Chapter 8

A/N: Ok, I do believe I have a few chapters left. I was thinking about making a 'Camp Half-Blood chronicles' after this. That will be interesting.

Annabeth: Ok, Nico's back from the hospital

Me: What exactly happened?

Percy: I went from wringing his neck to breaking his arm. He flew us into a wall, so it was his fault

Annabeth: Cool, cool. Wait, where's Thalia?

Percy: Good question

Me: While we find a missing daughter of Zeus, let's get this party started. I no own PJO or HoO

Percy: Where's Nico?

Me: He's hiding, let's get started.


Lucas POV:

I wish I could've seen Olympus when it was structurally sound, but it looks like it will be a while before that happens. What are we going to do now? Well, Lady Artemis decided to send us to another camp on the other side of the country. Don't get me wrong, I love the goddess, but I really don't like their idea of teleportation. Let's just say that I took an unexpected swim in the public baths.

The praetor (who I later found out was Reyna) called the councilors to her house for a meeting, so I decided to explore. This camp was so unlike Camp Half-Blood in every way. Example? Well, in our camp, the Stoll brothers pulled at least one prank a day, and someone would chase them around the camp. Here, everyone was either playing cards with ghosts, or in full armor. I was so tempted to play cards with one of the groups, but one of the ghosts pointed at me, and yelled out Graecus! Shortly after, he disappeared. Last I checked, I wasn't named Greg.

I saw some of the guys run into the public baths. Only then did I see that the baths that I fell into was the boy's bathhouse. How embarrassing. Anyway, everyone here was so fit, where's the gym?

I walked up the hill, and gasped. In front of me was Rome. A miniature Rome in America! In front of the city was a statue of a man. Whoever carved him must've really had a bad day because it looked like it was pissed off. It had rock-hard abs (pardon the pun), a strong sculpted face, but no arms. I guess that's why he's mad. I was about to enter the city when the statue yelled at me.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" he said.

I took a step back. Good thing we don't have these back home. "Um, going into the city?"

"Unacceptable! You can't enter my city with that strapped to your waist!"

I looked down, and I knew he was talking about Joy. "Um, I won't use it. I'm not really that violent."

"Nay! You cannot enter with that on you! My city is completely weapon-free and peaceful! Give me your sword!"

"But, you don't have arms."

The statue turned red. What was Percy talking about when he came back to camp before the war? Something about an OCD statue that would go off if you said something about his— oh no. "Terminus? The god of boundaries."

"That's right, graecus! Hand over your weapon to my assistant Juli—wait a minute. Julia? Julia!"

A little girl peeked out from behind the statue. She told me to keep quiet, and when Terminus turned, she hid again. She popped up from the other side, and giggled, giving away her position. Terminus smiled, and faked turning. She took it seriously, and they met eyes. She gasped, and giggled again.

"There you are Julia. Graecus, give her your weapon."

She came out from behind the statue, and held a tray of 'weapons'. There were two water bottles, a firecracker, and a shovel. I had to remember not to bring water here. I gave the girl my sword, and propped it on Terminus' statue.

"Ok, a few more rules. Stay vigilant to oncoming traffic, don't feed the birds, and absolutely, no spreading rumors! Last time someone did that, Praetor Reyna became the laughing stock of the camp, and I doubt that she wants that to happen again."

Seriously OCD. I agreed to his rules, and I entered the city. I walked down the hill, and I swear I could head Terminus singing in Latin. If the Stolls came here, oh boy. I tried not to imagine it.

Chariots raced by me. A couple of teenagers were walking on the sidewalk. I saw a couple at the park watching their children play with the birds. I smiled. Whoa, wait, there is a college here too? I guess so, because I saw a few adults with book bags.

There was a coffee shop nearby, and I hoped that they took drachmas. That's all I had, so I walked in. There were a few people in there. The barista had two heads. I ordered an espresso and a scone. "5 denarii," he said.

Uh oh. I was about to ask him if he could take drachmas, but some other girl asked for the same thing I ordered, and paid the man 10 denarii. He hesitated, but he took it. The girl and I took our stuff, and walked toward the table. She had curly brown hair, golden eyes, and dark skin. She wore a purple shirt, and denim jeans with converse shoes. We sat down, and she smiled.

"You're a Greek, are you?" she asked.

I nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Hazel, daughter of Pluto."

Pluto? Oh, she means Hades. "I'm Lucas, daughter of Styx."

"Styx? Like the River Styx?"

I nodded again. "My mom got turned into the spirit of the river when I was young. This is a nice place."

Hazel smiled. "It is really nice. I couldn't help but walk in right when you had to pay. I should take you to the bank to set you up for some denarii later."

I smiled. "I like that. Um, about your statue out there—"

She laughed. "You mean Terminus? Yeah, today he was laid off. I remember when Percy once came here, he made the mistake about commenting on his lack of arms. Did he give you the warning?"

"Yeah, but I forgot."

Hazel smiled. "So, a daughter of Styx? That kind of makes us sisters since we both have a connection with Plu—I mean Hades," she said.

I smiled, and we hung out in there. We talked about our connections with Percy, her boyfriend Frank (who is kind of like Percy's brother, 150 times removed) and their adventure to free Thantos. One of the other things we have in common is that we both were born during the same era. Instead, she died and returned to the Underworld while I was stuck in the Lotus Casino. In the end, we left the coffee shop, and went to the bank.

She told me that she had a curse. She could find any precious metal in the earth, and they would be at her command. Meaning that if I had a gold ring, it would try to rip my finger off so it could reach Hazel. I thought it wasn't a curse but more of a blessing, but she continued. She told me that whatever she dug up would be cursed. Meaning if she made a necklace out of the metals she found, I could be found hanged or chocking.

She also said that Frank was able to rid her of the curse in Tartarus. She told me that Frank's power was that he could be anything he wanted to be. He could turn into an eagle, horse, weasel, elephant, bear, anything. He simply wished that Hazel be stripped of her curse, and it happened. In return, Hazel gave him a diamond, and he didn't die. You gotta love loopholes.

She gave me a tour of the place. We went through the Field of Mars, which was gearing up for something called Deathball. Something told me to stay away, and I couldn't agree more. We went uphill, and we got a great view of the camp. She told me that the campers were divided up into cohorts, which has nothing to do with their godly parent. Frank is a child of Mars (Ares) and he lived in the same cohort as she did. Along with some kid named Dakota, who is a son of Bacchus (Dionysius), who also has a drinking problem but I didn't ask.

We stayed up on the hill for a few minutes before she asked me the same question Percy asked me a few days ago. "You got a crush on someone?"

I turned red immediately. "Um, uh."

Hazel laughed. "It's ok. I said the same thing when everyone asked if I liked Frank. He probably said the same thing too."

Oh, at least I wasn't alone. "Um, I sort of have a crush on this one guy. His name is Jake, a son of Hephaestus."

"Vulcan, you mean? I can't complain, they are pretty strong," Hazel said. "What is it about him that you like?"

"Well, um. Wait, how did you know I had a crush on someone?"

"I could see it in your eyes. Your heart rate jumped when I asked."

Oh. I don't think I'm the only one who is a mind reader. "Well, a few years before we all got sucked into Tartarus, I came to Camp Half-Blood with little to no memory. He stood by my side until he reminded me who I was. See, when I was let out of the Lotus Casino, I was brought to Olympus to live until I was ready to live. Soon, I was ready to leave, but Zeus told me to stay up there forever. Hermes, or Mercury, brought me to camp."

"Oh."

"Percy was, and still is, one of my best friends. We laughed, cried, and fought with each other from time to time. One time, he tried to persuade me to prank the Stolls, but that didn't end well."

Hazel smiled. She was about to say something, but we heard a horn blowing from the city. Hazel looked up, and saw a crowd headed toward the Senate house. "We better get down there, Reyna doesn't like it when people are late," Hazel said.


Ok, the Senate house was huge. Ghosts (Hazel calls them Lars) sat with centurions. Hazel introduced me to her boyfriend Frank Zhang, son of Mars. I was about to call him a cute because of his baby face, but Hazel told me not to say it. He was buff, but his baby face and military buzz cut looked more like he was a three-month old Army recruit. I looked around, and I saw Percy standing next to Reyna, who looked serious about something.

She had black hair, but I couldn't see her eyes. She wore a purple cloak, Roman armor, and a knife on her side. Percy wore about the same thing, but no knife. I saw Annabeth watching Reyna, like if something happened, she would charge the praetor with her knife in hand. I can't blame her. Next to Reyna was a blond kid. He looked about 17. He wore a toga, and underneath was a purple shirt. In one hand he had a knife, and in the other, he had—is that a teddy bear? So much for looking like a Roman soldier, because I'm sure Romans didn't kill innocent children's toys.

We all sat down, and Reyna stood up. "I'm sure you all are wondering why I summoned you all here today," she announced.

A Lar sprouted Latin curse words, but he immediately stopped. Standing in the shadows was the son of Hades himself, Nico Di Angelo. He wore a black toga with his Stygian Iron sword. "Thank you Nico," Reyna said. "Anyway, I have called you all here because there is an emergency. Mount Olympus has been attacked."

Everyone started yelling all around the Senate. Centurions were grumbling, Lars were starting to disappear, but Reyna took back control. "Silence!"

The blond kid marched forward. "There is nothing to fear! I'm sure only the Greeks lost their precious gods, we are still strong!"

"Shut up Octavian!" someone yelled.

"Go terrorize a child!"

"Why am I still here?!" screamed a Lar.

"Silence!" Reyna shouted again.

Percy stood up. "Reyna isn't lying. We saw Olympus with our own eyes, the gods are gone!"

Larry stood up. "Last time we listened to a graecus, we were nearly ruined!"

"Shut up Larry, or I'll kick your podex!" someone shouted.

He sat down immediately. I leaned over to Hazel and whispered. "What's podex?"

Hazel stiffed a laugh. "You see soon. Percy learned Latin just by staying here for one night. By tomorrow, you'll know Latin."

I stiffed a laugh because I guessed what it meant. Meanwhile, Percy was glaring at Octavian. "You want to see the proof?"

Octavian shrugged. "Impress me."

Percy dug into his pocket, and a fountain appeared. There was a rainbow because there was a big hole in the ceiling. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering."

He threw a drachma into the rainbow. "Show me Olympus!"

A huge window appeared, and everyone gasped. Olympus was in ruin. The city was nothing more than a pile of bricks. Temples were destroyed, and the throne room was nothing but a hallow hall. All the thrones were destroyed. Octavian didn't look surprised.

"Of course he turns to a Greek goddess for help! Greeks working together to destroy the Roman Empire!" Octavian announced.

Reyna was about to strange him, but I suddenly smelled ozone. I looked around, and saw Thalia standing up with something in her hands. No way, Zeus' Master Bolt!

Octavian looked surprised now. Nico came out of the shadows, and pulled out the Helm of Darkness. Percy uncapped Riptide, and instead of a sword coming out, Poseidon's Trident grew to full length.

"You better not be thinking that we stole these. We went to Olympus, we found these weapons, and we know who is responsible," Percy said.

Thalia spoke up. "Atlas, the general of the Titan army."

And then Hades broke loose. Senators were arguing and taking sides. Some thought that he was telling the truth, others thought of Percy and Reyna as traitors to Rome. Hazel groaned, and Frank patted her back.

I heard Reyna trying to restore order, but her voice was lost in the arguments. Percy tried to get everyone's attention, but there was no use. I saw Hazel whisper something to Frank, and he nodded. Suddenly, I saw Frank grow. His head sprouted gold fur. A mane grew around his head, and his body grew in length. He turned into a lion.

He roared so loud, Hazel laughed. Why? I'll never know. Everyone finally shut up, and Percy waved to Frank. He turned back into a human, and Hazel smiled.

"Thank you centurion Frank. Now, we got a plan to stop Atlas, but we need your help," Percy said. "I asked that we have Death ball tonight, and storm the fortress for tomorrow night. We Greeks admit that we are only half as powerful as we thought. I am asking, as a representative of Camp Half-Blood, that you all train us in the ways of the Roman, and we teach you the Greek fighting styles."

Octavian laughed. "You really think that we will allow you to learn from us?"

Everyone started laughing. Frank turned into a lion again, and roared. This time, he stayed as a lion for the future.

"I am still not regretting making him centurion," Reyna muttered.

Percy stood up. "We only have three days before the gods are destroyed. If that happens, Kronos, or Saturn, will rise again and take over. Remember when the Giants rose?"

Everyone bowed their heads in shame. I wonder what actually happened there. "We don't want something like that to happen again, so we need to work together, like before. We need to stop Atlas and his army, free the gods, and make sure that this doesn't happen again," Percy said. "Remember that we all are decedents of the gods. We all have a responsibility to the world, to keep it from being overrun by monsters. Roman, Greek, it doesn't matter. Overall, we all are demigods. Overall, we. Are. Family!"

Everyone stood up and cheered. Octavian looked defeated. I have to admit, I got goose bumps when he finished that speech. Wait, he isn't like this back home, but I think I like Roman Percy better than Greek Percy. Don't tell him that. Reyna nodded, and shook Percy's hand. I had to admit, that was pretty impressive.


We were walking out of the Senate house when I ran into someone. Oh gods, it was him. Jake Mason, son of Hephaestus.

"Oh, hey Lucas," he said.

I hope I wasn't blushing. Go ahead, I have a schoolgirl crush on Jake. "Um, uh hi."

He smiled. "Hey, I heard that there is a café not far from here, wanna join me for a drink? I'll buy."

I already had coffee, but my brain didn't think so. "Sure, why not?"

He took my hand, and we ventured off into the city. He is strong, I will say that. And smart, and handsome, and brave, and loyal, and protecting, and—Aw great, I sound like an Aphrodite child!

We got espressos with muffins, and we ventured off. He told me that he would add more fountains, and statue automatons of Greek heroes. He sounded just like Annabeth, but I could understand. His father loved automatons, and working with his hands.

The sun was setting, and I knew that we would have dinner soon. We finished our little snack, and we made our way out of the city.


Dinner was amazing. As it turns out, whatever food you liked, you'd get. Same with the drinks. Reyna decided to make some of us go into the Fifth cohort, while others made a Sixth cohort. I sat with Jake, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, and Hazel. Everyone was either laughing or daring one another to chugging their drinks. Dakota, well, he was a different story. He started cheering, and chugging whatever was in his goblet.

"To the Groans!"

We all looked at him with confusion. "I mean, to the Greeks!"

This time, we cheered. What a dork. He started waving his goblet all over the place, and he spilled a red liquid. I thought to myself. His father is the god of wine. If it turns out that he was drinking wine, I'm sleeping in the Sixth cohort with my sword drawn.

Hazel laughed. "It's not wine, it's Kool-Aid. He adds three times the required amount of sugar, which makes him act that way."

I smiled, but Annabeth was shocked. "What if he adds more sugar?"

Frank laughed. "His head explodes."

We all laughed. Dakota was jumping around, enjoying himself. Gwen hid her face in shame, but I could see her laugh.

Dakota looked at us, and laughed. "Hey, uh, let's play Truth or Dare!"

Percy shook his head. "This won't be good."

Frank nodded. "I remember when he asked that after we stopped Polybotes from taking out Rome. He was embarrassing."

Wait, what? Oh gods, I have a bad feeling about this. "Hey, you." He pointed at me. "I da-uh dare you to uh, kiss this guy." He pointed at Jake.

Di Immortals. I looked at him, and he was blushing. I remember when Percy told me about his first kiss. His was under different circumstances, and I'd prefer kissing someone before I die.

I heard about Hazel's experience. She told me that she and Frank were just friends, turn into best friends, to sharing a blackout, and then a kiss. I swear, the rules of dating have changed since I was young. Before I could do anything, Jake leaned in, and kissed me.

The hall went silent, and there were coos from everywhere. Aphrodite and Venus children probably lead them. Ok, I did have a crush on him, and now Dakota pushed things too far. I have to remember to put extra sugar in his drink later.

We broke the kiss, and he whispered "How was that?"

I smiled. "Pretty good."

Dakota cheered. "Jucas!" he screamed!

Jake looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Jake and Lucas make Jucas! Jucas!"

He jumped on the table, and started dancing. Wait a minute, I remember seeing Travis and Conner run out of the Fifth cohort's house. Dakota keeps his goblet in there.

"Dakota, stop drinking that!" I screamed.

He laughed, and collapsed. He hit his head, but he was still laughing. Reyna and Will Solace checked on him, and carried him to the infirmary. Ok, now I have a few Stolls to kill.


A/N: Well? How was that? Coming up next is the Death Ball game.

Annabeth: That Dakota is freaking me out.

Percy: I know. When we first met, he said, "Welcome to the Percy, Party."

Thalia: He was that bad?

Percy and Annabeth: *nods*

Me: Wait, when did you get back?

Thalia: Oh. Um, uh yeah. I'm gonna go

Percy: STOP HER!

Me: While they play good cop and bad cop, please review.

Nico: Hey, why is Thalia leaving?

Me: They think she's hiding something. She disappeared a while ago.

Nico: Oh. She didn't uh, um ok

Me: REVIEW while I get some information