A/N Hello, lovelies! Before I give a long speech, I would like to thank these guests-
Darth Vader
Lee Fletcher
Percy Jackson
Kallie
Apollo
A
Louisa Lulu
Allison
LizzietheLizard
Thank you all so, so much! I loved reading each and everyone of your reviews. You all are amazing. Thank you again.
Anyway, here be Chapter 16, for the lovely readers
We do not own PJO or HoO, that's Rick
Chapter 16
Travis POV
"Okay," breathed Connor. "Everyone's here, right?"
Katie and I nodded.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked.
"I'll look around, and try to find Allison and Rose. You guys hide," I replied to Katie's question.
"What if you get caught?" Connor whispered. I shrugged. I didn't want to dwell on that.
"Let's not think about that," Katie said. "You ready, Travis?"
I nodded, "Yeah, if I'm not back in ten minutes, come looking."
I didn't wait for a response; I zipped out of the bushes towards the house.
At first, the inside looked like any normal house. Oh, you know. Bowls of fruit, bookshelves, and daggers hanging on the walls. Just normal stuff.
But then it started to get weird.
I mean, seriously. What kind of a person leaves five hundred dollars in cash out on the table?
I picked up the money, and stuck it in my pocket. Well, who wouldn't?
Suddenly, Elizabeth grabbed my arms from behind, and pulled out a…...lightsaber? I had to blink twice to make sure I wasn't seeing things.
It was one of those little plastic lightsaber things from those Star Wars movies. I'm pretty sure you can find them at Walmart.
Anyways, Elizabeth turned on the lightsaber and pointed it at my neck.
"You do realize it's plastic, right?" I asked. "Just curious."
"It may look plastic but that's what makes it a better weapon. You just can't tell its real," Elizabeth scoffed.
I snorted, "Please, the Athena cabin has tried, and failed, to make a real lightsaber."
"But they didn't have a goddess. Now shut up, start moving."
I did as I was told and walked forward.
"You will come with me," Elizabeth insisted. "Or else!"
Suddenly, I noticed a small price tag on the bottom of the lightsaber. Elizabeth noticed me looking at it.
"March!" she yelled, pointing me towards a door.
Katie POV
"How long is he going to take?" Connor asked. "Because I'm bored."
I looked around, "I think it's been more than ten minutes. Maybe we should go check on him..."
Connor sighed, "And he's the big brother. Pfft."
I just nodded; I was worried about Travis. We stood up and ran towards the house. We carefully walked in through the back door and somehow ended up in a throne room. A person- female- was sitting on the throne staring dramatically to the left.
"You know what," said Connor, backing up. "Wrong house! Sorry!"
The person on the throne turned towards us. "You dare to intrude on me after running away? Stupid mortals!"
"Demigods," Connor corrected. She glared.
"It was foolish for you to come here, thinking you could rescue your friends. Ha! You have underestimated me, demigods," the lady spat.
"Are you...Mendy? Macadamia?" Connor asked.
"MENDACIUM! Get it right, you fool!"
Connor visibly gulped.
"Where you do you have our friends?" I cried, turning to Mendacium. I met her eyes, not afraid of anything in that moment.
"Ah, this one is bold!" she cried. "Elizabeth," she called into the kitchen. Elizabeth appeared right next to her about a minute later. I gulped.
"Yeah, Mom? What is it now?"
"Please reunite these children with their friends."
"Of course," Elizabeth said, smirking. She grabbed Connor and I. "Follow me, hero scum!"
We walked in front of Elizabeth; she kept poking us if we stopped. We tried to talk to her but it wouldn't work.
"Elizabeth, why are you doing this?" I asked her.
"Mom offered me something I couldn't refuse- a family."
"So, the story you told me, was it true or just another lie?" I spat.
"It was true, that is the only thing I didn't lie about?" Elizabeth replied silently.
"Did you know our friend Allison is a daughter of Hermes?" I asked.
Elizabeth stopped short, her eyes had gotten a faraway look to them.
"You know what," she finally said a minute later. "Why am I listening to you?"
"Wait a minute," said Connor. "In her story, didn't Elizabeth say that she was a daughter of Aletheia? So how is it not a lie because Janus said that Elizabeth was Mendacium's daughter?"
"How would you know?" I asked. "You weren't even there, Connor!"
"So?" he questioned. "The walls have ears!"
"Shut up, you two!" Elizabeth cried. "Would you stop talking? How I am I supposed to kill you if I know you?"
Connor and I exchanged a look. "Wait, you're going to kill us?" I asked.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Well, personally, I would rather let you rot in the basement for eternity, but Mother thinks it would be a better idea to just kill you and get it over with. You know? It's just a lot harder to kill if you actually know the people."
"That's creepy!" Connor cried. He paused a second. "Wait, so have you killed people before?"
Elizabeth looked away, shuddering. "That's not important."
"So I'm in a creepy house with a serial murderer?" I asked. "Wait, where are Travis, Rose, and Allison?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "They're alive. At least, I think. It doesn't really matter."
"Are you going to kill us with cereal?" Connor asked.
"'Serial,' not 'cereal,' Connor." I said.
"That sounds exactly the same."
"It's different," Elizabeth said. "A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break between them. Cereal is this thing that Demeter likes to eat."
"Oh," said Connor. He pointed to the wall beside us. "Hey, Elizabeth, look! It's a pink fluffy unicorn dancing on a rainbow!"
Elizabeth turned to look. In doing so, she loosened her grip on us, and we were able to escape. We ran towards the nearest staircase, which lead downstairs.
"Wait, where is it?" Elizabeth asked, still looking out the window. She didn't even notice we were gone.
Travis's POV
The room was dark and damp and full of rats. I hate rates, even though they are kind of like Hermes in a way. They are sneaky, they steal things...and I'm thinking of rats. Anyway, I was chained to the wall as was Allison and Rose.
"Flowers," Rose muttered. "Flowers, and cereal, and warm sunny days, and…" she faltered. "When do you think we'll get rescued?"
"Very soon," said someone on the other side of the wall. "In fact, I am sure of it, and I do not lie."
"Aletheia?" I wondered out loud.
The person on the other side of the wall sighed. "Yes, that is me. Although you have probably heard my twin sister or my niece say otherwise."
"Can you help us get out?" Rose asked.
"I cannot, young demigod," Aletheia stated. "I am chained to the wall."
"But you're a goddess!" Allison cried. "Why can't you just break off the chains and escape?"
"My essence is bound by these chains. They needn't be very strong chains, for I am a forgotten goddess, and I am fading."
I felt something tugging at my arm. Suddenly, the chain came off. "Yes!" Allison cried. "Got it!" She held up a small, silver screwdriver in the middle of her palm.
Then Katie and Connor appeared in front of us.
"Hey, guys, what did we miss?" Connor teased.
I barked a laugh and rubbed my wrists after Allison unlocked my chain. Allison unlocked Rose's chains, and then walked over to Aletheia.
Aletheia shook her head, "I'm afraid, young demigod, that the screwdriver you have will not unlock my chains. If you even got them unlocked, I would fade on the spot."
"How do we stop you from fading?" Katie asked.
"Only the full gem can stop me from fading."
"How do we get you out?" I asked.
"For that, you would need a very special pearl."
Allison fished something out of her pocket. She held up a shining pearl that Hermes had given us. It was flaming red, meaning they had reached their destination.
"You mean this pearl? That Elizabeth girl isn't very smart, always check your prisoners for weapons, tools, whatever, before locking them away.
Aletheia frowned. "She was a sweet little girl. But people change so much when they grow up..." Aletheia trailed off, shaking her head. "Anyways, you must go. Elizabeth will look down here for you soon."
"We're not leaving without you!" Rose cried.
"Right," Allison agreed. "Because I came on this stupid quest just to find you. I've never failed a quest yet, and I don't plan to." Allison crossed her arms. "What?" she asked when Rose glared at her.
"We have to free a goddess, whose essence is contained in the chains, keeping her from fading. And the only way we can free her is with the gem! And Elizabeth has the gem!"
Connor cleared his throat, "Actually, she doesn't have the gems. I do."
Katie stared at him dumbfound, "What? How? But I saw you give her..."
"I switched the gems with a decoy. Wilma will me mad."
"Mendacium!" We all shouted.
Connor huffed, "Whatever. Anyway, here's the gem." Connor pulled something out of his pocket.
Meanwhile, Allison handed Aletheia the pearl, and her chains suddenly fell off, and surrounded her. She easily stepped out of them.
"All right," she said. "We had better get out of here before Mendacium and Elizabeth notice."
But suddenly, Elizabeth appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Connor jumped into Rose's arms, and started screaming.
Rose threw him to the ground while we stared at Elizabeth in horror, except Aletheia. Aletheia stepped forward and spread her arms wide.
"Hello, niece. How unpleasant of you to join us."
"Ah, always so honest, Aunt. It sickens me just a bit."
Aletheia frowned. "You're lying."
"You're right," Elizabeth said, smirking. "I was lying. The truth is that it sickens me more than just a bit."
Aletheia frowned. "You're lying."
"You're right," Elizabeth said, smirking. "I was lying. The truth is that it sickens me more than just a bit."
"Truth is better than a lifetime of lies." Aletheia retorted. Suddenly, a gust of wind came, and Mendacium appeared.
"Hello, sister. It seems you escaped your chains," Mendacium cackled.
Aletheia scoffed, "No help from you or your lying daughter."
"You are just jealous, sister."
"And why would I be jealous?"
"Because I still have a daughter. You lost yours and you take it out on me."
"You will not speak of Esmeralda!"
"Why can't I speak of Esme? She was my niece."
"Well, she was my daughter, and all you ever do is lie about her."
"Geez," muttered Connor. "From looking at them, you would think they were just normal siblings."
"That is not true!"
"Yes it is!"
"No, it isn't."
"They get like this sometimes," Elizabeth muttered. "But now that Mother's here, we can just chain you back up again. I'm feeling nice, so before your death tomorrow, I'll let you write a letter to your parents. A little bye-bye note."
"This kinda reminds me of the two doors from The Labyrinth, you know, the movie with David Bowie," Rose whispered to me.
I laughed, "I know what you mean. One door lied and the other told the truth and then this whole debate about which one lead to the city."
"Just like that!"
Meanwhile, Connor and Elizabeth were bickering back and forth.
"You will never get us again!" Connor shouted.
"Never say never."
"Wasn't that a Justin Bieber song?"
"I think so."
"I hate his music."
"What?! His music is life!"
"Pfft. His music is trash."
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
Back to Aletheia and Mendacium argument.
"ENOUGH!" screamed Mendacium. "I will not have this fighting in my house." She glared at Elizabeth. "You. Go re-chain them," she turned her icy glare to the rest of us, "And if I-"
"Now!" Connor screamed. He pulled out his sword, and aimed it at Mendacium. The rest of us did the same.
Except Katie, she was in the corner, fiddling with something. Then I realized it was the gems, and she was trying to fight them together. I whispered to Allison what she was doing and slowly walked over to her, no one noticing.
"Need any help?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I think two people need to do this."
"Why?"
"Remember in the directions here, it said 'Go straight with your mate, then go right at the end of night.' Well, when we were captured, the sun was setting. I bet it's night right now."
"I still don't understand."
"Well, we are a couple, which as an animal we'd be mates. And it's night. So, you have to hold one half of the gem and I hold the other half. Then you walk straight towards me and I'll walk towards you, but we will be spaced apart. Then when I say 'now' we both turn right and the gems should connect!"
"That's genus, Katie!"
I nervously took half the gem. Katie took the other half, and we started walking towards each other.
Meanwhile, Connor was sword fighting with Elizabeth, or at least trying to. He kept hitting her with the non-pointy part of the sword, which wasn't working so well.
"Now!" Katie yelled. We both turned right, and I felt the gems connect. There was a giant flash of light.
Katie's POV
The light was blinding and I had to look away. It was like the true form of a god but it's a gem. The light knocked Travis and I to the ground. When the light finally dimmed down, we saw why they were so bright.
Aletheia stood Travis and I looking at the gem on the ground. There was something beside the gem but I still couldn't tell what it is. I blinked a few times and gasped. There, lying beside the gem was an unconscious girl.
"Mom?" she asked, peering at Aletheia. She then glared at Mendacium. "You tried to kill me! How could you? I trusted you!"
Meanwhile, Mendacium looked on in anger. She smiled. "I will send you all to the depths of Tartarus now that I have the gem!" She grabbed it from Travis and I and ran.
"GET HER!" Connor yelled, abandoning his fight with Elizabeth. We all chased after Mendacium, but Elizabeth stayed behind. Cousin to Cousin. We finally caught up to Mendacium and both Connor and Travis tackled her.
"Get off me!" she screamed. "Elizabeth, where are you?"
Elizabeth put a hand around her cousin.
"Mother," she breathed. "I've come to a conclusion. I'm not going to sit around and watch while you murder my family." She let her sword clatter to the floor.
Mendacium gasps. "What? No!"
Elizabeth turned towards Aletheia. "I'm sorry, but I work for no one. Goodbye." She turned to leave.
"Wait, child! Let me send you and Esmerelda away from here, to Camp Half-Blood. Just until we finish here," Aletheia bargained.
Elizabeth nodded, "Okay, aunt. If it's for the best, then send us there."
Elizabeth and Esmerelda linked elbows; Aletheia waved one hand, and poof. Elizabeth and Esmerelda disappeared, going straight to camp.
Mendacium snapped her fingers, and smiled evilly. She turned towards Aletheia, still holding the gem. "Your kindness is your demise, my dear sister," She sighed, twirling the gem around in her fingers. "I say ignorance is bliss, but you say the truth will set you free. I guess for the first time in my life I will tell you the truth about something."
Allison shook her head, mouthing no. I knew she was right; even if Mendacium told a bit of truth it would be filled with lies.
"I have completed the prophecy," Mendacium sighed. "You see, the part that says 'a miserable death, the loved one behold' has come true. Elizabeth and Esmeralda are gone. Dead. But of course, you won't find a body to bury, since I killed them on their way to camp. I am the forgotten goddess, and now, I will rise again, thanks to the demigods who brought me the gem."
"NO!" Aletheia screamed.
"Yes," Mendacium hissed.
"You're lying!" Rose shouted.
"Well, I guess you would expect that but this is the truth, for once."
"I don't believe you.
"How can you do that to your own daughter?" Aletheia questioned.
"Sacrifices need to be made in order for me to win."
Suddenly, Allison grabbed the pearl, and threw it down on the floor. It exploded in a blinding cloud of dust. "What's the point," she yelled. "If you have to give up family to save yourself?"
Then the dust disappeared, and Aletheia spoke. "There isn't a point." she said firmly. "Now, give me the gem." she told Rose, who in all of the commotion, had managed to get ahold of the gem.
"You're not Aletheia!" Rose whispered.
"Oh, I am." Aletheia- or was it Mendacium- said.
"No, I am!"
"No, I am!"
"How do we tell them apart?" Travis asked me.
"No idea." I replied.
"I know how to tell them apart!" Rose cheered.
"How?" I asked.
"So, earlier, Travis and I were talking about The Labyrinth, with David Bowie. And at one part they reached two doors. One was a liar and the other was truthful. So she asked them questions and then decided which told the truth."
"That makes no sense, but go ahead."
"Okay, so we could ask one of them "Who would your twin say is the real Aletheia?""
"Well, I suppose." said Connor. "Hey," he yelled over to Aletheia-or was it Mendacium- "Who would your twin say is the real Aletheia?"
She didn't answer, only frowned. "You're trying to trick us!"
"What? Pfft, naw. You are too smart."
"Well, then, carry on."
"Who would your twin say is the real Aletheia?"
Aletheia one pointed to Aletheia two, "That's the real Aletheia."
I shook my head and looked down. I noticed that one Aletheia had shoes on and the other didn't. I then remembered that when Mendacium was created, she was created with no feet.
"The one with the shoes!" I yelled. "Rose, the one with the shoes is Aletheia!"
"Clever," Allison muttered. "It's a metaphor, because lies can start off successfully, but they can not grow roots, so in time, truth will prevail."
Rose took a deep breath, ran forward, and stuck the gem in Mendacium's chest. Mendacium gasped and fell backwards, and suddenly the whole house was shaking.
"Run!" Allison screamed, grabbing Rose, who had fainted.
Travis grabbed my hand and we headed for the door, Connor, Allison, and Rose running ahead of us. I looked behind me and saw Aletheia- the real one- was holding Mendacium- who wasn't disguised. Mendacium was shaking uncontrollably and Aletheia was holding her head on her lap. It was a sisterly act. Even though Mendacium tried to destroy Aletheia, she still loved her sister.
I turned around, and didn't look back. Travis and I ran out of the house as fast as we could. We finally met up with Allison, Connor, and Rose outside the house.
Rose lay on the ground, looking pale. I guess she hadn't woken up from fainting yet. Allison had a hand on her head.
"How is she?" I asked.
"Well, she is still alive. But she is unconscious."
"I see that but can you tell if anything is wrong?"
"I think she has a concussion but just a small one."
"Okay. Does anyone have water?"
"Here," Connor handed me a water bottle.
I screwed the lid off and dumped some on Rose. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at me in shock.
"Katie?" she questioned. "Allison? Connor? Travis? Where's Mendacium? Did it work?"
Allison nodded. "Yeah, I think you killed her."
"Killed her?" Rose cried. She shuddered.
"Well, she was probably going to kill you if you didn't kill her," Allison added unhelpfully. "Anyways, you four should probably get back to camp. Think you can walk, Rose?"
Rose shook her head.
"I think I can help," a voice called out from behind us.
We turned and there stood Aletheia, he clothes scorched and her body covered in soot.
"What happened?" Connor asked.
"The gem burnt Mendacium. It was the truth gem and she always lies."
"Is she...dead?" Rose asked cautiously.
Aletheia shook her head, "No, but she is badly wounded. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades showed up to escort her to Tartarus."
"I'm so sorry, Lady Aletheia. It's my fault."
"Don't apologize, child. She was out of control. Now, let us go to camp."
Aletheia waved her hand and the house and all that surrounded it disappeared and was replaced by Camp Half-Blood.
"Thanks." we all said.
"Now I must be going," said Aletheia. "By the way, thank you for setting me free." And with that she disappeared. Literally.
Travis POV
All of sudden, we were back at camp, and the next thing I knew, there were a bunch of people surrounding us. Cecil, Tommy, Lulu, Chiron, and a bunch of random Demeter kids whose names I didn't know.
"How did the quest go?" Chiron asked. "I see you've brought Katie back." He smiled. "And you brought a hunter, too."
"Did two girls show up here?" Katie asked impatiently.
Chiron nodded, "Yes, they are in the infirmary. You all should go there too."
"So, they arrived safely?"
"Besides a few scratches, yes. Why?"
"Mendacium lied. She said that she killed them before they reached camp."
Chiron frowned. "Well, they're here as far as I know. Allison, you can stay in Artemis's cabin, by the way. The hunters are coming tomorrow."
Allison nodded. "Okay, thanks."
Suddenly, a boy who looked a bit like Rose ran forward. "Rose!" he yelled. "Where have you been?"
"Paris! I've been on a quest with these people."
Paris grabbed Rose into a hug.
"I missed you. Why didn't you tell me?"
"That's Rose's twin brother, Paris," Katie whispered in my ear.
"She has a twin?!" I asked.
Katie laughed, "Yes, you thief. She has a twin."
I turned to look at her and her eyes sparkled.
"Thief?"
"Yeah, you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you stole my heart."
A/N The End. Thank you all for reading this story! Just kidding, just kidding. Have no fear, this is not the end, not yet. Please review, review, review, and review. :) Also, this story is on Wattpad if you wanna read it there. Just search 'Hatter-Bo-Peep02' and it'll be in my profile. Until next time!
Goodbye and may the fandom be with you.
~Booknerd and lunarchroniclesandcockatiels
