𝓢𝓞𝓝 𝓞𝓕 𝓝𝓔𝓟𝓣𝓤𝓝𝓔

ONCE THEY MADE THEIR WAY OUT OF CAMP, the Fifth Cohort formed two straight lines behind their centurions, Dakota and Gwen. They marched north, skirting the edge of the city, and headed to the Field of Mars—the largest, flattest part of the valley.

The grass was cropped short by all the unicorns, bulls, and homeless fauns that grazed here. The earth was pitted with explosion craters and scarred with trenches from past games. At the north end of the field stood their target. The engineers had built a stone fortress with an iron portcullis, guard towers, scorpion ballistae, water cannons, and countless other nasty surprises for the defenders to use.

"They did a good job today," Evangeline noted.

Hazel sighed, "That's going to be bad for us."

"Wait," Percy said. "You're telling me that fortress was built today?"

Evangeline grinned. Her pearly white teeth and dimples making their regular appearance again. "Legionnaires are trained to build. If we had to, we could break down the entire camp and rebuild it somewhere else. Take maybe three or four days, but we could do it."

"Let's not," Percy declined. "So you attack a different fort every night?"

"Not every night," Hazel corrected. "We have different training exercises. Sometimes death ball, which is like paintball, except with... poison and acid and fireballs."

Evangeline wrinkled her nose, "I fucking hate death ball, Julia actively tries to aim for my face. Like, come on! I know she doesn't like me but it's straight-up psychotic!"

She rolled her eyes, tucking her hair away from her face, "But yeah, Sometimes we do chariots and gladiator competitions, sometimes war games. The gladiator competitions are sooo much more entertaining when there's pre-existing drama. Trust me, You'll want a front-row seat."

Frank pointed at the fort. "Somewhere inside, the First and Second Cohorts are keeping their banners there. Our job is to get inside and capture them without getting slaughtered. We do that, we win."

Percy's eyes lit up. "Like capture-the-flag. I think I like capture-the-flag."

Evangeline laughed. "That's cute honey, but well... It's much harder than it sounds. We have to get past those scorpions and water cannons on the walls, fight through the inside of the fortress, find the banners, and defeat the guards, all while protecting our own banners and troops from capture. And our cohort is in competition with the other two attacking cohorts. We sort of work together, but not really. The cohort that captures the banners gets all the real glory. So, We need to try and get that banner."

"Eva we can't." Frank sighed,

"Ugh! Frankie don't ruin my good vibes!" She grumbled, "We can! We have to at least try!"

Percy stumbled, trying to keep time with the left-right marching rhythm."So why are we practicing this, anyway?" Percy asked. "Do you guys spend a lot of time laying siege to fortified cities?"

"Teamwork," Hazel said. "Quick thinking. Tactics. Battle skills."

"That's just what they tell you—but the truth is that the original Roman Empire was, well, an empire. Which meant it had multiple countries, regions, and cultures under a single power. This is a way to honor the empire without all the you know... Conquering. Still, You'd be surprised what you can learn in the war games."

"Like who will stab you in the back," Hazel said.

"Oh, Especially that," Evangeline agreed.

They marched to the center of the Field of Mars and formed ranks. The Third and Fourth Cohorts assembled as far as possible from the Fifth. The centurions for the attacking side gathered for a conference. In the sky above them, Reyna circled on her pegasus, Scipio, ready to play referee.

Evangeline looked up, pursed her plump lips, and let out a wolf whistle.

Reyna glanced down with a hard look, she rolled her eyes before returning to her dutiful observation of the area.

Evangeline turned toward Percy who watched the interaction go down, "Don't be fooled, she adores me."

Half a dozen giant eagles flew in formation behind Reyna, prepared for ambulance airlift duty if necessary. The only person not participating in the game was Hazel's brother.

Pluto's ambassador climbed an observation tower about a hundred yards from the fort and would be watching with binoculars.

Evangeline made sure Flamma Amoris was firmly placed in her bun before checking Percy's armor. Every strap was correct. Every piece of armor was properly adjusted.

"You did it right," She complimented in amazement. Only reaching forward to straighten out the straps. She patted his shoulders afterward.  "Perfect...Wow, look at you. Looks like you've got some experience with war games Pretty boy."

He smiled almost nervously. Evangeline doubted it was nerves about the games, this boy could handle himself.  "I don't know. Maybe."

The only thing that wasn't regulation was Percy's glowing bronze sword-not Imperial gold, and not a gladius. The blade was leaf-shaped, and the writing on the hilt was in Greek.

Percy frowned. "We can use real weapons, right?"

"Definitely," Evangeline calmed his worry. "I'm just not used to seeing a sword like that y'know? It's strange. You're a real mystery..."

"Uh, thanks?" He asked, "What if I hurt somebody?"

"We heal them," Frank informed. "Or try to. The legion medics are pretty good with ambrosia and nectar, and unicorn draught."

"No one dies," Hazel continued. "Well, not usually. And if they do—"

Frank imitated the voice of Vitellius: "They're wimps! Back in my day, we died all the time, and we liked it!"

Hazel laughed. "Just stay with us, Percy. Chances are we'll get the worst duty and get eliminated early. They'll throw us at the walls first to soften up the defenses. Then the Third and Fourth Cohorts will march in and get the honors if they can even breach the fort."

"Boooooo." Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest, "I hope I'm not grouped with you losers."

"Eva!" Hazel whined. "You know that's exactly what they'll do."

"Harsh!" Frank complained.

"I don't care what they do! I will not be eliminated early! So get in the winner's spirit Levesque!" Evangeline demanded.

Hazel turned towards Percy, an exasperated look on her face."She gets like this during games. She's really competitive. Word of advice, Never play Uno with her. The last guy got a plus-four card shoved into his mouth."

"Hey, he cheated!" Evangeline defended. "Winning isn't real if you cheat!"

Horns blew. Dakota and Gwen walked back from the officers' conference, looking grim.

"All right, here's the plan!" Dakota took a quick swig of Kool-Aid from his travel flask. "They're throwing us at the walls first to soften up the defenses."

The whole cohort groaned.

Evangeline huffed in frustration. "I hate it here!"

"I know, I know," Gwen empathized. "But maybe this time we'll have some luck!"

Leave it to Gwen to be the optimist. Everybody liked her because she took care of her people and tried to keep their spirits up. She could even control Dakota during his hyperactive sugar fits. Still, the campers grumbled and complained. Nobody believed in luck for the Fifth, No one except Evangeline...

"That's why you're my fave centurion Gwenny!" Evangeline sent her a kiss.

Dakota burped, "Rude."

Gwen pretended to catch it, "Love ya Eva but you might have to hold on to that thought." Evangeline's face dropped and etched with confusion as her centurion returned to business. "First line with Dakota," Gwen said. "Lock shields and advance in turtle formation to the main gates. Try to stay in one piece. Draw their fire. Second line"

Gwen turned to Evangeline's row without much enthusiasm. "You seventeen, from Bobby over, take charge of the elephant and the scaling ladders. Try a flanking attack on the western wall. Maybe we can spread the defenders too thin. Frank, Hazel, Percy...well, just do whatever. Show Percy the ropes. Evangeline...Since you stood for him you'll have to go with them instead of Bobby. Try to keep him alive."

"Aw come on! No! " Evangeline whined. "Ugh, Men ruin everything!"

"I'm right here?" Percy grunted.

"Don't take it too personally Eva is in game mode." Frank shrugged, "She really hates losing, but especially because of men. In my first game, I accidentally fell on her, and caused us to lose. She called me a whore."

"Don't remind me" Evangeline hissed, "I was this close to stopping Victor from taking our flag! And you caused me to break a nail! Do you know how long it takes to grow out natural nails? It takes blood sweat and tears!"

Gwen turned back to the whole cohort. "If anybody gets over the wall first, I'll make sure you get the Mural Crown. Victory for the Fifth!"

The cohort cheered half-heartedly and broke ranks.

Percy frowned. "So...We do whatever?"

Evangeline pointed at his chest, the tip of her nail clanging against the metal. "Now. We win. You got that pretty boy? Your fine ass better show me all your good moves today because I am not! I am not losing again!"

"Gods. You become real intense."

"Oh, you have no idea!" She taunted. She grabbed flamma amoris and pulled it out of her hair. In seconds, her hair flowed down to her waist. Framing her face perfectly. In her hand, her stunning sword shimmered. "Now, do not get in my way unless it's to heroically save my life."

"Is that my only option?" He raised an eyebrow,

"Yes. I'm still prettier than you." She smirked, "The world would cry without me. Now, let's talk strategy on how to get the Mural crown."

"What's the Mural Crown?" He asked.

"Military medal," Frank said. "Big honor for the first soldier to breach an enemy fort. You'll notice nobody in the Fifth is wearing one. Usually, we don't even get into the fort because we're burning or drowning—"

Evangeline faltered, she interrupted Frank and looked at Percy. She held his cheeks and squealed. "Water cannons!"

"What?" Percy asked, trying to ignore how her soft warm hands felt on his face.

"The cannons on the walls," Evangeline explained, she let go and began pacing as she explained to the trio. "They draw water from the aqueduct. There's a pump system and they're under a lot of pressure. If you could control them like you controlled the river—"

"Angie!" Hazel beamed. "That's brilliant!"

Percy didn't look so sure. "I don't know how I did that at the river. I'm not sure I can control the cannons from this far away."

"You can do it." Evangeline nodded, "You can. We just need to get you closer!"

Frank pointed to the eastern wall of the fort, where the Fifth Cohort wouldn't be attacking. "That's where the defense will be weakest. They'll never take the four of us seriously. I think we can sneak up pretty close before they see us."

"Ah! Good job Frankie!"

"Sneak up how?" Percy asked.

Frank turned to Hazel. "Can you do that thing again?"

She punched him square in the chest. "You said you wouldn't tell anybody!"

"Uh oh." Evangeline sing-songed, "Frankie you're in trouble. I don't know how or why. But you better make it up to her."

Frank's face fell, he was too caught up with the idea to stop himself.

Hazel muttered. "Never mind. It's fine. Percy, he's talking about the trenches. The Field of Mars is riddled with tunnels from over the years. Some are collapsed, or buried deep, but a lot of them are still passable. I'm pretty good at finding them and using them. I can even collapse them if I have to."

"Like you did with the gorgons," Percy murmured, "to slow them down."

Frank nodded approvingly. "I told you Pluto was cool. He's the god of everything under the earth. Hazel can find caves, tunnels, trapdoors."

"And it was our secret," she grumbled.

"Men are disappointing, Hazelnut." Evangeline shrugged, "Start learning that early."

"Eva! What did I do to you?" Frank asked, confused about why she was now ganging up on him.

"Sorry, Frankie. You're real dear to me but I gotta stick to my girl's side. You should've kept her secret."

Frank felt himself blushing. "Fine, Right, look I'm sorry Haze... But if we can get close—"

"And if I can knock out the water cannons..." Percy nodded like he was warming to the idea. He looked to Eva for answers. "What do we do then?"

Frank checked his quiver. He interrupted their eye contact and looked at Eva pleadingly. "Leave the rest up to me," He said. "I have a plan."

Evangeline squinted her eyes, she deliberated on it for a few seconds. "Fine. I'll trust you, Frankie. But if I break a nail again—We are fighting duel style!"

"Duel style?" He gulped, he looked worried about that at first but then nodded with some growing confidence. "Thank you, Eva, Let's go."

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

HAZEL FOUND THEM A TUNNEL WITH NO PROBLEM. Honestly probably a little too easily, Evangeline had a sneaking suspicion she didn't just find tunnels. It was as though tunnels manufactured themselves to suit her needs. Passages that had been filled in years ago suddenly unfilled, changing direction to lead Hazel where she wanted to go. She guessed it was a quirk of being a daughter of Pluto.

They crept along by the light of Percy's glowing sword,
Riptide. Above, they heard the sounds of battle kids shouting, Hannibal the elephant bellowing with glee, scorpion bolts exploding, and water cannons firing. The tunnel shook. Dirt rained down on them.

Evangeline huffed, She wiped off the dirt from her shoulder and hair. "We better win this because Dirt and I are not friends. I don't even like mud baths at the spa—they're so sludgy! Who am I? Shrek?"

"Does that make me Donkey?" Percy asked. Enjoying the normalcy she offered with her media references.

"Sure but If I'm anyone i'm the sexy dragon so are you prepared to have donkey-dragon babies?" Evangeline snorted, "...Oh woah that actually made you blush? wow look at that. That was bad flirting too. You want me bad huh?"

"Shut up?" He grumbled, "I do not. Not even a little. You just caught me off guard."

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Wait, Sexy dragon?" He reiterated.

"Mhm. Did I stutter?"

"There's an opening just ahead," Hazel announced to them. "We'll come up ten feet from the east wall."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," She told him. "But I'm sure."

"Could we tunnel straight under the wall?" Frank wondered.

"No," Hazel said. "The engineers were smart. They built the walls on old foundations that go down to bedrock. And don't ask how I know. I just do."

Frank stumbled over something and cursed. Percy brought this sword around for more light. The thing Frank had tripped on was gleaming silver.

"Don't touch it!" Hazel cried

He crouched down. "It's massive," Frank said. "Silver?"

"Platinum." Hazel sounded scared out of her wits. "It'll go away in a second. Please don't touch it. It's dangerous."

Frank reached for the chunk of metal, almost as if he was in a trance, when he was inches away, Evangeline slapped his hand away before he could touch the gem.

"Did you not hear her?! We can't touch anything weird down here. Who knows what it could bring? It could be an egg or something! Do you want to be a mother? Also, Come on Sweetie, You're a Roman warrior now. You don't touch random objects when people tell you not to touch! Have you heard of items with a dark history that contain cursed energy? Yeah well our people love dark history and cursed energy. It could be that! You wanna be cursed? Cause I promise you it won't be broken by true loves kiss!"

Frank stared at Eva with his mouth agape, "What?"

"Good! Stay like that and stop thinking!" Evangeline huffed. She shook her head and looked at Hazel. "Boys." She spat out.

Frank looked at Percy, hoping he'd have answers. He shrugged, giving him a sympathetic look.

Hazel smiled weakly. A hint of embarrassment and relief on her face.

Frank still looked confused. As they watched, the chunk of platinum sank into the ground.

He stared at Hazel. "How did you know?"

"Blah blah blah. Can we keep moving? I'm trying to get to victory here. You're all so damn slow!"

Hazel nodded, "Eva's right, Let's keep moving...I'll explain later," She promised.

Another explosion rocked the tunnel, and they forged ahead.

They popped out of a hole just where Hazel had predicted. In front of them, the fort's east wall loomed. Off to their left, Evangeline could see the main line of the Fifth Cohort advancing in turtle formation, shields forming a shell over their heads and sides.

They were trying to reach the main gates, but the defenders above pelted them with rocks and shot flaming bolts from the scorpions, blasting craters around their feet. A water cannon discharged with a jaw-rattling THRUM, and a jet of liquid carved a trench in the dirt right in front of the cohort.

Percy whistled. "That's a lot of pressure, all right."

That was hot. Evangeline thought.

The Third and Fourth Cohorts weren't even advancing. They stood back and laughed, watching their "allies" get beat up.

The defenders clustered on the wall above the gates, yelling insults at the tortoise formation as it staggered back and forth. War games had deteriorated into "beat up the Fifth."

Evangeline's vision went red with rage. She looked at Frank, "Whatever you're going to do. Do it, Now."

"Let's shake things up." He nodded, looking almost as upset as her. He reached in his quiver and pulled out an arrow heavier than the rest. The iron tip was shaped like the nose cone of a rocket. An ultra thin gold rope trailed from the fletching. Shooting it accurately up the wall would take more force and skill than most archers could manage, but Frank had strong arms and good aim.

"What does that do?" Percy asked. "Grappling hook?"

"It's called a hydra arrow," Frank said. "Can you knock out the water cannons?"

A defender appeared on the wall above them. "Hey!" he shouted to his buddies.

"Check it out! More victims!"

"Percy, Frank." Evangeline gritted her teeth, She grabbed the hilt of her sword tighter. "Now."

More soldiers came across the battlements to laugh at them. A few ran to the nearest water cannon and swung the barrel toward Evangeline.

Percy closed his eyes. He raised his hand.

Up on the wall, somebody yelled, "Open wide, losers!"

"Get her face!" Julia screamed, "I want to make her cry!"

The cannon exploded in a starburst of blue, green, and white. Defenders screamed as a watery shock wave flattened them against the battlements. Kids toppled over the walls but were snatched by giant eagles and carried to safety. Then the entire eastern wall shuddered as the explosion backed up through the pipelines.

One after another, the water cannons on the battlements exploded. The scorpions' fires were doused. Defenders scattered in confusion or were tossed through the air, giving the rescue eagles quite a workout.

At the main gates, the Fifth Cohort forgot about their formation. Mystified, they lowered their shields and stared at the chaos.

Frank shot his arrow. It streaked upward, carrying its glittering rope. When it reached the top, the metal point fractured into a dozen lines that lashed out and wrapped around anything they could find parts of the wall, a scorpion, a broken water cannon, and a couple of defending campers, who yelped and found themselves slammed against the battlements as anchors. From the main rope, handholds extended at two-foot intervals, making a ladder.

"Go!" Frank ordered.

Percy grinned. "You first, Frank. This is your party."

"Oh hell no!" Evangeline refused, she blocked the way for both of them. "I'm getting that freaking mural crown! Frank! You'll have next time! I've been waiting almost five years to get taken seriously by this legion!"

She didn't even wait to get a response. She began to climb. She was halfway up before the defenders recovered their senses, enough to sound the alarm.

Evangeline glanced back at Fifth Cohort's main group. They were staring up at her, dumbfounded.

"What in the Victorious Venus are you waiting for! " Evangeline screamed. "Attack! Go! That's an order!"

Gwen was the first to unfreeze. She grinned and repeated the order. A cheer went up from the battlefield. Hannibal the elephant trumpeted with happiness, but Evangeline couldn't care to watch.

She clambered to the top of the wall, where three defenders were trying to hack down her rope ladder.

She crouched down and swung her sword by the blunt side. Hitting them swiftly and straight at the ankles, they toppled like pins.

She took command of the battlements, sweeping her gladius back and forth and knocking down defenders.

Some shot arrows. Some tried to get under her guard with their swords, but Evangeline felt unstoppable. She remembered all of her training at that moment, It was like Reyna and Jason were in her head guiding her on exactly how to take down everyone who ever doubted her. She felt powerful, she felt confident.

Then Hazel and Frank appeared next to her, the former swinging her big cavalry sword like she was born for battle and the latter shooting his arrows with crazy precision.

Percy leaped onto the wall and raised Riptide. "Fun," He said.

Together they cleared the defenders off the walls. Below them the gates broke. Hannibal barreled into the fort, arrows and rocks bouncing harmlessly off his Kevlar armor.

The Fifth Cohort charged in behind the elephant, and the battle went hand-to-hand.

Finally, from the edge of the Field of Mars, a battle cry went up. The Third and Fourth Cohorts ran to join the fight.

"A little late," Frank grumbled.

"We've done all the hard work!" Hazel whined

"We can't let them get the banners," Evangeline screamed.

"No," Percy agreed. Looking at her with a determined look in his eyes. "Those are ours."

No more talk was necessary. They moved like a team, as if the four of them had been working together for years. They rushed down the interior steps and into the enemy base.