#side quest: flight of the harpies

[cerpollana]

FINALLY!

[lukecastellandeservedbetter]

11. Test Flight

a/n: oh man, this one is like, a lot. it’s longer. but y’know. worth it. 

shoutout to @book-lover-like-no-other because it was their sweet comments on the last couple fics that motivated me to write more. 

read the others!: Masterlist 

The group that was heading out- Jason, Piper, Annabeth and Luke -were gathered around the Argo II as Leo bounced around excitedly. “So? You guys ready to see it?” He asked, grinning ear to ear. “You guys are going to love it, I promise.” 

Everyone looked at each other admittedly a little unsure, but agreed nonetheless as Leo led them up to the deck, talking a mile a minute. The group nodded along. 

“Did you catch any of that?” Piper whispered to Jason. 

Jason shrugged. “Something about a turbine?”

Luke suspected they wouldn’t understand what he was saying even if he did speak at a normal speed. 

Leo showed them all the special features, how the ship practically ran itself so they wouldn’t need an actual crew. 

As they headed into the cabin of the ship, Luke squared his shoulders a little, suddenly on high alert, the long hallway bringing back memories of his time at sea. Annabeth glanced at him and raised her eyebrow. “What?” She prodded. 

Luke looked down at her surprised. “Oh. Uh,” He tried to force himself to relax. “I don’t exactly have… calm memories of ships.” He mumbled. 

“Yeah me either,” Annabeth bit out, turning back towards the front, reminding Luke of the time years ago, when he’d kept her, Percy and Tyson prisoner on board. 

As if he could forget. 

Luke sighed and looked around as Leo showed everyone their rooms, each one tapering off into their own to explore until it was only Luke and Leo. 

“You’re gonna love this,” Leo said to him, the way he had to every other person who got to see their room. 

Leo opened his door and stepped inside. “I did something special in here,” He said, pressing a button on the wall under the light switch. . 

A compartment opened up, one of the dummies from camp came out of the wall, and the bed folded up neatly into the wall, creating a space big enough that Luke could swing a sword and not be worried about destroying the wall. 

“But… why?” He asked, looking at Leo. 

Luke hadn’t spent a whole lot of time talking with Leo, except for the one time Chiron tried to get Leo to learn swordplay, and the time Leo asked him questions about how the Princess Andromeda ran with a crew when he learned that Luke had spent a better half of 4 years on a ship. 

Obviously a yacht and a Greek battleship were slightly different, but the size was relatively the same, and it would still take a crew to man. 

“Well, I know Jason asked you specifically to come on the Quest,” Leo explained. “And when we were talking about the Princess Andromeda, I could tell it wasn’t something you liked thinking too much about, but you still did for the good of the crew,” He told him, leaning against the wall. “You train alone a lot, so I figured it’s one of the ways you deal with it all. You just got settled back on dry land, and now we’re throwing you back onto a ship.” 

Luke looked around the room again. “It’s perfect Leo, thank you.” He grinned at him. 

“You’re welcome.” Leo perked up- it wasn’t often he got genuine praise for his creations. “C’mon, we should head back to the deck.” He pushed the button, and the dummy went back into the wall, the compartment closing, and the bed came out soundlessly as the pair headed back to the upper deck. 

Jason, Piper and Annabeth headed down the ship, but Luke stopped Leo. “Hey, have you done a test flight yet?” He asked Leo. 

Leo shook his head. “That was the plan for tonight.” 

“Do you think… do you think we could go to Manhattan?” He asked. “I should see Sally before we go get Percy.” 

Leo thought about it. “Yeah I think we could probably pull that off.” He said slowly. “You wanna go tonight? I got clearance with Chiron for the test flight.” 

Luke nodded. “I really appreciate it, Leo, thank you.” 

“Yeah, no worries,” He grinned. “Meet back here just after curfew.” 

“Sure thing, just don’t get eaten by the Harpies.” Luke warned before heading off the boat. 

-

The test flight was a little rocky, but eventually it smoothed out. Luke gave the address of the apartment building and Leo kept the ship afloat as he found it, typing in a couple codes before nodding to Luke. “So is this the sort of mission you need back up for?” He asked curiously, leaning against the side of the ship as Luke adjusted his sword on his hip. 

He figured it was better safe than sorry at this point. 

He regarded Leo for a moment. “What about the ship?” Luke pointed out. 

“Oh, Festus can handle it for a few minutes.” Leo nodded and looked around the ship. “But I also understand if you want to see Sally by yourself.” 

Leo looked a lot younger than he usually did, smaller almost. It was odd, of course Leo was younger and smaller than Luke, that was obvious. But Leo’s personality was always so big, he attracted attention. He had a particular aura about him, and whether people wanted to or not, there was something that drew other half-bloods to Leo. Maybe it was his reckless abandonment of rules or his faith in his own work that anyone would be jealous of, but he was always so loud and confident that Luke figured he had just adjusted to demigod life better than most. 

Luke understood exuding a smooth confidence in order to hide the rocky edges underneath. 

“It’ll probably be good for Sally to meet the guy who built the ship that’s going to save her son, right?” Luke offered a smile and patted his shoulder. “Let’s go.” 

The light in Leo’s eyes came back a bit and he followed Luke down to the roof. 

Luke tried to remember the way Percy showed him to get to the apartment from the roof. It had been a while even before Luke had gone back to camp since he had needed to escape up to the roof from the tiny apartment. He appreciated them accepting them into their home, but sometimes when Luke was alone in his room, he got claustrophobic. After being trapped in his own head for a year, sometimes no room had enough space for him to breathe. 

He managed to find the ladder and climbed down carefully, showing Leo all the right spots to step before landing on the fire escape soundlessly. Leo was a little less graceful, stumbling a bit and making a rattling sound. Luke winced a little at the sound but helped his companion up and slid up the window, climbing inside to the living room, helping Leo in. 

The living room was almost exactly how he had left it, save for an addition of a picture frame. 

It was a picture of Luke and Percy on his first trip to the cabin roasting marshmallows, Percy in the middle of retelling a ghost story he had heard his mom tell a million times. Luke remembered that trip, it was the first vacation he’d ever been on. 

His stomach squeezed a little and he looked around. The little glass blue bird Luke had gotten as a gift for Sally as a thank you with his first paycheque sat neatly on the coffee table, Percy’s Xbox was collecting dust on the television stand, and he could see Paul’s favourite coffee mug on the end table from, he predicted, this morning. 

There was a sound from around the corner in the hall, and Luke drew his sword, instinctually moving in front of Leo as he got in a ready stance. Leo found a place beside him however, pulling out a hammer from his tool belt. 

Luke would try to convince him to start using a better weapon when they weren’t in imminent danger. 

Quick as a flash, Sally had turned the corner and taken her own protective stance with her shotgun pointed right at Luke’s chest. 

There was a moment they stood there before Luke sheathed his sword. 

“Luke,” Sally said surprised, before lowering the gun and looking at Leo confused, and back to Luke. “What are you doing here?” 

“I wanted to check in on the apartment, and you, and let you know that I think we found him.” Luke explained. 

Sally’s face changed completely- she looked 10 years younger. “Come in then, let’s get you boys some food-” 

“We can’t stay long,” Luke told her softly. “Leo only got clearance for a test flight.” 

Sally looked dismayed and shook her head, crossing her arms. “I swear, you and Percy like getting in trouble.” 

Luke shrugged with a little smile. “It’s in the job description.” He motioned to the young demigod beside him. “This is Leo, he’s the guy that built the ship that’s going to take us to Percy.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you Leo,” Sally smiled warmly. “Can I at least package you boys some cookies?” 

“I will never turn down cookies,” Leo grinned brightly. 

Sally nodded and headed to the kitchen, returning moments later with a rather large bag of cookies. Luke nodded to Leo who shook Sally’s hand. “It was nice to meet you Sally,” Leo said happily and headed back out the window and up the fire escape carefully. 

Sally looked at Luke. “So? How long?” 

“Not too long,” Luke promised. “It’s sort of… a quest. Of sorts.” 

Sally gave Luke the You aren’t telling me everything, are you? Mom look. He sighed. “We have to go to Greece after.” 

“Greece?” She nearly yelled. 

“We aren’t ready for Greece yet!” Luke jumped in quickly before she freaked out. “We’re going to retrieve Percy. I’ll bring him home so you can see him and then we train for a little bit and then off to Greece we go.” He told her. 

“But I’ll get to see Percy before he goes again?” She clarified. 

Luke nodded. “I promise.” 

She nodded slowly. “And how are you holding up?” She asked softly. “With everything?” 

“I think… I think I’m okay.” He mirrored her nodding and fiddled with his sword handle. “I just want to come home and go back to work.” He admitted. 

“I know,” She said quietly. “I really do appreciate this Luke, I know… I know the campers aren’t always forgiving or kind.” 

Luke shrugged. “I know I deserve it.” He said honestly. “There’s not much I can really do about it. I can’t blame them for hating me. I would too.” 

She sighed and got up, giving him a big hug. Luke was taken back a little and hugged her awkwardly. 

“Come home safe, alright? Both of you.” She murmured to him. “I need you two to be safe out there. All of you.” 

“We’ll be safe, don’t worry mom.” 

It slipped out, and Luke went red from embarrassment when Sally pulled out of the hug to look at him quizzically. 

“Sorry, sorry, it just slipped, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” She said, though she had tears in her eyes. “You’re a part of this family now. I don’t mind.” 

Luke wondered how many times Percy had promised her that he would be safe and wouldn’t make her worry, and how many times he broke it. 

And how many times had it been Luke’s fault?

He took a deep breath and pushed that thought away. There was no sense dwelling on it now. 

Luke nodded, still a little embarrassed and took a step back. “Thanks for the cookies, we’ll see you soon, okay?” 

She nodded and waved goodbye. 

Luke climbed back up to the roof and up to the ship where Leo was eating what looked like his fourth cookie. 

“Ready to rock and roll amigo?” He asked cheerfully. 

Luke couldn’t help but chuckle at Leo’s face, his mouth surrounded by blue crumbs and chocolate. “Yeah I’m good to go, you?” 

“Heck yeah!” He grinned and set the bag of cookies down before running around to bring the ship back into motion. 

Luke looked up at the night sky, at the constellation of Zoe Nightshade, a little lost in thought. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. ‘You owe me nothing,’ he thought. ‘But please. Keep our travels safe. Let me bring him home. I owe him that.’ Luke paused and looked up at the sky. “Please dad.” He murmured out loud. 

He didn’t remember the last time he prayed to Hermes. 

[aweebwrites]

Fire and Lightning (Hooves and Fins AU)

“Hey Kai, I was thinking about moving the nest.” Jay spoke as he added Kai's feathers to said nest.

“What? Where?” Kai asked more than a little surprised, talons filled with the remains of their snack.

“Just higher up.” Jay says, looking across at him. “I mean, we can still keep a nest down here but I checked out the caves close to the top of the cliff and… I don't know… They seem cosier.” He shrugged.

“Hmm…” Kai hummed, considering it.

It was convenient to be honest. While he hadn't inherited all the mer genes his sister had (the scales on his legs and hands were orange red instead of yellow or black like all other harpies and appeared more aquatic than avian), he sensed enough that summer which was just a few weeks away was a time for mating and it would be best if they weren't there for it. The middle caves were all taken and reserved by Wu for Lloyd who had left for the Spirit Coves a week ago and Garmadon who was due back soon. The upper caves were smaller and with several entry and exit points but with more secluded areas that would be perfect for their nest. He's visited before and knew that much. It was ideal for harpies and all avians. Best yet, all the caves were interconnected so they didn't have to leave in order to visit the rest of their flock on the lower levels. Kai nodded.

“Sounds good actually.” He says and Jay beamed. “But as much as I love this nest, we can't move it up. We'll have to make a new one and leave this one for when we visit.” He pointed out and Jay nodded.

“We're just going to have to make an even better nest than this.” He grinned and Kai nods.

“But since it was your idea, you get to tell the others.” Kai says hopping out, taloned hands on his hips.

“Aw man…”

_________________

“Moving out?!” Nya and Zane gasped once they all gathered them by the shore.

“Jay phrased that wrong.” Kai says, interrupting. “We're not moving out. We're moving up. Higher into the caves. Close to the top of the cliff.” He clarified.

“Oh.” Both mers say in relief.

“I told you I couldn't do it.” Jay huffed, batting his winged arm at him.

“That's cool. But does that mean you'll have to build a new nest? I thought the one in the pool room was your favorite.” Cole questioned, his lower half submerged under water.

He would have looked like a mer too if it wasn't for his lack of fins and scales.

“Yeah. But we're going to build one better than that.” Jay says determinedly, hovering in the air. “We just need quality supplies.” He says, looking around.

“Perhaps we can help.” Wu suggested with a smile.

“Really? That'll be awesome!” Jay chirped and so began the quest for nesting material.

_______________

“I had these furs laying around.” Cole says, bring an arm full of deer, rabbit, moose and other mammal furs. “I was saving them for the winter for you guys since you don't fly south but if you can use them now…” He says and Jay looked them over, stroking the furs and nodded.

“They're perfect! Thanks Cole!” Jay says, allowing Kai to take them by the talons on his feet as he flew up to the cave they chose.

“So you pick the stuff and Kai builds it?” Cole asked as he watched him go.

“Yeah. He builds a mean nest. I'll help decorate but that's it. My nests never last long.” Jay says sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “On the plus side, Kai always picked the most uncomfortable things for nests so it works out.” He shrugged.

“I found a bunch of these along the water surface a few miles away.” Nya says as she came up from the water, pushing out several long pieces of wet straw.

“Wait, you left the lake?” Kai asked as he came back.

“Yeah. So?” She asked as Jay looked them over before using the talons on his feet to filter them out. “Skylor was with me if you were worried.” She says and Skylor came up then, holding a lot of moss.

“Harpies use this stuff, right?” She asked, and Jay pulled those out too.

“Yeah but we're gonna leave these to dry.” Jay says, setting them out of the water's reach.

“Where's-” Cole was cut off by Zane's head popping up out of the water, chewing something.

“I found some Kelp. It's surprisingly tasty.” He says, coming up with a hand full.

“Ooh! Kelp! Don't mind if I do.” Nya says, swimming over and taking some.

“That looks great and all but I don't think it'll work.” Kai says with a grimace.

“I was hoping you'd say that.” Zane admits then shrugged them out of his arms to reveal several colourful seashells. “You can decorate with these, right?” He asked and Jay was already picking a few up, not minding the cold water on his exposed legs.

“These are gorgeous!” He says in awe, looking over a single large one about the size of his head. “We'll take them.” He says, tossing the big one to Kai and gathering the small ones.

“Perhaps these will help for support.” They all looked over to see Wu walking out from the woodlands towards them.

He had long lengths of plants that looked almost like vines but a little less flexible.

“These limbs are flexible now but they become firm and permanent in shape once they're dry. They'll be hard to break once they are as well.” He says and Kai was the one to look over and ponder his finding.

“Definitely. Thanks Sensei.” Kai says, taking him and Wu only nods.

“I think we have everything we need. We've never collected enough supplies for a whole nest this quickly before. Thanks guys.” Jay says and Kai echoed his thanks as well.

“Hey, it's what a family does.” Skylor says with a smirk. “Now go build your nest already. I wanna hear all about it when you're done.” She says and Kai and Jay looked at each other before nodding.

_____________

“Remember when I said the nest in the pool room was the best?” Jay asked as Kai weaved the walls of the nest with the straw, vine things and moss.

“Yeah?” Kai smirked as he continued to work.

“I change my mind. This is the best nest.” Jay sighed, snuggling into the first at the bottom.

“It's not even done yet.” Kai chuckled, making sure the area was firm before moving on.

“It goes to show!” Jay grinned, sitting up now. “The shells are really nice too. Maybe we can go out and find more things for the walls, don't you think?” He asked, looking around at where he set them all up, the biggest one that was a perfect blend of red and blue on a small shelf like ledge behind the nest.

“Once were done building the nest that is. It'll take me awhile to finish. With all the supplies the others got us, this'll be our biggest nest yet.” Kai says and Jay beamed at that.

Their previous nests were cozy indeed but more space was a thing they needed. Or at least he does. He made it a habit to lay down sleeping instead of sitting up like all avians. It was just more comfortable that way.

“Awesome! I can't wait until it's done!” Jay says excitedly.

“No lightning. You might start a fire. You know better.” Kai scolded and Jay pouted but grinned, resting his chin on his shoulder.

He couldn't wait.

______________

It ended up taking all of that day and well into the next before Kai declared it done and he was right: it was huge! He could lay on his back and still have space all around.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm glad you like it but I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat.” Kai says, nudging him and Jay nods, flying out after him.

A dip, a turn and a twist and they were out of the caves, over the lake. Jay looked down, noting the difference to the lake. One side had chunks of ice littering about and was deep blue while the other side was a warm blue green colour. He could spot Nya easily in the water but despite being a more white than anything else mer, Zane was near impossible to spot. A spiral dive down showed a flicker of white and blue amongst the waves.

He wasn't looking for them however. Her pulled his wings close to himself, diving down and extending his talons, grabbing the large fish lingering near the surface to get away from Zane and letting his wings carry him up before he could sink. He flew towards the shore- but startled when something launched up and snatched his fish, making him squawk in surprise, fight or flight instincts telling him to get out of there quick. It was only when he heard familiar laughter did he turn around, hovering.

“Cole you jerk!” Jay yelled, watching the kelpie tread the water, still holding his fish.

“Serves you right. You gotta be more alert.” He says, swimming over and handing him his fish he took with a huff. “I take it the nest's all done?” He asked as Zane came up next to him.

“Yup. Kai just finished it up. We skipped dinner and breakfast so we need to refuel.” Jay says then looked over once he heard a splash.

He was just in time to see Nya jump over Kai only to land back in the water with an even bigger splash. Kai only hovered there, startled.

“Told you I could do it! Pay up!” Nya says to Skylor who was watching near by.

“Alright, alright. Here.” Skylor says, handing her over a large blue lobster.

“Yes!” Nya grinned and dug in, her teeth were not as sharp as Zane's but tough enough to break through the shell with ease.

“Is it give the harpies a heart attack day?” Jay questioned, flying over to his mate and passing over the fish he caught him.

“When is it not?” Skylor asked with a grin.

“Mean Sky. Mean.” Kai huffed before flying over to the cold side and landing on the closest chunk of ice.

He then took the fish in hand and began eating.

“I can catch you one of you'd like.” Zane suggested, he and Cole swimming closer.

“Nah. I've got it.” Jay says, flying up again and scanning both sides of the lake.

The cold water fish were great but sometimes it's good to get back to the classics. His keen eye caught a medium sized fish swimming along near the surface on the warm side and dove down watching it. It began to swim, spotting his shadow but it was too late. His wings weren't as big as Kai's but they were built for speed. He caught it no problem and carried it over to where Kai was, eating as well.

“You know, I've been meaning to ask Sky. Since you're part Naga, doesn't that make you cold blooded?” Cole asked her as they all lingered by the ice chunk the two harpies were eating on.

“Yes. But only when I'm not wearing my seal skin. It's complicated but it's why I hardly take it off during the winter. If I keep it off for too long, my blood will cool and I'll hibernate.” She says as Nya idly swim on her back, eating her prize much like an otter.

“That answers some questions.” Jay says around a mouth full of raw fish.

“Don't talk with your mouth full.” Kai scolded, smacking him with his wing.

Jay stuck his tongue out at him in retaliation.

“Don't worry, I'll punish that mouth the second we get back.” Kai says lowly and Jay flushed deeply, eyes wide.

“I didn't need to hear that.” Nya says as she turned over and swum away.

“Well, at least we know who's the submissive in the relationship~” Skylor cooed before swimming off as well.

“My ears Kai.” Cole says, covering them.

“I don't understand.” Zane says and Cole looked at him then at the harpy duo, torn between gushing over how innocent he was or scolding them for exposing him to things like that.

“You should tell him before Skylor does.” Kai says with a smirk and Cole grimaced at that.

He then motioned Zane closer and whispered into his finned ear. It was comical watching Zane go blue so quickly all over.

“I- I see.” He stuttered out, eyes wide. “Excuse me.” He says, ducking under the water quickly.

“Zane-” Cole says then dove after him and Kai snickered.

“You better hurry up~” Kai says, rubbing his feathers suggestively against Jays before flying off back to the nest.

Jay never ate quicker.

________________

(This turned out longer than expected and by the time I was done, it was way too late to post. Onto the fic; things took a little suggestive turn in the end but that's ok. Jay and Kai are the only ones who are officially mates here. Zane and Cole may think of each other as mates already but it's not yet official. Not sure if I will actually write about their first coupling but if I do, I'd probably have to post it elsewhere. That's it for now! See you guys later!)

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Rebirth of Kaiser:  Chapter 16

Ryou groaned. His head throbbed and he wanted to close his eyes – were they even open? - and go back to sleep. It didn’t feel as if it would be all that difficult, either. Just let himself drift off…

A door opened somewhere. He could hear it, and the footsteps that came from the other side, approaching too closely. He’d never enjoyed people being too close to him when he wasn’t capable of watching them.

He tried to drag his eyes open and possibly glare at whoever came so close to him. But he still couldn’t get himself to move.

“I think he’s starting to wake up.” A voice spoke that he didn’t recognize. A female voice? How many female voices should he know?

There was As – someone. The name faded before he could think it properly. Perhaps someone he’d known in his other life.

But the ones that he knew from his life brushed through his thoughts and he knew this wasn’t any of them. He tried again to get his eyes open, but even when he thought they were, he couldn’t see a lot. Blindfolded? Dark room?

Darkness. Darkness…

Where was Fu- Fujiwara? Yuusuke? Fujiwara Yuusuke. Where was he?

Not there. Not where he should have been.

Ryou twitched harder and whoever it was stepped closer. He could almost feel their gaze on him, and then did feel a battle-hardened hand moments later, touching against his cheek.

“Yes. You’re waking up.” She sounded almost happy about that. “Don’t worry. This will all be explained soon.”

Ryou wondered if he would like the explanation. He didn’t think that he would. Why would he like something that involved him hardly being able to string two thoughts together, as well as being apparently imprisoned somewhere?

The more he began to wake up, the more he started to realize what kind of situation he was in, and he liked less and less of it. He could feel manacles of some sort on his wrists and he thought on his ankles as well. What they led to he wasn’t sure of. He couldn’t see anything at all, which led him to believe he’d been blindfolded.

This was a dungeon cell of some sort. He could smell stone and damp water, but nothing else. When he shifted around, he could hear tiny clicks of chains that reaffirmed he was restrained.

“Don’t move too much. The sleep spell hasn’t entirely faded. Give it time.” Whoever she was advised him. Ryou tried to convey how much he didn’t care but she didn’t seem to realize it.

Instead, she took firm, quiet steps away and the door closed behind her. Ryou wanted to glare at it. Instead, he drew in a breath and tried to think of what he could do to get out of this. With more thought came more clarity and more memories.

He and Yuusuke had left the Humming Bee. They’d had a good lunch there and had been on the way to the cardsellers to see if any of their wares were what he wanted. They hadn’t made it.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip, something fell out of the sky. It shouldn’t have – flying wasn’t allowed in the trade village. But it did all the same, and whoever it was – he couldn’t remember the details, only a few bits of metallic wings and claws – carried someone with them. That person he definitely didn’t remember.

But there had been a flash of darkness, and he’d folded over like a napkin, not knowing anything else until he started to wake up here.

Now he started to put things together. It must have been a spell of some sort. Whether it was one that was a card or not he couldn’t be sure and he didn’t think it mattered much. He’d been put to sleep and taken somewhere.

But where was Yuusuke? He tried to stand only to find that his bonds didn’t allow that. He couldn’t talk yet, either. He didn’t think he’d been gagged. More magic?

More footsteps sounded. He tried to look and see but the blindfold remained firmly in place. The door opened again and he heard two different sets entering.

“Come on.” That was all he heard before one of his guards started to tug on the chains. His bonds released just enough so he could stand, and he stumbled forward. He hadn’t stumbled in so very long – not since he’d first woken in this world, really.

It only took a few moments for him to get his balance back and his head rapidly cleared up as he was guided out of the cell and up a flight of stairs. From here he could feel the touch of wind and sunlight. That was a definite improvement.

He wasn’t sure of how long they walked, only that it didn’t seem all that long. They entered a room, and Ryou found himself quite certain that there were several people around him. Not being able to see did not make him any happier.

“Remove the blindfold.” A voice that he didn’t recognize ordered. One of the guards stepped up closer and obeyed. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his thoughts and vision cleared out and organized.

He wasn’t wrong. There were quite a few people in the room other than him. None of them were Yuusuke. All of them were female. He remembered seeing Cyber Harpie at the trade village.

Standing in front of him was someone else, though. In fact, the more he looked at them all, the more he realized: they were all the same. There were slight differences in hair tints and eyes and perhaps a few bits of their armor, but he could tell they were all the same kind of card spirit.

And he knew which one, though how he knew, he wasn’t at all sure.

“Hail Cyber,” he murmured. “That’s who you are.”

The one before him nodded and all the others whispered among themselves in glee. He’d heard of them, since they were part of the Cyber archetype and thus lessons around them had been taught… taught…

Ryou pressed his lips together, hissing in annoyance. Where had he been taught about them? He knew he should know. He almost did. The image rose up in his mind: a building, high in the mountains, surrounded by snow. He’d been there. He’d been there so much that it was a part of his mind’s furniture.

Another image...a metallic silver dragon with three heads, worked on a background of jade green and bright red. And there, hiding in the back, darkness of a different kind.

Cyberdark Dragon...Cyber End Dragon... He grasped onto those names with all of his might, hissing harder to himself in an effort to keep them. He remembered them. He wasn’t going to let them get away.

That was all that he remembered, for now, though. Whatever that place was, the name escaped him. But the army of Hail Cybers stood before him.

“I am Captain Tesni,” the one directly before him said. There were tiny strips of blue in her otherwise golden hair and her eyes shone the same shade. “We are honored by your presence.”

Ryou raised an eyebrow and then raised his chained wrists. “I’d feel more honored without these and with knowing where Fujiwara Yuusuke is. And why you did this in the first place.”

Captain Tesni jerked her head and another Hail Cyber stepped forward. This one had tiny bits of green in her hair, though her eyes maintained the same blue as Tesni’s. She quickly unlocked the chains and carried them away as Tesni glanced toward Cyber Harpie, who ducked down, cheeks coursing red.

“I apologize for this, sir. My orders were to bring both of you here unharmed. Cyber Harpie did not do this with my full permission. We weren’t certain of your reaction when you woke, either.”

Ryou still wasn’t entirely thrilled by this. He wasn’t getting all of the answers that he needed.

“Then where is he?”

“I left him at the trading village,” Cyber Harpie muttered when Tesni indicated she should say something. “I was so excited to find you again that I didn’t even think.”

“What did you do?” Ryou demanded. He didn’t think he’d had a less enjoyable day in quite some time.

Cyber Harpie replied miserably. “I’d met a friend of mine. She had a friend there: Dark Sleep Inviting Lucifer.”

That explained the sleeping spell and the figure of shadows that he’d seen with Cyber Harpie. He nodded for her to keep going.

“He put both of you to sleep. We just took you because we couldn’t carry both of you at the same time, and Captain Tesni definitely wanted you.” Cyber Harpie fidgeted. “We were going to go get him later, but I wasn’t allowed.”

Ryou frowned. “How long has it been?”

The answer he got wasn’t what he wanted in the slightest. “You were brought here two days ago,” Tesni said. She shook her head. “I intended to have you tracked while you were at the trading village and I would have intercepted you two on your way home. That was what I wanted to do. I would have spoken to you both there and hopefully you would help us because you wanted to.”

Ryou said nothing. Rage alone writ itself across his features.

Tesni closed her eyes for a second and no more. “We are at war. It isn’t the sort of war that we had ten years ago, but it’s war all the same. An opposing army seeks to destroy us and will do anything within their power to do so.” She turned her attention to Cyber Harpie. “If you wish to redeem yourself, go back to the village and find the shadow mage. Bring him back here. Before the Knights find him.”

Cyber Harpie ducked her head and took off a heartbeat later, quickly out of sight. Tesni turned back to him.

“The Knights are our enemies. We once were allies, but no more. Now neither of us will rest before we’ve destroyed the other.”

Ryou crossed his arms over his chest. “What does that have to do with me?” He had very little that he could do that would make a difference in a war. For that matter, he wasn’t certain what Yuusuke could do in a war.

Tesni offered a small scrap of a smile. It looked as if doing so pained her.

“You don’t know, sir?”

“No.” If she knew something about him, Ryou wanted the information now.

A few soft murmurs raced through the crowd before Tesni waved them all to silence. Then she turned to face him again.

“You do know that you’re a spirit? That you have effects?”

Ryou did not take his eyes off of her. He nodded, briefly.

“I can’t say what all the other details of your abilities are, but I know two of them. We searched out a magician who told us about you and what you can do to help us. Your existence will give us all greater strength for one. And as for the other: while you are there, no spells or traps or effects of any kind may touch us.”

Ryou translated all of that in his head. I increase their attack. And they can’t be targeted by anything else. They would still be able to be overpowered if someone had a greater attack – or more strength and skill – but they would be a far more formidable fighting force simply by adding him to the field. Adding to that the effect he’d already known, where he couldn’t be targeted by destruction effects…

One more question remained.

Though he would have other questions in time but this one called to him even more.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Of course.” Tesni sounded almost confused, if not offended, by the question. “You’re Cyber Hell Paladin. Who else would you be?”

And Ryou smiled, as the name slotted itself into his mind, where it had never been and where it had always wanted to be.

To Be Continued

Notes: Ryou’s effects: he cannot be targeted by destruction effects. Any monster with “Cyber” in its name gains 500 attack points when he’s on the field. Last but not least, any monster with “Cyber” in its name cannot be targeted by the opposing player’s spells, traps, or monster effects, also while he’s on the field. His attack & defense will come later. And yes, his card’s name is Cyber Hell Paladin and more details are still to come.

Sorry this is late. Personal issues have interfered with my writing but next Sunday things should be back to normal. I hope.

[godspeedsq]

       𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃  and  started  to  swiftly  run  towards  the  manticore.     he  hoped  that  seeing  logan  use  his  powers  to  hold  onto  the  thing,  he  could  get  the  chance  to  get  through  and  get  the  manticore’s  tail.    he  jumped  up  and  with  brute  force  he  shifts  his  sword  down,  in  hopes  that  he  cuts  the  tail  off.

⦗   xander  attempts  to  cut  the  manticore  tail  off.  ⦘  ↳  ⦗  action 3 ⦙  4  ⦘

[godspeedsq]

Logan watched the Manticore swat his friends around and watched their various attempted to blind, stun, and debilitate him. He saw the plan coming together. He thrust his spear towards, not the manticore, but pool of water behind him. And, like with the gnolls, he twisted his arm like he was coiling rope, then tugged it towards himself. It was easier here. The ocean was so close. Before, he’d lashed ropes to five gnolls. Now he aimed them all at two targets: The Manticore’s arms. He wanted to bind the arms, stop it from being able to attack his friends. Then they could go in the for the kill. “Take that tail out of commission!” he yelled.

[Logan Manipulates Water to create ropes with which to bind the manticore’s arms and claws. 2/4]

[godspeedsq]

HOW COOL WOULD THAT HEAD look on his mantle? pretty damn cool, if you asked him. there’s a glint in his eye as he watches the manticore do its thing, one that could only be described as mischievous, “guys.” he looks between the rest of the group and the manticore, then back to the rest of the group. “if we don’t take that thing out now, it’s gonna come back and bite us on the ass,” he says, though he’s already made his way out from the cover of the trees and out into the open, gauntlets tight on his arms...

GUS STEALTHS towards the MANTICORE! (1/4)

[godspeedsq]

leland’s adrenaline spikes as they start their descent into the lush forest. the purple haze of the sky casts a strange shadow on the trees, masking the blood they’ve spotted here and there. it’s the sound that catches his ears, sends a small shiver down his spine. he stops for a moment and looks around at the fellow demigods, thankful to be considered to even go. but this is his time to prove himself. “i’ll go ahead and see if i can get a look at whatever that is. i’ll be there and back. trust me?” he flashes a look toward silas before he turns, quietlly, and begins to stealth ahead.

[ LELAND ATTEMPTS TO STEALTH FORWARD. ] 

[godspeedsq]

with the matter ‘handled’, both manticore and lone harpy joining the camp, it seemed time to start making peace with their new allies. ezekiel stood slowly, passing by the others, finally approaching kaipo.

as he did when he prayed, he set his maul to the ground, head-first. one hand splayed over the joint of the handle. he extended the other, palm up, low enough to not be a threat, as he sank to a crouch.

“if you’re... coming with us, then.” all the frustration brewing in the cave, the tension, everything he’d felt for just trying to keep the others alive. he did his best to breathe it out, though it’s like there wasn’t much that actually left him. “I hope our conflict remains behind us.”

with that, ezekiel rose, giving xander a hand up, the pair leaving the safety of the waterfall to go and collect the manticore’s tail. the main sign of their battle. whether it’s for the camp to dissect, or to be returned to kaipo as a sign of respect, that’s up to the others, since that’s where decisions seem to come from.

[ EZEKIEL tries to MAKE PEACE with KAIPO, and goes with XANDER go to bring KAIPO’S TAIL to the cave. ]

{ action 1 / 5 }

[godspeedsq]

ari nodded at kalena, walking up to her with a smile. he spoke with a kind voice but loud enough to be heard over the pounding of the waterfall. “ i know we didn’t have time to formally introduce ourselves, but hello, i’m ari nowicki. the son of pallas athena. ” the demigod did a little bit of a bow to pay honor and respect to both kalena and kaipo. “ i know how important sense of place and being the guardian of your home is. ” the demigod stopped for a second, looking over at kaipo as well not wanting to disrespect their friendship or responsibility he had as well. “ i don’t ask this lightly or casually, but the woman who offered the necklace and ring to your sister has been building an army with these jewelry pieces. we’ve been offering the friends we make along the way a place in norway with us to stay for now while we can work together to bring the world back to a sense of peace. it’s a protected space with a barrier from letting the woman inside. ” he brought a hand to her shoulder, giving kalena direct eye contact as he continued. “ we’re here on a quest from our parents. they’ve created trials for us around the world to prove our worth to take on whomever this lady is. this next one is zeke’s, the son of hephaestus. ” he gestured over to his friend. “ if you need time to consider, we understand, but the offers stands for you, kaipo and your sisters. we’re not perfect but the more we learn from amazing beings like yourself, it just helps shift our lens and perspective to keep making better decisions. if you have any questions, we’d be happy to answer them. ” and with that, ari took a step back letting kalena and kaipo digest everything he just shared with them.

[ ari shares about the demigods to kalena and kaipo, offers the harpies and kaipo a place to stay in norway 2/2]

[godspeedsq]

Waiting in the cave wasn’t...agonizing, but Xander’s parting words ate at Ezekiel. He should be out there. Not in here, waiting with every other breath for Kaipo to lose patience and turn on them. Zeke trusted the demigods -- mostly, since that trait of his was being stretched -- but it’s hard to sit quiet in the same room with someone you strained against so hard mere hours ago. Zeke sipped at the water Renly’d pulled, offering more to the others as he rose to make another check outside.

At a breach in the falls, the sound of footsteps, Zeke was up and ready in seconds. Barring the door. Ready to throw down for manticore, harpy, and demigod alike, since that’s where he was damn-near ordered to be.

[ EZEKIEL prepares to guard the OTHER WOUNDED in the WATERFALL CAVE ]

{ action 3 / 3 }

[godspeedsq]

tristan was quick to climb down from his spot on the tree and walk out to the middle of the action. he moved towards kalena and elika, a small smile forming on the archer’s face. “if she doesn’t wake up before we leave, can you tell her a couple of things for me?” eyebrows furrowed together, he was genuinely curious if she wouldn’t mind. “from one hunter to the other, i have to say that i’m impressed. i heard her and her flight eating their prey earlier. kind of wanted to know if it was a flock of nene, anix deers, or something else... i didn’t pick any of them up until i heard them eating, they’re definitely as swift as the wind. so are you by the way.” talking to animals was enough to make him look weird to the others, now genuinely complimenting what could possibly be the most dangerous harpy around? he was just asking for isolation. “i don’t mean to be a fangirl or whatever the younger ones call it nowadays, but just tell her the son of artemis is wildly impressed. i was honored to try and help save such a worthy opponent and now hopefully friend.” tristan was definitely going to be judged for this, but he didn’t care. his plan had worked and he felt proud about that. elika was saved, but he had gotten a glimpse of how smart she was. “lastly before i take up anymore of your time, just let her know i admire her intelligence and prowess. not every day that someone makes me second guess a hunting strategy. her and i have a lot of similarities. thank you for allowing us the chance to help as well and for giving us shelter.” he bows slightly in front of them, finally deciding to stop all of his rambling for one night.

➸ tristan relays a message to elika through kalena (1/3)

[godspeedsq]

ari heard the other call for him and looked up at kalena, instantly nodding over at her as he sprinted with his weapons over to where they were. the son of athena ran with his arms spread in case kalena wanted to carry him (;D) as they headed off, glad to have grabbed the ring and get there to ease the situation. ari sheathed the sword of righteousness, finally getting over to them to help take elika out of the water and with kalena, explain what exactly just went on trying to not provoke any of them at all.

[ ari beckons kalena to head over to her sister, ari helps pull them out of the water if need be.  3/3 ]

[godspeedsq]

        𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐒  who  managed  to  grab  the  ring  but  was  struggling  to  keep  the  harpy  out  of  the  water.  being  the  closest  and  the  strongest,  xander  easily  could  drag  them  both  out.     he  went  over  to  the  thing  and  lifted  her  up,  and  started  walking  towards  land.

⦗   xander carries the harpy out of the water ⦘ ↳  ⦗  action 2  ⦙  3  ⦘

[godspeedsq]

       𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓  those  harpies  somehow.    he  had  his  sword,  which  would  be  ready  for  use,  but  it  was  clear  that  the  harpies  would  not  spot  him  or  sniff  him  out,  so  he  grabbed  a  sharp  rock  and  he  slit  his  skin,  just  enough  so  that  a  trail  of  blood  ran  down  his  hand.    he  hoped  some  of  the  blood  with  bring  attention  to  the  harpies  and  that  his  self  healing  would  work  this  time  around  so  he  could  self  heal  the  wound  and  himself  just  a  bit.

⦗   xander  tears  his  skin  with  a  sharp  rock  to  get  the  harpies  attention  ⦘ ↳  ⦗  action 2  ⦙  3  ⦘

[godspeedsq]

there was something about kalena that resonated with the son of athena, he stood with both his weapons to his side while everyone got into their position to try and take the ring from elika to calm the sisters back down into a peaceful place so they could be stewards of this land. ari looked over at the harpy, offering her a smile as he brought up his shield. “ if you need anything kalena, i’m here to help. as literally everyone said, we’re trying to grow and learn in our trials. it’s been hard but, we want to do right by you folks. if things don’t go the way we’re expecting, we’re going to take your lead. we don’t want to fight, we just want to help. ”

[ ari is making bff with kalena + protecting her and taking her lead in things go south 3/3 ]