Hello again! And welcome back for another chapter! OMG Thank you so much for the reviews guys! You have no idea how relieved I am right now actually! I was kinda having a mini meltdown like "it's okay, just keep writing, it's fine as it is-it's not fine, I'm messing up!" but it looks like you're still enjoying it! I guess I'm just freaking out and finding it hard because this fic just stretches my ability a little, even from the start, so I'm not used to consistently writing like this. And I'm practically at the dreaded midpoint, a dark and scary sea where stories go to die! This is still to fun to let that happen though, so fear not! Anyway, let me not waste more time!

CHAPTER 16: THE GHOST AND THE DEVIL IN: STARBUCKS? (Biko's journal)

"Nico di Angelo?" I asked. "You're… you're a demigod aren't you?"

"Of course he is!" Zodiac yelled. "Guys, we're in Ohio! We've crossed hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye! What the heck was that?!"

"Can't you also teleport?" Ludmila asked. "Why are you getting so worked up?"

"It's not the same thing! I can only teleport short distances, and I have to see where I'm going to teleport there. But this guy… he moved us all across the whole country. No matter how hard I tried, I could never do something like that!" Nico didn't seem to care about Zodiac's panic. Instead, he was sizing up the crowd ahead of us. If we had landed just fifty metres to our right, we would have popped up right in the middle of a crowd of hundreds. That would have thrown a spin on the event. Actually….

"What's happening here anyway?" I asked.

"Can't you tell? It's one of those big evangelical rallies. You know, where 'millions' come to hear the word of God."

"Or the word of whoever they're chucking their money at," Zodiac smirked. I looked at the congested streets and the stage where the man was preaching, or whatever passed for preaching in this case.

He looked more like a movie star than a preacher, with blonde, windswept hair, and dazzling blue eyes. He was too far away for me to make him out properly, but I could see he was wearing a red blazer and cream coloured slacks. There was something gold and dazzlingly bright around his neck, some kind of necklace or jewellery.

"People look at me and tell me that there's no more hope in this world," he said, his voice magnified across the square by massive red white and blue speakers. "Why, just the other day, a close friend of mine came to me and said 'Jordan, Jordan my man, how can you tell me to believe in a God that would allow this country to become such a chaotic place? How can you tell me to put my faith in a figure that has created all of this evil as well as the good? How can you tell me that prayer and faith, and The Word is all we need in these chaotic times, where what we once held as sacred has been flipped on its head? How can we believe that God allowed America to be filled with such moral bankruptcy?!'"

As a small, almost silent wave of cheers spread, I could tell he was about to reach his bottom line. He knew it, the crowd knew it, and he knew that the crowd knew it. He paused at this moment, his eyes roving through the crowd as he gripped the sides of the podium that held his microphone, leaning forward as if he was about to whisper a great secret to them. Even from where I stood, I could tell he was looking in the eyes of each and every single person. Or at least, he made it look like that was what he was doing.

"Well, we can't stay here," Nico said, glaring at the guy. "Come on, let's find our way down." After everybody had made it to the nearest door, they must have realised I wasn't going with them.

"Biko, come on," Ludmila said, "before somebody spots us."

"I'll join you in a sec," I said. "I just wanna finish hearing what this guy has to say."

"With how loud he is," Zodiac said, "we can probably hear him across town." They didn't wait for me though, instead heading for the door and disappearing behind it as they walked downstairs. I turned my focus back to the speaker just as he started talking again.

"So I turned to my friend, and I told him, 'don't you understand? It's exactly during times like these that God shines the most! It's when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death that God reveals his true nature to us! His kind, forgiving, and ever merciful nature. Because our God is not a god of despair and defeat, but one of opportunities! In this land of opportunities, carved through oppression to create freedom, The Lord has given us the greatest opportunity ever known to mankind to spread the word of God across the world!"

He was practically roaring the words at us know. It was like somebody had replaced his vocal chords with a speaker. Even from where I was stood, I could feel the energy radiating off of him, reflecting off of the crowd, bouncing around and exciting everybody. His face was hard to make out, but I could see a big smile spreading from cheek to cheek. A warm, genuine smile. His eyes were a little watery, and he couldn't keep the glee out his face. It was like he was talking about his favourite band of all time, and the crowd was his best friend. Honestly, I couldn't help but smile a little as he went on. He had a touch of the theatrical to him, but he just looked so happy he couldn't contain himself. It was infectious.

"God isn't piling chaos and disorder on top of us, but when we act on our own, without the guidance and good grace of The Lord, then the confusion and panic of the world will overcome us! It's because we're alone, and conceited, and prideful, that we let the world's evils affect us! But walking together, hand in hand with our Father, we can triumph over evil!"

A thousand voices roared back in response, cheering jubilantly. I had to force myself not to join them. Honestly, the guy's enthusiasm was downright infectious, but I didn't actually know anything about him or what he was talking about. It's better not to follow people until you're sure that they're going to add to your character, not break it down.

"Biko!" Zodiac yelled, his voice muffled through the door.

"Y-yeah, I'm coming!" I yelled, heading for the door. The guy's speech could wait, but my teammates couldn't. I tore myself away from his near hypnotic voice and headed towards everybody else.

. . .

"Alright, so what's the deal this time?" Ludmila asked. We were sitting at a small, picturesque café with pink flamingo walls and cute little red and white seats. At one of the walls was a big corkboard with a seemingly random assortment of photographs and sketches. No two photos had the same people in them.

We were sat in the corner by a window seat, where we had a good view of outside. Ludmila was still holding onto the guitar that we'd gotten at Atlantic City. Now that we could observe it without the fear of a hellhound attack, I could tell that it was a beautiful instrument.

What I thought was just polished white wood was actually ivory, although I had no idea what kind of animal would have had tusks or bones like those. The strings were bronze and seemed to hum slightly when she just held her fingers over them. Embedded in the head of the guitar, where the tuning picks were, was a design of a fish. Or rather, just it's skeleton.

She was cradling it on her knee, and it looked like she wanted to play it so badly but was afraid to touch it. With the picture perfect backdrop of the open door on one end that led to the fountain, and the busy city streets out the window to the other, I couldn't help but think she was some kind of beatnik performer, travelling the country with nothing but the power of music and her own courage.

Nico had probably travelled by way of fist fights and pistol smoke.

I swear the light just seemed to get absorbed into him. Everything that got near him got darker and colder, like the life was drained from it. I always thought that it was cool how someone's presence alone could hurt someone in a lot of shounen anime, but now that I was near Nico, I knew how people from those worlds felt. It was like every second I spent near him, the hands of death would wrap its hands tighter around my neck. I didn't even want to think about what kind of Nen ability he would have had.

Zodiac was either really resilient, or just didn't notice, because he was doodling something on his napkin whilst he sipped on a milkshake.

"Well, since we're here already, that saves us travelling expenses," Zodiac said, "so we can get straight to our next operation. But before that, who exactly are you?" He was pointing at Nico. Nico hadn't ordered anything, but was instead munching on a snickers bar.

"I'm just a random guy who just happened to notice you were struggling," he said.

"There's no way you're just some 'random guy'. If there's anything I've learned, it's that you never meet a demigod just by 'chance'. Even if you think you have, you really haven't. You must have either been tailing us, or you're also looking for something. And since you're still here instead of teleporting back to Atlantic City, you must be after the same thing we're after. Who sent you?"

"Nobody sends me anywhere. I go where I want, and sometimes where I'm needed. And I bet you're going to need my help for what you're planning." Zodiac glared at him, but Nico didn't flinch.

"I hate to break whatever this is up," Ludmila interrupted, "but what exactly are you planning? What's our mission?" Zodiac sighed and slurped up half his milkshake in one gulp. He immediately clutched his head, his face contorting and twisting like it was getting mixed with a blender.

"Gah! Brain… brain freeze," he gasped, clutching the side of the table. Nico rolled his eyes, but Ludmila giggled. At least it had defused the tension that was building up in the room. "Sorry about that… well! The plan! It's pretty simple actually! While last time we were stealing Väin's guitar, this time it's something a little more high impact. Have any of you heard about the Lancea Longini? Or perhaps The Holy Spear?"

The names definitely rang a bell in my head, but I couldn't quite put my finger on them. If I could be given a bit more time, just a little bit more to think on it, then maybe, just maybe, I could have figured it out….

"You guys will know it better as the Lance of Longinus," Nico said. I stood straight up so fast I could feel the whiplash in my neck and circuits snapping and connecting in my brain.

"The Lance of Longinus!" I yelled. "Of course I know of it! It's a mythical weapon of unimaginable power! Um…." I realised that half the café was staring at me now and slowly sat down, shrinking within my seat. "It's a super powerful lance," I resumed, now at a quarter of the volume. "I remember it from Neon Genesis: Evangelion. It was… umm…." The rest of the memory was failing me. I knew what it was, but I couldn't quite remember. Nico didn't feel like waiting though.

"The Lance of Longinus was a spear that existed during the first century. It's said that was the spear that stabbed Jesus of Nazareth." Our corner grew more quiet than usual. I was sure that everybody's hearts had stopped beating, except maybe Zodiac. I was also sure that Nico didn't even have a heart. Maybe just an engine? "After he was crucified, a Roman Centurion decided to check he was dead, just to make sure, and stabbed him in the stomach with his lance. It's basically been bathed in divine blood, and has continued to shed more blood over the centuries. It's even rumoured that Adolf Hitler tried to get his hands on it, but there's no proof supporting the claim. I'm guessing that-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" I yelled, my hands shaped in a big T shape. "This is way too heavy! You're telling me that we have to find that? This isn't what I signed up for! We're the kids of Greek gods, we're meant to deal with Greek problems!"

"That guitar Ludmila's got is from a Finnish hero," Zodiac said.

"Yeah, a folk hero! That's not too bad, but we're delving into Judeo—Christian stuff now! That is not okay no matter how you look at it! I don't wanna mess with anybody's religion or anything…."

"So you're gonna draw the line once it comes to modern religion?" Nico asked. "You do realise all of the 'myth' that we're involved in was somebody's religion somewhere long ago, right? And that to a lot of people, Christianity is a myth too, just like the Greeks, right? Which pantheon the lance is from doesn't matter, just what it can be used for, and trust me, you do not want the other side getting the lance instead."

I still wasn't even sure who the other side was, but even though I knew he had a point, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about where this was going. It was one thing to be a demigod, but stealing holy relics? That wasn't exactly on my bucket list.

"Relax," Zodiac said. "When you see the schmuck whose hands we're lightening, you won't feel so bad. Besides, technically the Lance of Longinus is a Roman relic, not a Christian one. Christian's have a tendency of stealing stuff from other myths and religions and claiming it's theirs… a lot…. Just think of the Winter Solstice!"

"And All Hallows' Eve," Nico added.

"A lot of Saints are kind of 'converted' to serve their cause too."

"Yup. Santeria used that tactic against them actually. I'm also guessing that-"

"Anyway," I interrupted, "The job! What are we meant to do?" My heart was racing, and I was drumming my fingers agitatedly against the table top. I didn't really wanna talk about this. Not here, and not now. I could tell Ludmila was staring at me, though I didn't want to check to see if it was in concern or because I was creeping her out. Instead, I focussed on Zodiac, who either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"Yes! The operation! The Lance of Longinus has moved around from place to place, but recently thanks to my totally legit and totally not shady sources, I've found out that the Lance is actually in this country, and better yet, it's in this very city as we speak."

"So, we have to break into wherever it's stored, and steal it, right?" I asked.

"That's far too easy my compadre! It's not 'stored' anywhere. It's not in some high tech museum or stuffy warehouse or even in somebody's private collection. No, it's not in anything, but it is on somebody. Some flashy guy within this city is wearing it, like an accessory."

"What? It's a lance, how is that possible?"

"Because magic!" Nico cleared his throat, taking over from Zodiac's nonsensical explanation.

"A lot of weapons and items are magically enchanted to hide their true nature. They'll normally look like ordinary objects or accessories at first glance, like a pen, a hairclip, or maybe a coin. The Lance does the same thing by disguising itself as a necklace. A normal person wouldn't even be able to notice it."

"But we're demigods," Zodiac said, "so as long as we know what we're looking for, we can spot it with no problem. So, the guy we're looking for is a man called Jordan Flair. He's an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and currently a big name evangelical speaker. Or rather, a televangelist. Before I wound up at camp, I heard that he would be coming to town round about now for a seminar about 'the path to salvation' or something generic like that, and looking at the state of this place, he must have gotten a little enthusiastic."

"Jordan Flair? Is he the guy who's in the town square now?" I asked.

"Yup. Actually, I'm surprised we didn't see any fireworks or hear a choir singing The Star—Spangled Banner. There's not many other people who've got such a flamboyant taste for the theatrical here. Anyway, he currently owns the Lance, and he wears it all the time like it's some kinda magic trinket. He'll be spending the night at a nearby hotel, but he'll probably be leaving pretty soon after that, so tonight is our best shot at getting it. The security around the entrance and leading up to his room is pretty tight, and we won't have many shots to get it, unless you wanna snatch it off his neck."

"There has to be a moment when he's not wearing it," Ludmila said. "Like, maybe when he's sleeping or bathing or something…." Zodiac clicked his fingers and pointed at her, his eyes practically sparkling.

"Yes! Exactly what you said! He's gonna be wearing it twenty four seven, except when he's taking a bath. If he knows what the Lance is, then I highly doubt he's going to want to soil it with his royal nakedness and dove soap."

"Why not when he's sleeping?" Nico asked. "That would be easiest wouldn't it?" Zodiac shook his head.

"That's when the night shift is on watch instead, and despite what you think, these guys aren't the kind of people you wanna mess with. Plus, for all we know, he might just sleep with it on to ward off the monsters beneath his bed and other ghouls and beasties. No, but my informant tells me that he always takes a shower at ten pm, just before he goes to bed, and that's also when a lot of the security is swapping out. His personal security is weakest during that time, and the hotel security is a joke so that's not a problem."

"But hotel security has guns, and the cops on speed dial," Ludmila mused. "You know, stuff and people that can kill us…." I frowned, trying to connect the dots in my head before Zodiac could finish explaining them.

"Then we can just fast travel in," I said. "Err, I mean, teleport. Nico can travel anywhere he wants with his power, he can just pull us in." Nico shook his head.

"First, I shadow travel, not teleport. Second, this isn't my mission. I helped you get here because watching you guys getting killed was embarrassing. Apart from that though, I wanna see you deal with this yourselves."

"Fine, but Zodiac can still instant transmit, and even take us with him."

"Yeah, as long as I can memorise the place's layout, I can travel anywhere a few dozen metres at a time, even if I can't see it."

"Normal guards can't stop teleportation, and if we time our entry with the guards switching, nobody will even notice us entering and leaving. No need to worry about getting in the building. Since it's a hotel, we can walk right in. It's our movements from there that we have to be careful about." Zodiac nodded his head. It looked like the plan was taking shape inside his head, like he was seeing it all being played out inside his mind.

"So we stroll right into the building and teleport to Jordan Flair's room. You two keep watch while I find the Lance. Once I've got it, we teleport out of there and carry on like nothing happened! Shouldn't be too hard! Any questions?"

"Well, just one…. We're gonna be stealing the treasured possession of a preacher. This doesn't exactly seem… heroic." Zodiac opened his mouth, probably for a witty retort, paused, and closed it again to think on it a bit more.

"Well… yeah, it's a tad on the roguish side, but what were you expecting? And it's better than letting the bad guys get their hands on it."

"Who exactly are the bad guys? Monsters? Because if they are, then that still doesn't explain why we're breaking and entering."

"Kid, the monsters are the least of your worries. They're the Little Leagues. I'm talking about the big timers, forces so old they make western culture look like it's in diapers. Guys who make the earth quiver and the skies bleed. The guys pushing around all the other players. Those guys are not the kind of people you want to get this kind of firepower, and this was one of the last ones that's lightly guarded. If we know about it, you can be sure that they now about it."

Something told me that Zodiac was either making this all up, or didn't actually know anything about the—powers—that—be. Either way, I wasn't gonna fall for his bluff.

"If these forces are so dangerous, then why are the gods sending a bunch of kids and teenagers to find the magical McGuffin needed to save the universe? Why aren't they doing it instead? And why does saving the world have to involve stealing? At least with the guitar we got it from… I dunno, somewhere, but this is somebody else's property. Why can't they just keep it? Or if it's that important, why can't we ask for it?"

"If we just asked for it, would he listen? Would we just go 'hey there Mr. Flair, we just need to take that magical weapon of mass destruction off of you, I hope you don't mind….' He'd check us into a mental institute! And if he does know what it is, I'm pretty sure he won't give it to us. If we leave it with him, then 'the bad guys' are gonna come after him like loan sharks, and he's not gonna have their payment ready. Trust me, we're stealing this off of him for his own good."

"But what about the gods? Why don't we even have any backup? We don't even have training!" Zodiac shrugged his shoulders, his expression drawn.

"Don't ask me. My only answer is that they're jerks. If you wanna survive as a demigod, you better learn not to rely on them. They'll only turn on you when it matters."

I was planning on interrogating him more. I'd pictured an entire argument about the importance of sticking to your morals no matter what. I even had a few lines prepared in advance. But seeing him withdraw like that, a pensive mask on his face, false as a photo, I figured this might not be the best time for that. Besides, I had to admit that he was right. I didn't really trust guys like Flair, but after hearing him speaking, with all the excitement and innocence of a little kid, I didn't want to think about what would happen if monsters came after him. Or how his supporters would feel knowing he 'mysteriously' died. I had to give the win to Zodiac, even if it didn't sit well in my stomach.

"Okay, fine," I said. "So, when do we start?"

"We have to hit him tonight," Zodiac replied. "My informant's got all the normal guard rotations and patrol routes for today and the whole of last week, but since they didn't come here with them, there's no telling how long that will be accurate for. Plus, I'm pretty sure he won't stay in town for long. Now the question is, what are you gonna do?" We turned our attention to Nico. He looked like he was only half paying attention, staring up at the ceiling, biting into a blood red pomegranate. I wasn't sure where he got the fruit from, but he certainly didn't buy it, and for some reason it made me feel uncomfortable.

"Well, my target isn't the Lance. That's your job, given to you by the royal geniuses of Olympus." The sarcasm was heavy in his tone. "As for me, I've got more stuff that I need to find, my own quest to do. Maybe if you're lucky, we can meet again."

"I get the feeling that meeting you again will not be a sign of good fortune," I said. He pondered my words for a second, then grudgingly accepted.

"By the way, if that guitar is slowing you down, I can hang onto it for you, keep it safe at camp." Ludmila only just realised that he was talking to her, and looked down at her guitar. She looked reluctant to hand it over, almost like she'd already gotten attached before plucking a single string, but she eventually handed it to him.

"You're going back to camp?" Zodiac asked. "Sorry, but we don't exactly know a lot about you. Do you mind if I can get some kind of confirmation that you're actually from there?"

"Apart from my camp bead necklace? Well, we can send an Iris message and talk to Chiron directly." Nico didn't really look like he wanted to talk to anybody, but he stood up with Zodiac and left, heading towards the fountain. It was just Ludmila and I left behind. I guess my brain was still dwelling on my convo with Zodiac, because it took me a second to register that 'it was just Ludmila and I'.

I didn't know how long they would take to get back, so starting some kind of conversation might have been a good idea. But what was I supposed to talk about? All we'd really been talking about was the quest and these 'mysterious forces of evil' and I was pretty sure that Ludmila was as sick of that as I was. Or was she? How was I supposed to know what she was thinking anyway? She kind of blended into the background anyway, especially when things started heating up.

I could talk about a cartoon or anime I liked I guess, or maybe a book. It would be easier if I talked about something I was familiar with. But then I would sound like a total dork and that would be terrible. Maybe I could ask her what kind of music she listened to or something? With how attached she got to that guitar, maybe she liked rock?

And if she didn't? And there was an awkward pause afterwards? Okay, there had to be something safer. Like, I dunno, the weather?

It looked like Ludmila hadn't even noticed me. She'd taken off her sunhat and was slowly spinning it around, observing and playing with it. I definitely felt nervous, but at least it wasn't as bad as normal or at school. It was probably because Ludmila just looked a lot more approachable. It still wasn't easy though. I finally figured that I would start with something that we all had in common. Or at least, that I think we all had in common.

"So, what exactly is your power anyway?" I asked. "I mean… some demigods have some kind of weird quirk about them. Zodiac teleports, and apparently Nico super teleports. That girl back at camp is basically The Flash meets Rainbow Dash too. So what about you? I can't really pinpoint yours."

"It's not really that cool," she mumbled.

"You have a super power. You could say it was to find car keys and missing remotes and it would be pretty cool." Ludmila thought about it for a bit, then finally relented.

"Put your hand on the table," she said. I complied, drumming my fingers on the table top. She rested her hand on top of it. They felt warm, and… fingery. I wasn't exactly getting the 'lightning' or 'fireworks' feeling talked about in books and movies.

"Umm… okay?"

"How do they feel?"

"I dunno, like fingers? A little tough maybe, like you like rock climbing or something but still…."

"Okay then." She closed her eyes. I could make out a faint yellow outline around her hand. Suddenly, her fingers' temperature spiked up, jumping from warm leather to a burning stove in a matter of seconds. I yelped, yanking back my hand before she could scorch me anymore.

"What the heck was that?" I yelled. Ludmila opened her eyes, looking at her hand and the smoke coming off of them, almost like she was surprised they didn't burst into flames.

"I can control my body temperature at will," she said. "Hot, cold, boiling, freezing… I can change how I feel almost instantly. If I try really hard, I can even set things on fire by touching them."

"That's awesome!" I yelled, then covered my mouth as I started getting a few stares. "I mean… that's pretty cool. So you're like the Human Torch then! Can you hurl fireballs and make infernos? Or maybe freeze people solid?" She shook her head.

"I can't expel it or cover myself in flames or ice. I can only change how I feel inside my body. If I want to make fire, I have to touch something flammable, and I can't get cold enough to freeze water on touch. It's not really that useful on its own…."

"But you can conduct it through other stuff, right? That must be why you chose the fire poi as weapons. You heat them up enough and hit someone with them. The heat and friction makes them light up like a match, and you can now burn people out of your reach!" She nodded her head. "That's so freaking cool! What were you talking about? Lame power? Please."

"So what's yours?" She asked. I hesitated for a second.

"I'm… not sure I have one," I replied. "Apparently, Athena kids don't really get 'powers'. They're all really smart though, and good fighters, so we can learn to rely on ourselves. I guess I'm no different?"

"Oh… sorry."

"Nah, don't be. It's how I've been all this time, I don't think I would ever really get used to having super powers. That way, it will look ten times cooler when I'm winning a fight on my own! Just think about it! 'A lone warrior who's only weapons are the courage in his fists and justice in his heart! Striking down the forces of evil in the name of all those who cry out for peace!'" I stood up on the chairs, planting one foot on the table top and striking a pose, one arm resting on my knee and the other hand on my hips.

"My enemies will look at me and wonder 'where did you get such awesome power? Was it a gift from the gods themselves?' and I shall answer 'nay… but from hard work, true courage, and the power of friendship!'" My foot slipped, and I stumbled, my arms swinging wildly to keep my balance.

"Excuse me, sir," the girl at the counter said. "Can you please take a seat? You're disturbing the other customers." I looked around and saw I was attracting stares. Great, I got ahead of myself.

"Sorry," I said, slowly sitting down. That didn't exactly go according to plan. It probably would have helped if I actually had a plan. I looked at Ludmila, feeling a little embarrassed. She was covering her mouth with her hands, stifling a giggle. She was laughing? Wow, achievement unlocked. Unless she was laughing at me. I tried not to think about it. "She was just jealous of how heroic I looked," I said.

"I'm not so sure about that," Ludmila replied.

"I'm telling you! She should have given me two more minutes. I had a whole battle scenario planned and a shounen hero speech concocted. It would have been awesome."

"Sure it would." She couldn't hide the smile on her face. That's when Zodiac re-entered the café, although now he was alone.

"He's legit," he said. "Chiron talked to him and everything. He'll be taking the guitar back with him so we won't have to lug it around all the time."

"You sent it back before we got to test it?" I asked. "No fair! I wanted to see what it would have done…."

"Oh yeah, we should have tried it out huh? Maybe, if we played the right note, the whole thing would spout a boiling hot geyser right beneath our feet and grill us in our own skin?"

"That… doesn't sound fun…."

"Well that's what happens when you mess around with divine tools. It's probably better we didn't try it out ourselves."

"Right… so, all that's left is to steal the Lance, right?"

"Yup! We've got a couple of hours until sundown, so we may as well find somewhere to stay until then, take the time to work out all the details of the plan. When the clock strikes nine thirty, we head out. Got it?"

"Got it!" Ludmila and I both replied.

"Good." He opened the top of his milkshake and downed the whole thing in one swig. "Alright then, let's…." He froze for a bit, his face tightening again as the brain freeze hit him. He blinked rapidly, trying to chase it away. "Right. Then let's get outta here. We've got preachers to rob."

I read a book once that said something like 'the cool night air washed over me and calmed my racing heart', give or take a few adjectives. That description was totally inaccurate. It was more like the wind was trying to tear the clothes off my back, and lashed me with the harsh whip of the cold. And that was putting it poetically. How I actually felt was more akin to:

"It's freaking cold."

"Stop being a baby," Zodiac replied, even though he was also shivering. Hypocrite. "I know this is gonna sound hard for you guys, but follow the plan completely and totally. No getting side tracked. We go directly to Jordan Flair's room. Do not pass GO, and do not collect two hundred. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Ludmila said.

"C'mon man, have faith in us!" I added.

"I'll have faith in you guys when I see results. Just follow after me and stick to the script. As long as you listen to me, we'll be fine." We nodded our heads. We looked up at the big golden hotel front door. I gulped, and the others looked just as nervous as I did. Well, at least Ludmila did. I couldn't tell about Zodiac. I swallowed my fear, took a step forward, and pushed open the door.

The operation had begun.

AN: Gah I wanted to put more Nico in so badly because I've got all this cool stuff I need him to do but it'll wreck the plot if I do that and just GAAAAH! (If you can't tell, Nico is one of my favourite characters...) Well, he'll be back, and he'll be super cool, but he doesn't like to follow the rules, not even my own, so for now he'll leave our heroes to fight through near death experiences on their own...

Anyway, a little update on that Powerpuff idea. So, that's definitely happening since I've managed to type out like, four, horrible, unedited chapters so far. Don't hold me to this, but by around next week I should have enough of them just done and stockpiled away for me to start editing and posting them and they'll be awesome! I'm terrible with deadlines, so no promises. But if it is done, I'm just wondering when the best day to start posting them will be. Either Friday or Monday since that's when I used to post these chapters so I'm used to those days. I'm hovering around Friday since... well, it's Friday, and that means I can post this, and then GoS immediately afterwards, but I dunno. My only real problem now is that I have no idea what to call it, and names are important! Anyway, I'll figure it out, and I'll alert you when it's up in the next update of this or something (ha, up in the update...). So, till then, enjoy your weekend everybody!