Roleplay:Main Forum/General/A Surprise Meeting

Meeting
Kara: Huffing as she left the dining pavilion, Kara massaged her temples. She'd had a nasty headache ever since her recent fight with another demigod, and the usage of her powers had left her exhausted and very much susceptible to anxiety, especially due to loud sounds. "Mlamllp?" Kara turned slightly towards the baby on her back. "It's ok, Nata. Mommy's just having a bad day, it's not your fault." She sighed. "Appreciate the concern though. You're very sweet. You know, you just turned six months old. What do you think I should get you, hmm?" She waited a moment for response. Nata, who had lost interest, then began chewing on some of Kara's hair. Kara mentally facepalmed. "A teething ring it is. Why am I asking you again?"

Kara: Kara's eyebrows raised at hearing the sound of a B chord emanating from a guitar. She turned to see an attractive young man sitting on the grass nearby, strumming away to a familiar line that she couldn't quite place. She walked over to hear more closely, and could hear him humming the tune. At recognizing it, she smiled and sat down by him. "There's a bit of a throwback." She listened for a few more moments. "You play nicely."

Kara: "Oh, only if you'd like to! It's a good song by all means. I missed it a bit, actually." She looked at the guitar. "Jeez, it's been a while since I played music. I should get back into it." Nata reached out towards the guitar, her mouth wide open. "Nonono, Nata, honey, you can't chew on that. No." Kara took her backpack off and lifted Nata out, plopping her into her mother's lap. "Here, you can play with Blob." She reached into the backpack again and took out what looked like a vaguely spherical beanbag with two buttons sewn on. She gave the "Blob" to Nata and turned back to Dominick. "Sorry, um, what was I talking about?" She blinked. "R-right. Music. Wish I knew guitar more, too. I'm not great at it," she stuttered, blushing slightly.

Kara: Kara grinned. "Ok, I'm a little rusty, but let's give it a shot." She passed Nata over to Dominick's lap, the little baby smiling. Kara accepted the guitar, and started strumming the chords, singing the names of the notes. "E, E, B, B, G#, G#, F#, here we go." And she started to sing along. "Mm, whatcha saaa-y-ay, mm, that you only meant well? Well of course you di-id mm, whatcha saa-y-ay, mm, that it's all for the best? Of course it is."

Kara: Laughing and strumming along happily, Kara stuck her leg out to keep Nata from falling over, and joined in with a harmony as the cymbal crashed before the melody. "Mm, whatcha saaa-y-ay, mm, that you only meant well? Well of course you di-id mm, whatcha saa-y-ay, mm, what did you say?"

She finished with a soft E chord that hung in the air for a moment, and turned to look at Dominick. "We should play in the Apollo Cabin's studio sometime! Nice trick there with the drums." While pausing to catch her breath, her headache suddenly caught up with her in full force. "Ah!" She grimaced, but quickly regained her composure. "Hey, I don't think I caught your name."

Nata flailed her legs and kicked the nearby bass drum with a small whump, giggling.

Kara: Kara picked up Nata to keep her from kicking the bass drum more. "I'm ok, just a headache. I don't think I've looked at the news for a while, but congrats on making it on." She massaged one of her temples with her free hand. "Sorry. It was fine a minute ago, I think just maybe the drums made it come back." Her eyes widened. "I loved it though, I mean! The drumming!"

Nata: The new man seemed nice to Nata. She decided it would be good to make the nice man happy. Maybe he had food. Or something chewy. She reached over towards Dominick, her little arms outstretched. "Mllaml."

Kara: Kara smiled wistfully. "I'm allergic to peanuts, so no snickers for me, sadly." She noticed Nata squirming and reaching towards Dominick. "Oh jeez, sorry. Nata does this sometimes when she's curious about new people and wants to meet them." She looked up and shrugged jokingly. "Trade you the priviledge to hold a bundle of cuteness and know my name for an Aspirin. I'm all out of Tylenol as of this morning."

Kara: Handing Nata over, Kara quickly took the aspirin from Dominick. "I'm Kara, and this little cute lady is Nata. And I'll definitely take you up on that with or without the aspirin." Kara's eyes widened. ''CRAP, I didn't mean to say that! Ok Kara, back up, calm down, you're fine. ''Both her limited knowledge of romance and her anxiety were giving her hell.

Thankfully, Nata decided to draw attention away from her mother as she chewed on Dominick's shirt with her toothless, gummy mouth. "Mmmlm. Mllmplt." She let go and stuck out her tongue, looking up at Dominick curiously.

Kara: Kara smiled. "That would be wonderful." She watched as Nata snuggled up to Dominick, making small happy noises as her hair (or mostly lack therof) was stroked. "Aw, she really likes you, even more than most strangers she meets. That's a good sign." Nata usually has good intuition about people... I should be safe around him. "Where would you maybe want to go for dinner, out of curiosity? Or is that a surprise?"

Kara: Grinning at the sight of Dominick holding her baby so carefully, Kara took a second to process his words. Her eyes widened. "Oh, nonono, we don't have to go anywhere fancy! I... don't have much money."

Kara: "Oh, um... ok. Yeah, sure, ready anytime!" Kara definitely wasn't expecting Dominick to pay, but she supposed that since she was short on cash, she could let him this time. "Don't go spending too much on me though." She looked over at Nata and tried to keep from giggling. "I'm gonna need my little one back first, though." Nata had curled up against Dominick's chest and fallen asleep while sucking on his shirt.

Date
Kara: "Oh my gods, are you ok?" Kara rushed over. "Here." Kara grabbed a few tissues from her purse, which she'd quickly earth-traveled to get before the two left. "Ok, no more shadow-traveling for you. I'll earth-travel us back if we need to." She wiped off Dominick's forehead. Nata yawned in her sleep. "Aaaml." Kara stepped back. "Do you think I'm ok to just wear this summer dress?" She wore a simple light pink dress, not too revealing, going halfway down her thighs.

Kara: Kara gently lifted Nata into the booster seat, who was just waking up. "Oh, no, don't worry! She seemed really nice, actually. Old friend?" She fastened a bib around Nata's neck, and put her "Blob" on the little table.

Kara: "Oof, I feel you on that one. Resturaunt jobs can be exhausting." Kara smiled sympathetically. "I'd just take water if that's ok, I'm not quite old enough to drink. Oh, um, if it's ok, could I have a small bowl please? I've got some baby food with me to feed my little one." She paused. "Unless if you have applesauce I could give her? I'm sorry, I don't want to be a bother."

Kara: Kara immediately tensed up. "Do you mean that literally?" Her hand crept to her forearm before she realized she didn't have her hidden shield equipped. "Please don't tell me you meant that literally. Please."

Kara: "Thank you, Ms. Kelly. Could I see you outside for a moment, please? I just need to talk to you about something." Kara's face betrayed nothing, but a tiny rock was already forming in her hand, ready to shoot if she needed to.

Nata whimpered and leaned away from Veronica.

Kara: Kara didn't have time to say anything, and her instincts kicked in. She bolted from her seat, grabbing Nata, and immediately sprinted towards the man door. ''I can't earth-travel unless if I'm on something natural. I just have to get outside.''

Kara: Kara stopped running and took a deep breath, holding onto Nata while she cried. "Gods, that was close." She went slowly back to the table, cuddling Nata and talking to her quietly as she walked. "Hey, hey, it's ok sweetie. She's all gone. Mommy's here. Shhhhh... It's ok. I love you. It's all ok." Kara looked to Dominick as she rocked her baby back and forth, calming Nata down. "Είμαστε ασφαλείς?" she asked in ancient Greek. Are we safe?

A manager walked forward, a look of concern on her face (probably because of the crying baby). "Is everything ok? Did Veronica serve you yet?" She noticed the glass of water and wrinkled her nose at seeing the white glob. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into Veronica lately. I'll take that away and get you a proper glass right away." She picked up the old glass and walked back to the kitchen, embarassment written on her features.

Kara: Kara could see the urgency and concern in his eyes. "If we get to the grass outside, I can earth-travel us back to camp. Dom, what's happening?" She was starting to get scared.

Kara: Following, Kara swallowed and nodded nervously. "Who?" She held Nata closer, trying to soothe her.

Kara: Power walking, Kara spun around and planted her feet between Dominick and the way forward. "Dominick Farmer, who exactly is trying to hurt my daughter?" Her hands shook a little, but she was also beginning to look angry. "Because I will protect her with my life. And I need to know who to protect her from." Nata had stopped crying, but was whimpering softly.

Encounter
Kara: Running hard, Kara held Nata close to herself, shielding her child with her body. "Dom!" She sprinted into the alley and immediately put her back to the wall. "I need to get Nata out of here. I swear to the gods, if you don't tell me what's happening-" She stopped speaking, and focused. She tried hard to counteract the wind with her own powers, but it almost seemed like it was fighting her. "I can't control the winds."

Kara: Kara's eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth. She handed Nata to Dominick, and stepped out into the middle of the alleyway. Around her, the winds whistled, and an ethereal sword appeared in her hand. "Whoever you are... go back to whatever dark hole you crawled out of, and never attempt to harm me, my daughter or Dominick Farmer again." Her tone was dark, and commanding. "This is your only warning.

Kara: "You have just proven that you know nothing about family, Theos. I won't even ask about your knowledge of the alley, and what happened then. Now, if you'll excuse us... This has gone far enough. Dominick, be a dear like he said, hmm? Keep him busy for a moment." Her sword disappearing, she grabbed Nata. "I'll be back momentarily."

With a sudden gust of wind, Kara turned and vanished, leaving only a few grains of sand in her wake, which blew directly towards Theos's face.

Kara: "LET HIM GO, THEOS!" The winds amplified Kara's shout as she warped into the alley, hovering six feet in the air. In full battle regalia, Kara a celestial bronze shortsword in place. Her eyes glowed electric blue, sparking and sizzling. She had chosen the power of Zeus in addition to her own. With a war cry that would make a child of Ares proud, she flew towards Theos, and swung her sword in a powerful two-hand strike while electrically charging the blade.

Kara: "Oh my gods, Dominick!" Kara rushed to his side. "I'm so sorry. No, no, nonono..." She tried desperately to staunch the bleeding. After a moment, she moved her hands, and stone from the earth erupted, sealing itself around Dominick's wrist. "That'll stop it for now. Dominick, get yourself out. Go to camp and alert Alexander. Tell any ally you can find to come here."

She turned, and ran towards Theos, and as she did, a dome of earth erupted around Dominick, protecting him from harm. "You won't get away with that!" She leapt high, the winds boosting her and screamed with anger, pain and exhaustion. A concussive crack of thunder blasted through the air, and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky towards Theos.

Kara: ''I can't keep this up... but neither can Theos, with the number of spells he's used already. We have to end this quickly. ''Kara flew forward, the wind surrounding herself and snuffing out the fire as it passed around her... Almost. She hissed at feeling the fire scorch her face, leaving a nasty burn on her cheek. She landed and ran, going into a quick strike aimed at Theos's neck. Secretly, she charged her sword with electricity once again, ready to shock Theos and stun him if he tried to block.

Kara: Taking a last look back at Theos's crumpled form, Kara nodded. She walked over with difficulty, wheezing, and took Dominick's arm, the two disappearing on the wind.

Two Days Later...
Kara: Kara walked into the second floor of the infirmary, and looked over the area. After a moment, she gave a nod to a son of Apollo and silently made her way over to one of the small rooms, shutting the door behind her. "Are you awake, Dom?" she asked quietly.

Kara: Looking at his wrist, Kara immediately began to tear up. "Dom, I..." Her voice caught in her throat. She walked over and sat in a chair by his right side, careful to not hit her backpack with Nata in it, and reached to hold his good hand. "This is my fault... I'm so sorry, I can't begin to say it enough..." She stopped short of his hand by a few inches.

Kara: Kara laughed, a few tears escaping while she did. "We're fine. We're ok, because of you." She lifted Nata out of her backpack, and placed in Dominick's arms. "I just... I'm so sorry, Dom." She reached forward hugged Dominick, careful not to squish Nata, trying hard not to cry.

Nata: Yay, the nice man was back! He looked sad though. Nata wiggled a little and cuddled up to him. "Da." She started sucking on his shirt again.

Kara: Kara nodded, and sniffled. She looked at Dominick and smiled. "I think she is. Hey... I know things turned out pretty horribly, but... thank you for the date. I'll certainly never forget it." She shook slightly, a little nervous. "I'm really sorry if what I do now is completely crazy and out of line. But I happen to like you a lot, Dominick Farmer." And with that, Kara gently put her arms around Dominick, and leaned forward, kissing him gently.

Kara: "Right here." Kara reached into her backpack and pulled out the necklace. "I made sure to take it before we left. It seemed important."

???: A girl with a tablet walked in and over to Domonick's bed. She aimed the tablet at his good hand and scanned it. She sat down on a chair in the corner of the room and started working with the tablet.

Kara: Kara paused for a moment, looking over the new girl, and procceeded to take the necklace off, and put it into her backpack. "I appreciate the offer, Dom... but I don't want to constantly be reminded of that monster. I'm going to do the right thing and give it to Alexander. He'll be able to find a place to keep it safe until a Hecate kid can check its enchantments for anything unsafe." She sighed. "Who knows... maybe another camper will make good use of it someday. But not me. I'm sorry."

Nata: Nata was quite cozy where she was, and not at all paying attention to the newcomer. She reached upwards. "Da-da. Malplpppt." She flapped her arms and slapped his chin a few times in the process, surprising herself. She giggled and squealed.

Kara: Smiling, Kara looked back to the grl who had just walked in. "Who might you be? I don't believe we've met."

???: She looked up from her tablet, revealing tear-stained cheeks, "Name is Phoebe Adams. . . I'm from the Hephaestus Cabin, here to make a digital prototype of Dominick's new hand. What's your name?"

Phoebe: She carefully read the document, clearly he doesn't want them to know, I'll have to be careful with what I say next, "Before the new hand is attached, I'll have to repair all the damaged nerve-endings as well as connect the wires to the nerves in your spine so your new hand will be directly connected to your brain. This procedure will remove all ailments and prevent paralysis from all possible or current injuries." Hopefully he'll catch what I mean and she won't notice what is implied.

Kara: "No, it's ok. I'd already asked the doctors while you were asleep for a summary. They said the Hephaestus Cabin might have a solution, and it looks like they do." She looked to Phoebe with a look of concern. "Are you ok?"

Nata: Nata peeked up from Dominick's arms with an almost identical look of worry. The new girl was sad too! Too many people all seemed sad. "Aaa." She wiggled and reached towards the new girl. She wanted to make the new girl happy. Happy people were good.

Phoebe: She faintly smiled when she noticed the baby girl reaching out to her, it vanished when she realized she'd have to answer them. She took a deep breath, "I arrived here two days ago. My mom and I were walking up the hill when we were attacked by a hellhound. . ." She shakily took another deep breath, "My mom told me to run up the hill, so, I did. . ." Her eyes started watering, "When I looked around to see if she was running up with me. . ." The newly formed tears drip down her face, "I saw the hellhound kill her. . ." She choked up, and the tears fell faster. She closed her eyes and hastily wiped her face. She opened her eyes, but she didn't want to look at them until she composed herself.

Phoebe: She sighed, but there was a small smile on her face, "Thanks, you know, you guys are the first people I told this to." She realized Domonick was sitting next to her, her facial expression went neutral, "You should be in your bed, so if you don't go back into your bed. I will put you in it myself."

Phoebe: She started laughing, "You think I can't pick you up?" Clearly she was amused by his statement, she set her tablet aside and stood up. She picked Domonick up bridal style, taking extra care to not hurt him.

Phoebe: Initially, Phoebe was confused by his reaction, but quickly figured out what he meant and decided to roll with it. "Hahahahahahah! I, villain Phoebe, shall take this poor man to my secret lab and turn him into a spaghetti-making robot! You will never stop me!" She attempted to make an 'evil face' but couldn't because she couldn't help but grin.

Kara: Kara grinned at Dominick. "Sorry, Super Mom's off the case on this one. Nata's happy to help you though." She gestured to Nata, who was giggling and trying to crawl towards Phoebe. Kara gave up on trying not to and joined her daughter in giggling at Dominick. "All right, all right, we should set him down before I actually have to pull a rescue." She picked up Nata and lifted her out of the way. "Back in bed, mister, or no dad privileges."

Phoebe: She smiled and nodded, she went over to the bed and gently put Domonick down, even if he didn't want that. She turned to Kara and held her hand out, "We never properly introduced ourselves, I'm Phoebe. You are?"

Kara: "Kara Rudikoff." Kara turned to shake Phoebe's hand without dropping Nata. "Hey, do you want to hold this little one? Her name is Natasha, Nata for short. She seems very curious about you."

Nata: Nata was practically leaning out of Kara's arms, arms outstretched toward Phoebe. She shot a toothless, gummy grin towards the nice funny new girl and squeaked.

Phoebe: She smiled and gently picked Nata up, cradling her in her arms. Phoebe looks over and notices the mysterious man. She wasn't fond of what he said but wanted to be friendly regardless, "Hi. . . might I ask who you are?"

Kara: Kara turned towards the newcomer at hearing his statement, and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She was still exhausted after the recent fight with Theos, and as a result, she was not exactly inclined to be friendly, especially if they started a conversation the way this guy just had. Heck, she'd almost broken an Aphrodite camper's arm for making a homophobic remark yesterday afternoon.

Phoebe: She blinked multiple times, unsure of how to process what happened. She lifted her finger up and opened her mouth, closed her mouth, and shook her head. She grabbed the tablet and started working, she wasted enough time, ''especially with the deadline Domonick has. ''She remarked, "Void. . . you're kinda short."

Kara: Stalking over,  Kara shoved the two apart. "Alright, alright, you two! That's enough. Dominick, no more talking about that sort of thing or fighting in front of my daughter, or I swear to the gods I'll make you stop. And you, Void. He just lost an arm in what was almost a fight to the death! You are NOT going to punch him, or injure him, or otherwise hurt him in any way, OR ELSE!"

She exhaled heavily and panted for a moment, until she realized what she had said.. She froze. Her hands slapped to her mouth, her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry, please don't be mad. I'm really sorry, that's not like me..." She unconciously flinched and closed her eyes, shaking slightly.

Nata: Nata, completely not caring about the ensung drama, was enamoured by the tablet. It was shiny, and things moved! She batted at it, and accidentally changed the view of the project, sending it spinning on the screen. She looked up at Phoebe beaming happily, as if to say look, I did something! to her. "Aa?"

Kara: Kara hugged Dominick tight and broke down sobbing. "I'm sorry... Oh, gods, I'm a wreck!" She shook like a leaf. "I can't sleep and I'm exhausted and the nightmares keep coming back and I don't want to remember the alley again and I'm so scared about you and me and Nata and everyone being hurt and I can't let them hurt people and-" She started crying harder, unable to talk.

Phoebe: Looking at Nata she smiled and chuckled, "All you did was change the angle of my view of the hand." She looks up and sees that Kara is upset and politely asks, "Is there anything I can do to help you? If you need to get some rest I can watch over Nata with Domonick."

Kara: Kara took a deep breath, her breathing still irregular. "I, um... that could help..." She looked back to Dominick, her face streaked with tears. "Can I stay by you tonight? I'll be quiet, I promise, you won't notice me next to you..."

Nata: Still busy grinning at Phoebe, Nata looked at Kara and saw her crying. Her smile disappeared. Mama was sad! Mama shouldn't be sad. She turned her head back to Phoebe and whimpered. "Ma."

Kara: Kara immediately noticed Dom's breathing change, and his arm slackening. "Dom, Dom, are you ok? Dom?" She looked to Phoebe panickedly. "What's happening?"

Phoebe: She hastily gave Nata back to Kara and, being a child of Hephaestus, pulled out the wires she carried with her and began to work. Within minutes she had the wires around his arm and was beginning to attach them to his spine, "This may hurt, but it will slow it's progression long enough for me to grab the prototype of the hand. The tablet is connected to a machine I built to manufacture the hand so I could have it ready for attachment. I thought I had more time though."

Phoebe: She stopped the blade with her hand, sure it hurt but it'll be worth it. She threw the blade aside and continued working, she finished inserting the wires in his spine and worked on attaching them to the nerve-endings at the bottom of his arm. She activated the wires, it should stop the pain and let him control his arm again.

Phoebe: "I know that it will need to happen because of how fast it is spreading, but, it would be better if the Apollo kids' did it because then it won't hurt, nor will it cause trauma to the people in the room." She gestured to Kara and Nata. "I'll go get them and when you wake up, you'll have a robotic arm, okay?" She left the room to get some of the Apollo kids.

Kara: Shaking, Kara hugged Domonick. "The Apollo kids want me to go so they can work, but I'll be here when you wake up. Please... never do anything that stupid again." She kissed him briefly, and walked out with worry written all over her features.

Post-Operation
Phoebe: "Before we go in there, I just wanted to say thank you for letting me attach his new arm." She tiredly smiled.

Kara: Kara started. Oh my gods this is awkward. "Um, can I finish... feeding her first?" She nodded towards Nata, who was sucking away at her mother's milk. Kara suddenly felt very self-conscious about breastfeeding her baby.

Phoebe: Phoebe held out her cauterized her hand and said, "He tried to cut his arm off himself, I stopped him though. . . and Kara, don't feel self-conscious about taking care of Nata. . ." The bags under her eyes were prominent, it looked as if she hadn't slept for a couple days now.

Kara: "Was the operation successful?" Kara asked. "He was in a lot of pain..."

Kara: "Ok, coming." Kara rearranged her shirt and followed, carefully holding Nata.

Kara: Kara approached slowly. "...Domonick? Are you ok?"

Nata: Yay, it was the nice man again! Nata liked the nice man. "Da!" Nata reached forward towards towards Domonick and wiggled, and then she noticed the metal arm. "Daablm..." She immediately leaned even farther forward, trying to reach for the shiny metal.

Kara: "MMph!" Kara's eyes widened, but she didn't resist the kiss. ''Ok... I guess he is ok, then.''

Kara: "Of course you do, silly." Kara smiled and hugged back. Thank you, she mouthed towards Phoebe and Lena.

Phoebe: She smiled and nodded, she walked over to Domonick, "So, there is several things that the manual does not include. I'll tell you what they are cause I think you'd be happier to hear it rather than read it. In the middle of your palm, there is a button that can only be activated by your fingerprints and what it will do is open up the shield that is hidden within your arm. Your magic is fully compatible with your arm, what that means is you can use your magic with that arm instead of only from your other arm. Finally, you can turn your arm into celestial bronze weapons, such as a sword, axe, and crossbow. There is three buttons on your forearm, also only activated with your fingerprints, and they go in the order I just named off." She smiled, proud of what she made for him.

Phoebe: She smiled and hugged him back, "Of course, you're like a brother to me, even though we haven't known each other for long." It feels like it's been too long since she's felt so happy, honestly, she'd be willing to go to Tartarus and back for them.

Phoebe: Somehow, her smile grew even wider, if she wasn't in a hospital, she'd probably scream out of joy. Everything is okay now. . . Phoebe falls asleep, for the first time in a few days, she feels safe enough to sleep.

Kara: "Whoa, ok!" Kara rushed over and caught Phoebe. She turned around. "Doc, we could use another bed! Phoebe's suffering sleep deprivation, and she just kind of passed out."

An Apollo kid came rushing in. "Sure thing, Ms. Rudikoff. She'll be in the bed next door."

Kara nodded. "Thanks."

As the Apollo kid rushed Phoebe out, Kara sat on the edge of the bed and tapped it. "I know you were out for a little bit, but you need sleep too, mister. Mind if I stay by you?"

Kara: Kara picked Nata up, and gently pushed Dom down to lie on the bed. "Yep, that's right Dom. Sleepy time." ''Ok, definitely still a little out of it from sleep meds. ''She snuggled into his arms.

The Following Morning
Phoebe: She lightly shook Kara and Domonick. "Good morning sleepy-heads~."

Kara: "AH!" Kara bolted upright, hyperventilating. She looked around wildly, and after a moment relaxed. She blushed. "Sorry... Nightmare."

Nata: Nata gave a high-pitched yawn and wiggled in Kara's arms. She rubbed her eyes and sleepily reached towards Phoebe.

Phoebe: "Don't you dare leave Domonick, you need to either have me or them check you before you can be discharged. And it's okay Kara, I woke up with one too." She picks up Nata and cradles her, then tries to block the door so Domonick doesn't leave yet.

Phoebe: She handed Nata to Kara, "I'll be back." She ran out of the room and went after Domonick. Fortunately, he was easy to find with the hospital gown on. "What the heck!? First you push me while I'm holding Nata, then you almost strangle Lena. What has gotten into you?!" Phoebe was upset, but she didn't let her guard down in case he decided to attack.

Phoebe: "Guess that makes my mom and your dad acquaintances, considering she saw him and you never have." She knows what she said would likely hurt his feelings, but she didn't care, he clearly didn't. She clenched her fists, but then winced in pain. Her right hand was still sore from catching a blade for him, despite how he's acting now, she doesn't regret doing it.

Kara: Kara layered a large dose of charmspeak into her voice as she stormed into the room. "DOMONICK FARMER, STAND DOWN RIGHT NOW!" She glared at Domonick, her eyes letting him know that she was not happy with him. "What exactly is going on?! Oh, and and why the hell did you just shove and threaten the girl who gave you a new arm, risk my baby girl's safety, and nearly choke one of the nurses?!" She gestured to Nata, who was crying and nestling into Kara's chest. "You just scared Nata into crying, and if she'd fallen from Phoebe's arms, that would be on you. Not to mention that this same girl, Phoebe, caught a blade for you, and saved you from lifelong paralysis!" She planted herself between Phoebe and Domonick. "You'd better have a good explanation for this, or else. Now start talking!"

Phoebe: "You're not Domonick, where did you take him? Automaton." Phoebe's eyes were fierce, it almost looked like there was fire in her eyes.

Kara: Kara's eyes widened. "Phoebe, get back." She held Nata close. "That's why Nata's crying so much. We have to get to Domonick, fast." She turned and ran back to Domonick's room as fast as she could.

Phoebe: She hesitantly grabbed his hand, "Okay, will Kara and Domonick be okay though? They mean a lot to me and I only want the best for them." She faintly smiled, it was clear that the two made her happy.

Phoebe: She looked around, she was fascinated by it, especially the architecture. She went to the round table, and sat down still amazed by the room. She looked at Theos, she would be a liar if she said he was unattractive. "Um, yeah, I'm Phoebe. I assume you're Theos." She sipped her tea, it was sweetened raspberry tea, her favorite.

Phoebe: She blushed, no one, besides her mom, has called her beautiful, "Oh, thanks. . . Um, you'd bring her back long enough for me to say goodbye? I know it's not good to bring people back from the dead completely, but it would be nice to say goodbye. . ." Phoebe took another drink of her tea, though she didn't quite know why she was confiding in this stranger. Especially since Kara had such a poor reaction to his name. She asked, "What would you want to work on with me? Cause if it's about the malfunctions with Andre, I can repair them for you in, at tops, an hour."

Phoebe: She looked down at the blueprints, they were stunning, her eyes sparkled when she looked at them. "Well, before I make any recommendations, will the armor exist for agility, strength, or compatibility with magic?" She just noticed how close he was, she grew a bit redder, this has never happened to her before. But then again, she spent her free time with her nose in a book or forging, and those activities don't include much human interaction.

Phoebe: "Umm. . ." She was blushing furiously now. "W--well, you can fuel it with your own magic, however, that would be too draining. But, you could fuel it with your aura, it is risky for mortals because it could ultimately drain them of their life-force, especially if they do not have a strong will to live. Another way, that's less hazardous and slightly less effective, is using the essense of monsters. It's easy to harvest that energy if you have this device." She pulls out what looks like a calculator. "It's small, has a simple design, calculates how much you have collected and let's you choose what percentage you take from the monster. You get more essense when they are alive, but it's safer to collect from slain or severly wounded monsters since you need to be extremely close in order to extract it." Phoebe took another drink of her tea, then she smiled at him, it was nice talking to someone who was as interested in forging as she was.

Phoebe: She bit her lip, she was feeling butterflies in her stomach. "You'd obviously have to fiddle with the device in order to expand its' range," She messed with the device while talking. "Like this." She showed Theos. "It's range is now 10 ft long and 15 ft wide. Now, it can kill the monsters if you drain 100% of their essense, but I do not recommend doing that because the more essense you drain from a monster at a time, the more aggressive and erratic they become. And frankly, you do not want to deal with that, take it from me, it sucks." She laughed and grinned.

Phoebe: She kissed him back, she smiled and blushed, "Would you, um, want to go out sometime. . . ?"

Phoebe: She laughed again, "Hey! I've never done his before. Wait. . ." She covered her tomato red face. "I didn't know you'd actually say yes. . ." She screamed into her hands, she didn't think someone like him would want to go out with her.

Phoebe: She smiled, "I would love that, but I'd absolutely have to help." She exaggerated. "We couldn't have you burn the whole place down." She chuckled. "Could we surprise Andre, Drew, and Katie with a steak dinner too? I would like to get to know your friends better."

Phoebe: Phoebe gently grabbed his hands, "You okay? If you'd rather not have them join us for dinner, it'd be okay, don't do anything you're not comfortable with." She smiled warmly at him. "Could we go to the kitchen now?" She happily asked him.

Phoebe: "Well aren't you clever. . . I like that." She smiled, a light blush touching her face. "Well, since your treating me to a nice dinner, can I treat you to dessert?"

Phoebe: She blushed, it was nice to hear him laugh so whole-heartedly, "Well, it was literal, but maybe after some time, it can be dirty." She teased. Phoebe hugged Theos, despite just meeting him today, not only does she like him, but she feels a deep connection with him. Is this the feeling that her mother described feeling with Hephaestus?

Phoebe: "Thank you Theos." She sat down and smiled brightly. "You sure know how to make a girl happy." She softly said.

Phoebe: "Okay." She smiled at him. Phoebe cut into the steak and ate a piece, it was delicious. . . Oh dear, she forgot to do something. She stood up and went over to the sink and cast fire into it. She proceeded to scrape some of her food into it and muttered a thank you to her father. Phoebe went back to the table and sat down again. She tried all of it. To say the least, it did not disappoint her. She looked up at Theos, "It's all delicious, you were certainly gifted with the ability to cook, would you mind teaching me someday? It really is superb."

Phoebe: "The cabbage is good, maybe you just don't like cabbage." She smiled, oblvious to the fact that Theos wasn't eating. "You know, I'm actually quite full, I don't think I can eat dessert. But, I have to admit that you're very sweet." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled brightly afterwards. The smile faded, and she took a deep breath. "Um, do you think that you're feeling well enough to bring my mom here, so I can say goodbye?"

Phoebe: Her eyes watered, "Mom? Is it really you?" Sue looked at her daughter and smiled, her eyes were teared up too. "Hi, my baby girl." Sue reached out to Phoebe and touched her cheek. "Thank the gods that you survived." Phoebe held her mom's hand to her face, tears dripped down her face, "But you didn't. . . I should have done more. . . I could've killed it, like last time. . . But I didn't. . ." Phoebe choked up. Sue looked at Phoebe sadly, "I know, but if you did, you might not be alive. Besides, it was my time to go. . . At least I was able to help you one last time. . ." Sue faintly smiled while her own tears fell down her face. She looked Phoebe in the eyes and saw the heavy bags under them. "You haven't been sleeping, have you Phoebe?" She looked down, "I. . . I can't. . . I keep seeing the hellhound tear you apart. . . and. . . and. . . hearing you scream as your bones snapped. . ." Phoebe was weeping. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. . ." Without meaning to, Phoebe interrupted Sue. "I was hoping that seeing you at peace and saying goodbye would help. . . *hic* *hic*. . .  But now that you're here, I don't want to let you go. . ." Sue held Phoebe tightly. "Shh, it's okay, you'll see me again, I promise. . . You know, I made it to Elysium, and Hephaestus visits me every other day. . . We are so proud of you Phoebe." They looked at each other, both smiled lightly. Sue looks at Theos, and says, "Thank you. . ." She teased, "Hope I can call you my son-in-law one day." Sue smiled, Phoebe's face was tomato red and sheepishly looks away. "I gotta go sweetie, goodbye Phoebe." Sue smiled softly. "Goodbye mom, thank you for everything. . . I love you." Phoebe quietly says to Sue. "I love you too Phoebe. . ." And with that, Sue returns to Elysium.

Phoebe: "Thank you for that, and calm down, please. My friend Domonick lost his hand, but if his arm wasn't amputated, paralysis would spread to his body. His arm went limp, and I started working on it, at least to stop the paralysis from spreading. He panicked and went to go cut off his arm himself, I stopped him. . . by catching the sword. . . with my hand. . . heheh. . ." She scratched the back of her head. "Then the Apollo kids and I operated on him to amputate the arm and attach the new arm I built. Thankfully he's all better now, and I just cauterized the wound cause I didn't want to deal with stitches." She said nonchalantly, clearly she wasn't bothered by it. "Besides, it's not my first scar, so it's no biggie." She rolled up her sleeves to show Theos all of the scars on her forearms and hands that she accumulated over the years.

Phoebe: She kissed him back, "Thank you for that, I am stronger than I look though." She laughed as curled her arms. Make him laugh, make him laugh she excitedly thought. She stuck her tongue out at him with a big grin on her face.

Phoebe: She was surprised by the kiss, but she liked it and melted into it. She blushed after, "You're pretty great too Theos. . . and I succeeded, I made you laugh." She smiled at him. "Honestly, you should laugh more, cause then I know you're happy and, well. . . I really like your laugh, it fills the room with warmth and joy. Making any room feel full, rather than empty." She looked at him and her eyes twinkled.

Phoebe: "You really are sweet, I can't say it enough. Wanna watch Maximum Overdrive? It's technically a horror movie, but it's really more of a comedy since it's so ridiculous." She smiled again, she's starting to think that, so long as she is with him, she'll never be sad. Of course there's Kara, Nata, and Domonick too. Oh crap, I forgot about them. "Oh dear, I probably should call Domonick and Kara so they know I'm okay, I have been gone a while." Phoebe chuckled.

Phoebe: "Okay." She happily said to Theos. Phoebe pulled out her phone and called Kara, please pick up. While waiting she hummed "Waiting for Superman" by Daughtry.

Not Alone
Kara: Kara jumped as her phone vibrated. After running from Theos's minion and not being able to find Dominick, she'd worriedly gone back to her cabin and spent the day there with Nata, who had just fallen asleep. She dug for her cell phone through her bag. Oh gods, I hope it's Phoebe or Dominick. After a brief search, she picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

Phoebe: "Heya Kara." Phoebe cheerfully said. She moved the phone away so she could say something to Theos. "Hey, I'm talking to Kara. Don't interrupt Theos, hahahah." Though, what Phoebe said could faintly be heard.

Kara: "Theos?! Phoebe, where the heck are you?!" Kara was already beginning to panic.

Phoebe: "Damn, I thought I had more battery." She looked at Theos, "Yeah, everything is okay, though Kara seemed kinda panicked. It should be fine." She sat down next to Theos and set her phone down on the nearby table. "Is everything okay with Katie, Drew, and Andre?"

Kara: Kara picked up on the first ring. "Dom? Oh, thank the gods. Are you ok?"

Kara: "I'm at my Cabin. Thank goodness you're safe. I looked for you both, but I couldn't find you or Phoebe anywhere." She paused. "Listen, I think Phoebe might be in danger. She phoned me for only a second, and I think she was talking to Theos." Kara was definitely panicking by this point. "Where are you?"

Kara: "Dom? Hello?" Kara hung up and clenched her teeth in frustration. What the hell is going on?

Phoebe: "I have an idea, maybe we could play 'Never Have I Ever' together. That way we can learn more about each other." She smiled at him and went to go hold his hand.

??? (Back in the forest) "Over here." A glimpse of silver flashed behind a nearby tangle of bushes and undergrowth as Dominick ran through the forest. "She will not see you. Come quickly."

Phoebe (Back to T/P): She started laughing too. "Oh my gosh Theos, hahahah, I haven't done that either. Alrighty, never have I ever kissed anyone before I met you. And it's okay you have Theos." She smiled at him, blushing slightly since she admitted that he was her first kiss.

???: Beside Domonick crouched what appeared to be a humanoid robot. Its silver and white plating coated its body, with the exception of two long blades extending from where its hands might have been. It turned its head slightly towards Domonick, its black eyes blinking. "Are you an ally of Kara and Natasha Rudikoff?"

???: "Edith, Mark 1. But you may call me Edith." The robot's voice was almost completely inaudible, impossible for anyone outside of a foot away to hear. "I am an automaton created by a friend to Kara, for protecting her and Natasha. It is imperative that I find her. From my understanding, she is in danger - as are you, apparently."

Edith: Moving ever so slightly, Edith nodded silently. "Whenever you are ready. If you are an ally of Kara, you are an ally of mine. You may explain later."

Phoebe (Back to T/P): She was surprised by the sudden kisses, but enjoyed it none-the-less. It was so passionate, she couldn't quite grasp what was happening. Phoebe gently pushed Theos away. "Need a moment. . . to breath. . . hahh. . . was not. . . expecting, that. . ." Her face was beet red, she was lightly shaking because her heart was racing. After a few moments, she had caught her breath. "Would you like to continue the game Theos?"

Edith: Edith slashed through the flames, almost completely unaffected by the fire. The bush behind her blazed, but the only indication that Edith had passed through was a slight singing near her midsection, and her blades glowing with heat ever so slightly. "Please, stand down, Katherine. You are outnumbered, and..." she paused. "Outgunned? Yes, that is the expression."

Phoebe (Back to T/P): "Neither have I, hahahaha. Um, never have I ever liked killing monsters. . . I know it's an odd thing to say." She smiled sheepishly.

Edith: This time, Edith didn't even try to move, and walked right through the flames. "I suggest you listen to your compatriot, Katie Williams. As an automaton I am extremely resistant to high temperatures, so I sincerely doubt that you will do damage to me with your flames unless if you reach much more significant temperatures. Even then, you would need prolonged physical contact to melt through any of my plating." She twirled a blade, and turned to address Andre. "Well met, Andre. I respect your hesitation to fight. I too would like to see minimal bloodshed. However, I must warn you that should my charge or her allies become threatened, I will not hesitate to protect them with my life, such as it may be."

She stopped, about five meters away from Andre and Katie, and retracted her blades, clicking and whirring as two robotic forearms and hands formed in their place. "Please, Katie Williams. Stand down. This does not have to be difficult."

Edith: If Edith had eyebrows, she would have raised one. "And how might you have come to that conclusion?" She processed and internally debated for a moment, her logic and emotional algorithms still new and unfamiliar. "I would not normally reveal such information, but you do not appear to be hostile. It is... confusing. I have not logged many hours of existence yet."

Edith turned. "I still wish to find and protect my charge. She is worthy of a good life, and has been through much pain. I cannot give you her name, but should you ever meet her, please do your best to not attack her, even if ordered to. It would be..." Edith paused, trying to find a word. "Bad? Unwishing? Sad? I am still learning to communicate. I will simply say instead that I would prefer not to face you in combat. Due to... personal feelings."

She seemed lost for a moment, but then blinked to clear her camera lenses and snapped back to reality. Edith turned to Domonick. "Ally. Presumably child of a god with dark powers. I do not know your name, but we must go find my charge now. I await her instructions, and she may still be in danger, even if you have subdued Kaitlyn. Lead me to her residence." Edith turned back to Andre. "My apologies for the unnessecary violence. We willl leave you with Kaitlyn. I hope to meet you again, Andre Virtuoso."

Phoebe (Back to T/P): She thought about what he said and his reaction to it, her face went cold. "I know the feeling." She looked at Theos. "I refuse to remember their faces and never knew their names, but I know what they did." Her sleeves were still rolled up, but something new could be seen. 12 of the small scars on her left arm merged togther to form a word, 'FREAK'. "It's not something worth getting mad over. . . I know this, cause I once was." She paused, her look was still cold. "For, literally, being stronger than them, they still hurt me physically and emotionally." Her look softened. "I strive to be the opposite of them, because I don't want anyone to feel that pain. . . Not even someone who has hurt or killed others. . . I learned to forgive them, because holding onto what they did, is not worth it. Especially, because I have a life to live and love and look forward to, no matter the pain it may present."

Phoebe: She gently traced the scars, "You know, you're still handsome despite having them all. . ." She looked up at him and smiled, unfazed by hearing that he had a criminal record. "I'm sorry that you had such a rough past, but I am happy that you made it through it all. Because, if you hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to meet you. . ." She quietly muttered, "Nor would I have been able to fall for you. . ." She softly kissed him on the lips. Pheoebe sighed, "As much as I would love to stay here with you for longer. . . I should get back to camp, Dom and Kara are probably wondering where I am. Pick me up at 8 tomorrow? It's my turn to take you on a date." She smiled warmly at Theos.

Phoebe: She grabbed her dead phone and went to door, she turned to face Theos. "Goodbye Theos, see you tomorrow love." She smiled and blew him a kiss before heading out the door.

Getting Back Together
Kara: Kara was sitting on the sofa in her cabin, rocking her baby back and forth, trying to coax the little infant back to sleep after feeding her. "Shh... go to sleep, honey. I love you."

Nata was falling asleep quickly. While Kara hoped she was just lucky and Nata was tired, in reality Kara was shaking. She was scared for Domonick and Phoebe, and most of all hated that there was absolutely nothing she could do to help. Both of their cell phones had cut off mid-sentence, Phoebe was probably captured by Theos, Domonick was being followed by someone, she had no way where either of them were or how to find either of them, and she was completely alone. Her cabinmates had gone out for activities in the city, and so her cabin was silent.

Phoebe: She was humming "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada as she walked to the Hera Cabin. She froze in her tracks as she saw Dom and Kara kissing. "Um, heya guys. . ." Phoebe sheepishly said while scratching the back of her head.

Kara: Gently, Kara hugged Dom back, and then unlocked herself from his arms. "Heya, Phoebe. Oh, gods, I was so worried..." She looked down to see Nata squirming. "Aaaand she's awake again. But anyway, what the heck happened? You two better have a good explanation. You had me worried sick."

Edith: Edith hesitantly walked into the Hera cabin, unsure of what to do. "Are you Kara, daughter of Hera?"

Kara: Kara frowned. "Um, yes. Who are you?"

Edith: "I am Edith Mark 1. I was created for the purpose of protecting you and your daughter from exterior threats. My creator is Daniel, son of Hephaestus. He sends his regards from the city." Edith looked around awkwardly. "But perhaps I should let your other companions explain recent events now? I met your ally Domonick in the forest, but lack adequate information."

Kara: ''Daniel sent me an automaton... that is both sweet and a little weird. Like Daniel. ''Kara's brain was practically reeling. "Ok, Phoebe. What happened with you and Theos Hampton? And Domonick, who was following you in the forest, and how did you meet Edith?"

Nata: Yay, it was the nice man! And the nice girl! Yawning adorably, Nata quietly babbled to Domonick. "Da. Blabmsp. Aaa."

Phoebe: Phoebe blushed, "Um, nothing bad happened. . . He brought back my mom, long enough for me to say goodbye. . . He treated me to dinner. . . We played 'Never Have I Ever'. . . Then we called it a night and I went back to camp. . . and he's picking me up at 8 tomorrow cause I asked him on a date. . ." She looked down at her feet and fiddled with her hands, and had a very red face.

Kara: Kara stood up. "Domonick, hold Nata please." She handed Nata to Domonick and walked right towards Phoebe, staring her right in the eyes. Kara, like her mother, could be very intimidating when she wanted to be, even if she was only five feet two inches. "Phoebe, we never told you about why Domonick needs a new arm, did we? Well, guess what. It was THAT man, Theos Hampton, who tried to kill ME, MY BABY, AND DOMONICK!" She emphasized each word by jabbing a finger towards Phoebe. "I don't know what he's up to, but stay the HELL away from him. He's why Domonick needed a new arm. He's why I can't sleep at night. He is the GODDAMNED reason that I have been scared for my daughter's life for weeks, ever since one of his servants tried to kill me and Nata!"

Nata: Nata whimpered and snuggled into Domonick's chest. Mommy was being scary.

Phoebe: She looked at Kara calmly and took a deep breath, "I had a feeling that something was up when you panicked at the sound of his name. . . but, why didn't you tell me sooner?" She sighed and shook her head, she went to a chair and sat down. She rubbed her forehead. "You know, I know that what he did to you guys is bad, and cruel even. . . but I can't bring myself to be angry at him. There's good in him, I swear that to you, maybe he was just misguided because of what happened to him. . ." She looked away from Kara, closed her eyes and took another deep breath. Phoebe opened her eyes and looked at Kara again. "I do need to ask you one question though, did you not pay attention to what I said happened?" You could see in her eyes that she was hurt.

Kara: Kara nodded. "I heard you fine. Did you miss what I was saying? I sincerely hope there's good in him, but right now he is incredibly dangerous, manipulative, and unstable. Oh, and yes, trying to murder a six-month-old falls right under the category of  'bad, cruel even.' Misguided? He laughed as that blade went through Domonick's wrist. He tried to take my baby away from me and make my own sword amputate Domonick's hand, and he laughed."

After taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Kara sighed. She sat back down on the sofa. "I'm sorry. Phoebe... I don't ever want to hurt anyone. But I can bring myself to be angry, after what he's done to the people I love. I can't let him hurt anyone else. And definitely not you. If he so much as touches you, with any ill intent... I won't hesitate to go into action."

Phoebe: She was shaking, she took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. Through clenched teeth, "Don't you realize that this is hard for me? I care about all of you, even the person you hate Kara. . ." She felt like she was choking. Phoebe was overwhelmed with emotion, it didn't help that she was still deprived of sleep. "Damn it! If you told me what he did sooner, I wouldn't have f***ing fallen for him!" She held herself, she was still shaking. Her teeth were clenched and tears dripped from her eyes. Phoebe refused to look at Kara at this point.

Kara: "We were a bit too busy figuring out someone's new limb why he needed it. At the time, strictly speaking, we had just met you, and it's not exactly something I enjoy discussing." Kara sighed. She was trying hard to keep her emotions in check. " Incidentally, this is pretty damn hard for me too, Phoebe. I'm scared, and tired, and I don't want Theos to come after you as well as everyone else. You can't help who you love. And I won't stop you. But if he hurts any one of us again, you know I won't hold back."

She stood up and quietly walked to her room, leaving the door ajar. "And don't use that language in front of my baby. Dom, when she's asleep, please put her in the bassinet by my bed." Kara shut the door quietly.

Nata: Nata cuddled up closer to Domonick. She was calmer now that no one was yelling, but still on edge. "Da..."

Edith: "...Perhaps you could talk to her in a while, Domonick?" Edith gingerly asked. "Due to the nature of your relationship, you might be able to help. She does seem to care about you deeply." Edith turned to Phoebe. "I apologize. But Kara cares very much about you too. We will negotiate a solution that satisfies both of you. Do not lose hope."

Phoebe: She stood up, getting ready to leave. "I'm not going to Edith, I just hope she knows that I'll do whatever it takes to protect her, Dom, and Nata. . . Even if that means I have to kill Theos. . ." Her voice cracked. "Hey Dom, I just. . ." She sighed miserably. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I let you down for not wanting to give up on how I feel for Theos. . . I. . . I'll leave you guys alone. . . if you need or want me. . . you'll know where to find me. . ." She left the cabin feeling defeated, and started walking back to her cabin. As she approached the doors, her phone went off. Theos texted, she weakly smiled and texted him back. "Yeah, we're still on for tomorrow. Try to get some sleep, what we're doing requires energy. And no, I am not telling you what we're doing until you pick me up tomorrow.😝" Phoebe went into the Hephaestus cabin and crawled into her bunk. She plugged her phone in and kept it next to her, she prayed that she would be able to sleep tonight, without nightmares of the night her mom died.

Nata: The little infant felt comforted, and safe. After a small yawn partway through the song, Nata settled, and by the end of Domonick's lullaby she was fast asleep.

Kara: Kara silently listened to Domonick sing from her bedroom. By the time the lullaby had finished, tears were prickling the edges of Kara's eyes. He really does care... "I made a mistake," she muttered to herself. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. Maybe there is still good in Theos. I... I'm just scared of him."

Kara: Without a word, Kara stood up, opened the door, and hugged Domonick tight, being careful not to suffocate her sleeping daughter. "I'm sorry." She shook slightly. "I always want to talk to you, Dom... I'm sorry for being so scared."

Kara: Kara swallowed and nodded. Gently taking her baby from Domonick's arms, she gently lay Nata down into the bassinet near her bed. "Stay tonight, Dom?"

Kara: Kara's eyes twinkled. She gently pushed Domonick down onto the bed, and lay down beside him, slowly disconnecting her lips. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and was genuinely surprised. "It's almost two in the morning. I think Nata isn't the only tired one..." She smiled and gestured to Nata.

Nata: Nata was happily dreaming, snoring ever so slightly. It sounded like a tiny, high-pitched snuffle.

Kara: "Let's try to get some sleep, alright?" Kara asked, unintentionally putting a sliver of charmspeak into her voice. She maneuvered herself so that she was between the wall and Domonick on the bed, and hugged him as best she could while lying down. "Thank you. For everything."

The Next Day
Phoebe: She woke up. I actually slept that night, there was no dreams, but at least that means there was no nightmares. Phoebe unplugged her phone, then got off of her bunk. She made her bed and pushed it back into the wall. She decided that she would text Theos before heading to breakfast. "Good morning Theos, how did you sleep?😊" Phoebe started walking to breakfast, she hoped she would see Dom and Kara. Just seeing them be okay, would make her day. I just want the best for them.

Phoebe: She texted Theos, "I actually slept that night, no nightmares or anything. It was refreshing, and much needed. I'm glad that you slept well too. Can't wait til our date, it's gonna be so much fun." Phoebe got to breakfast and grabbed what she wanted to eat, she sat down at the Hephaestus table after sacrificing some of her meal and ate quietly.

Kara: Both Kara and Nata jolted awake in sync at the sound of Domonick's phone hitting the trash can, but relaxed after a moment, almost comically. Kara turned over to Domonick, smiling sleepily. "Mornin' there. cutie." She sniffed. "Wait, did you cook breakfast? Aw, that is so sweet of y-"

Edith: "I did."

Kara: "GAH!" Kara jumped as Edith strode into the room with two plates of French Toast and bacon.

Edith: "I was unsure if the pair of you burned numerous calories last night, due to myself being recharging, so I made a refreshing breakfast for the pair of you. Please put clothes on should you be missing them under them under those blankets, Kara. It is a beautiful day and you should take Nata outside."

Kara: "EDITH!" Kara couldn't be more red in the face if she was sunburned. "I am wearing pajamas, thank you very much! Nothing happened! My daughter is in the room, for gods's sake!"

Edith: Edith paused. "Ah. My apologies. That was perhaps an unwise assumption and statement. I am still getting used to socializing with people and learning their behaviours." She gingerly put down the two plates of food on the nightstand. "I believe I have made the situation... awkward. I am sorry. Um. I shall go outside and guard the cabin." Edith strode out briskly.

Phoebe: She finished eating and was torn about how she should approach Theos about what he had done to Kara and Dom. I'm not mad at him in anyway, I also forgive him, but I'm scared that I'll lose him if I confront him. Phoebe went into the woods to go for a hike, hiking always helped clear her mind. ''Should I ask him to meet up before the date so he can back out if he wants to? Maybe I could do it after the date, or should I do it before I take him to where I want to go?'' She didn't know what to do, so she just continued walking. Phoebe had no specific place she wanted to go, she just wanted to get away from it all, even if it was just for a moment.

Phoebe: She decided she had walked far enough from camp and headed back to Hephaestus cabin. The cabins were in her line of sight, when she heard a low growl behind her. Phoebe froze and slowly turned around. A hellhound was behind her. It lunged at her, she yelped and narrowly dodged the attack. She ran towards the cabins, but tripped. She was panicking. She tried to get up, but couldn't, she twisted her ankle. Phoebe turned over onto her back and tried to scoot away. The hellhound pounced on her and she screamed.

Edith: ''BONG! ''With a ringing sound, one of Edith's blades sent the hellhound flying sideways. Edith looked to Phoebe. "You are hurt." Edith's servos whirred for a moment. "There. I have alerted Kara, as well as Theos. I apologize for taking his number from your phone. Reinforcements are on their way. You are being rescued."

Kara: Kara heard her phone buzz. Intruiged, she opened it, only to see an unknown number with a chilling message.

''I am Edith Mark 1. Phoebe has been attacked by a hellhound near the Hephaestus Cabin. I am currently guarding her. Urgently requesting backup.''

- Sent from my Automaton

The message was sent to Kara's phone and one other unknown number. Kara stood up. "Dom, watch Nata. Emergency." She ran out of the room, grabbing only her battle regalia and her shield deployer as she bolted out of the cabin.

Phoebe: She was hyperventilating and quivering. She began crying, and it wasn't from her injuries. Images from the night her mom died keep flashing in her eyes. Phoebe held her legs close to her chest and rocked back and forth. She repeatedly mumbled, "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop. . ."

Phoebe: Everything was blurry, she heard the voices of the people around her, but she couldn't identify who they belonged to. Phoebe felt someone's arms wrap around her, she clung to them. Her breathing slowed, whoever was holding her, made her feel safe. The trembling subsided, she was still afraid but she was calming down. Slowly, her vision began to clear. Phoebe saw Theos holding her, she leaned into him and quietly muttered. "Thank you. . ."

Edith: "Negative. It is unclear how the monster arrived or if it was summoned by hostile forces. Our reinforcements are on the way, but the threat must be eliminated." She looked to Theos and Phoebe, and back to the hellhound, which was shaking itself off and preparing to attack. "When you are ready, Andre."

Phoebe: "M--monsters and humans m--must be given p--permission to enter camp g--grounds. . . someone let it in. . ." Her breaths were shaky, it was hard to stay calm with the hellhound still nearby. She just realized that she was bleeding, "T--Theos, my b--blood is getting all o--over you. . ." Phoebe leaned away, not wanting to get anymore of her blood on him.

Phoebe: Her eyes widened, "H--how did you d--do that?" She wiped his face with the sleeve that wasn't bloody, "Are you. . . okay Theos?" She looked at him worriedly. Her panic attack is subsiding. Phoebe thought to herself, "Gods, I love him so much. . . even though I haven't known him for long. . . . . . Is he my soulmate?"

Phoebe: She kissed him back, she felt like she was getting stronger. Phoebe assumed that he was healing her. "I feel so lucky to have him in my life." She stopped kissing him for a moment, "Wanna have a relaxing date tonight instead of a high-activity one?" Phoebe softly chuckled after asking him about the date.

Edith: "I am afraid... that dates may have to wait." Edith tapped Theos gently on the shoulder with her blade, careful not to injure him. "Please look up."

Out of the forest, three more hellhounds were racing towards them, snarling and gnashing their teeth. They seemed to be unhappy that one of their compatriots had disappeared.

Edith took a defensive stance in front of Phoebe and Theos, blocking Phoebe's view. "Andre, Theos. Reinforcements are under thirty seconds away, but unfortunately the same is true for our incoming targets. I suggest Andre take Phoebe to safety while Theos stays, due to his powers."

Phoebe: She saw them and started shaking, but this time it wasn't only fear, it was rage. Phoebe stood up and pushed Edith out of the way and shot three fireballs, one for each hellhound, she screamed at them, "I am not letting you take away the people I love again!" She took her pencil out of her pocket and it turned into a sword, fire coiled around her arms and onto her sword. Phoebe flicked her left arm up and a wall of stone shot out of the ground and catapulted two of the hellhounds into the sky. Phoebe charged at the hellhound on the ground and cut off it's head. Her breathing was ragged, she was flooded with anger. She retreated, Phoebe didn't want to be crushed by the hellhounds since they were plummeting to the ground. The fire in her eyes that Andre saw were back, and were more intense than before.

Phoebe: She blinked a couple times, she started shaking and looked at her hands. "Oh gods. . . I--I'm so sorry. . . I--I. . ." She couldn't finish what she was saying because she started to cry. Phoebe just noticed she was in the air, She looked at Andre. "Wh--where are you taking me...?" Phoebe nervously asked.

Edith (back to the battlefield): "Very well, Theos Hampton. Please do not die. You will have some explaining to do to our backup before this is over." Running forward, Edith spun and hacked at the hellhound nearest to her. Surprised, the beast barked and reared, clawing and blocking many blows, but unable to land any serious hits. Edith's best defence against it was her ferocious offense. Slashing, whirling and stabbing, her arms were a deadly maelstrom of sharp steel and celestial bronze.

Phoebe (back to A/P): "Is it because he thinks I'll be afraid of him?" She paused, then sighed. "I already know how dangerous he is, Kara and Dom told me what he did to them last night. . . I'm not mad at him for it, I still want to be with him and I want to approach him about it so he knows that I forgive him." She looked at Andre hopefully. "Do you think there is any good way to approach him about it?"

Phoebe: "Please. . ." She begged. "I don't want to lose him, I--I. . ." She felt like she was breaking apart. "I love you Theos. . . with all my heart. . . sooner than I thought possible. . ." Phoebe pieced together that there was an intercom, she wasn't stupid, even in a fragile state.

Phoebe: She turned beet red when she heard Andre say that, "Um, I don't need Theos to be my first everything yet. . . but, I would like to go back to Camp Halfblood so we can go on our date. . ." Phoebe said shyly, she did not expect Andre to say that. She covered her face with her hands, Phoebe was still extremely flustered.

Phoebe (Back to A/P): "It's okay, you weren't completely wrong in making that assumption, some humans have sex for the heck of it, others believe it's something that is special." She lightly smiled at Andre. "If you would want it, I could design a program that will teach you everything you need to know. Then, I could upoad it to your personal mainframe."

Edith (Back to battlefield): Edith, in the meantime, wasn't faring quite as well. While putting numerous gashes in the powered-up hellhound, she'd been unable to land a killing blow, and had taken a couple of heavy strikes from the hellhound's claws. "We're not out of danger yet, Th-" Edith's words were cut off by a swipe of the hellhound's claws, sending her flying back a few feet. "Oh dear."

The hellhound wrapped in ensnaring foliage roared, and snapped the vines enveloping it. While bleeding and heavily damaged, it wasn't dead thanks to being powered up, and it looked heavily irritated. It slashed and struggled, shrugging off a tree and bounding back towards Theos with murder in its eyes.

But at that moment, thunder crackled, and the clouds above the battlefield grew dark. Edith would have smiled, if she had a proper face. "Reinforcements, Theos."

With a crack of deafening thunder, a blur of electricity streaked down from the sky and crashed down in front of Edith. A figure in full battle armour looked up, her eyes crackling electric blue. Kara had arrived.

Phoebe (Back to A/P): She sadly looked at Andre, "It's okay, everyone needs a listening ear at some point." She reflected on how she confided in Kara, Dom, and Theos about the loss of her mother. "I'm sorry that happened to you, no one, not even the people who hurt others, deserve that kind of fate. . . I believe that everyone deserves happiness and forgiveness, no matter what they've done." Carefully, she hugged Andre, Phoebe had a feeling that he could use a reassuring hug.

Phoebe: She rushed to Theos' and picked him, she put him in the Hephaestus Cabin on her bunk, knowing he would be safe there. Phoebe cauterized his leg, left and shut the metal door behind her. She put her hand out and enchanted Edith's dual swords, making them do twice the damage than before. Phoebe closed her eyes and shifted into celestial bronze. She nodded at them, signifying that she was ready.

Phoebe: Her arms turned into swords, she was mimicking Edith's design because of its' practicality. Phoebe looked at Kara, wondering if she was ready for this.

Kara: Kara looked to her allies. "Well, this will certainly be interesting." Before them, both Hellhounds roared and pawed at the ground. "I don't know exactly what's going on with Theos and you all, but I think it can wait. Edith, Andre, left hellhound. Phoebe, with me. Let's take them down. Go!" She ran forward and took to the air, wreathed in lightning.

Edith: Edith leapt and slashed at the left hellhound, leaving an impressive gash across its face. Roaring, the hellhound swiped back, and Edith barely dodged the heavy blow. "One or two hits, and we will be defeated, Andre. They must be dispatched immediately."

Edith: Edith rushed over to Andre, her blades morphing back to hands, and immediately began tinkering with circuitry, sautering and reprogramming quickly. "Diagnosing and repairing. Damage is extensive. Power compromised, backup holding but drained by 40%. Critical servos damaged. Command input and voice recognition broken or disabled. Memory intact but semi-disconnected, currently reconnecting. Wings critically damaged, require extensive repair by child of Hephaestus. Power down to 50%. Attempting emergency recharge." Edith began charging her right hand with electricty. "Clear." A pulse of power surged through Edith into Andre. "Recharge successful, power raising and stable. You will be alright, Andre."

Kara: Kara yelled, and a bolt of lightning crashed down onto the hellhound in front of her, sending it reeling. She let the winds drop slightly, and she fell hard towards the hellhound, her shield crackling with power. Slamming down onto the hellhound she sent it tumbling back, roaring in pain and twitching as an electrical current ran through its body. Kara panted and got up, running back towards the beast. "Phoebe, now, together!"

Phoebe: She nodded at Kara and sprinted towards the beast, it bit her abdomen. But, because she was solid metal, it caused her no harm. Phoebe drove her swords into the hellhound's neck. She looked at Kara and gestured to the hellhound, "Deal the final blow. . ." Phoebe then nodded to Andre. "Need to fix Andre. . ." Phoebe hoped that Kara knew what she meant.

Edith: Edith understood instantly what Theos was trying to do, and while dodging claws she plugged in one last wire to allow the self-destruct command to successfully run. Her hand turning back into a blade, she made a wild slash to clear an opening and dashed away, letting the hellhounds take Andre. She caught up to Theos. "The command will activate now that the circuit has been reactivated. We must get to a safe distance, before the hellhounds see prey running."

Kara: Kara brought her shield forward, and with a shout brought it down on the hellhound's face. The monster dissolved into golden dust.

Kara's eyes flickered, sparking. "I can't use Olympian powers like this for long, even with a boost. We need to get away. Five is about the size of a hellhound pack, so we should be safe from any more." She took Phoebe's hand, or at least as much as she could without her skin being sliced open. "Let's go. We can regroup and take stock at the Hera Cabin."

Phoebe: She forced her arms to shape into shields and tackled Kara, using her body as a shield against the explosion. It hurt, Phoebe's breaths were ragged, the smoke cleared and Phoebe shifted out her metal form. She was exhausted and she could feel shrapnel in her back. She weakly asked, "Are you hurt?"

Kara: Kara groaned and tried to sit up, and as pain shot through her body she decided to lie back down. Everything was blurry. "I don't think... too much." In reality, Kara was feeling like she'd been to the underworld and back. She'd used up way too much of her power in a short time, and she could barely breathe with the dust and smoke in the air. A huge cut had opened on her left leg, and burns coated her arms and legs. Her breastplate protected her torso from the worst of it, but her face had nasty burns all over. Embers flickered and died in her hair. "I should get back... to Nata." Kara's vision spun. "Did Phoebe get... away in time?" She broke into a harsh-sounding cough.

Edith: Edith landed and immediately began to scan Theos. "Checking vitals. Apollo Cabin notified and on the way."

Phoebe: She wheezed, "Above. . . you. . ." Phoebe felt like she was on fire, she looked at her arms and saw second degree burns, she knew there was burns on her legs and back as well. Her face was slightly burned too. Blood dripped from her numerous cuts, her metal form couldn't completely protect her from the explosion. Phoebe coughed up blood, "Sorry. . . Kara. . ." Her vision was fading in and out. She sat up, her ears rang, Phoebe moved over to Kara's left. Phoebe stayed on her knees and held herself up with her hands.

Kara: Unable to see straight, Kara wasn't sure who exactly was talking. Everything seemed echoey and distant. As she tried to reach out and hold the hand of whoever was there, everything faded to black. The last thing Kara heard was the sound of running feet, and some panicked yells.

Edith: Several Apollo campers were running at a full sprint towards the small group. Edith motioned for them to come to their position. "Kara, Phoebe, hold on." As they were mobbed by nurses and doctors and several burly Ares campers with stretchers, Edith gently picked up the jar Theos had been holding, and looked at it curiously. Assuring the Apollo campers that she would meet them at the infirmary and give further details in addition to her initial messages, she went to the Hera Cabin to inform Domonick of what had happened.

Healing, and a fresh start
Two days later...

Kara: Kara opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the bright lights in the room. She turned slightly to her left, and saw Phoebe in a hospital bed opposite her, with a small bassinet holding Nata between them. ''Thank the gods, Nata's safe. Wait... Where's Domonick?''

Phoebe: Her eyes fluttered open, "Ack!" The lights were really bright. Phoebe had to blink a couple times before her eyes adjusted to the light. Once adjusted, she looked to her right and saw Kara. "Oh. . . thank goodness. . . I was. . . really worried about you. . ." Phoebe weakly said.

Nata: Nata rolled over and saw the nice girl from earlier. Yay! She liked the nice girl. Nata squeaked happily and wiggled, trying to move closer to Phoebe unsuccessfully.

Kara: "Yeah, those lights are pretty blinding at first." Kara smiled weakly. "I'm really glad you're ok too." She noticed Nata and giggled, wincing slightly due to the aching in her chest.  "Aw, someone's happy to see you. She's working out how to crawl, but hasn't quite gotten there from what I've seen. Anyways, how are you feeling?"

Phoebe: "I. . . feel. . . awful. . . hurts to. . . breath. . ." She took several deep breaths. "How. . . are you? And. . . I see you. . . Nata. . ." She lightly smirked, she saw the stiches down her chest, so she knew she'd had surgery. Not smart being a human-shield, even in metal form.

Nata: "Aaabm." Nata wiggled violently and made about a centimeter's progress towards Phoebe before noticing the stitches on Phoebe's stomach. She stopped wiggling, and looked confused.

Kara: "Hey, hey, it's ok, don't try to talk too much. I woke up a couple times and the last time they told me what they did; they had to do a small blood transfusion because of my leg, a bunch of ambrosia and nectar to accelerate healing the burns, and even after that some emergency skin grafts. Broke one of my shins, but ambrosia healed that most of the way. My head hurts a lot because of a minor concussion, breathing is difficult, and I'm overexhausted because of using my powers too much. But I'm going to be ok - I'm just pretty weak. And I'll have a wheelchair to move around for a couple of days, try not to stand up too much."

She paused. "Phoebe... you saved my life. You were amazing. I don't know how to thank you."

Phoebe: She noticed that the table next to her had a note and a cup of water, she read the note as she drank the water. It listed her injuries and how they were treated, it wasn't good. Phoebe looked at Kara. "You don't need. . . to thank me. . ." She weakly said, it was easier to talk now that she drank some water. Phoebe looked at the note again and told Kara what it said. "You underwent a major surgery, it was to remove the shrapnel from your body. However, as we progressed, we found shrapnel in your lungs. It was why you were coughing up blood and wheezing when you were concious. We also had to put metal plates in your spine because the sharpnel had severed your spine in multiple places as well as shattering 3 of your vertebrae. We were able to fully heal all of the burns, it helped that you are a child of Hephaestus. You have an IV putting water and a small dose of ambrosia into your system to accelerate healing. Finally, if you are reading this note, you have just woken up from your medically induced coma, a nurse will be with you shortly."

Kara: "It'll be ok. I'll do everything in my power to help, Phoebe." Kara looked around. "I wonder if Dom is nearby? I know he had to have brought Nata..."

Nata: Nata squeaked as a nurse entered the room. She squirmed and tried to lift her arms up, wanting to be picked up. She missed mama.

Kara: Kara smiled. "I'm sorry to bother you... could you pass me my daughter, please?"

Phoebe: "Hey. . . be nice to him. . . he was only trying to help. . ." Phoebe raised her voice as best as she could, she was not going to put up with fighting. "Hey, nurse. . . my blood type is O negative. . . would that. . . help him?" She asked, looking at Theos sadly. The nurse said to Kara, "Yes I can." The nurse gave Nata to Kara. "And, that might work. . ." She turned to Theos. "Would you be okay with that Mr. Hampton?"

Kara: Reaching out, Kara took Domonick's hand. Her grip was weaker than normal but she didn't let go. "I'm going to be just fine. I'm just really exhausted, and they'll want me to be in a wheelchair for a few days so my leg can finish healing. But I'm ok. Phoebe saved me." She cuddled Nata in her other arm. She turned to Theos. "Theos Hampton, I don't trust you whatsoever. But apparently, you care about one of the same people I do. Don't be stupid and throw your life away. Take the donation and live. You make at least one person happy. And that same person will never be the same if you leave." Kara looked pointedly at Phoebe.

She paused. "I'd like to offer a truce. You had the opportunity to murder us, and you didn't. Maybe you are changing. Or maybe you aren't, and you're manipulating Phoebe into being hurt. But right now, none of us are in a place to fight, and I'd like to have just a tiny piece of faith in humanity."

She turned back to Dom and whispered. "This is a really horrible idea, isn't it..." Kara cuddled Nata close and kissed her on the forehead.

Phoebe: She squinted at Theos, "If you were fine, you wouldn't be this pale, gaunt, nor sick. . . " She coughed, it was dry and raspy. "Nurse. . . he'll take the donation. . ." The nurse sighed and took out a pint of blood from Phoebe. She handed Phoebe an oxygen mask, "Use this to breathe." Phoebe nodded and put it on, she took several deep breaths.

She jolted, ripped off the mask, grabbed the nearby bucket and threw up. "I'm okay. . . just. . . a reaction. . . to the. . . medicine. . ." Phoebe layed back and tied the mask back on, "Ughh. . ."

The nurse walked over to Theos, getting ready to put Phoebe's donated blood in him.

Kara: Kara watched as the nurses and doctors wheeled Theos away, and she held Nata close the entire time. After a moment, the doors shut behind him.

Kara squeezed Domonick's hand ever so slightly to get his attention, which was about as much as she could manage. "Dom..." Her voice was quiet. "He doesn't deserve this. No one does. We... we have to help. And I think I... know how." Her hand hand fell out of Theos's, and she struggled to lift it back onto the bed. Her exhaustion was catching up with her.

Nata: Nata started to cry as Domonick walked away, trying to reach towards him. No, Da couldn't go...

Kara: "No..." Kara was too weak to do anything but watch as Domonick walked away. She weakly turned her head towards Phoebe. "Phoebe... can you... text Dom? I think he... can save Theos." Kara was beginning to feel dizzy. It was getting hard to breathe.

A nurse came over at hearing Nata's cries, only for a look of worry to cross her face as soon as she saw Kara, who was getting very pale. "Hang on, Kara. I'm going to run and get you some oxygen, ok?" She rushed across the room talking rapidly, assumedly checking with the doctors, and ran to get equipment.

Kara: Kara thought she heard faint singing, although it could have just been her exhaustion and slight lack of oxygen. A tear slipped from her eye. "Domonick..."

A nurse came from the room, and stopped by Domonick in the hall. "Excuse me sir, are you the father of Ms. Rudikoff's baby? We'll need you to hold her while we give Kara oxygen. There won't be room for the bassinet by the bed for a few moments. If you'd like, you could also stay by..." The nurse noticed Domonick's state and trailed off. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

Phoebe: She was frozen, he went into cardiac arrest because she had him take her blood. . . "If he dies, it's my fault. . ." Her body tensed and she gripped her bedsheets, it felt like it was getting harder to breathe. Phoebe closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. She heard what Kara said about helping Theos, that helped calm her down. Phoebe took several breaths, thankfully, she didn't have a panic attack. "Y--yeah, I can. . . text him. . ." She looked at Kara and she paled, a nurse was by her and giving her oxygen. Phoebe looked around for Dom, surely he could help. He wasn't in the room, Phoebe grabbed her staff and lifted herself up, the nurse was distracted so she used the opportunity to go in the hall to find Dom. She limped out of the room and saw Dom outside the door. "Dom. . . I think. . . Kara needs you. . . she's crying. . . and is having. . . troubles. . . breathing. . ." Phoebe was getting winded. "Nata. . . needs. . . you. . . too. . ." Phoebe shivered, "Maybe, this wasn't such a good idea." Phoebe's breathing was heavy. "Kara. . . also. . . mentioned. . . you might. . . be able. . . to help. . . Theos. . . Would. . . you. . . do that. . . for me...?" She felt dizzy, she gripped onto her staff, hoping it would keep her up. Her knuckles turned white because of how hard she was holding it.

Phoebe: She frowned and nodded, she wasn't upset that he couldn't help, she just hoped he could. Phoebe limped back into the room and laid down on her bed after propping up her staff. She put on the oxygen mask and the minute after her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep. Phoebe was exhausted.

Kara: As the nurse led Theos back to Kara's bed, she saw Domonick, and relaxed. Thank the gods. "Dom..." Her voice was weak, and a few tears slid down her face. "I think we... can help..."

A nurse carefully handed Domonick Nata, who hiccuped and started clinging to his shirt. "She's very exhausted, so it's likely she'll fall asleep very soon. If you'd like, you can talk to her as she goes. You clearly comfort her a lot." The nurse smiled. "Now that the mask is on, we can just leave her be for now. Let us know if you need anything sir." She walked away.

As Nata sniffled and her crying slowed, Kara looked to Domonick and smiled. "Hold... my hand? If... you don't... drop Nata."

Kara: Kara nodded ever so slightly, and her eyes slowly slid closed. Her chest gently rose and fell, and she went into a deep sleep, a hint of a smile still on her face under the mask.

Nata: Nata looked up into Domonick's eyes, staring at him solemnly. After a moment, she leaned forward and clung back onto his shirt, trying to chew on him. "Da. Dablm."

Nata: Giggling and squirming, Nata gave a toothless, gummy grin. Still giggling, she grabbed onto one of Domonick's fingers and brought it to her mouth, trying to chew on it. "Hablmp." She gave up after a moment, laughing too hard at being tickled.

Nata: After a bt of wiggling, Nata yawned wide, and snuggled into Domonick's arms, slowly falling asleep while listening to his heartbeat. She felt... safe. Da was good.

Two hours later...

Phoebe: She slowly opened her eyes, she had the strangest dream that she was immortal and all of her friends were too. Phoebe blinked a couple times and saw that Kara was fast asleep, she smiled softly. She saw that Domonick was still there. "Hey there stranger." She smiled at him and wondered, "Where is Theos? I hope he is okay."

Nata: Nata was just waking up, and suddenly noticed someone else talking. She leaned towards Phoebe with her tiny arms outstretched. "Aaablpt!" Wiggling, she accidentally kicked Domonick in the stomach - hard.

Phoebe: She awed at Nata, then she saw Nata kick Domonick. Phoebe winced, she felt his pain, metaphorically.

Phoebe: She had Nata sit on her lap and was making silly faces at her, hoping to make her laugh. Phoebe pretended to be offended and said to Domonick, "How dare you? Ignore my hello to wake up Kara with kisses, how rude." She looked at Domonick and smiled, Phoebe was happy, even with all her injuries.

Kara: Kara didn't move, still asleep and completely unaware. "No..." she muttered, shifting slighly.

Nata: Laughing, Nata flapped her arms. "Aaml." She leaned away from Phoebe slightly, grinning, and suddenly toppled backwards towards Phoebe's legs, looking very surprised.

Kara: In the meantime, Kara's expression subtly changed to a frown under the oxygen mask. "No... Stop..."

Phoebe: She started laughing and picked Nata back up, "Did you have a big fall?" Phoebe coughed a little, she looked over and saw Kara, "Oh no, she's having another nightmare." Phoebe looked at Domonick, "Hold her, she's having a nightmare. And if you can, try to wake her up." Phoebe was worried, but continued to play with Nata, as to keep the little girl calm.

She looked over and saw Theos, "Oh thank the gods, you're still alive. I was so worried that I had gotten you killed." She smiled and looked relieved. "I literally texted to you that I wasn't going to tell you." Phoebe giggled. Then coughed again, it was hard to laugh that much after lung and back surgery.

Nata: Nata giggled and kept playing with Phoebe. She was funny.

Kara: Kara shook slightly. "No... get away... please..."

Phoebe: Her expression faltered when she saw Theos coughing and bleeding. Phoebe took several deep breaths, it was hard to see that two of the people she cared about were hurt, all because she couldn't kill a hellhound. She looked at Nata and smiled at her, then began tickling her. "Hey Dom, it'll be okay. We'll all get better soon, I promise. Just stay strong, and hold on." Phoebe had a feeling that he could use some words of encouragement since he has to witness all of their injuries and recoveries while tending to Nata's needs.

Phoebe: She yelled, "Domonick stop! You'll break her hand!" Phoebe had a panicked look on her face. She grabbed her staff and turned it into a pencil, she threw it at his head. Hoping it would get his attention and make him stop.

Kara: The expression on Kara's face turned into one of pain and fear, and a tear slid down her face before she jolted and woke up. After looking around wildly, she saw where she was, and visibly relaxed. "Ow..." She squeezed Domonick's hand weakly. "Dom, it's ok..." Her voice was muffled by the mask, but even though she was scared, she was comforting Domonick, too. "We're ok." (Thankfully, Domonick was standing in the perfect spot to block Kara's view of Theos.)

Phoebe: Good, she's awake. She sighed, "Are you okay Kara?" Phoebe looked at Kara gently. She looked at Nata again, "Do you wanna see your mommy?" Phoebe smiled warmly at Nata.

Nata: Mommy... looked weird. But it was mommy. Nata hesitantly reached towards Kara, whining a little.

Kara: "I think the mask might be freakng her out a little." Kara lowered the oxygen mask and put it around her neck, where it dangled loosely. "See, honey bun? It's still me." She looked over to Phoebe. "Did you guys feed her? I usually feed her, um, directly, but there was a full bottle I told Dom about on the side of the backpack, in the water bottle holder."

Nata: Nata reached towards Kara even more. She was ''hungry. ''

Phoebe: "I didn't feed her, and I don't know if Domonick did. But, she does look hungry." Phoebe was going to get up and give Nata to Kara, but as soon she leaned forward. She winced, "Ow. . . um, Domonick, could pass Nata to Kara? I can't quite get up right now." Shouldn't have turned my staff into a pencil and thrown it at him, cause now I really can't get up. "Could you also bring me my pencil? I wanna be able get up, and I need that to walk. . . Sorry about throwing it you." Phoebe looked and felt embarrassed.

Phoebe: "Thanks Dom." She pressed the first button on her pencil and it turned into a staff, she put it on the ground and turned on her bed so her legs touched the ground. Phoebe took a deep breath and stood up, wincing slightly. She made her way to Domonick, and put her hand on his shoulder. "You need to get some sleep, I can see the bags under your eyes. And please, don't fight me on this. Besides, it's hard to help the people the you care about if you're deprived of sleep. And you know very well that I know that, it's the condition I was in when we met." She faintly smiled at him.

Then, she made her way to Theos. "How are you feeling? And answer me honestly, okay?" Phoebe gave him a stern look, she was making it clear that she wasn't going to tolerate lies. Phoebe saddened a little, "I'm sorry that I caused you to go into cardiac arrest, it wasn't my intention." She sighed, she was getting tired of seeing the people she cares about getting hurt.

Kara: Kara jumped. She hadn't expected Theos of all people to be in the room. She looked towards she with no love in her eyes, but upon seeing Phoebe, her expression softened. "Theos, I can't trust you after what you've done to me and the people I care about. The odds of that happening are still low. But I won't let you die, or break my friend's heart." She gently took the bottle from Nata, putting on the table, and began to feed her normally. "I have an idea that may save your life." Kara hesitated for a moment. Did she really want to do this?

"The charm we took from you when you attacked was powerful. I had a child of Hecate work some serious magical diagnostics on it. They found a ton of enchantments and spells, seriously complicated, some really dangerous. I was tempted to melt it down, but they said that they could remove the hazardous and dark magic. "

Kara paused for a moment, and continued. "When they removed the darker magic that bolstered your strength with strong emotions... there was a significant amount of what they called life magic left." Kara swallowed. "I don't know if it'll cure you, but it may at least keep you from dying. Before I give it, though, I have two stipulations."

Kara: Kara held up a finger. "I never said anything about removing an immortality factor. I only said that the dangerous and harmful parts of the charms had been removed. Your immortality magic, which they call life magic, is intact. While I'm not sure this will save you, it's your best shot at the present."

She shifted herself and Nata. "The conditions are as follows. Firstly; you will swear on the River Styx to never again harm Domonick Farmer, Phoebe Adams, Myself, or Natasha Rudikoff. And secondly; you will inform me of how you know about my past, and what you know of it. Not now. But when I ask, you will answer. Swear to these conditions, and I will in turn swear that I will give you the charm, unmodified except for how I've already stated, in an attempt to save your life. No tricks. No betrayals."

Kara: "I thought you might say something like that. So I came prepared," Kara replied cooly. "Hecate's magic is not destroyed. As some of your campers put it... they just moved the bad parts. They couldn't break the magic of Hecate herself, obviously. As for inscriptions..." Kara opened her hand, and the charm suddenly zoomed into it. "They can be written over. Or added to. Ask any competent blacksmith. The point being, if necessary, we - with an emphasis on we - can restore any dampened parts required to save your life. What they've done to the charm can be reversed. But not on your own, because they've given me the keywords to restore powers to it. The very last parts of the spells - like a password. It's quite clever, actually." Kara paused, and put the charm on the nightstand beside her.. "Unless you are willing to torture your own kin, and lose any chance of favor with your mother, you can only gain back the powers of that charm through me."

She rearranged her shirt, and gently took Nata into her arms. "Your siblings care about you. But they know of what you've done. The Demigod Massacres, and what you've done to Domonick and I through both your associates and yourself." She paused. "And yes, I've done my research about that. The point is, you're dangerously close to getting yourself banished from Camp for good. And your siblings don't want to see that. What they want is for you to change. They want to see the demigod that saved nearly a hundred people like them while they came to camp. They want the person you were to return."

Kara gestured to the charm. "Agree to the second part of the deal as stated, and I'll help you to restore the charm to its former glory. If you don't agree, you're welcome to take it as it is, and hope for the best. I don't need to be protected by a piece of jewelry - I've become strong on my own."

With effort, she sat up, gently cradling her baby. "Dom, can you grab that Nurse's attention? They should have the chair by now, and I'd like to go outside."

Phoebe: She was in shock about what just unfolded. "Enough!" Phoebe shouted, she was sick and tired of all this. "I am not going to listen to people's bones break and their skin tear again!" She was red in the face from how angry and upset she was. "I am tired of this constant conflict. It's not worth it!" She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, taking several breaths in the meantime. "Domonick, do not pull a stunt like that again. I don't want to have to take your arm away. Got it?" Phoebe was fuming, she turned her attention to Theos. "And just because I like you, does not mean you get special treatment. You need to mind your own business, it's Kara's past, not yours. I don't know what happened, but I do know that it is her story to tell if she so chooses. So if you say a word about it, or dangle it over her head, I will hold to the promise I made to them the night before the hellhound attack. You wanna know what that was?" Her eyes were fierce, it's been a long time since she was this angry. "The promise was, if you hurt them, I will kill you. I wouldn't enjoy it, but that doesn't mean I won't do it." Phoebe propped the wheelchair back up and helped Theos back into it. She walked over to Kara and sat down next to her, she placed her hand on Kara's to try and comfort her. Those two boys' drama is not going to stop her from being a good friend to Kara. Phoebe calmed down and even though she spoke in anger, she meant every word she said.

Kara: Kara gently held onto Phoebe's hand, turning so that she wouldn't see Domonick or Theos. "I'm sorry Phoebe," she said, quietly enough that the boys wouldn't hear. "I hate this. All of this." Her voice trembled slightly.

Phoebe: She looked at Kara and whispered back, "I am too, but I know that things will get better." She smiled reassuringly at Kara. "Wanna go outside with me? It'll be nice to get out of this stupid room and away from our troublemakers." Phoebe smirked.

Kara: Kara smiled slightly. "Grab me a wheelchair, then definitely."

Some Time to Think
Phoebe: Using Kara's wheelchair to help her walk, she pushed Kara to the lake. And stopped her at a bench, Phoebe then sat down next to her. She took a deep breath, it reminded her of her home by Lake Superior. She looked at Kara and asked, "Feeling a little bit better now?"

Kara: Kara cuddled Nata, who had fallen half-asleep on the way over. "Yeah. A break from hospital is always refreshing. I'm just glad they let me out." She reached back behind her with one arm and rummaged in her backpack, which she'd slung over the back of the chair. After a moment, she pulled out a small blanket, and wrapped it around Nata. "What about you? How are you holding up?"

Phoebe: "I'm not doing too bad, still sore of course. But really, I'm just missing home right now. I used to live by Lake Superior, the air was so fresh and crisp. The lake was cold all year round, it was beautiful and dangerous all at once." She sighed longingly. "What was your home like? Or, if you're from here, what's it like living here?" Phoebe wanted to know what it was like in New York since she knows she'll never be able to safely live in Upper Michigan again.

Kara: "I was a California girl, born and raised, until..." Kara's body seemed to tense up. "Something happened. I lived in New York for a while with a friend. He... saved me. And took care of me while I was..." She gestured to her stomach and Nata. "You know." Kara looked down. "After what happened... Nata and I wouldn't be here without his help."

OOC Chat/Discussion
Flop: Ooh, the suspense is killing me... and I love it! Things are about to get serious...

Aja:  I know right? I'm sooo pumped for this!

Flop: I'm genuinely curious now, how did Theos earth travel? Or will that be revealed in the story? He hasn't been created for six months, so it can't be a spell...

Aja:  He was created in January...the first month of the year. It is now July...the seventh month of the year. Forgive me if I'm mistakened ;-; but...that's six months.

Flop: Oh jeez sorry, my bad! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you

Aja: Omg sorry, im not offended lol. I didnt mean to sound upset ;-;

Flop: It's okay, just wanted to make sure you weren't mad. Watch the godmodding with Kara's sword. I should be able to roll with it so don't worry about it, just be careful not to godmod too much.

Flop again like 2 seconds later because she forgot something: Want me to add Theos's word bubble?

Aja: No worries. And sorry about the godmodding, I only did that to make sure Domonick loses a hand lol. Hopefully i didn't upset you too much ;-; And I'll add Theos's WB right now!

Flop: No worries, you didn't, I'm just a little frazzled today. I have an idea of where to go after the fight, if it's ok for me to steer the RP after whatever happens between Theos, Dom and Kara.

Aja: Its cool. Steer it however you like...just hopefully it doesn't involve somebody dying lol.

Jinx: Would I be allowed to join this RP once my character gets claimed?

Flop: Sounds ok to me. Might be a good place in a few posts, just going to let Kara and Dom have a bit of a moment first. Also, surprise time jump!

Aja: Im cool with Jinx joining and the time jump lol

Jinx: Awesome, funnily enough, my character will be a part of the Hephaestus cabin so she can directly work on Dom's hand. :D

Jinx: Had to interrupt the moment. XD

Flop: No worries! They already had the important part :)

Aja: It's cool Jinx. I'm over here laughing about how Nata called Dom "dad". So adorable XD

Jinx: I think it's cute too, his reaction makes it even better.

Flop: Lol, I'm glad you like it. I thought it might be a nice to touch to add to Kara and Dominick's new relationship.

Jinx: Yeah, maybe Nata, Dom, and Kara will help Phoebe with what happened to her and adjust to her new life.

Aja:  This is so random...but so adorable. A family moment XD

Jinx: I can't wait to see how all of their relationships progress despite Theos' interferences.

Flop: Similarly here. Phoebe seems like she'll fit right into the family dynamic so far :D

Jinx: Is the currently unknown man going to be active in the RP or is he just gonna show up every now and then?

Jinx: Alrighty, had Phoebe say that cause she's 5'8" and I read on Void's profile that he's 5'4". BTW, I won't be able to RP tomorrow until the late evening. Welp, I gotta go now, talk to ya tomorrow.

Aja: it's all good, see you tomorrowa. besides, you just set up the perfect punchline XD.

Flop: No worries Jynx! These are the fastest replies I've ever seen on the CHBRP wiki, to be honest! Take all the time you need. Btw, Kara's still pretty physically and emotionally drained after the fight, and is pretty on edge. She probably hasn't slept much either, so she's a teeeeeeny bit overprotective and irritable. ;)

Flop again: Also fun fact: Phoebe towers over Kara, who's pretty short at 5'2".

Aja: Wow, that makes Dom the tallest in the room, because he's 5'11".

Jinx: I wonder when Theos will attack again. . . :3

Aja: Probably soon. I kinda miss the suspense he brought.

Jinx: I had an idea that will bring tension to the story, it would take place before Theos' next attack and after Dom and Kara feel better. The idea is, Dom, Kara, and Nata go on a second date but this time things go well. Meanwhile, Phoebe would meet Theos, however he had helped her so she has a good opinion of him without knowing that he's the reason Dom and Kara have been hurt and stressed. Then, the four would get together again and a couple days later, he strikes.

Aja: Im down with it, sounds dope. Oh, and things might get a little gory for a sec.

Jinx: Hehehehehe, I never will let Dom lose his arm. :3

Aja: Really, Jinx XD. I was trying to cut off his arm lol

Jinx: I couldn't let him hurt himself like that and it could have worsened the problem.

Flop: Keeping just a liiiiiitle PG :)

Flop again:  I... just noticed I've been misspelling Domonick's name for the entire RP...

Flop one more time then she'll stop: Started a new section because of organization and less scrolling.

Aja: Okay. And yes, you have been misspelling his name.

Flop: I'll make sure to fix it in a little while.

Jinx: I wonder when Dom and Kara will start dating, they are so cute together. :3

Flop: Hopefully soon! Thx for starting the new section

Jinx: No problem. :)

Flop: Just a little confused: is Dominick still in his original hospital room, or was he taken somewhere?

Jinx: I wanna bet Dom and Kara are gonna flip when they see Phoebe after she was 'taken' by Theos. XD

Jinx: Just listened to "Where I Wanna Be" by Donell Jones and it's great, thank you for having Theos hum that Aja.

Flop: Sorry for not posting for a while! The last day and a half have been really crazy, and I wasn't sure when was a good time to jump in. (Also I realize there's a bunch of them now, but I started a new section. This is probably going to be one of the longest RPs on the wiki!)

Flop: Changed it. Sorry, I was a little unclear... I meant for it to be after meeting Andre, andI shouldn't have just added a thing where Kara and Dom talked. Edited so that she couldn't find Dom after he woke up, so the continuity is all g :) Thanks for not getting mad at me. Things have been difficult lately and I'm trying my best to keep it together, so bear with me as much as possible

Jinx: Well Flop, with whatever is happening, I hope it clears up soon. :)

Flop: Going to throw in a twist soon, hope it works out :) I've been waiting to use a certain character for a while, and this would be a great place to add them in.

Jinx: Cool, I don't think this RP will ever have a boring moment. I think Kara would lose it more than Dom when they find out Phoebe has taken a liking to Theos, and that he likes her back. XD

Jinx again: What if, because of the arm Phoebe built for Dom, that Katie would only be able to hurt him, rather than kill him? Cause I don't think Theos informed Katie that Dom has a robotic arm, along with being unaware of the features Phoebe added to the arm.

Flop: Idea: from now on, could we put it beside the character's name in brackets if the scene is switching without a time jump? EG between Theos/Phoebe to Domonick in the Forest, as above. If it doesn't work though we can try something else. Just to avoid future confusion when rereading.

Jinx: I like that idea, cause I'll admit, it was kinda a jumble for me.

Jinx: I feel like Dom is gonna feel bad that Phoebe is related to Kaitlyn. XD

Jinx again: I think that once Kara sees Phoebe and Dom again, she's gonna be mad.

Flop: Lol, Katherine is what Edith guessed as the formal iteration of Katie. She wouldn't have any knowledge of Katie's real full name so I'll just roll with it. Thanks for the heads up though. And yeah... It'll certainly be interesting when the three meet up.

Flop: Edith seems to be quite intrigued by someone else a bit more like her, even if they're on opposing sides in what could become a war. It's good for her to have someone to relate to. Also yay for Dom and Kara hopefully meeting up soon! And maybe even a little more of Nata.

Flop again: I'm going to start a new section with a time skip to Dom and Edith meeting up with Kara (and Phoebe too if you'd like that?) but we can definitely still edit the next section to round it off a little more properly (eg Phoebe leaving from Theos's place, etc).

Jinx: That'd be nice. :)

Flop: Even though it's right after the argument, the image of Domonick rocking Nata to sleep and singing a lullaby just makes me really happy :) It makes me miss my baby.

Jinx: Yeah, it is really cute. Added a new section for the following day.

Flop: Thanks! Edith's learning to maybe not say everything out loud... loLN

Jinx: Haha, yeah. She'll learn eventually. XD

Jinx again: Anyone who sees Phoebe, will find out that she is deathly afraid of hellhounds.

Flop: Gotcha. Hope it's ok that I had Edith slap it away, kind of (I can change the post if not). Kara's on her way to help!

Jinx: I don't really care who helped, just had to have someone help otherwise she might've died, cause there is no way she'd be able to fight it off.

Jinx: I'll change what I added too if you wanted a fight scene Flop.

Flop: It's ok, I have a plan... (mwahahahahaha) (actually though it'll probably be a fight scene)

Jinx: Phoebe accidentally gave a power-up to two of them, the one that wasn't catapulted was killed. ..

Jinx: It's okay, just wanted to let you know, and, it's kinda funny that he made that assumption.

Flop: Time for the real battle to go down... I'm excited to see Kara and Theos on the same side for a little while. Also watch out, there might be one more monster to come... (I'm having a lot of fun with this, and it'll be awesome plot later to figure out who summoned the monsters)

Aja: Theos gave you all temporary access to your 3, 6, or 9 month powers. He also made you guys a little stronger, and the cost of his energy. I'm mainly referring to you, Jinx, about the Month powers, as Kara has all of hers., and automatons don't have Month powers.

Flop: Thanks :)

Flop again: Phoebe saved Kara's life! Major props :D

Flop again again: Is Theos's heart stopped? Edith can use her electrical abilities to try to start it again.

Jinx: Good thing Edith called the Apollo kids, they've got two dying people on their hands as well as one severly injured one. BTW, Phoebe is dying because shrapnel punctured her lungs.

Flop: Going to do a new section and time skip to the infirmary where characters are healing up, but just like last time if you guys want to round off the last section before posting in the new one that's totally ok.

Jinx: Sounds great, maybe you could have Kara notice Phoebe and then you could make both of them black out from their injuries.

Jinx again: Did three days later since it will take Theos and Phoebe longer to heal than Kara.

Flop: Possibly, but is it ok if I change it to two? (Ambrosia and Nectar help speed up processes a ton, and the extent of Kara's injuries were unknown) (Also changed the title of the section so we don't have duplicate titles

Jinx: Okie dokie :)

Aja: Oh my gosh, sorry for the late reply to your question, Flop ;-; Theos had a heart attack. CPR would've been used, but im not 100% sure about electricity. Btw, Theos is losing his immortality, meaning that he's slowly dying ;-;

Jinx: A solution better be found, I don't want him to die. Phoebe would lose it, cause then she would have lost two people she cares about in less than two weeks. O.o

Aja: Um, Jinx? Theos can't accept any nutrients from anything, that includes blood, vitamins, food, water, etc. You don't have to change your post, just a friendly heads up!

Jinx: Darn, well, at least he'll get more blood in his body. You don't have to answer this if want it to be a surprise, but, how is Theos going to be saved?

Aja: His source of immortality was the Charm of Emotions Kara now holds. Thats the only thing that can save him now...oh, and two more things: if Theos says no, the doctors cannot continue, unless he is underage, then his legal guardian must approve. Second, Theos will get even sicker if Phoebe tries to force nutrients into his weakened body. I'll go along with it, though lol!

Flop: No Domonick noooo! Sad Nata! Also fun fact: this RP is so long that it actually no longer loads completely on my phone's internet browser if I want to check it on there XD

Aja: Dom's sad too. And this RP is suuuuper long lol.

Jinx: Yeah, the RP is long, but I love it since it's so detailed. Hopefully, Phoebe will get Dom to at least help Kara and at best, help Theos.

Jinx again: What if Hecate told Phoebe how to save Theos in a dream? Like, Phoebe would wake up, tell the others what she dreamt, and they'd know what she was talking about. Then, they'd be able to save Theos. If you guys like the idea, we can do it, if not, we can figure something else out. :)

Flop: I love how long it is too! I think this is actually the longest active RP on the wiki. Interesting idea :) I was going to have Kara give Dom the idea, since she knew that the charm gave Theos strength. That way Domonick could search for it, and maybe begrudgingly decide to save Theos.

Jinx: I wanna bet that Dom will save Theos for Phoebe and because Kara asked him to, not for any other reason. XD

Aja: Idk about the dream thing, we would probably have to ask a mod or admin or something ;-;

Flop: I should let you guys know now - on the 25th I'm leaving for a trip, and I won't be back until the 8th. I probably won't be able to edit much (or at all) but don't let that stop you guys from RPing once I'm gone! Don't wait for me - totally keep roleplaying Dom and Theos and Andre and Phoebe :)

Jinx: Alright, hope you have fun on your trip. :)

Flop: Will do! Sorry for slight Domonick whump... babies have surprisingly strong little legs. Lol

Jinx: Oh yeah they do, the pain is all too real. Babies can hit pretty hard too, my baby cousin is a hitter and it stings more than one may think.

Jinx: Phoebe is tired of all the drama, but doesn't want to lose anymore people she cares about.

Flop: Totally understandable. Kara's definitely reaching the end of patience, too.