A WAY OUT?

Because I napped out last time, Elena and Helen napped out this time. Well, not always. They would sit and talk and enjoy themselves. And I liked it. Somehow. I guess...none of us had really smiled before yesterday. And no monsters had appeared, so I didn't have that much work to do until I found a lake here. After refilling our stash of drinking water, we dove in for a bath.

Helen and Elena usually bathed and had lots of fun together, leaving me all alone. But I was glad to finally be able to wash my clothes. Grimy, sweaty, muddy...how did I sleep in them for so long? And because I had to clean all our clothes, I suddenly had a lot of work.

I spent time with Helen as much as I could. She dared to tell Elena about the embarrassing things I did when we were little, so I did the same. After Helen teached Elena how to play chopsticks(the finger game), they played for a while. They were like family already, and I was happy for Helen. She's been bullied for a while, and she's only had me all this time.

On the other hand, when I was teaching Elena, she was steering the wheel. I had to answer armies of questions, and I felt really inadequate. I seldom felt the urge to get a Ph.D. Hopefully, my bullshitting can get her into a decent college. Then we can work from there, even if she has her eyes set on Columbia, as I can't get her there with my mediocre knowledge.

I was curious about the major she'd pick, given that she wanted to know everything about literally everything. But I managed to narrow it down to engineering and history(something that covers the history of everything). Perhaps I should do the thing she didn't decide to do and teach it to her?

A semblance of life above ground returned - except it was just us three. And we had to be on the lookout for monsters - well, I did. Elena and Helen wanted to laze about.

And I remember wanting to speed things up. I almost regret that now.

I woke up. Elena lay on top of me, naked. I briefly admired her beauty again and kissed her forehead as I gently pushed her away. After getting dressed, I checked to see if Helen was awake. Nope.

So I prepared breakfast - meat. We didn't have anything else, but eating meat was getting tiring. I decided to prepare lunch and dinner for our travels.

Helen woke up while I was cooking lunch. "Is Elena still sleeping?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I've cooked breakfast, so eat up if you want."

"Thanks, Yiannis. Do you want help?"

"Oh, now you want to help? I thought I had to suffer alone."

"Well, you want to move fast, even though I've really enjoyed it here."

"So have I."

"Wait, you liked doing all the work? I'll let your girlfriend know. You've been shoving a lot onto her."

"Shoving what? The two of you decided to shove everything onto me for four days, so I think it's fair we return to the olden ways of EQUALLY DISTRIBUTING IT."

"Hmm, I don't wanna."

"I thought you said you wanted to take more responsibility?"

"I said that?"

I smiled. "It's been a while since we joked like this. I've only recently realized that you were keeping your distance from me. I'm glad you're doing ok, Helen."

"Thanks, but I'm a little worried about you."

"Eh? Why?"

"Seriously, Yiannis...don't you think it's a little soon to be doing those things?"

"What things?"

"The things you do with Elena when I'm asleep."

I blushed. "You knew?"

"She sleeps in the same tent as you. And you two were pretty loud. You guys woke me up a lot."

"Oh...we'll try to be quieter then."

"That's not the problem. Yiannis, you haven't even been dating her that long."

"I don't see the problem. Couples do it all the time, sometimes even before they become a couple."

"Well...don't you think those relationships also don't last very long?"

"I wouldn't know. This is the first time I've been in one myself, you know?"

"From what I've seen, they don't last very long. Or end well."

"Well, I guess it depends on the people involved. I think it's just a personal preference. We're both enjoying it right now. But why are you bringing this up? Are you still religious?"

Helen squirmed. "When mother was alive, we used to go to mass every Sunday. I know you didn't like church, but those were some of the happiest moments of my life..."

"Do you still pray, Helen?"

"You think it's stupid, don't you?"

I smiled. "Well, I think praying is stupid, yes. But I'm amazed you still believe in Jesus when we've lived with the Olympians for 3 years. And yes, I did enjoy every moment with you and my mother too, even if I hated going to church."

"It was stupid to give you religious advice, wasn't it?"

" I don't hate you or Christianity, so give me as much advice as you believe I need - I know you wish the best for me. I still don't see anything wrong, but for your sake, and maybe for Elena's, I'll think about what you said. Anyways, I think we cooked enough meat. I'll wake up Elena. We can pack our things while she's bathing."

As we walked, Elena poked me. "Helen's rather happy today."

"Hasn't she been happy a lot lately?"

"She seems really happy today."

"Maybe she was happy I accepted her for being a Christian. She probably got bullied over it back at DGH."

"A what?"

"A Christian, remember? It was the first major religion I taught you."

"The one that worships a mortal as a god?"

"Shhh. I told you not to say that to a believer. After all, it's not a mortal to them."

"Even if it was true? I've seen Jesus before, you know. And I've even met the other prophets."

"Oh, be quiet. We can't have you revealing bits of your past either."

Elena suddenly stopped. She seemed to be feeling the anima around her. Then she looked like Jesus talked to her - and scampered to the wall on the right. I guess Jesus wasn't just a man?

She pressed on it with her hands in deep concentration and jolted in shock. "Yiannis, Helen...could you two step back a bit?"

Elena conjured an explosion and revealed a hidden door. It wasn't locked, but the scenery didn't change at all. Just more depressing black walls and a trail that leads to who knows where.

"Um, Elena? Did you find something?"

She took the lamp off my hands and ran about, finding a thin pink thread on the floor. It would be nice to know where we're headed and go back if needed. And then I had my own moment of divine inspiration.

Elena found our ticket to Dedalus's workshop; and out of this death maze.

"Elena...how did you know it was here?"

"I've been feeling the anima around me at all times. After all, the thread could've been anywhere. I couldn't just hope the maze would kindly show it to me unless what lay at the end would be the end of my story. Daedalus built this maze to trick those in it."

"But then, since the maze put it near us, doesn't it mean-"

"Yes, we're not in the clear. We're going to the center of the maze. For most people, that was where their journey ended if they survived to get there."

"So we'll face the Minotaur?" Helen asked. "Is that really that big a deal?"

It took a couple seconds to register that. When did Helen become so confident? I still got scared shitless sometimes when I saw monsters.

Elena smirked. "You hear that, Yiannis? Didn't expect to hear that, Helen."

"I'm shocked as well. You were scared of the monsters we faced before. I still am, but what made you change?"

"Well, we beat them all, didn't we? And Yiannis, we have you."

"Me?"

"You basically killed Menoetius and that giant on your own," Helen grinned. "And almost died."

Elena giggled. "That habit of his is nothing but trouble. Well, for me, anyway. I'm the one who has to heal him."

"And then he falls asleep and becomes useless for a week."

"And complains when he has to do all the work for just four days."

"Hey, I saved our lives. Can't I get a little praise?"

"No, Yiannis," Elena shook her head. "I HAVE TO HEAL YOU. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME."

"You two are never going to let me be, are you?"

"NOPE!"

What did I do to be so hated?

We followed Ariadne's string, which led us to more beautiful places like the lair of the bull. We came across other coliseums, except we saw the combat through glass walls and didn't get involved. We found Hekatonkheires(the hundred-handed giants) chained in what looked to be a torture cell. I was going through a museum - a gory one at that.

Helen, however, ran around like she was at a playground. Elena also seemed intrigued, even though we went past another arena with another monster that trafficks humans. A closer look and I didn't see any humans at all, so I guess this one was just with monsters? Either that, or the human slaves haven't been released yet or they were all killed.

The thread stopped at two bronze doors the size of a luxury complex. "Is this it?"

Elena nodded. "We've finally reached Dedalus's workshop. Now we can get out of here."

After busting through the door, we were greeted by pairs of long spiral stairs, which exuded a feeling of nobility. I felt I was entering an earl's manor. And the black obsidian walls were embroidered with metallic gargoyle statues. Elena is probably taking in all in - the entire palace sparkled - I feel bad for whoever has to keep it so clean.

The pink string stopped at the doorway, so we were on our own again.

The stairs were endless. We actually stopped to have lunch on a spiral staircase. As we went up, there was a vast array of things to see. From things as simple as a wooden axe to something as complicated as a steam engine far up - you could find every invention imaginable. Daedalus was something else. It was like walking through the history of technological development. Well, walking up. As I looked up, I still didn't see the end. We might even end up sleeping on a set of stairs. Unfortunate, to say the least.

And we did. But not before Elena was satisfied learning about everything she saw.

Elena curled next to me. "Are you mad at me?"

I nodded. "You made us run so much that I might need to lie down for a day before I can use my legs again."

"Sorry about that. You know how I am."

"That's not an excuse. Learn to take a break, will you?"

Elena stuck out her tongue as she nestled on my chest. "Hope Helen's ok."

"Amazing you never asked me that."

"If you forgive me, I'll ask."

"Wow. Such a sweet girlfriend you are."

"Alright, I'll try not to get carried away next time."

"Honestly, we might spend more time climbing up some stairs than we did exploring the labyrinth. So I guess you can get carried away sometimes. But you better stop when I don't feel like walking anymore."

"Deal," Elena smiled.

The next morning, my legs were wobbly, but I could still walk, as Elena pointed out gleefully. "What happened to not getting carried away?"

"Just say you can't walk anymore, and we'll stop."

"Well, last time that happened, it didn't go that smoothly."

"Well, it will this time."

"Can't we wait a bit? Honestly...Helen, could we use shadow travel to get to the top? I can't believe it took until now to think of that."

"Probably because your lovely girlfriend went on a marathon," Helen smiled. "While we struggled to catch up. For shadow traveling, I don't see why it wouldn't work. It can be thorny if you don't know the place or have never been there. You can end up anywhere, like how I did in Japan once. But it gets a lot easier over time."

I nodded. "It gets more reliable the more you use it - it's like learning to ride a bike. But even then, you can still pop out somewhere else entirely. But we've used it here pretty well so far."

"And if we do it together, the chances of failing get lower."

Elena was clearly against it, and Helen and I burst out laughing.

"The labyrinth was designed for deception. It's a risky idea."

"When'd that become important?" Helen rolled her eyes. "But one day of climbing stairs is enough for a lifetime, don't you think?"

I grabbed everyone's hands. "Speaking of rushing, let's get going."

And we dropped from the top of the workshop. Here, it was no different than falling down from a seven-story building. But since Helen and I could hop into our own shadows, nobody died. It was scary as hell, though.

Waiting for us at the top were two golden doors. Neither was locked, thankfully. And then the rug was swept from under us.

The floor slid into the wall(a simple yet effective trap), and we experienced freefall again. I would have died twice today if I weren't Hades's son. Maybe I should get him a gift for Father's day.

A man was sitting on a table stacked with all kinds of gadgets. His trimmed gray beard went well with his scrutinizing blue eyes, composed and stern. He was dirty from all the tinkering.

His voice was rougher than sandpaper - maybe he got some in his mouth. "I did have a project on A.I., but I don't remember completing the prototypes."

"We're not your robots." Jeez, if this man was on his way to making intelligent robots, he was far ahead of humanity. What else could he do? I'd have to ask another time, though. At least I could be sure of his identity now.

"We're here for the map of the labyrinth. Do you have it?"

Daedalus perked up and stopped what he was doing. "Ah, are you the messengers from Kronos?"

...

What did Father forget to tell me again?

With Helen here, I can't say yes. I guess this is when Kronos's powers become relevant. It's a lot easier to freeze humans than monsters.

I stopped time around my sister, now stuck in place. "Elena, what's he going on about?"

"Kronos promised to make his wish come true if he gave us his map, as well as some other things. Were you not informed?"

"No! How do you always know what's going on?"

"Mei is an avid spellcaster and speaks to me in dreams."

"Why don't they talk to me? Why the hell does nobody talk to me?"

"Mei has been helping Kronos for a good part of her life. She's officially his second-in-command. She's the only one who receives information directly from him."

"So she's the only one he trusts?"

"Yes. Mei has been very loyal to him for a long time. I'll inform you later since you can't freeze time forever. Just follow my lead." Elena turned to Daedalus. "Yes. We'll send you to Hades in exchange for the map."

We were doing what?

Daedalus took out something from his pocket and threw it at us. It was a compass.

"The labyrinth is constantly changing, so a map could never be made. It is embedded with a magic sensor that will lead you to where you want to go." He then rambled about how it was made, and I was forced to interject.

"That's great, but didn't you have something you wanted us to do?"

I looked at Elena nervously, and she held my hand. "I told you. Follow my lead," she whispered. "And yes, Daedalus wants us to kill him."

"Why?"

"He's been living a life of misery for 2000 years because of a curse from Athena."

"Sounds rough... he was cursed for killing his nephew, right?"

"Yes."

"Um, why doesn't he just kill himself? He seems to be a smart guy."

"Daedalus doesn't want to go to Tartarus either. However, that sword of yours completely absorbs the soul of whatever it touches, right?"

"So he'd fade into nothingness? I guess that makes sense. I'd be absorbing his soul, after all, so it won't go to Tartarus."

"But Yiannis..."

"Yeah?"

"Would you be able to take his life?"

"Well," I let out a weak smile. "How many people have I already led to their deaths? That day we attacked DGH...the people that died were decent people. Only three of them were gods. So it's ok. I've killed many already."

Elena gripped my shoulder. "Just let me know if that bothers you. And if you can't kill Daedalus, it's ok. I can do it."

"Does that really make a difference? Thanks, but only I can use the sword. If anyone else touches it, it'll automatically steal their soul."

I pulled out mikri-skia. Daedalus let me stab him and collapsed right after. It was a shame, though. He could've helped us. And I don't like killing, despite how many I've already killed.

Time unfroze, and I fell on my knees. Jeez, will stopping time not be such a hassle? It felt like I would explode any minute.

Elena helped me up. "This is the longest you've stopped time. Have you been practicing?"

"No...I guess I've gotten stronger. Maybe it's because I've become better at magic and using Hades's powers. We really don't know a thing about the gods' powers, do we?"

"Not just them. We know nothing about the Titans or the Primordials. But the war is solidly in our favor, so it doesn't matter."

Helen saw me struggle to stand. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Daedalus did something weird to us, and I think I got the brunt of it, seeing that you and Elena are fine."

"But, without him-"

Elena pulled out the compass. "I got this from him. It can lead us out of here. So we should get going. Our food supply is getting low."

"Oh right, we have to go down now," I groaned. "Excuse me for a moment." I turned around and vomited.

Helen patted me on the back. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Well, not really. But I don't think I'll be worse off than this. I won't be able to use shadow travel now. We can go down the stairs if you don't want to take all of us through the shadows."

"It won't be difficult for me to take all three of us, but it might be hard on you, Yi. You might faint in the darkness, and I might lose you."

The workshop started rumbling, which did not help my mood. I vomited lots more. But what the heck was going on?

Elena grabbed my hand. "We need to get out of here!"

"What's happening?"

Automatons were popping out of the walls, and they would surround us soon if we didn't hurry. To make it worse, the gargoyle statues had come to life, and were flying towards us. 

"What's going on? An earthquake?"

"Who knows?"

"Does this have anything to do with Daedalus dying?"

"Perhaps, but the labyrinth is also underground. If there is an earthquake, we'll feel it much more intensely."

"I wonder if we're in a fault line."

"A what?"

"Now's not the time to worry about that!" Helen yelled. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Elena, what's the compass saying?"