Jason and Reyna: The Praetor's of New Rome - Truth

Window To The Future

1 year later

Where's Jason?

Where's Gwen?

Where am I?

These three questions played on repeat in my head as I ran through the tunnels below the surface. The tunnels changed and altered as I ran. Switching from a concrete service tunnels brick layered hallway, and so on.

I couldn't tell if I was running in circles or not but-

"OW!"

I fell on my butt, having smashed into someone else. We were both on the ground at a intersection. Three more tunnels of different shapes and sizes laid before us. I could not make out any details of the person I hit, besides their legs sticking out of the tunnel they ran out from. The lighting in the room was almost nonexistent, besides a singe light bulb overhead that looked minutes away from going out and a glowing bronze dagger resting in the center of the intersection.

Bronze......

Both myself and the mysterious individual preformed a kip up at the same time. During the motion I flipped my coin in the air and caught my imperial golden sword. The person who I crashed into rolled and grabbed the dagger on the floor.

We faced each other, carefully examining one another.

The person in front of me was a young girl, similar in height and age as me. She had curly blond hair, dark eyes I couldn't make out in the low light and she wore a orange T-shirt that read Camp Half Blood.

"Your one of-"

The girl didn't give me a chance to finish speaking. For someone with just a knife she fought fiercely. She slashed and stabbed at me as I desperately tried to parry with my sword. Eventually, i was up against the wall, unable to use my sword properly, I dropped it. I raised my hands up in a attempt to de escalate the situation.

"Stop! I'm not trying to fight you!" I yelled at her.

The girl stopped. "How do I know I can trust you? Your wearing the same outfit as one of those crazy Roman people."

I tried to lower my hands. "Let's put the knife down and-"

She made an attempt to grab me with her free hand, but I grabbed her arm pulled her in and twirled, hitting her on her chin with a spinning elbow. I expected her to be knocked out, but she still tried to stab me with her knife. I grabbed both of her arms.

We were now face to face, her stormy grey eyes fiercely staring into my own. She spit blood in my face and proceeded to head butt me and then judo flipped me. I landed with a hard thud, she placed her knee on my chest and pointed her knife in my face.

"Where's Luke!?" She shouted. "Answer me or I'll cut your head off!"

I spit blood back in her face. "I don't work for Luke moron. I'm trying to stop him."

The girl didn't soften her stance. "Prove it!"

I desperately tried to think of something before she would stab me to death.

"Luke mentioned he was from another camp. When he invaded my own, we saw someone. Someone that might be from your camp. Do you know someone named Thalia? Is she- OOOF."

The girl slammed her knee into my gut. "That's doesn't mean anything! Luke could have just told you who that was."

I gritted my teeth. "It does! I'm looking for her brother! Jason! Do you know Jason?"

The girls grey eyes widen. "Brother? Thalia doesn't have a brother!" She attempted to slam her knee into my chest again, but I shifted my body to the right in the last second and pulled her into my guard.

"I'm not trying to fight you!" I shouted in frustration. "Luke killed my brother. He can burn in Pluto for all I care! Get off of me!"

The girl and I continued to struggle against each other, until footsteps in the middle tunnel ahead distracted us.

The two of us spoke at the same time. "Percy/Jason!?"

But out from the tunnel came a large man with a single eye on the center of his forehead. He wore a orange r-shirt and baggy jeans.

"CYCLOPS!" I shouted in fear.

"TYSON!?" The girl said with excitement.

"ME!" The cyclops said with pride, throwing his arms in the air and nearly breaking the one light source in the room.

I turned to the girl. "Are you crazy!? That's a cyclops!"

"No she's not crazy."

From behind Tyson the Cyclops, Gwen squeezed her way from tunnel they came from.

"GWEN!" I exclaimed.

The girl and I looked between the cyclops and Gwen. "Wait, you two have been traveling together?" We said at the same time.

Gwen fist bump his arm. "Yeah, this big guy found me fighting off a group of Luke's forces- wait why do you have a knife pointed at my friends throat?" Gwen instantly drew her bow from her necklace.

"Get off her now." Gwen commanded.

The girl didn't flinch, holding me to the ground. Never in a million years did I expect a CYCLOPS to deescalate the situation.

He clapped his hands together and begged like a baby. "Annie Bell. Gweney. Can we please calm down."

The girl looked at Tyson. "You trust this girl?" She asked in reference to Gwen.

Tyson nodded. "Yup."

The girl turned to Gwen. "And your sure this person is not working with Luke?"

Gwen scoffed. "I just said she was my friend. If it weren't for her, Luke would have burn down Rome."

The girl relented and got off my chest. I coughed, taking Gwen's hand.

"Are you okay?" Gwen asked me, touching my face like the annoying big sister she is.

"Stop, stop, just-" I pulled her in for a hug. "I thought I lost you."

Gwen reciprocated my hug. I glanced to the left and saw the girl and Tyson hugging too. The girl looked like a child compared to the Cyclops.

"Where's big brother?" Tyson asked.

The girl squeezed him harder. "I... I don't know."

I pulled away from Gwen, turning my attention to the two of them. "Hey. I'm.......sorry about elbowing you."

The girl turned around, wiping a tear. "I'm... I'm sorry for head butting you... and judo flipping you."

I tried my best to look not annoyed. "It's okay." I said through gritted teeth.

Gwen stepped between us. "How about we start from square one. Lets introduce each other."

The girl and I stepped forward. I extended my hand. "My name is Reyna."

The girl looked at my hand, she cautiously shook it. "My name is Annabeth."