Chapter XIV: In Which It's Story Time

"I'm so bored!" Todd complained while they were waiting for the train to come.

"Well, don't draw attention to us." Bobby muttered, closing his eyes. The ticket master was suspicious of four teens and one five year old without adult supervision. It took a lot of bargaining on Todd's part to convince him to give the tickets to them. Medusa had more than enough money for five tickets. "If we get kicked out, I'm gonna make sure your father will be the only one to deal with you."

Todd rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I'd like to see you catch me."

"Stop hiding in that stupid hat of yours."

"You're just scared of my ability with said hat."

Bobby scowled a bit. "No! I think it's stupid that you hide under that."

"Not my fault my hat gives me your-"

Gwen interrupted them. "Leave that for Lupercalia, guys. Like seriously." She turned her attention back to Bora.

Bobby bit back his retort and closed his eyes, crossing his arms. "Fine."

Percy leaned back against the bench. "There are fights during Lupercalia?"

Todd pulled a red lollipop from the candy bag he got at the station store. He removed the wrapper, stuffing it in his pocket. "Yeah, purely for entertainment though. No killing is allowed."

"What happens if you do?"

Todd shrugged, swirling the candy in his mouth. "I dunno. I know it's going to be a pretty severe punishment."

"You guys just drink, relax and fight? That's all?"

"Basically. I mean, we trade stuff as well. I hope Dakota brings that stereo system he promised…"

"Trade stuff? Like an open market?"

"Yeah, services, items, etc."

"Services?" With the way Todd described it, First Legion was almost like a town of sorts. I wonder who's in charge of the garbage. Percy thought.

He nodded. "Yeah, Bobby's Centuria offers the fights and weapons; Sean's offers food and such."

"What about you?"

"Well…I really can't offer anything." Todd shrugged, and tilted his head a bit to the right. "The train's here."

On cue, the train slowed to a stop in the station. An overcome announces the arrival.

Percy blinks in surprise and Todd chuckled "Don't worry. The earth just vibrated. I ain't an Oracle. I'll teach you sometime."

"I swear you're cockier than Bobby." Percy muttered, getting up and grabbing his bag,

"Thanks for the compliment."

The ticket master narrowed his eyes as he watched the group get on the train. He should know that they're on their way.

He reached for the telephone. After a few seconds of silence, a voice answered. "What?"

The ticket master swallowed his fear. "I have more demigods riding the trains."

"Who are they?"

"They're children of Neptune, Pluto, Mars, Apollo and-"

"Neptune?" The voice on the other side snapped. "Are you sure?"

"Y-yes. He reeks of the sea and earth."

There was a minute of silence before the voice replied, excitement in his voice. "What train are they taking?"

"The 10:30 Ixion."

"Perfect." he hung up, surprising the male on the other side.

"Wai-"The protest stopped when he heard the voice that was just on the phone in his head. And then a vortex appeared under the poor human, sucking him into a terrible void.

Just as the sentence was over, the vortex sucked the faux body and the spirit into the void. The end.


Once they were inside the train, they took their respective seats. Percy looked out the window. It would take about five or six hours to get to Arizona and probably another hour or two to find someone willing to drive them in the middle of nowhere.

Percy yawned. This would be a good time to catch up on my sleep. Nothing exciting ever happens in trains, except in western movies. And this is far from a western.

He shifted into a comfortable position (as comfortable as it could get in a seat) and closed his eyes.

After Percy fell asleep, the other demigods followed suit as well.

*0*0*0*0*0*

Bobby moved the tree branches away from his face. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes on the train.

Is this a dream? I don't remember leaving the train…Bobby looked around; he was in the middle of some forest. The trees covered most of the sunlight but with the temperature, he estimated that it was around noon.

I should walk around to see if there is anyone else in my dream. His internal radar told him nothing that he didn't already know. He was southwest of the camp, so he decided to head in that direction.

It was silent, besides for the occasional sound of the birds and the various animals. This was unusual for one of his dreams. Bobby's dreams usually took place in barren landscapes or empty cities.

Bobby rubbed one of his arms, feeling slightly uncomfortable in a place out of his 'comfort zone'. He didn't like being watched where he couldn't see who was watching him.

Jeez, Bobby. You need to relax; after all it's your dream. I can't get hurt in my dream. Bobby berated himself mentally.

Eventually, a dirt road appeared through the foliage. Down the road, he could see the beginning of a storm.

"A storm? No thanks." Bobby muttered, deciding to walk up the road.

On one side of the road, after a couple minutes of walking silently, was a clearing with a river. Above the river bank, there was a group of rabbits, all coloured differently, hopping about. In the clear river, Bobby could see frogs.

Bobby continued walking up the road, the frogs or rabbits didn't interest him.

On the other side, Bobby spotted wolves dashing through the forest. He wanted to join and talk to them, but for some reason, he had the urge to continue up the road.

He passed a barn with ox and horses. The smell reminded him of his least favourite place in camp. The stables.

The sound of someone on the road filled his ears and he turned around, almost tripping over a large rabbit.

"Hey! Watch it!" The hare snapped. "Jeez, you're much slower than Tort!"

Bobby was slightly surprised. He knew that some animals talk, but why would a rabbit talk in his dream? And about a freaking turtle?

Before Bobby could reply, the rabbit bounded off. "Even if this is my dream, it's really weird."

He followed the dust trail left by the rabbit, slightly curious now.

The heat of the day increased as he left the forest and into farming land. He found the rabbit sleeping under a tree, near a small house.

With the silence of the outside environment, Bobby could clearly hear arguing from inside the house. "I'm better than both of you guys! I don't need anyone else's help!"

"Shut up Tim! I'm faster than you!"

Bobby's curiosity got the better of him and he went up the stairs of the house.

He knew it was rude to just open the door and let himself in, but it was his dream so he should have the right. He reached for the doorknob and was surprised his hand went through it.

"Wha-"Just then, the door burst open.

"Why do you want us to get sticks, Father?" The first voice spoke, Tim. Bobby wasn't fast enough to hide.

Tim stopped in front of Bobby, his sight still on his father. He had long brown hair tied with a pony tail and he was wearing a beige toga with a blue belt. His brown eyes were narrowed.

Bobby looked behind Tim and saw two more boys dressed similarly as their brother. One of them had blonde hair, cut short with hazel eyes and a yellow belt while the boy beside him had black, shoulder length hair and dark eyes with a blue belt.

They're clearly brothers, maybe triplets. Bobby reasoned.

Past the boys, an elderly man spoke quietly. "I will show you once you return."

Tim scowled as he and his brothers left.

"Ahh, son of Mars, what brings you here?" The man spoke to him, surprising Bobby.

"Uh, I really don't know." Bobby answered, rubbing the back of his head.

The elder seemed to start a reply but he shook his head and smiled. The smile made Bobby feel like he did something stupid, like a grandfather scolding his grandchild. "You will know soon enough."

Just then, the triplets returned, each with a bundle of sticks. "Father, we have returned with the sticks. Will you tell us now why you need them? It's too early to start a fire." The yellow-belt brother said.

"Calm down, Jim. I will show you." He took the bundles of sticks and made one medium sized bundle, wrapping it in a silk ribbon.

"Now, I want each of you to try breaking the bundle, do not force yourself. Vim, you shall be first." He handed the sticks to the boy with the blue belt.

Vim's smirk faded as the bundle didn't break. He scowled as he passed it to Tim. Again, the bundle didn't bend under Tim's force. Bobby could see his muscles strain.

"Tim! It's my turn! Father said not to force yourself!" The blonde said. After sending a glare at his brother, Tim gave the stack to him. He took a deep breath and tried to do what his father said.

They either must not be very strong or that pile of sticks is super strong. Maybe it's bamboo. Bobby thought as he watched the third son hand it back to his father. "What's the meaning of this, Father?"

The old man silently removed the silk ribbon and gave each of his sons a stick. They all snapped in half easily. "My sons," he addressed, "If you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this bundle, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks."

The words were familiar to Bobby.

"So," Vim started hesitantly as he played with the broken stick. "You're saying that when we're separate, we don't succeed as well when we're together?"

The elder nodded. "You are correct, Vim. In order to help the village from the monsters, you must work together."

Bobby felt a soft breeze and everything froze except the father. He stood and folded his arms into his robes. "Union gives strength. You need to remember this lesson, warrior. If not, in the near future, life would not be very pleasant."

Bobby frowned, thinking of that damn son of Neptune. Why is my dream telling me advice I don't need. He continued, as if he read his mind. "Your wishes can be more possible if you allowed people to help you, despite your…preferences."

Bobby's frown turned to a scowl. "And if I don't let people help me? I can do a better job than most people." After all, he was a son of Mars, god of war, guardian of agriculture and spring. Sometimes, they did better at the gardens than Ceres' children. Out of almost of the other gods, besides Jupiter, Mars was the most worshipped.

The senior looked at Bobby; his dark eyes seemed to be looking into his soul and it creeped him out. "That arrogant attitude does not bode well for your future."

He waved the warning off. "Whatever, if I want to work with people, I will. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

Tilting his head, the man seemed to be listening to something. "Very well, if that is how you choose to use my advice." He bowed. "My creator wishes to see you now."

"Your creator-"The words were cut off as the floor opened. He barely had time to grab the floor as he was sucked through.

1*1*1*1*1*1

Bora wiped the sweat off his forehead. He hated hot places and this one was no different. Stopping under a huge tree, he tried to cool himself down. He had been walking for who knows how long in the heat, looking for Percy and the others.

"I hope I haven't gotten separated from the others. Now that Master Reuven has returned, he might forcibly kick me out." Bora had no idea what he would do if that happened. He couldn't return to Caligula, and then Percy's efforts would be wasted. But he couldn't go to First Legion either, if the group left him. He had no idea where it was, from the snippets of conversations he eavesdropped on; the only real clue he had was that it was somewhere in the West.

The feeling of being watched pulled Bora from his thoughts. Instinctively, he hid himself in a nearby bush, peeking through the leaves and branches; he spotted a lion searching for food.

The lion's pelt was a flawless tan colour and the mane a dark brown. The large cat growled softly and Bora could see the hints of its sharp teeth. He held his breath as he watched the predator walk past him.

He definitely wasn't on the train anymore. Where was he?

Maybe he was dreaming. That would explain the strange environment.

After a few minutes of waiting, (he really didn't want to get eaten by anything else, so sue him) Bora climbed out of the bush and wiped the sweat off his head,

An irrational thought dashed through his train of thought. What if I followed that lion? After all, it's a dream. If I get hurt, I'll just wake up, right?

Bora was reminded of that movie a guest had once requested. It was about sleeping and dreams, and he remembered in certain parts, the guy kept mentioned that if they die in the dream, they die in the real world.

He swallowed. The only reason he watched the movie was because the guest had ordered him to hold the bowl of popcorn. Caligula didn't care how his servants were humiliated or treated, as long as they were fit enough to work.

Bora frowned as he remembered the treatment he and his old fellow servants got. He felt awful just leaving them with Master Caligula but they weren't really friends. He was one of the youngest working servants, well, the only one. For some reason, as soon as he was able to walk and talk, Caligula ordered him on the staff. Usually, servants would wait until eight or seven before they joined the 'workforce' but he was different.

He was always different, with his natural snow white hair and cold demeanour. He always preferred being inside and away from people. While other demigod servants didn't want to find their godly parent, he did. Just to know why his mother didn't stop his father from selling him or why she didn't tell him about First Legion. Shouldn't the gods care about their children, even a little bit?

Forcing the resentment down his throat, Bora set after the lion.

A few minutes of wandering, and climbing a tree, he found the lion. It was an achievement for him, considering he was terrified of anything remotely larger than him. He settled for watching the majestic beast. He could never take on something so…scary. He didn't have the skills like Percy or the ferocity of Master Reuven.

The king of the jungle paced around the tree once before curling to sleep. Crap, now I can't leave the tree without waking up that…thing.

The leaves rustled and Bora froze. He completely forgot that he was in some jungle environment and that there could be snakes in the trees.

Bora considered his options, get eaten by the lion or the snake. The lion would make it extremely painful, clawing out his guts and such, while the snake would crush or suffocate him. The snake could cause him less pain but it would be more prolonged than the claws.

A mouse scampered down the trunk. It was larger than an average mouse but smaller than a rat. Its fur was a grey-brown.

Bora watched the mouse run down the tree. He let out the breath he was holding. If this was he was like when something freaks him out, he was going to die at First Legion.

He tried to control the embarrassment he felt as he watched the mouse climb on the lion. I'm so pathetic-

The thought was interrupted by a loud roar. "What are you doing?"

Bora almost fell off the tree from surprise. He flinched instinctively and started to answer before a high pitched voice squeaked out an answer. "M-my lord! Please forgive me!"

The beast paused, holding the mouse above the ground and over his mouth. "Why should I, little rat?"

The mouse squirmed. "I am not a rat! I am a mous-"it stopped when the lion opened his mouth. "I apologize! Please forgive me! I can repay you!"

The lion burst out laughing. To Bora, who was terrified enough already, it sounded like a combination of growling and roaring. "You! One so small, repay me? The King of the Jungle? How preposterous!"

The mouse stopped wriggling around and just hung there, looking defeated.

"The idea is so amusing; I'll let you do it!"

The small creature clapped his paws together. "Oh, thank you, my lord! I will not forget this!" The lion dropped the mouse on the ground and it ran away, not looking back.

"That mouse wouldn't even make a full meal anyways." The lion grumbled as he curled up to go to sleep again.

Bora forgot that he was hanging uncomfortable from the branch. He was surprised that the animals could talk. Just a few minutes ago, they were making animal noises. Animals only talked in stories, movies or TV shows. Bora certainly wasn't in any of them. This is really just a dream.

There was also the fact the lion dismissed the mouse so easily. It reminded him of how Caligula treated his servants. It annoyed Bora to the point of almost being angry. He never really got angry, severe punishments followed if he got angry. Whether it was shaving all of his white hair off, or burning your clothes, and making you be naked all day, Bora didn't like punishments. He avoided it as much as it can, but there was also the fact that Caligula entertained vulgar guests. Embarrassment and torture followed him everywhere. Stop thinking about that, I'm not there anymore. No more carrying heavy, tall, luggage or the ugly comments when people found out I can't read.

Bora turned his attention back to the lion. But it wasn't there anymore. He really didn't space out that much, did he? He hoped that lions don't climb trees.

The environment was also different, but not by much. It was hotter and brighter, like early in the day. It made Bora more uncomfortable as he tried to pull himself up. Good thing for him that he had decent upper body strength.

"Where are those freaking antelope?" The deep voice of the lion spoke. Bora stilled and looked down.

The lion had returned and thankfully, he wasn't looking at Bora. He was sniffing the ground and looking everywhere. He took a step toward the tree and Bora heard a faint click.

He barely recognized the trap. It was covered in dead grass and dirt.

The lion stepped on the trap, unaware of it. Bora flinched at the surprised roar as the trapped snapped it up and pulled it into the tree, covered in a net.

Bora didn't even breathe as he watched the lion freak out a few feet away from him. The branch shook erratically, causing Bora to almost loose his grip on the branch.

"What happened? What is this contraption?" The lion roared. Bora was half tempted to answer but he didn't want the lion's attention.

The lion stilled as a small voice spoke. "It's a trap, my lord."

Bora turned his head and almost had a heart attack. The mouse from earlier was on his hand, the hand that was in an awkward position. The mouse didn't seem to notice he was on it.

"A trap? What's that?" He growled.

The mouse went on an explanation on traps. If a lion could look pale, the one in front of Bora nailed it. "But do not worry my lord, do you remember me?"

The lion shook his head. The mouse answered. "I was the mouse you graciously saved a week ago."

A week ago? It was barely two minutes…

The mouse started to chew through the ropes. "Don't worry your highness. I will let you free."

"But why?" he asked.

The ropes snapped as the weight of the lion strained on fewer and few ropes. When the mouse chewed on the third final rope, the net flipped opened and the lion fell. He landed on the ground with a painful grunt.

The mouse scurried down the tree and stood in front of the lion. "I am simply returning a favour."

The lion tilted his head. "Are you the mouse from before?"

The mouse nodded. "I am. I remember distinctly that you found it incredibly amusing that I wouldn't be able to do anything. But look where we are."

The lion chuckled. "I remember clearly, little mouse. Thank you."

Bora didn't except the lion to act like that. Earlier, he was clearly haughty but now he was humble. He didn't understand that. If Caligula was humiliated like that, the person in question would be killed. The mouse had more courage than Bora would ever have in his entire life time.

Swallowing, he promised himself to be more like the mouse. After all, if a mouse can summon enough courage to bargain with the lion, being brave enough to be of some use should be easy as pie.

Bora was too busy musing to himself to notice how the ground opened to reveal an ominous swirling hole below him. The suction pulled him into the empty space; he didn't even have enough time to blink.

2*2*2*2*2*2

Gwen shook her head and spat out the pebbles and dirt. She looked around in mild confusion. One minute she was watching Percy sleep. The next minute, she was here, with a mouthful of dirt and rocks.

She rubbed her head, instead of feeling the red hair, she felt fur. Startled, she looked at her hand. Instead of a human hand, there was a tiny mouse paw.

She squeaked then covered her mouth. Her normal voice even sounded like a mouse. Please let this be a dream. Just a weird dream.

There was a small creek near the dirt road and she scamper-walked to it, tripping over her stubby legs and tail. She reached the river and took a deep breath. She had no idea why this was freaking her out so bad, she should be glad that it wasn't a nightmare about the oracle.

The warped reflection of the water showed a little, brown dormouse. Gwen felt her face and the reflection copied her. The only thing she could think of is how Apollo's scared animal is a dormouse.

"This is straight from a Disney movie." She muttered as she bent her ears, ignoring the mild pain. "A stupid, cheesy, inaccurate Disney movie."

Her whiskers twitched and she turned around, almost being trampled on by a hare.

"Hey! Watch where you're going! You almost made me trip." The hare snapped at her.

Gwen wasn't accustomed to backtalk. "Why don't you watch where you're going, you buck-toothed Carota Vitulamen!"

The hare blinked, its ears flattening against his brown head. "What did you say to me?"

Gwen stood tall, well, as tall as a mouse can get. "Those floppy ears hinder your hearing, rabbit?"

The hare raised a paw. "Why you little-"

"Harry!" Another hare hopped over. "Leave the pipsqueak alone. You have to race against Tort."

Harry sent a scowl toward Gwen. "Fine. But next time I run into you, you're dead." With that, he hopped off, leaving Gwen alone.

A race with a hare why does that sound familiar? "Rabbits are meaner than I thought; I guess I understand the fauns' fear of them."

She was curious about this race and she followed the hares' trail. Her pace was really slow for walking on two feet, plus there were the stares from the other critters as well. Walking on two legs isn't so simple now.

With her heightened hearing, she heard the cheering of the crowd. In order to watch this thing properly, I need to get on all four feet…

The thought of her hands touching the ground repulsed her. To the Apollo Centuria, hands were valuable. They would notch an arrow, feel for a broken limb, shoot baskets or swing baseball bats, write beautiful poetry and even help with singing. It was possibly the worst punishment for an Apollo child if their hands were rendered unusable.

Slowly, she placed her front feet (or hands?) on the ground. The dirt between her paws made her want to wash them frantically but she disregarded the instinct.

Instead, she figured out she didn't have to think about running in a mouse body. It came naturally, maybe because it's her father's animal symbol or just because it was really easy.

Gwen followed the other animals until they stopped and crowded around a line of animals. With her current size, she was easily able to make her way through the much larger animals.

"Come one, come all!" A crow squawked. "Watch two polar opposites race against each other! Tort the Tortoise vs. Harry the Hare! Who will win? Place your bets here!"

Gwen saw that there were other animals racing, but the attention was on the tortoise, who looked calm and the hare, the icon of arrogance. This scenario was so familiar to her, she was getting irritated from the brain fart she was having.

"So, Tort," Harry taunted. "Ready to lose the race? I might lower my speed if you admit defeat right here and now…"

Tort shook his head. "I will not admit defeat until I have truly lost, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever Tort."

"Racers!" The crow screeched, holding up his wing as a signal. "Are you ready to run?"

"Go!" The bird waved his wing like a flag and all of the other runners, except for Tort, dashed off.

Gwen had never seen a turtle run, so she wasn't surprised that the tortoise was slow. She felt a pinch of pity for the shelled creature and she soon found herself walked besides the animal, which was a bit difficult, considering his slow pace.

"Ah, Hello little mouse, what brings you here?" Tort greeted.

"Um, I was just wondering, Mr Tortoise-"She started

"Please, call me Tort."

"Tort, why are you racing?" Gwen figured that he was asked this question millions of times, but she was curious herself.

"I would like to teach Harry a lesson, little mouse. Whether he knows it or not." Tort's reply held no ill will which surprised Gwen.

"But why and how?"

Tort's eyes glinted with amusement. "You will soon see, Gwen."

"What?-"Instantaneously, the world spun, leaving Gwen dizzy and confused.

She had no idea when she closed her eyes but when she opened them, she was somewhere different. The dirt road was narrower and on the right side of the road, there was a tree, with Harry asleep and snoring.

Hares snore? Gwen slowly looked around and found Tort way ahead of Harry. She scampered to catch up to him, which wasn't hard.

"Hello again, Gwen." He nodded, "How have you been?"

Gwen's mind didn't register the fact he knew her name and she didn't tell him. "What lesson are you trying to teach that hare?"

Tort looked at Gwen with his ancient eyes. The mouse remembered the reason most people thought turtles/tortoises were wise. They looked wise, with their old age and steady pace. "You have not figured it out, Gwendolyn?"

The way Tort said that made Gwen feel a bit stupid. "…no…" She muttered, looking at the dirt.

"His pace, Gwen. His pace is too fast."

She blinked. "How can a pace be too fast? Fast is good, great even."

Tort shook his head. "Sometimes, a fast pace is good, but for some things, it is bad. Can you think of any situation where a slow pace is needed?"

Gwen thought about and she really thought about it. And nothing came up. She shook her head. "I can't think of anything, really."

Tort sighed, "What about your friend, Perseus?"

Gwen blinked. Percy, a friend? She never considered it that way. (And not the other way, mind you.) He was a decent ally, but she really never noticed him any other way.

"He's not my friend," she replied. "And what about him?"

Tort shook his head and looked ahead. She watched as he passed a red line. Where did that line appear from?

"No!" cried Harry, bounding up to the crowd who were cheering for Tort's victory. He shoved Gwen out of the way. "There is no way Tort won!"

Tort looked calmly at the mammal, there was a hint of a smirk on his face. "Slow and steady wins the race, Harry."

Gwen watched all this in silence. She felt compelled to answer Tort's earlier question and his mentioning of Percy.

Being deep in thought distracted the little mouse so much that she didn't even notice a large hole appear under her until the last minute.

Tort turned his head away as Gwen was sucked in.

3*3*3*3*3*3*3

Todd groaned and rubbed his head. "Man, that hurt." He looked up and surveyed his surroundings. The sunlight made his eyes water as they turned the blurry images to a forest.

The forest was quiet and unconsciously, Todd pulled a purple beanie hat out of his back pocket and slipped it on.

He stood up and looked around again. The woodland was fairly unkempt except for a small path leading away from the forest.

He wanted to go in the opposite way, toward the wild wood but something told him to watch. Leaning against a tree, he crossed his arms and watched the path.

What am I supposed to be waiting for? Todd wasn't impatient per se, but he didn't like doing nothing. He was about to take off his hat when someone tripped in front of him.

The person looked very suspicious, looking around as if expecting someone to follow him. Todd didn't even breath as the person looked him straight in the eye.

"Damn roots, tripping me e'rywhere." The male spoke, taking no notice of the demigod in front of him.

He gave one last glance at Todd before shivering. "This place creeps me out. The faster I get there, the fast I can leave."

He went up the trail leading away from the forest. After a moment's hesitation, Todd followed the guy in the brown tunic.

The road was well worn and simple for Todd to follow. The guy kept looking behind him and picking up his pace.

He forgot what wearing his hat does to people. Oh well.

The male stopped at the edge of a clearing, hiding behind a tree. "One of those is enough for fifty drachmas."

Drachmas, what the hell is he talking about? Obviously, the only currency Todd knew was American dollars and Roman Aurei.

Todd followed the gaze of the boy. Ten feet away from them were a dozen beehives with honey practically oozing through the trays. Strangely, there were no bees in sight.

It took a moment for the raven-haired teen to figure out what the boy was doing. Stealing honeycombs and honey from beehives? That's pretty stupid.

He watched as the boy removed the racks of honeycomb uncured honey. Much to the former's surprise, there wasn't a lot of frames to steal.

By the time the boy had all of them, the sun was low, signalling the afternoon and the bees still haven't returned.

The brown tunic was soaked with nectar and sweat. Todd watched the boy leave with curiosity. Should he follow him or stay here?

I think I'll stay, if the owner of those hives comes back, I might help him. Or I might not.

No sooner than he thought that, another guy, but in a white tunic, emerged from the woods, scowling. "Damn hunters, with their stupid traps, trappin' my dog."

"The bees haven't returned. That's good. I need to check the honeycombs to see if they're ready to harvest."

Todd kept silent as the keeper headed toward the hives.

Before he even opened them, the man knew something was wrong. "Where are the trays? Someone stole them!"

He glanced around, his eyes settling on Todd for a millisecond and then he looked to the forest, his face paling as he heard something Todd couldn't

The bees returned. And if Todd didn't have a good reason to fear them, he has one now.

They looked pretty terrifying. A black, ominous cloud coming from the opposite direction the boy went, moving in complete sync. And then there was the noise, it felt like he was standing next to one of Hazel's drills. The sound was deafening.

Todd was really glad he was wearing his hat. And that he didn't have apiphobia.

The bees swarmed around the hives, not knowing their homes were ransacked. The way they moved reminded Todd of a bustling city or school. The moment they figured out that their hard work was gone, they surrounded the beekeeper and started attacking without question.

He had seen a lot of things during his time at First Legion. He didn't even have a choice in it, being the camp's 'mortician'. One of his duties, besides keeping track of the major monsters, was taking care of the dead. It wasn't a pretty job, especially after the war, when he was recuperating; he still had to do the work no one else would.

But watching a guy being stung to death was gruesome. Todd couldn't look away though, it was like watching something addicting, and you couldn't look away that easily.

There were millions of bee stings covering almost every square inch of skin possible. The keeper was wheezing, barely able to breathe through his constricted throat.

"Pathetic insects!" He croaked, his voice getting weaker. "Why would you kill me, your caretaker when you let a thief escape pain-free? Not everything is as it seems!"

The keeper cursed in a language Todd didn't understand before he stopped wheezing.

The bees didn't seem to understand the words; they just went back to work, thankfully not noticing Todd.

Something about the whole scenario that seemed familiar; the saying was familiar. Nothing as it seems.

"Why was this in my drea-Whoa!" Todd was pulled through the ground before he could even finish his sentence.

5*5*5*5*5*5*5

Percy groaned and opened his eyes. He rubbed his head as a headache came in full force.

"Percy, you awake?" Gwen whispered, somewhere to his left. It was pitch black. He couldn't even see his own hands.

"Gwen? Where is everyone?"

"Here, dummy." Todd said. He grabbed Percy's arm and helped him up. "You can't see anything?"

Percy started to shake his head then stopped. "No."

"Todd, where are we?" Bobby asked from Percy's right. "This is not some trick that your hat caused?"

He heard Todd move away from him with ease, like he wasn't practically blind. "No, my hat doesn't cause us to move thousands of feet underground without an escape route."

Ah! Now you're all awake, that's perfect. I love it when my characters do what I want without asking.

The voice was distinctly masculine, with a hint of a teasing tone like he just made an inside joke. Now, if you could all walk down the tunnel, I would be happy to answer your questions. Mostly.

"Did you hear that?" Todd asked, looking up at the ceiling. "Or was it just me?"

"I heard it as well." Bora said quietly. He startled Percy a bit when he grabbed his hand. His hand is really cold.

"Good. Then I'm not going insane yet. The tunnel is this way." He grabbed Percy's shoulder and turned him in the opposite direction. "Just straight ahead."

"How did you know that?" Bobby didn't like that Todd could see and he couldn't. He was at a major disadvantage.

Todd's slightly cold hands grabbed Bobby's shoulder and turned him around. "I can control the earth, duh. If I'm underground in the pitch black, I can see somewhat clearly."

"Somewhat clearly?" Bobby shook the hands off his shoulder. A chill went down his back.

"It's more like infrared vision. I can see your body heat and the earth kind of shimmers."

"That's very useful." Bobby sarcastically remarked. He could see no use of it; it wasn't like he was trapped in the dark every day.

"Shut up Bobby. Or I'll leave you behind."


The tunnel was surprisingly long and relatively smooth and flat. They walked in a single file line so they wouldn't lose touch of each other. Todd was at the front, leading the way. Bobby was behind him and Gwen stood between Percy and him. Bora held Percy's hand throughout the entire thing. Percy wasn't sure if it was because he was scared or just needed a lead. Either way, his hand was numb from the coldness of the young demigod's hand.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared at the end of the tunnel, momentarily blinding them. The entranceway had led them to an underground library. The walls were made of red-brown rock and there were huge stacks of books everywhere. Some were lined up and others were placed on top of each other, or in patterns.

Percy sensed that the blonde girl would've liked this. A place full of books, with the possibility of learning new things. He felt a pang in his heart.

"Oh good! You made it without getting lost!" The voice from before called from above. Percy looked up. Floating on a pile of books was a rather young teenager. His figure flickered like a holographic image. His hair was a messy, blonde haystack of pens, bookmarks and bits of paper. He had a rather thin face with bags under his light blue eyes, like he forgot to eat and sleep like other people forget their chores. He wore red pyjama pants, blue fuzzy slippers and a black shirt that said 'Annoy me and the protagonist dies.'

"What does your shirt say?" Gwen asked. Percy looked at her, couldn't she read it? Even with her dyslexia?

The boy smiled. "Ahh. You're Roman. Well, most of you." He looked at Percy when he said this.

"And you're implying that you're not?" Bobby asked a hint of a challenge in his voice.

"Oh dear." The boy turned toward Bobby. The books in the floating pile opened and closed, like someone was sifting through them. "You have bad characteristics."

Bobby's face flushed at the insult but before he could respond the boy looked at Gwen. "Pretty hair, low sense of quality. Oh!" He smiled. "I love a good love quarrel!"

He moved to Todd. His blue eyes lit with a light that made Percy worry. "My, my. I give kudos to Juno for picking this one. A strong, almost fatal flaw worthy, sense of jealousy."

Todd stood there, not showing any emotion. Though his eyes indicated that he was angry at this guy for pointing out the flaws.

Bora didn't make eye contact as he looked at him. "Love the hair. Hate the blind loyalty."

Finally, he turned to Percy. The gaze was on him longer than the others. He smiled a bit. "I'm sure Neptune couldn't have picked a better mother. Though, your neutrality will hinder you."

"Now that you're done insulting us," Percy replied. "Can you tell us who are you?"

The boy frowned and picked up a book from the air casually. He skimmed through it. "My fables weren't enough? How much as society degraded in the past centuries? When I was alive, people would recognize me just by looking at me."

"So you're an actor?" he guessed.

The books floating in the air stopped instantly and turned their direction toward him like birds. "Pah! Don't even associate me with them! Horrible, horrible group of people. Impersonating characters. What a disgrace!"

Percy swallowed, unsure if the books would start attacking him and giving him paper cuts. "I'll check off actor as a list of future jobs."

"Good! No more guesses? How about you, Son of Mars? Can your tiny brain figure out who am I?"

Bobby looked at the boy with such a glare that looked eerily like the glares from a wolf. "A writer, from the looks of it. With all the books and notebooks."

Gwen looked at the young teenager. He probably wasn't much older than fourteen and yet she recognized him from somewhere. "You're…Aesop? I think I saw your picture in my mythological monsters book."

Aesop brightened. "I am! I hope you cherish that book, I almost died getting all that information."

"Aesop? I imagined him to be older, more of an old guy." Todd noted.

Aesop scowled, though the books kept moving and switching places in the pile. "Modern times. Back in my time, you could do anything and it didn't matter how timeworn you were!"

"Timeworn?" Percy asked.

"Another word for old." Gwen explained. "So you wrote all those fables and stories? And we were in them?" That clarified why they felt so familiar to her.

Bitterness filled the storyteller's features. "No, I could not do it on my own, after a period of time; my fables grew out of my control. Whatever fable you were in, I had no control over it. Those fables are living things now, doing this according to their morale. I just wanted you here. Aesop was the pseudonym for my fellow siblings and authors. I wrote most of the fables though, while on my travels."

"Aesop was a group of demigods?" Percy asked. The way Aesop said it; it was like mortals didn't do anything amazing.

Aesop nodded and opened a book, turning the pages slowly, as if he was remembering the moments on the paper. "My relations didn't want to be part of the natural demigod way. All that destroying and fighting. We wanted to follow in our mother's footsteps and create stories. Oh, the fun times we had…"

He looked so deflated that Percy wanted to cheer him up. He had no idea how to cheer up a writer. They usually cheered everyone else up with their writing.

"Your mother?" Bora asked slowly. "Who was she?"

"Mnemosyne. Goddess of memory, words and language."

"I don't want to seem rude. But why did you take us from the train?" Gwen hesitantly asked.

Aesop blinked. "Obviously, you guys have something I want."

Todd didn't think they had anything of interest for a famous writer as far as he knew. "No fancy pens or paper here, sorry."

Aesop ignored him. He opened a book and started writing in it. His voice turned hypnotic and desolate, describing the scene he was writing. "Rome was dying in front of her eyes. The fire burned through everything, destroying a civilization thousands of years old and she was the cause of it. It almost destroyed her to something against her very nature. And if the damn Romans were right. She would be killed the moment she returned to Cali-"

"Whoa. Whoa." Todd held his hands out in a gesture that said 'Slow down'. "Old Rome is going to burn?" His tone was filled with disgust and anger. "Who's going to burn Rome?"

The Romans in the group did not look happy about that, Percy noted. He felt bad for the girl who did it. It was the first time he saw them really angry, almost to the point of furious.

Aesop didn't answer and Bobby pulled out his sword, pointing it at him. "Who is going to burn Rome? She won't live for long. Tell me her name!"

The fable writer looked at the blade. "The blade turned into a quill."

As soon as the words were out, Bobby's gladius turned into a bright red quill. "Don't threaten a writer. They can do almost anything with characters."

The cheerful mood had disappeared for good. Aesop looked at Percy "Cutting to the climax. I want your curse."

All of the demigods besides Gwen looked at him with suspicion. "What curse?" Bobby asked his voice low.

Aesop smirked and wrote something down. "More conflict! Perfect! Didn't Gwen tell you? Secrecy always accompanies quarrels. I love it!"

Bobby sent an accusing glare at Percy. "You made her keep a secret?"

Gwen sighed and looked at Bobby. "He didn't make me. In Hawaii, we discovered that Percy has the Curse of Achilles, he can't be killed except for a vital part."

"And you didn't tell us?" Bobby's voice was full of disgust. "That's important-"

"Bobby, I'm sure they had reasons for not telling us. He's trying to get another conflict between you and Percy." Todd interrupted, trying to calm Bobby down, though he didn't look pleased either.

Percy watched Aesop as Gwen explained. He looked exceptionally smug and satisfied. "We had decided that it was the best way to go at the moment."

"The best way for whom? If we're going to cooperate, we need to know stuff, Gwen." Todd spoke stopping Bobby from speaking. If he speaks, who knows what would happen. Todd really wasn't that mad, but he knew Bobby needed someone on his side or Tartarus would break lose even more.

Gwen opened her mouth then closed it. "Percy. It was the best for Percy. For some reason, he's important and if he dies…"

Percy glanced at Bobby then at Gwen. He almost wished that he wasn't here to ruin a relationship but he had the feeling Gwen was seeing a different side of Bobby.

"Well, this would be a perfect time for some privacy." Aesop chirped. Percy swore that the guy was bipolar. One moment he was bitter and resentful, the next, he was happy and cheerful. He snapped his fingers and a tornado of paper surrounded everyone besides Percy. With a wave of his hand, the tornado flew deeper in the library.

"Now that we're away from the heavy influence of the awful Romans, we Greeks can talk peacefully."

Percy stared at Aesop. Greek? Was that who he was? He remembered how hated the Greeks were back at camp. "Greek?"

Aesop rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you haven't figured that out yet. Didn't you see the signs? You address the gods by their true names, spoke-well cursed in Ancient Greek, you fought differently, even you didn't want to take a life and you read my shirt which is written in Ancient Greek. Very un-Roman."

"How do you know that?" Percy couldn't deny the feeling of relief. It made sense, the way Aesop said it. It was like a piece of the puzzle of figuring out who he is had been added.

"My mother was Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. Hera resurrected me for the sole purpose of keeping your and that Roman's memory."

"Y-You have my memory?" Percy was shocked and excited.

Aesop smiled slyly. "Hera wanted me to keep it until you earned it on your own, but that subplot was so boring and I won't be here for long without a body."

Realization dawned on Percy. "That's why you want my curse. You're Fading."

Aesop winced when the words were spoken. "I am, even with Hera's power. The damn mortals and their lack of creativity. I use to inspire great epics and tales. Now I'm used a teaching method for ignorant kids who don't even follow my advice!"

He felt a twinge of sympathy for the guy. He started out great and ended up underground, almost forgotten.

"What would my curse do for you?" Percy watched a fountain pen start writing on a blank piece of paper. Aesop looked at it and shook it head, crumpling the paper.

"The Curse of Achilles doesn't just give fighting prowess. It almost guarantees a life. I don't want to fade. That would mean no more fantastic authors like J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. Almost all of the stories now are about stupid vampires. I hate it!" He grabbed a book and threw it against the wall where it exploded in a flurry of torn paper.

Percy felt that the kid wasn't telling him something. The back of his neck tingled in warning.

"I can see in your features I'm not convincing you enough. How about a trade?"

"Go on."

Aesop picked up a book on his pile. It was a sea-green. It looked like it hadn't been open. He opened it and the pages spewed black smoke for a moment. He nodded to himself and placed a quill in the page before closing it. "This is your memory. Everything from your first time riding a bike to the day Hera took you."

A book. Great, I actually have to read this time. Aesop continued. "Just place the bookmark anywhere and the memory will return."

Percy looked at the book warily. "What's the catch?"

"The book will not be destroyed. If this falls into the wrong hands, they could control you with any means."

"So if I give you my curse, you'll give me my memory, free of charge?" This deal sounded too good to be true. His memory, for a stupid curse? The idea was incredibly tempting. He could figure out who the blonde was and where he came from.

His instinct reminded him not to trust ghosts. At first they seemed good, but ended up being bad for selfish reasons. He studied Aesop with narrowed eyes. He remembered Nico telling him one time that ghosts would do anything to be back in the mortal world.

Was it worth it? His memory will return in time, so why hurry? This curse was far more useful than a book full of memories. Memories wouldn't help him survive again Gaea and the Romans.

Percy also acknowledged the fact he craved to know who the blonde girl was and his relationship with her. He was head over heels in love with a girl he didn't even know yet. Even though she probably didn't know it. The girl had heavy influence over him. A part of him told him that the girl wouldn't be happy if she knew this.

He never felt this conflicted before. The curse had saved his life numerous times so far, but the memories might provide information how to keep surviving and possibly help his relations with First Legion even though he was Greek.

In the end, Percy decided. "Deal. I'll give you my curse in exchange for my memories. On one condition."

Aesop smiled like he won the lottery.


The paper tornado returned with his friends intact.

"I hope you succeed in filling your duty, Percy Jackson. I look forward to how your story ends."

Todd looked at Percy curiously, noting the book in his possession. "What did you do?"

"Something I hope that won't backfire in my face. Remember, your part of the deal, Aesop."

Aesop nodded eagerly. "Of course. An author is a person of his words. The next time you wake up, you'll be in Gila Claw."

Aesop snapped his fingers and another paper tornado surrounded them, creating a deafening wall of paper.

Though the papers and books, Percy could've sworn that he saw Aesop smile mischievously, his form more solid than when they arrived. "Your story will be very interesting, Percy Jackson. I do love tragedies."


Blah, blah blah. I've been gone for two months. *inserts useless excuses here* School, life, lack of muses. The whole piece of cake. (Why I mention cake because my birthday was on the twenth-seventh of September. I can use magic in the Muggle world now!)

You can thank The Son of Neptune for the completion of this chapter. I had to wait until the twentieth to get my copy. (signed and limited edition. It's so beautiful.) It was uber hard not to read the spoilers. But i did it. Absolutely loved the story. Though i couldn't help but notice the similarities between my story and TSON (though, what author of any TSON-esque fiction wouldn't compare?) I was kind of surprised this story had commonalities with TSON. (Though this is just me.)

NaNoWriMo is coming up. And for those of you who don't know what it is. Basically, you write a 50,000 word novel in one month. This year, I decided on doing the sequel to this fanfic. Second Legion. A summary and crappy cover are available on the official NaNoWriMo site. (Google it or go to my profile. Links are there.) My username is InsomniacDreamer0515. Feel free to add me. I'm also on the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program. (Same username). As I'm working on the sequel, I'll put up little excerpts to tease you guys.

That also means there might not be another chapter until December/January. (Only three more chapters to go!)

The reviews please me and it seems very few of you like Bobby. Just tolerate him through three more chapters and he won't appear for a while.

So, how was this chapter? Good, bad, somewhat decent? Did you expect Aesop, or like him? Tell me in a review! (Currently, this chapter is un-Beta'd since my Beta went AWOL on me at the moment. So I apologize for any grammar/sentence issues)

Reviewer Question: What did you think of The Son of Neptune? or have you read Aesop's fables and can list the ones I used?

I wished Rick would've written at least one more chapter...now it's another year until The Mark of Athena comes out. He better provide a LOT of Percabeth...

Remember, reviews makes lovely presents for my inbox!

PPS: I haz a twitter now. Add me and nag me about stuff and updates. (Link in profile.)

-The Scribe