Note: Now we're right around the early area of Son of Neptune and I'm just warning you now, things may be discussed that are not in any of the chapters, but that is somewhat intentional on my part(partly because what you think up is probably better than what I could write, and because I don't feel like writing those things, to be frank). This jumps around throughout the first five or seven chapters of Son of Neptune, and includes so much content when compared to previous chapters simply because putting everything here in separate chapters would be an unnecessary waste of time, bandwidth, and computer memory. Also, sorry if this Note comes off as a bit bitter; I blame the fact that I'm writing this during exams week. Please, review and comment. I do not own Percy Jackson or any affiliated characters.

I held ever-so-slightly back from Hazel and Percy, so Nico wouldn't see me. I waited for a good point to jump into the conversation, and reflected on the days' events. I'd dove off a cliff and rode a half-dead gorgon down onto a highway. Afterwards, I'd jumped onto one and decapitated it above the Little Tiber. I'd had to resist cutting that smirk off of Octavian's face, though Ragnarok had told me it would gladly claim it had acted on its own. I told it no-one would believe that, tempting an offer as it was. Looking back at Hazel, Percy, and Nico, I could see that they were starting to wrap things up.

I walked up the small incline, and waved.

"Hey, Nico." I called up. I smiled and walked up to him, holding out my hand.

He just looked at me and didn't take it.

"You object to shaking my hand?"

"You two know each other?" Hazel asked.

"You could say that." Nico said.

"He tried to kill me, about three months ago. Or was it four?" I asked Nico.

"Four. And-"

"You're not about to say you're sorry again, are you? Come on, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't blame you for that?" I lifted my hand and gave him a quick slap on the shoulder. "How's your leg healing up?"

"Good. Running is a little hard."

"Wait, what did you do to his leg?" Percy asked.

"I kinda…kicked the tendon out of place."

"You what?"

"Hey, he was trying to kill me. And he had his sword in my chest at the time. I'd call that self-defense."

"Why was he trying to kill you?"

"Mistook me for an Underworld escapee."

"Why would he-"

"It was a mistake, that's all." Nico mumbled, face red.

"Hey, really. Stop feeling guilty about it. You didn't know what I was. Hell, I don't know either. Can't blame you."

A few hours later, I was sitting behind Percy, who was standing in front of the assembled cohort. Poor him. I watched Hazel step up for him. I realized I liked her. She was good, loyal, tough. Frank too.

Then my name was called.

I got up and walked to where Percy had stood.

"I attempted to discern the will of the gods regarding this one," Octavian said, indicating me with a flourish and that damn smirk again "but they have nothing to say about him. Let me ask you, do you seek to join the Legion?"

"I would be honored, but I have to decline."

"Why?"

"Because I believe I am already sworn to serve some other group." I yanked down my coat collar, revealing the brand. "And based on the experience I had with one of the members, they wouldn't take kindly to me swearing loyalty to the remnants of Rome." I could tell that last bit didn't sit well, so I decided to rectify things. "I can tell you that so long as our goals remain the same, I'll stand by you. Is that acceptable?"

I watched Reyna and Octavian huddle up and whisper furiously for about a minute.

"Your terms are acceptable. However, you must serve alongside a cohort, so we have a way to keep track of you, if nothing else."

"Agreed. Fifth taken?" I asked.

"Why the Fifth?"

"New guys oughta stick together."

"So, you didn't join because these other guys you used to work for might get mad about it?" Hazel asked.

"Trust me. I don't remember much about them, but if the one guy I met is any indication, they aren't the kind of people you want to piss off." I sipped my drink, lounging on the couch and ducking as plates flew over my head.

"What made you figure that?" Percy asked.

"Well, for starters, the guy lifted me about two feet into the air with one arm and nearly stabbed me in the face, just because he figured out I was following him. He also didn't bleed like ordinary people do."

"What do you mean?"

"I stabbed him in the arm, and he bled dust. And the wound closed in about five seconds. Then he alluded to some secret plan involving me, and jumped off the top of the building we were standing on, at which point he vanished into thin air."

"Yeah, that does not sound like the kind of guy to make angry." Hazel said.

"So, where'd you get that sword? I've never seen anything like it." Percy asked.

"In a dilapidated prison in Russia." I said. I slid Ragnarok slightly out of its scabbard, and looked at the red script on the blade. "It's not mine. Used to belong to my old mentor."

"Used to belong to him?"

"He's dead. Been dead a long time. Died saving me, in fact." We all stayed silent for a few moments. "And by the way, I'm not certain that I ever stopped working for them." I said to Hazel.

I was the only one in the Fifth cohort who was out of formation and not wearing any armor.

"You positive you don't want to put something on, or grab another weapon?" Frank asked.

"Trust me, Frank. If I did put armor on, or used anything other than Ragnarok here, this would be incredibly unfair to the other cohorts."

"Are you serious?"

"Just watch."

"Open wide, loser!" Someone yelled down at me. Looking up, I saw a blast from one of the water cannons coming straight at me.

"Oh crap." I yanked Ragnarok out and jammed it into the ground, holding onto the grip as tight as I could.

Then the water hit me, and I felt like I was breaking.

I heard distorted shouting, and the water stopped.

I was in the middle of a extremely tiny crater gouged by the cannon, and every bone I had, save my skull, felt out of place. I decided to rectify that.

I just focused on pulling everything back into proper place. I heard lots of sucking and grinding and was on my feet before I knew it.

"Gonna be sore in the morning." I said to myself