AN: Great news everybody! My copyright finally went through so this mega update is to celebrate! My short story is called 'The Stranger' and you can find it on amazon. There will be a link to it on the Facebook page for my stories. I want to thank everyone for supporting as I write and for anyone who ends up getting my story. This is hopefully the latest step to becoming a full-time writer.

Wisdom of the Wates

Chapter 11

-Percy-

"What are the odds they'll wait till we're away from mortals before attacking?" Percy whispered to Clarisse as he locked eyes with his old math teacher turned monster. The derisive snort he got in return from the demigoddess did nothing to make him feel any better.

"I'll work on getting us off the bus." Lou whispered, the daughter of Hecate closing her eyes as she began chanting in some obscure language. The three furies took a row of seats by the front of the bus, close enough to the exit that they could block it if it needed. Uncorking his sand gourds, he let the fine grains trickle out and onto the bus slowly making sure not to draw attention as the sand slithered and snaked its way up the bus, travelling under seats as it moved towards the furies.

Up ahead he could see an approaching tunnel, "Once we're through that we make a run for it, got it?" he whispered to the girls, getting a pair of nods in return as Lou kept muttering under her breath. Entering the tunnel, he could hear the furies getting up, loudly talking about their intent to go to the bathroom, together, for some weird reason.

Reacting he lashed out with his sand and grabbed their ankles, sending the trio toppling to the ground with startles squawks. In the dim lighting of the bus he saw several passengers move to help them up even as the furies snarled and swatted aside the offered hands, eyes blazing with rage as he quickly retracted his sand back into the gourds. Getting out of the tunnel Lou smirked and snapped her fingers as the bus started swerving, one of the tires blowing with a loud bang.

"Hang on!" the bus driver yelled out, frantically working to control the swerving bus and get it off the side of the road as everyone, even the furies were forced to hang on for dear life. Despite everyone getting battered around he could tell Lou's spell was protecting all but the furies from getting hurt, a faint glow that he only saw when he looked for it, surrounding the walls when someone was slammed into them. Screeching to a stop off the interstate he saw the furies get up and glare at them.

"Bye, bye." Clarisse mouthed to them mockingly before she slammed her elbow back against the emergency back door, the steel barrier flying off its hinges as they leapt out of the bus and bolted.

"That's some arm you've got there." He laughed, always impressed by the raw strength Clarisse had as a daughter of war.

"Of course," Clarisse grinned, vaulting over a fallen tree as they put as much distance between themselves and the bus as they could "I'm the brawn, Lou's the brain, and you're the pretty face."

"I'm not just that." He pouted before his every instinct screamed at him. Diving forward he tackled the girls down as a fury swooped through the space they had just occupied, slamming into a tree and shattering the trunk into splinters, barely even slowed. "Well girls, there's one for each of us." He got up, cracking his neck as the three furies alighted on different branches, "You think you can handle it?"

"Easily." Clarisse grinned, summoning her spear and pointing it to the Fury on the right.

"This'll be fun." Lou pointed a finger at the Fury on the left who hissed at them.

"Guess that leaves Alecto for me again." he nodded to the lead Fury, "That alright with you haggy?"

"You filthy worm!" Alecto screeched and swooped down towards him, her sisters going off to fight Clarisse and Lou, the sounds of combat fading into the distance, echoing between the trees.

"Now that's just rude." He gave her a scolding frown, dodging her slashing strikes, "I just bathed this morning."

"Hold still!" Alecto snarled, attempting to bite his face, foul smelling drool dripping from her yellow fangs.

"I'd rather not." He gagged, the vile smell filling his nostrils, "I prefer living and even still. Dying to you would be humiliating." With a thought his chains came from the cuffs and shot towards Alecto who let out a startled squawk.

"Dance for me, dance!" he cackled dramatically as he lashed out with the chains, occasionally sending a high-pressured blast of water from his gloves as Alecto frantically dodged his attacks.

"What ARE you?!" she yelled out before getting caught with a stream of water to the face, slammed deep into a tree trunk.

"A badass." He grinned, freezing the water on her as she struggled against the tree, "A word of advice, either stop pestering me or make things interesting, please, I'd like SOMETHING to challenge me in a fight." With that he commanded the ice to squeeze as Alecto was crushed into a pile of golden monster dust. Making the ice melt and seeing the dust blow away in the wind he followed the sound of the other fights, wanting to make sure the girls were alright.

-Clarisse-

"So, Tisiphone right?" she asked the torturer of the underworld, the avenger of murder. "Think you'll be able to make this interesting for me?"

"Arrogant whelp!" the fury hissed out, slowly clawing her way down the trunk of the tree she had perched on after coming to a stop when the different pairs split up.

"Is it really arrogance if I win though?" Clarisse asked, twirling her spear in hand as the head crackled with lightning. With a screech Tisiphone leapt forward and lashed out at her, claws screaming through the air as Clarisse backflipped away. "No answer? Now that's just mean." Clarisse gave a mock pout as she jabbed her spear forward, lightning jumping from the tip to shock the monster.

"Your soul will burn in the field of punishment!" Tisiphone screeched, the smell of burnt hair filling the air from where the lightning struck.

"You'll have to kill me first," she scowled, slamming the haft of her spear into the monster's jaw "and I don't have any plans to die today. You want to cause trouble then you better get ready to get broken!"

"Die!" Tisiphone screamed and leapt forward, a few loose teeth falling from her mouth from Clarisse's last strike. Snarling in rage Clarisse ran forward to meet the charge, grabbing the monster by the throat with one hand, the other going to the torturer's waist. Her screams of exertion mingled with Tisiphone's screams of pain before, with a final yell, she ripped the monster in half, the two pieces dissolving into dust in her grip as she dropped to the ground, panting, not used to using that much demigod strength at once.

Hearing the sound of combat still raging she took off towards the sound, positive that whoever had finished their fight would be heading there as well.

-Lou-

"Megeara the jealous, torturer of the underworld." Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate locked gazes with the fury, the two slowly circling each other.

"Scared demigod?" the fury cackled, a long serpentine tongue slithering out to lick her lips as the monsters sneered down at her.

"You wish." Lou snorted, "Percy killed your far stronger sibling with ease before, so this shouldn't take too long." Ignoring the monster's snarl of rage, Lou clapped her hands together, closing her right hand into a fist before drawing it away, a whip of fire clenched tight in her grip. Cracking her whip in the air, Lou smirked and used her free hand to make a 'bring it' gesture, "Shall we then?"

"How arrogant you a-glk!" Megaera's insult was cut off by the flame whip wrapping around her throat, the monster's eyes going wide as Lou flicked the whip and sent her opponent flying into a tree.

"How…disappointing." Lou frowned, starting to realize why Percy hadn't considered beating Alecto to be that impressive. Many monsters were truly dangerous, but these weren't. The minotaur was all brawn and no brain so if one kept a cool head they could easily outthink it. The furies however were torturers, not soldiers. They were experts in causing pain on victims who couldn't run, not in winning fights.

"You dare!" Megeara hissed, "You insolent little demigod trash! I'll kill-" the whip cut off the sentence as well as Megaera's head. "Percy was right, you aren't a victory worth being proud of."