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Chapter Text

"All godly parents must claim their children before their thirteenth birthday."

Clearly, the gods enjoyed procrastinating.

The spring sun shone down on the roofs of a quiet suburban residential area. Slowly, a stray cat padded along the warm concrete path, its tail flickering delicately. For a moment, their was utter serenity, without a single car charging across the road or any person strolling along the pavement. The cat briefly tensed itself below a garden wall and jumped onto the top, preparing for an afternoon nap.

But before the stray even had a chance to properly sit down, a loud dog bark sliced through the silence, similar to how a heated knife would easily and quickly cut through butter. Shocked by the sound, the cat scurried across the wall and into a neatly clipped bush. As soon as that happened, the source of the sound bounded into the cat's view. A tricolour corgi, who was eagerly sniffing the ground in search of the cat.

"Zwei!" came a voice, making the dog perk up and begin barking at the sight of his owner. The girl swiftly approached him, allowing the corgi to leap into her arms. "Have you missed me, boy?" she asked affectionately, earning another bark. She was soon joined by her sister, who patted the dog on the head with a smile. Zwei, being a very loyal companion, would always wait in the front yard during the early afternoon for the two to return home from school.

Waiting for your owners to come home from school is one thing. Waiting for the day when your daughters' fates would change forever was another.

"They've gotta know sooner or later, Summer." said Taiyang, looking out of the window towards Yang and Ruby. Summer was sitting on an armchair, looking in the opposite direction of the window. "They're teenagers, and children of Olympians. Qrow told me that monsters love demigods who don't know of their own identity yet."

"I know, but it isn't going to be easy to tell them that."

"It isn't going to be easy when they suddenly run into a demigod-devouring monster, either."

Summer looked over at Taiyang. He had cared for the girls since the were very young, but he wasn't their father. Summer was Ruby's mother; they were almost identical in terms of physical features, but Summer wasn't Yang's mother.

The front door opened, and the girls entered the house with Zwei bounding along behind them. They spotted the melancholy faces of their parents.

"Hey mom, hey dad. What's wrong?" questioned Ruby. Taiyang opened his mouth to speak.

"Nothing, we were just having a deep conversation, that's all." interjected Summer. Taiyang gave her a glare, which she chose to ignore. "Don't worry."

The girls shared a look, wondering if they should continue asking. Zwei whined and started pacing along the plush carpet, sensing a change in the mood.

"Right, well, we're here if you need to talk to us." said Yang. And with that, the pair went upstairs. Summer got up from the armchair, only to see Taiyang continuing to stare at her with that look on his face.

"Look, I-."

"I know you mean well, but this can't continue." he reached into his pocket for his phone. "I'm calling Qrow."

"Because you want him to tell them?!"

"No, he knows how to get to that camp."

"But-."

The phone picked up. "Yeah?" came a groggy voice.

"Qrow, it's Tai here."

"What do you need? I have a splitting headache."

"Drinking again?" muttered Summer.

"We're thinking of telling the girls-."

"You've not done it yet?! I'll tell them if you're not gonna!" Qrow's voice seemed a lot more clear now. "It's time they knew the truth!"

Taiyang's hand clenched around the phone. "We know-."

"I'm driving over, if you don't tell them by the time I'm here. I swear I will tell them myself!"

"But you're drunk-."

"Correction: I was drunk. I'm currently hungover."

"That isn't any better!"

"I don't care." the call ended.

"He's going to drive to Tallahassee all the way from Tampa?" asked Summer sceptically, who was leaning against the door frame.

The man deposited the phone back in his pocket. "Apparently so. Even though it takes around three hours." he sighed and bent down to scratch behind Zwei's ears. "Summer, this is for their own good. If they're at the camp, they'll be safe. And I'm sure they'd still be allowed to visit us."

Summer wasn't looking at him, she was looking at a framed photo on the wall, taken several years ago in their spacious back yard. She, Taiyang, Ruby and Yang were all smiling under the Florida sun, looking like the most carefree family in the world. "Where is this camp?"

"On Long Island in New York."

"Explains why Qrow's sometimes taking trips there."

"Yeah, I don't think Raven ever does though." Taiyang said. At the mention of her name, his eyes dulled.

Later that day, the family were sitting at the dining table for dinner. Outside, the sky was still relatively bright despite the fact that the afternoon was rolling into evening. The blonde man turned and looked at the clock, acknowledging the fact that it was currently half past six. Qrow could burst through the door at any minute.

"Yang, Ruby." said Summer.

The duo looked up from their food. "Yes, mom?" replied Ruby, smiling warmly.

"Have you two heard of the Greek Gods?"

Yang furrowed her eyebrows. "They briefly taught us about it at school quite a few years ago."

Summer forced herself to stop looking at the tablecloth. "Do you think they're real? The gods and goddesses?"

Confused, Ruby released her hand from her fork, letting it rest on the plate. "No."

"I used to think that as well. That the stories were fictional and that the gods don't exist."

"i don't understand what you mean-."

"What your mother means, Ruby, is that the Greek Gods are real. They sometimes live as humans among society and bear children who are half god and half human, known as demigods."

"Uncle Qrow's one of them." whispered Summer, her voice barely audible. The air was thick with unease. "And so is his sister."

The girls had never really heard much about Qrow's sister before. "Uncle Qrow's part god?" asked Yang doubtfully. "What's going on?"

"They're not the only demigods, you two are as well." answered Taiyang, his voice steady, although his hand shook while clutching his cup.

"So... So that means-." Ruby started, but Taiyang interrupted.

"I'm not your real father. Your fathers are both gods."

"But we're still related to mom, right?" questioned Yang, an edge to her voice. She saw Summer's face turn from sorrowful to guilt-ridden, and got up from the table.

"Yang, please-."

"I'm off to walk Zwei."

She left the room as swiftly as she said the sentence.

Chapter Text

Overhead, the pale orange sky was inked with pink clouds as the sun set below Tallahassee, illuminating Yang's blonde hair as she walked along the concrete pavement with Zwei at her heels. Across the road a few feet ahead of her, a tall teenage male was sitting on the curb, rolling a basketball back and forth between his outstretched hands.

Secretly, she did occasionally question her appearance compared to her parents, but she never dwelled on those thoughts. Now, Yang was met with the reality that the people she'd lived with for as long as she could remember had been keeping such a covert piece of information away from her. Not that she even believed in the Greek Gods anyway.

"Yang!" Ruby came dashing into view. She was a surprisingly fast sprinter, which explained why she was on the school track team. "I'm sorry!"

"Why should you be? You've nothing wrong." Yang muttered darkly.

"But this is a big shock to you." Ruby replied, picking up Zwei. "I can't believe it, either, about the whole thing with the gods." she nuzzled her cheek against Zwei's soft fur, visibly distressed.

All of a sudden, the corgi gave a loud yelp, startling the girls. He wriggled himself free of Ruby's grasp and landed nimbly on the floor.

"What's wrong-." Yang began, but she was cut off by Ruby yelling and Zwei beginning to yap hysterically.

"BEHIND YOU!"

Yang turned and saw a large black creature running towards them on paws tipped with claws that looked as if they could shred through metal. It had a white mask over its elongated face and glowing red eyes set within it, like a grotesque skull.

Without speaking, the pair (along with Zwei) ran as fast as they could back in the direction they came from. Yang tried to see if the young man with the basketball was visible, only finding out that he had disappeared from the curb. The creature was gaining speed, only a few feet behind them when it emitted an inhuman snarling noise.

A huge, shining object flew towards the girls as they dodged instinctively, the top of the object barely missing Yang's head. It couldn't have been the beast that threw it; it came from the direction they were running in. The creature avoided it with ease.

Ahead, the owner of the cannonball leaped off a nearby garage roof, its immense build making the ground shake. The pair stopped abruptly in their tracks, it was clear from his height and pointed yellow teeth arranged into a crooked grin that he wasn't human.

"Two demigods for me to eat, it must be my lucky day." he growled. Behind them, the beast had slowed down to a walk, advancing on them. Ruby attempted to dodge past him, but the giant grabbed her by the shoulder and flung her to the ground in one smooth, strong motion. The dark-haired girl landed with a smack on the formidable ground a distance away, groaning slightly. Zwei barked and ran to her side.

"Ruby!"

"That was too easy." smirked the giant, beckoning for the creature to come forward. "You're next." Yang could feel its oddly cold breath on the back of her neck. She turned and threw a punch at the dark beast; it connected with its neck and sent it reeling back with a roar. The din of metal resonated through the air, and the creature's head was suddenly liberated from its body.

It stood still for a fraction of a second, before tumbling to the concrete without a single sound, like crumpled paper. Its killer lowered his weapon, his face stony and very familiar.

"Uncle Qrow?!" exclaimed Yang.

"Yes kiddo, it's me. Now get your sister and leave, I'll deal with the simpleton." he replied, giving the giant a hard glare. Yang dashed towards Ruby, who was already upright.

"I'm fine." she said, looking anything but fine. The pair were soon interrupted by an unpleasant "CRUNCH", which turned out to be the giant pounding his fists into the tarmac with so much force that large chunks of the road ended up in his hands. With a roar of annoyance, he tossed them at Qrow, who swiftly deflected them with his large sword.

Yang and Ruby could hardly comprehend what was going on. Uncle Qrow, who spent most of his time travelling around America. Uncle Qrow, who enjoyed drinking alcohol and sassing whoever stood in his way. Uncle Qrow, who generally acted very nonchalant in any situation. Uncle Qrow, who was battling an eight-foot tall cannibal giant with a weapon longer than the monster's arm.

The giant charged towards Qrow like a deranged bull. He raised his weapon again and jabbed it straight into the giant's chest, causing an ear-splitting howl of pain. Before either of them could react, the giant disintegrated into what appeared to be a cloud of black powder. The dark-haired man gave a scoff of disgust; the top half of his weapon retracted into its base and tucked it behind him, it stayed there, seeming very secure. He looked towards the duo, using his hand to brush his hair back into place.

Ruby took a deep breath. "What-."

"Questions later, kid. C'mon, before anything else shows up." he jabbed his thumb in the direction of their house.

The walk back was silent (even Zwei wasn't making a sound) and seemed to drag on for a lot longer than expected. Although maybe it was because of the seemingly infinite questions buzzing inside the two, like a horde of irritated wasps.

When they arrived at the front doorstep, Qrow reached for the door then hesitated slightly, his hand hovering above the handle. "How much did your parents tell you?" he saw the girls' faces. "Only the negative side, I presume."

"There's a positive side?" muttered Yang.

"Touché." Qrow replied. "Well, depends how you look at it."

As soon as he finished his sentence, the door flung open. Taiyang's face was a mixture of exasperation and sorrow. "Qrow."

"I need a break, I just drove halfway across Florida and killed a Laistrygonian."

"A what?!"

The dark-haired man gave a smirk and walked past Taiyang into the living room. "A Canadian." his face quickly turned serious. "It's unusual of them to be so far South."

"Qrow? Is that you?" Summer emerged from the adjacent room. "What happened?" Taiyang allowed the girls to enter and then shut the door behind them. Zwei leaped up the staircase, clearly quite shaken by the encounter.

"Nothing much." Qrow sat down on the armchair. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tell these two a lot of information."

Summer looked as if she was going to retaliate, but decided against it. "Fine." she sighed, leaving the room. Taiyang reluctantly did the same, giving Qrow a look as he left.

"Girls," their uncle began, unscrewing his flask, "are you gonna sit down or what?"

"Not until you tell us what's going on!" countered Ruby.

"What's going on," Qrow said slowly, taking a swig from the flask, "is that monsters hunt demigods by their distinctive scent. The reason why that Laistrygonian appeared was because you two now know who you truly are, which makes your scent peak."

"You knew we were demigods?" questioned Yang, resting against the windowsill, her purple eyes shining.

"All along, kiddo. Raven and I are children of Ares, the war god."

"Raven?"

"My sister." Qrow turned to Yang. "Your mother."

A silence rippled through the room. "She's.... still alive?"

"Yes, although I'm not telling you where she is. Not yet, anyway."

"But-."

"Let me finish. There's only two places where demigods can safely stay without becoming a manticore's pincushion. One of them's in New York, we'll leave for it tomorrow."

"Wait, what?"

"It's abrupt, I know, but your scents are at its peaks. The sooner you get to Camp Half-Blood, the better. You're children of Olympians, which doesn't really help, either."

Ruby looked at the man, who was taking another drink. "Which Olympians?"

Qrow finished the contents of the flask. "Hm? Oh, you'll know sooner or later. I could tell you, but that's not as interesting." he rose from the armchair. "We'll set off tomorrow, it's too late for us to travel now."

"But it takes several hours to get from Tallahassee to New York." said Ruby, her grey stare meeting Qrow's scarlet red one.

"I am aware, but we'll drive to South Dakota. I know a friend there who can help us."

Chapter Text

Yang and Ruby turned around and saw the peaceful neighbourhood slowly disappear below the early morning horizon. They had barely gotten any sleep, and gotten even less of a chance to say goodbye to Summer and Taiyang. Or Zwei, for that matter.

"Coffee's in the Thermos flask." piped up Qrow, his voice gruff from his lingering slumber.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, Ruby?"

"You mentioned battling the Canadian giant, but what was the other creature?"

Qrow exhaled loudly, tightening his hands on the steering wheel. "To be honest, no one actually knows."

"What do you mean? Don't the gods know?" inquired Yang.

"They probably do, but they deny ever creating them. Those - beasts - started appearing in random locations all over America a couple of months ago, and their numbers are growing. Camp Jupiter say they'll disappear in their own time; a load of nonsense, if you ask me. You'd think they'd actually take the problem seriously, seen as though they're the camp for Roman demigods with their fancy military structure, but apparently not."

"So the two camps dislike each other?"

"Well, during the American Civil War, the demigods mirrored history and a battle between the two camps broke out. But a few years ago, they formed an alliance because of some prophecy about seven kids saving the world. Right now though, things seem rather tense." the car came to a halt at the traffic lights. "Not tense enough to cause war, but there's been a lot less demigods travelling between the two camps recently. If war broke out though, I'd expect the Romans to win. I went to visit the camp two years ago and they certainly are a lot more disciplined." Qrow wrinkled his nose and shifted the gear because the traffic light was on amber. "Not that I really like them."

"You prefer Camp-Half Blood?"

The car resumed their journey north. "Definitely. Raven and I spent at least all of our summer holidays there. There aren't any pointless cohorts or centurions or whatever those Romans call them. Camp Half-Blood has cabins for the children of each god with head counselors for each cabin, like cabin five is for kids of Ares, cabin seven is for kids of Apollo. By the way, don't look at the Apollo cabin during the day unless you wanna get blinded."

Yang carefully poured the contents of the Thermos into the lid, watching the steam rise up in delicate swirls. "So my... mum is a child of Ares but I'm also the child of an Olympian?"

"Yeah, you're a second generation legacy of Ares and then the child of a god. Makes monsters even more happy. Although to be fair, there has been decreased monster activity lately, which is good, but a little suspicious. Especially with all those dark creatures appearing from nowhere."

"Do you think they're working together? Like how the giant was working with the creature?" suggested Ruby.

"Probably. And if that's the case we'll be in a bad situation. Monsters by themselves are annoying enough to control as it is."

"Great." said Yang, her voice flat with sarcasm as she finished the coffee and placed the flask back its holder.

"Well, every demigod has tricks up their sleeve." grinned Qrow.

"Tricks?"

"Of course, we're children of gods, after all."

"Well I don't think having crippling ADHD and dyslexia is a good thing-."

"Of course it is. ADHD sharpens your reflexes so you can react faster in combat. Plus, our brains are hardwired for Ancient Greek, which makes English difficult to read. Besides, demigods have additional powers depending on which godly parent they have, like kids of Ares are experts in weapon usage and have enhanced strength."

"Right..."

The two still had many questions to ask, but as the car pulled up onto the motorway, Ruby felt the lack of sleep along with the steady hum of the engine take its toll and before long, the girls were asleep. Qrow glimpsed at them in the interior mirror and arched his eyebrow fondly; he hadn't expected them to sleep after all that had happened.

A distant voice seemed to be yelling incoherent words.

Ruby awoke with a jerk, a dull pain in her neck from sleeping in an awkward position.

"CRASH."

A figure fell onto the car hood, making it lurch forward, the metal denting like aluminium foil. Yang quickly woke up as well, as equally startled as Ruby was.

"Get out of the car!"

The pair wrestled open the car door and charged out, seeing a huge black bear lying on the car, motionless. It resembled the creature they'd encountered in Tallahassee, but this specimen was more well-built, with arms like the trunks of oak trees. The back of a wide building was a distance away from the vehicle, it's wall covered in an array of illegible graffiti. It seemed that they had stopped behind a gas station.

Qrow loomed over the beast, his weapon raised as if expecting it to rear up any second. The sword had changed shape into a wicked scythe, its edges gleaming in the sunlight. Abruptly, he struck the weapon into the creature's nape, seeing specks of black slowly leave the body. "I leave for two minutes to visit the washroom and this happens. There's bound to be more around here somewhere." he looked at Yang and Ruby. "Go look in the boot, I have some spare weapons in there."

Underneath a black panel at the bottom of the car boot was a manifesto of small but lethal weapons. Daggers that looked like they could pluck a person's heart out, knuckledusters tipped with spikes, hatchet axes with shining bronze heads and even a couple of shotguns with spare ammunition boxes.

"Don't you ever get caught for this?"

"Pfft, no. If a police officer saw this, they'd probably mistake it for a deluxe golf set-."

A ferocious snarl interrupted the conversation. The trio turned and saw four beasts running towards them. Qrow smoothed his hair back and raised his scythe.

"Grab a weapon, let's do this."

Chapter Text

"Hey!"

The demigod looked up from her book, her face deadpan. "Yes?"

"There's a storm in Manhattan soon, are you pissing yourself just thinking about it?" smirked Cardin, a child of Ares who was well known throughout the camp for bullying others. The demigod looked back at the pages, her amber eyes uninterested.

"No, I'm not."

Cardin snorted, he attempted a grab at her book, but she swiftly whisked it out of the way. "Freak." he smirked, sauntering off. Blake Belladonna glared at his retreating back, but soon returned to her book. She was used to events like these happening frequently. Not that Blake liked them, she'd happily watch Cardin plunge into a deep, dark fissure.

The midday heat hung in the air, demigods were moving in and out of the mismatched cabins, pulling at their warm T-shirts and complaining about the intense summer weather (apart from the Apollo children, who seemed to be doing fine). One of the Apollo children smiled brightly at a figure far away and ran towards it, yelling "Nico!"

Silently, Blake set her book down at the sound of the name being called out. Her half-brother wasn't around camp that often, although when he was, it was usually to visit his boyfriend.

Sure enough, the couple soon returned, holding hands. Nico was wearing his aviator jacket as usual, even though the summer heat was scorching, and smiling fondly at Will, who was rapidly chatting about everything that had happened at camp while he was gone. He saw Blake sitting outside cabin thirteen, and excused himself for a moment, walking towards her with his hands in his pockets.

"Blake." he greeted, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I presume you were off slaughtering monsters again?"

"Yeah, there were groups of rogue cyclopes in North and South Dakota, so I spent a while tracking them down. I also helped bring some demigods to camp. The satyrs will barely leave the forest because they're so sceptical of those new beasts, which means there's a lot of quests to go and find unclaimed campers.."

"I see. So you're staying for a while?"

"Maybe, Will's probably gonna force me to stay on 'doctor's orders'. Not that I'm complaining." Nico replied, twisting the silver skull ring on his slender finger. Blake saw an American Idiot T-shirt underneath his jacket. "Anyway, I'd better get back to him."

"Of course. See you around, then."

Nico returned to Will, who spotted a newly-obtained scar on his boyfriend's hand and raised an eyebrow. Blake got up from sitting on the porch of the cabin and off towards archery practice, ignoring the shifty stares of the campers as she passed them.

"...... and so that's how the gods put me in charge of designing a new Olympus for them." finished Annabeth, after an explanation that lasted for a quarter of an hour. Her half-sibling gave her an impressed look, her blue eyes wide.

"How was it?"

"It was amazing! I mean, I spent sleepless nights drawing out blueprints, but it was worth it." the camper turned and saw a dark-haired young man waving at her from beyond the camp borders. "Percy's getting bored, we're heading to Manhattan to see his new sister."

"Oh, well, I hope it goes well."

"Thanks, see you tomorrow. I hope the Hephaestus cabin has finished their task by then, or else the project can't continue."

Weiss watched Annabeth shoulder her overnight bag and walk off towards her boyfriend. Once she'd left, Weiss turned and headed towards the cabins. She'd barely approached the omega sign of cabins when a hurrying camper sent them both tumbling to the ground.

"Sorry!"

The daughter of Athena rose from the ground, furious. "Watch where you're going, then! You could've caused a lot of damage!"

"I know, sorry!" replied the girl, who had dark hair and wide, grey eyes. "Uh, do you know where the Hermes cabin is?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "You're unclaimed?"

"Well, I guess."

She scoffed lightly. "It's the most worn-out cabin, you can't miss it. The cabin looks so awful."

"Thanks..."

The white-haired camper walked off without replying. Ruby stood staring after her, wondering if this was normal behaviour. Then again, nothing seemed normal now.

Their encounter with the creatures lead to several cuts and bruises, and a car that eventually petered out after a few miles of driving, much to Qrow's annoyance. When his friend Nico arrived, the son of Ares decided to stay behind and wished the girls luck before departing. He wasn't fazed by the idea, he'd spent most of his life travelling around the country, and proceeded to mutter something about "shadow travelling being a nightmare". He wasn't wrong.

Cabin eleven was the largest within the group, with peeling brown paint and a porch that looked like it was on the verge of collapsing. On the door was what appeared to be two snakes intertwined around a winged staff. It looked mediocre compared to the mismatch of unique, colourful cabins surrounding it.

"Well, this is a disappointment." said Yang, appearing behind Ruby.

"Where were you?"

"Some camper stopped me and yelled that I set the grass on fire." the blonde gave an irritated huff. "They were freaking out, mentioning something about another cursed one."

"Cursed one?"

Two demigods exited the Hermes cabin. They bore identical, mischievous faces surrounded by brown curls and upon seeing the new campers, turned and grinned at each other before slinking off. Outside a cabin that resembled an oversized motor-home, Yang saw the campers rapidly talking to a Latino young man wearing oil-stained overalls, who looked both shocked and intrigued.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, either." her eyes travelled upwards abruptly and widened. "Ruby, there's a-."

"A what?" Ruby became aware that a glow was growing brighter at the top of her vision. She tilted her head upwards and saw a symbol similar to the one the Hermes cabin door levitating above her, radiating copper brown. A couple of campers stopped and stared at her, murmuring about an overflowing cabin eleven.

"Alright, another Hermes camper!" yelled one of the Stoll brothers.

Chapter Text

The praetor's cobalt eyes scanned over the contents of the letter, while the camper sitting opposite him fidgeted on his seat. He'd been claimed with a golden lyre over his head barely a week ago, and had faked his reference letter in an attempt to be accepted into an esteemed cohort.

While the praetor examined the letter, an uncomfortable silence rippled through the small room. The camper twisted the hem of his purple T-shirt in his hands, pretending to appear nonchalant and failing.

A few tense moments later, the praetor set the letter down on the desk, making the son of Apollo stiffen in anticipation.

"So, is it good, praetor Vasilias?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"I didn't expect you to know the centurion of the first cohort."

"W-Well, I'm always partial to meeting new people."

"She's given very positive comments about you."

"Yeah, I suppose." his heart felt like it was in his throat. Neptune got up from his seat.

"Because of this, I've decided to place you in the first cohort." the door opened, and a dark-haired legionnaire entered, holding what appeared to be a branding iron. "Welcome to the Twelfth Legion, Jaune Arc."

"Alright, shall we do another round of 'Down by the Aegean' before we head off?" asked an Apollo camper, strumming a guitar. Most of the demigods cheered in agreement. Yang and Ruby sat beside the cluster of Hermes children and unclaimed campers, wearing bright orange camp shirts.

"This is probably only thing we've done all day that is something a summer camp would actually do." stated Ruby. Yang gave a weak laugh in response. The Hephaestus cabin were still giving her shifty looks. It was impossible to hear what they were saying due to the loud crackling of the fire and the singing.

"They've been looking at me all day!"

"What, the Hephaestus children?"

"My, someone's fiery." chuckled Travis, who overheard their conversation.

"Shut up!"

Ruby gave her half-sibling a look and turned back towards Yang. "You could ask them why. I'll go with you." she suggested. Yang's eyes glowed red in a way that Ruby had never seen before, the flames reflecting in them. "Yang?"

She blinked, her eyes suddenly returning back their usual colour. "After the song."

The Apollo children were slowly singing their way through the third verse when they were interrupted by the Hephaestus cabin yelling.

"I TOLD YOU!"

"I THOUGHT SHE'D BE A DAUGHTER OF APHRODITE WITH THOSE LOOKS!"

"ANOTHER ONE WITH PYROKINESIS, WE'RE DOOMED!"

Ruby saw the hologram of a blazing scarlet hammer above Yang's head. Amongst the group of cabin nine members, the Latino's eyes widened in disbelief. Mr D., the camp director, shouted for calm.

"WILL YOU KIDS SHUT UP?!"

Angered, Yang stood up from her seat, her eyes glowing crimson again. "DOOMED FOR WHAT?!"

The flames exploded to a bonfire twice as large as usual, making the campers all evacuate the surroundings. Ruby was dragged out of danger by Connor, looking frantically at where Yang had gone. She'd disappeared into the chaos of campers.

Mr D. was brushing the campers aside, his face livid. Chiron, the activities director, was attempting to settle the situation.

"Will all campers please return to their cabins immediately!"

"This is ridiculous! We already have Leo, what is Hephaestus doing?!" bellowed Mr D. when Chiron approached him.

"C'mon, let's scram before Mr D. sees us." said Connor, tapping Ruby on the shoulder.

"But Yang-."

"Chiron will go looking for her. He won't be happy if we go as well."

The Hermes children were hurrying back to the cabin, with Ruby looking over her shoulder. "What... what did Mr D. mean? And why are we doomed? Yang's done nothing wrong!"

Her half-sibling slowed down to a quick walk. "According to others, when a demigod is given the ability to manipulate fire, it means that awful things are gonna happen."

"What awful things?!"

"Oh, I dunno, monsters and great fires. Stuff like that. Ask Leo Valdez, the Latino one who looks like a Christmas elf, he knows." the two stopped outside the cabin, numerous campers all filing through the narrow door. "By the way, the bed you're using is kinda broken."

Inside the cabin, campers were all sitting on their beds (well, makeshift beds for some) and chatting, shocked at what had happened. Connor left for his bunk bed which he shared with Travis, which seemed more sturdy compared to others. Ruby had been allocated a spot earlier in the day, a rickety folding bed sat in the corner that collapsed if anyone sat on the end. Mercifully, the bed-sheets were clean.

Ruby's and Yang's bags lay on top of the bed, each containing necessities such as clothing and toiletries.

"On the plus side," said Travis, kicking an identical folding bed next to Ruby's, "there'll be a spare bed. I've asked Mr D. several times if we could get some more beds, but he's said 'no' every time. Plus, he keeps on calling me 'Dennis'."

The dark-haired demigod didn't give a reply, clasping the bag strap in her hand and wondering how much more bad news was coming their way.

"Mis dioses."

"I'm sorry?"

The Latino looked up from resting against the wall of the forgery. "So what they said was true. You have pyrokinesis as well."

"As well? You mean-."

"Yup, and it isn't pleasant." the young man brushed at his stained overall and stuck his calloused hand out in front of Yang. "Leo Valdez, counsellor of cabin nine."

She shook it, trying to steady her breathing from the bout of previous fury. "Yang Xiao Long."

Leo kicked at the dust on the ground with his boot, his dark eyes sorrowful. "Hera used my own powers against me, made me set fire to my mother's warehouse. She died in the flames. I spent part of my life guilty because of her death." he gave Yang a sideways look. "The last time our father gave pyrokinesis to his one of his children, he almost burnt down the whole of a city. Don't take your powers lightly, bad things are destined to happen."

Chapter Text

The following morning, the Hephaestus cabin were inside the camp forge as expected. But instead of individually working on weapons like usual, they were sitting in tight clusters around workbenches with piles of blueprints and hastily written notes. Yang caught glimpses of intricately designed buildings covered in detailed annotations.

"Has anyone told you about our new project?" piped up Leo as she approached a workbench.

"No?"

He removed the pencil from behind his ear and started scrawling over the paper. "We're expanding the camp, seen as though so many demigods are arriving and getting claimed now."

"Expanding it 'cos Camp Jupiter hates us, even though we still use their gold." uttered another Hephaestus demigod, overhearing Leo's conversation. "New Athens. It's so cheesy."

Leo continued scribbling down notes, choosing to ignore the comment.

"So you're building a whole city?" asked Yang sceptically.

"Pretty much so. We've been planning for this non-stop since last month. The Athena cabin keep on badgering us to hurry up, just because they finished their plans for the society's structure hardly a week after we started. Typical. Anyway," Leo placed the pencil back behind his ear. "you need a weapon, we have Capture the Flag this evening, and there's monsters."

"Should I get one from the armoury-."

"That's the boring way! Hephaestus kids make their own weapons."

"How am I going to do that-."

"Simple! Choose a metal - celestial bronze or imperial gold - and design a new weapon. It can be any type, just something you're comfortable with. I know it's sudden, but," Leo tapped his temple with his blackened finger, grinning. "We don't have technokinesis for nothing."

"I barely know anything about this!"

"Nor did I when I arrived at camp, but I managed to fix a flying bronze dragon within five minutes of arriving."

"For tonight's game, the Hermes cabin will lead the red team and the Athena cabin will lead the blue team, who are currently winning. You all know the rules: the creek is the boundary line, and the entire forest is fair game. Magic items are permitted. Killing and maiming - much to my regret - are not." announced Dionysus, standing on a cliff overlooking the two teams of armour-clad campers.

Ruby began to question whether having Mr D. as the camp director was a wise choice. She was standing with the Hermes cabin, holding a sword and shield that were too heavy and wearing oversized armour. The red-plumed helmet was not a comfortable fit either; it often shifted to the left or right and blocked her vision.

"Aren't there any smaller pieces of armour?" she asked Connor, who shrugged, inspecting the chipped tip of his spear.

"Probably, but it's too late to change now-."

"Campers! Your game starts..." Chiron waited for some quiet. "Now!"

With loud roars of excitement, both teams charged towards the forest, the combined sounds of their boots hitting the ground were like a stampede of elephants. Ruby quickly followed them to avoid being trampled on.

After a long while of stumbling around the forest, the red team reached two sturdy oak trees surrounded by thickets of brambles.

"Right!" yelled Travis, the leader of the red team. "We'll hang the banner here! Who wants to guard?"

To Ruby's surprise, no one offered to, apart from a sleepy camper who dropped his shield while raising his hand. It did seem rather boring to be standing there waiting for someone to arrive.

"Fine, Ruby is." said Connor. "Seen as though you can't really run in those."

A wave of stifled laughter was heard. Yang pushed her way through the crowd, taking her helmet off. "I can take her place if you want."

Connor chuckled. "Nah, Ruby and Clovis are staying here. Everyone else, go kick the blue team's asses!"

The Hephaestus demigod looked at her adoptive sister. "You think you'll manage?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry. Where's your weapon?"

Yang grinned and raise her arms, showing gleaming gold gauntlets across her forearms. "They can shoot bullets."

"Fitting in already?"

"Of course. See you later, sis."

As expected, the job of protecting the team's flag was tedious. Ruby looked towards the other guard, who was leaning against the oak tree with his helmet not moving. His weapon and shield were dangling on the end of his arms, about to drop on the floor at any second.

"Uh, Clover?" she questioned tentatively.

"it's Clovis, actually." he replied groggily, his helmet jerking awake.

"Yeah, sorry. Shouldn't you be... guarding the other side of the tree?"

He responded with a shrug, his armour clinking together. "I don't really care for Capture the Flag."

"But what if someone from the opposite team comes to try and get our flag?"

"Fight them, I dunno." his head rested against the trunk of the tree again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dream from last night to be catching up on. It's a very intriguing dream."

"Did you not get enough sleep?"

"There's no such thing as 'enough sleep', fellow camper."

"Uh, if you say so."

A short distance away from the red team's flag, an Athena camper charged across the scrubby grass, her shining white rapier clutched in her left hand. Trees blurred past her as she looked around for a glimpse of scarlet red amongst the brown and green through her helmet visor.

Suddenly, amongst her skimming vision, a streak of ginger whizzed past. She stopped, wondering if it was a red team member. Weiss raised her weapon, approaching the bush where she saw the source of colour.

She was just about to jab the rapier into the plant when a voice spoke from behind it. "Hey, don't attack me!"

A girl emerged from behind the bush, her bright hair unkempt; she was wearing paint-smeared clothes and had an alarmed face.

Weiss lowered her weapon and removed her helmet. "Aren't you The Oracle?"

"Well, yes, but I'd prefer you to call me Rachel."

"What are you doing in the forest?"

Rachel shrugged, brushing at a purple stain. "I've been having odd visions lately." she sighed and quietened her voice. "Probably another prophecy on the horizon. And it's not a small one. Fires burning everywhere, relentless battles, you know, the really negative stuff."

"Shouldn't you be telling Chiron-."

"SCHNEE, QUIT TALKING TO THE REDHEAD! WE HAVE A FLAG TO GET!" shouted a blue team member from a distance away.

"I should, but maybe I could wait until the prophecy actually arrives. Also," Rachel nodded her head towards the hill. "they're up there somewhere."

"Oh, thanks."

"I heard the others talking about a giant scorpion."

"Oh yeah," Leo said, almost casually. "there's bound to be some around here. They used to be kept in boxes in the sword-fighting arena, but they were on the brink of destroying them, so..."

"That's a good idea?!"

"Hey, at least this counts as training."

Yang gave the Latino a look through her visor, wondering if people ever were killed in this game. Leo started whistling jauntily, though his hammer was held tightly in his hand, his knuckles paling. The ground was scattered with decaying leaves, the array of footprints from campers (and other creatures) visible.

As they continued their brisk walk into the forest, the sounds of yelling were becoming apparent. Seemingly out of nowhere, a red team member ran towards them, panting and holding a shield with a large section of it missing.

"Scorpions.... two of them..... one's.... jet black... with skeleton...."

"Jet black?" repeated Yang, slightly suspicious. The camper nodded. Leo frowned and adjusted his breastplate.

"I've seen nothing.... like that before.... come look....."

The Hephaestus demigods followed the camper around clusters of trees towards a large clearing, where a group of both red and blue team members were battling two immense scorpions. Their weapons reflected the sun while they dodged danger and attempted to attack the two monsters while avoiding their pincers, which could easily cut a camper in half like scissors slicing through paper.

One creature was dusty brown and resembled a normal scorpion, just several times bigger, however, the other was far more disconcerting. It had a black exoskeleton beneath dirty white plates upon its back, which was covered in oddly-shaped crimson markings. Its stinger, curving over its grotesque body, was the colour of liquid gold, ending in a point that could pierce through metal with ease.

Leo turned to the blonde, his eyes shining beneath his helmet. "Go help the Ares kids, I'll see if I can work out a trap."

As expected, the Ares campers were fighting the dark scorpion with little strategy, mainly brute force. The creature's bone-like exterior meant that the slashes of the swords and stabs of the spears weren't doing much. Nevertheless, they continued their attacking with enormous vigour.

"Hey! You gonna help us or what?!" yelled one of the bulky campers, "Seen as though you almost burnt us to a crisp yesterday!"

"I didn't mean to do that!"

"Yeah," the demigod leaped out of the way of a pincer. "totally gonna believe you!"

The scorpion, being surrounded by fighting campers, managed to shake them off with a wild sweep of its sting-tipped tail. When it scraped against the bottom of a nearby tree, it's roots quickly disintegrated and caused the plant to topple onto the team members. Some were already on the floor, covered in scratch marks with their helmets knocked askew.

Cheers were heard from the other scorpion. Groups of campers surrounded it, stabbing its weak areas repeatedly. It seemed like they were winning against their fight. For the other scorpion, this wasn't as simple.

Yang raised her arms, aiming Ember Cecila at the giant scorpion. Celestial bullets shot out of the gauntlets with slight rebounds that she was still getting used to. They bounced off the white plates, only aggravating the creature. It pounded its immense pincers into the ground repeatedly, sending nearby demigods flying.

"Thanks, jackass! Now it's even more-."

A shaking was becoming apparent from the ground, but it wasn't from the scorpion. The creatures continued battling against the campers, but the teams were showing concern at the vibrating of the ground beneath them.

"EVERYONE GET OFF THE SCORPIONs!" commanded the counsellor of the Athena cabin, ignoring the groans of protest from the Ares cabin. The shaking was becoming heavier and heavier, making it difficult to stay put on the ground.

Abruptly, a cracking sound rang through the air, swiftly followed by a huge, pitch-black gap slicing through the ground beneath the scorpion. It staggered slightly, before losing balance and plunging into the fissure. The demigods were silent for a few seconds, but soon there were roars of triumph throughout them. By far, the Ares campers were making the most noise.

Until the creator of the fissure appeared from amongst the shadows. They were definitely a camper, with an orange T-shirt beneath their breastplate, but the campers started walking away, their faces darkening. The Ares cabin's grins turned into sneers.

"Wanting to save the day again, freak?"

The figure didn't move, or respond. Their ebony black weapon gripped in their hand, which had black strips wrapped around the wrist. Yang stared at the campers, sickened. They had just been saved from being pierced by a scorpion the size of two shipping containers, and they were jeering at their salvation?

"She ain't even listening, the freak!"

"C'mon, let's go grab that flag!"

The Ares demigods charged off, not even looking back.

Chapter Text

"What do you mean it'll be fine?!"

"Well, that's what Capture the Flag's for, right? Battling people? It was three days ago, Yang, give it a break."

"She should get a taste of her own medicine." growled Yang, punching the palm of her hand. "No one messes with my baby sister."

"I'm fifteen. Plus," Ruby looked at her bandaged arm. "it's not even that deep of a cut."

"What's her name?"

"I mean... I think I heard someone calling her 'Weiss'."

The majority of the camp were on the beach of Long Island Sound, a useful place to practice discus and javelin. Every so often, an attractive nereid would sit in the shallows of the ocean, earning stares from flustered campers. The girls were standing a distance away from the crowd, discussing various topics about the camp and hoping to not get sand in their sneakers.

"Anyway, I should really get a good weapon, most of the ones I've received are either too heavy or too light." said Ruby.

"You could always make one. Leo says that any camper can visit the forge and craft their own weapon. I could help you."

The Hermes camper rubbed her fingers against the material of her shirt, a small smile appearing her face. "Thanks, Yang."

"No problem, sis."

Later that day, the campers were given free time. Yang was expected to return to the forge and continue helping with the plans for camp expansion (the Athena cabin were getting rather annoyed), but she decided to seek out a certain individual instead.

Campers sat on the porches of the cabins, chatting underneath the warm late evening sun. Music was gently playing from the cabins; Chiron had enforced a rule for the Ares cabin banning heavy metal that was being played too loud.

Yang approached a cabin set next to the well-used Hermes one. This one was made of obsidian, its jet-black walls with Greek Fire torches looking like whole different world compared to the Hermes cabin. Even the porch was black, and for the camper sitting on the steps, she was wearing the same colour, apart from her camp T-shirt. She had her face hidden behind a large hardback book, with a black bow sitting atop her head, but the strips wrapped around her slim wrist gave away her identity.

"Hell-o!" Yang smiled cheerily, walking towards the Hades camper. She lowered her book, revealing glaring, honey-coloured eyes.

"Yes?"

"Good job on taking out that scorpion, that was so impressive!"

The ebony-haired demigod blinked, before returning to her book. "Thanks."

Clearly, she didn't want to continue the conversation. Yang, looked at the book title, which was jumbled thanks to her dyslexia. "Uh, nice book you've got there."

"I guess..."

"You've not got dyslexia, then?"

"No, not all demigods have it."

"Lucky." Yang sat down on the steps, seeing the Hades child shift slightly. "Sorry, I forgot to ask for your name. Mine's Yang."

"Blake." she replied, her eyes glued to the book. There was a strained moment where neither of them spoke.

"If you don't mind me asking, why were the Ares cabin calling you a freak?"

Her fingers tightened on her book. "They always do that."

"But you're a child of the Big Three, shouldn't they respect you?"

Blake gave a sigh and closed her book, still looking towards it. The Hephaestus camper saw a thin necklace resting on her shirt, several brightly-coloured beads threaded onto it. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't." she looked at Yang, then looked back at the book. "But anyway, most of the Ares cabin don't really respect anyone, that's just how they are."

Campers walked by, giving the pair disapproving looks and muttering to their peers. Yang frowned slightly. "It's not just the Ares cabin though, is it?"

"Are you even listening, little sneak?!"

The Hermes demigod jerked out of her daydream. Currently, the Athena cabin were sitting on a patch of lush green grass outside the Big House with various demigods, being tutored about Greek mythology. The white-haired girl sat opposite her, drumming her fingers on a book impatiently.

"I, uh-."

"Which god was thrown off the top of Mount Olympus?!"

".....Hades?"

"What?! No, it was Hephaestus, you dolt!"

"Oh, sorry."

Weiss looked like she was about to smash Ruby's head with the heavy book, her angered face twisting the scar over her left eye. "Did you take in any of the story?"

"Of course!" she lied. The Athena camper gave her a glare. "Okay, maybe not that much."

"Class is dismissed!" announced the blonde Athena cabin counsellor. The campers got up from the ground and swiftly headed off. Ruby was glad to walk away. The two were repeatedly crossing paths, not to either of their delight.

Approaching the large omega sign of buildings, Ruby spotted the Stoll brothers standing outside their cabin and grinning mischievously at a camper.

"Travis Stoll, pleasure to have you join our Hermes cabin!" said Travis brightly, extending his hand for the demigod to shake. He looked at it with steely eyes.

"Nice try." he replied, walking away. Travis scowled and removed his hand buzzer and deactivated it.

"I had to pay a bunch for this sucker."

"He's awfully dull for a Hermes kid." Connor mused.

"He's new?" asked Ruby.

"Yup, you'd think he was a kid of Athena with that snobby look." snorted Travis. "C'mon, Connor. Let's go see if we can trick anyone over at the stables."

"Wait, I've been meaning to ask you two a question."

"Fire away, pal."

"Do all Hermes children have high speed abilities?"

The brothers looked at each other, resembling a person beside a mirror. "Some of us, yeah." responded Connor, smirking. "Although, we're more on the - money management - side."

"I see." muttered Ruby. Ever since their encounter in the forest, Weiss had been referring to her as "little sneak", which was growing more and more irritating.

"We can also use winged shoes, they're pretty neat - but Hermes doesn't really dish them out now, after what happened."

"What do you mean?"

Travis' face darkened. "Let's just say, he pays a lot more attention to us than before." he tossed the hand buzzer into the air and deftly caught it. "It was the whole reason the 'campers being claimed before thirteen' rule got passed."

Before Ruby could reply, a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the soft sounds of music from the direction of the Apollo cabin.

Chapter Text

A carrot-haired girl stood outside the golden cabin, clutching her head as if she had an unbearable migraine. Apollo campers surrounded her, looking fiercely protective.

"Leave her be." commanded a demigod as someone approached. "Rachel's the Oracle of Delphi, she's about to recite a prophecy."

Throughout the growing crowd of campers, audible gasps were heard, followed by murmurs. Ruby heard many different conversations.

"Another one?!"

"I bet it's gonna be about Camp Jupiter."

"Do you think I'll be in it?"

"Mr D's gonna get ticked."

As if on cue, the wine god was soon pushing his way through the crowd, holding a Diet Coke can and being followed by Chiron. "Alright, don't get too excited!"

Rachel was now kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily as if she'd just finished running. A green glow was visible through her curly locks of hair which were obscuring her face. The campers began to quieten, with the Apollo demigods joining them.

She tipped her head back, revealing eyes that glowed bright green, almost as blinding as the cabin behind her. Raising a pale arm, her index finger pointed directly through the crowd and at Ruby. The campers all turned and looked at her, wide-eyed, as she stood in confusion.

"Mr Solace, please take Rachel to the Apollo cabin, we will join you shortly." said Chiron. The blonde camper nodded and helped the Oracle towards the cabin door. Dionysus began shooing the crowd away, the demigods walking off reluctantly.

"Off you go, or else you're all cleaning the stables!"

Swiftly, the centaur approached Ruby, his steps almost rhythmic on the worn ground. "Miss Rose - is it?" he earned a tentative nod in response."Come, we must hear the prophecy."

The interior of the Apollo cabin was just as bright as the outside, with an assortment of musical instruments hanging from the lemon chiffon walls and canary yellow bed-sheets adorning the bunk beds. Rachel was slumped in an armchair next to a stack of medical kits, her eyes still glowing green. Chiron (he was too tall to enter) and the Apollo demigods were standing outside the door, looking at the Oracle and at Ruby in anticipation.

She stood opposite Rachel, whose mouth began to twitch, barely visible behind her curtain of hair.

The enemy of Zeus shall unlock Pan's blessed kind,

The Helm and the Grimm shall be intertwined,

Four will head on, bearing the colours of the beasts,

Heading west, you'll see the alliance has ceased.

The Oracle's head lolled further down towards her chest, the emerald glow fading from her eyes. After a short pause, the cabin counsellor walked in and bent down to look at her.

"Rachel? Rachel, can you hear me?"

The redhead lifted her head abruptly, sitting up straight in the armchair and blinking at the surroundings. "Will... another prophecy?" she asked weakly. Will nodded in response, his blonde fringe falling over his eyes.

Chiron looked at her briefly, then back at Ruby. "Did you hear it clearly?"

"Y-Yes." she replied, exiting the cabin.

"The Oracle has predicted that four will participate in this quest. It's an unlucky choice." he mused as stepped down from the porch. "But be prepared, Miss Rose. You will be the leader of this quest."

Laid on the workbench was a large scythe made of celestial bronze and ethereal platinum, the bronze treated so that parts of it shone crimson and inky black; Ruby smiled down at it in awe.

"You did a good job!" grinned Yang, sitting on an unoccupied workbench and wiping her hands with a scrap of cloth.

"Only because you helped." Ruby replied, running her fingers along the cold, smooth surface.

"Partially helped." the blonde corrected. "Anyway, you'll be kicking ass on the quest with this beauty."

Her fingers stopped on the metal. "I still don't understand the prophecy though, it's so vague."

"Well, isn't that whole point of prophecies - to give information but somehow confuse everyone at the same time? Besides, you still have some time before the quest."

"'Bearing the colours of the beasts,' - maybe they're referring to those black creatures?" the Hermes child rested on a nearby anvil. "They had... red markings, white bones protruding, and black bodies-."

"And yellow, in their eyes." Yang snapped her fingers, her face brightening. "The four represent different colours of the beasts! That's why you're part of the team - you represent the red!"

"Well, yeah, but why would that be important?"

"I don't know. But," she slid off the workbench, still smiling. "we can go and find them now!"

"I doubt that walking up to the nearest goth - or albino - will help. Plus, one of the team might apparently be an enemy of Zeus."

"Why would an enemy of Zeus even be allowed in the grounds?"

"Uh, good point. And why would they unlock a pan?"

"Maybe they're some sort of god? I've never heard of them though." replied the Hephaestus child, walking towards the forge door. "C'mon, we have people to find."

She hauled open the door, sending a blast of sweltering heat outwards. An white-haired Athena camper was stood outside, looking as if she was about to enter. When she looked past Yang's shoulder she saw the virtually empty camp forge.

"What are you Hephaestus campers doing?! I thought you'd have all the blueprints and materials ready by today!" Weiss ranted.

Ruby looked up from Crescent Rose and spotted her. "Oh."

Yang rubbed her hand along the back of her neck, surprised by the sudden burst. "They've got strawberry picking on their schedule right now. I offered to keep an eye on the forge."

"We've been generous enough with the deadlines! Mr D's going to be giving us all infinite chores by the end of this month if we don't start constructing-."

"You can ask Leo about this, he's the cabin counsellor."

Weiss gave a loud huff, crossing her arms. "You'd think that with two pyrokinetics, they'd have gotten the job done by now, but no." she muttered, storming off.

"Well there's a happy camper." the blonde commented sarcastically, walking out of the forge with Ruby behind her, carrying her weapon in its compact form.

"That's Weiss, the one who I've been complaining about."

"I can see why. Anyway, want to give your scythe a go?"

"Of course!"

The Sword Fighting Arena was a short distance away from the cabins. Luckily, no classes were occupying it at the moment, apart from a lone figure who was training with the straw dummies. Numerous gashes ran across the dummy, straw spilling out onto the dusty ground, falling in a pile next to its breastplate which had been knocked off. When Yang spotted the camper, she gave a friendly wave.

"Blake!"

"You know her?" questioned Ruby.

"Yup, she saved half the camp from being torn to shreds during Capture the Flag."

The demigod saw them and hesitated slightly, before lowering her weapon and walking towards them. "Hello, Yang. Hello, Ruby."

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

Blake slipped her weapon back in a sheath on her back. "News spreads quickly around camp, especially when prophecies are involved."

"Oh, I see. Have you heard about the contents?"

The ebony-haired demigod gave a small shrug. "Parts of it, from the Apollo campers talking to people."

"Do you have any idea what the team might be?" suggested Yang. Blake's eyes dulled, and unless her eyes were deceiving her, Yang saw her bow twitch.

"I don't know, but one thing that concerns me is the first line."

"Why?"

"Zeus has certainly hated me since the day I was born."

Chapter Text

"I wasn't ever thinking of telling anyone else, seen as though it's partially the reason the camp is sceptical of me, but with the prophecy, I might as well."

"We won't tell anyone." promised Ruby.

The three demigods were sitting on a low wall surrounding the arena, their plans for training currently suspended.

"Most of the camp knows. As I said, news always spreads quickly." Blake gave a light sigh. "Have you heard of the Pact of the Big Three, made after the Second World War?"

"Nope."

"Well, the war was fought between three sons of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Sometime after the war ended, the Oracle made a prophecy stating that the next child of the Big Three to turn sixteen could be responsible for saving or destroying Olympus. They saw what conflicts between their children could do, in terms of affecting the godly and mortal world, and heard the powerful prophecy, so they all made an agreement to vow to never have demigod children."

"Let me guess, they still did?"

"Yes, but the after the Great Prophecy was fulfilled by Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon, the pact was dissolved. I'm a couple of years younger than him, which means I wasn't part of the prophecy."

"Oh, uh, that's good, I guess."

"It isn't. See, before World War Two, Zeus killed one of Hades' lovers. So, while the pact was still in place, Hades got his revenge by sending Underworld monsters to kill Zeus' daughter. It didn't work, but it made Zeus want revenge against Hades again."

"So, that's why he hates you?"

"There's more reasons. Both Zeus and Hades fell in love with my mother. Eventually, she chose Hades, so obviously Zeus would hate me."

"And he still does?" asked Yang.

"Of course he does." Blake replied bitterly. "That's why my mum sent me here when I was young, so that I'd be safe."

A group of armour-clad Ares children entered the arena, preparing to teach sword-fighting class. They spotted the campers on the wall.

"Hey, it's the freak! Looks like she finally got some friends! Oh wait, is that a flying pig I see?!"

"Why don't you buzz off and mind your own business?!" yelled the Hephaestus camper.

"Yang, don't." murmured Blake, but Cardin was already making his way over to them, sneering.

"What were you saying, hot-head? You need to cool down, shall I call over a kid of Boreas?" he laughed, causing the rest of his cabin to follow suit. Yang stood up, glaring at them. Another camper whispered in Cardin's ear, causing him to scoff. "Quit being a coward!"

"What do you mean?!" questioned Ruby, irritated.

The Ares demigod looked down at her and gave a low chuckle. "Hephaestus is certainly getting lenient-."

"ARE YOU GUYS READY?!" came a loud voice. The Ares campers turned and saw the Athena cabin at the arena's entrance. Cardin looked at the three, giving a growl as he walked off.

"Idiots." grumbled Yang. She saw Blake looking at her, a surprised glint in her bright eyes. In the distance, Weiss was approaching them, clutching her rapier.

"Has your cabin checked if we have enough marble to build a replica of the Panathenaic Stadium?"

"The what? I thought you were going to ask Leo."

She rolled her eyes. "I couldn't find him anywhere."

Ruby looked at the group. Weiss and Yang were currently arguing between each other, with Blake between them and looking emotionless. Both cabins were engaged in combat a distance away, barely taking notice of them. The sounds of their weapons clashing together seemed like a distant echo.

Four will head on, bearing the colours of the beasts.

A knock was heard on the wooden door. Jaune looked up from Crocea Mors which was resting on the bunk, his hand clamped over his right forearm.

"Uh, come in."

The door creaked open and the centurion of his cohort walked in, wearing imperial gold armour over her purple shirt as usual. "You must be Jaune Arc."

"Yup, that's my name." replied the blonde, grinning in spite of the pain from the branding. "Don't wear it out! Heh..." The centurion's green eyes hovered over him.

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos, the centurion of the first cohort."

"Nice... Nice to meet you! I'd give you a handshake but my arm is killing me."

Pyrrha shrugged. "You'll get used to it." she held her arm out, showing a crossed sword and torch with the initials 'SPQR' beneath it, followed by several horizontal lines.

"Child of Mars?"

"Bellona."

"Right, right. Of course." Jaune gave a nervous chuckle, pretending to know little about her. Pyrrha leaned against the side of a bunk, still staring at the legionnaire.

"I was talking to Praetor Vasilias this morning."

Jaune felt his blood run cold. He removed his hand gingerly from his arm, looking at the black tattoo of the lyre. "Oh, yeah, he's cool."

"He mentioned your reference letter from a couple of weeks back." Pyrrha said, her voice steady. Jaune gritted his teeth, looking down at his lap.

"Look, maybe I did-."

"I'm not accusing you of anything." Pyrrha brought her hand to her chin in thought. "You're a child of Apollo."

"And?"

"In which case, I've decided that you'll be working as a medic, helping out injured legionnaires. We're short on them right now."

He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "So, you're not sending me straight outta the cohort? You're not sending me out of the legion and making me care for Hannibal the elephant forever?"

Pyrrha walked towards the door. "No. Neptune doesn't know you faked the letter, so technically you're fine. I could tell him, but I'd like to evaluate your skills first. As a soldier, and as a member of the first cohort."

"Oh," Jaune smiled, looking up. "thanks-."

"But I'm giving you a second chance, Jaune Arc. Don't take it lightly." Pyrrha said shortly, exiting the room.

"Hey, congrats on the prophecy!" grinned Travis.

"Not many campers get chosen to lead a quest this early into their time on camp." added Connor.

"That's a good thing?" said Ruby.

"Uh, of course! You'll be fine, Percy Jackson's still alive, and he survived two massive prophecies. And I mean massive."

"Plus, he got sent on his first quest not long after arriving at camp."

"Just don't get killed by monsters."

"Or get betrayed."

"Or get on a god's bad side."

"Or fall into Tartarus."

"Wait, what?!"

Chapter Text

The Hecate cabin was not a building to be reckoned with, the stones engraved with magical writing would cause chaos if they were taken out of the cabin and dropped. Because of this, no one normally stood around the back, where the stones were less sturdy from constant tear from the climbing ivy.

"Picked up anything good?" asked a Hecate camper at the approaching figure.

"Kinda, the Venus kids were gossiping about it. But before I tell you," he held out his right arm, showing the faint outlines of a tattoo; a Caduceus with the letters 'SPQR' underneath it, and six horizontal lines. "the spell's fading."

With a deft flick of her wrist, the outline on his skin slowly died away. "So, Mercury, what were they saying?"

Mercury leant against the wall. "The campers for the prophecy should be heading off for their quest soon."

"Where to?"

"They didn't say."

"Well that's helpful." scoffed Emerald. Mercury simply shrugged, crossing his arms.

"I'm telling the truth, they didn't say. But, I did hear the Vulcan cabin's beginning to set the foundations for the buildings at New Athens." he smirked, his grey fringe falling over his eyes. "Means we can start our plan."

"I'll get in contact with Cinder about it."

A bored voice sounded from a short distance away. "Hey, you Hermes kid!"

Ruby looked behind her and saw Dionysus walking over to her. "Uh, yes?"

"How are you still not on your quest yet," he frowned, ending his sentence with a sarcastic remark. "almighty hero?"

"I haven't found the team members yet, Mr D."

The wine god gave her a suspicious look, sipping from his silver can as usual. "Oh come on. If the Oracle is so adamant on there being four demigods in this prophecy, then they'd obviously be selected by now! You must have felt something about the members."

"I suppose I did, but-."

"Then what are you procrastinating about?! Gods, you heroes are so dense, even though you all think you're so clever." he took another swig of Diet Coke. "Four demigods. This is going to end well."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you not know that quests are only meant to have three participants?! Three is a sacred number: the Big Three; the Three Virgin Goddesses; the Three Fates!" Dionysus shook his head, still frowning. "You'd better have your team ready by this evening, or else I'm assigning extra chores." he walked off before Ruby could reply.

Before long, Ruby found herself standing in front of the Athena cabin; Blake and Yang were waiting by the Big House so that the team could go and see Chiron and Mr D.

Raising a hand after a moment of hesitating, she knocked on the grey door. Not long after, it opened very slightly and the blonde cabin counsellor poked her head out from the gap, holding a pair of compasses with the point gleaming. "Yes?"

"Hi, I... I was wondering if Weiss is in there?"

The counsellor raised an eyebrow, but turned her head to look back into the cabin. "Weiss, someone's wanting to see you."

"Needing, not really wanting." Ruby thought, but soon enough the blue-eyed camper was looking at her, crossing her arms and glowering.

"Oh, it's you, little sneak."

"I have a name, you know."

Weiss ignored the Hermes camper's retort. "What do you want?"

"You've been at camp for eleven years?!"

The Hades demigod's fingers ran along the gnarled wood of the Big House porch. "Yes, my mom sent me here when I was six."

"Do you see her often?"

"No. She lives in Connecticut; it's not far from here, but it's still a risky journey."

"I suppose." Yang gave Blake a smile. "But you're willing to go on the quest?"

"Yes."

"What's the whole thing about 'unlocking Pan's blessed kind', then?"

"You'll know sooner or later. But we'll need to head to New Mexico."

Yang pouted. "Blake, just tell me."

The dark-haired camper simply looked out towards the grounds. "They're here."

Weiss and Ruby were walking towards the building, looking like they were ignoring each other. At the same time, the door of the Big House opened, revealing a tall, blonde man. The only thing disconcerting about his appearance was the fact that blue eyes covered his arms and face.

"What the-."

"He's Argus, the camp's one-hundred eyed security guard."

"Oh, uh, that's convenient.... I guess."

Argus looked at the pair (with parts of his eyes looking over at Weiss and a disturbed Ruby) before jerking his head in the direction of the house's interior, beckoning them in.

Inside, Chiron was sitting at a table with his lower half inside a wheelchair. Dionysus sat next to him, his arm draped casually over the back of the chair.

"Ah, now they show up, after I threaten them with chores." he muttered darkly.

"Please, do sit down." said Chiron, gesturing at the empty chairs facing the directors.

Once the campers were seated, Mr D grumbled and sat up straight. "Alright, quests. Yay."

Chiron gave Dionysus a look. "I've asked Argus to drive you to Manhattan; campers always begin their quests there. However, I do urge you all to remain vigilant throughout the whole quest." he exhaled, sounding tired. "It is very bad luck for a quest to have less or more than three members, it can lead to deaths."

"But the prophecy didn't mention any deaths." said Ruby cautiously. Dionysus snorted.

"It didn't, but with your circumstances, it is very likely, I'm afraid." Chiron rested his chin on the backs of his hands in thought. "Particularly if you wish to go to the Underworld. Hades doesn't enjoy visitors."

Dionysus sat up, scratching his messy beard. "I've heard he's in an especially dark mood."

"From the stolen Helm of Darkness, yes."

Blake looked at them, her gold eyes narrowed. "It's been stolen?"

"It disappeared around a fortnight ago, we all know that awful things can happen, should it fall into the wrong hands."

"So, we have to get to the Underworld?"

Mr D snorted again. "We can't tell you heroes to do anything. That would ruin the fun."

Outside the amphitheatre was a glossed black SUV with tyres as sturdy as boulders, its engine idling. The four demigods were approaching it, clad in appropriate clothing for the journey.

"What's the plan after we arrive in Manhattan?" piped up Weiss, who had Myrtenaster resting in a sheath which was attached to her waist.

"Try not to die?" suggested Ruby, earning a glare from the Athena camper. "What? It's a plan."

"We could head for New Mexico." said Blake, wearing a black jacket over her camp T-shirt. Gambol Shroud's outline was visible beneath the garment.

"That's ages away!"

"I was just saying."

"Well, why New Mexico anyway? That's such a random-."

"Guys, we've not even started the quest yet and we're already arguing." interjected Yang. "We can always figure out what we're gonna do when we arrive. Plus, I haven't been working in the forges for nothing."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby.

The Hephaestus demigod winked and jabbed her thumb behind her shoulder at a black-and-yellow metal object strapped to her back. "You'll see."

A horn blared from the vehicle. Argus poked his head out of the car window, his many eyes glaring over at the team. He couldn't talk (Weiss mentioned that he had an eye on his tongue), but it was clear that he was growing impatient; their bags had already been deposited in the boot earlier that day.

"Honestly, I thought you were meant to be helping with the expansion plans, which still haven't been completed." complained Weiss, crossing her arms.

"I can leave it at camp if you want. Leo's certainly had his eye on it."

"No, I mean-."

"Well get in the car, then." interrupted Blake, sounding lightly irritated. "We can always shadow travel-."

"Oh no, we are not going through that!"

"Suit yourself, it's less work for me."

Chapter Text

"Freak!"

"You don't belong here!"

"Hey, let's see if they're real or not!"

The camper felt a sharp tug at her oil black feline ears, sending a jolt of pain pulsating through her. She yelled and faced the others. "Stop it!"

"Hey, the freak can talk!"

"I'm not a freak!" retaliated the young demigod. The campers simply laughed, continuing with their snide remarks.

"Wait 'till Mr D's seen this freak!"

"D'ya think he'll kick her out?"

"Probably!" the camper shoved the other onto the ground with one deft motion. "Seen as though you're such a freak."

Their laughs rang in Blake's ears like sirens. Painfully, she lifted her head from the ground and glared at them, her eyes gleaming gold with anger.

"Hey, why don't you go on pick someone your own size?!" came a voice, causing the campers to cease their laughter.

A red-haired demigod appeared in front of the demigod, only a few years older than her.

"What do you want, runt?!"

"Leave her alone!" he drew out a long sword from his hilt. "Or I'll fight you!"

The campers looked at him. "Oooh, so feisty! We're quivering in fear!" they said sarcastically. "I'm done wasting time with these kids."

They slinked off, leaving the pair alone. The red-haired camper placed his weapon back in the hilt and offered a hand towards the other, who gratefully took it and pulled herself up.

"Th-Thanks." she spotted two small horns on the top of his forehead, curling back just like his hair.

"Your ears." he breathed. "They can see them?"

"....Yes? Can't they see your - horns?"

He shook his head, looking perplexed. "No one's ever seen them before, so I don't get why they can see yours. What's your name?"

"Blake."

"I'm Adam, Adam Taurus."

In short, the drive to Manhattan was painfully tedious. Argus' silent driving pressed on the decision that the team shouldn't talk. Every now and then, one of his blue eyes on the back of his tanned neck would swivel towards the girls. Ruby was sitting in between Yang and Weiss, much to her dismay.

"Right, well." said Weiss, breaking the silence. "Does anyone know the entrances to the Underworld?"

"The main one's in LA." replied Blake curtly, who was sitting by herself behind them and reading a book. Weiss turned and looked at her, annoyed.

"That's in California!"

"I am aware."

"Surely there's a closer entrance!"

"Can't you enter the Underworld?" asked Ruby. "Without the entrances?"

"Well, I could, but I've never tried."

"C'mon, you just open a fissure and jump in, right?" said Yang. Blake put down her book.

"Normally, fissures are for trapping monsters in the Underworld, so I don't expect the trip to be pleasant. Anyway, I don't think Hades would welcome any visitors."

"Does he ever?"

"Not really, but seen as though the Helm of Darkness is missing right now, he's probably in a worse mood than usual."

"But if he knows we're trying to find it, he might be more lenient." mused Ruby.

"I doubt it."

Yang arched an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"Well, from what Nico tells me, he isn't that sort of character." Blake looked at the three. "I've never met him, but-."

"Then it's settled, we'll head to the Underworld!"

Blake frowned. "But what about New Mexico?"

"What's the thing with New Mexico?!"

"It's where the god of nature and the wild, Pan, faded a couple of years ago."

"Uh, that's great, but what does the god of nature have to do with a child of death? They don't really go hand in hand."

The dark-haired demigod sighed. "You don't understand."

Weiss' eyes widened. "You're an enemy of Zeus?"

"How do you know that?" asked Ruby.

"Oh come on, everyone was talking about the prophecy, little sneak." Weiss remarked. Ruby looked at her in irritation but didn't reply; neither did Blake, who looked back at her book.

A grunt sounded from the front of the car. Outside, a large sign passed, marked "Manhattan: 5 miles".

"Does anyone know their way around Manhattan?" asked Yang.

"Who doesn't know their way around Manhattan?!" responded Weiss.

"Uh, me and Yang?" said Ruby. "We're born Floridians."

"Well, I often visit the city, my father has his company headquarters there. The company moved to it recently."

"Good for you." Yang eyed Ruby, and mimed twiddling a moustache, which she laughed at. The Athena demigod glared at the two.

"What?!"

"Nothing."

"The Schnee Company." said Blake, giving the three a brief look before returning to her book. Specks of rainwater began to splatter onto the tinted windows, gradually growing more apparent.

"Thank you! At least there's some recognition around here-."

"Doesn't the company exploit their workers?"

"What?! No!"

Yang chuckled and turned to face Blake, grinning. "So, Blakey, have you been to the city that never sleeps?"

"No, and don't call me that." the Hades demigod replied, although there was a small smile on her face.

Argus, probably bored of their bickering, reached for the glove compartment and pulled out a CD. Within a few seconds, Haydn was playing relatively loudly throughout the inside of the vehicle. The team looked at each other, not wanting to know what would happen if they interrupted.

By the time the SUV had pulled up a distance away from Grand Central Station, the rain was pouring down like continuous buckets of water being emptied onto the street below. Nevertheless, Argus seemed intent on leaving the team at their destination.

"Can't we wait until there's a bit less rain?" asked Weiss, looking frustrated. The camp guard shook his head and tossed her bag at her. His numerous eyes were blinking repeatedly from the droplets of water entering them. The other demigods were handed their possessions as well, and Argus drove off soon after without a second glance.

"We could go and see what it's like on Olympus right now." mused Weiss. The team were currently sitting in a booth at a café, which was rather peaceful in the late morning, seen as though most people were off commuting.

"Sorry, Olympus?!"

"When the gods moved to Western civilisation, they made the top of the Empire State Building the new Olympus."

"Jeez, next you'll be telling me Poseidon runs a laundry service around the corner." muttered Yang.

"He might do, I don't know."

"I'd prefer it if we didn't go to Olympus." Blake said weakly. "Zeus is usually there."

"Well, where are we going to go, then?!"

"Head west? We could see what all the fuss is about." Ruby suggested.

"And how are we going to that? Walk across America?!" said the Athena demigod, sipping her mug of coffee. The café door opened and a tall, brown-haired man entered, dressed in a rain-speckled tracksuit.

The barista looked up from the counter. "Herman! Good to see you again! Is it the usual?"

Grinning at the barista, he gave a nod. "Yes please."

"Coming right up!"

Yang sniggered into her drink. "What sort of a name is Herman?" she said quietly. Blake raised an eyebrow at her.

"I've seen him around Fireworks Beach before. He's not Herman - he's Hermes."

Chapter Text

In short, the look on Hermes' face when he turned at the mention of his name was a mixture of shock and guilt. His royal blue eyes shone under gentle light of the shop while he looked towards the occupied booth. Ruby felt her team's eyes on her.

"Uh- I'll be right back." he said to the barista. He walked over to the booth.

"Damn, he doesn't look half bad." Yang commented, earning a kick in the shin from Ruby. Hermes approached the table, trying to regain his smile.

"Ruby," he breathed, his eyes sparkling, "it's good to see you again."

Yang looked at the god sceptically. "Again?"

Hermes gave a shrug, drawing up a chair and sitting at the table. "The last time I saw you two, it was when Ruby was barely one." he looked at his daughter. "You look so much like your mother."

Slowly, the dark-haired demigod attempted a half-hearted smile. "I suppose."

The deity knew he was causing an awkward atmosphere. Even the barista was looking at them while preparing Hermes' drink with bad accuracy. "Well - are you all on a quest?" Weiss shot him a 'no duh' look, which he ignored.

"We've just started." replied Ruby.

"Looking for the Helm of Darkness, I assume?"

"You know about it?" asked Blake. Hermes gave an exhale through his nose and reached for a salt packet.

"Of course. Hades is furious, as expected." he responded, fiddling with the paper sachet.

"We're thinking of heading to the Underworld to see if we could get some details about it." said Ruby. Her father's face paled.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Not right now, anyway."

"What do you mean?" questioned Weiss.

"Well, the last time the Helm was stolen, it was stolen by one of my children. Luke Castellan. I'm sure you've heard of him." Hermes face was stony; his hands ripped apart the sachet. The white granules spilled out onto the table

"The Hero of the Great Prophecy." said Blake.

"Correct - he successfully managed to steal it when he was in allegiance to Kronos. This time, Hades knows that it was another demigod who stole the Helm - being the god of the Underworld, he knows what goes on in his native kingdom. But, most demigods would've gotten caught if they were trying to steal Hades' most important possession, only my children can possess the abilities to steal without getting noticed."

"What a positive trait." muttered Weiss sarcastically.

"Means I'm in some hot water with Hades right now. If one of my children suddenly enters his realm without permission, he's certainly going to unleash his wrath." Hermes looked at the pile of glistening salt on the table. "And no one should ever deserve to see it."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Weiss, annoyed. Hermes looked at her.

"Are you a child of Athena?"

"Yes, why?"

"Explains a lot." he murmured. "Anyway, that's for you lot to decide. You have until the summer solstice anyway, plenty of time."

"But it's gonna take ages just travelling across America." countered Ruby.

"Ruby, I'm the god of travelling, teleportation is one of my children's most prized abilities. Luke knew how to use his demigod abilities to their full potential. Albeit, you will need some practice." Hermes looked at the team, who were giving him doubtful looks. He pulled out a cell phone from his pocket and looked at it, the bright light illuminating his sharp features.

"Herman! Your order's ready!" called the barista.

"Be there in a minute!" Hermes replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, his eyes fixated on the screen. "I have a package to deliver to someone over in Pennsylvania at around seven this evening. There's a lot of cargo trains from there to all over the country. I could teleport you over."

"But that's only over the border." said Yang. Hermes shrugged, putting his phone away.

"Most godly parents wouldn't even bat an eyelash at their children's quests." he gave the team a mischievous smile. "Although, I'm not giving you a free favour."

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "What do you want us to do?"

"There's an abandoned subway station called 'City Hall Loop' in Lower Manhattan, in the Civic Centre. I've been sensing some strange movements from within and I want you girls to check it out. Now, the mortals did sometimes carry out tours for the ghost station, but they've oddly been halted; my guess is that someone's been messing with the Mist."

"That's it?" asked Yang. The god gave a hum in response.

"Simple enough task, if you ask me. See you back here at half past six."

Before long, all that was left of Hermes' presence was a saddened barista and a pile of salt on the table. The Hephaestus demigod gave a low whistle.

"Well, your dad's one hell of a god." Yang commented. "I never thought I'd say that before."

Ruby gave a weak smile. "Tell me about it."

"So, how long will it take to walk to the Civic Centre?" asked Ruby.

"I'd say an hour." replied Weiss. The team were currently walking down the drying pavements of Manhattan, watching the metropolis of New York City whirl past them.

"An hour?!"

"Well, Manhattan's not exactly a village. Plus, I'm not counting time that'll get added if we get lost."

"We could try and get public transport or something." suggested Ruby. Weiss glared at her.

"Getting public transport is like setting yourself in a trap for any potential monsters!"

"Okay, sorry. But we will have to walk for ages."

"I know, but there's not any other option. Unless Yang cares to hot-wire a stolen car or something."

"I could do that!" grinned Yang.

"Please don't, I was being sarcastic."

"Hey, it's a plan."

Blake's pace slowed down slightly. "We'd better be keeping alert for any monsters. It's easy for them to strike in busy urban areas, they have lots of places to hide."

"Don't worry, we're looking." said Ruby. "I haven't seen anything so far."

After a short amount of time, the team had reached a very familiar building in midtown Manhattan. The Empire State Building shone under the watery afternoon sun, rising above the nearby towers. Ruby craned her head to see if there was anything that could hint towards Olympus, but nothing was visible.

Yang gave the others a sceptical look. "I can't see an Olympus." she said, having the same mindset as Ruby.

"It's on the six hundredth floor, hidden by the Mist." explained Blake.

"Six hundredth?! Surely that doesn't exist." said Ruby.

"Gods can do a lot of things." Blake replied simply while they walked onward past the immense building.

Chapter Text

Footsteps paced across the polished dark wood floor, making no sound in the strained atmosphere of the study. A pair of ice blue eyes followed the figure, waiting for an answer.

"A foolish idea, Jacques."

The man sitting behind the mahogany desk gave a splutter. "What are you talking about?!"

Without an immediate reply, the guest picked out an apple from the fruit bowl on the table. A layer of sparkling frost slowly crept up the red skin, almost as if the crimson was melting away to the glaring white.

"I expected better from you. Not once did you tell me who the mother of your children is." Aquilon said with an oily edge to his voice.

"But you knew, surely?"

The deity scoffed, his youthful, beardless face a millennia away from Jacques'. "Of course I did. That doesn't make you any less deceitful or foolish, though."

"I don't know what you're talking about." he replied defiantly.

Aquilon frowned, still clutching the apple. "Oh, you'll know. You wanted intelligent heirs for the benefit of you company's future, and you got it by finding the goddess of wisdom. Very clever." he sneered sarcastically. "But don't forget, they're the children of an major god. They'll be too busy fighting for their own lives, not your company's. And you'll never know what it's like to be them, because you're merely the legacy of a minor god."

Jacques returned the unfriendly look. "And what, may I ask, does this have to do with you?"

The apple fell onto the desk, shattering upon impact as if it was made of delicate glass. The god looked at it with a stoic face, not bothering to clean it up.

"I'm simply telling you that your plans will never go in your way. Your first daughter's committed to the Hunters, your second daughter's part of another great prophecy. Frankly, you only have one option left."

The man leaned over the desk. "Weiss is part of a great prophecy?!"

"Or so I have heard from other gods." Aquilon saw Jacques' annoyed expression. "See what I mean?"

"Fine." he hissed after a short period of silence. "But you'd better give them the powers, seen as though I didn't get them. I want them back alive."

Aquilon raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Oh, don't worry. I'll never give my powers to a position-stealing murderer. Your children, on the other hand," the god of the North Wind cocked his head to the side, thinking. "I'll decide on that later. Goodbye, Jacques."

"Are we there yet?!" whined Ruby, tilting her head upwards towards the greying sky as she walked along next to the team.

"Yes, you dolt. We just have to find the station entrance. I wouldn't be surprised if it's being concealed by the Mist, if something's going on."

Blake held her hand to her chin in thought. "That would require a lot of skill."

"What do you mean?" asked Yang.

"Well, not many people can manipulate the Mist. Children of Hecate can, and it's possible to learn how to do it, but it isn't easy. Mist acts as the barrier between the godly and mortal world, but it can also trick demigods."

Yang raised her eyebrows. "Nice."

"Not if we want to find the entrance." complained Weiss.

"Leave it to me, Ice Queen!" said Yang, ignoring Weiss' retaliation at her new nickname. She spotted a commuter walking past the team, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, mister, any idea where the City Loop entrance is?"

The man blinked at them. "City Loop? Haven't heard of it, missy." he eyed the demigods with some suspicion before briskly walking off.

"That worked well." muttered Ruby sarcastically.

"I thought people knew about these places!"

"Not everyone, idiot." said Weiss, "Especially if the Mist has been tampered with."

Yang turned to the Athena demigod, looking irritated. "Well, Ice Queen, what shall we do, then?"

"My name is not 'Ice Queen'."

"Stop avoiding the question."

Weiss merely glared at the blonde, not replying. The Hermes demigod gave a sigh, wondering how they'd get anywhere with the constant arguments and disagreements.

"Guys," Ruby began, "I'm sure we'll find a way to get to this, Hermes can't have sent us on an impossible mission."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "These are gods we're talking about. They love messing with us."

"Yes - but, still - I mean - they like giving us challenges - right?" Ruby asked, "There's - nothing wrong with challenges."

She was met with blank looks. "Please tell me why you're the leader." said Weiss. Blake abruptly turned, looking behind her and catching the attention of the others; her hand hovered near her weapon.

"What's wrong?" questioned Yang. Blake faced her team again, though with a suspicious stare.

"N-Nothing, I thought I heard something move."

"Blake."

"Hm?"

"Chill."

Grey swirls of smoke danced through the air while a woman walked up to the rickety desk with a figure lounging behind it.

"Roman."

"What now, Emerald?" the man sighed, taking a long drag of his cigar.

"There's some - disturbances - on the streets above." Emerald replied. Roman gave a snigger, not taking her seriously.

"Really now? Has there been a mortal robbery? How criminal." he stabbed his cigar into a nearby ashtray. "It's New York, get a grip."

Emerald gave Roman a look, breathing shallowly. "I mean there's some other demigods."

"Oooh, spine-chilling!" laughed the redhead sarcastically. "I've had enough of your antics, girl. Run along, now." he made a lazy motion with his hand in the direction of the door.

"They were talking about the City Hall Loop! They're trying to find it! I saw them talking about it!"

Roman actually decided to pay attention, leaning forward on his chair, his makeup-coated eye narrowing. "How old were they?"

"I don't know - around their late teens?"

He barked out a laugh, reaching for another cigar. "And you think they'll find us?! I'd like to see them try and get pass the Mist first!"

"But-."

"No buts. I know what I'm doing." he sneered. "And by that I mean: send out a few Grimm to settle them down."

"Yes, Roman." Emerald turned and began walking briskly to the door.

"Hey," he snapped his fingers. "where's that Sodium character been lately?"

Emerald blinked. "Do you mean Mercury?"

"Same thing."

"He's still at Camp Half-Blood. He said there's been some big prophecy again, and some demigods have gone off on another quest. He says it's got something to do with the Grimm."

Roman furrowed his brow, lighting his cigar. "Better keep an eye on that, then."

"Don't worry. I am." Emerald said, walking out of the doorway.