Mostly Normal: Only Half of the Story

(Rio) Act Four, Scene Four

Taka sat on his legs with his hands in his lap. Salvador was sitting on Rio's bed. Rio had managed to clear all of his siblings out of the cabin. He sat on his bed and took a deep breath before he turned to the two other males.

"Why are you two here?" Rio asked with a pensive look on his face.

Taka shifted his hands so that they were pulled out of his kimono, "There are four of us, though we are divided. Salvador and I are connected to each other. Hakizimana, the missing link and you are connected to each other. We are all connected. I do not know why some of your other siblings were chosen as well, but I know that there is one more member of our group that we need to find." Taka said, explaining with his hands along the way.

"Who am I linked to again?" Rio asked as he slid onto the floor to be at the same level as his friends.

"Do you remember back when we were in grade school and then the first year of Middle School?" Salvadore asked as he moved his long black hair away from his eyes.

Rio nodded and Taka began to play with his kimono hem. "Do you remember Hakizimana? The little Egyptian boy?" Taka asked.

"Was he a demigod as well?" Rio asked as he began to rub his temples.

"Not exactly," Taka began to explain, "the Egyptian gods really should not have children. He is a magician.

"And we need your help to find him," Salvador said with finality in his voice. Rio sighed and got off of the floor. He walked towards the door and motioned for the other boys to follow him.

Once they were all outside, Rio noticed that his half brother, Elliot, was walking out of the forest with water droplets in his hair. Rio shook it off as nothing and continued his way to the big house.

When they were finally at the large house, Taka had nearly fallen over fifteen rocks, and scared all the campers by making the sixteenth one blow up. "Rio, at least tell us what you're doing!" Salvador yelled as he ran alongside his best friend.

"We're going to get a quest from Chiron," Rio explained as he continued on his way. The troupe of thirteen-year-olds walked onto the porch and Rio marched over to the door and knocked sharply.

The door opened and Rio felt himself shrink back as the majestic centaur rose to his full height outside of the house. Chiron smiled and leaned down so that he could talk to Rio, "Rio, what do you need?"

Rio gulped and then stood up straight, "I need a quest."

"Whatever for, boy?" Chiron asked.

"My friends are from different mythologies," Rio began to explain, "Salvador is Roman, like me, and Taka is Japanese. They both told me that all of the mythologies are connected to a certain Janus kid. I am connected to another who we need to go on a quest to find."

Taka shifted nervously in the background, and Salvador had a hip popped out to the side as he listened to Rio. Chiron nodded and then reluctantly issued them with a quest. The trio then ran back down to the Janus cabin with bright smiles on their faces.

As Rio began to pack for the journey, Madeline reentered the cabin. She looked at Taka and laughed a little bit, "Hey lil' bro, are these your friends? This one looks like something out of Spirited Away," she said as she jabbed her thumb at Taka.

Rio rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, these are my friends. Taka, Salvador, this is my older half sister, Madeline."

"Why are you packing?" Madeline asked with concern laced into her words.

"I'm going on a quest," Rio said as he averted his eyes from her saddened stare.

"Rio! No, I just lost Ara, I can't lose you too!" Madeline shouted as she moved over to her younger brother.

"I'll be fine Maddie, just trust me okay?" Rio said as he stood up and hugged his older sister.