I hope this wasn't as much as a filler chapter as the last ones have been. Thank you for your patience as I laid my loyalties to my family! As always, tell me if I'm doing something wrong!

Ally

"Sorry? Who are you?" Ally asked, trying to keep her voice calm. Her mind calculated all the possibilities. A woman's voice, but that was all Ally knew about the entity in front of her.

Her eyes shifted to the sleeping figure of Carson, who hadn't even moved at the disruption of the silence. Ally figured the two daughters of Hecate hadn't either. They must've been really exhausted from the use of their powers. That, or they were all heavy sleepers.

"Oh, that is my fault, my dear! Shall we go someplace more comfortable?"

Before Ally could object that no, she was perfectly happy here surrounded by people who could fight if needed, when in a pink mass of fog she was suddenly transported to some godsforsaken land.

Upon landing, Ally almost collapsed from the impact. Her head felt like the pink fog had permanently altered her perception of things, and she couldn't see straight. Was she on a...porch? The white wood beneath her feet didn't feel real.

"Here now, sit here. It gives you such a nice view of the scenery!" the woman said, helping Ally on to what seemed to be a porch swing.

Ally clutched onto the armrests on the side, though sitting down did help her mind defog tremendously. The view was not Ally's first item of interest right now, as the lady was so concentrated on. She wanted to know where she was and who this entity was.

"Who are you?" Ally asked as her eyes started to clear up and see things as normal. The fog felt like it was almost gone by now, which Ally greatly appreciated.

She could now see that she was definitely on a porch connected to a seemingly enormous house. The house was surrounded by a few grand cottonwood trees with the stretch of fields beyond fields that reached until the sunset. The grass on the yard was neatly trimmed to perfection and a white picket fence encircled the property.

The woman laughed and sat down beside her on the porch swing. "My dear, do you even have to ask? I thought a daughter of Athena would be more observant."

Ally felt insult rise high in her chest. She hated it when people always automatically assumed that she knew what to do and knew everything just because she was a daughter of Athena. Though she hated to admit it, Carson had been right. Ally did have stupid moments sometimes.

Ally turned to the woman beside her, and was almost blown away by her breathtaking beauty.

Cascades of lightly curled dark red hair tumbled around her face and back with eyes just the right shade of light brown. No freckles covered her face, and her features gave off the feeling of elegance though she was wearing just a simple white sundress.

Ally had once read a book called Anne of Green Gables, and this woman gave off the impression that she was a older, perfect version of Anne. It made Ally jealous. She'd always wanted dark red hair, her own brown eyes to be that brown sugar color.

And that was how Ally deduced who this woman was. "Aphrodite?"

The woman smiled a perfect smile. "About time, dear!" she exclaimed, brushing a few fingers through her hair though the gesture was unneeded in Ally's opinion.

"Um, no offense, but why am I here and why did you bring me here?" Ally asked, desperate to get away from the goddess of love and beauty as soon as possible.

Aphrodite crossed her legs and straightened her dress. "Why, we're here to talk about you, of course! This is my home when I'm feeling the need to be a western girl married off to a rich farmer. It doesn't happen very often but it is your view of beautiful!"

Ally shook her head in disbelief, not really getting where Aphrodite was going with this. "Look. Yes, I've always admired the way you look right now. I do in fact really like this house. But all this," Ally said, pointing to the endless rows of crops, "I've never even thought of. It's never been in my wildest dreams! I don't know where you're getting all this!"

"Hmm. I was sure..." Aphrodite said in confusion, closing her eyes. "Oh, that makes sense. Standing too close when I transported us!" she said with finality.

Ally raised her eyebrows, still aching to get away though the porch swing was becoming very comfortable. And the sunset just looked so perfect right now through the trees...

Stop it, she told herself. Aphrodite is influencing your mind.

"Um, I'm afraid I don't understand," Ally told Aphrodite to take her mind off admiring the view.

Aphrodite laughed. "Oh, silly me and my mistakes. I accidentally caught the drift of Carson Williams' dream and it transported us here instead of what you wanted. But I'm here so it's all okay!" she said as if that should be actually true.

Ally didn't feel so sure. "So this is what Carson wants in a home? His beauty? Can't we like flash out or something?" Ally felt like she was invading his privacy by being here. She wouldn't want anyone to see what she saw.

"Oh, it's perfectly fine. He won't know that you were here! Would you like to see the back garden? It's absolutely gorgeous! Carson can really grow the most wonderful roses. And you should see the gazebo! And-"

"Can we just get to the point of why you decided to meet me?" Ally interrupted before Aphrodite could go on anymore and avoid the main topic.

Aphrodite's excited face fell, but she still managed to make it look attractive. "Yes, right. We'll do that another time," she said, but Ally sincerely hoped there wasn't another time, "We're actually here to talk about your love life!"

"Lovely," Ally said in a dull voice. She wondered if she should've taken the offer to look at Carson's garden after all. Ally didn't want to talk about her love life. There was nothing to talk about! She just wasn't interested right now.

But of course, Aphrodite was. "I know, isn't it! Especially when it concerns children of Athena. I don't know why, but your love lives are just so fun to make interesting! I think it's because your mother is the only maiden goddess with children, but I'll ponder that later. So tell me all about Erick's confrontation, dear Ally?"

Ally squeezed her eyes shut. "I don' t know what you're talking about," she tried playing dumb. She did know exactly what Aphrodite wanted to hear, but that didn't mean that Ally wanted to share.

"Oh, but you do! Wasn't it so romantic how he tried convincing you to run away with him to that rebel camp? But you didn't because of your quest and your own responsibilities..and oh, it's just so hopelessly romantic!" Aphrodite wailed, placing her dainty hands on her flawless face.

Ally rolled her eyes, but then stopped as she reconsidered what Aphrodite had just said. "Wait- rebel camp? There's a rebel camp?"

Aphrodite wasn't listening, however. "And then you have Carson who has absolutely no chance with you and he knows it! I mean, you are just so out of his league! But it's cute how dedicated he is to you, I'll admit. At least it adds to the drama. I can't wait until Erick finds out!"

"Aphrodite, can you please tell me more about this rebel camp?" Ally pressed, not really caring about what Aphrodite was rambling on about. Well, she did care that Aphrodite was being so mean to Carson and planning on creating drama, but now was not the time.

The goddess flipped her red hair over her shoulder. "And they told me that you were a smart daughter of Athena! I think it's pretty obvious. Rebel. Camp. See? It's self explanatory! But back to you, my darling," Aphrodite dismissed. "Maybe I should bring some Romans into this...No, they tend to be too uncooperative with my meddling."

Ally let out a frustrated sigh. She couldn't believe that Aphrodite was just freely talking about her life like it was some kind of a board game that she could easily change. "My lady, why don't you just let things like this happen naturally? Isn't that what love is all about?"

"Love does happen naturally, dearie," Aphrodite contradicted. "I just throw in obstacles that make it more interesting! Plus, no love is perfect," she stated, but then squinted at the sunset which was almost completely gone. "Oh my, how time has gone!"

Ally felt relieved but upset at the lack of information she'd gotten from Aphrodite. "Why can't you tell me more?" she asked, but the scene around her was already beginning to grow foggy.

Aphrodite was the only clear thing left. "Because it will add to the entertainment. You will have many more decisions to make in the future that will impact who you love. I hope you make the right decision. Tell Carson I said hi! Oh, and tell Aurora that Noah...Never mind that, actually. Goodbye now!"

And all at once everything disappeared, and Ally gasped as she woke up.

The stars were gone and so was the night. The sun, which was just beginning to rise, was already beating down on everything, making it at least in the low nineties just in the early morning.

Ally pushed herself up from the itchy cornstalks that had been woven into a bed. Around her, her quest mates had already packed up and were sitting in a circle by the concealed fire pit. The two daughters of Hecate had their hair up in ponytails and all three of them were dressed.

Sansa looked over at the rustle of sound coming from Ally. "Look, Alice is up guys," she pointed out. "You wouldn't wake up so we figured you were getting a visit from one of the gods."

Ally gave a weak smile and put her hair up in a ponytail like Sansa and Rory had done. She didn't know how Sansa had figured that out, but she decided not to question it. Instead, she tucked her knife in her pocket and stood up.

"Aphrodite sends her greetings to you, Carson," she stated, starting to walk down one of the rows of corn.

"Ooh, somebody got a visit from the love goddess," Rory said with a smirk, twirling her wand in one hand. "Get ready, girls and boy, 'cause it's gonna be a hot one today!"

Ryan

Seeing Alex ride in a plane was a hilarious, once in a lifetime episode.

The whole time she had clutched the armrests, cursing Ryan and generally all the gods (Which Ryan was sure did not help) and snapping at anyone who dared to speak to her.

Not to mention that as soon as they had gotten off the plane, Alex had collapsed on the cement and screamed, "Land! Sweet land! I'll never leave you again!"

The bruise on Ryan's right shoulder from pulling her away from the mortal people's stares and informing her that swimming in the ocean was technically counted as leaving land was totally worth it. He was pretty sure that the Rapid City Regional Airport would probably consider banning them again if they came back.

Especially if they discovered that they tended to attract monsters, which had been unusually quiet as of lately. Ryan felt both relieved and slightly wary of that fact. Two children of the Big Three traveling together should be being swarmed by monsters by now.

Ryan had taken the lead while Alex was busy recovering from flight and rented out a truck (Okay, so maybe not rented, more like borrowed without asking. But rented sounded so much more proper) with blue Wyoming license plates. He had to admit, for taking a random vehicle, he'd chosen a good one that might stand through a monster or two if they had to run it over.

As soon as they got seated in, Alex hit the air conditioner on high and lathered in front of it from the passenger seat. "I hope you know where you're going, because I did not just ride on that plane for nothing!" she warned, leaning the seat back and closing her eyes.

Ryan started the engine and began to navigate around the masses of other vehicles exiting and entering the parking lot. "Don't worry, I've got the entire map written out in my head. I know exactly what roads to take," he reassured.

It was true. Ryan loved his ability to understand coordinates and maps more than any other power he had inherited from Zeus. Flying was cool and all, but knowing where he was at all times and where to go would be a whole lot more helpful. He could fly around for hours and still be lost without that ability. The only time it was a little sketchy was when he was above the ocean, which really wasn't a problem if he had Alex around.

Ryan decided to concentrate on his driving. He wasn't going to lie, he was not an expert driver. He'd been taught how to drive and he'd even gotten his license, but that didn't mean Ryan was necessarily good at it. He hardly ever practiced since he could just travel by air.

He was half tempted to ask Alex if she wanted to drive, but then immediately vetoed the idea. For one, she was sleeping, and for two, Ryan seriously didn't want to imagine that scenario. He could only think of trying to give her directions while she was driving. Ryan wasn't sure that he would enjoy that too much.

The expanse of trees and hills was starting to get very old and Ryan began to miss Rapid City, where there was the comfort of tall building and busy traffic, and tons of other people.

Sure, there was lots of traffic out here on the scenic highways, but all this open space was making Ryan nervous. He felt like he was being watched from behind the trees.

Once, Ryan was sure that he saw a figure that was definitely not a bison, but couldn't seem to spot it again. He didn't know if he'd actually spotted a monster or if his imagination was running away from him.

He started to daze off into the trees and expanse of twisting highway again until Alex slapped him in the arm.

"You idiot! You just passed the sign! Were you not paying attention?" she yelled, pointing the area behind them.

Ryan hit the brakes, making the car behind him honk and angrily pass him. "Are you sure it was the turnoff or just an advertisement?" he asked, not wanting to back up and turn around unless he had to.

Alex irritably hit the dashboard of the truck. "Yes I'm sure! Now turn around, gods damnit!"

"Okay, okay! Turning around! But I hope you know what you're talking about," Ryan muttered as he checked for traffic and made a sharp turn around in the middle of the highway.

Alex huffed. "I always know what I'm talking about. And anyways, if it's not the right turnoff, we can just ask them for directions," she told him, putting her backpack on her lap.

"We are not asking for directions," Ryan grumbled, "when I'm a human GPS!"

Alex crossed her arms. "Boys and their pride issues! Have you ever once thought that maybe you might not always have complete control over your powers?"

Ryan gave her a side glare. "No, actually, I haven't. I'm pretty confident of myself in that way. I can get the job done when needed. Is this the turn?"

"Yes. And I mean both ways. Like your powers are too much for you to handle too. Haven't you ever felt like that? Sometimes...it scares me how much damage I can do," Alex confessed, staring out the window as Ryan turned up the hill.

He felt awkward at Alex's confession. His pride told him not to admit to the things he'd done with his powers, that he was in complete control, but his human side told him to. With a split second decision, Ryan agreed. "It scares me too. When I arrived at camp...that's when I discovered-" he cut himself off.

Ryan didn't want to think about what his electrical powers had done. He felt damaged and guilty every time he thought about that incident. The Apollo boy- he'd just been trying to help. And Ryan had repaid him with...

Maybe that was the reason Ryan was so careful around Erick. He was another son of Apollo who was his friend, no matter how much silent rivalry they felt for each other. Ryan didn't want to get in fight with him because he was afraid he'd get out of control, but this time it wouldn't be an accident while trying to kill a monster.

"Ry, we should go on that zip-line and see how pathetic it is after your flying power," Alex said with amusement, pointing at some strung up cables that tourists were sliding down on a bench. "I mean, if we can come back after this quest is over, if that's all right with you."

Ryan almost hit the brakes again. Was Alex suggesting that they come back together after the quest was over? Did she mean just them two or other people too? Of course it was okay with him! But he didn't want to admit that, that would be mortifying.

"Gotta survive the quest first, then we'll see about traveling to make fun of ridiculous things tourists do," he said in a business voice, proud of how smoothly he pulled that off.

He pulled over on the side, seeing that the parking lot was already full. Ryan hoped that Alex wouldn't decide to point out that she was in fact right about the location of the cave, but she did, of course.

"Told you I knew what I was talking about," she smugly said, walking in a faster pace up the hill.

Ryan ran after her, finally catching up as they stepped onto the first of many sets of wooden stairs that led to the visitor center at the top.

But then, someone screamed. Ryan automatically looked back just as something came ramming into the right side of the stairwell. The wood shuddered and Alex lost her footing, falling back onto Ryan.

Ryan caught just enough of a glance of it to know that it was what he had been seeing in the trees this whole time. It wasn't a bison, it was a demonic bull of some sort, with fiery red eyes and thick, long horns that stuck out several feet on each side.

Alex screamed. "Ryan, it's the Cretan Bull!"

"I don't care about its name, how do we kill it?" he yelled back as they scrambled off the stairs and into the trees. They both knew that there was no sense into bringing it into a group of tourists, and neither of them could afford to depend on their translations of what was happening through the mist.

Alex's face turned white. "I don't know, ask Theseus!"

Ryan stopped across from Alex, just realizing that they'd lost the bull. "Well, I guess we're going to the Underworld whether we win or not," Ryan said dryly, his senses working overdrive as he looked for the bull. "I guess we'll ask him if we don't!"

And then, Ryan saw the bull.

And its red eyes were trained right on the daughter of Poseidon.