I am figuring things out for this crossover of Og plot which I now prefer and the book plot...
Aaron was excited for Percy to be back full time at Camp, he felt safer and more secure with him there. Unlike most other Demigods, who Aaron realized were mostly fodder, Percy was a very capable figher and a wicked sport at combat. He was worth at least two dozen of the most useless campers in combat. The only ones that came close were Bryce, Aaron himself, Clarisse and maybe Annabeth... and of course Tyson, Meggy and Charlie. Though it would also be unfair to count Silena out, she had drastically improved as a swordswomen over the last few months.
Tantalus was an annoying prick, rude to everyone and eager to be cruel to both Meggy and Tyson for being Cyclops. Or rather, he tried to do that then Meggy lifted him by his neck and threw him through the forge doors with a single hand. He never came within thirty feet of her again...or Tyson, probably just to be sure. Aaron could cow the man with a look, something that was extra entertaining as Aaron wasn't sure he even had the power to hurt the man. Sure he wanted to hurt him but could he? He wasn't sure to be honest, but the threat remained.
Aaron, Clarrise, Percy and Bryce ended up creating a border control list with several volunteers, mostly year rounders, working to make it more effecient. Aaron often found himself sitting in the tree with a bow raised, ready to snipe anything down. Meggy was a frequent volunteer and was ready to kick ass with her bronze knuckles. Bryce could freqeunetly be seen marching along the border with some Hermes kids, having taken a serious leadership role even without being the son of a Olympain. That he was also cozying up to Carisse, who was equal parts abusive and protective towards camp, only served to make that leadership role more pure and intense.
Then there was the Chariot race, Aaron wanted no part in that foolery so he stuck with Will, readying supplies and magic for the many injuries there were going to be needing to heal. It was ridicolous the entire thing and they made it known to anyone that would hear it they thought of it that way. Meggy, who was a sweetheart, pouted along side them for the fun of it.
Still it was sort of fun to watch people making their chariots. Percy and Annabeth were making one with Tyson helping them. Charlie was making his own so it was bound to be impressive. Clarisse had summoned dead horses, maybe a gift from her father, which was rather cool... it was exciting in it's own way.
"""
The morning of the race was hot and humid. Fog lay low on the ground like sauna steam. The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. Hephaestus's cabin had used the bronze bulls, which were completely tame since they'd had theirheads smashed off, to plow an oval track in a matter of minutes. There were rows of stone steps for the spectators- Tantalus, the satyrs, a few dryads, and all of the campers who weren't participating. Aaron had his own seat where Mr. D would have normally sat, Will at his side just in case he had to jump down to heal anyone. Mr. D didn't show. He never got up before ten o'clock.
"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a big platter of pastries, and as Tantalus spoke, his right hand chased a chocolate eclair across the judge's table. "You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" Tantalus smiled at us like they were all naughty children, only to flinch when Aaron cleared his throat. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!" he rushed out, shivering and leaning away from Aaron.
Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track. They had a sweet ride made of bronze and iron-even the horses, which were magical automatons like the Colchis bulls. Aaron could feel the magic woven into the machines, and knew there were hundreds of tricks preplanned by his friend making him a literally deadly enemy in these games.
The Ares chariot was bloodred, and pulled by two grisly horse skeletons. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops, and a bunch of other nasty toys. That Bryce was running the weapons only added to the fear everyone that knew him felt. Apollo's chariot was trim and graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos. Their fighter was armed with a bow, though he had promised not to shoot regular pointed arrows at the opposing drivers.
Hermes's chariot was green and kind of old-looking, as if it hadn't been out of the garage in years. It didn't look like anything special, but it was manned by the Stoll brothers, so naturally it was probably very dangerous.
Then there was Percy, Annabeth and Tyson's chariot. It was a tad larger then the rest covered in waves and an olive tree in the center wrapping around a Trident. Pulled by two Pegasus it was a thing of beauty. Aaron put his money on that chariot, those three would be a deadly combination.
Soon enough the conch horn sounded.
"Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "To your mark!"
Now, if you've never seen a Greek chariot, it's built for speed, not safety or comfort. It's basically a wooden basket, open at the back, mounted on an axle between two wheels. The driver stands up the whole time, and you can feel every bump in the road. The carriage is made of such light wood that if you wipe out making the hairpin turns at either end of the track, you'll probably tip over and crush both the chariot and yourself.
Tantalus called out once more.
"Charioteers!" he shouted. "Attend your mark!"
He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life. Hooves thundered against the dirt. The crowd cheered. Almost immediately there was a loud nasty crack! Aaron looked over and saw the Apollo chariot flip over. The Hermes chariot had rammed into it-maybe by mistake, maybe not. The riders were thrown free, but their panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track. The Hermes team, Travis and Connor Stoll, were laughing at their good luck, but not for long. The Apollo horses crashed into theirs, and the Hermes chariot flipped too, leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.
Percy chariot was in front, with Ares' chariot coming close as was Charlie's.
Aaron stopped paying attention then and rushed down with Will to the fallen campers and started to patch them up, after wacking the Stoll's hard on the head. " You idiots,you could have seriously hurt someone. Be ashamed of yourselves."
They cringed, and nodded as he took care of them, bandaging at least four different wounds. Nothing nasty but still...
" I hate this sport." Will muttered. "So many pointless injuries and for what?"
"I know." Aaron said, sighing before a strange feeling passed over him. He looked up and saw something...a lot of something. Droves and droves of birds, all trying to fly through the barrier but unable to pass through. They oozed tiny flecks of magic, like a hundred arrows made of Celestial bronze... "Can you see that?"
Will looked up and gaped. "Stymphalian birds, they can't get through but it looks like they are trying. If we hadn't strengthened the barrier we would have been attacked already."
"ARCHERS!" Aaron called out, getting the attention of more then a few Apollo kids, he pointed skyward. "Look up and figure it out."
Bows were strung and readied and within moments fired at will. The Birds fell, hundreds of them onto the ground. The sight was so startling to the others birds they fled away, leaving the Camp's airspace entirely. Within two minutes the sky was clear once more, leaving Aaron a modicum of peace.
It was then that the Chariots ran through the last marker and he saw the victor.
Percy and Annabeth, beaming a smile with an angry Clarisse and Bryce coming in second, There was a straggler group, mainly Charlie who was groaning loudly about losing but he wasn't hurt, which was good. Aaron felt happy then, glad his beloved friends did so well.
Percy jumped off of his chariot and stopped, looking at the birds. "What happened?"
Aaron turned around, just in time to see Tantalus stalking down. "Well, well, you won how..." He saw Aaron's cold eyes fix on him. "Congragulations, you get the Golden Laurels."
"And the Archers get something for dealing with the Stymphalian birds, that were flying above us and trying to enter in. You willl organize something nice, savvy? Now, anyone that's hurt come with Will and I and we will get to you shortly." Aaron marched off in that moment, already done with Tantalus.
"""
That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along. 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-GreatGreat-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, Aaron had seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames. Tonight, thanks to the abuses and creulty and fear Tantalus brought with him the Fires were maybe seven feet tall and a dull grey. Only the Chariot races and the victory there of seemed to bring any joy to the fire.
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 us, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."
"Sir," Percy suddenly said.
Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our b... victor has something to say?'
Percy stood alongside Annabeth "We have an idea to save the camp."
The fires burned a bright Yellow and everyone's attention was caught, Aaron was no exception.
"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 him, I 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, I would," Percy said.
Annabeth leaned toward him and whispered, "You would?" He nodded, because Annabeth had jogged something in my memory when she reminded me about our taxi drive with the Gray Sisters. At the time, the information they'd given me made no sense. But now … "30, 31, 75, 12," Percy said.
"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."
"Their sailing coordinates you tool." Aaron said, snapping at Tantalus and standing. "And magic like the Fleece would do so much more then save the camp, it would strengthen the borders permantly, strengthen all those that sleep here and do more. It is the solution we have been searching for. Now be quiet Tantalus cause I am in charge now."
Annabeth looked impressed. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"
"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said, trying to get order.
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.
Aaron was done. " SHUT UP!" Everyonea went quiet. "We will have a Quest and it will happen tommorrow. Percy or Bryce, as sons of the Sea gods will be on it. We need someone else though, to lead it..."
The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"
Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest. I accept the quest!" she repeated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"
The Ares campers cheered even louder.
"Good, she is powerful and skilled. Pick someone else, to go, maybe Annabeth for her knowledge... but I would take Percy or Bryce or both, Don't let your dislike bar you from making a good choice. Percy was given the dreams of the quest so I would lean towards him..." Aaron said.
She nodded. "I understand."
Smiling, Aaron felt a surge of satisfaction, he had promised he would watch over the camp and here he was doing just that. "Good, now go to the Oracle and pray everything goes right.
Tantalus stomped. " Enough of this, I am in charge, not you!"
"And your a fool, so shut up or so help me I will banish you!" Aaron's bluff burned in his chest as he snarled at the idiot before him.
Tantalus quivered for a moment then, with a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished. " Go to bed, the lot of you." The campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark.
Aaron was left in satisfaction, pleased with himself and how he had handled everything.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was so much fun, love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.