𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Leo's gone loopy

"Oh my gods, you were such a cute child!" Percy laughed looking at the picture of Lilia, her father had given him.

She blushed trying to snatch the picture away, it wasn't cute it was a picture of Lilia at the age of ten. Lucia sat on her shoulders (barely one years old) pulling Lilia's hair, as she screamed.

"Stop making fun of me!" Lilia jumped on Percy's back as he held the picture away from her.

"I'm not making fun!" He said folding the picture up and placing it in his pocket. "I think it's adorable."

Lilia huffed, jumping off of him. Percy wrapped his arm round her waist and kissed her forehead. "And you still are!" He grinned.

She grinned up, nudging him slightly as she leant against him.

They'd almost reach the camp again when, A shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of Lilia's eye.

She turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.

"Giants?" Lilia asked,"I thought their army was defeated!"

"It isn't the giants." Percy said, dread appearing in his eyes.

"What is it then?" As soon as she said it, the Argo II launched a second volley. Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o'-lantern. If anyone had been in there...

Down in the forum, chaos was spreading. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights were breaking out.

"We have to stop it!"

Percy nodded in agreement and the two of them ran down the hill, into the chaos.

If weapons had been allowed in the city, the Greeks would have already been dead. The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food, and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless, as most of the stuff fell back into the crowd.

Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper and Jason, who were trying to calm them without much luck. Jason's forehead was bleeding. His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, "I'm on your side!" but his orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt didn't help matters—nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby and blasted a toga shop to rubble.

fauns had also taken advantage of the chaos. They swarmed the dining tables, grabbing food, plates, and cups. One trotted by Lilia with his arms full of tacos and an entire pineapple between his teeth.

Annabeth and Reyna ran through the doors.

A statue of Terminus exploded into being, right in front of Annabeth. He yelled at her in Latin, calling her something along the lines of a liar and a rule breaker; but she pushed the statue over and kept running.

Finally she spotted Lilia and Percy who had found his friends, Hazel and Frank. They were standing in the middle of a fountain as Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water.

Annabeth called to them as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull.

Lilia noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.

Annabeth ran toward them, ducking a Roman fist and a flying plate of sandwiches.