The Gems of Cosmos ** Current Quest

[Bara the Mercenary]

Gems of Cosmos

Prophecy:
xx The youngest son of the lord of the dead
xx Must recover the light within chaos
xx Taking with him three that he calls his friends
xx He gathers the gems before all is lost
xx He wins at desert, heat, city, and frost
xx But with his victory will come great loss

Summary: Khaos, the one who created everything, is beginning to wake. Cosmos, the one who made the tool to subdue him for eternity, has realized that her tools are weakening, because only one is being used to hold him, but she cannot touch them, so she has to send a hero to gather them all. She contacts the son of Hades, for Hades holds the one subduing Khaos. Khaos is more awake than she thinks, though, so he begins to intervene, trying to cover the world in darkness like he did before Cosmos intervened. To subdue Khaos again, four demigods must gather the four Gems of Cosmos, and use them against the lord of air.

Quest Leader: Vincent Nevio (Son of Hades)

Other Quest-Goers:
xx Aoi Minami (Daughter of Iris)
xx Lucky Grace (Daughter of Hermes)
xx Catalina Pepper (Daughter of Zeus)  

[Bara the Mercenary]

The Dream That Started It All

It was dark all around him, and he stood in silence. There was slight movement, and it seemed to be tendrils of darkness and shadows, curling around him and beckoning him closer. He had learned that normally, the dark dreams showed him something amazing. He followed the beckoning shadows, floating in the murky darkness. It took a small amount of time before he saw a light ahead, and he was rushing toward it. Right before he could pass through it, he was stopped. "Young demigod of Hades, I require your help." Ace blinked, looking around for where the voice came from. Looking in front of himself, he saw a woman. She was the light, and she glowed brilliantly in this darkness. She was sitting on nothing, but it looked like she was on a chair of some sort. Her hair was a very light platinum blonde and her eyes looked so blue that they could be the sky itself.

She shifted, crossing one leg over the other at the knee and tugging at her dress to make it drape over her legs more comfortably. Ace blinked at her repeatedly. "Your father has been battling a god known as Khaos for years, keeping him asleep and subdued with my gems. However, the gem that I have entrusted him with has cracked, and it no longer has the power to keep Khaos at bay. You must find the other three gems and retrieve the one from your father so that they may lock Khaos again."

"It sounds like this is my father's problem. Why should I help? Why is it my problem, or my duty to help a man who's never cared that I existed?"

"Dear Vincent, your father cares for you dearly. That's why he cannot acknowledge or help you. You would become a target to his wife, and you stand no chance against her fury in the summer. It is not just your father's problem, but everyone's. Mortal, god, and demigod alike."

"What's the worst that can happen?" Ace was resentful toward his father, even as much as the comment that this woman mad held sense. He did not like being ignored when he sought someone's attention. He hated it. He wanted to know his father, and was so close! The woman sighed, and she motioned her arm in a sweeping motion. She faded from view, and Ace blinked, looking around in the darkness.

An image came into view, a darkened Camp Half-Blood. Overhead, the sky was dark, and Ace blinked. It would be considered night...if the stars were there. Looking toward New York, Ace saw that no light came from the many buildings; they looked to be a shadow. Ace turned in a circle. He was in the center of the cabin formations, and he saw that the Apollo cabin had lost its gleam. The plants in the Demeter cabin were wilted, but the most shocking to him...was the lack of flame on the torches outside of the Hades cabin. Ace took in a deep breath, feeling his heart hammer in his chest. He ran to the cabins, looking in each of them to see there was no one inside. Continuing to run, he found himself in the rural road; there was...no one. The world was dark, it was silent.

The worse...was New York.

The cars were all stopped, people dead on the streets in the darkness. It was a bloodbath, and it was horrifying. He ran to the Empire State Building, and outside was a mass of demigods...yet not. Not a single one of them was intact. Running inside, he went to the elevator, and all the way up to Mount Olympus. He ran into the throne room, which he knew where it was from stories.

The Olympians were nowhere to be found, but there was a man there.

The man was dressed in black, his hair slightly messy. His back was to Ace, and he was looking at the thrones with interest. The shadows were moving around him, and Ace knew he was the one who bathed the world in darkness. He turned then, and smiled at Ace. Ah...the boy with the key. You are too late...Your father failed, and with the world on your shoulders...Well, you are not quite so strong as Atlas. I was waiting for you, though. I wanted to see your face with these two especially..." Looking into the man's intense violet eyes, Ace felt an overwhelming fear, something he had never experienced in his life. His throat closed as the shadows dropped two unconscious figures on the ground. "No..." Ace whispered, recognizing the girls as his only friends. The man chuckled, smirking. He held out his hand, and a sword was handed to him by the shadows. Lucky and Aoi lay there, unable to defend themselves, for they were unconscious, and Ace tried to spring into action. Paralyzed, he watched as the sword swung down...  

[Bara the Mercenary]

SUMMARY

xxxxxxxxxx Half-Blood Hill

Ace arrives at Half-Blood Hill, waiting for Aoi, Lucky, and a "mystery" camper. Lucky arrives and hugs Ace from behind. Ace and Lucky discuss their fathers, then Aoi arrives. Ace greets Aoi and informs them that they're going to Los Angeles. At this point, he picks up Aoi's luggage and offers to carry Lucky's bag while still waiting on the mystery camper. Cat arrives, and they chat for a moment while Lucky makes the plane reservation. They go to the van, and Ace gets everything and everyone in before getting in and shutting the door to leave Camp Half-Blood.

xxxxxxxxxx Rural Road to Manhattan

In the van, Lucky plays on her phone. Aoi, Ace, and Cat talk in the back seat. Ace tells Lucky when she asks that he doesn't know exactly where they're going. Then, he looks out the back of the van and spots a Hell Hound. Aoi and Cat also spot the Hell Hound, and Ace tells Argus to stop the van. When it stops, he gets out and faces off against the Hell Hound, soon joined by Aoi and Cat. Ace delivers the final blow, and the Hell Hound (named Asmodeus) turns into shadows, merging with Ace's shadow. Ace opens the door, saying they should keep going. Aoi has a gash in her arm, Ace has a gash in his shoulder and a scratch along his face. During the fight with Asmodeus, Lucky fought a second one that was attempting an ambush. They get in the car, Ace picking up Aoi's glasses and handing them to her. Aoi eats some ambrosia, Ace commenting that she needs it more than him, and they continue to the airport.

xxxxxxxxxx New York City Airport

Ace gets out of the van and heads to check-out with the girls. Along the way, someone crashes into his bad shoulder, and looking, he realizes it was the man from his dream. He almost goes after him when he walks away, but realizes that he still needs whatever Cosmos was sending him to retrieve before facing off against Khaos. Aoi tries to get her luggage back, and Lucky uses the mist to get them straight through security. Catalina observes, and then mentions to Ace about shadow travel. Deciding that she's right, Ace escorts the girls to the boarding tunnel before using shadow travel to get to the LAX Airport. Lucky, Aoi, and Cat reluctantly board the plane. Lucky and Cat sit together to talk, and Aoi sits next to them.

xxxxxxxxxx Chicago Airport

Lucky gets off of the plane for the purpose of finding food in the terminal to eat so that they're prepared for the second half of the flight to LA. Aoi and Lucky follow her. They go to order from a coffee shop, and two Manticores show up. They attack, and leave Cat fighting against one and Lucky the other. Aoi stands against one long enough for Lucky to get up for fighting. When she goes to help Cat, a large Hell Hound - Asmodeus, the one from before - comes to their rescue, killing both Manticores. He motions to the coffee shop, alters the mist, and leaves them to go to LAX. Lucky picks up her food, Aoi following. Finally, they are on the plane again, headed for LAX with hot chocolate and donuts.

xxxxxxxxxx LAX (Los Angeles Airport)

Aoi, Lucky, and Cat get off the plane. When Asmodeus sees them, he wakes Ace, who walks over and chats with them. Aoi is happy to see Asmodeus. Lucky makes Ace eat ambrosia and then asks where the Underworld is. He replies with DOA Recordings. He then asks Cat how she is. Cat replies fine, and when everyone is about to leave, Asmodeus offers to take them through Shadow Travel. Lucky, Aoi, and Cat get on after Ace, and Asmodeus takes them to the Underworld.

xxxxxxxxxx The Underworld

Hades receives a message from Alekto that Ace is coming. The Furies go to meet Ace & co. Ace gets off Asmodeus and heads for the castle to find his father. The Furies pick up the demigods and fly them to the castle. Ace opens the door, using all of his bravado, but ends up having to do it again at the throne room, where Asmodeus has to open the door. Finally, they all go in. Hades addresses Ace, who yells at him, and Hades gets angry. Finally, they all begin to argue. A prank from Hermes interrupts the argument, and after a few death threats, everyone calms down. Hades appears at a human height in front of Ace, gives him the ring, and heals them. He tells Ace that he cares about him and sends the group to Aswan, Egypt.

xxxxxxxxxx Aswan, Egypt ** Current Location

Ace is angry and starts kicking at the sand. Cat and Lucky are relieved. Finally, when Ace calms down, he asks where they should go, and Lucky starts heading to a nearby city with a market. Artemis catches up with them, and she grabs Ace by the shoulder to converse with him. Ace responds affirmatively that she has the right person, and tries not to let the girls notice. After a conversation with Apollo and Artemis both, Ace and his quest companions continue into the market, making a plan to split up.