well, welcome to the sixth chapter of my 'Class of the Titans' fanfiction which I've titled 'The Warrior of the Friend Zone and the Oblivious Huntress'. this fanfiction is still a loose re-telling of the show's plotline told from Archie's point of view. oh, I had a ton of fun writing this chapter when I had first written it, especially what the end of it entailed. no spoilers from me this time, though. I'm just gonna sit back and let the readers at it before I say a thing about it. believe me, you're all gonna laugh at the end of this chapter, here. I hope you enjoy it, really, I do. I know that I enjoyed writing this chapter, along with all five of the chapters that came before this one. this sixth chapter of 'The Warrior of the Friend Zone and the Oblivious Huntress' is a good ten-thousand-eight-hundred-sixty-nine words long, give or take a comment from yours truly written as an author's note and hidden somewhere with the storyline of this very chapter. this explanatory headnote and the (mandatory) disclaimer that makes up the paragraph following said headnote aren't include in the chapter's storyline.
disclamation: I don't own the 'Class of the Titans' series in any way, shape, or form. if I had the series would've never ended on a cliff hanger like it had. I, for one, think that Teletoon, Nelvana, and Studio B Productions television networks owe the show's audience an apology for it since they are the ones who own the series. I don't know why but for one reason or another, I feel like I should do what they never bothered to do after that last episode, 'Phantom Rising II'.
After a couple more adventures, like the rise and fall of a witch queen's descendant and the jailer of Tartarus trying to use all of us as bait to catch Cronus, had come and gone, we had yet another new adventure when I admittingly opened Pandora's box and unleashed a deadly disease-spreading monster known as the Seeper.
It all started when Atlanta and I had volunteered to clean out Ares' old weapons room. I held a medieval flail in my left hand, while Atlanta held onto an axe from about the end of the Ancient Rome era.
Yours Truly: This stuff is so ancient. Can you believe people actually fought with these things?
That was when I finally noticed something that really caught my eye.
Yours Truly (continued): Whoa!
I picked it up to show off to my Atlanta.
Yours Truly (continued): Do you know what this is?
Atlanta turned her head in my direction.
Atlanta: Looks like a spear.
I had to admit that she sounded unimpressed, but Atlanta probably just thought it was like any ordinary spear.
Yours Truly: Not just any spear. It's the spear of Achilles! He used it in the Trojan War!
Then, I held my ancestor's spear in attack position.
Yours Truly (continued): How do I look?
I spoke ferociously when asking her my question. That should have been enough to impress my Atlanta.
Atlanta: Like a goof.
A/N: or not.
Atlanta just continued rubbing the cleaning cloth against all the wooden crates of Ares' storage room.
Atlanta (continued): C'mon, Archie. Ares wants this place cleaned up.
I just continued showing off with the spear, though. I did not really want to waste even a minute of my valuable time on something as trivial as 'clean up'.
A/N: dude, I so get how you feel about cleaning.
I was even having fun with it… until I knocked over a whole rack of swords and stuff while I was testing out the spear. It all just clattered everywhere around the rack.
Yours Truly: Oops.
Atlanta turned around to face me once again… only that time, she actually did giggle even just a bit at my mistake.
Atlanta: Nice moves.
I knew it was sarcasm, but I just had to feel happy about the acknowledgement from her, of all my teammates.
It was then that I noticed something on the floor next to what I had crashed into. It looked like a box of some kind.
Yours Truly: Hey, what's this?
I ditched the spear and went for the box thing. Then, Atlanta came up to me finally.
Atlanta: C'mon, Archie, leave that. Let's clean this mess up.
I admit that I just wanted to get more of her attention when I asked her…
Yours Truly: Aren't you curious what's inside?
That was when I finally opened it. The box then whooshed and lit up from the inside. Then, my Atlanta and I were both knocked unconscious for a bit and just slightly blacked out. Well, I was knocked unconscious anyway. I was pretty sure that Atlanta, being as capable as she was, got out of the way of whatever came out of that box before it could strike her upside the head, too.
When my vision finally came back into focus, I saw what looked a lot like a little girl. She even talked to me.
Little girl: Sir, are you OK?
I finally saw the girl in full focus. If I did not know any better, I would have sworn this little girl was…
Yours Truly: An… angel…?!
Little girl: No, I'm Hope.
That was when I noticed Atlanta also lying on the floor just a few inches away from me. I guess that she got struck by the light and the whoosh, too.
Atlanta: Hope?
Hope: Yes. The mother of trust, faith and human aspiration.
Yours Truly: And you just came out of there?
I pointed to the box which had knocked apparently both Atlanta and I out when I had opened it. Hope, as she was called, just nodded.
Atlanta: So, that would mean that is…
Atlanta's eyes widened in realization after that.
Atlanta (continued): We'd better report this to Miss Hera.
Atlanta turned to me once again. Then, she grabbed onto my wrist. I just blushed upon her basically holding my hand. Yeah, I knew that she was practically trying to squeeze the life out of my hand as a disciplinary action alright, but I was just far too pleased by the grasp which I, of all her teammates, had received from her hand on mine to focus on the pain that more or less came with it.
Atlanta (continued): I'll be keeping an eye on you the rest of the day, Archie, considering that you're the one who opened that box.
Yeah, I knew she was mad at me, alright. I also knew that I should have felt ashamed about even having made her mad in the first place, but I would not have had anyone else's eye on me at the time.
Atlanta then turned to Hope and actually bore a sweet, but quite desperate-looking smile on her face at the little girl of a goddess.
Atlanta (continued): Hope, I don't suppose you'd be interested in helping me explain to Hera about what just happened, would you?
Hope just agreed to do what Atlanta had clearly wanted her to do yet refused to make her do without her consent.
Hope: I just hope that Miss Hera and the other gods can help us with this situation.
I was suddenly confused by what Hope had mentioned.
Yours Truly: What are ya talkin' about? It's not like there's any kind of emergency we have on our hands.
Atlanta: Unless there is, Archie, and you'd even be surprised by just what it's all about.
I was still thoroughly confused about what the opening of that box could have even meant for any of us.
After Atlanta dragged me over to Miss Hera's solarium, she summoned the others to join the two of us and Hope.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods: Atlanta, you were right to bring this here to me. This is none other than…
The aging queen of the gods then suddenly paused a bit for effect and for a breath.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods (continued): Pandora's box.
I admit that I did not know what or even who the queen of the Olympians was talking about by then.
Yours Truly: Well, who's Pandora?
Then, I turned to the little girl who showed up not long after Atlanta and I woke back up from completely blacking out for a short time after opening the box.
Yours Truly (continued): I thought you said your name is Hope.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods: Pandora was the first mortal woman. She was given the box as a gift from the gods but was told never to open it.
I had to say that I did not understand how the gods could just give someone something and then tell them not to open it. It just did not sound very sensible to me. Needless to say it, Neil was quickly the only one to speak up about the story Miss Hera was telling us of the box at the time.
Neil: Now what is the point of that? You gods can be so twisted.
Then, Neil started to demonstrate what he meant with his comment to Herry, who sat next to him.
Neil (continued): Here's a present, but don't open it! Here's an apple, but don't eat it!
A/N: nice refence to the bible, Neil. I swear, gets me every single time.
Then, Herry looked pretty disappointed that he was not going to be getting an apple any time soon.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods: Well, Pandora did open the box. Her curiosity got the better of her.
Atlanta then turned to face me.
Atlanta: Sound familiar?
I just clutched onto the mow-licks in my hair and held a stupid grin of sheer embarrassment on my face. That was when I heard Odie's voice.
Odie: And we all know the rest of the story.
Herry just looked confusedly at the brains of our team.
Herry: We do?
Jay suddenly felt like he had to explain to the ones amongst our team who did not know the story of Pandora's box. I admit that I was amongst those who did not know.
Jay: Yeah. When Pandora opened the box, all the disease and evils in the world were released.
Odie just hummed in agreement with Jay before telling the rest of us just what those evils were.
Odie: Greed, sorrow, suffering, the works.
Then, Neil gave his own opinion, once again, about Pandora's so-called 'gift' from the gods.
Neil: See? That is twisted.
Theresa quickly became the next to ask her opinion.
Theresa: Why wasn't Hope set free at the same time?
The queen of the Olympian gods just explained exactly what happened when Pandora closed her supposed 'gift' from Hera and her fellow gods and goddesses.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods: Pandora, realizing her mistake, closed the box before Hope could escape.
That was when we all heard Hope add something to the Olympian queen's explanation of the story of Pandora's box.
Hope: And the Seeper.
Hera, the queen of the Greek gods: Excuse me?
Hope: I was trapped in the box, and so was the Seeper. He's ever so nasty, but I'm oh so glad to be out now! Thank you, Mister Archie.
I admit that I was a little embarrassed about being thanked endlessly by a goddess who, no matter how old she was biologically, was still just a little girl in terms of physical age. I just acknowledged it, nonetheless.
Yours Truly: Don't mention it.
Then, I heard Jay ask Hope a question, along with a second, follow-up question.
Jay: What's the Seeper? And where is it?
Hope then gave Jay the answer to both the questions he inquired to her.
Hope: He's a very deadly disease. I don't know where he went.
With the very mention of this Seeper thing being a very deadly disease, I suddenly grew incredibly worried about just what I could have possibly unleashed on the unsuspecting citizens of our fair city in New Olympia.
Yours Truly: We have to find it!
The queen of the Olympians had her own input to our collective situation.
Hera, queen of the Greek gods: Odie, I suggest you see Dionysus. He may know how to deal with it.
Odie only gave the Olympian queen a thumbs up in confirmation, while I was just confused as to why Miss Hera suggested Dionysus, of all the Greek gods.
Neil: Dionysus? Isn't he still_
Then, Neil took a few gulps of imaginary wine to demonstrate just which elemental prospect from Greek mythology Dionysus was even supposed to represent.
A/N: couldn't have said it better, myself, Neil.
Hera, queen of the Greek gods: No, he's recently turned his chemistry skills to more useful pursuits.
While Odie, Theresa, Neil and Hope went to see the god of wine who had turned his skills towards more useful pursuits as of late by then, Herry, Jay, Atlanta, and I all went Seeper-hunting. That was when Atlanta held up some kind of device for the hunt as soon as we were all ready.
Atlanta: We can track it with this.
Atlanta held out a stick tied up to a screen via some kind of wiring. She held the screen from it up towards Jay if just to demonstrate what it was.
Atlanta (continued): It's like a Geiger counter. It can pick up the Seeper's signature.
Jay: Lead the way.
A bit later, the four of us had made it to some alley in the city. It was somewhere near our collective place at the Brownstone. Atlanta's Geiger counter led us to the alleyway.
Atlanta: The signal's getting stronger!
We all looked towards the alleyway, and something slithered by us just beyond it.
Jay: There it is!
Then, Jay, Herry, and Atlanta all started to follow the monster. I was a little afraid of it, though. I would never have let the others know I was scared of something that was supposed to be small but was actually as big as a car. I did, however, let out a gulp from my surprise spike in nerves.
Yours Truly: I let that out?
It took me a little longer to be ready to face the Seeper than it had for the others, but I had eventually found the will to battle against that monster disease anyway. The Seeper snarled and hissed at all four of us. It sure was an ugly sucker.
Herry: Oh, gross! I am not fighting that thing.
Herry apparently did not like the looks of the Seeper, either, judging by what he, himself, said about it.
Jay: Don't worry. It's cornered.
Atlanta: Or maybe not.
That was when we all heard only the absolute nastiest of squishing sounds coming from where we last saw it. The monster was escaping into the sewers.
You have got to be kidding me!
Jay did exclaim in disgust; however, he was still as determined as his usual self to stop that disease from spreading throughout the city, itself.
Jay: We have to follow it.
That was when Herry grabbed onto the sewer lid, picked it up off of the manhole and placed it onto the ground for all four of us to get into the sewers. Hey, the big guy was the muscle of our little team of seven, after all.
Jay descended down into the sewer first. He was followed by Herry. Atlanta went down the manhole next. Finally, I went after her.
Atlanta: This way.
Herry and Jay both turned on their flashlights, Atlanta led us down the tunnel with her Geiger counter, and I just trailed from the back of the pack. Then, Herry stepped in something. It was from the trail that that Seeper thing had left behind. Jay seemed to spot the big, ugly, disease-spreading sucker just from where we were at the time.
Jay: There! It's just up ahead.
Herry: All right, I'm cleanin' my shoes with your_
Atlanta: Wait!
Atlanta stopped Herry before he could go all out against something that was completely contagious and most likely as fatal as the much-dreaded black plague, itself.
Atlanta (continued): I wouldn't touch that thing.
Jay: Atlanta's right. Besides, it's not goin' anywhere fast.
What our fearless leader said was true. The Seeper may have been butt-ugly and deadly, but it definitely did not move all that quickly. It could have possibly been beaten by a turtle, or even by a snail, if that turtle or snail was just determined and steadfast enough to race off against anything it set its mind to beat in a race, especially if it were the tortoise in 'The Tortoise and the Hare'.
Jay then called Odie on his PMR and told him, the other two from our team and Hope where the rest of us were.
Jay: Odie? We're in the sewer.
Odie (over the PMR): We're right behind you.
A little later, Odie joined us, followed by Theresa, Neil and Hope. Then, Odie approached Jay, Herry, Atlanta and yours truly from behind all four of us.
Odie: Guys! All we have to do is get a sample of_
Odie finally saw exactly what all four of us were looking at and noticed just what our ragtag team of Greek heroes' descendants was up against that time.
Odie: _ that thing?!
That was right when Neil, Theresa, and Hope showed up from behind the rest of us just after Odie finally saw the Seeper. Odie, however, just shook his head 'no' after seeing the Seeper for himself. I could easily tell that Odie had suddenly become far too squeamish to even approach the Seeper, never mind get a sample of the monster.
Yours Truly: Well, how do we do that?
Atlanta then took Odie's scissors and sample jar from him. I just prayed that she was not thinking of doing what I thought she was thinking of doing.
Atlanta: Very carefully.
That was when the drama queen, Theresa, tried to give Atlanta and the rest of us a bright side to look at.
Theresa: Maybe, it won't notice.
We all watched as Atlanta tried to approach the Seeper with nothing short of complete and total caution. Then, she tried using the medical scissors to cut a piece of the beast clean off of its own body. Very soon after, however, the Seeper just turned around and screeched at her. All of the rest of us from behind yelled frightenedly at what the monster's voice had sounded like.
Odie: It noticed.
There went Theresa's hopeful theory that the Seeper was just as oblivious and unsuspecting as it was ugly. That monster was clearly aware of its surroundings.
Atlanta just let out a breathy 'OK' before she tried to get a sample of the Seeper even after it had noticed what she was trying to do to it. That was when Herry showed up from behind her.
Herry: I'll hold it down for ya!
While Herry had made the move to hold the Seeper down for Atlanta as she took the sample from the monster, Neil just held onto Odie and Theresa, and told Herry from his area with the brains and the drama queen…
Neil: That's the spirit! We'll watch!
Back where the two of them were facing off against the Seeper, Atlanta told Herry to be careful of the beast.
Herry: You want a piece of me? Well, we want a piece of you!
Then, the strong man of our team tackled the Seeper to hold it down.
Herry: Do it. Now!
Atlanta tried to get a sample of the Seeper's flesh with the medical scissors, but the disease-spreading monster just continued to wriggle around even with Herry holding it down for her.
Atlanta: Oh! You gotta keep it steady!
Herry: I'm trying.
Hope: Go, Mr. Herry!
Atlanta: Almost got it!
Atlanta then reached over with the medical scissors and finally managed to cut off a piece of the Seeper's butt-ugly and totally slimy flesh from one of its dozens of hideous, worm-like tentacles.
There was, however, a backlash effect that my Atlanta was far less than prepared for. The Seeper's blood from where she had cut its flesh clean off landed on her arm, and she screamed out an extremely distressed scream.
Yours Truly: Atlanta!
The rest of us all rushed to Atlanta's side as quickly as we possibly could. Even Herry let go of the Seeper once Atlanta had gotten the sample of its flesh since he no longer needed to hold down the beast for her.
Odie suddenly noticed his precious Seeper sample getting away with the rest of the disease-ridden monster, so the brains of our team used his sample jar to capture it.
Odie: Got it!
Then, our team's brains and strategy expert took out some kind of pen and clicked it. The pen released a disk of some kind that suddenly attached itself onto the Seeper as the monster screeched out in pain once more.
I just had to tend to my Atlanta's condition, I could not even think of anything else at the time; though, I was still aware of exactly what was going on. I looked her over just before asking her if she was OK. She sounded like she was trying to speak to me, but it came out as nothing but jumbled up murmurs from her.
Atlanta: Yeah… I'm good. Never been…
That was when she finally stopped speaking to me and lost consciousness altogether. It was just like she was out cold from whatever disease the Seeper had given her.
Yours Truly: Oh no!
I picked up my Atlanta from her unconscious state of being and held her in my arms.
Yours Truly (continued): We gotta get her back to the school… to Chiron's study and fast.
We immediately headed out of the sewers and got back to the surface where we would all be safe from getting any more germs, Atlanta especially. After we made it out of the sewers, we ran all the way to the school in our urgency. I carried Atlanta in my arms the whole way back. She also moaned sickly the entire time. We had to hurry.
Once we made it to Chiron's study in the school, Atlanta just continued moaning to signify her illness. Odie opened the door for us all. Chiron turned around to face us as I still carried my Atlanta like she weighed nothing at all.
Chiron: My dear! Put her on the couch.
I did just what the horse man told me and placed my Atlanta on the couch so she could rest.
Yours Truly: Atlanta? Can you hear me?
That was when I grabbed onto her arm where the Seeper's blood had infected her. I had to confess that it was only half out of concern for her health. I admit that the other half of it was just an excuse to hold her hand entirely.
Yours Truly (continued): I can't believe it! It's all my fault!
It was two-hundred percent true. I was with none a doubt the one to blame for my crush being the Seeper plague's first victim.
Hope: Don't lose hope, Mr. Archie. I'm sure she'll be fine.
It was then and there that Chiron approached us all.
Chiron: Tell me. What has happened?
That was when that my Atlanta started moaning and mumbling a thing or two unintelligibly. I could hear my beloved strawberry redhead speaking, though just barely, and I easily thought that it had to be a sign that she was coming around to us all once again.
Yours Truly: Atlanta!
Theresa, herself, also seemed to be trying to hear whatever it was that my Atlanta was saying as she just lay there on the couch resting to deal with her ailment.
Theresa: What's she saying?
That was when my Atlanta began singing 'Pop Goes the Weasel'. That's right! The strong-willed love of my life had been recently singing an old nursery rhyme like 'pop goes the weasel'… childishly too, I might add. Then after that little 'song' of hers, she fell right back down into the position in which she lay on the couch just before she began singing that kind of childish tune.
A/N: act your own age, why don't you?
Theresa: 'Pop Goes the Weasel'?
Theresa sounded like she was just as confused as the rest of us were about this suddenly childish behavior from my Atlanta. That was when the strawberry redheaded huntress, who was also the love of my life, more or less, let out a surprisingly giggly little chuckle and waved her right hand at the rest of us as though it were her first time even meeting us all.
Atlanta: Hi, everybody!
She was acting like she was a child of four or five years old again. The love of my life was really acting like she was back in kindergarten, or even in preschool.
Chiron: You must get the Seeper sample to Dionysus. He needs to know exactly what the stages of this… disturbing infection… are.
Jay: We can get it to him, but I think that one of us should stay behind and make sure that Atlanta's current… condition… doesn't make her do anything too weird.
Yours Truly: I'll do it!
That was when I suddenly saw Theresa look at me really weirdly and the guys just began snickering at me like I had said something supremely embarrassing to the max.
Yours Truly: W-W-What? I-I-I'm just gonna look after her because, you know, because it's all my fault she's even in this state to begin with.
While the guys were snickering away, Theresa saw the need to warn me about what I was heading into.
Theresa: Just don't try anything too… personal… with Atlanta, or you'll have to deal with me, Archibald Khilles.
After that, I just gulped at Theresa's sudden and alarmingly terrifying warning to yours truly. I knew that I could have easily dealt with whatever the drama queen would have had in store for me should I do anything like what she more than likely had in mind with that little warning of hers. It was Atlanta I was worried about most of all at the time. The love of my life was sicker than a dog, she was so ill, and I could barely handle it.
Jay: Come on, Theresa, let's go get Odie's Seeper sample to Dionysus. He might be able to tell us just what we're really dealing with.
Theresa suddenly turned from savage as a beast to gentle as a kitten the minute she turned herself around to face towards Jay's direction.
Theresa: You're right, Jay. We should really just tell Dionysus about Atlanta's condition and hope that he can do something about it.
The drama queen then turned back to me and bore the same savage expression on her face as before, once again.
Theresa: I'll be watching you, Archie!
I swore that Theresa acted like she was my Atlanta's beyond overprotective mother telling a potential boyfriend off towards me right when she said that to me.
A short time after everyone else had left to see Dionysus, Atlanta had once again woken up to being bandaged by Chiron on the arm through which she had even received the Seeper's downright nasty infection. She just giggled upon seeing Chiron in his classical horse man get up.
Atlanta: What a pretty tail you have!
Yep, my Atlanta was definitely four to five years old in her current state of mind at the time, alright. Chiron just ignored her 'compliment' and continued bandaging, or rather trying to bandage, her arm.
Chiron: Please remain still, or your wound will not heal.
Atlanta had tried to sit still, but my strawberry redheaded love was far too distracted by Chiron's tail to listen to the centaur's advice even by a little.
Atlanta: Pretty tail…
Atlanta had even tried to pet Chiron's horse tail as she said this. I knew I had to hold her back from it, myself.
Yours Truly: Enough with the tail, OK?
After I held her back, Atlanta went back to sleep.
Hope: She'll be fine.
Yours Truly: Do ya think so?
Hope: Until she reaches the second stage.
What did Hope just say to me by then?
Yours Truly: Huh?
Hope: There are six stages to the infection, but I know Mr. Dionysus will find a cure in time. I just know it!
The other five had gone off to stop the Seeper from infecting others while I still chose to stay behind and watch over Atlanta. The disease-spreading monster was headed for the city's reservoir and was most likely ready to infect the entire city upon its entry. Atlanta was still mumbling, and I had a wet cloth at her forehead.
Yours Truly: I'm sorry, Atlanta.
That was when my Atlanta suddenly woke up.
Atlanta: Archie!
If she said my name, my Atlanta had to feel at least somewhat better than she had been before.
Yours Truly: Atlanta?
Then, however, she suddenly sprang up completely from her position on Chiron's couch, screeching I might add.
Atlanta: Archie!
I still had the gall to hope that my Atlanta had felt even just a little better…
Yours Truly: How do ya feel?
… only to find out that I had hoped in vain that she felt any better than she had before, because as soon as she got up off of the couch, Atlanta just continued to say my name while dancing with me. I could do nothing but assume that such dancing was none other than…
Yours Truly: Is this the second stage?
Hope just nodded her head while voicing her confirmation that it was, in fact, the second stage of the infection. Then, Chiron came back into the room which was both the medical infirmary and his own office with Dionysus in tow.
Dionysus, the god of wine: Oh my. Are we celebrating Atlanta's recovery?
I knew that was what it had probably looked like to Dionysus, but I also knew for a fact that Atlanta would definitely not dance with me even if she were already back to herself. No matter how much I had always constantly wished she liked me the same way I liked her, I knew my Atlanta would never dance with the likes of me if she were in her right mind. I just told Dionysus and Chiron the truth about what was really going on with her.
Yours Truly: No. She's worse than ever!
Dionysus, the god of wine: Oh dear! Well, I've concocted a cure!
Yours Truly: A cure?!
The two most beautiful words in the English language… at the time, especially since Atlanta was ironically even sicker than she had been before by then.
Yours Truly: OK. OK. Let's take a break.
With just those four words after both of my 'OK's to her, I conducted my Atlanta back over to the couch to get the cure from Dionysus. I put my arm around her as I directed her to the couch, somehow an excuse to get closer to her, not caring, or even remembering, a word of exactly what Theresa had told me just before they all left.
Yours Truly: Come on, Atlanta.
My Atlanta just continued to sing my name, anyway.
Atlanta: Archie, Archie, Archie.
Dionysus approached us with his cure for my Atlanta.
Dionysus, the god of wine: Just a little dab of poultice.
He dabbed it onto a medical tongue blade and dispensed it onto Atlanta's tongue.
Atlanta: Archie….
Then, my Atlanta just sighed and seemed to calm down and mellow out by quite a bit.
Yours Truly: Is she cured? I think she's cured!
That seemed to be the case until she woke up again and began screaming her head off at the top of her lungs. Then, she went on a wrecking spree all around the infirmary that doubled as Chiron's office.
Yours Truly: Atlanta!
Dionysus, the god of wine: Atlanta, my dear!
As for the rest of us in the room, Dionysus, Chiron, Hope, and yours truly all hid behind one of the things she had not yet knocked over in her wrecking spree, Chiron's desk to be exact. I could do nothing about her actions except for assume that they were the unholy product of…
Yours Truly: Stage three, right?
Hope just nodded and voiced her confirmation once again.
A little later when the third stage of her infection had passed all of us by, stage four finally struck. It turned out that the fourth stage of the Seeper's infection was nothing but a deep and highly intoxicated sleep.
Hope: At least, stage three is over.
It was a good thing the third stage was over, too. I never wanted to see that sort of thing in action again.
Yours Truly: Have you found a cure, Dionysus?
Dionysus, the god of wine: I hope so.
The former god of wine and yours truly, both. Hope just responded to him by throwing her arm forward in glee.
Hope: That's the spirit!
Just when I thought that things were finally looking up for us all, however, I got a call on my PMR from Neil.
Neil (over the PMR): Archie! Our plan backfired! Odie's down, and Herry's in trouble!
With those words alone, I finally knew just how wrong I was to even think that things would actually start looking up for our team as soon as I had thought they would.
Yours Truly: Odie is hurt. He's infected. They can't stop the Seeper.
Chiron had his own input on what he had heard with my message from Neil.
Chiron: Oh dear.
With that knowledge fresh in my mind, I was just about ready to drown in my own guilt completely and totally for ever even unleashing that, that thing in the first place.
Yours Truly: Oh, it's all my fault. I wish there was something I could do.
Hope, however, seemed to believe that I could do something about it so long as I had wanted to.
Hope: There's always one thing you can do, even in the darkest moments; hope.
I honestly did not know what hoping for something I could do to help cure my beloved Atlanta_ and my pal, Odie_ and help the others fight against that disease-spreading beast. At the time, however, I firmly believed that fighting against the disease-ridden monster was the only I actually could do to help my friends.
Yours Truly: Or fight!
That was when I went over to the couch on which my Atlanta lay sleeping, if only to apologize to her once more.
Yours Truly (continued): I'm sorry, Atlanta. This is my fault.
I did not even know exactly what it was about my Atlanta being in a state of slumber, but I suddenly felt myself totally give in to my sudden desire to get even just a little closer to the girl of my dreams and kissed her. Granted that it was just on her cheek, but I could not really help myself at the time_ because she looked too peaceful to not want to kiss. I still heard what was being said about my kiss towards her by both Chiron and Dionysus.
Chiron and Dionysus, the god of wine: NOOOOOOOOO!
I was instantly brought back down to Earth when I felt someone grab onto my shoulder and pull me away from my Atlanta, and in mid-kiss no less. It was Chiron.
Chiron: You could catch her infection!
While I did not like the idea of being pulled away from my Atlanta while kissing the love of my life, I certainly saw the reasonable actions in what the Greek horse man did to me during that one kiss on her cheek. There was a chance I could have gotten infected by the same illness, myself. I had to explain to them that I only kissed her on a crazy impulse.
Yours Truly: I-I didn't realize.
It was more or less true that I did not once realize that I could catch the infection from Atlanta. I could not even help it, though. Whenever I was near her, my normally down-to-Earth senses would be transferred to a fluffy array of clouds. I guess that you really can turn into an idiot when you like-like someone. Dionysus was speaking to me.
Dionysus, the god of wine: But a kiss? She's very contagious!
Oh, I felt her contagion alright, but it was not the kind of contagion which the centaur and the former god of wine were both talking about. The contagion I felt from my Atlanta even at that moment was something that had always been with me ever since we first met, and it had even stayed with me that whole time.
That was when I suddenly realized that the way I had always felt about my Atlanta was the only thing I really felt at all by then, even after kissing my Atlanta in her Seeper-infected sleep. I felt nothing from the Seeper's infection. I had to let Dionysus and Chiron know that I felt OK even without a cure, right away.
Yours Truly: I-I feel fine.
True to his former status as the god of wine, however, Dionysus seemed to not hear me as quickly as a truly sober god would have. That was to say that he did not seem to hear me, right away.
Dionysus, the god of wine: Just as I feared! Oh dear, if I don't find a cure now…
It was then, and only then, that Dionysus' newly acquired sobriety seemed to finally catch up to what the former god of wine and of drunkenness had heard me say.
Dionysus, the god of wine (continued): You feel fine?
The former god of wine and of drunkenness still said it like he did not understand it, at all. Admittingly, I could not really blame Dionysus, though. I could barely understand what I was getting at, myself. Chiron just gasped at this, as though he were realizing something out of it.
Chiron: He's immune!
Immune? I was immune to the Seeper's infection? How was it that I was immune, but not even one of the others seemed to be immune?
Dionysus, the god of wine: Of course! Like the Great Achilles, Archie is invincible!
So, that was what all of the hubbub with my immunity was all about. Sure, Odie was and always would be the brains of our ragtag team of heroes' descendants, Herry had superstrength, and my Atlanta had been blessed since birth with superspeed that could easily rival that of even a cheetah, while I got super invincibility? Oh well, I guess it is still something, at least. I was still a jack-of-all-stats, if anything useful for battle, however, because I was smarter than Herry and Atlanta, stronger than Atlanta and Odie, and faster than Odie and Herry.
Yours Truly: I've never been sick a day in my life.
That all but settled it. If I really was the descendant of pure invincibility, I just really had to be the one to stop the Seeper in its disgusting tracks. I should have gone with the others to fight that monster from the start. I should have been the one to get the sample of that thing for Dionysus in the first place. I suddenly realized that there were a ton of things I should have done differently that day. I suppose I would have been able to make up for it by doing what I knew should do by the time I had learnt of what I could do against the savage, disease-ridden beast.
Yours Truly (continued): So, if I'm immune, I can kill it!
I was going to kill the Seeper, alright. Then, I would succeed at getting back at that disease-spreading monster for infecting my Atlanta… an-and my friend, Odie.
Hope: I know you can, Mr. Archie!
I raced over to the exact area of Olympus High where I had first discovered Pandora's box, the same weapons' room Ares had asked Atlanta and yours truly to clean up earlier. It was the very same room in which the Seeper was first unleashed, thanks to me. I needed to get something from that exact room that just might have helped me stand an even better chance against the Seeper with it than on my own. I had to get the spear of my ancestor, Achilles.
Then, I rode my motorcycle all the way to the area where the others were all struggling even survive against the Seeper, never mind defeating it, with Hope in the back to help with the endeavor of killing the disease-ridden monster. I contacted Jay on his PMR through my helmet.
Yours Truly: Jay, I'm immune!
Jay responded back at me quickly.
Jay (over the PMR): Well, you better put the pedal to the metal, buddy, 'cuz this thing is really mad!
Herry then interrupted Jay on his personal mobile radio call from me.
Herry (over Jay's PMR): Not as mad as I am!
Then from what I could hear over the PMR alone, the team's strong man suddenly began wrestling the Seeper once again, no doubt foolishly thinking that he stood a chance against it without me. Then, I heard the Seeper slam Herry up against the ground. Just how big did that disease-spreading monster even get and since when could the beast slam anything around? I thought the Seeper was nothing but tentacles and fangs. That was when I heard both Theresa and Jay call out his name upon something else happening to the big guy.
Theresa and Jay (over Jay's PMR): Herry!
That was around when I finally arrived on the scene.
Jay: Archie!
Then, I saw it. The Seeper, which was nothing but purple tentacles and fangs in the beginning of our war against the creature, had turned into a yellow beast with six legs by then. It must have been that monster's true form. It certainly explained why the beast sounded like it was suddenly able to slam even Herry around. It looked ten times more mobile and agile than before, too. That was also why I just had to stop it from making it to the city's reservoir.
Yours Truly: 'Scuse me! Outta the way! Comin' through!
That was when Hope approached the only ones on the rest of the team who were still well, specifically Theresa.
Hope: Archie's immune!
Then, Theresa suddenly sounded like she really wanted to believe so even after hearing it for herself.
Theresa: We can only hope he can stop it.
Come on, drama queen. I know I was a bit reluctant to actually fight that thing off, but give me a little credit for finally manning up in time for the task ahead of me.
Hope: Exactly!
Then, Hope gave Theresa an affectionate, light-fisted punch to the arm, while I went right on my way to fight off the disease-spreading creature. Once I was at its feet, I hit both sides to the Seeper's face with both ends of my ancestor, Achilles', spear. The monster just screeched at me and shook its face. As I continued to attack it with the spear of Achilles, the Seeper just hit my chest with its beyond disgusting secretions. Admittingly, I did feel it burn at my shirt, but otherwise, it had no effect whatsoever on me. I then heard Theresa talk about it from behind me.
Theresa: He really is immune!
I guess the term, 'seeing is believing', really was as true as the day is long, especially with Theresa's belief in me. That was when the Seeper seemed to decide that if it could not defeat me with its infectious, oozing muck, it would have had to fight me off with the claws that were attached to the feet on its six legs. I refused to be defeated by it so easily, myself, however, and just kept attacking the monster with my ancestor's spear until it finally knocked me down.
Theresa (continued): Archie!
The next thing I knew both Hope and the drama queen rushed to my side.
Theresa (continued): Are you OK?
I just groaned and grunted until I finally got back up from my monumental fall.
Neil: It's getting away!
The vain blonde pretty boy who, for surprising reasons, was technically the heart of our little team was still tending to the then fallen Herry when he noticed the Seeper head directly towards the city's reservoir, its targeted destination. Meanwhile, I once again began to apologize like crazy and drown in self-loathing for what was my fault and mine alone without a shadow of a doubt.
Yours Truly: Sorry. It's all my fault. First Atlanta, then Odie and now Herry.
I was still aware of Hope touching my shoulder as if trying to reassure me that everything would be fine.
Hope: Mr. Archie, you mustn't lose hope.
It was no use, however, because I had no hope left at that point.
Yours Truly: I can't do it.
That was when Theresa seemed to think that mission of mine was nothing short of a lost cause by then, too.
Theresa: Nobody's big enough to take on that thing.
Hope still had one more message for the both of us regarding yours truly taking on the Seeper, though.
Hope: You don't have to be big to be strong.
It was then that Hope all but held her hands together and just as suddenly disappeared into my own body.
Yours Truly: Wow!
Neil, on the other hand, was suddenly a little skeptical of Hope's powers, though. The so-called 'heart' of our little team even went and dropped the downed, at the time, Herry onto the hard, pavemented ground as the still vain blond got up from his own sitting position on said ground.
Neil: What is this? I thought she was gonna help and then she just disappears?
Neil might have had his doubts, but I knew better as to exactly what it was that Hope had done for us, specifically for me. Theresa seemed to also be onto what I already knew about Hope's true location at the time.
Theresa: Archie?
I knew that the drama queen was not my Atlanta, but the love of my life was still sick on Chiron's couch with the Seeper's infection, so I guess that having the other girl on our ragtag team to witness me in action against that monster was better than nothing whatsoever.
Yours Truly: Pardon me, guys. I've got a job to do.
That was when I grabbed onto my ancestor's spear which I had taken with me in order to stop the Seeper, and I could really feel that Hope was actually possessing my body. It may have sounded a little creepy to the ears of any normal human being to be possessed by another entity entirely, but in our most recent situation at the time, being possessed by the goddess of trust, faith, and aspiration had actually felt as though it were a blessing in disguise, especially for just about anyone who was ready to fall into the deepest and the darkest depths of the absolute most unrelenting kind of despair that there ever was.
Jay: Go, Archie!
I lunged Achilles' spear at the Seeper, which effectively halted its dive into the entire city's reservoir.
Yours Truly: Sorry, no swimmin' allowed.
That was when the beast tried to scratch me. Fortunately, I had rushed out of the way at a speed that could actually rival even the speed of my beloved Atlanta's, I dodged the Seeper's claws so quickly.
Yours Truly: Ha! Missed me!
I then made kissing sounds to basically just tease and taunt the monster about having missed me and even chuckled at it. The Seeper, however, was not happy and just lunged itself at me, but I kicked it off of me. It then tried once again to launch some of its oozing muck at my beautiful face, of all parts of my body.
Yours Truly: Yuck!
It would not have worked on me anyway, but it was still disgusting, nonetheless. It did, however, give the Seeper just the chance that monster more than likely knew it had needed to knock me back down into the concrete. I still got back up, however, and just thrusted my ancestor, Achilles', spear at the beast. The Seeper roared in agony before finally toppling over and back onto the concrete, itself. That was when the monster's body finally oozed into a mucking, sizzling hot mess on the concrete and was dead, at last. Jay, Theresa and Neil had all cheered in congratulations at me for finally getting rid of the filthy, disease-spreading monster, and Hope released herself from within my body.
Yours Truly: Hope?!
Hope just hovered above me like an angelic deity, which was kind of what she pretty much was.
Hope: I always knew you had it in you.
It was then that Hope flew up further into the air and left us all, having finally run out of reasons to stay with us.
Theresa: Hey, maybe it's a good thing you opened that box.
That was when Hope had disappeared once again, most likely for good that time. Do not worry, though. If I had to make a guess as to why, I would say that the goddess of trust and faith disappeared into the world to become an inspiration to all who inhabit it.
Theresa (continued): You brought a little hope into the world.
I had to say that even if the Seeper was also let loose on the world when I admittingly had opened Pandora's box, I still felt pretty darn good about having let loose a little hope on the world in addition. Then just as things were finally starting to feel peaceful again, Jay just had to step in and be his usual killjoy self.
Jay: The Seeper may have been defeated, but we still need to get Odie and Herry back to the school and hope that Dionysus has found a cure for the infection by now. Theresa and Neil, you two grab Odie. Archie, we'll get Herry.
With Jay's words in mind, Neil and Theresa headed over to where Odie was to pick up the brains of our ragtag team. Meanwhile, Jay and I had been tasked with the far more difficult assignment of lugging the big guy over to his own truck. Then, all four of us took the both of them back over to the school to get helped by Chiron and Dionysus. By the time we all made it to Chiron's study, however, the room was in an even bigger mess than ever before. At the very least, my Atlanta appeared like she was up and well once again.
Atlanta: What's up, guys?
Atlanta was back to being up and well again alright, and I was as elated as the Elysian Fields, themselves, to see the love of my life completely better.
Yours Truly: Atlanta! You're cured!
Atlanta suddenly sounded quite confused as to why I said what I had said, though.
Atlanta: Cured?
We all looked behind her and noticed that Chiron and Dionysus wore casts on both of their left arms. The areas around their heads were also all bandaged up something of which had looked as though it were quite fierce.
Jay: Dionysus!
Theresa: Chiron!
Neil: What happened?
The former god of wine answered the joint question from both Jay and Neil with the pointer finger from his one good arm by then which was on his right side.
Dionysus: I finally found a cure.
Then came Chiron's turn to answer Neil's joint question from Theresa's end.
Chiron: But not before Atlanta reached stage five. It was a doozy.
Whatever the doozy that Chiron and Dionysus were talking about that was the second to the last stage of the Seeper's infection, it certainly must have done quite the number on both of their physical conditions, seeing that the two of them both had their left arms in casts. Not to mention that whatever this frighteningly unknown fifth stage even was, it seemed to have left the horse man's study in a much bigger mess than even after Atlanta's little wrecking spree from stage three of the infection.
At least by then, Atlanta was finally feeling in peak medical condition, and she was totally back to normal.
Atlanta: All I remember is that Seeper thing, then I woke up here.
That was when I suddenly got the feeling that she would not remember doing any of the things that monster's infection had gone and made her do, but I dared myself to ask Atlanta what else she could have possibly remembered after getting infected by the beast, anyway.
Yours Truly: So, you don't remember the dancing?
As soon as I had asked her, however, Atlanta just sounded confused as to what I had even meant by it.
Atlanta: Dancing?
That was when Odie and Herry began dancing with one another from just behind the rest of us to their own collective and off-key singing of 'Pop Goes the Weasel'.
Theresa: Dionysus? Some of that cure, and fast!
Theresa sounded really quick to be totally annoyed by it. I knew I was certainly annoyed by it. It was suddenly just like the first two stages of the Seeper's infection rolled into one stage at the same time.
Meanwhile, I was still busy asking Atlanta what else she could have possibly remembered from her time under the influence of Seeper's infection…
Yours Truly: And you don't remember the ki_
… only to completely chicken out of asking her about the kiss from me and totally back track it into different word(s).
Yours Truly (continued): _ uh, kind things I said about you?
Atlanta just got off of the couch and readily approached me to respond to my question.
Atlanta: Somebody's getting' all sappy.
That was when the girl of my dreams grabbed onto my hair and began ruffling my mow-licks up with her left hand. Yep, Atlanta was back to her normal self, alright.
Atlanta (continued): I'm hungry! Who's up for a burger?
Herry and Odie had finally received Dionysus' cure and were also feeling completely and totally back to their own normal selves, already, and ahead of schedule, too, since the two of them had received the cure from the former god of wine right away.
Herry: Oh yeah! I could eat a horse!
Chiron, as a horse man, actually took offense to that exact comment from Herry by then. How could any of us tell, you might ask? The centaur nickered angrily at Herry's own beyond stupid comment about eating a horse.
A/N: horse meat. it ain't even very edible. trust me.
Herry: Oops! Uh, sorry, Chiron.
We all laughed at Herry's apology to the horse man amongst the Greek gods and goddesses. It was a sure-fire sign that the worst was once again behind all of us, and we could finally stop all of our collective worrying about anything going forward that day. That was, at least, until Theresa had approached me, of all the guys who were on our ragtag little team of Greek heroes and heroines' descendants, about something or other, and we walked out of Chiron's study before the rest of the team.
Theresa: By the way, Archie, exactly what were you gonna ask Atlanta whether or not she remembered after you asked her about when you said she was dancing?
I may have been immune to the Seeper's infection, but I guess that while the worst was behind us for everyone else, specifically for Atlanta, Odie and Herry, the worst of that little adventure was just up ahead for me. I had tried to shirk off answering Theresa's question to me about Atlanta's memory by playing dumb with it.
Yours Truly: What ever do you mean, Theresa? I never asked Atlanta about anything after the dancing question. Honestly, I didn't even think she would've remembered one single bit of it. I barely even know about anything she did during the infection after dancing… for a bit… with me. You wanna join the others and get that burger like Atlanta'd wanted, herself, when she said she was hungry? I know I do. Let us join the others for burgers, then, shall we?
The very next thing I even knew, Theresa, of all people on our team, had even gone completely and totally psycho on me, and she even wore a look in her eyes so evil, that it would have made even the evil god of time and space, Cronus, our mortal enemy, cringe with blinding fear and make a mad run for the safety of his own mother, that would have been if that guy even had a mother.
Theresa: Don't you dare play dumb with me, Mr. Archie. With you playing dumb, that could one day give Cronus the perfect edge over us all. Just what else were you gonna ask Atlanta about during your second question to my friend?
Of course, I was scared to death of Theresa's rage towards me, but I still played dumb and refused to give in.
Yours Truly: Don't worry your pretty, little head about it at all, Theresa. It was just something about the, um, kind words I said about Atlanta.
I tried to reassure her that that was all it was, but Theresa just continued to not once buy what I sold to her.
Theresa: I don't believe a single word your lying lips are saying, right now. You're hiding something from me, aren't you? I just know it.
I finally saw that I had no choice but to tell Theresa exactly what went down between Atlanta and I while she was under the influence of the Seeper's infection.
Yours Truly: Alright, fine. You win, Theresa. It all happened while Atlanta was in the fourth stage of the Seeper's infection.
Theresa: Go on, Archie.
Yours Truly: That stage of the Seeper's infection turned out to only be a deep sleep, and I may, or I may not, have done something a little intimate to Atlanta.
It was then that the drama queen had suddenly gone into extra dramatic mode, and she just tackled my head into a wall with her left arm and her right hand. It was yet another one of the classic counter moves that my own mentor, Ares, had taught to all of us in his class.
Theresa: Tell me what you did to Atlanta while she was in recovery at the infirmary, Archie! Right now!
Yours Truly: Alright! Alright! I just…
I admit that I was having a little trouble spitting out my confession to Atlanta's surprisingly motherly friend, but it was both lucky and unlucky for me that Theresa was actually pretty quick realize I was having trouble getting my own words out and took a break from the headlock she had me in… if only to smack me in the back just so I could get out what she had wanted to learn from me by then.
Yours Truly (continued): I just kissed Atlanta on the cheek while she was still infected by the Seeper's disease from when she got Odie's sample of that monster to give to Dionysus for his examination of it.
After that little confession from me at least to Theresa, I was able to catch a breath, at last, because the rich girl finally gave me the chance to do so.
Yours Truly (continued): It was kinda how I finally discovered that I even was immune, and that I probably should've been the one to get Dionysus his Seeper sample, myself, in the first place.
Theresa just sighed at me about what I had confessed to her that I had done to Atlanta while she was fast asleep during the fourth stage of the Seeper's infective influence on even her own personality.
Theresa: A kiss on the cheek? That's it? That's all there was to what you did to Atlanta during her condition of infection? I tackled you into the wall over a kiss on the cheek?
I, for one, could not even one bit believe the drama queen's complete and total overreaction to what I had told Theresa that I did to the love of my life in her sleep, myself.
Yours Truly: You're questioning me about that kiss like it was all my fault you overreacted.
Theresa: A kiss? A kiss? And it wasn't even a kiss on Atlanta's lips? That's all?
That was just around when Theresa just sighed at me once again in a surprisingly exasperated tone the minute she was finally ready to calmly ask me what she had very obviously wanted to ask me about my kiss on her own gal pal, Atlanta's, cheek, of all the parts it could have been of my favorite strawberry redheaded huntress's body.
Theresa (continued): Then, why did you even call your kiss by 'the kind things you said about her' if a kiss on her cheek was the only thing there ever even was to it?
With that final question from her bombardment of them, it had sounded as though she was just annoyed with yours truly having had even called the kiss by what she had easily repeated from what I asked Atlanta earlier. I could not just ignore, however, that there was still an incredulous, undeniable truth in the very fact that I had to do something, anything, to prevent even Theresa from talking to Atlanta even just once about that kiss. So, I changed the subject as quickly as a lightning bolt.
Yours Truly: Don't tell her a word of my kiss, though. It could totally wreck the entire team dynamic, along with my friendship with m_ Atlanta.
I tried to stop myself from calling her 'my Atlanta', but it was too late. Theresa near immediately saw right through that of which I had wanted to call the girl of my dreams, though.
Theresa: You were gonna call her 'your Atlanta' right then and there, weren't you, Archie?
Afterwards, Theresa suddenly gasped in a shockingly delightful tone.
Theresa: Oh, my gods! You like Atlanta, don't you, Archie? You wanted to kiss her on the lips when you first kissed her, didn't you?
I then decided that I had really needed to warn Theresa even further about saying anything at all about my kiss even on Atlanta's cheek.
Yours Truly: Not one word of this to Atlanta.
Theresa: So, you're immune to any and every possible disease on the planet and an invincible warrior, but you're scared of confessing to your own love life?
Alright, so Theresa and I had gone from interrogation to teasing and taunting about feelings of love. Lovely turn of events, isn't it?
A/N: the 'lovely' part of that sentence is definite and total sarcasm.
Yours Truly: Can we just rejoin the others?
Theresa: Whatever you wanna do right now, lover boy.
Yours Truly: For the last time, Theresa, I am not in love! Atlanta's a friend.
Theresa: Just a friend?
Yours Truly: Yes, she is a friend. Now, can we just drop it? Gah! You're worse than the guys are about it!
Theresa: Yeah right! Atlanta's just a friend.
It was then that a brand-new voice came up from behind me just to agree with Theresa.
Voice: More like your ideal wife, am I right, Arch?
Then, I heard the voice chuckle up a storm at its own comment to what Theresa had said. It was Jay.
Yours Truly: Jay! What are you doing here? How much of our conversation did you even hear?
The leader of our team approached the drama queen.
Jay: Long enough to know exactly how often you lie to me and the guys about clearly liking Atlanta, liking her, and I came over to tell you both that we were almost ready to go get those burgers Atlanta was so hungry for.
Jay wore a sour-lipped smirk on his lips as he said Atlanta's name to me. Then, our leader and the drama queen had even high-fived one another in agreement with each other's own statements about my crush on Atlanta. I could not even believe the two of them. It was as though just about everyone I knew was out to spill the entire cannister of beans regarding how I felt about Atlanta. I just crossed my arms over my chest with quite the defiant huff, I appreciated their joint remark so little.
Theresa: Well, here comes the rest of our group, anyway.
Yours Truly: Let's just go, and neither one of you are allowed to tell her one word about it.
The two of them just laughed up a storm at me.
My brain: I don't believe those two. That's what I get for being open to anyone about my feelings.
That was easily going to be the last time I had ever even once expressed how I felt freely.