Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor do I own The Heroes of Olympus.
Story: Champion of Olympus: The Maze of Death
AN: To answer some questions from the last chapter. The timing is a little off from the events taking place on Earth versus those on Asgard. All of the Earth events will occur three months after the end of The Titan's Secret, while the events on Asgard are just a few days after those events. Thos concerned about ages of character, don't be as this is an Alternate Universe. Bobby and Reyna are both fourteen, same as Jason.
Chapter 2: Deserts and Romans
Asgard - In the Desert of Despair - Two days after The Titan's Secret
Percy's POV
I walked for several hours before the heat of the suns became too much for me. I sat down in some shade created by several rocks that overhung a small recess in the stone wall of the canyon. The shade felt good, but I could feel my body dehydrating as I sat there. I had to find water or I wouldn't survive this trek through hell. The suns were now high overhead and would soon start to lower in the sky. This would give me a slight respite from the heat, but not much.
I looked around me to see if there were any signs of water. The rocks around me looked like pink sandstone, but this was another realm, so I wasn't too sure. This realm seemed larger than Earth, plus I could tell that the gravity was stronger here. For whatever reason, my muscles seemed to be doing just fine, except for the heat exhaustion and dehydration. Suddenly, I heard a noise further down in the canyon. I tried to look further down the canyon, but the sunlight reflecting off the rock walls hurt my eyes. The noise was coming closer and it was strange. It sounded like sandpaper being rubbed together, combined with a weird rattling that sounded like a baby's rattle. I pulled myself into the recess of the rock wall until the shade hid my body from view.
The noise became even louder as a large creature came into view. I froze at the sight in front of me. A large snake that was as long as a bus and as big around as a tire came into view. The creature's forked tongue moved out of its mouth tasting the air. The snake had scales the size of coffee cup saucers. The snake was the color of the sand below it and it reminded me of rattlesnakes that I had seen on the Discovery Channel. Once the creature passed me I could see the large rattle on the end of its tail. The rattle was about two feet long; therefore the snake had to be pretty old. Once the snake passed me I made the decision to get out of there. I stepped out of the shade and hurried down the canyon where the snake had come from.
I walked quickly down through the canyon, standing in the shade as much as I could. I walked for another hour until I heard the scraping and rattling sound again. I turned around just as the tail of the monster landed on the ground with an explosion of dirt and rock. I uncapped Riptide and threw it at the beast. The blade went straight through the creature without even scratching it. I should have realized that celestial bronze wouldn't work on this creature.
I dove to the left and then I curled myself up into a ball as I rolled away from the monster. The tail slammed into the ground again sending more dirt into the air. I took the opportunity to stand up and twist the ring on my right hand. My double bladed axe extended into my hand just as the massive jaws of the snake struck. I swung my axe with the mortal steel blade. The blade cut through one of the snakes fangs cutting it in two. Venom erupted out of the snakes severed fang like a large hypodermic needle. The snake roared in agony. I rolled away from the venom and the snake's body that was writhing on the ground in front of me.
I stood up as the snake finally calmed down. It looked around until its yellow eyes fixed on my position. The creature looked at me warily, like it was deciding its next move. The snake suddenly moved toward me in an S position. Its body slithered quickly making it hard to figure out its next move. As it approached it suddenly lunged toward me with its massive head, it's mouth was open ready to bite me in half. I jumped out of the way, but the creature whipped its tail at the same time. The massive tail sailed towards me, but I swung my axe at the same time. The tail hit me just as I swung my axe. The force of my strike and the hit from the tail did two things; one it helped me cut off about six feet of its tail including its rattle, and two, the force of the strike knocked the wind out of me. I rolled out of the way again trying to catch my breath. The snake's red blood covered the ground and the severed tail sprayed blood all over the canyon walls.
The creature was losing energy now. I stepped closer to the snake cautiously. This snake was still dangerous, but for right now it was trying to hold on to its life. The creature's eyes rolled back into its head as it lost consciousness. I stepped up to the head of the beast, and then I drove the blade of my axe deep into the creature's skull. The monster turned to sand before my eyes, and then it disappeared into the ground.
I fell backwards and landed on my butt. I was breathing heavily and sweating. I could feel my head spinning from the dehydration. I put away my axe and Riptide as I continued to walk through the canyon. I was about to pass out when I saw a ghostly figure in front of me. It was a tall man with blonde hair and a beard. He looked rather muscle bound, but I could tell that he could move quickly and quietly. He motioned for me to follow him, so I continued forward. I stumbled through the canyon still tired, hungry, and thirsty. My legs felt like jelly, but somehow I continued to walk. Every time I felt like giving up the ghostly figure would appear and urge me forward. I stumbled and fell on my knees. I looked up to see the ghostly figure again. The figure seemed to glow with an ethereal light. The light seemed to brighten until it disappeared in a blinding flash.
I opened my eyes and on the ground in front of me was a cactus like plant. It was bright green with small barbs on the ends of its trunk like branches. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Atlantean pocket knife that Sophus had given me. I cut off an arm of the cactus and held the severed plant over my mouth. A white cloudy liquid oozed out. I caught it on my tongue. It tasted sweeter than I thought, I actually liked the taste. I cut off several more branches and drank my fill of the liquid.
The sun was now setting over the horizon. I found a small sheltered rock outcrop that formed a small cave. I climbed inside it. It would provide some protection from the cold desert night. I fell asleep dreaming of my ghostly guide, that's how my first full day on Asgard ended.
The Roman Camp – Three and one half months since the end of The Titan's Secret
Jason's POV
Being a year rounder at Camp Rome was never an easy thing. Lupa trained us hard whether it was summer or winter. The weather in camp was always perfect thanks to the magic boundary that surrounded camp. The magic kept out monsters and bad weather.
By the way, my name is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and a regular here at camp since I was two years old. I don't remember much about my mother, but I seem to remember that I had a sister. She had black hair and blue eyes. Her blue eyes were exactly like mine, but my blonde hair was like my mother's. I never knew what happened to either of them. When I would ask Lupa, she would just order me back to training or send me on a mission with the first legion.
You see, I'm the Praetor or leader of the first legion. We have about one hundred campers, which were split into ten legions. As the numbers suggest there were roughly ten campers per legion, although legion nine and ten could fluctuate based on the number of campers. The Praetor is the first in command of the legion. The second in command is the Tribune. The third in command is the Prefect. Lastly, there were typically two Centurions. The rest of the legions were typically known as Legionaires.
I almost forgot, Lupa is our camp's director. She is the Roman goddess of wolves and most of the time she walks around in the form of a large grey wolf. She has piercing amber colored eyes that seem to look into your soul. She is a tough teacher and those that don't survive the training are either killed during skirmishes with monsters or in gladiatorial combat. Camp Rome is not for the weak of heart, mind or body.
Tonight, I'm sitting on the roof of bunker one, which is the Jupiter bunker. I like to come up here at night and gaze at the stars. The cool night wind and the stars always relaxed me. I would sometimes dream of my mother and sister. I would always pray to my father and to my patron goddess Juno that I could meet them someday. I know what you're thinking, Juno is my patron. Isn't she horrible to Jupiter's kids? The stories of her hating Jupiter's kids are a myth, well at least to me. She's always treated me well, if not strictly, but that's the way of the Romans.
I'm up on the roof of my bunker for one reason and that's to get away from my problems. You see the Tribune of my legion, her name is Reyna, and she is a daughter of Apollo. She is a really beautiful girl with sandy blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Her skin is always tanned and she is the best archer in camp. She is also the only child of Apollo in over millennia to have the power of light. She can create balls of light energy between her hands, and then she can fire them at targets. These balls of light are very powerful. They can burn through steel and cause incredible explosions. My problem has nothing to do with her powers. It has to do with the fact that I'm head over heels in love with her, well at least I think I am. You see, Reyna and I grew up together. I've known her longer than any of my other friends, but lately I've been thinking of her as more than a friend. That idea scares me, though. I know a child of Rome scared of a girl, crazy isn't it? I'm not scared of her specifically; it's more that I'm afraid that she doesn't feel the same way as I do.
My other problem is the recent monster attacks. The camp has been attacked by groups of monsters several times over the past three months. We're not sure why, but I spoke to my friend Bobby, son of Minerva and he believes that their testing our strength. I tend to agree with him, but Lupa told us not to worry, that our magic boundary would protect the camp. However, I'm not so sure.
I was broken away from my thoughts by screams and sounds of battle. I looked out across the boundary of camp, but the sounds didn't come from that direction. I turned around and looked into camp. The sight before me made my blood run cold. Several bunkers were in flames and monsters of all shapes and sizes were attacking campers. I willed the winds to carry me into camp as I flipped the coin in my hand. My gold gladius extended into my hand as I landed on the ground. Bobby ran up to me out of breath and covered in monster dust.
"How did they get in?" I asked worriedly. Bobby looked at me gravely.
"No one knows, but there are hundreds of them. We don't stand a chance. Lupa ordered me to find you. We have to abandon the camp, now." Bobby said. I looked at my friend and my only thought was, oh crap.
AN: I know not a lot of action in the chapter, but there will be some next chapter, especially for the Romans. Stay tuned everyone.