A/N. So if it wasn't apparent enough from the last two chapters, the upcoming ones are pretty much the same length, if not longer. I wrote a whole lot in the upcoming chapters so buckle up. Once I get to where I stopped writing this story before, the chapters will probably come out slower cuz then I'll have to come up with the rest. I'm also realizing how little chapters this story will probably have, but there's a lootttt of pages. Anyway, I'm super excited to start getting into Battle of the Labyrinth. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! -Anna

~Nico's POV~

The two of us ventured into the Labyrinth. We walked on for a while and soon rested in a big empty room made of stone with a dirt floor. It reminded me of an empty tomb. Lia put down her backpack and pulled out a few granola bars, handing one to me.

"So, this is the infamous Labyrinth," she said, looking around at the empty room.

I just nodded, sat down next to her, and put my Wal-Mart bag down.

"How is a Happy Meal going to help exactly?" Lia asked.

Quickly, I ate my bar, and took a cheeseburger out of one of the Happy Meals. "Like this," I said. As I dug a medium sized rectangular pit, Lia looked at me curiously. I dropped the cheeseburger in the pit and reached into the Wal-Mart bag for a six pack of Coke. I opened one of the cans and poured it into the pit. Once I finished, I began to chant in Ancient Greek. The pit bubbled and frothy brown liquid filled to the top. A figure appeared by the hole and drank.

Once he stood up, he was solidified a bit into the shape of a bearded man in white robes. A circle of gold wreathed his head, and even in death, his eyes were wide awake.

"Minos," I greeted.

"Master," Minos said and then looked at Lia with a slight glare. "Master, who is this girl you have brought into the Labyrinth with you?"

"She's-"

"I'm Lia Callahan," Lia interrupted. "Daughter of Thanatos. Don't try anything, ghost." She glared at Minos, as if daring him to do something in particular.

Minos turned to me. "This is Lia, the girl you were talking about? You never mentioned she was a Thanatos spawn." Lia stared intensely at the back of Mino's head. He suddenly grinned. "If you had, we could have let her join us sooner." Minos looked at Lia with some kind of a hungry look. His eyes...I didn't know what was going on, but I knew didn't like the way he was looking at Lia.

"Minos, I need another way to bring my sister back. Is there?" I asked the ghost.

Minos focused on me. "Master, I have told you, I will help you. A soul for a soul."

"I want another opinion. I need to know it will work," I snapped.

Minos opened his mouth and then closed it into a thin line. "As you wish, my lord. To get the answers you need, you must seek the knowledge of the one who has brought a dead one back o life before."

"Theseus," Lia said suddenly. Minos and I looked at her. "You want to speak to Theseus. He tried to bring his father back from the dead. Maybe he knows how to, even after death."

"Yes," Minos mused. "He might know something. You are very smart, my dear."

Lia looked like she didn't appreciate the compliment coming from him.

"So we need to speak to his ghost," I said.

"You're going to need more than one cheeseburger," Lia said.

"Good thing I have a lot of those," I said, holding up the Wal-Mart bag. "To summon him, we'll have to do it where a lot of dead are. A graveyard probably. And a large hole. So a lot more cheeseburgers and coke."

"It'll be a miracle if he shows up with Minos with us, considering their past together," Lia mumbled.

Minos didn't seem like he heard her. "Very well then. I shall lead you two to a place where we can do your summoning."

Lia and I got up and followed Minos through the maze. Without Minos, the two of us would have been completely lost. As we walked, I noticed Lia was lagging behind, so I slowed down to walk beside her.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just don't want to get too close to Minos," Lia answered, not looking at me.

"Are you afraid of him?"

Lia shrugged. "Not exactly. I'd just like to keep him dead and not bring him back accidentally."

I looked at her confused. "You can do that to ghosts?'

"Ghosts that can appear and be visible to us like Minos I can bring back. But I can't summon ghosts or control the dead like you can. My instincts just keep telling me to stay away from ghosts or any undead. I'm kind of like a loophole to the living for ghosts if touch them and my powers just so happen to work."

"And Minos knows this. That's why he was so...eager to have you with us."

"Yes. But, Nico, he can't come back to life. He's not like your sister. He needs to stay dead."

I hesitantly took her hand in mine, and she flinched but didn't pull her hand away. Internally, I let out a sigh of relief and gently squeezed her hand. There were no words to say how thankful I was to have her help me bring my sister back. Even though she didn't know Bianca at all, she was still willing to help me.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't go near you," I promised.

Lia smiled a little at me, and we continued to wander through the Labyrinth in silence. After a while, Minos stopped at a dead end made of stone.

"Behind this wall is a graveyard," Minos told us.

Lia and I didn't have to be skeptical about his claim. I could sense all the dead around us and beyond the wall. I could tell Lia could too because her eyes narrowed in concentration. I stepped forward past Minos to the wall. My finger touched a tiny scratch in the middle of the wall, and the mark of Daedalus glowed.

The stone slid to the side and a staircase made of stone led up into the open. Lia and I climbed up while Minos floated behind us. Once we appeared at the top, the stone that hid the Labyrinth slid shut, along with the dirt that covered the staircase so it just looked like a normal patch of grass. I looked around at the graveyard and saw a bunch of tombstones with willow trees looming all around. The night was foggy. It was warm and humid and I could hear frogs croaking somewhere near us.

"Yup. I think this'll work just fine," Lia said.

I nodded and summoned two skeletons with shovels wearing ragged clothes. I ordered them to start digging a hole for the summoning. Lia sat against a tombstone, looking at the starry sky wistfully as she waited. As the skeletons dug, I saw Minos trying to get close to Lia a few times, but I warded him off with a glare. Eventually, Lia pressed her rings together and casually examined her daggers. Minos stayed away from her then.

After a while, I became irritated with the hole not being done yet.

"Is it deep enough yet?" I asked.

"Nearly, my lord," Minos answered. "But, my lord, I tell you, this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."

"I want a second opinion!" I snapped my fingers and the digging stopped. The skeletons crawled out of the hole. "You are dismissed. Thank you."

The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.

"You might as well thank the shovels," Minos complained. "They have as much sense."

Lia glared at him and I ignored him. I reached into my Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. Popping open a can, I poured it into the grave.

"Let the dead taste again," I murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

I dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out one of the McDonald's Happy Meals. I turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.

"In my day, we used animal blood," Minos mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."

"I will treat them with respect," I said.

"At least let me keep the toy," Minos said.

"Be quiet!" I ordered. I pretended not to notice Lia taking one of the toys from the bag. I emptied another twelve-pack of soda and three more Happy Meals into the grave, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. All about the dead and memories and returning to the grave.

The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes.

"There are too many, Nico," Lia said nervously.

"You don't know your own powers," Minos added.

"I've got it under control," I said, though my voice sounded fragile even to me. I drew my Stygian iron sword, and Lia stood next to me with her daggers. The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of the blades.

"One at a time," I commanded.

A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It made slurping sounds as it drank. Its ghostly hands scooped french fries out of the pool. When it stood again, I could see it much more clearly- a teenage guy in Greek armor. He had curly hair and green eyes, a clasp shaped like a seashell on his cloak.

"Who are you?" I said. "Speak."

The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."

To be honest, I couldn't believe this was the Theseus. I imagined he would be buffer. The ghost I was looking at wasn't strong or tall. And he wasn't any older than fourteen.

"How can I retrieve my sister?" I asked.

Theseus's eyes were lifeless as glass. "Do not try. It is madness."

"Just tell me!"

"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth. I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."

Minos hissed. "My lord, the soul exchange! Ask him about that!"

Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."

Lia facepalmed and muttered something not so nice about ghosts.

"No you don't, fool!" Minos said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"

"I know you," Theseus insisted, as if struggling to recall.

"I want to hear about my sister," I said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"

Theseus was looking for the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him. Slowly he turned his eyes back on me. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."

"We don't need any of that," Minos said. "I will guide you, my lord. As him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."

"A soul for a soul," I asked. "Is it true?"

"I-I must say yes. But the specter-"

"Just answer the question, knave!" Minos said.

Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless. They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.

"Nico..." Lia said.

"I want to see my sister!" I demanded. "Where is she?"

"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."

"Who?" I demanded.

"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us!"

The ghosts started to wail and glow bright.

"Nico!" Lia yelled.

I closed by eyes in concentration and returned the ghosts back to the Underworld. The ground shook, and Lia quickly went over to where we came through from the Labyrinth. She touched a gravestone top and the mark of Daedalus glowed. The ground next to the gravestone slid back to reveal the staircase and corridor of the maze. We sprinted down the steps and the stone wall fell down behind us.

Minos wasn't with us when we went down. He must have gone back to the Underworld with the rest of the ghosts. Lia looked at me, panting from the sudden run to escape, and her hands on her knees.

"Well, at least now we know Minos's way works," she said slowly.

I nodded and looked down the corridor. "I guess now we just have to figure out which soul to exchange."

"We should find a place to rest," Lia said.

We walked aimlessly through the maze in silence as we looked for a place to rest. Without Minos guiding us, I did feel anxious of who we would meet or end up. Luckily, we didn't find any dangers on the way. While we walked, I noticed Lia's eyes were fixed on the brick floor, looking like she was thinking about something deeply.

"What's going on with you? None of the ghosts got too close, right?" I bumped my shoulder with hers to get her attention. Lia looked at me for a second then looked down at the now concrete floor.

"No. I'm fine. I'm just...thinking," she said.

"About...?" I asked hesitantly.

Lia was quiet for a moment before she answered, "About...what if I summoned my mother and talked to her?"

"Do you really want to?" I asked, a little surprised.

Lia shrugged. "I don't know. I left home also because I didn't want to take the chance of encountering her as a ghost. I was scared at what she would say to me after I...killed her. Would she be mad? Understanding? Sad? I didn't...I don't know how she would respond."

"Do you really want to?" I asked again.

"I-I guess so. Good a time as ever now that I actually want to."

"Then let's do it."

We went  into the nearest room, which was a cave where stalactites hung from the ceiling. The dirt floor was perfect for the summoning. Lia helped me dig a rectangular pit, and then I realized something.

"Wait, we don't have any food for the summoning," I said.

Lia took off her backpack and opened it up, taking out two cheeseburgers and a few cans of Coke. I grinned. She must have taken them while I was waiting for the skeletons to be done digging. I wasn't mad at her. I was kind of expecting her to do that.

Lia tossed the burger into the pit and dumped in a Coke. She stared at the pit for a second, then took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

I closed my eyes and began mumbling in Ancient Greek. The pit bubbled and the air seemed to still. Only a few bluish human figures appeared, and tried to get to the pit. Lia summoned her daggers and they all backed up.

"Nichole Callahan, appear!" I said and then kept chanting.

The spirits shifted restlessly. One of them stepped forward. It didn't look any different from the other shades, but Lia let it kneel by the pit to drink. Once it stood, I could see it was a middle aged woman with dark brown hair, bright sky blue eyes, and olive skin. She wore a white shirt over a black cardigan, jeans, and simple black flats. Her face had a few wrinkles, but she still looked beautiful.

"Mom," Lia finally said, her voice thick.

The woman looked at Lia with wide eyes. "Lia?" she said, like she couldn't believe she was seeing her daughter again.

It looked like the two needed to be alone, so I walked to the far end of the cave and watched the two. I couldn't hear the words, only the volume of their voices. It was like they were in their own bubble. It looked like the conversation was going well at first, but then Nichole started to yell at Lia. She looked like she wanted to say more, but Nichole put up her hand to silence her daughter. Her mother said something else, and Lia looked at me.

Her face was stony, but Lia's eyes held pain and anguish. Her expression told me the two were done with their conversation. I waved my hand and her mother's figure shimmered and disappeared along with the other shades. Suddenly, Lia dropped to her knees and broke down.

Immediately, I ran to her. Not caring about what would happen, I hugged her shaking form, and let her sob into my chest. Lia gripped my shirt, like she was afraid I was going to disappear, too. I felt her tears soak my shirt, but I didn't care. She needed someone right now to comfort her, so I gently stroked her hair and whispered soothing words. Every now and then, I could feel Lia's powers trying to work on me, but they fluctuated between working and not because of my own powers and her emotions.

Lia had become one of the people I could trust my life with. She had saved me more times than I could count, and had never tried to stop me from doing what I needed to do. She was willing to help me bring my sister back even though it was probably the complete opposite of what she should be doing considering her dad. The least I could do was be there for her during her own struggles.

"She-she d-didn't...sh-she wouldn't..." Lia tried to get out between sobs.

I quietly shushed her. "You don't have to explain. Not until you want to. So just let it all out for now."

Lia's only response were her cries and I continued to try to comfort her. I had enough experience from Bianca doing the same to me whenever I had nightmares. I could hold off my own feelings and emotions for now. I hated to see her like this. Then again, this was the first time I had ever seen Lia break down like this. She always seemed so confident and cocky in everything she did. Seeing her so vulnerable like this made me want to make sure she would never have to break down like this ever again.

Slowly Lia's sobs stopped and her breathing evened. I looked down at her to see she had fallen asleep. Her powers had stopped trying to kill me once she passed out. I sighed in relief at the sight, glad she had gotten to fall asleep. It also made me feel happy she trusted me enough to keep her safe while she was asleep. I don't know why I did it, but I softly placed a kiss on her head. Lia had an iron grip on me, so I lowered the two of us down, and she subconsciously curled up to my side. I smiled and closed my eyes, drifting it off to sleep.

~Lia's POV~

I had my worries about summoning my mother, but after seeing Nico summon Theseus successfully, it made me want to to the same for my mom. I wasn't sure what I was thinking. It was such a bad idea, but I felt so compelled to confront my mom after so long. Despite the way she had obviously felt about me before, I still wanted to make things right between us. I had to face her with what I had done. Even though she was dead, I knew I couldn't escape her. The past would come to confront me eventually. I might as well do it on my own terms.

Nico did the summoning as I waited anxiously. Out of the few spirits that appeared, one walked forward and drank from the pool. When it stood, the ghost looked exactly like my mother before she died. Except she was a ghost, and her form flickered every now and then.

"Mom," I said, my voice thick with emotion.

"Lia?" my mom said. She looked like she couldn't believe she was seeing me right then. In the corner of my eye, I saw Nico walk to the far end of the cave but I didn't pay attention to him after that.

"How...how am I here?" my mom asked. Her eyes narrowed at me. "Why have you brought me here?"

My hands went to twist my rings. "My friend brought you here so...so we could talk." I took a deep breath. "I-I just wanted to apologize."

"Apologize? You?! You can never apologize for what you did to me!" my mother yelled suddenly, gesturing to her ghostly form.

I flinched. "I-I didn't mean to!"

"You were always an uncontrollable child," my mother growled, ignoring my statement. "I should have just given you up to be someone else's problem. Then I would't be like this."

I tried to blink back tears. "I can try to bring you back. Please, just-"

My mom held up her hand and I closed my mouth.

"No," my mom said firmly. "I do not care. I will not be having you using your curse on me again. You cannot just undo what you have done. Send me back."

I opened my mouth to say something, but my mom regarded me with a harsh look. Even though she wasn't alive, my instincts forced me to listen to her. I also knew I couldn't say anything else to her to make her listen to me again. My mom had always jumped to conclusions and was stubborn in her decisions. I guess death hadn't changed that. 

I just sighed and looked at Nico to tell him to send her back to the Underworld. I tried my best to keep my face neutral. Nico waved his hand and my mother's figure shimmered and disappeared along with the other shades. Once she disappeared, my knees gave out on me and I fell to the ground sobbing.

I didn't expect her to be so...cruel. She was so adamant about not accepting my apology. I thought she would at least listen. But it turned out she hated me. She never wanted me. I couldn't help but agree with her. With my powers, no sane person would ever want me. I had put my hands on her, knowing well enough what I could do. I only had one person in my family, and I ended up killing her. 

Nico ran over to me and embraced me tightly. I sobbed into his chest and gripped his shirt tightly, afraid he was going to leave me too. My emotions were all over the place, and I couldn't think. Resentment, dejection, and anguish ran rampant throughout my body. I didn't even think about how my powers could be affecting Nico at the moment. I just wanted someone to hold me. My tears soaked his shirt, but he didn't say anything about it as he stroked my hair.

"She-she d-didn't...sh-she wouldn't..." I tried to get out between sobs. My throat closed up, and all I could do was cry.

Nico quietly shushed me. "You don't have to explain. Not until you want to. So just let it all out for now."

Hearing his confirmation made me sob harder. I let everything out. All the guilt, sorrow, loneliness I kept inside me spilled out. I let out my anger toward Thanatos for abandoning my mother and me, and making her what she had become. Anger toward my mother for not being the mother she should have been. Anger toward Cameron for leaving me alone to survive by myself. Anger toward myself for not being able to control my powers.

Soon my cries died down. I hadn't cried like that in a long time. Exhaustion caught up to me and I could feel my body shutting down. Nico was so soft and comfortable, and his words brought me into a daze. I succumbed to my body's desires, and drifted off to sleep. Before I lost consciousness completely, I felt something soft press lightly onto my head.

A/N. Okay, so Nico was basically completely OOC during the entire last half of this chapter, so sorry about that, but I really wanted to get a moment between the two. Also, I love hurt comfort stuff but shush. It's cute. They've bonded. They've shared pain. They can do this. Lotta angst for Lia. Nico is next tho sooo... The moment with the two at the end I wanted to put later in the story but again, I couldn't figure out a good place to put it. So I kind of don't like how early this moment is for them but I really wanted to put it in. Anywho, hope you guys still enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you all think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Comment and vote! -Anna