Daughter of Mother Earth

Chapter Sixty

"Look!" Piper called out from the deck.

Clouds parted to reveal lush green hills below. Everyone took their places. Crystal watched as Piper placed across the deck, mumbling something to herself. Annabeth stood strong, looking at the approaching camp. Jason stood at the bow, so he could be seen by the Romans. Leo was, well, being Leo. He bounced around like a madman, pulling levers and checking gauges. Crystal made her way to the top of the mainmast and settled into the crow's nest, looking out for any danger. As they neared closer, Crystal's senses went on high alert, her muscles tensing. An explosion proved her right. 

Out of nowhere, an angry statue exploded into existence behind Annabeth, causing her to whip around. 

Crystal cursed. "Great..."

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Crystal couldn't hear the conversation between the statue and the others from her position. She wasn't sure if she should intervene. Before she could finish her internal debate, Piper yelped and Crystal instinctively moved to help. She leaped over the rail of the crow's nest and fell to the deck below, landing between the statue and Piper. The statue glared at Crystal, who responded with the same look, fists poised in defense. 

"Crystal, calm down," Annabeth placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Crystal to relax slightly. 

"I know you!" The statue said. "The Unknown Daughter."

Before Crystal could retort, Jason stepped forward. "Look, Terminus, we're here in peace. If you could permit us the land, we-"

"Impossible!" The statue-Terminus- shrieked. "Surrender immediately! Leave my city!"

"Which one?" Crystal rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Surrender or leave?"

"Both!"

Leo mumbled something to himself, kneeling at the base of the angry statue with a screwdriver in his hand. Crystal moved to look over the edge of the ship to see the crowd of people that had gathered. The others continued to persuade Terminus into letting them land as Crystal scanned for a familiar face. Her breath hitched. There he was.

"What if," Crystal turned back around, joining the group once more. "What if we didn't land?"

Everyone looked at her with incredulous expressions. "What?"

"Leo, just stop the ship. Keep us hovering." Crystal said. 

Leo did as ordered and with a yank of a Wii controller, the ship froze in place.

"Care to explain?" Annabeth crossed her arms.

Crystal shrugged. "There are no rules against hovering over Rome, are there?"

Terminus hesitated before confirming. 

"We can just keep the ship here and climb down on a rope ladder. We're not technically on Roman soil." Crystal smiled at her idea. 

"Hm," Terminus pondered for a moment before he replied. "That could work. But weapons stay here!"

"Of course!" Piper replied. 

"Deal?" Annabeth looked at the statue. 

Terminus nodded. "I suppose. You may climb down the ladder to New Rome."

Crystal and the others tried to keep up with Annabeth as she pushed through the crowd. Crystal glanced at the Romans on the side. They looked tense, nervous. And she couldn't blame them- she was too. There were people of all ages, from toddlers to elderly. Crystal guessed they were all demigods, but that still amazed her. Most demigods were teenagers back at camp. People had told her that most grown kids leave Camp Half-Blood to try to start lives of their own, but seeing this multigenerational community made her wonder.