a.n. Who knows what goes here? REVIEW PLEASE! I would enjoy it immensely. I didn't expect to get so many reviews so fast! Thanks to all of you who did! Okay, how about 22 reviews until the next chapter. Cuz that's a cool number. =P

"Avery?" Josh and I stared wide-eyed at her as she gave Oliver his dagger back.

"Yes?" she asked innocently, as if it were totally normal to slice open a giant six-armed man like a thanksgiving turkey. Although, considering just how mysterious Avery seemed right at that moment, it was possible she did that daily. Kind of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, only this wasn't Sunnydale.

"'Yes'? 'Yes'?" My voice got higher. "You chop up a G...Gigi..."

"Gegenees," corrected Josh. Stupid son of Athena.

"Whatever!" I sighed. "You chop up a giant, out of no where, and all you can say is 'yes'?" I gaped at her in awe.

"It can't be as weird as everything you've heard these past couple of days," she said with a shrug. She offered her hand to Oliver and hoisted him up with a groan.

"Thanks," he said coughing.

"No problem," she said with a grin. She was one of those people who always smiled, even after getting attacked. At least that's what I was thinking until she looked at the little pitiful pile of dust, which was all that was left of our dear friend the Gene...the Giant. The look on her face wasn't mad, exactly. More like how-dare-you-touch-my-sister. For a moment, she looked like she could have been a princess in another life, with her hair all curly and her skirt flowing in the breeze, and that look of disdain on her face.

She rushed over to Kylie and patted her cheek, looking worried when the spastic seven year old did stir.

"She's out cold," said Josh. Avery picked her up bridal style and propped her up against a tree.

"She saw, didn't she?"

"Saw what?" I asked, my head cocked to the side.

Avery looked at me, her navy eyes wide. "The Gegenees Giant. She saw him. I thought I was doing so well..."

Oliver and Josh had an identical look of confusion on their faces. Not that I can say anything. I had lost track a long time ago. My face probably looked like she was speaking Mandarin or something.

"W—what?" asked Oliver.

"Tori," Avery started. "I'm like you, I can see through the Mist...I've been able too since I was really young. We lived in California, which is about as monster infested as a place can get. After the school I went to was sure I was insane after I attacked out principal, who was totally half snake, we had to move."

"Okay..." I said slowly. "And this applies...how?"

"These things, that we can do, they're genetic, usually. But I'm the only one in my family who can see these...things." She looked up at me, then at Josh, and finally at Oliver. Her eyes rested on him for a split second, and then she looked at her unconscious little sister. "I went to all of the family reunions, met all of the cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews. Everyone. And believe me, Cousin Earl does not have the best manners. And I was totally alone. Then mom had Kylie..."

"You think she can see through the Mist too?" I asked.

"I know, she was pointing at him. She noticed even before I did." Avery shook her head. "Ever since she was born, I managed to pass everything off as some illness, or genetic disorder, or something. Do you think I could get her to believe it was a dream?"

"What kind of seven year old dreams up a six handed giant?" asked Oliver. I glared at him. "What? All I'm saying is that I would go with the good old magic mushrooms excuse."

Kylie started to move a bit. Then, she opened her eyes and stood up so fast I thought she was going to get whiplash. Good old Kylie.

"Sister!" asked shouted and ran over to Avery. Instead of tackling her, like she would normally do, she started hugging her knees. "Big man! He was like, this tall!" she exclaimed spreading her hands as far apart as they would go, which wasn't even my height, but we all got the point. "And he had arms everywhere!" Kylie started waving her arms around is circular motions.

"Really?" asked Avery, and she sounded amazed. "Where is he?"

Kylie looked around, even scrambling up onto a rock to get a better view, because she could have missed the gigantic man with the multiple limbs. "He left..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said her sister, sounding truly upset, like she had wanted to see him. Even though she had, we all had. And I surely didn't feel like looking at his teeth again.

"Come on, sweetie, let's get back to the picnic. And don't run off like that again, okay?"

"But he told me I could be big!"Once again she stretched her arms as far as they could go.

"But being small is a good thing."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, very good."

"Okay!" And just like that Kylie started skipping of toward the herd of picnic tables. I was sure she would never follow a guy into the woods again, which was good. She raced up to the young woman with the child that Avery had been sitting next to. "Big man! He was like, this tall!" she started again, and I smiled.

Avery sighed and went to sit down on a bench out of the way of everything. Oliver looked around and ran off, only to come back a few minutes later carrying two ice cream cones. I shook my head. So that's why he had been defending her this morning.

"What's cousin Olsen doing?" asked Kylie, tugging on my shirt.

It took me a minute to realize she was talking about Oliver, because we hadn't told her anything yet, and I wasn't sure if we were going to,

"He's going to talk to your sister."

"Let's watch!" she said, clapping with glee. She raced off and hid behind a clump of bushes.

"Kylie," I hissed. "Get back here!" but I wasn't trying very hard. Because, let's face it. He was my brother. This was obviously my business, so I had a perfect right to hide behind bushes and—not eavesdrop—listen in on their conversation. He was clearly just giving me an opportunity to practice my spy skills.

"Ice cream?" he asked, grinning.

Avery jerked herself away from whatever she was thinking about and looked at the ice cream cone he was offering out to her. She grinned. "Mint chocolate chip?" she asked, shaking her head and taking it from him.

"Well, what can I say? I heard it was your favorite." Oliver sat down on the bench next to her.

"Oh! That was me!" said Kylie, rather loudly in fact. I don't think she got the "spy skills" gene.

I shushed her.

"So what are you thinking about?" asked Oliver, tearing the paper wrapper off of his ice cream cone. I don't know why he always does that.

"About lying to Kylie 24/7. I doubt I can pass that guy hitting her over the head as an illness."

Kylie knit her eyebrows. "She's lying to me? So she isn't getting me a doll for my birthday?"

I shushed her. Again.

"Why do you have to lie to her? Can't you just, you know, tell her about everything? Kylie doesn't seem like she would think we're all insane," suggested Oliver. "Who told you?"

Avery looked at him. "Daedalus."

Oliver looked really confused? "Really? But he's dead..."

Avery rolled her eyes. "It's not like I had to learn of everything lately. I knew this stuff before you did. I found out when I was 9. I fell into one of the openings of his labyrinth. There was this light on the floor...and it lead me to his workshop...he told me everything. He thought I was smart for finding my way in. I guess he wanted to reward me with the answers I wanted." She looked down at her ice cream. "Sometimes I think it was more of a curse."

Oliver sat on his side of the bench and looked at her while she talked, and then he leaned back and looked at the surrounding picnic. "It's hard to think anyone ever lives normal lives after a while."

Avery nodded. Then she smiled sadly. "But it's also hard to forget what it was like before this whole mess. I didn't have to hide anything from Kylie, or from Avril, although sometimes I think she's a monster herself..." she muttered, then she looked apologetically at Oliver. "Sorry, that was mean."

"And yet not too hard to believe," said Oliver, smiling. That's when he noticed Avery looking at him. "What?"

She looked at her feet, not like she was embarrassed, more like she was trying to do something she was scared to do. "Look, Oliver..." her voice faded a bit. She took a deep breath and started again. "My life is complicated enough without...this..." she said, looking straight into Oliver's eyes. "So thanks," she motioned to the ice cream. "But no thanks." She stood up and walked back over to her family. Oliver just there and shook his head.

Kylie looked confused. "Who the heck is Oliver?" she asked. I hid a giggle and shrugged.

That's when I felt this breeze blow b, but it was one of those lazy ones. It was fast and strong and my hair blew into my face. Kylie yelped and laughed while she flailed her hands around her head. So, no, it wasn't lazy. It was...urgent. And worried. I shivered.

Oliver felt it too. His head jerked up, and he looked around at the sky, like he expected clouds to start swirling and form a tornado, even though it was perfectly sunny out side.

"Oliver!" shouted Josh, forgetting to use his cover name. "Did you feel that?"

Oliver nodded. "What was it?"

Avery looked over at Josh and Oliver, and saw us hiding behind the bushes. She turned red, but her attention then turned back to the boys.

"It was Ashlee," said Josh, and he sounded worried. Just like the wind. "She's gone."

So there it is! How did you like it? I'm going to do a little experiment. When you review, tell me what you want to happen, your favorite character, and all of that goodness. Let's see what comes up!

~Banana Smoothie