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Silence filled the air for a moment as some awkward tension built by. He wasn't sure if there was any history between them all, well who was he kidding ofcourse there was, but whatever the reason he couldn't stand the silence.
" Soooo that Nancy chick, whats her deal? Is she like head leader or something?"

"Yes, something like that. She's what we call a praetor. Two are elected at a time, and they act as executive officials, making a majority of the big decisions. Realistically, it's a position that should be granted to someone a little more...put together than her royal highness, but daddy scored her a spot on top when she first came here, and then killed a lizard, soooo...naturally everyone thought she'd make a phenomenal leader," Leandra explained as they walked, the sarcasm and contempt audible in her voice, words dripping like poison.

Demetri immediately recognized her tone and inflections as she spoke. It wasn't too disimular from how his parents spoke about some of their bosses. He didn't want to touch a nerve, but if he was going to be fighting under her then he would like to know who she was. "Oh I see." There was a slight pause as he thought about his next question. "Who was her father? If I may ask that is. Is she a Big Three too?" He punctuated the title with air quotes as if to mock it, not wanting to let on of his lineage should it make her dislike him as well.

Leandra, for the first part of their conversation, had largely kept her eyes in front of her, straight-faced with her mind half on the battle to come. But when Demetri risked sacrilege, the blonde girl couldn’t help a small smirk from stretching up across her lips.

”No, not quite. She’s the daughter of Apollo. Which would explain why she always thinks she knows all. And probably why she loves the sound of her own voice so dearly.” she joked at the expense of the audiokinetic oracle. The edge remained in her voice, but none of it seemed to be pointed towards Demetri.

Apollo, that made sense. It appeared that was a familial trait then. Loving their own voice, stepping on others toes, thinking they know so much and just being a general jerk. "Oh we have one of those. His names Zeke, huuuge pain in the ass and just will not stop talking. Honestly he loves hearing himself so much that I almost think he's a son of Narcissis." The mood seemed to have changed, almost more into an idle gossip for Demi as opposed to what it was before. He tried to imagine what it would be like if Mr.D and Charon were replaced by Zeke, immediately regretting the idea as he imagined an intercom system being implemented for him to just speak all day for all to hear.

Should I know anything about where we're going? Who to talk to down there and if there's anyone worth hanging with? I'm not gonna lie I was real nervous about this first meet up but you're not bad, so maybe the other Romans aren't either. Honestly I expected a town of military brats or something."

A small, audible puff escaped Leandra’s nose at the mention of this Zeke character, the kind one makes in place of a laugh. ”Sounds like quite the charmer. I’d pay all the money in the world to lock them in a room together,” she replied as they got nearer to their destination. She gave his question a bit of thought, before her smirk split into a grin. She had to put effort into suppressing it into a small, professional smile.

”I suggest first informing the fifth cohort’s centurions of your presence. They shouldn’t be hard to find, just look for the people gazing calculatingly at those trudging along in the filth of the sewer. After that, however,” Leandra paused for a moment to glance appraisingly at Demi, before continuing. ”I think you’d get along particularly well with my Uncle Marco. He shouldn’t be hard to find. Just look for the most attractive couple in there, a young black man and a white girl, Emily. And I expect you’ll find a purple-haired girl following the two of them around like a puppy, she’s been hanging around them quite a bit recently.”

The leader of the fifth what now? Was all Roman stuff this complicated? If Demetri was being completely honest, he was probably going to skip that step. Any leader who just stood by instead of helped wasn't worth talking to. He'd chat with Marco, Emily, and the purple haired girl and see what they had to say. Maybe they could speak to their leader for him. By the time it all reached his mind he had realized what Leandra said. Stopping dead in his tracks for a split second, staring off before continuing on once more. "I wasn't aware we were heading to the sewers. Is this a Roman thing or is she just a bitch?"

”Both, I’m afraid. The sewers do need to be protected, but the fact that that job lies in the lap of the fifth cohort alone lacks justification,” she explained, before quickly realizing that she’d best explain the idea of cohorts to him if he was to understand. ”See, when one arrives at Camp Jupiter, they’re put in a cohort based their letter of recommendation. The fifth is where those with the least impressive letters to no letters at all go, so they tend to get the short end of most sticks. It’s a nepotistic tradition that I would’ve changed, were I elected praetor.” she let out a deep sigh, before shaking her head. ”You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve yet to learn when to stop campaigning.”

Demetri watched her as she spoke, scarcely paying attention to the road ahead. It made no sense to him how anyone got letters of recommendations, or why they would be sorted in such a manner. It was almost as if they were begging to be pitted against one another. Granted Camp Half-Bloods wasn't perfect, but it certainly seemed nicer than whatever this gap they were building is. He gave the blonde a warm smile as she apologized, shaking his head slightly. "Don't apologize for who you are. You're passionate and that's what helps others, not some title bestowed upon you because someone wrote a dawned letter."

By this point they had arrived at the sewers, Demetri looking down with trepidation. "Thanks for all the information by the way. I really appreciate"

Leandra’s edge softened, and a small smile stretched back across her face, though this one contained less wit and arrogance than her normal half-smirks. It was gentle, almost grateful. ”We were all skeptical when we heard news of the Greeks coming to New Rome. But should’ve learned by now to expect the most of those from which our dear praetors expect the least. Thank you, Demetri Howell. I wish you luck in the battle to come.” The girl turned around, gearing up to head back to her cohort, but she stopped. She turned back to Demi, and daintily reached a hand into her purse. When she with withdrew it, a small, half-empty box of Tic Tacs were in her grasp, which she offered to the young Greek. ”Here, you might need this.” she added with a smirk, before spinning back around, and sauntering off.

Demetri looked quizitively at the gesture but took it anyways, popping it in before mentally preparing himself for what was about to come. Holding his breath as he descended down into the sewers. Sadly he still needed to breathe, and he let out a large gasp of air as his body rejected his attempts at holding his breath. What came next was horrible, having to breathe back in and take in the aromas of the sewers, he did all he could not to gag, shifting his focus on finding this trio of demi-gods. "Maaaaarco. Marcooooo." He almost felt as if someone would yell Polo soon, or attack him for invading their sewers. As he stood around listening to the sounds that echoed in the chambers, he found no one calling back to him. Demetri decided to begin moving about, calling out for this man in hopes that he'd hear back. Not long after however he ran into what Leandra described as an attractive couple, and she wasn't wrong. There was a statuesque beauty from both of them, even if there was concern laden on their faces. As he approached closer he noticed the purple haired girl was on the other side of a hole. "Hey I was sent by your Niece Leandra, is that like the break room or something?"

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"Thank you," Nancy told her sister earnestly. She usually would have found a reason to be annoyed by Alexandra, but in times of war it was time to drop all of the bullshit and rally together. "I'd like you to stay for the debriefing, Alexandra - then you can rejoin the Fourth or go where you feel you are needed." Nancy was making an exception for the Augur, knowing that Alexandra may very easily have some sort of sixth sense notion on where she needed to be in order to win this fight. She also didn't blame her if she didn't want to return to a cohort led by the most nauseating and nasty person in all of New Rome.

She nodded as Madalyne asked her if she could run the debrief for the Greeks. She didn't take a seat, having spread maps pretty much all over the place where the praetors sat, and she was too energized to sit anyways. Anything she could do to make things a little easier for Mads. "Right, so there's a lot of information, so save the questions for the end if you can and it'll be bitchin'. The imminent threat is an assault on Camp Jupiter led by the titans and the giants together. They're planning to force Terminus, our resident god, to take Atlas' burden and allow the titan to walk the planet freely. Diana and her hunters secured Prometheus earlier, so that's at least one titan off of the board. We have troops positioned surrounding New Rome and Camp Jupiter, and in case the enemy decides to exploit the sewers, we've got a group down there as well."

"We also have a prophecy issued by," Nancy hesitated, "our Augur, Alexandra. There will be a battle in the Pit, where Greek and Roman demigods alike are chained to a shrine of Apollo. We retrieved a gem last summer and it appears to be connected to whatever is happening in the Pit - Alexandra saw that it was in the center of the shrine. Best we can tell, it's the next Great Prophecy, the defining struggle of our generation of demigods... The odds of survival are grim. If any of you want to leave before today's battle, we can evacuate you, but we'd need to do so now... Alright, I know that was a lot and it was very grody, so questions are game now."

Leda frowned deeply, a chill setting into her bones. The Bitch Boss had almost perfectly described the dream she had had the previous night, of a shrine of Apollo in Tartarus. Only instead of seeing demigods in chains, she had seen monsters digging, as if they were searching for something. She didn't know anything about this gem either that Bitch Boss had mentioned. It was incredibly puzzling - just as puzzling as the prophecy Rosie had issued before, the one everyone back at Camp Half-blood thought was the next Great Prophecy. At least the one that sent Zeke, Kristin, and Janelle off on their quest had been more or less clear as to what it meant.

"Not so much a question, your excellency, as a comment - I saw that shrine in my dreams," Leda spoke up, unable to resist a bit of sarcasm. "But no one was tied up to it. There were a bunch of blokes digging, like they were looking for something. Not sure how helpful that is, but yeah." She couldn't really make heads or tails out of what was going on - but she knew that they were about to face some climatic battle soon enough, and probably it would only be a prelude for what was to come.

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They had plenty of money to get them where they were going. If they took the public bus it would be cheaper and they could just get a transfer for all of the busses so they only needed to pay once. Ezekiel followed Kristin to the bus stop, staying close to Janelle just in case she wanted a guide but Ezekiel knew she was pretty capable on her own. Once they were at the bus stop, Ezekiel remained standing and Kristin said they had a few moments.
”Great, waiting,” Ezekiel grumbled. He looked up and down the road as they waited. Nothing good ever happened to a trio of demi-gods waiting in a public space to go and do the boss battle. He shifted his pack uncomfortably, tapping his fingers on his leg with anxious impatience. As he scanned the area, he looked for anyone watching them with malicious intent but it seemed quiet. Ezekiel hated that.

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Marco could feel a pit in his stomach opening up when he saw that hole in the wall, one that he was sure that came out of no where. When he stepped closer, he saw a clash of architecture styles and then he took a step back and put an arm up in front of Em to keep her from entering it. "Guys... I don't think any of us should..." Before he could finish, Waverly had shimmed her way through the wall and appear on the other side of the hole. However it seemed that she was stuck on the other side of it and that was what he feared the most.

"Guys, I think that's the Labyrinth, and if it is, we need to stay way from it. I've heard some crazy ass stories about it and we should not go inside. Fuck... Sorry Waverly, if you can hear me." Marco knew they were going to need to let Nancy and Madalyn know what was going on, when his attention was drown to the new voice joining them. He blinked at the beauty before them, before this beauty addressed him personally.

"I guess Leandra is my niece... as for that. That is not a break room. Don't cross the threshold of it. It is the Labyrinth, and it is old and twisted, and goes all over the world. I am Marco, and you good sir, have me at a disadvantage. You know me, but I do not know you. I take it you are one of our Greek brethren here to help us out?"

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Alexandra nodded towards Nancy as she went and chose a seat nearby and leaned forward slightly as she looked towards her sister as she started the debriefing for the Greeks she gave a little bit of a sarcastic wave when Nancy mentioned her. "Whats up?" She said as she listened. Madalyne shook her head slightly as she turned her attention back towards the greeks as Nancy continued to speak turning to look at the blonde mentioning her dream. She still wasnt really sure what the dream even meant or what the monsters were actually even digging in the first place either but none of it could be good at all.

Kiera then raised her hand turning to look at the four Romans that were within the room, coughing slightly before speaking. "We also had a visit from Hecate on our way over." She mentioned a gem something about it being apart of Tartarus whatever that actually means, but if it was apart of the Roman's prophecy or whatever then it was probably really important to the monsters then as well to Niah sadly wouldnt be able to pick up anyone who would have broken an oath.

Madalyne looked at Niah and Nancy when the redhead mentioned their godly visit, maybe Atlas had lied to them or something, she wasnt sure letting out a slight sigh. "Maybe the monsters are after that as well to." Madalyne said she had kept it in her villa inside of a safe, she knew that there was something evil about it in the first place when she first touched it. Alannah then spoke up looking at the group of Romans for a moment. "We brought our ship with us, we could provide some air support and help out there to." Alannah suggested, as Madalyne looked towards her and then the others. "Whatever aid you are willing to provide we will take it." Madalyne said.

Kiera looked towards Leda and smiled towards her gently holding her hand, she wasnt sure how this battle will even turn out but she wanted to fight along her side no matter what. "I'm staying to help." Kiera said she didnt want to run, and she had a feeling that this was going to be really big.

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Torches would suddenly light up the room that Waverly was in, everyone who was outside would see the flicker of the torches going off as well to. Waverly would also hear some footsteps approaching coming out of one of the corridors, as a massive creature came out. The massive creature turned to look at Waverly it's sharp teeth started to show giving her a bit of an evil smile. "An answer for an answer. If you guess three riddles correctly i'll let you live, fail two and you will die." The Sphinx said, looking down at the puny little mortal before speaking again. "When one does not know what it is, then it is something. When one knows what it is, then it is nothing. What am I?" The Sphinx asked.

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Kristin turned to look at Zeke for a moment as he got a little bit to close to her letting out a bit of an annoyed sigh. "You are kind of in my personal space." She said as she went and sat down and stretched out slightly as she looked down the road seeing some people going about their day like it was nothing. She was actually ready for this quest to end right now and go back to camp, she felt more comfortable and safe there. She wondered how everyone else was doing right now and thought of maybe sending an Iris Message to them if she had a way to, but there wasnt anything that she had thats able to create a rainbow.

A few minutes later a bus started to come down the road, as Kristin stood up she looked at Zeke and Janelle. "So what are you guys doing to do when we get back to camp?" she asked them as the bus came to a stop Kristin quickly climbed onto the bus waiting for Zeke or Janelle to pay for their fare. She eventually found an open seat and sat down once it was paid for then the bus started to move forward towards their next stop. Just as it came to their next stop about four people got on, and took a standing position just by Kristin and started to eye her up and down rather creepily. Kristin feeling a bit uncomfortable had her hand on her bracelet.

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Mary was still kind of glad that Demetri seemed to be heading off with someone who from what she could tell a few others might not care for given the fact that the Nancy person seemed hell bent on sending her off to wherever the Fifth Cohort was. Probably not doing a good thing or whatever job it had been that they had been assigned. Mary was partially curious as to what it was that they were doing, but from the sounds of it, it wasn't a good thing, and she followed along after the others to where the Senate House was, and walked inside.

He was just listening to what was being said as he followed along to the Senate House for the rest of the group to potentially be told what the hell was really going on or whatever in the area. This group from what he could tell was somewhat different with how things worked back at the camp, which meant that they probably had different attitudes with how everything should work. He had no idea what they were really talking about with the cohorts or whatever it was, and he thought nothing more of it as he entered the Senate House, glancing around at everything that was there.

She just listened to everything that was being said, and Nancy was right about one thing, it definitely was a lot of information to take in. It sounded like a hell of a lot of crap was going to happen, and they didn't have much time to figure out the best course of action. Plus this whole thing was spoken with regards to that shrine that everyone had seen in their dreams or something from before. "I've got no questions, and I'm not going anywhere, fighting will be fun..." she commented towards Madelyn and Nancy.

This situation was getting to be clearly incredibly difficult. Since who knew what was going to happen with the fact that the Titans, who apparently were some really big deal (now Jason somewhat wished he had paid attention when his sister would go on about different mythologies or whatever, even just the basics). So now he wasn't too sure, but since he was here, he was fine with fighting if they had to, "I'm fine wit steckin arooehnd 'ere, it'll be loads o' fun," he said, saying the part about it being fun with a bit of sarcasm.

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Janelle was fine with waiting for the bus, and she followed along after the sounds of Kristin's walking in order to get to the nearby bus stop with her cane still being in use. Standing there waiting for something was never going to end well, that much she did know, and they unfortunately had to deal with that for a little while. Listening, she was rather glad when the bus showed up fairly quickly, allowing them to get on board without too many problems, and she decided to use the money that she had to pay for the bus fare for the three of them, as she wandered and sat down near Kristin.

For once she seemed a bit at ease, but that changed when they reached the next stop, and the four people came onto the bus and stood rather close to them. Tilting her to the side, she just listened to what was being said around her, and she managed to focus in on the four people nearby more specifically. That was not a good thing, at all, given what it was that she was hearing out of their mouths as two of them were whispering and mentioned Echidna by name. Problem was, she wasn't too sure how she was going to relay that to Kristin at all, or Zeke given their circumstances. There wasn't an easy way to do it, but an idea came to her, and she just hoped that the other two would notice and not the bad guys. Using her cane, she started tapping it slightly on the floor, making it seem like she was just bored sitting on the bus, but in reality there was a slight rhythm to it, and that was because she was tapping out a little bit of morse code. E-C-H-I-D-N-A, she managed to tap out, without the four people clearly noticing, but from what she could tell, she managed to get Zeke's attention with it.

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"Th-the Labyrinth? Like...with David Bowie?" Waverley stuttered in the dark in response to Marco, scrambling for any sort of familiarity to keep her grounded, to stop herself from going into a full-blown panic. She jumped, startled, and let out a little yelp when the room suddenly brightened, the darkness eliminated by a series of newly lit torches. She reached out her arm, her guitar flying back into her hand, though it seemed to be more for comfort than defense, as she hugged it tight to her chest rather than getting into some battle stance. She gulped as the monster crept from the dark, its body that of a feathered beast, with the face of an elegant woman. With shaky fingers, she turned off the flashlight of her phone, slipping it into her pocket as the monster came closer. She bent her knees, getting ready to jump to the side in case the creature leaped at her. Then, it did something unexpected. It spoke, calm and collected.

"Um..." Waverley began, thrown off by this odd change of events. The last thing she'd expected this being to say was 'answer me these riddles three,' but here they were. After processing the creatures words, her mind set to thinking. It was hard to do with her heart pounding so hard against the interior of her ribcage, but after about twenty seconds, her face lit up a little, though it seemed a little unsure. "Is it...a secret?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. She then quickly shoved her hand out to the creature, her hand trembling as she offered a handshake, despite the creature not really having hands. "I-I'm Waverley, by the way. But you can call me Waves if you want."

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Demi's pale cheeks began to turn a blush pink as Marco addressed him. Something about the way he spoke just made his heart flutter. He gave the suave demi-god a shy two fingered salute in an attempt to be cute as he advanced a bit forward. "Names Demi, you know like Demi-gods. Came from Greek camp and didn't want to sit through a boring meeting so I figured I'd come help out and here I am." He peered his head around the hole, looking into as the flutters melted away and the words Marco had said beforehand had finally sunk in. This was The Labrynth. A place of legend that only until just now existed in his mind from the stories he'd read. He immediately pulled away from the hole and looked at Emily and Marco, then back at waves as the Sphinx began her riddles three. So much was going on at once that he began to get sensory overload. His mind couldn't focus and his thoughts ran wild as he tried to figure out the riddle and it just danced in circles around his head.

Demi instinctualy raised his hand up and began to nip at his fingers as panic set in, eyes darting about as he ran countless ideas in his mind over and over and over until finally settling on one. "Water, i need water. And and drachmas, water and drachmas thats it. Anyone got some water and drachmas to spare?" A kind soldier offered him his canteen as Demi frantically searched his person for the golden coins. "If I can find a drachma then I can contact Rosie and it'll be fine. I just need to be able to contact her and then everything should be fine." At this point he took to leaning against the wall the hole had sprung from, splashing a bit of the water on his face in an attempt to calm himself down.

Arthur Stanford

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Location:Senate Hall
Skills: N/A

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Listening to Nancy talk, Arthur was interested in what would be coming to pass. A part of him wanted to hide from the battle, but he knew he shouldn't. He came all this wa, hiding wasn't the way to end things. Plus, he was a kid of Hades, that had to mean something. Not that he wanted to have an ego about himself, but he knew his powers and abilities could be useful, children of the Big Three had been limited for so long for a reason, and he had to assume that was because they were special, even among demigods. To stand by when there would be an assault would be tantamount to allowing people to die.

"So, the god's parents and giants are teaming up?" Arthur asked. He didn't know much about the Giants, but they couldn't be that bad compared to the threats they faced on the way here, "I'm a bit new to this, but um. Could you give me an idea of how bad this is?" The thing he was really scared of there were Titans, but he wanted to know everything about the threat they were facing. Monsters were monsters, but he had to assume that these things were on the same scale as the gods, and from what he'd seen from them so far, their power frightened them to his core.

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There was no way Andy was leaving camp. Unless Arthur decided to go...she would go with him to keep him safe. She'd kill all the monsters for him so he never had to if he didn't want to. "I want to stay too. I can help with air support if Gryf is willing to let me ride him." She offered. Andy hadn't even thought about possibly riding the Gryphon before right that moment, but it would be cool if the creature would let her.

"Hecate said I needed to talk to you." She said trying to sound sure of herself to the older girl Madalyne Crane. "She told me to look into your Hall of Records." That moment had been such a blur of information and death, but she wanted answers so she was going to get them. Even though she hated attention being on her, this was her group of people and only four others. She could keep her chin up for that.



Emily froze. She stared in abject horror as the light from Waverly's phone illuminated the dark room beyond the wall that had broken open. Her skin crawled and she would have sworn she could feel the madness seeping out from the room beyond. It was unfortunate that she was distracted because Waverly stupidly decided to climb through the hole before anyone could stop her. Em wanted to scream but nothing came out.

How could she be so stupid? Em's stomach twisted and someone new was joining them but she didn't have the mental capacity to pay attention as Marco was introducing himself. She was pale, paler than someone who worked in gardens had any right to be. The newcomer, Demi, was looking for water and a coin. The Greek's coin, no one here would have one of those. And behind her Waverly was failing the Sphinx's questions. Interference would be...forbidden. Waverly would be lucky to survive. If she could just answer two questions correctly, but there would be no coming back through this entrance.

Her mouth dried out. Someone...two someone's would have to join Waverly or leave her to her fate. If they came back alive maybe Emily could bring their minds back, but the chances were slim, especially if there weren't three of them. "Marco..." She looked at him fear in her features. Then at the Greek, "Who is Rosie?" She asked, the question seemed non-sensical in the face of what was behind her.



Niah didn't know what to think about the Greeks anymore. They all seemed mostly ready to join the fray even though their lives were on the line for a home that wasn't theirs, but still children? And knowing how the Greeks fought the children would probably be more danger and hindrance than a help.

She smiled, not sensing any Oathbreakers in their midst. That was reassuring. "I can join on the ship. It'll give me a good bird's eye view of the battle and report to you Nancy if needed." She'd be able to keep track of the enemies from the air better, especially with additional support. Her armor would be her ace in the hole for that.

One of the kids asked for help understanding the dire situation they were in. "That's a general idea of what we are against. The Titans are extremely powerful, thankfully most of the time they are trapped or doing their own thing. When they unite forces mountains fall and cities flood. World ending catastrophes happen. Them uniting with another force that is powerful in their own right is more than a little terrifying. It could wipe the Earth, even mortals wouldn't be able to ignore how horrific the carnage would be."

She explained, being very serious with the boy. She didn't want him coming into this battle thinking they had a lot of hope. Niah would be quite happy if he decided he was too scared and was evacuated so they didn't have to worry about what the little kids were up to. Even if the girl who looked even younger than the boy, seemed determined to join. The younger girl also stood close to the boy, a kinship had probably formed between them as they were the youngest, and if the boy left the girl might, just might, go with him.

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It was a little bit of culture shock to hear the Greek girl say Hecate - it was like suddenly hearing pop instead of soda for instance, or care-uh-mel instead of car-mel. Nancy had to think for a minute as to the Roman equivalent of Hecate, but it came to her quickly enough. The Greeks had been visited by Trivia then, Madalyne and Waverley's mother. Nancy frowned deeply at the news that the gem was a part of Tartarus. They hadn't known that. It was a little chilling to think of what could have happened if their request to retrieve it had been a failure - if it had fallen into the wrong hands, well, more wrong than the hands of a dragon. It wasn't terribly shocking to hear that Atlas had lied, but still, Niah had bound him under an oath... She bit her lip slightly, not liking the conclusion she was coming to. There was one obvious reason as to why the monsters would want that stone.

"We can't let them get that stone - if we can't hold New Rome, we need to either smuggle it out or destroy it," she said. "They're probably going to try to use it to resurrect Tartarus, which would obviously be grody to the max." The things that came before the gods tended to be world destroyers. She didn't want to know what agenda Tartarus would get up to if he were able to manifest a physical form beyond that of the Pit. Saturn was puny in comparison to Tartarus and he had caused enough damage, from what some of the retired legionnaires had told her. And of course, Terra hadn't been a cakewalk either.

"Sounds rad, Niah - maybe bring your fancy armor with you, things might get gnarly," Nancy suggested. She somehow doubted that the Greeks had anything equivalent to life vests for their flying ship, so Niah's flying armor would pretty much be her only line of defense if she were to go overboard. She didn't want to add onto scaring the little kid, and Nancy was still a bit skeptical as to the Greeks bringing people so young along for this, but she didn't say a word about it.

Leda nodded at Kiera - she was going to stay as well. There was no way that she was going to sit out on all of this action, even if it killed her. She'd much rather die a hero today than live as a coward. Besides, the two leaders of New Rome sounded to her like they were from Stranger Things or something with the way they talked and she wanted to get to the bottom of that. The thought of fighting up on the flying ship wasn't ideal, since she liked to zip around and run as fast as she could, but she wasn't about to abandon her friends. She could do some fancy rainbows and sword fighting anyways.

"Sounds like we've got a smashing plan," she commented, feeling a little bit awkward. Did they need to wait for the Romans to dismiss them or something? What was the exact protocol for aiding the Roman legion? She imagined that they probably had a binder somewhere with all of these stuffy rules and regulations written up. As a child of Iris, Leda hated the idea of that. She was a free spirit. She wouldn't have lasted here. She wondered if her mother had any Roman children around.

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”Depends, are we meeting everyone in New Rome or Half-blood again?” Ezekiel asked, tempted to get back into Kristin’s ‘personal space’. The bus arrived soon after and Ezekiel boarded after Janelle, thanking her for paying for them all. They walked over to a set of seats but Ezekiel elected to remain standing. It had been a long drive to Pasadena.
On the next stop, four people boarded and stood near them. Now would be the time for Krisitin to make her sad personal space comment. They didn’t look very savory as one eyed Kristin pretty hard. Ezekiel frowned a little, shifting the pack on his shoulder to block Kristin. Janelle started tapping her cane, seeming to a song in her head but it was no song Ezekiel knew. Slowly, the rhythm formed in his head and he stepped back, nudging Kristin’s foot. These four were working for Echindia and were giving off the monster vibe.
”Hey, the next stop is ours right? I zoned out for a minute,” Ezekiel said, looking at Kristin with the eyes of, ‘yes, I know you find me annoying but we need to get off the dam bus.’

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Madalyne looked towards Andy for a moment mentioning the Greek version of her mother she wasnt sure what Trivia wanted to look into her family for right now. "I can take you there once we are done here." Madalyne said towards Andy giving her a slight smile, when Alexandra spoke up to further answer Arthur's question. "You ever seen the movies 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow movies that are kind of like that? It's pretty much like that basically the whole world is kinda fucked at the end of those movies." Alexandra answered, as Madalyne stared at Nancy's half sister for a moment and shook her head slightly, she didnt think that scaring them like that was ever good at all. Alannah nodded towards Niah and gave her a thumbs up. "Works for me, I can give you a quick tour if you want to." She said.

"I can try and make a cloaking spell for the gem or make the mist thick enough for anyone trying to look for it harder. Though it might have to be on my person or someplace really close someone will have to protect it.." Madalyne said looking at Nancy, the gem was put into a safe in her Villa she looked at the Greeks and then over at Nancy, Niah and Alexandra.

"I think we have discussed everything." Madalyne said looking at the group. "The first and Second Cohorts are in the Fields of Mars, the Third and Fourth Cohorts are in the city itself and the Fifth Cohort are in the sewer system. You are welcome to report to any of the Centurions there if you'd like or you may stick together as your own little unit as well to. Unless anyone else likes to add anything else?" Madalyne asked.

Kiera listened to Madalyne speak she looked towards her fellow campers, she was going to just stick with Leda or the others wherever they wanted to go, she wasnt really into the whole military kind of thing that Camp Jupiter had it just felt way to annoying to her. The meeting seemed to be pretty much over at this point now as well, they did need to get ready for the huge fight after all to.

Kiera shook her head slightly towards Madalyne. "I'm good I dont have anything else to really add." Kiera told her as she looked towards the battle maps seeing the placements of all of the cohorts right now, she wasnt sure what Demetri was up to right now in the sewers probably cleaning down there or something which Kiera had no interest at all going into either.

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The Sphinx looked towards Waverly as she extended her hand towards it to shake and answered the riddle wrong as the monster grinned even more menacingly showing it's really sharp teeth. The Sphinx started to slowly circle around Waverly as it started to think of the next riddle to come up with. "That is the wrong answer." The Sphinx said as it looked towards the hole for a moment seeing the group of Demigods on the other end.

"I'll be nice and let one of them help you with the next riddle." The Sphinx told Waverly as it continued to circle around Waverly like she was the monster's next meal before it spoke again. "A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, what am I?" The Sphinx then asked it's next riddle.

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Kristin looked towards Zeke and Janelle for a moment as she looked up at him and nodded slightly, her eyes shifted slightly to look at the group of four. She slowly and subtly took off her bracelet, eyeing the closest monster there and noticed the sign for the next bus stop coming up. "The moment I get up, we get off as quickly as possible." Kristin whispered to both Zeke and Janelle as she felt the bus starting to slow down.

Kristin quickly activated her spear as it went to full length managing to impale on the monster that was eyeing her and instantly burst into a whole bunch of dust blinding the other three monsters easily. Using that distraction Kristin quickly got up to her feet and ran off of the bus just as the bus door opened. Kristin got off of the bus, as the other three remaining monsters started to stumble off of the bus as well trying to find their prey as they tried to get the dust from their former friend out of their eyes.

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Marco's mind was in a bit of a tizzy as he was trying to figure out what the Greek Demi-god was speaking about, while looking over to see that the sphinx was circling Waverly like she was one tasty Sphinx treat. He did have to wonder more, but his mind was derailed when Emily asked him who Rosie was. "I don't know whom Demi is speaking about, I'm guessing Rosie is another Greek demi-god... Em can you do me a favor love and find out why he wants drachmas and water? Water we have, drachmas... that's Greek money if I remember right so we don't have any. I'm going to call Nancy and let her know what's going on."

Marco was thankful he had not thought to put his compact away earlier when he had put Milo in the Cohort. He tugged the little compact out and within full view of those there, they could see the little rainbow it reflected before he spoke. "Nancy Parker please." It would take a moment, but Nancy's face would appear in the mirror.

On Nancy's end, she would see a floating figure of Marco's head before her, and Nancy blinked slightly, a bit confused by the low budget Haunted Mansion Marco had going on. Something told her he wasn't about to bring her coffee though. "What's gone wrong?" Nancy asked him flatly.

Marco sighed as he ran his free hand through his short hair. "Two problems Nancy. One, The Labryinth decided to show up in the Sewers, and two, Waverly dashed in and is currently having a tet a tet with the Sphinx."

"I'm going to gag her with a fucking spoon," Nancy muttered, clenching her hands for a brief moment as she tried to let her initial rage subside. If Waverley had bothered to learn about their world, she wouldn't have been in this mess. And now, they were about to face a gigantic army, and she couldn't ask anyone to go into the Labyrinth after her - it was suicide. And she couldn't go herself, Rome needed her, Madalyne needed her, everyone's life depended on her. She couldn't sacrifice everyone for one person. "Two things. First, no one is allowed to go into the Labyrinth, that's an order. If anyone tries, a court martial will be the least of their worries. Second, if you can communicate with her, tell her to shelter in place." She left out rest of her sentence - if she survives the sphinx.

"Got it... should we have the rest of the Fifth pull out of the Sewers until we figure out what to do?" Marco nervously bit the inside of his cheek as he looked at Nancy's reflection. He could tell there was a lot on her shoulders for the moment, and this was adding to her stress.

"No. Anything else?"

"Not for now. I'll make sure it's clear no one else follow her." With that, he offered her a small smile. "We'll finish our task here best we can. Take care Nancy."

"May the gods be with you, Marco," Nancy told him. With that, Marco snapped the compact close and looked over the rest of the Fifth Cohort.

"Alright guys, no one is allowed to head into the Labyrinth to help out Waverly, under threat of court martial. We don't need to lose anyone else there... and Waverley, since I know you can hear us... once you're done there, try to shelter in place! We'll figure it out!" Marco looked over the rest of the Fifth Cohort and then looked to Em and Demi, as if waiting for them to speak.

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Demi looked over Marcos shoulder as he began to use his compact. His chest barely touching Marco’s shoulder as he got in closer to watch the miniature screen that would be a mirror. Whatever this device was, it appeared to work the same way as the Iris messages he was shown recently. He gently placed his hands on Marcos biceps as he leaned in a bit further when the call had finally ended.

" Woah. Ok, so basically thats what I needed the water and Drachmas for but...if you can do that then mind if I borrow it for a spell? There's someone I need to contact before Purple becomes Sphinx food."

”Oh… if you need it for a spell sure, but don’t hold onto it for too long okay? It is something I got on a quest.” Marco offered him a small smile and then handed over the compact to Demi. ”Just say the name of the person you wish to contact.”

Demi gave Marco a gleeful hug. Squeezing him tightly before grabbing the compact out of his hand. "Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you." He cleared his throat before opening the small device and finally trying to make it work. "Call Rosie."

Rosie was sitting in her cave working on a bit of a drawing in her own little space, with some music playing in the background. She suddenly jumped when she saw Demi’s face suddenly appear right in front of her, she quickly threw her pencil at Demi only to see it phase through him. “What the hell Demi?!” She yelled, sounding really annoyed.

"Hey sorry, bit of a dilemma here. Some Roman jumped into the Labrynth and is having to answer three riddles or she's dead. She's failed the first and I need a clear sighted human to help get her out. Can you be our mapquest and lead us out when I jump in?"

”Wait what what?! I said you could borrow my compact but you’re talking about jumping in there? I know you’re a Greek, so you can’t be court martialed but… the Labyrinth is dangerous, and groups of two are a bad idea. Also I think you need the human to be… physically with you?” Marco’s face was one of confusion and worry at that point.

Demi gave the son of Venus a look that rivaled a kittens big eyes. Pleading to his better senses as opposed to his need to follow orders. "I know its bad but...we have to try something! I can't be court martialed and I can help her! But we will need a third so I was hoping...maybe Rosie could guide us through the compact with you in tow…" He knew it was a big ask, but he couldn't leave someone to die just because someone told them to.

“Yeah, about that I would need to actually be in the Labyrinth to even guide you through it, and i’m literally on the other side of the country. Unless you can buy me a plane ticket or something or magically bring me there, isnt much I can do. And plane tickets are hella expensive to nowadays and it would take me several hours to get there. Also could you ask the others who came with you over there?”

Demi looked at the compact, then Marco, then Emily, then back to the compact. He didnt know what to do and felt almost defeated as he closed the compact and handed it back to Marco, head held low. "Sorry, its selfish of me to even ask you to join me. I don't know any of this mystio-whatever that my sister can use. I can't try and create things or summon others from far off places I'm just… a useless son of Zeus that can't even help a stranger in need."

Marco took the compact and then gently patted Demi on the shoulder. ”Son of Jupiter, hold your head up. My praetor will figure out something, but there might be someone else we can ask for help… someone with a magic touch.” Marco smiled at that as he opened up the compact again. ”Madalyne Crane, I need your assistance.”

Madalyne turned to look at the image of Marco wondering what they needed now and she probably knew it was something to do with the Labyrinth. “If you are requesting to go into the Labyrinth after Nancy ordered it’s going to be denied you know that right?” Madalyne asked.

“It’s not a request to go in, but I need your skills. You can use your Mystiokinesis to summon people sometimes right? Demi here knows a clear sighted mortal.” Marco offered a small smile over to Demi at that point.

“Theoretically yes I could, though if it’s someone I havent met before I would need something of theirs to try and summon them though. That would make things a lot easier for me to do that.” Madalyne answered.

Demi looked towards Marco with a soft smile. He was kind in a way most strangers tended not to be, and was helping him more than he could ever ask. Unfortunately his shoulders dropped low as Madalyne asked for something of Rosie's. "I don't have anything of hers im sorry…"

Marco sighed softly at that. ”Do you think anyone of your group might have something of hers?”

"I...I'm honestly not sure. The only one I could think of is on a quest to find Echidna so he isn't here." Demetri slid down the sewer wall onto the floor, sitting down and curling himself into a ball as he head rested inbetween his legs. "Is it really such a lost cause if I go in with her?"

“I’ll see what I can do, it’s going to take a bit of time but we have an army of monsters coming that could come at any moment though. I can't guarantee it though.”

”Thanks Madalyne. We’ll hold the line down here.” Marco sighed and then looked at Demi again. “Please don’t sit down in the sewer like that… and well… they say people come out of the Labyrinth mad, or crazy. They’re never the same.”[/color]

As Demis fingers ran through his hair, it began to shift to a pitch black from roots to tip. His skin became paler as his hold on his transformation had shifted back into his usual self. "But we can't just sit here and do nothing. I get that we have monsters to fight but...shes all alone in there. Is it possible for her to just not answer the Sphinx? Stall for time and just use it to think of an answer? Please...I've already lost too many people I cant...I can't lose another." Tears were welling up in his eyes as he looked up to face Marco and Emily.

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Some of the fear that had built up in Waverley drained from her as she felt the creature's hand slip into hers, reciprocating her offered handshake and gave her a big ol' smile. Sure, the smile was filled with razor-sharp teeth, but that wasn't the creature's fault. Waverley returned it with a small smile of her own, one that was somewhat forced, with traces of fear still lingering as the creature began to elegantly prance around the purple-haired girl. Waverley slowly spun around, following the creature with her gaze. When it allowed her help from her peers, she quickly shifted her attention back to them, listening for their help. None came - in fact, the only thing she heard was bickering concerning what they should do, with the only person hellbent on helping her being a young athletic-looking man she didn't recognize. As the Sphinx crossed in front of the forcefield that kept Waverley in, she shot a glance at Emily, a twinge of betrayal in her eyes as her truest friend in New Rome's intent to help her seemed to be outshined by that of a stranger. The glance lasted for only a second, as her eyes shifted back to follow the strutting sphinx.

"Um..." Waverley began, digging through her memories, trying to remember the details of the childhood riddle speed rounds she and her sister would partake in to make road trips less boring. God, Riley would not be struggling with this as much as she was. She bit down on her bottom lip, thinking for a few more moments, before speaking. "Is it...is it rain?" Waverley asked, her stomach tied into a tight knot. Her grip on her guitar loosened, letting it rest in her arms into a playing position, as her fingers slowly began to strum a soft cover of Have You Ever Seen the Rain. "Can we please cut the life and death stuff? I mean, when was the last time you just...hung out with someone? I'm up for continuing the riddle game, but why don't we bet, like, money or having to do funny dares, instead of, y'know...my life."

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Things definitely seemed to be getting out of hand, at least that's how it appeared to Mary. Given the current situation, just about anything could go horribly wrong with this whole situation in the blink of an eye if they weren't careful. She was somewhat glad that someone (who had been introduced as Alexandra) didn't seem to hesitate to give the straight answer about how bad this whole thing was. Though she wasn't entirely sure if saying that flat out around Arthur and Andy was such a good idea. They kind of were the youngest ones in their group, she wasn't sure if they really should be here for this whole thing.

Jason partially wanted to ask more of what the hell they were up against, but he figured that they would find out soon enough given the fact that the attack or whatever was going to happen fairly soon anyway. So asking questions would just take up time that they didn't really have. They seemed to be working out some sort of ideas, they could go with one of the cohorts (or whatever it was that they were) or go off by themselves and do whatever it is that they wanted to. Personally, he wasn't too sure how the Greeks and the Romans would actually get along on the battle field.

His attention was instantly drawn away from his thoughts when some people started doing a message or something to the people who seemed to be in charge of the Roman group. They were talking about something called the Labyrinth. He knew next to nothing about mythology of any kind, so he had no idea what that was. But based on what seemed to be said about the Labyrinth in the conversation, it was a really really bad place to be. "So... Guessin dis Labyrenth din is bad?" he asked the others, looking around at the group.

"The Labyrinth is bad. That is not some place you want to end up. Either the monsters kill you or you wander around forever and might get lucky to get out... Pretty bad luck to end up in it, since you could end up trapped in it forever if you don't know how to navigate it..." Mary responded, answering his question. She really hoped no one else would be dumb enough to go into the Labyrinth, since to her that would just be suicide. Her attention turned to what Madelyn had said about them fighting with the other cohorts, "I'm fine with any sort of arrangement, we can go with one of the cohorts or go by ourselves, depends on what everyone else wants.

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She was rather glad when it sounded like Zeke seemed to get the message that she was trying to send to him (and technically Kristin but she wasn't too sure if she had gotten her attention). His words made her know instantly that she had been right about him understanding her meaning. Nodding her head slightly with his words, "I dink it is ooehr stahp," she agreed with Zeke. It made sense to just act like nothing was really wrong or anything, but she kept her ears open as she kept trying to make sure nothing bad was going to happen within moments without them being off of the bus first.

Part of her wanted to tell Kristin to keep it down a bit, even though she had just been whispering. The people who had come onto the bus after them had really just been whispering when she had overheard them. Then again, she had heightened senses to make up for her lack of sight, so it wasn't all that surprising when she thought about it. When Kristin struck after the bus stopped, she instantly jumped out of her seat and followed after her off of the bus, "Comb ahn Zeke," she said to him as she stepped off of the bus, before whirling around slightly from the bus doors, her cane in hand as she prepared to switch it into it's full sized staff to fight back.

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Leda knew quite a few Greek myths, and the ones relevant to the Labyrinth came to mind as Jason asked for information on it. Mary had covered the basics, but not its history. "It was created by Daedalus, son of Athena, in order to contain the Minotaur. The Minotaur was Pasiphaë's son - you may be more familiar with her more famous sister, Circe, the Witch of Aeaea," Leda summarized. It was a glorified cage, a prison, designed to confine the monster within and trap its prey. It struck her as heartless, hearing the Roman leader order that no one could go in to help their comrade. Had that poor soul even known what they were walking into? Demetri apparently was down there near the Labyrinth, trying to convince the other Roman Leader to bring a clear sighted mortal there to help the stranded soul.

"Since when does he know what a clear sighted mortal is?" Leda murmured conspiratorially, her voice low enough so only Mary and Kiera could hear her. She guessed that maybe someone had told him about what it meant and all, but Leda had assumed that Demetri knew next to nothing about the world of gods and monsters. She also guessed that there was a nonzero chance he would charge into the Labyrinth, not realizing that they'd need at three people in there in order to stand a fighting chance. Three was a good number - anything more or less was doomed, with only a few exceptions.

Nancy, meanwhile, was grateful that Madalyne didn't undermine her authority. She glanced at her fellow praetor, thinking for a moment before she spoke. "We need your magics protecting the gem - not bringing some mortal here to help a girl who would see us all burn before lifting a finger to help us," Nancy told her, her voice calm and steady, although there was anger bubbling beneath the surface. She was angry at Waverley for refusing to learn anything of their world, for mocking and ridiculing them at every turn, for telling lies to Diana, for wandering into the Labyrinth and forcing them to choose between saving her and saving New Rome. She took a breath, breathing in and out of her nose to try to temper her rage.

"We should go and retrieve it, keep it on your person here. Once the battle is over, I'll fetch her myself. Maybe she'd be better off throwing her lot in with the Greeks," she suggested. Waverley was a danger to herself and others with the way she acted. Maybe the Greeks would like that sort of chaos. But if there was one thing becoming abundantly clear to Nancy, it was that she would have to choose between Waverley and the lives of everyone in New Rome - and that Waverley wouldn't even realize or care that the choice had been forced upon her. Demigods died all the time. Many were going to fall in this battle today.

If Waverley couldn't face the Sphinx - and Nancy doubted that she could - she would just be one more funeral shroud... but at least New Rome would stand.

Arthur Stanford

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Location:Senate Hall
Skills: N/A

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Arthur flinched at Niah's description. He didn't know if she was trying to scare him or not, but if she was, it worked. They were dealing with something cataclysmic, and quite frankly, he was a 12 year old boy. There was a duality to him though, of course. He was also the son of the God of the Underworld. Those two identities felt mutually exclusive here, he couldn't flee, or trust somebody else to deal with this for him. He'd watched people he cared about dying so much in the last week alone, and what made him realize he couldn't back out was that, if the demigods failed here, countless more would feel the grief he knew, and he didn't want that for anyone.

Arthur steeled himself, and said, "When you put it like that, I don't really have a choice do I? If I stay back and they succeed, I don't know if I'd ever be okay with the result." He looked over to Andy, and he frowned. They cared about each other, and he didn't want to lose her too, and he knew she felt the same way about him. He couldn't imagine she would fight without him, or he without her. In going, he was accepting risk of losing her, and he didn't want that, but it was an impossible choice. Andy could make her own decisions, and he knew that, even if she was fighting because of him, that was ultimately a choice she freely made.

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Andy nodded thankfully at Crane. She smiled at Arthur when he said he would stay. It was a relief. Maybe he was starting to realize that this was the best choice? She wasn't certain but she was glad he was staying. Though she wouldn't make him come with her to look at the records. That probably was going to be boring even though it was her little mission.

She did glare at Niah though. The older girl was being mean on purpose she thought. There was no reason to be that graphic. Andy kind of understood why she was doing it, but it wasn't nice. She didn't have anything to add, though she wondered why the Nancy lady was telling Niah to bring her armor. Why wouldn't she? They were going into a battle it only made sense to wear armor.



The madness emanating from the Labyrinth was cloying. Emily could feel it, nearly tangible. Her fingers twitched. There was so much power so much insanity. Her Father tended toward being on the trickster side of things, or revenge, or what was much more common the madness of pleasure and ecstasy. This was not that type of madness. This was true insanity. The kind that would drive a person to rip out their eyes and organs in an attempt to escape it.

Nausea washed over her. She felt unsteady. Felt the glare from Waverly. That anger. It would be turned. It would fester. And Emily would feel it growing. It was created by something so much larger than her, than any of them. She wanted to reach through and pull Waverly to safety but she couldn't. Even without Nancy's decree, Emily couldn't touch the Labyrinth. For the others, it was as it had been designed. For her, it could easily burn through her. Manipulate her. Turn her against what she was and what she believed in.

Emily back farther away from the hole. How had it been so close? How had she not felt it sooner? Her body wrenched and she vomited. Nausea didn't pass. At least she was already in the sewer if she was going to vomit anywhere. She would rather collapse dead right there than take another step toward the hole and the danger it represented.



Niah grinned at Nancy, a sort of 'trust me' mixed with 'got it one' grin. "Believe me I had no intention of being on a flying ship without it." Her voice carried no fear of heights, she didn't have that, it instead gave the impression that she didn't trust things that flew. That she didn't trust knowing where her feet were placed. She was part river leaving the Earth wasn't in her nature.

Niah turned to Alannah, "I would appreciate a tour. Might as well do that now during the calm." She didn't have to finish the phrase for anyone to know that she expected the worst that the Titans could throw at them. Her mind was racing over the possibilities. They needed to protect the gem. The soil from the pit was involved. A war unlike any seen on the Earth since before Rome had paved its first road was around the corner.