AMETHYST

As the many beautiful cities of Italy rolled by like a movie trailer from my window, I immersed myself in a long train of thought, one about how close we were to finishing this quest and returning back to Camp Half-Blood. This train of thought doubled as a pep talk to raise my spirits up and keep me inspired.

We were so close. So close to defeating Erebos and restoring the Mist. Three months ago, Erebos had hardly been of concern to any of us, as we were under the impression he'd rise in five years, more or less. The Mist had been a little wishy-washy back then, but again, we dismissed the dilemma for a future time, believing it would magically fix itself. Maybe some help from the gods. No one really knew, no one really cared.

Fast-forward to today, three months after Rose came to camp and the quest for the four Olympian masks had started. If we failed to stop Erebos from rising today, Olympus would be at risk of destruction. If we failed to release Hecate from her imprisonment, the Mist would vanish forever and the whole realm of Greek mythology - a world too puzzling and mystical for mortals to comprehend - would come crashing down. The surreal events at Times Square, along with our carelessness over the course of this arduous quest, had already put Olympus in danger of being discovered by mortals. If we lost to Erebos today, Olympus would fall.

This massive responsibility was being put on the backs of a bunch of fourteen years old. I had the opportunity to lead my first quest three months ago, and though the stakes weren't that high, I had still felt anxious for what was to come. Now I was part of a quest that would dictate the fate of Olympus and the whole world, so you could imagine just how nervous I felt.

But I couldn't afford to panic. I needed to keep my head in the game and focus.

I put a stop to my nervous nail biting and got up from my purple bed. I gathered my arrows, which had been placed in a neat stack on my bedside table, and tucked them into my quiver, which I subsequently strapped across my back. I brandished my bow and took a practice shot at the dartboard hung on my wall, hitting the red dot effortlessly. Would need to keep that same aim up for the final hurdle.

I made my way out of my cabin and went to the training ground. On my way there, I spotted Alexander, Kai, Geneva, and Timmy's doors being closed, signifying to me that they were still getting ready. I had finished preparations for Rome ten minutes ago, being the anxious wreck I was, so I was now waiting for everyone else to finish.

As I turned the corner into the training ground, I saw Rose sitting on the ground, staring up at the ceiling longingly.

"Hey," I greeted.

Rose ceased her ceiling-watching and turned her head towards me. "Hey, Amethyst."

"Have you finished preparing already?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said blankly.

Our conversation then took a bit of a halt, as Rose persisted with her roof-looking. Something was off about her, more than usual anyways.

I say usual because over the last seven days, Rose had been really feeling the pressures of leading a quest and therefore was acting differently because of that fact. I felt the same way when I led my first quest, so I couldn't blame her.

However, there was something different in her behavior this time. She seemed lost, and she had been staring at the roof an awful amount of time and in some longing way, as if she was hoping or wishing for something. Maybe she was praying to the gods above. Regardless, she seemed unwilling to talk to me and was more focused on staring at the roof, which is not normal Rose behavior.

Having made this observation, I asked her softly, "Rose, is there something you wanna talk about?"

She seemed to consider answering my question, but she just shook her head. "No, I'm-I'm fine. Just nervous."

I took a seat next to her on the ground and put my hand on her shoulder. "Really? 'Cause you've been staring at the roof the last thirty seconds like a man on a mission."

"Well I am technically on a mission," she muttered. "Look," she said, her voice getting a little louder, "the intricate designs of the roof are really calling to me. Why would I not look at it?"

"Ha, ha. Tell me what you're really worried about. I'm being serious."

Rose hesitated a bit, rubbing her chin and taking a deep breath before slowly and solemnly asking, "You sure you wanna know, Amethyst?"

I nodded. "Yes, Rose. Tell me."

"I'm supposed to-"

Kai entered the room, followed by Alexander. The former was wearing his signature red jacket which he hadn't washed in weeks, black leggings, and red sneakers. Scorcher was sheathed inside his sword holster on his belt, illuminating a dim glow with its celestial bronze luster.

Meanwhile, Alexander wore his stained orange Camp Half-Blood shirt underneath his aviator's jacket and carried his two weapons in his hands. Heavy-duty boots were on his feet and he wore black leggings similar in design to Kai's pants, though a fair bit lengthier.

"Hey you two," Kai said casually. "What are you guys up to?"

"Well, Rose was about to tell me-" I started.

"A secret?!" Alexander interrupted. "Well, spill the tea, Rose!"

Rose glanced uncomfortably at Kai, who half-shrugged in response, looking at Rose with the same level of comfortability she looked at him with.

What was going on between these two?

Suddenly, Geneva and Timmy entered the room, each dressed up and kitted with gear and weapons, again interrupting my attempt to get Rose to confess her secret.

"Are we all ready?" Timmy asked. "Oman said we arrive in only ten minutes, so we don't have much time to further prepare ourselves."

He wore leather pants given to him by Kai, had a sword holster strapped on his waist, which was again passed onto him by Kai, and wore a plain black jacket. Buckled across his chest was a brown, satchel-esque bag that was presumably carrying his arsenal of potions. He had on plain gray Adidas tennis shoes and white-and-red socks to finish the look.

Rose nodded, glad to deflect from the topic of our conversation. "Yeah, I think we're all good. Have we made a plan for what we wanna do when we get to Rome?"

"I don't believe we have," Geneva replied.

She wore a simple outfit consisting of a sports shirt, grey leggings, and black tennis shoes. Her hair was styled into a French braid and her daggers were tucked inside holsters on her waist.

"So, when we arrive in Rome, we need to be on the lookout for any GHOSTs, in the hopes of finding this weapons facility," Timmy contributed. His expression was filled with doubt and he seemed to half-heartedly speak his mind about the Rome situation.

I furrowed my brow. "Timmy, you don't have any other knowledge on these weapons or about a GHOST organization in Rome?"

"Nope. I know about as much as you guys do."

Rose nodded slowly. "Okay, so I guess that's all the info we have. We just need to be wary of any GHOSTs when we arrive in Rome and be on the lookout for the weapons."

With that, we exited the training ground and split off in our own separate ways. I followed after Rose, who was heading to her room, and said, "Hey, you wanna tell me what you were gonna say earlier?"

"No, I'm good, Amethyst." she rushed into her room and closed the door behind her. I heard her sigh deeply before sitting down on her bed, the creak of the bed's wood material audible.

I wanted to knock or enter in after her, but I opted against doing either of those and just headed to my room.

I didn't know what was wrong with Rose, and that simple fact concerned me. Besides expected anxiety from leading a massive quest to save the world and the loss of Arthur, there was something else wrong with Rose. She seemed hesitant to tell me the secret she had and she clearly hadn't told anyone about it except for maybe Kai, given the awkward glance the two shared in the training room, though that could've been something else. Whatever it was that was bothering her, I hoped she would confide in me and that it wouldn't hinder the quest ahead. She was our leader after all, and if she wasn't on her A-game…

The next ten minutes were filled with long contemplations about Rome and frantic pacing across my room.

"We're in Rome, y'all!" Oman bellowed through the speaker, making me flinch as I double checked everything in a frenzy.

Having mentally checked everything I needed, I exhaled deeply and traveled up top with the rest of my friends, catching sight of Rome. As with many of the cities we had traveled to on this long expedition, Rome didn't disappoint in its beauty. The city consisted of many crowded plazas bustling with movement and liveliness, tan buildings similar in design to Venice and Turin's architecture, and a timeless vibe that came naturally with the city's packed history.

"Solid seven out of ten in my book," Alexander told Kai, the ranking a part of a tier list he had been cooking up over the course of the last three years.

Kai nodded. "Yeah, something like that. Our journey to Albania though was at least a nine-"

"Don't," I said aggressively. "No talk of Albania, alright?"

"Whatever you say, Ruby."

Oman landed the ship a little ways east of the main city, landing it behind some foliage and a tall building. We departed from Oman's cabin, said our farewells, and ventured closer to Rome.

We got out from behind the tall building Oman had parked the ship behind and walked along a rock path that led up into the city of Rome. In hindsight, the BBB was hardly concealed, as any unsuspecting Rome citizen could take an accidental walk past the tall building and they'd see the ship right-and-center, but where else could we have gone with such a packed area?

After taking the long and winding path, we arrived in a plaza of sorts filled with people. Young men and women sat in coffee shops with their laptops up on the tables to do their work, a group of little kids passed around a soccer ball, buzzing with joy, and a big statue of Romulus, renowned founder of Rome and alleged brother killer, stood in the middle, surrounded by tourists who took pictures.

"Man, do we have a lot to search here," Kai noted. "How are we going to find these weapons in such a crowded, large place like this? We're effectively searching for a needle in a haystack."

Timmy smoothed his hair over to the side. "The simple answer is that we split up. Three of us search one area, and the other three search a different area. That way we cover more ground in less time. We will regroup here if we find anything."

"I call Kai!" Alexander said loudly. "He's really good at dodgeball, so you guys are missing out."

"That I am brother," Kai said. "We can search, er, the west side or whatever."

Alexander nodded quickly. "Yup, yup, the west side sounds good."

The two boys ran off west from the plaza, doing probably anything but actually search around.

Geneva seemed to read my mind, saying, "Yeah, so, maybe we should send a third with them so they ACTUALLY search the west side?"

"Yeah. What if Rose stays-" I began.

"I'll go with them," Rose interrupted. "You three can search the east side."

She darted after the two boys, in a hurry to leave the conversation.

"Well, I guess us three search.. Here," Timmy said.

Geneva and I nodded softly as we began our investigation. We mainly searched alleyways and staircases, and tried our best to dodge the public eye. While I was a lot more confident we wouldn't be spotted here than I was in France or Spain, we still didn't want to chance it. For all we know, some international FBI agent could be right on our trail so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Those minutes of searching were done in silence, as none of us really wanted to talk with one another. I imagined that Alexander and Kai were over there cracking jokes and Rose maybe hopped in occasionally while the three of us just searched in solidarity and quietude.

It wasn't all too surprising. Timmy was constantly on-edge, reaching for his satchel of potions at even the slightest motion from some tiny animal and looking around frantically whenever we searched. I was reserved as I was still hung up on what Rose had been trying to tell me, and Geneva has never been that social.

"Should we just head back?" Geneva asked tiredly, her expression full of boredom. "I'm sure they're waiting for us."

Timmy shrugged. "We still have so much more to search, but I'm not opposed to the idea. What do you think, Amethyst?"

"I don't know. I think we should just keep searching."

Then, out of my peripheral vision, I saw a flash of movement down an alleyway. This flash was subsequently followed by another quick motion, but this time, I was able to make out the motion and more specifically, the person behind the movement.

A GHOST member carrying a heavy crate in his hands.

I turned back to Timmy and Geneva. "I just caught something. Let's report back to Rose, Kai, and Alexander. I have a lead on what to do next."

The two were caught off guard initially, but they bounded after me as the three of us reported back to the plaza. The two kept asking me what I had seen, but I was fixated on getting back to Kai, Rose, and Alexander and relaying the info.

Low and behold, the three of them were waiting for us at the naked Romulus statue.

"So, what'd you guys find?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, Amethyst, what'd you see?" Geneva questioned.

"I caught a glimpse of two GHOST members lugging a crate of loot down an alleyway," I answered. "I believe that's where we'll find the weapons."

"Nice," Alexander replied. "I found this, uh, foil ball on the ground. Should make a fine addition to my collection."

"You have a foil ball collection?" Timmy asked.

Kai nodded. "Yeah, man's got rows on rows of weird foil balls. He got this one, perfectly round, very shiny one from Alban-"

"What are we waiting for?" I asked loudly. "Let's go!"

Rose, Kai, and Alexander joined us as we ventured back down the path we came from, quickly arriving where I had seen the two GHOSTs go earlier. The six of us headed down the alleyway and after walking a few yards caught sight of a long stone staircase leading down somewhere dark and not illuminated in the slightest.

I looked to Kai, and he nodded, igniting his hand in flames and traveling down the staircase first. The rest of us followed after leisurely, taking notice of the now illuminated tunnel. I could faintly make out the outlines of multiple wooden doors lined along the wall and could hear the soft rippling of a stream of water beneath us. Besides that, the tunnel seemed empty and quiet.

Our adventure down the tunnel ended when we were faced with a double-doored metal entryway that presumably led into a room. A circular hatch was placed around the center of the doors.

I reached for the hatch, wanting to see if it was locked or not, and was shocked to find that it was unlocked, as I twisted the hatch a few inches eastward. Squeaks emerged from the hatch as I opened it, echoing off the walls of the long tunnel.

I quickly glanced back at my friends before turning back to the door, twisting the hatch all the way around and pushing the door open. This room was dark too, staying that way even after Kai illuminated the room with his firepower.

"What the hell?" Kai muttered.

He ignited his hand once again, this time with more power as the room brightened slightly.

Then the lights turned all the way on. The metal door we had opened earlier shut behind us with a loud slam.

My surroundings became clearer as I witnessed the terror of what was around us. The room was barren of anything except a few spare boxes and papers littered across the floor. Guns, held in the hands of many armored up GHOST members, were pointed towards us, loaded and ready to fire. Blocking the door was a middle-aged female who had green eyes, long ginger hair that had whiffs of grey here and there and freckles covered her face. She had celestial bronze armor on her chest and leg regions, boots, and an imperial gold-metal infused sword on her back.

This was all a trap. Timmy had been right.

"Philyra," Rose muttered.

"The very same," Philyra said slyly. "Y'know, I'm surprised to find all of you here. Here I was thinking that you guys would figure out Erebos' plan and not take the bait. I clearly overestimated your intelligence."

"What's up, Dale?" One of the GHOST members said casually. "Have you been doing good since you broke your solemn oath to serve Erebos?"

Timmy laughed. "Really good, thanks for asking. Best decision I ever made."

The GHOST member grunted in frustration. "We'll see how smug you are in the next three minutes, Potion Freak."

Philyra paced slowly back and forth. "Since you six don't seem to be the brightest bunch, let me explain. In the next thirty seconds, you will all die. Erebos will rise in a few hours and Olympus will deservedly see its end."

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"Oh, sweetie, I don't think that. I know it. Olympus has assumed so much control over everyone's lives and slayed my husband. It will see its end. I will make sure of it."

She stopped her pacing, tilting her head towards me. "And the first step in assuring that is killing you six."

"Hard no," Kai said.

Pulling deep into his vast knowledge of martial arts moves, Kai performed a butterfly kick on Philyra, with all its complexity and elegance that conjured up a fiery vortex, us in the eye of the storm as Kai worked his magic. The sounds of bullets being shot rang through the room but Kai's vortex easily blocked out the bullets, and when the smoke and fire cleared, Philyra and a sum of GHOSTs were knocked to the ground and the ones that weren't knocked down quickly looked to reload their guns.

We didn't let them get a chance though as we jumped into action. I loaded multitudes of arrows into my bowstring and released them quickly, aiming and hitting small chinks in the GHOSTs' armor but still not doing too much damage. The GHOSTs weren't too worried about me though as they focused on dealing with the rampant threat of Kai's fire powers and Alexander's strength.

Geneva was also a real menace, bobbing in and out of fights in a variety of different forms and sneakily taking down GHOST after GHOST. Timmy and Rose were doing well for themselves too, as they used their abilities to stun members left and right, piling them in goo, putting them to sleep, binding them up with vines, you name it.

But still, even with how well we were doing, no one seemed to be going down. Philyra kept rallying the troops on as they reached for their weapons and tried again. It almost felt like more GHOST members were arriving in the battle with how tired we were getting, and Kai, who had been our main threat, was gassing out.

This reached a boiling point as, at a certain point, we were again encircled by the plethora of GHOST members and I could tell that this is where it would end. As I had said earlier, Kai was losing energy and his fire, though powerful, was less effective the more he burnt himself out. Rose's spells were becoming less efficient as she was becoming gradually more tired, Geneva had stopped shapeshifting entirely, Timmy was running out of potions to use, and Alexander had lost one of his weapons and was struggling to make an impact with so many GHOSTs pinning him down.

The final blow came from Philyra, who stomped her foot on the ground with lots of power and sent us all to the ground. Too tired to get up, a collective feeling of acceptance was shared between the six of us.

Philyra put her sword to my neck. "It's over heroes. It was a valiant effort. Olympus falls."

"No it doesn't," Timmy replied.

A potion then hit the roof and green-tinted fire was everywhere. GHOST members were caught off guard completely as their armor was caught in flames. Timmy then chucked a Greek fire potion at Philyra, engulfing her armor in fire.

"GO!!!!" Timmy yelled at us, getting up from his spot in the ground and pulling out his sword.

We did as he said, getting off the ground swiftly and gathering our weapons. Timmy was throwing fire potions everywhere and Greek fire touched almost every spot in the room, a cloud of smoke rising up into my nostrils and causing me to cough loudly. Philyra was enveloped in flames, and any GHOST member who was still remaining was either evacuating the scene or passed out on the floor. Fire from earlier, caused by Kai, only grew in ferocity as screams of terror parted from the GHOSTs mouths. If we didn't leave the room within the next few minutes, we'd be screwed.

"We have to go," Rose wheezed.

"What about Timmy?" Kai asked.

"He wanted us to go without him, Kai," Geneva chimed, a cough between her words. "He'll be fine. Let's go."

We steamed out the metal door and turned back briefly, only to be met with fire coming out of the room. We ran as fast we could out of the tunnel, which was gradually being set aflame. Smoke followed after us, and people nearby began retreating at the sight of the smoke. We ran all the way back to the BBB, the city of Rome in absolute hysteria and terror.

When we climbed up the runway to the top deck, Oman seemed to take in the situation and immediately started the engines and the BBB flew off the ground, leaving behind Rome and Timmy.

Then the realization hit me like a truck; Timmy was gone.