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jflashandclash · 2 months

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Tales From Mount Othrys

Axel: Into the Lion's Maw IV

Axel had a horrifying realization: if they bottlenecked to get into the Labyrinth, they would bottleneck on the way out. He could imagine their meaningless march into a massacre, Kampe shoving each demigod to their death in an orderly fashion.

Upon stepping into the corridor, Axel was pleased to see that Lucille had been right about remaining calm. Kampe was, contrary to the bottleneck visual, an excellent strategist.

There was a massive corridor inside the entrance. Above them stretched a curved lattice of ornamental windows. Their floral and geometric designs were interspersed with white and green mosaics. Leaves and muck obscured parts of the glass, only allowing a few rays into the vast space. Where the light did break through, dust danced lazily in a snowy haze.

This was beautiful. Maybe eerie? But nothing like that horrors he’d come to associate with the Labyrinth. Alabaster said this was a foolish place to enter, that they’d lose a quarter of their army just getting through the maze. Axel rarely questioned Alabaster’s logic in mythological matters, but, seeing this…

Several giants stood towards the far end of this massive chamber, presumably to lead their eventual charge. Earlier, Luke said the ground around the Zeus’ fist entrance was weak. If they sent the giants in first, they could likely widen that entrance.

Axel lowered his gaze. They didn’t have metros in Belize and, in their short stay in Los Angeles, Santiago always hired private cars. It took him a heartbeat or two to recognize the indents in the floor as tracks for a train. The monsters and demigods crawling in and out of them looked quite comfortable in the abandoned subway station. Axel just hoped no ghost trains came through to make everyone go splat.

Behind him, demigods coming in had a similar gasp of appreciation and relaxation. Someone mumbled, “Wow… so much better than Matthias’ horror game simulation.”

Lucille’s shoulder brushed his as she released his hand. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”

Axel huffed out a laugh. “Wish you could show Ethel?”

Lucille gave another weak giggle. She lifted her pilum towards her mouth, the same motion she would normally use to cover it. “Not my ideal romantic outing, but maybe, one—”

“Daughter of Aphrodite,” thundered from the far side of the room. Kampe made the title sound like an insult. Axel almost couldn’t see Kampe amongst all the giants. It was strange seeing them in battle gear. Seeing them made him think of the Triple A Chimera Dance and the horrifying death contraption Matthias had rigged to transport them like weasels in a titan-sized backpack.

Lucille nudged Axel’s shoulder. “Stay close. I need someone I can trust in battle.” The levity vanished. She meant it. Cho, Axel internally swore, was dissidents in Luke’s troops so bad that even Lucille was worried? He swallowed.

Others parted until they were at the lead of the demigods, several lines back from Kampe.

Kampe and the giants were already lumbering forward. The tunnel shook, sending more dust particles cascading into the dim light rays. Their march forward was both deafening and devastatingly wordless. Hundreds of feet of various kind—hooved, scaled, and mammalian—droned into an eerie oppressive din. No one spoke.

This tunnel led to a narrow one with less natural illumination. Well, there was a dim, continuous glimmer ahead of them. The floor seemed to almost… glow. Despite this, various demigods fumbled for lights. The monsters were unbothered by the darkness, but Axel could sense the mounting panic in his fellow soldiers.

His own chest had constricted. This reminded him of the cage matches—

“We’re okay…” Lucille cooed. Axel could see she’d turned to walk backwards, so the demigods would hear her without risking mockery from the monsters.

The fear evaporated. Axel couldn’t be sure if it was Lucille’s charmspeak or… his fingers had reached back to brush the cool metal of the lion helm. He hadn’t consciously meant to touch it, but it felt comforting.

The tunnels snaked, curved, elevated, lowered, and altered from metal to concrete to mud. There were scuffles ahead. Potentially foes that Kampe and the giants extinguished without real resistance.

Despite how Axel hated to admit it, he wished Jack were here. He would have feigned a newscaster, giving everyone live updates in rhyming verse, likely with acoustic or kazoo accompaniment. He could imagine Kampe trying to squash him as he asked her what kind of battle ballad she would want after this victory. If Jack was here, they would have known exactly what was happening ahead when Axel had to grab Lucille’s arm to prevent her from bumping into a Scythian Dracaena.

Axel’s ears perked up and strained forward to hear. There was a disagreement. Kampe hissing, “But, the string says to go this way. This is the most direct route.”

Was the air thinner down here? It was colder. Axel could see puffs of air as it evaporated out of the anonymous metal helmets around him. The demigods’ reverence and obedience to Kampe seemed to ebb with each strained breath in the tunnel. Whatever argument was happening made the demigods apprehensive. He could sense some sort of rising tension in the way they glanced at one another.

“Can you hear them?” Lucille murmured.

Axel parted his lips to answer when someone thundered, “You fool! That could bring the tunnels down upon us!”

And a shriek of pain.

The demigods startled. Axel knew the movement: the nervous shuffle of a herd before it sprinted to panic.

Lucille shifted her pilum into the hand with her shield. She squeezed Axel’s shoulder, or he thought she did through the armor. “Keep everyone calm.”

The light pressure left. Like Lucille was flitting backstage, she slipped amidst the monsters, the plumes of her helmet becoming indistinguishable from horns and tails bobbing in the dull lighting. He could almost envision her pirouetting.

Keep everyone calm.

It’s not like Axel’s little knowledge of Maya magic was fear-based. Or like they mostly knew him from murdering people “for sport.” Or like what Alabaster taught him about the Mist was used to blend into and out of shadows.

Oh, he would be as natural at this as Flynn was at childrearing. He hoped Lucille could settle the dispute quickly.

Whispers of worry wormed their way behind him into a growing, writhing mass. “Hold,” he growled.

They died down. The Dracaena ahead of him jumped.

Yeah, a natural. He couldn’t say something without scaring the monsters, let alone the demigods.

He hoped Lucille realized that directing sword lessons and commanding an army were very different activities. Why did she and Alabaster seem to think he’d be such a natural at it when Pax wouldn’t even listen to him?

Are they different? the helm—was it the helm?—hissed.

No one else reacted. Axel wondered when others could hear the lion’s helm or… or had he just imagined it talking? He reached to feel the cool metal. Whether the lion’s helm or his own thoughts—cho, he was beginning to sound like Jack—it was right: maybe directing sword practice was similar to commanding troops.

And neither one involved freezing up like Pax had pantsed him in front of Aphrodite.

Axel pivoted away from the monsters to face the demigods. “Lucille has gone to confer with Kampe. Take this time to check your equipment. No one wants their first battle tactic to involve tripping on untied shoelaces.”

Nervous laughter. A decrease in tension. Murmurs went from worry to routine: all of these soldiers were used to checking each other’s armor. Axel knew there was comfort in repetition.

Until one voice spoke up, fluttery and quick.

“The tunnels ahead are too narrow for the monsters to pass. Kampe could start a panic. They’ll trample us.”

Axel didn’t recognize the voice. It was high with a fragile quaver, like Pax when he was acting pathetic to get something from someone.[1]

Everyone stopped checking their armor. The tunnels went quiet. They stared, in unison, to Axel’s side.

A hand clutched his shoulder. This wasn’t the comforting grace of Lucille’s hand, but a shaking, icy pain. Axel swallowed. The speaker had bent his armor by touching him.

Her irises were wide, so wide and such complete discs of blackness; Axel could imagine ink overflowing and dripping down her face. The sclera was more red than white. Dark circles encompassed her eyes. In an insomnia competition between her and Axel, she wouldn’t just win, but make Hypnos beg her to take a break.

Her rags reeked of urine and defecation. Of rot and unattended sweat. Scabs of varied age crusted her arms, neck, and shoulders. With her other hand, she absently picked one open, revealing a glimmer of tainted gold.

Ichor.

“Chris said you could help me,” she whispered. She stood a little taller. “He said you were strong.”

Chris. Chris Rodriguez.

“But you can’t.”

Chris Rodriguez, Matthias and Pax’s close friend.

“Can you?”

Chris Rodriguez who vanished into the labyrinth.

“You can’t help anyone.”

Chris Rodriguez who went mad.

“My name,” her soprano quavered so violently, it blurred to euphoria, “is Mary.”

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Footnote:

[1] It only worked on Jack.

Jack, “MY BABY NEEDS ME!”

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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! And thank you for your patience with me from last weekend! I plan to release next weekend, since I skipped a week, and then resume every-other-week. A job application+school kicked my ass XD Seriously, thank all of you so much for your continued support, likes, and comments. (And artwork, JACE! THE ARTWORK) I appreciate how kind everyone has been as I get my feet back under me and am hoping to respond to asks/tags soon!

#percy jackson and the olympians #fanfiction #traitors of olympus #writing #HOO #PJO #heroes of olypmus #Axel #Mary #suprrrriiissse #she's hhheeerrree #lucille #I'm so tired but I'm freaking DETERMINED to get this out before I work on my essay

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mult1fandomg1rl · 1 year

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Solangelo ☺️💛🖤

#solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #percy jackson and the olympian #pjo #hoo #heroes of olypmus #will x nico #nico x will #best guy ship ever

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wisegirl-seaweedbrain · 1 year

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i am a niconspiracy theorist. ask me about nico and i will tell.

#nico solos ur favs!!#nico #nico di angelo #heroes of olympus #pjo #greek gods #greek myths #hoo #heroes of olypmus #greek tumblr #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson

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lostinbooks14 · 8 months

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Times in the Wilderness

Noodles Acts Cool

Leo waited for Piper to come meet him at the door of the Math classroom. Dylan had stayed behind to wait with him in the empty hallway, which was not comforting at all. An aura of death and blood still count to him, which didn't make sense. If anything, it should be clinging to him. He doubted Dylan, no matter how muscly he was, had the guts to actually kill someone- but then again, neither did he.

"That was quite the performance back there huh, noodles?"

He looked at him in confusion, wondering if he was talking to him. Noodles?

"I've never heard you talking, you know. Are you actually mute though?"

He shook his head, which was probably not solid proof, but thankfully Piper came.

"Hey, Dylan...Nice of you to wait but we're all good now," she waved goodbye and hurriedly walked away, Leo at her heels.

"No offense to Dylan, but I'm not really a huge fan. He feels...off, somehow. You feel it too?"

So he wasn't the only one. He nodded.

"I don't mind when we're in crowded places, but a deserted hallway, eh...not so much."

The afternoon went by quickly. Piper took him around the school, talking about clubs and societies and sports he might want to try out (he definetely would not). She also gave a running commentary on all the teachers and most of the students they saw, so that by the end of the day, he was exhausted and knew too much about guys who ate their own boogers.

Leo had mumbled said a goodbye at his dorm room door, not wanting Piper to see what would most likely be a horrible first meeting.

He pushed open the door to see his four roommates. He knew, ultimately, that he had to get along with them. The others were older than him, and only stayed with him when he was with Piper- these kids though, stayed with him when he slept. He had to make sure he was safe.

He held up a hand and grinned. He could be pretty convincing when need be. "Hey, folks! I'm Leo the newbie, now your other roommate. Pleased to meet you."

A black guy as wide as Leo but about a foot taller spoke up, "you our age? Didn't see you in class."

He gave a carefree laugh, "hah, yeah. I got put in a Year 10 class for some reason, though. Apparently I'm 'advanced'," he chortled. "Dumb shit. I can't even read one sentence with my dyslexia doing my brain in. I swear once I read 'underwater' as 'underwear' in front of the dang principal. No regrets though, he was a major arsehole."

The guy's lips quirked at that. A short, fat guy gave a snort. And the other two were smiling. Game won.

"I'm Julius. You seem like a fun guy, Leo. I get the feeling we'll get along. I'm here cause I bit off my old man's fingers by the way."

"I'm Simon. Drug addict or whatever." That was the short fat guy with the pale skin that seemed to peel off his body. He'd been like that for a while too, he recalled. Maybe not that bad though.

"Minho." A buff East-Asian guy. "Stole a bunch of dogs. Them people thought I was gonna eat them."

"Were you?"

He scoffed.

"Nah, I set all 44 loose in the nearby Target for fun. Them huskies went all out on em pork chops."

"Mike," the blond dude grinned. "Here for anger management issues. At least that's what my dad said when I broke his new car with a hammer."

Violent. Ok. Definetely NOT safe.

"What are you here for?"

Oh shit... but then again, he doubted anyone would believe this bunch of psychos if they evrr decided to tell anyone, so he decided to tell the truth. Some of it, at least.

"Drug addict. Ran away from a bunch of foster homes and an orphanage. Permenantly injured the last dude who decided it was a good idea to let me in their home." He decided not to mention that it was self-defense, since the psycho had tried to tie him back down on that horrible, gruesome, stinking bed he'd been trapped on for three fricking months.

Or that he had murdered people.

Leo found that whenever he put on this act, his mind would put it on too. Everything that had kept him screaming and crying in his bed last night suddenly seemed much more comical and light-hearted. But there was only so much time you could block a volcano.

So Leo had decided to let the lava leave at an average constant rate, instead of suddenly letting it all explode and burn everything to the ground .

With his terrifying fire powers, that was an actual possibility.

"Sick, dude." Liam gave him a finger gun.

He gave back two before plopping down on his bed as the bell rang.

"Lights out in ten?"

"Thirty. Now's bathroom time. The matron comes around to check on us afterwards. After that it's back to gossiping."

"Matron?"

"She'll introduce herself in the morning. Explain where your dirty undies go and all that."

"OK? Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling pretty tired after driving halfway through the country, so I'm gonna crash."

Minho gave a thumbs up. "I'm feeling kinda tired too. Friday and all. I'll crash too."

"Same," Julius agreed. Simon seemed put out but didn't argue.

...

Leo took off the towel he always used to cover mirrors after slipping in to his clothes. It was something he'd picked up at his first orphanage. He didn't need to see his skinny, bruised, and carved body twice a day. He didn't need to see it at all, actually. So the towel worked great.

He was the last to use the bathroom, so the lights went out as soon as he got into bed. The Matron had come around before he went in, a strict, short woman who clearly hated her job, and snapped at them a bit. Then she snapped at him a bit more and promptly dissapeared.

Leo liked the bed, it was comfy but not too comfy. He'd never had a bed at this specific level of comfort before, except when he slept with his mom, so he sank in, feeling his eyes droop. He vaguely recalled that he was going to stay up just in case he had a nightmare (or someome decided to murder him) before he was pulled headfirst into one.

@im-always-lost-in-a-book glad to see you're enjoying it❤. And English isn't my first language so please excuse any weird grammar mistakes😅.

#heroes of olympus #leo valdez #leo hoo #piper mclean #leo valdez angst #times in the wilderness #leo valdez fanfic #hoo fanfic #heroes of olypmus fanfic #original character #next one is the nightmare and i want to go all out #i should probably remember to put tws

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jesterwaves · 1 month

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reading the first heroes of olypmus. definitely a book that would have rewired my brain had i read it back in middle school

#i have been feeling sick so every five minutes i pick up the book like SAVE ME HEROES OF OLYPMUS. SAVE ME #the fool speaks #i have been thinking too much about which god would be my parent #ironically i lean towards apollo. do you think id have to change my name?#there were a couple others i was considering but i forgot mostly who i had in mind. a couple of the minor gods #ill be honest though... while im enjoying this book i am looking forward to seeing nico again...whenever that happens #they should not have even mentioned him man its all im going to be thinking about now.

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demigods-posts · 14 days

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thoughts on the seven? ik some ppl's take on it was that percy and jason were the cataclyst for the event/prophecy and that nico + hazel were the actual demigods part of the seven... would you have substituted one of them for someone else? would u have changed the number + demigods of the prophecy if it were up to you?

I'm not super familiar with the themes of Heroes of Olypmus because I've only read The Son of Neptune and The Mark of Athena, and that was five years ago. However, I do love how there are seven of them. It enforces the rule of three people per quest since one of them dying leaves the other six, which is a multiple of three. As for substituting demigods, I don't know. I've always felt that Leo and Piper being apart of that monumental of a quest was so much pressure for them because they're relatively inexperienced and new to the godly world compared to the others, so I would have left them out of the prophecy and had them play a different role in saving the world. But again, I haven't read the entire series, so I'm likely missing so much useful information. Good question, and thank you for asking!

#pjo asks #pjo answered #hoo asks #hoo answered

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girlysword · 2 years

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Actress requirements for Aphrodite

In the original series she only appears “onscreen” when interacting one on one with Percy or with all the other Gods on Olympus. When she is just with Percy she has to look like an older Annabeth obvi. Unless the show creates scenes with her interacting one on one with other characters the same actress could be used throughout. Clearly the more fun option is for multiple actresses, but it would take some creativity.

In the Heroes of Olypmus series Aphrodite appears one on one with her daughter Piper and in group settings. When Aphrodite is with her daughter she should be played by a Native American actress. During the Atlanta scene she could be played an actress who fits the southern belle stereotype.

I don’t think she appears one on one with anyone during the Trials of Apollo series and could therefore be played by anyone.

#percy jackson and the olympians #aphrodite

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awnnabeth · 3 years

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piper: when boys smile, i die

reyna: when boys die, i smile

piper:

piper: oh

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #nico di angelo #annabeth chase #hazel levesque #frank zhang #jason grace #piper mclean #leo valdez #percy and annabeth #reyna avila ramirez arellano #heroes of olypmus #camp jupiter #incorrect pjo quote

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depressedacadamia · 3 years

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Leo would argue that cheese is just a loaf of milk

#Leo Valdez #leo valdez hcs #leo valdez headcanon #incorrect leo valdez #leo valdez incorrect quotes #pjo #hoo #heroes of olypmus #toa

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jflashandclash · 3 months

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Tales From Mouth Othrys

Axel: Into the Lion’s Maw III

A thunderous crack startled Axel out of sleep. At first, he thought Hecate had darkened the Mist into onyx.

His memory kicked in: black marble walls. Jack had moved Pax and Axel to their own room in Mount Tamalpais. Jack attempted separate rooms, but, of course, Pax ended up in Axel’s room within twenty minutes of being split, fifteen more minutes than the Sabotage unit had bet on, leaving Prometheus with a score of 7 to 1 on prediction.[1]

Mementos from the dead scattered and clanged all over their carpet. Axel had left all other decorating to Pax. That was why Praetor Julian’s medallions, a centurion’s unicorn necklace, and other items clattered onto a pink shag carpet with paint splotches. Axel hoped they were paint splotches. Pax had, allegedly, found the carpet dumpster-diving with Matthias.

Panic hadn’t set in yet. Axel sat up, clutching something to his chest: the Triple A Chimera helm. A hiss erupted from the top of the plumes, something far too weak to be the helm’s gravely tones.

Honey, the weasel, appeared quite distressed by the movement, hissing and squirming to find comfort.

Above Axel, he could see Pax peering over his bunk, his amber eye glistening in their room’s night light. Matthias had installed it at the same time he installed Pax’s bunk. Axel had replaced the original cover: a British aristocrat’s glowing ass, the monocled and top-hatted man peering over his shoulder while mooning them. Now, it was a winking dryad. Still inappropriate but a massive improvement.

“Baller is upset,” Pax said, his voice trembling, “Was that an earthquake? Like, did Poseidon just take a massive shit? Imagine if that is what took out the titans—”

“Axel! Pax! My boys!”

Their door flew open.

The scene was a flashback overlapped into real time. Jack stood in his pink, monogrammed PJs, the back of a toilet seat raised like a baseball bat to attack potential intruders. The only difference from the first time was that the walls and toilet seat were black. Prometheus often quipped that Kronos might have an aneurism if their new camp didn’t have the right SS aesthetic.

“You’re okay!” Jack exhaled, lowering the lid with a thunk. The effort had made his arms shake. “The room next door collapsed. I thought—”

“You were going to dig us out where a toilet cover?” Pax asked, voice quivering.

“Yes, next best thing to a shovel—”

“Jack,” Flynn’s snap quieted Jack. He took a step back.

The Leader of Assault and Battery was mid-tugging a shirt over her chest as she came into view. Axel averted his gaze. “Luke is hurt,” she said. There was a faint jingling noise, signaling that she must have been wrapping her bun. She’d taken to wearing the goofy hair trinkets Pax made for her. “Ajax with me. We’re mobilizing to dig Luke out. Axel, with Kampe. She’s decided she’s leading the charge to camp Half-Blood while Kronos is occupied under rumble.”

Axel’s gaze shot up. “She’s what?” Her command was already taking effect. Axel sat up fully, careful to assure the helm and weasel stayed safe against his chest.

“She thinks they might be able to beat Percy Jackson back to his camp—”

“He was here?!” Pax yelped. He, too, appeared under Flynn’s command. He scurried down from the top bunk, only pausing to collect Honey from Axel’s helm. She squeaked indignantly. Axel appreciated it: a battlefield was no place for a newborn Mistform, no matter how fierce.

Flynn glowered. She liked to be interrupted (especially by children) as much as the soldiers of Mount Othrys liked doing Monster Laundry Duty.

Fortunately, Jack had no such reservations. He picked up one of their newly minted Orpheus Metal shirts from the ground and slipped it over Pax’s head. As if he were five years younger, Pax obediently lifted his arms to make it easier. Jack’s motion was frantic, and Axel had to wonder if Luke could get hurt after receiving the Curse of Achilles. “Well, kiddo, unless some other demigod’s parent has earned the title of ‘Earthshaker,’ then that’s our perpetrator—”

Someone’s words overtook Jack’s. It was Luke’s voice, but not. A second voice reverberated under the first, the same way Kouta, Axel’s older brother, made announcements for the circus, but maybe if Kouta was hyped up on some demonic energy drink. It was a two-toned cacophony, rusty and vile. As it roared, the building shook again, a hateful scream of, “Percy Jackson! After them—after them—”

Everyone froze. Even Flynn’s hold on the boys snapped.

Before, when Luke and Axel used to meditate together or when Luke had convinced Jack to allow Axel to join them at the Horizontal Monster Mash, Luke had described that voice. Between Luke’s gulps of beers, the color would drain from his face and his eyes would go hazy. He recalled the sublime and awful tauntings that haunted his nightmares, that would seep into his waking hours to remind him he was useless, merely a vessel, a stuffed animal disemboweled of its stuffing. (That last one, Axel knew, would upset Pax immensely.)[2]

That voice made Luke feel small, the way Axel’s father’s voice had for him. He didn’t need to ask why Luke followed its orders. It was impossible to resist when it was in your head all day.

Now it was Luke.

Axel couldn’t help but think of Pax, pitching their cause to new demigods: Have you heard the good word of Kronos? Overlaid with a blasphemous verse from his days at a Catholic elementary school: he has risen, just as he said.[3]

Kronos had risen.

Axel didn’t realize the Luke-Thing was still screaming. Not until Lucille stepped into their doorway.

She wore her battle armor. Her blonde hair was neatly braided back, and she carried a Greek-style helm under one arm and a pilum in the other. With her frail frame, she looked like a costumed Barbie. Their training taught Axel otherwise.

“Flynn. Axel.” Her tone was grave, the same way it always got before battle. “The strike force is moving out.” Her icy blue eyes shifted. “Jack, Pax, I’m sorry.” Giving them a fragile smile. It failed to comfort anyone.

Flynn’s gaze narrowed. “I’m not leaving Jack alone.” Ever again, Axel thought he could hear. Maybe with another faint echo of, Especially not with that thing. “What if the Ol’sissies double back while Luke is out of commission? A child of the Big Three? Maybe two if that earthquake wasn’t from Jackson?”

Lucille nodded. The half-sisters had a respect for each other’s combat intuition.

Despite trembling at Luke’s shrieking and the fear of angering Flynn, Pax whimpered, “B—but Mercedes said—”

That she could make Axel and Pax be part of the Sabotage Unit, away from the main battles. But, Axel knew it would be futile after his second cage match had gone so well, especially after the assault on the lab.

Lucille explained this gently, “I know, sweetie. But, Axel has proven himself over and over. It will boost everyone’s moral if he’s there.” She pressed her lips together. “And gain him favor with any new… changes in command.”

Axel had a gut-sinking feeling Lucille was right. The helm hummed in his grip. Now, more than ever, he needed to be seen fighting along the monsters’ side. If they were to survive assassinating Kronos after the war, they needed the full backing of Alabaster’s monster family.

Axel stumbled to the armor at the base of their bunks. His legs felt leaden. The fingers touching the helmet buzzed with painful anticipation, an electricity that made him lightheaded and eager. The opposite sensations left him disoriented. He needed to focus on one. He unwove a strip of leather from his armor and tethered the helm around his neck. That would need to do for now. He should leave it. They needed to test these in a controlled environment. But, instinct—

You’ll need me, Lieutenant.

Axel wanted to snap that he didn’t need anyone. A glance around the room proved no one had heard that but him. Maybe it couldn’t talk outside of Hecate’s realm.

Lucille had already lifted his breastplate to offer it to him.

Jack tugged at his hair, frantically looking from Axel, to Flynn, to Pax. “Oh, Lucille, keep my boy safe! He’s too young and pretty to die! We haven’t even gotten him a girlfriend or a solo in one of our concerts!”

Lucille giggled weakly. She couldn’t cover her mouth with a pilum in hand. “I’ll do what I can.” As Axel finished strapping on his armor, she turned to Pax. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

Three sets of eyes were intent on her: Pax’s multicolored ones, and the beady eyes of the two weasel kits.

“Go to the nursery and check on Charlie and Ethel for me.” Her eyes softened at the names.

Oh, Fortune bless Lucille. That would get Pax out of harm’s way. Besides, he was an excellent playmate for Charlie.

They walked as Axel finished strapping on his armor. Lucille led him out. Goodbyes—did they properly say goodbye? He remembered ruffling Pax’s hair, trying to ignore how Pax’s eyes welled with tears, the same way they always did before his cage matches—Don’t you dare die—and ducking under Jack’s attempted hug.

Their hallway was an offshoot from the main one. The main one had descended into chaos. Monsters and demigods jostled past each other. The Luke-thing’s howls left them panicked, disorganized, and disoriented. Its order was so primal: after them.

“Please proceed to battle in an orderly fashion. Please keep your voices low so you can standby for more orders!” Lucille’s charmspeak was sweet and kind. She never had the projection that Flynn’s snarls had, but all the soldiers within hearing distance slowed, relaxed, and fell more into military lines. The calming effect rippled to the others rushing by.

With the mob partially tamed, Axel could see down the hall towards Luke’s quarters. Part of the ceiling was collapsed. Krios, one of the Titan lords, stood beside the rubble with his arms folded, tapping his left bicep. “If you can’t ask nicely for help,” he said, voice booming, “then you needn’t bother asking at all.”

“Imbecile,” the not-Luke snarled back.

Krios rolled his eyes. “Some things never change.”

At least the Titan Lords seemed unbothered by Luke’s and Kronos’ unholy matrimony.

Something about seeing Krios standing there left Axel confused. “Kampe is leading us?” he asked. Hadn’t Luke mentioned something about Krios leading them through the labyrinth? Axel finished strapping on his old helmet. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it would keep his skull intact. His own confusion at the chain of events—going to Hecate’s realm, Flynn’s charmspeak, Kronos’ screams—was clearing.

Lucille nodded, helping up a demigod who had fallen in the chaos. “Yes.”

The younger camper blushed, thanked her, and darted after the others.

Axel felt skeptical. “But, she’s a jailor.” Did they give battle lessons in Grecian jail school?

“Luke gave her Ariadne’s string,” Lucille said, “The others are going to follow her.” She nodded to the disciplined line up at the labyrinth entrance. Because of newly established order, support was able to come through. Matthias could be seen walking down the line, chest puffed up and shoulders pulled back, as he handed out goody bags of ambrosia and, if Axel had to guess, fart bombs. He and a dracaena checked monster and demigod armor and handed out extra weapons.

Lucille continued, “She’s known to be a powerful entity—like Atlas. Why do you think Luke wanted Atlas when he had the other Titans?”

Recognition meant a lot to mythological beings. Axel clenched his jaw. Just another mythological aristocracy, as Alabaster would say. “Being a famous jailor doesn’t make a good strategist.”

They were approaching the labyrinth entrance. Axel had steered clear of this place, especially after Chris Rodriguez never came back. Selene Beauregard had told Luke that he was alive at Camp Half-Blood, but that he’d been left to babbling incoherence. Chris was the only one who had come out alive.

Another foolish scheme to send a demigod when a monster could thrive in the labyrinth.

Axel could see the mark of Daedalus. Alabaster had explained the symbol to him: a glowing blue D above the labyrinth entrance. Any time he walked in the hallway, it stuck out sorely: an exploitable security risk that had, indeed, been exploited. He didn’t understand why everyone had treated it like a kitty door for coatimundi to wander in. Jack and Pax had given him a weird look the day he’d growled, “It’s like no one else can see it.”

Watching how the others felt along the wall until finding a grip on the door, Axel realized the others really couldn’t see it.

Lucille glanced at him. “Are you nervous, Axel? It isn’t like you to protest so much.” She reached over to squeeze his arm. With Lucille’s status in the Attack and Battery unit and Axel’s recent rise to fame, no one minded how they cut in line. From the queasiness on some of the demigod’s faces, he assumed they wouldn’t have minded either way.

Axel stared at the entrance as they stepped up to it. He couldn’t stop his ears from twitching. Something felt wrong about this place. The strategist in him screamed. They were going underground—underground—chasing after a demigod that could cause earthquakes. “What if Percy doubles back and collapses the tunnels on us?”

“Recent rumor has it, Percy sprinted away from Luke and did not look like he was coming back. He was scared of Kronos. We’re in his army and I’m scared of Kronos….” Her brow furrowed. “I’m glad Pax agreed to check on Charlie. I can only imagine how terrifying those shouts are for them.” She frowned, and reached to twirl a lock of hair that was tucked too far back to reach.

Axel winced. Them. She meant Charlie and Ethel. Ethel didn’t handle this kind of shouting well, and Charlie was only a kid. “If there’s one thing Ajax is good at doing, it’s distracting people from terror.” And he and Lucille both knew Pax would be a she (instead of a he) if it would make Ethel more comfortable.

Lucille might have been about to thank Axel.

“Move it,” a quivering voice came from behind them. Feigned bravado. Axel suspected the waiting was about the same as waiting for a delayed tooth extraction: sometimes you just want to get something over with.

Axel took a deep breath. “If I lose my mind and forget who I am, promise me you won’t let Ajax convince me I’m a famous weasel catcher on Discovery Channel.”

That earned a real giggle. Axel remembered how cute he thought Lucille was the first time he met her at Monster Donut, before he knew about Ethel. That seemed so long ago.

“Oh, don’t make me promise that! I think you’d make a charming show host.” She suddenly hopped onto the tips of her toes, coming close to his height. She rearranged her pilum, so she could hold it and her helmet in the same hand. With her hand freed, she gracefully lifted it up and lowered it towards Axel.

It took Axel a heartbeat or two to realize she was offering her hand the way she might for a ballet partner to spin her. Or for a partner dance? It was called something in French that Alabaster would have known.

Axel took his friend’s hand, sheepish at how scarred and rough his looked compared to her dainty fingers. The absurdity of it—a ballet pose before battle—made him laugh.

Axel had no delusions. She was holding his hand for his sake. A return laugh for the one his joke incited.

He and Lucille stepped into the darkness, hands held high, into one of the most dangerous places of the mythological world.

___

Thank all of you for reading! I think I rediscover my footing a bit better as a writer in the next chapter. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy! (AND THANK ALL OF YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS, ASKS, REBLOGS, AND SWEETNESS! You're making it so worth coming back! <3)

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[1] Jack, “You��re old enough now that you can have your own room where your fanclub will know how to find you alone and, potentially, underdressed—“ Axel, “Ajax and I are still sharing a room.” Jack, “B—but your fan club!” Lou Ellen, “But your fan club!”

[2] Pax, “ARE YOU INSINUATING LUKE WAS ONCE A BABY PANDA--?!”

[3] Mathew 28.

#Tales From Mount Othrys #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olypmus #PJO #HOO #TFMO #fanfiction #Pax #Jack #Axel #Lucille #Flynn #Luke whining under a pile of rocks #Luke #Krios laughing at him #WEASELS!!!!!!#inappropriately timed dramatic dance moves Part I #writing

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