Percy Jackson and The Olympians:Half-Blood Struggle[PG-13] [Accepting via PM,Started]

[Jakeronijo]

Alice and Brian felt chills run up their spine and Alice felt the urge to grab Brian's hand but stopped since they barely knew each other. Brian's neck ingled but not from the ant-hill but from Alice's hand rubbing against his. He took a deep breath before saying anything. "so she wants us to go in there?" Brian asked ducking his head. "Why?" Then he remembered the prophecy. Somewhere deep beneath the frost "Oh that goes underground." Brian said in dismay. Alice breathed and nodded. "Shoot, and to think I didn't bring Bug spray..."

[Corvidae]

Desiree nodded. 'So you understand why we were hoping Jecht was right about the Labyrinth. More or less. This place is worse than anything the Labyrinth could ever throw at us. I can only think of two ways to get past the Myrmekes, and neither of them are going to be easy. We can either fight our way through an army of huge fire ants, or Alice can use a heap of seawater to clear a path.' She looked at the two of them for a second before sighing and rolling her eyes in disgust. 'You know Brian, it's actually really obvious that you and Alice like each other, so save us all a bunch of trouble and just kiss her already.'

[Jakeronijo]

Alice and Brian stepped three times to the sides in opposit directions. Alice tried to make a disgusted face and Brian rubbed the back of his neck and tried to act like he didn't know what she Desiree was talking about. They looked at eachother and then at the Ant Hill. But Alice Tensed when Desiree said "Sea water." "Um I'm the DAughter of a River god. Not..." Alice hesitated.The gods would kill her if they found out But percy can do whatever he wants. A voice nagged. "I can't make sea water appear from nowhere okay?" She said looking away. Brian looked straight forward. "So we need to prepare." Brian said turning and avoiding Alice. Desiree had no idea how akward she made things and Brian pushed ahead as Alice lagged behind. "Wait, wheres Nikki and Jetch?" Brian smiled back at Desiree like he had an inside joke to share. but then he realized he didn't like her right now and he looked straight forward and tried to forget the love he had for a little while.

[BlueEyes22]

Nate didn't know what to say. Marissa knows about Alkahest, but Dante would be good to have with us. Who should I take? Nate shook his head, making a choice like this could either help him or hurt him badly. "So I guess you have an idea of where to find the Bow then, don't you? Because apparently, Diana doesnt know where to find Themis, and I thought she did." Nate looked over, right as Diana turned away. Nate looked back at Marissa and said to her, "Anyway, we don't need two campers, only one. That is if Diana wants to come." He looked over again at Diana, who was thinking about it.

[Corvidae]

'Actually, I highly doubt that.' Desiree turned to Alice, well aware of exactly what she had done. 'The only question is, which sea god? Amphitrite? Poseidon? Why don't you just tell me? I'll figure it out anyway. I've figured out tougher problems before.' A hope of love will be forgot, that's done. She thought to herself. 'They're almost back.' She replied distractedly, thinking. Maybe he was right. Sometimes, you can control a prophecy. She sighed quietly. Too late for him, though. She thought back.

 

Three is your number, two is your foes,'

To even the odds, anything goes,

Leave one behind, to die in the dirt,

And harm one other, eternally hurt.

 

It's too late to control that prophecy. She thought sadly. What is it like, I wonder? To have the worst choice possible. Kill your friend, and wound yourself, or die, wounding the person closest to you? A horrible choice, and maybe it's for the better that Tiaden didn't kill him.

 

'Who is Themis?' Diana asked, still confused.

'Goddess of Justice.' Marissa replied evenly. She turned to Nate. 'And five demigods go to get the Alkahest Items. Always five. You, me, Diana, Dante, and somebody else. It fits. Deal with it.'

'So anyway, why do you think I know where Themis is?' Diana asked.

Marissa turned to her. 'Do you?'

Diana suddenly looked very uncomfortable. 'Well... Last winter my family went on a trip to the Supreme Court, Washington DC. Do you think that could work?'

[BlueEyes22]

"Okay, Okay. Five of us." "Why do you think I know where Themis is?" Diana asked. "Um...well...I don't know. I just had a feeling that you would. Anyway, the Supreme Court sounds like a good place to start, so we might as well go there. Maybe there is a clue as to where we can find her there. But what I don't get is how it is so easy to find, but that we still need help from a goddess. It just doesn't make sense." Apollo's the god of Prophecy. I should be able to understand this, right? "So who is going to be the fifth person? Everyone has gone off somewhere. Brian, Nikki, Alice, Desiree, Jecht. Who else is left?"

[Corvidae]

Marissa paused, then a smile crept over her face. 'I think I've got an idea of who... But we'll have to go in order. First up is the Lance. Come on, let's get Dante and get moving.'

 

Dante looked at the finished result of his work in the forge, slightly disappointed. Then he got an idea. He took out of his pocket the three iron spearheads Damian had left behind after his first attack on the camp, and he threw them into a furnace, watching them melt slowly. He took the semi-melted iron and began shaping it, attempting to end up with a half-circle of Stygian Iron. It should end up pretty well... He thought to himself.

[BlueEyes22]

Soon the group of demigods arrived at the forges, where Dante was working with some iron. "Hey Dante, I want to talk," Nate said, being careful not to startle him. Dante turned around, looking interested. "I want you to go on a quest with me." Nate told him the prohecy, and then said, "Me, Diana and Desiree are going. We still need two more people, and I want you to be one of them."

[Corvidae]

Dante shrugged, as he put a piece of bright white metal by the forge. The white metal melted much faster, and Dante only had to put it near the forge for it to become soft. As Dante shaped this into another half-circle, he answered Nate.

'Yeah sure, it's not like I've got anything else to do. Brian kicked me off his quest so Alice could come. You mind if I finish this up, though?' Dante fitted the two half-circles of metal together, then dipped them into a barrel of water, where they steamed and cooled.

'Makin' myself a new shield.' Dante said, as he watched the water bubble and steam.

[ArtemisFowl]

"Okay then, worse then I thought." Jecht said and looked at her not really knowing what to say. "First I guess we gotta find the others. Quietly." He said and checked around the tree to see if Damian was there. he wasn't. He walked out from behind the tree with his bow drawn, even though if he had the axe shooting Damian with an arrow wouldn't do much. He walked forwards, still lost in the forest of trees. He walked randomly around hoping he would just come upon Brian and the others. He heard the crunch of snow and followed it to find himself hiding from Damian and his group and they didn't look like they were here to say hello.

[Corvidae]

Shade saw Jecht, and, still invisible, flew into him, and forced him to stand up, revealing himself to Damian.

Damian turned, smiling, towards Jecht, as Shade left his body, exhausted from so many possesions in so little time.

'And you are?' He drew the Axe, its golden edge glinting dangerously. His demonic eyes were tinged gold from using the powers of the Alkahest, and several of the scars on his face were already healing. Damian glanced at the Axe in his hands, and suddenly Jecht realized that Damian was invulnerable. Immune to injuries, and stronger than ever, Damian was completely unbeatable.

Damian grinned, seeing that the Axe's power over fear and despair was working, coupled with his own ability to induce terror.

'You can't stop me, boy. I'm indestructable.'

 

Nikki vanished as soon as she saw Damian, and slowly moved around him, to the back of his group.

[ArtemisFowl]

Why did I do that? Jecht asked himself. When Damian posed his question Jecht would have liked to say, "The dude who's gonna kill you." but seeing the axe didn't think that would be good. He knew he could defeat Damian with the Alkahest Axe but he hoped Nikki was doing something. Buy time. Buy time. He chanted in his head and he thought the best way to do that was to try to talk to him. "Many, many people and things have said that they are indestructable throughout history." He glanced to his right where Nikki was a second ago but didn't see her and knew see had to be doing something. "Almost every one of them were not. Everything's got its weakness. Whether it be mental or physical." He was hoping that Damian was buying, he wasn't too bright and maybe he would. "Besides, you're not flawless. The Axe is."

[Corvidae]

'This Axe is indestructible, and therefore so am I!' Damian roared, unintentionally quoting both Nikki and Titin. 'And assuming you're correct, I see no flaw in myself that can be exploited. I have three well-armed soldiers backing me up, powers over mind-control, not to mention the Axe of Alkahest.' He held out the Axe. 'And because of that, I am invulnerable.'

'Yeah?' Nikki's voice came from somewhere on Damian's right. Damian turned to find out who had said that, then Nikki turned visible, to his left, and she stabbed her knife through his wrist. Damian yelled in pain, and fell to one knee, clutching his injury, which had already stopped bleeding, and began scarring over moments later. Damian stood up, grinning.

'Think that can stop me? Titin, get her.'

Titin nodded, and grabbed Nikki by the arms from behind her, unaffected by her desperate struggling.

'I must say, I'm going to enjoy killing you.' Damian forced Nikki to look him in the eyes. 'I spared your counterpart, but I think that you should die instead.' He looked at the Axe, then at Zelkiax. 'What do you think? Instant death, or something a bit more... painful? I've heard that even a small wound caused by Alkahest will kill the target eventually, unless the poison is diluted.' Damian's injury was now completely healed; it was impossible to tell he had been stabbed moments ago, by a blade coated in centaur blood.

Nikki's eyes widened in terror, and her face paled when she heard this remark. 'Oh gods, no! No, please!'

[BlueEyes22]

"Go ahead, we aren't in a hurry. We still need a fifth person. See you later, and good luck with your shield." Nate, Marissa and Diana walked away from the forges, and headed for the Amphitheater. It was one of Nate favorite spots in camp, preferably because it helped him think. "Marissa, you said you had an idea of who else to take, who was that? We need to know. The sooner we have all five of us, the better, so we can start this quest."

[Corvidae]

Marissa shrugged. 'Her name is Xaiklez Ravax. Daughter of Hebe. She's pretty good with her bow. And she has experience with Alkahest.' She waved her hand, and an Iris message appeared, showing Xaiklez on Olympus. 'Xaiklez.'

Xaiklez turned to look at the Iris message. 'Oh, Nikki, it's the most incredible news. I'm here on Olympus, and you won't believe it, it's amazing, Asclepius is a genius, I-'

'Xaiklez!' Marissa said forcefully. 'What happened?'

'Oh, you'll never believe it,' Xaiklez said, very excited. 'Asclepius is the god of healing, you know? Well, he fixed my eyes. He says that for a while now, I'll be able to see. He can't do it permenantly, because it's a mark of revenge from a son of Nemesis, but he still can let me see for a bit! Oh Nikki, I can finally see your face!'

'Incredible...' Marissa breathed. 'But why are you on Olympus anyway?'

 

Dante was finishing up his new shield. He had managed to convince someone from the Hephaestus cabin to help him. The shield was just now complete, and Dante wanted to try it out. He started walking towards the ampitheater, holding his new shield in one hand while he observed the effect his blades had on the shields. Holding out Nightslayer made the white half of the shield a dull grey, whereas Omega dulled the black half, when wielded, to the same shade. Experimentally, Dante strapped his shield to his arm, and drew both blades, noting that the entire shield was now a dull grey. Dante shrugged, then his armor materialized out of his jacket, and the shield gleamed to become the same silver as his armor. He grinned, then sheathed his blades, and his armor turned back into a jacket.

'Nice' He nodded to himself. 'Whoever said black and white don't mix?'

 

Desiree started suddenly. 'Nikki's in trouble.' She turned around and started running through the forest.

 

ooc: I'm pretty sure the Hunters of Artemis should appear soon, we should be nearing that point in the book soon.

[BlueEyes22]

ooc: true, they should come soon

also how did she make an iris message appear without a drachma?

 

IC: Nate was listening intently to the conversation. So this is Xaiklez. She looks pretty cute. Nate was about to start daydreaming, but then he started to focus again. He saw Dante coming over to them and he got up. "Hi Dante. Wow, nice shield. You did a great job. Oh, come over here, Marissa is talking to the last demigod of our group, Xaiklez. I've never met her before, but Marissa said she's good with a Bow, so this could mean alot." The Bow with it's arrow is easy to find, But only with help from the goddess who's blind. Is Xaiklez going to get the bow? "Come on, we should probably listen to what they are talking about," Nate said as he led Dante to the group.

[Corvidae]

ooc: Desiree was a daughter of Iris, she has powers over Rainbows and Iris messages. Marissa and Desiree are intertwined, so they all have the ability to make Iris Messages appear for free.

 

IC: 'Yeah, it's pretty sweet.' Dante nodded as Nate led him over to Marissa and Diana, where Xaiklez was explaining about Harry's quest to Marissa, who she continued to call Nikki. Xaiklez saw Dante and Nate.

'Oh, hey. Who are you two?' She asked, with barely suppressed joy at her newfound sight.

'I'm Dante, and this is Nate. Xaiklez, right?' Dante said.

Marissa turned to Nate. 'When I said she's good with a bow, I meant she fights well with her bow and arrow. She's a hunter.' She turned back to Xaiklez. 'So anyway, how quickly do you think you'll be able to get back?'

Xaiklez shrugged. 'Depends. We haven't really found a god to take us back.' She looked at something behind the Iris Message. 'Oh, there's... I think that's Khione? Well, I'll see if she can send me back to Camp. See ya soon!' Xaiklez ran right through the Iris Message, and it dissipated into mist.

 

'Well, that's Xaiklez.' Marissa nodded to the others. 'She'll be our fifth demigod, thanks to the second line in the prophecy.'

[BlueEyes22]

ooc: got it

and should nate worry about harrys quest?

 

IC: "A Hunter, ok. That makes sense. Well, I guess we should start preparing for our quest since Xaiklez is on her way. I'm going to go back to the Apollo Cabin and pack my stuff." Everyone agreed and left the Amphitheater. Nate walked inside the Apollo Cabin and instantly felt warm. Glad I'm the son of the Sun God, Nate thought to himself. He went over to his bunk and started packing. Bow, check. Quiver, check. Extra Clothes, check. What else do I need? Then he caught the sun gleaming of his guitar. He picked it up and started playing scales. I wonder if I will need this? He thought. It could come in handy, but it might take up space. He decided it was better to have it and not need it, than to not have it and need it. He put it in its case, along with his extra clothes in a compartment. Nate yawned, it had been a long day so far. Just a quick nap, and with that he fell alseep.

[ArtemisFowl]

Jecht stood and watched as Damain grabbed Nikki not knowing what to do. You couldn't stab him in the heart? He thought but looked at them. If he tried to save Nikki, Damian could easily kill her before he got to her. If he did nothing there was no doubt Nikki would die. He still had his bow strung. He knew if he shot Damian then he would heal but it could be a good distraction. A even better one if Damian caught on fire. He knew the chances were slim to none,, and there was a good chance he could hit Nikki, but he prayed to the gods and in one fluid movement, Jecht light his arrow ablaze on his necklace and fired at Damian, still praying his plan would work.

[Corvidae]

ooc: I think Harry's quest is over.

IC: Back on Olympus, Tiaden and Harry lost sight of Xaiklez, and neither of them had any idea what she was doing.

'So,' Tiaden said awkwardly, not knowing what to say when your friend becomes a god. 'What does being a god feel like?'

 

Xaiklez appeared moments later on Half-Blood Hill, next to the goddess Khione. Khione wished her fortune, then vanished in a flash of light. Xaiklez turned to look around for the first time, seeing Camp Half-Blood.

'Sight truly is an incredible sense.' She breathed, then she remembered what she had seen in the Iris message. The amphitheater. She broke into a run heading there, and stopped in a dead standstill as soon as she reached it.

'Hello, Nikki.' Xaiklez nodded slightly, for Marissa had stayed in the Amphitheater. 'So where are the others? When do we leave?'

Marissa shrugged. 'The others should be ready. I'll get Diana and Nate, you see if you can find Dante.'

Xaiklez nodded, and the two split up.

 

Xaiklez found Dante in the training arena, battling with an Ares demigod. Xaiklez took her bow, and shot an arrow at Dante and Scathe, getting them both directly in the helmet. Dante stopped fighting, then walked over to her. 'Hey, Xaiklez. I had almost beaten him, why'd you have to wreck it?'

Scathe whacked Dante in the shoulder. 'You and I both know I was going to win.'

'Not important. Dante, come on to the Amphitheater.' Xaiklez took her arrows back, then turned and began running back to the amphitheater, Dante following, as he sheathed his blades, and his armor turned back into a jacket.

 

ooc: I do have permission to use Prexxor's character, Scathe Silverclaw, until I can kill him off. Prexxor's leaving the site, but he said I could use his guy until I killed him.

 

IC: Marissa walked over to the Apollo Cabin, and saw Diana sitting in the dining pavilion. Marissa told Diana that they were going, and Diana nodded, saying that she knew where Nate was. Marissa returned to the Amphitheater, and Diana walked into the Apollo Cabin, and woke Nate.

'Time to go. Ready?'

 

Damian took a step back as the arrow hit him, but the flames sputtered and died, and the arrow fell to the ground. Damian stepped towards Jecht, holding the Axe ready to strike.

Nikki stabbed Titin with her knife through a chink in his armor, and he let her go, in too much pain to hold her back. Nikki started running towards Damian, but Mace struck her with his flail and she crumpled to the ground, unconcious. Blood began seeping from her limp form, soaking into the dirt, as Mace turned to Jecht, and Zelkiax drew his widesword.

[BlueEyes22]

Diana woke him up. "Lets go," she said. "Okay, give me a minute." He slung his guitar case along with his bow and quiver onto his back. The two demigods went outside. Nate took one last look at the golden Apollo Cabin. He probably wouldn't see it for a long time. "Ready,"Nate said with confidence. He was ready to meet Xiaklez in person, and learn more about Alkahest. He was even more ready to go on the quest. He and Diana walked to the Ampitheater, where Marissa, Dante and Xiaklez were waiting for them. "So Xiaklez, I don't think you've heard the prophecy yet, have you?" She nodded her head. "Ok then, here it is:

Work hard but work wrong, for your foes are strong,

If Xaiklez fails, your lives won't last long

The Javelin's gone, guarded by a great beast,

Nobody defeated him, then took his Fleece,

The Alkahest Scepter, it can't be found when,

Your foe has it hidden, away from heaven,

The Bow with it's arrow is easy to find,

But only with help from the goddess who's blind.

 

I don't suppose you know what you have to do with this, or where to start, do you?"

[Corvidae]

Xaiklez grinned wryly. 'At least I'm important, right? My name is on the second line. But I think... I remember hearing Zephyr saying something to me... he likes figuring out prophecies, you know... He said he had a dream about Percy Jackson, stealing the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus. That'd fit in with Nobody and Fleece. So I think we'll start at Polyphemus' Island, in the Sea of Monsters. I don't know why I fit into this, but I have a feeling we'll find out.'

'Yeah great, now let's go.' Marissa paused. 'We don't have any way to get to the Sea of Monsters, do we?'

Diana stepped up. 'I think I have an idea. Our father,' she gestured to Nate and herself, 'Has that sun chariot, right? He could possibly give us a ride at least part of the way there.'

Dante shook his head. 'His chariot goes East. The Sea of Monsters is to the West.'

'But,' Marissa countered evenly, 'What happens when you go too far East?'

Dante stared blankly at her. 'You fall off the edge of the Earth?'

'You end up West of where you began, moron.' Marissa rolled her eyes. 'It works, but now we have to wait until morning. I vote we start moving West right now. We'll end up closer to where Apollo will appear when-' She broke off in annoyance, as Xaiklez was looking around in confusion.

'Things are... darker.' She said, puzzled. 'Oh, gods! Not already! Asclepius said I'd lose my sight soon, but I didn't think this soon!'

[BlueEyes22]

Nate looked at Xiaklez, who looked frightened like a child in a sanitarium. Diana and Marissa started to comfort her, while he and Dante just,well, stared at her. They didn't exactly know what to do since they just met her an hour ago. Diana's right, maybe we could get a ride from our Father. But, would he have time to help us out? He might be busy. Nate thought about it some more and then decided that it was worth a shot.

[Corvidae]

Xaiklez shook the girls off her. 'I'm fine. I just didn't expect my sight to go so quickly. Anyway Nikki, you were saying?' Xaiklez's eyes had dimmed suddenly, they were now a dull, lifeless grey, much like they had been before Asclepius had healed them.

Marissa exhaled slowly, then continued telling the others her plan. 'We go West, then Apollo will appear sooner, because the sun rises in the West. So then we'll get a ride sooner, so we can get to the Sea of Monsters sooner.'

Dante pointed out a problem. 'But then there's longer for Apollo to go.'

Marissa rolled her eyes again. 'But his chariot is faster than us walking, or else we could walk to the Sea of Monsters.'

Diana nodded. 'It's true.'

Dante shrugged. 'Fine. West it is.'

[BlueEyes22]

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Nate said. "Lets go!" And with that, they left, ironically at the same time Apollo had dropped of the Hunters and demigods. Soon the group didn't have much to talk about. Nate decided to bring up the prophecy. "So we go to the Sea of Monsters, beat Polymepheus, and then we have the Javelin. Simple plan, might be hard to accomplish, but it's a simple plan. But what about the Scepter? Where are we supposed to find that? 'The Alkahest Scepter, it can't be found when, Your foe has it hidden, away from heaven.' Anyone have any ideas about that?"