Chapter 4

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in Disneyland. Yeah right, well it looks like the supernatural divinity has a sense of humor.
"I heard that."
I smiled. And for the time since waking up, looked at myself in the Mickey Mouse mirror, and then grimaced. My clothes were torn and burned in many places. The threads still sticking together were covered in blood and muck. My hair was dirty and messy as usual, my face was covered with slime and mud. All my cuts and bruises were completely healed, at least one good thing in the whole ordeal. This reminded me of something.
"Do I still have the curse of Achilles?"
"No. you lost the curse the moment you lost your connection with your mortal point. Besides I can't afford to have you running around with that baring weak spot. I want you to live long enough. Oh just for your Intel, you might have some problem moving your body sometimes if under pressure till your soul and body will completely fuse as your original body was…well you know how you died, it's just a copy of it"
"Well thanks, I will try to remember about it but I didn't know it was possible to clone a body without it having a soul."

"Just remember that you are my source of entertainment and of course that I won't interfere if something goes wrong just as it was with your dear Olympians".

"Thanks. I feel loved; at least I'm entertaining to someone. And here I thought I went out of fashion decades ago."
The voice chuckled.
"So…..the Disney land huh. Never figured out you to be a Mickey fan, or is it Donald duck."
"Very funny, though I like the "Power Rangers". They're hilarious. This was just a random destination, one out of many billions."
Shaking my head slightly, I took a deep breath and entered.
Now, I am from a very poor family. I've always dreamt of this place when I was a kid, like a gazillion years ago. And to tell the truth, it surpassed all of my wildest expectations. The rides were awesome and the aromas from cafes painfully reminded me that last time I ate was three hours before my accident. A moment of epiphany; nothing is more torturous than running loose in Disneyland completely broke. Where ever I go the rides would taunt me mockingly. The candies and pastries from the showcases teased my hungry stomach. The joyful scream of thousands of crazy kids coming from the awesome rides was too much for me to bear. Holding my ears, I ran to one of the quieter sections, quieter than the rest at least. Feeling self-conscious under the glares of the passersby, I ambled towards what looked like a lonely alley from one of the 60s movies. There I saw a gang of richly dressed teenagers hovering over a little girl. From where I was, I could easily see tears flowing from the little girls eyes. I gritted my teeth. I hate bullies. All my life I've been bullied by others. Be it smelly Gabe, the gods or the Titans. I've also learned how to deal with such jerks. I felt the voice tense in anticipation. I sauntered towards them, showing no hurry. The jerks were so engrossed in bullying the little child that they didn't notice me approach them.
"Aww, come on kiddo. Not very lucky are you. You little cheat"
"what happened you little cheat. Can't get away now huh."
"Tell us how you managed to fool the security. Must be quite talented be so good at such young age."
"We're your friends darling. You wouldn't wanna mess with us would ya"
At this the girl let out a terrified squeak. Taking that as my cue, I grabbed the biggest one and bashed his head in the wall. Before the others could process what was happening, I grabbed another one and twisted his arm so hard that the bone broke. Bully no 3 came to me arms rose. Using the flat of my palm, I hit him on the nose, driving his nose into the brain. The rest fled in panic. Glaring at the injured three, I said in my most threatening voice, "Leave now!"
The fled away with terrified yelps. Satisfied I turned my gaze to the little child, who was staring at me with large brown eyes wearing an awed expression. She was a tiny creature, with long brown hair which reached her waist, and small innocent pale tear streaked face. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She looked so comical that I had to laugh. I smiled reassuringly at her and said, "Hello! My name is Percy Jackson."
She startled at my words, and then locked her big brown eyes on mine. Her eyes were deep, deeper than ocean. They had a timeless quality about them that filled my heart with dread. The more I looked, more ancient she seemed. Yet her face maintained that innocence characterized to normal 8 years old kids though this didn't calm my suspicions. She took a deep breath and said in a goofy, carefree tone.
"He…he…l...lo Percy. I'm Aer, goddess of the mist. But you're supposed to be dead, how come you're alive?"
Now, I've seen a lot of strange things in my life and have learned not to question the absurdity of the things, but this little nymphet claiming she to be goddess stumped me. I stared at her ridiculously.
"Come again!"
She rolled her eyes, and then gave me a wide toothy smile "I'm Aer, goddess of the mist. And from now on you're my best friend in the whole world...Well till you die again?"
I stared at her as if she'd said-mu name is Darth Vadaar and I'm gonna play Barbie with Buffy the vampire slayer.
The voice chuckled inside my head. That brought me back to my senses.
"Hold on! Time out! Whoa! What do you mean best friend. And if you are a goddess, how come you allowed those jerks to bully you."
The girl turned away shyly from me and mumbled, "I wanted to make friends. I don't have any friends. And I don't know how to fight."
She looked so sad and forlorn, that rushed up to her and gave her a big hug. She sniffled, and then looked up at me with pleading eyes, "Will you be my friend? Please? And protect me? I am a very weak goddess. I can't even assume my true form. Will you let me come with you? Please?" Her voice broke at the last please.

Looking at her big brown eyes, I softened and said, "Sure! Why not?" And that turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.