This story takes place two years before The Lost Hero.

I hope everyone enjoys.

If Gwen was being honest with herself, she had no clue what to expect when she had been called into the late night meeting. The Fifth Cohort was still celebrating their win during the war games, so Gwen assumed that a few of them had been celebrating a little too much. Someone in her cohort would definitely be cleaning up after Hannibal the elephant.

Gwen slowly looked up at the Principia and took a deep breath. She walked up the stairs and stepped inside. To her surprise, she found that Jason Grace was standing around. He looked just as confused as she felt. Gwen managed a small smile and walked towards her friend.

Jason was no longer wearing his armor, but he didn't need it to look powerful. His blonde hair was all out of place, and it looked like he had just rolled out of bed. Despite his frazzled look, his blue eyes were full of alertness. Jason glanced at her and smiled slightly.

The two of them were both centurions of the Fifth Cohort. Together, they had been leading the cohort back to its former glory. Gwen knew that both of their efforts had the Senate eyeing them for praetorship.

Since Jason's father was Jupiter, it only made sense that Jason would one day lead the legion. It was just a matter of time. Jason was also just a natural leader. It helped that he had been in the legion longer than anyone who wasn't retired.

Gwen didn't have the godly credentials that Jason did. She was only a legacy, but her father was a son of Mars and had been a great praetor in his time. Most of his skills had been passed on to her, and she was doing her best to make him proud.

"Do you know why we're here?" Jason questioned. His voice was quieter than usual, but it still shattered the silence that was blanketing the Principia. Jason glanced around, and upon not seeing anyone, he allowed his posture to relax. "I was trying to keep Dakota from the kool-aid."

"Good luck with that," Gwen said, and she followed it up with a laugh. She gave Jason a smile, and he returned it. "I'm not really sure why we were called here though. Do you think someone got a little too rowdy?"

"No," Jason answered. He seemed to think about it and frowned. Gwen heard footsteps behind them, and she slowly turned. The two praetors were walking towards them, and they both had troubled looks on their faces. That couldn't mean anything good.

"Praetors," Gwen greeted, with a small bow of her head. She studied the two in front of her. The boy on her right had hazel eyes and brown hair. He was the same height as Gwen and a legacy, so they had those two things in common. His name was Marcus.

The other praetor was a girl named Tamiah. She had green eyes that always held a smug look in them, and her dark hair was tucked behind her ear. She was a daughter of Victoria: goddess of victory. The praetors seemed to return Gwen's studying gaze. Marcus finally looked down at the letter in his hands.

"We have a very important matter to speak of, and time is of the essence," Tamiah said. She glanced at the letter and sighed tiredly. "You may have noticed that Centurion Ramirez was not a participant in the war games tonight, and she has not been around the camp for the past few days."

Gwen nodded slightly. They had noticed Reyna's absence, especially during the war games. The daughter of Bellona was skilled at fighting and leading her cohort into battle, despite the fact that she had only been promoted to centurion two months ago. Reyna had only been at Camp Jupiter for two years but had advanced much quicker than Gwen expected.

"Before we begin, the two of you must swear on your honor that a word of this will not leave the building," Marcus said. Gwen shot a glance towards Jason. Honor was a huge thing to any Roman, and any promise backed by honor could not be broken. Gwen nodded to her friend.

"You have our word," Jason said. Gwen gave her word as well and looked at the praetors. The two praetors had a silent discussion, and Tamiah shook her head. Marcus nodded slightly. "What happened to Reyna? Is she okay?"

"We believe that Ceres has disappeared," Tamiah began. Gwen's eyes widened, and her mouth almost fell open in shock. Who could capture a goddess, and who would want the goddess of agriculture? "About a week ago, she left Mount Olympus to meet with a mortal that she had been courting. She has not returned since."

Gwen and Jason exchanged glances. They weren't usually sent to find any lost immortals. It begged the question of who had kidnapped Ceres. Kidnappings were common in the stories, but she couldn't recall any kidnappings in modern times. Wondering wouldn't get them anywhere though. If Ceres wasn't found soon, there would be grave consequences.

"Lupa only told us that Ceres was last seen in Wisconsin. We sent Centurion Ramirez there to try and find any information about Ceres' whereabouts. Today, we received words from her," Marcus said. "Centurion Ramirez managed to find the hotel that Ceres was suppose to meet the mortal at. She found out that a large group had rented the rooms surrounding Ceres', and this is what she found when she investigated it."

Marcus handed a flyer to them. Gwen looked down at the crumpled flyer. It looked like someone had quickly stuffed it into their pocket. There was no pictures on the paper, but there was large, bold words. After a few moments of staring at the odd letters, Gwen realized they were Greek. An address and time sat on the bottom of the paper.

"Are you two familiar with the Cult of Ichor?" Marcus asked. Gwen looked at him and stared. The cult had been a problem well before her father was in charge, but her father had almost managed to destroy them. One of the members managed to escape and hide underground. Jason looked up at the praetors and nodded slightly.

"The founder of the cult was a mortal, who was able to see through the mist. Somehow, he stumbled upon a training sessions between Mars and Bellona. He took some of the ichor that had fallen upon the ground and ran," Jason recalled. He frowned, and his face was screwed up in concentration, as he tried to remember the story.

"He made some kind of drink out of the ichor that was suppose to give him godly strength and speed. It was also suppose to make him immortal. The ichor should have killed him, but when he survived, he was able to find a few other crazies who believed him and joined his cult," Gwen finished.

"You are both correct. The mortal was set to be destroyed, after the gods found out about his crime. Instead, he was granted protection by Minerva, and the other immortals could not lay a finger upon him," Marcus said distastefully. "He finally fell out of Minerva's favor, the First Cohort struck, and we thought they had wiped them out. It seems that one member did survived, and now, they're back."

Jason and Gwen slowly looked at each other. They both saw where the conversation was going, but there was still some formalities to follow. Jason spoke, "What is our job?"

"Annihilate the cult," Tamiah answered. "Every member is to be killed, and Ceres must be freed. We have already discussed this mission with the Senate, and they have agreed on what supplies to send for the two of you and Centurion Ramirez."

"Those supplies have been packed and are waiting at the entrance of the camp. You'll be taking a plane to your destination," Marcus added. "If you have to infiltrate the cult, you will, but you must be careful. We have to do everything in our power to avoid open war with this cult. The mortal may have fallen back into Minerva's favor, and that might be why he survived."

"We would rather avoid having to send the First Cohort to clean up any mistakes that you may make," Tamiah said. She straightened slightly, as if her former cohort could see her standing there. "If word gets out that Ceres is missing, it will cause a panic. We cannot afford the chaos."

"Of course," Gwen said. She glanced at Jason and met his eyes. They both knew that the panic would only be multiplied by the feast of Fortuna. If a goddess was missing, it probably meant they would have bad luck for the rest of the year. "Praetors, is there anything else?"

"Be safe," Marcus answered. Tamiah glanced at him. Even though she didn't move, Gwen knew she was mentally shaking her head. Tamiah really didn't like anyone from the Fifth Cohort. It almost seemed like a cruel joke that they were sending the two members of the Fifth Cohort to wipe out the cult. Would the cohort's string of bad luck effect the mission?

"You leave in twenty minutes," Tamiah said. Her tone was short and clipped. Gwen looked up and nodded slightly. Tamiah really had no faith in them and was being obvious about it. Marcus at least had the decency to pretend like he trusted them.

"When you get off of your flight, Centurion Ramirez will be waiting for you," Marcus added. "If she is not there, you will assume the worst and send us a message. Dismissed."

Gwen nodded to her two praetors. She turned and walked out of the Principia. Jason was right behind her. He glanced at her and spoke, "Are we ready to hit the road?"

"Always. Do we need armor?" Gwen questioned. If any mortals of the cult could see through the mist, they would definitely see any armor that the demigods wore. Then again, they would also be able to see any weapons.

"It would be better to be safe than sorry," Jason replied. He smiled at her. "We can always store it in our room, if we aren't wearing it. Did your dad ever tell you anything about the cult? Other than the stuff that he told the praetors."

"No. Dad never really talked about the cult. He told me the public story, but if I ever asked in private, he just got this look in his eyes," Gwen answered. The two made it back into their barracks and stepped inside. As they walked in, Gwen stared at the scene in front of her.

A large cardboard box was in the middle of the room. It looked and smelled like contraband. The cookie in Dakota's mouth confirmed it. Sweets were strictly banned unless they were earned, bought and eaten inside New Rome, or came as a special treat during a meal.

"What is this?" Jason questioned. His tone was calm and cool. The son of Jupiter crossed his arms and sighed softly. Gwen watched the rest of the cohort in silent. They each had cookies on their faces and hands.

The Fifth Cohort hated to let their centurions down. If Gwen didn't speak to her cohort like she was now, it was because they had disappointed her. When Jason was upset, he switched to a tone that made him sound like a scolding mother.

"We found it," the youngest member of the cohort answered. He was a child of Mercury and probably the one that had found it. That still left the question of where exactly he had found it. Gwen could already feel a headache forming.

"Where?" Jason questioned. When no one responded, Jason took a deep breath. He looked down and sighed sadly. "Alright, someone is going to answer. Where did you find the cookies?"

"The First Cohort's barracks," Dakota answered, with a mouthful of cookies. Gwen and Jason looked at each other. They met eyes and came to a mutual understanding.

"The cookies are going to be gone in two minutes, and all the evidence is going to be gone in the next five," Gwen ordered. She looked at the Fifth Cohort. "Jason and I are both being sent away from a mission. You will all be on your best behavior, while we are gone."

Everyone practically jumped over each other to deliver their promises. Gwen fought her smile and walked towards her bed. She knelt by the bed and reached under it. Her hands wrapped around her backpack. Most of her clothing was inside, as they were suppose to learn how to live out of a backpack. It trained them for if they ever had to go to war, and frankly, it saved a lot of space.

Gwen swung the backpack around her shoulder and grabbed the duffel bag that held her armor. A glance at Jason showed that he was almost ready. The rest of the Fifth Cohort had devoured the cookies but also left two each for their centurions. Gwen smiled and ate the cookies.

"Ready?" Jason asked. Gwen glanced at him and nodded. The rest of the Fifth Cohort quickly said their goodbyes. They knew not to ask where their centurions were going. Details of the mission were to never be disclosed, until after the mission was completed and the Senate had been debriefed. Rumors would quickly spread though, especially with three centurions away from camp.

"As I will ever be," Gwen replied. She didn't really like planes in the first place, and it was unprecedented to take one to a mission. That meant their objective was extremely important. It also meant that the praetors were worried about leaving Reyna alone by herself for an extended amount of time.

Gwen remembered all of the stories about the cult. She worried that they were more dangerous than the Senate thought. As Gwen walked out of the barracks with Jason, she spoke, "Do you have a bad feeling about this too?"

"I do," Jason agreed. He sighed and looked at the sky. His eyes closed, but his lips moved quickly, as if he was sending a prayer up to his father. Gwen looked away and focused on the ground. Truthfully, she was nervous. Something told her this was going to be a long, difficult mission.