"Checkmate"
"Oh for god's sake!" I shout, as Yurei wins another damn game. We were currently on a Greyhound bus for New York, after I had burned through most of my money. I still had my drachma, but unfortunately mortal stores didn't accept them, nor did I know whether there were any stores that were for those in the mythology world.
I had spent much of the money on clothing, and I was now wearing a black zipped hoodie with yellow trimmings, black jeans, black shoes with yellow details, and thin fingerless gloves. Yeah, I probably toeing the line between looking edge and looking cool, but it was a line that I ruled.
Yurei, on the other hand, wore a blue jacket, with a black shirt beneath it, along with blue jeans and black shoes. He looked pretty normal in contrast to me.
I also spent some money on getting some stuff for entertainment. I found a video game store, where I bought a Gameboy Advance, along with some games for it. And I also got myself some board games for Yurei.
I, however, was regretting that decision. Yurei almost immediately asked to play Chess, to which I acquiesced, however we had been playing for over an hour now, and Yurei has beaten me at almost every match, though I managed to win one and draw another. Did you know that there's a chess move called En Passant? I mean, what the fuck dude, this was meant to be a casual game!
I really need to put more stats points into Intelligence.
We had about 4 or so more hours before we reached New York, meaning more opportunities for him to kick my ass. Why did I have to rescue a smart kid, honestly. I look out the window, as numerous cars pass on the motorway.
I was so close. Camp Halfblood was a blink away. Even thinking such a sentence felt unreal. In the span of about a week, I had met Thalia and Luke (characters who were meant to be fictional), killed a goddamn Hydra (even if it was a child of the real deal), changed Halcyon's fate (something thought to be impossible), met one of the Fates (and came out alive), talked to a literal god (whilst not being turned into a jackalope), and then I rescued the child in front of me.
I'm kind of glad I died. Honestly, this could all be one big hallucination, created by my mind from insanity due to the void. But if it was, I didn't care. As crazy as my life is right now, I'm honestly enjoying it. I may have made stupid decisions on my way, but at the very least, they were my decisions, and my fuck-ups. Not the twisted fist of life screwing me.
"What are you thinking about?" Yurei's monotonous voice snapped me from my thoughts. "Is something wrong?" He tilted his head, a frown on his face. What an odd child.
"No, no." I deny, clearing his worries, "Just thinking about… stuff." Was I being vague on purpose? Mayhaps. In all honesty, I didn't really want to talk about it, since it would mean mentioning my rebirth.
"Is it about the Camp?" Wow, how is this kid not a child of Athena? He somehow knew what I was thinking. Could it be some odd power of Melinoe? Or maybe Yurei is simply very observant. "Hey, what's camp like?" He asks, with a miniscule hint of anticipation in his voice.
One thing I had learnt about Yurei was that despite being extremely good at hiding his emotions whilst keeping an excellent poker face, there were moments where he couldn't hide his feelings, where a single drop would escape the container. It was hard to see at first, but I managed to notice after a couple of hours.
"You know for a fact that I've never been." I state, much to Yurei's disappointment. I sigh, damn was I a sucker for kids, "But from what I've heard, it's a pretty magical place. Like something straight out of a book" I chuckle at my own joke, much to Yurei's confusion, "Green fields full of strawberries, winged horses flying the skies, rivers running throughout the camp with naiads swimming about, and a beach where you can see the whole ocean. It's a pretty beautiful place from what they say. Oh, and there's a climbing wall with lava on it."
Yurei had looked at me in wonder as I described Camp Halfblood, though that probably turned into confusion as I mentioned the climbing wall, "That last part sounds very dangerous."
"Oh it probably is" I shrug, "But they've got my half-siblings who could probably heal any burns people get from it." It was odd to think that I had siblings in this world. Brother's and sisters who would accept me with open arms (hopefully).
"Do you think I have siblings?" He asks quietly. Ah right, he's an only child. I wonder if he wants siblings, or if he wants friends.
"Maybe. Has your mom mentioned you having siblings? You said that you've talked with her a couple times?"
Yurei shakes his head in denial, "Mother never mentioned any siblings. She only talked to me about the gods and how to use my powers"
"Your powers?"
Yurei nods, raising his hand. He moves it towards the wall of the bus, and suddenly, the hand goes through, as if the bus didn't exist. "I can only do it to small parts of my body, but mother says I will be able to do it to my entire body when I'm older." That… That's honestly pretty cool. The kid could literally turn into ghosts.
So what exactly happened to him in the canon universe? Because as far as I am aware, this universe is essentially the same as canon, barring my existence.
I shake the question off, as I put the chess set away into my inventory. It's weird how nonchalant Yurei is about my seemingly impossible powers, though I guess he must've had high expectations of demigod powers, and I'm simply conforming to them.
There's a brief silence as we both look out the windows, watching the small amount of rural landscape that existed before we would soon see the bustling city known as New York.
"Care for a game of UNO?"
5 Hours Later…
New York City
Huh. The Twin Towers still existed. I mean, September 11th has rolled by yet, so I guess there was a chance that they could get fucked. I never saw them back in my previous life, especially since they had already been… destroyed when I turned 5.
I felt a tug on the sleeve of my hoodie, and looked to Yurei, "Can we get a hot dog?" He asks, pointing to a hot dog stand nearby. I looked at the amount of money I had in my inventory. Which was only $5. Thank the gods that inflation hasn't hit yet.
The hot dogs were surprisingly only $1 each, so I got one for myself as well. Yurei and I sat down on a bench and watched the pedestrians pass by and cars that would've been considered retro or antique in my time. Time travel was kinda crazy. Yurei was looking up at the giant skyscrapers and I couldn't blame. From the perspective of a child, these buildings really did look like they touched the skies.
"Gilgamesh, are we going to have to walk all the way to camp?" Yurei asks, munching down on his hot dog. "How much further is it?"
I hold the urge to sigh, "Firstly, Yurei, call me Gill. This is like the 8th time I've told you." Not a second goes by in which I don't regret calling myself Gilgamesh. I just had to be a fancy prick, didn't I? "And secondly, we won't be walking there. We'll be taking a taxi."
"I thought you didn't have enough money for a taxi." Yurei states, curious.
A grin comes onto my face as I mysteriously tell him, "You'll see." Personally, I couldn't wait to see it myself. I always have a sense of excitement and anticipation whenever I'm about to see something from the books or mythology. It gave me a rush of sorts.
I take a drachma out of my inventory and throw it onto the New York road. Funnily enough, none of the mortals paid me any notice. Man, the Mist is awesome. Hopefully I can use it like Thalia can.
As the Drachma strangely began to sink into the ground, I say the words that Annabeth spoke in the Sea of Monsters, "Stêthi, Ô hárma diabolês!" In only a few moments after saying the sentence, smoke billows through the miniscule cracks in the road, as the grey gas forms into a shape resembling a New-York style taxi.
The back seat door opens by itself, clearing signalling for me to go in. I turn to Yurei, and somehow manage to hold in a laugh as I see his normally still face be replaced by a shocked expression with his jaw dropped.
I've noticed that the more we travel together, the more he seems to allow his emotions out. I know from his stat sheet that he's emotionally repressed, from purposefully hiding his feelings. I wonder if his father caused that. Nevertheless, he's getting better.
"Come on," I tell him, signalling for him to go into the taxi. His face returns to its deadpan expression, and he follows me inside the taxi. The inside of the car was grey. Utterly grey. Grey seats, grey seat belts, and grey floors.
The window that blocked the driver's seat from the passengers went down, revealing the Grey Sisters. The one at the driver's seat, with scraggly grey hair covering her ash skinned face, turned to us. Her voice sounded like someone scratching their nails against a chalkboard. "Passage? Passage?".
I could sense Yurei tensing up ever so slightly next to me. I know that the Grey Sisters weren't beautiful, but to warrant such a reaction from Yurei made me feel something was wrong. I'll ask him as we ride. "Two to Camp Halfblood."
"Hmm… Very rare for two new demigods to use our service" The sister furthest from the driver, Anger, said suspiciously as the taxi began to speed down the road, "Which god told you of us?" Hmm… They must be trying to find a god to tattle on. Were they looking to tell Zeus on them? Hoping for a reward?
"No, I saw it in a dream" I say, with a tone that warned the Grey Sisters of what may happen if they continued down this line of questioning. Anger simply grunted in response. I turned to Yurei, who was still very tense. Shallow breathing, and his skin was seemingly paler than it usually is. "Yurei, what's wrong."
"I-It's nothing" He stuttered out. That was very odd. If there was something that made Yurei so nervous, then there was a good chance it was dangerous. But, if he won't tell, then there's no point in pressing the matter. I had no real authority over the kid.
Suddenly, the car sharply swerved left, causing me to hit my head against the window, "Di Immortales!" I curse, "We're not in a hurry! Slow the hell down!" Bloody hell, they need a better taxi service in New York. These sisters are hazards.
The middle sister, Tempest, looked at me with her empty holes where eyes should be, and gave me a toothless snarl. "This is our ride. If you cannot endure it, get out." For fuck's sake, if I didn't the ride, I'd beat these old hags up.
A minute or so passes by, and I notice from a sign (which passed by us in less than a second), that we had reached Long Island. Mind you, we were in Manhattan a couple minutes ago. If only the Grey Sisters had a service like this that extended to the entire country.
I was getting increasingly worried as Yurei was becoming more distressed. "Okay, enough is enough. Tell me what's got you like this Yurei" I commanded him, though unsure if he would actually listen. Maybe he had some form of respect for me.
"I… I can sense her" He answers grimly.
"Sense who?"
"My mother told me about her… The reason why you tend not to see children of Melinoe" Is it me, or was there an uneasy feeling in the air? "She hunts all children, but takes delight in hurting my siblings and I."
I think I know why we never met Yurei in the books. "What is her name?" Was it a Gorgon? An Empousa? Perhaps a powerful witch like Circe? Hell, it could even be a Harpy! What exactly could the monster hunting Yurei be?
"Her name is… Gello"
…
Who?
Unfortunately, I could not ponder that question as In a single moment, I suddenly found myself upside down, along with the taxi as it turned on its head mid-air. The car spins, and crashes into the ground. I quickly looked at Yurei, who was alright, if not a little rattled.
I looked to the front of the taxi, and my eyes widened as I saw that the Grey Sisters had disappeared. What happened to good customer service? I unbuckle Yurei from his seat and drag him out of the destroyed car.
As soon as we got out, the taxi disappeared into a plume of smoke. There goes any chance of escape. Yurei's body becomes rigid, and a fearful look comes upon his face. I follow his eyes and see it. Her.
A monster with the body of a woman, not wearing any clothes, though her breasts and pelvis was hidden in some sort of bloody excrement. Her skin was a dull grey, and her straight hair, which reached down to her feet, was a red as fresh blood. Her eyes had no pupils, for they were simply abyssal black. Her fingers were more like claws, sharp and dangerous. Her face was… not beautiful, but not hideous either. Sharp features, and a permanent sneer contorted on her face. Her head was adorned with 2 giant black horns, which spiralled and curved. Despite her demonic appearance, she did not sadly have a tail nor any wings. And even though she didn't have any wings, she was still hovering in the air.
I used Observe on her.
Name: Gello
Age: 2414
Title: Ghostly Demon of Child Mortality
HP:2310/2310
MP:2500/2338
Stats
Strength: 201
Agility: 183
Endurance: 133
Charisma: 245
Intelligence: 250
Willpower:210
Description: Gello was once a young woman, but in a tragic turn of events, was killed by a demigod child of Melinoe, dying a virgin. Before she died, Gello choked the child of Melinoe to death as her final action. As such, Melinoe cursed Gello to eternal damnation as a ghost, which also caused Gello to turn insane.
To this day, she hunts down children of Melinoe, killing them before they can even reach teenhood, and in her bouts of madness, she kills and feasts upon babies and children. Her very presence causes miscarriages.
She doesn't care about you, for her desire to kill Yurei supersedes any hunger for your child-body.
Oh fuck. I don't think I can beat her.
"Stand aside demigod" Gello commands, her voice cold, albeit with a hint of mania, "Give me the child of the Ghost Goddess, and I will give you a headstart before chasing you down." Well at least she admits that she'll still try to kill me.
Fuck. What should I do? "Yurei, take this weapon. Just in case" From my inventory, I take out Needle, and give it to Yurei. The boy, though clearly shaken and terrified, took the sword, but with the way he handled it, he didn't know what to do with it. Still, it should protect him.
I quickly take out Athanatos, my wakizashi, and hold it in one hand. On my other hand, the Guardian Shield was out, and ready to defend me.
"So, you will fight me?" She questions, "You sacrifice a quick death to simply help the brother of the one who murdered me? You demigods truly have no morality."
When I died, I ended up in the void. There I saw endless space. I saw the concept of Infinity. And yet, that is small compared to the AUDACITY OF THIS BITCH!
"You kill and eat babies!" I shout in annoyance, gripping Athanatos tighter. Gello was not only physically stronger than the Child of the Hydra, but also far smarter. And even for the Hydra, I needed Thalia and Luke's help.
"Semantics" The demon/revenant shrugged off, "Blame Melinoe. That's what I do when I look in the mirror." I… I don't know what to say to that. I suppose she has retained some shred of humanity after all these millenia. A single shred of humanity jailed by insanity and vengeance.
"Any chance we could reschedule this for a later date?" I half-joked. This may be a life and death situation, but this was still a world produced by Rick Riordan. There was a decent chance that the Gello could genuinely reschedule her hunt for Yurei. On the other hand, since this was a Rick Riordan universe, the protagonist, though I felt egotistical to call myself that, never got luck like that.
"Is bad humour meant to be your defence mechanism?" She asked with a raised brow, "I wonder how you'll taste, Child of Light. Your siblings have always had a… beef flavour to them." And then, as if a truce flag had burned down, Gello descended from the air, swooping down like a bird of prey. She lets loose a chilling cackle.
"DUCK!" I shout to Yurei, who does so at the last second, as Gello completely bypasses me and attacks Yurei. Fortunately the boy didn't get hurt, but from Gello's laughter, she wouldn't miss a second time, "Open! Gate of the Clock, Horologium!" And just like he always does, the Celestial Spirit arrives in a puff of smoke. I grab Yurei, lifting him up, much to his own shock, and shove him inside the Horologium. "Horologium, take Yurei to Camp Halfblood! It should be North East from here. Once you're at the barrier, return to the spirit realm!" I had no idea what the barrier around Camp Halfblood could do to Horologium, nor did I want to find out.
"As you wish, Sir Gilgamesh" Horologium acquiesced. Inside his body, I could see Yurei hitting against the indestructible glass of the living grandfather clock. "Let me out; he demands."
"Sorry Yurei, but you'll be safe in Horologium. Don't give him too much trouble" I give Horologium a nod, and he nods back before running in the direction I pointed him at. I could hear Horologium communicating that Yurei was furious.
With a loud snarl, Gello swoops down and charges at Horologium, but as soon as she does, I throw a Light Spear at her, piercing her leg. And just like I had hoped, it threw her off target, making her stop mid-flight. "So you desire to fight me?! Then I'll consume you first!" Crap. Now I'm kind of worried.
Gello charges at me from the air, claws brandished out, ready to slice and dice me up. I roll to the left at the right time, as Gello uses the opportunity to get solid footing on the ground. It wasn't till we were facing that I noticed just how much taller she was than me. And no, it wasn't just the matter of me being a child. No, Gello was at the very least 8 feet tall.
Maybe she could join the NBA?
Gello rushes at me, running instead of flying, her hands tighten into a fist, and she throws it towards my head. I quickly managed to block it with the Guardian Shield, but I had forgotten her other hand, a fact that I realised as a demonic fist crashed against my cheek. I lose control over my body, and find myself flying through the air and right into the trunk of a tree. There goes 500 HP right there.
I manage to get up from the ground, my back aching. My eyes widen in surprise as I see Gello rushing to me once more. I stood my ground, and when she was about to claw at me, I duck down and use Athanatos to slash her legs. She lets loose a cry of pain, to which I respond by hitting Gello with my shield, and successfully knocking her off balance.
I took the opportunity, and fired as many Fireball's as I could, chipping away at Gello's HP. Suddenly, Gello lets loose a loud screech at me, like a car halting in the middle of the road. I instinctively cover my eyes, and Gello uses the chance to get back on her feet.
"NO MORE PLAYING!" She screams out. Jumping into the air, and starting to hover, Gello raises both her hands. Above her palms, a black ball of energy seemed to be generated, getting bigger and bigger, "WITNESS DEATH, DEMIGOD!" She throws the large abyssal orb at me.
The orb felt… unnatural. It should not exist. And it was coming closer… and closer… and I knew that if I touched it, I would die instantly. I- I- I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE WAY!
I ran out of the ball's trajectory, narrowly avoiding certain death. I look at the ball, out of its path, and watch it hit a tree. The tree wilted immediately, its bark became grey, and it was clear that it had died.
Death Magic. My opponent could use fucking death magic. How is this fair!?
I throw a Light Spear at Gello, but she creates a shield from her Death Energy, which seemed to absorb my magic attack. Fuck. How am I meant to beat her? A feral grin comes across Gello's face, as she manipulates the Death Energy around her fingers, creating longer, sharper claws.
"I will enjoy feasting upon your flesh, scum!" She yells, charging at me, "And then the Child of Melinoe will be mine! My eternal revenge will continue!" She swings down a claw, which I block with my shield.
Before she could use her other hand, I used Wind Blast to push her back. With both hands now free, I enact an idea that I've had for a while. With a Fireball in my right hand, and a Wind Blast left hand, I fired both at the same time, and just like I thought, the two spells combined, creating a large wall of fire that attacked Gello.
New Skill Created!
I wave off the notification. Now wasn't the time.
I watch as Gello's hair is set on fire, and she lets loose a scream of anger. Whilst she was distracted, I ran at her with Athanatos at the ready. Though she noticed me, she was too late. With a swing of my blade, I cut off the demon's arm, though it wasn't a clean slice because of her bones. Blood poured out of her wound, black blood.
"YOU VILE DEMIGOD!" She screams, and in a flash, she kicks my head, sending me flying. "YOU WILL REGRET THIS DAY!" Gello leaps from her position, blood still spewing out of the stump where her arms should. Somehow, she manages to catch up to my flying body, and then she punches her remaining fist into my stomach, sending me into the ground.
"Sh-shit" I curse. I could see that I had about 600 HP left, but I still felt pain from Gello's attacks. And I don't think I have it in me to take a few more of her attacks. Damn it, I need to improve more. If she were actually trying from the get go, used her Death Magic as soon as she saw me, I'd be dead. It's only thanks to me being a child and her insanity, that I'm alive. Hell, her stats are far lower than Zoë's, meaning that the Huntress could probably destroy me faster than I could blink.
"Die" Gello says with an authoritative tone, as her only hand, covered in death magic, is raised to the air.
But before she could end the fight. An arrow zooms past her face, narrowly avoiding hitting her. It wasn't an attack, but a warning. I looked at where the arrow came from, and a smile came to my face. A bearded man, clearly aged and wizened, a bow in his hand ready to fire. But more importantly, he had the lower half of a horse.
It seems that Chiron, trainer of heroes, had come to my aid.
And he brought back-up. Three demigods stood behind him, all were teenagers close to 18. "Gello, leave the child be, and we will let you go." Chiron commanded, ready to fire an arrow.
Gello snarled at Chiron, "You have no authority over me, centaur!" She then began to charge at Chiron, thankfully leaving me alone. But I still watched, wanting to see what would happen.
The son of Kronos lets loose the notched arrow from his bow, and the arrow soars through the air at unnatural speeds, piercing Gello's remaining arm. Suddenly, the demigods beside him drew their weapons and charged at the demon. Two of them held swords whereas one wielded a spear.
As Chiron kept firing arrows at Gello, one of the demigods managed to cut off her remaining arm, faster than she could react. The spearmen pierces the demoness at the place where her heart should be, stopping her in place. And the final demigod cuts off Gello's head.
They'd managed to take down Gello in a blink of an eye, whilst I was fighting for my life. Fuck, I have a long way to go.
As Gello dissipates into dust, presumably to go to Tarturus, Chiron trots up to me, putting his bow away. I was still lying on the ground, slightly shocked at how easily they destroyed Gello. "Child, are you okay?" He asks, kneeling down to help me up.
"Uh, define okay." I joke, struggling to get out my words. I grab his hand as he lifts me up from the ground. "You're Chiron right?"
Chiron lets out a light chuckle, "Indeed I am, child. Zeke, come and help the boy onto my back. I'll carry him to the Camp."
"Yes, Chiron." The boy named Zeke answered, rushing to me. He lifts me up and places me onto Chiron's back. I noticed that the kid had grey eyes. A child of Athena I suppose.
With me resting on Chiron's back, we began walking to Camp Halfblood. I couldn't wait. We were so close. I think everyone was under the impression that I was sleeping, which was good as I didn't feel like talking.
As we went through the forest, I could see women with green skin and bright hair leaping between the trees. Were they dryads? I could see men with goat legs staring at us from afar. Satyrs. It feels insane to know that these people are real.
Ahead of us I could see a clearing where the trees parted like a gate. I could see birds in those skies. No, not birds. Pegasi.
We went past the trees, and reached the end of the forest. And there it was.
Camp Halfblood.
It was beautiful.
Author's Notes: WOOHOO! WE'VE REACHED CAMP HALFBLOOD! LET'S GO! I was pretty unsure whether to have Gill arrive at the same time as Thalia and Luke, but I decided on this path instead
Also sorry that this chapter is so late! I forgot to upload it since God of War New Game Plus came out, and I completely forgot about uploading. Super Sorry guys!
I'd also like to thank everyone for all the support! We're very close to 500 Followers, and 400 Favourites, which is awesome! Thanks everyone!
Anyway, here are Gill's stats (Before Gello was killed):
Name: Gilgamesh Ashford
Age: 8
Level: 19
Title: Child of Apollo
HP: 686/2099
MP: 1430/2360
Stats
Strength: 39
Agility: 42
Endurance: 26
Charisma: 33
Intelligence: 36
Willpower: 33
Luck: 35
Stat Points: 0