Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan does, I don't own the book Cyborg - Martin Caidin does, nor do I own the old TV Show Six Million Dollar Man. I just wanted to make that clear.
Story: Cybernetic Hero
Chapter 10: Camp Rome
Outskirts of Camp Rome
Annabeth's POV
We had been walking through the thick forests for several hours now. The woods began to thin a bit as we approached a large clearing. Once out of the woods we all stopped in amazement. In the middle of the clearing surrounded by thick stone walls was the Roman camp. The name Camp Rome was written over the large wooden doors that protected the camp from the outside in large Latin letters.
"Welcome to Camp Rome." Jason said as he walked up to the large wooden doors. A large golden door knocker shined brightly in the afternoon sunlight. Jason knocked loudly on the door. A trumpet sounded from within the walls, and suddenly the doors opened revealing a dozen or so campers with purple shirts clad in gold body armor. They held spears, javelins and swords in their hands. They stepped out of the camp with their weapons raised. When they saw Jason, their eyes widened in surprise and joy.
"Jason" Several campers yelled as they surrounded the young demigod. As the campers turned, they smiled at Reyna and the other Romans, but when their eyes met Percy and the rest of us they raised their weapons menacingly. Jason jumped in front of them worriedly.
"Stop; these are our friends. They helped to rescue me and my sister from the titans." Jason said. The Roman campers looked surprised, but they still glared at us menacingly. Suddenly, a large growl came from inside the camp. The Roman campers parted as the largest wolf I had ever seen stalked out of the camp. I could tell it was a she wolf, and then I realized this must be there equivalent to Chiron. She must be Lupa, the she-wolf that raised Romulus and Remus; the founders of Rome. The wolf's fur was brownish red, and she hard large light brown eyes that seemed to look into your soul. When she stared at me, I could tell that she was curious, and something else. Jason and Reyna stood between her and us. She eyed the two curiously.
"Children, remove yourselves from my path." Lupa ordered. Her voice was harsh and authoritative, it was in stark contrast to Chiron's.
"They rescued me." Jason said. Reyna nodded in agreement from beside Jason.
"They are Greeks; our enemy." Lupa said angrily. Percy walked forward clearly not afraid of this large wolf. Lupa stared at him; the anger and fear in her eyes were clear.
"We're not here to start a fight. Jason offered your camp's help in the fight against the titans." Percy said. The wolf's eyes widened in surprise.
"You have no right to make such an offer." Lupa said. Jason's face turned red with anger.
"I have every right, I'm the leader of this camp, or have you forgotten?" Jason said angrily. Lupa eyed him angrily, but then the emotion drained from her eyes. She looked back at the boy, and I could tell that she knew he was right at least partially.
"You lead the camp in battle Praetor, but your decision alone does not ensure an alliance, especially with the Greeks." Lupa said as she stalked towards Percy. She stopped about three feet from his position. "Speak Greek, who are you?" Percy's one green eye flashed with power, and at that sight Lupa's eyes narrowed.
"I'm Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon." Percy said. Lupa's eyes widened in surprise.
"A child of Neptune or Poseidon has not been born in many decades." Lupa said. She looked at him closely. "I see that the sons of Poseidon remain brave." Percy nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, master Lupa." Percy said as he bowed. Suddenly, the wolf sprang forward, but Percy moved at such speed the wolf didn't know what hit her. Percy's left hand morphed into a very large hand, it grabbed Lupa around the neck, and then he slammed her into the nearest tree. All of us including the Romans were frozen in place.
"Don't you know that its not polite to attack someone after you give them a compliment." Percy said as he wagged his index finger on his right hand in the air. Lupa just stared at him in fear. Jason and Reyna ran over to Percy.
"Percy, please don't hurt her." Jason said.
"She can be cruel, but she does care for the campers, in her own way." Reyna said. Percy turned toward his two new friends. He placed the giant wolf back on the ground careful not to hurt her legs. Once on the ground Lupa turned toward Percy. I could see the fear in her eyes, but she didn't back down. I had to give the wolf respect for that.
"I had to make sure you were worthy of our help." Lupa said. Percy glared at the wolf, and then he took off his eye patch. Lupa's eyes grew so big that I thought they might pop out of her head.
"Attack me again wolf, and your campers will be scraping you off the ground with a spatula." Percy said ominously. I never heard his voice sound that way, ever. If a wolf could visibly gulp, then I think I just saw Lupa do that.
"I will not attack you again, unprovoked." She said. Percy gave her a sly smile at the word provoked. He nodded his head in agreement, and then that crooked smile that I loved formed across his mouth. Reyna and Jason sighed loudly, and so did the rest of our friends. Jason turned towards the remaining Roman campers.
"These are our new allies, treat them as such. Many of these warriors are your Greek siblings, they will be staying in the appropriate barracks, understood." Jason said. All the campers nodded their heads in understanding. We walked into the camp. The Roman camp was laid out in a grid pattern with the major buildings such as the mess hall, training buildings, etc., in the middle. All the buildings were made out of stone. The barracks were distributed in a grid around the main buildings. Jason turned towards his Roman friends. "Please take our allies to the appropriate bunkers. I will escort my sister and Percy to their barracks." I gave Percy a quick kiss before I ran off after Bobby.
Percy's POV
"I've never seen Lupa that afraid, ever." Jason said. I had already placed the eye patch back on. Thalia was eying me warily.
"What?" I asked getting annoyed by her constant staring. Jason and Thalia both froze in place, they stared at me warily.
"I'm sorry, but I hate when people stare at me." I said. Thalia's face turned red.
"I'm sorry, but I just wanted to make sure that ..." Thalia said trailing off. I placed my hands on her shoulders, and then I looked into her eyes.
"Its me; I know that I'm different, but I'm still the idiotic, headstrong, fool hardy, and loyal cousin that you remember. I just suffered an incredible injury, thats all." I said. Thalia looked at me like I just said the stupidest thing in the world.
"An injury, you're lucky to be alive. Annabeth nearly fell apart when we thought you died. I'm just worried about you." Thalia said. I smiled at my cousin.
"Thank you Thals, I'm glad that I don't scare you. I wish I could say that everyone back at camp was as understanding as you, Annabeth, and the others." I said. She gave me her patented smart ass look.
"Feeling sorry for yourself now?" She asked incredulously. I gave her a hard stare, but then I just sighed in defeat.
"A little I guess." I said. Jason turned around, and looked at me carefully.
"Why? Without you Krios would have killed me." Jason said. I stopped walking, and just stood there looking at the two children of Zeus.
"Sometimes I feel like a weapon and not a person; that scares me." I confessed. Jason and Thalia both nodded in understanding.
"I never thought about it that way." Jason said.
"Perce, you'll always be the same kelp head to me." Thalia said with a smirk. I gave her a quick hug, and then I turned back to Jason.
"Percy, thank you for saving my life." He said. He out stretched his hand to me, but I surprised him by giving him a hug. When we separated his eyes were big in surprise. Thalia began to laugh loudly.
"Thalia is like my sister, so your welcome bro." I said with an amused smirk. We walked for a while until we approached a stone building that had sea shells imbedded in the stone. The wooden door was painted a bright sea green, and a gold trident was emblazoned in the center. Jason opened the door, and the first thing I felt was a cool sea breeze and the scent of sea salt. I walked into the barrack first as Jason held the door. The walls were painted a beautiful blue-green color. Weapons were hung on the walls; swords, tridents, spears, and harpoons. Four sturdy bunks were aligned along one wall, and a large bathroom was to the left of the main room. I saw a few desks that were made out of wood that reminded me of an old sailing ship. There were two couches on one wall with a wood coffee table in front. The room was organized functionally. The design was simpler than my cabin at Camp Half Blood, but it wasn't bad at all.
"So what do you think?" Jason asked.
"It reminds me of my cabin, a little different, but in a Roman way." I said. Jason smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Thalia, I'll take you to our barrack. See you later Percy." Jason said as he and Thalia left. Once they stepped out, I closed the door to the barrack, and then I sat down on one of the beds. It was firm, but still comfortable. I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door quickly to see Annabeth standing in front of me.
"Wise girl, so how's the Minerva barrack?" I asked. Annabeth's eyes lit up at the question.
"It's incredible, there all these ancient battle plans on the walls, weapons, and books. They have bookshelves all over the place; full of these beautiful manuscripts and large hard covers." She said, but before she could continue I raised my hand.
"It sounds good in a brainiac sort of way." I said sarcastically. Annabeth rolled her eyes, then she punched me in the right arm. She shook her hand in pain. I grabbed her hand quickly to look at it, then she began to laugh loudly.
"You just played me." I stated. Annabeth's mouth stretched into a big smile. She was enjoying herself immensely. I still had her hand in mine, so I did the first thing I could think of, I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it tenderly. Annabeth stared at me, and then at her hand. I gave her a mischievous smile as I let go of her hand. Her cheeks were now a bright red. Suddenly, the door burst open revealing an out of breath Thalia. When she saw Annabeth staring at me with her cheeks red she looked between the two of us with an amused look on her face.
"So it finally happened?" Thalia asked, clearly amused.
"What happened?" I asked her.
"You finally confessed your feelings to each other, kelp head." Thalia said. Now it was my turn for my cheeks to turn red. Thalia just laughed at the two of us. "You really have it bad."
"Thalia Grace, its really none of your business." Annabeth said, clearly not amused. Thalia just glared at her friend.
"You know I don't like you saying my last name." Thalia warned. Annabeth just gave her a fiendish grin.
"And you know that I don't like it when you tease me about ..." Annabeth said, but she didn't finish as she looked from Thalia, and then to me.
"Tease you about what?" I asked mischievously. Annabeth sighed loudly.
"Shut up seaweed brain." She said with a frustrated glare. Thalia and I began to laugh at her frustration.
"Are you two done?" Annabeth asked incredulously. Thalia and I looked at each other, and then we finally controlled our laughter.
"Yes" We both said.
"I almost forgot. Lupa called a war council meeting at the central fortress." Thalia said.
"Let's go, if you two are done laughing at my expense." Annabeth said.
"We're ready wise girl." I said as I walked out the door followed by Annabeth and Thalia. I hoped this war council was about the Romans helping us against the titans. One way to find out, I guess.
AN: Not my best chapter, definitely a little fluff piece, next chapter the Roman war council. More to come, stay tuned.