"Wow," I panted, "That took a lot of effort!". We had just run from a police car in a Metro parking lot. I was pretty sure that the police man had seen us, but that didn't matter. He couldn't find us now.

"Huh, you get tired easily!" said Leo, obviously trying to stop panting.

"Don't give me that smirk, Valdez!" I gave him a playful shove onto the railing next to us. We had been on the run for over a week now, and we had done some pretty weird stuff, like sleep in a sewer (Leo looked really funny when a huge pile of homo-sapien droppings washed onto his hair), when someone tried to report us, we fought them with strange wooden slabs we found from ruins, until they literally were kneeling down in front of us for mercy, and don't get me started on the time when we had the cops on us for breaking into a beach side restaurant. We actually jumped into the sea, and swam out to just in front of the danger line. The cop who caught us was fat and old (probably in his 50's) so he left us alone after that.

But, needless to say, I enjoyed all of it. I'd never done anything so daring before, and having a partner in crime, it was great, especially one like Leo. He made me laugh, as if there wasn't a care in the world, and he would always be there for me when I was down. We had enough food, and everything was perfect. Or until our first monster attack.


"Hey, can you hear that funny noise, Al?" I got a warm fuzzy feeling when he called me 'Al'.

"Oh you mean the weird 'Brrrr' noise the fast food place is making? Yeah, it's making me hungry," I replied.

"No, Alex, not that noise, it's a sort of growling noise, and it's coming from behind you!" Leo said again, really worried. I detected the concern in his voice, so I decided to look behind me, even if it was some kind of prank. I turned not a moment too soon, because as I pivoted on my heel, an giant dog like creature came leaping out at us. It was a hell hound, but my innocent little brain didn't know that. I still thought it was going to kill us(which it was), so I got on my natural instinct, which was to grab a wooden slab, and fling it at the monster's eye. It bought enough time for Leo to send a double track of fire down towards the hell hound's legs, like in those anime action things. This got it confused, which then gave us an advantage, enough time to go to the back of the hell hound's booty. This was not enough time, however, to not get sat on. I heard a a strange pop on my shoulder, and I winced. My shoulder had dislocated, and it was more gruesome than swinging your arm around. My instincts told me my bone had splintered, so I couldn't move it much. I could only imagine what Leo was going through, squished under the left buttock. I heard Leo let out a little groan, and my heart fell at the sound. He was definitely in danger if he wasn't helped soon. I squeezed my free hand under the big coat of fur to reach out to Leo, and I let my fingertips touch his shoulder. Healing magic flowed through me, allowing me to give him some of my strength, enough for him to heal himself quicker. It was something I could do, how? Someone knows. Suddenly, I saw a bright burst of red, and the hell hound stood up immediately. We both ran out as soon as we got up, and hid behind a pile of rocks.

"What did you do?" Leo asked, frowning.

"What did I do, what?" I said, playing innocent.

"Oh, come off it, I know you did something, when you touched my shoulder, it cured my elbow right away. It was bent at a funny angle, but then- it wasn't!"

"Okay, fine, I used my powers to heal you. It wasn't a big deal, so don't look at me like I've broken the law."

"No, it's more than that. Throughout the whole thing, I could feel your fingers drooping. What happened, Al, tell me!"

I found my self taking one glance at his concern laced face, then I stared at my ankles. "I gave you some of my strength, so you could heal faster."

Leo's face fell, "Oh Alex! Why'd you do that!?". Honestly, looking back then, It was hard to believe that we were only seven. It was us against the wide world, but we were OK.

"I had to Leo, you needed it more than me. You got us out of there." Leo looked at me seriously, and then noticed my arm at a funny angle.

"What happened to your shoulder?" he asked, I knew, for nothing less than the truth.

"It dislocated, and the bone splintered," I admitted, feeling a bit dizzy. I had never used my power on that large a scale before, and never intentionally. Leo grabbed my good shoulder, and said, "Why can't you heal yourself?"

"It doesn't seem to work for me. Maybe I can't travel energy from myself to myself..." I was starting to feel really dizzy now, and my vision kept zoning in and out.

"Hey, Al, you keep zoning out, hey Alex!" Leo's worried voice passed in one ear and out the other. My head lolled to the side, and I passed out.


I was in a strange cavern, and every thing was black. I tried calling out for Leo, but all I got back for answers, were echoes. Suddenly, a hole appeared in the cave, and outside was a beautiful garden, with greenery, and beautiful plants. I ran out, my bare feet relishing the grass. In the center, was a tall and majestic tree, that almost glowed with light, and certainly glowed with power. A form shimmered in the air, but for some reason, I took this as normal. The form was a man, glowing, with golden hair and a green laurel wreath. He was wearing what looked like a bed sheet, but it looked good, or even normal. All of this was normal. None of this was out of the ordinary.

"It is not time for you, my child, it is not time..." This was starting to become weird. I never had a dad, so who was this man calling me his 'child'? The scene changed and I found myself inside the cavern again, my bare feet against the hard rock. Once again, a hole opened in the cavern wall, this time showing a different setting. It was my old bedroom, with the curtains drawn down. My bed was made, and at the foot of the bed...was my mother, dressed in her evening gown, patting her knee, gesturing for me to sit down. I ran towards her, her welcoming smile warming my heart. I went up to her and sat down on her knee, when the illusion faded once more, and I was once again on cold stone. I couldn't take it any more, and I broke down crying, sobs shaking my whole body. The next time a hole appeared, I was not going through. I was not going to be disappointed again. However, the cavern seemed to respond to my intentions. A swirling mass of dirt, grass, and jewels came swirling at me like a tornado. I blocked my fore head, and spun around to protect myself from the whirling storm. The clutter and mess formed into a person. A woman, with regal beauty (or as much as you can get with a dirt-face) turned on me, looming over me, domineering and condescending.

"Little hero, you shall be the one to come and wake me. I shall rise, and you will fall."

And then I woke up.


Hi there! So I managed to do another chapter (yes I surprised myself too), but I realised that I had only done a credits thing for Leo. I planned on doing one every chapter, but that might not be very practical, so here is the full one:

All rights go to Rick Riordan for most of the characters and most of the plot. Alex is one of my OC's, but the rest of the fanfiction credits go to Uncle Rick.

Yours most incredibly truly,

MilkandCheez