Here is the second chapter of this story, quick and easy for those readers who hate cliffhangers (I feel you people.) I will be doing the chapters in first person from now on, and I hope you readers enjoy.

First Person: Zytaveon

I jumped to the side, knowing only that if I didn't, I'd regret it. I wasn't exactly a fan of gym class, and only took one because it was required to get the credits to graduate. I had faced my fair share of monsters in the past, but never something this big. Usually, I could just touch them and will my power to turn them to ash, spread said ash before it could reform (because lately they'd been doing that) and it'd be done with. I'd never turned something larger than myself bigger to ash, and even the largest thing I'd done, a griffin, I believe, had left me too tired to even move for a while. I'd lied to my mom, said some kid from school knocked me out when Lucy had found me and called 911. At least back then these monsters hadn't been able to reform, so I'd gotten lucky, but now that they were, even if I was stronger than before, I doubt I'd be able to turn this thing to ash, not to mention stopping it from reforming. What in my father's name was I thinking?

"Kid, come on!" Someone yelled, grabbing my arm. It was that guy from before with the black sword. He was pretty thin, his skin pale enough to be a vampire's (fitting, considering his all black attire), but he was pretty strong and pulled me to my feet without breaking stride, as he was running around the hydra to get to me. He dragged me forward and I followed, realizing that I'd just created a challenge for him, running in like a heroic fool. Sure, I had power, but not in this situation. I needed a weapon, but it wasn't like you could go out and buy a sword that would stand up to a hydra. Of course, legends about hydras, along with some of the movies I'd watched, told me that hydras could breathe-

"Fire!" I shouted. That kid looked behind us just to see a wave of flames spewed from two of the hydras heads. He was quick, and pulled me to the side behind the side of the building. We were in the open, not to mention the school was surrounded by grass, and it wasn't exactly a cold or rainy autumn. I'd read way too many books and played far too many videogames, so I hadn't exactly read up on the scientific and historic details about hydras (because they may be interesting but I prefer fiction over non-fiction), so I wasn't sure if they started with one head or five, but I noticed that the hydra had more than five heads, meaning this kid may have tried to sever its head at least four times, well, one of its heads. That's obviously not the way to beat a hydra, but he had to have known that and the severing of the heads was an accident if it did indeed start with one head.

"Do you have a plan to beat that thing?" I asked. "Or are we gonna have to run?"

"Who are you supposed to be, kid?" He asked.

"Zytaveon, and I am at least two years older than you, kid."

"Nico, and I'm older than I look."

"Whatever. Can you beat that thing? What powers do you have? Who's your parent?"

"So you know?"

"I may look like an idiot who can't fight a hydra, but I know a little."

"I guess you are old enough to have your powers. Who's your parent?"

"I asked first."

"Hades."

"Oh, great, me too," I said sarcastically. It wasn't that this guy, Nico, seemed like a bad person, but the idea that he'd be related to me was a bit weird. I didn't want to think about the fact that Hades, and most of the other gods, had many children, some more than others, that were only half-bloods. I'll admit, I've never met other half-god kids before, and if I have, I haven't realized it, but the realization that everything Hades had explained was true seemed to come crashing down on me. I'd known I had powers, I'd known about monsters and gods, but suddenly it all seemed real, seemed like now that I'd seen someone else like me everything wasn't just a dream after all.

"Well, nice to meet you. Do you have a handle on the powers you have?"

"I've never beaten something so big before, but yeah. I can turn things to ash, and teleport under the right conditions. I can sense death and such, but I assume that's just a child-of-Hades thing."

"How well can you fight?"

"Not exactly an athlete here, but I can swing a sword as good as the next guy, if I had one. It's not like you can go to Wal-Mart and by Stygian sword, my friend. Anyway, do you have a way to beat the hydra or not?"

"You mean without it reforming?"

"Deal with that part later, but we can separate the ashes, throw them in the nearest river if we can, but for now-" I was interrupted by the hydra slamming against the wall of the building, clearly either too dumb to come around the corner or too angry to think rationally in a fight at the fact that his meal ran away. The other kids had hopefully gotten clear, but being a teenager that's grown up with these people, I'd guess there are plenty staying behind and trying to catch a video.

"Right, we need to finish this thing fast," I said.

"Agreed." When he made no move to elaborate, I clenched my fists.

"For the last time, PLAN?!"

"Stab its heart out."

"Can't very well do that when there are at least five hungry heads trying to eat you, and I'm sure if you threw that sword, the heads would be happy to take the hit and gain another freaking serpent that wants to kill us."

"You sound like you've got an idea."

"I play a lot of videogames. But we're gonna need someone strong, and I don't know about you, but dad didn't exactly make us Supermen."

"I can help with that," Lucy said. I jumped and realized she was standing right behind me. "You need me to help, just ask."

"One: how the hell did you just do that? Two: What can you do?"

"I'm fast, strong and can blast stuff." I shook my head. Okay…so my friend that I had known for three years turns out to be a demi-god. "Not to mention I've learned to be creative, so don't think I don't have tricks up my sleeve."

"Who are you?" Nico asked. Lucy extended her hand.

"Zyanya, daughter of Zenobia." Nico raised an eyebrow and I searched my head through all the memories I had of gods. I'd done some serious research after I'd found out my dad was one. There was a queen named Zenobia that had brought most of the Roman East under her sway and culminated with the annexation of Egypt, but I don't think she was a god, least of all a Greek god.

"Never heard of her," Nico said, shaking her extended hand. Lucy smiled.

"She prefers it that way," There was something sadistic and condescending in her smile, and it was nothing like the teenager I'd come to know. It was kinda freaky. "Anyway, to defeat a hydra, you aim for its back. Hit it hard enough, and boom, every head is paralyzed, no matter how many there are. That's a hydra's weakness. No matter how many heads, they'll always be stuck with one body. Weighing them down like an anchor, like chains that won't let them separate heads roam free." She almost seemed to be zoning out until she snapped back to attention. "I'll hit the hydra hard. Try not to get killed until then, and maybe we can turn it to ash before this gets caught on camera."

"What about it reforming?" I asked.

"We're here for that," Audrey said. She and Emily were standing to my left, just out of my peripheral vision while I was talking to Nico and Lucy - or Zyanya, apparently. Seriously, how were these women just appearing?! Was I just not paying attention or were these people just teleporters?! I've seen weirder, and have teleported myself, but seriously, these people were silent and swift, or I was just oblivious.

"We'll handle the ashes," Emily promised, smiling like nothing was wrong.

"Well, technically, I'll handle the ashes, but yeah," Audrey said casually, her hands in her jacket pockets. Normal people would've argued if they were in Emily's position, saying that they were going to help too, even if in a trivial way, but Emily just smiled and nodded.

"Yep, that's what I meant." The building shook again as the hydra got impatient, like "What the hell are you guys doing back there?!"

"We should probably get started," Luc - Zyanya said as she rolled up the sleeves of her jacket to her elbows and clenched her fists in a battle ready stance. "Wait till I give the signal. Trust me, you won't miss it!" She took off faster than any human should've been able to. I guess she did say she was fast.

I looked around the corner of the building to find that despite her speed, she managed to get the attention of the hydra, and that meant it turned towards her, making her job of getting behind it to hit it on the back all the harder, if not impossible. She hid behind another part of the building and kneeled down before pulling. To my surprise, even after everything I'd seen, the friend that I knew that could barely tolerate 5 minutes of gym class began to lift an enormous chunk of earth out of the ground. The ground shook and cracked in resistance, but she barely strained as she tugged and a boulder way bigger than her was forced out of the ground as she held it above her head. Then she reared back and swung it 270 degrees around the corner of the building she was behind right dead center into the mass of hydra heads behind her.

At least three of them screeched and reared back while the two on either end blew streams of fire at her. She ran into the fire, though, unaffected, and punched the one on the right with an uppercut that sent its head back in recoil. She kicked the left head when it moved in to attack her, but she was now right in the center of the heads, and the three in the center weren't dazed enough that they couldn't snap blindly in front of them, sending Zyanya back in a lapse of concentration.

"Lu!" I shouted impulsively. Random power bursts and secret identities or not, she was still a high school teen that couldn't do this all on her own.

"We'll need to act as a distraction," Nico said, holding up his sword. "She can't get behind the hydra to hit it hard enough without the hydra hitting and sending her back. How many of you are good at dodging?"

"Nope," Audrey said bluntly, but also calmly.

"Sorry, no," Emily said, frowning at her inability to do much physically.

"Then you're with me," He said, clearly unable to remember my name.

"Veon," I muttered. "All right. Split up around the hydra. It has many heads, but like she said, they're limited by the body, and they can only chose one of us to go after. When it does, the two of us run to a single point around it and make sure it can only focus on us and not her."

"You been doing this a while?" Nico asked, seeing my strategic planning.

"No, I just play videogames." I ran out, choosing the left side, while Nico followed but went to the right. The two of us shouted, waving an arm in the air, and the hydra's heads turned, half to me, half to Nico. Seeing as I hadn't shown any ability to resist the hydra and Nico had, it wasn't really a surprise when the heads wordlessly agreed to come upon me. Up close, the thing looked even scarier, the growls of its heads turning my insides to jelly and I realized what the heck I'd gotten into just a moment too late to turn back. I could see the teeth of the hydra, I realized just how tall it was, and that I wasn't moving backwards even as it advanced forward. I willed my legs to move, but this wasn't as easy as speaking in front of a crowd in English class, and my legs wouldn't obey. I'd seen scary before, but this was a hydra, and I certainly hadn't faced one before. A real live, f-ing hydra was going to kill me.

Suddenly I was literally knocked off my feet by Zyanya, who sped me out of the way just as the hydra attempted to roast me. I ended up falling on the ground, at least fifty feet away and extremely dizzy from the wind being knocked out of me and moving faster than any human or demi-god should be thrown without warning.

"Yo, Veon. Wake up, stay with me. For goodness sake, can't even move when the thing is that close?!" She sighed. "Stay here and try not to do anything you can't handle." I held my head as she walked away. The speed she'd grabbed me at should've snapped my neck, and it was surprising that it didn't. I was able to regain my vision enough to see her and Nico fighting the hydra. I was dimly aware of Emily and Audrey talking to me or something, but I couldn't hear them or wasn't listening.

With Zyanya clearly more of a threat, it was near impossible for Nico to get the attention off of her, but with multiple heads, that didn't necessarily mean he could stab the thing while she took the attention instead.

"They need a bigger distraction," Emily muttered. "Audrey?" Audrey sighed, but she took her hands out of her pockets.

"Let's hope this works," She said. I stood in confusion, my head clearing when Audrey stepped forward and held her hands out. "I don't have a lot to work with, Emily. I can't exactly pull water out of thin air."

"Well…you could use the water from the school's plumbing, but you shouldn't do too much damage to the school so-"

"Done!" Audrey interrupted and tensed as she concentrated. Suddenly the school burst with a wave of water, the shattered windows working to the water's favor, and Audrey thrust her arms forward, palms facing the hydra. Zyanya grabbed Nico and moved before the wave crashed against the hydra, sweeping it away with its screams being drowned in the water.

"Holy -" Okay, so I slipped again and cussed. Excuse me if there was a lot of stuff happening! Audrey too! With the water, I'd assume she's a daughter of Poseidon. And now Emily was going to tell me she's a daughter of Zeus and we'd have one big, happy family!

"I can't hold this forever, guys!" Audrey shouted over the roar of her wave, but it was clearly decreasing in power and the hydra was getting a foothold again, not to mention Audrey's voice was strained and she was visibly shaking.

"I got it!" Zy yelled. "When the hydra's down, hit it, Nico!" She ran off and disappeared behind the distracted hydra, and when Audrey finally lowered her hands and fell to lie down, panting heavily, Nico ran up, sword at the ready.

I wanted to do something more than have to be rescued, unlike Emily who was fine letting the others take the glory. Of course, though I was very mature (I'm serious!) there was that part of me that didn't want Nico to succeed. Sadly, my wish came true and one of the hydra heads managed to chomp down on his sword, tossing Nico away by shaking its head like a dog and then tossing the sword in the opposite direction. But Zyanya had yet to notice as until she jumped up high above the hydra, a boulder in her arms above her. She couldn't stop now, but there'd be no one to hit the hydra in time. Any second risked for Nico to recover his sword and then charge at the hydra would risk the thing gaining the little strength it needed to retaliate.

A sword, I could world with. Hitting the ground running, I could work with. I ran forward, Nico's sword on the ground in my path, snatching it up and never breaking stride. I forced myself to speed up, mostly so I could make up for lost ground that Nico would've had, but also to make sure I couldn't stop myself if I got scared. It was now or never. Seeing this, Zyanya regained her composure, almost having hovered in the air when she saw the problem, but now gravity seemed to increase for her only and she slammed down on the hydra's back harder than gravity should've allowed.

Every one of the hydra heads instantly spasmed and roared, their heads moving up as its body was nearly crushed under the forced Zyanya put upon it. With its heads out of the way, I charged, sprinting as fast as I could while I had the chance and thrusting Nico's sword into the chest of the hydra before I could stop myself and lose the courage. Then, unexpectedly, the tingle I got in my fingers when I used my powers returned, but without me willing it. I tried to let go of the sword, but I couldn't. I began to panic and pulled on the sword, but it was stuck in the hydra as well.

My hands began to feel numb from the tingle, like when you accidentally sat on your leg and your foot went numb but when you allowed circulation again, your foot tingled so much it was painful. That was what my hands felt like, but the feeling began to spread up my arms, as if what was happening wasn't scary enough already. It spread slowly enough that I could panic, but fast enough that I couldn't even scream before I lost the ability get anything out, the pain spreading to my head and my ability to feel or control anything gone. And then I felt death.

And there's Veon's first battle with a hydra. For all those who wish for more storyline and less detailed explanation of the fighting, I hear you, I understand, and the storyline will continue in the next chapter, I promise. Plenty of bombshells dropped in this story, and more information to come. Please comment with suggestions and advice, I'd love to hear feedback.