Hi my readers! I'm SO SO SORRY for not updating for the LONGEST TIME! I was in Vancouver, Canada for the long weekend :/
This whole chapter is about 6 and a half pages long on Word.
I'm trying to make this chapter extra-long and extra good, so I hope I've filled those wants. Please tell me if I'm doing well, if you like the direction I'm going with this, yada yada, getting reviews mean the world to me.
Percy
Percy had been concerned for a while now. The bit of prophecy saying "the mark of Athena burns through Rome" or something like that. Percy had no idea if that meant to leave Annabeth in little Rome, or bring her on the quest to the actual Rome. Percy shook the thought from his mind.
"There's something we haven't addressed," Percy said, draping an arm over Annabeth's shoulders. "What did you see when you passed out, Seri?" The question sank in uncomfortably like ichor was to mortals. Seri breathed in deeply.
"A…woman. Her eyes…shone in the darkness, full of power. She was wearing a…white dress, and a golden scepter. With a lotus on top."
"Lady Hera," Percy confirmed. "The Greek version of Lady Juno."
"Okay then. Lady Hera came in front of me, and her dress," Seri squinted her eyes, trying to remember. "rippled…like oil on water when she moved. Her voice was gentle, yet intimidating."
"That's definitely her," Annabeth growled.
"She told me, that I was the 'seventh quester' but I wasn't, at the same time. She said that another person was coming. Either the owl or the torch. One of you two," Seri pointed at Reyna and Annabeth. She said I was…disposable. A pawn. No, a bishop. That's what she said. I was the most important piece, but in order to win…I had to be sacrificed.
"When I told her I didn't want to be sacrificed, that I didn't want to be part of her little 'game', and then…she zapped me. With her lotus scepter thing. Then I woke up."
The silence choked the throats of the listeners.
"S-sacrificed?" Nico stated weakly. Seri nodded, blinking rapidly. "This is Hera's plan?" He cried indignantly. "I should have known! The stupid freaking gods can't be bothered with freaking GAEA waking up, so they shut up and she-she-she plans to kill someone in hopes that'll FIX THINGS?" Nico spluttered, and the sky rumbled ominously.
"Nico," Percy said gently.
"NO! I don't care what Hera thinks, this isn't happening, I WON'T LET IT!" Nico yelled, and strode over to the door, kicking it open, the echoes resounding solitarily around the room. Nico stormed away.
Nobody knew how to respond.
"We should…go, I bet the war games will start soon," Percy said quietly.
"Okay," Seri slid off the bed, dressed in a black graphic tee, jeans, and green converse shoes.
Annabeth attempted to get out of bed.
"Nope," Percy said, pushing her back down.
"Percy," Annabeth protested. She gave him a wordless stare.
"Fine, but you're taking some more ambrosia," Percy compromised. Annabeth downed two more ambrosia gummies, and Percy carried he out of the infirmary bridal style.
"ON SPECIAL MEANS, 5 MINUTES WILL BE GIVEN TO FORM A STRATEGY!" Reyna shouted from the air on her Pegasus, Skippy. Percy waved Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Piper, and Seri over.
"Okay, Annabeth, take the lead." Percy made way for her.
"Percy told me about the first war games, so we'll go with that." She said hurriedly.
"Won't they anticipate that?" Piper asked.
"They will! So right as they counter what they think will happen, with something that will crush them." Annabeth had a vicious expression.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jason and Percy said simultaneously.
"We don't want to crush them," Jason said.
"We need to win, though. Just barely." Percy emphasized.
"Fine," Annabeth said, pinching her eyebrows, calculating the alterations. "Okay. Hazel will tunnel us right in the thick of it. Near there, we surface, Percy jams the water cannons on the second floor, causing a distraction, then, after tunneling again, we reemerge in the heart, on the first floor.
Frank , Piper, Nico, and I will fight off the dudes, Leo builds and throws a bomb to the front door, blowing it wide open. Percy and Jason go for the flag on the third level, and Hazel stays in the tunnel, making sure nobody gets away, and resting."
"What about Seri?" Nico asked, side-hugging Seri. Percy exchanged a look with Annabeth, smiling. Then their faces turned serious.
"I think that Seri should stay with Hazel, as a…safety precaution." Annabeth said. Nico gave an apologetic look towards Seri.
"TIME'S UP! BEGIN SIEGE!" Reyna called. The group tore away from the Fifth Legion, who were approaching the castle timidly, getting harassed with water bombs.
"Let's go," Percy said. "Hazel, lead the way." Hazel stood, inhaling deeply. A hole appeared in the ground.
"Hop in," she said, sounding fatigued already. They made their way towards the castle at a moderately quick pace. "Here, exactly ten seconds from the castle."
"Kay, thanks Haz, I'll be back soon." Percy climbed out, surveying his location. He was below the west wing, past the front gate. He saw the ruckus that was occurring. The group that had composed of maybe 50 people had dwindled to 20, courtesy of the water cannons.
Holding his hands up and flexing his gut, Percy jammed the cannons.
"HEY! What's going on?" A Roman soldier was trying to start the cannon, peering into the barrel. Percy smirked. Perfect, he thought. He increased the pressure on the cannons, and they backfired. Right. In. The. Soldier's. Face.
He ducked back into the tunnel.
"Let's go." He said. Hazel continued digging mentally.
"Just, you know, out of curiosity, WHAT WAS THAT EXPLOSION BACK THERE?" Leo asked.
"I made the water cannons burst," Percy said nonchalantly. "They're trying to fix it, so hurry up, please, Haz." He gestured for Hazel to continue having at the tunnel.
"Wait." Seri stopped Hazel a little bit later, her eyes glassy, staring at nothing. "Stop."
"Seri?" Percy asked tentatively.
"Hazel, I need you to surface." Seri said, ignoring Percy, her eyes still distant.
"But-" Hazel interjected.
"NOW!" Seri shouted, causing them all to jump. Hazel surfaced.
"Seri, what're you doing?" Nico asked, a worried look on his face.
"Nothing. Continue with the plan. I'll meet you later." Seri climbed out, avoiding the arrows the Romans were now sending down.
"SERI!" Nico shouted, trying to follow her. Percy held him back.
"Don't, Nico, if you get hit, you'll be out for a week. We can't risk that. Let her go, she wanted it." Nico struggled in the bonds of Percy's built arms. "Hazel, close it, and continue, please," Percy commanded.
"LET ME GO!" Nico screamed. "YOU KILLED BIANCA, AND NOW YOU'RE KILLING SERI!" Percy released Nico, who crashed into the earthen wall from his momentum. Nico realized what he had said. "No, I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." Percy remained silent.
"Erm, Hazel, let's continue," Annabeth said hesitantly.
They egressed into the heart a couple seconds later, only to be thrown into battle.
"Hazel! STAY THERE!" Percy shouted, gesturing for Hazel to stay in the protective haven of the narrow tunnel. He countered against a Roman's attack, jabbing him on the head with the butt of his sword, knocking him out.
"LEO! THROW THE BOMB!" Annabeth screamed at Leo, slicing somebody's ankle with her dagger.
There was an explosion, and Hannibal and other troops came storming in, so Jason, Percy, and Annabeth surged up to the second level, where they expected, in the back of their minds, Seri, to be lying on the floor, motionless.
It was quite the opposite.
Roman soldiers were scattered everywhere, frozen. Percy counted at least fifteen soldiers.
Percy bent down, inspecting one of the fallen warriors. Her eyes were still open, glazed, scared. She was still breathing.
"Abigail!" Percy recognized the soldier. "Abigail, if you can hear me, hold your breath!" Abigail stopped breathing. "Okay, Abigail, did a tall girl do this to you? To all of you? An Asian girl with really long black hair? Start breathing again if she did." Abigail resumed breathing. Percy looked up at Annabeth and Jason in awe. "Okay, thanks Abigail."
"Y-you dare infiltrate the sec-second floor?" A voice called out weakly. They went over to him.
"Samuel!" Percy and Jason greeted him.
"Samuel, what did she do to you? How can you still talk?" Percy asked.
"A tall girl came, she must've been around thirteen. Asian, super long black hair, and bright green eyes. She started yelling our names out. We should really get rid of our nametags, by the way." Samuel spat out the imperial gold tag that had "SAMUEL EDGAR TORV" printed clearly on it. The adhesive back was covered in saliva. "And then people started dropping, left and right. It was like every time she said their name, they just…paralyzed."
"How come you can talk?" Jason asked.
"Because she didn't say my name. I stuffed my tag in my mouth, but she just jabbed me somewhere at my shoulder, and I couldn't use it anymore. She did that until I couldn't use any of my limbs. That girl is crazy, guys. She can't be Roman or Greek."
"Okay, where did she head?"
"Just left, off the balcony. I think she's going up to the flag. You have to stop her guys," He said, wincing at a loud elephant trumpet.
"You forget that she's on our team, thanks Samuel!" Percy said, and darted towards the cut-off, looking upwards. "Jason…Annabeth…You have to see this." They huddled around him, trying to see what Percy had been so frightened about.
Seri.
This girl, who had utterly baffled them in most ways imaginable, was now scaling the 90 degree angle stone wall, gripping the smallest of crevices. She swung up, and disappeared from sight. They heard grunts of fighting, and Seri's delicate voice harshly shout names.
"Meet me up there, quick," said Jason, jumping off and hovering in the air. Percy and Annabeth darted towards the stairs, while Jason flew up to the top level.
There was no blood.
But the damage was evident.
Percy spotted a boy slumped against the wall, a dull look in his eyes, unblinking.
"SERI!" He shouted, trying frantically to find her, to stop her, to end this-this madness. This girl was a lightning bolt packed into a shot glass. She held too much power. Her power was not significant, as powerful as any other demigod, just…vulnerable to losing control.
"Seri," Percy's voice softened as he found Seri huddled in the corner, rocking back and forth, clutching the flag in one hand.
"S-Seri?" Percy asked, a bit louder now. She sat unresponsive, still rocking.
"SERI!" Percy shouted. Her head shot up, her eyes rolling.
"IT HAS BEEN DECIDED."
Seri's voice rang out through the room. Deep, unfamiliar, and raspy.
"THE RAM, IN BETWEEN, WILL INTERCEED,
THE OWL SHALL PROCEED.
THE TORCH SHALL STAY,
ALL WILL REMAIN,
BUT THE EIGHT QUESTERS."
"She's possessed. Probably by Lady Hera. I've seen Hera do this before." Percy said, while trying to shake Seri awake. (A/N when she said "all will remain," she means all will remain in Little Rome.)
"ONE WILL DIE,
ONE WILL CRY
ONE WILL DECIDE THE FATE,
OF OURANOS' MATE"
Seri jolted awake, shouting something that sounded like "GAN!"
She saw all of us around her.
"Did you hear that? All the stuff about one dying, one crying and stuff?"
Percy nodded.
"O…kay. H-here's the flag." She stuck out her dirt-covered hand that was gripping the little imperial gold flag.
"It's okay, you keep it. You'll get MVP'd for coming out with it." Percy pushed it back to her, just as Frank, Leo, Hazel, Piper, and Nico came up the stairs.
"It's over," Piper rasped, out of breath. "Just as soon as it started."
"C'mon," Nico grasped Seri's hand. "Reyna's waiting for us."
They met the rest of SPQR out on the field. Everybody was cowering in a bowing position. Percy saw him.
Mars.
The Roman version of Ares.
"Hello, punk," Mars glowered at Percy. Percy glared back.
"What are you doing here?" Percy murmured.
"Nothing much. Just because you imbeciles are too thick to notice."
"What do you mean, Lord Mars?" Reyna said through clenched teeth.
"Your augur! Octavian! He's missing! Now my mom, Lady Juno, has commanded a quest. Like last time." He hissed.
"So here's what's happening. Six questers; Greek Athena Girl, Water Boy, Doom girl and boy, Greek Vulcan boy, and Chinese girl."
"W-who's that?" Somebody called.
"Oh, gods." Mars grumbled. "Okay, Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson," Mars listed. "Nico di Angelo , Hazel Levesque , Leo Valdez, and the Chinese girl." Lord Mars pointed at Seri. "Now, these six idiots need to go to Vancouver, Canada. But they have to go AROUND Oregon and Washington, got it? AROUND. ON THE SEA. Then they go back to Portland, Oregon, and retrieve your augur.
"The people who are staying are Reyna, Jason Grace, Piper Mclean, and my kid."
"When do we leav-"
"You leave IMMEDIATELY!" Mars roared. "Or tomorrow morning. Actually, just tomorrow morning. Some Vulcan workers have fixed the boat-monster, so TOMORROW! YOU LEAVE TOMORROW! Come back in four days," Seri inhaled sharply as Mars said "four days." "Or Camp Jupiter will be no more," Mars said mysteriously, then there was a flash of fire and he disappeared.
So there's a quest.
Yayy! Author note time! I need to know! Okay, so I'm writing just a demigod/One Direction fanfiction (I won't be posting it on Fanfiction, but only on Quizazz/Quotev, unless you want me to post it here. I wouldn't expect you to as it is a love story and PJO/HofO is all action-y and only a little romance.). So it's about a girl who's nineteen, (Shellymer, help me out here,) an actor, and her weapon is a whip. She's quirky, but super awesome at fighting, so it can't be anything too lame. She's Greek, too, so. Yeah. Thanks!