A/N: A little bit of real action, for once, and I'll admit that this story is very slow-starting, but it's all necessary. The roots of (almost)everything that's to come lie here.

Chapter 3- Ghosts

Aaron was bored. Always. Bored. He was playing darts with himself, throwing two or three at a time. He had uncanny accuracy before developing his abilities. Now? It was hardly a challenge. Which is why he played upside-down, hanging from a chin-up bar on the ceiling. His sister was out with some guy he didn't approve of and he was back to a lonely night of playing darts.

Someone knocked on his door. Hope fluttered through him. Maybe it would be that cute Kitty girl from Hebe's cabin. Or the really sweet Iris girl. He was impartial. He dismounted from his position with a flip and started toward the door. He smoothed out his plain white shirt and combed his fingers through his unruly, but short, platinum blonde hair and opened the door with a smile. "Howdy!" It was neither of the girls he had interest in. It was Lou Ellen. He supposed that wasn't much of a loss, she was a funny and spontaneous girl from what he had heard and her wavy dark hair and lively green eyes didn't harm his opinion of the girl. "Aaron?"

"That's me! Lou, right?"

"Yeah," she smiled. Aaron noticed her attractive lips. "Um, so we kind of have this quest?"

"A quest? That's exciting. When do we leave?"

"Uh, tomorrow. You're not worried?"

"Lou, my life is boring. I could use some excitement," he grinned.

"Cool," she smiled, "so I'll be your quest leader. You should pack some nectar and ambrosia from the infirmary. We'll talk more about it with everyone tomorrow. Your sister will be going too, tell her when you can!"

"Alright!" She left him standing in the doorway. He then realized he was wearing boxers. And that people in the courtyard were staring. His eyes widened and he slammed the door. He threw himself down on his bed. "Gods of Olympus, WHY?"

Rex Haze was in the airport. He soon added long lines and signs labeled in English to the list of things he hates. Plutus had taken care of everything. Now he just had to board the plane. He had to leave his knife, they wouldn't let him take it on board. Perhaps it was because he looked homeless. Perhaps because he WAS homeless.

They finally called for first class, yes first class. He was going to put that cash to good use. As he was boarding, he caught a flash of light brown hair and pale green eyes. Unmistakable features. His mother. No, it couldn't have been. He trudged into the plane and down the aisle quickly, not wanting to burden those behind him. He found his seat and sat down.

He thought he'd been sitting there for an hour before the plane finally started. The seat next to him was empty, something for which he was grateful. The engine whined and Rex felt something he hadn't felt since his first month of the streets. Fear racked his massive frame as the plane began to roll. He gripped his armrests and his stomach churned. He felt the fear build up and he began to stand, before a calloused hand shoved him back down into his seat and sat down in the empty seat next to him.

It was a woman, a tough one. She had choppy blonde hair and a split lip, various cuts on her face bleeding. She had bandages wrapped tight around both hands. "Requiem Haze."

"Uh…"

"I'm a hysminae. A spirit of fight. You're going to need me, and you're one of my favorites, Rex!" Despite her multitude of injuries, she possessed an unusually cheery demeanor. "Long story short, there's two empousai on this puppy, and gods know you don't have enough experience to deal with those." He glanced around and whispered, "Do they see you?"

"You don't know about the Mist?"

"Mist?"

"Ugh. It obscures things that mortals shouldn't see. Gods, monsters, spirits, weapons, the whole nine yards. Anywho, these empousai won't approach if I'm here. To them you're just a sack of fresh meat. You're what? Son of... Ker? Olethros? No... You reek of pure death, not something sloppy like those... oh no way." She released a laugh from somewhere deep within her, an interesting bass tone.

She pulled a sword from a sheath at her waist. Rex didn't even notice her bloodstained battle armor. The weapon was sleek and black as ink. The grip was bound in simple brown leather with a simple crossguard. The sword, he thought, wasn't anything special. He seemed perfectly accepting of this sword given to him by a spirit. "You'll need that. Stygian iron. All the cool Underworld kids have it. Good luck, Rex!"

She spun out of her seat and into thin air. Rex scowled, the sword across his lap. He stuffed the sword into his backpack, but the hilt still protruded. He obscured it from sight with his leg.

An hour passed. Rex had ordered a meal and its remains rested on a table in front of him. The stewardess was extremely charming, Rex found. She came back around, and with her honey-sweet voice and curly chocolate hair asked if he needed anything else. His senses kicked into overdrive and he heard a wavering nuance in her voice that he would later learn was indicatory of charmspeak. He was already staring, so it didn't take much more for him to notice the bronze leg protruding from her tight skirt. And a donkey's hoof attached to the other leg. He was less than thrilled. He gripped his sword and tore it from his bag, swinging up in a way that should have killed the woman. She was the… empousai thing. The she-demon effortlessly dodged his clumsy attack and smiled her astonishing smile.

He almost wavered, but he remembered that he hated manipulation. The hysminae egged him on in his mind. For all the things Rex hated, he loved a damn good fight. Most of the passengers were in a deep sleep, no doubt the work of the demon so that she could harvest his organs or whatever she planned to do.

Rex had no clue what to do. He realized he must have been staring into the demon's eyes for roughly thirty seconds; and that she was attempting to use her magic to seduce him. She seemed focused so he stabbed her. Rex was lucky to catch her by surprise.

She exploded into dust and rained onto the passengers. He brushed some golden dust off his shoulder like Plutus had done and twirled his sword. The hysminae walked up behind him, beaming. "Nice technique! Like a cobra coiled to strike! Empousai are lightning quick, you were lucky to get a young, inexperienced one."

"What about the other one? You said there were two?"

"Oh yeah, it's about to get interesting. It's an elder empousa and she's figured out exactly what you are."

"A demigod, right? Like Hercules or Romulus?"

"Not even close, Rex. You're a whole different sort. Demigodhood is difficult. Monsters always on your tail, drawn into Olympian conflicts. It's a life, for sure. And a death sentence."

"Challenge accepted." He romped down the aisle to another section of the plane, the hysminae on his heels. Rex sighted the empousa, hunched over passengers. He spun to meet the hysminae's bruised eyes. "What's your name?"

"Aren't you polite?" She smirked and ruffled his greasy black hair. "The empousa is feeding." The hysminae slipped lethal celestial bronze knuckles onto her fists. Rex looked at her a second longer, then turned and creeped down the aisle. He tightened his grip on his sword when he saw flames flicker through the demon's hair.

The creature stood up, arching its back. An attempt at seduction. Rex found that the elder empousa's spell was much more formidable. The plane hit turbulence and rocked, sending Rex careening backwards. The empousa sprung into action. So did the hysminae. The spirit evaporated into a thick mist that looked like blood while the empousa lunged at Rex. Rex' companion reformed over the demigod and uppercutted the she-demon with a resounding crack, and sent her up into the plane's ceiling. As she fell back down, the hysminae unleashed a painful combo of jabs and hooks, until the empousa was leaking dust. Rex took his cue when the hysminae ducked down. He hurled himself at the demon, rolled over the hysminae's back and planted his sword in the empousa's chest.

He puckered his lips like he was blowing a kiss to the eroding empousa, who had an astounded look on her face. With that, he pulled out the sword and turned to the hysminae. "Nice job, newbie! I'm Clara." She curtsied, treating her battle skirt armor like a dress. "And your plane is about to land. Catch you later!"

She formed into mist and swirled into oblivion. He tiptoed back to his seat as a voice announced they'd be landing in roughly twenty minutes. Passengers began to wake and he stuffed his sword into his backpack. "How the HELL am I going to get this through an airport?"