Last chapter! :O
I cannot see all of the reviews, so I will respond to them in the first chapter of the Burning Maze rewrite! (Spoilers, I did something different!)
To zantarak, the only review I can see- Yes, she was very happy. Oblivion can do that to people.
"If anyone sees a bronze spleen about yea big, please let me know!" Leo shouted. Louisa leaned towards Calypso.
"What does a spleen look like?" She asked quietly. Calypso snorted and shrugged.
The main hall had more-or-less been put back together. The wounded had recovered under Louisa's care, although she had still chided Apollo for being in her bubble each time he visited. The Hunters were sat in groups around the hall, integrating the newcomers with hearty banter and trying to persuade the girls to join their mission.
Emmie sat at the head of the dining table, Georgina sat on her knee. The girl had fallen asleep with her head on her mother's shoulder. She still grasped a marker, colouring books and more markers scattered over the table. Thalia sat opposite Emmie at the other end, twirling her dagger on its point like a top. Louisa sat on the adjoining corner, munching on carrots, her thoughts elsewhere. Calypso sat beside her, exchanging ideas with Josephine about the new prophecy. Apollo sat on the other side to them, next to Meg.
"Spleen!" Leo called.
"Shush!" Louisa called back.
"Need a spleeeeeen!"
"Callie, ya sure 'bout him?"
"Oddly enough, yes."
"Mm." Louisa grunted.
"SPLEEN!" Leo vanished into the next room. Louisa sighed, putting her head in her hands.
"Alright," Calypso sighed, patting Louisa's arm, "we've interpreted some of these lines, but we need your help, Apollo. What happened at the Cave of Trophonius?" Apollo glanced worriedly at Meg. She simply belched and shrugged.
"Don't remember much. Go ahead."
"OK. I, uh, broke the Cave."
"You broke the Cave?" Emmie repeated. Apollo hurriedly explained, it was Trophonius's request. Josephine and Emmie did not seem happy, but they didn't yell or throw things at him. Little Bertha stayed in the gun cabinet. Louisa flicked a bit of carrot at him, which he took personal offence to as he had peeled them, but that was her input to his story.
"And that's it." Apollo finished quietly. Emmie nodded, her gaze drifting about the main hall.
"Now that I think about it, has anyone seen Agamethus?"
"Perhaps… perhaps he went with his brother." Apollo said. Emmie nodded, as if she had expected as much, stroking her daughter's hair.
"I don't mind the Oracle being destroyed, but I worry about Georgie. She's always felt connected to that place and Agamethus… she likes him a lot."
"The last thing I want is to cause more pain to Georgina." Apollo said. "I think, though, that the destruction of the cave was necessary. Not just for us. But for her. It may free her to move forward." Emmie and Josephine looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement.
"Alright," Josephine nodded, "about the prophecy…" She raised a brow at Calypso. Calypso recited the sonnet, bringing the mood even lower around the table. The silence amongst them was momentarily broken by Leo walking in.
"SPLEEN!" He called. And sat on the other side of Josephine. "I'll look later." He decided. Calypso kept her hand on Louisa's to stop her murdering Leo with a carrot stick. Thalia spun her knife.
"The first stanza mentions the new moon."
"Love a time limit." Leo grinned.
"But the next new moon is in five nights." Thalia frowned.
"Bodies filling up the Tiber." Emmie hugged her daughter closer. "I assume the Tiber refers to the Little Tiber."
"Yeah." Louisa nodded, biting her lip. "It's the border for Camp Jupiter."
"And the changeling lord… that's gotta be Frank." Leo frowned. "And Devil's Mount- that's Mount Diablo, it's right near camp." He sighed. "I hate Mount Diablo." He grumbled. "Fought Enchiladas there once." Josephine opened her mouth to ask and then wisely decided against it.
"So, the Roman demigods are about to be attacked."
"I believe," Apollo said quickly, "the first stanza is all of a piece. It mentions the words that memory wrought. Ella the harpy is at Camp Jupiter, using her photographic memory to reconstruct the lost books of the Cumaean Sybil."
"Huh?" Meg said.
"The what what?" Louisa puzzled at the same time. Apollo raised his hand.
"The point is that I guess the Triumvirate means to eliminate the threat by burning down the camp. The words that memory wrought are set to fire." Louisa plucked the notepad from Calypso's hand, setting her elbows on the table to read it. She held it before her face, blocking her view of Apollo. He was rather relieved for that.
"Five days." Calypso worried. "How do we warn them in time? Communications are still down."
"Can the Hunters cover that much ground?" Apollo asked Thalia.
"In five days? If we broke all speed limits, perhaps. And had, like, no attacks along the way-"
"Fat chance." Louisa huffed, still reading. Thalia set down her knife.
"Unfortunately, we've got a bigger problem. The Hunters must continue their own quest. We have to find the Teumessian Fox."
"That's the monster you've been hunting?"
"Afraid so."
"But that's impossible! Also horrible!"
"Foxes are cute." Meg said. "What's the problem?" Louisa lowered the notepad a fraction to stare at her.
"Nothin' much. It only levelled countless cities 'n' drank the blood of its victims 'n' ripped apart armies of Greek warriors like they were made of paper. But yeah, sure. Cute."
"Your ideal pet." Leo corrected, smiling weakly. "How's the memory?" Louisa scowled, hiding behind the notepad.
"It's back." Was all she had to say.
"Thalia's right." Apollo continued. "We cannot ask the Hunters to help us anymore than they already have. They've got their own problems to solve." Leo nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, T."
"All in day's work, Valdez. You still owe me a bottle of that Texas hot sauce you've been raving about."
"That can be arranged."
"This is great," Josephine said, folding her arms, "but it doesn't answer our question. How are we supposed to get a message to California in five days?"
"Me." Leo said. Everyone stared at him.
"Leo," Calypso said, "it took us six weeks just to get here from New York."
"Yeah, but that was with three passengers. One of which was a former god and he was definitely attracting the most trouble. No offence."
"Some taken."
"I'll travel fast and light. I've covered that much distance before by myself. I can do it."
"I'll go too." Louisa said, tossing the notepad back to Calypso. "I'll take Storm 'n' give Leo back up." Calypso's gaze darted between them, looking a little sickly. Louisa squeezed her hand, letting go rather quickly. Leo smiled reassuringly.
"Mamacita," he said, "I'll come back. I'll enrol late for the spring semester. You can help me catch up on homework!"
"I hate you." She grumbled. Leo grinned, reaching across Josephine to take Calypso's hand.
"Besides, I think it's best we go considering they think we're dead." He gestured to himself and Louisa. "I've missed Hazel and Frank, they were my homies!" Louisa started, biting at her thumbnail.
"Ah, shit, Reyna's gonna kill me."
"Undoubtedly!" Leo agreed, a little too brightly. "She's scary!"
"Tell Reyna I said hi." Thalia requested. She waved at the notepad before questions could be asked. "We've got one stanza figured out. Hoorah. What about the rest?"
"I'm afraid," Apollo said, "that the rest is about Meg and I."
"Ooh, fun." Meg sat forward. "Pass the biscuits." Josephine slid the basket towards her, watching in awe as golden biscuit was swallowed one after another in quick succession.
"The sun going southward," Apollo continued, unfazed by his master's eating habits, "that's me, obviously. The third emperor must be somewhere in the American Southwest, in a land of scorching death.We get there through mazes-"
"The Labyrinth." Meg supplied. Apollo shuddered.
"Somewhere in the southwest," he continued, "we must find the crossword speaker. I think that means the Erythraen Sybil, another ancient Oracle. I… I don't really remember her-"
"Shocker."
"But she was known to issue her prophecies in acrostics- word puzzles."
"And the third emperor?" Emmie asked. "Do you know who it is?" Apollo mulled something over for a moment, gaze settling on the table.
"He don't know." Louisa summarised. "I mean, swift white horse, bet there's a shitload of emperors with white horses."
"Meg, what about the line Demeter's daughter finds her ancient roots? Do you have family in the Southwest? Do you remember ever going there before?" Meg shoved more biscuits in her mouth, cutting him a look that said try me. Leo snapped his fingers.
"But you get a cloven guide," he smiled, "like a satyr, right? Guiding is, like, their thing. Like Coach Hedge. Ah man, I miss that old goat."
"We haven't seen a satyr around here in…" Josephine faltered.
"Decades." Emmie finished for her. Meg swallowed her mouthful.
"I'll find one."
"How?"
"I'll find one."
"Right," Calypso said, picking up her notepad, "that leaves when three are known and Tiber reached alive/ 'Tis only then Apollo starts to jive. No, Leo, no dancing."
"Funsponge."
"Those lines must mean we'll soon know the identity of all three emperors." Apollo picked at his lip. "Once our quest is complete in the southwest, Meg and I can travel to Camp Jupiter and reach the Tiber alive. Then, I hope, I can find a path back to my former glory."
"By jiving." Leo grinned.
"Shut up."
"Never."
"Alrighty then," Josephine clapped and rubbed her hands together, "who wants carrot cake with blowtorched meringue for dessert?"
Leo and Louisa were making final preparations to leave. Storm was not overly happy, having cancelled bedtime to make the trip. She kept headbutting Louisa, whickering and snorting, the occasional stomp of her hoof. Festus was better behaved, quite happy as Leo tinkered about inside his chest one last time.
"I found that spleen in the end." He called from within. "It was in the washing machine!"
"How?"
"Don't know!" Leo admitted cheerily. Festus gave a metallic purr in agreement. Louisa rolled her eyes. Storm shoved her muzzle in her face. Louisa sighed, patting her neck.
"I know, I know. We've gotta go though."
"Both of you?" She glanced around. Calypso smiled anxiously, squeezing her hands together. Louisa nodded, biting her lip at the resultant crest-fallen look.
"Sorry, Callie." Leo popped up from inside Festus, smiling dimming worriedly.
"Hey, we'll be back." He promised. "You're stuck with us now, mamacita, no way out of it!" Louisa nodded again, attention on the tangles in Storm's mane. Calypso hesitated.
"Lou." She said carefully. Louisa half-turned, slight creases at the corners of her eyes as she grimaced.
"Amnesia's gone, Callie."
"And?" Calypso prompted. Louisa scowled, turning back to Storm. Leo motioned to Calypso, tapping himself on the chest and then pointing at Louisa, giving a thumbs-up. Calypso took a breath, moving towards him. He grinned, cupping her jawline and kissing her forehead. "You came back once," she said, poking him in the chest, "you come back again. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And be careful."
"I always am, what're you talking about?"
"I know you, Leo Valdez. Don't even try it."
"I will be on my best behaviour." He assured.
"Your 'best' does not necessarily mean good."
"Aww, you know me so well!"
"Leo." Louisa called, looking at him expectantly. He wrinkled his nose.
"Alright, alright. Cal…"
"I know." She pressed a kiss to his cheek, hugging him tightly. Festus crooned and headbutted them. Calypso laughed, tears stinging her eyes, and lay a palm on the dragon's nose. "Yes, I will miss you too. Keep him out of trouble for me, OK?" Festus whirred, ruby eyes gleaming. She patted his snout and turned, moving towards Louisa. The other girl tensed, but made no objection when Calypso touched her arm.
"I'm OK." She said quietly, not looking in Calypso's direction. Storm huffed, blowing air in Calypso's face.
Louisa swung herself up onto Storm's back, the mare jostling beneath her. If she wasn't allowed to sleep, she may as well be geared up for a flight. "Lou." Calypso put a hand on her knee. Louisa remained tense and still would not look at her. "You have always done what you think is right. Having your memories back does not change that."
"It does. Come on, Storm, let's go." Storm huffed at Calypso, her form of a goodbye. The Waystation opened its doors for them and the pegasus took flight.
"I'll talk to her." Leo said. "I mean, must be hard remembering she's Daughter of Neptune, Master of the Bow, Thief Extraordinaire- door hinges and daughters beware!"
"Yes, ask her about that. I need to know."
"I will make sure to get every little detail." He kissed her fingers, grinning. "I'm expecting to be blown away when I get back, Cal. Quite literally as well."
"Then I shall strive to do so."
"That's my girl."
There we go! All reviews will be replied to on the new chapter for the next story!
Stay safe! And please please please don't do what Trump says! I know none of you are that stupid, but he is a terrifyingly powerful idiot responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths and I worry about you Americans! Everyone, stay safe, be careful, listen to official advice! Lots of love!