The Hidden Archives, Book 3: Attack of The Majin
Just when Annabeth is about to reunite with Percy, Camp Jupiter is prepping for war. As she flies with Leo, Piper, Jason and Layton, she can't help worry if her Percy will be the same.
Following two rigorous quests to free a god, The Great Seven finally gather under the guidance of Moon Knight, a powerful assassin that posed as their friend.
Percy and Annabeth are finally together once more, but by the will of the fates, a dark evil is arisen when the seven take a break to relax following the information that Gaea has gone back to slumber, for now.
An evil sorcerer who seeks to awaken the great Majin must be stopped before it's too late. However, upon the first encounter, the seven are badly injured after a battle with the Majin, so they seek out the one person who may know a thing or two about taking out a monster from The Hidden Archives. At that, the first in many to come...
Annabeth / November 28th
I use to think I was prepared for anything. That was until we set off on the Argo II towards Camp Jupiter.
I paced around the deck of our flying warship, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down and put in place. I also made sure the we come in peace flag looked convincing enough.
"Would you stop pacing" Layton said
"This is important business," I pointed out, "I can't help but stress"
"Is that your way of saying you're worried about Percy?" Layton asked
I blushed. "Uh, sure"
"The Romans haven't affected him too much. He's still the same at heart" Layton assured, fidgeting with his silver wristbands
Everything seemed to be in order by now. The warship descended through the clouds and I couldn't help but second-guess myself. What if we got attacked on sight?
We definitely didn't look friendly. At two hundred feet long, bronze-plated, and mounted with crossbows and a flaming metal dragon as a figurehead, the Argo II was a beast of its own right.
Hopefully Layton had gotten the message across that we came in peace. I wasn't trying to be shot down out of the sky by crazy Romans.
Once the clouds broke around our hull, revealing the gold Oakland Hills, I gripped one of the bronze shields that were resting up on the starboard rail.
On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a maniac, checking everything. Piper paced back and forth, practicing her lines using charmspeak.
"Lower your weapons, we just want to talk" She murmured
Her charmspeak was so powerful that it even made me want to drop my dogger and just talk to her. Layton on the other hand seemed unaffected. We had learned that bit ago that he seemed to be immune to the charm of Aphrodite's kids.
And then there was Piper's boyfriend - Jason. He was standing at the bow where the Romans could easily spot him. He wore an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, and a toga with a purple cloak that had symbols of his old rank as praetor.
I tried to hide it, but I didn't really trust the guy. He was just too perfect - always following every rule, always doing the honorable thing. Come to think about it, it was pretty ironic. Layton and Jason were complete opposites, yet the one I should trust more was the one I trusted less.
"So glad this exchange program is over" Layton said
"Same here" Jason agreed
Without a single warning, Hera had taken my boyfriend and wiped his memory, sending him over to the Roman camp. In exchange, we had gotten Jason. None of it was his fault, but each time I saw him, it reminded me of just how much I missed Percy.
Oh gods. Panic began to take me over, but I didn't have the luxury of becoming overwhelmed. I needed to stick to my plan and not get distracted.
The cold pressed up closer. I thought I heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in my body tensed at the sound. Something had to have been wrong, and I almost made Leo reverse course.
Down in the valley, horns sounded and the Romans spotted us. I knew what to expect after Jason had described Camp Jupiter in great detail, and combined with Layton's usual in-a-nutshell explanation, I was ready.
Directly below us, the city of New Rome gleamed In the sunlight, nestled at the edge of the lake in a valley about twice the size of Camp Half-Blood.
Dozens of kids wearing togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view on our warship.
Horns continued to blow about a half mile to the west. A Roman fort stood on a hall, and it looked like the illustrations I had seen in military history books.
A column of demigods emerged from the gates, wearing armor and wielding spears. In the middle of their ranks, they had an actual war elephant.
"Hannibal the elephant is real?" I asked
"Uh huh" Layton confirmed
I was hoping to land the Argo II before the inevitable wave of troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below us. I scanned the crowd hoping to see Percy, but an explosion that nearly knocked me overboard went off behind us.
"Unacceptable!" An angry statue shrieked
"Calm down Terminus" Layton said
"I will not have any weapons inside the Pomerian Line! And I will definitely not have Greeks!"
"Racist" Layton muttered
"Terminus, it's me. Jason Grace" Jason said
"Yes, I remember you. I thought you would know better than to ally with enemies of Rome!"
"Excuse me, I just battled in a war for you" Layton reminded
"And they're not enemies" Jason backed up
"Right, we just want to talk" Piper jumped in. "If we could just -"
"Ha!" The statue interrupted. "Don't you dare try that charmspeak on me."
"Ok ok" Piper surrendered
"Right" Jason said. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. If we could just get permission to land then-"
"Impossible!" Terminus shouted. "Lay down your weapons and surrender. Leave my city immediately!"
"Surrender or leave?" Leo questioned
"Both! Surrender and then leave" Terminus clarified
Down in the valley, the legion's reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd by the forum was over a hundred in population. I scanned their faces and then... gods.
I saw him. He was waking towards the ship with two other kids as if they were best buddies. He looked easy and even really happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's - the mark of a praetor.
"Stop the ship Leo" I ordered
"If you say so"
Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All of the oars froze in the place and the ship stopped sinking.
"There's no rule against hovering over New Rome, right?" I asked
"Well, not really..." Terminus said
"All our weapons can stay on the ship" I assured
"You sure this is a good idea Annabeth?" Leo asked
"I'll be fine. No one is armed and we can talk in peace. Terminus will be our ref, making sure each side obeys the rules"
"I suppose that will work" Terminus agreed. "You may climb down your ladder"
I looked down at the crowd of people gathered, but they looked uneasy and unconvinced about this.
"If there's one thing I learned, intimidation gets people right in the core" Layton walked over and stood at the edge of the ship where everyone could see him.
A dark purple spiral of energy shot up and swallowed him up until it vanished a second later, revealing him in his white suit and cape.
"Alright Romans, everyone calm down. This ship has come a long way for you idiots to ruin things, and I mean that in two ways. So drop your weapons and let the conversing happen" Layton explained
Demigods parted so that I could walked through the forum. Some looked tense, others nervous. Then I remember Layton was trailing behind me, eyeing them as if he would tackle them for trying anything.
I thought it was pretty funny too. You couldn't actually see his face through the mark, and the darkness provided by the hood didn't help either. But you could see his eyes narrowed at the crowd.
No one was armed though, and no one attacked. The only one who had that power was Layton who could whip up his blade from thin air.
At the far end of the crowd, I spotted Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary who had the been the first to reach Camp Jupiter. Apparently they had even helped in the war against Polybotes.
In front of me, the demigods made way for a superior looking Roman - one dressed in full armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders and her eyes were pure obsidian.
Reyna. She had been described to me well by Jason. But even without that, it was clear she was the leader. There was also something I recognized in her face too...
Then, someone else appeared from the crowd, and my vision tunneled.
Percy smiled at me - the same sarcastic and troublemaker one I had come to know. It had annoyed me for years but I endured them. His sea-green eyes were still gorgeous and his dark hair was swept to one side, like he'd come from a long walk on the beach (he probably had).
He looked better than he did two months ago which was pretty ridiculous to say. He was taller, tanner, leaner, and more muscular. I was too stunned to move, because I felt that if I got any closer, I might just fall apart.
I had secretly had a crush on Percy since we were twelve years old, and after Kronos's defeat I had fallen for him hard. We were happy for a month until Hera had other plans.
Reyna straightened herself and turned to Jason. "Jason Grace, my former colleague, I welcome you home. And these, your... friends -"
The way she said the word colleague kind of took me aback. She made it sound like it was a dangerous thing. Either they had been close or they hadn't like each other. I assumed the ladder was true though, guessing off what Jason had said about her.
I didn't mean to, but I surged forward instinctively, impatience overtaking me. Percy rushed forward at the same time.
For a moment, nothing else matter as we kissed, the two months of separation pouring into it. His lips were salty and he still smell of the nice ocean air.
I had waited a long time for this, seaweed brain was finally back to me.
Percy pulled away and studied me closely. "I never-"
Layton
Annabeth gripped Percy's wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the hard stone pavement and the Romans cried out, some attempting to surge forward.
"No one move" I warned dangerously
Then, Annabeth put her knew on Percy's chest, with her forearm against his throat. "If you dare ever leave me again, then I swear to all of the gods..."
Percy laughed. "Missed you too"
Annabeth couldn't help but smile and got up. She helped him back up this feet and I could tell she wanted to kiss him again but due to the current circumstances, she needed some self restrain.
Jason learned his throat. "So yeah, good to be back and all"
The two groups got introduced to each other. Reyna studied Piper, who looked a bit disappointed she didn't get to speak her lines.
"And this is Annabeth," Jason said, "she doesn't normally judo-flip people..."
"Right, I only do that to my boyfriend" Annabeth assured, holding out her hand
Reyna firmly clasped her hand. "Well, we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"
The centurions hustled up. Frank and Hazel appeared at Percy's side. Annabeth seemed to be already studying them carefully, considering how close they seemed to be with Percy.
"You're letting the intruders into camp?" Octavian exclaimed
"Give it a rest, scarecrow" I replied
"Reyna, the security risks of having-"
"We won't take them into the camp, Octavian" Reyna said. "We'll eat here in the forum"
"At least that's better" Octavian grumbled
"They're guests, and we will welcome them with respect. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for returning Jason to us safely"
"Right, go burn your bears" Percy said
"You all have my orders. Go" Reyna held back a smile
The officers dispersed and Octavian shot Percy a look of loathing. Then he gave Annabeth a suspicious look before stalking away.
"Don't worry about him" Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's. "Most of the Romans are great, just like Frank and Hazel, oh and Reyna too. We're alright"
Then I heard it again. The whispering laughter of a presence that seemed to be following us around, even from the ship. And there was only one other person picking it up, Annabeth.
"Yeah, we're alright" She repeated
"Now then. We can talk and have a proper union" Reyna said
I sighed. "Finally"
Yet there was still that lingering thought. That sound that kept getting carried with the wind. It was almost haunting me, and apparently Annabeth too. There was something wrong, and it was a new threat for sure.