both of them pointing at each other in shock for atleast 10 minutes before they regained their composure and questioned why either was there. Nico didn't tell her why he was here but he said he was perfectly safe and not lost. Talking about something of a guide of the Labyrinth, one which Juliet was yet to meet.

She'd told him about falling in and Nico deduced that she probably fell much farther away than she realised that is why she wasn't able to find the delta sign. He told her the nearest one was in New York and she could get out of there. They'd been walking through the labyrinth together, the lack of sunlight getting to Juliet, Nico kept talking to her to not let her think too much about her depleting vitamin D levels.

Juliet asked questions and for some reason Nico obliged. He told her all about him finding out about being a son of Hades, about Bianca, about hating Percy and about his little pal from the underworld. Juliet in return told him about her prophecy, the whole soul shit she was in, her mom and Luke.

They exchanged some of the deepest stuff about them, and it made them realise a lot of stuff. Though no amount of explaining was going to make Nico hate Percy less anytime soon.

Now they were taking a break, eating burgers which for some reason Nico carried a bulk of them around.

"Ooh, that reminds me I have my dad's credit card now, so unlimited money!" Juliet gushed, she'd somehow convinced Apollo to let her have his godly credit card and he'd obliged without a single hesitation.

"Do you have it right now?" Nico asked with a deadpan face, already knowing the answer to that question.

"No," Juliet scowled in frustration.

"Yeah then you should just shut up."

"You midget, you are just as small as Will but both of you have such big attitudes."

Nico gave her a dead stare, chewing his cheeseburger with a raised eyebrow. "Who's Will?"

"My half brother, he joined camp last winter, a day before you left."

"My lord," Juliet nearly dropped Heer burger when the ghost like form materialised right next to her, bowing and addressing Nico.

"Son of a fucking bitch! What the actual fuck?" Her hand went to her chest, as he spluttered on her breath and food looking at the ghost.

"Calm down that's the guide I was talking about," The ghostly figure before them straightened up, and Nico seemed unfazed by Juliet's outburst.

"That's a dead man." Juliet snapped back making Nico roll his eyes, that little shit, "Wonderful observation, that's a dead guide."

"Oh wow, yeah that makes it soo much better." She sassed him but Nico simply ignored her turning to the ghost, "This is Minos, Minos meet-"

"Patroclus, yes I remember this soul, roaming the grounds without a trial." he was sneering, looking at her as if she was a piece of trash, well guess what his dead ass looked more like a piece of trash than her, she needed right back, her glare way more fiercer, "Oh so you are that fucking asshole that didn't give me Elysium, oh you fucking-"

Nico cut her off, that twink, he really was getting on her nerves, "Well anyways, Minos will be leading us to the next exit so you can find your way out,"

Find her way out? Yeah no, she wasn't leaving a middle schooler alone in the labyrinth with a ghost at that.

"Yeah about that, I'm not leaving you."

"Juliet-"

"No. I don't care how mature you act Nico you are still an eleven year old kid. So do not, fuck with me, we got together." Her words were sharp and build something up in him. Together. He'd wanted Bianca and him to be together, but she'd joined the hunter.

He cleared his throat, turning away from her speaking, "Okay then, guess we'll go to the ranch together."

"The what now?"