Nina's Destiny

Annabeth's Quest and Percy's Funeral

The next day, we held a council in the sword arena. Normally, our councils are held around a ping pong table, so I thought this one was weird. We were discussing what to do about the entrance to the Labyrinth in the middle of camp. Mrs. O'Leary was chewing on a giant, pink, rubber yak. Silena, Beckendorf, the Stoll brothers, Katie, Castor and Pollux, Annabeth, Percy, Clarisse, and Lee Fletcher (a son of Apollo). Dionysus was on Olympus, so Quintus was filling in for him. Chiron was here too. Even Argus, the camp security was here. (Yes, the original Argus)

Apparently, Luke has been sending spies into the Labyrinth. He was searching for Ariadne's String. That would lead him all the way to the entrance at camp. They had found one of the spies. "Who was the spy?" I asked.

"Ch-chris Rodriguez," stammered Clarisse from next to me. I placed a comforting hand on her arm. I knew she had had a crush on him. "He-he went insane down there." He had been nice during my first year at camp. I hoped he got better. Chiron told us we'd have a guard set up outside the Labyrinth.

Chiron issued a quest. We all looked at Clarisse. She had been the one who went down into the Labyrinth the last time. "I'm not going back in there."

"Don't tell me you're scared," Travis Stoll laughed. "Clarisse, chicken?"

Clarisse jumped to her feet. "You don't understand anything, punk. I'm never going in there again. Never!" Clarisse stormed out of the Labyrinth. I was not going in there. Anything that freaked out Clarisse, I did not want to see. Travis looked sheepish. We decided Annabeth should lead the quest. Now I'm definitely not going on the quest.

It felt like we were waiting decades for Annabeth to come back from the Oracle. My ADHD was acting up so I started to play 'Get the Greek' with Mrs. O'Leary. I was attempting to yank the shield out of the hellhound's mouth when Annabeth got back. We all sat back down to here what the Oracle said.

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze.

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,

The child of Athena's final stand.

Destroy with a hero's final breath.

Something was off. Prophecies almost always rhymed. The last line didn't have another line that rhymed with it. Annabeth obviously wasn't going to tell us the last one. Who would be crazy enough to go on a quest when they didn't know the full prophecy. Well, I already know Grover is. Annabeth is too, but she knows this full prophecy. One look at Percy told me he was crazy enough as well. Annabeth asked Percy, Grover, and Tyson to go with her. Every single one of the idiots said yes.

The next day, I woke up at dawn to say goodbye to my brothers and Grover. I figured Juniper would need some support too. I ran out in a pair of lacrosse shorts and my camp shirt. Lav and Vati met me by Zeus' Fist. My brothers came a few minutes later. They had to finish packing. When they arrived, I was fixing the strap of Grover's knapsack. Juniper was straightening his cap. He was bringing it incase they went into the mortal world.

I hugged both my brothers. I didn't want them to go down into the Labyrinth. Clarisse had brought me down to see Chris. He kept talking about someone named Mary. I didn't want that to happen to mia fratellinos. Chris didn't recognize anyone! I asked both my brothers to be careful. I didn't want to lose them. Juniper and I held hands for comfort as the four companions descended into the Labyrinth.

Two weeks had passed since the four heroes began their quest. I was on guard duty. Juniper sat next to me and we talked, trying to keep our minds off of things. We heard a rumbling behind us. We jumped up and turned around. My wand and Mov were in my hands. A blonde girl tumbled out of the Labyrinth. It was only Annabeth. Wait, where were the others?