Disclaimer: I do not own Class of the Titans. I'd be set for life if I did.

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Washed Up

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Odie groaned softly as he lifted from unconsciousness. He felt oddly warm, almost too warm, in fact. His eyes opened into slits and quickly clenched shut again as what seemed to be the same bright light that had knocked him out assaulted him again. When no clinging dizziness followed, the hero risked opening his eyes again. It wasn't so bad, really; brighter than he was used to and with a sharp edge that would probably go away as he woke up further, but really rather tropical. Tropical? He sat up slowly and had a look around.

Besides the wide blue sky behind the glare, Odie found himself sitting on a sunny beach of white sand. Water lapped gently at his feet and as he watched the ripple fade back into what could only be an ocean, the thinker realized he was slightly damp. I guess I got dumped in the surf, he mused. I must have been really out of it if I didn't wake up.

He stood and dusted sand off his clothes, turning to take a look at the rest of his vacation spot. Bushy trees dotted the coastline behind him, leaves waving gently in the breeze. Odie strolled casually toward them, wondering what type they were. He was pretty sure he hadn't seen them before, at least not in person, but there was something familiar all the same. The thinker reached up to pull down a branch. Small green olives greeted him, nestled in between the leaves. Odie laughed suddenly, letting go.

"An olive tree," he said aloud. "Do olive trees even grow around here?" He quickly sobered as he realized that he didn't even know where 'here' was, so in all likelihood olive trees were as common as maple trees in other places. Which other places, he couldn't say. His mind remained hazy.

"Who's there?" someone shouted from a thick clump of the gently rustling trees. "Are you friend or foe? Show yourself!" A sudden, heavy thumping and a dry scraping noise suddenly seemed to be charging toward him from all sides. All Odie could see was green leaves and white sand.

In an eruption of shouting and clanking slapping leather, three men crashed out of the small copse of trees, waving shields and brandishing spears. They drew up short, eying him. Odie looked down at himself, noting how differently dressed he was compared to the three warriors decked out in leather skirts, breastplates and greaves. He waved casually, silently hoping they wouldn't decide to skewer him on the spot.

"Who are you?" the leader asked, pulling off his helmet, revealing short dark hair. "You dress strangely, carry no weapons. Are you a priest from the city, perhaps?" He spoke with an accent that sounded oddly familiar to the hero, but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it before.

Odie shook his head. "No, not a priest." He glanced down at himself briefly. "At least I don't think so. Is this what priests wear?" The thinker tried to produce something useful, but his mind was foggy with details in his life before waking on the beach. He was only certain of a few events, and his name. The rest was little more than a shadow.

The three shared a glance. "Do you perhaps know a lad by the name of Archie?" one asked. "He shares a peculiar look and small memory, as you do." He sized up Odie again. "Although he seems as though he may have wandered from the ships, instead of the city."

"Ships? City?" Odie shook his head. "I really don't know what you're talking about. I don't think I know an Archie, either."

"Verdict?" the leader asked. "Is he one of us, or one of them?" His two underlings considered and then flashed twin grins. "Okay mysterious stranger, you're coming back to camp with us. Maybe you can scrape barnacles or something, if you're lucky."

The four of them marched silently through the olive trees until they finally gave way to another stretch of beach, an inlet dotted with sparse dunes and sandy hills. Several ships had landed along the coast and two or three dozen men wandered about, pitching tents or tending fires. In the distance, Odie could just make out a small city. What looked like a palace overlooked the houses almost too small to see.

The leading warrior signaled sharply and a group of more casually dressed sailors approached. "What's up, boss?" one of them called. "Did you find us some women, or at least a few sheep to eat?"

"No you gluttons, another washout." Odie was nudged forward less than gently. "Take him to the other one. The two washouts can teach each other." The soldier laughed. "Scraping barnacles, maybe. We're going back out on patrol. We might find a woman yet, instead of all these blasted olives."

"Come on then," the closest one said, reaching for Odie. He pulled the thinker sharply along toward one of the boats in the middle. "Well, your name, kid?" Odie just stared at him, more than a little intimidated by the group of men. Judging by the patrol group, he was pretty sure any one of them could produce a weapon from nowhere in the blink of an eye to threaten him with. "If it helps, mine is Perdix. I'm somewhat of a tinker."

"Odie," the hero said quietly. "I guess my thing is thinking. I seem to do it a lot." He shrugged absently, turning his eyes to the dark tents. "So are you guys camping out here on your way to another spot?"

The men who accompanied Perdix laughed. The tinker merely smiled. "In a manner of speaking." He clapped Odie on the shoulder as they drew up in front of another warrior, busy setting pegs. "Archie, show Odie here the ropes. He's a washout, like you." Perdix chuckled though the humor didn't quite reach his eyes. "Like all of us."

Archie looked up, brushing a stray lock of purple hair from his eyes. He was outfitted in much the same way as all the others, wearing light leather armor. The color was off between pieces, suggesting he had pulled what he could from mismatched bits. But the biggest difference was that he didn't seem to have a weapon. "Sure thing," he said, straightening. He held out a hand. "Hi. I'm Archie."

"Odie." As the hero took the offered hand, he was hit with a feeling of deja vu. He waited until Perdix and the other men had vanished back into the crowds. "I know this will sound weird," he said quietly, "but you look familiar to me. Have we met before? Do you know where I'm from?" The blank spaces in his memory were beginning to bother Odie, though he didn't quite know why. It was almost as if he had something important to remember, something that was just out of his reach.

The other so-called washout shook his head. "No, sorry." He scrutinized Odie for a moment. "I don't think I know you. But that might not mean anything." Archie laughed self-consciously. "I don't remember much beyond this beach. Before that, I think I was flying. Pretty crazy, huh?"

The thinker shrugged. "I'm not sure. Something tells me that a lot of weirder things could happen."

"Oh good," Archie said. He gestured to the tent behind him, following Odie inside. "You're crazy, too." A pile of mismatched bits of armor had been dumped in one corner. "You should be able to find something to wear in that pile. Unless, of course, you prefer looking like that."

Odie bent to examine the heap. "And what's wrong with the way I look?" he asked with a smile. "Maybe I like standing out." He found a bit of blue cloth and pulled, dislodging a sweatshirt. "And unless I miss my guess, you stood out no too long ago yourself." Archie only shrugged and waited as Odie gathered a small pile of what appeared to be his size. The thinker glanced up. "I'd like to change in private, if you don't mind."

"We're both guys," the warrior replied using the standard I've seen it all before line. Odie simply stared at him and Archie shrugged, turning around.

"Has anyone told you what's going on?" Odie asked as he stripped. "I get that they landed on the beach and they're pitching tents, but I doubt it's because they want to sit around campfires cooking s'mores." He grunted as he pulled on what could only be called a leather skirt. Why couldn't more soldiers be petite? he wondered.

Archie was silent for a moment, choosing his words. "I think they're going to invade the city," he said, "but it's supposedly really hard to do. That Perdix guy said something like, 'Only the worthy can pass the border, and we will prove how worthy we are very soon.'" He frowned and turned around. "Something about it seems intentionally vague. I don't like it."

The thinker yelped in surprise and quickly snatched up his red sweater to shield himself. He laughed timidly and fiddled with the straps of a chest plate. "Yeah, that does sound weird." Odie paused his frantic dressing as something else struck him. "I thought they were just staying here temporarily?"

Archie shook his head. "Maybe once they sack the city they'll move on." He took a few steps into the tent and reached out to yank the shirt away. "Now if you're quite done, we should go see what we can do around camp."

They swept outside and into the bustling energy of a war camp. Odie shrunk back beside Archie, trying to disappear in the warrior's shadow. He was extremely uncomfortable running around in a leather skirt and underwear. He wasn't sure the other men had underwear and was dreading the moment when a stiff enough breeze managed to rustle the pleats. Archie on the other hand seemed almost at home. The warrior's eyes swept back and forth, lighting up each time they landed on a particular weapon or spotted something happening that made Odie very happy to be more of a brain.

"Hey, you two!" Perdix's shout drew them up short. They spotted him waving them over, and weaved through the crowd toward the tinker. "Now that you're suited up, we need to see what you can do."

"Great," Archie said.

"Yeah, great." Odie had less enthusiasm.

In the blink of an eye, two spears were sailing toward them. Archie easily reached out and grabbed the weapon out of the air. He hefted it in his hand, testing the balance. Odie was far less graceful. After managing to catch it, he fumbled with it, trying to get a good grip. He was lucky enough to avoid skewering an eye – his or anyone else's – before the spear gave up on him and clattered to the ground. The thinker stared at it with a mixture of frustration and annoyance. He refused to look up and see the expressions of the other two.

Perdix cleared his throat. "Obviously Odie isn't a spearman," he said. "We'll try you with a sword or a bow a little later. Do you think you could handle those?"

"Honestly? Not really. Like I said, I'm more of a mental giant than a physical one." He tugged at his armor. "I also prefer the clothes I woke up in."

"We can always use a priest," the tinker suggested. "Which god do you represent?"

Odie stared at him blankly, nothing coming to mind. He was about to say so when an Archimedes-like flash of inspiration possessed him. "Hermes," he said. "I'm all about Hermes." The thinker held onto the bit of memory that had sparked his answer. In some way, he really was connected to the messenger god. Odie couldn't say how or why, except that maybe he was a mortal avatar for the divine after all.

Perdix nodded. "How fitting." He met Odie's eyes. "You're perfect."

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So it was a tie between Odie and Archie, which actually worked perfectly since they're stuck together. Hurray!

To LadySwift – You're right, writing should be for the sake of writing, not for reviews. The votes were not to try and get more reviews, but to give readers a chance to direct which part of the story they see next. It doesn't affect the story itself in any way, merely which heroes they see in what order. Personally, I like a bit of author-reader interaction.

Thank you, everyone, for all the reviews. I hope this chapter lives up to expectations, and I can promise you that once the heroes have been established, writing will go smoother. If you'd like to vote for next character, I'd love to know. I've got a few ideas myself.