𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐘
"You're gonna go far, kid."
SIX MONTHS AGO
JANUARY 14th, 2007
DAY FOUR
HIPPOLYTA WAS RIGHT.
As disgusting as it was Medusa's blood did heal Eris' leg within minutes. She was able to take off her make shift cast and sighed in relief when her leg was fully healed.
"We don't have much time," Hippolyta said hurriedly. She reached inside her toga and pulled out a piece of rolled up paper but unlike Hippolyta it wasn't glowing green instead it looked real. "This is a map of Tartarus. Icarus gave it to me for you. It is enchanted so that when I return you will still be able to have the map with you."
Hippolyta opened the map and laid it on the ground. She pointed on the map, "This is where we are near, The River of Leche, be careful and do not fall in you can lose your memories."
Eris held back a painful grunt and nodded.
The pain from summoning Hippolyta was even more intense than the pain she felt when she called Icarus. But she tried to hold on, she needed to hear what Hippolyta said so she could get home.
"You'll have to walk down the path of the river until you get to the central wasteland from there follow the river of Acheron until you see the doors of death. To use the doors of death one person must hold the button for twelve minutes and someone else will have to hit the button on the mortal side."
Eris swallowed, "So...so I can't go back? It's just me down here, I..." she covered her face, "I'm going to be down here forever."
"You will not," Hippolyta said so firmly it caused Eris to look her in the eye, "I have already spoken to your father—"
"Hades," Eris blurted out, "just...just Hades. I-I don't really consider him my dad"
Hippolyta nodded, "My apologizes. Hades has contacted me and told us that he will be the one pushing the button in the mortal world you just have to get to the elevator here. And we will all help you get there. I promise."
"You can't promise something like that," Eris muttered.
"I believe I just did."
Eris winced as another roar of pain flew through her body. "How are you guys supposed to help me? I don't even know how to summon you."
Hippolyta's eyes softened, "That is something you will have to resolve though practicing." Suddenly Hippolyta's storm started to flicker and she opened her mouth to say something but there was a bright green light and she was gone.
Eris sniffed and grabbed the map before hugging it to her chest.
She needed to get out of here.
PRESENT
ERIS LEWIS WAS SURE SHE WAS GOING TO DIE.
She had many run-ins with near death experiences but being chased by a giant Cyclopes took the cake.
"You'd think he'd run out of rocks," Percy muttered.
"Swim for it!" Grover said.
"I can't swim!" Eris blurted out. "I don't know how!"
Percy didn't waist a second to turn around and squat lightly, "Hop on!"
Eris blushed before she uneasily jumped on his back and wrapped her arms and legs around him. Percy plugged into the surf with Eris holding her breath.
Annabeth hung on to Clarisse's neck and tried to paddle with one hand, the wet Fleece weighing her down.
"You, young Cyclops!" Polyphemus roared. "Traitor to your kind!"
Tyson froze.
"Tyson, don't believe him!" Eris told him, "h-he doesn't know what he's talking about!"
Tyson turned and faced the older Cyclops. "I am not a traitor."
"You serve mortals!" Polyphemus shouted. "Thieving humans!" Polyphemus threw his first boulder. Tyson swatted it aside with his fist.
"Not a traitor," Tyson said. "And you are not my kind."
"Death or victory!" Polyphemus charged into the surf, but his foot was still wounded. He immediately stumbled and fell on his face. He started to get up again, spitting salt water and growling.
"Percy!" Clarisse yelled. "Come on!"
Eris looked back at her where she, Grover and Annabeth were almost to the ship with the fleece.
"Go," Tyson told them. "I will hold Big Ugly."
Eris shook her head, "Tyson, no you...you can't."
"No! He'll kill you." Percy said worriedly "We'll fight him together."
"Together," Tyson agreed.
Eris's eyes widened, "Fight? What?"
"We have to distract him!" Percy said, uncapping his sword. "Eris, just hold on!"
Eris didn't know what he was thinking. There was no way he'd be able to fight the Cyclopes especially with Eris's weight now holding him back.
Eris was holding him back and she hated it.
She watched as Polyphemus advanced carefully, limping worse than ever and swallowed before trying to think about what happened last time she fell in the ocean.
And then she remembered. Granted, this plan may be stupid and she was replying on seer luck because she had no idea how to call them back to help her but she didn't want to be the reason why Percy died.
"Let...Let me go," Eris told Percy.
"What? Eris, no, you can't swim. Don't be crazy."
"I'm not being crazy. You'll never win this fight with me holding you back. I...I have a plan just trust me."
Percy hesitated, "Are you sure about this?"
Eris nodded, "Yeah," she lied a bit because there was a good chance that she could drown but knowing Percy he wouldn't let her go unless she was absolutely sure.
Percy's lips set into a firm line before he released Eris from his hold.
Eris hit the water with a splash and started to sink.
ERIS'S VISION BLURRED UNDER THE WATER. She squirmed as she tried to avoid panicking because panicking led to drowning. Her lungs burned as her air supply started to run out. Though she was underwater her body felt heavy. She tried to concentrate because she needed their help if she wanted to survive.
Please .
"Mistress!" A squeaky voice came from in front of her and she opened her eyes.
Never in her life had she felt happy to be the daughter of Hades until now.
It was white, thin, and made of lines. Its main body was made of thick white curved lines into the shape of an oval with a triangle-like shape on its end, there were three empty open holes on its front; two holes for the eyes and one hole for the mouth.
In front of her eyes was a fish skeleton.
"We've missed you!" The Fish Skeleton said. It was only then that Eris saw that not only one fish skeleton had arrived but probably more than a hundred fish skeletons of different descriptions surrounding her. "Thanks for calling us!"
The fish skeleton arm gathered around her, a couple tucked under her arms while other moved under her legs and bottom like she was sitting in a a chair. Their faces pushed against her and they started to push her upward as they swam.
She gasped as she arrived at the surface, spitting out any water and shaking her head dry. She wiped her mouth with the back of her head and coughed, "Thank you."
"It's no problem, Mistress!" One of skeleton said cheerfully and Eris was sure that if it could it would be smiling.
Another one of the fish swam up to her with her glasses between its mouth and Eris took them. "Thank you," she told it, shaking off her glasses before putting them on. "T-Thanks for coming and saving me...again."
"No need to thank us, Mistress!" The fish skeleton said,
"Sorry you had to come and save me again," she muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She really needed to learn how to swim, the amount of times she almost drowned on this quest was ridiculous. Willow would probably be laughing at her right now.
"There is now need to be sorry," another fish spoke up, "we enjoy helping you! It would make us all upset if something happened to you. Right, men?"
"Right!"
"I—" Before Eris could ask them to swim her over to the ship she watched with wide eyes as
Polyphemus threw a boulder, and it sailed over her head and crashed through the hull of the Queen Anne's Revenge.
The Queen Anne's Revenge creaked and groaned and listed forward like it was going down a playground slide.
She whirled around and saw as Percy and Tyson drove under the water and though Clarisse was a strong swimmer she was barely able to hold herself above the ocean while holding Annabeth and Grover looked like he was only moments away from drowning.
Eris looked down at her fish friends, "How many of you guys are there?"
One of the fish looked around, "A thousand, Mistress!"
It took everything for Eris's jaw to not drop. A thousand undead fish all came because they were worried about her. She almost wanted to cry.
She winced when she saw a wave wash over her friends, "I-I-need a favor."
ERIS'S FISH FRIENDS CARRIED THEM ALL ACROSS THE SEA.
At first everyone was a bit startled at the sight of moving fish skeletons especially Tyson who actually screamed before calming down and naming one of the fish who were carrying him 'Freddy'. Percy seemed especially creeped out but Eris was pretty sure it was from him being the son of Poseidon around dead fish.
The fish were gentle with them so gentle that Percy and Annabeth ended actually falling asleep. Eris couldn't sleep because she was too worried that the Cyclopes would somehow hunt them down and kill them.
A COUPLE HOURS LATER THEY FOUND THEMSELVES AT A BEACHSIDE HIGHWAY.
Annabeth said they may be in Miami. The fish dropped them off and before they left Eris made sure to thank them again even if they said it wasn't necessary and Tyson cried a bit when he had to say goodbye to Freddy the Fish and Eris comforted him by telling him he could see Freddy anytime.
They wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations with Eris holding Tyson's hand to make sure he didn't get lost.
Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers. If anybody noticed them—six kids dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster—they didn't let on.
Annabeth ran to the nearest newspaper box and checked the date on the Miami Herald. She cursed. "June eighteenth! We've been away from camp ten days!"
"That's impossible!" Clarisse said.
"Time travels differently," Eris muttered, "in the sea of monsters."
She flinched prepared for Clarisse to maybe say something snappy but Clarisse only glanced at her and nodded before looking away. Which confused Eris because never once had Eris said something in front of Clarisse without her being snappy with her.
"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back tonight."
Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "How are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It's your fault, Jackson! If you hadn't interfered—"
Eris watched as Annabeth's eyes turned monstrous as she turned to Clarisse and could feel a headache coming.
"Percy's fault?!" Annabeth exploded. "Clarisse, how can you say that? You are the biggest —"
"Please, stop," Eris cut in, looking down, "Arguing will do nothing just," she took a deep breath and rubbed her face, "stop," she muttered.
Clarisse put her head in hands. Annabeth stomped her foot in frustration. Eris couldn't find it in herself to give a damn.
She understood why they were upset. This quest was Clarisse's, if she returned without the fleece and with Percy Jackson by her side she'd lose all respect at camp. Especially when she remember the terrible way Ares talked to her.
"Clarisse," Percy said, "what did the Oracle tell you exactly?"
Clarisse bit her lip, "You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, You shall find what you seek and make it your own, But despair for your life entombed within stone, And fail without friends, to fly home alone."
"Ouch," Grover mumbled and Eris softly nudged him.
"No," Percy said. "No...wait a minute. I've got it."
Percy reached in his pocket and only pulled out a golden drachma. "Does anybody have any cash?"
Annabeth and Grover shook their heads morosely. Eris dug in her pockets and was only able to pull out a couple pennies. Clarisse pulled a wet Confederate dollar from her pocket and sighed. Eris recoiled at the sight of the dollar and looked away.
"Cash?" Tyson asked hesitantly. "Like...green paper?"
Eris nodded, "Yeah, buddy."
"Like the kind in duffel bags?"
Percy frowned,"Yeah, but we lost those bags days a-g-g—" Percy stuttered to a halt as Tyson rummaged in his saddle pack and pulled out the Ziploc bag full of cash that Hermes had included in their supplies.
"Tyson!" Percy said. "How did you—"
"Thought it was a feed bag for Rainbow," he said. "Found it floating in sea, but only paper inside. Sorry." He handed Percy the cash.
Eris smiled at him a bit, "You're amazing, you know that?" She told Tyson, pulling him into a side hug.
Tyson brightened and smiled at her, "Aww, thanks!"
Percy ran to the curb and grabbed a taxi that was just letting out a family of cruise passengers. "Clarisse," He yelled. "Come on. You're going to the airport. Annabeth, give her the Fleece."
Looking a bit stunned, Annabeth gave Percy the fleece and he put the cash in its pocket before putting it into Clarisse's arms.
Clarisse blinked, "You'd let me—"
"It's your quest," Percy said. "We only have enough money for one flight. Besides, I can't travel by air. Zeus would blast me into a million pieces. That's what the prophecy meant: you'd fail without friends, meaning you'd need our help, but you'd have to fly home alone. You have to get the Fleece back safely."
She jumped in the cab. "You can count on me. I won't fail."
"Not failing would be good."
The cab peeled out in a cloud of exhaust. The Fleece was on its way.
Eris's chest felt funny. Not in a nervous way like whenever she saw monsters more in like a fluttering way, she didn't know why. She thought maybe it was just because Percy was being nice and she liked nice people but Percy was nice a majority of the time.
Eris glanced at him taking in his dark hair and tan skin before she glanced away with her face feeling hot.
"Percy," Annabeth said, "that was so—"
"Generous?" Grover offered.
"Insane," Annabeth corrected. "You're betting the lives of everybody at camp that Clarisse will get the Fleece safely back by tonight?"
Eris bit her lip, "I-I know Clarisse isn't the nicest person but she's n-not irresponsible," she told Annabeth meekly. "She likes camp, her siblings live there...I think she'll do good." She turned to Percy, "W-Whether you guys liked it or not I-it was her quest that we invaded on...she deserves her credit."
"Percy is nice," Tyson said.
"Percy is too nice," Annabeth grumbled.
"Come on," Percy told them. "Let's find another way home."
For a moment Eris thought maybe luck was on their side for once. She thought they would finally be able to go home to camp.
Maybe she should've been relived at the idea of camp but she wasn't. Camp never really felt like home to her. There wasn't a cabin for Hades children and Eris had to sleep in the Art Cabin. Though people weren't bullying her they weren't exactly trying to talk to her.
Most of the time she felt like an outsider at camp half-blood. And if Chiron who was technically her foster father wasn't coming back to camp Eris would be in foster care again or go back to the Underworld again.
Willow had tried to talk to Eris about going back into foster care again but going back was still something Eris was thinking about. Her past experiences in the foster care system were all terrible but then again so was Eris's experience at camp.
But just when she thought she could finally go the camp and paint till her hands bleed but no there was no such thing as luck for a demigod.
Something grabbed Eris by the back of shirt and yanked her in the air so high her feet were dangling aimlessly it was only then that she realized that Luke was there with his sword pointed threateningly at Percy's throat.
Eris wiggled around in the hold trying to get Luke's thug to drop her but it was useless.
"Hey, cuz," Luke told Percy. "Welcome back to the States."
One thug grabbed Annabeth and Grover by their T-shirt collars. The other tried to grab Tyson, but Tyson knocked him into a pile of luggage and roared at Luke.
"Percy," Luke said calmly, "tell your giant to back down or I'll have Oreius bash your friends' heads together."
Oreius grinned and raised Annabeth and Grover off the ground, kicking and screaming.
"No, please!" Eris pleaded, wrestling in her hold.
"What do you want, Luke?" Percy growled.
He smiled, the scar rippling on the side of his face. Eris shivered.
He gestured toward the end of the dock, and in port was the Princess Andromeda.
"Why, Percy," Luke said, "I want to extend my hospitality, of course."
For once in her life Eris was glad Willow wasn't here because if she was Eris just knew Willow would be releasing a verbal can of whoop-ass on Luke that no one could hear but Eris.
THEY THREW THEM DOWN ON THE AFT DECK IN FROMT OF THE SWIMMING POOL.
A dozen of Luke's assorted goons—snake people, Laistrygonians, demigods in battle armor—had gathered to watch them get some "hospitality."
Eris squirmed nervously. A part of her wanted to try to summon someone, anyone, but her powers weren't something she could camouflage. As soon as Luke saw bright green eyes and glowing green hands he'd probably have one of his men kill her on the spot.
"And so, the Fleece," Luke mused. "Where is it?"
He looked us over, prodding Percy's shirt with the tip of his sword, poking Grover's jeans.
"Hey!" Grover yelled. "That's real goat fur under there!"
"Sorry, old friend." Luke smiled. "Just give me the Fleece and I'll leave you to return to your, ah, little nature quest."
"Blaa-ha-ha!" Grover protested. "Some old friend!"
"Maybe you didn't hear me." Luke's voice was dangerously calm. "Where—is—the— Fleece?"
"Not here," Percy said. "We sent it on ahead of us. You messed up."
Eris almost hissed at him to stop talking. Though she hated lying she thought Percy should've lied to him like his life depended on it. Maybe tell Luke that they lost it at sea? Or tell him that they weren't able to get it? He could've told Luke anything else but the truth.
Luke's eyes narrowed. "You're lying. You couldn't have..." His face reddened as a horrible possibility occurred to him. "Clarisse?"
Percy nodded and Eris bit her lip and Annabeth looked like she wanted to smack the shit out of him.
"You trusted...you gave..."
"Yeah."
"Agrius!"
The bear giant flinched. "Y-yes?"
"Get below and prepare my steed. Bring it to the deck. I need to fly to the Miami Airport, fast!"
"But, boss—"
"Do it!" Luke screamed. "Or I'll feed you to the drakon!"
The bear-man gulped and lumbered down the stairs. Luke paced in front of the swimming pool, cursing in Ancient Greek, gripping his sword so tight his knuckles turned white.
The rest of Luke's crew looked uneasy. Maybe they'd never seen their boss so unhinged before.
"You've been toying with us all along," Percy said. "You wanted us to bring you the Fleece and save you the trouble of getting it."
Luke scowled. "Of course, you idiot! And you've messed everything up!"
"Traitor!" Eris watched confused as Percy Duh into his pocket, took out a gold drachma and threw it at Luke. Luke dodged it easily. It wasn't until she saw the coin fall into water from the fountain that Eris understood.
"You tricked all of us!" Percy yelled at Luke. "Even DIONYSUS at CAMP HALF-BLOOD!"
Behind Luke, the fountain began to shimmer and Eris swallowed nervously but Percy quickly uncapped Riptide.
Luke just sneered. "This is no time for heroics, Percy. Drop your puny little sword, or I'll have you killed sooner rather than later."
"Who poisoned Thalia's tree, Luke?"
"I did, of course," he snarled. "I already told you that. I used elder python venom, straight from the depths of Tartarus."
Eris flinched. How did Luke even get anything from Tartarus? Did he go there himself? Maybe that explained his crazy intentions because no one could go into Tartarus without mental problems. She would know.
"Chiron had nothing to do with it?"
"Ha! You know he would never do that. The old fool wouldn't have the guts."
"You call it guts? Betraying your friends? Endangering the whole camp?"
Luke raised his sword. "You don't understand the half of it. I was going to let you take the Fleece...once I was done with it."
"You were going to heal Kronos," Percy said.
Eris glanced around uneasily, hoping and praying that Luke was not going to say what—
"Yes! The Fleece's magic would've sped his mending process by tenfold. But you haven't stopped us, Percy. You've only slowed us down a little."
It was offical, Eris thought Luke was mad. Kronos was bigger than off of them powerwise. Luke thinking that he could control Kronos or even fight beside Kronos was arrogant. Being arrogant was going to get Luke killed.
Eris understood that Luke was angry with the Gods, she was angry with Hades most of the time but couldn't he had just separated himself from them. Why not just leave camp and move far away and go to college or something? There were other ways to solve this without potentially killing everyone.
She understood his anger but she didn't understand why he needed violence to solve it.
"And so you poisoned the tree, you betrayed Thalia, you set us up—all to help Kronos destroy the gods."
Luke gritted his teeth. "You know that! Why do you keep asking me?"
"Because I want everybody in the audience to hear you."
"What audience?"
Then his eyes narrowed. He looked behind him and his goons did the same. They gasped and stumbled back.
Above the pool, shimmering in the rainbow mist, was an Iris-message vision of Dionysus, Tantalus, and the whole camp in the dining pavilion. They sat in stunned silence, watching them.
"Well," said Dionysus dryly, "some unplanned dinner entertainment."
"Mr. D, you heard him," Percy said. "You all heard Luke. The poisoning of the tree wasn't Chiron's fault."
Mr. D sighed. "I suppose not."
"The Iris-message could be a trick," Tantalus suggested, but his attention was mostly on his cheeseburger, which he was trying to corner with both hands.
"I fear not," Mr. D said, looking with distaste at Tantalus. "It appears I shall have to reinstate Chiron as activities director. I suppose I do miss the old horse's pinochle games."
Tantalus grabbed the cheeseburger. It didn't bolt away from him. He lifted it from the plate and stared at it in amazement, as if it were the largest diamond in the world.
"I got it!" he cackled.
"We are no longer in need of your services, Tantalus," Mr. D announced. Tantalus looked stunned. "What? But—"
"You may return to the Underworld. You are dismissed."
"No! But—Nooooooooooo!"
Eris made mental note to tell Chiron to never let Tantalus leave the Underworld again. Maybe it was a petty request but Willow always told her it was okay to be petty to someone who was an asshole to you.
As he dissolved into mist, his fingers clutched at the cheeseburger, trying to bring it to his mouth. But it was too late. He disappeared and the cheeseburger fell back onto its plate. The campers exploded into cheering.
Luke bellowed with rage. He slashed his sword through the fountain and the Iris-message dissolved, but the deed was done.
Luke turned and gave Percy a murderous look. "Kronos was right, Percy. You're an unreliable weapon. You need to be replaced."
For a brief moment he made eye contact with Eris and she forced herself to look away.
Why is he looking at me?
One of his men blew a brass whistle, and the deck doors flew open. A dozen more warriors poured out, making a circle around them, the brass tips of their spears bristling.
Eris's face felt hot as her eyes started to water a bit.
Luke smiled at Percy. "You'll never leave this boat alive."
"One on one," Percy challenged Luke. "What are you afraid of ?"
Luke curled his lip. The soldiers who were about to kill them hesitated, waiting for his order.
Eris glanced at Percy. She had known that last time at camp Percy won his dual against Luke but that was just training. Luke had went easy on him. Not to mention that all of Luke's men would probably jump in if they saw Luke losing.
Before Luke could saying anything, Agrius, the bear-man, burst onto the deck leading a flying horse. It was the first pure-black pegasus I'd ever seen, with wings like a giant raven. The pegasus mare bucked and whinnied.
"Sir!" Agrius called, dodging a pegasus hoof. "Your steed is ready!"
Luke kept his eyes on Percy. "I told you last summer, Percy," he said. "You can't bait me into a fight."
"And you keep avoiding one," Percy noticed. "Scared your warriors will see you get whipped?"
Eris knew what Luke was going to pick. He couldn't embarrass himself in front of his crew, they'd never respect him again.
"I'll kill you quickly," Luke decided, and raised his weapon.
Eris winced at the sight of his weapon.
Backbiter was a tall sword. Its blade glinted with an evil gray-and-gold light where the human steel had been melded with celestial bronze. Luke whistled to one of his men, who threw him a round leather-and-bronze shield.
He grinned at me wickedly.
"Wait!" Eris blurted out before shying away when she gained attention, "C-Can't you just y-talk this out?"
Eris didn't think she was mature or 'grown' but she did think it was stupid to solve all arguments through battles to the death.
Luke raised a brow seemingly amused with her answer, "Talk it out?"
"Yeah!" Eris sputtered, "T-There's no need to fight. A-Why don't we just—"
Luke chucked darkly, "Oh, Eris," he said almost mockingly, "So sweet, so naive yet so...stupid."
Eris flinched and Percy glared at him, "Hey! Don't be an asshole!"
Luke shrugged, "It's true. Do you seriously believe we could solve this," he gestured between himself and Percy, "through talking?"
Eris flushed, "U-Uh, well...yes."
"Then you're dumber than I thought," Luke turned back to Percy, "Let's get this over with."
LIKE ERIS THOUGHT LUKE WAS WINNING.
Percy put up a good fight but Luke was...Luke. He was older, faster and better trained.
Annabeth ended up having to hold onto Eris tightly as they watched Percy fall onto the ground and Luke advance slowly towards him with a creepy smile.
"One thing I want you to watch before you die, Percy." He looked at the bear-man Oreius,. "You can eat your dinner now, Oreius. Bon appetit."
"No, please!" Eris pleaded but went ignored.
"He-he! He-he!" The bear-man lifted Eris and Annabeth up and bared his teeth and—
Whish!
A red-feathered arrow sprouted from Oreius's mouth. With a surprised look on his hairy face, he crumpled to the deck.
"Brother!" Agrius wailed. He let the pegasus's reins go slack just long enough for the black steed to kick him in the head and fly away free over Miami Bay.
For a split second, Luke's guards were too stunned to do anything except watch the bear
twins' bodies dissolve into smoke.
Then there was a wild chorus of war cries and hooves thundering against metal. A dozen centaurs charged out of the main stairwell.
"Ponies!" Tyson cried with delight.
Eris scrambled over to Tyson's side and quickly pulled him behind her when he tried to pet one.
In his glory was Chiron among the crowd, but his relatives were almost nothing like him. There were centaurs with black Arabian stallion bodies, others with gold palomino coats, others with orange-and-white spots like paint horses. Some wore brightly colored T-shirts with Day-Glo letters that said PARTY PONIES: SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER. Some were armed with bows, some with baseball bats, some with paintball guns. One had his face painted like a Comanche warrior and was waving a large orange Styrofoam hand making a big Number 1. Another was bare-chested and painted entirely green. A third had googly-eye glasses with the eyeballs bouncing around on Slinky coils, and one of those baseball caps with soda-can-and-straw attachments on either side.
They exploded onto the deck with such ferocity and color that for a moment even Luke was stunned.
Luke was already raising his sword to rally his troops, a centaur shot a custom- made arrow with a leather boxing glove on the end. It smacked Luke in the face and sent him crashing into the swimming pool.
His warriors immediately started to scatter.
"Come get some!" yelled one of the party ponies.
They let loose with their paintball guns. A wave of blue and yellow exploded against Luke's warriors, blinding them and splattering them from head to toe. They tried to run, only to slip and fall.
Eris yelped when Chiron picked her up as if she was light as air and plopped her on his back along with Annabeth and Grover.
Luke was crawling out of the pool.
"Attack, you fools!" he ordered his troops. Somewhere down below deck, a large alarm bell thrummed.
His warriors started, coming at the centaurs with swords and spears drawn.
Tyson slapped half a dozen of them aside, knocking them over the guardrail into Miami Bay. But more warriors were coming up the stairs.
"Eris," Annabeth muttered.
"I-I'm on it," Eris said meekly, her eyes glowing green and her hands covered in a bright green halo.
She already knew who she was summoning. They wouldn't take as much time nor would they be as painful to summon as Hippolyta or Helen of Troy because they weren't as powerful but they were still useful.
Right before one of Luke's men nearly beheaded one of Chiron's cousins a gold arrow came whirling through the air until it stabbed his hand making him drop his sword and him scream.
But it didn't come from one of Chiron's family members, this arrow came from above.
Flying above them all with his arrow drawn Icarus clicked his tongue, "Nice to see you again, Princess," he called out as he fired another arrow this time into one of Luke's henchmen's legs.
Eris looked up at him, "Thank you!"
Icarus shrugged, "It's no problem!"
"Withdraw, brethren!" Chiron said.
"You won't get away with this, horse man!" Luke shouted. He raised his sword, but got smacked in the face with another boxing glove arrow, and sat down hard in a deck chair.
A palomino centaur hoisted Percy onto his back. "Dude, get your big friend!"
"Tyson!" Percy yelled. "Come on!"
Tyson dropped the two warriors he was about to tie into a knot and jogged after them. He jumped on the centaur's back.
"Dude!" the centaur groaned, almost buckling under Tyson's weight. "Do the words 'low- carb diet' mean anything to you?"
Eris had to hold her tongue because nothing was wrong with Tyson's weight, she thought he was perfect the way he was.
"I'll hold them off!" Icarus yelled.
Eris didn't want to leave him. She didn't want to see him her especially if she wasn't around. Though her spirits couldn't die they could still feel pain but she trusted Icarus and if he really thought he couldn't hold them off he wouldn't have said so.
Truthfully she hated summoning them for battle, she loved her spirits but she hated that she couldn't protect herself. It made her feel useless like she was using them as a shield. She wanted to fight beside them not behind them.
Maybe that's something I need to work on...
Luke's warriors were organizing themselves into a phalanx. But by the time they were ready to advance, the centaurs had galloped to the edge of the deck and fearlessly jumped the guardrail, as if it were a steeplechase and not ten stories above the ground. They plummeted toward the docks, but the centaurs hit the asphalt with hardly a jolt and galloped off, whooping and yelling taunts at the Princess Andromeda as they raced into the streets of downtown Miami.
THEY FOUND THEMSELVES IN A TRAILER PARK AT THE EDGE OF A LAKE.
The trailers were all horse trailers, tricked out with televisions and mini-refrigerators and mosquito netting. They were in a centaur camp.
"Dude!" said a party pony as he unloaded his gear. "Did you see that bear guy? He was all like: 'Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!'"
The centaur with the googly-eye glasses laughed. "That was awesome! Head slam!"
The two centaurs charged at each other full-force and knocked heads, then went staggering off in different directions with crazy grins on their faces.
Eris wondered if they were high. Could Centaurs even get high?
Chiron sighed. He set Eris, Annabeth and Grover down on a picnic blanket. "I really wish my cousins wouldn't slam their heads together. They don't have the brain cells to spare."
"Chiron," Percy said, still stunned by the fact that he was here. "You saved us."
He gave Percy a dry smile. "Well now, I couldn't very well let you die, especially since you've cleared my name."
"But how did you know where we were?" Annabeth asked.
"Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami."
"Gee, thanks," Grover mumbled.
"No, no," Chiron said. "I didn't mean...Oh, never mind. I am glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy's Iris-message and trace the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us is not the same as distance for humans."
"So what now?" Percy asked Chiron. "We just let Luke sail away? He's got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway."
Eris flinched at the name of the Titian. Kronos was coming, there was no way around it. Luke was starting a war. Everything was just going into madness.
The sad part was Eris knew none of this would have happened if the gods just took responsibility for their children. A war was coming like it or not and thought nearly brought tears to Eris's eyes. Eris was going to have to fight in a war or at least be prepared for a war.
She swallowed and wiped her tears. She knew what she needed to do.
Chiron knelt, carefully folding his front legs underneath him. He opened the medicine pouch on his belt and started to treat Percy's wounds. "I'm afraid, Percy, that today has been something of a draw. We didn't have the strength of numbers to take that ship. Luke was not organized enough to pursue us. Nobody won."
"But we got the Fleece!" Annabeth said. "Clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now."
Chiron nodded, though he still looked uneasy. "You are all true heroes. And as soon as we get Percy fixed up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs shall carry you."
Eris didn't believe him when he called them true hero. She thought the rest of her friends were heros but Eris didn't feel like she contributed much at all, she always felt like she was holding them back.
She just wasn't hero material.
But if there was going to be a war she didn't need to be hero material, she needed to be fighting material.
Eris stood, "I-I need a minute...can I be excused?"
Chiron nodded, "Go ahead."
ERIS FOUND HERSELF SITTING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAKE WHEN SHE SUMMONED HIPPOLYTA.
Hippolyta looked around seemingly looking for a fight only to find none, "Mistress?"
Eris swallowed as she tried to hold back the pain in her body, "S-Sorry, there's no fight I-I just need a favor."
"A favor? Why of course?" Hippolyta quickly sit down next to hers "is something the matter?"
Hippolyta never seemed to mind talking to Eris actually none of her spirits did they were more like...friends or at least Eris thought of them as her friends.
"I..."Eris paused, "Kronos is coming," she told her, "a-and there is going to be a war and I...," she sniffed, "I-I'm not prepared at all. I-I have no idea what I'm doing. I-I have no training, I mean I kind of do because Hades trained me but he was a really crappy teacher so I didn't really learn much a-and I just," she choked on her words.
"Mistress," Hippolyta said calmly, squeezing her shoulder. "Breathe."
Eris took a deep breath, "I-I want to live, Hippolyta or at least I think I do. A-And I want my friends to live to a-and they can't do that if I can't even fight on my own...I-I'm a liability," she said meekly, "And...I-I need to be prepared so I-I need fo ask a favor. Y-You trained all of your Amazons right?"
Hippolyta nodded, "Yes, that is correct. Why?"
"I...," she swallowed thickly, "I-I know I don't look like much and honestly I'm not much but...I-I'm a hard worker a-and I don't complain much a-and I need to be prepared if I want to live and," she paused, "I...I just don't want to feel useless anymore." She sniffed, "A-and I need your help if I want to be useful."
"Mistress, I'm sorry but I am confused. What favor are asking of me?"
Eris bit her lip, "W-When I can finally summon you long enough...I-I want you to train me...I want you to make me into a warrior o-or something. I don't know." She glanced at Hippolyta only to find her expression blank. "N-Never mind, t-the idea was stupid I'm sorry—"
"It will be hard," Hippolyta said cutting off Eris's rambling, "I am a strict teacher and I do not accept laziness. You will have to work hard. Do you understand?"
Eris nodded, "W-Wait, s-so are you saying yes?"
"Yes," Hippolyta smiled a bit, "I suppose I am."
Thank you so much for reaching!
Please comment it helps me update faster!
I don't really like this chapter I feel like it was rushed tbh but only one more chapter until part 2 is over and I can move onto the Titian's curse.
Is there anything you liked? Anything I can improve?
Is there anything you'd like to see?
Do you guys think Eris is going to go back to camp?
I was always planning to have Hippolyta train Eris but I was always stuck between having Eris ask her during the sea of monsters or the Titian's curse but with pjo only being five books I can't really take my time the way I want too.
Eris is eventually going to tell them about her falling into Tartarus but it will take a while because Eris is kind of a private person.
I have a couple spirits I plan to introduce during the Titian's curse.
I think you guys are really going to like Eris's
growth as a person I'm really excited for it.
Also...30k reads! Omg thank you so much! When I first published it I didn't really think people were going to read so I really appreciate you all!
Coming up: chapter 14: Meet the Robinsons