This couldn't be happening. The Argo II should've been landing with the grace of an eagle, dignity and pride emanating from long distances. It was supposed to drop every single Roman in this legion's jaw near the ground and stumble over their words with beautified awe. The immaculate dragon's head that stood tall at the stern was meant to stand for courage, and the sunlight that kissed its golden skin was to reflect beautiful diamonds.

Percy was aware of this; he was as sure of it as he was sure of his friends. That ship was to be their transportation to Rome, a second home as they fought to save their first. It had been created by many so that it would be able to withstand battles, fights, laughter, and the own powers of the demigods it was soon to harbour.

Percy knew all this, and yet as he watched a gryphon drop a huge rock into the stern, he couldn't help but feel dread is though it had been he whose middle had been pierced with a rock.

It had all started much too spontaneously for his liking, though had it been up to him Percy would've manipulated the system to keep it from happening period. He had watched the gleaming hull come into view and threw his arms around Hazel and Frank, encouraging them enthusiastically for them to meet "his other family."

The clouds were darkening, but Percy found nothing exceptionally unnerving about that; how could he, when the day was looking up so much? He closed his eyes and allowed the fresh air to overtake his senses, filling them with oxygen as pure as Artemis herself. Faces mingled with the scent of cedar trees and eucalyptus; Grover with his reed pipes, spouting out a song that made the strawberries on Half-Blood Hill writhe in botanical agony. Thalia in full battle armour was conjured into his mind, her Medusa shield frightening each and every beast that dared attack her. He saw his rival Clarisse, whom had been on speaking terms with him since the Manhattan fight, and Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf, which brought tears to his eyes.

Each and every camper he saw in his mind like a film roll brought renewed determination to his already stubborn mind, but there was one face that kept coming up from the shadows. She had golden curls that were as wild as the young woman's personality, but her pursed lips showed her serious side as though she were a tame lion mountain. Everything from her flushed cheeks to the streak of gray in her bangs, or the way she bit her lip when she was anxious and played with her camp necklace when she concentrated... Everything was just so harmonious, like an artist had thrown together a million colours together, hoped they would make something decent, and then out from the shadows came the daughter of Athena in her full glory. But do you know what the most attention-catching thing was about Annabeth Chase? Her eyes; they were such a startling gray hue you'd have thought there was a constant tornado going on in her head.

Most people feared these eyes; they were intimidating and ruthless, and stopped at nothing to get what was needed to protect their friends. Not Percy though; he loved staring into those eyes, loved watching as an idea formed inside each one before exploding out her mouth in a flurry of words. He hated whenever they began pooling with water, and cringed internally when they looked at him with concern or disapproval. Above all things, he despised not seeing them for eight months, and was anxious to lose himself in them once more.

Though he looked quite content with the Argo II's arrival, Percy could tell everyone was skittish and apprehensive. It was legendary that, for as long as anyone could remember, Greek and Roman demigods were sworn enemies. Armed archers from the Apollo cabin held their arrows trained on the boat, swords masters with their gladius held out towards the landing sheet they had set up for it warily. To the side, Octavian was barking orders that sounded a lot like battle strategies, but Reyna drowned him out with her insistence that no harm would come to them. Percy clenched his teeth and frowned at the ever darkening sky. Frank shuffled from foot to foot nervously, but Hazel calmed him down and wrapped her fingers around his tightly.

"Percy, you're sure this is the Greek camp, right?" She asked, squinting slightly as a strong breeze came up. "I mean, there's no way this is another monster invasion?"

"I'm sure, guys," the son of Poseidon replied, his voice raised to be heard over the gust of air. "This is my family, my first family. I trust them as much as I trust you! It's time you do the same." Hazel nodded, but Frank was staring at the sky, eyes narrowed as he watched the clouds begin to congregate to one place like a herd of sheep.

"Huh," he mumbled, his voice carried away in the wind. He tapped his friends on the shoulders and leaned towards them. "Is it just me, or do those clouds look unnaturally stormy?"

"Don't be silly, Frank," the dark skinned female of the group exclaimed. "It's just a bunch of clouds. It's not like they can turn into –!"

Her protests were cut off by a sickening flash of lightning. The streak hit the ground near the Romans, and everyone was knocked off of their feet. People screamed, while others scrambled about madly for their weapons. Percy looked at his shocked friends, and watched as monsters came out from both the earth.

Dozens upon dozens of these hybrids began pooling out of the fissure the lightning had created, and Percy took in the sight of them. They were snakes with chicken heads, their bodies a poisonous green and their beaks as bright as Imperial Gold itself. Their eyes... Percy couldn't even bring himself to look at their eyes. Behind him, Hazel gasped.

"Those are cockatrice!" She cried, pulling out her spatha and raising her voice for the whole camp to hear. "They can turn you to stone if you look them directly in the eyes!" Panic immediately ensued, with kids scrambling around for their weapons, avoiding the chicken-snake eyes.

"Use reflections to beat them!" Percy screamed, uncapping Riptide and pulling Hazel and Frank behind a boulder. "Hazel, what are these things and why do they remind me of ex step-father Gabe when he doesn't shave?"

"Cockatrice... They're like the original basilisks. Roman mythology derived the basilisks from them because it made more sense to just keep it a full snake, but the Gods weren't pleased and kept both the cockatrice and the basilisks. Monster class told me how to beat them, but I'm blanking out."

Frank snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up in a wild manner. "If they're like basilisks, then I should be able to kill them as a weasel, right?" Hazel nodded slowly, her eyes full of concern, but Percy shook his head.

"There are too many of them. You might be able to take out two or three, but you'll get surrounded eventually." Percy looked up at the Argo II, which was still two hundred feet above ground. "Here's the plan; Frank, you make sure everyone knows not to look into their eyes. Hazel, defend him and try to remember how to destroy the cockatrice. I'm going to see if there's any way to get that boat down here faster for reinforcements."

The trio got out from under their hiding spots, but just as they stood up, a crash of thunder rocked the skies. A tornado began forming in the clouds, and Percy watched in horror as gryphon upon gryphon came out from the dangerous weather. They held massive boulders and began circling the Field of Mars. They began dropping their boulders around the Romans, and every camper frantically jumped out of the way.

Percy watched one with growing dread as it hovered above the Argo II. Like a slow motion movie, he saw the talons release the bomb like rock and felt as though he was struck through the heart with an iron spear as it crashed through the boat.

All the Roman campers were either entangled with a cockatrice or mesmerized by the falling Argo II, the dragon head hitting the ground first. With a burst of speed, the ship crashed against the grounds of the camp, a sickening crack of wood echoing a million times. Percy's vision went red with rage, his body reacting solely on his protectiveness for the campers he had known since twelve. He rushed forward, a lion's roar ripped out of his throat. Surroundings and voices mixed together, though he was just barely aware of Hazel calling out to him.

Suddenly, he felt someone strong wrap their arms around his waist and tackle him to the ground. He fought against it, but whoever had knocked him down was as strong as a heavy weight boxing champion. He landed a blow to their ribs, and the moment he felt them slacken, he jumped forward once again, only to be pulled down by his ankles.

Percy looked on, helpless to aid the ones he loved, as the back of the ship burst into flames. Many of the campers had gotten out; The Stoll Brothers, Katie Gardner, Grover and Thalia... So many people rushed out from the rubble, but none were the girl with the stormy gray eyes. He began to fight his captor again, until he felt them pick him up by the waist. Hazel was next to him in a second.

"Frank, keep him secure." His grip tightened, and Percy felt himself struggle even harder. "Percy, calm down."

"Annabeth!" He screeched, his voice cracking from emotion. He could see Grover running towards him, pain and concern on his face, but he kept focused on the fallen boat. "Annabeth! Annabeth!"

"Percy, listen to me," Frank said from behind him. "It's like you told me before; you go in there alone, and you're going to die. You need help, and you know it. Let us help you, let us fight alongs –!"

"Percy!" A deep teenage voice bleated, hoofed footsteps finally ceasing as Grover dropped next to him and fumbled with his words. "Percy, thank the Gods! We thought, we thought..." With that, the satyr pulled him into a huge hug, to which Percy immediately returned. It felt so good to have his friend back, and he felt a few drops of water hit his back – Grover had always been so emotional. Suddenly, he pulled back and looked the son of Poseidon up and down.

"Do you... Do you remember me?"

"Grover, it's kind of hard to forget someone who's constantly chomping down on tin cans and aluminum foil." Percy smiled slightly, before high fiving his best friend. "These are my friends, Hazel Levesque, daughter of Plu – Hades, and Frank Zhang, son of Ares."

Grover's eyes widened. "You're friends with a child of Ares? Since when are you so forgiving to the god of war?" Frank looked hurt, but Hazel eyed the horns on top of Grover's head.

"You're a satyr," she stated, her eyes wide with realization. "That's what Don meant by an empathy link, wasn't it. When you told me you had a satyr protector, I should've realized..."

"It doesn't matter right now, what matters is who's in that boat." Frank said, his eyes dark and serious. "We need to get them out of there, and soon. Grover, how many people are left in there?"

"At least a dozen, give or take a few," the satyr answered, his tongue licking his teeth nervously. "But Percy, listen; Annabeth was downstairs where the fire was when I last saw her." Percy's eyes glazed over, staring straight ahead as though he had already been turned to stone. Frank flicked him in the ear and he winced, being brought back to the present.

"Okay, listen up." Frank ordered, clapping his hands together. "This is what we're going to do; we're pulling the War Games strategy." Hazel nodded grimly, while Percy just shot a quick noise of approval.

"Um, what's that?" Grover asked quietly, his cheeks burning. Oh, how Percy had missed him. But as much as he loved having his old friend back, he was really worried about Annabeth. They quickly filled him in, and as Hazel put her hands against the ground with a concentrated look, Percy couldn't help but fear the worst.

Please be okay, Wise Girl.

yes, I decided to write the Percy Jackson fic; it's killing me not to! Yes, I will still write All I Feel is You and the third installment to the Call at Night trilogy, and yes, starting now, I will be answering reviews again in my stories, because of popular demand AND because I love answering :heart: Tis so much fun! :D

HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THISSSSS :)