Sorry for the whacked updating lately- I have a job! ^_^ But I'm on my feet for nine hours a day, so I'm a teeny tiny lots tired. Forgive me for any mistakes. Brain and body want to sleep. And sneeze, I really need to sneeze.


Annabeth tried to get Danielle weapons- knives, swords, javelins, slingshot, axe. They were all Celestial Bronze, "so if you do accidentally impale yourself, you won't get hurt at all. Celestial Bronze is too magic, it won't hurt a mortal. Very effective against monsters though."

"Use the pointy end." Percy advised as he ran past, trying to catch his nephew. Leo strolled after him, far too amused. Charlie had found Percy's blue cookies and was racing around the house, over furniture, up the stairs and down again, always ducking and diving and escaping his uncle. Danielle was pretty sure the boy could be in about eight different places at once. He popped up at her elbow and scoffed a cookie, eyes gleaming mischievously and then he was on the upstairs landing, bouncing up to walk along the banister. Leo hissed.

"Get down before your mother kills me!"

"OK!"

"No!" Leo rushed then. Charlie had jumped. Tobias and Max shot into action, snatching the throw from the sofa. Cushions flopped in various directions. Leo and Percy grabbed a corner each and they caught Charlie at the last second. Charlie wasn't hurt, the cookies were safe, Leo might have just had a heart attack. Together, the men bundled the little elfish monster in the throw and Percy sat on the now protesting bundle.

Danielle just stared.

"You're all insane."

"Mm." Annabeth hummed, regarding the chaos for a moment. "Anyway," she said, brushing a loose strand from her face, "pick something." She spread her hands. Danielle looked down at the weapons laid out on the table, hesitating, hand hovering over one and then the next.

"Wait, you guys aren't completely mortal though."

"Yeah. And?"

"Well, I don't think anyone would be particularly happy if I brought Sage home without an arm or something."

"What about me?" The Bundle insisted.

"What about you?" Percy countered.

"I'm your favourite nephew!"

"You're my only nephew! Ow! Leo!" Leo had flicked Percy in the head. "If I wasn't restraining your delinquent son, I would slap you."

"Fight me." Leo muttered.

"You need to stop hanging out with Lou."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with that." Louisa insisted, high-fiving Leo as she passed. She pushed Percy away and freed Charlie, yanking him upright and confiscating the blue cookies. Charlie made to protest; Louisa fixed a stern look on him and he instantly fell contrite, biting his bottom lip to keep quiet. "Right. Where's the nerd?"

"He's not a nerd, he's a psychic."

"He's a nerd whether he's psychic or not. Where the hell is he?"

"Here." Alvie said quietly, sitting on the bottom step. Danielle started- Alvie had been so quiet, she had almost forgotten he was there. Sage was sitting a few steps up, pulling on a pair of combat boots that Danielle was instantly jealous of. Louisa moved forward. Alvie recited the prophecy, stopping her in her tracks. He rubbed at his eyes and sighed.

"You OK, kid?" Louisa closed the distance, resting a hand on her nephew's head. Alvie just hummed. "Beth?"

"Possibly two hearts. We need something of Theo's for Charlie to find him-"

"I have magic!"

"Yes, you have magic." Annabeth pulled the hair tie from her ponytail and fashioned her hair up in a quick, messy bun. "Sage, Charlie and Danielle are going- hence, me trying to arm Danielle." Louisa ruffled Alvie's hair and made her way over, inspecting the weapons with a slight curl to her lip. "What?" Annabeth demanded. Louisa didn't reply, turning away. Annabeth muttered something in Ancient Greek. Louisa ignored her. She disappeared upstairs, returning a couple of minutes later.

"You're a bit more modern than us. Here." And she gave Danielle a pistol. A small rucksack came after it, filled with fresh clips. Danielle instantly held it all at arm's length, grimacing. "No, same principles. All Celestial Bronze. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Considerin' it was mortal, o'course." Louisa rubbed at her face and caught a yawn in her palm. "Anyway, d'ya know how ta shoot?"

"No." Danielle squeaked.

"Right. Tobias, get the apple."

"No!" Tobias protested. "You're not using me as a target!"

"Fine. Max!"

"Lou, stop picking on my sons!"

"Fine. Sage!"

"Lou!"


Lilly was watching from the upstairs window. Her aunt didn't get to use any of the boys for target practise, settling with bottles on three upturned flowerpots. Danielle nearly smacked herself in the face from the recoil, which Louisa found both funny and annoying. Louisa had given her blanks to fire, so there wasn't really much damage, but Lilly could hear her ranting nonetheless about the little time they had and Danielle's frantic apologies. Percy appeared and scolded his sister for being so harsh. Lilly stopped watching after that, swishing the curtains shut.

Callum moaned at the rings clicking along the curtain rail. Lilly looked round and saw him stir feebly.

"Hey." She said softly, taking her seat on the edge of the bed. He was shivering, but when she felt his forehead, he was dangerously warm, a thin sheen of sweat breaking out over his face. "Callum..." She called, voice barely above a whisper. His eyes flickered open, swimming about the room, unfocused.

"Theo..." He croaked.

"No, he's... Theo's not here." Lilly's voice wobbled, hand trembling as she smoothed back his hair. Callum's eyes fell shut. Even with Theo gone, Callum wasn't getting any better. He hadn't worsened, which they took as a good thing, but not better. Alvie had tried everything he could think of. The best he could was ease Callum's headaches and breathing.

The doorbell rang. There was a clatter as Charlie dashed to answer it. Max cursed. He knocked on the door a few seconds later, sticking his head round.

"Megan's here." He whispered. Callum came back around at the sound of her name, shaking his head stiffly.

"It's alright, Cal." Lilly assured gently, standing. Her brother mumbled incoherently. Max stopped at Lilly's side, regarding his brother concernedly.

"He's lost weight." He too checked Callum's forehead. There was a sharp crack from outside and Louisa cheered. Max moved around his sister and twitched the curtain back. "But Dani can shoot now. I take it we're supposed to feel safe?"

"She learnt quick."

"Lou teaches quick." Max shrugged. Lilly took a step in his direction and a hand locked onto her wrist.

"Callum?" Lilly squeaked, whirling back round. Callum's hand was like ice on her wrist, moreso when frost crept up her skin. Lilly swallowed nervously, sensing Max's presence at her side. "Callum, Cal, let go." She tried to pull herself free. The cold was setting in now, making her teeth chatter. Max tried too, pulling on Callum's fingers to no avail. "Cal-"

"Theo." Callum croaked, voice stronger than it had been in days. The door crashed open and Alvie rushed in. His eyes blazed white. Callum slumped against the pillows, hand dropping, dangling over the edge. Lilly rubbed at the frost, desperately attempting to restore warmth. Max grabbed a jumper from the nearest drawer and wrapped it around the iced limb.

"Are you OK?"

"I- I'm fine. Callum-" Lilly faltered, tears filling her eyes. Alvie's hands passed a foot over Callum, lips moving quietly, the light of his eyes stinging their own. White-gold sparks shot from his fingers and he stilled. The light died down. "Alvie?" Lilly's voice an octave higher than usual. Alvie didn't answer her, sitting Callum up and holding him by the shoulders. Lilly immediately switched into fussy-mother-hen mode. She smacked Alvie's hands away, cuddling Callum to her, keeping him sat up for whatever reason Alvie needed him so. Callum's head rolled onto her shoulder. His breath was shallow.

"Alvie, what's wrong with him?" Max demanded hotly.

"Theo got too close."

"Theo?" Lilly started. "Theo- Theo's here?"

"Was." Alvie muttered. He got up and crossed to the window, swishing back the curtains and throwing it open. He leant out. Louisa and Danielle were still shooting bottles. "Lou!" Alvie called. Louisa waved frantically at her new student to quiet down. "Haven't seen anything unusual, have you?"

"Just dodgy shooting! Why?" Alvie stayed mute. Louisa seemed to sense his apprehension, summoning her bow and looking round. Her nephew surveyed the familiar backyards, brow creasing in frustration. Louisa ordered Danielle to keep practising, running and vaulting the back fence. Alvie left the window open, ducking back inside. "Max, get Mom, Dad, Leo and Tobias, start combing the area." Max nodded, summoning an axe. Lilly's eyes widened at the sight of it. "Lilly, Megan is still downstairs. I'll send her up."

"But Callum said-"

"I know." Alvie cut across. "I know." He repeated, voice softer. "I need you to make sure Sage, Charlie and Danielle are ready to leave."

"But Callum-"

"He'll be fine with Megan. Promise." Alvie added at her reluctance. He and Max raced from the room. Lilly heard the front door slam shut. Megan appeared second later.

"I- uh, Alvie sent me up." She mumbled.

"I... I know." Lilly looked to her brother. His eyes were open, watching her sadly. "Cal," she said, leaning over to brush his hair back, "I'll only be downstairs. I've got to help the others get ready. No, ssh. It's going to be alright. We can trust Megan. She won't think any less of you for being ill."

"I will, however, think less of you if you get me ill." Megan took Lilly's seat and smiled. "I've got this. Go and pack the Great Escape." Lilly touched her shoulder.

"Thank you."

"I've waited a very long time for a moment like this; Callum can't go anywhere, so I get payback on all his stupid jokes. And yes, they are stupid. Shush." Lilly left Megan to chatter, hurrying from the room, across the landing and down the stairs. Sage had stashed Danielle's potential weapons from earlier in the three backpacks waiting for them on the table. Charlie was sorting out medical and food supplies, making sure they had water. The packs were going to be heavy, probably heavier than Charlie, but they had to make do. Lilly checked what they had and busied herself collecting toiletries and spare clothes, made sure Charlie had his toolkit, Sage got two books and Danielle's new weapon and ammunition was stored in the front pocket of the backpack. Lilly checked, double-, triple- and quadruple-checked their supplies, finally confirming they were ready to go.

"Excellent." Charlie grinned. "One last thing." He rummaged in the pockets of his army jacket, retrieving a small vial. A very pale blue liquid sloshed about inside. He pushed the cork out with his thumb and splashed the contents over Danielle. She flinched, eyes shut as she processed this sudden attack. Sage pinched Charlie's arm.

"What was that?"

"Give it a minute!" He insisted, handing the empty vial to Lilly. He dragged his gear from the table, overwhelmed by its weight. It thudded to the floor and he struggled for a moment.

"Want me to do that?" Sage offered, irritation sinking into amusement. Charlie mmph'ed and swung the backpack on. He smirked at his cousin and then turned to watch Danielle. The blue liquid had vanished now, not even a single drop anywhere on her person. She blinked a few times, frowning at Charlie in confusion. Sage picked up her pack. Danielle did too, almost robotically. "What did you do?" Sage prompted, curiously inspecting the part-Italian. Charlie was looking at his watch.

"Five, four, three, two-" He pointed at Danielle. "Lead the way." He smiled. Danielle started off, heading towards the door, still running on autopilot. Sage and Lilly exchanged quick looks. Charlie grinned wickedly. "Ah, yeessssss. Daniseus sails!"

"Was that the magic?"

"That was the magic!"

"But that means-" Lilly started, trailing off, in awe of Charlie's genius (obviously).

"That means, dear cousins, that the thing Theo treasures most is our good friend there! She'll find him in no time!"

"I ship Theonelle too, but that's just rude. I am his sister, he should treasure me most."

"Yeah, but you're mean."

"If you say that one more time-" Sage let the threat hang in the air, fists clenched. Charlie whimpered and scurried after Danielle. Sage sighed. "Wish me luck." She muttered, giving her sister a quick, one-armed hug.

"Keep me updated."

"Will do."

"And it's Daniseus."

"Theonelle!"