LI
Frank
(A/N: Filler. Not very good, unlike the last chapter. Expect the next chapter to be heartbreaking, but not as much as the last one. Review! Enjoy! Also, Octavian.)
Arion sped towards Camp Half-Blood as the sun rose on the horizon. Hazel woke up on his back. He was whinnying, like he was saying, Come on. We're nearly there.
Hazel patted his neck as he approached the Camp Half-Blood borderline. She'd had a bit of an idea of where it was, but Arion seemed to know even better than she did. Suddenly, he slammed against an invisible barrier, then instantly backed off. Hazel was retching. She was beginning to think that the seat belts on this thing could have been better designed.
Arion tried to push it away, but to no avail. Hazel got off him, and put her hand on it. It was a solid wall of energy. She couldn't break through it, though. Frank woke up with a start, yelling, "What? I'm here!"
When his eyes focused, Hazel explained the problem. She had guessed, but know she knew that there in fact was a barrier surrounding the Camp.
"Huh," Frank said. "Let me try." he jumped off the horse and ran towards it, turning into an elephant to get the extra force. But no luck. But he still came around for a second try. This time, as he slammed against it, it shattered like glass.
"Woah!" he transformed into his human form, shielding her from the pieces.
When the shards had stopped falling, Hazel climbed out from under Frank. "That shouldn't be possible. One person shouldn't be able to break the barrier by himself." Frank nodded in agreement. "It's too strong for that to happen. Which means that someone else broke it." his eyes widened. "The Romans!"
Hazel cursed herself for being so stupid. Duh, it was someone else. They both ran towards the Camp. In the forest where Zeus' fist was, Hazel could hear the screams of warriors and the thumping of feet. She ran towards the strawberry fields, and saw a sight that, while breathtaking, made her catch her breath in fear.
On one end of the field, Roman legionnaires marched in tortoise formation, while a few groups were in Wedge formation, trying to break through the enemy formation. The Greeks were brandishing various weapons, and had nearly no tactics aside from killing (or maiming), or that was what it looked like.
The two sides charged at each other: the Romans screaming for war, the Greeks for them to stop. Hazel's breath caught; she knew the power of the legion. The Greeks didn't stand a chance.
But when the two sides were just about to touch, a giant shadow appeared in the middle of the field, prompting the front lines of both sides to retreat. Then, a giant statue popped out of the hole, soaring into the air, and landed smack dab in the middle of the field. Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge were holding on to its head. They fell, and the two sides rushed to catch them.
Hazel ran down the hill, Frank behind her. The grass was slippery, but Hazel didn't care. She knew that Nico was okay, and that he had completed the mission- that was plenty enough for her.
Meanwhile, the Greeks and Romans were milling around the statue, hesitant to touch it. They were very suspicious of it, especially the Romans.
Then Octavian spoke up.
"How do we no know that this is a trap? This is clearly a fake! He knocked his fist on the metal covering. This is clearly plaster!" A sheet of gold fell off the statue, and looking inside, Hazel could see the bronze plates beneath it. When Octavian pulled it apart, she could see the wood scaffolding beyond it.
"See?" he said grimly. "I told you that it was a replica! Romans!" the battlefield suddenly was drowned in the shouts for battle. But then Frank walked over to him.
"Octavian."
Octavian turned around, startled as if caught in a searchlight. For a moment, at least. Then he went back to his arrogant mask. "Frank Zhang. I see that you have returned. With the Athena Parthenos, no less!"
"No." Frank replied. "It wasn't me who brought it back, it was them." he gestured to the three snoring bodies on the floor. Reyna was beginning to wake. "And Octavian, in case you're wondering, I do have the right to speak to you like this."
"And how would that be?" asked Octavian. "You're not the Praetor."
"Yes, I am." Frank said. "Jason promoted me. Field promotion, you know. About two weeks ago."
"Oh, really?" Octavian asked. "And how do you expect me to believe you?"
"Because Jason told me himself." Reyna said. She was sitting on the ground, out of breath. "He promoted Frank to praetor during the battle at the Necromanteion."
Octavian's face blanched. "Sorry!" he said, a weak smile on his face. "I didn't know!"
Frank walked over to the crowd. "Does anyone have a catapult?" after a bit of discussion, the crowd brought forward a catapult. "All right, Octavian. Sit."
Octavian glared at him and sat down.
"All right!" Frank said. "Just cut this rope, and... boom!"
The catapult sprang into action, throwing Octavian sky high.
"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Hazel asked.
"Yeah," Frank replied. "I aimed it towards the sea. He'll be fine." at this point, there were a lot of cheering demigods. Hazel thought that Frank's actions might have been too much, but she didn't really mind it.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
The Greek and Roman demigods turned around too see what it was that had made the sound. Suddenly, a flock of birds flew off a tree, cawing.
The sky turned dark. Lightning started to come down on the camp.
Frank braced himself, expecting an army to come storming out of the woods. What he was not expecting was for the giant to be alone.
The giant had green hair and white eyes. "I am Porphyrion!" his voice boomed across the hill. "And I have come to kill every one of you!"