Embrace the Shadows

Ch 27

-Percy-

"Clarisse," he called out as he checked over the fan before departure "check our gear, make sure it's good. Nico, Thalia, make sure your weapons are ready in case we have any 'interruptions' during our journey. Damian, help me check over this rust bucket!"

"Right!" his four comrades called out as they went to their designated duties while Chiron, Paris, and Annabeth watched them, one in concern and two in scorn. The previous night, when Chiron had announced the quest at dinner, Paris and Annabeth had tried insisting that they come before he shot their demand down.

-Flashback-

"We've been on every other quest that has happened during this war Chiron," Paris insisted "we should be on this one as well!".

"No!" he yelled, slamming his fist onto the table of the Chaos Pavilion hard enough to cause a small earthquake with his geokinesis. "This quest is to recover one of my captured warriors, my ally, my sister by bond even if not by blood.", as he tore apart the idiot's argument he rose to his feet, his chosen warriors rising with him as they stood, the roof of his pavilion cloaking them in a foreboding shadow. "It was thanks to you two and your pet goat that my sister was captured, you three interfering with her fight and causing her to be taken by the Titans. My forces and mine alone will recover her or do you plan to ignore the prophecy?" he asked as the rest of the other demigods outside of his allies gasped at what he was saying.

"The Prophecy said that the quest would only succeed if it was done by the Forces of Chaos alone as the questers," Damian added, his brother summoning out his spear and shield "not by adding a couple pieces of useless cannon fodder!".

"So either you two are showing your usual competence," he said lowly as he summoned the blade of Olympus "or you're deliberately trying to ensure that my sister remains captured…which is it?". Both Paris and Annabeth paled at his implied threat, neither of them moving their eyes away from his blade, "Know this," he growled "I'm done playing with you and your pathetic gods. Their judgment is fast approaching…be prepared for it.".

-End Flashback-

"How will you find your way though?" Chiron asked them, the ancient centaur truly wishing for them to succeed in rescuing Zoe "The Prophecy says that you must find the 'bane of Olympus' and that it knows the trail but I don't have any clue what the bane is.".

"I do Chiron." he said with a scowl as they finished checking the van and the gear, climbing into the driver seat as he did so.

"You do?!" Chiron asked in shock "What is it?!".

"I, am the Bane of Olympus." He said with a snarl as he floored the gas and tore off down the dirt road, trying to get the car to Washington DC as fast as physical possible.

"Did any of you find any clothing or possessions missing this morning?" he asked as they sped down the road, the car having been upgraded by Beckendorf to give off its own Mist field and to go many times farther on a single tank of gas than a normal vehicle.

"I did," Damian said with a nod "one of my shirts which I left on the beach when I went for a swim last night was gone when I got back to the surface.".

"So that's probably what's going to have been sent to Atlas to give to the Sparti," he said with a nod "I'll steal the cloth the same way I did last time so that way they end up tracking me. With my lineage focused around the shadows I can destroy them with ease the same way Nico and Bianca did the first time.".

"It's a good thing not much is known about the damn things," Nico said with a snort "nobody knew that a child of the underworld could destroy them before so Atlas won't be hesitant in using them now.".