Percy buried his face in his hands, trying to wrap his head around the idea that Nico was presenting. Eren, emerging from the nape of a titan he had supposedly been controlling? It might not be common knowledge, but of all the demigods, Percy was the closest to Eren. He didn't recall the boy mentioning anything about controlling a titan. Killing them, well, yeah, quite often actually, but puppeteering one to kill other titans? That had never come up in a conversation.
"So where is Eren now?" Annabeth asked.
"The Garrison Regiment wanted to check him out." Nico replied. "They ordered us to wait with the other cadets on stand-by."
"They also ordered us not to say anything about Eren..." Jason said drily.
Miniscule gems and precious stones popped out of the ground around Hazel. "That's unbelievable. Could it be a power given to him by the gods? Some children of Poseidon could shapeshift."
Annabeth's brow furrowed in concentration. "The gods aren't around anymore, but…" She turned to look at Frank. "Frank, try and become a titan."
"What?" Frank exclaimed. "A titan? No way! I don't even know if I can. And if I can, and then I do shapeshift into one, everybody would freak out! It's too risky Annabeth."
"Fine." Annabeth huffed. "Then transform into a bird or something and spy on Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. Squawk if there's trouble."
Frank frowned and rolled his eyes. "Alright." He stepped out of sight, into the shadows, then a kite (the bird, not the toy) flew out and landed on Hazel's head.
Annabeth nodded at him, and Frank the kite nodded back. He spread his wings and shot into the air.
She sighed and looked to the ground. Could Eren's transformation be a result of Greek magic? Children of Poseidon that the sea god favored could sometimes shapeshift, could Eren be a descendant of Poseidon?
No, Annabeth thought icily. That's ridiculous. He's clearly not Poseidon's direct offspring, though he sort of resembles him. But even if he was a descendant of Poseidon, a gift like that is given to an individual, not a bloodline. Unless Poseidon did give it to the Jaeger bloodline, and he knew a time would come when it would be needed. But of all gods, why would Poseidon have important information like that? Did all the gods know the threat of the titans? What even caused all of them to fade from existence? Was it before or after the creation of the titans? How were the titans created? Did the have anything in common with the Greek titans besides size and appetite? Was there Greek magic in the titans? If so, how did it get there?
"Hey, Angelo." Jean's voice said, yanking Annabeth back into reality. Nico stiffened and glanced over his shoulder.
"Actually, it's di, Angelo." He growled. "What do you want?"
Jean got to his feet, his eyes holding a murderous spark. "We had a gag order, remember? No exceptions for your friends, or anyone for that matter."
"Must have slipped my mind." Nico hissed. He turned back to the rest of the demigods when Jean's hand suddenly clamped down on Nico's shoulder and roughly spun him back around.
"Word is gonna spread now, and we're the only ones who saw Eren!" Jean spat, seizing the front of Nico's shirt and jerking it forward. "They're gonna know it was one of us, and it'll be your fault if any of us end up beaten and imprisoned!"
"Let go of me!" Nico barked, trying to shove Jean off, but Jean was much older and bigger than him.
"Hands off Jean." Jason smacked Jean's arm roughly.
"Aren't you upset about this too?" Jean's voice began to rise to a yell. "We could end up prosecuted because of this ugly beast!"
"I am upset about Nico blurting all of it out." Jason lied. "Though I'm choosing to handle it like an adult, not a toddler that needs it's binky, like some people."
Jean's eyes blazed with rage. He suddenly kneed Nico straight in the gut, hard. The dark haired boy gave a small choking sound and crashed to the ground, coughing blood.
"Why you-" Jason moved to tackle Jean, but Percy seized his arms and held him back.
No one held back Hazel, though.
She leaped forward and planted her foot where the sun doesn't shine, whilst punching Jean square in the face, sending him tumbling backward.
"Touch him one more time, and I swear, I'll skewer you straight through YOUR FREAKING HEART!" She screamed.
Jean shuffled away, his eyes wide and fearful but still furious.
"You okay Nico?" Annabeth asked, extending a hand towards the fallen boy.
"Y-yeah. I-I-I'm fine." Nico took Annabeth's hand and staggered to his feet. "He just took me by surprise, that's all."
"No, he hit you hard." Annabeth said stubbornly. "He might have broken one of your ribs. Let me check, okay?"
Jason suddenly tore himself away from Percy and charged forward. Jean tried to escape, but it was clear that Jason was willing the air to keep him from going far.
"JASON! Stop!" Annabeth yelled.
Suddenly, a loud, bird like cry pierced the air. Everyone froze and glanced up to see Frank the kite flying frantic circles overhead.
"Eren's in trouble!" Annabeth gasped. "Nico, go talk to Piper. She's with Leo in the medical bridge. Let them know what's going on, and have her check your ribs. Everyone else, let's go! Frank, lead the way!"
The other cadets stared at the demigods as though they were insane, and no one could blame them. They were basically communicating with a bird.
Frank flew rapidly through the city, the demigods hot on his trail. As soon as they were out of sight, he zipped to the ground and turned back into a human.
"They're gonna kill them!" Frank exclaimed as he ran.
"NO!" Percy yelled. "We have to get the-"
BOOM!
Percy halted in his tracks, the sound ringing in his ears like the never ending beat of a drum.
"T-t-t-that was a c-c-cannon." Annabeth breathed.
Smoke wafted through the air, billowing high in mighty grey and white clouds. The smell of fire and ashes made it's way from the shot, being inhaled by the group with every pained, fearful breath.
"No!" Percy shouted. "He might still be alive! We need to help him!" He took off again, trusting his eyes and nose to lead him towards Eren.
"Come on!" Jason cried. "We've saved the world, we can save them!"
Percy rounded another alley to find himself at the origin of the smoke, the corner of Wall Rose. He could see a handful of the Garrison Regiment standing there, blades drawn, staring at the huge cloud of smoke that had obscured where Percy inferred Eren, Mikasa, and Armin had been, and hopefully still were, standing.
"EREN!" He screamed. "MIKASA! ARMIN!"
The rest of the demigods were behind him when the smoke thinned into a gas that could be seen through, and what Percy saw was the stuff of nightmares.
The huge top half of a titan was resting on the ground, with barely any muscle on its several white ribs. It had no left arm, but its right arm was covered with thick, shiny red muscle, and it was extended towards the top of Wall Rose. The titan's head was corpse like, with no skin and only one, beady green eye resting in a black eye socket, and it's mouth gaping open.
Armin and Mikasa were inside of the titan, standing in its empty rib cage. Armin looked mortified, and Mikasa looked like she was surveying a battlefield.
"Oh my gods." Annabeth breathed. "What is that?"
"Eren must have turned into a titan." Jason said faintly.
Percy grit his teeth. Forget the titan, where was his friend?
"HEY! YOU!" He barked at the Garrison Regiment officer, who was staring, dumbfounded at the huge creature. "Did you issue that cannon fire?"
He didn't respond, his eyes still glued on the titan.
"I asked you…" Percy made a fist and got into a fighting position. "A QUESTION!"
Jason grabbed Percy's fist before it could collide with the officer's head.
"Calm. Down." Jason hissed quietly. "They're alright, but if you keep this up, we won't be."
Percy glanced between Jason and the officer, before finally sighing in defeat. "You're right." He said. Then he regained his fierce, protective look. "But we have to check on them!"
"That, we can do." Jason agreed. "Hazel! Are there any precious stones around here you can summon into a barrier? I can probably fly us over it if you can summon one. That way we'll be safe from these guy's blades, and hopefully the cannon."
"On it!" Hazel exclaimed.
"Let's do this." Jason growled.
They charged forward, breaking through the ranks of stunned military soldiers. Hazel spun on her heel once she was in front of the titan. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, clearly concentrating. Percy barely managed to get next to her before huge, gleaming rocks exploded from the ground, stretching skyward for about fifty feet.
"Good job Hazel." Frank said. She smiled back at him, then stumbled, obviously weakened by the effort of summoning such a barrier.
"Armin, Mikasa!" Percy cried. "Where's Eren? What's going on? How did thi- OW!"
A slab of bone fell from the titan carcass and hit Percy right on the head. He weakly glanced upwards to see a dark shape, probably the creature's head, shifting and rumbling as bone chips rained down.
"MAINTAIN YOUR DISTANCE!" Percy heard the officer bark. "ALL SQUADS REMAIN ALERT, IT COULD STRIKE AT ANYTIME! ARTILLERY CREW, GET THAT CANNON RELOADED!"
"Eren?" Percy breathed. "Is this...Eren?"
"Mikasa, Armin, what happened?" Annabeth asked darkly.
"I-I-I-I don't- h-h-h-how did- why is-" Armin glanced around frantically.
"We know as much as you do at this point," Mikasa replied.
"So we're clueless," Percy said drily.
"Not quite," Jason remarked. "If Eren transformed into this, he must be in its nape, like last time."
As if on cue, a hissing sound reached their ears, like a burst of steam.
"And he's probably there now." Jason dashed out of the ribcage and ran around the body, Percy, and Mikasa hot on his trail.
Eren was indeed kneeling on the nape of the titan, breathing shakily and glancing around with panic written all over his face.
"EREN!" Mikasa cried.
"Mikasa! Are you alright?" Eren's gaze swept across the land. "When did that wall get there, and why are Percy and Jason here?"
"Explain later, escape now!" Percy exclaimed. "Can you get down?"
"Yeah, hold on a sec!" Eren slid down the back of the titan. "Where's Armin?"
"He's with Annabeth, Hazel and Frank inside this thing." Jason gestured to the titan. "He's okay too. We're all okay."
"But, what are you-"
BOOM!
The earth seemed to shake, knocking Percy off his feet.
They fired another shot at us. Percy realized. They've hit Hazel's barrier, it's shattering. We need to get with the others.
"The barrier's breaking!" Jason cried. Percy looked around and tried to locate any of his friends, but the smoke was too thick to see through at the moment.
"We need to get with the others!" Percy added. He felt around until his fingers found the smooth bone of one of the titan's ribs. He followed it back to the main gap, by then the smoke had cleared and Percy's eyes settled on Annabeth.
"Are you guys okay?" Eren exclaimed, running to them.
"Yeah, we're good." Hazel said. "You?"
"We've been better." Percy cringed.
"E-E-E-Eren, how d-did you-"
"I don't know!" Eren cut Armin off. "But look, it's already starting to vaporize just like the corpse of a titan."
"It is the corpse of a titan." Percy said flatly. Annabeth smacked his shoulder.
There was a loud rumbling, and the barrier Hazel had summoned crashed to the ground.
We're next to defenseless right now, Percy thought. The barrier fell and the titan's disintegrating.
"Let's get out of here! And Percy, I'm expecting an explanation the second we're out of here!" Eren yelled. He sprinted from the crumbling rib cage, slowed to a jog, then he came to a complete halt. "It's hard to tell if they're watching and waiting, or just totally dazed, though I suppose it doesn't matter much either way. I'm sure as soon as the smoke clears they'll resume the attack."
"Idiots." Percy hissed. "They don't know what they're doing. You don't just shoot things you don't understand."
"I can try to summon another barrier." Hazel offered.
"No, save your strength." Annabeth said gently. "They'd just blow it down again. We need a plan."
"Do you think we could talk to them?" Jason asked.
"Not after seeing this." Eren turned towards the titan. "I think we've blown any hope of reasoning with them." Eren tugged on a string around his neck that Percy hadn't noticed. Tied to the end was a bronze key.
"The cellar. I'm starting to remember." Eren glared at the key. "This key," he looked up, "Our house in Shiganshina. My father said I'd have to go back there, everything hinged on it! I think it's way he gave me the power to transform. If I can make it back to our cellar...I might learn the titan's secrets!"
Percy exchanged a look with Annabeth. They weren't present during the fall of Shiganshina or Wall Maria. They had an idea of where it was and what happened there, but they'd never laid eyes on it.
Could someone from there really know the titan's secrets?
Eren suddenly slammed his fist into the titan's rib, causing it to splinter.
"Why did he keep this stuff secret?" He growled. "How many thousands of Scouts have already died because my father didn't share this information?! It could be the last chance humanity has! Then the answer's been hidden away under our house this whole time? Is he insane? ...Screw him."
Percy glanced over his shoulder. The smoke was clearing, and he could see the forms of the soldiers, all standing in position. He was paying so much attention to them he almost didn't hear Eren.
"Where have you been these last five years Dad?"
"Eren." Mikasa grabbed the boy's shoulder. "We have other business to deal with."
"Right." Eren agreed. They jogged over to the rest of the group, standing there observantly.
"Get ready, the smoke's clearing!" One soldier said.
"As soon as you see it, blast it!" Another chimed in.
"Forget this! I-"
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" The officer barked.
Suddenly, the titan's neck snapped, and it's head came tumbling to the ground with a mighty thud, sending up new plumes of smoke and dust, obscuring the cadets from vision.
"Listen." Eren said darkly. "I'm getting out of here."
Percy immediately whipped around to face his friend. "What?"
"Where?" Armin breathed, his azure eyes stretched wide. "H-how?"
"Anywhere but here. Then I head over the wall and go straight for Shiganshina. But I'll have to become a titan again."
"No Eren!" Percy hissed. "Be reasonable! You can't just leave!"
The brown haired boy looked as though he were about to say something, then Armin spoke.
"You can transform at will?" He asked shakily.
"To be honest I don't know how I'm doing it. I just know that I can. It's hard to put into words but, it was like, reflexive, see?" Eren spread his fingers, though his voice was becoming strained and raspy. "In that moment, my mind subconsciously focused on stopping the cannonball. That's why it's decaying. It only had the endurance to meet that task."
Percy realized "it" meant that the crumbling titan beside them. He scooted a bit closer to Annabeth.
Eren's breathing grew heavy, labored even. Jason thought he might be having a panic attack before Eren began flexing his fingers and making a fist. His eyes blazed with fury.
"Next time I'll be stronger." He growled. "I'll be a fifteen-meter-high titan slayer like before!"
A stream of ruby red liquid slid down from Eren's nose, staining his face and lips a rich crimson. He didn't seem to notice.
"Eren!" Mikasa said urgently. "Your nose is-"
Eren quickly wiped some of the blood away and stared at it on his finger.
"Your breathing is erratic and you're pale." Armin said gently, but his desperation began to crawl into his voice. "Something's wrong Eren, you're not well!"
Eren scowled and brushed the rest of his blood away. "As things stand, my health is irrelevant."
"It most certainly is not!" Jason exclaimed. "You need to calm down and think things through right now. Gods, where's Piper when you need her?"
"I have thought things through." Eren said sourly. "And I have two ideas. All of you could make it out of here alive, if you stopped trying to protect me."
"No can do." Percy said. "You're a rare find Eren. We'll protect you from the devil himself if we must."
"Please." Eren rolled his eyes. "I brought you enough trouble as it is. So I'm doing this on my own from this point forward."
"NO!" Percy barked.
"You're kidding." Armin breathed. The fear and longing in the young blonde's voice seemed to shatter Percy's heart almost as much as his frantic eyes did. Armin began to say something but was abruptly cut off by Mikasa's signature catchphrase.
"Eren." She said. "I'm coming too."
"No way." Eren said lowly. He looked dangerous right now, scary, even.
"I plan to follow you whether you give me permission to or not." She replied."I swear, I'll never leave your side."
"Mikasa stop it, I'm being serious here!" He snapped. "I'm not your little brother and I'm not some snot nosed toddler!"
Percy flinched away from the argument. What was happening? Why was this happening? Just because one officer was unreasonable, Eren, who might be the key to turning the tide against the titans, was leaving? No. He wouldn't allow it. He'd been friends with Eren for three years, Jason even accused Percy of cheating on their bromance because they'd gotten so close. He wasn't about to let his best friend be taken from him because of this.
"I'll come too." Percy said. Eren rounded on him.
"What? Why you?" He asked.
"Darn it, because you're my friend Eren!" Percy barked. "I may not have spent a lifetime with you and I may not have witnessed your pain like these guys, but I do know you, and I do care for you. You'll have to get over the fact that me and Mikasa are going to be accompanying you if you leave."
"Listen, we won't-"
"Just wait a second, would 'ya?" Eren cut Mikasa off. "If you recall I said I had two ideas." He turned to look at Armin, who had his empty blue eyes fixed on the ground. "Armin, I trust you to make the right decision."
Armin sat up, his eyes wide. He released a little whimpering sound, clearly afraid.
"Now hear me out." Eren continued. "And yes, I'm aware of how unrealistic this plan is, but the best case scenario, I try to use my titan ability strategically, under military direction. This might sound crazy, but if you think you can convince the Garrison Regiment, right here and now, that I present no threat to them, I'll trust you and we'll go with that option. That's my second idea. If you don't think you can get it done then my last resort is the first idea. You've got fifteen seconds to decide. Think you can get it done?"
That's not fair, Percy thought. Putting all that pressure on Armin. I'd take about an hour to decide if it were me, can he really make up his mind in fifteen seconds?
"Listen, I'll respect your opinion either way." Eren said gently.
There was a loud clicking sound, and they knew the cannon was nearly loaded and ready to fire.
"Eren," Armin said softly. "Why would you leave such a major decision up to me?"
"Because you keep a level head." Eren smiled without humor. "You always choose well, no matter how ugly things get. I figure that's worth relying on."
"When have I done that?" Armin asked shakily.
Yeesh, Percy thought. This guy needs a confidence boost.
"Come on, you do it all the time." Eren replied. "Take five years ago. If you hadn't gone to Mr. Hannes for help, Mikasa and I would've been eaten by the titans."
The skeletal backbone of the titan suddenly snapped and crashed to the ground, sending gusts of air forwards, blowing Armin's hair wildly, and yet again, stirring up clouds of dust. Armin's eyes were growing wet.
"Armin," Eren said hurriedly. "Our time's up."
The silence stretched on for a couple seconds.
With his eyes shadowed from view by his bangs, Armin abruptly stood up. "I will persuade them, trust me. You all just act as non aggressively as you possibly can, agreed?"
Everyone nodded. A small smile made it's way onto Annabeth's lips.
With a new aura of confidence, Armin strode through the smoke and dust clouds.
"Annabeth." Jason whispered. "I have the utmost faith and respect for Armin, I have every confidence that he can do this, but if things head south, I want you to stall those soldiers for as long as you can. While you do that, I'll send Frank to bring Piper here so she can...convince them. Sound good?"
Annabeth nodded. "It won't come to that, but sure. Armin is as clever as me, and no one unreasonable and close minded would be given such a position of authority. He can persuade them, I know it."
There was a clattering sound, like metal hitting concrete.
Armin removed his gear. Percy thought. Smart.
The boy must have charged through the smoke, because the next thing the cadets heard was the officer yelling "HALT, HALT!"
The sound of Armin's footfall had ended. Annabeth could faintly see him holding his arms up in an obvious gesture of surrender.
"IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR TRUE FORM, MONSTER?" The officer snarled. "I DON'T BUY IT. I'LL GIVE THE SIGNAL TO FIRE, I MEAN IT!"
"Eren is not a foe of humanity!" Armin started. "We're willing to cooperate with military command and share everything we've learned about his powers!"
"Your pleas find deaf ears! He revealed his true form and because of that he cannot leave here alive!" The officer raged. "If you insist he's not an enemy of ours show me proof! Otherwise, we'll blast him right back into whatever nightmare he crawled out of!"
"You don't need any proof!" Armin retorted. "The fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter what we perceive him to be!"
"What?"
"The reports say hundreds of soldiers saw him, and those who were there say they saw him fighting other titans! And that means they saw him get swarmed by the titans as well! To put it plainly, the titans saw him the same way they see each and every human being, as their prey! And it doesn't matter how else you may look at it, that is an irrefutable fact!"
"Woah." Percy muttered. "Listen to him go. That guy's deaf if he's not convinced by now."
There was talk around the Garrison Regiment, and Percy could swear he heard blades being lowered and clanging against each other.
It's working, Percy felt almost giddy. We're going to make it out of this without anyone getting hurt.
"PREPARE TO ATTAAAACK!" The officer suddenly screamed. Percy's heart dropped into his stomach. Or not.
"DON'T LET YOURSELF BE SWAYED BY HIS CUNNING LIES!" The officer ranted.
"The idiot." Annabeth hissed. "He's putting his own fear before the well being of humanity. He's trying to destroy what he doesn't understand, the fool. Surely he knows that Armin's right, it's not right to kill Eren now."
"The titan's behavior has always been beyond our comprehension!" The officer snapped. "I wouldn't put it past him to assume human form. He- he- he- he- he's- he's speaking our language! In an attempt to deceive us! I REFUSE TO LET THEM CONTINUE THIS BEHAVIOR UNCHECKED!"
The sound of swords clanging and guns being cocked rang out like a death bell.
We're right back where we started. Jason realized.
"Annabeth, Frank." Jason said darkly. "Get ready. We'll see if Armin has any more tricks up his sleeve before I send you out."
They nodded as Armin whipped around, his eyes pained and scared. Eren gave him a steady nod, and the blonde boy's fear seemed to melt, replacing by boiling rage. He turned back around, and Percy could easily imagine the fury and determination on his face.
"I am a soldier!" Armin yelled, getting into a salute. "And I have dedicated my heart to the restoration of humanity sir! Nothing can make me prouder, than dying for such a noble cause! IF WE WERE TO USE HIS TITAN ABILITY AND COMBINE IT WITH THE MANPOWER WE HAVE LEFT, I BELIEVE WE COULD DO IT! WE COULD RETAKE THIS CITY! FOR HUMANITY'S GLORY, AND FOR WHAT LITTLE TIME I HAVE LEFT TO LIVE, I WILL APPLICATE HIS STRATEGIC VALUE!"
Annabeth felt as though she may start crying. Armin had intelligence that was in a class by itself, and a voice rich with emotion and honesty. Surely that bone headed officer knew that.
"Captain Vorn, his words are worth considering sir." One soldier said. "If we could just-"
"QUIEEETTTTT!" The officer, Captain Vorn apparently, shrieked.
"ANNABETH, FRANK, GO!" Jason barked.
"Roger!" Frank transformed into a kite and zipped out of there, heading to collect Piper, while Annabeth dropped her gear and charged from the fading dust.
"Wait!" She cried. "He saved my life!"
Captain Vorn halted, his hand nearly raised to give the signal to fire.
Instant mutters broke out among the soldiers.
If I can get them to turn against that idiotic captain, or maybe just come to a humane realization, I might be able to do this. I'll have to lie quite a bit about who I am though, Annabeth nearly frowned. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
"That's right! I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Eren Jaeger and his titan ability." Annabeth continued. She made herself look as pathetic as possible. "My father is among you, he is a member of the Garrison Regiment. In fact, he's very close to the top of the hierarchy. It was always my goal to someday join the military and defend humanity just as he still does, and he trained me every step of the way! I learned from one of your best, most respected officers, yet once I was on the field, I lacked the bravery to stand up to the titans."
She tried to put on an ashamed face. "I was scooped up by a titan, and I was dangling in front of the very jaws of death themselves, when a great creature, a titan, came tearing down the street. He knocked the other titan down with a single blow to its nape, a weakness only known to mankind. He then continued on his way, destroying titans and saving hundreds of lives as he went. I know for a fact that my father is extremely grateful of Eren Jaeger. Wouldn't you be too?" She searched the crowd with her eyes. Okay, I've got something going here. I need to apply to their human, soft side.
"Imagine the one person you regard the most dearly in life. Now, imagine them about to perish, absolutely helpless at the hands of fate, with nothing you can do about it. You can listen to their screams and cries, their desperate pleas for somebody, anybody to help them, but you can't, because you don't know they're in that condition. They give up their will to live, believing that this is how they were meant to end, alone and forgotten, when this brilliant creature saves them from what would've been ultimate demise. How would that make you feel? Would you want to have such a beautiful thing, the creature that just saved the life of the one you hold closest to your heart, do you want him killed simply because you don't understand him? All those cadets whose lives were saved because of him, they all have families and friends, people that would lose their very reason for breathing if those cadets were to die, those friends and families understand this as much as you do. And I'm sure they're scared too, but they're grateful for him anyway because he's the reason their loved one still thrives. This boy, who has never done a thing to harm humanity or an innocent person ever, they're all grateful for. What's the difference between you and them? Do you really feel no connection to the soldiers whose hearts still beat because of this boy?"
Annabeth took rapid, huffing breaths. Armin was looking at her with some sort of a newfound respect. She had pulled all the stocks. She lied, guilted, sympathized, sweet talked, and painted a horror story into a plea worthy of Athena. However, wisdom doesn't always connect to the idiots in this world.
More emphasis Annabeth.
She slammed her right fist over her left chest. "I hope you take my words into consideration, sir."
Swords and guns were lowered, and as Annabeth scanned the crowd, she noticed an older, unfamiliar man standing behind Captain Vorn. He was bald, with tanned, wrinkled skin and a small mustache. He wore a Garrison Regiment uniform, and several badges and awards were pinned to his jacket.
"My my." The man said. "That was quite a speech. And you sir, you should really do something about your nervous habits."
Captain Vorn spun around frantically. "C-C-Commander Pixis!"
"Can you not see these soldier's heartfelt salutes?" The man, Commander Pixis, said, walking forward.
Okay, Annabeth thought. The salute was a good move. Mental high five.
"I've only just arrived, but I am quite aware of our situation." He turned to the captain. "Gather our reinforcements. I think, we could at least do these young soldiers the favor of hearing them out."
Armin collapsed to his knees, a silly grin on his face as he panted heavily. He grinned at Annabeth like she was a goddess of some sort.
Thank the non-existent gods. Annabeth sighed. That could have gotten ugly. Well, uglier.