Action time! :D Hooray, something I can't seem to write-at least not as well as I write fluff.

Happy Thanksgiving (to the Americans like me) again :3

I own nothing you recognize as canon.


Attack

Piper felt fear well up in the pit of her stomach. The fire creature before them was scarier than many of the monsters she'd faced before.

Granted, he was kind of handsome. (Hey, just because he's a monster, doesn't mean he can't look good) But he was still creepy and evil. It was clear in the way he bared his fangs and snarled at the demigods.

Piper glanced at the boys. "Can you two distract him? I'll try to get to Calypso."

"We could," Jason said, "but he's kinda holding her."

Piper ignored him and faced the fire thing again. With as much charmspeak as she could muster, she ordered, "Put Calypso down safely."

The monster growled, but did as it was told. It gently set Calypso down on the ground, careful not to burn her with his surrounding flames.

His white-flamed eyes locked back onto the three demigods.

Piper nodded to the boys and they shot off. Jason immediately flew up for an aerial attack. The creature met him midair and they clashed—Imperial Gold sword vs. obsidian claws, which looked hot enough to melt steel.

Sparks flew around them. Jason dodged fierce attacks from the monster's claws easily enough, but his tail kept swinging and whipping around. Jason's leg got slapped by it and his pants leg caught fire. Jason landed and patted out the flames.

Percy went next. The monster was kind enough to land so the son of Poseidon could have a fair turn.

As Celestial Bronze clashed with hot claws, Piper sneaked over to Calypso.

The former Titan was bleeding from a wound on her side, and she was badly burnt in various spots. The wound itself was black from being burned.

"That can't be right," Piper mused. "This wound isn't a burn wound—it's from a blade? Then why is it burned?"

She glanced over at the two-on-one fight. The creature's claws may have been long, but they certainly weren't as big as a sword or even Katropis. They couldn't pass as a single blade wound.

Piper turned back to Calypso. So either this monster had a blade originally, or he might not have wounded her at all…

Piper was so deep in thought about what had hurt Calypso that she had almost missed the shriek.

The creature had noticed her and had flown into the air. It yowled in rage and shot fireballs, which rained down near Piper. The daughter of Aphrodite dodged the attacks and rolled away, stumbling into a ditch.

The monster dove down and stepped over Calypso, roaring and shooting fireworks into the air.

Piper tried to sneak around again, but then realized that the ditch was a creek bed.

"Percy!" She waved her arms to get the son of Poseidon's attention. "There's water here!"

Percy's eyes lit up as he understood what she was getting at. He held out his non-sword arm.

Water from the creek—more water than Piper could even imagine could come from such a small ribbon of liquid—rose up and formed a huge wave. The monster saw it and immediately ran for Percy, like he knew the demigod needed focus. He howled and stuck out its claws.

Jason met him with his own blade. Percy, still holding out his left hand and controlling the water, lunged with Riptide and stabbed the creature in the gut. The fiery monster yowled in pain and backed away, gripping his wound. Blood spattered onto the ground around its feet.

Percy swung his left arm. The wave lunged forward and collided with the creature. It howled as it was swept away by tons of water. Soon, its cries were lost as it washed downstream. Steam and smoke curled up from where it had been.

The fire around the area sputtered out suddenly, leaving all five of them in the sudden darkness.

Jason pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and looked down at where the creature had been standing before the wave hit. He cocked an eyebrow and motioned for Piper to come over.

He looked at Percy. "So, when we stab a monster, what usually happens?"

The son of Poseidon shrugged. "They turn to dust?"

"Or they bleed," Piper said. "If it's not a fatal wound, monsters bleed."

"And what color is the blood?" Jason asked.

"Gold," Percy answered. "Monsters have golden blood, just like the immortals. Everyone knows that."

Jason shook his head and pointed at the bloodstain on the ground. "This thing didn't. His blood was red, not gold!"

They all exchanged a horrified glance.

"So," Piper drawled. "That monster…wasn't a monster?"

Jason nodded. "I don't know what it was."

Percy bent down and carefully picked up Calypso. "Well, it's gone now, whatever it was. Let's get the girls back to camp. We can worry about this later."

"But what about Leo?" Jason asked.

Piper gasped. She had forgotten that the son of Hephaestus was missing, too!

Percy shook his head. "We can't search for him now. The girls are hurt. We need to get them to the infirmary."

Piper gave him a worried glare. "What if Leo's hurt and he needs our help?"

Jason came between the two of them. "Piper, you help carry Kelly back while Percy carries Calypso. I'll look for Leo. He couldn't have gotten far, even if he had gotten knocked out by that thing early on."

Piper nodded. "I just hope he's okay…"


A/N: Um...about that...