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“Ugh,” a voice erupted from the trees. The sound was annoyed and so very tired as a young girl broke out from behind a bush, stumbling a little on the way out. “I hate the outdoors, have I mentioned that?”
“Yes, Sadie,” a different voice returned. Another figure stepped out behind the girl, much more balanced but still weary and voice just as tired as hers. “You have, many times, might I add.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the girl, Sadie, grumbled. “But we don’t even know where we’re going and we’ve lost the GPS pair, I’m allowed to complain. Carter is the only one whose been anywhere near this supposed ‘super great summer camp’, and he’s run off with Zia and gotten us lost in the process.”
The other figure just laughed as he watched his partner pace for a little bit, angrily stomping on the ground as she waved her arms and raged. Neither noticed the pair of eyes watching them, silently, for some time, before eventually being joined by another pair, just as curious, but with less suspicion.
“What are you doing?” the newest addition whispered. Blue eyes looked at brown eyes questioningly. Silently, the other just motioned for him to be quiet, so he was watching just like the other.
“Stupid Carter getting us lost, dumb brothers,” Sadie continued to mutter to herself, kicking at the ground as she paced. Her annoyance was not being helped by the others snickers under their breath. “Oh, be quiet Walt. Can’t you like, do something to help?”
They started to walk in the direction of the two unnoticed people, who were watching them intensely. Said eyes locked together and nodded, and as the figures got closer, the eyes jumped and the two were on the ground in seconds.
Blue eyes looked at brown cautiously.
“What is going on Nico?” blue eyes implored.
“He reeked of death, but he wasn’t dead,” Nico replied. “I don’t trust them, Will.”
Will nodded and grabbed Nico’s hand as he shadow-traveled them and the others to the Big House. Chiron would need to know about this.
**
The sound of water is heard as two figures sit by a tree. Both seem to be at peace, eyes closed and silence a friendly companion. The sun just barely broke the shade of the tree they were under, making for a very peaceful and relaxing break. That was broken when three more enter the clearing, stopping dead in their tracks when they see the two by the tree, although the two don’t deem them important enough as they close their eyes again, only having opened them for a second.
“Um…” one starts, clearly put off guard. Eyes peer imploringly from behind glasses. “Are you new to camp?”
The blonde opens one eye and looks at the boy, then sits up, the green haired person beside him clearly not caring at all.
“No, we’re here to visit my cousin,” the blonde yawns as he stretches. “We got kinda lost, but we were tired, so we just decided to take a nap.”
“Well, these woods can be…dangerous,” the taller boy states.
“Frank,” the girl pipes up. “I might not be as good at this as Nico, but I don’t think they have much to worry about when it comes to that.”
“What do you mean by that, short stack?” Even without opening an eye, the statement still managed to be threatening. Green hair swayed as she tilted her head only slightly. The blonde beside her only rolled his eyes at the dramatics. Really, the pair looked as comfortable as if they were sitting in their own homes, not in some random woods, talking to three seemingly hostile teens.
“Hazel, what are you talking about?” the boy in front of Frank asks. Even with his confusion, he already has his hand on a sword. Frank has taken a fighting stance beside him, put on edge by Hazel’s foreboding sentence.
“Jason, they’re dead,” Hazel states, no place for doubt in her tone.
“You’re smart, short stack,” the girl says, still not opening her eyes.
“I don’t think you should be here,” Jason says, stepping forward, sword in hand. The blonde raises an eyebrow, and wow if that doesn’t remind him of Annabeth. Nobody noticed Hazel going back into the trees, silently circling the clearing.
“We’ll get out of your hair, pretty boy, don’t worry.”
“Alex, be nice,” the blonde chides. Alex just opens an eye and sticks her tongue out at him.
“I am being nice, Magnus, don’t get on me,” she says. “I’m a big girl, I can do what I want.”
Magnus huffs a laugh, before his eyes roll back in his head and he goes limp, falling back against the tree, completely out cold. Alex doesn’t have the time to get any words out before she too is unconscious, resting against the tree in an odd mimicry of before the three Romans had entered the clearing.
Jason and Frank stare at Hazel, who just shrugs.
“What? Nico has been teaching me,” she looks at the two on the forest floor. “We should get them to camp, I think Chiron needs to know about this.”
The boys nod and Frank changes, the now bear lugging the two unconscious people back to camp.
**
Leaves and branches crunched under boots as two figures walked through the woods. They seemed to know where they were going, if that was the truth, well no one knew, nonetheless themselves.
“Explain it to me one more time, Carter,” the girl said, pinching her brow. “You met him near a swamp? But he said the camp was nearby? And in the forest? Does that make any sense?”
“I know, Zia,” Carter sighed. “It makes no sense, but that’s what happened. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
The two continued to walk, conversing quietly as they searched, not only for a camp, but also for their lost companions. This continued for some time, the two thoroughly combing the woods. Neither saw their silent companions, lurking in the shadows, until Zia turned and found an arrow in her face, staring down at the harsh looking girl who was aiming it.
“Um, Carter?” she said, looking down the shaft and locking eyes with the scowling girl on the other side. “I think we found something.”
Carter would have replied, really, he would have, if not for the branch suddenly holding him upside down off the ground, a soft tune drifting lazily behind him. The act threw him off, the blood rush making him dizzy.
“More like, we found you. Who are you?” the scowling girl demanded. Zia began to raise her hands but was stopped by another branch wrapping around her wrists, the same soft tune reaching her ears and the branches binding her securely. “I said, who are you?”
“I am Zia Rashid, I am not here to harm,” she stated carefully.
“You smell like fire and ash,” another voice piped in. “Excuse me if I don’t believe that.”
“What are you doing here?”
The threat was obvious. Tell me now or you die. “We are just looking for the rest of our companions, we were separated while looking for…a place a friend recommended.” The way her sentence travelled off did not sound convincing, which was obvious on the girl’s face.
“Thalia, she’s…not lying,” the voice behind Zia spoke up. Footsteps resounded as a figure came into view, tall and bright, the orange t-shirt he was wearing striking against the brown of the bark on the trees. His gait didn’t seem normal, and his green beanie seemed almost too tall on his head. The girl, Thalia, raised an eyebrow as she looked at him.
“Grover, she doesn’t exactly sound trustworthy either,” she said. Her eyes never once left Zia, and Grover was obviously looking over her shoulder, presumably at Carter.
“Then let’s take them to camp,” Grover said, raising a pair of pipes to his lips. Thalia nodded before lowering her bow and covering her ears. Zia began to struggle in her binds, recognizing what was about to happen, but it was fruitless, as a soothing tune washed over her. She was asleep in seconds.
**
Two men were sitting at a table in a big house, sunlight streaming through the window. Cards were in both of their hands, being stared at calculatingly, as they were in the midst of a game. The man in the polo shirt placed down a card, smug as can be, before sitting back leisurely, sure of his win. He took a sip of his Diet Coke as his companion surveyed the cards in front of him.
“Very clever, Dionysus,” the other said. Dionysus smirked at him. “But I’m afraid there is no dice, old friend.”
He laid down a card, face as stoic as ever. Dionysus stared at the cards for a minute, before sighing in defeat and slumping down in his chair.
“You win once again Chiron,” he said as he laid the rest of his hand onto the table, distractedly taking another sip of his drink. Chiron chuckled softly as he took the cards in his hands and began to shuffle them. Suddenly, the two were no longer alone, shadows receding to reveal four people, only two awake.
“Ah, well hello Nico, Will,” Chiron said, though obviously staring at the two other, unconscious people. “What seems to be the, ah, issue?”
“We found them in the woods,” Nico said, arms crossed. He scowled down at the boy as he nudged him with his foot. “He feels like death, but he’s not dead, and they were talking about friends. It looked suspicious.”
Chiron studied the two, then sighed. “Alright, let’s get them taken care of, then call a counselor meeting. Come along.”
He turned his wheelchair from where it had been parked at the table and began to leave the room, only to be interrupted by frantic knocking at the door. Going to open it, he heard talking from behind it.
“Frank, don’t worry, they’re not dead…well they are, but, well, y’know.”
“You’re not helping Hazel.”
“Chiron, open up, please!”
Finally reaching the door, he looked over the teen standing there, looking frazzled. Two others stood behind him, arguing over two kids laying on the ground. He raised an eye before looking at Jason.
“Um, so, we were on our way to camp, and we came across these two kids taking a nap against a tree, and--” Jason was rambling, glasses sliding down his nose as he gestured rapidly. Hazel jogged up behind him, before piping in.
“They’re dead,” she stated. Chiron raised an eyebrow as Hazel continued. “We didn’t kill them, they were already dead, but like, awake, dead. Does that make any sense? I’m kinda freaking out.”
Suddenly, they both shot up, shouting as they tried to catch their breath. They looked around, then their gazes locked onto Hazel.
“Magnus, short stack got us,” Alex said, before going to stand up, only for Frank to be right there, preventing her from doing so.
“I told you not to be mean, now look what’s happened,” Magnus said. “Sam’s gonna kill us. Again. Look, we’re not here to do anything bad, we were just looking for this place my cousin recommended.”
They weren’t able to say anything else as Hazel yelped and ran over, touching them both on the shoulders, both going unconscious once again. She let out a breath of relief, before gesturing to them as if to say see what I mean. Chiron sighed once again, before motioning for them to bring them inside. He turned, only to hear his name called out, followed by the sound of hooves and feet running.
“Chiron, we found these…what’s going on?” Grover questioned, looking at the scene of Jason and Frank trying, and failing, to drag Magnus and Alex up the steps of the big house. Both waved sheepishly. Grover shook his head. “I’m not even going to ask. We found these really weird people in the woods, like really weird, and we figured you would know what to do.”
He gestured behind himself, to Thalia standing guard over two teens on the ground. She had a bow and arrow aimed at them, not once taking her eyes off them. Now Chiron was considerably concerned. Six supposedly suspicious teens were found in the woods around camp. Was this an attack, a scouting maneuver? Who were they to worry some of his best campers so much that they felt the need to come to him.
“Come, lets get them inside,” he said, going to help Thalia. “Grover, could you please gather the counselors so we can have a meeting on what to do?”
Grover nodded, before running off, a yell on his lips. Dionysus stood at the door as Chiron led the kids into the house, staring at him, before letting out a laugh. He brought his drink to his lips, draining it in one go, before talking.
“Have fun with that, I’m off to Olympus,” he said, waving lazily over his shoulder as he walked out the door and disappeared, the smell of grapes left behind.
**
Grover led the head counselors into the meeting room, confused faces all around. They found Chiron, Thalia, Jason, and Nico having a heated discussion, as Frank, Hazel, and Will looked on. The confusion heightened.
“What’s all this about, Chiron?” Piper said, looking at the group as if their heads all just lit on fire.
Chiron turned to look at the new arrivals, noting the confusion and underlying nervousness.
“I’m afraid we have a situation,” he said as everyone took their seats around the table. “Some suspicious figures have been seen and caught in our woods, and we need to decide how we are to proceed.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Percy and Annabeth then,” Conner pipes up, raising his hand, directing the attention to the empty chairs at the table.
“They are currently away for the rest of the day,” Chiron assured. “We will bring them up to speed when they return, but for now this needs to be addressed. Today, six questionable people were found in the woods around camp. We don’t know of their intent nor their capabilities.”
“What we do know,” Nico inserted. “Is that two to them are dead and one is close to death.”
Murmurs alighted around the room, heads turning to look at neighbors as the realization sunk in. Ghosts weren’t unheard of in their world, not at all, but for Nico to be so sure that two dead people were just walking around was scary. After the war with Gaia and their previous experiences with the living dead, nobody in the room was too keen to have to deal with it again.
Chiron banged his hoof, calling the attention back to himself. “We need to decide on how to approach this. We don’t know if they are dangerous or just lost souls, but we need to be cautious. If anyone would like to propose any course of action, we will take it in for consideration.”
“Wait,” Clarisse called out. “Where are these guys anyway? Why aren’t we keeping them under observation? You said it already, we don’t know what they are capable of. They could be escaping right this minute!”
Panic surged through the room. Leaving no room for discussion, Jason and Thalia both leapt from the room and raced to the basement door, where the six teens were put previously. They were followed by the rest of the group, racing to ensure their potential foes had not yet escaped.
**
Magnus woke up with a fuzzy head, which is the only way he could define it. He didn’t know what that girl had done to him, but it was not pleasant. As his mind began to clear, he observed the room? cellar? basement? that he was currently in. Alex was propped against the wall beside him, where she was stirring in her sleep. She cracked an eye open before shooting up abruptly, the situation returning to her mind.
“Damn, short stack got us again,” she huffed. “We’re really losing our game Magnus.”
Magnus huffed a laugh as he began to stand, surveying the others in the room. Propped against the wall, like Magnus and Alex had been, were four other teenagers, all in different states of disarray. They were all stirring as Alex had been previously, blinking eyes and hands holding heads where they were supposedly knocked out. One of them, a boy with dark hair and dark skin locked eyes with Magnus and shot to his feet, arms held in front of him, as if to stop Magnus from approaching. This alerted the other three to their present company, and they too stood quickly, gaining various defensive positions.
“What is it today with people seeing us and being instantly defensive?” Alex intoned in a bored voice, obviously done with this whole ordeal already. Magnus couldn’t say he didn’t feel the same already. All he had wanted to do was visit Annabeth at her cool camp when she asked him to. None of the threatening business. Instead, here they are, stuck in a room with four other potential hostiles. At least Jack was still hanging around his neck.
“Who are you?” a blonde with a pink strip in her hair questioned, a book suddenly appearing in her hand.
“Cool hair,” Alex complemented, instead of answering the question, in true Alex fashion. Magnus rolled his eyes and ignored them as he went to the door, testing the knob to see if it was unlocked. It was locked, of course it was.
“Alex,” he called, turning back to her. He shook the doorknob roughly. “Its locked, come help me with it.”
The four strangers looked at them dumbly.
“What are you doing?” one of them asked. Magnus didn’t know which, he wasn’t paying attention, his focus centered on the lock in front of him once again. He pulled a bobby pin from his shoe and set to working on the door.
“Before you start asking anymore questions,” Alex said. “I’d like to get some names. This whole suspicious act is fun and all, but I’m tired.”
Someone stifled a laugh, and a good amount of tension left the room.
“I guess we are in the same position,” the blonde said. “I’m Sadie. And thanks, by the way, for the hair thing. I like yours too.”
The bobby pin wasn’t doing anything useful, so he abandoned that pursuit to turn back around to the proceedings. Alex was grinning at the girl, Sadie, as she smiled back.
“I’m Carter,” said the boy from before. He was standing beside a girl with cropped hair and tan skin. She raised an eyebrow at Magnus when she caught his eye, but he had turned his attention to the other boy in the room. He was standing next to Sadie, looking over her shoulder with a piercing stare.
Unnerved, Magnus turned back to Carter.
“I’m Magnus,” he said, hoping to bring the tension from the other two down just a bit. “And this bobby pin isn’t doing anything. So, Alex, come help. Please.”
Alex rolled her eyes but walked over nonetheless, taking the bobby pin from Magnus’s hand. She set to work on the door as the other two introduced themselves as Zia and Walt respectively. There was an awkward silence for about five seconds before an audible CLICK echoed throughout the room.
“See Magnus, it’s not hard,” Alex says, clearly very proud of herself. She opened the door with a flourish and stepped out of the room. The rest followed her, back on guard in the unfamiliar place, ready for any attack. They hear pounding footsteps on the floor above them, but they have no time to think of a plan before the door at the top of the steps opens, a group of people and a horse? standing at the top of the steps.
“Well, shit.”
**
Percy laughed as Annabeth opened the door to the Big House. They were looking for Chiron after preparing for the next day, when their other mythical friends were due to arrive. What Percy did not expect was the yelling and panic that pervaded the air of the Big House. Percy glanced at Annabeth who nodded as she drew her knife. Percy uncapped Riptide and walked slowly into the house, walking towards the noise cautiously. What met him when he finally reached the basement door was a scene so funny yet concerning that he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. One glance at Annabeth showed she felt the same.
Sadie was watching by the wall, obviously very concerned about the fact that Carter was dancing to a tune coming from Grovers pipes while Magnus and Alex stood facing off with Nico and Hazel. Jack, who should be with Magnus was flying around the room rapidly, hitting people on the head with his hilt. It seemed to be effective if the forms of Jason, Piper, Conner, Leo, Frank, and Travis on the floor meant anything. Zia was currently locked in a battle of wills with Clarisse as Will stood over Thalia and Katie who seemed to have minor burns littering their arms. Chiron stood frozen as he stared at Walt, who was beside Sadie watching Pollux as he guarded Sadie from behind, shoulder touching the wall.
“What is going on?” Annabeth yelled, freezing everyone in the room. Everyone turned to look at Annabeth and Percy. Percy, still standing with Riptide lax in his hand, immediately started to laugh hysterically.
“What the Hades, Percy?” Clarisse yelled, enraged. Groans filtered through the air as Jack’s past victims began to wake up.
“This is the funniest thing I have ever seen,” he said in between laughs.
“Funny?”
“We are under attack!”
“They are literally dead!”
Various yells filled the room as complaints were made, Percy laughing the entire time. Annabeth rolled her eyes before giving a shrill whistle.
“Calm down,” she said. “We can explain everything.”
“You know them,” Thalia exclaimed. Grumbles sounded around the room, though there was significantly less tension in the room at this realization. Everyone knew that if Percy and Annabeth were this relaxed with the situation, there couldn’t be too much danger.
“Yes, we know them.” Annabeth was relaxed as she put her knife back in its hilt at her side. “They were supposed to get here tomorrow, we were on our way to talk to Chiron. What happened?”
Percy finally began to calm down as he suggested they move this conversation to a more comfortable room. Everyone gave their assent and filed up the steps and made their way to the main meeting room, crowding in. Percy and Annabeth exchanged amused glances at the very clear divide in the room. Even with their reassurances, tension pervaded the meeting room. Before they could enter the room, though, Chiron drew them to the side, just in sight of the door, to keep a watch on the situation, but allowing for them to have a semi-private conversation.
“What is this?” Chiron started. He looked concerned; the most concerned Percy had seen since telling him the Great Prophecy. “They are not Roman, and they are certainly not Greek. Who are they?”
Meeting Annabeth’s eyes, Percy decided that something bigger was at play. Chiron looked scared and that in turn scared Percy. He knew his friends weren’t a threat, at least not to camp, but Chiron had a look on his face that made Percy think he wasn’t going to like what came next.
“Chiron,” Annabeth said. “We can explain everything. We were going to today; at the meeting we had planned. They weren’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow. We wouldn’t have done something like this without your approval first.”
Chiron, though not looking relaxed in the slightest, did look less concerned. “And they are of no threat?”
“Not to us,” Percy said hurriedly. “They’re Egyptian and Norse, but they won’t harm anyone here, we wouldn’t let them.”
And as much as Percy loves his friends, he loves his family, his home, more. He knew he would do anything to protect camp and the people inside it. Friend or foe, he would fight for his home.
Letting out a sigh, Chiron slumped. “Okay, then I suppose we should get this over with.” Looking at the couple, he gave a slight glare. “You two have a lot of explaining to do.”
**
To say Piper was concerned would be an understatement. Sitting in the Big House with six unknown people who very obviously have battle knowledge is stressful. She could tell that Leo felt the same, if the anxious motions of pulling tools from his belt just to return them was any indication. But Percy and Annabeth, who were both very relaxed, had just entered the room, and they seemed to find this whole situation laughable, so she felt somewhat reassured.
She was sitting opposite the boy with a necklace that she could have sworn turned into that awful flying sword that had hit her in the head earlier. Beside him was a girl dressed in colorful clothes, a pink cropped shirt with neon green cargo pants. She made the outfit work at least. Though if any of Piper’s siblings were there, they would be horrified.
Suddenly, Annabeth called for the attention of the room.
“Okay guys, I know you all have a lot of questions for us,” she prefaced. “But I just want to reassure everyone that no one is in any danger.”
As much as Piper doubted that, considering her growing headache from where the sword had hit her, she trusted her friends and she knew they would never put anyone, even this odd collection of characters, into harms way if there was any chance of injury whatsoever.
“We originally had all of this planned for tomorrow,” Percy started. “A whole debrief and everything. But our guests arrived early.” A playful glare was sent to the newcomers, one of which stuck her tongue out at Percy.
“We wanted to make sure we were on time,” the blonde said sheepishly. “Time is weird in Valhalla.”
Valhalla? That was a weird name for a place, but considering she was sitting in a room with a centaur, she couldn’t judge. She had never heard of anywhere called Valhalla though, and judging by the faces in the room, no one else had either. At least she thought, until Nico suddenly groaned.
“No way,” he said. “There is absolutely no way. First Romans, now this!”
He looked genuinely distressed, which worried Piper somewhat. Nico had always seemed like this unflappable personality to her, even when she had first met him on the Argo II. Percy just nodded sympathetically.
Clearing her throat, Annabeth spoke up.
“Recently, me and Percy have come to the conclusion that big events for us mean big events for others,” she gestured to the other side of the room and all six sunk down in their seats, looking solemn at the mention. “So, we thought it best to be able to work together. Everyone, meet our friends. I think introductions are in order.”
**
Alex didn’t really know if she wanted to be here. Magnus had convinced her to come but sitting in this uncomfortable fold-out chair while being glared at semi-hostilely was making her not want to be here. At least with Annabeth and Percy here, she knew that they wouldn’t attack immediately. But now she was in the middle of some awkward ice breaker, which is really just not what she wants to do. Thankfully, she didn’t have to go first, as Carter stood to introduce himself.
“I’m Carter, and,” he trailed off, looking at Annabeth for assurance. She nodded and Percy gave a thumbs up, to which Carter took a deep breath and looked back at the Greeks? Romans? Both. “I’m the eye of Horus, an Egyptian magician.”
Gasps were heard around the room, and even she was slightly surprised. She knew other pantheons existed, obviously, so she didn’t know why this surprised her as much as it did. The room, on the other hand, made its shock known, as the pale kid who had an outburst earlier stood up with his hands in the air, obviously very exasperated with this whole event.
Annabeth gave the same shrill whistle she had before, quieting the room once more. Carter was still standing where he had introduced himself, looking very awkward.
Alex couldn’t help herself. She leaned over to Magnus.
“How much do you think they would flip if we told them we’re einherjar?” She whispered.
A burly girl whipped her head over to them.
“And what in Hades is an einherjar?”
With a shit-eating grin, one Magnus couldn’t help but roll his eyes at, she responded.
“Dead Norse demigods who live in Valhalla.”
As she watched several people in the room faint, she changed her mind. She was very glad she came.
**
This was going very poorly, was all Annabeth could think as she watched Katie, Travis, and Leo pass out. Nico hadn’t stopped pacing since Carter had spoken and Jason looked like he wanted to cry. Why, Annabeth had no idea, but Jason had always been melodramatic. Really, this was going terribly. She looked at Percy, who, despite the situation, looked thrilled at the outcome. Sometimes she wondered if she was the only one with brains in this entire camp.
Chaos and pandemonium had spread like a wildfire. Chiron’s head was held in his hands, a low groan escaping from the corner he was sitting in. Clarisse looked like she was about to jump Alex, who had a shit-eating grin on her face. Magnus looked so tired of this all, but he had a cautious hand on his necklace. There was a tension around Carter, Sadie, Zia, and Walt, all of their hands flexing in the air, as if reaching for something that wasn’t there. Annabeth’s only thought was damage control.
“Okay, okay,” she yelled. The room quieted, though none of the anxiety pervading the air left. “I know this is a lot. Trust me, I understand, but nobody is in any danger.”
Glances were shared between friends, but nobody moved until Leo groaned, a hand coming to his head. Katie and Travis also began to come too, sitting back up in their chairs and looking around the room.
“It wasn’t a dream?” Travis asked as he looked across the table at Walt. The tension fled the room as Will burst into an incredulous laugh, bending forward to try and stifle the giggles. The laughter was contagious, to the point until everyone in the room was valiantly fighting for their breath. Thalia was the first to sober, quickly taking a deep breath to settle herself.
“This is a lot,” she breathed out, and the focus was turned to her, giggles and laughs petering out until silence blanketed the room.
“I know,” Percy spoke, looking for all the world as apologetic as Annabeth herself felt. “We didn’t want this to happen this way. We wanted everyone to be prepared.”
Annabeth nodded, speaking up once more. She could tell that most of the tension in the room had faded in the wake of the laughter and she couldn’t be happier. These were all her friends, and quite literally her family in the case of Magnus. She would have been devastated if they were to have reacted poorly.
“We had a meeting planned with Chiron so we could explain the whole situation. Obviously, people got here a little too early and with no warning.”
“How did this even happen?” Grover’s question floated through the air. “We’d never even known of other pantheons until we met the Romans. Then all of the sudden you guys roll up with two more. How?”
“It’s a long story.”
**
Carter was a little baffled at how well they were all taking this. Yes, there had been yelling and panic and three teens had passed out, but still. If this had happened at the Twenty-First Nome, no one would have been able to calm them as fast as Annabeth and Percy had calmed their campers. There was a lot of trust to be seen here, he could tell.
He watched as Annabeth and Percy explained how they had become involved with himself and Sadie. He stayed quiet, mostly because Sadie was interrupting almost every other sentence with random anecdotes. Her friendly tone seemed to calm even more of the campers, who the longer the story went on, the more enthralled they became. As they concluded the tale about the battle against Setne, the entire room had relaxed immensely.
“Wow,” Katie muttered. “So that was like a whole thing, wasn’t it? And you guys never thought to bring it up? No one thought to mention this? Share with the group?”
“Well, we were just coming out of the war with Gaia,” Percy started, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “There was still a lot to be done, and tension was still high with the Romans. We didn’t want to add more stress to that.”
“Plus, right after this, I had to go to Boston,” Annabeth cut in. Her tone of voice was off though, as if this was some chore that hit a rough spot yet also was looked at fondly. “For…family stuff. Had a funeral and everything.”
“We get it,” Magnus drawled out, groaning as he leant his head back and rested it on Alex’s shoulder. “How dare you have to come look for your missing, homeless cousin and attend his funeral. How absolutely awful is that.”
Carter was immensely confused, as were the rest of the room.
“It’s a little annoying when said cousin just decides to crash his own funeral.”
“Well maybe said cousin was confused out of his gods damned mind.”
“Then maybe said cousin shouldn’t have fought his batshit insane uncle on a burning bridge with some random sword he found.”
“That cousin didn’t have a choice!”
The bickering was getting louder, both blonde teens yelling at the point. It was pretty obvious, though, that this was a frequent argument and was meant well. Carter had argued with Sadie like this many a time.
“Wait!” the boy in front of Magnus yelled. He looked as if he was covered in soot and Carter immediately thought to introduce him to Zia. “You’re related?”
“Yes,” Annabeth sighed, pinching her nose. Magnus stuck his tongue out at her, crossing his arms when she flipped him off. “This is my cousin. He is dead. He is Norse. He is an idiot.”
Magnus let out an offended gasp.
“The reason we wanted to introduce you all to this,” Percy swiftly interrupted before more bickering could start again. “Was because we noticed a pattern. Every time some big, world ending event happened for us,” he gestured to the Greeks and Romans. “Another was happening at the same time or close to for them.”
Carter nodded at the looks cast at his group.
“We had a whole war against a giant snake,” Sadie said, shrugging nonchalantly.
“Hey!” Alex exclaimed. “So did we!”
Magnus almost choked and Carter was somewhat concerned for the boy.
“You can’t just call your mom a snake!”
**
Leo laughed at the absurdity of that statement. This was wild. That was the only thought Leo was able to put together since he had been brought for the emergency meeting. Wild and crazy and insane. New pantheons, flying swords, world ending events, flying swords, Annabeth family, FLYING SWORDS. Truly, a situation out of his pay grade.
And now, Alex’s mom was a snake, and Magnus was mad about it. Really, Leo would believe anything at this point. It was chaos and he was loving it.
“So, what now?” Clarisse asked, arms crossed as she glared at Percy. A normal occurrence and one to be expected after the afternoon they had all had.
“Now,” Annabeth started. “We use this meeting to establish connections and work out a system. We need to know the signs of major events a place precautionary measures to alert each other. Too many of us have been caught off guard when we would have been able to help.”
“That, and we start learning,” Percy said. “We’ve probably come across monsters from each other’s pantheons and not realized. Information is important here.”
That Leo could agree with that. He didn’t want to imagine the crazy creatures the Egyptian and Norse had to deal with, but he would much rather be prepared than be thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim.
There were groans from around the room, but Leo knew that the majority of the room agreed. They all knew too well how bad being unprepared could be. Already he could see Magnus and Carter pulling out notebooks, presumably full of information on their respective pantheons.
“So,” Annabeth said. She clapped her hands once as she observed the room, and Leo could see the pride in her eyes. He could tell she was happy with the outcome this afternoon had, even with the rough start. She also held a notebook, and Percy was pulling another out of the bag on her back. They had probably prepared for this. “Let’s begin.”