The Daughter of War and Medicine

It was whilst Kassandra was dangling her legs in the harbour as she sat with her mother when the eagles soared above. They screeched as they flew past and were rapidly descending for landing nearby. Bellona smiled.

"Ahh, the eagles of New Rome. Beautiful creatures truly."

"They really are, maybe I'll get to pet one soon," marvelled Kassandra, completely caught up in hanging out with her mother. Then she remembered what was going on with the others. "Oh gods, that means the Romans are here!"

"And... Reyna too then?" asked the goddess of war, twiddling her thumbs. In that moment she looked so young, like the naive goddess she once was when Rome was still a Republic in the Italian peninsula.

"Yes. And likely the augur and other legionaries."

Bellona audibly gulped.

"She wants to meet you, it'll be great."

"Look at this," laughed Bellona quietly. "My own year-old daughter is comforting me about meeting my own demigod child. Your father was right, you are our blessing."

Kassandra's heart filled with warmth at that.

"Should we go meet them then? I think your presence could de-escalate a very tense situation right now."

The goddess of Rome nodded and stood up, pulling Kassandra up with her too. They turned and both got their sandals/shoes on before beginning to walk in the general direction of where they saw the eagles land.

"Do you hate the Greeks?" asked Kassandra.

"What would make you think that?" responded her mother.

"I'm pretty sure Athena despises the Romans, and I didn't know if the feeling was mutual."

Bellona sighed as she walked. "Once upon a time, I did. It was the rivalry between the Republic and city states of course when hatred peaked between demigods. The conflict has long gone on since then, and I will say that for the longest time I did. But then your father came along. He just changed every view I had of the Greeks."

Her eyes were full of fond memories as she gazed up at the sun.

"It was such a short time we shared now I think about it, but some of the best months I spent as a goddess. Now, I cannot hold much hatred in my heart towards the people (Y/N) lived with and spent his own life assisting. It would be a disservice to his memory."

Kassandra didn't know how to respond, so she didn't.

Whilst she didn't speak, she had it all planned out. Bellona would meet Reyna, they'd get to know each other whilst Kassandra saved the world. She'd return home with father, Hector would get to meet him and they would all be together, one big family.

However, by now she should have expected something to go wrong when it was all going right. Suddenly, Charleston harbour erupted, the water climbing from the sea and demolishing everything in its path, sweeping people from their feet and carrying away anything that wasn't heavy enough to stay put back into the harbour.

Kassandra and her mother stayed put of course, but Bellona frowned.

"Is this a mortal show?"

The ex-huntress shook her head. She had a pretty good idea who the culprit was, that being none other than Jackson of course.

"Get me out of here! I'll kill you!" screamed a voice Kassandra had heard before. Bellona's ears also perked up.

"Is that... the augur?"

Peeking over into the harbour, there was the blonde augur Octavian. There were three Romans in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armour.

"Tempting," someone called down from a higher position that Kassandra couldn't see.

"What?" Octavian shouted. He was holding on to one of his guards, who was having trouble keeping them both afloat.

"Nothing!" shouted back the same voice, and from it she could tell it was Percy.

For a second Kassandra and Bellona just stood there watching the Romans in the bay before Bellona awoke from her trance like state.

"I should help them, they are mine after all."

With a flick of her hand, the guards and augur were thrown out of the water with surprising force and speed, leaving them coughing next to some cannons on a higher part of the harbour.

"Reyna will be around here somewhere, we should find her," stated her mother, vanishing via a teleportation back to the ship. Kassandra quickly followed suit.

Kassandra appeared on the Argo II alongside her mother in an instant, but Reyna was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, ropes began to fly on their own— releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor. The sails unfurled and caught the wind. Meanwhile someone had fired the engine. The oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the Argo II turned from the dock, and from what the daughter of Bellona could see was heading for some island in the distance.

Eagles circled overhead, three to be exact, probably the three belonging to the Romans just spat out of the bay. They didn't attempt to land as the dragon head of Festus spat fire at them whenever they got too close.

More eagles were flying in formation from not too far away- at least a dozen. If each carried a Roman that would outnumber the demigods.

"Where are your companions?" asked Bellona, looking around the deck.

"They must be-"

Before she could respond, she could hear a voice in the wind. Looking in the general direction she saw... was that Jason flying? Sure enough it was, and with him Leo clung onto the claws of an enormous bald eagle, presumably Frank. Even from below Kassandra could hear the elf boy screaming and cursing.

They appeared to be heading straight for the Argo, but they were intercepted by a Roman flying chariot, descending from a cloud and diving straight toward them. It was similar to the one the Greeks had at their camp.

Jason and Frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. The charioteers fired their bows. Arrows whistled under Leo's feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. Jason and Frank were forced to overshoot the Argo II and fly towards what Kassandra assumed to be the infamous Fort Sumter. Annabeth had once told her a bunch of facts about it, like how the base was built in 1829 but was never fully completed.

Enough of the facts though, Kassandra sprinted across the deck and down the stairs into the main hallway, tailed by Bellona. They burst into the control room to find Percy, Hazel, Annabeth, Piper and Hedge. The demigods were scattered around the room with the son of Poseidon at the head whilst Hedge manned a port ballista.

It was as they entered the room however that the coach fired the ballista. A flaming spear rocketed toward the chariot which she could see ahead.It exploded over the heads of the pegasi and threw them into a panic. Unfortunately it also singed Frank's wings and sent him spiralling out of control. Leo slipped from his grasp. The chariot shot toward Fort Sumter, slamming into Jason.

Jason—obviously dazed and in pain—lunged for Leo, caught him, then struggled to gain altitude. He only managed to slow their fall. They disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort. Frank tumbled after them. Then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and hit with a bone shattering CRACK! One broken wheel spun into the air.

"Coach!" Piper screamed.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "That was just a warning shot!"

Annabeth gunned the engines. The hull shuddered as they picked up speed. The docks of the island were only a hundred yards away now, but a dozen more eagles were soaring overhead, each carrying a Roman demigod in its claws.

Hazel turned around and saw Kassandra and her mother.

"Kassandra, we need you to- who's this?" she asked confused, staring at Bellona.

"Hazel Levesque, centurion of the fifth cohort and daughter of Pluto returned to the mortal realm after death. Do you not recognise me?"

Hazel squinted at Kassandra's mother for a second, and then she saw it. Just for a fraction of a second, her blouse, jeans and sneakers vanished and were replaced with her armour and thick boots. A helmet radiating strength covered her head and face. Hazel stumbled back before she regained her footing.

"My-My lady, I'm so sorry, I did not realise it was you."

She stood to attention, throwing her left arm to the side and beating her chest once with the other.

"Vivat Imperium!" she shouted, earning the attention of all the others in the command room. They all turned around, and Kassandra waved as her mother stood firm, merely observing the crew.

"Demigods meet mother! Bellona meet demigods!" celebrated Kassandra with a grin on her face. No one said anything for a second. In the end it was the goddess of war who spoke first.

"Greetings children. I hear from Kassandra that you're the demigods chosen to save the world, correct?"

Everyone stood a little more straight at that.

"Yes ma'am," said Percy, taking the confidence to speak. "The seven. Minus a few right now."

"I see. And where is the boy who blew up my city?" she asked, her spear appearing in hand menacingly.

"Mother!" squeaked Kassandra.

"Relax daughter, I mean him no harm, just a simple conversation is all."

As much as the ex-huntress wanted to, she didn't believe it.

"Leo is with the others," spoke up Annabeth, who was looking at Bellona with something Kassandra just couldn't pin point. "We need to save him. Jason and Frank are with him too."

At the mention of Jason and Frank, Bellona's ear seemed to perk up.

"Romes champion must be saved," she mused, rubbing her chin. Then she looked up directly at the daughter of Athena. "Reyna, have you seen her?"

Annabeth shook her head, and Bellona tutted.

"She's probably here, just not on our side," said Kassandra, looking out to the fort. "We should go try and find her."

"Indeed. It was an honour to meet you all, especially you, Hazel Levesque. I thank you for your service towards the Republic and its people. Ave centurion."

And with that Bellona disappeared again. Hazel looked awe struck.

"I'm going to chase after her. I might take a while to get back, but you guys just keep going," said Kassandra, throwing them a thumbs up before vanishing away.

The mother and daughter duo were on the ground far before the ship arrived, it still being a minute or so away from them but steadily advancing on the fort with a clear trajectory to set down.

Meanwhile, the daughter of (Y/N) could see Valdez ducking from portico to portico, blasting fire at the giant eagles swooping down on him. Roman demigods tried to chase him, tripping over piles of cannonballs and dodging tourists, who screamed and ran in circles.

Tour guides kept yelling, "It's just a reenactment!" Though they didn't sound sure. The Mist could only do so much to change what mortals saw and Kassandra had yet to learn how to manipulate it.

In the middle of the courtyard, a full-grown elephant- possibly Zhang- rampaged around the flagpoles, scattering Roman warriors. Jason stood about fifty yards away, sword fighting with a stocky centurion whose lips were stained cherry red, like blood.

Just as Kassandra was going to set forwards in search of her sister, Bellona fell to the ground clutching her chest.

"Mother?" panicked Kassandra, rushing towards her and kneeling by her side.

"It's... it's nothing my daughter," she insisted, attempting to get to her feet just to collapse once more. "The new Roman/Greek war has opened up, I- I must leave and return to my temple to recollect myself before-"

She clutched her head and groaned in agony, her form flickering to that more militaristic style on and off like a switch. Kassandra moved her hand to touch her mothers back, trying to support her with whatever strength she could offer when Bellona spiked up like some contorted puppet.

"Mater!" cried out Kassandra.

As she moved to hold her arm, Bellona sent her backhand straight into her face. On any normal encounter she would have blocked or dodged, but it wasn't something she expected from her mother of all people.

So she was smacked back across the courtyard and directly into a small room, probably part of a garrison. As she recovered, she saw out of the corner of her eye that the Argo II had landed with Annabeth vaulting from the deck and sprinting across the courtyard.

Jason had knocked the Roman he was fighting unconscious and was heading back to the ship whilst Annabeth continued to charge forwards, seemingly in the direction of Kassandra. The young goddess got to her feet in time to watch her mother turn to the Argo and raise her spear to point at the vessel. The tip began to glow gold, charging up with a low thrumming rhythm. It was eerily similar to Kassandra's finger gun. Then she realised it was probably the same thing, just applied to her mothers spear instead of hand.

Now understanding what was about to happen, Kassandra summoned two extendable chains in either arm connected to he wrists and spun them forwards across the the floor and through the air. Just as the beam of energy was about to be released from the spearhead, her chains made connection and whipped at Bellona's heel and shoulder.

Upon seeing that, Kassandra pulled back on the chains with all her strength in a desperate attempt to knock Bellona off balance. She was successful in skewing her mothers aim, and the beam of energy just about skimmed past one of the Argo's sails.

Tourists were panicking and scattering, so the ex-huntress used that to her advantage, slipping through the crowds to try and lose the goddess of Rome's range of view. She was successful in doing so, and as the elder goddess turned to look for her Kassandra caught a shot of her face.

Her eyes were partly covered by her helmet, but she could make out that they were a blood red colour. She radiated an aura of control and power, something Kassandra had only ever felt comparable to being at the table of Gaia when she was kidnapped.

Bellona turned and spun on her heel to try and find her daughter, but when she couldn't she merely grit her teeth and vanished without a trace.

Thinking back on what she had said, Kassandra put the pieces together. Conflict between Romans and Greeks would have a major effect on all gods on both sides, but since her mother was the patron of Romans it would hit her harder than anyone else. Kassandra seemed immune to such struggles as Bacchus had said, due to her split parentage of Rome and Greek. But if this new conflict were to keep up, her mother may be stuck in the same state, volatile and violent towards anyone with Greek connections.

So she needed this whole war to end as soon as possible, otherwise her mother was out of the picture until it was. So now she was down to parents. Kassandra kicked the rubble that lay around from her collision. ****.

As she silently raged and wondered what her next course of action was, she heard what was becoming her least favourite voice through the chaos.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

Octavian had got his act together and made it to the fort. He crouched behind his guards, screaming encouragement at the other Roman demigods as they struggled toward the ship, holding up their shields as if that would deflect the storm raging all around them

Water and wind churned together. Waves heaved against the ramparts and lightning flashed. Giant eagles were knocked out of the sky. Wreckage of the flying chariot burned in the water, and Hedge on the ship swung a mounted crossbow, taking potshots at the Roman birds as they flew overhead.

Her attention was however quickly dragged away when Annabeth burst out of the garrison room carrying something in her hands. Just past her and up on the ramparts, Reyna marched calmly with her metals dogs at her side wearing full battle armour and carrying a golden spear.

"Reyna!" yelled Kassandra over the storm, waving her arms in the air. "Reyna!"

Kassandra was loud enough, and her sister turned, searching for her voice in the crowds until her eyes found her. Some foreign emotion made its way onto the praetors face and she began to make her way towards the goddess. Kassandra did the same until they met in the middle of the courtyard.

"I was wondering when we would meet again," was the first thing Reyna said, her dogs eyeing Kassandra up with suspicion.

"As was I sister," laughed the young goddess. "But finally here we are!"

A smile crept onto the corner of Reyna's mouth, but was shot down pretty quickly. She leaned on her spear.

"Should you not be rushing to escape with your allies?" she questioned, gazing over to the Argo which was already taking off as Annabeth clambered onto the ship with Pipers help.

"Nah, not when I've got this," Kassandra responded, teleporting behind her sisters back and tapping her on the back. Reyna spun around looking surprised.

"So you really are his daughter," she mumbled, looking her up and down. "If you are capable of teleportation then time isn't an issue. Come sister, and let us talk."

The stormy weather subsided quickly as the Argo II became a blot in the distance, racing off towards the Mediterranean. Kassandra was pretty sure she could make the jump to wherever they were. Pretty sure anyway.

Reyna and her walked in silence through the fort until they reached an area where the Romans had seemingly set up for a stay. There were several tents pitched, with the demigod Jason had knocked out being tended to and another caring for the guards of the augur still shivering. More guards, not wet, stood at the entrance of the largest tent.

Inside the tent it was pretty bare besides a throne-like chair, benches to either side and plenty of weapon racks with shield, spears and swords leaning against them. The augur in question was tucked away in the largest tent sitting in the head seat, but when he saw the two sisters, quickly scurried to the bench by the right.

"Ahh, good work capturing one of those tricky Greeks Reyna. Should we take them for imprisonment or send them back to the city for execution?"

"No such things should be spoken of in the presence of a goddess Octavian," said Reyna, marching past him and taking her rightful seat at the head of the tent.

The skinny blonde boy looked around in circles, confused. "Goddess? Where?" he asked.

Kassandra stuck her hand up, creating a replica of Reyna's seat from golden energy and falling onto it, stretching her legs out to sit opposite Octavian and to the left hand of the praetor. She had to admit it, it felt good watching Octavian's face crumble.

"You... you're a... But she... Who even is-"

"I give to you Kassandra (L/N), daughter of the god (Y/N) (L/N) and goddess Bellona. My sister."

Octavian was whiter than flour now, and the guards at the entrance of the command tent seemed to straighten themselves up and sneak peaks over their shoulders at her.

"Kassandra works just fine augur. But would you still have me executed before the people of Rome?"

He shut up quickly at that.

"So Kassandra, could you tell me a little more about what you said on that IM message? Specifically about (Y/N) preferably."

She nodded, and Octavian's ears peaked up.

"It is true he's still out there as a vessel, but not lost. I believe that if we either beat him hard enough or destroy Gaia at her core though we can free him from her grasp."

"How did Gaia get a hold of him? He's (Y/N) (L/N), one of our patrons and even older than the original republic. Did the Greeks sell him out?"

"I don't know when you'll realise this Octavian, but the Greeks are not the root of all evil."

The augur looked at Reyna for some sort of intervention, but when she didn't give him any sign of recognition just squirmed in his seat due to the look Kassandra was giving him.

"Anyway," started Reyna, moving the conversation onwards, "How about you tell us more about yourself, sister?"

"Well, I've lived on Olympus, with the hunters of Artemis and the Achaeans. I was sent to live with the hunters when I was two weeks old, and that was now around... just under a year now, maybe a little more?"

Octavian's eyes bulged from his head.

"You mean to tell us that you're only a year old?"

"Gods mature both physically and mentally faster than mortals. Diana assisted with the birth of her brother Apollo you know. So yes, I'm still pretty young. Because of that and my pater's situation, I'm yet to ascend to true godhood. As a result I'm what you might call a glass cannon, still durable in combat but not compared to my damage output. Here."

Aiming her hand at the sky, she pulled a finger-gun and shot an energy blast into the air, piercing the tent fabric and startling the guards outside.

"As you can see I still possess godly traits, but such abilities will be enhanced when I become of an equal status to gods and goddesses like Bellona or Fortuna."

Reyna sat back in her chair and watched her sibling with amusement. When Hylla left her for the Amazons, she never thought that she would have a sister again. That was only amplified when (Y/N) had vanished last summer, but Kassandra had brought back exactly what she needed; strength. Strength to continue fighting and pushing on.

"I should ask you two though as the heads of the Roman state; what will be the next move of the Romans?" asked Kassandra.

Reyna opened her mouth to speak, but Octavian beat her to it.

"Well, we must march on this Camp Half-Blood of course! If we cannot apprehend the ship and its demigod crew then we must take the next best thing to avenge our broken city. The people call for blood, and so blood I- we will deliver."

Kassandra eyed up the skinny blonde boy with suspicion. For an augur he seemed pretty sure in himself and not the gods. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but for someone of his position it was a little off putting.

"To march on the Greeks would mean all out war."

"As if that hasn't already begun! They brought conflict to Rome and threw me into the harbour, for that we must have their heads! Destroy them from the root as we should have long before now."

"You understand Gaia is playing you for a fool, right?" interjected Kassandra.

"A fool? A fool would allow such actions to go unpunished! I on the the hand will ensure that the glory of Rome will shine on without the existence of the Greeks to dampen such an incredible dream!"

"You're insane Octavian," remarked Kassandra. "If you try and carry out such a plan, then the true enemy that is the giants will have already won."

"But-"

"Perhaps you should step outside Octavian," said Reyna, leaning her head in her hand.

The augur clearly wished to make a statement against her, but to his better judgement just gritted his teeth and stormed out of the tent. The praetor sighed.

"I'm sorry about him, I've been trying to hold him off from stirring the people into a frenzy but I fear that eventually he'll break through and do something terrible."

"Don't worry, he doesn't seem like the kind of person to have any real influence when push comes to shove. I doubt he can even carry his own blade into battle."

Reyna laughed at that, and it was the first time in a long time since she had truly and wholly laughed.

Octavian kicked the dirt floor as he sulked, marching through the fort and up the barricades away from where the encampment was set up.

"Stupid goddess, stupid Reyna. Apollo promised me, not her," he mumbled.

He turned around and gazed up into the sky. The sun still shone and gazed down on him judgmentally. The legacy of Apollo could still remember when the god of prophecy contacted him and told him what would be of the future, how he was destined to be Romes great saviour. Ever since then he had tried to fill those shoes, but no matter what he did that goal just seemed to become more and more out of reach.

Abel and Ella were the first obstacle, that son of Arcus and daughter of Venus would never let him get into any form of position of power. Then (Y/N) (L/N) showed up and he was just such a golden boy even before he became a god that someone like Octavian would just never get along with him. In reality, (Y/N) would've helped someone like him get away from his obsession over pleasing Apollo and becoming the golden light he desired.

The final nail in his coffin however seemed to be Reyna. She appeared to be such good friends with the Greeks as if they hadn't threatened to destroy everything the Republic stood for. And with this Kassandra goddess it appeared he was about to lose his perfect opportunity to seize eternal glory.

"You know, I hate her too," spoke a voice from seemingly nowhere.

Octavian practically jumped out of his skin. "Who's there!" he yelped.

"A friend, someone who had much to offer," the voice whispered back.

The augur steeled his nerves and looked around, but there was no one in sight. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I understand that you're looking for kleos, eternal glory right? Well what if I offered an achievable way for such goals?"

The thought seemed just too tempting, too good. There was a quiet voice at the back of Octavian's mind, nagging him to end it all here and return to what he had; a position in the senate and honest reputation. But Apollo had promised...

"Explain more," he said, leaning on the walls of Fort Sumter and looking out to sea where the seven now raced off.

"My brother wishes to offer you a generous loan of the sorts if you meet one condition for him, a condition that, for you, wouldn't be a hassle at all."

"What-" his voice cracked, and he coughed quickly, "What condition?"

"That you march on Camp Half-Blood. Specifically on the day of the Feast of Spes."

"The festival of Hope?"

"Yes. Great things will come on that day, including your rise to power if you comply. I'm sure we could reinstate the position of... how about emperor?"

Octavian's heart was pounding. This was treason of the highest regard, but to be emperor?

"And what if I refuse such an offer?"

"There are plenty of others to replace you Octavian, a considerable amount actually. And here we are now, with no one around and an open sea before us."

Suddenly, the floor began to crack and roots burst from the ground, ensnaring the augur. He opened his mouth to cry for help, but a thick branch slid around his neck and shut him up. A pretty poppy covered his mouth.

From the cracked floor rose a person, with a forest green hoodie, loose baggy jeans and basic sneakers. He had small twig horns and the stupidest grin on his face.

"Consider your position lucky, on any other day you would be just another sacrifice to the pit. At least for now you've got one hell of a contract on your hands. So do we have a deal, augur?"

Octavian eagerly shook his head, and the binds that rooted him slid back into the ground. He rubbed at his now sore throat.

"So, what is this loan?" he asked nervously, not sure what to make of this fiend that stood before him.

"Well, my brother has been collecting monsters like some sort of hoarder recently-"

"Collecting monsters?" interrupted Octavian, confused.

"Yes, it's his thing. Don't interrupt me."

With a swift backhand, leaves in the wind smacked the legacies face in quick succession.

"As I was saying, he's willing to extend a decently sized portion of the total army to assist the Romans in an invasion. It would include centaurs, ogres, dracaena, skeletons, Laistrygonian giants and whatever else is in his inventory."

"But what of the legion? Surely these beasts will turn on my own men?"

"If my brother wills it, such things will not happen. Worst case scenario is that they turn on each other, but not your men. They can be controlled to such an extent. So, do we have a deal?"

Ikari outstretched a hand and waited halfway to Octavian. With a solemn look, the legacy of Apollo shook it.

"And to think you're only a year or so old," mused Reyna after Kassandra finally wrapped up her story.

The two had just spent the last few hours talking about everything there was to talk about, and it was refreshing for sure. Reyna always had a filter on whenever she spoke, the praetor had to be careful about every word that left her mouth. But when her and Kassandra spoke, she didn't have that, and neither did the goddess. They weren't friends after all; they were sisters.

"I know right! I'm sure if Olympus has anything to say I've got plenty more work to do. And Rome clearly needs you to lead the way for them, so I guess neither of us are getting free time soon."

"Exactly, despite it being what we need most," she sighed.

They both looked down, exhausted.

"Oh, how could I forget the most important matter! It concerns our mother."

Reyna straightened herself up at that and stared Kassandra dead in the eyes. "Bellona?"

"Yes, mother. Before the incident just now, I was with her. It was the first time we had been together in a while to say the least. She actually wanted to meet you as well. Well, I coerced her into wanting to meet you."

"She did?"

The praetors voice was small all of a sudden, and she was flung back to the time she opened up to (Y/N) for the first time. Back when she was to receive her promotion to praetor and talked completely open about her past. The mention of Bellona and meeting her was enough for a serious flash back.

"Of course. Unfortunately, now the conflict between Romans and Greeks has been truly opened up through the crossing of blades she's entered... some other state of mind."

Reyna sat forwards on the edge of her seat. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well, she attacked me first. Since I'm half Greek due to (Y/N) she must have seen me as some sort of enemy. Then she seemed to have some sort of headache or migraine before just disappearing off to some place I don't know where."

"And you believe this to be due to conflict between the Greeks and Romans?"

"Definitely, there's no other reason that comes to mind. She is the goddess of war after all, so I imagine that beginning war with the Greeks of all people would put her in a more extreme position."

The praetor nodded. "Of course, I'm sure her spirit will invoke the people to war as well. Even the civilians of New Rome can get worked up over such things."

"Then it's probably best you try and hold off Octavian from making a bad situation even worse."

Swiping down her armour, the older daughter of Bellona stood from her 'throne' and walked to the entrance of the tent. She saluted the guards, which had stood to attention for the last several hours, and gestured to Kassandra to follow her before walking off. The younger sister scrambled up and darted off after her.

Kassandra paced by the side of Reyna through the courtyard of Fort Sumter.

"I assume you must take your leave soon sister," said Reyna, stopping in the centre of the courtyard.

The goddess looked up into the sky, and the sun had moved on well past when she had last seen it. The Argo II would be pretty well into its journey across the Atlantic by now which would mean monsters would probably be being drawn to it as she thought. And if what the Romans said at the banquet was true then the monsters would be much stronger than they were in America. So her presence would do well to fight off such beasts.

"Unfortunately that would be the best course of action. There are... threats out there that I have faced before and fear will come for the seven if an opportunity presents itself, so I cannot let that happen."

"Well then, you best be on your way sister," said Reyna, grabbing Kassandra's hand and shaking it.

"Oh come on, we're family," complained the goddess, pulling in her sister and enveloping her in a warm embrace. "When this is over, I'll make sure everyone is reunited. And I mean everyone."

They both pulled away and shared a moment where they stared into each other's eyes, a deeper layer of conversation being told.

"Ave Kassandra (L/N)," saluted Reyna.

"Ave soror," exclaimed Kassandra, readying herself for one hell of a long air trip. "Oh and before I go, please tell that daughter of Harpocrates Siopi I would still like to learn her baking."

"Siopi? Baking?" questioned Reyna, but her confusion was left to the wind as her sister had vanished.

When Kassandra reappeared, she was disorientated at first. It had been such a large jump that was a standard transport for any normal god, but Kassandra wasn't that. She could make out that she was on the deck of the Argo and could hear voices from below, probably in the mess hall if she had to guess.

However, looking around, something seemed off. It was... morning? Helios was early in the sky compared to when she had last seen him, what had happened? Had her teleportation been messed up? Luckily she hadn't missed anything bad as indicated by the voices below, but she couldn't allow something similar to happen again.

Unbeknownst to her, the real reason behind it was the distance. When she had cast her air travel, she only imagined the Argo II. Before, when she travelled to the palace of the Boreads, Hermes had a friendly hand in and guided both her air travel and destination. But since she had moved such a far distance alone with no knowledge of where exactly her destination was, there had been errors made and whilst she had arrived at her desired outcome, it had taken her on some incorrect paths until she did so.

This whole goddess thing really should have a manual, or at least some tips and tricks helping.

At least her guess was correct, and as she stumped her way across the deck and down the stairs she found the seven, all together at the table eating. Well, Leo was at the controls, but he was eating too. Hedge was nowhere to be seen, but covering the table were plates of brownies and... peach preserves?

"Ah, Kassandra! You gotta try these brownies with Esther's peach preserves!"

"I uhh, I think that I'll pass on the peach preserves, but I will take a brownie."

She scooped one from the table and snatched a seat down between Annabeth who was at the head and Frank to her left.

"So what did I miss?" she asked, biting into the brownie. Damn that was a good brownie.

"Well there was a shrimp-zilla attack," mused Leo, stuffing his face with more brownie goodness as he darted around the control board. Kassandra didn't question it and nodded.

"We were talking about the more pressing situation at hand," said Annabeth, getting them back on the right track.

"She's right," Hazel said. "After today, Nico has less than two days. The fish-centaurs said we have to rescue him. He's essential to the quest somehow."

She looked around defensively, as if waiting for someone to argue. No one did. In her mind, the only thing Kassandra had to think about was the fish centaurs part.

"Nico must have information about the Doors of Death," Piper said. "We'll save him, Hazel. We can make it in time. Right, Leo?"

"What?" Leo tore his eyes away from the controls. "Oh, yeah. We should reach the Mediterranean tomorrow morning. Then spend the rest of that day sailing to Rome, or flying, if I can get the stabiliser fixed by then..."

Jason suddenly looked as though his brownie with peach preserves didn't taste so good. "Which will put us in Rome on the last possible day for Nico. Twenty-four hours to find him- at most."

Percy crossed his legs. "And that's only part of the problem. There's the Mark of Athena, too."

At the mention of the Mark, Annabeth leaned over to one side and dug into her bag before pulling out a thin bronze disk the diameter of a donut.

"This is the map that I found at Fort Sumter. It's..." She stopped abruptly, staring at the smooth bronze surface. "It's blank!"

Percy took it and examined both sides. "It wasn't like this earlier?"

"No! I was looking at it in my cabin and..." Annabeth muttered under her breath. "It must be like the Mark of Athena. I can only see it when I'm alone. It won't show itself to other demigods."

Frank scooted back like the disk might explode. He had an orange-juice moustache and a brownie-crumb beard.

"What did it have on it?" Frank asked nervously. "And what is the Mark of Athena? I still don't get it."

Annabeth took the disk from Percy. She turned it in the sunlight, but it remained blank. "The map was hard to read, but it showed a spot on the Tiber River in Rome. I think that's where my quest starts... the path I've got to take to follow the Mark."

"Maybe that's where you meet the river god Tiberinus," Piper said.

"But what is the Mark?"

"The coin," Annabeth murmured.

Percy frowned."What coin?"

Annabeth dug into her pocket and brought out a silver drachma. "I've been carrying this ever since I saw my mom at Grand Central. It's an Athenian coin."

She passed it around and everyone took turns admiring the thing.

"An owl," Leo noted. "Well, that makes sense. I guess the branch is an olive branch? But what's this inscription, ΑΘΕ- Area Of Effect?"

"It's alpha, theta, epsilon," Annabeth said. "In Greek it stands for Of The Athenians... or you could read it as the children of Athena. It's sort of the Athenian motto."

"Like SPQR for the Romans," Piper guessed.

Annabeth nodded. "Anyway, the Mark of Athena is an owl, just like that one. It appears in fiery red. I've seen it in my dreams. Then twice at Fort Sumter."

She described a series of events that had happened at the fort- the voice of Gaea, spiders in the garrison and the Mark burning them away.

Percy took Annabeth's hand. "I should have been there for you."

"But that's the point," Annabeth said. "No one can be there for me. When I get to Rome, I'll have to strike out on my own. Otherwise, the Mark won't appear. I'll have to follow it to... to the source."

Frank took the coin from Leo. He stared at the owl. "The giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won with pain from a woven jail." He looked up at Annabeth. "What is it... this thing at the source?"

Jason spoke up."A statue," he said. "A statue of Athena. At least... that's my guess."

Piper frowned. "You said you didn't know."

"I don't. But the more I think about it...there's only one artefact that could fit the legend." He turned to Annabeth. "I'm sorry. I should have told you everything I've heard, much earlier. But honestly, I was scared. If this legend is true-"

"I know," Annabeth said. "I figured it out, Jason. I don't blame you. But if we manage to save the statue, Greek and Romans together... Don't you see? It could heal the rift."

"Hold on." Percy made a time-out gesture. "What statue?"

Kassandra had the coin now and admired its ancient design.

"The Athena Parthenos," she smiled, flipping it in her hand then tossing it back to Annabeth.

"Precisely," said Annabeth, slipping the coin into her pocket. "The most famous Greek statue of all time. Forty feet tall, covered in ivory and gold. It stood in the middle of the Parthenon in Athens."

The ship went silent, except for the waves lapping against the hull.

"Okay, I'll bite," Leo said at last. "What happened to it?"

"It disappeared," Annabeth said.

Leo frowned. "How does a forty-foot-tall statue in the middle of the Parthenon just disappear?"

"That's a good question," Annabeth said. "It's one of the biggest mysteries in history. Some people thought the statue was melted down for its gold, or destroyed by invaders. Athens was sacked a number of times. Some thought the statue was carried off-"

"By Romans," Jason finished. "At least, that's one theory, and it fits the legend I heard at Camp Jupiter. To break the Greeks' spirit, the Romans carted off the Athena Parthenos when they took over the city of Athens. They hid it in an underground shrine in Rome. The Roman demigods swore it would never see the light of day. They literally stole Athena, so she could no longer be the symbol of Greek military power. She became Minerva, a much tamer goddess."

"And the children of Athena have been searching for the statue ever since," Annabeth said. "Most don't know about the legend, but in each generation, a few are chosen by the goddess. They're given a coin like mine. They follow the Mark of Athena... a kind of magical trail that links them to the statue... hoping to find the resting place of the Athena Parthenos and get the statue back."

Percy spoke up next. "So if we- I mean you- find the statue... what would we do with it? Could we even move it?"

"I'm not sure," Annabeth admitted. "But if we could save it somehow, it could unite the two camps. It could heal my mother of this hatred she's got, tearing her two aspects apart. And maybe... maybe the statue has some sort of power that could help us against the giants."

Tearing her personality in two; something sort of like Bellona's situation. Aside from stopping the fighting, Kassandra wondered what else she could do to help her mother.

"This could change everything," Piper said. "It could end thousands of years of hostility. It might be the key to defeating Gaea. But if we can't help you..."

"It's a pain no one else can help, but if there's anyone I know strong enough to make last minute calls and get her way, it's you Chase," beamed Kassandra, her words slightly influenced by her knowledge of how her father got into his current situation. She still wanted to talk about that with her.

"Except..." Percy took Annabeth's hand again. "No child of Athena has ever found it. Annabeth, what's down there? What's guarding it? If it's got to do with spiders-?"

"Won through pain from a woven jail," Frank recalled. "Woven, like webs?"

Annabeth's face turned as white as printer paper.

"We'll deal with that when we get to Rome," Piper suggested, the goddess recognising that she was putting a little charm speak in her voice to soothe her friend's nerves. "It's going to work out. too. You'll see."

"Yeah," Percy said. "I learned a long time ago: Never bet against Annabeth."

Annabeth looked at them both gratefully.Judging from peoples half-eaten breakfasts, the others still felt uneasy; but Leo managed to shake them out of it. He pushed a button, and a loud blast of steam exploded from Festus's mouth, making everyone jump.

"Well!" he said. "Good pep rally, but there's still a ton of things to fix on this ship before we get to the Mediterranean. Please report to Supreme Commander Leo for your superfun list of chores!"