FOUR MOAR DAYS! D: I'm gonna die from an anxiety attack!
This chapter. Is. In. TULIO'S POV! Let the squeals commence! Those of you who followed Papi must be excited to know about Tulio and Espie.
Disclaimer: I own the kids/teens, but not any of the canon characters.
II
TULIO
Tulio Valdez hated combat lessons. He sucked at close combat, especially if he had to use a sword instead of a hammer.
And he especially sucked at close sword-combat when his training partner was a fully-trained Roman centurion.
Sammy Leo Zhang stood over him, his Imperial Gold gladius pointed at Tulio's throat. He didn't even look like he had broken a sweat, whereas Tulio was drenched and gasping on the ground. His own sword was somewhere else, knocked out of his hands some time ago.
Sammy gave a lopsided grin and sheathed his sword. He held his hand out.
"Better luck next time?" he tried.
Tulio took his hand and lifted himself up to a standing position. "I doubt it. It's not really fair when your opponent is a legacy of Ares that can't be defeated in battle."
"Legacy of Mars," the Roman corrected, giving him a half-hearted glare. "And I can't help it if Grandfather blessed me with that. All things considered, I'd rather have the animal gift Dad has. It seems way cooler."
"You'd give up 'indestructible' for Beast Boy powers?"
Sammy snorted. "I'm not indestructible. I can get hurt, you know. I just can't be beaten in battle."
Tulio snorted back. "Yeah. I go back to my original statement: it's not fair to have a Mars legacy that can't be defeated in battle be your opponent in battle training."
His friend shrugged. "Hey, you said you'd rather have me be your partner than any of the other Ares Cabin campers."
This was true. The Hephaestus Cabin and Ares Cabin were slotted for battle training today, and for some reason it was mandatory for Tulio to participate. Otherwise, he would've just stayed in the Bunker and tinkered away at one of his projects. He found it a little unfair that Espie got to skip out and play 'archery' with the Apollo campers instead. Her idea of archery was actually just hitting a target with a fireball. For a Hephaestus legacy, she had Apollo legacy-accuracy.
Sammy was there because he was granted summer leave from the Legion. After the Second Giant War, the Greeks and Romans had come to a special arrangement. Legionnaires would be able to earn summer leave and join Camp Half-Blood for the summer, but one had to work really hard for it. Generally speaking, usually only centurions and senior officers worked hard enough for CHB Leave. Sammy was the best of the centurions in the Legion (for obvious reasons) and had earned CHB Leave for five years straight now (he'd been in the Legion for seven). Tulio had heard a rumor he might be up for praetorship soon. Tulio didn't want that. Being praetor would mean that Sammy wouldn't be able to be a camper anymore and have to stay full-time at Camp Jupiter. That would be really hard to deal with, as the Roman was one of Tulio's best and oldest friends.
Sammy Leo's younger brother, Augustus 'Gus' Zhang, wasn't in the Legion yet. He would be taking the journey to the Wolf House to start his training in the fall. Tulio knew he wouldn't be seeing him for a long time. Not unless he himself went on a quest to somewhere near Camp Jupiter, which was doubtful; Tulio hated going on quests. They were far too stressful for him. Give him a hammer and a piece of metal to bang on any day.
The horn signaling lunch rang through the air. The boys walked together out of the training arena and began their short journey to the dining pavilion.
Tulio could see the other campers heading in the same direction. He spotted Esperanza easily enough. She saw him and waved happily before turning back to her Apollo friends. Tulio knew she would join the Cabin Nine table as soon as Tulio sat down, so he let her be.
He looked over at Sammy, who was staring at the Apollo Cabin group with great intensity. A wave of pure emotion was coming off of him. This emotion Tulio knew all too well.
"So," Tulio ventured, trying not to smile. "Have you plucked up the courage yet?"
Sammy put up a great poker-face. "I don't know what you mean."
"Come on," the demititan sighed. "You know I can sense stronger-than-average moods and emotions. It's why I hate crowds; too many huge feelings at once. Also why I don't hang out that often outside of the Bunker."
Sammy shrugged. "Still don't know what you're getting at, dude."
Tulio merely said, "Espie."
That cracked the Roman's defense. His golden eyes flashed in alarm. In a matter of seconds, he fixed it again. "What about her?"
The demititan merely grinned smugly and gestured to his sister, who was currently giggling about some joke her friends had made.
Sammy blushed (which was really hard to notice through his dark complexion) and growled, "Shut up."
Tulio held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't say a word," he said, using his father's famous impish grin to emphasize it. The Roman blushed more and walked a little faster, his semi-afro of extremely curly black hair bouncing with every step. Tulio followed, still grinning triumphantly.
Suddenly, a yell came from somewhere.
"SAAAAMMMMMYYYYY!"
Tulio cocked his head. "That sounded like Gus."
Sammy turned his head and frowned. "That's cause it is Gus."
Tulio turned and saw a really worried Augustus Zhang running full speed through camp. Following him was an equally worried Aria Valdez holding a sick (and sleeping) Zachariah.
Seeing Aria here in camp without their parents was one thing, but Zac was too young and too sick to be in camp at all without Calypso or Leo. The fact that neither of his parents were supervising Aria and Zac was very worrying to Tulio.
"Aria," he called. "Why are you running around with Zac? You know he's sick!"
She reached her older brother and held her younger brother out. "Please, Tulio. Heal Zac. I don't know what else to do! I swear on the River Styx that if Mommy tries to punish you, I'll convince her that I made you! Just do it, please!"
Tulio sighed and kissed Zac on the head. Tulio had inherited Calypso's healing powers. His mother had told him that healing actually ran in the family (though it skipped Atlas). It had started with the very first of the family, Atlas's father Iapetus/Bob, who could heal E.T-style with one finger according to Percy and Annabeth. Tulio had never met the Titan, but kinda wished he could one day. Bob seemed like a great guy.
As soon as Tulio's lips made contact, Zac's cold was instantly cured and the boy woke up in Aria's arms.
Aria huffed, "Thank you, Tulio."
The Hephaestus legacy crossed his arms. "Mind telling me what the problem is? Where—"
"THEY'RE GONE!"
The Valdez children turned towards the Zhangs. Gus was flailing his arms, nearly having a panic attack.
Sammy shook his head. "Are you sure you aren't overreacting, Gus? Mom and Dad probably went to the store without telling you."
Gus shook his head furiously. "No! They were taken, Sammy! A couple of mean Cyclopes burst into the house and took them! Dad didn't even have time to shift into an animal!"
Poor Gus was hyperventilating at this point. Sammy blanched. "Are you serious? How is that possible? The camp borders were extended to cover New Athens, just like at New Rome and Camp Jupiter. How could evil monsters get in?"
Tulio's eyes widened. He looked to Aria. His little sister shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
Tulio felt all the color leave his face.
His mother and father were gone, too!
A/N: Woot! You got to know the legacies a bit better. Plot will progress further next chapter, which will still be in Tulio's POV :)
