She had woken up in a lot of different places before.

She had to admit- Waystation was one of the nicer places she had woken up.

Already, she was mourning the fact that she knew she and her friends wouldn't be able to stay here for long.

With that came a sadness, a sadness she was used to but could normally shake off.

She remembered the days of wanting to run.

When she and Piper would drag their mattresses onto the floor of their dorm room, Leo catapulting in between them. The three of them didn't dare raise their voices above whispers, as they spoke of their dreams about leaving these lives behind, leaving Wilderness behind.

If I run, I'm taking you with me.

How much longer would they have to do this?

She brushed off the feeling as easily as she brushed off the blankets on her bed. She, Apollo, and Bing had a big day ahead of them.

Rosie headed over to their wing, the wooden floorboards underneath her creaking with every step.

She made it over to where the men had slept, but paused in the hall where she heard voices. The door to Leo and Apollo's room had been left ajar.

"She doesn't…seem a little off to you?"

Apollo's nervous laugh bounced off the walls.

"I don't know, Leo. You know her better than I do."

"I know that," Leo said impatiently. "I just-"

"She's had a rough time, Leo," Apollo said in a gentle tone. "She's changed."

Rosie felt an odd wave of appreciation for Apollo. He was able to verbalize what she couldn't.

"I don't know, I guess I thought things would go back to how they were before," Leo said in a defeated tone. "Whatever- it doesn't matter. Whatever it is- I can fix it. I will fix it. Rosie and I- there's been so much we've gone through...I'm not letting her slip away."

A shadow to the left caught her attention suddenly.

No, it wasn't a shadow- she saw the flash of Max quickly shutting the door of his and Bing's room.

She felt her own cheeks heat up. Leo's words had struck a nerve. Back to how they were before?

She couldn't just…ignore that six months after Gaea, after everything. Her refusing to go with Jason and Piper, campers going missing, Rosie alone.

She quickly went back out to the main room, trying her hardest to brightly smile as Bing and Apollo entered.

"You guys ready?"

The walk throughout the city was quiet- quiet, that is, until Apollo began recounting the dream he had.

"C-o-m-m-o-d-u-s."

Apollo refused to say the Emperor's name out loud. Finally- this mysterious emperor had a name. Commodus- the new Hercules.

"Commodus?" Rosie echoed. "That's our guy?"

"Rosemary, hush!" Apollo chided. "Don't say it out loud! What if he's like…you know who?"

"I regret telling you about Harry Potter."

Bing stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "Is anyone else here a Hufflepuff?"

"Guys, focus," Rosie said. She loved Harry Potter, but the idea of a new person who hated them took precedence. "Commodus said Meg escaped from Nero's men?"

"Sure did. She's out there somewhere-on her own," Apollo said. "Someone named Lityerses is after her- and by proxy, us."

Rosie stopped in her tracks. "Wait. Lityerses?"

"Yes? You know him?"

"I lityerses do."

Apollo frowned. "I don't get it?"

She thought of her first ever quest, the time she, Leo, Piper, and Jason had encountered Lityerses and his father King Midas.

She sighed. "Nevermind."

"Whoever he is, let's just hope we get in and out of the Zoo before him," Bing said with a shudder. "And hold up- the Oracle is your son? How on earth do you forget that?"

"Clearly the words of a non-demigod," Rosie pointed out.

Trophonius, it turned out, was Apollo's son. His dreams were just a wealth of information.

"Alright- so I'm not getting a Greatest Dad in the World mug anytime soon- sue me!"

"We're looking for a dangerous Oracle that drives people insane. The spirit of this Oracle happens to be your son, who just might hold a grudge against you because you didn't answer his prayers, thus forcing him to cut off Agamethus' own head. Those facts would have been good to know," Rosie said, rolling her eyes.

"Forgive me, Rosemary. I'm pretty sure my mortal brain is half the size my God one was."

"At least we're in agreement about the size of your brain."

"It is so nice getting to know you two," Bing said with a nervous laugh.

"If anyone has some advice, that would be fantastic!" Apollo snapped.

"Maybe ask your talking arrow?" Rosie suggested.

"His talking- what now?" Bing asked, his eyebrow furrowed.

Apollo whipped out his arrow, proceeding to have the world's most confusing, one-sided conversation. Bing shot Rosie a pleading look, and she just shook her head.

"Is this what FOMO means? I can finally tell Leo and Max I've experienced it," Bing said once Apollo had stopped talking.

Apollo shrugged. "Honestly, hearing the arrow's side of the conversation didn't even help me. Something about a train. And Tater-tots."

Bing smiled to himself. "Max loves Tater-tots."

Rosie couldn't help her. She felt her jaw clench at the mention of Max.

Bing noticed. He gave Rosie a questioning look.

"What?" He asked.

"I get it- you know him well. You know that he likes Tater-tots. You know him better than I do."

Bing looked confused. "Of course I don't. You knew him for six years, Rosie."

Rosie felt her cheeks heat up, feeling sorry that she had snapped at the satyr.

"Well, anyway, maybe it'll make more sense when we get to the zoo," Apollo said.

Bing snapped his fingers. "Your arrow mentioned tater-tots?" He inquired, pointing towards a building.

The zoo had an outdoor cafe, and the three of them scanned the menu selection.

"Why on earth would you need this many choices of Tater-tots? It's like-"

Apollo broke off, letting out a little gasp of fear.

"What?" Bing asked. "What is it?"

"It's Lityerses," he said with a gulp. "He's coming our way. I feel it."

There was no way she wanted to catch up with that freaky little dude.

"We need to hide," Rosie said, glancing around for a spot to hide by.

Unfortunately, the zoo was so open. There was only one spot.

"When in doubt," she said with a sigh. "Tater-tots."

She motioned the two of them to follow her. Rosie led them around the back of the cafe. They crouched next to some milk crates, stacked by the kitchen entrance.

She jiggled the door, only to find that it was locked. She gave Apollo a loaded look.

"What?" He asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Now would be a good time for some of that godly strength to return," she replied.

"Now if it were that easy, Rosemary-"

"I'll kick it!" Bing volunteered.

"Bing, you're not going to kick it-" Rosie began tiredly.

"And why shouldn't he?" Apollo questioned.

Rosie sighed. "Hold on, I think I have something."

She rummaged in her pocket, producing a single bobby pin. Apollo let out a noise of disbelief, rolling his eyes.

Rosie snapped the pin in half, jamming one of the pieces into the keyhole. She jiggled it around, not actually sure if it would work.

A loud CLICK occurred, as the door opened inward.

Bing immediately started clapping. "Rosie! How did you do that?"

She shrugged. "When you're friends with Leo, you pick up a thing or two about being a locksmith."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I could've done that."

Rosie shot him a look as she grabbed his sleeve, ushering him inside. Bing quickly followed, as Rosie brought up the rear.

She deadbolted the door. Not even two seconds later, someone from the outside shook the handle. The three of them held their breath, and Rosie prayed the deadbolt would hold.

Footsteps receded. The three of them let out a collective breath. Apollo peered into a nearby freezer. He moved on to another freezer next to it, frowning when it wouldn't open.

"Locksmith Rosemary?" He said.

"Who's useful now, huh?" She muttered, stepping forward to work her "magic" again.

The freezer lid popped up, and they peered in. Several packages labeled in black marker were beneath them.

Bing grabbed a couple of packages, frowning.

"Carnivorous horse mix?" He read. "Combat ostrich cubes? And…" he trailed off with a gulp, dropping one of the packages nervously. "Griffin taters? Kris Kringle, surely they aren't grinding these poor animals into food?"

"I'm sure they're just treats for the animals," Apollo reassured him.

"And a combat ostrich is…?" Rosie asked.

Apollo didn't answer her question. Instead, he got a faraway look in his eyes, his mouth slightly ajar.

"Not this again," Rosie complained out loud.

"So he does this a lot, then?" Bing asked.

"Let's say I've gotten used to my own company when traveling with Apollo."

She sighed, snapping her fingers in Apollo's face.

"Earth to Apollo."

"Don't go!" Apollo whined loudly, clearly speaking to someone Bing and Rosie couldn't see.

"Apollo?" Rosie inquired. "Did you have another vision?"

Apollo blinked, looking dazed. "Oh. Hi. Yeah. I'm fine." Apollo peered back into the freezer, pulling out another package of the griffin tater tots. He ripped it open, and frowned. "Are tater tots usually sprayed with gold?"

"What?" Rosie asked, taking the package from him. Sure enough, the tater tots had been sprayed in gold. "Oh-yum?"

"Griffins do like gold," Bing said thoughtfully. "Perhaps we're meant to feed them?"

"The arrow says that's a good idea, Bing," Apollo said. "Good thing someone here has a brain."

Rosie held her tongue, instead grabbing a stray paper menu lying off to the side. She peered at the place that was marked on the map: THE PLAINS.

"Here," she pointed out to the others. "It looks like this is accessible by train."

The Plains was surrounded by an orange circle, which appeared to be train tracks. It was labeled TRAIN RIDE! A look at the zoo behind the zoo.

"Advertising the secret zoo within a zoo is an interesting PR strategy," Apollo mused.

A crashing noise suddenly came from the front of the cafe.

"Stop that!" barked a voice she knew she had heard long ago. It had to be Lityerses . "You, stay here and keep watch. If they show, capture them—don't kill them. You, come with me. We need those griffins."

The three of them stayed silent briefly.

Finally, Apollo turned to Rosie and went, "Are they gone?"

She nodded seriously. "Let me just use my super x-ray vision to look through the wall." She paused dramatically. "Oh, wait."

"You are the bane of my existence, Rosemary." He shrugged. "I suppose we could go back to Waystation and tell everyone we gave it the good ol' college try."

Bing and Rosie both gave Apollo silent, but loaded looks.

Apollo groaned. "Alright, I get it. I guess it's time to ride the train."

Rosie nodded, glancing down at the map again. In particular, one section caught her eye: MEERKAT, REPTILES, and SNAKES. "Bring the Tots and follow me."

They swept through the park, trying their best to avoid the lone sentry guard, who luckily seemed to be more interested in the carousel. Her plan was to cut through the reptile exhibit, then heading around the perimeter of the park until they reached the train.

As they passed what appeared to be the ape exhibit, they heard the voices of an approaching Germanus patrol.

Apollo yelped, jumping about four feet into the air. He dove into the ape exhibit.

"Apollo, no!" Rosie hissed in an aggravated tone, her and Bing following him in.

The three of them crouched beneath a wall as two Germani guards walked casually past.

"I think they're gone," Bing whispered.

Apollo glanced to his right and suddenly stiffened up, scooting to Rosie.

"Dude, what-"

An orangutan sat right next to them behind a thin sheet of glass, staring back at them.

Apollo grabbed onto Rosie. "Make it stop staring at me."

"Um. Okay. We need to keep moving." She gave Apollo's leg a nudge.

Apollo hesitated, shaking his head. Rosie rolled her eyes, pushing past him as she crawled further into the exhibit. Bing followed closely behind, and after a moment's pause, Apollo brought up the rear.

The orangutan seemed upset by this. He barked out at them, tapping on the glass.

"Hush!" Apollo scolded.

Rosie crawled and led the three of them to the other side. She glanced outward.

"Okay," she said confidently. "I think the coast is clear."

She stepped out. And sure enough, the three of them smacked right into a guard.

The four of them all stood baffled in silence for a second. He seemed as surprised as they were to spot them.

"Hold these!" Apollo suddenly exclaimed, throwing the Tater-tots at the guard.

Surprisingly, the guard took them, looking baffled. Rosie stifled a laugh. A second passed, and the guard started looking more confused.

Apollo quickly slung his bow off his chest, notching an arrow in. In one swift motion, he shot it right into the guard's foot.

The guard howled, dropping the package of Tater-tots. Bing scooped it up, and the three of them ran.

Rosie laughed, glancing over her shoulder as they ran.

"That was pretty awesome!"

Bing and Apollo's faces dropped in horror.

"Rosemary-"

Rosie smacked right into the figure, Apollo quickly reaching out to steady her.

"Welcome!"

Lityerses, looking the same as he had on their first quest, stood before them with a smirk. Well, almost the same- he was wearing an earpiece. Apparently the Truimvirate still had communication access.

"They're here," he announced into the earpiece. "Converge onto me, but nice and slow- I want these three alive."

His eyes landed on Rosie, and the smirk grew bigger.

"Rosie Reiger," he greeted. "Oh, I'm real glad it's you. We have some unfinished business."

"You are lityerses the worst," she growled.

Lit's face faltered for a second. "I still don't get that," he muttered self-consciously.

Bing's eyebrows furrowed for a second, and then he quickly stifled a laugh.

"Lityer-oh!" He gave Rosie a small smile. "I get it."

"Good, could you explain to me?" Apollo muttered.

"Drop the bow, Apollo," Lityerses snapped.

"Um, no?"

"In about a minute, a dozen Germani soldiers will swarm this place, and believe me, they will not ask as nicely as I did."

Apollo's bow slipped out of his hands, and Rosie and Bing exchanged eye rolls.

"Guys," Apollo said to them. "Step back."

"What?" Bing asked. "Apollo, what are you-"

Apollo grabbed onto the both of them, yanking them back forcefully.

Not a second sooner, the canopy above them had collapsed- right onto Lityerses. In his place was a pile of shingles, lumber, and ivy.

"Holy-" Bing started.

"She must be here," Apollo squeaked out, his eyes wide. He quickly scooped up his bow.

"Who?" Rosie asked. "What the heck just happened?"

"Let's go," Apollo urged them, glancing over at the locomotive. "I'll drive!"

Rosie and Apollo both launched themselves towards the conductor's bench, which led to immediate fighting. Bing awkwardly held onto the roof of the train.

"I told you I'll drive!" Apollo yelled, elbowing her in her side. "If I can drive the sun, I can drive this!"

"This isn't the sun!" Rosie screeched, pressing her palm into Apollo's face. He really did bring out the maturity in her. "It's a model train!"

"Guys!" Bing pleaded.

Rosie found the ignition switch, flipping it. The train roared alive to go approximately two miles an hour.

With a hard shove, Apollo knocked Rosie off the bench and onto the ground. Rosie stood up, brushed off her pants, and glared at Apollo as she walked alongside the train.

"That thing has to go faster!" Rosie cried. "Push a couple more levers!"

The Germani soldiers had appeared, stopping to help free Lityerses.

Rosie hopped onto the train's edge, holding on.

"Try that blue pedal!" She instructed.

Apollo scoffed. "It's never the blue pedal."

Mostly out of pettiness, Rosie kicked the pedal. The train lurched to move about three times faster than it had been.

"Well, look at that!" Rosie exclaimed sarcastically.

The train headed into a wooded area, the station disappearing from view. Up ahead, there was a fork in the track, along with a sign that said something in Latin.

"There!" Apollo said with a tone of recognition. "The Good Stuff- we need to go left!"

"Does this thing turn?" Bing asked incredulously.

"There should be a switch!" Apollo said. "Something that operates the turnout!"

"How do you know so much about trains?" Rosie wondered aloud.

A second later, Apollo notched his arrow. The arrow flew through the air, hitting into a hand lever that was a couple of yards ahead.

The train lurched to the left- however, a little too well to the left.

"Out!" Apollo hollered.

Bing and Rosie for once shut their mouths and listened to Apollo, following him out the side of the train.

She fell onto the ground hard, wincing in pain.

With a groan, she got up and marched over to Apollo.

"Apollo." She gave him a light kick. "Get up."

The train had led them into a circular area. The train laid on its side like a centipede, completely careened off the track. The area was lined with glass animal enclosures, arena seating topping it. Over the top of it was a fine, mesh netting.

Bing nervously gulped, glancing at a pile of whips and noose poles.

"What is this place?" He asked.

"It's a training facility," Apollo said somberly. "It's where the animals are readied for the games."

"Readied?" Bing asked, his voice an octave higher. "Meaning…"

"They're enraged," Apollo said. "Beaten. Starved. Pitted against one another and used for target practice."

"And…when they're done with them?" Rosie asked with a hesitating gulp. Bing next to her looked pale.

Apollo didn't answer- the look on his face was answer enough.

"I'm gonna be sick," Bing moaned.

Rosie!

A voice called out to her, and Rosie felt herself freeze.

No way that could be…

"Rosie? What is it?" Apollo asked.

Rosie turned around, glancing into one of the glass enclosures. Keaton was behind one of them, looking just about as shocked as she probably did.

"Who is that?" Bing asked.

"Kermit!" Apollo yelled out in a shocked tone. "Is that you?"

"It's Keaton," Rosie said, rolling her eyes.

Rosie ran up to the glass enclosure, placing her hands onto it.

"I'm so glad to see you," she said. "Are you okay?"

I'm fine, but enough about me! The thing is…

Keaton glanced behind himself, where two griffins laid, shackled in chains.

"Abelard and Heloise!" Apollo said, him and Bing approaching.

Abelard immediately became defensive, squawking and baring its teeth at them.

Be careful, they're jumpy!

"You could say that again!" Bing said, and it occurred to Rosie that Bing could talk to animals.

Bing knelt down in front of the griffins, talking in a soothing tone.

"It's going to be alright- we're going to get you back to Emmie and Jo, okay? What's that? Oh no…" Bing glanced up at them. "We have a problem."

"What? What is it?" Apollo asked.

"Heloise is pregnant. No wonder that lady wants them back so badly."

"Can she still fly?" Rosie asked.

"Yeah- at least, I think so," Apollo said with a nervous gulp. "I'm not sure if she should more than one rider, though. I'll fly on Abelard, and you Bing can fly on Heloise. Rosie, you get Kieran."

"Keaton!"

"Didn't I say that?" Apollo asked with a blank expression. He looked over at Bing. "I could've sworn I did." He shrugged.

"Moving on," Rosie muttered. She pointed to the netting above them. "That's our best bet as far as escape. If we can get the griffins out and remove the netting…we're out."

"Bing, do you think you could get the griffins to trust us?" Apollo asked.

Bing hesitated. "I guess. Keaton, could you help me?"

Let's do it.

Apollo used Rosie as a stepladder to climb up into the stands above in hopes that there would be a switch for the Plexiglass keeping the animals in.

"Ready?" He called down.

Rosie shrugged, exchanging a look with Bing.

"I guess so," she replied.

Apollo flipped the switch, and the plexiglass wall dropped down, nothing standing in the way between them and Keaton and the griffins.

Bing knelt down in a non threatening stance, speaking soothing words to the griffins, coaxing them forward. Rosie would hand him the tater tots, one by one to entice them even further.

The griffins squawked, clearly not fans of Apollo or Rosie.

"I don't think they'll come any closer unless they trust you two," Bing admitted. "You two should try feeding them."

"You heard him," Rosie said, nudging Apollo. "You first."

"Oh, please, Rosemary, I insist. You're so much more trustworthy."

Rosie fixed him with one more glare, then tentatively stepped forward, tot in hand.

Nice and slow, Reiger, Keaton reminded her. No sudden movements.

Heloise gave her a skeptical look, and Rosie gulped, her hand extended one towards the creature. In a split second, Rosie could very well be a first course meal.

Heloise seemed to take a moment to look her up and down, unsure. Then, after one more second, she ate the tater tot right out of Rosie's hand, nudging her affectionately after.

"Your turn," she said, turning to Apollo with a smirk.

Apollo nervously took a step forward towards Abelard. Abelard, in turn, ate the tater tot out of Apollo's hand.

"Well done!" A voice called out. "You found a perfect place to die."

Rosie, Apollo, and Bing jumped in unison. Lityerses had found them.

"Rosie?" Apollo whispered.

"Yes?"

"If we die here, I'd just like to say I don't hate you as much as I did when we first met. Bing, you seem a little weird but it's too soon to tell properly."

"Thank…you?" Bing said.

"We're not dying here, Apollo," Rosie gritted. "That is definitely not on my bucket list."

"Your bantering is cute!" Lit said. "I love seeing mortals try to grasp the reality of death. Let me tell you, as someone who's been there, it's not fun."

"You're the son of King Midas," Apollo said. "You came back to the mortal world when the doors of Death were open?"

Apollo already knew this- Rosie had caught him up to speed on everything that had happened on their quest. His attempt at stalling was laughable.

"Thanks to Rosie and her sniveling ragtag group, my idiot father got himself killed. I survived, but only because I was turned into a gold statue and then turned into a rug! Anyways- the Triumvirate offered me work. They recognize Lityerses' worth, reaper of Men!"

Rosie snorted, quickly covering her mouth.

"Very impressive title!" She exclaimed, stifling another laugh.

Lit raised his sword threateningly.

"I earned that title, Rosemary. My friends may call me Lit, but my enemies call me Death!"

Rosie wished that Leo was there. One look, and the two of them would've been in stitches.

"You know, Lit, your father and I used to be great friends!" Apollo said. "Once, I even gave him an ass's ears."

Lit glared at Apollo. "Yes, I grew up hearing about the music contest you made my dear old Dad judge. Gave him donkey ears because he declared your winner the opponent? Ha! My father hated you so much for that stint I almost was tempted to like you. But I don't. Instead, I get to kill you!"

"Wait!" Apollo cried. "What about all that fuss about keeping us alive?"

"I changed my mind. Well, I'll keep your two sidekicks alive long enough to kill in front of your other friends- that would make me happy. You, Apollo…" Lit laughed. "I'll just have to tell the emperor you resisted arrest."

Too much spun through Rosie's head, all possibilities of what to do. Could the griffins attack Lit? Could she and Bing somehow overpower Lit?

As Lit rushed towards Apollo with his sword drawn, she didn't have to make a decision.

Meg McCaffrey had appeared out of nowhere, stopping Lit's blade in its tracks, sending Lit backwards onto his butt.

"Meg!" Apollo squeaked out in surprise.

"That's Meg?" Bing asked Rosie.

Lit snarled at Meg. "I wondered if this blithering idiot would draw you out of hiding, Meg. You're signing your death warrant."

"Nope," Meg said simply.

"You dropped that roof on me, didn't you, Meg?"

"Yep," Meg said with a shrug. "You're stupid."

Meg glanced back over her shoulder at the three of them.

"Get out of here," she growled at Apollo. Her eyes flickered over to Rosie. "Hi, Rosie."

"Hey, Meg!"

"Meg," Apollo pleaded. "You just got here. Please, just-"

"Go. Take the griffins and leave- I'll hold off the stupid head."

"This girl has an impressive vocabulary," Bing muttered under his breath.

"You might be a decent swordsman, Meg McCaffrey, but no one is as good as the Reaper of Men!" Lit roared.

Rosie let out a snort of laughter, eliciting a glare from Lit.

"Demeter is my mom, too, little sister," Lit jeered. "Let's see what you know about reaping lives!"

The two of them engaged in swordplay, as Rosie tugged on Apollo's sleeve.

"Come on, the griffins!" She urged. "Bing, get to Heloise." Rosie gestures to Keaton. "Keaton, I've got you."

Let's bust out of here.

"Get Meg!" Rosie yelled towards Apollo as she mounted Keaton.

Bing nervously climbed on top of Heloise with a gulp. Rosie watched, unsure if Heloise would even be able to fly. Sure enough though, the pregnant griffin took off, Bing clutching on tightly.

They wouldn't have anywhere to go. Above them, their only exit, was that netting.

"Get me up there, Keaton!"

Meanwhile, Apollo was yelping as he attempted to interrupt Meg fighting Lityerses.

"Meg!" He yelled, exasperated. "Will you please get on?"

Lit narrowly missed Meg as she leaped towards Apollo. Apollo caught her, swinging her behind him onto Abelard.

"Go, Abelard!" Apollo yelled.

Keaton was picking up his speed, heading towards the netting alarmingly fast.

"Um, Keaton," Rosie began nervously. "Maybe don't take what I say so seriously."

You've got this, Reiger.

"Keaton, I can't!"

Rosie!

She didn't have time to think. All she knew was that her friends were behind her and Lit was mad and there was the netting.

Instinctively, she threw up her hands. She felt a rumbling from deep within, and the second her hands made contact with the netting, it disintegrated beneath her fingertips. The dust rained down around her.

Apollo and Meg on Abelard flew up to her side. Apollo gave her a look like she had grown another head.

"Did you do that?" He screeched.

"I-" She suddenly felt very faint, as she knelt over and clutched Keaton's neck harder, the world plunging into darkness.