Previously:
I thought about it, even as I could see the Minotaur come charging at us from the street. I agreed with Zoe. At least then Estelle will be kept at a distance from the fight rather than up close and personal.

"Guys?" Frank said, suddenly getting panicky. "Should we go?"

"Yeah, let's go." I grabbed onto Frank with one hand and Estelle with the other. Zoe grabbed the six year old's other hand and we raced towards the entrance of the museum.

"Perseus Jackson!"

"I'm sorry, Zoë!"

We landed in another person's home again. I'm not sure what is always causing that. It's not like I ask the portals to drop us off in someone's house every time we go through. Luckily, it doesn't look like anyone's home.

The house was very humble. It had a dirt floor, only two rooms, and a straw roof. The front room had only a very old fashioned oven and table and the back room behind a door that when opened (by Frank rubbing his head) would show a simple cot and blanket.

"Maybe stop thinking of an abstract place." Frank suggested. "Also, how did I end up in a different room?"

"I'm sorry, Frank, I think I let go of your hand while we were falling." Estelle said, head down.

"That's okay, I was just confused." Frank assured her. He looked up at the rest of us. "Should we leave before the home owner gets here?"

"Good idea." I agreed. "Maybe we can get some food too."

At my words, I heard more than one stomachs rumble. We quickly left through the front door only to see a familiar sight.

"Are we in..." I trailed off, uncertain if what I was thinking was right.

"Rome?" Frank finished for me.

"No." Zoë said. "We are not in the Rome I know. Rome has since fallen. We are going through dimensional portals, remember? Not time portals."

"Explain this then." I said, gesturing to the view in front of us.

Houses made of hardened clay—likely to actually be cement—and wood lined the street which was made of cobbled stones. Soldiers stood on the corner dressed in armor that was very similar to the armor New Rome had. Only it wasn't made of celestial bronze or imperial gold. The only people walking down the street—closer to running—was a small group of boys wearing dirty white tunics and leather sandals. I looked down at myself then my companions to see we were all still in very colorful t-shirts and jeans.

"We should change before we get too much attention." I said. I concentrated on our appearances (a little harder than I remembered when I fell in Adrian Agreste's room). A second later, we looked just like the group of boys I'd seen running past us seconds earlier.

"I do not know where we are," Zoë started, "but we could not be in Rome." She was in a longer tunic than the rest of us were.

"Let's get moving." I suggested as I grabbed my sister's hand. "Maybe we'll find out our location in the Main square or something." Fortunately, I faintly recalled a gift from Hermes that had something to do with knowing my way around so we found the square pretty easily. Unfortunately, a bigger building that held an uncanny resemblance to the Coliseum came into view at that point. No one wanted to point out to the former Huntress that she'd been wrong so we avoided her glowering gaze and stayed silent.

Suddenly, a loud roar rose up from the building.

"That must be where all the people have gone." Zoë commented, stubbornly ignoring our hesitant glances and walking ahead.

"What is it, Percy?" Estelle asked, her grip on my hand tightening ever so slightly.

"They're probably fighting in there." I said without thinking.

"Why are they fighting?" Her voice got quieter.

The four of us froze at her question. Zoë was tense and Frank looked uncomfortable. I just closed my eyes in immense sadness at the reminder of Estelle's former living conditions.

"It's probably not bad fighting." I said slowly, praying to all the gods I was right. "It's most likely they are...testing their skills against each other. Kind of like the race we just did with Phineas and Ferb except...they're using weapons against each other."

There, that was as good an explanation I was going to be able to do.

Estelle thought about my answer carefully. "So it's like the arm wrestles we would do?"

I forgot she thinks I'm actually her brother and not some other dimensional version of him. "Yeah, sea star, that's right."

She brightened considerably. "Okay!"

And just like that, she skipped off to catch up with Zoë, who still hadn't moved since the smaller girl's question. She grabbed Zoë's hand and started pulling her toward the doors where we could see a crowd forming. "Let's go see who's gonna win!"

I let out a sad chuckle and raced after her.

"The booths for common wealth battles are now open!" An announcer's voice rang over the crowd. Immediately, it got harder to hear his next words because the people around us started speaking louder. I could barely make out; "Those with magic to the right and those without to the left."

Magic? I glanced at Zoë and Frank to see if they heard it too.

Estelle gasped excitedly, obviously having heard as well. "Are you going to sign up, Percy?"

"I don't know," I said hesitantly.

"Please, Percy?" One glance down at my little sister was one too many. I immediately shut my eyes but it was too late. Her puppy face was too good.

"Okay, fine, but Frank needs to do it too." No way was I going to say no and if I couldn't do it, Frank wouldn't be able to either. I grinned at the very not threatening glare from said son of Mars.

Estelle had bounced over to beg in front of him and he made the same mistake I did. He hung his head in defeat and the little ball of energy cheered.

"Zoë is going to stay with you, Estelle, do whatever she says, okay?"

"Okay!"

Zoë had a very big disapproving look on her face. "This is not wise."

"Can you say no to her? Because I can't."

Zoë only pursed her lips. "Be careful."

"See you when we're done." I waved and went to the booth to the right. Frank followed closely.

"The Empire is not responsible for any injuries you sustain inside this building and especially if you sign up for a fight with those with magic while not having any yourself. The fee for signing up is one drachma per person. Those with magic signing up for a mortal fight must consent to wearing a magic dampening cuff. The battles on the floor are not for the faint of heart, so it is recommended that any family members younger than eight not watch your fight, but of course we don't enforce that rule as it is completely up to their guardians. That being said, they are not fights to the death. You may bring in your own weapon under the condition that it must be registered if you are going to use it in your fights. We will also provide a weapon of your choice. Any questions?" The bored person at the booth said all this as if reading from a script.

Frank and I stared at him dumbly, needing a second to register what he said. "Um, yes, do you provide any medical assistance for injuries?" I asked hesitantly. It sounded like they didn't at all and that was slightly concerning.

The man sighed and said (also as if from a script) "We provide medical assistance for the most life threatening injuries but you will need to pay for that service out of pocket. Anything else?"

"Two for the magic fights." I said, putting two drachmas on his table.

"Names?"

"Perseus Jackson."

"Frank Zhang."

"What magics do you know and what weapons will you be registering?"

"Water and fire manipulation, some control over feelings and a little in earth shaking. I've only got a sword." I decided to stick with my biggest powers. I wasn't sure I could remember all the other ones I had on the spot.

"Shape shifting—specifically with animals. I use a bow and arrow or a spear." Frank said nervously.

"Here are your pins"—he handed me and Frank pins made of pewter that had the numbers 97 and 98 on them respectively—"wear them inside the building at all times, if you loose them, you will not be allowed back inside after today. This is a multi-day event but we cannot guarantee that you will make it past the first fight"—he sounded robotic again—"So the Empire is not responsible for any money lost. Any questions?"

"Nope." Frank and I said in unison.

"Head down the hall to the right, there will be guards to lead you to the training room." He pointed to the right and he was done with us. "Next!"

The first day of fights was not very notable. Frank and I did not compete with each other, and both of our competitors were just mortals using magic items. It was almost too easy to take them down. I could also see why this was an event lasting over several days. There were so many people waiting in the training room for their turn.

"Percy! Frank!" I heard little Estelle's voice somehow over the noise of the bustling people around us. Looking around, my eyes were drawn to the waving arms of my sister who was sitting on the shoulders of someone I was not expecting to see in an Ancient Rome styled dimension. She was beaming at me so I assumed she was not in distress.

"Is that—"

"A knight?" I finished. "I think so, Frank."

"Huh."

"Estelle!" I said, smiling back at her as we approached. "Who's this? And where is Zoë?"

"I am here, Perseus."

I jumped, putting my hand to my chest. My heart now beating much harder. "Don't do that, Nightshade." I admonished.

"My name is Sir Percival I happened to be sitting with these two, watching the fights. You're both very good." He offered the hand to me that was not holding onto Estelle's foot. He was a big man, under his red cape, you could see the sleeves of his shirt and chain mail seemed to have been torn off. He wore a sword at his waist and leather boots.

"Tch, you would not be able to tell from those fights." Zoë said scornfully. "And from what I saw in the other competitors, they could easily win this silly competition."

"How could you tell?" I turned to the new voice only to see—guess who? Another knight. This one had shaggy blond hair and an air of the type of confidence that only comes from a higher up status. He wore much the same outfit as Sir Percival but for a large gash in his cape and the sleeves on his top was intact. "If you can't tell from just the first day of fights how good these two are, how could you tell about the other competitors?"

Zoë eyed him warily. "If thou live as long as I have, it is possible," she relented. "But I have my doubts."

"Ha! You're what? Ten?" another knight in the same exact outfit as the first two popped up next to the blond one. This one had longer dark hair and a scruffy beard. He was munching on a half eaten apple.

"I am several thousand years old." Zoë crossed her arms over her chest.

"How is that possible?" And suddenly, we were surrounded by six knights in grey and red armor.

"She's a nymph." Frank said hesitantly, looking around.

I did as well. "How many of you are there?"

"It should be just the seven of us." The blond one said, looking around. "We're missing one. Has anyone seen Merlin?" When no one had an affirmative answer, he turned around, cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "MERLIN!"

"Right here, Sire." Now there was another boy next to me, only he was not in armor like the others were. He had a leather jacket over a blue shirt and a red scarf around his neck.

"Merlin?" I said, the name ringing a bell. Blondie had spun around like I did when Zoë popped out of nowhere and was glaring at him. "Oh! As in Camelot? The knights of the Round Table and King Arthur?"

"Yes?" Merlin said hesitantly.

"That explains why there is magic in Rome like this." Zoë said. "The Rome in our world does not have magic to this extent."

"Wait, why does that explain the presence of magic?" Blondie questioned.

Zoë looked at him like he was dumb them glanced at Merlin. A light went off in her eyes and she shrugged. "In our world, Camelot is only a legend and it has many tales of magic. The sword of Excalibur for one." She gestured to the sword at his waist. Then she turned to Merlin. "I would be interested in learning the differences between the legends and your stories. Where are you staying for the competition?"

"An inn not too far from here." Merlin said easily.

He and Zoë seemed to reach an understanding but Frank, Estelle and I were all lost.

"Then we shall join you for the evening meal." Zoë decided.

"Um, Zoë? Are you sure?" I asked quietly. She was on the side of me that didn't have a knight but I wanted to stay unheard. "They're guys."

Zoë leveled me with the same look she gave Blondie—who, now I think I can safely assume to be King Arthur. "I am aware, Perseus." She said. "I have seen something intriguing. Besides this is King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. If the legends are true, their chivalry and honor are beyond what most people of the male sex see in their entire lives."

"I didn't think hunters of Artemis would put much stock in legends like that." I commented.

Before Zoë could do to me more than a glare, King Arthur cleared his throat. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves if we're to spend dinner with each other." He started. "We've introduced Merlin and you've met Sir Percival. I assume you know I am King Arthur, but please, just call me Arthur."

"I am Sir Gwaine," smirked the apple eating, scruffy bearded one.

"I am Sir Leon." This one was also blond but his hair went down past his ears and he had a beard.

"Sir Elyan." He had darker skin and was much shorter than all the other knights.

"Sir Lancelot." He had dark hair too but his beard was neatly kept, as was his hair.

"I am Frank Zhang." His nervous wave quickly hid behind his back again.

"I am Percy Jackson." I gave my trademark smirk in response to Sir Gwaine's. "That's my little sister Estelle on Sir Percival's shoulders there."

"I am Zoë Nightshade."

Arthur led us all to the inn they were staying at, fortunately, there were no distractions on the way there.

By the time everyone was settled at one of the biggest tables the inn had, (which happened to be round—what are the odds?), I was starving. The training room at the arena—more like a waiting room—only had some bread and cheese.

There was a little shuffling we had to do because the table wasn't big enough for all 11 of us. Zoë had taken her chance and pulled Merlin off to a nearby table and Merlin pulled Lancelot after him. They immediately started talking with each other. At first Lancelot was confused but then Zoë said something that caught his attention and he leaned over the table to respond.

"So, Percy, I remember you said you came from a different world..." Arthur started. "Which one?"

I turned away from the small table of three at his words. "Do people in this world travel to different worlds very often?" I asked, furrowing my brows. This is the first I've heard of something like this.

Arthur smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I honestly have no idea. We're rather new to this magic stuff."

"Really?" I learned forward. "Explain?"

"For the last several decades, any use of magic has been banned in Camelot." He started.

Frank and I shared a glance with each other.

"What?" Estelle said, surprised. "But—"

I put my hand on her shoulder to stop her. My mind went to the look on Zoë's face when she looked at Merlin earlier. "Estelle, why don't you go sit with Zoë? I'm sure she's asking Merlin the same thing." Immediately she was off. "Sorry, Arthur, go ahead."

"It was only recently with the help of an old man named Dragoon that we gained a greater understanding of what magic is. He was trying to save my father's life but Morgana had cast a spell to make any healing magic useless. There was nothing he could do since he hadn't found out in time. I didn't see it that way at first, I am ashamed to admit. Ever since then, we are learning so much more about magic than I ever thought possible. We came here because we heard about the dampening cuffs they were using in the mortal fights. I thought we could use that for times when there is a criminal who could use magic to escape the dungeons."

"Magic is still not legal in Camelot," Sir Percival said. "But we are taking steps to change that."

"Interesting." I said. "None of this is in the legends I am familiar with."

"Same here." Frank said. "Who are you learning about magic from?"

"Gaius, the court physician." Sir Leon said. "He's the only one we trust that has had a history of magic."

"How did magic get banned in the first place?" Frank asked.

Arthur shared an uncomfortable look with his knights. "That's a long story." He said finally. "What about you? Were you in the competition? I didn't see you in the training room."

"Oh, yeah." I said. "Frank and I were in the magical side of the competition though so that's probably why."

"But you didn't use any magic against any of your opponents." Sir Percival said.

Frank snorted and I laughed. "Didn't need to." I said. "You can't use magic for everything. What about you guys? Were you in the arena?"

"Yes." Elyan said. "We did it on a dare from Merlin. We needed someone to report on the magic fights too and Percival pulled the short stick."

"Well, I'm glad you did, big guy." I said, smiling at him. "It certainly helped me find the girls again."

"What kind of magic do you have?" Sir Gwaine asked.

I shared a grin with Frank. "You'll just have to see."

- - -

Luckily, the inn had an extra room. However, there was only one so all four of us had to pile up in the same room.

"What were you talking to Merlin and Lancelot about, Zoë?" Frank asked as we were all settling down.

"Is it to do with them not knowing about Merlin being a wizard?" I asked.

"He's a warlock, actually." Estelle said cheerfully from her spot on the bed. She and Zoë were sharing the bed. Frank  and I got the floor.

"Yes, Sir Lancelot apparently is the only one to know about it." Zoë said. "From what's he's told me, he's too nervous to tell the rest of them. He thinks they might be mad at him once they learn."

"Lancelot said he's trying to give them ideas that he's magic." Estelle said. "I said I would help!"

I smiled at her from my spot by the door. "I'm sure they liked that, sea star."

She wiggled happily further into the blankets and promptly fell asleep.

Zoë sighed and joined her. "I do not know what possessed thee to agree to her this morning but I will not disagree that it ended up being an interesting adventure."

"Maybe they'll find out before the competition is over." Frank suggested from his pile of blankets under the window.

No one said anything to that and I realized they'd all fallen asleep. I lay awake for a few more hours, coming up with ways they could learn about Merlin without the knights getting mad. Sleep came before I could finish the first plan.

- - -

"Our next battle will be between Perseus Jackson and Harrison Ford!"

The announcer's voice was faintly heard in the room I was waiting in just outside the arena. Any second now, the door will open and they'll expect me to walk out. A deafening roar erupted after the announcement. I'd be concerned about the noise while I fought but I know from the first day that the sound is dampened on the arena floor.

Wait.

Did he say, Harrison Ford?

As in Indiana Jones? Han Solo?

That Harrison Ford?

I could spend no more time thinking about this as the door opened. Stepping out into the bright sun, I eyed my opponent on the other end of the arena. He didn't look like the actor I remembered from my youth. He had brown hair, a seemingly permanent smirk and a stocky build. A spear in his right hand and a shield in the other. The shield had a crest in red and blue with a symbols of a snake of some kind.

"Let the fight..." the announcer paused for effect. He did this with every fight. "...Begin!"

Harrison rushed at me, spear pointed at my heart. I had yet to take out Riptide during this entire competition but this was a spear fight. I think I would want to shorten his reach just a little.

He must be new to magic too because he didn't try any sort of spell until I'd done that. And even then, it was not much of a spell.

The day's fights have gotten progressively harder. Yesterday, it felt like fighting some of the seven year olds at camp. Now it's gotten to be like fighting a seasoned Aphrodite camper who actually takes training semi-seriously. Idly, I wondered when it would start to get challenging.

- - -

"You didn't even take out your sword or use your magic for the last few fights." Arthur said later that day over dinner. Apparently he didn't have any fights after the first part of the day so he joined Percival, Zoë, and Estelle to watch Frank and me. "Are you just looking to make it challenging?"

"Something like that." I said absentmindedly. The last one I fought got mad I wasn't really trying. He landed a good hit on my jaw before I knocked him out.

"Where is your sword?" Percival asked, looking around.

I pulled out Riptide and uncapped it. Everyone's eyes widened as my sword grew. "I honestly don't know how this magic works." I said, rubbing the back of my head. "Zoë might know but the magic in our world often leaves us with more questions than answers."

"That happens to us too." Merlin said. "Especially with the people who can use magic. It doesn't seem to be inherited at all. Magic seems to just...choose people."

"So magic is sentient?" Leon asked curiously but with a hint of nervousness in his tone.

"It sure seems that way." Merlin answered. "But I don't think it is in the way we are. Magic's views on morals like who is worthy or not is a little different than how we think it is."

"How is it then?" Arthur asked, leaning forward.

"Men judge worthiness on things that they have done," Merlin said. "Magic seems to do it based on things they may do in the future. Their accomplishments or their destiny."

- - -

It's been a few days now since the competition started. Most of the fights I've been in require some sort of medical treatment at the end of the day. Not by those working in the arena but from Zoë and Merlin at the inn. Why pay for it when you can get it for free?

Most of the knights are now out of the competition. All that's left is Arthur, Lancelot, and Gwaine. It seems like that was expected among the knights though. I can see them all at the front row. I was in my last fight of the day, so most of them were able to watch. The only one missing was Gwaine.

I was shook out of my thoughts as a jet stream of water went up my nose. I turned a glare onto my opponent, offended he managed to land a hit with my own element. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zoë and Estelle laughing.

The wizard—if that was the right term for this type of magic user—had a talent with all the elements. He could manipulate the elements he'd either brought onto the floor or the ones already there but he could not summon it from great distances. At least that's what I've gathered from our short fight so far.

Just out of spite, I decided to show my abilities for the first time. My left hand reached out to grab hold of the water not only being controlled by the wizard but from the fountains on the platforms farther up in the audience. My right hand burst into flames.

The wizard's eyes widened, and the crowd roared in excitement.

"You can not even being to imagine the possibilities you hold." I said. In one move, I sent all the water I grabbed and a small stream of fire at him.

If possible, the audience got louder as the water splashed through them but not—I think—in a bad way. And the match was over.

- - -

"You got me wet."

"I'm sorry, Zoë, you were in the splash zone."

"You got me wet."

I put my hands up in a 'what do you want me to do, you're already dry' motion.

She huffed and stomped to the room.