"Armor up graecus" spat Centurion Alex. She and Conner had been the ones who had escorted us to the arena's armory. "You barely deserve the shirts on your backs, it's beyond me why the praetors demanded you have a fair chance."

"Each of you get a leather cuirass and a shield" added my step-brother. "The weapons we found you with will be waiting for you at the entrance." He sounded much more reserved and stiff than he usually did. The boy I grew up with had always been more enthusiastic and free-spirited.

I took one look at the leather armor we had each been given and knew they were junk. The strips that held the front and back together were frayed and poorly knotted, each had a dark stain of blood in one corner or as other, and mine even had parts where it seemed to have been sliced through. I knew this wasn't going to do much more than protect me from an insect bite but it was better than nothing.

Lexie came up next to me once I had finished tying down the loose pieces of my "armor" with plastic zip ties. "You doing alright?"

"I'll be fine." I quickly began fumbling with my shield's arm straps. Lexie grabbed me by the wrist and strapped it to my arm with familiar grace. "I'm more worried about you, a few hours ago you could barely stand" I added.

"I'm tougher than you give me credit for."

"Lexie, we've only known eachother for a short while but I know when my sister is dodging a question."

"I'll live. Just do the same, please."

"We've got eachothers back right?"

"Of course, you are my brother."

"No more doubts?" She gave me a quick nod and returned to Austin's side.

I noticed Ellie helping Aasha with her armor and stepped beside her. "It's almost time."

"Don't sound so grim. We're going to beat this."

"What makes you so certain?!" Asked Aasha. Her voice told me how scared she was.

"Because I don't come in second."

"That's my Ellie, ever the victor." I was actually feeling a little more at ease knowing how certain she was that we would survive this.

"You know it. I can't wait to kick that Octavian straight over a goal post."

"Is everything a game to you?"Aasha asked with shock. For a moment I thought I saw a tear drip down her face. It was then that I noticed Aasha's cloudy gray eyes, it was astounding how much her face resembled my sisters actually. Minus the blonde hair anyway.

"No, but this is. Arena battles used to be considered sports, ever seen a wrestling match?"

"No. And people don't usually die in games."

"Say what you will, it works for me. Now go get your shield ready." She sent her away with a gentle flick of the wrist toward Austin and Lexie.

"Cut the chatter!" Ordered Alex as she slammed open one of the wooden doors on the far side of the room. "All of you, arena. Now!" She waved her spear toward the open door.

Lexie and Austin were holding hands as they stepped out the door first. Aasha nervously treaded on their tracks with Alex prodding her with the point of her spear.

Ellie and I were just passed the door when I felt Conner's hand pat me on the shoulder and heard him whisper "Goodluck." Then I felt him shove me through outside. As well-intended as he sounded, it felt like he was slipping a blade in my back. Again.

If it wasn't for Ellie's quick reflexes I would have landed face first in the dirt. The intensity of the sunlight burned my eyes as I looked around the arena. The door we had entered through had already been shut tight.

The arena was enormous. Clay walls several feet high surrounded the circular pit with two entrances on either side, one was the one we entered from, the other was on the opposite side.

Above us, past the walls, were stadium seats filled to the brim with eager Romans ready to watch the "graecus scum die!" At Least that's what Octavian was chanting from his seat.

Five weapons were placed on a stone slab at the arena's center. One for each of us. Lexie and Ellie grabbed their swords from the slab. Both seemed slightly more at ease now that they had their weapons back, not that I have any room to talk. I grabbed my saber off the slab and unsheathed it immediately. It's bronze glow felt familiar even though I'd only had it a couple days.

Austin wielded a small dagger and Aasha seemed to have been given a spear similar to the one that Ellie had "commandeered" from the Roman guard when we first arrived.

"By the will of the Gods and the decision of the Senate, I offer these Greeks their last chance to prove themselves before Jupiter and Olympus!" Declared Reyna from her golden throne a few meters to the left of Octavian. "If they survive all three rounds of combat they will be set free and allowed to return home."

"Furthermore" added Jason. "Any roman that undermines this decision will suffer the same fate that they are about to endure." He seemed to glare straight at Octavian as he spoke. "Let the trial begin! Open the gate!" A mix of cheers and heckling echoed through the colosseum despite both Praetor's obvious displeasure with the current event unfolding.

"Aasha have you ever handled a spear before?" Asked Lexie as we all turned toward the slowly opening door.

"No." A sharply taloned lashed out from the doorway and began to pull it open. "But I Austin says I'm a quick study" she quickly added.

"Austin, Ellie, form up next to me. Sean, Aasha, you two are the newest ones here, you watch our backs" ordered my sister. She raised her shield ready to fight with me at her back just like we had discussed. A moment later the door was flung open and out came three foul creatures. "Harpies. Great."

The three ragged feathered women scrambled around us. One of them with black feathers and extremely sharp looking claws strafed to my left but was prodded back by Aasha's spear. This gave the other two the opening they needed.

During the two seconds that Aasha was distracted by the black harpy, the green one converged on Aasha. I reached to pull her back but was too slow. The feathered monster's claws dragged across the girl's thigh as I jerked her away.

Aasha landed against my chest almost causing me to collapse to the ground from our combined weight.

I thrust my saber at the monster while it was still recovering from it's previous lunge. My blade pierced it's feather coated shoulder causing the creature to shriek in pain and the harpy's side to begin disintegrating like a sand castle in the wind. A moment later, all that remained was a golden pile of sand.

I quickly looked down at where the harpy had attacked her. Luckily it had only grazed her and her jeans took most of the hit, only a small trickle of blood dripped down her leg.

"Aasha, are you alright?" Austin asked after he and Lexie dispatched the last two Harpies.

It must have looked worse than it felt because she quickly stood up from against me and nodded to him with her spear at the ready. She rubbed where she had been hurt with her hand and put pressure on it causing blood to stain her fingers.

"Once we're out of here, Austin will get you patched up" Lexie assured her. She also had her own injury. Across my sister's cheek was a new scratch that hadn't been inflicted by Octavian the day before.

"That is if we get out of here" Austin added quickly.

"Oh Austin, ever the pessimist, have some fun. Killing monsters, fighting Harpies. This is what we were born to do." Ahh Ellie, ever the optimist. At Least she was inspiring, I'd give her that. In the blink of an eye she crossed the distance between us and kissed me. "Still, better safe than sorry." If it hadn't been in the middle of an arena with a horde of blood hungry romans shouting obscenities at us, i might have actually enjoyed it. But in truth, it felt more like her daring me to die on her now, as if to say that if I did anything that caused me to die, she would go crawling down to the underworld, just so she could strangle me herself.

Octavian's voice made an already angry crowd angrier, his voice sounded like the most stereotypical James Bond villain. "This is all touching, but would you five please die!" He boomed from the closest side of the arena, on the opposite side of where Reyna and Jason stood glaring."

"Disregard the crowd. This is a trial by combat, Octavian's bark has no bite here." Reyna began. "The gods have allowed you to survive this first trial, while it is easy for five well trained demigods like yourselves to survive, the next two will prove much more difficult." She signaled to the next door and stood silently as it opened.

"Same plan as before" ordered Lexie raising her shield again. "This time, watch yourselves a little better."

"Got it" answered the rest of us.

Now I know that aside from Owls, snakes are Athena's other patron animal is the snake but I just don't like them. They're slimy, scaly and above all have no legs. Something without legs shouldn't be able to move as fast as they do.

Ever seen Harry Potter? Remember Voldemort's snake Nagini? Well that's what they looked like. Once the doors were open out slithered two large, green snakes. A layer of green ooze that can only be described as poison trailed behind them.

"Don't let them touch you!" Ordered Austin. "Basilisks have venomous... everything."

"Oh. Just great!" Anything else I should know?" A moment after I finished speaking, a column of flame shot from the closest snake and came within inches of catching Ellie on fire.

"Oh, he forgot to mention that" added Lexie,s "Maybe we should spread out a little."

We spread out more so that if we were attacked with fire, we wouldn't all be caught in the blast.

"So, just for reference, easiest way to kill these things?" I asked.

"Got a weasel?"

"A what?!"

"That would be a no." Lexie motioned for Austin to move to our left. At Least she had a plan. "Their poison is flammable. Catch one in the others crossfire and BOOM!"

"How much boom?" Aasha sounded more uneasy now.

"BOOM."

"Oh."

The two serpents had maneuvered between us and Ellie and Austin now.

This, at least I hoped, was part of the plan. Ellie grabbed a stone off the ground and hurled it at the basilisk closest to us. It crashed into the snake's head with devastating accuracy.

It's serpent head swiveled past it's partner and glared directly at Ellie. A thin column of flame shot directly from it's mouth in her direction. Well, good news, Lexie's plan worked. Bad news, Lexies plan worked.

The fire collided with it's also flammable friend causing it to... well, explode. A large fireball engulfed the space between us.

When the smoke cleared one basilisk was dead. One. The remaining one still glared at Ellie, it's eyes dead set on burning her to a crisp. Ellie had fallen prone on her back to avoid being burnt.

It leaned back with it's jaw wide readying a second blast. Quickly, I dropped my sword and "borrowed" Aasha's spear. Just as the flame began to flood out of the creature's mouth, I launched the spear. The head of the spear pierced the back of it's skull and jutted out of it's mouth. A moment later, it went up in a poof of golden smoke.

Ellie quickly discarded her flaming shield and cursed as she nursed her burns. She must have noticed my concern because she smiled and sprinted towards me and embraced me.

I could feel how fast her heart was beating, like a snare-drum. She didn't speak, but we both knew how close she had just come to death.

Even when Reyna spoke, Ellie didn't relax her grip on me. I didn't want her to either.

"It is an honor to see how these brave warriors fight isn't it?" Reyna bellowed to the crowd.

I hadn't noticed it before but a flock of owls had descended on the coliseum. As a side note, did anyone know that a large group of owls is called a parliament? Kind of ironic considering we had been voted to death by a senate. One stared straight at me while it perched on a stone pillar.

"Several of our own have volunteered to be our third trial," Jason continued, "among them, our resident auger!"

"I made no such statement!" Beamed Octavian from his location.

"You wanted them executed. If you want them dead that bad, it should be by your hand," A smirk grew across Jason's face, "or do you foresee that you will fail?"

"I- that is not what is going to happen, even someone without prophetic abilities can see that." Octavian twisted on his feet and marched toward a stairwell.

"While our people are preparing for battle, I wish to congratulate these five again for their valiant effort to protect their own lives, and I promise that they will have my personal protection until they are outside new Rome." Reyna began again, "had this been under different circumstances I would be proud to fight alongside each of them."

"Then let us go!" Bellowed Austin.

"It is out of our hands, the Senate voted," Jason explained, "this is your only chance to prove your innocence." He sounded sincere in his apology.

The entrance to the arena flung open, followed by seven Roman soldiers marching out. Octavian was at the back of the line and stared daggers at Jason from beneath his helmet. He was heavily armored and held a shield in one hand and a gladius in the other.

"You may begin" Reyna signalled.

Immediately they locked shields. The biggest three of them formed the front wall. Two on both sides formed the wall with Octavian at their center of their testudo. Each legionnaire beside Octavian lowered their spears between the shields.

"Triarii promoveo!" Ordered Octavian from beneath his shield wall. At once, all seven of them marched forward.

"Spread out again, the testudo isn't the most flexible tactic" I announced to Lexie. She nodded and we all split apart wide enough that we couldn't all be hit by the brunt of their shield wall.

Ellie and Aasha flanked off to their right, Austin to their left and Lexie and I stayed in front of them.

Ellie started harassing their flank by slashing her sword at their spear tips. She stayed just out of reach of their jabs but close enough to be a hassle should they decide to press toward anyone else. The same was with Austin. Since he wielded a dagger, he did have to resort to throwing rocks instead of his weapon, Still, it was enough to bother Octavian's formation.

"Octavian! You going to make us do this the hard way?!" Ellie Barked as she delivered another harmless jab that glanced off their weapons. Ahh Ellie, your pride is a wonder to all, who else would piss off someone who wants us dead if you weren't around?

"Shut it!" He bellowed, "Et separatum impetum!" Now, I don't speak much latin, but it was kind of obvious what he meant: "Kill those annoying greeks!"

While most of them kept moving toward my sister and me, two Romans split off and moved toward Ellie and another moved toward Austin.

"Sean, we got this" whispered Lexie. I noticed she was holding a small glass ball in her hand. On it's side a label said "Caution, flammable. May cause burning and minor cases of death."

The five Romans, including Octavian, were little more than seven feet away when Lexie hurled her glass orb at the front two Romans. The ball shattered once it connected with one of their shields and exploded in a ball of green fire. Both of the front two screamed with pain as their shields burned away and scorched their limb. One of them dropped his spear and shield and drew his short sword. He held his arm close against his body and pointed his sword arm toward Lexie.

The second soldier wasn't as lucky. He was able to remove his burning shield but not before the fire and heat did their damage. His tunic had been completely engulfed and burned away. He had collapsed to the ground and didn't move. Whether he was dead or not, I didn't know. But he was at the very least, unconscious, blacked out from the pain of the flames.

The Roman to Octavian's left stepped over his fallen ally and took his place in the formation. Octavian stopped moving but the other two didn't. They converged on us with sword and spear. A narrowly dodged spear told me their intentions quite well. No mercy.

A quick swing from my saber splintered the spear's shaft. At Least now, the fight would be a little more fair. Sword to sword. The man that had been burnt by Lexie's fireball unleashed an unrestrained attack on my sister. She managed to deflect his attacks but at the cost of ground. We were now pressed back against the colosseum wall.

"Any last words?" Octavian mocked as he arrogantly took a few steps forward but remained just out of reach. Neither of us gave him the satisfaction of an answer. "End this," Octavian ordered.

The pair of Legionaries pressed their attack at the same time. Lexie and I tried our best to keep up with their assault but a culmination of Lexie's previous injuries and my combat inexperience meant that we quickly were overwhelmed. One final strike knocked the saber out of my hand. I now had a sword to my neck and Lexie was locked sword to sword with the guy she had burned.

One final swing and I would be dead. I resigned to my fate and closed my eyes. I heard a metallic crash and a male scream before I was pushed to the ground.

Once I had completely gathered my senses, I pulled myself back up and noticed Ellie had positioned herself between Octavian and my sister and me. The Roman that had disarmed me was now on the ground barely defending himself from Ellie's savage blows.

"I never lose!"She bellowed between swings of her blade. "Back off! He's mine!" Now that Ellie had thoroughly frightened not only the Roman, but myself, I grabbed my saber off the ground.

It took a lot of effort on the part of the Roman soldier but he managed to stand up and deliver a few counter attacks back to Ellie. The sword fight was almost fair, Lexie and I took on one of them while Ellie held off the second.

I noticed between slashes from my opponent's sword that Octavian had disappeared. A moment later I heard a high pitched scream. I looked over to see Octavian stomping toward Aasha, sword drawn. I looked to the two Romans in front of me. "Ellie and Lexie can handle these two right?" I thought to myself. I looked over to my left and noticed Austin was having issues still fighting his opponent. I had to decide, stay and help fight with Lexie and Ellie, save Austin, or protect Aasha from Octavian's blade.

There was no way I was going to let Octavian hurt one more person. I bolted from my position next to Lexie and ran toward Octavian at full speed.

"Where are you going!?" Lexie yelled but I didn't answer.

I was too busy charging Octavian. I tackled him to the ground at full speed. His armor clattered to the ground with a heavy crash. I instantly started punching him anywhere I could, face, chest anything. Blood coated my fists as I pummeled him into the ground.

"Sean stop!" I heard Aasha scream. She grabbed me by the arms and pulled me off of him. It was only when I was off of him that I realised what was happening.

I turned to see Austin collapse to the ground. Time seemed to pause as I saw the sword stab through his chest and come out the otherside. I heard Lexie scream. There was no way she could get there in time, he was gone. Austin collapsed into a bloody heap ten feet away from us. I knew Lexie was going to do something rash. The entire goal of this mission had been to find him and bring him back safely, we had failed in that duty. I just hoped she didn't get herself hurt. I gave Octavian one last kick and pulled Aasha toward Ellie and Lexie, the least I could do is keep my sister alive.

In that time, the Roman that had killed Austin had also closed the distance and was fighting alongside his two other friends. Three fresh Roman Legionaries against four worn out greeks. Ellie and I were battered, bruised and tired. Lexie was emotionally exhausted. Her sword technique had gone from impressive, to barely better than my own at the time. It was only a matter of time before she would just start to shut down, tears were already streaming down her face and her injuries were only getting worse. Aasha would be hardly any help, she had even less experience with combat than I did, so it was mostly left to Ellie to stave off the three attacking opponents.

I still don't completely understand what happened now, but you know what? I don't care, I'm just glad it happened.

The wooden gate behind us exploded in a shower of splinters and out bolted an enormous black mastiff. The dog was the size of a freaking tank! For a moment I was afraid the thing was going to eat me, my friends, and the Romans all whole. I was half right about the Roman part. All three of them went running as the beast snapped at them with it's tree trunk sized mouth.

I don't know how Annabeth found us, again, I don't care. I'm glad she did. "Get over here now!" Ordered my oldest sibling from the top of the beast. She was dressed in a leather armor and jeans. The look on her face told me that she was pissed. "Get on the hellhound or so help me!"

Aasha and I had to help Lexie get on the dog's back, her energy was drained now, the shock of her being tortured, fighting Roman soldiers, and her boyfriend being killed by before mentioned Romans proved to be too much for even my bullheaded sister. We boosted her into Annabeth's grasp and climbed on behind her while being pelted with soda cans, food and a very dull dagger among other things. At the last second, I pulled Ellie up and a moment later we were gone.

We had somehow returned to Camp Half-Blood, apparently shadow travel is a thing... I didn't know that. The sun was beginning to set.

Annabeth didn't yell, she didn't get angry. "Get. Her. To. The. Infirmary." She ordered while helping me and Ellie pull an unconscious Lexie off the dog's back. "I'll be there in a moment." She cupped her face in her hands. I don't know if she was mad, disappointed or what, but I knew to do what she told me.

Ellie led the way as we limped toward the Big House. Other campers stared as we hobled along. Once we were inside, a blonde girl about our age helped us lay Lexie into a cot and started to clean her wounds.

After a moment she asked "Did you find him? My brother, is he safe?"

"I... I'm sorry Danny, he didn't make it," apologised Ellie, "Lex did everything she coul- we all tried our best. It just wasn't enough."

She paused for a moment. A tear dripped down one of her eyes. "I'm going... to go get Will" She shook for a moment. "He's better suited for this situation." Then she took off out the door crying.

Ellie and I both sat down on a cot next to my sister and began to process everything that had happened. All the destruction that had occurred. Finding Aasha, who was now with Annabeth in the doorway, and finally Austin's death, it was just too much.

Sean: Well, it's coming to a close, I four year project that I'm about to finish. I would also like to say that Lexie is back to being my editor.

Lexie: Yep, I couldn't just let this moron tell the story. I want to be the one to announce we are also working on a continuation. There is also one more chapter to this story.