Mostly Normal: Only Half of the Story

(Rio) Act Three, Scene Five

Rio walked down the path. This entire camp was weird, especially compared to the one he had just come from. He had run out of his medication three weeks ago. And he was fretting about what was to come. He made it back to the hidden cabin within the trees. When he entered he sighed in relief when he noticed that no one was in the cabin.

Rio fell to his knees and giggled, once and then another. Soon he was giggling and twitching non-stop. His mind was clouded and he could not decipher his thoughts.

He felt two loving arms wrap around him, he was hoisted awkwardly into someone's lap. "Rio, I need you to calm down. Can you do this for me?" Ara asked with the sweetest, calmest voice that she had ever used in all her life. He stopped giggling and his thoughts cleared.

He took a large breath before he felt stable. He looked up at his older sister who said, "See, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

Nico knelt on the ground next to the giggling boy, who had at some point unwound his fingers from within his curly red locks. Nico placed a tender hand on the smaller boy's back, "Rio? This isn't like you, what's going on?"

Suddenly a shout came from within the Janus cabin, "Nora said, SHUT UP!" All of the Janus children came pouring out of the cabin.

Madeline was shouting about how happy and fun it was going to be to play in the leaves, Nora was shouting at Elliot and talking about herself in the third person.

Elliot was swearing more than a ship full of sailors could do in a month. It was scaring the majority of the campers, no one understood what was going on. Normally, the Janus kids were quiet and reserved, as they were taught to be at the Roman camp, but now they were so loud, Nico was pretty sure the mortals could hear them.

Nora came over to her giggling brother, an annoyed look on her nine-year-old face. "Nora says he's having a panic attack," she said, then looked more closely at the redheaded thirteen-year-old Rio and shook her head. "No," she said, "Nora actually says he's the fun Rio."

Nico gritted his teeth. "I know that," he said, trying not to panic himself, "how do I stop him?"

Madeline skipped over. "Rio's having fun, just like me!" she squealed, jumping up and down like a little kid, "Yay! Come on, Rio, let's go play in the leaves!"

Rio just giggled more, rocking back and forth in his hunched position. His green and blue eyes were tightly closed and he was laughing so hard tears fell from them. Nico was really starting to freak out.

Annabeth ran over to the scene with a still-swearing Elliot. "What on Olympus is going on with you four?" she asked skeptically, eyeing Rio who had now gotten out of his rocking position and was giggling with Madeline over leaf piles.

"I don't know," Nico said with a frightened look in his eyes.

"Let's bring them to the Apollo cabin," Annabeth said as she turned to the now arguing Nora and Elliot. "Can you grab the gigglers?"

Nico eyed Madeline and Rio, biting his lip. "I can get Rio," he said, "Madeline's too heavy."

"Don't worry about her," said a girl's voice from behind Nico, who jumped, "I can grab her."

Lorelai, the big Ares girl who had plopped Madeline into Fred's lap last night, separated the two playing half-siblings and hefted Madeline like she was a sack of flour. Nico stifled a grin as he retrieved Rio, who was still laughing like a maniac.

Annabeth had a motherly look on her face as she forced the two squabbling siblings apart. "Elliot. Knock. It. Off. Now." She said with finality laced into her words. She took Nora's hand and Elliot's ear and began to drag them down to the Apollo cabin.

Elliot yelled profanities all the way to cabin twelve, and Nora kept whimpering, "Nora says to stop pulling!" but Annabeth didn't listen. Lorelai snickered when Madeline started crying and pounding the bigger girl's back with her fists, screaming, "No! Back to leaf piles! No!"

At least Rio was relatively easy to escort. The only problem was his incessant giggling, which got on Nico's nerves after awhile.

When they finally got to the Apollo cabin, Nico was just about ready to stab Rio with his Stygian iron sword and suck out his life force, but he restrained himself. He's obviously not himself, he chided himself, maybe he's gone crazy or something. The Apollos will probably be able to cure him, and if not, we can pray to Dionysus or something.

Half of the Apollo cabin was already outside watching as the party entered the infirmary tent, which lay next door to the cabin. Will Solace approached the Janus children and their escorts with a bewildered look on his face, "What on earth and Olympus is going on here?" he asked.

"They just started acting like this suddenly," Nico explained. Kayla Arana walked over to Nora and took her from Annabeth, walking her over to one of the examination tables.

"I want to play in the leaf piles!" Madeline screeched from her spot on top of Lorelai's shoulder. Suddenly Fred ran into the infirmary tent and stared at his sister and girlfriend. "Wh-what's going on here?" he asked as he looked over at Nora, who was still talking in the third person.

"Nora says these people are scary!" Nora whimpered, "Nora wants to go back to the Janus cabin, now. Please?"

Annabeth smiled gently and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nora, but that's not possible right now. Something's up with you that we need to fix, and these people are the best ones for the job."

Will Solace shook his head in wonder. "Maybe these two girls, Annabeth, and the swearing boy, but the giggler is going to have to see Mr. D."

Annabeth sighed and nodded. She didn't much care for Dionysus, but it was the only thing to be done. Will gently took Rio's arm and led him into the cabin.

There was a shout from the infirmary and then everything went dead quiet. Annabeth had just enough time to catch Rio as he fell to the ground and into a heap. She dragged him back to the tent and away from being out in the open. At least he's no longer giggling, she thought with a sigh.

When she got back into the tent, the rest of the Janus children were asleep as well. She let out another sigh and placed Rio on a cot and placed a blanket over him in a motherly fashion.

END OF ACT THREE