Ch. 9

Percy stood at the entrance to Camp Jupiter. He looked behind him to see Frank lumbering his way towards him with less than graceful steps. He wondered if it had been a mistake to choose Frank as his other companion. He was awkward and clumsy and showed less than stellar wits on the battlefield during their experiences together in the war games at camp.

As Frank approached him, Percy saw something that halted his previous doubts when it came to Frank. It was a genuine smile that was filled full of nervousness but also full of gratefulness. It wasn't easy for a legionnaire to get a quest at Camp Jupiter so proving their worth was often a long and difficult process. This was undoubtedly the biggest break Frank had ever gotten since learning he was demigod and while others might think themselves entitled, one look at Frank's face showed just how much he appreciated be chosen for this.

Then he also remembered the other reason he chose Frank other than to help his friend out. He trusted Frank. Since his first day and Frank's awkward introduction and greeting with the supposed son of Venus, he hadn't treated him differently because of who he thought his parents were or for how he acted in the coliseum. He judged Percy on how he acted around him, something that no one, not even Jason, had done from the start.

Jason was his other best friend since joining the legion and would have been his first choice but he was more than content with Frank as plan B.

He looked down at his wrist where the gray bracelet sat looking inconspicuous and harmless, if not a little peculiar, and he remembered the warning from his adoptive mothers. He knew his time remaining incognito was running low and Frank was one of the few people who might still give him a chance and keep his secret if he knew his reason for deceiving the Romans and entering under false pretenses. Frank may be awkward and clumsy but Percy learned he was actually quite intelligent even if he didn't often show it in fear of looking foolish or being rebuked by the other Romans. He would hopefully see why Percy did what he did and realize he had little other options.

He was broken out of his thoughts as the plump cheeked legionnaire came to a halt beside him, a look of concern etched into his features.

"Are you sure about this Jack? There's still time for you to pick someone else, someone who might be a better asset to you on this quest."

Percy's expression darkened a bit as Frank was again letting his insecurities guide the words that left his mouth.

"Frank," he said calmly. "Shut that big ass mouth of yours."

Frank looked slightly appalled by his response but Percy held up a hand to stop him from replying.

"I did not choose you out of sympathy or because you're my friend. You're a good Roman, one who only lacks the confidence needed to reach his full potential. You might be a son of Mars but I've seen you with that bow and you would give the Apollo children a run for their money any day of the week. You're smart and I trust you more than I trust anyone else in the legion. Stop acting like you don't have just as much if not more of a right than anyone else to be here. I chose you because you are who I want, someone who can cover mine and Reyna's backs in battle. What better than a skilled archer to cover us while we handle the close quarters combat? Stop doubting yourself because if you do it again I'm going to put my foot so far up your ass that you'll be spitting out my shoelaces."

Frank's eyes widened a bit but a small smile tugged at his lips.

"Alright, thank you Jack."

Percy shook his head, "Don't thank me. This isn't a trip to the amusement park. We're heading into what could be the most dangerous place on earth. Get focused Frank because one slip up and you may not make it back to camp at all. This isn't the war games, this is real. We screw up, we most likely die. I'm not trying to scare you but this isn't a reward for you, it's a responsibility and one you must take seriously."

Before Frank could respond, a new voice did.

"Finally it appears Vidar can speak in a way other than joking. His words are quite accurate Zhang, this is going to be extremely dangerous."

Frank looked at the centurion from the first cohort a little nervously before he quickly nodded his head in agreement.

"Have you been a quest before Reyna?" Frank asked curiously.

Reyna shook her head, "Not a quest but I have had enough real world experiences that I can tell the two of you that you have no idea what you're walking into."

Frank nodded and looked at Percy, "What about you? Ever been in these types of situations before?"

Percy just nodded, not wishing to elaborate.

Reyna narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Care to share some of these dangerous adventures Vidar?"

Percy turned to her with a dark look on his face, "Not particularly but given your stubbornness and dubiety to anything I say I doubt I have much of a choice. Let's get moving and I will explain on the way. This isn't story time, we need to get going."

They made their way past the borders of Camp Jupiter and towards the city of San Francisco, choosing to take a more rural route to avoid mortals in case of a monster attack. Thirty minutes into their journey, Percy caught Reyna looking at him expectantly.

He rolled his eyes, "A little while before I came to Camp Jupiter, I was in Mount Othrys. My relatives sent me to aide a group hoping to rescue the goddess Diana who had been captured by the Titan forces. A quest of a small group of her hunters and a couple random demigods were tasked with her rescue. I don't know if fighting a Titan one on one for a while is worthy of the great centurion of Cohort One, but I promise you don't know strength until you try to fight one yourself."

Percy hoped the diluted version of the events on Othrys would be enough as he glanced over to find Frank gawking at him while Reyna was looking at him suspiciously.

"Don't believe me, fine. I will prove it but when I do, it is the end of your little inquisition Centurion Reyna." Percy said coldly. "I swear on the River Styx that the words I just spoke about my experience on Mount Othrys were the truth."

Thunder rumbled overhead making a small gasp escape Frank's lips and Reyna's eyes to widen a bit. She opened her mouth to speak but Percy cut her off.

"The discussion is over. I told you what you asked. You doubted the truth to my words and thus my honor as a Roman. I don't believe I owe you anything else Reyna." Percy said in an icy tone as he turned his eyes to the front and focused on the task at hand as they made their way around the city and in the direction where they could see Mount Othrys in the distance.

They walked westward in silence. The cold tone in which Percy had spoken had put an almost nervous tension amongst the questers. Reyna stole glances at him as they walked but he kept his eyes focused ahead of him, slightly irritated at the way she constantly questioned him and the things he said.

In reality he couldn't really blame her since the majority of the things that came out his mouth were lies or partial lies but they were necessary ones.

He wasn't pretending to be a Roman just for shits and giggles.

He was doing what he could to protect them and fulfill the destiny that had been laid on his shoulders since the day of his birth. He had friends now. Good friends, the first real friends of his short life and the possibility of losing those friends put him in a foul mood. He wasn't actually even mad at Reyna but at this supposed destiny that would most likely take away the one thing he wanted most and had only just found; a place where he felt like he belonged.

They travelled for a few hours, walking around the city on this incredibly short quest. The distance between Camp Jupiter and Mount Othrys was actually extremely short. It was going to take them less than a day to make it to the outskirts of the mountain. Assuming they didn't run into any trouble they would just have to figure out how to go about approaching the mountain without walking straight to their deaths.

Just as they passed the city and were on the final stretch of fifteen miles before reaching the base of Mount Othrys, things quickly went wrong for their little quest.

Percy, who was walking a few feet ahead of Reyna and Frank, suddenly came to a stop. He slowly dropped into a crouch and looked at the surrounding area.

"Why are you stopping?" Reyna asked slightly irritated after being given the cold shoulder for the duration of the day after she simply tried to learn more about this mysterious son of the love goddess.

"We're being followed. They've been following us for the last couple miles but they're closing in now." Percy said calmly as his hand grazed his gladius before passing over it and reaching for the small key chain hooked to his belt loop.

Both Reyna and Frank looked around wildly.

"Stop." Percy growled. "We need them to think they have the element of surprise."

Frank looked on the verge of a panic attack while Reyna caught herself and calmly walked up next to 'Jack' trying to act casual.

"What is it Jack?" She asked quietly.

Percy kept a hand on his keychain as his eyes darted back and forth.

"Werewolves. I believe it's the whole pack. I count at least a dozen and they've surrounded us." He said standing up. "It's too late. They're on us. Get out your silver weapons!" He yelled as he pulled on the keychain as it materialized into a pure silver sword that shined brightly in the late afternoon sun.

Reyna's eyes widened slightly as she reached for her hunting knives but paused for a second when she saw the sword in 'Jack's' hands, trying to remember why it seemed so familiar to her.

Before she could think any more about it, a werewolf burst out of the trees and right at them. Percy turned to defend himself when the monster yelped in pain before dissolving into golden dust. A silver arrow lay in the pile of monster dust as Percy's eyes turned to Frank who already had another arrow notched and ready as his eyes darted all around looking for another target.

Percy ran at Frank, the sight of the bushes behind him moving slightly alerted him to the attack as he closed the distance just as a second wolf lunged at Frank's back.

Percy hit the ground, going into a baseball slide right past Frank before he dug his front foot into the earth making him shoot upwards where he drove his blade straight into the underbelly of the lunging monster just as it reached Frank.

Percy let his momentum carry him as he drove the beast straight into the ground before ripping his blade out as the monster dissolved.

Frank's eyes widened as he watched his friend undoubtedly save his life before he whirled around, releasing his notched arrow as it whizzed past Reyna's head and straight into the forehead of the werewolf stalking towards her.

Frank notched another arrow but was knocked to the ground as a second wolf lunged out from behind him at the same time one lunged at Percy. The beast raked its claws across Frank's back, opening up a number of deep gashes. The wolf opened its mouth to clamp onto the back of Frank's neck when it suddenly yelped and jumped off as Reyna sliced her silver blade across the beast's front legs.

Percy dispatched his attacker and turned to find Frank on the ground bleeding and Reyna standing over him as a wounded wolf slunk back into the woods. Percy turned around as he backtracked to where Reyna was standing until the two stood with their backs facing each other and Frank's injured body between them as they watched the woods all around them waiting for the next attack.

The woods were silent though. No branches moved, no bushes rustled making Reyna wonder if the attack was over and they had won. Before she could speak though, a single ragged looking man stepped out of the woods. He was tall, over six feet and his body was slim yet he looked dangerous in a primal animalistic type of way, like he would bite out your throat if he needed to without hesitation. Then Reyna saw the fangs as he realized exactly who this scar marred face belonged to. The thought sent a shiver of fear through the female demigod's spine.

"Lycaon," Reyna spat. "Lupa will make you pay for this."

Lycaon gave a fanged smile of amusement, "I doubt that little bitch and her pack of mutts will be coming anywhere near Mount Othrys when she learns what became of her little demigods."

Percy narrowed his eyes a bit, "You're making a mistake right now. I suggest you leave now before you force me to do something that's going to make me very angry. You're not going to like what happens when I get angry."

Lycaon looked at Percy for the first time, smiling at his words at first before the smile vanished. He took a step closer taking a deep breath through his nose as he looked closely at 'Jack'. His eyes widened slightly, "YOU!" He snarled. "I'm going to enjoy feasting on your flesh boy."

Percy's hand drifted to his bracelet as Lycaon looked murderous. He opened his mouth to speak again when his face suddenly went slack. He tilted his head to the side as if listening to some voice that only he could hear. After a moment he turned back to the three demigods.

"My mistress wishes to play with you three some more before I can devour you. You should spend your remaining hours wisely as if you somehow survive what is in store for you then I will be back to finish what I started." He sneered at them before slipping back into the treeline.

Once the werewolf king was gone, Percy whirled around and knelt down next to Frank whose shirt was soaked in blood from the gaping wounds from the wolf claws.

"Cut off his shirt." Percy ordered not even looking up at Reyna as he began to dig into his pack for supplies.

Reyna ignored all the questions racing through her mind and set to work, carefully cutting Frank's shirt off and avoiding his wounds. Once the garment was cut and she got a good look at the wounds she knew he didn't have much of a shot of surviving based on how much blood he lost and the fact they didn't have a healer to close the wounds for him.

Percy turned back around and paled a bit when he saw Frank's back. He looked up at Reyna whose expression wasn't hopeful before he shook it off and set to work.

He opened up a flask and poured a little nectar on each of the gashes, stemming the blood loss for a moment and giving him a chance to work.

"Put your dagger hilt in his mouth. This is going to be painful." Percy ordered as Frank slipped in and out of consciousness.

Reyna's eyes widened a bit before she pulled out her dagger and forced the hilt into the groggy demigod's mouth. She looked up at 'Jack' to find him threading a needle as she realized what it was he was planning to do.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

Percy didn't acknowledge her question as he pulled out a lighter and put the flame to the needle for a moment. When he pulled it away he looked down at Frank's wound nervously.

"Just bear with me Frank, I'll put you back together but you've got to lay still."

Using his left hand to steady the stocky son of Mar's back, he carefully set to work. Frank for his part took it well, putting the dagger hilt to good use as he bit down while his friend slowly stitched his wounds back together one at a time.

Reyna watched the son of Venus work in slight awe as he stitched up the wounds flawlessly. It took nearly thirty minutes for Percy to close all the gashes, beads of sweat were visible on his face by the time he was finished. He looked down at his work and approved of the job he had done. He reached into his pack again before looking at the back of Frank's head with pity.

"If I were you I'd bite down hard right now."

Frank's head lifted a bit as he tried to look back at 'Jack' but before he could turn, a cold liquid was poured on his wounds making him bite down so hard he thought his teeth would break. His screams of agony were muffled as the alcohol seeped into the fresh wounds. After a minute, a second liquid was poured on them as well. One that made Frank sigh with relief and relax so much the dagger fell from his mouth as the nectar soothed his searing wounds.

After a moment Percy pulled something else out of his pack before he knelt down near Frank's head, "Reyna help me. I need to bandage him but we need him sitting up and we need to be careful he doesn't rip his stitches."

Reyna knelt on the other side of Frank as she and 'Jack' slowly raised the demigod up so he was seated on his butt.

"Raise your hands." Percy ordered. As soon as Frank complied, Percy began to wrap the bandage around his torso. When he finished, Frank's eyes drooped a bit.

"I feel tired."

Percy smiled, "You should; that's no ordinary bandage. It's soaked in nectar and a sedative. It's going to make you sleep like the big Asian baby you are and heal your wounds overnight while you sleep. Relax Frank, by morning you'll be good as new and we can resume this quest."

Frank's eyes were barely open but he managed to reach out and grab Percy by the shirt pulling him a little closer.

"Jack. I need to tell you something." He said tiredly. "Before you came to camp, I hated Rome. I hated everything about being a demigod. The other legionnaires, they mocked me and shunned me because I was an archer when I should have been a warrior like my brothers and sisters. But you, you changed things for me." Frank said in a slightly slurred voice as he struggled to stay awake. "You're a good friend Jack. My best friend. I want you to know that if I needed to I would give my life for you. Maybe you're not by blood but I want you to know, you are my brother... You're... You... You..." He trailed off as his words were replaced by quiet snores as his hand slipped off Percy's shirt and Percy gently laid him down on the ground.

"I feel the same way buddy, you rest and heal up." Percy said quietly before standing up.

Reyna was staring at him still in a bit of awe. She had never seen this side of Jack. He was always cracking jokes or making puns but this side of him, it was so different. His healing skills were on par with the children of Apollo and the way Frank spoke to him, it was the way a soldier spoke to a true leader. Someone he would follow to the ends of the Earth based on nothing else but pure trust and respect.

Her thoughts were broken when Percy began digging into his pack again. He pulled out two small folded up squares before he tossed them on the ground. The moment they hit the ground, the exploded into tents making Reyna gasp.

"Whoa, how did you do that?"

Percy smiled, "A gift from the relatives that raised me. They are enchanted tents. They are bigger on the inside too. I brought one for you and one for me and Frank to share. Why don't you drag Frank into one while I set up defensive perimeter?"

Reyna raised an eyebrow until she saw him pull out two thin coils of wires, one silver and one gold.

"What are those?" She asked confused.

"Our perimeter." He said simply. "Silver and Imperial Gold. I'm going to set up trip wires in a square around our camp. If we get any unwanted visits from monsters or werewolves during the night then we'll have enough time to at least be ready for them."

Reyna stared at him for a moment, "You brought all this stuff? This wasn't even supposed to take more than a day."

"Nothing ever goes as planned when dealing with monsters. I assumed we'd run into trouble so I made sure I had enough supplies for a several day trip in case things got complicated."

Reyna nodded numbly but before she could speak again he turned and slipped into the woods to set up the perimeter. Reyna shook her head and turned to Frank who was sleeping peacefully on the ground.

"Perhaps you were much smarter than me Zhang; I think I judged Jack a little too quickly." She said quietly as she dragged the slumbering demigod into one of the tents before trekking into the surrounding woods in search of wood for a fire.

-x-

Reyna sat across the small fire she had built as Jack finished off the last of his dinner, one he had brought and cooked for both of them. She watched him closely. She had a number of things she wanted to ask him but wasn't sure where to start. Normally she would just ask and then glare her way into getting the answers she wanted. This demigod was different though. He simply did not fear her at all. It was a foreign feeling but something she liked about him, finally someone who wouldn't let himself be pushed around by her. She internally groaned as she knew the only way she might get answers would be to start with an apology for the way she had treated him since he first walked into Camp Jupiter.

"I think I owe you an apology. It's just..." She started before he raised his hand to stop her.

"Please don't. I do not need an apology Reyna. I promise nothing you've said or done has changed my opinion of you."

Reyna was slightly confused by his answer. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. She decided to ask some of her questions anyway.

"Regardless I should not have doubted your word. You're a Roman and we Romans do not lie to each other. I was just surprised at some of the things you did before even coming to the legion."

Percy sighed and tossed his paper plate into the fire, "Alright just ask. I can only assume if you're apologizing it's because you want answers. Just ask them so we can get this over with."

She was slightly annoyed by his response but got up from her seat and moved onto a log closer to him so she could ask her questions face to face.

"How were you on a quest to save Diana if you weren't even in the legion yet? How did you even know she was captured?"

He nodded albeit he looked uninterested in explaining, "A few years ago I came across one of her hunters being assaulted by some mortals. I intervened and afterword my relatives and Diana spoke before we parted ways. When she was captured I was sent to aide in rescuing her by the relatives who raised me."

Reyna nodded slowly, "Are your relatives demigods?"

"They are indeed the offspring of gods." He said back knowing the answer was not a lie.

"So why come to Camp Jupiter?"

Percy turned and looked into the fire as its small blaze consumed the last of the firewood. He didn't respond immediately making Reyna think he was ignoring her. Before she could snap at him, he turned back to her.

"Have you ever wanted a place where you truly belonged, a place you could call home? My relatives are amazing and I love them dearly but growing up with them wasn't the same. They trained me since I took my first step because they know what kind of life we demigods are forced to live. I owe them so much for doing that for me but I never had a chance to make real friends. I was home schooled, so I never saw other kids my age. It was just me and them and while I know they love me and me them, it wasn't enough. They sent me to camp because they knew it was where I needed to be, with my own kind. Now I have the first two real true friends of my life in Jason and Frank. You seem to think I have this hidden agenda but I don't. I'm honestly here because this is where I want to be and I will do whatever I have to to keep it safe; to protect Camp Jupiter until my final breath if I must."

Reyna listened intently and could hear the genuineness in his voice when he spoke about the things he wanted. Her own thoughts drifted to growing up on Circe's Island and that same feeling she had when she lost it, how she longed for another home. She remembered how she felt when she found one in the legion and knew what he meant by being willing to do anything he had to in order to protect it.

She looked back at 'Jack' to find him staring at the fire again, a faraway look in his eyes. She slid off her log and onto his bringing his eyes back to her again.

"I do know that feeling, more than you might know. I am sorry for the way I have questioned you. I had no right to doubt your words and for that I apologize."

'Jack' gave her a small smile, "Like I said, no need to apologize, there is nothing to forgive. I can only imagine how my little jokes must have looked when we met. I tend to crack more jokes than I should but you should know that I can be serious when I must. I just enjoy making people laugh sometimes, almost as much as I love to mock the arrogant people who think themselves above everyone else."

"Is that why you kissed me in front of the legion? To mock me because I act like I'm better than others?" She asked but her voice wasn't full of anger. Instead it was slightly nervous with a touch of shame at the thought of her being like the centurion from cohort two.

Percy let out a little laugh and shook his head, "I kissed you because I thought you were beautiful and I figured that was the only chance I would get. You don't act like some of those dicks from the second. You carry yourself with dignity and there is nothing wrong with that."

Reyna couldn't help but blush at little at being called beautiful before she smiled a bit when he said she wasn't like the others. She looked up at Jack again and noticed he was trying not to laugh at her red cheeks. She tried to glare at him but found it only made his smile grow a little. He leaned a little closer to her which brought even more blood to her cheeks.

"You know, we should probably get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, one that could easily be our last ones on this earth." He whispered softly, his face still close to hers.

Reyna felt an unfamiliar feeling as she looked into his eyes, their faces so close to each other. At first she didn't recognize it but then she realized she was nervous.

"Yes, we should. We should get an early start tomorrow." She said back softly unsure why she wasn't moving away. This wasn't like her. This demigod had her flustered and she honestly wasn't sure what to do.

Percy's smile grew a little more as their faces were now only inches apart. She could feel his breath on her face. Her mind was telling her to just stand up but it seemed her body had no desire to comply with its wishes. She didn't know what she was doing but she just went with what felt right.

Without warning, she closed the last few inches between them and pressed her lips to his. She knew this was not like her but at the moment she didn't care. In this moment, it felt right and she wasn't going to argue right now as his hand came up and landed softly on her cheek. The kiss deepened a little as Reyna's hand found its way into his messy dark hair. She felt his tongue gently on her lips she involuntarily opened her mouth as she lost herself in the moment, her other hand finding its way into his hair as well and she pulled him closer.

The need for oxygen forced them to grudgingly break apart but they never broke eye contact, neither able to deny the intensity of what had just happened. Percy opened his mouth to speak when the sound of wires snapping and something crashing to the ground caused them both to shoot to their feet, their eyes immediately going to the woods behind them where the sound came from.

Out of the woods emerged a creature that made Reyna gasp and Percy to curse loudly as he realized how utterly screwed he was.