𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐢━━Nico di Angelo

100

When Piper and Jason landed among their ranks, she threw her arms around Ajax. His sword vanished from his hand as he held her by her waist and spun a little. How they had traveled from Rome to Camp Halfblood so fast was beyond Ajax, but he didn't care about the logistics of the whole thing. 

Ajax hadn't felt that happy in a long time. It felt a lifetime ago that they had seen Jason, Piper and the others.

He had a feeling of impending doom, a blackhole in his stomach. But now it felt a little better.

"About time!" Reyna called. "Glad you could join us!"

Jason looked confused to discover that Reyna was talking to Piper and not him.

Piper grinned. "We had some giants to kill!"

"Excellent!" Reyna returned the smile. "Help yourself to some barbarians."

"Why, thank you!"

The two girls launched into battle side by side.

Jason gave Ajax a fistbump as he drew his weapon, "You guys make it here okay?"

"We had a few bumps" Ajax shrugged, he watched as the mist ate away at the monsters like some sort of cannibalistic fog. He hadn't even been aware he could do something like that. 

Nico burst through the monsters at that moment. His eyes landed on Ajax and he looked like he was going to cry. "Hey"

"Still alive, di Angelo. Don't worry about me"

Nico nodded to Jason as if they'd just seen each other five minutes ago, then went back to turning two-headed men into no-headed corpses. "Good timing. Where's the ship?"

Jason pointed. The Argo II streaked across the sky in a ball of fire, shedding burning chunks of mast, hull and armament.

Ajax gasped. The Argo II had brought them through so much, it was Leo's pride and joy. And to lose it...

"Gods," Nico said. "Is everyone okay?"

"Leo..." Jason's voice broke. "He said he had a plan."

The comet disappeared behind the western hills. Ajax waited with dread for the sound of an explosion, but he heard nothing over the roar of battle.

His heart was sinking. Down down down down a roller coaster.

It felt like a never ending anxiety attack. Leo. Gods. Leo.

Nico looked between Jason and Ajax. "He'll be fine."

"Sure."

"But just in case... For Leo."

Ajax hated this. Just in case? In case what? Leo didn't make it? That didn't make sense. But they were demigods and they were in the middle of a battle.

"For Leo," Ajax agreed. They charged into the fight.

Ajax's anger gave him renewed strength. The Greeks and Romans slowly pushed back the enemies. Wild centaurs toppled. Wolf-headed men howled as they were cut to ashes.

More monsters kept appearing – karpoi grain spirits swirling out of the grass, gryphons diving from the sky, the lumpy clay humanoids that made Ajax think of evil Play-Doh men.

"They're ghosts with earthen shells!" Nico warned. "Don't let them hit you!" 

Ajax scowled, thinking of their last encounter with these guys.

Ajax had witnessed many forms of death, he had experienced death. He didn't think anything could surprise him any more.

He was wrong.