Chapter 11

I watched the floor as I felt myself gaining speed, and honestly it felt like I was a falling to my death. Was Deimos about to let me die for a joke? Possibly.

As I got closer to the ground, I noticed that Deimos had already landed, completely unharmed, and was now looking at me with a blank expression, as if he wasn't supposed to save me.

Just when it seemed like I was about to splat , Deimos raised his hand into the air. In a moment, a gust of wind came from his palm and soon found its way on the ground beneath me.

I immediately understand what I was supposed to do. With great effort, I did my best to flip myself over so I would land feet first, but it proved harder then expected.

Instead of gracefully landing on my feet, I hit the gust of wind created by the god face first. Though it was simply air, it felt just as bad as a belly flop. After floating for a second the wind blew me up a lil bit, then dropped me.

I landed on all fours, and quickly pushed myself up. I dusted off my arms before turning to Deimos, but the god was already walking away.

It was just then at I thought about something. How did no one notice us dropping from the sky and landing perfectly fine. Before I could ask, Deimos answered.

"It was a special covering from the mist, it's already worn off by now, so don't do nothing stupid." He said as he walked down the sidewalk.

I decided to just follow him up until he went up to Olympus, that's when I'd go find something to do. There was no way I was gonna just sit around for an hour while I waited for Deimos to deliver the pelt.

I continued walking with Deimos till we reach the Empire State Building, looking busy as ever.

"I'm guessing you gonna go out huh?"

Said the god as we reached the door.

I simply nodded.

The god nodded his head then walked inside without another word. Now alone, I turned away from the building, and looked out at the busy streets of New York.

I started walking with no idea where I was going, all I knew was that I didn't plan on going to Olympus. No reason in particular, but I just didn't think it was a good idea.

Deciding to "follow the wind" I simply started walking down the street, making my way all the way to the corner. I passed by many busy looking people that paid no attention attention to a dark haired boy walking through the streets with a slightly bloody coat and scars over the exposed parts of his body, which was pretty good for me, but was funny when you think about.

But just in case I took my hair down and let it fall, reaching my chin and covering my face.

I continued to walk down the street until I noticed a pleasant looking baker at the corner of the street.

I walked into the shop and was immediately hit with a nice homely smell. I scanned the shop and noticed a nice looking old lady behind the counter, and behind her looking at some pastries was a young lady.

"Hello!" Said the old lady in a tone that sounded so nice compared to my every day life.

I tried to say hi back, but it came out as a deep mumble-like sound, but the lady only smiled in response.

For some reason I felt a little bad, but I moved on quickly and started browsing the shops options. I took my time as I looked for something that seemed good, but after a moment I realized I wanted them all.

So with my great decision making skills, I decided to just buy them all, despite the fact I had no idea how much money I currently had on me.

With no hesitation, I grabbed a handful of items and and walked over to the counter. With a little bit of effort, I dropped them while trying my best to keep them from falling.

"Uhhh, this'll be all, I think." I said while reaching into my pocket.

I waited for the cashier to give me the price, but when I looked up, the old lady was wide eyed.

"Hello?" I asked.

The lady tried to gather herself before responding. "U-uh... is that all? I mean, are you sure?"

"Yeah, that'll be it." I said.

"Ummm, your total will be ($ )" said the lady, but I didn't feel like counting bills, so I grabbed what was in my pocket and dropped it on the table.

"That should be enough, I think." I said, unsure if it was to be honest, but I wasn't gonna wait to find out.

"Sooo I'll just be heading out." I said as I grabbed all my goods and put them in a bag.

I walked away toward the door and looked behind me to see both ladies with suprised looks, the younger one almost teary eyed, was it?

I decided to simply walk out and not spend too much time thinking about it. With a bag full of pastries, I made my way to one of the outside chairs in front of the shop. I dropped my bag onto the table and pulled out my chair, when I felt something change in the air.

I turned around to see what it was, when I saw something an inch away from my face moving at high speeds. I watched the projectile, I assumed it was one, fly towards me and make its way a couple molecules away from my face. My eyes widened slightly, but I gained my cool again seeing as how whoever had shot it was not aiming to kill.

I watched as the projectile hit the wall next to me after grazing my face, and that's when I realized something that shocked me.

The "projectile" itself wasn't even a solid, seeing as how once it hit the wall it immediately dissipated.

Air pressure then. It wasn't an arrow like I had expected, but simply condensed air moving at high speeds. Not something any lil monster could do, and was quite impossible for any normal mortal.

So that begs the question, who was out here attacking me in broad daylight, only a couple minutes away from Olympus and surrounded by countless mortals. The fact that they were 1 inch away from killing me with air alone was also important.

I pushed my chair back in and slowly turned towards the direction of the attack. With a blank gazed I looked to my right to find the attacker, but I saw no one suspicious and it seemed like the mortals hadn't noticed the attack.

Once I made sure there was no one, I turned back around honestly with the intention to ignore the attack, but I sadly couldn't do that because in the seat across from the one I was going to sit in was a entity, chomping away at the baked goods I had just bought with their feet on the table.

The being had on a hoody, making it impossible for me to see their features besides the slight glimpses of a mouth while they ate my honeybun. I felt some type of way.

I started to say something, but the being immediately lifted their hand, and out of nowhere a spear appeared in it. I watched as the red spear tip swiftly made its way to my neck, stopping a centimeter away from my skin.

I simply raised an eyebrow. With no hesitation I swung my hand and smacked the spear away, using my other hand I flicked off my ring with my thumb. In a single movement I gripped my scythe that had just formed and swung my it towards the being. I felt the being shift it's blade a little then thrust, but I decided to let it go so I could follow through with my attack.

I watched as my blade struck the beings hood, going straight through it. The scythe easily ripped the fabric off the being, revealing their face, but it came with a cost, seeing as how I immediately felt warm blood gush from my arm.

But now I was able to see the being, and I was a little surprised. In the chair across from me was a red haired lady with her hands full, one with a honeybun and the other contained a spear that was currently inside my arm.

The lady finished the food in her mouth before putting down her pastry. With no hesitation the lady yanked out her spear and got out of her seat, taking a step forward, making us face to face.

I studied the ladies featured. She was wearing an black outfit that was a little out of place in the summer, but it wasn't anything to abnormal. What was strange about the lady was her dark red eyes that made me stare.

They were nothing like I've seen before, god or mortal, and the freckles on her face made them stand out even more. I didn't think she was a demigod based off looks alone. Though she didn't radiate godly energy, her pretty face had a elegance too it.

But that's where the "elegance" stopped. The ladies face that was probably quite pleasant most of the time, was scrunched up with her eyes squinted, making her look pretty menacing.

"Who are you?" I asked. I continued to look into the ladies eyes, and soon found that blood was rushing to my face. Was it the beings power getting to me? Or was it my wound? Either way I could feel myself getting red faced.

Just as it seemed like the lady hadn't even heard me, she made a move.

The being reached her hand up towards my face but I stayed still, deciding that it wasn't an attack.

I felt the being grab me by my chin with a surprisingly strong grip. I felt my eyes widen a little bit, but I still made no move to stop her.

But that changed when the being started squishing my cheeks.

"What are yo-" but there was no point as now the lady was using two hands and stretching my cheeks, making me look like I just got sat on, put simply and idiot.

I swiped my hand up and hit the ladies hands off my face, but even this caused some slight pain to form in my hand. Who was this and why were they so...sturdy?

But I was more confused on why they were examine my face like I was a child at a check up.

"What are you doing!" I said a little mad. I was really struggling to not whip out my scythe and murder this person in broad daylight.

I stared at the lady waiting for an answer, but instead she continued to stare at me, ignoring my question as if she wasn't listening. The lady started walking circles around me, I'm guessing to get a 360.

I immediately turned around to face the strange lady, seeing as how I wasn't trying to be studied. The lady finally stopped and finally looked me in my eyes with a blank expression.

While we were face to face, she put her hand flat at the top of her forehead and then reached it out to me, going back in forth like she was checking to see our height difference.

I didn't know how old she was, she looked like she could be either my age or in her mid twenties, but either way she was a pretty decent height, standing at around my ear.

After realizing that I was in fact taller, the lady put her hands back at her side and continued to look at me. For the first time since she revealed her face the ladies expression changed, into a big smile reaching ear to ear

I started to say something, now truly confused, but the lady gave me no time to think.

With a grip twenty time stronger then before, the lady grabbed my by my shoulders and lifted me into the air with ease.

"I've finally found you, Perseus Jackson! The demigod that will fix all my problems!" She said shaking me in the air.

I made no move, completely confused while I was suspended mid air. After a moment I came to a conclusion based off this ladies words.

"Wait, you are not here to kill me then?" I asked."

The lady looked at me confused before responding. "Of course not. In fact, I'm actually-" I didn't let the god finish.

"If that's the case..." I said. I grabbed the beings hand and tore it off my shoulders, making her drop me, but it had made me used more effort then I thought.

"Then I have no use for this." I said as I started to walk away. I didn't really feel like dealing with this right now.

"You can have the food, if you want." I said as the lady stared at me with a shocked expression. But I knew it wouldn't be this easy. Things involving me were never easy.

I expected the lady to grab me and drag me back, but instead all I heard was a slight chuckle.

"Are you sure about that, Percy. I mean, you didn't even hear what i have to say." She said, but I wasn't interested, well I thought that before she continued to speak.

"I heard from a little birdie that you are in need of something very important right now." She said, and I could hear the smirk in her voice. "And I'm just the right person to help you get it back."

I stopped in my tracks. I slowly turned around.

"What did you just say?" I asked.

"You heard me." She said with a cocky look on her face.

"Who even are you. And how do you know about...that?" I said, now i was intrigued.

"Sit down and I'll answer whatever you want." She said as she pulled her chair back out. "And feel free to have a snack while we talk."

I scowled at the lady, getting annoyed at the laid back nature of this being. "What makes you think that I care for what I've already lost?" I said.

"Oh I know you do deep down, despite whatever you say. And besides that, I know you seek out strength, and I can offer that to you, while you help me."

I decided to at least listen to this crazy lady.

I sat down in the seat across from the lady, my guard up but I was ready to listen.

"Honey bun?" She offered, lifting it toward me.

I knew that I did in fact want the honey bun, but instead of saying so I just squinted my eyes at the being. The girl simply shrugged before opening the pastry and biting into it.

"Who are you." I said, trying to get do business.

The lady chewed on her food before answering. "You know, I'm kinda disappointed that Deimos never told you about me." I raised an eyebrow. "Why would he?" I asked.

"Because I'm basically like a sister to him. You'd think he would talk to me after gaining a form for the first time in over a century, but no, he decides to ignore me for a whole year." Said the lady with a pouty face.

"But, to answer your question, I am Eris, the great goddess of strife." She said with a proud face, almost bubbling. "I'm sure you've at least heard of me." She looked at me hopefully.

"Nope, never heard of you." I said, but that was a lie. Of course I knew who Eris was, but I didn't expect her to look like this, a girl who looked barely older then me with such a child like personality.

Eris face immediately dropped, making her look pouty again. I decided to go along with the goddess, hoping to get some answers.

"Actually now that I think about it, I have heard of you before. So what does a goddess like you want with me?" I asked.

With this, the goddesses face went serious. Eris sat down and smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know." She said. "Well I feel like you killing my my son give me a reason to approach you, doesn't it?" She asked.

I immediately gripped my ring in my hands. The goddess claimed she wasn't here to hurt me, but was that a lie? I decided not to engage unless I needed to.

"So your here for revenge?" I asked.

"No, luckily for you, huh. Quite the opposite actually." She said.

Now I was confused. "Who exactly is your son?" I asked the god. Not to brag but I had killed plenty of monsters, so I was kinda wondering which one of them was Eris's son.

"Well I'm pretty sure you know him. He was a minor god who goes by the name Orcus." She said.

My eyes immediately widened. "Your his...mother?" I asked. How could such a nasty monster come out of the girl in front of me.

"Yuhuh," she said with a sly smile. "As you can see beauty doesn't run in family."

I stared at the goddess, now truly confused.

"So if you aren't here to avenge him, then what are you here to do, because he's already gone, for a while at least. And what does that have to do with me losing the stone."

"Well you see Percy, you cute lil child, Orcus is not my only child. In fact I have quite a few who are all directly related. And they weren't too happy about there oldest brothers fate." She explained.

"Unlike Orcus, my other children have free reign upon the world, and though Orcus was the definitely most powerful as the oldest male, together they serve a great threat, not to Olympus, but to you."

My eyes widened. "Me? Why do your godly children have a problem with me." I asked.

"Because you killed their brother of course, why else. If Orcus had accomplished his goal, there would be no doubt that my children would have the time of their life's." She said.

At this, I was slightly confused. "So if you know about Orcus's plan, why wouldn't you help him. No offense, but if he accomplished his goal would you not also benefit?" I asked.

"Well besides the fact that I am very respectable young lady," she said. "I know my limits. The same reason Deimos did not help Orcus and actually helped you. We know the world needs order.

But my children did not think so. Though they never directly betrayed Olympus like their brother, they were ready to. But now that he is gone, they will take out their anger on the one who foiled their plans, and that is why you are in danger." She finished.

"If you kids wanted me dead, why have they not came for me yet?" I wondered.

"Trust me they wanted to. But they knew better, if you could kill Orcus then they would stand no chance, plus you were always with Deimos which frightened them."

"But even with Deimos they will definitely make a move, seeing as how now is their best chance." She said.

I thought about it for a second. I was now being chased by a group of gods who had hated me for a year, and I currently am without the stone. Not looking great.

"I appreciate this information, but I still don't know how this will help me get the stone back." I said.

"Percy, listen. I know all about the god that visited you, and I'm telling you right now that I doubt that any demigod that will ever exist will gain the power to defeat him. But obviously he will not ever go full power against a demigod, not even against a god, meaning you have a chance.

But as you know, even suppressed you were defeated by Da Vinci which was to be expected despite your power. So it may seem impossible to defeat him without the stone, as well as the fact that he will definitely try harder if you do decide to fight him again."

I listened to the goddess explain why I stood no chance against Da Vinci, confused on where she was going with this.

"But, Percy, that can change. With my help, I can make you the strongest demigod alive-no, the strongest mortal alive." She said with a big smile.

"You see Percy, I'm offering to train you to become your best self and retrieve what you have lost." She said.

I looked at the goddesses eyes that were now lit up. "What makes you think I want to fight Da Vinci. Plus if your kids are weaker then Orcus, I don't think I'll need the stone, to be honest. So why do I need your training, exactly."

The goddess smirked seemingly straight through me.

"Percy we both know that you seek power, no matter the circumstance. So why not accept the deal and gain just that." She said as she reached her hand out.

"And what do you gain from this?" I asked.

"I doubt your doing this out of kindness." The goddess frowned.

"I don't know why I wouldn't, but to be honest, if you were to get rid of my troublesome children before they do something stupid that gets me in trouble, I would defiantly benefit. Also why would I not help the demigod who revived Deimos." She said.

"Now what do you say, Percy Jackson, will you become my student and train under me." She said with a grin."

I thought about it. To gain the strength to defeat a monster like Da Vinci would definitely be satisfying. Plus I couldn't act like I didn't care about the stone 100%. To me it sounded like a win win. Also I could deal with the menacing herd of gods trying to kill me.

I reached my hand out and shook the goddesses small hand. I felt a warm feeling before our locked hands burst into flames. I immediately tried to take my hand back, but I couldn't move despite the fact Eris's hand was relaxed.

"Calm down, it's fine." Said the goddess, and that's when I noticed that the fire didn't actually hurt, it only held my hand in place. After a second, the flame disappeared and the goddess let go.

I noticed her shake her hair and it slowly but surely changed color from a dark red to a black that seemed to be highlighted with a deep violet, or possible all of it was just a dark purple.

Either way, I found the color change odd, but I didn't question it.

"What did I just agree to?" I asked.

"Don't worry, it was worth it. Also, I forgot to tell you, that while your under me, you cannot tell Deimos anything."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "You didn't say anything about that!"

"Chill, it's only until after you get your stone back. Until then just tell him your going on a little mission." She said. "It's one of the conditions of me training you."

Though a little angry, I decided it wasn't that bad seeing as how I would leave without telling Deimos anything plenty of times, it was just a little annoying that she hadn't said anything before.

"I guess, but I don't like you keeping that back. Besides, wouldn't Deimos be helpful in training?" I asked.

"There's a reason that Deimos hadn't trained you yet beyond the point your at right now, and it's because he's lazy. Besides, even Deimos can admit that I will be able to help you to a greater extent then he." She said with a cocky smile.

I simply grunted.

"Now if you have no more questions, I'm going to let you go and meet up with Deimos. You'll go home with him, then I'll contact you. Do you understand?" She asked.

"I guess." I mumbled after getting up. I didn't like getting bossed around but I decided to not oppose it. "So I guess I'll see you then, huh?"

"Exactly." She said getting up. "So until then try not to get in trouble." The goddess stood up and took a step away from the table. She dramatically turned around and winked at me before bursting into flames. In a second, she was gone, leaving me with me alone with my thoughts, and my pastries.

I sat down and thought about what I had just agreed to. To train with a god was something I was used to, seeing as how I was something of a natural learner. I wondered what Eris could teach me. She didn't really seem like the teacher type, but neither did Deimos to be fair.

I would expect someone like Phobos to teach me, not Eris with her happy go lucky attitude.

But I digress. I got up from my seat. I decided to go back to Deimos before I got jumped by some killer gods.

I walked away from the bakery front, wondering how no one had noticed the goddess burst into flames, but I guess anything runs in New York, huh?

But I didn't think about it much as I approached the Empire State Building, and to my surprise Deimos was already waiting out the front.

How long were me and Eris talking for, I wondered.

It didn't matter as I approached Deimos.

"Your done?" I asked.

"Uhuh." He replied.

"So we going back home?"

"Uhuh." And just like that we made our war towards Central Park, where I assumed the chariot would be.

I walked side by side with Deimos in his young form, looking a year younger then me. I wondered if he was thinking about what I had done, but decided that he wouldn't even care. That's how it always was, even more so when in a younger form.

So I decided to not think about it, seeing as how I would just tell him I was going solo got a bit.

"By the way, Hephaestus had said that we would be able to take a break from our debt. I'm guessing we got a bout a month till we have to go on a fetch quest. So you can do whatever you want I guess." He said.

No way. Was it fate that I get a break the second Eris offers to train me? It had to have been destined, meaning I probably had made the right choice in shaking the gods hand.

"Yeah, I have something in mind." I said. Deimos didn't question me, something I appreciated.

We continued to walk until we reach the park, and after a moment of forging through a wooded area, we came across our chariot with the horses already saddled.

Without a word Deimos hopped in and I followed. The god whipped the reigns once and the horses immediately took off into the air.

"From here, it's smooth sailing. I plan on going straight to bed for a couple of days after that fight as soon as we get home." He said. "I'm guessing you'll be gone by the time I wake up." He said. Reminding me of the fight he had. Though I doubted he would confirm it, I had my suspicions on who he had came across.

"Yeah probably, but I do intend to get some rest before that." I said. The god simply nodded.

From there the ride was silent as I got lost in my thoughts. I thought about Remleon and how he was free right now, possible wreaking havoc, or maybe sleeping somewhere. Either option was just as likely.

I wondered how he had escaped the stone before Da Vinci had seemingly destroyed it. I knew how, actually, I just didn't know how I had allowed it. But whatever it was, I regretted it.

Looking back, I probably shouldn't have let him escape that forest. Though containing him would be near impossible, if I had his help, I definitely wouldn't need to worry about minor gods chasing me.

But even then, could me and Zoe have even taken him down back then? To be honest I doubt it, despite the fact he had looked injured.

That led me to think about Zoe.

I thought about how even now I was further proving her point. For someone who claimed to hate the gods, it's kinda weird I had just agreed to train other one.

I wonder, what she would think about that. Though I had gained her respect a while ago, I was aware it had almost disappeared by the next time she had seen me, but for some reason she still didn't seem like she completely hated me.

I knew she didn't agree with my mindset, but the fact she had even helped me heal up was surprising. I wondered what her ulterior motive was. I doubted she did it out of the kindness of her heart, which kinda upset me, for some reason.

I kinda liked Zoe. She was the only demigod I had met that wasn't completely useless, and though the hunters themselves were pretty annoying, she was an exception.

But it didn't matter now, because all I had to worry about was my training with Eris. I decided to clear my mind so I would be ready, because something told me it wouldn't be easy.

I quickly realized that when I wasn't thinking it was easy to fall asleep as my eyes started to get heavy. At first I tried to keep them open but soon I let it go, causing me to go to sleep.

-Sometime Later-

I woke up from my sleep to find myself back in my room, laying in bed with my arm hanging behind me. On the carpet next to me was Icarus, rolled up and asleep.

Hmm. I decided to let him sleep. Seeing as how I would definitely need him on my journey like every other time I had gone solo, I decided I would go when he woke up.

I hopped out of bed and decided to leave behind my arm while I got some air. I walked out my room and saw the moon shining through the glass walls. It was already night? I guess I had really been tired.

I decided to pack my bags before I left so I would be ready as soon as Icarus awoke. I got all my things together so I could get out the door as soon as I was ready.

I made my way out of the house and onto the beach. I decided to avoid the forest right now because I enjoyed the way the sand felt on my feet as I left my shoes behind.

I walked under the moonlight, not thinking of much in particularly, just enjoying the free time. I was starting to completely zone out, but was interrupted by the sounds of another being coming towards me.

I turned around to see Icarus with my arm in his mouth, the bag of supplied on his back and...was he wearing my shoes.

I decided to ignore the fact he had slightly stretched my shoes as he dropped my onto the sand. I picked it up and easily attached it, then pet the hippogriff.

"Good job." I said, showing the most affection I was willing to do nowadays. I assumed that the hippogriff was ready, but I still wanted to enjoy the night sky.

We made our way towards the forest, taking in the night sounds of the insects. I continued to walk with Icarus deeper into the woods, enjoying the quiet. But just as it seemed to be peaceful as ever, I felt something shift in the air. But not like a hostile presence that was out to get me, but simply a big ball of energy with no real intent.

It felt natural, as opposed to a force that was invading the forest. And unless my senses were failing me, the force didn't even seem to be moving.

I noticed that Icarus had also sensed the newcomer, but instead of being on edge, it looked like he was trying to make his way towards the energy. I decided to follow my companion, trusting his instincts. Though the energy source was prominent, I was struggling to track it down, but it seemed Icarus had no problem.

As we continued to go forward, it became obvious where we were heading. I don't know if it was me, but all the moonlight in the area had seemed to gather, shining on once place, the place we were heading to.

My confusion grew as I wondered where we were going and who was was right past these bushes, a couple meters ahead of me.

I slowed down, but Icarus simply walked forward, disappearing through the bushes. I wanted to call for him, but I didn't want to break the silence.

So, trusting Icarus, I made my way through the bushes to find myself looking at a little lake completely still, and an entire wolf pack surrounding the clearing. In the middle of this all, was a being who was standing with their back towards me and Icarus at their side. The being was petting Icarus in a way that was almost hypnotizing.

I studied the being who was completely still besides her hand that was petty my hippogriff. I could tell it was a her by the long flowing hair that reached her waist and the little tiara/crown on her head.

The being looked like a goddess in a painting as she stood with the moon shining on her. I immediately thought Artemis, but there was no way she would come to see me, plus the aura of a Olympian would be much more potent.

But I still didn't doubt this was a god. For some reason I felt like dropping to a knee, but that wasn't like me, something about this being was changing me.

If I had to describe what I was seeing in one word, it would be beautiful. Not just the woman, or the moon in the background, or the majestic looking wolves surrounding us, but just the entire scene itself.

"Who...who are you?" I asked. I didn't know what it was but this whole thing felt surreal, as if I wasn't really here. But I was sure that this wasn't a dream.

For the first time, the woman made a move, moving one step back and looking back at me.

When I saw her face I was immediately confused.

Abrupt/Bad ending. Oops