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Jenna was done with this shit. Why did she have to be the one taking the ultra-powerful guy on a tour? Alright, maybe she was exaggerating; after all, Hazel was there with her too.

Speaking of Hazel, the younger girl gave her weird vibes. Death vibes. Jenna had always shrugged them off, because Hazel was such a good kid, and besides, the death vibes could simply come from being a daughter of the death god.

Jenna had always liked Hazel, the girls was kind and couldn't hurt a fly ( Not that that was an ideal trait for demigods, demigods needed to be able to hurt and kill others )

This Percy guy gave her weird vibes, not only because he was sniffing at a cherry muffin and espresso, but also due to the enemy vibes he gave her.

She saw him staring longingly at the bath house, and heard Hazel explain. "Bath house. We'll get you in there before dinner, hopefully. You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath."

Jenna decided to strike up a conversation with the guy. "Does being a Son of Neptune give you the ability to control everything water?"

He frowned, "Why are you being nice to me?"

She gave a slight laugh, "When was I ever mean to you?"

He was still frowning, "You did whine when Reyna told you to take me on a tour."

That was it for Jenna. She burst out laughing, "Oh, gods, Percy! Did you honestly think that that was my way of being mean to you? I wasn't being mean at all!"

"Then why did you whine?"

"Because I wanted to go practice with my hammer!"

"Oh."

Hazel looked back at them, and slowed her pace to talk to Jenna, "But I thought hammers weren't allowed?"

Jenna shook her head, her hair flying due to the action. "They aren't, but I like to use mine."

"Why?"

"Because, Percy."

Jenna didn't want him to know that the real reason she wanted to use a hammer was because, even though she agreed whole-heartedly with the fact that uniformity was important in the legion, a little retarded part of her wanted to be different from the others.

And when everything was interlinked in the way a smallest mistake could take many lives, different was a bad thing.

She knew that she was messed up, and her personality kept changing. One day she would want to be different, and the other she would despise it. The conflicted emotions made her head spin.

Her thoughts consumed her, her mind moving a million miles an hour.

"You guys are divided into different cabins?" Percy asked.

"Sort of." Hazel ducked as a kid riding a giant eagle swooped overhead. "We have five cohorts of about forty kids each. Each cohort is divided into barracks of ten—like roommates, kind of."

"You're telling me there's two hundred kids at camp?"

"Roughly."

"And all of them are children of the gods? The gods have been busy."

Jenna chuckled, "That's what I think. I mean, the male gods, I understand. But how can the goddesses have so many kids all near the same age? It's not biologically possible, at least for humans."

"For real." Percy agreed.

Hazel laughed. "Not all of them are children of major gods. There are hundreds of minor Roman gods. Plus, a lot of the campers are legacies—second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents."

Percy blinked. "Children of demigods?"

"Why? Does that surprise you?"

Jenna knew it surprised him.

Where exactly did this boy come from? How was his appearance related- if it was even related- to the disappearance of Jason?

The gods kept their secrets under tight wraps, so tight that no mortal could ever figure them out.

The heroes had it worse. The gods had caused wars, many, many wars, and the heroes had to fight them all. Never once had a god jumped into the fray and stood in front of their child, trying to protect them. All that the gods had done for their kids was give them one small truth of life.

You may have survived the war, but you have to live with the trauma.

Some one had once said that the ghosts of the past only spoke to those who wanted to listen.

Jenna begged to differ.

The past was a set of memories that forever lay embedded deep in your mind, that people told you incessantly to drive out.

If only it were that easy.

Broken bones and bruised limbs, blood dripping out of gashes was not something Jenna could ever forget. Carcasses littering the ground, thick and dense, the outcome of war. The dead bodies of people she knew, lying sacrificed to the gods.

It made hate bubble through her like boiling water, hot and furious, ready to burn someone. Ready to harm someone because of the blood trickling out of the body of her friends. Eyes fierce, she remembered the last words of a close friend.

Don't go out for revenge, Jen.

And she didn't.

But this plight of heroes hurt her, and she understood why so many fell for the false promises of Saturn.

She knew that when she thought of Saturn, she had thought too much.

So she stopped thinking altogether.

"So the divisions," Percy was asking, "the cohorts, whatever—you're divided according to who your godly parent is?"

Hazel stared at him. "What a horrible idea! No, the officers decide where to assign recruits. If we were divided according to god, the cohorts would be all uneven. I'd be alone."

"Why? What's your ancestry?"

Before she could answer, someone behind them yelled, "Wait!"

Jenna sighed.

She would recognize that voice anywhere.

Before she could answer, someone behind them yelled, "Wait!"

A ghost ran toward them—an old man with a medicine-ball belly and toga so long he kept tripping on it. He caught up to them and gasped for air, his purple aura flickering around him.

"This is him?" the ghost panted. "A new recruit for the Fifth, perhaps?"

"Hello to you too, Vitellius." Jenna greeted him.

"Vitellius," Hazel said, "we're sort of in a hurry."

The ghost scowled at Percy and walked around him, inspecting him like a used car. "I don't know," he grumbled. "We need only the best for the cohort. Does he have all his teeth? Can he fight? Does he clean stables?"

"Yes, yes, and no," Percy said. "Who are you?"

"Percy, this is Vitellius. He's one of our Lares; takes an interest in new recruits." Hazel said.

"Just humor him. He's a bit demented." Jenna added

On a nearby porch, other ghosts snickered as Vitellius glared at Jenna and muttered under his breath, and paced back and forth, tripping over his toga and hiking up his sword belt.

"Yes," Vitellius said, "back in Caesar's day—that's Julius Caesar, mind you—the Fifth Cohort was something! Twelfth Legion Fulminata, pride of Rome! But these days? Disgraceful what we've come to. Look at Hazel here, using a spatha. Ridiculous weapon for a Roman legionnaire—that's for cavalry! And you, boy—you smell like a Greek sewer. Haven't you had a bath?"

Jenna's eyes turned stormy, "You forgot that Jason was in that Cohort as well."

He ignored her.

"I've been a little busy fighting gorgons," Percy explained.

"Vitellius," Hazel interrupted, "we've got to get Percy's augury before he can join. Why don't you check on Frank? He's in the armory doing inventory. You know how much he values your help."

The ghost's furry purple eyebrows shot up. "Mars Almighty! They let the probatio check the armor? We'll be ruined!"

Jenna's eyebrows hiked up her forehead, thinking Seriously?

But, then again, with Frank's clumsiness, Jenna couldn't say that there wouldn't be an accident.

"O-h-h-kay," Percy said.

"Sorry," Hazel said. "He's eccentric, but he's one of the oldest Lares. Been around since the legion was founded."

"Eccentric is an understatement." Jenna added, and Hazel nodded her head, agreeing with Jenna.

"He called the legion...Fulminata?" Percy said.

"'Armed with Lightning,'" Hazel translated. "That's our motto. The Twelfth Legion was around for the entire Roman Empire. When Rome fell, a lot of legions just disappeared. We went underground, acting on secret orders from Jupiter himself: stay alive, recruit demigods and their children, keep Rome going. We've been doing that ever since, moving around to wherever Roman influence was strongest."

"The last few centuries, we've been in America. Before that, I believe that we were in England? I'm not sure."

"And you're in the Fifth Cohort," he guessed, "which maybe isn't the most popular?"

"I'm in the First Cohort." Jenna corrected him.

The corners of Hazel's lips turned and her mouth morphed into scowl, "I'm in the Fifth. Joined last September."

"So, right before this Jason guy went missing."

"Nice Math." Jenna remarked sarcastically.

The mention of Jason's name made sadness swirl through Jenna. She missed her best friend, she missed him more than words could ever express.

She had searched for him a lot. She had scoured the entire city, they had even sent out a search party, but hadn't been able to find anything. She was going crazy not having any leads about where he was.

Not that she would tell anyone. After all, she had class.

She got lost in a sea of flashbacks, only to come back to reality when Don the Faun came up to them.

She wondered why she zoned out so easily these days. She even missed Hannibal passing by, and he was a literal elephant!

"Hazel!" Don cried.

"Hi, Don," Hazel said. "Sorry, we don't have time—"

Jenna rolled her eyes. Hazel was too kind for a hero. She bet that Hazel would apologize to a monster before killing it one day.

"Oh, that's cool! That's cool!" Don trotted along with them. "Hey, this guy's new!" He grinned at Percy. "Do you have three denarii for the bus? Because I left my wallet at home, and I've got to get to work, and—"

Jenna laughed.

"Don," Hazel chided. "Fauns don't have wallets. Or jobs. Or homes. And we don't have buses."

"Right," he said cheerfully, "but do you have denarii?"

"Your name is Don the Faun?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"Nothing. Why don't fauns have jobs? Shouldn't they work for the camp?"

"Not if we don't want chaos." Jenna snorted.

Don nodded and bleated. "Fauns! Work for the camp! Hilarious!"

"Absolutely comical." added Jenna

"Fauns are, um, free spirits," Hazel explained. "They hang out here because, well, it's a safe place to hang out and beg. We tolerate them, but—"

"Oh, Hazel is awesome," Don said. "She's so nice! All the other campers are like, 'Go away, Don.' But she's like, 'Please go away, Don.' I love her!"

Yup. thought Jenna. She's too kind for her own good.

Don looked at the ground in front of them and gasped. "Score!"

He reached for something, but Hazel screamed, "Don, no!"

She pushed him out of the way and snatched up a small shiny object. Jenna caught a glimpse of it before Hazel slipped it into her pocket.

It looked like a diamond, but Jenna figured that she must be hallucinating.

"Come on, Hazel," Don complained. "I could've bought a year's worth of doughnuts with that!"

"You mean a week's worth. You guys eat like demons." Jenna pointed out.

"Don, please," Hazel said. "Go away."

The faun sighed. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you. But I swear, it's like you're good luck. Every time you walk by—"

"Good-bye, Don," Hazel said quickly. "Let's go, Percy, Jenna."

She started jogging.

"What was that about?" Percy asked. "That diamond in the road—"

"Please," she said. "Don't ask."

They walked in uneasy silence the rest of the way to Temple Hill. Hazel pointed out the Temple of Bellona. "Goddess of war," she said. "That's Reyna's mom." Then they passed a massive red crypt decorated with human skulls on iron spikes.

"Please tell me we're not going in there," Percy said.

Jenna had to take pity on the guy. He looked a bit scared.

He's probably thinking something along the lines of 'Like mother, like daughter.' Hey, I think I used a figure of speech! Or I think I did?

Hazel shook her head. "That's the Temple of Mars Ultor."

"Mars ... Ares, the war god?"

"That's his Greek name," Hazel said. "But, yeah, same guy. Ultor means 'the Avenger.' He's the second-most important god of Rome."

He pointed toward the summit. "I'm guessing that's Zeus—uh, I mean, Jupiter's? That's where we're heading?"

"Yeah." Hazel sounded edgy. "Octavian reads auguries there—the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus."

"Not that his auguries are true." Jenna muttered under her breath.

"Jupiter...the best and the greatest?" Percy asked.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. He's a god." Jenna murmured, inaudibly.

Gods could never be good.

"Right."

"What's Neptune's title?" Percy asked. "The coolest and most awesome?"

"Um, not quite." Hazel gestured to the temple of Neptune.

"Popular place." he said, disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Percy," Hazel said. "It's just...Romans were always scared of the sea. They only used ships if they had to. Even in modern times, having a child of Neptune around has always been a bad omen. The last time one joined the legion ...well, it was 1906, when Camp Jupiter was located across the bay in San Francisco. There was this huge earthquake—"

"You're telling me a child of Neptune caused that?"

"They say that it was." Jenna said.

Hazel looked apologetic. "Anyway... Romans fear Neptune, but they don't love him much."

Percy was staring at the cobwebs, and Jenna felt a pang of pity for him.

He reached in his backpack and dug out a stale bagel. He set it on the altar.

"Hey...uh, Dad." He looked like he was talking to a bowl of fruit. "If you can hear me, help me out, okay? Give me my memory back. Tell me—tell me what to do."

His voice cracked.

Jenna knew that this guy was like her, in a way. Broken.

Hazel put her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. You're here now. You're one of us."

"That's right. And we never let one of us down." Jenna promised.

Above them, thunder rumbled. Red lightning lit up the hill.

"Octavian's almost done," Hazel said. "Let's go."

"It doesn't look like that," Percy muttered.

"What?" Hazel asked.

"The master bolt," Percy said.

"What are you talking about?" Hazel asked.

"I—" Percy frowned. "Nothing, I guess."

Octavian raised his hands. More red lightning flashed in the sky, shaking the temple. Then he put his hands down, and the rumbling stopped. The clouds turned from gray to white and broke apart.

"What's he doing?" Percy murmured.

"Crazy stuff, like reading the will of the gods." Jenna replied.

"Oh."

Octavian turned.

"Percy," Hazel said, "this is Octavian."

"The graecus!" Octavian announced. "How interesting."

"Uh, hi," Percy said. "Are you killing small animals?"

Octavian looked at the fuzzy thing in his hand and laughed. "No, no. Once upon a time, yes. We used to read the will of the gods by examining animal guts—chickens, goats, that sort of thing. Nowadays, we use these."

He tossed the fuzzy thing to Percy. It was a disemboweled teddy bear. There was a whole pile of mutilated stuffed animals at the foot of Jupiter's statue, as usual.

"Seriously?" Percy asked.

Octavian stepped off the dais.

Octavian's eyes glittered with harsh curiosity, like he might gut Percy just as easily as a teddy bear if he thought he could learn something from it.

Octavian narrowed his eyes. "You seem nervous."

"You remind me of someone," Percy said. "I can't remember who."

"Possibly my namesake, Octavian—Augustus Caesar. Everyone says I bear a remarkable resemblance."

"Why did you call me 'the Greek'?"

"I saw it in the auguries." Octavian waved his knife at the pile of stuffing on the altar. "The message said: The Greek has arrived. Or possibly: The goose has cried. I'm thinking the first interpretation is correct. You seek to join the legion?"

Hazel spoke for him. She told Octavian everything that had happened since they met at the tunnel—the gorgons, the fight at the river, the appearance of Juno, their conversation with Reyna.

Jenna chimed in from time to time, adding in all the bits that Hazel forgot.

When she mentioned Juno, Octavian looked surprised.

"Juno," he mused. "We call her Juno Moneta. Juno the Warner. She appears in times of crisis, to counsel Rome about great threats."

He glanced at Percy, as if to say: like mysterious Greeks, for instance.

"I hear the Feast of Fortuna is this week," Percy said. "The gorgons warned there'd be an invasion on that day. Did you see that in your stuffing?"

"Sadly, no." Octavian sighed. "The will of the gods is hard to discern. And these days, my vision is even darker."

"Don't you have...I don't know," Percy said, "an oracle or something?"

"An oracle!" Octavian smiled. "What a cute idea. No, I'm afraid we're fresh out of oracles. Now, if we'd gone questing for the Sibylline books, like I recommended—"

"The Siba-what?" Percy asked.

"Books of prophecy," Hazel said, "which Octavian is obsessed with. Romans used to consult them when disasters happened. Most people believe they burned up when Rome fell."

"All people, apart from you." Jenna corrected, earning a glare from Octavian.

"Unfortunately our present leadership won't authorize a quest to look for them—" he continued.

"Because Reyna isn't stupid," Hazel said.

"Or in favor of wasting our resources and putting lives at stake." Jenna added.

"—so we have only a few remaining scraps from the books," Octavian continued, with a glare at her and Hazel, "A few mysterious predictions, like these."

He nodded to the inscriptions on the marble floor. "That one." He pointed, translating as he read aloud: "Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"

"Yes, yes." Octavian finished it without looking: "An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"I—I know that one. That's important."

Octavian arched an eyebrow. "Of course it's important. We call it the Prophecy of Seven, but it's several thousand years old. We don't know what it means. Every time someone tries to interpret it...Well, Hazel can tell you. Bad things happen."

Hazel glared at him. "Just read the augury for Percy. Can he join the legion or not?"

"And he better be able to join." Jenna threatened.

He held out his hand for Percy's backpack. "That's a beautiful specimen. May I?"

Percy looked confused, but Octavian snatched the Bargain Mart panda pillow that was sticking out of the top of his pack. Octavian turned toward the altar and raised his knife.

"Hey!" Percy protested.

Octavian slashed open the panda's belly and poured its stuffing over the altar. He tossed the panda carcass aside, muttered a few words over the fluff, and turned with a big smile on his face.

"Good news!" he said. "Percy may join the legion. We'll assign him a cohort at evening muster. Tell Reyna that I approve."

Hazel's shoulders relaxed. "Uh...great. Come on, Percy."

"Yeah, let's go." Jenna said.

"Oh, and Hazel," Octavian said. "I'm happy to welcome Percy into the legion. But when the election for praetor comes up, I hope you'll remember—"

"Jason isn't dead," Hazel snapped. "You're the augur. You're supposed to be looking for him!"

Jenna satisfied herself with a glare, muttering angrily under her breath.

Jason wasn't dead, he couldn't be. Jenna refused to think that, because she knew that she would break her own heart if she did. If Jason were truly dead, then Jenna couldn't live with herself.

"Oh, I am!" Octavian pointed at the pile of gutted stuffed animals. "I consult the gods every day! Alas, after eight months, I've found nothing. Of course, I'm still looking. But if Jason doesn't return by the Feast of Fortuna, we must act. We can't have a power vacuum any longer. I hope you'll support me for praetor. It would mean so much to me."

Hazel clenched her fists. "Me. Support. You?"

"Don't, Hazel." Jenna muttered.

Octavian glared at her. She glared back.

Octavian took off his toga, setting it and his knife on the altar

"After all," Octavian told Hazel, "I might be able to help you. It would be a shame if those awful rumors about you kept circulating...or, gods forbid, if they turned out to be true."

"Don't you dare threaten Hazel." Jenna warned.

Hazel took a deep breath. Her knuckles were white. "I'll think about it."

"Excellent," Octavian said. "By the way, your brother is here."

Hazel stiffened. "My brother? Why?"

Octavian shrugged. "Why does your brother do anything? He's waiting for you at your father's shrine. Just...ah, don't invite him to stay too long. He has a disturbing effect on the others. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to keep searching for our poor lost friend, Jason. Nice to meet you, Percy."

Hazel and Jenna stormed out of the pavilion, and Percy followed.

Hazel was muttering in Latin under her breath.

"I hate that guy," she muttered in English. "If I had my way—"

Jenna, on the other hand, was imagining about sticking her sword in places that swords shouldn't go.

"He won't really get elected praetor, will he?" Percy asked.

"I wish I could be certain. Octavian has a lot of friends, most of them bought. The rest of the campers are afraid of him."

"Afraid of that skinny little guy?"

"Of his family wealth and influence more than him." Jenna replied. 

Percy looked like he understood.

"Don't underestimate him. Reyna's not so bad by herself, but if Octavian shares her power..." Hazel shuddered. "Let's go see my brother. He'll want to meet you."

Hazel and Jenna led Percy to a black crypt built into the side of the hill. Standing in front was a teenage boy in black jeans and an aviator jacket.

"Hey," Hazel called. "I've brought a friend."

The boy turned. The kid was almost as pale as Octavian, but with dark eyes and messy black hair. He didn't look anything like Hazel. He wore a silver skull ring, a chain for a belt, and a black T-shirt with skull designs. At his side hung a pure-black sword.

Jenna pitied Nico di Angelo. Every time she looked at him, she saw sadness. Devastation. Things that shouldn't be seen in the eyes of a child.

"This is Percy Jackson," Hazel said. "He's a good guy. Percy, this is my brother, the son of Pluto."

The boy regained his composure and held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you," he said. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

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Adhara's Letters!

I know most of you don't read the entire chapter and just skim through it, but if you do that, then at least do it properly! I mean, I add tons of funny Jenna moments, and loads of Jenna's thoughts, so please don't skim roughly through the chapters. I swear I'll add more original chapters as the book processes. 

So, enough of my mini-rant. 

QOTC: Why do you think that Jenna is so negative?

AOTC: One simple answer, and I'll let you know if you get it right.

That's all, I guess. 

Loads of Love, 

Adhara!