(Y/N)'s POV
The dream he had the night before the Greeks arrived at New Rome on their warship was not a sign of good things to come. But it did give him hope. At the time, he didn't know Nico Di Angelo was missing. So he thought Morpheus was just having some fun.
It was dark, that was (Y/N)'s first tip off that it was a dream, but at the time, he ignored it, still only concerned with pressing forward into what he believed to be a monster den. He held Gleam and Glimmer beside him, they illuminated the way.
In the dream, he didn't know where he was or how he got there, he looked around and felt like he was in a football stadium. A large dome covered in what he mistook to be moss in the darkness.
He walked forward, eyes scanning around the room, it looked empty, save for a huge domed mass in the center. "That better not be an egg." He thought, but as he approached, his fear was quashed.
He didn't know many things that were born from bronze jars. He raised his sword, trying to find any markings on it, or any clue as to what it was, that's what Annabeth would have done. But as he did, he heard something shuffle around inside.
"Oh by the gods it's an egg!" He screeched, retreating backwards and waiting for the distinctive cracks to form in it. But what he heard instead worried him more. A voice called out, a voice he recognized.
"(Y/N)?" said the quiet voice of Nico Di Angelo. Chills instantly ran down (Y/N)'s body. "Nico?" He said in shock, "Are you real?" His friend and protegee said, (Y/N) nodded, then realized that was stupid and said "Yes."
He found it equally amusing and upsetting that Morpheus would twist his dream like this. That Nico Di Angelo of all people, would get trapped in something, maybe it was a bronze jar because anything else would be too on the nose. Still, he and Morpheus were going to have words after (Y/N) awoke.
"Don't you worry little buddy; I'll get you out of there." Flames emerged from his hands as he pressed them into the bronze, "I'll just melt you an exit, give me a few minutes-" "No" Nico said, "-Oh, right, that might make it pretty hot in there huh? Well, I'll just shadow travel in there and-"
"No, run!" Nico said weakly, coughing. "Trap, it's a tra-" 'BONG!' (Y/N)'s face was slammed into the bronze so hard he half expected to see a cartoonish imprint of his face on it. As he saw stars, (Y/N) fell backwards.
He looked up at his enemies, two of them, monsters that could have been mistaken for men, apart from the fact they were twelve feet tall, a respectable height for a cyclops, but both of them had two eyes.
He didn't have much more time to guess their species though. Training took over, (Y/N) rolled out of his position fast enough to avoid the foot of one of the monsters crushing his head like a grape. From the roll, he sprang upwards, away from the two men. His head was still spinning.
He felt the blood running down his lips and wiped his nose on the back of his hand feeling the familiar pain, and the normal 'crunch' "Aww man, I was doing so good up until now." He thought, glaring at the two monsters, who were unmistakably twin brothers.
They both looked somewhat human. One had long green hair is braided with golden and silver coins. A ten-foot spear strapped to his back. The other had long purple hair braided the same way, with an equally deadly looking ten-foot spear strapped to his back.
The two were almost identical, the only difference being their hair color. (Y/N) tried to study them, looking for anything he could use to his advantage, but found nothing, they pulled their spears from their backs. Crossing them in an X between him and Nico.
(Y/N) snorted blood from his nose to clear it, then spoke. "That wasn't very nice, but you're right, I shouldn't touch what isn't mine. But listen dumb and dumber. Let my friend go, and I'll give you a pass."
The two brothers looked to each other and then turned back to him, grinning. (Y/N) sighed, "Let Nico go, and I won't chop you, or your bronze soup bowl, into any pieces. We can all go our separate ways. Final warning."
His warning fell on deaf ears, the two brothers roared in excitement at the challenge, rushing him together, their spears slicing through the floor as they did. Their first attack was simple, they flicked what (Y/N) thought was dust in his eyes.
Luckily, ever since coming to terms with the monster in his chest, (Y/N)'s strength had only grown, skyrocketing to reflect the growth in his mentality, he barely had to wait the span of a breath before his eyes adjusted.
He reacted at first without even seeing the attack incoming, relying on training and timing to determine what his enemies would do, as one brother swept low and the other high, (Y/N) jumped clearing the lowest spear and ducking the highest.
Landing quickly, he turned and went on the attack before the brothers could swipe back at him, his eyes burned to life and he saw the two hulking figures, illuminated by their souls, which were nothing like he had ever seen before.
But he didn't have time to admire them, he began to run towards one brother, isolating them from each other by throwing his dagger to the other, giving him a few seconds of breathing room as he attacked.
The second brother had barely any time to to deflect the blade. As (Y/N) ran towards his sibling, he threw the knife as an afterthought,
Catching the spear of the first brother with his off hand, he ducked low, slicing the monster with his sword at the knee, as one brother collapsed to his only remaining good knee, the other recovered. Charging forward once more.
But (Y/N), still holding one spear, lurched it to one side, pulling with all his strength, the already downed brother was pulled forward, onto all fours, his brother couldn't stop quick enough, and his spear ran through his brother's shoulder.
(Y/N) drove the spear he was holding into the floor as one brother cried in pain and jumped up, using it as leverage to deliver a double footed dropkick to the downed brother, who collapsed to the floor, seemingly unconscious.
(Y/N) released his grip, then he used the still prone monster as a steppingstone, standing on his head, jumping over his shoulders and running up the sleeping brother's back to launch towards the standing one who was in shock after impaling his sibling.
He ran up and stabbed the monster in the chest as he sprang off the back of his brother, driving the blade into the monsters torso, it wailed in pain, it's hide was thick, but (Y/N) raised a hand to hammer fist the hilt of his sword deeper into the chest of the monster.
But that was the last time he had the advantage, as he was ready to deliver the killing blow, the brother on all fours shot up and, in a rage, caught (Y/N) by the leg and tossed, throwing him away. As he twisted in the air, the thing blinding him fell from his eyes.
(Y/N) landed on his feet, seeing both brothers recovering, one struggled to pull the sword from his chest, the other pulled the spear from his shoulder and stood up, glaring at (Y/N) through bloody teeth.
"I'mma need that back." (Y/N) said, summoning a shadowy hand to wrench the sword free of the chest of his enemy, and another to recover his dagger, both returning to his hands. To his surprise, this seemed to excite the brothers.
"YES!" One said as the sword was freed from him, he dug his spear free of his brothers hands as the other turned and collected his own weapon, his teeth already healed, grinning like a mad dog, he yelled, "MORE!" Before they reengaged (Y/N) in combat
Once they found their rhythm. The twins fought like demons. Their moves so in synch, (Y/N) had little chance to find an opening. When he forced his way into making one, the brothers protected each other. Any weakness he found in one was rendered a moot point by the other.
Speaking of points. (Y/N) had a hard time dodging the two spears, it felt like he was dodging six. The strikes were so fast and fierce, that any one of them could have perforated him. They flowed so quickly he barely got time to get his footing.
He knew he couldn't take the two brothers as they worked together, he had to separate them. Easier said than done, the moment one brother took a step out of the other's range, they rushed back together like magnets.
Knowing he would get nowhere fighting like this, (Y/N) took a risk, getting tagged by one brother, a thrust to the outside edge of his shoulder, in order to close the gap between them, as the second brother struck, (Y/N) took his cue, he threw his weapons into the air over his head.
The two brothers seemed confused, unsure whether to take this as a sign of surrender, but their shock only grew when (Y/N) started using his wings for the first time in the fight. The brothers were shocked, their eyes widened in confusion.
(Y/N) paused his charge just long enough for the second spear to miss him, passing inches from his face, he then held onto it and used it as a hold to launch himself in the air, dislodging the spear from his shoulder.
In mid-air, he caught his weapons, one in each hand, and plunged both into either side of the closest brother's neck, before crossing his arms and having each pass through it's neck, decapitating the monster on the spot, and then rolling off the monster to spin and face his brother.
"I guess now it's less dumb and dumber, more Tweedledee and Tweedledead." He said as the monster's head made a 'thunk' noise as it hit the floor. But these brothers mustn't have liked each other very much, because at seeing his brother defeated, the monster didn't bat an eye.
He just raced forward like a charging bull, (Y/N) was faster than him though, so he would have normally had no problem avoiding the tackle, but as he tried to move, he found himself pinned to the floor.
Not by Gaea, not by the earth, but by something else, constricting around him like thread, he tried to raise his sword to fend off the charging monster, but it was too late. Tackling (Y/N) and knocking the wind from him, the monster pulled him free of his bind, holding him with both hands.
The giant was squeezing him so hard that (Y/N)'s arms were being bruised just from the contact, this was comparable to the grip of Atlas, (Y/N) struggled, kicking the giant in the chest and face, but the twin didn't budge.
As he heard shuffling behind him, (Y/N) understood why he was doing nothing other than holding him, his blood ran cold, and for a moment, a very frightening one, he watched his internal chance of survival rate turn to zero, as a spear sprouted from his chest.
He awoke suddenly, holding his chest but finding no wound, he did however, find fresh blood dripping down his face, the same marking across his arm from the iron grip, and later, when his friends told him of the missing son of Hades, he knew that it wasn't just a dream. It was a warning.
Annabeth's POV
Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything. She'd paced the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down.
She confirmed that the white "We come in peace" flag was flying from the mast. She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew—and the backup plan, and the backup plan for the backup plan.
Most important, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin and watch reruns of mixed martial arts championships.
The last thing they needed as they flew a magical Greek trireme into a potentially hostile Roman camp was a middle-aged satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling "Die!" Everything seemed to be in order.
Even that mysterious chill she'd been feeling since the ship launched had dissipated, at least for now. She ran through everything (Y/N) had told her in their messages and dreams. But that wasn't very much.
The extent of her knowledge of the Romans was that they were well trained, well armed, outnumbered the Greeks and often had 'war games' for fun. None of which sounded very friendly.
The warship descended through the clouds, but Annabeth couldn't stop second-guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked them on sight? The Argo II definitely did not look friendly.
Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete...well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet-and-greet with the neighbors.
Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. She'd asked Leo to send one of his special inventions—a holographic scroll—to alert their friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through.
Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull —WASSUP? with a smiley face—but Annabeth vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor. Too late to turn back now.
The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail. Her crewmates took their places.
On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.
He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.
Zoe was somehow, acting even more erratic. She paced around the ship, like Annabeth did, but about three times as fast, muttering to herself. "What if he doesn't remember me?" She said as she ran her hands through her long dark hair.
"Or worse. What if he does but in our time apart he has found another?" She said, looking down at herself as she walked the same route, not looking where she was going, but still avoiding running into everything in her path, including Leo.
As she dodged a flying Wii Controller, which Leo refused to wear the strap for, she inspected her clothing. "Is it too much?" She wondered aloud. Annabeth didn't see how a white tank top, a green summer hunting jacket, cargo pants and boots could be too much.
She didn't say that though. Annabeth had given up trying to reassure the daughter of Artemis. After her sixtieth consecutive lap of the deck, Annabeth wondered how she hadn't worn through the floor by now.
"Of course I don't need him to like me, I am strong on my own, I would simply join with the hunters once more, or find someone else if I wanted, having a...Percy. Does not define me as a person."
She spoke with conviction, as if she were arguing with herself. "But what if he has been gravely injured, what if..." She trailed off, her brown eyes widened and she paused her normal route around the ship.
Zoe's normally copper colored skin suddenly went a shade of green, "Oh dear." She said, Annabeth intervened, "Piper." She said, Piper walked up to Zoe and said "You have nothing to worry about, the jacket's cute and you're not going to puke." Then went back to her own routine.
Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines. "Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk." Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice long chat.
For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. (Maybe as a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.)
Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather. Then there was Piper's boyfriend—Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him.
His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak—symbols of his old rank as praetor.
With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control—just like a son of Jupiter should. He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.
Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn't completely trust the guy. He acted too perfect—always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect.
In the back of her mind, she had a nagging thought: What if this is a trick and he betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter, and he says, Hey, Romans! Check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!
Annabeth doubted that would happen. Still, she couldn't look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth. He'd been part of Hera's forced "exchange program" to introduce the two camps.
Her Most Annoying Majesty, Queen of Olympus, had convinced the other gods that their two sets of children—Roman and Greek—had to combine forces to save the world from the evil goddess Gaea, who was awakening from the earth, and her horrible children the giants.
Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Zoe's boyfriend, wiped his memory, and sent him to the Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks had gotten Jason. None of that was Jason's fault; but every time Annabeth saw him, she remembered a pain she once had in her chest.
See, they weren't the only demigods to get caught in the crossfire. Annabeth's boyfriend, (Y/N) (L/N), who she believed was dead after the Titan War, was resurrected by Gaea as their enemy. Of course that didn't exactly work out as the earth mother expected.
Her boyfriend had never been one to follow orders. After months of Annabeth searching to find him, and mourning his death, he just popped up in Camp Half-Blood one day, explaining that he defected from Gaea's side. After some time to adjust, she was happy again.
Only for him to be taken from her again a short time later, brought here by someone in the Roman camp who wanted help finding their old Praetor, Jason. So once again, she was left alone.
She didn't blame him, again, it wasn't his fault, but every time she saw Jason, she remembered how much she missed (Y/N), and some of her animosity towards the Romans, was admittedly, born from that decision. They pulled (Y/N) from her again.
(Y/N)...who was somewhere below them right now. Oh, gods. Panic welled up inside her. She forced it down. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed. "I'm a child of Athena," she told herself. "I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted."
She reminded herself, "You are mad at him, you are very. Very mad at him for almost getting you killed!" Then she felt it again, that familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snowman had crept up behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned, but no one was there. Must be her nerves.
Even in a world of gods and monsters, Annabeth couldn't believe a new warship would be haunted. The Argo II was well protected. The Celestial bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off monsters, and their onboard satyr, Coach Hedge, would have sniffed out any intruders.
Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible now. Not after last month, when she'd had that horrible encounter with her mom and gotten the worst present of her life....
The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong. She almost ordered Leo to reverse course.
Then, in the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted them. Annabeth thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail. Still, she had trouble believing her eyes.
Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.
Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. She recognized landmarks Jason had told her about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.
She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.
Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafés, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.
About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill. It looked just like the illustrations Annabeth had seen in military history books—with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae.
Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road—the Via Principalis. A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.
Annabeth wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. She scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of (Y/N). Then something behind her went BOOM!
The explosion almost knocked her overboard. She whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue. "Unacceptable!" he shrieked. Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck.
Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.
"I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" he announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!" Jason shot Annabeth a look that said, I've got this. "Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."
"Oh, I remember you, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!" "But they're not enemies—" "That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could—"
"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!" Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding.
"Um...okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms." "Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.
"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!" "Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller.
"Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that." The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap Annabeth out of her shock. "Let's all calm down." She raised her hands to show she had no weapons.
"I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of—" "Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes.
"A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess." Annabeth clenched her jaw. This statue wasn't making it easy to be diplomatic.
"What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what's so scandalous about—" "Right!" Jason interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can—"
"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!" "Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?" "Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"
"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look." He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.
"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line." "The what?" Piper asked. "City limits," Jason translated.
"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!" Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now.
"I see him!" Zoe said, everyone had seemed to have forgotten she was here. As Zoe pointed down at the crowd. Annabeth followed her finger to squint and see Percy. He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies.
A stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's —the mark of a praetor. "Well, there's your idiot, where is mine?" She thought.
Annabeth scanned the faces and...oh, gods. She saw him. Strutting along beside Percy and his new buddies, wearing a black toga and talking the ear off a pretty girl beside him. Who, much to Annabeth's joy, did not look very pleased, but she like Percy, wore the mark of Praetor.
As (Y/N) ran up behind Percy, and they began talking, approaching, closer and closer, Annabeth's heart did a gymnastics routine. "Leo, stop the ship," she ordered. "What?" "You heard me. Keep us right where we are."
Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking. "Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?" The statue frowned. "Well, no..."
"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically." The statue seemed to ponder this. Annabeth wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.
"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still..." "All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"
"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?" "Uh, Annabeth..." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?" She closed her fists to keep them from shaking. That cold feeling was still there.
It floated just behind her, and now that Terminus was no longer shouting and causing explosions, she thought she could hear the presence laughing, as if it was delighted by the bad choices she was making.
But (Y/N) was down there...he was so close. She had to reach him. "It'll be fine," she said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at the marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"
Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town."
(Y/N)'s POV
He and Percy both watched as the warship began to descend, until (Y/N) heard the familiar 'Pop!' of the dreaded OCD statue, and the ship paused in the air. They both groaned in disappointment.
"Dam. I forgot about Terminus!" (Y/N) said, looking to Percy, "So did I" "Mulligan?" (Y/N) offered, Percy nodded, "Let's just make new choices." He said, (Y/N) nodded, Hazel spoke up from beside them, keeping out of it until now.
"What are you two betting on?" "How we die." They said in unison. Percy looked at (Y/N), "I'll go with that thing you said, Asfixy...whatever. What does that mean anyway?" The definition tumbled out of (Y/N)'s mouth.
"Asphyxiation. The state or process of being deprived of oxygen, which can result in, unconsciousness or death. Suffocation." Percy tensed and didn't say anything. Even when (Y/N) added "On average around 1.6 deaths from choking per 100,000 population...last time I checked"
"Hold up, 1.6? Where does the 6 come from?" (Y/N) shrugged, "Dunno, but I'm changing mine to Blunt Force Trauma. Much higher odds." "...Wait...that's cheating!" Percy added, Hazel didn't seem impressed, "What are you even betting for?" "Fun." They said in unison again.
Frank and Hazel had been holding hands as the ship arrived, a fact (Y/N) decided not to tease them over, seeing as it was a newfound romance and he didn't want to spook them, but Frank unlocked their hands to gesture around as he made his point.
"You really think your girlfriends are going to kill you? In front of all these people?" Frank said, they shrugged. "Probably" "I wouldn't be surprised." Frank flashed a nervous glance at Hazel who frowned.
Struggling to find a way to recover from his subtle blunder, the Canadian simply said "Must be a Greek thing, anyway. That's crazy." then (Y/N) and Percy pointed to each other, both saying, "So is his girlfriend."
Annabeth's POV
A sea of hastily assembled demigods parted for Annabeth as she walked through the forum. Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked.
Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. Annabeth saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents' legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes.
Were all of them demigods? Annabeth suspected so, though she'd never seen a place like this. At Camp Half-Blood, most demigods were teens. If they survived long enough to graduate from high school.
They either stayed on as counselors or left to start lives as best they could in the mortal world. Here, it was an entire multigenerational community. At the far end of the crowd, Annabeth spotted Tyson the Cyclops and Percy's hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary.
They had been the first scouting party from Camp Half-Blood to reach Camp Jupiter. They looked to be in good spirits. Tyson waved and grinned. He was wearing an SPQR banner like a giant bib.
Some part of Annabeth's mind registered how beautiful the city was—the smells from the bakeries, the gurgling fountains, the flowers blooming in the gardens. And the architecture...gods, the architecture—gilded marble columns, dazzling mosaics, monumental arches, and terraced villas.
In front of her, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were as black as obsidian. Reyna. The girl (Y/N) was annoying.
Jason had described her well. Even without that, Annabeth would have singled her out as the leader. Medals decorated her armor. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze.
Annabeth recognized something else in her face, too—in the hard set of her mouth and the deliberate way she raised her chin like she was ready to accept any challenge. Reyna was forcing a look of courage, while holding back a mixture of hopefulness and worry and fear that she couldn't show in public.
Annabeth knew that expression. She saw it every time she looked in a mirror. The two girls considered each other. Annabeth's friends fanned out on either side. The Romans murmured Jason's name, staring at him in awe.
Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and Annabeth's vision tunneled. She expected a welcome greeting, a hug, maybe a kiss, what she saw was Percy and (Y/N) both wrestling with each other, yelling "Take it back!" as onlookers stared at them.
(Y/N) was on top of Percy, pulling his hair, as Percy pushed upwards, contorting (Y/N)'s face into unpleasant shapes with his palms and thumbs as the two bickered, "I'm gonna wedgie you again in front of all these people" (Y/N) cried.
"You can't talk to me like that I'm praetor now!" Percy argued, "Praetor of the atomic wedgie!" (Y/N) declared, trying to find an opportunity to strike, but as Percy pushed him away he yelled "Try it ghost boy, I dare you!" Rolling over so he was on top of their struggle.
Annabeth shot a quick glance at Zoe, and they both sighed, Annabeth shouldn't have expected anything else. "Compose yourselves!" Reyna demanded, her voice proud and booming. The two boys stopped their tussle.
As they looked up, as if noticing the many stares from the crowd for the first time. (Y/N) smiled at Annabeth, that sarcastic, troublemaker smile that had annoyed her for years but eventually had become endearing.
He pushed Percy off him to the ground. Then shot up like he was struck by lightning. Beaming ear to ear, the notion that she was mad at him rushed out of her head as their eyes locked. She could feel the blood rushing to her face.
His golden eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered. He was only gone for a short time, at least in the grand scheme of things, but he looked even better than he had before he left, taller, leaner and more muscular. How this change had happened was beyond her.
Annabeth was too stunned to move. She felt that if she got any closer to him, all the molecules in her body might combust. She'd secretly had a crush on him since they were twelve years old. But it took her a few years before she realized she had fallen for him hard.
They'd been sort of dating, sort of not, for almost a year, and then a happy couple for another before he had died. Only to come back after months of separation. Those months were some of the hardest of her life.
During their separation, something had happened to Annabeth's feelings. They'd grown painfully intense—like she'd been forced to withdraw from a life-saving medication. Now she wasn't sure which was more excruciating. Living with that horrible absence, or being with him again.
The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned toward Jason. "Jason Grace, my former colleague..." She spoke the word colleague like it was a dangerous thing. "I welcome you home. And these, your friends—"
Annabeth didn't mean to, but she surged forward. (Y/N) did the same. But they were not the only ones to do so. Zoe had broken from the line, practically barging Reyna out of the way, Percy rushed toward her at the same time.
The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren't there. (Y/N) ran to Annabeth and as the two of them collided he threw his arms around her. They kissed, and for a moment nothing else mattered.
An asteroid could have hit the planet and wiped out all life, and Annabeth wouldn't have cared. He smelled sweet like a mix of honey and burning wood. As they pulled away for the first time, (Y/N) muttered out "Strawberries." But they didn't stay apart for long.
Again their lips clashed, and Annabeth felt like she was floating, her mind was a thousand miles away from here. She could honestly say, she could have done this forever and not felt like she was missing out on anything else.
After what could have been either seconds or hours, they pulled apart, and he smiled at her, "You look so beautiful and I-Oh my gods!"" He said, looking over her shoulder to see Zoe and Percy intertwined, kissing too.
Annabeth frowned at him, "Really?" She said tiredly, he shrugged, "Hey, I was dead when they got together okay, give me a break. I didn't even get to see their first kiss. Do you know how long I spent trying to get them together?" He whispered.
"You haven't seen me in weeks and weeks, but the first time you do, your biggest concern is Percy!" She wanted to shout, but she knew how he would respond, "Well, you did tell me to find him." He would say in that blasé tone, shrugging his shoulders.
Instead he began doing some little hops of excitement. "Holy Hera they are so CUTE!" He shouted, but the volume of his voice made them pull apart and frown at him. He was grinning ear to ear as they pulled apart.
"Good for you. Seaweed Brain," she thought giddily. But that was where the sweetness ended. Suddenly Annabeth remembered something. As did Zoe when Percy pulled away and studied her face. "Gods, I never thought—"
With a glance of confirmation towards Annabeth, met with a small nod, Zoe grabbed Percy around the waist, and suplexed him onto the stone. He slammed into the stone pavement harshly.
Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna seem to understand what was going on, and shouted, "Hold! Stand down!" (Y/N) managed to get out a "HA-" Before he was in the air.
Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. As she put her knee on (Y/N)'s chest. Zoe pushed her forearm against Percy's throat. "If you ever leave me again," she said, her eyes burning with anger, "I swear to all the gods—"
Annabeth didn't hear the rest as she glared down at her boyfriend. She didn't care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest, a tumor of worry and bitterness that she'd been carrying around since she was attacked in her bed days ago.
"You almost got me killed!" She snapped, (Y/N) had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth. "Since when is that anything new?" He asked. It was his inflection that gave him away. There was that smug rise to the tone of his voice.
"Since never. Think you'll win a point from me that easy?" She countered, he smiled up at her. "Maybe. It was worth a shot, ya miss me that much?" Annabeth rose and helped him to his feet. She wanted to kiss him again so badly, but she managed to restrain herself.
"No, What are you wearing?" "A toga, pretty nifty huh?" He said, she smiled as he spun around admiring himself. "Not the word I'd use. Did you know it's also inside out?" "Oh, so it is. One second. You like it?" He took it off without a second thought, luckily, he was still wearing pants.
"(Y/N)!" Annabeth chided. "Huh?" He said as he threw it over himself again. Another thought raced past the one about to tell him to stop acting like a weirdo. "Is that your burial shroud?" "Yeah. I thought it was thematic. Also, I win."
Suddenly lost in the competitiveness of their relationship, she scoffed, "How did I lose?" He pulled her into a tight embrace, lifting her off her feet, "Saying '(Y/N)!' angrily is not a question, nor an answer to one."
As he put her down, she said "It's the answer to 'who is the biggest pain in my butt?' " "Oh yeah? Is it also the answer to 'who's the most handsome demigod to ever live?' or 'who is the greatest boyfriend in the world?' or perhaps 'who am I madly in love with?' Is it the answer to those?"
"You seem to forget how good I am at trivia." She said teasingly, "Adonis. Would be the answer to the first, for the second, Chris is a pretty solid choice, Beckendorf would be my pick though, the third question, maybe you could be the answer, jury's still out though."
She expected him to protest, but he made a buzzer noise, "Adonis was a mortal. I said demigod." He grinned devilishly, throwing an arm around her and kissing her cheek as it burned with frustration, Zoe tried and failed to rouse Percy from unconsciousness.
"Di Immortales Zoe, I think you killed him...wait I have an idea!" (Y/N) said quickly. He tried to make his way over to Zoe while holding Annabeth's hand. As Percy woke up, Zoe said "(Y/N), you are not giving my boyfriend a wedgie. It is undignified, childish, and we are in public."
"AWWW man..." (Y/N) pouted at Annabeth, who rolled her eyes. Jason cleared his throat. "So, yeah....It's good to be back." He introduced Reyna to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say the lines she'd been practicing.
Then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign. To Zoe, who was still shouting at Percy in multiple languages as he flopped around like a dead fish, then she paused to respectfully bow. "And this is Annabeth," Jason said.
"Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people." Reyna's eyes sparkled. "You sure you're not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?" Annabeth didn't know if that was a compliment, but she held out her hand.
"I only attack my boyfriend like that," she promised. "Pleased to meet you." Reyna clasped her hand firmly. "It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!" A few of the Roman campers hustled forward—apparently the senior officers.
Two kids appeared at Percy's side, the same ones Annabeth had seen him chumming around with earlier. The burly Asian guy with the buzz cut was about fifteen. He was cute in a sort of oversized-cuddly-panda bear way.
The girl was younger, maybe thirteen, with amber eyes and chocolate skin and long curly hair. Her cavalry helmet was tucked under her arm. Annabeth could tell from their body language that they felt close to Percy and (Y/N).
They stood next to them protectively, like they'd already shared many adventures. (Y/N) unhooked himself from Annabeth to laugh and get between the two demigods. Throwing his arms around them.
She fought down a twinge of jealousy. She noticed the lingering blush on the girl's face. Perhaps from (Y/N)'s wardrobe change earlier. Was it possible he and this girl...no. The chemistry between the four of them wasn't like that.
Annabeth had spent her whole life learning to read people. It was a survival skill. If she had to guess, she'd say the big Asian guy was the girl's boyfriend, though she suspected they hadn't been together long.
There was one thing she didn't understand: what was the girl staring at? She kept frowning in Piper and Leo's direction, like she recognized one of them and the memory was painful.
"Guy's, this is Annabeth, she's the smartest demigod you'll ever meet, also she's very good at judo apparently..." He trailed off looking to Percy, "Why didn't I think of Judo?" Percy rubbed his head, "Same reason I didn't pick wrestling."
"Fair enough, hey Percy, have your pupils always been two different sizes, that's pretty cool." Zoe gasped and looked at her boyfriend with immense worry, only for (Y/N) to smirk and whisper "So cute."
(Y/N) nudged Annabeth forward and gestured to the two romans. "Anyway. These are my friends. Hazel Levesque. Daughter of Pluto, Horseback Hero of the fifth cohort, Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, the man of many plans and many forms, and Percy Jackson, the loser Poseidon made." "HEY!"
"This is your girlfriend, the Canadian one." Frank said, smiling and shaking her hand, she smiled back and explained she wasn't actually Canadian. Then greeted Hazel, who still had her eyes focused on Annabeth's compatriots.
As they moved on (Y/N) explained, "Frank here is a real Canadian, he refuses to drink milk unless it's from a bag." The buzz cut boy frowned, speaking dryly "I'm lactose intolerant." "Yeah, but if you weren't, you'd definitely drink milk from a bag."
Reyna sighed into her hands. Then recovered and quickly began Meanwhile, Reyna was giving orders to her officers. "...tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"
"You're letting these intruders into the camp?" A tall guy with stringy blond hair elbowed his way forward. "Reyna, the security risks—" "We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." Reyna flashed him a stern look. "We'll eat here, in the forum."
"Oh, much better," Octavian grumbled. He seemed to be the only one who didn't defer to Reyna as his superior, despite the fact that he was scrawny and pale and for some reason had three teddy bears hanging from his belt. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."
"These are our guests." Reyna clipped off every word. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."
"Good idea," Percy put in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian." (Y/N) whispered into Annabeth's ear, "That's Octavian, he's their Rachel. But he suuuucks." Only the whisper was quite loud. Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "You have my orders. Go."
The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing. (Y/N) rubbed his nose in such a way it could be interpreted as a curse, Octavian glared at him. Then he gave Annabeth a suspicious once-over and stalked away.
(Y/N) slipped his hand into Annabeth's again. Percy looked like he was holding Zoe back, "Don't worry about Octavian," he said. "Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."
Annabeth felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across her neck. She heard that whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed her from the ship. She looked up at the Argo II.
Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of her wanted to kidnap (Y/N) and Percy right now, climb on board, and get out of here while they still could. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.
There was no way she would ever risk losing either of them again. "We'll be fine," she repeated, trying to believe it, smiling weakly at (Y/N), who kissed her on the forehead, unable to hold in his affection. Not that she minded.
"Excellent," Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and Annabeth thought there was a hungry sort of gleam in her eyes. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."
(Y/N)'s POV
A proper reunion? A proper reunion didn't involve him being judo thrown by his girlfriend. At least not until a little bit later. When he imagined her arrival, he knew she would be upset, he knew her well enough to know she was probably going to hit him.
What he hadn't expected was to be immediately escorted somewhere else to talk politics without getting a moment's peace with her. He hadn't seen her in the flesh in what felt like forever. Speaking of.
"Did your cold clear up?" He said, pressing his chin into the crook of her neck as he walked behind her, she frowned at him for a moment and said, "Something like that." Just from her tone of voice he knew there was a story there.
One that would probably get him in trouble, so to do a little smoothing over before the inevitable lecture, he said "I missed you so much." She pulled him to her side and held his hand, "I missed you too ghost boy."
Emotion welled up in his chest, "What is it?" Annabeth asked. "I can't really find a way to articulate it. It's a whole lot of things, but the root of it is very simple," He looked deep into her eyes, "I love you Annabeth." She leaned back and kissed him on the chin, it tickled, "Love you too."
He turned to see Piper smirking at them like a Cheshire cat. Her grin wide as she watched the couple, she looked older, a lot more comfortable with herself, he saw she was holding hands with Jason to fight back her nerves. He raised his eyebrow teasingly, then he winked at her.
With that silent acknowledgement of the daughter of Aphrodite as they left the shadow of the Argo II, which (Y/N) must admit was an impressive looking vessel, he remembered something he had to take care of and reluctantly pulled away from Annabeth.
"Hey, Valdez. You and me need to talk." He said, wrapping his arm firmly around the smaller boy, "Remember what I said about touching Beckendorf's stuff?" He asked with faux politeness.
"Yeah." Leo said absentmindedly, not even paying attention to him and instead marveling at New Rome and it's inhabitants, especially, (Y/N) noticed, the female ones. (Y/N) sighed and said, "Do you remember when I said we'd have problems if you tinkered with them?"
"Nah..." Leo said as he winked at Gwen from cohort five. She just glanced at (Y/N) with a disgusted look, as if to telepathically say "Is this kid for real?" (Y/N) checked Leo's behavior quite quickly, elbowing the scrawny kid in the chest.
After Leo was done wheezing, he glared at (Y/N) "What was that for?" "Being a perv, and touching my stuff without my permission." Leo looked like he was about to protest, opening his mouth, but stopped before any words came out.
"Not cool of you fire guy. The stuff Beckendorf made for me is important to me, I don't want anyone tampering with them unless I have no other option, not even you. But I know you, being the ADHD gremlin you are, won't be able to resist, so..."
(Y/N) fished something from his shadow, "This is for saving my life with your tampering." He said as he passed the weapon over to Leo. "What is it?" He said, his voice mixed with excitement and confusion.
"Something you actually have my permission to tamper with to your little grease head heart's content. Fix it up for me. Do whatever it is you do." Leo gave the flintlock a once over, his dexterous hands already looked like they had the urge to pick it apart.
"But this thing's practically junk. It's a relic, and a shoddily built one at that. Where'd you get it?" "From my buddy Blackbeard" (Y/N) said, Leo scoffed, "Yeah, whatever you say man. A modern one would be better, but if you insist on the relic. I'll give it a Leo makeover."
"Speaking of." He passed Leo he ruptured fuel canister, "You got any refills?" Leo grinned impishly, "Yeah, I packed a few, how'd it work?" "Well, I can't say how good it is at propulsion, but it's pretty good at blowing stuff up."
"Really?" Leo said, that evil gleam in his eye as he looked at the broken canister in one hand and the pistol in the other. (Y/N) could see the cogs turning in Leo's head, and it honestly frightened him a little. It reminded him of someone.
"Y'know Valdez, one of these days, there's a mortal man I want you to meet, he lives in San Francisco last time I checked and-" "No!" Annabeth said, how she heard their conversation was a mystery to him, but he jogged up to her and said "Annabeth please, your dad will love-" "No!"
Annabeth's POV
Annabeth wished she had an appetite, because the Romans knew how to eat. Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom.
Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits—aurae—swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies.
Drifting through the crowd were purple ghosts—Lares—in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, satyrs (no, fauns, Annabeth thought) trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change.
In the nearby fields, the war elephant frolicked with Mrs. O'Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus that lined the city limits. The whole scene was so familiar yet so completely alien that it gave Annabeth vertigo.
All she wanted to do was be with (Y/N)—preferably alone. She knew she would have to wait. If their quest was going to succeed, they needed these Romans, which meant getting to know them and building some goodwill.
Reyna and a few of her officers (including the blond kid Octavian, freshly back from burning a teddy bear for the gods) sat with Annabeth and her crew. (Y/N) and Percy joined them, with their two new friends, Frank and Hazel.
As a tornado of food platters settled onto the table, (Y/N) seemed pleased by this, but more pleased by the fact Annabeth was here. "This place is awesome, trust me you're going to love it, it's an architect's dream."
"Demigods can just live out their lives over there in the city, they have kids, and families and everything, no white picket fences that I've seen yet, but that just might be because it just clashes with the theme, but it's got like...aqueducts and stuff." He said happily.
"I've been planning a tour for you since the day I came here, trust me, you'll love it. Once this stuff is all smoothed over, we can go on a walk just you and me, and we can talk about whatever. Or nothing at all if you'd like."
Annabeth should've felt thrilled. Just you and me was exactly what she wanted. Instead, resentment swelled in her throat. How could he talk so enthusiastically about this place? What about Camp Half-Blood—their camp, their home?
She tried not to stare at the tattoo on his arm, that she only now saw clearly, larger than most of the others she saw around here, skull and a dove, both sides on his bloodline, both parts of him. A tattoo that was already faded into his skin.
She remembered seeing a glance of the new marks on Percy's forearm, an SPQR tattoo like Jason's. At Camp Half-Blood, demigods got bead necklaces to commemorate years of training. Here, the Romans burned a tattoo into your flesh.
As if to say: 'You belong to us. Permanently.' That thought hurt her, the thought that this place, the world of the Romans had claimed him long before she had, that even before the time they shared at camp half-blood, he was already marked as one of them.
She swallowed back some biting comments. She ran her thumb along the raised skin of the brand and he looked at her sadly. There was always this feeling she got when he stared at her intently.
His gaze always felt intense, even if it wasn't, the color of his pupils always made Annabeth feel like his eyes were searching for something, staring through her, into her soul, sometimes she wondered if he knew what she was thinking.
"Okay. Sure. A tour sounds great" She said, trying to sound enthusiastic. But the thought was still lingering. He took her hand, "What's wrong blondie?" He asked, tenderness in his voice, she deflected, "Nothing, you just need to find a better nickname to call me."
He laughed, "Blondie's a classic though, but if you insist smarty-pants." She frowned at him and he smirked, "What's up wise girl?" She nudged his shoulder, "Nothing." "Whatever you say Captain Insano."
The two of them burst out into laughter. She had forgotten how much she missed the feeling of laughing with him, it was a sound she didn't realize she longed to hear until she had. After it died down, he spoke.
"I've been thinking," he said nervously. "I had this idea—" He stopped as Reyna called a toast to friendship. After introductions all around, the Romans and Annabeth's crew began exchanging stories.
Jason explained how he'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he'd gone on a quest with Piper and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera (or Juno, take your pick—she was equally annoying in Greek or Roman) from imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California.
"Impossible!" Octavian broke in. "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—" "They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."
Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Annabeth really loved Piper's charmspeak. She noticed Reyna looking back and forth between Jason and Piper, her brow creased, as if just beginning to realize the two of them were a couple.
"So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants."
"Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."
Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face." Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Zoe.
"Oh my gods I'm gonna die!" (Y/N) whispered happily, pointing to Zoe beside him, who had put her head down, Annabeth could tell that the former huntress had done so in an effort to try her hardest not to cry.
Percy told them how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.
When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor." Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"
"On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up." Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump. Even Reyna managed a smile, though her eyes were stormy.
"We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she said. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with." "I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said easily. "It's no biggie." "No biggie?" Octavian choked. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?"
Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike." "Yeah, I noticed," Jason said. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job." "Back at you," Percy said.
"They'd be cute too..." (Y/N) muttered. Annabeth kicked his shin. She hated to interrupt a budding bromance, but Reyna was right: they had serious things to discuss. "We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?"
Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Seven. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?" "Of course," he said. "But, Reyna—" "Recite it, please. In English, not Latin." "Don' you mean in American." (Y/N) in a country accent, Annabeth glared at him.
"That was one time..." She shushed him. "Sorry, please continue." Octavian sighed. "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—" "An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
Everyone stared at her—except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits. Annabeth wasn't sure why she had blurted out the lines of the prophecy. She'd just felt compelled.
The big kid, Frank, sat forward, staring at her in fascination, as if she'd grown a third eye. "Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena?" "Yes," she said, suddenly feeling defensive. "Why is that such a surprise?" Octavian scoffed.
"If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—" "Enough," Reyna snapped. "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides..." She gave Annabeth and Zoe a look of grudging respect. "(Y/N) and Percy have both spoken highly of you...both of you."
The undertones in Reyna's voice took Annabeth a moment to decipher. It didn't take much longer for Zoe to do the same, she shot a steely gaze towards Reyna, Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger.
Annabeth noticed he was having trouble, because one of his hands, the one he had casually interlocked with Zoe's, was being crushed. Annabeth's face felt hot. Oh, gods...Reyna had tried to make a move on Percy.
That explained the tinge of bitterness, maybe even envy, in her words. Percy had turned her down for Zoe. (Y/N) scoffed, of course he would find it hilarious. Annabeth gave him some side eye.
She tried to determine if he was given a similar offer, by Reyna, or that girl Hazel. But he found her hand, interlocking their fingers much gentler than Zoe and Percy, squeezing it reassuringly and saying one word under his breath. "Never."
At that moment, Annabeth forgave her ridiculous boyfriend for everything he'd ever done wrong. She wanted to throw her arms around him, but she commanded herself to stay cool. Just squeezing his hand back.
"Uh, thanks," she told Reyna. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death...that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."
Hazel, the girl with the cavalry helmet and the long curly hair, picked up something next to her plate. It looked like a large ruby; but before Annabeth could be sure, Hazel slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt.
"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said. "Wait," Annabeth said. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?" Hazel nodded as if this were obvious. "Daughter of Pluto babe, pay attention." (Y/N) said.
A dozen more questions crowded into Annabeth's head, but it was already spinning like Leo's pinwheel. She decided to let the matter go. "Okay. You were saying?" "He disappeared." Hazel moistened her lips. "I'm afraid...I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."
"We'll look for him," Percy promised. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?" "Thanatos told you this?"
Annabeth tried to wrap her mind around that idea. "The death god?" She turned to (Y/N), "You spoke to your dad? Nobody's been able to speak to their godly parent, how did you-" He explained.
"When we rescued him...sorry to get off track, but if we back up a little. About Nico." He sighed, explaining that yesterday he had a dream of the son of Hades being trapped by what he now knew to be two giants.
The story seemed so familiar to her, she had been reading up on the giants for months, ever since the hit was dropped that they would be part of the next great prophecy, but for some reason, despite it being on the tip of her tongue, she couldn't place it.
She put it to the back of her mind as (Y/N) finished his retelling, explaining how they had fought him back, and they were being aided by an unknown third party. "You're telling us this now!" Hazel said angrily.
He snapped at her, "Oh, I'm sorry Hazel, I was a bit preoccupied with the giant warship descending on the city and the thought that two factions of my friends may somehow cause a war that would wipe out demigods altogether. Silly me."
Hazel quietened down. Annabeth thought that my have been a little harsh, turns out, that wasn't even close, as Octavian piped up, "So you agree with me that these Greeks could-" "SHUT UP OCTAVIAN!" (Y/N) roared.
She could tell the thought of Nico being in danger was grating on (Y/N), he had always cared for the kid, and Annabeth knew how heavily Bianca's death weighed on him, if the worst was to happen to Nico, she doubted (Y/N) would cope.
Percy took a bite of his burger. "Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."
Piper twisted the feather in her hair. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested. "Yeah." Percy smiled. "We've got a dam hole." Zoe sighed, "Sounds like a dam problem." "What?" Piper asked.
"Nothing," Percy said. "Inside joke. The point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."
Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands—and the Mare Nostrum—are dangerous?" "Mary who?" Leo asked.
"Mare Nostrum," Jason explained. "Our Sea. It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean." Reyna nodded. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods."
"It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants...and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse." "You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her. "We survived that."
Reyna shook her head. Her fingernails cut little crescents into the apple as she turned it. "Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."
"Then we're good!" Leo grinned over the top of his pinwheel. "Because we're all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top of-the-line warship. She'll get us through." "We'll have to hurry," Jason added.
"I don't know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully."
Annabeth shuddered. She'd had her own share of nightmares lately. "Seven half-bloods must answer the call," she said. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, and me. That's four." "And me," Percy said. "Along with Hazel and Frank. That's seven."
"What?" Octavian shot to his feet. "We're just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without—" "That's not all." Annabeth said, looking to Zoe, who nodded.
"Another prophecy has made itself clear to us. During the time Jason was on his quest to save...Juno." (Y/N) gave her hand a comforting squeeze, even with all these eyes on her, it gave her some comfort.
Whenever she recited the prophecy she had heard, her mind flashes back to the vision that came with it, the thought of her being back at that funeral pyre, waiting for a ghost that never came. She took a deep breath and began.
"From ancient magics born of pain, the dead shall rise to fight again. Champion of one blessed by rain, fights for a name he must attain. Oath breaker freed of the ties that bind, hunts the child of shattered mind."
"It falls to luck that the lost must find, for they only prevail with strength combined. To abandon years of the deepest hate, a final hero must close the gate. If death is freed from the chains of fate, a child assures seven shall become eight."
The Romans all stared at her wide eyed, as if she had claimed 'Greek for life!' and declared war, Octavian most of all, he rushed forward, "How did you-" He began, before regaining his composure.
"Where did you read that?" "She did not." Zoe spoke up, "We, heard it, from the mouths of the fates themselves." Reyna's face had turned dark, "That is one of our oldest prophecies. Up until now, we have found nothing more than fragments."
Reyna's eyes became wild, like her mind was racing, she looked at (Y/N), a conflicted expression on her face, but Octavian spoke before she could. "Well, how do we know they are telling the truth, they could have doctored the lines. These Greeks cannot be-"
Zoe, (Y/N), Jason, Percy, and Reyna all said "Shut up Octavian!" At the same time. Frank spoke next, sounding very nervous, "Uhhh...yeah, hi. Thanatos...Death, he said that (Y/N) was the key to that. He said that his son would be the best bet to lead us to the doors."
"Well, better than Nico." (Y/N) let out little nervous chuckle, nobody else laughed. "Can I find them, sure. But it's not as easy as them being somewhere specific to led you to, they aren't exactly...anywhere. They exist sort of out the way of everything."
"It's not like finding an entrance to the underworld, the last time I saw them they were..." He trailed off before looking at Annabeth and saying "I may not be part of the seven, but I can help you guys."
"Besides, you can't say crazy demigod without imagining me can you?" He said, "Let's go sail over Mary, save Nico from his jar, and regain control of the doors of death. Sounds simple when you put it like that right?"
"Oh yes, simple, so simple that even a Greek could-" "Percy!" Tyson the Cyclops bounded toward them with Mrs. O'Leary at his heels. On the hellhound's back sat the skinniest harpy Annabeth had ever seen.
A sickly-looking girl with stringy red hair, a sackcloth dress, and red-feathered wings. Annabeth didn't know where the harpy had come from, but her heart warmed to see Tyson in his tattered flannel and denim with the backward SPQR banner across his chest.
She'd had some pretty bad experiences with Cyclopes, but Tyson was a sweetheart. He was also Percy's half brother (long story), which made him almost like family. Tyson stopped by their couch and wrung his meaty hands.
His big brown eye was full of concern. "Ella is scared," he said. "N-n-no more boats," the harpy muttered to herself, picking furiously at her feathers. "Titanic, Lusitania, Pax...boats are not for harpies."
Leo squinted. He looked at Hazel, who was seated next to him. "Did that chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?" "She's not a chicken." Hazel averted her eyes, as if Leo made her nervous. "Ella's a harpy. She's just a little...high-strung."
"Ella is pretty," Tyson said. "And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship." (Y/N) got up, walking over to the Harpy, "(Y/N)! Don't-" Annabeth said, jumping to her feet as he raised a hand to her.
But much to her disbelief, he just rubbed the top of the girl's head, like he was petting a dog, "Ella, are you sure you can't give it a go, for us?" He said gently. "No ships," Ella repeated. Annabeth was flabbergasted. (Y/N) hated harpies.
Yet here he was petting one. Ella leaned into his hand for a moment, until she chirped and looked at (Y/N), "Gold eyes..." She said, "No little honeys...no no no." She shrieked, retreating up Tyson's back to hang from his neck.
(Y/N) frowned, "Ella, it's just me." His eyes changed from their golden color to (E/C) "See. just me, I'm not going to hurt you." Ella looked around Tyson, she craned her head towards (Y/N), "Little honeys."
Slowly, she approached him again, but as she was a few inches from him, she looked around, a final scan for danger. She looked straight at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone—" "Ella!" Frank stood suddenly. "Maybe it's not the best time—"
"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Ella continued, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."
The effect was like someone dropping a flash grenade on the table. Everyone stared at the harpy. No one spoke. Annabeth's heart was pounding. The Mark of Athena...She resisted the urge to check her pocket, but she could feel the silver coin growing warmer—the cursed gift from her mother.
Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Around them, the sounds of the feast continued, but muted and distant, as if their little cluster of couches had slipped into a quieter dimension. Percy was the first to recover.
He stood and took Tyson's arm. "I know!" he said with feigned enthusiasm. "How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O'Leary—" "Yeah, girl, time for walkies!" (Y/N) said, patting the hellhound.
"Hold on." Octavian gripped one of his teddy bears, strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella. "What was that she said? It sounded like—" "Ella reads a lot," Frank blurted out. "We found her at a library."
"Yes!" Hazel said. "Probably just something she read in a book." "Books," Ella muttered helpfully. "Ella likes books." Now that she'd said her piece, the harpy seemed more relaxed. She sat cross-legged on Mrs. O'Leary's back, preening her wings.
Annabeth gave (Y/N) a curious glance. Obviously, he, Percy, Frank and Hazel were hiding something. Just as obviously, Ella had recited a prophecy—a prophecy that concerned her. His expression said, Help.
"That was a prophecy," Octavian insisted. "It sounded like a prophecy." No one answered. Annabeth wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she understood that they was on the verge of big trouble.
She forced a laugh. "Really, Octavian? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side. Ours have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?"
Her words had the intended effect. The Roman officers laughed nervously. Some sized up Ella, then looked at Octavian and snorted. The idea of a chicken lady issuing prophecies was apparently just as ridiculous to Romans as it was to Greeks.
"I, uh..." Octavian dropped his teddy bear. "No, but—" "She's just spouting lines from some book," Annabeth said, "like Hazel suggested. Besides, we already have a real prophecy to worry about. Two even."
She turned to Tyson. "Percy's right. Why don't you take Ella and Mrs. O'Leary and shadow-travel somewhere for a while. Is Ella okay with that?" "'Large dogs are good,'" Ella said. "Old Yeller, 1957, screenplay by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg."
Annabeth wasn't sure how to take that answer, but Percy smiled like the problem was solved. "Great!" (Y/N) said. "We'll Iris-message you guys when we're done and catch up with you later." The Romans looked at Reyna, waiting for her ruling. Annabeth held her breath.
Reyna had an excellent poker face. She studied Ella, but Annabeth couldn't guess what she was thinking. "Fine," the praetor said at last. "Go." "Yay!" Tyson went around the couches and gave everyone a big hug—even Octavian, who didn't look happy about it.
Then he climbed on Mrs. O'Leary's back with Ella, and the hellhound bounded out of the forum. They dove straight into a shadow on the Senate House wall and disappeared. "Well." Reyna set down her uneaten apple.
"Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate's approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest—especially one as dangerous as you're suggesting." "This whole thing smells of treachery," Octavian grumbled. "That trireme is not a ship of peace!"
"Come aboard, man," Leo offered. "I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear." "Wait really!" (Y/N) said, looking to Leo like he was about to start begging. Octavian's nostrils flared. "How dare you—"
"It's a good idea," Reyna said. "Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour." "But..." Octavian stopped. Apparently he could tell from Reyna's expression that further arguing would not be good for his health. "Fine."
Leo got up. He turned to Annabeth, and his smile changed. It happened so quickly, Annabeth thought she'd imagined it; but just for a moment someone else seemed to be standing in Leo's place, smiling coldly with a cruel light in his eyes.
Then Annabeth blinked, and Leo was just regular old Leo again, with his usual impish grin. "Back soon," he promised. "This is gonna be epic." "YEAH!" (Y/N) said, looking for Annabeth's approval. She nodded. "Yesss..." (Y/N) said as he scurried along with them.
A horrible chill settled over her. As Leo and Octavian headed for the rope ladder, she thought about calling them back—but how could she explain that? Tell everyone she was going crazy, seeing things and feeling cold? The wind spirits began clearing the plates.
"Uh, Reyna," Jason said, "if you don't mind, I'd like to show Piper around before the senate meeting. She's never seen New Rome." Reyna's expression hardened. Annabeth wondered how Jason could be so dense.
Was it possible he really didn't understand how much Reyna liked him? It was obvious enough to Annabeth. Asking to show his new girlfriend around Reyna's city was rubbing salt in a wound. "Of course," Reyna said coldly.
Percy took Zoe's hand. "Yeah, me, too. I'd like to show her—" "No," Reyna snapped. Percy knit his eyebrows. "Sorry?" "I'd like a few words with Annabeth and Zoe," Reyna said. "Alone. If you don't mind, my fellow praetor."
Her tone made it clear she wasn't really asking permission. The chill spread down Annabeth's back. She wondered what Reyna was up to. But Zoe didn't seem intimidated in the least. "Yes, Perseus please, if you don't mind, we can talk later."
"In fact, I have some questions of my own I would like to pass by your fellow Praetor" Reyna nodded sweetly, but Annabeth got the idea that the praetor didn't like the idea of two guys who had rejected her giving their girlfriends tours of her city.
Or maybe there was something she wanted to say in private. Either way, Annabeth was reluctant to be unarmed with the Roman leader. Zoe and Reyna walked for a moment, before turning back to Annabeth. "Come, daughter of Athena." Reyna rose from her couch. "Walk with me."