Thanks guys for the constant support!
Happy Memorial day for those who live in America! This is my memorial day present for you.
Review Responses
XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- Female seems to be the recurring vote.
shdeslayingboss143- I'm glad you like it.
MODEF- thanks for voting.
maverick- Thank you.
AncientTide- thanks for the vote.
isiscat2- okay, thank you.
AlexJacksonSonofPoseidon- No problem.
Guest- No, this is not a Percy x Goddess pairing. This is a Percy x canon character who I am not revealing yet. I think revealing the pairing too quickly ruins the surprise.
Joseph- Thank you for the vote. When are you going to use your javelinanddart account again?
I am that writer- Well, they are four year olds. They love sugar!
Pridewingdemigod- do not worry, I have a plan to still gently follow the books, but everything canon will be in some way affected.
CowgurlStrong- I read your ideas, but when they go to earth it will be focusing on the last children, the prophecy child, and the attack of the elder titans. Putting Terra as their wild card would detract away from the plot and lose some of the meaning.
Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners. :)
Previously, the night before,
"All in favor?" Percy asks. Every hand goes up. "Then we will take route three. Be ready in the morning and have your weapons. You'll never know what we'll face."
The next morning dawned quickly, yet Percy and his siblings were awake and ready to complete their task. Last night, before going to bed, they had all decided to wear the long zip off pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, the hiking sneakers, and the socks. No recorded temperatures of Stormy Mountain had been recorded, but normal mountains were cold.
Before the sun had even began to light the horizon, the last children had been teleported to the base of the mountain. To enable that they didn't start early, all of the primordials has constructed a metal crate box to hold them in.
"All right, everyone," Percy called as Max laid the map he had brought (it wasn't against the rules) on the floor. The map was magical, showing where the holder was. Max had tried to make it show where everyone was, but the primordials said that was not allowed.
"The first priority we have is to get on the path way up and find a source of clean water," Percy explains as the first part of the sun pokes over the horizon and the metal door opens.
The children quickly follow Max to the start of the trail. Upwards they begin to climb. The trail is not bad, but after two hours of climbing, it becomes clear a consistent feeling amongst the group is doubt.
"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Mia asks Max.
Max scrunches his eyebrows together. "It should have been there the last turn."
"Do you even know where you are blindly leading us?" Hayden asks.
The son of Gaia closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, obviously getting agitated by Hayden's questioning. But before he can respond, Percy steps in.
"Guys, we'll find water, don't worry. Max is trying his best," Percy reassures everyone.
"Why don't you use your water senses?" Amy suggests. "You are powerful enough."
Percy adjusts his backpack straps. "I guess..." He trailed off, closing his eyes and concentrating. A long moment passed before anyone spoke again. "500 yards up the mountain, 17 yards to the left."
They silently cheered before resuming the hike up the mountain. Soon, Keira's head shot up.
"Listen: you can hear the running water."
The son of Thalassa had already heard it or sensed it first. Percy pulled himself up over a large rock in a steep section. Turning around, he began to help the others up over. Willow created a ledge half way up the rock to make it easier to climb. Once everyone was standing, they followed an eager Percy towards the sound of water gurgling over rocks in the stream.
The creek appeared, a blue ribbon running through the fabric of stones and grass. Glad to have reached their goal, the children ran happily toward it. Several pulled out their water bottles while others searched in their bags for the filters they had been given.
Hayden dropped to his knees, thirsty for a drink. Mia knelt beside her half brother. Looking up at Percy, Hayden asked a question.
"Is the water safe to drink?" He asked, his hands already moving towards the surface of the water.
"It should be. The water is running fast and it looks clear..."
This was all the answer Hayden needed. He plunged his hands into the stream and cupped some water into his mouth. The water was cool and refreshing as it slid down his desert dry throat. Then something strange began to happen. He could feel a bubbling sensation in his throat like he had had a soda (the ones Tartarus had snuck them). Mia had filled her water bottle and was pouring the water over her hands when Hayden's insides began to blister. He screamed as boils grew wherever the water had touched. His hands turned into inflated gloves. His siblings stopped to look at him, Imogene's hands centimeters from the water.
Mia fell backwards as the water took it's toll on her hands and arms. The children watch in horror as the effect of touching the water is shown on the outside. Large blisters form, swelling until they may pop like balloons. Hayden slumps forward, unconscious. Mia soon follows.
Amy is the first to react. She grabs her backpack and rushes over to her brother and best friend. But before she can find anything to treat the wounds, Mia and Hayden disappear in a soft mist.
Pandemonium breaks out amongst the children. What's going on? Why did the water cause blisters? Where did they go? The water in the stream begins to churn. Fearful of the water's dark power, the children step back. A small vortex forms until a woman appears. Though her skin color and hair color are now blue, she is easily recognizable.
"Mother," Percy nods his head before her.
"Hello Percy," Thalassa nods her head to the rest of the children.
Unable to hold it in anymore, Paul blurts out, "Where did our siblings go?"
"Never fear, they are safe. They are currently being treated for their wounds, perfectly safe. This was my challenge to you. Whenever someone experiences unconsciousness on this trip, they will be removed out of the test. Now I have wasted enough of your precious time," Thalassa begins to fade away.
"Wait!" Imogene calls. "How will we find water?"
In the swirling of the river, one watered finger points towards Percy. Then the water is still agan.
"What are we going to do?" Ollie asks. "How can you find water?"
"I don't know. But time is wasting," Percy looks up to the sky. The sun seems to be almost at the noon point, travelling much faster than it should be. "We need to get going."
They continue up the mountain, but the mood is darker. The primordials are not going to make this an easy test. They aren't afraid to hurt them in order for them to complete the test.
As the walk along a narrow cliff path, Percy freezes in his tracks. He turns his head to stare at the rock wall.
"Percy, what is it?" Alabaster asked, his head slightly tilted.
"There's water. In the rocks," The other boy replied.
The children stare blankly at him. "There is an underground, er, under rock stream flowing right here. The only problem is I don't know how to get it out," Pausing for a moment, Percy pauses to think. "I think this is our next challenge."
"To get water?" Ollie asked.
"No, something else. I'm going to try something a little risky. Stand back," The children move back as Percy finishes.
His sea green eyes flutter close. As if moved on an impulse, Percy draws out his axe. Eyes still closed, he raises it up and brings the oceanic steele side of the double head to the rock. Water begins to gush freely from the rock. They cheer. Percy quickly steps back to avoid being hit by the water, if it is still posionious.
"What will we do now?" Paul voiced the question they were all thinking.
"Percy, do you think you can manage to get some water into a canteen without spilling it?" Willow asks. The son of Thalassa nods, but still looks confused at his half sister's request. Keira pulls her canteen out of her backpack and hands it to him. With the skill of a master, Percy directs the water into the canteen, not spilling a drop.
"What now? Should we use a filter?"
"No, not yet. Pour some of the water on this plant," Willow indicates the small leafy plant growing in between the crack of the dusty rock wall and the path. Percy pours a small amount of water onto the plant. Nothing happens.
Holly looks thoughtful as if slowly understanding where Willow's going with this. "I think what Willow means is that we need to test the water before we go and drink it."
Silence falls on the group. Who would risk being taken out of the task to find safe water?
"I'll do it," Keira says boldly. Percy looks at her, surprised. Keira was never the bold one. "I'm going to pour a little water on my pinky finger. Nothing more. It will be fine."
Still unsure, Percy hands her the canteen. Keira pours a few drops of water onto her finger. The whole mountain seems to be holding their breaths, waiting. Percy counts to thirty in his head. Then a minute.
"Still fine," Keira said with a relieved smile. Once again, the children cheered, jumping under the waterfall, filling canteens, and refreshing themselves. Soon though it was time for them to continue on their journey.
After walking for several more minutes, they reached a cave passage that they had to walk through. Yet, just inside the cave, four large boulders stopped their path.
"We can try short distance teleport," Alabaster offered, attempting it. His image flickered before he disappeared, then reappeared with a sharp crack. He flinched as he received a shock. "Guess that's not going to work."
"This is still part of the same challenge I think," Holly said as she examined the boulders.
"Going outside your comfort zone," Willow said.
"What?" Ethan asked.
"Percy summoned the water, trusting his instincts. Keira tested the water even though it could have hurt her. And now, it's our turn to let you guys through," Willow walked forward and lifted up the largest boulder using her powers over earth and wind, directly in the middle. The truck sized rock hoved ten feet of the ground, several feet below the roof of the cave. Max joined his sister and lifted the boulder in the middle. Ollie and Imogene exchanged glances before hoisting their respective boulders.
The children began the treacherous descent through the cave as their siblings hold high the rocks. The climb is difficult with many loose stones and long. They pass through Ollie's section and he sets down his boulder to follow them.
Imogene holds her rock high as they walk through the section under the boulder. Many times they glance up fearfully at the rock, waiting for it to crush them. But they make it through without a glitch.
Max begins to tire as he has been holding his rock for almost fifteen minutes now. The tone is not happy, but hurried and rushed with the sense of insecurity you get from walking under a six hundred pound rock.
Willow's face is sweating at they pass under the rock she holds high for so long. For a moment, her hold on the boulder quavers and everyone fearfully watches the boulder. But Willow stables it and they all make it out.
The four children of Gaia collapse, exhausted outside the cave. They are back on their cliff side path. Amy hands the four granola bars to try and regain their strength. Mumbling a thanks, they tear into the bars.
The others stand up and look at the path in front of them. Well, lack of path would be a better way to describe it. For thirty feet in front of them, the dirt path is completely gone, dropped off. The slippery rock wall beside it offers no alternate route. The children of Gaia join them, realizing their predicament.
Amy closes her eyes and thinks about what to do. Suddenly, in her mind, a bridge appears where the gap is. The bridge hardly looks solid, but it seems to be made of wind, rocks, and sticks.
"Guys, I got it. We can make a bridge across the gap," She kneels down to draw her plan in the loose dirt. The others nod, catching on.
Soon, they are all in their positions. Willow and Imogene have summoned an assemblage of rocks while Ollie and Max collected a posse of sticks. The children of Ananke stood ready to hold the collection of items in the air. Percy was prepared to harden the moisture in the air to make a more stable bridge. Nyx's children had sticks and rocks in their hands, ready to form the bridge.
"Go!" Amy called. Gaia's and Nyx's children worked together to throw all of the rocks into the air. Amy, Alabaster, and Holly made a barrier of wind so that the items would stop falling. Percy hardened the moisture into a almost ice.
"Get across!" Alabaster instructed as his sister and he worked hard to hold the bridge in the air. The others ran swiftly across the bridge to the other side. The children of Ananke follow them across the bridge.
The moment Holly's foot touches the other side, the bridge collapses. She stumbles, but Paul catches her.
"We must continue on," Paul says as he checks the lowering sun.
An half hour passes before they stop to rest. Ethan and Alabaster both head over to the same rock in the shade. Ethan sits down first.
"Hey!" Alabaster says indignantly. "I was going to sit there."
Ethan looks at him annoyed and rolls his eyes. "There's other rocks."
Angry, Alabaster shoves him off the rock. Smirking he sits down on the rock only to have found it's moved.
"Guys," Max says as he moves the rock out their reach. "There's no need to fight."
Both glare at him. "We should keep moving," Imogene says, standing up.
As they walk along, Alabaster begins to feel more and more annoyed at Ethan. He's always getting the spotlight. And SHE likes him more. SHE pays more attention to him. Alabaster purposely steps in front of Ethan, cutting him off. The son of Nyx looks pissed, but Willow touches his arm and pulls him back. That only fuels his anger. Getting up into Ethan's face, the son of Ananke speaks his mind.
"Why do you think you're so much cooler than me? Why do you always fake injuries to get the girls to swoon over you? Huh? Huh?"
Ethan's normally tan face goes red with anger. "I never do anything like that!" Then his face gets an evil smirk. "Why do you always opt out of lessons to do nothing? Why do you never think before you speak?"
Willow steps up to try and calm Alabaster down, but he shoves her backwards into Imogene. Her older sister's face gets an ugly scowl. "You," She growls.
"What about me?" Willow shoots back.
"YOU always steal everything that is rightfully mine. YOU are mother's favorite little girl. YOU are Ouranos' special one. YOU are the problem," Imogene screams at her sister.
The others exchange glances. What the heck is going on? Until, Keira and Holly begin a glaring contest. Ethan and Alabaster have drawn their weapons, ready to beat the pulp out of each other. Willow is yelling back at Imogene.
"Why are you always so secretive? Why are you obsessed with the research you do on the titans? Why are you such an ignorant prick!" Willow shoves her sister hard. Both summon their staffs and begin to approach each other, menacing looks in their eyes.
Keira and Holly have turned their glaring contest into an insult contest. "You're the perfect model girl, the teacher's pet," Keira taunts.
"Well, you're the hell's devil. I wouldn't even put you at the rank of an angel," Holly throws back.
Percy, Amy, Max, Ollie and Paul exchange worried glances. This wasn't like their sibling, they never fought this way before. Something was making them fight like this.
"Guys," Amy tried to reason. "This fighting isn't helping us at all."
The three fighting pairs turned towards Amy. "It's none of your business, Miss Goody two shoes," Keira spit. Amy's face pales and she steps back suddenly. Max steadies her.
Ollie pointed to the creek and Percy got the message. Silently, he willed the water, after testing it of course, to form a large wave. Then he let it go on the oblivious pairs fighting. The water was cold, jerking them from whatever spell they had been under.
Willow looked at them. "What's going on?"
"The next test," Ollie says leaning against his staff. "This challenge is meant to attack your weaknesses. The six of you hold a small grudge about someone else. A primordial chose to test this. Bringing the feelings back to the surface and boiling your anger, Bam! You were fighting!"
"I'm sorry if I said anything that offended you," Willow apologized. The others said similar phrases.
"Wait, you guys don't remember what just happened?" Amy asked. They shook their heads.
"Is it just me or is the weather getting really weird?" Paul asked as he turns his head up to look at the sky. One moment the sun is out, blinding them, and the next, dark grey clouds have covered over the sun. The wind begins to pick up.
"It's the weather," Ollie reassures him. "We should try to find a cave or a safer trail than this one. If the wind blows harder or it starts pouring rain, I don't like our chances on this path."
They followed Ollie across a rocky field. Half way across, rain began to beat down on them. Footing became slippery. They had to use their weapons, each other, to avoid falling.
Amy was just climbing over a large rock to look ahead when her foot slipped on the slippery rock surface. Her hands frantically grabbed for a handhold, but none were to be found on the wet rock. She fell off the tallest end, six feet off the ground onto her left leg.
Slamming into the ground, she screamed. Her backpack had prevented her head from getting hurt, but it had done nothing for her left leg. A sharp crack could be heard and her leg was bent at an odd angle.
The other children's mouth fell open as they rushed over to her, trying not to slip and fall. Max reached her first. His hands getting brushed her lower leg where the foot was snapped oddly outward. She cried out as rain poured down on them, sticking their hair to their faces and making it hard to see.
"It's broken," Max murmured.
"Just leave me here, we're running out of time to complete the task," Amy pants, her leg causing her great pain.
"No," Percy says. "We're not leaving you out here in the rain to rot."
"But you can't travel with me. I'll slow you down!" She protests.
"We're not leaving you behind, that's final," Alabaster adds.
"We have to leave some backpacks behind," Willow says. "Max can't carry his own backpack, Amy, and her backpack."
"I'll leave mine behind," Percy volunteers.
"Me too," Max seconds.
"No, yours has the map. I'll leave mine," Amy suggests weakly.
"No, you need the supplies, I will leave mine," Keira says, dropping her backpack to the ground. She shoulders Amy's while Percy takes Max's. Max picks up Amy gently and, with the help of Willow, settles her on his back. They continue on.
"Up there, a cave," Ollie and Paul who were scouting ahead find. The cave is a few hundred yards above the place where they turned back on the trail. They enter through a small back opening to find that the front entrance looks out on the path they were on. Max sets Amy down against the wall. Keira and Percy lay down the backpacks they were carrying while Willow stands at the cave trail entrance. She watches as lightning streaks across the sky. Sighing she helps Paul and Ollie find sticks for a fire.
"We need to try and set you leg in a makeshift cast," Holly says as she kneels beside her sister. Carefully, she rolls up the pant leg of Amy. The sight is not a pretty one. The impact of her fall pushed the bone almost out of the skin. Holly opens her backpack and pulls out a roll of bandages. She turns to Willow, Paul, and Ollie. "Can you guys find four long sturdy sticks?"
"Sure," Willow says as she dumps a barrage of sticks in front Ethan and Percy who have matches. The boys begin to arrange them in a strategical positions while Imogene makes a rock circle.
Paul walks over and hands Holly two sticks about as tall as his waist. "Here," Holly grabs the sticks and lays them next to Amy's leg.
"We are going to have to pop the bone back in before we can set the leg," Alabaster tells her sister. Holly nods and holds the leg in place while Alabaster gets ready to push. Max holds Amy's hand for support.
Pop! Amy takes a sharp intake of breath, never the less, the bone is back in place. Alabaster holds the two sticks on either side of the leg while Holly tightly wraps the bandage around it. Grabbing his backpack, Max puts it behind Amy's back.
Ollie and Willow return with two sticks that come up to their shoulders. "Could you guys make those into like crutches?" They nod and begin doing so.
Ethan looks over at them sadly. "I hate to be the one to say it, but we need to continue on. Time is slipping by faster than we thought possible."
Amy gets a look of grim determination on her face. "I'm staying back. I'll slow you guys down too much. And it's perfectly safe in the cave. I have a backpack with enough food."
"Someone will stay behind with you. I will," Percy says.
"No, you guys all need each other. I have the crutches and my weapons to protect me. Go!" Amy sounds on the verge of tears. The siblings hang their heads before relenting. They grab their backpacks and continue up the trail. Once she is sure they are gone, Amy puts her head in her hands and cries. Sacrifices, she thinks bitterly, That was the challenge.
Their feet seem to weigh a million pounds as every step takes them farther and farther from Amy. The gloomy rain adds to the effect. Even Percy, who always stays dry, is getting chills from the cold rain. Each are so absorbed in their own thoughts, they hardly notice the next challenge.
Willow falls back beside Keira. "Is it just me or is there something up there?" She whispers, pointing at the moving shapes in the darkness.
Keira carefully studies the moving shapes. "Maybe just trees blowing..." She never got to finish the sentence as a huge boulder the size of a house comes flying out of no where, straight at them.
"Hit the wall!" Willow screams. The siblings slam themselves flat into the rock wall. The boulder sails over their heads, missing them by a hair.
"What the hec-" Paul begins before Percy yells, "Flat!"
"I can't stop the boulders!" Imogene yells. "Something else is forcing them down!"
More boulders begin sailing from somewhere. "Anyone else think this is our next challenge!" Holly yells over the wind.
"Yah think?" Ethan yells back. A boulder comes flying out of no where towards the son of Nyx. Ollie yanks him back in time. "Thanks buddy."
"No problem, just be careful," Ollie replies.
"Imogene!" Willow screams as a rock falls silently towards her sister. Max's eyes widen as he realizes he is the closest one to Imogene. He shoves his sister out of the way and only has a second to brace himself before the boulder hits him straight on.
"NO!" Imogene screams as the boulder continues down the mountain.
"Max!" Willow tries to run after him, but Ethan is holding her back. "Let me go!" She kicks his shins.
"We have to get you somewhere safe," Ethan carries her while the others drag her siblings while them too. After another fifteen minutes of boulder dodging, the rocks stop falling. The rain continues to pour down like the children of Gaia's tears.
"The boulder was supposed to hit me," Imogene sobbed. "Max..."
Meanwhile, several hundred feet below
Amy sat, crying to herself in the cave all alone. Why did I have to break my leg? Why did it have to rain? Why did we have to do this stupid challenge? She shivered as the chill from the rain begins to freeze her. As the mountain begins to shake from the core, she huddles closer to the fire, watching the boulders fall from the sky. Then, far off in the distance, she hears several piercing screams.
Seconds later, an object lands with a thump on the trail outside Amy's cave. She peers out as a huge boulder threatens to crush the object.
"Oh no you don't," She used her power over wind to direct the boulder away from the object. Grabbing her crutches she painfully gets to her feet. Each step causes unimaginable pain. Could that be? It is.
She rushes forward, stumbling, falling. Pain shoots up her leg, but she is so happy to see the boy, it doesn't matter.
"Max," She says, gently brushing his soaked black hair out his eyes.
His hazel green eyes open slowly. "Amy," He says, his voice full of relief and pain from his fall. "I told you I would stay with you."
"I knew you would come back," And since neither of them can move, they lay there, enjoying each other's company as the rain pours down on them.
Back with the other last
"Guys," Percy says. "I think we're at our next challenge."
Imogene's head snaps up. Her eyes take in the odd landscape. Here the rain has stopped, but it is hard to see with the heavy mist. An odd pattern of green grass squares dot the ground. On the opposite side, their trail continues up the mountain, but nine tall stone figures block their path. The last exchange glances.
"Primordial chess," Percy and Alabaster say together.
"Mother," Kiera, Paul, and Ethan say.
"What?" Ollie asks, confused.
"Nyx loves primordial chess, it would only make sense that she would choose it for her challenge. There are three strategical points to the game, the back center, and the two front end lines," Ethan begins.
"You move normally like a pawn, except when you go to capture a piece, you are challenging them. Everyone can only move one or two squares. There is a queen, king, one scout, two knights, two bishops, and two tooks. Queens are the hardest to beat, then knights, bishops, rooks, scouts, kings," Paul explains.
"Paul, you take the king spot. Keira, the queen. Willow and Imogene, the knights, Olllie and Ethan, the bishops. Rooks, Holly and Alabaster. I'll take the scout," Percy directs.
They get into their positions, the back row consisting of Ollie, Kiera, Paul, and Ethan While the front row holds, Holly, Willow, Percy, Imogene, and Alabaster. Everyone draws their weapons then turns to look at Paul.
"What?" He asks, confused.
"Paul, you're the best one at chess. The king is the one who directs the others," Keira reminds him.
"The other team goes first," Paul replies.
Sure enough, the other team's scout moves forward. The game has begun. Paul is busy directing others. They fight hard, taking down the other team's scout and a rook.
"Ollie, challenge the queen," Paul calls out. "It's the only way to get her to move."
"I understand and I accept my duty," Ollie takes a deep breath before stepping two squares forward. He holds his scythe in his hands, ready. The queen stands blankly in front of him.
Faster than the eye can follow, the queen moves her scepter with a lightning speed and slams Ollie so hard in the chest, he flies off of the chess board. Paul winces. He hated it, practically sentencing his best friend to his death. Even with Ollie's skill, he stood no chance against a queen. The other team moves their bishop forward.
Paul freezes as he thinks. If he were to move Holly forward to challenge the bishop, Keira could easily take the king and they would win. But the queen is the toughest player to beat. Ollie was already defeated by her. Only Keira would stand a chance. But if he moves Keira to attack, he will endanger Percy and Willow.
Holly turns around to look at Paul. "I'm sorry," She says softly. Stepping forward, Holly draws her whip, challenging the bishop. Paul can't speak. Just as fast as the queen, the bishop swats Holly into the air.
The other team's rook moves back a step. Keira holds her spear tightly in her hand as she walks forward towards the king. The stone king, pulls off his crown and throws it at her feet. As in traditional primordial chess, Keira stabs it with her spear. The stone pawns disappear, signalling the game over. The children rush over to where Holly and Ollie landed, but the two have disappeared. Paul feels a hand on his shoulder. It's Percy.
"Paul, you did what you had to do. No one blames you for it. It's part of being a leader," Percy consoles him.
"We will finish, for our fallen siblings," He replies. The others get determined looks on their faces and they continue upward.
Soon they find themselves in the middle of a deep forest. The air is muggy from the recent rain. The plants are green and lush.
"How much time do we have left?" Keira asks as they trudge along.
"It's about eleven o clock nighttime," Imogene replies before realizing what she was saying. "What? How did that happen?"
"It must be Chronos' doing. The sun will rise at four thirty tomorrow morning. We have to start hurrying up," Alabaster said.
"Do you guys feel that?" Willow asks.
"Feel what?" Keira replied.
"The birds, they have stopped singing," Willow says, looking around.
"Look out!" Percy calls.
A monkey with red eyes shoots out of a tree towards Keira. She screams, trying to shove it away. Soon more and more monkeys are attacking them. In the chaos, someone yells, "Run!"
They take off through the trees, pushing away prickling branches, jumping over roots. Breaking through the tree line, they stop to rest.
"Wait, where's Keira?" Ethan asked. A small leaf flutters to the ground. In loopy lettering, a name is signed, Thesis.
"I can't believe we just abandoned her," Percy says, his fatal flaw of loyalty showing through. "But we have to keep pushing on."
Night had fallen by now, their path lit by the ever present fog and a few stars. The fog makes everything eery and spooky. Willow doesn't know if she's just imagining it, but she thinks she can see the faces of her fallen siblings. Keira's face looms above her and she jumps backward, almost falling of the cliff. Luckily, Imogene grabs her wrist.
"Does the air feel really cold to anyone else?" Paul asks, his teeth chattering.
"I'm afraid," Imogene whispers as she steps closer to her siblings. "This doesn't feel right."
They continue onward, sticking close in the oddly cold weather. Suddenly, Percy's face goes a sickly shade of white.
"I tried," Percy murmured. "I tried so hard to save you," He puts his hands over his ears and shakes his head wildly.
"What's going on, Percy?" Imogene asked.
"Mia and Hayden, can't you see them?" He replies.
"Percy, they were taken out of the challenge by the primordials," Paul looks at Percy worriedly.
Willow can suddenly hear and see what Percy is dealing with. Mia and Hayden stand there, a ghostly color for their skin instead of their usual tan.
"You see, Percy," Ghost Mia taunts. "You're going crazy! You could have saved us from the water. The only one who could have."
Opening her mouth to stick up for him, two figures appear in front of Willow. "Keira?" She asks quietly.
The girl glares murderously at her. Alabaster and Ethan step up beside her. "Willow, it's okay," Ethan soothes, touching her shoulder. He gasped sharply, falling to his knees. Alabaster catches him, but now two more figures have joined the suffering four. Max and Amy circle around Alabaster and Ethan, asking why they couldn't save them.
"Willow, I thought we were friends," Keira says. "But you left me to rot in that forest! What kind of friend does that?"
"S-S-stop!" Willow cries out.
Paul and Imogene soon enter the ghost dimension. "What's going on?" Paul asks shakily before two more ghosts appear.
"Why did you kill us?" Ollie ask Paul. "If you were better at chess, you could have saved me."
"You could have challenged the bishop," Holly torments Imogene. "You could have won."
"Yaaaahhhhh!" Imogene yells slashing through the misty image of her friend with her staff. Holly lets out an unearthly scream before clawing at Imogene, both of them disappearing.
This gives Paul strength to fight the ghosts. "You are lying!" He screams at Ollie before ripping his spear through Ollie and Keira. He too disappears along with all of the other ghosts.
The remaining four of the last fall to the round. Beside Ethan lies a small skull with Thanatos written in blood.
"Was that real?" Percy asks.
"They were ghosts," Ethan says as he pulls Willow to her feet. "We need to keep moving. Time's running out."
"Agreed," Alabaster said. "This place is creeping me out."
The four continued upward. After hiking for a while, Ethan began to feel tired. "Hey guys, we've been hiking for so long, we should stop and take a short rest," He falls behind.
"No," Percy argues. "We need to keep moving."
Half an hour later, Percy feels his eyes closing. "Guys, I'm just going to stop and take a short nap."
"Yeah," Ethan yawned. "I'm exhausted," He sits down on a rock and promptly falls asleep.
"Good idea," Percy says, dozing off.
"We have been hiking for so long," Alabaster says plopping down on the ground. Willow feels her eyes beginning to close. The wind swirling around them has a faint laughter to it. I recognize that voice, Willow thinks. After a nap, I'll figure it out. No! Her subconscious cries. Willow pulls out one of her knifes and slashes her hand. Instantly, she is awake. As the laughter dies down, she finally places it. Hypnos! He's trying to make us fall asleep!
Willow runs over to Alabaster and shakes him hard. "Wake up Alabaster!" She screams in his ear. "We're being tricked!" She pulls her water bottle out of her backpack and dumps cold water on the three boys.
They sit bolt upright and yell, "Coming mother!" After the long day and night's events, it's a relief to laugh.
"You were about to fall asleep. I had to wake you up somehow," Willow reasons. They glare at her but continue on.
Trudging up the hill, Percy tries to see the top of the mountain,. "I think we're almost there," He says.
Swiftly, Alabaster tenses and pulls out his bow. He fires a purple arrow straight into the trees where a monster, a small green ball of fuzz, falls dead.
Suddenly, dozens of monsters charge from the woods surrounding the clearing. Alabaster shoots arrow after arrow, killing monster after monster. Percy uses his axe like a boomerang, destroying hordes of them. Ethan uses a combination of chains and spear while Willow twirls her scythe like a master.
Soon, the monsters are piles of golden dust, when a group of cyclopes rush out of the woods and grab Alabaster, dragging him away.
"Come on, we have to go rescue him!" Percy yells.
"No time!" Willow calls back, pointing at the horizon. The line is beginning to get lighter. "The sun's coming up! We have to hurry!"
The three of them take off towards the peak, bounding over rocks, leaping up trails, and sprinting hard. They reach the peak just as the sun's about to crest the hill. Ethan cups his hands and Willow runs forward. He flings her towards the box. Her fingertips stretch outward just as the sun's rays light up the mountain.
Darkness covers them before the light comes back in a blinding white way. All thirteen of them, even those who were taken, are in an infirmary. Hayden and Mia lay comfortably on white hospital beds along with Ollie, Holly, Keira, Imogene, Paul, and Alabaster. Max and Amy collapse weakly on the floor, their injuries still there.
A Void nurse hurries over and helps Percy, Ethan, Amy, Max, and Willow into hospital beds. Along with a doctor and another nurse, they begin to treat the more serious wounds. Each of them is given a flask of nectar.
Soon the door opens and Chaos walks in. He summons a chair and sits in front of their ring of hospital beds.
"Did we pass the test?" Keira asks excitedly.
"Oh, I was planning to wait until you have all rested and been cured," Chaos said, a silver sparkle in his eyes.
"Father," They all groaned except for Willow.
"Fine. Willow?" Chaos looks to Willow. The daughter of Gaia smiles proudly and holds up the small brown wooden box clutched tightly between her fingers. The others cheer loudly. The nurse clucks her tongue in disapproval.
"Yes, you all passed," He said with a wide grin.
"Even Hayden and I?" Mia asks.
"Yes, you have all proven yourselves worthy. You have faced your greatest fears and overcome them. You have strengthened your bonds with one another and proved to the council you can do anything if you work together."
The children cheered once again. "Now, get some rest so we can begin training for your missions," They groaned, but they still had happy smiles stretched across their faces.
Chaos got up and closed the door as he left the room.
End of chapter six. I hope you liked it. Next chapter we are going to earth, but a few years will have passed.
Remember to leave a review! If you have nothing to review about, tell me your favorite thing to do when the weather gets warm.
Thanks!
~Snow Wolfe6631~