I am so so so so sorry! I've delayed this for too long. There's nothing I can say about my crime. I just hope this chapter can be more like those in Doors of Death: Nico's Double Troubles and less like the lousy ones I recently wrote. Please give me a chance and read it.

-Amber—

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series.

Chapter 13 June

Telling Bobby the truth (most of it, anyway) was really good for my health. The huge weight on my chest seemed to be lifted—even if by only a little. By the time we finally reached our rendezvous spot, all the others were already there.

"Where were you two idling off?" Octavian made an impatient noise, picking himself up from the bench where he had been sprawling on. "It's 7 minutes later than the agreed time."

"Sorry, we got into…a situation." I apologized quickly, mostly towards Dakota.

"What kind of situation? Why didn't you signal us?" Dakota asked between swigs of his favorite red Kool-Aid, frowning slightly. Rick and Howard, the charioteers, also looked between me and Bobby curiously.

"I know! You met with the Graecus! Or the renegades!" Octavian cut in, screeching rambunctiously, "Instead of signaling us so we can catch them all you let them go!"

For a split moment, I though we were doomed—the augur had foreseen our "betrayal", but then, Howard laughed out loud: "You really think so? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Bobby, helping out the renegades? Seriously!"

Rick was snickering behind a disguised cough and Dakota couldn't help smiling too: "That's true. Bobby would be the one to jump off a cliff if the praetor asked him too."

"Hey!" Bobby cried indignantly. "I'm not that stupid!"

"Yeah, stop teasing him! I forgot my sword in the restroom and didn't remember it until we were several blocks away. We had to go back to retrieve it." I piped up, standing up for him as if I never dragged him down in the first place. Octavian looked confused by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"All right, we shouldn't waste more time. We have to set off immediately." Dakota called out, "Our targets must have left already before any of us spot them. We must speed up to catch up."

Everyone turned their attention away from Bobby and me, to my relief, and started to prepare for leave. I let go a breath I had been holding subconsciously and shared a relieved grin with Bobby. He hadn't blown my cover and I was more than grateful.

Soon, we were all set and started to file into the chariot. As I climbed into the golden cart, Octavian approached me quietly and hissed into my ear: "You were lucky you got away this time, but don't think you fooled me."

I was about to retort but Dakota appeared besides us and said, apparently unaware of the situation, "June, Romans are not allowed to be late, and most certainly not allowed to leave their weapons behind in a normal-people-populated area. You're still on probation so you'd better watch out next time."

"Of course, sir!" I replied, straightening dramatically.

Dakota grinned and nodded: "Good. It'd be a pity if you were disqualified to be a member of our Cohort."

I smiled back, ignoring the seething augur behind me, and followed Dakota into the chariot. Not before long, we were back soaring in the air. Dakota blow his golden whistle. The shrill but clear sound ripped through the darkening sky, calling out to the other eagles with the single scouts. A few heartbeats passed and the magnificent beasts swooped into sight. With a few swift body language gestures, Dakota told the scouts whatever they needed to know and the troop set off.

Although all the Roman demigods strained to catch a sight of Argo Ⅱ, by the time the sun set, they were all without accomplishment. Now that the sunlight had faded, our chances of a sight of even merely its shadow were reduced. The thrill of flying faded long ago and I was bone-tired as well as starved. Sneaking a glance at everyone else, I had to feel impressed by Roman loyalty and discipline: Though tiredness were written all over their faces, no one was showing a trace of willingness to stop. Instead, they were all focusing on how to deal with this "serious situation" (for which I am actually grateful). Except for Octavian. That brat prattled around, criticizing everyone's work and blaming them all.

"Yes, Octavian, we'll never stop for a drink of water anymore." Howard sighed, too worn out to explain to the augur that human can die of dehydrating for the tenth time. Octavian "humph"-ed in contempt and satisfaction.

Dakota checked his luminous digital watch once again and declared: "It's past 8:00, too dark to go on and the eagles are worn out too. Let's stop for the night."

"Yes!" Bobby pumped his fist into the air, almost hitting Octavian. The faces of every Roman soldier broke into relieved smiles, in spite of their concern for their task.

"What? No!" Octavian protested. "The traitors' ship won't stop for the night! We'll never catch them if we lose a whole night of perfect time to track them down!"

Smiles slid off immediately. My companions sighed and looked so defeated that I had to speak up. "Are you crazy? Look at the birds! They're barely keeping us aloft! Look at your soldiers! We're all tired. You don't know because you never do anything except for screaming orders!"

Octavian's face turned ugly within a second. "Watch you tongue, Loras, don't forget you're still…"

"Leave it, Octavian." Dakota cut it, his voice low and even, like a bass guitar, which made me instantly guess his patience had reached its limits. Dakota usually never defy Octavian (at least not obviously) as his position of power in Camp Jupiter was a lot lower than his. Octavian apparently acknowledged this too, closing his mouth before a retort burst out. His pale cheeks flushed pink and his eyes flashed but he managed through his teeth: "Fine. Whatever. Just wait till you're sorry that you didn't listen to me."

We cheered so loud that the chariot shook and Dakota's signal whistle could barely be heard over the din. Soon, the single scouts assembled with us and we flew down to a nearby wheat field somewhere in Kansas (because Octavian's augury showed Kansas was important) to rest. Stretching as I got off the chariot I suddenly felt someone tug my arm.

"J-June…" Susan stumbled, gripping my arm for support with a pained expression, "Is there any healing magic you can do to ease the soreness of my poor old battered body?"

I couldn't help laughing at her exaggerated expression while I helped her sit down on the ground, "Of course. Being clutched in the claws of an eagle for a whole day is no comfortable ride, isn't it?"

After having a simple dinner of crackers and juice boxes and arranging the night watch, the Fifth Cohort dissembled and everyone went to find their spot to sleep for the night. As Bobby unfortunately pulled the short straw and was on the first night duty, Susan and I settled down in a little empty patch among the wheat without him. Slowly, I drifted off in the lullaby of crickets and wind singing through the field.

"Stop bossing me around, June!" A girl with light blue eyes and long blond hair exclaimed, backing away from me.

I was standing on gritty black sand, on the shore of a roaring river of flames three stories high. My twin sister stood a few feet away from me, glaring at me as if I had something unforgivable. Skeletons and zombies surrounded us. We were trying to demolish them while Nico and Landyn were fighting the twin giants.

"I don't boss you around! I was just telling you to watch behind your back for skeletons!" I protested. I didn't know why she was talking about this at a time like this, but it was getting to my nerves. Couldn't she see this is not the place to argue over petty things? We could do that anytime after we get out of this safely.

But July apparently didn't agree. Her lips curled into a sarcastic sneer, she said: "Telling me to watch behind my back? What, you think I'm stupid? I don't need your useless tips. Just leave me alone to do my own things!"

"How can you…"I growled, but suddenly, I saw a skeleton approaching me from the right. Turning away from July I shot an arrow at it…except it didn't hit its target.

July looked down in surprise at the golden arrow sprouted on her chest. My eyes widened. Somehow, I had shot July, who seconds before was totally not in my shooting range.

With difficulty, July pulled the arrow out. Blood spilled out of the hole. "J-June." She gasped in pain, falling to her knees. "W…Why?"

I was numb with shock, my brain unable to perceive what my eyes were seeing. Then, I screamed. I had shot my own twin. Throwing down my bow as if it was burning my hand, I scrambled to July, reaching out to her. But—

Warm, metallic liquid poured over my hand. My hunting knife had materialized in my hand the split moment I was about to touch July. My hands shook as I released the blade, buried deep into July's body. The pair of azure eyes, identical to mine, clung to my face, conveying millions of words, questions too late to be spoken.

"I...I killed her." I muttered, in a daze, "I killed her. It's all my fault…"

The truth finally hit in. Somehow, I not only failed to protect July, but also killed her with my own hands. I covered my face and screamed, crumpling to the ground, trying to drown out everything else and make myself believe this was only a dream…A dream.

With a shuddering gasp, I sat up from my make shift bed of straw, ears still ringing with my own piercing scream. Breathing hard I wiped my face: it was dry. Good. At least I hadn't been crying. I curled up and hugged my knees, trying to stop myself from shaking. It was the hallucination Melinoe made me see back at the shore of Phlegethon. I knew it was just an image, but that made it no less scary. Susan shifted and turned besides me. A snort came from the place where Bobby lay, a few feet away from us. I climbed up silently and stayed with whomever that was on watch duty until dawn broke.

At breakfast, Susan watched me eat in concern. "You seem really worn out. Didn't rest well?"

"Yeah." I yawned, rubbing my temples.

"You really look pale. Are you sure you can go on today?" Bobby asked, turning towards me too.

"I'm fine. It's only a headache. It'll go away soon." I replied hurriedly. In fact, I was quite moved by their concern.

"Listen to her, it's only a headache." Octavian sneered, interrupting us as usual, "Roman soldiers don't delay their tasks for petty headaches. Hurry up you three, or I'll assign you to stall cleaning when we return to Camp Jupiter."

I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

With a series of begging and reasoning, I finally got Dakota to agree to let me be a single scout in place of Susan. Susan was grateful to ride the chariot, as she was still aching all over because of yesterday's scouting. Bobby and Octavian weren't pleased though. Bobby because he was convinced I would get lost or fall to my death and Octavian because he couldn't keep a constant eye on me anymore—which was exactly what I wanted. I figured if I ever had the luck to encounter the crew of Argo Ⅱ again, it would be more convenient if I was alone. When everything was packed and set to go, the fields cleaned up and last instructions given out, Susan led me to the eagle I was going to ride with.

"June, Copper. Copper, June." Susan introduced us formally.

I patted the huge bird's glossy feathers rather timidly. I could see why they named this eagle copper—its feathers were hard and shiny, just like copper plates. Strapping on the special vest armor for single scouts, I fidgeted nervously and waited for the signal to set off. I doubled checked the golden whistle hanging around my neck: if I really fall from Copper's claws, I could blow it and if I'm lucky enough, one of the other eagles could catch me.

With one sharp blast of his whistle, Dakota signaled our departure. Large eagles buffeted their wings and rose into the air. Copper's claws clamped around the handles on my protection vest and took off, quickly shooting past the chariot with all my friends in it. My heart beats were so absurdly irregular that I wondered if I was going to get a heart attack. In other words, it was great. Wickedly cool. Absolutely pure thrill.

Copper and I were a great team, I suppose, though I could't really tell. The eagle swooped around in the sky, occasionally dipping dangerously close to the ground when our targets' scents were especially strong. Whenever that happened, I would try my best to look out for billboards or road signs that could help me identify our location. As far as I know, by noon, we were somehow still in Kansas. Considering the distance we covered the last day, I decided we might be having some trouble. Sometime in noon, Copper suddenly perked and changed direction. A few seconds later, I started to see the other single scouts, all heading towards the same place—Dakota had called us for lunch.

As I dropped down to ground, I knew the rest of Cohort Five had no more luck than I did. Everyone looked cast down. I stretched my sour joints, especially my shoulders, and went to join Bobby and Susan for lunch. When Susan was absent to refill her water bottle, Bobby leaned in and whispered, with furtive glances at nearby campers, "Did you find anything? You know, about the Greeks."

"No." I shook my head in defeat, "No more luck than anybody."

Bobby patted me sympathetically, "It's OK, so long as you reach them earlier than the others do."

"And that's not up for me to determine. It depends on my luck and Copper's skills." I said sullenly.

Bobby fell into a pause. At last, he asked: "What would you do if you find them first? They can't possibly take you to Camp Half-blood since they're on a quest leading towards Rome."

I watched him, before answering. His eyes were firmly locked on his juice box. I suddenly realized he probably didn't approve of my plan. But he still supported me. Like a real friend. I pushed down the lump forming in my throat and said: "They'll have a way. Any way would be better than me staying here. Octavian already suspects me so much that he's willing to undertake this tiring task just to spy on me."

"But…" Bobby didn't get to finish his sentence. Octavian materialized in front of us and said with a sneer: "What are the Graecus and little Bob talking about? Plotting a conspiracy for Loras to escape?"

From his usual annoying expression, I guessed he didn't over hear anything. He was just being a brat, as usual. I sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.

xxx

Under the blazing sun, I was soaring in the sky in the claws of Copper again. Thankfully, Copper's huge body and wings prevented me from being roasted alive. The wind brought by Copper's high speed flying also helped keep me cool. I actually quite enjoyed it, especially now that we were flying over large patches of beautiful golden wheat fields. Suddenly, Copper stopped midway, his wings buffeting to keep us in the air.

"What's the matter, Copper?" I asked out loud, though I knew he couldn't answer. I squinted down at the ground beneath us. For a few seconds, I couldn't see anything wrong with the landscape. But slowly, I started to notice traces of an unnatural event that had taken place not long ago. Near a highway patches of field was damaged, wheat bent and soil trodden. I whistled a couple of sharp notes that Susan taught me to signal Copper to let me down. After we descended, I knelt down and examined the fallen wheat and trodden ground.

Would this be it? The clue that would finally lead me to ArgoⅡ? I was practically scraping the ground for something to prove this damage was not made by random mortals but by demigods. But I didn't find anything, except for a trail of hoofs and a trail that looked like a miniature tornado had passed. It was strange enough, but it wasn't solid evidence. It didn't tell me much about what happened to whoever, or whatever, that created this scene. After another half an hour, I gave up looking under ever grain of wheat. Plopping down on the ground under a particularly tall cluster of wheat to block the sun, I pushed my sweaty bangs away from my face. Copper had disappeared into the air about 20 minutes ago. Though he would come back fast enough if I whistle, but I decided to rest some more. I was already quite dizzy from the heat.

I was almost asleep when suddenly the wheat around me swayed and swiped around violently. I bolted up to see a blurry of copper and black. I froze, staring at the scene in front of me speechlessly.

Are you hallucinating? I asked myself.

No, idiot.

My eyes struggled to follow the swirls of colors in front of me, but finally I realized it was Copper, fighting a black mare with magnificent wings no smaller than Copper's. Though I didn't know how this happened, I knew I have to stop it. The horse gave me a friendly and familiar feeling.

"Stop, Copper!" I yelled. I whistled as loudly as I could, wishing he could hear me over the flapping and wind sounds. Apparently, he didn't. The two animals kept fighting, Copper clawing and the horse kicking.

I whistled again, so hard that I felt my lungs were collapsing with pressure. Tears were forming in my eyes as the horse whined as Copper's razor sharp wings cuffed him and Copper screeched as the horse aimed a well-place kick on his chest.

"Stop! Please!" I whistled again. Such magical creatures shouldn't be hurting each other. Just like Roman demigods and Greek demigods shouldn't be fighting, I realized. That was probably why I was so shaken at seeing Copper and the horse fight. I tried again. Suddenly, Copper jerked to a stop and shot backwards away from the horse, his glinting eyes watching me sort of reproachfully. I sprinted ahead and planted myself in front of the black mare as he started to gallop towards Copper. My arms moved on their on accord, raising in front of me. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I braced myself for the hit. But with a loud whine, a blast of wind hit me straight on. After a few still moments, I opened my eyes tentatively. The sleek black creature stood in front of me, snorting and trotting slightly. He didn't kill me. I was once again wordless, not that I ought to speak to animals. I stared at the beautiful creature. It was tall and lean, with a pure black coat and glossy wide wings. It was a Pegasus, dark like Nico's eyes. I've read about it in the pamphlet Artemis gave us so many months ago and had since wished to one day see one. Though Camp Jupiter was said to have some, but they were only for high officers, like Reyna's stead. Uncertainly, I held out a hand towards the horse. The Pegasus checked me out with an air of a pompous teenage boy. I couldn't help smiling.

"Come, boy, I won't hurt you."

The Pegasus came closer and nuzzled my palm. Then he turned his head away and snorted with his nose in the air. I chuckled. He sort of reminded me of Landyn Green.

"Where are you from?" I asked as I ran my hand down his smooth coat. He looked way too well-groomed to be wild. I looked back and saw Copper glaring and buffeting his wings at the horse. Maybe he's from Camp Half-blood, I thought hopefully. That would explain Copper's animosity.

Speaking my mind out loud, I asked: "Are you from Camp Half-blood? A stead of a Greek demigod?"

The Pegasus looked at me quietly. Something in his large dark eyes made me think he was saying yes. Suddenly something clicked in my memory. I gasped. Didn't Nico say Percy Jackson own a Pegasus… a pure black Pegasus with an astonishing attitude? It made perfect sense. The intelligent and powerful horse seemed exactly like the stead of Percy.

"Do you know Percy Jackson?" I tried. The horse neighed and shook his mane agitatedly, his long legs cantering the ground nervously. "So you do know him! Something happened to him? What's wrong?" I inquired in a soothing voice, trying my best to understand his moves. As far as I could guess, Percy probably met with some kind of problem but the horse couldn't do anything about it. I was seriously considering hopping on the horse and letting it take me to Percy, but Copper screeched behind me.

I turned around and realized probably Copper heard Dakota's signal. If I left and let Copper go back right now, Octavian and all the others would know I had escaped. It would be a sure sign that I was a Greek. In addition, maybe Dakota was signaling because someone found the Greek's ship, and I wasn't 100 percent sure the Pegasus could take me to Percy. Caught between two choices, I looked at Copper and back at the horse. Finally, with gritted teeth, I patted the horse and said mournfully: "I'm sorry. I would really like to find Percy with you and help him, but I have to go."

I avoided the horse's intelligent eyes and ran back to Copper, strapping myself into the flying vest again. With a last threatening screech at the black creature, Copper took off. I gazed behind me at the beautiful horse—a chance to reach the Greeks slipped through my fingers again. As I watched, the horse expanded his wide ink black wings and shoot into the air, in the opposite direction of us. I sighed. I had gotten nowhere. And I had to think up of something to explain my delay again. There was no way I was going to tell the Romans about Percy's Pegasus.

There you go. Is the action better than the other chapters I did? Please give me some feedback!

Oh right, I forgot to tell you guys: This story will be ending in the next few chapters. I'm sorry if this story is not as good as the one before (Nico's Double Troubles). Ah...there are a lot of reasons, but I won't bore you with them. Anyway, I guess we'll not be hearing about the Loras twins any more after this story ends.

Thanks for all the support!

-A-