Joel drove through the night, though he took the time to show them all how to drive the bus as he did so. After all, as he said, there was no way he was going to drive all the way through to California, a full three-day drive. Maddie was spared this lesson though, as she had slept through the lesson. Plus, I don't really know if her feet would even reach the pedals on this thing...

Although, as it turns out, they needn't have bothered. As the sun came up, shining through the windows of the modified Greyhound bus, one of the seats that they hadn't noticed was reclined in the back crashed upright. Practically falling over himself, Randy burst up the aisle of the bus.

"What the hell is happening here?!" He shouted. "Why are you kids driving my bus?!"

Marcus froze. This was something he hadn't planned for. Mind racing, he tried to come up with a plan, any plan. But before he could say a word, the situation was taken out of his hands.

"Hold on now Randy, no need to get all pissed off." Jason said slowly. Marcus reached slowly into his pocket and grabbing his pocket watch. Dammit... Jason you better know what you're doing . "We're on a quest from camp. Chiron's orders."

"Chiron... You mean that guy in the wheelchair?" Randy seemed to relax, just a little. Marcus noticed his eyes seemed to glaze over. The Mist at work... Guess Children of Dolos can be useful after all.

"Yeah, the guy in the wheelchair. Look, we need to get to Berkely Hills in California. Think you can handle it?"

"Handle it?" Randy scoffed. "Kid, I've driven all over this damn country. Pull over and get out of my driver's seat."

Joel glanced in the rearview mirror and met Marcus' gaze. Marcus shrugged and nodded, and Joel moved the bus to the side of the highway, pulling into the shoulder and parking. Randy waited, the epitome of impatience, as Joel slipped out of the driver's seat and into the seat Jason was in. Randy walked by and practically fell into the seat, mumbling something about "kid giants" and "messing with my chair". Marcus and Joel exchanged glances and Marcus could see Joel was all too obviously trying not to laugh as Randy's grumbling. After a second, the bus started moving again, back on its way to California. Taking a closer look at the driver, Marcus noticed that as soon as he was driving again Randy seemed to relax and the glazed over look was clearer than ever on his face. Huh... Guess the bus has something to do with the Mist controlling him after all... Wonder what the Hephaestus kids did to it... He shrugged. Not my concern, as long as he gets us to the Ruins of New Rome, that's good enough for me.

Glancing over, Marcus was pleased to see that all of the commotion hadn't been enough to wake Maddie. As gently as he could, Marcus lifted her into his arms. Light as a feather... I really need to get you to eat more Mads. Carefully, to avoid any jostling that might wake her up, Marcus carried Maddie towards the back of the bus, settling her in a seat and reclining it for her. Taking off the jacket he had brought with him, Marcus used it as a blanket, laying it over Maddie as gently as he could. He couldn't help but smile to himself. Looking at her now, you wouldn't know she was the fiercest fighter I'd ever seen... He shook his head a little. No. Get ahold of yourself Marcus. He made sure she was tucked in gently and stood. I won't fail again... This time, we all make it back alive.

Turning back towards the front of the bus, he caught the quick motion of both Joel and Jason whipping back around to face the front of the bus. God damn spying pieces of... ugh whatever. Marcus walked back to the front of the bus and clapped Jason gently on the shoulder.

"Nice work Boulder Boy."

Jason looked up at him with a petulant glance. "Are we still on that?"

"Tell you what, you tell me how you used the Mist so easily, and I'll consider letting it go." Marcus said.

"I... I don't know." Jason replied, eyes downcast. "It's always been like that... Sometimes I say things and people just... believe me."

"Sometimes?" Joel piped up.

"Well yeah... Sometimes it just doesn't work." Jason said. "I don't know why though."

"Dolos." Marcus said.

"What?"

"Your father is Dolos. The God of Cunning, Guile, Lies... The Mist is something that is used to hide what's really happening. Maybe being his son gives you some talent at using it."

"Yeah, sure." Jason scoffed. "Talent. If I was so talented, you all wouldn't be calling me 'Boulder Boy'..."

Marcus shook his head. Ah, so that's it. "Take it from me kid. The less you believe in your own talents, the less they'll want to work for you. How about instead of saying you don't have any skills, try figuring out how to use what they are. After all, we both just saw you change Randy's mind with the Mist, and I guarantee if you hadn't, this trip would've been off to a rough start. Imagine what else you could use the Mist for." Marcus stood and stretched. "Think about it."

With that, Marcus headed back toward he had left Maddie, reclining a seat across the aisle from her and settling down. Closing his eyes, he settled down to try and sleep a bit before the sun was fully up. Hearing voices, he opened one eye to see Joel and Jason both looking down the aisle at him again, whispering amongst themselves. Realizing they were probably talking about him and Maddie again, he sighed. This is gonna be a long trip...

Marcus swiped his hand in front of him, breaking yet another attempt by Chiron to reach him via Iris message. You'd think after three days, he'd just give up.

Marcus walked around the gas station where Randy had stopped to fill up the bus. As he did, he saw Joel and Jason talking with Maddie quietly. Oh no. No, no, no. Marcus hurried over to them.

"-you known Marcus?" Jason was asking.

"Oh, we've known each other since I started at Camp!" Maddie responded with a smile.

"So, ya could say he's your childhood best friend?" Joel asked, a bit too eagerly for Marcus' liking.

"Uh huh. We've been together ever since." Maddie said innocently.

Marcus stepped into the conversation. "I've looked out for her since then." He said with a smile, messing up Maddie's hair and causing her to giggle. "It's been a long time, but we're still friends."

"Friends huh...?" Jason said, giving Joel a sidelong glance.

Marcus turned his attention to Jason and smiled. A smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah. Why? Something wrong?"

Marcus watched Jason shrink under his gaze. "N-n-no. I just thought it was really nice that you could still be friends after all this time..." And with that, Jason practically fled onto the bus. Joel followed, giving Marcus a wink and obviously barely containing his laughter.

"Marcus, what was that all about?" Maddie looked up at him with his hand still resting on her head. "Why did Jason ask you that?"

Marcus shrugged. "Who knows why Jason does anything Mads. Come on, looks like Randy's done fueling the bus up and we need to get going. We're almost there."

"What kind of place was New Rome?" Maddie asked excitedly. "I never hear anybody talk about it anymore."

"That's because it's not a happy story Maddie Madness." Marcus replied, climbing onto the bus.

"Why? What happened?" Jason piped up, having heard them speaking.

"Well, like I told you, the Gods have followed the spirit of the west for as long as there's been one."

"Yeah, and ya said that since they were Roman for nearly as long as they were Greek, the Gods have two distinct sides. Not that I know what the heck that means." Joel added.

"It means Zeus is also Jupiter, Ares is also Mars... That sort of thing." Maddie said. "It didn't used to be common knowledge, but during the Age of Jackson, we found out that there was another camp for half-bloods. The Roman ones."

"Age of Jackson...?" Jason asked.

Marcus shrugged. "It was a while ago. The titans rose up, tried to take over Olympus and destroy the gods, Gaia tried waking up, Apollo was turned into a mortal, a whole lot happened in one lifetime."

Jason nodded, eyes wide. "Yeah. That sounds like a lot."

"Thing is, after all was said and done Percy Jackson decided to try and make a life for himself in New Rome, a city that the Roman half-bloods had created."

"They made a city?" Joel asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, it was huge! " Maddie said.

"Huge or not, it was a Roman city. A Greek half-blood deciding to spend his life there... Well, I don't care how many people liked him, that was a dumb idea and bound to lead to trouble." Marcus said. Maddie nodded her head sadly.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"What always happens when Greek and Roman half-bloods interact. Eventually, the two groups starting fighting. Over quest areas, over Godly favor... Eventually, it got back to the point where the two groups where at each other's throats, with those on both sides dying for a war. The only ones who seemed to see reason were Percy and his friends. But there was a group who didn't want peace. They wanted war between the half-bloods, to prove once and for all which side was greater. And I guess they got their wish." Marcus sighed.

"They killed Percy Jackson in the streets of New Rome... With Celestial Bronze weapons..."

Jason gasped, and Joel's face was uncharacteristically dark. Marcus nodded before continuing.

"Of course, the Romans couldn't let this go. Percy Jackson was their hero, an ex-Praetor, one of their leaders. How dare the Greek monsters murder him in cold blood! But then there were the Greeks who refused to believe it was one of their own. After all, Percy Jackson was their hero. A Greek demigod, a son of Poseidon, the hero that had taken down Kronos and saved Olympus. Now not only had the Roman's taken him from them with their shining city of promises, they had killed him while he was there. And even if they hadn't killed him themselves, they failed to protect him! I'm sure you can see what happened."

"War between the half-bloods." Joel muttered.

"Exactly. One that dragged on and on. Unlike the rest of the wars between the two sides, even the Gods were powerless to stop this conflict. Their hatred was too great, the split too wide. The Gods themselves had to retreat from the earth entirely or risk being shattered. They had to wait for the conflict to end on its own. And eventually, it did..." Marcus trailed off, looking out of the front windshield, a deep scowl coming to his face.

"How did it end...?" Jason asked.

Marcus pointed at the windshield. "See for yourself. We're here."