Across The Ages (On Hold)

XVII

Watching my son stammer trying to ask a girl to come with him without explaining anything about himself is just too funny. Maybe I should have explained it myself, but, it seemed like a far better idea to have the one whose the same age as her talk to her. Boy was I wrong.

"I hate you dad."

"You're his dad? You don't look nearly old enough to be," Rachel said.

"Why thank you. I look pretty good to be a couple millennia old, don't I?"

Her eyes bugged out. "What?"

"Oh yeah. Maybe I should explain a bit. So, your boyfriend here happens to be my son, and the son of a...well a nymph for lack of a better term. I'm the son of Poseidon and was born back around the time of Achilles. Actually he and I are still good friends to this day. Yes, the Greek Gods are real. Yes, all the monsters you see are real as well. Yes, if you scream I will duck tape your mouth shut. And if you think you're crazy, well then so will everyone else around you. But, I'll give you a little pep talk. You're not crazy and it's all real.

Rachel's eyes were wide. "I-I knew it! I knew I wasn't crazy! And you! You tried to tell me it wasn't real!"

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, yeah everything you see is real and those monsters will eat you if you aren't careful?' Because that would have gone over really great," Nico said sarcastically.

"You can really tell he's your kid," Achilles whispered to Perseus, who rolled his eyes to his friend's good natured ribbing.

"Okay, well, now that we're done with the idea it's all real, can you give us an answer? Kinda need to get a move on here, as we have the impending doom of a possible invasion that would mean the death of nearly sixty some old kids and the destruction of everyone in the known world shortly afterwards."

-/-

"This is an entrance to the famed labyrinth?" Rachel asked.

"It moves with the Gods, and changes with the times. Achilles and I have been keeping an eye on it for quite some time. We just hoped we never had to enter it at any point in time. It's not exactly the best place for demigods, even ones like us."

Rachel nodded, now a little fearful. "So...uh, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Eh, I really don't know the exact extent of it. Rumor mill has it that you get shown the way to navigate it. It's how Adriane was able to make her string to help Theseus. Other's say you just know. I couldn't tell you which is right, only that you'll figure it out. You have to. Wouldn't want to disappoint your boyfriend here, would you?" I joke, winking and waving at my son.

Nico sputtered a protest, "Dad! I-I it's not like that!"

Percy couldn't help but laugh at his son's expense. He sobered up, looking at the Delta symbol on the wall. He pressed his hand against it and the grating sound of the wall moving filled the basement that they occupied. "Let's go. We need to find Daedalus. He's the one who designed the maze, and he's the one the enemy will go to first to get through to us." With that, he hopped into the darkness of the maze, quickly followed by Achilles.

Nico looked at Rachel and shrugged, a small blush still adorning his face. With that, he dropped into the darkness after his father as she brought up the rear. "Alright, Achilles will lead, I'll take the rear, Rachel, stay right behind Achilles and direct him where to go. Remember, we need Daedalus. Do your thing."

"What am I to you? Some kind of hound dog?"

Perseus shrugged. "Honestly? Be thankful that my son knows you, or you'd be held at gunpoint to do this. I don't have time to waste, and delaying will endanger my family. I'm not one to very kind to those who jeopardize their health. I think this is a better option for you. I'm not very kind, but at least I'm not doing this against your will."

Nico looked at his father stunned. He knew his father was ruthless when it came to their safety, but he didn't think he'd threaten a mortal so blatantly after she offered to help. Then again, he'd beaten the Titan of Destruction around the top of a mountain for taking his mom, and threatened to kill Thalia if she even thought of joining the enemy. 'Thalia,' he thought. Here his dad was joking about him liking Rachel, but it was Thalia who'd been training with him when his dad was busy these past few months. It was Thalia with whom he'd spent a lot of his time lately.

And here he was running off on an adventure with another girl leaving her behind. Oh he was so going to get it when he got back. If he was lucky, she'd just yell at him for being so dumb. But his luck wasn't that good. He'd probably get a nasty shock and be yelled at. His father slapped the back of his head and he looked back at him. With his blessing from Lord Hades, he could clearly see his dad with a knowing grin on his face. "She'll definitely roast you when you get back. But for now, keep your head in the game. If we fail, she'll be in danger," he said just loud enough for Nico to hear.