Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108 or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Chapter 7:
Hawk turned to Lin Chung, who was frowning at the thought of the winter spirit. "Well, good luck."
Lin Chung simply scowled at him, most likely in frustration. He turned sharply to the god.
"You owe me."
"I'll owe you if you come back." Was Hawk's reply, which had Lin Chung sending a glare his way before he vanished.
"Um, where did he go?" Nico asked the bemused young god. Hawk turned, eyes glinting with amusement. The Japanese gods were slowly starting to fill out of the room, until only Amaterasu, Izanagi, Iznami and Omoikane were left.
"The Japanese gods are currently unable to handle Yuki-Onna." Hawk explained. "So we have to help them. But, to make sure that they don't clash together, the Laws strictly forbid any god from another group to help them. I may have more privileges than the ones that, say, Artemis herself has, but I'm still restricted by those same rules. Lin Chung, being the only mortal that can handle the frost, snow, hail etcetera, is the only one able to go, with enough of a chance to take her down."
"He doesn't seem too pleased about it." Percy noted.
Amaterasu snorted. "If you were called to handle someone who can painfully freeze you to death, what would you do?"
"What do you mean by if?" Rick asked, slightly apprehensive now, though he dearly wished for Lin Chung's death. Hawk glared at him as he answered, as if sensing his thoughts.
"He will come back. I was just joking."
"You joke about death?" Annabeth asked incredulously.
Izanagi laughed. "Of course. Back in those days, in the days of the Chinese, they joked about the underworld and monsters, for goodness sake!" Hawk laughed as well.
His mood didn't last long. "And Yuki-Onna managed to keep alive this long for thousands of years even with no believers that can see, worship and pray to her. Lin Chung has had that experience before, even if it is only for a shorter time. He will know how to help her."
Izanagi sighed again, before beckoning to them with a smile. "Come on. I'll show you around until Lin Chung returns."
Lin Chung shivered, looking around in the harsh climate as he wrapped his arms around himself. The wind and snow were fierce, nearly burying him in several feet of snow. Hearing the winds start to howl, he approached the direction where the snowstorm seemed to be the strongest.
A dark haired, pale skinned girl sat on the rock, arms wrapped around herself. She looked around 26, and was definitely taller than Lin Chung by around one and a half, maybe even two, heads. He quietly cursed Hawk under his breath. Just how was he expected to send her back? He couldn't make a portal underneath her; she might get hurt. Growling again, he cursed Hawk once more, hearing a faint indignant 'Hey!', before he tackled the spirit.
It half-worked. The girl was caught off-balance and tumbled to the ground. She looked around, her eyes wide and crazed. "Who's there?!"
Lin Chung immediately ducked behind a tree nearby as the snowstorm got more violent. He took one look at her, considering what advantages he had.
Strength: no. Speed: no. Mind: maybe. He knew being sly wouldn't work in this situation. He growled to himself. Think. What else? Hand-to-hand combat? He knew magic would not work for him in this weather, but if he could somehow engage her in battle, he could gain an upper advantage.
Well. That was better than nothing. Turning around again, he caught sight of her just before she charged recklessly at him. He dodged, and the tree he had been hiding behind was smashed to bits. He then kicked her back, causing her to growl and stumble, before attacking him once more, trying to kick him again.
Lin Chung dodged, sweeping her legs out from under her. She snarled as she fell to the ground, shrieking in rage as the snowstorm became worse. Lin Chung dodged her sudden flurry of strikes, waiting for a chance, before it came. Her side was left unprotected, and he immediately launched a kick once again, tackling her to the ground once more as he tried to activate a portal.
It was hard, especially if you were wrestling someone nearly twice your height, who was struggling and creating a snowstorm that was this close from blinding you. Lin Chung gritted his teeth, trying to edge her to the portal. "Stay still!" The snow woman disobeyed, still struggling, until Lin Chung finally managed to shove her down the portal and close it firmly, before looking at his frostbitten leg.
Hawk owed him big time for this.
Hawk looked around, smiling at the various Japanese deities as they wandered around the icy palace. Thalia had been slightly afraid as they travelled through the winds into the different mountains where the Japanese gods resided in. However, she was soon put to ease by Izanami, who revealed that she was originally dead, but was revived by Hawk not too soon after his reincarnation. Which meant Hawk could very well help do the same to her.
Annabeth, Rick, Aron and Igor were still looking sheepish at being reprimanded about their parents, though they were still fuming at how Hawk had so easily dismissed them. Each had a different grudge against their parents' counterpart; Annabeth with Fukurokuju, Rick with Raijin, Aron with Ryujin, and Igor with Izanami, though he was wise enough not to say so. His father was the god of death, not some Japanese deity.
Hawk looked sharply at him, (Igor was left wondering if he could read minds) and the Son of Hades looked away as they continued on. Izanagi was talking animatedly with Hawk, catching up on what had happened the last few Millenia. It was only about half an hour later when they heard shrieks of rage, the temperature suddenly dropped, and snow and hail began pouring down.
Hawk chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that Lin Chung somehow managed to get Yuki-Onna here." Izanagi looked slightly worried, but followed Hawk as he set off at a leisurely pace to the furthest place in the populated Japanese-protected area.
Yuki-Onna looked around, before catching sight of a sitting grey-haired teenager, who was leaning against the wall. "Who are you? What do you want?!" She demanded, trying to sound confident. She could feel the temperature drop, and knew that the same thing was happening everywhere else.
"My name is Lin Chung." Was his silent response. She looked at him suspiciously, by sensed no deceit in his words.
"What am I doing here?" She demanded once again, though she sounded more nervous this time. The snowstorm raged more violently in the background.
"What do you think you are doing, hunting the Japanese deities down?"
Yuki-Onna frowned, before her eyes widened. Those powerful people that came…those that wanted to help the people…hunt me down. They were gods? "I-I didn't want them to hurt me…I-" She cut herself off, hugging herself as she suddenly started sobbing. "I wanted them to-"
"Understand you? Help you?"
She nodded, before her emotions suddenly took a 180 degree change. "How would you know anything about it?" She spat. Lin Chung fixed her with a cold look.
"Eight years ago, I was betrayed by my friends. I died. I passed, bur I was left in the lone Dimension. There was no one there. I was left there for eight years until some gods finally found a way to help me up. I was on the edge of insanity. No one could see me, hear me, and I couldn't see or hear anyone that came as well."
"The gods can…help me?" Yuki-Onna sounded hopeful.
Lin Chung nodded. "But you have to let them help you." He looked at her for a moment, noticing how the storm was still going strong. He tilted his head. "You don't have much control over your powers, do you?"
She shook her head, looking down. She didn't have any control over her powers. They just reflected her emotions. "And that is why you were freezing people? You wanted them to see you?"
Yuki-Onna nodded. She had wanted to see them, hear them, but, as they walked past her, her rage grew. Why was she made like that? Why did no one see her? She looked at the mortal, wanting ask more questions. But he straightened up, and someone came striding into the room.
Yuki-Onna gasped, instantly recognising the person by his amber eyes. "Hawk."