I do not own Percy Jackson nor Heroes of Olympus, they belong to Rick Riordan.
Chapter Twenty-Six - Carlos
Oh.
"You did…?" Liam said, taking her hand and rubbing it. "You remember everything?"
"My name is Alyx Perseus Jackson… I'm seventeen and daughter of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase." She sat up, both of them staring at her with wide eyes.
"The legend, Percy Jackson, had a kid." He said. Liam laughed.
"My mom told me stories about him having a daughter just like him, but she never told me her name!" He said. "Since we're all sharing our full names," he turned to him, "why don't you say yours?"
"M-Mine…?" He gulped, Alyx blinking at him cutely. "Fine… My name is Carlos Be-" She cleared her throat.
"Full name."
"Carlos Mio Beckendorf! Happy?" Liam blinked, snickered, then froze.
"Wait… As in Charles Beckendorf?" He nodded, making his eyes widen. "And your mother-"
"Is Silena Beauregard." He stared at him, his jaw open.
"So they're alive."
"Yeah."
"Okay, so maybe this won't be as shocking…" He blushed. "My mom is Thalia Grace and my dad is Luke Castellan." Alyx stared at him, her eyes wide.
"What?"
"Yeah…" He chuckled nervously. She reached up, grabbing his face.
"Are you serious?"
"Uh… Yeah."
"Holy sh-"
"Language!" He hit her back, making her squeak. It was quiet for a few minutes before he winced a bit.
"How's your back?" She asked, wiping her eyes again to clear excess tears. Now that she mentioned it, he felt the pain erupt in his back. He yelped and fell on her, gripping her shirt tightly.
"H-Hurts!" Liam got up and ran to the backpack, pulling out a vial of nectar, and running back, handing her the vial. She popped the cork and held it to his lips, making him drink slowly.
"If we have to fight, we're not taking any chances." He hiccupped, nodding and savoring the taste of his mom's homemade cookies. Warm and sweet, and gooey… The pain diminished slowly, and he felt his wound closing. He shivered as she ran her fingers through his hair, her nails gently scraping against his scalp.
"So… Shall we go?"
They packed up whatever was messy, fixed anything broken and packed up, then checked out. They caught a cab and drove for about an hour, both him and Liam snacking on some jerky on the way. She was quiet, staring out the window as they passed cars and people, her eyes blank. She was probably thinking of her home and parents. He too wondered how his parents were doing. He glanced at Liam, who looked pale with the dim light. Rain pattered against the windshield and windows, the clouds dark grey.
He wondered what these people were like when they weren't hell bent on finding Alyx. He wondered how they were going to react when they showed up with their long lost daughter.
They pulled up to the address, the hill leading to Thalia's tree saturated in rain. The driver frowned.
"There's nothing here, ma'am. Are you sure this is the right address?"
"Yes, sir." She handed him a wad of cash and he decided not to argue anymore. They got out, pulling on their hoods and trudging up the hill.
He expected to see a beautiful area with peace, children laughing and running around. No, instead they got absolute chaos.
Ares children ran around, giving orders with the Athena cabin, archers from the Apollo cabin loading their quivers. He spotted Percy looking around frantically, before the dark skinned woman appeared and led him away.
And then he spotted the giant snake.
It was coming up from the lake, and he had to say he would never touch a snake again.
"Put on your masks." She ordered, her mask sealing over her face. "I already have a plan."
He hopped from one cabin to the other, Liam in his position. Thankfully, the snake was extremely slow, so it was slithering up the shore slowly.
"That is a big snake." He mumbled. It had the features of a python and cobra. It had metal plates all down from its head to its tail, the edge of its tail a weird singular claw. It had two frills on the sides of its head like a cobra, folding in and out. Its eyes were a sharp pink. Its scales were red and white, the plates on its back dark grey.
He saw the older woman from their trip, giving orders to people in armor. She waved her arm to the right, showing a SPQR tattoo like Alyx's, but hers had a torch and a sword intersecting with each other. She had a ton of lines, probably twenty three or something. In history, he'd read about the Roman Empire, that SPQR meant Senatus Populusque Romanus. It took him a long time to figure it out, with his dyslexia and all. Her hair was neatly braided, and she was dressed for combat in armor and a purple cape.
That's Reyna. She's praetor of New Rome, or Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp. Alyx's voice rang in his head.
There are Roman half-bloods, too?
You bet. The guy who choked Liam is Roman. She sighed dreamily. I can't wait to see Hank again.
What? Why? Liam sounded offended.
He's my boyfriend.
"Reyna!" He heard a voice. He looked and saw the Chinese guy.
That's Frank, the second praetor. He's Hank's dad.
Yay. He watched everybody move around.
"Get the children and pregnant women to the Big House." He heard her tell Frank. Frank nodded and then gave orders to do so. She turned to look at the snake, narrowing her eyes.
Carlos, do your thing.
My thing?
Yeah, you know. Where you spot the weaknesses.
Oh. Uh… He looked up, squinting his eyes. Nothing happened, so he blinked. The same thing happened in the junkyard. Little aim points came into vision.
Under the metal plates the skin is vulnerable. Its underbelly is also bare. The frills are open, if you strike behind then it'll either blow them off or take its head.
Nice.
Liam, I need you to fire either explosive or foam arrows under the plates. If you can get it down on the ground, then I can get a clear shot to its head.
You got it.
The people who couldn't fight were almost to safety, but the snake had gained movement speed. Luckily no one had spotted him yet. The snake was almost to the Big House.
Hurry… He thought, gulping at the advancing serpent.
"Ashe!" He heard a woman cry. He looked down to see a young girl trip over a rock, falling on her face. The snake spotted her, hissing at his first meal. He gasped and ran across the roof, hopping down and going into a barrel roll before hopping back up and dashing towards her. He lunged, gathering her into his arms and rolling away before the snake lunged its face down, barely missing them. He jumped up again, running behind a small building, panting a bit, holding her tight. The snake hissed in displeasure at not getting its first meal. He let her down.
"Go around, okay? Get to your parents." She nodded and ran off, heading behind the Big House. He took a breath, before running out, waving his arms.
"Hey!" He shouted, catching the serpent's attention. It hissed, doing the little slither and lunged. He rolled out of the way, running alongside, hoping to draw its attention away from the Big House.
It didn't work.
It took its attention off him and turned to the Big House, hissing and flicking its tongue. It had a glint in its eye that gave him a very bad feeling. He turned and ran back in front.
Oh man, I really wish I had a shield right now. He thought. He gulped, watching the snake do its slither, getting ready to strike.
"Fire!" He heard Reyna shout. The snake turned its head, just in time to see arrows pelt against the plates, deflecting off without harm.
Suddenly the air grew colder, and he could almost feel the focus in the arrow. There was a whistle before a black arrow appeared in his vision. It landed right in between one of the plates.
"Get down!" He yelled to the archers. He dove behind a large rock, a beeping noise sounding before there was an explosion. The snake roared, a sound of a snap coming to his ears and the noise of metal clanging made him peak out from his hiding spot. The plate had snapped off, and the explosion left the skin red and blistered. Another arrow whistled pass, landing on the skin, the foam erupting and sealing him down on the ground.
All yours, Al.
On it.
He saw her figure appear at the tail, before vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. He was confused for a moment.
Tell Reyna to get everyone to safety. This thing is nasty.
He ran to her while she was confused.
"Get everyone to safety." He told her, before running off, his sword and dagger appearing in his hands. He heard the order almost immediately. He slashed upward, making the snake shriek, green blood sliding down its belly. The snake shot down, hopping away, hitting the spot he was just at. A little green dot was on its head.
Alyx, there's a little dot on its head. I think that's the weak spot.
Yes, sir.
He spotted her running up its back, in the stupid Naruto run. Her eyes reminded him of wolf eyes now, and they gave off a weird glint as she ran. She moved quickly, like a blur. She leapt over the wounded area and landed on top of its head, pulling out her dagger.
"I think I'll name you Vlad." She said before driving the dagger into the head. He rolled out of the way as it flicked its tail down to his spot, making a crater in the spot. The snake roared and exploded into green slime, expanding throughout the camp. He covered his face, gagging at the smell and feel. He shook it off, heading to where she stood, sheathing her dagger before anyone could see it. Liam came out of his spot, his bow gone. They stood by her, arms behind their backs like guards, staring down Reyna as people begun to slowly emerge from their hiding spots.
"Who are you?" Reyna asked, her eyes narrowed. She didn't look happy. They said nothing.
Go ahead. Take off your masks.
Liam and Carlos reached up, taking off their hoods and masks.
"Pretty…" A little girl said. "Your eyes are so pretty…" She pointed at him, her eyes wide.
"Get back, Annie…" Reyna said gently, and the little girl retreated behind her. "You three. Who are you?" She glared daggers at Alyx, her dark eyes clouded with anger.
Alyx sighed, slowly reaching up and pulling off her hood, her hand brushing her earring, her mask retreating. Her hair fell from the ponytail she had before they arrived, falling around her face like curtains. Collectively, the crowd froze, their eyes wide like they were seeing a ghost. She gave a choked chuckle, her mischievous smile coming to her face.
"I'm back."
To Be Continued...