read94- you'll find out those answers very shortly :D

What are everyone's thoughts on the TV show? I'm loving it so far- makes me feel like a kid again in the best way. Here's to hoping it inspires a whole new generation of fans!

Max wasn't upset about being left behind for too long. Once the others left, he disappeared into the Waystation's library, emerging only hours later with a faraway look in his eyes, asking about lunch.

After Leo helped him throw together a haphazard ham sandwich, it was back to the tales of Ichabod Crane, Tom Sawyer, and Oliver Twist.

Leo, however, was distracted by something other than the library.

Jo's workshop had grabbed his attention the second he had laid eyes on it. He had been itching to get his hands on it.

With Max distracted and Jo & Emmie nowhere to be found, he finally saw his window.

He has forgotten how good it felt to just…tinker. Leo felt like he could finally let his guard down for a second, be alone among the machines.

"I knew it."

He wasn't alone anymore. Jo had snuck in, leaning up against the wall and looking at him with amusement.

"I figured I'd find you here, champ."

"Can I use this?" Leo asked eagerly, pointing to her miter saw.

"If I said no, would it make a difference?"

Leo grinned. "Nah, probably not."

"Figured as much. Go ahead, kiddo."

Le eagerly hopped in, and Jo didn't leave. Instead, she kept watching him. Normally, this would've freaked Leo out, but the tools in front of him kept him occupied.

"You're said you're an Hephaestus kid, then?" Jo piped up.

"Well…yes. Technically," Leo said with a shrug. "But I always thought of myself more so taking after my mom."

"The mechanic," Jo said knowingly.

"Yep. She ran a shop down in Houston."

Jo raised her eyebrows, an impressed look on her face.

"She must be pretty proud of you, then. The short one- Max?- he was telling me a little about how you found him."

"Yeah, it was no big deal. Just hooked up the astrolabe to Festus' navigational system."

Jo whistled under her breath. "Wow."

"And my mom's dead," he said a second later, ripping that awkward bandaid off.

Jo didn't say anything for a second, and Leo was waiting for the common pleasantries exchanged when someone brought up the awkward elephant in the room.

"I bet she knew you would build masterpieces," Jo said simply.

It was a response Leo wasn't used to hearing, not an awkward change of subject or a thinly veiled apology.

Leo cleared his throat, pretending to be extremely interested in the saw.

"I wasn't really in control of my powers when I was younger." He wasn't sure what it was, but something in Jo made Leo trust her. "My fire powers, I mean. There had been an accident in the shop, and…"

"Did you mean to do it?"

"No."

"Did it feel good?"

"Of course not."

"There you go then."

It was so nonchalant, so simple that Leo's heart ached. It brought him back to the first time he verbalized what had happened to his mom, way back at Wilderness.

The math homework was long forgotten. Leo instead was crumpling up pieces of paper and aiming for his trash can. Rosie was pretending to be intently tapping her pencil in thought, but Leo knew she was actually tapping out the tune to 'We Will Rock You'.

He teased her by tapping along, but in Morse code. He didn't expect her eyes to become wide with recognition but when they did he stopped quickly, suddenly insecure.

And when the topic of their families inevitably came up after that, Leo surprised himself even more by talking about his Mom.

That damn Freckles could've gotten him to spill national secrets.

He dreaded looking at her. He wasn't about to drop the dreaded hey-I-have-fire-powers on her, but Leo had gotten the same reaction from people without even sharing that. He got disgusted looks, appalled stares.

The silence after was deafening. Leo waited for the disgust, for Rosie to hate his guts. And then it came.

"You were just a kid."

Leo's eyes met Rosie's, and he saw how incredibly sad they were.

And then, he saw something else- no, recognized something. It was the look of a person who had also lost someone.

It was then that Leo heard the first rumblings he would hear about Max Reiger.

Sometimes people just got it, no explanation needed. And Jo was turning out to be one of them.

"I'm real sorry about your mom, Leo."

It's okay. I feel her here.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Jo gave him a thoughtful look. "Have you ever thought about school for engineering?"

"What?" Leo asked, completely caught off guard.

"College? To become an engineer?"

Leo shook his head. "No. It's a hobby, really." For so long, he felt like he had to minimize it because there was always some kind of danger going on that was more important. He was a pro at putting things on the back burner.

Jo snorted. "Buddy, I don't think anyone who creates a mechanical dragon in their free time should consider it a hobby."

The mention of Festus made Leo ache a bit. Emmie had scoured the state grounds where they had left him for them, but nothing. The blemmyae had taken him.

"No wonder I don't have many friends," Leo said with an easy laugh. After a pause, Leo went, "Do you think I'm good enough for that? Engineering?"

"There's always a lot to learn, but I can tell you're talented. You certainly have the passion down. I'd…I'd be willing to teach you some things if you'd like."

"Really?!" Leo exclaimed. "I mean…that would be awesome."

"Yeah. In fact…I could use your help to proof this place." Her shoulders sagged. "To get it ready for any sort of attack."

She didn't have to tell him twice. Leo got to work- the last time he had felt this useful was when he was building the Argo II. Jo and him primed the catapults, reset all the crossbows, and sealed up all exits.

They ended up back in Jo's workshop, discussing in depth Archimedes sphere.

Max shuffled in the room at that moment, not quite looking up from the book he was reading.

"Hey," he said casually. "They're back."

"They are?" Jo asked eagerly.

"Yeah, the griffins are circling the roof."

Jo gestured for them to follow her. "Come on, then."

Leo was right on her tail, but he noticed Max lingering behind, eyes still glued to his book.

"Max?"

"Hold on, this is a good part."

"Max!"

Jo led them up the ladder. They discovered the griffins there, sitting peacefully on top of the shingles. Bing was stroking one of them affectionately. Apollo was standing near the other one, a young girl standing behind him. That had to be Meg.

Jo ran up to the griffins. "Oh my sweethearts, you're alive!" She turned to the young girl with a grin. "Welcome!"

Rosie was on top of a Pegasus, and Leo immediately noticed how…off she looked. She looked greenish, and she shot Leo an uneasy smile.

Leo went straight over to her.

"Freckles?"

"Hey," Rosie clumsily dismounted the Pegasus, and her fingers found Leo's shirt, gripping it tightly. "I missed you-"

"Um," He grunted as Rosie became more slack in his arms. "You okay, girlie?"

"Wonderful," she muttered sleepily, giving his arm a squeeze. "And don't call me-"

Rosie crumpled into his arms.

He immediately shot a glare at Apollo. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing!" He said defensively. "Kevin must be a jerky flyer!"

"Who?" Leo asked.

"The Pegasus."

"It's Keaton," Bing said, rolling his eyes at Apollo.

"What on earth happened, Apollo?" Jo demanded.

Apollo launched into the story of what happened at the Zoo. Leo's blood boiled at the mention of Lityerses- he hated that guy.

Once Apollo finished, the young girl said flatly, "It was crazy."

"Are you Meg?" Max asked bluntly.

"Yeah- who are you?" Meg shot back.

"Great, just what we need," Apollo complained aloud. "Another sarcastic young child."

"I'm Max," Max said to Meg sharply.

Apollo held his hands up in surrender. "So, anyways, Leo, it seems Rosie's powers might have rejoined us a little."

"What do you mean, rejoined us?" Leo asked. "What happened to her powers?"

Apollo blinked. "She didn't tell you?"

Leo cleared his throat, embarrassed. "No."

Apollo gave an uneasy shrug. "I could be remembering it wrong."

The group all gave him sympathetic looks, and Leo wanted to run off that roof right then and there. How dumb he was to assume he and Rosie could automatically fall back into their own nature. That he could still give her one mischievous look, and she'd know exactly what he was thinking.

Those six months had changed the both of them.

"Is she going to be okay?" Leo asked Jo quietly, looking at Rosie, still in his arms.

Jo came over, inspecting Rosie closely.

"She's just blown a circuit."

"Blown a circuit?!?" Leo exclaimed, his voice jumping an octave higher. "We don't like those!"

"Just an expression, friend," Jo said gently. "It's possible her powers came back in a short burst, and it might've been a bit too much for her body to handle. We'll get her down to the infirmary, okay?"

"I'm coming with," Leo said.

"We'll give you two some space to… chat," Bing offered to Apollo and Meg helpfully. He clapped Max on the shoulder. "Let's go show Keaton around, Max."

"Is no one going to mention that this is like Rosie's tenth time passing out?" Max muttered.

"Max!"

Rosie's eyes had fluttered open, and met his.

"You snore when you sleep," he teased.

"I do not," she said, shooting him a sleepy grin.

"The people five miles away would disagree."

"You're such a jerk."

He scooted closer to her, placing his elbows on her bed, and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Aw, Freckles, you don't mean that."

"Get off my sick bed."

"Seriously, though, are you okay? Apollo…he mentioned something about your powers."

Rosie's face fell, and she looked away from Leo.

"I should've told you sooner," she said, looking embarrassed.

"Hey." He grabbed her hand. "I know things have been weird-"

"So weird."

"But…let's just talk, okay? I'll put my honesty cap on."

"It'll mess up your hair," Rosie muttered.

"Hey, my hair looks great no matter what."

"Fine. I'll put mine on too- only if it's pink."

"You'll have to fight me for the pink one."

Rosie mimed putting a cap on her head. "Ladies first."

"Of course, Freckles."

She cleared her throat.

"The...the day I found out you died, I blew up a couple of sinks and then…nothing. I think…I don't know, I was really depressed at that time. Like, watching Dead Poets' Society on repeat kind of depressed. You were gone, and-" Her voice caught on a sob, and Leo felt his own heart clench. "I thought you were gone for good. And now I guess...I'm scared. You're constantly scaring me. I was accepting you being gone, and now you're here…and I'm scared I'll lose you again."

Leo was speechless. How could he vocalize how sorry he was for making her feel that way? Sorry wasn't going to cut it.

"I know why you did it," Rosie jumped in quickly. "I'm not blaming you, because…what you did? That's the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me. For the entire ship. I just…six months is a long time."

"Rosie."

"And I'm so sorry for giving up. For doubting."

"Rosie."

"Do you regret it?" Rosie asked suddenly.

"No," Leo said, anguish in his voice.

He would've done it a thousand times over.

"Because it'd be okay. If you did, I mean. It was six months."

"Rosie, I don't regret it- not for a second." He let out a breezy laugh. "Can I talk for a second?"

"Yeah," she said, chewing on her lip nervously.

"Hat?"

"Oh, right." She pretended to take off the hat, plopping it onto Leo's head.

"I knew people were going to be hurt. You have to believe that if I was able to tell anyone, I would've been running to tell you, Freckles."

She squeezed his hand.

"I know we can't jump back right into things. Six months is a long time. I know…it'll be hard to get that trust back."

"Give yourself more credit," she said quietly. "You're pretty easy to trust."

He smiled. Weird how a string of words like that could make him feel like floating.

"We can go slow, okay? Whatever pace you want- I'm there." He knew there was still so much for them to discuss- Jason and Piper, Max- but they had time.

Rosie placed a hand on the side of his face, cupping his cheek. Her thumb gently caressed him.

"Don't move for a second, okay?"

"But I have to sneeze-"

A split second passed, and her lips were suddenly on his, and dear god, all the words flew out of Leo's head. All that was left was Rosie and lips and again-

Leo broke away for one second. "Wait, you like me?"

She gave him a playful shove. "Nah. The first kiss was better."

"First kiss?" He exclaimed. "What are you keeping from me?"

She grinned. "We might've kissed on the Wilderness roof."

"What? You're telling me you've had one more kiss than I've had?" He got close to her. "Kiss me again."

"Nope," she said with a teasing grin.

"No fair," he whined.

"So how was your day?" She asked innocently.

"Subject changer, thy name is Freckles. My day was good."

"Yeah?"

"Really good, actually. Jo's…kind of amazing. Did you know she knew Al Capone?"

"No freaking way."

"Way! The stuff she's created…it's awesome. She…" He hesitated. "She told me I should go into engineering one day."

"Of course you should. You're freaking Leo Valdez."

"I just didn't think…it could become a career. That I'd be around long enough."

"But we will be," Rosie said confidently, giving him a comforting smile. "You could learn so much from Jo."

"Yeah- I think you're right."

"Hey, kids?" Jo appeared in the doorway of the infirmary. "Sorry to interrupt- how you feeling, Rosie?"

"A little queasy, but much better. The queasy thing might just be from seeing Leo's face."

Leo pinched her side, Rosie twisting away from him with a grin.

"You adorable lovebirds," Jo observed. "Leo, you mind joining me back in the dining room? Britomartis would like to speak with us."

"Ugh, okay," he said reluctantly, standing up. He paused. "Are we sure I'm not injured, too?"

Rosie gave him a playful kick from behind. "Send her my love!"

Leo held his arms up as he entered the dining room, announcing loudly, "Everyone relax! Rosie is okay!"

Britomartis grunted as if she was disappointed. Bing and Max exchanged smirks as Leo sat down across from them.

Apollo glanced at the goddess. "The net over the arena. Nets are your department. You helped in blasting it away, didn't you? Rosie couldn't have done that by herself."

Leo opened his mouth to interject, but was quickly cut off.

"I may have jumpstarted her a little bit," the goddess said with a smirk. "She's more useful to me with her powers."

"You could've killed her!" Leo snapped at her.

She shrugged. "Maybe. Hard to say."

Leo felt smoke coming out of his ears as he started to rise from his seat.

Jo grabbed him by the sleeve. "Let it go, bud. Between me and Emmie, we've got your girl covered."

Britomartis glared at him. "You know, with enough time and practice, that girl could get her powers back. Don't blame me for trying to harness them." She looked over at Apollo, apparently done speaking to Leo. "Now, as promised, I'll reward you. I'll give you information to directly lead you to the emperor's palace. Have we reinforced the security of Waystation? It's only a matter of time before it's attacked."

"All this guy," Jo said, clapping Leo on the back.

"And you, Max?" Bing asked teasingly.

Max was still reading his book.

"Hmm?" He asked in a distracted tone. "Oh, yeah…the library is well protected, don't worry."

"And uh, about Festus…?" Apollo asked hopefully.

Leo was riled up again. "I bet Lityerses has him. When I get my hands on that crust-sucking Cornhusker, I will lityerses-"

"Which brings us to the point," Apollo interrupted. "How does Leo- I mean, how do we find the palace?"

"The main gates to the emperors' palace are under the soldiers and sailors monument," Britomartis answered.

"I should've known," Jo muttered.

"Why?" Bing asked. "What is that?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "It's this huge, ugly column in the middle of a plaza, a couple of blocks from here."

"The things Indiana considers as a monument," Max muttered under his breath.

"I'm assuming it's heavily guarded?" Apollo asked with a sigh.

Britomartis laughed. "It's a death trap- that's a lot coming from me. Machine guns, trap doors, lasers- you name it."

Meg gave a bored shrug. "The emperor would let us in."

"That's true- he'd love you and Apollo to give yourselves up. Of course, if you want to avoid being tortured to death, there's another possibility."

"Call me crazy," Leo said. "But Leo is very happy when he's not being tortured to death."

Meg snorted, which made Leo sit up a little straighter. Finally, someone who appreciated his jokes.

"Then, to get inside, you must use the waterworks."

"The plumbing system," Leo translated flatly.

"Correct! To access the emperor's water system, you'll need to search the city's canal walk."

"Which is?" Meg asked.

Emmie gave her a small smile. "I'll show you, Meg. It's an old canal that runs downtown. They refurbished the area, built a bunch of new apartments and whatnot."

"Big fan of the whatnot," Leo piped up.

"Good. Your skills will be needed to find the entrance."

Now what did she mean by that? "Um-pause. Find the entrance? I thought you just told us where it would be."

"Yeah," The goddess said, rolling her eyes. "Somewhere along the canal. Look for a grate. You'll know when you see it."

"And I'm guessing it'll be booby-trapped."

"Of course! But not as much as the main entrance. And Apollo will have to get over his fear of water-"

Apollo went beet red. "I do not have a fear of water-"

"Shut up," Meg told Apollo. She looked over at Leo. "If we find the grate, can you get us in?"

Leo laughed. "Oh, chica. I'm a son of Hephaestus. I'm a bit of a problem solver. This guy Lit tried to kill me and my friends before- I'll for sure get us into our palace. Then I'm going to find that slimey Lit and…"

"Light him up?" Apollo suggested. "So he's literally lit?"

"I wasn't going to say that. It seemed too corny," Leo said with a shrug.

"Sure, that's corny," Max muttered. He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, since Rosie is incapacitated again, I'm assuming I'm needed for the water?"

"Oh, no," Britomartis interjected. "Absolutely not, Max Reiger."

"What? Are you kidding?"

"As if a son of Poseidon would be able to get five feet within his palace without setting off thousands of traps."

Max slouched in his seat, and Leo could tell he was frustrated.

"Be patient, kiddo," Jo reassured. "You'll be very needed around here."

"Yes," the goddess said. "Be patient, Maxwell."

"I heard Jo, thanks," Max said sullenly.

Britomartis gave Jo and Emmie a look.

"Now, trust Meg, Leo, and Apollo," she said. "Don't go running off after your daughter."

"Why you little-" Emmie began.

"This is their task-they have to find and free the captives, to retrieve the throne of Mnemosyne-"

"And get Festus," Leo quickly added.

"And Georgina," Jo grumbled.

"Of course," he reassured her.

"Can you guys pick up some groceries while you're out?" Max asked. "That sandwich could've used some mayo."

Britomartis' eyes flashed murderously at Max, but she did not address his comment.

"You'll all leave tomorrow at first light. In the meantime, I will try to locate the Hunters of Artemis. I know they were in the area recently on a quest- perhaps they can help defend this place."

Apollo let out a laugh. "Well, that would be wonderful!"

She glared back at him. "But if they can't, be prepared to fight on your own."

Leo wanted to roll his eyes at this statement, knowing he and his friends had fought without help all the time.

"And remember, heroes, the day after tomorrow is the emperor's naming ceremony."

"Yes!" Apollo exclaimed. "Another helpful reminder!"

"Don't be such a grump!" Britomartis chided, giving him a flirtatious wink. "If you happen to come out of it alive, we'll catch a movie together- promise. Toodaloo!"

With a twirl of her dress, she was gone.

Meg grunted. "Naming ceremony?"

"Yes," Apollo said with a sigh. "Knowing him, the emperor will probably name the city after himself."

Meg gave a snort. "Commode city?"

Leo felt himself give Meg a tentative smile. "The what now?"

"His name is-"

"Meg, don't," Josephine warned.

"-Commodus," Meg finished. She frowned. "Why can't I say his name?"

"He pays attention to things like that, Meg," Apollo said, shaking his head. "There's no point in letting him know we're talking about-"

"COMMODUS, COMMODUS, COMMODUS!" Meg yelled through cupped hands. "COMMODE CITY, COMMODIANA, COMMODE DAY! COMMODE MAN!"

The group fell into a shocked silence. Leo noticed Max scoot back in his chair, exchanging a scared look with Bing.

"He definitely didn't hear that," Apollo muttered tiredly.

Jo clucked disapprovingly. "You shouldn't have done that, Hon."

"I don't care," Meg said roughly. "My stepfather said he was the weakest- we can take him."

Meg got up abruptly, pushing her seat out.

"He's coming whether we like it or not," she said, heading out of the hall.