Chapter Title: New Rome? More like New Pain

(A/N: The only thing worth noting here is that there is a little bit of inspiration from "Big Top Scooby Doo!" that takes the form of a behind the scenes sub plot to the plot of MOA that will interact with the main one at times. Try to guess where that reference is.)

Until they met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought they were prepared for anything, even as the Argo II flew through the skies past a flying newspaper in the air that if one looked carefully, they would notice that it was from today and with the headline at the front reading "Serial Werewolf Jewel Thief strikes for a third time in the West, Kentucky the latest site". Kayla certainly thought so too. Even with the fact that aside from those who were supposed to be part of the prophecy of eleven — Annabeth, Kayla, Leo, Jason, Piper — were onboard, in addition to a certain satyr and the trio that had been sent along with Jason when Hera had switched the two groups, a good handful of others from Camp Half Blood had insisted on coming along for the ride — Sherman, Clarisse, Katie, Belle, Miranda, Austin, Caeli, Travis, Connor, Silena, Beckendorf, Jake, Lee, Will, Ethan, Chris, Cato, Clove, Alec, A.J., Rose, and Adriana — much to the chagrin of Leo who had to modify his plans for the Argo II to accommodate the rest of them plus those they would probably pick up in Camp Jupiter, per Colton's telepathic messages to Kayla.

Annabeth had to admit, she wasn't even the least bit surprised when Kayla revealed that she had spoken to Colton and he had his memories back. If there was any one of the four missing from Camp Half Blood that would have probably gotten his memories back first, it probably would have been Colton. It was a testament to how much Annabeth had come to accept that if she was the camp's strategist, Colton was the complimentary tactician.

Either way, Annabeth had been pacing the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down. She confirmed that the white "We come in peace" flag was flying from the mast. She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew—and the backup plan, and the backup plan for the backup plan. Kayla stood nearby, with Cato, Clove, and Ethan just a bit behind her, all four watching Annabeth pace with concern. Most of the rest of the crew was downstairs inside the warship.

Most important, Annabeth pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin and watch reruns of mixed martial arts championships. The last thing they needed as they flew a magical Greek trireme into a potentially hostile Roman camp was a middle-aged satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling "Die!" at people. It seemed like a surefire way to get them all blown out of the sky, even if there was a new praetor from what Colton had told Kayla. He hadn't exactly say who it was though, so that was extra cause for concern.

Even so, everything seemed to be in order. Even that mysterious chill she'd been feeling since the ship launched had dissipated, at least for now. But even so, as the warship descended through the clouds, Annabeth couldn't stop second-guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked them on sight?

You don't need to worry about that, she told herself mentally while trying to calm down. As long as Colton is down there, he and Percy would surely find a way to keep that from happening.

Either way, as Belle came up onto the deck and also watched with concern, Annabeth Chase was currently a woman full of concern about what could happen next.

It didn't exactly help their case that the Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Five hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and six rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete...well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet-and-greet with the neighbors. Even if among their ranks currently was the boy who had been the mastermind behind the oath Percy had made the gods swear to after the Battle of Manhattan.

Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. She'd asked Leo to send one of his special inventions — a holographic scroll — to alert their friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull —WASSUP? with a smiley face— but Annabeth vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor. Given that Colton was among them, it seemed even less of a good idea simply because the Romans were kind of more like him in certain ways if anything.

Either way, it was way too late to turn back now, and Annabeth knew it.

The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail. From Belle's perspective, it seemed as if Annabeth was gripping that shield for dear life.

Her crewmates took their places — well those that actually worked the ship, that is. Most of the rest that had tagged along did not.

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet (Kayla wasn't exactly sure where he even got that), a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD. But then again — there was Colton, who hung over Leo's mind like a constant source of anxiety. Deep down inside, Leo was absolutely terrified of what would happen when he finally met Colton.

He had dreaded this day for a long while and now, it was finally here.

Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.

"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk."

Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice long chat. Even Belle could feel the urge to do so as well.

For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. (Maybe as a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.

Then there was Piper's boyfriend—Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Cato had to admit, the dude had some serious balls. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, Jason had donned a toga and a purple cloak—symbols of his old rank as praetor. With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control—just like a son of Jupiter should. He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.

Bryce was just behind and to Jason's right, gazing downwards. Clara on the other hand was talking with Alyssa and helping the shy girl keep her calm. Both were to Jason's left.

Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn't completely trust them, mainly Jason. He acted too perfect—always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging thought: What if this is a trick and he — or any of them — betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter, and one of them says, Hey, Romans! Check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!

Annabeth doubted that would happen. Even if he or any of them did try, there was zero doubt in her mind that the four boys from her camp, among them her beloved Percy, would absolutely go ape-shit on Jason if he or any of them did that, though among them, Colton would probably beat the offender into a coma and leave them buried six feet under while in one at worst, so there was that. Still, she couldn't look at Jason mainly without getting a bitter taste in her mouth. He'd been part of Hera's forced "exchange program" to introduce the two camps. Her Most Annoying Majesty, Queen of Olympus, had convinced the other gods that their two sets of children—Roman and Greek—had to combine forces to save the world from the evil goddess Gaea, who was awakening from the earth, and her horrible children the giants, who due to one of the Greeks becoming the Monster King, had themselves fractured with one group going to fight Colton and Kayla for the power of the Monster King and the other sticking with their mother in fighting the Olympians.

Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend along with Colton, Luke, and Michael, wiped their memories, and sent the four to the Roman camp, causing a very emotionally unstable Kayla to be everyone's main concern for days. In exchange, the Greeks had gotten Jason, Alyssa, Bryce, and Clara. None of that was their fault; but every time Annabeth saw Jason, she remembered how much she missed Percy. And to be fair, from the looks on Kayla's and Jake's faces — the same could be said mostly for them as well.

Percy...who, along with the other mentioned three, was somewhere below them right now.

Oh, gods. Panic welled up inside her. She forced it down. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed.

I'm a child of Athena, she told herself. I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted.

She felt it again—that familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snowman had crept up behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned, but no one was there.

Must be her nerves. Even in a world of gods and monsters, Annabeth couldn't believe a new warship would be haunted. The Argo II was well protected. The Celestial bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off monsters, and their onboard satyr, Coach Hedge, would have sniffed out any intruders. So why did she feel this way? It made zero sense.

Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible now. Not after last month, when she'd had that horrible encounter with her mom and gotten the worst present of her life...

The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong.

She almost ordered Leo to reverse course. Then, in the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted them.

Annabeth thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail. Still, she had trouble believing her eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.

Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. She recognized landmarks Jason had told her about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.

She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins. One statue in particular was covered in blood, bones, and what seemed like parts of a brain, a sight that made many on the Argo II feel like puking.

"I have a funny feeling as to who exactly used that statue as a weapon.." Clarisse said rather amusingly.

Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafés, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.

About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill. It looked just like the illustrations Annabeth had seen in military history books— with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road—the Via Principalis.

A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.

Annabeth wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. She scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy. Nearby, Kayla and Jake did the same — as did Will, Lee, Ethan, Sherman, and Clarisse.

Then something behind them went BOOM!

The explosion almost knocked Annabeth overboard.

"What the fuck did we just hit..?" shouted Ethan.

Annabeth whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.

Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.

"What in the gods is that..?!" shouted Travis.

"I have zero idea, bro!" replied Connor. Both Stolls might as well as have been shitting their pants at the sight of this talking statue.

"I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" it announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"

Jason shot Annabeth a look that said, I've got this.

"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."

"Oh, I remember you, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"

"But they're not enemies—"

"That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could—"

"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"

Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um...okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."

"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.

"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"

"Like Terminus bro, chill.." Bryce said, stepping forward towards the statue. Terminus was a bit surprised to see him, Clara, and Alyssa.

"Like I'll behold.." Terminus muttered. "Bryce Harper, Clara Everett, and Alyssa Hadley. What are you three along with Jason doing with these people..?"

"Long story.. just blame Juno for it.." Bryce said simply. "It be her fault."

"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."

"Leo.." Jason called out, concerningly.

The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap Annabeth out of her shock.

"Let's all calm down." She raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of—"

"Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess."

Annabeth clenched her jaw. This statue wasn't making it easy to be diplomatic. "What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what's so scandalous about—"

"Right!" Jason interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can—"

"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"

"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"

"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look."

He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.

"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."

"The what?" Piper asked.

"City limits," Jason translated.

"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!"

Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. Annabeth scanned the faces and...oh, gods. She saw him. He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies—a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. Luke was right by him.

Annabeth's heart did a gymnastics routine.

Then, Kayla just shouted, "Oh my god, Colton!"

Annabeth's eyes just scanned the crowd again, looking for the boy. When she finally found Colton, Annabeth could hardly believe her eyes. Standing close to Michael and a pink haired girl, Colton just looked even more mighty than ever. Despite sporting a new scar on his forehead that had come from the Trojan Sea Monster's teeth when he had gone to save Lavinia, which had not resulted in it needing to be bandaged because the teeth had not penetrated the skin deep enough to draw blood, it was still the "Beast Of Camp Half Blood" in the flesh. Of course, there was the fact that he was also wearing a purple cape just like Jason's.. the mark of a praetor. With the Whitworth slung on his back as usual plus four swords sheathed on his back too, the prolific killing machine of the Olympian cause looked more ferocious than ever.

"Something tells me that this and the bloody statue have to be connected.." Beckendorf called out.

Jason, like Annabeth, couldn't really believe what he was even seeing — the fact that out of all people, the boy who inherited the power of the name that him and the others shiver with fear, the Monster King, had replaced him as praetor. He could only wonder at what had motivated Reyna to make such a decision.

Annabeth could have sworn she saw Terminus sweat a little at that remark and nod yes, fear for just a tiny second flickering across his face. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly Terminus had seen.

"Leo, stop the ship," Annabeth ordered.

"What?"

"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."

Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.

"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"

The statue frowned. "Well, no..."

"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."

"Solid. That's Annabeth for you.." Belle called out from behind her. Annabeth flushed and just turned and said 'stop that' playfully in response.

The statue seemed to ponder this. Annabeth wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.

"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still..."

"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"

"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"

"Uh, Annabeth..." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"

She closed her fists to keep them from shaking. That cold feeling was still there. It floated just behind her, and now that Terminus was no longer shouting and causing explosions, she thought she could hear the presence laughing, as if it was delighted by the bad choices she was making.

But Percy was down there...he was so close. She had to reach him.

Annabeth was about to speak again when an unfamiliar voice spoke. "What seems to be the problem here..?" It was the deep, very serious voice of a man — one who definitely had seen a lot of fighting at that. Annabeth turned, and if the screams that echoed out of A.J.'s, Silena's, and Katie's throats were any indication, Annabeth had every reason to jump. Now standing near the edge of the ship near where Clara and Alyssa had originally stood was a man.

(* TMNT 2003 Elite Ninja theme starts playing for about 10 seconds. *)

A muscular brute dressed in red and black clothing, with a torn cape, bandages on their arms, and what seemed like arm pads on the sides of them at certain places. They had a kasa, a straw hat that resembled a large, shallow upside bowl on top of their head, and blood red eyes underneath the red cloth kind of mask that this person wore. A red symbol of a pronged triangle with three toes facing upward was attached to his belts, and this generally six foot tall brute also carried a twin bladed sword in his hand. There was no doubt to any of the demigods as who this guy was.

He was a member of the Tengu Clan's Elite Guard, also known as the Elite Guard of the Monster King. Terminus once again started sweating upon noticing the member of the Monster King's elite guard standing there, and it showed how nervous he suddenly was in his speech. "I, uh.. well.. I, uh.. there's no problem here.. you all may proceed with your plans, as long as there are no weapons.." the god said anxiously, and Annabeth couldn't help but just watch, amazed.

"We understand.." she said back simply, and Terminus merely nodded again before vanishing. Upon noticing Kayla, the Elite Guard member simply got down on one knee and kneeled before her. "Your highness, it is good to see you — we are at you and the king's command as you wish.." he said, the level of devotion this man had to the Monster King and Monster Queen appearing as ageless.

"Good to know.." Kayla said. "For now, just watch over the Romans. Make sure they don't try anything." It seemed a rather simple command, for even with Colton being praetor, Kayla seemed to sense that one of these Romans was possibly going to try something.

"As you wish, my Queen.." the Elite Guard member said before a cloud of smoke engulfed him from view and when it cleared, he was gone. The other demigods just looked on, stunned.

"So that was a member of the Elite Guard.." Sherman muttered. "Holy shit, was that guy packing."

"You can say that again.." Austin added.

"Dude looked like he was on steroids.. man, it's chilling to even look at one of them, even after six months.." Clara said.

By this point, Kayla's mind was a whirlpool of emotions. Laying eyes on her boyfriend for the first time in six months made her heart metaphorically leap out of her chest and go soaring all the way to the moon. After all this time, she was about to be back with the boy who had seemingly went from being second best to Percy Jackson to being the most powerful demigod of the Greeks in possibly all time — all because of her.

She couldn't wait to be back with him again.

And so it was that when the rope ladder went down, she insisted on being the first to climb down it.

When she got to the ground, the first thing she did was look around, searching for him.

Then she saw the head of someone, and for Kayla, it was like the world around her had faded away. And when he looked in her direction, and stared and didn't look away for a while with lots of emotion and recognition on his face, she knew.. that finally, she had found him again.

For the boy she was looking at again was the boy that Hera had torn away from her for 6 long painful months.

Her boyfriend, Colton Reynolds.