We've got roughly a minute before she realizes we aren't in there.
"Percy! We have to go now!" I whisper furiously into the window.
I hear movement inside the Hephaestus cabin, but I can't see inside. About seventy yards away, Korren opens the door and enters Percy's empty cabin. Percy crawls out of the window and Leo follows him.
"What's wrong, Annabeth?" He whispers.
That's when Korren storms out of Percy's cabin.
"WAKE UP! WE HAVE RUNNERS!" She roars, awaking up the army.
We sprint west into the woods, running for our lives. Judging by the shouts behind us, at least a few people heard us running.
"Leo! Bunker nine!" I shout.
He changes direction in the darkness and we follow him. All I can do is pray we don't run into any monsters. After several minutes of sprinting, we come across a large, flat concrete structure sticking out the side of a hill.
It just looks like a wall until Leo raises his hand and a blast of fire engulfs the wall. It swings open like a door. We step inside and shut the door behind us, enveloping us in complete darkness.
"Watch your step." Leo says breathlessly, fumbling around for a light switch.
The air is musty and smells of fuel. When the lights come on, I see Festus crouched immobile in the middle of the bunker. Leo promptly opens up the panel on the side of the dragon's head and begins working deftly on indistinguishable wires and switches.
Percy and I sit on wooden stools that are pulled up to a table filled with bronze contraptions of all sorts, catching our breath.
Festus is completely repaired from when Leo rescued Calypso. He has been working on him occasionally since then, so I imagine there's been a few upgrades.
Percy starts fiddling with a miniature bronze army man that was laying on the table. He winds a small wheel on the soldier's back and it jumps to life. The thing is shorter than my finger. It runs across the table and starts punching another little army man who lies in a pile of springs and levers. Then the wheel on its back stops spinning and it falls still next to the other army man.
"These are cool. I saw the Hephaestus table make them fight one time." Percy says, rewinding the wheel.
Just then, a wave of heat blasts us as Festus jumps to life. He jumps excitedly in circles and spews fire at the low ceiling. Percy drops the bronze toy and I take a dive under the table as the flames wash over the ceiling and heats the room.
After his initial celebration, he looks around and creaks confusedly, as if wondering *Why am I in a box?*
"Buddy!" Leo yells excitedly, minus his eyebrows. Festus looks down at him.
Now I have my doubts about an automaton's ability to feel affection, but Festus nuzzles Leo gently, who hugs him. There is no doubt. That dragon loves him.
We prepare to open the giant rolling door and leave, but something isn't right.
"Listen!" I say in a hushed voice. Leo and Percy turn to me confusedly, but then their eyes widen because they hear it too.
Outside the bunker, footsteps can be heard. Lots of them.
"Shit! We've got company!" Percy growls.
"Yeah," Leo smirks. "And a three ton fire-breathing dragon. It'll be fun!"
I'm not particularly fond of his pyromaniacal insanity, but it's gotten us out of a few nasty situations before. We also really don't have a choice.
Once we're on Festus's back, I notice there's saddle-shaped impressions on his back. That's a godsend, because before we just sat on his spine and prayed we didn't slide off. Not ideal for the aerial spins and flips he likes to do.
"Alright man!" Leo shouts to the dragon. "I'm going to open this door, then you give everyone out there a fire bath. We need to go to Berkeley, California after that."
Festus pauses for a moment, rings of light circling his ruby eyes as if he's processing Leo's orders. Then he clicks and whirrs in answer.
"Alright then. LET'S GO!"
Leo presses a switch on Festus's control panel and the big door slowly opens. As soon as the door opens enough for Festus to slip through, arrows swarm us. They bounce harmlessly off of Festus, but one of them sinks into Leo's shoulder.
"GAH! Festus new plan! RUN!"
Festus shoots into the sky, and another arrow zips into the bottom of my shoe. The tip pierces the rubber and barely pokes my foot. I have to catch my breath, because the exhilarating feeling of soaring into the sky on a fifty foot dragon never really gets old.
The arrows now pierce the clouds below us, falling short and returning to the ground.
"Dammit!" Leo exclaims, feeling the arrow shaft in his upper shoulder. "Festus, medical supplies please."
A panel on the dragon's upper neck slides open, revealing various medical supplies.
"Hey Percy, you mind getting this for me?" Leo asks, gesturing to the arrow.
"Yeah." Percy grips the shaft. "Alright man. Deep breath. On three?"
Leo nods.
On the count of three, Percy yanks the arrow out and tosses it into the dark clouds below.
Leo grabs his shoulder and yells, his breaths short and rapid.
He tapes gauze to the small entry wound. After Leo gets over the initial pain of his shoulder, Percy and I look at each other tiredly.
Berkeley is roughly three thousand miles away, and it's ten o'clock at night right now. The prospect of sleep doesn't look good, seeing as we're sitting on a metal dragon five thousand feet in the air. I guess we'll just have to wait out the trip. That's when Leo speaks up.
"Well guys, I'm tired. I think I'll show you one of Festus's biggest upgrades. Remember those long, uncomfortable journeys?" He says, pressing a few things on the control panel.
Just then, the side plating of Festus's body folds upward, enveloping us in a small cabin of bronze plates. Full back support complete with head rests spring up behind us.
"Oh gods, Leo. This is amazing!" I exclaim.
"I know," he grins. "This cockpit allows Festus to go airliner speed without the wind resistance knocking us off."
A see-through piece of acrylic up front allows Leo to see and communicate with Festus if need be.
I drift asleep to the sound of rushing wind, and my sleep is mercifully void of nightmares.
When I wake again, I momentarily forget where I am, surrounded by the noise of whistling wind and bronze panels.
"Morning sleeping beauty." Percy says behind me.
"Where are we?" I ask groggily.
"We're over Nebraska right now. We're gonna head down and grab some breakfast in a bit." Leo says.
When we descend and pierce the clouds, a field comes into view. The cockpit unfolds, and the cool air rushes to meet us. We continue flying over empty fields that extend as far as the eye can see.
"I have to use the bathroom." Percy says after a while.
"Yeah me too. We'll land here." Leo replies.
"No! Not here," I say, my eyes scanning the field below us. "Could be grain spirits."
"Oh yeah I didn't think about that. I hate those guys..." Percy says.
Just then, we see a small town ahead.
"Well that looks like breakfast to me." Leo decides.
He lands Festus behind a gas station.
"We have no money..." I say, aware of my own hunger suddenly.
Leo presses a button on Festus's control panel and a small storage area opens up. Leo pulls a roll of mortal money from the compartment.
"Nah, we're rich. Let's eat!"
When we land and Festus's feet crack the pavement, I can't help but wonder what the mortals see through the mist. A massive bronze school bus maybe? After a while, Leo comes out with sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits. I rip through two biscuits in about forty-five seconds.
"Oh lord. Too fast..." I say, my stomach aching. Judging by Percy and Leo's face, they feel the same.
We haven't eaten in a good three or four days, but that's nowhere near the two weeks we were forced to endure without food and minimal water, two weeks that stole curves from my body and left my ribs painfully showing. We've managed to avoid talking about those two weeks so far, but there are some mental scars that won't go away otherwise...
Once we're up in the air again, Leo has Festus put our windshield cockpit up again and we accelerate to the speed of an airplane. I would've elected to leave the cockpit down and enjoy the breeze, but none of us wanted to deal with any venti.
I doze off and on for a few hours. We make steady progress, stopping only for restroom breaks, and we make it to Berkeley just as the sun is setting.
As we fly over the small town, Leo runs us through the schedule.
"After we request help from Reyna, which she'll most likely provide, we'll hop back on Festus and sleep in the sky. We should get back to camp sometime tomorrow afternoon."
"What do you mean 'back to camp'? We can't go back until backup arrives." Percy interjects.
"We can stay just outside of camp, in Calypso's cabin on the beach." I say.
Leo nods.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. She's allowed to stay in the cabin peacefully because she's Atlas's daughter. We should be fine there until the Legion arrives."
Just then, we come over the hill, exposing the valley. There's nothing there at first glance, but we know better.
Festus flies over the valley, and my least favorite security statue makes an appearance.
"Halt!" Terminus shouts.
Festus flies around Terminus, and he has to spin to face us.
"Stop that!"
"Sorry!" Leo shouts. "He can't really hover in place. Meet us on the ground!"
Festus plummets to the ground, treating us to a few aerial somersaults before he lands.
"What is this... This... Flying beast doing in my city- Valley!" Terminus roars at us.
"Come on Terminus. Just let us into Rome. You know us." He studies me.
"Hmm... There is no Rome, but what business do you have in my valley?"
"We need an audience with Reyna. It's extremely important."
"Very well. But I'm watching you!" He says, no doubt wagging his imaginary finger at Leo.
Leo begins to protest, but Terminus vanishes and Rome becomes visible.
We meet Reyna in the Principia. She sits in the hall in a raised back chair.
"Annabeth. Percy. Leo." She says, her eyes sweeping us. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" In very un-Reyna like fashion, she smiles at us warmly.
" 'Lo Praetor." Percy says, returning the smile.
I decide to propose right off the bat.
"Diplomacy is dishonesty Reyna, so let's just skip that, shall we? We are... Um... In quite desperate need of your help." I say. The break in my voice wasn't intentional, but this is literally life and death. We need her help.
She meets my eyes. She is a fearsome warrior, but also a dauntless leader, and leadership requires humanity. Her eyes betray that humanity, pity even.
"So I've heard. I'm terribly sorry about your predicament. What can I do?"
"We need additional fighting force. We can secretly free everyone from their cabins, but there's too many enemy troops to overcome by ourselves."
"I understand. My chief concern is this... Army. They have captured your camp and most likely crippled your forces with hunger and injuries in their very cabins."
"I do know that they all have weapons inside the cabins, but the campers alone cannot overcome the enemy forces." I say.
"I see. I am willing to send the Legion to help you. I can have them there in three days."
Tears of relief begin to flood my eyes, but she's watching us closely. I blink hard, forcing them back.
"However, I want you to be as prepared as your situation allows. Have all of the campers armed and ready to charge. I will not have my Legion slaughtered for nothing." She says.
"There's roughly two hundred soldiers holding camp hostage, and a few Titans." Percy begins. "There was about a hundred and twenty campers, and we lost every bit of thirty."
Reyna nods. "I can send a hundred and fifty legionnaires. That - combined with all of your physically able campers - should be enough."
Despite her stoicism and iciness, I step forward and hug her, tears of relief spilling over my eyelids. She recoils at the unexpected contact, hesitates for a second, then hugs me back. She smells of jasmine, oranges, and clean linen. We separate and I thank her again, as does Percy.
"You are welcome to sleep in the barracks." Reyna offers. "We will load up our troops and roll out tomorrow."
"We appreciate the offer, but we're going to start heading back to camp to prepare."
Reyna frowns slightly. "Umm, If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you get here?" She inquires.
"On a massive bronze dragon." Leo says proudly.
"Oh."
Reyna stands from her chair. "Very well then. Safe travels, and best of luck." She says, leaving the Principia.
The city of New Rome vanishes behind us as we soar into the sky on the world's friendliest fire breathing dragon automaton. When the cockpit closes over us and we accelerate, I lean my head back, close my eyes, and soak up a marvelous feeling that I haven't experienced in far too long.
Hope.
Sleep finds me quickly, and as if realizing things are going a little *too* well, the usual dreams make their way into my slumber.
"Where are you, little hero?" Kronos's voice rumbles. I fight to clear my mind, because I sense that if I think about my location, Kronos might pick up on it.
"I come bearing your destruction." I say to his presence. The darkness laughs at me, and my defiance wavers.
"Oh that was good!" Kronos laughs, "Very good indeed. Tell me, Annabeth, do you remember my promise to you?"
"No. And I don't care. Your word is worthless."
"Bold as brass, aren't you, insolent one? It's almost time I delivered the destruction I promised you."
"Empty threats."
"Maybe I'm wrong..." He realizes slowly. "Maybe you've been playing me for a fool and you actually don't care about friends."
"You won't succeed."
"Don't bother returning to your camp. It will merely be a hill of ash by the time you're back."
The presence fades and I wake up. It's early morning and the guys are asleep. For a while, I sit back and listen to the wind. In fact, I'm about to drift back to sleep when Festus jolts to the side, leaning almost.
Do bronze dragons experience turbulence?
Slowly, Festus begins to dive forward, sending us flying at the ground.
"Leo! Percy!" I yell at them.
They jolt awake. Festus lets out a metallic roar, his entire body shuddering beneath me.
"Something's wrong!" I shout.
"No way, really?!" Leo hollers.
The cockpit opens and we see several shadow-like figures grabbing Festus's wings. Storm spirits.
"Venti!" Leo yells.
Just then, a shadowy arm clenches around my neck. It tries to pull me off of Festus's back, but I wedge my fingers between the interlocking bronze plates that make up Festus's body, anchoring me in place. My other hand claws weakly at the arm.
Percy sees the spirit attacking me and I hear Riptide jump to full length behind me, but it will simply pass through the spirit.
Festus twists his body, and the gap between the bronze panels that my fingers are in closes. There's a sickening crunch, and my scream is blocked by the arm locked around my throat.
The ground is approaching at an alarming rate, and the immense pain in my fingers makes me dizzy. Having rotated his head to face the storm spirits - breaking my hand in the process - Festus spews fire at them. The air is superheated and the spirits disappear.
"Leo!" I wheeze, trying to pry the arm from my neck.
He raises a glowing hand. Fire singes my hair as a column of flame shoots over my head and dissipates the Ventus that was choking me. Festus straightens out his flight path and we begin to ascend again.
I take a deep breath of fresh air, then treat the guys to some curses while I clutch my broken hand.
"Oh jeez!" Leo exclaims at the contorted fingers on my left hand. "How the hell did that happen?"
"Your stupid dragon broke them!" I yell in pain.
Festus buzzes apologetically and the medical compartment opens.
"He said he's sorry." Leo translates intelligently.
Percy winces at my hand. "You're gonna have to straighten those before you take any ambrosia, or they'll heal crooked." He says.
"I know. But you're going to have to straighten them for me."
The next few minutes are torture, and that means a lot, considering I know what that's like. Once they're straightened and in splints, I scarf down two ambrosia squares and the relief is almost immediate.
By the time the sun starts to set, I can almost make a fist again.
In fact, the rest of the flight is uneventful. Whenever Camp comes into view, we fly low over the sound, headed for Calypso's cabin outside of camp. When we land, Leo tells Festus to head back to bunker nine and enjoy some motor oil.
We knock on the door, and Calypso appears in nothing but her undergarments. Percy immediately squirms and forces himself to look elsewhere, now very aware of my presence, my gaze. It's genuinely hilarious and I have to suppress a smile. She is hot.
She invites us in, and demands our story thus far.
"They've been turning camp upside-down to figure out where you went." She says.
"We've got Reyna and the Legion to come." I say.
Her eyes widen. "They're on their way now?"
"Yep. They'll be here sometime tomorrow morning."
"That's... That's amazing! The Legion alone could probably fight them off." She says.
"We're going to Iris message the cabins so they're ready to fight when we open the locks."
"That's great news, but how did Percy go with you?"
"He flew with us." I say confusedly.
"And Zeus didn't blast him?"
Distant thunder sounds from above and Percy clears his throat nervously.
"I was... Uh... Praying. Most of the ride."
"That was risky. I completely forgot that Zeus hates you." I say. He shrugs as if it couldn't possibly matter.
"He spared me this time."
"Well make yourselves at home!" Calypso invites, heading back into her bedroom, presumably to put some clothes on and stop making Percy uncomfortable.
We lounge around on the couch all day. If we're found here, we'll definitely be killed, and Calypso most likely will be as well. I guess they trust her since she backed the Titans last time.
When night falls, Calypso makes us some fried fish that she caught from the beach and we all head to bed afterward.
In the morning, we wake up early, because we Iris messaged Reyna and the Legion is thirty minutes away.
Leo already messaged the cabins, so they're prepared to fight as well. When the Legion attacks, Leo is going to run and free the campers with a pair of bronze bolt cutters.
As we eat breakfast, we discuss the upcoming battle.
"We will outnumber the Titan forces by about fifty, but there's also Hyperion and Krios to account for." Percy begins.
"And we don't know what shape the campers will be in." I remind him.
"They're mostly fine, just hungry." Leo informs. "There isn't as many casualties as I thought there would be. When I Iris messaged them last night, they all seemed to be in good spirits, excluding the Aphrodite cabin."
"Why is that?" Calypso asks.
"They burned Kendall alive for trying to escape. She... She was only fifteen." Leo says sadly.
Calypso stares at her pancakes dejectedly, and my own seem much less appetizing. Percy's face remains impassive, but his knuckles turn white.
She looks up to say something, but a shriek escapes her as she stands up in alarm.
"What? What is it?" I ask, turning toward the window she's looking at.
Not too far into the woods, a tall figure approaches the beach, heading toward the cabin.
"It's Korren!" Percy exclaims, bolting to his feet.
I think critically. We could make a run for it, but Korren is very fast from what I've seen. Even if we managed to escape, they'd probably kill Calypso.
"Over here!" Leo shouts. He pulls back a rug, revealing a small trapdoor.
Percy, Leo, and I pile into the cellar, carefully avoiding the broken rungs of the old wooden ladder. The trapdoor shuts above us and I hear Calypso slide the rug over the floor above us.
After a minute, I hear the front door creak open.
"Calypso. What's up?" Korren's voice beams.
Above us, the floorboard creaks as her feet shift nervously.
"N-nothing! Was just about to have breakfast!"
"That's lovely." Says Korren. "Well, you know, general Hyperion has received word that Kronos's senses Percy and Annabeth aren't in the sky anymore. Isn't that something?"
"Wow! That's... Uh... I wonder where they are." Calypso breathes deeply, forcing herself to calm down.
Next to me, Leo glances up warily.
"Hyperion suspected they might be here in your house, but I told him that's absurd, that you'd never do that." Korren steps closer to her. "Would you, Cally?"
"No! Of- Of course not! Why would I-"
"Spare me the begging."
Korren steps into the kitchen area. Calypso stays where she is and takes a deep, shaky breath.
"Hmm. Three other plates here. All of them have food taken. You don't look like the kind of person to eat four plates of food, Calypso. Is that what you'd have me believe? That you were especially hungry this morning?"
Calypso stutters, desperately trying to find an explanation. I hear Korren's footsteps approaching her slowly.
"Your monstrous appetite aside, how do you explain the massive dragon that just soared away from the beach last night? What did your boyfriend name it again? Festus?"
Calypso stutters, trying not to choke on her own fear.
"One chance, Calypso. One chance to save yourself so much pain. Where. Are. They?"
Calypso's steps move further away from the sound of Korren's voice.
"Please... I- I don't know where they are-"
The sound of two knifes being drawn from their sheaths ring out.
"Last chance."
"No! Please I-"
Percy and I finally lose our grip on a searing hot Leo. He explodes upwards and out the trapdoor. Percy and I follow him, and he immediately sends a blast of white-hot fire at Korren.
The blaze should've sent her straight to Hades, but she managed to dodge it, only her shoulder getting caught in the flame. It chars her shirt sleeve off and scorches her bare shoulder. There's a molten hole in the wall behind where she was.
Leo ducks under a slash that nearly beheads him. She sends a brutal elbow to the side of his head that drops him to the ground unconscious.
She raises her knife to deliver his killing blow and that's when I slam into Korren like a linebacker. We both careen into the ground and one of her knives opens the back of my hand up. Realizing she'll carve me up, I grab her wrists and lock my legs around her throat, cutting off her air.
"Percy!" I yell, struggling to hold the Titan. "Percy kill her!"
Korren sinks her teeth into the side of my knee, but I don't let go. She flails rabidly, and her heel smashes me between the eyes, rebreaking my healing nose.
"Arghhh!" The pain blinds me, and I feel her neck slip out from between my legs, escaping the chokehold.
I lose my grip on her wrists and she turns around to slice me up, but she has to escape Percy's onslaught of slashes and strikes. I quickly roll out of the range of her knives and regain my feet.
Percy and Korren grapple on the ground. He struggles to stay in one piece, her knifes flashing at him. Leo remains motionless.
I rush at Korren, and one of her knives sink into Percy's upper thigh. He cries out and I spin, sending a kick with every last ounce of my strength behind it.
The kick reaches her face and my shin smashes her directly in the mouth. The blow smacks her into the adjacent wall. She tries to make sense of the dizziness, of the pain, but I rush her, not bothering to pick her teeth out of my shin. She forces herself to her feet and raises her knives.
I'm unarmed, and I'm charging a bigger, better fighter with knives. I may as well have jumped at a blender. Before I can reconsider my poor judgment, she punishes me harshly for it.
She lunges and becomes a blur of sharp bronze and elbows. Before I even know what's happening, I'm on the ground gasping, blood dripping beneath me from several openings left by her blades.
I struggle to my knees, but she binds my wrists behind me so tight that my hands go numb. She ties Percy, Leo, and Calypso in a similar manner.
"I'm excited!" She exclaims at us. "I just can't wait to see how Hyperion decides to execute you."
She drags us out the door and onto the beach, filling my mouth with wet sand. As she drags us into camp, I try to wiggle free, but she kicks me in the ribs so hard I feel like I've been shot.
She drags us across the ground and in front of Hyperion. He studies us for a moment, and Leo begins to regain consciousness. When he takes in the scene around him, his eyes widen, betraying the panic that rises In me as well.
Hyperion approaches Percy, who lays on the ground. He strains to reach his pocket, but is just short. Hyperion stands directly above him.
"Brave Perseus Jackson! Bound and powerless at my very feet! Always knew I'd see the day! Knew I'd taste victory!"
"You're gonna taste your own blood!" Percy snarls up at him.
He considers this for a second, then brings his heel down into the wound Korren's knife left in Percy's thigh. Percy roars in pain, writhing wildly.
"Not so invulnerable now, are you!"
I struggle to my knees, the side of my face pressed into the ground, my hands hopelessly bound.
Hyperion turns toward Calypso.
"And you! I never would've thought!" She stares up at him, her face pale and frozen in fear.
"I was willing to let you live in peace, and you do this?"
"No! I didn't mean- I just-"
He kicks her flat, then brings his foot down onto her head hard, crushing her face against the hard packed earth. Her jaw shatters his heel, and a horrified scream of agony escapes her.
Oh gods... The way her jaw is bent... I have to fight gags. The whole thing is just so nightmarish and brutal.
I see a small pen in Percy's hands, behind his back, and I understand. Trying to ignore Calypso's dazed moans, I roll toward Percy.
"Hey!" Korren shouts. She isn't too concerned until Riptide expands to full length in Percy's bound hands, aimed at just the right angle to slice the ropes around his wrists.
The blade flashes between my wrists and I bolt to my feet. Leo takes the cue and explodes into flame, shooting into Hyperion. The Titan backhands him into a tree, and Percy rushes him.
"No! Annoying demigods! Stand still so I can kill you!"
Calypso lays on the ground moaning in agony, her jaw at a gruesome angle, blood slowly dribbling from her mouth. Korren raises her knifes and advances, seeing Calypso as the most vulnerable. I get to Korren before she can finish her off, and my knuckles ricochet off of her face.
She's already in motion, and is thrown off balance, careening to the ground. That's when we all hear it. Footsteps. Hundreds of them, all marching in synchronization.
The entire Roman Legion advances over the hill, dressed in battle armor and armed to the teeth. At the front of the soldiers marches Reyna, looking proud, regal, and dangerous. She surveys the scene, then turns to her army.
"Legion! Arma trahere!" She yells, and the beautiful sound of a hundred swords and pilums being drawn all at once rings out.
Hyperion turns to Percy and I rabidly. "You went to California? In two days!?" He snarls in disbelief.
Titan forces hastily gather their weapons, now facing the Romans on the hill.
"Frontem allargate!" Reyna roars. The Romans spread out, fanning in a massive, scattered formation.
"Kill them!" Hyperion screams to his army, pointing at the Romans.
And then all Hades breaks lose.