Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: No Stopping Fate: Reading Divided Soul
AN: I'm glad that everyone has enjoyed this story, so far. Some people were in disbelief that I would write a story like this, but hey, even I can fall victim to this cliché type story. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it. Look for some changes (improvements) in this story as I add chapters. Some improvements will be small, but others are quite large. Some people were upset that people were mad at Hera and Ares because the events are in the future. I would remind everyone that the demigods are from the time where Percy is missing therefore they would be upset by this. Maybe it's irrational, but even Annabeth can act that way when she is upset. The Lost Hero showed that. Also, the gods and demigods just read PJO series and the Lost Hero, so they are sympathetic to Percy and to the war with Gaea. I hope this helps explain my view on this story. The first chapter was really about venting over Percy's fate in the future. Hera will be a lot different in this story as she learned about her mistakes in the previous books and now she finds out more about the terrible things she's done in this story. Ares just needs to be picked on because of who he is, sorry he gets on my nerves, Mars is different as you will see in this chapter and beyond.
Chapter 2: Ever the Same
Third Person POV
Mount Olympus – Throne Room – One year prior to the Lightning Thief
"That's the finish of the first chapter," Annabeth said. She looked around and sighed. No one wanted to read the next chapter. "I'll continue." Hera and Ares still wouldn't look at the others. Annabeth sighed; she knew it was irrational to blame Hera and Ares. These were their past selves; they didn't even know why they were doing this. Annabeth had seen a change in Hera since they read the other books. She decided to not hold a grudge on this past version of Hera or Ares.
Athena watched the sadness in her daughter's eyes. "You don't have to," she said.
Annabeth smiled at her mother's concern. "I want to," she said. Athena nodded. Poseidon gave his rival's daughter a slight nod.
"This is one day later at Castra Semideus," Annabeth explained. Jason looked up hopefully. He wanted to hear about the place. Maybe he'd remember more.
Two demigods, both around fifteen years old, sat on an old log overlooking the ocean before them. Waves crashed along the shoreline as they watched dark clouds appear along the horizon.
"Who are they?" Jason said in annoyance. He wanted to remember so badly. Piper squeezed his hand.
Zeus and Thalia looked at the Roman with concern in their eyes. They couldn't imagine what he was going through.
"It looks like a storm's rolling in," the blonde haired, grey eyed girl said as she took her eyes away from the sea to look at the boy beside her. They looked almost identical.
"Twins, like us," Apollo said. Artemis smacked him on the back of the head. He cursed under his breath. "You know if you keep doing that I'll have a permanent hand print there."
Artemis gave her brother a wicked grin.
"Reyna, I know you're still worried about Jason, but he can take care of himself," the boy said. Reyna gave her brother a stern look before responding.
"Reyna and Bobby," Jason whispered. Piper gave him a worried look.
"I'm not worried about him, Bobby. But he knows a lot about our defenses. What if someone was trying to use him to attack us?" Reyna said. Bobby looked at his sister skeptically.
"Jason would never betray us. Besides, we're twins, I know you too well Rey."
Jason smiled at Bobby's confidence in him.
"I'm Praetor of the first cohort now; I cannot afford to have emotional ties, especially to someone who abandoned us."
Bobby stood up angrily as he glared at his sister. "Jason did not abandon us. I can't believe you would say that. He's your best friend. What's happened to you?" Bobby asked. Reyna stood up and glared at her brother.
"Are you questioning my authority, legionnaire?" Bobby's face paled at the accusation. He stood straight as a tree and stared toward the horizon stiffly.
"Good, put the boy in his place," Ares said, but when everyone turned toward him they noticed that he wasn't Ares, it was Mars.
"Mars, why are you here?" Zeus asked. Poseidon glared at the war god.
"Ares is too much of a coward. You are reading about Castra Semideus; a Roman camp. I'm here for that," Mars explained. Poseidon's glare had no effect on the Roman god.
"No Praetor, I would never do that. Please excuse my rash behavior." Reyna sighed as she placed her hand on her brother's shoulder.
"You are forgiven this time Bobby, but don't let it happen again." Bobby exhaled at his sister's words.
"Man, she's tougher than my sister," Apollo whispered, but unfortunately for him Artemis heard. She punched the sun god in the shoulder. Apollo rubbed his arm as he glared at his twin.
Suddenly, a loud noise seemed to move down the beach, followed by yelling. Reyna and Bobby turned toward the sounds. Down the beach, barely visible to the two demigods, was a female demigod, her golden hair shining in the morning light. The girl was on the other side of the camp border, but that wasn't the shocking part.
"What's the shocking part?" Leo yelled. He fell off his chair when Thalia sent a bolt of electricity his way.
She smiled fiendishly at the son of Hephaestus.
Between the girl and the border stood a giant, at least four times the height of the girl and three times as wide. The creature had grey skin like stone and smoke came out of its nose. Bobby and Reyna unsheathed their imperial gold swords and ran down the beach toward the lone demigod. As they approached they realized that the giant had knocked the girl to the ground and was preparing to kill her.
"Hey ugly, leave her alone," Bobby yelled, as he and Reyna tried to get the attention of the giant. The monster turned and glared at them. Its eyes were red like a bonfire and seemed to flare with anger. Suddenly, a plume of flame poured from the giant's open mouth. Reyna and Bobby split apart as the flames scorched the sand where they once stood. The scorched sand turned to glass under the heat of the flames.
"What a weak insult that is." Hermes said. Athena glared at her brother.
Reyna ran to the girl. "Gwen, what happened?" Reyna asked, as she pulled the demigod away from the giant. The blonde haired, blue eyed girl looked at her friend as she winced in pain.
"I was on border patrol around the camp boundary when this thing came out of nowhere," Gwen said, as she cradled her broken left arm.
"We need to get you out of the way. You can't fight with a broken arm," Reyna said. Gwen shook her head.
Jason leaned forward in his chair. He remembered Reyna and Bobby pretty well, but Gwen seemed vaguely familiar.
"She's a true Roman, that one," Mars said. The Greek versions of the gods looked at him distastefully.
"She'll get herself killed," Apollo said. He was in his Greek form, but that didn't mean that he didn't care about his Roman kids.
"Reyna, I can still help," Gwen said, as she pulled out a small compact crossbow from behind her back. Reyna gave the girl an approving nod. Reyna helped Gwen to her feet and the two looked towards the battle. Bobby was dodging random plumes of flames.
Athena winced at the dangerous game that Bobby was playing. Her Roman son couldn't dodge those blasts forever.
"I could use some help, Reyna," Bobby yelled as he dove out of the way of a large boulder the giant threw at him. Gwen shot her crossbow and the arrows struck the monster in the chest, but it barely penetrated the rocklike skin of the monster. The shot gave Reyna and Bobby enough time to charge the monster. Reyna swiped her sword at the ankle of the monster, but it only scratched the stone surface of the giant's ankle. Bobby tried to do the same with the creature's calf, but again its skin was too tough.
Leo whistled loudly. "That's one tough monster," he said.
Annabeth stopped reading. Everyone looked at the son of Hephaestus with annoyed glares. Piper turned toward Leo and smacked him in the back of the head. "Shut-up Repair Boy," she yelled.
Everyone smiled at her, but Leo just glared as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Annabeth, please continue," Hestia said as she tried to hide her smile.
"How can we kill this thing?" Bobby asked. Reyna just stared at the creature. If the twins of Minerva couldn't figure it out, who could?
Annabeth stared at the book for a moment before she looked up at her mother. "Twins of Minerva," she repeated.
Athena smiled. "Yes, my Roman form had twins. I think you would like them my dear. They are very smart of course, but quite different in personality," Athena explained.
Annabeth smiled at her mother and nodded. She picked up the book and began to read again.
Suddenly, as if in answer to her brother's question, the ocean erupted from behind them. The twins turned to see a large wave about twenty feet high moving toward the beach. Bobby and Reyna ran toward Gwen to try and shield her from the massive wave. The monster shot a stream of fire at the wave, but the water snuffed out the flames easily. The giant was frozen in fear as the wave hit the creature head on. The monster was driven hard into the wet sand of the beach.
"That's got to hur…" Leo began before he closed his mouth. Everyone gave him the death glare, but the looks Thalia and Piper gave him were the worst.
The three demigods stood up, but froze at the sight before them. A lone figure stepped out of the ocean. He was clad in imperial gold armor that covered his torso, legs and arms. He wore a gold Roman helmet with a red plume on top. The young man was six feet tall and seemed well built considering it was hard to see with his body hidden under the armor. Jet black hair stuck out from the sides of the armor and the demigod had sea green eyes that seemed to glow with power. The boy's tanned skin seemed to shine with an ethereal light, like he was lit from the inside. The three demigods just stood there in shock as the armored warrior walked toward the giant. The giant had finally stood up, but when it saw the warrior it stopped and stared at the boy in wonder.
Annabeth's voice caught in her throat. It was Percy, but she was scared. How different would he be?
Poseidon noticed the look on Annabeth's face. He knew what she was thinking.
The giant finally snapped out of its surprise by sending a plume of fire toward the demigod. The boy charged and ran straight through the flames. The fire seemed to move around the boy as it engulfed him. The armored warrior charged the surprised giant, and then he pulled out a golden gladius at the last moment.
Annabeth's heart was pounding in her ears. Thalia placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"He'll be fine," she whispered. Annabeth looked back at her best friend and gave her a small smile of thanks.
Jason, Leo and Piper listened closely at the description. They wanted to hear how Percy fought this monster. They were amazed at how powerful he was at the end of the Last Olympian. They wanted to know what he would be like now.
The warrior swung the sword with such power and speed that it seemed like a blur. The blade hit the ankle of the giant, shattering the bone with the power of the blow. The giant stumbled forward and would have crushed the warrior if he hadn't jumped out of the way. The giant hit the ground with an earth shattering crash. The three demigods were knocked off their feet by the impact. However, the armored warrior seemed unfazed by the shaking ground. The demigod ran forward and slashed his sword across the giant's throat, cracking the creature's neck like a piece of chalk.
Everyone in the room just stared at the book. Even though they knew he bore the curse of Achilles, it was amazing to hear about his strength and prowess.
The giant turned to dust before the three demigod's eyes. They turned their gaze toward the armored warrior. The warrior gave them a slight nod before walking toward them. Suddenly, the dust that was once the giant began to move and the now four demigods stared at the circling dust as the monster began to reform before their eyes.
The demigods flinched as they remembered the monsters in the Lost Hero. This was another piece of proof that something was very wrong and that Gaea was trying to awaken.
The armored demigod stretched out his hand toward the sea and a giant wave swept forward and seemed to encase the swirling mass of dust. The wave soaked up the dust, and then pulled the mass of dust and water back into the sea like a giant water spout. The column of water swirled and spat as it entered the sea. The water spout moved until it was about a football field distance away from shore, and then sunk beneath the churning surface of the ocean.
Poseidon smiled at the description. His son's powers had grown over the years. He was very proud of him, but he was still concerned about his son's memory and the changes that would cause. He had only read about the young man that he'd become, but he wanted to know him. He could only imagine the pain his future self would feel at the loss of his son's identity.
"That's awesome," Leo yelled.
Leo ducked under a swipe by Piper, but Jason smacked him on the back of the head instead.
"That's for interrupting again," Jason explained. Piper squeezed his hand tightly.
Aphrodite squealed with delight. She was so happy for her daughter.
The three demigods again turned to look at the armored warrior that had saved their lives. Reyna stepped forward with her sword still in her hand.
"I am Reyna Cato, daughter of Minerva and Praetor of the first Cohort. Who are you?" Reyna asked. The warrior gave her a slight nod as he took off his gold helmet. His black hair blew in the breeze and obscured his eyes for a moment before he brushed the unruly locks aside.
Everyone waited in anticipation. Thalia watched Annabeth carefully. She had never been more worried for her friend since the day she had met her when she was seven years old. Thalia never thought that Annabeth could be this vulnerable again. Thalia was mad at Percy, but more so at the situation they were all in. Another war so soon after the last one; it was something that she dreaded.
"My name is Scipio Marcellus," he said. "Son of Neptune."
The book fell from Annabeth's hands after she finished reading. The book closed as it fell to the ground. The daughter of Athena put her head in her hands. Thalia wrapped her arms around her friend protectively.
Athena frowned at the hurt expression on her daughter's face, but she was also happy that Annabeth had such good friends like Thalia.
Poseidon slumped into his throne. His favorite son was no more. He was some Roman. Would he ever be the same again?
AN: This is a little slow as this is Scipio's introduction to the Roman camp. Stay tuned more to come.