First Person: Zytaveon
This was the most fun I'd had in ages! I attacked the unsuspecting campers with my fists alone, not even needing my lance anymore (though I also didn't want to cut off any limbs, either). When they finally did begin fighting back, they were nothing compared to all the training I'd done in the Underworld. They were good, don't get me wrong, but they were panicking, not expecting our surprise attack and underestimating our powers. They thought that the Fifth Cohort was nothing, but now we were gonna get revenge for their teasing, their mocking, their utterly aggravating segregation. I put my anger into every strike, making sure to throw any campers I could off the walls, though I did feel a little bad for all the work the eagles were going through. Oh well. Good exercise.
I saw an arrow being shot, connected to a rope, and I knew that had to be Frank. Some of the campers tried to hack down his rope ladder while the three were climbing, but I ran up and attacked, charging and using my weight to tackle a good deal of them like a football player, even though I was not a football guy, and they toppled like bowling pins. I then drew my lance and spun it to block some arrows coming my way as well as knocking down defenders simultaneously. I knew how to use this lance, and I could spin it as fast as a baton twirler to both attack and defend with ease.
"Fun," Someone said, and I turned to realize Percy, Hazel and Frank had made it up the rope and joined the fight. Down below, I saw Emily at the front of the cohort, the arrows and rocks seemingly having not even the slightest affect on her, as she charged. The elephant Hannibal barreled into the fort, attacks also bouncing harmlessly off his Kevlar armor. The Fifth Cohort charged in behind the two of them, and the battle went hand-to-hand. Suddenly, a large amount of water formed behind me to transform into Audrey, who punched down one of the kids who was trying to attack in my distraction.
"Good to see you've been having fun," She said.
"Welcome to the party," I said. "Shall we tear them apart?" Finally, from the edge of the Field of Mars, a battle cry went up and the Third and Fourth Cohorts ran to join the fight.
"A bit late," Hazel grumbled.
"We can't let them get the banners," Frank declared.
"No, those are ours," Percy agreed.
"Then let's go," I said. "Give me a location of the banner and I can get to it with shadow travel."
"Let's get moving then," Audrey said, and our group wordlessly hurried off. Emily joined up with us, no one standing in her way, and even those who tried instantly passed out with just a look from her. Never get on that girl's bad side. With our group untied, we plowed through the enemy effortlessly, the six of us unstoppable. Man, if this is what our group was like now, then what kind of formidable force would we be when Zy joined us? Who knows? Percy's big quest might not be as bad as I'd feared.
The First and Second Cohorts - the pride of Camp Jupiter, a well-oiled, highly disciplined war machine - fell apart under the assault and the sheer novelty of being on the losing side. I laughed in joy as we took down our enemy. Percy was every bit a Greek as you could get, whirling through the defenders' ranks in a completely unorthodox style, rolling under their feet, slashing with his sword instead of stabbing like the Romans were, whacking campers with the flat of his blade, and along with me, we were causing mass panic, our fighting style unpredictable, but also fluid as we took down anyone who got too close.
Octavian screamed in a shrill voice - maybe ordering the First Cohort to stand their ground, maybe trying to sing soprano (who knows?) - but Percy and I happily put a stop to it. Percy somersaulted over a line of shields while I shadow traveled past, so that Percy and I each slammed the butt of our swords into Octavian's helmet and neck respectively. The centurion collapsed like a sock puppet, and the two of us high-fived. I'd been wanting to do that all day.
"Nerds!" Audrey called as she ran past. "Try and keep up!" She threw her arms around and her water began to circle her and freezing to deadly shrapnel. She herself turned to water and joined the deadly hurricane which concentrated on all her targets. When the campers were on the ground and trying in vain to block all her small shards of ice and screaming that they give up, the ice melted to water and then came together to form my friend once more while the eagles took the "fallen" campers out.
"I can't do that…" Percy muttered. Frank had shot arrows until his quiver was empty, using blunt-tipped missiles that wouldn't kill, but left some nasty bruises. He broke his pilum over a defender's head, then reluctantly drew his gladius. Emily was walking around calmly, the campers keeping their distance as she seemed to hum a tune to herself, swinging her finger to the beat in front of her like a conductor and random defenders collapsing whenever they were unlucky enough to be pointed at. Hazel climbed onto Hannibal's back, charging toward the center of the fort, grinning at her friends.
"Let's go, slowpokes!" So that's where we were going, eh? I fell into the shadows and then shadow traveled inside, reappearing and grabbing the flags, scaring the heck out of the First and Second Cohort standard-bearers that were sitting around a table playing Mythomagic with cards and figurines. Nico know how to play that game pretty well, and with his knowledge in my head now, I felt compelled to play a game with him now. Before they could properly panic, Hannibal busted down the huge doors. The inner keep must've been virtually unguarded, as they hadn't expected an assault to make it this far. Hazel and Hannibal rode straight into the room, and the standard-bearers fell backward out of their chairs, Hannibal stepping on the table and the game pieces shattering.
"Hey! That was a good set of game pieces!" I said, Nico's Mythomagic nerd side slipping through me. Not that I really minded; I was already a natural born nerd anyway. Emily just laughed as Percy and Frank disarmed the enemies. I passed Percy one of the banners and Frank the other as we mounted Hannibal with Hazel, marching out of the keep triumphantly with the enemy colors. The Fifth Cohort formed ranks around us, and together we paraded out of the fort, passing the stunned enemies and lines of equally mystified allies. Reyna and Zy came lower overhead.
"The game is won!" Reyna said, slight disbelief in her voice as she tried not to laugh.
"Assemble for honors!" Zy said. Slowly the campers regrouped on the Field of Mars. There were plenty of minor injuries - some burns, broken bones, black eyes, cuts and gashes, plus a lot of very interesting hairdos from fires and exploding water cannons, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Emily waved her hand and all the dazed campers were freed, some of them jumping up and not remembering what happened, and others slowly blinking before looking around and gathering their bearings slowly. We all slid off the elephant, our new comrades swarming us, pounding both males and females alike on the back and complimenting us.
"You looked to be having fun," Zy said to us.
"Heck yeah," I said and Emily laughed.
"It was certainly as interesting as capture the flag," Audrey said. "The Romans just make it even better!"
"Gotta admit, I wish I could've participated," Zy said.
"Help!" Somebody suddenly yelled. A couple of campers rushed out of the fortress, carrying a girl on a stretcher. They set her down, and the other kids started running over. I sensed death, her soul leaving, and I could tell even from here that it was Gwen. She lay on her side on the stretcher, with a pilum sticking out of her armor and a large amount of blood. She'd been stabbed straight through the torso.
Everyone ran to get closer, and the medics barked at everyone to stand back and give her air. Zy flew up and over the crowds to land next to Gwen, working with the medics as the whole legion fell silent. The healers tried to get gauze and powdered unicorn horn under Gwen's armor to stop the bleeding, trying to force some nectar into her mouth, while Zy put one hand on Gwen's head and the other on her wound, her eyes closed and her hands glowing with energy. Gwen didn't move, and her face was ashen gray. And I sensed her gone long before the medic looked up to Reyna and shook his head.
For a moment, there was no sound except for the water from the ruined cannons trickling down the walls of the fort. Hannibal nuzzled Gwen's hair with his trunk. Zy stood from Gwen and looked to Reyna, the two of them sharing a silent agreement with anger in their eyes. Reyna then surveyed the campers from her pegasus, her expression as hard and dark as iron.
"There will be an investigation. Whoever did this, you cost the legion a good officer. Honorable death is one thing, but this…"
"CHT I Legion XII F," Zy relayed, looking at the wooden shaft of the pilum. "This came from the First Cohort. Based on first appearance, it seems she was stabbed from behind, as the point is sticking out the front of her armor. Of course, the weapon could've been taken from someone from a First Cohort member during the battle, but we do know that this was an ambush, not an accident. The wound it precise, deliberate, and it seems to have taken place late in the battle, or possibly after the game had ended." Everyone looked around in horror, when suddenly, Gwen gasped. Everyone stepped back except Zy and I, as Gwen opened her eyes, the color coming back to her face. No, I sensed her soul dying, leaving, but then suddenly…it didn't fully make the trip. At the last second, it resisted, and there was nothing to stop it from returning. Monsters coming back was one thing, but now humans too…this means anyone could come back. Death…oh no.
Wh-what is it?" She asked, blinking. "What's everyone staring at?" She seemed unaware of the seven-foot harpoon sticking out through her chest.
"There's no way," One of the medics whispered. "She was dead. She has to be dead." Gwen tried to sit up, but couldn't and Zy kneeled down to examine her.
"There was a river, and a man asking…for a coin? I turned around and the exit door was open. So I just…I just left. I don't understand. What's happened?"
"Mrs. Gwen," Emily said cautiously, stepping forward since no one else moved. "Don't try to get up. Just close your eyes for a second."
"Why? What-?"
"Just trust me, ma'am." Gwen complied without further argument. Emily grabbed the shaft of the pilum, and I moved to help her.
"Don't!" One of the medics said. "You might-!"
"What? Make it worse?" Zy asked. "Do it. She should be fine. Now hold her steady. One, two, three!" We pulled the pilum out from the front, but Gwen didn't even wince. The blood stopped quickly, and Zy examined the wound again. "It's repairing on its own."
"I feel fine," Gwen said. "What's everyone worried about?" With Frank and Percy's help, she got to her feet.
"Gwen," Emily said. "There's no easy way to say this. You were dead. Somehow you came back."
"I…what?" She stumbled against Frank and her hand went to the ragged hole in her armor. "How…how?"
"Good question," Reyna said. "Is this some power of Pluto?"
"Pluto doesn't just let people return from the dead like this," I said. "And he'd never let someone like Gwen back unless there was an absolute reason, which I highly doubt there is. No offense, but I'm not sure what importance there is to her return. Unless you count scaring the heck out of the legion."
"He's right," Nico said, who was watching grimly from the edge of the crowd. "Pluto never lets people return from death." He subtly looked to Hazel, warning her to stay quiet.
"I was assigned to judging, and if necessary, condemning souls for a good deal of time recently, but if I'm sensing this right, Gwen didn't even make it to be judged in the first place."
"Death loses its hold. This is only the beginning," A voice thundered across the field. Campers drew weapons, Hannibal trumped nervously, and Scipio reared, almost throwing Reyna off.
"I know that voice," Percy said, though he didn't sound pleased.
"Oh, great," Zy said, crossing her arms unaffected. In the midst of the legion, a column of fire blasted into the air. Campers who had been soaked by the cannons found their clothes instantly steam-dried, and everyone scrambled backwards as a huge soldier stepped out of the explosion. The soldier was ten feet tall, dressed in Canadian Forces desert camouflage, radiating confidence and power. His black hair was cut in a flat-topped wedge similar to Frank's, his face was angular and brutal, marked with old knife scars. His eyes were covered with infrared goggles that glowed from inside, he wore a utility belt with a sidearm, a knife holster, several grenades, and in his hand was an oversized M16 rifle.
"Nice entrance," Zy muttered. Frank stepped forward while everyone else at the legion, except Zy's group, stepped back. He took three steps and then he sank to one knee. The other campers followed his example and knelt, even Reyna dismounting to join. Zy didn't kneel once again, Percy glared at the soldier with his sword in hand, and Audrey and Emily looked to each other before staying standing too.
"That's good," The soldier said. "Kneeling is good. It's been a long time since I've visited Camp Jupiter."
"Hello Ares, good to see you," I said.
"What do you want?" Percy asked. A collective gasp went up from two hundred campers and an elephant, but the god simply bared his brilliant while teeth.
"Ah, it's you. Zika Virus."
"Zytaveon!" I shouted. This god never seemed to get my name right, and he's not the only one. It's like they try to come up with names and purposefully get it wrong. My name isn't that hard. Just look at all the complicated names of people in the past. Heck, look at the names of some of the gods.
"Why are you here?" Percy demanded.
"You've got spunk, demigod," The god said. "Ares is my Greek form, but to these followers, to the children of Rome, I am Mars - patron of the empire, divine father of Romulus and Remus."
"We've met…we…we had a fight…" The Roman god scratched his chin, as if trying to recall.
"I fight a lot of people, but I assure you, you've never fought me as Mars. If you had, you'd be dead. Now, kneel, as befits a child of Rome, before you try my patience." Around Mar's feet, the ground boiled in a circle of flame. I looked to Audrey, Emily and Zy. Zy was giving an "I ain't kneeling" look, Emily gave a "we should probably respect him" look, and Audrey gave a "what are you gonna do?" look.
"Please," Frank said. Percy clearly didn't like it, but he knelt. I bowed for a moment, but didn't fall to my knees, while Emily and Audrey mimicked me. Zy gave a wave, and with a flick of her hand, the circle of flame was blown out.
"Now, moving on," She said. "Explain your visit, if you will." Mars scanned the crowd.
"Romans, lend me your ears!" He laughed - a good hearty bellow that made me smile too. Why did I have a feeling he'd always wanted to say that? "I've always wanted to say that. I come from Olympus with a message. Jupiter doesn't like us communicating directly with mortals, especially nowadays, but he has allowed this exception, as you Romans have always been my special people. I'm only permitted to speak for a few minutes, so listen up." He pointed to Gwen.
"This one should be dead, yet she's not," He said. "The monsters you fight no longer return to Tartarus when they are slain. Some mortals who died long ago are now walking the earth again." He glared to Nico for a split second. "Thanatos has been chained. The Doors of Death have been forced open, and no one is policing them, at least, not impartially. Gaea allows our enemies to pour forth into the world of mortals. Her sons, the giants, are mustering armies against you - armies that you will not be able to kill. Unless death is unleashed to return to his duties, you will be overrun. You must find Thanatos and free him from the giants. Only he can reverse the tides." He looked around and noticed everyone was still kneeling. "Oh, you can get up now. Any questions?"
Reyna rose uneasily. She approached the god, followed by Octavian, who was bowing and scraping like a champion groveler.
"Lord Mars," Reyna said. "We are honored."
"Beyond honored," Octavian said. "So far beyond honored-"
"Well?" Mar snapped.
"Well, Thanatos is the god of death, the lieutenant of Pluto?" Reyna clarified.
"Right."
"And you're saying he was captured by giants."
"Right."
"And therefore people will stop dying?"
"Not all at once. But the barriers between life and death will continue to weaken. Those who know how to take advantage of this will exploit it. Monsters are already harder to dispatch. Soon they will be impossibly hard to kill. Some demigods will also be able to find their way back from the Underworld - like your friend Centurion Shish-kebab." Gwen winced.
"Centurion Shish-kebab?"
"If left unchecked," Mars continued. "Even mortals will eventually find it impossible to die. Can you imagine a world in which no one dies - ever?" Octavian raised his hand.
"But, ah, mighty all-powerful Lord Mars, if we can't die, isn't that a good thing? If we can stay alive indefinitely-"
"Don't be a fool, boy! Endless slaughter with no conclusion?! Carnage without any point?! Enemies that rise again and again and can never be killed?! Is that what you want?!"
"You're a god of war," Percy spoke up. "Don't you want endless carnage?" Mars's infrared goggles glowed brighter.
"Insolent, aren't you? Perhaps I have fought you before. I can understand why I'd want to kill you. I'm the god of Rome, child. I am the god of military might used for a righteous cause. I protect the legions. I am happy to crush my enemies underfoot, but I don't fight without reason. I don't want war without end."
"It is the natural balance of life and death, light and darkness," Zy said. "For it to be blurred as such will take away any purpose of life, any goals or enjoyment. Even Mars knows that fighting a war without reason is pointless, and not to his liking."
"You will discover this. You will serve me."
"Not likely," Percy said. The god smiled, as though they were old buddies talking trash.
"I order a quest!" The god announced. "You will go north and find Thanatos in the land beyond the gods. You will free him and thwart the plans of the giants. Beware Gaea! Beware her son, the eldest giant! Zyanya, your team may oversee the quest as well."
"The land beyond the gods?" Hazel asked with a squeak. Mars stared down at her, his grip tightening on his M16.
"That's right, Hazel Levesque. You know what I mean. Everyone here remembers the land where the legion lost its honor! Perhaps if the quest succeeds, and you return by the Feast of Fortuna…perhaps then your honor will be restored. If you don't succeed, there won't be any camp left to return to. Rome will be overrun, its legacy lost forever. So my advice is: Don't fail." Octavian somehow managed to bow even lower.
"Um, Lord Mars, just one tiny thing. A quest requires a prophecy, a mystical poem to guide us! We used to get them from the Sibylline books, but now it's up to the augur to glean the will of the gods. So if I could just run and get about seventy stuffed animals and possibly a knife-"
"You're the augur?" The god interrupted.
"Y-yes, my lord." The god pulled a scroll from his utility belt.
"Anyone got a pen?" The legionnaires stared at him. Mars sighed. "Two hundred Romans, and no one's got a pen?!"
"I know, right?" Zy called. She pulled a hefty ballpoint pen out of her bag and tossed it at the god. He caught it and then sighed at the legion, muttering a few things about what the world has come to these days as he began writing.
"There!" He finished and threw the scroll at Octavian. "A prophecy. You can add it to your books, engrave it on your floor, whatever." Octavian read the scroll.
"This says, "Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die"."
"Yes, is that not clear?"
"Well, my lord…usually prophecies are unclear. They're wrapped in riddles. They rhyme, and…" Mar casually popped a grenade off his belt.
"Yes?"
"The prophecy is clear!" Octavian announced. "A quest!"
"Good answer." Mars tapped the grenade to his chin. "Now, what else? There was something else…Oh, yes." He turned to Frank. "C'mere, kid." Frank looked panicked, and his legs wobbled as he walked forward, seemingly against his will. Mars grinned. "Nice job taking the wall, kid. Who's the ref for this game?" Zy and Reyna raised their hands. "You see that play, ref? That was my kid. First over the wall, won the game for his team. Unless you're blind, that was an MVP play. You're not blind, are you?" Reyna looked like she was trying to swallow a mouse.
"No, Lord Mars," Reyna said.
"Nada," Zy said calmly.
"Hey, what about me?!" I complained.
"Oh, quiet, Soul King," The god said. "You're out here playing when you should be doing your job in the Underworld and keeping this from happening." He pointed to Gwen and she looked utterly offended. I crossed my arms.
"In case you haven't noticed, I wouldn't have been able to get to her in the first place! She turned around before I would've even been able to see her, let alone judge and send her away. Do you know how hard it is to condemn a soul these days? I want Thanatos freed as much as you do. Makes my job a whole lot harder when he's taking an unexpected leave." I sighed. "But Frank did technically jump over the wall before me, so technically he made it over the wall first while I made it onto the wall first."
"Then it's settled. Make sure he gets the Mural Crown. My kid here!" He shouted to the legion, in case anyone hadn't heard. Frank looked like he wanted to melt into the ground out of embarrassment. "Emily Zhang's son. She was a good soldier. Good woman. This kid Frank proved his stuff tonight. Happy late birthday, kid. Time you stepped up to a real man's weapon." He tossed Frank his M16, and the gun changed in midair, becoming smaller and thinner. When Frank caught it, the weapon was a spear. It had a shaft of Imperial gold and a point like a white bone, flickering with ghostly light.
"Is that a dragon's tooth?" I asked.
"Yes, I see you're not useless after all." I grumbled but stayed quiet. "You haven't learned to use your mom's talents yet, have you?" He asked Frank. "Well, that spear will give you some breathing room until you do. You get three charges out of it, so use it wisely. Now, my kid Frank Zhang is gonna lead the quest to free Thanatos, and Zyanya's team will assist them. Unless there are any objections?" Of course, no one said a word, but many of the campers glared at Frank with envy, jealousy, anger and bitterness. Emily was shuddering over there from their feelings washing over her, before she got angry and glared at the campers, who all looked down.
"You can take two companions," Mars said. "Those are the rules. One of them needs to be this kid." He pointed at Percy. "He's gonna learn some respect for Mars on this trip, or die trying. As for the second, I don't care. Pick whomever you want. Have one of your senate debates. You all are good at those." The god's image flickered and lightning crackled across the sky. "That's my cue. Until next time, Romans. Do not disappoint me!" The god erupted in flames and then he was gone.
"I thought Vulcan was the fire one," I muttered. Reyna turned toward Frank, her expression part amazement, part nausea, like she'd finally managed to swallow that mouse. She raised her arm in a Roman salute.
"Ave, Frank Zhang, son of Mars." The whole legion followed her lead, even me, even Zy. Frank deserved praise after how he'd been treated at camp so far. But Frank looked terrified, and I saw a worried look on Emily's face that confirmed it. Frank knew he'd been handed more than a spear for his birthday. He'd just been handed a death sentence.