LABYRINTH ✵ percy jackson

𝐱𝐢

i. xi
➪ "sally jackson is the world's best mom"

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༄ PERCY MET Annabeth and Argus on Half-Blood Hill the next morning.

"No Nick?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shrugged, trying to hide his hurt. He was hoping that after their talk last night, Nick would come with them. "He was gone when I woke up. I didn't have time to search for him."

"Well, we can't wait any longer. Let's go," Annabeth yelled as her and Argus walked towards the van.

"Trying to get rid of me are you, Chase?" Nick told Annabeth with a smirk as he appeared over the hill.

Percy couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "You decided to come with us?"

Nick smiled at him. "I've already been a part of majority of this quest, I might as well help finish it. Plus, you can't get rid of me that easily."

Annabeth's jaw was tense as she spoke. "Great, now can we go?"

No one argued with her.

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༄ THEIR TRIP TO PERCY'S home was delayed when the tire of the van popped. Argus went to fix their predicament.

Percy noticed how uneasy Annabeth looked. What was that about? He had a suspicious it wasn't about the popped tire.

"Bad dreams?" He asked her.

Annabeth shook her head. "An Iris message from Eurytion."

"Eurytion?" Nick asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Is something wrong with Nico?" He asked Annabeth.

"He left the ranch last night to head back into the maze," Annabeth informed them.

"What?! Why didn't Eurytion try to stop him?"

"He was gone before Eurytion woke up. He's also been hearing him talk to himself at night. He thinks Nico is talking to Minos again."

Nick's jaw tightened and he frowned. "I had a dream last night. My brother was talking about how Quintus's men had found a lone half-blood traveling the maze."

Nick said the word "brother" with pain in his voice. Percy wanted to give him a big hug.

"That's very very bad," Annabeth stated.

"What do we do?" He asked his two friends.

Nick met his gaze. "I guess it's good we have Rachel, our mortal guide," the son of Helios said in a not very nice tone that cut deep into Percy.

He fought back a wince.

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༄ THEY DIDN'T ARRIVE at the apartment until later that night due to the popped tire and tons of traffic.

His mom opened the door about a minute after Percy knocked. She instantly broke out in a smile and took his face in her hands. She gave him a big kiss on the forehead. "Oh, Percy! You are okay! I knew you were okay. Everyone said you were dead but I knew you weren't."