(Disclaimer: all of this belongs to Rick Riordan, except for Terra. I made her up.
Note: The Stoll Brothers motto:
We're the two halves of a whole idiot!

Yeah, I was able to think of some characters to do pictures of.......... ON MY OWN!!!! *turns head in different direction and does the "talk to the hand" motion* You guys are so mean, you didn't even mention anything about my simple request in the comments! And I was just sitting there like: Whaaaaale then! I see how it is! I'll figure it out by myself!

*Sigh. Puts down hand.* But you are reading the book, and you are voting and commenting and saying really nice things to me about it, so I guess I shouldn't get too angry. And I do have a few ideas for some characters for the next few chapters, but after that I'm gonna need some serious help guys! Help me!! Comment on what characters you want to see!!!

.........................................................................(insert cricket noises here)............................ How am I even sure you are reading this and haven't skipped to the chapter already? I know sometimes I do that, so what difference would it make for my story? Dang it, guys! That's probably why you didn't comment on what characters you wanted to see! Well, I see how it is. Go, read the chapter. I'll shut up *sob* since you think *sob sob* I don't have anything important to say! *sob sob sob sob sob, breaks out into hysterical crying*

Jkjkjkjkjk. I'm fine guys....... But seriously.......comment.)

We were falling, but we were still on Festus' back, thank the gods for the harnesses. I grabbed onto Leo, which made him wake up. He looked around, his eyes wide.

"Not again!" He yelled. "You can't fall again!"

Leo pulled open the panel on the dragon's neck. He messed around in there for a while and then Festus' wings flapped, but only once. The smell of burning bronze filled my nostrils. I looked down, I could see the city lights getting closer and closer, we had only seconds until we would crash.

"Leo!!" I screamed, making him look down and notice the town.

"Jason!" Leo screamed. "Take Piper and Terra and fly out of here!"

"What?" Jason asked.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" I screamed.

"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"What about you?" I asked, almost starting to cry. "If you can't reboot him-"

"I'll be fine," Leo said and he gripped my hand. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"

I felt Jason grab me around the waist, and I unbuckled my harness, then we left in a flash, shooting into the air. I watched Leo as we softly floated on our way to the ground. He was scrambling with the controls and summoned fire to help. I remembered my dreams, or memories, I guess. I can't believe we've meet before, and why couldn't he remember? I have an excuse, I have amnesia, but Leo doesn't. Did he not want to talk about it? Or does he just simply not remember?

We continued to descend smoothly as Leo tried to fix Festus. At first it looked like they were going to land in a big river, and I started to freak out. Water, wires, and human flesh don't mix well. But then, Festus pulled up a bit, Leo must have gained control for a second. They headed for a large, snowy, field with a white mansion and a tall brick perimeter fence, all of it blazing with light. I thought the landing would be fine, but then it went all wrong. As Leo and Festus approached the lawn, lights along the fence fixed on them, and then Festus exploded.

"LEO!!!!!" I screamed.

The explosion looked unsurvivable, it had one of those big mushroom shaped explosion clouds and everything. I wriggled in Jason's grip, and started to cry. I felt as if there was a huge gapping hole in my chest, I cried even harder. I couldn't loose Leo, not yet, not now.

"Stop moving, Terra! You're gonna fall!" Jason shouted over the noise of the explosion.

Jason held on tighter to me, so I stopped struggling. I kept crying as we landed on the ground. How could Leo do something so stupid? He's dead, I can feel it. He's gone forever. I'll never hear him tell a joke or see him smile ever again. I felt as if the gapping hole of pain and sorrow started to expand, as if it was a force feeding off of my emotions that would soon eat me from the inside out.

As soon as Jason let go, I ran over to find Leo. I looked around at the carnage on the ground, some parts of it where on fire or still slightly exploding. (How? Don't ask me, the world is weird.) It was an absolute wreck. I could feel it's heat as soon as it happened, which wasn't a good sign if I wanted to go through it looking for Leo, but I had to, Leo could still be alive somewhere in there. I don't care how much I got burned or how weak I felt, I needed to find Leo, prove to myself that he's still alive.

"Leo?!" I asked over the noise of the fire and mini-explosions. I could barely hear myself say it.

Out in the distance, I could hear Jason and Piper searching for Leo also. Their shouts and calls louder than mine since those lucky ducks aren't as mune to the fire's heat as I am. I kept tripping over pieces of metal, but popped right back up and kept searching, as if it had never happened. I moved pieces of Festus around with the tiniest bit of strength I had. I didn't care about the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead, the feeling of total exhaustion, pure sadness, and being overheated. I stumbled over more and more pieces of metal, still calling out Leo's name. My voice was getting quieter and more hoarse as I continued to push myself over the limit.

The seconds seemed to turn into minutes, and minutes into hours. Horrible images of what Leo's body might look like when we found him flashed through my head. I cursed those thoughts, but could not stop them from passing through. Terrible scenarios appeared here and there, which increased my fear level and lead to me searching more vigorously than before. When I thought that all was lost and Leo was gone for good, Piper called out.

"I THINK I FOUND HIM!!!" She shouted.

I turned around so quick I lost balance and tripped once more. I should get an award for the most accidental trips within five minutes. I ran as hard as I possibly could to where Piper's voice had come from. When I had gotten there, I noticed him right away. It looked like Piper had dragged him out of the pile of metal as soon as she found him. I slid down onto my knees next to Leo, and placed my ear over the general place of his heart. Barely audible, was the sound of his heart beating. I sighed relief washing over me and a huge part of that gapping hole in my chest disappearing. I sat up and put my hand under his nose, I could feel him breathing. I smiled and laughed weakly.

"He's alive." I managed to say.

Jason arrived just in time to hear the news, he sighed as well. Piper smiled widely and we both started to cry. I couldn't contain the joy that was swelling within me, I started to laugh. Nothing weirder than laughing and crying at the same time with a grin on your face that you can't get rid of. I'm just glad Leo isn't conscious right now, I bet I look terrible. We finally stopped, and sat there.

"Should we wake him up?" Jason asked.

I was about to answer when Leo's eyes popped open and spit a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth. Out of reflex I hugged him tightly, one hand gripping the back of his head. I noticed Leo was startled at first, but I felt him wrap one of his hands around my waist. We just sat there for a while, me crying again and holding on tightly to him as if he would soon slip away. I let go and suddenly felt angry. I can't believe Leo would do such a ridiculous and stupid thing.

"Oh my gods!!" I said aggravated. I noticed my voice was hoarse, so I cleared my throat. "Leo Valdez, if you ever do that again, I will kill you."

He smiled, and I saw something in his eyes. Not sure what emotion it was, but it was something. Then his smile faded and his eyes focused on the wreckage around us.

"Where-"

He tried to sit up, but I placed my hand on his chest, keeping him from moving any further.

"Stay still." I said.

"You rolled pretty hard when...when Festus-"

Leo cut off Piper, pushed my hand off of him, and sat up. "Where is he?"

"Seriously, Leo," Jason said. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't-"

Leo rose onto his feet, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he looked at the damage that had been inflicted on Festus. I saw the sadness and horror in his eyes. It was heart-breaking to see him like this.

"No," Leo ran over to Festus' head and started stroking it's snout. The dragon's eyes flickered weakly. I sat down next to Leo and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"You can't go," Leo pleaded. "You're the best thing I ever fixed." The dragon whirred it's gears, Leo was quiet for a second. "It's not fair."

I looked down at the ground, then Festus started clicking. I looked at the dragon, and then at Leo who seemed very interested in the clicks and was listening intently, and then at Piper and Jason who were just as clueless as I was. After Piper, Jason, and I exchanged glances, Leo finally spoke.

"Yeah," Leo said. "I understand. I will. I promise."

Festus' eyes went dark, and then nothing happened. He was gone, Festus has left us. Then Leo started to cry, something I didn't expect. Piper and Jason patted Leo and started saying reassuring things, but I could tell they weren't really meaning anything to Leo, he wasn't really listening. I finally decided to hug him again. He wrapped his arms around me and cried into my shoulder. I felt myself start to cry again. Gosh, just when I thought I had cried every bit of water out of my body already.

I never really liked Festus, I mean, he tried to eat Grover and then almost ate me. My reason is pretty logical. But, after Leo fixed him, he was nice....er. He saved our lives, he saved Leo. I have to give him some kind of credit now.

"I'm so sorry, man." Jason said. "What did you promise Festus?"

Leo let go, so I let go and scooted away just a little to give him room. Leo opened the dragon's head panel. I looked in and saw the control disk was cracked and burned.

"Something my dad told me," Leo said. "Everything can be reused."

"Your dad talked to you?" I asked, surprised.

"When was this?" Jason asked.

Leo didn't answer. He started doing something to the dragon's neck, which I didn't notice until now that he was detaching it. Leo held the decapitated head of Festus in his arms and looked up into the sky and said, "Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I've never asked you for anything."

The wind picked up, and the dragon's head floated out of Leo's arms as if it were a plastic bag. It flew into the sky and we all watched it disappear.

Piper looked at him in amazement. "He answered you?"

"I had a dream," Leo said. "Tell you later."

We were quiet for a while, until Leo looked around again and asked, "Where are we? I mean, what city?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper said. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like....I don't know..."

"Lasers," Leo said. He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up form the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.

Jason whistled. "Some defense system. How are we even alive?"

"Festus," Leo said in the saddest tone I've heard him speak in. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on us. I led him into a death trap."

I placed my hand on his and was about to speak, but Piper chose to be rude. "You couldn't have known, he saved our lives again."

"What do we do now?" I asked. "The gates are locked, and Sparky over here," I gestured to Jason, who glared at me, "can't fly us out unless we want to get fried to death."

Leo looked at the mansion. "Since we can't go out, we'll have to go in."

We nodded. I tried to stand up, but fell instantly. I felt super light-headed and really wanted to just lie on the ground and take a nice, long, undisturbed nap. It was probably because of the fire. Stupid, frickin fire. Leave me be! Sometimes it honestly sucks being Khione's daughter, and not because she treats you like crap.

Leo helped me up, "Are you okay?"

"Eh, I don't know. I've been to close to the fire for way to long, I don't know how much energy I have left in me. I'll manage, I have a feeling I've been through worse."

Leo helped me walk as we went over to the mansion. Once we reached the sidewalk, Leo stopped, but Jason kept moving.

"Jason! Stop!" Leo shouted.

Jason was just about to step on the sidewalk, his foot still hanging in the air above it. He placed his foot back on the grass. Leo asked me if I could support my own weight, I said sure. He pulled something out of his belt and went over to the sidewalk. I flopped down on the ground because I couldn't hold myself up anymore. I couldn't see what Leo was doing, but he seemed really into it. After a while he stopped and stood up.

"It was a trap door. Come on, I'll lead from now on." He started walking.

Piper came over to me and helped me walk. Leo stopped once again at the steps and started working away, me still not able to see what was going on.

"Lasers." Leo stated.

Wow. This dude had some serious problems. Why would he set so many traps? What is he so scared of? I mean, who could get through all of this and live? Oh, wait.............................. Derp, I'm smart.

We continued to walk and sure enough, there was another friggen trap. A nerve gas dispenser on the porch railing. Then the pressure-sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course, the exploding doorbell. Leo's a genius, I'm sure he's already made Hephaestus super proud like:

Hephaestus: *clapping super loud* WOOOOOO! Dat's my boy right der! GO LEO! GO, GO, GO LEO! WOOOOOOO!!

Whoa. That was weird. I'm sorry you had to witness that...um. Yeah, my mind goes off track very easily and in a very different direction. Umm........I'm gonna pretend I didn't just imagine that.

"Your amazing, man." Jason said to Leo.

Leo scowled as he exited the front door lock. "Yeah, amazing. Can't fix a dragon, but I'm amazing."

"Leo," I said softly. "Don't talk like-"

"Front door's already unlocked," Leo announced.

Piper stared at the door in disbelief. "It is? All those traps, and the door's unlocked?"

I laughed a little at the irony of the situation. Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.

Before we walked in, Piper grabbed Jason's arm and faced both of us. "He's going to need some time to get over Festus. Don't take it personally."

I nodded, feeling a huge amount of sympathy for Leo.

"Yeah," Jason said. "Yeah, okay." He paused. "Piper, I know I was in a daze back in Chicago, but that stuff about your dad....if he's in trouble, I want to help. I don't care if it's a trap or not."

Piper looked shattered, like she couldn't take what Jason had just said.

"We're here for you Pipes, we'll always be here." I said.

She closed her eyes. "You don't know what you're saying. Please...don't make me feel worse. Come on. We should stick together."

Jason and I exchanged glances, I shrugged. I thought I heard him mutter something on our way in, but I couldn't quite make it out.

The house was super dark, I couldn't really see anything. Our footsteps echoed as we walked, letting me know the entry hall was huge. The yard lights from outside peeked through the curtains of windows which where twice my size. Spaced along the walls were life-sized statues in interesting poses. My eyes adjusted a little more and noticed that there were sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. There was a ginormous chandelier hanging over our heads, and along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.

"Where's the light switch?" Jason's voice echoed loudly through the room, and I thought for a second that it might have woken the owners.

"Don't see one," Leo said.

"Fire?" Piper suggested.

Leo held out his hand in front of him, but nothing happened. "It's not working."

"Your fire is out? Why?" Piper asked.

"Well, if I knew that-"

"Okay, okay," I said, not wanting this to get into a fight. "What do we do now? Explore?"

Leo shook his head. "After all those traps outside? Bad idea."

I exhaled deeply. Oh, the joys of the life of a demigod.

"Leo's right," Jason said. "We're not separating again, not like in Detroit."

"Oh thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes." Piper's voice quavered. "I needed that."

"It's a few hours until dawn," Jason said after a while. "Too cold to wait outside. Let's bring the cages in and make camp in this room. Wait for daylight; then we can decide what to do."

Nobody offered any better ideas, so we went out and rolled the cages in with the storm spirits and Coach Hedge. Leo inspected the couch before we sat down on it. Leo wasn't in the mood to make tacos again, and I don't think we could have anyway without his fire. So I pulled out some of the granola bars I had packed in a smaller pocket of my backpack. They were super squished, but still edible and didn't turn out to be that bad.

I stared at the coffee table and noticed it had glossy brochures and a tea service. I stared at the brochures and picked one up. I tried to read it, but all I could get was COLB: Imuest for Ftcrmity. I smacked it hard back onto the table frustrated, and rubbed my face. Ugh, dyslexia! Why do you do this to me?!

No one seemed to bother to ask what was wrong and just sat there. I looked around the room again, examining the weirdly posed statues. They looked like Greek gods or heroes the way they were dressed. Some even actually had armor or weapons. This scared me a little. What death trap have we walked into now? I scanned the room more carefully and noticed a huge chair, almost throne-like, at the other end of the table. I was a little tempted to go over and sit in, pretend to be the king of such-and-such town just to get in my goofiness for the day like I usually need to, but I didn't want to die, so I didn't. The canary cages didn't make the place any less creepy. The venti kept churning in their prison, hissing and spinning, and Coach Hedge frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised. It didn't help that he was facing me, with the most clear expression of "Imma kill you the hard way". Leo started working on Hedge's cage, trying to open it with various tools, but the lock seemed to be giving him a hard time.

Piper had fallen asleep on the couch already and Jason was starting to nod off. I could feel that I was tired, but after the shock of what had previously happened, the horrible feelings I had when I thought Leo was dead, they kept me wide awake.

"Get some sleep," Leo said, still working on the locked cage. "It's your turn."

"Leo," Jason said, "I'm sorry about the stuff I said in Chicago. That wasn't me. You're not annoying and you do take take stuff seriously, especially your work. I wish I could do half the things you can do."

Leo lowered his screwdriver. He looked at the ceiling and shook his head like: What am I gonna do with this guy?

I felt awkward. Like I wasn't supposed to be awake. I wanted to just close my eyes and pretend I wasn't listening. Ugh, I hate awkward situations so much. I don't know what to do. Should I keep listening? Are they even talking to me? Uurrrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!!! It's so awkward!!!!!

"I try very hard to be annoying," Leo said. "Don't insult my ability to annoy."

I tried so hard not to laugh. My chest actually started to hurt. Oh, Leo.

"And how am I supposed to resent you if you go apologizing? I'm a lowly mechanic. You're like the prince of the sky, son of the Lord of the Universe. I'm supposed to resent you."

The smile on my face dropped. I faced Leo. Lowly mechanic? What was Leo talking about? I wanted to speak, but I wasn't sure if I'd just ruin any chance of them making up or anything like that. I'm not sure how a boy's mind works.

"Lord of the Universe?" Jason asked.

"Sure, you're all: bam! Lightning man. And 'Watch me fly. I am the eagle that soars-'"

"Shut up, Valdez." Jason said.

Leo managed a little smile. "Yeah, see. I do annoy you."

"I apologize for apologizing."

"Thank you." Leo started working again. He didn't look angry any more, just sad and exhausted.

So I guess something they said solved their problems. Which doesn't make any sense to me. Boys are so weird.

"Go to sleep, Jason," he ordered. "It's gonna take a few hours to get this goat man free. Then I still got to figure out how to make the winds a smaller holding cell, 'cause I am not lugging that canary cage to California."

"You did fix Festus, you know," Jason said. "You gave him a purpose again. I think this quest was the high point of his life."

Leo sighed. "I hope. Now, sleep, man. I want some time without you organic life forms."

I didn't quite get what Leo meant by that, but I found it kind of funny. Jason laid back and fell asleep. I sat there, trying to go to sleep, but failing. I lost track of how much time had passed. Leo was still working on that cage and looked like he was really having a hard time. I finally decided to talk.

"How's it going?" I asked.

Leo dropped his screwdriver in alarm. "Could've sworn you were asleep. Why aren't you?"

"I can't. How's it going?" I asked again.

He shook his head a little. "Not that good. I can tell I'm making progress, but it's not by much."

I sat down close to Leo, to where our arms rubbed against each other. I looked at the metal cage and at the lock. Then I looked back at Leo.

"Leo-" I started to say, but stopped. I didn't know how to bring up the topic. "I don't know how to bring this up lightly, and I know I should, but I'm just gonna cut straight to the point."

Leo stopped working on the cage, but didn't look at me. "I'm not in the mood to talk about Festus."

"I'm not talking about Festus." I said.

This caught Leo's attention and he turned towards me. "Then what is it?"

I took a deep breath. "We've met before."

Leo stared at me and stayed quiet for a while. "What the heck are you talking about, Terra?"

"We've met before." I repeated. "In the sewers. I was on a quest and you were hiding from your Aunt. I've only regained the memory recently."

Leo stared at me with the most weirded out look on his face. "Terra, I really think you should get some sleep."

I sighed and rubbed my temples. "He doesn't remember." I whispered.

"Okay," I said. "Did you ever meet a girl in the sewers with cuts and bruises all over her? She asked you to help her get out."

Leo still had the expression on his face, but I could tell he was thinking about it.

"You guys finally got out and you went to Starbucks to meet her friend there to return on a quest to fight a sea monster."

He seemed a little less confused and a small look of surprise set over him. I couldn't really tell if he remembered or not. He didn't say anything.

"Remember now?" I asked.

"I think so." He sat there for a while, then laughed. "Yeah, we're definitely not superheroes."

I laughed a little too. We were quiet from there on. The only sounds were birds chirping, Leo's tools clinking, and the shifts Jason and Piper would make in their sleep. The sun was starting to rise and Leo was just staring at the cage.

"I don't know what to do. I can't fix anything." He said in frustration and threw his screwdriver to the side.

I picked up the screwdriver and put my other hand on his shoulder. "Don't you dare say that. Your the best child of Hephaestus I know. Just calm down and think. You can do this."

We looked into each others eyes. He didn't seem that convinced.

"Terra, I can't."

"Look, I almost lost you today. I had an emotional breakdown. I don't wanna hear any of this 'I can't fix anything. I'm an idiot, Jason's awesomer than me.' kind of thing anymore." I paused, I felt like I was about to cry. "Leo, I like you....... a lot. And you can do amazing things. You fixed a freaking forty, sixty, however long that dragon was, dragon and gave it wings and a purpose to live life. I care about you so much. Now stop saying things like that, it hurts me more than it could ever hurt you."

He looked like he had just been slapped in the face, but there was still that lingering expression of him not so sure he could do it. Then I thought of something that would convince him. I kissed him on the cheek. His skin was warm, and a tingling feeling was sent down through my whole body. He blushed and stared at me. I put the screwdriver in his hand.

"Open it, and you get another one."

He nodded with a smile, and begun working on it a little harder than he had before. Gee, I wonder why??? 😉

I blinked a few times to prevent myself from crying and the feeling left. I moved back to the couch and sat there just watching him. I almost dozed off when he called my name.

"Huh?" I said.

"Oh, we're you asleep? Sorry."

"Eh, it's okay. Did you open it?"

"No, but I think I know how to. Come back over here."

I got off the couch and sat next to him once again, waking up a bit more.

"I was thinking that maybe if you froze the lock, the gold would become brittle and easy to break." Leo said.

I nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Seems like it'll work."

I grabbed the lock and froze it, I tried to go colder than I have ever gone. Then I let go and Leo hit the lock super hard with a wrench he had pulled out of his tool belt. It didn't break. Leo hit it again. Still didn't break. Leo hit it several more times and the lock still wouldn't show any signs of breaking. He stopped and set down the wrench with a sigh. I patted his shoulder.

"It was worth a try."

I stared at the lock. Then I reached for it and looked at the opposite side. On the bottom it had a keyhole.

"It has a keyhole." I said.

"Yeah, but we don't have a key for it, and I've tried to pick it with almost everything I have in my tool belt. I even was able to pull out some keys, but they didn't fit of course."

I stared at it, my mind blank with ideas. I couldn't think. For a second I thought I had something, but it was gone. I cursed myself for forgetting it.

"Anything I can do? I can't really think right now."

He stared at me for a while, thinking really hard. Then he snapped his fingers.

"Use your powers to form a key that would fit."

"How?"

He grabbed the lock and showed me. "Just put your hand up to it and make ice go into it and make the right shape. It should work. All you would have to do is turn the right way."

I shrugged my shoulders. It seemed like it would work. I put my hand up to it and formed the handle of a key on the outside and made the handle go down into the lock. I let it fill in the shape of the lock and turned to the right. It didn't turn, so I tried the other way and it started turning. I didn't hear a click, so I kept turning and turning until finally it clicked and the lock popped off and the door opened. I was totally unprepared for what happened next.

"Ahhhgggggggh!!!!!!!" The satyr yelled swinging his cudgel around like a maniac.

Jason and Piper woke and stood up instantly, alarmed at the sudden outburst. I had jumped onto the couch and my sword was now in my hands.

"Coach is awake," Leo said.

"Really?" I said mixed with sarcasm and fear. "I don't think I noticed that."

Leo smiled.

The satyr was now running around screaming "Die!" And had now just smashed the tea set. He continued to abuse the sofas and then started to charge at the throne.

"Coach!" Jason yelled.

He turned, breathing hard. His eyes were wild and I got scared when he noticed me. He yelled and charged at me. I stepped backwards and fell off the couch. I got up in time to dodge the savage goat who had just soared into the air to get me.

"Coach, stop!" Jason shouted.

"You're the new kid." He lowered his club. "Jason." He looked at me and eyed my sword. "Who's she?"

"She's a friend." Piper said.

"Name's Terra. Sup?" I said and shook his hand. I noticed the satyr wasn't much shorter than me, maybe exactly five feet or four eleven, I can't really tell.

"Valdez, McLean," he said. "What's going on? We were at the Grand Canyon. The anemoi thuellai were attacking and-" He zeroed in on the storm spirit cage, and his eyes went back to DEFCON 1. "Die!"

"Whoa, Coach!" Leo stepped in his path, which would have been super brave if the satyr wasn't six inches shorter. "It's okay. They're locked up. We just sprang you from the other cage."

"Cage? Cage? What's going on? Just because I'm a satyr doesn't mean I can't have you doing plank push-ups, Valdez!"

Jason cleared his throat. "Coach...Gleeson.....um, whatever you want us to call you. You saved us at the Grand Canyon. You were totally brave."

"Of course I was!"

I restrained from snorting.

Jason continued. "The extraction team came and took us to Camp Half-Blood. We thought we'd lost you. Then we got word the storm spirits had taken you back to their....um, operator, Medea."

"That witch! Wait, that's impossible. She's mortal. She's dead."

"That's the thing." I said. "There's this great force that's bringing back dead people. And apparently they have to be bad ones."

Hedge nodded, narrowing his eyes. "So! You were sent on a dangerous quest to rescue me. Excellent!"

I had no idea if I should feel bad for the guy or laugh at him, so I channeled my emotions into a cough to break the silence that had settled over the room.

"Um." Piper shifted and held her hands out in front of her, as if she were scared that Coach Hedge was going to attack her. Which is a wise decision, considering that he actually might. "Actually, Glee- can I still call you Coach Hedge? Gleeson seems wrong. We're on a quest for something else. We kind of found you by accident."

"Oh." The satyr's spirits seemed to deflate, but only for a second. Then his eyes lit up again. "But there are no accidents! Not on quests. This was meant to happen! So, this is the witch's lair, eh? Why is everything gold?"

"Gold?" Jason said.

I looked around. Oh, hey. Would you look at that! How didn't I notice this before? Oh, I don't know, maybe because I just had a small, bloodthirsty, satyr try to pummel me a few seconds ago. But, anyway, everything was literally gold. I swear, even the curtains and couch seemed to be woven out of golden fibers. It was also a nice effect to have the sun shining in through the windows. Something felt a little "ify" about the place, but my mind was working so slow I couldn't really think of what was ticking me off.

"Nice," Leo said. "No wonder they got so much security."

"Yeah, lasers, trapdoors, poison spikes, exploding doorbells, and an unlocked door. I still can't get over how stupid that is." I said shaking my head.

"This isn't-" Piper stammered. "This isn't Medea's place, Coach. It's some rich person's mansion in Omaha. We got away from Medea and crash-landed here."

"It's destiny, cupcakes!" Hedge insisted. "I'm meant to protect you. What's the quest?"

I wasn't sure I wanted to tell the furry death-goat what we were on a quest for, and I was sure that the others were thinking the same thing, but we weren't given much time to decide. Just then, a door at the back of the room opened, and a pudgy man in a white bathrobe stepped out with a golden toothbrush in his mouth. He had a white beard and one of those long, old-fashioned sleeping caps pressed down over his white hair. He froze when he saw us, and the toothbrush fell out of his mouth.

I smiled weakly and waved a little. "Hi."

I could tell the old man was deciding if he should wave and smile back, but instead he glanced into the room behind him and called, "Son? Lit, come out here, please. There are strange people in the throne room."

Of course this set off Coach Hedge's "Die!" alarm. He raised his club and shouted, "Die!"

We all lurched forward and held him back from mauling the poor old man.

"Whoa, Coach!" Jason said. "Bring it down a few notches."

A younger man charged into the room. I assumed he was Lit. He was dressed in pajama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said CORNHUSKERS, and held a sword. His ripped arms were covered with scars, matching his face that was framed by curly dark hair somewhat similar to Leo's, but still not the same at all. He would have been pretty hot if it weren't for all the scars.

Lit zeroed in on Jason, and started stalking over to him, swinging his sword overhead.

"Hold on!" Piper stepped forward, using her charmspeak. "This is just a misunderstanding! Everything's fine."

All the while Coach was still shouting, "I'll get them! Don't worry!"

Lit had stopped, but still looked a little weary.

"Coach," Jason pleaded, "they may be friendly. Besides, we're trespassing in their house."

"Thank you!" Said the old man in the bathrobe. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"

"Let's put all our weapons down," Piper said . "Coach, you first."

He clenched his jaw. "Just one thwack?"

"No," Piper said.

"What about a compromise? I'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I'll apologize."

At this point I couldn't hold it in and I laughed. They all stared at me and I got an especially weird look from the old man and his son.

"Sorry about that. I found that funny."

Piper turned back to Coach Hedge and told him, no.

"Meh." Coach Hedge lowered his club.

I sheathed my sword, not wanting to make it disappear and freak out the old man and his son.

Lit huffed and sheathed his sword to. "You speak well, girl. Fortunately for your friends, or I would've run them through."

"Appreciate it," Leo said. "I try not to get run through before lunchtime."

I gave Leo a smirk and a "good one" look.

The old man sighed, kicking the teapot that Coach Hedge had destroyed moments ago. "Well, since you're here. Please, sit down."

Lit frowned. "Your Majesty-"

Something inside me clicked. Majesty? Wait.......everything is gold. People are coming back from the dead.....crap. Why him?

"No, no, it's fine, Lit," King Midas said. "New land, new customs. They may sit in my presence. After all, they've seen me in my nightclothes. No sense observing formalities." He did his best to smile, though it looked a little forced. "Welcome to my humble home. I am King Midas."

"I knew it." I accidentally said out loud.

"You knew? Why didn't you say anything?" Piper asked.

"Well, I didn't figure it out until Lit said 'Your Majesty' and people kept talking, so I didn't have the chance to say that I had figured it out until now, but he already said who he was......soooo, yeah."

Jason shook his head, rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Midas? Impossible," said Coach. "He died."

We sat down on the sofas again, and the King reclined in his throne. Which seemed difficult considering he was wearing a bathrobe. I just hope he's wearing some kind of underwear down there, cause if he uncrosses his legs....I shuddered and erased the thought from my mind.

Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, flexing his muscles and glancing at me and maybe Piper. Yeah, he's definitely staring at Piper.

Piper sat forward. "What our satyr friend means, Your Majesty, is that you're the second mortal we've met who should be, sorry, dead. King Midas lived thousands of years ago."

"Interesting." The King gazed out the windows into the distance for a while. "You know, I think I was a bit dead for a while. It's strange. Seems like a dream, doesn't it, Lit?"

"A very long dream, Your Majesty."

"And yet, now we're here. I'm enjoying myself very much. I like being alive better."

Something else clicked in my mind. "How?" I asked. "Do you, perhaps, have a patron?"

Midas hesitated, but there was a sly twinkle in his eyes. "Does it matter, my dear?"

"We could kill them again," Hedge suggested.

I smiled.

"Coach, not helping," Jason said. "Why don't you go outside and stand guard?"

Leo coughed. "Is that safe? They've got some serious security."

"Oh, yes," the King said. "Sorry about that. But it's lovely stuff, isn't it?"

"Very." I whispered sarcastically.

"Amazing what gold can still buy. Such excellent toys you have in this country!"

He brought out a remote control from his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons. "There, safe to go out now."

Coach Hedge grunted. "Fine. But if you need me..." He winked at Jason meaningfully. Then he pointed at himself, pointed two fingers at their hosts, and sliced a finger across his throat. Wow, that was very subtle.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason said.

After Coach Hedge left, Piper tried another diplomatic smile. "So....you don't know how you got here?"

"Oh, well, yes. Sort of," the King said. He frowned at Lit. "Why did we pick Omaha, again? I know it wasn't the weather."

"The oracle," Lit said.

"Yes! I was told there was an oracle in Omaha." Midas shrugged. "Apparently I was mistaken. But this is a rather nice house, isn't it? Lit, it's short for Lityerses, by the way, horrible name, but his mother insisted. Lit had plenty of wide-open space to practice his swordplay. He has quite a reputation for that. They called him the Reaper of Men back in the old days."

"Cool." I said nodding and giving Lit a "not to bad" look.

"Oh," Piper tried to sound enthusiastic. "How nice."

Lit's smile wasn't even really a smile, it was more like a cruel sneer. I wasn't sure I liked this guy to much, he was kinda giving me a bad vibe.

"So," Jason said. "All this gold-"

The King's eyes lit up. "Are you here for gold, my boy? Please, take a brochure!"

Jason looked at the brochures on the coffee table I tried to read earlier. I couldn't really figure out what it said, but I was guessing the first word was Gold, considering the circumstances.

"Um, you sell gold?" Jason asked.

"No, no," King Midas said. "I make it. In uncertain times like these, gold is the wisest investment, don't you think? Governments fall. The dead rise. Giants attack Olympus. But gold retains its value!"

Leo frowned. "I've seen that commercial."

Commercial? There's commercials for this? Dang. I haven't watched tv in so long.

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators!" He said. "I assure you, I can beat any price for a serious investor. I can make a wide assortment of gold items at a moment's notice."

"But..." Piper shook her head in confusion. "Your Majesty, you gave up the golden touch, didn't you?"

The King looked astonished. "Gave it up?"

"Yes," Piper said. "You got it from some god-"

"Dionysus." I said.

Midas nodded. "I'd rescued one of his satyrs, and in return he granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch."

"But you accidentally turned your own daughter into gold," Piper remembered. "And you realized how greedy you'd been. So you repented."

"Repented!" King Midas looked at Lit incredulously. "You see, son? You're away for a few thousand years, and the story gets all twisted around. My dear girl, did those stories ever say I'd lost my magic touch?"

"Well, I guess not. They just said you learned how to reverse it with running water, and you brought your daughter back to life."

"That's all true. Sometimes I still have to reverse my touch. There's no running water in the house because I don't want any accidents," He gestured to the statues and something dawned on me.

Those statues were actual people, frozen. The Greek heroes. Some of them actually looked like hunters.........the Hunters of Artemis. Crap, he's got all sorts of people in here.

"But we chose to live next to a river just in case." He continued. "Occasionally, I'll forget and pat Lit on the back-"

Lit retreated a few steps. "I hate that."

"I told you I was sorry, son. At any rate, gold is wonderful. Why would I give it up?"

"Well...." Piper looked truly lost now, poor girl. "Isn't that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?"

Midas laughed, and then turned to me. "My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here."

I stared at him, hesitant to just give it to him. It had some important things in it, but I was just like "Eh, what the heck.", I pulled out everything inside it and tossed it to the King. As soon as he caught it, it turned gold. Like frost spreading over the ground when ever I got super nervous. It still looked flexible though, and soft, but it was definitely gold. The King tossed it back and when I caught it, it was much heavier. I put my things back in the backpack and slipped it back on.

"As you see, I can still turn anything to gold," Midas said. "That pack is magic now, as well. Go ahead, put your little storm spirit enemies in there."

"Seriously?" Leo was suddenly interested. He took the bag from me and held it up to the cage. As soon as he unzipped it, the winds stirred and the cage rattled. Soon the door flung open and the spirits went into the backpack. Leo zipped it shut and grinned like a madman. "Gotta admit. That's cool."

Leo looked so cute with that grin on his face.

"You see?" Midas said. "My golden touch a curse? Please. I didn't learn any lesson, and life isn't a story, girl. Honestly, my daughter Zoe was much more pleasant as a gold statue."

Hearing that name hit me hard. I felt uneasy. And horribly guilty as I always do.

"She talked a lot," Lit offered.

"Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold." Midas pointed to a statue in the corner of a girl with a shocked expression. I felt bad for her.

"That's horrible!" Piper said.

"Nonsense. She doesn't mind. Besides, if I had learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?"

Midas pulled off his oversize sleeping cap, revealing donkey ears. It reminded me of Bugs Bunny. I wanted to laugh, but it was also kind of unsettling.

"Oh, wow," Leo said. "I did not need to see that."

"Terrible, isn't it?" Midas sighed. "A few years after the golden touch incident, I judged a music contest between Apollo and Pan, and I declared Pan the winner. Apollo, sore loser, said I must have the ears of an ass, and voilà. This was my reward for being truthful. I tried to keep them a secret. Only my barber knew, but he couldn't help blabbing." Midas pointed to another statue of a bald man in a toga carrying a pair of shears. "That's him. He won't be telling anyone's secrets again."

The King smiled, sending me seriously bad vibes. His eyes were glowing with madness. Like he was happy to be mad, accepted it, enjoyed it even. Jason and I exchanged worried looks.

Midas talked again. "Yes, gold has many uses. I think that must be why I was brought back, eh Lit? To bankroll our patron."

Lit nodded. "That and my good sword arm."

We all glanced at each other, the feeling in the room was no longer as friendly as it used to be. My spine began to tingle and I felt a fight coming on.

"So you do have a patron," Jason said. "Who is it? The giants?"

King Midas waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I don't care for giants myself, of course. But even supernatural armies need to get paid. I do owe my patron a great debt. I tried to explain that to the last group that came through, but they were very unfriendly. Wouldn't cooperate at all."

I inhaled at the news. Who had been here? Apparently, Jason was thinking the same thing.

"The last group?" Jason asked.

"Hunters," Lit snarled. "Blasted girls from Artemis."

I glanced at the statues again. I knew they were Hunters. Then Jason sparked. Literally. It zapped the section of the couch right next to me. I was just lucky I hadn't taken one step forward. It started to stink. I think he melted the springs in there or something. Ugh, someone get an air freshener.

"When?" Jason asked forcefully. "What happened?"

Lit shrugged. "Few days ago? I didn't get to kill them, unfortunately. They were looking for some evil wolves, or something. Said they were following a trail, heading west. Missing demigod, I don't recall."

Percy.

Midas scratched his donkey ears. "Very unpleasant young ladies, those Hunters," he recalled. "They absolutely refused to be turned into gold. Much of the security system outside I installed to keep that sort of thing from happening again, you know. I don't have time for those who aren't serious investors."

I stared at my friends and we knew it was time to get out of here.

"Well," Piper said, managing a smile. "It's been a great visit. Welcome back to life. Thanks for the gold bag."

"Oh, but you can't leave!" Midas said. I started to get a little jittery. "I know your not serious investors, but that's alright! I have to rebuild my collection."

I glanced at Lit, who was smiling cruelly. The King rose and we backed away.

"Don't worry," Midas assured. "You don't have to be turned to gold. I give all my guests a choice. Join my collection, or die at the hands of Lityerses. Really, it's good either way."

Piper tried to use her charmspeak. "Your Majesty, you can't-"

Midas lashed out and grabbed Piper's wrist about ten times faster than he should have been.

"No!" Jason yelled.

Piper was now a glittering statue, surprise stuck on her face. Leo tried to summon fire, he must have forgotten that his power wasn't working. Midas reached out and touched his hand, turning him into gold too.

"Leo!" I shouted. "Oh you asked for it old man."

Jason grabbed me, keeping me away from Midas. I couldn't believe how easily we lost our friends. How easily I lost Leo. I got to get him back. And I'm making sure killing Midas is in the process.

He smiled apologetically. "Gold trumps fire, I'm afraid." He waved around him at all the gold curtains and furniture. "In this room, my power dampens all others: fire, ice.....even charmspeak. Which leaves me only two more trophies to collect."

That didn't make sense. Back when Coach had scared me, my sword appeared. My powers are still working. I need to tell Jason without Midas and Lit knowing. I placed my hand on Jason's back, somewhere they couldn't see, and gave him a small cold shock. His eyes grew slightly wider, but only someone as close as I was would notice. He knew.

"Hedge!" Jason yelled. "Need help in here!"

I expected for the satyr to come crashing though the doorway, screaming "Die!" and trampling everything in sight, but he didn't. Jason and I stared at each other, wondering where he was. Only then was I self-conscious about how close Jason and I were and that my hand was still on his back. I lowered my hand, trying not make it awkward and turned my attention back to Midas.

He chuckled. "No goat to the rescue? Sad. But don't worry, kids. It's really not painful. Lit can tell you."

Jason stood a little taller, and somehow I knew he had an idea. "We choose combat. You said we could choose to fight Lit instead."

The King looked mildly disappointed, but he shrugged. "I said you could die fighting Lit. But of course, if you wish."

Jason and I nodded and we took stances next to each other. The King backed away and Lit raised his sword.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Lit said. "I am the Reaper of Men!"

"Bring it, Cornhusker." I said.

I unsheathed my sword and Jason tossed up his coin, it became a javelin.

"Oh, gold weapon!" Midas said. "Very nice."

Lit charged. He was fast. Jason and I could barely dodge all his slashing and striking. He cut off a lock of hair that was in my face.

"Thanks, now I can see better." I said.

Our swords clanged together. I started noticing patterns in his fighting. He was all offense, no defense. Jason and I worked together perfectly, as if we had fought together.

Duh, we have. Derp. We've been on a quest together. I'm an idiot.

Our weapons clanged together. I would sidestep, block and counter everything he gave me.

"What is that style?" Lit growled. "You don't fight like a Greek."

"Legion training," Jason said.

"It's Roman." I finished staring at Jason who was staring back.

We didn't have much time to stare. Lit seemed pretty upset that we haven't died yet.

"Roman?" Lit struck again. "What is Roman?"

"News flash," I said. "While you were wandering around in the Underworld, Rome defeated Greece."

"Created the greatest empire of all time."

"Impossible," Lit said. "Never even heard of them."

All of a sudden, Lit made one mistake and I was able to spin his sword out of his hands like I did in my memories/dreams. Jason then spun on his heel, and smacked Lit in the chest with the butt of his javelin, and sent him toppling into Midas' throne.

"Oh, dear," Midas said. "Lit?"

"I'm fine," Lit growled.

Then I remembered how easily Midas forgot about his touch. "You should help him up," I suggested.

Lit cried, "Dad, no!"

But it was too late. Midas had placed his hand on Lit's shoulder. Lit was now a very angry-looking gold statue.

"Curses!" Midas wailed. "That was a naughty trick, demigod. I'll get you for that."

"Hey, I love tricks." I said shrugging my shoulders with a smirk on my face.

Midas patted Lit's golden shoulder. "Don't worry, son. I'll get you down to the river right after I collect this prize."

Midas raced forward. I dodged, but fell backwards in the process. So I had to do the crab walk while still getting up to keep from getting turned to gold. Luckily, Jason was able to kick the coffee table into the old man's legs, but it didn't keep him down for long. Soon he shot up and I had to blast his feet with some ice to keep him from moving for a little while longer. Then I felt the air pressure drop, faster than what should have ever been possible. My ears popped, it hurt super bad.

"Ow! What are you doing?" He demanded. "My power is supreme here!"

Thunder rumbled. Outside the sky turned black. I looked at Jason.

"You know another good use for gold?" Jason said.

Midas raised his eyebrows, suddenly excited. "Yes?"

"Unlike ice, it's an excellent conductor of electricity."

I got the signal, and made an ice dome around myself and covered the floor in one second. I couldn't see what went on, but there was a lot of crashing and I could hear Midas cursing in Ancient Greek. Then I heard a tap on the ice, I made the dome disappear. Everything was a wreck and it was raining. I felt my clothes getting soaked. I noticed Piper and Leo were starting to change along with the rest of the statues.

"Good job," I said and gave Jason a good pat on the back.

Coach Hedge came in, his face covered in grass, snow, and dirt.

"What'd I miss?" He asked.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"We were screaming for help." Jason added.

The satyr belched. "Getting a snack. Sorry. Who need killing?"

"No one, now!" Jason said. "Just grab Leo. I'll get Piper."

"Don't leave me like this!" Midas wailed.

"Oh, we will." I said plainly.

All the statues were coming back to life now. The barber, his daughter, Hunters, and a few scary guys with some swords. I dragged a rug over Lit to keep him from coming back at least until the others got a chance to deal with Midas. I grabbed some other stuff Jason had brought and walked back over to the boys.

"Let's get out of here," Jason said. "I think these guys will want some quality time with Midas."

We walked out of the house and made it out of the gate. By that time Leo was fully un-gold-ified. I hugged him and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek, his skin still warm and the action sending energy through my body.

"That was for opening the cage."

He smiled and hugged me back. He was so cold, and there was nothing I could really do about it. I was probably making it even worse.