Percy watched over the legion as they set up camp. They'd been traveling by the legion's supply of buses for the past two weeks, and they had finally reached their final location.
Camp Half-Blood. From their location, most of the camp was obscured by the hill. Their scouts had reported that it was made up of a plethora of Greek-themed community buildings and a variety of cabins, all designed after a Greek god. It all surrounded a lake, and there was a forest to the side. It was the Greek counterpart of Camp Jupiter, and it was where Annabeth had grown up. He almost regretted the fact that they had to raze it to the ground.
"Praetors!" Percy heard. Both he and Reyna turned from their positions to the runner who had called out to them.
"What is it?" Reyna demanded. Percy looked behind the runner, to see two figures being escorted to them by a group of legionnaires from the First Cohort. As they came closer, he saw that it was a redhead girl around his own age and a faun. Although from how the faun held himself, Percy could assume that he was the Greek counterpart - a satyr. He had heard from Bianca that their satyrs actually held important roles in their camp. That they were useful.
Percy wondered if their fauns could be persuaded to do the same.
"There is a girl and a faun who wish to speak with you both," the runner reported, straightening up into the proper gesture of respect. "They are both with the Greeks."
He and Reyna shared a look of interest. "Bring them to us," he commanded. "We shall see what they want. Maybe they bring the terms of surrender."
To their side, Octavian immediately made a sound of protest. He was quickly silenced by a glare from Percy.
The two praetors waited as the two Greeks were brought to them. To their credit, they didn't seem completely terrified of the encampment.
"You are Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Blofis. She makes good blue cookies," the redhead said, staring straight at Percy. She then shifted her attention to Reyna. "And you're Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano." the red-headed girl stated.
The two of them stiffened. Reyna's hand started shifting to her dagger. How did Rachel know of Reyna's full name?
"Sally Blowfish-?" Percy questioned, while Reyna at the same time demanded, "How do you know-"
The red-head lifted her chin up. "My name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I am the Oracle of Delphi."
Octavian scoffed. "The Oracle? And I'm Julius Caesar."
The girl, Rachel, turned her sharp gaze onto him. Green smoke poured out of her, surrounding both her and the satyr. It sounded as if a hissing den of snakes was in the room. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. "Will you take this seriously now, son of Apollo? I doubt your father, in either form, would be very pleased with anyone harming his chosen priestess." She then drew a blue hairbrush - how had she materialized that out of her pockets? - and brandished it towards them threateningly. "And even then, I can still defend myself. I throw a mean hairbrush. This one, in particular, once incapacitated Kronos."
Octavian sputtered. "Greek tricks! There is no way you lot have an oracle! All you spew are lies."
"Octavian!" Percy snapped. "Enough. I trust that she is what she says she is. Bianca spoke of her. She doesn't lie about these things. And," Percy eyed Rachel warily, with a tinge of respect. "If her story of the hairbrush is true, well, she can't be all that bad."
"You mean the Greek who led the bombing of our city?" Octavian sneered. "After what she did, she can't be trusted."
"Bianca would never! She's a good person and she wouldn't seek to harm innocent people!" the satyr bleated in protest.
"Octavian, you are no longer needed here," Percy spat, wheeling around to glare at the augur. Even on a good day, his tolerance of him was astronomically low. To his credit, Octavian knew when to retreat, as he backed away, glaring at the two of them mutinously.
"And you are?" Reyna questioned, the both of them turning their attention onto the satyr. "What is a faun doing in an enemy camp?"
The satyr bleated again, this time in agitation. "Grover Underwood, sworn protector and member of the Council of Cloven Elders. I'm a satyr, not a faun. We're protectors and guides. I'm the former for Rachel, here to guard her. I'm also friends with Bianca."
"We're here to give you a message. It appeared in our mess hall's sacrificial fire, near the end of dinner," Rachel stated, taking a folded napkin out of her pocket and handing it to Percy.
He quickly read through it, his heart feeling as if it had dropped into his stomach. Annabeth. Bianca. His childhood friend was in Tartarus. And she wanted him to meet them in the ancient lands to deliver a statue back to camp?
"Is this a joke?" Percy spat, stormy green eyes glaring at the oracle and the satyr, handing the letter off to Reyna for her to read. He hoped with all his heart that this was just some cruel Greek mind trick. That it wasn't true. But if it was, then there was hope. The Athena Parthenos… if the legends were true, then the statue could be the key to stopping the war.
"I wish it was," Rachel grimly responded. With how she was acting, this letter could be nothing but the truth. That hopelessness that she was struggling to hide on her face… it would be hard to fake. And Percy was very, very, good at reading people.
As Reyna finished reading the letter, Rachel continued speaking. "They're really in Tartarus."
"Then they're dead. What is the point of going?" Reyna retorted, handing the letter back to Percy, who slipped it into his back pocket.
"They're not," Rachel hissed, her green eyes becoming acidic in her disagreement. "Annabeth and Bianca are some of the strongest, most intelligent people I know. If anyone could do it, it would be them. Together, they've gotten through everything."
"Well it seems that this streak of theirs will end," Reyna said. "It's Tartarus. No mortal leaves that hellhole alive. It's not possible."
"I'm going," Percy stated, whistling for Blackjack, and grabbing his pack. It was good he hadn't unpacked yet. It already had everything he needed in it.
"Percy," Reyna began to protest.
"Reyna, if this works out, there will be peace," Percy stressed. "If it works there will be no unnecessary bloodshed. You know that what I'm saying is true. The legends passed down from the praetors before us mention the significance of the Athena Parthenos. And you and I both know who the true enemy is."
"They're in Tartarus," Reyna sighed, shaking her head, imploring for him to understand. "The two of them may be the best of us all, but even then, they still have their limits. They're still half mortal. Be realistic Percy. It's a pipe dream"
"Even when we were younger, Annabeth was the smartest girl I knew, and Bianca is no slouch either," Percy smirked. "The oracle is right. They can do it. And I'll meet them there and find a way to bring the statue back. I can help end this feud of ours."
"There's no convincing you, is there?" Reyna laughed sadly, stepping away from him. "You'd be abandoning your post, then."
"Reyna, we both know that I would give up my life to save the legion. This might be the only viable option we have. My post is nothing. The legion has you, Reyna. They'll be fine in your hands. I trust you. And besides," Percy smiled wryly. "After leaving Annabeth alone for all of those years, and her looking after my mom too? I owe it to her."
In that instant, Percy heard the clip-clop of Blackjack's hooves, signifying his arrival, along with the Hey Boss, in his head.
"Very well. I shall do what I can to delay the legion's attack then. Good luck, Praetor Jackson," Reyna said, walking away with her back turned to him, returning to oversee the legion. She was leaving him to escort their guests out.
"Alright," Percy said, leading them away while Blackjack followed. "Follow me, you two. I'll lead you both out before I leave."
"What an honor," Rachel remarked, her voice heavy with sarcasm. She then grew serious. "But seriously, thank you, for doing this. Annabeth was right to trust you."
Percy laughed. "Annabeth is always right," he playfully retorted. "There was never a question of that."
"When I heard that Annabeth's childhood friend was a Roman praetor, I didn't know what to expect," Grover commented as they walked together. "You really are like how she tells the stories."
"The stories? I hope she hasn't been telling you the embarrassing ones. I'd hate to have to silence you," Percy teased. "Have you known her for a long time?" he curiously asked.
"I went on a quest with her when she was twelve," Grover responded, nodding. "I had been Bianca's protector, and she'd been sent on a quest. Bianca chose the two of us as her questing partners."
So they were old friends, then. Percy filed that bit of information away. Then, he asked the question he'd been itching to, ever since it had been brought up.
"Sally Blowfish. My mom changed her name?" he asked Rachel.
"It's actually Blofis, not Blowfish. B-l-o-f-i-s," Rachel chuckled, correcting him. "She did. She married this guy named Paul. I've met him before, he's… kind. Nothing like who she was with before. What I saw in my dreams…" Rachel shuddered. "At least my dad was only emotionally abusive. But Gabe got what he deserved."
"It was not fun living with him," Percy sighed. "And yeah, Annabeth told me, those few minutes we had to speak," Percy laughed, deciding not to question how she knew about Gabe. "I just didn't put two and two together. She hadn't changed her name with Gabe, and I hadn't really expected her to change her name for Paul, either. I guess she really loves him."
"She does," Rachel agreed.
Something about Rachel's statement, what she had said.
"Hold on, what do you mean by, 'Gabe got what he deserved?' Did something happen to him?" Percy questioned.
"Yeah, actually. From what I heard from Annabeth, not a week after you left, he got into a freak accident." This time it was Grover, who responded to his question.
"What? How?"
"You know, with how you're a son of Neptune and all, it suddenly makes sense," Rachel commented, observing Percy.
"What do you mean by that?" Percy asked, staring at an infuriatingly impassive Rachel.
"Neptune is feared for his power over the seas. A week after you were taken, Gabe was found washed up on the beach shore early in the morning. All signs pointed to him drowning, yet there was no reason for him to have gone to the beach at the time. It seems to me that Neptune took retribution for what was done to his son."
His father. Percy had never spoken to Neptune before, although, like all demigods, the longing was always there. It was not the Roman way for gods to interfere in their children's fates.
Percy remained quiet for the rest of the walk, thinking through all of the information he had been told. For years, he had always thought his father hadn't cared about him. That he had only been taken due to Neptune's duty. It seems that he had been wrong.
They reached the border of the Roman camp. Rachel and Grover would be heading back to Camp Half-Blood… while he would be heading to the Ancient Lands.
"Well then, my job is done," Percy said, shaking himself out of his thoughts as he mounted Blackjack in a smooth motion. He would have much time to think on his journey. "It was nice meeting you two."
Rachel flashed him a confident smile while Grover solemnly nodded, fidgeting with the reed pipes hanging from his neck.
"Good luck, Praetor Jackson," Rachel responded.
"Yeah, good luck. Thank you for doing this, man."
Percy only nodded, gripping onto his pegasus' mane. "Come on Blackjack, off we go."
Can we get doughnuts on the way there?
"Get me there and back safely, Blackjack, and I'll get you all the doughnuts you want," Percy laughed, as they took flight, off and away.
Rachel and Grover quickly faded away to become two specks. Along with them was the swiftly shrinking legion down below.
Below him, Blackjack whinnied in delight.
You got it, Boss. One safe roundway trip, coming right up.
Percy's smirk faded away, as he braced himself for what was to come. A neither safe nor perhaps even a roundway trip was to come. He was in for a long and brutal journey.
But it would be worth it. It had to be.