The streets of New Rome were chaos. Annabeth led Thalia, Piper, and Leo through the cobblestones and statues, to the distant booms and sounds of fighting from the gardens. Annabeth and Reyna had their first conversation in the gardens, it seemed almost fitting to end it there.
Thalia jogged silently beside Annabeth, but seeing Jason clearly rattled her. Annabeth didn't have time to check in, and Thalia didn't offer any thoughts, so they forged on through the city.
"We have to find Reyna or the command center," Annabeth said, "then hold the romans off long enough for Percy to find us." Even just saying his name was enough to make Annabeth smile. The world was about to end and all she could think about was Percy.
Thalia drew her bow and shot a projectile out of the sky without breaking stride. "And then what?"
"Well then we wake Gaea."
Thalia stumbled to a halt. "What?"
"It's going to take too long to explain," Annabeth said, "but this is how we can unite the camps and beat Gaea in one fell swoop."
"You want to wake our greatest enemy? On purpose?"
"Yeah, we're not exactly sold on it either," Leo muttered.
Annabeth whipped her head around to glare at him. "No one's come up with anything better! You want to die and doom all of humanity? Be my guest."
Leo shook his head. "You know that's not what I'm saying."
"Isn't it though?"
"Okay." Piper stepped forward. "We're on your side, Annabeth. Let's not have this argument again."
"She's right," Thalia said with a nod to Piper. "We're wasting time. Where would you put your command area?"
Annabeth scanned the gardens through the gap in the narrow street. "There." She pointed ahead to a small tower in the center, probably a great sightseeing spot young couples would climb in the summer months. Roman soldiers ran back and forth out of view, a particular dark haired female soldier seemed to direct traffic.
Recognition dawned in Thalia's eyes. "You're right. And I bet if you figured that out, Clarisse did too. Our troops should be around here somewhere."
Annabeth lifted her head. "Clarisse came?"
"You really think she'd miss a chance for a good fight?"
Annabeth grinned. She and Clarisse had a rocky start, but when it came down to it Clarisse was one of her oldest friends. "Then let's find our people."
Thalia took the lead this time, slipping in and out of alleyways as they drew closer to the gardens. Distant yells and explosions shook the ground, but the streets were oddly empty. It was like the regular citizens of New Rome knew something was off and left. Annabeth didn't blame them.
"Guys!" A voice hissed from an ally. Ananbeth flinched and turned, but before she could blink Thalia had them pinned to the wall with a knife at their throat.
"Dude!" The guy choked. "I'm on your side."
Annabeth registered the purple shirt, military length black hair, and bow and arrows. "Frank!" She was genuinely happy to see him. "Thalia, he's fine."
Thalia blinked. "He is?"
"Yeah. If he wanted to hurt us, he could have."
"He definitely could have," Piper said. "He can turn into animals."
Thalia dropped the knife and stepped back. "He can what now?"
Frank cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter. What's the plan? Because I think everyone's about to kill each other."
"The plan is I need Percy. Until then, we have to cause as much non-lethal chaos as possible, okay?"
Frank nodded. "I know a dragon that might do that."
"You can do a dragon?" Leo murmured. "That's awesome."
Annabeth frowned. "As awesome as that might be, a dragon's too much. You're still technically a fugitive, right? Stick to like a bird or something."
"Fine." Frank shifted his quiver. "What are you going to do?"
"Cause a little chaos of our own," Annabeth said. "I do have a plan to work this all out, but it's just going to take some time. Any chance Hazel's around here somewhere?"
Frank's face darkened. "I haven't seen her since Reyna got her out, I think she's okay but..."
"One problem at a time," Annabeth said. "We'll worry about her later. You good to go?"
"Absolutely. See you on the other side." Frank saluted and promptly turned into a morning dove.
Thalia's eyes nearly fell out of her head as he took off with a few flaps of his wings. "He just-"
"Yeah, yeah," Leo said. "He's super impressive. Now let's get on with this."
"Right," Annabeth said. "And I think I know where camp will be."
There was a small stack of boulders on the east side of the garden, probably a makeshift climbing wall or something for kids to play on.
A smirk spread across Thalia's face. "Zeus's fist. You're a genius."
"Yeah, I know." The thought of Zeus's fist made Annabeth wildly homesick. She and Percy first fell into the labyrinth through Zeus's fist back in the good old days. Those are NOT the good old days, she scolded her self. That was war. But then, wasn't this worse?
Orange t-shirts swarmed the rocks, and a tall woman stood at the top and barked orders.
"Clarisse!" Annabeth grinned. "Let's go."
The four them jogged across the outskirts of the gardens, arrows flew back and forth and mini skirmishes broke out on patches of the pristine grass, but nothing serious yet. Annabeth hoped it would stay that way.
Connor Stoll was the first to see them. "Annabeth? She's back, everyone!"
A cheer went up from the ranks, and Annabeth's friends surrounded her. She caught glimpses of Nyssa clapping Leo on the back, Laci and Mitchell hugging Piper, Travis and Katie, Malcom, all her old cabin mates, Annabeth forgot for a moment she was in a war zone.
"Chase!" A voice boomed from above. Clarisse pointed at her. "You've got some explaining to do. Why'd you let a stupid Roman capture you?"
Annabeth snorted. "Why'd you let my boyfriend convince you to help him?"
Clarisse laughed and hopped down from her perch. "It had nothing to with his scrawny ass. Now let's have a quick strategy meeting because I think we're lacking some numbers."
Annabeth, Thalia, Leo, Piper, Clarisse, Will, and Malcom crouched behind the rocks in a quick circle.
"Where's Percy?" Will asked. "And is Nico okay?"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "They're holding off Jason and another legionnaire. We have to fight the romans until he gets back, he's getting something I need. Then.." Annabeth licked her lips. If they didn't buy her plan, this was going to be a wreck. Do you even buy your plan? a little voice asked. Shut up, she told it. I know what I'm doing. I have to. "Then we get ready to fight Gaea," Annabeth finished.
Will choked. "We what?"
But Clarisse nodded her head. "Finding a common enemy to unite opposing forces." She glanced up at Annabeth. "That's pretty smart."
"But risky, right?" Malcom chimed in. "I mean, what if you're wrong?"
"What's the worst that could happen?" Annabeth said. "Gaea will wake one way or another. We know that. Better to do it ourselves and control the narrative. And also, there's no other way to unite both camps after everything that's happened."
"You mean after Percy killed that Roman?" Will said. "Because no offense, but-"
"I mean after Jason Grace kidnapped us!" Annabeth snapped. "Now are you all in or out?"
Will looked taken aback, but chewed his lip. "I guess I'm in. Sounds like we're gonna need a healer."
Malcom snorted at that. "Well I'm in as well. I trust your judgement."
Annabeth smiled at him. She truly missed her half siblings. "Leo and Piper?"
Piper put her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "I'm with you. We've come this far, haven't we?"
Leo looked slightly more conflicted. "If you really think this is the best way, I guess I'm in."
Thalia nodded. "This wouldn't be our first crazy plan. Probably won't be the last. Let's do it."
"And Clarisse?" Annabeth asked.
"You already know my answer, wise girl. What do you need from me?"
Annabeth glanced around the circle. "I need chaos. Distract and keep the Romans at bay until Percy gets back and I can raise Gaea. I think the Stolls would be good at that. Just please, please do not seriously hurt or kill anyone. That would destroy this whole thing."
"Of course," Clarisse said. "As much as I want some Roman blood this won't work if we can't work together."
That didn't sound like the Clarisse Annabeth knew, but maybe she'd grown up. Loss shaped people in different ways, Clarisse was no exception.
"Great. Thalia, I need you to come with me," Annabeth said. "If we can meet Percy before he causes any... disruptions that would be good. And Reyna knows my plan so it would be nice to have the daughter of Zeus with me."
Thalia bumped Annabeth's shoulder. "Of course. Everyone else, you good?"
Everyone around the circle nodded assent.
"Then good luck," Annabeth said as she stood and drew her dagger. "And if this all goes to shit, it was nice knowing you all."
***
Thalia and Annabeth jogged back towards the senate building, skirting the edge of the garden to stay out of sight.
Thalia squinted across the green. "You couldn't have invested in some binoculars? I need to see what's going on."
Annabeth frowned. "When was I supposed to pick those up? When I was a prisoner?"
Thalia had a point, with all the trees and fountains in the way it was hard to tell what exactly was happening. A grenade flew from the east side of the garden, the Camp Half-blood side, that exploded into popcorn.
Thalia blinked. "Was that-"
"Leo," Annabeth explained. "He was the perfect person for this."
"You don't say."
Thalia and Annabeth crouched next to a building, a bakery by the looks of it. "Are you thinking about Jason?" Annabeth asked. She didn't want to be too intrusive but she knew Thalia had a tendency to bottle things up.
"Of course," Thalia said. "Did you see his scar? It's just like-"
"Luke's," Annabeth finished. "I know."
"I lost Luke to this, and I nearly lost you too. I can't lose Jason. But when I think about it... maybe I already have." A dark cloud passed over Thalia's face. "I joined the hunters to end all this. To escape the complications, you know? And here we are again."
"Maybe this is just what happens," Annabeth said softly. "You reach a point where you can't take it anymore and you-you just snap."
Thalia's mouth twitched. "Who's seen that better than us?"
There was nothing funny about their situation, but Annabeth couldn't help but match Thalia's smile. "God that's depressing." When your two options are to laugh or cry, you choose laugh, Annabeth figured.
Thalia hopped to her feet and pointed down an ally. "Hey there they are!"
But something was wrong. Nico stumbled forward, a limp Percy clinging to his smaller frame. Annabeth and Thalia ran down the ally to meet them, Annabeth clasped Percy's face in her hands. He was sweaty and pale but offered her a drunken grin.
"Hey wise girl."
"Nico, what happened!" Annabeth demanded.
"We had a, ah, overuse of power," Nico said as he shifted Percy up against the wall.
"I'm fine," Percy insisted as his ankles bent at strange angles. "Just give me like, a juice box or something."
Annabeth ran her hand through his hair. "What happened? Did you-"
"It's in my pocket," Percy groaned. "Jason will be fine, but I've never used my powers to that extent before."
Annabeth took the vial from Percy's pocket and placed it in her own where it clanked against the vial of Reyna's blood. All she needed now was bare ground and Gaea would rise right on the middle of New Rome.
Thalia seemed to pick up on her hesitation. "Are you sure about this?"
"I have to be," Annabeth said.
Nico lifted his head. "Sure about what?"
"You want to wake Gaea," Percy said. "To stop the camps from fighting." Noting the look that must have been on Annabeth's face, he nodded at her pocket. "The blood of two demigods, right?"
I shouldn't have surprised her, but it always did. Percy was very smart and observant when he needed to be.
"Yeah," she said simply.
Percy half-smiled at her. "Then do it and let's end this."
Ananbeth glanced at Thalia. "Right. Nico, will you get Percy to Will? I need to make sure he's okay."
Nico grunted as he re-shouldered Percy's weight. "Of course. And Annabeth, when you drop the blood on the ground, get out of there. We don't know what's going to happen."
Annabeth met his dark eyes and nodded. "Will do. And Thalia, I won't ask you to do this with me. Go with Percy and Nico."
Thalia shook her head. "Of course I'm doing this with you. This how we save everyone."
Annabeth pressed a quick kiss to Percy's forehead, and then they stumbled off towards the rock tower.
Ananbeth pointed to the very edge of the gardens, the closest piece of real ground. "We'll do it there," she said.
"Do we just like, pour the vials? Say a prayer?"
Annabeth frowned. "I think we'll know when we do it. C'mon."
Annabeth and Thalia crept forward unnoticed, occasionally glancing behind themselves. Last chance, Annabeth, she told herself, is this really what you want to do? Of course it was. She had to. It was the only way, right?
A yell from across the battlefield broke her train of thought. "What now?"
Thalia squinted. "The romans are rallying, they're pointing at...."
Annabeth's stomach dropped. "Percy, right? Gods, I'm an idiot."
"Why do they care about Percy?"
"He killed one of their centurions. A very popular one. I forgot that about until now, but-" Annabeth shook her head. "They won't forgive him for that. We have to hurry."
Annabeth and Thalia sprinted to their patch of grass and knelt. Annabeth pulled out the first vial, the vial Percy gave her of Jason's blood. More yells broke out across the battlefield as the Greeks ran out from behind their stronghold, weapons fully drawn. Real weapons to kill. This was about to get ugly. With shaking fingers, Annabeth emptied the vial onto the earth.
Each drop sizzled, like water on a frying pan and the ground rumbled ever so slightly underfoot. Annabeth swallowed and looked at Thalia, who nodded.
"Here goes nothing," Annabeth said as she brought out the second vial. As soon as the vial touched air, an invisible current ripped it out of her fingers.
"No!" Annabeth whipped around, the two people behind her drew their weapons.
"I can't let you do that," Reyna said softly. Her gold sword gleamed and metallic dogs snapped at her heels.
The vial rested in Jason's hand, who looked drenched and fairly beat up, but still angry. "I told you to say out of this, Thalia," he said.
"You should have stayed out of this," Thalia insisted. "But it's not too late! Let us spill her blood and unite the camps." She gestured behind her at the bloodshed. "Look, Jason, they're fighting!"
Reyna stepped forward and narrowed her eyes. "Yes, they are fighting. And Rome will win. And after we win, we will defeat Gaea."
"I don't think so," Thalia growled. With a touch to her silver bracelet, her shield activated, the bronze disk with head of Medusa leered at the praetors.
Reyna's dogs whimpered and fled, and Reyna and Jason both winced and took a few steps back. Even though the shield wasn't aimed at her, Annabeth could feel the power emanating from it.
"Reyna, please," Annabeth tried. "This is the greater good. This is the least loss of life!"
"Oh you want to lecture me about morality? You must mean the least loss of Greek lives. If you raise that monster then Roman lives will pay the price."
Annabeth drew her dagger, sensing she wouldn't win this way. "If I don't do this, everyone's life will pay the price." She shot a side glance over at Thalia, who was staring intently at Jason's face. There was no way Annabeth could fight Jason, Thalia was going to have to hold him off and she knew it.
"Jason, don't do this," Thalia said. "Don't make me do this!"
"I'm not making you do anything!" Jason yelled. "I hoped you of all people would be on my side!"
"I'm not on anyone's side! If you were yourself, you'd see that!"
"Oh I am myself," Jason said. "I'm more myself than I ever have been. I'm not that scared kid mom left in the woods anymore, I don't need you anymore!" The winds picked up around him again, and Annabeth was starting to think he didn't have as much control over it as she thought he did. Anger made powers unstable.
"You've always needed me, Jason," Thalia said. "You tried to replace me with Lupa, with Reyna, with Juno. And that's why you're mad, right? Because Juno betrayed you?" Thalia laughed. "Well get used to it. Everyone leaves eventually."
"This isn't about Juno. This isn't about you. This is about fighting for my home!" Jason lifted a couple inches off the ground.
"Your home? You mean the child military camp that groomed you to be their leader? And then didn't care you went missing? This isn't your home," Thalia sneered. "You don't have a home."
The wind whipped dangerously fast, and Reyna took a step back from Jason. The vial of blood fell from his hand as he readied his sword. "You want this fight?" Jason yelled. "Then you can have it!"
Faster than Ananbeth could blink, Jason hurled a lightning bolt at Thalia, who miraculously absorbed it with her spear.
"You're not more powerful than me, little brother," Thalia said. "But let's do this." With a yell, Thalia launched herself at her brother, and the two were instantly locked in combat.
Annabeth eyed the vial of Reyna's blood that rested on the concrete at her feet. Reyna followed her gaze, then crushed the vial with her boot.
"What are you gonna do now, daughter of Athena?" Reyna taunted. "Maybe you can die like the rest of your friends."
Ananbeth grit her teeth and stared at the blood in glass shards on the concrete. That blood might have been useless, but there was a lot more where that came from.
"Or maybe you can." She might not have been able to summon thunderbolts for dramatic effect, but she could use her dagger pretty well. Wordlessly, Annabeth attacked Reyna.
Reyna was quick, quicker than anyone Annabeth ever fought. She slipped around Annabeth's first strike and second, then swung her sword with such speed she nearly took Annabeth's head clean off. Annabeth stumbled back.
She considered herself a decent fighter, but Reyna trained for years. She was clearly better. Which left Ananbeth one option: surprise. She switched the grip on her dagger, and stabbed downward at Reyna. Reyna slipped out of the way, then countered with her own strike that Annabeth parried.
To their left, Jason and Thalia fought in a swirling bundle of lightning and thunder. Thalia didn't attack, but parried Jason's swings with her shield. Whenever the lightning flashed, Annabeth caught a glimpse of the anguish on Thalia's face as she fought her brother.
The distant sounds of fighting, real fighting rang out across the field as the Greeks and Romans engaged, but Reyna didn't give Annabeth enough time to dwell on it. She kicked Annabeth back, then swung her sword in a deadly arc. Ananbeth barely managed to step back. She spun on her heel and drove her knife forward, a classic maneuver Luke taught her, but Reyna caught her wrist and flipped Annabeth over her shoulder. The air rushed out of Annabeth's lungs as she slammed into the ground, and Reyna twisted her wrist until Annabeth was forced to drop the knife. For second they both froze, breathing hard, each wondering what the other was going to do. Reyna's sword rested lightly at Annabeth's neck and Annabeth was unarmed, totally at the mercy of the Roman praetor.
"This is all your fault," Reyna said, her eyes a little wild. "If you had just helped me, we wouldn't have to fight!"
"Reyna, we are fighting! We're all fighting! There's-" Annabeth winced- "there's only one way out of this. You and I both know that."
Reyna glanced over at Jason and Thalia, Jason's swings slowed and Thalia slammed him in the chest with the butt of her spear. Jason sank to one knee wheezing. Across the battlefield, a tidal wave of water erupted from the Greek side. Percy, Annabeth thought faintly. Hopefully he wasn't overexerting himself but Annabeth already knew he was. Cries of pain and clashes of steel rang across the battlefield and Reyna turned her conflicted gaze back to Annabeth.
"We're running out of time," Annabeth murmured. "It's up to you now." And it was. There was nothing more Annabeth could do but trust Reyna. Trust a Roman. Trust her enemy.
Reyna swallowed and glanced back over at Jason, his blood already in the soil. "If this dooms us all, I will hunt you to the grave and beyond, Annabeth Chase," Reyna said. She stood and backed up. And keeping her eyes locked on Annabeth's, Reyna drew her knife and dragged it across her forearm. The first few drops of blood hung suspended in the air, like they were giving Reyna a chance to stop them, before they sunk into the ground. It was quiet for a moment, then the rumbling started. And with an earsplitting explosion, Gaea woke.
When the dust cleared, a woman stood before them, a hood over her face and evil in her aura. "Awake at last," she rasped. "Foolish girl. You shouldn't have done that."
Reyna brandished her sword. "Try me."
"Oh I think I will." She grew to the height of a god, easily twenty feet tall and threw back her hood. Her eyes were a swirl of green and brown, of bedrock and soil and the green trees. She smiled and her teeth gleamed like granite. As she raised her arms, a wall of dirt rose with them, large enough to smash them all into the ground. Well that was quick, Annabeth thought. My bad.
As Gaea hurled the first chunk, another, larger wall of dirt smashed into her, sending her careening to the side. Her wall of earth crashed to the ground behind her and she staggered back. "Who dares!" she thundered.
"I do!" A voice called from across the gardens. Reyna gasped and stepped back. And there, on a towering pillar of earth, was Hazel Levesque. Her golden sword gleamed at her side and her hands were raised. "I've waited a long time for my revenge!" she called. She drew her sword and pointed it at the primordial goddess. "This is for my mother."
This chapter is hella long, sorry about that!! And thank you all so much for the comments and support so far, it really means a lot ❤️❤️. Only a couple chapters left!!
-Abby