You would have thought that with the week off, I'd have more time for updates.

More time, yes. More ideas, no…

Guys, I feel really bad! You guys are so awesome and I've been a mean writer this week and barely updated at all! I blame my friend for not updating Tuesday night (ALKIE, IF YOU'RE READING THIS- FIND YOUR GODDAMN KEYS!) Long story short, my friend has lost his keys and took his dad's keys instead, to lock the house on his way out. He got the bus to where I live (and got lost), but when I asked him if he was getting the bus home at some point, he said that his dad was picking him up. But he has his dad's car keys. That wasn't going to happen… Alkie left about quarter past nine that night, so I couldn't sit and update and leave him sat there twiddling his thumbs.

Also, sorry for not updating last night, but I was online Christmas shopping (my family are the most awkward people to buy for…)

And special thanks to Random Person with No Name for helping me understand more about autism- THANK YOU RANDOM PERSON!

Um… are there any guest reviews I'm forgetting to reply to? If there is, you should know by now to shout at me.

"Alvie, stop fidgeting and go to sleep." Max chucked a marshmallow at Alvie's head. Alvie sat up and looked at him. "It was a marshmallow, bro. I didn't throw a tree." Max was keeping watch, poking at the embers of their camp fire with a stick. The pegasi tied to the trees were whinnying softly in their sleep, their heads tucked under their wings. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Go to sleep then."

"I can't." Max's expression softened and he shifted closer to Alvie, putting a warm around his shoulders.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Alvie nodded, watching the last sparks float into the air, disappearing with soft curls of smoke. Max waved a hand in Alvie's face. "Hellooo. Earth to baby brother." Alvie glanced at him and Max smiled reassuringly. "Sup, dude?" Alvie shook his head and Max mocked holding him in a chokehold. "You're almost as awkward as Tobias sometimes, Al- what are you doing?" Alvie had picked up a stick and was rolling it between his hands, watching it intently. "Allllviiieeee…." Max called, shaking his brother gently to try and get his attention. "Don't freak out on me, bro."

Alvie dropped his stick half a minute later and returned to his sleeping bag. "Night, Alvie." Max sighed. His brother was cuckoo crazy, but he loved him.

"Night." Alvie mumbled. Max swore Alvie was asleep in seconds. He wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and was just out like a light.

Sleep consumed him faster than normal, but that wasn't his main worry. He was floating above the clearing and looking down at himself sleeping.

This was new.

He could see colours about his fellow questers, but not himself. He had no colours.

Elsie was red with sparks of yellow and pink. Alokia was a calm blue with streaks of golden yellow, like the summer sky. Max was a dark blue with tints of red flicking here and there.

Alvie had no idea what the colours meant or any idea as to why he could see himself sleeping on the leafy floor of the clearing.

He was still trying to figure out what was going on when everything blurred. It felt like he was falling, but horizontally, as if a strong wind were pushing him in a certain direction. Images, sounds and colours flashed past, mingling with each and creating an insane, disorientating mess about him.

As suddenly as it all started, it had stopped. He was standing in the Hades cabin back at Camp Half Blood. He glanced round. Crystal was here, with Madam perched on the end of her bed and watching her carefully.

"Stupid rules and stupid… ugh…" Crystal sat up and glared at the bird. "Stupid bird." Madam squawked at her, ruffling her feathers irritably. "Why'd he send me back here? I want to train so I can go on these stupid quests and- what are you looking at?" Madam had spotted Alvie, but when Crystal looked round, she frowned, her eyes passing right by him. "As I said," She muttered, returning her glare to her father's pet, "Stupid bird."

The scene whirled away again, but this time it was over quicker and he was standing on the porch of the Big House. Percy and Grover were bouncing a tennis ball to each other and talking about stuff in general. Annabeth, Louisa, Leo and Juniper were sat on or standing around the railing. Charlie was with them, sat at his mother's feet and watching the bright yellow tennis ball flying back and forth.

Nico walked up to them, rubbing at the back of his neck and looking exhausted and irritable.

"What's up, cuz?" Percy grinned, passing the ball to him. Nico snatched it out of the air.

"Crystal is as stubborn as her mom…"

"What's she done now?" Leo smiled.

"Oh, you know. She wants to do training, she wants her own weapon, she wants her own armour, she wants to go on the quest and she wants it now."

"She's just worried about Alvie." Juniper smiled. "They're so cute!" Annabeth and Percy stared at her blankly. "What?"

"Nico, please tell me Juniper isn't doing her… crazy, obsessive…" Percy trailed off.

"Fangirl thing." Annabeth finished for him.

"And I'm supposed to know because…?" Percy pulled a face at him and Nico retaliated by bouncing the ball off of Percy's head. They all laughed. Alvie sensed the air lightening around him, the curious tension lessening.

"Mama…" Charlie was frowning at Alvie, but he looked confused, as if unable to see something. "Whatsat?" Charlie pointed at Alvie. Alvie probably should have felt some panic, some of his own confusion, but he felt nothing, staring blankly at them all as they looked in his direction.

"There ain't nothin' there, Curls." Alvie raised his hands slightly and studied them. He could see himself.

His movement produced a frightened whimper from Charlie and he scrambled for his mother to pick him up.

Alvie studied them for a few seconds longer, clenching his fists. Charlie hid his face in his mother's shoulder. Everything morphed together around Alvie and he was being shaken awake by Max yelling at him.

"What is wrong with you?!" Max demanded. "You can't sleep and when you do, you won't bloody wake up!" Max glowered at him for a few seconds, before sighing and allowing relief to wash over him. "I thought you'd have one of your psychic attacks." He smiled warmly, ruffling Alvie's hair. He held out a breakfast bar to him. "We're leaving in ten, so chop chop, bro." Alvie nodded dutifully and scrambled to his feet, munching on his cereal bar as he willed his sleeping bag to roll up and neatly tuck itself into its bag. This gained him glares from the others, as they were all struggling to get their sleeping bags rolled up well enough to fit in the bags.

"Um… you can't just do that and leave us to struggle, Alvie." Elsie demanded, throwing her sleeping bag at him. Alvie gave another nod and stared at her sleeping bag.

In a minute, he had all four sleeping bags wrapped and settled nicely in their bags.

And he also had a nosebleed.

And Max fussing over him.

"No, it's fine. It always happen." Alvie mumbled, pulling tissues from his rucksack and stemming his nosebleed. Max didn't look convinced. "Uh… too much, um… psychic stuff… gives me nosebleeds…"

"Are you sure you'll be OK?" Alvie nodded. Max pressed a square of ambrosia in his hand- just in case.

They set out a few minutes later on the pegasi, Alvie's nosebleed clearing up shortly after leaving. His Pegasus was careful of not tipping him off and even stayed steady enough for Alvie to read without travel sickness.

He was reading, but some things didn't go in and he had to reread a few paragraphs. He was trying to figure out the colours and the whole flitting from place to place and seeing his own body asleep in the clearing.

Closing the book he was reading on his Kindle and opening the browser, he Googled 'colours around people'. Leo had upgraded his Kindle so he could get speedy internet wherever he went.

He was just about to open a page when an arrow whistled past Smoke's head. The Pegasus bucked and neighed in fear. Alvie wrapped one arm around the Pegasus's neck and held onto his Kindle tightly. Max yelled in protest and there was a whoosh of cold air, a bronze blur and then a startled yell, a yell that gradually quietened. Alvie looked round and saw a distant figure tumbling through the clouds, a bronze axe hurtling after him.

Elsie and Alokia summoned their bows and fired at the swarm of pegasi with various demons controlling the reigns. There was a wild iciness about the pegasi and they were constantly fighting their owners.

"Alvie, get away from them!" Max ordered, holding his last two axes. He was reluctant to throw them, having lost one already. If he threw anymore, he'd end up weaponless for the rest of the quest.

Smoke reacted before Alvie did, tucking in his wings and hurtling away from the thickest of their new enemy.

"We only want him!" An empousa shouted, pointing at Alvie.

"You ain't getting him!" Elsie shouted, firing at the empousa. The she-demon's Pegasus ducked and the arrow whistled harmlessly over her head. Alokia fired as well, but her arrow didn't hit either.

Alvie watched the carnage around him, arrows whizzing overhead, demons yelling battle cries and returning fire. Max guarded him as best he could, but that wasn't to last.

Tucking, his Kindle in his back, Alvie looked round and saw dark, deep, murky colours about the demons- blacks, greys and dirty browns.

Oh gods, this wasn't a good day…

Ugh, brain dead. I can't leave you guys without an update for three days, so here's this bit and I'll try and update tomorrow.