Reuben Lopez was an orphan. It was unknown whether his parents were alive, but he was at least raised in St. Valentine Orphanage, Boston. He had been dropped by a parent at the door when he was just a baby and grown up there since then. The only thing he ever got from his parents was a written note with his name on it.
He didn't have many fond memories of his childhood. The matrons were mean and were jerks without exception. And given that this was a time when Orphanages were being rapidly changed, with all kinds of shenanigans going on and the government preferring foster homes better, it was not that hard to believe.
The change had started in the dawn of 1940s, and many orphanages had been closed down since then due to funding problems.
Reuben was a bit of a problem child, as all demigods are. He had trouble sleeping at night, as he felt full of energy then and slept through the light hours. He could not sit still for more than 10 minutes, and had closed spaces. Nathan had no idea if Reuben was simply projecting his experience in the Labyrinth into his backstory or if it was actually the case from the start.
It it were the case, then his time in the Labyrinth would have indeed been hell.
While Reuben claimed he could read and write without problems, Nathan was doubtful of that claim since Reuben was a demigod, but he didn't linger on that. What he did claim, however, was he hated studying. It required him to sit in a single spot and scribble mindlessly onto paper.
And let's be honest, at his age, no one likes to study; so Nathan didn't find that as particularly strange.
Although he had managed to pick up reading, he still had some venom in his heart for it.
If his words were to be trusted, one of the matrons regularly used to beat the children with a metal belt for being in-subordinate, which prompted him to try and run away many times. He had a certain knack for running away; and apparently, the caretakers had to get regular police help to find him, being unable to run him down themselves.
And so, his attempts had always resulted in failure. Until he succeeded that is. He was leaning on a wall when the wall opened up and swallowed him, dropping him... here.
He had spent a day in darkness, too afraid to move until he realized help may not be coming.
Strangely enough, Reuben claimed he could somewhat bear the darkness, even navigate it given time.
But the problem he had was tight spaces and the constant noises all around him. One time, he had heard the voice of one of his matrons coming from the halls. He had run the other way immediately.
Nathan gave him a mental thumbs up for quick thinking.
After two days of wandering, when he was at his wits' end and too tired to move, Freddy had stumbled upon him.
The squirrel ignored him at first, but soon developed an interest in him for some reason. When asked from the squirrel himself, he simply replied with a squeak.
And the squeak translated to 'It was a momentary desire that arose in my cheat. No good squirrel will leave a demigod in place, y'know. For the final battle, the more people there are the merrier!'
"The final battle?" Nathan asked, feeling suspicious. Was the squirrel enacting some grand plan?
It squeaked, 'The battle that destroys everything, of course! Ragnarök!'
"You saved him because you want more people for when Ragnarök comes?"
'Exactly!'
"Why are you so happy about it? Wouldn't it destroy the world tree?" Nathan felt confused. Ratatoskr and his spawns ran all around the world tree. If the world tree was destroyed, what would they be doing then?
'Well, of course it will! But imagine! The culmination of hundreds of thousands of years, all leading up to an event of godly importance! Everything that happens, from the Death of Baldr to the chaining of Fenrir to the movement of a single pebble! All of it leading up to one glorious end! Ragnarök! The absolute end, orchestrated by none other than my Father!'
Realization dawned upon him, and Nathan once again re-evaluated Freddy in his mind, classifying him as a psychopathic rodent who had an inflated image about his father. Last he remembered, the only thing Ratatoskr did in bringing about the twilight of the Gods was rage bait two of the strongest beings in Norse Mythology into ripping through creation to run the ones. There wasn't anything else he ever did. But Nathan decided against correcting the oversized squirrel and focused on the topic.
He looked at Reuben again, and felt deeply sympathetic for the boy. Demigods don't fit into the mundane world, especially when they are more prone to getting into trouble due to their... uniquenesses.
Regardless, Reuben's quirks didn't ring any bells in Nathan's head. Energetic at night, great at running, navigation in the dark; all of them combined weren't something he could associate with any kids at Camp Half-Blood. He did seem to have ADHD but claimed to be able to read properly, only he didn't want to.
What if... Nathan threw a glance at Freddy and a theory brew in his mind. What if his parent is not Greek? Maybe Meso-American or even Norse? They could also be Roman... I might need to model a device that tells me the parent of a demigod to figure it out for sure though... That's another thing added in my list ever growing arsenal of things I need to make.
Shaking his head, he decided to probe more.
"In your time here, what were you eating? You mentioned Freddy brought you food?"
'That's right I did!' The squirrel said. Reuben nodded at his words and turned to him.
"Freddy is very fast but he also has trouble getting through the maze! It takes him a whole day of wandering to bring me some food. He can't carry much though... so it always left me hungry."
"How much food did you bring him?" Nathan asked the squirrel.
'Do I look like I can carry much? Please. My beautiful body is built for speed, not for carrying things. The only thing my back can carry are messages and a peanut if it's feeling generous.' Freddy scoffed.
"So not much I'm imagining." Nathan looked at Reuben and sighed. The boy clearly looked starved. But considering the squirrel's words, he had only ever been getting very little crumbs of food in a day, and the rest was still water from the fountain which had miraculously not dried up.
Before he could say anything, Freddy squeaked out a message again.
'I tried my best to make many trips, but the only thing I've been doing for three months is getting in and out of the labyrinth. I enjoy running and finding my way around so that was pretty enjoyable all things considered-'
"Wait a second." Nathan interrupted. "Repeat that."
'I enjoy running?'
"No, before that."
'Uhhhh.... the only thing I've been doing for 3 months is getting in and out of here?'
Nathan leaned in closer. "3 months, you say?"
Freddy nodded, tilting his little head sideways.
'...Yes?' He said doubtfully. 'I don't always keep track of time, but my mental clock tells me I've spent about 3 months' worth of time in the labyrinth and made more trips than I bothered to count.'
Nathan stepped back a bit, feeling a dense feeling of foreboding. He looked at Reuben with all the seriousness he could muster and asked in a grim voice. "Reuben... how long did you say you were stuck in here?"
Reuben didn't seem to be following where the conversation was going until Nathan's question came up. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide and his lips trembled a little.
"Fif- fifty seven days, I think... I've seen the moon rise fifty seven times..."
Nathan expression was difficult to describe.
Freddy, on the other hand, seemed like he had discovered some profound truth of the universe, he jumped around, a comet like tail stretching behind him, cast by the runes lining his fluffy tail.
"Time doesn't flow the same in here huh... not only is the distance non-linear, but so is the time. It's all sorts of messed up in this place. Sigh!" He stared at Reuben and suddenly, another, more haunting thought appeared in his mind.
Since time flowed differently for people in here, what about above ground?
Freddy had frequented going in and out of the Labyrinth. Was that what had caused the difference between their time frames? If so... how much time had actually passed above ground while Reuben was stuck here.
Reuben looked just about ready to cry again, his mind already imagining what Nathan was afraid to ask. But still, gulping down some saliva, Nathan spoke his mind.
"Reuben... what date was it when you fell?"
Reuben wiped some lingering tears at the corner of his eyes with his dirty sleeves and said with a shaky tone, "5 May..."
Nathan sighed in relied, the difference wasn't that big.
"-1940."
The air seemed to freeze.
...
...
Time passed, and Reuben was now eagerly eating a burger with puffed cheeks. He was eating so fast that he was spilling a lot of it on the ground. Nathan's reprimand's didn't seem to affect the boy.
Taking in another mouthful, he gulped it down with some water before he could fully chew it.
"I told you to chew properly." Nathan reminded with a gentle tone. The boy looked at him briefly before nodding and going back to munching the burger down full speed.
Nathan suddenly understood why the matrons may have behaved the way they did. Still, he wasn't going to be hitting anyone with a belt. While he himself hadn't exactly grown up without suffering through slipper slaps, there was a clear distinction between punishment and abuse.
He was a believer of the saying - sparing the stick spoils the child, but the thing was, to what extent could he practice the stick?
Nathan believed a slap was enough for most children. One with moderate strength that is. But considering that Reuben had just been talking about his... less than pleasant experiences at the Orphanage, he opted to not say anything.
He then looked at the squirrel curled up into a ball in his lap, his eyes closed in bliss as Nathan scratched its fur.
"You're enjoying this a lot huh."
'Its not everyday someone like you gets to pet such a noble lineage like me. You ought to be grateful.'
"Right."
Freddy's words were infuriating enough, but again, Nathan strangely couldn't feel the urge to throw him away or kick him. He did have the tantalizing desire to kick something or kill a monster, but it just couldn't reach Freddy himself.
Besides, his fur was incredibly soft and satisfying to rub. Especially the fluffy tail.
More advantages of being Ratatoskr's spawn I guess.
He looked at his chipped ear and could not resist asking about it.
'Oh that.' It said. 'It's from the time I carried some messages to Skaði. For some reason, she got really mad and shot an arrow at me. This was the result.'
You probably said something offensive... Nathan was beginning to understand this squirrel by now. He was narcissistic and uh... very enthusiastic about the end of the gods. In front of gods who were naturally prideful, it was no surprise he had managed to piss one off.
Heh. I guess that's another perk of being Ratatoskr's spawn. Being a natural Ragebaiter.
He opened the system screen and looked at his gathered points.
[Customization Points: 24.8]
"Um...Mister..." He heard from beside him. Reuben was already done eating. His face was all messed up with sauces and bits of bread, but he didn't seem to mind.
Nathan gave him a smile.
"I told you not to call me that. Makes me feel a bit too old. Call be big bro or something."
"Then, big bro." He nodded. "Are we really going to get out of here?"
"Of course." Nathan replied. He had, of course, decided to take the demigod outside. No person would leave a defenseless child in such a place, unless that person had a few screw loose or was just really really evil.
"You seem to have recovered." He asked with a smile. Reuben had been distraught when he found out 7 years had passed in the outside world. However, Nathan showed his some magic tricks - pulling things out of his inventory and shoving them back in.
Finally, he had pulled out some food and water which Reuben had been happy to get.
It was a good thing children were easy to please.
If Nathan had found out he was a time traveller, he would have crashed out. He did so when he found out he had reincarnated. He was depressed for a whole month back then, but he had quickly accepted his fate.
"Umm... I felt unhappy at first, but now that I'm full, I realize it doesn't really matter." He continued. "I ran away from Orphanage anyway. And it's not like I had any friends..."
"Don't worry. There's a whole lot still waiting for you. We just gotta get out of here." Nathan ruffled his hair and stood up, throwing Freddy off balance.
'Hey! Careful now! You'll dirty my fur!'
Cracking his neck, Nathan met Reuben's eyes and gave him a grin.
"Let's go then."
...
...
A/N: Alright... you guys managed to get 650 stones too, so that means I'm in debt of 2 chapters now. Worry not.
Ideally, I'll upload one today and one later, but if I can't finish them, then both will be uploaded tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a break from regular uploads anyways, so you'll get your bonus Chapter one way or the other.
As for the next goal... I'm honestly afraid to say any number, but let's since you people went from 250 to 650 in a single day let's just say... 1100.
450 PS. If you get that, I'll be... surprised and scared.