So I've been tagged by @RandomScreenName

1. One fact about you
When I'm reading I have to close one eye or it gets fuzzy and hard to focus
2. Favorite color
Blue
3. Hunger Games vs Harry Potter
Harry Potter
4. Favorite food
Corned beef and mashed potatoes, maybe? Guys every time I answer this question it changes based on my cravings or what I recently ate
5. Nickname
It literally is just Poké Master
6. How long have you had your account
Almost five years I think
7. Fangirl or Fanboy
Fanboy
8. Hair color
Brown
9. Favorite animal
Panda
10. Current read
Everyone go read Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst, which is what I'm reading at the time of answering the tag, and the Lorien Legacies Reborn series by Pittacus Lore, which I'm reading at the time of posting. I love them both to pieces now go

On to the story!

"So... where exactly are we?"

"Araluen, Percy, duh."

"No, like, where in Araluen are we?"

"..."

"..."

"A forest?"

"Yes, thank you, Leo, for being my GPS in this parallel universe."

"At your service, Water Boy."

"What's a GPS?"

"Don't worry about it."

"This doesn't look like Grimsdell Wood," Will mused, placing his hand on a nearby tree trunk, "And I hear a river."

"That makes sense," Annabeth told him, surveying their surroundings, "I mean, distances are different in Tartarus. It's like the Labyrinth. For all we know, we could be in... what other countries did you say there were? Skandia?"

"This isn't Skandia," Evanlyn assured her, "So don't worry about that. It'd be a lot colder this time of year if it were."

"Don't forget that we don't know how much time has passed since you left, either," Hazel reminded her, "For all you know, your countries have been experiencing weather changes."

"No, Hazel," Leo smirked, rolling his eyes, "That's just called McShizzle has arrived and this hotness is messing up the climate."

"Can it, Repair Boy," Piper scoffed, smacking him, "Frank, can you get an overhead view of where we are?"

"Already on it, Piper," he assured her, shifting into a crow and taking off.

"Darn," Horace murmured, "I kind of wanted to see him turn into a dragon again. You know, without the life or death thing hanging over us."

"You," Leo grinned, bumping the much taller boy with a shoulder, "I like you. You are my kind of guy."

"Horace, you messed up."

"I know, Halt, you don't have to tell me."

"I hear water," Will muttered, closing his eyes and tilting his head slightly, "If we follow the river we should reach a town or at least a household within the day. We can get our bearings there. If Frank can't tell us where we are, anyway."

"Will," Halt said suddenly, from a little distance away, "Come here."

Will looked over, cocking an eyebrow. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Take a look at these marks. What do you make of them?"

"I'm not an apprentice anymore, Halt." He furrowed his brow. "You haven't said things like that in years-"

He faltered, staring. Frank returning to the group and shifting right before his eyes didn't even break his focus.

"I'm not trying to teach you," the grizzled Ranger murmured, knowing Will had noticed, "I'm asking you a question as your colleague. Because right now, I have no idea what I'm looking at."

That sent a wave of shock through the group, even Hazel and Frank, who had known him for the least amount of time.

"This... slice in the tree," Will murmured, touching the shattered bark, "It looks like someone took a blade to it. It's a symbol. I can't tell what it is, though."

Annabeth took a look at the marking, a curve and a line. She swallowed hard. "It's a scythe."

Horace squinted at it. "Are you sure?"

"It has to be," Annabeth said, her finger ghosting along the lines, "Take a look at the wood. It's decaying. The rest of the tree is healthy except for those markings. But the weird thing is that it's spreading. Quickly enough that our eyes can follow it. Magical interference. Time is passing faster for it."

Will wiped his fingers on his pants subconsciously, but Annabeth shook her head. "It won't spread to us. But Kronos is already here. He's already active. He's probably collecting followers as we speak. He can't claim Araluen with only monsters and he knows that. He couldn't with Olympus, either."

Leo hummed in thought and reached into his toolbelt. "Will, don't freak."

"What? Why would I-"

Leo hit him across the face with his hammer.

"Hey!" Will yelped, cupping his jaw even though he hadn't been struck hard enough to even bruise, "What was that for?"

"What did you call the Hellhounds again, Ranger boy?" Leo asked, ignoring him. If they hadn't already known how serious this was they would have by the stony look on the son of Hephaestus's face. "War gulls?"

"Wargals," Will corrected him, "They are controlled by a master. They're fearsome creatures who won't stop fighting unless they are physically unable to. Their only weakness is their phobia of horses."

"But you can kill them?" Hazel clarified, "I see what Leo's getting at."

"Steel can hurt monsters," Leo reasoned, "And Celestial Bronze can strike mortals. The rules of this dimension are wacky."

"Did you have to hit me in the face?"

"If I'm going to run experiments I might as well have fun doing it."

He crossed his arms, pouting. "And I went through all the trouble of getting you guys Celestial Bronze replacements, too."

"It got us through Tartarus at least," Frank said, "And it's still a much stronger metal than steel."

"Any other monsters we should be aware of?" Piper asked, "Araluen versions, at least?"

"Kalkara," Evanlyn suggested "But I suppose Halt and Will have already handled them."

"Do monsters regenerate in this world?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't think so," Horace said, "If there's no Underworld, it's unlikely. But to be fair, it did seem like they never stopped coming."

"If Morgarath could get Wargals and Kalkara here, who knows what else he's hiding," Evanlyn murmured, "Tartarus was a good enough look into what kind of danger we could be facing. The armies won't be prepared for it. I'm not even sure we are."

"Frank," Alyss cut in before their group could sink too far into that line of thought, "Any places near here?"

"A town," he reported, "Nothing special. But they should at least be able to give us directions. About three kilometers east. There's a triangular looking castle near it, too."

"Triangular?" Horace repeated, tilting his head, "Any particular color stand out to you?"

Frank pursed his lips. "Reddish, I guess?"

"We're right by Castle Redmont," Will cheered, "That's the perfect place to report to the Baron and get in touch with Castle Araluen."

"Alright," Frank said, "I'll fly ahead and see if Apollo got the horses to your cabin yet. It's separate from the village, right? In the forest?"

"Yes," Halt confirmed, "Thank you."

Frank nodded and leapt off in crow form again.

Then crashed to the ground, shifting back and promptly collapsing.

"Frank!" Hazel cried, slipping under his arm to steady him, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he gasped, sweating a little, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just winded. Maybe I pushed myself too far with the scouting."

"I've watched you hold dragon form for far longer than that," she scolded him, "Something's wrong."

"Maybe I haven't recovered from Tartarus yet."

Percy shot him a look. "Do you really believe that?"

Frank grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes in focus, eventually shifting into a crow again, followed by a fox. He reverted to his human form, panting.

"So nothing bigger than a fox," he muttered, "And not for very long. I think... I think my powers are weakening."

Leo thought for a moment before he held his hand out, furrowing his eyebrows. Small sparks of flame ran between his fingers, fizzling out after a little while.

"And I'm glorified flint and steel," he grunted, making a face, "What's going on?"

"The Mist doesn't feel as powerful here," Hazel mused, golden eyes closing in concentration, "I guess the most it can do is camouflage monsters into their closest mortal equivalents. Like with Trobar and the Hellhounds."

Annabeth motioned to the rest of the demigods. "You should test your limits, too. The last thing we want is relying on them in battle only to find out they won't work like we want them to."

Piper thought for a second before turning to Will with a saccharine smile.

"Sing something for us."

Will's fingers twitched like he was itching for an instrument, mouth opening as his eyes glazed a little.

"Graybeard Halt is a friend of mine,
He lives on Redmont's hill.
Graybeard Halt never took a bath,
And they-"

Will clapped his hands over his mouth, mortified, as the rest of the group tried to stifle their laughter.

Halt narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing. "I wasn't aware you missed spending your nights sleeping in trees so much, Will."

"What the Hades, Ranger Boy," Leo snickered, covering his grin with his hand, "Your voice is actually good. What else are you hiding from us?"

"He's a master lyricist," Percy chuckled, breathless, "Pure genius. One person should not be this talented."

"Argh, stop!" Will protested, blushing red to the tips of his ears, "Why did I do that?"

"Sorry, sorry," Piper said, obviously amused and not sincere in the slightest, "I was just testing out my Charmspeak, I didn't expect you to actually sing. Charmspeak is like magic persuasion. I can get people to do what I want, to a certain extent."

"Percy," Annabeth ordered, taking pity on the both Rangers, "Your turn."

Percy reached toward the river, an unfamiliar pinch replacing the normal tug in his gut. A small stream of water leapt out before splashing to the ground.

"So monsters don't regenerate," Percy whined, "But in return I get weaker? This sucks."

"Magic and Mist aren't supposed to exist in this world," Alyss told him, "There's no Underworld or distinction between weapons. It only makes sense."

"Mortals don't think magic exists in our world either, but that doesn't stop me there!"

"Oh, calm down," Piper rolled her eyes, "It's not like they're gone."

"Easy for you to say," he grumbled, "Your Charmspeak doesn't need to be hidden by the Mist, so your powers are pretty much still at top strength."

"Yeah, you'll be grateful for that when I can talk our way into Kronos's lair."

"We should get moving," Hazel said as she helped Frank stand, her gaze instantly stopping their bickering, "I think we all need some rest before we save the universe, don't you?"

"You know where a great place to get our energy back is?" Horace said suddenly, lighting up, "Jenny's restaurant in Wensley Village! I mean, we're already here, aren't we? Forget the stop to Castle Redmont and Castle Araluen, they can wait."

"Normally I would tell you to stop thinking with your stomach," Will sighed, "But I really need a coffee right about now."

"Onward!"

As they walked, Will fell into step beside Alyss, the castle's silhouette appearing over the horizon.

"We're home," Will sighed, relieved, "I almost can't believe that we were in an alternate dimension for a week."

Alyss laced her fingers through his, smiling. "The Redmont Fief is looking lively, isn't it?"

"We're going to protect it," he agreed, squeezing her hand, "There's no way we're losing this."

She tilted her head against his for a moment.

"As if there was ever any doubt."

_______________

The restaurant was a lot less crowded than it usually was, and they could hear their friend the second they stepped through the door.

"I'll be right-"

The blonde's jaw dropped as her eyes fell to them, and it took an awkward wave from Will to snap her out of it.

"Alyss!" Jenny cried, flinging her arms around the taller girl, "Will, Horace! You're here!"

Will raised an eyebrow, watching as Alyss returned the hug, just as confused as he was. "Yes, Jenny. We are."

Horace could only smirk. "Did you miss our business that much, Miss Restaurant Owner?"

Jenny's face screwed up like she was trying not to cry, and she launched herself into his arms next.

"Horace, you loon," she whimpered, squeezing him tightly, "Don't act like you don't know how long you've been gone."

All eyes snapped to her at once. Feeling her friend tense, she looked up slowly, and tears began building all over again.

"Oh, Horace," she sobbed, a hand cupping his cheek softly, "You really don't know, do you?"

"You lot have been missing for months."