━━ chapter three
no one likes neptune

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━━Reyna's words sent Fiona on edge. She kept fiddling with her necklace, tracing the small features of the skull pendant and the hinge. Gaea was the earth goddess, Terra. She was the oldest goddess there was; the mother of the giants and titans, wife of the Sky, and Tartarus. She was powerful, dangerous, and can never be killed. She will always sleep. But ... but if she was waking ... no, Fiona couldn't think about that. Despite what Nico has said. Instead, she focused on how Percy just inhaled his cherry muffin and coffee. She was scared he'd be jumping off walls, but maybe coffee worked the same way it worked for her. It was a stimulus and helped her concentrate. Until it faded off, and Fiona was then just a slump of exhaustion.

As they approached the front gate, the barracks got bigger and nicer━Fiona resisted a scoff at the sight of the Cohort One and Two barracks. Percy watched one of the ghosts float past. "You guys are divided into different cabins?"

"Sort of," Hazel ducked as a kid riding a giant eagle swooped over her head. Fiona sent her middle-finger in the direction of the kid that just past when Hazel couldn't see. (Because she would do that little gasp thing and fan her face). "We have five cohorts of about forty kids each. Each cohort is divided into barracks of ten━like roommates, sort of."

"Wait━you're telling me there's two hundred kids at camp?"

"Roughly."

"And all of them are the children of gods? The gods have been busy."

"No, not all of them are children of major gods," Fiona said, all though, she couldn't help the tug of her lips at his amusing comment. He's cute, in a dorky way, that annoying voice muttered to her. Shut up! she snapped back at it. I know nothing about him! "There are hundreds of minor Roman gods. Plus, a lot of the campers are legacies━second or third generation, like me. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents."

"Or children of a demigod and a god."

Fiona pursed her lips. Her fingers were back up to her necklace. "Um ... no, not so much ..."

Percy looked confused, but he soon shook his head, as if the idea baffled him. "Children of demigods ..."

"Why? Does it surprise you?"

He didn't answer. He just gazed off, and that sad look was back. "These Legos━"

"Legacies."

"They have powers like a demigod?"

"Sometimes," Fiona shrugged. "Sometimes not. I guess it depends on genes and how far down the generation they are."

"But they can be trained," added Hazel. "All the best Roman generals and emperors━you know, they all claimed to be descended from gods. Most of they time, they were telling the truth. The camp augur we're going to meet, Octavian, he's a legacy, descendant of Apollo."

Fiona scoffed, "So was Nero."

Hazel gave her a small amused glance. "He's got the gift of prophecy, supposedly."

"Supposedly?"

"You'll see."

Percy returned his curious frown back to Fiona. "Reyna said for you not to attack him ... what's that supposed to mean?"

Fiona rolled her eyes so harshly, they hurt. "Octavian is a skinny, annoying pig who thinks he's the best in the world just because he's augur. Sometimes he forget's he's a legacy and thinks he's the actual son of Apollo." She shook her head, getting angry just talking about him. "He's a stupid son of a━"

Before Fiona could finish her sentence, someone behind them yelled, "Wait!"

A ghost ran towards them━an old man with a medicine-ball belly and a toga so long he kept tripping on it. Fiona let out a frustrated sigh, her eyes flying up to the sky.

"This is him?" the ghost panted. "A new recruit for the Fifth, perhaps?"

"Vitellius," Fiona glared at him. "Shove off, we're in a hurry."

The ghost ignored her and scowled at Percy, walking around him. "I don't know ..." he grumbled in thought. "We need only the best for the cohort. Does he have all his teeth? Can he fight? Does he clean stables?"

"Yes, yes, and no," Percy said. "Who are you?"

"Percy, this is Vitellius," Hazel gave him a look that said, just humour him. "He's one of our Lares; takes an interest in new recruits."

On a nearby proch, one of the ghosts snickered as Vitellius paced back and forth, tripping over his toga and hiking up his sword belt. "Yes," he said, "back in Caesar's day━that's Julius Caesr, mind you━the Fifth Cohort was something! Twelfth Legion Fulminata, pride of Rome! But these days? Disgraceful what we've become. Look at Hazel here, using a spatha. Ridiculous weapon for a Roman legionnaire━that's for cavalry. And Fiona, she has a pugio! Those are for high ranking officers, not a girl such as herself! And you, boy━you smell like a Greek sewer. Haven't you had a bath?"

"I've been a little busy fighting gorgons," Percy said.

"Vitellius," Hazel interrupted before Fiona would try and fight a ghost over her pugio, "we've got to get Percy's augury before he can join. Why don't you check on Frank? He's in the armoury doing inventory. You know how much he values your help."

The ghost's furry brows shot up. "Mars Almighty! They let the probatio check the armour? We'll be ruined!" he stubled off down the street, stopping every few feet to pikc up his sword or rearrange his toga.

"O━hhhh━kay," Percy said slowly, watching him leave incredulously.

"Sorry," Hazel said. "He's eccentric, but he's one of the oldest Lares. Been around since the legion was founded."

"He called the legion ... Fulminata?"

"'Armed with Lightning'," Fiona translated. "That's our motto. The Twelfth Legion was around for the entire Roman Empire. When Rome fell, a lot of legions just disppeared━you know the story about the Ninth Legion in Britain?" he just stared at her blankly. "Right, sorry, memory━um ..." she cleared her throat, a little embarassed, "... what I'm saying is that we didn't disappear. The Twelfth Legion went underground, acting on secret orders from Jupiter himself: stay alive, recruit demigods and their children, keep Rome alive, blah blah blah. So, we've been doing that ever since, moving around to wherever Roman influence was strongest. The last few centuries, we've been in America."

"And you two are in the Fifth Cohort," he guessed, "which maybe isn't the most popular?"

Hazel scowled. "Yeah. I joined up last September. Fiona joined three years back."

"September ... so just a few weeks before that guy Jason disappeared."

Fiona gritted her teeth and looked away. He was alive, Fiona told herself. He is alive. She just knew it. She could feel when someone she knows dies. She could hear it in her ears like a distant hum, feel it in her stomach like a rise of dread. She hasn't felt that with Jason. He was alive.

"Come on," Hazel said at last. "I'll show you my favourite place."

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━━Her favourite place consisted of the highest point on the valley: outside the main gates. Together, the three of them looked down at the rest of the camp, and Fiona felt a breath of peace was over her. Her gaze flickered over to New Rome and the suburb her mother lived in. She remembered growing up and on weekends always going out and playing in the fountains with other kids. Well, she didn't play in the fountains. They did. Fiona just picked up rocks and threw them into the water to make it go splash! She's never felt comfortable around water. It's a Pluto thing, trust her.

"You've got families here?" Percy saked.

Fiona nodded, her tense shoulders gone as she thought about her childhood. "In the city, yeah. I grew up there. My mom still lives there now. She works as a gym trainer for those who have retired."

"When you're accepted into the legion," said Hazel, "you do ten years of service. After that, you can muster out whenever you want. Most demigods go into the mortal world. But for some━well, it's pretty dangerous out there. This valley is a sanctuary. You can go to college in the city, get married, have kids, retire when you get old. It's the only safe place on earth for people like us. So, yeah, a lot of veterans make their homes there, under the protection of the legion.

Percy seemed very baffled by this idea━still. "But if this valley was attacked?"

"We have defences," said Fiona. "The borders are magical. But our strength isn't what it used to be. Lately the monster attacks have been increasing. What you said about the gorgons not dying ... well, we've noticed that, too, with other monsters."

"Do you know what's causing it?"

Fiona glanced nervously again at her sister, the two daughters of Pluto meeting gazes as the same troubling thoughts danced across their minds. "It's ... it's complicated," she finally decided to say. "Our brother says Death isn't━"

"Make way!"

Hazel dragged Percy out of the way and Fiona stepped back as a demigod rode past on a full-grown pachyderm covered in black Kevlar armour. The word ELEPHANT was printed on the side of his armour. Hannibal thundered down the road and turned north, heading towards a big open field where the builders were setting up tonight's war games.

Percy spat dust out of his mouth. "What the━?"

"Elephant," Hazel explained.

"Yeah, I read the sign. Why do you have an elephant in a bulletproof vest?"

"War games," said Fiona simply. "That's Hannibal. If we didn't include him, he'd be upset."

"We can't have that."

Hazel laughed. Fiona met Percy's gaze, eyes twinkling at the joke. Dork, she thought to herself. When she looked away, she felt his gaze still on her. Fiona poked her tongue into the side of her cheek, not used of such attention. He looked like he was trying to figure her out like she had been trying to figure him out not long ago. So, she decided to point across the river were dark clouds were gathering over Temple Hill. Red flashes of lightning washed the monuments in blood-coloured light.

"Come on, Barnacle Face, Octavian is busy," she said. "We'd better get over there."

On the way, they passed some fauns hanging out on the side of the road. In seeing them, one of the fauns━the most annoying, in Fiona's opinion━, Don, called out, "Hazel!"

He trotted over with a bright grin on his face. Don wore a faded Hawaiian shirt and nothing for pants except thick brown goat fur. His massive Afro jiggled, and his eyes were hidden behind some stupid little round rainbow-tinted glasses that made him look like a fourth-grader. He held a cardboard sign that read: WILL W̶O̶R̶K̶ S̶I̶N̶G̶ T̶A̶L̶K̶ GO AWAY FOR DENARII.

"Hi, Don," said Hazel. "Sorry, we don't have time━"

"Oh, that's cool! That's cool!" Don trotted along with them. Fiona took a deep breath to calm her temper. "Hey, this guy's new!" he grinned at Percy. "Do you have three denarii for the bus? Because I left my wallet at home, and I've got to get to work, and━"

"Don," Hazel chided. "Fauns don't have wallets. Or jobs. Or homes. And we don't have buses."

"Right," he said cheerfully, "but do you have denarii?"

Percy stared at him, a little alarmed. "Your name is Don the Faun?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Nothing," Fiona knew there was a joke he was hiding. "Why don't fauns have jobs? Shouldn't they work for the camp?"

Don bleated. "Fauns! Work for the camp?! Hilarious!"

"Fauns are ... um ..." Hazel tried to find the right word, "... free spirits. They hang out here because━well━it's a safe place to hang out and beg. We tolerate the, but━"

"Oh, Hazel is awesome!" Don said. "She's so nice! All the other campers are, like, 'Go away, Don!'. But she's, like, 'Please go away, Don'. I lover her!"

Percy looked very unsettled. Fiona slipped her hands into her pockets, wondering what was going on through his mind. He had that look on again. Always said. Always in anguish. Always troubled. It was like he had a pernament frown. It hurt to see it. (And that's saying something, because Fiona does not sympathise with people often).

Don looked at the ground in front of them and gasped, "Score!"

He reached for something, but Hazel screamed, "Don, no!"

She pushed him out of the way and snatched up a small diamond before she quickly slipped it into her pocket. Fiona looked at Percy, hoping he didn't see it. Her gaze narrowed to tell him that if he had, he must forget it.

"Come on, Hazel," Don complained. "I could've bought a year's worth of doughnuts with that!"

"Don, please," Hazel's voice shook. "Go away."

The faun sighed. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you. But I swear, it's like you're good luck. Everytime you walk by━"

"Leave it, Don," Fiona told the faun quickly. She took Hazel's arm and pulled her away. "Let's go, Percy."

They started jogging, and Percy had to sprint to catch up. "What was that about?" he asked. "The diamond in the road━"

Fiona sent him a glare to drop it while Hazel said, "Please. Don't ask."

They walked in an uneasy silence the rest of the way to Temple Hill. A crooked stone path led past a crazy assortment of tiny altars and massive domed vaults. Statues of gods littered the place, all watching those who walked by with a stone-cold fury (and yes, pun intended).

Hazel pointed out the Temple of Bellona, "Goddess of war," she said. "That's Reyna's mom."

They passed the Temple of Mars: a massive red crypt decorated with human skulls on iron spikes.

"Please tell me we're not going in there," Percy said.

Hazel shook her head. "That's the Temple of Mars Ultor."

"Mars ... Ares, the war god?"

Fiona frowned at him. What was it with him and Greek? It just followed him like a smell. "That's his Greek name," she told him. "But, yeah. Ultor means 'the Avenger'. He's the second-most important god of Rome."

Percy didn't look very happy in hearing that. He scowled. But he didn't say anything. He pointed towards the summit. Clouds swirled over the largest temple; a round pavillion with a ring of white columns supporting a domed roof. "I'm guessing that's Zeus━uh, I mean, Jupiter's? That's where we're headed?"

"Yeah," muttered Fiona bitterly. She does not like Octavian. (Is it obvious yet?). "Octavian reads auguries there━the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus."

Percy's brows knitted as he tried to translate. "Jupiter ... the best and the greatest?"

"Yeah."

"What's Neptune's title?" Percy then asked. "The coolest and most awesome?"

Fiona faltered. Her and Hazel shared a look of hesitation. Neither wanted to burst Percy's little bubble he's made. It was weird, Fiona would usually just say the truth without worry, but since Percy was already looking so sad and torn with his memories, she didn't want to make his day worse.

"Um ... not quite," Hazel gestured to a small blue building the size of a toolshed. A cobweb-covered trident was nailed to the door.

Percy peeked inside. The others followed him. On a small altar sat a bowl with three dired-up, mouldy apples. "Popular place ..." he murmured.

"I'm sorry, Percy," Hazel said. "It's just ... Romans were always scared of the sea. they only used ships if they had to. Even in modern times, having a child of Neptune around has always been a bad omen. The last time one joined the legion ... well, it was 1906, when Camp Jupiter was located across the bay in San Francisco. There was this huge earthquake━"

"You're telling me a child of Neptine caused that?"

"So they say," Hazel looked apologetic. Fiona wondered whether she did too. "Anyway ... Romans fear Neptune, but they don't love him much."

Percy stared at the cobwebs on the trident. Fiona watched the slump of his shoulders. She didn't know what to say or do. Fiona wasn't exactly a people person (blame her dad). Not many people talked to her either, because of her father, but also because she wasn't the nicest person. She was competitive, and she was rough, and ambitious. That made her quite stand-offish to other people. But as she saw Percy reach into his backpack and pull out a stale bagel, setting it on the altar, she wanted to know how to make him feel better. She felt responsibility over him, which was weird. But she led him into camp, she and Hazel were showing him around, Fiona felt like she owed it to him to be at least nicer than normal.

"Hey ... uh, Dad," he said softly. "If you can hear me, help me out, okay? Give me my memory back. Tell me━" his voice cracked, "━tell me what to do."

"Hey," Fiona found herself stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder; something that suprised her, but she pushed past it. "We'll figure this out, okay? You're here now. You're one of us. That's step one."

"She's right," said Hazel, and Percy glanced back. "It'll be okay."

There was a flicker of gratitude in his sea-green gaze, and he gave a small nod. Above them, thunder rumbled. Red lightning lit up the hill.

"Octavian's almost done," murmured Hazel. "Let's go."

*

a/n: I need to give the updates a break ahahaha. oh well lollll. minimal editing so if there's any mistakes I'm sorry oop—