The Tale of Charles, Jen, and Luke

&nbsp This story was written for The Noodle Chronicles, but it is part of the canon of the Ouroboros Merge Series. It is written by DarkCyberWolf.

APOLLO'S POV
"Shimmering golden

Driving the sun chariot

Greatest of the gods."

I finished another amazing haiku about myself and hummed to myself as I continued the drive straight east. Then I saw the scuffle between a pair of monsters.

"No," one said angrily. A... a telkhine, that's what it was. The other looked like... an empousa. "Unless you provide some sort of payment for these services, we will have to destroy you."

"What do you want me to give?" the empousa asked. "What in the world could be a good payment for saving the gods' sorry hides?!"

Now I was interested.

"You know what we want. We help you protect the gods when they need it in a few years. You give us the golden apple of the Hesperides that we can use to talk to Midas in the Underworld."

"Excuse me," I said, flying low. Sure, flying low was "dangerous" but sun flares never killed anyone... anyone important. "What is this about the Hesperides' apple?"

The telkhine glared at me. "This creature thinks your kind shall be in danger in the near future and has decided to protect you."

"And that creature thinks someone like me can steal one of the Hesperides' apples. Look at me!" I obeyed, giving her a quick look over. "This form is not made for fighting, it is made for distracting males."

"How about I solve both of your problems," I suggested. "Say I give some demigod campers a quest for this apple, I get it, I give it to you, and you can resolve your deal bloodlessly."

"Go ahead," the telkhine said.

JEN'S POV
From about two hundred feet away, I pulled at the edge of the bow, moved it, and released. The arrow went flying fast until it reached the dead center of the target. Bull's eye.

"Great hit," a guy near me said. It was one of the newer campers - Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus.

"Well, my dad is the god of archery," I shrugged. I put another arrow into the bow and watched it fly until it split the first arrow in half.

"Important message!" a voice cried. We looked and saw - my dad, Apollo. "Need three demigods quickly!"

Charles and I walked up to him. "What do you need, Dad?"

"There's a new quest now." He looked around. "It involves stealing the golden apple of the Hesperides. I take it you want to be part of it?"

I nodded vigorously. Charles did so as well. Apollo thought for a moment. "Jen, you started nodding first, so you get to lead this quest. You may now consult the oracle and/or choose your two companions."

"Charles," I said instantly. "Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus. And..." I looked around at the other campers and looked for someone I could bring with me. Then I saw the perfect candidate. "And Luke Castellan, son of Hermes."

Beside Luke, a few campers - Gary, Annabeth, and some others - groaned.

"Great, the three of you should go see the Oracle soon."

I chose Charles because he wasn't just a great friend - he was strong, innovative, and courageous - things that might be needed on a quest. Luke, he was pretty fast - best swordsman at camp, and he had quite the brainpower as well.

We walked into the Big House, past Chiron and Mr. D, and into the attic where the creepy mummified Oracle stood.

The Oracle opened its eyes and released a misty, billowing green fog.

"You shall go west to the apple of gold

One shall not receive remedy untold

The key to saving lies in the dark

As the hero gains his eternal mark"

CHARLES'S POV
If there's one thing I know about prophecies, it's that people who sweat about them usually don't survive. So I just focused on the big part - go west to the apple. The garden of the Hesperides was in San Francisco, so that's where we were going.

We walked outside the camp and made our way west. Something started bugging me and forced me to question Jen's decision. "Hey, Jen? Sorry 'bout this, but why exactly did you take me and Luke, instead of, say, Silena Beauregard or Josh Patterson? Either of them could probably get you to San Francisco faster."

She shrank back a bit and said, "I was planning on your strength and Luke's speed coming in handy. I didn't even consider getting a pegasus..."

"Easy solution," Luke said kindly. "Hermes is the god of roads. Time to see if I inherited any of my old man's prowess."

That's when I realized that Luke was serious about this quest. Almost all demigods get the whole parental abandonment deal, but Luke was left alone with his insane mother and hated his dad. I don't think Jen knew that bit about Luke's past, though.

Luke pressed his hand to the ground and watched as a paved path suddenly appeared. And then started moving. Fast.

"Luke, you're a genius," I commended.

"I know," he said. The road went up high above the ground, probably so we can go on it without mortals noticing some serious divine speed.