Ch45
Magnus sat next to Michael Yew and some others from the Apollo Cabin just as Chiron approached them. "Thank you all for joining us," Chiron said as Clarisse stood next to him. "The Ares Cabin under command of Clarisse will lead this quest. Magnus thank you for joining us we will need all the help we can get," Chiron said with a smile.
"Nor problem, Percy is busy with other stuff but I can help out," he said.
"Well I am glad you are here," Michael Yew said while Will Solace nodded in agreement.
"Yeah glad you can make it," Clarisse said as she gave him a suspicious look.
He just nodded at Clarisse and got his armor ready. He couldn't explain it but he noticed Clarisse seemed to be watching him, it wasn't too obvious but he noticed that she always seemed to be watching him and asking him some rather private questions. Though its not like we are close, she probably just wants to pick a fight or something.
He went over to Blackjack who was cool with him using him when Percy wasn't around, "Hey Blackjack are you ready?"
"Yeah man, too bad the boss couldn't come," Blackjack said.
"Yeah I know but what can I say he is busy," he said with a sigh.
"With a girl?" Blackjack asked curiously
"Its complicated," he said with a wink and Blackjack laughed.
"Alright everyone lets get going," Clarisse barked. He and Michael Yew both nodded, they would be working with her during this mission and even though Clarisse isn't the easiest person to work with he will try to get along with her.
He along with Michael and Clarisse rode Pegasi while the remainder of their group drove in the camp vans. Clarisse and Michael had already sent some of their cabinmates to the area as scouts. He rode on Blackjack as they flew through the air next to Michael while Clarisse rode ahead of them. He couldn't help but notice that she kept glancing at them as if waiting for something.
They eventually made it to Philadelphia to the rendezvous point. "Alright Magnus work with Michael. Both of you and some of my cabinmates will storm their fortifications, understand?"
"Yeah we understand," Michael said before turning to him. "How are you with a bow?"
"Not the best but I can disarm opponents," he said.
"Good we will figure something out then," Michael Yew said as Clarisse shot him a suspicious look.
He went with Michael and Will Solace to observe the enemy position. There were enemy demigods and monsters guarding the factory. "I can disarm them all," he explained as he told them of his powers. "But you will only have so much time to react."
Michael Yew nodded, "Great on the count of three can you disarm the guards?"
"Yeah no problem," he said. Michael Yew nodded as he turned and focused on the sentries and their weapons. He took a deep breath as he focused on his energy and the weapons. Calm and peaceful thoughts now. He heard Michael count and when he reached three he snapped his fingers.
The weapons in the hands of the sentries flew into the air and before they could realize what was going on Michael yelled, "Fire!" A rain of arrows landed down on the enemy and before they could regroup they charged at them.
Magnus wielded his celestial bronze sword as he and Will Solace worked together. They took down the remaining sentries and overwhelmed the enemy position. They eventually reached the main gate and tried to open it. "The door is locked help me find the key," Will said frantically.
"Wait I can do this," he said. His father explained that he could technically undo things such as bondages and locks since they could be seen as items of war. He gripped the lock and focused on it and before he knew it he unlocked it. "Lets go," he said as he opened the door.
Will nodded and didn't ask how he did it as they opened the gate to allow their allies to enter. On the other side, they were greeted by enemy demigods and monsters. He snapped his finger again and their weapons flew out of their hands but a loud alarm sounded. Crap he thought as he slashed at a monster. He and Will worked together to fight off the various monsters.
He disarmed any enemy that came at him as the campers slowly made their way into the factory complex. "Magnus you and Will take the courtyard me and Clarisse will storm the main factory," Michael said.
"Got it," he said as he and Will headed towards the courtyard with some other Apollo campers.
"Magnus be careful there are a lot of enemies here," Will warned as he shot at a few monsters.
"Got it," he said as he slashed a monster with his sword. He disarmed any enemy that came close to him while the Will and the others from the Apollo Cabin fired at them. They pressed through the enemies and took out many monsters until they reached the courtyard.
"Um Magnus is that a chariot?" Will asked as he pointed to the middle of the courtyard.
"Yup, just are luck," he said. In the middle of the courtyard were a bunch of monsters and in the middle was a big chariot with a pair of enemy demigods in them.
"Kill them!" The enemy demigods said. The monsters roared as they charged at them.
"Guys get into formation!" He yelled. Will and his siblings did not have to be told twice they quickly got into formation and readied their bows. He looked at the enemy and snapped his fingers and watched as the weapons that the enemy held flew into the air.
Taking advantage of the enemy's surprise the Apollo Cabin fired a volley of arrows at them striking the monsters down before they could get a chance to pick up their weapons. Magnus then focused his attention on the harnesses of the monsters on the chariot. "Will I'm going to stop that chariot, when I do we should charge at them."
"Got it!" Will said as he readied another arrow.
He nodded and took a deep breath as he focused on the harnesses of the chariot. He snapped his fingers and felt another wave of energy throughout the area. The monsters and enemy demigods who tried to get their weapons suddenly found their weapons farther from them while the monsters that were pulling the chariot were suddenly freed while the chariot stopped and sent the enemy demigods flying out of it.
"Lets go!" He yelled as he gripped his sword. The Apollo Cabin yelled and charged at the enemy. They fired arrows and charged at the enemy, they took care of the monsters while the demigods tried to retreat only to be shot down and captured by the Apollo Cabin.
While it was all going on he and Will ran to secure the chariot. They both grabbed it and kicked an enemy demigod who tried to get back on it. "Will are there any other enemies nearby? He asked as they both got onto the chariot.
Will shook his head, "I think that is it."
He surveyed the area and saw the other members of Apollo Cabin clear up the enemy. "Ok I say we should heal the sick and send someone to check on Michael and Clarisse's group."
Will nodded, "On it but it appears that we won't have to worry about them," he said pointing to the entrance.
He turned and saw Michael Yew and Clarisse come forward. "Wow you guys cleaned up fast," Michael said then he and Clarisse saw the chariot. "Did you guys capture that?"
"Yeah me and Will got it," He said.
Clarisse eyed him suspiciously, "Well good job, but since Ares led this quest we get this loot."
Michael and Will looked at her as if she was crazy. "Um but Apollo and Poseidon reached it first and captured it. By the laws we have the strongest claim," Michael said. Will and the other members of Apollo Cabin nodded.
Clarisse snorted, "But Ares Cabin led the quest we deserve it," she said as her cabinmates backed her up.
"So what? The laws state that whoever finds the loot keeps the loot," Michael said as the air around them got tense.
"So? Ares deserves it; we hardly get any credit and we led this quest," Clarisse said as her cabinmates cheered her on. "Its not like you all could have done this without us."
"Well since Magnus and I did it I guess you are wrong," Will said.
Magnus could feel the tension in the air between the two groups. Crap this is the last thing we need right now. He looked at Michael and Clarisse, neither of them appeared close to backing down and both cabins looked as if they wanted to seriously hurt the other.
"You guys from Ares always try to muscle your way through everything. News flash the world doesn't revolve around you," Michael spat.
Clarisse gripped her spear and for a second he feared for Michael's safety, "Oh yeah? At least we don't run around acting like a bunch of selfish jerks. This chariot belongs to us and that is final," she said as she slammed her spear into the ground. Her cabinmates roared and gripped their weapons in support of her.
"Guys wait," he said. Both Michael and Clarisse along with everyone else turned to face him. He gulped as he felt the daggers from Clarisse and her siblings. He took a deep breath as he mustered up all the energy he had in him. "The enemy may come back with reinforcements, lets take this back to camp and let Chiron settle it."
Michael and Clarisse glared at each other. "Fine," Clarisse spat. "But we will have the chariot."
Michael rolled his eyes, "Not in this lifetime."
"Guys lets just get going," he said as Clarisse grabbed her spear and looked like she wanted to run it through Michael.
Both of them reluctantly allowed him to ride the chariot back to camp. Blackjack pulled it without any problem. "Yo is it just me or is it super tense between the other campers?" Blackjack asked.
"Yeah they both want this chariot," he said with a sigh. "Seriously are they going to kill themselves over a stupid chariot?" Part of him kind of knew the answer as much as he hated to admit it.
They both landed at camp in no time and found Chiron and Annabeth in deep discussion. When they landed his cousin's face lit up. "Hey Magnus how was it?" She asked.
"Well it was ok but we have a problem," he said as Michael and Clarisse landed next to him
"Chiron what are the rules of loot on the quest?" Michael asked as he got off his Pegasus.
"Yeah tell Michael here that Ares deserves this chariot," Clarisse said as she glared at Michael.
Chiron sighed as Annabeth rolled her eyes, "What happened I want to hear the entire story," Chiron said with a sigh just as other members of both cabins came around them.
Michael and Clarisse both told Chiron of the raid, interrupting each other along the way. Chiron had to quiet them many times and warn the other not to interrupt the other. Eventually he and Will Solace had to recount what had happened. "So the enemy was disarmed and Will and I grabbed the chariot before the enemy could use it again," he explained as he told his side of the story. Will told a similar story and basically backed him up.
When they were done Chiron sighed, "Well I am afraid that if anything Apollo and Poseidon Cabin have the biggest claim since their cabinmates secure the chariot."
"What! But I led the quest! Does Ares not get anything?" Clarisse yelled as her cabinmates grumbled.
Chiron sighed, "Well the rules of a quest are clear. Whichever cabin secured the chariot gets it I afraid."
"So that means it would either go to Poseidon or Apollo?" Annabeth said biting her lip.
Magnus felt eyes on him, "Well I don't really need it and I doubt Percy needs it either."
"So you relinquish your claim to it?" Michael asked.
"Well lets wait until Percy gets back. After all he is technically the head of the Poseidon cabin," Chiron said firmly. "In the meantime since there are two competing claims to chariot then I will place the chariot in a safe place until the conflict is resolved."
The Apollo cabin nodded in agreement while the Ares cabin grumbled. "But that's not fair, why doesn't Ares get a claim to the chariot? We lead the quest after all," Clarisse said angrily.
"We will end this conversation now and wait until Percy returns," Chiron said standing up. "Magnus I will take the chariot if you please."
He nodded and got off the chariot. Chiron led Blackjack and the chariot away leaving him with his cousin and the Apollo and Ares Cabins. Both Cabins glared at each other as Clarisse stormed off with her siblings.
"This could end badly," Annabeth said with a sigh. "Honestly how can she be so immature."
"Yeah I know. Hopefully she doesn't do anything stupid," he said as Michael and Will approached him.
"So you really don't want the chariot Magnus?" Will asked.
He shook his head, "No not really. I doubt Percy will want it either, I'll talk to him about it when I get the chance," he said.
Michael nodded, "Great, I know Poseidon cabin would also have a claim to it and I wouldn't mind sharing it with you both or make some sort of compromise."
"I doubt the Poseidon Cabin is the least of your worries," Annabeth said with a grimace.
"Oh Clarrise? Yeah she is a stubborn ass whole," Michael said as he rolled his eyes. "Chiron told her the verdict and the rules are rules, Apollo and Poseidon have the claim to it and if Poseidon doesn't want it then it belongs to the Apollo Cabin."
Annabeth sighed, "True but lets just not talk about this now we don't want a fight of all things to happen."
Michael and Yew nodded and both went with their siblings back to their cabin. "This could turn out badly," Annabeth said.
"Yeah I think so too. Clarisse has her pride and she wants the chariot," he said with a sigh. This could go really badly, we are in the middle of war if she starts arguing and bickering with other cabins then we will have a problem.
He sighed and looked at his cousin, "So how have you been?"
His cousin sighed, "Tired, everything is hectic these days."
He nodded, he knew that campers were going out daily on quests to disrupt and destroy Kronos's army. Every day it seemed people were going to and from camp, sometimes they returned successfully sometimes they did not.
"So how are things with you and Percy?" Annabeth asked as they headed towards the Big House.
"Oh um good we have been enjoying our summer with some friends," he said.
"Oh, that's nice," Annabeth said as she avoided his gaze. "I hope you are both enjoying yourselves."
"Yeah we are. We are enjoying the few minutes of peace we can. I mean soon we won't be having any right?" He said.
His cousin gave him a weak smile, "Yeah of course. Well I'm going to sit with my cabin," she said.
"Alright," he said as he headed towards the Poseidon table. Something is wrong with her, is she really tired? He couldn't put his fingers on it but he could tell that his cousin was frustrated about something. He tried to talk to her about it but she would always change the subject.
He ate his dinner and at first it was peaceful until Clarisse and Michael along with their respective campers started a fight. "You heard the man the chariot doesn't belong to Ares," Michael shouted.
"Quit being selfish Ares needs the chariot more," Ares yelled back at him.
"Oh yeah are you going to call your daddy if you don't get it?" Michael asked with a sneer.
"At least our dad isn't some man child," Clarisse said as her cabin cheered her.
Michael and a bunch of his cabinmates got up in fury to defend their father, "Oh yeah? At least our dad didn't help steal the thunderbolt. I mean we do have a spy after all, I wonder who it could be?" Michael said as he glared at Clarisse.
"You take that back," Clarisse spat as she grabbed her spear. He noticed Silena Beauregard look as if she wanted to break down and cry. "Our dad actually fights for Olympus."
"Yeah after he let Luke take Zeus's bolt," Will said.
"That's enough!" Chiron said loudly as he stood up and walked between the two groups. "Both of you end this feud now," he said firmly.
"Not until Michael stops being a selfish jerk and we get our compensation," Clarisse said as her siblings cheered.
Great we can't be having both of them fight now he sighed as he looked at both of the groups when an idea came to his head. Dad did say I could stop fights. Maybe I could try something.
He took a deep breath and got up. He walked over to where Michael and Clarisse were standing, both of them appeared close to attacking each other. "I have a possible solution," he said as calmly as he could.
Michael, Clarisse, and Chiron turned to him. "What do you suggest Magnus?" Chiron asked.
He took a deep breath, "What if we go on another quest and take another chariot. It could be gifted to whoever wants to concede this chariot."
Clarisse shook her head, "No, this chariot is ours we led this quest and we will get that chariot."
Do you have to be so stubborn the entire time he sighed and turned to Michael. He focused all of his energy on his words. "What if Apollo and Poseidon went on a quest and found a better chariot and let you have it?"
Michael looked down as if deep in thought as Chiron gave him a small smile. "That could be a good solution but only if it is just as good or better than the chariot we took today," Michael said.
Will and the rest of Apollo Cabin nodded in agreement. "Well then I will authorize another quest," Chiron said with a sigh of relief.
"Wait," Clarisse said looking at him with suspicion, "Where and how will you find another chariot?" He noticed Chiron give her a look while Annabeth glared at Clarisse from her table.
"I don't know from fighting monsters and raiding their locations," he said as shifted uncomfortably from her gaze.