Hey guys! So good news, the last couple of chapters have actually come pretty easy to me so that's something! Also- Dakota is funny and uh '*hides behind a wall*. Please don't kill me.
Replies:
Ant-death: You just made me smile, thank you. And yeah I know, but I got so used to updating daily that it's weird not doing so daily. And honestly I do think part of it is because I've been writing it for so long that it feels like no ending will do it justice lol.
Undeath9087: Yeah, he's always causing trouble. And thank you!
Bianca felt like an idiot- which was a familiar if unpleasant feeling. she shouldn't have let herself get distracted- she knew better than to let her guard down. And now they were in trouble.
The dog-headed men barrelled forward, charging towards them and Bianca raised her sword, a grim look crossing her face. At least if she went down she'd go down fighting.
But before she could even move forward Kayla was moving, a grimace on her lips, "I really, really hope I can pull this off or Will's never going to let me live this down-" then she was letting out a very, very loud ear piercing whistle.
All six of the dog men dropped their weapons, grabbed their ears and fell down in agony.
"Dude." Cecil opened his mouth to pop his ears, "What the actual Hades? A little warning next time."
"Will taught me how to do it." Kayla's expression was one of pride that she'd actually pulled off something which she clearly hadn't been sure she'd be able to do. "It's even worse for the dogs. They're ultrasonic. I remember him using it to fend off a bunch of Stymphalian birds years ago. He promised to teach me but I've never been able to get it right."
"Well you pulled it off under pressure." Bianca remarked, "I'd say you did good." as she spoke she moved, wading through the dog-men and jabbing them with her sword, watching as they dissolved into shadows.
Octavian and the other Romans seemed to stunned to react, very shabby in Bianca's opinion.
"My – my elite guard!" Octavian looked around for sympathy. "Did you see what she did to my elite guard?"
"And I enjoyed it." Bianca levelled her sword at Octavian- he'd always been uneasy around her, and she hoped that she didn't look as weak as she truthfully felt, "And now-" she took a step forward, "To deal with a coward like you."
For one beautiful moment, the entire First Cohort wavered. Then they remembered themselves and levelled their pila.
"You will be destroyed!" Octavian shrieked. "You Graeci sneak around, sabotaging our weapons, attacking our men –"
"You mean the weapons you were about to fire at us?" Cecil asked.
"And the men who were about to burn our camp to ashes?" added Lou Ellen.
"Just like a Greek!" Octavian yelled. "Trying to twist things around! Well, it won't work!' He pointed to the nearest legionnaires. "You, you, you and you. Check all the onagers. Make sure they're operational. I want them fired simultaneously as soon as possible. Go!"
The four Romans ran and Bianca forced her expression not to waver. Had Cecils work been subtle enough? If it had they shouldn't notice anything wrong until it was too late. But at this stage there was nothing they could do was there? She just had to wait and hope.
Octavian marched up to Bianca. To his credit, the augur didn't seem afraid, though his only weapon was a dagger. He stopped so close that she could see the bloodshot veins in his pale watery eyes. His face was gaunt. His hair was the colour of overcooked spaghetti.
"Tell me daughter of Pluto." the augur hissed, "Why are you helping the Greeks, what have they ever done for you?"
"Well for a start I'm trying to help both of you."
Octavian laughed. "Don't try to con me. What have they offered you – a place in their camp? They won't honour their agreement."
"I-" Bianca shook her head, "First of all, the only reason I didn't have a place in their camp already were my own stupid actions-" she saw his brows furrowing in confusion as she ploughed onwards. "I stayed away out of shame because I was selfish. As for what they've done for me. Well. Percy Jackson stepped up when I failed my brother, so I'd say I owe her more than words will ever be able to describe. And when all this is over- I'm going to find my place- maybe I'll move between camps, I don't know yet-" she knew that she'd spend much of her time wherever Reyna was- but she'd still want to visit Nico and the others. She owed them that much.
"Enough!" Octavian snapped the words, "Di Angelo I will say this only once. I can beat any offer the Greeks could make. I always thought you would make a powerful ally. I see the ruthlessness in you, and I appreciate that. I can assure you a place in New Rome. All you have to do is step aside and allow the Romans to win. The god Apollo has shown me the future-"
"Oh Hades no!" Kayla almost roared the words, grabbing Bianca and yanking her backwards as she surged forward, shoving Octavian hard- all righteous fury. Even Octavian's guards seemed to hesitate, and Bianca couldn't blame them. "No no no. You do not get to blame this on my dad. He might be an embarrassing dumbass but I am not letting you blame him for your bullshit decisions. He hasn't been showing anyone the future because the power of prophecy isn't working- if it was May would be seeing things, giving prophecies but she isn't! And this-" Kayla waved her arms frantically at the monsters, "this is not what my dad would want! He's already lost too many of his kids to battles like this. I have to believe he wouldn't want to lose anymore."
And Kayla's eyes were shiny and Bianca wondered if she was thinking of her siblings- from what she'd heard Apollo Cabin had taken quite a few casualties, both in the battle the summer before the war and the battle of Manhattan.
Octavian however, clearly was not as aware of emotions as Kayla was. His lip curled. "You lie. The god told me personally that I would be remembered as the saviour of Rome. I will lead the legion to victory, and I will start by –"
Nico felt the sound before he heard it – thunk-thunk-thunk reverberating through the earth, like the massive gears of a drawbridge. All the onagers fired at once, and six golden comets billowed into the sky.
"By destroying the Greeks!" Octavian cried with glee. "The days of Camp Half-Blood are over!"
And Bianca felt her heart almost stop as she watched, terror flooding through her. What if it hadn't worked- was camp about to be destroyed- and then the terror drained away replaced with joy. From the three sabotaged machines, the payloads veered sideways, arcing towards the barrage from the other three onagers.
The fireballs didn't collide directly. They didn't need to. As soon as the missiles got close to one another, all six warheads detonated in midair, spraying a dome of gold and fire that sucked the oxygen right out of the sky.
The heat stung Bianca's face. The grass hissed. The tops of the trees steamed. But, when the fireworks faded, no serious damage had been done.
Octavian reacted first. He stomped his feet and yelled, "NO! NO, NO! RELOAD!" in a way that reminded Bianca of a child throwing a tantrum.
And no one moved to follow his orders- and Bianca could hear the tromping of boots. The Fifth Cohort was marching towards them double-time, Dakota in the lead.
Further downhill, the rest of the legion was trying to form up, but the Second, Third and Fourth Cohorts were now surrounded by a sea of ill-tempered monstrous allies. The auxilia forces didn't look happy about the explosion overhead. No doubt they'd been waiting for Camp Half-Blood to go up in flames so they'd get chargrilled demigod for breakfast.
"Octavian!" Dakota called. "We have new orders."
Octavian's left eye twitched so violently it looked like it might explode. "Orders? From whom? Not from me!"
"From Reyna," Dakota said, loud enough to make sure everyone in the First Cohort could hear. "She's ordered us to stand down."
"Reyna?" Octavian laughed, though no one seemed to get the joke. "You mean the outlaw I sent you to arrest? The ex-praetor who conspired to betray her own people with this Graecus?" he jabbed his finger towards Bianca's chest-and Bianca would quite like to break that finger if she was being honest. "You're taking orders from her."
"Pretty sure that they were too distracted to conspire to betray us-" Dakota started, before faltering at the glare that Bianca shot him- though her face was flushed a bright shade of red and he straightened, crossing his arms, "Reyna is the praetor until voted otherwise by the Senate and it doesn't matter at all what she was doing with-"
"Dakota..." Bianca glared fiercely- and gods she could feel the other Greeks questioning gazes on her back. "Shut up please."
"Both of you shut up!" Octavian yelled, "This is war! I've brought you to the brink of ultimate victory and you want to give up? First Cohort: arrest Centurion Dakota and any who stand with him. Fifth Cohort: remember your vows to Rome and the legion. You will obey me!"
"Ugh." Kayla's face scrunched up and she shook her head. "I cannot believe that I'm related to this guy. Bianca, please tell me that I'm not really related to him because that-" she guestured emphatically, "Is not a relative I feel proud to know."
"Sorry." Bianca couldn't help but feel faintly amused at the clear disgust on the other girls face. "But I do have to tell you that he is in fact a descendant of Apollo. Though I doubt Apollo's proud of him."
"How dare you?!" Octavian snarled furiously, "He is proud of me! I will SAVE ROME! Now, Romans, follow my orders! Arrest Dakota. Destroy these Graecus scum. And reload those onagers!"
No one moved- and Bianca felt a rush of excitement- of victory.
But it seemed she was getting ahead of herself because perhaps a second or two later the entire army of Camp Half-Blood appeared on the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Clarisse La Rue rode in the lead, on a red war chariot pulled by metal horses. A hundred demigods fanned out around her, with twice that many satyrs and nature spirits led a small wood nymph with hair the color of amber- Bianca could vaguely remember seeing her hanging off of Grover's arm at one point. Tyson lumbered forward with six other Cyclopes. Chiron stood in full white stallion mode, his bow drawn.
"Oh fuck." Bianca let out a low groan as Clarisse stepped forward slightly.
"Romans, you have fired on our camp! Withdraw or be destroyed!"
Octavian wheeled on his troops. "You see? It was a trick! They divided us so they could launch a surprise attack. Legion, cuneum formate! CHARGE!"
"Oh for-" Kayla groaned before she let out a piercing horrible whistle, before anyone could actually start charging- and it was even worse than the last.
Several Greeks dropped their swords. A ripple went through the Roman line like the entire First Cohort was shuddering. Clarisse clamped her hands over her ears, glaring towards Kayla.
"Fucking hell Kayla!" she yelled the words, "I'm going to kill Will for teaching you that!"
"And I'll kill you for being a freaking idiot if you're not careful- look!"
She pointed to the North, and Bianca followed her gaze, a brilliant smile lighting up her face.
It was the Athena Parthenos, gleaming in the sunrise, flying in from the coast, suspended from the tethers of six winged horses.
And not only that but two figure were stood beneath it, helping take the weight for the Pegasi, and stood on Damasen's shoulder was Reyna, her sword held high, her purple cloak glittering strangely. Bianca felt her heart leaping into her throat, a smile spreading across her lips as she quickly called.
"Don't attack! the Giant and the Titan are friendly-"
"Friendly?!" Clarisse's voice was incredulous, "You can't be serious-"
"The Giant is Damasen!" Chiron called, "He wasn't like his brothers, but the Titan-"
"That Titan helped save Percy's life!" Bianca called, "That Giant faced down his father! They are on our side!"
And that at least made the other demigods hesitate slightly, which was enough for them to let the giant, Titan and Pegasi lower the Athena Parthenos towards the hill.
"GREEK DEMIGODS!" Reyna's voice boomed as if projected from the statue itself, like the Athena Parthenos had become a stack of concert speakers. "Behold your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongly taken by the Romans. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace!"
The statue settled on the crest of the hill, about twenty feet away from Thalia's pine tree. Instantly gold light rippled across the ground, into the valley of Camp Half-Blood and down the opposite side through the Roman ranks. Warmth seeped into Bianca's bones.
"Romans!" Reyna yelled. "I do this for the good of the legion, for the good of Rome. We must stand together with our Greek brethren!"
"She's right!" Bianca surged toward, towards Reyna, who Damasen was carefully lowering her from his shoulder. "She-" there was a pain in her back, through to her chest, and Bianca heard screaming, Reyna screaming higher over the other yells- and she stumbled forward, and even as she did a voice shook the earth.
"YOU WILL DIE!"
