GENEVA

I had never seen a guy toss and turn so much in his sleep.

It made me more nervous than I already was, especially when I was two inches away from Proteus and he suddenly turned toward me, which almost made me jump.

I calmed myself as I began to slowly wrap the chain around Proteus' body, making sure I was careful in my efforts, yet firm enough so that he couldn't escape on a whim. I prayed that the chains would hold up, just as they did for Hercules against the boar.

When I felt the chain was secure enough, I grabbed Proteus' body as gently as I could and carried him in my arms. He was very light, typical of an elderly man.

As I walked toward the forest, I felt a sense of relief. I had captured Proteus with relative ease and was now one step closer to getting to my friends. The only problem was the fact that I'd have to somehow get Proteus across the sea and to Hercules' island, but I'd have to worry about that later. Right now, all I needed to do was get him off this island.

Just as I was about to enter the forest, I felt the chains loosen in my arms. I looked down to realize a horrifying truth - Proteus had escaped.

I then felt a strong pinch on my ankle as I buckled to the ground in pain. I groaned as I looked down to see what had just happened. A medium-sized crab was scurrying away while my ankle was throbbing in agony.

I scowled. Proteus was going to feel my wrath.

I staggered up as I caught up with Proteus and slashed at it. Before my knife could connect with Proteus' body, he transformed from a crab into a squirrel, dodged my attack, and ran into the forest.

I groaned. The only way I could catch up to him was to shape-shift, which was my least reliable form of attack. I took a deep breath, envisioned what I wanted to shape-shift into, and transformed into a cheetah and ran into the forest.

As I prowled through the woods, I could see Proteus in sight. Just as I got into arm's length of him, he took the shape of a cheetah and sped off. I ran even faster, trying to catch up to him.

As we progressed through the forest, Proteus gracefully jumped over a log while I completely fumbled on it, putting me even further behind him. I got back up quickly and resumed the chase, angrier than ever.

After a while of running, I was finally able to get close to Proteus, only being several yards behind him. While he may have been a better shape-shifter than I was, his old age seemed to drag him down. I don't think he was used to being chased for this stuff, or maybe he was just really rusty. Based on what the Naiads told me, he'd been out of action since the Trojan War.

We reached an area that was covered in vines and rocks. Proteus was able to get around the obstacles, so I assumed I would too. I was dead wrong, as I tripped up on the first rock and got tangled in a flurry of vines. I clawed my way out and progressed into the next area. I had now approached some dead end, there only being a bunch of trees. Proteus was nowhere in sight, which made me panic. Where had he gone?

As I looked around the area, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a monkey dart off on a vine. As there were no other monkeys in the area, I assumed this was Proteus and transformed into a monkey myself. I clambered up a tree and began leaping from vine to vine, following Proteus. I imagined that if Kai or Alexander were here, they'd start screaming like Tarzan just for the sake of the reference.

I couldn't wait to get out of this place and back to my friends.

We ran onto multiple branches, jumping and climbing onto multiple trees and vines, only strengthening the thoughts of Tarzan and my friends.

As we got near the end of the forestry area and onto the very beach we were just at, Proteus jumped off a tree and transformed into a bird, flying off towards the ocean. I had no choice but to do the same and took the form of an eagle.

This is where I had the advantage. Proteus clearly wasn't comfortable taking the form of a winged animal and I was able to catch up to him in no time. I tackled Proteus down as the two of us sailed into the ocean.

But it only took a few moments to realize that I had made one very crucial mistake. Before I could transform into any kind of aquatic animal, Proteus morphed into a whale and slapped me with his tail, sending me backwards. I transformed back to normal after landing on a thick bush, a breath of relief escaping my lips.

If I hadn't landed on the bush, I probably would've broken my back. Instead, I had a throbbing pain in my chest and my head was spinning like crazy.

At least I still had the chains. The weird thing about shape-shifting is that if you have weapons with you as a human, then they seemingly disappear when you transform into an animal, only to appear again after you go back to normal. It applies to the clothes you wear and any other possessions you're carrying on your person as well.

I needed some rest. My initial plan had gone horribly wrong, and I wasn't sure how else to chain Proteus, especially now that he knew I was coming and wouldn't be taking naps.

I got up and observed my surroundings. I was in a forest area with a cave nearby, with bushes and other foliage flanking each side of the cave. Besides that, there was a small pond and some tall grass that was abuzz with flies and whatnot.

With nowhere else to go, I walked toward the cave and checked it out. The cave was mostly small, with no tunnels nor complicated entrances. It was hollow, and didn't have a lot other than a small, arced waterfall that led into a tiny pool of water. There were a couple of bats hanging from the ceiling, but they instantly scattered on my arrival.

The cave struck me as a place that had previously been inhabited, maybe by Proteus or Hercules or maybe even by those sailors and demigods who had come here previously.

I quickly came to the realization that I couldn't defeat Proteus on my own, and, despite knowing what Hercules said about calling my friends for help, I pulled a stained drachma I had out of my pocket and threw it at the curved waterfall.

"O, Goddess of the Rainbow-"

Before I could finish the ritual, the foggy Iris message spouted out my drachma directly to my palm. Arthur had told me that Iris messages had two functions: call and receive. During a receive process, it would spout out the drachma that was thrown and expect you to send it back and say, 'O, Goddess of the Rainbow, show me your message'. Then it would send you back the drachma you threw so you could make a response or just keep it on your person. It certainly sounded like a doozy, but I got the hang of it, especially over the last two months or so.

I said as Arthur had instructed I do, and I was viewing a message. Arthur was in Times Square, chaos all around him. There were people running around everywhere in the vision and Arthur's mother was lying next to him, passed out and seemingly injured.

Arthur himself also looked in bad shape. His shirt was torn, and he had various cuts around his body. Sweat dropped down his face like a waterfall and he had skid marks on his arms.

Arthur took a deep breath. "Geneva, I don't have time to explain everything to you right now. I'm sorry that I will never get the chance to make up for me leaving you all those nights ago, but there is something that I have to get off my chest before I never get the chance. I love you. I always have, and I always will. You are the very thing that has brought so much joy and happiness into my life, and not a day has gone by where I don't feel like the luckiest person alive for having you in my life. In these final moments, I realize that my dreams of marrying you may not come to fruition, but in that time that I have known you, I have experienced more happiness than some people may experience their whole lives. Every moment with you was perfect, and I promise you no matter what… I will always be with you. I love you, Geneva. Always and forev-"

The message cut out, as Arthur was flung away from the screen and the vision faded to black.

"I love you too, Arthur," I said, choking up and my eyes brimming with tears.

A drachma coin fell next to me on the ground with a dull clink against the roughened grounds of the cave.

I took a deep breath as I reached for the coin, once again tossing it into the murky pool of water.

"I know it's probably useless to send this message out, but I don't think I can keep any of this in anymore. I never got the chance to tell you how I felt. Part of me hates you for leaving. Part of me wants to forget you ever existed. Part of me just wants the pain of your death to stop. But the reason why this hurts so much, is because most of me can't comprehend how you are dead. It feels like any day you are going to return from your quest, and surprise us all..."

Tears interrupted me as I said my final words.

"I love you. I wish I said these words a long time ago, and I will always remember the way you treated me. You were the first person to truly love me, and I'll never forget that. You will always be my hero and my love."

I waved my hand to finish off the Iris message, as I composed myself for the battle ahead.

Filled with all kinds of emotions, including determination, I got up from the cave and raised my chain.

Proteus would not escape this time.