AMETHYST

I fell off my bed.

I groaned as I rubbed my eyes and put on my glasses. It had been the third time this week that I had fallen off the bed, and it didn't help that Oman had randomly stopped the ship in the middle of the air. That was one of the weird things about the BBB. It could just stay dormant in the air without moving.

I sighed. We were on the fourth day of our quest, now having three more days to release Hecate and restore the Mist. So far, we had made it to Europe and had gotten past the Sea of Monsters but other than that, we had no idea where we were going. Obviously, our end goal was to make it to Athens to fulfill what the prophecy said, but right now, we had to find the father of excuses, whoever that was.

We also couldn't fly directly to Athens just yet, as powerful mountain gods were blocking the way.

To be frank, this journey had been one big disaster so far, but we had to keep going for not just the sake of Hecate, but the world. It was up to us to stop Erebos, and we couldn't quit now.

I grabbed a blue sweater and jeans, and got ready for the day. I put my hair in an Odango hairstyle and cleaned my glasses with some eye wipes before putting on my shoes and heading towards Oman's cabin for breakfast.

When I got there, I was the only one at breakfast. It wasn't that strange as I usually got up the earliest, but weirdly enough, Oman wasn't there. He was usually flying the ship all day, so I assumed that he had taken our advice and gotten some sleep, which was good.

I made some pancakes and poured some milk, sitting down and watching some TV on the television in the cabin. Just as I was halfway through eating my pancakes, I heard a thud on the second floor above me and heard a pained groan. I quickly got out of my chair and rushed upstairs.

"Oman, are you okay?" I asked, entering his room.

This was the first time I had been in his room, and for good reason. It was about the size of a master bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a large dresser with a TV, a personal bathroom, and an office with files and paper. There was also a walk-in closet and a small library in the room too. As expected given the look of Oman's last few office spaces, the room was extremely messy and was in complete disarray.

Oman was in pajamas and laid on the floor near his bed as it became clear to me what had likely happened.

"Oman, are you good?" I asked cautiously.

He got up from the ground and blinked twice before giving me a thumbs up and saying, "Yeah, I'm fine kiddo. What do you need?"

"Nothing, just checking up on you," I answered. "Glad you're getting sleep."

Oman just grunted as he sat back on his bed, yawning loudly. "Y'all got any new leads on where to go?"

"No, we still only have the father of excuses as our only hint to work with."

He grunted again as he drank down a water bottle. "Anything else, sweetie?"

I shook my head as I went to leave the room. Just as I was about to climb downstairs and finish up my breakfast, I realized there was something else I wanted to ask of Oman.

I turned and asked, "Actually, I was wondering if you could start teaching me how to fly the ship. Y'know, to make it easier on you."

Oman gave me a wide grin and said, "Sounds good to me. We can schedule a time to practice later today."

I nodded, giving Oman a wave as I exited his room and finished my breakfast. I didn't know anything about how to fly a ship, especially one as nuanced and complicated as the BBB, but I'd do anything to help out the quest and, more importantly, Oman.

Plus, flying sounds like a really fun experience. Oman once showed me the many souvenirs he's collected from various cities across the world, and I remember being in awe the whole time. Many of the cities he'd visited I could only dream of being able to witness before my eyes, contributing a lot to my interest in traveling for this very quest.

I decided it was about time to wake everyone up, and, though there were some issues with Kai and Alexander, twenty minutes later, all five of us were in the training ground, ready to discuss what was on the itinerary for today.

"So, based on what Clio told us, we need to find the father of excuses. Does anyone have any leads about that?" Rose asked.

I nodded. "Well, I researched it a bit and found out that Epimetheus is the father of excuses and the Titan of afterthought."

"That's a good start," Rose said. "But the problem is that he's a Titan. Why would he want to help us?"

"Yeah, the last time we saw the Titans, they kind of tried to destroy New York and claim the world," Alexander recalled. "Then the Giants came. Then Nero. Now Erebos and the apparent end of the universe on the winter solstice, then like a pandemic or zombie apocalypse of some kind, I don't know."

I gave Alexander a confused look, stumbling on my words as I asked, "W-what?"

"Nevermind. Case in point, Titans suck, and with that in mind, Epimetheus is not someone we should trust."

"Well, actually, given one of the dreams I had, we probably can trust him," Kai replied.

Geneva crossed her arms. "What do you mean?"

"In my dream, Epimetheus was standing inside a cave and was spewing some weird, vague monologue about how he was the 'wise one' and that he can help any travelers that seek his guidance. He then told me that I must come to him for the next step in our journey and said something about potions that was apparently a hint or something?"

"The father of excuses... is the wise one we seek?" Alexander asked.

Kai shrugged. "Apparently."

"It's been said that Epimetheus wasn't exactly the smartest Titan," I said. "I mean, he wasted so many supplies on animals that mankind was almost forced into extinction as a result. His brother had to steal fire from Olympus to save the humans, all because Epimetheus got careless."

"It's probably a ruse or something, but Clio did say we had to seek his knowledge out," Geneva figured.

"Yeah, that is true," Rose said. "But do you know where he is exactly?"

Kai nodded. "Yeah, he mentioned that he was on the island of Palma."

"Is that located in the base of the hand?" Alexander asked, giggling as he spoke. "Near Thumerica and Pinky Rico?"

"No, Alexander. Palma is an island just off the coast of Spain, and we're pretty close to it," I explained.

"Oh, Palma's a real island? I thought Epimetheus was joking or something!" Alexander exclaimed.

"I don't blame you," Kai said. "Epimetheus thinks nose hair is a good fashion choice, plus all that other stuff Amethyst mentioned, so he's clearly not the brightest."

"Okay, now that we have all that figured out, we just need to decide who's going," Geneva said.

"Well, it's obvious that Kai needs to go," I said. "Who else should go?"

Rose crossed her arms. "Well, that's where my dream comes in."

We all looked at her expectantly.

Rose explained, "I was in Erebos' cave and he was talking to one of his servants. They asked him about what they would do if his plan didn't work, and Erebos responded that there were a myriad of options that he could do. He mentioned something about a ritual and how he could take two of us, each the opposite gender of the other, and use our blood so that he could rise."

"That's the same thing Gaea did, right?" Kai questioned.

I nodded in response.

"But what does that mean exactly?" Geneva asked.

Rose bit her lip. "It means that for the duration of the quest, we should consider teaming up with the same gender so that Erebos can't use our blood to rise in case he ever captures us."

"On the topic of dreams, my dream last night was so scary," Alexander said. "See in the dream, I was at a large buffet, but the food was the people and we were the food, and we watched helplessly as they picked us up and ate us."

"Alexander, that's not really in the spirit of what we're saying here," I said.

"Shut up, you back-stabbing mango! You ate an innocent cotton ball just for the fun of it!" Alexander shouted.

Geneva rolled her eyes. "Back to the topic, I think Alexander should accompany Kai."

I nodded. "Agreed, there's no other male besides Timmy, so Alexander is a perfect fit."

"Actually, I think Timmy should come with us to talk with Epimetheus," Kai said.

I gave him a 'no way' look. "Um, are you crazy? Why would you want to do that?"

"Because Epimetheus explicitly mentioned something about potions and how they would be vital to obtaining his wisdom," Kai elaborated.

"Haven't we already agreed that Epimetheus is a little wrong in the head? I severely doubt he meant that Timmy should come too," Geneva replied.

"That's true, but remember, Clio told us that we need to go to Epimetheus and I think that what he's saying is true. He is the Titan of afterthought, he probably knows a thing or two."

I frowned. "I guess so, but you have to make sure to keep a steady watch on Timmy. I still don't think he can be trusted."

"You know, I'd usually be offended by that, but honestly, I'm not going on any quest with you guys," Timmy yelled from his cell.

"Sadly, you're being taken against your will," Alexander said. "Don't worry, it'll be really fun!"

"Then it's settled," Rose said. "Timmy, Kai, and Alexander will head to Epimetheus' island and seek out his definitely fake wisdom."