"Oh Percy, thank the gods you're okay!" Thalia cried out as she threw her arms around the demigod laying in the cot.
"Good to see you too, Thals," Percy grunted.
Suddenly, Thalia pulled back and smacked Percy across his left cheek. "Don't you ever do that again!" Thalia scolded. "I thought I was going to lose you!"
"Sorry, I-" Percy said sheepishly, but was interrupted by a kiss from Thalia before he could go any farther.
"No, don't. Just promise me you'll stay with me, like you did in that motel over a year ago," Thalia said quietly.
"I promise," Percy whispered back before he started to go in for another kiss.
However, the couple had to break apart when a small girl burst through the entrance of the tent. "Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy!" Clara was crying frantically, the panic on her face putting her on the brink of tears.
"Hey, Sunshine, calm down," Percy soothed as she ran up to the side of his cot. "What's wrong?"
"It's, it's Hannah!" Clara cried. "She always comes to get me for breakfast, and she didn't this morning! I can't find her anywhere!"
"Did you check her bunk in the barracks?" Percy questioned.
"Well, um, no," Clara replied, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Then let's go check, she's probably just being a lazy bones!" Percy said cheerfully. Clara had calmed down with Percy's reassurances, so the demigod trio made their way out of the infirmary tent and towards Camp Jupiter.
At a brisk jog, it only took them minutes to reach the barracks for the fifth cohort. Everybody was doing their morning drills, so the building was empty. As they made their way to the back corner where Hannah's bunk was it became apparent that she wasn't there. However, something was sitting on her pillow. Upon closer inspection they could see that it was Jacob's watch and the Olympian Silver prosthetic hand that had been gifted to her by the Hunt sitting on top of a small piece of paper. Gently, Thalia reached over and lifted up the paper. On it, Hannah had only written two words, I'm Sorry.
"No, no," Clara whispered as she fell to her knees and tears started leaking out of her eyes. Percy knelt down and took the shaking girl into his arms. "Please, we need to find her," Clara whimpered. "I can't lose her too."
"Don't worry," Thalia reassured. "We'll find her."
# # #
The group of fourteen demigods, mortal, and centaur were almost to Camp Jupiter. They could see the Romans guarding the entrance to the tunnel, but they could also hear their hunters closing in behind them. "Go!" called Chiron, who had caught up to the group somewhere in New Mexico. "I shall hold them off!"
"But they'll kill you!" Malcolm protested.
"Then I will not have died in vain, my child," Chiron reassured as he brought his bow from off his shoulder.
"I won't let them," Clarrise, who had joined the group - along with Chris - in Arizona, growled.
The group had reached the entrance of the tunnel at this point. "Halt!" one of the Romans cried as she drew her sword, her companion doing the same. "This is Roman territory, Graecum are not welcome here! Be on your way or face the wrath of the Legion!"
"Please, we seek sanctuary!" Will pleaded. "We mean no harm!"
Suddenly, the eyes of both Romans widened as they looked over the shoulders of the group before them. "Go, inside, now!" the girl ordered as the guy threw open the door to the tunnel. As the group rushed inside, they dared take a glance back. Charging down the road towards them was the campers that had been tracking them, and they looked furious. Covering the groups rear, the Romans closed the door and followed after the defectors from Camp Half-Blood.
After a short time, the retreating party burst into a valley. "Head towards the fort!" the guy ordered. "We'll cover you!" Not wasting any time, they sprinted towards Camp Jupiter as the girl blew a horn that was at her side and the invading war party burst through the tunnel.
# # #
Percy, Thalia, and Clara were standing in the barracks still when they heard a horn echoing three short bursts outside. Percy immediately rushed towards the door, leaving the girls to chase after him. "What's going on? Thalia called as Percy ran towards the gate where the fifth cohort was assembling.
"Intruders have breached the tunnel!" Percy called back as he ran up to Hazel. "What's the situation?" he asked her.
Hazel seemed surprised to see Percy, but quickly composed herself. "Elise and Trevor have sounded the Alarm. We have a group of fifteen plus a centaur that they seem to be covering, while a party of about two dozen has just exited the tunnel and is chasing after them," she informed. "They all seem to be Greek, based off of the orange shirts."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Percy questioned.
"Nothing," Hazel grinned. "Cohortem ante. Tempore duplo!" she ordered as the gates were thrown open. Immediately, the fifth cohort set off in a jog towards the tunnel to aid their brethren. Percy, Thalia, and Clara ran after them, intent on helping.
"Chiron!" Percy exclaimed as he ran up to the retreating group, who had stopped when the fifth cohort had run past to engage Annabeth's minions. "What are you doing here?"
"Camp Half-Blood is lost," Chiron said sadly. "The combined efforts of Annabeth, Piper, and Jason have made sure of that."
Percy frowned at this. "Well, crap," he said. "Well, I'll catch you later, I'm going to go help with the invaders."
"Until then, Percy!" Chiron called as Percy ran off towards the fifth cohort.
# # #
"We've got them now!" Sherman crowed as they ran down the hill after the traitors. "They'll never make it inside in time!" However, the hunting party faltered as the gates of Camp Jupiter opened, over a hundred demigods in formation marching towards them.
"What do we do, we can't fight that!" an Apollo boy called out in a panic.
"Grab the straggler!" Sherman ordered, pointing towards Andromeda who had stumbled and was currently being helped up by one of the pesky Roman guards. "Then retreat!" With a battle cry, the group rushed forward to complete their leader's orders.
Violet started to follow, but stopped. "This isn't right," the teen muttered. "She's just a kid." She continued to follow, but a walk. Violet intended to turn herself in to the Romans, even if it meant imprisonment.
Sherman was getting nervous, the Romans were faster than he had anticipated, plus he had noticed the silver figures chasing after them. If the Hunters of Artemis got involved, that was the end of it all. "Retreat!" he called, having no intention of being captured by the Romans today. Immediately, the group from Camp Half-Blood turned on their heel and ran back towards the tunnel, grateful that they were able to get out of there.
# # #
The fifth cohort, along with Percy, Thalia, and Clara, came to a stop beside Elise and Trevor. Insults were thrown by the Romans as the last Greek disappeared into the tunnel. They seemed anxious though, the cohort clearly wanted to hunt them down and bring them back to New Rome to stand trial. "Let them go," Percy called. "We'll never catch them with a group this size.
"We could use the eagles!" someone called from within the ranks.
"We could," Hazel agreed. "But that would be putting Roman lives needlessly in danger! We aren't at war, yet." This seemed to pacify them, for the time being.
"Wait, there's still one left!" a girl in the front ranks shouted, pointing towards a dark haired girl that was walking towards the cohort.
The girl walked until she was about fifteen feet away, where she knelt on the ground with her hands behind her head. "I am Violet, Daughter of Ikhnaie, and I surrender," she said. "What Annabeth is doing isn't right, and I can't bear it any longer."
"Take her to the others," Dakota ordered. "Then we'll bring them all to the Praetors." Two demigods stepped forward and pulled Violet up, flanking her as they walked back towards Camp Jupiter. The rest of the cohort followed behind, their objective fulfilled.
"Well, this sure has been an eventful morning," Percy laughed as himself, Thalia, and Clara started walking back towards the Hunter's camp in the Field of Mars.
"It sure has," Thalia said, laughing as well.
"Say, that's quite the growth spurt you had last night," Percy teased, nudging Thalia with his shoulder as they walked.
"Oh, um, ya," Thalia said with a blush growing on her cheeks.
"What happened?" Percy asked.
"Well, um, Hebe appeared to me in a dream-" Thalia started.
"Woah, you met a goddess in a dream?" Clara interrupted excitedly, causing the two older demigods to laugh.
"Ya," Thalia laughed. "She did."
"What did she want?" Percy questioned.
"Well, I always felt like Zeus took part of my life away when he turned me into a tree," Thalia said. "And I've always wished that I could experience what it was like to be older. Especially since you've been around." This caused Percy to blush. "So, Hebe came offering a gift, restoring me to the age I should have been when I joined the Hunt if I hadn't been turned into a tree."
"Huh, crazy," Percy said. "And she didn't want anything in return?"
"That was the weird part, she said it was a gift from her and a mutual friend."
"Any idea who it might be?"
I think I have an idea," Thalia responded cryptically as they finally entered the Hunt's camp.
"Hey, Lady Artemis wants to see you in her tent," Atalanta said as she walked past the trio.
"Huh, must be important if she's risking division between her forms," Percy commented. Thalia could only nod tightly, she knew what was about to happen. "Hey, we'll see you in a bit," Percy said as he turned to Clara. "Then we can try to find Hannah."
"Okay," Clara said reluctantly as she went off to find Kate. The two then walked to Artemis' tent, prepared for whatever might happen.
"Enter," Artemis called once the pair reached the entrance to her tent. Thalia felt ready to shake out of her boots. She loved Percy, and prayed that Artemis wouldn't do anything to him.
"Hello, M'Lady," Percy said cheerfully as the couple sat down across from the young looking goddess. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I believe you know," Artemis replied knowingly.
"I'm afraid I don't," Percy said, extremely confused.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice that not one, but two, of my Hunter's had broken their oath?" Artemis exclaimed.
Percy paled. "Oh, that," he whispered, unwilling to look the goddess in the eye. "Sorry?"
"Please M'Lady, don't punish Percy!" Thalia pleaded. "I kissed him, if anyone should be punished it should be me!"
"No, I'll take the punishment!" Percy cried out. "Leave Thalia be, I'm the one that took her on a date last night!"
"I have no intention of punishing either of you," Artemis sighed, causing looks of shock to erupt across the two demigod's faces. "However, there is still the matter of broken oaths."
"So, you're kicking us out?" Percy said sadly.
"Not at this time." Artemis replied. "I am prepared to let you remain in the Hunt with partial immortality until I decide if I will alter your oaths or not."
"Wait, what? We can stay?" Thalia questioned incredulously.
Artemis chuckled at the looks of disbelief on the demigods sitting across from her. "For now, yes."
"I, I don't know what to say," Percy started.
"For once," Thalia muttered, causing herself and Artemis to giggle slightly.
"Hey!" Percy said, offended. "Anyways, thank you so much M'Lady, you won't regret this!"
"Ensure that I don't," Artemis replied before dismissing the couple.
# # #
Hannah sat on the pier looking out into the Pacific Ocean, wishing that she could take back what she had said. It was too late now, though. Percy probably hated her, so it was a good thing that she had left. Although, Hannah did miss Clara and hated letting down Jacob by not watching after her, but it was for the best. Everyone was better off if she wasn't around. Besides, being around them only reminded her of what she had lost.
Footsteps sounded behind Hannah, but she was so lost in her own mind that she didn't even notice. "Well, well, well," a guy's voice said from behind Hannah, bringing her back from reality. "Looky here, one of the traitors is out all alone. We better show her the way home."
A/N: The defectors from Camp Half-Blood have finally made it to safety, and not a moment too soon. The Hunting party dispatched by Annabeth almost got them. Also, Artemis is letting Percy and Thalia stay in the Hunt for the time being, which is definitely curious. Lastly, it seems that some unsavory characters have found Hannah. Surely nothing bad can come of this, right?
As always, I hope that anyone reading this has a great day!