Demigods : Version 3.0 { Closed, Started }

[Pm0n3y]

This would count as the third time (today) that a girl exhibited her abilities on Gabriel. It was on the fast track to becoming a bit of a theme. "Somnolence" The white haired Sleepling enchantingly announced, and flowers sprouted from the soil in between the two. Gabe would've immediately pegged her for a Harvestchild...until the air filled with a soft, gentle haze. And this is soft, in the literal sense. As soon as it was inhaled through his nose, and absorbed through his skin, everything around him became extremely comfortable. Naturally, he yawned. His eyelids began to droop as he began to realize what was happening.

"You could'a...warned...m..." His words came out slowed and slurred as his head began to bob. His limbs began to go limp. His control over the grass was relinquished, and the apple plopped to the grass once more. "This girl...she's like Benadryl in human form! I don't think I've ever felt this tired!" He thought. And yet, he couldn't find himself to object to the forceful sedation. After everything that went down today, the slow, peaceful lull of slumber didn't feel all that bad. With his eyes closed and head low, he nodded off. "Okay...so she puts people to sleep. What god even does that, the sandman?" He let out long, heavy breaths as he slept.

 

[Lizmichi]

Mitsuko smiled looking down at his hand then looked back at him. "Well, I'll be here if you want me to be just in case you need anything. You shouldn't move too much if you're in pain anyway." She leanded back putting her hands behind her head looking a bit tired her self. Her hair rested on her shoulders as she tired her head in her palms.

She had a long day of training, and she stayed up too late last night. She yawned softly wanting to sleep, but didn't want to leave if Brandon needed anything. "I'm in no rush to do anything anyway." she said half asleep her eyes closed slightly as she nodded off.

 

[CounterAttack]

"If I were to give a word, soon. He was confident and willing to leave everything behind. That means one of three things, we actually got the drop on him and he was covering, this is all a trap, or his plan is far enough in motion that he doesn't particularly care if we know because we are behind and don't fully know it yet. Being a child of Athena I'd bet on either the second or third options."

"We should be prepared for anything this rogue can throw at us," Chiron noted. "However, Olympus and its lone access point are the key regardless of where else he might raid... they always go for Olympus. If we concentrated our efforts there... yes. A one block radius around the Empire State Building should be our central defensive effort, supported by scouts ringed further away. We can fortify the building's interior as well. Cabins nine and fourteen can assist in that." Resisting a siege effort would require both physical and magical defenses, hence the mention of the Hephaestus and Hecate cabins.

The centaur closed the file and returned his attention to the rogue's map. "Spread word to the rest of the campers. We need to start mobilising for war."

 

[blaze96]

"Very well. I will make sure everybody is informed. Though I would advise you not just wait for them to come to us, engage in some directed operations against suspected staging points. He knows we will be throwing all we have into this defense, he will be bringing a force of his own. Something like that has to leave some signs of its existence." With that she left the office and went to the cafeteria where the dinner bell was. It was a holdover but it still proved effective in gathering everyone in one place.

'I'm going to make this very easy' She thought as she immediately began to ring it as hard as possible.

 

[Pm0n3y]

110th Street, Manhattan.

She had managed to tail this shady looking character for the past five blocks. Ayane Fisscher, a child of Poseidon, had come across a peculiar sighting. Someone, clearly disguised as nymph, was performing some sort of assault on some poor schmuck that (actually) seemed to be into it.

"Ugh, and in broad daylight too." The act looked less-than-normal, and this guy clearly wasn't seeing what Ayane was seeing. "Hey, y'know you two can get fined for that sort of public indecency, right-" As she approached the two, the nymph (aware that her jig was-indeed-up) sprinted off.

"Hey!" She began to give chase, but paused at the sight of the guy, who seemed to only be...dried, lifeless remains. "Jeez-!" She turned towards the increasingly distancing being. "Hey! Stop!" Ayane began off, her brow furrowing. Whoever they were, they needed to answer to the murder.

They were racing down 115th street by this point, and despite the headstart given, Ayane was closing the distance in strides. And yet, in the back of her mind, something felt...unnatural about the situation. She made not have immediately noticed it, but her judgement was becoming clouded with the sole, raw desire to apprehend this culprit.

She could've sent out a message about the act, maybe contacted Chiron or any other higher power about her growing suspicion of something bigger at here here. Instead, her speed increased, her form grew rigid. She paid less attention to her surroundings, and took no notice of the long, subtle shadows slithering after her.

The chase reached it's climax on 120th street, where Ayane managed to put hands on the criminal nymph, tackling her down the steps of a subway terminal. The two tumbled head over heel down the concrete case, yet Ayane recovered quicker.

"You never dine and dash on a date. It makes you look like a cheapskate." The Seachild muttered, climbing atop the still dazed monster. "What did you do to that guy? Why'd you do it?" She shook the nymph, an impromptu interrogation in attempts to pry an answer from her. The nymph's wide eyed guise of shock gradually lowered into a slimy, sinister smirk. Ayane didn't appreciate the chilling defiance.

"Fine then. Let's do this the hard wa-" She was blindsided, ripped away from the nymph by a lunging hellhound. Too focused on the nymph to defend herself, the hound successfully managed to get its massive maw around her neck. The nymph slowly rose to her feet, a swelling, insidious laugh escaped her lips. As she did, more shadows appeared, and hounds rose from them.

"Pitiful. Didn't think my...influence, would have such an effect on a demigod. But! Here we are. At my mercy, or...should I say, lack of mercy." The nymph let out another low chuckle. Ayane couldn't answer, as a slow, sickening crunch echoed through the empty station. The hound around her neck dug its razor sharp teeth deeper into her, crushing bone and cartilage alike. The Seachild was slipping into unconsciousness, but could still make out the nymph's words.

"My master has some plans for this realm. Typhon, the almighty one. Oh, how I adore singing his praises! Olympus will be his for the taking. And we, his offspring...as we keep him sustained with the essence of these disgusting mortals...we will sit at his side upon the mighty pantheon!" She approached the bloodied girl, the remainder of the pack following her. "Ohhh, it will be a sight to be hold. The wanton decimation and hostile takeover, I mean. But, you won't be able to witness any of it. My apologies in advance." She walked off. With a careless wave of her hand, the pack ripped into the Seawoman, fairly grateful for the feast they were lured into.

 

[SkyeNeko]

The harvest kid, predictably, fell asleep. Ambrose crouched and picked off a long stemmed poppy. She took a deep breath, letting the heavy scent fill her nose. "Hm..." Even Lethe seemed lethargic, but not completely affected, laying down next to Gabe. "Fine. I'll be back. Whatever." Ambrose stood up and made her way to Strawberry fields. There were still campers and creatures working the fruits, and none of them paid any attention in particular to the sleepling. She took a handful, sitting in the shade as she ate. After this, it would be back to sleep for her too.

An hour had passed, maybe more, before Ambrose stood up again. Figuring that harvest kid could take care of Lethe for now, she made her way back to her cabin, cutting the lake detour out to make it back in the shortest amount of time.

When she got back to the camp, juuust as soon as she got to her cabin's door, the bell rang. Like, as soon as she touched the handle. If there was anything that could shatter unconsciousness, it was that bell. Figuring at least a few of her cabinmates would be up and out ina few, she headed, begrudgingly, to the cafeteria.

 

[Lambi]

When Freya disappeared before she got hit, the Sphinx was confused at first, then looked around for her before she felt the attacks Freya made on her hind legs. She jumped back to have Freya in front of her before she moved in for another hit with a paw. Freya was surprised by it and got flung back again towards where Dorofei was. Feeling some pain in her body from landing harshly, she stood up again in order to keep fighting.

Jia raised the Rose of Sunrise into her stance, extending her sword arm towards the Sphinx. While Freya drew the beast she stepped forward and leapt into the air, slashing a deep cut into the beast's upper chest. As she landed against the wall the Sphinx snarled in pain, turning away from Freya to bat at her. Jia ducked under the first swipe, then parried the second, her arms shivering as blade met massive claws, driving her back into the wall.

Freya came at the Sphinx towards the paw that held Jia, driving her blade into it, causing the Sphinx to snarl loudly and bat Freya away, but she held onto her blade and the Sphinx's fur. Freya took her blade out and stabbed the Sphinx's paw and lower leg multiple times, who tried to get Freya off her paw, attempting to bite her.

Dorofei was still without his sword when Freya crashed into the floor nearby. Low on time, he improvised, slapping the Celestial Bronze rod into the armor of his sword-arm. Ice formed and shifted into the shape of a flat, widened blade, jutting over the top of his hand.

Following behind Freya, he rushed the Sphinx, grappling one of the front paws. The combined weight of Dorofei and his Magic Ice armor was still light enough for the creature to lift, and it repeatedly slammed Dorofei into the ground. He was slashing at the beast's ankle, his shield arm and a cracking shield the only thing keeping massive claws from tearing his heart out.

With a final stab and a sound like a whip smacking leather, Dorofei managed to slice through the back tendons of the leg. He quickly released his hold and rolled away, scrambling to get back to his feet.

Jia dropped to the ground as the paw fell away, leaping back to her feet a heartbeat later. She kicked the Rose back into her hand took a breath, letting Dorofei make his move. As the Sphinx staggered she let out a shout. "All in, now!" She sprinted forward, sliding under the batted paw of the Sphinx and driving her blade into it, cutting a deep gash in the stomach, blood spraying out around the Rose. The Sphinx snarled in agony, snapping at Jia with her jaws, the teeth tearing through her bodysuit and cutting into her arm before her off hand came around and drove her fingertips into the beast's eye with her full strength, jelly and blood spurting out around it.

Freya came at the Sphinx from behind, sinking her blade into the Sphinx's head, working her way up and around it. The Sphinx was outnumbered, but was more than willing to take at least one of them down with her.

Dorofei ran back towards the Sphinx, using his weight and the fact that Jia and Freya had weakened it to knock the beast over and jump onto her neck, raising his ice blade to slice her throat.

As thick blood sprayed from the Sphinx's neck the beast lurched and made a hideous rasping sound, then shuddered and went still.

After it was dead Jia dropped into a crouch, catching her breath. Sweat pasted her hair to her forehead, more trailing down her face and neck amidst the spatters of blood on her face and combat suit. She looked over the bite on her arm and nodded, the wounds not damaging anything serious. Pain was nothing to her. She set about bandaging it tightly, the aches from the bruises and other injuries she had no doubt sustained nothing of import now. Then she straightened. "Take a minute to patch up if you need to, catch your breath, do whatever you need to. Then we need to keep moving."

After doing any kind of necessary patching, the four of them left the carcass of the Sphinx behind and headed further into the labyrinth.

 

[NeoAC]

Brandon was in no rush to usher Mitsuko off to her own cabin to catch some Zs. Shoot I'll take this. With Jess givin' me the Eiffel 65 treatment, at least this here is somethin'. He leaned back to try and catch a few more winks to equal forty and give his body a chance to heal.

Or so he would have, except the dinner bell started clanging throughout the cabin. There would be no sleeping with that racket going on. "Ah damn it," he cursed as he sat back up, Mitsuko startled awake as well. "Can't they keep things quiet for a day? Just ta let me get back ta playin' shape?" He sat back up in bed, pulling his legs out from under the Nyx child. "Well, I'm sorry I gotta bail on ya, Mit'sko, but if this here is what I think it is, I gotta be at this. Damn shankin' girl done got this whole camp inta somethin' messed up." Brandon gathered his stuff and left Mitsuko to her own devices as he headed off towards the cafeteria.

 

[Pm0n3y]

A steady ringing rose into Gabriel's ears, jerking him out of sleep. "Huh? Where's that coming from?" It was very loud, invasive, blaring almost. Like an alarm that could be within five inches, as opposed to five hundred feet. The young white feline snuggled against him began to stir as well. He looked about the area, realizing her owner had disappeared. "Where'd sleepy girl go? How long was I out?" He stood to his feet.

Whatever that bell represented, Gabe wanted to ignore it. But, someone would've probably dragged him towards it anyway. So he figured he'd take the incentive this time around. He looked down at the kitty, which in turn looked back up to him. "Lead the way. You know more 'bout this place than I do." She began off in a trot, giving the Harvestchild a bit to move with. As the two reached the cabin complex, everyone interested in the sounds (Lethe included) were beelining towards the mess hall. "Is it dinner time or something? Do they need a bell that loud for dinner?" He figured it best to follow the crowd by this point. Maybe something could be answered once he made it into the cafeteria.

 

[Lizmichi]

Mitsuko rubbed her eyes as the last of her nap faded from her mind. Brandon was gone before she could say anything, then the bell started ringing in her head. Mitsuko mustered a yawn, and pulled herself out of bed. Her nap would have to wait. If the bell was ringing like that then something was going on and it was something she needed to be at.

Mitsuko left the Ares cabin, and tripped not noticing her boots where untied. Dammit, why do you have to come untied right now? Mitsuko pushed herself up with her now cut up hands, and sat up quickly tying the offending lace. She looked at her hands seeing only minor scraps. Something she could take care of herself later on.

She ran until she met back up with Brandon sleep now long out of the corners of her mind and looked around. "This has to be urgent if someone rang the cafeteria bell." She said to no one in particular.

 

[NeoAC]

Brandon almost didn't realize Mitsuko had caught up with him until she was back at his side. Damn girl's got some closing speed. Course I'm hobbled so I guess that ain't a good sign. "Yeah, like I said, some shit went down in Brooklyn there. Lit'l Aphro skank defected to one a them smart-ass Athena pricks n' the girl's why my leg's off. Both of 'em are traitors, the Aphro is in rehab, and if I drop from the 1st round, I'mma make sure she stays there, permanently.

Anyway, yeah, we ah, we might be steerin' ourselves into a bit of the old school warrin', if that twat was right 'n all."

 

[blaze96]

Elizabeth waited for everyone currently at the camp to enter the mess hall and find a spot at either a table or against a wall before she walked to a spot where she could be seen and heard by everyone.

"Recently I and a few other councilors were sent out to investigate a possible monster sighting in a warehouse here in New York. We found at least two moles amongst our ranks, a child of Athena by the name of Russ, and a child of Aphrodite by the name of Carolina. They plan on attacking us and then Olympus itself. Due to the nature of this threat and the clear and present danger of the situation, we will be treating this with the utmost seriousness.

As of now, this camp is at war." At the sound level in the room rose considerably and she waited a bit before ringing the bell again to regain the attention of all who were there.

"From here on in, training will be accelerated for all campers and all of you will have roles to play. We will be defending the camp and the route into Olympus itself. Those of you not ready to fight will be playing supporting roles in order to make sure everyone else is ready for when the fight does come. You will be assigned these roles by your counselors, so you are currently to return to your cabins and speak with them. You are all dismissed." With that she walked back to the cabin she was in charge of and awaited the return of their campers.

Once they had all arrived she gave them roles ranging from mission duty for quite a few of the children, she told two that they would be assisting at the forges, a few would be sent to help in whatever first aid might be necessary, and then she pulled ten campers from her cabin aside.

"I have a specific job for you ten, I have worked with you and I trust you. You are the ten best children of Hermes here, your job is to find any other moles in this camp. I don't trust a child of Athena to only have one traitor to aid him before he is willing to tip his hand. You are to keep a suspicious eye one everyone, each other and myself included. You report only to Chiron and myself and only when we are in his office. Under no other circumstances do you mention anything about this to anyone anywhere. I will also be keeping an eye on all of you. The child of Athena thinks he is sneakier than the children of a god of stealth and subterfuge. So far he is correct, it is up to us to regain the ground lost and prove him wrong."

 

[Lambi]

The labyrinth group moved further into the labyrinth, using the ball of magical thread Royce held to get them through it. They encountered plenty of obstacles, all of which they overcame. After what seemed to be like hours in the labyrinth, which may or may not have actually been hours, they found their exit, a ladder not unlike the one they'd used to enter the labyrinth. One by one, they ascended it, and were finally in the mountains.

Freya breathed in the cold air and sighed with a grin on her face. "Ah, that hits the spot. Nothing beats the feeling of fresh cold air against your face." She looked around, then said "So, where are we supposed to go? We're here, we need to take care of the Chimera." Spotting what seemed to be their destination, she started charging ahead.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

"Freya, wait!" Damn her, her impatience had already gotten them into a fight they really didn't need, now she was going for getting them killed. "Odds are good that we're heading into a trap. Calm down, relax, and let's do this properly. They didn't invite us to this party so they could give us a fair fight."

"Call up your skeletons. Then follow me, stick close, and keep quiet." She unslung her crossbow and slotted a quarrel into it, cocking it to readiness, then dropped into a crouch and began moving toward the Chimera's lair.

 

[Lizmichi]

Mitsuko was just as surprised as every one around her over the news. She had never herd of a mole in the camp before, let alone two at the same time. Being the Nyx cabin counselor it was her job to assign roles to each of her siblings; most of them were new comers to the camp. She looked around seeing the shocked faces of her siblings in the dispersing crowed as they talked amongst themselves. Mitsuko wasted no time approaching the group of Nyx children.

"I want every one of you to meet me in the cabin in 5 minutes, or less. We have much to talk about, and I don't want to waste any time." She said quickly to her siblings then ran off to her cabin; while some of them followed her, others seemed lost in the moment of what was really going on.

She remained quite on the way letting the other Nyx children talk, and she would answer the occasional question as best she could. In her own head she was coming up with a plan of who she'd have go where. Only 5 children of Nyx, counting herself, she felt were battler ready. The rest would have to take up support roles, or with some major training count join her in combat. From that point on all of Nyx cabin was on her training regiment.

Once at the cabin Mitsuko drew up a training schedule for everyone to follow. In small groups, the others joined her wearing worried faces. She could tell they were scared, and she didn't blame them for it. Truth be told she was also afraid. When every member of the cabin was present, she cleared her throat grabbing everyone's attention.

"From this day forward all of you will be training with me twice a day. You all know how I train, and I want cabin Nyx to be the best it can be in the coming days. This will be hard training, my own personal training in fact. Most of you are new to the camp, and I want all of you as safe as possible. The more training you have, the more you can protect yourself. As a child of Nyx we can support of fellow campers in combat, and in defense of the camp. Seeing as there are only 15 of us I'll be giving you each different jobs." She looked around seeing some discomfort at the idea of more training, but they all knew it had to be done.

Mitsuko started to assign their roles, "Alice, Edgar, Nathan, and Natasha, if it comes to a fight you four will be with me on the front lines; I trust each of you to assist me in training as well. Shane, Cory, Samantha, Ryu, and Katie, I'll need you to help guard the camp; you're developing into great fighters, but you're not ready for a real battle yet; I will be teaching you in more defensive manner with Nathan assisting me. Kim, Richard, Sofia, Lee, and Robert, I would like you to learn battle field first aid, and support from Alice. This is your first year for many of you at camp, and your not ready to fight in anyway. We all should be able to move quickly, and quietly around when we need to due to being children of Nyx. One last thing, no matter what you think of me, or anyone else question what they're doing if it seems suspicious. Trust no one at this point. We rule the night just like our mother. Let us defend Camp Half-Blood and Olympus. Tell no one what I have just told you. We speak of these manners only in the cabin, or with Chiron. Let the night guide, and protect you."

Mitsuko sighed not sure if she was ready to lead a cabin of her siblings into war. She had never seen combat on this big of a scale, but she knew she had to be ready to fight. This was going to be a challenge for her as a leader, and as a child of Nyx.

 

[Lambi]

Freya stopped, not happy about being stopped, but they had to work together, so she complied and did as Jia had asked of her, summoning her skeletons and went with Jia. She was ready with her hand on her sword's hilt, always ready to draw it.

As they drew closer, they could see a cave in the distance, with what seemed to be a few creatures guarding it. They weren't able to spot it right away where they were, but once they would be closer, they would see a handful of centaur archers staying watch, with a couple or so drakainas guarding with them.

 

[SkyeNeko]

Being battle ready meant some high grade pharmaceuticals, for starters. Two of the most senior Hypnos campers, Daniel and Joseph, were chemistry majors. Not even Ling-Lei remembered how old they were, or when they got here, but they specialized in... stronger drugs than the camp infirmary had in stock.

There's actually... more of us than I thought. Usually, campers stayed into their mid-20s, at most. Everyone eventually thought they could strike it out on their own against the monsters in the world. Except Hypnos kids, apparently. A small, small fraction of them ever made it to camp to begin with. The ones that were there rarely left.

"Alright campers, you know why you're up and awake..." Ling Lei had commissioned one of the Hephaestus campers to put up a temporary lab for them to practice in. Hypnos children didn't fight with weapons. They fought with magic. With concoctions. Not unlike Hecate kids. "You'll all be required to attend either a synthesis class, a casting class, or a session at the arena or shooting range. You'll all be allowed one tablet of Z a day, to be consumed at check out. Any camper found distributing will be penalized."

Ok, so one class a day. That's not bad. I need to brush up on... casting. Haven't had to deal with dreams since... geez, forever.
"Ambrose?"
"I know, I know. I'm going to go find someone to practice dreams with, alright?"
"Alright. Be careful, okay? No messing around, especially in campers'-"
Ambrose was gone.

[hr]

"War? ...Jesus." Gabriel murmured in disbelief as the Hermes girl began announcing tasks to be carried out by her own cabin mates. He took a seat at the nearest bench, and let out a deep sigh. "Fuckin' hell. Today's been pretty damn eventful, to say the least." He cursed again. His guardian died in his arms, his mistakes got him cast out from his home, and the only place he could apparently find solace in was beginning battle plans for a full-scale assault. Things were really starting to stack on the boy's mind, and it made his brow furrow. From across the cafeteria, he could spot Rosa tending to some of their cabin's younger children. He diverted his gaze immediately, not wishing to acquire any of their attention.

Ambrose walked by the Demeter cabin. Still all at the mess hall? There was really only one camper she knew who she could really just blindside if it got to that. She would rather work with someone she kind of knew. "Gabriel Emile Aeckerd!" Ambrose walked straight up to the older camper, putting her hands on her hips. Lethe, noticing her companion's state, bounced over happily, purring and rubbing against Ambrose's leg. "I need you to help me practice."

"How even-? How'd she get my whole...? Whatever." Gabe sat up, fairly surprised at the Sleepling's completely reworked attitude adjustment. "Someone's awake." He replied. "What practice?" He asked.

"War. Practice. We all have to practice. I want you, to practice with me." she pointed at him, then to herself. "You're not brain damaged, so I can practice with you without worry. Those harpies? We were good, don't you think?"
"You were doing better than I was during that fight..." He admitted. As much as the Harvestchild got into fights, he was never considered a good fighter. "Practice wouldn't be the worst thing..." As much as he wanted to say no, he stood up. "Alright. I'm in. Lead the way, Sleepy"
"My name is Ambrose. Ambrose Lark. Let's go. We should stop by the arena and check out some armor."
"I know...?" She and Lethe were already outside before he could fully reply. "Arena. Armor. Right." He thought as he followed after her. The thought of armor still seemed somewhat farfetched to him, as he wanted to point that out earlier that day. "Things are obviously way more serious 'round here. Way more serious then they seem they should be." Granted, the whole talk of war proved that, but still. He was slowly attempting to process it all.

Ambrose was pumped. She had only been on full awake maybe twice. Once at school. Second time was at camp. It seemed like eons ago. The steps to the Armory flew by, and it seemed like two blinks, and they were there. She almost ran into the door. It was crowded, with most of the good stuff gone. Who wasn't going to practice with all the hype about fighting. Ambrose checked out some light armor. She wasn't used to it, at all, but she wasn't about to walk into the forest without it. She put it on over her nightgown: a metal breastplate and leather guards for her arms and legs. She took her scythe, giving it a cursory swing to make sure it was still sharp. She wrapped her pendant around her wrist. Without checking for Gabe, she was out the door again, heading for the forest. Lethe waited patiently for Gabriel.

Should I get armor too?

Lethe crowed as Gabriel walked in.
"Can you even wear armor?" He muttered to the kitten. As he reached the armory, he spotted Ambrose already fitting herself with metal plates. She was working fairly fast, obviously showing some previous experience with the outfitting process. "Uhhh... He tried approaching a set of leather fittings himself, exchanging quick glances between the armor and the girl, in hopes to learn a proper way to equip himself. "I'm still new here, no one's told me how to work these things..."

But, she finished far before he would he figure out the difference between a shin guard and a wrist guard. Ambrose took off, speedwalking for the forests. "Jeez, hol' up." He began after her. "Guess i'm bypassing armor for the moment." She was really perked up, now that he thought about it. He eventually managed to bring up her rear. "You on something right now? Ritalin? Adderall? A shit ton of coffee?"
"Cocaine" Ambrose announced dismissively. "Cut with Adderal."
Hey, you don't have any armor on either! I wanna go!
"Oh...okay." Gabe would've took a spittake if he were drinking something. "...Not even gonna question it. Nope." It seemed like a bit much for someone her age, but he had a half-thought that it might've been one of her god given abilities or something. "...To take in major amounts of drugs." Maybe everyone else in her cabin did it too. They were already approaching the lake by this point, so Gabe decided to collect his sapling and sword. "Do you snort it? Or take it in a pill...?" He asked as he grabbed the still knife-sized weapon. He said he wasn't gonna question it, but his curiousity got the best of him. Ambrose laughed. More of a snort.
"Tablet. Not the best, but do you really think they'd let us snort or shoot up in the middle of camp? Ha ha no. Yeah. It's kind of really unpleasant, cause it means you can't sleep. But war, I guess." She stopped shortly after they passed the treeline. "Alright, any more questions before we start? You should get some sort of bark armor on or something, whatever it is you do, with your sapling."
"I'm new here, and you just said you do cocaine. Anything is possible by this point. Wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you said you snort it." With Marcy properly potted, he began towards Ambrose. "I'll improvise. S'what I usually do." He removed the dirt from the sword, and gave her a glance. "Ready when you are."

"Alright. Let's go." Ambrose raised her hand. "Insomnia!" Her voice seemed to reverbrate among the trees. Gabriel noticed a few wood nymphs scurrying among the leaves, and then disappearing. THe woods were quiet for a few minutes. Then a... bleat. Ambrose smiled wryly. A couple of sheep crept into the clearing, suspicious, showing their teeth. Their sharp, gleaming teeth. "Carnivorous sheep. Not my first choice, but whatevs. Keep em off me, harvestkid. Can you do that?"
"Yeah." "Didn't think sheep lived in upstate New York forests. Weird, but whatever." With the sword in one hand, the sapling began slithering from the opening in his backpack, and began spiraling down his free arm.

 

[Lambi]

Jia grimaced as she looked over the assembled enemy forces, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the Drakaina. "Even if this were the extent of their force this would be a rough fight." She grimaced. "What's worse is that they're waiting for us and I'd bet there's more nearby..."

She went quiet for a moment. "I say we give them what they want. I go down there, let them see me, do their whole villain routine. Show their hand and if we're lucky get them monologuing. When the fight breaks out I go into a fighting retreat and once I get back inside the treeline you three pop out from hiding places and attack. Dorofei, think you could use your powers to lay some traps? Ice spikes, slippery sheets, anything to give an edge."

Dorofei scanned the area, trying to spot something in the field to use to their advantage. They were downwind, Jia was smart to plan from here. The trees were caked in a heavy layer of powder, but the snow falling now was slightly wet. He looked over to the mouth of the cave and saw that there was a great heat coming from inside.

The Chimera must like it warm. Such amatures. he reasoned.

His eyes darted quickly from the mouth of the cave to the area above it. Tons of snow packed over itself for years opon years, and just forming in the hardest parts were faint lines. He followed the trail left by the cracks to the very top of the mountain, where the snow had raised the peak several feet into the air, and curving slightly in their direction.


Dorofei's mouth stretched back in a wicked grin, giving his scarred face the look of a madman. "I do better, When they rush to attack, I bring mountain down. Just knowing when you to duck"

"Seems like an edge enough to me. I just want to get to the Chimera as soon as possible." It would be so nice to be the one to take out the Chimera. Freya wouldn't let any of the others do it. "Well? What do you say?" she said to Jia. "An avalanche...If you time it right I can get into the upper branches before it hits. Then we move in and finish the job." She unslung her crossbow and quiver and handed them to Freya. "I'll be in too close to use this, so you might find it of better use." She nodded, then unsheathed the Rose of Sunrise and stepped forward. "Hold back until they attack or I strike, they might have something to say." With that she stepped out of the treeline and approached them. "You were waiting for me, I trust? " She shouted at them, her voice as hard and sharp as the steel she held.

Freya almost remarked something back to Jia, but kept her cool this time and put the quiver on, then slung the crossbow, waiting for her opportunity. Fucking sticking me back in long range combat... I belong on the front lines.

As Jia shouted towards the guards, they all turned their attention towards her. The centaur archers started firing their arrows towards her and the drakainas slithered towards her, their swords raised high as they sped towards her with their shields held in front of them.

"No talking, huh." She danced to the sides, keeping the Drakaina between her and the Centaurs, readying the Rose to parry their attacks. She had to hold for now, there was bound to be more than just this in their path, not when they had been called to battle.

As one of the drakainas was about to swing at Jia, Freya released a bolt into its side, causing it to hiss and snarl, backing away slidly and bleeding into the snow. The other drakaina got in a hit, but only hit Jia's Rose. The blade shivered around the strike but held. Jia twisted with the strike and came around, driving her fist into the underside of the beast's ribs before dancing back. "Is this all you have? I am Jia Shang, greatest warrior of the Halfbloods, child of Athena! Show me what passes for valor among your worthless kind!"

"Ssssshut it, you worthlessss demigod!" One of the drakainas was hit with another bolt from Freya before they could attack Jia, but the other swept her tail under Jia, tripping her, and swinging her sword down at her. Jia rolled to the side and brought the Rose up into a slash, the blade slipping between scales and opening up the beast's belly, spilling her steaming entrails onto the snow. "Is this all you can muster?" She pushed off the ground and flipped upright, readying her blade for their next attack. The battle was going south for the enemy, they had to reveal their trump soon.

The centaurs were still firing their arrows, and Freya shot towards them occasionally to try and hit them, but due to not being used to a crossbow, or any kind of bow, her aim wasn't very accurate.

"That'ssss no concern of yourssss!" said the other drakaina as its partner lay there, bleeding out. She swung at Jia with her sword, doing her best against the Athena child with the help of the centaurs. This wasn't working. They were taking too long. Jia laughed in the Drakaina's face, parrying her blade and locking them before slamming her fist into the beast's neck, sending it stumbling and wheezing. "Freya, you're not going to let me get all of them are you? C'mon down!"

"Well, you were the one who gave me the crossbow..." Freya mumbled to herself, taking another shot at the centaurs before putting it away and taking out her shield and sword, holding the shield up so as to not get hit with the arrows being shot towards them. The drakaina saw that this was a fight she couldn't win, and retreated back towards the cave. "She's probably gone to get backup." Freya said to Jia once she was there near her. "I say bring it on. Although to kill time until they might come outside, we should take care of those archers. They're kind of annoying." Arrows flew towards them and past them as they dodged.

"No argument from me." Jia broke into a charge, weaving around the arrows until she was close enough, leaping into the air well over the Centaur's head and coming down blade-first, splitting the first's head like an overripe watermelon.

Freya was not far behind her, keeping her shield in front of her and holding her blade back. Once she was close enough, she slashed the centaur's arm off, then sliced its throat before stabbing through its chest. Perhaps a bit excessive, but for Freya, it was just enough.

"I think I overestimated these imbeciles!" Jia sprang to the next, severing the Centaur's bowstring with one slash, following up with a stab through the heart. They weren't given much peace to freely attack the centaurs, as reinforcements from the cave arrived. The drakaina came out with a few more drakainas, one of which looked very different from the other ones, being twin-tailed and much larger than the others. No sign of the Chimera, though. "It's probably still in the cave." Freya said, more to herself than Jia.

"Thesssse were the onessss giving you sssso much trouble?" the large drakaina asked the one Jia had left wheezing, who nodded. "Weak!" she shouted and turned towards Jia and Freya. "Demigodsssss, your journey here endssss now. Your attempt at sssstopping the Chimera are in vain! I, Echidna, will sssstop you!" She charged towards them, along with the other drakainas. Freya had taken out another two centaurs while Echidna had talked, leaving two more for Jia to take care of before all the archers would be killed.

She tugged her blade free of the last centaur. "Oh dear." Jia braced herself to run, glancing over at Freya to see if she was ready to move, and hoping Dorofei was ready. Jia nodded to Freya, then raised her sword, the Rose of Sunrise flaring with a bright light. "NOW!"

Dorofei striked the earth with his fists, and the mountain seemed to beat in time with his pulse. He stood quickly, raising his arms high above his head, the pulse changing to a rapid thud that echoed through the air. With all his strength, he slammed his arms to the floor, and the mountain suddenly seemed to fall down onto them below.

Freya was quick to run towards the cave, where the Chimera was most likely, and with the snow from the avalance now blocking the entrance, she could only move further into the cave. The avalance had taken the drakainas and Echidna with it, and straight down a large cliff.

Jia flowed like water around the Drakaina, using one to push off in a long leap through the mouth of the cave, dropping into a crouch beside Freya as the avalanche devoured the enemy behind them. "Well, that went well." The Rose flared to life, illuminating the area. "Dorofei should be able to get through that lot."

"He should, but I'm not waiting for him. He can join when he gets in." Freya said before she started walking further into the cave, which was a bit dark now with the light from the outside blocked off, and torches hanging on the walls.

 

[Lambi]

Freya and Jia moved further into the cave. It was uneventful as they walked through it. They could hear a roar from inside the cave, most likely belonging to the Chimera. "Finally, we can take out that damn Chimera and return back to the camp." Freya said, more to herself. Even though she sounded like she would rather be doing something else, she still had a smirk on her face. The opportunity to fight something alive and wasn't another camper was always welcome to her.

When they reached a large opening in the cave, they saw where the Chimera stood. It wasn't as tall as the Sphinx had been, but it was still fairly large. However, it wasn't alone. "So you were able to take out Echidna and the other drakainas. I can't say we expected you to use the mountain itself to take them out, but that doesn't matter. You're not leaving this place alive." The one who spoke was a young man, wielding a war hammer made out of Celestial Bronze. Beside him was a young woman who wielded a glaive, which was also made out of Celestial Bronze. Both wore armor made from the same metal as their weapons. Clearly demigods, but Freya couldn't tell who's child they were, nor did she particularly care.

"Oh yeah? Newsflash; we came here to take out the Chimera. I'll gladly take you both out to get to it." This was a great place for Freya. With the amount of darkness, she could travel through the shadows as she pleased. Until she'd become too tired to do so, but she wasn't thinking about that at the moment. The Chimera stood behind the two opposing demigods, ready to attack when it could.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

"Freya, hold up." She stared at the other two Demigods. "Cousins, right? If we're shedding the blood of kin today the least we can do is be polite about it." She saluted, holding the Rose's flat an inch from her face, the tip pointing up. "I am Jia Shang, Daughter of Athena. Before death - ours or yours - comes to this place may we speak to one another?" Jia wasn't entirely bullshitting - she was genuinely curious about these two, and it was rather impolite to kill your cousins without so much as an introduction. More importantly, it would give them time for Dorofei to catch up and even the odds, and let her take their measure before battle was joined.