In the Spirit of Victory (Percy Jackson/Harry Potter Crossover AU)

Fur, Freaks, and Fire

The sun was hanging high in the sky, beating down and baking the already dry earth beneath Richards feet. Not that he touched down on the ground all that often that afternoon. In fact, he barely felt the heat of the blistering Idaho July. There was a nice cool breeze flowing through his hair, every once in a while he zipped through a patch of shade or got splashed with some water from the river. The entire situation seemed like it would be relaxing. Oh well. Relaxation was overrated anyway.

"On your left! LEFT! THE OTHER LEFT!"

Richard kicked his legs out, sending water shooting up on all sides of him. The chimera above struggled furiously, trying to kick him off it's forelegs. Luckily for the dangling demigod, the other two heads were easily distracted by the obstacles of the canyon they were flying through. Of course it had to be one of those weird chimeras with dragon wings. Of course it had to have the serpents head instead of the tail, and of course he'd been dumb enough to volunteer to take care of it.

"Cami! Break right!"

"Everyone stop shouting! I'm working on it!"

"WORK ON IT FASTER!" Richard screeched as the counselors of the Athena and Hephaestus cabins bickered. The chimera plunged him into the freezing water of the river, dragging him through it in hopes of being rid of him. He struggled to climb up the monsters furry forelegs, just able to peek his head up out of the water. He could see Monica just ahead, her legs pumping furiously as she got a head start on the creature. Her bow was slung across her shoulders, and Richard was barely able to catch a glimpse of her scaling a pile of rocks before he went back under.

Water shot up his nose, pressed against his eyes, forcing him to keep them clamped shut. He was grateful the river wasn't deep enough his feet and drag along the bottom, but every once in a while his legs banged against a rock or skimmed against the side.

     When Chiron had sent them out to see what was up with all the extra fires this year, Richard had been prepared to chalk it up to human stupidity and call it good. That had been before they spotted three chimeras in the hills, and discovered one hiding out in the canyon as it made its way down to the Arizona area. It wasn't abnormal to find monsters that slunk around outside of Tartarus at any given time.

Richard kick his legs out once again, trying to make his way back above the water. He could hear the chimera's wings flapping rapidly, the screeching and roaring of the three heads, and most prominently, the rush of water flooding his years. His grip was slipping, his lungs were screaming at him; he knew he was a goner if you didn't get a breath soon. There was a loud thud, followed by a screech of pain. The chimera flew upward in a staggered pattern and Richard took a huge breath the second his head broke the surface of the river. The chimera was flying lopsided now, Richard still clinging to its legs desperately. It swerved, banging into the side of the canyon, skimming the top of the waters, and corkscrewed into the air. Richard felt his left arm break as he was rammed into the canyon wall, and he could see blood trickling down the side of his head. Great, another scar to explain when he went home.

"Look, I'm not trying to complain, but if you could get me off this thing I'd appreciate it. LIKE RIGHT NOW!!" Richard screamed as his ride plummeted back towards earth after Monica embedded another arrow in its wing. "KILL IT! NOT ME!!"

"If you'd keep it still, we wouldn't be having this problem!" She shouted back.

"YOU KEEP IT STILL!"

The chimera had adopted a zigzagging pattern that was slowly turning into simply flying in repeated circle. Blood loss, dizziness, and now nausea were affecting Richard's ability to function, and he can feel his grip slipping. If the chimera let go of him now, he was dead. If he kept holding on, he was dead. Basically if it did anything but land gracefully, he was dead. That was fine, he always wanted to die this way anyway. Killed hanging from a chimera like an insane cowboy. He could already hear Mr. D's brush off.