#you know who would be a rock climber

[catgirljaneway]

just know that if I see you in my activity going through my star trek content and liking or reblogging like 50 things in a row i'm in love with you and if you ever need someone murdered i will do it no questions asked

[mariasont]

My Assistant - A.H

a/n: im a little addicted to bimbo reader rn if you can't tell lmao

masterlist

‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡°✩˚₊‧

pairings: aaron hotchner x bimbo!assistant!reader

summary: you can't reach a book so hotch helps you out

warnings: none? fluff, reader climbing a fucking book shelf and for what

wc: 0.8k

"Oh, biscuits!" 

It was a ridiculous thing to say, but frankly you didn't care. You were on your tiptoes, chest flush against a bookshelf. Spencer had asked for a book for the case they were working, and naturally, it was nestled on the top shelf.

Balancing precariously on your stilettos, you stretched as tall as you possibly could, your fingers skimming the spine that was an inch too far away.

You shifted your weight back onto your heels, planting your hands firmly on your hips as you considered the stubborn object just out of reach. Sure, Spencer would grab the book without hesitation if asked, and he'd do so with a smile, but you really liked feeling useful.

For over a year, you've been the one at Mr. Hotchner's beck and call--fetching coffee, filing papers, and attending to, basically, his every need (not the one you wanted though). To others, it might seem trivial, but you really liked it. Well, you really liked him. 

At first, you were intimidated--how could you not? He had a reputation. You heard the stories--a man who never smiled, his ever-serious nature, and Penelope's not so family friendly description of his sternness was enough to unsettle anyone.

But you considered his reputed severity to just be part of his charm, he was far from the figure others painted him as. He was a good boss, always fair, never once raising his voice at you or demanding too much. In your eyes, he was perfect. You might be biased. 

The idea of climbing the shelf was a gamble, especially in these shoes, and it seemed almost certain to end with a less-than-elegant fall. Still, you couldn't resist the challenge and hoisted yourself up anyway, the shelf wobbling perilously as you did so. 

You pressed on, climbing higher, the wood's groans of protest falling on deaf ears. If this was how you were going down, so be it.

"Almost there," you muttered to yourself, straining every muscle in your arm, you were sure.

And just as you almost had the book, your balance faltered and then found new footing, the sensation of falling dissipating. In its place, you found your ass delicately perched, nearly seated on someone's broad shoulder.

You honestly didn't even need to look to know who it was--embarrassingly enough--you had basically memorized the feeling of Hotch's hands. Though they had never been wrapped around your legs like they were now. His grip was warm and strong, sparking a wave of electricity that rippled through your whole body.

"Got it!" you cried out, your victory fist pump nearly launching you from Hotch's shoulder. But his hold on your thighs clamped tighter, securing you in place. "Thanks, sir."

You angled your head downward, locking gazes with Hotch--his eyes a rich blend of ember and molten chocolate that you really liked looking at.

His eyebrows were arched in a silent question on his well-defined face as if he really couldn't believe what you were doing. 

"Careful," Hotch murmured, his hands lowering you to the ground. There was a fleeting brush against your ass, surely accidental, yet it sparked a flurry of butterflies swirling in the pit of your stomach. "In the future, just ask. I wouldn't want you hurt over something as trivial as a book."

"Oh, don't you worry about me, sir. I'm like, practically a pro at rock climbing when I'm not here." you said, letting out a bubbly giggle.

He regarded you with a look that was equal parts amusement and disbelief, clearly not convinced.

"Okay, not really, but wouldn't that be cool?"

"Well, rock climber or not, let's keep those feet on the ground, please," Hotch remarked, the slightest quirk of his mouth suggesting a suppressed smile. "It's less of a fall from there."

"Sure thing, sir!" you beamed, popping off a silly salute, noting his struggle not to roll his eyes. "But I did get the book, so it all worked out in the end, right?"

With a gentle nudge on your lower back, Hotch directed you towards the conference room.

"Yes, it did, but for future reference, Spencer's height makes him more capable of reaching those books himself."

You couldn't help the blush that colored your face, and you managed a flustered smile.

"Well, I mean, it is what I get paid to do, sir."

"No, you get paid to do my bidding, not Spencer's," he teases, giving a gentle squeeze to your side.

Your laughter rang out, a bit too high, a bit too bright, as his touch sent a delightful vertigo spiraling through you. 

"Well, yeah, okay, that's fair. But it's been pretty light on the to-do list from you today."

"And you're complaining about that?"

With the conference room in sight, you pretended to lock your lips and throw away the key.

A rare laugh rumbled through his chest, and you felt your knees buckle, you were sure you could have melted into a puddle right there and then. It was such a beautiful sound, and you desperately wanted to become familiar with it.

Spencer emerged from the conference room, his eyes landing on the book in your hands. "Is that The Selfish Gene?"

Hotch took the book from you, handing it to Spencer with a firm look. "Reid, I'd appreciate it if you didn't recruit my assistant for your library runs."

taglist: @hotchhner @khxna

[ruershrimo]

down bad fr | f.megumi x reader

@takumifujiwarastan remember how a while back you said here that it sucked how there weren't enough introverted girls, reserved girls etc. SO I did try writing this please enjoy their (gn reader woooo) emotional constipation even though the reticence of their personality isn't really highlighted eurgh

having a crush on megumi is so fucking stupid. it’s driving you insane. 

you can’t even talk to him. everything he does, everything he says— your heart leaps like a rabbit he casts, and your emotions soar into a terrifyingly messy mishmash of confusion and yearning and infatuation, and then everything in between. 

you feel helpless, vulnerable like this— rendered out of control of your feelings after years of emotional constipation and a harsh strictness on yourself to rein them in like a rowdy horse being whipped during derby matches. you’re a climber, you’re hanging precariously from a cliff with every interaction, a child standing before a blueprint with nothing but toy blocks and a kiddie hammer, a roomba with its sensors malfunctioning— you get the point. those were enough metaphors to delineate your predicament.  

well, he doesn’t even like you anyway, right?

but you want him so badly. 

you just want to hammer it into his thick skull. to just go, ‘hey, I like you even if you may not like me! just go out with me anyway!’ 

yet with each interaction you struggle even more. because how the hell do you confess to fushiguro megumi, much less go out with him and become his partner?

for years romance had remained nothing but a velleity, a nice fantasy you could slip into when your mind demanded respite in the form of escapism and jejune daydreams. but now that your adoration for him has made it all somewhat possible, you don’t know what to do— your control is being tended away from you, and the worst part is that you don’t even mind it that much. 

spiky black hair and eyelashes of silk pass you by, his scent as clean as freshly laundered sheets in hotels. at the start you had thought little about him beyond him being your classmate and eventually just your confidante. yet gradually, you surprised yourself. and everything about him is attractive nowadays: his hair, his pearlescent teeth, the viridian hue of his eyes— hell, he made even the way he drank coffee look like a model of a man in an antediluvian monochrome film of the sixties. and it was so normal, so average, that you were about to slap yourself for the fact that an everyday trait  of his had become something so lovely to look at just because it was him. megumi would hold the cup securely by his lithe fingers, the same one he spouted cursed energy from when summoning his shikigami, before lifting the cup up and bringing the brim to his mouth, his lips that never chapped. 

nobara asks whether he’s drinking black coffee to look cool around and attract people. needless to say, at least you were attracted. 

you hoped he didn’t see the way your face must have blanked out, gaze transfixed on his eyes as he took swigs from his mug. 

why’d he have to be like that?!

megumi continued looking at ozawa, the girl who had a crush on itadori— she was just like you for real, but with double the courage and half the emotional constipation. 

you hoped it would work out for her. that way, perhaps you could muster the strength and bravery to do the same, too. 

you take another look at him. he’s really pretty. had you kicking your feet in the air and all and then screaming in horror because of it, had you wrapped around his finger without even knowing. 

with the help of kugisaki and megumi, ozawa and itadori, the two of them are cajoled to go around tokyo together. it’s the best ‘date’ that the two of them can help the other two have, especially since itadori is dense as rocks (megumi’s probably worse based on your experiences, then) and ozawa is as shy as a touch-me-not flower. 

“oh, and [name],” megumi starts while nobara strolls ahead, all set to begin a new shopping spree. 

“ah— uh, yeah?” you stammer. 

“do you like me? romantically, I mean…” he scratches the back of his neck. 

what the fuck. is this seriously happening? right now? 

“huh? what? I—” 

“no, it’s just that— seeing ozawa made me think. I guess I never considered it an option, but I suppose I have had… feelings for you for a pretty long time…” 

“woah. ah, sorry, I meant— sorry, I’m just very surprised…” you scramble, your hands gesticulating all kinds of things in an exaggerated way of taking it back because yes you like him, you like him a lot— “I mean, I do like you! it’s just, fuck— uh, what do I say— I’m really scared. I thought you didn’t reciprocate at all.” 

“I could tell. but I…” he hesitates, “I overthought everything,” then with a frown, he goes, “gojo would have teased me if he was here.” 

“well, I– uh. we’re lucky he isn’t, I guess?” you pause, “...so what do we do now? are we a thing? are we dating? wait, am I going too fast? I, oh my goodness, I—” 

“would you like to?” he asks. your knees are about to buckle with every second he keeps his eyes on yours. 

“I…— well, I would.” 

“then it’s settled. can I— can I hold your hand, please?” 

“...okay.” 

with trepidation in your hands and your heart pounding in your chest, you inch your hands closer, saline sweat on them as if you’d dipped it into the sea. he keeps his gaze on yours— they’re as unsure as you are, his cheeks a slight scarlet, his eyes swirling with nervousness but a sliver of anticipation, of joy and relief. so he feels exactly the same as you do, then. 

his fingers find yours after a while, tracing along the lines of your palm like a blind man touching something for the first time. you want to learn to love and to memorise each nook and cranny of him starting with his palm, and for once emotional vulnerability is not that bad. 

kugisaki’s in for a shock as soon as she turns around. first it was itadori potentially having a partner before she does, and now megumi? 

imagine writing this because of being delulu abt an irl crush (i should be studying for my exams.) haha couldn't be me right (i'm so cooked)

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Snakes of Africa: Ball Pythons

This is the first of a series on African snake species, where I go through how they live in the wild and attempt to demystify some aspects of care and myths surrounding African snakes.

We all know the myths about ball pythons. They're from "a narrow strip in Africa," they don't need to climb, they don't need really high humidity...let's challenge some of those ideas!

If you don't know just how big Africa is, it's easy to underestimate how big the ball python's range is, too. I think it's easier to understand if you look at it on a global map:

That's a big area! Wild ball python habitats range from grasslands to forests, cutting through arid savannahs and even into rainforests.

Because the climate across the ball python's range is so variable, they are best understood as habitat generalists - they have perimeters they prefer, and they can find ways to adapt in different environments.

A large portion of the ball python's range is arid, and that leads to one famous fact about them: ball pythons love termite mounds, because they provide them with a nice and very humid area to nap. Even among people who know wild ball pythons love termite mounds, that's often used as reason to justify keeping them in too-small enclosures. After all, termite mounds don't sound like they're very big...

But they are.

Termite mounds are one of the reasons ball pythons are such good climbers.

Despite their arid habitat, wild ball pythons (aside from seeking out termite mounds) will also seek out wet areas, such as streams and lakebeds. In captivity, humidity isn't something you should skimp on for a ball python. At least 60% humidity is essential, and closer to 70% is ideal, and a humidity box allows your snake to have an area that's close to 100% humidity at all times. Humidity boxes also allow for a range of humidity conditions, like your snake would experience in the wild!

An extremely common myth about ball pythons is that they don't climb and won't take advantage of enrichment. This couldn't be further from the truth! In the wild, ball pythons are excellent climbers and are known to even hunt in trees. Multiple studies surveying wild ball pythons have found nearly half of their subjects in trees. These are not solely terrestrial snakes.

Another stereotype about ball pythons is that they're "pet rocks." If you give them enrichment and look at their wild behavior, this couldn't be further from the truth! Wild ball pythons are observed as being very active snakes who will actively hunt and seek out food rather than relying on strict ambush predation strategies. That's one reason it's best to feed your pet ball python when you see them out and "hunting!"

Of course, wild snakes will be more active than pet snakes simply for the sake of survival, but their activity level in the wild is indicative of what it should be more like in captivity. Some inviduals are a bit lazy, sure, but by and large most ball pythons will take advantage of every inch of space you give them. Climbing branches, tunnels, and new things to check out are a must!

Because wild ball pythons are habitat generalists, that also clues us into what enrichment they most enjoy. In the wild, along with climbing (which they love!), ball pythons are also known to swim (though they mostly only due this when necessary) and dig burrows. In captivity, many pet ball pythons enjoy an occasional soak, so it's good to provide a big enough water dish for them to curl up in, and some individuals enjoy digging burrows. If you provide an extra few inches of substrate for your snake to dig in, you might be surprised by how much they enjoy it!

Now, let's talk about food! In the wild, ball pythons eat a wide variety of rodents and a lot of birds. In fact, their semi-arboreal habits mean they even eat a lot of bats when they can catch them! Unfortunately, one of the tricky things about their diet is that their favorite foods in the wild include shrews, jerboas, African soft-furs, rufous-nosed rats, and other rodents that are just honestly impossible to source for your pet ball python. In captivity, a diet of rats is appropriate, and unfortunately it can be hard to provide variety to many ball pythons simply because a lot of them just prefer more hard-to-find rodents and will resist switching back to rats. For good, non-picky eaters, though, other rodents and chicks make excellent treats.

Ball pythons have a reptutation as very picky, finicky eaters, but honestly it's my experience that this effect is much, much lesser when their husbandry is consistently appropriate. Making sure to provide adequate humidity seems especially important in ensuring your ball python is a good eater! Additionally, ball pythons tend to like it a bit hotter - 90 F (32 C) is a good hot-side temperature for most ball pythons.

If there's anything to take away from this brief look into wild ball pythons, it's this: these snakes will thrive best if given the opportunity to engage in more natural behaviors. Climbing, digging, and exploring are essential for any ball python!

Ball pythons are so much more than just "pet rocks." If you provide them with space and enrichment, you'll be delighted by what fun, active, curious, and engaging pets they are!

(This message is approved by my sweet girl Miriam.)

[luminalunii97]

I've seen non Iranians admiring the Islamic Republic national football team for not singing the national anthem. And then they were confused as to why iranians were happy that the team lost. Yes not singing the anthem might have consequences for them, but it won't change the fact that these people went to visit Raisi, the Islamic Republic president and bowed to him, posed happily for pictures while we were dealing with Kiam Pirfalak news, and said they don't care about politics and what's going on Iran in an interview, stating that they will focus on the game only. Not singing the anthem is nothing in comparison. And you might think they were under pressure. So were other athletes in Iran, let's see what they did:

Picture on the right is Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian rock climber who was the first athlete to take off her hijab during Mahsa Amini protests to show her solidarity with people. She's currently under house arrest. she wasn't the first Iranian woman ever doing that. On the left, that's Shohreh Bayat, her story is so sad.

In many interviews I've seen of her, she always cries when she says her story. She was to referee the final of the Women's World Chess Championship a couple of years ago. While in another country she decided to wear her hijab loosely in an act of rebellion. She got warning from Islamic Republic twice and everytime she made it worse. She was asked to apologize but she refused, saying that she wouldn't apologize for what she believes in. At last, even though she wasn't ready to leave everything behind and start from scratch in a foreign country, she decided to ditch the compulsory hijab completely and never come back to Iran, because her life would be in danger if she did. Because of her choice she can't come back to visit her family anymore. her family supported her which made the authorities to force her father to resign (her father was the president of chess association in Gilan, Iran).

Then we had Iranian national beach soccer team. I think they were the first group who refused to sing Islamic republic national anthem. And after they got threatened to sing the anthem, they did something even more iconic. One of the players cut his imaginary hair after he scored.

Then we had these two scenes after scoring. They were recreating an inhuman thing Islamic republic did. The guy on the right is Khodanoor Lajei. He was murdered on bloody Friday in Zahedan. He was a Baloch guy. I'm going to post about Balochs and the thing that's been done to them by Islamic republic in details. For now know that this guy got killed in protests but this picture of him is for a couple of months back. He insulted a Basiji guy or something, Islamic republic police chained him to a pole in the middle of the city to make him an example for others, after beating him. When he asked for water they brought him a cup but they put it out of his reach in front of him and laughed at his thirst. (You see why we hate Islamic Republic, IRGC and Basij?!) The picture got out only after his death because Baloch people didn't think the rest of Iran would care about them enough to react. That broke my heart unspeakably much.

With so much bravery, our national girl's basketball team has been posting photos without mandatory hijab ever since the protests have begun.

Last but not least, Parmida Ghasemi, iranian archer ditching mandatory hijab inside of iran. She took it out for receiving the prize and while she was being photographed.

(Btw, non of these women "forgot" their hijab accidentally. If you're iranian you learn to never forget your hijab since you're 7, the age you start school. Without a formal head wearing you won't be allowed to attend school classes. When you grow up with it, you'll get used to it. You have no idea how weird it feels to not wear a veil in public, I'm still getting used to it.)

we've witnessed many iconic brave moves by our athletes but non of them said we don't give a shit about what's happening in Iran before the game. I'm not saying they won't be redeemed one day, I'm just saying they should work to win their respect back.

[wayfayrr]

Good day dear!

I want to order a Red Velvet spiked latte, sugar-free! I'm craving Warriors in a qpr, and I'm having one of those days involving being Aromantic :')

I hope you're doing well; please and thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Here's your order - I hope it's to your liking <3

I get having those days, sometimes they just like to sneak up on you without any warning and it's the worst ;-; I know it's a bit late but I hope wars can make you feel better darling

[Event masterlist]

Why did the portal have to split us up and spit me and wars out in the hebra region of all places. Did the shadow get sick of throwing monsters at us and decide to off us with hypothermia? Even with that, why drop us off in a cave rather than in the snow?

“You still have our bed rolls right? I’m not entirely sure we’ll make it through the night if we don’t have them and I’d really prefer to not risk losing any limbs.”

Oh, no, no, no, don’t look through your bag then at me like that. That shy smile with those adorable eyes, like you’re waiting to tell me you don’t have them. I could have sworn that he had packed them both away in there this morning, did my own eyes lie to me? 

“Only one of them is still intact, I think the other one started tearing this morning and seeing as legend has the group's only sewing kit…”

“So we shouldn’t risk making it any worse till we can fix it but this cold it’s sure to be worse at night.”

“If we light a fire and sleep in shifts it shouldn’t be so bad.”

This is how people die, I’ve seen it in films back home, and I’ve heard stories of overzealous climbers perishing to the cold, I refuse to let us become like them. Even if it is being over cautious. 

“We could share the last bedroll and use the torn one as an extra blanket. If we scout out the cave and push some of those loose boulders into the entrance we most likely won’t need to take shifts.”

“You’d be alright with sleeping like that when there’s no one on lookout?”

“Any other way and it might only be one of us waking up tomorrow if we’re lucky.”

I’m not sure he likes that suggestion, he’s glancing around and biting his lip like something is wrong. Any link to be uncomfortable with the idea, wars makes the most sense. He’s the captain, someone who’s had to live through too many betrayals and ambushes to stay sane, why wouldn’t he be nervous of being alone like this? I’d like to hope he knows that I wouldn’t ever betray him though, why would his partner do something like that to him? 

“if you're alright with it then, I don't want to make you uncomfortable being that close?”

That's what he's worried about right now? my comfort over us freezing to death, is he out of his mind?

“I'm certain, it'd be far more uncomfortable waking up to the frozen corpse of my closest.”

“...”

“did you really not consider that?”

“I just want to make sure you're safe… if that means killing myself… well anything for you.”

Was that drilled into him during his training, that he should be willing to die like this for any reason? With the blush on his face I would say otherwise though, why would he get so flustered over something like this. We’re talking about his potential death here, not some vacation together.

"Wars you idiot why would you let yourself die of hypothermia if there's such an easy solution?"

“I didn’t want to think about that but you’re right. We need to stay as warm as we can.”

Finally, that’s gotten through his thick skull that I don’t want him sacrificing himself for something as stupid as that. So we can get to preparing our very hasty camp for the night, with his scouting showing we’ll be free of any monsters and my efforts in shifting a couple of rocks closing most of the entrance. The two bed-rolls thrown on top of each other look more inviting than anything I’ve seen in a long while. 

“After you.”

“Sure.”

It is not as warm as it looked. “Stop looking so uncertain, I promise I’m not going to suddenly stab you in your sleep.”

“That’s not what I’m…”

The squeak that left him when I pulled him down on top of me was cute. He’s redder than I’ve ever seen him too, but that started to die down after I pulled the makeshift blankets over us, or it might’ve, not that I could see it after turning over anyway. 

“Night link.”

Not even an answer then. He must be a bit flustered still. Nothing even as my eyes flutter closed, when I feel a very soft weight on my side, keeping me barely awake to hear what he says, but not enough to respond.

“Would you be bothered if we never reunited with the others? I’m all you’ll ever need right… I’m sure we could find a way back to your world, even if I have to call in a few overdue favours. They wouldn’t even need to know we’re still alive… just you and I forever. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

What?

“Even if you don’t know what I’m really looking for we can start tomorrow. Sleep well darling, I hope you’re warm enough like this…”

[galaxybooper]

I promised myself I would try posting my edits on Tumblr, especially those I'm most proud of. So here's Cole and some headcanons I have for him!

Cole is Afro-Colombian-Chinese due to Lou being a Chinese surname and Lilly coming from Latin America. Colombia has the biggest African population in all of Latin America. (Also, I've lived here for 10+ years, so I'm hella biased.)

Smells like a mix of sage and pine

Cole is like Disney's Hercules. You get Cole not knowing why he’s been weirdly stronger than the other kids, and he’s been called a freak because of it. With his dad wanting him to be something he isn’t and these brand new powers, he feels lost, unsure of where he belongs. This doesn’t get better when he’s forced to go to the academy. So, he drops out and tries to find his own way. It wasn’t until he met with Sensei Wu that he finally got the answers he wanted. Understanding his powers, understanding a part of who he is, and, most importantly, starting the journey to understand where he belongs

With or without his element, he is very strong. I headcanon that he has a rock climber's body, but he also has the most muscles in the ninja team. I like to think Cole often lifts weights to help boost his super strength, which has come in handy when he lost his element before. Seeing Ninjago for the second time, I've noticed that when the ninja lose their element due to circumstances, Cole is still really strong. Like in Season 1, during the GD finale, when he threw a car at the GD.

Cole was the ninja team leader until Sons of Garmadon when Lloyd was mentally old enough to try the leadership role. I strongly stand firm to this because after Lloyd was aged physically by Tomorrow's Tea, there's no way he should have been the leader at such a young age.

Cole's hobbies include rock climbing, archery, dancing, drawing, and cooking.

Cole is actually a good cook. After Lilly died, he had to cook for himself and his dad for many years. The only reason his cooking fails is that people tamper with his recipes; thus, they don't end up so good.

In honor of Kirby Morrow (RIP KING!), Cole doesn't just like cake. His favorite is Ice Cream Cake, especially hot Fudge Swirl Chocolate Ice Cream Cake.

Cole, minus Zane, because he was homeschooled by Dr Julien, has the most education of the ninjas. He went to school for quite a few years extra compared to the others and went to the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts before he dropped out two or three days later. I'd like to think Cole actually liked school and learning, but when his dad forced the performing arts on him, his love for school was immediately cut short.

Cole would have gotten into an art degree if he hadn't been forced into the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts. He seems to really enjoy drawing and sketching.

Cole is hairy. He can't grow a moustache to save his life, but he has hair on his legs, arms, and chest. Maybe in his future, he'll finally grow something on his face but as of right now (not counting DR seasons), he can only dream of the glorious beard or moustache he will have.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

By Sam Metz

September 11, 2023

An earthquake has sown destruction and devastation in Morocco, where death and injury counts continue to rise as rescue crews dig out people both alive and dead in villages that were reduced to rubble.

Law enforcement and aid workers — both Moroccan and international — have arrived in the region south of the city of Marrakech that was hardest hit by the magnitude-6.8 tremor on Friday night and several aftershocks.

Residents await food, water and electricity, and giant boulders now block steep mountain roads.

Here’s what you need to know:

WHAT ARE THE AREAS MOST AFFECTED?

The epicenter was high in the Atlas Mountains about 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Marrakech in Al Haouz province.

The region is largely rural, made up of red-rock mountains, picturesque gorges and glistening streams and lakes.

For residents like Hamid Idsalah, a 72-year-old mountain guide from the Ouargane Valley, it is unclear what the future holds.

Idsalah relies on Moroccan and foreign tourists who visit the region due to its proximity to both Marrakech and Toubkal, North Africa’s tallest peak and a destination for hikers and climbers.

“I can’t reconstruct my home. I don’t know what I’ll do. Still, I’m alive so I’ll wait,” he said as rescue teams traversed the unpaved road through the valley for the first time this weekend.

The earthquake shook most of Morocco and caused injury and death in other provinces, including Marrakech, Taroudant and Chichaoua.

WHO WAS AFFECTED?

Of the 2,122 deaths reported as of Sunday evening, 1,351 were in Al Haouz, a region with a population of around 570,000, according to Morocco’s 2014 census.

People speak a combination of Arabic and Tachelhit, Morroco’s most common Indigenous language.

Villages of clay and mud brick built into mountainsides have been destroyed.

Though tourism contributes to the economy, the province is largely agrarian.

And like much of North Africa, before the earthquake, Al Haouz was reckoning with record drought that dried rivers and lakes, imperiling the largely agricultural economy and way of life.

Outside a destroyed mosque in the town of Amizmiz, Abdelkadir Smana said the disaster would compound existing struggles in the area, which had reckoned with the coronavirus pandemic in addition to the drought.

“Before and now, it’s the same,” said the 85-year-old. “There wasn’t work or much at all.”

WHO IS PROVIDING AID?

Morocco has deployed ambulances, rescue crews and soldiers to the region to help assist with emergency response efforts.

Aid groups said the government has not made a broad appeal for help and accepted only limited foreign assistance.

The Interior Ministry said it was accepting search and rescue-focused international aid from Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, bypassing offers from French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden.

“We stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people,” Biden said Sunday on a trip to Vietnam.

WHY IS MARRAKECH HISTORIC?

The earthquake cracked and crumbled parts of the walls that surround Marrakech’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site built in the 12th century.

Videos showed dust emanating from parts of the Koutoubia Mosque, one of the city’s best known historic sites.

The city is Morocco’s most widely visited destination, known for its palaces, spice markets, tanneries and Jemaa El Fna, its noisy square full of food vendors and musicians.

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO OTHER QUAKES?

Friday’s earthquake was Morocco’s strongest in over a century but, though such powerful tremors are rare, it isn’t the country’s deadliest.

Just over 60 years ago, the country was rocked by a magnitude-5.8 quake that killed over 12,000 people on its western coast, where the city of Agadir, southwest of Marrakech, crumbled.

That quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

There had not been any earthquakes stronger than magnitude 6.0 within 310 miles (500 kilometers) of Friday’s tremor in at least a century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Northern Morocco experiences earthquakes more often, including tremors of magnitude 6.4 in 2004 and magnitude 6.3 in 2016.

Elsewhere this year, a magnitude 7.8 temblor that shook Syria and Turkey killed more than 21,600 people.

The most devastating earthquakes in recent history have been above magnitude 7.0, including a 2015 tremor in Nepal that killed over 8,800 people and a 2008 quake that killed 87,500 in China.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

Emergency response efforts are likely to continue as teams traverse mountain roads to reach villages hit hardest by the earthquake.

Many communities lack food, water, electricity, and shelter.

But once aid crews and soldiers leave, the challenges facing hundreds of thousands who call the area home will likely remain.

Members of the Moroccan Parliament are scheduled to convene Monday to create a government fund for earthquake response at the request of King Mohammed VI.

[moonlight-tmd]

wouldn't it be funny if bee was an excellent climber

(kinda like a mountain goat, denying all laws of physics)

like this mf is flexible and can fit into tiny spaces prowl can't, and now he can climb. he's now an even more of a menace once he understands his new found ability. fucker scales walls and manages to get stuck on the ceiling somehow. he uses this as a way to prank others; mostly by scaring them whenever they walk into a room (he's on the ceiling).

so along with him sleeping in ridiculously absurd places, the team now knows how.

Anon i want you to know i literally died in my chair as i read that XD

Yes, that is perfect. Especially that it's true that short people have to become rock climbers in order to reach stuff from shelves and high cabinets. I would know, i'm 5'5.

Prowl is also short, he got acrobatics down in his digit. But it's nothing compared to what Bee has been doing his whole life.

This mf can and will climb a flat wall just to fuck with you. He has rough servos for a reason, the pads on his palms stick to any surface when he wants to. It's especially effective on the concrete walls of the plant and the city buildings, the metal he was used to trying to climb was too smooth so he often slid down. That however... ohohohohooo, this fragger sticks to that like glue.

Imagine the first few weeks on earth for the Autobots, the come back to the plant after a long day of work, they want to go chill but the moment they go to the main room Bee's faceplate pops up from behind the wall- on Optimus' optic level. He scared the shit out of the poor truck.

Halloween; Bee got wrapped up in tattered black fabric, 2 red LEDs for fake eyes and many paper cones for teeth.

You hear clicky-hissing noises. He's hanging on the wall. His head goes upside down to look. He jumps down and crawls in that upside down spider walk after you. Prowl has never screamed louder.

He does that every Halloween. Different costumes, you never know who will get it, what he'll look like, or when he'll do it. Everyone is paranoid on that one day. (except Ratchet, Bee is kind enough to spare the medic a potential death by sparkattack)(that and he knows Ratchet's impulse reaction is to throw his tools at whatever scared him with literal surgeon precision)

Imagine Bee cornered in a construction zone. This fuck skidaddles up on the wall out of reach of whatever Decepticreep he's fighting and hisses on 'em if they try to get him.

The fact he can do all that really makes them reconsider if he's not a spawn of Unicron of something. He's defo possessed by something, they just don't know what. it is pure unfiltered spite.

See, the reason Sentinel despises him is not becasuse he's a tiny weak loser. It's because of this shit he kept doing on the training grounds. XD

[tagsecretsanta]

From @emtb319

From @emtb319 to @vitanirigatoni

“It’s Time”

Prompts:

Welcoming a new family member Christmas Day

Picking the right tree

All we want for Christmas is mother and father

No preferences on people

Characters:

Kyrano family

Tracy family

Cass McCready

Penelope Creighton-Ward

Parker

-Christmas Eve-

Cass McCready hadn’t expected to see Virgil or his brother today.  This was supposed to be a fun little holiday for her and her rock obsessed son.  Her son Derek had a rather keen interest in fluorescent rocks.  A few weeks ago, he discovered a small town that was known as the Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World, so he had to see it.  She reached out to a local travel planner.  She happened to be related to the captain of the local fire department and mentioned that she could also arrange some ride-along time for Cass.  It didn’t take long for them to be invited to stay with the Fire Department Captain Babcock and his family.  This would save them the time of having to travel 25+ minutes to the nearest hotel.  Cass always liked the opportunity to visit other fire departments, and this one was in a rural area.  It would be very different from her city department.  Her visit would give her a chance to practice some seldom used skills and maybe she would learn something new.   

While Derek was on a museum tour, the fire sirens rang.  This department had one of those very old fashioned audible alarms, the ones that rang so loud that you could hear them from across town.  Many fire departments had them before they had portable radios, but few departments actually used them anymore.  One of the mines had collapsed and there may have been some people trapped inside.  While the department mobilized, Cass discovered that Derek was safe.  He told her that a few people had talked about going into a closed part of the mines.

“Mum.  I haven’t seen them,” he said.  “What if they’re in there?”

“Don’t worry Derek.  Stay with the group.  We will find them.”  As the search began, Cass and Captain Babcock realized that they may not have the apparatus or time needed to get to the trapped people.  They used drones and  found the group in a deep part of the mines.  This part of the mines was prone to flooding and water had started to seep inside.  They estimated that the trapped people had about 3 hours before they were submerged, but it would take at least 5 hours to get to them with the equipment and the manpower that they had.  The town had closed this mine off many years ago because of the water issue.  Even locals who were highly trained cave climbers would not enter this mine.  It was simply too dangerous to allow people to walk around there.  This group took a huge risk and got trapped.  Captain Babcock weighed his options, but he couldn’t see how they would get to the trapped people in time.  Cass called International Rescue.  It didn’t take long for her to hear the familiar roar of Thunderbird 2’s engines.  

“You’ll see Captain Babcock.  These boys are great,” Cass assured the fire captain.

“I’m sure they are,” he answered, “I’m just not used to having to call them for help.”

“It’s ok.  I know how that feels, but they really just like to help people.  They’re a nice family.  Highly trained too,” she said as she saw Virgil and Gordon approach them.  A short while later, with the help of International Rescue, they were able to get the trapped people out of the mine and close it off.  

Virgil left the tourists with the local emergency medical services.  They were more rattled than injured, but they needed a quick once over.  He thought about the mines and the little museum that he saw near the entrance.  This place was supposed to be known as the Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World, but it didn’t appear to be a protected heritage site.  

“Captain Babcock, these mines, are they a heritage site yet?”  Virgil asked him.  

“No, they are not.  I wouldn’t know where to start to get them declared that way,” he answered.

“That’s what I thought.  Let me get you the contact information of a friend of mine over there,” Virgil started.   “Lady Penelope would be happy to help you.  If you can get the mines declared a heritage site, the World Heritage Foundation would help maintain them, so that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

“That would be wonderful!  I’d be happy to pass on her info to the history people here in town.”  They talked about the history of the mines and the minerals, as they packed up their gear.  Gordon’s attention turned to the fire department’s parking lot.  He really wanted something.  Virgil saw Gordon’s energy change.

“Gordon, whatever it is, I’m tired and ready to go home,” Virgil said with a sigh.  He was really  tired.  It had been a long day for all of them, and they would be over their flight hours soon.  

“Come on Virg.  Can you imagine the smell tomorrow morning?”  Gordon said/whined, while he bounced.  It took a moment for Virgil to realize what grabbed Gordon’s attention.   

“Gordon, there’s nothing wrong with the tree we already have at home.  And, we don’t have to worry about it becoming a fire hazard after you forget to water it,” Virgil retorted while Cass and Captain Babcock looked between the two of them and silently giggled.  Then came the puppy eyes.  Cass had to excuse herself to laugh out of earshot of Virgil.  Captain Babcock used her as an excuse to step away for some coffee and a snack.  He was trying his best not to laugh in front of Virgil and Gordon.  Virgil saw them slip away and looked back at Gordon and sighed.  He could argue and lose tired, or he could let Gordon take a few minutes to get his tree.  On the bright side, it would support the local emergency services and his little brother would be happy, so Virgil gave in.  

“Fine, but be quick,” Virgil didn’t even get to the word ‘but’, before Gordon shot off.  Virgil turned back towards Gordon and yelled,  “just make sure it’s not a Frasier.”

“I know, I know,” Gordon yelled back, as he bounced across the lot in search of his tree.  There were a few reasons why they didn’t typically do fresh trees at Christmas.  It wasn’t just a fire hazard, but the wrong one could bring back smells and memories that belonged well in the past.  Tomorrow was for them as a family, and it will be a good day.  Virgil and John would make sure of it.  It was their dad’s first Christmas home after his long trip to the Oort Cloud.  Even Colonel Casey made arrangements so that they would not be bothered.  International Rescue had a rare day off.  Colonel Casey promised not to call them unless the world had fallen apart.  

Cass returned to Virgil’s side, having regained her composure.  She grasped Virgil’s shoulder and said, “I love his energy.  Let me buy you a cup of coffee.”  They went off towards the fire department auxiliary’s tent in search of some coffee.  With coffee in hand, Cass went over some tree basics with Virgil and even got him the base that they’d need for it.  

Gordon was happy that Virgil let him get a real tree.  He wanted this Christmas to be extra special.  He and John had worked really hard on their surprise for everyone, and things needed to be perfect when that gift arrived at the island tomorrow.  A fresh tree would make it more special.  As he made his way through the rows of trees, a fire department cadet approached him and offered to help.

“Just trying to find the right one.  Big day tomorrow,” Gordon answered.

“Hmm,” the cadet started.  “How big?  What color?  Anything you don’t want?”

“No Frasiers,” Gordon said a little too quickly.  The cadet looked at him a moment, then decided that it was better not to ask.

“Okay.  We have some really nice Spruces this year,” he said, as he guided Gordon to another side of the lot.  They made small talk, as Gordon looked through the trees.  He told Gordon a lot about the local history.  His own family had been on the department for over 140 years.  

“Maybe something a bit fuller,” Gordon said, as they looked through more trees.  “We have a tall ceiling and lots of room in our lounge.  It doesn’t have to be too tall, but maybe wider is better.”

“Oh!  I know the one.  It’s over here,” the cadet responded.  He grabbed Gordon’s arm and led him further down the row of trees.  The kid was right.  It was the perfect tree.  A nice, hearty Blue Spruce.  Not too tall, nice and full.  The cadet tagged the tree for him and asked some other helpers to wrap it up.  

“Thunderbird 5 from Thunderbird 2.”  Virgil needed to check in with John and let him know about the delay.

“A fresh tree,” John said.  “Really?  He’s not getting a Frasier, right?”

“No he’s not,” Virgil answered.  He looked over his shoulder to see if he could spot the squid. “Looks like he’s by the spruces right now.  Don’t tell anyone about the tree please.  I’m pretty sure he wants to surprise everyone.”

“Understood.  Dad is trying to help Kayo with the decorations.”  That statement earned John a look from Virgil.  Virgil’s medic mode immediately kicked in.  

“Dad should not be carrying things like that yet.”

“He knows,” John answered.  “After 1 trip, he realized his error.  He just wanted to see if he could do any of it.”  John stopped a moment while he checked on the island,  “Right now, he’s in the lounge.  Looks like he’s detangling lights.”

“Wait,” Virgil interrupted.  “Detangling lights?  I thought we put them away well last year.  What happened?”

“We did, but then Dad touched something.  And now,” John gestured, “tangled mess.  So, he’s in the lounge, trying to sort them out.  On the bright side, it’s good exercise for his hands and fingers.”

“True,” Virgil answered.  “That works.  He’s staying out of trouble and exercising a little bit.  I take it Grandma’s keeping eyes on him?”

“Oh yeah,” John said.  “She’s been giving him that look.”  Virgil chuckled at the comment.  They talked for a few minutes until Gordon hollered for Virgil to come over and see his pick.  Cass smiled ear to ear as she watched the boys. It didn’t take long to package up his tree, and the next thing Virgil knew, they were in the air, on their way home.  

“I can’t wait for Penny and everyone to see it.”  Gordon’s excitement continued.  

“Yea little brother.  It’ll be nice.  Now, let’s get home.  We both need showers before we help decorate,” Virgil responded with a stifled yawn.  Coffee or not, it had been a long day, and he looked forward to a nice shower and some down time.   

The ride home didn’t take very long.  Gordon was excited to announce to everyone that they had brought home a fresh tree, as he dragged it in behind him.  “Can’t wait to get her up,” he chirped.  Scott gave a glance towards Virgil, but Virgil’s expression gave him all the answers that he needed.  

“Come on boys, go get washed up and changed.  It’s time to get this tree up and decorated,” said Grandma Tracy from the kitchen, as she wiped her hands on her apron.  Max helped her cook popcorn and hot chocolate, while Kayo brought up the last of the decorations from storage. 

While he waited for everyone to freshen up and come back to the lounge, Virgil reminisced about their mom and some music that she liked to play and hear around Christmas time.  He tried to remember where she had gotten the music, but he couldn’t remember the name of the song or artist.  He sat down at his piano and tried to recreate the songs in his head.  John listened in from Thunderbird 5.  He was about to take the elevator down to join the rest of his family.  John always liked to listen to Virgil play, so it was no surprise when John interrupted his thoughts.  

“That’s TSO,” John said.  

“TSO?” Virgil questioned.

“That music.  It’s from a group called Trans Siberian Orchestra,” John answered.  “Mom loved their Christmas show.  She would play it for us around Christmas time.  Want Eos and I to try to find it?”

“Yes please.  I think it would be nice to play it while we’re decorating the tree, don’t you think?”

“It’ll be nice,” John replied.  “It shouldn’t take us too long.”

With TSO in the background, the boys got to work on the Blue Spruce.  Virgil showed them all what Cass and Captain Babcock showed him about the set up and upkeep.  He reminded everyone that they didn’t want a fire.  By the time the Christmas show was over, they had the lounge and the tree all decorated.  They ended their evening with hot chocolate and fresh popped popcorn.  

Once in his room, Gordon reached out to Penny.  “Is everything set?”

“Of course.  He’s here for the night, then will come with us in the morning.  Are you sure she doesn’t suspect anything?”

“The only other person that knows anything is John.  Kayo doesn’t suspect a thing.”

“I’ll see you in the morning my love.  Happy Christmas.”

“Love you too.”  It didn’t take long for Gordon to fall asleep.  By the time they’d wake up tomorrow, Penny would be well on her way with a very special gift for everyone.

-Christmas Day-

He looked at the old picture.  It was the same picture that he looked at every day.  His girls.  It was taken during a nice day at the wolf preserve.  This particular preserve was dedicated to the wolves that needed long term rehab or the ones that wouldn’t survive in the wild.  When they were done with their tour, they each got a small ice cream cone and sat on a bench overlooking one of the enclosures.  Only 3 copies of the photo were ever made.  The one he kept, the one he gave to his daughter, and the one that he buried with his wife.  

Years ago, he left them all behind because of grief.  He just couldn’t stay there any more.  All he could see was his lost friend.  After Ohana died, his friend was the rock that kept him alive.  With him gone, he couldn’t handle it.  In every person he saw on the island, in every corner, with every sound of the waves.  At first, he tried to stay strong for his daughter and his dear friend's kids, but he couldn’t even stay strong for himself, so he left.  Now, he’s not even sure if this is the right thing to do.  It had been too long.  Parker and Penelope have tried to assure him over and over that it will be alright.  They all miss him, and if he’s ready to come back, they’d all be there for him.  No matter when (or if) that day may come.  He had debated coming back, but it was Parker that pushed him to this moment.  He didn’t know if today meant to stay forever or just for a little bit, but he wanted to be with the people that he loved and missed dearly.  He pushed his nerves aside and got into FAB 1 with Parker and Penelope.

As they took off, he looked over at Parker.  He silently thanked him.  It caught him off guard when Parker had shown up on his doorstep a few days ago.  Parker said only a few words, but it was all that he needed.  He needed his family just as much as they needed him.  Parker was right, it was time, and now he was in the sky and on his way home.  Parker smiled back and returned his focus to the skies in front of them.

It would take them a little while to get to the island from England, so he sat there with his thoughts.  His mind wandered to all of the missed moments, and how he would never be able to get them back.  Penelope saw the change in his face.  She knew where his thoughts had gone.

“Stop worrying.  And don’t try to tell me that I don’t know what you’re thinking.  I can see it all over your face,” she said.  “They love you and miss you.  She loves you and misses you.  It’s time to come home, to be together, to heal together, to move forward together.  It will be ok, you’ll see.”  He considered her words, nodded, and held his head high for the rest of the trip.  He could do this.  The decision was made.  They were right.  It was time.  He thanked Penelope and watched the water as they flew closer to his old home.  

-Meanwhile on Tracy Island-

With Grandma and Max on pie duty, Jeff and Scott cooked Christmas pancakes for everyone.  John manned the proteins, and Gordon made the coffee and juice.  The smell of food brought down Alan, and the smell of strong coffee brought Virgil.  As Gordon sat down, John quickly whispered to him that their package was on the way.  

“Thanks John, “ he responded quietly.  Gordon looked around the room, “say, where’s Kayo?,” Gordon asked.  

“I haven’t seen her yet this morning,” John answered Gordon.

“I’ll go look for her,” Scott said.  “You guys relax.”

“Thanks Scott.  I’m worried about her.  She seemed a little off the last time I saw her,” John said.

“It’s the season John.  She really misses him.  I wish that she’d let us look for him.”

“Yea Scott.  Maybe this year will be different.”

“I can only hope.  I’ll go find her and see if she wants to join us for pancakes.”  With that, Scott went off in search of Kayo.  

Kayo tried to use the boys’ holiday energy as a distraction, but it didn’t work very well.  She didn’t like this time of year anymore and needed some alone time.  Over and over, she told herself that her dad needed space.  She wouldn’t look for him.  When he was ready, he would come back to them.  She was determined to respect his wishes for space to grieve.  John and Scott both offered to find him multiple times, but she always refused.  She was determined to respect his wishes, but with each day, each holiday, each missed moment, it got harder and harder to do,

It was no secret that Jeff was back now.  They tried to keep it quiet for a while, but it didn’t take long for 1 person to make an innocent comment and for the wrong person to hear it.  The next thing they knew, Jeff was in the news.  Public Relations was on it right away, but they couldn’t stop what was already reported.  Jeff improved little by little every day.  He even started to help with Tracy Industries and International Rescue.  The family was sure to keep an eye on him to make sure that he didn’t overdo it, but Jeff watched himself and made sure to tell them if things were too much.

She wished that her dad would come back.  Jeff had asked about him, but Kayo explained what happened after the accident and why she hadn't gone after him.  Jeff understood and respected both Kayo’s and her father’s decisions.  Jeff wanted his old friend back too.  He assured her that if her father wanted to come back, that it was ok.  Whether it would be a visit or permanent, there would always be room there for him.  

She heard Scott enter, but she couldn’t look up from the picture in her hands.  She didn’t know why, but this year felt different.  It wasn’t just her father’s absence that made her sad.  She missed her mom too.  All of the things that she wished that she could ask her, the things that she wished that her mom could teach her, but she was gone.  Grandma Tracy tried her best, but she missed her mom, and with her dad gone too, it had become a little too much.  

It didn’t take long for Scott to find her.  He found her in the library that overlooked the ocean sunrise.  Kayo was focused on something in her hands that Scott could not see.  

“Kayo,” he said quietly, but she didn’t answer him.  “Tan,” he said a little louder as he approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  She looked up at him with unshed tears in her eyes.  He saw what was in her hands.  He recognized the people in the picture.  It was Kayo, her dad, and her mom, shortly before they lost her mom.  “Breakfast is ready, if you want to come down,” he told her.    

“Thanks Scott.  But,” she started, but she couldn’t find her words.  Scott saw her distress and sat down beside her.  

“You miss him.”

“Yea.  I wish that he’d come home.  I don’t care that he ran away.  I just want him back.”  Scott brought her into a side hug and held her as she shed rare tears.  

“You never know Tan, maybe he’ll be ready soon.  The offer to try to track him down is still on the table for you.  If you want me to find him, I will.”

“No Scott.  I don’t want to push him.  Losing your dad, then watching us grieve was a lot.  I understand why he left.  He needs his space, and I will give it to him.”  She tried to be strong, but her eyes told him the truth.  

“But dad’s back now.  We can go find yours too and bring him home.”  She had it in her head that she needed to give her father the space that he needed.  Everyone processes grief differently, but Scott is right.  Jeff is back.  He’s downstairs right now, at the table ready to have Christmas breakfast with his family.  That’s why she was up here in the library today.  She wanted to be selfish, but was it the right thing to do?  She wanted him to come back because he was ready, not because she went and dragged him back.  

“I’ll let you know Scott.  I don’t want to push him any further away.”  Scott gave her a squeeze, then let her go.  Kayo excused herself and took a moment to wash her face. After that, they went to join the rest of the family in the kitchen and arrived to utter chaos.  The tinies had decided that the pancakes needed whipped cream and sprinkles.  So naturally, the entire kitchen had become a sticky mess.  Everyone was covered in something and their laughs filled the whole house.  Scott and Kayo took in the scene and joined them. 

After breakfast, they started on the clean up.  Once most of the mess was cleaned, Grandma shooed everyone to get showered. The cleaning robots could handle the rest.

Once showered, they came down to the lounge to relax together.  Presents would wait until later that day, but Gordon decided that the tree needed something.  It wasn’t quite right yet.  Before anyone knew it, glitter was everywhere.  Gordon’s idea of what the tree needed didn’t mean more sparkly tinsel, it meant sparkly glitter.  Lots of sparkly glitter, which exploded on everything.  This was the scene that their guests saw as they walked in.  Kayo was too busy with a very sparkly/annoyed/mad Alan, so she didn’t notice them arrive.  

Kyrano didn’t know what to expect when he arrived with Penelope and Parker.  The kids were all covered from their heads to their toes in glitter.  Grandma and Jeff looked at them with twin looks of astonishment.  The kids had all grown, but they were still as he remembered them.  He couldn’t contain his laughter.  It took a moment for everyone to realize that there were more people in the room than before.  As Kayo turned her head, she couldn’t believe her eyes.  Barely a moment later, she ran into her dad, and nearly knocked him over.�� John and Gordon smiled, the same smiles that Penelope and Parker had on their faces.  

Gordon came up behind Penelope, hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on the head.  “Thank you,” he whispered into her ear.  

“Of course my love.  They deserve this.”  She looked around the lounge and pointed “Glitter?  Really?”  Penelope didn’t need to ask which brother did this.  Yes, Alan has his playful side and routinely helped Gordon with mischief, and they both learned their mischievous ways from their next oldest brother John, but this glitter bomb had Gordon’s name all over it.  

“Yup,” he said, with some extra emphasis on the ‘p’ and a huge grin on his face.  Penelope smiled and sank deeper into their hug.

Lots of tears and many hugs later, everyone settled into the lounge to finish the tree.  After Gordon declared that the tree was perfect, Grandma and Max brought out the pies and ice cream.  

They exchanged gifts.  Little things, made from the heart or found.  The boys always made it a point to carefully pick their gifts for each other.  They didn’t have many rules about gift giving per se, but the boys all seemed to agree that the presents should come from their hearts, not their wallets.  Gordon held onto 1 special gift for Penelope for later.  Today was about Kyrano’s return home.  That was the big gift for everyone.  Tomorrow, so long as Penelope accepted of course, they’d announce that she’d become a Tracy in the near future.    

-Later that evening, on the balcony outside the library-

“I am so sorry Tanusha.  Nothing can excuse my actions.  You should tell me to leave.”  Kyrano rambled.  He had a lot to say, but he couldn’t seem to get the words together, so he rambled.  He hoped that his words would come together enough to make some sense.  

“Dad, stop please” Kayo started.  She gently grabbed his face so that they were eye to eye.  She needed him to stop for a moment, so that he could listen.  “I’ve missed you.  When we thought we lost Jeff,” she paused to collect her thoughts, “we each handled it in the best way we could.  I don’t blame you.  I hoped that with him home that you would too.  I hoped that it would bring you out of your ‘retirement’, but I didn’t know where you went or if you wanted any of us to even look for you.  So, I waited.  Scott and John both offered to look for you a few times, but I wanted to give you the space that you needed.  I’m glad you’re here now.  After Jeff came home, he asked about you, and I explained what happened.  He didn’t hesitate to tell me that if you do decide to come back that you’d have a place here.  We all understand Dad.  I do ask one thing though.”

“What is it my blessing?”  He answered.  Kayo smiled at the old nickname.  

“If you don’t stay, please call more often.”  With that, Kyrano brought Kayo into a tight hug.  After a few moments, he let her go and retrieved a box that was put aside.

“This is for you.  It’s time that you have it.”  He handed her a small box, and Kayo recognized it immediately.  It was one of her mother’s jewelry boxes.  She opened it and saw her mother’s favorite necklace.  It was the same one that she wore that day in the picture.  “She would have wanted you to have it,” he said as Kayo ran her fingers over it.  

“I remember this necklace,” she started with barely a whisper.  “She was wearing it that day at the wolf preserve,” Kayo paused.  Kayo asked Kyrano to help her with the necklace.  Then, they moved over to sit on the balcony bench to enjoy the tropical evening sunset.  After a little while, Kayo broke the silence.

“Dad, I understand if you can’t stay right now, but please come back to the island,” Kayo said, as she placed her head on his shoulder.  She whispered.  “I miss you.”  Kyrano didn’t need to think about his decision anymore.  He knew exactly what he wanted most.  

“I’ll talk to Mr. Tracy.  I want nothing more than to be back with my family,” he replied, placing his head on hers.  It would be ok.  He wouldn’t pass up this chance.  

The picture from the wolf preserve:

[honourablejester]

PF2e Character Concept: Shackles Goblin Rogue

Again, I’m watching Mythkeeper’s lore videos, this one on The Shackles, the pirate archipelago in Western Garund. There’s a lot of fun things in this area of the world, but a very small, random one snagged me. There are several goblin tribes in the Shackles, but apparently on Blacksand Beach, in the vicinity of Kelizar’s Atoll, there’s a tribe called the Reefrunners who are primarily swimmers and wreckers more than sailors and pirates, and I’ve no idea why that stuck in my brain, but … I’d really like to play a Reefrunner goblin horizon walker rogue? For reasons.

(Possibly it’s my choice of ghost fiction, and obsession with lighthouses, but wreckers have slightly more of a pull for me than pirates. Also I like the Reefrunners’ combination of almost-courtesy and raw pragmatism, in that they like to run ships aground and then let the crews go, not necessarily out of goodness, but because it’s easier to loot an empty sunken ship than fight a pinned crew. Which I love. This is about the shinies, the crews are just awkward obstacles that need to be shooed away first. Or, you know. Killed if it absolutely has to come to it, but let’s try the less risky methods first).

I was browsing backgrounds on Pathbuilder, and it has a regional one called Pearl Diver, which when I look it up on Archives of Nethys is actually regional to Absalom, not the Shackles, but I’m from the pirate isles, here, so I’m going to steal it anyway. Because I want a swimmer goblin who likes shiny things, a Reefrunner who’s fine taking the ocean’s bounty whether grown there naturally or lured there by a judiciously placed light on the rocks. Heh.

The idea here is just … I want a tough, scritchy little gal who’s in love with the ocean and all the shiny things the ocean can provide, and who’s not too particular about how the shiny things get in the ocean in the first place. She’s not mean, necessarily, just … single minded. Very loyal, courteous in a rough, absent-minded sort of way, but extremely pragmatic and with roughly one priority in the world, maybe two if she gets especially attached to anyone.

We’re in the pirate isles, so I am feeling rogue. But she’s a pearl diver and a swimmer and a scavenger, so I also want a survival emphasis, and I thought the Horizon Walker archetype? With aquatic terrain. I could take the ranger archetype instead, but I just like the vibe of horizon walker. Skillwise, we’re going to build around stealth, survival, intimidation, acrobatics, athletics and thievery. Because we’re a rogue and we can have that many skills levelled high. Heh.

Starting stats we’ll have a +4 in Dex, +3 in Con, +1 in Int/Cha, and +0 in Str/Wis. As we level I’m going to prioritise Dex, Con, Cha and Wis.

I’m going to go for Unbreakable Goblin for my heritage, because she’s a tough little gal, and also it’s just such a fun heritage. We’re tough, and we bounce, and we don’t go down!

Feats I particularly want as we go would include Breath Control as my first general feat, because pearl diver, Magical Adaptation from Horizon Walker as we hit Level 10, because water breathing, Quick Swim from Athletics Mastery, Fleet and Mobility and Catfall and Cave Climber and Skitter and just a lot of general movement feats, because we a bouncy goblin, Kneecap from goblin, to attack other people’s move speed, and a bunch of Intimidation feats because this girl is all teeth.

She’s 19, I feel like. Young for most people, but pushing the limits of survivability for goblins. She’s wiry and scarred and toothy, cheerfully pragmatic, polite as goblins go, and she has a collection of shinies sewn into/onto her clothes where she can see and admire them. She does favour seed pearls, all self-gathered, as a point of professional pride, but she also sees diving shipwrecks as much the same thing, so any old shinies will do if they’re pretty enough. As will glass and buttons and whatever was sparkly and caught her eye, to be honest. She’s out wandering, looking for better ships to dive, different waters to swim, because she is pushing survival age for a goblin, and she might as well. Most of her people die not much older than her, so why bother being afraid? Let’s just get the good stuff before we go!

Her name is Early Reefrunner. Early, to rhyme with Pearly. She’s a tough little goblin survivalist rogue from Blacksand Beach near Kelizar’s Atoll, and if you promise her good waters and good treasure, she’ll follow you to the ends of the earth. Or, well. The ends of the ocean, at least. Heh.

Ahoy, longshanks! Let’s go!

[kivaember]

I liked your rambling awhile back on Pater? Do you have any rambling thoughts about Maeterlinck?

I DO HAVE SOME RAMBLING THOUGHTS ABOUT MAETERLINCK.

So, I feel like she's someone who's comfortable succeeding in the middle of the pack, as it were. She doesn't want to stand out, especially in a group like the Vespers, because standing out there would mean getting targeted.

Freud. Snail. Rusty. These are the most well-known Vespers and they're continuously getting targeted by rival corporate mercs or even independent mercs looking to make a name for themselves or to settle grudges. True, it means they feature more in Arquebus's relentless merchendise campaign for the Vespers and even get a cut, but Maeterlinck is content with her current salary if it meant she didn't invite more attention and/or danger upon herself.

She's here to do a job. That job is managing the administrative day-to-day of the Vespers and handling problems that require more finesse than the fuck-off cannons that were the Big Three. Sending Freud in to handle a bunch of MT pilots under their command selling off fuel or ammunition for extra scratch would be like trying to kill a cockroach with a howitzer. Like, yeah, you'd kill the cockroach, but at what cost?

She's got the right temperament for it. She disliked active confrontation and she's not a risk-taker. She prefers taking things slow and careful, and as a result, Arquebus trusts her to handle things discreetly. They know Maeterlinck will never 'rock the boat' or cause a public scandal, and in a way she kind of does have the most corporate trust out of all the Vespers. Snail's too much of an ambitious ladder climber, Freud is Freud, and the rest of the Vespers are viewed as lackeys that would rob the corporation the moment they turned a blind eye to them. Maeterlinck, however, is loyal, discreet and, more importantly, sane and normal.

It does mean she works a little more closely with O'Keeffe than Snail, and their relationship could be summed up as: painfully professional. Maeterlinck has some gripes about how O'Keeffe runs his intelligence ship, but she respects his seniority and wealth of experience. However, she has noticed that there's something off between O'Keeffe and Rusty - but she's not stupid enough to go digging into that because she knows for a fact O'Keeffe could easily vanish her, and she's not risking her life just to learn that O'Keeffe and Rusty are fraternising or something dumb like that. She's just thankful they're more discreet than Hawkins and Pater...

In short, she's the type of coworker who blends into the background, and is neutral enough that she gets along reasonably well with everyone for the most part. She also knows all the gossip and has a keen sense of how to navigate office politics to avoid the worst of it. She adheres strongly to the hierarchy of the corporation and is loyal, but she's mostly just clocking in to earn her paycheck and work towards her promised retirement package.

She doesn't like Arquebus's foray onto Rubicon, in fact. She felt it was way too reckless and brash, and that the Vespers don't have a stable enough foothold to work effectively on the planet. But she kept her doubts to herself bc the corporation ordered them here and they have a job to do. Just shut up and do it, and hopefully she'll get out of this alive with a hefty bonus as consolation...

[sighonaraa]

Concept: blanket forts with Jamie and Roy in the football kiddos au

anon i need you to know that when i saw this ask my jaw literally dropped like one of those cartoon characters. THIS IS SOOOOOOOO. OH MAN!!!

11:32 p.m.

“No,” Roy says, for the tenth time since permitting Ted to enter the flat. At the time, he hadn’t realized that doing so would lead to him standing here, now, made the unwitting victim to two pairs of giant pleading puppy-dog eyes. If he’d known, he never would’ve opened that door. Instead he’s stuck and left wondering how exactly Ted’s fucking genetic makeup prevented him from developing shame.

Jamie releases a wordless whine and flops to the floor, all sprawl-legged and boneless. “But Roy,” he says. “Sam says you gotsa do pillowed forts at sleepovers! S’the law.”

“Pillow forts,” Roy corrects, gently absentminded, “and what the shit do you know about the law, you muppet?”

“Moe’s gonna lay it down,” recites Jamie dutifully.

Roy rubs the bridge of his nose.

“To be fair, he ain’t wrong,” says Ted, who’s apparently taken it upon himself to be the least helpful person in the entire fucking universe. He’s behind the kitchen counter baking a late-night batch of brownies even though Roy had told him they didn’t need one, wearing his stupid I’m The Step That Dadded Up apron and waving a spatula around as he talks like it’ll prove his point beyond reproach. “Pillow forts are a tried and true sleepover ritual.”

“Don’t you fucking start,” says Roy.

Jamie spills the rest of the way to the ground, splaying his arms and legs in eagle pose. The little fuck-muppet’s learned how to be dramatic from Colin. It’s hilarious when it’s not used for nefarious purposes, such as this. “Please please please can we do pillow forts, Roy? We gotsa.”

And Roy… has no argument, really, except that he’s tired and in the mood to be stubborn. But Jamie’s so hopeful, and Ted’s got this twat smile beneath his mustache like it’s already been decided what they’re going to do, and instead of another no the next thing out of Roy’s mouth is, “Christ. Fine. We can… do fucking pillow forts.”

Jamie and Ted cheer in tandem. Trent’s probably in the flat over wondering what the fuck is wrong with them. The thought almost makes Roy laugh.

They spend the next hour dragging sheets and pillows from the beds and couches, laying them in a massive pile at the center of the living room until they’ve built a mountain that Jamie is wriggling to climb. Roy tells him to stay put, and Ted sweetens the deal by performing a pantomime of a rock climber getting impaled on a tree branch and falling to his death.

“Okay,” Roy says. “We need four chairs.” He’s not sure why he announces this; he knows only that he’d always hated it when he was a kid and the adults acted like it didn’t matter whether he understood what was happening or not. “Got that, muppet?”

Jamie nods, very solemnly. “Uh-huh!”

The chairs from the table are brought over to fulfill their intended purpose, and then Roy takes one end of a sheet and Ted the other, and they snap a sheet across the length of the backs of the chairs. It settles soft and smooth in the air, forming a roof, and Jamie grabs Blankie from the pile and toddles it right inside.

“Blankie likes it,” Jamie informs Roy. “He thinks s’got characters.”

“Blankie has darn good taste,” says Ted, kneeling at the mouth of the fort. “But y’know what I’m thinkin’?”

Jamie shakes his head.

“This pillow fort needs a couple more pillows,” Ted says, and grabs an enormous armful before knee-crawling beneath the sheet to settle cross-legged next to Jamie and Blankie. “See that? Much better.”

Jamie tucks up against Ted’s thigh. “Roy,” he says, cheeks dimpling with the strength of his beam. “S’not a real pillow fort till you’re here too.”

Roy’s throat goes tight and hot. He swallows past it; takes a moment to capture this image in his mind: Jamie, sleepy and brimming with joy, leaning into the solid, steady weight of a softly smiling Ted, Blankie held between them and the whole world outside put away for a while. His eyes are damp, and he grins through it.

“I’m coming,” he says, and he does.

[maskedtruths666]

Short story! Part 1 of 2.

This is a non fictional story.

This is a story about your gf and her female best friend going rock climbing with their group of male friends. Being competitive, the two girls decide to challenge their male friends to a climbing challenge. Loser has to do a forfeit 😈

Chloe is an avid rock climber for the past 2 years. She’s made it a point to go rock climbing twice or thrice a month. Recently, she made a new group of friends who are interested in rock climbing. Chloe’s boyfriend on the other hand, is a lazy bugger who never showed any interest in her love for sporting activities.

Adrian, Tommy, David and Chris were all new to rock climbing but they’re sporty individuals too. Being competitive by nature, Chloe issued a challenge to the guys.

“Guys, let’s challenge. We’ll see who can reach the top of the structure first. Loser has to do a forfeit.” Chloe said, confident of her own skills, even though, physically the guys are stronger.

“Ha ha ha. We’ll definitely beat you girls. We don’t lose. So what’s the forfeit?” Adrian asked, smirking at Chloe.

“I’ll never lose to the likes of you, so anything can be the forfeit.” Chloe said confidently.

“Like anything? Are you sure?” Adrian asked.

“Yeap. I’ve seen you staring at my ass. If I lose, I’ll let you take a couple of pictures of me in my tights?” Chloe said, winking at him.

“Woah Woah, are you sure?” Adrian asked, getting turned on.

“Yeah, it’s just a couple of pictures. It’s not like you can touch me, I have a boyfriend. Besides, I’m making a ridiculous bet because I know I’ll win. So it doesn’t matter.” Chloe said as she started her warm ups.

“The bet is on then.” Adrian said and grinned devilishly.

Once they were done warming up, Chloe and Adrian shook hands and begun the challenge.

Alas, in a shocking turn of events, Adrian beat Chloe.

Sulking at her surprise defeat, Chloe said, “A bet is a bet. Come on, I’ll let you guys take some pictures of me in tights. BUT for the love of god, please don’t share them with anyone.”

The guys grinned from ear to ear and followed her into the locker room.

In the locker room, Chloe posed sexily for the guys.

She suddenly asked, “Do you guys like fap to my photos from IG? My bf says a couple of his friends do.”

The guys were taken aback by her question and denied it but Adrian on the other hand said, “Yeah. You’ve got a fantastic body and sometimes after bouldering, I’ll jerk off to your pictures in the toilet.”

“I’m flattered.” Chloe said, laughing at how shy the other guys are and how Adrian is so honest and open about it.

“Are y’all done? I feel like you’ve taken many pictures of me already.” Chloe said.

“Just a few more. This is good fap material.” Adrian said and Chloe obliged.

“Shall we go to our usual place for dinner?” Adrian asked.

“Yeah sure. But not too late, I gotta video call my bf tonight.” Chloe replied.

“He’s a lucky guy. I hope he treats you well.” Adrian said, fishing for information about Chloe’s bf.

“Yeah he’s a nice guy, but very lazy.” Chloe replied as the guys wrapped up the pictures of Chloe’s perfect bubble butts.

“Alright, I’m gonna go get changed. We’ll meet outside in 15? Or do you guys need a longer time to fap to my pictures?” Chloe said as she laughed.

“Why don’t you sit here whilst we jerk off to you?“ Adrian suddenly proposed.

“Wtf. I don’t exactly want to see your dicks. And no. I don’t want that.” Chloe said, shocked that the Adrian would ask such a question.

“But, all of us have long dicks. And we do jerk off together to your pictures in this very locker room after our bouldering sessions. We put our iPad in the center and jerk off to your ass pictures all the time and we all cum on the iPad.” Adrian said, being entirely honest.

“Okay, this is weird. Y’all can just jerk off to my pictures whilst I’ll wait outside for you guys.” Chloe said as she turned around and headed for the exit.

Adrian quickly held her hand to stop her. “At least see our dicks. I’m not asking you to touch it or anything. Just sit there, look pretty for us. Please?” Adrian asked.

“You promise it’s just jerking off? And like I don’t want any cum on me. I don’t want my bf to get the wrong idea.” Chloe said, giving in.

“Yes, just jerking off. I bet we’ll all cum fast because you’re actually here.” Adrian said, pulling her in and placing her on the seat.

The boys marveled at Adrian for pulling it off. Chloe kept acting shy and the boys seemed to like it. The whipped out the dicks and started jerking off to an actual Chloe. Each guy had his own warped up fantasy of how he would be banging Chloe right now.

Chloe on and off, peeked and was actually surprised by how hard and big the guys were. She was certainly impressed by Adrian’s dick. Being surrounded by 4 guys jerking off to her was quite flattering.

“Like what you see? You are more than welcome to touch any of our dicks.” Adrian said, smirking at her.

“Well, it is impressive but no, I have a bf. He wouldn’t want me to touch another guy’s dick.” Chloe replied, slightly drooling at Adrian’s dick.

“We won’t say if you don’t say it.” Adrian smirked as he went closer to Chloe, tempting her further.

Surprising everybody, even herself, Chloe actually touched the tip of Adrian’s dick.

“Wow, it’s so hard. And hot.” Chloe remarked.

“Of course, it’s hard for you.” Adrian said, satisfied with Chloe touching his dick.

“Are y’all almost done?” Chloe asked.

“Almost there. If you could bend over, I’m sure the boys will reach climax faster.” Adrian said.

Wanting it to be over and done with, Chloe followed his instructions. She bent over on the bench. The boys kept furiously jerking off to her and most of them reached their climax and just unleashed a hot load all over the floor.

Adrian was the last to cum and he asked, “Chlo, do you want to help me finish? Jerk me off. Let me unleash my cum onto you.”

“No. Come on dude. I have a boyfriend. I’m not going to do that.” Chloe replied indignantly but her facial expression gave her away.

“You’re saying one thing, but your body is betraying you. You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” Adrian said, smirking at her.

“Oh fuck it.” Chloe said and instantly grabbed his dick and started jerking him off harder and faster. Whilst she was jerking him off, all she could do was to imagine it being her bf’s dick. One of the guys, Tommy, sneaked a quick video of Chloe jerking Adrian off, fully intending to blackmail her in the future.

As Adrian reached his climax, he regained control of his dick, quickly turned Chloe around and with her ass in full view, he unleashed a hot load of cum all over her ass, to Chloe’s annoyance.

“You’re buying me a new pair of tights.” Chloe said.

“Gladly, if that means the boys and I can cum on your ass after every session, we will continually buy you tights.” Adrian said, satisfied at their jerk off session with Chloe.

As they wrapped up, the boys heinously planned their next move with Chloe. They all hatched a plan to gangbang her in the locker room next week. They were intending to run a train on her and they all promised each other to not jerk off for the whole week in order to get maximum satisfaction.

The end! I wanted to write the entire story as one. But I figured it was too long to be called a short story.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 17: I OPEN A COFFIN

"Dracula!?" Alex gasped with hope.

"We already have real monsters, why do you want more?" Percy frowned.

"I have fantasies too Percy, it's not all about you," Alex reminded.

"If Kelli sleeps in one of those, you just know it's going to be pink," Magnus snorted.

"Grave robbing Percy? That's what you've been reduced to?" Jason chuckled.

"How sacrilegious," Will snorted.

"Yes, because I really strike you as the kind of guy to be respectful," Percy scoffed with laughter.

Nico was to busy grinning to himself nobody seemed to assume this had anything to do with him to make a snarky remark as Alex eagerly started.

Jumping out a window five hundred feet aboveground is not usually my idea of fun.

"Really? Because you seem to do it a lot," Magnus frowned at him.

"The arch, you jumped off the side of a cruise ship, you were fully prepared to jump off that cliff after Annabeth, and now you jumped down the side of a mountain," Alex nodded along as he ticked off on his fingers. "Percy, you might have an adrenaline junkie problem."

"Yeah, the problem is to much adrenaline. Please tell me there's a cure," he sighed.

Especially when I'm wearing bronze wings and flapping my arms like a duck.

"But that's the perfect time to do it," Nico told him blandly from personal experience. "If you do the chicken dance any other time, people just look at you strange."

"Now the YMCA on the other hand, that's a universal dance you don't need an excuse for," Will grinned.

Thalia forced a laugh she didn't feel, she knew she wouldn't find anything really funny again until Percy's feet were back on the ground and she could stop imagining this.

I plummeted toward the valley and the red rocks below. I was pretty sure I was going to become a grease spot in the Garden of the Gods, as Annabeth yelled from somewhere above me, "Spread your arms! Keep them extended."

The small part of my brain that wasn't engulfed in panic heard her, and my arms responded. As soon as I spread them out, the wings stiffened, caught the wind, and my descent slowed. I soared downward, but at a controlled angle, like a kite in a dive.

A sudden memory flashed back to Percy's mind. He'd been eight in the park with his mom, who had just given him an octopus kite, with its big blue nylon head and each of its legs a different color of the rainbow.

It had only fluttered in the air long enough for him to take his eyes off and smile at his mom before a flash of lightning had zapped it out of the sky. On a cloudless day.

Now he couldn't shake the mental image that was about to happen to him next, and there was no string that would fizzle his fingers as a result.

Experimentally, I flapped my arms once. I arced into the sky, the wind whistling in my ears.

"Yeah!" I yelled. The feeling was unbelievable. After getting the hang of it, I felt like the wings were part of my body. I could soar and swoop and dive anywhere I wanted to.

"Annabeth once again saving your ass," Alex snorted. "Please tell me you're keeping a tally on that?" He obviously directed to none other than Jason.

"Of course," he scoffed as if the question offended his very principles, like he even remembered what those were. "What do you take me for?"

I turned and saw my friends—Rachel, Annabeth, and Nico—spiraling above me, glinting in the sunlight. Behind them, smoke billowed from the windows of Daedalus's workshop.

"Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."

"How long?" Rachel asked.

"I don't want to find out!" Annabeth said.

We swooped down toward the Garden of the Gods. I did a complete circle around one of the rock spires and freaked out a couple of climbers.

"I bet they spend the rest of their life telling everyone they saw an eagle soar," Will offered.

"Or a really, really big sugar glider," Magnus smirked.

Then the four of us soared across the valley, over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor center. It was late afternoon and the place looked pretty empty, but we ripped off our wings as quickly as we could. Looking at them, I could see Annabeth was right. The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to our backs were already melting, and we were shedding bronze feathers. It seemed a shame, but we couldn't fix them, and couldn't leave them around for the mortals, so we stuffed the wings in trash bins outside the cafeteria.

"Where they can rot next to cat litter and corpses," Thalia shivered in disgust one last time.

"I can't believe Annabeth wasn't having a conniption fit about throwing away something he made," Magnus admitted.

"I like to imagine Rachel kept a feather as a souvenir at least," Jason said with a sad smile. He definitely liked the idea of flying, it sounded immensely comforting, the idea of lounging on a cloud.

"I can't believe Daedalus still never found a way to make those better long-range," Alex looked wholly upset at a clearly failed experiment. "That had to be his life's work, right? To find a perfect set of wings that could have saved his son. I hope he never finds out they still wouldn't have worked."

"I don't think I go out of my way to mention it," Percy's promise felt lackluster, he didn't exactly have a good feeling about meeting Daedalus again...though the fact that he felt anything at all for it was a cause of concern all its own.

I used the tourist binocular camera to look up at the hill where Daedalus's workshop had been, but it had vanished. No more smoke. No broken windows. Just the side of a hill.

"Have I mentioned how awfully convenient it is your world just cleans up after itself like that," Magnus shook his head in a kind of daze all that was so close and yet so far from the world.

"Now if only we could convince the monsters and gods and titans to stop getting the world killed and we'd have it made," Percy nodded, crossing his hands behind his head and lounging back.

"The workshop moved," Annabeth guessed. "There's no telling where."

"So what do we do now?" I asked. "How do we get back in the maze?"

Percy smiled in surprise nobody pointed out a better way back to Camp would be Blackjack, because it wasn't the way of getting there. Grover and Tyson were still trapped in there, and the Camp was already as warned as they could be. They weren't going home until everybody in the quest was back together.

Annabeth gazed at the summit of Pikes Peak in the distance. "Maybe we can't. If Daedalus died...he said his life force was tied into the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion."

"Along with Luke," Thalia said lowly. She knew that didn't happen, but there was a tiny kernel of relief in her that Annabeth had said it.

The troubled look on Percy's face meant Annabeth might not have said it with any hope, but even the acknowledgment of it gave Thalia some sense of peace Annabeth wasn't totally delusional about Luke's end.

I thought about Grover and Tyson, still down there somewhere.

Percy decidedly did not like the hesitant moment of silence that followed that sentence. He knew Alex wasn't doing it on purpose as a respectful moment because they were probably dead, but it sure felt that way to Percy for that one, horrible beat.

And Daedalus...even though he'd done some terrible things and put everybody I cared about at risk, it seemed like a pretty horrible way to die.

Will smiled at Percy, a really tender expression Percy couldn't begin to guess at. Will couldn't help it, the only person Percy had yet shown zero remorse for was Gabe. It was obviously not common around camp to get to hear insights of what everybody was thinking, Will just genuinely enjoyed the moment of hearing the constant and probable deaths on these quests weren't so easily glossed over.

"No," Nico said. "He isn't dead."

"How can you be sure?" I asked.

"I know when people die. It's this feeling I get, like a buzzing in my ears."

"Is that where that saying comes if your ears are buzzing somebody's talking about you?" Magnus asked.

"No," Nico shrugged, "I have no idea what started that myth."

"Happens to me every time I blow my nose," Jason rolled his eyes. Thalia swallowed a hysterical laugh the same thing actually happened to her, and she didn't think it was related to this nonsense.

"Hades kids get all the good superstitions," Will chuckled, "all I get is somebody blaming my dad for their allergies."

"The real question is, do Percy's ears buzz every time somebody pee's in the ocean," Alex said saintly.

"I wish I could ban you from the room," Percy frowned at him while Nico tried hard to stifle a laugh and was failing.

"What about Tyson and Grover, then?"

Nico shook his head. "That's harder. They're not humans or half-bloods. They don't have mortal souls."

"Cool," Magnus said with a blank look on his face like he wasn't sure if he meant that or not while Percy started chewing on his lip hard.

Will still gave Nico a hopeful smile though. This was the first time Nico had blatantly talked about even a hint of his powers in his past and nobody was reacting poorly at all. If anything it sounded like they really wanted to know more and just weren't sure how to phrase it.

"We have to get into town," Annabeth decided. "Our chances will be better of finding an entrance to the Labyrinth.

"Why?" Alex looked truly dumbfounded at that train of thought. "You literally know of one in your own woods. The location seems purely random."

"Man do I wish somebody had made a map of these so we could try and discern a pattern," Jason said with a smile like cherishing a long-lost loved one.

"Dude, please keep going before Jason starts writing calculations on the wall," Percy groaned.

We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army."

"Could Rachel even get you to Camp through the labyrinth?" Jason puzzled. "If mortals aren't allowed in, which would trump the other?"

"Monsters can't get in either, but we're not betting on the maze to keep them out," Percy frowned too though as he wasn't sure if Rachel would just smack into an invisible barrier. No way would they leave her behind in there for any reason, but who knew where the nearest entrance would pop them out at.

"We could just take a plane," Rachel said.

I shuddered. "I don't fly."

"But you just did."

"That was low flying," I said, "and even that's risky. Flying up really high—that's Zeus's territory. I can't do it.

"Important things Rachel should know for future interactions with you," Thalia said agreeably.

"And yet you've flown in every adventure so far," Jason chuckled.

"I don't consider getting thrown into the stratosphere by a ship exploding flying," Percy sighed.

"And yet Zeus probably never will forgive you for it," Thalia reminded.

Besides, we don't even have time for a flight. The labyrinth is the quickest way back."

Nico pursed his lips and wondered if Percy would accept a shadow-traveling trip from his dark creepy powers if it would have gotten them back in time to save the camp. He couldn't have done it back then, to many people, he certainly hadn't the skill for it, but the thought fluttered like a shedding bronze feather in his mind...as he next wondered what Will would say if had to experience that...

I didn't want to say it, but I was also hoping that maybe, just maybe, we would find Grover and Tyson along the way.

Alex had to bite back the comment about Percy being an optimist. Those two could be in France or Utah, or dead for all he knew.

With Rachel as guide though, there was a slim chance he would find them again, and Alex liked to blame that idea more on logic than these weirdos rubbing off on him.

"So we need a car to take us into the city," Annabeth said.

Rachel looked down into the parking lot. She grimaced, as if she were about to do something she regretted. "I'll take care of it."

"Rachel can hotwire a car," Magnus said at once with absolute confidence. Was she a runaway? It seemed to fit.

"Why does Nico feel like the only good influence friend you have?" Will frowned, even knowing that wasn't true. "The rest of you nutjobs are all out here doing every illegal, objectionable, immoral, or obnoxious thing I could name, he's the only one actively choosing not to kill people."

"That's not a very high bar Will," Nico rolled his eyes.

"And yet you're still winning," Percy shrugged.

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Just trust me."

Annabeth looked uneasy, but she nodded. "Okay,

"Prog...proggress?" Jason tried to say. At least she didn't offer a snarky comment instead.

"It takes her a while to get there, but she does trust people," Thalia said patiently.

"Exhibit A," Percy shouted, raising his hand with pride.

I'm going to buy a prism in the gift shop, try to make a rainbow, and send an Iris-message to camp."

"Did Rachel understand any of those words?" Will asked with twitching lips.

"I'm going to buy a rainbow and talk to my also fruity friends, seems plain enough," Alex nodded.

"I'll go with you," Nico said. "I'm hungry."

It also didn't hurt to get away from Percy for a second, Nico happily kept to himself. He'd only been back in his presence for twenty minutes, tops, and already several fantasies had come true about monsters and buildings exploding. All that was missing was the slow, dramatic walk away from it all as he brushed his hair aside.

The reality looking back was much grungier. Percy's shirt had been singed, he'd had a desperately unhappy look in his eyes as he worried about his missing friends and the impending attack. There had been no hand-holding or swooning from anybody.

"I'll stick with Rachel, then," I said. "Meet you guys in the parking lot."

Rachel frowned like she didn't want me with her. That made me feel kind of bad, but I followed her down to the parking lot anyway.

"Because if Percy ever took a hint we'd all have like, half as many problems," Thalia chuckled.

"There could have been very fearsome monsters in that parking lot," Percy insisted. There really was no point in reminding his curiosity on how she was going to make that happen would never let him walk away from this.

She headed toward a big black car parked at the edge of the lot. It was a chauffeured Lexus, like the kind I always saw driving around Manhattan.

The driver was out front, reading a newspaper. He wore a dark suit and tie.

"Easy money his name is Jeeves," Alex said with a very calculating look of where this was going.

"Or Jarvis, or Alfred, come on Alex, don't stereotype," Percy snorted.

"What are you going to do?" I asked Rachel.

"Beat him up, steal his keys," Thalia said with all the sarcastic confidence she had.

"Finally reveal how Annabeth chased that guy out of the car wash, all without planning on duplicating her of course," Jason smirked.

"Kick him in the shins and run for it while expecting Percy to hotwire the car," Magnus offered. Hey, he was from New York, maybe she just assumed he knew how.

"Just wait here," she said miserably. "Please."

Rachel marched straight up to the driver and talked to him. He frowned.

Rachel said something else. He turned pale and hastily folded up his magazine. He nodded and fumbled for his cell phone. After a brief call, he opened the back door of the car for Rachel to get in.

Percy watched in sympathetic commiseration as four mouths opened in shock around him. Will had certainly never heard about this at Camp, and it made Rachel's mystic arcane powers seem even more enchanting she'd been doing this before she spewed green smoke.

"She's a secret siren! I knew Percy couldn't have a normal friend!" Magnus yelped.

"What does that make you," Percy's frown was just as confused as his though.

"I never claimed to be normal," Magnus snorted.

Alex was rubbing the back of his neck though with a very contemplative look on his face. Rachel sure knew how to get around for a mortal, and he knew of one sure fire way that could be accomplished...though it didn't track at all with her going to a public school Percy would attend...unless...

She pointed back in my direction, and the driver bobbed his head some more, like Yes, ma'am. Whatever you want.

"Would you like a space necklace from the Cupar system? Would you like my firstborn child?!" Thalia said sycophantically.

"Mock me all you like, I am this close to stealing that book away and getting answers without your help, Pine Fresh," Percy sighed.

"And miss all my brilliant commentary," she sniffed, giving him a good hard poke in his spleen just because she could. He yelped in surprise while Alex went on, for once ignoring the casual violence in curiosity if there was any proof to his theory.

I couldn't figure out why he was acting so flustered.

"It's called having manners Percy, I know that's a really foreign idea to you," Jason told, but he was to bemused himself to hold much weight.

Rachel came back to get me just as Nico and Annabeth appeared from the gift shop.

"With not a snack in sight I might add," Percy said, taking his troubled eyes off the book to throw an accusing glare at Nico. "If you stuffed Skittles up your sleeve, I hope you share!"

"Annabeth and I weren't exactly walking around with spare change," Nico reminded with a raised brow. "She went to the bathroom with that prism to get any good light and water for her rainbow and I kept lookout nobody went in the podunk, lucky it was working, one-room bathroom." Percy noticed he didn't deny the claim of stolen sweets though as his stomach rumbled.

"I talked to Chiron," Annabeth said. "They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get.

Percy waited for the smart-ass crack about how he and Annabeth alone were going to turn the tide of battle...but it didn't come. Percy felt a sense of pride they had as much faith in his camp as he did, though the troubled look on Will's face still promised it hadn't exactly been a clean sweep of a victory with or without them.

Did we find a ride?"

"We found an alien abduction in progress," Magnus muttered.

"The driver's ready when we are," Rachel said.

The chauffeur was now talking to another guy in khakis and a polo shirt, probably his client who'd rented the car. The client was complaining, but I could hear the driver saying, "I'm sorry, sir. Emergency. I've ordered another car for you."

"If Rachel was claiming that, I would expect to see a lot more blood," Alex said cynically with a raised brow. "I don't see her or Annabeth pulling the 'my water broke' line."

"She's an artist, I would think she'd commit to the bit more, be screaming her heart out at minimum," Percy mockingly agreed.

"Come on," Rachel said. She led us to the car and got in without even looking at the flustered guy who'd rented it. A minute later we were cruising down the road.

"You and Annabeth didn't question this at all?" Magnus asked of Nico.

"We just flew down from a window in the mountain where an emposua and Canadians tried to kill us, a mortal not asking questions why we were using his car was the blessing of the day," Nico scoffed.

Magnus sighed, he'd thought he'd gotten better about keeping up with the weirdness of all this, but clearly he was starting to fall behind again.

The seats were leather. There was plenty of legroom. The backseat had flat-panel TVs built into the headrests and a mini-fridge stocked with bottled water, sodas, and snacks. We started pigging out.

"The only way to travel," Thalia shook her head in exasperation. "You should have abducted this girl back at the Hoover Dam Percy, she would have gotten us a free ride the rest of the way west too in luxray."

"I'm sorry kidnapping wasn't my first train of thought," Percy said blandly.

'It sure was Artimes's' Nico kept the burning comment to himself, and it wasn't as painful as he'd thought it was as it lit and dimmed in him quickly.

"Where to, Miss Dare?" the driver asked.

"I'm not sure yet, Robert," she said.

"Damn, guess you lost that easy money Alex," Percy chuckled.

"I'll make it back by betting when you next say something illegal, objectionable, immoral, or obnoxious." He easily promised.

Percy sighed, he should have known he'd be the sole contender on that list. Ah well, he was used to taking the blame anyway.

"We just need to drive through town and, uh, look around."

"Whatever you say, miss."

I looked at Rachel. "Do you know this guy?"

"No."

"And here my next theory was long lost cousin and blackmail," Jason admitted.

"But he dropped everything to help you. Why?"

"Just keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Help me look."

Which didn't exactly answer my question.

"Oh, well that's a relief, I thought I was just lagging behind again," Magnus frowned.

"Not in this room buddy, one speed only," Percy agreed.

We drove through Colorado Springs for about half an hour and saw nothing that Rachel considered a possible Labyrinth entrance. I was very aware of Rachel's shoulder pressing against mine. I kept wondering who she was exactly, and how she could walk up to some random chauffeur and immediately get a ride.

"Is that what it takes to impress you?" Nico asked in exasperation. "I bet I could do that." Not that he wanted to... it was the principle of the matter...

"Do I need to add a clause about not giving said chauffeur a heart attack?" Percy demanded with a raised brow.

"Well that rules out Annabeth too, guess Rachel gets to keep this unique skill to herself," Will chuckled.

"Yeah, but Rachel ate all the peanuts," Percy grinned, "I have to say, it dulled some of her mystique."

After about an hour we decided to head north toward Denver, thinking that maybe a bigger city would be more likely to have a Labyrinth entrance, but we were all getting nervous. We were losing time.

Then right as we were leaving Colorado Springs, Rachel sat bolt upright. "Get off the highway!"

"That's better than screaming, oh my god monster, but somehow not by much," Magnus sighed.

"I was half expecting her to see vampires running alongside the car," Jason admitted.

The driver glanced back. "Miss?"

"I saw something, I think. Get off here."

The driver swerved across traffic and took the exit.

Alex's gleefully evil eyes were back on full display, clearly plotting whatever diabolical thing he'd do with someone willing to dart across traffic on a whim. It only made Magnus piss his pants a little.

"What did you see?" I asked, because we were pretty much out of the city now. There wasn't anything around except hills, grassland, and some scattered farm buildings. Rachel had the driver turn down this unpromising dirt road. We drove by a sign too fast for me to read it, but Rachel said, "Western Museum of Mining & Industry."

For a museum, it didn't look like much—a little house like an oldfashioned railroad station, some drills and pumps and old steam shovels on display outside.

"You've been spoiled by visiting all the good museums already," Thalia reminded. "This is probably their major economy or something Percy, be a little more respectful."

"It's going to take a lot more steam shovels for that to happen, I demand hydraulics," Percy smirked.

"There." Rachel pointed to a hole in the side of a nearby hill—a tunnel that was boarded up and chained. "An old mine entrance."

"A door to the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Why is she still wasting her breath questioning this?" Nico asked in exhaustion.

"Someboyd's got to double-check our work around there, and it's not going to be me," Percy shrugged.

"Well, look at it!" Rachel said. "I mean...I can see it, okay?"

She thanked the driver and we all got out. He didn't ask for money or anything.

There was an awkward pause where everybody expected somebody to say something. Alex didn't blurt out any wild ideas about mind control, Jason didn't offer any theories of how she pulled that off though.

There was just silence as they all tried to process for a moment if this guy had just done a random nice thing for a bunch of kids.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your—"

"No!" Rachel said. "No, really. Thanks, Robert. But we're fine."

Rachel had watched him go with a look on her face Nico had recognized at the time with no clue why. Percy and Annabeth had turned attention at once to their destination, but looking back he saw now she was regretting her 'power.' Her ability to manipulate someone into doing her bidding just by invoking her father's name. It was a heedy power she toed the line with he still struggled against.

The museum seemed to be closed, so nobody bothered us as we climbed the hill to the mine shaft. When we got to the entrance, I saw the mark of Daedalus engraved on the padlock, though how Rachel had seen something so tiny all the way from the highway I had no idea.

"A valid question," Jason promised, "though I'm over here wondering who went around and put all those marks up. Did Daedalus play Where's Waldo with a US map and throw darts?"

Magnus still took an extra second to realize he was talking about Quintus, that it was possible he'd been alive so long he'd lived in every city in the states, had moved west with every new plot of land and done this himself for his own means. The idea melted his mind.

I touched the padlock and the chains fell away. We kicked down a few boards and walked inside.

For better or worse, we were back in the Labyrinth.

"Worse. I'm pretty confident it's going to be worse," Percy said with entirely to much confidence for the guy who had lived through it and couldn't remember.

The dirt tunnels turned to stone. They wound around and split off and basically tried to confuse us, but Rachel had no trouble guiding us. We told her we needed to get back to New York, and she hardly even paused when the tunnels offered a choice.

To my surprise, Rachel and Annabeth started up a conversation as we walked. Annabeth asked her more about her background, but Rachel was evasive, so they started talking about architecture. It turned out that Rachel knew something about it from studying art. They talked about different facades on buildings around New York—"Have you seen this one," blah, blah, blah,

"I get the feeling Percy was riveted by this conversation," Jason snorted in amusement, and deeply wishing he could fill in the blanks of those blahs. He was now right along with Percy in his jealousy of the universe neither girl was here!

"I'm just over here glad she's finally making friends," Thalia said with a proud smile. She worried about that a bit when she'd left for the Hunters. She knew Annabeth had Percy, and everybody in Camp respected her, but in the time they'd spent together in the mortal world catching up, her little sister hadn't exactly given a list of friends she missed at Camp. She missed the freedom of walking around on the green grass and strawberry fields without a hall pass, and the activities, and avoiding the harpies when she wanted out after curfew to sneak down to the ocean, but just a few sparse details about her half-siblings.

Another thing she'd once resented Percy for but now found herself more than grateful to. The boy made friends everywhere he went, and his friends were going to be Annabeth's friends if they wanted to stay that way.

so I hung back and walked next to Nico in uncomfortable silence.

"No, Percy, say it ain't so. Tell me how you really feel," Nico said deadpan.

"I could have started whistling show tunes to ease the mood," Percy offered just as sarcastically. "There's a pretty wild swing on people who love and hate that though, I don't know you well enough to guess."

"Imagine if someone had actually locked them in a room together," Alex said with way to much critical thinking in the tone of his voice. "Two opposing personalities, that Big Bad Kid 3 whatever tension hitting its breaking point, they'd have either killed each other or come out as best friends."

"Isn't that how everybody makes friends?" Percy shrugged, throwing an arm over Thalia's shoulders.

She smacked him and scoffed, "if we were locked in a room together they'd never find the body."

Nico scratched at his ear and decided to keep the thoughts to himself; A, they were once trapped in a room together and Percy did consider killing him and B, they were locked in a room together now and nobody had actively started killing yet; so it really was anybodys guess how this would end.

"Thanks for coming after us," I told him at last.

Will smiled that of course Percy's first instinct was to thank Nico.

Nico, however, couldn't help a little twitch under his skin that the last person who had thanked Percy was Kronos, and didn't appreciate all the easy parallel lines he could always draw there.

Nico's eyes narrowed. He didn't seem as angry as he used to—just suspicious, careful.

It seemed to be how he'd mellowed out to now, Jason noticed. Gone was that happy little kid, but at least this quiet, suspicious, careful kid didn't seem to have a hint of homicidal return. He just seemed kind of sad. Jason didn't even remember how he used to be and he cracked a smile whenever he found the easiest chance.

"I owed you for the ranch, Percy. Plus...I wanted to see Daedalus for myself. Minos was right, in a way. Daedalus should die. Nobody should be able to avoid death that long. It's not natural."

"What is natural anyways?" Thalia said with a challenging smirk. "Fire doesn't occur without a biological factor, and yet we have Greek fire." Here Nico was mocking Annabeth for wanting to always make sense when he thought he could raise the dead and have natural order.

Fire- occurs- endless gasless fire- gas feeds fire- wait what is gas again- oh right- "Dinosaurs still exist as gas," Percy sounded like he was agreeing even as he went cross-eyed. "Hey, do you think the gods rode on them? I bet they all fought over who would win in fights like we still do. Bet I could ask my dad-"

He was forced to stop his verbal ADHD rant at the loud laughter and then chuckled along until Alex got his breath back enough to keep going. He really wished Riptide would work as a pen right now though, he wanted to jot that one on his hand to ask later.

"That's what you were after all along," I said. "Trading Daedalus's soul for your sister's."

"You know what, I take it all back," Magnus rolled his eyes, "Percy does have a filter, it's just so dam clotted with blonde hair the only thoughts that don't come through are when you won't shut up about how pretty my cousin is."

"I'm always slipping through the cracks!" Nico somehow managed to make that sound like a good thing as Will looked at him in concern.

"What?" Percy still asked blankly like he couldn't figure out why anyone would scold him for bringing up a sensitive topic.

Nico walked for another fifty yards before answering. "It hasn't been easy, you know. Having only the dead for company. Knowing that I'll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respect me, and they only do that out of fear."

Jason's mouth ticked, and he had no clue. It wasn't pleasant, to suddenly have a lurching inside him that made him wonder if he'd ever described himself like that with no clue why...but the feeling was fleeting and didn't linger as his headache immediately overrode the sensation.

Percy was biting his tongue hard, proving Magnus's statement false once again as he stopped himself saying maybe that wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't run away in the first place! If he could use the maze and the ghosts to figure out how to get around, he could have come back to camp.

"You could be accepted," I said. "You could have friends at camp."

He stared at me. "Do you really believe that, Percy?"

I didn't answer. The truth was, I didn't know. Nico had always been a little different, but since Bianca's death, he'd gotten almost...scary. He had his father's eyes—that intense, manic fire that made you suspect he was either a genius or a madman. And the way he'd banished Minos, and called himself the king of ghosts—it was kind of impressive, but it made me uncomfortable too.

"Sorry," Percy said it like a knee-jerk reaction. Like he was still on the roof about to catch him before he fell, and yet his hand twitched in his lap like he'd pull away just as fast.

Nico knew he was apologizing the thought was said out loud, not because he'd thought it.

Which was kind of a relief. A nice feeling to know what Percy really thought of him instead of constantly wondering and guessing. It's not like there had ever been a question, but getting the answer was still appreciated. Somewhere deep down. "Uhhu," was all Nico could think to say to that.

Was Percy apologizing, saying he shouldn't come back to camp because he wouldn't be accepted? He knew that. And yet Percy made a face like there were dancing skeletons doing the tango every time it was mentioned he'd run away.

"Percy's just uncomfortable around anyone competent, like Thalia and Annabeth obviously," Alex scoffed - "Hey," Percy sighed- "We accept you Nico," he reminded, looking a touch hurt he wasn't everybody's first and last thought.

"Because you've been stuck in a room with me for days and I haven't killed you all," his biting sarcasm held no weight though, he found that an odd anomaly.

"I mean, that's a bonus, not the point," Jason snorted, waving a mocking hand at Percy who pretended to look offended.

Nico struggled to answer with the sudden heat in his face. Will and Percy wouldn't have let these guys murder Luke if he'd been trapped in here, it wasn't the same. They were kicking it in luxury survival mode and would all part ways the moment they could.

"It doesn't have to be like that Nico," Will said robustly like he'd read his mind, a stern edge in his voice like he was daring anyone to say anything now.

Yet even Thalia, who knew his contribution during the Titan war, looked a little to guilty as her eyes shifted from Percy to Nico and chose not to say anything. She thought Will naive, Children of the Big Three didn't get that balance between respect and friendship, Percy seemed unique in that. She'd certainly lived the experience in her short months at camp with everybody avoiding eye contact and afraid to step on her toes lest she electrocute them. The only ones who had never been like that were Luke, Annabeth, and Percy.

"It doesn't matter now," Nico sounded calm, factual. "I'll never know the difference, they all know so it won't feel real."

Percy went crosseyed in confusion when the Camp found out about this but Will wasn't letting go that easily.

"I'm not saying you'll be universally loved! I can't stand Ashely McNabb, I swear she has Munchausen's as much as she's in the infirmary complaining about something! Nobody is, have you met Clarisse?" He threw his hands up in exasperation, ruffling the hair along Nico's neck. "We took in Chris without question! We would have taken in Ethan despite how hard that would have been on a lot of kids who still feel betrayed by Luke and wouldn't believe some idiot would flip-flop on sides like that. You could at least give the place a real chance to prove that." 

Nico didn't outright answer. Something about having a solid future like that ahead made him queasy. He still felt that need to go into Tartarus, to find out what was happening down there, and he didn't believe he could do both without being some sort of infectious plague on the camp.

When it was apparent Nico and Will were just going to have a staring contest over there, Alex kept reading. Not that this wasn't a riveting debate over universal morals, but whoever blinked first would just ruin the tension anyway and he'd rather do that himself.

Before I could figure out what to tell him, I ran into Rachel, who'd stopped in front of me.

"That's one way to end an awkward conversation," Magnus muttered. "I might just get up and run into a wall next time it starts getting to quiet in here."

"I'll have the camera ready," Alex promised without looking up.

We'd come to a crossroads. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right—a circular shaft carved from volcanic rock.

"Do you go diamond mining?" Thalia asked with such a horribly painful build-up in her throat she was sure that didn't sound intelligible.

"I do not," Percy said with a dull flush on his face for whom his mind jumped to.

"What is it?" I asked.

Rachel stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like one of Nico's specters.

"Which is not an effect of proximity from being around him," Will added cheerfully like somebody was going to rush and check a mirror.

Yet only Nico looked soothed when nobody moved. Will would have rolled his eyes at him if it wasn't just a touch more sad.

"Is it that way?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Rachel said nervously. "Not at all."

"Why are we stopping then?" I asked.

"To make sure you're keeping up?" Jason offered.

"Not in the slightest," Percy sighed.

"Listen," Nico said.

I heard wind coming down the tunnel, as if the exit were close. And I smelled something vaguely familiar—something that brought back bad memories.

"Eucalyptus trees," I said. "Like in California."

"How's that abdication of cough drops going?" Thalia asked, wishing to plug her own nose up at just the thought.

"Surprisingly well, I don't get the flu or allergies very much," Percy resisted the urge to stuff his tongue down his throat to gag up any smell that wasn't in the memory of his nose.

Last winter, when we'd faced Luke and the Titan Atlas on top of Mount Tamalpais, the air had smelled like that.

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat as the thought easily echoed around his brain now. He'd meant to say that out loud, to warn Rachel and Nico what could have been at the other end of that tunnel, but the words had lodged in place to just leave his head feeling cluttered.

"There's something evil down that tunnel," Rachel said. "Something very powerful."

"And the smell of death," Nico added, which made me feel a whole lot better.

"The two usually go hand in hand," Jason agreed blandly, even as his innards squirmed at the idea of Percy going back there. He had no reason to...and yet Jason really wanted him to. Any time Percy got near California, and especially this mountain, the powerful feeling of his memories was always right on the cusp of being understood, no matter how painful it was.

Annabeth and I exchanged glances.

"Luke's entrance," she guessed.

"Gods, if she starts naming all the tunnels and actually trying to map this place out again you'll never leave," Alex said with an awkward laugh that still managed to sound genuine to everyone but him.

"The one to Mount Othrys—the Titans' palace."

"I have to check it out," I said.

"Percy, no."

"Two words that have never done any good," Thalia snorted.

"So we know if she ever says Percy, yes, I'll be unstoppable," Percy grinned.

"Luke could be right here," I said. "Or...or Kronos. I have to find out what's going on."

Annabeth hesitated. "Then we'll all go."

There was a collective wince around the room that Percy didn't cause this time. Absolutely nobody seemed to think it was a good idea to put Annabeth back around Luke, and yet, none of them would have tried arguing the point with her. Last time she and Percy had separated...hadn't ended well.

"No," I said. "It's too dangerous. If they got hold of Nico, or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them. You stay here and guard them."

Nico still felt just as small and unseen as he had then, and he still hated himself for that hold Percy would always seem to have over him no matter how desensitized he became to his crush. He didn't need guarding! He, unlike Percy and Annabeth, had never been fooled by Luke! He should have been the one to go!

He'd been about to slip away to prove as much when those girls seemingly agreed with that decision.

A very large part of him had wanted to tell Annabeth and Rachel to hit the road. To split up. He and Percy could handle this while they went to warn camp, it would have been perfect, he could have navigated the maze just fine.

And yet, he'd been far to much of a coward back then to voice such a thing, and it never would have had a good outcome. Percy would never see him as anything more than what they were now. Maybe acquaintances, possibly friends.

What I didn't say: I was also worried about Annabeth. I didn't trust what she would do if she saw Luke again. He had fooled her and manipulated her too many times before.

"Percy, don't," Rachel said. "Don't go up there alone."

"I'll be quick," I promised. "I won't do anything stupid."

Jason made a terribly mocking scoff as he looked at Percy in concern. "You can't even ask yourself what would Annabeth do to avoid that because she's just as bad!"

"Then I follow my own instincts, they've gotten me this far," Percy said simply.

"We're all doomed," Jason did not look very reassured.

Annabeth took her Yankees cap out of her pocket. "At least take this. And be careful."

"Thanks." I remembered the last time Annabeth and I had parted ways, when she'd given me a kiss for luck in Mount St. Helens. This time, all I got was the hat.

"I guess this decision isn't that stupid," Will grinned. "She only shows you affection when she's scared, so she's not that worried about you this time."

"Yeah, that's it," Percy sighed. "So what you're saying is, I should have decided to walk in backward and pretended to join their side."

"Annabeth definitely would have kissed you again if that was the stupid plan you went with," Jason rolled his eyes.

"You're assuming he had a plan at all," Thalia stage whispered.

I put it on. "Here goes nothing." And I sneaked invisibly down the dark stone tunnel.*

"And the countdown for the next disaster begins," Percy sighed for everybody this time. It did not help what a horrible feeling this place was giving him, like this quick trip to Mount Tam wasn't going to be any better than the last time.

Before I even got to the exit I heard voices: the growling, barking sounds of sea-demon smiths, the telekhines.

Percy looked mildly offended his awful stunt hadn't even vaporized all of these things. Either that or they'd just regenerated that fast because his luck was truly the worst.

"At least we salvaged the blade," one said. "The master will still reward us."

Magnus's mind flashed to a guy who lived near the local landfill who salvaged anything of value and then threw it in the ocean where he was sure his master dwelled and would one day call out to him. He was now vaguely concerned if Poseidon or some other ocean spirit could put curses on mortals or something.

"Yes! Yes!" a second shrieked. "Rewards beyond measure!"

"I wonder if they share that with all their telekhine kind, or if they're just the greedy ones who are going to hoard it for generations," Alex huffed.

"Like Kronos is going to hold up his end of the bargain anyways," Jason scoffed.

Thalia felt a horrible feeling deep in her chest that made her want to scream. This would be the last time they'd be able to speak about Kronos in the abstract...soon they'd all have a face to attach to the Titan, one she'd never wanted to look away from once.

Another voice, this one more human, said: "Um, yeah, well that's great. Now, if you're done with me—"

"No, half-blood!" a telekhine said. "You must help us make the presentation. It is a great honor!"

"Oh, well in that case," Magnus blew a raspberry and flipped off the monsters that had nearly killed Percy.

Percy chuckled appreciatively, but his stomach twisted hard at how familiar that voice had sounded. Apparently, no good deed was going to go unpunished.

"Gee, thanks," the half-blood said, and I realized it was Ethan Nakamura, the guy who'd run away after I'd saved his sorry life in the arena.

"Is this an ad to never save somebody's life again?" Thalia asked, that sick feeling in her slowly but steadily rising up, her face growing hot. "I'm thinking about throwing my hat in with that sponsorship."

"Don't forget to do a thorough background check Thals," Percy said with a deep frown of concern at her. He knew she was just kidding, she'd no more stand around and watch someone die than he would, but it was an especially bleak joke from her. There were shadows flickering in her dark blue eyes that had nothing to do with this dark room hinting when her mind really was.

I crept toward the end of the tunnel. I had to remind myself I was invisible. They shouldn't be able to see me.

"Doesn't mean you should start slacking," Jason said sharply.

"Yeah, I was going to start singing opera music or something, I thought that would be real subtle," Percy rolled his eyes.

"You don't even know any opera songs," Alex accused.

"You got me, it was going to be Led Zepplin," Percy grinned.

Thalia laughed in surprise, though she visibly winced too. Percy frowned steadily at her, that look on his face she hated the most. It was usually the dumbass expression that meant he noticed something when he was supposed to be helping her fight.

A blast of cold air hit me as I emerged. I was standing near the top of Mount Tam. The Pacific Ocean spread out below, gray under a cloudy sky.

About twenty feet downhill, two telekhines were placing something on a big rock—something long and thin and wrapped in a black cloth. Ethan was helping them open it.

"Careful, fool," the telekhine scolded. "One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body."

Ethan swallowed nervously. "Maybe I'll let you unwrap it, then."

"Not so brave now Percy's not about to be the one to kill him," Alex frowned.

"Thanks, I feel real special," Percy frowned along.

I glanced up at the mountain's peak, where a black marble fortress loomed, just like I'd seen in my dreams. It reminded me of an oversized mausoleum, with walls fifty feet high. I had no idea how mortals could miss the fact that it was here.

"Mount Olympus hangs above New York," Magnus was the one to remind with a completely blank face, "I'm so done questioning this." However, the fact that his face still ticked proved that a minor lie and he was just done begging the world to make sense of it.

But then again, everything below the summit seemed fuzzy to me, as if there were a thick veil between me and the lower half of the mountain.

Thalia tried hard to swallow, but it felt like her body was fighting her, she could taste the acid swiftly climbing. It had nothing to do with heights for once.

There was magic going on here—really powerful Mist.

Above me, the sky swirled into a huge funnel cloud. I couldn't see Atlas, but I could hear him groaning in the distance, still laboring under the weight of the sky, just beyond the fortress.

Percy still could have pointed to the exact boulder Zoe had been thrown into. He blinked rapidly against his painful eyes as he remembered Calypso.

He wished he could somehow add a few extra layers to Atlas's punishment.

"There!" the telekhine said. Reverently, he lifted the weapon, and my blood turned to ice.

It was a scythe—a six foot-long blade curved like a crescent moon, with a wooden handle wrapped in leather. The blade glinted two different colors— steel and bronze.

Percy rubbed his thigh where that blade had once sliced right through him. He exchanged a troubled look with Thalia, the hurt and vengeance all mingled together like the forge that had done this. Luke had used that to cut off everybody who mattered to him in service of Kronos...and they hoped it wasn't worth it.

"Is that a special telekhine ability only?" Alex asked with a rather sad smile for still getting a joke in. "If they steal my weapon, will they give me back a better one? Does the stealing have to be explicit, or do they do trades for volcanos?"

"I get the feeling that sword was a gift Alex, and Luke gave it back to them willingly," Jason told him with bland sarcasm.

"Killjoy," Alex rolled his eyes at murdering such fantasies of thieving gone right.

It was the weapon of Kronos, the one he'd used to slice up his father, Ouranos, before the gods had taken it away from him and cut Kronos to pieces, casting him into Tartarus. Now the weapon was re-forged.

"We must sanctify it in blood," the telekhine said. "Then you, half-blood, shall help present it when the lord awakes."

"But he didn't even win his fight!" Thalia protested. "What was he doing there in a place of honor?" She said that like one would of a porta potty.

"They got desperate and used the only fool they could grab," Jason scowled.

I ran toward the fortress, my pulse pounding in my ears. I didn't want to get anywhere close to that horrible black mausoleum, but I knew what I had to do. I had to stop Kronos from rising. This might be my only chance.

There was ominous silence in the room for several moments.

Then they realized Alex was just pausing dramatically for effect before he took a breath to keep going. Percy almost wished he wouldn't. He had a bad feeling about this, and not once had this kind of gut-deep bad feeling turned out to be wrong.

I dashed through a dark foyer and into the main hall. The floor shined like a mahogany piano—pure black and yet full of light. Black marble statues lined the walls. I didn't recognize the faces, but I knew I was looking at images of the Titans who'd ruled before the gods. At the end of the room, between two bronze braziers, was a dais. And on the dais, the golden sarcophagus.

The room was silent except for the crackle of the fires. Luke wasn't here.

No guards. Nothing.

"It's to easy," Magnus finally couldn't help but state the obvious.

"Which has never happened in my life and I'm finally owed one!" Percy tried to say with triumph, even shaking his fist at the sky like he was daring the god of the heavens himself to smite him for saying otherwise.

It didn't exactly invoke a feeling of safeness and assurance this was going to go well.

It was too easy, but I approached the dais.

Percy sighed and hung his head. Nobody even mocked Magnus for the book copy. It was just that awkwardly silent. "Yeah, I know," Percy said. "Time to play how does it all go wrong?"

"Well, we know it's probably not Dracula in that coffin, or if it is, Kronos has allies cooler than you and I'm not going to be rooting for you anymore, so I'm out," Alex shrugged, and seeing as he had the book, that kind of mattered the most right now.

The sarcophagus was just like I remembered—about ten feet long, much too big for a human. It was carved with elaborate scenes of death and destruction, pictures of the gods being trodden under chariots, temples and famous world landmarks being smashed and burned. The whole coffin gave off an aura of extreme cold, like I was walking into a freezer. My breath began to steam.

I drew Riptide and took a little comfort from the familiar weight of the sword in my hand.

Thalia couldn't help but paint over the image, Percy's black hair turning blond, him shooting up several inches and his eyes turning bright blue; Luke's final moments. Had he walked into the room with confidence and stopped to admire his final resting place with a smile? Had he been crying and regretting this as Kronos egged on his every step? Had he ever prayed to his father for a way out in a last desperate attempt? Would he have checked every corner, hoping beyond hope for someone to show up and help him out of this one last time?

Had he lain down in peace it was finally over?

She still remembered him throwing her arm over his shoulder, supporting all of her weight as she tried to limp along. She'd gasped he should take Annabeth and run, but he hadn't listened to her that time, instead telling her, "you can live with dignity, you can't die with it," and she hadn't said another word about it all the way to his mother's house.

What had been his final thought that day? What would he call this death? What Kronos had done to his body was perverse, as far from dignifying as she could imagine.

Whenever I'd approached Kronos before, his evil voice had spoken in my mind. Why was he silent now?

"Did he finally run out of things to say?" Nico asked without hope. "They say silence speaks louder than words, is he just trying to be louder than your constant internal monolog?"

"I have a feeling he was talking to himself when no one was around to listen in Tartarus, I doubt that's it," Percy was fighting off the urge to shiver in here. His body wasn't cold, only his memory of what was about to come.

He'd been shred into a thousand pieces, cut with his own scythe. What would I find if I opened that lid? How could they make a new body for him?

"Duct tape?" Alex offered.

"I vote a welding torch, it sounds more painful," Jason murmured, and they all felt a thrill of horror as they wondered if that's what Daedalus had done. Given someone other than himself an automaton body.

I had no answers. I just knew that if he was about to rise, I had to strike him down before he got his scythe. I had to figure out a way to stop him.

I stood over the coffin.

Jason looked blearily at the book, his gaze switching from its solid black cover to Percy and Thalia for several moments with deja vu swimming on the brain...before it clicked. Percy had dreamed of this moment once. Standing over this coffin, ready to kill Kronos...was Thalia going to appear again to help get the job done?

She looked just as pale and miserable as she had back then. He understood her expression now, truly one of mourning, which really didn't click with her having any feelings other than triumph over the Titan Lord's defeat. She'd screamed in that dream...a scream of fear for what was inside...

The lid was decorated even more intricately than the sides—with scenes of carnage and power. In the middle was an inscription carved in letters even older than Greek, a language of magic. I couldn't read it, exactly, but I knew what it said: KRONOS, LORD OF TIME.

"What a boring epitaph," Magnus raised a brow. "No, here lie's dad, he tried to eat us all and deserves this. I would have settled for, in loving memory of the dude who birthed us the second time and nothing more."

"Gods just aren't that original Magnus, we've gone over this," Nico scoffed.

"I bet the Titans made it and just couldn't be bothered," Alex rolled his eyes.

My hand touched the lid. My fingertips turned blue. Frost gathered on my sword.

"Guess Jason finally gets his answer about if I can get frostbite," Percy muttered as his stomach turned. He tried to calm it, constantly convince and remind himself nobody could possibly get hurt from this except him and he was fine...maybe he'd finally saved the world with one easy stab and Annabeth would hold his hand and kiss him this time.

Then I heard noises behind me—voices approaching. It was now or never.

I pushed back the golden lid and it fell to the floor with a huge WHOOOOM!

Thalia knew there was nothing she could do to brace herself. She wished there was, she would have done anything to feel prepared for what she knew was coming next, but there was nothing. She just felt cold, and empty, and primed for the pain that every word was going to cause her next.

I lifted my sword, ready to strike. But when I looked inside, I didn't comprehend what I was seeing. Mortal legs, dressed in gray pants. A white T-shirt, hands folded over his stomach. One piece of his chest was missing—a clean black hole about the size of a bullet wound, right where his heart should've been. His eyes were closed. His skin was pale. Blond hair...and a scar running along the left side of his face.

The body in the coffin was Luke's.

She'd known this was coming all along, reliving these horrible memories of Percy's could lead to no other choice of words than those, and yet Thalia still felt that gasp of air pass her lips. A traitorous tear slipped from her cheek.

She couldn't just sit here right now. She didn't care how weak or childish it felt, a betrayal of her own body as she jumped up with bile in her throat blocking her scream of protest.

This was not something she'd ever wanted to hear in vivid detail, and her mind claimed some protection from that as she stormed out of the room without a word...leaving a storm behind.

Percy gave her a thirty-second head start as he dodged a lightning cloud to go after her. Jason muttered something about raincoats as he ducked into the nearest room, but Percy felt eyes on the back of his neck until he very cleverly and with Sherlockian skill figured out which room she'd tried to barricade herself in by the loudest bass guitar he'd ever heard in his life.

He pushed the door open, one hand trying to reflexively come up and cover his ear to stop it bleeding. Thalia was standing with her hand inside the fridge where a large stereo was blasting music, her fingers still managing to fiddle with the links of her bracelet on that wrist awkwardly with the other.**

The lyrics weren't exactly cheery either, what he could make out through the screaming.

He knew he was probably going to get all of his bones shocked like a stupid cartoon outline and his hair would never lie flat again for this, but he went around beside her and waved his hand experimentally in front of her face to at least let her know he was here.

Her mouth twitched, the smallest degree, but her brow furrowed in concentration and somehow the music got louder. His teeth were vibrating in his skull. His eardrums felt like somebody was crumpling up sandpaper in them.

Stubbornness set in though as he leaned closer and blew on her face, disturbing the hair that was swaying along to the beat.

Her eyes snapped open, electricity crackled from her nose and he really hoped she never decided to get a nose ring, but she took her hand off the speaker and it finally dulled into a background noise as his ears popped. If he wasn't in the ocean he'd probably never get his hearing back.

"What are you, five?" She scowled. "You think I'm going to start whining you're breathing the same air as me?"

"Nah," he shrugged, "I just knew if I tapped you on the shoulder you would have murdered me without hesitation. This seemed safer."

"I probably can't kill you down here," she said with the confidence of one who had really considered it. "I don't want to hear the rest of that. Come get me when you're back in the maze."

"Fair," Percy promised. "Just wanted to check if you need anything besides new eardrums first. Punching bag? Black liquorice?"

She smiled against her will he did remember the kind of candy she liked.

He had to ruin the sweet moment though with a classic Percy, "I know you're beating yourself up, and you shouldn't. You couldn't have done anything differently."

"Go away Percy," she ground out, smile vanishing.

"What could you do?" He insisted. "Not saved his life on that hill? Pretend to join his side to talk him out of this? Annabeth thought of every plan and never found one crazy enough to use, you couldn't have changed-"

"I know!" She snapped as loud as the music had been. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "That's the worst part! I know I couldn't have fixed this and I hate him and I hate myself for hating him and I, I hate that I loved him!"

She stopped with a gasp, another exhale of air that fizzled with electricity between them and made Percy's heart zap like a paddle blast he had not needed. He swatted his chest impatiently, ignoring his fingers twitching against their will as his nerves were clearly standing on end too.

He watched her turn away, her hand reaching for the radio. Gods knew how long she'd been holding all that in. He suspected she'd never talked to Annabeth about this, or at least, it hadn't ended any better than grumpy silence if they started, considering that's all he got out of Annabeth defending Luke. He highly suspected she wouldn't talk to the other Hunters about this, the boy-hating club would just take her side and agree Luke wasn't worth the wasted breath and move on.

No one who was willing to listen without taking sides. She just needed space from any judgy opinion.

"Okay," he managed before the spark from her fingers could make contact. "I'll come get you like you asked."

"Thanks," she whispered.

He got to the door, but the music didn't start again.

"Do you really think that Percy?" She asked, face still turned away. "That we really couldn't have done anything differently?"

"Yeah," he said. He didn't need to know the whole story, or if this was all he'd found out in his life and the war was still raging on. He still believed it no matter the outcome, the two of them had done everything they could to save as many lives as possible.

"Right," she muttered with distaste. "So why put myself through listening to it, it won't change anything. It only makes me hate everything I ever remember about him."

"Right," he agreed, "no need to put yourself through that."

She hated Percy for not making this easy on her and insisting she should come hear every detail anyway or ask what she was hiding from. She knew she was playing right into his manipulative hand by falling for the 'I'm only on your side' smile on his face. If she didn't find a way to stab some nonvital part of him through that Achilles curse than she'd consider this trip a failure.

"Right," she echoed as she stomped around the bed.

He stayed in the doorway with that stupid smile. "Sure you don't need anything?"

"Move Perky!"

He stepped aside with his hands raised and she cussed him out all the way back he was taller than her and yet she could still drop-kick his ass. Why was she doing this to herself?!

She felt insane all of a sudden, like she'd been trying to convince herself she could go back to the innocence of it all. She knew all the signs coming and knew how it ended, but there was nothing she could do to turn a blind eye to it anymore. It had hit, and she just had to keep going...

They came back in to see the clouds had mostly subsided to murky black swirls that were escaping and dispersing out of the cracks in every wall, with everybody having an umbrella in hand and chilling in place like this was nothing out of the ordinary.

They were getting oddly good at that.

"How the hell do you make it rain underwater anyways?" Alex asked, sticking his hand out from under the pink and green nylon to catch a few drops, watching it fall through the cracks in the floor with interest.

"Hey Nico," Will grinned, staying close underneath Nico's arm hoisting a solid black one instead of holding his own. He looked ridiculous as ever all scrunched up and doubled over, but he had a stupidly delighted smile on his face while cupping his hands to collect some. Nico half expected to be splashed, until it spilled over Will's smooth palms to splatter into the puddle at their feet as he grinned and finished, "I think this is getting out of hand."

"So help me Solace, I will find a way to drown you down here," Nico said fondly.

"You're just mad you didn't think of that joke in time Nico," Magnus chuckled, shaking out his banana yellow umbrella and tucking it underneath his feet like he was sure he was going to need it again.

Jason was humming 'rain, rain, go away,' from under his purple umbrella and watching Thalia with those same deep, trusting blue eyes as when she'd first laughed and sang that song with him on an old, broken toy she'd stolen from a traders show to give to him. Unlike 'normal kids', that's how they'd learned their ABC's and 'twinkle twinkle little start.'

The old man bonking his head had been his favorite part. He was to young to get the joke the rain would never stop for them...only to be proven wrong as the others folded theirs up too. She supposed every storm had to run out of rain eventually.

"Sorry," Thalia sighed all the same.

"Pssh, I've gotten them all ten times more wet than this," Percy reminded.

"Anyways," Alex said loudly while Thalia struggled on whether she should address what Percy just said or not. She would either turn it into a competition or try to make him hear the double meaning and while both would be entertaining, Alex decided he had to be the mature one and finish one catastrophe before starting another.

I should have stabbed him right then. I should've brought the point of Riptide down with all my strength.

Nico resisted the impulse to tell Percy that wouldn't have worked anyway. Luke might have been in a state of in-between, he'd sensed that the closer they'd drawn something was off in that place like a soul that was screaming out and would need help being released.

Riptide wouldn't have done the trick though, not with the Achilles curse already in place to house Kronos's body.

But I was too stunned. I didn't understand. As much as I hated Luke, as much as he had betrayed me, I just didn't get why he was in the coffin, and why he looked so very, very dead.

Jason felt a horrible, sick feeling this is what all of Luke's planning had been leading up to. Some final sacrifice Kronos had needed. Wasn't it supposed to be some child of the big three to bring Kronos back? Wasn't that what this was all about? Had Luke thought he'd be good enough and his death was in vain? It was a sad, yet horribly fitting ending to the guy that had started all of this.

Then the voices of the telekhines were right behind me.

"What has happened!" one of the demons screamed when he saw the lid. I stumbled away from the dais, forgetting that I was invisible, and hid behind a column as they approached.

Magnus and Alex exchanged a whole conversation with just one look. They did not like Luke, and whatever was happening in this Greek story was well beyond them to understand.

What they did hear was the mental rant Percy was giving himself over there about losing his chance and how they were going to hear that verbally with extra effects later if this didn't end well, which had never been likely from the start.

"Careful!" the other demon warned. "Perhaps he stirs. We must present the gifts now. Immediately!"

"Swords in bed, they'll replace breakfast, love, and healthcare in no time with that method," Will said dully. This was just a horrible place to imagine from every angle and between that, and actually getting some rain in this dingy place with still not a hint of sunshine in sight was seriously starting to depress him. He longed for the natural world again more every chapter.

The two telekhines shuffled forward and knelt, holding up the scythe on its wrapping cloth. "My lord," one said. "Your symbol of power is remade."

Silence. Nothing happened in the coffin.

"That was not an impressive enough speech to get anyone to wake up," Alex scoffed. "They should try it with coffee and donuts."

"Will did just establish they think their idea is better and I don't think even you could change their mind," Magnus shrugged.

"You fool," the other telekhine muttered. "He requires the half-blood first."

Ethan stepped back. "Whoa, what do you mean, he requires me?"

Alex made a really suggestive, double-clicking sound with his mouth that made them all groan in disgust and Jason threw a bit of his beanbag at him.

"I'm sorry for putting us in the gutter but I'm electing we don't stay there," Thalia's voice was hoarse with stress. To anyone not paying attention she just hadn't thought the joke was funny and was still taking this in stride.

Alex was not one of those people and bobbed his head once in apology, mock zipping his mouth shut as he continued reading.

"Don't be a coward!" the first telekhine hissed. "He does not require your death. Only your allegiance. Pledge him your service. Renounce the gods. That is all."

"No!" I yelled. It was a stupid thing to do,

"True, but ramming a bus into the side of a tunnel is still your top impulse moment," Jason promised.

"If saving this guy's life the first time didn't convince him you knew more than these monsters I don't think shouting in his face will," Magnus agreed.

"I never shouted in his face?" Will mock grinned in confusion.

Nico pretended to spray a water bottle in his face, "bad joke, bad!"

Will laughed in delight and swatted real water still dripping from his hair, which got the most mild of chuckles out of everybody else in the room.

but I charged into the room and took off the cap.

"Annabeth's going to be so pissed at you for revealing her secret weapon, waving it around like that," Thalia managed some attempt at her usual tone.

"She can't do any worse to me?" But Percy somehow managed to phrase that as a question anyway.

"Ethan, don't!"

"Trespasser!" The telekhines bared their seal teeth. "The master will deal with you soon enough. Hurry, boy!"

"Ethan," I pleaded, "don't listen to them. Help me destroy it."

Ethan turned toward me, his eye patch blending in with the shadows on his face. His expression was something like pity. "I told you not to spare me, Percy. 'An eye for an eye.' You ever hear that saying? I learned what it means the hard way—when I discovered my godly parent. I'm the child of Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge. And this is what I was made to do."

"Could a goddess have a child that could have revenge against her? That sounds redundant," Magnus frowned.

"As Luke himself has proven, we're not hard-wired to use our powers for our parents unconditionally," Nico frowned. He still felt like he hadn't found a balance between defining himself and who his dad was.

He turned toward the dais. "I renounce the gods! What have they ever done for me? I will see them destroyed. I will serve Kronos."

The building rumbled. A wisp of blue light rose from the floor at Ethan Nakamura's feet. It drifted toward the coffin and began to shimmer, like a cloud of pure energy. Then it descended on the sarcophagus.

Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger. He grows stronger." Luke pointed to the gold sarcophagus... Luke himself had promised this was exactly what was happening. Not one of them had wanted to see it in action, here in as vivid a detail what a few words could do. If only Alex had the power to kill a whole word, he knew which he'd start with right now.

Luke sat bolt upright. His eyes opened, and they were no longer blue.

They were golden, the same color as the coffin. The hole in his chest was gone. He was complete. He leaped out of the coffin with ease, and where his feet touched the floor, the marble froze like craters of ice.

Thalia pressed her hand to her mouth. She didn't know what she was holding in, a scream, a gasp, a sob. It didn't matter. It was staying where it was.

He looked at Ethan and the telekhines with those horrible golden eyes, as if he were a newborn baby, not sure what he was seeing. Then he looked at me, and a smile of recognition crept across his mouth.

"This body has been well prepared." His voice was like a razor blade running over my skin. It was Luke's, but not Luke's. Underneath his voice was another, more horrible sound—an ancient, cold sound like metal scraping against rock.

Percy had always heard those voices together side by side from one of his very first dreams. It still didn't prepare him to hear them as intrinsically tied together as Backbiter now was.

"Don't you think so, Percy Jackson?"

I couldn't move. I couldn't answer.

Kronos threw back his head and laughed. The scar on his face rippled.

"Luke feared you," the Titan's voice said. "His jealously and hatred have been powerful tools. It has kept him obedient. For that I thank you."

"He's not welcome," Percy managed through gritted teeth. He could feel that guinea pig in him once more squeaking in terror and telling him to run, but he easily overrode it with anger at Luke for doing this to himself. One swipe, that's all he needed, one chance with his sword before this could possibly somehow still get worse.

Ethan collapsed in terror. He covered his face with his hands.

There was no mocking to be had, no superior laughs for the comeuppance of his words. This was something no mortal should ever have to lay eyes on.

The telekhines trembled, holding up the scythe.

Finally I found my nerve. I lunged at the thing that used to be Luke, thrusting my blade straight at his chest, but his skin deflected the blow like he was made of pure steel. He looked at me with amusement. Then he flicked his hand, and I flew across the room.

Another tear traced down Thalia's cheek, and she hated herself for that. Her nails were digging into the side of her cheek and she did not unclench any part of herself, sitting still as a tree once more as if a once cursed slumber would help the pain of this all go in easier.

I slammed against a pillar. I struggled to my feet, blinking the stars out of my eyes, but Kronos had already grasped the handle of his scythe.

"Ah...much better," he said. "Backbiter, Luke called it. An appropriate name. Now that it is re-forged completely, it shall indeed bite back."

"What have you done to Luke?" I groaned.

Kronos raised his scythe. "He serves me with his whole being, as I require. The difference is, he feared you, Percy Jackson.

"He hid that well," Jason frowned. He didn't think Luke left his secret diary lying around for notes over that, but he would have liked to hear it from the horse's mouth. Jealousy, hatred, superiority could all easily be applied to Luke, but fear?

Then Jason's eyes flickered to Thalia, and he realized Luke was afraid of exactly what happened, what Thalia herself had once feared of Percy. That he would take away those most important to him. Kronos probably kept feeding the worst of this to delude Luke long enough he never realized he'd done that to himself as Luke's once best friend stayed frozen with this pain.

He wanted to do something for her, anything. He would have stolen Zeus's thunderbolt to smite this hybrid monster, he wanted to smack Percy for dragging her back in here.

All any of them could do was just get through it.

I do not."

That's when I ran.

"Character continuity," Nico gave him a big thumbs up. Percy would have assumed he was being mocked if Nico didn't look him right in the eye with sincerity. "It's like Echidna all over again."

"I've grown some over the years," Percy grinned, "I know how to pronounce Charon now."

"We all go at our own pace," Nico nodded along.

There wasn't even any thought to it. No debate in my mind about—gee, should I stand up to him and try to fight again? Nope, I simply ran.

But my feet felt like lead. Time slowed down around me, like the world was turning to Jell-O. I'd had this feeling once before, and I knew it was the power of Kronos. His presence was so strong it could bend time itself.

"Run, little hero," he laughed. "Run!"

Percy shivered, he still remembered the feeling like his blood was infected with ice. There had been no source of water, nothing he could have done. He studied his shaking fingers that hadn't even drawn his sword on instinct in here, that's how futile he knew this was. Why wasn't he dead? Of all the times he'd asked himself that, it really didn't seem like there was an answer this time-

I glanced back and saw him approaching leisurely, swinging his scythe as if he were enjoying the feel of having it in his hands again. No weapon in the world could stop him. No amount of celestial bronze.

He was ten feet away when I heard, "PERCY!"

Rachel's voice.

"What, took, you, so, long," Will swatted Nico's shoulder with every word, sadly the only available person here he could harangue for this. "Every one of you is a disobedient protective nutjob! How did Percy even make it five steps without you guys coming to save his bacon!" He was still smacking him on the shoulder with a pretty steady rhythm too.

It was light, and playful, like a kitten batting at him. Nico smiled at the casual contact and shrugged, which didn't dislodge Will's beat. "Annabeth told us to wait there, Rachel said she was coming, and I followed. It took, um, maybe sixty seconds, but it was a long tunnel and when we saw the telekhines we didn't have our own invisibility hat so we had to move slow."

Will huffed and crossed his arms, muttering about the lot of them all about to give him a heart attack.

Something flew past me, and a blue plastic hairbrush hit Kronos in the eye.

"Ow!" he yelled. For a moment it was only Luke's voice, full of surprise and pain.

Thalia couldn't stop the noise that escaped her. An eerily similar yelp of pain like it had echoed through time right to her. That this one moment couldn't have lasted forever. That was all that needed to be done to knock some sense back into him.

How awful did that make her? That she'd rather he be frozen in pain like that in his own body forever than possessed and disintegrated from the inside out as this thing took him over?

"Sorry Thalia," Percy couldn't help but whisper, moving to gently put his arm over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. Me too." she whispered, eyes on the floor even as she gave his wrist a squeeze. Being sorry didn't make it feel better.

My limbs were freed and I ran straight into Rachel, Nico, and Annabeth, who were standing in the entry hall, their eyes filled with dismay.

"Luke?" Annabeth called. "What—"

I grabbed her by the shirt and hauled her after me.

Percy's hand grasped at nothing in here, as usual, though his feet twitched and the cold still felt like it was seeping in. The orange of her shirt had looked faded, the black letters peeling. She'd gotten a new one yesterday before they left camp. The gray in her hair had stood out more than ever, her face ghastly pale like being in Luke's mere presence had been aging her faster than them all.

Had Luke/ Kronos seen her and caused a second's more hesitation? Would it have been enough to draw them apart if they'd forced them back into that sarcophagus?

She'd saved his life in that arena with the tip about Gaia, now he returned the favor by saving her from Luke. It had to be that simple. Even if she did hate him for dragging her away kicking and screaming, he really didn't care. Like the sirens all over again, he'd always save her from herself.

I ran as fast as I've ever run, straight out of the fortress. We were almost back to the Labyrinth entrance when I heard the loudest bellow in the world—the voice of Kronos, coming back into control. "AFTER THEM!"

It hadn't been about impressing Percy, as Nico had sneered and a spark of anger always easily at the surface of his mind caught to life at that moment. It had been pure obstinance of being hunted down that had made him lash out with a power he'd never known to touch before.

"No!" Nico yelled. He clapped his hands together, and a jagged spire of rock the size of an eighteen-wheeler erupted from the ground right in front of the fortress. The tremor it caused was so powerful the front columns of the building came crashing down. I heard muffled screams from the telekhines inside. Dust billowed everywhere.

We plunged into the Labyrinth and kept running, the howl of the Titan lord shaking the entire world behind us.

It wasn't until Alex had finished and silently got up to hand the book to Percy, only to sign to Magnus in very choppy and slow words as he sat back down, 'I need your help to plan the best hairbrush-themed party for Rachel' did he realize he'd gone silent and his eyes were swimming with tears of laughter. Showing anything of the sort would have made Thalia really start crying for a wholly other reason though.

He nodded and smiled back, thinking how lucky he was to have landed in here with these guys as Thalia coughed and snapped at Percy to get a move on, her voice frostier than the South Pole.

Percy of course did so without comment or question, pulling his arm away and giving Thalia the space she needed.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

No, they did not stop and laugh about Rachel hitting a Titan with a blue hairbrush. Thalia was in pain over this and there will be respectful silence for their fellow person during that.

They will, however, laugh their ass off in the next chapter along with Percy when there's been a little time to cool. Don't worry, you'll all get your chuckles while I have my emotional constipation about Thalia finally relieved.

*The one and only detail that bothered me about Chalice of the Gods. Percy's worn her hat plenty of times before and never felt an itchy sensation. My headcannon for this change is that Athena did this as a reminder of Annabeth's hubris in the hopes it would save her daughter from her fatal flaw in the future, even if it took a while to kick in when she got it back in The Staff of Serapis. Otherwise, I can't get enough of psychoanalyzing how far their relationship has come from these books to that.

**If you're curious about the song I imagine Thalia was listening to during that scene, it's Downfall by Trust Company.

[they-pevensie-me-rollin]

Things that stuck out to me when rereading The Chronicles of Narnia series (in no particular order — under the cut):

• "And oh, the cry of the seagulls! Have you heard it? Can you remember?" (Chapter 17, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) — Just a really peculiar part of the narration. The narrator often talks to you as the reader, but usually to draw a comparison that the reader would know, never to ask a question. As far as I can recall, this is the only passage like this in the series!

• "The box was Atlantean; it came from the lost island of Atlantis. [...] For in the very dawn of time Atlantis was already a great city with palaces and temples and learned men. [...] The Atlantean box contained something that had been brought from another world when our world was only beginning." (Chapter 2, The Magician's Nephew) — Atlantis??? Mentioned once and then never again???

• "None of the party except Edmund (and perhaps Trumpkin) was a rock climber." (Chapter 9, Prince Caspian), "Edmund was the sort of person who knows about railways." (Chapter 13, The Last Battle) — The most random details about Edmund, and hereby certifying him as Dork™.

• "'In this bottle,' he said, 'there is a cordial made of the juice of one of the fire-flowers that grow in the mountains of the sun. If you or any of your friends is hurt, a few drops of this will restore them.'" (Chapter 10, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), "Every morning a bird brings me a fire-berry from the valleys in the Sun, and each fire-berry takes away a little of my age." (Chapter 14, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) — The idea that not only do things grow on Narnia's sun, but a number of them have healing properties, is absolutely wild. Plus these birds either live on the sun or are capable of going there!??

• "It had long been known to the great kings of our race that there was a word which, if spoken with the proper ceremonies, would destroy all living things except the one who spoke it. But the ancient kings were weak and soft-hearted and bound themselves and all who should come after them with great oaths never even to seek after the knowledge of that word. But I learned it in a secret place and paid a terrible price to learn it." (Chapter 5, The Magician's Nephew) — There's a lot of speculation that C. S. Lewis's idea of the Deplorable Word came from the atomic bomb, and while it would be interesting to learn what perhaps he had in mind as the Word itself, but I'm more interested in Jadis's background and what that terrible price she paid was.

• "For my godmother was a very remarkable woman. The truth is, she was one of the last mortals in this country who had fairy blood in her." (Chapter 2, The Magician's Nephew) — I feel like there's a lot to unpack with the fairy godmother just with the few details Lewis gives us. She possessed the Atlantean box, and wanted Digory's uncle to destroy it upon her death with certain ceremonies. She'd been to prison due to unspecified things. And we're actually told her last name was Lefay. To which we can immediately connect her to Morgan le Fay of Avalon in the stories of King Arthur, who was a fairy enchantress. Furthermore, Avalon was known as the island of apples, which had soil that could produce crops of its own accord and was self sustaining without farming, and those who lived there could live for hundreds of years, and King Arthur goes there to be healed of his wounds. Which is such a good layer of detail considering the tree with the apples later in Magician's Nephew that grant the White Witch immortality and heal Digory's mother.