CHAPTER SEVEN
FINLEY    BRIGGS

₊࿐࿔✸⋆｡° ⚘༉ . ⊹

Finn actually enjoyed war games, if that shocked you or not. It was an excuse to go crazy, and she didn't have to be serious, because the Fifth Cohort never seriously accomplished anything. They even let her use her gun, with the only restriction being she couldn't make any fatal hits. So, yeah. War games could be entertaining.

Although, Finn didn't always think that.

There was one time when—

I don't like war games, Jace. They're no fun.

Most things here aren't. But, hey—at least we have each other.

Yeah! Each other.

Finn pressed the heels of her hands against her temples as hard as she could. She couldn't drink to forget right now, but maybe if she shook her head enough, the effect would be the same.

It never was, of course.

Finn ignored the thoughts that were deeper than she wanted to go, the memories. She just told herself that war games were awesome and she always thought they were awesome and there was never a time where she thought they were anything less than awesome so she never needed to be comforted on the fact she thought they were less than awesome.

"Are you good?" Percy suddenly asked.

Finn stumbled a little bit in shock of being addressed—or maybe intoxication. Her hands returned back to her sides as she stared suspiciously at Percy.

"Or do you just always... hit yourself in the head?" he clarified, at Finn's seeming confusion.

Finn couldn't help but laugh. The more settled Percy seemed to get here, the more of his natural humor seemed to poke through. And Finn loved humor. She immediately latched onto anyone who could even slightly match her energy—She hoped Percy was prepared for that.

"Oh, yeah, don't mind me, dude," Finn elbowed him playfully. "Natural routine for me."

"Pre-war games head bash?" Percy's eyes lit up in amusement.

Finn grinned at Hazel and Frank. "See, he gets it." Then to Percy, "You should try it some time. Or, I could bash it in for you."

"Funny," he snorted.

"Yeah, hilarious," Hazel interjected, though her voice was a lot more sarcastic. "Come on guys, keep walking."

Once they got out of camp, the Fifth Cohort formed two lines behind their centurions, Dakota and Gwen. They marched north, skirting the edge of the city, and headed to the Field of Mars—the largest, flattest part of the valley. The grass was cropped short by all the unicorns, bulls, and homeless fauns that grazed here. The earth was pitted with explosion craters and scarred with trenches from past games. At the north end of the field stood their target. The engineers had built a stone fortress with an iron portcullis, guard towers, scorpion ballistae, water cannons, and no doubt many other nasty surprises for the defenders to use.

"They did a good job today," Finn noted. "That's bad for us."

"Wait," Percy said. "You're telling me that fortress was built today?"

Hazel grinned. "Legionnaires are trained to build. If we had to, we could break down the entire camp and rebuild it somewhere else. Take maybe three or four days, but we could do it."

"Let's not," Percy said. "So you attack a different fort every night?"

"Not every night," Frank said. "We have different training exercises. Sometimes death ball—um, which is like paintball, except with... you know, poison and acid and fire balls. Sometimes we do chariots and gladiator competitions, sometimes war games."

"I've always suggesting playing card games," Finn shrugged. "The idea never takes."

Hazel pointed at the fort. "Somewhere inside, the First and Second Cohorts are keeping their banners. Our job is to get inside and capture them without getting slaughtered. We do that, we win."

Percy's eyes brightened. "Like capture-the-flag. I think I like capture-the-flag."

Finn laughed. "Sure. Capture-the-flag on steroids, maybe," she joked, though that idea quickly gained favor in her head. "We have to get past those scorpions and water cannons on the walls, fight through the inside of the fortress, find the banners, and defeat the guards, all while protecting our own banners and troops from capture. And our cohort's in competition with the other two attacking cohorts. We sort of work together, but not really. The cohort that captures the banners gets all the glory."

It was the most Finn had said... well, ever to Percy. And she really never rambled on about tactical stuff in the first place, but all of Percy, Hazel, and Frank noted that slightly insane gleam in Finn's eyes grow throughout her explanation. Finn couldn't help it. The rare occasion of being able to sling her gun and fight her fellow campers (who she thought were egregiously annoying) made an excited thrill reverberate throughout her body.

"So why are we practicing this, anyway?" Percy asked, after stumbling, trying to keep time with the left-right marching rhythm. Finn was surprisingly good at stepping to it. After nine years, it became just a natural habit for her, even when she was shit-faced drunk. "Do you guys spend a lot of time laying siege to fortified cities?"

"Team work," Hazel said. "Quick thinking. Tactics. Battle skills. You'd be surprised what you can learn in the war games."

"Like who will stab you in the back," Frank said.

Percy stumbled again, clenching at the ring on his necklace as if it were a lifeline. "Don't say that." His voice was dry.

Frank faltered, sharing a worried look with Hazel. "Stab... in the back?"

"Stop," Percy begged, throat growing tighter. "That's not... Fuck."

Even Finn was worried about his pained demeanor. When she nudged him, it was gentle, because she feared if he took a harsh blow right now he'd topple over. "Are you good?" she asked.

"I'm—" Percy's hand shook as it clenched the ring around his neck. "I don't know. That brought back bad memories."

"You think you've been stabbed in the back before?" Hazel questioned incredulously.

Percy's expression was miserable. Finn could see it when he finally straightened up. "No. Not me. Far worse than that."

Finn exchanged glances with Hazel and Frank. They all wondered, for a moment, if Finn wasn't the only crazy one here.

They marched to the center of the Field of Mars and formed ranks. The Third and Fourth Cohorts assembled as far as possible from the Fifth. The centurions for the attacking side gathered for a conference. In the sky above them, Reyna circled on her pegasus, ready to play referee.

Half a dozen giant eagles flew in formation behind her—prepared for ambulance airlift duty if necessary. The only person not participating in the game was Nico, "Pluto's ambassador," who had climbed an observation tower about a hundred yards from the fort and would be watching with binoculars.

Finn watched as Frank propped his pilum against his shield and checked Percy's armor. She also noticed how every strap of Percy's was correct. Every piece of armor was properly adjusted.

"You did it right," he said in amazement. "Percy, you must've done war games before."

"I don't know. Maybe."

The only thing that wasn't regulation was Percy's glowing bronze sword—not Imperial gold, and not a gladius. The blade was leaf-shaped, and the writing on the hilt was Greek. There was something about the sight of it that even made Finn feel uneasy.

Percy noted their reactions and frowned. "We can use real weapons, right?"

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "For sure. I've just never seen a sword like that."

"What if I hurt somebody?"

"That's the fun part," Finn told him. Percy looked scandalized, and she started cackling at the rise her words got from him. "Gods, relax. Obviously we heal them. Or—try to."

"The legion medics are pretty good with ambrosia and nectar, and unicorn draught. No one dies," Hazel said. Finn's expression made her falter. "Well, not usually. And if they do—"

Frank imitated the voice of Vitellius: "They're wimps! Back in my day, we died all the time, and we liked it!"

Finn and Hazel bursted out into laughter. It was times like these where Finn could convince herself she actually did belong with these people.

"Just stay with us, Percy," Hazel said. "Chances are we'll get the worst duty and get eliminated early. They'll throw us at the walls first to soften up the defenses. Then the Third and Fourth Cohorts will march in and get the honors, if they can even breach the fort."

Horns blew. Dakota and Gwen walked back from the officers' conference, looking grim.

"Alright, here's the plan!" Dakota took a quick swig of "Kool-Aid" from his travel flask. "They're throwing us at the walls first to soften up the defenses."

The whole cohort groaned.

"I know, I know," Gwen said. "But maybe this time we'll have some luck!"

Leave it to Gwen to be the optimist. Everybody liked her because she took care of her people and tried to keep their spirits up. She was nice to even Finn, and she was the only one who could control Dakota during his hyperactive fits—though Finn had a bet with herself that it was for more tender reasons than the two let on (i.e., she was convinced they were hooking up in secret, but Dakota would never give Finn clarity on that).

Still, the campers grumbled and complained. Nobody believed in luck for the Fifth.

"First line with Dakota," Gwen said. "Lock shields and advance in turtle formation to the main gates. Try to stay in one piece. Draw their fire. Second line—" Gwen turned to Finn's row without much enthusiasm. "You seventeen, from Bobby over, take charge of the elephant and the scaling ladders. Try a flanking attack on the western wall. Maybe we can spread the defenders too thin. Finley, Frank, Hazel, Percy... well, just do whatever. Show Percy the ropes. Try to keep him alive." She turned back to the whole cohort. "If anybody gets over the wall first, I'll make sure you get the Mural Crown. Victory for the Fifth!"

The cohort cheered half-heartedly and broke ranks.

Percy frowned. "Do whatever?"

"Yeah," Finn snorted amusedly. "Big vote of confidence, huh?"

"What's the Mural Crown?" he asked.

"Military medal," Frank said. "Big honor for the first soldier to breach an enemy fort. You'll notice nobody in the Fifth is wearing one. Usually we don't even get into the first because we're burning or drowning or..."

He faltered, and looked at Percy.

"Water cannons."

"What?" Percy and Finn asked in unison. Then Finn looked at Percy in disgust at the cliché fact they did.

"The cannons on the walls," Frank said, "they draw water from the aqueduct. There's a pump system—heck, I don't know how they work, but they're under a lot of pressure. If you could control them, like you controlled the river—"

"Frank!" Hazel beamed. "That's brilliant!"

"She's... actually right," Finn said, making Frank unsure if he should be flattered or offended by the sound of her tone. "That's what's up, Zhang!"

Percy didn't look so sure. "I don't know how I did that at the river. I'm not sure I can control the cannons from this far away."

"We'll get you closer." Frank pointed to the eastern wall of the fort, where the Fifth Cohort wouldn't be attacking. "That's where the defense will be the weakest. They'll never take four kids seriously. I think we can sneak up pretty close before they see us."

"Sneak up how?" Percy asked.

Frank turned to Hazel. "Can you do that thing again?"

She punched him in the chest. "You said you wouldn't tell anybody!"

Immediately, Frank looked guilty and terrible. Finn didn't know what they were referring to—nor did she particularly care—but it was clear that Hazel had a secret she wanted to stay well-kept.

She shouldn't have told Frank if that was the case.

Hazel muttered under her breath, "Never mind. It's fine." Then, "Percy—he's talking about the trenches. The Field of Mars is riddled with tunnels from over the years. Some are collapsed, or buried deep, but a lot of them are still passable. I'm pretty good at finding them and using them. I can even collapse them if I have to."

"Like you did with the gorgons," Percy said, "to slow them down."

Frank nodded approvingly. "I told you Pluto was cool. He's the god of everything under the earth. Hazel can find caves, tunnels, trapdoors—"

"We get it, Frank," Finn raised an unamused eyebrow. "You're Hazel's biggest fan."

Frank and Hazel both flustered and avoided each other's eyes. Hazel grumbled, "And biggest ruiner of our secret."

"Yeah," Frank's blush deepened, "sorry. But if we can get close—"

"And if I can knock out the water cannons..." Percy nodded, like he was warming to the idea. "What do we do then?"

Frank checked his quiver. Finn saw his eyes scheme calculatingly.

"The rest is up to me," he said. "Let's go."

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

Frank seemed so sure of his plan—which made Finn nervous. Nothing he planned ever went right (no offense, Frank). He always managed to break, ruin, burn, sit on, or knock over something important. Yet she followed him anyways.

Hazel found them a tunnel with no problem. In fact, Finn had a sneaking suspicion she didn't just find tunnels. It was as though tunnels manufactured themselves to suit her needs. Passages that had been filled in years ago suddenly unfilled, changing direction to lead Hazel where she wanted to go. They crept along by the light of Percy's glowing sword, Riptide (stupid name, but Percy got offended when Finn said that). Above, they heard the sounds of battle—kids shouting, Hannibal the elephant bellowing with glee, scorpion bolts exploding, and water cannons firing. The tunnel shook. Dirt rained down on them.

"There's an opening up ahead," Hazel announced. "We'll come up ten feet from the east wall."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

"Ask her no questions and she'll tell you no lies," Finn winked. Percy rolled his eyes, but Hazel seemed grateful at Finn's unseriousness shifting the attention from her.

"Could we tunnel straight under the wall?" Frank wondered.

"No," Hazel said. "The engineers were smart. They built the walls on old foundations that go down to bedrock. And don't ask how I know. I just do."

Finn patted Hazel on the head fondly. Then she accidentally stumbled over something and cursed. Percy brought his sword around for more light. The thing Finn had tripped on was gleaming silver.

She crouched down.

"Don't touch it!" Hazel said.

Finn's hand stopped a few inches from the chunk of metal. It looked like a giant Hershey's Kiss, about the size of her fist.

"It's massive," Finn said. "Silver?"

"Platinum." Hazel sounded scared out of her wits. "It'll go away in a second. Please don't touch it. It's dangerous."

Finn sighed. She didn't understand how a lump of metal could be dangerous, but she followed Hazel's wishes. "You and your randomly appearing metals that you forbid everyone to touch," she grumbled.

If anything, that made Hazel look more terrified. Her eyes widened, as if Finn had caught onto something Hazel didn't want being unveiled. 

"Wh-What do you mean?" she worried.

"I don't know," Finn shrugged. "What do I ever mean?"

Hazel released a breath, shoulders falling slowly. She was lucky that it was careless and drunk Finn who had noticed the pattern of Hazel's presence affecting the underground. Anyone else, her secret would've been screwed.

Just then, the chunk of platinum sank into the ground.

"How did you know it would go away?" Frank stared at Hazel.

In the light of Percy's sword, Hazel looked as ghostly as a Lar. "I'll explain later," she promised.

Another explosion rocked the tunnel, and they forged ahead.

They popped out of a hole just where Hazel had predicted. In front of them, the fort's east wall loomed. Off to their left, Finn could see the main line of the Fifth Cohort advancing in turtle formation, shields forming a shell over their heads and sides. They were trying to reach the main gates, but the defenders above pelted them with rocks and shot flaming bolts from the scorpions, blasting craters around their feet. A water cannon discharged with a jaw-rattling THRUM, and a jet of liquid carved a trench in the dirt right in front of the cohort.

Percy whistled. "That's a lot of pressure, alright."

The Third and Fourth Cohorts weren't even advancing. They stood back and laughed, watching their "allies" get beat up. The defenders clustered on the wall above the gates, yelling insults at the tortoise formation as it staggered back and forth. War games had deteriorated into "beat up the Fifth."

Finn's hands shook with anger, causing the metal of her gun to rattle in her grip. That insane scent of sour lingered again.

"Let's shake things up," Frank announced.

He reached in his quiver and pulled out an arrow heavier than the rest. The iron tip was shaped like the nose cone of a rocket. An ultra thin gold rope trailed from the fletching.

"What does that do?" Hopefully, Finn guessed, "Kill everyone belittling the Fifth Cohort?"

"It's called a hydra arrow," Frank said. "Percy—can you knock out the water cannons?"

A defender appeared on the wall above them. "Hey!" he shouted to his buddies. "Check it out! More victims!"

"Percy," Frank repeated. "Now would be good."

More kids came across the battlements to laugh at them. A few ran to the nearest water cannon and swung the barrel toward Frank.

Percy closed his eyes. He raised his hand.

Up on the wall, somebody yelled, "Open wide, losers!"

KA-BOOM!

The cannon exploded in a starburst of blue, green, and white. Defenders screamed as a watery shock wave flattened them against the battlements. Kids toppled over the walls but were snatched by giant eagles and carried to safety. Then the entire eastern wall shuddered as the explosion backed up through the pipelines. One after another, the water cannons on the battlements exploded. The scorpions' fires were doused. Defenders scattered in confusion or were tossed through the air, giving the rescue eagles quite a workout. At the main gates, the Fifth Cohort forgot about their formation. Mystified, they lowered their shields and stared at the chaos.

Frank shot his arrow. It streaked upward, carrying its glittering rope. When it reached the top, the metal point fractured into a dozen lines that lashed out and wrapped around anything they could find—parts of the wall, a scorpion, a broken water cannon, and a couple of defending campers, who yelped and found themselves slammed against the battlements as anchors. From the main rope, handholds extended at two-foot intervals, making a ladder.

"Go!" Frank said.

Percy grinned. "You first, Frank. This is your party."

Frank hesitated, but Finn shoved him forward encouragingly—she loved a good party. He slung his bow on his back and began to climb. He was halfway up before the defenders recovered their senses enough to sound the alarm.

Frank glanced back at the Fifth Cohort's main group. They were staring up at him, dumbfounded.

"Well?" Frank screamed. "Attack!"

Gwen was the first to unfreeze. She grinned and repeated the order. A cheer went up from the battlefield. Hannibal the elephant trumpeted with happiness, but Finn couldn't afford to watch. She began climbing up the ladder after Frank. She was far too drunk for this, but still somehow managed to clamber to the top of the wall. Percy was right underneath her, making sure she didn't fall down.

When she reached the top, Finn leaped onto the wall. She was just in time to see Frank toppling over three defenders like he was a bowling ball and they were the pins. She loaded her gun and grinned maniacally.

"Oh, I'm so ready," she said.

As Frank took command of the battlements, sweeping his pilum back and forth and knocking down some defenders, Finn hoped to all the gods above—especially her dad—that her gun had an infinite amount of bullets this time.

For a second there, she and Frank were unstoppable. Finn pulled the trigger on her gun, and an Imperial bullet landed itself right next to a defender and into the wall. The force shocked him so bad he clattered to the floor, taking out fellow warriors. She let out a crazy laugh that scared the enemies, and Finn kept shooting.

Finn only hit one person on accident—and even then, it was just the foot of some girl who'd called Finn an alcoholic since they were twelve. Maybe Finn was a horrible person, but Finn didn't feel even remotely bad for shooting her. Take that, Cecilia.

Hazel appeared next to Finn and Frank, swinging her big cavalry sword like she was born for battle. This was where Finn's luck ran out. This time, when she pulled the trigger of her gun, nothing happened.

The bullets had already run out.

She wanted to scream, Fuck you, Dad, but even Finn's intoxicated mind knew that was a bad idea. Instead, she pulled out her gladius and stuffed her gun back in her thigh holster.

Finn was lucky she'd been in the legion so long that she was just as good with a gladius as she was a gun—most people underestimated her in terms of war fighting, and that was how Finn always gained an upper hand. That, and probably the fact she fought like an actual insane person.

Percy leaped onto the wall and raised Riptide.

"Fun," he said.

He was right. Together they cleared the defenders off the walls. Below them the gates broke. Hannibal barreled into the fort, arrows and rocks bounding harmlessly off his Kevlar armor.

The Fifth Cohort charged in behind the elephant, and the battle went hand-to-hand.

Finally, from the edge of the Field of Mars, a battle cry went up. The Third and Fourth Cohorts ran to join the fight.

"A little late," Hazel grumbled.

"We can't let them get the banners," Frank said.

"No," Percy agreed. "Those are ours."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Finn asked.

No more talk was necessary. They moved like a team, as if the four of them had been working together for years. They rushed down the interior steps and into the enemy base. 

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

BAILEY YAPS...

Rest in peace Finley Briggs you would've loved Chappell Roan and dressing up as the Mad Hatter for Halloween

Finley and Percy friendship (Finncy? Penley? Waterwine?) I fear I am growing very fond with you. I can't stop being fond of you. I can't help but think you are Drew and Enya from Emergency Intercom except Finley is Drew and Percy is Enya

Son of Neptune quad I also fear I am also growing so so so fond of you "they moved like a team, as if the four of them had been working together for years"

And Finn also crazy as hell!!!!! I love her!!!!!!!

Day 7 of missing Sylvie Duvall so I had to give Percy tweaking out over "stabbed in the back" reference