BETA | NERISSA JACKSON REMEETS SOMEONE SHE CAN'T REMEMBER MEETING
Disclaimer: I do not own the Heroes of Olympus series or any of the characters. I only own the character Nerissa Jackson and her original plot lines and dialogue.
Riss couldn't understand how he had got there.
Of course, yeah, she remembered seeing him before, but it was like all her memories of him were fuzzy. Piper McLean sat beside the unknown blonde boy, her hand in his and Leo Valdez sat in front of them. Riss knew them, she was sure of that but the boy was a blank and it was weird.
What was even weirder, was that Riss found herself curled up into the unknown boy's side, his arm tightly tucked around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest like they knew each other really well; like they cared very deeply about each other, which contradicted Piper's hand in his. Riss' legs were stretched along the remaining two of five seats in the back of the bus and she swung them down onto the floor.
Nerissa Jackson, the powerful daughter of Poseidon and twin sister to Perseus Jackson was a young half-blood with 'boundless potential,' as Chiron always told her, and was currently on the bus of the Wilderness School. They were on the way to the Grand Canyon for a school excursion – Riss knew from experience that nothing ever good happened on school excursions.
With practiced ease, the girl with the sea-green slid away from the boy who she vaguely remembered was named Jason and headed to the front of the bus.
"Hedge," she called, ignoring the stunned looks she received from the students when the short man at the front didn't snap at her.
"Nerissa, what is happening here?" Gleeson Hedge asked gruffly and Riss' eyes rolled at her full first name.
Nerissa pointed back to the backseat of the bus, straight at Jason who was beginning to wake up and look around, "Who is he!?"
Hedge shrugged carefully, knowing all too well what the low hiss to Riss' voice meant. Nerissa had a horrible temper – much like her father could have at times – and Riss couldn't help but glare at the unhelpful satyr. He was almost as bad as her brother! But at the thought of Percy, the Jackson girl mellowed. They needed to find him and the ever-present tug was in the pit of her stomach, warning her that Percy wasn't faring too well.
Riss headed back to the seats and stopped in front of Jason with a glare. Jason looked up at her, finally managing to disengage his hand from a slightly-hurt Piper. The boy stood up, looking into Riss' eyes. He was only an inch or two taller than Riss but he felt a lot shorter, the daughter of Poseidon was menacing.
"Who are you really, Jason?"
Jason opened his mouth, "Um, I don't—"
Hedge stopped him from answering the dark-haired beauty in front of him completely. "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"
Cold, light fingers hooked around Jason's wrist and he found himself being dragged into the seat again, this time closer to Riss. Neither of the two saw Piper's frown when Jason didn't remove Riss' hand from his wrist. Quickly glancing at him, Riss could tell that Jason was analysing Coach Hedge.
"Stand up, Coach Hedge!" Someone called from the chairs and Hedge retorted, "I heard that!" and turned his beady little eyes to the students, trying to find the offender. When the coach saw Jason, his scowl deepened, and then deepened even further when he saw how close Riss and Jason were sitting.
Coach Hedge cleared his throat, looking away, "We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way."
The coach picked up his baseball bat and mimed hitting a home-run, causing Riss to scoff. He was a satyr, he was supposed to look after the demigods, not terrorize them. Jason turned to look at Riss, somehow feeling more at ease with her than the girl on his other side, "Can he talk to us that way?"
"He shouldn't, but always does. This is the Wilderness School," Riss notified the blonde boy, knowing he was confused beyond belief.
"'Where the kids are the animals,'" Piper joked, trying to direct Jason's attention back to her. She had been dating Jason for a few weeks and she had no clue why her boyfriend had suddenly taken an interest in her best friend. But then again, Piper remembered that they had always had some sort of connection that had never made sense.
"This is some kind of mistake. I'm not supposed to be here," Jason told the girls and the boy in front of them, who turned and laughed at Jason's statement.
"Yeah, right, Jason. We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Piper didn't steal a BMW. Nerissa didn't drive a stolen limo into the ocean and trash stuff worth thousands of dollars."
Piper blushed, "I didn't steal that car, Leo!"
Riss shrugged, rolling her eyes. She had to admit, it wasn't the best decision, but she had been rounding up the last of Kronos' strays and was desperate. Nerissa was being chased by a hellhound through Manhattan, trying to get it away from the people and…well, the limo had been there. Driving a limo away from a hellhound did beat running away from a hellhound. And the hellhound had jumped into the ocean after her only to be sent back to Tartarus when she threw champagne, a TV (that's where the thousands of dollars' worth of damage came from) and an arrow at the beast.
"Oh, I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?" Leo Valdez raised his brows at Jason, not believing Piper's story. He was glad Riss didn't deny her 'crime,' it would have lowered his thoughts of her – his exact word and something that he had told her before – badass-ness.
"Anyway, I hope you've got your worksheet, 'cause I used mine for spit wads days ago," Leo paused and grinned widely as Riss extracted a spare worksheet from her pocket. She knew what Leo was like, and they had bonded over a shared love of mischief in the time Riss had been in the Wilderness School.
"Here, dumbass," Riss stated, passing Leo the sheet and Leo gave her a wink. Leo didn't have feelings like that for Riss but it sure was fun to mess around and the Latino boy didn't miss how Jason stiffened.
Leo frowned at the look on Jason's face, something caught between a frown of confusion and a glare that was supported by the way that Jason's fingers were now intertwined with Riss', "Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?"
"I don't know you," Jason stated plainly, his hand was in Riss' now, holding on tight, and although Piper and Leo had noticed, Riss and Jason had not.
Leo grinned widely, which Riss found slightly creepy, "Sure. I'm not your best friend. I'm his evil clone."
Riss moved forward, putting her lips near Jason's ear to whisper as Hedge yelled at Leo, "We'll figure this out – we have to. Because I don't know you either."
Jason stared at the black-haired girl as she moved back. Her green eyes were piercing and full of truth and it was as if, with a single lock of their eyes, time stood still. The sound of Coach Hedge's megaphone and the yelling kids died down. Jason thought that he had seen eyes like hers before, but couldn't place them – but honestly, he couldn't even remember his own age!
"The cow says moo!" Rang out around the bus, along with laughter from the students. Coach Hedge put his megaphone down and yelled, "Valdez!"
Piper stopped herself from laughing, "My god, Leo. How did you do that?"
Leo showed a tiny screwdriver hidden in his sleeve to the other three, "I'm a special boy."
"Yes, you are, my friend," Riss couldn't help but agree with a laugh.
He was special, as were Piper and Jason. She had gotten almost an automatic read on him – he was a demigod. After the battle of against Kronos and the other titans, the Jackson twins had been offered immortality. Annabeth was what made Perseus stay, instead making the gods – all the gods and goddesses – promise that their children would be claimed and would all have a home at Camp Half-Blood before the age of thirteen, no matter how minor their godly parent was. Nerissa had stayed for Percy and her mother, and had instead gotten the ability to be able to sense the godly parent of the demigods that she went looking for with the satyrs – however, her powers were like her friend Rachel's, after stating the godly parent, Riss didn't remember what she said. That was why she was always paired with a satyr and was currently stuck with Gleeson Hedge.
"Guys, seriously." Riss looked at the pleading boy. "What am I doing here? Where are we going?
Piper frowned, noticing the way Jason's hand tightened around Riss' for a moment, "Jason, are you joking?"
"No! I have no idea—"
"Aw," Leo cooed, "yeah, he's joking. He's trying to get me back for that shaving cream and Jell-O thing, aren't you?"
Jason stared blankly back at him and Riss scolded, "Leo!"
"No, I think he's serious," Piper said as she reached forward to try and take Jason's hand, only for him to pull away, closer to Riss, who wrapped an arm around his waist.
"I'm sorry," Jason apologized, pressing closer to the black-haired girl beside him, who tried to soothe him. "I don't – I can't –" The McLean girl tried to keep the sad look off her face as Jason seemed comfortable with where he was and held onto Riss.
Riss was almost sure that someone had been messing with the Mist and had tried to pull it over their minds, but somehow, Riss was shaking off the affects, the fog clearing from her mind slowly. She remembered in snippets, hanging out with Jason, Piper and Leo. She knew Jason and Piper were a couple, but as she thought about the times she had spent with them, memories started to slip away. She knew why she was here – to find Percy – but Riss also had to protect these demigods, because something wasn't right at all.
"That's it!" Coach Hedge yelled, getting tired of the talking, "The back row just volunteered to clean up after lunch!"
Riss ignored the cheering of the class as Leo muttered, "There's a shocker," and instead looked down at her necklace. It was a simple silver chain with three silver charms on it, a shield, a sword and a bow and arrow. They turned into real, silver and Celestial Bronze weapons if Riss summoned the bow and arrow or spoke the true name of her sword. She had a feeling that she might need them.
Piper continued to stare at Jason, hurt and worry clashing on her face, "Did you hit your head or something? You really don't know who we are?"
The blonde shrugged, unconsciously pulling Riss closer, "It's worse than that. I don't know who I am."
XXXXX
Riss pulled her black leather jacket tighter around herself and wished she had worn more than a simple leather jacket and a dark blue sweater. The wind was cold and almost…alive, if her demigod instincts had anything to say about it. The wind blew more forcefully and instead of dwelling on the chill, the Jackson girl turned her attention to the trio behind her.
"So, a crash course for the amnesiac." Riss thought that Leo was getting too much of a kick out of this. "We go to the 'Wilderness School.' Which means we're 'bad kids.' Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison – sorry, 'boarding school' – in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti and weaving daisies into hats! And for a special treat we go on 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it coming back to you now?"
"No," Jason replied honestly and Riss shook her head. That talk had not been helpful and had been punctuated with an extreme amount of air quotes and sarcasm. Jason took the time to look around at the other students, but his attention kept migrating to the shivering, green-eyed girl in front of him.
Leo rolled his eyes, still not believing Jason, "You're really gonna play this out, huh? Okay, so the four of us started here together this semester. We're totally tight. You do everything Nerissa says and you give me your dessert and do my chores—"
Both girls cut the Latino boy off, "Leo!"
"Fine," Leo grumbled, "Ignore the last part. But we are friends. Well, Piper's a little more than your friend, the last few weeks—"
"Leo, stop it!" Piper cut the boy off again, her face now bright red. Jason didn't know how he could forget having Piper as a girlfriend or why he felt so strongly about Nerissa after just meeting her, especially if Piper was his girlfriend. He looked to Riss to see her reaction, but the girl merely frowned slightly, still looking away at another group of students.
"He's got amnesia or something," Piper told Leo. "We've got to tell somebody."
"Who, Coach Hedge?" Leo scoffed, "He'd try to fix Jason by whacking him upside the head."
Riss smirked, "Somehow, I think that actually may do Jason more help, than harm. At least he could get close enough to throw that bat into the canyon, anyway."
Piper giggled, Riss had a talent for lightening the mood, even in bad situations, and the group of four all looked at the coach. He was barking orders and blowing his whistle at kids but he continually looked up to scowl at Jason and glance at Riss in worry.
"Leo, Nerissa. Jason needs help," Piper insisted, looking between her friends, "He's got a concussion or—"
"Yo, Piper," a boy called walking over to the group and wedged himself between Jason and Piper, knocking Leo over in the process.
Riss fake-gagged and muttered, "Bailing," before she hurried off to the front of the group. Dylan, the boy, looked like he was trying to be Superman and thought that he was God's gift to all women. The girl was adamant there was something wrong with Dylan and the magic-infused ring on her finger would only keep her 'Child of the Big Three' smell hidden from monsters for so long. Monster or not, Dylan reminded Riss way too much of Apollo – the blinding smile, the 'I'm-so-hot' attitude and her desire to punch him in the face.
Turning and walking backwards, Riss shot a 'forgive me' look back at Piper, who mimed slitting her throat and Riss shrugged guiltily before she started to look for her own partner in the small crowd of students.
XXXXX
Isabel, the resident mean girl, who probably got into the Wilderness School because she stole makeup or bashed up a friend who told her outfit looked bad, was insulting Piper and Riss watched closely. Piper was a bit of a time bomb, and with Isabel, it was only a matter of time before she tried to kick her ass.
A few moments later, Piper charged at Isabel and her flunkies, only to be intercepted by Riss. "Hey, cool it. They aren't worth bruising your fists over."
Piper calmed down, nodding at Riss in thanks as Coach Hedge yelled, "Enough back there! Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"
They continued walking to the next exhibit and Riss glared daggers at the girls, who were still making comments about Piper. Her ethnicity made her a target and although they wanted to, Riss was never teased because she kicked ass and never gave them enough ammunition to use against her. Riss was basically a nobody and the only thing Isabel knew about her was that she drove a limo off a pier and smashed a few bottles of bubbly.
"Good to be back on the rez?"
"Dad's probably too drunk to work. That's why she turned klepto."
"Oh my gods," Riss muttered and Piper couldn't help but wonder about why she always said 'God' as a plural. "If they don't shut up, I'm going to be going to a real prison – for murder."
Piper snickered and looped her arm with Riss'. She often thought, that if Riss wasn't there, she would have gone insane a while ago. The group finally reached the end of the exhibit hall, where big doors lead to the terrace.
"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced and Riss' eyes widened. She hated heights. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge as that would cause me extra paperwork."
"I think he just gave me an idea," Riss whispered to Piper, smiling evilly at Isabel and her group. Piper grinned and tugged Riss out through the doors.
The Grand Canyon was amazing, much better than the photos, but Riss couldn't help but let out a staggered breath. She remembered the first time she'd been up high anywhere – she seemed to always be able to avoid it any other time – an encounter that led to her and her brother jumping into the Hudson River, after they had met a monster named after an Australian animal.
Zeus' multiple issues with the Jackson twins led to Nerissa's fear of heights and being blown off a platform over the Grand Canyon by her godly uncle was not on her list of things to do before her death.
The sky suddenly gave a rumble and cold wind tore at Riss' jacket. "Oh, Zeus…" the girl muttered shakily, seeing a sweaty, shaky and pale Jason. The storm was right above them, while everywhere else seemed clear and blue. Riss gripped her necklace.
"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge yelled, "We have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!"
XXXXX
Riss was finished with her worksheet before she knew it. Both Percy and Riss had dyslexia, but somehow Riss didn't have too much trouble with it, compared to Percy. Nerissa had an excellent memory and was just about able to copy things she'd read word for word, and when stuck, would just remember the sentence she'd seen before and copy it down. The Jackson girl's first real memory of grade school was allowing Percy to cheat off her English test.
Her black hair flew out behind her as she stopped in front of Hedge, "Something really bad is coming. Be prepared."
Hedge was about to respond but Jason walked over, and the coach instead asked him, "Did you do this?"
Jason glanced at Riss, who looked back seriously at him, before she walked off. The girl stood close enough to Piper to keep a close eye on Dylan. Her fingers hadn't stopped fiddling with the necklace charms since the storm had appeared. Lightning suddenly cracked above the group, the wind becoming more powerful and Riss swore in Latin. The entire bridge began to shudder and kids began to scream and stumble to the railings.
"Everyone inside!" Hedge bellowed, "The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!"
Riss' eyes widened, gripping the shaking railing to stop her from falling off the skywalk, "Oh, for Poseidon's sake! Seriously!?"
XXXXX
Dylan and Piper were holding the doors open as well as they could, ushering kids into the building. The wind was ferocious and Riss saw Leo almost tumble over the railing, but thankfully Jason grabbed his jacket, pulling him back up.
Riss tried not to move but was having to fight against the strong wind.
"Hoc effercio stercore!" The Jackson girl snapped out 'Stuff this shit,' in Latin, having the tendency to swear in the language instead of Ancient Greek, and reached for the water below them to give her strength.
Piper and Dylan's grip on the door faltered and the doors slammed shut. Piper tugged on the doors, shouting for Dylan's help, but the boy grinned, told her he was done helping and threw her against the doors.
"Piper!" Jason and Riss yelled in unison, starting forward. The wind held them back and Hedge grabbed Jason, "Coach, let me go!"
"Jason, Leo, stay behind us," Hedge ordered.
"Don't you mean behind me?" Riss corrected but Coach Hedge waved her off, continuing, "This is our fight. I should've known that was our monster."
"What? What monster?"
The coach's hat flew off, revealing his horns and his bat changed to his cudgel. Dylan smiled – a psychotic smile – "Oh, come on, Coach. Let the boy attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. You're losing your nose, grandpa."
Hedge bleated, "That's it, cupcake. You're going down."
"You think you can protect three half-bloods and a human at once, old man?" Dylan laughed loudly and Riss raised a brow. "Good luck."
Riss grinned, "I don't think you can count properly, you stupid anemoi thuellai!"
Dylan heard her words and turned, "Ooh, we have another little demigod, do we? Obviously a minor one, I can't sense you all that well."
"Not a 'minor one,' darling," Riss smirked, pulling off her Mist-manipulating ring. "I'm a daughter of Poseidon."
The storm spirit paled significantly. There was only one daughter of Poseidon known. Nerissa Jackson…she was powerful and dangerous. It was rumored that the girl and her twin turned down immortality and weren't destroyed by the gods, instead they got something else in return, per their request. Seeing the shock on Dylan's face, Riss was extremely glad she got one of the daughters of Hecate to make the ring for her.
He gulped, "No matter." Dylan pointed at Leo and a funnel cloud materialized around him. The boy managed to turn in midair, seconds away from being thrown into the canyon, and instead slammed into the wall.
Leo hung on a thin ledge, calling out, "Help! Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"
Hedge cursed and gave Jason his club, "I don't know who you are, kid, but I hope you're good. Keep that thing busy while I get Leo. Help Nerissa."
Riss didn't bother listening to the rest and charged forward. "Nauticus!" She cried, touching the sword charm on her necklace and slashing at Dylan with the sword that had appeared in her hand quickly. The storm spirit hissed as the Celestial Bronze blade caught his shoulder.
"Satyr!" Riss heard Hedge snap, "Fauns are Roman. But we'll talk about that later."
Fauns, Jason had said Fauns. Riss' eyes widened, she could sense the godly parent of all the demigods she came in contact with, but with Jason, she hit a roadblock. "Roman…he sounds Roman," Riss mused aloud, dodging a funnel cloud and slashing at Dylan again. Riss paused in her movements, a frown of confusion on her face, "How can he be Roman!?"
The lapse in concentration was enough for Dylan to send Riss flying back against the doors with Piper. Jason ran for Riss, who groaned, but was stopped by Dylan.
"Isn't that cute! Now, it's your turn, boy."
Jason threw the club, the club moving through the air to curve and hit Dylan in the forehead. The club rolled right to Piper, who picked it up, but continued to stare at Riss. Nerissa just used a sword. Nerissa wasn't who she said she was. Riss sat up, leaning against the doors in pain.
Golden blood – ichor – trickled from Dylan's wound and he glared at Jason, "Nice try, boy. But you'll have to do better."
The skywalk shuddered, cracks appearing in the glass of the door and Riss winced as it cut into her back. Dylan's body became black vapor, his face the same, and he sprouted vapor wings.
"You're a ventus," Jason noticed, "A storm spirit."
Dylan laughed, "I'm glad I waited, demigod. Leo and Piper I've known about for weeks. Could've killed them at any time. But my mistress said a third was coming – someone special – who could make the fourth reveal themselves. She'll reward me greatly for your deaths!"
Two more funnel clouds landed on either side of Dylan and Riss swore in Latin. Piper had a strong grip on the club and Riss slid her fingers over her necklace charm, a bow and arrows materialized in her hands.
Dylan suddenly blasted Jason with lightning. Riss gasped as the storm spirits laughed and Piper screamed. Riss stood as she saw Jason struggle to get up and something deep in the back of her head, sighed, Jupiter, though the girl completely ignored it. The wind was raging and Riss couldn't hear what Jason and Dylan said, but she saw the blonde boy pull out a gold coin and flip it. When the coin landed, it wasn't a coin any longer, and was instead a gold, double-edged sword.
"Well, kill him!" Dylan yelled, backing away from Jason and only one storm spirits flew forward, the other already beaten by Riss' hand – destroyed with a Celestial Bronze tipped arrow to the back. Jason's sword absorbed a bolt of lightning thrown at him and he quickly stabbed the last venti, making it dissolve into gold powder.
"Impossible! Who are you, half-blood?" Dylan wailed as his comrades dispersed in the wind.
Piper dropped the club, "Jason, how…?"
Coach Hedge jumped back onto the skywalk, dropping Leo roughly, "Spirits, fear me!" When he saw only Dylan left, he snapped at Jason, "Curse it, boy. Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge!"
Riss closed her eyes, concentrating and blocking out all sound. Water from the clouds started to gather around her, forming into shards of water – pointed and lethal. Dylan hissed, eyes full of fear and the other demigods turned to stare at what he was terrified of. The water shards were all leveled at Dylan, floating around Riss' body. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy all demigods. This war you cannot win."
"Try it!" Riss shouted, "We bet the Titans, Kronos is gone; we will defeat anything else coming our way."
Dylan hissed again and the storm overhead exploded into a gale, cracking the skywalk further. Rain poured down harshly and a hole appeared in the clouds, one which Dylan seemed to recognize, "The mistress calls me back! And you, demigod, will come with me!"
He lunged at Jason, but Piper tackled him. The storm spirit let out a torrent, forcing them all backwards. Jason and Coach Hedge fell over and Leo hit the back of his head. Piper, however, went flying over the railing, barely holding on to the railing with one hand.
"I'll settle for this one!" Riss heard Dylan scream.
"Help! Somebody!" The green-eyed girl lunged forward, just catching Piper's arm. Riss' torso was almost completely over the railing, the metal digging painfully into her hips as she held Piper up.
The girl grimaced as her shoulder screamed in pain. She could let go, and Piper would fall. She could use the water around her to pull Piper up, but then she herself would fall. Riss smiled, startling Piper. It wasn't a choice. Piper screamed as she lost her grip on Riss' arm and started to fall. The water shot forward to catch Piper at the same time that Riss leant out further to grab her again and to throw her up. Piper fell back over the railing, encased in the water, only to see Riss lose her hold on the railing and tumble into the abyss.
Piper let out a loud cry of, "NO! Nerissa!"
The water that was around the demigod fell, sloshing to the ground and Piper ran to the railing, hoping to see Riss alive and well, just holding on. Riss wasn't there.
Hedge seemed to notice, frantically yelling, "Jason, go! Save her!" Hedge ran and started to fight Dylan, yelling once more, "Save her! I got this!"
Piper screamed loudly again as Jason ran to the railing and jumped over the side.
XXXXX
I'm just saying something straight off the bat: I love this idea and Nerissa Jackson is by far one of my favorite characters.
Another thing: Nerissa 'Riss' Jackson is NOT designed to be a) a one-dimensional love interest,b) the hero who always solves the problems or c) the damsel in distress who needs a man to save her.
Riss is designed to be a sarcastic piece of shit who kicks ass and tells people where to shove it. And happens to have a strong connection with the main, male character. But in no way, will Riss need Jason to fight her battles.
So, tell me what you think and please, follow and favorite!
~ Raven