The End of Nothing
Chapter 1:
The green ground welcomed me back to the one place on earth I was safe. I was home, home to my favorite place on earth, Camp Paradise. The plum trees were in full blossom, and the strawberry fields were full of red ripe strawberries. The other campers were milling around waiting for dinner. I was with them.
"Welcome back, Charlotte!" Ava called back to me. She was another camper. We were all half super hero, basically. We were all people that had one parent a God, the other a real human. This was our one safe spot on the earth. This was safe because we are protected by Jana's bushes. Those bushes are protecting us from the demons that attack, and the bad people that want to kill us. They only let the people that have been granted the power to walk right through them.
"Hi, anything new?" I replied back. She was the best person. Her mother was Hestia the god of the home, which meant the she had some role in protecting the camp.
"No, not really. The boundary has been fluctuating like usual, and we have been having rumbles from the underworld. Hades is really mad." She replied. Because of Hades, the ground rumbled a lot. The dinner bell rang. We all ran to the dinner table and prayed to our gods or parents for the best.
"Welcome to the returning dinner…" Ametheius called from his perch. He was the leader of the camp, a minor god, "…we are happy to call the return of all of our campers, and the coming together of all of the gods…" We never heard the end of that. The sky turned purple. The trees turned brown. Jana's bushed fell over and turned brown. The deters, birds that picked at humans came pouring out of thin air. The campers fell silent. It was like we were all stone. I was shaking from fear. I called to my father, Poseidon, to keep me and Ava safe. The campers stood around the banquet grounds shaking and calling to their fathers and mothers.
"Ava, follow me quick, we need to leave." I called. The campers and Ametheius scattered. I ran with Ava to the edge of the camp. We ran, and ran. That was all I remembered. The sky was shaking. The ground was trembling. I could only think of one thing, the gods were in war. But I did not find out till much later that I was wrong, very wrong. The sky flashed again. The clouds shook and we were blown far away from camp. I grabbed Ava's hand and we raced down away from camp. I could see the ocean flickering in the distance. I prayed to my father for safety. I prayed that he would guide us to a safe place. Boom, Thud. Trees fell around us. I thought of the biggest request ever in prayer; do not get mad at Hestia, because I have Ava with me. My father and Hestia are getting better at getting along, but sometimes it does not work out, and today it needs to work out.
Chapter 2:
The ground gave one more shake and trees went thudding to the ground again. The ground split and fire bellowed out of the cracks. The ocean was so near, but maybe too far. Please no, please be close enough. We ran, bolted for the ocean. I asked my father of one thing, for Ava to be able to breathe and talk underwater.
"Dive…" I shouted as loud as I could. She dove, but the rest of my words were swallowed up in the bellowing roaring fire. Deters sprang from the ground, coming out of the dust. The smoke choked anyone around.
We dove. All was silent. I opened my eyes to see us flashing along at a terrible speed away from land. We were surrounded by air bubbles. The ocean floor was shaking too, but no fire was bellowing around us.
"Ava, we are safe, because we are in the ocean." I told her. She was pale. I was pale. We were scared and shocked. I muttered a small thank you to my father; we were safe because of Poseidon.
"I know what happened; Hades won Luke, and Detria. They lifted him out of his deep pit and gave him the fire to burn everything. He is going to take over. That is why the gods were protecting us, to be the ones that stop him, because they cannot be human, so they cannot do it." It made total sense, but I had no time to think about it.
Chapter 3:
I woke up in a small room with a large trident in the corner. I was surprised; I had never been in my father's home. A maid was swimming around to get me and Ava food. I was fascinated by the view out of the window. There were golden stairs that wound around to make a large grand stair case. On the other side groups of fish were chatting away. I could hear them and understand them. It was very weird.
"Charlotte, this is amazing can you believe that we are safe? I am wondering what is happening at the surface, want to go up?" Ava asked. I wanted to wander around and see what was happening too, but first I wanted to see if my father was around.
"Excuse me, Arial, right?" I asked. How did I know her name? Oh well, not the most important thing.
"Yes, Charlotte Dear, what do you need." She replied. She was so nice. Her golden tail sparkled in the light, and she had the trident symbol on it. She had beautiful hair that flowed down from her back. She was gorgeous
"Well, I was wondering if my father was here, not at Olympus." I asked bravely. I was not that nervous, but a little nervous.
"Let me see, yes in his suite, you are his only child in demigod form, so he would be glad to see you. I can send a Oceais message (like an Iris message, or a message made out of air) to him right now." She was happy. I was happy. Ava was the best person, she was just smiling. I was happy to get to see my father, and maybe other gods in the room.
The golden doors of our room parted and the maid led us down some coral steps. I was super happy, and the beauty was spectacular.
Chapter 4:
A new set of golden doors split and we walked into a suite that was gorgeous. There seated on the coral and gold throne was my father, Poseidon. He was carrying a Trident, and it was massive. He had long grey hair and a wonderful smile. We were so happy to be together.
"Dad, I am so glad to see you." I told him. Ava was standing next to me and she was shaking. I guess that she though he was going to kill her, but no, he just broke into a smile.
"Welcome Ava, Charlotte's dreams tell me a lot about you. Good thing, Hestia and I resolved our issues and we are happy as can be. Here she is, actually." Hestia walked into the room. I wonder who was more excited, Hestia or Ava. They both smiled and ran to each other. Their golden hair flowed behind them together.
"Mom" Ava whispered.
"Ava, my dear" Hestia whispered back.
"Charlotte, thank you for saving her, that was the right thing to do, and I am afraid that you will not be happy with what you find. Zeus is going to give you a present in a moment, but other than that you are on your own, with Ava of course, and our guidance." Hestia told me. I wanted to get up to the surface fast, but the gods were in no hurry.
"Well, should we go and see?" I asked. I wanted to get this over with.
"I will show you to Zeus first, and then you demigods can take your gift and make a trip to the world. One quick piece of advice, distance." With that Hestia left and went to her suite. We were alone with my father, and Zeus, who had walked in the door.
"Welcome Demigods, here is your gift, wind, small amounts of wind…" his booming voice shook the room, "use it well and only when you need it. It will lift you up into the air and you can control it." He spoke with a purpose. I was impatient. I walked to Ava, Zeus finished talking and gave us best of luck, and gave us one word of advice, confusion will lead you away, but do not follow. Sure that was not one word, but oh well.
"Go, be quick and be well and meaning full." With that Poseidon shooed us out and Zeus left too.
Chapter 5:
The ocean was full of mermaids and naiads. The naiads were splashing about and dancing happily. The sun was showing through the water. We reached the surface and gasped for air. That whole time we did not need air, but at the surface we did? Weird, but no time for that now. We use the wind to lift us up.
Not one tree was left standing, and all was dark and gloomy. Buildings were charred and the ground was black. One figure was standing in the shadows, Hades. He must have been raised from his hole. I floated over to Ava and told her two words, Be Careful. We both floated and started whispering.
"Ava, we need an above water base, I mean to return everything back to normal." I whispered.
"We can ask the gods and make a place, but what about the getting people back part?" She asked back.
"I think that we need one thing, but I cannot think of what, what Hades hates." I told her.
The figure moved closer. No time no to think, we dove back into the water and floated down to the palace. Everything was easier to do underwater. I was thinking hard about that thing that Hades hates, joy, people, what is it? I know it. But what?
Chapter 6:
We reached the first set of golden doors. I knew what needed to be done needed to be done fast. It was only a matter of seconds before all of the people that are in the underworld are killed. As we walked in it was clear that the gods were mad. They were pacing and waiting for our return.
"We have a matter of seconds before Hades kills all people in the underworld. We need to act fast." I told the gods. They were focused, and not the happy self they were this morning.
"You guys, if you have not figured this out, you are our keys to saving the world. We cannot do it ourselves, so we have kept you safe. Since time is running out you are going to leave today, and now. I will provide you with one thing; that you will discover when needed. Hestia had a gift for you in this bag, and here are drachmas and human money." Poseidon was serious; he was going to make us go now. I was scared. I trembled, and apparently he noticed.
"Calm down Charlotte, it will be ok; we cannot do it ourselves, that is why we need you." He was definitely going to be no help during this trip.
"So, let's pack our bags and get going?" I asked. Ava looked really scared. She had never been on a mission, she was rescued when she was a baby, and had grown up in this camp. She also had never seen a monster before, because she was the daughter of the god of the home, so she helped protect the camp.
"Actually, I have your bags, be safe and be wise, my help will come when you need it most. Goodbye." My father actually said goodbye. I was not in a hurry, but I guess we will leave.
"Bye dad, by Hestia, see you Zeus." I said. We walked to the doors and they swung open. I reached for Ava's hand as we walked out of the castle and then started to float upward.
Chapter 7:
Love. That was it, the one word that I was looking for. We needed love to save the world.
"Ava, I got it." I shouted through the water.
"Charlotte, I got it." Ava shouted at the same time.
"It is love!" We said at the same time. We both smiled. The air was filtering into the water. The sun felt amazing. We could feel the heat of the sun, even though it was dark and foggy. Hades hated light, but he could not control the heat of the sun, so he fogged up the air so that it was dark, but not cold.
We broke the surface of the water and hit dry land. Surprisingly we were dry, even though we had been in water. Jogging down the rubble full and ash covered land we race towards the old camp.
"What is that?" Ava asked. I could see fire bellowing out of a crack, and a dark enormous shadow behind it. What is that? I thought. Oh, right it was Hades. I grabbed Ava and we veered our path over the opposite way. Too late. Ugg, we were going to be chased by Hades and his hell hounds.
"Run, Ava move faster." I screamed. A blood curdling shout came from the big fire. Hades had recognized up. Oh no, this is going to be bad if we do not get away.
"Run, run, run, faster please." I screamed again. She ran. We took off running. We were running down the coastline. Hell hounds were catching up to us. I thrust my hand into my pocket. There it was, my Relancer. It was a half bronze half steel sword that could kill mortals and monsters. It was the only weapon that I had with me. We ran faster. We ran around the fire and through ash. The ocean was the one thing that hell hounds hated.
"Turn, follow me, run with me." WE veered away from the ocean. IT was our only choice.
"I can smell you, you are my lunch, I AM HUNGRY" Hades bellowed. His voice was raspy and mean. He was angry. He would do anything to kill us.
"Run Ava, I will meet up with you later. Go run and stay within my watch." I shouted. It was my only choice. I had to let her go, she would faint if the monster came near. I turned to fight the hell hound.
The fear made me shiver. I was not the best at fighting these things. I slashed and hit the leg. It was startled but still ran. I dodged and slashed again. I hit the eye. It bellowed and fell over. I hit the heart, dead. More hell hounds were running at me. I turned to see the small figure of Ava shaking. She dropped down behind a burned piece of wood. I ran towards her. It was my only choice.
"Your friends are going to die, a skeleton life waiting in the underworld if you do not save them, but try! Ha, Ha, Ha" He was exasperated. Those mean god, Hades. I had no choice but to take Ava with me to the underworld. I had a little bit of that wind left form Zeus, and this was the time to use it.
Chapter 8:
Whoosh, we flew high above Hades and into the middle of the mainland. I knew that the entrance to the underworld was in a burnt building that was tall. The building was not burnt, because it was Hades building, so it was easy to find.
"Ava, come near, so I can whisper." She came really close to me.
"We are going to the underworld, now, stay with me, and be quiet." I told her. We dropped down to the ground. I ran with Ava at my heels. We ran into the building and pushed all of the guards down. Racing down we entered the deep room of the underworld.
"Whoa, what are those things, are they humans, there is Luke and Detria. Oh gosh, they saw us." Ava screamed.
"Shh, please be quiet, run with me and we will hide, I can scare them, wait and see." I shouted back. They both looked and charged at us. I could feel the tension in the air. All of the people that we needed were behind the three headed dog. Our first problem was Luke and Detria. Like Hades, they hated love, so here I came.
"I love you Luke." I said. It would not work, I did not really love him, so it would do not good. Ugh, I cannot believe we are in the underworld. We have used all of our gifts but my fathers, a mysterious gift. We are trapped. I am not so confident in our decision to try to fight these guys. I think that we should get out of here. I ran towards Luke, if I had to, I would attack by sword.
"Look at Ms. Sissy trying to fight me, I am going to kill you now!" Luke shouted. It was true, he was trying to kill me, and he was better than me at this sword stuff. I walked up and attacked, we swung and swung. I hit him and sent him flying into the dusty ground. He was not done. This would not do.
"Ava, run with me, we need to get out of here." I yelled. We ran, up the stairs, out the building and to the door. I use the last bit of wind to get us up into the sky. We needed to rest, I needed a clear thinking spot. The ocean was our only choice to be as safe as possible, and to give me a safe thinking spot.
"Ava, to the ocean, fly with me." I whispered. We were going to have to work our magic to not get killed by Hades.
Chapter 9:
The blue ocean shimmered inform of us. I could see the burned trees and then the clear line that separated the ocean from everything else. I could not be destroyed. As we got closer I could see one thing, a, what is that? It looks like a pair of hands sticking out of the water. The hands were stone, and there was a tree, and a hut. I knew what it was from, and I was excited.
"Ava, there is our present, from Poseidon, I mean" I whispered. Hades was going down I thought. We were going to find what we need at this place. We both dipped down our heads and flew towards the burned scarred ground. I looked like someone had a campfire, and the hot dogs were trees. We were flying over these black scarred hot dogs looking things. We could see fire raging in the hills and Hades laughing meanly. He must think that we are killed.
The dancing ocean was flashing before me as if sayings come use me. I ran in the air and hit the ground. Ava bounced down behind me and we ran for dear life. I could feel the hate coming from Hades as he ran towards us realizing that he was wrong, we were alive.
Hell hounds bounded out of thin air and raged towards us. A boat was docked, not hurt at all. We may as well risk that boat being bad and use it to get to the hands. I plunged into the water and raced to undo every rope. Hell hounds were everywhere, and if I took a little bit too long, we would be eaten like a piece of cake. I raced, faster and faster, so close to being done. Ava screamed, and screamed, attracting more hell hounds. She realized that I was done, and dove on the boat, just as a hell hound nipped at the stern. One more second, and we are done I thought, but at that moment we pulled away, and glided to the island of hands.
Chapter 10:
The sun warmed us as we raced along on the ocean. We could still hear the hell hounds blood curdling cries as we got further and further away. I thanked my father, for being there and providing what was needed, and to be clear, this place looked awesome. No time to think about that right now though, we were all thinking about how to get those people out. Racing on the water I was thinking about what needed to happen to get love to be useful. What would make them love, true love? Oh, right, a love potion. The last I know Aphrodite and Poseidon were a little mad, so that may not work out. Maybe she gave use a gift anyways, hopefully.
"Ava, you know Aphrodite, would she give us a love potion?" I asked. She would know she always did. She looked into the sun, she concentrated very hard. She closed her eyes. I knew the answer was coming. The sun sparkled. I could barely see the shores of the land. There was a lot of red on the shores, meaning that a fire was raging. Hades was probably killing all of the hell hounds for not killing us, oh well, less hell hounds to eat us!
"Yes, Charlotte, she will have a love potion, but she says use it sparingly, it will convince the person using it to be in love too, if used at a high dose."
"Thank you Ava, thank you Aphrodite" I said. I was really relieved. It was simple, we could use the love potion and get Luke and Hades to love each other, and then we could sneak in and kill them either in the act, or at least get them to go to the underworld. I know that simple plan will not work exactly, but you get the point, a short and simple plan because of the love potion. The one concern that have right now is that we will get in love too, but I will make sure that I am not in love with Luke, not this time.
Chapter 11:
The stone hands were shining in the sun. The stone hands were Poseidon's gift to Charlotte as a refuge to plan and get away. The mist had retrieved, because Hades was not in his horrible kill everything mood. There was a rope ladder swaying in the wind, and small trees at the top of the ladder. This place was surely going to give me refuge from Hades. The boat docked itself at a small dock that only could fit this boat. I hopped off of the boat and started up the ladder. Ava looked reluctant, but then started to climb too.
"This is scary Charlotte; can't I stay in the boat?" She asked.
"No, I need you." Why would she be able to stay in the boat? That would be missing out on the fun! Not like we are having fun saving the world.
I reached the top. There was a dirt path that leads to a small hut. Trees were scattered around the hands. A small rope bridge was connecting the palms of the two hands.
"Ava, let's get a move on this. We can spend the night and then get up tomorrow with a fresh head and a plan to save the world. There is a feeling that if we do not do this fast, we will kill all of the people that were captured, so help me do this fast." I yelled. She was looking at the land, and I got her to run. The sun was setting so we needed to move fast.
The hut that we were staying in was round and made of reeds. There were two beds, and a small god kitchen. The god kitchen has some things that you can say something to and get what you want. Tehre was a table, and on the table was a rose colored bottle that said, "love" and a "from Aphrodite" on the bottle. Great, what we needed. Also, yay! Night time, bed time.
"I am going to bed, see you in the morning." I told Ava. We climbed into bed and enjoyed our one moment of peace this whole trip. Wow, the thought of getting out of bed again was deathly, and with that we were asleep dreaming of gods and the next day.
Chapter 12:
I woke up with a start. There was sun streaming through the door, and a note on my head. Great, from the gods. The note read:
Hurry and be safe
Use it sparingly
Do it well
-The gods
I was right, we needed to hurry.
"Ava get up, we are going to the underworld" I shouted. She was ready to go in a minute, a personal record I think.
We were in the boat in no time. The sun was glaring down on us. The boat was speeding away down to the shore. I could see Hades napping; maybe we could get him in love with his pants or something so that we could get away. Maybe. We ran, and ran till we raced up on Hades. I grabbed the love potion and handed it to Ava. She dipped over and tapped some on Hades lips. It was weird being up close to Hades, but it needed to be done so we did it.
Hades stirred. He licked his lips and shot straight up. We darted away. Hades looked straight and the glass he was holding. Yes, he was in love with the glass. I walked up to him and asked him about the glass.
"Hades, may I take your glass." I asked. He turned and faced me, but turned right back.
"Never, my love." He replied. Yes! It worked, he was in a lovely state of mind.
"Ava, we need to get to the underworld while we have Hades distracted." I whispered. We turned and ran away to the underworld building. I used the very last bit of wind.
"Wow, great job!" I told Ava. She killed it. We were on the path to the end of nothing, the end of this world of nothingness, the end of Hades rule!
Bang, Thud. Oh gosh, our wind ran out. We hit the ground and started to run. I could see the building right there. We hit the doors and raced over the guards. I could feel pressure to get this right building up on me.
"Ava, take the potion, I will be with you, but you will need to do it again." I whispered extra softly. We walked down the steps to the underworld. Luke was right in front of us. He was asking for something to drink. Ava darted over to Luke's glass and poured some of the potion on right as Luke to a sip. He was shocked. We ran around the corner. He looked at his glass, and walked up the stairs!
"Ava, it worked! Great job!" I shouted. Detria ran around a corner holding a glass and drinking from it. It was Luke's. There was Luke. They were running up the stairs. I pushed them both into the wall and they ran up to the stairs. I could see my friends, and people. I ran towards them and shouted.
"Run you are free, come up to the world!" The people ran and ran to the stairs. People were shouting. I ran and pushed my way to the door and raced outside. Ava was at my heels. We had one thing left to do. We needed to get Hades to the underworld.
"Charlotte, I know how to do this." Ava shouted. Wow, she had learned a lot. Ava bounded to the area where Hades was sitting. She waved the potion bottle. He smiled and ran to her. She ran away down to the underworld. He followed her. I ran after them because I thought that it was not the best idea to leave her alone, and I was right! As I reached the building she was pinned down. The potion wore off! Ugh, really, now! Hades was screaming as I reached the sight. Hades was chasing Ava. She was screaming. I was not ready for this. I grabbed the love bottle and poured some all over Hades. He shook and smiled. The whole bottle was poured out over him. I started to run, but then remembered how this could make the person in love that was close.
"Ava!" She turned and ran too, just in time. Hades turned the other way, he was in love with the area. Great! Hades ran, and ran, he ran right into his dog. Hades ran, and the last that I could see (this is a good thing) Hades had fallen into a deep hole and he was going to be trapped by his love. My love trick saved us in the end!
Chapter 13:
Ava and I walked up to the ground floor. The guards were chatting happily. They cheered us as we walked by. I could see sunlight. Everything was going to be back to normal. We reached the top of the building. The ash and darkness everywhere had turned to gray instead of black. The sun was shining even harder and brighter. The sky was bluer, and the ocean was sparkling harder. We walked along to the beach, and watched the hands disappear into the ocean, because their job was done. We watched the clouds turn whiter, and the sand turn sandier. The grass had come back and the building had sprung up. Everything had turned back to normal. Ava and I knelt on the ground and thanked the gods, our fathers and mothers for all that they did, and for keeping us safe. We also wished one thing, which we could return to a safe camp home. The wind rushed around us, thunder clapped, and as soon as it came, we were all back on that amazing day in our one safe home, Camp Paradise. The sun was falling behind the hills, and the dinner was just starting.
"Welcome to the returning dinner. I am so glad that all is well, and that we can enjoy a nice summer at camp." Ametheius finished. This time, unlike the last time, we got to hear the last words, and we got to enjoy a safe and wonderful summer at home.