Leo
Leo blinked and racked his brain. Sammy… Sammy... Hmm. "I think it was my granddad. Yeah." He said, frowning. And there was something else to that memory…
"Granddad past away years ago. But he, he always talked to us and told us stories about this girl he used to date…" He had forgotten her name.
Hazel sighed. "Let me guess. Hazel Levesque?"
"Yes, how on earth-?" Leo took a step back, as the truth hit him. Hard. "That was you?" He choked out.
Hazel nodded. "That was me 70 years back."
"But how-you're supposed to be 70 over years old!" Leo gasped.
Hazel chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But before that, I had already died.."
"You-what?" Leo thought his jaw could drop no further. This is one weird girl with a weird history, he thought. Could she really have been the girl his granddad had always longed for? He tried to picture her and his granddad, but failed.
So, Hazel told him her story. About how she died trying to stop Gaia. How Nico saved her. "I have a photo of Sammy here." Hazel showed him. Leo nearly dropped it. "He looks exactly like me!" He touched his face.
"I know. I thought you were him for a second." Hazel smiled a little sadly.
Leo tried to cheer her up. "Wow, my granddad and I could have been twins!"
All of a sudden, they heard a really magnified loud voice. "Gather, Romans!" Hazel's eyes narrowed. "That idiot Octavian! Come on!" She pulled Leo. "He's gonna make the Greeks and Romans fight."
"Fight? But-"
"Let's go!" Hazel pulled him.
As Leo ran to catch up with her, he can't help blushing when he realised she was still holding his hand. She is kinda cute. He thought, grinning.
"Romans, let us witness today if the Greeks are actually worthy enough to fight by our side!" Octavian, the blonde dude yelled. Some of the Romans cheered, others hesitated.
The Greek and the Romans had formed a big circle. The Greeks on one side and the Romans on the other. Both sides looked agitated.
"Stop this madness!" Frank, the huge guy with the baby face yelled. "We won't fight, Octavian! This isn't about war between us! It's about us combining to stop Gaia!" Frank faced the Romans. "Cohorts, you will not fight," Frank began, but Octavian gave the huge guy a push that was not even able to make Frank move back more than two steps. "This is called a healthy competition! We are just fighting for fun. What is wrong with that? Why, Greeks? Afraid of a little challenge?"
What on earth is wrong with this guy! Leo yelled mentally.
The campers from Camp Half Blood roared. Leo ran in front of them. "Stop! He is trying to trick us!" But his voice was drowned by their protests. Leo was about to wonder whether he should try pulling out a mike or megaphone or something from his awesome toolkit pocket, when Reyna stepped in. "Octavian stand back!" She yelled. Her commanding voice brought silence at once. "What do you think you are doing?" She faced the blonde. "You have directly disobeyed the praetor's orders. Do you know no obedience, even as an augur?" Her voice made Octavian cringe a little.
"You never disallowed a little competition before, Reyna. We're just doing this once that's all. Just one fight, and then it will be over." His voice sounded persuasive, but Leo could tell he was going to make this one fight the most unforgettable one ever.
Leo could see the wheels in Reyna's brain turning. If she didn't allow Octavian to do this now, he would just find an excuse some other time to cause a fight again. "Very well, Octavian. One fight, no more. And it has to be a fair one." Reyna finally said. "And since you suggested it, why don't you fight? And you there." She pointed at Leo. "Get your gladius. One fight and end it all." Leo could detect a hint of mischief and rebellion in Reyna's eyes. She wanted to embarrass Octavian in front of everyone.
"Me?" Octavian stammered, so lost for words that Leo wanted to burst out laughing. "But this is about our pride and honour…"
"And you are telling me you are not able to uphold it?" Reyna's stern eyes made Octavian cringe again. "Anyway, this is an unofficial fight. You only represent yourself, not Rome." With that, Reyna swept her cloak behind her and went to talk to her comrades.
"Leo, take my sword and give that wimp a beating he will never forget." To Leo's surprise, Clarisse handed him a sword. For the past six months, not only have Leo been busy building the ship Agro II, but he had also spend quite some time sword fighting. Mostly with the campers like Clarisse, because Jason reckoned his way was unGreeklike. So Leo had suffered several months trying to hold the sword properly, parrying and blocking. He was never built for this, but after a few months, he started gaining some muscle. He could fight, not as well as Jason of course, but still not too bad. And now looking at scrawny Octavian, he was certain he could beat him to pulp.
Leo grabbed the sword. It was lighter than those he was used to, but the hold seemed perfect for him. He swung it experimentally and was satisfied. "Thanks, Clarisse." He said, figuring that she rarely lent her sword to anyone. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Bring him down, Greek style." Travis pumped him at the back.
Octavian had grabbed his own sword and he and Leo walked to the middle circle. "You Greeks think you're so good, don't you?" He flashed angrily.
Leo grinned easily, "What's to deny? We are." This made Octavian angrier than ever, but Leo longed for the fight. And he was completely at ease.
"Fight fair. This is just a friendly competition. Begin!" Reyna shouted.
Leo's eyes burned.
Wartime, baby.
…
Jason
Jason stared warily.
They sat in a big circle. All of them, most of the trainees except Sadie and Carter, who had gone to prepare for the night and look after the rebels.
"So." Jason said, trying to lighten the tense mood. "Shall we introduce ourselves? I'm Jason." He spoke.
"Percy."
"Annabeth."
"Piper."
"Walt." A guy with a gaunt face but a build-up body smiled wearily.
"I'm Felix." A boy who looked no more than nine grinned as he played with a stuffed penguin.
"Alyssa." A girl smiled.
They continued until everyone had called out their names. Jason could only remember a few.
"Right. So now, the most important thing is for us to understand everything that has been going on here. Can you summarise everything that might be important if we needed to help you?" Percy said.
"Everything?" Walt raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, as much as possible. We have a lot to learn." Annabeth agreed.
So the trainees started. The headache that Jason had gotten ever since he had stepped in to the mansion increased. "Ok. Let's stop here. What did you manage to catch?" Walt paused.
"So you guys have gods like us Greeks. Geb is the earth. Nut is the sky. And Horus is the son of Isis and the most possible successor to the throne. Ra is the sun god and is now senile. You guys saved him but unfortunately he has not been renewed. Uh, what else?" Jason racked his brain.
"Gods can have a human host. The host can choose whether to let the god control him or to share the mind with the god. But most of the time the god will take over." Annabeth mused.
"The House of Life used to allow their trainees to learn the ways of the gods. But they have forbidden it and now they are after you guys because you practice it." Percy offered.
"And there is this Apophis who is chaos. Ma'at is order. Apophis is now awakened and he threatened to swallow the sun, which is Ra." Piper said.
Walt was about to say something, but suddenly a voice interrupted.
Yessss, and swallowing the sun will be so easy.
The house shook and rumbled.
Percy jumped up and Jason followed warily. The voice echoed throughout the whole house. Well, well, what have we here? Carter, Sadie, why have you taken such desperate measuresss? The snaky voice laughed and it was almost deafening.
Carter and Sadie came running into the room. "It's the stupid snake." Sadie hissed. "But it can't penetrate the house." Carter said.
Jason frowned. How can they defeat something that has only a voice?
Don't be so sure about that, Carter Kane. The snake laughed loudly. This is only a fragment of my consciousness, unlike the full appearance that I had made in The First Nome.
"Go away!" Felix, the young boy waved his stuffed penguin at the source of the voice. The rest of the group had also gotten up, looking agitated. But the snake just continued laughing and laughing, as if taunting them because it knew that they couldn't do a thing.
Jason gripped his the hilt of his gladius which was still sheathed at his belt. He hated this monster instantly. It sounded exactly like Gaia.
Piper was frowning next to him, "Just leave this house. Now." Her voice was shaky, but also filled with power and command that Jason felt like running away too.
What? You dare? The snake actually seemed bewildered.
"Leave now!" Piper's voice rose to a powerful yell and it resonated throughout the whole house. Several trainees actually moved unconsciously but managed to themselves. Then all at once, the horrible feeling that the snake had brought along with its presence disappeared.
Everyone turned on Piper. "Piper, you are awesome!" They all exclaimed at once. She blushed. "There was just this really horrible feeling that the monster brought on, like a feeling of despair and horror. I just ordered it go away." She shrugged modestly. Jason smiled at her, "You're always so humble, Piper." He felt like kissing her then, staring at her beautiful face which she had tried to hide with her choppy brown hair and her tattered clothes. But it didn't matter. She still looked stunning.
Piper blushed at his gaze.
"Let's go check on the rebels. They're probably scared out of their wits." Carter said to the trainees. They nodded and followed Carter and Sadie.
"Hey guys, do you think it's time to IM and check on Camp?" Percy asked.
"IM?" Jason scratched his head. "Like, uh instant messaging?"
Jason could tell Percy was trying not to laugh, "It's Iris-Messaging. But I think it will be difficult to create a rainbow here." He looked around.
"I saw a fountain at the entrance. But there's no sun." Piper offered.
Annabeth smirked a little. "Get me a glass and a piece of paper."
Everyone stared at her. "What?" She demanded. "I'm trying to make a rainbow. Come on!" She got up and almost sat back down when a sort of baboon appeared in front of her. Small one, but it looked really mischievous.
"Gah!" Piper stepped back and Jason steadied her. He stared at the baboon and it stared back. Then, it started jumping up and down and pointing somewhere on the other side of the house.
"Uh, I think that it's trying to tell us something." Jason said.
"Follow the baboon, everyone?" Percy looked at them. Jason shrugged. "Let's just do it."
So they followed the hyperactive baboon. Jason felt a little idiotic.
"Argh!" The little baboon pointed to the kitchen, which they were approaching. Jason didn't understand, but Annabeth gasped. "It's bringing us to find a glass." She went in and in an expert manner, threw open all the cupboard doors in less than a second.
"Found it!" She grabbed a tall glass and tore out a piece of paper from the memo pad on the kitchen counter. "Argh!" The baboon looked pleased with itself, which seemed a bit weird. Annabeth ordered Percy to fill up the glass, which he did simply by flicking his wrist and water from the sink filled the glass up instantly. Annabeth produced a flashlight from her bag and she put the flashlight through a big hole in the paper which she had made by tearing it. Now the flashlight looked like it had white neck brace.
"Uh.." Jason was going to say something, before Annabeth flashed the light at the water and it reflected off the paper. A rainbow appeared! Jason blinked.
"Annabeth, you are forever awesome." Percy said, amazed. Annabeth smiled but somehow it didn't touch her eyes. She took out a golden coin, or drachma, as Jason had learned it was called, and threw it into the glass without disrupting the rainbow. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Camp Jupiter." Annabeth spoke.
The coin disappeared into the rainbow, and Jason had to blink to make sure his eyes weren't tricking him.
The glass showed a shimmery image of the camp. Surprisingly, it was Reyna who saw them. She blinked, shocked. "It's ok, Reyna. It's just an image." Percy spoke.
"Percy?" Reyna said, her eyes still wide. "Is that you?"
"Yes, just wanted to check on camp. How are you guys? Where's everyone?" Percy leaned closer to the glass. Jason felt a little jealous that he wasn't being recognised. But that's not fair. You haven't been around for ages. His mind said.
Reyna gave a small weary nod towards something. "Oh they're fighting." She said.
…
Leo
Oh well, he knew underestimating his opponent beforehand was not very smart.
Octavian turned out to be just a bit better than what Leo expected. They circled each other before Leo attacked, trying to test him out. Octavian blocked his attack easily. Leo slashed at him again. This time, Octavian managed to block it and even counter with a jab to his gut with the butt of his sword.
Leo winced.
Octavian grinned and they circled each other. Leo observed him and realised that his every move was watched closely by Octavian. Analysed, in fact. Leo swung his sword and tried to think of a way to defeat this guy. He tried not to look as desperate as he felt.
Then, an idea popped in his head. A desperate measure, considering Leo hadn't really successfully tried it out before. But, what the heck, he figured. He swung his sword and tried to look confident. This was one move that he had watched Jason do when he was fighting the giant Enceladus. Leo had tried improvising on it many times over but somehow never managed to get it right.
Well, now would be a great time to try it out and hopefully get it right, he thought. Or I'm a goner.
Determined not to think of the 101 ways this could go wrong, Leo feigned a stab to Octavian's left. He fell for it, as Leo was sure he would. Taking the opportunity, Leo hit Octavian's head with the butt of his sword. Ouch. Octavian staggered away. Then, Leo raised his sword again, but pretended to let his guard down, as if too tired to continue. The dazed Octavian took this moment to try to run his sword through Leo. Leo dodged, and with all his senses going into an overdrive, he slid underneath Octavian's legs, coming up neatly behind him. Before the blonde augur could even turn, Leo slashed his sword at his back. It drew blood, but that didn't bother Leo. Octavian turned, his eyes burning with anger.
Too late, Leo thought. With a mental scream that resounded in his mind, Leo tackled Octavian and slammed him to the ground. In barely seconds, Leo had somehow kicked aside Octavian's sword and his own was at Octavian's neck.
Octavian, breathing angrily, stared daggers at him.
Leo smiled. Then, he stared at himself and realised that he was heating up. Steam was evaporating into the air and Octavian was sweating buckets. No harm done with a little heat, Leo thought, mischievously and decided to raise his body temperature even more.
The instant change in Octavian's expression was almost hilarious.
"Well done!" Reyna's voice came, loud and clear. Leo looked up, surprised. He had even forgotten the crowd! There was silence for a moment, then the Greek part of the campers started cheering. Even some of the Romans joined, though others didn't look happy.
Reyna, looking stern, but also slightly pleased came over to Leo. "You may release Octavian now. You have done well, Leo." Then, she turned to Octavian, "I believe that now you will know how much you need to brush up on your sword fighting, Octavian. Don't just spend time in the temples." Leo thought he detected a hint of hatred and sarcasm in her words.
Octavian growled, "Let me go, you idiot. You're burning like you have a high fever."
Leo released him and grinned. "Hey, anytime you want a rematch, I'm in." That ticked Octavian off. Before he walked off, he gave him one last glare, "I'm watching you, son of Hephaestus."
Somehow, those few words made a shiver run down Leo's spine, but he just said, "Sure, dude. Call me anytime when you want to heat things up a little." Octavian turned and stomped off.
Leo turned the other way and Reyna was right behind him. "I would like to apologize for Octavian's rashness. He is rather short-tempered and is always trying to prove himself." She seemed to be choosing her words very carefully, but her apologetic tone seemed genuine enough.
"I'm cool. Just that, let's not try that again, shall we?" Leo said, in a light tone. Reyna nodded. "I do not believe that you Greeks will harm us. We need each other to fulfil the prophecy of the seven."
"Yes, I am-"
"Leo!" Clarisse's voice came. Leo stopped short. Reyna nodded at him then walked away.
