Well, I split chapter 3 into two parts because it was getting pretty long, and I really couldn't split it up any other way… This chapter is about 20 pages, but it's better than all the short stuff I keep writing! So here we are! Chapter 4! Yay!
Chapter Rant! I FINALLY found the time to start reading The Lost Hero this week. And...you know those books that you start reading and you can't put down until you're done? This isn't one of those books for me. Percy Jackson was. Soooo...yeah... Not bad, but not very good either. The amnesia card has been played too many times before. We do not need to see it again now. Also, sadly, a number of plot devices seem to overlap with my plan for this little series...such as Eon's power (though her reason for having it is actually more interesting and unique), who the "bad guy" is in the series and so on. I'm not very far in the book yet, but this is just what I see... So yeah...Just mentioning that I did NOT take these ideas from THIS book. I had this planned out this summer; before the book was even out/before I even started reading it.
Miffin Note: I actually found The Lost Hero to be pretty entertaining. It's not as funny as the first series, true, but I am excited for the next book. The camp idea has piqued my interest (if you haven't read to the end of the book, then you probably don't know what I'm talking about yet).
Also, you might want to remember that Rick Riordan is being paid for his ideas. You are not. Unfortunately.
Disclaimer:
-Percy Jackson and the Olympians belongs to Rick Riordan. Not me. Thank you.
-Eon is mine. Don't take her
-Ashirai is Worenx's. Don't take her too!
-Artemis belongs to no one, but all maidens belong to her. Think twice about that, boys...
-Disney's Hercules doesn't belong to me. I just like the movie (as wrong as the mythology is).
-Harry Potter, and more specifically the "Knight Bus" belong to J.K. Rowling.
NOTES!
-THE TITLE OF THIS CHAPTER IS A GAG. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND IT BY THE END!
-Again, "Tony's Grandpa" refers to the sabre-toothed tiger
-Eon uses music to help make her decisions; I won't look up any of the artists for these songs to give credit to though. I like their songs and don't own them. I despise all music otherwise, so let's leave it at that. I'll only name artists I know offhand. Which is like...two.
-Doubt & Trust was one of the Openings of D. Grey-man. I think it was my favourite D.G-M OP.
-Revolution is the closing for Slayers: Revolution; lyrics work and it's my favourite song to boot~
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Chapter 4: I Meet a Really Hot Chick
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"WHAAAUUUUGGHHHHH!" I bolted up, smashing my head into something hard. "AGH!" Pain flooded throughout me, mainly from my chest, shoulder, back and head...especially my head. Grabbing my aching skull with my good hand, I peeked down at myself, blushing instantly. My shirt was missing (not that it really mattered with my lack of…yeah, you get it, but that's not the point here!). The only thing covering my chest was an array of bandages, a smoking handprint burnt into the center. And in my experience, that wasn't normally a very good sign...
"Aaghh..." A girl moaned in front of me. She was rubbing her own head, her hand sparking wildly in her hair as if the entire world's supply of static electricity was attacking her skull at once. Our eyes shifted up simultaneously and I yelped, shocked (pun unintended) when they met the Ashirai clone's. She electrocuted me? Now that's just inexcusable (not to mention rude!).
When she noticed me, Sparky opened her mouth but I didn't give her a chance (who would?). Sweeping my good hand across the floor, I found a long stick and held it up, ready to defend myself.
"D-don't move! I have a—" It was then that I noticed the thin string drawing the top and bottom of the stick into an arch. Great. I had just grabbed her bow. "I—have a bow and I don't know how to use it! Back off or I'll end up p'owning the both of us!" I shook it experimentally and managed to whip the back of my own head somehow. Master of weapons, I am not. You should see what I can do with a spatula. "Oooowww..."
"H-hey, calm down!" She held up her hands to show she was unarmed. As considerate as the sentiment was, it would've been much more reassuring if herhand was not still sparking wildly.
"Calm down? Why should I calm down? Your hand is sparking. HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?" The fear that my perception of the difference between reality and fiction shattering and combining into some magic mushroom-induced Wonderland was really starting to freak me out. I think that I'm allowed a mental breakdown or two after the whacky week I've been through to this point...don't you?
Blinking, the girl looked to her hand.
"Oh, right, sorry," her hand went out and I just stared, completely lost for words (for once). Okay, monsters and gods existing? Check. That's fine with me. Random sparking body parts? That would take some getting used to…unless I really was just on some mushrooms or fumes or something...
"See now? Calm down. You've been unconscious for a day, and your heart stopped. I just revived you."
"My heart...stopped? ...mn..." Well, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't really argue with that considering how vivid my (mis)adventure in the Underworld was, so I lowered the bow (not that it would've helped me much anyway). "So...I was dead."
"For a few minutes, technically, yes..."
"...the Underworld needs more colour. It's boring as hell down there."
My bland statement and indifferent expression earned me a smirk. "That it does."
I rubbed my head again and took a look around me for the first time. A silver-white tent composed of animal pelts surrounded us. I was sitting on a soft mattress, and a warm furry blanket covered my feet. It looked like my neighbour's Chihuahua (ha, that's what you get for biting me!). The entrance was closed off, so I had no idea where I was (not that it'd do me much good anyway, thanks to a certain Sun god).
I was interrupted by a stinging pain that pulsed down my back, and it dawned on me that I should check on myself as well. Sneaking a peek at my arms, I could only make out a faint trace of dried blood where the tiger had got me. No scars. Everything else seemed to be in place as well, and the pain that remained was nothing compared to what it should've been.
Interesting... Someone, most likely a god, had decided to heal me.
I was starting to get pretty popular with the immortals (I'll sign autographs later, fans).
Seeing my inspection, the girl asked, "Are you feeling alright? That tiger did a number on you..."
"My back and shoulder stings, and my head's pounding, but other than that I think that I'm pretty hunky-dory for someone who just fought a sabre-toothed tiger unarmed." I flexed my almost inexistent bicep. "Y'know, wearing it down for you guys and all."
"I see..." Ashirai MKII plopped down in front of me. "I don't suppose you'll tell me why you were hunting it then?"
"I think it's more the other way around, but feel free to look at it in a way that makes me look slightly more sane." I liked this girl. She looked like she had a sense of humour, unlike another certain blue-eyed, black-haired and punk-clothed girl I knew. I swear these two could be sisters! "As for why, I was told by a certain someone to find "hunters," and long story short, I'm here now. So. Are you a hunter?"
"Depends on what you mean by 'hunter'. We might or might not be what you're looking for." She fiddled with her bow a bit. A mischievous glint was in her eyes; she wanted more info, and wouldn't tell me a thing unless I spilled the beans.
I groaned and rubbed my temples. "Lesse...uh...that guy said..." I had to really rack my brains to remember what Apollo had actually said back then. Even if it was only three or so days ago, it felt like eons (ha, I'm so funny) with so many things going on at once. I was now apparently a half-blood, though I had no idea who my dad was (not that it'd make much of a difference to me anyway). Monsters apparently do exist and one ate my dog. I was apparently a mistake and my own mother disowned me (fantastic parenting, Mom). I apparently had two prophecies about me already, both of which I hadn't even heard once and was likely to multiply into more. I apparently died and visited the underworld and released something from there, but I had no idea what or if that was just some psychedelic, blood loss-induced dream. And I apparently had to choose between going with some weird stalker-girl or going with these 'hunter' people (it's so good to know that I was loved). That's a lot of 'apparently'-s for one week. "...that he could...guide me to his sister aaand..." A thought occurred to me. "Dammit Apollo! BAKA! BAKABAKABAKA!"
My sudden outburst gained my punk-clothed 'friend's' interest. She looked up from her bow to me, her eyes as sharp as a hawk's. It reminded me of Ashirai, but I was too ticked to be nervous right now. "You said you would lead me here and you ABANDON me in a parking lot and let me become an over-sized scratching post? Just how do you consider that leading me ANYWHERE!" I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down. After my flat look returned to my face, I said, "As crazy as it sounds, Apollo told me to find his sister Ar...Ara...Aura...Aaaaa—I dunno her name. Some god—er—god...dess?"
"Artemis? The goddess of maidens and hunting."
"Yeah her—aha! So am I in the right place—or do I need another near-death experience this week to have any idea if I'm on the right track? Because between you and me, pain and me aren't very good friends. We're both rather sick of each other already...or at least I am." I rubbed my injured shoulder to emphasize my point. It was stiff and I could feel dried blood completely coating it under the bandages. That wouldn't be fun to clean off.
The girl's expression changed from curious to serious. "Come with me. I'll bring you to Lady Artemis." She stood up and grabbed a shirt from a chest and tossed it at me. After it was on, she helped me up and led me out of the tent.
The morning sun stung my eyes. We were in a large clearing surrounded by pine trees...though that made no sense. There weren't any pines in the forest that I was attacked in. Just where were we? Did these 'hunter' people carry me to an entirely different forest?
Besides asking the logical question of 'how is that even humanly possibly, I was thinking, wow, these guys—girls are tough...
Tents identical to the one I had awakened in littered the clearing (in a matter of seconds I was twice as lost as before). Girls ranging from about ten to eighteen were patrolling, eating breakfast, or just gossiping. Though they hid it well, I could feel their eyes shift to us as we passed. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I tried to ignore it. That was a little impossible though after years of torture following the initial 'scope out the weird kid then attack' phase. Samuel and Cindy had only made it worse for me during the past two years by spreading horrible rumours about me at school. As you could guess, I was on my toes...quite literally (that probably didn't help with the staring...).
One brave girl finally stepped up in front of the clone, stopping us. She wore a pair of black ripped jeans and a large white T-shirt with some logo I didn't recognise on the chest, which I assumed was to get people to recognise her womanly assets: AKA, her huge honking honkers. By the look of her, I'd say she was about sixteen to seventeen. She towered over us like a giant. Well, she towered over me mostly. Why was I so short?
"Who's the new girl, Thalia?" She asked, her voice gruffer than I expected. Her eyes locked onto me hungrily, and quite frankly, I was terrified of her. One stalker was enough, thank you! And sadly, she seemed like the closest thing to an 'adult' I'd find in this place.
"Dunno. Didn't ask her name." Thalia answered back coolly. Then she brushed a black bang out of her eyes and glared up at her, her blue eyes cold as ice. "So if you'll excuse us, Jesse, she has business with Lady Artemis. We'd appreciate it if you moved out of the way."
Before Jesse could react, Thalia whipped her hand out and stabbed two fingers at her collarbone. There was a flash and Jesse stumbled back, out of the way. Thalia quickly grabbed my hand and stalked past the giant as she recovered from the shock. A quiet murmur echoed around us, but I didn't dare look back at Jesse.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Thalia murmured, releasing my hand when we were a good distance away.
"Should I even ask what that was about?" I cocked an eyebrow at her. I think that it's safe to assume that even in the life of a demigod, it's not normal to see someone electrocute another like that...unless they're really good friends, that is.
Thalia bit her lip.
"You see, I'm considered Artemis' second-in-command, in a way. I organize the Hunters when she's not around, and lead most of the hunts."
"Okay...and?"
Thalia jammed her hands into her pockets. "Jesse just doesn't like that, I guess. She thinks that Artemis is playing favourites—I mean, I was chosen over Jesse when the previous Lieutenant died." She paused and looked down, a pained look clouding her face before continuing. "She's been a part of the Hunters a lot longer than I have, so she believes that she can lead the Hunters better than me. As of late, she's been undermining my authority. She's even been trying to turn some of the Hunters against me."
"Oh..." Wasn't that lovely? Jesse probably just wanted to use me. I felt like this would become a reoccurring theme in my life from now on. Step right up, one slightly damaged preteen for half-price, today only!
We stopped outside of a tent larger than the rest. That tipped me off that the head honcho, AKA Artemis, stayed here. And the fact that it almost seemed to shine in the morning sun. Loud bickering voices boomed from inside of the tent like thunder. One of those voices I was positive I'd heard before... That also tipped me off (as you can see, I'm quite the detective.).
"This is Lady Artemis's tent, but I think that we should-!" Thalia barely had time to reach for my arm when I charged passed her and into the tent. It was quite roomy inside, though rather empty by my standards. A few tusks, antlers and pelts hung on the walls (one pair eerily resembling the fangs of Tony's Grandpa) and two mattresses were on the ground, one of which was already occupied by a pure-white deer. I cocked my eyebrow at it, and I could've sworn it returned the favour when Thalia raced in after me, grabbing my arm so tightly that I started to worry it might come off.
"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed. In response I pointed (with my free arm mind you, as any movement in the other would likely result in her tearing it off) at the two arguing figures a number of paces away.
"She could have lost her head!" The younger of the two hissed. She looked to be about my age, maybe a bit younger. Her hair was silver, like my own, but shorter and braided back out of the way. She glared at the man before her with eerie silver eyes, as if hoping to melt him.
The man held his hands up, trying to calm the girl. He had short blonde hair and was wearing a pair of sunglasses, like a movie star. I also glared at him with the intensity of the sun.
"I know, I know, it was a mistake, Artemis—"
"A mistake? You leaving a defenceless maiden alone in this kind of world was a mistake?" The girl looked like she'd lose her head if no one stepped in soon, and seeing as any movement would likely result in another trip to the godly ER, I decided to do the rational thing instead of literal (for once).
"URRHERRMROOOHHMM!" I coughed over-dramatically. Both figures turned towards me at once. I swear their eyes could've burned the flesh right off me...not my best plan ever, I assure you.
"I-I'm sorry, Lady Artemis!" Thalia stammered politely, pointedly giving the movie star—Apollo—a glare before yanking me down into a bow.
"Ooooooow!" I hissed. At this point I was wondering how much money it'd be to get a robotic limb. At the strength Thalia was squeezing my arm at, it would be green and gross in ten minutes (Which wouldn't be so bad, so long as I got a Megaman X buster-arm in exchange).
"Can it!" Thalia growled back, pulling me back up slowly. She looked back to the goddess, "She entered before I could stop her—"
"It's alright, Thalia." Artemis waved it off. "We were just talking about her anyway." With that, Thalia finally released my arm, and I couldn't help but give a silent prayer of thanks to Artemis. The goddess' eyes glistened and she looked to me, a small grin spread across her lips. It was then that realised that she had actually heard the prayer. Well, that was rather embarrassing...
I looked away from the gods, trying to recover from the embarrassment. "No kidding..." I grumbled, only to receiving a painful elbow to the gut. Grunting, I gave the demigod beside me a glare before looking back to Artemis and Apollo. "So ,what's up?" I asked casually, having absolutely no idea how formal to be when talking to a god. I mean, you hear people acting formal and all to them all the time, but weren't these gods also our parents? I couldn't imagine talking to my dad as if he'd sent me to military school for the past seven years of my life. So when in doubt, I decided, casual it is. How different could they be from us anyway? Other than being able to grant miracles on a daily basis, having shape-changing powers, controlling the elements and being able to turn us to ash in an instant if they wanted to, they were exactly like us, right? ...You know what, forget that last comment. Bottom line, casual was just more my style.
"We were just talking about your...unfortunate arrival here." Artemis said slowly, glaring at her brother again. "How you were nearly killed by a sabre-toothed tiger."
Apollo sighed again. "Look, I said I was sorry!" He tried, one hand on his hip and the other rubbing his temples.
"Not to me..." I received another elbow to the gut. I could feel the bruise already forming.
Apollo rolled his head to look back at me from his sister.
"Yeah, sorry about that kid. Guess I jumped the gun a bit, thinking you could handle yourself already." Was that sarcasm in his voice? I swear he was making fun of me, the—
"She just learned she was a demigod, Apollo! You're the most irresponsible god I know! She could be dead! THEN what would happen!" Artemis hissed. Thunder roared in the distance and I shivered. If you asked me, the gods really needed to go to anger management classes if they could call up storms just from getting ticked. As it was, Artemis was two seconds away from either pile-driving Apollo or having a stroke.
"Artemis, please." Apollo almost begged, but Artemis's glare became worse and she yelled something in Greek at him. He responded, just as tiredly as before, and the argument went on like that for a while. I guess even godly siblings fight like normal human kids sometimes. But as the thunder roared on, and the clear sound of hail hitting the ground appeared outside the tent, I decided that it was time to try to stop the fireworks.
"Uh...can I call a time out?" I ventured. They didn't react, their Greek argument becoming even more heated as the thuds became louder outside. "Alright ENOUGH!"
Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and stared at me. That included two gods, one electric demigod, and a pure-white deer. I crossed my fingers behind my back for what I was about to say next. If I was lucky, I'd be only partially melted.
"Alright, good! Look, I'm in one piece, okay? Apollo, you suck at giving directions and leading little kids to safety. Let's leave it at that. Now can we please move on to something that involves a little less hail and Greek? Like why I'm here, what this "prophecy" is and why there is a deer staring at me?" The deer looked taken aback and sniffed indignantly, turning its back to me on its mattress. Every bone in my body itched to poke it now.
Artemis cleared her throat and stepped away from Apollo. The sound of hail vanished entirely outside, surprisingly not surprising me (surprise!). Apollo rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward me at last, giving me a thankful wink for stopping his sister's rage. I gave him my best 'this isn't over' look when he finally spoke.
"Yes...why you're here..." He glanced at Artemis then back to me. "Artemis is the goddess of maidens, Eon. That means that in a sense, you're in her jurisdiction. I have already told you that two prophecies have been made about you, and that you had two choices: to accept your fate and do it, as dangerous as it is, or to hide from your fate. I...tried," he glanced back to Artemis, "to bring you here so you could make your choice once and for all. If you choose to hide from your fate, there is no safer place than here."
Artemis stepped towards me. "As a Huntress, you'll be granted immortality, so long as you are not taken down in battle or fall in love with a man. You will never be alone, and will be trained in the art of hunting by myself and your sisters." She nodded to Thalia when she said 'sisters'. "I can assure you that you will be safe, and every day will hold a new adventure for you." Her smile was reassuring and genuine, but something in her eyes stopped me from automatically saying yes. She knew something else that she wasn't telling me. It made my stomach churn uncomfortably.
"What...is the prophecy about?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. The godly siblings looked at each other simultaneously, their expressions darkening.
"We can't tell you that." Artemis finally sighed, stepping over to the deer and stroking its head gently.
"Why not? Aren't they for me? How'm I supposed to decide if I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" My hands balled into fists angrily. This was asinine! I was eleven, for the gods' sakes! I needed to know!
"Your decision affects the world's state, Eon. If you knew the entire prophecy and its meaning beforehand, you would try to change it, and that always ends in disaster. That is just the way of a hero." Apollo stated gravely, his golden eyes looking over the rims of his sunglasses at me.
I had to look away. The intensity of stare was enough. I didn't need to be blinded too.
Slowly, my hands unfurled and I jammed them into my pockets. They weren't going to tell me the prophecy unless I said yes, and that was final.
"Can I...have a day to think about it then?" My voice was barely above a whisper. Truth be told, I was a little scared. Two big-wig gods were in front of me right now, reminding me that the whole world apparently depended on my decision. What if agreeing to these prophecies meant destroying the world? What if staying here made it worse? There were too many possibilities, and my little eleven-year-old mind was having trouble taking it all in. Good thing the Japanese have a tradition of sending under-aged children on perilous quests to save the world on a regular basis, or my head would have imploded already.
Artemis pursed her lips and looked to Apollo. Her sibling shrugged, leaving the choice up to her (though he probably just didn't want to be yelled at again).
"Very well..." the goddess finally conceded after a minute of thought. "But by dawn tomorrow, you must tell me your decision. We move out straight after."
"T-thank you..." I hesitated, then bowed what I hoped was a polite bow before backing out of the tent.
My feet led me through the clearing as my mind reeled between my options. It was possibly the only time in my life (at least up to that point) that I didn't notice or care who watched me as I passed, hissing things behind my back. I had bigger things to worry about. Should I stay here with these "Hunters," or go with Ashirai (wherever she may be)? You have no idea how much I craved to know those prophecies right now…It would've made things so much easier.
I had already found my way out of the Hunter's camp by time I came too and noticed my surroundings. Thick pines and other forest-y plants extended around me as far as I could see…which really wasn't all that far since so many of them obstructed my view. Looking over my shoulder and seeing nothing but forest, I noted that I was decidedly lost. That was always a great thing to know.
"Uuuugh…" I couldn't help but growl, kicking the nearest shrub angrily. "Can anything else go wrong this week?"
"Probably; it's an unfortunate problem for Half-Bloods." I made a mix between a terrified squeal and hiccup and spun around to see Jesse leaning against a pine, a longbow over her shoulder. She gave me a toothy grin and a lazy wave. "What brings you out here? I thought you had business with Artemis."
"I…did, I guess…" Had she followed me? There were no dead animals around her to prove she was here by chance…
"You guess?" The gigantess cocked an eyebrow. "What were you two talking about?"
Now don't get me wrong; I know the rules you learn as a little kid. "Don't talk to strangers" was one of first things I learned too, and even without that, I didn't want to tell this girl anything. But the way she looked at me, her little brown eyes scanning me for any weakness, and her hand firmly placed on her dagger sheathe scared me.
"If I should stay here or not." Fear made me blurt it out, and I mentally kicked myself hard.
"Oooh…so you're thinking of becoming a Huntress, huh?" Jesse stepped up to me, an eerie grin on her face. She put her hand over my shoulder like we'd just become best friends. "What's there to think about then? We look after our own. Hell, I'll even train you myself!" In an instant she flicked her hunting dagger up and caught it by the razor sharp tip, making me flinch. There was no doubt in my mind now that she was trying to get her way through my fear.
"I really don't need this right now…" I shook her arm off of me and stepped away from her. She didn't seem to like that though. Her grin vanished and she stood up straight, towering over me again.
"Why not?" It sounded almost like a growl to me, like she was trying to intimidate me into obedience.
I really didn't like that, so drawing on all of my courage, I glared up at the Amazon.
"Because I don't like being used," I hissed, "and I have more important things to worry about than some Godzilla with control issues that can't take a hint!"
"G…Godzilla?" Jesse's face gained a hint of red, and it wasn't from embarrassment.
"What? That doesn't describe you enough? How about King Kong then, you big ugly ape!"
Maybe it wasn't my best idea to insult such a big girl holding a sharp knife either… Because Jesse's face turned bright red and a vein wrinkled its way out of her ticked off face. With a howl that I could only describe as terrifying, she flung herself at me, hitting me into a tree and smacking me in the side of the face with the hilt of her knife. I don't even think she noticed the knife was backwards, she was that mad (I think this is why she didn't get promoted when Artemis's lieutenant-person passed away).
Crying out in pain and sheer terror, I tried to hit her off of me with poor results.
"I'll show you what Godzilla can do, you little %$#$!" She drew back her arm, flipping the knife around in her hand so the tip faced me. My blood turned to ice at the sight of the gold-plated edge. Some part of me, probably my godly half, felt sick as it approached. That was no ordinary gold…
"HELP!"
The edge of the dagger ripped through the bark of the tree next to my cheek, drawing blood. Jesse stumbled away and someone grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me toward them.
"You need to start thinking things through, you dolt." Ashirai growled, pulling me behind herself protectively. Slowly, she started spinning her demon scythe, ready for action. I was never so happy to be insulted in my life.
"Where'd you come from? I thought you were still in Alberta!"
The black-haired, red-banged demigod chanced a look at me. "You really thought I'd lose track of you after all the time it took me to find you?" She looked back to Jesse and my heart sunk. Couldn't she have at least lied about a different reason than that? You know? Like "I missed you?" or "You owe me fifty bucks?" Wait, maybe not the last one.
Jesse recovered a number of paces away, the red evaporating from her face. In fact, her face seemed to drain of all colour when she noticed Ashirai. Her mouth was half open in surprise and she stared for almost a minute.
"You..." She finally breathed, a devilish smirk crawling onto her face. "I thought you'd be dead by now."
Ashirai tensed. The scythe ceased to spin for a moment as she looked Jesse up and down.
"I guess neither of us've changed much then." She said, flicking the scythe forward so the skull's purple eyeless sockets faced Jesse.
"Hmph." Jesse ignored the creepy scythe 'staring' at her, "I bet Artemis will be sooo pleased to see her little sister returning to her after all this time." The smirk grew even more devilish.
Now it was Ashirai's turn for the colour to drain from her face.
"Wha...sister?" I threw in the towel. I had no idea how these two knew each other, but they did and didn't seem to be the best of friends to boot. It was time for some answers. "What's she talking about?"
"Oh, don't you know? Ashirai here is Artemis's sister...or half sister, really. They had the same father...Zeus. Just like Thalia." Jesse lowered her bow to the ground and leaned on it, her head resting on the top. That thing was pretty strong to support that monster of a girl.
"You what?" I gawked at Ashirai, but she looked just as confused as I was.
"Thalia? Who's Thalia?" Her icy eyes glared at Jesse, demanding an answer.
"Ooh ho, you've been out of the loop for quite some time, haven't you?" Jesse asked, seeming to enjoy drawing out her time just to irritate the shorter demigod. "She's just who I said. Another daughter of Zeus, and our new lieutenant to boot. Artemis's new favourite." She hissed the last three words venomously.
Ashirai's eyes narrowed. Her face held a mixture of sorrow, pain, anger and confusion. "Artemis does not play favourites." She hissed back to the gigantess. "If this Thalia is your leader, it's because she earned it. No other reason."
"Hmph." Jesse stared down her nose at Ashirai. "That's just what you'd expect a former Hunter to say." She stood up straight again and lifted the bow over her shoulder. Turning her back to us, she growled, "Chew on that, you runt." She then looked over her shoulder at Ashirai. "As for you...Artemis still hasn't forgotten what you did. You'd best get lost soon if you want to stay in one piece." And with that, she vanished through the trees.
Ashirai and I remained silent for almost ten minutes, the scythe-wielder staring off at where Jesse had vanished as if she'd held all of life's secrets, and me staring at her, hoping she'd snap out of it before a bear came along. The hunting knife was still lodged deep in the tree trunk beside her, so I decided to pass the time by trying to yank the thing out. It would be best to have some sort of weapon, even if I had to return it when I got back to their camp. The stupid thing was stubborn though and barely shifted a millimetre, try as I might. So I eventually gave up.
"Hey. You still awake?" I waved my hand in Ashirai's face and she finally blinked. Her cerulean eyes shifted down to me.
"W-what?" She croaked. Was that fear in her voice?
"You know Artemis?" Even if this question was too soon, I didn't care. If this stalker wanted my help, I wanted answers first.
Ashirai choked and looked away, digging the hilt of her scythe into the ground lightly as she did so. "As she said...we're...technically sisters..." She almost whispered. "My father is Zeus..."
"Isn't that a good thing?" I thought back to Disney's Hercules. Zeus was the top god, wasn't he?
"Mmmrnn...being a child of the Big Three isn't always so great...lots...is expected of you. Besides, after World War Two, they made a pact to stop having children...I don't know how or why he had Thalia then..."
"Who're the Big Three?"
"Zeus, Poseidon and Hades." It was like I broke her. I almost felt bad asking her these things. Almost.
"You were a Hunter?"
"Huntress..." She corrected, bowing her head more so her red bangs covered her eyes. "But I...I quit..."
"You quit? Why?"
Ashirai's eyes shifted up slowly, meeting my own. They were watery, as if she were about to cry but refusing to allow herself to. "I used her...I used Artemis to withstand time...to meet you! To fulfill my prophecy! To finish my quest!"
"W-withstan—"
"You have no idea how old I really am, Eon...when I was ten, I was given the Prophecy of the Mockingbird. I was born when the gods still ruled over ancient Greece. Before they even cared about the Western hemisphere! Back before they even knew that there was a Western hemisphere! And I knew from the Prophecy that you wouldn't be born anytime soon...so I became a Huntress: a Hunter of Artemis. I became immortal to wait for you...but you never appeared. I waited millennia...until I finally had a sign. Then I quit. I left the Hunters and travelled to Las Vegas. I waited over seventy years in the Lotus Hotel, a place that also halts the flow of time, until the final sign came. And I tracked you down. It took me ten years to find you." She looked down at herself. "I was physically twelve when I found the Lotus Hotel. Time has yet to catch up to me. My body is maybe fifteen now?"
If there's a way to react after hearing a story like that, I don't know it. What was my own reaction, you ask? I took my iPod out of my pocket and stuck its buds in my ears. Flicking on Shuffle, Doubt & Trust blasted into my ears, happily releasing me momentarily from this awkward moment. What was I supposed to do, hug her? She'd probably chop off my arms if I tried.
Ashirai stared at me incredulously, her normal self slowly returning. Without any warning she swept her foot along the ground in a 360, catching my ankle and pulling it from under me. With a perfectly audible THUD, I landed on my back with a groan and the stupid Shuffle-Shake feature in the iPod skipped to Revolution. The electric demigod glared down at me, her scythe's blade lightly hooked around my ribcage.
"I tell you all that, and all you do is ignore me and listen to your stupid music?" She pulled the scythe a bit, angling it perfectly to pinch my side.
"OW, and no, O Mighty Thor Reaper. I use music to make decisions when they're too hard! YOU try deciding between the apparent safety of strangers or going to who knows where with an even stranger stranger!" The pinching stopped and Ashirai withdrew her scythe. In a flash it was her chain necklace again.
"Don't call me Thor. That's what Norwegians call my father." She kneeled beside me and tugged one of the buds out of my ear. Curiously, she held it up to her own, flinching at the sound of Megumi Hayashibara's voice. "Garbage." She growled, tossing the bud onto my stomach and leaning against a tree. There she reattached the necklace around her neck.
"It's not garbage! This one's like the best song ever!" I argued, but the insanely old not-so-ninny ignored me. With an irritated snort, I began to sing along to the song, mimicking Megumi's just to tick her off.
"Akireru hodo kurikaeshite
Yatto deaeru kiseki mo aru no
Riaru na koto yamadzumi demo
Nige ha shinai kakure mo shinai
Aserazu ikou jibun no michi wo"
Ashirai shook her head. "And you claim you're no mockingbird." She placed an arm over her knee, looking to the iPod. "What's that even mean? Gibberish?"
"There are also miracles where
We repeat to a shocking extent, then can finally meet
Even I've got a huge mound of real problems
I won't run, nor will I hide
I'll walk my own way of life without rushing it" I translated roughly, looking sidelong at her. "I think it fits you pretty well."
"Hmph." She didn't seem to agree. Oh well.
I finally sat up and brushed some of the dirt and muck from my hair. Looking at the orange-splashed sky, I guessed it was about six-ish. I stood up. Ashirai scrambled up quickly as well, her eyes glued to me.
"Where're you going?" She asked suspiciously.
"To the Hunter's camp." I answered lazily, then started for where Jesse had vanished. That was my best bet for their camp.
"W-what?" She stumbled after me, notably shaken. "Why're you going there of all places?"
"Because I made a deal with Artemis! DUH! She gave me a day to choose what I'd do. Stay with her or go with you. So I'm going." I continued walking, ducking under a low-hanging branch and jumping over a dead log. I felt like I was in one of those old-school video games. Except with 90% more real and 10% less game. Reality sucks.
Ashirai stopped dead in her tracks. She was pale and looked like she wanted to hurl.
"I...my quest..." She whispered, looking at the ground in shock.
"What're you waiting for? Come ON! Don't you want to see your sister?" Silence met my question. So I took that as a yes and walked back to her, grabbing her arm and yanking. Grudgingly her feet started moving, but her face held a mixture of confusion and pain in it. Skirting around behind her, I began to push, which proved to be a much more reliable mode of transport for the girl. We moved faster but the presence of the camp eluded us. After a half hour of walking (possibly in circles for all I knew), I was positive we really were lost.
"WHERE is that stupid camp?" I yelled to the sky, hoping that Apollo or at least someone would hear me. A minute of silence passed and I began really hating that so-called sun god. At least I learned one new thing out of this: my father was definitely not the god of direction.
I heard a thud in front of me and looked from the sky to Ashirai, who was holding Jesse's hunting knife one-handed. Besides being humiliated with my obvious lack of upper body strength, I was annoyed to see that we really had circled around somehow.
"That's just perfect..." I leaned against a tree and rubbed my arms. It was already beginning to get cold, and my bag and extra clothes were somewhere in the Huntress's camp. Why does life hate half-bloods so much?
"Here." Ashirai placed the dagger in my palm and curled my fingers around it. "It's a pretty good fit." She sounded surprised as she shifted my arm and pulled it into a thrust.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I pulled my arm from her and tried a slash myself. It felt weird, but I decided it'd probably be best to got used to it if this was going to be my only means of defence.
"It means you're a shrimp and—!" Ashirai dived into me and we crashed into the ground, rolling under a prickly bush.
"A-AAHH! HEY!"
"SHH!" She grabbed the dagger from me and jumped out, her eyes narrowed and glaring up into the branches of a tree. "Who are you and what do you want?"
I heard leaves rustling and the thump of someone dropping to the ground. Pulling myself through the bush I peeked out, just to see Thalia step out from behind a tree, an arrow knocked and her bow drawn back and aimed at Ashirai. Uh oh...
"I could be asking you the same thing." She drew the bowstring back another inch. "Now drop the dagger and get away from Eon." The look in her eyes sent shivers down my spine. She was serious.
"Forget it, Huntress." Ashirai hissed, and before I could react, Thalia actually fired at her.
"NO!" I squealed, yanking myself up, but Ashirai hardly needed me to step in. Flicking her wrist forward, the arrow smashed into the dagger and ricocheted off it, flying into the tree behind Thalia. The Huntress's Lieutenant flinched, her eyes shifting from Ashirai to me as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. I guessed it wasn't every day she saw someone deflect an arrow like that.
"Stop! Don't fight!" I turned to Ashirai, "This is Thalia, Ashirai. Y'know? The person Jesse talked about?" Ashirai cocked an eyebrow at me and looked back to Thalia.
"Her?" She threw the dagger to the ground (where I hastily picked it back up) and took a few steps toward Thalia, her expression changing from suspicion to surprise. "The Mist... Yes...there's no doubt..." Her eyes moved up to meet Thalia's and a weak, almost unsure smile came to her lips. "You're...a daughter of Zeus as well..."
"A-as well?" Shock overtook Thalia's face. "No no no. You're a daughter of Zeus?" Ashirai nodded weakly. "That's not possible." Thalia shook her head. "I'm Zeus's only half-blooded child."
Ashirai looked torn. "That may be for the best then..." She almost whimpered, and then turned to me. "Go back with her...Just...be careful." Turning her back to me again, she started away. I grabbed her shoulder.
"Nuh uh. You're coming with us. Come on, Sparky." I looked to Thalia. "We need to see Artemis. Now."
Without another word, she led us out of the forest and back to the Hunter's camp.
The sun had sunk behind the trees when we arrived at the Hunter's camp, casting shadows everywhere. Ashirai had become skittish, and she jumped at the smallest sound, her eyes flicking everywhere.
"Will you just calm down?" She was beginning to annoy me. It wasn't like Artemis would actually kill her...right?
"M-mmn..." She took a deep breath and looked to the ground. That was the closest I'd get to 'relaxed' from her.
"This way." Thalia led us back through the camp to Artemis's tent, ignoring all of the girls we passed. A number of them were staring at Ashirai in shock. They must've known her from waaaaaay back in her youth, only four thousand-some years ago. Maybe they were wondering how she kept her skin so wrinkle-free. Too bad for them Ashirai would never tell them her skin-care secrets.
Thalia stopped outside the silver tent. It was glittering in the moonlight, but as cool as it was, I knew that I didn't have the time to waste staring at it. Grabbing Ashirai's hand before she could resist, I pushed my way through the flap and stepped in.
"W-wait—!" Ashirai yelped. She stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes met Artemis's. The goddess's eyes narrowed as she looked between Ashirai, me, and Thalia who entered silently after us.
"Why have you returned here? You left the Hunters. You are dead to me. You should have remained so!" Thunder boomed overhead. She didn't sound very happy to see her little sister.
"I-I...I..."
"I brought her here." I drew Artemis's attention from the dumbstruck Ashirai. "She wants my help for her quest-thingy. So I wanted her to be here when I made my decision."
"That foolish quest..." Gradually the thundering stopped as Artemis calmed. She shook her head. "What is your choice then, child?" It felt really weird hearing the ten-year-old Artemis call me "child." She gave Ashirai a small knowing grin, like she knew my answer already. The poor demigod looked like she wanted to curl up and die. At least it wasn't me this time.
Contemplating on waiting for dramatic effect, I decided against it. I'd already made two stupid 'plans' today. I really didn't need another one backfiring in my face.
"I'm going with Ashirai."
Dead silence met my ears. Artemis, Thalia, Ashirai and even the deer stared at me in shock. Finally it was Ashirai who was the first to react. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a bear hug so tight I had trouble breathing.
"Thank you! Oh thank you! I knew you'd come to! You had to!" Her voice was choked with emotion.
"WHY do you want to go with her?" Artemis demanded. There was a flash of lightning outside and a loud thunderous boom. "She will betray you as she did me! She only wishes to use you!"
"I know." Ashirai's grip slackened at Artemis's words, and I used the moment to escape her powerful arms. "That's why I have some conditions." The scythe-wielder pulled back and looked down at me, slightly pained.
"What are your conditions then?" Her tone made it clear that she would comply as much as she could.
"Okay, first, I'm not saying I'll help you yet. I don't know your prophecy or my own, so I can't trust you. I want proof I'm the one you say I am, and to hear the prophecy for myself!"
"Hnnm..." Ashirai closed her eyes in thought. "Alright," she agreed, "but not here. When we get to Camp Half-Blood, I'll take you to the Camp Director and we'll talk."
"Fine. Next, if I do help you, I'm not guaranteeing any results. I don't even know how to quest...unless it involves collecting random items and holding them over your head with a "duh-na-na-naaaaah~" sound and going into monster infested dungeons to solve unnecessarily difficult puzzles."
"...Other than the...sound you just made, that pretty much sums up most quests." Thalia said, hiding a smirk behind her hand.
"Third, I can call you Ashi."
"Ashi...?"
"Yeah. Ashirai's too long to say all the time. Ashi's shorter and sounds more buddy-buddy. Besides, it's not like I can call you Ms. Zappy-Zappy-Goth-Stalker. People would think that you're weird."
"Al...right." Ashi agreed hesitantly. The poor kid seemed like she spent the past forever without any friends (then again it'd be a little hard to have any if they kept dying off every hundred years or so). That said, if I was going to survive this road trip, she'd need to lighten up.
"Good. Finally, you can do anything of that weird stuff you're always doing."
"W-weird stuff? Like what?"
"Y'know. Like picking your teeth with your scythe. It... just ain't normal..." I shrugged and gave an over-the-top exasperated sigh.
Ashirai caught on, a small grin pulling at her lips. "How's it not normal? Normal people pick their teeth"
"Yeah, with FLOSS."
"Does the same job. Besides, you can't kill someone with FLOSS!" Ashirai was smiling now, and the mood in the tent had lifted. Even Artemis seemed like she was less likely to blast her former handmaiden to bits. Or at least the thundering had stopped outside.
"You can if you try hard enough."
"People do in mafia movies!" Thalia put in, trying not to laugh.
"THAT'S PIANO WIRE!" Ashirai announced.
"Oh yeah? Well normal people don't carry around magic neck-chains that turn into scythes!" I pointed at her necklace.
"They should really start to then. It's good for the teeth and a fight." Ashirai rubbed her own chain.
"FINE." I 'conceded,' "You can keep the chain. But that's it."
"Good, 'cause I'm not losing it. Now let's get your stuff and go." Ashirai turned for the exit.
"Wait." We both paused and looked back to Artemis. Her eyes were glued to Ashirai, but slowly shifted to me. "I can't trust her, not after what she did. So I ask you to take Thalia with you. She will keep my...sister in her place." She growled "sister" with distain.
Thalia stiffened, though I wasn't sure if it was from being volunteered for this 'mission' or hearing Artemis admit that Ashirai was in fact their sister.
"B-But Artemis, what about the Hunters!" She asked.
"Jesse can take over in your stead." She held up her hand to stop Thalia from protesting. "I believe that it is best this way. You will keep Ashirai in her place, and Jesse will get the taste of power she has been craving for centuries."
Thalia looked unconvinced, but grudgingly nodded. "Yes, Artemis…"
Artemis looked back to me. "At Camp Half-Blood, you may stay in my cabin until you are claimed."
"Um…T-thanks, Artemis." I had no idea what she meant, or what this "Camp Half-Blood" place even was, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Alright...let's go." Ashi murmured, quickly vanishing outside of the tent. Thalia and I followed suit.
Against Thalia's advice, we left camp as soon as I got my bag. It was dark in an hour.
"Great. Now we're easy targets for monsters." Thalia grumbled, trudging behind Ashi.
"We need to get to camp as soon as possible." Ashirai reasoned.
"What good will it do us if we get to camp dead?" Thalia glared at her sister.
"You know we can take on any monster native to this area."
"What about Eon?"
I was holding the hunting dagger in front of me with both hands. My knuckles were white from my grip on it. I knew that I wouldn't be able to help them in a fight, but holding the dagger put me slightly more at ease. With it, I could stab a monster in the nose before it ripped me to shreds. Maybe.
Ashirai left the question to hang, instead saying, "I will protect her."
"Yay." I croaked. To make myself useful, I had put my Griffin glasses on and charged myself with watching our surroundings. So far the biggest thing I saw moving was Ashirai. I wasn't sure if I should've been thankful or not.
"How are we even going to get to Camp Half-Blood then?" Thalia stepped up and grabbed Ashi's shoulder. "Walking to Long Island will take days!"
"Oh, we don't need to worry about that." Ashirai smirked and kicked through a thick shrub, emerging from it on the side of a highway. Thalia and I followed her to the edge of the road.
The scythe-wielder fished into her pocket and drew out three golden coins, just like the ones she gave me at home.
"Drachmas?" Thalia cocked an eyebrow. "What're those for?"
"Calling our ride." Ashi answered and tossed all three into the air at once. She then slashed her hand down in front of herself, and with a flash, three white bolts of lightning collided with the drachmas. Light erupted from the coins and I had to shut my eyes from the intensity of Ashi's light show. It was like a disco ball mixed with a laser show underwater.
The coins continued to hover as the lights continued to dance around. Ashirai crossed her arms smugly and watched the road, clearly expecting some company soon. I really hoped it wasn't a monster. I was relieved to hear the sound of tires crunching gravel and watch as headlights flickered into view. Moments later the coins dropped to the ground and rolled to Ashi's feet like a pet of some sort as a large Grey Hound bus pulled up. The bus's side was different from any Grey Hound I'd ever seen though. The writing was orangey-gold and read "Red Arrow" with a big red, orange and golden bird behind it, riding a sea of flames on a surf board.
The door to the bus opened and Ashi climbed up the first few steps and deposited the three coins in a fare canister.
"To Half-Blood Hill please," She was about to move on but paused and looked back to the driver. "Oh, and they're with me." She pointed over her shoulder to us.
I looked to Thalia nervously.
"I didn't know the gods read Harry Potter."
She shrugged. "I'm guessing this thing was around a lot longer than the "Knight Bus."" She stepped on board and followed Ashi to the back of the bus.
Followed Thalia's lead, I climbed up into the bus and paused when I looked into the driver's seat. A cute little red-orange cockatiel was sitting on the wheel. It wore a conductor's hat that said "Red Arrow" on its head.
"Aaaww~" I reached out to pet the bird, but met nasty resistance in the form of its beak. "OW!" Drawing back my hand, I left the bird and sat down next to Ashi. Thalia occupied the seat beside us.
"Welcome to the Red Arrow bus." Ashirai leaned back in the seat. "This is the fastest mode of transport you'll find in North America. There's just a couple things you need to do before we go though." She opened the bag on my lap and pulled out my iPod and offered it to me.
"One, buckle up." I couldn't help but look at her sceptically. This was a Grey Hound! There were no seatbelts that I could see. Ashirai didn't look amused, but continued on. "Two, keep yourself occupied. Don't look around you. Don't look at other passengers. Just listen to your music. Sing if you want. Just don't look outside the window or at the driver."
"Speaking of the driver, where is he?" Thalia questioned.
"He's at the wheel." Ashi looked surprised. "He's been there the whole time."
"Uh...what?" I couldn't help but ask.
Ashi sighed. "You really need to open your mind up more. This is monster travel. That's why it's so fast. That bird there? That's the Phoenix. Now buckle up, listen to your music, and get up when I tell you. That goes for you too Thalia." She gave her sister a warning glance.
"Whatever..." Thalia and I mumbled in unison.
"Don't say I didn't warn you..."
YAY! DONE! It only took me too long. Hopefully you liked the chapter. Next chapter they get to camp (at some point). Wheeeeeeeeeeee...
