The Battle of The Labyrinth [Book Four]

Here And Now.

The stranger smiled gently, the expression warm and inviting. "No. My name is Calypso."

Annabeth's hands were soft; they were the hands of scholars that read books all day and had paperwork stacked as high as the Empire State Building on their desks. Hands like that- hands like Annabeth's- were made to build, not destroy. She should not have to live a life where she must fight just to survive. Reagan wanted to change that. Her own hands were rough from gripping the hilts of swords and daggers all the time. Her entire body was rough from the scar over her eyebrow to her very core.

"Reagan?" Annabeth's voice echoed, distant and hazed. "We have to keep moving."

If they stop, they'll surely die.

Squeezing her hand more tightly then before, Reagan blinked rapidly and continued going along with Annabeth along the ledge. But then it gave out from under them, a fissure branching out between their feet and threatening to split into two. Their eyes widened simultaneously, and Annabeth pulled her forward hastily to safety, but it wasn't enough. The ledge gave away, and before Annabeth could react, she found herself balancing on the edge between safety and death. It was a dangerous dance, one that she had grown accustomed to in the last few years. Her most recent one was when she held up the world on her shoulders, and had been at the cusp of death. As her feet sought out a flat surface, her hands grappled for purchase against the jagged edges around her. That's when she realized she had let go of Reagan.

Eyes flashing wide, she spun around once she was securely on the edge, spotting Reagan feet below grappling to an edge that was sticking out enough for her to grab while falling.

"Grab my hand!"

Reagan clutched the rocks desperately, gritting her teeth as she held on as tightly as possible. When she tried to reach up, her hold slipped and she found herself clambering to grab some purchase with her hands as her feet dug into the mountainside.

"I can't."

"You have to try again!" The blonde called back, stretching her arm out as far as she could until a slow burning sensation began in the pit of her chest as she pressed further against the ground.

Reagan shook her head and she closed her eyes briefly before opening them again and looking up at her friend. As their eyes met, an understanding passed between them. Annabeth's eyes narrowed and she shook her head vigorously, shimmying off the edge even further to try and reach Reagan.

"Don't do it," she began, voice coming out breathlessly from the pressure now on her chest. "Just reach. Try again."

The volcano trembled like it was about to erupt, rocks coming loose and falling past them. Reagan was shaking her head morosely, forearms burning from continuing to hold her up. She can't keep holding herself up for much longer.

"Get out of here, Annabeth. Get back to Hephaestus. Find Daedalus." As her grip on the ledge grew more slack, jagged pieces tore into her palms and drew blood. "If anyone can, it's you. And Annabeth? I-" But the rocks she was holding onto cracked, breaking off from the cliffside and falling, taking Reagan with it as she plummeted to her death. Annabeth, with tears brimming her eyes now, let out a scream as her fingers reached forward to try and grab her friend, only for Reagan to slip through her fingers as she fell...

Reagan found that the scratches on her palms, along with any other minor injuries she had collected during their quest thus far, was gone. No scars marred her skin in their places. In fact, she felt clean, like she had just taken a shower. The grime from the days before was wiped away, and she even had one a fresh set of clothes. Albeit, they weren't really her style: Simple white shorts that stopped right below her knees with a white short sleeved buttoned shirt with a single breast pocket on the left side. And they were so very comfortable, she never wanted to take them off. Calypso had left Reagan alone with her thoughts in a small but cozy cave that was lavished with various blankets, pillows, and other things to make it seem like an ordinary bedroom or living space. She had eventually gotten up to stretch her sore limbs, moving about stiffly until she gained some motor skill and stumbled out of the cave and towards a beach.

Percy was the first person she saw, thank the gods. He was sitting on a beach chair, staring at the ocean, a glass of cold water clutched tightly in his hand.

"Percy!" Reagan exclaimed as she made her way towards him. The small hike had helped to loosen her limbs so she could walk more easily.

He turned his head, eyes wide, and set the glass down in the small cup holder at his side. He stood up and met her in a tight but brief embrace, but she felt his knees buckle against her own, and with a concerned frown, she helped him sit back down in the chair.

"Are you okay? Where's Annabeth?"

He shook his head, gaze dropping. "I was hoping that you knew the answer to that."

Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach uneasily, and she dug her toes into the sand carefully. "Where are we?"

That's when Percy went on to explain what had happened so far. How he ended up on the island, how injured and tired he was, and what the island even was. He had been there for a few days already, while she had washed up on the shore early this morning. But Annabeth hadn't been with her. The conversation had drifted to Calypso, of which she was a daughter of the Titan Atlas. She was trapped on the island since the first Titan War. Finally, the girl of conversation appeared, walking along the sand in their direction. She offered a warm smile that made Reagan's heart flutter in her ribcage.

"I see you're well enough to walk. I'm glad," she said, hands clasped loosely in front of her.

Reagan tried to smile. "Thank you, and I'm sorry, but is there a way off the island?"

Her warm smile slipped, her gaze fleeting as it flickered towards Percy then away. "Perhaps soon." Glancing up towards her cave, she bowed her head slightly and turned, walking in that direction briskly.

Reagan frowned. "Did I say or do anything to upset her?"

Percy shook his head, taking a careful sip of his water. "I don't know. She does the same to me sometimes." He sighed and scratched the side of his head. "I'm not in any good condition to leave the island, I'm afraid."

"What did you do back there on that volcano?"

He shrugged, a vague response that Reagan struggled to understand. Or maybe she didn't want to understand. Or maybe even he didn't understand it himself? As he took another sip of his water and sighed, Reagan found herself chewing on the bottom of her lip before turning on her heels and venturing back towards the cave in search of Calypso.

Reagan entered the cave as Calypso was braiding her hair once more in front of a small, round mirror. It's surface was slightly smudged, but that didn't seem to bother her. Shifting her feet awkwardly, the Demigod walked until she was standing behind Calypso, nervously playing with the hem of the fresh shirt she was wearing.

"I'm sorry."

Calypso gazed at her reflection, her eyebrows arched. She twisted in the stool to face her. "What for?"

"I don't mean to be ungrateful. Thank you for saving my life. For the clothes. Time to rest," the girl listed off without looking entirely at the person in return. "I just need to get back home. To my friends, to-"

"To Annabeth?"

The comment caught Reagan off guard, eyes snapping to Calypso's face. She wasn't angry or hurt at all, instead humor danced in her dark eyes.

"Is Annabeth your girlfriend?"

The word girlfriend made her blanch, a surprised grimace twisting her features. She had never titled her relationship with Annabeth, always calling her a close friend at best.

A very close friend, apparently.

The word made a spark of fire dart along her spine, goosebumps appearing on the back of her neck like a cold breeze had tickled her skin. Reagan concealed the excited smile quickly, though the corners of her mouth flipped up ever so slightly.

"I don't know," she answered shortly after a pause.

Calypso hummed in response. "Dinner will be ready soon. I hope you and Percy will enjoy it."

The way she said his name made Reagan pause for a split second, gazing at Calypso in mild interest before nodding and walking towards the cave opening. "Thank you, again. For everything. I'll get him now."