First Person: Lucy

Why was I there? I kept being dragged into his nightmares, but why would that be? Last night I didn't expect to be a part of Veon's dream. I've gained control of my dreams pretty often, and I've been in other people's dreams. Thanks to both Zyanya and the Hypnos Cabin, I've pretty much gotten the hang of hypnokinesis, but that was beyond my control. It was odd. The nightmare had to belong to Veon, but why would I have been a part of it? Why would I have a nightmare? The circumstances were definitely surrounding my fears and not Veon's. I could sense he was there though. It would be just like that fool to say he would take a punishment in place of Kaze. But I knew Zyanya. I knew she would always think on both sides of a spectrum, of what would really be considered salvation and what would be considered punishment. People who thought like her were usually considered the bad guys in Final Fantasy games, the whole "if we kill everyone, then no one suffers, hey presto!"

I knew she wasn't a bad person, I knew that she wouldn't punish me for failing. She'd just be sad. Now that I was awake, thinking that all of that was real just seems stupid. But that dream did bring up a point. Who would I choose if it came down to Veon or Kaze? I could never make that choice, I don't even want to think about if I had to make a choice like that. I've had to say goodbye to my brother before, but Ve has grown just as close. He'd offer himself if it was between Kaze and him, the gracious fool. Despite the rumor of children of Hades holding grudges, he's never really held a serious grudge against someone, saying that there's no point in dwelling on things that can't be changed. Of course, maybe he does hold grudges sometimes, but everyone does that. He's all big and tough, but really he's insecure about some things, he's afraid of things, and he's too kind for his own good. He thinks he can somehow protect the world on his own. He reminds me of Kaze. He reminds me of myself.

It makes me want to protect him instead of him protecting me. Everyone needs protection sometimes, even those who prefer to be the protectors. I don't want him to be dragged into something that I could fix somehow on my own. What has to happen to him, has to be him, but if I could take his burden instead, I would. I'm the one who's doing this willingly, and he shouldn't have to do anything he doesn't agree to. There will always be something you could've done. What did Styx mean by that? So far, all her powers have done are give me telekinetics, something that I've already had thanks to the goddess. What does the power she gave me really do? She says I have the freedom of choice, but everyone has that. We're already responsible for our actions and such. Why would she give me some kind of power?

Once Leo had anchored the Argo II between the pillars and Kaze and I had gotten ready, Jason and I summoned the wind to carry the four of us ashore. I warned the others to keep on their toes in case our talk didn't go well (because let's face it, we can never seem to have peace talks; just look at what happened with the Romans). If we ended up doing something wrong (and it was bound to happen at some point) then Hercules was obligated to tear the ship apart and the crew along with it. As I hadn't been skilled enough with the wind to fly before, Kaze was understandably excited. He'd learned to spin his arms fast enough to create funnels of wind to boost him upwards (like he did in Charleston to get up to the eagles) but he'd never been able to actually fly before. The man in purple was waiting for us.

His feet were bare, covered in white sand. His robes made him look like a priest, though I couldn't remember which kind of priest wore purple. Cardinals? Bishops? And the purple meant he was the Roman version, right? His Greek form was actually Heracles, while his Romans was Hercules. After hearing more Hercules in my life than Heracles, Heracles just sounded weird. His beard was fashionably scruffy - like I just happened to not shave for two days and I stilllook awesome. He was built, but not too stocky. His ebony hair was close-cropped, Roman style. He had startling blue eyes like Jason's, but his skin was coppery, as if he'd spent his entire life on a tanning bed. He looked no older than twenty. He was handsome in a rugged but not-at-all-caveman way. He did, in fact, have a club, which lay in the sand next to him, but it was more like an oversized baseball bat - a five-foot-long polished cylinder of mahogany with a leather handgrip studded in bronze. Coach Hedge would have been jealous.

We landed at the edge of the surf. Piper and Jason approached slowly, careful not to make any threatening moves. I walked without much concern, acting both unconcerned and unthreatening, and Kaze was just bouncing around, seemingly unaware of the threat Hercules posed. Besides, he looked forward to a fight if things went wrong, so he was fine either way. Hercules watched us with no particular emotion, as if we were some form of seabird he had never noticed before.

"Hello," Piper said. Always a good start.

"What's up?" Hercules said. His voice was deep but casual, very modern. He could've been greeting us in the high school locker room.

"Uh, not much," Piper said before wincing. "Well, actually, a lot. I'm Piper. This is Zy, Kaze, and Jason. We-"

"Where's your lion skin?" Jason interrupted. Hercules looked more amused than annoyed.

"It's ninety degrees out here. Why would I wear my lion skin? Do you wear a fur coat to the beach?"

"I guess that makes sense," Jason said, sounding disappointed. "It's just that the pictures always show you with a lion skin." Hercules glared at the sky accusingly, like he wanted to have words with his father.

"Don't believe everything you hear about me. Being famous isn't as fun as you might think."

"Tell me about it," Piper sighed. Hercules fixed his blue eyes on her.

"Are you famous?"

"My dad…he's in the movies." Hercules snarled.

"Don't get me started with the movies. Gods of Olympus, they never get anything right. Have you seen one movie about me where I look like me?"

"I don't watch a lot of movies," I admitted. "I've played Kingdom Hearts, and yeah, you definitely look different."

"I'm surprised you're so young," Piper said.

"Ha! Being immortal helps. I'm sure you understand, right, girl?" He looked to me and I rolled my eyes. "But, yes, I wasn't so old when I died. Not by modern standards. I did a lot during my years as a hero…too much, really." His eyes drifted to Jason. "Son of Zeus, eh?"

"Jupiter," Jason said.

"Not much difference," Hercules grumbled. "Dad's annoying in either form. Me? I was called Heracles. Then the Romans came along and named me Hercules. I didn't really change that much, though lately just thinking about it gives me splitting headaches…" The left side of his face twitched. His robes shimmered, momentarily turning white, then back to purple. "At any rate, if you're Jupiter's son, you might understand. It's a lot of pressure. Enough is never enough. Eventually, it can make a guy snap. What about you, girl?" I shrugged.

"Granddaughter/great-granddaughter, depending on how you look at it. My mom was a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and my dad was a son of Apollo and a mortal. Whether we're talking about Roman Apollo or Greek Apollo, I'm not sure, but my family's Japanese, so you could call me neither. In any case, people always refer to me in Zeus terms, and completely ignore my mother and Apollo."

"Who's your mom?"

"Zenobia. She prefers to stay a lesser-known goddess for the whole Zeus-popularity thing."

"You're a host, right? What are you being called now, Ode?"

"Zyanya."

"Descendant of Zeus, Zenobia, and called Zyanya. That's a lot of Z's, my friend."

"Well my real name is Lucy. At least, my American real name."

"You have other real names?"

"My birth name, is all."

"Well, as for you, my dear," Hercules said to Piper. "Be careful. Sons of Zeus can be…well, nevermind." Piper was confused, but she tried to maintain a calm, polite expression.

"Rei-chan, do we get to kill him?" Kaze asked impatiently.

"No, Kaze-kun. I think we should move on before Kaze loses his patience. ADHD and not being able to follow a conversation make him jumpy."

"So, Lord Hercules," Piper said. "We're on a quest. We'd like permission to pass into the Mediterranean." Hercules shrugged.

"That's why I'm here. After I died, dad made me the doorkeeper of Olympus. I said, "Great! Palace duty! Party all the time!" What he didn't mention is that I'd be guarding the doors to the ancient lands, stuck on this island for the rest of eternity. Lots of fun."

"Yeah, that sounds like Zeus," I muttered. "You think his punishments aren't so bad, and then you end up stuck in the same place for all eternity, bored out of your mind." He pointed at the pillars rising from the surf.

"Stupid columns. Some people claim I created the whole Strait of Gibraltar by shoving the mountains apart. Some people say the mountains are the pillars. What a bunch of Augean manure. The pillars are pillars."

"Right," Piper said. "Naturally. So…can we pass?" The god scratched his fashionable beard.

"Well, I have to give you the standard warning about how dangerous the ancient lands are. Not just any demigod can survive the Mare Nostrum. Because of that, I have to give you a quest to complete. Prove your worth, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, I don't make a big deal of it. Usually, I give demigods something simple, like a shopping trip, singing a funny song, that sort of thing. After all those labors I had to complete for my evil cousin Eurytheus, well…I don't want to be that guy, you know?"

"Totally," I said.

"Appreciate it," Jason said.

"Hey, no problem," Hercules said, relaxed and easy going. "So anyway, what's your quest?"

"Giants. We're off to Greece to stop them from awakening Gaea."

"Giants," Hercules muttered. "I hate those guys. Back when I was a demigod hero…ah, but nevermind. So which god put you up to this? Dad? Athena? Maybe Aphrodite?" He raised an eyebrow at Piper. "As pretty as you are, I'm guessing that's your mom."

"Many gods pushed us into this, per se," I said carefully. "I mean, Zeus is holed up on Olympus, thinking that Gaea will just go away if the gods get less involved or something, which is dumb."

"Sounds like him."

"Yeah."

"Hera sent us," Jason said. "She brought us together to-"

"Hera." Suddenly Hercules's expression was like the cliffs of Gibraltar - a solid, unforgiving sheet of stone. I would've face-palmed myself if I wasn't focused on Hercules. Hera had been Hercules's mortal enemy, so to speak.

"We hate her too," Piper said quickly. "We didn't want to help her. She didn't give us much choice, but-"

"But here you are," Hercules said, all friendliness gone. "Sorry, you four. I don't care how worthy your quest is. I don't do anything Hera wants. Ever." Jason looked mystified.

"But I thought you made up with her when you became a god."

"Like I said," Hercules grumbled. "Don't believe everything you hear. If you want to pass into the Mediterranean, I'm afraid I've got to give you an extra-hard quest."

"But we're like brothers," Jason protested. "Hera's messed with my life too. I understand-"

"You understand nothing," Hercules said coldly. "My first family: dead. My life wasted on ridiculous quests. My second wife dead, after being tricked into poisoning me and leaving me to a painful demise. And my compensation? I got to become a minor god. Immortal, so I can never forget my pain. Stuck here as a gatekeeper, a doorman, a…a butler for the Olympians. No, you don't understand. The only god who understands me even a little bit is Dionysus. And at least he invented something useful. I have nothing to show except bad film adaptations of my life."

"I have had nothing but pain in my life," I said. "I've spent the last five years living someone else's life, hurting people I care for, lying so often that I no longer remember what's the truth and what's not. You think an eternity being a doorman is bad? I will have to spend eternity doing another's deeds, living another's life and never able to be myself. Though I will be able to roam around, I am just as shackled as you are. I can watch the world spin around, the millennia pass and always be slave to another, never able to make my own choices. I can never be myself, never have my own identity because everything about me is borrowed from others. So yeah, your life sucked and sucks, but my life has sucked as well, and it will continue to suck for all eternity alongside yours. Give me another f-ing quest to overcome. I'll walk through it, and the next, and the next, and the next and never get anything out of it." Hercules seemed to have a moment of hesitation, before his jaw tightened and he shook his head.

"On the opposite side of this island, over those hills, you'll find a river. In the middle of that river lives the old god Achelous." He waited, as if this information should send us running in terror.

"And?" I prodded impatiently.

"And I want you to break of his other horn and bring it to me."

"He has horns," Jason said. "Wait…his other horn? What-?"

"Figure it out," The god snapped. "Here, this should help." He said the word "help" like it meant "hurt." From under his robes, Hercules took a small book and tossed it to Piper. She barely caught it. The book's glossy cover showed a photographic montage of Greek temples and smiling monsters. The Minotaur was giving the thumbs-up. The title read: The Hercules Guide to the Mare Nostrum.

"Bring me that horn by sundown," Hercules said. "Just the four of you. No contacting your friends. Your ship will remain where it is. If you succeed, you may pass into the Mediterranean."

"And if we don't?" Piper asked, pretty sure she didn't want the answer.

"Well, Achelous will kill you, obviously. And I will break your ship in half with my bare hands and send your friends to an early grave." Jason shifted his feet.

"Couldn't we just sing a funny song?"

"I'd get going," Hercules said coldly. "Sundown. Or your friends are dead." I rolled my eyes, stuck out my tongue, and walked off.

"Kaze-kun, we're going to find Achelous," I told him.

"Kill?"

"Maybe."

"Yea!" Piper and Jason continued off behind us.

"Hercules can be such a jerk when it comes to Hera," I muttered. "I thought that the fatal flaw of Hades children was grudges, but no. Immortals can be so arrogant."

"Is what you said back there true?" Jason asked.

"Sort of. A bit exaggerated to try and sympathize with him, but that didn't work out."

"If this is a magical island, why couldn't it be a nice magical island?" Piper asked, swatting away mosquitoes. We tromped up a hill and down into a heavily wooded valley, careful to avoid the black-and-red striped snakes sunning themselves on the rocks. Neko was on Kaze's shoulder, his tail spraying what smelled like bug-repellant at any swarm of bugs that came his way. The trees were mostly stunted olives, cypress, and pines. The chirring of the cicadas and the oppressive heat reminded me of those times in the forest with Kaze, trying to survive on our own. So far, no river.

"We could fly," Jason suggested.

"We might miss something," Piper said. "Besides, I'm not sure I want to drop in on an unfriendly god. What was his name? Etch-a-Sketch?"

"Achelous." Jason was trying to read the guidebook while we walked, so he kept running into trees and stumbling over rocks. "Says here he's a potamus."

"He's a hippopotamus?"

"Potamus," I corrected. "A river god. He's the spirit of some river in Greece."

"Since we're not in Greece, let's assume he's moved. Anything else that book has?"

"Says Hercules fought him one time," Jason offered.

"Hercules fought 99% of everything in Ancient Greece."

"Yeah. Let's see. Pillars of Hercules…" Jason flipped a page. "Says here this island has no hotels, no restaurants, no transportation. Attractions: Hercules and two pillars."

"Supposedly the dollar sign - you know, the S with the two lines through it? - that came from the Spanish coat of arms, which showed the Pillars of Hercules with a banner curling between them," I said, looking over his shoulder.

"Huh, that's interesting."

"Anything helpful?" Piper asked.

"Wait, here's a tiny reference to Achelous: "This river god fought Hercules for the hand of the beautiful Deianira.During the struggle, Hercules broke off one of the river god's horns, which became the first cornucopia."

"Corn of what?"

"It's that Thanksgiving decoration," Jason explained. "The horn with all the goodies spilling out? We have some in the mess hall at Camp Jupiter. I didn't know the original one was actually some guy's horn."

"And we're supposed to take his other one," Piper said. "I'm guessing that won't be so easy. Who was Deianira?"

"Hercules married her," Jason said. "I think…doesn't say here. But I think something bad happened to her." Well, from what Hercules said about his family dying and his second wife being tricked into poisoning him, and that didn't exactly comfort me.

"Well, continuing onwards, I suppose." We trudged across a ridge between two hills, trying to stay in the shade. Piper was already soaked with perspiration, the mosquitoes leaving welts on her ankles, arms, and neck, making her look like a smallpox victim. Another reason why I wore boots, jeans, and my jacket, to minimize bug intruders. Of course, I still got one on my neck, just as I reached and grabbed the little bug and flicked its corpse away. I could resist itchy things like bug bites, but having one on my neck was annoying. I healed it as we continued on, adding a slight spark to my skin so that any bug that came within a centimeter was burnt to a crisp.

Somehow the sun was already starting to sink. How fast had this day gone by? We needed to get to Nico, dammit. Tomorrow, we had one more day to find him, not to mention Rome being destroyed. I made a promise to do everything I could to find him, and I had a feeling that crossing Styx twice wasn't going to be good for my health, or my conscience. Sundown was one of the nicer times of day, with the coolness, but it was also our deadline for Hercules. I had to try harder. I was on my own, without the goddess, but that didn't mean I couldn't use a little of her power and intuition. Just focus on what you want, and things usually work out.

"This way," I muttered. It wasn't long before we heard running water up ahead. We crept through the trees and found ourselves on the bank of a river. It was maybe forty feet wide but only a few inches deep, a silver sheet of water racing over a smooth bed of stones. A few yards downstream, the rapids plunged into a dark blue swimming hole. The cicadas in the trees had gone quiet, no birds were chirping, and it was as if the water was giving a lecture and would only allow its own voice.

The more I listened, the more inviting the river seemed. It was charming, like the water was singing a siren song. It made me want to dive in and relax. Of course, I was an expert on songs, especially those to accomplish tasks such as enchanting someone, so I easily resisted its influence. Jason sat on a rock and started taking off his shoes. He grinned at the swimming hole, like he couldn't wait to get in. Kaze had been fiddling with Neko, but suddenly his eyes were fixed on the water longingly, as though it was his life dream to have a bath. Neko transformed into a hippocampus in his hand, looking around for water excitedly. I didn't want to be angry at the river for singing, it was just enjoying itself, but I needed to stop it before it had the boys jumping in and keep them focused. Never one to resist a song, I sang a tune to join in with it, and also snap the boys to my song instead of the river's. Dust to Dust, from Final Fantasy XIII would work nicely.

"Nothing more ~ to fear, l'Cie~
"Cradled in ~ eternity~
"Shore and sand ~ your fate awaits~
"Oh, surrender ~ in the light…"

"That was beautiful," The river said. "Singing is one of the few pleasures I have left." A figure emerged from the swimming hole as if rising on an elevator. It was the creature that Piper had seen in her knife blade, a bull with a human face - so the opposite of the Minotaur. His skin was as blue as the water, his hooves levitated on the river's surface. At the top of his bovine neck was the head of a man with short curly black hair, a beard done in ringlets Ancient Greek style, deep, mournful eyes behind bifocal glasses, and a mouth that seemed set in a permanent pout. Sprouting from the left side of his head was a single bull's horn - a curved black-and-white one like warriors might turn into drinking cups. The imbalance made his head tilt to the left, so that he looked like he was trying to get water out of his ear.

"Hello," He said sadly. "Come to kill me, I suppose."

"What? No," I said walking up. Jason put his shoes on and stood slowly.

"Kill?" Kaze asked.

"No, Ototo. I'm sorry. We didn't want to bother you, but Hercules sent us."

"Hercules!" The bull-man sighed. "His hooves pawed the water as if ready to charge. "To me, he'll always be Heracles. That's his Greek name, you know: the glory of Hera."

"Funny name," Jason said. "Considering he hates her."

"Indeed. Perhaps that's why he didn't protest when the Romans renamed him Hercules. Of course, that's the name most people know him by…his brand, if you will. Hercules is nothing if not image-conscious." He spoke with bitterness but familiarity, as if Hercules was an old friend who had lost his way.

"You're Achelous?" Piper asked. The bull-man bent his front legs and lowered his head in a bow, which I found both sweet and a little sad.

"At your service. River god extraordinaire. Once the spirit of the mightiest river in Greece. Now sentenced to dwell here, on the opposite side of the island from my old enemy. Oh, the gods are cruel! But whether they put us so close together to punish me or Hercules, I have never been sure. I see you have been blessed by a river goddess, young lady."

"Well, I'm not sure about blessed, really," I said.

"Still, I sense something granted to you from a river goddess."

"Styx. I think it's probably a curse, but I have yet to fully understand what she did."

"Styx, hm? A very powerful river goddess, indeed. Yet I don't sense a curse, per se. More a gift. She gave you a power. It's your choice of how to interpret what it is and how you use it."

"Well, we don't want to fight you. It's just that Heracles - Hercules - whichever you prefer, got mad at us and sent us here." Piper and I explained about the quest to the ancient lands to stop the giants from waking Gaea. We described how our team of Greens and Romans had come together, and how Hercules had thrown a temper tantrum when he found out Hera was behind it. Achelous kept tipping his head to the left, so I wasn't sure if he was dozing off or dealing with one-horn fatigue. When we were done, Achelous regarded Piper as if she were developing a regrettable skin rash.

"Ah, my dear…the legends are true, you know. The spirits, the water cannibals." Piper looked panicky.

"H-How-?"

"River gods know many things," He said. "Alas, you are focusing on the wrong story. If you had made it to Rome, the story of the flood would have served you better."

"Piper?" Jason asked. "What's he talking about?"

"I…I'm not sure…" The mention of a flood story rang a distant bell, but I could never focus on specific stories like that with so many to surf through, and a limited storage space in here (points to head). "Achelous, I don't understand-"

"No, you don't," The river god sympathized. "Poor thing. Another girl stuck with a son of Zeus."

"Wait a minute," Jason said. "It's Jupiter, actually, and how does that make her a poor thing?" Achelous ignored him.

"My girl, do you know the cause of my fight with Hercules?"

"It was over a woman," Piper recalled. "Deianira?"

"Yes." Achelous heaved a sigh. "And do you know what happened to her?"

"Uh…" Piper glanced at Jason. He took out his guidebook and began flipping through pages.

"It doesn't really-" Achelous snorted indignantly.

"What is that?" Jason blinked.

"Just…The Hercules Guide to the Mare Nostrum. He gave us a guidebook, so-"

"That is not a book," Achelous insisted. "He gave you that just to get under my skin, didn't he? He knows I hate those things."

"You hate…books?" Piper asked.

"Bah!" Achelous's face flushed, turning his blue skin eggplant purple. "That's not a book." He pawed at the water. A scroll shot from the river like a miniature rocket and landed in front of him. He nudged it open with his hooves. The weathered yellow parchment unfurled, covered with faded Latin script and elaborate hand-drawn pictures.

"This is a book!" Achelous said. "Oh, the smell of sheep skin! The elegant feel of the scroll unrolling beneath my hooves. You simply can't duplicate it in something like that." He nodded indignantly at the guidebook in Jason's hand. "You young folks today and your newfangled gadgets. Bound pages. Little compact squares of text that are not hoof-friendly. That's a bound book, a b-book, if you must. But it's not traditional book. It'll never replace the good old-fashioned scroll!"

"Um, I'll just put this away now," Jason said, slipping the guidebook in his back pocket the way he might holster a dangerous weapon.

"Are we getting scrolls out?" Kaze asked, grabbing a scroll from his inner jacket pocket as Neko jumped back on his shoulder in cat form.

"See, he understands," Achelous said, calming down and nodding approvingly at Kaze. "Now." He tapped a picture on his scroll. "This is Deianira." The hand-painted portrait was small, but I could tell the woman had been very beautiful, with long dark hair, dark eyes, and a playful smile that probably drove guys crazy. "Princess of Calydon," The river god said mournfully. "She was promised to me, until Hercules butted in. He insisted on combat."

"And he broke off your horn?" Jason guessed.

"Yes. I could never forgive him for that. Horribly uncomfortable, having only one horn. But the situation was worse for poor Deianira. She could have had a long, happy life married to me."

"A man-headed bull who lives in a river," Piper clarified.

"Exactly," Achelous agreed. "It seems impossible she would refuse, eh? Instead, she went off with Hercules. She picked the handsome, flashy hero over the good, faithful husband who would have treated her well. What happened next? Well, she should have known. Hercules was much too wrapped up in his own problems to be a good husband. He had already murdered one wife, you know. Hera cursed him, so he flew into a rage and killed his entire family. Horrible business. That's why he had to do those twelve labors as penance."

"Wait, Hera made him crazy, and Hercules had to do the penance?" Piper asked, looking appalled.

"The Olympians never seem to pay for their crimes," I said. "At least not most of them. Sometimes they deserve it, sometimes they don't, and things usually turn out opposite of how they should be. Those that deserve it, don't pay for it, and those that don't deserve it, do." Achelous nodded in agreement.

"And Hera has always hated the sons of Zeus…or Jupiter." He glanced distrustfully at Jason. "At any rate, my poor Deianira had a tragic end. She became jealous of Hercules's many affairs. He gallivanted all over the world, you see, just like his father Zeus, flirting with every woman he met. Finally, Deianira got so desperate she listened to bad advice. A crafty centaur named Nessus told her that if she wanted Hercules to be faithful forever, she should spread some centaur blood on the inside of Hercules's favorite shirt. Unfortunately, Nessus was lying because he wanted revenge on Hercules. Deianira followed his instructions, but instead of making Hercules a faithful husband-"

"Centaur blood is like acid," Jason said.

"Yes," Achelous agreed. "Hercules died a painful death. When Deianira realized what she'd done, she…" He drew a line across his neck.

"That's awful," I said. "And it happens so often in history too."

"And the moral, my dear?" Achelous said to Piper. "Beware the sons of Zeus." Piper looked down, unable to look at her boyfriend. Hera had manipulated Jason like she had Hercules, but Jason's a good person. He doesn't do the hero thing for the fame and glory, he does it because it's his life, and he wants to genuinely help people. Even without the goddess, I can tell Jason's a good person. Heroes of this time can still be that way, arrogant, full of themselves, never committing to one spouse or SO, but there are more heroes like Jason out there in the world then there had been back in Achelous's time.

When it came to a person like Hercules, marrying him wouldn't ever guarantee love. I've studied some psychology unintentionally thanks to the goddess, and I've learned that once you're married to someone, it makes an affair seem forbidden, and that makes love seem stronger and last longer. When you're promised eternity with someone, when you aren't scared of losing them, then you don't hold onto them as tightly anymore. You aren't as careful when it comes to keeping them with you, and suddenly your love for them disappears. There are the rare instances when even marriage doesn't guarantee keeping someone, and instances where a bond is unbreakable, immune to the passage of time. The goddess within me has that kind of relationship with her husband, and I'll admit that I'm a bit jealous.

"Hercules is a god now," Achelous said. "He married Hebe, the youth goddess, but still he is rarely at home. He dwells here on this island, guarding those silly pillars. He says Zeus makes him do this, but I think he prefers being here to Mount Olympus, nursing his bitterness and mourning his mortal life. My presence reminds him of his failures - especially the woman who finally killed him. And his presence reminds me of poor Deianira, who could have been my wife." He tapped the scroll, which rolled itself up and sank into the water. "Hercules wants my other horn in order to humiliate me. Perhaps it would make him feel better about himself, knowing that I'm miserable too. Besides, the horn would become a cornucopia. Good food and drink would flow from it, just as my power causes the river to flow. No doubt Hercules would keep the cornucopia for himself. It would be a tragedy and a waste."

"That's terrible," I said. "Eternity can really be a curse, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Achelous," Jason said. "Honestly, you've gotten a bum deal. But maybe…well, without the other horn, you might not be so lopsided. It might feel better."

"Jason!" Piper protested. Jason held up his hands.

"Just a thought. Besides, I don't see that we have many choices. If Hercules doesn't get that horn, he'll kill us and our friends."

"He's right," Achelous said. "You have no choice. Which is why I hope you'll forgive me." Piper frowned.

"Forgive you for what?"

"I have no choice either. I have to stop you." The river exploded, and a wall of water crashed over us. The current grabbed us like a fist, pulling us into the deep. Struggling physically would do no good. I couldn't see anything but a torrent of bubbles, and could hear nothing but the dull roar of the rapids. Then, as suddenly as we were pulled under, we were thrust to the surface. I found myself at the center of the whirlpool, able to breathe but unable to break free. If I'd known we were going to be facing a river god, I would've brought Audrey, dammit. Sometimes I hate the fact that I don't have much control over water. A few yards away, Jason broke the surface and gasped, his sword in one hand. He swung wildly, but there was nothing to attack. When Kaze broke the surface, he drew his shuriken and looked around. Twenty feet to the right, Achelous rose from the water.

"I'm really sorry about this."

"And I'm sorry about this!" I shouted, thrusting my hand forward. A bolt of lightning as wide as my fist shot out and whacked the river god in the face. Jason lunged, summoning the winds to lift him out of the river, but a curl of water slammed into Jason and sent him under once more.

"Stop it!" Piper screamed.

"I'm afraid I cannot stop. I can't let Hercules have my other horn. It would be mortifying."

"There has to be another way!" I shouted. "We don't want him to have that horn either! I promise on the Styx, I won't let Hercules get the horn!" Jason clawed his way to the surface again. A miniature storm cloud formed over his head, and thunder boomed.

"None of that, son of Jupiter," Achelous chided. "If you call lightning, you'll just electrocute your girlfriend." The water pulled Jason under again. Suddenly the water god had a shuriken smack into him at the speed of sound, knocking him back with booming force. Concentrating, I launched at the reverse-Minotaur before transforming into a lightning bolt. I zapped him with all the electricity I could muster, controlling the electricity to make sure no one else was harmed, before I reverted and fell into the water once more. He stumbled farther back, the water of the river seeming to react to his pain.

I fell under the water and transformed back into electricity rushing through the water to Jason and then reverting, pulling against the tide. I had taught Audrey how to work the water with her voice, and maybe, with what little I had left from the goddess, I'd be able to do something similar. The river was humming a tune, one of regret. It was almost sad. It reminded me of a tune I'd sung often, one that I began to sing now. I sang the Hymn of the Fayth, a song of both sadness and hope, belief and peacefulness. The river resonated with the song, it wanted belief and hope to ease its sorrow, and this song felt like a step in that direction. The river sang my song with me, and suddenly it bent to my will. We lifted out of the water, and I felt the river acting like a giant sound system, resonating with the feeling of the tune we sang and pulling both the water and the air that heard the song under my control.

When I opened my eyes, wisps of green magic swirled around in the whirlpool and blew through the air. Piper had her ankles wrapped around Achelous's neck, one arm around his throat and her knife in the other, the blade pressed under the river god's chin. Kaze was striking at furious speeds around the god's body with his blades, and the river god seemed shocked, so Piper must've caught him by surprise. He wasn't thinking straight, probably not used to pretty girls threatening to cut his throat, and wasn't able to dissolve into water or pull them under. I pulled Jason above water, tossing him to the shore. I increased the volume and power put into my singing, and the river had no choice but to follow my commands now. I flew over to him, grabbing an arrow from my quiver and flying towards his head.

"You promised," Achelous said through gritted teeth. "You promised Hercules wouldn't get my horn."

"And he won't," I said. "But we will." I slashed off the god's horn with my arrow, cutting through the base like it was wet clay. Achelous bellowed in rage. Before he could recover, Piper stood up on his back and I wrapped my arm around her waist while pulling one of her arms over my shoulders. I shoved my arrow and the horn in my quiver, and then leaped for the shore. The winds caught us at my command and carried us safely over to the bank. Kaze appeared to steady us as we landed, before a metallic smell filled the air.

BOOM! Lightning stirred the water into a boiling cauldron, steaming and hissing with electricity. The river no longer sang, more like screamed in pain, but also helplessness. I felt it's fear and despair as we bested it, took away Achelous's horn and left him alone once more. I took a deep breath and then blew out a wave of green smoke that mixed into the water. I'd been practicing with this new power, and my control over the river increased once more. It calmed as I restrained it with the power Styx had given me, anger and betrayal boiling down to nothing but grief and sadness.

"I will keep my promise," I told the river. "The horn will not be taken by Hercules. I will be back to visit, Achelous. Maybe, you and I can go through eternity together, as we suffer the punishments of fate." The river hesitated at my words. Not just the uncertainty about the horn, but what I meant when I said we both suffer the punishments of fate. There are immortals out there like him, not angry or spiteful at their fate, but just sad. The people who understand immortality's curse are the ones who don't deserve to suffer through it alone. I know that if I may face eternity one day, and I'd want to face it with others who are like me too. We live on whether we like it or not.

"Run!" Piper shouted. Still dizzy and sick with fear, Piper and Jason crashed through the woods. As we climbed the hill, Piper was sobbing - maybe from fear, maybe from relief, or maybe from shame for what we'd done to the old river god. We didn't slow until we reached the crest of the hill. Piper kept breaking down and crying as she told us about what had happened while the two of us were underwater. Achelous thought that Piper was offering herself to be his Deianira, be his bride to compensate for his loss. He offered to save her from a son of Zeus, as he had failed to do with Deianira, and he could keep her safe from Hercules's wrath even if he destroyed the rest of us. She'd gotten close to him, and then put her knife to his throat before I could fill in from there.

Kaze told me of how he'd attacked once Piper had the river god in a hold. He was proud of himself and liked the fighting, but as I explained the river god's story to him, his mood seemed to darken and he whispered an apology to Achelous as he looked back the way we'd come. He wanted to save someone he cared for, and failed because she'd been taken by someone she thought she could believe in, only to realize, too late, her mistake, and die for it. Kaze seemed to sympathize. He didn't think I was like Deianira, did he? The goddess isn't like Hercules, using me for her needs until she's done with me and someone better shows up…right?

"Piper, you had no choice," Jason said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She wiped her eyes and tried to control herself. The sun was nearing the horizon. We had to get back to Hercules quickly or our friends would be facing Hercules, and though maybe my team could hold their ground and escape with the others, we'd either be left here, or the ship would be ruined once more. Two things that we should avoid if we could.

"Achelous forced your hand," Jason continued. "Besides, I doubt that lightning bolt killed him. He's an ancient god. You'd have to destroy his river to destroy him. And he can live without a horn. If you had to lie about not giving it to Hercules, well-"

"I wasn't lying." Jason stared at her.

"Pipes…we don't have a choice. Hercules will kill-"

"I promised too, Jason," I said. "On the Styx. Hercules doesn't deserve this horn. Hercules is a bitter, selfish jerk. He's hurt too many people, and he wants to keep on hurting them. Maybe he's had some bad breaks. Maybe the gods had kicked him around, but that doesn't excuse it. A hero can't control the gods, but he should be able to control himself. Life sucks, that happens. But we don't complain about all the stupid stuff that happens to us, that's going to happen to us, and that means he doesn't have the right to complain either. If he can't take his problems like a man and get over himself, then he does not deserve to push others around like this and get this horn. A grudge is not more important than doing the right thing. He threatened our lives and sent us to make Achelous miserable for the sake of spiting Hera. He doesn't deserve a horn of plenty. We're going to put him in his place."

"You have a plan?"

"Don't know about you, but I do," Piper said. She explained her plan, telling Jason what to do. She probably didn't realize she was using charm speak until she saw his eyes glazed over.

"Whatever you say," He promised. Then he blinked a few times. "We're going to die, but I'm in."

Hercules was waiting right where we'd left him. He was staring at the Argo II, docked between the pillars as the sun set behind it. On the deck, staring back at Hercules, were Emily and Audrey. They seemed ready for a fight. We'd already sent an Iris-message to Leo and the gang. Jason and Kaze were prepared. I'd handed the cornucopia to Piper, who was its rightful new owner. Since it had been cut from Achelous's head, the horn had hollowed out, becoming smooth and dark on the inside. It wouldn't appear magical based on first impressions, but I knew it had power. When Hercules saw Piper carrying the bull's horn, he didn't exactly brighten, but his scowl lines lessened.

"Good," He said. "You got it. In that case, you are free to go." Piper glanced at Jason.

"You heard him. He gave us permission." She turned back to the god. "That means our ship will be able to pass into the Mediterranean?"

"Yes, yes." Hercules snapped his fingers. "Now, the horn."

"No." The god frowned.

"Excuse me?" She raised the horn.

"Achelous was right. You're his curse as much as he is yours. You're a sorry excuse for a hero." Hercules stared at her as if she was speaking Japanese (which she wasn't; I would know).

"You realize I could kill you with the flick of my finger. I could throw my club at your ship and cut straight through its hull. I could-"

"You could shut up," Jason said, drawing his sword. "Maybe Zeus is different from Jupiter. Because I wouldn't put up with any brother who acts like you." The veins on Hercules's neck turned as purple as his robes.

"You would not be the first demigod I've killed."

"We know," I said, my bow in hand and Kaze's shuriken's four blades popping out of their cylinders. "But you aren't going to kill us. Oh, and the ship? It's been specially protected. Throw your club, and it may just get eaten by some tar."

"Jason is better than you," Piper said. "But don't worry. We're not going to fight you. We're going to leave this island with the horn. You don't deserve it as a prize. I'm going to keep it to remind me of what not to be like as a demigod, and remind me of poor Achelous and Deianira." The god's nostrils flared.

"Do not mention that name! You can't seriously think I'm worried about your puny boyfriend and friends. No one is stronger than me."

"Insulting, bud," I said. He looked to me only to get an electric fist to the face, causing him to stumble back. "Remember, I'm a Primordial. And this is my brother. Kaze!" He threw his shuriken point-blank into speed-mode and it struck the god with booming force, knocking him off his feet. Kaze whooped in excitement when his shuriken bounced back to him.

Meanwhile, Piper was concentrating on the cornucopia, the mouth of the horn aimed at Hercules. She filled the horn with the good things she'd shared with Jason, and the possible future they could share when the war was over. Then the horn blasted forth a flood of food as powerful as Achelous's river. A torrent of fresh fruit, baked goods, and smoked hams completely buried Hercules. It should've been impossible for all that stuff to fit through the mouth of the horn, but the hams were appropriate. When it had spew out enough goodies to fill a house, the horn shut itself off. Hercules was shrieking and struggling somewhere beneath. Apparently, even the strongest god in the world could be caught off guard when buried under fresh produce.

"Go!" She shouted to Jason, who'd forgotten his part of the plan and was staring in amazement at the fruit pile. "Go!" I grabbed a grape and popped it in my mouth before grabbing my brother and shooting us away from the island. Jason was beside me, and though Piper nearly got whiplash, it wasn't a second too soon. As the island retreated from view, Hercules's head broke above the mound of goodies. Half a coconut was stuck on his noggin like a war helmet.

"Kill!" He bellowed, like he'd had a lot of practice saying it.

"Sayonara!" Kaze called, waving. We touched down on the deck of the Argo II. Thankfully, Leo and the others had done their part and were ready. The ship's oars were already in aerial mode and the anchor was up. Jason and I summoned a gale so strong, it pushed up into the sky, while Percy and Audrey sent a ten-foot-tall wave against the shore, knocking Hercules down a second time, in a cascade of seawater and pineapples. By the time the god regained his feet and started lobbing coconuts at us from far below, the Argo II was already sailing through the clouds above the Mediterranean.