Answers to reviews:
RedReaper121: Thanks.
lrbrenneke: I'm not sure if that's possible in DMC as Dante usually just shoots and kills demons. Plus Tantalus isn't exactly demonic.
M.H. Pintner: I deleted them because they were becoming too similar to another story series.
Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own the OC Damian Redgrave.
The evening after the chariot game was anything but a quiet one. To say Tantalus was in a foul mood would have been an understatement.
When he had finally managed to wake up from the killer headbutt Damian had sent his way, the pale man had done his absolute best to try and get the son of Artemis out of the camp and if at all possible have him killed for his attack. He had marched right up to Mr. D and gave some bullshit excuse about how Damian had been threatening him. Mr. D listened and heard everything Tantalus had to say and afterwards he simply shrugged.
"He mistook you for someone else. I would not worry," Mr D said. pretending as if he did not see the headbutt, which only caused Tantalus to become angrier and stalk off.
Though he did give Damian, along with Percy and Annabeth, kitchen duty. No one enjoyed kitchen duty mainly because the harpies that usually wash the dishes don't use normal water and soap but instead use lava. They said it was to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine point nine percent of all germs, so Annabeth, Percy and Damian had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons.
Normally Damian would have fought back but since he was with Percy and Annabeth, he figured now could be a good time to discuss Percy's dream about Grover.
They snuck out and met with Silena, who had been waiting for the trio so they could head to the camp fire with them. Tyson was with Beckendorf and his siblings since cabin 9 had taken a strong liking to Tyson and were entranced with some of the things that he managed to make.
Once the four were alone, they sat around a wooden stump just on the outskirts of the forest with Luna and Shadow lying beside them. Shadow had his head on Silena's lap, the daughter of Aphrodite petting him much to delight, and Luna had her head on Annabeth's lap.
Percy explained to Annabeth and Silena the dream he had and his talk with Grover, both girls looking ready to burst out laughing when he mentioned the 'married to a Cyclops' part.
Though Annabeth did look a little guilty that she did not believe him from earlier but for now put it to the back of her mind when Damian mentioned Polyphemus.
"Polyphemus, the worst of the Cyclopes. And there's only one place his island could be. The Sea of Monsters." Annabeth said.
"Which is located in the Bermuda Triangle." Silena said with a sigh before looking at Percy and Damian. "All those ships and planes that went missing in the Bermuda Triangle? They really were destroyed by the monsters that dwell in the Sea of Monsters. That's how the whole myth of the Bermuda Triangle started with missing boats and planes."
"If he's really found it," Annabeth murmured, "and if we could retrieve it—"
"Hold on," Percy said. "You act like this … whatever-it-is Grover found is the only thing in the world that could save the camp. What is it?"
"I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?"
"Messy?"
"A fleece." Silena corrected. "The coat of a ram is called a fleece. And if that ram happens to have golden wool—"
"The Golden Fleece. Are you serious?"
"Hasn't that been lost for centuries?" Damian asked with a frown.
"Yes. But Percy, remember the Gray Sisters? They said they knew the location of the thing you seek. And they mentioned Jason. Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece. You do know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?" Annabeth asked.
"Yeah," Percy said. "That old movie with the clay skeletons."
"Not the movie, Percy." Damian shook his head at him. "As good of a movie as it is, with Ray Harryhausen's effects in it, she means the myth, the legend, the story in Greek mythology, not the movie adaptation of it."
"The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important. " Annabeth said. "The point is, when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land. Animals stopped getting sick. Plants grew better. Farmers had bumper crops. Plagues never visited. That's why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it's placed. It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution—"
"It could cure Thalia's tree." Percy finished her train of thought, getting a nod from the daughter of Athena.
"It makes sense. Remember Chiron mentioned something that could save the camp but was against it due to it being lost. He probably meant the Golden Fleece." Damian said.
"Yet somehow Grover has managed to find it after all the years," Silena added.
"So the Fleece is most likely the only thing that can cure the tree and save the camp." Damian stated, his arms crossed. "But there's one problem, it's most likely going to be in the Sea of Monsters on Polyphemus' island."
"But a whole sea full of monsters—how could you hide something like that?" Percy asked, looking a little skeptical "Wouldn't the mortals notice weird things happening... like, ships getting eaten and stuff?"
"Of course they notice," Annabeth answered. "They don't understand, but they know something is strange about that part of the ocean. It's why they haven't solved the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle."
"Plus it does solve the mystery of why so many ships and planes that sail and fly over it have gone missing over the last century." Silena added.
"1949, January 17, Avro Tudor G-AGRE Star Ariel lost with seven crew and 13 passengers, en route from Kindley Field, Bermuda, to Kingston Airport, Jamaica," Damian said, getting surprised looks for everyone. "History class and it was interesting to hear."
"Okay ... so at least we know where to look." Percy said.
"It's still a huge area, Percy. Searching for one tiny island in monster-infested waters—" Annabeth said.
"Hey, I'm the son of the sea god," Percy answered. "This is my home turf. How hard can it be?"
"Do not get cocky, Percy," Damian reprimanded. "Cockiness can land you in hot water. Plus don't jinx it,"
"And let's not forget that Tantalus is not just going to let us go off on our own to help the camp. By the looks of things, he wants the camp to die," Silena said with everyone agreeing with her as Silena stroked Shadow behind the ear, getting a woof of joy from him that made her laugh.
"Not if we tell him tonight at the campfire in front of everybody. The whole camp will hear. They'll pressure him. He won't be able to refuse." Percy suggested.
"That could work," Damian said to Percy's suggestion. "But we still don't know where the island is. Without knowing the exact location of the island Polyphemus, the fleece and Grover are on, we will be sailing blind."
"What about those numbers?" Annabeth mentioned. "Back in the taxi with the Grey Ladies, they said four numbers to us before we got out and they said it would help us seek what we were looking for."
"30, 31, 75, 12." Percy said.
They thought about the numbers and tried to figure out what they meant.
"Some kind of area code maybe?" Silena asked but Annabeth shook her head.
"Too many numbers for an area code. Plus these almost look more like co-ordinates in some way."
"Co-ordinates," Percy muttered to himself as the others all looked at him.
They could see something was racking around in his head almost as if he had nearly figured it out.
Then his eyes widened." I got it. I know what they are." The others looked at him as if they waited for an answer. "They are sailing co-ordinates. It's Latitude and Longitude. It so obvious now, how could I not see it?"
Annabeth thought it over and began to speak. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, and 12 minutes west. He's right! Those lead us into the Sea of Monsters.
"Good job Percy," Damian said ruffling his hair while Silena patted him on the back and Annabeth gave him a very quick friendly hug. Percy blushed a little at the praise.
"Okay, well, we got a location and we now at least now where we are headed. We should now go to the campfire and let everyone know." Silena said.
"But what do we do if no quest is given? If Tantalus just completely says no?" Annabeth asked.
"Then we go anyway," Damian answered. "Grover is our friends and I'm not going to leave him on some island with Polyphemus. Are friend needs are help and I'm not going to sit around and do nothing.
"If it was the other way around and one of us was in his position, Grover would try anything to help us. He may act unconfident and a little cowardly at times but he always pulls through for us. The least we can do is do the same for him," Percy answered.
"That's right," Silena said, putting her hand in the middle just over the tree stump. "We are all family in some weird way and we look after each other. I may not know Grover as well as all of you but I don't want to see him get hurt. And if I can do anything to help save him then I will."
"It was Grover who brought me here and has stayed with me for six years. This time I will be the one to help bring him home this time." Annabeth said putting her hand in the middle to.
"Grover has been one of my best buddies since we met. What kind of a friend would I be if I did not help him?" Percy said adding his hand too.
"That goes for me as well." Damian said putting his hand in too. The four grinned at each other. "We are going to bring are friend home, no matter what."
They all agreed and laughed a little when Shadow and Luna stood on their back legs and added their paws to the pile.
"Us help too," Luna added.
"Save goat man." Shadow said getting a laugh from Damian and a laugh from the rest when he told them what they said.
"For Grover!" They said as their hands went in the air and eventually began to make their way towards the camp fire. They knew the camp would back them if it would save the camp and they were friends with all the head councillors of each cabin.
That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along. They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. They all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the Apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.
They did all the standard camp numbers: "Down by the Aegean," "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa," "This Land is Minos's Land. " The bonfire was enchanted, so the louder you sang, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd. On a good night, Damian had seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames. Tonight, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint.
Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House.
When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!"
He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.
Tantalus turned back toward them, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule. "
"Sir," Percy said.
Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"
Some of the Ares campers snickered, but Percy ignored them. He stood up
Percy then said, "We have an idea to save the camp. Damian, Silena, Annabeth and I. We have a way to save it."
Dead silence, but Percy could tell he'd gotten everybody's interest, because the campfire flared bright yellow. clarisse glanced over at Damian and Silena in surprise and they just nodded at her.
"Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—"
"The Golden Fleece," Percy said. "We know where it is. "
The flames burned orange. Before Tantalus could stop me, Percy blurted out his dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do. It sounded more convincing coming from her.
"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it."
"Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving. "
Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable.
"Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."
"Yes we do." Percy said. "The numbers are latitude and longitude or sailing co-ordinates. We have zoned them in and found that they show us to an island somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, or better known as the Sea Of Monsters."
Everyone breathed in. Though they many were happy that there a way to save the camp, it got overshadowed by the fact that it was in one of the most dangerous places in the world. A place where the ocean's mightiest of creatures roamed.
"We need a quest!" Annabeth said.
"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said.
But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"
The flames rose higher.
"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.
"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"
"YES!"
"Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying."
"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced standing up. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious."
"The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest... Clarisse!"
It all went silent as the fire flickered a thousand different colours. The Ares cabin then shoot up from their seats and started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"
'Didn't see that one coming.' Damian thought, glancing at Percy and Annabeth who did not look happy. That and they knew Clarisse was not going to pick them since they and Clarisse did not get on so well.
But he thought Clarisse was actually a good choice when he thought about it. She was strong; she had guts and was brave. She took no shit from anyone and she would defend those she considered her friends to the last breath. Those were very admirable qualities. Plus, even though he hated Ares, the man was strong and skilled and they were obviously passed down to his children, especially Clarisse.
Plus, even though Silena and Annabeth were making good headway in their training, Clarisse still held the title of strongest girl at camp.
Clarisse stood up, looking stunned and surprised at the events that suddenly included her. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"
"Wait!" Percy shouted. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me. I should be the one to lead this quest."
"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"
"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.
"I said that I accept the quest!" Clarisse repeated, shooting Percy a glare. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"
The Ares campers cheered even louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Eventually everybody else started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows.
BANG!
All was silenced at the loud gunshot and saw Damian with Dusk pointed at the sky before he twirled it on his finger. "Will the lot of you shut up and stop arguing like a pack of kids over a toy? Clarisse was picked and that's final. She is more than capable to lead this quest. She is one of the strongest in camp and let not forget that. So stop your whining and get over it, and give her your support."
A few people grumbled but they all sat down back in their seats. Clarisse nodded and gave Damian a smile in thanks for both supporting her and getting everyone to stop doubting her.
When it went silent, one of the wood nymphs spoke up. Damian, Percy and Annabeth recognised her as the wood nymph that Grover was dancing with last summer during the night they returned from the quest for the Master Bolt.
"Since three people usually go on the quest, who will you be taking to accompany you?" She asked a little shyly, her cheeks having a giant green blush appear on them.
Clarisse adopted a face that showed she was thinking and was looking around. By the look on Percy and Annabeth's face, Damian knew they wanted to be picked.
"My first choice will be...Damian."
Though many were not surprised, some did shout out that he was on a quest last time. Even Percy and Annabeth felt a bit jealous.
"Shut it!" Clarisse barked, silencing the protesters. "Any of you want to go? No? Thought so. I'd rather have Damian with me considering his skills and he's fought demons."
Damian gave her a salute, he was in.
"As for my second pick..." Clarisse looked around and everyone leaned in, curious to hear this.
"Silena."
When Silena's name was said, most just looked at both Clarisse and Silena in disbelief and surprise. While Damian was grinning like a mad man. He had a feeling most were not counting on a daughter of Aphrodite to be taken on a highly dangerous quest.
"M-Me?" Silena stuttered out and was shown to be shaking a little. "W-Why me? Surely there are people that are better suited for this."
"Don't count yourself like that. You have improved a great deal over this past year. You are defiantly in the stronger half of the camp now thanks to all your hard work," Damian said as Clarisse nodded.
Though Annabeth and Percy were surprised that she was picked, they nodded too. They had seen how much stronger she had become and would prove to be a great help.
"I could do it without my best friend you know." Clarisse said, putting an arm around Silena. "Plus someone has to help me keep Wolf boy in line."
Damian sighed and shook his head as some snickered at him.
Silena went to speak when she heard a woman's voice in her head. "Do it, my beautiful daughter. Show them all how wrong they are about us. Show them that my children can handle danger like the rest of them. No matter what, I will aklwasy be proud of you, Silena."
'Mom?' Silena thought but didn't get a reply back. A determined expression then came onto her face. "I'm in."
Everyone patted them on the back, though mainly Silena. Annabeth wished her luck as did Percy. They have been a little bitter about not being able to save Grover but they knew with Damian going and with Silena and Clarisse behind him, they would do it.
"Yes well that was lovely," Tantalus said causing everyone to back to their seats. "Well since we are all around a camp fire its only right we have a story. I have one that could suit the night we have."
"Nobody cares." Damian said with a roll of his eyes, aiming Dusk at him and fired off a single shot that got Tantalus in the head.
He was a spirit, he'll live.
And that's it for this chapter. Damian just completely trashed Tantalus' attempt to be scary there. Spirits can't die by bullets, so I figured could still shoot him and not kill him, but he's gonna feel it.