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

Chapter 50 - Alex - An Unusual Gathering Of Demigods

Jason cleared his throat. "So, yeah...It's good to be back."

He introduced us to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say the lines she'd been practicing, then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign.

"And this is Annabeth," Jason said. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."

Reyna's eyes sparkled. "You sure you're not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?"

Annabeth didn't know if that was a compliment, but she held out her hand. "I only attack my boyfriend and best friend like that," she promised. "Pleased to meet you."

Reyna clasped her hand firmly. "It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"

Reyna started giving orders to the officers. "...tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"

"You're letting these intruders into the camp?" Octavian interrupted. "Reyna, the security risks—"

"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." Reyna flashed him a stern look. "We'll eat here, in the forum."

"Oh, much better," Octavian grumbled. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."

"These are our guests." I said. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."

"Good idea," Percy put in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."

Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "You have my orders. Go."

The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing. Then he gave Annabeth a suspicious once-over and stalked away.

Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's. "Don't worry about Octavian," he said. "Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."

"We'll be fine," Annabeth repeated, looking almost dazed.

"Excellent," Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and there was a hungry sort of gleam in her eyes. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."

The feast was amazing. Literally. For the first time since my forgotten life, I had mango lassi. Double cheeseburgers appeared instantly on my plate, as well as Percy's, and we smirked at each other.

"Copycat," we said at the same time. Annabeth joined us, Hazel and Frank, and we began to eat together. Percy whispered to his girlfriend, and I decided that perhaps it was best not to butt in.

After introductions all around, the Romans and Annabeth's crew began exchanging stories. Jason explained how he'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he'd gone on a quest with Piper and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera (or Juno, take your pick—she was equally annoying in Greek or Roman) from imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California.

"Impossible!" Octavian broke in. "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—"

"They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."

Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Charmspeaking.

And then I realized, Piper was Jason's girlfriend. Twenty thousand explosions set off in my head.

"Makes sense," I muttered. I took a deep breath. I could only look into the future not decide how it happens. There are many ways to one destination, I reminded myself.

"So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Annabeth.

Percy told them how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.

When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor and Pontifex Maximus. That is no mean feat."

Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"

"On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up."

Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.

Even Reyna managed a smile, though her eyes were stormy.

I may have rolled my eyes. Budding bromance. How wonderful.

"We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," I said. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with."

"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said easily. "It's no biggie."

"No biggie?" Octavian choked. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?"

Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."

"Yeah, I noticed," Jason said. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."

"Back at you," Percy said. "Ow."

"We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?" Annabeth asked, glaring at Percy.

Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Seven. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," he said. "But, Reyna—"

"Recite it, please."

"In English, not Latin," I added.

Octavian sighed. "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

Everyone stared at her—except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits. That kid was good.

The big kid, Frank, sat forward, staring at her in fascination, as if she'd grown a third eye. "Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena?"

"Yes," she said, suddenly looking defensive. "Why is that such a surprise?"

Octavian scoffed. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—"

"Enough," Reyna snapped. "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides.." She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."

Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger. Annabeth turned red a whole moment later. 

"Uh, thanks," she told Reyna. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death...that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."

"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said.

"Wait," Annabeth said. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?"

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VOTE.