Dreams.

Why dreams?

Anything but dreams.

I chased a mouse back and forth. I was on the tail of the mouse.

Then I was on a roof, looking down on a giant about to take down what looked like Reyna. I looked up at Nico, who was beside me. He looked down at me, surprised that I was there. He kneeled, after making sure that the satyr wasn't watching.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, petting my fur. His fur was a bit wet, and darker than usual. I looked a bit askance at him, but said nothing.

"Is that Reyna?" I asked. "Looking at the giant?"

"Yeah... that'd be Orion." He said grimly.

"The giant with mechanical eyes? Isn't he a constellation?" I asked, awed that a giant would come down from the stars just to kill Reyna. She must be an important person.

Nico looked at me. "You're glowing." He noted. "Are you really my kitty, Hazel?"

I purred and rubbed against his legs. "As real as that car that that person just flung at the giant." I reassured my human.

Nico smiled - actually smiled. I made as if to get into his lap, but my legs pulled me back. Nico shielded his blue eyes, and then everything was white, and disappeared.

I slept.

No lie.

I slept through half of the trip.

According to Leo, we had just been whopped around by some crazy sea goddess who made a living out of trading cards and beheading giants. He was in a bad mood, and I mirrored it sometimes, scratching the walls and developing a weird dislike for Yoshi in Mario Kart. I felt something in my soul stir. It wasn't something I had felt before, but I knew it was there.

Leo scratched his yellow fur. "So, Katty... can I run something by you?"

I knew something was going on immediately, so I got into his lap and looked up at him trustingly.

"So..." He began a bit awkwardly, "I have a plan about how to die."

"MMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" I screamed and leaped away from him.

"Katty... don't worry. If you do your part, I'll revive." He said, which wasn't exactly comforting. "You see, in the build of the ship, I'm recreating Festus, the dragon."

"MEEEWWWW?"

"Yes, Festus was a dragon. Happy the Dragon."

"Meeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

"Well, the thing is, when/if Gaea rises, we pick her up in Festus, I take her to the skies, you scratch her, I get set on fire, we blast her apart, I die, you or Festus inject me with that life-healing cure thing that they're getting, and we set off to Calypso."

I stared at him. "Of course, I have to check with Apollo first, but do I have your agreement for the Ultimate Non-Death Plan?" Leo finished.

I bobbed my head. Leo grinned, satisfied, and got up to leave.

That's when all Hades broke loose.

The sea blew the ship the slightest bit off our off-course, and a skeleton rose from the floor, only to fall again. I growled, feeling the thing inside my soul conquering myself. I grew in size and my growl grew louder. Leo took one glance at me and screamed, running from the cabin. I walked after him, and my sight cleared... I didn't know it was muddy. I saw Leo's head of dark fur running up the steps. I went for the steps, my strides covering triple the distance his leaps did. I went up to the deck, and Piper screamed. Only then did I looked down at myself and see that I was double and triple my regular size. Darkness radiated around me. I roared, and the wind blew away. The temperature dropped to make freezing look tame, but I didn't even notice.

Skeletons climbed up from the sea, and darkness covered the ship. Buford the table, who never stayed still long enough for me to jump on him and go to sleep, now had a Mini-Hedge on it, who was silent.

It was deathly silent. Not even the sea roared in challenge. I scanned the group, waiting for a reaction, and got none.

Then a dark wind went over the whole group, and I doubled my size, yelling in a challenge. No one responded. I turned to the door and passed through the shadows, walking through the closed door that was way too small for me anyway. I curled up in Frank's cabin, which was the only one which was big enough for me, and passed into a deep sleep.