Chapter Eight: Truth Out off Shadows
"I was on border patrol yesterday," Percy stated as his face morphed into worriedness, "I saw here constellation being reflected onto Anaklusmos under the light of full moon, that's when a heard a loud thud behind me. I turned around, and I saw her there, lying on the floor unconscious. I brought here back and kept here. She hasn't waken up yet." Said the son of Vest with awe and disbelief.
Diana raised a questioning eyebrow at Percy, and her jaw dropped when she saw what Percy was talking about. Lying on the bed, was none other than Zoe Nightshade, her former lieutenant.
Slowly, Zoe opened her eyes.
"BIANCA!"
Diana's jaw dropped again, while Percy quickly extended both his arms to hold Zoe's shoulders firmly, keeping her in place, "Zoe!"
Slowly, Zoe's breathing and heart rate slowed down as she turned to the source of the voice, adding to her confusion, "Percy? Lady Artemis? Why-What are you doing here?"
Diana flickered back to her Greek form at the mention of the name Artemis and looked at Zoe with concern, "Zoe, how are you here? What do you remember?"
Zoe put her hand onto the two sides of her head as memories of events took place earlier flashed back into her mind, giving her a major headache.
"Bianca," Zoe stuttered out as soon as she could think straight, "Oh Gods! We have to save her!"
"Zoe," Percy stated reassuringly as his hand glowed in a warm orange to unease the former huntress' stress, "Slow down. What happened?"
Zoe took a deep breath to calm herself down, before replying, "I was practicing archery in Elysium with Bianca. We heard rumors about the Doors of Death being opened so we decided to check it out. We were ambushed by a group of monsters. I don't know how but they managed to sneak out of Tartarus and abducted us. They took Bianca away and, I don't know, I just felt like an indivisible force dragged me through… Through a set of doors, it was like… It was like my life was being sucked out of my body."
Percy's eyes widened, "This isn't good. How were you in Elysium anyway? I thought you were in the sky."
Zoe nodded, "I was but apparently only 1/3 of my soul was on Ouranos' court, the other 1/3 went to the Underworld."
"Where is the rest?" Artemis asked.
Zoe shocked her head while Percy took Anaklusmos out of his pocket, "I'd say it's here."
"Speaking of which, what can you tell me about the Doors of Death? Monsters will reform instantly if those blasted doors aren't sealed in time. Camp Jupiter will be defenseless against monsters."
Zoe shock her head sadly, "The Doors of Death can only be sealed by closing them from both living and dead sides. We have no idea where the mortal side is, and even if we do, it's no use."
Percy raised an eyebrow at her, "And why would that be?"
"Because," Zoe replied hopelessly, "The Underworld side of the doors, it's in the heart of Tartarus. The deepest, and the darkest place in that hell pit"
"Then we are screwed." Artemis said hopelessly as she lowered her head in defeat.
Percy shock his head, "So far, we've made it through everything the Fates threw at us, and a gods damn door isn't going to stop me. We'll find a way somehow."
"Speaking of which," Percy added curiously, "How is Bianca even in Elysium? I thought she went to rebirth."
"Because," Zoe replied, trying to catch her breathe, "She only made her brother think she was going to choose to reborn. She hid in Elysium when her brother looked for her."
"By the way why are you even at Camp Jupiter? You are a Greek." Zoe added in a clearly confused tone.
Artemis shot her cousin a sympathetic look while Percy's face darkened, "I was once, but not anymore."
After some long explanations, Artemis decided Zoe will stay at Camp Jupiter with Percy as her ambassador for the time being since it's the best way to hide her away from unwanted eyes and she went to explain things to the praetors Jason and Reyna.
Percy, on the other hand decided to have a lovely chat with his cousin.
He walked out of his room and made his way towards his target, a certain daughter of Pluto to be exact.
Line Break
"Hazel."
"Percy! What's up?"
"Look," Percy's voice contained as much seriousness as possible, "I know that you are not supposed to be here. I can sense it. So I'm going to ask you to please tell me how are you here."
Hazel, on the other hand looked somewhat uncomfortable and extremely nervous. Seeing this, Percy put a reassuring hand on his cousin's shoulder, easing her nerves with the power of hearth.
"Hey," Percy said, "Hazel, you are my cousin, you are family. I promise you I won't hate you or tell anyone anything about your past if you tell me. But please, this could be vital if we are to survive what's coming at us next."
Hazel nodded, and told Percy about her early life in New Orleans, her life after moving to Alaska, her ability and curse as well as how Gaea used her to summon gems for weeks to resurrect her Giant son Alcyoneus, Bane of Pluto, and how she sacrificed herself to stop Gaea from awaking. She took part of the blame so both her mother and her went to Asphodel, until a few weeks earlier Nico broke her out of Asphodel when the Doors of Death opened, leaving out no detail.
In return, Percy told Hazel about his adventures. His quests to retrieve the Master Bolt and the Helmet of Darkness, to search for the Golden Fleece, to rescue Diana, to venture through the Labyrinth and the Battle of Manhattan, telling her everything about his life, including Neptune and minus the Greeks.
"Well…" Percy said cheerfully as he chuckled at Hazel's shocked face, "I'd better get going. See you around cousin."
Line Break
Percy took off running. The secret is out, and he has finally been able to put the pieces together. The legion's lost eagle, the reason of Hazel's return, the goddess and the giant, Zoe, Bianca, this new threat and the whole damn reason he's here at Camp Jupiter!
"Gwen!" Percy cried as soon as he reached the fifth's barrack.
"What is it Percy?" Asked Gwen tiredly from a long, exhausting day.
"We've got to see Reyna, now!" Percy said urgently as he grabbed Gwen's arm and raced towards the Principia.
"Okay, slow down! I need a damn break." Gwen half-shouted after being dragged by her co-centurion half way across Camp Jupiter.
"Reyna!" Percy yelled as he knocked on the praetor's house loudly, drawing some unwanted attentions from the Lares and Fauns wondering around, who quickly looked away after receiving a death glare from Percy.
"Uh… This'd better be important Jackson." Reyna exclaimed as she yawned lazily, "I swear to all Gods I will kill you if this is not."
"Yeah, same goes here." Gwen added, annoyed.
"Listen!" Percy shouted, silencing the two irritated demigods as he grabbed both of them by arm, dragging them inside Reyna's house while kicking the door shut.
"I know what happened! Alaska, 1980, the new threat, I've figured it all out!"
Reyna raised an eyebrow at the son of Vesta, "Okay… Mind start explaining?"
"Remember what the survivors of the quest said? 'Goddess', 'Giants', 'Earth'?" Percy asked, the two demigods nodded in return, "Well… After hearing some tales and rumors, I know it now."
Percy ignored the questioning look from both Reyna and Gwen when he mentioned 'Tales' and 'Rumors', resuming, "It's the Mother Earth! The Goddess and Earth they mentioned must have been Terra herself, and the Giant must have been one of her Giant children!"
Both Reyna's and Gwen's jaws dropped, "How can you know for sure?" Gwen asked, "This is no joke. Terra is more than capable to cause more damage than Saturn. If she rises, then it's over."
"Think about it," Percy explained, "Why does no one knows what truly happened? Alaska, it's A-L-A-S-K-A, the land beyond the Gods, nobody knows because the Gods' powers don't reach there. They can't see or sense what happens in a land beyond their powers. It would make sense since the Gods were at war in the 1900s, one of her Giants must have tried to rise in Alaska and the legionaries ventured into Alaska died by Terra's hands."
Reyna shock her head gravely while Gwen was still working on comprehending what she just heard, "You have a point, but even if what you are saying is correct, we don't have enough numbers to fight another war like that. We lost 1/3 of our legionaries in total during a few assaults of the Titan army and the Battle of Othrys, Terra will crush us since we are outnumbered, unprepared and still recovering."
Percy nodded heavily, "You are probably right, but we've won a war before, I don't see how we can't win another."
He then turned directly to Reyna and exclaimed seriously, "I've got a plan, but you'll have to bring this to the senate. You are the only one who can convince them. We need to bring New Rome into pre-war mode. We've got to start building fortifications, ballistae, bombs and traps, mobilize as much soldiers as possible, and increase their training level drastically. Militarize the natural spirits and Fauns here as well, I've seen what they can do in battles, they will be an invaluable asset to the legion if we can do this right."
Reyna nodded, "Rebuilding the coliseum, constructing fortifications and expand the legion, New Rome's exchequer will be empty very soon."
"You know, this is going to be a major headache. The senators will never agree to spend that much Denarii to alter Camp Jupiter into a military fortress right after the war," Reyna said worriedly, "And the Fauns, they are only tramps here, how the Pluto can they be helpful during a battle?"
"Their natural magic is powerful," Percy replied confidently, "With the right time and position they can trap an army, that I'm sure of."
Reyna seemed uncertain, "The senate would never allow it unless we tell them about Terra, but it would only cause panic among the senate as well as the legion."
Percy clenched his jaw, "I'll have to ask lady Diana about that later. If we can't get camp's defenses up, at least find a way to get the legion into pre-war mode, otherwise we'll be doomed when Terra throws whatever she has at us."
Reyna nodded, "I'll try but I can't guarantee anything though, you know how the senators are. On the bright side, at least we won't have to deal with Octavian anymore."
Percy chuckled a bit when Octavian was mentioned, before turning into dead serious, "I believe I don't have to tell you how important it is to keep this between the three of us until the time is right?"
Reyna and Gwen both nodded.
"Wait a minute," Gwen interrupted, "How is it that you and lady Diana's hunters are friends again?"
Percy smiled at that, "You would find out that they can all be great friends and sisters, once you get over the whole man-hating part that is."
Gwen nodded, "And what of lady Diana's ambassador who is visiting? Does she know this?"
"Yes," Percy replied, "Yes she does. But I do trust her enough to know that she knows what to do with this information. She will help us out if needed."
'Just call a senate meeting tomorrow,' Said a familiar voice in Percy's mind, which he instantly recognized as Artemis', 'I'll convince them into agreeing with your plan.'
'Yeah,' Percy mentally replied, 'More like threatening.'
'Is there a difference?'
'Forget about it!'
Feeling Artemis leaving his mind, Percy spoke again, "Call a senate meeting tomorrow Reyna, I've got it covered."
Reyna nodded her head again doubtfully, "Okay, but this is going to have a huge impact on everyone. The city, the senate and the legion, I hope this will work out in the end."
Percy nodded in return, "It will, trust me. There is going to be a war that could potentially end the era of the Gods and wipe out the entire Roman population from the surface of Earth. If we can convince senate to prepare for war right now, many unnecessary casualties will be saved when the war comes."
Reyna nodded.
Line Break
The senate had been a pain, again. Some senators started ranting about war and Denarius, until a few divine beings showed up and threatened their heads.
Things went great in New Rome in the next few weeks. Percy had grown close Jason, Reyna, Piper, Frank, Leo, Hazel, Dakta and Gwen, especially Jason, who was, no doubt brother of Percy's favorite cousin who he misses dearly, Thalia.
Reyna and Piper are a lot alike. They are both fierce warriors, especially with a dagger or a Gladius. They even like the same guy! Jason Grace, of course. But let me tell you a secret, Jason likes both Piper and Reyna, but he likes Piper a little more. Now swear on River Styx to keep it a secret because Jason will kill me if he finds out about this!
Hazel and him had became even closer. Percy has been helping her on her powers over the dead and shadows, and she has now became a master of shadows, and she is able to summon an army of dead at her disposal.
To be honest, Percy has mistaken Hazel for Bianca for a few times. They are basically twins, both sweet, kind and caring with black hair and chocolate skin, nothing like what most people would think children of the Lord of Dead to be.
Percy even helped Hazel and Frank to be together. Well… He basically threatened to stuff Frank with loads of kelp, Thalia would have laughed at that. It was ridiculously funny since things had became so awkward between Frank and Hazel and the gang tossed the two lovebirds into a lake nearby when Hazel finally kissed Frank. Percy will be sure to never let either of them to live down with that.
Leo on the other hand is everyone's lame joke cracker, he is the first fire user child of Vulcan in nearly a century, although Percy has more control over flames than the son of Vulcan does.
It is a mystery who Leo likes, some say it's Hazel, some say it's Reyna, some say it's Piper, and according to some extremely unreliable source, Leo has a crush on a mysterious Goddess miles away from New Rome. Percy and Jason even opened a bet on it publically in the legion!
It's not like Leo minds since it's a well known fact that he is a major player in New Rome.
Dakota is a good guy and a descent fighter, when he is not drunk, that is, which is about 5% of day. The fifth cohort's statue in the legion has raised drastically under the leadership of Percy and Gwen after Octavian was gone.
Jason and Reyna led Percy take charge of the entire legion's daily training, and although the training Percy gave the legion was, and I quote "Inhuman" and "Fascist", the legionaries' skills increased drastically as well.
The senior officers of the Twelfth Legion managed to mobilize one hundred retired legionaries, and another one hundred Fauns and natural spirits in total with an enormous amount of Denarius that made many Fauns drool or faint.
With the building of fortifications and ballistae, Camp Jupiter is now an invulnerable fortress. To ease New Rome's economic exhaustion, a fair amount of Denarius were forged in the Temple of Jupiter.
Nico even visited once to see Hazel, and he was overjoyed when he found Percy settling down for a new life at Camp Jupiter.
Of course, none of them was as close to Percy as Zoe was.
Apparently, being able to spend some time with "The only descent male ever walked on Earth" made Zoe's life easier even though she'd missed the hunt and being stuck at Camp Jupiter was only a bit better than being stuck at Camp Half-Blood.
Percy's invulnerability would have eventually left him along with the superior battle reflexes and instincts he got from the Curse of Achilles since his mortal anchor, Ann… You know who, was gone. He, however, managed to preserve the curse after finding a new mortal anchor in time. I believe I don't need to say who it, or she, is.
Percy would always laugh internally at how much his life has changed in the past few months. He first survived the prophecy and defeated Kronos, something he always thought he'd never be able to do.
Then he was betrayed by the very people he lied his life over a dozen times to protect, including his best friend and father. He was banished and somehow managed to gain a few powerful patrons, boosting him to the most powerful demigod ever lived, his aura of power even rivaled Poseidon's for a few times he got all emotional.
Lastly, he found a great city resting in San Francisco, and made a new home with new friends he know he can trust even with his trust issues after the great betrayal. He has started a new life and it was the best thing ever happened to him in his entire life. He even told his closest friends about his old life, excluding the word "Greek" and anything relates to it, of course.
Most importantly, he had Zoe back. A trustworthy friend whose death he had always blamed himself for and always missed greatly in secret. Although he's not sure what he feels about her anymore.
His stomach would be filled with butterflies and his cheek would blush a crimson red every time they are close, which happens a lot since they are best friends now. Percy always thought Annabeth was cute, but now he knows what the term "Beautiful" means every time he lays his eyeballs on Zoe.
Just when Percy thought how perfect his life is and how he appreciates everything in it, a blinding flash of light appeared in front of him broke him out of his wonderland, signaling Percy's worst nightmare: His old life that he resented and thought he'd left behind has started to catch up.
The second longest chapter of this story so far, yah!
Hope this explains things, just ask if you have anymore questions.
Their quests will begin soon.
Important question: Would you like another civil war between the Greeks and the Romans?
T.C. ya!