Chapter 31

Kayla.

31st October.

Kayla woke to the smell of death and… not in her bed. She had been in and out of consciousness for what must have been hours. Each time she woke up for a few seconds, she felt a slight spark of disappointment at seeing the same place before falling back asleep.

Now, she felt less like her head was full of clouds. “Mh…”

Not a comfy mattress, but a damp, concrete floor is what she had been sleeping on. Her hips hurt. What was that… bars? A cage? Was she in a cage?

To her right, some pretty woman stood watching over her in the corner. This room was dull. Nothing but damp concrete and the smell of wet dog. What was such a pretty woman doing down here? The gorgeous woman in question got less gorgeous at the single goat leg she possessed. Then the full steel leg put Kayla off a little bit more. She smirked, then sauntered out of the room.

Replacing her was the very last person she expected to see.

“Finally awake? Not gonna go to sleep again, no? That’s good,” Luke Castellan. He stood with all his ego. A dagger in hand, his hair slicked back. He had some fancy ‘old money’ look going on. “Hi Kayla.”

“What… are you wearing?” Is the first thing Kayla said as she came to her senses. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. “What have you done?”

“Good morning to you too, Kayla. Now- don’t try to pull anything. You’re too weak, you’ll only hurt yourself,” He smiled, twisting his dagger skillfully as he paced the cell. “You know, it’s really lovely- you, going on a quest to see the Labyrinth. That’s real brave. Too bad you’re all locked up before it even started.”

Kayla grimaced, groaning as her head pounded. What had he done to her? She curled in on herself slowly, folding over with her head resting on her folded legs. “What?”

“The letter, Ansel? Yeah, he’s perfectly fine. Helping out great. Infact, I’m pretty sure he’s training with some others right now. Oh, and the monsters, they’re all fine. No regeneration issues going on down here. Got him to write that letter to get, well, you- to be given a quest. Demi-god letters arrive fast to their location, you know? Hermes and all. We planned it just right to grab you, then boom. Everyone thinks you’re simply on your silly little quest, instead of down here in a cell already. With us.”

Kayla had to stare at him for two minutes to piece his words together. When she finally did, she let out a scoff. ‘Timed it just right’, except they took her a day early. Kayla knew why they had taken her a day early by accident; demigods usually left that day or in the early morning after when given a quest. Luke must have guessed that would have been the case for this one, too.

“You’re… you came, and kidnapped me? How did you even get into camp?” She mumbled.

“Easy. For me to know and for you to… never find out. Anyway- like I said. Everyone thinks you’re on a quest. So don’t go praying for help any time soon. This plan prevents Chiron from sending out any more campers to try and find another missing camper. God, he’s running you lot crazy, isn’t he? My men already found two campers out and about who had been sent on quests due to missing campers. Looks like my side is just way better, huh? Finally realising how much of a joke the Gods are.” His grin grew wider if that was even possible.

“You planned it all out perfectly, huh?” She retorted, circling her wrists.

“Did I stutter?”

Kayla held her tongue. Revealing the fact they had kidnapped her a day before she was actually supposed to set off- a day early- was only going to have Luke give out orders to keep an eye out for an possible rescuers. “No, you sure did plan it out perfectly. You’re right.”

That plan was the poorest thing Kayla had ever heard of.

“So, what do you need me for? Why do I feel odd, Luke?”

Luke paused his pacing, turning his head slowly to face the cell. He peered down at her, sighing. “Well. A little birdie told me you could be really useful. You know, for matters involving life and death. Oh- oh, the odd thing? Don’t worry about it. Just a bit of a relaxant. You’ll live. Just stops those pesky little powers of yours I’ve heard so much about from working.”

A crowd of monsters in the hallway on their left stormed past like they had something really imorotant to attend. Mostly cyclopses. Kayla let out a breath to calm herself, her eyes flicking back up go Luke. “What?”

Luke sighed. He turned, grabbed something from a wooden table behind him, then messed around with the cell door. It squeaked open so they could see eachother more clearly. “Try to escape, and you’ll regret it. May I offer you a proposition?”

“…What, in your stupid cult? No thanks.”

He sighed, looking away to prevent himself from what looked like beating her up. “Listen, alright? I took you for a reason. Your blood, it can help. To defeat the gods, to help rise Kronos. And I know you have your fair share of opinions on those Gods, Kayla.” He wagged his finger with a thin-lipped smile. “Now, Kronos can rise faster, and with a healthier form. Your being, living and dead at the same time. It’s in your blood. You can give him a full form.”

“In your deranged dreams, Luke. Who are you? He’s using you!”

“Shut up!” He yelled , bashing the cell bars with his dagger. His voice echoed in the empty room. They both took a few seconds of silence.

“But… Gods dont have DNA. And besides, how would I give him a full form?”

His anger dissipated like it had never been there in the first place. Instead, offering a gentle smile.

It glared into her soul.

“Gods don’t have DNA, but they sure do pass on their powers. Those powers? That’s what runs in your blood. That’s all you- that’s what your father wanted you to have. Think about it,” Luke explained lowly, twirling his dagger.

“Your blood is an accelerant. Your body knows life, it knows death. Your blood could turn him from fragments to form so much faster. You see- Kronos said to me that for his form to be fully here, living, he would need an anchor. Me. And, sure. I will, happily. If it means getting revenge on the gods. But with you? That process doesn’t have to be slow. Or fragile. With you, his rising could be faster. Cleaner. More simple.” He explained, almost gleefully.

“Join us, Kayla. You are all we need. Join us- don’t? All we need is your blood. Save yourself, come to this side. I promise you, when we win this war, we will be living like royalty.”

Now, you may have assumed Kayla to spurt out another sassy comment. Maybe tell him to go fuck himself, or say she would rather bleed herself dry. But the cruel thing, the insanely crazy thing that made Kayla want to attempt looking in the mirror and glare herself to death, was that she considered it. Not even in the back of her head. For a good thirty seconds. To the point Luke most certainly got his hopes up.

But then she roped herself back in. She thought about camp, her friends- very minimal, but still- her mother and aunt who were both demigods. Or, were. Hell, even Thanatos. She did not want to lose the ones closest to her, even if she never knew them. She had said she hated her father many times. Maybe she still did. But what about finally getting to meet him one day?  Besides, this wouldn’t be what her mother would have wanted.

Curiousity for her future made her stick to her morals.

“I mean, Kayla, you’re like a living, breathing Golden Fleece.” He continued. “Two- maybe three times as fast with you here. Near. With some of your blood. Your healing is stronger. You know it. He could become whole again without tearing himself apart in the process. Independent. Thriving. When blood that carries both life and death is fused with his fragments… that’s all he needs. That’s all we need. We need you. And if i can’t get to Thanatos himself, well, who’s the second best option?”

As Luke rambled, Kayla was practicing how to stand again, like some new born deer. She brushed the dust off her knees, making sure to keep away from Luke. Instead, she leant against the back wall of the cell.

“I’d rather bury myself alive.”

Luke’s smile dropped.

Gods, he looked borderline psychopathic. What was Kronos doing to him?

“Huh, question. Did you pick my backpack up when you kidnapped me?”

The cell door screeched and sent a sharp, rumbling vibration through her body as it was slammed back shut and locked.

“Drop the joking, Graves. You better make your mind up real soon.” Luke sauntered out with a scowl, clapping his hands roughly with a yell. “Ethan!”

Kayla snapped her head towards the door in confusion. She heard a mumble, then a different man replaced luke. Black, shaggy hair. Slightly taller. One eye was covered with an eye patch. Kayla swore she could visibly see his aura. Dark, quiet, sharp. His shadow seemed more alive than him.

He unlocked the cell roughly, yanking Kayla forward with little to no effort. “Don’t fight, just sit down,” He ordered, dragging her out of the cell to a chair just a few metres away.

Unfortunately, Kayla’s legs already felt like jelly, so she did not argue when being asked to sit.

The kid- Ethan- strapped her forearms down to the arms of the chair. “I don’t understand you,” He mumbled while doing so. “You act like they care. Your dad is just like my mom. They don’t raise us, or protect us. They just make and forget us. So why aren’t you with us?” He mumbled. He sounded genuinely curious. Before Kayla could answer, he gave one last final tug on the restraints before walking over to the table.

“What- what are you doing? Aren’t you…” She tested the force of the restraints… yeah, there was no way she was getting out in her current state.

“Styx Ichor serum,” Nathan hummed in concentration, cutting her off. He stalked back over as he tapped a needle. “Watered down Styx water and distilled titan essence. Not enough to kill, just tells your powers to take a nap.”

“Hey! You cannot put that in me, don’t!” Kayla shrieked, her adrenaline kicking in instantly. The more she tried to move, the more the needle hurt going into her arm. The liquid itself inside the needle was clear. A slight shimmer to it, yet clear. When it met with her veins, they caused them to run black. The pain was about as bad as it looked; unreal.

Clarisse.

30th January.

Clarisse’s packing for her unregistered quest was record worthy. The only reason she delayed a day was to read up on Annabeth’s notes to try and prevent her ass getting beat in the Labyrinth. Her problem as of late was something that sounded alot easier than it actually was: finding an entrance into the Labyrinth. Her best bet was definitely a sewer or abandoned building by far.

She did not say her goodbyes to anyone other than two of her brothers. Sure, the others were not happy with her when they all found out she was gone. But it was fine! Clarisse was not there to face their wrath.

Before setting off- her main goodbyes went to the very girl she was setting off to find. She did that by visiting her cabin. Unattended, cold and dusty now.

It was weirdly a sight for her sore eyes. How she had decorated it over the past few months contrasted comically with the dark state of the cabin itself.  She had see through, coloured paper fitted onto any windows to make light that showed through give colour. That, added in with the things she had vandalised; like the kitchen cabinets that had very nice doodles in white acrylic marker all over them gave the vibes that Clarisse might have possibly stepped into a kaleidoscope.

Her room was worse; the best kind of worse.

The back of her door had posters scattered all over it, from Moltley Crue to Madonna. Her bedroom drawers were vandalised with the same white acrylic marker. Intricate mandala designs were drawn delicately onto the side of it.

Her ceiling light had jewellery strung over it. Golden jewellery that she refused to wear unless it was summer. In the meantime, it made itself useful by looking pretty on the ceiling. Kayla had a creative mind, that was for sure.

Clarisse took a few slow spins around the room to take it all in. Like a promise that Kayla would see this room again. For Clarisse, even though this was her first time seeing her room, she sure hoped she would see it once more. The walkman and a few CDs Clarisse had lended her scattered her bedside table. She scoffed. She had told the girl at the time she could borrow that walkman for a few weeks tops after the quest. She never got it back.

Taking a step back to admire one of the CDs she had taken, her foot clashed into something under the bed. Curious, she took a peek, met with none other than a black and green hiking bag. All ready to go, by the looks of it. Water in the side, poofed up like it most definitely had a lot of stuff inside.

Odd, Clarisse thought.

She leant down to rummage through it. Unzipping it, a pack of ambrosia slipped out immediately like the bag was way too full. Then, a few slips of paper followed.

The known facts of the Labyrinth, page one.

Hang on.

Clarisse pulled the rest of the paper out, met with atleast twenty more double sides pages. A few ready meals in bags slipped out. Then a Swiss army knife.

Clarisse’s stomach dropped.

Kayla was supposed to have taken this. Was i right? Surely she didn’t set off a day early for a head start, She pondered once again for the millionth time within the past 3 months. There wasn’t much thinking after that. This, as angering as it was to see, was exactly what she needed. She shoved everything back inside, slung it on her back, grabbed a few extra daggers from Kayla’s drawers, and fled the place.

No second goodbyes. No signing out with Chiron. This was not right. Kayla would not leave a full bag full of quest equipment. What point would it have made to take a different bag? To leave all these necessities behind? That didn’t add up.

She stormed her way up and down Half Blood Hill with not the slightest bit of sweat. Out of camp borders, through the woods, to the side of the road. She’d walk it all the way to the New York City if she had to. Or- the sewers. A faster way to start looking for a Labyrinth entrance.

Until she was stopped in her tracks by none other than a simple sound. She knew that sound anywhere. That faint rumble, growing louder by the second. Really? Her father was already on her ass the second she stepped out of camp?

The rumble of the Harley Davidson cut off abruptly as Ares came to a stop as he skidded infront of his daughter, that harsh, stinging look on his face that had her step back just incase.

“Really? A girl? Are you trying to get yourself killed, Clarisse?” He scolded. “You know better than this! You fight for no one but yourself, girl. Don’t die because of her clumsy ass. I know what you’re up to.”

Clarisse dipped her head. She didn’t bow, didn’t even greet him. “I can handle myself.” She argued.

“You can, can you?” He manouvered himself off the motorbike to step closer. “Handle yourself? You almost made a big, big fool of me at the start of this year, young girl. That place will eat you alive.”

“Why are you watching me the one time I-” she paused, clenching her firsts with a grumble. “Let me learn this the hard way, then. I’m capable.” She went to move around him, slinging the backpack tighter over her shoulder.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” He pushed her back. “You make a fool of yourself with this, you make a fool on me. And from what I’m seeing right now, you are really tainting our rep, aren’t you? Running away to the Labyrinth, for what, a girl? Your- your new little bestie?” He cooed. Clarisse was already an arms length away after being pushed back. She stood her ground. Or tried to. No matter what… her voice always cracked.

“I- I’m not tainting anything, father. I’m a child of war, but I am allowed to help some other people! How can you talk when you love Aphrodite so much? You’d help her.”

Oh, shit. She was screwed. That meant so many different things. Good and bad. She didn’t mean it like that.

Ares face dropped. That look on a parent, right before they scream. Curse out your entire being, yell all of their regrets. That burning in their eyes. Clarisse lowered her head. “Do you dare, to speak to me like that. Again? Do you ever learn your lesson, Clarisse?”

“I’m not- I’m not trying to argue, I’m saying you should know that we aren’t full war machines.”

“You don’t get to understand what me and that woman have until you live through to adulthood, Clarisse. Which I very highly doubt you will. Especially doing something so reckless like this. You’re a silly girl. Don’t expect anything for the next year, atleast. Putting shame on our cabin like this! You better start praying I don’t get Axel moved into that room of yours, missy,” He pointed a finger, stalking closer. Clarisse moved herself out of the way with her front to him. “I knew you weren’t worthy of that Chariot for your fifteenth last year, woman. My mistake for giving it to you for the day with all my heart!”

The look on her face… well, Clarisse was very happy this was happening outside of camp, so no one saw how stupid she looked when facing her own dad. He didn’t come after her as she backed away. Instead, he gave one more long warning glare, shook his head, and rode back off down the lonely highway.

Clarisse let out a breath she hadn’t known she had been holding. How was she supposed to survive the Labyrinth when she could barely even survive her own dad? He had been raging. His eyes red. Clearly disappointed in her right now, disappointed to the point he felt the need to see her, but when was he not? Maybe finally succeeding in navigating the Labyrinth would finally make him proud.

She pulled a grate up with all that pent up anger and disappeared into the sewers.

For once, Clarisse La Rue had found someone who she knew cared about her and reciprocated it; and she couldn’t let that go to waste.

Please vote!!

Must have sectioned these POVS just right or something cus this does not feel like its 3200 words.

Also keeps hitting me that I started this back in 2024 with 8 chaps and got like 6k reads in the first two weeks when there was little to no fan base for Clarisse. Now ik if my ass didn’t decide to dissappear for no reason this story would have so much more recognition do NOT fret i do not plan to dip any time soon now I am back i am locked into this story it brings me so much joy for my little pjo loving heart.