The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

LOU ELLEN I

Lou Ellen had never been on a quest before. Sure she had fought in a few battles over the years, the one with Gaea and her monsters being the most recent, but a quest was different. There were only a couple with you watching your back, not an entire camp or at least group of cabin mates by your side. There was also the fact that she was familiar with camp. The labyrinth of all places was terrifying, no feelings of home at all. No doubt Cecil and Will were scared too, for neither of them had ever been called for a quest either, but she knew they were keeping their feelings hidden just like she was. Nico was probably scared too though he'd never admit it.

As the group turned left sharply, she skidded and belted forward just as the monster chasing them roared past. Her heart skipped a beat. If she had been two seconds slower she would've been monster food.

"There's a room just to the right here!" Daedalus shouted as he rounded a corner. The demigods followed him, sweat beginning to form of their brows from their monster-fleeing workout.

Just when they stepped into the light of the room they'd been left to, spacing out and raising their weapons in preparation to take on the monster about to reach them, a voice called out from behind them.

"It seems I have visitors! A child of Hades, Hecate, Hermes, Apollo and— what's this? Is that the ghost of my dear enemy Daedalus? The fates have really blessed me today. It's about time."

"Pasiphaë," the ghost growled. "What were you thinking, recreating the maze with your insufferable magic?"

The titan sat on a throne made of metal scraps, her black, jewel-laden dress the same as the one she was wearing when she fought Hazel. Her dark hair was down this time though, and anger bubbled in her gaze. Lou Ellen noticed how she toyed with the maze-shaped necklace that hung on her neck as if she had been waiting for them.

"I was thinking that I would improve the maze by filling it with even more monsters than ever before, if you must know. On the other hand, because of this boy's wretched sister," she sneered at Nico, "it seems I cannot call upon any of my beautiful creatures. Besides my son and his relatives," she added as the Minotaur, half human half bull, entered the room. The beast snorted, but its rusty nose ring made it sneeze a second later. Very terrifying.

"I remember when Percy killed that thing twice," Will breathed as his eyes went back and forth between the monster and its mother.

The titan merely nodded, a pout rising to her face. "Yes, that son of Poseidon indeed killed him years ago when he first found out he was a half-blood and a second time during that skirmish with Kronos. Not like I paid much notice. Unfortunately, he is one of the few I had to call on to chase you here. Lucky for me you were mostly headed through here anyway. The time for revenge is now, since even if you did manage to get to Greece there is no way my father would allow Apollo to come back."

"Your father? Do you mean Helios?" The Sun's kin... was it referring to the titan originally born to be the sun?

"He's the only father I have," she scoffed. "He will not help you on your quest even if I didn't kill you."

"You can try," Nico taunted.

She stood, a glare on her face that rivalled Nico's piercing Daedalus, Nico, and Lou Ellen. "I cannot kill you since you are already dead, tinkerer, but the children of Hades and Hecate shall pay. It was your kin that trapped me here. Prepare to die!"

The Minotaur howled, his eyes glowing red as he readied himself to charge at Lou Ellen. The girl took off running. Cecil flanked her protectively, sword at his side while Will knocked an arrow from where he stood next to the son of Hades. Nico raised his own sword, about to strike the beast as it charged past him, but a voice a few dozen feet away spoke that caused him to lower his weapon.