The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 44 - Alex - Battle, Part 2

Of course, it took time to convince the unicorn. But he agreed in the end. Just a speedy ride towards the battle later, I stood on the ground, trident ready to strike. Karpoi swarmed, shouting 'Wheat!' or 'Rice!' or 'Strawberries!'

Feeling disgusted, I plunged the trident into the ground. The Karpoi fell in, screaming. Water from nowhere flooded in, and Cyclopes drowned in shock. Hazel joined me, astonished, but determined. She slashed through more Karpoi and monsters. Frank stomped on Cyclopes in the form of an elephant. 

"Twelfth Legion Fulminata!!" I shouted. Lightning rippled through the sky. The camp followed my lead, ready to take blood. The dust of monsters swarmed around us. Once in a while, I'd hear Polybotes scream 'DIE!' or Percy shouting insults over the war.

I raised my trident in the air, and thunder rumbled in the sky. I brought it down and struck the battlefield with the strongest lightning in the history of lightning. I willed myself to rise into the air. Demigods and monsters alike gawked in surprise. Taking advantage of the situation, I made vines the length of Polybotes himself rise and they tied together tightly all the enemies of Camp Jupiter. 

Roots and ropes stronger than Imperial gold wound around centaurs and Cyclopes. Without realizing they were too late, the monsters struggled against the ropes that bound them, only to find that the grip tightened more when they struggled against it.

Hazel and Frank worked on slaying all the beasts that were not captured by the ropes. Once the ropes had done their jobs, I snapped my fingers. 

The ropes burst into a raging fire. They crumbled to ashes, taking the monsters along with them. The wind carried the golden dust of the fallen monsters away from the sacred Field of Mars. I came down, and hit the last demon standing on ground, a Cyclopes who even seemed too tired to fight back. He surrendered to his fate as the Imperial gold weapon struck him.  

I turned around to see 40 demigods all staring at me in awe. I may have blushed slightly. 

"Come on. It's time to go see Percy Jackson," I said and led them to borders of Terminus, where my brother was fighting Polybotes.

Percy smashed the god's head as hard as he could into the Polybotes's nose, and the giant dissolved, crumbling into a steaming heap of seaweed, reptile skin, and poisonous muck.

Percy staggered away, completely exhausted, and I caught him in my arms. 

"Ha!" said the head of Terminus. "That will teach him to obey the rules of Rome."

For a moment, the battlefield was silent except for a few fires burning, and a few retreating monsters screaming in panic.

A ragged circle of Romans and Amazons stood around us. Tyson, Ella, and Mrs. O'Leary were there. Frank and Hazel were grinning at him with pride. Arion was nibbling contentedly on a golden shield.

The Romans began to chant, "Percy! Percy!"

They mobbed him. Before he knew it, they were raising him on a shield. The cry changed to, "Praetor! Praetor!"

Among the chanters was Reyna herself, who held up her hand and grasped Percy's in congratulation. Then the mob of cheering Romans carried him around the Pomerian Line, carefully avoiding Terminus's borders, and escorted him back home to Camp Jupiter.

I nodded, and followed along, feeling happy for my brother. He may be praetor, but that doesn't make him bigger than me. We will always be equals in each other's eyes. And that was enough.

The Feast of Fortuna had nothing to do with tuna, which was fine with Percy.

Campers, Amazons and Lares crowded the mess hall for a lavish dinner. Even the fauns were invited, since they'd helped out by bandaging the wounded after the battle. Wind nymphs zipped around the room, delivering orders of pizza, burgers, steaks, salads, Chinese food, and burritos, all flying at terminal velocity.

Despite the exhausting battle, everyone was in good spirits. Casualties had been light, and the few campers who'd previously died and come back to life, like Gwen, hadn't been taken to the Underworld. Maybe Thanatos had turned a blind eye. Or maybe Pluto had given those folks a pass, like he had for Hazel. Whatever the case, nobody complained.

Colorful Amazon and Roman banners hung side-by-side from the rafters. The restored golden eagle stood proudly behind the praetor's table, and the walls were decorated with cornucopias—magical horns of plenty that spilled out recycling waterfalls of fruit, chocolate, and fresh-baked cookies.

Once everyone had eaten and the plates stopped flying, Reyna made a short speech. She formally welcomed the Amazons, thanking them for their help. Then she hugged her sister and everybody applauded.

Reyna raised her hands for quiet. "My sister and I haven't always seen eye to eye—"

Hylla laughed. "That's an understatement."

"She joined the Amazons," Reyna continued. "I joined Camp Jupiter. But looking around this room, I think we both made good choices. Strangely, our destinies were made possible by the hero you all just raised to praetor on the battlefield—Percy Jackson."

More cheering. The sisters raised their glasses to Percy and beckoned him forward.

Everybody asked for a speech, but Percy didn't know what to say. He protested that he really wasn't the best person for praetor, but the campers drowned him out with applause. Reyna took away his probatio neck plate. Octavian shot him a dirty look, then turned to the crowd and smiled like this was all his idea. He ripped open a teddy bear and pronounced good omens for the coming year—Fortuna would bless them! He passed his hand over Percy's arm and shouted: "Percy Jackson, son of Neptune, first year of service!"

They pressed the Roman symbols on to his arm and gave him his compliments. Percy then returned to the table, smirking and blushing red.

"Forgotten you had a sister yet?" I said, smiling. I patted the seat next to me, and Percy plopped onto it. 

"Sorry," he said, scratching his head.

"So, you did forget?" I asked angrily, hitting him on the arm. "Congratulations, Jackson. Annabeth would be proud."

 Percy grinned. And then, he rose, and tapped his goblet with a fork. The crowd went silent.

"Thank you, everyone, for this wonderful evening. I am very much honored to be your praetor-"

Cheering. I rolled my eyes.

"Although I wouldn't think I'm worthy of it myself. Today, on the Feast of Fortuna, I would like you all to know my secret. It's not my power. It's my family. It's my girlfriend, my mom, my stepdad, and my dad. All of them. And I think, when I say this, I know surely of it, I would not be in this position if it hadn't been for solely my sister Alexandra's support."

My eyes went wide, and the crowd went wild. 

Perseus Jackson, what an actor, being so humble. 

I rose from my seat, smiling, and patted Percy on the back. It was more of an awkward I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing-smile, so it wasn't nice.

Percy pulled me into a hug. 

Hylla, the Queen of the Amazons, rose from her seat. "And if what I heard is true," she said, "Marine here has something more than just the power of Neptune. Children of Neptune don't just go making fires and pulling vines from the Earth to tie up the Earthborn."

Percy looked at me with confusion. Reyna's face paled. She tugged at her sister, telling her to sit down. 

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