Bug Busters (Destiny Grimm)

[Dominic Moss]

Dominic was proud of himself for adjusting to Camp Half Blood. He had been at the camp for a short time and when he had first joined it he had almost had a mental break down, but he had surprised himself by being able to adjust to it so quickly.
In the weeks he had been at camp he had made friends, learned how to fight, broken rules and met gods without losing his sanity, but there was still one thing he couldn't get used to; wearing armor.
'I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.' Dominic growled to himself as he ran through the forest whilst making loud clanging noises as the celestial bronze armor pieces banged against each other with every step he took.
He hated wearing armor. The armor supplied by the camp was heavy and made it difficult for him to move about in. He especially didn't like how it made playing guitar so much more challenging.
However his current reason for hating armor was due to the fact that he was being chased by several giant scorpions and it was slowing him down.

[Fred]

ooc want Fred to help?

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny was partially sad about being in Camp Half Blood. She knew she would never quite be part of the people. Who would want to hang out with a kid who controls shadows? She had met and befriended a few people, but the whole cheery, sunny, bright state of mind was a little too, well, bright for her. She preferred sitting in the shadows of a tree and playing a card game.
She did not like being chased by giant bugs.
True enough, they were scorpions, but either way, Destiny didn't like it one bit. She was running in her armor, which was a bit easier with it fitting fine, and heard an awful, loud, clanking noise in the distance. She was making the shadows grab the bugs a little to slow them down, but she didn't have time to stay still and really do some work on them.
Destiny broke into a clearing and decided to make her stand there.

[Dominic Moss]

He cursed loudly as he felt his greaves slip a bit down his leg. He knew he hadn't fixed them on properly, but he hadn't been bothered enough to correct the mistake. Now his mistake was slowng him down.
Whilst Dominic ran from the monsterous scorpions he began to pick at the straps of his gauntlets with his teeth. The sooner they came off the sooner he would be able to move his arms and fix the mistakes he had made.
He didn't have long. The scorpions were gaining on him. He could hear their pincers snapping and their legs scuttling across the ground. He could almost feel their stingers rising into the air, preparing to strike.
He ran into a clearing and panic gripped him as he watched a girl run towards him from the opposite side with a gang of scorpions chasing her. He didn't know who she was, but one thing was certain; they were trapped.
'I hate armor!' Dominic cursed before biting hard into the straps and tearing at them. His gauntlet fell away and his arm became released from its bondage.
In one smooth motion he reached behind him and pulled out his guitar before strumming at the strings. It shifted and transformed into a bronze crossbow which he lifted up to meet the oncoming danger.
'Stay low.' Dominic shouted at the girl as he lifted the weapon.

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny jumped at the sight of another victim. She cursed in her mind at that word: victim. She yelled back, "You don't need to tell me twice! Just cover your side! I've got mine!" She ripped the necklace off of her neck, the metallic clasp letting go, and she let it be consumed in a shadow. It grew to a long scythe. With a nod to the boy, she turned to fight off her monsters, hoping he knew how a Reaper in the field works. She noticed the large armor laying deserted on the ground and suddenly knew the source of the clanking.
Shaking her head, she used the shadows to make a slight block in the pathway. Knowing it wouldn't be enough, Destiny turned to the boy with a grin and yelled, "You ready for this?" The hard shell of the scorpions' bodies looked almost impenetrable.
Destiny, limping slightly, was tired of all the running. She was up for a fight.

[Dominic Moss]

Dominic stopped a short distance from the girl. His other gauntlet fell to the ground. His arms flexed before he brought the crossbow up again and grinned at her with a smile that shone like the sun.
'I'm ready for them all.' He said and breathed in deep. The world around him seemed to slow down. He could feel everything revolving around him. He could see the scorpions closing in. He could see their mandibles quivering in anticipation and the hunger in their beady eyes as they closed in.
He didn't let anything bother him as he raised his crossbow to meet the scorpions that were closing in. He didn't let the intimidating gleam of their thick hide put him off or the sights of their razor pincers and poisonous tail. He didn't even let the display of power from the stranger hold him back.
All he focused on were the targets; the small fleshy gaps between the armor plating. The chinks in their armor.
His crossbow rattled as bolts flew from the end of it and soared through the air. The first volley struck the first few scorpions in the dead centre of their open mandible covered mouths reducing them to dust in a matter of seconds.
When the first line went down, the scorpions behind them stopped and raised their pincers and stingers warily as they registered the danger before them.

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny couldn't help but notice the accuracy and skill of this stranger. With a note to herself to talk to him, she turned to her own threats and smiled. Crouching down, she took a long sweep to cut a bit into the first one's legs. It's pincers snapped angrily. Standing up, she swung again, the sharp celestial bronze cutting through it's shell like a hot knife through butter.
A crackle behind her, she ignored. She was more worried about draining her powers, so she retracted the shadows and used her scythe. With a gentle swoop, the bronze sliced through the air with a sharp noise and through the first few shells with a crunch. A nasty smell rose to her nose, which she crinkled, and she stopped the scythe suddenly, the green goop of blood flying off of her blade.
She noticed that the boy had finished off his first line quickly and efficiently. She lowered her blade, raising her hand, and encased a scorpion in shadow. Crushing her open palm into a fist, the bug was crushed as well. The others backed off a bit, worried.
She yelled over her shoulder, "How's it going over there?"

[Dominic Moss]

'Good.' He called back to her, 'So long as they don't survive this!' He yelled before his hand descended on the strings of the electric guitar he was now holding.
He had needed to switch tactics when the scorpions backed up. He couldn't use his crossbow again, the targets were too small and the bolts of the crossbow wouldn't pierce their shells quickly enough before he would be swamped by the enraged bugs.
In order to counter them he plucked at the string of his crossbow and transformed it into the shape of his guitar before he struck the strings with his fingers. The guitar screeched as a wave of sound shot from it and mowed into the next line of bugs.
The beasts let out a screech as the violent sound knocked them back and rattled their thick hides. It tore through their insides before it ripped them to shreds, reducing them to nothing but particles of dust.
The assault was powerful, but it didn't stop them. More scorpions were coming. This time as one big drove of snapping pincers and sharp tails.
This time they wouldn't give Dominic a moment to rest. They would charge him until one of them got through.

[DestinyGrimm]

She fell to her knees, covering her ears. "Thanks for the warning!" she yelled, a little deaf. Noticing the bugs coming again, she slashed horizontally with her scythe, sending a blade of shadows to knock them backwards. Some scorpions crushed others, some survived and were a bit angry.
"Hey, I don't know about you, but I don't think this is one fight we're going to win unless one of us does something really powerful!" she yelled and shuddered at the thought of a memory. "If you're up to it, that tree over there looks pretty sturdy! It's a perfect bird's nest!" She slashed again and cut down a couple more. She was getting tired, her body was churning with shadows. It was either release them or rest.

[Dominic Moss]

'Don't worry! Only monsters die when they hear the music!' Dominic shouted above the roar of his guitar.
He could just hear her shouting a plan over the screech of the magical guitar. It was a good idea, right now they were facing a very large army of insects that looked very angry at the two of them for killing their fellow pincer buddies.
'You go first. I'll cover you!' He shouted back to her before swinging his guitar at a scorpion that had managed to survive the sound wave. The string instrument bounced off its shell, but Dominic didn't let the moment go to waste. He bashed it into the stinger that attempted to impale him before he kicked the scorpion in the face and then followed it up with another smack to the head with the guitar. This time its casing broke and scorpion blood spurted out from the cracks.
'Go!' Dominic yelled whilst reaching behind him. His hand managed to locate his buckler and tug it on to his wrist. Grateful that the gauntlet he had disgarded was no longer impeding him.

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny frowned but ran to the tree. The shadow of the tree immediately stretched towards her, and she jumped up to grab the sturdy branch. Scrambling up onto it, she climbed a level higher yelling, "I'm up! I've got you covered! Come on!"
She stuck her hand out, palm down. As if copying her moves, the shadow of the tree slithered towards the scorpions. She flipped her hand over and raised it. From the shadows emerged the figure of a person. The shadow carried a shadow scythe and was slicing at the scorpions, the blade only partially hacking into their thick shells.
Hoping it would be enough of a distraction, she yelled again to the boy, "Hurry up! I'm almost out!" She could feel her energy draining.

[Dominic Moss]

Dominic had transformed his guitar back into a crossbow as Destiny climbed the tree. His brain went on autopilot as he began firing bolt after bolt at the oncoming monsters.
It was a difficult task. The creatures were approaching from both sides and it was hard to keep them back even with his sure shot abilities, but he managed to keep enough of them back to give Destiny the chance to climb.
When she called for him to join her he turned on the spot and ran for the tree, narrowly avoiding the stinger of a scorpion that stabbed at where he had just been.
It was in this moment that he noticed the girls powers for the first time.
He watched in awe as the shadows stretched out and formed the figure that sliced through the lethal insects.
He could have watched the display of power all day if Destiny hadn't called to him again. He turned and clambered up the tree, ignoring the scratches and grazes he obtained in the process as stray branches lashed at him.
As he lifted himself up onto the branch next to the girl he looked over the shadowy figure that had just managed to cut through the armor of the scorpion. In other circumatances he would have probably have been terrified, but as he gazed at the fierce battle a different thought came to mind.
'If you had more shadows could you take out the rest of the scorpions?' Dominic asked the girl whilst watching the shadow hack at another scorpion.

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny watched the boy climb from the corner of her eye. Her normal powers were going to exhaust soon as she concentrated hard at the task on hand. He made it up to her, a son of Apollo. He said something, but it took a moment for it to break through her concentration.
"More shadows? Yes, but we're surrounded by them. There is ALWAYS a shadow somewhere. The only way for me to get rid of them... Well, let;s just say I'll need you to stay up here and not judge me." She looked at him briefly and back at the scene.
She was willing to let her natural, stored, most dangerous powers out to save him, but why? She'd just met him! Sure, he saved her life multiple times, but she wasn't one to let some stranger see what he was about to see if he allowed her to access her barrel of power.
The shadow-reaper chopped at another scorpion, but it started looking fainter, weaker, as Destiny's energy was running out.

[Dominic Moss]

'Why would I judge you? You're saving my skin.' Dominic spoke before hoisting himself further up the tree.
'I'm going to give you a window of opportunity. Keep them back but don't strain yourself!' Dominic called back to her whilst he climbed the tree. Ignoring the complaints from his muscles as they burned under the strain.
When he reached the top of the tree he took his legs around the trunk and lift his buckler to the sky. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep. This was going to be the biggest risk he had ever taken.
'Shine.' He whispered to the buckler and at that moment light exploded above his head. Destiny would realise what Dominic had been trying to do. The buckler was shining with the power of the sun causing the shadow of the tree become even larger and stretch out over the ground before them. The scorpions were now cast in darkness. There was nowhere for them to run.
'Crush them all!' Dominic yelled down to her.

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny didn't look up at the son of Apollo as he climbed. She was right to do so because he caused a bright light. The daughter of the god of shadows cringed a little at the light, but she noticed what he did. With a huge grin, she jumped down within the shadow. Closing her eyes, she imagined the iron gate she had within her. She saw her hand reach for the lock. Her hand opened it, and darkness flooded from within.
Destiny's eyes opened, now a shining red, as her body turned into black shadow. She let her mind flow, seeing every weak spot. Lithe shadow tendons, blacker than the tree's shadow, crept towards each one. Striking deep within the scorpions, each one died in it's own way. One crushed, another sliced in half, one without blemish on it's shell, but completely mangled inside. When all was complete, she fell to her knees gasping for breath.
"You can stop that now. They're gone. VERY gone." She yelled up to the boy. She put the lock back on the gate, thankful nothing major escaped, only her inner self.

[Dominic Moss]

Dominic would have been in total awe of the display of power, but unfrotunately all his attention was currently focused on the shining buckler between his hands that burned with bright flames. He gritted his teeth as the heat licked at his fingers. His best weapon of defence was a double edged sword; burns with the power of the sun, singes your fingers.
'Set' Dominic grunted and the buckler ceased shining. Dominic let out a sigh of relief before he began to climb down the tree. When he reached the bottom he looked over at Destiny and gave her a smile.
'Good work. We're not dead. Thats always a bonus.' Dominic said before collapsing onto the ground, 'So are you a daughter of the god of darkness or something?'

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny nodded and said, "Yes. Daughter of Erebus. You've got to be a child of Apollo, right?" She didn't need his reply. That display of light was enough to convince her she was right. She sat down, tired, and happily breathing. She had a feeling that she'd be chilling in Tartarus if they hadn't succeeded.
"Nice plan, by the way. That big shadow really helped. I'm Destiny Grimm." She stuck her hand out.

[Dominic Moss]

'Cool name. I'm Dominic Moss.' Dominic said and shook her hand before wrenching off his helmet. His hair was damp with sweat and his face was covered with dirt and scorpion blood.
'I'm really glad that plan worked. Next time I see Alexis I'll be able to tell her I came up with a good idea.' He said with a weak chuckle before turning to her, 'Shes a daughter of Athena. Big know it all.'
'To be honest I'm surprised it worked. I had to bet everything on those powers of yours.' Dominic said with a small gesture, 'You must be popular on the battlefield.'

[DestinyGrimm]

"Nice to meet you, as well," Destiny replied. She sat on a large boulder and started cleaning her scythe.
Looking up, she said, "Alexis daughter of Athena? I think Autumn's mentioned her, actually.. Still have yet to meet her!"
Destiny paused and frowned. She shook her head, "No, most people don't want me at their side. They find shadows and darkness just creepy. They also think I wouldn't be able to control it, it'd get out of hand, and that something terrible would happen." She stared at the ground as a memory came back. "That's only happened once," she said hushed.
Destiny looked up at him and smiled, "Your idea was amazing, and I'm impressed by your archery skills!"

[Dominic Moss]

Dominic blinked as Destiny told him of the campers mistrust of her. He understood their paranoia. From what he gathered a lot of campers got very uneasy around powerful demigods, particularly those of the big three.
But just because he understood it didn't mean he agreed with it. He thought it was beyond stupid. The life of a demigod was a constant battle against evil. Every other week they were attacked by some sort of monster. So what was the problem with having tsunami summoning, dead raising and lightning throwing demigods on their side?
'Well I'm grateful to have you on or side. Your shadow powers saved our bacon.' Dominic said with a smile.
'Shooting arrows is the only thing I got from my old man. Apollo kids are natural sure shots.' Dominic said, 'He also gave me the ability to heal people, but I pass out if I do it for more than a few seconds.'

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny raised an eyebrow, "I'm grateful to be on this side, I guess. I've never really been on a side. Erebus, being one of the first from Chaos himself, has always been a bit of a loner. I think, if it weren't for Nyx, dear daddy wouldn't have gotten any courage at all when it comes to talking to women. I guess I took after him. I've never really been accepted onto any side, so I don't really know what I'm going to do now that I'm on one..."
She paused and said, "If it makes a difference, I find the powers of Apollo amazing! Your light was what saved us! That was awesome!"

[Dominic Moss]

'Thanks' He pulled out the small plectrum shaped buckler that could easily be attached to his wrist by a few straps, 'A gift from Enyo, the goddess of destruction. Her daughters a friend of mine.'
'I say the word and it lights up like the sun. Decided to call it Phaethon after the son of Helios, the one that appparently burned the world eons ago.' He flipped the piece of metal in his hand and gave her smile, 'Seemed appropriate.'
He slid the buckler back onto his back before gesturing to her, 'So...have you met your old man before?'

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny looked away at the question and said, "I have." She paused for a long time but eventually said, "He was everything I expected plus more. I'm not sure if it was actually him, or some shadow form he used as a body host. All I know is that each time I do meet him, something really bad or really good is bound to happen. The last time..." Destiny shivered at the thought and looked at him, "Have you ever met yours?"

[Dominic Moss]

Dominic shook his head.
'Never met him, although I was on the recieving end of his 'wrath' once.' Dominic said with a sigh, 'I made fun of the stupid powers he ended up giving me so he decided to make the sun shine extra bright on me and my friend Skipper. We almost got sun burnt.'
He looked grim as he thought over the memory. The only moment he and his father shared and it was a petty little dispute and a show of godly power.
He had to envy Destiny. Even though her father sounded more than a little mysterious, it seemed that she had gotten to meet him more than a few times.

[DestinyGrimm]

Destiny knew it was serious, but she couldn't help but smile a little, "You made fun of a god and didn't think anything bad would come of it?" She looked at Dominic, "What did you go and make fun of him for? As far as I know, those powers are awesome! Though," she looked away a bit, "I can't talk. I've literally inherited the powers every social loner wants."
Destiny remembered all the times she had met her father. Each time, it had been for something different. Whether good, or terrible, she was the only one he could ask. Some times, even though she's glad she's his daughter, Destiny just wonders if meeting her dad is worth the consequences usually brought with it.

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