Walking back, Percy had asked tons of questions about Hazel's brother, Nico, but Frank didn't know that much and Noah refused to answer any questions.

"He's okay," Frank said. "He's not like Hazel-"

"How do you mean?" Percy asked.

"Oh, um..." Frank coughed. "Nico is kind of mysterious. He makes everybody else nervous, being the son of Pluto, and all."

"But not you?" Noah noted.

Frank shrugged. "Pluto's cool. It's not his fault he runs the Underworld. He just got bad luck when the gods were dividing up the world, you know? Jupiter got the sky, Neptune got the sea, and Pluto got the shaft."

Noah smiled. He was starting to grow on her.

"Death doesn't scare you?"

Frank hesitated for a second before he said, "Back in the old times, like the Greek times, when Pluto was called Hades, he was more of a death god. When he became Roman, he got more...I don't know, respectable. He became the god of wealth, too. Everything under the earth belongs to him So I don't think of him as being real scary."

As someone who had met Hades, Noah knew Hades wasn't as scary as he tried to be.

Percy scratched his head. "How does a god become Roman? If he's Greek, wouldn't he stay Greek?"

Frank walked a few steps, thinking. "The way Romans saw it, they adopted the Greek stuff and perfected it." Noah rolled her eyes while Percy made a sour face. "Perfected it? Like there was something wrong with it?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Rome was more successful than Greece. They made this huge empire. The gods became a bigger deal in Roman times more powerful and widely known. That's why they're still around today."-Noah almost laughed- "So many civilizations base themselves on Rome. The gods changed to Roman because that's where the center of power was. Jupiter was...well, more responsible as a Roman god than he had been when he was Zeus. Mars became a lot more important and disciplined."

"And Juno became a hippie bag lady," Percy noted. "So you're saying the old Greek gods-they just changed permanently to Roman? There's nothing left of the Greek?"

If it was what he was saying, he was wrong.

"Uh..." Frank looked around to make sure there were no campers or Lares nearby, but the main gates were still a hundred yards away. "That's a sensitive topic. Some people say Greek influence is still around, like it's still a part of the gods' personalities. I've heard stories of demigods occasionally leaving Camp Jupiter. They reject Roman training and try to follow the older Greek style like being solo heroes instead of working as a team the way the legion does. And back in the ancient days, when Rome fell, the eastern half of the empire survived, the Greek half."

Percy stared at him. "I didn't know that."

"It was called Byzantium." Noah noticed the weird smile on franks face when he said that. "The eastern empire lasted another thousand years, but it was always more Greek than Roman. For those of us who follow the Roman way, it's kind of a sore subject. That's why, whatever country we settle in, Camp Jupiter is always in the west the Roman part of the territory. The east is considered bad luck."

It's also where the Greek camp is, Noah thought.

"Huh." Percy frowned.

They reached the gates.

"I'll take you to the baths to get you cleaned up," Frank said. "But first...about those vials I found at the river."

Noah turned to the boy confused.

"Gorgon's blood," Percy said. "One vial heals. One is deadly poison."

Noah was surprised, both by the fact Percy knew that and how frank had it.

Frank's eyes widened. "You know about that? Listen, I wasn't going to keep them. I just-"

"I know why you did it, Frank."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Percy smiled. "If I'd come into camp carrying a vial of poison, that would've looked bad. You were trying to protect me."

Noah narrowed her eyes, would frank do something so nice for someone he barely knew?

"Oh. right." Frank wiped the sweat off his palms. "But if we could figure out which vial was which, it might heal your memory."

Percy's smile faded. Noah's eyes slightly widened.

"Maybe...I guess. But you should hang on to those vials for now. There's a battle coming. We may need them to save lives."

Frank stared at him, a little bit in awe.

"So you don't remember anything?" Frank asked. "Family, friends?"

Percy fingered the clay beads around his neck. "Only glimpses. Murky stuff. A best friend...I thought she'd be at camp." He looked at Frank carefully, as if making a decision. "Her name was Annabeth. You don't know her, do you?"

Noah straightened her back, ducking her head so that she didn't have to look anyone in the eyes.

Frank shook his head. "I know everybody at camp, but no Annabeth. What about your family? Is your mom mortal?"

"I guess so...she's probably worried out of her mind. Does your mom get to see you much?"

Noah knew exactly where Percy's mom was. She had been keeping her up with her search for Percy. Noah knew that if anyone deserved the information, it was her.

Frank stopped at the bathhouse entrance. He grabbed some towels from the supply shed. "She died."

Percy knit his brow. "How?"

Frank looked down slightly. "She died in the war," he said. "Afghanistan."

"She was in the military?"

"Canadian. Yeah."

"Canada? I didn't know-"

"Most Americans don't." Frank sighed. "But yeah, Canada has troops there. My mom was a captain. She was one of the first women to die in combat. She saved some soldiers who were pinned down by enemy fire. She...she didn't make it. The funeral was right before I came down here."

Percy nodded. He didn't ask for more details, neither did Noah. Neither said they were sorry, or make any of the well-meaning comments Frank always hated.

"How about you show me the baths now?" Percy suggested. "I'm filthy."

Noah smiled "yeah, we know"

Percy eyes flickered towards her, as if he was trying to remember something.

Frank managed a smile. "Yeah. You kind of are."

Noah practically went crazy while waiting for Percy to finish his shower.

Noah wasn't really a very chatty person, which she blamed her mother for, but frank, on the other hand, was.

"So where are you from" he asked first. Noah told him New York.

"That's really far" frank said, Noah agreed.

It was quiet for another moment before frank asked another question "so, how do you know Nico"

Noah tried to be vague and just say "I met him when he was younger" frank just nodded.

"Who's your parent?" Frank asked, Noah answered. By the look on his face, he had no idea who she was talking about.

Instead of asking he went to his next question "how old are you" Noah told him "sixteen"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"None that I know of"

"Why are your eyes so dark?"

"I don't know"

"Is your favorite color black?"

"No"

"Then what's your favorite color?"

"Green"

"Wha-"

"Oh look it's Percy"

Noah had never been happier to see Percy Jackson in her entire life.

He came walking out of the bathhouse in a new set of clothes, and his hair somehow messier then it was before.

"I can't even remember the last time I showered" Percy said "literally"

"Well, by how badly you smelled, I would guess it had to have been a long time ago" Noah said folding her arms behind her back.

Percy looked into Noah's eyes, spacing out for a second. "I swear I know you"

Noah's heart did a backflip, but she hid it by just shrugging "well I've never seen you before in my life"

She could tell by his face that he didn't believe her, but thankfully she was saved by the horn.

"Alright let's go" frank said heading in a random direction.

Percy and Noah stood for a second, Percy's eyes digging into hers. Doing the same thing he did earlier and forcing Noah to look away before she said something that got her blasted from the sky.

The first four cohorts, each forty kids strong, stood in rows in front of their barracks on either side of the Via Praetoria. The Fifth Cohort assembled at the very end, in front of the principia, since their barracks were tucked in the back corner of camp next to the stables and the latrines.

The campers were dressed for war. Their polished chain mail and greaves gleamed over purple T-shirts and jeans. Sword-and-skull designs decorated their helmets. Even their leather combat boots looked ferocious with their iron cleats, great for marching through mud or stomping on faces. In front of the legionnaires, like a line of giant dominoes, stood their red and gold shields, each the size of a refrigerator door. Every legionnaire carried a harpoonlike spear called a pilum, a gladius, a dagger, and about a hundred pounds of other equipment.

Noah probably would have been scared of them if she actually cared.

Hazel and Nico jogged down the street as everyone was coming to attention, so their entrance was really obvious. Their footsteps echoed on the stones.

Hazel ran past Reyna, who was cantering back and forth on her pegasus Scipio-nicknamed Skippy because he was the color of peanut butter. The metal dogs Aurum and Argentum trotted at her side. Her purple officer's cape billowed behind her.

"Hazel Levesque," she called, "so glad you could join us."

Hazel didn't respond. She was missing most of her equipment, but she hurried to her place in line next to Frank and stood at attention. Their lead centurion, a big seventeen-year-old guy named Dakota, was just calling her name the last one on the roll.

"Present!" she squeaked.

Nico joined Percy and Noah, who were standing off to one side with a couple of guards.

The Lares were the last ones to fall in. Their purple forms flickered as they jockeyed for places. They had an annoying habit of standing halfway inside living people, so that the ranks looked like a blurry photograph, but finally the centurions got them sorted out.

Octavian shouted, "Colors!"

The standard-bearers stepped forward. They wore lion-skincapes and held poles decorated with each cohort's emblems. The last to present his standard was Jacob, the legion's eagle bearer. He held a long pole with absolutely nothing on top. The job was supposed to be a big honor, but Jacob obviously hated it. Even though Reyna insisted on following tradition, every time the eagleless pole was raised, Hazel could feel embarrassment rippling through the legion.

Reyna brought her pegasus to a halt.

"Romans!" she announced. "You've probably heard about the incursion today. Two gorgons were swept into the river by this newcomer, Percy Jackson. Juno herself guided him here, and proclaimed him a son of Neptune."

The kids in the back rows craned their necks to see Percy. He raised his hand and said, "Hi."

Noah bit back her smile.

"He seeks to join the legion," Reyna continued. "What do the auguries say?"

"I have read the entrails!" Octavian announced, as if he'd killed a lion with his bare hands rather than ripping up a stuffed panda pillow. "The auguries are favorable. He is qualified to serve!"

The campers gave a shout: "Ave!"

Noah had no idea what that meant.

Frank was a little late with his "ave," so it came out as a high-pitched echo. The other legionnaires snickered.

Reyna motioned the senior officers forward one from each cohort. Octavian, as the most senior centurion, turned to Percy.

"Recruit," he asked, "do you have credentials? Letters of reference?"

Percy shifted. "Letters? Um, no."

Octavian wrinkled his nose.

Noah had no idea why he needed letters, didn't he carry a goddess into camp, shouldn't that be enough?

"No letters," Octavian said regretfully. "Will any legionnaires stand for him?"

"I will!" Frank stepped forward. "He saved my life!"

Immediately there were shouts of protest from the other cohorts. Reyna raised her hand for quiet and glared at Frank.

"Frank Zhang," she said, "for the second time today, I remind you that you are on probatio. Your godly parent has not even claimed you yet. You're not eligible to stand for another camper until you've earned your first stripe."

Frank looked like he might die of embarrassment.

Hazel stepped out of line and said, "What Frank m means is that Percy saved both our lives. I am a full member of the legion. I will stand for Percy Jackson."

Reyna wrinkled her nose, but she turned to Octavian. The augur smiled and shrugged, like the idea amused him.

"Very well," Reyna announced. "Hazel Levesque, you may stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?"

The other cohorts started coughing, trying not to laugh. Noah wanted to strangle them with their own shadows.

Frank pounded his shield against the ground. The other members of the Fifth followed his lead, though they didn't seem very excited. Their centurions, Dakota and Gwen, exchanged pained looks, like: Here we go again.

"My cohort has spoken," Dakota said. "We accept the recruit."

Reyna looked at Percy with pity. "Congratulations, Percy Jackson. You stand on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

The rest of the legion echoed the cheer.

Reyna wheeled her pegasus away from Percy, like she was glad to be done with him.

"Centurions," Reyna said, "you and your troops have one hour for dinner. Then we will meet on the Field of Mars. The First and Second Cohorts will defend. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth will attack. Good fortune!"

A bigger cheer went up-for the war games and for dinner. The cohorts broke ranks and ran for the mess hall.

Hazel waved at Percy, who made his way through the crowd with Nico and Noah at his side looking a lot like bodyguards.

"Good job, Sis," Nico said. "That took guts, standing for him."

One of the guards had given Percy his probatio nameplate. Percy strung it on his leather necklace with the camp half-blood beads.

Noah's eyes lingered on the necklace for a minute, her hand drifting to hers, which was hidden beneath her shirt.

"Thanks, Hazel," Percy said. "Um, what exactly does it mean-your standing for me?"

"I guarantee your good behavior," Hazel explained. "I teach you the rules, answer your questions, make sure you don't disgrace the legion."

"And...if I do something wrong?"

"Then I get killed along with you," Hazel said. "Hungry? Let's eat."

With Percy's track record, Noah hoped Hazel was joking.

Invisible wind spirits aurae-waited on the campers and seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted. They blew plates and cups around so quickly, the mess hall looked like a delicious hurricane. If you got up too fast, you were likely to get beaned by beans or potted by a pot roast.

Percy got a cheeseburger and a soda that was bright blue. Noah smiled at that. Percy tried it and grinned.

"This makes me happy," he said. "I don't know why...but it does."

Just for a moment, one of the aura became visible an elfin girl in a white silk dress. She giggled as she topped off Percy's glass, then disappeared in a gust.

The mess hall was extremely noisy. Laughter echoed off the walls. War banners rustled from cedar ceiling beams as aura blew back and forth, keeping everyone's plates full. The campers dined Roman style, sitting on couches around low tables. Kids were constantly getting up and trading places, spreading rumors about who liked whom and all the other gossip.

The Fifth Cohort took the place of least honor. Their tables were at the back of the dining hall next to the kitchen. Noah's table wasn't too crowded, thankfully. It sat Noah, Hazel, Frank, Percy and Nico and their centurion Dakota, who sat there probably because he felt obligated to welcome the new recruit.

Dakota reclined glumly on his couch, mixing sugar into his drink and chugging it. He was a beefy guy with curly black hair and eyes that didn't quite line up straight. He looked oddly like Mr. D and all the time he chugged his Diet Coke.

"So." He burped, waving his goblet. "Welcome to the Percy, party." He frowned. "Party. Percy. Whatever."

"Um, thanks," Percy said, but his attention was focused on shifting between Nico and Noah. "I was wondering if we could talk, you know...about where I might have seen you before."

"Sure," Nico said a little too quickly. "The thing is, I spend most of my time in the Underworld. So unless I met you there somehow..."

Dakota belched. "Ambassador from Pluto, they call him. Reyna's never sure what to do with this guy when he visits. You should have seen her face when he showed up with Hazel, asking Reyna to take her in. Um, no offense."

"None taken." Nico seemed relieved to change the topic. "Dakota was really helpful, standing for Hazel."

Dakota blushed. "Yeah, well...She seemed like a good kid. Turned out I was right. Last month, when she saved me from, uh, you know."

"Oh, man!" Frank looked up from his fish and chips. "Percy, you should have seen her! That's how Hazel got her stripe. The unicorns decided to stampede-"

"It was nothing," Hazel said.

"Nothing?" Frank protested. "Dakota would've gotten trampled! You stood right in front of them, shooed them away, saved his hide. I've never seen anything like it."

Hazel bit her lip, as if she didn't like to talk about it. But the way Frank made her sound like a hero, why would she be ashamed.

Percy studied Hazel. "Did you and Nico grow up together?" he asked.

"No," Nico answered for her. "I found out that Hazel was my sister only recently. She's from New Orleans."

Noah didn't know the truth, Nico never told her, so she didn't think anything about it.

"There aren't many of us," Nico said, "so we have to stick together. When I found Hazel-"

"You have other sisters?" Percy asked. almost as if he knew the answer. Noah looked away from her food at the sudden reminder of Bianca.

Noah had been there, she had gone on the quest to save Artemis-though she was only there for Annabeth-and watched the girl run towards the metal giant, and then she watched the giant fall.

"One." Nico admitted. "But she died. I saw her spirit a few times in the Underworld, except that the last time I went down there..."

"She was gone." Nico's voice turned hoarse. "She used to be in Elysium-like, the Underworld paradise but she chose to be reborn into a new life. Now I'll never see her again. I was just lucky to find Hazel...in New Orleans, I mean."

Dakota grunted. "Unless you believe the rumors. Not saying that I do."

"Rumors?" Percy asked.

From across the room, a satyr yelled, "Hazel!"

He was working his way toward their table, grinning at everybody, sneaking food off plates, and pointing at campers: "Hey! Call me!" A flying pizza smacked him in the head, and he disappeared behind a couch. Then he popped up, still grinning, and made his way over.

"My favorite girl!" He smelled like a wet goat wrapped in old cheese. He leaned over their couches and checked out their food. "Say, new kid, you going to eat that?"

Percy frowned. "Aren't fauns vegetarian?"

"Not the cheeseburger, man! The plate!" He sniffed Percy's hair. "Hey...what's that smell?"

"Don!" Hazel said. "Don't be rude."

"No, man, I just-"

Their house god Vitellius shimmered into existence, standing half embedded in Frank's couch. "Fauns in the dining hall! What are we coming to? Centurion Dakota, do your duty!"

"I am," Dakota grumbled into his goblet. "I'm having dinner!"

Don was still sniffing around Percy. "Man, you've got an empathy link with a faun!" Percy leaned away from him. "A what?"

Noah's eyes widened in panic. Grover.

"An empathy link! It's real faint, like somebody's suppressed it, but-"

"I know what!" Nico stood suddenly. "Hazel, how about we give you and Frank time to get Percy oriented? Dakota and I can visit the praetor's table. Don and Vitellius, you come too. We can discuss strategies for the war games."

"Strategies for losing?" Dakota muttered.

"Death Boy is right!" Vitellius said. "This legion fights worse than we did in Judea, and that was the first time we lost our eagle. Why, if I were in charge-"

"Could I just eat the silverware first?" Don asked.

"Let's go!" Nico stood and grabbed Don and Vitellius by the ears.

Nobody but Nico could actually touch the Lares. Not even Noah. Vitellius spluttered with outrage as he was dragged off to the praetor's table.

"Ow!" Don protested. "Man, watch the 'fro!"

"Come on, Dakota!" Nico called over his shoulder. The centurion got up reluctantly. He wiped his mouth uselessly, since it was permanently stained red. "Back soon." He shook all over, like a dog trying to get dry. Then he staggered away, his goblet sloshing.

Nico was now gone, and Noah was still sitting in her spot staring at the boy's empty seat "was I supposed to go with him" she did not want to leave her plate half full.

"What was that about?" Percy asked. "And what's wrong with Dakota?"

Noah didn't mind that he ignored her question, especially if it meant she could finish her food.

Frank sighed. "He's okay. He's a son of Bacchus, the wine god. He's got a drinking problem."

That explains the weird resemblance.

Percy's eyes widened. "You let him drink wine?"

"Gods, no!" Hazel said. "That would be a disaster. He's addicted to red Kool-Aid. Drinks it with three times the normal sugar, and he's already ADHD you know, attention deficit/hyperactive. One of these days, his head is going to explode."

Noah hoped to never see the day that she had to deal with percy, not only having his ADHD, but also being hyped up on sugar.

Percy looked over at the praetor's table. Most of the senior officers were in deep conversation with Reyna. Nico and his two captives, Don and Vitellius, stood on the periphery. Dakota was running back and forth along a line of stacked shields, banging his goblet on them like they were a xylophone.

"ADHD," Percy said. "You don't say."

Hazel tried not to laugh. "Well...most demigods are. Or dyslexic. Just being a demigod means that our brains are wired differently. Like you-you said you had trouble reading."

"Are you guys that way too?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Hazel admitted. "Maybe. Back in my day, they just called kids like us 'lazy.'"

Noah looked away from her pizza and towards Hazel in confusion.

Percy frowned. "Back in your day?" Catching the same thing Noah had.

Frank spoke up before Hazel could reply "I wish I was ADHD or dyslexic. All I got is lactose intolerance."

Noah's confusion was washed away and replaced with a laugh.

Percy grinned. "Seriously?"

Frank groaned. "And I love ice cream, too..."

Percy and Hazel laughed. Noah laughed harder.

"Okay, so tell me," Percy said, "why is it bad to be in the Fifth Cohort? You guys are great."

"It's...complicated. Aside from being Pluto's kid, I want to ride horses." Hazel said looking down.

"That's why you use a cavalry sword?"

She nodded. "It's stupid, I guess. Wishful thinking. There's only one pegasus at camp Reyna's. The unicorns are just kept for medicine, because the shavings off their horns cure poison and stuff. Anyway, Roman fighting is always done on foot. Cavalry...they kind of look down on that. So they look down on me."

"Their loss," Percy said. "What about you, Frank?"

"Archery," he muttered. "They don't like that either, unless you're a child of Apollo. Then you've got an excuse. I hope my dad is Apollo, but I don't know. I can't do poetry very well. And I'm not sure want to be related to Octavian."

Noah knew he wasn't a child of Apollo, she wished he was for his sake, but she just knew he wasn't. It was like a feeling in her gut.

"Can't blame you," Percy said. "But you're excellent with the bow-the way you pegged those gorgons? Forget what other people think."

Frank's face turned as red as Dakota's Kool-Aid.

"Wish I could. They all think I should be a sword fighter because I'm big and bulky." He looked down at his body, like he couldn't quite believe it was his. "They say I'm too stocky for an archer. Maybe if my dad would ever claim me..."

They ate in silence for a few minutes. A dad who wouldn't claim you...Noah knew that feeling. She knew Percy could relate, too.

Noah knew who her mother was, but for the first 14 years of her life her mother had refused to claim her.

"You asked about the Fifth," Hazel said at last. "Why it's the worst cohort. That actually started way before us."

She pointed to the back wall, where the legion's standards were on display. "See the empty pole in the middle?"

"The eagle," Percy said.

Hazel was stunned. "How'd you know?"

Percy shrugged. "Vitellius was talking about how the legion lost its eagle a long time ago-the first time, he said. He acted like it was a huge disgrace. I'm guessing that's what's missing. And from the way you and Reyna were talking earlier, I'm guessing your eagle got lost a second time, more recently, and it had something to do with the Fifth Cohort."

"You're right," Hazel said sounding a little impressed by the boys guess. "That's exactly what happened."

"So what is this eagle, anyway? Why is it a big deal?"

Frank looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "It's the symbol of the whole camp-a big eagle made of gold. It's supposed to protect us in battle and make our enemies afraid. Each legion's eagle gave it all sorts of power, and ours came from Jupiter himself. Supposedly Julius Caesar nicknamed our legion 'Fulminata'-armed with lightning-because of what the eagle could do."

"I don't like lightning," Percy and Noah said in sync.

Noah looked towards the boy, only to immediately look away when she noticed him looking at her.

"Yeah, well," Hazel said, "it didn't make us invincible. The Twelfth lost its eagle the first time way back in ancient days, during the Jewish Rebellion."

"I think I saw a movie like that," Percy said.

Hazel shrugged. "Could be. There have been lots of books and movies about legions losing their eagles. Unfortunately it happened quite a few times. The eagle was so important...well, archaeologists have never recovered a single eagle from ancient Rome. Each legion guarded theirs to the last man, because it was charged with power from the gods. They'd rather hide it or melt it down than surrender it to an enemy. The Twelfth was lucky the first time. We got our eagle back. But the second time..."

"You guys were there?" Percy asked.

Frank and Hazel both shook their heads.

"I'm almost as new as you." Frank tapped his probatio plate. "Just got here last month, but everyone's heard the story. It's bad luck to even talk about this. There was this huge expedition to Alaska back in the eighties...."

"That prophecy you noticed in the temple," Hazel continued, "the one about the eight demigods and the Doors of Death? Our senior praetor at the time was Michael Varus, from the Fifth Cohort. Back then the Fifth was the best in camp. He thought it would bring glory to the legion if he could figure out the prophecy and make it come true, save the world from storm and fire and all that. He talked to the augur, and the augur said the answer was in Alaska. But he warned Michael it wasn't time yet. The prophecy wasn't for him."

"But he went anyway," Percy guessed. "What happened?"

Frank lowered his voice. "Long, gruesome story. Almost the entire Fifth Cohort was wiped out. Most of legion's Imperial gold weapons were lost, along with the eagle. The survivors went crazy or refused to talk about what had attacked them."

"Since the eagle was lost," Frank continued, "the camp has been getting weaker. Quests are more dangerous. Monsters attack the borders more often. Morale is lower. The last month or so, things have been getting much worse, much faster."

"And the Fifth Cohort took the blame," Percy guessed. "So now everyone thinks we're cursed."

"We've been the outcasts of the legion since...well, since the Alaska disaster. Our reputation got better when Jason became praetor-"

"The kid who's missing?" Percy asked.

Noah flashed back to the last time she was at camp. It was only for a brief hour or two, but she had met this Jason guy. They only talked for about a minute before he had to run off and help his other friends building some kind of boat.

"Yeah." Frank said. "I never met him. Before my time. But I hear he was a good leader. He practically grew up in the Fifth Cohort. He didn't care what people thought about us. He started to rebuild our reputation. Then he disappeared."

"Which put us back at square one," Hazel said bitterly. "Made us look cursed all over again. I'm sorry, Percy. Now you know what you've gotten yourself into."

Percy sipped his blue soda and gazed thoughtfully across the dining hall. "I don't even know where I come from, but I've got a feeling this isn't the first time I've been an underdog." Noah smiled, knowing that he was right. "Besides, joining the legion is better than being chased through the wilderness by monsters. I've got myself some new friends. Maybe together we can turn things around for the Fifth Cohort, huh?"

A horn blew at the end of the hall. The officers at the praetor's table got to their feet-even Dakota, his mouth vampire-red from Kool-Aid.

"The games begin!" Reyna announced. The campers cheered and rushed to collect their equipment from the stacks along the walls.

"So we're the attacking team?" Percy asked over the noise. "Is that good?"

Hazel shrugged. "Good news: we get the elephant. Bad news-"

"Let me guess," said Percy. "The Fifth Cohort always loses."

Frank slapped Percy on the shoulder. "I love this guy. Come on, new friend. Let's go chalk up my thirteenth defeat in a row!"

AUTHOR TALKS!!
Noah and Frank will be best friends by the end of this.