CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
VIGILANTE SHIT

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

KIT WASN'T SURE WHAT to make of Camp Jupiter. An instinctual part of him wanted to hate it. There were people everywhere, way too many, both young and old. Kit had never seen a demigod live beyond their twenties, so it was jarring to say the least, being surrounded by families. Parents with their children -- legacies, if he remembered right -- even grandparents... It made him think of his own mother, of an absent family long-since lost. His mother would've liked it there. She would've seen the beauty in it. Desperately, resentfully, Kit turned the other cheek.

Waiting at the front of the crowd in polished armour and a purple cloak was a girl around his age. Brown hair and dark eyes, olive skin and sharp features. She was younger than most of Camp Jupiter's residents, and yet she stood with an authority that even the elderly seemed to accept.

Kit didn't trust her for a second.

"Jason Grace, my former colleague," the praetor -- Reyna -- had a voice as commanding as her stance. "I welcome you home." For a moment, that last word lingered in the air, heavy and daunting. Jason's throat bobbed. Kit was close enough to make out the faint, barely noticeable tremor in his hands quickly hidden as he rose to his full height, took on the stares. "And these, your... friends--"

Jason opened his mouth, ready to introduce them, but was interrupted -- much to Kit's bemusement -- by Annabeth surging forward. She leapt past Reyna, either ignoring or missing the other girl's affronted stare as she closed the space between her and Percy Jackson. He was a sight for sore eyes, and Kit struggled to recognise him in the colours of Rome. Still, he met Annabeth in the middle and pressed his mouth to hers. Kit rolled his eyes as Leo let out a teasing awww.

"Young love," he murmured in Kit's ear as he pretended to wipe away a tear. "Isn't it just touching?"

Kit's mouth twitched but he managed to evade the smirk as he nudged him away from his face. At the same time, Percy murmured something to Annabeth and she responded by judo-flipping him over the shoulder. Kit turned to Leo and smirked, mirroring his previous actions as he said, "There's nothing more romantic than breaking your boyfriend's back. Wouldn't you agree?"

Leo's cheeks burned red.

With her knee pinning Percy's chest, her forearm against his throat, Annabeth exclaimed, "If you ever leave me again, I swear to all the Gods--"

Percy laughed, amused despite the wary reaction of his Romans friends. The crowd had tensed at Annabeth's actions, a few demigods stepping forward only to be warned away by Reyna's commanding hand. As Percy continued to laugh, murmuring that he missed her, Annabeth's eyes softened and she helped him to his feet.

Kit grimaced, watching a nearby Roman soldier whose arms were bigger than Kit's whole head. Okay, so maybe Annabeth was a bit dramatic. But fortunately for them, the rest of their introductions went smoothly. Jason took the liberty of introducing Piper first -- Kit smothering a laugh as she failed to hide her miffed pout; her lines down the drain -- then Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign. Kit rolled his eyes just as Jason said his name.

"Uh... sup?"

Reyna echoed his greeting almost incredulously, "Sup."

It sounded foreign on her tongue, her meticulous stare moving back to Annabeth, the lucky last. "And this is Annabeth," Jason said, shaking his head at Kit. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."

"You sure you're not a Roman, Annabeth?" Reyna afforded her the barest of smiles. "Or an Amazon?"

"I only attack my boyfriend like that," Annabeth assured as she held out her hand for Reyna to shake. All the while, Kit grimaced at her word choice. What a healthy relationship. "Pleased to meet you."

"It seemed we have a lot to discuss," Reyna's hand clasped hers firmly. Both girls fighting in a non-verbal battle for dominance. Reyna's eyes flitted to a group of nearby demigods. "Centurions!"

Kit tensed, half-expecting them to attack, but the group merely hustled forward in a sea of purple cloaks. They flocked to Reyna like birds to a feather, listening faithfully as she gave them orders. Kit tuned most of it out, busy eyeing two campers who appeared at Percy's side. One was a burly Asian boy just a bit taller than Kit himself, though perhaps a little younger. He seemed... quiet, sticking like glue to a smaller girl's side. She was fifteen, maybe, with a cavalry helmet tucked under her arm. Strangely, Kit had a feeling he would like them. But the whining boy kicking up a stink with Reyna? Not so much.

"Octavian--"

"You're letting these intruders into the camp? Reyna, the security risks--"

"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian," Reyna spoke over him with a warning glint in her eye. The blonde-haired boy pouted like an overgrown toddler. "We'll eat here in the forum."

"Oh, much better," Octavia stomped his foot on the ground. Upon closer inspection, Kit realised he had three teddy bears hanging from his belt where his swords should've been. Again, toddler. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship?"

Leo's chest puffed up with pride at the mention of his baby.

"These are our guests," Reyna insisted, and that was that. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the Gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."

Octavian looked aghast at her suggestion.

"Good idea," Percy added, grinning sharply in the other boy's direction. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."

Kit let out a surprised snort, prompting a few pairs of amused or wary eyes to turn to him, Percy's included. He coughed somewhat awkwardly. "Sorry?"

Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile as she nodded dismissively at her augur. "You have my orders. Go."

With that, the group dispersed, leaving Reyna to handle the new arrivals. Apart from her, only Percy's new friends remained, both of them now smiling nervously as the rest of the Greeks turned to look at them curiously. Kit nodded as the burly boy looked his way. His face burned red from embarrassment as he quickly turned back.

"Most of the Romans are good people," Percy was busy telling Annabeth as he held her hand. "Like Frank and Hazel here--" He gestured to his friends. "--And Reyna. We'll be fine."

"Excellent," Reyna declared as Annabeth repeated Percy's we'll be fine. Only Kit seemed to notice her doubt, and Annabeth avoided his gaze as she clung to Percy and began to follow after him and Reyna. "Let's talk. We can have a proper reunion."

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

KIT'S MOUTH WATERED AS he watched Leo dig into a ham and cheese sandwich. Piled high on the circular table in front of them was a feast even the Greeks couldn't have pulled off -- and Kit didn't say that lightly. There were sandwiches of all kinds, assortments of pizzas and boxes of fresh-baked cookies. Cold drinks stained condensation-circles on the wooden tabletop, beginning to warm beneath the hot sun. Kit's stomach whined as Leo took another bite and began to eye up a second sandwich, but he couldn't bring himself to take one for himself.

All around them, Romans lounged, none with traditional weapons at hand but Kit wouldn't trust them as far as he'd throw them. Anything could be a weapon; the blunt edges of the decorative plates, that particularly large rock sitting innocently beside a nearby couch. No. Kit would eat when they were safely back on the Argo II and he could let his guard down for a second.

His drink sat untouched as Reyna proposed a toast.

"To Jason's return," her eyes glimmered as they gazed at the blonde boy in question. Piper hadn't noticed it yet, but it seemed Jason had another admirer. Kit chuckled to himself. Of course Blonde Superman had all the girls falling at his feet. "And to new friendships."

With that out of the way, the group delved into discussion. Jason explained how he came to find himself at Camp Half-Blood, no memories apart from his name, followed by the tales of his quest with Leo, Kit and Piper. Kit remained tight-lipped as the other two spared some details, sometimes catching Reyna's eyes and wondering what she was thinking. The further they got into the story, the more they seemed to narrow. Not with distrust, but a wary willingness to keep listening.

"Impossible!" Octavian couldn't resist interrupting as Jason spoke of Hera's imprisonment at the Wolf House.

"Here we go," Kit sighed.

"That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a Goddess there--"

"They would've destroyed her," it was Piper's turn to interrupt, her voice indignant at Octavian's distrust. Without noticing, some of her charmspeak leaked into her voice, burning with an equal amount of annoyance. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the Camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."

You tell 'em, Piper, Kit smirked. Quite literally, Octavian was unable to find the words, his mouth opening and closing unattractively. Rather like a fish out of water.

"So," Jason continued after a prideful glance at Piper. "That's how we found out about the earth Goddess, Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House, he said he was retreating to the ancient lands -- Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by... what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."

"Gaea's been busy over here, too," Percy spoke then. "We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

Now, it was the Romans' turn to recount their stories. When Kit heard Percy's tale of waking up with no memories except for Annabeth's name, he couldn't help but mime a puking gesture in Leo's direction. The other boy grinned, though Annabeth looked ready to cry as she stared at the side of Percy's face. It made Kit pause, that flash of raw emotion. He looked at Leo again, and found his stomach twisting uneasily.

He hoped, if it ever came to it, his body would recognise Leo's no matter the cost. Leo was the only person -- at this table and the whole of Kit's existence, really -- who truly understood every piece of him and didn't recoil. It was scary, and Kit wasn't quite ready to shout it into Tartarus or anything (part of him desperately resented this new, woken part of his heart) but he hoped Leo would be the Annabeth to his Percy. The one he would remember.

God, if Clarisse could hear him now, she'd call him a sappy shit.

His spiralling thoughts caused him to miss the adventures of Percy, Frank and Hazel, but Kit didn't care all that much. He was only somewhat interested to hear that Frank was a child of Mars, aka the Roman counterpart of Ares, but so far the boy -- his brother -- hadn't looked his way again. He didn't scream son of Mars/Ares at first glance. He wasn't something to worry about yet.

When Percy was finished, with Kit once again failing to listen, Jason gave an appreciative whistle. "No wonder they made you praetor."

Oh, God. Please tell Kit he wasn't about to witness the blossoming of a bromance.

Octavian scoffed before Percy could reply. "Which means we now have three Praetors!" Oh, the horror. "The rules clearly state we can only have two!"

"On the bright side," Percy mocked him in the same tone. "Both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian, so we can both tell you to shut up."

At that, Jason grinned and fist-bumped him. Definitely a bromance.

Before Octavian could lose his shit and throw one of his bears at them, Reyna sat forward with stormy eyes. "We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she told Octavian dismissively. "Right now, we have more serious issues to deal with."

"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy shrugged. "It's no biggie."

"No biggie?" Octavian echoed through clenched teeth. Kit sat back in his seat, one hand sprawled on the back of Leo's chair and the other pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Just the sound of Octavian's voice was beginning to give him a migraine. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?"

Percy continued like Octavian hadn't even spoken. "So," he turned to look at Jason curiously. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow, you guys look nothing alike."

"Yeah, I noticed," Jason deadpanned. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."

"Back at you," Percy grinned boyishly.

Was this how Kit and Leo used to be? He sure hoped not.

"Anyway," Annabeth interrupted with a pointed look in Percy's direction, a look that said we have bigger things to worry about. "We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it, too?"

Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Eight. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," he sniffed pompously in the background. Kit rolled his eyes, though he admittedly was distracted by Leo's deft fingers constructing a pinwheel out of aluminium foil taco wrappers. Leo caught Kit staring at the sharp lines of his hands and winked. "But, Reyna--"

"Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."

Octavian sighed in defeat. "Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall--"

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued with Octavian gaping at being cut off. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

For an instant, no one spoke, some staring at Annabeth and others watching as Leo reached out and stuck his pinwheel creation into a passing wind spirit. Piper stared with raised eyebrows at Kit's arm on Leo's chair. She wriggled her eyebrows teasingly, lips twitching when he scowled. Then Frank sat forward and broke the silence.

"Is it true you're a child of Min -- I mean, Athena?"

"Yes," Annabeth's tone changed from breathless to defensive in a blink. "Why is that such a surprise?"

Unfortunately, it was Octavian who answered. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom Goddess--"

"Enough," Reyna's patience wore thin as she snapped his way. "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides..." She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect, and something else. "Percy has spoken highly of you."

Percy looked down at that, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger. For the first time since their reunion, he caught Kit's amused gaze and frowned at him. Kit wondered then, just how much he remembered of Camp Half-Blood. Did he remember Kit? Did he remember Luke? A second later, Percy turned away, and Kit couldn't be sure.

"At any rate," Annabeth uncomfortably moved on. "Some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death? That means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."

Surprisingly, it was Hazel who spoke next. Her voice was soft, unassuming, and it startled Kit from where he was nudging his knee against Leo's thigh to get his attention. "My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors."

Hold on a second.

"Nico Di Angelo?" he asked, just to be sure.

Annabeth seemed to be thinking the same thing, her grey eyes bright and suspicious. "He's your brother?"

Hazel nodded, like this should be obvious. Do you know any other Nico Di Angelo? her expression seemed to ask dubiously. "He disappeared. I'm afraid... I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him.'

"We'll look for him," Percy promised her without hesitation. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome -- like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"

"Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth said in amazement. "The death God?"

Percy took a nonchalant bite of his burger, shrugging as he said, "Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."

"Like water leaking through a dam," Piper suggested.

"Yeah," Percy grinned and Annabeth shook her head. "We've got a dam hole."

"What?" Piper frowned.

"Uh, nothing. Inside joke. The point is, we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece," Percy continued on. "It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."

Reyna considered this for a moment. Kit was just amazed Octavian wasn't complaining about something or other. He'd known the guy for all of two seconds, and he was more annoying than Leo when he first met him. Now, that was a feat no one else had quite managed yet.

"You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship," Reyna murmured. "You do realise that the ancient lands -- and the Mare Nostrum -- are dangerous?"

"Mary who?" Leo asked.

Leo Valdez, you oblivious idiot.

"Mare Nostrum," Jason repeated. "Our Sea. It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."

Reyna nodded, adding, "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the Gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants... and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."

"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her, referring to the bits of the story that Kit missed. "We survived that."

Reyna shook her head stubbornly. "Percy, travelling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."

"Then we're good!" Leo grinned, sharing a look with Kit as if expecting him to agree with him. "Because we're all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. She'll get us through."

"We'll have to hurry," Jason said with furrowed brows. "I don't know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully."

Annabeth shuddered, wrapping an arm around herself when she thought no one was looking. "Eight half-bloods must answer the call," she said. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, Kit and me. That's five."

"And me," Percy didn't hesitate. "Along with Hazel and Frank. That's eight."

Kit closed his eyes. Wait for it...

"What?" Octavian screeched. There it was. "We're just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without--"

Kit wanted to shove one of his stupid bears down his throat. Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance. Tyson the Cyclops had appeared eagerly shouting his brother's name. Percy grinned at the sight of him. At Tyson's side was Mrs O'Leary the hellhound, and on her back was a sickly-looking girl with stringy red hair and wings to match. Wings. She was a harpy.

"Ella is scared," Tyson informed his brother with tears in his eye.

"No more boats," Ella, who could only be the harpy, mumbled to herself. "Titanic, Lusitania, Pax... boats are not for harpies."

Kit snickered, a hand covering his mouth as an outraged Leo exclaimed, "Did that... chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?"

"Maybe she's right," Kit couldn't resist mocking squinting up at the Argo II. "I can see the resemblance."

Leo glared at him, hissing under his breath so no one else could hear, "That's it. I'm not kissing you for a week."

Before Kit could reply -- not that he was concerned; Leo was a sucker for his kisses, he'd come crawling back before the week was out -- Hazel said in defence of a frowning Ella, "She's not a chicken! Ella's a harpy." Duh. "She's just a little... high-strung."

That was putting it lightly.

Tyson didn't seem to mind, though, staring dreamily up at her. "Ella is pretty. And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship."

"No ships," Ella shook her head, her red hair flaxen in the sun. "Bad luck." She looked straight at Annabeth then, eyes glazing over. Kit was reminded of Rachel Dare, half-expecting green smoke to spew from her mouth. "Wisdom's daughter walks alone--"

Abruptly, Frank shot out of his seat, nearly knocking the overloaded table on its side in his panic. "Ella! Maybe it's not the best time--"

"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome. Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, won through pain from a woven jail."

Well, shit.

Even Kit was speechless as the whole table stared open-mouthed at the harpy. She seemed relieved now, like the pent-up energy of keeping that in had been draining her, making her twitchy... scared, as Tyson said. Kit knew a prophecy when he heard one, and so did everyone else. They shared wary looks, Octavian's head looking ready to explode as Percy also stood and ushered Ella to Tyson.

"I know! How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs O'Leary--"

"Now old on," Octavian shrieked. He'd grabbed one of his teddy bears, knuckles bone white around its neck like he was pretending it was Ella herself. "What was that she said? It sounded like--"

"Ella reads a lot," Frank blurted, fumbling over his words as blood shot to his face. "We found her in a library."

"Yes," Hazel added. "Probably just something she read in a book."

Kit called bullshit.

"Books," Ella smiled. "Ella likes books."

Octavian was having none of it, not that Kit expected him to. "That was a prophecy. It sounded like a prophecy."

Five stars for stating the obvious, Kit rolled his eyes.

When no one answered, Percy turned to Annabeth desperately. She forced a high-pitched laugh, "Really, Octavian? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side, but ours have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?"

Bit-by-bit, the tension trickled away. Some of the centurions let out nervous laughs, shocked at themselves for even considering it. But Reyna and Octavian weren't so sure. Where the Roman leader remained quiet, contemplative, Octavian stammered in a desperate attempt to save face.

"I, uh... no, but--"

"She's just spouting lines from some book," Annabeth said, waving a hand at him. "Like Hazel suggested. Besides, we already have a real prophecy to worry about." She turned to Tyson, who smiled and waved at her. "Percy's right. Why don't you take Ella and Mrs O'Leary and shadow-travel somewhere for a while? Is Ella okay with that?"

"'Large dogs are good,'" Ella nodded, patting Mrs O'Leary's head. "Old Yeller, 1957, screenplay by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg."

"Great," Percy said as he ushered them along. "We'll Iris-message you guys when we're done and catch up with you later."

The rest of the Romans looked at Reyna, waiting for her ruling.

"Fine," she said at last. "Go."

"Yay!"

An unsuspecting Kit was both shocked and unamused when, all of a sudden, he had a giant cyclops throwing his arms around him and shoving Kit's face in his armpit. Beside him, Leo snorted, only to find himself wrapped in a hug himself as Tyson made his way around the table. Not soon enough, he climbed on Mrs O'Leary's back behind Ella and the three of them bounded out of the forum. Kit watched them go as Percy and Frank both settled back in their seats.

"Well," Reyna broke the silence after another minute or two. "Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate's approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest, especially one as dangerous as you're suggesting."

"This whole thing smells of treachery," Octavian grumbled into an apple. "That trireme is not a ship of peace!"

Kit shot him the stink-eye, as he expected Leo to do, but instead was surprised by Leo offering up a smile. "Come aboard, man. I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good, I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear."

Kit smirked. "Where's my paper hat for when I'm good?"

Annabeth, Piper and Jason grimaced at him, unfortunately used to the innuendos, but the rest of the table looked mildly uncomfortable. Or in Octavian's case, both confused and outraged.

"How dare you--"

"It's a good idea," Reyna said, probably hoping for a moment's peace without the fool. "Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour."

"I'll come too," Kit volunteered without a second thought. He didn't trust Octavian wouldn't try to chuck Leo overboard.

"But..." Octavian sighed, pouted, then accepted his fate. "Fine."

Kit bared his teeth in a grin, winking at a nonplussed Annabeth. "We're going to have so much fun."

The daughter of Athena leaned in close to hiss a warning, "No blood in my cabin, Dempsey."

"Aye, aye, captain," he saluted her.

Gathering his leather jacket, Kit stood up and waited for Leo and Octavian to join him. The pouting augur reached him first, stomping his feet but hanging back as he sized up Kit's towering frame. Leo said something to Annabeth, clapped his hands together with an impish grin, and together the three of them made their way through the forum.

"So," it was Leo who broke the uncomfortable silence. "Nice weather we're having."

Kit rolled his eyes.

"Splendid," Octavian spat.

They were quiet for the rest of the walk, occasionally catching the attention of a nearby demigod curious to see their augur being marched through camp. When they reached where the Argo II hovered in the air, a large shadow blocking out the sun, Kit gripped Leo's arm and smiled thinly at Octavian.

"Ladies first."

Octavian sneered, eyeing his bears like he wanted to shove one down Kit's throat, but surprisingly obliged. Leo sighed fondly at Kit, then followed behind Octavian, leaving Kit to bring up the rear. Coach Hedge was nowhere to be seen on deck as Kit crossed to the pile of weapons they'd left in the corner. He picked up his sword, sighing at the familiar weight of it in his hands. From his vantage point by the stairs, he could hear the shouts of some mind-numbing wrestling show echoing from Hedge's cabin, the one closest to the stairs that lead down below.

"Should I get Hedge?" he sighed, hoping Leo would say no.

"Who's Hedge?" Octavian spat the name with premeditated distaste. He stood at the centre of the deck, eyeing Kit's sword and the controls Leo had eagerly started playing with like he was afraid he'd catch some disease from them.

On second thoughts... Kit smirked, attaching his sword to his belt. "Oh, I'm sure you'll just love him. Be right back, Leo."

At the bottom of the stairs, he pounded his fist against Hedge's door and waited. Through the screams of wrestlers, he heard a loud thunk! followed by hooves scrambling to the door. Hedge had his bat raised when he answered, only to drop it and narrow his eyes at the sight of Kit. "Oh. You."

"Me," Kit grinned and waved.

"What do you want?"

"Always so suspicious, Coach."

"You're interrupting my show, Dempsey."

"Well, we have someone we want you to meet--"

Coach Hedge hefted his club again, eyes ablaze with eagerness, when all of a sudden, the ship shuddered. A moment later, as Kit gripped the railing in confusion and Coach yelled 'attack!' they heard the unmistakable boom of an explosion down below in Camp Jupiter. The light of the television behind Hedge dimmed, throwing the hallway into momentary darkness.

"No," Hedge yelled. "My wrestlers."

"Come on, Coach," Kit yanked him up the stairs.

He wasn't sure what he expected to find -- maybe Octavian standing at the controls with Leo unconscious somewhere -- but Octavian fleeing for the rope ladder and a dull-eyed Leo certainly wasn't it. Leo... his Leo had fired on Camp Jupiter. Kit could hear the screams from all the way on the other side of the deck, where he held Hedge back from clobbering Octavian in the head with his club.

"Leo," Kit screamed. "What the fuck are you doing, man?"

Leo turned his empty stare, face void of its usual fondness whenever he looked at Kit Dempsey. He pressed another button on the ballista, and a chunk of the Senate Roof was blown to bits as fire rained down on the Romans. No matter his distrust, Kit didn't want them to die. A lot of them were innocent children or elderly who couldn't fight. Kit wasn't that heartless.

"Leo, stop," he ran over to wrestle for the controls. Leo's movements were robotic; much to Kit's disbelief, he swung a fist and caught Kit hard in the jaw. The bitter taste of blood filled his mouth. "Fuck!"

That was the third time someone had hit him in less than twenty-four hours. Two of them were from a freaking statue and now Leo... his not-boyfriend? He couldn't catch a break.

Peering over the deck as Leo scrambled for the gears again, Kit caught a glimpse of a courtyard full of furious Romans rallying behind a catapult. He flung himself back just as they made impact with the side of the ship. Kit's feet flew out from beneath him, back slamming against the deck as Coach went hooves over horns, his taunting shouts of 'die!' falling quiet as he knocked himself out with his own foot.

Kit pushed himself back up just as Leo returned fire without remorse. Something was wrong. This wasn't Leo. The boy he knew would never hurt anyone, not if he didn't have to. That boy cared about Kit more than himself sometimes. Whoever he was now was someone Kit didn't recognise and it scared him as much as it pained him what he'd have to do.

He unsheathed his sword.

"Don't make me do this," he exclaimed as Leo turned at the shrieking clang of metal. "Leo, step away from the controls."

"Destroy them!" the son of Hephaestus chanted in a voice deeper than his own. Kit's eyes blew wide with realisation. He was possessed. But by what, Kit didn't know. "Destroy them all."

Taking one last look at his sword, he discarded it in favour of his fists. His fists wouldn't kill Leo, but he could knock him out and figure out how to disable the ballista in time for the others to arrive. Surely they'd be there soon. They'd know that Kit and Leo wouldn't do this -- or, at least, Leo wouldn't.

Leo's body slumped against the deck, the whites of his eyes imprinted in Kit's brain as he kneeled down and checked his pulse. Alive. Thank the Gods. He had a bruise on his own jaw from Kit, but at least he wasn't stabbed or worse. Kit could live with a bruise caused by his fist.

He ran for the controls at just the wrong time.

"Kit?" Percy stared at him with wide, accusing eyes. He looked from Leo, to Kit's hand on the ballista, cold fury leaking across his face. "What have you done?"

Oh, fuck.

"This wasn't me," he began as Annabeth appeared on the deck behind Percy. She paused, taking in the scene for herself. "Annabeth, you know I wouldn't do this. It was Leo, but he wasn't--"

Kit was silenced by yet another punch to the mouth, this time from Percy. He fell back from the shock of it, head smacking against the wooden floor, catching one last glimpse of Leo's pale face before the world went black around the edges.

Freaking 4-0, to literally anyone but Kit.

Kit was just shit out of luck.