::/CID: Heroes of Olympus/::
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A/N: I've been thinking of doing a crossover story for quite a while. Recently, I started reading the Percy Jackson series, and all of a sudden the idea hit me. :D
If you're a CIDian who's not very familiar with Percy Jackson or Greek mythology in general, this might be a little confusing, but if you get any doubts I'll be happy to clear them.
Be warned: This story does NOT ship Abhirika or Rajat/Purvi. I'd appreciate it if people don't give me grief about it, please. :)
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Mist swirled around a large cavern that would have been thoroughly shrouded in darkness if it were not for the torches burning on the walls, their flames glowing an eerie shade of green. They cast monstrous shadows everywhere, distorting the shapes of the occupants of the place until they were unrecognisable.
"It is time?" asked a deep voice, echoing around the cavern.
"Nearly, my lord," whispered another voice, shaking slightly, and the man it belonged to gulped nervously as he knelt before a dark figure perched on a large rock. "They will never anticipate this."
A cold, cruel laugh rang in the air, and the kneeling man winced. He was large and portly, with dark skin, greying hair and round, slightly bloodshot eyes. The first voice spoke again. "I don't expect them to. Pradyuman was always too proud for his own good. He thinks being the son of Zeus makes him capable of vanquishing any enemy. Ah, if only he knew." Another spine-chilling laugh reverberated around the cavern, and the kneeling man shuddered visibly, his colour dropping several shades.
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Meanwhile, far away, a man was pacing back and forth outside a building, occasionally checking his watch and staring down the road. He was dressed in a dark suit, looking for all the world like any ordinary corporate or businessman. Just one look in his eyes, however, was enough to let anyone know that this man was the furthest thing possible from ordinary. He cast a brief glance towards the sky, his eyes closing. Father, give me strength.
Thunder rumbled, faint and distant, and the man smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, just as a silver car pulled up in front of him. The man's smile broadened as he stepped forward. "About time!" he said reprovingly, and the driver of the car grinned broadly as he leaned over to open the passenger door. "Sorry, old boy! I was held up by a little disagreement between Freddy and Sudhakar." He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Pradyuman, those two are even more difficult than the kids."
"Come on, Salunkhe," laughed Pradyuman, buckling his seat belt as Salunkhe adjusted his glasses before driving off. "How are the kids doing?" asked Pradyuman, and Salunkhe groaned. "Don't even get me started. They're driving me mad. The sooner you get there, the better."
A short while later, the car pulled into a large garage which was already half-full of assorted vehicles. The two men got down, Salunkhe slipping the car key into his pocket as they left the garage and made their way up a long path that led to what looked like a forest. It was, however, merely a dense wall of trees and bushes, surrounding an enormous campsite that was the size of a cricket stadium. Instead of tents, however, there were small cabins everywhere, built in different styles. Each was decorated distinctively and all of them were arranged in the form of a huge semicircle, at the centre of which was a large building twice the size of the others. Outside this building stood two men.
One of them was big and friendly-looking, with a round, cheerful face. He wore an orange polo shirt and jeans under a navy blue jacket. The other, however, wore only a dark green shirt- the lower half of his body was that of a brown horse. He had an intelligent, serious face, with neatly combed hair. Both of them smiled as Pradyuman and Salunkhe approached. "Freddy, Sudhakar," Pradyuman greeted, shaking hands with them. "All well, I trust?"
"All is well, sir, except that you were sorely missed," Sudhakar informed him with a smile, and Freddy nodded vigorously. "We had quite a time with the kids!" he exclaimed, mopping his brow in a gesture of weariness. "And if there's one thing I've learned... it's to never put the sun and rain in the same place."
Salunkhe shuddered. "I never want to deal with that again." He checked his watch. "It's nearly dinnertime, shall we go assemble the kids?"
"Right," agreed Pradyuman, and Sudhakar reached up and rang the bell that hung outside the building. As soon as he started, people emerged from the cabins, gathering outside their respective residences, and Freddy stepped forward, clapping his hands for attention. "Assembly begins now!" he called, and everyone fell silent as he pulled a small notebook and a pen from his jacket pocket. "Zeus cabin!" he called, and Aditi, a petite woman in a denim jacket, strode forward. She was followed by her younger brother, Vivek. Technically, though, he was her half-brother, as they were both children of Zeus. It was the same with all the children of each god or goddess.
Aditi and Vivek reached the middle of the semicircle, just as Freddy called out the next on his list. "Poseidon cabin!"
A tall, powerfully built man came forward- Daya, the son of Poseidon. He was accompanied by his younger sister, Tasha. She was as dainty as her brother was muscular, with large dark eyes and long, flowing hair. The two of them came and stood near Aditi and Vivek, and Freddy ticked off their cabin name on his list before calling for the next. "Apollo cabin!"
Before he had even finished calling, Abhijeet was striding forward purposefully, his hair rippling in the breeze. His younger siblings, Ajatshatru and Anushka, followed at a more relaxed pace. Abhijeet came to a halt near Daya just as Ajatshatru and Anushka caught up with him.
"Athena cabin!"
Rajat, the son of Athena, a man with an intelligent face and gentle eyes, proceeded to the middle of the semicircle. With him were his three sisters- Niyati and Nyla walked on either side of their brother while Tarika, the youngest, brought up the rear.
"Ares cabin!" called Freddy, and Asha, a tough-looking woman, led her two younger siblings, Muskaan and Vineet, to the centre. The daughters of Aphrodite- Lavanya, Divyana and Shreya- were next, followed by Sachin and Nikhil, the sons of Hephaestus. Finally, to complete the assembly, Daksh, Kaveri and Purvi, the children of Hermes, came to join their fellow demigods. Pradyuman moved forward, his eyes shining with pride as he beamed around at all of them. "Heroes of Olympus, the best CID officers in the world!" he called, and everyone applauded and cheered. "The sight of all of you, so many great powers united in one place, gives me more happiness than anything, and I am so glad to be back with you all!"
"And we're so glad to have you back, sir!" called Abhijeet, grinning broadly as everyone cheered again. Pradyuman smiled at him, but a shadow crossed his face the next minute as he held up his hands for silence. "However... there are dark times approaching. Very soon, we'll be facing things far worse than anything we've faced so far. As of now, I can't tell you more than this, but I can tell you that the only way to get through it is to be prepared for the worst."
Daya spoke, his voice breaking through the blanket of silence that had fallen over the gathering of demigods. "We'll be ready, sir."
"What's coming will come, and we'll meet it when it does," Rajat added in his calm, wise tones, and an enthusiastic murmur of assent rose from the crowd. As the stars began to appear in the night sky, Pradyuman looked up at the constellations of all the great heroes of the past who were twinkling down at their heirs. One way or another, the demigods would win the forthcoming battle. They had to.
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A/N: OK, this chapter was only for introductions! The REAL story begins in the next one, so stay tuned! :)