"Not again!" Leo yelled, "You can't fall again!"

Leo could barely hold on, the wind stung his eyes, but he pulled open the panel on the dragon's neck. He toggled the switches. He tugged the wires.

"Jason!" he screamed, "Take Piper and fly out of here! Apollonia!"

"What's happening?" Apollonia flew up beside them after hearing Leo's shouts. After spending some time away from the group, she gained back her mental control.

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

"What about you?" Piper cried, "If you can't reboot him—"

"I'll be fine," Leo yelled, "Follow me to the ground. Go!"

Jason grabbed Piper around the waist, gripped tightly to Apollonia's hand and tugged them both onto Chara, somehow managing to fit. They followed the dragon closely behind Festus And pulled up slightly after getting closer to the ground— BOOM!  

"Wait who the fuck arms a house in the middle of nowhere with lasers?!" Apollonia exclaimed quickly landing beside Leo.

"Leo!" Piper screamed, jumping off Chara and running to the fallen boy quickly followed by Jason and Apollonia.

Apollonia forced his mouth open and forced some nectar down his throat. After a minute or two, Leo came to his senses, he spits a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth.

"Where—"

"Don't move," Apollonia said.

"Lie still," Piper had tears in her eyes, "You rolled pretty hard when— when Festus—"

"Where is he?" Leo sat up.

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

Leo pushed himself to his feet. Then he saw the wreckage. Festus must have dropped the big canary cages as he came over the fence because they'd rolled in different directions and landed on their sides, perfectly undamaged. Festus hadn't been so lucky. The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn. His tail hung on the fence. The main section of his body had ploughed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feet long across the mansion's yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rose bushes like a pillow.

"No," Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon's head and stroked its snout.

"You can't go," Leo pleaded, "You're the best thing I ever fixed."

The dragon's head whirred its gears as if it were purring. Jason, Piper and Apollonia stood next to him, but Leo kept his eyes fixed on the dragon.

"It's not fair," he said. The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern. He was using Morse code. Leo listened.

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

The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone. Leo cried. Piper stood on his side, patting his shoulders, and saying comforting things.

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

Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon's head pane. 

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

"Your dad talked to you?" Jason asked, "When was this?"

Apollonia elbowed him hard in the side and shot him a look. Leo didn't answer. He worked at the dragon's neck hinges until the head was detached.

Leo managed to hold it in his arms. He looked up at the starry 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 like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.

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

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

Apollonia looked around. The large white mansion glowed in the centre of the grounds. Tall brick walls with lights and security cameras surrounded the perimeter.

"Where are we?" he asked. "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 and Apollonia said. Leo picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.

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

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

"You couldn't have known," Apollonia said, "He saved our lives again."

"But what now?" Jason said, "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of here without getting shot down."

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

Jason would have died five times on the way to the front door if not for Leo. First, it was the motion-activated trapdoor on the sidewalk, then the lasers on the steps, then the nerve gas dispenser on the porch railing, the pressure-sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course the exploding doorbell. Leo deactivated all of them. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them.

"You're amazing, man," Jason said.

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

"Hey, that wasn't your—"

"Jason, shut it," Apollonia whispered harshly in his ear making him shut up.

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

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

Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He and Piper stepped inside without hesitation. Before Jason could follow, Apollonia caught his arm.

"He's going to need some time to get over Festus. Don't take it personally Jason give him some time, you said some harsh things to him while you were under," Apollonia said to him.

"Yeah," Jason said, "Yeah, okay."

Jason went to move again but she suddenly called him, "Jason... Don't forget that I'm your soulmate."

Jason just looked down at her with love and happiness and wrapped his arm around her as well and together they walked into the house.

Jason's first impression of the house: Dark. From the echo of his footsteps, he could tell the entry hall was enormous, even bigger than Boreas's penthouse.

Jason assumed that Apollonia didn't like darkness so she held out a ball of, light in her palm to light up the room a bit. Though the light was very dim.

Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues. As Jason's eyes adjusted, he saw sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. A massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.

"Where's the light switch?" Jason's voice echoed alarmingly through the room.

"Don't see one," Leo said.

"Fire?" Piper suggested.

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

"Your fire is out and your light is dim? Why?" Piper asked.   

"No idea but there's something about this place that doesn't sit right with me," Apollonia said.

"What do we do— explore?" Piper asked.

"Oh fuck that," Apollonia mumbled tiredly.

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

"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."

"They were not that bad. There's definitely worse stuff out there," Apollonia said with a small shrug.

"It's a few hours until dawn," Jason guessed, "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 a better idea, so they rolled in the cages with Coach Hedge and the storm spirits and then settled in. Thankfully, Leo didn't find any poison throw pillows or electric whoopee cushions on the sofas. Leo didn't seem in the mood to make more tacos. Besides, they had no fire, so they settled for sandwiches from Apollonia's food charm. As Jason ate, he studied the metal statues along the walls. They looked like Greek gods or heroes. Maybe that was a good sign. Or maybe they were used for target practice. The big chair at the end of the coffee table looked like a throne. None of them tried to sit in it. The canary cages didn't make the place any less creepy. The venti kept churning in their prison, hissing and spinning. As for Coach Hedge, he was still frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised. Leo was working on the cage, trying to open it with various tools, but the lock seemed to be giving him a hard time.

Jason started to nod off on the couch with his arm around Apollonia's waist, who rested her head on his shoulder. The couches were a little too comfortable— a lot better than a dragon's back. Piper had already curled up on the other sofa. Jason wondered if she was really asleep or dodging a conversation about her dad. Whatever Medea had meant in Chicago, about Piper getting her dad back if she cooperated—it didn't sound good. If Piper had risked her own dad to save them, that made Jason feel even guiltier. And they were running out of time. If Jason had his days straight, this was the early morning of December 20th. Which meant tomorrow was the winter solstice.

"Get some sleep," Leo told Jason and Apollonia, "It's your turn guys."

Jason took a deep breath, "Leo, I'm sorry about that stuff I said in Chicago. That wasn't me. You're not annoying and you do 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 try very hard to be annoying," Leo said, "Don't insult my ability to annoy. 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 fated to marry the Champion of Olympus. I'm supposed to resent you."

"Lord of the Universe?"

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

"Shut up, Valdez," Jason said with a small smile.

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

"I apologize for apologizing."

"Thank you," He went back to work. Leo still looked sad and exhausted— just not quite so angry.

"Go to sleep, Jason," Leo 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."

Jason was afraid he'd blown it and made Leo mad again, but Leo just sighed.

"I hope," he said.  

Jason kept watch with Leo for a while before he shifted to lean his back on the armrest of the couch and moved Apollonia to lay between his legs. He closed his eyes and had a long, blissfully dreamless sleep with his soulmate in his arms equally as tired.

He only woke when the yelling started, "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Jason leapt to his feet, dragging Apollonia up with him. He wasn't sure what was more jarring— the full sunlight that now bathed the room, or the screaming satyr.

"Coach is awake," Leo said, which was kind of unnecessary.

Gleeson Hedge was capering around on his furry hindquarters, swinging his club and yelling, "Die!" as he smashed the tea set, whacked the sofas, and charged at the throne.

"Coach!" Jason yelled. Hedge turned, breathing hard. His eyes were so wild, Jason was afraid he might attack.

The satyr was still wearing his orange polo shirt and his coach's whistle, but his horns were clearly visible above his curly hair, and his beefy hindquarters were definitely all goat. Could you call a goat beefy? Jason put the thought aside.

"You're the new kid," Hedge said, lowering his club, "Jason."

He looked at Leo, then Piper, who'd apparently also just woken up. Her hair looked like it had become a nest for a friendly hamster, "Valdez, McLean, " the coach said then glanced around the room, "And the Champion girl."

"Of course," Apollonia 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 was pretty brave, even though Hedge was 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!" Hedge said pridefully.

"Apollonia was with the extraction team 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."

"Yeah, well," Leo said, "somehow she got not dead anymore."

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

"Umm," Piper got to her feet, holding out her hands so Coach Hedge wouldn't attack her, "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 coach'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 looked around.

 From the way Leo and Piper caught their breath, he guessed they hadn't noticed yet either. The room was full of gold— the statues, the tea set Hedge had smashed, and the chair that was definitely a throne. Even the curtains— which seemed to have opened by themselves at daybreak— appeared to be woven of gold fibre.

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

"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?"

Before Jason could decide if he wanted to explain or just shove Coach Hedge back into his cage, a door opened at the far end of the room. 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 them, and the toothbrush fell out of his mouth.

Jason looked down at Apollonia— who was still in his arms— slightly turning pale at the sight of the man.

He glanced into the room behind him and called, "Son? Lit, come out here, please. There are strange people in the throne room."

Coach Hedge did the obvious thing. He raised his club and shouted, "Die!"

It took three of them to hold back the satyr. Apollonia just stood to the side almost as if she was trying to seem invisible.

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

A younger man charged into the room. Jason guessed he must be Lit, the old guy's son. He was dressed in pyjama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said cornhuskers, and he held a sword that looked like it could husk a lot of things besides corn. His ripped arms were covered in scars, and his face, framed by curly dark hair, would've been handsome if it wasn't also sliced up.

Lit immediately zeroed in on Jason like he was the biggest threat, and stalked toward him, swinging his sword overhead.

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

Lit stopped in his tracks, but he still looked wary. It didn't help that Hedge was screaming, "I'll get them! Don't worry!"

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

Hedge 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."

"No!" Piper insisted.

"Meh." Coach Hedge lowered his club. Piper gave Lit a friendly sorry-about-that smile. Lit huffed and sheathed his sword.

"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."

The old man in the bathrobe sighed, kicking the teapot that Coach Hedge had smashed.

"Well, since you're here. Please, sit down." 

Lit frowned, "Your Majesty—"

"No, no, it's fine, Lit," the old man 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. My dear, why don't you have a seat?"

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

Frowning at Midas' words Jason turned his head and saw that Apollonia was indeed still standing beside the sofa he was sitting on, "Sit down," he whispered.

"No, I'm good," she said. Her steely eyes are not straying from the king and his son.

Jason then tugged Apollonia's arm catching her off guard and tugged her to sit close beside him and tightly wrapped his arms around her waist. Apollonia glared at Jason but he didn't care.

They were sitting on the sofas now, while the king reclined on his throne. Tricky to do that in a bathrobe, and Jason kept worrying the old guy would forget and uncross his legs. Hopefully, he was wearing golden boxers under there. Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, glancing at Piper and Apollonia and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying. Jason clenched his jaw and tightened his arms around her waist to keep himself from lashing out. Jason wondered if he looked that ripped holding a sword. Sadly, he doubted it.

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 at the brilliant blue skies and the winter sunlight. In the distance, downtown Omaha looked like a cluster of children's blocks— way too clean and small for a regular city.

"You know," the king said, "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."

"But how?" Piper asked, "You didn't happen to 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.

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

He fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons—a passcode, Jason guessed.

"There," Midas said, "Safe to go out now."

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

"Yeah, thanks," Jason said.

After the satyr 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." The king 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 has 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."

"Oh," Apollonia said, trying to sound enthusiastic, "How nice."

Lit's smile was more of a cruel sneer.

"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. The title said GOLD: Invest for Eternity, "Um, you sell gold?"

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

"Make? From... what?" Jason asked.

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

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators!" the king 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 and Apollonia looked astonished, "Gave it up?"

"Yes," Piper said, "You got it from some god—"

"Dionysus," the king agreed, "I'd rescued one of his satyrs, and in return, the god granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch."

"But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold," Piper recalled, "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 twisted all 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 accidents", he gestured to his statues, "but we chose to live next to a river just in case. 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, "Isn't that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?"

Midas laughed, "My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here."

Piper hesitated, She dumped everything out of the pack and tossed it to Midas. As soon as he caught it, the pack turned to gold, like frost spreading across the fabric. It still looked flexible and soft, but definitely gold. The king tossed it back.

"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 Piper and held it up to the cage. As soon as he unzipped the backpack, the winds stirred and howled in protest. The cage bars shuddered. The door of the prison flew open and the winds got vacuumed straight into the pack.

Leo zipped it shut and grinned, "Gotta admit. That's cool."

"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."

"Yes, she talked a lot," Lit offered.

"Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold." Midas pointed. There in the corner was a golden statue of a girl with a shocked expression as if she were thinking, Dad!

"That's horrible!" Piper said.

"Nonsense. She doesn't mind. Besides, if I'd learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?" Midas pulled off his oversize sleeping cap, and Jason didn't know whether to laugh or get sick. Midas had long fuzzy grey ears sticking up from his white hair— like Bugs Bunny's, but they weren't rabbit ears. They were donkey ears.

"Oh, wow," Leo said, "I didn't 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," As the king told the story Jason understood why Apollonia was a bit on edge, Midas would probably want to turn her first.

"I tried to keep them a secret. Only my barber knew, but he couldn't help blabbing," Midas pointed out another golden statue— a bald man in a toga, holding a pair of shears.

"That's him. He won't be telling anyone's secrets again," The king smiled. Suddenly he didn't strike Jason as a harmless old man in a bathrobe. His eyes had a merry glow to them— the look of a madman who knew he was mad, accepted his madness, and enjoyed it, "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."

Jason glanced at the immortal and his friends. Suddenly the air in the room seemed much colder.

"So you do have a patron," Jason said, "You work for 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."

"The last group?" Jason asked.

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

"When?" Jason demanded.

"What happened?" Apollonia asked.

Lit shrugged, "A 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."

"Did they find the demigod?" Apollonia asked.

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."

Jason kept his arms around Apollonia and stood warily and glanced at his friends. They got the message.  

"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 know you're not serious investors, but that's all right! I have to rebuild my collection."

Lit was smiling cruelly. The king rose, and Leo and Piper moved away from him.

"Don't worry," the king assured them.

"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."

"Your Majesty, you can't—"

Quicker than any old man should've been able to move, Midas lashed out and grabbed Piper's wrist.

"Piper!" Jason yelled in shock.

A frost of shining gold spread over the daughter of Aphrodite. Leo tried to summon fire but he'd forgotten that his powers weren't working. Midas touched his hand and Leo turned into solid gold.

Jason felt like he was going to be sick.

Midas smiled semi-apologetically, "Gold trumps fire, I'm afraid," as he waved around him at the golden curtains and the golden furniture. In this room, my powers dampen all others: fire... even charmspeak. Which leaves me to collect only two more trophies. Don't think I never noticed who you are Champion of Apollo. I'm going to make your father pay for what he did to me."

Midas gingerly touched his donkey ears that the sun god so graciously gifted him after declaring him a loser.

"Listen Midas, my father is and always will be a sore loser but you should keep that feud between you two," Apollonia said hotly while rolling her eyes slightly.

"Hedge!" Jason yelled out to the grazing satyr, "We need some help over here!"

The satyr was nowhere to be found. Jason suddenly hoped that the satyr didn't die outside by one of the traps.

Midas chuckled, "No goat to the rescue? Sad, but don't worry it's really not painful," he wiggled his fingers at the two, "Lit can attest to that."

Midas quickly tried to touch the immortal but the girl was too quick, she saw it coming. Her sword charm was yanked and it suddenly appeared in her hand, using it to quickly swipe back at the gold king to make him stumble back into his son.

"Come closer King Midas, I dare you," Apollonia seethed at the lowly king.

"We choose combat," Jason quickly butt in, "You said we can choose to fight against Lit instead."

Midas frowned disappointedly, " Well, I said you can die fighting Lit. I do say though, a fight with a son of Zeus and the immortal daughter of Apollo combo against my amazing son would be quite a battle," he said with his fingers holding his chin in a thinking position as if he was thinking long and hard about this.

Lit seemed to take offence, "I have bested five opponents at once, taking you down would be too easy."

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Jason goaded.

Apollonia was smirking while flawlessly twirling her twin swords in her hands gesturing that she was ready to have some fun whenever the boys are.

Midas sighed, "Okay, fine."

Lit charged first.

He went straight for Jason which didn't surprise either of them. Seems like Lityerses learned nothing from the past.

He still had his speed, she'll give him that much but he still only fought all offence and no defence. Jason was easily holding his own, dodging Lityerses' strikes while still throwing in his own slightly catching the strong warrior guard every time. Lit started to get angry and fought harder.

Midas was standing off to the side watching with interest as if he was watching a game on TV that he placed a bet on. Seems like his plan to turn Apollonia and Jason into gold has been put on a hold.

Jason countered one of his strikes, sidestepped, and blocked it. Lit was panting hard and was surprised to still find Jason still alive and fighting.

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

"Legion training," Jason said, "It's Roman."

"Roman?" Lit strikes again, "What is Roman?"

"News flash," Jason smirked, "While you were dead, Rome defeated Greece. Created the greatest empire of all time."

Now that Apollonia scoffed at. She was standing at the side waiting for Jason to actually need her but he never struggled the whole fight. She had her twin swords in her hand at the ready.

"Impossible," Lit growled, "I've never even heard of them!"

Jason took a strike on his kneecap, "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you. Clearly, your influence wasn't as big if Rome never continued your story."

Blinded by pain and anger, Jason to the chance to slice at his armour and kick him down onto Midas' throne.

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

"I'm fine," Lit snarled at his father.

"My Lord, I believe you should be a good father and help your son up, he looks like he's struggling!" Apollonia let out a fake gasp.

"Dad no!" Lit cried.

It was too late. Midas put his hand on his son's shoulder and now there is an angry-looking golden warrior sitting on his throne.

"Curses!" Midas exclaimed, "That was a naughty trick Champion, I'll get you for that," Midas patted Lit's gold shoulder, "Don't worry son, I will bring you down to the river once I collect these prizes."

Midas then surged forward. Apollonia and Jason dodged opposite sides but the old king was deceptively fast. Apollonia kicked the coffee table into Midas' legs and knocked him over but he wouldn't stay down for long.

The air pressure suddenly dropped suddenly courtesy of Jason, making Midas' ears pop. He stumbled to the ground and grabbed his donkey ears

"Ow! What are you doing?" he demanded, "My power is supreme here!"

Thunder rumbled outside and the sky turned dark.

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

Midas raised his eyebrows suddenly excited, "Yes?"

"It's a great conductor of electricity."

Oh shit. Apollonia thought. She braced herself for the pain, she was suddenly happy she was immortal so the pain wouldn't affect her lifespan. If she were a regular mortal this would definitely not be ideal and she'd be on her way to Hades.

Apollonia nodded her head to Jason so he raised his javelin, and the ceiling exploded. A lightning bolt ripped through the roof like it was an eggshell, connected to the tip of Jason's spear. It sent out arcs of energy that blasted the sofas to shreds. Chunks of ceiling plaster came crashing down. The chandelier groaned and snapped off its chain. Midas let out a scream as it came crashing down on him. The glass immediately turned to gold. Apollonia felt electricity going through her body and it was definitely painful.

When the rumbling stopped, freezing rain started to pour in making Midas curse, still being trapped under his chandelier. The rain soaked everything, turning everything that was gold back to its original form. Piper and Leo were slowly turning back as well with the other "statues".

Jason saw Apollonia slumped on the ground and immediately ran over to her to see if it was okay. He was nearly in a panic when he pulled her onto his lap and had no response. He knew she wasn't dead but the thought that he caused her that much pain, sent him into an overload of worry.

"Hey, Nia, Nia! Wake up, it's safe now, I'm sorry!" Jason kept patting her cheek while mumbling continuous apologies.

He then felt movement and a groan leave her mouth, "Nia?"

"Ow... I'm never letting you do that in a room full of conductors ever again..." She mumbled and rolled to her side to catch a needed breath.

Then the front door burst open, and Coach Hedge came charging in, a club at the ready. His mouth with filthy with dirt, grass, and snow.

"What'd I miss?" Making Jason's face turn red in anger.

"Where were you? We were calling for help!"

Hedge belched, "Sorry, getting a snack. Who needs killing?"

"Well, no one now. You missed your chance Gleeson," Apollonia said weakly, still feeling the aftermath the electricity took on her body. Jason helped lift her to her feet.

"Gleeson, can you grab Leo? I'll get Piper," Apollonia said and started walking towards Piper. She then turned to Jason and pointed at him, "You– don't do anything else. Just grab my bag, You've done more than enough so you need to rest."

Jason felt physically tired after the whole fight so he decided not to protest.

"Don't leave me!" Midas wailed.

All around him were the statues turning to back to flesh. They all did not look happy.

Jason bent down to pick up Piper and Apollonia's bags which were thankfully light. He then threw a golden rug over the golden statue of Lit on the throne.

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

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