Bristol stared at the wall in front of him. His gaze focused on the small spot of dirt that was near the bottom of the wall. It looked like it had been there for a few weeks. They would need to clean that soon. In fact, he would bring it up to the imperator. The next person to collapse in training would get to use their toothbrush to clean the wall. A paintbrush might be better though, especially if he could find one that only had a few hairs.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sparta shift. She winced in pain and shifted once again. It didn't seem like she could get comfortable in her chair. If she kept moving, Bristol was going to tie her to the chair. Sparta glanced at him and raised her eyebrow.
Bristol's attention moved back to the wall. He had been standing with his arms behind his back for a couple of hours now, but it didn't really bother him. Most demigods struggled with their ADHD. Bristol had learned long ago how to focus all of his energy into his thoughts.
"Are we really doing this, Bristol? There is no way that Aquitaine would turn her back on us," Sparta whispered. Bristol didn't respond. His eyes moved across the room. Aquitaine was staring at the table that she was sitting at. The bag of money, the notes, and the files were right in front of her, but she refused to look at them.
"We are following our imperator's orders," Bristol said. Sparta sighed and shook her head. A smile almost came to Bristol's face. He remembered being young and unable to listen to orders. The British Army had sorted him out. He knew that Sparta had joined the Russian army and excelled at it, but her temper and attitude was still there, even after two years.
Bristol glanced at Sparta. She just needed to mature, and she would be great. Bristol sighed and spoke, "You would not disobey the imperator, would you?"
"Of course not," Sparta said. She looked down and then glanced up. "I just think it stupid. That Greek had to plant the evidence or someone else did. Aquitaine wouldn't do this. We cannot be divided right now."
"That is why we are going to get this sorted as soon as the imperator returns," Bristol said. He looked down. Bristol didn't know if he could trust the Greek or not, but at the same time, it wasn't his job to. The imperator would cut truth from fiction. Bristol didn't need to make assumptions, unless he was asked to. "For now, we follow orders."
"Yeah," Sparta muttered. She sighed and rubbed her face. Sparta winced and looked at the ceiling. They both heard a rapid knocking on the door. Bristol turned his head and opened the door. One of the Sixth Legion scouts stared at him. They were covered in blood and dirt.
"What happened?" Bristol questioned. The scout wheezed in pain and allowed their shoulders to droop. Bristol stared at them. "Do you need to sit, Albany?"
"No, centurion," Albany answered. He took a deep breath "We were scouting, and we were ambushed by barbarian scouts. There is an army coming from all sides. Where is the imperator?"
"Away with Arcadia. Send them a message now," Bristol ordered. He looked at Sparta. "Get the troops together. We will stand ready for the imperator's orders."
Sparta nodded and stood. She hurried out of the room. Albany was already gone. Bristol turned his head to look at Aquitaine. She studied him, and after a moment, she placed her hands on the table. Bristol walked towards her and grabbed handcuffs from his belt. He handcuffed Aquitaine's wrists to the table.
"We should also try to get in contact with Sven," Aquitaine said. Bristol nodded slightly. He studied Aquitaine and then walked out of the room. He heard an alarm sound throughout the base. Bristol walked towards the armory and grabbed his pack and sword. It wasn't long before others were filing into the armory.
Bristol focused on his sword. His only guess was that the army was connected to the assassins. Who comprised the army though? No one knew where the Sixth Legion base exactly was, besides members of the Sixth Legion. Former members would know as well.
"Nikaia," Bristol muttered. That woman had been a thorn in his side for years, and somehow, she remembered where the Sixth Legion base was. Could she have planted the evidence underneath Aquitaine's bed? Bristol shook his head. It wasn't up to him to make those decisions.
Bristol walked out of the armory and fixed his armor. He saw Albany appear at his side. Albany's eyes were wide, and the scout spoke, "I cannot send a message to the imperator. I can't send any messages. The coin just goes right through."
"Send a messenger bird then," Bristol said. Albany stared and opened his mouth. He finally looked down and nodded. "We need three of your best scouts. Send one to Sven. The second is going to America to find the Amazons. We need to get in contact with the imperator. Your third scout is going to find Tyre."
"It will be done," Albany said. He opened his mouth, and Bristol could see all of the doubt in his eyes. Bristol grabbed his shoulder. "Will we be able to hold out?"
"We are called the ironclad legion for a reason," Bristol replied. Albany nodded and ran down the hall. Bristol took a deep breath and took off towards the imperator's office. He stepped inside and looked at the fountain in the corner of the room. He tossed a golden drachmae at it and watched the coin fall to the floor.
Bristol grabbed his dagger and rubbed the hilt. He thought of Arcadia, but nothing happened. Bristol looked down. They were in trouble. Arcadia should have appeared as soon as he rubbed the hilt. Bristol closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Bristol needed to remain calm. The imperator had planned for this. If the imperator and Arcadia were incapacitated, Bristol and Aquitaine would lead the legion. The problem was that Aquitaine was being accused of working with the assassins. He was alone to lead the legion.
The legion would be ready for battle in only a few minutes. His only question was if they should try to fight their way out or defend their base. No one would know exactly where the base was located, but they were being surrounded on all sides. They would have plenty of time to fortify their defenses though.
"We need a plan," Sparta said. She appeared at Bristol's side and placed a hand to her ribs. "And fast. Bristol, the imperator has got to have something in her office that will help us. She's got a sister that a can help us."
"We can't send messages, Sparta. We're on our own for now," Bristol said. Sparta looked down. "Look, we will hold out for as long as we can. I need you to keep your cool and help me lead this legion. Three scouts are going to different places for help. We just have to hold out."
Bristol nodded to himself. Their base held valuable information that had been collected over the centuries. It had all been copied down onto a laptop and put on a flashdrive that was in the imperator's office. They could burn the inside of the base and take the flashdrive, but it would be a waste to destroy that much knowledge, when they didn't really need to. They could hold out.
"You're right," Sparta said. She took a deep breath and winced. "Bad idea. Alright, whatever you need, Bristol. I talked to the scouts. Everyone on our borders is converging on us, so the Council either approved this, or this army is going against the Council."
"Everyone on our borders?" Bristol questioned. Sparta nodded. "They might be working together for now, but we can change that. Look for anything in the office. Meet me at the entrance in three minutes."
Bristol left the office without waiting for a response. He walked back towards the room that he had left Aquitaine in. Aquitaine was still sitting at the table. There was no emotion on her face, and her gaze stayed focused on the table. After a moment, she looked up.
"We can't get in contact with the imperator and Arcadia. The two of us need to lead this legion," Bristol said. He walked towards Aquitaine and grabbed her right arm tightly. Bristol grabbed the sleeve that covered her arm. "What am I going to find?"
"Not what you think," Aquitaine replied. Her face was still carefully guarded. Bristol sighed and let go of her arm. He trusted Aquitaine, even if it was going to be the death of him. Bristol unlocked the handcuffs. "What is the plan?"
"Sparta says that we are surrounded on all sides. Who can we turn against who?" Bristol asked. A small smile came to Aquitaine's face. She stood and walked out of the room. Bristol followed behind her. "You know the rest of the clans better than anyone. If we can divide them, we can conquer them."
"I'll have to talk with the scouts and learn who they saw," Aquitaine said. She crossed her arms. "It won't be too hard to turn the clans against each other. Have you made plans for us to leave?"
"No. We're holding out," Bristol said. Aquitaine stopped walking. She turned to look at Bristol. "We're not going anywhere. The legion can hold out here long enough. The clans will start fighting when they take some loses."
"We need to leave, Bristol. If we stay here, we make an easy target," Aquitaine said. "We must smash straight into one side of the army, tear through them, and make our way to Sven. He can provide us shelter."
"There is no way that we can make that march," Bristol argued. "If we manage to smash through however many armies are between us and Sven, there is no way we will get to Germany in time. This goes past our training, and we don't know what waits for us in between. The Council controls the cities around us."
"The Council didn't organize this," Aquitaine argued. Bristol shook his head. "I know they didn't, Bristol. We need to use this time to find out who the clans in the army are, and we can make a plan."
"We need to fortify our defenses," Bristol snapped. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his cool. They were only wasting time by arguing. "Trying to smash through an army will only lead to causalities than we can't take."
"Let's get starved out instead. Great idea," Aquitaine said. Bristol glared at her. "We cannot allow ourselves to be surrounded."
"That's enough!" Sparta snapped. She shoved herself in between the two of them. "You two need to stop arguing. This isn't getting us anywhere. Why don't we just do both of your plans?"
"Both," Bristol asked. He looked down at Sparta. After a moment, Sparta looked at him and then slowly looked around. She swallowed painfully. "That would waste time, Sparta. Stay out of this."
Sparta clenched her jaw and glared. She finally shook her head and looked down at the ground. Aquitaine gave Bristol a sharp look, and Bristol returned it. A hand slapped Bristol in the back of the head, and another hand slapped the back of Aquitaine's head.
"You two are bickering like a married couple, "Avaris stated. She tossed a large duffel bag towards Sparta, who was almost knocked off her feet as she caught it. "The imperator may have promoted you two to centurions, but if you can't work together, we won't last long."
Bristol slowly looked at their doctor. He sighed tiredly and spoke, "You're right. If we're going to move, we need to do it now. Waiting any longer will only hinder us. I'll get everyone ready."
"There's one door to defend," Aquitaine began. She looked at Bristol. "I think Sparta might be right. We can do both of our plans. Most of the legion will plunge directly into the weakest side of the army and push for Sven. The rest hold out here. They should have enough food to get by, and anyone who tries to break in will be met with a nasty surprise."
"Odds of survival go down as less people stay behind," Avaris stated. Her eyes looked at all of them. "Who's it going to be?"
"It was my idea," Bristol began. He closed his eyes. It would be a honor to lead a few volunteers and defend their base. If he died, that would be his fate. Bristol opened his eyes.
"I'll stay," Aquitaine said. She looked at Bristol. "There's already been doubt cast upon me. If I go with the army, they will think it is a trap. You have leadership experience as well. They look up to you."
"You know everything about the clans. We need your knowledge on the front lines," Bristol argued. He glanced down at his watch. They had wasted so many precious minutes trying to make a plan. If the imperator had been there, they would already be putting the plan into action.
"Both of you should go," Sparta began. Bristol turned to look at her. "I'm the most expendable. Bristol, the army needs your leadership. Aquitaine, they need your knowledge of the clans. I'll stay and defend this place to my last breath. Give me nine others."
Bristol shook his head. Sparta had been in the legion longer than any of them, but she had been a child for over half of that time. There was no way that Sparta could lead this important of a mission. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aquitaine shaking her head as well. Sparta gave both of them an angry looks.
"Perfect," Avaris interrupted. She took the duffel bag from Sparta and tossed it towards Bristol. A heavy weight slammed into Bristol's chest, and he barely kept from stumbling. "There is some medicine in the infirmary. If you think that you can't hold out, burn everything and swallow the flashdrive."
"Wait," Bristol began. He hissed as two fingers grabbed his ear and started to drag him away. A look to his side showed that Aquitaine was suffering the same fate. Avaris dragged them a few feet away and finally let go. Bristol placed a hand to his ear and glared at the doctor. "What are you doing?"
"Making the decisions that you are too scared to make. Get yourselves together," Avaris ordered. "I will find volunteers to stay behind. The two of you need to make a battle plan. Don't argue with me."
Bristol didn't even try to open his mouth. He just watched the doctor walk away. A small smile came to his face. Bristol glanced at Aquitaine and spoke, "Just like old times, right?"
"Let's not burn down anything this time," Aquitaine commented, and a smile came to her face. Bristol nodded his agreement and looked down at the ground. A deep breath left him. They were about to go to war with an unknown amount of clans. He didn't know how large the army against them was, but in the end, it didn't matter. The Sixth Legion, like always, would prevail. One way or another.