Demigods : Version 3.0 { Closed, Started }

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Jia knelt in her usual place, a mat on the beach, her hands resting on her knees and her eyes locked on the horizon, still and unseeing, slowly blinking every half-minute. Her mind was utterly blank, her body so still and quiet that one could make the mistake of thinking her dead, her heartbeat slowed to only a handful of times per minute, her chest rising and falling only once a minute. Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of the loudspeaker broadcasting over the camp. She rose to her feet slowly, letting her body return to its natural state, thought once again filling her mind. She leaned down and collected The Rose of Sunrise from where she had set it, slinging it onto her back before going into a sprint, heading for the amphitheatre. As a general rule it wasn't so urgent that she needed to haul ass, but there was always a chance.

She seemed to be one of the first there, and quickly stepped inside.

 

[Lambi]

After about twenty minutes or so, the nurse nudged Freya a bit to wake her up. Freya had no trouble waking up and sat up on the bed with little difficulty. Her wounds were mostly healed, and it looked like she didn't need any kind of help getting off the bed and out of the infirmary. She thanked the nurse and headed outside, heading towards her cabin when she heard the announcement.

"Attention all demigods and staff. This is Director Chiron speaking. We have a situation that needs to be dealt with. All demigods and staff, report to the amphitheatre for an emergency briefing."

"Guess I don't have much of a choice in the matter, huh? Besides, this could be something concerning monster hunting, and man, do I love me some monster hunting." Freya said to herself with a half grin, and headed towards the amphitheatre where there were already demigods assembling. She found a seat close to the front and sat down, waiting with anyone else who was already there until everyone arrived.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Even as the air of tension thinned out in Cabin Four, silence was still prominent through the house. Gabe had took to a more reclining position on his bed as he primped and primed his sapling. Rosa stayed at her position near the head of the cabin, supposedly affixed on some reading material. She kept a cautious eye on her reluctant cabinmate as she read, doing more watching than reading all the while. With what branches and leaves were clipped from the sapling, Gabe fiddled around with them momentarily before letting them fall from his hands.

"Can't do much with the scraps once they've been severed from their source of life." He thought as the leftovers lightly tumbled to the ground. He looked back to his sapling, admiring his work. "Maybe this way she'll take up less space in my bag." He added as he examined the plant. Before he could place the baby tree down however, some sort of message boomed through the cabin, making Rosa jump a bit. Gabe moved nary an inch as he kept his eyes affixed on his project.

"Attention all demigods and staff. This is Director Chiron speaking. We have a situation that needs to be dealt with. All demigods and staff, report to the amphitheatre for an emergency briefing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He queried. Obviously, he knew what it meant, but sometimes he likes to make known how disinterested he could be towards certain events, sarcastically if he was in a neutral enough mood. Rosa rose from her seat, and began towards him. "It means that something big is about to go down. Whatever it'll be, we're gonna need all the help we can get." She said. Gabe scoffed in return.

"Not interested." He replied bluntly. She reached his bed, and knelt at his bedside.

"Please." She said in a tone of simple, soulful sincerity. Gabe took a look her direction, saw the pleading expression she wore. If she was giving him this much attention about the whole thing, the least he could was indulge her. He sighed in return, and sat up straight. Placing Marcy in his backpack, the two stood up, with Gabriel stretching an arm out towards the cabin's exit.

"Lead the way." He told her, slinging the bookbag over a shoulder. Within minutes the two arrived at the requested place of meeting, and while Rosa lingered about the entrance to get ahold of her more younger half-brothers and sisters, Gabe meandered inside, taking a seat as far away from the stage as possible. "Let's get this over with." A sigh accompanied his thoughts as he watched kids bustle in by the handful.

 

[blaze96]

"Haven't heard that in a while. Wonder what it is this time?" Elizabeth said as she walked out of the cabin and began to collect the children she was in charge of. It took some time but eventually she had collected all of them and gotten them into some semblance of order. With that wrapped up she walked them into the amphitheatre and had them sit down in an orderly group, well as orderly as could be done with a bunch of super powerful children. She herself stood in the nearby aisle way to keep an eye on things in case something were to happen. Her bow already in hand with her quiver of arrows on her back.

 

[Lefthandofgod]

Dorofei waited, patient and motionless. He didn't know when the Hades Child would show up in front of her cabin, but he would be there. He would be waiting. If she wanted to fight like a monster, he would hunt her like one.

"Attention all demigods and staff. This is Director Chiron speaking. We have a situation that needs to be dealt with. All demigods and staff, report to the amphitheatre for an emergency briefing."

"дерьмо!" He swore in Russian. Chiron calling everyone was something incredibly important. Dorofei didn't have time to wait for the Hades Child. This argument would have to be settled later.

Picking up his length of Celestial Bronze, Dorofei quickly made his way to the amphitheater. He didn't know what to expect, but whatever it was, he expected it to be violent. Dorofei was never one to be unprepared.

As he walked, the air around him grew cold. The grass beneath his boots began to freeze and crunch. Ice formed from the air and collected around Dorofei. It piled on, thicker and thicker, until his massive frame was coated from head to foot in a thick layer of ice. Then he turned his attention to the shaft of Celestial Bronze. Ice began to coat the shaft, expanding to the length of a long pole. Then the far end began to bulge and harden. Soon, the small piece of Celestial Bronze grew out to a large battleaxe. He was fully dressed for combat when he walked into the amphitheater. He sat down and rested he head of the battleaxe on his shoulder.

"So," he said, "we got bad problem, then?"

 

[Lizmichi]

Mitsuko watched as the other demigods joined them then she looked at Brandon. "Hey, I'm sorry I was so... forward shall we say in the forest. I might as well just admit to it, not like you don't already know but." she sighed while trying to spit out what she was trying to say. She knew it was an odd time to be talking about this but she wanted to clear the air first. "I well.. like you. There I umm.. said it." Mitsuko looked at her feet and blushed a deep red. "I know this is a bad time to get this out but I want to clear the air between us." she finished still looking at her feet.

She felt like she had butterflies in her stomich waiting for Brandon to respond to her. She didn't like this feeling but she just had to take it.

 

[SkyeNeko]

"Attention all demigods and staff. This is Director Chiron speaking. We have a situation that needs to be dealt with. All demigods and staff, report to the amphitheater for an emergency briefing."

Ambrose was just getting out of the infirmary when she heard the announcement. With a long, drawn out sigh she started towards the amphitheater, Lethe bouncing out behind her.

When she got inside, she went over to her cabin's seating area. There were demigods that Ambrose hadn't ever seen awake with their eyes open. It was almost like meeting your cabin for the first time, except they were more interested in finding out why they had been woken up than who these people were around them. Ambrose stared at a few who were rumored to be able to enter other people's dreams and imprison them there, so they slept forever. Demigods that knew how to completely purge memories from their targets. Campers who could travel between the earth and the Underworld through their dreams, in spirit.

"Lethe, don't go too far... stay here." The white kitten jumped on Ambrose's lap, preening her fur.

 

[NeoAC]

While the confirmation of Mitsuko's attraction didn't come as a surprise to Brandon, the timing did. The hell she doin' comin' out with this now? I don't get it. She could'na tell me this some other time?

"Uh, all right Mitsuko," he said quietly, wanting to keep this conversation private. "That's great an all. But I ain't lookin' to be tied down to nothin' at the moment, you know? I mean, you up for foolin', I'm cool with that. I like you enough for that, for sure. But I'mma just let ya know, I ain't looking for a serious thing."

All right, you wanna speak up there Chiron, cut off some response and we should be good enough.

 

[CounterAttack]

"You hear that, Nina? We should get moving before we miss out on the details," Jess commented, turning to the rest of the cabin. "That goes for the rest of you too! Shift your butts! We might have work to do," she called out, bringing the Apollo girl with her as she led the way to the amphitheatre.

Within a minute the last of the stragglers were gathered in the building, and Chiron took the stage. "Gentlemen, ladies, we may have a crisis on our hands. Royce, Brandon and Mitsuko reported a satyr arriving in camp boundaries, with a message presumably for myself. They have given me reason to believe that the Chimaera is out of its Underworld prison. We must find and contain the threat by eliminating the beast before it can cause widespread damage."

"The Chimaera won't have just broken out of the Underworld on its own," Forgemaster Dugan commented. "It would have likely had outside help."

"I had guessed as much myself, Lucas," Chiron commented. "But we cannot know for sure until we have seen the truth for ourselves." He snapped his fingers, and a light began to shine down upon the stage's muted-white backdrop. The plain light shone through a prism to create a rainbow, with which someone could call upon the messenger goddess Iris to show them certain requests. That was just the reason the centaur had activated that particular light. He pulled a gold drachma, the Olympian currency, from a pocket on his belt and tossed it into the rainbow.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the Chimaera and its liberator."

The light shifted and changed colours to reveal two separate scenes playing simultaneously. On the left was a vista of a snow-capped mountain, part of a range, and shown as if from a nature shot in a film. The white and brown of the mountain was marred by a large dark hole near the summit: a cave entrance. Figures were walking back and forth in front of the cave... they were armed and on patrol.

On the right, the Iris-message displayed the southwest of New York City in the mid-afternoon sun. A warehouse district of some kind. One slightly ramshackle building stood alone in an open square: it too was patrolled by more humanoid figures than the mountain's guards.

In the blink of an eye, the Iris-message changed shape and revealed two stormcloud-grey eyes, narrowed in menace. A commanding tone blared from nowhere: "Do not think you can challenge us, disillusioned campers!" The voice changed to the throaty roar of a monstrous beast for a second, then the pair of eyes vanished and the Iris-message faded to nothing. Chiron snapped his fingers again to turn off the light source.

Before the assembled demigods could start to discuss what had just unfolded amongst themselves, the centaur spoke up again. "We will need to assemble two strike teams of demigods, one to visit each location."

"The mountain is probably Mount Eolus in Colorado," Chief Ranger Ruby Lee spoke up. "I remember tracking similar monsters in that area. It's highly likely that the Chimaera would have made a lair there. Whoever volunteers for the mountain team should be prepared to face the beast."

"A wise assumption. Do we have any volunteers to join either team?" Chiron asked of the audience.

[hr]

Both eager and nervous about the prospect of taking on a powerful monster, Royce was the first to stand. "I'll volunteer to head for the mountains." Now was as good a time as any to give his wargear some proper field tests. Whacking hellhounds just didn't cut it sometimes, and training matches never yielded proper results since it was generally frowned upon to try to split open the opponent's armour or shatter their weapon. In a fight against something like the Chimaera, he could go all out for a change.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Jia leaned back, rubbing her chin. This was an interesting situation.

"Obviously didn't take lessons in subtle acting, but what do you expect from a giant monster." She rose to her feet. "I'll head to the warehouse, sir." She was one of the few martially-capable Demigods who didn't have to rely on the Mist to keep from drawing attention. The Mists were a problem - they weren't clearly understood even compared to Magic in general and Jia had a distaste for relying on things she couldn't grasp on any level other than purely its effects.

The Mist was useful - kind of - but it couldn't be relied upon.

Besides which, her ability to blend in was useful for whatever creatures were guarding that warehouse. They wore a Humanoid shape, but she doubted they were Humans. Most likely the warehouse was the domain of the Chimaera's master or servant, whatever had pulled it free. So what were they dealing with?

Jia was no optimist, and her mind almost immediately went for the most obvious solution - a rogue Demigod.

"I recommend we bring lead as well as bronze to the warehouse, those entities out front may be fully Human. With our usual loadouts they're ideal for killing us - most of our weapons are useless against them. And given that little message, they know we're coming."

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

*accidental double post*

 

[Lambi]

Once the message was displayed and offers for volunteers to go on either of two teams were up, Freya stood up with a small grin on her face. "I volunteer to go to the mountains. Taking care of monsters will be more fun than taking care of the campers here." And there will be lots of snow there, so it'll almost be like home. This would hopefully prove to be fun, as she couldn't wait to go. She would probably have left on her own, but she knew better than just wander off alone towards wherever they would go, and Chiron probably wouldn't take kindly to that. Plus, she was sure that others would want to join in on the mountain team, which she annoyingly admitted to herself that there was strength in numbers.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Nope." Gabe scoffed soon after watching the supernatural presentation end. By the way it sounded, he still wasn't all that interested. He took it as signal to move on once Chiron started asking for volunteers. "I thought this place was to be a refuge, not a military base." Rosa didn't have to look far to see her fellow camp-mate making his way out of the amphitheatre. In some form of protest, she hopped to her feet.

"I volunteer Gabriel Aeckard, my cabin's newest addition." She announced, pointing towards the bewildered harvestchild. "Come again?" He paused, realizing he made a mistake in giving that girl his name. The Cabin four leader began squeezing out of her aisle, stopping Gabe before he could successfully leave. "Don't make a scene." He told her quietly. A bout of feverish whispering broke out between the two, pleads and begging amongst blaming and shots at redemption. Gabe sighed lastly. "Ugggh..." Looking over the Demeter cabin's leader, He turned his attention towards the stage.

"Alright. Fine. That warehouse looked like it was in Brooklyn, around the Naval Yard. I'll go there. I know Brooklyn." He begrudgingly decided, giving the much shorter cabin leader one last look that displayed the sheerest of annoyances before returning to his seat.

 

[Lefthandofgod]

Dorofei bolted upright the moment Freya called the mountains. The cold air swirled around his armor. He was close to being his own ecosystem.
"I will be volunteer for mountain."

Chiron stamped a foot nervously. "Dorofei, lad. I thought your arm was broken? Maybe you need more time to rest."

Dorofei slammed the shaft of his axe against the ground and beat his chest. "Magic fixed arm. Beside, I know mountain, I control snow, and I know to fight monster. You need me."

The old centaur sighed slightly, but consented. "You make a good point. Your skills would be needed on this type of mission."

Dorofei smiled, said a quick thanks, and sat back down.

Soon I will have two monsters to take down. One just happens to look human, he thought to himself while making a quick glance at the Hades Child across the theater.

 

[NeoAC]

Brandon was all set to head out to wherever he might be needed to fight a beast the size of the chimaera, but he couldn't decide what team he wanted to be on. Well, I'm sure that a big ol' beast like that ain't hidin' in no warehouse in Brooklyn. But dang I don't wanna be headin' all the way out to Nowhere, Colarado, freezin' cold 'n all that. When the burly Russian camper made his declaration, that pretty much Brandon's mind up.

"Well, I'mma throw my hat in to have a look at that warehouse there. I'mma better fighter in them melee spots anyway," he announced.

 

[blaze96]

"I think my skills will be more useful in an urban setting. I'll join the team going to that warehouse." Elizabeth said.

'Not to mention I'm sure I'm more familiar with a warehouse than some mountain in Colorado. Easier to sneak around if one actually knows the terrain.' She thought and she guessed that somebody at least needed to keep an eye on Brandon. If only so that he didn't try to take any detours after the mission was over.

 

[SkyeNeko]

"[small]...and that's why[/small] you should volunteer! It's a good opportunity to get out of camp and practice in the real world!"

Ambrose blinked. Had she been talking to her this whole time? Ling-Lei, the Hypnos cabin's acting leader, was looking at her expectantly, with a big grin on her face.
"U-uh..."
Crap, did she ask me something?
She had been busy staring into the Iris-message. Not even necessarily taking in the message, or the images, but just... staring. The little message at the end had snapped her out of her trance, and it was like the world had just starting moving again.

Do it! Do it! It'll be fun!

"Well? Do you want to go?" That's when the Demeter Cabin's leader volunteered one of her wards. "Wait, wait! I want to volunteer one of my cabin members too! I volunteer Ambrose Lark!"
"Huh...? Wait, volunteer for what?"
"She can go to the warehouse!"
"Wait, I don't want to go to-"
"Do you want to go to the icy cold cave where the Chimaera is hiding?"
"No!"
"Would you rather go to the warehouse?"
"Y-yes..."
"It's settled then! Ambrose Lark will be going to the warehouse!" Ling-lei shouted again, as if Chiron hadn't heard her the first time. "It'll be great, Amy! You won't even have to do much. I'll get you some extra strength caffeine pills, maybe [small]even a few energy drinks to wash them down...[/small]"
Her voice started to fade out again.

 

[CounterAttack]

Jessica was the last to stand. "I'll also volunteer for the warehouse team," she announced. She looked over to check who else was going with her... one of the Hypnos girls. She would need looking after... especially in a fight. At least one of the two guys would also require the Aphrodite girl's care, in a different sense of the word. A flirtatious smile played with the edges of her lips at that thought.

"Well, if we're gonna have that much of an imbalance, I'll switch to volunteering for the mountains," Jia interjected. "Three people isn't going to be enough to take on the Chimaera, of all things."

"Alright, then it's settled," Chiron stated. "Royce, Jia, Freya and Dorofei will travel to Mount Eolus to eliminate the Chimaera and any other monsters in the area. Brandon, Gabriel, Elizabeth, Ambrose and Jessica will travel to the warehouse district and investigate its relevance. Those who did not volunteer may resume their normal activities. Volunteers and staff, meet me outside my office." The centaur stepped down from the stage, indicating that the audience was dismissed.

[hr]

Five Minutes Later

Soon everyone had assembled on the porch outside the directors' offices, with Chiron stood before them. He had gestured for the volunteered demigods to split up into their appropriate groups, and chose to address the team of four first.

"So. We are going to need to transport you to Colorado quickly and quietly. The less attention we attract from unwanted eyes, the better. With that in mind... you should probably use the Labyrinth. It's the fastest route to anywhere in the United States, short of recruiting some of my kin to carry you."

Royce wasn't entirely keen on the idea. "Sure, it might be fast. But it's insane to travel it without some form of guidance... and who knows what could be in our way."

Chiron was one step ahead of the son of Hephaestus. He simply reached into a pocket and pulled out a ball of string, which he tossed over. "I already thought of that. I'll lend you Ariadne's thread; it will guide you through as long as you keep a single destination in mind. However, it offers no advantage in any challenge you may face in the maze, be it a test of combat, skill or something else entirely."

"And behind door number two?" Jess piped up.

"Patience," Chiron admonished her. "Once you're in the Labyrinth, you're on your own. Be careful... your fellow demigods will be the only ones you can rely on. It may be entirely possible that the gods may not hear an offered prayer. Infighting and animosity will only get you into more trouble than that which you will inevitably face in the maze."

The centaur turned to the group of five to address them. "As for those of you travelling to the warehouse... I do not know who or what you will be facing. Therefore I suggest you be ready for anything. However... Mr Aeckerd. In your short stay here you have not yet acquired a weapon from the camp's armoury. With that in mind, I give you this." Chiron drew a sheathed sword from a pack on his flank and handed it to the son of Demeter. "It's a simple wooden sword, used by one of your half-siblings before he retired from camp life. Perhaps you can make some use of its properties."

Both Royce and Jessica raised an eyebrow at this, but neither said anything. How's a wooden sword gonna help? Who is this guy? were Jess' thoughts, while Royce was rather miffed that the guy wasn't using a blade from the forges.

"Some of you may not enjoy working with others, but it's something you will have to get used to," he concluded, making a point of looking at certain individuals in both groups as he spoke. "Take a moment to grab your gear. Warehouse team, meet me at the garage. You'll need vehicular transport. Mountain team, meet Ms. Lee at the edge of the forest. She'll guide you to the Labyrinth's entrance. Dismissed... and may the gods go with you."

[hr]

"Well, it's off to war we go, I guess," Royce noted to the other three as they turned and made their way back to the cabins. "I suppose I should hang on to this for the time being," he added, indicating the ball of thread. According to one of the stories he'd heard, it would change colour and point the way with one end of the cord depending on where the holder wanted to go. For now, it was a simple ball of white. Royce stuck it in a pouch on his belt.

"I'll just grab some supplies from my cabin's stock. Meet up later?"

[hr]

Jess fell into step beside the guy with the wooden sword. She felt that some introductions could be helpful. "So... who are you, exactly? I don't believe we've met. Jessica Lancer, Aphrodite cabin leader. But you can call me Jess, if you like." She looked the guy up and down: he was a bit taller than her, well-built... although his clothes could use a wash. Or a complete replacement.

 

[Pm0n3y]

After the end of the appointed gathering, the disinterested Harvestchild seemed to go through the motions, following after the groups planning to embark on their appointed missions. His eyes sorta seemed to glaze over as the elder centaur debriefed the groups, the information going into one ear and quickly exiting out the other. "However...Mr Aeckerd..." "Huh?" Gabriel perked up upon hearing his name addressed. As Chiron considered the boy to be unarmed, he presented and handed Gabe a sword. The sword, styled after its (usually metal) Grecian counterparts, was heavier than Gabe anticipated, and most likely carved from some very sturdy lumber. Naturally, the Harvestchild examined the weapon as he held it, a cocked eyebrow breaking his usually blank expression.

"Would I even need this? I already have Marcy...eh, whatever. It's free." "Perhaps you can make some use of its properties." Chiron added. "Thanks." Gabriel quaintly retorted. Chiron continued, making a note of tolerating teammates. Gabe's eyes floated by the tallest girl in the room, if only briefly. "Yeah, glad I ain't on the team with the crazy Hades chick and the Ruskie aspie." If going by their last encounter, Gabe knew those two were gonna clash all over their mission. As the briefing ended and the demigods began out the office, Gabriel shuffled after them, the sword still in hand.

"Still don't know what i'm supposed to with this thing. It ain't stuck in dirt or got roots, so I can't change it into anything, unless-" Taking another look at the wooden weapon, he noticed that a collection of tiny branches and equally minuscule leaves had grew upon the surface of the blade, most likely as a result of the Harvestchild's subconscious abilities. "Unless it's enchanted." That must've been the explanation for it, or at least, the one Gabe could see.

Just as it happened, one of Gabriel's teammates mozyed up beside him, only getting his attention after verbally greeting him. The girl was-for all intents and purposes-drop dead gorgeous. He could only imagine all the heads she turned on a daily basis, even when looking her worst. Even then, Gabe kept his expression plain as he gave her his attention. "Gabriel, Harvest goddess' bastard child. One of 'em, at least. Call me Gabe." He greeted back.

 

[Lambi]

Freya listened intently on what Chiron had to say once they had gathered outside the directors' offices. It was quite clear what they had to do and, although she shared Royce's opinion on going through the Labyrinth, at least Chiron wasn't making them go through it without some sort of guidance. She snorted a little when Chiron handed Gabe a wooden sword, not caring if anyone heard it or not, though she didn't make a big deal out of it in front of the centaur. She felt his eyes look towards her as he addressed the ones that didn't want to work with others. She knew all too well that she preferred to go alone, but she still wasn't stupid. She knew that sometimes, you had to work with others, even if you didn't want to.

Once that was over and they were on their ways back to their cabins, Royce spoke to them. "Doesn't matter who keeps it." she said in response to Royce talking of keeping the ball of yarn with him. "We need that to get through the Labyrinth, so be sure you keep it with you at all times. I would rather not get stuck in the Labyrinth because you lost that thing somehow."

She responded with a "Sure." to his question of meeting later, as she headed towards the Hades cabin to get her armor. It didn't take her long before she reached it, heading inside and getting her armor, putting it on before she grabbed her shield and put her sword in its sheath. She kept her helmet under her arm as she left the Hades cabin again and headed towards the edge of the forest to meet up with Ms. Lee and the rest of the mountain team.