"What... where... the Mist?" Aaron, without intending too, drew on the Mist itself around him, the thickest veil of it he had ever encountered only to recoil in utter agony. It was like acid, he wanted to scream but he couldn't... still, he felt stronger somehow. Shaking, he managed to stand and look around. Even for him and his newly tuned sight, he it was hard to see through the Mist, but he was sure he was surronded by ruins. He could barely make out the shapes, bits and pices of bricks and walls all around him. The more he focused, the harder they were to see though, so he knew they were magically conjured.
Shaking off his pain, he moved slowly through the Mist, and before he knew it he entered the Fullness of the Mist, where it started to sink into the Earth and form structures.
"Oh shit... this isn't good, only divine beings have enough power to do this passively." And he knew it was passive, for he'd be hearing spells or whatnot if it wasn't."
"Aaron!" He heard someone scream, and his heart ached, knowing the voice well enough. "Help me, please, I can't take it anymore."
Running, Aaron followed the sound of the voice until he saw it, or rather him... "Alabaster... is that the Sky? Am I on Mount Tam?" He looked around, realizing he could see through the Mist behind him, just enough to make out the beautiful valley that was California. "Holy shit, I should not be here." He turned back and saw his old teacher, he was holding up what looked like a tornado made of cement, it should have crushed his friend. Alabaster was not a strong looking boy, what with his lanky frame of long limbs. And yet it was his heart that did the lifiting, Aaron knew that, there was more philospohy here going on rather then anatomy. "I can't help you, I'm not a hero, I have no divine blood."
He leaned down, putting his hand on Alabaster's face, feeling a shock of magic and pain wash through him all at once. "You can, your a hero. Blood doesn't make a hero, heart does. You need to be strong of heart to hold the sky... please, I have been here hours, I can't handle it."
Aaron shuddered, feeling a force stronger then Charmspeech over take him. It wasn't love, it was empathy and it was the weakness of anyone with a decent heart. "I... shouldn't..." His words meant nothing, he knew what he ought to do but he couldn't bear to see anyone in such agony. He pushed foward and lifted the sky, it was the greatest agony imaginable, but somehow he managed it. His vision bled red and he sank to his knees, crying out as Alabaster rolled out.
"I am sorry old friend, but for our plan to go as it needs too, you need to be weakened and someone who cares for you needs to see you in such a state. Know that if there was any other way, I would search for it."
Alabaster walked away, leaving Aaron gritting out as the literal weight of the sky slammed him into the ground.
"""
Dionysius wanted to scream, in rage and pain, the loss of Aaron hit him harder then he would like to admit. His friend, for he knew Aaron would never love him like he wanted him too, was missing and there was nothing he could do about it. He turned to Zoe, the urge to smite her out of existence stronger then he could stop. The girl, defiant and arrogant, was shaking in terror as his eyes flickered purple.
"Wait, your Mr. D?" Nico DiAngelo's sweet voice stalled his rage. "Aaron said you were a good friend, a powerful ally."
He sighed and slumped for a moment, fully away of the weight of the rest of the children before him. His promise to be kinder was stronger then he cared to admit, he could not let it go. "Yes, I am. My true name is Dionysius, Nico. Aaron told me you were wonderful students, you and Bianca though no he did not tell me your names. I knew from your time in that Casino."
Nico nodded. "That makes sense, ectasy and all that. So... um... can you find him? Aaron went missing,... I made a crack to hurt my sister, I didn't mean to, I didn't know I could, but he fell down the hole and a shadow took him. It wasn't Hades or me or my sister, we know that much. Can you find him?"
Dionysius sighed for a moment and focused the fullness of his might outward. He knew Aaron's magic exceptionally well, the boy was important to him, they had spent many hours bonding and the boy had created a shrine for his power, the first in the camp. They were linked, softly and subtly. " No... and yes. I know he is alive, and he is not being harmed but that is all I can say. He is being blocked by a powerful place, there are a few places like that... Meggy, can you do a locator spell?"
The one eyed girl frowned. " My magic is not his equal, but he was working on a spell to locate anyone using the idea of triangulation. If we channel the power of people tied to him, mystically, we should be able to overcome any magic blocking his presence. It would be better to find Artemis though, should she find him, since the Hunters are essentially nymphs to her lifeforce."
"Then do that. Until then, there is not much else we can do but wait. I hate it but that is the truth." He sighed. "I supposed all there is to do, besides waiting, is to prepare for the typical Capture the Flag game that happens whenever the Hunters are here. Spread the news, do what you can and just... go away." He slumped in his seat as the children left, leaving him to wallow with Chiron looking at him with pity.
"We will get the boy back, you have to have faith."
"He makes this punishment bareable, I am not sure I could handle it without him."
Chiron just nodded, understanding entirely where he was coming from.
"""
Meggy grabbed a chattering, terrified Grover by his fur and shook him hard. "If Meggy sees your furry butt by the Artemis Cabin again, I will put my foot firmly up said butt. Are we understood?" She shook him harder until he managed to bark out a loud.
"Yes ma'am!"
Then she let him go, but as he scrambled away she kicked him hard and sent him flying away into the snow. " I am not kidding, tell your Satyr friends, no stalking the girls."
The Satyr didn't even look back, he just shot off, holding his butt in pain. Laughter drew her attention to Alex, her beautiful sister. " Thanks for that, I was going to just kill him."
"Not a problem, there is a lot of sexism with those goats. I hate that, so I just knew that they would try something creepy like that. He was actually setting up camp around here, look at this sleeping bag..." She kicked the camo sleeping back aside, sighing. "I hate Satyrs, they are creeps and everyone just lets them get away with it."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I may not be super sexist like half of my sisters, but I am not at all fond of those goat boys, they're mostly creeps. Anyway, your my sister, Meggy, right?"
"Yes, that is right. "
"Cool, I always wanted to meet you. I hear mom tossed you off a mountian, that was fucked of her, I really am sorry for that."
Meggy shrugged it off. "It was messed up but it wasn't your fault. Don't feel too bad." Meggy would have said more but Thalia, who was hiding in her own cabin, came stumbling out, her face pasty white and her body covered in sweat. "Thalia what is... is it Aaron?"
"He's in pain, so much pain... I... I can't." She collapsed to her knees, passing out in the snow. Meggy wasted no time, grabbing the girl and all but sprinting away to the infirmiry where Will Solace was waiting, jumping into action before he even asked her what happened.
His hands all but glowed as he moved them over her, frowning. " I can sense a great deal of mental strain. She is struggling under the wieght of something, her soul is is straining against whatever she is recieving from Aaron's connection to her. Someone, anyone, get Chiron. We need to deal with this now. she might not survive it."
Meggy nodded and all but sprinted away, desperate to get the man to save the girl who was tied to her brother's soul.
"""
"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed, drawing Aaron from the agony of his shaking misery, the weight of the Sky itself pressing down onto him.
It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. This voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.
He felt Alabaster's aura appraoching. "He's fading. We must hurry.".
The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, someone Aaron couldn't see... but he didn't care, all he could really care about was holding the sky up, knowing instinctivley that it would destroy countless lives if he released it.
"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"
"How dare you torture my friend like this!" He heard it, a familar voice...
"Artemis." He gritted out, not trying to get her attention, it just came out. Something about Artemis' presence gave him strength, but not to hold the sky up better. He needed to stop her, she was more important then he was. Her presence there was a travesty...
"He will die soon," Luke said. "You can save her."
Aaron tried to call out, but failed under the strain.
"Free my hands," Artemis said and he knew he had failed. A moment later he felt the burden on his shoulder lift and he collasped, gasping and coughing and shivering in agony. He tried to rise, to do anything, but he couldn't do much at all... and then he felt it, a something wrap around his head, squeezing his temples. He felt more focus then ever, the magic overcoming his protective magic easily.
The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."
"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."
"Indeed it will not," the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a your young friend, he is indeed so much like Hippolytus. It was an easy thing to do."
Artemis groaned "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."
"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Alabaster, is the device working?"
Aaron groaned and stood, his flesh moving beyond the power of his mind. He looked, listessly at the man before him, the Titan before him. "It is working." He spoke, with Alabaster's voice coming from his lips. He wanted to panic but the magic burned away such emotion, leaving him with nothing. He just turned to Alabaster.
The boy who betrayed him spoke and his voice echoed in Aaron's mouth. "The device has been set, the boy will do as we want now."
The Titan laughed. "Perfect... Dear boy, Aaron. You have a new task... a simple one. My Uncle and King is certain that with your powers and skill, you have the means to ressurect him quicker and so that is what you are going to do. You will spend all of your time until the solstice working on the means to ressurect him quicker."
" I will need to see the sarcophogus and I will need to be alone." The words, honest and true, echoed from his lips before he could stop it.
The Titan nodded. "You shall have access to whatever you need. Bring everything to this boy, along with pen and paper, he has a spell to make."
Aaron, with a body filled to the brim with agony, slumped towards somewhere under Alabaster's control, his soul filled with more hate then he ever knew was possible...
"Aaron!" He heard Artemis say as he walked away, knowing fully well that there was nothing they could do to stop him and by the weeks end, he would either be dead or he would ressurect the Titan king...
Neither option was good...
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was fun to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.