The Next Generation: Hades's Helm

Chapter 5: Ally

Rights to Rick Riordan for the characters Lester Papadopoulos, Sally Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Estelle Blofis. Ally Saven and the (for now unnamed) centurion of the second cohort are my OCs.

Ally did have a dream that night. But a very odd one at that.

In her dream, Ally was at Camp Jupiter, the camp for Roman demigods. She saw a man, probably in his early 20s. He had blond hair and gray eyes, just like Ally's. He had a dagger on his left hip, the sheath decorated with torches and swords crossed over each other. Ally knew what it was. A torch and a sword crossed over each other was the symbol of Bellona.

The man was standing in front of a bunch of other people, men and women alike. The rest of the people were only enough for one cohort, and even then, it was a small number. They all looked nervous and scared. The blond man, however, was smiling reassuringly.

"Come on, guys," the blond man says, looking over all the demigods. "We're the second cohort! We're Roman demigods, at that! We'll be fine. Caligula and Commodus don't stand a chance against Camp Jupiter.

Ah. So this was 7 years ago, the battle at Camp Jupiter against the Roman emperors and undead zombies. Ally had only been an infant when this happened.

Okay. So she knows when her dream was. The question burning in her mind was; Who was the man standing in front of them? Presumably the centurion of the second cohort, but that still didn't answer who he was.

Suddenly, her dream changed. Now, she was on the battlefield of the same battle the demigods were preparing for before. She saw the same man, the centurion of the second cohort. She also saw Lester Papadopoulos, aka Apollo in mortal form. Lester was about to be stabbed in the back by a zombie legionnaire. Lester didn't see the sword coming for his back. But the centurion did.

The centurion threw his dagger. His aim was true. He hit the zombie in the chest, killing the zombie. The zombie died, but that left the centurion unarmed. A Germanus, one of the emperor's servants, approached the weaponless man.

The blond man turned just in time to see the Germanus. He raised his hands to fight. But, too late, he realized Germanus had a sword. The Germanus runs the sword through the centurion's chest.

The centurion's gray eyes widen as his hands move to the sword. The blond man falls back, bleeding and dying. After a moment or two, the centurion's gray eyes close, and his breathing slows to a stop.

Ally woke up, shaking and breathing heavily. None of her other siblings were awake. Ally gets out of bed, gets dressed in her Camp Half-Blood shirt and denim shorts, and slips quietly out of the Athena cabin.

Ally couldn't even train. Normally, when she was overwhelmed, she would just go to the ropes course and swing around until she felt better. But her hands were shaking so bad, Ally doubted she could hang on to the ropes, much less swing on them.

Ally walks over to the forest, and sits down next to Thalia's tree, leaning back against it. Her breath was uneven, and her entire body was shaking. She takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.

After Ally calms down, she tries to think over her dreams. The second cohort centurion died in the war with Caligula and Commodus... But why was that important to Ally? Why would the gods show her that?

Ally hugs her knees to her chest, still thinking over her dream. Hours passed, and Ally didn't even notice. She didn't notice until other demigods started coming out of their cabins for breakfast, and it was time to start another day at Camp Half-Blood.

Days and months passed, every day similar to the last. Which Ally didn't mind. She likes having a routine. Now, it is the end of summer. It was time for Ally to go to the Jackson-Blofis house, and go to the second grade. She was going to school with Estelle, who was only a month younger than her.

Ally was packing her clothes in a bag Annabeth gave her. Ally only had Camp Half-Blood shirts, which would attract some pretty weird looks from the mortals. So, Sally bought her some normal shirts she could wear while going to school.

Finally, it was time to leave. Ally met up with Annabeth, who was standing in front of the van, waiting for her.

Annabeth spotted Ally and smiled. "Are you ready, Little Owl?"

Ally nods excitedly. But, she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit nervous. She climbed in the van, backpack slung over her shoulder.

After what felt like hours, the van stopped in Manhattan. Ally had seen photos of New York before, but she never expected it to be this big. There were huge buildings, towering over her.

Ally sat down at a bus stop and waited for a bus that would take her closer to Percy's apartment. Just like Annabeth had told her to.

Eventually, maybe 30 minutes later, a bus pulled up to the stop, and Ally got on. Ally sat down on a seat, looking out the window.

A bus ride later, Ally finally arrived at her stop. She got off the bus and started walking. Eventually, she found her way to the Jackson-Blofis apartment. Ally found their apartment number and knocked on the door.

Estelle answers the door. "Hello?"

Ally smiles at Estelle and waves. Estelle had black and white peppered hair and sea-green eyes.

"Hi! My name is Ally. I'm going to be living with you and your family while I go to school." Ally says, a bit embarrassed.

Estelle opens the door wider, smiling at Ally. "You're the daughter of Athena my mom told me about! Right?"

Ally smiles, her cheeks turning a bit pink from being recognized. "Yeah, that's me."

Estelle smiles wider, looking excited. "Come on in! I've never had a sister. You want to come see my room?"

Ally still looks a bit embarrassed, since she had never met Estelle before. But the girl seemed nice enough. Ally nods.

Estelle beams with excitement. She steps aside, letting Ally come in. Ally sets her stuff down by the door. Estelle grabs Ally's arm and shows her to the room she and Ally would be sharing for the school year.