You might think that Jason is acting somewhat out of character as well as Percy.

This was set after the Burning Maze and also after the first Avengers film, and will be part of a trilogy (hopefully!).

Don't worry there's plenty of canon characters here- there's no way I'm going to neglect them. The POVs will shift between characters, both canon and OC. As for the Olympians... Well, opinions on them are about to be lowered farther.

Brace yourselves. There are going to be some shocking surprises.

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it- obviously none of this- except the OCs- are mine! The numerous canon characters belong to which amazing person again?

Why so Confusing? It's infuriating and I'm tired!

The dreams were vivid, they were never clear.

She never knew what to make of them. Her slender, delicate hands twisted the fabric of the dress she put on for the party, uncaring of the wrinkles and creases it might made.

She saw a beach of golden light, a tall young man with golden hair, leaning down to her as if... As if...

No, it couldn't be. No one kissed her unless they wanted a hard smash to the crotch.

She saw other things. Fighting, spinning through the air, golden-red blades whirling. She had a partner fighting alongside her. She didn't know how she knew this person was on her side, but she did. And she thought it might have been the same guy.

She saw hordes of demonic-looking... Things. Some scaled with green skin, others with snakes for hair. Some with various grotesque body parts. There was always a large team or the same guy fighting alongside her- with her. As a team. As a family.

Like her own.

And none of it made sense.

Iridiscent and brilliant green eyes opened and Aglaia wondered if they were really just dreams... Or memories from a life she couldn't remember. Memories that had been mostly erased.

So that was how Jason got roped into this mess.

He'd always known that dying and the afterlife is unpleasant.

But not dying and not being able to go back to his friends- that was another thing entirely.

On the bright side, his eyesight was fixed. Jason had gotten so used to his glasses that it came as a surprise every morning when he reached for them, only to find that they weren't there.

He was well-treated and felt healthier and cleaner than he had ever been since- well, ever. But on the downside, he could tell that they didn't exactly trust him.

The first time he met other people, they stopped and stared at him. They didn't exactly pick on him, nor did they edge away from him, but he could tell they didn't trust him.

Nobody spoke or tried to make him feel welcome. That was okay with Jason. He was the new kid. He'd grown up in the Legion. He knew he had to prove his worth before they accepted him. Most of all, he had to prove he could be relied on.

He knew that most people he met probably didn't want him to be here, but they couldn't exactly let him go for fear he might run back to the camps and reveal their existence. Jason couldn't even blame them. He'd have to provide a good explanation if he just showed up out of nowhere, after being killed. And Jason had learned that the gods were unreliable in so many ways. Who knows what they- or the campers- would do if they found out about a group of demigods, legacies and every kind of hero, working together in secret, manipulating every fight from behind the scenes? So reluctantly, Jason restrained himself from flying out of there and back to Piper and their friends.

Because that was who they were and what they did. Jason learned that soon enough. The first few months he suffered from things like motion sickness, nausea and numerous things that weren't really pleasant to mention. Apparently, the doctor in charge said that he was simply suffering from months in hibernation and his brain needed to get used to being back in his own body. Now come to think about it, Jason now knew why he didn't feel so good for a few weeks. The doctor had told him that during his first weeks in the fake body/avatar/stunt double, the new body and its connection to his brain also needed to adjust.

So Jason went through things like Physiotherapy, food prescriptions for his meals, weighing, learning to walk in a straight line and a whole bunch of other things. He'd even gone through yoga, his limbs stretched and twisted awkwardly while he sat on the mat. It was a while before he was given normal food as opposed to mush and what Alex handed to him when he first woke up.

Alex. So far, Jason didn't know what to think of him, or what Alex thought of him for that matter. He knew that Alex had been the one to save him- the doctor confirmed that fact, but when Jason asked why he'd saved him, she refused to answer. It was frustrating. But no one really trusted him.

He didn't know what Alex felt about him because while Alex had been on hand during his therapy and training sessions (he was helping him get back in shape after being unconscious for so long), sometimes he felt as if he was genuinely supportive, helpful, kind even. He certainly provided morale boosters and incredibly encouraging support when Jason least expected it. But he could also be hard, mocking, goading, demanding and cold, and Alex tended to shift back and forth from there.

Jason genuinely didn't know if the guy liked him or not.

After a week, he was introduced to a group of other people. Some, Alex explained, were demigods from the Greek and Roman world. There weren't that many Romans, if at all, but there were plenty of Greeks. Alex also warned them that everyone there didn't have a happy past so Jason should keep from asking personal questions that might offend or remind them of what they've been through.

However, Alex hinted that there were more than just demigods there. Whatever that meant, Jason didn't know. His mind drifted to the conversation he had when he first met Alex, about other gods and pantheons existing.

The first person to open up to him was a girl called Drypêtis. She was a beautiful girl, but not as BAM-obvious, as Leo would say, as Piper. She was a quieter, modest kind of girl and Jason had to admit he liked that. No, he didn't feel anything for her the way he felt about Piper, but he might've made a friend.

He kept thinking about Piper thought, what she was doing, if she was safe, where she was. He even wondered if she was thinking about him and how she felt when he died. But Drypêtis provided some very helpful answers.

She had a rich creamy-tan complexion like mocha and a narrow-looking elfin face with delicate features. Her chocolate hair was tinged with natural red-auburn and she had rich brown, coffee-coloured eyes. She looked vaguely Middle-Eastern, but she made it quite clear that she was Iranian- not Arabic.

Jason didn't dare admit that he didn't know the difference. He knew all about the stereotypes about Americans not knowing about the outside world and he didn't want to admit his ignorance. Drypêtis was assigned to him because, as he found out, she was as great a mechanic and engineer as Leo. Or maybe it was just Jason's bias that prevented him from thinking that anybody could ever be better than Leo, but he had to admit her work was awesome.

"This isn't Celestial Bronze," Jason's brow furrowed, during one time. "Or Imperial Gold."

"No, but it's close," Drypêtis said. "This is Orichalcum."

Jason blinked. "I think I read about that somewhere when I was in New Rome." He vaguely remembered a scroll during the sessions he was researching for his ancient history assignment. It was not one of Jason's favourites.

"It's not mentioned much," Drypêtis shrugged. She turned to tinker at another table. "But it's where Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold come from. They're components of Orichalcum, combined with other substances and treated in different ways as well as being bound with magic, which causes them to form into alloys. It's the most powerful metal on earth. Far stronger and with more uses than either alloys."

Jason stared. "Then why do we use Imperial Gold or Celestial Bronze?"

"Because it's too powerful," Drypêtis replied smoothly without looking at him. "The Atlanteans also used it and they were mortals. So clearly, mortals could use it as well as demigods, legacies and the gods themselves. Now only the gods are using it- except for us." She paused. "It could also harm mortals alongside some of the most powerful people. But it's used for more than weaponry. Jewellery, tools, mechanical devices-" her eyes gleamed. "And inventions. Watch."

Just then, a ball made of a transparent something, floated upwards towards the ceiling. The lights dimmed, and suddenly the ball glowed, filling the room with light clearer and more focused than a lightbulb or a torch without blinding anyone.

"It took me weeks to plan out the design and materials, a few months to make and more months to perfect the design." She grinned. "But I've done it. I've made an illuminator. But you can call it a glowglobe."

"Um… To make light?"

"Obviously! We don't need lightbulbs now! We can even put it on auto mode." Drypêtis looked very pleased with herself. "Floating and turning on whenever we enter a room. Turning off when we exit- or if we flick our hands a certain way." She flicked her hand and it turned off, submerging the two in darkness. Then she probably flicked her hand again, because it turned on. "It has sensors, even in the dark," she explained. "Powered by organic batteries or simply by harvesting solar energy, or absorbing things like kinetic energy from people's movements in the air currents, tiny currents of electricity, microscopic droplets of water and pollutants and converting them into light. Or even electrical impulses coursing through its surroundings. We can even make it go on lockdown so if anyone tries to come in and wasting energy- though it uses less energy than lightbulbs- or hover above the area, either to follow me or anyone else, or go on auto-rotation mode. Watch." She said again. "Glowglobe: follow Jason." She mouthed, Go to the other end of the room. She pointed with her finger.

Okay, so Jason moved to the opposite end of the room. The globe followed, hovering above him.

"Glowglobe- auto-rotation." Drypêtis commanded. The glowglobe hovered still for a while. It slowly floated around the room, back and forth, slow enough not to make Jason feel dizzy. "See?" She beamed.

Jason was almost certain she was a child of Vulcan- or Hephaestus. Like Leo. He really missed the guy.

"I've invented suspensors," She admitted. "That's how it hovers. I've attached them to other things like chairs and ramps, so you don't have to install numerous things. I've made numerous weapons out of Orichalcum as well as Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold. But I love making new inventions. I've even made sonic showers."

"Sonic showers?" Jason asked, suddenly dizzy.

"Yes. Sci-fi inspired. Not just Star Trek but Star Wars. It's a shower that's faster and more efficient than water-based showers. When we're trying to save water and time, we can use Sonic Showers." Drypêtis looked pleased. "I sometimes scour Sci-Fi novels, comics and films for inspiration. If I can build it, I will. Who cares what other people say about it being impossible? Nothing is impossible or what it seems. With the correct calculations, I can prove this."

"Wow," Jason remarked, somewhat dazed. He had to admit she was a genius. In some ways she reminded him of Leo, except she was less… Cheerful and hyper.

Jason couldn't help but be curious. As he promised Alex, he never asked anyone about their background, where they came from, their parents and what kind of childhoods they had. But he was curious when, several times, Drypêtis mentioned her cousin.

Apparently, they were close. But although Jason had never met Drypêtis' cousin, she herself was the first Iranian Jason had ever met. Drypêtis had a faint European accent, like Alex, but it was barely noticeable. He sometimes wondered if it was Greek. She spoke Persian sometimes the way Leo spoke Spanish when he was getting excited or agitated. Her name, Drypêtis also didn't sound like a typical Middle-Eastern name. He thought he could remember reading it on a history book somewhere, but Jason couldn't remember which book.

Slowly, more people opened to him. Jason supposed- or hoped- that they saw he wasn't so bad, and he appeared to appreciate of Drypêtis. They didn't exactly trust him like he'd hoped, but they weren't as suspicious as before.

That was Jason's plan: to gain their trust, so he could learn more about them- and hopefully, find a way to get back to his friends without too many suspicions running around.

The people at 'Headquarters', as they called it, were a mix of different people. They had different nationalities, and none of them, Jason noticed, were from America. As far as he knew, he was the only American there.

There was a girl called Eleana and another one called Mizuki. Eleana sounded British and Mizuki was Japanese. The two of them were total opposites but were close to each other. Drypêtis had introduced them.

They were both, astoundingly, outrageously beautiful. Eleana had wavy golden hair that shimmered and glittered whenever the light hit it, like spun gold with a few natural coppery streaks at the side. Her eyes were so blue- bright and clear they reminded Jason of a sunny day on the beach in a tropical country. She had fair skin, flawless, but with a slight golden tan; and perfect bow-shaped, reddish-pink lips over very white teeth.

It occurred to Jason that something wasn't right. All the people he'd met were absurdly good-looking when he met the two girls. Alex looked, well, he looked more regal than all the statues Jason had ever seen of the gods in full armour and togas, while wearing the casual black trousers, jacket and shirt or anything else. Mizuki was no exception. Her face was oval, with a smooth, glossy, luminous mane; her complexion was pale, and she was so heart-crushingly, breathtakingly beautiful she looked like an actual goddess. Her dark, blue-black almond eyes were absolutely haunting, and Jason was reminded of Diana- or Artemis- only she'd never give birth to a demigod child.

The two girls confused them as soon as he met them. Eleana smiled warmly, but Jason's senses went on high-alert, like he was buzzing into a Venus Flytrap. She welcomed him, joked, laughed but it was like facing Mata Hari. Mizuki on the other hand, kept her distance. She was mostly silent around Alex and rarely spoke to him. She didn't trust him. Eleana was a singer. Jason admitted she was damned excellent, even compared to some of the Apollo kids he had heard at both camps. He still didn't know what Mizuki did or whose kid she was.

Jason was desperate for answers. He desperately needed to know anything- anything about Piper or Leo or Percy or Annabeth or Frank or Hazel or Reyna or Nico. Especially Piper. Anything on her whether she was alive or dead. Drypêtis had gotten orders for various weapons to be made, but she didn't reveal what they were for.

She must've seen Jason's strained expression, because she assured him one day:

"There has to be trust. You have to be reliable and prove yourself reliable and honest if you want anyone to start trusting you. That includes everyone here." She leaned closer.

"They're watching you."

Jason's senses went on high-alert. "Who?"

"Alex. Eleana. Mizuki. Some of the others. Watching to see how you react to things and whether or not you can be trusted."

"To keep their existence a secret?"

"With everything." Drypêtis' eyes were steely. "Many people here have gone undetected from the demigods and gods- even their parents. Yes, there are demigods here. Mostly Greek. Some of them bear grudges. Not everyone was stupid though. During the Titan War, we watched from a distance, waiting to see which side was worth helping. If it was just gods and titans, none of us would give a damn about who won or who got dethroned. It was you guys we were watching- heroes, if you can call them that. Clearly you guys- Greek and Roman- were, so we helped a bit behind the scenes." She handed Jason an open book.

"Err… What's this?"

Drypêtis pointed. "Basilisk Blood. One of our friends researched this. During the Titan War Kronos and Hyperion sent for reinforcements- tens of thousands of more monsters heading towards Mount Othrys and your friends during the war. So she did some digging of her own, with Alex's encouragement and help." The picture on the book showed a vial of red liquid being drizzled over a steak, like sauce. "It gives cooked meat a savoury smell. But if you eat it, it causes delusions. Literal delusions and violent mood swings. A mouse will attack a lion, or so they say."

Jason gaped. "That's why they fought?" Their scouts had reported extra monsters one evening, only to have them break out fighting each other. By daybreak, they were all dead. "The monsters killed each other!"

"And you would've been wiped out and your camp and city completely destroyed if it weren't for us." Drypêtis said, looking directly into his eyes. "That wasn't the only time they helped. The inventor Daedalus was found and then persuaded to go to Camp Half-Blood, just to see if the demigods there were worth saving. In the end, he did save them. Alex did that." She said sternly.

Jason just gaped, speechless.

So, they had been helping from behind the scenes. "Is that what you guys do?" He asked. Drypêtis shrugged. "Help out behind the scenes? Why not do it publicly?"

"Because we don't trust the gods," Drypêtis replied shortly.

Not long after the doctor- or rather, Alex- gave him permission to use the training hall.

A number of teenagers, younger kids and adults were training in a large cavernous hall with grey-blue mats. One guy swung and whacked an axe in a way that made Jason back nervously. The guy caught Jason's eye and grinned maniacally. Jason moved on.

Drypêtis nodded to him before she threw a series of knives to various moving targets. These weren't the simple mechanical dummies that Jason saw at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. They moved so fast it gave Jason the spins and Drypêtis did too. Her arms and torso were a blur. The targets rotated jumping up and down, flying, spinning turning somersaults and dodging her at breakneck speed. Finally, only one target remained. Drypêtis, having run out of knives, grabbed the nearest thing next to her- whatever it was, she moved too fast for him to see what- and threw it at the approaching target. It knocked it down with a force that made the wind fly in Jason's face.

Several kids were rock-climbing. Like the climbing wall at Camp Half-Blood, this one had lava pouring down, shook and clashed together. However, Jason saw that it was steeper than the one in Camp Half-Blood, rocked even more ominously, rose higher and shook more often than the ones at camp. More kids were canoeing or sailing on an indoor lake and river. Alex told him that they could generate false storms, so they could practice through natural disasters and monster fighting.

Two women all dressed in black from head to toe with cloths around their faces duelled, turning somersaults backwards and forwards, cartwheels, rotations, dodging and turning while their weapons clashed together. One girl flipped herself, literally jumping back up when she was knocked down and resumed fighting like nothing had happened and time hadn't passed. They constantly discarded weapons and picked them up from nearby racks or out of nowhere faster than Jason could blink.

Finally, it ended when one of them knocked her opponent's feet from behind and pointed her weapon- a three-pronged blade like a mini-trident- at her throat. The girl who had lost stood still and the winner drew upwards, offered a hand and removed the cloth covering her face and head. It was Mizuki.

"Amazing, aren't they?" Alex remarked idly as the girls discarded their weapons. The second girl eyed Jason, her eyes narrowed and suspicious, and declined to remove her face-covering. Mizuki ignored him.

Of course, Jason thought glumly. They still didn't trust him.

"I think you could canoe today," Alex stated as they moved on. "Some of the other exercises are harder to deal with and we've just got you back into the state you were."

Jason frowned. "If I'm back the way I was before you took me, shouldn't I be able to fight by now?" He was eager to get back into shape.

Alex shook his head. "Trust me, you're not ready to get into the exercises some of our people do. It takes years, or at least months to do something a little complex, something which could overpower a monster, in strength as well as speed, even by a fraction. Right now, some of the strongest demigods, like you and your friends, have gotten there. Whatever strength the monsters have that they don't, whatever weaknesses or short-comings they may have, they quickly find a way to make up for it. Here, you can learn to easily overpower many monsters like a horde of Scythian Dracaenae, hellhounds and more in no time. But it takes even longer than what you're used to and you can seriously injure yourself if you try before finding out what it is you're in for. This is only partly like the Legion in Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. There, it's more like a crash-course, you learn by doing. And yes, to an extent, here it's the same. There's no mercy in the real world and you'll get swallowed up if you fall even a centimetre behind. But here, you also train with patience, strategy, exercising your limits slowly and trying out new things. Believe me, you're not ready for some of the things we do here."

Two more people- another girl and a guy- could be seen in separate rooms, divided with glass, like the artificial river and lake and the climbing wall. The girl did a series of yoga-like poses, bending and twisting in such convoluted ways she almost fooled Jason into thinking she was made of rubber bands rather than flesh and bone. He didn't hear any bones cracking or anything popping, so he assumed she was okay. But he watched as she flung two hexagon metal disks into the air like frisbees. They kept turning gently, spinning into the air while more disks slipped from underneath the two, so that eleven of them spun before all their corners sprouted metal barbs and they all flew towards the girl at once.

She flung herself into the air, turning a flip before landing on the ground. But she didn't even blink before she swung to the right, and then the left as two of the barbed frisbees came towards her. Finally, she threw herself, bending backwards, her hand skimming the floor as it picked up several throwing knives. She flew smoothly upwards, dodging and deflecting a barbed frisbee with the weapon, so that it imbedded itself into a wall. She bent and spun around backwards, flinging one hand up and then another so that two more frisbees were stuck into the wall behind her. She flung herself horizontally, spinning sideways in the air, arms a blur as she got one more and the others kept coming in at and dodging her. It was an automated duel.

"Come on," Alex gently encouraged him.

He led Jason into an empty training room. "Javelin, spear or sword? Gladius?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jason shrugged. "Any of them is fine by me." He could've sworn he saw approval in Alex's eyes, but before Jason could figure out whether or not he was imagining it, a rack of weapons appeared, and Alex turned towards it.

He turned back, handing Jason a gladius. It fitted almost perfectly in Jason's palm. It was made of Imperial Gold.

"Swing it," he commanded softly, blue eyes seemingly dark and never leaving Jason as he swung the weapon experimentally.

But before he could finish one swing, Jason found he couldn't move the weapon. That was because Alex, without Jason seeing, had grabbed the gladius and stopped its fall.

"No," he said softly. Jason watched baffled as he took the weapon away. "You're not ready for this yet." He handed Jason a short wooden pole. Jason stared.

He struggled to keep his humiliation down, but he was sure his face was reddening. Just who was this guy? Sure, he might've manipulated a few things behind the scenes, but Jason faced down the Trojan Sea Monster, he threw down the throne of Kronos and defeated the Titan Krios, and he defeated Gaea.

As if sensing Jason's feelings, Alex's eyes gleamed. He stepped back and slowly picked up a similar wooden pole. "Have at it, then." He said, mockingly.

And now that Alex was back. Frustration mounting like a storm, Jason swung his own stick.

It was immediately blocked with a force that sent shockwaves vibrating up Jason's arm and up his body. Jason struggled not to wince. While he was doing that, Alex swung his stick around and slammed it on Jason's shins. He fell over, predictably. But not before he felt a force slam him on his backside pushing him to the ground.

He got slammed in the butt.

Face-planted and groaning, Jason looked up, only to find Alex smirking down at him, his pole fixed towards Jason's throat. "You lose," he said calmly in a mocking voice.

Jason scowled. "Your mistake? Assuming that because I'm new to the scene, that I can't beat a great Hero of Olympus," Alex hissed into his ear, grabbing the scruff of his neck and shoving him onto a pile of mats none-too-gently. Jason scrambled upwards, rolling ungracefully. Alex was smirking in amusement. "Well, aren't you going to try?"

Jason glared. He lunged towards Alex only to have him dodge to the right, and the left, before slamming is leg upwards and kicking Jason in the stomach. Jason doubled over. Alex slammed his wooden pole onto Jason's back, making him slam onto the floor- again.

"Try harder next time," Alex said carelessly, tossing the pole aside. "Well, I'm unarmed, aren't you going to try?"

Jason glared at him. "Why, so you'll throw me down?"

Alex scoffed, smiling. "Pathetic. A Hero of Olympus, giving up before he has even tried. And here I thought you led the assault on Mount Othrys. I thought you died to save your girlfriend. I thought you destroyed Gaea. Where is that strength now, the mighty son of the skies?" He drawled. "Where is the Hero of Olympus, unless it's only ever the great Percy Jackson who was worthy of any attention. The great Percy Jackson who defeated Kronos, rather than that horn-headed Krios? Who would win every time you crossed swords? The great Percy Jackson who was worth saving?"

Jason pushed himself to his feet. "Enough." He said, blood rising to his face.

"Not nearly enough." Alex said shortly, his expression now unreadable. "Prove to me. Prove to me that you are good enough to take down anyone who threatens your friends and family." His eyes were firm.

Jason lunged. And predictably he didn't get very far.

It was a rough day.

Keeping everyone's spirits up was the hardest part of that day.

If anyone asked Percy which was the hardest, it was that, hands down. But that's not counting the fact that the next day will be even worse.

Soon after their arrival, hordes of giant bronze bulls- similar to what he'd seen when the camp's boundaries were first broken down when he was thirteen- came smashing through the strawberry fields, knocking warriors aside like toothpicks. Instead of two bulls, however, these bronze bulls were bigger, numbered five and had snake-women riding on them.

The Scythian Dracaenae wore Imperial Gold and Celestial Bronze armour, appartently taken from dead demigods and remodelled for them. They hissed, smashing this way and that with their spears and swords. Percy noticed how ill-fitting some of their equipment must've been so they didn't have much time than to rob the dead heroes for their armour and weapons. He suspected this was because they didn't have Kronos outfitting them this time. Anger rose inside him, seeing the weapons, knowing that kids must've died so they could supply the demons with weapons and armour.

"Raise shields!" He shouted. Everyone raised their shields. "Spears!" And their spears.

"Separate!" Annabeth shouted, somewhere down the line.

The groups suddenly parted, and as predicted, bulls can't turn that easily. The warriors swung aside and back around again, propping their shields up in front.

The Dracaenae hissed and cursed in several ancient languages, slamming their spears on the bulls' bronze hides in order to turn them around. Percy almost felt sorry for the bulls. But then they charged towards them, and archers in the trees threw explosive arrows towards them.

In the meantime, Lou Ellen of the Hecate Cabin was chanting with her siblings, trying to get the boundaries up. Many surviving magic users were doing just that but it wasn't easy.

They were chanting in Ancient Greek, Minoan and whatever language they could use, but sweat was beading their foreheads, they looked pained.

It wasn't enough. It was never going to be enough.

Lou Ellen suddenly drew herself up, arms outstretched as if to embrace the sky. The others copied her. The chanting grew louder. The luminescent silver-white semi-transparent barrier rose.

In the meantime, the warriors were attacking the Scythian Dracaenae, and it looked like they were doing pretty well. They outmanouvred, outsmarted the bulls and snake-ladies. They used clever tactics to avoid them. But most of the warriors were already injured and there weren't that many left.

When the snake-women saw the barriers rising, they stared with wide yellow eyes. One squawked. Then in unison, they screamed, attacking the campers this way and that witha ferocity that stunned them, racing towards the barrier as if to smash back through.

"Now!" Annabeth shouted.

Fire sprung upwards. Greek Fire. The green flames halted the snake-women and their bulls and they screamed in frustration and despair.

"Surround them!" Percy shouted. The remaining warriors ran to surround them.

It occurred to Percy that while the battle was going well, they were fighting a losing war.

Many warriors were already injured. Some had collapsed, and some, Percy was afraid, had died. Many of them looked young, no older than twelve. Of course, that was camp policy. As soon as you turned twelve, you were old enough to go on a quest. But you had to be older to fight a real battle.

But now, they were desperate. They had no choice.

Guilt and anger welled up inside him. He raised Riptide and gave the signal.

Pots of Greek Fire smashed onto the surrounded snake-women. They screamed as they disintegrated. Lou Ellen and her magicians finally got the barriers up. But most of them fell to the ground, exhausted.

Most of them had already fallen. Medics dragged or carried the wounded on stretchers to a safe distance. They couldn't go to either infirmaries- they were too full.

Some were checked, and borne on shields- Percy's gut clenched. The dead.

There would be a cremation tonight. But there weren't enough material or time to make shrouds, Chiron explained. So they had to subsitute. Come to think about it, Percy wondered if they had enough drachmas to supply the dead with a safe passage to Hades.

Campers stitched together bedsheets, surgical sheets, old t-shirts, mats, quilts and blankets- anything they could find. People sobbed. They dyed the shrouds in many colours and the emblems of whatever god they were descended from.

Piper strode next to Percy. "Even with the Cornucopia and Leo's tool belt, supplies are running low," she warned. "There's not enough to go around, and I think we need to wait a bit for the magic to regenerate. Nico's arriving soon with the next group, but that's all we can take for tonight." She warned.

"How many are we expecting?" Annabeth asked from Percy's other side.

"The survivors- probably three or four. Rarely five if we're lucky. The group itself?" Piper shook her head. "Seven or eight."

Three or four would survive from a group of seven or eight. Percy gritted his teeth. "Can we set up some extra tents? Or ask some of the cabins to hold new people- not just the Hermes Cabin?"

Piper frowned. "You think the gods would like that?"

Personally, Percy couldn't care less what the gods thought. They weren't here for this mess.

"They'd better," Annabeth warned.

"My cabin's already open," Percy informed her. "Go, speak to the Cabin Counsellors- all of them. Burn offerings if you have to, say prayers- anything to get them housed. There's going to be a meeting at the Big House later tonight, once we've got everyone settled. The Oracle's made a prophecy."

A prophecy was rarely good news. In fact, if a prophecy presented itself to Percy, he'd much rather dive into a sinkhole, than hear one again. His whole life had been dictated by prophecies. First, when he had to make a decision when he was sixteen whether to save Olympus or destroy it. Second, when he had to fight Gaea and third, when his friend Jason was killed because of a prophecy the Herophile Sibyl made, thanks to Caligula.

Percy hated prophecies. But right now, it spoke of how desperate they were that they would totally be happy to find a solution to this mess, even if it came from the Oracle.

Not that Percy had anything against the Oracle of Delphi. Rachel was his friend, but she, like everyone else, was going through some tough times. First, the Triumvirate had cut off the oracles from their sources of power. Now, they were just getting it back when all the problems started, according to Chiron.

Just then, through the shadows, Nico di Angelo, Percy's pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary and a group of people melted through, exhausted.

The Romans had arrived.

Only these guys weren't fit enough for battle. They were soot-stained, blood-stained and covered with a whole lot of other stains Percy just didn't want to think about. Nico pulled one to his feet.

"Percy," he said walking over.

"Hey, Neeks," he greeted wearily, giving a one-armed hug to Nico which he returned. Nico turned to Annabeth. "Hi, Annabeth."

"Hey," she replied softly. "These are the refugees?"

Nico nodded. "Four. They were lucky. I did say it was smarter to go in smaller numbers and separate routes to make their chances of getting caught less likely. But people are panicking. There's a hysteria in New Rome that Reyna and Frank can't control. People are panicking, going crazy. They all want to get out of there, except for the bravest and most determined- or the stupidest. And the ones with the most responsibilities, like the Praetors and the magic-users like Hazel. But even the warriors with kids are saying they have to come here. It's not good, Percy, it's not good at all."

Percy hated it when people said that. When they looked to him, as if somehow, he had the answers. As if he could pull them out of this mess.

But if he couldn't, who would? The gods were still up in Olympus, cut off from the outside world.

"Hey, girl," Percy said gently, bending to rub Mrs. O'Leary's snout. She barked, happy to see him and thumped her tail.

"Nico," Annabeth spoke. "What's happening in the mortal world? Chiron says the Mist is down."

"Not completely down," Nico corrected. "But disintegrating as we speak. I can show you something on the mortal news. Hey, can someone bring a rainbow-fountain? We need to find out what's happening in the mortal world."

A camper raced off. Minutes later, he returned with a wooden box. He gently set it on the ground and opened it to reveal a breathtaking fountain of crystal and mirrors, so delicately and beautifully made, and fashioned. The miniature fountain was made of crystal, set on a base that looked like a mirror. It was surrounded by more crystal, in a frame which looked like it was made of more tendrils of crystal on a base which was a heart-shaped mirror. Nico knelt and poured water into the fountain.

Annabeh inhaled sharply. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks to Leo and Jake Mason," Piper appeared again. Nico inserted a coin into a slot and pulled the frame lower over the fountain and the crystalline figure of Iris on the fountain. The fountain splashed musically and threw a rainbow of lights everywhere. "O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me the effects of the dying Mist on the Mortal World." Nico asked.

The rainbow shimmered. The scene shifted and showed itself, a news broadcast on mortal television.

"-people running and screaming, as this footage shows, taken by an eyewitness using a smartphone." The presenter was saying. "A group of what looks like green-skinned, green-scaled women with snake tails for legs, are seen attacking a group of teenagers."

"Oh, crap!" Someone moaned. Everybody groaned. "The teenagers appear to be putting up a fight as mall security runs forwards- only for the security guards to be thrown aside onto the windows of a nearby store." Footage showed a mall cop being thrown smashing the windows of Marks and Spencer's.

"Some of the teens died in the attack, but the mysterious assailants disappeared. Skeptics claim that the women are merely in disguise, whereas others have different theories, ranging from aliens remaining in New York to radioactive mutation. The teenagers were severely injured. Bystanders and mall-goers called ambulances and police, who tried desperately to rescucitate the children. But all have been confirmed to have died shortly afterwards." A grave silence ensued everywhere. "Police are working on identifying the individual children who have died and contacting their families. Anyone with information is encouraged to alert the authorities."

"That was the attack in the mall last week," Nico confirmed. "This is from two days ago."

"It has been a week since the incident with the teenagers being attacked at a mall by a group of unusual assailants, and information is scarce, but police are now revealing the identities of the teenagers who've died in the incident. Unfortunately, the identities- and everything else- about their assailants are another matter entirely and even worse, more mysterious but similar incidents are spreading, not just throughout the United States, but throughout most of the western hempisphere." Everyone froze.

The reporter, a pretty blonde woman with white skin and who normally had a smile worthy of a toothpaste ad, looked grave. The scene shifted, showing a house that was partly flooded with smoke, partly crumbling and partly on fire.

"This morning, neighbours from an Alabama suburb called nine-one-one reporting alarming noises and explosions coming from the house of Leanne Williams, a single mother with a three-year-old son." Gasps. "The neighbours reported seeing huge tattooed men with strangely alarmingly muscular forms over eight feet in height. The men had pointed teeth and iron clubs and had barricaded themselves inside with the mother and her son. SWAT teams were called, but the house collapsed and once again, the mysterious assailants disappeared. Rescue teams and volunteers retrieved the body of the mother and her infant son from the wreckage." Cries of disbelief, shock and horror. Percy's fists clenched. "Investigators report that the house was robbed, the pantries, cabinets and refridgerator having been taken with all its contents. It is implied that these strange criminals- or monsters depending on who you believe- have escaped."

"And this," Nico said quietly. "Is from today- a few hours ago."

"A teenage girl from the island of Crete in Greece has gone missing, while on a trip to New York. Authorities report seeing her being pursued by a group of men, similar to the ones breaking into and attacking the home of Ms. Leanne Williams and her son. Investigators are being tight-lipped about the identity of the missing girl, but it is widely believed that she is the daughter of a diplomat or a VIP at the very least. Family and friends are frantic and have offered a reward."

A shot back to the reporter. "I'm Christine Everhart, thank you for watching." She said and Nico sliced his hand through the rainbow.

"All this," Percy said slowly, in a dangerous voice, as he turned towards the figure of Chiron. "Has been happening while we were away?" Rage clouded his vision. "Why didn't you tell us?" He demanded.

"Percy, we tried," Katie Gardner from the Demeter Cabin tried to explain gently. "But we couldn't get through-"

"And now a three-year-old kid and a group of campers are dead, and a young girl have gone missing because we weren't there!" Percy's voice grew into a shout. "And you thought we needed a break?!"

He kicked a stone harshly, flinging it through the air. Everyone was silent.

"Percy," Chiron's voice sounded sad and tired. "We never anticipated this would happen. In over a thousand years, ever since the Trojan War, the Mist was used to protect the mortal and the supernatural worlds from mingling together. It has never failed. Yes, on occassion, it has made campers look like criminals-" Someone snorted. "But it has always kept the boundaries between the mortal world and ours separate. We believed, that after the death of Jason-" Chiron's voice grew even sadder. "That you needed a break before you could return. Unfortunately, we did not realise that our communications would be cut."

"Who's behind this?" Percy demanded. "Just who-"

"We don't know," Travis Stoll interrupted. "All we know that it seems to be a form of alliance," Malcolm spoke up. "But not under any form of banner. If we looked at the armies of Kronos, Gaea and the Triumvirate, they all seemed to be... Organised. Less desperate."

"More healthy," Katie Gardner piped up. "They seemed better fed, and better equipped," Malcolm continued. "Better tactics. These guys... They're in it for robbery."

Annabeth inhaled sharply. "Will mentioned that the campers were robbed of their supplies. Leanne Williams' house was raided. Their food gone."

"And the Dracaenae that attacked were wearing armour and weapons that looked like they came from Camp Half-Blood or the Legion," Percy realised. Nico stirred.

"We noticed some of the monsters that attacked us rummaging through a pile of dead bodies- and carrying satchels that might've been standard legion issue," he said softly.

"Oh my gods," Annabeth gasped. "That's why they're attacking us. That's why they're so desperate. They know the Mist is down. So they think they don't have much time for survival. They've got nothing to lose now- no point hiding from the mortals."

Everyone seemed to grasp the shocking revelation with astonishment.

"It might be so," Chiron frowned. "On their own, monsters usually attack mortals; the stray hitchhiker in the middle of the night; the unfortunate mountain climber that wandered too close or the trekker in the jungle. Or farmers that live out in the rural countryside, and tourists that stray too far from human contact."

"Or anyone in a dark alley," Connor Stoll piped. "Drunks, criminals, gangsters anyone likely to go missing. But with the Mist gone..." He turned wide eyes towards Chiron.

"Yes," Chiron nodded grimly. "It seems they truly have nothing to lose. It's only a matter of time before the mortals accept what they see."

A cold chill flooded Percy's body. "And only a matter of time before they find out about us too."

Bruce Banner, Avenger, scientist and temporary anatomist (for the moment) checked through the bodies.

The teenagers' deaths were a tragedy. He couldn't dispute that. It was horrible, what happened to these kids. Mass panic was everywhere. Parents with children refused to let them leave their sights, even for them to go to school. It was particularly true in North America, but in other parts of the world, agents reported strange occurrences as well.

"Did you find anything, doctor?" A faintly accented, newly familar voice asked.

"Nothing unusual," he replied idly. He gently peeled back the cover. "They died from injuries, being overwhelmed. Blood-loss, severe haemorraghing, physical trauma..." He trailed off as he examined the body.

"Any identification of the bodies?" He asked.

"Yes," Doctor Helen Cho replied. "Matthew Swift aged sixteen, Samantha Blackwood aged fifteen, Harriet Stone aged thirteen, Anthony Summers aged fifteen." She paused.

The doctor hesitated. "Any family we can contact?"

"Swift, Stone and Summers' families are all deceased," his medical colleague and other temporary assistant confessed. "Terrible accidents years before. Samantha Blackwood has a father though."

He winced. "We should contact him." And unfortunately there was nothing they could do not to release this to the press. "Um, Doctor Cho-"

"Helen," she insisted. "Please."

"Helen, please find me the address and number for Samantha Blackwood's father," he asked. "I need to tell him personally." He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his forehead. This was not going to be pleasant.

The other assistant in the room, seemingly forgotten, said nothing. But as soon as his colleagues were distracted, he took out a cellphone- made from Imperial Gold.

"Alex, this is Marcus," he spoke urgently.

"You sure?" Alex said slowly.

"Positive. And the girl who was missing- she came from Crete, Greece. They said her family was important."

Alex's hand tightened around the table. The wood splintered and cracked and a chunk fell off. He curled it into his hand. The wood was crushed but it didn't soothe his rage.

"She's missing?" He said dangerously.

"I'm afraid so," came the reply.

Alex swore in German. "I should've known. How could we miss this?" He breathed, only his eyes betraying his fury now. "We were so cooped up in rescuing Jason we forgot about Aglaia. How could we forget about Aglaia?!"

"Was it really necessary to rescue him?" Marcus' dubious voice questioned.

If he had been there, Alex would have given him a sharp glance that would intimidate him onto the point of death. Instead, his eyes narrowed. "Are you questioning me?" He said softly.

"No, sir." Came the quick reply. "But... What are we going to do about him?"

"Leave that to me," Alex said shortly. "For now- mobilise all available units in New York City. Hunt the monsters. Search for her. Night and day."

"Yes sir." Alex turned it off. He wasn't known for making rash decisions, but Aglaia needed to be found.

Before someone else died.

I've given plenty of clues here- even more than the last chapter!