A/N: What up peoples? The sky, I answered for you! Ha! I'm so immature. Anyways, this is chapter eleven. It's been awhile since I last updated, so here ya go! Sorry if Wally's a little bit more jerkish than usual, I mean no offense to Wally fans! Enjoy, and remember to review!

Chapter 11

I heard Wally try to stifle a laugh as I slammed Robin into the mats, defeating him once more. I had asked Richard if he wanted to carry out our first lesson, (hand-on-hand combat due to the lack of weapons) in private. When he declined I told him that I highly recommended it and he still turned the offer down, thinking it unnecessary. I could see the regret in his eyes mingling with the embarrassment on his face. This was the sixth time I had defeated him in three times as many minutes. We were both panting from the physical exertion, but I was sweating much less than he. I've repeatedly shown him the maneuvers and every time, he seems to have it down pat. That is, until we step on the mat. He's struggling to let go of the style of fighting he's been educated in and to replace it with Greek style fighting. And I get that. But this is what he needs to learn. I decided to overlook the crowd of heroes that congregated as our lesson progressed. I held out a hand to help him up. He grasped it appreciatively and we hauled him up together.

"Thanks." He told me, his face turning red from effort. I waved him over to the edge of the mat so I could repeat the movements. After going through them five times, using him as an example and then having him execute them with me, I started to notice the words Wally was saying. The wind carried his voice to me until it sounded as if he was right beside me.

"…come Robin can't beat her? Look at her, it should be easy enough! Guess he's losing it." He declared with a smirk. He had no idea how hard I was to defeat. How you can never trust appearance in the Greek world, how the scrawniest, wimpiest, most unspectacular looking person could hold true power. I noticed how Superboy seemed to stiffen at that comment. Wally didn't even realize that he had insulted three people. Two, his comrades and one demigod. Two demigods, really.

"Chill out, Wally. I bet you couldn't beat her either." Artemis challenged, daring him to speak against it. He made a dismissive gesture with his hands, "Any time, any place." He stated, his cockiness becoming incredibly annoying. I think it's time to put little Wally in his place. "How about right now, then?" I called to him. Everyone turned their eyes towards us, but I didn't look away. "You can hear us?" Ms. Martian asked, eyes wide. I smiled politely and answered, "The wind hears all." Before turning back to Kid Flash. Artemis smirked. "Yeah, how about it Wally?" She taunted. To his credit, he didn't back down from his claim. He smiled, "You sure you want to get messed up with this, Elizabeth?" I tensed at his use of my full name. I didn't like it. My name is Eli, Elizabeth was someone else. I decided to brush it off. I smiled falsely. "If it's so easy…"

He chuckled, shaking his bright red head. "You asked for it," he reminded me, "bring it on!" His comrades didn't share his confidence, in fact, they looked quite uneasy as if they wanted to talk him out of it. They didn't. I turned towards Richard. "We'll finish this later," I told him, the dread not so obvious but still there on his face, "in private." I added, easing him a little. He nodded in agreement before moving off of the fighting mat.

The heroes all gathered in a small group on the borders of the mat, watching anxiously as Wally stepped up to the plate. He himself didn't seem the least bit worried, he was relaxed even as he walked towards me. We met halfway, in the middle of our little arena. He smirked at me but I kept my face carefully blank. "So how do you wanna do this?" He asked me. I guess it was up to me to make the rules. Was he really that cocky? I guess it didn't matter to him, he thought he was going to beat me no matter what. I smiled lightly.

"Let's go with basic hand-on-hand combat rules, shall we?" I asked. "No weapons, no powers. The fight is over when one of us gives up or is in the position where they can do nothing else. No killing or serious maiming. No time limit." I stated, remembering the rules from camp training. "Got it?" I asked him. He nodded. Before he could speak, I added, "Oh, and we will need a mediator." I gestured to Richard to come over to us. He stood by us, waiting for instruction. I relayed the rules to him. "Oh, and Wally?" I asked as we were about to turn away from each other to different sides of the mat. He turned back, smirk planted, obviously expecting me to back out. I did just the opposite. "Counter-action is legal." I stated. "So don't use your power if you can't handle mine." He nodded in confirmation.

I had this feeling that there was no way he was going to comply with the "no powers" rule. I don't know, it just doesn't seem like something he would do. I have been taught in the ways of honour, so I respect the rules. Maybe I had a feeling that he wasn't very bothered by honour. We stood on opposite sides of the mat and Richard stood in the middle. He raised his voice so that everyone could hear him.

"Alright, well, you guys know the rules. And just to be clear, counter-action has been made legal. So, if you can't handle fifty speedster punches in five seconds, don't dish out the creepy wind voodoo and vice versa. The fight is over upon surrender or when one of you can't do anything else. Does everyone understand?" He asked us. We both nodded. Robin seemed satisfied enough with the response. "Good, then FIGHT!"

I was right, he didn't even try. As soon as Robin moved out of the way, he sped towards me. He stopped immediately before me, coming out of a blur. I jabbed my fist at his abdomen, not expecting it to connect, so I was careful to monitor the amount of force I put into it. He blurred to the other side of the room, and then sped towards me again only to veer off. This continued for a while, me putting up with it. I didn't swing at him after the first time. There wasn't a point in indulging his actions. He paused directly across from me, at least twenty feet in between us. I was sick of this. This wasn't a fight, and I wasn't about to stand here for hours because he doesn't want to follow the rules. I was going to have to entice him. I smirked at him.

"Are we going to spar or continue with this game of one-sided tag?" I inquired. His prideful smirk could be seen from my stand-point. I frowned internally, bracing myself to be prepared for what he could possibly be planning. I noticed his friends disapproving glares coming from the side of the mats. I noticed his eyes flicker to their faces, his posture changing to that of someone arguing. They were having a telepathic conversation. I hated being left out of conversations that involved me. I frowned externally this time, but only slightly. It was enough for Richard to notice. He smiled at me. I had insisted he take off his cape for our lesson, for obvious reasons. He looks strange without it, but now I can notice his shoulders…

I turned my face away from him just in time to notice my opponent speed towards me. Instead of veering off, this time he started to circle me. With the increasing speed, I found it getting a little harder to breathe. I knew this tactic; I've seen him use it on many enemies when I tagged along on their missions. Anger sparked in my blood. How dare he? I challenge him to a hand-on-hand combat spar and instead he tries to suffocate me with speed? No, I won't let him win, just for being such a dishonourable asshole. We'll discuss this later, but now it's time to see who can suffocate who faster. I closed my eyes and tried to find him in the blur of red and yellow using the wind to see. I focused on his breathing, once I honed in on him. It was rapid and heavily relied on. He wouldn't last five seconds at that speed without oxygen. On his exhale, I commanded the breath to come to me. It followed my pull in a string-like form. I felt it surround me while my head pounded from my own lacking supply in breathable air. I could almost sense the exact moment when he realized he couldn't take a breath. He started to panic and stumble over his feet. He was doomed from that moment.

He tripped. And at the speed he was going, that one mistake launched him into a wall. He crashed through the stone and flew outside. The heroes that once stood by, idly watching sprung to the aid of their friend. I was left alone, staring at the cavernous room before me. I was left alone. I felt a pang in my gut and realized how much I didn't want to be alone. I turned my head to the ground beside me, fighting the ashamed tears that threatened to make my vulnerable emotions tangible to those around me. Why did I have to do that? I thought.

The warrior part of me spoke up, fiery and protective. He was the one who didn't follow the rules! You are not responsible for that bastard! He challenged you to a fight and lost, she told me.

But I have to get these people to trust me. How can I do that if I keep hurting them? It hasn't even been a week yet! I challenged. I didn't want her to be wrong, but I needed to ask these questions.

Don't you see? It was a test! They needed to see if you were capable of protecting their dear friend and Hades if you didn't prove your ability! She declared.

But by harming his friend. What kind of price is that? I'm not sure if I wanted this answer, and the more I thought about it, the whinier I sounded. But that wouldn't stop her from answering. She paused, as if thinking.

The price of war. She declared with such determination that there was no more room to argue.

The price of war, huh? But then, who is the enemy? I sighed heavily, the sound reverberating throughout the massive room. I heard footsteps approaching, but I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The tingly feeling in my fingertips was enough.

"Well?" I asked him, but not really sure what I was referring to. I heard him move his hands, his clothes rustling as he did something. I could picture him pushing his hands through his hair. "You won the fight." He told me, a smile clearly displayed in his voice. This was not the answer I expected. I turned to look at him inquisitively even though I already knew what I would find. An empty room stood all around me, a gaping hole in front of me. Richard had already left.

I threw the lock on the door behind me. This new room was still unfamiliar to me, but I was learning to get comfortable. It consisted of a basic bed, nightstand and lamp. It wasn't overly big, about half the size of my cabin back home. It was painted a light pink colour. It wasn't exactly my first choice of paint, but did it matter? It wasn't mine. There was a wardrobe off to the side that was supposed to hold my clothing and whatever else I brought, but I just put my bag in it, and didn't unpack. You never know when a quick getaway would be necessary. There was a bathroom attached to the room through a door, a shower, toilet and sink waiting inside, fully stocked with towels and a bag of toiletries. A hot shower sounded nice, but first I had to check in with Ty. I hadn't spoken to him in a while, and besides, it was the perfect opportunity to ask about sending weapons over to help with the unexpected work load of training a demigod.

I searched through my bag finding a small flashlight I stole from a convenience store a year ago. You know the kind, small and crappy. I also pulled out my glass prism, designed to make rainbows and a golden drachma. I set it up so that the flashlight shone directly into the glass, causing a weak, but still technically correct rainbow to span on across the pink wall before me. I sat on the edge of the bed, my legs grateful for the rest. Raising my arms over my head, palming the coin, I recited the chant. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering." I paused, probably just for dramatic effect. "Show me Ty Haber of Camp Half-Blood." I threw the coin right in the centre of the projection and waited patiently as the image rippled into that of my brother.

Through the small window, I could see my brother sitting in a sick bed in the camp infirmary. He was being treated by a nymph acting as a nurse. His right arm was in a makeshift sling and his broad left shoulder wrapped in thick gauze, a crimson stain seeping through the fabric. His hair was pulled into a blonde ponytail, only used by Zephyrus children during a battle. His handsome face was smeared with mud, dirt, sweat and possibly more blood. I wasn't sure if it was his. Nurses rushed around the image of my Iris Message, panicking towards possibly more patients judging from the noises of pain in the background. I think my eyes were the size of the moon and my jaw was sleeping on the floor. As soon as his emerald eyes met mine, he brushed the nurse away and told her to take care of Jake, the leader of Eurus cabin, Children of the East Wind. I never really liked Jake, he would always tease me. But now I felt anxiety at the thought of him lying somewhere, injured or possibly near death.

Ty's warm smile banished all these thoughts. Almost.

"Eli! You're alright! I'm glad." He told me, but I didn't seem to absorb what he was saying. Too many questions were buried in my brain. "Ty! What happened! Was the camp attacked!?" I demanded, able to hear the panic in my own voice. He nodded, almost immediately grimacing at the obvious pain. "Are you alright?! What happened!?" I demanded for a second time. He smiled again. "I'm fine, and yes, we were attacked." He told me. "Everyone is alive, as far as I know. It just ended almost twenty minutes ago. It's just chaos here." He informed me, discomfort entering his eyes. I tried to get a hold of my thoughts. Everyone was alive, at least. That was good. "What attacked you?" I asked. He shrugged. "I didn't see it. But let me tell you, the sky went as dark as the blackest night over here. I could barely see what I was killing. A miracle no one killed each other by accident. But Annabeth did seem to have an idea, even names." Hope sparked in my heart. Annabeth saw something! "Well, what did she say?" I asked. He furrowed his brow, trying to remember the exact sounds he'd heard whispered amongst the sick room. "She called him…Phthonos." The name sounded familiar, I knew him. "That's it?" I asked, still trying to figure it out. "Well no," he answered "there were many, but she said that he was the leader." He told me.

Phthonos…, the name clicked, and my heart sank. "Eli? Are you alright?" My loving brother asked me. But I barely heard him. Phthonos, the Greek god of jealousy. Son of Nyx, Annabeth told me. Though it was never recorded among humans, we knew his parentage. Nyx's words flashed through my mind. "He must not enter Camp or go near the place…" Nyx knew. She knew about Phthonos. That he would come looking for Richard out of jealousy for him being protected for so long. And that he would tear through hundreds of innocent demigods to get to him.

Alright guys, I will think you hate me if you don't review! I know there are people reading this, so don't think you're invisible! Annabeth's hat doesn't work anymore, afterall! So REVIEW, REVIEW AND REVIEW!