Sorry I'm so late guys, I had so much school stuff going on, but I promise I will update again tomorrow, and give you more of the story.
I sadly do no own Percy Jackson, or The Mark of Athena. Flames will be given to Hestia.
The throne room became silent as the demigods figured out how to calm Athena down.
"I said, WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Athena screeched at them, overwhelmed with worry.
"Athena!" Zeus threatened, "they have promised us explanations after this chapter is over. Now let Hestia continue or you will never know what happened to your precious daughter."
"I would like to know where my son is as well." Poseidon growled, his once unreadable expression now angry. "Now Owl-Brain, sit down and we can finish this chapter and then finally see what has happened."
"No, I need to kn-" Athena began until she met Poseidon's glare. He may have looked angry, but she recognized other emotions in his eyes. Worry, mostly, but there was another. One hidden very well, but it was still there. Fear. Poseidon was afraid that Percy was hurt or dead. Athena may have hated both Percy and Poseidon, but right now she could relate to Poseidon. They were both worried, upset parents who just wanted to know where their children were. She sighed and sat down.
During this little confrontation, Piper and Hazel had begun to cry again, Jason and Frank were both depressed, Leo had put his head in his hands and refused to look up, one thought going through his head. It's all my fault. Stupid...fortune-cookie...Nemesis... Nico had tears in his eyes. He wasn't a little kid anymore, he wasn't a crier anymore. But Percy was like his older brother, someone he looked up to and he had basically let him down. Let him down hard. Nico clenched his teeth, and swore on the River Styx to himself that he would lead the demigods to the next stage in their quest. Thunder boomed overhead and everyone snuck a glace at Zeus. He glared at them all in return and humphed. Just because he was the god of thunder didn't mean that everytime there was thunder it was HIS fault. They all quickly looked away.
Artemis looked around the room before quietly saying "Maybe we should continue with the book." All of the gods nodded but the demigods gave no indication that they had heard her speak at all.
Hestia cleared her throat and began to read.
Annabeth thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail.
Jason tried for a smile, then remembered what happened and frowned again.
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.
"Ah the gardens." Demeter sighed wistfully.
Hades glared at her. She glared back.
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.
All of the gods frowned. Stupid giants. They all thought.
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 cafes, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.
"Well aren't you all popular." Hermes said jokingly
"Oh yes, everyone loooooves them." Apollo joined in.
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.
Frank and Hazel were both wondering if they would ever be able to go back to Camp Jupiter.
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.
"Hannibal." Frank said quietly.
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 Percy. Then something behind her went BOOM!
"WHAT? WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Yelled Athena suddenly
Ares grinned, FINALLY some action!
The explosion almost knocked her overboard. She whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.
Athena blushed. "Oh, it's only Terminus.
"Will that teach you to not over react?" Poseidon asked her.
She just glared at him.
"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.
"UNACCEPTABLE!" Apollo and Hermes both screamed at the same time.
Dionysus woke up and glared at them. He snapped his fingers and their mouths were covered by grape vines. They both stared at him and he smirked back.
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.
"That would suck to not have a-" Apollo (who somehow got free of the vines) began to just be slapped by Artemis. "OW sis that hurt!"
"Good." Artemis mumbled to herself.
From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.
"SOOOO muscular!" Hermes cooed.
"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.
Jason smiled slightly, he certainly did NOT have that.
"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.
"Good try sweetie." Aphrodite said to Piper quietly. Piper smiled at her mom and she smiled back.
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."
"ooooh, touchy subject there." Hermes snickered.
"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.
"OW! How dare he!" Aphrodite grumbled. No one hurts her babies.
"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!"
Leo glared at the book, and Hephaestus joined in. His son's ship was very nice.
"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."
"Ooooh, now Leo is angry." Hermes and Apollo sung.
"Will you two shut up already? Poseidon and Athena look like they are about to explode with worry." Hades yelled to the brothers. Everyone glanced at the two worried gods and saw that he was right. They were just barely containing their worry, and managing to now scream at everyone, demanding where their children were.
Hestia began to read again.
The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap Annabeth out of her shock.
Yes, don't get distracted Annabeth. Now WHERE ARE YOU?
"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."
Athena forgot all about worrying about Annabeth for a few seconds to glare open mouthed at the book. "What does that mean Terminus?"
Everyone snickered at the outraged expression on her face.
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—"
"That's what I would like to know, Annabeth!" Yelled Athena, she looked around the room to see her daughter and realized she wasn't there. She growled and sunk back in her throne, waiting until the end of the chapter to find out where she was.
"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!"
"No they need to go to Rome and fight the giants!" Hera said snootily.
"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?"
"No, I did not feel that." Leo said.
"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's not going to like that." Hephaestus said to Leo, and Leo shrugged, to upset to do much else.
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!"
"We probably should've listened." Piper mumbled to herself. Even though they didn't land, things still went badly.
Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. Annabeth scanned the faces and . . . oh, gods. She saw him.
Poseidon looked up sharply, catching his breath.
The demigods all looked even more depressed.
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,
Frank smiled, remembering their quest to Alaska. He hugged Hazel tightly.
and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet.
Everyone looked at Frank and Hazel who were both lost in happy memories.
Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's—the mark of a praetor.
Zeus was very angry. He liked his son being in a position of power. Poseidon smiled, his eyes gleaming. "Good job, son" he said to no one, because he just wanted to say it. The demigods all smiled. Yes, good job Percy.
Annabeth's heart did a gymnastics routine.
Aphrodite squealed so loudly everyone had to cover their ears. She began to tear up. "It's just so, so CUTE!"
Piper smiled, Percy and Annabeth were cute together.
"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?"
"Very clever." Artemis said.
"Breaking the rules, without actually breaking them. I like her thinking!" Hermes said loudly.
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.
The room erupted in laughter at the mental picture this provided.
"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?"
"No." Jason, Piper, Nico, Hazel and Frank said, While Leo, Hermes and Apollo all said "Yes."
"Uh, Annabeth . . ." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"
"Not at all." Piper said. The gods frowned, what had happened that was so bad?
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.
Athena was ready to scream again. The demigods looked horrified and the tension in the room increased exponentially.
But Percy was down there . . . he was so close. She had to reach him.
Aphrodite sighed, she did such a good job with this couple.
"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 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."
"The first chapter is over." Hestia said softly, closing the book.
"Please, tell me where my daughter is." Athena whispered brokenly, "Just tell me she is okay, please."
The demigods glanced at each other and sighed. Jason opened his mouth to ask Nico if he wanted to explain since hee saw, but he never got the opportunity, because just then a bright light filled the room, stopping all conversation.
Muahh-ha-ha-ha. Bit of a cliffhanger there. Favorite and review!