Hey there my ever-wonderful readers! I've finally managed to upload the seventh chappie of RID! E GAD, I missed updating this story!

ANYWAY: thanks to ALL my reviewers for reviewing! Like I said, I appreciate all your input and views on the story and characters. No matter how insignificant they may seem to you, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to tinianiatt for being such an amazing Beta-reader.

As always: I do not own 'Class of the Titans'


A tired sigh escaped Odie's lips as he bent, once more, over the bowels of the electronic device in front of him. He had been working for most of the week that followed the Christmas party, yet made little progress. His mission to fix the inter-dimensional adaptor for the portal was beginning to seem rather futile.

He lowered the soldering gun into the machine and worked for a few minutes more. Unfortunately, a plume of thick smoke erupted from the adaptor and brought his work to an abrupt halt.

It was at that moment, between coughs and curses, that Odie reached the point where he'd finally had enough. He was tired, overworked and in dire need of a break. Was it not enough that he had to worry about school starting up again and Neil's mysterious weekly bouts of 'exhaustion'? Why did everyone have to guilt him into working on the portal twenty-four-seven?

Odie lay back on the cold floor and closed his eyes for the merest of seconds. It felt insanely good to finally get some rest. Thus it was, with the hardness of the cold tiles pressing beneath his back, that an idea popped into Odie's head. He opened his eyes and looked sheepishly in the direction of Hermes' portal. It had never looked more inviting than at that very moment.

He stood up and, after making sure that his PMR was in his pocket and the coast clear, moved over to the hidden portal. It opened as easily as ever; filling the room with the vortex's blue sheen. For a moment Odie's rational side delivered a last ditch plea to abandon this madness and get back to work. Exhaustion and sudden recklessness, however, reigned supreme and Odie only hesitated for a second before disappearing in the swirling depths. He could only hope that the others' mentors would keep them busy long enough to keep him from being caught.


"At the risk of sounding like Persephone, I need you to focus, Gareth," Pan said.

He walked in a circle around Gareth who was clenching his eyes shut tightly. A small black sphere of smoke and mist was floating in mid air in front of him. It had been a little more than a week since the Christmas party and Gareth was back to training to use his powers.

"Concentrate on making the shadows do what you want," Pan instructed. "It's in your power to do it. Just concentrate."

Gareth squinted a little harder and the orb began to spin a little faster. It moved across the room and gathered around one of Persephone's vases. The vase was lifted from its pedestal in a rather wobbly fashion. It promptly capsized and the lid smashed on the ground. Both Gareth and Pan cringed. There would be hell to pay once Persephone noticed the damaged vase.

"Okay, now gently put the vase back down," Pan instructed.

Gareth tensed every muscle in his body and focused hard on lowering the shadows around the vase. To his great relief the vase was safely planted back in place; sans its lid of course. Both of them looked fearfully at the broken lid on the ground.

"Um… maybe we should get out of here…" Gareth suggested.

"Good idea," Pan replied and both promptly scrambled for the exit of the solarium.

They didn't manage to escape in time, however, for Persephone appeared in the doorway just as they were about to make a run for safety.

"Hi Persephone!" both Gareth and Pan exclaimed in hyper innocent voices.

"Hello," she said with a strangely suspicious glint in her eyes. "You're done awfully fast. I was just going to come and check in on Gareth's progress."

"No need to. He's doing great. Really great," Pan said and pushed past the blonde goddess. "Hurry up Gareth. We have to go take care of that… thing."

Persephone's eyes narrowed. "What's going on here? People only talk like that when something's wrong."

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Look," Pan turned aside and showed her the interior of the solarium, making sure that he blocked the broken piece of pottery in the process. "We really have to go now. Bye."

Pan and Gareth didn't wait a second longer. The two of them moved away from the solarium as quickly as was possible without running. They hadn't gone five feet when Persephone's angry shout screeched the paint off the walls.

"What in the name of Zeus… Pan!"

"Run!" Pan exclaimed and both of them ran to the portal.

They were through the swirling vortex and running away from the titan wing at record speed. They didn't want Persephone to catch up with them; especially not when a broken vase lid was involved. They came to a halt upon reaching the street in front of the school and stood bent over; gasping for breath. Or, at least, Gareth was. Pan, being the god of the forest, simply stood there as if he'd just gotten up from a nice relaxing nap.

"That was too close," Gareth gasped.

"Yeah, it was worth it though. Nice work, Gareth."

"Thanks. I guess I can run very fast when I need to," Gareth replied.

"No, I meant great work with your training," he said and patted Gareth's back. "You're really starting to get the hang of your powers."

Gareth's face lit up instantly. "Really? Does that mean I can finally start my hand-to-hand combat training?"

"Uh…. No," Pan answered. "We still have a few power-lessons to do before you start with the physical stuff. But we'll get there," Pan added upon noticing Gareth's rapidly deflating expression.

"Okay," Gareth said as if accepting an unchangeable fate, "as long as I'll end up being able to kick Daren's butt if he hassles me again."

Pan let out a blast of laughter. "I promise you, you'll be able to defend yourself properly."

Gareth seemed placated by this response and, for a few moments, the two of them stood in amicable silence. Soon, however, Pan's gaze turned to Gareth.

"So… uh… how's Atlanta doing?" he asked.

"She's fine," Gareth said shrewdly.

"Oh. Well, that's cool."

The silence between them had become markedly more uncomfortable. Pan was now staring intensely at the pavement as if trying to ask it the questions he couldn't ask Gareth.

"Look," Gareth said seriously. "Atlanta's doing great; especially because she's with Archie now. She's my friend. So please don't get angry with me when I tell you to back off. She is happy as she is now. Don't go messing it up for her."

"I'd never do anything to hurt Atlanta," Pan said indignantly.

"Not directly, you wouldn't. But pining after her all the time isn't making it easier for her."

"Look who's talking," Pan said sharply.

Gareth's posture froze momentarily. There was a slightly hurt look on his face that instantly filled Pan with guilt.

"My situation is different," he said almost inaudibly. "Medelia's just using him. She doesn't lo- care for him like I do."

"Gareth, I'm sorry," Pan said quickly. "You're right. It's just that… I love her so much. You of all people must understand what it's like to love somebody you can never have."

Gareth swallowed loudly at the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. The euphoria that had ruled his existence since the Christmas party had vanished behind the harshness of reality.

"So we're done here?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're done," Pan replied.


A high pitched squeal of epic proportions echoed across the sands and was quickly followed by the arms of a gorgeous African American woman being wrapped around his neck. He knew that he should have expected this kind of reaction and took it in his stride.

"Oh, Odie-kins, I knew you'd come back to me," she squealed in delight.

"Hi Calypso," said Odie's muffled voice from beneath her breast. "How are things?"

Calypso squeezed him like an octopus and promptly launched into a long tangent about her time on the island. Apparently it involved fishing, coconuts, swimming, coconuts, playing around with her collection of sailors' headgear and- lest she forget to mention it- coconuts. She, of course, didn't miss a beat in trying to make him feel guilty about leaving her alone for so long.

"-and you know how lonely I get here on my own," she finished whining. At least for the time being…

"If you're lonely then why don't you come and live among humans?"

"Because I'm immortal, silly," she said in a mock childish voice. "People would start to notice that I never get old."

"Actually, it'd be kinda easy for you to fit in nowadays. You can move around a lot and if people get suspicious you could just tell them that you get lots of Botox injections."

This was apparently the wrong thing to say, for Calypso's sun-kissed skin became an angry shade of red that gave Odie the shivers.

"Are you implying that I need plastic surgery? Am I suddenly not good enough for you?"

"No! I- Uh- just meant that you could use it as a cover to- uh- explain why you're already so pretty."

Calypso's tense expression relaxed immediately and she squeezed herself closer to Odie's side.

"You're such a gentleman; always saying such nice things."

Odie had known where this was heading, yet still found himself surprised when her lips suddenly touched his. It wasn't that he didn't like it. It was great; Calypso was a champion kisser with centuries of practice to back up her boasting-rights. He just wished she'd learn to control herself better.

Their kiss eventually broke and he sat up. He let his eyes drift over the waves in the distance and allowed his thoughts to wander. Secretly he wondered what his friends would say if they knew where he was; knew what he was doing. Would they be able to believe that meek, geeky Odie could possibly have a wilder side? Would they be shocked by this hidden part of himself? Maybe he was better off letting go of this particular dream. After all, he wasn't as heroic as Jay or as good looking as Neil. He knew that he must seem very desperate to keep pinning his hopes on a semi-crazy nymph.

"Hey Odie, get your head out of the clouds!" The sound of Calypso's voice brought him back to earth immediately.

"What?"

"I asked you how you're gonna get back to your friends," Calypso said irritably.

"Oh! That's easy. I upgraded my PMR to operate Hermes' portal from long distances. So I'll be able to get back home easily enough."

Calypso looked at him with an expression that was both confused and puzzled. In the end she just shrugged as if accepting that he was, once again, correct with whatever he had said.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Odie just shrugged and started staring at the waves again. Calypso sighed and got to her feet.

"Come on," she said while holding out her hand. "Let's go for a swim. I'm sure that'll make you feel better."

Odie looked at her outstretched hand. Taking it would mean that he still thought he had a chance with a girl; that he still dreamed…

Odie hesitated for only a moment before taking her hand. He had come to realize that even though he wasn't an incredibly powerful hero or good looking there was one great quality that he possessed besides his genius: he never gave up.


A few hours had passed and most of the team were back on the roof of the Brownstone. Neil was splayed over one of the deckchairs and did his best to soak up as much sun as was humanly possible, while Atlanta and Archie were locked in a feverish battle to see who could deliver the most consecutive round-house kicks without tiring out. Theresa found herself leaning against the wall while appreciatively watching Jay and Herry mess around with a bunch of hackey sacks.

"Hey guys. Has anyone seen Odie?" Theresa turned to find that it was Gareth who had suddenly spoken.

He was standing in the doorway looking very much like he had just run a marathon. There was a murmur of no's from the group at large, after which everyone returned to their prior activities. Thus, Gareth chose to join Theresa at her perch near the wall.

"You sure you haven't seen him?" Gareth asked. "I really need his help with my trig homework."

"Nope," Theresa replied sullenly.

They spent the next few minutes debating how evil their maths teacher was for giving them homework over the holidays and lamenting the fact that they had put it off until the very last minute.

Theresa couldn't help but notice the rather uncomfortable glances that Herry kept sending in their direction. He had been markedly quite around her and Gareth since the Christmas party. She had a feeling that he suspected her hand in the mistletoe incident. She chose to ignore him every time he gave her a questioning glance and feigned innocence. After all, what was a girl to do when a friend was in need?

It was during another one of Herry's uncomfortable glances that he waited a moment too long to look back at the hackey sack. It ended up flying over his shoulder and directly at Neil who jumped off the deckchair with a terrified squeal. Thus the sack ricocheted off the chair and over the side of the building.

"Aw crud," Herry said dejectedly. "Why didn't you catch it, Neil?"

"Catch it?" Neil asked indignantly. "Are you crazy? That thing could've bruised me! Why do those things always come flying at me?" Both Herry and Jay just groaned and moved away from Neil.

"I'll go get it," Jay said and moved to the door. He was, however, blocked by Herry who quickly dashed for the door.

"Don't worry. I'll get it," Herry yelled over his shoulder.

Jay just shrugged confusedly and moved in Theresa's direction. She smiled wistfully at him and leaned back against the wall.

"Why do I get the feeling that Herry is trying to avoid you?" she said to Gareth. The traces of a pleased smile could be heard in her voice.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of something you did?" Gareth said accusingly and glared at her.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," she said a little too innocently.

"Oh please," Gareth snorted. "You and I both know that that mistletoe didn't just appear above us. You moved it!"

The distance between Jay and them came to a close and Theresa launched herself off the wall to clasp her arms around his neck. He breathed in the scent of her hair and slowly revolved on the spot.

"You can thank me later," she mouthed over Jay's shoulder.

Gareth just grunted in agitation and fell back against the wall. His agitation was mostly due to the fact that he really did feel like thanking her.


Odie had to admit that Calypso had been right. He had barely been in the water for more than five minutes before his morbid thoughts of earlier had been forgotten. He had to wonder, though, how much of that could honestly be due to the cool water. After all, what man can feel downhearted when he was busy kissing a gorgeous nymph on the shores of a tropical island? Calypso broke their kiss and winked mischievously at him.

"You've been working out," she said appreciatively and gazed at his body beneath the rippling water.

Odie blushed and resisted the urge to babble incomprehensively. Besides, it wouldn't help to tell Calypso that he had gained most of his slightly leaner build by running away from crazed giants and zombies. Thus he just allowed himself to drown in the depths of her adoring gaze. She swam closer to him and put her mouth to the side of his face. He quivered involuntarily when she whispered into his ear.

"Come with me. I have something incredible to show you."

He swam to the beach with her, marvelling at the way they contrasted as they got out of the water. She looked every bit like a Bond-girl with tiny droplets of water shimmering like gold as they ran down her moist skin. He on the other hand felt like a soggy cat when he stumbled onto the hot sand.

"This way," she said and jogged to a large outcropping of rock further down the beach. He panted slightly when he finally managed to catch up with her and rubbed at the ache in his side. She smiled excitedly while looking up at the top of the outcropping of rocks. "You are going to love this! The view from up there is amazing!"

"You can't be serious," Odie said apprehensively. "I'm not that good with the whole rock climbing thing."

"Don't be silly. It's easy. I do it all the time," she said sweetly.

Odie gave up and, sighing in exasperation, began to claw his way up the rocks. He climbed for a long time without appearing to make any progress. The way up seemed to stretch on endlessly. It didn't boost his morale, either, to see Calypso climbing further and further ahead with every passing second. She was climbing like a mountain lion on a coffee-high.

So enthralled was Odie by Calypso's climbing prowess that he didn't pay much attention to his own hands and ended up grabbing hold of a loose piece of rock. The rocky beach came rushing toward him with hellish speed and he landed with a heavy thud.

"Argh!" he gasped when a searing pain shot through his leg.

Calypso let out a startled yelp and climbed down from the rocks at break-neck speed. She didn't pause until she reached Odie, at which point she started fussing over him.

"It's not that bad," Odie kept saying. "It's just a tiny scratch. The rock didn't cut me that badly."

"How can you say that?" Calypso exclaimed in near hysterics. "You're bleeding! I'm gonna need to clean out the wound and cover it in bandages." She leaned closer and examined the gash on his leg. Tiny droplets of crimson seeped from the wound and stained the sand. "Oh! You're losing so much blood! You'll need to eat something sugary! I'll give you some of my coconut cream pie when we-"

"Calypso, stop overreacting!" Odie said loudly. "It's just a tiny cut. I don't need any bandages and I definitely don't need to eat anything sugary. I haven't lost that much blo-"

Odie's eyes seemed to bug out and he stared into dead space for the longest of times. His lips moved slowly and he seemed to be reciting the contents of a medical journal. A light bulb had seemingly flashed to life inside his quick witted mind and Odie quickly put two and two together.

"Oh no! I'm so stupid," he berated himself while slamming the palm of his hand to his forehead. "Why didn't I see it sooner?"

"What? Odie, what's wrong?" Calypso asked. "Are you dizzy? Do you need to lie down?"

"I'm fine! It's just that I've realized what's going on. I know what's wrong with Neil!"

"The blonde boy? Something's wrong with him?" she inquired confusedly.

"Yes! I have to go, though. This is really important," Odie said excitedly.

Odie scrambled to his feet and started running across the hot sand. He grabbed his shirt from the ground and haphazardly pulled it over his head.

"But you've barely been here for a proper visit," Calypso whined. "I never get to see you and now you're leaving!"

"I'm sorry Calypso, but this is important. I have to get going. I swear I'll come visit you again soon," he rambled while picking up his PMR.

"Promise?" Calypso demanded. She pushed her lower lip out angrily.

"Promise," Odie said earnestly and flipped open the PMR.

His face froze when he looked down on the blank screen. He pressed a few buttons without getting any response from the hardware.

"No! This can't be happening," he moaned. "Not now. Not tonight."

"What's wrong now?" Calypso asked worriedly.

"The battery's dead. And it's gonna take hours for my portable solar panels to recharge it."

"Well that's not such a bad thing," Calypso said with a barely suppressed smile. "You can just stay with me a bit longer."

"You don't understand!" Odie yelled. "I have to get back to New Olympia now. Tomorrow, a week will have passed since the last time Neil was sick. Which means that it's gonna happen tonight. I need to warn my friends before it's too late. Neil might die tonight!"


Thank you for reading the chappie goys and girls! I really hope you enjoyed it.

You wanna know a HUGE secret? I VALUE YOUR OPINIONS! :0 *cue gong of incredible revelations* LOL! I'd be ever thankful of you all reviewed! Anonymous reviews are allowed, so even if you don't have an account feel free to drop a line. HEE! :)

I hope you all still have the fuzzies from that HUGE reviewer-Christmas-group-hug! This time reviewers will be rewarded with a beach party hosted by the teens and gods! (just imagine how much fun Zeus'll be!)

Have a great day/night! :)