Sorry for the late post everyone, things have gotten kind of hectic. I'm working on the next chapter for both stories and hoping to post them relatively soon.

Chapter 6 - Monsters at the Met:

Let's keep this introduction short.

I prefer to do things simple - short and sweet and to the point.

My name is Archer Kobayashi, now Archer Jackson since three years ago, and I am the younger twin brother of Luna.

It all started on our twelfth birthday, May 4th, that my life drastically changed from being an orphaned kid after the death of our single mother, to being labeled a freak.

It was also the first birthday I ever celebrated without my twin. In hindsight, maybe I should have already considered that to be a bad omen or I should have known something bad would have happened.

Luna and I had been sent to different boarding schools. I went to Yancy Academy with our friend, Percy, and Luna went to Edgewood Academy with Percy's brother, Dylan.

You see, we seemed to have a calling card...separate the twins and bad stuff will happen. That's why we rarely were away from each other longer than twelve hours.

It first happened when we were toddlers. Mama had to go away for a week and Luna went to stay with Yiayia (our grandmother) while I spent the week with Uncle Atticus, our mom's brother (who funnily enough was also her twin.)

That entire week, bad stuff seemed to happen: I kept falling down the stairs, and I almost got hit by a black SUV. My toy archery bow broke, and my favorite stuffed animal (a silver deer, I affectionately called Silver) went missing. Finally, on the last day? I broke my arm. Luna's week didn't seem as bad, she also lost her favorite stuffed animal (a matching silver teddy bear, named Teddy) and also her favorite brown and green crocheted blanket (it was her baby blanket, I still had my similarly colored camo one somewhere), she kept getting stung by bees, cut herself while helping Yiayia in the kitchen, and apparently had nightmares the entire week.

After that, we never spent nearly as much time away from each other, but there was always the occasional sick day where one of us had to stay home and the other went to school or if we went to stay the night over different friends' houses. Something always happened. Whether it was just one of us losing something, getting hurt while being clumsy, getting splashed by a car driving in the rain, or getting some scratches, cuts, or bruises.

So the fact that the only thing that happened in months was me failing my classes and getting into occasional fights with other kids in the school? Yeah, I probably should have expected that dung would hit the fan.

The academy headmaster had given our Latin teacher- Mr. Brunner, or Mr. B as I called him, permission to take one of his classes on a trip to Manhattan. More specifically, we got to visit the Met, also known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I was excited - I hadn't been there in four years. Back when Ma was alive, we would go to a museum every other month. Luna and I always liked to check out the Met's newest art exhibitions, while Ma always loved to go in depth on all the showcases in the Greco-Roman exhibit.

Mr. Brunner was awesome. He had brown hair that went to the base of his neck, though it seemed to be thinning at the top, and a scruffy beard that would probably be a few inches long if you twisted it. He let us play games in class and would tell us jokes and stories during his lessons and inside the classroom? He had a collection of Greco-Roman armor, swords, a spear, and this ancient hunter's bow.

Which was a bit questionable since Yancy academy was one of those schools. You know, the...ahem…"Alternative Education Schools for Troubled Youth"? Yeah. The entire school was full of kids that would either end up in juvie, addicted to drugs, on the streets, or wait until they went through their second divorce to get their lives together...

I was still a little ticked off that Luna was able to go to a normal boarding school.

"Lost in your head again?" A voice called from beside me as I stared out the window, watching the scenery go by on the inter-state.

A quick glance revealed the voice belonging to one of my friends, Nicole Adler. Nicole (or Nikki, as she preferred to be called), was pretty tall for a girl. She stood only an inch shorter than my 5'7 height, easily towering over the rest of the girls in the class.

Emerald eyes narrowed at me playfully and Nikki hit my shoulder, apparently I had been staring at her too long. "I am so honored you find me attractive, Jackson, now answer my question."

I rolled my eyes and sat back with a sigh. "I was just thinking about how bad an idea this trip was."

"You mean having twenty-eight mental-case kids running around the concrete jungle?" Nikki asked sarcastically. "Nooo, of course, it wouldn't be."

I glared at the dark-haired girl I called my best friend, who responded by playfully sticking her tongue out at me.

"Wow, real mature, Adler," I replied, rolling my eyes and adjusting my seat. A wince appeared on my face. "Seriously though, did they need to get a school bus for this? A greyhound would have been better!"

Honestly, I think the school was just being skimpy when they rented the bus for the trip. Last year, me and Luna had gone away for a weekend at a summer camp for our 5th-grade field trip. It was one of the biggest trips of the year, and the school (a public school) had rented a greyhound for each class.

And the camp was practically the same distance from Manhattan as Yancy Academy was!

Speaking of field trips...well I think you all know Percy's luck. Last year's trip to the Saratoga Battlefield? Percy walked away from Luna for a second to get water or something and then fell and hit one of the Revolutionary War Cannons. We still have no idea why that thing was loaded, or how it was still functioning. Plus there's also the mystery of how an accidental firing of the cannon hit the school bus.

...You know...that story sounds better when Percy tells it.

Fourth grade was pretty bad too. The class got split into groups of two, I went with Dylan and Luna went with Percy. Luna and Percy's group went after us for the backstage tour of the Marine World shark pool and next thing I know I hear teachers and parents screaming. Apparently, a certain sea green-eyed friend of ours had hit the wrong lever on the catwalk.

Luna didn't talk to him for a month after that.

Ah...I'm just rambling about stuff you already know, aren't I?

See, for the last five years, Luna and I had been going to the same schools as Percy and Dylan. Though, we had all known each other since preschool when we met at the playground in Central Park. So I knew about all the trouble Percy had gotten into.

Honestly? I wasn't much better.

Even though all my expulsions came from getting into fights, my school trip history was just as...entertaining...as Percy's. In second grade, my and Luna's class took a trip to the Bronx Zoo. I had gotten lost and wound up sitting in the middle of the bear exhibit….and I mean in the exhibit, on the wrong side of the glass. Then in third grade when the class went to the farm? It started with Percy and me getting chased by a stampede of animals….I'm still not entirely sure how it ended up with us on the tractor….but because we nearly ran over some of the farmhands, Percy kinda got expelled. I followed a week later when I broke the nose of some kid.….who ended up being the principal's son….

Anyway, Percy and I had made a pact. We wouldn't get into trouble this time. No statue would end up breaking, no displays would be touched. We were going to be on our best behavior or the headmaster would have our heads. He had been very thorough in his threat of death by in-school suspension.

Mr. Brunner had even taken the precautionary measure of sitting me and Percy at different parts of the bus. Unfortunately for Percy, that meant sitting in front of a certain ginger-haired menace.

"Nancy the Hutt is at it again." Nikki said in a bored tone.

I snapped my head away from the window to look at Nikki before raising myself out of my seat and looking to the middle, right side of the bus.

Sometimes being 5'6 has its perks...I suppose…

Grover was the one I saw first, a scrawny, curly brown-haired kid who was crippled by a muscular disease in his legs. The dude had trouble walking and a note excusing him from P.E. but he ran like the wind on Enchilada day. I guess those Enchiladas create miracles..or it was the fact that since he was a vegetarian, he had limited food options at school and the Enchiladas were only one of the more….palatable vegetarian choices...

Anyway, Grover had chunks of a sandwich in his hair, and when I sniffed the air? I nearly gagged. Peanut butter and ketchup. My two least favorite condiments. I wasn't a fan of the sticky texture of peanut butter that always got stuck in my mouth. I hated the taste of Ketchup, and the smell of either didn't sit well with me, which was why I was scrambling to open the window beside me for fresh air.

"What's wrong, Archer?" Nikki teased after I slumped back down, a cool breeze wafting through. "Poor Grover is stuck with a terrible hair treatment. He'll be smelling like that for days."

I barely held back a gag and Nikki cackled menacingly.

"Nikki," I choked. "I hate you."

"Aw come on Archie." Nikki pouted. "I'm just having a little fun."

Due to the volume on the bus and my current attempt to not throw up. I was just barely able to catch Percy mumble a death threat directed towards the long lost, redhead daughter of Jabba the Hutt.

Because no way in hell was I going to insult the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy by calling her a Fett.

"I gotta stop Percy." I mumbled, making way to get out of my seat but Nikki grabbed me by the wrist.

"The two of you are already on probation." The pale girl reminded me. "Remember your fight with Derek and the other three stooges? If either of you get into another, you're both gone. Out of this school faster than you can say your name.

I sat back down and crossed my arms with a grumble. Me and Percy got probation. The four stooges, Derek, Carlos, Jin and Pat, got away with a tap on the wrist, even though they had started it and me and Percy were standing up for a student they were bullying.

So the girl had a stutter and an anxiety disorder, that didn't give them a reason to pick on her!

I shot a glare at Nikki. "Remind me how you didn't get in trouble for that? I remember quite well that you bolted down the hall screaming 'equal rights, equal fights, you female dog' before decking Derek in the face."

Nikki chuckled slightly under her breath. "Heh...I'm awesome." Before shaking her head and shooting me a giant grin. "Isn't male pride great? Guys never want to admit when they get knocked out by a girl."

I shot my weirdo of a friend a skeptical look, a foreboding feeling had bloomed in my gut. "Then how was Derek's black eye explained?

Nikki's eyes widened and she made a weird sound that was a mix of clearing her throat and coughing. "W-*cough*w-well, Jin and Pat did have you pinned up against the wall so Derek wouldn't have any problems getting to you…" Nikki let out a nervous chuckle and scratched the side of her face. "..so it was completely understandable that you ended up kicking Derek in the nuts and planting your foot in his face…"

I deadpanned at the girl next to me. "You were the one to deck him in the face." Nikki gave me a weak smile. "You're also the one that curb-stomped his crotch while he was on the floor." Nikki let out a nervous laugh. "And did you not kick him across the face right after?"

Nikki started rubbing the back of her neck, her nervous laugh dissolving into chuckles. "Y-yeah...I guess I did..?"

"You made me take the fall for you?" I said incredulously.

Nikki beamed at me. "Look on the bright side! At least we won the fight!"

I stayed quiet and narrowed my eyes further, several locks of hair falling over my eyes. Nikki looked to the floor of the aisle with pursed lips, I think she knew exactly what I was thinking.

'Yea, because Grover hit Carlos over the head with his crutch so Percy could get off the floor and stop Pat from attacking you.'

Nikki turned back to face me with a nervous smile, she was about to speak but I cut her off with a growl. "You. Owe. Me."

The shorter girl beamed at me before patting my right cheek. "Of course, Mr. Anime Protagonist."

I twitched in annoyance and raised a hand to comb through my shaggy hair. So I had a real-life anime haircut, there was nothing wrong with it.

It's not like I went out of my way to get this hairstyle….it's just how my hair grew...

—

We had already been at the Met for two hours before we went to see the Greco-Roman exhibit.

Mr. Brunner had led the tour the entire time and Mrs. Dodds (our other chaperone- not sure why they picked a math teacher for that but whatever) had taken place at the back of the group, almost like she was herding us like cattle. It was decided that we would walk down to the fountain and look around the area with the marble sarcophagi before making our way back to the entrance of the exhibit.

They were pretty cool, one sarcophagus had the myth of Selene and Endymion. Another had the contest between the muses and the sirens. One had the triumph of Dionysus and the seasons.

Honestly, if you've never been to the Met, I wholeheartedly believed you should go at least once in your lives.

We had just reached a marble column just outside the long hallway that led to the entrance of the exhibit when Mr. Brunner spoke up.

"Does anyone know what this is?"

The whole class was mumbling about and Percy said from beside me. "Looks like a piece of a building."

Mr. Brunner turned to Percy and smiled. "Very good, Mr. Jackson. Do you know which building?"

Percy was about to answer when another boy spoke up from the back of the group.

"Who cares about a stupid old building."

I felt Nikki tense from beside me, it was like she wanted to bolt over the kid and deck him in the face. "Stupid?" she hissed on Mr. Brunner's behalf. "I'll show you stupid, you son of-!"

I spoke up before Nikki could cause any problems. "That's a column from the Temple of Artemis in Sardis. Or modern-day Sart in Turkey."

Twenty-nine pairs of eyes turned to me, one of which was a pair of kind brown eyes that at times seemed so old and tired, almost like they knew the secrets of the universe. Right now, however, the eyes were sparkling with joy.

"That's correct Mr. Jackson." It was always confusing when Mr. Brunner called either me or Percy because he would always call both of us Mr. Jackson. At the beginning of the year, I always assumed he meant Percy, so it took a few weeks before I realized he was talking to me as well. "What else do you know about this column?"

I took a long look at the column before looking behind me. There was a bronze statue of said goddess with a deer and on the wall to my left were fragments from the same temple as the column before me.

When I turned back to Mr. Brunner, I saw he was waiting patiently while my classmates started complaining. I suddenly felt sad. Every time Ma would bring me and Luna to the Met, we stopped at the Greco-Roman exhibit. She would pull us close and point to each piece of art in this very room I stood in and would tell me and Nee-chan (Older sister in Japanese) about it.

Nikki looked at me in worry and I started speaking before I realized it. Echoing the words of my mother. "The column belongs to either the cella, otherwise known as the inner room of the temple or the back porch."

"Very good, Mr. Jackson!" Mr. Brunner said, his eyes shining in pride. "Yes, this column either belonged to the cella or back porch of the Temple of Artemis in Sardis or Sardes. However, there is also speculation that this column may have originated from the east or west porches of the temple due to two similar pairs of columns being found from those areas. In fact, this very column may be part of one of those pairs."

I looked to the floor, tears pricking at my eyes. It's been five years...but it still hurts so much. From my earliest memory, Ma was the center of my and Luna's worlds. Her passing was so sudden…

Looking around the room we stood in, I broke away from the group. I walked over to the wall of marble fragments and stared at them in awe.

My mother always loved this room, loved these columns and fragments (if I had to guess, Artemis was her favorite goddess), but she also always got angry at some point while she told me and Luna information about them. I didn't even need to read the information on the wall to remember why and feel angry myself.

When the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, they began destroying the temples of the Pagan gods and goddesses and destroying their temples. The marble structures (most noticeably the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus) were robbed of their marble for construction of churches and other buildings or turned into cement.

Yes, it was unlikely that two thousand years later the structures would still be standing had they been preserved. However, despite the blatant disregard for others religious beliefs, (which even though I don't consider myself part of any religion, still angered me) the artistic aspect of these structures should have been taken into consideration.

"You good?" I heard a very familiar voice ask from beside me.

I turned my head to face the voice and found Percy standing next to me, black hair falling slightly over his worry filled sea-green eyes. Mr. Brunner was leading the class towards a couple of statues in the back of the room, but he seemed to glance towards me every so often. Nikki and Grover were standing a few feet away from me and Percy, both seeming to be both worried and angry for some reason.

"Yeah." I said after a moment, turning back to stare at the pieces of marble. "...just thinking of days that I'll never get back."

Percy turned to see what I was looking at. "Your mom?"

I nodded silently, taking a moment to collect myself. Out of me and Nee-chan, Luna was still unable to completely talk about Ma without crying. This room- this museum even, held too many memories that I was fond of.

It was hard for me to not get emotional.

"We should get back to the group," I finally decided. "We'll get in trouble if we're separated for too long."

Percy nodded in understanding and we walked back to the group, Mrs. Dodds (the creepy old lady from Georgia) glaring at me and Percy the entire time, though strangely enough, she seemed more confused when she glared at me.

I didn't pay Dodds any mind, in fact, I tried to stay as far away from her as possible. She always smelled strongly of old lady perfume (almost like she dumped an entire bottle over herself), it was killer on my nose and I nearly passed out every time I was too close to her.

But despite all of that? She still had a strong, lingering scent of death emanating from herand that made me stand on edge whenever she was near.

I mentioned it to Nikki once and she seemed to be startled afterwards. I just chalked it up to bad timing, since when I told her this Percy had just told Grover that he thought she wasn't human.

The next room we entered was full of burial art, stele's, Mr. B said they were called. There was one in particular that he had us gathered around, a tall pillar that held a carving of a Sphinx on top. Mr. B was talking about how the grave marker was for a thirteen year old girl and talked about the carvings on the sides.

"You sure you're ok?" Nikki asked, resuming her usual place at my right side. "You looked...well a little pained back there."

A small, weak and pained smile painted my face. I guess my first time coming back here being for a school trip wasn't the best idea. I probably should have asked Uncle Atticus or Yiayia to bring me here when the school year was over, I'm sure we could have found one day to come visit before me and Luna left in August.

"I'll be fine, just overwhelmed is all." I reassured her. Nikki didn't seem convinced but nodded once. I turned back to listen to Mr. B's story, just in time to hear my childhood friend speak up from a little bit behind me.

"Will you shut up?"

My eyes widened in disbelief as the whole class started laughing and my head snapped to look at Percy.

'Did he just tell Mr. B to shut up?'

A look revealed the black haired boy to be beet red in embarrassment, a glare on his face directed at a snickering Nancy Bobofit.

Or as I affectionately (note the sarcasm) called her, Nancy the Hutt.

"-a comment?" Mr. B finished asking Percy a question.

I just sighed and looked away in second hand embarrassment. It was just Percy's luck that this would happen.

"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?" Mr. Brunner asked and when I looked back at my Latin teacher, I saw he was pointing at a picture on the stele.

Looking at where Mr. B was pointing, I raised an eyebrow in amusement. Percy wasn't the best when it came to school (it came with the ADD), but one of the few tests he got good marks on was the one on Greek Mythology.

"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

The brunette teacher gave my surrogate brother an unsatisfied look. "Yes, and he did this because…?"

"Well.." Percy started and I stepped forward in an attempt to at the very least buy him some time.

"Mr. Brunner." I said with a raised hand. "If I may?"

The wheelchair bound teacher looked at me for a second before disregarding my presence and returning his gaze to Percy.

"I believe, I asked the elder Mr. Jackson."

I lowered my hand and nodded once dejectedly. "Yes, sir."

Percy shot me a look that said he was thankful for my efforts. "Kronos was the king god and-"

"God?" Mr. B asked as I looked at Percy with a raised eyebrow. How could he mess that up? Doesn't he listen to me when I speak about Mythology?

I will admit, in slight embarrassment, that I inherited my mother's love of Greek Mythology. Every visit to the Met included at least one tale from the Ancient Greeks or if we were camping and staring up at the stars? Ma would tell us two, one about whichever constellation we could see and another about one of the Twelve Olympians.

"Titan." Percy corrected quickly. "And..he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"

"Eeew!" said one of the girls from the back. Nikki also seemed to scrunch her face in response.

"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," Percy continued, "and the gods won."

Some snickers arose from the group and I rolled my eyes. He was right, though completely dumbed down the tale.

"What's the point of learning this if we'll never use it in real life." I heard a certain kleptomaniac mumble from the back.

I rolled my eyes again, like Nancy Bobofit would use anything she learns in school in real life. I heard her mumble something about a job application and failed to hold back a snort.

Mr. B turned to me for a minute with a scolding look on his face before turning back to Percy.

"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

Nikki snickered with a hand covering her face. "This is golden."

When I turned to look behind me I saw a red faced Nancy and heard Grover mutter, "Busted."

"Shut up," was the kleptomaniac's response.

Percy seemed to be pleased that Nacy got in trouble too. Too often, few teachers believed Percy was innocent and Nancy was the instigator.

Percy shrugged and answered, "I don't know, sir."

"I see," Mr. Brunner looked disappointed before turning to me. "How about you, Archer Jackson? Do you know the answer?"

I froze for a moment. Why did I get dragged into this! This whole situation was between Percy and The Hutt, I was innocent!

Nikki blanched slightly and seemed to be holding back a laugh at my expense while Grover winced in sympathy (you would think I just got hit in the crotch) and Percy shot me an apologetic look, mouthing a 'sorry'.

I scowled slightly at my perceived bad luck before sighing and turning back to my Latin Teacher. At Least the question was a relatively simple one.

"The foundation of modern civilization was based off of Ancient Greece. They gave important contributions to philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, as well as medicine. Ancient Greek myths have also helped influence modern thinking and problem solving, in fact in most myths there is a lesson and sense of morality that is taught."

Mr. Brunner seemed to be pleased with the information I gave, however, there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn't completely happy with my answer.

"Do you have an example of the lessons taught?" Mr. Brunner prodded.

I looked off to the side and tried to think of an answer. I wouldn't lie and say that I didn't start to 'zone out' as me and Luna liked to call it. We looked at one point and lost focus as our mind wanders.

There were many examples. Many stories revolving around the Goddess Hera taught lessons about jealousy. Especially in the story of Heracles (or Hercules).

Not to say the reasons behind the goddess' actions weren't justified, after all, she had to deal with constant cheating from her husband. Whenever Ma or Yiayia would tell us these stories about the Queen, they seemed to stress the fact that while Hera's actions were cruel, in many cases they were justified.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

There was also the story of Athena and Arachne, this tale's main lesson is about rivalry (though if I remember correctly, jealousy could also be taken from the tale).

I snapped my head back to Mr. Brunner. "Achilles." I finally decided and the chattering of students halted from around me. "He was invulnerable, couldn't be harmed due to his mother bathing him in the River Styx. However, his mother forgot to bathe his ankle in the river and because of that he had one weak spot. The Achilles heel."

Mr. B raised his head slightly, encouraging me to continue.

"The lesson learned is that even a small flaw, one that's viewed as seemingly insignificant, can prove to be fatal or stop us from achieving our goals."

Mr. B seemed pleased once again by my answer, but there was still a shadow of something in his eyes that told me my answer wasn't quite what he was looking for.

"Very good Mr. Jackson." Brunner said with a nod. Percy walked up next to me and we traded a fist bump. "15 points towards your next exam."

I pumped my fist a little at my side as Mr. B turned towards Percy. "Half credit to the elder Mr. Jackson and 5 points towards your next exam."

Percy seemed to deflate slightly at that.

"However." The wheelchair-bound teacher continued and Percy looked up a little hopefully. "I will give you another 10 points if you are able to tell me what mixture Zeus fed Kronos in order to free his five elder siblings."

Percy looked a little unsure as he took a minute to rack his brain for an answer. Percy turned to me questioningly and Brunner called out. "Without any help."

Percy sighed and I winced in sympathy as he looked away before innocently sweeping some hair out of my left eye.

The older boy turned to me questioningly, he knew I normally preferred to keep that side of my face covered. I turned to face him with my own questioning look, half of my left side visible.

His eyes widened slightly and looked away with a puzzled look on his face. I merely swept my hair back over my face and turned back to look at the steele. Nikki and Grover looked at me questioningly, Nikki's eyes slightly widened and looked like she was about to ask something when Percy answered Mr. B.

"He mixed something into his wine...?"

Mr. Brunner hummed and looked at me skeptically, no doubt witnessing the exchange between me and my surrogate brother. "And what, Mr. Jackson, did Zeus mix into Kronos' wine?"

Percy looked to the ceiling in thought, no doubt thinking back to the memories surrounding the scar I kept hidden on my face.

It was quite comical thinking back, not how I received the scar- but how Nee-chan and I got revenge on the piece of trash that gave us our scars.

We had actually mixed mustard into the douche-bags beer while he was asleep (much like Zeus in the myth), and received the same result.

"...mustard..?" Percy asked questioningly.

Our brunette teacher nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the steele. "Full credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld."

Percy and I traded a high-five with a whispered 'All right!' as Mr. Brunner finished his sentence. "On that happy note…"

'Happy?' I thought with a scrunched up face.

"...it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

As the class drifted off with several girls holding their stomachs or covering their mouths and the guys acting like idiots, I heard Mr. B call after us.

"Mr. Jackson."

Percy and I stopped at the entrance to the room, with Nikki and Grover stopping ahead of us.

"Yes, sir?" We chorused.

"The elder Mr. Jackson," Mr. B clarified and I nodded in understanding, trading a look with Percy who shooed me off as a sign to take our friends and keep going.

"Let's go guys." I said, placing a hand on one shoulder each. Left on Nikki and right on Grover. "Percy doesn't want us to wait."

The two nodded and we quietly walked out of the exhibit and left the building. Joining our class by the front steps of the building, we sat slightly further away on the edge of the left fountain, making sure to stay in view but far enough away that passerby's wouldn't associate us with the...less sane kids.I decided to be lazy and sit crisscrossed, my sandwich in my lap and left arm behind me, propping me up.

Absent-mindedly, we took out our lunches and watched the people on the sidewalk walk past us. I took a small bite of my turkey and cheese and regarded Nikki as she took a bite of her own.

"Whatcha get?" I asked mid-chew.

Nikki glared at me in disgust and smacked my shoulder as I flinched away with a scowl on my face.

"What was that for?" I asked after swallowing.

"Swallow your food before you speak." Nikki responded with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure you were taught manners, so use them."

I rolled my eyes myself huffing sarcastically. "Yes mom" before repeating my earlier question.

"Cream cheese and strawberry jelly."

I faked a gag. "Ew, cream cheese and strawberry jam? That's disgusting!"

Instead of joining along with my joke, Nikki seemed to deflate slightly.

Grover tisked and shot me a teasing look. "Hey, look at what you did Archer! You

made her sad."

"I-I…" I frantically moved my head back and forth between my two friends. I was joking, Nikki always knew when I was joking! Why was she bothered by it this time?

"..w-what's wrong with cream cheese and strawberry jelly..?" Nikki asked sadly. "My Bubbe used to make it for me all the time as a kid…"

I bit back my reminder that Nikki was still technically a kid when I noticed her eyes water slightly. I hated when girls got upset. It got worse when they started crying, especially if I was the cause.

So I panicked. My eyes wide and my hands waving around comically, I tried to both calm down my friend and fight back the rising feeling of self-disgust.

"N-nothing!" I choked and Nikki looked at me from the corner of her eyes as Grover did little to hide his amusement at my predicament. "T-there's nothing w-wrong with cream cheese and strawberry jelly! I was just joking! Honest!" I was waving my arms around so much, I'm surprised my sandwich didn't fall off my lap. "I-I think it's sweet that you have such a fond memory of your…" I slowed my speech just enough for me to test out the new word. "...Bub-be…?"

I looked at my friend for confirmation, and she nodded slightly.

"..it's Yiddish for grandmother," she supplied in a depressed tone.

I paused my frantic movements to nod in understanding before waving my arms ten times faster than before (I actually heard Grover snort in amusement from beside us).

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a sandwich your grandma used to make you! I was just joking about it being disgusting! I-I mean sure the pairing is a bit strange but there's nothing wrong with having a different taste then someone else!" Nikki sulked a bit and my ten times turned into twenty.

Seriously, how did that sandwich not fall off my lap? Grover started laughing a laugh that sounded suspiciously like a mixture between a goat's bah and a human laugh so it went Beh-he-he-he.

"I-I'm sure it tastes great! Maybe you could let me try a little?"

Grover laughed so hard he ran out of breath while Nikki turned to me hopefully, broke off a piece of her sandwich and passed it to me. I gave a strained smile as I picked up the strange combination, hesitating for a second before popping the piece in my mouth.

My face scrunched up before I chewed apprehensively, a thoughtful look appeared on my face after I swallowed. "..that's actually not half bad…"

Nikki looked at me for a brief moment before she burst out laughing, Grover jumped from next to her and a surprised look appeared on my face before I narrowed my eyes at her in annoyance.

"...that sad look was a ruse wasn't it?" I growled.

"I-I *haha* d-didn't *pfft* r-really care *heh* if you though it was gross *ahaha*"

I narrowed my eyes at her playfully, a wave of relief flooding over me and Grover started laughing again, this time being forced to hold his stomach as I glared at the two of them before morphing my face into a pout.

"You two suck."

The two jerks beside me just started laughing even more as Percy mopily walked over to us, dragging his feet.

"What's so funny?" He grumbled.

"These two are being mean." I pouted with a roll of my eyes.

"Awe come on, Archie!" Nikki boisterously called, throwing an arm around my neck as I picked up my barely eaten sandwich. "I'm just having a little fun!"

"How did this thing not fall?" I asked myself in confusion.

Suddenly Nikki's face appeared close to mine, a little too close. I flinched back with a yelp, nearly falling into the fountain behind me and pointed an accusing finger at Nikki. "Too close, Adler! Way too close! Back up!"

Nikki tilted her head to the side slightly with a grin beaming up at me. "What wrong Archie? Afraid I have cooties?" The falsely innocent and babyish voice caused me to twitch in annoyance.

See, I have this thing about personal space. If we're sitting next to each other and I could touch you when I reach out with my elbow? You're too close. If we're standing next to each other and I graze you when I extend my arms? You're too close.

Only a handful of people were allowed in my bubble, and despite how close Nikki and Grover were to me? They were not a part of that group.

Percy seemed slightly annoyed when he called out warningly to Nikki. "Nik, trust me, you don't wanna mess with Arch and his personal space. He once kicked a kid so hard, I swear he flew."

Nikki and Grover both looked between the two of us in surprise before trading an unsure and knowing look with each other. Percy rolled his eyes as I threw my head back with an annoyed groan.

"You're doing it again." Percy said in a dry tone.

"D-doing what, Perce?" Grover asked nervously as Nikki rubbed the back of her neck with her hand and laughed in an equally nervous tone.

"Whenever we mention something abnormal, like what Percy just said, you always share a weird look between the two of you." I informed while rolling my hand. "It's like you two know something that we don't or have a weird inside joke."

Percy nodded in agreement before adding something of his own. "Where did you guys say you knew each other from again?"

Nikki and Grover seemed to freeze slightly before casting panicked looks at each other.

"Summer camp," Grover answered at the same time Nikki rushed. "School."

Grover sent a worried look at Nikki who cleared her throat and smiled innocently at me and Percy. "We met each other last year in school, but didn't get to know each other until camp last summer."

"Uh-huh." Percy said in disbelief as I narrowed my eyes at them, scrutinizing their faces.

Honestly, it was kind of annoying. Not only did they constantly share inside jokes (which was fine, Percy and I would do the same), they also seemed to be so secretive at times, secrets that I was certain involved Percy and I.

It was weird.

The first time I met Grover, I didn't know he was Percy's roommate. I was walking around the school to familiarize myself with the layout when Grover practically floated over to me with a big doofy (a combination of dopey and goofy that I created, normally reserved for one of the Jackson brothers) smile on his face.

He got all up in my personal space and started sniffing my neck, saying in a dreamy voice. "You smell like pine~"

He then proceeded to go on this rant about nature and how humans were polluting it and how it should be restored to its former glory. I agreed with him wholeheartedly, but when your first meeting with someone is having them sniff you like some scented candle and then go on a rant about how humans were a parasite?

My answer was simple and blunt. "You're weird, get out of my personal space and never speak to me again."

Then I walked away and saw him deflate from the corner of my eye, he seemed to be sniffing and I felt bad, but was too weirded out by what happened to really care.

Then I found out he was Percy's roommate and I was kinda forced to interact with him. Turns out that besides our awkward meeting, Grover was a decent dude and we got along fairly well.

I watched as Percy sat down next to Grover and unwrapped his own sandwich.

"Whatcha get?" I asked curiously.

"Bologna and American." I scrunched up my face and stuck out my tongue in disgust, this time I wasn't trying to joke around. Bologna wasn't meat and American cheese wasn't cheese. They were both overly processed food products that in my opinion, tasted horrible.

"You?" Perce asked in a dull tone. I knew he was probably done with my antics and picky tastes, but I couldn't help it, I honestly hated the two sandwich fillings.

"Herb Turkey and Pepper Jack cheese." I said happily, swinging a leg out from under me so it dangled off of the fountain edge. "With lettuce and tomato."

Percy rolled his eyes and took a bite t of his own lunch.

"Detention?" Grover asked.

I zoned them out right as Percy replied in the negative, turning my attention towards the skyline. The air smelled like ozone and clouds blacker than night were rolling across the sky towards the city. The weather all over New York State has been crazy since just before Christmas. Massive snow storms, flooding and wildfires (that last one upset me the most) and I've heard a hurricane warning or two.

When I asked Percy what he thought about all of it he just shrugged and said it was probably global warming or something.

I would have agreed with him, but when we have our Skype calls with Dylan and Nee-chan, they said that the weather in Connecticut hasn't changed at all. Maybe a blizzard and some rain but nothing alarming.

And that's what alarmed me.

Why was the weather only acting strange in New York? Shouldn't it be affecting the entire north east? If not certain parts of the eastern seaboard?

I finished off my sandwich and fruit cup before pilling up my garbage and getting up with a stretch. Nikki looked at me in confusion but I just shrugged and held up my ball of garbage, nodding towards the nearest trash can.

Nikki nodded before holding up her own trash for me to take. Once I grabbed it she grabbed a book from her bag and started reading it.

I had decided to stretch my legs, so I walked to the trash can on the other side of the fountain. After throwing away the trash, I took a moment to look around at my surroundings. I wasn't too far away from my class, but I was still a lot farther than my teachers would probably like.

Since I was right in front of the checkerboard pattern of trees, I decided I would spend some time walking through them.

If there was one thing that would calm me down and make me feel at home no matter what, it would definitely be when I'm surrounded by trees.

There was a memory I had back when I was in second grade, Ma had picked me and Luna up from school and we were walking home (Funnily enough, the town house we lived in was only about a ten minute walk from my current location), Mama had taken our dogs Dakota and Rocky with her to pick us up.

When I look back, it's funny. All the kids would be afraid of the two Siberian huskies because they thought they were wolves.

It wasn't hard for me to get lost in the memory.

Luna was running ahead of me and Ma. Ma would occasionally let go of Dakota (our pure white female husky)'s leash so the dog would herd her back to us. It was illegal to walk your dog's off leash in NYC, but the police officers never batted an eye when Ma or me and Luna did it.

"You don't wanna play like your sister?" Ma had asked me, looking down and shooting me a smile.

I gripped her hand tighter and tried my hardest to melt into her leg. "Nuh-uh."

Ma chuckled slightly and let go of my hand to switch Rocky's leash into her left hand so she could run her hand through my hair.

"Hmm" Ma mused. "You're gonna need a trim baby."

I just shook my head again and clutched onto her jeans. "No?" She sighed. "Well alright, but if you trip you're getting a haircut. Deal?"

I looked up at Ma and beamed. Ma returned my smile with her own silver eyes shining happily and ruffled my hair.

"Mama!" Luna called happily from 10 feet in front of us, Dakota's leash wrapped securely in her own hands. When Ma looked up to Luna, Nee-Chan pointed to the tight canopy of trees that lined the sidewalk up ahead of us. "Trees!"

Ma giggled and mocked a surprised expression. "Oh would you look at that! I was wondering what those were!"

Nee-chan pouted before running over to me and Ma, Dakota suddenly ran ahead and nearly started dragging Luna behind her when Ma shot the white furred animal a stern look.

"Dakota." Ma said warningly and the husky slowed to a walk with a whimper.

Rocky (Our silver and white furred husky) was bouncing as he walked, looking at our surroundings and panting the entire time.

"Mama! Here!" Nee-chan said as she passed Ma Dakota's leash.

"W-wha-?" Ma blinked in surprise as Luna ran back to the trees and started weaving through them as she danced. Ma suddenly burst out laughing and Dakota and Rocky turned to her in an almost human-like motion. Wiping some tears of laughter and auburn hair out of her face, Ma turned back to me. "Are you sure you don't wanna join your sister?"

Second grade me just stared at Ma for a minute before a grin spread across my face. I turned towards my sister and bolted forward calling out a new word I learned the winter before on our trip to Japan.

"Nee-Chan!"

I blinked and I was back in the present. Nervously I looked towards my class, but no one was paying attention so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I bowed slightly at the waist, a hand over my chest as if starting a ballroom dance…

Which made sense, because that's pretty much what I was doing. The dance Luna was doing that day back in second grade was just a flashier and faster version of a waltz.

Uncle Atticus would sometimes have us standing on his feet as he waltzed when we were younger, I don't think Ma minded since it was one of the few times he would entertain us and it did not lead to mischief or some form of aggravation for her. Plus the school we went to in third grade required all students in grades three, four, and five to learn how to ballroom dance.

I weaved through the trees in the plaza a few times before making my way a bit further from the fountain and towards the strip of sidewalk that was canopied by the trees. I danced around the shaded walkway for a bit, a free feeling in my chest and a grin on my face.

"I missed this…." I thought sadly, spinning to a halt and staring at the sidewalk at my feet.

Maybe, I could go talk to Aunt Sally? I think I had enough in my pocket to pay for the subway..If I hopped on the 4 train, I could be at her apartment in maybe twenty minutes….That could work. Anytime me and Luna were upset we would talk to Aunt Sally and she would make us feel better.

Ah..maybe not...that could get Perce in trouble since he's supposed to be "watching over me" and making sure I don't get into too much trouble…

I looked off to the side with a thoughtful look, my feet moving once again in my dance through the trees.

...Maybe if I got Perce to go with me? I'm sure he would love to see his mom and I could always sneak him into the subway through the emergency exit if he doesn't have any cash on him for a metrocard…

I closed my eyes and let my feet carry me to an imaginary song in the wind.

But then she would be disappointed in him for not being the "responsible older brother" and I didn't want to force him to sit through another lecture about that.

I stopped my dance and bowed low, taking a second to catch my breath. I heard a giggle from in front of me and my eyes snapped open as I looked up to see where the sound originated from.

On the other side of the trees stood a group of six girls around my age. The youngest seemed to be about ten and the oldest fifteen, I would have thought them a normal group of girls if not for their green skin tone and the fact their dresses seemed to be made up of leaves.

I quickly stood up to straighten my posture and gave an embarrassed cough to clear my throat. The group of girls laughed slightly before one by one they curtsied, almost like each one of them were my partner for my dance.

"W-who-?" I spoke up, about to ask who they were and how long they had been standing there when I heard a loud splash from the fountain behind me and an annoying voice scream out: Percy pushed me!

I turned to look at the fountain in alarm and when I spared a glance back towards the girls? They were no longer there. It was almost like they never were.

Deciding to ignore my confusion, I bolted back to the fountain and my friends.

"Come on man! Perce you promised!"

When I got back to where Nikki and Grover were sitting, Percy was already gone but Nikki held a soaked Nancy Bobofit by the scruff of her collar, right arm raised back ready to deck a certain klepto in the face.

The kids were whispering the whole time.

"The water-"

"-how did it-"

"-almost like it grabbed her-"

I didn't pay attention to them, instead grabbing Nikki's wrist and when the dark haired girl turned to me questioningly, I realized just how pale and scared she seemed to be.

Nikki was shaking, I could feel it as I held her wrist. She looked whiter than snow and like she was a second away from vomiting.

I spared a look at Grover who was sitting with his head in his hands, he also seemed to be pale and shaking slightly. He was muttering something about sixth grade but I couldn't really make out anything else, and that was pretty surprising since I had crazy good hearing.

After looking at Grover, I barely glanced at Nancy (who looked quite smug) before turning back to Nikki. "Don't waste your energy on this piece of trash."

Nancy glared at me and reared back her leg to kick me but Nikki knocked her off balance and pulled her so close, their noses were practically touching.

"Try it, Bobofit, and I swear to the gods I'll rearrange your face."

I raised an eyebrow at Nikki, not only was her use of gods (as in plural) very interesting, I also felt her threat to be a little unnecessary. After all, Nancy was just a bully and not worth her effort.

"I didn't realize he was such a wimp, he needed to hide behind his wife and have her fight his battles for him." Nancy taunted.

"Why you-" Nikki growled and tried to break free from my grip on her wrist.

"Nik, where's Percy?" I asked.

Nikki shot me a worried sideways glance. "Dodds brought him back into the museum."

For some reason I didn't understand at the time, a feeling of dread swelled in the pit of my stomach and I bolted towards the entrance of the museum.

"Archer!" I heard Nikki call from behind me, but I wasn't paying any attention. "Wait!"

I ran back into the museum and paused slightly to try and listen for Percy.

"Yes Ma'am." I heard Percy say from the Greeco-Roman exhibit. I turned and started running down the hallway, trying to hurry to my friend.

Or at least that was the plan.

"And where do you think you're going?"

I paused in my movements and turned towards the voice. Leaning against one of the marble statue heads was an asian lady in her mid-thirties, dressed in a men's grey business suit. She had jet black hair tied into a bun, stormy grey eyes that were dull- almost like she was in emotional pain (yet they still held a small spark of joy). A very weak playful smirk was on her face and her skin was pale, almost sickly looking and I was wondering briefly how she was standing.

Honestly, I would have mistaken her for Nee-chan if she wasn't so pale.

"Should you be leaning on that?" I asked hesitantly, eyeing the statue head of Athena.

The lady shrugged her left shoulder and winced slightly. "I'm not doing it to be disrespectful, I just need a little help."

"Disrespectful? I'm more worried about you breaking a million dollar sculpture!"

"Besides," the lady continued, "the gods are a lot more understanding than you would think."

I stared at the lady in confusion, why was everyone suddenly talking about gods? As in the plural version? Was paganism making a comeback? Or did I just draw them towards me?

I really didn't care either way, I was just under the impression that practitioners of Wicca and Paganism didn't go around discussing their religious beliefs in public. You know, since pagans and wiccans are often discriminated against as witches?

Surely I'm not the only one to find these subjects fascinating…..

Am I?

"Still...It would be a problem if that broke…" I replied.

"Are you going to ignore my question Archer Ray?" The lady asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ok yes, my name was Archer Ray. I'm convinced Uncle Atticus convinced (aggravated) Ma to let him name me. Because while I can see Ma naming me Archer, I cannot for the life of me see her picking out Ray as my middle name.

At least it could be worse, I could have been stuck with the name Archer Atticus. It doesn't flow as nicely in my opinion.

Also, would anyone else get freaked out by some random lady you never met knowing your first and middle names?

I backed away a step from the lady. "Uh Huh...and what was that question again?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

Maybe it was my imagination, but the room seemed to get a tad colder after the Lady repeated herself.

"Ummm..to help my friend?"

The lady didn't answer for a minute, just stared at me unblinking….which was even more creepy then her knowing my name.

"Unfortunately," The lady began when she finally spoke. "Perseus must face this test on his own."

A growl sounded from the room behind the lady in the suit as an older lady's voice spoke up.

"Now, now, Sonny behave."

"It seems your own test is about to begin." I felt a feeling of dread fall over me as I watched the grey eyed lady glance nonchalantly out of the corner of her eyes. "So he sent you Echidna?"

The voice of the old lady cackled from the room behind the statue head of Athena. "Ah, Hitomu (Hee-toe-moo) dear. How pitiful you look, what would your mother think?"

The Asian lady (Hitomu, I guess her name was), straightened slightly and glanced at the statue of Athena from the corner of her eye, finally moving her arm off of the statue head she had it resting on.

"If this wasn't his test-" Hitomu began before Echidna cut her off.

"Then Sonny would be getting two demigods for lunch instead of one."

Echidna finally emerged from the room she was hiding in and I felt myself pale. Instead of seeing an old lady like I had imagined, a monster appeared before me.

A monster with green and scaly skin, a human head, dragon claws, snake-like body, fangs, and what appeared to be a forked tongue.

Following her was another monster, one twice her size with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and a ten foot long snake for a tail.

"Chimera." I breathed in disbelief as terror gripped my stomach.

The chimera seemed to smirk at me before it snarled, Echidna smiled maliciously before petting the chimera's neck.

"Enjoy your meal Sonny."

"Sonny?" I thought in confusion. "Wait but-"

"I thought the Chimera was a girl?" I asked and the three other occupants of the room turned to face me.

The Chimera nodded at me while Echidna glared in annoyance and Hitomu stared at me in amusement.

"And why do you think that?" Hitomu asked.

I blinked at the look alike of Luna before tilting my head in confusion.

"Well...it's in the name isn't it? Chimera means 'she-goat'? Plus the myth of the Chimera and Bellerophon-" the chimera hissed at the name of the hero as Echidna scrunched her face of anger. "-depicts the Chimera as female."

The Echidna seemed annoyed and during this brief stand off, I witnessed Mr. Brunner sped past us in his wheelchair.

"Mr-!" I called but the chimera snarled and started walking towards me.

Backing up a little bit, I bumped into the statue of Aphrodite behind me. If I'm being honest, I nearly knocked it over. I glanced up at the statue to make sure it didn't fall before closing my eyes tightly, resigned to my fate but still loathing the situation I now found myself in.

"You know, I could really use some help right now…?" I thought as I felt the air around me begin to heat up. "Or a lead ball. A lead ball would work really well right now."

I was gonna die, there was no way around it. The chimera was gonna roast me alive and if I somehow ended up surviving (which I doubted), it would bite me with the snake head on it's tail and inject me with its venom.

By some stroke of luck, just as I was starting to think about my loved ones reactions to the news of my death, I heard the sound of footsteps before a familiar female voice shouted out.

"Archer!"

My eyes snapped open and I turned towards the direction of the exhibit entrance.

If the gods were real and Aphrodite heard what I thought, then I would be forever grateful. Though for some reason, if Aphrodite did help me, then I could imagine her chuckling softly to herself and saying.

"Hmm I can't give you a lead ball, but I can send you some back up."

Nikki had appeared with a short sword in her right hand and she threw it towards me. I shocked myself by grabbing it midair and bolting around the statue of the Greek goddess of love and diving behind the statue.

I slid into the room in front of me and used my hand to change my direction so I could hide behind the left wall.

"Hiding won't help you half-blood." Echidna called from the hall.

Half….

...blood…?

"What the hell is that?" I asked myself.

Focus

I jolted in shock as the word popped into my head.

"H-hello?" I called internally.

Relax. Focus.

"I-" I would have tried to call out again, but the air around me started to heat up. There was an orange glow coming from the hallway and something told me it wasn't a flashlight.

Get ready

I didn't question the words, simply scrambled to my feet and into a crouched position, the short sword- or xiphos (zih-fohs), I believed Mr. Brunner called it once- was in my hand, the tip of the sword pointed up and waiting for the chimera to appear in the doorway.

Raising my head to watch the door, I wasn't sure what I would do when I saw the chimera, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

So I did what came naturally.

I saw the chimera's lion head appear in the doorway and I raised my body to a standing position, turned so I was facing the monster, raising my sword the entire time.

When I was face to face with the beast I thrust my sword into its open mouth and stabbed it just as it was gathering up flames to spew at me.

Glowing cracks formed around its body and it combust into grains of sand.

I walked out into the hallway just as I heard Echidna shriek from behind me.

"How dare you! I'll send you straight to the underworld!"

I turned my body, swinging the sword around with me. Echidna was closer than I thought, because the sword sliced through her neck like a hot knife to butter.

Her widened, enraged, silted eyes were the last thing I saw of her disappearing form.

I panted, trying to catch my breath and looked around the room in front of me. When I saw no monsters, I turned back around towards the hallway, ready to ask that lady- Hitomu- questions.

But she was gone.

Walking further into the hallway gallery, I tried to look behind the statues to see if she collapsed (she looked a second away from it before, after all), but couldn't see anything or anyone.

I was going to walk into the room that Echidna and the Chimera appeared from, but a voice from the room with the Temple of Artemis pillar stopped me in my tracks.

"Archer?"

Turning to face the voice, I saw a very pale Percy in the middle of the doorway with a pen in his hands.

Ignoring every feeling but relief, I ran up to my friend with a grin. "Perce!" I went to hug him but he flinched back at the sight of the sword in my hands.

"Is that a sword? Why do you have one too!"

My look of joy turned into a look of confusion. "What do you mean too? You don't have a sword."

Percy shot a look at the pen in his hands, a skeptical look over taking his features.

"I had one." He started before looking me in the eyes, a pleading look in his sea-green orbs. "Mrs. Dodds-"

Oh yea. That thing exists.

Percy shook his head, almost like he just woke up from a bad dream. The pleading look in his eyes turned into a look of desperation.

"Arch, dude, I didn't push Nancy into that fountain."

I tilted my head to look at him. What did Nancy falling into the fountain have to do with the wrinkled old bat we called a pre-algebra teacher?

"T-the water." Percy was moving his hands as he spoke, almost like he was trying to grasp onto his words for some semblance of truth. "I just remember hearing a wave in my ears, then Nancy was in the fountain and all the other kids were saying something about the water grabbing her-"

I cut Percy off. Though, I did hear the kids outside say something similar.

"Perce, man, hey, look." I said putting a hand up to calm him down. "A wave? The water grabbing the Hutt? Dude, you're not making any sense. How does this have anything to do with Dodds?"

Percy's head snapped up to face me, a finger pointed right between my eyes. "Dodds!" He pointed into the room behind him. "Turned into some weird flying bat lady and attacked me."

I blinked at my surrogate brother in shock.

"Mr. Brunner appeared and threw a pen at me! But when I caught it, it turned into his sword from tournament day!" I blinked again, that explains seeing Mr. B rolling past, but a pen turning into his sword? "I swung at Mrs. Dodds, she turned to sand, I looked at the hand I held the sword in-!" Percy jabbed the pen in my face for me to see. "-it turned into a pen!"

A skeptical look morphed onto my face, a pen that turned into a sword then turned back into a pen? That kind of paints 'The pen is mightier than the sword' in a whole new light.

I turned to look at the sword in my hands, after all there was no way that-

My train of thought screeched to a halt and I blinked twice at the object in my hands.

It was a ring.

The bronze xiphos I held in my hand was now a silver ring with a bird (a dove, my mind supplied helpfully) on it

My head moved slowly to face Percy, I blinked at him and turned back to the ring in my hand.

"...the sword…"

"...I'm not crazy…" Percy let out a bark of a laugh, his eyes shining slightly but (being the best bro I am) I ignored it. "Your sword just-!"

"...turned into a ring…" I finished.

A deafening silence descended upon us as I still tried to wrap my head around the mysterious transformation of the sword. Percy was the one to break the silence.

"So I guess my lunch wasn't spiked with magic mushrooms."

I shot my best bro a 'what the hell are you on look' before honoring his statement with a reply. "Where the hell do you come up with this shit?"

Percy sent a mock glare at me. "No cursing."

I rolled my eyes with an amused smile on my face. It was weird how a moment ago I was terrified for my life, then confused, and now I was joking like normal with one of the closest people I had to a brother.

We started to walk out of the exhibit and I wrapped my arm around to rest on Percy's neck as we walked.

"Should we mention this to someone?" Percy asked.

My feet skip to a halt, the grey eyed lady's words from earlier echoing in my head.

"It seems your own test is about to begin"

I don't know why, but for some reason- and not the obvious fact that we would be sent to a psych ward- I felt like it was best to keep today's events to ourselves.

"Perseus must face this test on his own"

How did that lady know both of our names?

"Maybe-" I started before gulping. "Maybe we should keep this between us."

Percy looked at me like I grew ten heads and I didn't blame him. The only reason I had for that request was a gut feeling and the words of some weird stranger.

"Dude, are you feeling alright?" Percy asked. "We just got attacked-!"

"I never said anything about getting attacked." I denied and Percy shot me a 'are you serious right now' look. "W-what?"

"Why else would you have a sword in your hand, dummy?"

Percy reached up and smacked me lightly on the back of my head causing both of us to burst out laughing as we started walking again.

When our laughter died down I spoke up again. "But seriously, I think we should keep this between us."

Percy sighed regretfully but nodded after a minute. "I don't like it, but if that's what you think our best option is."

I turned to face him, a deathly serious look on my face. "I mean it, Perce. No telling Grover or Nikki, no one." I paused for a minute before continuing. "Not even Dylan or Luna."

Percy seemed to trip on air before he caught himself and turned to look at me with wide-eyes. "You're not telling Luna?"

I glared at the slightly older boy. Was it really so shocking? "I don't tell her about half of the shenanigans we get into."

For good reason too. If I had to hear another 'The Adventures of Archer and Percy' joke….well I may suddenly find myself being an only child….

"What if they get attacked?" Percy asked. "We should warn them."

We stepped outside the museum to discover it had started to rain.

I turned to Perce, saying one last thing about this topic.

"I'll ask if any weird things have been going on, when we Skype tonight, but I won't mention what happened. Alright?" Percy stared at me for a minute before rolling his eyes and nodding. "Thank you, now we should rejoin the group."

Grover and Nikki were still sitting by the fountain, both of them trying to seek shelter from underneath a single museum map that they were holding. Nikki's free hand was holding her silver duffle bag close in a weak attempt to save her books from getting damaged.

The two of them were whispering urgently to each other, not noticing me and Percy coming over.

"...a Kindly One!"

"...I know…"

"...Grover-!"

Nikki seemed to be the more frantic of the two and whatever they were talking about seemed to be urgent so I didn't want to cut them off. But I didn't want to eavesdrop either.

Luckily I didn't have to do either because a soaked Nancy the Hutt turned away from grumbling to her ugly friends and glared at Percy.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

"Who?" Percy asked in confusion.

"Our teacher. Duh!"

Me and Percy blinked in unison. There was no teacher at Yancy Academy named Mrs. Kerr, and even if there was, we certainly didn't have her.

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked in confusion from beside me.

Nancy just rolled her eyes and turned away, so the two of us just turned back to our friends.

"Hey G-man," Percy said as he walked up. "Where's Mrs. Dodds?"

Grover stopped his urgent whispering with Nikki, but he didn't answer Percy right away, his eyes shifting away from ours.

"Who?"

Percy scowled. "Not funny, man. This is serious."

Thunder crashed overhead causing me to look at the sky. Percy tapped my shoulder and said he would be right back, he was gonna talk to Brunner. I absentmindedly nodded as I continued to look at the pitch black clouds above me.

Something's wrong. I could feel it.

I wasn't sure what was wrong, it was just a feeling I had. A feeling something was just off and that something was going to happen. There was a feeling in the air that wasn't pleasant.

I closed my eyes as a few drops of rain landed on my face.

Very rarely would I say I felt at peace in New York City, it was only when I was in Central Park and around trees. However, there was something about the rain that always calmed me.

Water in general actually. Forests and water...nature...there was something calming about it all.

I sighed and glanced at the ring in my hand. Sword or not, I needed to return it to the original owner.

With another sigh, I looked up at Nikki and Grover, both of whom were staring at me in a mixture of confusion and worry.

"Oh yeah," I thought. "They don't normally see this side of me."

A weak smile appeared on my face and I walked over to Nikki, raising my hand up and holding the ring in between my two fingers.

"Does this belong to you?"

Nikki's eyes widened and she let out a dramatic gasp. Rushing away from her futile shelter from the rain and right in my face.

"O.M.G! Archer, thank you!" She gushed (dramatically) with such a big smile that it had to be fake, snatching the ring from out of my hands. "I was so-o worried that I lost it!"

My weak smile turned tense, one thing about Nikki that I found annoying is that I could always tell when she was lying or putting up an act.

Honestly, I think everyone could.

Whenever she was lying, she would get overly dramatic and start acting very badly. Normally I would call her out on it...but today was just too weird so I ignored it.

Thunder boomed again, and me and my two friends turned to look at the sky.

"Alright, everyone!" A perky voice called from the top of the steps. I turned to glance at the voice and noticed a tall woman with blonde hair and grey eyes walking down the museum steps towards my class. "I think it's about time we started to head back! Back to the buses!"

I blinked before scrunching my face in confusion and turning towards Nikki. "Who the hell is that?"

Nikki and Grovers eyes widened and they shared an uneasy look with each other before the dark haired girl turned to face me, an uneasy look on her face. "W-what are you talking about Archie! That's Mrs. Kerr, you know our pre-algebra teacher!"

"Could they make it any more obvious that they're hiding something?" I growled internally.

You're going to call them out on it?

I rolled my eyes at the voice in my head. "I have a feeling if I do that then it'll just cause even more of a headache for me."

The voice hummed in annoyance but didn't respond.

"Riiight." I dragged out as I responded to Nikki. "Our pre-algebra teacher that I've totally seen before today…" I deadpanned at both Grover and Nikki. "You know the one that didn't just suddenly appear out of nowhere and replace a fifty-year-old woman."

Grover looked at his feet before answering me. "W-what are you talking about Arch, Mrs. Kerr's been our teacher since Christmas break ended. She replaced Mr. Piccolo, remember? After he had that nervous breakdown?"

I rolled my eyes at my two friends and turned around, making my way over to Percy and Mr. B.

Walking up to my teacher and childhood friend, I heard Percy ask for the whereabouts of the Demon Teacher Dodds. However, when I was maybe six feet from Percy, I saw Mr. Brunner take on a concerned frown and lean forward.

"Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"

Huh, he actually makes it sound believable.

I rolled my eyes at the voice's commentary, before walking up to a flabbergasted Percy.

"Hey, Mr. B?" I called out with a sheepish smile. "Would it be cool if Perce and I sat next to each other on the way back?"

Mr. Brunner turned to face me, his concerned expression turning skeptical. "I'm not so sure that would be a wise decision young Archer."

My eyes turned pleading and my face took on a sad look. "Please Mr. B? I'm feeling a little homesick and really missing my mom, I just wanna spend some time with my brother."

My eyes watered slightly at the thought of my mom and Mr. Brunner's expression turned guilty.

All the staff at Yancy academy thought Percy and I were blood-related, so Mr. Brunner wouldn't know I was actually talking about my deceased mother and not my awesome foster mom.

While I would admit the main reason I wanted to sit next to Percy was so I could possibly discuss today's events with him and hopefully avoid Nikki and Grover, this trip really did bring back some memories of Ma.

Memories that made her absence painful- she was no longer here to laugh at our dancing, to watch over me and Nee-chan as we played with Dakota and Rocky, to take us camping or hiking as she hunted wild game, to tell us stories under the stars, and to let us help in the kitchen as she cooked or baked. We could no longer help her let us tend the small medicinal garden she had planted in the back, and yell at uncle Atticus when he recited some bad poetry as he taught me and Luna to play instruments or scoff at and rant on the blatant lack of knowledge about Greek mythos in Disney's Hercules -which if not for it being the only child friendly movie about Ancient Greece, we would never have been able to watch more than once.

"Well, alright," Mr. Brunner sighed reluctantly. "If you promise not to cause trouble on the way back, I see no reason not to let you two sit together on the way back to Yancy Academy."

I shot Mr. B a weak smile of gratitude and a soft thanks before I grabbed Percy's wrist and led him to the school bus.

"Hey," Grover called as I walked past him and Nikki, pulling Percy along with me towards the worst bus to pick for a two hour drive upstate.

"Archer?" Nikki asked in confusion.

"Sorry guys!" Percy shouted back as we walked towards the bus. "Archer's not feeling too good, he wants me to sit with him."

"Oh..." Nikki mumbled.

"Alright!" Grover called back.

I didn't know what they were trying to pull over on us, but I didn't like it. Whatever had happened in the museum couldn't be ignored. It was too dangerous, too out of the ordinary to be dismissed like it was nothing.

I couldn't ignore it. I felt like I needed to find the answer to this strange new mystery in my life.

I would get to the bottom of this even if it killed me.

Looking back, though?

...I regret not dropping it.