She blinked, taken off guard. "Gaea?"

He read her lips and nodded, gesturing to the world around them. "Yes. Gaea," Then he took a step forward. "I know how you feel, really I do. Being kicked out of your home, and rejected by your own family. Having your sister taken away from you, I know how that feels too."

What the hell is this guy getting at? Connor wondered, removing one of his earplugs. They didn't have much time; they had to hurry if they wanted to save Eirene. But he was also slightly curious, because it sounded like Andrew was revealing a bit of his past, and Connor wondered if it was true.

Euryale was watching him with curious eyes. He continued. "But capturing and killing demigods for sport is not going to get your sister back, or your place with your family back." He swallowed, because Euryale was beginning to bare her teeth at him. "Gaea is trying to overthrow the gods, she's trying to kill them and place the giants as the new supreme rulers of Olympus."

"All the better if she kills them!" Euryale screamed, her snakes coming alive. "They've nothing to secure our loyalty!"

"But don't you see?!"Andrew was also screaming. "The best revenge for Medusa is getting her back; Alive, in one piece. Don't you want your sister back?!" He yelled. "If you help overthrow Gaea and the giants, don't you think the gods would be grateful to you? They'll see your efforts, and award you and your sister. You'll no longer be the laughing stock of Olympus. You'll be accepted, and if you asked, they would bring Medusa back. They would revive your sister." He emphasized the last words, trying to hit her where he knew it hurt.

"They…they…would revive…my sister?" She uttered. Andrew nodded, taking another step forward. Euryale lowered her hands, her snakes calming down. "We would be accepted back into Olympus?"

"Yes, yes, I'm certain. Say all you want about the gods, but they reward those who help them." He gestured for Connor to speak up.

"It's true. You know it is. If you put your effort into over-powering Gaea, then you'll earn the respect back of the gods. We're on your side in this. We're trying to defeat Gaea." He lowered his weapons, "So please…let us go."

Their words seemed to be having an effect on her, because her stance was no longer threatening and both her arms were at her side. "She all we ever wanted." Tears were coming to her eyes. "To be us three sisters again,"

And she opened her arms and gestured to the door, letting them through.

Around the same time they ran out of the door, Eirene had also managed to escape Stheno's room. She ran into them, relieved to see them alive even though she already suspected they were. Stheno was high on her heel, and was outraged to find Andrew and Connor still alive.

"Euryale! I thought you screamed at them already!"

"I did! But…it would not be wise to kill them, Stheno. They are not our enemies."

Stheno looked dumbfounded. "What are you talking about? It doesn't matter if they are! We were given strict orders."

"Forget the orders! We shouldn't be wasting our time with the demigods when we have bigger fish to fry." She held her sister by the shoulders. "We could bring back Medusa, Stheno."

Stheno looked accusingly at Andrew and Connor. "Alright, which one of you is the child of Aphrodite? Which one of you charmspoke her?"

"No, Stheno, just listen! We could…we could gain our respect back on Olympus. We could get our sister back. If we just refocused our anger on Gaea, not on the gods,"

"We'd better try escaping while they're arguing." Connor whispered.

Though, Stheno heard him.

"You're going nowhere!" She hissed and her eyes flashed, and she swung her hand out, sending all three of them flying.

"Stop!" Euryale grabbed at her sister, and then yelled at the demigods: "Run! I'll explain to her later."

Eirene bolted for the doors, hoping the other two weren't hurt and would follow. She vaguely hurt the two sisters arguing, and wondered what Euryale was talking about. Had she had a change of heart? And if so, why?

Eirene briefly looked back and saw that Andrew and Connor were following behind, seemingly unscathed. She heard the two sisters still arguing as she burst through the doors and kept on running, ignoring the odds stares from passersby as the trio continued to run, and run and run until they had completely lost sight of the store and most of the street. Connor knocked into her when she abruptly stopped, and he stooped to catch his breath. She assumed all their running was due to adrenaline and fear the gorgons would come after them.

She waited until the boys caught their breath before asking, "Do you think we've escaped them?"

There was a bench nearby, and Connor went over to it. "Yeah, I think so. Shit, Andrew; that was fast thinking. You saved our butts."

"What? What did you do?" Eirene asked, fanning her face. Andrew didn't look at her and just shook his head.

"It was nothing…I just…told them…told them…"He fell to one knee, holding his chest as his face grew sweatier and paler. He looked around for a trashcan, then rushed to it and began to puke.

Connor looked away, trying to hide his disgust. "Holy Hephaestus, Andrew. Get it together."

Andrew was shivering, his face beaded with sweat. He looked a lot like he did last night, and Eirene started to walk towards him. He saw her from the corner of his eye and held up his hand. "Stay the bloody hell away from me."

She retreated, slightly hurt. She turned away as he threw up again, and went to fetch him a bottle of water. When she came back, he was wiping at his face with his shirt. She offered him the bottle and he took it sheepishly.

"I'm sorry." He sounded desperate.

"Don't be." She responded.

"I'm pathetic."

"You aren't."

He looked at her, briefly and only for a second, and then looked away. He took a swing from the bottle, and then spit the water back in the trash. His face was flushed, and he gave the bottle back to Eirene, avoiding eye contact. "Thank you."

She nodded, and they both walked back to Connor. He grimaced at Andrew.

"Shit. You look like Hades. Are you okay?"

"I feel splendid," He commented sarcastically, wiping sweat off his brow once again. "Let's get going. The stop at Frilly-R-Us took two hours and knocked us off our schedule. We're going to have to move faster."

Connor ran his hands through his hair with curiosity, and then smiled. "Hey, on the bright side: We look like walking Pantene commercials; looks like they really did shampoo and condition our hair."

After Andrew was feeling better, and several steps later, Eirene decided to bring up conversation.

"So what did you say that convinced Euryale not to attack?"

"Nothing important," Andrew still refused to make eye contact with her. He had his back turned, and felt Connor boring daggers at him.

Connor smacked Andrew's back playfully. "Don't be humble now, you cocky bastard." He smiled at Eirene. "Andrew here told Euryale a little story about how the real enemy is Gaea, not us. And if she ever wants a place back on Olympus then she'd better start fighting for the gods instead of against them." He threw Andrew a look, once again wondering whether the story he'd told Euryale about being kicked out and rejected by your family was true. Though, he could have just said anything to try and save them.

Eirene raised her brow at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yup! Who knew all the gorgons secretly desired was a family?"

She looked down. "Well, isn't that what we all want? A family?"

Andrew looked at her, and something in his eyes changed. She averted her eyes, embarrassed. "Or maybe it's just me."

"No, no it's not." He put his head in his hand. "I…I told her that if she fought for the gods and helped them win this war against Gaea, then the gods might give her Medusa back. And they might accept her and her sisters back in Olympus."

"That was nice of you."

He gave her a strange look. "No it wasn't. I downright lied to her, said all the things I had to so she wouldn't kill us. I have no idea if the gods would accept them or not. The gods do what they want to do, not what their supposed to do."

That stuck with Eirene, and she thought over it for awhile. It made her think of, and question Zeus. It made her wonder if her life was a want, or a necessity. Connor pulled at her cheeks and brought her out of her reverie.

"Hey, snap out of it. You've got that serious face on. Let's not lose focus of the quest."

So they travelled on, and Eirene instead kept her eyes peeled for any suspicious looking persons, or more precisely, Nicholas. She fondled her fingers, missing the pressure the ring applied there. Oh. The things she would do to Nick when she found him…

Connor noticed her playing with her fingers and guessed what she was thinking."Where did you find that ring, anyways?" Connor asked her.

She racked her brain for a version she could tell him that wouldn't require too many questions. "I stole it."

"Pardon?"

She smiled sheepishly. "I stole it from a store."

"Though, it wasn't a normal store. It was a store for people like us. I assume it was owned by a child of Hephaestus. It was a while ago, and the name and location escapes me. I just entered a jewelry store one day and wondered into the backroom, where I saw him demonstrating the weapon to his godly customers. And then when he wasn't looking, I nicked it."

Connor was smiling so much. "You nicked it?"

"I was very small then, I'm sure no one saw me."

He put his arm around her, still smiling. "We're going to be very good friends, you and I." She laughed, though noticed that Andrew was giving her an amused look. She tried to ignore it, because something in her told her he knew she was lying. She forced her eyes elsewhere and they landed on a boy.

A boy with brown hair.

And green eyes.