The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 114 - Alex - Cheeseburgers and Gossip

I didn't have time to see what had happened to Medusa. I couldn't hear her scream. I couldn't focus on anything else that very moment. Percy and Annabeth's arms had swiftly gone to their ears. Euryale opened her mouth to scream. "Silencio!"

Percy flung down Riptide at Medusa's neck. 

Will sent his arrow straight through Stheno's chest. 

Annabeth tackled Kelly down to the ground.

Euryale turned to dust as Stormbringer ripped through her. 

Nico jumped over Medusa's head and ran his sword through Lamia.

Jason was sitting on the Manticore's shoulders, balancing himself. And then, his gladius went right through the creature's back.

We were surrounded by dust, and of course, Medusa's head lay on the ground. We were all panting. Bill was only just staring at us in shock. 

"That," Nico started, leaning on Will and trying to balance himself, "was awesome."

"Totally," Annabeth said, grinning.

"You guys," Jason said through gasps for breath, "are crazy. We should totally do that again."

Percy and I fist-bumped. "Lesson 1," I said, "Keeping fighting sessions fun is important."

"And lesson 2," Percy added, "never forget to stall your opponent."

"That was awesome," Will said. "How'd you come up with that idea?"

"I don't know, man," I said, shrugging. "Thank the ADHD."

"I'm going insane, aren't I?" Bill said softly, staring at Medusa's blindfolded head.

"Nope," Will said, "just getting to know the truth."

I looked up to the sky. "Sorry, Ker," I said, smiling, "but it seems like you're going to have to wait a little more longer than that to drink my blood."

Thunder crackled above.

"You just love pissing off gods, don't you?" Nico asked.

"What can I say, I learn somethings from my father."

"Let get going," Jason said seriously. "I don't want anything coming behind us."

"Is there anywhere we can get cheeseburgers?" Percy asked Bill.

"There's a McDonalds down the next street," Bill said after a short pause.

"Then let's go," Annabeth said. "I don't really have a good feeling about this place."

Fifteen minutes later, we were all settled down on chairs and orders were already taken.

Will searched his jeans and brought out the black notebook. Percy tossed him Riptide. 

"Alright," Will said, "so I'm going to make note of the dreams we all had."

Jason passed a cheeseburger to me as he sat down. "We have a smaller problem to address first though," he said. "Eris is the main reason we're here, remember?"

"Eris?" Bill asked. He was coping really well for someone who had just seen the head of Medusa. "Like- Discordia?"

"How do you know?" Annabeth asked.

"I worked in Egypt. Greek, Roman, Egyptian myth- they're a part of my arsenal." He shrugged. "That's how I figured out about you guys too."

"Wait," Percy said. "Could it be the Egyptians, then?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Percy continued. "You remember Setne... he wanted to control the whole of Alex-"

"Alexandria, yes," Will said. "But you stopped him. I see no reason why he's-"

"I know, but what if the same thing is happening again? What if there's an evil magician out there and they're controlling the Greek gods?"

Everyone just stared at him in silence for three seconds. 

"I don't think that would happen," Annabeth said. "I mean, Sadie would have called me by now or she'd have gone to camp to inform us all."

"But just as a precautionary measure," Nico said, nodding, "I think you should re confirm. Percy has got a point."

"But otherwise," I said, "Eris should not be much of a problem."

"You were the one closest to her from all of us," Will said. "What have you got?"

I had to think for a while. "She was never around much," I said finally, after a minute. "But when she was, you didn't want her to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whenever we had events, parties and stuff, we'd invite her, but we'd always hope she'd never show up. Because when she did, the party turned around the way you didn't want it to. And if we didn't send her invites, well-"

"Judgement of Paris," Annabeth said, nodding.

"The what?" Nico asked.

"Judgement of Paris," I explained. "Eris was not invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding, because of her reputation to cause trouble. She got angry. She therefore tossed into the party the Apple of Discord, a golden apple inscribed inscribed with the words 'For the most beautiful one'– provoking the goddesses to begin quarreling about the appropriate recipient."

"Were you among them?" Jason asked, an eyebrow raised.

I rolled my eyes. "No. I was too busy trying to talk Ares out of calling Aeneas to a 'friendly' challenge to death."

Nico smiled. "Because he was a son of Aphrodite?"

"Yep," I said. "Anyway, Zeus appointed the hapless Paris, Prince of Troy to select the most beautiful goddess. The goddesses stripped naked to try to win Paris's decision, and also attempted to bribe him. Of course, Athena, although she participated, did not strip naked. Artemis stayed away from the wedding. Hera offered Paris political power; Athena promised infinite wisdom; and Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. Paris chose to award the apple to Aphrodite, thereby dooming his city, which was destroyed in the war that ensued."

"So Travis and Connor pranked Aphrodite Cabin with an idea from Eris?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, you could say so," I said. "But at least it didn't cause a war. But otherwise, Eris was mostly an unseen character back on Olympus. But she does like to cause chaos once in a while. And when she does, the gods mostly have to interfere to stop humans from killing each other."

"That's exactly the type of situation we're in," Percy said. "It may not be actual killing yet, but right now the verbal abuse they're giving Potter is almost equivalent to killing, I'd say."

"Eris feeds off of anger and discord," I said. "She is strife, trouble and turmoil. And if we were able to feel it the other day, it means she's in one of the members of the Order."

"Woah, woah," Bill stopped us once more. "What do you mean, in one of the members of the Order?"

"Like, possession," Percy said. "I've been through it. Would not recommend it."

"And if any of them are possessed, they'd have a high tendency to lash out at people, have PTSD or depression, find joy in killing, pillaging and stealing and of course, they won't be able to understand why they are doing so if they are truly good people at heart," I said. "Eris at her worst is not something we'll be able to see unless she's extremely angry. She's just starting to have fun now."

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