IM SORRY!

IVE HAD (and still have) SERIOUS WRITER BLOCK SO HERE IS SOMEWHAT OF A FILLER.

-Jaz

~~~~

Chapter 13 (or as I like to call it: Athena Undercover)

"Mortals are so aggravating," Hermes complained stretching.

"You should turn them all into ratssss," George suggested.

"You could actually go on a diet," Martha chided.

"Yeah no," Hermes disagreed. "I'm pretty sure billions of rats would be worse than the current situation."

"Hermes!" Athena greeted entering the room. "Did you do as I asked?"

"No."

"N-no!? And why not?"

"You do know I have other things to do right?"

Athena gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. "So why did you even come here?"

"You have a package duh," Hermes responded pulling out a clipboard and pen. "Sign here. Initial there. Anyway, I suggest you talk to Hades yourself I'm not gonna be able to get to it for a while."

"I might as well. Why would I ever trust a messenger with his job?"

"'Cause I'm your favorite brother?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that."

~~~~

"You want me to what?"

"Come with me and we will disguise ourselves as medical examiners," Athena repeated.

"Yeah that's what I thought you said... So why?" Hades asked.

"I need to figure out if the original bodies of the Returned still exist. I cannot do it with demigods since they do not have burials but mortals do."

"Can't you do it alone? I need to focus on keeping the more dangerous spirits in the Fields of Punishment. Honestly if one more spirit-"

"Lord Hades?"

Eyes shift to a skeletal messenger. Hades groans. "What now?"

"Well, it seems Thomas Jefferson has appeared on the steps on the White House so we are now down another judge."

"Titansdamnit! Sorry Athena you can deal with your theory on your own."

~~~~

A few days later a dark haired woman adjusted her glasses as she walked outside of FBI's morgue in DC. She greeted the assistant at the desk with a small smile. "Martins, how are you?"

"Just fine thanks for asking."

"Did you exhume the bodies I asked for?"

"Of course Dr. Pallas. All four are set up as you asked also there is a fifth body waiting to be examined."

"I'll get to it soon." She promised before walking into the room where the bodies where held. Three and a half bodies laid on tables.  She first went to the empty table. Well mostly empty. Where a body had been now only specks of black dust remained. She reached out to touch it. It was freezing to the touch and seemed to melt into nothing in her hands. But it didn't melt into water, it faded away, gone. She turned to the half corpse which was currently looked as it someone had cut the whole body down the middle but rather than cut half had faded into black dust. Once summoning a small vial she gathered some dust in it. She placed a top on it and placed it to the side.

Her eyes flickered over to the other three bodies. One burned beyond belief and the other two were somewhat decomposed.

"So the originals remain yet the new ones turn to dust..." She mumbled to herself. She looked back to the dust in the vial to find that almost all the dust had disappeared despite the lid. She frowned at the vial.

"What the..."

Her eyes snapped up to see a woman who had entered. "Cheryl Hanning  was it?"

"Yeah. Most people here just call me Sherry though... But I'm what is that?" She asked nodding toward the disappearing body. "And where's the other one?"

"I'm unsure what you're talking about."

"But..."

"Did you come here for a reason?"

"Yeah..." Sherry said tearing her eyes away from the disappearing body. "I came to ask you a question."

"Alright."

"Who are you. Like I know you're Dr. Pallas but... Everyone says you've been around for months but, I've only seen you this past week..."

Dr. Pallas frowned. "I've been here since last July. Have you been feeling alright? Perhaps you could use some air."

"No, no I'm fine. But if you won't answer that question I'll ask you something else. Why do you need those bodies and what is that dust stuff?"

"There's is no 'dust stuff'. And as for the bodies I am conducting a bit research in order to solve a cold case. And that burned one over there? I was about to examine it and send a sample to forensics before you interrupted."

Sherry looked surprised and her eyes drifted across the bodies before once once again drifted to the slowly disappearing body.

Dr. Pallas stood and gathered her materials preparing to examine the badly burned body. Sherry glanced down at the paper which continued information for the disappearing body.

Lewis Waters.
DOB: 4/17/49...

She read the rest before proceeding to do with the others. She headed to the body at the end which clearly had been decomposing for years.

The name on the sheet made her eyes widen.

Lewis Waters.
DOB: 4/17/49...

Her eyes scanned the page everything was the same as the disappearing body except one thing. This body listed the DOD as over ten years ago but the disappearing one listed it as a week ago. Sherry glanced up to Dr. Pallas who was leaning over the burned body.

"I'll come back later..." Sherry decided leaving Dr. Pallas to her work.

~~~~

Sherry walked back in toward the morgue papers in hand. This time she could prove Dr. Pallas hadn't been here.

When she entered Dr. Pallas looked up from a book she had been reading. "Cheryl," she nodded.

"Hi," Sherry said shortly. There was a brief pause before Sherry could muster up the courage to speak. Finally she pulled out a photo and handed it to Dr. Pallas. "Well first I have the results from forensics. And secondly... I found a picture from the big staff cookout back in August. And I was confused as to why you weren't in it. You worked here then right?" Sherry asked her question and inside she smirked triumphantly.

"Correct I was not there," Dr. Pallas admitted adjusting her glasses. She stared at Sherry with sharp gray eyes. "I was not there because one of my children was sick. I'm sorry if tending to a sick child is something that makes me guilty in your mind."

"Uh... Umm..."

"I'll take those results." Sherry wordlessly handed them over. Dr. Pallas looked them over frowning while Sherry stood awkwardly. "This will be a problem..." Dr. Pallas mumbled to herself.

"What will?"

"You're still here?"

"Yes? So what's the problem?"

"It seems that burned body matches someone in our personal system. Someone I saw today in fact."

Sherry shook her head. "Impossible. We have some of the tightest security. And we would know if it was someone else."

"Whoever said it was someone else?"

"But you just said-"

"I said this body matches someone here today."

"Exactly and that's not possible-"

"It's not possible for the dead to come back to life either," Dr. Pallas pointed out. "Yet they have."

Sherry bit her tongue. "Who is it?"

Dr. Pallas opened her mouth to speak when someone else came in the room. "Ah Martins," Dr. Pallas greeted. "We were just talking about you."

Martina stared at both women his eyes glazed. He took a couple steps closer before drawing a long knife.

"Trent? Wh-what are you doing?" Sherry asked taking a step back.

Dr. Pallas rolled her eyes. "It's no use speaking with him. He's a Returned after all. Well I've finished my research so I'll be taking my leave."

"What are you talking about? He has a knife!" Sherry screamed dodging as Martins slashed at her.

"Such clueless child. It's honestly a surprise you've lived this long," Dr. Pallas sighed putting away her glasses. "But very well I can neutralize this situation if you promise me something."

"Anything!" Sherry jumped back just in time the knife grazing her arm.

"Never speak of me or this day to anyone."

Sherry jumped back and took cover behind Dr. Pallas. "Okay! Just do something."

Dr. Pallas took a step forward and something glowed in her hands. Before Sherry could properly analyze what had happened Martins lay on the floor blood pouring from a spear lodged in his chest. Sherry screamed.

Dr. Pallas pulled her spear out of the man just as people rushed into the room.

"What's going on?"

"We heard a scream!"

"Oh my god!"

"Trent!"

"What happened?"

Dr. Pallas's demeanor did a 180 almost instantly. She looked scared and about to cry. "He-he came at us with a knife! He was gonna kill us! I stabbed him a scalpel! Oh-oh my gods. I-I killed him!" Her knees buckled and someone stepped forward to catch her.

"You should get some air," Someone advised. "Sherry, you too."

Sherry was ushered outside confused, Dr. Pallas had shown no emotion when she-she speared him. So why was she acting like this now?

The crowd left them alone on a bench  momentarily. When they did Dr. Pallas went back to her usual self. "I'm leaving. Remember speak of me to no one."

"Who are you? Who are you really?" Sherry demanded.

"I'd tell you but that would only ruin things for you. Ignorance is bliss child. But I will tell you this. If you do learn the truth you should also learn who I am. If you do that... Call my name a couple times. I'll come. I don't do this for most but you interest me." 

"I'm not gonna even ask what most of that means but why would I interest you?"

Dr. Pallas shrugged and stood. "Some simply do."

"Well um... Thank you. For saving me. Or not since you don't exist." Sherry said.

Dr. Pallas nodded with a shadow of a smile and walked off.

~~~~

"Their bodies turn into cold black dust before disappearing?" Hades repeated. "Strange. But I guess it saves me paperwork."

"We don't care about your workload," Aphrodite stated.

"You should worry about mine!" Hermes complained. "People are suddenly sending letters everywhere to see if someone came back to life! It gives me a headache. And not a single sacrifice like honestly!"

"But have you seen how many soldiers have come back? That's gotta be one impressive army," Ares nodded.

"What does all of this mean?" Athena asked no one in particular.

"How are the demigods doing?" Demeter asked.

"Still on the water," Apollo answered. "Though Hades's son joined the group."

"Of course he did," Zeus stated.

Hades shrugged. "He looks up to Poseidon's son."

"Hey Percy is an okay role model!" Poseidon put in.

"Sure he is," Athena said rolling her eyes.

"Well since this is clearly going no where I have better places to be," Hades stated before disappearing.

"Meeting adjourned," Zeus announced and the other gods began to leave.

"Problem?" Athena asks Hestia as Hestia stares into the hearth.

Hestia sighed. "Children... Children Shouldn't be expendable tools."

Athena paused. "True... But, unfortunately there is no better option at this time. We have no clue what's happening. We need to figure it out. And the only way currently is to-"

"Yes, I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Athena didn't respond but sat down next to Hestia and both stared into the golden flames as if looking for the solution to all of those problems.