Home of Thy Father - Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE</u>

Octavius’s POV
7:55 AM. New York City, New York

I stared at my hand. I could feel sweet, sweet air filling my lungs, like I was really breathing for the first time. I could feel the blood pulsing through my veins. I moved my fingers, watching the muscles move under my skin. The sun shone bright from the window, the light warming my face. I looked up, out the window, at the sun. I could finally see the sun. We could finally see the sun.

When the sun came up this morning, I was small, plastic and among those that don’t live. Nearly two hours later, I woke again to the sun on my face. I was no longer plastic, I was no longer dead. This, in itself, was enough to make my heart soar. But that wasn’t all. I was sitting on the bench between the dioramas, full size. And Jedediah was sitting behind me, on the other side.

I watched him sleep, and a smile broke out across my face. I knew how he so wanted to see the sun. I could already see him breaking into a grin – that huge, elated grin that shown through to his eyes. I watched him, arms crossed on the back of the bench, just happy to be his friend. I wished for more, of course. When a man so touches your heart that a simply smile brightens your day, how could you not wish to be more than friends?

It was a good time before it crossed my mind that we were human sized, which meant only one thing. Something had gone wrong with the tablet. I sat up and put my hand on Jedediah’s shoulder, shaking him. He stirred, grumbling.

“Jedediah, wake up.” I murmured. He finally opened his eyes and looked up at me. The sun shone straight in his face, and he covered his eyes, mumbling something about the ‘blasted sun’. After a second, he stopped.

“Wait a cotton pickin’ minute.” He said. He looked up. I smiled at him, the sun reflecting off my helmet.

“Good morning, Jedediah.” I said. I watched him look out the window, at the sun. His mouth, which had been slightly open from surprise, began to form into the biggest wide open grin I have ever seen. His eyes sparkled with childlike excitement. In a sudden fit of movement, he threw his arms around me in a quick and frenzied hug, before jumping up from the bench and jumping around.

He pulled me to my feet. “Why in blue blazes didn’tcha wake me sooner?” He asked, still grinning. “Jesus! Octavius! Lookit me! Lookit you! Lookit us!” Jed’s rambling was anything but coherent. “Shit, Octavius! We’re human!” He paused. “Howja think it happened?”

“I think someone upset the tablet. Let us go find our Liege. He should know the answer.” I smiled. Jed’s grin never wavered, never faded. He had his fists on his hips, ready for an adventure.

“Good idea, partner. C’mon.” He started off down the deserted hallway, boots clicking against the floor. I followed, watching, wondering.

Something didn’t feel right. There was no one in the halls. Not a soul. Where statues used to be, should be then, frozen, there were none. Dioramas were entirely cleared out.  I felt something sink into the pit of my stomach.

“Jedediah, does it not seem rather empty to you?” I asked, voicing my concern.

“Stop pissin’ yerself, Octy. Everyone’s pro’ably jus’ meetin’ in the lobby.” Jed answered in reply. I frowned.

“Jedediah, how could they meet in the lobby when they are supposed to be frozen?” I asked. Jed suddenly seemed to remember that is was not night, but day. He turned to look at me, and frowned, realizing the same thing I had before. We exchanged a glance of fear and worry, and without a word, we picked up speed, running to the lobby.

It was empty. Teddy was gone. Rexy was gone. Larry wasn’t even there. It was empty, but it was not silent. We could hear a tiny voice calling our names. We approached the desk, but saw nothing. I looked around for the voice, and when I found the source, I gasped.

Larry was on the desk, looking pissed and very, very tiny. “My liege!” I was surprised that he was so small. Jed leaned down and poked Tiny Larry in the chest.

“Gigantor! You ain’t so big no more.” Jed chuckled. Larry took a deep breath.

“Guys, you gotta help me!” He was shouting simply to be heard. “Something happened last night! Something on the tablet got flipped and everything that was normal sized shrank!” Larry looked us over. “And it seems you already know everything outside of your dioramas that was tiny grew.”

“Hell yeah we grew!” Jedediah pumped a fist into the air. “Woo! Feels amazing being so big!”

“That’s not the problem, guys!” Larry shouted a little louder to get our attention. “The tablet’s gone!”

“Gone?” Jedediah and I spoke with one voice. Larry nodded, knowing his predicament was realized, finally.

“Gone. You guys gotta help me. I gotta get to McPhee’s office and write him a note. I’m gonna tell him the tablet was stolen, along with a lot of the artifacts, which are actually just very small and hidden. I’m gonna tell him I went after the thief, and I’ve called the cops, yadda yadda.” Larry shifted.

“You have not alerted the authorities?” I asked.

“You think they’re going to listen to a man who’s two inches tall?” Larry retorted.

“Point taken, my liege.”

“What’re we gonna do then, Gigantor?” Jedediah asked, unable to drop his nickname for Larry, though his size was drastically different.

“I’m gonna take you two home with me.” Larry said. I put my hand down and Larry climbed onto it, having a moment of trouble. “Get you guys out of those costumes, give you some cash.” Larry sat down. “You two are gonna find the guy who took the tablet and bring it back.”

“Woo!” Jed clicked his heels. “This day jus’ keeps gittin’ better ‘n better!”

“How are we to find them, my liege?” I asked, excited and worried. The man could be anywhere by this point, I figured.

“Let me write my boss that note and I’ll show you.”

~*~

I sat comfortably in the back room, waiting. Larry had gone to find something to show us, and Jedediah was using a closed off space to change into a night guard’s uniform. I was next to change. Our clothing would be too conspicuous on the streets of New York.

“I don’t care what Gigantor says, I ain’t leavin’ my hat.” Jedediah sauntered back into the room. His pockets bulged a little, possibly from where he was hiding the guns Larry also told him not to bring. I shook my head but said nothing. Quickly, I grabbed a uniform and went to go change.

I came back out moments later to find that Larry had returned. He and Jedediah were bent over a piece of well worn paper, pondering over something.

“What is that?” I asked, sitting next to Jed. The Cowboy lifted his hat and scratched his head.

“It’s a riddle. The thief left it.” Larry pushed the paper towards me as best he could. “I’ve looked over it a thousand times and I can’t seem to figure it out.”

I looked at the paper for a long moment. The script was written in a flowing cursive, but the letters stuttered, like whomever wrote this wasn’t used to speaking English. After a second, I read the riddle aloud.

“I sit in what was once the west
I am the oldest, saved the best
Built not once, but twice redone
Baked by fire, baked by sun
Built by many, built for all
I survived the great era’s fall
I stand again, brought to right
Live my glory through the night
A clue hides in the legend writ
M•AGRIPPA•L•F•COS•TERTIVM•FECIT.”

“I can’t figure out what that last part means. I know it’s got to mean someplace in Europe, where the West used to be, but I can’t get it.” Larry flopped down on Jed’s leg, rubbing his temples.

“Don’t ‘spect me ta know how ta figure this out, partner. Shoot, I thought tha West mean like, tha Wild West.” Jedediah, too, seemed disheartened. I read the riddle over again and smiled.

“It’s the Pantheon.” I said simply. Both Jed and Larry looked at me like I was crazy. “The Pantheon, from the glory of Rome. It is the oldest building still standing, and it was rebuilt a second time after a great fire. Pantheon is Latin for “Every God”, and it’s original intent was a temple built for all the gods, not just one. It still stands today, after surviving the fall of the Roman Empire. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a replica in my diorama.” I shrugged. The riddle seemed easy to me, but I was armed with the right knowledge.

“Yeah, you’re right!” Larry hopped up, excited. “But, what does the last part mean?”

“M•AGRIPPA•L•F•COS•TERTIVM•FECIT is written on the side of the Pantheon. It stands for Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit, which is Latin. Translated, it means Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this.” I smiled. Jedediah was smiling too.

“So the tablet’s in Rome?” He asked.

“I do not know. His riddle simply leads us to the Pantheon. It does not say the tablet is there.” I sighed. There’s where my knowledge ran dry. Larry, however, did not seem dampened by the thought.

“If he wants you to go there enough to hand-write a riddle, then I think it’s a good start.” He said. “Now, c’mon. Let’s get you to my house before McPhee comes in. We’ll get you some cloths you can wear, some breakfast, and hopefully get you started. We gotta find that tablet.”

I was smiling broadly as we exited the museum. Excitement was welling up in my gut and exploding through my face. Jedediah and I were traveling to Rome. I was finally going to see Rome up close. The real Rome.

I felt like I was going home at last.