He found himself standing on a grassy plateau.

Turning, Marcus saw mountains in the distance, and a cabin nestled between a copse of trees. He couldn't see anywhere else that Hunter could be hiding, and so hurried to the shelter of the cabin wall, silently cursing his inexperience with this sort of thing. He had assumed, like what happened with Athena, he would be placed near the person whose mind he had infiltrated. Knowing my luck, he could be anywhere in these mountains. He didn't have time to search an entire mountain range. He knew time back where he was with Hunter physically would be moving much slower, but he couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

He slid along the wall of the cabin until he came to an open window. He was about to jump through when he froze, hearing voices coming through the window.

"-crazy, Aaron." Alicia's voice came to him.

"Crazy or not, we don't have much choice." Hunter's voice replied.

"It's not as crazy as you'd think." Aaron's voice came next.

Hesitantly, Marcus slid his way up the wall until he was in a standing position, and risked a quick glance into the building. He saw a large table with a map spread out across it. Aaron was hunched over the table, his finger tapping a section of the map as he spoke, a scattering of what looked to Marcus to be green monopoly houses spread across it, with one red hotel. Alicia and Hunter were standing on either side of the table, gazing down at the map with Aaron. Around the walls of the room were an assortment of couches and chairs, upon which Billy and Isaac were whispering amongst themselves, and Elliot was lounging across another. On the far side of the room was a fireplace being tended by a figure whose face was turned away from Marcus as they worked, but who's long hair was pulled back into a long ponytail high on their head. Between that and her silhouette, Marcus could safely assume the figure was female.

"I still don't get why we don't destroy their whole Camp." Elliot said, waving his hand. "With the artifacts we've gathered, what chance could they possibly have? Not to mention they think I'm dead now. I could just poof into the middle of their stupid campfire meeting in full bear form and by the time they realize what's happening, you all are there to clean up the mess."

Hunter had his arms crossed, his face thoughtful as Elliot put his plan up for consideration, but Alicia was already shaking her head.

"And what about the rest of the minor half-bloods, still trapped under the Olympian's thumb? Do they deserve to die just because they're in the wrong place? And the Olympian half-bloods who don't care about their parents either way. They're just as innocent of their parents' crimes. That would make us no better than the Olympians!"

"It would solve the problem." Elliot said with a shrug. "No half-bloods, no way for the Olympians to fight back on Earth without ripping the very cosmos apart. No eyes or ears for them to know what we're doing before it's too late."

"They can't stop us, even if they do know what we're doing." Aaron said. "Let them try. It'll demonstrate the power of our New Olympians. And their mercy."

Elliot sat up and held up both his hands in mock surrender. "Whatever you say, oh fearless leader!" With that, Elliot stod and practically skipped out of the room through the doorway on the opposite wall.

"What possessed you to recruit a guy like him?" Alicia said scornfully.

"He wasn't my choice. He was one of our Goddess'." Aaron said simply.

"I don't know, I think he has a point, Aaron." Hunter replied, leaning against the table. "No half-bloods, no risk to us. The Gods wouldn't know what hit them."

"We're doing this to make our world a better place for all half-bloods, Hunter." Aaron replied. "Remember, the current Olympian half-bloods will be the new Minor half-bloods when we're finished. We have to be better than the Olympians were before us."

Billy stood and stretched. "I don't really care one way or the other. Just give me a chance to prove I'm better than those stupid Campers, and I'll kill for ya." He chuckled to himself, clapping Isaac on the shoulder as he followed Elliot's footsteps out the door.

Isaac and Hunter shared a long look as Aaron continued speaking.

"Alicia, go to the Underworld. My mother tells me our next step to take is to make sure the Underworld is clear for us."

Alicia crossed her arms and popped her hip out, raising an eyebrow. "Your mother wants me, a daughter of Angelos, to walk right into the Olympian of the Dead's domain? I'm assuming you aren't sacrificing a pawn so early in the game? Because that's what it sounds like."

"Please." Aaron chuckled. "You're the furthest from a pawn. If anything, you're my knight, riding a hellhound instead of a horse. Outmaneuvering our enemy is what you're best at. It's because you're a daughter of Angelos that my mother assures me you're the only choice to scout this out."

Alicia nodded, her implicit trust in Aaron obvious as she turned and walked out of the room. Hunter shortly followed with Isaac in tow. Marcus waited for him to return, and was on the verge of panic, wondering if he was missing the information he had risked so much for when he heard Hunter's voice from around the corner of the Cabin. Marcus froze, hoping that if Hunter came around the corner, the fact that this was a memory and not his current mental space would protect him from being noticed.

"What do you think of this?" Hunter said.

"No choice." Isaac replied.

"There's always a choice." Hunter's voice continued, his frustration clear. "This is getting crazy. I hadn't known when I brought you into this what Aaron's end goal was, but now that we're here…"

"Having regrets?" Isaac's voice answered. Marcus couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard a teasing undertone…?

"Never." Hunter said instantly. A little too fast. "Well, maybe a little. But about this whole New Olympian thing, not about…"

"I know." Isaac answered softly.

"Still… a siege on Olympus itself…" Hunter said. Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing. A siege?! "That's just… that can't be possible. After everything we've heard about Luke Castellan, how could Aaron even consider it? It's suicide!"

"Not for him." Isaac's voice had a hint of amusement.

"Geez, almost sounds like you have a thing for him." The pout in Hunter's voice was clear even to Marcus. He was starting to realize exactly the situation he was listening in on, and why Hunter hated him so much…

"Don't be jealous." Isaac responded.

Marcus was about to risk being spotted to return to the portal he had created in Hunter's mind, if only to avoid eavesdropping on a moment that was so not what he had been looking for. He felt dirty, as if he was trespassing on hallowed ground, or listening to someone else's confession in one of those Catholic churches his mother had tried to make him go to before he ran away from home as a kid.

"You weren't here."

Marcus turned quickly. The figure he had noticed before was standing on the other end of the window, gazing down at him.

Now that he could see her, Marcus had to admit the woman before him was beautiful, her features having an almost too fierce quality to them. Her nose was small and pointed, her full lips frowned at him from across the window, her tan skin shone in the sunlight still present in the memory, her long dark hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, the length of which still managed to reach to her mid-back, and her green eyes sparkled with a self assurance and confidence the likes of which he had only seen once before.

"Trespasser." The woman said, reaching through the window towards Marcus. "Let's see where this thread leads."

Marcus jerked himself back, lurching away from the hand that reached out to grasp him, impossible though it should have been.

He found himself standing back in the basement of the Big House with Hunter, who was staring at him with those same hate filled eyes. Now, Marcus knew exactly how deep that hatred ran. What would I do if it was Maddie that had been taken from me…?

Marcus quickly turned his back on Hunter before he could see the tears that pricked his eyes as he realized just how badly his old friend must be hurting.

"Giving up already?" Hunter mocked. "You haven't even been here ten minutes. I thought you were more stubborn than that. Guess the great Marcus Williams isn't as smart as you've been made out to be."

If only you knew… Marcus scoffed at himself in his own mind as he practically fled up the stairs, refusing to look back. Too smart for my own good it seems.

Marcus brushed past Ivan, standing at the top of the stairs. At least, he tried to, but Ivan reached out and grabbed his arm as he did, not unkindly.

"So? How did it go? Did he buy it?" Ivan asked.

"No. No, he didn't. Sorry I asked you to do this." Marcus asked. "You can drop the illusion now."

Ivan looked at him, concerned, before his image started to flicker and after a moment, Jason was left standing in his place.

"Why didn't you ask the real Ivan to do this?" He asked, following Marcus as he stormed out of the Big House to the wrap around porch. I need air… I need to get away.

"He would never have agreed." Marcus replied, keeping his gaze on the horizon. "And even if he had, he probably would have actually tried fighting me after that last comment."

"So it was a waste." Jason said, leaning against the railing next to Marcus. "We didn't manage to get anything out of him after all."

"I didn't say that. I just said he didn't buy our little song and dance." Marcus sighed. He knew what their plan was but he didn't know the time table. I have to tell Chiron. He has to know before anybody else.

Jason turned to look at him, his concern at the fact that Marcus wasn't willing to share more written across his face. Marcus cast his mind back over what he now knew the New Olympians were planning. A siege on OIympus… He could probably guess what their final end goal was, but not the how of how they'd manage it. That's a Chiron question.

One other thing bothered him. The woman who'd seen him. She shouldn't have been able to see me… Or even act like I was in a memory… Though perhaps he just didn't know enough about diving into people's minds… But no, the only ones Marcus had seen interact with him while being in a mind were Goddesses, whether that be to assist him or hurt him. It stood to reason they would be able to recognize him even in a memory. And there was one other thing that nagged in his mind.

Her eyes had been exactly like Aaron's.

Nike.