━━ chapter five
underworld clan

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━━"You know him. I know you do."

At Fiona's comment, Nico frowned at her. They sat on the roof of Pluto's shrine, which was covered in bones and diamonds. The bones had always been there, but the diamonds were Hazel's doing. If she sat anywhere for too long, or just got anxious, she created her own gold mine. Nico swung his feet like a little kid. His Stygian iron sword lay by his side, next to Hazel's spatha. Fiona's pugio was in her hands, for she was tracing the patterns on the hilt with her finger. Nico gazed across the valley, where the construction crew were working in the Field of Mars, building fortifications for tonight's game.

"Percy Jackson," he said the name like an incantation. "Fiona, Hazel ... I have to be careful what I say. Important things are at work here. Some secrets need to stay secret."

More diamonds popped up near Hazel's knee. "But he's not like ... like me?"

"No," Nico said. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. I can't interfere. Percy has to find his own way at this camp."

"He's dangerous, isn't he," murmured Fiona and Nico managed a dry smile.

"Very," he told her. "To his enemies. But he's not a threat to Camp Jupiter. You can trust him."

"Like we trust you," Hazel said bitterly.

Nico twisted his skull ring. Around him, bones began to quiver as if they were trying to form a new skeleton. It was what happened whenever he got moody━Nico had that effect on the dead, just like Hazel had with the riches of the earth. Fiona doesn't know what she can do, not really. She can sense when someone's died, like Nico, but she can't summon precious stones or skeletons from the ground. She's meant to be extremely powerful since she has a necklace and a seed to tell her so, but so far, she hasn't found it. The best thing she can do is fight and win, but even that has gone away.

"Look, I know this is hard," Nico said gently. "But you have a second chance, Hazel. You can make things right."

"Nothing about this is right," she argued. "If they find out the truth about me━"

"They won't," Fiona grumbled. "Not if I have my way━"

"They'll call a quest soon," Nico promised. "They have to. Trust me, Bi━"

He caught himself, but Fiona knew he almost called Hazel Bianca, like he had almost accidentally called Fiona herself plenty of times. Nico's real sister━the one he had grown up with. Nico might care about Fiona, and about Hazel, but they could never be Bianca. Fiona was competing with a ghost, and she absolutely hated it.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Hazel pursed her lips. She took a deep breath and said, "Then it's true about Death? Is Alcyoneus to blame?"

"I think so," said Nico. "It's getting bad in the Underworld. Dad's going crazy trying to keep things under control. From what Percy said about the gorgons, things are getting worse up here, too. But look, that's why you're here. All that stuff in your past━you can make something good come out of it. You belong at Camp Jupiter."

Hazel looked down at her fingers. Fiona watched her, wondering whether she was going to say something, before she fell forward, blacked out. "Oh, shit━" Fiona caught her before she could fall off and brought her to her chest, letting her rest as she relived her past. She shook her gently with Nico's help, trying to get her to wake up. It took a little while, but eventually, her lids gently flickered and her gold eyes gleamed.

"You did it again," Fiona told her, helping her sit up again.

She blinked, eyes red from crying. Hazel quickly rubbed them, "S━sorry," she murmured.

"Don't be," Nico said. "Where were you?"

"My mother's apartment. The day we moved."

Fiona was the only Pluto child who was not from the past. It made her feel slightly awkward, unable to resonate with the memories Hazel and Nico had of the 1940s. She just knew stuff from pictures and what she's read from history books.

"You have to work on controlling those memories," Nico warned. "If a flashback like that happens when you're in combat━"

"I know," she said. "I'm trying."

Nico squeezed her hand, and Fiona rubbed her shoulder. "It's okay," he said. "I think it's a side effect from ... you know, your time in the Underworld. Hopefully it'll get easier."

"He's right," added Fiona. "You'll get through it."

But Hazel just looked at them fearfully. "I can't go north again," she said. "Nico, Fiona, if I have to go back to where it happened━"

"You'll be fine," he promised. "You'll have friends this time. I'm sure Fiona is going to be there with you, through all of this━" Fiona arched a brow at this, alarmed, wait, what? "━and Percy Jackson━he's got a role to play in this as well. You can sense that, can you? He's a good person to have at your side."

Fiona didn't know whether he was talking to Hazel or the both of them, but she thought about it nonetheless. She did have that feeling: that she could trust him, that he was a good person to have on her side. Her fingers reached up to her necklace, and she twisted the skull back and forth nervously. But at the same time, she knew nothing about him━Percy even knew nothing about himself. All the ghosts, Octavian were calling him Greek. He mentioned Greek names for gods. Juno said he had a Greek blessing ...

"Where did he come from?" she then decided to ask, holding onto her necklace twice. "Why do the ghosts call him the Greek? There's something about him to do with that, I just know it."

Before Nico could respond, horns blew across the river. The legionnaires were gathering for evening muster. "We'd better get down there," he said instead. "I have a feeling tonight's war games are going to be interesting."

Fiona pursed her lips, and tucked her necklace under her shirt, whispering a quiet prayer to her father, and Victoria, and even Prosperina, making sure she'd water her plant and keep her alive.

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━━They made it just in time. Fiona and Hazel skidded into place, arriving seconds before their names were called out on the roll by a seventeen-year-old guy named Dakota. So, technically, they weren't late, were they?

Nico joined Percy Jackson who was standing off to one side with a couple of guards. Percy's hair was wet from the baths. He had put on some fresh clothes, but he still looked very uncomfortable. Now not covered in dirt, and in some new clothes that weren't torn, Fiona found herself staring. Gods, he's pretty like a Roman God, said that annoying voice. Oh, for the love of━I said stop it! Fiona's common sense replied back.

The Lares were the last to fall in. Their purple forms flickered as they jockeyed for places. They had an annoying habit of standing inside living people, so that the ranks looked like a blurry photograph, but finally the centurions got them sorted out.

Octavian shouted, "Colours!"

The standard-bearers stepped forward. They wore lion-skin capes ad held poles decorated with each cohort's emblems. The last to present his standard was Jacob, the lgeion's eagle bearer. He held a long pole with absolutely nothing on top. The job was supposed to be a big honour, but Jacob obviously hated it. Even through Reyna insisted on following tradition, every time the eagleless pole was raised, Fiona could just feel the embarrassment rippling through the legion; buzzing like angry bees.

Reyna brought her pegasus to a halt. "Romans!" she announced. "You've probably heard about the incursion today. Two gorgons were swept into the river by this newcomer, Percy Jackson. Juno herself guided him here, and proclaimed him a son of Neptune."

The kids in the back row craned their necks to see Percy. He raised his hand and said awkwardly, "Hi."

    What a dork.

"He seeks to join the legion," Reyna continued. "What do the auguries say?"

"I have read the entrails!" Onctavian announced, as if he had killed a lion with his bare hands instead of a panda pillow pet. Fiona rolled her eyes. "The auguries are favourable. He is qualified to serve!"

The campers gave a shout: "Ave!" Hail!

Frank was a little late with his 'ave', so it came out as an high-pitched echo. The other legionnaires snickered. Reyna motioned the senior officers forward━one from each cohort. Octavian, as the most senior centurion (ugh), turned to Percy.

"Recruit," he asked, "do you have credentials? Letters of reference?"

Fiona remembered when she had been asked that, and she had awkwardly handed over her mother's reference for her to join the Fifth Cohort, which caused for Octavian to chuckle in pity. Percy shifted, "Letters? Um, no."

Octavian wrinkled his nose and Fiona wanted to go out and declar that this was unfair. Percy had carried a goddess into camp, destroyed those gorgons with no other weapon but the water that followed his will. What better recommendation was there? Just look at him! He's First Cohort material! It's almost annoying!

"No letters," Octavian said regretfully. "Will any legionnaires stand for him?"

"I will!" Frank stepped forward. "He saved my life!"

Immediately there were shouts of protest from the other cohorts. Fiona sighed, knowing exactly what was coming for her friend as Raina held up her hand for quiet and glared at Frank. "Frank Zhang," she said, "for the second time today, I remind you that you are on probatio. Your godly parent has not even claimed you yet. You're not eligible to stand for another camper until you've earned your first stripe."

Frank looked like he might die from embarassment. Fiona and Hazel couldn't just leave him hanging like that. With a nod from her younger sister, the two daughters of Pluto stepped forward, surprising a few legionnaires. Especially in seeing Fiona stand for a new recruit, considering her reputation of a) being so competitve she stood up for no one, and b) well ... yeah ... she's far to competitive and ambitious to be nice to newcomers━especially ones as promising as Percy Jackson.

"What Frank means is that Percy saved all three of our lives," Hazel stated.

Fiona nodded. "Hazel and I are full members of the legion. We will stand for Percy Jackson."

Frank glanced at them gratefully, his eyes gleaming especially at Hazel. Fiona knew he liked her, it was obvious━she wishes he'd be less obvious so he doesn't keep on making a fool of himself. It was almost like he didn't even try.

But the thing is, Fiona and Hazel weren't doing Percy much of a favour. They were daughters of Pluto, and members of the disgraced Fifth Cohort. Reyna wrinkled her nose, but she turned to Octavian. The augur smiled and shrugged, amused. Fiona recognised that look of ambition. He saw Percy as a threat, and putting him in the Fifth Cohort made him less of one━Octavian liked all of his enemies in one place where he could keep them controlled.

"Very well," Reyna announced. "Hazel Levesque and Fiona Midgrass, you may stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?"

The other cohorts started coughing, trying not to laugh. Fiona shot daggers at all of them. Oh, she wished she could summon skeletons from the ground, or make a rift so big it swallowed all of them hole. But all she had was her dagger and a furious temper.

Frank pounded his shield against the ground. The other members of the Fifth followed his lead, though they didn't seem very excited. Their centurions, Dakota and Gwen, exchanged pained looks, like: Here we go again.

"My cohort has spoken," Dakota said. "We accept the recruit."

Reyna looked at Percy with pity. "Congragulations, Percy Jackson. You stand on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valour, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion and defend the camp with honour. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

The rest of the legion echoed the cheer.

Reyna wheeled her pegasus away from Percy, like she was glad to be done with him. Skippy the pegasus spread his beautiful wings. "Centurions," Reyna said, "you and your troops have one hour for dinner. Then we will meet on the Field of Mars. The First and Second Cohorts will defend. The Third, Fourth and Fifth will attack. Good fortune!"

A bigger cheer went up━for the war games and for dinner. The cohorts broke ranks and ran for the mess hall. Hazel waved at Percy, who made his way through the crowd with Nico at his side. To Fiona's suprise, Nico was beaming at them.

"Good job!" he told them. "That took guts, standing for him."

One of he guards had given Percy his probatio nameplate. Percy strung it on his leather necklace with the other strange beads. "Thanks, Hazel, Fiona," he said. "Um, what exactly does it mean━your standing for me?"

"We guarantee your good behaviour," Hazel explained. "We teach you the rules, answer your questions, make sure you don't disgrace the legion."

"And ... if I do something wrong?"

"Then we get killed along with you," Fiona smirked, enjoying a little dark humour, and the way Percy's eyes flashed with a sudden shot of fear. "Hungry, Barnacle Breath? Come on, you should try the cob loaf."

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━━Fiona wanted to enjoy her adobo. It was an aquired taste, but she grew up with it. But despite it, she wasn't in the mood to eat that night. She doesn't know why. Maybe it was Nico's words that stayed with her, how he knew Percy, but he couldn't tell them ... that some things must stay secret. Beside her, she glanced at Percy eating his cheeseburger with a strange-looking soda next to it that was bright blue. She didn't understand it, but Percy tried it and grinned.

"This makes me happy," he told her. "I don't know why ... but it does."

Just for a moment, one of the aurae became visible━an elfin girl in a white silk dress. She giggled as she topped off Percy's glass, then disappeared in a gust. Fiona glared where she had left. "Flirts," she muttered.

"What?" Percy said with a mouthful.

Fiona arched a brow at him, "Nothing," she said quickly. "Just━would you eat with your mouth closed? Surely you remember table manners."

It was loud tonight. Laughter and chatter from the other legionnaires echoed off the walls. War banners rustled from cedar ceiling beams as aurae blew back and forth, keeping everyone's plates full. The campers dined Roman style, sitting on couches around low tables. Kids were constantly getting up and trading places, spreading rumours about who liked whom and you know, that silly gossip stuff.

Leaning back on the couch, Fiona left her adobo sitting there, which was very unlike her. Nico frowned at her, and she didn't meet his gaze. Her fingers fiddled with her necklace. She continued to watch Percy when she thought he didn't notice, trying to figure out all of his secrets. Nico said she could trust him, but she wanted to make sure, just in case. She didn't trust easily.

As usual, the Fifth Cohort took the place of least honour. Their tables were at the back of the dining hall next to the kitchen. Fiona's table was always the least crowded. She used to sit here alone because no one talked her, but then Hazel would start sitting with her, and Nico whenever he came, and obviously Frank as soon as he arrived. Today, she sat with the usual, including Percy beside her and Dakota oppposite, who sat her, Fiona figured, because he felt obligated to welcome the new recruit.

Dakota reclined glumly on his couch, mixing sugar into his drink and chugging it. Fiona sighed, rather frustrated. She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. Dakota will definitely be jumping off walls after this. The idiot. He was a beefy guy with curly black hair and eyes that didn't quite line up straight.

"So," he burped, waving his goblet. "Welcome to the Percy, party," he frowned. "Party, Percy. Whatever."

"Um, thanks," said Percy, but his attention was fixed on Nico. "I was wondering if we could talk, you know ... about where I might have seen you before."

"Sure," said Nico a little too quickly. "The thing is, I spend most of my time in the Underworld. So, unless I met you there somehow━"

Dakota belched. "Ambassador from Pluto, they call him. Reyna's never sure what to do with this guy when he visits. You should have seen her face when he showed up with Hazel, asking Reyna to take her in. Um, no offence."

"None taken," Nico looked very relieved to change the topic. "Dakota was really helpful, standing for Hazel."

Dakota blushed. "Yeah, well ... she seemed like a good kid. Turned out I was right. Last month, when she saved me from━uh━you know."

"Oh, man!" Frank looked up from his fish and chips. "Percy, you should have seen her! That's how Hazel got her stripe. The unicorns decided to stampede━"

"It was nothing," Hazel said.

"Nothing?" Frank protested. "Dakota would've been trampled! Yous tood right there in front of htem, shooed them away, saved his hide. I've never seen anything like it!"

(This kid was head-over-heels, it would be annoying if it wasn't so endearing━but, of course, Fiona would never say that outloud).

Percy studied Hazel. "Did you and Nico grow up together?" he asked.

"No," Nico answered for her. "I found that Hazel was my sister only recently. She's from New Orleans."

(That was true, of course, but not the whole truth. Nico let people think he stumbled upon their sister in modern New Orleans and brought her from camp, not the Fields of Asphodel).

Nico was still talking about the children of Pluto. "there aren't many of us," he said, "so we have to stick together. Fiona was already here, but like Hazel, I didn't know she was my sister until recently. And when I found Hazel━"

"You have other sisters?" Percy asked, almost as if he knew the answer. Fiona crossed her arms from where she lied back on the lounge, watching Percy again with interest. She wondered where he and Nico had met, and what her brother was hiding.

"One," Nico admitted. "But she died. I saw her spirit a few times in the Underworld, except that the last time I went down there ..." (To bring Hazel back, though, Nico didn't say that). "She was gone," his voice turned hoarse. "She used to be in Elysium━like, the Underworld paradise━but she chose to be reborn into a new life. Now, I'll never see her again. I was lucky to find Fiona and Hazel ... in New Orleans, I mean."

Dakota grunted, "Unless you believe the rumours. Not saying that I do."

"Rumours?" Percy asked.

Fiona was ready to reach over and pour Dakota's drink all over his face, but stopped when she heard Don from across the room yell, "Hazel!"

She frowned at the faun. He wasn't allowed in camp, but━of course━he always managed to get in. He was working his way towards their table, grinning at everybody, sneaking food off plates, and pointing at campers: "Hey! Call me!" A flying pizza smacked him in the head, and he disappeared behind a couch. Then, he popped up, still grinning, and made his way over.

"My favourite girl!" he smelled like a wet goat wrapped up in old cheese. Fiona fell back on the couch, already done with the evening. He leaned over their couches and checked out their food. "Say, new kid, you going to eat that?"

Percy frowned. "Aren't fauns vegetarian?"

"Not the cheeseburger, man! The plate!" He sniffed Percy's hair. "Hey ... what's that smell?"

"Don, go away," Fiona rolled her eeys.

"No, man, I just━"

Vitellius shimmered into existence, standing half embedded in Frank's couch. "Fauns in the dining hall! What are we coming to? Centurion Dakota, do your duty!"

"I am," Dakota grumbled into his goblet. "I'm having dinner!"

Don was still sniffing around Percy. "Man, you've got an empathy link with a faun!"

Percy leaned away from him. "A what?"

"An empathy link! It's real faint, like somebody's suppressed it, but━"

"I know what!" Nico stood suddenly. "Hazel, Fiona, how about we give you and Frank time to get Percy oriented? Dakota and I can visit the praetor's table. Don and Vitellius, you come too. We can discuss strategies for the war games."

"Strategies for losing?" Dakota mumbled.

The word losing put Fiona more on edge. She sat up aggressively and stabbed her fork into her adobo, as if by doing so she was destroying all of her enemies and competitors.

"Death boy is right!" Vitellius said. "This legion fights worse than we did in Judea, and that was the first time we lost our eagle. Why, if I were in charge━"

"Could I just eat the silverwear first?" Don asked.

"Let's go!" Nico stood and grabbed both Don and Vitellius by the ears. Nico was the only one who could actually touch the Lares. Fiona knows because she tried. Vitellius spluttered with outrage as he was dragged off to the prateor's table.

"Ow!" Don protested. "Man, watch the 'fro!"

"Come on, Dakota!" Nico called over his shoulder.

The centurion got up reluctanty. He wiped his mouth━which was useless, since it was pernamently stained red. "Back soon," he shook all over, like a dog trying to get dry. Then he staggered away, his goblet sloshing.

"What was that about?" Percy asked. "And what's wrong with Dakota?"

Fiona stabbed her food again angrily. "He's an idiot, that's what."

Frank sighed. "He's okay. He's a son of Bacchus, the wine god. He's got a drinking problem."

Percy's eyes widened. "You let him drink wine?"

Despite her bad mood, Fiona scoffed in laughter at the thought.

"Gods, no!" Hazel said. "That would be a disaster. He's addicted to red Kool-Aid. Drinks it with three times the normal sugar, and he's already ADHD━you know, attention deficit/hyperactive. One of these days, his head is going to explode."

"Might teach him something," Fiona joked, and pushed her food away again. She glimpsed over at the praetor's table where most of the senior officers were in deep conversation with Reyna. Nico and his two captives, Don and Vitellius, stood on the periphery. Dakota was running back and forht along a line of stacked shields, banging his goblet on them like they were a xylophone."

"ADHD," Percy muttered. "You don't say..."

Hazel tried not the laugh. "Well ... most demigods are. Or dyslexic. Just being a demigod means that our brains are wired differently. Like you━you said you had trouble reading."

"Are you guys that way too?" Percy asked.

Fiona nodded, sitting back again. "I got the whole package. ADHD and dyslexic, so, that's cool."

"I don't know," Hazel admitted. "Maybe. Back in my day, they just called kids like us 'lazy'."

Percy frowned, "Back in your day?"

Fiona stared at Hazel, what the hell, man?!

Luckily, Frank spoke up, "I wish I was ADHD or dyslexic. All I got is lactose intolerance."

Percy grinned. "Seriously?"

Fiona managed a chuckle in disbelief, her bad mood going away for a second to say, "Gods, Frank, what will the world do with you...?"

His shoulders slumped, "And I love ice cream, too..."

Percy laughed, and Hazel joined in. Fiona couldn't stop the smile on her face. Percy's laugh was contageous━he had this troublemaker look about him; it was the grin, definitely. But also the way his eyes twinkled with mischief. Maybe she could trust him, like Nico said━which would be a new thing for her to trust someone so quickly.

"Okay, so tell me," Percy said, "why is it bad to be in the Fifth Cohort? You guys are great."

The compliment made Fiona blush and she looked away, hating how she blushed. Ew, she blushed. (Get your head together, girl!).

"It's ... complicated," said Hazel. "Aside from being Pluto's kid, I want to ride horses."

"That's why you use a cavalry sword?"

She nodded. "It's stupid, I guess. Wishful thinking. There's only one pegasus at camp━Reyna's. The unicorns are just kept for medicine, because the shavings off their horns cure poisoning and stuff. Anyway, Roman fighting is always done on foot. Cavalry ... they kind of look down on that. So they look down on me."

"Their loss," said Percy. "What about you, Frank?"

"Archery," he muttered. "They don't like that either, unless you're a child of Apollo. Then you've got an excuse. I hope my dad is Apollo, but I don't know. I can't do poetry very well. And I'm not sure I want to be related to Octavian."

"Can't blame you," said the son of Neptune. "But you're excellent with the bow━the way you pegged those gorgons? Forget what other people think."

Frank's face turned as red as Dakota's Kool-Aid. "Wish I could. They all think I should be a sword fighter because I'm big and bulky," he looked down at his body, like he couldn't believe it. "They say I'm too stocky for an archer. Maybe if my dad would ever claim me..."

A small silence echoed after that. A dad who wouldn't claim you ... Fiona knew what that was like. Three years at camp until Pluto decided to recognise her just to tell her his wife held her life in her watering can. Finally, Percy turned to her. "What about you?"

She shrugged. "Had a letter of recommendation from my Mom to be put in the Fifth Cohort. She's a daughter of Victoria, so she's like to me: if you can win from the bottom, then you don't deserve the win at all. So, here I am. And I haven't been able to win from the bottom," she said that last sentence bitterly.

"She's lying," Frank said. "She's really good with a dagger."

Fiona crossed her arms. "No, I'm not. Otherwise we'd actually win for once. Gods! You would think the legacy of Victoria could actually reach her ambition and not just sit idily." I was good when Jason was still here ... she didn't add that last bit. Fiona didn't want another compliment from Percy like he had given the others, so she quickly regained herself and cleared her throat. "So," she continued before he got the chance. "You asked about the Fifth. Why it's the worst cohort. That actually started way before us."

She jabbed a thumb over to the back wall where the legion's standards were on display. "See the empty pole in the middle?"

"The eagle," he said.

Fiona's shoulders dropped. She stared at him for a second, "How'd you know?"

Percy shrugged, "Vitellius was talking about how the legion lost its eagle a long time ago━the first time, he said. He acted like it was a huge disgrace. I'm guessing that's what's missing. And the way you, Hazel and Reyna were talking eailier, I'm guessing your eagle got lost a second time, more recently, and it had something to do with the Fifth Cohort."

Fiona blinked. She made a small mental note to never underestimate Percy Jackson again. She thought he was a dork for the questions he asked, about the Feast for Tuna, apartment gods and all that ... but he was way smarter than he looked. "Um ..." she hated how she was stunned for a second. "You're━you're right. That's exactly what happened."

"So what is this eagle, anway? Why is it a big deal?"

Frank looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "It's the symbol of the whole camp━a big eagle made of gold. It's supposed to protect us in battle and make our enemies afraid. Each legion's eagle gave it all sorts of power, and ours came from Jupiter himself. Supposedly Julius Caesar nicknamed our legion 'Fulminata'━armed with lightning━because of what the eagle could do."

"I don't like lightning," said Percy.

"Yeah, well," said Hazel, "it didn't make us invincible. The Twelfth lost its eage the first time way back in the ancient days, during the Jewish Rebellion."

"I think I saw a movie like that."

"Could be," said Fiona, shrugging again. "There have been lots of books and movies about legions losing their eagles. Unfortunately it happened quite a few times. The eagle was so important ... well, archaeologists have never recovered a single eagle from Ancient Rome. Each legion guarded theirs to the last man, because it was charged with power from the gods. They'd rather hide it or melt it down than surrender it to an enemy. The Twelfth was lucky the first time. We got our eagle back. But the second time ..."

"You guys were there?" asked Percy, and they shook their heads.

"I'm almost as new as you," Frank tapped his probatio plate. "Just got here last month. But everyone's heard the story. It's bad luck to even talk about this. There was this huge expedition to Alaska back in the eighties ..."

"The prophecy you noiticed in the temple," Hazel continued, "the one about the seven demigods and the Doors of Death? Our senior praetor at the time was Michael Varus, from the Fifth Cohort. Back then the Fifth was the best in camp. He thought it would bring glory to the legion if he could figure out the prophecy and make it come true━save the world from storm and fire and all that. He talked to the aurgur, and the augur said the answer was in Alaska. But he warned Michael it wasn't time yet. The prophecy wasn't for him."

"But he went anyway," Percy guessed. "What happened?"

Frank lowered his voice even more, "Long, gruseome story. Almost the entire Fifth Cohort was wiped out. Most of legion's Imperial gold weapons were lost, along with the eagle. The survivors went craszy or refused to talk about what had attecked them. Since the eagle was lost, the camp has been getting weaker. Quests are more dangerous. Monsters attack the borders more often. Morale is lower. The last month or so, things have been getting much worse, much faster."

"And the Fifth Cohort took the blame," said Percy. "So now everyone thinks we're cursed."

Hazel took a sip from her soup. "We've been the outcasts of the legion since ... well, since the Alaska disaster. Our reputation got better when Jason became praetor━"

"The kid who's missing?"

"Yeah," said Frank. "I never met him. Before my time. But I hear he was a good leader. Fiona knew him. Go on, tell him about Jason, Fiona."

Percy's sea-green eyes were on her again. Fiona didn't like the sudden attention. She fiddled with her necklace, not meeting anyone's gazes which was very unlike her competitive self. "He was a good leader. Kind, brave, smart and a good fighter. He practically grew up in the Fifth Cohort. He didn't care about what people thought about us. He started to rebuild our reputation. We started to gain victories, War Games, quests, that sort of thing. And then he disappeared."

"Which put us back at square one," Hazel finished bitterly. "Made us look cursed all over again. I'm sorry, Percy. Now you know what you've got yourself into."

Percy sipped his blue soda and gazed thoughtfully across the dining hall. "I don't even know where I come from ... but I've got this feeling this isn't the first time I've been an underdog," he focused on Fiona, seeing her continue to fiddle with her necklace and managed a smile. "Besides, joining the legion is better than being chased through the wilderness by monsters. I've got myself some new friends. Maybe together we can turn things around for the Fifth Cohort, huh? You can get a victory worth of Victoria."

Fiona stopped fiddling and met his gaze finally. She wanted that. She wanted a large victory on her belt. She wanted to be praised and seen as an amazing warrior. She wanted to reach the highest she can. Her ambition has always been her downfall, but it was also what made her who she was: strong, independant, and a determined warrior. So, she smiled, letting him know she liked that idea.

A horn blew at the end of the hall. The officers at the praetor's table got to their feet━even Dakota, his mouth vampire-red from Kool-Aid.

"The games begin!" Reyna announced. The campers cheered and rushed to collect their equipmet from the stacks along the walls.

"So we're the attacking team?" Percy asked over the noise. "Is that good?"

Hazel shrugged. "Good news: we get the elephant. Bad news━"

"Let me guess," said Percy, locking eyes with Fiona. "The Fifth Cohort always loses."

Frank slapped Percy on the shoulder. "I love this guy. Come on, new friend. Let's go chalk up my thirteenth defeat in a row!"

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

a/n: olivia's new single, drivers licence just hits differently and now i'm crying in my bed. also this is gonna be a bit of a fast burn, but like over a lot of chapters, you know what i mean? like it's a slow burn in thIS book, but the quest is literally over three/four days or whatever so like it's a fast burn for fiona and percy ahahah

also, any ship name ideas?