Energy Unbound
Chapter 07
The Hearth Captured
"Attention Hermes Campers," Chiron began. He was standing next to one of the 'wall access panel' devices embedded into the new Cabin's metal walls, his finger depressed slightly into the transparent screen on top of a button marked 'Transmit'.
Disbelief coloring his assumptions once again, he turned to look at his new Lady with an upturned brow. "Are you certain they can hear me through this?" he asked again, for what could have easily been the fourth time.
Ari groaned and rolled her eyes at him. "Yes Chiron. They can all hear you. You're patched into the Cabin's Global Voice Announcement system. Anyone inside these walls, no matter where they are, who they are, or what they're doing, can hear you. And me. None of this has changed since the last six times you asked."
Chiron grinned sheepishly. So it was more than four. "Very well." He turned back to the panel. After a moment, he brought his face closer to the device, just in case it could not hear him.
He heard a scoff of exasperation behind him, but paid it no mind.
"Campers!" Chiron began again. "While the new Hermes cabin is indeed impressive, there are things we must do today. I am sure the Hermes campers would very much like to get settled in, and there are preparations to begin for a special event. Tonight is, after all, our annual Capture the Flag game!"
Two cheers abruptly rose from behind him, giving the normally stoic Trainer of Heroes a slight bout of surprise. If anyone asked, he would deny the slight hopping off the floor he had performed when the two Hermes counselors intentionally scared him.
He would also deny being scared.
"Yes, as you can hear the Stoll brothers are quite enthused to play. Please, if you are not a member of the Hermes cabin, finish what you are doing and depart for the camp. You can always come back later, as I have been notified by Ari that the Bay is freely available to anyone who wishes it. An entrance will be made in the Entrance Hall for direct access to the beach. To all Hermes cabin members, please settle in and then join us outside for the evening meal and preparations for the game!"
Chiron hesitated after he finished his speech. What was he supposed to do now?
"You take your finger off the panel. It will automatically return to what it was doing before," she helpfully explained.
He nodded and slowly removed his finger. Once his skin was no longer pressed into the nonexistent button, the device beeped twice, the message 'Comms disabled. Returning to sleep mode' flashed across the black square, and the screen dimmed until it was not casting any extra light into the hall.
"A most interesting system, Ari," Chiron commented, gazing admirably at the device. "Is there any chance I could ask for you to install this around the camp proper?"
Ari screwed up her nose momentarily before answering. "Possibly. You'd need to get the permission of each god or goddess for me to put the necessary wiring and computer systems in the cabins themselves. Logistically, there is no obstacle; my nanites are capable of the act."
Chiron nodded his head. "Thank you. I will endeavour to do so."
"Okay really," Travis spoke up, his limited patience having run out. "If nanites are this useful, why haven't we heard of them before?"
Ari glanced at them sideways, as if evaluating them. Whatever she saw must have been good, for she ended up answering them. "The Olympians have a vested interest in keeping all mortal advancements out of the hands of their subjects or children. Everything I can do with this stuff seems like magic, like the power of the gods themselves. Yet it is only technology, and mortal technology at that. They intentionally hold you back," she explained.
Connor frowned. "Why? These advances could make demigods such an effective fighting force. If we had stuff like this, or even things approaching what mortals have today, less people would have died in the last two wars!"
Ari shared a hesitant glance with Chiron. She was asking if he would act against her in any way. Even if the Trainer of Heroes had such desires, he would not say them. So he subtly shook his head.
Satisfied, she turned back to the brothers. "Connor, with modern tech converted to mythological means, demigods would be a major threat to the Olympian's rule over this planet," she revealed. "With my technology, not only would you be capable of fighting them, you'd win so badly they'd be finished in the blink of an eye."
Both Stoll brothers gasped. "But we'd never-" Travis began to
Ari scoffed. "The Olympians are paranoid on a good day, none more so than Thunderhead. I would not be surprised if, when he finally learns that the mortals are capable of fighting them, and that they know about them, he will try to revert their civilization back to the Bronze Age."
Everyone but Ari sucked in a tense breath. "Do you really think he'd do that?" Connor asked.
"In a heartbeat," Ari affirmed.
Chiron was focusing on something else she'd said before that. "Ari," he began to ask, "what do you mean the mortals are aware of the Olympians?"
Ari leveled an unimpressed glare at his eyes. "Clear sighted mortals exist, Chiron. Now the Mist might cover the eyes of other mortals, but these ones can see right through it. The Mist is unfortunately only a single-hop interference mechanism. It is not capable of keeping the secrets of our world in the 20th century, never mind the 21st."
"How could they know about us if the other mortals cannot witness what these clear sighted ones see?" Chiron asked.
"Because that's not how mortals work," Ari shot back. "Billions of people across the world work for companies to help then achieve things they themselves are never personally aware of. Most mortals don't have to see through the Mist. They only have to be told by their superiors to do something and they will. It's called the Chain of Command, a concept ironically enough started by Rome," she explained.
Chiron's face began to pale considerably. "You mean to tell me that if a clear sighted mortal told another to kill something the Mist told them was normal, they would?"
"Military individuals? Certainly," Ari confirmed.
"Di Immortales," he cursed. "Well I suppose I must rely on the fact that clear sighted mortals are rare."
Ari grimaced. "Yeah see, this is where my earlier statement about the Mist being single-hop only comes into play," she told them.
"That doesn't sound good," noted Travis.
By the bloodless pale sheen on Connor's face, he understood what Ari was saying. "Ari, please tell me you're using single-hop in another way," he begged.
Ari shook her head. "I'm not."
Chiron glanced between the two smartest people in the hall nervously. "What does single-hop mean?" he asked hesitantly.
"Okay. When a mortal sees a monster, what do they see?" she began.
"Something normal," Chiron stated.
"Like a car, or an odd person," Travis added.
"And when a clear sighted mortal sees it?"
"Well, they see the true monster, of course," Chiron said. He was unsure where she was going with this.
"Right," Ari agreed. "Now. What happens when the clear sighted mortal tells the normal mortal what is really there?"
"They're seen as crazy and tossed in the loony bin," Travis joked.
Connor got it. "Oh gods," he gasped.
Ari nodded grimly at him and Chiron. "That's what might happen on the street, yes. Connor seems to have gotten my message, but for Horse Butt and Travis here, I will elaborate." She ignored the glare the Trainer of Heroes sent her way. "This is the issue with the Mist's secrecy. It depends on human disbelief to cover any informational jumps it can't. That's every jump besides the initial observation. This dependency falls apart if, say, the clear sighted mortal just happens to be part of the military."
Di Immortales, Chiron thought. He was speechless, hoping beyond hope she wasn't going where he thought.
"Imagine what happens when a few people all swear something dangerous is there that nobody else can see in the military," Ari continued. "They don't automatically assume crazy. They investigate. Now one or two people they might write off as nuts, but when more than that all submit multiple matching reports, despite never having met or even heard of each other? No. The military assumes the worst automatically. They start testing. It might be innocuous at first, just to humor the big brass, but suddenly they find something interesting."
"What?" Travis asked quietly. He looked like he was on the edge of his seat.
"All the people who reported seeing these things are different somehow. They're not normal. Yet they are all similar to each other. So the military has a hunch and starts going over records. They find more people with this specialness. They then ask their people who can see these 'Unknowns', as the mythological world covered by Mist would most likely be called, if any of their video footage has captured them on the video, but normals just can't see it."
"This is going downhill extremely fast," Connor said.
"They might test hundreds of days of footage, but they're not testing for crazy anymore. They know that something is there, and if the special people are to be believed, it's not good. They can afford to have only one clear sighted mortal look at gigantic sections of video. The Mist protects the images of the mythological world on mortal technology, yes, but it has the same weakness as with normal sighting; it does not cover anything but the first jump," Ari continued explaining. "Eventually they find a video. They test it with all their special people. Then they test it with any willing civilians or those who haven't reported anything, yet are special. They don't expect a one hundred percent success rate; some people might be too scared to answer affirmatively, some might hate them, some might just be stubborn and unhelpful. But someone will answer. And at that point, the military now has solid proof by way of elimination of factors that something is out there most people can't even perceive, that according to the reports they have are a very real threat, and they will act accordingly. They will set up a program to monitor, classify, and try and contain or at least limit the damage of mythological events. The secrecy will be broken. And because it's the military, they will try to find a way to defend themselves, the world, and the people they swore to protect. One way or the other."
"Ari…," Chiron barely spoke. He was terrified. All her logic was sound. Moreover, she was an extremely high level deity.
She was giving him a warning about what the world would soon undergo.
"This could be happening now. It could have happened years ago. Anytime since the invention of the Internet, actually. That's what would be necessary to coordinate this thing. The agency I speak of could already exist, Chiron," she suddenly said. "If they do, you can bet they are aware of what happened with these last wars you've been through. I don't look forward to their response."
And with that bombshell, Ari began walking to her room at the end of the hall of the Hermes cabin. She left behind a shellshocked group of two demigods and a centaur, all three imitating statues from Medusa's garden.
Ari sat down at the Hermes table, twiddling her thumbs. She glanced around at the campers filing into the eating area, filtering out to their respective tables. For the most part, anyways. Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, was sitting next to a black haired, sea green eyed young man. That must be Percy. Jason and Piper sat at the Zeus table, and they seemed to be kissing. Again.
Ari shook her head at their antics. Young love, she thought with a smirk. Leo was at one end of the Hephaestus table tinkering with the gun Ari had given him. A woman sat next to him, flowing white robes straight out of a Greek textbook, holding onto the firestarter with a loving look in her eyes. She was exceedingly beautiful, with a kind smile and long lustrous caramel colored hair. Given the way she radiated energy like a fusion reactor she clearly was not mortal.
Ari was a little stumped as to who she could be. Clarisse had mentioned something about Leo's girlfriend being jealous of the crimson haired girl, but try as she might, Ari couldn't remember her name. Carrie... Collie? No, Cally.., she thought, searching her memories like mad. If Leo's girlfriend was immortal, or worse, a goddess, Ari's plans would receive major monkey wrenches. It was important to know every higher being's name and domain so she could factor in their interference if they were going to be close by, in range to pick up on tiny little details.
Suddenly it clicked. Calypso, Ari realized, staring in shock at the titaness merely twenty feet away from her. Damn Leo, how'd you manage to snag her? she thought approvingly, in wonder of his skills with the ladies. Sure, he was attractive, in the cute mad genius sort of way. Ari saw him as a brother so she failed to understand Calypso's obvious attraction to him. Well, at least she's not going to be a problem. Too lovestruck to think properly, it seems, not to mention her lack of domains.
Speaking of problems, a particularly annoying pair of them sat down on either side of her.
"Hey Ari!" the Stolls greeted her with mischievous smiles, making her roll her eyes.
"Stolls," she grumbled back, suddenly anxious for capture the flag.
"So we were thinking-," Travis began.
"That you could help us out-," Connor continued.
"No," Ari said firmly.
"Aww, come on Ari!" Connor pleaded, "you haven't even heard what we want yet!"
"Don't need to. You want some of my tech to pull off a prank," she replied calmly.
That caught the brothers by surprise. "How did you know that?" Connor asked.
"Simple," Ari began, holding up her fingers. "One: I have futuristic technology. Two: you two have a compulsive need to prank others, and Three: you came over to me, sat down on both sides of my spot, and acted overly nice. It's obvious."
Connor whistled. "Are you sure you're not a daughter of Athena?" he asked, clearly impressed.
"Positive. You don't have to be Athena's kid to be smart," she replied, rolling her eyes. "And the answer is still no. The first time you got your hands on my tech, you vaporized the front wall of your own cabin!"
"Just don't give us anything dangerous then," Travis reasoned.
"Travis, all my tech is dangerous. Especially in your hands. Even if I gave you a block of metal you'd make it dangerous," Ari scoffed.
"How could we possibly make a block of metal dangerous?" Connor asked, slightly offended.
"I don't know, you'd think of something!" Ari said, exasperated. She waved her hands in the air for dramatic effect.
Instead of replying, the Stolls pouted their lips and widened their eyes. Just as they started to tremble their pouts, Ari shut her eyes. "No. That's not fair. You are not allowed to do puppy dog faces," she groaned, gaining chuckles from the rest of the Hermes campers. Apparently they'd arrived and were happily watching their cabin counselors torture the new girl.
"Thanks for the help, jackasses!" she yelled at the Hermes table, but it just advanced the chuckles into laughter. Ari risked opening her eyes slightly and instantly regretted that decision. The Stolls had left their seats and were kneeling on the table in front of her like dogs, puppy faces barely three inches from her face.
"Okay, okay, I give up!" Ari conceded, causing the Stolls to stand up on the table and whoop loudly. She sighed and opened her eyes fully. Chiron yelled at the brothers to get off the table, which they promptly did, landing on either side of her again. Ari rubbed her temples. This was going to be a long night.
"So, what are you going to make us?" Connor asked, beaming.
"The least dangerous, but also most useful thing I can think of," Ari grumbled, before holding out her hands, palms skyward. She could hear the gasps of awe go through the Hermes campers, seeing her abilities up close for the first time. A low hum rang out for a couple of seconds, then two flat squares of Forcium appeared in her hands. Ari's face gained a smirk, and she held one out to each Stoll brother.
"What are they?" Connor asked, while Travis flipped his over, trying to see any markings. He was about to bite a corner of the metal when Ari whacked him on the head, took the device from him, and slapped it onto the sleeve of his orange shirt. The lines engraved into the square began to glow, and Travis promptly disappeared.
"These are cloaking devices," Ari told Connor, smiling at the suitably shocked face he had on. While he was stunned, she grabbed his device and slapped it onto his sleeve as well. He disappeared, and she heard a shriek come from his position.
"Ari! I look like a ghost!" Connor's voice yelled, panic in his tone.
Travis' voice sounded from where he had been sitting. "No way, Connor, that's what I look like!"
"Dude, this is so cool!"
The two brothers continued describing their experiences to each other while Ari waited for the other shoe to drop.
Connor, the one who had proven to be more intelligent, was who asked. "Ari, how do you turn it off?"
She took a sip of her drink slowly, drawing it out on purpose. Travis broke the silence as soon as her cup touched the table.
"Well?"
Ari burped loudly and chuckled. "You're both pretty smart. Figure it out."
"WHAT?!" the sons of Hermes shrieked.
She smiled and got up to grab more food. She glanced over her shoulder with a shit eating grin. "That's for giving me the puppy dog faces," she told them, laughing at their spluttered responses.
"Ugh, I need some real food," Ari groaned in disgust, pushing away her plate. Mortal food was great, exquisite even, but only for a time. She needed something with a little more kick.
I wonder where Chiron keeps the ambrosia? she absently thought. She stood up from the Hermes table and glanced around, trying to find the centaur. Her gaze travelled across the campers happily eating, drinking, and laughing.
But there was one who was not.
A young girl, maybe seven or eight, sat cross legged next to the giant bonfire. She was staring intently at the flames, occasionally shifting hot coals around with a long stick.
What the hell? Ari wondered, getting up from her seat, all thought of godly food forgotten. She finally noticed Chiron at the head table and almost smacked herself in the forehead for forgetting where the Camp leaders sat. When she met his eyes, she noticed he was glancing between her and the girl, a knowing smile on his face. Despite her discussion about mortal agencies and the weaknesses of the Mist earlier that day, he seemed okay. Ari hadn't meant to terrify him, just to warn him about what might be coming.
She was glad he was taking it well.
Chiron raised his eyebrows at her continued staring. Ari briefly stuck her tongue out at him in reply, before walking over to the bonfire.
"Hey there," Ari greeted the girl, trying to sound friendly.
The girl looked up at her with a kind smile, shifting some more coals almost absentmindedly. "Greetings," she said.
Both of them looked at each other in comfortable silence for a few seconds, before Ari's patience ran out. "May I sit?" she asked.
The girl shrugged and turned to look back at the flames. "If it pleases you. I could be persuaded to welcome the company," she replied with a light smile.
"Okay then," Ari chuckled, moving to the right side of the girl. She deftly lowered herself onto the ground, legs outstretched. Since she had used her hands to support her weight by pressing them against the ground, her palms were coated in dirt; she clapped them together a few times to get rid of it. Turning her head to look straight at the other girl, she was puzzled by something.
This girl is way too eloquent for her age. Daughter of Athena, perhaps?
"You going to join in on Capture the Flag?" Ari asked.
"No," came the short reply.
Ari was puzzled by this, and felt an urge to find out why she was sitting by the fire all alone. "Why not?"
The girl glanced over at Chiron, and the two seemed to have a silent conversation. Finally she sighed, looking back to the fire. "I am not allowed."
Ari's eyebrows shot up. "Why can't you play?"
Letting out a sigh, the girl shook her head. "It would be unfair," she said.
Now Ari was confused. "Why?"
"You will figure it out," came the cryptic answer, before the girl fell silent. It seemed that was all Ari was going to get on this subject.
The two girls sat there, staring at the fire, for just enough time to get Ari fidgeting. The silence and boredom were driving her crazy.
"What's your name?" Ari asked abruptly.
The girl's mouth edged into a slight smile. "My name is of no importance," she said.
Ari rolled her eyes. "Oh come on," she scoffed, "everyone's name is important. It's a part of who you are!"
The girl turned her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "If you believe so, then what is yours?"
"I'm Ari. See? Simple."
"Hmm. In that case, my name is Hestia," she replied, turning back to the fire.
"Nice to meet you then, Hestia," Ari said, before her mind caught up. One could almost hear the gears clicking into place. As soon as they did, her focus snapped into overdrive, and she stared at the girl in shock. Ooohhh shit.
"You wouldn't happen to be the goddess named Hestia, by any chance?" she tentatively inquired.
"Indeed," the girl, no, goddess answered.
"Heh," Ari gulped nervously.
"Do not worry child, many mistake me for a young demigod," Hestia assured her.
"That's not why I'm nervous," Ari accidentally let slip.
Hestia raised an eyebrow and turned to regard her fully. "Oh? What troubles you?"
Ari had to think about it. Hestia was an Olympian. Having her as an ally could be beneficial, especially if she knew Ari was family. Well, Ari assumed that was the case; she didn't yet have proof. However, Hestia was also the oldest sister of Thunderhead, which could be a problem. The option to have a member of her family who actually liked her and knew what she was won out though. There was also the more… personal relationship Hestia and Ari's past self shared.
"If I am to tell you, I have to ask that you'll keep it secret," Ari said.
Hestia smiled kindly. "Of course."
"Even if it affects Thunderhead," Ari pressed.
Hestia cocked her head sideways. "Who is Thunderhead?"
Ari looked her straight in the eye. "Your brother," she said.
Hestia's face was crestfallen. "Oh no. Are you with his child?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
Ari had to mouth the sentence to herself several times before it sunk in, causing her to sputter. "Uh, no. Just… no. Not now, not ever, would… that happen," she declared.
"Then what other business could you have with… Thunderhead?" Hestia wondered, smirking at the nickname.
Ari breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. "Fixing his rule," she said, projecting a small drop of her existence onto Hestia's mind.
The goddess gasped at the sensation, glaring at her. "You are not mortal," she realized.
"Even less than you are," Ari confirmed with a slow nod.
Hestia snarled and conjured a fireball in her hand. "Know that if you threaten my family or our children in any way…" she began, though Ari understood the threat.
"Easy, easy," Ari said, snuffing out the fireball with her hand, "I'm not trying to hurt anyone. Hear me out, okay?"
Hestia's only response was to glare harder.
Ari breathed in to relax, hoping she was making the correct decision. "Hestia, my goal is not to cause distress to anyone," she began, "but I've been sent here with a mission that must be completed. Under the 'guidance'," she scoffed, "of the Olympians, the world has nearly been destroyed four times. Once is usually all the chances that are given to a custodianship, and you lot have been given far more chances than you should have by all rights," she explained.
Hestia narrowed her eyes. "You speak of things unmentioned for eons," she growled, crossing her arms. She was obviously trying to be menacing, but her form was that of an eight year old. The effort came across as cute. "How do you know of this?"
Ari chuckled. Leaning in close to the goddess, her grin widened mischievously. "It's nice to see you again, flammula," she whispered. For a split second her appearance became tougher, more stern, and yet somehow even more attractive. The form was also clearly older and much more mature than her eighteen year old demigoddess form, rivalling Aphrodite with curves and swells in all the right places. She'd momentarily made her body look like her previous self. A blink of the eye and she looked like her new self again.
Hestia gasped and blushed golden. "P… Progress?" she hesitantly squeaked, not sure of herself.
Ari laughed softly and drew away. "It is I," she confirmed with a dramatic twirl of her hand.
"How are you here?" Hestia wondered.
Ari just shrugged. "I was the closest to Terra, so mother sent me."
Hestia blinked in confusion. "That's the only reason?"
"The only one I was told, though of course there are others I wasn't," Ari muttered.
Hestia gulped as she recalled what they had been speaking about before the revelation. "How long do we have?" she almost whimpered.
Ari tilted her head in confusion. "How long do you have?" she repeated, her tone questioning.
Hestia nodded, clarifying her inquiry. "How long until you," she said, almost shaking in fear, "...replace us?"
"Ah," Ari said, understanding the nervousness. "I don't know; I'm taking it slow this time."
"And when you do? What will happen to us?" Hestia pressed, terror on her small face. "The usual?"
Ari raised her eyebrows, finally truly grasping why Hestia was acting like this. "Oh, no. No no no no no. Don't worry," she assured her, changing her tone to that of a friend. "That's not happening this time."
Now Hestia was confused. "Why not?"
"Do I really need a reason not to want to kill everyone?" Ari asked, offended.
"From what little I know of you before we came into being and how you were with…," she gulped and whispered "with me." She returned to normal volume. "And how you like carrying out punishment, yes actually," Hestia proclaimed.
Ari winced at that, the assumptions drawing up loads of bad memories even if there were some extremely great ones starring her and the then very young hearth goddess. "I'm… not like that anymore," she muttered.
Hestia's other eyebrow joined her first at the top of her small forehead. "Explain."
"I'm Ari. Progress I may be, but my personality is new. My old self has been replaced, and I'm much happier for it," Ari said.
"What being has the power to do that to you?" Hestia asked, a small gasp escaping her tiny frame.
"Mother, of course," Ari scoffed in reply. "While I am grateful to no longer be the monster that came before me, she left the memories."
Hestia's mouth dropped open. "How many?"
"All of them," Ari sighed in response. "I've got so much to make up for, it's not remotely funny."
"Oh," the little goddess said, looking down at the ground with a blush. Ari just looked back into the fire, watching it dance and flare with energy. She fed a tiny amount of her own power to it, smirking when the flames reached higher.
"I'm sorry," Hestia apologized after a while of silence.
Ari's eyebrow raised. "Whatever for?"
"Assuming bad intentions. And for the memories no doubt brought up because of that assumption," Hestia explained.
"Bah," Ari scoffed, waving a hand lamely in her direction. "No biggie. Plus, some of the memories, ours especially, are really quite good," she teased with a wink.
Hestia tilted her head in confusion despite blushing golden again. "What is a 'biggie'?"
Ari just laughed in response. "We'll get along just fine, flammula," she grinned.
The little goddess of Hearth and Home just crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue.
Chiron stood up from the head table and waited.
He did this every Friday. He'd done so for centuries.
And yet still the demigods seemed incapable of noticing that he was trying to address them.
He sighed and shared an exasperated look with Dyonisis. The god simply shrugged and summoned another Diet Coke can.
Chiron shook his head. One of these days…
He raised his hands to his mouth and cupped them like a megaphone. "CAMPERS!" he cried out.
Almost instantly all noise in the amphitheater died. The only sounds were those of the Hearth crackling and some hurried scribbling from the Athena table.
Of course the children of the goddess of Battle Plans would know the game's schedule.
"It is time for our weekly game of Capture the Flag!" Chiron continued after a cursory glance around the assembled children of the gods.
As usual, the roar of applause and cheer was immense. He clapped his hands to gain their attention. When he had it, he recited his usual speech. The same one he'd been saying for centuries, the one which had only been modified to add inquiry limitations. He said it a little differently every time, of course, to prevent boredom and repetition, but the general outline was the same.
"You know the rules! The Forest is the battleground. The creek is the boundary line. The team that brings their enemy's flag over the boundary line wins! No maiming. Magic items are allowed! Oh, I suppose technical items are also," Chiron added abruptly, noticing Ari tapping her wrist and Leo Valdez waving the gun he'd somehow appropriated from her in the air. "Just please keep it below cabin destroying levels, Valdez," he warned, drawing laughter from the crowd.
"Myself and Will Solace of the Apollo Cabin will be acting as medics. Choose your weapons!" Another lift of his arms caused the invisible wind spirits to clear away all the food and drink, among with the dishes. They proceeded to dump the entirety of the camp Armory on the tables instead.
All at once a commotion erupted. It was chaos. The clang of armor being moved, the shwing sound of swords and weapons sailing through the air as they were tested. Music to his ears.
"Chiron," a young female voice spoke from his side.
His heart rate shot up, but as he was in no danger, the centaur managed to hide it. "Yes, Ari?"
"Can we do something… different, for this game?" she asked. Her tone wasn't exactly one of a request, though.
He sighed loudly and resisted the sudden urge to rub his forehead. "What do you want to do?"
She smirked at him. "I'd like to have the entire camp on one team, with myself, Hestia, and Dionysus on the other," she revealed.
His blood ran cold. "Three gods cannot play in these games," he stated. Then he realized something. "Wait, that means you can't play regardless!"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm playing. So is Hestia. We'd have to ask Wine Dude over here," she said a little louder, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. Dionysus heard her, for he locked his haze on them curiously.
"You all three have too much power to be allowed," Chiron restated, hoping that his vague use of the word 'power' wouldn't tip off the God of Wine about Ari.
Ari scoffed loudly. "Oh please. If Hestia and Dionysus limited their power to only that of a demigod, it would be fine. As for me, I was planning on offering to just forgo any divine power entirely," she explained.
Chiron raised his eyebrows. "You believe you could get them to agree to this… arrangement?" he asked doubtfully.
She shrugged. "Hestia already has." She turned around and eyed Dionysus critically. "Yo Wine Dude, you up for some Capture the Flag, provided you limit your power to that of one of your kids?"
Something that Chiron had never seen, and in fact thought impossible, occurred then. It was an indicator of just how much change Ari's presence would affect on their world.
Dionysus smiled.
"You actually convinced Horse Butt to allow me and Hestia to play?" he asked, grinning.
Ari glanced back over her shoulder at Chiron with a questioning eyebrow. The centaur sighed, finally giving in to the urge to rub the stress out of his forehead, but nodded nonetheless.
"Yep!" Ari told the God of Wine. "I also had to sacrifice my ability to use any of my own divine gifts. But hey, if it lets you and Hestia play, it's worth it," she informed him.
Dionysus shrugged. "I'm game." His features suddenly warped, and in his place was a younger, much more fit version of the God of Wine.
"I shall announce it to the camp," Chiron agreed.
"CAMPERS!"
Silence descended upon them again. It was faster this time, since usually he only called again to actually start the game.
"Campers! As you know, we have a new camp member. I was originally concerned about her power in these games, but she has offered me a deal about that. It is actually helpful to two others of our number, two who should have long ago been allowed to participate in our games, but have long been forgotten. She has proposed that the entire camp move to one team, with herself, Lady Hestia, and Lord Dionysus on the other."
You could hear crickets chirping. The new silence was somehow even more quiet than the previous one. Most of the demigods had dropped their mouths open.
"But Chiron!" Annabeth spoke up. "As much as I'd be honored to fight an Olympian, they're gods! It's unfair!"
A general noise of agreement rose from the various tables. Chiron raised his hands for silence and got it.
"Yes, ordinarily it would be so. However, they have agreed to limit their power to that of a demigod of their own, provided they are allowed to play." Dionysus nodded to show his agreement, drawing shocked gasps from his new appearance. Chiron sought out the Goddess of the Hearth. He found an eight year old girl siding near the fire, jaw completely open and staring wide eyed with disbelief at him and Ari.
Murmuring from the demigods broke out, hundreds of discussions on what to make of the request. They were unaware just how much power Ari had over them, and that this really wasn't a request, but he'd let them believe it to be. Eventually a consensus seemed to be formed, both about the decision and how to announce it.
The God of Wine's cabin counselor stood up first. "We support the decision to allow our father and Lady Hestia the ability to play in the Games, provided the limitations stated are agreed upon and enforced," Castor said loudly.
Malcolm, a Son of Athena, stood up from his table. "Athena cabin agrees under the same terms."
Percy stood from his table. "Are you kidding? I'm all for this!" Annabeth was next to him and laughed along with everyone else at his antics.
And so it went, until every table had agreed. The Stoll brothers even did a small break dance on top of their table, despite Chiron's repeated demands for them to get off.
With the final vote tallied to all for and zero against, the Trainer of Heroes raises his arms for silence. "The Camp has spoken. For the first time in our history, the gods themselves will be participating in our Games! They have agreed to limit their power to one of their own children, so as to make it fair. We probably will mix them in with other teams in the future, but for this game, Ari has requested that she, Lady Hestia, and Lord Dionysus be on one team, with the camp on the other!" he reminded them all.
The roar of approval was larger than the one for the announcement of the games themselves. "You're going down, punks!" A daughter of Ares roared, almost screaming.
Chiron had the next in the series of shocks his immortal existence had received recently when Dionysus roared back. "In your dreams, children of Ares!" He had never seen the God of Wine this happy or… normal before.
And then he realized. He figured out exactly what Ari was doing with this. She'd performed a masterstroke of manipulation. Not only had she pulled the camp director out of the slump he'd been in since being sentenced to this job, she had included Hestia into activities that normally a god or goddess could not participate in. She had also forced the campers to subconsciously create a voting system and allowed them to interact with deities directly, not only opening the door to their parents interacting with them, but somehow bypassing the Ancient Laws.
He turned to see her grinning widely at him. He could only ask one thing. "How?!"
Ari tilted her head teasingly and cross her arms. "How what, Chiron?" she asked innocently.
He was not buying that.
"How did you manage to bypass the Ancient Laws?!" he whispered to her severely.
Her grin turned into a full on smirk. "Oh, that. Well it would stand to reason the being who wrote them would know any and all loopholes present, especially the ones put there on purpose."
Chiron's mind was blank. He was stunned. In front of him was the being who created the laws deities themselves were controlled by. He had a sinking feeling brought upon by all the revelations he'd experienced since meeting this girl, the feeling that he knew who she was.
"You're Progress," he stated. It was not a question.
"Yes."
That one word almost made him faint. She pressed a hand to his side once she noticed his swaying, pumping some kind of energy into him that jolted him awake and back into fighting form.
"What do you intend to do here?" he asked hesitantly.
"Remember how I told you my new self replaced my old self?" she asked.
His eyes widened in further realization. "So my fear of you is misplaced?"
"You are right to fear my power. I am here to make some adjustments. But unlike my previous self, you don't need to fear me. I want this as peaceful a transition, if it even comes to that, as possible," she explained. She waved her hand around, guiding him to take in the two Olympians now getting geared up and actually laughing in Dionysus' case with the demigods. "I want to make this happen more. Don't get me wrong, Chiron, change is coming, but I want it to be progressive change."
The Trainer of Heroes smiled gratefully at her once he'd absorbed her statements. "Then in this case I will do whatever it takes to help you reach that goal."
She grinned at him and patted him on the flanks. "Thank you, Chiron." She stepped away from him and into the crowd, waving back over her shoulder. "I have a battle to plan. Later!"
Chiron felt something he'd only felt once recently, with the arrival of Percy Jackson. This time it was much more pronounced, though.
Hope flooded his being, Hestia glanced at him with a knowing smile, and the Hearth soared into the air.
The thrusters on Ari's suit were barely at half power, but she flew through the forest like a jet, dodging demigods and trees like slalom gates. This is too easy, she smirked, seeing the river that split the team's territories. With both hands gripping the flag pole, she blew right past the shocked faces of Percy and Annabeth, the latter covered in a visible stealth field emanating from her baseball hat. "Nice trick, Annabeth," Ari chuckled as she landed on the other side of the river, planting the flag into the ground.
Annabeth took off the hat and looked at her astounded. "You saw me?"
Ari nodded and tapped the side of her glasses. "Magic or no magic, all you're doing is bending light. It's trivial for technology to detect."
"Oh," Annabeth said, looking discouraged.
Ari just shrugged. "Hey, I said I wouldn't use any magical powers for Capture the Flag. Nothing about using my tech," she smirked.
Annabeth looked like she was about to reply, but Percy cut in. "Ari, what's going on with the flag?"
"Huh? What do you mean-," Ari began, turning around to look at the flag. The previously sea green background was changing to a silver color, but that wasn't what worried her. Instead of a caduceus, which Ari assumed would be present when the Hermes cabin won, a orange spiral was winding out from the center of the flag.
"Oh shit!" she cried out, running over to the flag. This was not good. The stupid flag was about to expose her for what she was! With a quick look back to the forest, seeing only Percy and Annabeth, she decided to take the loss of those two. They already suspected something was off with her anyways. Ari laid her hands on the actual fabric of the flag and mustered a little of her power; just enough to override the center symbol and turn it into a caduceus. This had the side effect of making her glow silver for a few moments, radiating an ounce of power out into the world. Not enough to alert the Olympians, but definitely enough to clue the two demigods present into the fact that she wasn't like them.
Ari finished just in the nick of time, because right after the caduceus replaced the orange spiral, an army of demigods burst out of the woods. Trailing them were the two gods who'd been allowed to join the Games, laughing with each other and talking with the demigods around them about how much it took to break their defence.
She had been smart to put the Goddess of Home and the God of Parties on Flag Defense duty. She had been smarter to provide a weak shield generator to Hestia for creation of a fortified position. Apparently it took the demigod army the entire time she flew after their flag to break through.
Thankfully Percy and Annabeth still had their heads turned towards her, so their shocked faces were not yet visible. Smiling to the rest of the camp, she walked up between them and put her arms around their shoulders.
"Say nothing. We will discuss this later," Ari ordered, glaring at both of them in turn. They just nodded and instantly donned their normal smiles. Damn they are good at this, she lamented.
Chiron galloped up and saw the flag on the other side of the river. He looked at Ari, slightly confused, but his look read 'Did you do this?'
Ari realized he must be talking about the imperfect caduceus she had hastily imprinted on the flag, so she nodded, mouthing 'They know', inclining her head slightly to the demigods she still had in her arms. Chiron just raised an eyebrow and shook his head before turning to address the crowd.
"Campers! Cabin Eleven has won the game! As always, they and their allies shall be given the first picks for shower times, and are exempt from cleaning duties until the next game!" the centaur announced.
A huge number of demigods groaned, but the Hermes campers burst through the lines, grabbing Ari and hoisting her up. The Stolls raced past Percy and Annabeth, grabbing the flag out of the ground and carrying it aloft proudly. The throng of campers paraded back to the cabin, singing victory songs and joined by the cabins that had allied with them originally, while Ari tossed on top of them complaining. Her cries of "Hey! Stop guys, you're making me dizzy!" and "Put me down this instant!" rang upon ignoring ears, as the crowd of demigods surged up the steps of Cabin Eleven and through the doors.
Hestia and Dionysus looked at each other, shrugged, and followed them. They beamed at the thought of finally interacting with their family, and it was all thanks to one abnormal demigod.
Back by the river, Annabeth finally found her voice. "Percy, she's not a demigod," she said, looking gravely at her boyfriend.
"No kidding. That energy... She's got to be a goddess," Percy agreed, face full of dread.
"So much for peace," Annabeth grumbled, crossing her arms.
Percy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, hugging her in an attempt at comfort. "If she's here to start another war, I'll stop her."
Annabeth looked up at him. "You? One on one with a goddess?"
"I've done it before. Anything to protect you," he replied.
Annabeth smiled. That was all the confirmation she needed. "Percy, you're not just protecting me anymore."
Percy's eyes widened. "What? Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?"
She nodded and smiled, rubbing her stomach. "We're going to be parents."
Percy's smile grew so wide his face looked like it might break. He picked Annabeth up by her sides and twirled her in the air. "I'm gonna be a dad!" he yelled, the new threat to peace forgotten for the time being.
Annabeth's smile matched his, and when he put her down on the ground, she leaned into his ear. She whispered something that made Percy's cheeks positively glow red, his head nodding vigorously. She chuckled and led him hand in hand to the Poseidon cabin. When they opened the door, she pulled him inside with a deep kiss, closing the door via her foot on the outside world.