CHAPTER 12 – Kurt

Kurt was starting to like these new demigods. Especially the one with the powerful weapon, he was nice. Noah, his name is Noah, Kurt thought. And he admired his bow. After their talk, he had asked Noah for a demonstration of the bow's power, having been told all about it, he was curious. So when Noah knocked down a tree with a single shot, he was very impressed. Noah also demonstrated how it never missed, by firing in the opposite direction from his stated target. Surely enough, the arrow made a complete turn and hit the target perfectly. It was a very impressive weapon. Kurt asked how Noah got his hands on it, and he said that it was a gift from his father, Apollo, and that was the reason he was on the quest. He told Kurt that he was quite new to the camp, new to the whole demigod thing, and that he wasn't sure if it were the best thing for the quest, him being here. Kurt said that he didn't doubt that he'd do well, especially given the weapon he holds. Noah smiled at this, and thanked him.

Now, they were packing up camp and leaving Mount Tam, hopefully for good. He didn't like this place. He could almost sense the monsters here, and it was unsettling. They packed up in 15 minutes, piled into their respective cars, and left. Their plan was to go back to Camp Jupiter and inform the praetors of their findings, and ask for advice on what to do next. The Greeks were going too, which was probably dangerous, but Kurt didn't really think about it – their feud was supposed to be over, after all. That and the fact that they were striving for the same thing… Just like the Prophecy of Seven quest. Kurt smiled to himself when he thought about that. This quest wasn't as world-ending as the Prophecy of Seven, but it showed that people that used to be bitter enemies can unite against any odds, not just life-or-death. Though, at the moment, their lives were probably more at risk on this quest – they had just fought a Titan and a god, of course.

Kurt still couldn't get over that. This is the focal point of your entire reputation from now on – what happens on this quest will determine the rest of your life Kurt thought, and he was ok with that – it had to happen eventually. Now he just had to make the most of it.

They arrived at Camp Jupiter in an hour and a half of flooring the gas. They swerved to a stop outside and got out quickly, running for the entrance.

"Where are the border guards?!" Kurt yelled to his group as all of the demigods ran for the door.

"So this is the entrance to your camp…" Noah said in awe. Kurt didn't have time to answer his questions. He opened the door, and lifted a hand.

"Form up behind me, weapons ready. We don't know what's happened to stop guards being posted here. Keep a sharp look out, and be ready for anything. On my mark. One. Two. Mark."

And they ran into Camp Jupiter with their weapons ready, the Roman demigods in tight formation behind Kurt, the Greeks behind them. Noah had an arrow nocked and ready, which was good, because he was their only ranged unit, and with a bow that powerful, it was a good thing.

They leapt across the stream with ease, approaching the main gate. Kurt lifted his hand again and they stacked up on either side of the door. Kurt counted to 3 and opened it, and they ran in.

It was chaos. Romans were fighting monsters everywhere. They faltered long enough to take the situation in, and then Kurt jolted.

"Get to the city! Protect the civilians!" Kurt yelled, sprinting for New Rome.

"You've got a city? Cool." Noah said, and fired an arrow at the nearest monster. The force sent it spiralling through the air.

"ROMANS! FORM UP ON ME! MARCH TO NEW ROME!" Kurt yelled, trying to get some order out of the chaos. He laid into the closest group of monsters until the Romans they were fighting were able to move and form up behind them. Noah was laying waste to monsters with his bow, notching 3 or 4 arrows at a time, to devastating effect. Kurt turned to find a phalanx of spear-wielding dracanae slithering towards them.

"Down!" yelled Noah, and when they all ducked, he let 4 arrows loose that destroyed the entire advance. Kurt looked at Noah and smiled, giving him a thumbs up. Noah looked relieved, and quickly ran a hand through his hair before notching another arrow. Kurt charged forward with his greatsword, cleaving and hacking at any monsters in his way. He dropkicked a Cyclops in the eye and it crushed a hellhound under it. He sidestepped a spear and it impaled another monster. He blocked a sword strike and just so happened to decapitate the monster swinging at him. Was this a blessing? Kurt thought, was his father watching and making sure he wins this battle? Only one way to find out, Kurt thought.

"DOWN!" Kurt yelled, and lifted his greatsword into the air. This was the defining moment – the way for him to finally tell that his father was watching over him – that he cared.

After a few seconds of nothing, there was a rumble. The monsters had stopped to watch by this point, and they looked into the sky in unison. A black storm cloud swirled over the camp, and produced one large lightning bolt that struck his greatsword, and was deflected in a hundred different directions. It was like a sheet, covering all of the monsters in the area. As one, they exploded into dust.

But the battle wasn't over yet, they still had to get to New Rome. Hopefully, the praetors would be there, because he hadn't seen either of them since he got here.
"TO NEW ROME! DEFEND THE CITY!" Kurt yelled, advancing on the city with dozens of Romans behind him, and a few Greeks.

It was getting harder and harder to make ground towards New Rome, as monster numbers swelled and started to push back, trying to keep them from advancing. Kurt was getting frantic - he had no idea how New Rome was doing, if there were any soldiers guarding it, and if the praetors were alive. The Romans formed up in a wedge to push through the monsters lines, but it was getting more difficult. They made less and less ground each time they pushed forwards. Kurt was still trying to work out how all the monsters got here. He'd have to wait until the battle was over - if they even won.

On their final push, Kurt charged out in front, swinging his greatsword like a madman, clearing a path for the wedge to fit in, and when the wedge was in, he retreated back into the Romans' shield wall, and pushed forwards along with the rest of them. He saw Noah at the back of the wedge, firing arrows at monsters as quickly as he could. He smiled at Noah and he looked over, returned the smile, and continued killing monsters. Kurt shook his head. What was he doing? Watching Noah whilst he had a job to do. He turned and started hacking into the nearest monster, helping to clear a path forwards.

/

Author Notes: I'm so happy so far. I love this story and that I've got over 100 visitors, from all around the world. In the US, the UK, India, the Phillipenes, Canada, everywhere. It makes me feel so happy that this is everywhere, and that people actually like it. So thankyou for reading, so much.

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