I know I should've been working on Chapter 6 for 'A Different Universe', but this got stuck in my head...
Let me know what you think! I don't own anything. And see if you can spot the TLO quote:)
The attack was chaos. Campers were doing their best to hold off the Romans, and they were actually doing a decent job, but the Romans were holding true to their reputation for being amazing in battle. It had gone on for only 5 hours so far, but already Camp Half-Blood was having difficulties maintaining the defense.
Chiron had asked Tyson to leave and call on the Cyclops army to help defend them an hour ago, and Percy's one-eyed brother had rushed off to retrieve the much-needed aid. Connor knew he would never forget the sight of the big guy running toward the water, brandishing his club in the air and shouting "The camp needs help! I will get help! Peanut butter!" before disappearing into the next big ocean wave.
Connor hoped that Tyson would be back soon, because the Romans were an intimidating force. From his place as an outlook he could see that the legionnaires that had been quietly slipping out of the battle were coming at the camp in an arrow shape, marching together in a way that confused Connor - how were they marching like that? It looked like they should be tripping. But this was the Roman legion. Jason had told the counselors at one of their meetings about some of the Roman strategies, and about how the Romans trained - lots of practice, and war games, and order. Plus the thing about stabbing and learning the enemy's style, and all the big weapons.
Those big weapons were scary - they shot fire and water, and Connor really didn't want to be anywhere in front of them. They made him wish that Percy were here now- he could do something about the water cannons. But that was impossible- Percy was in Tartarus now, battling who knew how many monsters and horrors, trying to make his way to the Doors of Death with Annabeth to close them. It was depressing, knowing that two of their best had fallen so far, even if it was necessary. Connor hoped they would survive and make it out- after all, Nico had somehow done it, and he'd told all the counselors via IM that if anyone could do this job, they could.
A giant owl swooped in out of nowhere and made a grab at Connor. He yelped and ducked, and thrashed out with his sword, hoping to prevent getting picked up by the bird's claws. He'd seen what the owls would do if the caught hold of you - pick you up and drag you 50 feet into the air before dropping you, leaving your fate to be discussed with the ground. Not a pleasant way to go.
The owl glided back up into the air unharmed, if a bit peeved. On the lookout now, Connor spotted another one start to come in towards him. He braced himself to get ready for the arrival, but that turned out to be unnecessary. Instead of aiming for Connor, the bird just flew parallel to the ground. What was it thinking?
Almost from nowhere, a Legionnaire dropped out of the air from the other side of the owl. Had he been riding the owl's back? Connor cursed himself for not noticing him before. A heavily armed warrior riding on top of a great big bird wasn't something you'd easily miss.
The warrior landed about 10 feet from Connor and turned to face him. "Prepare to die, Greek!" he shouted.
Connor backed up nervously. This guy was huge, with heavily bulked up muscles on his arms, his legs… Well, just about everywhere. It was a wonder that the bird had been able to lift him up and carry him anywhere. "Let's just talk a moment, why don't we. Hastiness never helps…" Connor said, hoping that maybe there was a chance the guy would leave him alone and go find an Ares kid to fight. "Not a chance, Greek. You all sealed your own fate when you allied with Gaea."
"Hey! We aren't allied with Gaea! If you haven't noticed, we're fighting against her too!"
The Legionnaire looked at him incredulously. "If that was true, Greek, then why did one of your ships attack our city? Why, after we'd agreed to hear you out, did you fire on us, and then flee like cowards? Why? No, I don't believe a word that you say. Octavian has always warned us about you. Greeks are known for their lies, and you will soon be known for your death." With that he stalked forward towards Connor.
Connor looked around for some advantage that he could use - Mr. Muscle had the look of a very experienced warrior, and Connor doubted that he could win a fight against both years of Roman training and such a huge size advantage without an edge.
He couldn't spot anything near, though. But maybe… If he could make it to his cabin, there was something that would work. Technically, he wasn't supposed to leave his post unless it was an emergency, but Connor counted this as one of those. Plus, Travis would be coming soon to take his place so he could report to all the Athena kids on what the Romans were doing… So… Yeah. Running was definitely the best option now.
He quickly turned and sprinted off towards his cabin, Mr. Muscle following. But Connor was a son of Hermes. He was nimble and fast, and without a mound of armor to slow him down. It wasn't long before the gap between him and Mr. Muscle widened to 20 feet… 30 feet… 50 feet… 100 feet… Connor reached his cabin, panting slightly from the sprint. Glancing behind him, he saw Mr. Muscle still following, determined. 'Di immortals!' thought Connor. 'This guy really wants to kill me.' After all, they'd passed a couple of other battles, battles where the Romans looked like they could use some help, on the way- results of other owl drop-offs, he assumed. Wait… Owl drop-offs… Connor couldn't help but laugh at the thought that came to his mind. Those legionnaires were like the excrement of the owls… Owl drop-offs… Owl droppings!
Connor quickly snapped out of it. This wasn't the time laugh- there was a bulky warrior on his way to kill him.
He hurriedly opened the door and entered the Hermes cabin. He rushed over to his bunk and searched through his belongings, looking for the thing that would give him an edge.
"AHA!" He'd found it. His net. Made out of Celestial Bronze, it was a lot harder to break than any other type of net. And it also had some other applications that he and Travis had, ah, persuaded, Leo into adding in. While he and his brother had planned on using it to recreate the fiasco between Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus the first chance they got- how funny would that be!- the prank item might now save his life. He headed back outside.
Mr. Muscle was almost there, maybe 35 feet away now. When he saw Connor waiting for him, he started slowing down. As he approached, he smirked. "Realized that you can't beat me? Are you willing to be taken captive and become a prisoner of war? Or are you still planning on fighting and dying?"
Connor grinned. "Neither. I'm actually planning on confusing you with my amazing knowledge of the Martian language to take you down."
Mr. Muscle looked at him like he was crazy. "You Greeks. You're all nuts." He laughed. Get ready to die." He began his advance again, obviously not noticing, or not caring, about the net that was now in Connor's left hand.
Connor backed up against the cabin wall, all the while watching Mr. Muscle and what was going on above him, trying to figure out the best moment to use his net. Just a moment… One more second… Now! Connor grabbed the net and threw it at the ground in front of Mr. Muscle. Mr. Muscle paused and looked down. "Was that supposed to do something Martian?" he teased. "Really, you Greeks are pathetic." Uncaring, he stepped on the net.
This was what Connor had hoped for. He shouted "Creee-oind! Pruby!"
His odd words made Mr. Muscle pause again and laugh hysterically. "Crazy Martian. Killing you will be fun!" He took another step forward, sill grinning, and raised his sword. Connor waited with bated breath. One more step, and it would be the moment of truth. Mr. Muscle took it, and, YES! The net was going to work! Connor could see the little light blinking from the edge of the net, and then he heard it.
A mechanical "Pruby! Aity-gont!" came from the net. Mr. Muscle looked down - he'd heard it too.
"What the… Woah!" The net had suddenly shot its edges up and attached them to the first thing that they stuck to in the air- the giant owl that had come swooping in to help. Mr. Muscle was dragged along with it. The owl gave a long screech before tumbling to the ground, the net tangling its feet and wings. Mr. Muscle landed with a groan.
Connor stepped forward, smirking now. "See? I told you I would defeat you with my amazing intelligence of Martian!" Mr. Muscle glared from where he lay and tried to pull the rope apart. "I'm afraid that's not gonna work. It's a high-tech piece of equipment!"
"I will get you, Greek."
Connor smiled and said, "Sure you will." With that, he walked away towards the woods to give his report, thinking of how lucky it was that he'd made Leo teach him some of that weird mechanical language to use with net.
"They're using an arrow shape?" Malcolm asked.
"Yeah," Connor replied, "They were pulling back some of the legionnaires slowly- like they didn't want us to notice that there was a mini-retreat going on. And then that crazy looking scrawny guy was telling them to get into a wedge? And something about a second formation when he called for it? Anyway, so they started forming up in a wedge. And then they were marching. And then Mr. Muscle jumped off his owl and tried to kill me. He's still in that net, by the way. You might want to get some of the Ares kids to go take care of him."
"Sure, sure. I'll get someone to go put him in a more secure place." Malcolm said, simultaneously waving his hand at Connor. "So they're using the wedge and then the second formation…" He walked off to the other Athena kids and started discussing strategy.
Connor took his cue to leave. He was now on break time- for 5 minutes, at least. Then he needed to go report for messenger duty for the next 2 hours. He huffed. Why did he have to get stuck with the jobs that required next to no fighting? While he didn't relish the idea of going head to head with the Romans, the people who were doing that needed reinforcements. Why couldn't he help? But it was no use complaining. He was stuck with the duty, and it didn't look like that would be changing anytime soon.
So… What to do with 5 minutes…
He could visit the infirmary really fast and see how things were going there. But that might get too depressing now, seeing who was injured, who was dead, who was near dead. He didn't want to be so caught up thinking of his fallen comrades that he missed something important.
He could go see if Tyson was back yet… Nah. Connor figured that if Tyson were back, he'd know it. A Cyclops army wasn't easy to miss.
He could go steal something… The Romans had plenty of stuff that looked damaging. If he got some of it away from them… And plus, it would be so awesome to have a big weapon or something to make the Ares cabin back off the next time they got into a fight… But his minutes were ticking away. He would be needed at the Big House soon.
Stealing could wait. Right now, he had some message delivering to do.
When Connor arrived at the Big House, Chiron was just finishing up an IM. He waved his hand through the mist, and the connection dissolved just as Connor walked in. "What's up, Chiron? What should I do first? You know, considering I got stuck with message duty when I could be helping out with the fighting, since that's where we need the most help," he said, looking pointedly at the centaur.
Chiron sighed. "We've been over this, Connor. You and Travis are the most experienced Hermes campers here. You two are also some of the fastest in the camp, and are good at seeing and reporting any Roman moves."
"So are the Athena kids."
"But the Athena kids need to be strategizing. We need all the advantages that we can get. And, by using our best to do message and outlook duty, we can have more campers out there fighting or helping in the infirmary. Also, when specialized jobs come up that need doing, you and Travis are available and reliable."
"Humph. And why aren't you fighting? You did in the Titan war."
"Because I have been trying to get more help from other sources."
"Fine. So do you have any specialized jobs for me? Or are there messages that need delivering?"
"At the moment, both. I have a message for the Athena campers, and then I need you to do some more watching."
"Watching for what?"
"For two arrivals."
"Two?"
"Yes. I've managed to make contact with my brethren and have convinced them to come. They're still hung up on that root beer stash they found last year, and it's been a while since they've been able to go on a mass paintball expedition, apparently." Wait, the Party Ponies? "And, of course, Tyson should be back with his army very soon. I need you to tell the Athena campers about this, and then go watch the ocean for Tyson's arrival. Tell him to meet with Malcolm to figure out where and when to attack from, and warn him of the Party Ponies. After, please return here for instructions about my brethren."
"So the Party Ponies are coming?" That would make a huge difference!
"Yes. I predict that they will arrive in about 2 hours. Now run! Inform the Athena cabin."
Connor took off running to deliver the awesome news.
An hour and a half later, Connor returned to the Big House. He had quickly made it to the Athena kids and delivered the message. They had been ecstatic, and quickly gathered back around a map of the camp to discuss the implications.
He'd watched from the tall tree near the beach as Chiron had asked and waited for Tyson's arrival. While he was waiting, he had thought about how he had sat there almost a year ago during the Titan war, watching for Percy and Beckendorf. Oh, the days when they only had to worry about Titans. Though the Titan war was devastating, there had been more hope. These days, giants had to be worried about, and if Gaea awoke, then nothing mattered.
Tyson had arrived after he'd been waiting for an hour. With him, he brought his army. Connor had been impressed. That was a LOT of Cyclopes. And all of them had nasty weapons. He'd grinned, and made his way over to Tyson to warn him and tell him to meet Malcolm. After that, he'd made his way back to the Big House.
"Chiron! Tyson got back. I gave him the message."
"Excellent. And you told the strategists about the Party Ponies?"
"Yeah. They were thrilled."
"Good. They should be here very soon. I want you go wait for them, and direct them towards the Roman army. Once you've done so, you can resume outlook duty. And tell Travis that he can stay with you after delivering his latest report."
"But we still can't help with the fighting?"
"No."
"Can we go behind the lines and grab some of their stuff?"
Chiron shook his head, smiling. "Go, Connor. We will discuss stealing later, perhaps after the Romans are driven back."
"So it's still an option?"
"Connor."
"Going!"
15 minutes later, Connor was in contact with the Party Ponies. They were as loud as they had been in the Titan War. "WHOO! Another PARTY!"
"Let's bust some Romans!"
"Yeah!" Connor tried.
One of the centaurs looked at him. "Dude, you gotta be louder than that if you're gonna get pumped up for the action! Now, Chiron said you'd tell us where the party ended up."
"Uh. YEAH! The PARTY"S over THERE!" Connor pointed in the direction of the battle.
"Thanks, dude! And better with the enthusiasm. PARTY PONIES! LET"S GO HAVE SOME FUN!"
They took off towards the battle. Connor heard them yelling their chapter names on the way, and ran off to relieve Travis. This was one skirmish he did not want to miss.
Connor quickly arrived at the outlook station. Travis was there, still watching the Roman activity. He greeted him, "Hey, Connor."
"Hey, Travis. What's been going on with the Romans?"
"They've pretty much stuck with that wedge formation. They'll retreat now and then to regroup and attack in a newly formed wedge, but they haven't changed strategy yet."
"Why not?"
"You think I know? I'm surprised they haven't. I think it'll happen soon, though, so I'll just stay with you until they do so I have something to report."
Grinning wickedly, Connor said, "Oh, they'll be changing things up very soon."
Travis turned to face him, a questioning look on his face. "How would you know that?"
Connor's grin got wider, if that was possible. "The Party Ponies will here any second."
Travis' eyes widened, and then his mouth split into a grin too. "No way."
"Yep. Just pointed them towards the battle. They were getting pumped up for a big old party."
"Oh, there is no way I'm going to miss this!"
"I would be shocked if you did," Connor replied. "Absolutely shocked."
The two of them turned to watch the battle. The grounds were a mess, what with all the fighting, and demigods on both sides using their powers.
And then the Party Ponies arrived. "PARTY TIME!"
Travis and Connor looked on in glee as the centaurs brought chaos to the battlefield. Paintballs went flying, boxing gloves smashed into people, and all around, there were colorful shirts and screaming centaurs. "Yeah, dudes! NEW JERSEY!" This caused another roll call of chapters to ensue.
"HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"
"RHODE ISLAND REIGNS OVER YOU ALL!"
The Romans were in disarray. They were staring at the centaurs in disbelief before coming back to their senses and charging. "You know," Travis said, "Charging the Party Ponies isn't really the wisest course of action in the world."
"Oh, who cares? I just want to see them all get paint-balled!"
Connor was not let down. Paintballs splashed all over the Romans, smothering their proud capes and Imperial gold armor with brilliant colors, and knocking down many with their force. In the distance, he spotted what became his favorite sight of the day. The scrawny dude.
He was screaming his head off, yelling at the legionnaires to hold steady and kill all of those wicked centaurs and devious Greeks. "KILL THEM! THEY WORK FOR GAEA! KILL THEM ALL! ROME!" All the while, he was trying to avoid getting hit by any of the paintballs.
That is, until he caught one on his face. Scrawny dude went flying, and sat up furiously after he'd landed. Connor burst out laughing. "Travis, did you see that?"
"Scrawny kid totally got creamed in face!"
They continued to laugh and laugh for a long time. They noticed that after Scrawny got hit, there were many Romans who took a look at his face and gave small smiles before returning to battle. Apparently, Scrawny wasn't so popular.
After the brothers had regained some self-control, they went back to watching the tactical situation of the Romans. The black-haired girl with the Pegasus had landed and ordered everyone into a new formation. It was definitely defensive, and all the shields were going up, forming a wall around the Romans.
Once Connor and Travis had calmed down completely from their laughing fit, Travis declared that "As much as I would rather stay and watch the Party Ponies bring havoc, I should probably go report… I've gotta be a half hour late, and the Athena kids will want to know about the strategy change."
"All right. Once you do that, Chiron said you could come back up here."
"He did?"
"Yeah. We're both officially on outlook duty at the same time. But if you see Chiron while you're about, make sure you ask about stealing things!"
"He said we could?"
"He said we could discuss it after the Romans got driven back. And I'm pretty sure that they've either done that, or are about to."
"Awesome! Imagine the stuff we could get!"
"I know. But we can't get anything until Chiron gives the go ahead."
"Right. See you in a bit." Travis started running to give his late report.
Meanwhile, Connor turned back to the battle. He watched all the recently caused chaos, and the rallying campers. The seven might not be here to help, but they were doing just fine. The Party Ponies had stepped up spectacularly, and the campers were all fighting bravely. The defenses were running smoothly, and Connor could just now hear the battle cry of the Cyclopes. They would enter the battle soon, no doubt.
Yeah. Even if people were missing, Camp Half-Blood was doing well. Connor sat down. He wasn't worried about any more owl drop-offs for the time being what with the mess down on the battlefield. Legionnaires weren't going to be going up on owls in offensive maneuvers. It was time to watch for any changes in strategy from the Romans and enjoy the sight of the Party Ponies' paintballs splattering all over them.
Please review and tell me what you think!
(*edit: thank-you to 'whatupmypeeps' for pointing that out! I've got it fixed now!)