To RandomFanAuthor- hell yeah he is! ^_^

To Anonymous Person- ummmm, maybe? What did I put? Brain too tired, minimal think only.

Louisa sat at the bottom of the lake. No one would bother her down here, no one could. It was just her, the mud and the bones. She had visually sifted through them, tried a mental assembly of them. It sparked no recollection of the beasts; she could not tie them to the ones in Joel's video.

She hated that video. Tightness had slammed into her chest at the flashes of green. She had backed out as the storms came in. Her entire body repulsed the notion of seeing it through. Now she was here in the lake. Not entirely sure how she had got here, but grazes on her hands and forearms suggested she had fallen.

This murky water was filth, nightmare liquified. It did not heal her cuts and she saw nothing more than the bones amassed before her. This was her creation, but not her element.

But water was water, right?

"Dad?" Her voice sounded flat and distorted. A bubble slipped from a skull's eye socket. She followed its path until lost from view, staring after it miserably. "Poseidon?" She tried. "Uh, Neptune? I don't… I don't know which of you I'm supposed ta ask." She paused, squishing her trembling fingers in the mud. "Can ya even hear me?" Nothing. Louisa sighed, drawing her knees to her chest. "What's the point?" She muttered. "Ya keep me alive, but ya think I'm bad anyway. What am I supposed ta do?"

"Seriously, can't you just, like, tie her to your arm? Put a bell on her? Ooh, I've got a nice set of trackers if you want-"

"Joel."

"Do you see them coming up with any good ideas?" Joel pouted. Lucy-Jo raised an eyebrow at him and he huffed. "No, I am not putting a pound in the Sulk Jar. Naff off."

"She'll go to water, right?" Calypso asked. Leo nodded in agreement, serious thought saturating his features. He tinkered with scraps without realising, the odd flame in his hair. "What is it?"

"We were told Lou had strong ties here, right?"

"Strong ties?" Lucy-Jo echoed. "Who told you that?"

"Postverta."

"Ugh. Gods." She pinched the bridge of her nose, mustering a silent count. Joel played around with his keyboard, humming Nelly the Elephant.

"Any idea what she meant?" Leo asked once Lucy-Jo had resurfaced.

"Mm. Lake?"

"Seems too obvious." Calypso pointed out.

"True. Uh, she's been around for, like, three-ish years now? Could be us."

"We are very strong ties." Joel agreed without looking up. "Especially me, I'm her favourite." Nobody agreed with him. But nobody disagreed with him, so he took that as a win. Lucy-Jo sighed, massaging her cheeks and grimacing.

"Head-Hunter." Leo remembered. Lucy-Jo and Joel tensed, staring at him apprehensively. Leo, with a nod from Calypso, described his first dream, two Keepers walking at night in search of this Head-Hunter. "I think… I think they were you two. Because you said something about him dating your brother and… pretty sure you called him by name as well. Ooh, why are dreams so hard to remember?"

"I'm working on it." Joel promised, nodding seriously. Lucy-Jo didn't even get time to roll her eyes; he was on his feet, exclaiming wordlessly and bouncing. "WAIT!" He demanded, flailing his hands at them. "Wait wait wait, I've got an idea!"

"Thought I could smell burning."

"Did I ask for your opinion, no I did not, shut your mouth."

"Cooould you tell me why?" Louisa tried. "Why me? What's so wrong with me that I kill the gods?" She waited, biting back a sigh as the silence continued. "Fine. Be like that." Still nothing. She glared around. With her foot, she pushed a skull, turning it away so it no longer stared at her. "Could ya tell me anythin' mildly helpful?" Nothing. "Could ya tell me how ta keep my friends safe?" Nothing. "Could ya tell me 'bout this green glowy eye shit?" She listened for something, anything, frowning. "Could ya tell me my middle name?" She scoffed. "Antevorta thought it was important. That ain't much ta go on, she thought green socks 'n' pancakes were important. Fuckin'… I dunno." She huffed irritably, squashing mud between her palms. "Could ya at least tell me if ya listenin'?"

There was no answer. Why she expected anything, she did not know. Hoped, maybe, but hope was beginning to look stupid.

And she was getting sick of this lake. It was not saltwater, despite her influence. It hardly qualified as fresh water, so riddled with silt and demise. She wasn't sure how long she had been down here, firing questions at her father's name alone, but it was beginning to be too long. She was sick of this lake and she was sick of the silence. "Ya gonna say anythin', Dad?" She sighed, pushing the toes of her sneakers into the mud. "I get the feelin' I talk ta myself a lot when it comes ta you."

"Ta da!"

"Ooh, a torture device! How thrilling!"

"Hey, less sarcasm and more applause! It's not a torture device, it's a- actually, I don't have a proper name for it yet. I just know Neville won't let me call it Zappy."

"Zappy?"

"Yes. Zap zap." Joel fired finger guns at Leo, poking him in the arm and head.

"Joel," Lucy-Jo stepped in, "you've not even tested it."

"Do you want to tes-?"

"No."

"You didn't even-"

"There is nothing on this planet that will get me hooked up to one of your inventions."

"Ouch." Joel pouted, laying his hand on his heart. "That cut deep, L.J. I thought we were friends." She crossed her arms over her chest, deepening his pout. "Fine. You're not invited to my birthday party."

"Your birthday's in eight months."

"And nineteen days. Don't forget that bit."

"Um, hello?" Calypso waved. "What is the… zap thing?" She gestured vaguely at it, not even entirely sure what she was looking at. A headband, of sorts, filigreed with wires and connectors and various other pieces she did not understand. It sparked and hummed, little lights blinking on the front in a multitude of colours. A chin strap hung unclasped from the sides and yellowed lenses came down to cover the eyes. Joel smiled at it as though it were his pride and joy, but Calypso was siding with Lucy-Jo on this. It looked disturbing and uncomfortable. She would not be at all surprised if it was for reducing one's brain to goop.

"This," Joel beamed, "is an idea I've been working on."

"That's great, what does it do?"

"Well, in theory, it's supposed to help with mental illnesses brought on from trauma. Like… uh, it's, um… OK, so it finds the bad stuff in the brainy parts and zap zap zap, disconnects from the panic while retaining the memory for… learning purposes?"

"And you've not tested it?"

"Mm, no, 'cos it, uh, it doesn't fit my head?"

"Told you you've got a fat head."

"Shut up, Lucy-Jo. I also don't have a reason to use it, so… it wouldn't be fair test results. Don't you touch it, mate, I'll fuck you up." Leo held his hands up innocently, but still leaned forward to inspect the construction. Joel was distracted from glaring at him by Lucy-Jo snickering into her hand, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. "What, you think I can't take him, I'll take him, I'll flaming bash ya, mate."

"I'm going to look for Lou." Calypso smiled weakly. "Leo, will you be OK?"

"I dealt with Lou trying to kill me and my sibs back at Camp. Pretty sure I can handle Joel."

"No one can handle Joel." Joel fumed. "Except maybe Neville, but that's a different handling."

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Joel!" Lucy-Jo covered her ears, whining and shaking her head.

"Yeah, that's what you get. Doubter."

Louisa had given up trying to call on her father. She didn't want to be in the lake anymore. There was no point prolonging her stay with the skeletons if she could not gain anything from it.

It unnerved her how still it was. Lakes were always teeming with life; she could not bear to see it so. Her skin crawled at the hollowness of it, pulling her to kneel at the water's edge. Each swim she had been on thus far, she had always been greeted by fish or naiads or other creatures of the realm.

Her time amongst the murk gave her some clarity. Not the clarity she was looking for, but clarity none-the-less. The lake was not fit for habitation. But if she had made it, surely she could fix it? If she could do nothing else worthwhile, at least she could try this.

Green light flooded from her fingers, hovering a hairsbreadth above the water's surface. She closed her eyes, a coil in her gut. She imagined clean, sparkling water; swirls of colours, lights and shadows beneath the sky; seaweed and algae, giggling naiads flitting through their home in a mix of fish and playfulness.

"You've already tried that."

She started, shoving away from her spot. A girl smiled at her, sitting cross-legged by the water. She was no older than ten, but she wore all black and her raven hair was also cut short. "Hi." She grinned, hazel eyes glittering with mirth. "Do you really have amnesia?"

"Why does everyone sound so surprised?"

"Well, it's the last cliché thing you could do."

"Who are you?" Louisa asked, slowly moving to sit normally. She eyed the girl curiously, the familiar niggling sense of recognition dulled by constant blanks. The girl pouted at the question, picking at the material of her trousers.

"I'm Juni." She eventually said. "Bit annoyed you don't remember me, to be honest."

"Why?"

"'Cos you brought me here, dumb-dumb."

"Nooooo, what are you doing? I said don't touch it!"

"If you'd rather it didn't fry people's brains, let me play!"

"No! Monster!"

"Joel! Fried brains?"

"They taste the best! That was a joke, don't look at me like that."

"Only brains you'd ever have anyway."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Can I work? Please?" Leo huffed. Lucy-Jo smacked Joel. He protested wordlessly, but at her glare, fell into quiet mutters. Leo shook his head, sighing as he refocused. He had taken apart Joel's Zappy, replacing multiple parts with Celestial bronze equivalents, adding adjustments, removing pieces that had no use. He was not an expert on the human brain, but as a master of disaster inventions, he knew one when he saw one.

Joel leaned towards Lucy-Jo, frowning.

"First my keyboard, now my Zappy. I swear, if he goes after Neville-"

"He won't go after Neville."

"He keeps touching my stuff!"

"Neville's not stuff."

"He's my stuff."

"Ugh, why do I bother with you?"

"You'd be very bored without me. Don't even try to deny it, young lady."

"I can still hear you." Leo piped up.

"Yeah, but it ain't our fault demigods have sharper hearing."

"Wait, we do?"

"How'd you not know?" Joel gasped. "Look, when Neville gets back ask him. He's been studying demigods like the next David Attenborough."

"Huh. Should I be worried?"

"Nah. Only hurts a little."

"What?"

Calypso found Louisa as she predicted- by the lake. Unpredicted, however, was her companion. A young girl with cropped dark hair, nattering away without a care in the world. She fell quiet when she saw Calypso in the corner of her eye.

"Are you one of those demigod people too?"

"I'm Calypso."

"No way!" The girl was on her feet, clenching her fists and bouncing on the soles of her feet. "Like, the Calypso?"

"Um… yes?"

"So cool!" The girl gushed. She grabbed Calypso's hand, extending her arm for her and examining her palm.

"Uh, Lou? Who is… this?"

"This is Juni." Louisa stood, folding her arms. "She likes ta talk." Juni had worked her way up Calypso's arm, walking around her in awe.

"If you're the Calypso from the stories, how old are you? Can you do magic? Have you got a sword too? Can I have a go? What's it like being immortal? Are you like a vampire kind of immortal or a demon? What about-?"

"Juni." Louisa called.

"Oh, right. Sorry!" Juni sang, stopping in front of Calypso and grinning. Calypso smiled awkwardly and patted her on the head.

"Lou, are you alright?"

"Dad ain't answerin'." She shrugged, looking out to the lake. "You OK?"

"I'm fine, Lou, just… worried. About you."

"I'm fine."

"She's lying." Juni hissed. Calypso sighed. "Are you a vampire?"

"No."

"Can you become one?"

"No."

"Lame."

Caaaaan we get to 170 before the next update? ^_^