I am so sorry about how long it's been. Remember, I don't own PJO.
You Want Me To Do What?
"You've got to be kidding me." I stared at him.
"I'm not. Your parents and I agree that it is the only way for you to have a chance at defeating Kronos." Thanatos reasoned.
I started pacing. "I've already bathed in one river. Isn't that enough? Doesn't that have a chance of burning me alive?"
"Yes. But it won't. You're strong enough to withstand it." Thanatos encouraged.
I relented. "Fine. What do I need to do?"
He smiled. "All you need to do is get your parents' blessing. Your mother works best."
"My mother's dead. Would adoptive parents work?" I asked.
"Yeah. As long as you consider them your parents." He stood up.
I nodded. "Bianca, Nico, Aunt Sally. I'm going out for a bit. I'm not sure when I'll be back." I called.
"Be safe. Make sure to have adult supervision if you aren't in a populated place." Aunt Sally told me.
"Will do. See you guys later." I sunk into the shadows with Thanatos.
We came out in the Throne room in the Underworld. Father, Mom, and Momma were all there. It wasn't winter but Mom and Demeter were staying in the underworld during the war.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Andy?" Father asks.
"Yes Dad. It's the best way to keep everyone safe." I said.
"Okay. We give you our blessing." Mom said.
"Thank you. I'll come back when I'm done. I'd like to meet my grandmother. Or is she my Aunt?" I smirked before spreading my wings and took off with Thanatos right behind me.
I stop above the fields.
"I'm going to make a quick stop." I told Thanatos. I swooped down and landed a bit away. I pulled in my wings and sat next to Hazel.
"Hey Hazel." I greeted.
"Hi Andromeda. What brings you here this time?" Hazel said. I'd been visiting a few times over the year. We talked a lot. I learned a lot of her past and about a boy named Sammy.
She had told me about her curse and how she had helped a giant almost rise.
"Well. I might not be able to visit any time soon. The war is going to start soon. I'm going to be busy helping Father with the deaths. I've become an official ambassador to Pluto. I'm not part of Camp Jupiter but father said after the war he'd let me go there." I said. "He even said he'd consider letting you come with me!"
"Really? I can't wait! We will have so much fun." Hazel smiled.
"I know. I'm excited too. I'm really sorry that I'm in such a rush, but I need to get going. I'm on a bit of a time limit right now." I stood up.
"Of course. I'll see you once this war is over." She said.
"Oh, before I forget. I got this for you." I tossed a box to her. She opened it and gasped.
It was a gold chain with a gold charm of the symbol of Pluto.
I pulled out my own necklace to show her a matching one.
"We both have one. It's the symbol of Pluto. Also, if you pull it off the chain, it will become a sword. I know you said you prefer to ride horses so it's a spatha. One of the weapons the cavalry would use." I pulled off my own charm and it became a sword in my hand. It wasn't a spatha like hers but it was a normal sword.
Both of our swords were made of imperial gold, the rare metal that Romans used to slay monsters.
"Thank you." She said, putting the necklace on.
"Next time I come, maybe I can teach you a bit on how to use it." I smiled. I waved goodbye and walked off. I spread my wings when I was far enough away and flew towards the river.
Thanatos was standing on the banks, waiting for me.
"So what? I just go in the river?" I asked.
"Yeah. It's said that you'll know what to do when you get in the river." Thanatos answered.
"You shouldn't do it." A man came into view next to us. "I told the last one. It's a curse. Not a gift." It was Achilles.
"Thank you Achilles. However, I need to do it. Thank you for giving me the warning though." I said politely.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop you." He said sadly.
I stepped into the river and submerged. I couldn't exactly breathe, but as a goddess, I didn't need to breathe.
The water washed over my skin and I could feel part of my mortality washing away.
I saw something in the water in front of me then it became clear.
It was a goddess. Styx. The spirit of the River Styx.
"I've never had a goddess bathe in my river." She said.
"I'm sorry to bother you. I was told this was the best way I could protect my family friends." I said.
"That is true. With my blessing, you could fight more monsters without getting hurt." She said.
I smiled. Which was weird to do underwater. "Is there any chance I could receive your blessing?"
"You are much kinder than the last person. He demanded it." She sighed. "Because you are in my river, I have to give you my blessing. You need to picture a mortal point that will connect you to the mortal world. Someone has to be your mortal anchor."
I pictured a string connecting to my heart. It wasn't on my skin but if my heart was connected, I would always be connected to the mortal world.
I imagined Bianca and Nico holding the other end of the string, just above the water.
Styx laughed. "You are a tricky one. You are bending all the rules. Everyone has picked a mortal spot on their skin. No one has thought to do something inside."
I grinned. "What can I say? I'm unique."
She chuckled. "Everyone has chosen a loved one as their mortal point. For Achilles, he didn't have any choice but to choose his mother. But no one has chosen their siblings. And two of them?" She shook her head. "You will be twice as strong. Before, if your mortal anchor dies, you will lose the blessing. But since you have two, if one dies, nothing happens. If both die at the same time, the blessing will be gone. If they die separately, you will keep the blessing."
"Does it still work though?" I asked.
"Of course. In fact, you will be practically invincible. The only thing that could kill you is if your heart stops for more than a few minutes." She told me. She put her hand on my head. There was a steel colored glow and then both she and it faded.
I climbed out of the river and sat on the bank, blinking.
"Did it work?" Thanatos asked.
"Let's see." I took out a dagger and tried to make a small cut on my hand. The blade just slid off.
"It did." I said in awe.
"You look different." Thanatos mused.
I formed a mirror out of shadows and looked.
My hair was the same black color with the streak of grey from holding the sky. My eyes were different though. My mist disguise had come off in the river. My eyes were their regular obsidian black with red and purple streaks. But now, there was a steel colored ring around my pupils next to the dark grey one from Thanatos, gold one from Pluto, a pink one from Aphrodite, and an orange one from Hestia.
"Really Andromeda, you are getting so many blessings. First me, then Aphrodite, Hestia, Pluto, and now Styx." Thanatos messed up my hair.
"Hey! I haven't asked for them. I mean, except for the one from Lady Styx." I said.
"I know. You haven't even tried to use my blessing or Aphrodite's or Hestia's." he said.
"There was more to your blessings than escaped spirit detection?" I asked.
He laughed. "See that's what is so good about you. Other people will have exploited the blessing as much as possible. But you accepted what you'd learned and didn't try to get more power from it."
"Why would I need more power? I have no use for it." I pointed out.
"You should ask Hestia what her blessing is about." Thanatos changed the topic.
"Okay. I will when I go back to camp." I said. Thanatos and I spread our wings. Suddenly, he stopped.
"Thanatos, what's wrong?" I asked.
"Someone is approaching death. But it isn't their time yet." He said.
"Send me in. I can prevent it. I'll save them and get them out." I begged. I loved these missions. Saving people's lives.
"His name is Charles Beckendorf. He's on the boat, Princess Andromeda." He said.
I blinked. "The irony is so thick there. But I know Beckendorf. He was planning to propose to Silena next year." I said. I nodded. "I'll save him. I need to go. I'm not sure when I'll see you next."
He waved goodbye and I melted into the shadows.
I pulled on my mist cover and pulled in my wings.
I came out in the shadows of the engine room where Beckendorf was putting explosives. I used the shadows around me to blend in.
I followed him when he was captured. Theseus was there, taunting Kronos.
I watched as Beckendorf was forced to detonate the bomb. Theseus hesitated before he dove over the side and vanished.
I stepped forwards and grabbed Beckendorf. I spread my wings and took off into the air, hiding out auras.
"Andy?!" Beckendorf asked.
I sighed and flew us to the closest coast. It was about an hour flight. We were a mile from camp.
I set us down and turned to him. "Hey. I was on a mission for Thanatos. Apparently, you aren't supposed to die yet." I said.
"Look. No one can know that I have wings. It's kind of like a secret weapon. And no one can know that I was the one that saved you. Just say you got a blessing from your father to be fireproof or something and you swam to shore." I begged.
He agreed. I sighed and directed him back to camp.
"Are you coming with me?" He asked.
"No. First, it would be suspicious. Second, I promised Father that I'd visit after the mission." I told him.
"By the way, Silena needs you." I told him. I contemplated it before I gave in. "She's the spy. She was forced to spy on everyone. They said that you wouldn't be hurt. Don't blame her." I said.
His eyes widened.
"You need to convince her to stop. Or maybe have her feed them false information. If she keeps spying, it'll lead to her death. That, I know." I turned and flew off.
I flew into the shadows of a tree and came out flying right outside the palace. I landed into the throne room. Thanatos was there talking to father.
"Did you save him?" Thanatos asked.
I nodded. "Hey dad? Can I meet my grandma/aunt?" I ask.
"Yeah. She's in the garden with your mom." Hades told me.
"Thank you father. I'll see you again sometime. Try to keep your spying on me to a minimum." I said.
I walked into mom's garden where she was planting.
She looked up as I came in. "Andy!" She stood up and wiped the dirt off her hands.
"Mom! Hey. It worked." I said.
"That's great! I'm glad you stopped by." Persephone turned and called into the garden. "Mom, come meet my daughter."
There was a pause and Demeter came out of the garden.
"So, you are my granddaughter?" She asked.
I gave her a bow. "Yes ma'am. It's nice to meet you. Mom talks a lot about you. She says that you grow the best grain."
She raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. You'll do fine. You don't need to call me ma'am. Grandma is good."
"Yes grandma." I said.
"You could do with more grain. Do you eat cereal?" She asked.
"As often as I can grandma. However, all the cereals nowadays have so much sugar in them." I explained.
"Exactly. Mortals these days ruin perfectly good grain." Grandma said.
I agreed. We talked about grain and harvesting for a little bit before mom finally got her to stop.
"Mom. Andy needs to get going. Her aunt is waiting for her. She can't be late for dinner." Mom said.
"Yes. I'm terribly sorry to cut this conversation short. I loved talking with you grandma. I'm sure I can come back and talk about grain some more another time." I said. I silently feared grain now.
"Very well. You are a respectable young lady. Why can't my children have the same appreciation for grain?" Grandma shook her head and walked off.
"Thanks for getting me out of that, mom." I said gratefully.
"Of course. You do need to get going. Sally is going to serve dinner soon." She hugged me.
"Bye. I'll see you soon." I fell back into the shadows and made sure my wings were pulled in.
"Aunt Sally, Bianca, Nico, I'm home." I called out.
Aunt Sally peaked around the corner.
"Perfect. Just in time for dinner." She beckoned me in. I washed my hands and sat down at the table.
"Where did you go today?" Nico asked as we ate dinner.
"Thanatos had a mission for me. You know Beckendorf?" I asked
"From camp?" Bianca asked. She was friends with Silena.
"Yeah. Well he was about to die. Thanatos sent me because it wasn't his time to die yet. He was with Theseus blowing up a boat. Theseus was able to dive into the water before it blew up. I just managed to shadow travel Beckendorf out of there." I told them. I stretched it a bit to keep my secret.
"Wow. You're a real life hero! You saved someone's life!" Nico cheered.
"I'm not a hero. But yes, he's still alive. But here's the thing. No one can know that I was the one who saved him. It's a secret." I said.
"Why?" Nico asked.
"Because no one can know that I do missions for Thanatos. They'll think that it's interference and they might stop him from saving more people." I lied.
"Okay." Nico went back to eating.
The rest of dinner was quiet. At night, I got an iris-message.
I made sure no one else was listening when I answered. It was Beckendorf.
"Hey Beckendorf. What's up?" I asked.
"I talked to Silena. She was using this." He held up a bracelet. I used the shadows around him and brought the bracelet to me through shadow travel.
"Okay. It seems to be charmed." I felt the aura around it. Then, I destroyed it. I melted it down into liquid silver and then reformed it.
I turned it into a bracelet but instead of a scythe charm, it was a hammer on fire and a dove joined together.
I sent it back into the shadows and it landed back in his hands.
"There. Give it to her. Hopefully, you will remember this and move on from it." I said.
He nodded.
"You two better live through this war. You guys are too cute together." I said.
He blushed lightly. "Thank you."
I waved a hand through the message and ended it.
Again, sorry about how long it has been. I'll try to put up another chapter soon. I hope you enjoyed it, and please, leave a review.