Calista's eyes followed the owl as it swooped in after both the boy's speech. She was awed; she didn't think anything would happen. She then looked over Adonis' shoulder and to the piece of parchment that the owl dropped. She then read;

I may not know much about the book that has brought the maidens here..
But, I and all the other gods and goddesses are here to help.
Pericles might help.
Your destination is in Thebes, where the temples of Apollo reside.
Ask the priestesses for help, for I, personally, can't tell you Pericles location.
I promised him to keep it a secret.
Maidens from another world, I have a question for you,
Do you really want to leave this place?
And to the men as their guide,
Do you really want to send them home?
The answer lies deep in your hearts.

Adonis looked at the glowing words. They were written in perfect calligraphy. When he blinked, the words were gone from the parchment. But, he knew that those words were etched in his mind.

Angela blinked and looked at her companions. She already knew the answer to the question it asked. "Ali... did... did we actually... just get... a literal answer?" she asked, in whispered awe, giving her a look that told her she already knew the answer.

Tad stared at the now blank parchment. What did he really want? Before he wanted them gone, so that the real Pandora and Adara couldcome home... but now... after watching his best friend agonize over the new girl... he wasn't so sure. He wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. If that meant that these strangers stay... so be it. He was starting to gt used to Calista.. even Angela.

"I-I think we did." Calista beamed. She literally squealed. "I don't think anyone is going to believe us when we get home..." Her voice trailed off at the end. 'If we get home.' Ali silently thought. Mustering up a smile, she then asked, "Do you guys know where Thebes is?" She wasn't sure if she wanted to go home. Everything seemed to be easier right here.

Adonis kept staring at the parchment right after the words disappeared, he held his breath, although disbelieving. He has never received an answer like this. "I-I-I think so." He replied to Ali's question. "Although, how are we going to tell this to our parents? They'll never believe that you two aren't the real Pandora and Adara."

Angela thought for a moment, perplexed by Adonis' question, then it hit her "we don't tell them that. We tell them we're going to Thebes... for some... I don't know... festival or something. That we're going as friends, surely the 4 of you didn't always stay in Athens... right?" she asked, looking at Adonis and Tad.

"Transportation to other cities may be easy and relitively cheap where you're from, but here, most people don't leave the city they grew up in, and if they do, they don't go far. Thebes is quite far from Athens... but if we make a good enough excuse, they might even help. Any ideas?" Tad asked, looking around the room.

"I guess that would work." Cliantha mused, listening to Angela's suggestion. She then tried thinking of an excuse to let all of them go to Thebes. "Well, don't you guys have any relatives there?" She asked.

Adonis shook his head. "My family would rather stay here in Athens than in busy, bustling Thebes." He replied, wondering if there were any other relatives that his mother kept from him. Possibly on his father's side.

Angela made a face "that provides a problem... what about you, Tad?" she asked, turning to him.

Tad winced "yeah... I have a brother... we could probably use him. I could make up a letter or something and say that I recieved an invitation for me and the three of you. my family would definately believe it, I'm the only one that knows his true character" he replied.

((Will be a lot slower now that school has started for me...))

"Yeah, I guess his brother would be okay." Calista slowly replied, not sure if this plan was actually going to work.

"I think my mother has met your brother a few times." Adonis mused, somewhat forgetting what Tad's brother looked like. He then looked at the enormous statue of Athena and silently thanked her.

((no worries, school will be starting for me soon as well. Also, btw, in my post I have them as living in Chicago, I can change this if you want, but I always imagined them being from New York City or some other big city like that.))

Adara tured to Calista and smiled "it looks like we're going to Thebes. This is rather exciting, I wonder what'll happen... will we stay here, or will we return home? Either way, I just hope that Pandora and Adara are alright in modern day Chicago" she said.

Tad smirked "I wouldn't worry about them, they can take care of themselves. I know, I went all crazy on you beforehand because I was worried about them. But this trip to the temple has made me realize something. The gods are in control of this whole mess. We have recieved help straight from the gods... I don't see why they can't in this 'Chicago' that you speak of. If it is the gods' will that you stay with us, then so be it. It also means that it is the Gods' will that Pandora and Adara stay where they are. Either way, we still have to go visit my brother at some point, otherwise my family will never believe that we actually went to go see him. They'll think something crazy like... I don't know... we're all getting married or something like that" he pointed out with a shudder.

((That's what I thought, too! About the places, I mean.))

"They probably are. Someone there has to be helping them." Calista mused, wondering if her parents probably noticed the difference. Probably not. "Pshh... Getting married? That's crazy." She found herself saying. 'Or not.' The little voice in her head chimed.

"So, are we headed to your house first, Tad?" Adonis asked, somehow wanting to get out of the temple. 'If we stay here any longer, Athena might urge us on.'

Angela nodded "at the very least we should do something. Whether we're going to his house or not, we need to do something" she said as she stood up. She leaned against a pillar and looked at her companions.

Tad nodded and stood up, reaching out a hand to help Calista up. "Yeah, let's head over. The sooner we leave for Thebes, the better. No matter what happens... we need some answers" he told his companions, his eyes fixed on Calista.

"But what do we pack up? I've never been in a trip like this." Calista asked, wondering what the people carried as they traveled to another huge city. She held on to Tad's hand to help herself up. But, when she felt his gaze on her, she looked away, feeling something else. "Y-yeah. We should go." Ali reverted back to her quiet side.

Adonis looked over at Angela and offered a hand. "I'm guessing we should all go to Tad's house first." He said.

Angela placed her hand in Adonis' trying to hide the smile that seemed to automatically come, and stood up. She let go of the hand to keep anyone from thinking anything from it. She didn't want to get attatched if she was going to just go back home.

Tad sighed and nodded "unfortunately, my house is the best place to go. Might as well start moving now" he said, clenching his hand into a fist to relieve the slight tingling sensation he got when Calista put her hand in his. Get a grip, Tad, he commanded himself and started to walk out of the temple, leading the way to his home.

Calista moved closer to Angela as they all went to Tad's house, keeping silent. She wasn't sure what she felt back then, but then she kept her feelings in check. 'I mean, I am going home, right?'

Adonis kept looking at Angela, wondering what was on her mind at the moment. He whispered to Tad, "I'm not sure if our parents are going to buy that story."

Angela smiled softly at Calista and wrapped her arm around her shoudlers "it's alright, it's going to be alright" she told her softly, hugging her lightly.

Tad raised an eyebrow at Adonis "why wouldn't they believe it? We're going to Thebes to go meet my brother, why wouldn't they believe it?" he asked. He vaguely noticed Angela hug Calista in what seemed to be a comforting manner is she alright? Are... are they both alright? he asked himself.

"I'm fine, Angela." Calista said, a little bit too rude. She sighed and looked up at the sky, avoiding any of their eyes.

"I don't know." Adonis sighed. "I'm just anxious, that's all."

Angela was surprised by Calista's tone and just retreated. "Ok... well... I"m here if you need to talk to someone" she said a little quietly, slightly hurt by the harshness of her best friend. She pulled back slightly and was startled to find that she almost ran into Tad and Adonis "sorry" she mumbled.

Tad's eyebrows knit in confusion. What's going on? aren't they best friends? he asked himself, looking between Calista and Angela. He sighed and turned to Adonis "well, it's going to be alright. Whatever happens it will all work out. If they don't believe us, we'll just tell them we've been sent by the gods to go to Thebes" he told Tad, putting his hand out to stop Angela from running into them. He shook his head when she apologized "don't worry about it" he said quietly, handing her off to Adonis before moving ahead so he could walk next to Calista. He didn't speak, he figured she wasn't in the mood, but he simply walked next to her.

Calista realized that Tad had fallen back and was now walking beside her. She kept quiet, rubbing her arms and wishing that she shouldn't have been so rude with Angela. 'Now she is with Adonis, and that's going to be hard for her', She thought, looking at Tad every now and then.

Adonis casually looked beside him and was surprised that it was Angela, not Tad. He saw that Tad had fallen back, accompanying Ali. He then asked, "So, do you think this world is immensely different from yours?"

Angela looked at Adonis and nodded "quite different. For one, the level of technology is beyond what you'd imagine. I'm from a big city, so there's always people everywhere. There's even more at night. There are quieter cities in the country I live in, but still, they're still pretty busy. I think, though, that the biggest shock is having to do things the 'primitave' way because I'm used to my world's level of technology" she answered.

Tad looked over at Ali "are you cold?" he asked quietly, trying to get her to speak, yet at the same time making sure it sounded innocent and not like he was worried about her. The Tad she knew wouldn't be worried about her... the Tad he knew wouldn't be worried about her. But he was, he just hope he wasn't catching the same bug as Adonis. She's a human being, that's why I worry about her, I'm not heartless, he thought to himself.

Calista shook her head. "No, I'm not cold." She gave a faint smile to Tad, reassuring him that there was nothing wrong with her. But she felt alone in the world at the moment. Sometimes, she has these moments of depression. It was gnawing at her, making her more silent than usual.

Adonis smiled. "So, does that make my world better than yours?" He asked in a teasing voice.

Angela smiled in response to the teasing "no... but I'm not saying that my world's better than yours either. They're both very different, but regardless of the level of technology, it's a home to someone. I'm sure fo Pandora and Adara, they're having a hard time adjusting to the technology, they'll have to learn how to do certain things, while others will just plain scare them. If you were to see what we have, you'd probably think we all were capable of magic, or that we're a city that is watched over by the gods themselves or something. But, Ali... Ali and I made out alright, we have friends back there that will help them, just as you and Tad are helping Ali and I. By now I'm sure they've thought up a routine of sorts to live through the world" she told him.

Tad nodded to show he understood "you know... if you ever need to talk to someone... I'll listen. I know that in the past I haven't been all that friendly towards you... but no matter what happens, for the time being you and Angela are stuck here... I might as well just... learn to accept that. I will listen if you want someone to talk to" he said softly, looking into her eyes at the end. Those eyes... look just like Pandora's... She has taken Pandora's body and is using it as her own... there's so much life... so much sadness in those eyes. How can anyone see that this girl and pandora are two very different people? he asked himself.

Calista looked sideways at Tad as a faint smile played upon her lips. "Okay." She said, a light illuminating within her. She had become more lively as the depression from her eyes disappeared. 'If we are going to be stuck here,' She thought. 'I might as well be friendly with both of them.'

Adonis nodded with every word she said. She was opening up to him and he knew it. "I'm sure those two will be fine. They were well known here as the girls who wouldn't give up." He sighed and remembered Adara's stubbornness.

Angela smiled and playfully bumped against him "see, you agree. Cheer up, they're fine" she told him and mentally slapped herself. I'm flirting with him again. None of that until you get to Thebes, alright? Argh! Why does this have to be so difficult? she asked herself. She already knew which world she wanted to stay in. "You know... I actually wish that I could stay here... in all honesty. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to take Adara and Pandora away from you forever... I just... feel more at home here than I do at home. Maybe... maybe we could stay here as ourselves, while Adara and Pandora come back" she suggested. Only one downside to that... Adara and Adonis are in love with each other, even if they haven't confessed. If she comes back... I'll lose him, she thought.

((edit: gah! I forgot Tad's story! ^-^'''))

Tad nodded and looked up ahead, forcing himself to look away from Calista's eyes, "it looks like we're here" he commented, seeing the familiar setting of his home come into view. "Let's hurry up, the sooner we do this, the sooner we get to Thebes and figure out what's going on" he said, and the sooner Calista leaves... I can't get attatched to her. I fear the longer she even stays in my presence... the harder it will be to welcome Pandora back. But, I will not fall in love with her... I can't. I love Pandora... not Calista. I can't fall in love with her... just ignore her eyes and you should be fine, Tad, he mused, keeping himself from making eye contact with her.

((That's alright... ^_^))

Calista slightly frowned when Tad refused to look into her eyes. 'Wha? Why isn't he-' She stopped herself halfway and pinched herself. 'No! No, what am I doing? I have a wonderful life in the future. I'm popular, I'm admired, but why do I feel so lousy about going back?' She rubbed her arms and went inside Tad's home, politely not making a sound.

Adonis kept his head down as Angela playfully bumped against him. He didn't want her to see his expression at the moment. He looked at her when she said that she had wanted to stay here instead of her own time. He was battling with his feelings right now. 'Was I even in love with Adara?'

Angela noticed Adonis' adversion to look at her and it slightly worried her. However, just before she could point out her worries, they arrived at Tad's house. So, she shut her mouth and let Tad do the talking. She did, however, reach over and grab Adonis' hand, giving it a light squeeze of reassurance.

Tad caled out to his parents when he entered and soon his father showed up "hey dad... um... we were all wondering if we could head over to Thebes. Percius must be lonely over there, we could go sight-seeing and entertain him at the same time" Tad suggested "spit it out boy, don't give me this 'going to see Percius' nonsense. I know you don't like him" his father remarked. Tad sighed "well... let's put it this way... we're being sent by the gods" Tad answered. Tad's father raised and eyebrow and then shrugged "alright, just behave" he said and walked away. Tad sighed and turned to Adonis "and you were worried they wouldn't allow it" he commented, noticing how Angela and Adonis were holding hands. I wonder what Calista's hand--stop it Tad! Focus on Pandora, you're in love with her, not Calista. She doesn't want to stay here so don't try to keep her here! Tad berated himself.

Calista was incredibly surprised that Tad's dad would just let them go. Back at her time, her parents would probably ask her a lot of questions about where they were going, what they were going to do, or ow they were going to get there. It was tedious, actually.

Adonis smiled at Angela, squeezing her hand back. He was comforted and anxious at the same time, just holding her hand. He raised an eyebrow at Tad. "Of course I was worried." His voice was worrisome. "I don't think my mom would let me out of Athens."