The Chiaroscuro: Chapter 22

Hiro's POV
Teleporting's supposed to be fun, right? This is the moment that proves that wrong. "Ow, what the- oh gods!" I was standing at the egde of a mile deep crater. And the last people I expected that were there. Alex, Lora, and Drake? No, Garret. "Guys!" I teleported over. "You okay?" "Yeah, but Alex is blubbering like some god damn wuss and Lora'salmost frozen to death. Think ya can get us out of here?" I didn't say anything. I was too stunned looking at  Horseshoe Falls .   Or at least what used to be the waterfall. What ever exploded left the beautiful place a giant sinkhole. The water still ran, but now it emptied into an abyss at least a mile deep. How this happened with Alex, Lora, and Garret even alive, no, scratch that, even having a form freaked me out. Big time. "Okay," I said slowly. "First, tell me, what the hell happened here?" Alex stopped coughing, and spoke. "I flew over here, to rescue my sister. *cough* I saw her under the falls, then Lora came, and, *sniff* K-K Khione killed my s-s-sister. *sniff*" Alex looked like he was about to break down. I haven't seen him cry like this since the the time Lora died. "God damn wuss." "I can take you guys out of here, but it's gonna take a while. Alex, we're going to camp. Except for Josh, they have the best healers." "We'll stick with you. Get us to camp, I miss that place." Drake's POV After Alex and the others went to look for his mother and sister, Josh became the impromptu leader of the Center of Light and the Dark Circle. The fact that the dark gods were now running rampant assured that. "Um, okay. So guys, we need to figure out a plan, basically, to stop the dark gods from wreaking world havoc. So, we need a plan, and we need it now. And also, many of us our really wounded. We need to heal, and I can't touch everyone and heal them at the same time. We need help. And a lot of it." "Why don't we go to camp for a while?" "We could, but remember, you guys bombed the place with that Zeppelin?" "Oh, yeah." "Hmm... How 'bout we disguise ourselves!" "That's still not gonna work. I can believe I didn't mention this before, but I think camp's destroyed." "Wait! Where is you base? We could hang there! Ours is destroyed, so let's just go there." "But what if... Wait. We should, but what if Hyperion-" "Josh. We don't have a choice. It's our only choice of refuge.”

He looked like he was about to have a breakdown. Then, he conceded. "You're right. We don't have a choice. I wish we didn't have to do this, but you guys are right."

Alex, Lora, and Garret appeared out of nowhere. Along with three Hiros. Did I ever mention how weird it is to see more than one of my best friend at the same time?

"Hiro! Sorry to call this on you, but we need transportation, it's pretty urgent." "Awww what?! I'm almost out of juice. I barely have enough energy to transport two people, let alone all," Hiro did a quick head count, "twenty-seven of you guys." "Okay, wait. Why don't you take a nap?" "Huh?" "Freeze time and take a nap. Then can you do it?" "I've never tried it before, but okay." Hiro's form shimmered. Then he started to get up. "Okay, now I'm perked up! Let's go!" "Alright. Those who can't transport themselves can go with Hiro. Chelan , you can take to bionic suit to help you walk. All of you that can shadow travel take at least one person with you. I'll light travel-" "I'm sorry, light travel?" "Yup. Anyplace that has daylight shining on it, I can go. Alright, everyone has to go to Mount Othrys, okay? For all of the Dark Circle, that's our base. And anyone who considers sabotaging or killing anyone will be sent into space, literally. Okay?" "Oh well Garret, I guess I'm not bringing you guys to camp after all." "Alright Josh, ready to travel." "Okay! Let's go! To Mount Othrys!" "To Mount Othrys!" Now that's something I never wanted to hear in my life. That place had bad memories for me from the demigod and demititan war. Like someone keeping a dagger lodged in my stomach for an entire week. Or getting my life drained to keep Thymos alive after I almost killed him. Or getting tickled by those evil nymphs on a bed strapped down.

Gods, I was never able to face any girl except for Ariel and Courtney for an entire month. (Like I told anyone, but Courtney, Jordan, and the other quest members, I forgot their names, they came to me to the Doors of Death to see their dead friend James after the war.) "Oh well. To Mount Othyrs." Shadow traveling is pretty fun, but I gotta admit, the destination weirds me out sometimes. Like now. "Gods, I hate this place!" The mountain is just as I remembered. The ruins of the palace were still there, and so was... Josh spoke. "Hello, father. We have guests." Hyperion. The one Titan that tried his best to kill me in the demititan war, well, other than Krios and Iapetus. I made them mad just by being good. "But Josh, aren't these your enemies?" "Not now they're not. And now they need help." "Oh. I see that there are people from the war." "What-oh, that. Yeah, we put that behind us. Now, can we please stay here?" Hyperion thought for a while. I felt a blanket of energy surround me. "All right. But make sure they do not destroy or vandalize anything. If they do, I, as well as you and your friends, will be in grave danger." "Okay, we won't destroy anything." Hyperion paused me. "Oh, Drake. I thought I stabbed you for the last time." His eyes looked kinder and softer than when he fought us in the war. He still did look a little grumpy though. "Nothing can kill me, old man. You can chop me in half, vaporize my body, and send it into the sun, and I'll still come back at you." Hyperion looked even madder, and he started smoking. But then he calmed down, and looked like a parent. Which he was. "Okay, I know we had bad history, but let's give it all up and make peace, okay?" "All right. But if you want a challenge, give me a call." Hiro's POV I was getting explanations and outbursts of the demititan war. I mean, seriously? I knew the war, but protogenoi kids like me, and most of the Dark Circle, didn't really take sides. We thought that if both killed each other, we would come to pick up the pieces. And they didn't.

<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black; background:white;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Like most of us cared. "Hiro, do you even remember this place?" "I know it's Mount Othyrs and yes I know this place." "But in the war?" "No." We walked until we reached the Center of Light's camp. It was nothing like the elaborate building they once had. The one we had destroyed. "Okay Josh, so what's our attack plan?" That stopped him. "What?" "What about the dark gods? We need to stop them!" "I-I-we, um, can't." "What?! But we-" "I know! But we don't know anything about what we're up against! We need to know all that we can about the dark gods and their targets and <span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black; background:white;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">motives!" "Ooh, recon ops. Cool." "Wait. What happens when we get discovered? Won't we need some extra firepower?" "Yes. And that's where these come in." Josh pointed to a golden chest. And it sure didn't look like the ones that hold treasure.