Percy trudged his way through New Thermopylae making his way for his shift on sentry duty. As he walked, the moon light dance off his reflecting armor and the wind gusted making him clutch the blanket wrapped around his shoulders even tighter to his skin. He passed hundreds of tents and sleeping bags strewn across the rocky ground. Most of the Argonauts were curled up in their sleeping bags, snoring, with their shields covering their bodies just in case the enemy launched a surprise arrow volley on them. Some were still awake; wether it be from jitters or the ever flowing adrenaline. To pass the time they were read boos with dim lamps because no fires were allowed in order to remain hidden from the enemy. Others played cards, talked quietly, bragged about the part they played in the battle, spent their attention on adjusting their armor, or sharpening their weapons.
Most of their faces were covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. Bags hung under their eyes from exhaustion. Some smiled either because they were still alive, they killed a ton of monsters that day, or somebody simply told them a funny joke. Some faces were of sorrow because they lost a loved one that day or they had left one behind at home. Percy noticed a few were looking at photographs of brothers, sisters, parents, boyfriends, or girlfriends. Maybe they were sad because they felt that they were going to die and they concluded they were already dead. Percy learned from a war movie that a lot of soldiers in combat conclude they are dead before it ever happens, it helps them carry out their mission without the fair of pain, suffering, and death.
If the Argonauts were happy, sad, anxious, or flat out tired; Percy was all of those. He was glad he survived the day, he was glad that his girlfriend was alive and so were the rest of his friend. He was sad that a few Argonauts had perished that day but he was also content with that almost all of them survived. He was anxious for what the next day and what it would hold for them. There was still six-thousand monsters left and they hadn't even faced the worst of them. Above all though, Percy was sleepy. All his muscles were sore from walking around in his armor, hefting his shield, and swinging his sword. All his energy was gone from calling upon the ocean to create that huge tsunami and mini-hurricane he did earlier. He was completely drained and he had only gotten a few hours of sleep after the battle. After the brief nap that he had; he spent the rest of the day with Annabeth and friends. Then it was back to sleep. He only got a couple hours till he was suddenly awaken by a fellow Argonaut letting him know it was his turn for sentry duty.
Percy sighed as he walked and tried to reassure himself. All he had to do was spend a couple hours of looking out into the dark and he would be done. His attempt at reassuring himself worked and actually gave him a burst of energy that he desperately needed. He continued to walk on through the ravine. He passed more Argonauts who looked up at him. A few gave him silent nods of determination, some smiled encouragingly, others gave him lazy shrugs, and there was a couple high-fives here and there. He passed by Grover who smiled and waved, Piper and Jason who were giggling with each other, and Hazel and Frank who were doing the same. Thalia was sparring with Clarisse, Hylla, and Reyna; which made Percy wondered how they could still keep going after a days worth of killing monsters. He spotted Octavian who nodded to him and went back to slicing open a beanie baby. Octavian's attitude had really improved ever since he killed his first monster. Percy walked by more familiar faces like the Stoll brothers who were plotting with the McDonald twins on how to prank the children of Demeter. He saw Butch grooming the Pegasi with a Bellerophon.
Yo boss, how they hanging? Blackjack neighed to him.
Percy smiled and shook his head as he walked by the flying horse. He walked on a while more and was met by Annabeth.
"I thought you were sleeping?" she asked him.
"Sentry duty," Percy yawned, "with Leo I think."
"No, he went back to the Argo II with the rest of his siblings to work on repairs. You're with Hercules now."
Percy groaned inwardly. As cool as Hercules seemed; the way he walked, the way he talked, and the great things he did and is doing, Percy still felt that he was, to put it plainly, a jerk. Hercules may have made that public apology the night before they invaded the Atlas Mountains but it seemed phony and fake. Now that Percy thought further upon it, everything about Hercules seemed like a facade, especially his smile. It was just a mask he wore to cover who he really was. Percy couldn't blame the Hunters for not joining them and he couldn't blame Hera for disliking him. Even more evidence of how Hercules was a jerk, Percy was agreeing with Hera.
"Hey," Annabeth said snapping her fingers under his nose.
"Huh, what, where?" Percy mumbled.
"Where did you go too?" Annabeth asked studying his face carefully.
"Just thinking..."
"You're thinking? That's usually dangerous," she joked.
"Ha, ha, very funny."
Annabeth switched tones quickly as she studied his bloodless face. "Seriously though, you need some sleep. Maybe you shouldn't-"
"Annabeth, I can do this. It's only a couple of hours. Don't worry about it," he mumbled.
Annabeth studied him one more time and sighed, "Fine," she concluded. "Achilles wanted me to get you so we can discuss our strategy for tomorrow...but I'll fill you in later."
"Thanks"
She grabbed his arm and pulled him into slow kiss. "Good night sleepy head," and with that she walked off.
"Yeah, you too," Percy said a little dazed and it wasn't just from lack of sleep. She walked away and he watched her until she was completely out of sight.
Percy continued to trek on making his way through the labyrinth of tents and sleeping bags that were full of tired teenage warriors and satyrs. He was almost to the end of the ravine when Theseus stopped him.
"Percy, can I request your audience!" Theseus called to him.
"What now?" Percy said a little irritated.
Theseus put on a face of mock hurt. "Seems we have Mr. Grouchy Face over here."
"Sorry," Percy apologized. "I'm just a little tired and I have sentry duty, so if you don't mind…"
"Don't worry, I'll be brief." Theseus began
"Fine, go ahead, be brief!"
Theseus took a deep breathe. "I've had this feeling of impending doom for quite some time now. I fear the dread I am feeling will occur tomorrow. I think I may not survive the coming day."
"Hey man, don't talk like that," Percy said sincerely while placing an arm on his half-brothers shoulder
"Let me finish," Theseus almost snapped.
Percy retracted his hand in defense, "Sorry."
Theseus nodded and continued. "Before I was brought back from the Underworld, one could have described me as cynic or a pessimist, but I feel different now. The things I have heard, seen, and learned have changed my point of view on the world, life, and the gods. The new people I have met and the friends I have made have opened my eyes; especially my brother," Theseus nudged Percy.
Percy didn't realize who Theseus was talking about till a few seconds later and he smiled. "Thanks, I'm glad I can help."
Theseus returned the smile and continued. "Another person that stands out to me is Rachel Elizabeth Dare."
Percy raised his eyebrows and hid a grin, but he didn't say anything. He had a feeling where this was going.
"She is some much like Ariadne. No, even better. She is kind, intelligent, and beautiful. I have decided that if I somehow survive through this battle and make it back to America alive, that...I'm going to pursue Ms. Dare," Theseus stated.
Percy's jaw dropped. He knew this was coming and it still hit him a like a brick wall. "You do know she's an oracle, right? They can't date."
"Of course," Theseus told him. "Not for long though."
"Aren't they like oracles...for life?"
"Only if they break their vows," Theseus smirked.
"And what are those?" Percy asked incredulously.
"To remain a maiden and not fall in love with anyone."
"And how do you know that she will do that...with you?"
Theseus looked at him smugly. "Being the Oracle of Delphi is a heavy burden. One can grow easily tired of the life of reciting disturbing prophecies. Besides, I'm me," he concluded by jabbing his thumb at his chest cockily.
"What if she wants to be the oracle for, like, ever?"
"I'm a patient man," Theseus smiled.
"Right," Percy said almost sarcastically. He was trying his best to be optimistic. "Why are you telling me this again?"
"Because I heard you and her, well, you two have a history," Theseus said uncomfortably. "I need you to tell me everything about her."
"Dude, I have sentry duty! Can't this wait till tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow I might-" Theseus was shouting and realized it. He lowered his voice. "I might die," he whispered.
"Fine, I'll do this as fast as I can," Percy sighed.
Percy explained to him as much as he could think of Rachel. He told him about how Rachel was artistic, open-minded, intelligent, and kind. The things she like doing and learning about. Her favorite books, music, movies, shows, her past, present, and infinity.
"I already know all of this!" Theseus said unsatisfied.
Percy sighed again. Man, he thought, sighing was becoming a habit of his.
"Then what the Hades are wasting your time talking to me for? You obviously spent a lot of time with her at Camp. You know everything you need to know about her. Just be confident and you'll do fine. This was a good brother to brother talk but If you don't mid, I have sentry duty." With that he ran off leaving Theseus behind him.
Before Percy could run off, Theseus snatched his arm. The two locked eyes and Percy returned to his friend, his brother.
"Promise me this," Theseus solemnly, "if I do die, my sword and cudgel are hers."
Percy shook his head. "You're not going to-"
Theseus cut him off, "Promise me!"
Percy sighed one final time. "Fine, I promise."
Theseus nodded, "Good," and then let go over Percy's arm.
And with that the two parted ways heading in opposite directions of the ravine.
Percy found Hercules at the entrance of the ravine crouched and looking off into the distance. He had his Nemean Lion helmet off his head. Percy only saw him once without his helmet and that was when he got the crapped kicked out of him by Frank. Hercules had a shaved skull with neat auburn hair. It seemed to small on his very large and muscular body. His face, handsome of course, just like the rest of the Heroes of Old, but he didn't look at that moment. The expression that he wore was glum and tired, very unusual compared to the customary fake smile.
"Percy," he greeted softly as Percy crouched next to him.
"Seen anything?" Percy asked.
Hercules shook his head. "No, Hector is smart, Pallas, not so much, but Hector, yes. He won't attack till we do."
Percy nodded and said nothing else. Neither did Hercules. The two crouched under the moonlight, looking off into the dark, searching for enemy movement, all the while being awkwardly silent. Percy felt very uncomfortable being around history's greatest hero and he gulped nervously as he twiddled his thumbs.
"I've heard much about you Percy Jackson," Hercules said breaking the silence. "I overhear our fellow Argonauts. They talk about you. They call you the next me, the next Hercules. I agree with them."
"Huh?" Percy asked dumbfounded.
"Of course," Hercules boomed. "You have done almost every quest that I have done and completed almost all of my twelve labors. You, Perseus Jackson, are the next great hero. I would go as far to say that you are the greatest of the seven."
"Thank you," was all Percy could manage. He was lost for words. Here he was thinking that Hercules was the biggest jerk on the planet but the guy was complimenting him. Then Percy changed his mind quickly. This wasn't real. Hercules was only being fake again.
"You are better than me Percy!" Hercules continued, excited now. "You are kind, thoughtful, selfless, compassionate, determined, a true leader; unlike me. I am brutal and selfish. You helped Zoe Nightshade while I left her with her father to suffer. Do you disrespect those below you, no. Do you deny others the right of respect? I think not. Did you kill your own family? Of course not. You care for every half-blood, satyr, and even mortals! They are all your family and you protect them." Hercules went on. "When I found the most destructive ways to solve my problems, you approached them in the most methodical and safest method."
"Well, I did have a lot of help," Percy admitted. "There was Annabeth, Grover, Tyson-"
Hercules cut him off. "He's modest too!"
Percy felt his cheeks get hot and was pretty sure his face was coloring.
"When I first saw you, I felt that you should be bowing to me on your knees, all of you modern heroes, but you have shown me otherwise." Then Hercules did the unexpected. He bowed his head to Percy while crossing his right arm over his chest and putting his fist over his heart.
Percy could only look at him amazed. Percy now realized that Hercules was being sincere, he wasn't being fake or lying; or playing for appearances.
"I caused a lot of pain when I was alive back in the day. Even when I tried to absolve for my sins, by doing the Twelve Labors after, I killed my family, I still went about them only thinking only about myself. It was always me first. I only did the labors to make myself feel better not others. You, Perseus Jackson, only do what you do because others are on your mind. You have shown me what I need to do too truly repent; which is to die for the Argonauts, die for nymphs, die for satyrs, die for the mortals, die for this world, and die for you."
"I would do the same for you," Percy was surprised when he heard it come out of his lips. He was even more surprised that he meant it.
Hercules looked up at Percy and grinned. "Now enough of this serious businesses, tell me, what do you find to be the fastest method to annoy Chiron?"
Percy cracked a smile, "Well..."
Percy and Hercules spent their shift playfully one-upping each other. Percy regretted dreading his sentry duty earlier because it turned out he actually enjoyed it.
Tyler looked at himself in the reflection of the shield that he was crouching in front, using it as a mirror. He inspected his new haircut that he did himself with his very own trench knife. He tired to rationalize with himself that the hair cut wasn't that bad, he hoped. His dark hair may have been cut unevenly but it no longer shaggily hung over his face like a sheep dog. For the first time he could remember, in the past two years, he could make out his facial features. He had dark eyes, crinkles above his eyebrows from scowling a lot, and a few scars here and the he didn't remember getting. His features were almost wolfish and the more he looked the more he believed he was one. He regretted cutting his hair as soon as he was done. He felt that he looked exposed, weak, and stupid but there was a felling somewhere in his gut that told him that Julia would've like it, that's reason he did it in the first place.
He ran his hand through his hair brushing off all the excess. Locks of his fell to the ground like leaves.
He looked his hair over another time. "Fine, you win," he said as if Julia was actually there, standing behind him, smirking.
"Food!" Grover moaned sleepily beside him as the satyr slumbered in his sleep bag…
"Go back to sleep goat boy," Tyler ordered him.
"All right," Grover mumbled while slamming his head back into his pillow with sounds of snoring following.
Sleep, Tyler thought, that actually sounded good. Now that he had thought about it, he was exhausted. He spent the day killing monsters and exacting revenge. He looked his new haircut over one final time in the shield's reflection, ran his hand through his hair, and sighed in defeat. He brushed off the hair that covered his sleeping bag, sheathed his knife, blew out the candle to his lamp, and laid back looking up at the night sky. He could see the stars clearly spewed across the sky. It was as if a god sneezed and the stars was their snot floating in space. Tyler made out Orion, the Little Dipper, Draco, Sagittarius, Hercules, and so on. He grinned inwardly. All the constellations he saw were in fact real people and creatures that had all lived at one point, and he's even met a few. If only Julia could be with him now, she loved constellations, and Greek Mythology. She would have loved to see this and would have loved to meet Hercules, Jason, Theseus, Perseus and the others. She would be so jealous and it made Tyler guilty. He was experiencing all this without her. NO! His brain screamed to him. She wants you to be strong, not weak. Stop moping. You need rest. Go to sleep so you can get more energy to kill monsters.
Tyler rarely listened to his brain because he usually listened to Julia but she wasn't there at that moment and he decided it wast time to listen to that thing located between his ears. He closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly.
Tyler's eyes lids flicked open. He was standing in a dark hall way. There was a dim and constantly flashing light that lit they hallway. How did he get her? Tyler studied the walls of the hallway to better understand his surroundings . Their were mosaics of Spartan Warriors, Roman Centurions, paintings of Confederate soldiers, but the most prominent frames contained photographs from all time periods. They were photographs mostly of soldiers smiling with cigarettes in their mouths. There was one of a young man dressed in a military uniform standing in front of an American flag. Tyler walked further down the hall passing closed doors that he ignored. He was only interested in the photographs.
As he walked down the hall, the picture quality improved, and changed from black and white to colored photos. There were pictures of more soldiers but during different time periods and wars. They were in a green jungle, with different weapons, and different uniforms. This was the Vietnam War. One picture was of a young man dressed in all green, jungle army camouflage, an M-16 slung over his shoulder, and a lit cigarette between his grinning lips. Tyler walked on and reached the final picture. It was of a man in a huge desert and column of smoke erupted behind him. He was dressed in desert camouflage, he was manning the machine gun on top of a military jeep with "KILL HAJIS" spray-painted on to it. The man had a bandanna around his neck, a kevlar helmet on his noggin, and he wore a pair of sun glasses. He had wolf like features, his face seemed to be glued in a permanent scowl, but yet he was still grinning. Realization dawned on Tyler. He knew this man.
"Dad?" he breathed.
The sudden sound of a sitcom laugh-track caused Tyler to jump. Someone turned on the t.v. in the next room. He diverted his attention away from the hallway, which reminded him of an evolution exhibit at a museum, except instead of starting with a caveman and ending with a human, it began with a Spartan and ended with a Marine. Tyler inspected where he was. The makings of the building allowed him to infer that he was in an apartment. The apartment he was in was very small, one that low-income families live in. Tyler walked out of the hallway and into the living room. There was a single armchair and a small portable black and white t.v. was placed in front of the chair and it was propped on a stool. Behind the living room was a very tiny kitchen with a gas stove, a toaster, a sink, a collapsible table with aluminum folding chairs, and a cooler for a fridge. Tyler knew this place, he had been here before, but that was a long ago time ago. This had been his and his dad's apartment when he was seven years old. He knew that's where he was for sure. How he remembered, he didn't know.
As Tyler's eyes adjusted to the dark, more came into view. The apartment was cluttered with beer bottles and beer cans. There was so many of them he could not make out the carpet underneath. There was mountains of empty beer bottles. The trashed state of the apartment wasn't the shocker though; the real shocker was the dead man sitting in the in the armchair. His throat was sliced open and blood seeped freely out of the humungous gash in his neck. Tyler recognized that man. It was the same one in the photograph. He may be a couple of years older and he gained some weight, okay a lot of weight, but Tyler new that man. That man was his father.
"Sad isn't it?" a female voiced asked referring to the dead boy.
Tyler nodded and looked to the speaker. She was a middle-aged women and she was sitting in one of the folding chairs at the 'dinner table.' Her black hair was tied in a gray bandanna, she had a nose ring, and she wore a grey United States Marine Corps tank top. The tank top revealed her bare arms which were covered in tattoos. One arm was covered in Ancient Greek writing and the other was in Latin. Tyler somehow was able to read both arms clearly. They said words like 'kill,' 'death,' 'SPQR,' 'battle,' 'Spartans 'till the End,' 'I *grenade* the USMC,' and other stuff like that. There were a few icons of deadly monsters, dragon faces, wolves, and fighting warriors. The women looked like she was in her mid forties. She seemed as if she was one of those cool moms that would take her kids to toilet-paper and egg someones house on Halloween, or a mom that let you skip school when you weren't sick, she would drive fast on the freeway, fight another kid's mom for you, or tell off a mean teacher. She was a parent that would talk to you as an equal, not a child. Surprisingly, Tyler knew this women too. Despite his memory loss, he knew this women was his mother, Eris the Goddess of Chaos and the Lady of Strife.
"Sit," she said gesturing to empty plastic chair across from her.
Tyler did as he was told. He made his way across the field of beer bottles and cans, passed his dead father, and sat down at the table across from his mother.
"It's been awhile since I've seen your hair that short. I like it."
Tyler said nothing.
"Do you remember me?" she asked.
Tyler nodded.
"I'm guessing you remember what happened this night then," she said gesturing to the messy apartment, the scene around them.
Tyler slowly nodded as his mind flashed back.
"This was the night you killed your father. He ordered you to grab him another beer from that cooler," she pointed to the cooler behind her, "but instead you decided to walk into the kitchen, you searched the drawers, you pulled out the biggest knife you could find, which happened to be your great grandfather's old trench knife, you snuck up behind your father sitting in the arm chair, and you brought the blade across his carotid artery, and you let the blood spill; your first kill."
Tyler nodded. His hands were shaking as his mind flashed back to the memory. He remembered the feel of the knife in his grip and his dad's warm blood rinsing down his bare hands. It made him shiver.
"From that night and on you were never the same." Eris concluded. "That is why you can kill so easily, that is why you kill without hesitation, that is why you are indifferent to murder, and apathetic to death. This night, that we are re-experiencing in your dreams, is what made you who you are today," she explained. "For that, I am sorry. I am sorry that I left you alone with this man. I thought he would care for you but he loved me too much. He loved me more than he would ever love his own child. My departure destroyed him. He was angry with me and he took his anger out on you."
Tyler could only nod as his memories flooded back to him. He remembered how his dad beat him, screamed at him, threatened him, neglected him.
"He wasn't like that when I met him. I mean he was violent and all, but never to children, especially not his own. He had just come back from the Gulf War; Operation Desert Storm. He was alone and I was there for him. He was charming, smart, funny, loved conflict, and he had a wild side. We had a lot of good times together but they couldn't last forever. I had a job to do being a goddess. He couldn't understand that and it infuriated him. Then you were born which made things even worse for him. I tried intervening earlier but Hera ordered me not to. It was part of my, ah, punishment. You belonged to her not me." Eris pounded her fist on the table. "She told me about your future. She said that your time spent in this dreadful place would make you stronger and of course it did, but it also made you heartless. It made you hateful and wrathful, like your father. You stayed with that man for seven years of your life with no hope and no help. Eventually you took matters into your own hands and, well, the rest is history."
Tyler took a deep breathe taking in the information. This dream and his mothers presence triggered something in his mind. More memories flooded his brain. He could tell these weren't ones planted by Hera. These were genuine memories that he collected on his own. He saw himself training, fighting, killing. Three letters always popped into his head, I-L-H, and they attacked his brain like pins and needles. What did this mean?
"I need to tell you some things Tyler. That is why I have come to you. These things that I am about to tell you are things I didn't even tell you when you lived on Olympus," Eris said sternly. "Hera made me swear to never tell you anything about your future. This was also part of my punishment but I can no longer sit and watch on the side lines. She forbid me telling and the same you but screw punishments!"
Tyler could only nod as more memories flashed in his brain.
"I will explain to you who you exactly are. You Tyler, are special, very special. You are my first and only demigod child, period. On top of that, you were born from both my Roman and Greek form. Your mother, me, is Eris and Discordia at the same time. My supposed, 'different,' personalities are one and the same. Neither is crazier, more destructive, or more ferocious than the other. The only thing that changed for me when the Romans took over, was my name. You are the only demigod in history to be born under a god's Greek and Roman form. Perhaps my Roman side is a little more serious and my Greek one a little mischievous but nonetheless, they are the same person."
"You were able to be born this way because I love war. I love it for it's chaos, the blood, the shouting of men, the groaning of the dying, and the moaning of the dead. The gods called me insane and the mortals feared me. They still do, but do you think I give a shit? I have been described as a lunatic and for this the Gods shun me like a leper, even Hades fears me."
"Tyler, you are a true child of war unlike children of Mars/Ares. Ares is only present while war takes place. I am present before, during, and after. When the rest of the gods leave the battle field; I am the sole remainder who rejoices in the havoc that I wreak. Not even Ares stays behind to analyze the results. I am the one who should be the true war god! But alas, I'm too much to handle for my fellow gods. They have tried to get rid of me but I will never fade, I will never die because there will always be war. Even if Gaea wins this war, takes over, and destroys my fellow Olympians, I will still be here waiting for the next conflict."
"I didn't think it was possible for anyone to love war as much as I but then I met your father. Your father didn't know of me but I knew of him and his entire blood line. War flowed through it. He fought in battle like his father before him, and his father before him, and so on. Every single one of the males in his family tree have fought in war at one point or another. This dates all the way back to the inception of mortals. Your ancestors were at Troy, they fought at Thermopylae, they formed ranks in the Roman Empire, they faced Hannibal's armies, and they were even present during the fall of Rome. They suffered frost bite at Valley Forge, they bled on the fields of Gettysburg, they crawled through the muddy trenches of France, stormed the Beaches of Normandy, hacked through the jungle of the Ho Chi Min Trail, and much more. Your father fought in Desert Storm back in the 1990s. He came back home to America to find me waiting there. The way he talked and the way he acted brought out every emotion and personal trait that I had inside me. He brought forth Eris and Discordia at the same time. The he dragged you out of me and brought you into this world."
"Tyler Horace you are a hunter, a killer, a wolf. Lupa was furious she couldn't have you as one of her pups but you had other purposes. Strife runs in your veins." Eris smirked.
"I see myself and your father in you. The others fear you for it but they are in their right to do so. They take one look at your face and they can sense my spirit residing in you. That is why Achilles mistrusts you, even hates you, it could also have something to do with me starting the Trojan war, but it really isn't important. What is important is that you will naturally be feared by all demigods, gods, monsters, titans, and mortals. You are the true bane of the Earth, Tyler Horace, Child of Strife, and they will hate you for it. There was one who didn't feel this way about you and you know her very well, one that you have known for a very long time."
Tyler looked up to his mom suddenly and made eye contact with her.
Eris nodded, "Tyler, you and Julia; you two knew each other way before your memories were stolen by Hera."
Tyler's face looked surprised. He had a feeling that this was true but hearing it being confirmed made him shudder.
"You two actually hated each other. You were always arguing and fighting. You were like two rival siblings but unlike normal mortal siblings, you two tried killing each other with deadly weapons." She smiled. "Julia was calm, cool, and collected like her mother, Athena. You were chaotic and uncontrolled like me. Hera needed you two for a mission and she needed the both of you to be able to work together. That is the reason, the explanation for the last two years of your life, Hera simply needed you. I had no say in your life whatsoever, it was part of my punishment. She erased both of your memories and forced you two together so that you could learn and grow from each other instead of having you at each other's throats at every second of the waking day. She made a gamble with the two of you which paid off ten fold in the end. You two became more than just colleagues or friends, you became brother and sister. You two would do anything for each other. That is why you are doing everything in your power to save her and that is why she is doing the same for you. She is alive Tyler, Julia is alive."
Tyler's eyes brightened. He spoke for the first time, "Where?" was all he could manage.
"That information is what you do not need. You will find that out on your own but I came to you in your dreams for a reason, one purpose. I came to warn you. When you wake from this dream and face the days ahead of you, you will find your self no longer the same. You will change in the next few days. How you will change I am unaware of but I do know it comes with great sacrifice. Many of the Argonauts will die tomorrow and the ones you call, 'the Heroes of Old,' will be haunted by their pasts once again but this time it will be a little more personal."
"Now, we finally come to the line in the prophecy about you saving a life. You will save a life exactly how the prophecy tells it but the line works both ways. When it comes to deciphering prophecies you must be able to read between the lines. You will save one but lose another in the process. That is how it works."
Tyler fell back into his habit of nodding and nodded. His head hurt too much for him to do anything else and he still didn't know what to make of all this new information.
I-L-H
I-L-H
"That is all," Eris finished standing to her feet.
"Wait, what?" Tyler asked confused. "That's it?"
"Yep, that's about it," she said plainly. "Why, do you have any questions?"
Tyler had a few. "What is this punishment you keep speaking of? Why are you being punished?"
Eris grinned. She picked up the remote to the t.v. and began flipping through the channels. The images on the screen were strange. The picture changed from black and white to color. The first image was of a golden apple, another was many beautiful women, then they were shouting at each other. Tyler saw the faces of many angry gods he recognized, but he didn't know how he did recognize them, or if he met any of them, his memory was still returning to him. The images flashed on the screen; there were soldiers, a great fortress, giant gates, battles, men screaming and dying. The image that stuck out to him was the on of Achilles. He looked a lot younger here, had less scars on his body, and he seemed to glow gold. He was killing men by the thousands and every time they got close to killing him, their weapons would break on contact or bounce off him harmlessly. The images flashed and Achilles was dragging a dead body across the desert while riding a chariot. Then it changed to Achilles now on his knees, looking to The heavens, and he was screaming because an arrow was lodged in his heel. More images flashed; there was giant wooden horse, a city in flames, women wailing, children crying, people dying, and then the t.v. went black.
"I started the Trojan War," Eris explained. "I was angered with the Gods and their constant arrogance and their petty bickering. I comedically brought out their true nature by presenting the Golden Apple of Discord to them. 'Who is the fairest of them all?'" Eris smirked at here own words like she was being clever. Tyler didn't get the apparent joke.
Tyler thought back when he first met Julia or two years ago when he thought they were meeting for the first time. He had stolen an apple from a vendor and was being chased by the police. She said something to him a long the lines of, 'all that over one apple?'
"A river of blood in the name of a freakin' apple," Eris grunted. "Anyway, the gods hated me, even more than they all ready did, and so they had Hera come up with my punishment. She saw fit that every half-blood child I gave birth to would be hers. I swore to never have mortal children and I held that oath for three-thousand years but I couldn't hold out forever, you were born Tyler. I'm sorry."
Tyler shook his head. "For what? You're sorry that Hera's a bitch? That's not your fault, it's hers."
Eris chuckled at the comment. "Any more questions?"
"My knife?"
"Ah, yes," Eris said tapping her finger to her chin. "That was the very one you used to slay your father. When you came to Olympus we had it refined with Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, Adamantine, Stygian Iron, Steel, and Silver. Each member in the, 'group,' you were in get's their own special weapon with ability to kill gods, monsters, titans, anything. It shows you that the gods are willing to trust you in return for your service."
"Huh?" Tyler asked confused. His eyes bugged, "Wait a sec, ILH!"
"I sense you're getting your memories back. That is all I can tell you. The rest will come in time."
It was obvious she was withholding information but Tyler didn't press her.
Eris caressed Tyler on the cheek and her dark eyes locked with his. "I must be off to prepare for the coming war ahead. So long my child."
"Goodbye," Tyler paused, "mother."
"One more thing before I go; most gods never tell their demigod children this because they would be lying, but I mean what I say Tyler. What I'm saying is...that...that I love you my son."
Before Tyler could respond she disappeared. Tyler's old apartment faded away and the scene shifted to blackness.
Tyler sat bolt upright out of his sleeping bag with his trench knife in his hand. He looked around to see the sun had risen and all the Argonauts were up and about. They were gathering their supplies, checking their weapons and armor, and they were forming ranks. Tyler sighed as he pressed his hands to his head. Did his mother really visit him in his sleep or was that just his brain's clever way of giving him back all his old memories? Tyler felt his cheek were his mother had touched him. In his head, 'I love you,' echoed over and again. His mother did visit him. Tyler pressed his hands to his face and groaned. What had he learned? He learned that his mother was psycho, people will always hate him, Julia's alive, he's part of some group, Hera's a bitch, and his mom loves him. I-L-H, Golden Apple, Wolves; those things pounded in his head.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Coach Hedge yelled into his ear with a megaphone.
Tyler groaned again.
"Good you are up," Thalia said from above him.
Tyler looked up removing his hands from his face.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed upon seeing his freshly cut hair.
"What?"
"Nice hair cut," she said with a smirk, "but anyway we're on the move, Death's Doors here we come!"
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