Chapter 2

Reyna is a badass and no one is surprised

For a minute, Reyna thought they could win. Sure, fighting legions of deadly monsters wasn't easy, but they'd managed to protect camp Jupiter from Gaea's forces, and that was before they had both camps working together. The earthquakes though? Those were a game changer. There was no training for how to win a war when the battlefield itself was your enemy.

Reyna lunged at a particularly large Cyclops, jabbing her spear into his belly. She stepped in closer as she dodged his club. Maybe, just maybe, Gaea wouldn't attack if her own subjects were in the way. She hacked at the Cyclops' legs and brought it to the ground, finishing it off with a stab to the eye, and quickly moved on to her next opponent, a snake-legged Dracaena.

The close-combat strategy seemed to be working. A few yards away, Annabeth and Nico were doing the same thing, they were each locked in combat with a Cyclops, dodging its attacks, but always staying within a few feet of it. Reyna lent strength to her soldiers and ordered them to follow suit. One-on-one fighting wasn't exactly Roman style, but it was their best bet.

Reyna was in a full-on fight with her third monster when things started to go sour. She rolled between the enemy Cyclops' legs and came up standing, ready to run it through with her spear, but then she saw Annabeth standing, completely frozen in fear, facing her Cyclops. Reyna lent her courage and screamed at her to move, to do something before she got herself killed- but the Cyclops didn't attack. It was- talking to her?

Just then a massive force slammed into Reyna, knocking her back fifteen feet. She hit the ground hard and groaned, looking up to see the Cyclops bearing down on her. She wheezed and stretched her praetors cape (specially modified by the goddess Athena to act as a shield) over herself before it could hit her again. The fabric absorbed the impact and the monster stepped backwards, clutching the hand that had been burned by the celestial-bronze-infused fabric, but Reyna couldn't do much more than lay there and try to catch her breath. She couldn't see Annabeth anywhere. What had happened back there?

Reyna forced herself to stand and readied her spear, facing the Cyclops. But it didn't attack. Instead, it turned around and dashed for the woods. Reyna stood there, confused. She didn't look that threatening did she? Then she noticed the rest of the monsters following suit, as if they'd received a command to retreat. "Oh no…"

Annabeth materialized next to her, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off. She shoved a canteen of nectar into Reyna's hand. "Drink this. We have to get out now." Reyna took a swig of the liquid and strength flowed back into her limbs. It tasted like hot chocolate from the street vendors in New Rome. Annabeth yelled to the remaining soldiers: "Everybody, get to the beach! We don't have much time!"

That's when the earth started cracking underneath them. No better incentive than that.

The Greek and Roman campers dashed for the Long island sound.

Reyna heard someone scream. She glanced back to see one of the campers- Connor? dangling from the edge of the ever-widening chasm. She cursed and doubled back to haul him up. Even as Connor made it to solid ground, three more of her soldiers fell into the pit as the earth crumbled under their feet. Reyna pushed Connor ahead of her and they continued their frantic sprint to the safety of the ocean. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jason swoop in like superman and dive into the pit to rescue the survivors. Reyna and the rest made it to the waterline where Percy was waiting for them. He waved his hand and the water solidified under their feet, which Reyna was grateful for. Trying to swim in full Roman armor wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

About fifty Romans and thirty campers had made it to the ocean, the chasm now stretched all the way to the beach, and seawater was rushing into it, creating a canal that was not going to be easy to explain to the mortals.

The air in front of them shimmered like a mirage and Hazel materialized, half-carrying Piper, who looked ready to pass out. Two Apollo kids immediately set to work on splinting her broken leg. Jason flew out of the chasm, straining to keep the not-exactly-petite Dakota aloft.

Reyna counted heads a second time, and a lump rose in her throat.

"Where's Nico?"