Chapter 3
"BACK TO WORK YOU USELESS SLOUCHES '' A sharp voice said, ringing across the camp. Recently the camp had felt more like a factory than a safe haven.
Tantalus had revolutionized the camp. Among the many changes, the most stand out of them all, in Kai's opinion, was the return of the Chariot races. Chiron had banned them since the death of a camper, and had said that they would not be returning due to the unsafe nature of the sport.
There was also the rather routine 'example' that Tantalus made to the campers… that almost always seemed to involve Kai. Tantalus' hate towards the boy was ungrounded to the camper's minds; but no one felt like getting on the director's bad side.
Kai stood as he looked at Annabeth, the two wondering how this had all happened. It had been completely unfair and unreasonable that the whole ordeal had taken place. It wasn't Chiron's fault after all- if only that bastard Luke hadn't done it, Kai thought to himself.
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A few Weeks Earlier…
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Chiron stood in the middle of the Great Hall, fiddling with the sword that Kai had returned to him- riptide. The faces of the gods looking down upon him. Most of them gazed at him in pity, knowing that the result of the tree had not been his fault. It was a tragic, yet impossible to predict situation. No one had expected the son of Hermes to suddenly act out in such a manner; the logical conclusion was that Chronos was gaining more power.
However, Zeus did not align his views in such a manner. To him, it was impossible to leave someone unpunished when something important to him was hurt. For that very reason, the very fallacy to see reality in a clear manner, brought Zeus to the situation he was in now.
The gods glanced around uneasily, wondering what they should do. It was not in the camps or their children's best interests to have Chiron leave the camp- they knew that. They also knew that the guardians that they had summoned previously held Chiron in high regard. They respected and listened to him, and Chiron listened to the gods. In that manner it was almost a secondary assurance that the guardians would listen to them through Chiron. The act of 'firing' him so to speak, would not only harm their children but their relationship with their very own guardians.
"Lord Zeus, you summoned me here?" Chiron said, knowing what the summoning was about.
"Indeed Centaur. We have much to discuss yet there is little time for words. So, for that reason, forgive me for being brief.", Zeus said as he took a pause to gather his thoughts. "You have allowed, under your nose, the poisoning of my daughter, and the tree that protects the camp in which we house our children and warriors. Do you have anything to say regarding this?"
Chiron paused, before taking a deep breath. It had been exactly as he thought, he was going to receive the backlash of Thalia's poisoning. He knew that he needed to do as much as he could to minimize the effect that the consequences had on the demigods.
"I do not have a lot to say regarding the matter, Lord Zeus. I am deeply sorry for the poisoning of your daughter. I hope you know that we are working hard to develop a combatant against the poison, in hopes of curing the tree…" Chiron said, as he trailed off.
"And how has the progress been so far, regarding that combatant?" Zeus said slowly.
"Unsuccessful, Lord Zeus." Chiron said, his voice slightly quieter.
"Now Chiron… How could that be? How is it that the director of Camp HalfBlood not only allowed the poisoning of the tree, but was unable to cure the tree?" Zeus mused.
Chiron stayed silent, unsure about what to say. He had tried to heal Thalia's tree with every known remedy he could think of. Nothing had worked.
"Now Chiron, to me it seems that you may be behind this…" Zeus said, looking at the Centaur.
Chiron was left in a state of slight shock. After all these years training the gods' children, why would he poison the tree that kept their children safe? It was illogical, Chiron knew that, he also knew that it was near impossible to change lord Zeus' mind.
"Chiron, until further notice, you will be removed as head of Camp Halfblood. Tantalus will be Chiron's replacement at the camp." Zeus said.
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Present time…
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Kai had advocated to Mr. D multiple times that Luke was the one behind the poisoning of the tree. The god of wine seemed to take little interest in the pleas made by Kai to reinstate Chiron. He would instead continually inform the demigod that Chiron was currently unavailable due to the fact that Lord Zeus had removed him from the position as camp leader.
"What do you think about the upcoming Chariot races, Annabeth?" Kai asked Annabeth, as they sat looking out onto the ocean.
"It will be an exciting event to say the least. I do think the dangers of the Chariots races still exist, and that Tantalus is not the correct person to be the one to reinstate the event. However, it is an old tradition that will be fun to uptake again." She said with a nonchalant shrug.
"Yeah I suppose so…. So we are going to be a team right?" Kai said, looking over at her.
"Naturally." Annabeth said, smiling back at him. Kai felt his heart jump, and speed up a few beats, seeing Annabeth's beautiful smile shine back at him.
"R-right…" Kai said, quickly looking away to avoid any embarrassment that might show on his face.
"I will have my cabin draw up the plans for the chariot, and then we can create it." Annabeth said as she slowly stood up, shaking the sand from her legs as she did so.
"What do I need to do?" Kai asked as he looked up towards Annabeth's grey eyes.
"Make sure you don't die before the Chariot race, seaweed brain. I will take care of the rest." She said, giving Kai another smile.
Kai laughed and said, "Well that is easier said than done, wise girl." He followed Annabeth's lead and stood up, as they walked back into the heart of camp, switching topics to other gossip subjects.
"Well good luck with the Chariot creation, though I am sure you won't need it with that genius brain over there." Kai said grinning.
"Very funny. Don't worry, we will definitely win this chariot race, just you wait." Annabeth said, a flare showing in her eyes as she gave Kai a thumbs up before waving goodbye and heading towards her cabin.
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A few Days Later…
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Percy had noticed that the monster activity around camp had seemed to increase ever since the mysterious tree had been poisoned. He sighed as he gazed across the landscape, looking for any monsters that suddenly appeared on the hilltops.
Ever since that new damn director had arrived, life at camp had not been as good, Percy thought to himself as he walked his normal patrol route.
The campfire continued to burn low, reflecting the sullen moods of the campers, as they ate every night. The morale at camp had plummeted, knowing that they had a traitor who had actively done significant damage to camp was not something the campers could just let go easily.
Tantalus had been briefed about the deployment of the guardians; however, presumably Zeus had told the newest camp directly that he was not allowed to command them. This was inferred by the guardians as Tantalus never directly ordered them to perform tasks, he only recommended they do things. Most of these requests were deemed as insignificant and unimportant tasks by the guardians- hence they were left incomplete.
After a few meetings all the guardians decided they were to remain on high alert at all times. Due to the drop in strength from the camp borders, attacks were presumably going to be on the rise. The guardians didn't realize how right they were going to be.
Percy yawned as he watched the horizon, the sun setting lower and lower, as the sky slowly turned from blue to a fiery orange.
His peaceful train of thought was suddenly derailed by the sound of a conch horn blowing. That only meant one thing to the guardians- danger. Percy quickly turned his gaze towards the direction where the conch horn was blown, which was nearby. The only other guardian on duty was Isa…
Percy as he started to run quickly towards Isa, the sound of battle growing louder as he got closer. As the battle came into view, Percy saw Isa twirling around, avoiding the flames of what looked like bulls. It took Percy a moment to recognize them, the Colchis bulls. A grimace appeared on his face as he charged forward, wielding the same sword that Zeus had given a number of guardians in the past. A standard piece of equipment, nothing special to it, except the fact that it was made of small bits of Adamantine and Celestial bronze as the sword's base.
There were two bulls, one for each of them. Isa saw Percy join the battle but didn't say anything. The years of training and experience battling together took over, as they seamlessly meshed together. Percy knew the bulls were hot- they breathed fire after all. However, he forgot just how hot the fire really was, as he danced around a stream of leathley directed flame.
"Gah!" Percy heard Isa say. He quickly cast a backwards glance- seeing that she was okay, he quickly returned to the hotter problem. His bull was keeping its distance from him- the damn beast had gained some intelligence, Percy thought to himself as he figured out how to close the distance without getting turned into a smore.
A twang rang out as an arrow sank into the bull's eye. It roared with pain and anger as Percy quickly capitalized on the chance created by the mysterious archer. Percy thrust his sword forward, it sank into the bulls body like a butter knife.
It disappeared in a pile of golden dust, as Percy turned and saw Ansuz, who had now turned her attention towards Isa; and the bull that she was dealing with.
Percy huffed for a moment, trying to catch his breath. The air around him seemed to taste and smell hot, the heat from the bull's fire radiated throughout the area. Percy heard the yells of the campers as they rallied a small force to join the three guardians in defending their home.
However, Percy knew they weren't going to be needed. They would have this battle finished before the campers needed to get involved. Before Percy could take more than a few steps towards Isa in order to help her out, her spear found its way into the bull's body. A final dying screech rang out as the bull evaporated in golden dust.
"Gods…" Isa said quietly. Percy silently agreed. Ever since the border had weakened the monster attacks had become increasingly more common. However, none of the guardians had expected the Colchis bulls to make an attack on the camp.
"Someone go report to Tantalus. He will need to understand the situation to some degree… if that thing is capable of understanding." Percy said, his voice filled with disdain towards Tantalus.
"On it…" Isa muttered as she brushed the golden mist off of her clothes. She gripped her spear tightly, squeezing her eyes shut. For a moment Percy watched with concern, as Isa's face twitched oddly, reminding Percy of how a person would try to repress something. He brushed it off as Isa didn't want to talk to Tantalus- which to everybody was a completely fair thing to not want to do.
With a resigned sigh, Percy slowly walked back towards his patrol route. Ansuz watched Percy walk off before she cast a glance of concern at Isa. Isa finally opened her eyes and let out a shaky breath.
"You okay?" Ansuz asked Isa.
Isa looked up at Ansuz, "Yeah…. Yeah all good."
"Mk…." Ansuz said quietly as Isa walked off towards the big house to find Tantalus and complete the report.
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A Few Days Later…
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The days passed quickly, as the chariot races drew ever closer. Annabeth had regularly updated Kai on the progress of the chariot. Though Kai didn't understand a lot of what Annabeth was telling him, he figured the fact that she was overly chatty meant that construction and planning was going well. That was enough to bring a smile to his face and excite him for the chariot races as well.
While Annabeth was hard at work building the chariot for their team, Kai had been continually honing his sword skills. He knew that the great prophecy was still looming ever closer, but more importantly, the chariot races were closer even than the great prophecy. Kai had his priorities set.
Tantalus had only briefly addressed the fact that the Colchis bulls had attacked camp, but promptly promoted the fact that they were defeated, without any damage being sustained. Of course, Tantalus also promptly skipped the 'thank you's' that were in order for the guardians. Kai felt annoyed at how little Tantalus seemed to appreciate the guardians. Without them who knows what may have happened with the bulls. Kai felt that he should be able to deal with these kinds of monsters… after all he knew that the guardians probably wouldn't be around forever. When that time came that they weren't around anymore he needed to be strong enough to take care of things himself.
Finally the day of the chariot race arrived, and each of the teams arrived. Their chariots prepared and ready for the race ahead.
Kai found himself talking with Annabeth about their respective strategy. They knew they were going to have to fight hard for the win- after all Tantalus was offering a good prize for the win.
"Kai!" A voice called out. Both Kai and Annabeth turned towards the voice.
Wunjo came up to the pair grinning, her slightly curly red hair bouncing neatly behind her.
"Wunjo..?" Kai said, slightly confused. He wasn't on bad terms with the guardians- not at all. Rather he just wasn't on overly friendly terms with them. Excluding Percy and that was a big maybe, in Kai's opinion.
"Hm… I heard about you…" Wunjo said as she looked at Annabeth.
"Annabeth or something right?" Wunjo followed up as she looked into Annabeth's eyes with a grin.
Annabeth nodded awkwardly, not sure what to say to the overly talkative guardian.
"Yeah. This is Annabeth- I assume Percy must have told you about her." Kai said, trying to ease the awkwardness between the two.
"Right, well nice to finally meet you. Anyways! I guess you guys are competing huh?"
"Yeah we are." Annabeth answered Wunjo, as all three of them turned to look at their chariot.
"You have a nice looking chariot. You should be proud of this!" Wunjo exclaimed, to both Kai's and Annabeth's surprise.
"Really?"
"Really?"
Both Kai and Annabeth said at the same time.
Wunjo looked between the two, before she let out a laugh.
"Well aren't you two just the cutest thing!" Wunjo said with a big smile.
"W-What!?" Annabeth exclaimed as she turned her face away.
"H-huh?" Kai said, stuttering over his words as he looked between Wunjo's knowing expression and Annabeth's embarrassment.
"W-whatever! We need to focus on the race!" Annabeth huffed as she walked towards the chariot to triple check that everything was as it should be.
"Hmm.. good luck you two!" Wunjo said as she waved to Kai with a teasing smile before bounding off to join the rest of the guardians.
"What a goof ball." Kai said to Annabeth, who was too busy trying to ignore the embarrassment she felt.
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Mid-way through the Chariot Racing…
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Birds. Kai really found himself hating birds.
He wasn't sure how it had happened, or why they were here, or where the guardians were. However, the fact remained that a stupidly large flock of Stymphalian Birds, courtesy of Annabeth's knowledge, were present at the chariot race.
"What the hell do we do?" Kai found himself asking Annabeth as they thundered along in the chariot.
"BOOMBOX!" Annabeth yelled back as Kai grabbed a spear from the chariot's arsenal and hucked it at one of the birds- only for it to fall pathetically short of the desired target.
"Nice throw seaweed brain." Annabeth deadpanned as she suddenly jerked the reins and drove the chariot towards the big house.
"WHOAA-" Kai yelled as he grabbed onto the side of the chariot for dear life.
A moment later Annabeth was jumping out of the now slowed chariot and sprinting into the big house- leaving Kai to gather his senses as the birds started to wreak havoc in the camp.
The guardians were doing their best- but with the flocks overwhelming numbers, even the guardians' expertise could only minimize the massive damage being caused by the birds.
Annabeth returned with Chiron's boombox, and hit play as she said, "Cmon Kai! Drive!"
Kai grabbed the reins- unsure about how to actually drive the chariot, he flicked the reins, praying to whatever gods would listen that he wouldn't look completely stupid in front of Annabeth. Thankfully the gods seemed to listen to that prayer, because the horses took off moving towards the chariot race course again- where the flock was.
The birds upon hearing the loud nose quickly gathered, and started to fly away. Leaving their playground behind, and the camp in ruins.
As if Kai's day wasn't already bad enough, he found himself on kitchen duty for the next week due to 'poor behavior'.
"This is so stupid." Annabeth said as they scrubbed the dishes.
Kai wasn't sure what to say in order to make her feel better- so he opted for the safe option in his mind, silence.
"Oh, great. So you won't even talk now. Are you mad at me or something- oh you blame me for getting you into this mess don't you?" Annabeth said, starting to get worked up over Kai's silence.
"What-" Kai tried to say as Annabeth promptly cut him off.
"I was just saving camp! It isn't like I wanted dish duty either!" Annabeth said, her annoyance rising.
"Annabeth!" Kai exclaimed.
She stopped ranting and looked over at him, waiting for him to say something else.
"It's okay. Really, you did a good job back there. Tantalus just has a bit of a translucent thought process…." Kai said softly.
Annabeth let out a long sigh, "Yeah… thanks."
"Did you like my joke?"
"What joke?"
"Translucent thought process… and he's a ghost…"
"You're horrible." Annabeth said, as she turned her face away from Kai, and cracked a smile at his joke.
"Hey! C'mon!" Kai huffed in annoyance, "I thought it was pretty good."
A knock from the kitchen door ceased the bickering from the two, as the both looked back to see who it was.
Wunjo stood looking at the two, as they washed dishes.
"Well well well… look at our two trouble makers here." Wunjo said as she smiled.
"A big thanks for getting us out of trouble too…" Annabeth muttered, Kai gave her a soft elbow.
"She didn't mean that." Kai said quickly.
"It's fine. The guardians don't have any say according to Tantalus. Which is somewhat fair considering we aren't actually leaders.", Wunjo explained with a sigh, "Jera was very vocal to Tantalus about this punishment. He was very annoyed that you two got punished, after all you did save camp, even the guardians acknowledge that."
Annabeth smiled softly, it wasn't everyday that an elite Olmypus fighting force complimented you on your strategy during fights.
"Thanks." Annabeth said, looking at Wunjo.
"Yeah of course. But just so you know… Percy said that those dishes should be squeaky clean." Wunjo added with a smirk as she walked out of the room.
"That little…." Annabeth said before she turned towards the dishes and started scrubbing furiously.
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Three Days Later…
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"What?" Percy said incredulously.
"I am serious." Zeus said, looking down at the guardians.
"What about the camp? With everything that has happened are we sure…?" Isa spoke up.
"The demigods will fend off any attacks, after all you will be taking care of the source. The quest will not interfere with the defense at Camp Halfblood." Zeus countered.
The gods looked around at each other. Athena had made the plan seem logical, however the fact that their children would be in more danger did nothing to help ease the gods worries.
"Does Tantalus know?" Jera asked, looking at Zeus.
Zeus paused, "I will inform him of the situation. As you know he has no say in this matter. After all, you belong to the gods."
There was a pause as the guardians shared looks of annoyance. They hated being told they were owned, like objects. However, they knew that, to Zeus, they were nothing more than disposable objects.
"So….", Percy started, "Just to, I don't know, recap I guess. You want the five of us. The guardians who are protecting the children at Camp Halfblood. You want us to go to the doors of death- where there has been a monster breach. While there is an active quest to retrieve the golden fleece, I may add. You want us to deal with that and then go back to the camp?"
A soft silence fell across the room as Percy reiterated the command.
"Yes, that is right, guardians." Athena said calmly.
"It's not like we can deny the command anyways." Jera muttered.
"We will inform the campers then begin our journey over there." Percy said formally.
"Very well. Finish what you must at camp, then you will be relocated to the doors of death. Meeting adjourned" Zeus said matter of factly.
The five guardians walked out of the great hall, all contemplating the task they had been assigned. To control a breach from the doors of death was no easy matter. Maybe during their last deployment they could have managed it… but with just five members…
"Are you sure we will be able to handle this Percy..?" Jera said quietly, voicing everyone's concerns.
Percy stopped walking as he looked down at the ground, "To be honest? I have no idea. Maybe during the last deployment… you know when we had two dozen of us instead of just five."
"Well that inspires a lot of confidence!" Ansuz chipped in as she started walking again.
"I don't plan on dying here! I got too much new food I want to try, sorry Percy!" Wunjo said as she patted him on the back, passing by him.
"Well while my motivation is not food- I don't plan on death either." Isa said as she followed Wunjo, leaving Percy and Jera alone.
"Are you that worried?" Percy said, as he looked at Jera.
"I dunno, I just have a bad feeling." Jera said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"What are you? Apollo? Cheer up dude." Percy said, clapping him on the back.
"Yeah… Yeah I suppose you're right." Jera said as he forced a smile onto his face.
"Let's go tell the campers that we'll be leaving them." Percy said as he started walking off.
Jera sighed as he watched Percy walk away, the feeling that something bad was going to happen, still curing his stomach around. What more could he do? After all the gods had ordered this mission, Percy didn't seem to be fully opposed to wiping out the monsters, and the rest of the team felt pretty good. The only downside to them was leaving the camp unprotected while Clarisse was out on the quest for the golden fleece- something that Jera felt was also slightly absurd.
Zeus usually made his words final. He didn't like to be told he was wrong- nor did Athena, and when they were faced with the truth that their ideas were not always the best… they got a little defensive about it.
Jera knew this, for the last few times that the guardians had been called out for duty; they had noticed the subtle changes in the gods. They had become more self absorbed, more interested in themselves rather than governor like a good body should. However, what could the guardians say? They were just pawns to be used to the gods after all. Their words made nearly no difference to most of them.
Jera shook his head slowly as he decided it would be best to follow Percy out; he should, after all, get prepared for the upcoming battle.
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Some Time Before the Meeting…
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Clarisse had set out on her quest some time ago. Everything had not been going smoothly, Clarisse knew that. She had felt out of her depth, leading a boat of undeads into the Sea of Monsters was not something everyone did everyday after all.
As much as she hated to admit it, it was all going slightly wrong until the sea child showed up. From then on it felt like everything was correcting itself- at least as much as it could when you were in the Sea of Monsters.
That was until they reached the two infamous monsters, Charybdis and Scylla. Their luck had run out.
Kai found himself on a lifeboat, with none other than Annabeth. His feelings of excitement at being alone with the girl he liked, were promptly overshadowed by the panic he felt instead. Where was Clarisse, where was Tyson, what the hell happened to the massive steamboat?
"I have been paddling towards the nearest island." Annabeth said, noticing that Kai had finally woken up.
Kai silently dipped his hand into the water, propelling them forward towards the island that Annabeth had been paddling towards.
"Well that sure is convenient." Annabeth muttered as she put down the oars and sat back with a huff.
The two arrived at the island, when Kai finally spoke up, "What do you think Clarisse is up to right now?"
"Who knows. Hopefully she's still alive." Annabeth said darkly.
"It's Clarisse…." Kai said slowly. Kai had a hard time believing that anything could kill her, the daughter of Ares was a tough nut.
"Cmon Kai! You have been on a few quests already. You know that people act differently when battle is real." Annabeth said, her tone harsh and firm.
Kai didn't respond. Her words held truth behind them, and he knew it.
"Come on, let's get going. Make sure you stay on guard okay?" Annabeth said as she got out of the boat, looking up at the massive hotel building standing in front of them.
"Yeah, okay." Kai said as he followed Annabeth out of the boat.
"What is this place anyways?" Kai asked Annabeth, as he followed along behind her.
"I don't know…" Annabeth answered, wondering the same thing as Kai.
Towering white marble was everywhere, blue pools of water glittered from every level of the complex, seemingly endless. It read, C.C's Spa and Resort.
"C.C's Spa and Resort..? In the middle of the Sea of Monsters…?" Annabeth muttered to herself, as her brain flew across numerous possibilities.
"Cmon lets just go inside and see if they can help us or something." Kai said as he took the lead and waltzed into the place.
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A Few Minutes Later…
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Reflecting back on his decisions, Kai realized that maybe they shouldn't have waltzed in there. He found himself in the form of a guinea pig, something he never imagined he would feel.
Annabeth, who was promptly running around looking for him, was confused about where Kai could have possibly gone- until she set eyes on the guinea pig's cage.
Her eyes widened, the gummies given to them by Hermes seemed very useful right now, as she poured the whole bottle into the cage.
Feast time! Kai and the other guinea pigs thought, as they dove towards the multivitamins, and started to dig in.
Kai felt his body transform, as he shed the guinea pig shell and slowly returned to his former state- alongside all the other guinea pigs… now human.
A few blinks later, Annabeth grabbed his hand, "Cmon!"
She dragged him out, towards the exit of the Spa, as the other human turned guinea pigs started rampaging across C.C's Spa and Resort.
"What boat do we take?" Annabeth asked as she looked back at Kai, confusion in her eyes as they neared the docks.
"Uhh…" Kai said as he browsed the selection, speed boat… sail boat… naval destroyer… pirate ship… wait pirate ship?
Kai blinked and paused before saying, "That one" and pointed at the pirate ship.
"I guess you are the son of Poseidon…" Annabeth muttered, obviously not sure if a pirate ship from the 18th century would cut it.
The two dashed towards the ship, as they heard the other recently freed humans come barging out the entrance, yelling about how they must return to their pirate ship.
"I think the real owners are here…" Kai muttered, Annabeth promptly ignored him as they climbed aboard the ship.
"So what now!" Annabeth said, slightly out of breath as she looked at Kai.
"Right…" Kai said, slightly unsure.
However, a few moments later, and the pirate ship was off sailing, its original owners left yelling as the two fled off towards the island with the Golden Fleece.
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Meanwhile…
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Percy and the guardians had informed the camp of their soon to be absence. As expected, the already low morale at camp took another hit, as the guardians; which seemed to be their one source of true protection, left.
The guardians knew there was nothing they could do about it. These were Zeus' orders after all, and there was no saying no to Zeus.
Wunjo ran around the camp giving some of her favorite campers some gifts- which consisted of food, as a token of goodbye.
They met Hermes on the outskirts of camp, once they were prepared to leave.
"Ready to go you guys?" Hermes asked, giving them a small, apologetic smile.
"As ready as we will ever be." Jera muttered. His bad feelings towards this mission still hadn't worn away. It was true that historically he had been something of a worry wart, however, he just couldn't help himself.
"C'mon it won't go that bad" Ansuz said with a smile as she hefted her arrows, flicking her shimmering black hair over her shoulder.
Isa looked like she was focused, a small amount of sweat was forming on her brow. The other's attributed it to stress, something that they were all feeling right now.
"Alright, the mission is pretty simple. I'll go over it one last time- Zeus' orders." Hermes said, "Right. I will flash you to the doors of death, at that point it is all on you to eliminate the majority of the monster population there right now. I won't be able to flash back until that is complete, do you understand?"
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, Zeus already went over the plan like six times on Olympus. We got it." Jera said, annoyed at being treated like a six year old.
"Right…" Hermes said as all the guardians joined hands. Hermes grabbed Jera and Percy's hands as he said, "Here we go…."
Just as fast as the world flashed out, it flashed back in. The smell of fire, and something akin to a monster scent was thick in the air. Hermes didn't stick around to say his goodbyes, instead flashing off, back to Olympus most likely.
Percy looked around, noticing that they were in a secluded clearing, looking out onto a legion of monsters.
"Oh gods…." Isa muttered as she wiped the sweat buildup from her forehead.
"That is a lot of them." Ansuz said, her voice monotone as she looked forward to the monsters.
Hundreds of monsters were before them. During the guardians prime, or even a few deployments ago… they would have been able to take care of this number of monsters without too much a problem. Now with just the five of them, there was going to be an issue with taking on this many monsters.
"Alright calm down guys… We always pull off the impossible, right?" Jera said, his mouth in a grimace as he looked out.
"Yeah…" Wunjo muttered as she took out a chocolate bar.
A few moments later the guardians had devised a plan.
"Okay. Most likely there will be some sort of flammable liquid or something within that small compound. Ansuz will go with Jera and I, while Isa and Wunjo will serve as a distraction. Ansuz will use her wonderful arrows to set fire to the camp, hopefully eliminating a large portion of them with this-" Percy said as he pulled out a jar of greek fire.
Ansuz nodded, along with Jera. Isa and Wunjo looked at each other with apprehension.
"A distraction huh…" Isa muttered, her brown hair fluttering in the wind behind her.
Jera set a hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile, "Don't worry, I'll be there in case anything happens."
Isa looked into Jera's eyes, a small red tint appearing on her cheeks as she nodded and said, "okay."
Percy ignored the intimacy as he said, "Alright. Let's do this then, no time like the present after all."
The guardians split into their two separate groups, as they got ready to go their own ways.
"Stay safe Isa… Wunjo you too." Jera said, as he moved with Percy and Ansuz heading in the other direction. Towards an overlook that looked down into the camp where the monsters were mostly congregated.
Percy led the group up the hill, silently taking out any look outs that were posted along the way. The silence was thick between the group as they moved. Percy knew that Jera was worried about Isa, after all he had suspected that maybe there had been more to them than he had originally thought.
Finally they reached the overview without worry. Jera was in charge of signaling the distraction, which was the elimination of the watch guard posted in the lookout towards. Those would inevitably spot the trio and call for the flammables to be moved or worse, utilized on the two that were down below.
Jera pulled out a lighter, and flashed it on and off a few times, signaling that they were ready to go. Meanwhile Percy and Ansuz prepped the Greek fire and the arrows that would be used.
A loud sound was heard as monster screams filled the air, the trio could see the duo below make quick work of the watchmen. Their moments were clean and pristine as they worked together in tandem.
"Wow, I haven't seen Wunjo work like that in ages." Percy said, surprise visible on his face.
"She told me that she has more reason than ever to survive now. She said she finally made some friends back in camp. Apparently they talk a lot about food." Ansuz said, a small smile over her face as she dipped the first arrow into the Greek fire.
"Fire whenever you are ready." Percy said as he looked down at the camp.
A moment later it exploded with a large green flame. Numerous monsters incinerated right before his eyes as Ansuz didn't waste a moment before firing another one into the camp.
"Greek fire really is a powerful weapon. It is a shame that not many arrows can withstand its heat." Jera said as he looked at the pitiful supply of arrows they had that were capable of surviving the Greek fire.
"Tell me about it…" Percy muttered. Jera and Percy stared down towards the duo, they were slowly being pushed back towards the clearing they had started at. Percy knew that was bad news, there were too many monsters for them to handle.
"Okay maybe we should split-" A large roar interrupted Percy as he whirled around to come face to face with the minotaur, who had brought a small army with him.
"Get ready for battle Jera." Percy said in a steely tone.
"Ready when you are, bro." Jera said as he turned his back on Isa below.
"Ansuz keep lighting that camp up!" Percy said as he launched forward, engaging the monsters in battle.
Ansuz continued to fire, without responding to Percy. Percy and Jera turned their attention towards the swarm of monsters that were now in front of them.
"I'll take bull horns, you cover me." Percy said as he drew his sword.
"Sounds good." Jera responded as he took a stance.
A moment later they clashed with the monsters. The sound of war broke loose, as metal clashed with metal. Sparks flew as Percy drove his sword home, with deadly precision. The thousands of swings that Zeus had forced him to do kicking in as if they were a natural habit.
The minotaur, who had fought alone, didn't last long against the wrath of the guardians. They quickly dispatched him, as Percy joined alongside Jera in wiping out the monsters.
The two, Percy and Jera, joined together in a dance of death. Swords flying around, as they moved as a well oiled machine would. Their bodies seemingly communicating with one another, neither saying a word aloud. The monsters attempted to attack in a group, believing that numbers would be the key to win against the battle machines.
Jera, figuring that this was the strategy going to be used, pulled out a shield, and spun it like a boomerang. The shield spun around, hitting monsters as it flew, before it slammed into a cyclops' head, stopping it dead in its tracks. As the monsters were stunned for a moment from the flying saucer, Percy and Jera charged forwards, taking the momentary pause by the monsters as an open invitation to give them another gift, death.
A moment later and a substantial amount of golden dust lay in an arc. Percy panted as he tried to catch his breath, glancing over at Jera, who wasn't there. Percy whirled around, looking around for his best friend.
Suddenly a sharp scream was heard as Wunjo's voice rang out, "ISA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
It was as if Percy's stomach dropped, he pushed his legs forward as he ran back towards Ansuz, where Jera was looking down the cliff towards where Isa and Wunjo were.
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At the same moment…
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Jera finished eliminating the monsters in front of him, before turning and running towards the cliff, leaving Percy panting behind him. Isa. Where was Isa? That was the only thought running through his mind as he made his way towards the cliff.
The shrill cry of Wunjo followed by her scream of, "ISA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" made Jera's stomach drop.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? As Jera came up next to Ansuz, he looked at her face, it was a pale, paper white. He almost asked what was wrong before he looked down towards Isa and Wunjo. It was then that he understood.
Isa's spear was firmly stuck into Wunjo's stomach. Shock ran through Jera's body as he looked down at the scene. His eyes were trying to tell his brain what he was seeing, but he wasn't able to comprehend it. Wunjo's body slumped on the spear, going limp. Her fiery red hair blowing in the soft breeze. From the hill top it all looked poetic, as if Wunjo had fight honorably and died an honorable death.
Isa stood there for a moment, before she let out a cackling laughter. Her face contorted in a strange manner. Her hair blowing widely in the wind. Percy came up next to Jera and saw the scene, as the sword in his hand dropped.
The three observers watched Isa in silence, as a few monsters suddenly started to close in on her from behind. Shock coursed through every single one of the guardians watching the scene; as they registered the fact that Isa was now in danger, each member of the hill-top observers tried to call out and warn her.
None were able to make a noise, as the monsters approached. Finally, Jera yelled out, "ISA BEHIND YOU WATCH OUT!"
Isa didn't seem to hear- or rather didn't care that anyone had called out as she let go of the spear and turned towards hte monsters. The sound of her crazed laughter rang out, as Jera watched on. Horror slowly started to replace the shock that he felt as he yelled out, "NO, NO, ISA RUN."
Jera looked over at Ansuz, whose face was still pale from the previous scene.
"Ansuz shoot them! SHOOT THEM QUICKLY!" Jera said as he ran towards Ansuz.
She blankly looked into his eyes, the shock and disbelief visible in them. She blinked a few times before she paused, in thought.
"Jera…. Isa…" Wunjo started.
"NO! SHE DIDN'T DO IT!" Jera screamed, interrupting Ansuz promptly.
Ansuz looked at Jera, a dilemma playing out before her. She finally looked past Jera and towards Percy who was watching Isa open her arms as if she were offering a hug to the monsters.
"What do I do?" Ansuz asked Percy, a tone of desperation in her voice as she tried to figure out what the right option was. Jera turned towards his best friend, his heart beating rapidly. He knew there were only a few seconds until Isa was most likely turned into monster food.
Percy remained silent. He didn't know what happened, he had arrived too late.
"Shoot the monsters Ansuz." Percy said, his voice slightly shaky.
There was a moment of silence as Ansuz notched one of the remaining arrows and took aim. The cackling laughter of Isa rang out all the while.
Ansuz took a deep breath as she let the arrow fly- Jera watched, as the hope grew. Ansuz had always been known as the best archer within the guardians, even during the golden times. The arrow zipped across the open space towards the monsters that charged towards Isa.
The arrow landed short of the monster.
Jera blinked, as he saw the monster continue to charge towards Isa, pouncing on her.
"No… no…." Jera muttered as he looked towards Isa. Her cackling laughter turned to screams of pain. Percy came up behind Jera, as he watched, eyes open, in horror at the death of the person he loved most.
"Don't watch." Percy said as he pulled Jera away from the cliff. Jera felt his body go weak and limp. His eyes were unable to close as he listened to the screams for a moment longer, until everything was silent. Two more twangs from Ansuz bow string and the monsters lay in a pile of golden dust.
Time seemed slow to Jera, as Percy spoke to Ansuz, their words a blur to him as he collapsed on the ground. The tears that should have been falling weren't. His world seemed to be shattered as he looked at the ground, then at the sky. His eyes seemed to be open forever, like his brain was unable to operate anymore.
He briefly recognized that someone was grabbing him as he started to move.
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On the Other Hand…
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Percy grabbed Jera as he started bringing him back down the cliff towards the meeting point. Ansuz was following behind him as she stared blankly at the ground.
Jera allowed himself to be dragged along, unblinking as they went. His mind was evidently elsewhere as they continued their journey towards the rendezvous point.
When they finally did reach it, Percy let go of Jera and approached Ansuz.
He looked at her silently for a moment before saying in a quiet tone, "Did you miss on purpose?"
Ansuz took a breath, before pausing and going silent. Her eyes pointed towards the ground, her bottom lip quivering as she finally looked back into Percy's eyes.
"You didn't see what she did to Wunjo Percy…" Her tone was shaky, as if she were about to cry.
Percy nodded, accepting the answer without question. "I wasn't there to witness what happened. I trust all of you equally, whatever happened there I trust that you made the best judgment for us going forwards."
"She betrayed Wunjo, Percy…" Ansuz said as she reached forward and grabbed his arm, a tear rolling down her cheek. "She turned around, like, like, she was possessed or something… and just impaled Wunjo with her… her damn weapon." Ansuz finished as the tears started to fall.
A sudden flash caught everyone's attention as Hermes arrived. His facial expression changed dramatically when he saw how Ansuz and Percy were acting. He also looked around and figured out on his own that tragedy had befallen the guardians.
"Let's go. We have to get you back to camp." Hermes said, he looked at Percy waiting for him to say something.
Percy looked down at Ansuz and whispered, "We will talk about this later, I think you need to talk about it. For now lets get you back somewhere safe… Jera too."
The three made a circle around Jera, grabbing his hand as Hermes got ready to flash them out of the warzone.
The End of Chapter 3.