Hey, everybody! Thanks for reading, and please review! Also, I wanted to thank my beta reader Singeringthesilence for being so amazing and making my story better.
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"What on earth is a giant screwdriver doing under the sink?" a surprised and more than slightly annoyed voice called from the bathroom.
I looked up from the book I was reading (in ancient Greek), surprised. A screwdriver? When I had put the bow under the sink I hadn't noticed any giant screwdrivers. And a giant screwdriver isn't exactly the kind of thing you miss.
The cleaning lady stormed angrily out of the bathroom, answering my unasked question. In her hand was my -Zeus's- bow. "That bothersome technician has been messing with my supplies again. He's too lazy to even put his own screwdriver away! If I ever get my hands on him, I'll—I'll—"
The cleaning lady didn't say what she planned to do to the technician who had supposedly put the 'giant screwdriver' under the sink. Ashley giggled softly at the scene.
"How can you find that funny?" I asked sharply. In a hushed whisper I added, "Now how will He get his offering?"
"Giant screwdriver? How can you not find that funny? Oh, it won't be a problem for Zeus. He can just drop by the plane in the guise of a technician, pick through the screwdrivers, and take the one that looks the most like a bow," Ashley answered, still giggling. I rolled my eyes. "Calm down, Karla. We're safe now."
I nodded slowly. I was still nervous from our escape, but Ashley seemed to have completely recovered. "Right. We're safe," I repeated firmly, talking to myself.
"Hey, I'll be right back," Ashley said, getting up and heading to where there were some peanuts.
Deciding to make the most of our trip, I looked out the window. I mean, it's not every day you get to ride first class on a plane. The view was perfectly pathetic. All that could be seen was the white mass of a cloud. Not all that exciting. Turning back to my book, I began to read a list of hotels run by monsters again. Totally boring, but I figured it would be useful.
Suddenly a menacing voice shouted, "Nobody move! We are hijacking the plane."
I found that statement a little odd. I mean seriously, who announces they are hijacking a plane? I turned to look at where the voice came from and saw several men wearing ski masks. They were holding objects that looked like dangerous weapons. How on earth they got on the plane with those weapons I had no idea, but I wasn't really thinking about it at the time. Mostly I was wondering what famous building they planned to fly our plane into. I looked around for Ashley, but she was nowhere in sight. Lucky for her, I thought. She was safe for now at least. Some of the hijackers had made their way to where the pilot was and had taken over steering. I really hoped they had a clue how to fly a plane.
I would like to say that I had gathered up my courage attacked the hijackers, leading the rest of people on the plane to victory. As wonderful as that is, it's not what happened. I sat as small and still as I could, frightened half to death. You would think that two years training for war would make me brave and heroic and stuff, but no. In battle on the ground I am fine, but a couple thousand feet in the air without any piloting experience? Not my ideal heroic-action conditions.
Suddenly (lots of things happened suddenly on that plane ride) a kid not much older than me came rushing forward with a jar full of boiling water in hand one hand, a small knife in the other. She looked very courageous with her orange-yellow hair flying behind her. Glancing at the knife, I wondered how she got on the plane with it when my seemingly harmless ring had set the security off. Then I realized that it was no ordinary knife: it was made of celestial bronze, the only metal capable of killing monsters. From that information I determined that she was a demi-god. Whether or not that was good for me I had no idea.
By the time I had figured all this out the girl had crossed the plane and was kicking in the door that lead to where the terrorists were. She was pretty strong and the door had been a bit jarred by the hijackers. As the young Half-Blood single-handedly attempted to save the plane, I came to my senses and jumped up to help her.
"You! You cannot hope to escape for us!" one of the terrorists screeched at me. With a sickening feeling I realized what I had subconsciously known all along: the plane had been hijacked by monsters sent to either kill me or take me prisoner. And worst of all, one of the monsters on the plane was Kleidi (the key guy), one of Kronos' top minions and my best teacher. I stood there for a moment, frozen, in complete horror.
I guess the demi-god thought that meant I was being chased by monsters and that I had no clue that I was a demi-god. That was just as good for me, as most children of gods aren't exactly what you call friendly to children of titans.
Realizing the dire implications of the situation, I touched my ring and started attacking the monsters with my Sai. I knew there was no way I could beat Kleidi (I had tried time and time again over the past two years), but there was no way I was going to give up without trying.
Kleidi waited behind his minions, saving his energy for just in case I wasn't killed by one of the other monsters. A frost giant (who just happened to be Steven's dad) blew ice at me, but I froze his magic in time. That was something I had gotten pretty good at, mostly because Kronos made me do it time and time again. Although I was terrible at spelling and reading (English), controlling my power was something I was a natural at. While he was still slowed by the frost coming out of his mouth, I lunged forward and stabbed the Frost Giant with my Sai. He disintegrated into a fine gold dust, shining forth a bright, annoying light that lingered in the air for a few moments.
While I was half-blinded by the light, another monster attacked. I just barely avoided a death strike, getting instead a nasty slice on my leg. I screamed in pain, but by then it was too loud for anyone to really hear me or care. Turning to face my attacker, I nearly vomited in disgust. And believe me, I've seen a lot of nasty things. I mean, you don't spend two years with working for Kronos and not see gross creatures. But I had never seen this one before. It was so repulsively deformed-looking I had no idea what gender it was, let alone species. It was a metalic rust color with olive green swirls mixed in. Where the nose should have been there was only a dark hole. There were about seven eyes (I remember there was an odd number. Don't ask me why), placed at irregular intervals on its face and body. But most of that I barely noticed. Mostly I saw the mouth. It was about three times the size of the rest of the head, with around fifty rows of long, needle-like teeth. In short, it was terrifyingly disgusting.
I had no idea how to fight the thing, so I froze it in time. For lack of a better idea, I lunged forward and stabbed at Mr/Mrs. Scary-Gross. Just as I was about to plunge my Sai into the dreadful creature it dodged out of the way. I was shocked that it had been able to stop my power, but I didn't let it show. As it was, I really did not have time to think about it. Mr/Mrs. Scary-Gross slashed at me with razor-sharp claws and snapped at me with deadly teeth. I evaded it as best I could, but there was not a lot of room to move around in. After a few moments (5 minutes and 3 sec, to be exact. No, I was not trying to keep track) I realized the monster was winning. I jumped back to avoid its vicious teeth and found myself pinned against the wall. The monster advanced, obviously aware it had won. Despite the fact I had no escape, there was no way I was going to give up. Rather than wait for the monster to reach me, I jumped forward and stabbed. The monster easily blocked and pinned me to the ground with one clawish thing.
"I would kill you, but the Lord of Time wants you alive," Mr/Mrs. Scary-Gross hissed, his/her voice low and menacing.
"Why would he want that?" I asked, fighting for breath as the monster pressed down on my lungs. And believe me, that monster was not light-weight.
"The Lord of Time will tell you."
"Why don't you tell me now? Does Dad not trust you enough to tell you his minor plans?" I taunted, trusting that the monster was loyal enough to Kronos that he/she would follow orders and not kill me.
"The Lord of Time trusts me more than he ever trusted you!" the creature screeched.
I rolled my eyes, trying to appear as though I was comfortable and in control of the situation. "Dad told me that he trusted me most. I have never seen you, so obviously he never sent you on special missions."
"The Lord of Time has good reason to keep me secret. The Gods have forgotten me, so I am one of his best weapons," the monster hissed proudly. I was beginning to wonder if it was capable of speaking without hissing.
"Yes, but there is no way you could ever be as important as me," I said, doing my best to pretend I knew all of Kronos' plans. I had no idea what I was worth alive to Kronos seeing as I was pretty much his destruction...
"You are worthless, little traitor," the monster said, and yes he/she hissed.
"Then why take me alive? If I am so worthless, why not kill me now?" I realized it was probably not the wisest decision to suggest killing me, but I thought maybe it would get me some information.
"Kronos wants you alive!" the monster hissed, enraged. "But only because you are the only one who can..."
Suddenly the monster went up in flames. I struggled away, barely avoiding getting roasted. The golden dust and light fell that signaled the monster was slain fell around me. I saw the girl with orange-yellow hair standing behind where the monster had been, sword in hand. I smiled my thanks as she helped me up.
"She killed the key-fingered man," she said, indicating to Ashley.
"How?" I asked, astonished. I had spent two years of my life trying to beat him but had never succeeded.
"With a bobby-pin," Ashley replied, walking up. "I figured it would be his worst enemy, and I was right. He couldn't touch me while I had it."
I nodded, relieved that Kleidi and Mr./Mrs. Scary-Gross were dead, yet terrified that I might be recognized.
"There are still more monsters on this plane," the girl said calmly, indicating to about three dozen various creatures. "Come with me."
Since I had no other plan, I obeyed her. She led Ashley and I to a window, which she promptly broke.
"Alright, jump!" she commanded.
I looked at her like she was crazy, which seemed like a logical assumption that she actually was at the time. "You have got to be kidding," I said, not bothering to be polite.
"Just jump. My dad will save us," she replied, sounding a little annoyed yet understanding.
"Your dad?" Ashley asked incredulously.
"Yes, just jump," she repeated. I heard the monsters behind me and identified most of them as Really Really Dangerous, so I jumped. Ashley and the girl were right behind me. As I fell, my blood ran cold when I heard the evil voice of Mr./Mrs. Scary-Gross in my ear, finishing his/her sentence.
"You are the only one who can save Kronos. And you will."
