So here we go with the next chapterof Demigod Heroes Online! I've had a stressful week, but I'm still uodating 'cause I promised I would. Thank You to everyone who Faved, Followed, Reviewed, or wished me luck. I'll have to ask you to wish me luck again; I take the ACT tomarrow morning :'( and I'll need all the good wishes I can get. And now, Reviews that need responses:
the Oracle of Akemi, Leftback02, Omega Alpha Hydra, People Are Zebras: Thank you all for the good luck and the uplifting reviews!
Parks98: Maybe I will, maybe I won't. You'll have to wait and see.
Anon-Korakas: Maybe I'll make an omake for that. The idea is pretty funny and Kiyaba doesn't care about legal issues . . .
Chapter 26:
Almost Fish-Men (part 1)
December 21st dawned warmer than the Guild members would have usually been used to if their prison did not have a temperate climate. Many of the members, nearly all of the males included, groaned as they wished the game system would let them return to the realm of Morpheus. Knowing, and coming to terms with, the fact that their hopes were in vain they began to sit. Rising from the plush beds they had rented on Floor 7, a loud banging on the door roused them further.
"Wake up!" Annabeth's voice drifted through the door, the only reason they could hear her through the game's muffling of sound through closed doors being her shouting, something that Percy idly noted would get them yelled at by some of the other players who would not like being woken up this early. "We've got to train if we want to stay ahead of the other players! I bet you Kirito is already out there grinding!"
"Yeah, well," Percy responded in his groggy morning voice. "We're not a bunch of crazy, training-nut loners who have almost every player wishing they'd disappear, are we?" Annabeth was silent for a moment.
"What?" She called through the polished wood. "I didn't hear what you said."
"I said . . . Oh, never mind. We're getting up!"
"That's what I like to hear."
"Yeah, yeah." Percy stood and stretched, the others in the room following. They swapped their sleeping clothes for their chosen battle gear before leaving the room to start their day.
Mykonos was bustling. Almost 7,750 players were left alive and spread out over the nine accessible floors, so almost every city was packed. Rumor had it that it was snowing in the Camp Half-Blood servers, but the Heroes of Olympus Guild did not have time to check.
The group pushed their way through the crowded city, forging their path to the central plaza and, after arriving there, to the Teleport Platform. One flash of blue light later and the Guild was gazing on the recovering town of Galos.
They quickly filed out of the town to avoid being roped into the reconstruction of the burned buildings. They wandered around the small island, but the floor's sparse foliage caused their search for enemies to come up fruitless for the greater part of two hours. However, no floor was without Quests if one looked hard enough.
"Guys, look," Silica whispered. The others directed their vision to where her finger was pointed to find a young man standing on the beach alone. A yellow question mark floating over his head indicated that he was a Quest-giving NPC. They approached cautiously, the memories of Thalia's Claiming after the fight they had had with a sea monster the last time they had been on a beach alone playing in their minds. Up close, the man was younger than they had thought. He looked to be about 18 with shaggy brown hair and warn yet sad green eyes. He was around a half a head taller than Annabeth and he wore the ragged clothes of a poor fisherman. He did not acknowledge their presence until Percy asked if they could help with anything.
"Oh!" the NPC exclaimed as if he was startled from his thoughts. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there, but I could use some help. I am a fisherman you see and while out today I found this small golden statue washed up on the beach. Well it's not every day you find gold just lying around, so I took it. I was returning home with my catch when pirates attacked me! These were no ordinary pirates either! No! I swear, each and every one of them was half dolphin! I'd say maybe a third of them couldn't even talk, but those that could ordered me to hand over all the fish I had and all of my fishing gear so I couldn't catch any more of 'their food'. They also forced me to give them my little statue when they caught me trying to hide it. I am not strong enough to get them back, but you look very strong. Would you please get them back for me?"
A box materialized before Percy. The Quest was called Almost Fish-Men and the rewards included some Drachmas, a lot of EXP, and a high-level sword. The main objectives were to retrieve the man's fishing gear and his golden statue. Percy quickly accepted, changing the yellow question mark into a dull gray exclamation point.
"Oh thank you!" the man continued once they had started the Quest. "The statue is about this tall . . ." The fisherman proceeded to describe the precious item as a foot-tall male figure with a sword and riding a wave.
"Ano," Silica mumbled after they had departed and they were looking for a way to find these half-aquatic seafarers. "I would like to sit this one out." Confusion and a round of questions demanding answers met her stuttered statement. "I- it's . . . I'm afraid of boats, OK?"
"You're afraid of boats?" Pollux asked. Silica nodded meekly. "Well if you're staying, I'm staying too." Silica looked up, surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Pollux nodded. "Percy's scared of pelicans, so boats aren't the weirdest fear we've heard, but we're not just going to sit around and twiddle our thumbs. The city needs to be rebuilt after all."
"You know," Thalia stated with a mischievous tone permeating her voice, "if we hear that you two are not in town while we're on this Quest, we'll never let you live it down."
"W-what do you m-mean?" Silica questioned, her face taking on a bright red color.
"Let's just say that you two should keep the Ethics Filter on." The Japanese girl let out a small 'eep!' as her blush deepened. Pollux, despite his trying not to, colored as well. The two glanced at each other, making eye contact before looking away, shuffling their feet awkwardly. The group had a good laugh at their expense.
Pollux moved to say something, but seemed to reconsider before grabbing his girlfriend's hand and made a quick exit to avoid more teasing. The only acknowledgement the group received as the pair left was a hasty wave and an embarrassed "bye!"
"So guys," Percy began as the two newest members faded from view. "Any idea where we can find these dolphin pirates?"
"We could try luring them in with fish," Connor suggested.
"But didn't they take all of that guy's fish when they robbed him?" Nico asked.
"Really?" Annabeth questioned. "Did none of you notice the arrow and number in the corner of your vision?" True to her word, a dull yellow arrow with a distance (in meters) had silently appeared to point them in the correct direction. It was currently pointing toward the northern end of the island. The number for each person was between 395 and 403.
" . . . Oh."
"Come on," Nico insisted. "We can catch them easily at this distance. They're only 400 yards that way." He pointed to the north where the beach curved slightly. They made their way over as quickly as possible without sacrificing stealth. Hopping into the forest when they came within eyesight, the Guild silently trudged along the inner perimeter of the underbrush.
"What a bunch of uglies," Thalia commented. She was right; one would have to be blessed by Lady Aphrodite herself to stay handsome after being turned into a human-dolphin hybrid because Lady Luck was obviously not of their side. The pirates were a compilation of both beings. Many sported dorsal fins or elongated snouts, others lacked one or more arms with the missing appendages replaced by gray flippers. A few slashed in the water, their inability to walk caused by the misfortune of their feet fusing together into one tail. What sounds drifted over from the pirates was an indistinguishable mix of barked orders, grunts, and clicks. The levels on the cursors ranged from 17 to 23.
"We should call Pollux and Silica back," whispered Travis. "We could use some more help."
"No," Percy stated firmly. "Silica didn't want to be around boats, so we won't force her to be. And Pollux . . . We all know where his priorities lie." Their whispered conversation stopped abruptly when the group saw the transformed pirates tense. One of the stronger ones clicked loudly, turned, and clicked again. He stopped after the fourth click.
He stopped after clicking in their direction.
"Oh damn," Katie cursed. "Was that what I think it was?"
Annabeth nodded. "Echolocation," she gulped. The aquatically attuned sea raiders drew their swords, slowly advancing on the group hidden from view. The HOO might as well have been standing in the open for all the help the cover gave them. The closest of the pirates was four steps away when Percy acted.
"What the Hades, right?" Without waiting for a response, Percy burst from the foliage with a battle cry. The sudden charge surprised the hybrids, allowing the impulsive son of Poseidon to slice through one pirate before any of the others could react.
"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth whispered angrily. "You moron!" The other demigods ran to their leader's aid as the mobs recovered from their shock and rounded on the initial attacker. Percy ducked under three swings and backpedaled until the other New Yorkers caught up and drove the dolphin men back.
"Come on!" Connor yelled excitedly. "We can beat them here and now!" He blocked a sword, but was driven back when one of his opponent's cursed comrades joined their fight.
"Percy!" Annabeth called, deflecting a sword with her dagger and clipping her foe's opposite flipper. "Use the water!" The son of the sea god complied, the strange, gut-wrenching feeling players get when using God-Power Skills welling up inside him.
The ocean exploded, water flying every which way to follow the orders of its master's son. The pirates were dragged into the salty liquid as the digital molecules grabbed at them, the mobs clicking and yelling all the way. "Quick!" Annabeth ordered loudly. "To the boat! Percy can hold them down!"
The son of the ruler of the seas listened, the water under his control restraining the flailing hybrids from returning to the sand once more to continue the battle. The other demigods who lacked the lineage of the ocean rushed toward the plank connecting the soft beach to the hard wood of the ship's deck. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of massive shadows loomed on the craft.
The appearance of these two hulking figures shocked them into stopping their attack. Both were hybrids like the other pirates, but where the others looked to be part bottlenose, these two seemed to be half porpoise; the larger, sea-mammal half certainly fit their forms. The two appeared to be brothers, but it was hard to tell with the spotted, hairless, and gray skin tone they had received from their curse. More visible transformations of this new pair of foes included dorsal fins, black waterproof eyes, and pointed teeth. Both massive pirates carried one oversized cutlass each and wore only ripped pants with a belt. Their levels were 35 and their cursors each read Demon Brother.
The Demon Brothers jumped off the deck, touching the soft powder of the beach's sand for only a split second before charging Percy at speeds faster than one would think possible for a creature of their size. The sudden rush caused Percy to lose his concentration, giving the smaller hybrids free reign to climb aboard the nautical craft via the rigging along the side. The rest of the group once again moved to Percy's side to get him out of trouble, but their two opponents wove through their attacks in an incredible display of acrobatics and physical prowess.
The pirate's ship was around 100 yards and counting from the shore when the demi-dolphin siblings bolted. They dove into the water, swimming as fast as an Olympic swimmer without showing any sign of stress. The demigods could only watch as the pair approached the ship, disappearing under the water for the last stretch before breaking the surface in perfect tandem. They landed on the deck as the ship grew indistinct. The now-tiny boat in the distance bobbed on the water, teasing them.
"Dammit," Thalia swore. "Any chance you can drag that ship in Percy?"
"Afraid not," her cousin responded. "I can only control water within 25 meters of my avatar."
"Great," Nico deadpanned. "What now?"
"Why don't we head back to Galos?" Katie suggested. "Maybe the lovebirds will have an idea." With a unanimous vote and dejected sighs, they returned to town.
End of Chapter 26
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-SwordOfTheGods