Call Brandybuck- hahaha thank you! glad ur enjoying it :D and yep...its going to be greattt

read94- mastermind especially SCREAMS leo to me! and omg I love the idea of Leo setting off the sprinklers! thank you for your comment! max/rosie interactions will definitely be...interesting

Maryam Clarus- that's so okay, i totally understand getting caught up in life! this fanfic itself has had alottttt of gaps between updating just due to life circumstances/lack of motivation/etc...things happen! thank you for your comment, I'm so flattered haha! I'm glad people are still invested in this story, because I have too much love for it not to continue it, even if there are even zero people out there reading this tbh! I've been okay outside fanfic life, trying to find that work/life balance tbh lol.

we are now at the part of the story that correlates with the dark prophecy! if you havent read it, no worries, as I've said in the past while this is partially apollo's plotline, the forefront will always be rosie/leos arc.

to anyone who celebrates Thanksgiving, I hope you all have a lovely holiday week! enjoy the chapter!


Festus was not a fan of Indianapolis, and as the minutes passed, Rosie decided she had to agree with him.

Her stomach flipped as Festus landed on the cupola of the Indiana Statehouse, flapped his wings once, and blew out a column of fire that destroyed the state flag in seconds.

"Yeah, that just broke, like, tons of law," Max muttered from behind Rosie.

"That's got to be a new record!" Bing piped up, sounding impressed. "We've been here what, ten seconds?"

"Whoa, buddy!" Leo said to Festus. "We've talked about this- no blowtorching public monuments!"

"It was an ugly flag," Rosie said, feeling defensive in Festus' honor. She couldn't help it- she felt defensive on behalf of her old friend.

"Guys!" Apollo whined from the way back, where Leo had whipped up a makeshift seat for their fifth companion. "We talked about this, you have to talk louder if you want me to feel included!"

Leo looked over his shoulder. Rosie felt her face heat up before she realized he was looking at Apollo.

"Apollo, you sense anything?" He asked.

"Why is it my job to sense things? Just because I used to be the god of prophecy-"

"You said you were having visions about your friend Meg," Max piped in with a matter of fact tone.

Apollo scoffed. "Does this kid write everything down or something?"

"Does this look like the city we're supposed to be in or not?" Rosie asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Unfortunately," Apollo said miserably, looking at the city unhappily.

"Perfect," Leo sighed tiredly. "Festus, get us down to street level, will you?"

Festus obliged, landing outside a city cafe. Someone in a business suit was sitting outside at the table, sipping coffee.

The man smiled, waving at them.

"Good morning!" He called.

Leo nodded towards him. "'Sup."

"He's unusually friendly," Bing said from behind. "That's suspicious, isn't it?"

"Not when you have the greatest manipulator of the Mist sitting right behind me," Leo said with a hint of pride in his voice. "Tell 'em, Freckles."

"You can manipulate the Mist?" Max sounded shocked, but also impressed.

Rosie gulped nervously, not sure if now would be a great time to delve into the extent of her powers or lack of right now.

"Yeah," Rosie said tightly. "But...I don't think the Mist would be able to cover up Festus so well at such a close range, right, Apollo?"

She did quite like having Apollo around to throw under the bus quickly.

"Um...I'm not sure the Mist is our problem here, honestly," Apollo said. "Maybe we should get out of the public-"

Festus shuddered, shaking like a wet dog. Everyone on board groaned. Instinctively, Rosie grabbed onto Leo, reminding her of all the times she had done that before.

"Not again!" Leo complained. "Everyone off!"

The five of them quickly dismounted. Leo ran to the front of Festus, holding his arms out.

Festus projectile-vomited a column of flames, and Rosie winced as Leo was engulfed in flames. As the flames dissipated, she saw a disgruntled Leo standing there, covered in soot and now with some apparent holes in his clothes.

Bing and Max were both snickering.

"Festus-1, Human Blowtorch-0," Max muttered to Bing.

Leo groaned loudly, quickly launching himself to press the button behind Festus' left foreleg. Festus collapsed, retracting into Rosie's favorite form: carry-on luggage.

"Dang it...I thought I fixed his gyro-capacitor! We're stuck here until I can find a machine shop to fix him."

Rosie gave him what she hoped was a comforting smile.

"Famous last words," she said.

Leo smiled back.

"And how long is it gonna take to fix him?" Apollo asked.

Leo shrugged. "Twelve, fifteen hours? Give or take."

"Hello!" A voice called out.

They all turned to see an older woman in a flowery dress approach them, purse in hand. She was smiling, but something about her smile seemed...vacant.

She waved. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

Considering it was cold and cloudy...it wasn't beautiful.

Apollo gave her a lackluster wave back, shooting the rest of them a nervous look.

The woman planted herself right in front of them. Rosie noticed her lipstick and eye shade were the same color- an unnatural purple.

"Oh my!" She said with a toothy grin. "Aren't you children cute?"

"Madam," Apollo said politely. "We are not children. Now, um, if you'll excuse us...we have a suitcase to repair."

Rosie noticed Max looking at her. Was he waiting for her to do something?

"Oh, dear, you can't go yet," the woman said in a chilling tone. "We haven't welcomed you yet!" The woman took a cellphone out of her purse. "Everybody, come on over! Apollo is here!"

Apollo's eyes became as wide as saucers, and she felt the air become twenty degrees cooler.

"Ma'am," Apollo said with a nervous laugh. "I'm afraid you've confused me with someone else!"

"Yeah," Leo said with a chuckle. "I mean, Apollo wouldn't have acne, now, would he?"

Rosie could see Apollo restraining himself from chiming in about his acne.

"Don't be modest!" The woman ordered. She grabbed onto Apollo's forearm, and Apollo let out a girlish whimper. "Our master will be delighted to have you in our custody. Please call me Nanette."

Before Rosie could realize what she was doing, she charged, her body seemingly taking over. Her fist rammed into Nanette's face.

She had punched humans before. Her fist, however, had never been met with metal.

Suddenly, she was regretting everything.

"OW," Rosie cried, cradling her hand. Rosie stumbled away, towards the curb. "I don't know why I did that!"

"Rosie!" Leo exclaimed.

"Shit! That really freaking hurt, shit!"

"Your sister has a potty mouth," Bing muttered to Max.

"Why would you do that?" Max asked Rosie, shaking his head.

Nanette let go of Apollo in attempts to grab her face, but it was too late. Her head toppled off of her shoulders. It clanged loudly against the pavement, the head rolling sideways.

Leo had appeared at her side, taking the hand she was cradling. Rosie winced, pulling it out of his grasp.

"You might've broken her hand!" Leo scolded. "What are you, an automaton?"

"No, dear," Nanette said. But the voice didn't come from the head now residing on the sidewalk. It was coming from her dress. "And I'll just say, hitting me wasn't very polite."

Apollo's face went pale.

"A blemmyae," Apollo stated.

"Bless you?" Bing said.

"Not a sneeze, Bing, a blemmyae!"

"What kind of self respecting monster calls themselves that?"

Nanette chuckled, her midsection writhing. As she went to open her blouse, Max's eyes popped out of his head, as Bing stumbled forward to cover his eyes.

As the blouse opened, two glowing eyes stared back at them, a nose rising out of her sternum. Across her abdomen was a hideous smile.

"Yes dear!" The face chuckled. "And I'm arresting you in the name of the Triumvirate!"

Pedestrians suddenly emerged from street corners and alleyways, all beginning to march in their direction.

"L-Leo," Apollo sputtered out nervously. "Wake your dragon."

"But-"

"Wake your dragon!"

"I can't, he's in his sleep cycle!"

Nonetheless, Leo attempted, jabbing the button on Festus with his thumb. Nothing happened.

Apollo turned to another approach.

"BEGONE, foul Nanette!" He said in a dramatic tone, waving his arms. "Lay hands upon my divine person again and you shall be DESTROYED!"

"Don't fuss," Nanette scolded. "Besides, dearie, look at yourself. You aren't a god anymore!"

"Why do people keep reminding me of that?"

Rosie shook her head. "Did you really think that would work, Lester?"

"Not a word, Rosemary!"

They were slowly being surrounded, as various blemmyae posing as pedestrians stomped closer.

"Is everyone in this town a metal head, jeez!" Leo complained.

"Relax!" Nanette said. "Surrender and we won't have to hurt you! That's the emperor's job!"

Nanette lunged forward, as Rosie realized she was heading towards Max and Bing.

"No!" Rosie yelped, hopping in front of them. Instinctively, her foot jolted outward, connecting with Nanette's nose.

With a POP, her ankle bent, and Rosie ended up on the ground, doubled over in pain.

"Hey!" Leo yelled to Nanette.

Bing knelt next to her. "Are you alright?!"

"Why would you do that again?" Max said in a perplexed tone.

"Well, someone has to stop me!" Rosie snapped.

"Explain the Christmas thing again."

Bing blinked back at her. "I don't know what you mean."

The five of them sat around a greasy table in a rundown diner located in the middle-of-nowhere-Ohio. She couldn't quite put her finger on it- what the vibe in the air was. She'd crack a joke, only for Leo to chime in with full-on belly laughter. She'd turn, expecting to see Piper roll her eyes with a discreet smile, or Jason looking at her in utter confusion.

Instead, she had Apollo, mumbling her full name under his breath. Or Bing, who'd give her a polite smile but ultimately avoided eye contact.

And then there was Max.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas-"

"She speaks the truth," Leo said knowingly, waving his fork. "Freckles is the Christmas Queen."

"Mom made sure of that," she said, turning to Max and addressing him directly. Max's face became sullen as he took another bite of his chocolate chip pancakes. "We used to start decorating on November 1st, it pissed off our neighbors-"

"I'm not really a Christmas guy," Max said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Oh." She felt herself deflate. "Well, that's okay- Bing has covered it for everyone, I think."

"Are you going to eat those?" Apollo butted in awkwardly, glancing at Rosie's untouched toast.

She shoved it towards him. "Go for it."

"Here's what I don't understand," Apollo said through a mouthful of toast. Rosie slid him a napkin with a pointed look, as he spewed toast everywhere. "You were just living with Poseidon all these years?"

"Sort of," Max said with a flat shrug.

"And no one knew? How is that possible?"

"People thought I was dead."

People. Her and her mom…. 'People'.

"Oh. Well, that's good- that you aren't, I mean."

"I'd consider it a win."

"And your powers?"

"I don't want to talk about those," Max grumbled, taking another bite.

"Er, right," Apollo said with some hesitation. "Because of the-"

"Concussion," Max, Bing, and Leo finished in unison.

"Rightttt," Apollo said with a nervous laugh, shooting Rosie a look. "You Reigers are something."

"You like the pancakes," Rosie observed, looking at Max's devoured pile of them.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied.

"We'd make those every Sunday. Mom's more into waffles, but since we were into pancakes she'd-"

"That's nice," Max cut her off, pushing his chair out. "Anyone wanna check out the jukebox with me? Bing?"

Bing raised his eyebrows at Max from over the rim of his orange juice, but followed Max across the diner.

Rosie looked over at Leo, frustration building within her.

"I'm saying all the wrong things."

Leo reached across the table, grabbing her hand.

"It's not your fault, Freckles. I should've told you…he doesn't remember anything from before."

She was so stupid. How could she have expected things to go back to the way they were, all those years ago?

Apollo whistled. "Ooh, that whole thing that just happened then is super embarrassing."

Rosie kicked him under the table. Across the diner, where Max and Bing were standing, 'Islands in the Stream' started playing.

"I don't get it," she said to Leo. "Dad gets to take him away, wipe his memories, make me and my mom think he's dead…and I'm the one that has to sit here and have Max look at me like I have three heads?"

"He'll like you, Rosie," Leo promised. "Give him time."

"I don't know, Leo, I didn't like Rosemary all that much when we met," Apollo chimed in with a shrug.

"I got this, Lester," Leo said, giving Apollo a glare. He turned back to Rosie. "You're his sister. Deep down, he has to know that."

"When did you get so wise?" She teased.

"Six months on the road will do that to a man."

It was a joke, but something about it made her pause.

"Don't sweat it, okay?" Leo reached for the coffee pot the waitress had left for them on the table. She watched as he prepared her coffee: two creams, half a packet of sugar- he remembered the way she took her coffee. He slid it across the table towards her. "Drink up, it'll be okay."

Apollo wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "He makes you coffee, Rosemary."

Embarrassed, she grabbed the coffee, avoiding Leo's eyes.

"So. Indianapolis," she said, gracefully changing the subject.

"Right," Leo said. "Because…?"

"Because a twelve year old by the name of Meg McCaffrey ruined my life," Apollo grumbled.

"Right. Meg." Leo frowned. "Meg, Nero's stepdaughter?"

They all had begun to catch up their travel companions, trying to fill them in on the Triumvirate Holdings, the company that was blocking prophecies and controlling oracles. They told them the next Oracle was located in Indianapolis….their destination.

"Yep."

"And she's…helping Nero now?"

"Not entirely her doing," Apollo said with a shrug. "She can't know any better, not with that monster as her stepfather."

"Talk about awkward holidays," Bing said, reappearing with Max and plopping back down at the table. "Jukebox is a bust. It won't play anything but Islands in the Stream."

"It's actually named after an Ernest Hemingway novel," Max piped up quietly.

"Nero?" Apollo asked in a confused tone.

"No, Islands in the Stream."

Apollo gasped. "Wait- Maxipedia, I finally got it!" He looked at Leo. "Man, that's clever."

Leo grinned. "Almost as clever as the Valdezinator."

"The what?" Rosie asked.

Leo waved her off. "Still in product testing."

Nanette scowled.

"Now, I'll have to stomp on you," She directed towards Rosie.

"No, you don't!" Leo exclaimed as he conjured a fireball, aiming it right towards Nanette.

Nanette howled as she was engulfed in flames.

"Let's go!" Leo yelled, taking one of Rosie's arms and slinging it around his shoulder. "Bing, help me!"

Bing took her other arm, and together, those two helped her stand. They began hobbling away, Max and Apollo taking up the rear.

After about thirty seconds, Leo suddenly stopped, and Bing awkwardly stumbled trying to steady them.

Max and Apollo came to a quick stop behind them.

"What are we doing?" Apollo said, panicked.

"I forgot Festus," Leo admitted, looking upset with himself.

"So? Leave him!" Apollo snapped.

"What?"

"We can't manage him and Rosie!"

"I'm sorry, are you comparing me to Festus?" Rosie asked.

"Guys…" Bing said nervously, taking a glance back at the pedestrians.

"He's right, Leo!" Max said. "We'll come back for him!"

"If they figure out how to open him-" Leo started.

"MARGHHHH!" Came a yell from behind them. Nanette was spewing ashes out. "That was not nice! GET THEM!"

"Nevermind! Festus will be fine! Run, guys!" Leo ordered.

Max took this to heart, sprinting away. Apollo followed, and Rosie did her best to keep up, but god, it hurt.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized to Bing and Leo as they hobbled along behind them. "This is my fault!"

"Shut it, Freckles," Leo said, grunting as they moved along.

She wasn't sure what had come over her. Max was looking at her and...she wanted to impress him, she realized. She wanted her brother to see what she could do.

Of course, she had failed miserably.

"What are we going to do?" Bing moaned.

"I can't keep summoning fireballs," Leo sighed. "I'll pass out if I do. Now, if we had Festus-"

"Hear me out, I have an idea!" Apollo said suddenly from in front of them.

"We're not leaving Rosie," Leo said with a roll of his eyes.

"Sorry, just brainstorming!"

"You two became great friends, huh?" Leo said to her.

"Oh, the best," she said with a grimace.

A police officer appeared behind the three of them.

"Good morning! If you don't halt, I will have to shoot!" He said in a pleasant voice.

Leo began rummaging in his tool belt, pulling out a small glass bottle. He tossed it over his shoulder at the officer. Green flames exploded at his feet, and soon enough, another creepy chest-face appeared.

Leo let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god, I took a real chance as to whether that was actually a blemmyae," Leo said. "That was my only vial of Greek fire, guys. I'm out of ideas, anyone got anything?"

Rosie didn't trust herself to fight at the moment, omitting the fact that her powers were AWOL. Max was jumpy whenever someone mentioned his powers. Apollo had his ukulele and bow, both packed away and out of his immediate touch. Rosie wasn't sure if Bing had much to offer except a rendition of "Silent Night". They were fresh out of options.

"We...we should find cover," Rosie suggested, figuring they didn't have many other options.

"Ingenuous," Apollo agreed. "But this city doesn't seem too covering."

He was right, in a way. The landscape of Indianapolis was flat, the streets wide, the crowds sparse. It would be much easier hiding in say, New York City.

"How about over there?" Max suggested. He pointed to what looked like a service alley behind a hotel.

"What if it's a dead end?" Apollo said in a panicked tone. "The last time I found myself in one of those, things did not go well."

"Let's try," Leo said. "We might be able to hide in there. If not...I don't know."

"Solid plan, team!" Bing exclaimed.

Luckily, the alley wasn't a dead end. They started hobbling through, only for Max to nervously stop ahead of them.

"What is that?" He asked nervously.

Rosie felt Bing inhale sharply, muttering about gingerbread under his breath.

Leo halted. "What the-"

A headless apparition was in front of them, spewing blood everywhere. It was dressed like a traditional Greek warrior, and it was in an orange tunic.

"He's cheese-colored," Leo said with an approving nod. "Nice."

"Follow him!" Apollo yelped.

"What?" They all exclaimed in unison.

"Follow him!"

The blemmyae's voices were getting closer, as it became clear they were being followed into the alleyway.

Leo pulled a staple gun from his belt, which Rosie had finally relinquished over to him.

"You guys go ahead," he said. "I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"We are not doing that," Rosie said, shaking her head.

Leo gave her a confused look.

Rosie looked down at the ground, gulping nervously.

"I just mean, we're not leaving anyone behind," she babbled nervously. "Keep walking."

The alleyway led to a circular plaza. On one side was a set of hotels, and the other side looked like some sort of train station. In the middle stood a fountain, surrounded by flower beds. It seemed like, unfortunately, their cheese-colored ghost had led them to their doom, as it was now gone and they were being surrounded by blemmyae. A mob burst out of the alleyway. A police car was swerving towards them. A bulldozer pulled in by the hotel.

"Hello!" The bulldozer operator called out. "I'm going to bulldoze you now!"

They were blocked in. Rosie felt the world spinning, and she was trying to tell herself now wouldn't be the best time to puke.

"Any plans, friends?" Apollo pleaded. "Anyone?"

No one piped up. None of them had anything but nervous glances.

Their dear old friend Nanette finally caught up to the mob.

"Oh, darlings," she said sweetly. "You've made me upset!" With little struggle, she ripped a nearby street sign out of the ground, welding it over her body. "Now, hold still, okay? I'm going to smash your heads in!"

"Bulldozer," Leo said under the guise of a cough.

"Huh?" Bing asked.

"Did I miss a special code word meeting?" Apollo asked.

"Bing and I are going to sneak over there and get that bulldozer," Leo said in a low tone.

"We are?" Bing squeaked.

"Yep," Leo said. "Max, Apollo, you guys hold Rosie up, okay? Distract the metalheads."

"Are you crazy?" Rosie whispered to Leo as they shifted her weight to Max and Apollo.

She was continually shocked by how Leo had been acting since they were reunited. He truly had become a leader, and she was still processing that.

"I got this," he reassured her. He waved over to Bing. "Follow my lead, Blitzen."

Leo took a brave step forward, and Bing sighed, tentatively stepping behind him.

"Oh!" Nanette beamed. "Are you, short demigod, volunteering to die first? You hit me with fire, so that makes sense."

Leo opened his mouth, probably ready to argue the use of the word short.

"I volunteer to die!" Apollo yelled suddenly.

The entire mob turned to look at Max, Rosie, and Apollo. Max shrunk a little under their watchful gazes.

Apollo gulped. "But, uh, first, let me speak my last words! Hear my plea, O merciful ones!"

The policeman that Leo had hit with Greek fire (and was still currently smoldering), lowered his gun slightly.

"What do you mean, hear your plea?" He asked.

"Well, you aren't going to kill us without letting us give our last spiels, are you?" Max asked. "That would be in bad taste."

"Yeah!" Rosie said. "Aren't you supposed to be the city of brotherly love?"

The blemmyae glanced at each other, confused.

"That's Philadelphia, Rosie," Max said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh. What's Indianapolis' motto?"

"The Crossroads of America."

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Enough quibbling, you two, I did not sign up to be in the middle of a fight between two Poseidon children!" Apollo hissed under his breath. He cleared his throat. "What my dear friends are trying to say is that you owe us the pleasure of politeness, as you are known for that!"

Nanette nodded in agreement. "Of course- we're polite!"

Leo and Bing shuffled another small step away from them.

"Listen, then!" Apollo cried. "Friends, enemies, blemmyae...open your hearts to hear my sad tale! I am Apollo, heartthrob and former god! I was cast down from Olympus by my father unfairly!"

Rosie swallowed back the taste of vomit, as she noticed her hand looked like an eggplant now. Not to mention, her ankle was swelling around the top of her sneaker.

"Okay," she said groggily. "I need to sit."

"Rosie!" Apollo whined. "You're breaking my rhythm!"

"And you're breaking my eardrums. Now, please let me sit before I projectile vomit on you."

Max obeyed a little too eagerly, dropping Rosie as if she was an infectious disease. Apollo stumbled back, keeping the two of them from falling as he lowered her to sit back onto the fountain.

"That's it?" Nanette asked, still holding onto the street sign. "May I kill now?"

"No,no, no!" Apollo exclaimed quickly, holding his arms out. "I'm letting dear Rosie sit because….um, she's my Greek chorus! Every good performance needs one!"

Rosie felt like she was going to pass out, but nodded. "Sure. Yeah. That's me."

"Lo! I arrived at Camp Half-Blood as Lester Papadopolous!"

"As an acne-ridden teen!" Rosie piped in. "He passed out immediately!"

Apollo shot her a glare, but continued performing. "I overcame my challenges with my companion, Meg Mccaffrey!"

"A twelve year old girl!" Rosie told the mob. "He was being ordered around by a twelve year old girl!"

"We secured the Grove of Dodona, an ancient Oracle, and thwarted Nero's plans! But alas, Meg fled from me- she has been brainwashed!"

"Inculcated," Max chimed in.

Rosie and Apollo stopped, giving him confused looks.

Max shrugged. "Your word choice was getting lazy."

Bing and Leo had resorted to pretending like they were a part of the performance, interpretively dancing their way to the bulldozer. Amazingly, the blemmyae were parting the way for them.

"From the Oracle of Dodona we received the most terrible prophecy- a limerick!"

"Terrible!" Rosie echoed. "Like the skills of our friend Lester here, most worthless of teens."

Apollo turned to her with a fixed, fake smile. "I am going to push you into the flowerbed." He said through gritted teeth. He turned back to the listening crowd. "We traveled west in search of another Oracle, along the way fighting foes and making friends!"

Leo and Bing jumped onto the running board of the bulldozer. Bing charged the operator, knocking him right off with his hooves. Leo immediately began flipping certain levers.

"Hey!" The police officer yelled.

"Never fear!" Apollo implored, trying to get their attention back. "Our friends are simply reenacting how we had beaten our foes!"

"Can I smash your head in?" Nanette said impatiently.

"Soon!" Apollo said. "Just, er, as I was saying, we traveled west!"

He suddenly hauled Rosie off the fountain, not before eliciting a whimper out of Rosie. Max joined them, taking her other side.

"What are you doing?" Rosie whispered.

"It's improv, go with it," Apollo instructed under his breath. "Behold, how we traveled west!"

They started hobbling toward the bulldozer, which had roared to life thanks to Leo.

"This isn't a story, they're getting away!" The police officer yelled.

"Not at all!" Apollo said, as he and Max helped Rosie onto the bulldozer. Bing lent her a hand, pulling her up. Max scurried up behind her, as Apollo slowly walked backwards. "You see, we traveled for many weeks like this…"

Leo started backing up, the bulldozer's shovel rising.

"Imagine you are Camp Half-Blood!" Apollo yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. "And we are traveling away from you!"

"Stop them!" The officer instructed.

"Listen, dear friends!" Apollo pleaded.

Listening was over. They all ducked as a trash can flew over their heads.

"Faster, Leo!" Apollo pleaded.

"Yeah, this thing isn't built for speed," Leo said with a wince as they crept along.

"Watch out!" Rosie yelled.

Leo swerved just in time to avoid a bench heading their way. Nanette appeared in front of them, throwing her sign like a harpoon. The sign pierced the bulldozer's chassis and they shuddered to a halt.

"Well," Max said with a sigh. "That figures."

Rosie glanced over at Apollo, who was pale and shaking uncontrollably.

Nanette jumped onto the hood of our bulldozer. Leo stood, throwing another fireball her way.

Unfortunately, Nanette was prepared for this, opening her mouth and swallowing the fire whole.

"Don't feel too badly, dears," she said with a ghastly smile. "You never would have gained access to the blue caves, the emperor has it too well guarded! A shame you have to die! The naming celebration is in three days, and you and the girl were supposed to be the slaves in the procession!"

She didn't understand those words, but they seemed to scare Apollo. He jumped in his seat, finally reaching for his bow, and started to unravel the blanket it was in.

An arrow suddenly hit Nanette in the face, sending the monster backwards and crumbling to dust.

"Did...did you do that?" Rosie asked Apollo.

"No?" Apollo said, confused. "Did I?"

"Over there!" Max was pointing at the fountain, where an older woman now stood, bow in hand.

The woman was staring back at them. She was wearing jeans and a gray parka, which matched the color of her hair tied back in a bun.

"Hit the pavement!" She shouted to them through cupped hands.

"Did she just say-" Rosie started nervously.

Man-hole sized holes were appearing all around them, mechanical crossbows peeking out of them.

Apollo suddenly pushed Max off the bulldozer, as Max tumbled off.

"Hey!" Max complained, disappearing from view.

"That's not going to help his concussion!" Bing yelped, jumping off the bulldozer after Max.

"Apollo-"

Apollo tackled her off the bulldozer, and Rosie blacked out at the sight of the ground getting closer to them.