radoddish- I'm back baby! and hmm interesting to hear that about Bing! and yes Max welcome lol
read94- interesting theory! yall will definitely learn more about max
She awoke with a start, feeling as if someone was clutching her throat.
Rosie sat up, placing a hand to her heart. Her heart was thumping rapidly through her chest, and she took a breath, trying to relax herself.
Her eyes finally focused, and she realized she was in a room of mirrors, all showing her reflection back at her.
Where was she? She...she couldn't remember what had happened to get her here.
"Trippy, isn't it?"
Rosie flinched again, startled by the sound of someone talking. She looked around, but didn't see anything but her own reflection staring back at her.
"Hello?" She called out. "Is...is someone there?"
"There….and here...and everywhere," came the voice again, laughing. The laugh rang throughout the room, sounding like wind chimes.
And then she saw it. It started out small, right behind her left shoulder: white vapor. The vapor formed rapidly, increasing in size. Then, it started forming a shape...into a human.
Rosie craned her neck as the figure grew to be taller than her. A man was forming before her, a man with pearly translucent skin, grinning back at her. He was dressed in white, flowing robes.
"Rosemary Reiger!" His voice boomed and echoed through the room. "Welcome."
"What...what is this?" She asked, a pinch of nervousness in her voice. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
"Yes. And no," the man said with a chuckle. "What do you remember, my dear? Concentrate."
Rosie looked into one of the mirrors, seeing how exhausted she looked. There had to be a reason she felt like that.
"Harley," she finally spoke quietly. "I went after Harley."
She remembered the woods, how dark they were. She remembered Nyssa and Jake chasing after her. She remembered Apollo showing up at her door.
Stupid Apollo. Stupid stupid stupid-
"It usually takes the others much longer," the man commented thoughtfully.
"What?"
"Why did you go after Harley?" The man pressed.
"Oh god," she muttered to herself. "A light."
"Speak up, dear."
"There was a light, wasn't there? I followed the light and then...I don't remember what happened after."
After that was….nothing.
The man gestured around him to all the mirrors. "This is what happened, Rosie. This is The After."
"The After?"
"And the In Between, and the Before...it's like the middle between sleep and consciousness."
"So…" she paused to ponder this man's words. "I'm...asleep?"
"See for yourself."
The man snapped his fingers, and one of the mirrors displayed a running image, almost like a movie.
The image itself was a girl, her eyes closed and head bent peacefully as if she were asleep. The girl was tied up in what looked like spider webs. It took her a second to realize it was herself. Someone had trapped her. But who?
"What happened to me there?" She asked. "And what about the others? Are others stuck in this room like me? Cecil, Miranda?"
"I'm afraid I don't have all the answers. I just go where I'm needed to go."
"And who are you?"
The man laughed, almost offended at her asking. "Why, I'm Morpheus, dear! The god of dreams."
"Great," Rosie muttered. "I swear, if I meet one more god-"
"Is there a problem?"
"Yes," she snapped, standing up and crossing her arms. "Gods come in, and suddenly, I'm stuck in some comatose, dream land with some Kumbaya dream god-"
"Hey," Morpheus cut her off sharply.
"God's come out of the woods, and suddenly I'm here-"
"You are far underestimating my powers, dear. I know far more than you think I do."
"Save me the lecture. I don't need you here, so maybe let me enjoy my subconscious alone with some peace and quiet."
She had a feeling she would be here for a while. The last thing she needed was a god pestering her.
"There's a reason for me being here."
"Which is?" She questioned.
Morpheus grinned. "Now, what would be the fun in revealing it?"
She felt a flash of anger run through her.
"This is ridiculous," she snapped. "I'm going to wake myself up."
She pressed a palm against one of the cool mirrors, making a fist with her other hand.
Rosie hit the mirror, wincing.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, hitting it repeatedly. "Ow, ow, ow-"
Wake up. Wake up.
"You won't wake up," Morpheus said. "That's not up to me or to you, at least not the act of physically waking up. It's up to Apollo, and if you ask me, he's a bit of a mess right now."
"Then, why are you here?" Rosie snapped. "There is nothing you could possibly offer me-"
She broke off, realizing there were suddenly three of them in the room,
She saw Jason, glasses on and blond hair sticking up messily as he crouched over his model on a table, his face creased in concentration as his hands moved from piece to piece.
"That's all he does, you know, all day...works on his model of the shrine."
Rosie couldn't peel her eyes away. It seemed so real, like she could reach out and touch him.
"Could I talk to him? Wou-would he hear me?"
It had been so long since she had heard the voice of Jason.
Was it because of me? She thought. Did my grief drive him away?
"No."
Her eyes flashed to something else, a different structure sitting next to his shrine.
"And what is that?"
"You don't know? I guess he wanted it to be a surprise. He's building a model of your dream- your sanctuary."
It felt like a painful slap, being reminded of that dream she had so long ago. Jason had believed in her so much, and she had thrown her dream away.
Once Leo died, she buried the idea of the Sanctuary she wanted to build one day. It was like a candle that had been blown out.
"Make it stop."
"Oh, we aren't done yet."
Sitting across from her were Piper and Coach, looking right through her like she wasn't even there.
"Could you try again?" Piper asked, her voice shaky. "It's...it's off, Coach."
"I know, Piper. I'm having trouble getting through to her."
The empathy link.
"What is the point of all this?" She said to Morpheus angrily. "You're just sitting here, torturing me-"
"Nope," Morpheus said, holding up a hand. "This is not for me, Rosemary. The subconscious reveals what you're avoiding. I'm here because there's something you're clearly not dealing with. Your mind is heavy."
"Not true," she argued. "Not true at all. Things are just off, right now, they've been off since August-"
"Time means nothing to me," Morpheus said. "There's no such thing as time here. We'll be here until Apollo finishes his quest, yes, but also...until you listen to yourself."
"I'm fine," she insisted. "All that happened is that Harley went into the woods, and I followed, and somehow got stuck here."
"Camp is worried about you, you know."
"Camp has a lot of issues, right now," she muttered.
Will and Nico were suddenly standing besides her, staring off into one of the mirrors.
Will frowned. "They just get up and walk into the forest like someone's calling their name."
"But it can't be that bad, right?" Nico asked. "Wouldn't Chiron have said something?"
"I don't know, Nico. Chiron's not up for much talking these days."
"Stop!" Rosie cried, throwing her hands up to her ears. "Stop it!"
Nico and Will disappeared. She looked at Morpheus, who had no trace of emotion on his face.
"Why am I here?" She asked.
Morpheus' face suddenly became grave.
"Only time will tell."
