Fate shakes things up a bit...

I should have learned by now that Fate will never let a scion stay happy for long.  Never.  It was still a day till we reached NYC so I decided to be productive and went to try one last time to settle things with Rhia.  This time it went so much better than the first time.  First off there was no one else there with us and while I love Ben dearly and have grown to care for Wuyi too...they would have made it worse.  I explained to her, better this time, that I didn't want an apology for her sleeping with my father.  I honestly understand she had to.  What killed me was her treating my feelings like they were nothing..like I was nothing to her.  As is her way, Rhia apologized without doing so but I know it was there and I felt us immediately fall back into place.


Soon enough though we were pulling into NYC and after much round about and a chat with our dark skinned benefactor, who sadly was NOT eaten by sharks, it was decided we would let the horses be unloaded so as to not get the ship in trouble, and he would whisk us and the horses away.  But as Rhia went to inform the horses a funny thing happened...Ben and I noticed Wuyi was being..pouty and elbowed a filly Rhia had been stroking out of the way.  Wuyi was jealous of the attention Rhia was giving the herd!  It was both ludacris and funny all at once and I knew the feeling well.  I really need to discuss boundaries with Kelly at some point...


So we met in the cargo hold and the ramp lowered to reveal a warehouse with two Keepers and a short fat man...and a Magic holding circle made of coral.  We convinced we were the ones to unload the horses and Rhia told the herd not to enter it.  Then a thin filly started for the fat man hunger plain in her eye.  Rhia decided to let her apparently and honestly I agreed with her.  This man worked with Keepers.  He deserved what he got.  He turned to run but another horse and circled behind him and the filly quickly took a chunk out of him.  Wuyi on the other hand did not agree with this and yanked the man to safety and bound his wound in an uncharacteristically defiant act.  Meanwhile the Keepers watched as Eli ran into the ship to tell the captain they needed to leave then to each other and started to leave.  Ben quickly followed and Kelly, of course, was right on his heels...I swear if she ever touches him I will take her heart without even thinking about it...sorry for that, the girl grinds on my nerves.  Then several things happened.  Rhia ordered the little man to go away, our dark skinned friend engulfed the area in a thick darkness....gods I hate not being able to see but at least I knew where everything was...and the Keepers were sniffing at Ben and Kelly!  I shouted for him to get back to us as we were leaving and right after I heard the Keeper say they smelled like Enbarr...they smelled like gods.  Blessedly Kelly and Ben made it to use and we were whisked away into...


...a sewer.  A nasty, stinky sewer.  The man led us to a dry chamber with a wooden door guarded by a 13yr old boy.  I used some of my divine power to make myself clean and Rhia used some water she carries about to clean herself and the horses.  When we were ready the boy opened the door and it was absolute darkness...fuck I hate this, but with Ben holding firmly onto my hand we stepped into it and waited as the door closed.  Belgaretes informed us he had some memories still to sell but the rest was sold to others.  Some of it he could tell us who had them...others had paid for his silence.  After much round and round we decided that unnamed favors were worth the memories and names.  Wu's were in the hands of her father...all of them. Rhia's were in the hands of Morrigan, Dionysus, and my father...and that made me incredibly nervous and weary and sent a kick to my gut but I ignored it.  I love Rhia, she's my bro, and I'll do what I have to, to help her get her memories back...all of them.  Kelly's were bought by someone she trusted and enshrined in a shrine dedicated to her memory.  He made the strands he had appear and I couldn't help myself I reached for mine...


...dear gods I was to have a son.  A little Ben.  And he was sacrificed to Coatlicue...my own little one was taken from my womb and given to that hideous bitch.  We took our revenge on her but that didn't matter as the unbearable pain of losing a child flooded into me.  As the tears came I heard Belgaretes say mine and Ben's memories had been split.  A woman came demanding them all but she could not afford them and left with barely half...her name was Alicia Chase.  The second half were in the city, bought recently by Keepers and held in a fortified warehouse...Balor himself paid their price.  Rupper's were in the hands of the Sayters and his father as well as many ghosts.  I vaguly heard the others begin to discuss where we were going to start first when we noticed he had one more thread.  Rhia reached for it and it became red and oily as her body absorbed it.


We left the room and I heard Ben apologize to me for something but I was having a hard enough time keeping myself from breaking down right there.  When we got out Rupper asked about Balor and Wuyi had the oddest look play across her face.  After some prodding she laid another bomb on us...I am pregnant.  My mind realed.  In the memory we had decided no children til the war ended and now...then I heard Rhia say Alicia was Ben's daughter and I felt like a truck had run me over...HIS DAUGHTER?!  My husband was a father before me?  What had happened?  Had he run out on his child?  Would he run out on me?  Did she like me?  All this ran through my mind as fast as I myself run and then I heard Pepper squawk that she hated me... Alicia had been there when I sacrificed Ben, and I felt the pain of that action come crashing back down on me.  Then I heard the last thing I needed to hear...Kelly started giggling.


I exploded leaping off the floor and lunging at her, obsidian dagger in hand and screamed at her asking what in the hells she found so funny.  I tried to slash at her as she explained she was in her own little world AGAIN but was held back by Ben and Wuyi grabbed my wrist.  Ben went into bird song trying to apologize to me and reassure me of his love but I was lost in my pain and fury at that moment and barely registered it as I screamed at Kelly before collapsing onto the floor in sobs and I pounded on the floor.  There was some chatter and Kelly reached her arm around me and I threw her off of me.. literally threw her.  She had no idea what I was feeling...hells I barely knew what I was feeling and she thought somehow SHE out of everyone around me was the one who could help?!  Fuck her.  I don't even count her as a friend all I wanted was to cry and scream it out..just get it out, because keeping it in would surely kill me.  After tossing her off me again and some soft words from Ben, of course, she left so my friends and husband could be there with me.  It was then, after more crying, I decided to tell Wu and Rhia of my first memory...the one I had only told Ben...the one where I sacrificed my husband to my father.


It took a bit but finally managed to get a weak smile out of me by teasing me about getting fat.  Ben was sure Alicia would understand but I know she won't and Rhia claims she will just miss out on a wonderful relationship.  I pulled Rhia to the ground and gave her a hug.  I don't know how I would have dealt with this without her.  She is my rock and while I know my emotions drive her nuts and make her uncomfortable I know she feels the same about me.  She teased Ben a bit about going after Alicia if she's hot but he was too busy apologizing to me again as I hugged him.  I assured him it isn't his fault and that we would get through this and reminded him that we had a little one on the way again...we had to pull through.  I kissed him to take his mind of Rhia pursuing his daughter and Rhia made her usual comment on our love to which she earned my middle finger and Ben pulled me to a drier alcove with a grin I now know all too well as he whispered he loved me then confirmed his smile by kissing my neck which of course drives me wild...and right there in that alcove, in that sewer, with our friends around the corner we connected on a level I could never connect with anyone else on.  He and I are one and I will let nothing tear us apart.

Rhia secures some mobile garbage disposals.

Shortly after I found out the state of things we were all brought to meet the captain.  He seemed pleasant enough till his man left the room at which point he spoke plainly to us and made sure we understood he was not happy about us being there.  He is mistrustful of scions because of the attention we attract and I must say I cannot blame the man.  After our chat we went back to the cabins and Ben and I told the band what we knew of the Formorians posing as Keepers and the state of the world.  It was agreed we should check out the 'special' cargo he was hauling and also agreed we needed to ask him more questions.


At this point Rex went tearing off out of the room and Rhiannon, Wu, and Rupper followed.  Ben and I went to see the captain and Kelly agreed to sit tight and send Sawu to investigate the rest of the ship.  I have to say...I love watching my husband work.  He can detect lies and I could feel him watching for any sign of them as we asked about the cargo and it's intended destination...NYC for the Keepers.  We also found out we may need papers but I think we will manage that.  We told him he had a traitor and he said he trusted his normal crew but did have some new people he would send to Ben for questioning.  


Sure enough within seconds of getting to the cabins Rhiannon and Wuyi and Rupper returned with three crew members right behind them.  In a matter of moments Ben and Rhia had the truth from one of them.  One man inferred the US was under Keeper control and the girl spilled that someone hired her despite her lack of sailing experience if she gave him information about her home...and that someone was Executive Officer Gifford.  Immediately I cast my finding spell and waited for Ben to tell us what to do.  Ben sent me and Wuyi to follow the trail just as Kelly came in....wait Kelly came in, wasn't she here the whole... never mind I had something to do.  Rupper followed us and we left the others to deal with the crew members and Kelly.


The trail brought us back to the holding area of the 'special cargo' of horses.  I let Rupper and Wu get us a way in and sent Cal back to Ben to report where we were.  When we got in the sight was...horrific at first.  Horses were chained to the walls and there was blood everywhere...and many were eating human flesh.  The XO was at the farthest place in the hold and apparently the mortals couldn't perceive the scene.  Then it hit me like a jolt of lightning as I recalled what they were...they were the herd of Diomedes, man eating horses.  When Rhia arrived she began speaking with one and we sent a guard to fetch the captain.  The XO was raving and ranting about his Keeper masters and how he sacrificed them to the horses....and I lost my temper again and punched him in the face.  That word....is sacred.  Sacrificing is not something done lightly or for kicks or a word to be tossed around... apparently this is a sore spot for me.  Then he laughed and said some words and the horses chains fell off.  Rhia shouted to not harm the horses and Wuyi threw the XO at the herd while I pushed Kelly out of the room.  They quickly devoured him and the turned and waited...apparently Rhia is quite the horse-whisperer.  It's a shame we are fighting cause she and I have the perfect set up now.  We make our sacrifices when needed and feed the evidence to the horses.  *sigh* I dearly miss my sister, we need to get past this.

We're on a boat!

Okay so I've not talked much lately about what's happened and I still don't want to discuss it much so here is the overview.  Wuyi lifted Ben's curse in a personal way, and I tried to apologize to Rhia only to have her refuse to apologize to me.  I wasn't looking for her to do so for the act but for the way she treated me and my feelings, but she refused to take any responsibility and further tread on my broken heart so I wrote her off.  The group cannot afford our fighting right now so it would be as if she doesn't exist.  I went to dinner while she and her pet, Wuyi stayed behind talking.  I say pet because that seems to be how Rhia treats her.  She is very condescending to her, not to say Rhia doesn't love her...far from it, but it's not an equal relationship.  


At dinner there was tragedy though as Kathy, accidentally, killed Mona.  As I comforted Mann Ben dragged Kathy outside to kill her but Rhia stopped him.  When Mann came outside he was full of rage but Rhia reminded him of his oath to raise the girl.  Ben stalked off and Mann ordered us off the island so I went to find him.  He had reduced a clearing to rubble and was furious with himself and I felt so heartbroken for him.  We joined the others and went to the shore where we found a man waiting for us.  He seemed to know us and said his employer had him come to collect us and had information for us.  With no other option we agreed to go with him.


Turns out the Greeks did know what we had done and weren't just gonna let us off the hook...that'd be too much to hope for.  Poseidon attacked us with the sea and Zeus the winds as we fought off waves and sharks and finally found a ship to get aid from since our little dinghy had a hole in it (which we sealed by turning Kelly's sand to glass....ok that was pretty awesome!)  We boarded the ship, with permission, only to be faced with guns.  Rhia scared one off and Kelly got the others to calm down until Ben flew up further unsettling them.  In the end no one was hurt and we were shown to cabins where I took some time to confront Ben about being closed off even to me and we consulted Fate again about the state of the world and this ship.  Seems the war isn't over but neither do all the mortals know about it.  Governments are controlled by one side or the other and while this ship is neutral there IS a traitor.  Looks like we have something to earn our passage with...