Harry stared at the rising sun from the yard behind Helios' Temple. He'd given Apollo a wave, as well as a silent hope that the god hadn't been hurt too badly by Hestia – or by Artie – because of the present debacle the day before.
The sun had winked back, so he'd assumed so.
Drawing a breath, he closed his eyes and focused on his inner energies. He'd only been training for a little under a month since he'd gotten that book on Martial Arts, but somehow he had managed to make a tremendous amount of progress with it in that short amount of time.
Maybe the book had left something behind in his muscles, other than just knowledge.
The thought drifted away, carried on a sea of calm. Imagining starry skies came easily, and allowing his ephemeral thoughts to drift away like clouds on the ether took mere seconds now.
He brought his hands up, putting one fist into his other hand in a form of salute, before he engaged in a movement set.
Both open hands pushed down, as if pushing his thoughts further away from his focus, before he took a step forward and stabbed out one hand, as if willing it to spear an opponent. Next, he blocked an invisible strike, rotated, bent through his knees and came up with a strike.
The motions exploded from there, blocking, striking, punching, kicking, striking motions that were designed to break, shatter, destroy an opponent.
Throughout it, Harry's mind remained still, and his focus remained absolute. His inner focus remained on his body, how his inner energies flowed as he moved. He was close to an understanding – he just knew it. The book had intermediary forms detailed, advanced knowledge based upon understanding on how the body created, stored, moved, and converted energy, and he wanted those.
As he continued his workout, the energy of motion flowed through his body, coming from his core body, exploding through his arms and legs before ramming into his hands and feet, and terminating into his invisible opponents.
He arrested in one sudden motion, breath discharging from his lungs, with one fist extended.
He kept his eyes closed, drew a new breath, and slowly stood up straight. Once more, he saluted, before moving into a rigid set, performing the motions on auto-pilot rather than shadow-fighting, feeling the energy settle down and flowing back and forth, going out to his extremities before cycling back to his core.
When his set finished, he burst back into motion, fighting, striking, invisible opponents.
For the next hour, he alternated between performing sets of pre-determined motions and shadow-fighting, before coming to a stop and performing a final salute.
Finally, he opened his eyes, and allowed his focus to drift away.
His heart was racing, and his shirt and pants stank with sweat. Drawing deep breaths, Harry attempting to still his heart.
He gave a final smile at the sun, now climbing higher into the sky and too bright to look at straight-on, turned, and walked inside. He needed a shower and a change of clothes before making some breakfast.
After making breakfast, and sharing it with Helios, Harry set out for a nice walk on Olympus. After the birthday party from yesterday, he was feeling high.
He had just exited the district where the ancient, abandoned, temples were located, and turned right to make his way to the market district, when he saw someone he knew.
The boy was a 17-year-old that looked a lot like Louis and the Guys. There was no hiding the power, or the sun-shine eyes, however, and Harry recognized him pretty much straight away.
"Hi Mister Apollo!" Harry greeted the Sun God.
The young-looking god pushed off the bench he'd been lounging on, and grinned at the boy. "Hello Harry," he said, coming over and affectionately ruffling Harry's ever-messy hair. "Just the boy I was looking for! Feeling okay after your big day yesterday?"
Harry grinned widely. "Yesterday was great!" he said enthusiastically. Suddenly, he realized what the god had said first, and asked, "Were you waiting long?"
Apollo smiled affectionally. "Sun God, Kiddo. I see everything the light touches. Well, when I want to – because it gets overwhelming quickly," he laughed. "I saw you leave, so I decided to meet you here."
"Whoa, that's so cool," Harry said, grinning widely. The Sun God seemed to puff up with pride.
Harry suddenly grew serious, and stepped closer to the god, as if they shared a secret.
"Are you alright, though, Mister Apollo? Hestia and Artie were really mad yesterday."
Apollo dimmed, and gave a wan sort of smile. "Artie was… yeah. Bruises and injuries heal, though, especially when you're the God of Healers. Aunt Hestia looked disappointedly at me. That cuts deeper."
Harry nodded; he'd much rather be fighting Mister Ares for days on end than have Hestia be disappointed in him, so he knew what the god was trying to say.
"What happened with the comic, though?" Harry asked. "I mean, that monster ripped that girl's clothes off. I was really shocked at that."
Apollo gave another wan smile. "Harry, when you get to be my age – that's over 4,600 years old, give or take – you don't always remember how quickly or how slowly mortals age. Apparently, you're a bit too young to appreciate that kind of comic. Puberty doesn't set in until later."
Harry nodded in confusion. "You seemed nervous when giving it to me, so you must have had some idea, right?" he asked.
Apollo gave a crooked kind of grin. "Honestly, I thought I could slip it to you without anyone noticing. I wasn't expecting public gift-giving. It's not something you give publicly, but it's something you 'slip in' when no-one's looking, you know?"
The boy nodded again, still somewhat confused. One thing he did note, though, was that he was glad Apollo hadn't been able to slip it to him without anyone knowing. Now Hestia and Artie were there, and Hestia had been able to explain to him that was for adults and stuff.
"Do people really like that sort of thing? Monsters ripping girls' clothes off? I mean, seeing Mister Zeus with his tongue down that poor girl's throat is one thing. That's like kissing, which is disgusting, but plenty of people seem to like that."
Apollo laughed. "Once puberty sets in, Harry, you'll feel differently about kissing. And that adult comic, it's called a 'hentai', by the way, yeah, some people like that sort of thing."
Harry still looked confused, but nodded anyway. Plenty of people told him he'd 'get' it once puberty started, so he was prepared to wait. Suddenly, he thought of something. "Those monsters aren't real, aren't they? Because what that monster did to that poor girl…"
Apollo was quick to reassure him. "No, Harry, you needn't worry. It's pure fantasy. Nothing like that tentacle demon exists."
Harry sighed with relief. "Oh. That's good. Because I don't want any of my friends to run across one."
"Well, the boys would be safe, anyway," Apollo teased. Harry gave him a look that wasn't very kind, and the jovial Sun God just burst out laughing. Ruffling Harry's hair again, he said, "Don't worry, Harry. Pure fantasy, as I said."
Harry just nodded, keeping a dubious eye on Apollo. That comic had really confused him, and he wasn't sure he liked the feeling.
The God of the Sun gave Harry one last hair-ruffle, and said, "Don't worry about it, Kid. Nothing you won't figure out for yourself in a couple of years. Anyway, I have to fly. The Sun won't fly itself across the skies and all that."
The boy nodded, and smiled at the god. Apollo gave a wave, and vanished. For a few moments, he kept to his spot, staring at where Apollo had vanished from, trying to make sense of things.
Why had Apollo been waiting for him? He hadn't asked anything, and they'd just had a talk about yesterday and the comic and stuff. Maybe that was Apollo's intention all along? Or maybe that was his way of apologizing?
Finally, he sighed, and gave up. Time to hit the market, and see what fresh produce he could get his hands on for lunch or dinner.
He had just reached the market and starting his browsing of the various stalls and the wares they sold, when his shoulder was grabbed by a big hand and an iron grip.
A shot of adrenaline burst through Harry's veins, and he ducked his shoulder in an attempt to dislodge the appendage that had gripped him. When the hand would not release, panic surged higher and the young boy perfectly executed a rear-sweep-kick, attempting to force his assailant to release him.
Ares grinned, jumped over the kick, and yet held on to the boy's shoulder. "Nice try, Brat," the God of War barked with a laugh.
Harry's thumping heart eased up, glad that he had been accosted by one of his teachers. For a moment, he had been afraid it was the guards, ready to drag him before Mister Zeus before being kicked off Olympus – if he were lucky enough to get that far.
"Hi Mister Ares," Harry greeted, although he was sure his smile was a little sickly after that scare just now.
The God of War, seemingly able to read his mood, gave a ferocious grin. "Scared ya, didn't I?"
Harry forced his balled fists into his pockets, shrugged, and looked away. "Nah," he disagreed, even though the god had scared him quite badly.
Ares laughed again, knowing just how wrong that statement was. "I heard it was your birthday yesterday," the god changed the subject.
"Yes, it was," Harry said, smiling when he thought of yesterday. "Hestia arranged a surprise party for me! It was great!"
Ares' grin turned bloodthirsty. "Well, then, we need to do something about that," he said. "I don't do gifts, so I have a surprise for you."
The young boy blinked, not sure what to make of that statement. Ares' surprises could be nasty.
"Thank you?" Harry ventured, hoping that was the correct response.
"You're welcome, Brat!" Ares crowed. "Come on."
Harry nodded agreeably, and followed the god to his car. A car that was, once again, in chariot form, with fire-breathing horses pulling it.
"Why they keep showing off for you, I don't get," Ares said, clicking his keyfob and turning the chariot back into a car. "I heard Hermes gave ya a ride in his car."
Harry nodded. "He took me on a tour of the US," the boy explained. He looked left and right, then leaned closer. "He taught me to drive, too. Even let me drive for a bit."
Ares roared with laughter. "How many did you wipe off the curb, Brat? Was it gory and messy?"
"I didn't hit anybody, or anything," Harry answered cooly, feeling rather offended that the bulky God of War would think him capable of hitting someone. Also, he was offended at the very thought of being a bad driver.
Ares slumped. "I'm disappointed. Perfect opportunity for some carnage, with an excuse to blame Hermes, and you didn't take it."
Harry opened his mouth to retort, then closed it when no retort came to mind. He just settled into the car, and was silent when Ares drove them off. Part of him wondered where they were going, a larger part of him dreaded what they would find at their destination.
They arrived next to a large lake, and Ares, in his usual curt fashion, ordered Harry to get out of the car. The God of War did the same, and the car seemed eager to leap up into the air and vanish.
"Cowards," Ares muttered with his hands in his pockets, scowling as he watched the car vanish. He turned to look at Harry, and the scowl turned bloodthirsty. "Anyway, Brat, we're here for some fun. See that lake?"
Harry, still dreading what the God of War had cooked up, and feeling a bit annoyed at all the secrecy, theatrically looked at the lake, back at Ares, and shook his head 'no' in an overly sarcastic fashion.
Ares burst out laughing and clapped the boy on the shoulder. "I knew you had a backbone in there somewhere!" he hollered. Still laughing, he turned the boy to face the lake.
"In there is the little surprise I have for you. Kill it, and it'll leave you your present."
Harry blinked. Ares brought him here to hunt something? That's something he could have seen Artie pulling on him!
Harry nodded uncertainly. "What do I have to kill?" he asked, still studying the lake. He was a pretty decent swimmer now, thanks to Mister Poseidon teaching him, but he couldn't hold his breath for long. He hoped it wasn't some fish or something.
Are's bloodthirsty grin widened. "That would ruin the surprise. Just approach the lake. You can't miss it."
Harry had a really bad feeling about this. Swallowing, he nodded, and made to step forward.
"Oh, hang on," Ares said. "Forgot to give you this." He threw a sheathed sword at the boy. "Use that for today. It'll help."
Harry caught the heavy sword-belt, scabbard, and sword combination and almost stumbled to the ground at the weight of them. They were sized for fully grown Gods of War with immense strength, not little mortal boys who had just turned nine.
He grunted, and wondered how those would be useful, when he felt them shrinking to his size and strength.
Grinning, Harry girded the sword-belt, settled the scabbard on his left hip, and drew the sword with his right hand. The sword was, for lack of a better word, perfect. It settled into his hand as if molded to it, its balance was exactly where he needed it to be. Its twin edges were razor sharp, and its tip was molded to perfection.
"Thanks, Mister Ares," he said.
"I expect that back, Brat," Ares said, waving the gratitude off. "Now go and get your birthday present."
Harry nodded, still somewhat hesitant, but drew a breath, clenched his hand on the sword's handle to draw strength from it, and approached the lake.
The monster that appeared from it had Harry gasping.
"I can't believe Mister Apollo lied to me like that! I am so telling Hestia on him!" Harry snapped, suddenly angry.
The monster froze, not expecting that reaction, while Ares stared at the boy. "What?" he demanded.
Harry half-turned. "Mister Apollo said there were no tentacle demons." He pointed to the monster that had just emerged from the lake, and was staring at the two of them. "THAT looks like a tentacle demon!"
Ares burst out laughing again. "It's a Hydra, Brat. Those are necks and heads, not tentacles!" He laughed more. "I can't believe you called the Hydra a tentacle demon! Wait 'til I tell Sunspot!"
Harry muttered angrily under his breath and turned to face the nine-headed Hydra. "If you try to rip my clothes off, I'm going to turn you into snakeskin leather," he told the creature.
The Hydra sounded offended at the very notion, and protested vehemently. "It speaks! / How does it speak? / We can eat you, mortal. / Or burn you / Or make you ill with disease! / But not molest you."
Harry blinked when he understood the speech of the Hydra's nine heads, its speech moving from head to head. "Thanks for that. I guess. I'd rather be eaten then have you rip my clothes off and do things to me. Mister Apollo had a dirty comic about that."
The Hydra still looked offended. "We are honorable, mortal! We will eat, crush, burn, poison, but not molest!/ It's beneath us!" One of the silent heads moved closer and seemed to be studying him from a distance. "You're not much to look at, anyway. No scales, for one."
Harry gaped at the head. The other eight heads studied the one that had spoken.
"Something you want to tell the rest of us?" the first head demanded of #8.
#8 seemed to shrug, if a head attached to a long neck could shrug. "How long has it been since we've seen a nice Hydra to relax with?"
The other eight heads looked at each other, as if thinking about it.
Harry looked at Ares, who was laughing his head off. "You speak parseltongue?" He demanded, seeing the boy look at him.
"I don't know what that means, Mister Ares." He pointed to the Hydra, where its heads were having a discussion on the merits of companionship. "But they're funny, and now they're arguing among themselves about how long it's been since they had another Hydra around." He thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, and that one seems to be a bit of a pervert, at least by Hydra standards," he added, pointing to head #8.
Ares burst out laughing again. "Only you, Brat, can be faced with a Hydra and have it turn on itself."
The nine Hydra heads, upon hearing this, looked at each other, and if ever there was a situation where a Hydra could blush, this certainly would have been it.
Embarrassed, the monster glared at Harry, and all nine heads snarled.
"I think you made it mad, Mister Ares," Harry offered.
The God of War roared with laughter once again. "It's YOUR monster, Brat. Are you ever going to fight it?"
Harry blinked. "By myself?"
Ares grinned, and Harry felt the familiar sensation of Ares' anger aura burn deep inside.
He swallowed, and turned to look at the Hydra. "Yes!" the left-most head roared. "Fight! / A Real fight! / Time for talk is over!"
"Well, now it's excited," Harry muttered, drawing a breath. Suddenly, he was aware that Ares had vanished, leaving him here, and that the Hydra was charging, and that he had no time to think and Oh Hestia that was a huge monster and he ducked underneath the first head trying to bit him, rolled forward underneath the monster's belly, and somehow managed to keep rolling until he hit daylight on the other side.
The Hydra roared again, and turned around. Harry assumed it was quite limber for its size, but 40 tons of Hydra didn't turn as quickly as a nimble nine-year-old demigod did, and Harry pulled a spurt to get some distance and a chance to breathe and strategize.
Feeling something pull at his awareness, he breathed in deeply, in one instant banishing his nerves and freeing his mind.
His instincts pushed him, and Harry grinned. Throwing his jacket off, the young demigod emerged his bracers.
The Hydra had turned and stormed at him. One of the heads breathed at him, and Harry crossed his arms, letting the kinetic shield form, diverting the Hydra's poisonous breath around him while the boy held his breath.
The moment the breath attack stopped, Harry raced forward, aiming a strike with the indestructible bracers at the nearest head, hoping to stun it.
Unfortunately for him, while the bracers were indeed indestructible, and were able to aid him in his strikes, he was still only a nine-year-old demigod, and striking at a 2-ton Hydra head had about as much effect as trying to move a brick wall.
As his strike hit, Harry screamed as all the energy rebounded, throwing him away rather than stunning the head as he had planned.
Climbing to his feet, he managed to duck underneath a follow-up attack by yet another head, and raced underneath the Hydra's belly once more.
Sheathing his sword as it wasn't much use at the moment, Harry emerged Hestia's Lasso. If he could tie the thing up, maybe he had a chance!
The Hydra roared, one head snapping at him despite the bulky body still being mid-turn, and therefore falling woefully short.
Dear Hestia, that thing's scary, Harry thought as he lifted the lasso and started spinning it. Please don't miss, please don't miss, please don't miss, he prayed silently as he let loose with the mystical weapon.
The lasso's loop enlarged grotesquely, somehow managing to fall neatly over the roaring Hydra, before tightening suddenly, tying its four legs together. The monster, unable to move, toppled sideways, its nine heads roaring angrily, snapping and raging and breathing disease and venom.
"Thanks, Hestia," Harry said.
"Cheating! Cheating! It cheats! Fight us honorably, demigod!" the heads raged.
"Ehm, I did fight honorably. And I caught you," Harry replied, hesitating slightly as he walked around the monster, making sure to keep the bulk of its body between him and the heads. The last thing he wanted was to get poisoned or eaten. Or anything else, considering what head #8 had said earlier.
Keeping one hand on the Lasso, Harry drew his sword. Carefully, he approached the monster. "It's heart should be around here," he muttered, aiming carefully.
He hesitated. Killing a monster in a fight was one thing. Killing it while it was help… well… mostly helpless, was another.
"Are you going to leave me if I release you?" Harry asked.
"Die, mortal!" one of the heads raged, and Harry took that as a firm indication that no, the Hydra wasn't going to let him go.
Drawing a deep breath, Harry plunged the sword in the monster's heart, careful not to get any of the acidic blood on his hands. For a moment, he expected sizzling sounds and acrid smoke to signal the sword being attacked by the acid in the Hydra's blood. Instead, the monster raged for a moment, then screamed. Harry winced, he hated fighting and inflicting pain. Then the Hydra fell silent.
He let out his breath, withdrew his sword, and flicked the blood off of it. The preternaturally sharp weapon shed all the Hydra's acidic blood with one swipe, and looked pristine. He sheathed it.
With a flick of his wrist, he untangled the lasso, and stepped away to take a good look at his kill.
The moment the lasso turned back into a ring, the monster raged up, all nine heads making for him.
"Eep," Harry managed, the only thought being that he was soon going to see Mister Hades, despite Hestia telling him he was too young.
The next moment, something had snapped him up, and dumped him a fair distance away. "What were you thinking, Brat?" Ares raged. "Hestia would have my hide if you died here!" he pointed to the Hydra. "Now stop trying to kill it and just kill it!"
"I… I… I..." Harry managed, his mind a muddles mess of stress, rage, fear, and a whole bunch of other emotions. "I killed it! Jammed my sword through its heart!"
Ares pinched the bridge of his nose, as if in physical pain. "What are they teaching demigods these days!?" he asked out loud. "You can't kill it by stabbing its heart, Brat!" he raged at Harry. "Cut off its heads! Oh, and only 8 of them. And you need to make sure they don't grow back. Use fire. Now kill it!"
"Eep," he managed again, before swallowing fearfully. Mister Ares was still really scary. Scarier than the Hydra, too, so Harry pulled his sword out of the scabbard, planted his feet, and stared at the Hydra, which had found him by now and was charging.
"Cut off its heads, cut off its heads, cut off its heads," Harry repeated to himself. As the first head struck, Harry dodged to one side, brought his sword up, and slashed it down.
The sword bit into the Hydra's neck, deeply. The monster roared, the head yanked upwards, away from Harry's slash.
The straight-edged sword stuck in the wound, Harry yelped as he was forced toe release it. For a moment, he watched, forlornly, as his weapon got pulled away by the raging Hydra head. The next moment, his instincts forced him to duck, as a second head struck at him.
It was a mass of instincts and adrenaline that allowed Harry to dodge backwards and forwards, from side to side, avoiding strike after strike after strike by eight enraged Hydra heads while the ninth one nursed the wound Harry had given it.
When the Hydra finally disengaged, giving him – and it – a chance to breathe, Harry managed a thought to how much he missed the sword.
The next moment, the sword appeared, as if by magic, right in front of him. He grabbed it, and grinned. If the sword could come back when he needed it, that would help!
He looked at the injured head; its wound, now devoid of sword, was rapidly closing, and Harry paled. He couldn't win this! He was too young for this!
The monstered eyed him, all nine heads staring at him. He could read it in those 9 sets of eyes. The Hydra knew he couldn't win this. He was going to end up in Mister Hades' care, whether he or Hestia wanted it or not.
He swallowed, then took a stance, feet shoulder-width apart, both hands on the sword's handle. Just one head, he told himself. I just need to strike off one head.
The Hydra charged again, nine heads reaching for him. Use Fire, Ares had said. Easier said than done. He had no fuel for fire.
He dodged the first head, then the second, then the third. It was almost like a dance, but Harry let his instincts take over while his mind pondered the issue.
Animal fat burns. Animal fat is fuel. A grin started to form on his lips. And Hestia taught me how to ignite any fuel.
He ducked underneath the strike of one of the heads, and reached out with Hestia's skill.
The head screamed in agony as it burst into bright red-and-yellow flames, and the monster's other head roared in rage. The next head that came into range got the same treatment, and the Hydra pulled back, eyeing him wearily, two of its heads burning.
Harry winced as the heat made the eyes pop, the two necks falling to the ground, useless, their ends burnt and blackened.
"I hate hurting things, please let me go," Harry told the 7-headed Hydra.
The seven heads eyed him with wrath. "Die mortal/ Die / Die / Die!"
Harry sighed dejectedly. The Hydra charged again, and Harry met the charge straight on, reaching with Hestia's fire-inducing ability to the fat in each of the Hydra's heads that came too close.
Two more heads burnt, but then he yelped when one head burst through the fire and smoke, coming straight at him while his focus lie elsewhere.
His instincts allowed him to bring his bracers together, detonating their stored kinetic energy into a blast-wave that forced the monster back.
"That was close," the boy panted. "Sheesh, they don't give up." He dropped to one knee, finally registering that he was covered in ash and soot and sweat, and that he was bleeding from many scrapes and wounds that he had picked up during the fight. Igniting a Hydra's head was a lot tougher than igniting a piece of wood, and Harry felt drained.
He'd gotten four heads. Four of the nine. Or eight, Ares had said to only take eight heads for some reason. He eyed the burning five-headed Hydra wearily, the monster studying him just as carefully.
Suddenly, the huge monster charged again. Harry grit his teeth, and prepared to meet the charge.
He managed to ignite the first head that came near him, but the flames were smaller than normal, and blinding pain exploded behind Harry's eyes. Tears filled his vision at the pain, yet somehow he managed to slash to his right, catching the second Hydra's head on the cheek and managing to cut it.
As the head recoiled, Harry had the presence of mind to angle the sword correctly so it would cut itself free rather than get stuck like last time, and he eyed the retreating head with suspicion.
Suddenly, the slowly burning head he had ignited just now slammed into his left side. Thanks to Hestia's gift he was nearly immune to fire, and just felt the heat of it; however, he was still being hit by two tons of rampaging Hydra Head, and was sent flying because of simple, elementary physics.
Last time a head sent him flying, he had been able to angle his descent and land without serious injury. This time, his mind was in pain with over-using Hestia's gift, and his body was exhausted, so he screwed up the landing.
The crack in his ankle cause a flare of pain, and Harry failed to suppress his scream.
The Hydra turned with all of the agility of a dump trunk filled with rocks, and eyed him. Five heads were either burning, or had been burnt completely, four heads remained.
Those remaining heads knew they had him. they'd heard his ankle snap. they'd heard him scream. They were in no rush; they had him, and they knew it.
Harry knew it, too.
He grunted, and got to his feet. Foot. If he was going to meet Mister Hades today, he was going to do it with his head held high.
He raised his sword in his right hand, and held up his left arm, hand balled into a fist, using the bracer as a shield. "Come on, then!" he screamed at the Hydra, refusing to cower.
The Hydra gave a very Hydra-like grin, and charged. Harry raised his sword higher.
Suddenly, something picked him up, and held him under one arm. He looked up, and found that Ares had tucked him under his left arm, and was now swinging a huge bastard sword with his right hand – a bastard sword that was also on fire, and was cutting off Hydra heads with it left and right, cauterizing the wounds as it went.
Suddenly, the monster faltered, tried to flee, but Ares let out a bloodthirsty whoop and jumped after it.
Harry, still underneath the God of War's arm, refused to shout or scream. The god landed, and chopping off head number eight, which caused the monster to fail completely, fall over, and slowly dissolve into gold dust.
"Five heads by yourself. Not bad, Brat," Ares said, dumping Harry. "Piece of advice. When a monster plays possum, it won't turn into dust." He pointed to the dissolving monster. "A dead monster dissolves, and you get a spoil."
The bulky God of War walked over, and picked up two phials. "Hydra Acid Blood and Hydra Venom," he said, putting the two phials carefully into Harry's pocket. "Happy birthday, Brat."
"Thanks," Harry said, sarcastically. "I could have done without the near death experience."
Ares burst out laughing. "It's not fun unless your life's on the line!" he shouted exuberantly, before grinning down at the injured boy. "Also, the final moment? Facing death with a 'come and get me' attitude? That was exactly the kind of badassery I like to see."
The God of War leaned down to the boy, and handed him a chunk of Ambrosia. "That'll take the edge off."
"Thanks, Mister Ares," Harry muttered, biting into the chunk of godly food. His ankle was killing him. He didn't know if the ambrosia would be enough. He hoped it would be, he didn't want to explain this situation to Hestia.
Ares grinned, and slapping the boy on the shoulder, the shock of which translated through his body and sent another shot of pain through his nerves. Harry grit his teeth and bore it.
"Come on, brat. Enough resting time. Time to get back to Olympus," Ares stated, standing up, and whistling loudly. The chariot descended from the skies, once more in chariot form pulled by flaming horses.
Ares rubbed his forehead.
Harry hobbled up, and started limping towards the chariot while the God of War muttered to himself about his horses showing off. As Harry limped past, one of them nudged him.
Harry grinned at it, tiredly and in pain. "I'll survive."
The fiery horse nudged him again.
"What the…?" Ares said, suddenly right there. "They're not supposed to like anyone. Why the hell…?"
Harry limped to the chariot. "Maybe it was Hestia's gift," he said. "Can we go back to Olympus now? My ankle's killing me."
The God of War clicked his keyfob, turning the chariot back into a car, and dumped himself behind the wheel. Harry let out a breath of relief, thankful that he would be able to sit down in a car, rather than remain standing in an old-time chariot.
Ares dropped him off in front of the temple, and drove off without as much as a second look. Harry was rather glad for it, the pain in his ankle was making it hard to keep a clear mind. He just wanted to drop in bed, and sleep. Suddenly, he noticed the sword on his hip blurring and vanishing. The God of War had taken the weapon back, apparently.
Limping inside, he felt Helios' warm presence wrap around him in concern, and for a moment, he stood still, eyes closed, drawing in the warmth of the sensation.
"Mister Ares," Harry finally told Helios' presence, about the only explanation he felt comfortable given at the moment. From the feel of the faded god's presence, it was enough. Another comfortable hug-like sensation drifted over him, and Harry gave a tired smile.
"I'm just going to go to bed," he told Helios' statue, and limped inside. The Ambrosia had closed a lot of his wounds, and had taken a large bite out of the pain, but he still wasn't able to put any sort of weight on his right foot.
Slowly, he limped through the living area, making his way, slowly, yet determined, to his sleeping area, when the hearth seemed to register his presence. He felt, somehow, the fire recognize him, right before it flared and Hestia stepped out.
"Harry, where have…" she started to say before actually seeing the state he was in. "What happened to you?" she asked, suddenly sounding worried.
"Ehm…" Harry whispered, not really sure what he could say. "Eh… I…"
"You're hurt!" she said, louder, making him flinch. He didn't like yelling at the best of times, and hearing Hestia yell counted doubly so. "I'm calling Apollo." Suddenly, she was in her adult form, and picked him up, gently, tenderly, and carried him to his bedroom.
The next moment, he was dressed in his pajamas, and his clothes were cleaned and folded on top of his dresser. Just as sudden, he found himself in his bed, under the covers, with Hestia seated on the edge of his bed, in her adult form, holding one of his hands. "Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. "Who did this to you?"
"Ehm," Harry managed again. The sudden shifts hadn't done his exhausted mind any good, and he was still trying to process how he went from fully dressed in adult-Hestia's arms, to being dressed in sleepwear and in his bed.
Gently, she squeezed his hand. "I am not angry at you, Harry," she assured him. "But I would like to know who did this to you."
The next moment, a yell was heard from the courtyard area. "Someone asked for a house call from a most handsome healer?"
"In here, Apollo," Hestia said. The distraction of the Sun God gave Harry time to think, and he had never been more grateful to Apollo than he was right then.
The Sun God strode into the bedroom as if he owned it, took one look at Harry, glanced at Adult-form Hestia, then looked back at Harry and winced. "That looks painful, kiddo. Let's take care of that," he said, sitting down on the other side of the bed, and placing one glowing hand on Harry's chest.
"Thank you, Apollo," Hestia said, before looking down at Harry. "Now, can you tell me who did this?" she asked once again.
"Hydra," Harry muttered.
"A Hydra?" Apollo asked, loudly, aghast. Hestia coughed delicately. The Sun God seemed to shrink. "Sorry, Aunt Hestia."
Hestia smiled at him. "I am as surprised as you are, Apollo. Let's not scare Harry by yelling, shall we?"
"Of course, Aunt Hestia," Apollo said. The healing glow was sinking into Harry's body, taking away all the pain, and making him a bit loopy.
"How did a Hydra find its way onto Olympus?" Hestia asked Harry. "We should find it and destroy it before it hurts anyone else."
"Ehm…" Harry muttered again, not wanting to rat out Ares, but not seeing a way around it.
"Harry?" Hestia asked again, gently. "What happened?"
Harry sighed. "Mister Ares said he had a surprise for my birthday, but that he didn't do presents, so he took me to this lake…" the boy said, trailing off.
"Ares put you in front of a Hydra?" Hestia asked. Suddenly, the room felt warm. Harry wanted to shrink back.
"Ehm… yes?" he asked.
"You were able to survive, that's very impressive, kiddo," Apollo said, with a rather sickly looking smile. "Hydras kill most grown heroes that go against them. How did you get away?"
Hestia gave a look that screamed this isn't the time to debate such things.
"I tied it up with Hestia's lasso and jammed the sword Mister Ares gave me through its heart. But it didn't die and pretended only, then it came after me when I untied the lasso. It tried to kill me, and then I figured out that Hestia's gift lets me set fire to things that burn… so I started burning its heads as animal fat burns."
Apollo gaped at him. "You defeated it?"
Hestia looked like she couldn't decide between being proud and being scared out of her mind, and kept silent.
"I burnt 5 heads, and then I just… ran dry, I suppose. It hurt, and suddenly I couldn't move very well, and then it threw me, and I busted my ankle and it was about to kill me so I told it to just came and get me because I wasn't going to go beg it for me life, you know? And then Mister Ares saved me, chopped off the rest of the heads and gave me the spoils."
Apollo pinched his nose with his free hand.
"You were about to die," Hestia stated flatly.
"But Mister Ares saved me?" Harry offered, trying to save Ares from at least some of Hestia's ire. Not that he didn't deserve it, in Harry's opinion.
"Harry," Hestia said, slowly. "Why didn't you call for help? From myself, or even from Artie?"
Harry blinked. Truth be told… he hadn't even thought about it. "Ehm… I… don't know?" he asked. "I didn't even think about it, I think… it's hard to think right around Mister Ares, and when he puts you in front of a huge monster with 9 heads, and you have to run for your life…"
"I see," Hestia said. "I can understand that." She leaned in close, and hugged him. "I'm glad you did well, as Apollo said, the Hydra is one of the strongest monsters out there. In the future, I want you to call me. Or Artie. I'm sure she'd help out if she can."
Harry nodded shyly.
"Good." She stood up. "Thanks for seeing to Harry, Apollo. If you'll both excuse me? I seem to have an urgent meeting."
She didn't even bother to walk out, and just disappeared into a burst of fire.
Harry looked at Apollo. "I think Mister Ares is in deep trouble," he said, not knowing whether it was something worth smiling about or not. Ares had brought him a lot of pain, but on the other hand, he'd learnt some new tricks, and now he had the spoils from one of the deadliest monsters out there.
"I think he's in deeper than just trouble, Harry," Apollo replied with a grin. "I haven't seen Aunt Hestia that angry in quite a while."
Harry nodded. His ankle was no longer hurting, and the lack of pain suddenly made his exhaustion far more pronounced.
"Did you really tell it to 'come and get you'?" Apollo asked, suddenly curious.
Harry just nodded.
"That was really brave," the God of the Sun said. "Not a lot of people have the guts to go out like that."
Harry smiled weakly. "It's easier to be brave when you know Mister Hades, and know that you're going to end up okay even when you're dead."
The blond god nodded thoughtfully. "There's something to be said about that," he admitted. "Still, points for style, Kiddo." He lifted his hands from Harry's chest. "There, good as new, even if you'll be sore for a day or two," Apollo said with a grin. "Try not to tangle with any more Hydras for a while, alright?"
Harry gave the Sun God a tired grin. "I'll try not to. Once was enough."
Apollo gave the tired demigod a wave, and stepped out of the room before a flash of light took him away. Harry closed his eyes and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, he slept in. His body, although healed in a minor part by Ambrosia and in a major part by Apollo, still needed time to recover. When he opened his eyes, it was nearing noon, the sun shining high in the sky.
He stumbled out of bed, his body feeling incredibly stiff. His every movement pulled muscles that complained, and Harry grimaced as he made his way to the bathroom. A hot shower later, he felt more awake, although his body still hurt.
He saw the noonday sun through the back window and smiled at it. "Thanks, Mister Apollo," he said out loud. He was sure that he wouldn't even be able to stumble around if it hadn't been for the amicable god's healing touch.
He shuffled into the living area, and stopped. What he smelled was… mouth-watering.
"Hello Harry," Hestia said, smiling in that heart-warming way of hers. She was back in her preferred child-form, and slipped him a hug the moment she could. The warmth of her aura infused his aching body.
"I have had a small chat with Ares last night, and he will not be repeating that trick. If he tries, I want you to call for me, alright?" the Goddess of the Home said, her smile still warm, but a hint of fiery power hid behind it.
"Alright, Hestia," Harry said. "That smells wonderful," he added, changing the subject.
Her smile widened, and showed him that she knew exactly what he was doing, but didn't mind going along with it. "I made you some of your favorite dishes," she said. "I am of the firm opinion that people heal better when eating the food they love."
The young boy smiled, and hugged his all-time favorite goddess. "Thanks, Hestia," he whispered in her shoulder. She just patted his back and smiled at him, as she usually did.
He didn't get much done that day; not that he would be able to even if he wanted to. His body ached, his joints creaked, his muscles cramped, and all he could do was sit on the comfortable couches and stare at the fire in the hearth, letting his mind wander.
The next morning, he felt better. He was still a little stiff, but he had regained most of his range of motion, and wasn't shuffling around like an old man. He was even able to sneak into the kitchen and learn a few more of Hestia's tricks as she cooked. The Goddess of the Home didn't seem to mind, and appeared to be enjoying the fact that he was getting back to normal.
He didn't get much done that day either, and spent most of his time relaxing. During the afternoon, while soaking the hot springs, he heard a 'ding'.
Blinking, he looked to one side, and found an ornate envelope, the address line scribbled in elegant cursive Ancient Greek. Glad that he was able to read it without hurting his eyes or his head, Harry peeled open the envelope.
Inside was an equally ornately inscribed invitation – an invitation to a 'Mathematical Study of Statistical Probability Analysis' held by Lord Bai Hu, the White Tiger, the Western Wind, of the Chinese pantheon in his Celestial Palace, one week hence.
Harry shook his head, while resisting the urge to laugh out loud. Sometimes, gods could be outright silly. He loved it when they were. Silly gods made him laugh. It was when gods became serious that you had to be careful and pay attention. Silly gods were fun, serious gods were scary.
The next week was a calm one for Harry. While he got scolded by Athena during their next session, she did walk him through the encounter and helped him come up with some new tactics, mostly involving conserving his energy and not inviting an enemy to strike him down when things got tough.
That last one made Harry pout. Athena had been unaffected and had continued to lecture him.
By the time the 'study of statistical probability analysis' came around, Harry was giddy with excitement. He had liked Triton, and Thor, and Bai, and had immensely enjoyed learning to play poker and mahjong.
The fire finally pinged at his awareness, showing where he needed to go. Picking up the box of chocolate-chip cookies he had baked for his godly friends, Harry traveled through the fire to Bai Hu's Celestial Palace.
He hadn't given it a second thought when the invitation read 'Celestial Palace', so when Harry found that he had to push to get through the fire to his destination, he was incredibly surprised.
He actually had to draw in a deep breath when he materialized on the other end, and found that his heart rate had leapt up. He had arrived in a large open room, constructed out of sandstone, with large open windows that looked out over vast plains. While not visible, Harry heard the tinkling of fountains through those open windows, and he immediately felt relaxed.
"Well, that answers that," Bai said to himself as he stood up from a bar on the other side of the room. "Welcome to the Celestial Plane. You're probably the first mortal who came here without their mother."
Harry blinked. "Hello Bai," he answered, politely. "What do you mean?"
Bai grinned, and motioned for Harry to take a seat at the bar. "This is the Celestial Plane, kid. Like Mount Olympus, but… bigger. There are rules for traveling here, one of them is that young children can only travel here when accompanied by their mother. The fact you got here by yourself is… surprising."
Harry nodded in understanding. There were rules about getting up on Olympus, too. "Hestia said that, as long as she lives, nothing will prevent me from going through the fire."
Bai laughed. "You've made one hell of an ally, kid. That's one hell of a boon."
The boy grinned. "When Mister Hermes, Mister Triton, and Thor get here, I should tell you the story of what Mister Ares did for my birthday. You'll love it."
"Now you've made me curious," the Eastern God said, just as Hermes teleported in.
"I see I was beaten to the punch," the Greek God replied, as he sat down without being invited, and grabbed himself a cookie from the box without asking.
"Hello, Mister Hermes," Harry said, politely, not saying anything about the cookie. That was what he had made them for.
"Rude," Bai commented.
"God of thieves," Hermes answered with a grin. "What made you curious?"
Thor arrived in a shower of light in all the colors of the rainbow. Bai and Hermes stared at the Norse God with blank expressions.
"Hello, Thor!" Harry piped up while the other two gods kept staring at the latest arrival.
"Hello, Young Harry!" Thor boomed. He looked at the other two, then glanced curiously at himself. "What has you two so upset?"
"Using the Bifrost Bridge to get here? Really?" Bai asked, flatly.
Thor laughed again. "Merely showing our young mortal guest how to travel in style," he answered easily, taking a seat at the bar after Bai waved him on.
At that time, Triton ported in without fanfare or lightshow, and got an enthusiastic greeting from Harry.
"Bai was about to tell us what has got him curious," Hermes tattled easily after the Messenger of the Seas had taken a seat. "Now he has me curious about what has made him curious."
"Harry explained he had a tale to tell us about a Hydra," Bai explained, pointing to the young mortal, who had offered the box of cookies around to the gods.
"Mister Ares decided on giving me a surprise for my birthday," Harry said, telling the tale, ending with, "… so I expected the die, right? I mean, my ribs were hurting, I was out of breath, my head was hurting so much I saw two hydras instead of one, and my ankle was broken. So I stand up straight and tell the thing to come and get me. If I was going to go, I was going to go with my head up, you know?"
The four gods listened in silence, before Thor boomed with laughter. "Obviously you survived, my young friend! What happened?"
"I… eh… had totally forgotten Mister Ares was still around, so he came, tucked me under one arm, and killed it in like two strokes of a flaming sword."
"Once again, a tale of bravery and wit!" Thor laughed loudly, slapping Harry on the shoulder hard enough to bruise. "Obviously, you healed up well."
Harry nodded. "Hestia called Mister Apollo. And after I explained what happened, she went to have a chat with Mister Ares."
The four gods laughed. "I wouldn't want to be on Aunt Hestia's wrong side," Hermes said, the first to recover. "While kind, gentle, and supportive, she is more than capable of turning her words on the target of her ire."
Harry nodded. "Part of me feels bad for Mister Ares," he admitted. "Then I recall him throwing me at a Hydra, and I realize that part of me is really small."
The quartet of gods laughed again.
A small flash of light drew their eyes, as a goddess teleported in. She was statuesque, with brown hair and brown eyes.
"Hello, Tyche," Hermes said with a grin.
"Father," Tyche greeted him. "Lord Triton, Lord Bai, Lord Thor." she nodded deeper at Bai. "Lord Bai, thank you for inviting me." she smiled, and Harry found that he liked her smile. "For obvious reasons, I do not get invited to many events like these."
"Be welcome, Tyche," Bai said, as if it were some kind of ritualistic greeting. "Obviously you know my immortal companions." he pointed to Harry, who had been half-obscured by Thor's rugged body. "This is the mortal who took our lunch money last time-"
Tyche looked at him, her face suddenly drawn with surprise. The next moment, she shrunk some, her hair turned red and her eyes green. The same sort of green that Harry saw in the mirror every day.
"What..." he started to say, when he was interrupted by the suddenly-changing goddess.
"Harry? Why are you not in Britain?" she asked, in total surprise.
The next moment, a light seemed to go off above his head, causing him to look up. A bright golden cornucopia shone for a moment, before fading.
"I knew he was too good at games," Hermes muttered as Tyche approached Harry.
"Mom?" the boy whispered, stunned.