THE FORUM HAS erupted into chaos.

Angry Romans burst from every corner, throwing anything they can get their hands on. Lila is suddenly grateful for Terminus, banning weapons from the city, for if they were allowed they would've been dead a thousand times. Instead, she's hit with an onslaught of rocks, plates and debris. One shard of ceramic hits her jaw, another her shoulder, and her orange t-shirt. Percy's toga is in pieces, barely hanging from his body, but he's not been hit yet. He leads her through the crowd into the middle of a fountain, where Frank and Hazel are standing. 

"You're firing on us!" Frank yells at Lila angrily. He's not particularly intimidating, but he survived the quest to Alaska so Lila assumes he's scarier than he looks. "What's going on?" 

"I don't know!" Lila protests, drenched in fountain water. Percy's doing a good job of stopping the other demigods and avoiding their missiles, but Lila looks like a drowned rat. She's clearly got some god after her. Maybe the god of fountains hates her for something. "This wasn't the plan!" 

Hazel and Frank look at each other, and then nod, accepting her words. It's remarkably easy to gain their trust - not because they are trusting, but because she has Percy supporting her. Plus, it can't hurt that Hazel and Lila are siblings, in some strange way. 

Lila doesn't really want to hurt anybody - these are the people she's trying to save, after all, so she ducks behind the fountain. It's mostly useless; they're surrounded by all sides. She can't blame the Romans - the Argo II is still launching volleys of flaming catapults toward the forum. 

"Annabeth!" she hears Percy yell. "What - " 

"I don't know!"

"I'll tell you what!" an annoying, screechy voice answers. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

Lila's heart drops to her feet. Leo wouldn't, surely. She knows him well - they'd spent time together in Percy's absence, with Lila often helping out Leo with his designs and building of the ship. She couldn't do maths or design machines, but she could follow instructions. It tended to get lonely, with Annabeth always busy, Nico missing, Clarisse living her life in the mortal world. 

"He wouldn't!" Lila whispers to Percy. "Leo would never."

Annabeth must have echoed the sentiment, for Octavian shrieks again. "I saw it with my own eyes!" Another building explodes. "You see? Romans, kill the invaders!"

Lila lets a few vines slip out from beneath the paved stones, winding around Octavian's ankle and tripping him up so he falls straight onto his face. Frank and Hazel both grin. 

Annabeth steps into the fountain. "We have to leave. Now." 

Percy nods, squeezing Lila's hand quickly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

Hazel doesn't hesitate, though she does look absolutely petrified. Lila supposes that's more courageous, to fight past and battle your fear than to be free of it at all. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time." 

Lila frowns. "What?"

"How?" Annabeth echoes. 

Hazel answers with a high-pitched whistle that sends Lila's ears ringing. In reply, a blur appears beside the fountain, whinnying. Hazel immediately climbs onto the horse's back without so much as a whimper of hesitation. 

Lila is incredibly confused. "You have a magic horse?"

"I'll explain later," Percy mutters. 

Hazel unsheathes her golden sword, glowing the same shade as Jason's did. "Send me an Iris message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous. Arion, ride!"

And then she disappears completely, as quickly as the horse appeared. 

"Percy, I am so confused."

Percy laughs. "You should be used to it by now." 

Over at the other side of the crowd, Piper and Jason are pinned between two sides of a mob. Jason is bleeding from a wound in his head, and Piper is fumbling with his body, panicking. Her charmspeak buys time, but not much else. 

"Frank," Percy says. "It's up to you. Can you help them?"

Lila doesn't understand what Frank can do, but then, she also doesn't understand how Hazel has a magic materialising horse. 

"Oh gods." He gulps. "Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now." 

"You don't have to, Frank," Lila assures him, because he looks like he's about to be sick. "I'm sure there's another way."

"There isn't," Percy asserts, nodding to Frank. His friend nods. "It's fine." 

Percy lunges for the ladder, grabbing Octavian (who is still desperately clinging to the bottom of it) and shoving him into the centre of the mob. "Lila?"

She jumps after him - he pushes her up first, before following. Lila thanks Chiron  internally, remembering all the times he'd forced them to practice ladder drills just in case. It's amazing, how her body remembers what to do even while an angry Roman mob throws plates and screams insults at them. 

"At least we experienced the authentic Roman experience," Annabeth yells up to Lila. 

"I thought braking plates was a Greek thing!" She rolls her eyes. 

 The Romans stop their screeching when a dragon appears. It has grey skin that looks to be rough to touch, but talons that look sharp enough to rip through flesh. All the Roman weapons bounce off its skin as it flaps over to Piper and Jason, picking them up, and soaring away.  

"Is that . . . ?"

"Frank," Percy supplies. "He's got a few special talents." 

"Understatement," Annabeth mutters. 

When they finally make it onto the ship, Lila wants to cry. All the hours and time Leo and her spent working on it (Lila mostly painted) ruined. Half of it is ablaze in a storm of orange and red. The ship itself is tilting precariously onto one side. The sail is ripped, all of Leo's careful work destroyed. 

"Leo!" Annabeth screeches, spotting Leo before Lila can tear her eyes away from the devastation. "What are you doing?" 

"Destroy them," Leo replies, his voice monotone and robotic. He ignores their presence entirely, reloading the ballista. "Destroy them all."

 Frank lands behind them, with Jason and Piper. Lila ignores them. "Leo," she tries to reason. "Why - " 

Percy tackles him. Leo's wiry frame hits the ground hard, the force of the blow enough to knock him unconscious. Lila can't blame her boyfriend, but she does wince a little, imagining the bruising. 

"Go!" Percy screams. Annabeth rushes to the controls, pulling a big lever in the middle, and the ship tilts upwards. Straight upwards. 

Lila sighs. Typical that the only person who can steer the ship is also apparently a psychotic arsonist. 

IN LEO'S DEFENCE, he does look incredibly guilty. 

Unfortunately, Annabeth is not swayed by petty things such as guilt. "One more time. What happened?"

Lila fixes a bandage on her arm, perched on the corner of a broken mast. She's still bleeding, but she doesn't really want to take ambrosia - too much can burn you up from the inside, and they'll probably be eating a lot of it on this quest. Better to let some wounds heal naturally, while they can. Her cheek is stinging, but she can deal with that later - right now, everyone is tending to Jason's wound. 

"I don't know," Leo says, his voice thick. "It's fuzzy." 

"Fuzzy how?" Lila inquires. "Fuzzy, like, your vision was clouded by rage and incredibly violent impulses, or fuzzy like you were sitting in the back of your mind, watching something happen that you had no control over?"

They all look at her. "That was very specific," Annabeth says. 

Lila shrugs mildly. "I don't know. I've been watching loads of horror movies - with like, possession, you know?"

"This isn't a horror movie, though." Leo points out. 

Lila glares at him, but it's not harsh. She figures he'll have enough people glaring at him today. Percy was furious, for one. Lila was worried he was going to throttle Leo even while he was unconscious. "Thanks, Captain - " 

"Lila makes a good point, though," Annabeth interrupts. "Was it like that?" 

He hesitates. "Yeah. The second one." 

Lila waves her hands - which are holding bandages, so she's just waving bandages around. "Possession."

"I was not possessed!" Leo snaps. It doesn't hurt her feelings - he's having a rough day. "I - I don't - " 

"Look, kid," Coach Hedge says. (When he calls people 'kid', is he saying they're a baby goat, or a human child?) "You blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."

Well, at least Hedge is happy. That's one, out of nine. 

"Coach, why don't you go make sure all the fires are out?" Annabeth says. 

"But I already did that." 

"Do it again." Her gaze is steely. Hedge doesn't argue. 

Annabeth kneels beside Leo. Lila can tell from her posture that she's stressed, but her tone is calm. Lila's always been a little bit jealous of her friend's control over her emotions. "Leo, did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or - " 

"No." Leo looks at the floor. "The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."

"On purpose?" Frank scowls. 

"No! Well - yes. I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me— " 

"A cold feeling," Annabeth says, her tone entirely changing. 

"Possession," Lila whispers. 

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "This is not funny, at all - " 

"Annabeth," Lila says, matching her tone. "I'm not joking. It's a genuine thing - " 

"In horror movies?" 

Lila pauses. "Well, yes." 

Percy yells, from below deck. "Annabeth, we need you!" 

Leo looks terrified, his eyes wide. Lila can understand that; they're best friends, Leo and Jason. Leo is probably blaming himself - even though Lila is sure he shouldn't. She was only half - joking with her possession suggestion. Frank turns into a dragon. Who's to say possession isn't in the cards, too? She's seen stranger things. 

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Lila pats Leo's shoulder. 

"Frank, Lila, I'll be back. Just...watch Leo. Please." Annabeth says, and Leo melts into the ground a little more. Lila swallows some of her sympathy, watching him take in the ruins of his once proud ship. Leo's heart and soul is poured into the Argo II's every sail, plank and nail. And Leo has been the one to tear apart that soul. 

Lila fiddles with the necklace of beads around her wrist, as she usually does when she's nervous. Maybe it's an ADHD thing, maybe it's a Lila thing, but she needs her hands to be doing something, always. Sometimes she eats, sometimes she tears away the the skin around her nails until they're bleeding and raw, sometimes she twiddles her necklace. 

"Percy has a necklace like that," Frank observes, watching her. He's been quiet ever since he landed and turned back into a human, only watching both Leo and Lila with a careful gaze. "It has less beads, though."

"Yeah," Lila nods. "You get one bead for every summer you survive at Camp Half-Blood. The Counselors vote on what the most significant event of the year has been, and it's engraved on the bead. They're usually Percy related." She's still not sure if that is his fault or just the Fates.

"How many do you have?"

She fiddles with it. "Eight. Percy has four, I think. Annabeth has nine, she has the most of everybody." 

"Leo?"

He shrugs. "None." 

Frank nods. "The Romans have a similar tradition. We burn a tattoo into your forearm, with SPQR and your godly parents symbol, and then there's a tally of your years of service to the legion." He hesitates a second, as if wondering if he should reveal this next piece of information. "I have one tally, but I've only been at the Camp for a month." 

Lila had noticed Percy's tattoo. Honestly, she thought it was kind of hot. Not that she'd tell Frank or Leo that. 

"Hey, don't worry about it, man," Leo waves his arms. "I've only been at the Camp for like, six months, too."

Lila nods. "You're doing much better than Leo, see."

Leo crosses his arms, but he's relaxed a little bit. Perhaps he's starting to see that whatever happened wasn't his fault. Lila's sure it wasn't - she trusts Leo. He's not the type of person to take pleasure in the fiery demise and mass murder of Romans. 

Then again, Lila's been betrayed before. Perhaps she just keeps stepping into the same snares. 

"So, your name isn't Sammy?" 

That's definitely the strangest change of topic Lila's heard in a while. Sammy? What? 

"His name is Leo," she points at his face. 

"What kind of question is that?" Leo scowls, retreating into his bad mood even deeper. Maybe he wishes he was Sammy, so he wouldn't have to listen to Frank's strange line of questioning. 

"Nothing," Frank says quickly, probably realising how odd he sounds. "I just - nothing. About the firing on the camp...Octavian could be behind it, like magically or something. He didn't want the Romans getting along with you guys."

Leo blinks, and Lila knows the words are a false hope. If Leo says he did it, she believes him. And also the multiple eye witnesses. Lila heard him say, 'Destroy them all'. Pretty solid evidence, unfortunately. Still, she likes Frank more, just for trying. 

"Look," Leo says. "I should talk to Festus and get a damage report. You mind... ?"

Frank frowns. "Who's Festus?"

Lila laughs. She loves Festus. Even if she can't understand a word he's saying, he's still adorable. He reminds her of Cerberus, her mother's pet and guard dog of the Underworld, in that they're both sweethearts on the inside and look petrifying on the outside. 

"My friend," Leo answers. "His name isn't Sammy either, in case you're wondering. Come on. I'll introduce you."

Leo leads them up to Festus, stuck as the figurehead for the ship. When they reach him, he turns, staring Frank down. 

"It's alive!" Frank almost leaps off the edge of the boat. 

"Yeah. Frank, this is Festus. He used to be a full bronze dragon, but we had an accident."

"You have a lot of accidents." 

"You'll get used to them," Lila tells him reassuringly, only half-joking. They do have a lot of accidents. Somehow, each one is still as devastating and surprising as the first. 

"Some of us can't turn into dragons, so we have to build our own." Leo almost sounds envious. "Anyway, I revived him as a figurehead. He's kind of the ship's main interface now. How are things looking, Festus?"

Festus squeaks multiple times. Occasionally, there's even a snort of smoke, or a faint whirring sound. Lila has no idea how Leo understands anything, but then, that's Leo. Whatever Festus is saying, it can't be good. 

"Could be worse, but the hull is compromised in several places." Leo translates. "The port aerial oars have to be fixed before we can go full speed again. We'll need some repair materials: Celestial bronze, tar, lime—" 

"What do you need limes for?"

"Dude, lime. Calcium carbonate, used in cement and a bunch of other— Ah, never mind. The point is, this ship isn't going far unless we can fix it."

Festus squeaks again. 

Leo frowns for a second, before understanding. "Oh, Hazel. That's the girl with the curly hair, right?"

Frank pales. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Leo says. "According to Festus, her horse is racing along below. She's following us."

"Wow," Lila gapes. The ship is moving at a considerable pace. They were anxious to get away from the Romans. "That's some horse."

Frank grins. "Yeah, Hazel's the only one who can ride him." 

That is cool. Percy makes good friends. 

"We've got to land, then." Frank adds. 

Leo is silent for a moment, which is always a bad sign. "She your girlfriend?"

Frank hesitates, which is not a good sign. "Yes."

"You don't sound sure."

"I'm definitely sure." There's a defensive undertone to Frank's voice that warns Lila of a touchy topic. 

"Leo, stop it," she chides. 

He raises his hands. "Okay, fine. Anyway, the problem is we can only manage one landing. The way the hull and the oars are, we won't be able to lift off again until we repair, so we'll have to make sure we land somewhere with all the right supplies."

Frank scratches his head. Something about the way he does it makes Lila smile. Frank, however terrifying he may be, is horribly endearing. "Where do you get Celestial bronze? You can't just stock up at Home Depot."

"Festus, do a scan." 

"He can scan for magic bronze? Is there anything he can't do?"

Leo winces visibly. 

"He can't turn into a real dragon," Lila points out. "I've always been kind of disappointed about that." 

Frank blushes, though he can't hide his grin. 

Leo scowls. "He's an automated bronze dragon who can communicate perfectly with humans and scan for materials and fly this ship, which is more than you can - " 

Lila raises her hands. Festus has always been a touchy subject for Leo."Fine, sorry." 

The steps behind them creak, and Annabeth and Percy step onto the deck. Percy spots the bandages in Lila's hand and his face pales as he storms over to check her cuts, but she waves him away. "It's fine, it's only bleeding a little." 

He narrows his eyes at her, studying her face until he decides that she isn't downplaying her pain, which is an old habit. It's true, though, the cuts hardly sting. "Fine." 

"Are you hurt?" She whispers softly to him, checking his palms, which still have a couple of red stains on them. Lila hopes it's Jason's blood, and then she feels terrible for the thought. 

He shakes his head. "It's all Jason's." 

Gods, that's not good. A head wound shouldn't bleed that much, right?

Leo stumbles over his words, almost like he doesn't want to hear the answer. "Is he - " 

"He's resting," Annabeth's face is impassive, totally calm. She has a good poker face. Lila just wishes she'd reserve it for hostile situations, not Leo. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."

Percy glares at Leo. "Annabeth says you did fire that ballista?"

Leo pales even more. "Man, I—I don't understand how it happened. I'm so sorry—"

"Sorry?" Percy's voice is deep and raspy, the way it gets when he's well and truly furious. Lila can already feel the humidity around them rising.

 Lila squeezes his hand, brushing her fingers over the tattoo on his forearm. "Hey, it wasn't his fault." Percy halts a little, trusting her judgement, though she can still feel the taut muscles beneath her skin, ready to strike Leo so

Annabeth nods. "We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

Leo and Annabeth quickly dive into a conversation about the ship, which neither Percy nor Lila have any interest in. 

"I don't like him," Percy whispers to her, his expression one of annoyance. 

"I know you don't," Lila whispers. "But I really don't think it was his fault. Leo's not like that."

"Not like what?"

"You saw him," she says. "When we got up to the deck. His voice was all wrong. It wasn't even him. Plus, he says it was all a blur. I believe him. He could've blamed it on Octavian, and he didn't." 

He wraps his arms around her shoulder, pulling her closer and mumbling into her hair. "I still don't like him." 

She pecks his lips. "You'll survive."

He scowls, but it's lighthearted now, and she can see a smile fighting itself at the corner of his lips. "Will I?" 

She kisses him again, pulling away just as quickly. "Hmm." 

He's grinning. He leans in, and -  

- "Hey, lovebirds," Leo's voice interrupts, airy as ever. Percy turns to him with a murderous expression, and Lila can practically see him fantasizing about Leo's imminent and permanent death. 

She nudges him, though she can't hide her blush. Lila's less shy now, but still shy. "Be nice." 

Percy huffs, but he knows he has to get along with Leo for the quest to work, so he only nods for him to tell them the plan. 

"We're going to land," Leo explains, and Festus whirs in a way that is not encouraging at all. "I'd get below deck. It'll probably be rough." 

'PROBABLY' WAS A gross understatement. The ship crashed into a saltwater lake, which was not the best way to start with repairs. The entire deck was drenched in salt water, and the ship itself rocked dangerously, though it did work as it was supposed to, mostly due to Festus. 

They'd quickly come up with a plan. Leo said they needed tar, Celestial Bronze and lime. Percy, Annabeth, Frank agreed to get that. Percy had wanted Lila to go with them, but Frank had looked so uncomfortable about leaving Hazel and Leo together that Lila had volunteered herself to join their team. She'd immediately regretted that decision but it was hard to take it back without looking like a flake. Annabeth, Frank and Percy were all needed for the tar-collection anyway, so there wasn't much other choice. Lila's talents are better suited to the outdoors. 

Arion has to be the greatest horse Lila's ever ridden. She's only ridden a few pegasi before, but Arion outclasses them in every way. He somehow flies without wings, his hooves barely touching the ground as he slips around, following Hazel's instructions. 

The horse drops them off on an island, lined by white sand. Behind are dunes, covered in grass. Lila is glad she went on this mission, at least a little. Here she has some likelihood of being helpful. 

Once they dismount, Arion paws at the sand. "He needs to eat," Hazel explains. "He likes gold, but—"

"Gold?" Leo asks, staring at the horse.

"He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

And the horse disappears, only a trail of steam left behind. 

"Fast horse," Leo says, which is an understatement, "and expensive to feed."

"Not really," Hazel says. "Gold is easy for me."

Percy had told Lila all about Frank and Hazel, and their stories. It was weird, but technically Hazel is Lila's little sister -- or older sister, but that doesn't count. If Nico is Lila's younger brother, Hazel is her younger sister. 

"How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas. I don't like that guy."

Hazel looks away. 

"Shut up, Leo," Lila interrupts. 

Leo scowls. Their eyes meet, and maybe he decides not to press it, because he immediately gets distracted by the sand on the ground. "Well...one problem solved, anyway. This is lime."

"The whole beach?"

"Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." A plastic bag somehow appears from Leo's belt, and he reaches down to grab a handful of the lime. Then he freezes, blinking heavily. 

Lila watches him, as his hands tremble slightly before he looks straight down into the ground. 

"Leo?" Hazel asked. "You okay?"

He inhales shakily. "Yeah, yeah, fine."

Well, at least Lila's not the only one on the ship with issues. Maybe that's what makes them qualified for these quests. 

He starts to fill the bag - Hazel and Lila kneel beside him, scooping the lime in their palms and pushing it into his bag. 

"We should've brought a pail and shovels," Hazel jokes.

Leo smiles. "We could've made a sand castle."

"A lime castle."

They look at each other. 

Gods, Lila's a third wheel. Is this how Annabeth always feels?

Hazel looks away, her cheeks turning pink. "You are so much like—"

"Sammy?" Leo guesses.

"You know?"

"I have no idea who Sammy is. But Frank asked me if I was sure that wasn't my name."

"And...it isn't?"

"No! Jeez."

"You don't have a twin brother or...Is your family from New Orleans?"

"Nah. Houston. Why? Is Sammy a guy you used to know?"

"I...It's nothing. You just look like him."

They're silent again. Lila coughs, and they both jump, looking at her in surprise. "Sorry." She just wanted to make sure they knew she was still here. It was getting a little weird ... Especially since Hazel has a boyfriend. Leo knows better -- Leo should know better. 

Hazel looks incredibly embarrassed. 

As soon as the bag is full, Leo stands up and looks around at the island. "Festus said there was Celestial bronze close by, but I'm not sure where—"

"That way." Hazel points up the beach, towards more of the grassy reeds. "About five hundred yards."

"How do you—?"

"Precious metals," Hazel says. "It's a Pluto thing."

"Handy talent. Lead the way, Miss Metal Detector."

They begin to walk towards the dunes, following Hazel. She steps out in front of them, so Lila grabs Leo's arm until they're walking side by side. "What are you doing?"

"What? Nothing."

She's not convinced. "What is wrong with you?"

Leo has the audacity to look offended. "Nothing! Jeez, what did I do?"

"Stop flirting with Hazel," Lila warns. "Well, if that was your attempt at flirting, anyway." 

Leo splutters. He can't be offended by that without admitting he was trying to flirt. "I wasn't -- "

"I'm not an idiot. I saw the way you guys were looking at each other. She has a boyfriend."

"I know that, I wasn't ... I wasn't trying to flirt with each other. She's just nice." 

Lila pats his shoulder. "Why do you always fall for unobtainable women? Are you afraid of commitment?"

"What?"

Hazel turns back at his raised voice, her eyebrows drawn together. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Lila reassures her. "Don't worry, just lecturing Leo."

"Oh." She doesn't seem to know what to say to that. 

"I'm not afraid of commitment," Leo whispers. "And it's none of your business, anyway." 

He has a point. "You're my friend," Lila reasons. "I don't want you to get hurt, which is what will happen. She's in a happy relationship." 

"It didn't seem so happy back on the ship," Leo points out.

He's not so good at reading emotions. "It's happy," Lila insists. "Frank is just unsure of himself. It's new, that's all." 

Leo looks a little ashamed. Lila would feel bad, if she weren't saving him from something worse if he doesn't get a reality check. Before she can say something to comfort him, they see a woman over on the dunes. 

She's sitting on a boulder in the middle of a field. A motorcycle is parked beside her, but each wheel has a few spokes removed. It's utterly undriveable. 

Leo tries to back away, but Hazel only walks forward, so they both follow. Attached to the woman's belt is a whip, and she's surrounded by broken fortune cookies, all scattered on the ground around her. 

"What are you doing?" Leo asks.

She looks up, and Lila's jaw drops. The woman in front of her looks exactly like Ethan Nakamura. From the thick eyebrows to the sharp cheekbones, the hard steel in her eyes. She's his spitting image. Or maybe he was hers. 

"Aunt Rosa?" Leo splutters.

"Is that what you see?" she asks. "Interesting. And you, Hazel, dear?"

"How did you—?" Hazel steps backwards, looking scared. Lila squeezes her arm in reassurance. It's a little strange, being the calm, rational one. "You—you look like Mrs. Leer. My third grade teacher. I hated you."

The woman laughs evilly, like a witch from a Disney fairytale. "Excellent. You resented her, eh? She judged you unfairly?"

"You—she taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving," Hazel says. "She called my mother a witch. She blamed me for everything I didn't do and— No. She has to be dead. Who are you?"

The woman doesn't answer, looking toward Lila instead. "What about you? What do you see, darling Li?"

Lila manages not to flinch. "You look like Ethan." 

"Interesting," she hums, eyeing Lila again. "How do you feel about Ethan? Resentful??"

Lila considers it. "Not really." He's dead, now. What's there to be resentful about?

The goddess sighs. "Disappointing."

"What do you want, Nemesis?"

The goddess smiles at Hazel. "She recognises me. That does feel good." She ignores the question, cracking another cookie open. "You will have great fortune when you least expect it," she reads, frowning. "That's exactly the sort of nonsense I hate. Someone opens a cookie, and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! I blame that tramp Tyche. Always dispensing good luck to people who don't deserve it!"

Leo looked at the ground, littered with cookies. "Uh...you know those aren't real prophecies, right? They're just stuffed in the cookies at some factory—"

"Don't try to excuse it!" Nemesis snapps. "It's just like Tyche to get people's hopes up. No, no. I must counter her." She flicks one of the papers, and the letters change colour, turning blood-red. "You will die painfully when you most expect it. There! Much better."

"That's horrible!" Hazel says. "You'd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?"

Nemesis sneers, looking so much like Ethan Lila's utterly unnerved. "My dear Hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?"

"That doesn't mean I'd want them to come true!"

"Urgh." Nemesis throws the cookie into her basket. "Tyche would be Fortuna for you, I suppose, being Roman. Like the others, she's in a horrible way right now. Me? I'm not affected. I am called Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. I do not change, because revenge is universal."

Lila frowns, trying to fit together what the goddess is talking about. 

"What are you talking about?" Leo echoes her thoughts. "What are you doing here?"

Nemesis opens another cookie. "Lucky numbers. Ridiculous! That's not even a proper fortune!" She crushes the cookie, adding to the pile at her feet. 

"To answer your question, Leo Valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war is brewing between you Romans and Greeks. The Olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides. Splitting headaches. Disorientation."

"But we're not at war," Leo insists. Lila squints at him. Is he in denial again?

"Um, Leo..." Hazel winces. "Except for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of New Rome."

Leo stares at her like she's betraying him. "Not on purpose!"

"I know..." Hazel agrees, "but the Romans don't realize that. And they'll be pursuing us in retaliation." 

"Leo started a war," Lila summarises, wondering why everything always has to be so complicated.

Nemesis cackles again, rubbing her fingers together. "Leo, listen to the girls. War is coming. Gaea has seen to it, with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"

"Me." Leo pales.

The goddess snorts. "Well, don't you have a high opinion of yourself. You're just a pawn on the chessboard, Leo Valdez. I was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the Greeks and Romans together. The gods blame Hera—or Juno, if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don't expect any more help from your patron!"

Lila could count on one hand the number of gods who have ever been slightly helpful, and she doubts Nemesis is about to be added to that list.

"So why are you here?" he asks.

"Why, to offer my help!" Nemesis smiles pleasantly, the emotion looking foreign on her face. 

"Your help," Leo says unhappily.

"Of course! I enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there are none who deserve tearing down like Gaea and her giants. Still, I must warn you that I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. The wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice."

There's so much to unpack there that Lila isn't sure where to begin. 

"Sacrifice?" Hazel's voice was tight. "I lost my mother. I died and came back. Now my brother is missing. Isn't that enough sacrifice for you?"

Lila can tell Leo is thinking the same. But that's not how Nemesis works. After all, she took an eye from her own son in one of these deals. Nemesis's sacrifices are balanced at their heart. She doesn't care about everyone's personal sacrifices - only what you'd give up to share some of her power, knowledge, or have a chance to change the future. 

"Right now," Leo says through gritted teeth, "all I want is some Celestial bronze."

"Oh, that's easy," Nemesis says amicably. "It's just over the rise. You'll find it with the sweethearts."

"The what?" Lila frowns. 

Nemesis swallows a fortune cookie, including the message inside. "You'll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life." She smiles. "And for you, Lila Bellerose ... speaking of your brother Nico, you don't have much time. Let's see...it's June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome."

"Dies?!" Lila chokes. 

Hazel's eyes widen. "How...what—?"

"I could help you save him," Nemesis offers to Lila. "For a price." 

Lila scowls. "No, you don't ever do anything out of the goodness of your heart." 

The goddess laughs. "No, I don't. That's just not how the world works. Will you accept my deal?"

"What do you want?" Lila asks first. "An eye? an arm? both my legs?"

Leo looks alarmed. "Why is that where your thoughts go?"

Nemesis smiles. "And as for you, child of fire. Your worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, the eighth wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help you...for a price."

Leo's hand sets itself on fire. Lila rolls her eyes, but when she looks to Hazel, her sister looks petrified.

"I like to solve my own problems." Leo quickly extinguishes the flames, seeming embarrassed.

"Very well." 

"But, um, what sort of price are we talking about?"

Nemesis shrugs. "One of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world."

Leo turns to Lila, a little bit understanding in his eyes. He's beginning to realise what their lives are bound to be.

"You...want an eye?"

"She also took his life," Lila says bitterly. 

Nemesis frowns, almost offended. "I didn't take his life. He gave his life, willingly. It kept the balance. But, anyway, in both your cases, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here." She hands Leo an unbroken fortune cookie. "If you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem."

Leo's hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. "What problem?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"No, thanks," Leo says, putting the cookie into his pocket. 

Nemesis turns to Lila. "And you? Will you take my deal?"

Lila hesitates. "What would I get?"

"I'd give you the chance to save Nico di Angelo's life," Nemesis smiles, though it lacks kindness. "You can save him from his fate. You know, since you were such a good friend to my son, I'll even tell you what the price will be." 

"What's the price?"

"You'll have to suffer the same pain he did," Nemesis smiles. "A life for a life."

Lila takes the cookie. Nemesis smiles, like she knew she would all along. 

Leo makes a noise of discontent. "I don't think - " 

Lila ignores him. Hazel looks pale and worried, probably concerned about Nico. It's weird that they're both his siblings. It's weirder that he never told her about Hazel. She could've helped.

Nemesis picks another cookie from her bag. "You will have cause to reconsider your choices soon. Oh, I like that one. No changes needed here." She throws it back in the basket. "Very few gods will be able to help you on the quest. Most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only grow worse. One thing might bring unity to Olympus again—an old wrong finally avenged. Ah, that would be sweet indeed, the scales finally balanced! But it will not happen unless you accept my help."

"I suppose you won't tell us what you're talking about," Hazel mutters. "Or why my brother Nico has only six days to live. Or why Rome is going to be destroyed."

Nemesis laughs, getting onto her bike. "Oh, it's all tied together, Hazel Levesque. As for my offer, Leo Valdez, give it some thought. You're a good child. A hard worker. We could do business. But I have detained you too long. You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. My poor cursed boy gets quite...agitated when the darkness comes."

And then she's gone, and so is her motorcycle.

Hazel bends down. The piles of broken cookies are all gone, except for one slip of paper. "You will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair."

"Fantastic," Leo sighs. "Let's go see what that means."

hey!

i have summatives to do but i am like barely clinging on with my work rn so i figure i deserve a break (I'm weak). 

idk if this chapter feels weird because originally i planned to have lila go with percy and Annabeth, but it made more sense for her to see nemesis. either way would have felt a bit wrong but i think this ties up everything a bit more. i still regret that she can't fight a tar monster but honestly i had no ideas for that anyway. 

title for the chapter .... relates to nemesis & lila haha

lyra x