“What do you mean?” said Julius.
“TAKE ON THE WORLD!” She clapped. “Bearing
the drawings of these creatures gives you their
POWER! You can be UNBEATABLE!”
She gathered the animals around her and whispered
to them. “You’ll find that Pericles, Douglas, and Berta
are really no different from you; they’re slaves just as
much as you are. Go back and show Londinium who
you REALLY are.”
I KNEW you’d
come crawling
back.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
WHEN IN LONDINIUM
The next day, with the words of the old lady ringing
in their ears, Julius and his friends headed back to
Londinium and the eager crowds of the amphitheater.
This time they were determined to carry out what
Hadrian and Septimus had demanded of them — to
win over the Briton crowd. But this time it would be
on their OWN terms.
Hey!
What’s the
meaning of this
NONSENSE?
The cornicines’ horns blared triumphantly, heralding
the arrival of the Roman champions.
Julius and his tattooed friends burst defiantly out
into the arena to a great ROAR of approval from
the crowd.
“I ought to have you ARRESTED for leaving me
in that big puddle yesterday,” growled Septimus.
“MOVE IT,” said Julius as he pushed past the
lanista. “We’re here to do our job!”
The animals strode to the arena, and Septimus did
a double take at their tattoo-covered bodies.
What
trickery
is this?
In the center of the arena, the summa rudis gathered
all the gladiators.
“WHO IS TO FIGHT FIRST?”
“I’ll go first,” growled Milus.
“Then so shall I,” rasped Douglas the sheep.
The other gladiators dispersed to their gates,
and the two animals sized each other up. Douglas
Pericles, Douglas, and Berta looked on, astonished.
It’s a lion.
Do you know
anything fiercer?
The cornicines blared and the crowd cheered as the
fight began.
The brutish sheep wasted no time in thrusting
his sword toward Milus, but the nimble lion easily
dodged out of the way of the deadly blade.
“Ye know, Romans wearing woad tattoos is a
GREAT INSULT to my people!” spat Douglas.
prodded the drawing on Milus’s chest with his sword.
“And what’s that WEE BEASTIE meant to be, then?”
W
E
’R
E
.
R
O
M
A
N
S
!
S
W
I
S
H
!
NOT.
“We’re no different from you!” roared Milus.
“We’re SLAVES of the Roman Empire, too!”
“‘No different’?” Douglas laughed as he lunged with
his sword. “What are ye even TALKING about?”
Milus pole-vaulted on his trident and kicked the
confused sheep’s shield out of his hoof.
“We want to HELP you!” said Milus. He thrust
his trident at Douglas’s sword and wrenched it away
from the sheep.
B
A
S
H
!
“Help us”?
Augh!
“Ye’ve got a funny way of showing it!” wheezed
Douglas as Milus stood on him, triumphant.
The crowd leaped to their feet. Their own
champion might have been beaten, but he’d been
beaten by another renegade of the empire!
Pericles the pig flew into a rage. “I’M NOT
PUTTING UP WITH THIS NONSENSE!” he cried,
and raced to the center of the arena.
Bring
me the
ZEBRA!
“I’d better go out there and face him,” said Julius,
marching out to great cheers and whistles from the
crowd.
Finall
y
you
are
MINE
,
Zebra!
In the wings, Septimus was FURIOUS.
“WHAT ARE YOU IMBECILES UP TO? YOU’RE
SUPPOSED TO SHUT THE CROWD UP, NOT
MAKE THEM WORSE!”
The summa rudis signaled for the fight to begin,
and Pericles hammered down ax blows onto Julius’s
shield. “We’re not falling for your TRICKERY,
Zebra!” he cried out. “We are NOT to be fooled in
Britannia. We know you Romans too well!”
Then why
HAVEN’T you?
We’re not
trying to
trick you!
We
hat
e
the
Ro
ma
ns
as
mu
ch
as
you
do!
“LIES!” cried the pig.
Julius leaped into the air like the spider tattooed on
his chest and clonked Pericles on the back of his head.
“JOIN US!” he said to Pericles. “We can take down
the Roman Army TOGETHER!”
“Why should we join up with WEAKLINGS? We
can take on the Roman Army without you!”
Join
us!
W
H
A
C
K
!
Julius stood, triumphant, and raised his sword into
the air.
Pericles didn’t have an answer. Julius saw that
the pig was momentarily troubled by his taunt and
attacked him while he was distracted.
“You knew who I was before I even came here!”
cried Julius as he bashed against the pig’s axes. “You
know what I’m capable of. If I can beat the best in
Rome, together WE can be rid of the Roman curse
from Britannia!”
Z
E
B
R
A
!
Z
E
B
R
A
!
ZE
BR
A!
ZE
BR
A!
ZE
BR
A!
ZEB
RA!
Z
E
B
R
A
!
He turned to the red-faced Septimus and gestured
to the chanting crowd. “Consider your Britons
WON OVER!” he cried.
Suddenly, out of the blue, a barrage of trumpets
sounded, and a legion of soldiers poured into the
arena. A standard-bearer followed, leading a golden
chariot pulled by two magnificent white horses.
Standing triumphantly on the chariot was Emperor
Hadrian himself!
Arrest the
zebra!
“HADRIAN? HERE?” Julius cried. “I don’t
understand!”
“You disappoint me!” said Hadrian. “My own
champion A TRAITOR!”
I offered
you a
chance for
freedom,
Zebra!
But you
threw it
back in
my face!
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
HE CAME, HE SAW,
HE LOCKED HIM UP
“Take him and his friends and throw them into the
dungeon!” commanded Hadrian.
“You’re not the emperor here, Hadrian!” said Julius
wearing warriors will rise up and defeat you!”
“SILENCE!” snapped Hadrian. “As a SLAVE of
Rome, your words are meaningless.”
We don’t need
you anymore.
We have
a NEW
champion!
“NEW People’s
Champion”?
What are
you talking
about?
“While you were out here, plotting with your
traitorous friends, our new People’s Champion has
received special intense training from Victorius
himself!”
MY WALL!
Hadrian laughed at Julius’s confused face. “He’s
far more loyal to the empire than you’ll ever be,
Zebra. He doesn’t bleat ON and ON demanding his
freedom; he WANTS to fight for Rome!”
He leaned in close to Julius’s face. “You shall meet
him when you battle him TO THE DEATH at my
GRAND NEW PROJECT!”
“New project? Have you built yourself another
golden toilet?” scoffed Julius.
“ALL WILL QUAKE WHEN THEY
BEAR WITNESS TO ROME’S GREATEST
CONSTRUCTION YET,” declared Hadrian.
Well, THAT
didn’t quite
work out
how I
expected.
“I think Hadrian turning up surprised everyone,
even Septimus,” said Cornelius.
Suddenly there came a scurrying noise under the
door. A little head popped out through the gap.
“Wait, did Hadrian really just get excited about a
wall?” whispered Felix.
“These Romans are a funny lot,” said Cornelius.
The animals were taken down into the dungeons
of the Roman fort. As the big metal door clanged
shut, Julius let out a deep sigh.
PLINY!
The one
and only!
“Have you come to rescue us?” asked Felix
excitedly.
“Er, nope,” said Pliny as he squished his whole body
under the door. “But I have come bearing good news!
“I was having a chat with those weird Briton
gladiators, and it seems you and Milus have
successfully sown the seeds of rebellion in their
minds.
“Turns out that old lady was right! Their repre-
sentatives are either useless or in the pockets of the
Romans, so you’re exactly the sort of hero they can
get behind!”
If you beat
this new
gladiator ...
those crazy
Brits will join
you against
Hadrian!
“You know, I’ve always said there was something
special about you, Julius. You’re going to have to be
the one who takes the bull by the horns yet again!”
“HEY! I’m not fighting that big cow again, am I?”
said Julius.
“No, Berta is right behind you!” replied Pliny.
“So who IS this new champion?” asked Cornelius.
“No idea!” said Pliny. “Hadrian is keeping his new
pet completely under wraps. Which means we have
Now give
me twenty
push-ups!
What?
to make sure Julius is in the best shape EVER to
thrash this mystery champion, so we can show the
Romans WHO’S BOSS!”
I’m getting
deja vu....
T
r
u
n
d
le
The next morning, Julius and the rest of the gladiators
were shoved into wooden carts and carried off to the
wilds of the northern frontier.
For three long days, they endured being cramped
up in their boxes. The farther north they traveled,
the colder it got and the wetter it got.
On the third day, Lucia suddenly cried out in
excitement. “Look!” she shouted. “THE WALL!
I can see the wall!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
FINAL FRONTIER
Everyone craned their necks out of their cages to
try to catch a glimpse of Hadrian’s latest project.
“Well, that IS a big old wall,” said Julius.
“So many ROCKS!” yelled Felix.
C
a
n
y
o
u
e
it
?
Yeah, we’re SO
pleased you dragged
us hundreds of miles
to see a stupid WALL.
“All I care about is finding out who this gladiator
I’m up against is!” said Julius.
“All in good time, Zebra!” replied Hadrian. “One
thing you can be sure about is that he is a fearsome
warrior and your death tomorrow will be swift!”
Their carts trundled over a bridge and headed
toward a great fort that sat at the foot of the wall.
They passed through a huge stone gatehouse and
into a busy courtyard teeming with soldiers.
“Well, did you see it?” said Hadrian. “What did you
think? Isn’t my wall MAGNIFICENT?”
How about
a warrior
mouse this
time? Seems
appropriate!
GOOD
choice!
As Julius and the others were thrown into another
dungeon, Pliny sneaked in carrying a pot of blue
paint. “OK, we need to get this People’s Champion
ready for battle!” he squeaked. Pliny dipped his paw
into the paste. “What animal do you want?”
Bring on the
opponents!
CHAPTER TWENTY
HADRIAN’S BRAWL
Julius and the others were taken from their dungeon
to the wooden amphitheater outside the wall. Inside,
the thousand seats had been easily filled with the
Roman soldiers who served the fort.
Hadrian took his seat alongside Septimus in the
royal box. Once settled, he signaled to the summa
rudis to let the game begin.
Go get ’em,
Julius!
We’re
right behind
you!
“Yeah! Good luck, Julius!” called out Pliny. “Go
kick some —” Suddenly he choked on his words as
he saw exactly who it was that Julius was up against.
“ZEBR A BUTT?”
“Good luck, Julius!” said Cornelius, giving him a
big hug. “The gods are watching over you!”
BR
UT
US
?
B
R
O
T
H
E
R
!
Turns out I’m a
&nb
sp; better fighter
than you!
“I find that VERY hard to believe!” cried Julius,
swatting Brutus’s sword away.
“Victorius HIMSELF told me, and HE should
know. He’s fought LOTS of gladiators. Nice work
Julius could barely believe his eyes. “But HOW?”
Brutus skipped around, flicking his sword in the air.
“Word got to me about your star status in Rome, so I
thought I’d come and get a taste of the action myself!”
He sauntered up to Julius and poked his sword into
his brother’s chin.
This is you,
apparently.
“Oh,
boo hoo!
I really
miss my
family....”
Brutus let out a great big laugh. “I always KNEW
you were a huge loser!”
In the wings, Julius’s friends were in total shock.
They’d heard that his brother Brutus was a bit of a
rascal, but they’d never realized he was quite so mean!
beating Victorius, by the way — that is quite an
achievement.” Brutus flicked his sword again,
millimeters away from Julius’s face. “But the
difference between me and you is that I’M not a
GREAT BIG CRYBABY!”
Grr!
I want to go
in there and
BOP him
myself!
“It must be the Romans talking,” said Cornelius. “If
he’s been hanging around with Victorius, no wonder
he’s gone nuts!”
In the arena, the summa rudis separated the two
zebras. “Calm down, you two. We haven’t even
started yet! Wait for my signal.”
He held up his stick, waited a few seconds, then
brought it down: the fight had officially begun.
Julius immediately took up a defensive position.
His brother’s swagger told him that Brutus would be