When they neared the temple, Octavian forbade him from entering, claiming he would try to kill him again.

Although tempted to prove him right, Valen relented and waited outside. It took them a while, but when the crimson lightning finally struck the temple, Valen knew they were done. It took them a minute, but soon enough they were out of the place.

Hazel seemed downright furious, muttering curses while Percy seemed clueless. As they reached him, Percy filled him up on what he had missed.

"Wait, so this mysterious brother you've been talking about is here?"

Hazel took a deep breath to calm herself, "Yes, let's go. He'll want to meet you both."

She led them to a black crypt built into the side of the hill. Standing in front was a teenage boy in black jeans and an aviator jacket.

"Hey," Hazel called. "I've brought a friend."

The boy turned and Valen froze in his tracks. Nico did the same, a weird look on his face.

Valens eyes widened, and memories began assaulting his mind. Along with the feeling that someone was digging a trench inside his brain.

He remembered an excited child and his sister on a snow-covered land. He remembered a hideous monster nearly killing one of them. His memories went by at such a pace it was hard to keep count.

And then it was gone, the pain, the memories. All gone.

He grabbed his head, frustrated. Why, why could he still not remember?

"This is my brother," Hazel introduced, "The other son of Pluto."

"I-I know you." Percy said, "I know both of you."

"Well, welcome to the club," Valen said through gritted teeth.

Nico raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

Hazel forced herself to speak. "Um…they've lost his memories."

She proceeded to tell him what had happened the past two months, with Valen's arrival and his performance in the war games and ending with Percy's arrival and him controlling the water of the little Tiber.

"So, Nico…" she continued carefully, "I thought…you know, you travel all over. Maybe you've met demigods like Percy before, or..."

Nico's expression turned as dark as Tartarus. Hazel didn't understand why, but she got the message: Drop it.

"This story about Gaea's army," Nico said. "You warned Reyna?"

Percy nodded. "Who is Gaea, anyway?"

"The primordial of the Earth," Valen said almost instantly, "She birthed the titans."

Nico nodded, "The oldest goddess of all. She's in a deep sleep most of thetime, but she hates the gods and their children."

"Mother Earth…is evil?" Percy asked.

"Very," Nico said gravely. "She convinced her son, the Titan Kronos—um, I mean, Saturn—to kill his dad, Uranus, and take over the world. The Titans ruled for a long time. Then the Titans' children, the Olympian gods, overthrew them."

Valen frowned, that whole conversation felt really familiar, as if he'd heard those exact words before.

"The first time?" Percy repeated.

"Last summer," Nico continued, "Saturn tried to make a comeback. There was a second Titan war. The Romans at Camp Jupiter stormed his headquarters on Mount Othrys, across the bay, and destroyed his throne. Saturn disappeared—" He hesitated, judging their reaction to it.

Valen flinched, "No."

"No?"

"No, that's wrong," He said, the memory of a massive throne room coming to him for a moment. He remembered a fierce fight against an entity that seemed all-powerful.

"I-I was there, I remember…" He trailed off, and the memory escaped him. He shook his head, "Nevermind."

"Um, anyway," Nico continued, "Saturn probably faded back to the abyss. We all thought the war was over. Now it looks like the Titans' defeat stirred up Gaea. She's starting to wake. I've heard reports of giants being reborn. If they mean to challenge the gods again, they'll probably start by destroying the demigods.…"

"You've told Reyna this?" Percy asked.

"Of course." Nico's jaw tensed. "The Romans don't trust me. That's why Iwas hoping she'd listen to you. Children of Pluto…well, no offense, but they think we're even worse than children of Neptune. We're bad luck."

"They let Hazel and Valen stay here," Percy noted.

"I'm only suspected to be a son of Pluto," Valen clarified.

"And Hazels…different."

"Why?"

"Percy," Hazel cut in, "look, the giants aren't the worst problem. Even ... even Gaea isn't the worst problem. The thing you noticed about the gorgons, how they wouldn't die, that's our biggest worry." She looked at Nico. She was getting dangerously close to her own secret now, but for some reason Hazel trusted them.

"Nico and I," she said carefully, "we think that what's happening is…Death isn't—"

Before she could finish, a shout came from down the hill. Frank jogged toward them, wearing his jeans, purple camp shirt, and denim jacket. His hands were covered with grease from cleaning weapons.

He reached the shrine. "Hey, Nico…"

"Frank." Nico smiled.

"Reyna sent me to get Percy," Frank said. "Did Octavian accept you?"

"Yeah," Percy said, "He slaughtered a bunny."

"He…Oh. The augury?" He grimaced, "Yeah, it's a bit disorienting the first time. But you're in! We need to get you cleaned up before evening muster."

Hazel realized the sun was getting low over the hills. How had the day gone so fast? "You're right," she said. "We'd better—"

"Frank," Nico interrupted, "why don't you take Percy and Valen down? We'll be along soon."

"That's—that's a good idea," she managed. "Go ahead, guys. We'll catch up."

Percy looked at Nico one more time, as though he was still trying to place a memory. "I'd like to talk with you some more. I can't shake the feeling—"

"Sure," Nico agreed. "Later. I'll be staying overnight."

"I'll hold you to that," Valen said, "We have much to talk about, the three of us."

"Go on," Nico said. "Settle in." He turned to Hazel, "My sister and I need to talk."

Percy found Valen after bathing and cleaning himself up. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Valen nodded, "Yes, but you don't remember anything do you?"

He shook his head, "No."

"I know you.", Valen said.

"You do?" Percy asked eagerly.

"Yes, but I don't know how. I have glimpses of you fighting in an orange t-shirt, but nothing beyond that."

"Orange…" Percy muttered, he remembered the shirt he had worn when coming into camp, its design faded out.

"And you know me too," He said, "You said so when we met Nico."

"Yeah," He said, "Your faces are familiar, but I don't remember how."

He sighed, "Well, we'll have to wait till tonight and talk to Nico. He obviously knows us both and still has his memories."

Before Percy could reply, a horn blew in the distance.

"What was that?"

"Evening muster," He said, "it's a glorified roll call, come on."

He guided him towards the barracks and had to separate when they reached it. Percy wasn't in a cohort yet, as such he would stand aside.

Hazel and Nico jogged down the street as everyone was coming to attention, so their entrance was really obvious. She ran past Reyna, who was cantering back and forth on her pegasus Scipio—nicknamed Skippy because he was the color of peanut butter. The metal dogs Aurum and Argentum trotted at her side. Her purple officer's cape billowed behind her.

"Hazel Levesque," she called, "so glad you could join us."

Hazel knew better than to respond. She was missing most of her equipment, but she hurried to her place in line next to Frank and stood at attention.

"Present!" she squeaked.

The Lares were the last ones to fall in. Their purple forms flickered as they jockeyed for places. They had an annoying habit of standing halfway inside living people, so that the ranks looked like a blurry photograph, but finally the centurions got them sorted out.

Octavian shouted, "Colors!"

The standard-bearers stepped forward. They wore lion-skin capes and held poles decorated with each cohort's emblems. The last to present his standard was Jacob, the legion's eagle bearer. He held a long pole with absolutely nothing on top. The job was supposed to be a big honor, but Jacob obviously hated it.

Reyna brought her pegasus to a halt.

"Romans!" she announced. "You've probably heard about the incursion today. Juno herself guided Percy Jackson here, and proclaimed him a son of Neptune."

The kids in the back rows craned their necks to see Percy. He raised his hand and said, "Hi."

"He seeks to join the legion," Reyna continued. "What do the auguries say?"

"I have read the entrails!" Octavian announced, as if he'd killed a lion with his bare hands rather than killing a helpless rabbit. "The auguries are favorable. He is qualified to serve!"

The campers gave a shout: "Ave! Hail!"

Frank was a little late with his "ave," so it came out as a high-pitched echo. The other legionnaires snickered. Reyna motioned the senior officers forward—one from each cohort. Octavian, as the most senior centurion, turned to Percy.

"Recruit," he asked, "do you have credentials? Letters of reference?"

Percy shifted. "Letters? Um, no."

Octavian wrinkled his nose.

"Was he not literally recommended by one of our most important goddesses?" Valen yelled, "Is that not reference enough?"

"Silence!" Octavian ordered, "No letters. Will any legionnaires stand for him?"

Valen glanced at Hazel, asking her a silent question Will you?

She nodded, she had already made up her mind, "I will stand for Percy Jackson!"

Reyna wrinkled her nose, but she turned to Octavian. The augur smiled and shrugged, like the idea amused him.

"Very well," Reyna announced. "Hazel Levesque, you may stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?"

The other cohorts started coughing, trying not to laugh.

Frank pounded his shield against the ground. The other members of the Fifth followed his lead, though they didn't seem very excited. Their centurions, Dakota and Gwen, exchanged pained looks, like: Here we go again.

"My cohort has spoken," Dakota said. "We accept the recruit."

Reyna looked at Percy with pity. "Congratulations, Percy Jackson. You stand on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

The rest of the legion echoed the cheer.

"Centurions," Reyna said, "you and your troops have one hour for dinner. Then we will meet on the Field of Mars. The First and Second Cohorts will defend. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth will attack. Good fortune!"

A bigger cheer went up—for the war games and for dinner. The cohorts broke ranks and ran for the mess hall.

Hazel waved at Percy, who made his way through the crowd with Nico at his side. Nico beamed at her.

"Good job, Sis," he said. "That took guts, standing for him."

"Thanks, Hazel," he said. "Um, what exactly does it mean—your standing for me?"

"I guarantee your good behavior," Hazel explained. "I teach you the rules, answer your questions, make sure you don't disgrace the legion."

"And…if I do something wrong?"

"Then I get killed along with you," Hazel said. "Hungry? Let's eat."

The mess hall seemed especially noisy that night. Laughter echoed off the walls. War banners rustled from cedar ceiling beams as aurae blew back and forth, keeping everyone's plates full. The campers dined Roman style, sitting on couches around low tables. Kids were constantly getting up and trading places, spreading rumors about who liked whom and all the other gossip.

As usual, the Fifth Cohort took the place of least honor. Their tables were at the back of the dining hall next to the kitchen. Their table was the least crowded, holding only Valen, Percy, Nico, Hazel, Frank, and Dakota.

Dakota reclined glumly on his couch, mixing sugar into his drink and chugging it.

"So." He burped, waving his goblet. "Welcome to the Percy, party." He frowned. "Party, Percy. Whatever."

"Um, thanks," Percy said, but his attention was focused on Nico. "I was wondering if we could talk, you know…about where I might have seen you before."

"Sure," Nico said a little too quickly. "The thing is, I spend most of my time in the Underworld. So unless Imet you there somehow—"

"You're lying." Valen interrupted, staring at him.

Nico turned to him slowly, "And what makes you think that?"

"Your expression when you saw us," He said, "a strange mix of relief and surprise. As if you weren't expecting to see us here but are grateful for it. Then when Hazel tried asking if you knew anything, you gave her a look that was clearly implying her to stop asking such questions. Not to mention my own memories, jumbled as they may be, of seeing you before."

Things were silent for a moment after that before Nico sighed audibly.

"Alright, you've got me." He said, "You're as perceptive as I remember."

"So you do remember us!" Percy exclaimed.

He nodded, "I do, but…"

"But what?"

He shook his head, "But I cannot help you."

Valen narrowed his eyes, "Why?"

"Important things are at work here, powerful things." He looked up at Valen, "and some secrets need to stay secret."

"What do you mean?" Percy protested.

Nico turned to Percy, "I cannot help you here, you need to find your own way in this camp."

This camp? Valen thought.

"How am I supposed to do that when I barely know who I am?"

Nico shook his head again, "I'm sorry. You were sent here for a reason, Juno took your memories for a reason. I'm afraid nothing can help you regain them apart from Juno herself."

Percy's shoulders slumped, he had been too hopeful.

"What about me?" Valen asked, "I was not escorted here by Juno, my memories aren't even missing, just jumbled."

"While it is true that Juno did not take you," Nico said, "Someone else did."

"Who?" Hazel asked.

But Nico kept staring at Valen, and the implications dawned on him.

"Erebus," He said.

"Scotus." Nico corrected almost too quickly.

"As in the… primordial of darkness?" Frank asked, somewhat spooked.

Valen nodded, "Remember what Octavian called me when I first got here?"

"A Dominant." Frank recalled, "He also said you had the mark of Scotus."

Nico's eyes widened, "You're his Dominant? That's why he took you?"

"I don't understand," Percy cut in, "What is a dominant?"

"It's someone who has formed a contract with a deity and has become their host. They can harness most, if not all, of the deity's power for a while and if the deity permits it."

"You're a dominant too aren't you?" Valen asked, how else would he know about it?

Nico nodded, "Yes, my fathers in fact."

"And I'm this Scotus' dominant?"

"You have his mark don't you?" Nico said, rubbing his neck. His own mark had formed there in the likeliness of a black helmet.

Valen turned over his arm, letting the others see the raven insignia burned into his skin.

Nico tried to reach for it but stopped and glanced up at him as if asking for permission. Upon receiving a nod of affirmation, he touched his fingertip to the symbol.

Something strange happened then. The mark glowed purple, and Nico yelped, pulling his arm back. Valen blinked and his surroundings changed. He was in some sort of castle now, sitting on the floor.

"Now that you have attained fine control over your greek powers,", someone seemed to be talking to him, "Your next 'quest' will have you use your norse powers and only your norse powers."

Valen looked up at him, a being made purely out of wispy darkness, "I suppose this is going to be another one of his quests?"

"His second one to be exact." He replied, "Are you prepared?"

"What's there to prepare?" He snarked, "Fire away chief."

He blinked again, and he was back in the mess.

"What was that?" he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

"Are you alright?" Nico asked, but before he could answer, someone else yelled out.

"Hazel!" It was Don the Faun. He wasn't allowed in camp, but of course he always managed to get in. He was working his way toward their table, grinning at everybody, sneaking food off plates, and pointing at campers: "Hey! Call me!" A flying pizza smacked him in the head, and he disappeared behind a couch. Then he popped up, still grinning, and made his way over.

"My favorite girl!" He smelled like a wet goat wrapped in old cheese. He leaned over their couches and checked out their food. "Say, new kid, you going to eat that?"

Percy frowned. "Aren't fauns vegetarian?"

"Not the cheeseburger, man! The plate!" He sniffed Percy's hair. "Hey…what's that smell?"

"Don!" Hazel said. "Don't be rude."

"No, man, I just—"

Their house god Vitellius shimmered into existence, standing half embedded in Frank's couch. "Fauns in the dining hall! What are we comingto? Centurion Dakota, do your duty!"

"I am," Dakota grumbled into his goblet. "I'm having dinner!"

Don was still sniffing around Percy. "Man, you've got an empathy link with a faun!"

Percy leaned away from him. "A what?"

"An empathy link! It's real faint, like somebody's suppressed it, but—"

"I know what!" Nico stood suddenly. "Hazel, how about we give you and Frank time to get Percy oriented? Dakota and I can visit the praetor'stable. Don and Vitellius, you come too. We can discuss strategies for the war games."

Valen raised an eyebrow, What's he trying to hide?

"Death Boy is right!" Vitellius said. "This legion fights worse than we did in Judea, and that was the first time we lost our eagle. Why, if I were incharge—"

"Could I just eat the silverware first?" Don asked.

"Let's go!" Nico stood and grabbed Don and Vitellius by the ears. Nobody but Nico could actually touch the Lares. Vitellius spluttered with outrage as he was dragged off to the praetor's table.

"Ow!" Don protested. "Man, watch the 'fro!"

"Come on, Dakota!" Nico called over his shoulder.

The centurion got up reluctantly. He wiped his mouth—uselessly, since it was permanently stained red. "Back soon." He shook all over, like a dog trying to get dry. Then he staggered away, his goblet sloshing.

"What was that about?" Percy asked. "And what's wrong with Dakota?"

Frank sighed. "He's okay. He's a son of Bacchus, the wine god. He's got a drinking problem."

Valen shrugged, "He's a pretty chill dude."

Percy's eyes widened. "You let him drink wine?"

"Gods, no!" Hazel said. "That would be a disaster. He's addicted to red Kool-Aid. Drinks it with three times the normal sugar, and he's already ADHD—you know, attention deficit/hyperactive. One of these days, his head is going to explode."

"ADHD," Percy said. "You don't say."

Hazel tried not to laugh. "Well…most demigods are. Or dyslexic. Just being a demigod means that our brains are wired differently. Like you—you said you had trouble reading."

"Are you guys that way too?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Hazel admitted. "Maybe. Back in my day, they just called kids like us 'lazy.'"

Percy frowned. "Back in your day?"

Valen frowned too, he stared at Hazel, switching his vision-

"I wish Iwas ADHD or dyslexic," Frank suddenly spoke up, "All I got is lactose intolerance."

Percy grinned. "Seriously?"

His shoulders slumped. "And I love ice cream, too.…"

Valen patted his shoulder, "Don't worry Frank, I hear they make lactose-free ice cream now."

Frank perked up like an excited puppy, "Really?"

Valen nodded, "Yeah, one of these days I'm going to treat you to some."

"Thanks man." He said, grateful.

"Okay, so tell me," Percy said, "why is it bad to be in the Fifth Cohort? You guys are great."

The compliment made Hazel's toes tingle. "It's…complicated. Aside from being Pluto's kid, Iwant to ride horses."

"That's why you use a cavalry sword?" She nodded. "It's stupid, I guess. Wishful thinking. There's only one pegasus at camp—Reyna's. The unicorns are just kept for medicine, because the shavings off their horns cure poison and , Roman fighting is always done on foot. Cavalry…they kind of look down on that. So they look down on me."

"Their loss," Percy said. "What about you, Frank?"

"Archery," he muttered. "They don't like that either, unless you're a child of Apollo. Then you've got an excuse. I hope my dad is Apollo, but I don't know. I can't do poetry very well. And I'm not sure Iwant to be related to Octavian."

"Can't blame you," Percy said. "But you're excellent with the bow—the way you pegged those gorgons? Forget what other people think."

Frank's face turned as red as Dakota's Kool-Aid. "Wish I could. They all think I should be a sword fighter because I'm big and bulky." He looked down at his body, like he couldn't quite believe it was his. "They say I'm too stocky for an archer. Maybe if my dad would ever claim me…"

Percy cleared his throat awkwardly. "And, uh, what about you?" He asked, looking at Valen.

"Apart from the missing memories?" He said, "Nothing much, I have helped our cohort win every war game since my arrival, so some of the other legionnaires aren't particularly fond of me."

Frank nodded, "You should see him, every time he manages to come up with a new tactic to surprise them. Most of the times it works wonders."

"Most of the time?" Percy asked.

"Well, there was this one time," Valen began, "They set up floodlights to counter my power over shadows and had me cornered."

He leaned forward in anticipation, "What did you do next?"

"I, uh, called down a bolt of lightning," Valen said sheepishly, "It hit the floodlights, allowing me to escape."

Percy blinked in surprise, "Wait, aren't you a son of Had- I mean Pluto?"

He nodded, "I am."

"And you summoned lightning?"

"I did," He said, "I don't know how I did that, but I think my sword contributed to it more than I did."

"Your sword?" He asked.

"You'll see soon enough."

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"You asked about the Fifth," Hazel said, bringing the conversation back on track. "Why it's the worst cohort. That actually started way before us."

She pointed to the back wall, where the legion's standards were on display. "See the empty pole in the middle?"

"The eagle," Percy said.

Hazel was stunned. "How'd you know?"

Percy shrugged. "Vitellius was talking about how the legion lost its eagle a long time ago—the first time, he said. He acted like it was a hugedisgrace. I'm guessing that's what's missing. And from the way you and Reyna were talking earlier, I'm guessing your eagle got lost a second time, more recently, and it had something to do with the Fifth Cohort."

"You're right," she said. "That's exactly what happened."

"So what is this eagle, anyway? Why is it a big deal?"

Frank looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "It's the symbol of the whole camp—a big eagle made of gold. It's supposed toprotect us in battle and make our enemies afraid. Each legion's eagle gave it all sorts of power, and ours came from Jupiter himself. Supposedly, Julius Caesar nicknamed our legion 'Fulminata'—armed with lightning—because of what the eagle could do."

"It didn't make us invincible." Hazel said, "The Twelfth lost its eagle the first time way back in ancient days, during the Jewish Rebellion."

"I think I saw a movie like that," Percy said.

Hazel shrugged. "Could be. There have been lots of books and movies about legions losing their eagles. Unfortunately it happened quite a fewtimes. The eagle was so important…well, archaeologists have never recovered a single eagle from ancient Rome. Each legion guarded theirs to the last man, because it was charged with power from the gods. They'd rather hide it or melt it down than surrender it to an enemy. The Twelfth was lucky the first time. We got our eagle back. But the second time…"

"You guys were there?" Percy asked. They both shook their heads.

"We've only been here a couple months," Valen said, "That happened before we came here."

"But everyone's heard the story. It's bad luck to even talk about this. There was this huge expedition to Alaska back in the eighties.…" Frank said.

"That prophecy you noticed in the temple," Hazel continued, "the one about the seven demigods and the Doors of Death? Our senior praetor at the time was Michael Varus, from the Fifth Cohort. Back then the Fifth was the best in camp. He thought it would bring glory to the legion if he could figure out the prophecy and make it come true—save the world from storm and fire and all that. He talked to the augur, and the augur said the answer was in Alaska. But he warned Michael it wasn't time yet. The prophecy wasn't for him."

"But he went anyway," Percy guessed. "What happened?"

Frank lowered his voice. "Long, gruesome story. Almost the entire Fifth Cohort was wiped out. Most of legion's Imperial gold weapons were lost, along with the eagle. The survivors went crazy or refused to talk about what had attacked them."

"Since the eagle was lost," Frank continued, "the camp has been getting weaker. Quests are more dangerous. Monsters attack the borders more often. Morale is lower. The last month or so, things have been getting much worse, much faster."

"And the Fifth Cohort took the blame," Percy guessed. "So now everyone thinks we're cursed."

Hazel realized her gumbo was cold. She sipped a spoonful, but the comfort food didn't taste very comforting. "We've been the outcasts of thelegion since…well, since the Alaska disaster. Our reputation got better when Jason became praetor—"

"The kid who's missing?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Frank said. "I never met him. Before my time. But I hear he was a good leader. He practically grew up in the Fifth Cohort. He didn't care what people thought about us. He started to rebuild our reputation. Then he disappeared."

"Which put us back at square one," Hazel said bitterly, "It's been getting better since Valen's arrival, but the others still think we're cursed."

"Doesn't help that I'm a son of Pluto," Valen grumbled, "They really dislike both of Jupiter's brothers."

Percy sipped his blue soda and gazed thoughtfully across the dining hall. "I don't even know where I come from…but I've got a feeling this isn't the first time I've been an underdog." He focused on Hazel and managed a smile. "Besides, joining the legion is better than being chased throughthe wilderness by monsters. I've got myself some new friends. Maybe together we can turn things around for the Fifth Cohort, huh?"

A horn blew at the end of the hall. The officers at the praetor's table got to their feet—even Dakota, his mouth vampire-red from Kool-Aid.

"The games begin!" Reyna announced. The campers cheered and rushed to collect their equipment from the stacks along the walls.

"So we're the attacking team?" Percy asked over the noise. "Is that good?"

Hazel shrugged. "We get the elephant."

Once they got out of camp, the Fifth Cohort formed two lines behind their centurions, Dakota and Gwen. They marched north, skirting the edge of the city, and headed to the Field of Mars—the largest, flattest part of the valley. The grass was cropped short by all the unicorns, bulls, and homeless fauns that grazed here. The earth was pitted with explosion craters and scarred with trenches from past games. At the north end of the field stood their target. The engineers had built a stone fortress with an iron portcullis, guard towers, scorpion ballistae, water cannons, and no doubt many other nasty surprises for the defenders to use.

"They did a good job today," Hazel noted. "That's bad for us."

"Wait," Percy said. "You're telling me that fortress was built today?"

Hazel grinned. "Legionnaires are trained to build. If we had to, we could break down the entire camp and rebuild it somewhere else. Take maybe three or four days, but we could do it."

"Let's not," Percy said. "So you attack a different fort every night?"

"Not every night," Frank said. "We have different training exercises. Sometimes death ball—um, which is like paint-ball, except with…you know, poison and acid and fire balls. Sometimes we do chariots and gladiator competitions, sometimes war games."

Hazel pointed at the fort. "Somewhere inside, the First and Second Cohorts are keeping their banners. Our job is to get inside and capturethem without getting slaughtered. We do that, we win."

Percy's eyes lit up. "Like capture-the-flag. I think I like capture-the-flag."

Valen laughed, "Those were my exact thoughts my first time too."

"We have to get past those scorpions and water cannons on the walls, fight through the inside of the fortress, find the banners, and defeat the guards, all while protecting our own banners and troops from capture. And our cohort is in competition with the other two attacking cohorts. We sort of work together, but not really. The cohort that captures the banners gets all the glory." Frank said, glancing at Valen, "But then again we have a trump card don't we?"

"That we do, my friend, that we do."

"So why are we practicing this, anyway?" Percy asked. "Do you guys spend a lot of time laying siege to fortified cities?"

"Teamwork," Hazel said. "Quick thinking. Tactics. Battle skills. You'd be surprised what you can learn in the war games."

"Like who will stab you in the back," Frank said.

"Especially that," Hazel agreed.

They marched to the center of the Field of Mars and formed ranks. The Third and Fourth Cohorts assembled as far as possible from the Fifth. The centurions for the attacking side gathered for a conference. In the sky above them, Reyna circled on her pegasus, Scipio, ready to play referee. Half a dozen giant eagles flew in formation behind her—prepared for ambulance airlift duty if necessary.

The only person not participating in the game was Nico di Angelo, "Pluto's ambassador," who had climbed an observation tower about a hundred yards from the fort and would be watching with binoculars.

Frank propped his pilum against his shield and checked Percy's armor. Every strap was correct. Every piece of armor was properly adjusted.

"You did it right," he said in amazement. "Percy, you must've done war games before."

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Well," Valen said, "If we used to be comrades, and my memories don't deceive me, we've been in a war before."

He spun his ring, unsheathing Stormguard and twirled it around.

"That's what you meant," Percy said, staring at the lightning flowing through his sword.

"Yep."

Horns blew. Dakota and Gwen walked back from the officers' conference, looking grim.

Dakota took a quick swig of Kool-Aid from his travel flask. "They're throwing us at the walls first to soften up the defenses."

The whole cohort groaned.

"But we aren't going to do that, are we?" Gwen said, looking right at Valen.

"You're damn right we aren't," Valen replied, walking forward. He turned back to face the cohort.

"Alright, so here's the real plan."

Au/N : So, another year ends, marking a year since I began this fanfic. Thanks for sticking around I guess? Idk what to say, so I'll just end it here.

Happy New Year.