A/N Hi Tratie fans! We haven't updated in a while but here is an EXTRA LONG chapter! This is our longest chapter ever! WOW! And hopefully the best. So, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! So, here is Chapter 15...
We do not own PJO or HoO, that's Rick Riordan
Katie POV
Connor and Allison walked into the room, wearing some of the craziest outfits I had ever seen. Allison was wearing some polka-dotted eighties outfit thing, and Connor was wearing a suit that looked way too big on him. He also wore the kind of giant glasses you can get at the dollar store.
It was very interesting.
Rose had covered Allison's face in make up so she looked older. She did the same to Connor. I had styled the hair. Allison's hair was in a high ballerina bun and Connor's was parted on the left and combed over. Rose dressed as his sibling and I just stayed as the girlfriend. We made Rose look like a child of Hermes and boy that was hard. But we got it done and it didn't look too bad. So the four of us walked into the hospital and Connor and Allison walked up to the desk. The secretary looked up and I think she almost fell over.
"Uh..." cough "Hi. What can I do for you?"
"Um... We're here to check Travis Stoll out of the hospital. We're his parents." Allison said, giving the nurse her best smile. I tried very hard not to laugh.
The secretary returned the smile. "Right. I'll need your ID, then."
"Um, we left it at home." Connor said. Allison jabbed him in the ribs.
"Can't we just use the trust system?" she asked.
"How about no?"
"Ma'am, I am Travis's mother! How do you expect me to prove it? He is my baby boy!" Allison pretended to look close to tears.
"Look lady, unless you have an ID, I can't release him. I'm sorry."
"Um... we don't have IDs because they're against our religious beliefs." said Allison.
"Right!" Connor agreed quickly. I burst out laughing in the corner, and everyone stared at me.
The secretary raised an eyebrow.
"Against your religion?"
"Yes. We don't drive, so no ID. We walk everywhere. It's greats exercise," Allison defended.
"Right. If that's true, then I guess you can get your son. Let me pull up his release page and then I have some paper work for you to fill out."
The secretary handed Allison a big stack of papers, and two pens. She took them, and walked over to us.
"Okay, so now we get to fill these out."
"Yep," replied Connor. He paused for a second before continuing. "Hey, why don't we just get Connor to fill them out?"
Allison gave him a look, "You want to fill them all out?"
"Sure. I mean I know more about Travis than any of you."
"That's true. Okay, here you fill out this half and then tell me what to put in this half."
Connor and Allison started filling out the huge stack of papers.
I sat there watching them carefully.
"Hey, what do I write in the spot where it says 'biological father'?" Connor asked. I shrugged.
"Just put unknown." Allison replied, grabbing the pen from Connor.
"Um...guys, Connor is supposed to be playing Travis' biological father," I pointed out.
"Oooh. That makes perfect sense. So what is my name again?" Connor asked.
"Connor Stoll."
"But that's no fun!"
"Well then you choose a first name! They already know Travis' last name is Stoll."
Connor huffed, "Fine. My name will be...Fernando."
Rose and I started laughing but Allison gave Connor a disgusted look.
"What?" Connor asked, but Allison just shook her head.
"Hurry up, Connor," Rose called. "We don't want to waste too much time."
"Well, do you want to fill these out?" Connor asked, pretending to die.
"Not really." Rose said grinning.
Suddenly, a nurse came over. "Are you okay?" she questioned Connor.
"Oh, um, yeah. I was just pretending to die."
"Oh. Carry on, then." the nurse said, walking away.
"Connor!" Allison scolded.
"What?! It's not my fault I'm such an amazing actor."
Alison snorted, "That will be true the day Zeus stays loyal to Hera."
Rose and I giggled and Connor shot Allison a glare but continued to fill out papers.
"Done!" he finally said about ten minutes later. "Now come on, let's go get my bro!"
We walked over to Travis's room.
"Okay!" cried Connor, grabbing Travis's arm, and yanking him out of the bed. "Time to go, lazy!"
"What?" Travis cried. "I was sleeping!"
"Travis, you can sleep during the car ride," I told him. "Come on now. We are losing daylight."
"Okay. And by the way, my dear siblings, you both look fabulous."
Allison rolled her eyes, "Shut up. Come on, my baby boy. Let's get you home."
"Okay, Mommy." Travis told her. Rose started to laugh.
"Come on, guys," I told them. "Let's get going."
We all walked out of the hospital after signing Travis out, and got back into the car, ready to continue our quest.
Travis POV
I sat in the car, staring out the window, while listening to Connor and Allison argue. The green grass and strawberry fields reminded me of Camp Half-Blood. I wondered how my cabin was doing without me and Connor. Who was in charge? Probably Cecil. Or maybe Chris Rodriguez.
I felt a head on my shoulder and looked over. Katie had laid her head on my shoulder and intertwined our hands. I kissed her for head and wrapped my other arm around her. "We're almost there." Allison said. Rose nodded.
"Wait, what?" I questioned.
"Rose figured out the riddle. Don't you remember? "Katie asked. "We told you when you were in the hospital.
I shook my head. "I don't remember anyone telling me that..."
"I told you we had to head west and then follow these directions," Allison told him.
"I don't remember. I only remember Connor being there when I woke up. Then you girls visiting. I don't remember anything after that."
"Wait...did anyone come in after we left."
I thought about this a moment, "I think a nurse. Yeah, a nurse came in and gave me a shot, saying it would help with the pain..."
"Did she say her name?" Rose asked.
"Yeah... It was Elizabeth or something."
Katie and Connor shared a look. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"If the nurse's name was Elizabeth, then that was Aletheia's daughter. Or would it be Mendacium?" Connor said.
"I have no clue but what matters is that she was that Elizabeth gave you something that made you forget half our visit," Katie stated.
"Well, does it matter? You guys remember the directions. So we should be fine," I said.
"But Elizabeth did something to sabotage our quest."
"Her mom probably made her." Katie said. "So maybe it's not fair to judge."
"You can't trust her," Allison said.
"Excuse me?" Katie asked cautiously.
"I said, you can't trust her. I think this whole thing is a trick. A trap that we're falling directly into."
"Well then, what do you think we should do, oh wise one?" Connor snapped.
"Well, I have a plan."
"Tell us your plan, great one."
"If you keep this up, I'll never tell you."
"Fine. We will just come up with one on our own."
Connor and Allison fell silent after that. Soon, darkness descended, and the stars started to appear in the sky, one by one.
"You know," said Allison, "Since its night, am I supposed to turn right or something?"
"Well, the riddle said at the end of the night." Katie replied. I sighed, looking out the window.
"Is there a right turn up ahead?" Rose asked.
Allison turned the headlights on high beam and looked ahead.
"I think so but what about 'at the end of night?'"
"Maybe instead of night it's day?"
"Okay. Well I'm turning right."
"I'm hungry," I complained. "Hey Allison, if we see a store after you can turn right, can we get something?"
"Ya got money?"
"Yes," I said, pulling a crumpled twenty-dollar bill out of my pocket. Rose's eyes widened.
"Where did you get that? Did you steal it?"
"No?"
"Travis!"
"What?! My dad is Hermes! What did you expect?!"
Connor's eyes shined with approval, "Good job, bro! I'm so proud."
"Thanks?"
"Well, it's better than nothing. Right. Rose?" Katie asked.
Rose sighed, "I guess."
"Hey guys, there's an old diner up ahead. Wanna stop there?" Allison asked.
"Sure," I replied. Allison stopped the car, and we all got out of the road, and walked into the diner.
"You know," said Rose, sitting down in the nearest booth. "I'm starting to miss my family. And Camp Half-Blood. You know?"
"Yeah," I replied, looking down. "My mom died, though."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," I replied. "I still have my Camp family. And all of you guys."
I looked at the menu, hoping we would change to a different subject.
Katie POV
"You okay, Travis?" I asked when we were all back in the car, driving. Travis nodded.
"Are you sure?" I questioned. "You don't look okay."
"I'm fine Katie. Just don't ask, okay?"
I leaned away, "Okay. I trust you."
"I never said I didn't," Travis mumbled.
"What's your problem?"
"My problem?! My problem is this whole quest! It sucks!"
"If it weren't for this quest, you and I never would have happened!"
"You think this is how we happened?! I thought we got together when we had KP together!"
"No because you betrayed me!"
"Sandra?! What does she have to do with anything?! I thought we cleared that up!"
"We did but I still felt betrayed and if you hadn't hugged Sandra, then I wouldn't have been captured! Then we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"Actually, the prophecy would have happened either way. You still would have been kidnapped," Allison said quietly.
"Stay out of this!" Travis and I snapped.
"All right, all right, I'm just saying!" Allison cried.
"No, it's your fault, Katie, for thinking I'd ever do that?"
"You know what," I said, so angry I could barely see. "I hate you Travis Stoll. My mother was right. You're just a stupid, no good-"
"Alright!" Allison yelled, stopping the car so suddenly we all jolted forward in our seat belts. "We're here! At this house! Where this stupid quest lead us! The quest I didn't want to go on either. Now stopping fighting like babies, and get out of the car!"
I didn't have the heart to point out that she and Connor always argued.
We all got out of the car and walked up to the locked gate.
"So we went by a bait shop, which is the pier, I'm guessing. Then we went straight and here we are. The gate that will either kill us or let us pass. Shall I touch the gate?" Allison said.
"I don't think touching the gate is a good idea, lady," a mysterious voice said. We looked around and I spotted a head...on the gate.
"You know it's rude to stare," the gate snapped.
"What are you? Who are you?" Connor asked.
The gate held its head up with pride, "I am Lockhart Gateswell! The best and most magnificent gate ever created!"
"Right," said Rose. "Because gates always talk."
"They do!" snapped the gate. "You people just don't care enough to listen." He paused a minute, smirking. "Now I have a question for all of you."
"What?" we all cried.
"What's the worst thing you've ever done?"
"Setting my brother's hair on fire." Allison replied, looking guilty. "What?" she cried, looking at Rose, who was trying to keep a straight face.
"It's funny."
"Not for him, it wasn't."
"Hey! Get back to saying your worst thing you ever did. I don't have all day! I have places to be!" The gate snapped.
"Okay. The worst thing I ever did was...I stole a t-shirt," Rose admitted. She looked really embarrassed and I pitied her. Rose is such a sweet sister and this sounded so unlike her. Oh well, it's not as bad as setting your brother's hair on fire.
"I stole an old lady's wheel chair." Connor admitted.
"And I helped." Travis added. They both grinned awkwardly, with their hands in their pockets.
I racked my mind. What was the worst thing I had ever done? I took a deep breath.
"The worst thing I ever did was use my powers-gifts-for something bad."
"You must be more specific, dearie," Lockhart said.
"I was bullied through elementary school and one day I cracked. I made vines wrap around the main bully, Vince Rubin, and they kept getting tighter and tighter and boom. He was dead...because of me. I didn't even realize I was doing it either. So, the worst thing I ever did was kill a bully with my powers." A single tear rolled down my face at the memory.
"What a story. Now, as far as I can tell, you all told the truth but one of you hasn't answered the question right," the gate turned its head to Travis.
Travis grinned uneasily. I glared at him.
"Because of that," the gate continued, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to pass. Now, you have a choice, which you will be notified of after your so-called friends leave."
We all walked through the gate, staring at Travis as the gate appeared to talk to him.
Travis POV
I stood there, staring at the gate. "You want me," I finally choked out. "To choose between my brother and Katie dying? What kind of an awful decision is that? You sound like Janus or something."
The gate raised an eyebrow, which I didn't even know was possible. "Sound like, Mr. Stoll?"
I sucked in a breath. It couldn't be...
"Janus?!"
"The one and only. Well, I'm one of my parts."
"How many do you have?"
"Too many to count. I'm this gate. I'm another gate. I'm a barrier. Bridge. Whatever."
"Oh cool."
"Cool? No not really. Tiring? Yes. Now answer the question, dear boy!"
"Now, now, Janus. Is this the way to treat a demigod?" A feminine voice asked. I whipped my head around and there stood a very beautiful woman. She had on flowing dark red robes and her straight, black hair fluttered in the breeze. She held two torches, one in each hand. It was-
"Hello, Travis Stoll. I am Hecate, goddess of crossroads."
Why was I always the one who got stuck hanging out with creepy gods and goddesses?
"Hello, Lady Hecate," I muttered, although it sounded more like an insult than a greeting. "What brings you here?"
"You're at a crossroad." she told me, as if I was a kindergartner who was having trouble learning the alphabet.
"And?" I said.
"And you need to choose a path to take."
I coughed, "Okay, what are my choices?"
Suddenly Hecate and I were surrounded by fog, her torches lighting up the area. Three paths lay out behind them.
"Travis Stoll, you have three choices. Three paths and you may only choose one."
"Ahem," muttered Janus. "I said two choices. Remember?"
Hecate rolled her eyes. "Anyways, the first path contains incredible sadness. Well, all of them do, actually. The second one contains incredible anger, and the third contains lots of death. Choose your own path, young hero, before destiny makes that choice for you."
"Um, how about path number four: Incredible happiness?" I questioned.
Hecate chuckled, "I'm afraid that is not a choice, demigod."
I sighed, "Must I choose now?"
"I am afraid so, Travis. Whichever path you choose will shape your future."
"May I ask a question?"
Hecate hesitated, "It depends but proceed."
"The different emotions in each path- sadness, anger, and death- will I be the one feeling the emotion? Or will it be someone I know?"
Hecate sighed, "It could be one of it could be the other. I do not know for sure, all the paths are hazy. So, you must go with what you think is right."
"Okay, I choose...path three."
Hecate nodded, "Before you walk that path, tell me, why did you chose that path?"
"Well, with death comes anger and sadness. I had to choose one or the other or both. Might as well choose both, for they go hand and hand together. You can't have one without the other."
"Very interesting choice, Travis Stoll. I wish you the best of luck on your path."
"Lady Hecate?" I asked. "Can I go continue my quest with my friends now? Please?"
Hecate smiled evilly. "No. You lied, so you're staying."
I groaned.
Katie POV
We walked along in silence. I absentmindedly wondered what had happened to the car. Suddenly, Allison found a silver road, and we all started down it.
We walked straight for what felt like hours. We finally reached a crossroad. One went directly to a humongous house, it basically lead to the front door. The other path lead around behind the house. We all took a moment to study the house. It was a huge mansion. It was a beige color and had dark blue shutters. There were patios that started from ground to top. The house was beautiful.
"Which path should we take?" Connor whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" Rose asked.
"Because someone might be watching."
"Oh."
"To answer your question, dear brother, Rose and I will take the path that leads behind the house and you and Katie will take the one leading to the front," Allison answered.
"Why Katie and I!"
Allison smacked him, "Because you two got assigned to the quest of finding the gem!"
"Oh. Right."
"Come on, Connor." I called, grabbing his arm. He glared at me.
"Why do we have to come back?" he moaned. "She'll take us prisoner again!"
"Not really, since we're doing what she asked."
Connor paused. "Wait, why are we bringing this stupid gem to her if we think she's that Wendy girl?" He pulled the gem out of his pocket to emphasis his statement.
"Mendacium, Connor, not Wendy." I corrected.
"I'm sorry; did I look like I care?"
"Connor! You shouldn't be rude to the gods!"
"Yeah, well, when have they ever been 'nice' to us?"
I was quiet and Connor took my silence as my answer. We continued down the path and I looked back. Allison and Rose were nowhere in sight. I turned back around and continued. We reached the door and Connor told me to knock.
"Why don't you knock?" I complained.
"No, you knock."
"No you."
"You."
"Oh fine!" I finally said, clearly exasperated. "I'll knock!"
"Finally!" Connor muttered under his breath, as I stuck out my hand, and knocked on the door.
We waited. And waited, And then, surprise, surprise-
We waited some more.
Finally, Connor and I gave up, and walked around back to the path Allison and Rose had taken. Their footsteps led into the mud, but after that, there was no trace of them.
"Um, Allison? Rose?" I called. But no one replied.
Connor joined in, and suddenly, we heard something. We quickly ran to the sight of the sound.
It was a cat. I groaned. "We'll never find them!"
I felt something against my legs and looked down. The cat (which was an ocicat) was rubbing against my legs. I reached down and scratched it between its ears. The cat made a purring sound and backed away. The cat started to grow and become more human. The fur transformed into long, blonde, braided hair and black clothes. The cat ears receded into human ear. You get the idea. The cat transformed till Elizabeth stood in front of us.
"Gem?" she asked, sticking out her hand.
"No!" Connor shouted, "I will never hand over the gem to you!" He glared at Elizabeth, crossing his arms.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Shut up, loser, before my mom captures you and your pitiful little friend like she did with those two girls. What were their names? Allison and Rose, I believe?"
"No! You better not hurt them!" I screamed. Connor wasn't much help, he was fiddling with something in his backpack.
"What you gonna do about it?" Elizabeth sneered.
"Here. Take it. Just let our friends go," Connor handed Elizabeth the gem. How could he?! We can't trust her!
Elizabeth looked at the gem and grinned. She shoved the gem into her pocket.
"Was that so hard? I'm deeply sorry but you can't have your friends back but...you can join them."
"You know... I don't think I'll take your offer on that one." I grabbed Connor's arm. "Run, Connor!"
And we both ran for our lives as fast as we could. By the time we were far enough away, we were both breathing heavily, and we were stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Suddenly, a car slowed down on the road in front of us. They opened their window.
"That you, Katie-Kat?" they called.
Oh no. It was my dad. Why did he have to call me 'Katie-Kat' in front of everyone? Well, Connor, anyways.
I plastered a smile on my face.
"Hey dad. What are you doing here?"
"Your mom sent me a message telling me to come here..."
"Oh good. Where are we?"
"Central NY."
"Are we near anyone?"
"Yeah, I think your aunt Lily lives out here."
"Can you give us a ride to a house?"
"Sure, Katie-Kat. Just tell me where."
I groaned inwardly and climbed into the passenger seat. Connor climbed in the back, looking like he was trying not to laugh.
"Oh," said my dad as if noticing Connor for the first time. "Who's this?" he asked.
"Um..." I replied. "He's my friend."
My dad raised an eyebrow.
Please don't say anything that makes it sound like we're dating, I silently prayed.
"Is this your boyfriend, Katie?"
"Nah," Connor stated. "I'm her boyfriend's brother." I put my hand in my face.
"So, Katie-Kat has a boyfriend. When can I meet him?"
"Uh...um..."
"After the quest, sir," Connor answered.
"Ahh. That's why your mom sent for me. You need help."
"Yeah. So here are the directions." I began explaining where to go. We reached the gate once again. Travis was standing in front of it, talking to Lockhart.
"Katie!" he called, once I came into view.
"We're still mad at each other, remember?" I reminded him.
Suddenly, my dad got out of the car. "Mr. Stoll." he said, sticking his hand out. "Nice to meet you."
Travis shook his hand.
"And I you." He looked at me. "Who is this?"
"Travis, meet my dad. Dad, this is Travis."
Travis ears turned pink, "Hello, sir."
"So you're the one that got my fighters heart."
"DAD!" "Well..." Travis and I said.
"What, Katie? I'm trying to talk to your boyfriend."
I sighed. "Oh, never mind."
"So, Travis," my Dad asked casually, "Play any sports?"
"Not really." Travis replied.
"So, you're a demigod?"
"Uh, yes sir."
"Who's your godly parent?"
Travis turned completely red.
"Dad!" I put in.
"Now what?"
"You're embarrassing him!"
"I am not!"
"My dad is...uh...Hermes."
"Oh. Really?"
"Yes, sir."
"Interesting."
"Dad, we need to continue our quest."
"Right. Right. So I guess this is goodbye until I see you again. "
He pulled me into a hug and I hugged him tightly.
"Goodbye, Katie-Kat."
"Katie-Kat?" I heated Travis mutter.
"Goodbye dad. I love you."
"Love you too, Katie."
Travis cleared his throat loudly.
"Bye Dad!" I cried, as he got into his car and drove away.
"Must be nice living with your dad." Travis muttered just loud enough for me to hear. "You're lucky, Katie, really lucky."
"Well, you have your Mom, don't you?" I started to say, but stopped when I saw the look in Travis's eyes.
"Oh Travis. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"But-"
"No 'but' Katie. It wasn't your fault and that's that."
"As fun as this has been, can I help you three?" The gate asked. I almost forgot about him and Connor.
"Oh yeah," I replied.
"Hey, guys," Connor reminded us. "What about Rose and Allison? They're kidnapped, and we're talking to a gate?"
"Well, Janus," Travis corrected. "Hecate left."
"Wait what?"
Travis filled us in on what happened after we left and we told him what happened to us.
"Okay. So let's just talk to the gate," Connor suggested.
"Janus! Can you answer our questions?" Travis asked.
"Oh I can young demigods. But I won't. You have to solve some riddles for that to happen."
"Then we shall solve some riddles," Katie replied.
"All right," replied Janus. "Riddle one: If a chicken says that all chickens are liars, is he telling the truth?"
"Chickens can't talk." Connor replied eagerly.
"Right. Riddle two: I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"
I thought about this. 'I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will...' It sounded familiar. My dad use to tell me riddles like this one. I wonder when I'll see him next. Tonight? Tomorrow? Next week? Wait a minute...
"The answer is Tomorrow!" I screeched.
"Correct. Now for Riddle three: Many have heard me, but nobody has seen me, and I will not speak back until spoken to.
What am I?"
"An echo!" Travis answered.
"Good. You aren't as stupid as I thought. Okay, last one. Riddle four:
It's more powerful than God.
It's more evil than the devil.
The poor have it.
The rich need it.
If you eat it, you'll die.
What am I?"
The three of us thought about this, none of us thinking of anything. We stood in a circle so we could whisper together.
"What could it be?" Connor asked.
"I don't know," Travis said shaking his head. "I can't think of anything."
"There is nothing in that head to begin with."
"Hey!"
The Stolls continued bickering back and forth while I was thinking. Nothing...hmm...
"Guys! I know what it is!"
They both looked at me eagerly.
"It's nothing."
"Come on Katie! Just tell us!" Connor said.
"I just did. The answer is nothing!"
"Oooh. Makes sense."
I walked over to Janus and said, "It's nothing."
"Excuse me?"
"The answer is nothing."
"Good job, you clever little girl!"
"I am not a little girl!"
"Now I will answer four questions."
"Okay," I said, turning to the Stolls. "What are our four questions going to be?"
"How about if he knows where Allison and Rose are?" Travis asked.
"Right," said Connor. "That's question number one. Now, question number two. Who is Elizabeth really working for?"
"The answer to the first question is: with Aletheia. And your friend Elizabeth is working for Mendacium. You have two questions left. What will they be?"
"We should ask whether me or Travis is smarter." Connor said.
"Well, the answer will definitely be me." Travis stated.
"I don't think so. Remember the time you thought it would be a good idea to put a spider in Annabeth's bed? She practically murdered us!"
"Dude, that wasn't my idea!"
"Yes, it was!"
"No, it wasn't!" Travis cried.
"Well, it was your idea to make friends with Katie, and that's what got us into this whole mess!"
"It was your idea to follow me!"
"Okay, okay," I said, sighing. "Janus, who's the smartest?"
"Katie." he replied.
I blushed and looked down. Travis laughed and hugged me.
"What?!" Connor screeched.
I looked at him with mock hurt.
"Oh...uh...Good job Katie."
I laughed and turned to Janus.
"How do we rescue Allison and Rose?"
"Ah, young half-bloods, there is the question I've been waiting for. You did not disappoint."
"So, will you just answer it? We would like to get them out alive," Connor said impatiently.
"All right," stated Janus. "Just-"
"If he tells us to follow the yellow brick road," Connor whispered in my ear, "I'm going to die."
Janus cleared his throat. "Not what I was going to say. Now, you just have to remember the myths, and you will be fine."
Remember the myths. It was what I had been doing for practically my entire life.
"Can we have one more question, Lord Janus?" Connor asked sweetly.
Janus sighed, "Possibly, but I require a price higher than answers to riddles."
"And what is it that you require?"
"A soul."
We stared at him frozen. A soul! Good heavens!
Janus laughed, "haha. I was joking. No, I require a hat."
"A hat?" Travis questioned.
"Yes a hat. I have to be out here every day and it sometimes rains or snows or hails or sleets! And it's cold and annoying. Then the bright sun! My lord... You get the idea."
"Why can't you make yourself a hat?" Connor asked.
Idiot, he has no hands, much less a body!
"I have no hands, you imbosol!"
"Oh. Okay," said Connor, "Any certain kind of hat that you want? Baseball cap, sombrero..."
"Oh, I don't know!" Janus snapped. "Just get me one already!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Connor grumbled. He turned to me.
"Hey Katie, you got any money?"
"I think I have a few dollars..." I pulled a wad of jumbled up money out of my pocket and counted it. "12 dollars and this penny."
"Well that should get a hat. But one problem- how are we gonna get to a store?"
"Oh, I can open you a portal to the nearest Walmart," Janus said.
"Wait a minute," said Connor. He pointed to the ground beside him. "Is that a hat?"
I glanced over. "I think so... At least, it looks it was one once."
Connor picked up the hat, which looked more like mud, and placed it on Janus's head.
Janus spat out mud that fell in his mouth.
"Rotten demigods! This hat is terrible!"
"I'm sorry," I said. I reached up and pulled the hat off of his head.
"Hey, Katie, what's that in your bag?" Travis asked.
I looked and there was a wide rim hat inside. I pulled it out and showed it to Janus.
"Now that hat will do. Put it on me."
I sat it on his head and he smiled.
"I'm protected now. Now for that question..."
"Connor," I asked. "What question are you going to ask?"
Connor squirmed a little. "Um... It doesn't really matter."
"Well, yeah, it kind of does if we're going to rescue Rose and Allison."
"True," Travis agreed. "So, what question, bro?"
"Janus, what myth do we need to read?" Connor asked the gate.
"Actually it's not one or two, it's quite a few."
"Why are you rhyming?"
"Because I'm about to sing!"
"Um, we have to go guys!" I said, grabbing Travis's hand.
"But he's going to sing!" Connor cried.
"What about Allison and Rose? They could be dead by now!"
"They're not going to be dead by noon," Janus confirmed. "But they may be dead sometime soon." he added as a sort of afterthought.
"His song might have the myths included!" Connor yelled.
"Oh alright. Carry on, Lord Janus."
"I shall answer thy question at hand,
But I still need a band!"
"Um..Connor start pulling your zipper up and down. Yes like that. Travis, you use that stick and bang the gate. Yes. And I'll uh...hum?" I started humming as Connor did the zipper thing and Travis hit the gate with a stick.
"My favorite word is eight!" Janus sang. "I am part of a gate! To save your friends, you are too late! To care about your loved one is your fatal trait! Chocolate cake tastes great! To eat it, you need a plate! It is Aletheia that Mendacium tries to imitate! It is her house that you must evacuate! Something that I cannot do is ice skate! Be careful of the Boa Constrictor, or it is you that will suffocate! It is your skin that the poison ivy will irritate! Mythology, oh so great! Titans, Giants, Gods, and Mates! I sing this song for you! I wake up to dew! Remember Aletheia's story! I can't wait till Finding Dory! She was made of stone and clay! And brought to life that very day! Her twin is evil, a goddess of lies! I really would love to fly! The twins I speak about, the opposite are they! Born, I think, sometime in May! I wish I could sing more! But I must open the door! Your friends await behind this gate! I'll see you later, I have. A. Ddddaaaaaaatttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Janus screeched.
"Oh, wow," Connor said. "I, um didn't know you could scream- I mean um, sing like that."
"Yep." said Janus.
"Well," I stated, "We have some quest stuff to go do. Bye Janus!"
"Bye!"
Janus opened the gate and we zoomed down the path. We took the path that led to the back part. When we safely reached the back of the house, we hid behind bushes.
A/N WHO ELSE LOVED JANUS' SONG?! THAT WAS MY FAVORITE PART! It was SO much FUN to write! Haha! GO JANUS! Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW. FAVORITE OR FOLLOW. REVIEW. You know the drill. Until next time!
Goodbye and may the fandom be with you.
~Booknerd and lunarchroniclesandcockatiels
