I will not be able to make this chapter very long, as I have a choir concert in a few (at least at the moment when I'm typing this) but I hope I make it enjoyable.
Matt: That's not necessarily a bad idea, but remember, if you've read the series, no demigod will heal Reyna's heart, and Emily is, let it be confirmed now, a demigod. In the storyline that I have planned, the two will not have much contact with each other, but if you (or anyone else who reads this) wishes to suggest some OC and give an idea of their story, I love all suggestions whether I decide to use them or not. Thank you for being one of the first reviewers to the story. :)
First Person: Emily
"I can't believe you guys can all speak French," Audrey said.
"I'm sorry," I said.
"Don't apologize, Em, for dad's sake. I just wonder why Veon can speak French too, and that whole Latin thing back at the camp." I looked behind Audrey, sitting in front of her on the dragon but turned around, relying on the safety harness and Audrey should something go wrong, but it was a relatively calm flight. Veon was turned around as well, talking to Zyanya, a little farther down the dragon and just out of earshot. At the front of the dragon, behind me, it was quiet in the group of three at the front, as Leo wasn't talking about his time in the palace, and Piper had fallen asleep on Jason's chest.
"Is it just me and my Aphrodite thing, or are they actually making progress?" I asked, looking to Veon and Zy. Audrey turned around too to look.
"It's just you. They're literally scowling at each other right now."
"I thought that was their idea of getting along. Son of Hades, goddess of…scowling, I guess."
"Gotta admit, you have a point. I wonder what other powers I have. Veon's so far got like five."
"Languages, clothes, his lance, which I guess is kinda a power, his shadow power thing and his ability to turn stuff to ash."
"And what are the odds there are more to come? He's a freaking son of Hades!"
"Well you're a daughter of Poseidon."
"Well so far everyone else seems to be having a great time while I just got boom, trident and done. Nothing's changed, I don't feel any more powerful, and I haven't found any unlocked abilities. I mean, I guess I did get my powers a bit early in life, but that wasn't the only thing I have, was it? Water bending is cool, don't get me wrong, but now everyone seems to have multiple powers."
"It not really multiple powers, Audrey, at least I don't think so. I think it's just taking your power and being…creative with it. If you can control water, does that mean you can like, turn it to steam and evaporate it, or freeze it and vice versa? You just need some time to practice, Audrey. It's only been a day. And hey, in one night you learned a lot about Festus and how to work him."
"Well, it's not like I've learned much more than how to hotwire a car. What we did to Festus was mostly Leo working and me just doing what he said to do. I wasn't even focusing on what he was saying as though I was gonna have to take a test on it. Just the suitcase thing was a memorable accomplishment when we'd pressed the button, having been pressing many all night to see what this bad boy can do. When we get back after this thing to Camp Half-Blood, I look forward to what all of the Hephaestus kids can do if Leo is any indication of their skills. Maybe they can completely fix the control disk in Festus's head so he won't have all these problems."
"But wouldn't that reset his memory like in WALL-E?"
"He got his memory back eventually."
"That's just because he was in love with Eve, or Eva, as he called her."
"Well, I'm sure you could snap him out of any memory loss with that Aphrodite charm of yours."
"Does it even work on artificial beings?"
"Only one way to find out, but you seem to have done well so far." Just as she said that, Festus began to shudder and creek before we began to drop. It was like in the cartoons when the person hung in the air a moment before gravity suddenly had a grab on her, because Festus was much heavier and larger than the rest of us and fell out from under us much faster as we plummeted. I think Audrey and I screamed, but any sound was lost in the wind as we began speeding to terminal velocity, city lights below us, glimmering in the early dawn.
I managed to grab onto Audrey's hand as we fell, but saw Leo go shooting past us, screaming frantically and grabbing at the clouds. I missed his hand, and before I could do anything else he was too far out of reach. Audrey and I spread our arms and legs in the skydiver position like we'd seen on TV, slowing our decent as much as we were going to be able to.
Jason grabbed ahold of Piper, apparently having some kind of control over the winds. I guess Audrey was right when she said everyone had multiple abilities based on their parents, Jason's being lightning and wind. I could calm people down and influence niceness, not to mention I was invincible, Veon's powers had been previously discussed, Piper officially had the ability to charm speak and could speak French, Leo was a mechanic and had fire power, quite literally, and Zyanya was just a world of power and mysteries. But Audrey…she had only shown that she could manipulate water (not exactly something to be ashamed of, of course) but nothing else. Time would reveal things. Audrey had power, I knew it, and all she needed to do was believe she could unlock it.
Audrey managed to unscrew the lid of her water bottle with her free hand and the cap went flying away as she manipulated the water out in a snake like fashion. The wind caused the water to ripple, but she adjusted to it and made sure she didn't lose a single drop. She threw her hand out to the side and managed to keep the water together despite the wind and wrapped it around Veon's wrist like a rope, pulling him closer. Zyanya was nowhere to be seen despite the fact that the two had been together when the dragon had shut down.
Jason had used the winds to reach Leo, who was pointing and saying something. I looked to where he was pointing and saw Festus plummeting through the sky below us, spinning out of control, its wings limp, fire flickering in its mouth like a badly wired light bulb. Then I noticed a figure on his back that could only be Zy. She had managed to hold on and was climbing up the back of the dragon as it fell. She managed to make it to the head, but the dragon fell behind a warehouse complex before there was an explosion. A fireball rolled into the sky and I saw Leo squirming and screaming in panic. I hoped Festus was all right, and I was just as worried as Leo about the dragon, but we had our own problems.
"This is gonna be rough!" Veon shouted, but I could barely hear him over the wind, even as the three of us huddled together in a triangle to speak.
"Got a plan?!" Audrey shouted.
"Maybe! It's a long shot, and if I time it wrong I will most likely shatter every bone in my arm! Not to mention all of us will die from the impact! That too!"
"If you know what you're planning, you can do it!" I encouraged. Below us, Jason was being weighed down by Piper and Leo's extra weight, and with his memories lost to the point that he couldn't remember his last name yesterday, I'm guessing that even if he was a master of the winds before, he wasn't at the moment. We had no choice but to try and save ourselves, or take away what little control Jason currently had. They were hovering slowly for a moment before plummeting at least a hundred feet again, like going down the world's largest and bumpiest staircase.
Below, I could see the factory complex below, warehouses, smoke stacks, barbed-wire fences, and parking lots lined with snow-covered vehicles. And I could see that Jason's strength was leaving him, and we were still high enough that hitting the ground would turn us into roadkill - or skykill, I guess. Jason managed to hover them for the last stretch before they fell through the roof of the largest warehouse. Keeping positive, I was sure Jason had managed to slow their decent enough that they may be a little hurt, but they'd be alive. We, however, didn't have that luxury.
Not only were we going to hit the pavement, not a warehouse, but we didn't even have Jason to slow our decent, which would've helped even if he couldn't stop it completely. Instead, Veon held his arm out towards the ground, ordering Audrey and I behind him so we fell single file. Luckily, we were in the order of our weight, so it wasn't hard to keep Veon, who weighed the most as a male, falling the fastest, even if it definitely took some concentration.
The ground beneath us began to come closer, and suddenly my stomach tightened. We might die here. When was the last time I'd talked to my parents? I'd just left with Nico that day to be taken to Camp Half-Blood after the attack on the school. My parents must be worried sick about me. My little brother could be a pain, my friends could be idiots, but the thought that I'd never be able to see them again, even if I did make it out of this alive, dawned on me. I couldn't ever go back to them now that I was officially a demigod, not without bringing trouble.
Veon held his hand towards the ground and I realized his plan. He had the ability to teleport using the shadows, and as it was dawn, there were plenty at the moment, enough that we were falling right above one. But could Veon really turn us all to shadows? And do it in the split second before his hand was…? If I time it wrong I will most likely shatter every bone in my arm. My eyes widened, but I knew I had to stay positive. If anyone could do it, it was my friend. Still, I tightened my grip on Audrey's hand and based on her reaction I could tell she'd figured out his plan as well.
He could do this, and we'd be with him whether he succeeded or failed, quite literally. We approached the ground ever faster, and my body tensed, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to land the fall. But wait…I was invincible…I may be able to survive the impact…but Audrey and Veon…Oh, gods, if Veon failed, they'd both die, but I wouldn't. If they were to die, I'd never be able to go on without them, especially after all we'd been through. Smile, Emily. Stay positive. If you don't, no one else will. My friends will make it out alive, Veon is strong enough to do this, and I would not be losing my friends today!
Veon hit the ground first, his arm outstretched to touch the shadow. Then my body exploded. I couldn't feel my limps anymore, and anything I could feel was tingling in that way that made you wanna throw up (but I couldn't feel anything in my stomach or throat to throw up anyway). My head spun and it felt like my brain was being pulled out of my skull, but then eventually it stopped. I found myself on my back, the churning in my stomach fading and the throbbing in my head subsiding. I sat up, my body trembling from exhaustion like I'd just run a mile in the cold rain, but I was recovering.
"Woo! Never wanna do that again…" Audrey muttered. She sat up, before instantly regretting it as her hand went to her mouth. She swallowed before any of her last meal (a sandwich provided by Leo's magic infinite tool belt) came out to see daylight again, and stayed still as she regained her composure. "Where's old Zyta?" I looked around to find him unconscious a few feet away.
"Veon! Ha! You did-!" But when I reached to try and shake him awake, my hand went straight through like he was a ghost. I shrieked and jumped back, Audrey slowly walking up to try and poke him herself. Her hand went through him too, and he flickered like a holographic image.
"Uh, is that normal?"
"H-How am I supposed to know…?!" I responded, still spooked.
"Allow me," Zyanya said. We looked to see her walking up, brushing her jacket off, as it was covered in soot and smoke from the explosion, but otherwise, she was okay. She walked up to Veon and kneeled down next to him, holding her hands out as they began to glow with white energy. She put her hands around Veon's head, able to touch him, leaning her head down so their foreheads met. Then, she began to sing a hymn that sounded Japanese. It was slow and soothing, and she held out many notes, her voice projecting outwards as though it were coming from all around us.
"Ieyui, Nobomeno, Renmiri, Yojuyogo. Hasatekanae, Kutamae." She repeated the hymn twice more, the glow from her hands spreading to Veon's body. By the time she finished the third cycle, Veon opened his eyes and groaned.
"What happened?" He muttered.
"You were a brave idiot," Zyanya said. "Shadow traveling with two people, no experience, and hitting the ground at terminal velocity nearly killed you, dummy. And, it broke your wrist." She grabbed his right hand and jerked it forcefully up as proof, and he hissed in pain, biting his lip as he muffled a scream. She put her other hand around his wrist, a bit more gentle this time, as her hand glowed light blue this time. There was a light hum that kinda sounded like someone going "shhh" along with the light popping of bones. Once the light faded, she released his wrist and he looked to it, shaking it slowly in test. She stood and offered a hand, allowing him to test his hand as she pulled him to his feet.
"I had no other choice as we were about to go splat on the pavement."
"I was ready to catch you, had you all still been in your skydiving position. In the single-file line you had been falling in, you would've crashed into each other and broken many things had I tried to interfere by holding out an energy-net. You were moving too fast for simple telepathy because of inertia, so I planned to do the best with what I had, and you ruined it. In any case, we seem to have landed in Detroit, maybe three-quarters of the way from Quebec to Chicago. We'd best find the others. They've survived the fall, but I have a feeling Festus didn't malfunction by accident. To the careful observer, it was almost as if he'd hit an invisible wall and then suddenly began to fall. The sooner we get the others, get Festus up and running and get out, the better."
"Where'd the dragon land?"
"Well…a line of Porta-Potties, actually. Come on."
To anyone curious, the hymn Zyanya sang as a healing song is the Hymn of the Fayth from Final Fantasy X. The songs from the Final Fantasy series are my favorite, but I have no intention of making this story in particular a crossover, she just likes the song and utilizes it for her powers.
Please review with suggestions and tips so I can make this the best story for readers who follow the story or just random people who stumble across it.