Note: THIS IS THE SECOND CHAPTER I'VE PUT OUT IN THE LAST 24 HOURS! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 7, PLEASE DO! Thank you. :)

xXx

The two combatants launched themselves at each other, Annabeth with two daggers in each hand and no shield. Percy bit his cheek. What was she thinking? Going completely on the offensive like that?

No, she had a plan. He just had to watch it play out.

(He hated that he had to say that to himself over and over again, but she was thirteen!)

(Hazel had been thirteen during the prophecy of the seven.)

(No, Percy. Here. And. Now.)

Annabeth shifted as if to dodge to one side, but feinted and rolled to the other side. Jacobs swung, barely missing her. She still managed to roll to her feet and took off while he was still turning to follow her. It wasn't much but at least she had a head start. Where was she going, though?

Her opponent took off after her, easily gaining ground with his superior height and stride. Wait, she was running towards the edge of the arena? Why? That would limit her options. A great idea if there was more than one person or monster she had to fight, but one on one?

Jacobs had nearly caught her when she got close enough to the wall to leap at it. One foot on the sheer stone propelled her up, the second foot pushing her off the wall to flip over her opponent's head as he swung down. His sword swing missed her by centimeters. Percy's breath caught in his throat. If she'd miscalculated…

But she hadn't. That was what he had to tell himself. He still had to force himself to breathe as she landed behind Jacobs, who was still recovering from his missed swing. He turned again, almost fast enough to catch her. Almost.

She scratched his arm with both of her daggers as she rushed past him, then backed off.

"First blood!" Mia yelled, then sat back in her chair. She watched the fight thoughtfully, studying it. Percy grinned. They were already learning something. Even if nothing else happened, they'd hopefully started to fulfill their quest.

Annabeth rolled to the side, then leaped up and grabbed the edge of Jacobs' shield with just a couple of fingers she could lift from her daggers without losing them, but it was enough to throw him off as she pushed the shield away, dashing past him. That had also been dangerous, and it showed when he swung for her and slashed at her back. The sword connected, leaving a line of red and a tattered shirt behind.

Percy grit his teeth, seeing Annabeth cry out and her face contort in pain, but she didn't stop, racing along the edge of the arena.

"Is that all you know how to do? Run away?" Jacobs yelled after her.

She grit her teeth obviously, but didn't answer, even as the crowd roared. Her opponent once again took off after her, quickly catching up.

He seemed more cautious this time, opting for a stab at her back once he reached her. She must have calculated somehow because she dodged to the side at just the right second, and practically threw herself on his arm as the sword darted past her. It wasn't ideal, and Percy could see her pain as what must have been her stomach hit his sword guard (not to mention her back), but she didn't lose any momentum, reaching out as he was pulled off balance, and aiming for his side with her dagger.

He hit her with his shield, shoving her away. Annabeth stumbled back, frowning. She'd nicked his side, but it wasn't a killing shot. She got a nasty slice on her own side for her efforts. Percy swallowed, even as she backed up, holding one hand out with a dagger in it to guard her while her other hand went to her new injury.

(Percy tried, without much success, to not think about how much he would love to tear the guy limb from limb.)

"Is that all you have, fake?" Jacobs yelled. "It's obvious I'm the better fighter!"

"Maybe," Annabeth said, still backing up slowly. Percy could barely hear her from where he stood, but at least the crowd had quieted down too, wanting to hear what she would say. "But that's the thing about wisdom and strategy. It's not just about fighting."

"It shouldn't be about fighting at all, with you!" Jacobs grinned cruelly. "That's my father's domain. Of course I'd be superior!"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed.

"Wisdom is applicable anywhere."

Jacobs scoffed. "You think—gah!"

He backed off, throwing his hand over his eyes. What had she… wait. The sun. She'd purposefully positioned herself so she could reflect that light into his eyes from her dagger. The one she'd been holding out.

That had been at least part of her plan all along.

Percy relaxed and snorted in laughter. Then, to his surprise, she threw a dagger at the ground in front of Jacobs. The dirt was too hard for it to stick, and she hadn't thrown it hard anyway. Just what…? And instead of pressing the advantage, she made to turn and run again.

"Why you b—" Jacobs started, but his foot stepped on the dagger she'd thrown and he went down, flailing. In a flash, Annabeth had turned 180 degrees and sprinted towards him. She leaped, once again barely missing his sword as he tried to stop her, but then she was inside his guard and had a dagger to his neck in seconds.

"Kill," Percy saw her mouthing to Jacobs, whose eyes widened in shock.

Yet again, the arena went dead silent except for the wind.

This time, no one seemed to want to break it. Even Percy was trying to keep his snorts of laughter quiet.

"Winner, Annabeth Chase," Mia said, though even she seemed too stunned to speak loudly.

Then, finally, someone began clapping. It started slow, but someone else joined in, and another, and another. More and more people added their clapping until the entire arena drowned in thunder and was screaming in support of Annabeth. She blinked, looking up and around, surprised at the sudden change of attitude towards her.

That was her mistake.

Jacobs suddenly pushed her off, shouting something. A ripple went through the crowd as Percy rushed forward. The match was over! But Jacobs didn't seem to care. He raised his sword—he was going to kill her! She looked up, stunned, eyes wide in fear.

Percy reached out ready to take control of his blood if he had to. Or hers. Yeah, that would probably be better. He could get her out of harm's way without giving too many cards away. Besides, if he grabbed Jacobs' blood, the guy may not survive.

Thankfully, Percy needn't have bothered because suddenly, Mia was there, sword catching Jacobs' as she stood over Annabeth protectively. How she'd gotten there so fast, Percy didn't know, but she'd gone from sitting in her chair, to dropping at least a story onto the ground and getting to Jacobs and Annabeth before Percy had even seen…

"The match is over!" she screamed at her fellow praetor.

"NO!" he screamed back. "NO IT ISN'T!"

Mia opened her mouth again, but was cut off when bells from outside of the coliseum started ringing.

For just a moment, everyone froze, as if checking to see they'd heard correctly. Then the stands practically erupted. Everyone stood, grabbing their friends or families and rushing out of the arena, including Mia and Jacobs, leaving Annabeth and Percy behind with a bunch of ghosts and no guards even.

The two demigods stared at each other as the arena continued to empty.

"What's going on?" Annabeth yelled.

"I dunno!" Percy said, then noticed someone moving a little slower than the others.

"Hey," he yelled to the nearest person, an older woman who was hobbling out more slowly than others. "Excuse me, but what's going on?"

The woman turned to blink at him in surprise. "The bells are ringing," she said, voice barely audible over the din of everyone moving and trying to shove their way out of the arena.

"And that means…?" Percy asked.

The woman's mouth thinned into a hard line. "It means New Rome is under attack."

Oh.

xXx

Even in their chaos, Romans were organized. Admittedly, the legionnaires had more practice and fell into lines and cohorts almost immediately, but even the civilians and retired—Hades, even the kids—seemed to know exactly where to go.

Which left Percy and Annabeth behind. Which said a lot about New Rome's current mind-set. They didn't leave people they saw as potential threats alone. Ever. Neptune said the valley was under siege, but they hadn't seen much when it came to the armies keeping them in siege. To Percy, it hadn't seemed like much of a siege at all. But this? How quickly the stadium emptied and the legionnaires disappeared…

Just how bad was it?

"What do we do now?" Annabeth asked as she and Percy hurried back under the coliseum seats, into the lower rooms. If he didn't know her as well as he did, he may not have realized how she wasn't asking what they could do, she was getting more information so she could make an informed decision regarding her next steps. What were their options?

He opened his mouth to suggest they try and find Tyson and get to the front lines, but their two guards from earlier rounded the corner towards them before he could answer her. Seeing them was both disappointing and relieving. Maybe every hand wasn't needed at the fight or breach or whatever was going on. Maybe the situation wasn't that bad after all. He really wished he could tell for sure and know what was being attacked, but he'd only just gotten to Camp Jupiter and would need time to get to know the valley of this time.

"You are to follow us back to your ship," one of them said. "Praetor's orders."

Any relief Percy felt drained out of him. That didn't sound promising. He exchanged a glance with Annabeth before fixing his gaze on the guards. "We're going to fight."

They both shook their heads. "Praetor's orders," the second one repeated.

Percy's jaw clenched while Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "I've passed my three fights," she pointed out.

"Praetor's orders," was their only reply.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged frustrated glances again. They could figure which praetor had given that order.

"Fine," Percy said. His companion's expression darkened and she stared at him incredulously, but she didn't speak up again. She must know he had a plan. Good.

The guards seemed relieved. One guard led the procession while the other fell into step behind Percy and Annabeth. They didn't even make the two take off their armor. That would definitely help in the future.

The entire area seemed about as silent as a tomb as the four of them made their way back through the streets and out of the city, towards the lake. Percy knew how fast the Romans could move, but this went above and beyond. There were many advantages and disadvantages to their way of life, but how fast everyone could fall in line and go when and where they needed to go was definitely a positive. And impressive.

It still unnerved Percy.

"So," he said after a moment, "where is the fighting?"

Neither guard answered. He hadn't been at the defense of New Rome when the Triumvirate attacked, but he'd seen the aftermath, and as a god, had known Camp Jupiter almost as well as he'd known Camp Half-Blood. It came with the territory of being a god of demigods. There were several points where people could actually enter New Rome, but all of them were well guarded (except for a couple of secret passages, but if the monsters had gotten in that way, they would have exited the coliseum to the battle) and none of them were large enough to bring in an entire army except one: The Caldecott Tunnel*. He doubted the entirety of New Rome would have left the coliseum for anything less than a full-on attack, now that he thought about it.

If it wasn't an army attacking, Percy would eat one of Annabeth's textbooks. Without salt. And then probably go on the run for the rest of his life to hide from her wrath, but hey. So why had Kronos sent his army to siege New Rome? They were relatively self sufficient, and in an easily defensible home base. There was a reason he hadn't before and why Gaea had to send an army rivaling Lord of the Ring's Orc armies to try and take New Rome. So why had Kronos decided to try? To rid Percy of allies? Because they would be easier to attack than Camp Half-Blood simply by proximity to Orthrys?

They were good questions that needed to be answered, but maybe, Percy realized, he should speculate later and go back to trying to get information about what was going on and where from their guards right now.

"Look, guys," he said, "I can't know where to stay away from if I don't know where the fighting is."

They still didn't answer. That was fine. He was pretty sure he knew where to go. At least now he could claim ignorance if they 'accidentally' ended up in the fight.

He was Greek and always would be. And yeah, he had a Roman side as a god, but he would never be one of those super-strict Romans. His Greek self and Roman self were barely distinguishable. And if there was a difference as a demigod now, it wouldn't be nearly enough to keep him from going to help the camp.

God of Personal Loyalty. (Well, Demigod.) So sue him.

To Percy's relief, they found Tyson pacing on the deck of their boat as they were led down the dock.

"Big Brother!" the cyclops yelled happily, almost tipping the boat as he ran over and threw his arms around Percy.

"Hey, there, Big Guy," the time-traveler said, patting his brother on the back.

"I was worried!" Tyson stepped back, holding Percy at arm's length and looking him over, as if to make sure he wasn't hurt. "They said there was fighting! Not in the Coliseum!"

"We came here to fight," Annabeth said from behind Percy. He glanced over his shoulder to see her glaring at the two guards. The fact that they seemed unfazed at her death-glare said a lot about them. They either had nerves of steel or they really didn't know what that look meant. Probably the latter.

They'd learn.

"We're fine, buddy," was all he said to his brother. Annabeth huffed.

The two guards continued to watch them until all three were on the boat.

"We will be guarding the dock," guard one said then. Neither one of them looked too happy about that. Percy understood. They were stuck here, babysitting, while everyone else fought.

"Of course," Percy said with a nod.

The two guards seemed to relax at that. So they'd been expecting a fight. It seemed they had him pegged at least. The trio watched them as they marched back down the dock and took posts at either end. One faced away from them, one faced towards them. Smart, but ultimately useless.

"Percy," Annabeth said once they were out of ear-shot, "why are we just sitting here?! We're here to help defend the camp!"

He held up his hands. "I know, I know." Then he smiled, knowing very well he looked like a troublemaker. It fit just then. "But I'm guessing it hasn't gotten around yet that Tyson and I can breathe underwater. And I'm also willing to bet they think everything with the boat and the water when we entered camp was my father, and that I can't do the same."

The daughter of Athena stood there, blinking for several seconds, before she relaxed. "So, you do have a brain under there."

He scoffed. "Of course I do. I had my fair share of good ideas this summer during—hey!" Her words finally registered fully. "What do you mean 'under there'?"

His Annabeth would have said something about his good-looking exterior, or if she was particularly annoyed with him, his reckless streak. This Annabeth just grinned, raising one eyebrow.

"Do you want to come or not?" he asked dryly.

Her raised eyebrow quirked higher. "Would you really go without me? The only one of us who actually completed their three fights in front of the Romans?"

Percy opened his mouth to say that yes, he would go without her, except it would be a lie because she was right. Of course. If they went, they would be risking a lot already. If he went with her, who already had proven herself to the Romans via their own rules, it would strengthen their position. She'd lived up to their standards—surpassed them even—and she had a right to fight per Roman Law. And from her smirk, she knew she was right.

"We have to fight?" Tyson asked worriedly.

Percy shook his head, focusing on his brother. "We do, buddy. But not you. They don't want you to fight at all."

"But I can fight," he said, unsurely.

"I know you can," Percy said earnestly, because Tyson had been an excellent fighter. "But you don't have to. And you weren't sent here to. One day I know you'll be an awesome warrior in Dad's armies, but for now, you're here to learn how to make things. And if you want lessons in fighting, I'll start teaching you later. Sound good?"

"Yes!" he said at the same time Annabeth hissed, "Percy!"

"Great," Percy said, clapping his brother on the shoulder. He shot Annabeth a look that said 'We'll talk about this later.' She didn't look happy, but didn't protest further.

"Anyway, we're going to head off, okay buddy?" Percy said, turning his attention back on Tyson and clapping him on the shoulder.

He still looked uncertain. "Will you and Annie Bell be okay?"

"Annabeth!" Annabeth said. At this point, Percy was pretty sure Tyson thought it was a joke or something. He actually had a surprisingly subtle pranking streak that had many Atlantis residents in stitches when they heard.

"We'll be fine," Percy assured him. "We could use a good meal when we get back though."

Tyson immediately lit up. "I can make sandwiches!" Peanut butter to be precise, but he did learn from Percy's mom, so he learned from the best. And he'd also said that loud enough the guards may have heard. Hopefully they'd think the trio on the boat was getting lunch or something.

"That would be great!" Percy said, grinning. "Now, we're going to go over here—" he pointed to where they'd be blocked from view of the guard, conveniently where the door to go below deck was (he may or may not have done that on purpose)— "and get into the water."

Tyson's smile drooped.

"We'll be back, Big Guy," Percy promised as he walked across the deck, ushering Tyson ahead of him. "You stay here for now, okay?"

His single eye began to tear up. "Okay," he said, voice trembling, before he squeezed through the doorway to go below. Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks as the door shut.

"Come on," Percy whispered, hurrying over to the side and swinging over. He called the water up to him so there wouldn't be a loud splash.

"What did you mean when you said you'd teach him how to fight?" Annabeth hissed as she followed. He lowered himself into the pillar of water, then beckoned for her to follow. She did, and he brought the water up around her head, trapping air inside, before lowering them both into the lake, all outside of the guards' view.

"I meant what I said," he answered once they were swimming through the murky lake water towards the river. It wasn't the worst water he'd seen in a lake before, but it could use some cleaning. "Tyson will learn to fight. I'd prefer he learns it right."

"He's a cyclops," she said, as if Percy had somehow missed that. "A monster! You know that, right?"

"Some cyclopes can be good," he responded tiredly. "And I know you know my father is the father of monsters. What does that make me?"

Silence. "Not every child of Poseidon is a monster," she muttered, but it was halfhearted at best. That stung. Well, he had scared her before. He probably deserved it.

"Come on," was all he said, moving them towards the mouth of the Little Tiber. They swam in silence after that. Too bad they couldn't water-travel. He still hadn't figured out how with other people.

The river didn't get too shallow to swim in until they neared the crossing by the tunnel, thankfully. A little ways down the stream, Percy and Annabeth floated to the surface, kept suspended there with their heads barely above water by him. He'd expected the Romans to be crossing in straight, neat lines, or out of sight down the tunnel, but apparently something had happened because he could already see fighting in the field between the tunnel and the river.

He cursed. That wasn't supposed to happen. Did a bunch of monsters sneak up behind them? How?

"Is that all the Romans fighting?" Annabeth asked, noting the relatively small number.

Percy frowned. "No." That was maybe one cohort. Not even a full one with what he could see of their wounded. (He hated seeing that). He could sense others on the opposite side of the tunnel…. "Everyone's fighting at the other end," he informed her. Reaching out he tried to see what the demigods and legacies there were seeing. As a god, it would be child's play. Now, he only caught glimpses, but it wasn't promising.

Sometimes he hated being right.

"There's an army on the other side."

She let out a long breath. There may not be a lot of monsters on this side, but that didn't stop the fact that the legion had been trapped from both sides—their rearguard attacked somehow. It wouldn't last, but it could do damage. Especially if they had to retreat.

Thankfully, before they could do anything, a small number of soldiers came marching from the city to the river, led by a centurion.

"Report!" the demigod—the man Percy had fought, of course—said to a soldier who had backed up to take a breather by the river, covered in gold dust.

"The Praetors marched into the tunnel, but we were flanked by more monsters!" the soldier said as he saluted. Or she. Percy couldn't tell. Had he mentioned he hated being right sometimes?

The Centurion swore. "The other entrances must have been compromised." He turned to his troops. "Billy! I want you to take a third of the cohort west. Check all entrances and exits. If you run into any monsters or resistance, send word back here. Carla, take a third north. Spencer? East! Terry, Amy, Brad, Mark, and Anthony? Stay here with me. We'll back up here." With several 'yes, sir!'s, the group split up. Percy frowned. Very rarely did cohorts split up, but his instructions were sound and understandable.

Even Annabeth seemed to think so.

"It looks like they have everything under control," she whispered to Percy. "Do you know the other entrances? Maybe we should head there instead."

"In the future," Percy said uncertainly. "But most entrances are probably not the same today." Not after all the rebuilding they'd had to do.

"The barracks themselves were walled," Annabeth muttered. "The city was walled… the coliseum is fairly defensible, but is the entire valley walled?"

Percy shook his head. "No. Just certain parts. The terrain behind the town—to the north and east, mainly—is pretty rugged. Someone really determined could get through there, but not an entire army. At least, not without us knowing. So no one ever saw a point."

Annabeth sighed. "Probably doesn't mean much coming from someone who lives at a literal summer camp all-year-round, but that seems like a bit of an oversight."

The time-traveler shrugged. "It's never been a problem before."

"Okay, maybe we should—" Annabeth started but cut herself off when another group came into view. Percy's stomach dropped. It was a group of monsters: dracanae, empousa, cynociphili, cyclopes…. The usual suspects. Percy felt himself pale. He hadn't sensed any demigods dying yet (and hopefully he wouldn't at all), but his ability to sense legacies before they went on quests or otherwise put their lives on the line for the camp and/or questmates had always been weaker. He'd inevitably had stronger connections to legionnaires under his domain after New Rome (and later, New Corinth at Camp Half-Blood) fought a battle. He also didn't have nearly as strong a connection to the demigods of New Rome, having not met them. That seemed to be a limit of his powers as a demigod himself.

And clearly someone somewhere wasn't doing their job… or they weren't alive to do their job anymore if more than one group of monsters had been able to sneak around and ambush the fighters from behind.

Or they had a traitor.

Styx.

"No, no, no…" he said as he watched the monsters throw themselves across the river. They'd definitely come from inside New Rome, and he was torn. He should go to the other checkpoints…

Annabeth stared at him for a couple of seconds, seeing his worry. "They could have come in through one spot and split up precisely for this. Divide and conquer," she suggested, though she didn't sound too sure herself. Percy just closed his eyes. This was why cohorts so rarely split up.

He was more than a little ashamed that by the time he acted, the monsters had already crossed the river. It wouldn't have happened as a god—wouldn't even have been a problem as he could just split his consciousness and teleport to where he needed to be. He would have almost automatically done just that in the future, and was surprised that his inability to do so just then jarred him.

Three-hundred years with the mind-set of a god didn't just go away in two and a half years in his demigod body. He knew that. Didn't mean he had to like it.

He really hated how many obstacles he was running into in the body he preferred. Give and take he supposed as he willed the water to push them forward and into the wide shallows. The fact of the matter was, they were at the tunnel, and people here needed his help. He didn't have time to go running around New Rome.

"Come on," he said as he withdrew Riptide. They had a camp—and several lives—to save.

xXx

AN: So yeah, second chapter in 24 hours. If you want more updates, please go to the end of chapter 7. That's where you'll find announcements, links, and thanks. All of them apply here. Luv you!