Chapter Text
Pain flashed through her broken arm with every thudding footstep. Hugging it close to her body, she hurried, quietly as possible, through the tree-ridden grounds towards the tunnel. Artemis and Parthenos, thankful uninjured, provided cover for her, Will, and Nico as the entrance to Camp Jupiter came into sight.
The human-scorpion hybrids had been chasing them for the better part of an hour, now. They were the size of children, but had terrible arachnoid legs and massive stingers that reached up into the air another full body length. Their faces were covered in a fleshy armor and beady eyes blinked out from behind spiked red faceplates.
One had missed Thalia by a few inches with a well-aimed strike from its stinger, but she had stumbled and fallen down a ravine with an unfortunate collection of large stones at the bottom.
Now, she held her bruised and bloody arm with her good arm that was also clutching her only remaining weapon. Running with knives probably wasn’t a great idea, but it was either that or let go of her arm, which felt like it might fall off if it moved unnecessarily.
The three of them burst out of the trees. The service entrance of Caldecott Tunnel was only a hundred feet away, and Thalia thought it might be too good to be true that they all survived relatively unscathed as Artemis and Parthenos followed close behind.
The guards at the entrance of the tunnel perked up instantly as they saw them coming. Dressed in traditional Roman armor, they raised their arms in greeting, then raised their weapons as they saw the monsters approaching.
Thalia had just reached the safety of the tunnel, opened to allow them in by the legionnaire on the right, but a rustle from the trees made her turn around.
“Ah,” the other legionnaire muttered, and hefted up an enormous crossbow and aimed at the approaching monster.
This new monster was a giant version of the others, and its main body would tower over Thalia if she were standing closer. Its stinger looked like a shadow in the sky above as it emerged from the treeline, where the stinger brushed at the topmost branches. Its miniatures scurried around its feet.
The legionnaire hefted up the loaded crossbow as Artemis and Parthenos made it to the tunnel. Artemis eyed the young woman and the crossbow. “You’re going to miss.”
“How would you know?” the legionnaire snapped, squinting one eye closed, not even bothering to look at Artemis.
“Do not argue, child. Give me the manubalista.”
“Wha-” the legionnaire started, then eyed Artemis. Some of her previous divinity must have shown, because the legionnaire blinked rapidly for a moment, then obediently handed it over.
The manubalista looked like it should have dwarfed Artemis, but she was clearly stronger than she looked, even with her drastic decrease in physical strength.
Thalia eyed the biggest monster. It hadn’t moved, and watched Artemis curiously as she aimed. Her aim was true, and the bolt landed heavily in its chest.
“That’s unfortunate,” Parthenos muttered, because the monster didn’t even react, just kept staring curiously at the party crowded in the mouth of the tunnel. Slowly, it turned around and retreated back into the shadows of the forest, its miniatures doing the same.
“You don’t say,” Nico said. He grabbed Will’s wrist and guided him further into the tunnel.
Artemis wordlessly gave the legionnaire back the weapon, and followed them. The legionnaires both watched her go, and the one carrying the crossbow set it down on the ground and removed her helmet, revealing a strangely recognizable shock of bubble-gum pink hair framing wide-eyes and a thin face.
She pointed at Thalia, then Artemis, and her mouth formed a little ‘o’ as she did the math. Clearly, she recognized her, but hadn’t necessarily been expecting an ex-goddess to commandeer her weapon after being chased from a forest by mutant scorpions. “That’s Diana.” she muttered, mostly to herself.
“Yep,” Parthenos said, then shouldered her bow and followed.
The girl instructed the other legionnaire to continue guarding the tunnel, saying she would send someone else out.
“Yes, centurion.”
The girl who was somehow a centurion followed them, her long jacket flowing behind her. Her SPQR tattoos were covered by the sleeves, so Thalia couldn’t tell who her godly parent might be.
“Um, you’re Thalia Grace,” she said, holding out a hand to shake after cumbersomely slinging the huge crossbow over her shoulder and stumbling a bit with the weight. “I don’t know if you remember me, it’s been a while. The Battle of San Francisco Bay a couple years ago? Tarquin’s Tomb?”
“Right,” Thalia said, remembering where she had seen the girl before. “La… Lavender?”
“Lavinia,” the girl corrected, then retreated her hand once she realized Thalia’s arm was broken.
The end of the tunnel came into sight, but Artemis paused at the mouth and did not approach further.
“Centurion Asimov,” she called, beckoning Lavinia up to stand at her side. “Tell me everything that has happened, quickly.”
Lavinia started talking so fast Thalia had some trouble keeping up.
“Same as you guys, we were attacked about a week ago, but we were able to fight off most of them. Then gods started showing up, all turned mortal like you. We’ve been getting Greek refugees the whole time, and Hazel and Frank are doing their best to keep track of the numbers: almost two dozen demigods from both camps are dead, another twenty are still missing, not counting you. Seven gods are dead, four injured, and thirteen unaccounted for. Reyna’s here, she’s done her best to account for all the Hunters. We’ve found three dead so far.”
Artemis paused, allowing herself only a few seconds to grieve. “Which gods are here?”
“Most of the Council has arrived now. Mercury and Mars were some of the first, Bacchus arrived three days ago. The only one still missing is Apollo.”
“What about Jupiter?” Nico asked, subtly taking Will’s hand as the latter’s shoulders dropped infinitesimally at that last piece of news.
“He’s here, too.”
“Mortal?” Thalia asked.
Lavinia looked confused by the question. “Yes,” she nodded.
Will and Nico exchanged a glance, and Thalia would bet her bow they were thinking the same thing as her. Artemis hummed. “Strange,” was all she said.
“Sorry, why is that strange?” Lavinia asked as she hurried down the slope after them.
“Why would Zeus turn himself mortal?” Will wondered aloud, somewhat ignoring her.
“What are you talking ab-”
“Unless he didn’t. Unless there’s something else going on.” Thalia groaned and rubbed her face with the hand of her good arm, valiantly ignoring the twinge of the bad one.
Artemis held up a hand as the camp came into view, halting the entire party. She eyed Lavinia suspiciously. “We were under the impression that Jupiter was the one who prompted the attacks and turned all the gods mortal.”
Lavinia’s already large eyes widened. “Really?” She shook her head. “No, he showed up after the attack, but he seemed just as shocked as everyone else.”
“Who else did he arrive with?”
“Juno and Minerva, and some minor gods.”
Artemis’ eyes narrowed, clearly trying to piece everything together. Apparently, she was unsuccessful, because she sighed heavily and glanced over at the camp beneath them. Turning back to the party, she shared eye contact with each of them in turn. “You say nothing of our suspicions. If Bacchus and Chiron are smart, they will have instructed the other councilors to do the same. Nothing to anyone until we know more. Understood?”
They all nodded and followed her down to the camp.
New Rome, while it had survived the initial attack, had taken devastating blows. Quite a few of the buildings on Temple Hill had been turned to rubble, and Thalia could only wonder what had occurred to one large corner of red roofs below that still smoked.
Will guided her through the camp towards the boundary that led to New Rome, Nico following at a distance and quietly taking in the damage. “We should get your arm checked out,” he said softly. Artemis waved them off, and she and Parthenos departed to where she saw several other big-name gods convened in the distance.
The Camp Jupiter infirmary must have been destroyed in the battle, because Lavinia waved them over to a different area of the city. Passing the city line around New Rome, Thalia noticed a pile of rubble that used to stand where the boundary god Terminus used to sit on his plinth. A little girl of about ten stood beside the pile of crumbled white rock with tear-red eyes and her arms crossed firmly across her chest. Seeing them approach, she kicked forward a large plastic tub. “Weapons in here.”
Thalia begrudged her, awkwardly dropping her hunting knife inside the tub as she clutched her broken arm close to her body. Will apparently didn’t have any weapons on him, and Nico handed over his sword, eyes lingering on the girl with pity in his eyes.
The city around them, as they passed over the remnants of the boundary, was clearly struggling. Thalia’s heart sank as she saw people of all ages trudging through the streets, carrying what little supplies they had to share. Thalia had been here before, and at this time of day there would be people bustling through the streets, buying lunch or greeting friends, and she wouldn’t have been able to hear someone standing three feet away from her.
Now, it was deadly quiet, despite the number of people around. Nobody spoke, nobody called for friends, everyone kept their heads down and their mouths shut.
“This is awful,” Will muttered.
“It’s been like this all week,” Lavinia nodded along. “We thought the gods arriving would help, but the Council has been shut away by Jupiter and most of the other gods won’t really interact with us.”
Nico sighed. “Is my father here?”
“Um, yes, I think so. I heard he arrived with Proserpina three days ago.”
Nico nodded, but didn’t leave just yet. “And Hazel?”
“Has been stuck with damage control with Frank.”
Thalia let her bitterness creep in for just a moment - there were gods present. Gods who should be using their knowledge and talent to be doing something. “Well, they're not powerless,” she said aloud, letting her temper get the best of her. “Shouldn’t the gods be helping the praetors instead of sitting around and being awkward?”
Lavinia’s big eyes blinked several times before she trained her eyes back on the ground, looking around awkwardly as if hoping nobody would hear her. “My mother didn’t even look at me when she arrived.”
Nico shook his head angrily, and Thalia wanted to do the same. “My dad wouldn’t allow this,” Will muttered, drawing Thalia’s attention.
He looked angrily around, as if challenging anyone who would dare disagree. Rather, Thalia found herself doing the opposite. While she’d never really seen Apollo interacting with gods other than Artemis after he had regained his seat on Olympus, she couldn’t imagine him letting gods sit around and letting demigods do all the work. No, he’d be leading by example to get something done, whether it was rebuilding the city or finding out who had blindsided the gods and gotten dozens of people killed. Then probably gravely injure himself in the process, she thought.
Her angry thoughts strayed to her own father, and to Jason. Jason would be leading the charge right beside Apollo, and their father… Well, if Jupiter’s previous habits had been any indication, he would be hard pressed to allow them to ‘interfere with the workings of the Fates’. Her musings trailed off as they reached the infirmary, and it was only then she let herself appreciate the consistent throbbing in her arm.
The makeshift infirmary had been cobbled together in one of the last standing buildings on the street. Sheets had been drawn up between what looked like dorm beds from the university, and people were buzzing around. Medics, patients, and their friends hurried around carrying supplies, food, and the like. Thalia recognized the Camp Jupiter Head Healer, Pranjal, speaking to a tall man with curly salt-and-pepper hair in the corner, hovering over a prone patient.
One young woman hurried towards them, a red piece of cloth tied around her right bicep to indicate her status as a healer. “Hello. It’s Thalia, isn’t it?”
Thalia nodded and let herself be guided over to an empty chair.
“I’ll, uh, leave,” Lavinia mumbled. “Too clumsy for this.” Indeed, she had barely managed to avoid knocking over a tray of sterile tools.
Nico gave Will a squeeze on the arm. “See you later, okay? I’m going to find Hazel. I’ll send any of your siblings over if I find them. Get some rest.” He leaned up, kissed him on the cheek, and fled. The room seemed a little lighter after he left, but Will dimmed noticeably.
Will grabbed a spare red strip from the floor and started to tie it around his arm, but the girl held up a hand.
“You should rest first,” she said, eyeing him. “Healers are no use to others if they do not heal themselves first.”
Will’s brow furrowed, but Thalia grabbed his arm with her free one and gently tugged the cloth from his hands. “Okay,” he nodded. “But I’m staying with you.”
“Good,” she said, grateful for the excuse to not be alone.
The girl hummed in assent, then examined Thalia’s arm, gently probing it every so often. “It’s broken,” she shrugged after a moment of pondering.
Thalia scoffed against her better judgment at the obviousness of the statement. The girl glared at her before waving another girl over, also with a red cloth on her arm.
“It’s broken,” the first girl grudgingly said to the other.
The newcomer eyed Thalia’s arm. “No, duh. Anybody could have told you that.”
The first girl bristled with anger, Thalia and her arm completely forgotten in the midst of the argument. “ Thank you for that,” she snarled. “Now do something about it.”
“You do it, you admitted her. Your patient, your diagnosis, your treatment.” Will blinked in surprise, trying to intervene, but the girls ignored him.
“You know the actual treatment isn’t my thing, Aceso,” the first girl snapped. “She’s not-”
“Girls, enough!” An older woman spoke over them from the corner. “Dear, please,” she said to the older man Thalia had noted earlier speaking to Pranjal. He walked over, waving the girls off. “Aceso, Aegle, please go somewhere that is not near each other,” he muttered, then sighed to Thalia as the girls backed off, sticking their tongues out at each other. “Terribly sorry about that. Aegle’s domain is over healthy people, so she’s really only good at telling you when you’re, well… not healthy.”
Thalia blinked for a moment. The girls… were goddesses? And the man…
“Oh,” Will muttered. “You’re Asclepius.”
Asclepius nodded and extended a hand to Will. “That makes us brothers, I suppose. You’re Will Solace, yes?”
“I- yeah.”
“Dad visited before all this began, he said a few things about you.”
Will blinked in pleased surprise as Asclepius leaned down to examine Thalia’s arm, then did some complicated medical stuff that Thalia didn’t understand, but seemed to interest Will enough. He asked questions every so often, and Asclepius happily answered all of them with equal enthusiasm. Thalia didn’t comprehend a word of it.
“It was a nasty break, but you have an advanced healing factor, so you should be fully recovered in ten days,” Asclepius was saying when Thalia zoned back in and looked down at her lightly bandaged arm. “Come back then, alright?”
She nodded, and Asclepius hurried away to another after bidding Will goodbye. Aceso and Aegle were arguing again over another patient and the older woman who Thalia could only assume was their mother and Asclepius’ wife was doing her best to resolve the argument.
Will looked happier than he had been in days, what with the destruction of Camp Half-Blood and Gracie dying.
“You’ve never met him before?” she asked, wanting to let him linger in his good mood before the world came crashing back down on his shoulders again.
“No,” he shook his head. “Zeus has had him imprisoned in Greece for a really long time. You know, the Physician’s Cure, and all that. I only wonder how he got out…”
“Maybe the enchantments Zeus was using to imprison him there died when he became mortal,” Thalia offered.
Will digested that for a moment, then something akin to hope flashed in his eyes. “Yeah, maybe.”
As they wandered back through New Rome, Thalia wondered what he was thinking about that kept the light from fading in his eyes just yet. She bumped his shoulder with his as she realized what it was: Will was hoping that the same was true for Apollo, and that if Zeus’ imprisonment enchantments were dead, Apollo was on his way.
“We should hang out more, after all this,” she said. Assuming there’s a world to hang out in .