Saving Thalia Part Three: The Beginning of Something Permanent (Thalia, Excelsior)

Odysseus sat next to a fire, he was eating, and thinking about what his mother had told him. He sighed, and thought about Thalia. He loved her, and he had finally realized it. He was slashing the ground with a stick he'd found on his walk to locate firewood. He wondered when the others were going to show up.

Kyle, was tired, but he kept looking at the map, and as they passed through Jefferson City, he knew they were getting closer. They switched trains, and headed southwest. Once they got to the junction northeast of Joplin, MO, they jumped off and Kyle said,"We need to meet Odie before it gets dark. The map says, we need to head south and then a bit west past a town called Branson."

Samuel shifted the position of the backpack on his shoulders. For the umpteenth time, he glanced around, sizing up everyone around him. It was a habit developed by years on the streets to constantly be aware of one's surroundings, possible threats and escape routes. So far, Samuel had not seen anything that would likely be dangerous, though with monsters it was extremely hard to know for sure.
"Lead the way, Kyle," he said, and then purposefully dropped in behind him and Zoey. The son of Morpheus did not trust either of them and made sure to keep them where he could see them.

Kyle nodded, and adjusted his battle ax. He sighed, and turned toward the south. He felt like he knew where Odie would be, but he wasn't sure. Plus, Solania hated him now. It really hurt. He just kept his mind on the map, and after a couple hours travel, they reached the town of Branson. It wasn't big, but it was definitely a very crowded city. Most likely, they were all tourists.

He sighed, and another hour's walk brought them to Table Rock Lake, however they would have to look around. The area around the lake was huge. That was when he heard a noise in the bushes to the right and turned around, drawing his battle ax.

Odie had gotten up, and couldn't shake the feeling that he should check something. He didn't know what it was, but he decided to follow it anyway. Taking his spear, Shockwave, and his sheild, Odie took off through the woods, and when he came to a clearing he saw his friends on the road, just ahead of him. He came out of the wood, and walked towards them.

"Odysseus," Samuel said, nodding once. He walked over, quickening his pace when Solania suddenly fainted.
"This girl has a problem," he remarked, checking to make sure her pulse was steady. "Does anyone have any idea why she keeps passing out? Odie?"

Odie dropped his spear and shield and grabbed Solania, before she could fall. He looked at everyone, and said,"Hey, everybody, quick follow me. I'll take you to my camp. We need to get her some Nectar and Ambrosia. Then we can talk, it is important that we know what we are doing for the last leg of our trip."

Odysseus, gave Solania to Kyle, since he knew that he liked Solania. He then grabbed his weapons, and said,"I think I have an idea, she seems to have an emotional link to Thalia, and the Lord of Time is taking advantage of that. She did betray him after all. Please follow me."

As they got to the camp, Odysseus ran over to the fire and got it going again. There were two tents already set up, and a tarp, poles, and line. It held a medical supplies, and Odie's sword and armor. He went over to the tent and grabbed the nectar and ambrosia. He came back over to Solania, and went to work.

Kyle rushed over, and said,"Solania, sweetie. Please be okay."

He looked at Odie, and said,"Please we've got to help her, I can't lose her. I need her to live, please." He grabbed her, and carried her as he followed Odie to the camp.

"An empathy link?" Samuel asked. "That would imply that Solania feels whatever Thalia feels. So it would be logical to assume Thalia may be getting tortured right now. If that's the case, we need to move faster before the Titans break her."
The son of Morpheus looked once around Odie's camp, and continued. "Your mother, Athena, gave us a visit before we arrived here. She insisted that swords and shields were going to be more effective than guns, which doesn't make rational sense--but that's not the important part. She gave us a map and specifically told us to come here, to Table Rock. Well we're here, and you're here. What now?"

"My mother is correct, guns will be to no avail. The Lord of Warcraft has the ability to turn your own weapons against you. He is the Titan version of my mother's side of war. Any weapons made by man are at his hands, so it would be wise to leave your firearms aside, and listen to my mother's logic. She is after all, the goddess of wisdom. She deals in nothing but rational thoughts. You hold too tightly to your firearms, and my mother would consider that irrational. A great hero, or warrior, must be well balanced with any weapon. Otherwise, his strength will be his undoing."

He paused, but before he could say anything about getting ready for their plan, a female voice, interrupted,"My son is correct, son of Morpheus. You will not be able to use your firearms where you are going. If you remain focused on one weapon style then your weaknesses will become apparent to your opponents. You must set them aside, including the ones I left with you, and take up a sword and shield. My son has the weapons that will defeat the Titan Lord Pallas, and save the daughter of Notus."

She finally appeared in full human form, dressed in full Greek armor with a spear and a shield with the head of Medussa, known to all as Aegis. Her gray eyes grew grayer as dark as storm clouds on its darkest day. She continued,"I will continue to help as much as I possibly can, but Zeus will not allow me to help you much more, he has already allowed me to interfere more in this quest than allowed by the ancient law. I am here to give you your final guidance. I have provided transportation that will take you to the Titans stronghold without alerting the mortals, but first you must all rest. You will depart early in the morning, so you should sleep while you still can. You may not be able to after this for a while. Now, let me take a look at the daughter of Aphrodite, I will awake her. She is merely in a deep sleep, courtesy of the Lord of Time and your father, son of Morpheus."

She turned to Solania, and knelt beside Solania, and took a look at her. She then touched her, and the area around her touch glowed. She sighed, as the glow died and said,"It is done. She should awake, shortly. Now, I must return, it is my time. Remember, heroes, that the gods are always watching over what you do, and we shall help you when we can. Now, I must return to Olympus. Shield your eyes until I am gone." After having said that, there was a bright flash as she returned to her god form and disappeared.

Kyle turned his gaze back to Solania after the goddess left. He looked at her with pleading eyes, and he whispered,"Please, Solania, wake up. I need you, please."

He waited for Solania to wake up.

In a flash, the blade of Samuel's curved sword was inches away from Odie's chest.
"Let's get one thing straight, " the son of Morpheus said in a steely tone. "I am not incompetent without guns. Rather the opposite. It is irrational to think that just because I prefer guns, I can't handle myself with melee weapons. In fact, it is most likely that I would be able to wipe the floor with any of you here, regardless of what weapon I was using. Keep that in mind, or I will have to prove it to you the hard way."
Samuel put his sword away. "Now that we understand each other, what's the plan?"

Odysseus pushed the blade down, and said,"You will do no such thing. Besides, I never said that you couldn't use a sword. I merely meant that you rely too much on firearms." He turned around and walked off to get some rations for them to eat.

"First let's eat, and then get some rest. We need sleep, but before we do, we need to decide who is going to be on guard first. We need at least one guard per every two hours. Who wants to volunteer?" He looked directly at Solania. He felt like she was supposed to be the one to take it, but for reasons he was uncertain of. "Solania," he asked,"Will you take first watch? I can take the second, and we can have Zoey, Kyle, and Sam figure out the the rest of the hours. Each person will take an hour, then we will start over until six. We need to leave by six-thirty."



Kyle sighed when he saw Solania look up at him, and he said,"Thank the gods. I thought I had lost you. Are you okay, Solania?" He looked down at her with worry, and reached down his hand to help her up.

Samuel fixed Kyle and Zoey with an accusatory glare. "Let's get another thing straight. I don't trust either of you, in case you didn't figure that out already. I have reason to believe both of you are less than model soldiers for the cause, if you catch my drift. So if it's all the same to everyone, I'll stay up during your 'watches' too. I certainly wouldn't want to wake up dead or in a cage."

Odie sighed, and said,"That's great, Solania. I'm glad she's not, but I still can't get over our breakup. The pain on her face will haunt me until the day I die. I just wonder how she cannot be mad at me, and I have a feeling she fears me, but I don't know why."

He turned to Zoey, and said,"Zoey, you and Solania will take the first tent. Kyle, Sam, and I will take the second tent. I'm going to get some sleep, the rest of you should as well. Solania, if you need a weapon, The armory is over there, take any weapon you need except my own. There are some, there that must not be touched except by myself. Either way, wake me, Solania, in an hour."

He walked into the tent, and went to sleep in the far corner. He began to dream...

Kyle went to the tent, and laid down, but he couldn't sleep. No matter how he tried not to, he couldn't quit thinking about Solania. He had to tell her how he felt about her. It was time she knew the truth, and the guilt of his treachery. He was going to leave the quest.

Slipping outside, so as not to wake up Sam and Odie, he looked for Solania. He saw her facing away from their tent. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight. He sighed, and shook his head. This was not going to end well, he thought to himself.

He went and sat beside her, and said,"Hey, Solania, are you okay? You've been acting a bit depressed lately. Is there anything I can do?"

He waited for her to answer, staring at her beautiful eyes.

In truth, Samuel wasn't really sleeping. Firstly, being Morpheus' son, he seemed to need less of that than other people. Second, he had disciplined himself to take power naps when on quests, to remain more sensitive to his surroundings. If Kyle or Zoey tried anything, he would know it and be able to defend himself and the others.
Samuel would only remain resting for another ten minutes or so. Then his eyes would open, and he would keep watch outside the tent for the rest of the night, regardless of who else was doing it.

Kyle reached for her hands, and slowly removed them from her face. He took her chin in his hands and turned her face towards him. He had no clue how he was doing these things, but he felt like he was being guided. He sighed, and looked at her sadly, but laughed, and said,"You think I am in love with Zoey? Why would I be in love with her? First of all, she can be quite irritating, and secondly she isn't my type. She is just a friend, nothing more. I promise you that. You don't realize that I have pretty much told you who I loved, but you are too self-conscious to see it. I've done everything I can short of telling you."

His mouth dropped when Solania admitted that she loved him. He couldn't believe it. He stuttered,"You...you...love me? But why? I mean, why would you love a guy like me?"

He looked down, and waited for the answer. He still couldn't believe that Solania could possibly love him.

Kyle had to force himself away, because all he wanted to do was kiss her. He needed to focus. He looked at her, and said,"You aren't saying much. Are you ok?"

He looked at her for a moment, and sighed. She looked so beautiful and happy. He was about to break her heart, and she would never forgive him for what he was about to do. Then, he thought to himself, What am I about to do? I will not do that to her. I love her, and I will not lose her. I am sorry Kronos, but I will not serve you, anymore.

A voice spoke with controlled rage, Very well, son of Hephaestus. You will soon find out how much pain I can inflict on a demigod. It wouldn't be wise for your love to continue on the quest, just a word of warning.

He looked at her, and then pulled out a necklace bearing a scythe, but not just any scythe, the emblem of the Titan Lord of Time. Ripping it off of his neck, he looked at it in his hands and then said,"Solania, there is something I need to tell you something. It's time I told you the truth."

Solania's face darkened and Kyle knew that she knew what the symbol was. He sighed, and shook his head, yes. He replied,"I worked for Kronos, but not anymore, because no matter what lie he tells you about me, my love for you is very real. He doesn't have any power over me, anymore, because you have made me understand, now. I will prove it to you. Watch what I do to this charm."

He took the charm, set it on a rock, pulled out his battle ax, and smashed the charm. It shattered and turned to black smoke. Kyle sat back down, and holding Solania's chin in his hands, he looked her in the eyes and said,"You see, I love you too much to betray you. Plus, I don't want to let you go. I want you to be mine, forever."

Again, he wondered where all this was coming from, but he reminded himself that Solania's mother was the goddess of love. She could do anything when it came to love. He looked, at Solania, and said,"I can understand if you hate me, but I'm not just any of the Lord of Time's spies. I was the commander that you were leaking information to when you served the Titan Lord. I know you will probably hate me now, and I can understand why you would, but I love you and I have given up that life. I will serve the gods and help save Thalia. If you want me to leave, I can, but that will not stop me from staying with this quest, and saving Thalia. She needs us, and I know that you need her."