From Another Angle

Princess Andromeda

'One, Two, Three…' Diego went through his forms again and again, only pausing to readjust the shield on his arm. Settling back into his initial stance, he ran through the forms again and again. In his mind's eye he could see shadowy figures; their featureless forms striking and falling in response to Diego's own movements. The wooden floor swayed below him as the Andromeda cut through the waves of the Atlantic. The deck of the ship was empty save for him. A cool wind whistled past, nearly drowning out the murmur of activity in the decks below. Sweat beaded and trickled down his face, his arms beginning to deaden with weight of his weapons.

The sound of sliding glass preceded a sharp increase in the murmur's volume. Diego briefly glanced over before returning to his repetitions. "Hey Serenity." The girl in question returned his greeting as she closed the door behind her with a quiet thump. Serenity crossed the deck to lean back on the railing, just within his view. "You're still practicing?"

Diego nodded, waiting till his current set was finished before replying. "Yes. Since I started using a shield as well, I've felt off-balance. I know that having the shield is the smarter choice, so I need to work on it."

Serenity tilted her head. "Doesn't training alone cause more issues in the long run? I mean, if you're making a mistake then won't you memorize the mistake?"

Diego froze, then gave her a small shrug. "Only time I can find a partner is during the scheduled time for practice. No one else seems interested otherwise." Despite his words he relaxed when he finished his set. Shifting the shield further up his arm to sit on his shoulder and planting his spear on the deck he asked, "What about you? I thought you'd be with everyone else." Serenity frowned.

"I did but I didn't linger. Everyone seems, tense. I thought the monsters and demigods had already worked things out?"

Diego shook his head as he collapsed his spear again. "No, they were merely suppressed. The demigods don't really trust the monsters, and the monsters only respect strength. Luke has lost a lot of respect among the demigods after that incident with Oceanus. Hector's presence held the monsters in check but he's on the other side of the continent. Alabaster isn't too interested beyond leading his siblings. With no one to keep them in line the groups are starting to rub each other the wrong way."

Serenity looked out over the water and sighed. "I guess it was a bit much to ask them to forget a few thousand years of fighting, but we can't break free of Olympus without working together."

A few beats passed before Serenity asked, "Have you heard anything from Hector?"

Diego nodded, a slight smile creeping across his face. "Yes. He's found the demititan in Alaska and is following Pacifica's trail south toward the Amazonians."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "The Amazons? Aren't they in Seattle? How is he going to get down there?"

"He 'borrowed' another boat."

Serenity groaned while Diego laughed. "If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. One of these days the police are going to catch him and then we'll have to do a jailbreak. I do not want to be explaining to Naomi why her son is a wanted criminal."

Diego shook his head, shoulders still shaking. "Hector does what he wants. Though he might be doing it just to get a reaction out of you."

Serenity growled, "Oh he'll get a reaction alright." She continued to grumble while Diego rolled his eyes, silently wishing his friend the best of luck. Serenity's voice brought him back to the present, "Did you hear that Luke found the poison? The tree is already dying."

Her words sent a chill through Diego as his face fell. 'Come on Diego, you know that it was necessary. Wasn't it?' Diego's mouth felt dry as he replied, "So with luck the worst of the fighting will be over with soon."

Serenity frowned at him. "Is that all you have to say about it? Don't you think it's wrong to…to…desecrate her like that?"

Diego held up a hand. "I never said I thought it was right, but what is the alternative? The longer this fight goes on the more people will die. I may not like it, but at least attacking the camp directly means fewer deaths in the long run. We can end it quickly and then deal with the Olympians."

Serenity's face grew somber. "I guess so. There really isn't a right and wrong in war, is there?"

"There is a definite wrong Serenity, just no right." Serenity didn't reply.

The silence stretched for an awkward moment. Diego struggled to think of another topic, any topic really to talk about but then something caught his attention. The dull murmur from below decks was escalating in volume; growls turning to roars and the chattering of humans was turning to cries. His eyes met Serenity's as they widened in realization. 'Oh no.'

Off the Washington Coast

"Whew, what is that stench!" Hector gagged and took a hand off the wheel to pull up his shirt and cover his nose. The once pleasant breeze blowing from the mountains had turned foul with little warning. The rocking of the boat didn't help his stomach either, and he closed his eyes to focus on fighting his lunch back down. Orion poked his head up from below deck, an eyebrow arched.

"What are you…" Orion blanched as it hit him as well and he mimicked Hector. "Oh, you mean that."

It had been a week since the two had begun traveling together and they had barely been able to hold a conversation. Hector had thought that with such a similar upbringing they may have had more to bond over but Orion seemed determined to take the opposing view on nearly every issue. 'At least he's not insufferable like Luke in that regard, and can set it aside when something needs to be done.' "Yeah. I knew the pollution was bad but I didn't think a city could smell so foul."

Orion grimaced. "I don't think that's pollution. I think I've smelled that before…" Hector raised an eyebrow and waited for Orion to elaborate, but his fellow hunter seemed more focused on trying to breath without getting the smell in his nostrils. "How long till we hit the dock?"

Hector glanced at the shore and the surrounding waters. "Maybe 20 minutes? I don't see any Coast Guard so we shouldn't run into any trouble if we keep our heads down. They might think we are just fishermen who wondered off course." Orion grinned.

"Aren't you a little short to be a fisherman?"

"Shut up."

The two boys were just a little off of the coast. From the boat they had 'borrowed' in Anchorage they could see the city of Seattle. Along the shoreline they could see people milling about the beach. Further down they could see the wharfs where they could tie up and leave the boat. Breathing through his mouth now Orion climbed up from the deck below. "So, any idea where the Amazons are exactly?"

Hector shook his head. "I know they patrol Seattle pretty frequently, and depending on how on-the-nose they are they may have their headquarters near or underneath a structure that relates to the Amazonians, but beyond that I don't have much to go on. Whichever we find first, we are going to have a fight on our hands."

Orion gave him a look. "Why? Can't we just tell them that we have questions and then be on our merry way?"

Hector grimaced. "Not that simple. The Amazons may be sexist like the Hunters, but unlike the Hunt they do have a use for men. I hope Prometheus was making it up, but apparently that use includes collars and chains."

Orion balked. "You're making that up. You have to be."

Hector raised an eyebrow with a grin. "So, sea serpents and giants are perfectly normal but warrior-women that take men as slaves is out of bounds?"

Orion shook his head. "You mean to tell me that you are leading us right to girls that are inclined to enslave us on sight with the intention of asking them for directions. On top of that, you don't even know where they are? Do you even have a plan?"

Hector grinned sheepishly. "I've handled these kind of missions as 20% plan and the rest a mix of improvising and luck. You have a better idea?"

Orion thought for a moment. "Actually, yeah. That stench you pointed out? I think I know who it belongs to." Moving up to stand beside Hector he pointed to the wharfs. "The smell is coming from over there. I think Nereus might be around."

"Nereus?" Hector thought for a moment then shook his head. "That name is not ringing any bells. Who is he?"

Orion looked at him in surprise then nodded. "Well you did live in the mountains so maybe your mom didn't think you needed to know about him. They call him the 'Old Man of the Sea'. He was a son of Pontus and Gaia, as if Mother Earth wasn't freaky enough." The two shared a chuckle before Orion continued. "They say that if you can catch him then you can ask him any question."

Hector raised an eyebrow. "You have a question in mind."

Orion grinned. "Well, if we can ask him how Pacifica would be able to hide from her father, then we don't have to worry about bothering pack of insane warrior-women."

Hector hummed for a moment. 'Maybe, but it doesn't seem wise to try and circumvent a prophecy. Then again, a prophecy comes true no matter what you do, so it should adjust to bring us to the Queen. Or is this how we are meant to meet the Queen? Ugh, these prophecies give me a headache.'

Rubbing his head, he replied, "I don't like the idea of going out of the prophecy's path, but perhaps this is what we've got to do."

Orion tilted his head, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "Doesn't a prophecy come true no matter what we do? So why should we let it restrain us? If anything, the Fates should try and keep up." The words had barely left his mouth before an expression of fear crossed his face and he clapped his hands over his mouth. Hector's eyes widened. 'Lady Fates, that wasn't a dare. That was not a dare.' No response occurred, but Hector could swear he heard the laughter of old ladies on the breeze.

Their journey to the docks was uneventful, which seemed to worsen rather than ease the boys' nerves. They managed to tie up without incident and Hector took a moment to grab various barrels and tarps from the dock itself. "An empty boat might attract attention. I'd rather make it look like it belongs here in case we need it again." A few minutes later the boys left the boat, following the smell of Nereus. For a time, they had a general direction, but as they moved further into the docks of the city the trail became confused. Their walk was a strangely quiet one. Hector expected to see sailors walking around doing various ship stuff but there was no one else around. A few times a flash of movement appeared then vanished in the corner of his eye, causing him to turn and drop his hand to his weapon. Each time nothing came of it, though he had the distinct feeling of being watched. The entire wharf had the smell of the sea, rotten fish included and soon the boys had gotten turned around trying to follow the smell. Orion groaned. "We're not going to find him at this rate."

Hector patted his shoulder. "Come now, this was pretty much what we would have to do to find the Amazons. Let's move back toward the water: we might have better luck finding Nereus there."

A soft voice came from behind them. "And why, demititan, would you be looking for us?" Hector froze and tried to draw upon his ability but was a hair too slow as a leather bag went over his head and a sharp pain erupted from his skull, driving him into unconsciousness.

Princess Andromeda

'I guess it was only a matter of time,' Diego thought as he switched his gaze between the exhausted and injured combatants. Around them the once pristine Kraken lounge was caked in golden dust and blood. Footmarks converged on the spots where the bodies of the fallen had been collected and removed. On one side various monsters muttered and growled as they huddled together. Opposite them a dozen demigods kept their hands on their weapons, eyes darting between Diego and the assembled monsters. Beside him Serenity was breathing heavily, her daggers in trembling hands. Diego breathed a quiet prayer of thanks to his Father that none of the other demititans had gotten involved. "Alright everyone, I want to know what happened here."

One of the cyclops lifted his free hand while keeping his club lowered and gestured around wildly. "You not see? The half-breeds tried to slaughter us!"

A demigod stepped forward; blade held at the ready. He responded, "We tried!? You are the ones that wanted to eat us!" The argument began anew before a brilliant flare interrupted them.

"ENOUGH!" Diego's voice shook with barely contained fury. "I'll hear your stories one at a time." Turning toward the monsters he pointed at an empousai. "What happened from your perspective, no embellishment."

She opened her mouth to speak before one of the other demigods interrupted. "Of course, you would listen to the monsters first. You titan spawn always do."

Diego glared at the speaker. "Mind your tongue Derick. I will get to you in a moment." Turning back to the empousai he gestured for her to continue.

The empousai placed one hand on her hip. "I'll be honest with you demititan, none of these idiots here were near the fight when it started." Her companions began protesting before being silenced by Diego. "I was a little way down from where it began. It looked like one of the demigods and a telekhine had gotten into an argument. I don't know how it escalated but it looked like the telekhine snapped at him and the demigod drew his weapon." The demigods now started protesting but Diego held up a hand to pause them.

"Where is the telekhine?"

The empousai shrugged. "Here, there…I think that's a bit of him on the chandelier."

'Great…' Diego nodded his head in thanks before turning back to the demigods. "Now, Derick, what happened?"

Derick huffed. "Why should we explain ourselves? Who put you in charge?"

A familiar voice echoed from behind Diego. "I suggest you answer his question Derick." Alabaster came up behind Diego. Serenity looked over at Alabaster with a raised eyebrow, though gratitude could be seen in her eyes. "Or would you prefer to explain yourself to Lord Kronos?"

Derick glowered at Alabaster who stared him down. "I didn't see the fight begin. I saw David trying to defend himself from a group of monsters and jumped into the fray. He…didn't make it." Diego stifled a curse. Alabaster cast a judging glance at the monsters who glared back before replying to Derick. "How many casualties?"

Diego answered this time. "We're missing a dozen and a half of the monsters and three of the demigods." Running a hand through his hair he huffed in frustration. "I'll speak with Prometheus as to a suitable punishment. In the meantime, return to your quarters." The monsters grunted and growled while the demigods hesitated. Alabaster stepped forward.

"Now!" His barked command got both groups moving. Once they had filed out Diego shook his head in disbelief. 'Six months. It has been six months since we had an incident and now this happens.' Serenity turned to Alabaster. "What made you decide to get involved? You've never cared before."

Alabaster huffed. "It matters when my siblings are hurt. Where the hell were you two?"

Diego frowned at his tone. "I was training on the deck. Serenity had just joined me when we heard the commotion."

"Figures. You demititans can't stand to be around the rest of us, so you slink away."

Serenity bristled. "What is your problem Alabaster?"

Alabaster stepped toward Serenity, prompting Diego to match. "My problem is that you demititans pretend to be above us when you don't even take responsibility for your position! You knew that the demigods and monsters were riled up but instead of stepping in you let it get out of hand."

Serenity narrowed her eyes while Diego snapped. "If you think you can do such a better job then why don't you step into the position."

"I didn't say that." Alabaster took a moment to recenter himself. "You are supposed to be the buffer between the monsters and demigods. You know what it's like to live in two worlds and for whatever reason the monsters don't hate you like they do us. You need to be here to keep the peace." For a brief moment Alabaster looked much older than he was. "We need you to hold us together."

"You're right." Alabaster and Diego looked to Serenity in surprise. "We need to take a more active role in keeping the peace. But if we're going to do that, we need you and Luke to step up with the demigods. All of them, not just your siblings."

Alabaster frowned. "Luke is in no position to command respect. All he's got going now is that Kronos stands in his corner, and we all know that will end as soon as Hector gets back." He sighed, pinching his nose. "I'll talk with my siblings, see if I can get them to settle down again."

He lifted his head again. "Get the monsters back in line, or the next fight is going to be a lot worse than this was." Alabaster spun and strode out of the room, leaving Diego with a sense that the conversation was far from over. He took a look around the room again. "Well, shit."

"Language." Serenity's heart wasn't in the reprimand and she appeared lost in thought. "How are we going to keep things peaceful between them? There aren't enough of us to be everywhere."

Diego replied, "I don't know." His eyes roamed over the Lounge again. "But if we don't come up with something this is going to get a lot worse."