Random fact I watched Pokemon as a kid and I loved it but was unable to get really into due to moving a lot and just never getting the chance through my abusive dad... so I decided to start it from start to finish.
I might write Fanfic of it! If anyone's interested.
Also, a lot on the quest changed... Percy will explain it but Aaron wasn't there for it so I didn't show it. Do you want me too?
"How are things at Camp?" Chiron's voice was filled with pain as Aaron and Meggy looked through the Iris message. He was in a loud area, with a racous sound and many objects flying around him. Aaron was pretty sure he saw a flying arrow with a boxing glove attached to it, of all impossible things.
Meggy leaned foward, a smile on her cute face. "Thing are well, we are ignoring Tantalus and are still running a border patrol. We aren't working on any great projects, we are taking a break on that for until we are safe again. The barrier is weakening though, we are being extra careful. At least those of us with a brain, the few of us at Camp."
Chiron sighed. "Be kinder to the Demigods, just because they are made for war doesn't mean that are innately good at preparing for it. They aren't the Ro-" His eyes went wide, and he coughed into his hands. "Ignore that. The point I am making is you should be kinder to them."
His slip up hadn't gone unnoticed to Aaron and Meggy, they shared a soft look, neither of them wanting to drop the matter but knowing the man was too determined to wiggle anything out of him.
Realizing, well knowing, that Chiron would not budge, Aaron decided to move onto the next piece of information he wanted to get out of the man. "Any clues on how to stop immortals from tearing me out of my head? Your father just did this and it was terrifiying. I have been saved by Triton doing this but generally it is not a good thing that just anyone can force me wherever they want."
"I am not entirely sure, it would take a great deal of power and be seen as a great affront. The Gods see humans, all humans, as their property. Sadly I doubt even your undead contacts would be powerful enough to help you in this regard." Chiron sighed as the sound, which Aaron realized was yelling and music all mashed together, increased to the point that the entire Iris Message was shaking. "I will speak to you another time. If you need me I am already in Florida, this is where Things from the Sea of Monsters end up. I may be able to aid Percy and the rest of them."
"We would appreaciate that." Aaron nodded to the man.
"We miss you." Meggy pouted, and both males cringed. "You were a fixture here, and I miss you. I hope your innocene is proclaimed soon."
"As do I, my dear. as do I. It is time to for me to cut off this transaction I am afraid. I will speak to you later." And with a wave of his hand, his image vanished, leaving a sniffling Meggy and concerned Aaron alone.
Meggy stopped sniffling immediatley. "You think he was trying to say Romans?"
"That was my guess... I wonder why he stopped himself... We could turn that into our next project, figure out what the hell seemed to actually scare Chiron into silence."
She chuckled. "I guess we could but first let us start piling together what we know. Maybe I can make an artifact that can block the gods from tampering with your mind."
"""
Hours past as they worked together, filling out two boards and an entire journal on what they knew about the Mind. It took a lot of time, effort and energy but soon enough they had everything they needed collected and piled up. They were so busy they worked straight through dinner. Through it all one thing became clear though...
"The big issue is power, to combat the fact that the gods have the power to be in many places at once." Aaron frowned, looking at the information they compiled. "There is no way either of us alone can generate this much power, it would take an outside source, something enternal and immortal. That draws passively from outside sources...do you have any ideas what that could be?"
Meggy frowned. "Nothing we have access too, it would have to be enchanted I think, or have a gods blood but I- She gasped then sighed as did Aaron as a waft of pure Nature magic blasted across the entire Camp, rushing up their limbs and making them both sigh in sheer relief. Aaron felt his magic strengthen, his connection to the Earth triple. "The Fleece... it must be near."
Together they shot out of their room and ran towards the power they sensed, just in time to see Clarisse walking over the Hill with the Fleece in hand. She looked victorious, excited and pained all at once. Aaron and Meggy both collided with the girl, squeezing her into a big hug.
"You did it." They said as one, then pulled back.
Aaron frowned. "Where are the others?"
It was Clarisse's turn to frown. "I don't know, they sent me to go forward... my prophecy, I was to come back alone."
"I remember, to fly home alone... okay, we just have to trust that they will be save."
The scent of grapes filled the air, Aaron turned just in time to see Mr. D smiling and walking up the Hill. "Your friends are safe, Chiron had collected them and they will be here any minute. It seems your brother is smarter then I realized, he tricked Luke into admitting that he poisoned the tree. Chiron's reputation was restored and he has been allowed back into camp."
Excitment rushed through Aaron's entire body and he turned to squeeze the closest person he could into a hug... which happened to be Clarisse, only this time without Meggy he touched the Fleece and gasped in shock as pure Power shot through him. His magic boiled in his blood, both from his soul and his body. He went rigid and saw everything, the Barrier above his head, the spirits of the grass and flowers, the radiant purple aura of Dionysius... all of it became visible.
Startled, he fell back, and everything faded. The world returned to normal...
'Could it be, is this the power I have been waiting for? Could it be a gift from the Fates, we were just talking about an infinite source of power to protect my mind and then somehow I come into contact with something that fits that very statement? I have to be careful about this. I would only need a fragment...'
From the look on Meggy's face, she understood his reaction and her eye moved from the Fleece to Aaron over and over before widening into something fierce. "Mr. D, can you let Meggy do something?"
"What my dear?" Mr. D turned to her, eyes squinting in suspicion.
"Can Meggy use a piece of the Fleece to make Aaron a pretty gift?"
The man went quiet for a moment before walking over to the Fleece and waving his hand over it. A tiny, tiny sliver of the fleece slipped off and curled up, still retaining it's power and fortitiude. He turned and handed it to Meggy. "I offer this, not because of the care I have for you but in honor of all you have done for this camp. I refuse to be ungrateful. Consider it a gift for my Garden, the Shrine to The Sea gods and the the Shrine to the Messenger gods... a thank you for remembering those of us far too overlooked. Do not waste it, I will have to do a lot of bargining with Posiedon to get him to get over my damaging the Fleece. Same with my father ue to the power you may inherit from this..." he stopped. "What do you wish to do with it?"
Meggy smiled and leaned in. "Meggy wants to make something for Aaron, to protect his mind so your Grandfather cannot take his mind away again. We are loyal and he refuses to be forced like that again."
The man smiled. "Even my father recongnizes Aaron's skill and your own Miss Meggy. I think he will allow this... now go, make something amazing and show it to me before you give it Aaron."
She smiled, turned around and marched away, determined and happy. Aaron was left flattered, sighing. " She is amazing, isn't she?"
"Very loyal... now, I do believe we should gather the other Camperrs. It is time to put the Fleece atop the tree."
Aaron nodded and stood up, his mind wandering. 'I'll have to make appropriate sacrifices to the gods for this and the Fates for making this possible, if they did so... this is far too fortuatious to be anything less then planned.'
'''
Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, Bryce abd Grover all came into Camp at the same time, battered and bruised but still alive. Aaron was happy to see them all, and so proud of them that he wanted to explode. They came just in time too, as it was just about time for Clarisse to placed the Golden Fleece onto the Tree. Everyone had gathered around, the weakening barrier strengthend by just the presence of the Fleece.
The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus-the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach. Aaron felt a tremendous power infuse itself into the very Earth, making the magic of Camp richer, stronger and more concentrated.
Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green. Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt-the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison. Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.
In the meantime, Clarisse, Percy, Bryce, and Ananbeth were carried on their cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where they was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire. Meggy and Aaron, in their spare time, had crafted Percy's Funeral cloak and watched it burn happily. There was so much to celebrate. Tantalus was gone, The Fleece was there, everyone survived, Chiron was back and Luke was now fully known as the traitorous worm he was... all felt right.
Aaron pulled Bryce and Percy to the side and go the full story from both boys.
"... And we had to stop at an Island, it was beautiful and it felt... well like you, with your magic." Bryce said. "Turns out the blessing of the Sea gods came in really handy for it was Circe's island and she turned Percy and I into Guinea Pigs. Clarisse and Annabeth saved us majorly by holding off the sorcereress until the blessing could undo the curse on us. I felt my father's power, it was amazing. So seriously, thank you." He smiled soflty. " Her powers were scary, she could convince us of anything with just her voice, I have never felt anything like it."
Percy nodded. "We ended up giving the rest of the Guniea pigs these vitamins Hermes gave me, oh yeah he visited me the first day and gave them to me." Aaron pulled them out and showed them to Aaron, who oohed and ahhed over them. Well, Annabeth did and it turned them all back. They had Black beard of all people, the real pirate Black Beard. She had been collecting men like that and selling them all over the world. It was intense."
"Wow." Aaron felt amazed as he listened in. "I hope the Pirates took them to task, to think that countless men have been turned into Guinea pigs and sold like that... how many innocent people have been hurt because of Circe." He felt anger, and swore one day to do his best to save those poor men from their fate. "So whe else happened?"
They both turned to each other. "Grover almost got Married to Polyphemus."
Aaron died laughing at that point.
:::
"This is what I have created." Meggy show cased the bracelet she made to Dionysius and Aaron. "There isn't a lot we could do with the bracelet, except weave it with some hemp to create his bracelet. It has been enchanted to cloud Aaron's mind from Divine Influence, so long as they are of ill intent."
Mr. D nodded, grabbing the Talisman and moving his hands over it. "I can also sense that this will strengthen your aura and magic, helping you to heal and recover your magical reserves oh... ten percent faster? Not a massive increase but something. Seriously, this is a piece of art. You did well Meggy. I spoke to Father and my Uncle, they have allowed you to have this. However if either of them or any Olympain summons you, you must respond. Are we clear?"
"As long as their intentions are pure." Aaron said. "I am allowed to protect myself from their influence if I need to. I haven't commited any crimes so no one should try and harm my mind."
Mr. D nodded slowly. "You are right... I hope this artifact serves you well."
"So do I." Aaron placed it on and instantly felt a light, warm heat wash over his mind, snuggly fitting around the creases and crevices that naturally occured, keeping him far safer then he had ever been. He wondered what it now felt like around his mind... what a god would sense around him...
He could just asked Mr. D but he chose not to in that moment, just deciding to enjoy the moment while he could.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a really fun chapter.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.