I'll try keep this brief because I don't have too much to say here.

Thanks to marhvel for favouriting this! I normally check out the stories and stuff of the people who follow or review but honestly, I kinda forgot this time... Whoops... I do know he's ggot a Supernatural story though! Also, thank you firefluff for following, along with your very enthusiastic review! If you haven't already checked it out, Fluff has recently written a story called Erlkönig and even though its only got one chapter so far, I can tell its gonna be really good! Well written, fast paced, a little bit of humour, the works! So, check it out! Anyway, on to the show!

CHAPTER 18: THAT AWKWARD FAMILY DINNER…. (Zodiac's thoughts)

The landing sucked.

Maybe it was because I was panicked. Maybe it was because we'd jumped out of an unreasonably high building and were going to die if I didn't do something.

Maybe it was because I didn't have a good destination in my head when I was teleporting. So I shut my eyes and relied on my instincts, envisioning a location, any location in the few seconds I had.

The result? A mouthful of dirt.

I crashed into the ground, losing my grip on the others as I tumbled through the mud and grass. I rolled to a stop, looking up at the sky dotted with tiny glowing pinpricked stars. My muscles hurt and my knees and arms burned. The soft grass covered my body, and I could feel insects crawling on my limbs.

I stayed completely still, just focussing on breathing. The longer I stayed still, the more I realised that something was very wrong. My stomach felt like it was twisting up in knots, and my body felt anaemic. I tried to prop myself up on weak muscles, tilting my face to the side as I retched.

"Great," I coughed, wiping my mouth. "I have no idea where we are."

"How do you not know?" Ludmila asked. I sat up straight and looked ahead. Ludmila and Biko were in a heap, trying to untangle themselves and get up. Ludmila straightened up her hat, dusting it off and placing it back on her head, while Biko propped himself up on a golden spear.

That spear…. It was crafted almost entirely of Imperial Gold, so it was glowing in the middle of the night. Its blade was pointing up at the sky and over two feet long, shaped like an upside down T that had been sharpened and reshaped into a pyramid, like an arrow tip. The shaft was gold laced with ivory all around it, and was something like four feet long so the whole weapon was longer than Biko was tall.

"Yeah, don't you have to know where you're going?" Biko asked.

"Normally I do, but…." I stopped, covering my mouth with my hand. I turned aside, vomiting up all of my dinner on the floor until there was nothing left, and a bit more afterwards for good measure. I probably looked pathetic. I could see Ludmila turning away, and Biko cringing. He walked over to me, rubbing my back as if that would somehow help.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Jump fatigue," I croaked. "I overworked myself… I'm fine now."

"No, you're not fine," Ludmila said. "You're turning green. I didn't even know you could do that with your skin tone! We've got to find some kind of help."

She took out a flask of nectar from her backpack while Biko looked around for somewhere to take shelter.

We were in the middle of a large, slightly wet plain. We couldn't see too far in the middle of the night, but I could hear the sound of waves crashing against the beach in the distance. It sounded like it was half a mile away tops.

"Hey, that place looks inviting," Biko said, pointing towards the distance. I was still doubled over puking my guts out so I couldn't see, but Ludmila seemed to agree.

"It's our best bet. We can at least stay for a few hours until Zodiac recovers."

I looked up, practically fighting against my body that felt like collapsing within itself. I felt my already toxic blood draining out of me at the site of it.

It was a convenience store placed conveniently in the distance. The place looked pretty shabby, but it also looked comfy somehow. Maybe it was the potted plants hanging by the door and placed on the windowsills. Maybe it was the colourful artsy way the wooden door was painted. There was a rough trodden path in front of the store that ran off away from us and to the distance, maybe towards a road or some hint of civilisation.

To any other dying demigod, it would definitely be a better option than letting your own body murder you. But I knew where we were, and I also knew why I ended up teleporting here of all places, in the middle of nowhere. No matter what happened, I definitely didn't want to go in there.

I tried to speak, but it just came out as drunken babbling, like my tongue was made of thick cow leather instead of flesh. I shook my head instead, but Ludmila wouldn't have it.

"What, you just wanna die instead? I don't think so." She held the flask up to my mouth, slowly pouring some down my parched throat. Everybody said that nectar tasted of such amazing things. Chocolate chip cookies dunked in milk, freshly made liquid barbecue, Oreos dipped in peanut butter (I gagged at the thought), but I never tasted any of that. It was more like I was drinking melted cardboard. I have no idea why, that's just what it does.

My two comrades picked me up off the ground, looping my arms around their necks.

"C'mon, just gotta make it past this stretch," Biko said. "You can do it."

I wanted to tell him to shut up and drop me, and maybe order him to drop and give me twenty just for good measure, but my brain felt like it was full of cotton wool. Even with the nectar, it felt like I was only getting worse. I would like to think I struggled against them a bit, but if I did, they clearly didn't feel it.

We arrived at the front door. There was a hand-painted sign over the door, but I was pretty sure I'd barely be able to read it normally, let alone with the way I felt. I could still clearly make out one word though: RAINBOW.

We entered the store, and suddenly all the lights turned on, accompanied by some kind of weird flute music. Everything I looked at was weirder than the last.

Instead of seeing random snacks, some drinks, toiletries and a dwindling supply of Doritos, the products lining the aisles were baskets of apples and nuts and random dried fruit, clothing racks filled with macabre handmade outfits, including shirts that looked as colourful as the one Biko had when he first came to camp. When I looked up, wind chimes covered the ceiling, gently tinkling as the breeze from the open door caught them.

The aisles and ceiling were the most normal items in the store. The walls were rimmed with odd multicultural books and strange accessories. I think I saw a dream catcher in one part of the room, and hanging around it was a necklace in the shape of a pentagram.

Whatever incense the store owners were using, they had to stop using it, immediately. It smelled like somebody was burning Christmas decorations.

"C'n I help you?" a voice asked. I looked towards the end of the aisle, just by the pomegranates.

A girls was standing there, wearing cargo shorts, laced up hiking boots, and a yellow t-shirt that read R.O.F.L, the first letters of the words on the sign outside. My first thought was that she was really weird. Short, muscular, and with an interesting face. Her hair was also electric white and super frizzy, sticking out all around her head like some kind of halo.

"Umm, h-hi, hey t-there," Biko stuttered uselessly. "We were just… well, umm… we kind of…." Ludmila rolled her eyes, getting tired of his spontaneous amnesia when it came to speech.

"Our friend here is kind of in trouble," Ludmila took over. "We just need to find someplace to rest for the night, or until he feels better. We won't stay long, we promise, and we'll pay if we have to. Can you please help us?" The girl examined me, and I guess you could say I examined her back.

I kind of understood why Biko turned into a babbling fool. Her eyes were mesmerising, but I'm not sure if that was a good thing in this case. They kept changing colour from grey to black to white. Over and over, rotating like there was some kind of pinwheel behind them, changing their colour over and over and over… and over… and ove….

I don't know how many times I woke up and passed out again. I kept on hearing random snippets of conversation or seeing the scene change. I wasn't even sure about my surroundings. One time I woke up, I could hear Biko and Ludmila talking.

"… So, what can you do with it now?" Ludmila asked.

"I've been practicing, and I think I'm getting better at it, more experienced," Biko replied. The heck are they talking about?

"Well then, you better make sure to show me when you're done."

"We'll sneak out when nobody's watching. I'm not sure if it's really safe for anyone to see yet."

I opened my eyes with a groan. The two of them were sitting on the foot of my bed, talking animatedly.

"Ugh, get a room you two," I groaned.

"Wha?" They looked at me for a second, probably replaying their conversation in their heads before their eyes grew wide in horror, their faces an embarrassed red. "No! No, no, no," Ludmila protested.

"That's not what we were talking about!" Biko screeched, his voice an octave higher. "You're taking that out of context!"

"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled, my vision going black again as Ludmila stammered an excuse I didn't hear.

I woke up in a bed I didn't recognise. There was a ceiling fan above my head, wobbling a little as it spun like it was going to drop on top of me. To my right on a bedside table was a glass of water with some Asian characters printed on it, warping as it wrapped around the glass. I raised my head a little so I could look around.

I was in a pretty small room. There wasn't that much in it, just the bed I was sleeping in, the bedside table, a chair and small table next to my bed, and a chest of drawers to my left. There was probably a window behind me because shafts of bright morning light were shining on a spot on my blankets. The door was right in front of me, and it just so happened to be opening at that time. The girl from before entered, her hair tied up in two giant frizzy pigtails or buns or whatever they were. They resembled clouds more than hair really.

She was holding a tray with a beautiful teacup and rice balls. She stopped in the doorway when she noticed that I'd woken up, then smiled, dazzling electric blue sparks seemingly lighting up in her eyes.

Was I still delusional or something?

"You're awake!" she said, heading towards me. She placed the food on the table and sat down on the chair in front of it. "How are you feeling?"

"Like roadkill," I said as I propped myself up so I was half sitting. My stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself, but it wasn't as bad as… whenever it was that I crash landed. I could move, but my muscles felt pretty lethargic, like I'd been in bed for a long time. "Where am I?"

"You're in the guest room of Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles. I guess you could say it's the store's attic."

Rainbow Organic Foods…. That meant that this was definitely the place I was thinking of. Looking at the girl in front of me, I probably would have cracked a joke. At least something to try and destroy the first impression of me as this passed out, drunk looking guy at least, but I wasn't really thinking of that at the time.

"Is the owner around?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's just downstairs at the counter, talking with your friends."

"Can you please take me to see her?"

"No can do. You're a wreck. It's a wonder you're even conscious right now. The only thing you should be doing now is getting rest." I forced myself slowly out of bed, trying to ignore my aching muscles. She placed her hand on my chest, gently pushing me back to the bed, shaking her head.

"I have to go see her. Please." Wow. How I had fallen from grace. Me, the great Zodiac, the invisible man, the phantom thief, reduced to pleading with this strange woman. I looked up at her, tapping as deep into my power as I could. If I had to, I could just teleport downstairs. I knew this building, so I was sure I could do it. But I knew that in reality, I couldn't even warp two centimetres without blacking out. Either way, it had the effect I was looking for. The girl hesitated, surprise on her face.

"You've met her before, haven't you?" I nodded my head. She bit her lip, then finally let go of me. "Fine. But eat first, and you have to let me escort you there."

"Thank you." After eating the rice ball painfully slowly (even though I was starving, my appetite just didn't exist) and finishing the green tea, I stood up, leaning one hand on her for support as I slowly headed for the doors.

The journey took much longer than it should have, and by the time I reached the bottom floor I was out of breath.

Biko had swapped out of his orange camp t-shirt and back into his psychedelic colours and was mopping up the floor at one side of the store. Ludmila was wearing a yellow t-shirt like the girl from before and was restocking the supplies. They looked like they'd been conscripted to fight in the never-ending battle for an organised store. I was planning on sneaking quietly past them since they seemed so busy, but Biko noticed me almost instantly.

"Zodiac! You're better!" he yelled. Oh my gods, I just didn't have the energy to deal with him.

"Nice to see you too, Biko," I replied. Biko looked elated, but Ludmila looked a little more worried. I guess the exhaustion was still pretty obvious. Still, she didn't say anything as we walked towards the counter.

Just behind it was a middle-aged woman with olive skin, shoulder length black hair, rimless glasses and a yellow t-shirt written 'The Goddess Is Alive!' She was wearing a whole bunch of assorted rings and necklaces and was wearing some kind of rosy perfume, unless that was just another incense. Just looking at this sweet old lady pissed me off.

"Why, hello there dear," she said. "I see you're feeling better."

"No thanks to your bootleg herbal tea," I mumbled, glaring at her the whole time. The girl by my side looked at me in shock, but I didn't care. If I actually did recover, I didn't want her to think it was thanks to her.

"Ah, I suppose you didn't like the green tea, did you? Well, you were never fond of it."

"I'll take a mug full of coffee any day over that crackpot concoction." She shrugged her shoulders.

"To each their own. So, I heard you're on a quest. And one issued by Athena herself. Getting big in the world?"

"I'm doing more than you, that's for sure."

"Somebody's got an ego. It's gonna hurt when you fall from that pedestal you're putting yourself on."

"Uh…." The girl was looking between the two of us nervously. "Hey, is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's all good," I said, not taking my eyes off the woman for a second.

"Fleecy, go help our guests restocking," the woman said. It barely even registered that the girl had a name as ridiculous as 'Fleecy'. "This is a family matter." Now Biko and Ludmila had also gotten curious, and at that last sentence Biko's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"Family? Wait, that means…." Right now, they weren't important. I focussed solely on the woman.

"Wow, you're a little dramatic, don't you think, Iris?"

"You can't even address me like I'm your mother? Demigods these days… not that I want to act all high and mighty like the other gods."

"Wait, this is the Iris, goddess of the rainbow?" Ludmila asked. Iris pulled a face, wrinkling up her nose.

"I don't really like to mix my life with my corporate identity. Yes, that's who I am officially, but you can skip all the goddess stuff. I prefer to run the R.O.F.L Co-op, an employee run cooperative-"

"Promoting healthy living and alternative lifestyles, bla, bla, bla," I said. "You claim that you're not lording over us like the other gods? Well, you're right. Instead, all you do is run away from your problems, hide out in your little retreat while everybody else goes straight to hell." I got the feeling that I was stepping over the line a bit here, but I didn't care. I didn't even want to come back here. If I was gonna be here then I would make life difficult for everybody. Call me petty or juvenile, I don't care.

Iris's eyes lit up with all sorts of brilliant colours, the sound of thunder crackling outside accompanying it. I was wondering whether I would be blasted halfway across the country or turned into a lucky charm. Then, as suddenly as it started, her eyes returned to their warm brown and she smiled, only one corner of her mouth rising, as usual.

"Aren't you a little rebel? I see the Olympians haven't turned you into their lapdog just yet."

"I'd like to keep it that way too. Well, I guess you fixing me up was pretty useful, but we've gotta go." I turned around to leave, but I felt a hand grab me by the crook of my elbow.

"You just wait a second," she said. "Do you actually know how close you were to dying? Do you know how close you still are to death? You jumped way beyond your limits, and with multiple people. I don't even know why you can walk. If you try another jump before you've healed, even I don't know what will happen to you."

"I'm not gonna get killed by this 'gift' that you've given me, Iris. Unlike you, I'm a survivor."

"Curious, coming from one who spends his life scurrying around hiding, lying, stealing, and scavenging for what he needs in the name of 'survival'. At least I'm free to do what I want now. But what about you? Can you really say you've stopped running?"

"I guess it's in the blood." I tore my arm away from her grip, and she made no move to resist. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"You don't listen when I try to help you. You complain when I don't. You run away when I try reach out to you, then come back when I ignore you. You just can't make up your mind, can you?"

"Sounds like the script to a really bad drama."

"Well, I can at least change a few lines. Rest. Let me help you. You know how it is, I could never be there for you when you needed me most, as a child. I still can't really help you the way I want to. I can't finish the quest for you either. No playing favourites. But I can make it a little bit easier. All you need to do is ask." Biko wasn't saying anything. Actually, I wasn't even sure how much he was following. But the way he looked at me, I could tell that he wanted me to accept the favour. Anything that could help us to not die would help us. And yet….

"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you babysit me, Iris. There was something you once said, a long time ago…. 'No strings hold you?'"

"'… and no fate binds you,'" she finished.

"I'm not gonna be indebted to anyone or let people pull my strings—especially not you." Iris shut her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, I couldn't tell if she was resigned or proud of me.

"Fine. I really don't want you to end up like… most demigods… and arguing about this is disturbing the atmosphere. But if you're so determined to do this without me, then the least I can do is give you information."

I wanted to reject that too, but you never turn down good info, especially if it just so happened to come from the master of all instant messages.

I shoved my hands in pockets, leaning against the counter.

"Okay then, what've you got?"

"If you're heading towards Nashville, then you're probably looking for another musical instrument. The only things there were King David's Kinnor, and Triton's Conch, and you're too late for both of them. While you were sleeping, somebody else already got to them. A bunch of mortals, effective ones and heavily armed. You're pretty intimate with them too."

"Mortals? Then that means… it's RIOT, isn't it?" Judging by Ludmila and Biko's faces, I was gonna have to explain this all to them at some point. Or at least, everything that was important.

"You can't fight them. You can't steal from them. You won't even be able to meet them. Fighting them is suicide."

"Great. Of course, the easiest items to steal have to get knocked off the list."

"You've got other options though. There's something else you're looking for, I can tell. I don't know what it is, but it's the only reason you took this quest, right?"

"It doesn't matter. I can't get it right now anyway."

"Maybe not. Not alone at least. But you're smarter than that. More resourceful. You can get whatever you want, but you're staking your life on this. Your decisions might make you lose everything."

"What, so you're telling me to call in backup or something?" Iris gave me a look that told me that was exactly what she expected me to do. "Great…. I didn't want to call in my favour so soon, but I guess I've got no choice…. Guys, we're leaving."

It would have looked so cool if I just shoved my hands back in my pockets and headed straight for the door like I didn't care. I would have spun around for a killer punchline just before walking out too. Sadly, I stumbled as soon as I took my first step. The girl from before had to catch me just before I could fall.

"Wait, Zodiac," Ludmila started, coming over and supporting me from the other side. "You can't even walk and yet you want to continue the quest?"

"Not really… I just want to get out of here. We might as well head to Nashville, maybe plan our next move then."

"And how are you gonna get there?"

"I dunno, teleport?"

"You couldn't do that when you were healthy! Are you trying to die?!"

"No, just prove a point." Ludmila rolled her eyes, then slapped me in the face.

I was not expecting that. As if the stinging from a normal slap wasn't enough, she darn near took my head off with that blow, and my face felt like it had just been sunburnt. I clutched my face, gritting my teeth and trying not to cry like a baby.

"Ow! The heck was that for?!"

"It was for being stupid! You're the only one who's got any experience, and you're going to leave us to finish the quest on our own?"

"Oh relax, I won't die. And you'll be fine anyway-" She slapped me again, harder. I'm amazed I didn't pass out from the blow. Honestly, was everyone just going to watch this abuse?

"No we won't! That's why we're on this stupid quest with you in the first place! Go back to your room, right now! You will lie down and you will get better! The next time you try and risk your health like that, dying will be the least of your worries!"

"Wha…." The fire in her eyes was seriously freaking me out. As in, literally. There were little tiny flames dancing in her pupils, and her whole body was glowing. I was pretty sure her next hit would be a punch instead of a slap, and it would probably send me flying like a rocket, flames and all.

Iris looked pretty impressed, nodding her head in approval. The girl—Fleecy—was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh, and Biko looked star struck, as usual. I shrugged my shoulders in resignation. This was not a fight I was gonna win.

"You do you I guess. Just let me give somebody an Iris message and I'll be out like a light." Ludmila seemed to accept that.

"Fleecy, take care of that for me," Iris said. Fleecy smiled, leading me upstairs again as the others followed.

"Your name is Fleecy?" Biko asked incredulously, only just realising that now. I guess he was distracted by other things last time.

"Uh-huh. Well, at least that's what everybody calls me." Taking a look at her absurd hair colour and texture, I wasn't surprised.

We arrived upstairs and entered the bathroom at the end of the small corridor, just ahead of the guest room I'd been passed out in just moments ago. After running the bathtub until the room started steaming, I pulled out a golden drachma. I was just about to toss it in when Fleecy shook her head.

"Don't bother with the usual incantation," she said. "Iris left it up to me, so you've got to use my direct contact."

"Umm… okay? So what do I say?" she cleared her throat, like she'd been waiting for this moment.

"O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me, and then whoever you want to see."

"You can't be serious…."

"Do you wanna get into contact with this guy or not?" I sucked up my pride and flipped the coin into it.

"Um, O Fleecy-"

"Say it with meaning!"

"… O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Zach at Camp Half-Blood!" The air shimmered, a little rainbow rimmed window appearing in the air. On the other side of it was a dark forest, trees stretching their bony branches across the night sky, blotting out the stars. Standing in the middle of that forest was Zach, scratching his head with one hand and holding a shoebox in the other. He looked pretty lost. "Hey there compadre."

Zach wheeled around in shock, turning so he was now face to face with the Iris message, one hand heading to his pocket as if to reach something. He relaxed and walked closer to it.

"Oh, Zodiac. What's up?"

"You know how you said that you would help me nab any magical item I wanted? Well, I kinda need to call in that favour."

"Wait, now? When we're in different time zones? I'm not really sure I can help you personally…."

"That's fine, totally fine. I just need information. Have you read Genesis chapter nine, verse thirteen?"

"Have I… what? Is this really the best time to be giving me a Sunday school pop quiz?" His expression looked so baffled that I would have stopped to laugh at him, but this was too important for me to waste time.

"Just answer the question."

"No, is it important?"

"Incredibly! Okay, according to Judeo-Christian lore, a long time ago, like, real long time ago, 'the-powers-that-be' became fed up with humanity and all of our sins, and decided to wipe us off the face of the planet. So, according to them, God told the last faithful man on the planet, Noah, about his plans, and instructed him to build an ark, a giant ship, and take two of every animal on earth and stuff them on his ark along with his family. Flood hits, the end of the world strikes, and Noah waits it out. Once it's safe, he finally returns to land, and God promises that he won't wipe out humanity using a massive flood again, no matter what. Common knowledge, right?"

"Okay…."

"Now, a lot of Biblical stories and events come down to faith at the end of the day, but this particular one is a little bit different. There are thousands of flood stories across all the different pantheons, myths and religions all over the world. The Ogygian floods that stripped the world barren in Greek myth, the world ending flood Vishnu warned Manu about in the Matsya Purana."

"And Gilgamesh meeting one of the survivors of the flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh," Biko interrupted. "Or the waves released by Olokun in Nigerian traditional stories."

"Your point, get to it," Zach said impatiently.

"Well, all of these myths telling the same story can't be a coincidence," I continued, "and being affiliated with Greek myth, the Ogygian floods practically confirm this. At some point, this event actually happened. Sometimes facts and figures change, but the general vibe is the same. There's anywhere between two and seven survivors, surviving on some kind of boat with a huge number of supplies while the storm rages on. So if that story is real, then what about the Covenant in Genesis?"

"I'm not following man, I don't exactly keep up with my Bible reading…."

"In the Bible, when Noah steps foot on dry land again and God promises not to drown them again, he sees a rainbow in the skies. God says 'I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth'. I get the feeling it's like Väin's kantele, and we can take that rainbow and use it for ourselves."

"Zodiac, you're not going to pummel the forces of darkness with a rainbow…."

"Not just a rainbow! God's Rain Bow! It's an actual bow—a weapon—meant to be strung and fire arrows. Zach, this isn't the small stuff we've been seeing before. This is actually an apocalyptic weapon! If this thing is as real as the kantele, then in the wrong hands it can make the monsoons look like an overflowing bathtub! I have to get that weapon no matter what!"

"Okay…. Assuming that it's real, I still don't know how to help you…."

"You're a demon and magical item expert. With the info I just gave you, can you track it down?" Zach was silent for a bit, frown lines digging into his forehead as he just stood there and thought. Finally, his answer:

"I don't need to. You can't 'find' it. If it does have a physical form then I know nothing about it. However, being spirit based and conceived during a covenant, or a declaration, you can summon it. I'll have to come back to you when I've figured out all the specifics, but as long as you're in The States there's only one place that you can possibly go where it might work. So my question to you is, are you feeling patriotic?" What he was saying slowly began to dawn on me.

"I'll get back to you when I get there," I said. "You've helped your fellow citizen today. You deserve a medal." Zach scoffed.

"You? A citizen? Please. Hey, wait Zodiac I need-" I'd already waved my hand through the image when he started speaking. It sounded pretty frantic, but I'd already dissolved the image. Oops. Well, whatever it was, Zach could probably handle it.

I turned around to find that everybody was staring at me in confusion.

"Are you feeling patriotic?" Ludmila asked.

"Time for a history lesson. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?" For once, Biko looked clueless, like he'd just chosen to fall asleep in that class. Ludmila looked up at the ceiling, like the answer was somehow written there.

"Umm… Independence Hall, Philadelphia?"

"Good. The place where an arguably world changing declaration was signed. That's the only place in the country where we can spawn an object forged as a world changing promise. That's the last piece of the puzzle we need to complete our quest. So, who's up for a road trip?"