Fandom chaos unleashed (moonswirl & illyrian)

[moonswirl]

aaron gasped for breath as he was pulled out of his dream. inhaling deeply, he reminded himself that it wasn’t real even though he could still taste the salt in his mouth from the water he had been drowning in. he thought he had gotten over the nightmares he had after his mother died, but the past few weeks they had returned, and he couldn’t figure out why. what was meant to be a time of day for him to relax and regain energy ended up being mentally draining and making him wish that sleep wasn’t a necessity. it didn’t help that he had to wake up in a room that resembled the ocean itself. with caribbean blue walls and actual sand on the floors, there was no avoiding it even when he was awake.

he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts because there was something much more important going on. an alarm had woken him up, and that happened at the facility so rarely that he couldn’t remember the last time he had heard one. he stepped down, hating the way the sand scratched against his feet as he quickly slipped into a light gray t-shirt, jean-shorts, and sneakers. he didn’t bother doing anything else to make himself look presentable because what was going on had to be something serious.

the hallway had no other occupants when aaron stepped out of his room, but he was used to the emptiness that his floor held. each floor was designated to a godly parent, and since his was poseidon, he was the only one in it. he glanced out the window and was immediately caught off-guard when he noticed monsters were in the courtyard. he had to stare at it for a few moments to make sure he wasn’t still dreaming.

“i’m not sure which is better: this or the nightmare it woke me up from…,” he muttered to himself as he went for the stairwell and ran down as quickly as he could. even though the building did have an elevator, it wouldn’t have been fast enough for an emergency situation like this. when he stepped out onto the main floor of the facility, everything was chaos. experienced demigods were grabbing the nearest weapon they could find, while newer ones stood there with expressions of confusion and fear on their faces. others might have reprimanded them for their behavior, he didn’t blame them. as a demigod who had been there for a long time, he had never witnessed something like this before. the training facility, created by two demigods before his time, was intended to be a place for demigods to be safe. somehow, monsters had managed to break through the barrier that had been created, and now all of their lives were at risk.

he reached for the keychain that he always kept on him and flipped it. it didn’t take long for it to become a celestial bronze sword that fit his grip perfectly, and he stepped outside without hesitation. his sea-green eyes spotted a girl with white hair who was being taken on by two monsters at once and he rushed over to where she was.

“i’ll take the one on the right,” he exclaimed as he nodded in the direction of the chimera that was closing in on her. he swung his sword in front of it to redirect its attention, then started to lead it a safe distance away from where she was. there, he thought to himself. now she’s not overwhelmed. he wasn’t sure how experienced the girl was, so the last thing he was going to do was allow her to take on both of the monsters on her own. he dodged out of the way as it sent a blazing ball of fire in his direction and tried to come up with a strategy in his mind. its tail is poisonous, so i definitely have to avoid attacking it from that end, he noted as he thought back to what he had read about the monster. he raised the earth in front of him to create a barrier between himself and the next ball of fire it sent toward him and waited for what he anticipated would happen next. now! he decided as the creature slammed through the wall he had created. disoriented, it searched for him, but it didn’t have time to find him as he sliced through its side with his sword. he glanced to his left and noticed that the girl also had also defeated the monster she had been fighting.

“this is probably a long shot, but do you know what’s going on? since you were out here before me maybe you saw what happened?” aaron asked when he approached her. he knew it was unlikely, but it didn’t hurt to ask in case she did have information.

 

[illyrian]

All she wanted was some fresh air.

She didn’t enjoy the facility, not as the others had. She found walls constricting, found too many bodies suffocating, not to mention how useless she found herself when suppressed by ceilings and rooms and everything that should have brought comfort to someone normal. Des had already felt like an outcast, considering her bloodline and how the sky turned angry for her -- but to feel completely alone in a space full of people just like her, a place where she was supposed to belong?

It was a cruel form of mockery, a sadistic punch in the gut after what life had already thrown her.

Deserae had grown used to the feeling of never fully belonging and she had come to terms with that a long time ago, prior to joining the camp. Foster home after foster home, masks in the shape of a mother and a father and molds that she never quite fit into. She never knew her mother. All she knew was that she was some addict that lived on the streets of New York, that Des had been the result of a one night stand and that before she even took her first steps, her life had already been decided for her.

Never having a home, never feeling the meaning of home.

Still, she appreciated the lush forest that surrounded the concrete walls, enjoyed how her room had a door to lead right outside, an addition the founder of the institute -- a man named Kain Baskerfield, another child of Zeus -- had installed for her after her first week. Kain was generous, nice even. He had attempted to take the freshly eighteen-year-old Des under his wing after she had found her way onto the steps of the institute once she was finally out of the tragedy that was the foster care system in New York City. And yet, she only provided gratitude for his generosity and then shielded herself off completely. Barely making training practices, never making friends. She found it hard to embrace what she was, to enjoy the gifts that her father had bestowed upon her.

She had struggled eighteen years out of her life, and not once had she seen her father’s face. Had felt his presence around her, guiding her in the direction of life she needed to take. Zeus, despite his reputation, was no more alive than her mother was -- merely ghosts of her past, demons weighing her down. Embracing the abilities he had given her felt almost like giving in to the abandonment, allowing herself to forgive him for never being there when she needed. Des didn’t want forgiveness, no longer wanted the feeling of family, of love.

All she had was raw, powerful anger, and that was enough for her.

Des had made her way back to the front lawn of the Institute after spending most of her morning under the protection of the trees. If she were able to, she would have spent the rest of the day surrounded by the thrum of the forest or letting the crisp water of the stream in the back kiss her toes. She felt at peace out there, the only place where she truly felt that she belonged. It was outside where she took to her training, finally growing competent in her aeriokinesis ability, but still only a novice in her others. She had only conjured electricity a handful of times, and entirely by accident, and manipulating the weather and storms were something that she feared she would never grow and learn how to control. The air shifted with her mood -- harsh thunderstorms when she had a fit of anger or a terrifying nightmare, unrelenting rain when sorrow was too powerful to ward away. Even snow had fallen once or twice, when she had felt nothing at all. Frozen. And cold. She should be able to wield the storms like a weapon and, yet, they were her greatest weakness. A telltale sign of how she was truly feeling, when she wanted nothing but a suit of armor to protect her, instead.

“Come on,” she whispered to herself, standing on the lawn with her feet firmly planted in the grass. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides, her nearly white hair blowing in the light breeze, away from her face. One tiny spark, that’s all she wanted until she would finally call it a morning and turn inside to rest. She could feel her body buzzing, but whether that was out of anticipation and desire or the actual effect of lightning searing through her skin, she did not know. Still, it was a sign. And it was all she had.

She gritted her teeth and quickly raised her hand, palm out and fingers spread towards the grass at her feet.

And waited.

And waited.

Until a deep, chilling yell sounded from the forest to her right, causing Des to snap her head towards the sound and lower her arm.

A chilling growl hissed from behind her.

Her head then whipped towards the sound as she came face to face with large, yellow fangs dripping with saliva. Her grey eyes widened with fear as she stumbled back, giving her a larger view of the monster that prowled before her. The face looked almost lion-like with a serpent’s tail ready to strike at the end. Her mouth parted in fear and the air stilled around her. The creature growled and took a step towards her, claws sinking into the dirt. How did it get here? Had the wards surrounding the facility been shattered?

She didn’t have too much time to think, for the monster had raised a clawed paw and snarled as it prepared to strike. Des couldn’t move -- didn’t dare to move as fear rooted her in place. All she could do was close her eyes, accepting her death standing and exactly where she belonged. To the right, another Chimera began to close in on her as well, teeth flashing through the air, a growl nearly shaking the earth.

When a sword cut through the air along with a deep voice.

Des opened her eyes and glanced at the figure, catching his gaze as he held the sword with a steady grip, leading one of the Chimera’s away from her.

It only took moments for the once serene lawn to be filled with scrambling demigods attempting to escape the monsters. The Chimera’s were everywhere as teachers and students dodged attacks left and right, a wave of powers and the smell of smoke filling the property. Out of the corner of her eye, more movement struck and she quickly turned towards it, right as one of the creatures had lunged right towards her. Without any hesitation Des shot out her arms, a swift, powerful wind slamming the Chimera against one of the large trees of the forest. Bones snapping cut through the air and she released her wave of wind, allowing the crumpled form to flop against the grass. Dead.

Once again she found the eyes of the other boy, most likely a Son of Poseidon. She hadn’t exactly been introduced to most of the other demigods, for excluding herself was of far more importance than making friends.

“I have no idea,” she answered him, the sky rumbling above and filled with dark, turbulent clouds. She looked to the brewing storm, cursing herself and tried to rein in her emotions. But, fear and uncertainty took over and a shower of rain began to fall across the Institute, soaking the other demigods. “They just… appeared. Out of nowhere,” Des called to him over the rain, water plastering her white hair to her forehead.

One by one the Chimeras began to fall as the students continued to use every last drop of their power. Wind swirled at her feet and her fists were ready to shoot another blast of air towards any beast that grew too close. “The wards must have been breeched.” That admittance was more for herself, but she shot the bot a knowing look regardless. “We need to find Kain. Or-or someone -- he’ll know what the hell is going on.”

And with that, Des took off towards the grand steps of the Institute, not looking back to see if the Son of Poseidon had followed.

Confidence and determination were everywhere across the property of the Institute…

And yet Deserae had never felt so, so weak.