To all- the Keeper thing is part of my plan, let it play out and then it goes back to normal stuff. I just needed to tie in a bit of Lou's past and some other stuff, no spoilers, another few chapters!

To RandomFanAuthor- I will PM! Thank you! ^_^

To HoO Fan- I can post the drawings later today on Tumblr, they're not all coloured (because I lost my colours) but I have a few! My Tumblr name is the same as my Fanfiction, 'cos I'm lazy :P AND HE WILL DEFINITELY WAKE UP- but possibly in a side-time-line-type-deal-thingy. And a crossover between PJO/HoO and Marvel? Lou would never let Deadpool go, I hope you realise that :D

"Ah, there she is." Joel smiled, squeezing Louisa's hand in greeting. "Neville's back, so I've been on my best behaviour and we're now down to a one point zero zero zero… three zero two… six five? Uh…" He did a quick calculation on his fingers. "Yeah, blah blah percent chance of your brain melting! Ain't that great?" He beamed.

"Uh, yeah, great."

"Mm, hundred percent chance I don't like your attitude, missy." Louisa shrugged and he sighed. "Fine then. Come over here and- well damn, Leo wasn't kidding. You really are the muscle."

"Joel, she's always been the muscle." Neville reminded him.

"Nah, mate, she's been working out. Lou, teach me your secrets."

"Don't even go there." Neville fit himself between them, lightly tweaking Joel's nose. "You can't get up the stairs without asphyxiating."

"Uh, I'll think you'll find the stairs in question are the stairs. Two-hundred and ninety-eight steps, Nevvy! You'll need to be bloody Mo Farah to get up them!"

"I was talking about the ones to your room."

"Aaah, been to my room, have ya?"

"Haven't you got work to do?"

"Probably."

"Going to do it?"

Probably not." He grinned lopsidedly, kissing Neville's nose. "Don't pout, my darling, I will get to it eventually. Promise." Neville hummed disbelievingly. "I'm gonna put the kettle on first, I'm going cold turkey, I need my tea."

"It's amazing your blood isn't tea."

"Oh my god, that would be so cool."

"Joel."

"Right, right. Who wants a tea, no-one, good."

"Joel, share!"

"Noooo, don't make me!" He whined. "It's bad enough L.J steals my choccie bickies."

"Aww, poor hard-done-by Joel."

"Yeah. Poor hard-done-by me. Now where's my cup? If anyone sees a cup shaped like Gromit, let me know. But don't touch it. It's mine." He rambled off, once again singing to himself, peering at everything in judgment, as if it all conspired against him to hide his cup.

"What's he doing now?" Louisa looked over her shoulder. "Glad to see you're up and about again." Calypso smiled. Juni popped out from behind her, grinning. An ache writhed through Louisa's chest on sight of the girl; nothing to do with her injury.

"I came to see you earlier, but the meds had been dismissed! I need to tell you about Tulio and the frog leg!" The door opened again, dispensing Lucy-Jo and Leo. She was smirking at him and he was oddly crimson, fire in his hair. Juni gasped in amazement, instantly trying to touch it. Calypso intervened without letting her gaze drift from Louisa, smacking Juni's hand lightly.

"She reminds me of you." She remarked, bemused. "Juni, my lovely, you can't touch fire."

"Leo's touching fire."

"Leo doesn't burn, so he can touch fire. You, on the other hand, are considerably flammable."

"That's unfair. Lou doesn't burn either."

"She does." Leo corrected quickly. "You told me once," he clarified at Louisa's confusion, "apparently, you're fire-resistant, not fire-proof."

"Huh." Louisa said. "Cool."

"Oooh, I wanna be a demigod too!" Juni pouted. "You get cool powers and dragons and muscles and adventures and-"

"Amnesia and death and destruction and millions of tasks from different gods and then more death and bounties on our heads." Leo poked himself in the forehead. "Not to mention the constant threat of monsters or gods with vendettas against Lou for whatever bizarre thing she did."

"Lou stole door hinges." Juni remembered.

"You know about that?" Calypso marvelled. "Why did she-?"

"It was a dare. She won."

"Do you know where the hinges are?"

"On my door. They're great- I can lock it just by the hinges, I can swing the door both ways, super quiet, never needs oiling, no-one gets in unless I say so, all voice-activated."

"Not what I was expecting." Leo admitted.

"What were you expecting?"

"I dunno, like a top-secret vault with treasure or high-security prison with the world's deadliest chicken or-"

"Stop right there, because you're giving Juni ideas."

"Sorry." Leo smiled sheepishly. "Uh, Lou. Did you think any more on what we talked about?" She nodded, tugging her sleeves over her hands.

"I don't want to. Sorry."

"No, don't apologise. It's your choice."

"Um, hold up." Joel made a T with his hands. "What choice, what did you talk about?"

"Lou doesn't want her memories restored."

"What?" Joel screeched. Neville patted his arm reassuringly, but even that wasn't enough. "I have spent the last two days working on this-"

"More like you were helping me work on it." Leo corrected, unheard.

"-and now you're saying you don't want to?"

"Joel, my love, turn your volume down."

"But- she- Zappy- rude- brain-"

"I know, I know." Neville nodded. "Let's get you sat down and a tea, OK?"

"Is he going to be OK?" Calypso asked, pressing a finger to her lip contemplatively.

"Let him have his drama," Neville advised, "I'll get him calmed down." Joel vented wordlessly, arms flailing, pointing accusingly at Louisa and then making noises in protest. He eventually managed one word, squishing his hands together as though he were imagining wringing her neck:

"Brain."

"Yes, Joel, lovely brain." Neville led him away, nodding along and murmuring agreement to his spluttering distaste. Lucy-Jo puffed out her cheeks, shaking her head.

"Gordon Bennett, Lou, you don't half know how to implode Joel."

"I still don't know who Gordon Bennett is."

"It's an expression!" Juni laughed.

"Oooh, why didn't ya just say that? Stupid British."

"Uh, you wanna go?"

"Hell yeah, I'll fight ya."

"Ahh, Lou's feeling better." Leo grinned. And he could see it too- despite Joel's outburst, Louisa's decision to not use the Zappy- still a stupid name- had taken a large weight from her shoulders. A familiar spark had begun to blossom in her eyes, a tentative smile as Juni urged on her and Lucy-Jo's arm wrestle.

Calypso smiled at him, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow.

Louisa won the arm wrestle, grinning and high-fiving Juni when the girl's hand shot up. Lucy-Jo opened and closed her fist, flexing her fingers.

"One day." She said. "One day I'll get you."

"Unlikely!" Juni giggled. "Sorry, Lieutenant!" She added at Lucy-Jo's Look.

Leo was foolish enough to think things were starting to look up. Louisa was smiling, Juni was bouncing, Calypso was laughing and cooing over Lucy-Jo who was undoubtedly sulking. He moved forward to join in, maybe arm wrestle Louisa himself. Then the room flooded with red lights, bathing everything in its bloody glow. Outside, a deep, sonorous wail of an alarm. The Keepers changed in less than a heartbeat. Joel scrambled to his desk, the other three crowded around him. Louisa clamped her hands over her ears, moving to huddle with Leo and Calypso.

"What's going on?" Leo called over the alarm. Joel spoke too quietly, hand trembling as he moved his mouse. "What?"

"They're back." Joel repeated.

"Who's back?"

"They're back. The B-Bloods are back." He reached over his shoulder, gripping Neville's hand. Neville hugged Joel to his chest, hiding the lower part of his face in his hair. Lucy-Jo shoved away from the desk, pale under the scarlet lighting. Her hands shook too, angry, a terror too strong for words in her eyes.

"Lou," she said thickly, "we need you."

"No more lakes." Louisa shook her head frantically. Lucy-Jo grimaced.

"I can't promise that."

"We're coming too." Calypso stepped forward. Leo nodded confirmation.

"Thank you." Lucy-Jo did not even bother to hide the relief in her tone. "Juni," she said, "you are to stay here."

"But-"

"Cadet." Juni started, standing to attention. Lucy-Jo squeezed her shoulder. "Your orders are to remain here as part of your squad." Her gaze shifted to her brother and Joel. "Guard them. No contact." Juni nodded miserably, fist over heart.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

"Good girl. You two get that dragon. Lou, you're with me."

"L.J."

"Neville."

"Be careful." Lucy-Jo looked away, pressing her lips together. Her brother reached out, grasping her hand. She gently squished his fingers, letting go with a sniff.

"Look after each other." She instructed, marching to the door. She motioned with her head to the other three. "Let's go."