OnexOne with Mystikmage

"It's call common curtesy Keith. Maybe you've heard of it." Aria called back. She couldn't reach the bottom now, and was swimming carefully. Once she was in the middle of the deep end, Aria took a long breath and flipped backwards.
For all that Aria rarely went swimming, she had a soft spot for being in water. She loved the feeling of the water over her skin as she twirled gently, much like an otter underwater. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to deal with the sting of the chlorine later on as she spiral down, did one last flip to touch the bottom and then shot back up.
Breaking the surface with a gasp, Aria smiled as she took a few more deep breaths and swam over to the edge. Pushing herself up, Aria kept her legs in the water as she lay back against the warm concret.


Leo rolled his eyes, but let her grumble, saying nothing else against. "Nothing, just thinking.." he murmured, which was true so he felt better about not telling her the rest. He chewed his lip thoughtfully before pulling his arms away from her relcutantly and crossing the room.
He knocked a few quick times, and opened the door when he got no answer. The room was empt. Leo frowned, taking a few quick steps into the room, his attention getting caught at the reflection of sunlight against water. Then he saw Aria swimming to the edge of the pool and relaxed. He shook his head with a smirk before walking back to Sara.
"They went down to the pool. I'll talk to them when they come back inside."

Keith didn't hear Aria, he finally surfaced, seeing her resting on the warm concrete.
"All done fish girl?" He teased, she seemed to enjoy being in the water, which was a nice change of pace. He on the other hand, basically needed it, he loved it, but he also needed to be in the water occasionally. He stretched out, swimming over to the side.
"Should we head in soon? Leo and Sara might need stuff, and I doubt that Leo's going to willingly leave Sara's side" He clambered out, sitting next to her, his legs dangling in the warm, blue-green water. Drips ran down his back, his tan skin shone in the warm sunlight, he could understand how Leo loved the sun, he wasn't someone who was to fond of winter and cold.

Sara sighed, wincing a bit as Leo left. She glanced up, suprised when he appeared again so fast.
"There's a pool here? Keith must be happy" She murmured, rubbing her eyes and sitting up a bit, using the pillows as support of course. She sighed, looking at the TV, trying to figure out what Leow as watching.

"Fish girl?" Aria asked, shaking his head and sucking her teeth. "Leave the nicknames and insults to me alright?" she said, sighing and sitting up slowly. She rubbed her stomach gently, still reframing herself from looking down. She knew she looked like a cat's scracthing post, and she wasn't too thrilled about the newer ones.
Aria turned, her air snapping with her movements, to look back at the building. She nodded. "Yea. Probably should..." she said, standing up then and walking over to her chair where she'd left her towel and shirt. She used the towel to ring out her hair before tossing the shirt back one, feeling better instantly.


Leo nodded, still looking a bit lost in thought as he sat back on the bed. "Roll over for a sec? I wanna check your back..." he murmured, gently turning her shoulder. He'd been working on healing them this whole time, and wanted to see how her back looked now. Plus he firgured he needed to change the bandages again. Hopefully tending to Sara would take his mind off of other frightening things for the time being, or at least until Aria and Keith got in. Leo had left the adjoining door open as somewhat of a note, knowing Aria would be curious instantly when they walked back into the room.

Keith shrugged, shaking his head and hauling himself out of the water.
"Alright, let's go" He shook his head, toweling his hair off, before letting the towel fall over his shoulders. He sighed, stretching out and leading the way to the hotel room. He glanced at the semi-open door and stuck his head in. "We're back" He called to Leo and Sara.

Sara sighed, but nodded her head.
"Alright" She shifted, rolling onto her stomach. She winced, she was sore, but hopefully the healing was helping.
"How do I look?" she asked curiously, supressing a yawn and burying her face in the pillow. It hurt, the tug of the bandages, everything, she hurt so bad.

Aria chuckled, following after Keith and up into the room. She frowned, seeing the adjoining door open a bit. She towel dried her hair a bit more as Keith said they were back. She glanced under his arm, smiling at Leo before ducking back to shower. Her hair smelled like the pool chemicals and it was bothering her.


Leo took a deep breath as he gently pulled the bandages away. He treid not to curse. At first glance, they looked no better. As he cleaned them out, he could see that she was healing, but it was just slowly.
"A little better..." Leo said, dabbing at the wounds gently with a warm cloth. He turned, glancing at Keith and smirking as Aria's head popped into view for a moment before she was gone.
"Hey." he said, nodding gently. He gave Keith a look before glancing to where Aria had been for a moment. He really needed to talk to her. Keith might know as well, but Aria would for sure. Once they were cleaned, Leo rewrapped them making sure they weren't too tight as to not upset them.
"I'll be back." Leo murmured, kissing her head then. "Call me if something happens." he said sternly then, giving her a soft look before turning back into Keith and Aria's room.

Aria sighed, stepping out of the shower and quickly drying off. She felt a bit better, but all the more sore. She got dressed, pulling on a pair of loose shorts and a tank top before walking out as she brushed her hair. "How's Sara doing?" Aria asked, a bit loud so that Leo could here. Then he was standing in the room.
"Healing slowly..." Leo murmured before lowering his voice. "One of the gods is after Sara..." he said quietly, looking at Keith and then Aria.

Keith sat down on the bed, not caring about getting it wet. He glanced up as Leo came in, he winced at what his friend announced.
"Yea, we know" He murmured, shrugging his shoulders. He sighed, looking at Leo with a small frown, he knew that this wasn't something his friend needed right now, particularly with Sara recovering so slowly. He figured Aria would fill in all the details, but they had basically figured out the mystery, the only real question was, how in the hell were they supposed to be able to stop Hades.

Sara winced, letting Leo clean her sore back.
"That's good" She murmured tiredly. She distantly heard him say something about coming back. She winced, and shook her head, trying to stay awake, though sleep was dragging her down. She winced, slowly gving in, her eyes growing heavy.

"Wait you know?" Leo asked, giving Keith a double take. Aria quickly stepped forward, drawing Leo's attention back on her.
"We firgured it out the other night. I guess you didn't have the same dream." Aria said, slowly and softly, not wanting to upset him or anything. Leo was more on edge now then Aria cared to notice.
"What dream?" Leo asked then, looking confused, glancing between Aria and Keith. Aria chewed her lip, looking at Keith for a moment before back at Leo.

"We saw Sara's mom, yelling at Zeus, claming that..." Aria took a deep breath, saying the next words on her exhaul. "Hades is trying to get Sara."
Leo looked like Aria had slapped him clean across the face. He rubbed his forehead, turning away then and pacing tensly. He turned his head up to the ceiling, rubbing his neck before sighing roughly.

"Gods why?" Leo asked, trying to keep the pain out of his voice as he turned to look back at his friends. Aria swallowed, noticing the small amount of gold sprinkled in Leo's eyes.

Keith winced, watching Leo, obviously his friend wasn't aware of Hades desire to the girl. He moved, subtly, just in case Leo did lose it. He saw the telltale gold glint in his friend's eye, and was slightly worried.
"Because, if Hades killed Sara, well, took her, he'd start a war between the gods. Aphrodite would never forgive Zeus, and then our parents would take her side. The gods would be split right down the middle, and well, then Hades could take over" He said, wincing.
"Sorry" He said.

Standing, Keith strode around the room, leaning against the wall, watching Leo closely. He sighed, he could hear the pain in Leo's voice, the anger, everything. He knew that Aria would probably start bubbling out facts any second now, she tended to do that when she was nervous.

Leo looked over at Keith as he spoke, taking a deep breath at what his friend was telling him. He almost couldn't believe this really. It made no sense. "Why would Hades want to start a war?" he asked then, dropping his hands to his side, but only for a moment as he paced around the room.

Gently, Aria took Keith's place as he stood, sitting on the bed gingerly. "The Gods strive on the mortals Leo." she explained quietly. "Depending on the situations mortals deal with, certain Gods gain more power, mostly Zeus since he's the king. In a time of war, Ares grows stronger but only in the war of mortals. In the war of gods, the mortals are fearful. They don't understand what's happening in the world around them. In their fear, Hades grows stronger."

Leo was shaking his head, pacing like a caged tiger. For all that Aria was being quiet and gentle, Leo was getting angrier and more frustrated. That didn't explain why it had to be Sara. "Aphrodite has plenty of other kids. Why Sara?" he asked then, looking back at Aria as he turned around to pace in the other direction in front of the bed.

Keith shrugged, "We don't really know. It might have to do with Sara not being like any other daughter of Aphrodite, and the fact she looks freakign identical to her mother" He said, looking at Aria to see if she had anything to add. He sighed, stretching out, arms above his head.

He glanced at the room next door, wondering if Sara was alright, he figured she was, because Leo wouldn't leave her if she wasn't. He frowned, running his fingers through his hair, Leo looked pissed, seriously pissed, which was nerve wracking.

Sara shifted on the bed. Someone was calling to her, begging her to come to him. She winced, her body trying to drag itself up. She winced, struggling against the compelling voice. She wanted to wake up, but something was keeping her under.

"Yea, Keith has a point..." Aria murmured. She stared distantly at the carpet, chewing her lip gently. The more she thought about it, the less Sara was like her other sibilings. She didn't seem that conscious of her appearance whenver they went out, unlike her sisters who Aria had never seen wearing anything other than designer labels. And she wasn't exactly into the whole flirt/gossip like most of the other girls either.
"Sara's the least like her sibilings if anything..." Aria said then.

Leo was still pacing, though he was starting to calm down. He didn't want to go back to Sara angry. She'd ask questions, and this he didn't exactly want to tell her. She'd worry then. Leo groaned, sighing again as he rubbed his face and brushed his hair back for a moment before letting it fall back as it was.
"So the voice she's hearing is Hades?" Leo said then, his back towards them as he peeked into the room. She'd fallen back asleep. Leo winced, hoping she would be alright for another minute or so.

Aria chewed her lip. "Possibly..." she murmured. Leo glanced back at her, stepping away from the door.
"Can you think of anyway to stop him?" he asked, forcing his hands to relax before clenching them into fists and shoving them in his pockets. The burning was working on his anger, which wasn't good. Leo took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down.

Keith winced, it was true, Sara was nothing like the rest of her family.
"Maybe Sara was intentional. You know, out parents aren't really supposed to have kids with mortals, maybe Aphrodite was defying Zeus again, having a child deliberately" He suggested, shaking his head and frowning. He watched Leo, he could tell he was nervous. He glanced at Aria, worried, was there even a way to stop Hades?

Sara tossed violently, ripping open several over her cuts. Blood dripped down her back, staining the blankets that she was lying on top of. Her arms tightened around her pillow, a small frown on her face. She wanted to go to the voice, but she was to hurt to even get off of the bed. She had re-fractured her leg in her attempt to stand, though it didn't look like that as she was sprawled on the bed again.

Aria frowned. "Still doesn't explain why Hades is targetting her...though I guess is she was intentional then Aphrodite might care for her a bit more?" that was asking a lot though. The Gods had a number of kids, playing favorites was never good, and for this particular reason.

"Still didn't answer my question..." Leo murmured, bouncing impatiently, wanting to go back to Sara. He wasn't sure how long Sara could stay asleep.
"I don't know Leo..." Aria said, softly again. She clenched her jaw at the golden in Leo's eyes. He sighed and rubbed his face.
"Fantastic." Leo muttered, shaking his head and walking back into the room with Sara.

He cursed then, seeing the fresh blood on the sheets. He kneel down on the floor next to the bed, holding Sara's hand tightly. "Sara? Sara..." Leo murmured quietly, shaking her gently, sending the ferocious heat into her, needing it out of his system. And right now, healing her was a postive way of letting the heat out.

Keith winced, shaking his head.
"Neither of us really know Leo" He admitted, shaking his head and sighing. He glanced at Aria, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her protectively. He watched the door shut and sighed.
"Oh fantastic" He grumbled, kissing her cheek before releasing her lightly and sitting down on the bed, tossing his arms up in the air, aggrivated.

Sara winced, feeling someone shaking her.
"Hmm? Leo?" She rubbed her eyes, still half zoned out. She wasn't really aware of all the pain in her body just yet, she was to sleep to acknowledge it. She felt the furious heat pouring into her, "What's wrong?" She asked tiredly.

Aria sighed, standing up as Keith walked towards her. She dug her face into his chest gently, turning her head to catch his lips.
"He'll be alright..." Aria murmured quietly, looking back at Keith as he sat down on the bed. She took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair, slowly working to braid the damp wavy locks as she walked around slowly.
"He's just frustrated. I don't blame him."


Leo sighed with relief as Sara woke up and answered him. "Don't move." he told her gently, watching the wounds on her back heal a little more than they had been before. The gashes weren't so deep now. He took a deep breath, strencthing the heat over her then, checking to see what else she had strained.
"Damn.." Leo murmured, closing his eyes as he realized her fracture was back. "You tried to stand up..." he murmured, quickly working to heal that, the heat within him responding eagily. "Strained yourself a good deal..."

Keith smiled as Aria kissed him. He shook his head, and sighed. "We're all stressed" He murmured, shaking his head and smiling at her.
"Well, I hope we figure it out, I mean, is there anyway to even stop Hades from getting what he wants?" He asked softly, looking at her curiously. He rubbed the back of his neck, stretching out on the bed. He really enjoyed the attention from her, but right now tehy were both stressed. He winced, feeling his injuries paining him.
"Ow" He hissed, rubbing his side.

Sara winced, looking at Leo, "I did? Oh damn" She gasped, starting to feel the strain in her body. She sighed, rubbing at her eyes.
"I hate this" She grumbled, looking at Leo with a sad expression. She was still lying on her stomach.
"Can I move onto my back again? Or do you want me to stay like this?" She asked him curiuosly.

Aria rubbed her lips gently. "No...there isn't..." she said grimly, shaking her head gently. The Gods always got what they wanted. There was no way to get around it. It was just a matter of time. Something clicked in Aria's mind and she sat down gently on the bed, holding her braid.
"No...but....if worst comes to worst...there's a way we can get her back..." Aria murmured quietly, looking at Keith then with wide worried eyes. She really hoped it wouldn't come to that though.


"Not yet..." Leo said, his eyes still closed, his hands still clamped over her, the heat still rushing out of him. He frowned as he worked, sending most of it to her back so that Sara could at least be comfortable and since those were the worst gashes and cuts she had.
"I know, I know..." Leo murmured, sighing and opening his eyes then. They were a dull, soft brown now. He sat up, pulling the bandage's away from Sara's back to look at the cuts. That's all the major gashes were now, shallow cuts that would probably heal on their own in a few days. Which was a relief, because no, Leo felt exhausted.
"Alright. You can lay on your back down if you want..." Leo breathed, sighing and wipping his forehead and rocking back on his heals.

"I'd prefer it didn't come to that, but what would we have to do?" They had to be prepared for the worst. In case Sara did, well, die, they had to get her back. He glanced up at the gods, offering a silent prayer that that wouldn't happen.
"Hopefully they'll intervene" He said, looking at the sky. He glanced back at Aria, wondering how they could possibly get Sara out of the underworld. Aria had said herself that it was just a certain amount of time, and Sara would be gone, unless, well, unless something drastic happened.
"Aria, is there anything that could well, stop Hades from going after her. I mean, even if we can get her back from the UNderworld, it will kill Leo to see her die" He murmrued, wincing as he even mentioned it.

Sara smiled, waiting patiently, before rolling onto her back. She winced, her leg throbbed.
"My leg still fractured?" She asked Leo, he had been focusing mainly on her back, she knew that. He looked exahusted, and she patted the bed next to her lightly, she was aware, for the first time of how sore her arms were.
"Did I do something to my arms?" She asked, wincing a bit.

Aria chewed her lip gently. "I-I'm not sure...Orpehus almost did it...he went down to the underworld, made a deal with Hades to get the spirit of his wife back. Hades agreed..." Aria murmured, trying to remember the story as she spoke. "On the terms that Orpehus walked back out and never once turned to look behind him. His wife would follow, but if he looked at her before they left the underworld, she would return back to the Land of the Dead forever." Aria finished, nodding to herself. She wasn't going to add that Orpehus had failed, and his wife's spirit and returned to the underworld.
"I-I know but..." Aria swallowed and shuddered. She didn't like the idea one bit. "I don't know what we can do though..."


Leo nodded numbly, slidding on the bed and laying down next to her. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to stop the world from spinning on him. Damn that had nearly drained him.
"You're leg has a minor fracture. I couldn't heal it all the way.." Leo murmured, rubbing his face. "You're arms? I think you dislocated one shoulder but otherwise I healed the minor breaks you had, though brusing is another story entirely." Leo sighed, blinking back as he looked over at her.

Keith winced.
"Oh lord" He grumbled, "I suppose that'll work in a fix, but Leo would look, hell I would look" He frowned, "Let's just hope" He murmured, they could make a deal with Hades if they had to.
"Don't mention this to Leo" He murmured, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her, sighing and shaking his head.
"It'll work out" He murmured, kissing her lightly.

Sara winced, shaking her head.
"Oh" She rubbed her eyes, cuddling against Leo like she had earlier. She needed to be close to him, it was reassuring.
"I suppose no walking for me then?" She teased, trying to lighten the mood. She knew someone, something was trying to kill her, but so far, they hadn't succeeded.

Aria took a deep breath and nodded. "Maybe not...not if he knew it was the only way to get her back..." Aria murmured quietly. She smiled lightly despite herself as Keith stood over her and wrapped her in his arms. She sighed in relief, digging her face lightly into his chest again, pulling her arms to her chest.
"I hope so." Aria prayed, glancing up at the ceiling before looking back at Keith. Her breath caught in her throat as Keith kissed her lightly. She slid her arms around his neck, needing to stand on her tip toes to kiss him back.
"Why must you be so tall?" Aria murmured quietly, pressing her lips to his again.


Leo sighed, wrapping his arm around Sara gently, loosely, tiredly. He chuckled. "That's what I'm hoping.." he murmured quietly, smirking tiredly as he sighed, closing his eyes again. The heat was dull in his palm, just a lightl sensation in his fingertips and palm at the moment. He could feel the sun setting like a pull in his head, yanking him down onto the matrice harder. Leo groaned, rubbing his forehead roughly, cursing quietly to himself.

Keith laughed, wrapping hsi arms around her tighter.
"It's how I am" He teased, shrugging his shoulders lightly. He bent his head a bit, smiling as despite her best efforts, she still had to stand on tiptoe. He smirked, and the carefully lifted her up, setting her on the bed.
"It's not my fault you're short" He teased, glancing outside as he saw the sun slowly setting.
"We should get some dinner. Should I ask Leo and Sara if they want anything?" He asked, he knew Leo would be out soon, though Sara probably wouldn't be. He glanced at the time, it was late, teh sun was setting later and later.

Sara smiled, cuddling against Leo contently.
"Meanie" She teased again. She glanced up, realizing the sun was going down.
"Go to sleep, I'll be right here, like you said, I can't walk" She knew she had apparently attempted, hopefully she could stay awake all night. She felt safer sleeping when Leo was awake, to keep her from doing something stupid.

"I'm not short." Aria snapped, laughing in surprise as Keith lifted her up and set her back down on the bed. She still had her hand gripping his shoulder and she bit her lip against her racing heart. She half expected him to kiss her again, but instead he simply asked about dinner. Aria pulled her hands away and rubbing her stomach gently.
"I could use a quick bite to eat..." she murmured honestly. She glanced at the closed door and nodded for him to go ahead and ask. Though she doubted if Sara was actually hungry, or if Leo was even awake.

Leo sighed. He took Sara's hand, lacing his fingers with her, bringing it up to his lips and kissing her hand gently.
"I love you." Leo murmured, meaning every word, needing her to know that. He looked over at her then with a small smile, entirely serious at the moment. He knew she couldn't walk, but she had tried, and he was a bit nervous about sleeping, leaving her, afraid she wouldn't be there when he woke up.
"I love you so much, don't ever forget that ok?" Leo said, pulling her closer gently and kissing her lightly as to not hurt her.

Keith grinned, pressing his lips to Aria's for a moment.
"I'll be right back" He murmrued, shaking his head and opening the adjoining door. He winced at what he was overhearing.
"Er, hey guys. Aria and I are just gonna go get some food, do you want anything?"
"No thanks" Sara murmured, glancing over her shoulder at Keith, smiling lightly.

Sara sighed, cuddling against Leo.
"I love you too, and I won't ever forget that, I promise" She murmured, cuddling against him, though she glanced up as Keith came in.
"No thanks" She murmured, smiling at him. She wasn't hungry, not at all. She was a bit freaked about what would happen if she fell asleep tonight.

Aria gasped quietly, her heart jumping into her throat as Keith kissed her. But then he was gone, leaving her to quietly catch her breath. She settled for nodding, falling back on the bed as Keith left the room. She grinned, rubbing her lips gently which still tingled from Keith's kiss. Aria shuddered, still estatic that things between her and Keith had finally worked out.

Leo chuckled, glancing a Keith for a moment before sighing and closing his eyes. Food? At a time like this? Leo shook his head no. He was much to stressed right to even consimplate eating anything.
''No I'm good...'' Leo murmured, sighing and shaking his head gently.