(A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the hiatus, anyway, enjoy this new chapter I poorly planned. Also, my plan to write a chapter ahead failed horribly because I joined too many roleplays recently. Sorry this is late but, stay healthy and safe!)
(Dreams)
I appeared in a dark chamber with elevator doors in front of me. The place was dark, wet, and somewhat resembled a musty, old cave.
"Ah, so nice to talk to you again, Arina," a voice said from all around me, echoing across.
I turned around, looking for a face in the sea of shadows. I recognized the voice, it was the voice that has been haunting my dreams for days now.
"Gaea, what do you want?" I snapped.
"Well, you, of course, you are quite a remarkable demigod. Daughter of the second eldest Olympian, strategist of Kronos, ex-lover of a son of Nemesis-"
"Stop! What do you want with me?" I questioned, trying to hide the shaking in my voice.
For some reason, everything she said to me, especially the Kronos and Ethan part, made me uncomfortable and scared. I haven't felt this way towards anything... ever, well, besides when I'm being confronted with snakes and needles.
"Well, like I've told you before, you would be a valuable asset to my army, leading all the ignorant minor gods, monsters, my children, and all those so-called 'heroes'. You're a natural-born leader, aren't you? Being the princess of the Underworld after all."
"You're gonna destroy the gods! Why would I help you? You probably made the Romans turn against us too!"
"Hm... all true accusations, but didn't you help my son, Kronos? You helped him kill your friends, didn't you? You helped him find your friend's mortal point. You helped devise a plan to get your best friend stabbed-"
"I had no part in Annabeth getting stabbed! She jumped in front of Percy-"
"Well, you revealed his mortal point because of that."
I clenched my fist, wanting so badly to punch this primordial in the face. "Why? Why are you doing this? You helped the Olympians in the first Titan war, you gifted Hera a tree of golden apples, why are you so against the gods?"
"Well, I want all my children free, don't I? The Olympians imprisoned the Titans, cast them into the deepest parts of Tartarus." At this, she chuckled.
"What? What's so funny?"
"Oh, you'll soon find out. You don't know what awaits you in Rome, not even close. Don't worry, I'll spare you, you will be useful once you comply. As well, your blood would be valuable."
I took a hesitant step away from the shadows, glancing towards the elevator and feeling a dark aura emanating from it. However, it was an aura that felt vaguely familiar.
"Ahh, the Doors of Death, I see you're interested in them."
"Those are the Doors of Death? It looks like an elevator," I stated bluntly.
Side note: what are the Doors of Death? Why are they so important? I questioned internally.
"Oh, but many great things look quite humble."
I paused, biting my lip while glancing into the shadows. "Where are you?"
"I have not fully form, so I am simply where I am needed."
"You're not needed nor wanted in my dreams."
"Oh, are you sure?"
I felt like I had vertigo as the room spun around, making me dizzy and unbalanced. I crumbled to the ground as Gaea's ghostly laugh echoed throughout the chamber.
(Dreams over)
I woke up with a start as I heard yelling above deck, likely from Hedge yelling at the TV or something.
The hectic day from before came crashing into my mind as I quickly got dressed. The night before we started discussing the quest, images Piper saw in her blade, what Nemesis told Hazel and Leo at the great lake, the prophecy, and how long Nico would last.
Pomegranate seeds, huh? I opened my backpack and found a jar of seeds from my step-mom's orchard alongside a bottle of Stygian sleep.
I headed to the mess hall, greeting my friends before grabbing a plate. A moment later, a plate of spanakopita appeared on it, nearly burning my mouth and tongue but I couldn't care less.
Not long after, we all climbed onto the deck as we landed in a field of sunflowers in Kansas, our first destination on this crazy quest.
"So, where are we- uh, I mean, where are you going?" I asked Piper.
Piper saw a vision in her dagger, which showed images of the future or such, about something in Kansas and probably other stuff judging from the look of uncertainty and fear on her face.
"I want to check out the highway, somewhere with the sign Topeka 32," she responded from beside Jason.
I looked around at the others, who were almost all standing beside their significant other. Hazel was with Frank, Jason with Piper, and Percy alongside Annabeth. Of course, there was Hedge and Leo, but as far as I knew, Hedge's wife was elsewhere and Leo was single.
"What else did you see in the knife?" Annabeth inquired.
Piper grew hesitant before explaining the god in her vision.
"Oh, purple shirt? Vines on his head? Sounds like Bacchus," Jason stated.
"Or Dionysus," Percy said distastefully.
"Either way he sucks," I remarked.
So Bacchus cursed my mum to be the shitty person she is now? Wow, another reason to hate the gods, I thought sarcastically.
"He's decent, I helped him-" Jason began before Annabeth interrupted him.
"I'm sure we can discuss how great and terrible he is later, let's just focus on getting Piper there." Annabeth turned to Leo. "The Argo II can drop her off there?"
"We're close enough, but I need your help fixing the hull considering you're the only other person who knows anything about engineering," Leo stated.
"Wait, how do we know if it's a good idea to meet Bacchus? Aren't all the gods schizophrenic right now?" Frank questioned.
Due to Leo accidentally attacking New Rome, the Romans hate us, naturally. This made almost all the gods go crazy because their Roman sides are angry and junk.
"Well, Nemesis wasn't," Hazel pointed out.
"Well, good luck with that then." I patted Piper on the back.
"I can turn into a crow and scout for the Roman eagles," Frank suggested, leaning his bow against the rail of the ship.
"Why not a dragon? That'll be cool," Leo stated.
"Because turning into a dragon takes a lot of energy. You don't bench press weights all the time, right?" Frank replied defensively.
"I don't know man, I don't lift weights," Leo answered.
"Maybe you-"
Hazel got between them, shooting Leo an evil look. "I'll help, I'll get Arion to scout from the ground."
"That leaves Percy, Jason, Piper, and I. I think it'll be better if you three go on without me, I'll guard the ship or whatever," I stated.
"Just be careful or karpoi," Hazel advised, "there's a lot of fields here."
"Karpoi?" Piper questioned.
"Annoying grain spirits," I elaborated.
She nodded before Percy, Jason, and she climbed off the ship and into the fields.
I turned to the others. Frank had just turned into a crow and flew off while Hazel rode off on Arion. Leo and Annabeth were talking as they walked downstairs, and Hedge was heading down too.
Guess I'm alone then.
I walked around the ship, backflipping from the upper deck to the bottom part and nearly breaking my ankle.
"Fuck, not doing that again," I muttered, rubbing my ankle as I sat on the ground of the ship.
What should I do? I asked myself mentally. Train? I stood up and straight, ignoring the pain in my ankle. Probably dislocated it or something.
I went downstairs, ignoring Hedge's yells at the TV and grabbed my sword from my room before heading back upstairs.
I swung the sword from left to right, feeling my grip on it relax as I felt the familiar grips. I then summoned two skeletons from the earth, both of them being confederate ones for some reason. I hopped off the ship before duelling them, slashing at them and parrying strikes from their only blades.
I created an earthquake, knocking them back before stabbing one through the chest, causing it to explode in flames. I moved on to the next, stabbing it in the neck instead.
I relaxed after finishing them off, stretching my arms.
"Damn... Annabeth was right about you being good."
I turned, blushing when I realized Leo was watching me. "Um, thanks."
He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing too. "Uh, you want to get back on board? Annabeth said she needed your help with something."
"Um, sure," I replied.
He nodded, turning and heading back downstairs while I walked back towards the ship.
"Leaving so soon?" A voice questioned from all around me.
I turned around, bringing out my sword the moment I recognize the voice. "And what do you want Gaea?"
"You on my side."
"Not that I want you turning my friends against me but, why are you pinning after me? Aren't Percy, Hazel, and Jason powerful too? Like we're all children of the Big Three."
"Oh, I have. That pesky daughter of Pluto stopped my son from rising decades ago, and your two other friends are... important in other ways. They're busy elsewhere with my.. servants."
I hesitated. "What did you do to them? What's happening?"
The grass around me shook as if Gaea was laughing, or more like mocking my confusion. "You'll find out soon enough, young demigod."
I felt something grab me by the ankle and I barely had time to call out before karpoi started to grab me from left and right.
"Let- me- WHY DOES THIS KEEP ON-" I yelled before something was shoved in my mouth.
Note to self: never train on land when the literal primordial of Earth is trying to persuade you to the dark side.
I tried screaming and wiggling free, losing my sword along the way.
"I say we should've grabbed the other demigod," one of the karpoi said from my right.
"The scary one with stones?"
"No, the bird."
I tried looking around for shadows, but the karpoi had pulled me onto the highway where there were no shadows in sight.
If I die because they don't understand how cars work and I get ran over- I'll kill Gaea as a fucking shade for hiring idiots.
A moment later, my arms and legs felt warm before I was dropped to the ground. I rolled away and jumped back, seeing the karpoi running around in flames screaming.
I spat out the grass they shoved in my mouth before backing up, hitting something, or rather, someone. I jumped once I turned to them, summoning my blades immediately.
"Woah, chill, it's me," Leo said, holding up his hands while stepping back.
I relaxed. "Thanks... um, how'd you find me? And what did you do to them?"
"Oh, I heard you screaming so I came up. Annabeth went to one side and I went this way," he answered, "and for the fire, I can do... um, this." He took a bigger step back and kept his hands up, bursting them into flames.
"Woah," I exclaimed, my reaction between shock and awe.
"Yeah... a gift from my dad apparently," he replied uncomfortably.
I glanced back the ashen remains of the karpoi, a chill going down my spine.
"L-let's get back to the Argo, I can shadow travel us," I offered.
"What? Like teleporting?" Leo questioned.
"Uh, not exactly," I stated, walking towards the grass in search of my sword first, "I basically just turn into a shadow and just move along them."
"Sweet! Does that mean you can shadow travel anywhere?"
"Only places I've been." I spotted my sword and picked it up, hooking it onto my belt before offering Leo my hand. "Shadow travel then?"
He nodded, grasping my hand.
I blushed before leaping into the nearest shadow and focussing on the mess hall in the ship.
Not long after getting back on the ship, Piper and the others returned. However, both boys were unconscious. Then, Leo set course to Atlanta on orders by Piper.
After the boys were up and feeling slightly better, we gathered in the mess hall while Hedge went upstairs to man the helm, or satyr the helm to be precise.
Piper explained how Bacchus abruptly left before these spirits possessed Percy and Jason and made them fight each other. Piper had to choose which one was to die, but she didn't choose either so they started fighting. Fortunately, well sort of, Jason got knocked out and Blackjack kicked Percy in the head.
"What did these spirits call themselves?" I questioned uneasily.
The aura in the room felt... off. It was as if something died, or was about to die, in the mess hall. It could've been the paranoia from getting nearly kidnapped in like three days but, who knows.
"They called themselves eidolons," Piper answered.
I froze. "E-eidolons you say?"
Annabeth read the fear off my face. "What? What's wrong with them?"
I took a shaky breath, looking down at my untouched pizza in an attempt to compose myself. "Besides the fact they're undead spirits that possess people, learning everything about them in seconds, nothing..."
"Well, those things must be what possessed Leo in New Rome!" Hazel exclaimed, slapping the table.
"Y-yeah... I did feel something there," I replied uneasily.
What the actual Hades is wrong with me right now? They're just undead spirits that can possess you, nothing big. I reassured myself mentally.
"And you didn't bother to tell us?" Jason questioned.
"I thought it was just the lares or something, they were everywhere," I defended myself.
"Well, now we know what happened in New Rome, but the Romans won't believe us anyway," Annabeth pointed out.
"I'm sure Reyna and some of the others would," Jason stated.
"And how will 'some' people convince a whole legion?" I inquired.
"I know you can, Pipes." Jason turned towards his girlfriend with a smile.
"They all know I can charmspeak, there's no point in arguing. Also, I saw Octavian rally the legion, Reyna can't stop them like Arina said," Piper said.
"Did you spot the eagles?" Annabeth asked Frank and Hazel.
"Yes, they're getting closer," Frank answered.
"Octavian's on a warpath, if Reyna disagrees with attacking us he'll claim she's soft for the Greeks." Hazel grimaced. "It's like those things can smell us."
"Oh, they can," Jason revealed, "Roman eagles can smell demigods possibly even better than monsters can."
"Great, so next time I build a giant flying ship, I'll add a chicken nugget smokescreen," Leo remarked.
"Or maybe anchovies, that'll throw them off the scent for sure," I suggested.
"It doesn't matter, once we're across the Atlantic they won't be able to catch us," Jason stated.
"If we even get across," I muttered pessimistically.
"How can you be sure?" Annabeth questioned, ignoring my comment.
"The Ancient Lands have been forbidden to Roman demigods for centuries. If we go there-" Jason began.
"We'll be traitors and outlaws, any Roman that finds us is permitted to kill us on sight," Piper said with a pained expression.
"Yes, the place is filled with all sorts of dangerous monsters that could easily kill us. They'll safely assume we would all perish," Jason said.
Silence followed that.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Sunshine," Percy remarked sarcastically.
"Well, in the event we don't die or get caught, what are we going to do? Like, have we gotten a solid plan yet on how to save Nico and defeat Gaea?" I inquired.
The others were all busy staring at their plates in a depressed manner while Percy continued to eat his blue pizza.
Yes, blue. These are magical plates so I guess we could eat multicoloured food? Like Pretty Patties, right?
"Mr. D- Bacchus- whatever, he mentioned something about twins like Ella did. Two giants, Otis and something else with an F?" Percy guessed.
"Ephialtes," Jason corrected.
"Like the giants in Piper's knife." Annabeth played around with her goblet. "I remember a story about twin giants who tried to build a mountain to climb up to Olympus."
Frank paled, choking on his burrito. "Giants that can build mountains? Oh, great. And you said Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?"
"Don't doubt the gods, they can be pretty powerful when it benefits them," I said distastefully.
Like driving my mom insane, thanks, Mr. D.
Silence followed that as we mulled this new information over.
"She wants two of us," Piper mumbled almost inaudibly.
"What?" Annabeth questioned.
All eyes went to Piper, which seemed to make her uncomfortable.
"Gaea wants the blood of two demigods, a girl and a boy. That's why she asked me to choose between Jason and Percy," she revealed.
"Well, you saved us, didn't you?" Jason pointed out.
"But why would she want demigod blood?"
"Oh, remember our favourite princess, Khione? She said Jason's blood would taint the Wolf House for decades or something," Leo stated.
Wait, is that another reason why she wants me? As a sacrifice? Sacrifice for what? Does she want to use me to destroy my friends before taking me as a sacrifice? Great, another reason why I don't want to help her dumbass.
I didn't realize the others continued talking until Hazel tapped me on the shoulder worriedly.
"... we should all get some sleep," Annabeth finished, leaving me confused about what I missed when I zoned out.
"Wait," Piper said, looking worried.
"What?" Frank questioned.
"The eidolons, they're still here."
Her statement made the room go completely silent, the only source of the sound was Hedge singing upstairs and the whirl of the engine as we sailed to Atlanta. You could probably hear a pin drop, to be honest.
I squeezed my eyes shut, honing in on my life aura powers and seeking for the spirits. I gasped in pain a moment later, feeling as if a shard of ice stabbed me in the head. "S-s-she's right," I managed to say shakily.
"You sure?" Annabeth questioned.
I nodded. "I've s-s-seen them before, and I'm sure Hazel has as well."
Hazel nodded in agreement, still giving me a worried look. "I feel them too."
"Where?" Frank backed up as if that would stop the spirits from getting to him.
"They could be anywhere in this room, possessing anything... or anyone," I stated.
"Well, how do we get rid of them?" Jason questioned, clenching his fist.
"I... I have an idea, but all of you have to listen," Piper said.
Something was different by the way she said that, it was as if she laced her words with something that made us all want to listen.
She met each of our eyes before saying, "Eidolons, raise your hands."
I winced, feeling a spike of pain in my head again.
Suddenly, Percy, Jason, and Leo's faces went slack before they all raised their hands. At this, Frank scrambled away from them while the others looked worried.
Piper tensed, looking worried. "Are there more of you on the ship?" she asked, looking at Leo because he was the far least intimidating.
"No, the Earth mother sent the... three strongest. We shall live once more." Leo said, his eyes gold and his voice hollow.
"Not here," Piper muttered, "you three will leave this ship and never return."
"No," Percy hissed, his voice and eyes like Leo and Jason.
"We must live," Jason agreed.
"Gods that's creepy! Get out of here and leave our friends alone!" Frank stated, pressing his back against the wall.
"You do not control us, child of war. Your own life could burn up in seconds," Leo said, staring at Frank creepily.
Frank drew his bow, shaking. "I-I'm not scared of you! I've b-beat monsters a hundred times stronger!"
"Frank, they're just trying to trick you," Hazel warned, pushing his bow down as Jason drew his sword.
"Stop!" Piper ordered, making us all freeze as my headache worsen.
Imagine an ice cream headache, brain-freeze, whatever, times a hundred. It was hard to even think straight as the icy headache interrupted every thought I had. Unfortunately, my friends didn't even notice the pain I was in because of the others.
"Listen to Piper," Hazel ordered, looking at our possessed friends.
"You do not control us-" Jason began.
I stood up, slamming my hands on the table. "Well, I do."
The temperature dropped in the room, making the room so cold we could see each other's breaths. The lights flickered as well, making the shadows grow bigger and reach towards me.
"You will listen to Piper, leave our friends' bodies, and never possess anyone on this ship ever, fucking, again," I ordered, focussing on the aura of the undead before nodding to Piper.
Piper took a deep breath. "You will leave these bodies," she directed, her voice sounding much stronger than before.
Must be confidence and charm- I thought before wincing, rubbing the side of my head.
Jason had a pain look on his face, sweat beading on his forehead. "We-we will leave these bodies."
"You vow on the River Styx to never return to this ship and never possess any member of this crew," Piper commanded.
Leo hissed in reply.
"You will vow on the River Styx," Piper repeated.
After a few tense seconds, they replied in unison. "We vow on the River Styx."
"You are dead," Piper stated.
"We are dead."
"Now leave."
All three boys fell, Percy into his pizza, Piper caught Jason falling out of his chair, and Leo just hit the ground, Frank not bothering to catch him.
The headache was still there, but at least I could think now, sort of. It was in between a dull ache and a skull-splitting headache if that makes sense.
Leo sat up, having a piece of pasta on his head in the shape of a lightning bolt sat up. "Did it work?"
They all looked at me then, Annabeth finally noticing that I was wincing.
"Are you okay, Arina?" she questioned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, "also, I think the eidolons are gone."
"Does this mean I can stop getting head injuries?" Jason inquired, holding his head.
I was sitting in the crow's nest of the ship, eating a bag of chips I got from the mess hall while admiring the sunset. Down below, Piper and Jason were talking and Leo was manning the ship.
I rubbed the side of my head, the headache lessening since I ate the chips. Maybe chips help? I thought optimistically.
After I finished the chips, I looked up at the darkening sky, lying down across the crow's nest and admiring the stars, which were very visible that night.
Why does Gaea keep on bothering me? I get she wants to use me, but why hasn't she given up? It's not like I'll just comply and betray the gods, again. Maybe there's another reason she's bothering me? I tried figuring out what Gaea wanted, not noticing the person sitting down beside me.
"Whatcha looking at?"
I jumped up into a sitting position, backing myself against one side of the nest.
"Chill, just me, creator of this glorious ship," Leo joked, leaning on the opposite side.
I blushed, embarrassed about how I reacted. "Oh, hey."
"Whatcha looking at?" he asked, looking up at the sky too.
"Um, just the stars," I replied, glancing at him.
"Cool." He pulled out some sort of gadget from his overalls and started fidgetting with it. In a matter of seconds, it became this little wheel that had lever moving on its own.
"Woah, how'd you do that?" I inquired in awe, leaning closer.
Leo looked up, holding the contraption up. "This? It was pretty easy." He began to explain how the gears moved the lever through some stuff that was super complicated that I didn't understand a thing he said.
I didn't realize how late it got when I started yawning.
Leo yawned in reply.
"We should get to sleep," I suggested, standing up and stretching.
"I have to man the ship still," Leo stated, gesturing towards the helm.
I raised my eyebrow, skeptical. "No sleep then?"
"I'll sleep later." He shrugged.
"Sleep deprivation isn't great, just saying," I pointed out teasingly.
"I'll be fine, sweetheart," he stated with a wink, making me blush.
"Well, it's not like I'm gonna get any sleep, mind if I join you?"
"If you want." Leo stood.
We both climbed down to the main deck before Leo led me towards the upper deck where the control panel was.
The control panel was pretty fancy, it had all these weird knobs and buttons but I'm pretty sure the ship was controlled by this Wii controller and some other random junk.
"How does this even work anyway?" I held up the Wii controller and the ship tilted to the side before Leo snatched it out of my hand.
"Um, don't do that," he said with a nervous smile, readjusting the ship's position before putting it back on the panel.
"So..." I began awkwardly, "only you and Annabeth know how to man this ship?"
"Yep."
"Isn't that kinda bad? Like, what if you were both gone or something- how would we fly?" I inquired skeptically.
"Oh, right, heh." He scratched the back of his neck, realizing the flaw.
I glanced at him before looking at the control panel with interest. "No offence, but it can't be that hard, right? Do you mind teaching me or something?"
Leo's eyes lit up. "Well, you're a cute girl asking for help so sure." He winked before stepping beside me, making me blush by how close we were.
Oh my gods why is he such a flirt- I'm not complaining though.
"So, how actually do I use all this stuff?" I inquired.
"Well," Leo began explaining all the switches, buttons, and game controllers to me. He then showed me how to steer the ship.
Turns out- it was just as complicated as it looked and my dumb brain couldn't figure anything out no matter how many times Leo tried to explain.
"Try steering the ship to the left," Leo suggested.
At least Leo didn't yell at me when I got stuff wrong, that's a plus.
I pressed a button and the ship dropped a good forty feets before I managed to stabilize it with another button.
"Well, at least you know how to keep the ship up." He was gripping the railings, not looking that mad. He actually looked close to laughing.
"Ugh, I'm so stupid." I dropped my head on the control panel away from the buttons.
"No, you're doing grate! You're really gouda," he joked with a wink.
I turned my head and stared at him. "Did you legit just make a- no, two cheese jokes?"
"Yep."
I chuckled, turning my head so my face was on the wooden panel.
"Just trying to cheer you up."
"Sorry, but it's not working."
An awkward silence followed that.
"Um, maybe you can show me something else?" I suggested, lifting my head up and noticing Leo playing around with something in his hands.
It was this little spindle that spun around when he wound up the side. Again, cool. How does he make stuff like that so easily? Must be a perk of being a son of Hephaestus.
"Sure, the engine then?"
I nodded in agreement before Leo led me downstairs.
"Onwards!" he joked as we walked down the hall.
"Shush!" I whispered, glancing around, especially at Hedge's door. "How do we explain why we're both still awake?"
Leo shrugged before we walked down another flight of stairs and opened the door to the engine room.
I stepped inside, avoiding several pipes. How the Hades did I managed to slide around in here this afternoon? I questioned myself internally.
The engine was a mess if you asked me, pipes and things everywhere. Also, Annabeth said it's 'unlikely' to explode.
I didn't like the 'unlikely' part.
"So, whatcha gonna show me?"
"How to fix the engine." Leo pulled on his goggles.
"But I thought the engine's fine?" I caught the goggles he threw at me after.
"Well, probably." He shrugged before tightening a bolt, which made some steam come out of the side.
I stared at him, minorly alarmed. "What do you mean by probably? What happens if it's not?"
"We all die."
"Dude!" I exclaimed before he shushed me with a teasing look.
"Thought you said we can't be too loud?"
"Oh my gods," I groaned in annoyance.
"Chill, I'm kidding," Leo reassured.
"Ugh, you better be, I like to live a bit longer," I remarked, crossing my arms.
"Anyway, here's a wretch." He held out a wretch for me. "Just tighten a couple of these bolts and stuff."
I nodded, putting the wretch on the bolts and tightening it like how Leo was doing it. Worse comes to worst, I blow up the ship, right?
We ended up working into the sunrise- which when things got even more eventful. Turns out, Annabeth and Percy went missing and everyone thought they were kidnapped so we ended up scouring the ship- but turns out they fell asleep together in the stables.
Hedge was furious, Piper and Jason were more relieved, Hazel seemed utterly scandalized, Frank was scared of Hedge, Leo was saying 'classic', and I was teasing them further.
"So, you guys just kissed and talked? Nothing else, you know-" I began with a smirk.
Annabeth turned a bright shade of red. "We didn't do anything else!"
"Uh-huh, sure, and I'm the daughter of Zeus," I remarked sarcastically.
"You two are in so much trouble! Annabeth, I thought you had more sense!" Hedge exclaimed, clopping back and forth.
"She does- just not with Percy," I stated, trying not to laugh, "she did once-"
"Arina, you're not helping," Percy said seriously.
"I know, I never do."
"Anyway, we have more important things to discuss." Percy started explaining his dreams.
According to his dreams, there were two giants planning our theatrical demise and Nico was dying of suffocation with our stepmother's pomegranate seeds with him.
Hazel looked close to tears at the news of this while I tried to maintain level headed. Eh, it sort of worked.
"When I get my hands on those giants," I threatened as the temperature dropped in the room and the lights flickered.
"What are those seeds?" Percy inquired.
"There from our stepmom's garden- only children of Hades can eat them. They help us survive- but it's the last resort. It drains a lot of our energy, but it makes us not need air or anything. We enter something called a Death Trance. One seed a day keeps us alive," I explained.
"Well, it's obviously a trap," Annabeth remarked.
"But we're gonna save Nico though, right?" Hazel questioned pleadingly.
Hedge nodded excitedly. "There's fighting so yes!"
Wow, he's so different than Grover. Grover freaked out when we were going to go to the Underworld but, Hedge would probably go down there wielding a baseball bat while screaming.
"Yeah, of course, but how much time do we have?" Frank asked nervously.
"Five seeds, five days," Percy stated.
"Okay, great, we have five days to get to Ancient Rome and save my brother from dying, great," I stated sarcastically.
Piper's eyes widened then. "Wait, what's Nico's full name?"
"Nico di Angelo, why?"
"Angelo means angel- that's what the prophecy meant when it said 'twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death''," Piper explained.
"Oh, great," I muttered.
"Wait, the giants are expecting us though, are we waltzing into a trap?" Leo questioned.
"You're suggesting we leave my brother to die? Even though he's important to the prophecy?" I questioned in a threatening way.
"Arina, we're not suggesting that, but-" Jason began.
"But what?" I snapped.
"Nico knew about both camps but didn't tell either of us, don't you find that a bit suspicious? How do we know we can trust him?"
Hazel stood up to, looking ready to cry. "How could you say that? Nico saved me! I can't believe I used to look up to you!" she stormed out of the room, a couple of metal trays crashing into the walls after her.
Frank stood up, ready to go after her but Piper stopped him.
"Give her some time, she just needs to cool off. I'll go check on her in a few minutes," Piper suggested, which Frank reluctantly agreed too.
I glared at Leo and Jason before shadow travelling out of the room as well, appearing on the crow's nest.
I sat down and stared up at the sky in frustration, angry and mostly offended they even considered not saving Nico. He's my freaking brother! To think, I liked Leo, I thought.
I played around with my bracelet until Annabeth came up on the crow's nest, probably being chosen to check on me about what the boys said.
"You know they meant well," she reasoned.
"Yeah... whatever," I muttered.
"They're just thinking about the worst-case scenario- Nico obviously was at both camps for a reason. If it was something bad, the gods would've intervened already," Annabeth pointed out.
"Yes, like how they knew I wasn't actually dead and was just working for Kronos," I spat, pulling my knees up my chest.
Annabeth sighed, leaning against the side. "Anyway, we started discussing what to do now that we're in Atlanta."
"Wait, we already arrived?" I looked over the side and noticed we were near a city.
Atlanta looked like every other city I've been too, busy and crowded. People milled around, going through their everyday lives oblivious to the fact gods and monsters exist. Gods, I wished I still had that innocence sometimes.
"Yeah, anyway, Percy and I are 'grounded' and can't be alone together anymore. Also, Percy, Hedge, and Frank went off to find Phorcys," she explained.
I nodded, looking out at the city, sighing. "So, we're just supposed to sit here like sitting ducks for the Romans?"
"Percy said he wouldn't take that long."
I looked down at my bead necklace, fidgeting with it and trying to ignore the mass amount of guilt I had when I touched the bead from last summer with the names of the fallen campers on it.
You didn't kill them- Kronos' army did- but I was apart of it... I bit my lip nervously, feeling more guilty than ever.
"You wanna spar or something?" Annabeth asked, seeming to notice my silence and upset expression.
"Sure." I stood up stretching before climbing down with her.
"So, my dagger versus your sword? Or you want to fight with your blades?"
I spun the rings around my fingers. "I'm way too rusty with my sword."
"So that means you're gonna lose?" she questioned with a smirk.
"Oh, you wish, just lemme get my sword." I raced down the steps, nearly running into Leo and Hazel on my way to my room.
"What are you doing?" Hazel yelled as I pulled my door open.
"Getting my sword!"
Wait, why didn't I just shadow travel to my room? Whatever, too late now.
After coming back up with a sword, Annabeth and I stood across from each other while Hazel watched and Leo pretended he wasn't.
"No powers," Annabeth ordered.
"I'm the only with powers in this fight, but sure," I replied, stretching.
We narrowed our eyes at each other before I lept forward first, trying to hit her side but she managed to dodge and jab at my undefended left. I barely had enough time to parry before flipping her blade into the air and trying to swipe her legs out. She used my momentum and knocked me down. I soon got up and backflipped over her similar to the way I did with Luke years ago. I ended up with my sword at her neck, smirking.
"Guess I'm not that rusty, huh?"
"Actions speak louder than words." She ducked under the blade and slammed her elbow into my wrist, making me drop my blade.
I summoned my other blades quickly after, parrying another strike.
"I doubt that's fair."
"No powers; these are just blades," I responded, feinting a strike before uppercutting her with the hilt of my blade.
She stumbled back, glaring at me before leaping up and cutting down my right arm. She jumped back after, preparing to make another swipe but I dodged and kicked her legs out from under her.
I kneeled on top of her, holding one of my blades at her throat. "Yield?"
She sighed, nodding.
I got off of her, helping her up with my uninjured arm but still wincing from the pain of the other. "Nice fight."
"Nice? That was epic- like some sort of Iron Man movie scene!" Leo exclaimed from the bow of the ship.
"Yeah, that was amazing- and you didn't even use your powers." Hazel nodded in agreement.
"Heh, thanks, I guess..." I replied, picking up my sword and heading downstairs.
"You good, Arina?" Annabeth questioned.
"Yeah, just gonna patch up my arm."
After an eventful trip to an aquarium, Hedge, Percy, and Frank informed us they met Phorcys and Keto. Apparently, they got trapped, but they found out useful info on how to find this statue called the Athena Parthenos, something capable of fixing the Greek/Roman divide.
Now, we were setting course to Charleston.
I pushed around my food as the others discussed the plan, playing around with the bandage on my arm as well.
It reality, it didn't take that long to get there. However, we stopped in some fort not long before. Jason recommended it and headed off with Piper, but apparently he encountered Reyna. She warned them that the Roman eagles are closing in. She was also talking to some sort of spirit, but I wasn't there so I couldn't track it down.
Once we arrived in Charleston and dock in a harbour. Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, and I then decided to go off looking for the spirit while Jason, Frank, and Leo went off to look at the museum for clues. Of course, Percy went off into the water to find a way to free the numerous sea monsters that were held captive in the Atlanta aquarium and Hedge 'guarded' the ship.
I managed to track down the spirit not long after we set off, but something about the spirit's aura seemed... off.
"No spirit glows that brightly," Hazel pointed out as we neared it.
We arrived in some sort of garden with flowers everywhere and a gazebo. There were a few pedestrians strolling through, admiring the plants and taking group photos together. It seemed would've been the perfect place for a girls' day out if it weren't for the fact we were supposed to be preventing a war.
I closed my eyes, trying to sense the spirit but felt something else. More like, a godly aura. A familiar, and annoying one to be exact.
I narrowed my eyes, marching up to the 'spirit'.
The spirit turned around, revealing itself to be a very beautiful woman with coppery brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. She was wearing a traditional Greek chiton with red heels and a golden laurel in her hair.
"You," I stated, crossing my arms.
"Aphrodite!" Annabeth exclaimed.
"Venus!" Hazel said instead.
"Mom," Piper groaned.
"Girls! It's so wonderful to see you! We must chat and have tea!"
We were transported onto the gazebo, sat down around a circular table with scent-changing tea and numerous treats on it.
Aphrodite sat in a large, peacock, wicker chair. She poured us tea and gave us cakes seamlessly as if she does tea and biscuits with demigods daily.
"I do love Charleston! The weddings, parties, oh, every event here was spectacular!" Aphrodite exclaimed, her perfectly white teeth shining.
The others talked to her as I felt another headache, not that bad as with the eidolons, but still enough to distract me from their conversation.
I tried eating a cake to distract myself, but it really didn't help.
"Arina?"
I jumped, realizing Piper had tapped me on the shoulder and looked at me, concerned.
"What?"
"Ah! Arina! I didn't really get to enjoy our last chat considering your step-mother was there- but I must say, I'm proud of what you did in Alaska," Aphrodite said, beaming.
I felt my face turn bright red in embarrassment. "I don't wanna talk about that." I stuffed a cookie in my mouth as my headache grew steadily worse.
"Anyway, I did promise I'll make Annabeth's love life interesting, didn't I?" Aphrodite questioned.
Annabeth's expression hardened as her grip on the teacup tightened, surprisingly not breaking off the handle. "Interesting is... one way to put it."
"And of course, there's poor Arina here, who's boyfriend was killed!"
I looked down at my lap, biting my lip as I felt Piper and Hazel's eyes move towards me curiously. I hated the attention.
"Whatever- why are you here?" I snapped, breaking a cookie in half and tossing it towards a group of birds.
"Oh! To help, of course, you see Hera isn't that popular right now in Olympus, and the other gods are disposed of right now."
Great, we have revenge, wine, and love sane. So, helpful.
I'm being sarcastic.
Aphrodite began explaining how to find the Mark of Athena, the so-called statue to fix the Greek/Roman divide. Apparently, it can't be found easily. Annabeth has to follow a 'bread crumb trail' and hope for the best basically.
However, before she could tell us more, Hazel spotted the Roman eagles and we had to make a run for the ship. Unfortunately, before we could get to the ship, we were cornered at the docks by Octavian and two burly Romans.
"Surrender to Rome!" Octavian proclaimed.
I brought out my blades, glaring at him and feeling the ground shake.
"Uh uh! No funny business!" he yelled.
"Octavian, we can explain-" Piper began.
"Nope! Can't hear you! Wax in ears- used for fighting sirens!" he shouted, pointing towards his ears.
"Let me skewer him," Hazel said.
Annabeth looked around, trying to figure something out.
"Drop your weapons," he ordered.
Annabeth's eyes lit up before she pulled out her dagger. She held it out before tossing it far into the water with an innocent expression.
"I said drop it! Not toss it!" Octavian exclaimed.
She gave a dumb-blonde look, shrugging.
"You three-" he started before the water erupted, soaking us all and tossing Octavian and his lackeys into the water.
I turned, seeing Percy standing on the edge of the dock with Annabeth's dagger.
"You dropped this," he said, expressionless.
Annabeth threw her arms around Percy, kissing him. "I love you!"
Octavian and his lackeys were in the water, struggling to swim and yelling curses at us. One of them kept on being jumped on my Octavian- who didn't look like he knew how to swim.
"Are they gonna drown?" Hazel questioned, seeming mildly upset.
"Let them." I glared at the three Romans in the water.
"Um- they won't. The water's circulation is keeping them afloat, once we leave they'll be spat back on," Percy reassured Hazel while casting me a weird glance as my headache finally disappeared.
"Nice," Piper commented.
"Let's just get back to the ship- Annabeth you get to Fort Sumter while we IM Jason and get the ship ready. The Romans might've brought their strongest to take us down," I remarked, glancing at the sky and seeing the golden eagles of the Romans fly around.
The others nodded before we ran towards the ship and climbed aboard, sans Annabeth, of course. We started to move around and get ready to leave when the Romans started to attack.
Frank, Leo, and Jason were flying in before getting knocked down, crashing in Fort Sumter. We had to make a detour to rescue them but that resulted in the side of the ship raking against the fort.
"Percy, can you whip up some sort of storm?" I questioned as Hedge started firing at eagles and yelling.
"Yeah, maybe, why?"
"I have an idea- and if Jason gets here in time he can help."
I jumped off the ship and slammed my sword into the ground, creating a giant fissure in the ground before skeletal hands emerged from the cracks. Hundreds of skeletons appeared from the crack, overwhelming some Romans and horrifying tourists.
I summoned a few more skeletons before shadow travelling on the ship.
Not long after the skeletons started wreaking havoc on the legionnaires, Leo, Frank, and Jason clambered aboard.
"Jason- you think you and Percy and cook up a storm?" I asked, ignoring how drained I felt from summoning the skeletons.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, it'll be the perfect distraction, duh."
Jason nodded before lightning crackled in the sky as the ocean's water started to churn and rise from Percy. In a matter of seconds, all three of us were harnessing our powers, Percy with the water, Jason with the weather, and me with the Mist and shadows.
Days ago when I first met Jason, I thought he would be some sort of rival to Percy- but the way they worked together was amazing. Perfect sync if you asked me. Then, there was me, of course, being just there and not really helping considering I wasn't on land.
I created multiple clones of the ship and ourselves with the Mist, throwing off at least half of the eagles and charioteers before Hedge shot them down. Then I manipulated the shadows to hide our own ship, which wasn't the best idea considering Annabeth still needed to find us in the end.
I ignored the sounds around us as I focussed on taking down the Romans and protecting the ship and my friends. That was the main thing I concentrated on- blocking out all other distractions and throwing my whole body, mind, and soul into manipulating my powers to every extent I could.
"Guys! GO!"
I heard a female voice yell before the ship flew up courtesy of Leo and Jason, a giant wave of darkness and water following behind to block the Romans from seeing us.
I slumped against the mast, struggling to stay conscious as my head pounded and my whole body ached.
After we got away from Fort Sumter and was safely back in the water, Percy, Jason, and I practically collapsed from exhaustion. Now, Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth were trying to get us to eat or drink something to regain our strength.
My headache was worse than all the ones before- and that was saying something. Maybe even worse than that time I got my memories realtered or the eidolons tried controlling me.
Percy and Jason were able to talk, somewhat, to the others but I felt too weak to. It was hard enough staying conscious at all.
"That was great guys, but it really sapped all of your energy," Annabeth remarked, trying to coax Percy into drinking water.
Passing out seems like a good idea... staying conscious isn't- I was cut off mid-thought when I doubled-over in pain, feeling like I was speared in the gut by some sword. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for the pain to stop.
"Did the world turn upside down?" a voice sounding like Percy asked.
"Yeah- and is everything yellow? Is it supposed to be yellow?" another voice inquired, sounding like Jason.
I opened my eyes, seeing everything had darkened and turned a purplish colour. "N-no... it's purple and black..." I murmured before I fell to the ground, giving up on sitting normally.
"Arina!"
I felt someone help me up, but I was too weak to help so it was like picking up a rag doll filled with bricks.
"You guys need to rest," Annabeth said when I opened my eyes again.
I was lying on my left side, being flipped over from my front by someone. Still hurt either way.
"Frank? Leo? Can you help?"
I heard agreements before my arm was slung over someone's shoulder.
"Wow- you're heavy," a voice remarked closed to my face, probably being the person carrying me.
"Thanks for the compliment, asshat," I grumbled to whoever it was.
"Damn, I was just stating, no need to hate."
I rolled my eyes before squeezing them shut, feeling another pounding headache emerging from my small argument.
It was difficult to form a coherent thought- everything merging together into a blurry mess inside my head as I was carried/dragged to my room or the sickbay.
I was laid/sat down on something moderately soft before being given I think nectar- or maybe ambrosia. My brain was too fuzzy to tell if I was chewing or drinking honestly.
(Thanks for reading y'all! Sorry if Leo, Piper, Jason, Frank, or Hazel seem OOC, I haven't read the Heroes of Olympus for a while and I'm slowly rereading the series right now. I'll come back and fix it later if needed.)