[Third Person's PoV]
"Well, that sure was an interesting encounter," Lucian said with his hands in his pockets.
"But I wonder what he's doing down here?" Annabeth asked curiously.
"This is probably the only place he can be away from people," Lucian shrugged his shoulders.
Annabeth nodded in understanding, then put a finger by her lip and tilted her head in confusion. "But I thought he was supposed to be ugly and look hideous. He doesn't look ugly, in my opinion."
Lucian nodded. "That's because you're using mortal standards. By mortal standards, of course, he isn't ugly. If he were, I doubt he would have had as many children as he does. But the same can't be said for the standards of the gods, especially the standard of the Queen of the Gods. To her, he appeared grotesque enough to fling him off Mount Olympus."
"I see..." she muttered. "I feel a bit bad for him."
"Well, don't, since I don't think he would appreciate it very much. Plus, he already had his revenge."
"Right," Annabeth nodded, remembering the tale. "The throne he created for her."
Lucian nodded in confirmation. As he was nodding, he heard the sound of something charging towards him.
When he looked to see what it was, he saw an automaton bull charging towards him with its head down, pointing its horn at him. Steam puffed out from its nose as it charged.
Annabeth withdrew her daggers, which were like short swords in her hands, and got into a fighting position. Lucian simply looked at her and shook his head. "There is no need."
While still looking at her, Lucian took a hand out of his pocket and held it towards the bull before motioning it downwards.
The bull's head dropped towards the ground, causing it to trip on its own feet and slide on the ground towards Lucian's feet.
Lucian simply put his foot on its nose.
"MOOOO!!" it yelled out, trying to stand up but couldn't, as it felt something pressing down on it. It tried to open its mouth and breathe fire, but that same pressure was keeping its mouth shut.
Lucian then began walking up its face before moving towards its back. He crouched down and put a hand on the center of its body.
Annabeth heard the sound of something creaking and rupturing before the top of the bull ripped open and out came a metal ball, which glowed slightly as Lucian caught it in his hands. Annabeth saw the eyes of the bull power down as it stopped struggling.
"Here," Lucian called out as he threw the metal ball towards Annabeth, who caught it with both hands.
As she studied it and was about to put it in her little pouch, it then hit her. "The tail hair of the Sphinx!"
"What?" Lucian asked.
Annabeth crouched down and let out a yell in frustration. "It was one of the ingredients I needed. I forgot to get the tail hair!"
"Now we have to find and kill a different one!" she grunted.
A part of Lucian's shadow reached out into his hand and dropped something in his palm, which he started to shake around.
Annabeth looked surprised. "But how…?" she asked in amazement.
"When someone stormed off angrily, they forgot to get the spoils of war. Luckily for you, it just happened to be its tail." Lucian smirked before shaking his head. "What would you do without me?" he said patronizingly.
Annabeth let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Lucian simply nodded as he threw the tail towards her, which she caught and put into her pouch. As he walked off the bull, his shadow extended out and swallowed it. "Come, we're close to where we need to get to," Lucian said, walking ahead.
…
After navigating a few traps and twists and turns, they arrived at a door with a triangle in the middle—the Greek letter Delta.
Annabeth reached out her hand towards it. "I remember seeing these a few times around here and when I jumped down the hole. It was by the entrance."
As she touched it, it started glowing a bluish color before the door began to shake and opened. As Lucian and Annabeth stepped inside, the room looked very beautiful. It contained many laptop computers, easels with blueprints, and various pieces of art.
There was a man in his fifties sitting behind an office desk with a laptop in front of him, dressed in casual clothing. He had short gray hair and a short gray beard, with a purple mark around his neck.
"I see, so the two of you have found my workshop," he said, leaning back in his chair.
"Who are you?" Annabeth asked in confusion.
"That's the guy that was watching us earlier and the one that built this place," Lucian informed her.
"What? I know this place belongs to Daedalus. I recognized his symbols anywhere, but that shouldn't be possible. He should be long dead."
"Oh, his body is long dead, all right. What we are looking at isn't his real body…"
A weary expression came over Daedalus. "So you can already tell."
"I'm the son of Hades. I can detect the life force of beings, something you do not possess."
"Wait, so you're saying this is some sort of artificial body he created?" Annabeth asked in amazement.
Lucian nodded and raised his hand slightly, causing Daedalus's hands to go up, earning a look of surprise from him.
"What? How are you doing this? It shouldn't be possible," Daedalus said, looking at his raised hands.
Remembering what she had just witnessed a few moments ago, Annabeth muttered, "So he's an automaton."
Lucian released him and nodded. "Correct."
Daedalus grumbled at having his secret revealed so quickly. "So what do you kids want? Are you two lost or something?"
"Something," Lucian and Annabeth said at the same time.
"We are in need of one of your blueprints," Lucian said as he started walking around, studying everything.
He noticed four wings hanging around, all looking modified and perfected. Then he noticed a different one, white with a few feathers melted off.
"For what?" Daedalus asked, looking at them suspiciously.
"It's for a potion we are creating, one of the main ingredients," Annabeth explained.
Lucian reached out his hand and touched it. As soon as his finger grazed one of the feathers, it was like he was suddenly transported somewhere else. He was floating in the sky, flying, going around in circles, having the time of his life.
He could hear a figure to his side telling him to calm down, but he didn't listen. He liked the sense of freedom too much. He liked feeling the sun shining on his skin, he liked feeling its warmth, and he wanted more. So he flew higher, the shouting voice growing more distant.
"ICARUS STOP! YOU'RE FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN. YOUR WINGS, ICARUS, THEY'RE MELTING!"
When Icarus looked over, he saw the wings around his arms start dripping. The wax it was made of started to melt, causing his flying to become uncontrollable.
He had flown too close to the sun…
He couldn't control his wings anymore and was plunging to the rocky ocean below. As he was falling, his arms were flailing, trying to grab hold of something. But all he saw was his father coming towards him, trying to grab him, but he wasn't going to make it.
He looked down, the rocks growing closer by the second. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
"Father… forgive me," Icarus muttered as he took his final breath.
"Lucian!" Annabeth shouted, pulling him away.
Lucian looked confused before shaking his head. "What? What's wrong? Why are you yelling?"
"I've been calling your name for a while now, but you didn't respond. Your eyes… they were glowing…"
Daedalus stood from where he was sitting and walked towards Lucian. He grabbed Lucian's shoulders tightly and asked, "What did you just do? What did you see?"
"I saw his final moments… He was asking for forgiveness."