Evangeline understood that she was the daughter of Hades, but she hadn't thought death would be following her around every day. The day she returned was one of the worst days of her life and Evangeline has had her fair share of bad days.

A few days before they came back an Empousa had snuck onto camp borders some campers had been injured and the Empousa had managed to kill one of them. And that one had been Landon.

First, she lost Percy who hadn't returned as he had promised. There was no sign of Percy anywhere, he was gone. She felt guilty for leaving him in the forge. The voice in her head kept telling her that it was her fault that he was missing, that she should have stayed in his place.

Second, Landon died and she didn't get to say goodbye. She knew she was destined to be alone, but the son of Hermes was the one person she had expected to be with her through it all. But it looked like the fates had other plans.

Evangeline wanted the earth to swallow her whole, she was getting tired of her life. She wondered if it was this hard at the age of fifteen then how much harder will it be when she turned sixteen the next year.

She was too scared to summon Landon's ghost she didn't know what she would say to him. She lost two of her closest friends in the span of a week. Evangeline had underestimated how hard life as a demigod would be. Sometimes she wished she was someone else, someone with a better life than hers but she knew she could never be truly happy and carefree unless she was dead.

Evangeline was convinced that falling in love was a waste of time since every person she loved died, went missing, or drowned. She was sure Aphrodite was out to get her and if she got a chance to meet the goddess of Love there would be words.

It was the day of the burning of Percy's shroud, and Evangeline wasn't buying the fact that the son of Poseidon was deceased. He fought the god of War and survived, how hard could a volcanic explosion be?

The funeral was going pretty great. Evangeline stood behind Annabeth next to Will while sharing a bag of popcorn earning looks from Chiron and Beckendorf but she was hungry. The daughter of Hades was sure she didn't look much better than the blonde. Annabeth's eyes were puffy from crying, her hair was messy, and her lips were cracked. "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. I...I can't believe that he...HE'S RIGHT THERE!"

"Percy!" Beckendorf grinned. Campers began surrounding him and clapping him on the back. The crowd parted a little for Chiron and Clarisse who was rolling her eyes like she couldn't believe he had the nerve to survive.

"Well," Chiron sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me—"

"Percy Jackson!" Annabeth yelled, pushing aside campers to make room for herself. She hugged him tightly, looking relieved. "We thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry," Percy said. "I got lost."

"LOST, for two weeks? Where in the world—"

"Annabeth," Chiron interrupted. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

Without waiting for any answers, the centaur picked up Annabeth and Percy. Evangeline walked towards the big house trying to put as much distance between the son of Poseidon and herself.

The daughter of Hades spun her necklace while Percy recounted his chain of events. He explained how he'd caused the explosion at Mount St. Helens got blasted out of the volcano, and had been marooned on an island, he made sure to let them know he was alone. Then Hephaestus found him magically and told him he could leave. And a magic raft had carried him back to Camp Half-Blood.

It was shocking how stupid he thought they were. She was well aware of his two-week vacation with Calypso on Ogygia. The level of audacity he had to lie to through his teeth was on another level.

"You've been gone for two weeks," Annabeth said, her voice steadier. "When we heard the explosion, I thought—"

"I know," Percy said. "I'm sorry. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I understand now." He told them his idea.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Percy, that's crazy!"

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and frowned. "There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her underground railroad for just this reason."

"But this is my quest," Annabeth said. "I need to lead it."

The centaur looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

"And this is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"—hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy said. "But it's true."

Annabeth shot him a withering glare. "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!" And she stormed out of the room.

Percy stared at the doorway. "So much for being the bravest friend she's ever had."

Chiron sighed and chuckled half-heartedly. "She's jealous, my boy. Getting protective."

"That's stupid," Percy sputtered. "She's not... it's not like..."

Evangeline stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, hopefully you don't get taken by sea turtles or beautiful redheads."

She did not want to go back to the Labyrinth but they had to finish the quest. She was walking fast to get away from Percy as long as possible.

She didn't want to bring up what happened in the forge, she kept telling herself it was a mistake and that she shouldn't feel anything, he likes Annabeth, not her.

Annabeth, Evangeline, and Argus stood in silence the next morning, waiting for Percy to arrive. Evangeline stood there, spinning Nico's rock in her hand.

She had been paid an unpleasant visit by her mother last night. The brunette's mother kept saying something about believing what they told her, she wasn't exactly sure about who 'they' were, and something about Luke's men finding a half-blood alone in the maze.

So with the ghost of Mary Merlyn babbling on and on about these two things, Evangeline hadn't been able to sleep. Then she received an Iris message from Eurytion saying that Nico was gone, which caused Evangeline to curse out Eurytion and say some rather unpleasant things slightly.

Finally, Percy decided to make an appearance and walked to the daughters of Athena, Hades, and Argus.

They didn't talk much in the van as Argus drove them into Manhattan. Evangeline distracted herself by spinning the rock in her hand, she was getting used to her ring not being there.

"Bad dreams?" Percy broke the silence.

Annabeth shook her head. "An Iris Message from Eurytion."

"Eurytion! Is something wrong with Nico?" Percy looked towards the brunette.

"He left the ranch before Eurytion woke up this morning and went back into the maze," Annabeth said. "Orthus tracked his scent as far as the cattle guard. Eurytion said he'd been hearing Nico talk to himself the last few nights."

"He's in danger," Percy summarised.

"We know, genius." Evangeline shot him a look. "Minos used to be one of the judges of the dead, but he's got a vicious streak a mile wide. I don't know what he wants with Nico, but—"

"That's not what I meant," Percy said, earning glares from the duo. "I had this dream last night..." He told them about Luke, how he'd mentioned Quintus, and how his men had found a half-blood alone in the maze.

Evangeline slumped in her seat as she twirled the obsidian in her hand. "My mother paid me a visit last night, she told me the same thing about Luke."

"This is bad. Very, very bad." Annabeth's jaw clenched.

"So what do we do?" Percy looked between the two.

Annabeth raised a brow. "Well, it's a good thing you have a plan to guide us, huh?"

Soon the children of Hades, Poseidon, and Athena arrived at the Jackson's apartment around noon. When Sally answered the door, she brought her son into a huge hug.

"I told them you were all right," Sally said, but she sounded like the weight of the sky had just been lifted off her shoulders—and Evangeline knew exactly what that felt like.

Percy's mother sat them down at the kitchen table and insisted on feeding them her special blue chocolate chip cookies while they caught her up on the quest. Percy kept out the frightening part of the quest.

When he got to the part about Geryon and the stables, his mother pretended like she was going to strangle him. "I can't get him to clean his room, but he'll clean a hundred tons of horse manure out of some monster's stables!"

Evangeline watched with an amused expression, a smile creeping onto her lips. She had seen how bad Cabin Three was so it wasn't much of a surprise that his room would be in the same condition. She didn't notice Percy smiling to himself, staring at her with a soft look in his eyes.

"So," Sally said when Percy was done with the story, "you wrecked Alcatraz Island, made Mount St. Helens explode, and displaced half a million people, but at least you're safe."

"Yep," the son of Poseidon agreed. "That pretty much covers it."

"I wish Paul were here," she said, half of it to herself. "He wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, right. The school." Percy swallowed nervously. "What did you tell him?"

Ms. Jackson shook her head. "What could I say? He knows something is different about you, Percy. He's a smart man. He believes that you're not a bad person. He doesn't know what's going on, but the school is pressuring him. After all, he got you admitted there. He needs to convince them the fire wasn't your fault, and, since you ran away, that looks bad."

"I'll talk to him," He promised. "After we're done with this quest. I'll even tell him the truth if you want."

His mother put her hand on his shoulder. "You would do that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, he'll think we're crazy."

"He already thinks that."

"Then there's nothing to lose."

"Thank you, Percy. I'll tell him you'll be home..." she frowned. "When? What happens now?"

Evangeline broke her cookie in half and passed the bigger piece to Annabeth. "Percy has this plan," said the brunette.

Reluctantly the raven-haired boy told his mother, about his plan.

She nodded slowly. "It sounds very dangerous. But it might work."

"You have the same abilities, don't you?" Percy asked. "You can see through the Mist."

Sally sighed. "Not so much now. When I was younger it was easier. But, yes, I've always been able to see more than was good for me. It's one of the things that caught your father's attention when we first met. Just be careful. Promise me you'll be safe."

"We'll try, Ms. Jackson," Evangeline said. "But keeping Percy safe is a hard job."

Percy's mother frowned. "What's going on? Have you two been fighting?" She looked between her son and the brunette. Nobody said anything as Percy picked at his napkin and Evangeline bounced her knee up and down.

"I see," she said. "Well, remember Grover and Tyson are counting on you."

"I know," The children of the Big Three spoke in unison.

Sally smiled. "Percy, you'd better use the phone in the hall. Good luck."

Evangeline tried not to care about how Percy had memorized Rachel Elizabeth Dare's phone number by heart.

Percy arranged a meeting in Times Square, They found Rachel Elizabeth Dare in front of the Marriott Marquis, and she was completely painted gold.

The redhead had gold everywhere her face, hair, clothes—everywhere. She looked like she had been touched by King Midas. She was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic—copper, bronze, silver. They were frozen in different poses while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. Some passersby threw money at the tarp on the sidewalk.

The sign at Rachel's feet said, URBAN ART FOR KIDS DONATIONS APPRECIATED.

The demigod trio stood there for five minutes, staring at Rachel, but if she had noticed them, she didn't let on. She didn't move or even blink, from what Evangeline could see.

"Maybe we should push her into the street to see if she moves or would rather go flat like a pancake," Evangeline offered.

"No," Percy frowned.

After a few minutes, a kid in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he'd been taking a break. He took a pose like he was lecturing the crowd, right next to Rachel. The Dare girl unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"Hey, Percy," She grinned. "Good timing! Let's get some coffee."

They walked down to a place called the Java Moose on West 43rd. Rachel ordered an Espresso Extreme, the kind of stuff Grover would have liked. Annabeth and Percy got fruit smoothies, Evangeline didn't want anything and they sat at a table right under the stuffed moose.

"So," she began. "It's Evelyn, right?"

"Evangeline," the brunette corrected. She knew she shouldn't say anything, but she couldn't help herself. "You're Raquelle right?" She gave the redhead a mock smile.

Rachel faltered, her lips parting open to speak something but all she did was stare at Evangeline, almost like she was stunned and in an awe.

"Do you always dress in gold?" Annabeth asked suddenly.

"Not usually," Rachel said. "We're raising money for our group. We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? We do this once a month, taking in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend. But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. You're both half-bloods, too?"

"Shut up!" Annabeth said, looking around. "Just announce it to the world, how about?"

"Okay." Rachel stood up and said, really loudly. "Hey, everybody! These guys aren't human! They're half Greek god!"

Nobody even looked over. Rachel shrugged and sat down. "They don't seem to care."

"This isn't a joke," Evangeline said.

"Hold it," Percy said. "Just calm down."

"I'm calm," Rachel insisted. "Every time I'm around you, some monster attacks. What's there to be nervous about?"

"Look," Percy said. "I'm really sorry about the band room. I hope they didn't kick you out or anything."

"Nah, they just asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb."

"Was it hard?" Evangeline asked.

"Okay, stop!" Percy intervened. "Rachel, we've got a problem. And we need your help."

"You need my help?" The redhead turned to Annabeth.

"Maybe," the daughter of Athena admitted.

Percy told Rachel about the Labyrinth, and how they needed to find Daedalus. He told her what had happened the last few times they'd gone in.

"So you want me to guide you," she said. "Through a place I've never been."

"You can see through the Mist," Percy explained. "Just like Ariadne. I bet the Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily. You can lead us on the right path."

"And if you're wrong."

"We get lost," Percy said. "Either way, it'll be dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

"You could also die a painful, horrible...death," Evangeline said, crossing her arms.

"I could die?"

"Terribly," the brunette sighed as she shook her head.

"I thought Percy said monsters don't care about mortals. That sword of his—"

"Yeah," Percy said. "Celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals. Most monsters would ignore you. But Luke... he doesn't care. He'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."

"Nice guy," Rachel said.

"He's under the influence of a Titan," Annabeth spoke defensively. "He's been deceived."

Rachel looked between the demigods. "Okay," she said, "I'm in."

Percy blinked. He almost looked impressed. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Hey, my summer was going to be boring. This is the best offer I've had yet. So what do I look for?"

"We have to find an entrance to the Labyrinth," Annabeth said. "There's an entrance at Camp Half-Blood, but you can't go there. It's off-limits to mortals."

She said mortals like it was some sort of terrible condition but Rachel just nodded.

"Okay. What does an entrance to the Labyrinth look like?" Rachel asked.

"It could be anything," Annabeth said. "A section of wall. A boulder. A doorway. A sewer entrance. But it would have the mark of Daedalus on it. A Greek Delta, glowing in blue."

"Like this?" Rachel drew the symbol in the water on their table.

"That's it," Evangeline said. "You know Greek?"

"No," Rachel said. She pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair. "Let me get changed. You better come with me to the Marriott."

"Why?"

"Because there's a section of wall like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. It's got the mark of Daedalus."

The metal door was half hidden behind a laundry bin full of dirty hotel towels. Evangeline didn't see anything strange until Rachel pointed out the faint blue symbol etched on the wall.

"It hasn't been used in a long time," Annabeth pointed out, narrowing her eyes to see the symbol better.

"I tried to open it once," Rachel said. "just out of curiosity. It's rusted shut."

"No," the daughter of Athena stepped forward. "It just needs the touch of a half-blood."

Sure enough, as soon as the blonde put her hand on the mark, it glowed blue. The metal door unsealed and creaked open, revealing a dark staircase leading down.

"Wow." Rachel looked calm enough but Evangeline could see the tension in the redhead's shoulders. She looked at the children of Hades, Poseidon, and Athena. "So... after you?"

"You're the guide," Annabeth said, her tone laced with false politeness. "Lead on."

The stairs led down to a large brick tunnel. It was very dark, Evangeline could still see her hand, the others not so much. As soon as they switched their flashlights on, Rachel yelped.

An inhuman skeleton grinned creepily at them, strung up by the wrist and ankles in a giant X over the way forward. Evangeline stepped forward once she noticed it had a single black eye socket.

"A Cyclops," Annabeth said.

"It's very old," The brunette added. "Not anybody that we know." she shot a glance towards Percy.

"You have a friend who's a Cyclops?"

"Tyson," Percy said. "My half-brother."

"Your half-brother?"

"Hopefully we'll find him down here," Percy said. "And Grover. He's a satyr."

"Oh," Rachel's voice was small. "Well then, we'd better keep moving."

She stepped under the skeleton's left arm and kept walking. They all followed after the redhead.

After fifty feet they came to a crossroads. Ahead, the brick tunnel continued. To the right, the walls were made of ancient marble slabs. To the left, the tunnel was earth and tree roots.

Percy pointed left. "That looks like the tunnel Tyson and Grover took."

Annabeth frowned. "Yeah, but the architecture to the right—those old stones—that's more likely to lead an ancient part of the maze, towards Daedalus' workshop."

"We need to go straight," Rachel stated.

The three looked at the mortal. "That's the least likely choice," Annabeth argued.

"You don't see it?" The redhead asked. "Look at the floor."

Evangeline didn't see anything except mud and old bricks.

"There's a brightness there," Rachel insisted. "Very faint. But to the left, farther down, those tree roots are moving like feelers and I don't like that. To the right, there's a trap about twenty feet ahead. I don't think we should risk either."

Percy nodded saying. "Okay. Forward."

"Hold, on," Annabeth put a handout. "You believe her?"

"Yeah," the son of Poseidon said. "Don't you?"

Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but she waved her hand at Rachel, motioning for her to lead on.

"Well, you know what they say, follow the leader," Evangeline said.

Together, they kept walking down the brick corridor ahead twisted and turned but it didn't branch off. They seemed to be angling deeper underground.

"No traps?" Percy asked, sounding anxious.

"Nothing." Rachel knitted her eyebrows together. "Should it be this easy?"

"I don't know," Percy admitted. "It never was before."

"So, Rachel," Annabeth said. "where are you from, exactly?"

"Brooklyn," Rachel said.

"Aren't your parents going to be worried if you're out too late?"

The redhead exhaled. "Not likely. I could be gone a week and they'd never notice."

"Why not?" Annabeth asked, this time with a soft tone.

Before Rachel could answer, there was a creaking noise in front of them, like huge doors swinging open.

"What was that?" Evangeline asked, reaching for her necklace.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "Metal hinges?"

"Not helpful, sparkles." Evangeline shot her a look.

Heavy footsteps were heard in front of them, shaking the corridor—coming towards them.

"Run?" Percy suggested.

"Run," Rachel agreed.

They turned and fled the way they'd come, but they didn't make it twenty feet before they ran straight into some monsters. Three dracaena—snake women in Greek armor—leveled their javelins at their chests. Standing between them and Empousa, looking like the one Percy had described and had named Kelli.

"Well, well," Kelli said.

Evangeline pressed the snake on her necklace, the sword morphed into her hand. Percy pulled out Riptide while Annabeth unsheathed her knife. Before the three could react, Kelli pounced for Rachel. The empousa's hands turned into claws and she spun the redhead around, holding her tight with her talons at Rachel's neck.

"Taking your little mortal pet for a walk?" The monster asked Percy. "They're such fragile things. So, easy to break."

Behind them, the footsteps came closer. A huge form appeared out of the gloom—an eight-foot-tall Laistrygonian giant with red eyes and fangs.

The giant licked his lips when he saw the demigods. "Can I eat them?"

"No," said Kelli. "Your master will want these. They will provide a great deal of entertainment." She gave Percy a sharp-toothed grin. "Now march, half-bloods. Or you all die here, starting with the mortal girl."

They were marched down the tunnel flanked by Dracaena, with Kelli and the giant at the back, just in case anyone tried anything. None of the monsters seemed to worry about them running forward, however, that was the direction they wanted them to go.

Up ahead Evangeline could see bronze doors. They were about ten feet tall and emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. From behind the doors came a muffled roar, like a crowd.

"Oh, yesss," The snaked woman to Evangeline's right; the monster was talking to Percy. "You'll be very popular with our hossst."

"Who's your host?" Percy asked.

The monster hissed. "Oh, you'll sssee. You'll get along famousssly. He'sss your brother, after all."

"My what?" the son of Poseidon immediately asked.

The giant pushed past them and opened the doors. He picked up Annabeth by the shirt, yanked Evangeline back by her hair, and said, "You two stay here."

"Hey!" Annabeth protested.

Kelli laughed. She still had her claws at Rachel's neck. "Go on, Percy. Entertain us. We'll wait here with your friends to make sure you behave."

Percy looked at Rachel. "I'm sorry," the Jackson boy told the redhead. "I'll get you out of this."

Rachel nodded as much as she could with the monster at her throat. "That would be nice.

The dracaena prodded Percy towards the doorway at the javelin point.

------✧------

A/N: Yeah, so Landon's dead.

Next chapter is going to be wild and jealous Evangeline wonder what's that about? I wrote this chapter like multiple times, none of the old parts were meeting to my expectations.

In one chapter a character from HOO is mentioned but it didn't fit in with the plot of the chapter so left that.

I made a playlist it's at the end of the chapter named The Lightning Thief. Also which song do you guys think represents Evangeline?