Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus series
Credits to my man MadManMaddox for beta-ing my chapter again.
Tunnel Entrance
With Dakota and Gwen
10:00 AM
"Can you shut up for one second with the slurping please?" Gwen asked, tired of hearing Dakota trying to suck out every bit of his Kool-Aid like a baby does through his bottle.
Dakota shrugged in response. "Hey, I can't help it. We've been here for hours and I've already run out of Kool-Aid pouches. And I'd rather not take the chance of snagging some more without Reyna catching me."
Gwen sighed, her fellow centurion's actions beginning to give her an irritation-induced migraine.
After a few moments of silence, she groaned as the son of Bacchus began sucking at his drink yet again despite her trying to incinerate him with her glare. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that. Dakota absentmindedly glanced out the tunnel taking a rather long slurp, finally destroying what little patience Gwen had left.
"Dakota, for once can you please shut the fu–"
"What the hell is that?" Dakota interrupted, his Kool-Aid pouch falling to the floor forgotten.
"What?" Gwen asked, following his gaze. It seemed there was a blur in the sky, steadily approaching their location.
"Should we go tell Reyna about it?" Dakota asked.
Gwen stayed silent for a moment, mentally weighing her options. They could either go and tell Reyna about the strange flying object and potentially lose sight of it. Or they could stay and investigate it themselves.
She glanced at Dakota, her mind made up. "Let's check it out together, it's better than us just splitting up."
Dakota nodded. "Roger that."
The pair exited the tunnel, making sure the surrounding area was clear just in case it was a trap. The duo scanned the sky once more for the mysterious blur. Finally, they were able to make out what it was.
"That's a dragon!" Dakota yelled in disbelief. "A frickin dragon! Don't tell me Terra has dragons in her army now!"
"Be quiet!" Gwen hissed out. "It looks like there's people riding on the back of it. They may not be able to hear us because of the freeway, but even then, we need to be careful. We don't know what we're up against."
The pair waited a bit longer, finally getting an unobstructed view of the creature. The sun reflected off the black dragon's scales making them shine and its large appearance intimidated the two centurions as they watched shell-shocked.
Finally, the dragon dropped from the sky to land. It's landing was a rough one and as it got closer to the ground Dakota could make out some figures on its back. The dragon and its live cargo were a fair distance away from Caldecott Tunnel.
"So, what now, Gwendolyn?" he asked, tilting his head at her. "It's a miracle the mortals aren't going into a frenzy for starters. Only the Gods know what they saw through the mist… Do we go investigate or what?"
"Don't call me that!" Gwen snapped. "We're going to investigate. Even if we did have a chance to tell Reyna, she would want scouts going to see it for themselves, especially if we tell her a dragon just landed in the forest. So that's exactly what we're going to do."
Dakota nodded, sauntering after Gwen as she led the way to their destination. The area of the forest they were in wasn't too dense like a jungle, but there were enough bushes and trees making it hard to see through the foliage.
After about ten minutes of sneaking around, the duo spotted a clearing that the dragon created from its rough landing. But curiously, the beast in question was nowhere to be found. They were far enough from the freeway that the sound of traffic was drowned out, which allowed Gwen to make out a couple of voices up ahead.
Dakota hid behind the nearest tree once Gwen held her hand up, silently telling him to not expose himself during their conversation.
"Wow, that landing was not what I was expecting…"
"Yeah, you might as well have announced our arrival to the entire world."
Dakota narrowed his eyes as he was tempted to peak out from his hiding spot, swearing that the first voice he heard was Per–
Before he could finish his thought, Dakota was roughly pinned against the tree he was hiding behind, with his face being buried into the bark for a split second. He felt his wrists be restrained before he could do anything and was shoved into the ground with a yelp as his hands were gripped and he could feel a boot stepping on both of his legs.
His heart dropped, and he craned his head in despair, fearing for the worst.
"Dakota!" Gwen yelled out, pulling out her gladius.
Dakota grimaced seeing that the person restraining him was a beautiful girl, with black hair and dark brown eyes. High cheekbones adorned her face giving her an almost regal look. Almost, because her casual attire of jeans and a jacket ruled her out as some kind of noble.
"Shit, we got discovered," Dakota thought anxiously. "Does Terra really have demigods on her side? If all of them are this pretty, I'll join for sure…"
Dakota grunted as the girl dug her boots into his legs. She pulled out her silver blade pointing it at Dakota's neck as he tried to shrink away from it.
"Make any moves and your friend here dies," she snarled, glaring daggers at Gwen.
"Zoe stop! They're on our side!" a voice shouted from the clearing.
Gwen turned around, her eyes widening as four people approached her with a certain son of the seas at the forefront.
"Percy? Frank? Hazel? ...Sofia?" Gwen muttered out in shock, almost dropping her sword.
"Gwen!" Hazel exclaimed as she ran up to the girl and wrapped her arms around her.
"What… what are you guys doing here?" Gwen asked, nervously returning the hug.
"We're back from our quest obviously," Sofia said matter-of-factly. "What's your explanation for sneaking up on us like that?"
"Oh uh…" Gwen stuttered.
"Zoe, can you please let Dakota go?" Percy pleaded.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. Force of habit," Zoe said, releasing Dakota. She then took her place next to Sofia.
Percy helped Dakota up, dusting off his back and front from the dirt and leaves it had accumulated.
"You okay?" Percy asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, yeah. Just great," Dakota said sarcastically, glaring at Zoe who paid no attention to him.
"So, who is that? You know, the girl that assaulted me? I could've sworn it was just the four of you when you left," Dakota murmured as he pulled Percy to the side.
"Oh her? It's a long story…" Percy said, chuckling.
"She just tried to kill me! This isn't a laughing matter," Dakota said irritably, raising his eyebrow.
"She's… look I'll explain it later. We need to report to Lady Lupa anyways."
"Fine…" Dakota said, still glaring at Zoe with disdain as they joined the others.
"…Wait, so that was you guys on top of the dragon?" Gwen asked, her eyes widening.
"Yes," Sofia said, catching Frank's eyes for a moment who nodded in response. "It was Frank actually. Hazel's horse doesn't have enough room for all of us, so we had to resort to this."
"Whoa, wait a minute," Dakota said, shaking his head as he took several steps forward, so he was in the center of the group. "So, you're telling me that Frank can transform into a dragon now? Like some kind of shapeshifter? And when did Hazel get a horse?"
The five quest members exchanged glances, all of them internally groaning since they literally had just gone over all of this.
"Look, boy–"
"Oh no," Percy thought. "Zoe is going to chew out Dakota if someone doesn't say something."
"Zoe–" Percy started.
"It's confidential information," Sofia interrupted, giving Zoe a glare which she briefly returned with her own. Sofia tore her eyes away, turning to Dakota and Gwen. "But since you're both centurions, save your questions for Lady Lupa. We'll explain everything to her."
"Tch, fine," Dakota said, eyeing Zoe as she walked off with Sofia.
The seven of them began heading back to the legion. Dakota and Gwen were in the front, with Sofia and Zoe in the middle, as Percy, Hazel, and Frank took up the rear.
Dakota and Gwen
"What's with you?" Gwen asked. "You're more irritable than usual."
"Nothing," Dakota said, kicking a rock. "New girl just pisses me off."
Gwen raised her eyebrow at Dakota. "Well suck it up. She looks like she's good friends with Sofia and it seems like she can hold her own in a fight. Is it because she tied you up? You don't normally get this mad over opponents that beat you."
"She got me by surprise, that's all. I ain't losing to some greenhorn in a straight fight," Dakota said, sounding miffed.
"Greenhorn, huh?" Gwen repeated. "Percy was a greenhorn too, ya know."
"He's different," Dakota said immediately, causing Gwen's eyes to narrow. "I don't know why though. It's just a feeling I get."
Sofia and Zoe
"Can you at least try to be civil with the guys at camp?" Sofia asked, giving Zoe a sidelong glance.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zoe stated.
"It was obvious you were going to insult Dakota earlier," Sofia said as she met Zoe's eyes.
"I was not," Zoe said.
Her comment made Sofia scoff. "It wasn't necessary to attack him like you did. My orders were to scout the area, not apprehend potential threats."
"They looked like a threat," Zoe retorted. "Sneaking around and hiding where we couldn't see them? Eavesdropping on our conversation? Did you expect me to believe they were our allies?"
Sofia sighed loudly at that, not wanting to argue with her anymore. "You know I'm a centurion, right?"
"Yeah, so what?" Zoe said, putting a hand on her hip.
"It means, that if you do something stupid, it reflects badly on me since I'm the one bringing you into the legion," Sofia said with a glare.
"Oh…" Zoe said as she looked down, regret clear in her eyes. "Sorry, it's a habit. To treat boys like that."
"I know. It's why I brought it up," Sofia said with a wave of her hand. "That was the real reason you were so rough with him wasn't it?"
Zoe didn't say anything opting to stay quiet which was basically a 'yes' to the daughter of wisdom.
"That's what I thought. Just remember Lady Lupa isn't as forgiving as me, especially if you do things like that in the legion."
Zoe nodded. "Thanks for the heads up, I appreciate it."
"It doesn't seem like you have a problem with Frank and Percy though," Sofia said, taking a glance at the two boys behind her.
"Well, that's because they helped save my life. And it looks like Hazel keeps Frank in check all the time so he's a good guy," Zoe said, looking at the trio behind them for a moment.
"And Percy?"
Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but she was at a loss for words as she couldn't formulate a reason in her head.
"Shut up!" Zoe hissed, as Sofia suddenly chuckled. "They'll hear us if you talk too loud."
"I didn't even say anyth–"
"Yeah whatever," Zoe cut in. "I didn't know ice queen over here knew how to laugh."
"Me? Ice queen?" Sofia repeated, narrowing her eyes at Zoe's words.
"Oh nothing, my tongue slipped," Zoe teased.
Sofia gave her a shove. "Fuck off," she snapped.
"Watch your language, Lady Lupa wouldn't be happy with her centurions using such vulgar words–"
"Why you–" Sofia said angrily, her left eye twitching.
Percy, Hazel, and Frank
"It looks like Zoe and Sofia get along pretty well," Hazel said, watching with interest as the two of them conversed.
"Yeah. To think that they were giving each other the cold shoulder yesterday…" Percy mused aloud.
"Frank… are you sure you're okay?" Hazel asked as she placed a hand on Frank's arm.
"Yeah, I'm alright," Frank said, grunting as he took a few steps on his own.
"Frank!" Hazel said worriedly, walking up to him. "Do you need help walking?"
"I'm fine, Hazel. I landed hard on my legs so I'm just a bit shaky."
"Ah… alright…" Hazel said uneasily as she watched Frank stretch and dust himself off.
"What happened exactly?" Percy asked, crossing his arms. "From the ground, it looked like everything was going well and then you suddenly crashed."
Frank looked away, his cheeks turning red. "Yeah that sounds about right," Frank stated. "I completely forgot you and Hazel were on Arion when I was in the air."
"Sofia said that because of the mist, the mortals will probably see me as an airplane or something. So she suggested I land somewhere close to the legion. She said that this forest was pretty remote, so I wasn't too visible when I was landing."
"Oh, I see," Hazel said as her eyes widened. "So that's why she told us to follow you."
"Yeah, she just said to get to the legion by following you from the ground," Percy chimed in.
"Yup it was all fine until we got to the actual landing part. Where she just told me to land, and I sort of uh… winged it," Frank said sheepishly.
Hazel and Percy exchanged glances and burst into a fit of giggles.
"Really Frank, 'winged it'?" Percy asked, giving Frank a crooked grin.
Frank sighed in annoyance. He then walked ahead to try and get away from the two of them.
"Cut me some slack, that was the first time I was in the air. Actually, that was the first time I even became a frickin dragon. We should be lucky that my transformation worked out or we would've had to walk all the way here."
"Well, you would've had to walk," Hazel teased, giving Arion a nice pat on the head. "Maybe if you asked nicely I would've given you a ride back." Frank glared at Hazel, although there wasn't much heat in his gaze.
"Okay yeah, that's true," Percy interrupted.
"Don't worry, Frank, I'm sure your transformations are just something that needs a little work," Hazel said with a smile.
Frank returned it, nodding his head in agreement. "I'm glad we're all back alive with our objective completed. Judging from Gwen and Dakota's reactions, there hasn't been an invasion at the legion yet while we were gone."
"Yeah, it seems that way. Hopefully, we get a little bit of peace before anything else happens. Too much went down during our quest…" Percy said with a long sigh.
Hazel and Frank nodded their heads as they both gave Percy a look of sympathy. There was a lot of secrets revealed over the past few days and the pair of them hoped no more harm could come to their friend.
Legion Entrance
"Wow this is not what I was expecting on the other side of the tunnel…" Zoe said, amazed by Camp Jupiter's structure and resemblance to actual Rome.
"Yeah the Caldecott tunnel is extremely deceptive. We're like a secret society if you think about it," Gwen said jokingly.
"Ah, your back… oh? And it looks like you brought friends to," the guard said wandering over, taking off her galea.
Sofia stepped forward, acknowledging her with a nod of her head. "Centurion Leila, we request an audience with Lady Lupa as soon as possible. It's regarding the details of the quest."
Leila nodded. From their expressions, it was clearly a matter of utmost importance. "I'll call in some replacements to take up my post and rendezvous back with you at the principia. I'm assuming you want all centurions present?"
Sofia nodded in response as the group walked past. Before they could get any farther, Leila stepped in front of Sofia, bringing her to a stop.
"Who's she?" the daughter of Ceres asked, giving Zoe a pointed look.
"At least try to be civil…" Sofia's words echoed in Zoe's head.
Zoe sighed and opened her mouth to introduce herself, but Sofia answered for her.
"She's part of the quest prophecy. I'll explain when Lady Lupa is listening," Sofia said with an even gaze.
"Outsiders aren't allowed into Rome, Sofia. Has she been tested?" Leila replied not budging in the slightest.
"She can fight if that's what you're asking," Percy answered.
Leila snapped her attention to Percy. "I didn't ask you probatio."
Sofia rolled her eyes at Leila's stubborn attitude. "I said I would explain it when Lupa is listening. Can you not wait ten minutes for a centurion meeting?"
With a reluctant nod, Leila slowly stepped out of the way. "Fine."
As they walked by, Percy couldn't help but notice the glare Leila directed at him as they passed. She clearly held a grudge of what had happened during his cohort placement.
"Oh, and one more thing," Leila said aloud causing seven heads to turn. "Lady Diana and her hunters are here. Something about them being our reinforcements, because of the warning you sent us."
Percy's eyes widened and glanced at Zoe through the corner of his eye.
Her breath had hitched in her throat and she was staring down at the floor. Now that they were here, she had no idea what to do.
"My Lady… she's here in Rome?! What should I–" Zoe thought. However, before her panic could worsen, Sofia spoke up.
"I see, thank you Leila," Sofia said.
Leila then saluted and made her exit.
With Leila finally having nothing left to say, the seven of them continued walking without interruption until they had arrived at the barracks.
Sofia turned towards Gwen and Dakota. "Meet at the principia in ten minutes. I want to have some words with my quest members," Sofia declared.
The pair of centurions looked at each other for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement.
Sofia approached Zoe once they left. She did a brief scan of the area to ensure that they would have privacy. Once she had confirmed they had a moment to themselves, Sofia locked her eyes on Zoe.
"I know what you're thinking right now," Sofia murmured. "You're going to have to wait for your reunion, there are more pressing matters."
Zoe stiffened. "My Lady… is here in the legion?"
The other three gave her sympathetic looks.
"It seems so," Sofia said with a nod.
"It would not be wise to rush to them and cause a scene. You aren't a member of the legion after all. Gwen was already raising questions about who you even were, and she wasn't wrong when she said outsiders are normally denied entrance."
Zoe stayed silent, unable to look at Sofia. There was no denying what Sofia had said, no matter how much it made her gut churn.
"Zoe... are you sure you're going to be alright?" Percy asked.
He then placed a hand on her shoulder in the hopes of comforting her. But to his shock, she slapped his hand away and glared at him. Percy's jaw dropped and he pulled his hand back.
She quickly looked away. "I'm fine and I won't cause a ruckus. Don't worry about me misbehaving and not following the rules," Zoe said irritably.
Nobody spoke for a moment, letting her words sink in until Sofia broke the silence.
"Good, I'll hold you to it," Sofia said solemnly. She then turned to the rest of them. "Meet at the principia in ten minutes sharp."
Everybody nodded their heads as Sofia walked away with Zoe in tow behind her.
"The showers for my cohort are this way, your free to use them. I've needed one for a while," Sofia said with a sigh of discomfort.
"Yeah thanks," Zoe said distractedly, as she trudged after Sofia.
Percy frowned and shook his head. "Just when you think you figured her out, she does a complete 180," Percy said with a heavy sigh.
"Well…" Hazel said, "she must really be thinking about the hunters being here. I mean they were basically her family right?"
"Hazel's right. Don't think much of it Perce, anybody would've reacted that way," Frank implored.
"I know. I'm just worried about her," Percy said. With little else to say, he headed off to the barracks. A shower sounded very appealing right now.
Ten Minutes Later
"Is everybody present?" Lupa asked as she scanned the room with her eyes.
"Yes, all the centurions are here, and all quest members are present," Reyna replied, her eyes landing on Zoe briefly.
"Good. I'm sure everybody has more than a couple questions… so we will have Centurion Sofia start off with what happened," Lupa called out with a gesture in Sofia's direction.
"So when we first left…" Sofia began.
This continued for the next hour with Sofia's voice being the only one in the principia, recapping the story from start to finish.
Percy did notice that she left out the more private details, such as his heritage, and the event with Nereus which was fine. It had been expected.
"So, what you're saying is that she's the 'old ally' in the prophecy?" Leila asked, giving Sofia a pointed look.
"Exactly. Because of her, the first three lines are now decipherable," Sofia announced, "Son of the seas do not fear the sky was the first line, its meaning–"
"It referenced not only me being on the quest, but the sky happened to be–" Percy started.
"It happened to be Ouranos, the primordial of the sky," Sofia finished, giving Percy a cold glare. "Speak only when you're spoken to probatio."
Percy bit his tongue at this as murmurs broke out. He wanted to retort at her like at the campfire, but he knew better this time. This wasn't the right time or place to be pissed.
"Silence," Lupa stated, quieting the whispering in the room. "Do you have any proof that a primordial was involved?"
"Unfortunately, no. The only concrete evidence that we really have is Zoe since this is all Percy's account," Sofia replied.
"I see," Lupa turned towards Zoe.
"Tell us then, centurion. What does this second line mean?"
"Through him, you will gain an old ally. The old ally refers to her, Zoe Nightshade. She's…" Sofia hesitated for a moment. "...From Percy's past. She had died but was brought back to life by Ouranos."
"That is an interesting claim…" Lupa said, trailing off. "Everybody is aware of Percy's memory loss yes?"
All the centurions nodded their heads. Percy's eyes widened in surprise.
"I took the liberty of telling the centurions," Reyna said, as if reading his mind. "It's an important detail so I talked to them about it while you were gone on the quest."
Percy gave a stiff nod. He was not impressed that Reyna had gone ahead and told everyone else about such a thing.
"And so, after what we've seen with Octavian, this type of phenomenon is clearly possible. But for those that still doubt you've come back to life do you have any other reasons that can prove it?" Lupa asked with her intimidating gaze locked on Zoe.
Zoe took a deep breath and nodded.
"It's all true," Zoe said standing up, "We concluded that I was resurrected due to the prophecy. My name is Zoe Nightshade, daughter of Atlas, and former lieutenant of the hunters of Diana."
"Atlas?! You allowed an offspring of a titan into Rome? This is absurd–" Octavian yelled out.
Lupa growled. In a flash, she drew her sword and swung it at Octavian's throat, stopping just shy of slicing his neck wide open. Octavian silently gulped, alarm clear on his face.
"This was said earlier, praetor, but clearly you didn't hear it the first time. Speak only when you are spoken too," Lupa snapped. She then sheathed her blade leaving Octavian to rub his throat.
Percy bit his lip. He had no qualms against the augur, neither liking or disliking him. But it was a clear message. Regardless of who you are in Rome your mistakes would be punished swiftly.
"You say, former huntress?" Lupa asked. "Being a huntress is a vow for life."
She narrowed her eyes accusingly. "Did you do something to break your vow?"
Zoe quickly shook her head. "No... I died. I couldn't have been resurrected if I hadn't been dead already."
"Ah... I apologize," Lupa said with a nod in Zoe's direction. "Well then, are there any more questions?"
There were no hands raised as silence permeated throughout the room for a few seconds.
"So how did you get here?" Reyna asked, giving Sofia a scrutinizing gaze. "Even on Arion, who you described, shouldn't have been able to carry all of you. Scipio can only carry three people maximum and he's a Pegasus. And Arion is a land horse that runs at supersonic speeds. You're telling me he is able to carry five people at once?"
Frank stiffened, turning his eyes down to the table they were sitting at.
Reyna peered at him, but Sofia leaned towards her. "I think that's answer enough," Sofia said, catching Reyna's stare with her own.
"I didn't think it was that important a detail, but Arion can travel so fast that he breaks the sound barrier. So why do you think he couldn't carry three people and then come back for the last two?"
Percy was shocked. He thought Sofia was hiding the more private details because Frank doesn't want others to know about his ability. But to lie to Reyna, in front of Lady Lupa? What was the point of it?
He looked at Gwen and Dakota and saw them shift in their seats, most likely debating whether to say something or to just leave it alone.
"I hadn't thought about that," Reyna admitted, breaking their gaze. "I apologize for doubting you."
Sofia looked at Lady Lupa who repeated her question from earlier.
The mother of Rome looked around seeing nobody raise their hand. "Good. Make sure this information is shared amongst your respective cohorts. Freeing Thanatos and delaying Alcyoneus' return is but a small victory," Lupa declared, glancing toward the quest group, "The enemy may know where we are, but there isn't a chance in Pluto that they can just waltz in here and expect us to surrender. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"
"Senatus Populusque Romanus!" echoed everybody in the room.
"Dismissed. I wish to speak with the quest members alone."
Percy sighed in relief, glad the meeting was over. He saw Dakota giving him a look that said, 'we need to talk later'. And of course, Leila gave him a death stare as she closed the door.
"Can she really not let that go?" Percy thought with a frown, irritated by the daughter of Ceres.
"Good work on the quest. It sounded like quite the tale, encountering titans and giants along the way," Lupa said, giving a wolfish smile. "You three have earned the right to be called legionnaires. Congratulations."
"Yes! No more cleaning duty!" Frank exclaimed. He then blushed and looked down with a hand over his mouth.
"Relax, Frank. You're not wrong about that one," Lady Lupa said, chuckling a bit.
"Legionnaire…" Percy thought, his lips curling into a grin.
"All three of you stepped up in your own way." She dipped her head and smiled at each of them. "And not one of you backed down from the challenge… That is more than enough proof you deserve to be called Romans."
She then turned towards Sofia. "As for you."
Percy glanced at Sofia momentarily. He wasn't sure, but it sounded like she had sucked in her breath.
"I could not be more impressed by your leadership. I had a feeling the wit and decision making that you showcased throughout your time at the legion would translate to the quest."
Sofia exhaled and gave Lady Lupa a ghost of a smile.
"And it looks like it did. Initially, I wasn't sure if you were the right centurion for the job, but there wasn't much of a choice was there?" Lupa said humorlessly. "It wouldn't have been possible without you."
"Thank you... Lady Lupa," Sofia said bowing her head.
The mother of Rome nodded in response. "And our newest companion..."
"Yes?" Zoe said tentatively.
"I'm sure you know Diana and her hunters are here in the legion, you can go see them in the field of Mars soon. But because of your efforts in assisting the members of this quest. I want to make you an offer."
"An offer?"
"Yes, an offer to make you a member of the legion."
Zoe's eyes widened. "Of course, if you choose to be a hunter again, that offer closes. However, there's always room for capable demigods to serve Rome," Lupa said, crossing her arms. "Regardless of who their parent is."
"I'll have to think about it... but thank you," Zoe whispered, seemingly at a loss for words.
Lupa nodded and waved her hand. "Relax for today, demigods. Regular activities begin again tomorrow. Dismissed."
Outside the Principia
"I'll show you to the field of Mars. If you need a place to stay come to my cohort okay?" Sofia said, directing her words at Zoe.
Zoe nodded. "Thanks, is it okay if we go now?"
"Mh-hmm."
"You think Zoe will be alright?" Hazel asked once they were out of earshot.
"I hope so," Frank said. "You think Zoe will join the Legion? I thought that since she was given a second chance at life, she would just rejoin the hunt."
"Yeah…" Percy said trailing off. "Ultimately, it's her choice."
With Sofia and Zoe
"Thanks for this. The dread is lessened with you beside me," Zoe said, taking a deep breath.
Sofia tilted her head as they walked. "Dread? What are you afraid of?"
"I'm nervous... The hunt was my family for so long. I don't even know how to feel, now that I've been gone. I want to join them again but… it's so much to think about," Zoe confessed.
"Don't think about it then. There are some things that you need to feel rather than reason out," Sofia said, trying to find the right words. "Breathing helps too you know."
Zoe looked at her not sure if she was making a joke or trying to help her relax, "Uh, thanks I guess."
Sofia sighed. "Sorry, I uh... I'm not good at this kind of stuff…"
Sofia gave Zoe a dark look the instant she started laughing.
"Shut up! What's so funny?"
"You," Zoe said mockingly.
"It's up ahead," Sofia said as she rolled her eyes. "You're insufferable sometimes."
5 Minutes Later
Edge of Hunter's Campground
Diana's hunters were set up on the far side of the field of Mars. The camp was positioned on the edge leaving room for war games on the field. Diana's wolves stood guard, threatening any who would attempt to enter.
"Thanks... I really appreciate it," Zoe said, interlacing her fingers together. "You hated me when we first met. Yet you still came along with me."
Sofia scoffed. "I didn't say I hated you, did I? And… I saw a lot of myself in you. I've been told I'm pretty cold and unapproachable... and I wanted to change."
"Thanks," Zoe said simply, sniggering a little at how cliché that sounded.
Sofia glared at her. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."
Zoe waved as Sofia turned around, walking away. She clenched her fists looking straight at the familiar encampment.
With Sofia
Sofia looked up feeling a sudden gust of wind on her walk halfway to the barracks. She raised her hand to block out the sun, seeing the figure of a Pegasus land in front of her.
She recognized the girl on the back easily. Purple praetor cape. Piercing black eyes. Glossy black hair in a single braid.
Reyna.
The daughter of Bellona jumped off putting a hand on her hip as she met Sofia's eyes. "Hey, can we talk?"
"We're talking right now aren't we?" Sofia replied.
Reyna wasn't amused. "You know what I mean. I'm not joking around."
"Talk about what then? You were there in the principia, we talked about everything and all the questions were answered. Including yours," Sofia said, giving an exasperated sigh.
"Well, knowing you. You would keep something from us, even from Lady Lupa," Reyna accused.
"Are you serious? There isn't a reason for me to lie in front of everybody."
"You expect me to believe that's the truth?" Reyna said, getting in Sofia's face. "I've known you far too long. It's easy to tell when you're lying now."
"Lying huh?" Sofia repeated angrily, shoving Reyna back.
"Yeah, you act like a real bitch sometimes. Wisbitch, If I may say," Reyna taunted.
"Wisbitch? Is that some kind of joke?" Sofia asked angrily.
"Yeah, that's your nickname when you go into ice queen mode," Reyna replied.
"Ice queen mode... You of all people should know why I act like that. We talked about this, did we not?" Sofia said, trying to reason with Reyna.
"Yeah, of course, I know why and it's why I want you to tell me why you lied back there. We promised no secrets," Reyna stated.
"I refuse."
Reyna scoffed. "You refuse?"
"I don't give a shit if your praetor, Reyna," Sofia said as her voice rose. "Why do you have to pry so damn much? Everybody has secrets, if you were my friend you would respect that."
"We are friends. I just can't let this one go," Reyna said, drawing her gladius which shocked Sofia.
"Are you going to torture me if I don't talk? Our praetor being a sadist wouldn't be a good look for the legion," Sofia warned.
"Nice try, but when you're this stubborn talking doesn't do much. I'm sick of you always bottling up your feelings. Aren't we family now? Does the legion mean nothing to you?"
"Of course it means a lot to me but…"
"Fuck your mom," Reyna cut in. "Why even use her as a reason anymore? Minerva doesn't deserve to be called your mom in the first place. Or were all those things you told me about her just lies?"
Sofia remained silent but drew her own gladius in response.
Reyna sighed. "Fine, I'll just have to make you talk. First blood. If I win you tell me everything."
"And if I win?" Sofia asked, glaring at Reyna coldly.
"Then I leave, and you can hide all the secrets you want. Keep them bottled up, I don't care."
And with those final words, Sofia ran at her long-time friend, her intent to make first blood as painful as possible.
With Percy
"So how is she? Does she live up the rumors?" Dakota asked.
"She's different, I'll tell you that much," Percy responded, leaning against the railing of the barracks.
"Different... how so?"
"There's a lot more to her than the ice queen persona. She's smart obviously, that's a given."
"Define smart. Everyone in the legion knows that. I want to hear specifics," Dakota said as he crossed his arms.
"She thinks extremely well on the fly. Easily reasoning out bad scenarios for the more favorable ones. Without her, things probably would have turned out for the worst. She really acts like a leader when she needs too."
"Oh wow. She's that clever, huh?"
"Yeah, she's secretive too. There's a lot of details she revealed to us about her past, but I feel like there's more she's hiding."
Dakota shrugged at that. "It's not our duty to pry, is it? But I'm glad she's more than just an ice queen. You think she's cute or what?"
"Wh-what?" Percy said as he snapped his eyes to Dakota's incredulously.
"Kidding, kidding," Dakota said, giving Percy a grin.
"Where's your Kool-Aid anyways? I swear you always have one."
"Gwen confiscated them," Dakota said with a groan, "She doesn't know how to take a joke sometimes. 'Oh no,' I got impaled by a spear help me!" *
"What did you just say?" came Gwen's voice from around the corner.
"Oh shit," Dakota said, jumping over the railing not even daring to look behind him.
"C'mere, dipshit. I just want to stab you a little," Gwen yelled out as she chased Dakota.
"Percy help! Help!" Dakota yelled as he ran.
Percy sighed, his lips curling into a smile. "It's good to be back."
With Sofia and Reyna
"Gah!" Sofia cried out as she clutched her left arm, reeling from the pain.
For over ten minutes Sofia felt like she had the upper hand, with Reyna doing nothing more than simple slashes and parry's. However, she didn't even see it until it was already over.
"That fucking hurt," Sofia complained, wincing as blood dripped down her arm.
"Sorry. You almost had me a few times," Reyna admitted. "But I wasn't going to lose to you." She then pulled out some medical tape from her pocket gesturing for her to kneel.
"I can do it myself," Sofia said, grabbing the tape with her good hand before Reyna could even say anything.
"Shut up!" Reyna said angrily, shoving Sofia in frustration. "Look... I feel bad enough already for hurting you. At least let me bandage you up."
"Fine…" Sofia said, holding her arm up for Reyna to bandage.
"Gods, you're so difficult sometimes. Why can't you just be honest with your feelings?" Reyna asked as she finished wrapping the bandage around her arm to stop the bleeding.
"That wasn't part of the wager," Sofia said as she looked away.
"Your wrong. I said I wanted to know everything, didn't I? I want answers now. You were distracted in the fight as well, don't deny that."
With her back turned toward Reyna, Sofia lashed out slapping the daughter of Bellona in the face.
Reyna backed up, clutching her cheek in shock.
"Don't you ever think you can force me to do something... You're just a violent bitch, ever since Jason's been gone. Such a hypocrite, trying to lecture me about my problems when you can't even fix your own," Sofia snapped.
Reyna's face turned red with anger grabbing Sofia by the front of her hoodie, lifting her off the ground.
"You've crossed the line, centurion," Reyna said in a deadly whisper.
Sofia spat at Reyna, who was forced to let go of her to avoid it.
"And you're too nosy for your own good, praetor," Sofia snarled angrily.
Reyna jumped on Scipio and left the field of Mars without another word, not even looking back once.
"Unbelievable…" Reyna thought.
"Reyna…"
With Zoe
The daughter of Atlas entered the camp with apprehension, her eyes scanning the campground for Artemis' tent.
She had taken a shower earlier thanks to Sofia, so even though she was just wearing a pair of borrowed jeans and an SPQR t-shirt, she still looked every bit like the Zoe who had died those years ago.
One of the wolves who was patrolling the edge of the campground instantly ran at her with a fierce expression.
Zoe raised her hands up as the wolf came closer until it was right in front of her. She watched as the wolf circled her a few times before stopping and staring at the daughter of Atlas' eyes. The wolf whimpered and snuggled Zoe's legs as it recognized who she was.
Zoe smiled, even though her heart had been beating a mile a minute, it had slowed down a little at the sight of such a heartfelt welcome.
"Can you take me to Lady Artemis?" Zoe asked, glancing at the wolf's left ear seeing a black stripe amidst its white fur. "Please, Sheila?"
The wolf, Sheila, yipped at Zoe and began walking into the camp. Zoe looked around with a gaze of sweet nostalgia, smiling at the formation of the tents. She wondered why Artemis hadn't sensed her presence yet, but she realized that's what the wolves were for. They would only inform Artemis if she was a threat.
Zoe clenched her fists as she and Sheila reached the most decorative tent in the camp. It had symbols of the monsters that the hunt had defeated and carried the aura of a goddess.
The former huntress stopped and looked down at the floor until Sheila nudged her forward. The wolf whimpered at Zoe and barked once, before running off.
Zoe stiffened. She wanted nothing more than to skin the wolf at that moment.
The tent opened revealing a woman who looked a few years older than Zoe. She was alluring, with long auburn hair tied into a ponytail, a silver hunter's outfit, and eyes the color of the full moon.
"Sheila, I told you to quit your incessant barking…" Diana said, sounding annoyed. She took a glance at the person in front of her and gasped.
In an instant, a bright flash blinded Zoe causing her to look away for a second. And once her vision came around she was quickly embraced in the tightest hug she had ever experienced in her second life.
"Zoe?" Artemis whispered, hugging Zoe even tighter.
"Lady Artemis…" Zoe muttered, returning the embrace with misty eyes.
"I don't understand…" Artemis whimpered out, "I had seen your constellation disappear a few days ago, but I didn't think you were actually alive."
Zoe nodded her head, reaching up to wipe her eyes.
"I'm sorry, my lady. For dying…" Zoe choked out, burying her head in the crook of Artemis' neck.
"No… I'm sorry I couldn't save you. If only I hadn't been captured you wouldn't have died," Artemis confessed, running her hand through the other girl's hair.
"But the prophecy…" Zoe reasoned.
"No. I don't care what the prophecy stated. I don't even care how you're here. All that matters is you're back."
Zoe said nothing more those were the words she had wanted to hear for the longest time. After ten minutes the two broke apart with Artemis bringing Zoe into her tent. Artemis sat down with Zoe and using both hands grabbed Zoe's cheeks and pinched them.
Zoe squirmed and gently pushed Artemis hands away from her face.
"My lady, please…"
The goddess of the hunt gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to confirm this isn't one of Morpheus' tricks. You're really alive again…but what happened Zoe? I'm so happy your alive... but how? I don't understand at all."
"It's a long story…" Zoe said sighing and began giving Artemis a rundown of the past two days.
Twenty Minutes Later
"My Gods…" Artemis whispered.
"Yeah…" Zoe said, nodding glumly. "I'm no longer a member of the hunt anymore either my lady."
"I know," Artemis said, giving Zoe a soft smile, "But that doesn't mean you cannot rejoin."
Zoe was silent for a moment as Artemis said that, only turning to her when she put a hand on her shoulder.
"Zoe? Are you okay?" Artemis asked.
"I... I need some time to think," Zoe confessed.
Artemis looked shocked. "What do you mean think?"
"I don't know… I shouldn't even be alive right now Lady Artemis. To go back to how things once were before I died… I just need some time to think about it."
"Of course, Zoe," Artemis said, giving Zoe a soft smile. "The hunt will always be here for you."
"Thank you, my lady… Can I stay here?"
"You don't even need to ask. Just pick a tent and set it up anywhere in the camp. I'll be sure to tell the other hunters when they get back."
Zoe smiled thankfully as she stood up, pausing at the entrance to Artemis' tent. "How is Thalia, my lady? Is she here right now?"
Artemis shook her head. "No, she'll be arriving in a few days because she was at Camp-Half Blood but she's doing well. She's my lieutenant now after you passed."
"Oh," Zoe said. She was a little shocked at how much Thalia had grown.
Artemis gave Zoe an easy smile, "Of course, that can be changed. You do have the most experience after all."
Zoe nodded. With nothing left to say and her mind swimming with thoughts, she left.
Next Morning Arena
6:00 AM
Percy woke up with a yawn, sitting up in his bed. He yelped as he narrowly avoided falling off the edge of his bunk bed.
"Oh, that's right. I'm back at the legion," Percy recalled.
He quickly climbed down and got dressed trying not to cause too much noise as he left the barracks ten minutes later.
Percy headed to the coliseum stretching his arms before he entered and was not surprised to see Sofia already there training.
She paid no attention to him as he walked over, completely focused on hacking at the dummy in front of her. There wasn't any fluidity or finesse to her moves, just mindless slashing and stabbing as straw flew everywhere.
"Sofia!" Percy yelled. There was no indication that she had heard him.
"Sofia!" Percy repeated, walking closer. If anything, she increased the tempo of her strikes as if to drown out Percy's voice. Percy sighed, grabbing two wooden swords from the sword rack and headed toward her.
"Sofia…" Percy said standing behind her. She stopped, holding her gladius loosely at her side with her back facing Percy.
"What," Sofia said curtly.
Percy didn't say anything else, merely sliding the wooden sword in front of Sofia, who picked it up and turned around. He could see the sweat dripping down the side of her face and her lips curled into a snarl.
"Let's fight. Clearly, you aren't thinking straight because of what's on your mind," Percy said, his eyes softening.
"There's nothing on my mind. And even if I did have–"
Percy gave a quick slash forcing her to parry.
"You're bad at lying you know," Percy said, thrusting at her chest which she batted away easily.
"Shut up," Sofia growled, hating how he sounded like her. She went on the offensive with a series of strikes.
They fought for about fifteen minutes, neither side backing down as it turned from a casual spar into a full-blown duel.
Percy noticed that unlike last time he fought Sofia, she was much more aggressive taking a lot of unnecessary risks. Her attacks were a blur but left many opportunities for counters that he could've abused multiple times.
Sofia gave a haphazard strike at his head, which could have easily given him a concussion if he wasn't fast enough to duck. He narrowed his eyes, stepping forward and disarmed her with a quick move, her wooden sword sliding across the arena.
Percy sighed, wondering what caused her to be so unfocused. She didn't say anything, not even acknowledging that Percy had beaten her one-on-one.
"So that's it?" Percy said as Sofia began walking away.
"You're just going to bottle it up? Not even going to tell me what this is about? Is it Zoe? Did she do something wrong? Or maybe it's your mother–"
"It's Reyna," Sofia said simply as she stopped.
"What?" Percy asked, not sure if he heard her correctly.
"I had an argument with Reyna. That's all." She said facing Percy.
"Well it sure looks like it wasn't just an argument," Percy said, crossing his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"She was livid at me for lying. You know, in the centurion meeting," Sofia said casting her eyes downward.
"Oh right. I was wondering why you lied about the transportation thing. I get lying about Nereus and my lineage since those are personal issues, but did you really lie just to protect Frank? Everyone is going to find out eventually anyways," Percy asked curiously.
"It didn't look like Frank wanted everyone to know just yet. So I lied, but Reyna is perceptive. She knew instantly I was lying," Sofia said throwing her arms up, "She confronted me about it after I escorted Zoe to the hunter's camp and it ended badly. She's just so irritating… ever since Jason left she isn't the same person so I didn't think she had a right to lecture me."
"What do you mean 'she isn't the same person?'" Percy asked.
"She's let the praetor position get to her," Sofia explained. "She thinks that she has to uphold a public image of the perfect roman and it's ridiculous. Nobody ever gets everything right, nor makes the right decisions all the time. She knows that too, yet she still thinks she's entitled to know everything just because she's the leader…"
"I hate that part of her so much."
"Wow," Percy said, "So what happened after she confronted you?"
"She left," Sofia said, "It's been like this since yesterday and frankly I don't want anything to do with her anymore."
"Seriously? You're both acting like children!" Percy said exasperated, drawing a cold look from Sofia.
"It's my problem, isn't it? Why the hell should I care what you think?" she said harshly.
"Remember what we talked about on the boat?"
Sofia was silent as she thought for a moment. She glared at Percy. "Yeah I do, so what?"
"You told me you resented your mother because she was never there for you. But hasn't Reyna been there for you through thick and thin? We're demigods Sofia. Nobody understands us more than each other."
"With your memory, I'm surprised you were able to say something like that," Sofia said her voice calming down.
Percy sighed, "Talk to her about it okay? I know you guys are close."
"Well you're not wrong. I just don't understand why she's so upset now."
"Just trust me, okay? Believe me, things will work out when you talk about it," Percy said surely.
"Fine. But don't expect instant results," Sofia said reluctantly, picking up her normal gladius and going back to the dummies.
Percy let out a deep breath. This was probably the best he was going to get from her. He decided to leave to take a shower before grabbing breakfast.
Mess Hall
7:30 AM
"Ah finally, a proper breakfast," Hazel said with a sigh of satisfaction.
Frank nodded, admiring his eggs before digging in. "It's good to be back, you never really know what you're missing until it's gone."
"What's wrong, Perce? Food not to your liking?" Dakota asked, sitting across from the three demigods of the prophecy and next to Gwen.
"No… just worried," Percy confessed, stabbing at his bacon.
Gwen raised an eyebrow at that, "Did something happen? I thought the objective of your quest was achieved?"
"Yeah, it was but… something's off," Percy said, electing not to tell them about Sofia.
"Hmmm. I have no idea what you mean," Frank said, looking at Hazel who nodded her head in agreement.
"Never mind. I just have a bad feeling, it probably doesn't mean anything though," Percy reassured.
Dakota shook his head, "No you should trust your instincts. Clearly, there's something bothering you. But let's leave it alone for now, we would be grasping at air."
Percy nodded, there were many secrets to mull over from the quest. And then there was this new conflict with Sofia and Reyna. It seemed like Zoe was fine for now, but this sense of foreboding lingered in the back of his mind.
"The problems just keep piling up…" Percy thought.
The rest of the day was spent training with the fifth cohort in a secluded area on the field of mars, which was a really valuable experience for Percy. It involved a lot of team fighting, utilizing the phalanx formation along with two on twos and three on three's in case your group was separated.
Dinner was pretty much the same once training was over with Percy coming up to Dakota in front of the principia, before the war game in the evening.
"Hey, Dakota–"
"That's centurion to you, legionnaire," Dakota said glaring at Percy, before cracking a grin. "How'd you like my Sofia impression?"
Percy rolled his eyes in amusement, "She's never said that to me, but I'd say it was spot on."
"What'd ya need, Perce? Practice a little too easy for you?" Dakota asked, elbowing him in the shoulder.
"It's new, that's for certain. Is there a reason you don't let me fight in the one-on-one's?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dakota scratched the back of his head, hearing Lady Lupa announce that tonight's game was capture the flag. "Honestly, your skill level is a little high for our cohort. Many of our members wouldn't be a challenge for you in a swordfight. That's why I had you focus on team fighting, you're not used to fighting in a group are you?"
Percy shrugged, "No… I've never done it before I think. At least I don't remember…"
Dakota gave him a sympathetic smile, about to say something but was cut off.
"Do you have something you wish to share with the legion, centurion Dakota?" Lady Lupa called out, causing everyone's heads to turn toward them.
"Nothing, sorry," Dakota said, groaning in embarrassment.
"Good," Lady Lupa said with a smug grin, "As I said already, tonight's game will be Capture the flag. And to commemorate Thanatos' rescue we have a special friend of mine participating."
From the top of the stairs where Lupa was standing, appeared Lady Diana with a bow strapped to her back and a smile on her face as she nodded at Lupa.
"I won't be participating, but my hunters will. It's been a while since they had any combat against demigods, so I think this will be a good opportunity," Diana said, crossing her arms.
"The teams will be, Cohorts 1, 2 and 3 in red. And Cohorts 4, 5 with the hunters in blue. The game will begin in 30 minutes. Good luck to all and bring glory to your cohort! Senatus Populusque Romanus!"
"Senatus Populusque Romanus!" the crowd of demigods echoed, as they headed off into their respective groups.
"Well looks like it's time to put those team fighting skills to the test Percy," Dakota said, whistling as he watched Sofia and Reyna head toward their side of the field of Mars. "We have our work cut out for us this time."
Percy smiled, feeling hyped for the upcoming game, "This is going to be interesting."
A/N
*referencing when Gwen was stabbed in the novels :P. just as a little side joke lol.
Thank you all so much for the continued support. Can't thank those who are still reading enough it really gives me a smile haha. The amount of followers just keeps growing, and the favorites are almost at 100 woo. I have the rest of the plot kinda figured out, so stay tuned cause things are gonna start rolling soon. (Like next chapter lol).
Sorry for the late chapter again I won't make any more promises about when I'm updating lol. Just that I will update.
Also I keep telling myself I'm going to revise my earlier chapters… eventually lol. I'm sorry for my new readers, they are pretty bad.
Responses to Reviews:
Ronnie R15: Haha I appreciate your honesty, but no spoilers :P
Death Fury: Thank you again 3. I tried to keep the wait significantly less this time while still maintaining a high quality.
Desdelor 97: Thank you again :). Hopefully this chap was astounding as well haha.
SpartanBoy: lol, I'm glad it wasn't your anus too lmfao. Thanks for the review
Lyequid: Yeah I really apologize for that. Especially since my older chapters aren't of that high quality sorry you have to read them to remember what happened. But thanks for the advice and the review.
Sageofchaos: this was the 'more' you were looking for :O.
Lora: LOL thank you Lora. Sometimes I don't really know what I'm doing but I have a lot of things planned so I'm glad you enjoy the development cause that is what I was going for haha. Thank you for the long review they are my favorite especially when they are positive. :3
Son of hades1: Thanks bro. Hope this chapter was as good.
Until Next Time