━━ chapter twenty-six
happy the dragon

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    ━━Everything was fine until the Argo II started firing on New Rome. Before that, Fiona actually thought that this was some sort of dream, it was going so well. Yes, they didn't get the chance to show Annabeth around, for Reyna took her away straight away for a talk, and Fiona couldn't get rid of that chill at the base of her neck. But apart from that, it was good. Fiona leaned back against Percy's chest and enjoyed the rest of her grapes in the hour awaiting the Senate meeting, chatting with Frank and Hazel, for Piper and Jason were also off by themselves━him giving her a tour. Fiona tried to enjoy this moment of peace before she had to go on another quest just a day after she came back from the last one. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and rested in the nook she had created in between Percy's arm and his chest. The wind blew gently against her face, and she found herself praying: let us win this.

    Fiona hated being short, but at the same time, she loved how she could just cuddle right up next to her boyfriend━hehe, boyfriend━and seem like some sort of pillow next to a giant. Which was obviously an exaggeration, but let her have this moment. And not to mention, but his praetor's cape was a great blanket. As she let out a long sigh, Fiona tried to ignore the terrible feeling, and instead focused on the rise and fall of Percy's chest.

    When the first missile hit, it was a silence of confusion following the blast. Fiona sat up, her hair on end. Percy frowned looking around and up as if not wanting to believe it━and then the second missile hit, and the riots began.

    "The Greeks have betrayed us!" someone yelled, and following it were screams, fights, and immediate grouping for and against. Fiona was on her feet, her breath hitched in the back of her throat.

    "What's happen━?" Frank didn't have time to ask before another missile from the Argo II hit, landing in New Rome and the toga shop burst into flames. Fiona's heart skipped ... if someone had been in there━

    "Duck!" Percy pulled her down, and she narrowly missed getting hit in the head by a flying plate. "Go━go!"

    Fiona was confused as she was pulled away from the mob by Percy with Frank and Hazel in tow. Up above, the Argo II was raining down hellfire onto New Rome, and the only people she knew to be on there was Leo and Octavian. She didn't want to think ill of Percy's new friends ... she wanted it to be some sort of scheme Octavian had come up with ... but even he wouldn't destroy New Rome to prove a point.

    They stood back-to-back on a fountain as angry Romans flooded around them. Fiona looked across the mob to see Jason and Piper desperately trying to keep legionnares and flying objects away. It was chaos━burning buildings and couches, angry Romans, hundreds of purple ghosts passing straight through bodies, fauns darting to and fro, grabbig any food they could ...

    Fiona didn't have a weapon, and so she stood, helpless on the marble fountain as Percy pushed back angry Romans with blasts of water. She tried to reason with them, but who could ever reason with angry Romans? Another explosion rocked the forum━directly overhead. One of their catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull. Fiona noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, tryihng to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.

    Through the crowd, Annabeth appeared, pushing aside a Terminus statue and manouvering around ghosts, fauns and Romans. Seeing her, Percy shouted, "Annabeth! What━?"

    "I don't know!" she replied back.

    Fiona took her hand as she reached the fountain and pulled her up and away from the mob. "You honestly don't know?"

    "No!" Annabeth was distressed, her grey eyes darting up to the Argo II. "No one━none of us ... none of this is making any sense!"

    "I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

    Annabeth's eyes widened. "W━What? You're lying. Leo would never━"

    "I was just there!" shrieked Octavian. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

    Fiona didn't know what to believe. She wanted to be angry, to scream: traitors! But at the same time, she trusted Percy, which means she trusted Annabeth, which was a weird combination considering━but it was an important combination! What she means to say, is that there has to be some sort of explanation.

    Annabeth growled in frustration, before turning to Percy. "We have to leave," she told him. "Now."

    He nodded grimly. "Fiona, Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

    Fiona met his gaze and let out a breathless, "Of course."

   Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "Fiona's right. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time."

    "How?" Annabeth asked.

    Hazel whistled. Instantly, in a blur of beige, Arion arrived━whinnying, rearing and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed onto his back with ease. Strapped to the horse's saddle was her spatha. Hazel unleashed the golden blade. "Send me an Iris-Message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous," she said. "Arion, ride!"

    And they were off━zipping through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing back Romans and causing mass panic. Fiona nodded, and took a deep breath. "Okay," she turned back to Percy. "I'll snatch our weapons from Terminus. I'll meet you back up on the ship."

    She went to go, but Percy grabbed her arm to say, "Be careful."

    Fiona nodded, "See you soon, Barnacle Blue."

    Annabeth frowned, "Wait, what are you doing? You can't just go straight into the mob━?"

    The rest of her sentence was cut off as Fiona began to run. Leaping off the fountain marble, she slipped past Romans in a blur, so fast they didn't even comprehend what had happened until she was half-way away. There were shouts of surprise, anger, frustration, confusion ... but Fiona ignored them all and tried to stay focused. Behind her, she heard Frank let out a roar as a full-blown dragon. He dived down towards Piper and Jason━of which the latter having being knocked out by a flying brick━and picked them up and away from the angry crowd.

    Fiona reached the Pomerian Line in no time. She hoped Julia was somewhere safe, and grabbed their weapons still in the tray━Percy's pen, her pugio and Frank's bow and arrows. With the bow and quiver slung over her back, Percy's pen in her pocket and her own dagger sheathed to her hip, Fiona sprinted back.

    As she passed Frank, she grabbed onto his outstretched wing and climbed up. Frank wasn't surprised to have her settling on the scaly back of the dragon he had transformed into as they leapt up into the air and towards the Argo II amongst the burning chaos below.

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    ━━As soon as they landed on the moving ship, Fiona gave back weapons to Frank and Percy while Jason was rushed to the infirmary. She didn't know what would happen━he looked to be hit pretty badly ... it felt cruel to have someone she considering a close friend (but was too scared to say it) return after sixth months only to go by a brick to the head. He'll be okay, she told herself. It's Jason, he won't die from a brick.

    Instead, Fiona stayed above deck, too busy in her fury to take in the view that was the Argo II and the scenery below them. Instead, she stormed straight up to where the Leo kicked was slowly returning to consciousness with a glare on her face.

    "What the hell?!" she demanded as she reached him. "Why did you do that?!"

    Leo blinked, and as if just realising what had happened, he shrunk away and let out a strangled whisper of, "W━what?"

    Before Fiona could do or say something she'd later regret, Annabeth stepped forward to stop her. She crouched down to Leo's level as he slumped against the mast, it all coming back to him. Softly, but sternly, Annabeth asked him what happened, and the story Leo told made no sense.

    When he was done, Fiona blinked, her anger being replaced with confusion. She crossed her arms, staring down at the fifteen-year-old and seeing him looking to be on the verge of tears. More of her anger washed away, and Fiona snapped at herself for being soft. But she couldn't help it. Leo looked miserable.

    "One more time," said Annabeth, frowning. "Exactly what happened?"

    All around them, the ship was in smokes and shambles. The aft crossbows were piles of kindling. The foresail was tattered. The bronze dragon figurehead was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball, which was a sight to see.

    Leo choked back a sob. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."

    Fiona felt a humming in her ears, and she tugged at the lobe, frowning. She wasn't sure whether it was her Underworld-i-ness acting up or something from the ship. She pursed her lips down at Leo, standing next to Frank. A little way away from them was the shortest faun━oh, sorry, satyr━that Fiona has seen. He couldn't be more than five-foot, which, then again, wasn't that shorter from Fiona herself ... which was disturbing ... with goat fur legs, an orange polo shirt and a baseball bat. In the very short time Fiona has been on here, she has learned that Coach Hedge was quite the agressive faun (satyr━ugh!).

    "You mean you don't remember?" Annabeth arched a brow, and Leo's gaze darted to all of them, looking like a hamster stuck in a cage.

    "I ..." he swallowed hard. "I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."

    Coach Hedge tapped his bat against the deck. "Look, kid," he said, "you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent!" Fiona turned to him with a look that screamed, excuse me?! "But did you have to knock out the sattelite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match━"

    "Coach," Annabeth cut him off, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "why don't you make sure all the fires are out?"

    "But I already did that."

    "Do it again."

    Hedge grumbled something under his breath, but trudged off. Annabeth sighed and turned back to Leo. With a kinder gaze in her grey eyes, she asked, "Leo, did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or━?"

    "No," Leo's voice was hoarse. "The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."

    Frank tensed next to Fiona and scowled. "On purpose?"

    "No!" Leo's eyes squeezed shut. "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━"

    Fiona froze, "A cold feeling ..." the hum in her ears grew louder, and she no longer felt angry, or sympathetic, she felt scared.

    Leo frowned at her, startled by the change of tone. Annabeth and Frank also gave her curious looks. "Yeah. Why?"

    Before she could explain, from below decks, Percy called up, "Hey, Annabeth, we need you."

    Fiona saw the pained expression on Leo's face; he paled, turning grey as he thought the worse. Annabeth pursed her lips, "He'll be fine," she promised. "Frank, I'll be back. Fiona, can you come with? Frank, just ... watch Leo. Please."

    Frank nodded, and the two girls were off. Fiona wondered why Annabeth had wanted her to come with her, until they reached the deck stairs and she asked. "You felt the chill, too?"

    Fiona watched her lead the way to the infirmary, surprised. "We both felt it? That's ... that's worrisome."

    "No kidding ..." Annabeth murmured, her grey eyes back to their analytical state. "What could it mean, though? If something took over Leo to make him fire on the camp━"

    "━Only spirits can do those things," Fiona stated.

    "Can you control it?" Annabeth frowned. "Get rid of it?"

    Fiona rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Only if it's a returned soul who isn't supposed to have returned. I can't ... I don't think I can ..." her brows furrowed. "Let me try and figure out what spirit it is━if it is a spirit━first ..."

    They stopped by a small room at the end of the corridor of cabins. The door was opened, and they peeked inside. Jason lied, unconscious on one of the beds, his head wrapped up. He didn't look as pale as before, which Fiona took as a sign━he must have been fed some ambrosia or nectar. Piper sat next to him, her leg jittering up and down in worry. Hearing their footsteps, she and Percy glanced up.

    "Is he okay?" Fiona asked, her eyes fixed on her sort-of-maybe-friend with worry.

    Annabeth brushed past her and stood next to Piper, hovering over Jason's body. As she checked him over, Percy walked closer to Fiona to ask, "What happened with Leo? Was it him or Octavian?"

    Fiona pursed her lips, remembering the chill she felt. "Leo fired on New Rome, but ... but it's complicated."

    Percy's gaze turned dark, "Complicated? How?"

    "He remembers doing it," explained Annabeth as she checked Jason's cut above his brow, "but it's also like he was watching himself do it. Like he was possessed."

    "Like ... by a ghost?" Piper asked, just as confused as the rest of them.

   Fiona shrugged. "I'll get back to you on that."

    Annabeth finished, and looked relieved. Immediately, Piper's tense shoulders slumped. "He'll be okay," she rubbed the girl's back. Fiona could tell they were good friends.

    Percy nodded, but his gaze was riddled with anger and worry over what Leo had done━or who had made Leo do it. So, when he left the infirmary, Fiona and Annabeth were quick to follow, knowing his anger could get the best of him━like Fiona's had nearly done to her before she listened to Leo's story.

    As soon as they reappeared above deck, Leo swivellled on his feet. He checked their expressions to get an answer on Jason's condition. "Is Jason━?"

    "He's resting," said Annabeth. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."

    Percy gave Leo a hard look, "Fiona says you did fire the ballista?"

    "Man, I━I don't understand how it happened. I'm so sorry━"

    "Sorry?" Percy growled, and Fiona quickly put a hand on his chest to calm him down.

    "Look," she spoke up, feeling strange to be in the mediator position, "we'll figure that out later. Right now, it'll be good to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with your ship?"

    Leo eyed Percy warily, as if scared he'd stab him right then and there. But he told the about the damage and the supplies they needed. Fiona didn't completely understand everything, but at the look on Annabeth's face, it seemed she did. Leo was explaining the shortage of Celestial bronze when the dragon figurehead began to whir and squeak. Fiona jumped, startled.

    "It━Did that thing just talk?"

    Leo either ignored her, or didn't pay any attention to what she said. Instead, he sighed out a relieved, "Perfect."

    "What's perfect?" asked Annabeth. "I could use some perfect about now."

    Leo managed a smile. "Everything we need in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah." He then addressed Fiona to add, "Oh, and the dragon's name is Festus. He can speak in squeak, creak and morse-code."

    Fiona frowned at the engineer, "Did you name the bronze dragon figurehead Happy? That's Happy the Dragon?"

    "Don't be so judgmental about it," Leo chastised her. "You'll hurt his feelings."

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    ━━The landing was rather rocky. They all strapped themselves below as Leo did his best for a controled descent. Well, except for Coach Hedge, who insisted on staying up above to enjoy the ride. Fiona was honestly started to question whoevers decision it was to have him chaperone. When Leo called the All Clear bell, Fiona, Annabeth, Percy and Frank sat themselves around the dining table to wait for Leo and Hazel to join them.

    The lounge was pretty nice, if she was to be honest. The cupboard was lined with magical cups and plates. There was a magical ice chest filled with canned drinks. The chairs were recliners with a really good massage button (Fiona has been told), built-in-headphones and sword and drink holders. There were no windows, but the walls were enchanted to show real-time footage from the Greek camp: Camp Half-Blood. Fiona watched it change from a beach, to a forest, to strawberry fields. Views of cabins in the sunset, sword arena's, a campfire ... it made Fiona suddenly homesick for her own camp. The camp they had left in chaos. Fiona wondered whether she would ever be welcomed back. Oh, her mother ... what would her mother think? Is she okay? Fiona prayed she wasn't hurt.

    Glancing over, Fiona saw Percy gaze longingly at the sunset view of a hill back at his home. She pursed her lips and reached under the table to give his hand a small squeeze. She went to let go, but he held on.

    Once Leo and Hazel arrived, he asked, "So, we've landed. What now?"

    Frank plucked on his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean ... that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"

    "The what?" Leo frowned.

    Frank explained how their harpy friend could remember everything she has read, which included━some point in the past━books of ancient prophecies.

    "That's why you didn't tell the Romans," realised Leo. "you didn't want them to get hold of her."

    Percy kept staring at the image of Camp Half-Blood. He held Fiona's hand tighter. "Ella's sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want ..." he made a fist with his other hand. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

    Annabeth laced her fingers, frowning at the table. "Let me think about the prophecy━but right now we have more immediate problems. We need to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do you need?"

    "The easiest thing is tar," Leo looked glad at the change of subject. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celesital bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."

    "We'll have to hurry," said Hazel. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries."

    "And eagles," added Fiona, meeting her gold gaze. "Don't forget the eagles. The Romans most definitely have sent a strike force after us. It's a matter of honour."

    Leo shuffled under the plenty of eyes that were fixed on him. "Guys ... I dont know what happened. Honestly, I━"

    Annabeth raised her hand, stopping him. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned ... Fiona and I felt it, too. It must have been some sort of magic, spirit, whatever━either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened━"

    Frank grunted, "How can we be sure it won't happen again?"

    He had a good point, but Fiona could see Leo's eyes glare in his direction━flaring up like a blazing fire before settling down. "I'm fine now," he insisted. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."

    "Split up?" Percy tensed up, not liking the idea at all. "That sounds like a really bad idea."

    "It'll be quicker," Hazel put in. "Besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three or four demigods, right?"

    Annabeth's brows jumped, reappraising Hazel's merits. "You're right. The same reason we need the Argo II ... outside camp, eight demigods in one place with attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe on board, but if we go on expeditions we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."

    Percy still didn't look happy about it, but he linked his fingers with Fiona's. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good," he told her. Fiona arched a brow back, trying not to show a blush. Don't blush ... don't blush ... nope, nope, nope━

    Hazel smiled. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing━turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Fiona and Percy into down for the tar?"

    Frank went to object, but decided against it. "I ... I suppose. But what about you?"

    "I'll ride Arion with Sa━with Leo, here," she quickly corrected, fidgiting with her sword hilt. "We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark."

    Annabeth nodded, "That's a good plan. I'll stay on board, keep the ship together until you all get back━make sure it doesn't blow up, or something. Leo," she turned to the engineer, "if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"

    "With luck, just a few hours."

    "Fine," she decided. "Everyone meet back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."

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    a/n: fiona is so cute. 

    that's it. that's all i have to say.