Dear readers, I have recently realized I have been write chapters and have not posted them and for that I am terribly sorry. Now, just read the darned story. I think its alright, espero vosotros disfutais (Pretending there's an accent over the a and moving on...). If you're not sure what that means, I hope y'all enjoy. Read. Now.
P.S. I totally own PJO (Note the amount of sarcasm in my voice... print... whatever the Hades you people call it!)
Chapter 18
I told Percy the whole story, leaving out strange conversations and embarrassing details, and the part about my fever. Thalia, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Jason, Leo, and Piper walked in. Thalia asked, "Did you decide on your nickname yet?" Nico grinned.
He replied for me, "Lisa decided on Ariel." My cheeks went red.
"I was 8, had an obsession with that movie, and... I was 8!" I defended.
He responded as I sat next to him, "Correction, you still have that obsession."
"Do you want me to tell your nickname?" I could see the false fear in his eyes. Thalia and Piper watched with amused eyes. Who would've thought the huntress and a daughter of Aphrodite would be so alike? A large booming sound was heard across camp. Everyone rushed towards it, even Sal. It came again and again. It came from Thalia's pine tree. The small army of monsters from the hotel, was pretty much knocking on our doors.
A monster in fruit of the looms was at the head. He bellowed, "We want the descendant of Heracles."
Lisa stepped out and said, "Sorry, she's on a quest. If your looking for her, you should go and get them. As far as I know, they're in Florida."
"Do you think me dumb, girl? If you do not surrender yourself, your friends will die. We will take the son of Neptune and torture him in front of you. The daughter of Neptune shall die by her worst fear, and the Eros spawn will find herself burdened by your curse. The child of death will walk among the dead soon and you will truly be alone. Betrayal will be your curse for the rest of your days. You will not be the victim, but the betrayer. It will torture you, and hurt you for the rest of your existence. You will have brought your friends pain and suffering, just as many have caused you to feel pain. Your blood runs thick, girl. You may live thousands of years, but no one can escape guilt of that magnitude. We will never die. You cannot kill us for vengeance." Sal stepped forwards.
He yelled, "Go forth, try! We protect our friends, with everything we have!" I felt the air thicken considerably in front of us. The sky was getting darker every moment that passed.
"Were you never curious what happened to your house? What happened to your family? Your brother, sister, mother? We killed them. We ripped their bones apart. And you were not there to protect them. No one was there to protect them. We were killing you and that Hermes girl. You should be dead. The Hermes girl died that day, and you'll never see her again. You'll never see your family again." Lisa smiled, randomly.
She yelled, "You know that girl he was with? She killed, oh, at least a couple hundred of you that day. Why now, have you only sent 50?"
"That girl isn't here now." The Minotaur replied. "She was killed. I saw her myself, be burned to a crisp."
She cringed, "Yeah, I never suggest that. It's actually really painful. Especially when you saw your best friend convulsing on the ground with blood pouring out his mouth. Greek fire hurts like Hades. The regeneration process is the most painful part though. Because you're conscious, and you're a pile of ashes, then transformed into an actual human being. I made a vow that day never to be burned alive again." The bull's nostril's flare and she smiled even wider. "And, I think you need to get your memory checked. I seem to remember you dying first in that battle."
"Who are you, girl? You are the descendant of Heracles we were sent for, but you cannot be the girl we were sent after years before."
She smiled, "I'm known as Elizabeth Davis. But, you might recognize the name Reaper of Souls, or even, Cornelia Cinna minor." The monster backed up at her names.
"No matter. I will be learned as the one who killed the Reaper!"
"Haven't you monsters learned anything by now? I can't be killed!"
He laughed, "Then we will torture your body for all eternity!" He swung his ax at a tall pine tree. It sliced through it. A shower of arrows came down on the demigods. Hardly any had shields, because most grabbed whatever weapons they had and ran. I concentrated on stopping the arrows. I opened my eyes to find every arrow stopped in the middle of the sky, frozen. It seemed like something out of a movie. i noticed my hand was up in the air, as if I were attempting to block a blow.
The only problem, I felt like a million needles were poking my skin. My vision was blurred. Lisa looked at Sal in question, He shook his head. The monsters seemed just as confused as Lisa and Sal. I concentrated on the ocean, only half a mile away from this border. I could feel my strength building. I got closer to Lisa and Sal.
I hissed, "Get back." They listened to me and I stepped forwards. There were a few protests from the older campers.
I heard Percy say, "Andy, don't charge them. Please." I smiled at him.
The army of monsters laughed, "Little child, do you think you can take us on, even with the assistance of your friends here."
I shrugged. "No, I think I can take you on without the entire camp. You really are quite unaware of what's going to happen, are you?" I paused. You can't get past the camp border, but these arrows can. Question is, why haven't they?" I turned the arrows, shooting them, one by one, at a monster. Several arrows impaled themselves in the Minotaur, but he didn't disintegrate. Only a few monster disintegrated, out of everyone. "I think we have better defenses than you do." I said calmly. The Minotaur seemed very angry. His nostrils flared like crazy and he got down, ready to charge. I wasn't sure if the border could hold up a direct charge after the damage. I hope someone grabs the golden fleece from our side, during this inevitable fight. I noticed Pelos wasn't around. I hope no monster takes the fleece. That would be an epic failure. I looked back, and saw Annabeth thinking the same thing. She told me with a glance, she'd go for the fleece. Percy stepped out. The monsters all hissed.
He tried to get in front of me. I stood next to him, braced for the attack. Percy got out riptide, and the monster charged the barrier. A shock was felt through everything as it broke through. The other monsters followed into the camp behind him. We dove to opposite sides as the monster charged us.
"Help the others!" Percy yelled, "I got this!" As he was attacked from behind by a dracaenae. He quickly slashed it, but was distracted from the Minotaur. It had almost caught him, but I sent a blast of water vapor to push him out of the way.
I yelled, "Yo! Mr Fancy Underwear! Over here!" That sounded a lot better in my head than it did for real. Percy laughed as I got out my knives. The Minotaur turned, then charged me. At the last second I rolled out of the way, then threw a knife. It hit him square in the stomach. Unfortunately for me it didn't kill him. I noticed one of his horns had a fracture line on it. I remembered seeing a horn on the wall of the Poseidon cabin.
Percy yelled, "Ugly, I have your other horn!" I understood. He broke off one of the Minotaur horns and probably used it to kill the thing. I registered Annabeth giving Chiron the fleece. The Minotaur ignored him though. His attention was focused on me, because I threw a knife at him. I drew my sword. It charged me again and again. I managed a few swipes, but not many. Percy had been preoccupied in the battle. I was on my own. This kept up until I saw a crowd of demigods looking victorious. There weren't any other monsters around. The Minotaur charged again and I rolled forwards this time. I was underneath him. I stabbed upwards and felt a hundred pounds fall on top of me. i could feel the monster's labored breathing. Big mistake, was the first thing I thought. At least my sword wasn't jammed into me. That would suck. i had some sort of air pocket, but I was stuck under 300 pounds of fur. Not something I recommend. I heard muffled voices, but couldn't tell what they were saying. I felt more weight being pressed onto me and I screamed. My leg felt like it was broken. I used my powers to lift some of the weight off me. I cooled some of the water vapor and encased my leg in it. It felt a lot better. My sword cut started hurting really badly. I tried to make an air bubble over me so I could crawl out. I somehow managed to flip on my stomach. I army crawled out to my right, assuming it was the monster's side. If it was his head I was going to kill myself. I was lucky, it was his side. I realized fresh air, was good.
Nico grabbed my arm and pulled me the rest of the way out. I lost my sword somewhere under there. "Why isn't he dead?" I asked. Very curious.
The monster's eyes flew open. "Andromeda Jackson, I'll admit that was a very risky move. You can't kill a god." He shrunk back into the form of Kratus. "You have won your power play." The rest of the campers disappeared. Only Sal, Lisa, Nico, Shannon, and i remained. "I shall return you to reality. We will meet again soon." He disappeared in a flash of light. Everything went black.
I opened my eyes, and found everything white. I heard someone ask, "Where am I?" It was deep, but I couldn't place it.
I heard Lisa answer, "I don't know. Can you see anything?"
"No, Lisa, is that you?"
"Yeah Nico." Oh, it was Nico...
I said, "My vision is coming into focus." i could sort of see now. The room was like a hospital room. It had five beds. I could see Nico sitting up, same with Lisa. Shannon was stirring, and the other boy looked like a comatose patient. Lisa got up, and went over to the boy. I recognized him as the boy, Sal. I was wearing the clothes i had worn when we met Kratus. Nico, Lisa, and Shannon were all wearing normal clothes. I saw a couple machines that looked like they had been blasted with water. Oops...
Lisa shook the boy. I walked over to them. He slowly opened his eyes. "Lizzie?" he asked. i remembered in the dreamscape, that was what he called her.
"You always called me strange names." She hugged him very tightly. He hugged her back, though, more tentatively.
"How did he know that? How did he know I watched you burn, and scream?" he asked.
"That really got to you didn't it?"
"He said my family died in flames."
"Sal, I'm so sorry. There was nothing I could do. When I regenerated, I went to your house to tell your family, but they were gone. The ground was scorched. It seemed like Greek fire. I'm so sorry. I searched for them so much." I walked away while they caught up. I hugged Nico.
I said, "Ok, I'm not one for cliche sappy stuff, but someone has to say it. We're alive."
"What was he talking about with Lisa? She'd betray us?"
Lisa said from behind me, "I need to see something. Can I see a knife?" I handed her one. She cut her arm as she did in the dreamscape. Golden blood trickled out. She cursed. "I'm not mortal. Nothing at the camp ever happened. It was all just a dream."
"Not entirely," Shannon said, "You are still in the same form you were in after that curse was taken away."
"What?" She said. "Then we're still in the dreamscape. I've been trying to get my actual form for hundreds of years. That only comes when Cupid himself removes his curse. That only happens after I'm not immortal." She opened the door leading somewhere. It showed a reflection. It was the five of us, sitting in a room at a table. Each of us seemed dazed. Lisa walked through. Her reflection of the from she changed to when she met Kratus again perked up and motioned for us to come through. First went Sal, then Nico, then Shannon. I looked back into the room. I thought about how much damage I could do to the world. I thought about how Sal had been possessed. If that were to happen, could I hurt Shannon, Nico, or Lisa? I walked through the door and instantly felt a million times better. I could sense we were in one of those apartments when you first walk into Disney. I felt more secure than in the dreamscape. Nico and Shannon looked much more relaxed as well. Only Sal and Lisa seemed tense.
"Can you feel that?" Lisa asked.
Shannon asked, "Please tell me it's not another monster army."
"No, it's completely quiet. Disney isn't quiet. I may be new to this world, but I know that much." Sal answered.
I checked the window. "You guys are so paranoid. It's night time. That's why it's so quiet."
"We have a problem still." Lisa said. "I hinted we're gonna need a few special people from Olympus to help with a project I've been working on."
"What project?" I asked. I all sat at the table I had recently left.
She responded, "I call it the Conspiracy. It's the best term. Monsters are banding together. There's this one huge group. There are a few special fighters, like star players. They are monsters similar to the Minotaur. The one Kratus impersonated. They've been hunting down special demigods, power couples, all those guys. I'd imagine we're pretty high up on the list."
"So this isn't over?" Shannon asked.
Lisa responded, "Its been building for hundreds of years. Do you really think its gonna be over because a few demigods lived? If anything, they'll just be more determined to kill all demigods. To them, we're just a number, We have the ability to solve this. To make an alliance between monsters work, they need a designated leader, or a common enemy. In order to break that up, the leader needs to die, to create conflict between the monsters of who is the next leader, or the enemy needs to die, making the monsters turn on themselves. There are a few... kids I know that would amazing to have on our side. They live on Olympus. They're awesome at this sort of stuff. So no, this isn't over by a long shot. Kratus may try to keep Sal and I here, but he swore on the Styx to let all your friends go. Is Sal your friend?" She asked.
"He helped get rid of Kratus. As far as I'm concerned, he's a friend." I said that, and a golden light came from Sal. The form of Kratus appeared.
He asked, "How did you know?" Lisa laughed.
"I've had a lot of experience with possession. Your an idiot. Sal doesn't grieve. He gets freaking mad. He will go and find whatever murdered his family, and kill it, in painful ways. He wouldn't want comfort. He needs someone to stop him, often enough. We stop each other from doing things we'd regret later. That's my best friend. That's the only guy who never betrayed me. Oh, and another thing that pretty much confirmed it. You spoke way too modernly. Sal is from the 1700s. Kratus, sometimes, when you go through with a plan to break me, think it through first." Sal's head snapped up. He looked around the room. The first thing his eyes focused on was Nico. He saw Lisa, then, his glare softened. He stood up, and faced Kratus.
He asked in a mix of an American accent and a British accent, "Who are you?"
Kratus laughed, "The Roman wakes. You really have a strong state of mind. It made it far easier to inhabit you, just like that Eros girl would be. I don't like to inhabit girls though, they are much weaker than men. Here are all the items I stole from the gods. That was our deal." A bow appeared on the table, and a scarf. The bow had intricate designs on it, and an arrow notched in it. He disappeared in a flash of light.
Sal asked, "Who are you and who was that? Where in Pluto's name am I?" He took one look at the bow and the scarf, and said in a warning tone, "Lizzie..."
"I know Sal. We've been on a quest. Meet Andromeda, who prefers to be called Andy, Nico, and Shannon. I trust them." She explained this and he calmed a little.
"What shall we do with those?" he asked. The guy had a lot of questions, but it was understandable.
Shannon responded, "We have to return them to my father and grandmother."
"Well keep 'em away from me. I'll probably end up puking." I said. Sal seemed a bit confused.
He asked, "Puking?"
"Vomiting. She can't stand love magic, or charmspeak, or a lot of things. Shannon, you have to take it." Lisa commanded. Sal narrowed his eyes at Nico.
"Why have you allied yourself with a child of Pluto. They are not to be trusted. What colony are we in?" Lisa laughed.
"How long have you been living among the people of this era?" She asked,
"Around a year. They have very strange ways of expressing themselves." He responded as if she were his superior in an army.
She noticed too. She said, "Calm down. Relax. We are not going to hurt you. I understand you have just been under possession by a god. What is your name?"
"Salmons Greenwood, although most call me Sal. Why do you look exactly the same as you did when you trained me?" He asked. I raised my eyebrows.
She responded, "Because of Krios, alright? He captured my friends and- Why the Hades are you smiling?" He was grinning like a maniac.
"You have made friends. That was all I asked you to do when I died. I can't believe you actually listened to me. I'm the idiot who walked into a trap." He replied. Awwww... Ok, that was really Aphrodite of my thoughts... Shannon was smiling softly, and trying to hide her giggles. He pulled her into a big bear hug. He walked up to Nico and said, "I don't normally trust sons of Pluto, but a friend of Elizabeth's is a friend of mine. Wait, what do you call her?" I rolled my eyes.
"We all call her Lisa Davis." Shannon responded. Lisa face-palmed. She was blushing like mad.
He asked, "Isn't that a nickname for Elizabeth?"
She cringed, "I, uh, lets all settle this later, when we get to camp. Shannon, grab the scarf, I'll take the bow. Your bow from camp is still your bow. Its not necessarily the same bow from the dreamscape. That actually was Eros's bow, just in dream form. I think I may know who took the bow though."
"Do you, now?" A sickening sweet voice asked from behind us.
Oh, I just thought about something! If you've ever read the book Rumblefish, or plan to, do you agree with me that it sucks? I mean all it is, is "I said, 'blah blah blah.' Steve said, 'blah blah blah blah' Patty said, 'blah'" And so on, and so on. Its highly annoying. Its required reading for my class, and so far, I've only documented 5 times when the author uses a word other than said. I dislike this book very much. Enough with my rant. Merry Christmas or Channuka or whatever the Hades you celebrate, to all, and to all a good night/morning (it depends on the time zone...)