If Reagan thought that Kampê was terrifying from afar, she was downright hideous up close. She snarled and began to step up the stairs towards them.
"Other way," Percy said quickly.
No one argued, especially not Briares. In fact, the One-Hundred Handed One was racing down the corridor, all one hundred of his arms flailing in the air as he took the lead. Reagan, now that she was no longer in the cramped tunnels of the Labyrinth, wasn't as scared as usual. In fact, she felt even confident. It was just those tunnels that seemed to...change her. The never ending darkness, the creaking echoes of gods knows what, and the walls that seemed to close in around her, it all terrified Reagan to no end.
"This way. I remember it from a tour my school had," Annabeth suggested.
They dashed across a small courtyard to another cell block, Kampê's gravelly voice in the strange language close behind them. They forced a set of wooden doors open and was suddenly outside in the main courtyard, where a majority of the tourists congregated in. To the south, San Francisco seemed like paradise, but to the north dark storm clouds swirled over Mount Tamalpais. It was basically the jailhouse where Atlas was imprisoned in, and where Mount Othrys was rising anew.
"The clouds are getting worse," Annabeth panted.
Reagan nodded in agreement, using this moment to catch her breath. "Last time I was here, I tried-"
"Keep moving!" Briares wailed. "Kampê is behind us!"
They ran to the other side of the courtyard, careful not to attract too much attention from the tourists. Reagan wondered how they saw Briares through the Mist.
"She can't fit through the door," Percy said hopefully.
Then the wall exploded.
"She doesn't need to," Reagan guessed.
As the dust settled, Kampê stomped over the rubble and into the courtyard, her wings unfolding and taking up the entirety of the courtyard. Tourists burst into chaos, running and screaming wildly to get away from whatever the Mist showed them. She held twin scimitars in each hand, this green liquid dropping off the tips.
"Poison," the Satyr whimpered. "Don't let it touch you!"
The group turned and began to run in the opposite direction, with Reagan and Tyson in the lead pushing people out of the way. They all ran to the dock right as a boat with new tourists pulled in.
"The boat?" Grover inquired.
"Too slow," Tyson countered. "Need to go back into Labyrinth."
Reagan found herself cursing under her breath and turned on her heels to go back the way the came, except Kampê was barreling towards them angrily.
"I will slow her down."
She looked up to see the person who had said that, and realized it was Tyson.
"Don't do it," Percy argued quickly.
But Tyson shook his head. "I will meet you in the tunnel. Poison will hurt Cyclopses, but not kill them."
Before anyone could argue, Tyson ripped a light post straight out of the ground and aimed it at Kampê's chest like a javelin.
"Tyson, no!"
But it was too late. The young Cyclops charged towards the monster, the end of his light post slamming into her chest and forcing her back against a wall. Her wings knocked down a Dip-n-Dots stand along with another vender's stand that contained Alcatraz merchandise like shirts and hats. While she was distracted, they ran under her wing through the opening in the wall. Reagan went through last, except the wing flexed as Kampê struggled, smacking her and sending her flying back, separating her from the rest.
"Reagan!" Annabeth screamed.
The daughter of Ares gagged from Kampê's odor, hiding her mouth and nose in her shirt and using her other hand to wave Annabeth away. "Get out of here!" she managed to shout. "I'll get back to you!"
Kampê's scimitars sliced through the light post like it was a bar of cheese, the broken pieces falling to the ground with a loud thud. Tyson began to back up, slowly edging towards Reagan. She stood up and pulled her ring off, the piece of jewelry transforming into her long spear. Kampê was in front of the hole now, blocking their way. The flame at the tip of Reagan's spear grew as her anxiety did at the sight of the poisoned weapons the monster held.
"Maybe we can duck under her weapons when she swings them," Reagan whispered up to him.
"Anything."
"You took the words right out of my mouth," she replied.
Reagan inched towards Kampê, who hissed at them menacingly.
"You go one way, I go the other?" she suggested.
Tyson nodded. "Now?"
"...now!"
They darted in opposite directions. Tyson held his arms up to protect his face, while Reagan held her weapon up protectively. The movement confused Kampê, who looked between her two targets indecisively, attempting to swing her weapon at both of them at the same time. Tyson made it though successfully, while Reagan stumbled to her knees, barely making it through the crumbling hole. Tyson ran to her, pulling her to her feet and helping her run. Together they followed Annabeth and the others, Kampê howling with rage and soon following.
"Hurry!" Percy shouted, waiting in the Labyrinth opening for Tyson and Reagan.
As they neared, Percy activated his wristwatch shield and chucked it right at her face like a frisbee. With a sickening smack, it hit her square in the face, causing her to falter long enough for them to dive into the Labyrinth opening right as it sealed up, trapping them back into the maze. Kampê pounded against the closed wall on the other side, roaring angrily that her prey got away.
They all didn't stop running for what felt like ten minutes. They didn't stop until they reached a circular room filled with waterfalls that poured from large pipes all around the room. The water spilled into a pit in the center of the room, and when Annabeth shone her light down the hole, they still couldn't see the bottom.
"This hole leads right into Tartarus," Briares mumbled. "I should just jump in and save you guys the trouble."
"Hey, don't talk like that," Annabeth scolded. "You've been in combat before. We can take you back to Camp Half-Blood, and you can help us."
"I have nothing to offer," Briares said sadly. "I've lost everything."
"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked eagerly, unable to contain the excitement at the possibility to meet more of his elder brothers. "The other two must stand as tall as mountains! We can take you to them."
Briares expression morphed into something worse; a mournful face. "My brothers are no more. They have faded."
"What do you mean, "they faded." Aren't you supposed to be immortal?"
There was a long silence, the waterfalls roaring loudly in their ears.
"Percy," Grover muttered weakly. "Even immortality has its limits. Sometimes...sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."
Tyson stared into the bottomless pit next to them, blinking tears out of his eye.
Reagan never thought about it like that. That even immortality doesn't last. She always assumed that they lived on no matter what or no matter how badly they didn't want to go on. And so she stared at Briares in a new light, like he was some endangered species- which he was, to an extent.
"I must go," Briares said.
"Kronos' army will invade camp," Tyson said. "We need help."
Briares hung his head. "I cannot, Cyclops."
"But you are strong."
The Humanoid shook his head and rose from his sitting position against the grimy wall. "Not anymore."
"Hey," Percy cut in.
Reagan watched as the son of Poseidon grabbed one of Briares arm and pulled him over to the side, the sound of the pouring water drowning their voices out. She tried to listen as best as she could, but it was impossible. Eventually, Briares turned and walked towards them. She thought that Percy would convince him to help, but instead he walked right past them, a shameful look on his face as he disappeared down a tunnel. Once Briares disappeared, Tyson let out a sob.
"It's okay," Grover said, hesitantly patting the Cyclops on the shoulder.
Tyson sneezed. "No it isn't, goat boy," he muttered dejectedly. "He was my hero."
Reagan's heart broke at the sound of his voice. "Oh, Tyson," she murmured breathlessly, arms slowly wrapping around one of his beefy arms and squeezing it in a tight hug. "I'm sorry."
Annabeth picked up her bag and shouldered it. "Come on, guys," she said. "This pit is making me nervous. Let's go set up a camp somewhere for the night."
Reagan glanced at the bottomless pit, briefly remembering the time in the Underworld where they were almost sucked into a pit that resembled this one. Then they walked in the opposite direction, leaving the groaning hole far behind them.
Annabeth was sitting there, keeping watch for their first night. Tyson, after assembling some contraption with his small building kit, eventually slipped into a deep sleep without even disassembling it. Grover took a bite out of his hay then fluffed it for a pillow and fell asleep. No one had a clue what time it was, but they were all pretty exhausted. Except for Annabeth and Reagan. Reagan tried to fall asleep, she truly did, but her thoughts and heart were still rampant. Eventually, she sat up and watched Annabeth. Groaning, Reagan slowly stood up and leaned against the marble wall. Bronze braziers lined the walls, apart of what could possibly be some Greek tomb. Which meant they were in older part of the Labyrinth.
"You should get some sleep," Annabeth said.
"Can't. How are you feeling?"
"Sure," she muttered sarcastically. "First day leading the quest. Just great."
Reagan grimaced, wrapping one arm around Annabeth's shoulders and pulling her closer. "You're doing great! At least nobody died-"
This sudden choking sound vibrated deep within her throat and chest. Reagan's vision began to blur, darkness creeping along the edges. She wasn't choking, but this sudden pain erupted from somewhere on her body, and she had attempted to suppress the painful groan that threatened to surface.
"Reagan?" Annabeth inquired, an edge of worry in her voice. "Are you okay?"
The blonde sat straight, shifting until she was on her knees beside Reagan. The daughter of Ares opened her mouth to say something, but this untranslatable gurgle came out instead.
"Reagan!" This time the outcry from Annabeth came out louder, causing Percy to look over.
But before Reagan could try to say or do anything else, she lost consciousness and slumped onto her side.