(Y/N)'s POV
"This is harder than it looks." He said breathlessly as he held his shoulders in discomfort, Julia just grinned down at him as he sat on the grass. "You just gotta catch your hands and go woosh!" She said, cartwheeling with little to no effort without even using her hands, much to his envy.
Admittedly it was not a very good example, but it was impressive, and inspired him to try again. He stood up, his whole body aching, and nodded firmly, "So I just gotta go woOSH-OH BY THE GODS!" As he faceplanted the dirt and still somehow rolled into Terminus's statue. Julia's giggles filled the air.
"No dummy, I said 'Woosh' not 'Crash!'" She teased, arms crossed as she looked down at him with a hint of superiority in her tone as he spat out some dirt. "Hand, hand, foot, foot." Terminus said in frustration. "She has told you a thousand times, not, hand, elbow, foot, hips, teeth."
"And go and put that dirt back!" He said. Once (Y/N) had finally located the specific part of dirt that was recently embedded into his face and relocating it to it's proper place, (Y/N)'s practice session was interrupted. A haughty cough filled the air and (Y/N) could almost hear the derision in it.
Without even looking, (Y/N) said, "Oh, Octavian, care to join us?" Once (Y/N) had tried and failed to cartwheel again. He turned around to see the augur frowning at him, Julia seemed eager to have another student to torment. But Terminus took this to mean they were required as people were leaving the senate.
"Julia, bring the tray." In a second, Julia's expression changed to a determined one and she scurried off to do her duty. But then she realised that was rude, and rushed back, threw her arms around (Y/N) in a quick hug, happily yelled "Bye!" and returned to Terminus's side. She even waved at Octavian, who offered her a small smile.
"You're covered in grass stains..." Octavian said, turning his nose up at the thought, (Y/N) laughed, "Yeah, that tends to happen when you spend half your time trying to disagree with gravity."
He rubbed his shoulders, then raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Do we have a problem?" He asked, his hand finding it's way in his toga just in case he would have to defend himself, he didn't think Octavian was the type of person to take losses well.
Octavian looked at his hand reaching for something, and sighed, then shook his head, "No, no problem." (Y/N) sighed back, "Well then I was expecting more conversation dear augur. Unless you've come here to tell me to clean up?"
The teddy murderer looked at (Y/N) like he was something nasty Octavian had the displeasure of stepping in. Cleared his throat and said "I have come to deliver a message, but before that, I must say. That was a nasty trick."
(Y/N) was genuinely taken aback, not only by the fact Octavian of all people was lecturing him about dirty tricks, but because he had no idea what the guy was referring to. "...The...cartwheel?" He answered and Octavian actually facepalmed.
"Your speech. For the senate, to sway the vox populi, using the life of an innocent child as a talking point, and then to make a show of bonding with her right as the senate concludes." He pointed to a large group of Lares that were exiting the building.
"I almost respect it." Octavian said. "Wait it's over already?" (Y/N) asked, wondering how long he had been throwing himself headfirst into grass. "Well, you know what they say, time flies when you repeatedly hit your head." (Y/N) chuckled, Octavian did not.
"I respect your conviction (Y/N) (L/N). Even if your methods were a bit...ham fisted." "Huh?" (Y/N) said, lost, mostly because he had spent the time Octavian had taken to accuse him ripping up the grass under his hands and scattering it. Something he didn't get to do very often at Camp Half Blood without invoking the wrath of the nymphs.
It was incredibly satisfying, but left him lost to the conversation. He was just about to explain this confusion, when everything came into focus. Octavian puffed out his chest suddenly and said
"Thank you for bringing our concerns to light, thank you for expressing the point of the matter so clearly. I couldn't have put it better myself." He said proudly, forcibly tasking (Y/N)'s arm in a sudden handshake.
He realized what Octavian was doing, the exact thing he had accused (Y/N) of doing, making a scene for those who left the senate. Saying to the old ghosts, 'look at me. I too want to save the children, look at me, a paragon of wholesomeness.' "It's not a trick, it's the truth." (Y/N) said, Octavian nodded.
"I wholeheartedly agree!" He said a bit louder than normal so the Lares could hear as they floated past, but once they were gone, he frowned, mostly because (Y/N) squeezed his hand as hard as he could and trapped his fingers, Octavian pulled away with a hiss of pain.
Once Octavian was done nursing his hand, his façade dropped just a little and he glared at (Y/N) with disgust again, "Please do not insult my intelligence Mr (L/N). I know a ploy when I see one, and while we don't share an opinion on the matter, I've made it clear that I respect your drive."
"But let's not try and pretend that you do in fact need help with...what was it? Cartwheels? Or have any actual investment in the girl, Julia." (Y/N) was still lost. "Julia's my friend...and you just saw me failing horribly." Octavian nodded, "Yes. An excellent performance."
"But I saw you do a standing backflip over a spear less than a day ago." He said quietly, like he had caught (Y/N) in a lie, (Y/N) smiled, "Yeah, funny that...Still can't quite get the hang of cartwheels. I don't know why, I think it's because I used to have a different centre of gravity because of my wings. Or maybe I just suck." He shrugged.
Octavian grit his teeth and shrugged too, like 'well, you said it, not me' until (Y/N) asked, "Wait...weren't you unconscious by that point?" Octavian coughed and just moved on, "Well, trick or not, it worked, the vote was unanimous, the praetor has...in her infinite wisdom...allowed you to accompany Centurion Zhang and his rag tag band of misfits on their sea voyage."
The way he said 'centurion' made him sound very angry about it. The way he said the rest of the sentence made him seem like he was trying not to break out in joyous laughter at the thought of us leaving. "Oh. Sweet!" (Y/N) said. He intended to go anyway, though he had fully imagined having to stowaway again.
(Y/N) suddenly got a brilliant idea. With a smirk, he passed the bundle of grass he collected to Octavian, "Have fun without me." He winked, Octavian stood there confused for a moment, until (Y/N) gasped, "Octavian! For shame." Then he bolted away, giggling. The last thing he heard was Octavian spluttering and trying to convince Terminus that he didn't do it.
Percy's POV
Percy was glad riptide had returned to his pocket. Judging from Reyna's expression, he thought he might need to defend himself. She stormed into the principia with her purple cloak billowing, and her greyhounds at her feet.
Percy was sitting in one of the praetor chairs that he'd pulled to the visitor's side, which maybe wasn't the proper thing to do. He started to get up. "Stay seated," Reyna growled. "You leave after lunch. We have a lot to discuss."
She plunked down her dagger so hard, the jelly-bean bowl rattled. Aurum and Argentum took their posts on her left and right and fixed their ruby eyes on Percy. "What'd I do wrong?" Percy asked. "If it's about the chair—"
"It's not you." Reyna scowled. "I hate senate meetings. When Octavian gets talking..." Percy nodded. "You're a warrior. Octavian is a talker. Put him in front of the senate, and suddenly he becomes the powerful one."
She narrowed her eyes. "You're smarter than you look." "Gee, thanks. I hear Octavian might get elected praetor, assuming the camp survives that long." "Which brings us to the subject of doomsday," Reyna said, "and how you might help prevent it. But before I place the fate of Camp Jupiter in your hands, we need to get a few things straight."
She sat down and put a ring on the table—a band of silver etched with a sword-and-torch design, like Reyna's tattoo. "Do you know what this is?" "The sign of your mom," Percy said. "The...uh, war goddess."
He tried to remember the name but he didn't want to get it wrong—something like bologna. Or salami? "Bellona, yes." Reyna scrutinized him carefully. "You don't remember where you saw this ring before? You really don't remember me or my sister, Hylla?"
Percy shook his head. "I'm sorry." "It would've been four years ago." "Just before you came to camp." Reyna frowned. "How did you—?" "You've got four stripes on your tattoo. Four years." Reyna looked at her forearm.
"Of course. It seems so long ago. I suppose you wouldn't recall me even if you had your memory. I was just a little girl—one attendant among so many at the spa. But you spoke with my sister, just before you, (Y/N) and that other one, Annabeth, destroyed our home."
Percy tried to remember. He really did. For some reason, (Y/N) and he had visited a spa and decided to destroy it. He couldn't imagine why. Maybe they hadn't liked the deep-tissue massage? Maybe they'd gotten bad manicures?
"It's a blank," he said. "Since your dogs aren't attacking me, I hope you'll believe me. I'm telling the truth." Aurum and Argentum snarled. Percy got the feeling they were thinking, Please lie. Please lie. Reyna tapped the silver ring.
"I believe you're sincere," she said. "But not everyone at camp does. Octavian thinks you're a spy. He thinks you were sent here by Gaea to find our weaknesses and distract us. He believes the old legends about the Greeks."
"Old legends?" Reyna's hand rested halfway between her dagger and the jelly beans. Percy had a feeling that if she made a sudden move, she wouldn't be grabbing for the candy. "(Y/N) believes it, most consider him a madman."
"Some believe Greek demigods still exist," she said, "heroes who follow the older forms of the gods. There are legends of battles between Roman and Greek heroes in relatively modern times—the American Civil War, for instance."
"I have no proof of this, and if our Lares know anything, they refuse to say. But Octavian believes the Greeks are still around, plotting our downfall, working with the forces of Gaea. He thinks you are one of them."
"Is that what you believe?" "I believe you came from somewhere," she said. "I believe that for his madness, (Y/N) brought you here to help us. And truly believes you to be the answer to our problems."
"And do you trust him." "No. But I know he cares deeply for you, and I know that he truly wants what's best for the people he cares for. If I am among that number, I am unsure." "So what's your problem then?" Percy asked and the room was filled with a low growl.
"My problem. Is that you came from somewhere, and so did he." Her eyes darted to his clay bead necklace, "Which means, that somewhere out there, there is a group of demigods like the two of you"
"I fear by the time we have decided at the senate whether you are friend or foe, you may be upon us. Because of this, I do not trust him, or you. That being said, whoever you are, you're important, and dangerous."
"Two gods have taken a special interest in you since you arrived, so I can't believe you'd work against Olympus...or Rome." She shrugged. "Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps the gods sent you here to test my judgment. But I think...I think you were sent here to make up for the loss of Jason."
Jason ... Percy couldn't go very far in this camp without hearing that name. "The way you talk about him..." Percy said. "Were you two a couple?" Reyna's eyes bored into him—like the eyes of a hungry wolf. Percy had seen enough hungry wolves to know.
"We might have been," Reyna said, "given time. Praetors work closely together. It's common for them to become romantically involved. But Jason was only praetor for a few months before he disappeared."
"Ever since then, Octavian has been pestering me, agitating for new elections. I've resisted. I need a partner in power—but I'd prefer someone like Jason. A warrior, not a schemer." She waited. Percy realized she was sending him a silent invitation. His throat went dry. "Oh ... you mean ... oh."
"I believe the gods sent you to help me, I believe that (Y/N) has worked to get you here, and he believes in you " Reyna said. "I don't understand where you come from, any more than I understood it four years ago."
"But I think your arrival is some sort of repayment. You destroyed my home once. Now you've been sent to save my home. I don't hold a grudge against you for the past, Percy. My sister hates you still, it's true, but fate brought me here to Camp Jupiter. I've done well. All I ask is that you work with me for the future. I intend to save this camp."
The metal dogs glared at him, their mouths frozen in snarl mode. Percy found Reyna's eyes a lot harder to meet. "Look, I'll help," he promised. "But I'm new here. You've got a lot of good people who know this camp better than I do. If we succeed on this quest, Hazel and Frank will be heroes. You could ask one of them—"
"Please," Reyna said. "No one will follow a child of Pluto. There's something about that girl...rumors about where she came from....No, she won't do. As for Frank Zhang, he has a good heart, but he's hopelessly naive and inexperienced. Besides, if the others found out about his family history at this camp—"
"Family history?" "The point is, Percy, you are the real power on this quest. You are a seasoned veteran. I've seen what you can do." "So is (Y/N), he would be an excellent choice for praetor.-" Reyna chuckled.
"Perhaps, I know he has sought after the position, but just like Zhang, his family history holds him back, and his status as a former traitor to the gods does not put him in high standing with those here in New Rome."
"Traitor to the gods?" Percy said, he just couldn't wrap his head around that. (Y/N) was his friend, he knew that much, a loyal friend, nowhere near a traitor. Reyna sighed, "Of course, you have no memory of the night the sky went dark..."
With a final sigh, she summed it up. "His support thus far has been based on largely his strength alone, paired with his charismatic nature, but I truly believe that he is not the person who will lead Rome to it's best state."
"As I have made clear, I do not trust him, not in the sense that I feel he would do us harm, nor betray us in any capacity, his words at the senate rang true, he does consider the people of Camp Jupiter. but I think he is working to an agenda, he hides things from me, from you."
"He is a warrior, like you and I, and like Jason, but the superstitions of Rome, and his actions in the past could lead to a large scale revolt if he were ever appointed, I think he knows this deep down, which is why he waited for you to arrive."
"A son of Neptune wouldn't be my first choice, but if you return successfully from this mission, the legion might be saved. The praetorship will be yours for the taking. Together, you and I could expand the power of Rome. We could raise an army and find the Doors of Death, crush Gaea's forces once and for all. You would find me a very helpful...friend."
She said that word like it could have several meanings, and he could pick which one. Percy's feet started tapping on the floor, anxious to run. "Reyna...I'm honored, and all. Seriously. But I've got a girlfriend. And I don't want power, or a praetorship."
Percy was afraid he'd make her mad. Instead she just raised her eyebrows. "A man who turns down power?" she said. "That's not very Roman of you. Just think about it. In four days, I have to make a choice. If we are to fight off an invasion, we must have two strong praetors."
"I shall appoint (Y/N) if I must, but I'd prefer you, and if you fail on your quest, or don't come back, or refuse my offer... Well, I'll work with Octavian. I mean to save this camp, Percy Jackson. Things are worse than you realize."
Percy remembered what Frank said about the monster attacks getting more frequent. "How bad?" Reyna's nails dug into the table. "Even the senate doesn't know the whole truth. I've asked Octavian not to share his auguries, or we'd have mass panic."
"He's seen a great army marching south, undead monsters and warriors alike, more than we can possibly defeat. They're led by a giant—" "Alcyoneus?" "I don't think so. If he is truly invulnerable in Alaska, he'd be foolish to come here himself. It must be one of his brothers."
"Great," Percy said. "So we've got two giants to worry about." The praetor nodded. "Lupa and her wolves are trying to slow them down, but this force is too strong even for them. The enemy will be here soon—by the Feast of Fortuna at the very latest."
Percy shuddered. He'd seen Lupa in action. He knew all about the wolf goddess and her pack. If this enemy was too powerful for Lupa, Camp Jupiter didn't stand a chance. Reyna read his expression.
"Yes, it's bad, but not hopeless. If you succeed in bringing back our eagle, if you release Death so we can actually kill our enemies, then we stand a chance. And there's one more possibility..." Reyna slid the silver ring across the table.
"I can't give you much help, but your journey will take you close to Seattle. I'm asking you for a favor, which may also help you. Find my sister Hylla." "Your sister...the one who hates me?" "Oh, yes," Reyna agreed.
"She would love to kill you. But show her that ring as a token from me, and she may help you instead." "May?" "I can't speak for her. In fact..." Reyna frowned. "In fact I haven't spoken to her in weeks. She's gone silent. With these armies passing through"
"You want me to check on her," Percy guessed. "Make sure she's okay." "Partially, yes. I can't imagine she's been overcome. My sister has a powerful force. Her territory is well defended. But if you can find her, she could offer you valuable help."
"It could mean the difference between success and failure on your quest. And if you tell her what's happening here—" "She might send help?" Percy asked. Reyna didn't answer, but Percy could see the desperation in her eyes.
She was terrified, grasping for anything that could save her camp. No wonder she wanted Percy's help. She was the only praetor. The defense of the camp rested on her shoulders alone. Percy took the ring. "I'll find her. Where do I look? What kind force does she have?"
"Don't worry. Just go to Seattle. They'll find you...and for the love of the gods, when you meet her, don't show her that (Y/N) is with you, hide him if you must, if she gets wind of his involvement...she may not take it well."
That didn't sound encouraging, but Percy slipped the ring onto his leather necklace with his beads and his probatio tablet. "Wish me luck." "Fight well, Percy Jackson," Reyna said. "And thank you." He could tell the audience was over.
Reyna was having trouble holding herself together, keeping up the image of the confident commander. She needed some time by herself. But at the door of the principia, Percy couldn't resist turning.
"How did we destroy your home—that spa where you lived?" The metal greyhounds growled. Reyna snapped her fingers to silence them. "You destroyed the power of our mistress," she said. "You freed some prisoners who took revenge on all of us who lived on the island. My sister and l...well, we survived. It was difficult. But in the long run, I think we are better off away from that place."
"Still, I'm sorry," Percy said. "If I hurt you, I'm sorry." Reyna gazed at him for a long time, as if trying to translate his words. "An apology? Not very Roman at all, Percy Jackson. You'd make an interesting praetor. I hope you'll think about my offer."
(Y/N)'s POV
In less than half an hour, (Y/N) had taken a hot shower, noting the new yellow bruises on his body not only from the previous war games, but Julia's intense training, and then changed out of his toga and into a shirt and jeans, packed his stuff, and put his picture of Annabeth in his wallet.
A few of his cohort members offered him words of encouragement, all really amounting to one sentiment 'Please don't mess this up, we can't live with the shame of another failure' After that cheery round of support, he made his way outside.
Which was where he found the scraggily haired, olive skinned son of Hades waiting for him with a smirk, shaking his head, "You're going to be late for lunch. You're lucky Reyna pulled Percy in for a final talk, otherwise you'd be stuck going alone. What's taking so long? Did you forget how to tie your shoelaces again?"
(Y/N) was very displeased by that topic of conversation. "A minotaur had just thrown me through a Barnes and Noble. I had a grade two concussion. Get over it." "I will, when you get over the China thing."
"Never. And if you must know, I had to get my picture." He said, holding it up proudly, Nico nodded in understanding. "You up for a little shadow travel Nico? I want to check something." (Y/N) asked, the son of Hades shrugged, "Sure." But made a face.
"What's up?" (Y/N) said, walking down to meet Nico, the son of Hades shrugged, "Just wanted to check some stuff before you left." "Out with it then." "There's a lot of this whole story that isn't adding up."
"Some of the stuff you said in there. Is it true, you saw one of Gaea's generals use the power of Alcyoneus? Are you sure that was what it was, I mean, dreams can be hazy sometimes." "Not my dreams Nico, not recently." (Y/N) shuddered at the memory of Circe crushing Teach's skull.
"There's something else going on, isn't there. Your father being chained isn't the only problem, you mentioned someone with magic like his, and that you were the only person who could kill Alcyoneus. What's your angle here (Y/N)? What aren't you telling everyone?"
"Nico if I started talking about the list of things I'm hiding to protect the people I cared about, not only would you be brought to tears, but we'd be here so long that I doubt we'd have the time left to save my dad."
"Just one thing then. The woman, the one that Gwen saw, I know it worried you." "Exactly, It's for me to worry about, not you Nico just-" "(Y/N) stop leaving me in the dark!" Nico snapped, "I'm not a little kid anymore"
"I'm older than most demigods are when they have to deal with this, so please, for once, don't try to spare my innocence, it's insulting. I fought Kronos with you, I fought with you when the Labyrinth opened, I'm old enough to know what I'm fighting now."
Nico's eyes flashed with that same hint of craziness that his father's eyes had, and (Y/N) understood how desperate the demigod was to help, so he couldn't deny him. Everything he had said was the truth.
Nico deserved to be treated like he was the strong confident demigod his years of experience had made him, not the little boy (Y/N) had to protect. "I told you about my run in with Circe right, when we first met...again" (Y/N) said.
Nico recalled the story with near perfect clarity (Y/N) explained his dream of Circe's attack. (Y/N) only filling in the blanks, about having not turned her into an animal, and killing her instead. Nico connected the dots quickly.
"Of course. Blackbeard. You did say that he was back, and he was a son of Ares, who must be ticked off." He said in understanding, his voice sympathetic, (Y/N) laughed, "Kid do you remember everything I say to you?" Nico shrugged, "Only the interesting parts."
(Y/N) then proceeded to explain everything that happened to him from the moment he made his deal with Gaea to return, to now. Nico was enthralled by the story, "So you were two people at once? Cool"
"Well no, it's a lot more complicated then that, my memory was fragmented by-" "-And you tricked the Furies into dying to Juno's light and going back to my father empty handed-" "Well yes, but I also had to-" "And then Reyna summoned you here after you just got home."
(Y/N) gave up on trying to explain the intricate details to the excitable teenager and sighed, "Yeah." But to his surprise, Nico's reaction was much more mature than his simple 'Wows' and 'COOL's from the past.
"I'm sorry for your friend dying." Nico said it like he expected (Y/N) to blame him personally, (Y/N) had a sad thought that maybe Nico was used to that, but pushed it aside as the two had an awkward hug.
"It's okay, he was old and tired anyway. And who knows, maybe he'll come back..." (Y/N) said hopefully. Nico nodded, "Maybe. Who's to say?" Once they pulled away, (Y/N) ignored the dusting of redness across Nico's nose.
The son of Hades said "We're going to fix this, I know it. You and Percy are going to find your dad, and fix everything. Just...look after Hazel for me will you, she's..." He clearly couldn't bring himself to say 'all I have left' so instead said "-Been through a lot."
"You know me Nico, I'll defend her or die trying." "I do know you, you'll probably do both." He laughed. It was a laugh they shared. Only getting back to a serious discussion once they could see the vessel they had been deemed worthy to take.
"You've got to be kidding me, we shadow travelled all the way here for this thing?" (Y/N) said, frustrated, "Well, the Romans were not a very...naval people. But I think Octavian just likes messing with you"
"I know Octavian likes messing with me. But this is bad even for him, I doubt we'd make it ten feet out in this thing without Percy." "I am inclined to agree." Nico said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"You better zip your lip kid, this isn't funny." "It is a little funny." Nico defended. "We're going to war in that thing, it's not funny" He said as they sat at the edge of the dock. "it's hilarious." (Y/N) said while cracking up.
"You know what else is really funny?" Nico said, and (Y/N) knew what was coming, but was helpless to stop it as he tumbled into the water, he tried to activate his shoes but it came out like "Maioooggghh"
He resurfaced to find Nico laughing at him so hard the boy had tears in his eyes, and after attempting to splash the son of Hades, (Y/N) decided he had enough of the ice cold water.
"Now I need another shower!" He complained as he climbed out the water, then he focused, imagining his next breath sticking in the center of his chest and vibrating, growing hotter and hotter.
After a moment, his entire body erupted into a green flame, luckily over his clothes, which were protected, which was the second thing Lou Ellen had taught him, and by her own admission, was 'her bad'
Though if memory served him, she wasn't very sympathetic, and simply teleported away when he caught his clothes on fire the first time and had to streak through camp, smoking and very embarrassed.
As (Y/N) summoned the forces of the arcane and magic to dry his clothes, Nico commented. "That kinda looks like-" "Greek fire? Yeah, it's a running joke, I don't know how to change the color. It was the first I thought of," He explained.
"What else can you do?" Nico asked, (Y/N) put his finger to his chin, "I make a mean lasagna." When Nico pouted, (Y/N) reminded him that Gaea had eyes everywhere probably literally. He needed to keep a few secrets. Nico rolled his eyes, "Typical."
"Oh, and Nico, before I forget. Thanks for having my back during that meeting buddy, I mean it. I owe you." Nico shrugged, "What else is new?" (Y/N) lightly punched the son of Hades in the shoulder, "Hey, when did you get so sassy?"
"Learned it from the best." "I swear to the gods if you say Minos right now I'm going to-" "Percy." He laughed, and before (Y/N) could even process the word, Nico had basically taken flight.
He had taken off running so fast towards the camp that (Y/N) gave up chasing him half way and decided he would instead take his time before he went to meet the three of his quest mates. He looked out at the water, and got a bad feeling.
"You can't save them." A voice said in his ears now he wasn't protected by the camp barriers. "She's coming for you, you father will suffer and she will take his place once he cannot suffer any more."
He scoffed, "If you're looking for someone who gives up after a few months of suffering, you've got the wrong guy Gaea. My dad isn't that weak, and your knockoff witch isn't that strong. I'm coming to get him. Even if I have to go through hell to do it."
"You will not survive the journey." She warned, "Well then, let him go and save me the trouble of proving you wrong." He asked, she was silent after that. But he still felt like he was being studied.
It was like there were eyes on him, watching and waiting for him, "How many of your kids am I going to have to put down before you take me seriously dirt face?" He asked, feeling her voice trying to erupt in his ears
He pushed it back, and decided that once he made it back to camp, he would do something to de stress after lunch, not thinking about anything but survival usually helped him with that, so he knew what to do.
Percy's POV
Lunch felt like a funeral party. Everybody ate. People talked in hushed tones. Nobody seemed particularly happy. The other campers kept glancing over at Percy like he was the corpse of honor. Reyna made a brief speech wishing them luck.
Octavian ripped open a Beanie Baby and pronounced grave omens and hard times ahead, but redicted the camp would be saved by an unexpected hero (whose initials were probably OCTAMAN).
Then the other campers went off to their afternoon classes—gladiator fighting, Latin lessons, paintball with ghosts, eagle training, and a dozen other activities that sounded better than a suicide quest.
Percy followed Hazel and Frank to the barracks to pack. Percy didn't have much. He'd cleaned up his backpack from his trip south and had kept most of his Bargain Mart supplies.
He had a fresh pair of jeans and an extra purple T-shirt from the camp quarter master, plus some nectar, ambrosia, snacks, a little mortal money, and camping supplies. At lunch, Reyna had handed him a scroll of introduction from the praetor and camp senate.
Supposedly, any retired legionnaires they met on the trip would help them if shown the letter. He also kept his leather necklace with the beads, the silver ring, and the probatio tablet, and of course he had Riptide in his pocket.
He folded his tattered orange T-shirt and left it on his bunk. "I'll be back," he said. He felt pretty stupid talking to a T-shirt, but he was really thinking of Zoe, and his old life. "I'm not leaving for good. But I have to help these guys. They took me in. They deserve to survive."
The T-shirt didn't answer, thankfully. One of their roommates, Bobby, gave them a ride to the border of the valley on Hannibal the elephant. From the hilltops, Percy could see everything below. The Little Tiber snaked across golden pastures where the unicorns were grazing.
The temples and forums of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. On the Field of Mars, engineers were hard at work, pulling down the remains of last night's fort and setting up barricades for a game of death ball.
A normal day for Camp Jupiter—but on the northern horizon, storm clouds were gathering. Shadows moved across the hills, and Percy imagined the face of Gaea getting closer and closer. Work with me for the future, Reyna had said. I intend to save this camp.
Looking down at the valley, Percy understood why she cared so much. Even though he was new to Camp Jupiter, he felt a fierce desire to protect this place. A safe haven where demigods could build their lives—he wanted that to be part of his future.
Maybe not the way Reyna imagined, but if he could share this place with Zoe...They got off the elephant. Bobby wished them a safe journey. Hannibal wrapped the three questers with his trunk. Then the elephant taxi service headed back into the valley.
Percy sighed. He turned to Hazel and Frank and tried to think of something upbeat to say. A familiar voice said, "IDs, please." A statue of Terminus appeared at the summit of the hill. The god's marble face frowned irritably. "Well? Come along!"
"You again?" Percy asked. "I thought you just guarded the city." Terminus huffed. "Glad to see you, too, Mr. Rule Flouter. Normally, yes, I guard the city, but for international departures, I like to provide extra security at the camp borders."
"You really should've allowed two hours before your planned departure time, you know. But we'll have to make do. Now, come over here so I can pat you down." "But you don't have—" Percy stopped himself. "Uh, sure."
He stood next to the armless statue. Terminus conducted a rigorous mental pat down. "You seem to be clean," Terminus decided. "Do you have anything to declare?" "Yes," Percy said. "I declare this is stupid."
"Hmph! Probatio tablet: Percy Jackson, Fifth Cohort, son of Neptune. Fine, go. Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. Fine. Any foreign currency or, ahem, precious metals to declare?" "No," she muttered.
"Are you sure?" Terminus asked. "Because last time—" "No!" "Well, this is a grumpy bunch," said the god. "Quest travelers! Always in a rush. Now, let's see—Frank Zhang. Ah! Centurion? Well done, Frank. And that haircut is regulation perfect. I approve!"
Terminus looked around, like he was expecting someone else, but then shrugged, "Has one of you decided to stay home. Shame... Off you go, then, Centurion Zhang. Do you need any directions today?" "No. No, I guess not."
"Just down to the BART station," Terminus said anyway. "Change trains at Twelfth Street in Oakland. You want Fruitvale Station. From there, you can walk or take the bus to Alameda." "You guys don't have a magical BART train or some thing?" Percy asked.
"Magic trains!" Terminus scoffed. "You'll be wanting your own security lane and a pass to the executive lounge next. Just travel safely, and watch out for Polybotes. Talk about scofflaws—bah! I wish I could throttle him with my bare hands."
"Wait—who?" Percy asked. Terminus made a straining expression, like he was flexing his non existent biceps. "Ah, well. Just be careful of him. I imagine he can smell a son of Neptune a mile away. Out you go, now. Good luck!"
An invisible force kicked them across the boundary. When Percy looked back, Terminus was gone. In fact, the entire valley was gone. The Berkeley Hills seemed to be free of any Roman camp. Percy looked at his friends.
"Any idea what Terminus was talking about? Watch out for...Political something or other?" "Poh-LIB-uh-tease?" Hazel sounded out the name carefully. "Never heard of him." "Sounds Greek," Frank said.
"Sounds familiar...Didn't I kill that guy?...No, that was Poly...something else. I dunno, that was a rough day. Bit of a blur." said a voice. the three of them all jumped when (Y/N) appeared from the shadow behind the statue, walking through the barrier without even looking at Terminus.
"Sorry I'm late. Needed a shower. Hazel, did your brother say bye to you yet?" She nodded, "Caught me before we got here." "Good, he gets really pouty about stuff like that. Holds a grudge over anything that kid." He sighed while shaking his head.
"Anyway. We all clear for departure? Before we get eaten by the maybe Greek, maybe not monster?" He asked, looking around at them, "Well, we probably just appeared on the smell radar for every monster within five miles. We'd better get moving."
"Bold of you to assume there's any monsters left within five miles." (Y/N) said proudly, "I got bored waiting." He smiled, but Percy noticed how closely (Y/N) had kept his dagger to his hand and thought that he might have been more anxious to leave then he looked.
It took them two hours to reach the docks in Alameda. Compared to Percy's last few months, the trip was easy. No monsters attacked. Nobody looked at Percy like he was a homeless wild child. Frank had stored his spear, bow, and quiver in a long bag made for skis.
Hazel's cavalry sword was wrapped in a bedroll slung on her back. (Y/N)'s sword and dagger were hiding in a tennis racket bag. Together the four of them looked like normal high schoolers on their way to an overnight trip.
They walked to Rockridge Station, bought their tickets with mortal money, and hopped on the BART train. They got off in Oakland. They had to walk through some rough neighborhoods, but nobody bothered them.
When ever the local gang members came close enough to look in Percy's eyes, they quickly veered away. He'd perfected his wolf stare over the last few months—a look that said: However bad you think you are, I'm worse.
After strangling sea monsters and running over gorgons in a police car, Percy wasn't scared of gangs. Pretty much nothing in the mortal world scared him anymore. "Oh how times change..." (Y/N) lamented, ruffling Percy's hair weirdly.
"Why can't you just shadow travel us all to Alaska?" Percy asked halfway to San Francisco, (Y/N) and Hazel both shook their heads, Franks seemed as confused as Percy was, and eventually after some pestering, (Y/N) snapped.
"Sure gills, I'll just shadow travel four people halfway across the world, leaving me fully refreshed, and them perfectly in one piece when we drop into enemy territory, next to an immortal giant. Because that'll go well." Percy frowned, "It was just a question."
In the late afternoon, they made it to the Alameda docks. Percy looked out over San Francisco Bay and breathed in the salty sea air. Immediately he felt better. This was his father's domain. Whatever they faced, he'd have the upper hand as long as they were at sea.
Dozens of boats were moored at the docks—everything from fifty-foot yachts to ten-foot fishing boats. He scanned the slips for some sort of magic vessel—a trireme, maybe, or a dragon-headed warship like he'd seen in his dreams.
"Um...you guys know what we're looking for?" Hazel and Frank shook their heads. "Me and Nico checked this place out earlier, it's around here somewhere." "I didn't even know we had a navy." Hazel sounded as if she wished there wasn't one.
"Oh..." Frank pointed. "You don't think...?" At the end of the dock was a tiny boat, like a dinghy, covered in a purple tarp. Embroidered in faded gold along the canvas was S.P.Q.R. Percy's confidence wavered. "No way."
"Yep. Here is our magnificent vessel." (Y/N) said, like he was trying not to laugh, he looked at Percy as if to say, Romans...typical. He uncovered the boat, Percy helped from there, his hands working the knots like he'd been doing it his whole life.
Under the tarp was an old steel rowboat with no oars. The boat had been painted dark blue at one point, but the hull was so crusted with tar and salt it looked like one massive nautical bruise.
On the bow, the name Pax was still readable, lettered in gold. Painted eyes drooped sadly at the water level, as if the boat were about to fall asleep. On board were two benches, some steel wool, an old cooler, and a mound of frayed rope with one end tied to the mooring.
At the bottom of the boat, aplastic bag and two empty Coke cans floated in several inches of scummy water. "Behold," Frank said. "The mighty Roman navy." "There's got to be a mistake," Hazel said. "This is a piece of junk."
Percy imagined Octavian laughing at them, but he decided not to let it get him down. The Pax was still a boat. He jumped aboard, and the hull hummed under his feet, responding to his presence. He gathered up the garbage in the cooler and put it on the dock.
He willed the scummy water to flow over the sides and out of the boat. Then he pointed at the steel wool and it flew across the floor, scrubbing and polishing so fast, the steel began to smoke. When it was done, the boat was clean. Percy pointed at the rope, and it untied itself from the dock.
No oars, but that didn't matter. Percy could tell that the boat was ready to move, just awaiting his command. "This'll do," he said. "Hop in." Hazel and Frank looked a little stunned, (Y/N) walked in like he had full trust in the vessel.
The others seemed less pleased but they climbed aboard. Hazel seemed especially nervous. When they had settled on the seats, Percy concentrated, and the boat slipped away from the dock.
'Juno was right, you know' The sleepy voice of Gaea whispered in Percy's mind, startling him so badly the boat rocked. 'You could have chosen a new life in the sea. You would have been safe from me there.'
'Now its too late. You chose pain and misery. You're part of my plan, now—my important little pawn.' "Get off my ship," Percy growled. "Uh, what?" Frank asked. Percy waited, but the voice of Gaea was silent.
"Nothing," he said. "Let's see what this rowboat can do." He turned the boat to the north, and in no time they were speeding along at fifteen knots, heading for the Golden Gate Bridge.