{JASON}

It was still dark outside which meant the sun had yet to rise.

Leo, Piper, and Evangeline were sleeping all around the room. Coach Hedge was still frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised. Leo had been working on the cage before Jason had zoned out.

But his eyebrows scrunched up together at the lack of a certain daughter of Iris. Jason quietly got to his feet and carefully walked down into one of the rooms that were along the wall.

His steps were light and quiet, but he still didn't feel safe in the mansion, maybe the storm spirits got Lorelai. "Lorelai? He softly called.

No answer.

The son of Zeus swallowed harshly, a pit forming in his stomach. "Lorelai?" he called again.

"Shhh," he heard her voice shush him and a wave of relief washed over him.

Jason found her sitting on the ground watching something that was behind the big thick red velvet curtains.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked whispering as he approached her and crouched down next to her.

"You're going to scare him," Lorelai whispered back, not taking her eyes off whatever she was staring at.

"Scare who?"

"The cat, bro."

Jason blinked, he stared at her dumbfounded. He moved his gaze to the curtain and saw some movement.

"Come on," Lorelai cooed, putting out her hand. "You can come out."

"You sure it's a cat?" Jason asked nervously.

"Yeah—sort of,"

"Sort of?"

"Just relax," The daughter of Iris glanced back at him. "It won't bite, I'm hoping."

The blond boy blinked, he was sometimes surprised by the amount of recklessness Lorelai possessed. "You'll get rabies."

"I'll be fine," she waved a hand. Lorelai focused her attention back on the curtain. "Besides I'm great with animals."

"If you say so, Laur,"

She tried to bring the supposed cat out for what felt like an eternity, then finally Jason heard a soft meow, the curtains shifted and the sound of light paws padding against the floor reached his ears.

A chubby orange cat came out from between the gap in the curtains and stretched while yawning. It had three whiskers on each side and the tip of his left ear was missing.

Lorelai smiled and opened her arms for the cat. "He's so cute," she said as petted it.

"He's fat," Jason noted.

The daughter of Iris shot him a look as the cat hopped into her lap. "Jason, stop fat-shaming a cat."

"Sorry,"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," She lifted the cat and made it come face-to-face with Jason. "Say sorry to Garfield."

"That's what you're naming him?"

"Apologise first."

"Right," Jason murmured. He stared right into the cat's eyes. The cat yawned once again, looking very bored with the situation. He cleared his throat and started, "I apologize for fat-shaming you...Garfield."

The cat meowed and Lorelai put him down back onto her lap. Brushing the top of his head, the space between his ears, and grinning like a maniac.

Jason crossed his legs and sat down in front of her, he placed his hands on his lap as he watched her. "You're going to take him back aren't you?"

"Yeah," she said. "He looks like he needs a home. He'll like camp."

"Maybe," he shrugged. "But I don't think Butch will let you keep a cat in Cabin Fourteen."

"He doesn't have to know," Lorelai looked up from the cat and into his eyes, a mischievous glint swimming around in her eyes. She smiled, her dimples becoming visible. "I can hide him."

"Where will you hide him exactly?"

"In your cabin,"

The son of Zeus raised a brow, his lips slightly twitching up, Jason tried his best not to smile but he had a feeling he was failing. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And what if I say no?"

"You can't say no to such a cute face," She held up Garfield in front of his face. "Just look at him."

The blond scratched the orange cat's chin. "Well, Garfield is charming."

"He can get all the cat ladies." Lorelai joked.

"Yeah, a real charmer," Jason added, softly chuckling.

Garfield snuggled in Lorelai's lap, curling up into a ball, he hid his face behind his fluffy orange tail. If you looked at him from afar you'd think he was a ball of orange dust bunnies.

Jason ran a hand through his hair and shifted in his seat on the cold ground. "Did you wake up just to see the cat?"

"No," she said. "After everything that happened with Festus, and Chicago, I don't feel like sleeping.

The son of Zeus scowled as he remembered the events that had occurred in the past twenty-four hours. "I'm sorry,"

"For what?"

"For what happened back in Chicago, I shouldn't have fallen into Medea's trap like an idiot, not very leader-y of me."

"That's not a word," Lorelai mumbled softly. "And it's fine, it's not like you'll get everything right on your first quest and while having amnesia I'm sure it's not easy."

"Yeah but—" Jason took a deep breath. "I feel like I'm failing as a leader. Evangeline and Leo seem more like the leaders of this quest than me, and they're doing a good job at it too."

"Why would you think that?"

"Back at Medea's," he started. "Evangeline was right when she said I haven't done anything besides saying 'I don't know like an idiot', how am I supposed to lead all of us when I can't even stop myself from falling into a witch's trap?" 

"You're allowed to make mistakes," Lorelai told him, "You're human after all, and magic is a powerful thing, it wasn't like you had asked Medea to charm you."

"But I listened to her instead of you and the others," Jason fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I'm sure I'll mess up more things in the future."

"You learn from your mistakes, give yourself a break, you won't be a great leader on your first try."

"But Percy Jackson was," The son of Zeus murmured. "That's what Drew said, that he led them into war, and about how he fought Ares when he was twelve—"

"Look," Lorelai held up a hand cutting him off. "I don't know what kind of a person Percy is, but I know that he's Percy Jackson. You on the other hand are Jason, not Percy."

The Grace boy stayed quiet allowing Lorelai to continue. "If you want to be exactly like Percy then there is no point in calling you Jason. Everyone is different, they all have unique qualities, but if you take those qualities away then you're not an individual anymore. You'll lose the things that makes you Jason."

"How am I supposed to find out what qualities I have if I can't even remember where I came from?" He asked scowling.

The daughter of Iris rubbed the side of her nose. "Well, then you notice the qualities you have now and if you pay enough attention I'm sure you'll find them out. Who knows, maybe you might even remember some from your past."

Jason stared at his hands that were in his lap, he knew Lorelai was right, he wasn't Percy, he was Jason. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he just kept focusing on the fact that he had no memories. Until he could get them back he had to focus on the mission, not himself, he couldn't be selfish.

"Thanks, Lorelai," He told her. "I appreciate it."

"That's what friends are for," She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'm your friend now?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "We're friends."

"I'm glad." He admitted.

"Well, I couldn't exactly not make blonde superman my friend."

Jason arched a brow, a soft laugh slipping from his lips.

He didn't know why, but being in Lorelai's presence was peaceful, and soothing, like he could forget everything bad that was happening around him.

Lorelai Warner was like the rainbow that appeared after a thunderstorm, she was the calm after the storm that everyone needed.

Oh, the irony.

Jason dreamt of the boy again.

This time he looked about eight or nine, and the other boy who was walking with the mystery boy looked like a younger version of himself.

The two boys wore purple togas, young Jason's hair was properly combed and kept neatly, his expression sad and the mystery boy had a bag slung over his shoulder.

Jason couldn't exactly tell what he looked like, it was like something was blocking the boy's face from him.
Like he wasn't supposed to see it but that only made him more curious.

His younger version walked in step with the boy. "You're going to get in trouble with the others," he told the him.

"I don't care," The boy grumbled. "I'm done."

"What about Xander? He's not going to be happy when he comes back from his quest,"

The other boy's angry march faltered. "Xan will be better off without me being here, he won't even notice I'm gone."

"I'll notice," Younger Jason told the boy. "You're my friend."

"Jason, I hate this place. I can't keep staying here."

"Where will you even go, huh?" Younger Jason asked.

The other boy shifted on his feet. "I'll figure it out."

"What about your mom? She's going to be worried sick about you, don't do this, dude."

"I'm not staying here!" The boy snapped. "All anyone ever does is tell me how I don't belong here, they'll all be happier if I just disappear."

"I won't," The blond told him. "I'll be sad if you leave."

"Then come with me!"

"You know I can't!"

"Then stop trying to stop me, I've made up my mind, Jason. I'm leaving."

"You mean running away," Younger Jason frowned.

The boy huffed in annoyance. "You've seen how the others look at me, they all look at me as if I'm some kind of parasite."

"That's not true,"

"Oh really?" The boy stepped closer to the young son of Zeus. "You heard what Octavian said, I shouldn't even be here, my own brother agrees with him!"

"Xander loves you," Jason tried to say. "He cares about you a lot, he'll be miserable if you leave."

"He doesn't care," The boy started walking away again. "All he cares about is being praetor, to be on top."

"Your mom cares about you," Jason pleaded. "Claire cares, me, we all care about you."

The other boy clenched his fist. "And I'm grateful for that," the boy said. "But I'm not staying Jason, this place is my own personal hell, I'm leaving, so I'm asking for the final time, are you coming with me or not?"

Jason didn't say anything. "You know I can't, I have a job to do—"

The other boy scoffed in disbelief "You're always going to be on their side."

"That's not true!"

"So you're saying you disagree with Octavian? You're saying you think that I should be here? I'm not an idiot Jason, if you want to stay, that's fine. But don't try and stop me, I don't want to be here, you're the one who is supposed to lead camp, and be all mighty and heroic, I'm not supposed to become anything."

"You don't have to be a leader, you can just stay here—"

"And what? Always be in Xander's and your shadow? No thanks."

"That isn't fair!" Jason scowled. "You can't let Octavian get to you."

"I'm not," the other boy crossed his arms. "I'm not going to waste the rest of my life, staying at a place where all anyone does is tell me how big of a failure I am to my mother's legacy. I already know that I am!"

"You're not a failure to Cecilia's legacy, she—"

"She was a successful praetor! She was in the first cohort, Jason. Xander's following her footsteps, he gets good grades, he's in the first cohort, he has a billion hobbies and gets all A's in them, while I'm out here in the stupid fifth cohort with not even one trophy, heck I don't even have a certificate, do you know how big of a disgrace that makes me?"

"You're not a failure just because of that," Jason told him. "You don't have to be perfect to stay here."

"Yes, you do," The boy gritted his teeth. "You can either be great or nothing, since I've proven that I can't be great I'll just make my way out of here."

"I'm in the fifth cohort too!"

"Only because you chose to!" The mystery boy snapped. "You were offered to stay in the first but for some reason you chose fifth. And even the Camp's name is literally named after your dad!"

The younger Jason watched the mystery boy closely, tears welling in his electric-blue eyes. "Please don't go," his voice wavered.

Older Jason couldn't exactly see the mystery boy's expression but he could make out that the boy was trying not to fall apart, trying not to change his mind. "You might like being here, but I don't." He said. "I can't stay here anymore Jason, I'm not changing my mind."

Young Jason stepped in front of the mystery boy, "You promised we'll always be together, till the end. You promised you wouldn't abandon me. You promised we'd always be friends."

"And we will," the other boy sighed exasperated. "We'll still be friends, I'll keep contact from wherever I go."

"And where is that?"

"I'll figure it out! I'll go live at an orphanage or something,"

"Are you serious?"

The mystery boy shrugged, as if the thought of living at an orphanage was better than staying wherever they were. Jason couldn't help but feel a pang of concern for the boy, whatever had happened to him must've been bad if he was so hellbent on leaving.

Something in Jason was yelling at him to go over there and convince the boy not to leave, give the place where they were a second chance. He wanted the boy to stay, something was screaming at him to go closer and see the boy's face.

But another part of him was telling him to let it remain a mystery, that it wouldn't be a pleasant thing finding out who the boy is and where he was.

"Come on," the mystery boy grumbled. "Just help me sneak over the river and I'll never bother you again."

The boy started forward but Jason stayed rooted to where he was standing. The boy's steps faltered and he turned to Jason. "Come on Jason, I don't have time for this, I—"

"I'm not doing it," Young Jason said, his chin trembling. "If you're going to leave then you'll have to do it without my help, because my best friend, the one that I know and love, would never act like this."

The boy didn't say anything for a long time, Jason could practically see the tension surrounding his younger self and the boy, it made his heart ache.

He could see his younger self trying very hard not to bawl his eyes out. He looked scared and vulnerable like he was afraid of losing the boy.

The boy's fist clenched. "Then maybe you never knew me at all." The boy took off in the opposite direction. "Have fun staying here." He grumbled.

Older Jason watched as the mystery boy disappeared from his view and over the hill. He glanced back at his younger self who stood in the same place, watching with teary eyes as his friend disappeared.

The young boy pursed his lips and managed to stop his chin from trembling. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and turned around with a scowl.

He made his way back to the place where the two boys had come from but this time, it was him going back alone.

The son of Zeus was woken up when yelling started. "Ahhhgggggh!"

He jolted awake and so did Lorelai who'd fallen asleep on his shoulder. He apologized for startling her awake.

The children of Iris and Zeus got to their feet. Garfield hissed as he hopped off of Lorelai and onto the ground, clearly not happy about the surprise wake-up call.

When they came back into the entry hall Jason wasn't sure what was more jarring—the full sunlight that now bathed the room, or the screaming satyr.

"Coach is awake," Leo said.

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

"Coach!" Jason yelled.

Hedge turned, breathing hard. His eyes were so wild, that 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 that thought aside.

Lorelai ran toward the goat but stopped once Coach Hedge held up his club. "What do you think you're doing Warner?" He asked.

"I was going to give you a hug." Lorelai frowned, putting down her arms.

"I thought you were attacking me,"

"You're the satyr from Toronto, the one who sent Grover a message," Evangeline spoke up suddenly appearing next to Jason, he had no idea how she could be so quiet.

"Yeah," Coach Hedge said, lowering his club. His eyes trailed over to the son of Zeus. "You're the new kid, Jason."

The satyr looked at Leo, then Piper who'd apparently just woken up too. Her hair looked like it had become a nest for a friendly hamster, then he glanced at Evangeline and Garfield.

"Valdez, McLean, random girl, and orange cat I don't know." 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!" The son of Hephaestus 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? 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!"

"The extraction team came—" Jason glanced at the brunette next to him. "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 what I said," Evangeline agreed.

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

"Um." 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 so wrong."

"That is not important," Lorelai said, "We're on a quest for something else. We found you by accident, Coach."

"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 looked around. From the way the other demigods caught their breath, he guessed they hadn't noticed 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 fiber.

"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."

"I don't think it's an ordinary person," The daughter of Hades said as her hand went to the necklace around her neck and she tore it off.

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

Before the son of Zeus could decide if he wanted to explain or just sit Coach Hedge down and restrain him, 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.

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. The satyr raised his club and shouted, "DIE!"

It took four of them to hold back the satyr.

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

"I say we let the goat attack," Evangeline said casually as she brushed some dust off of her nails.

"Listen to her," Coach Hedge said. "She gets it."

A younger man charged into the room.

Jason guessed he must be Lit, the old guy's son. He was dressed in pajama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said, Cornhuskers, and he held a sword that looked like it could husk a lot of things beside corn.

His ripped arms were covered in scars, and his face, framed by curly dark hair, would've been handsome if it wasn't so sliced up.

Lit immediately zeroed in on Evangeline and Jason like they were the biggest threat, and stalked toward them, swinging his sword overhead.

"Hold on!" Piper stepped forward, trying her best calming voice. "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," The son of Zeus 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, and why do you have my cat?"

"It's my cat now, grandpa." Lorelai narrowed her eyes.

"Why don't we all put down our weapons?" Piper suggested. "Coach Hedge, you first."

Hedge clenched his jaw. "Just one thwack?"

"No," Piper told him.

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

"I vote for his idea," Evangeline said.

"No!" The McLean girl 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, except the pretty blonde."

The daughter of Iris shifted under Lit's gaze and lowered her head as her cheeks tinted red. "I—I'm not pretty, unless Jason's the blond you're talking about."

Jason's eyebrows furrowed together as he felt a pang of annoyance at Lit.

"Appreciate it," Leo cut in, taking the attention off of Lorelai. "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."

"Our mistake, Your Highness," Evangeline grumbled as she rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be dead."

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 man 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 the daughters of Aphrodite and Iris and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying.

Piper sat forward. "What our friend meant to say, Your Majesty is that you're the second mortal we've met who should be—sorry—dead. She's the daughter of Hades, she doesn't take these things lightly. But King Midas lived thousands of years ago."

"Interesting." The King gazed at Evangeline, then 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."

"Well," Evangeline got up from her seat. "This was fun, time for you to head back to the Underworld, Goldie."

The daughter of Aphrodite yanked the brunette back down. "Sorry about her," Piper apologized.

"You didn't happen to have a patron, did you?" Lorelai asked nervously.

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

"We could kill them again, like this one said," Hedge suggested, pointing to Evangeline.

"You both are not helping," Jason said. "Why don't you two go outside and stand guard?"

"I'm not some guard," Evangeline glared at Jason which made him want to take back what he said.

The son of Hephaestus 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!"

Midas fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons—a passcode the son of Zeus guessed.

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

Coach grunted. "Fine. But if you need us..." He winked at Jason meaningfully. Then he pointed at himself and the brunette, pointing two fingers at their hosts, and sliced a finger across his throat. Very subtly sign language.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason said.

Evangeline scowled as she followed the satyr out but she didn't leave before mouthing 'I'll kill you if you mess this up.'

After the two 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 Lityeres, 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." The McLean girl tried to sound enthusiastic. "How nice."

Lit's smile was more of a cruel sneer. Jason was now one hundred percent sure he didn't like the guy, and he was starting to regret sending Evangeline outside.

"So," Jason started. "All this gold—"

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

The son of Zeus looked at the brochures on the coffee table. The title said GOLD: Invest for Eternity.

"You sell gold?" Lorelai asked.

"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 value!"

The son of Hephaestus 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 looked astonished. "Gave it up?"

"Yes," The daughter of Aphrodite said. "You got it from—"

"Dionysus," the king agreed. "I'd rescue 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 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 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?"

"Isn't that the point of the story?" Lorelai spoke up. "That you got to learn your lesson?"

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

Lorelai hesitated, but she wasn't eager to offend the king. She dumped everything out of the pack and tossed it to the king. As soon as he caught it, the pack turned fold, like frost spreading across the fabric. It still looked flexible and soft, but definitely gold. The King tossed it back.

"That cost me fifty bucks," Lorelai murmured sadly.

"As you see, I can still turn anything 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 the blonde 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 windows 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."

"She talked a lot," Lit offered.

"Exactly! And so I turned her right back into 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.

"She didn't deserve that," Lorelai added.

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

Midas pulled off his oversized sleeping cap, and Jason didn't know whether to laugh or get sick.

Midas had long fuzzy gray 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."

Lorelai covered her mouth as she gagged a bit. Jason grimaced and handed her his backpack in case she puked.

"Terrible, isn't it?" Midas sighed. "A few years ago 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 stop babbling."

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. 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."

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 to the last group that came through, but they were unfriendly. Wouldn't cooperate at all."

Jason slipped his hand into his pocket and grabbed his gold coin. "The last group?"

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

Jason felt a spark of electricity—a literal spark—travel down his spine. He caught a whiff of electrical fire as he'd just melted some of the springs in the sofa.

His sister had been there.

"When?" The son of Zeus demanded. "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 demigods—I don't recall."

Percy Jackson and Landon Martin. Evangeline had mentioned the Hunters were looking for them. And in Jason's dream of the burned-out house in the redwoods, he'd heard enemy wolves baying. Hera had called them her keepers. It had to be connected somehow.

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 stood warily and glanced at the children of Iris, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite. 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, Lorelai, 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."

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

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

"No!" Jason yelled.

But frost of gold spread over Piper, and in a heartbeat she was a glittering statue. Leo tried to summon fire, but he'd forgotten his power wasn't working. Midas touched his hand, and Leo transformed into solid metal.

Midas lunged for the daughter of Iris, but Lorelai was quicker. She ducked out of the way before he could grab her, the blonde landed next to Jason.

She got to her feet and pulled out the dagger Iris had given her. The daughter of Iris held it up defensively like she'd been using it her whole life.

Jason came out of his shock when he heard Lorelai speak in his mind. "Any plan?"

"No," he managed to tell her through his thoughts.

Her eyebrows pulled into a frown.

Midas 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...even charmspeak. Which leaves me only two more trophies to collect.'

"In your dreams Grandpa," Lorelai grumbled.

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

For once, the satyr didn't charge in, and neither did Evangeline. Jason wondered if the lasers had gotten them.

Midas chuckled. "No goat or princess to the rescue? Sad. But don't worry, my boy. It's really not painful. Lit can tell you."

The son of Zeus set his jaw, and before he could speak the blonde beat him to it. "We choose combat," she told Midas. "You said we could choose to fight Lit instead."

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

The King backed away, and Lit raised his sword.

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

"Good thing I'm not a man," Lorelai said.

"Come on, Cornhusker." The son of Zeus summoned his own weapon. This time it came up as a javelin, and Jason was glad for the extra length.

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

Lit charged.

The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, and the two demigods could barely dodge the strikes, but his mind went into a different mode—analyzing the patterns, learning Lit's style, which was all offense, no defense.

"Copy what I do," Jason said in his mind, hoping Lorelai could hear it.

He met the daughter of Iris's gaze and she sent him a nod before she quickly dodged a slash from Lit.

Lit lunged at the two.

Jason counted, sidestepping, and blocked. Lorelai copied it perfectly. Lit seemed surprised to find them still alive.

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

"Legion training," Jason said, though he wasn't sure how he knew that. "It's Roman."

"Roman?" Lit struck again, Lorelai locked her dagger with the hilt of Lit's sword. She yanked him forward and swung her fist straight into his fist.

Lit stumbled back a bit clutching his jaw.

The son of Zeus charged while Lit was distracted, but the son of Midas managed to dodge. "News flash," Jason said. "While you were dead, Rome defeated Greece. Created the greatest empire of all time."

"You sure you're not secretly a Roman?" Lorelai chuckled nervously.

Jason glanced at her confused.

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

The blond met Lorelai's gaze and together the children of Zeus and Iris smacked Lit in the chest with the butt of his javelin and her dagger, sending the son of Midas toppling into his father's throne.

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

"I'm fine," Lit growled.

"You'd better help him up," Lorelai told him.

Lit cried, "Dad, no!"

Too late. Midas put his hand on his son's shoulder, and suddenly a very angry-looking gold statue was sitting on Midas's throne.

"Curses!" Midas wailed. "That was a naughty trick, demigod. I'll get you for that girl." He patted Lit's golden shoulder. "Don't worry, son. I'll get you down to the river right after I collect these prizes."

Midas raced forward. Jason and Lorelai dodged, but the old man was fast, too.

Jason kicked the coffee table into the old man's legs and knocked him over, but Midas wouldn't stay down for long.

The daughter of Iris threw her rock straight at the golden statue of the barber, the rock cracking in half as it made contact with the gold. The statue fell over and set off a domino effect, finally, a statue landed right onto Midas.

The son of Zeus glanced at the golden statues of Leo and Piper.

Anger washed over him. He was the son of Zeus. He could not fail his friends. He felt a tugging sensation in his gut, and the air pressure dropped so rapidly that his ears popped.

Midas and the Warner girl both must've felt it too, because Midas stumbled to his feet and grabbed his donkey ears.

Lorelai squinted as the wind flew past harshly, blowing her hair into her face, she sheathed the dagger and clutched her ears.

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

Jason pulled Lorelai next to him as thunder rumbled. Outside, the sky turned black.

"You know another good use for gold?" The son of Zeus said.

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

"It's an excellent conductor of electricity." Jason raised his javelin, and the ceiling exploded.

A lightning bolt ripped through the roof like it was an eggshell, connected with the tip of Jason's spear, and sent out arcs of energy that blasted the sofa to shreds.

Chunks of ceiling plaster crashed down. The chandelier groaned and snapped off its chain, and Midas screamed as it pinned him to the floor. The glass immediately turned into gold.

When the rumbling stopped, freezing rain poured into the building. Midas cursed in Ancient Greek, thoroughly pinned under his chandelier.

The rain soaked everything, turning the gold chandelier back to glass. Piper and Leo were slowly changing too, along with the other statues in the room.

Jason glanced at Lorelai and his eyes slightly widened as he took notice of the rainbow illuminating from the palms of her hands.

"What?" She asked, blinking as the rain fell down on her.

"Your hands—"

Then the front door opened interrupting him, Coach Hedge and Evangeline charged in, club and sword ready. Coach Hedge's mouth was covered with dirt, snow, and grass.

"What did we miss?" Evangeline raised an amused brow,

"Where were you?" Jason asked. His head was spinning from summoning the lightning bolt, and it was all he could do to keep from passing out. "I was screaming for help."

Hedge bleached. "Getting a snack and she just sort of blacked out."

The daughter of Hades smacked the back of Hedge's head. "Sorry. Who needs killing?"

"No one, now," Lorelai answered. "You guys grab Leo and Piper."

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

All around him, the statues of his victims were turning back to flesh—his daughter, his barber, and a whole lot of angry-looking guys with swords.

Jason grabbed Lorelai's golden bag and his own supplies.

Lorelai threw a rug over the golden statue of Lit on the throne. Hopefully, that would keep the Reaper of Men from turning back to flesh—at least until Midas's victims did.

Lorelai yanked Garfield up into her arms and picked up her rock from the ground, she quickly came back to her spot next to Jason.

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

"Oh, you think?" Evangeline said sarcastically as she dragged Leo out by his arm.

------✧------

A/N:  Lit's fanart did not have to make him look fine—

This chapter was lowkey me trying to give Jason a better personality cus he was extremely bland.

Anyway, I'm having too much fun with the mystery boy and the Evangeline/the figure plotlines. Also, Garfield, I love him sm.