I don't own PJO or HoO!

For two months, Jason Grace shadowed Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano wherever she went. He even stood outside of the Praetors' bath in the room conjoining the two villas whenever Reyna bathed. And when he looked inside to see if she was all right, he was usually –sometimes –enough of a gentleman not to take advantage of the situation to stare at her.

He followed her to the principia and nodded to Centurion Julian Hamilton as they stayed alert for possible attackers or traitors. He went with her when she went to pray to her mother and went with her when she went to New Rome, or to the armory, or on a morning jog, or even to the training fields when she oversaw training sessions. And to be honest, Reyna was sick of it.

"You don't need to follow me around anymore, Grace." Reyna told him one day.

"Just doing my duty, Reyna. Don't make this harder by trying to get me to stop. Then I'd just have to hide and watch you from afar."

She growled at him in reply.

"Reyna, I'm only looking out for you. No one in the Legion thinks you're weak because of this. If anything, they think you're strong because you can put up with me all the time without blowing a fuse."

She frowned. "Jason…"
"It's no secret that you hate me, Praetor Reyna."

"I don't hate you, Jason. You're simply not my favorite legionnaire."

"If I'm not above Octavian in your standings, then some serious shit is about to go down." Jason said seriously. "Even if he is my friend, I know that you hate the guy. I have got to be above him. I mean, look at how much taller and more popular I am."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Watch your language, Centurion. We're in New Rome, and I don't want Terminus coming after you for using foul language." She reprimanded.

"Some serious muffins are about to go down?" He tried again.

Reyna smiled slightly. "That'll have to do, Centurion Grace."

Finally, it was time. Each legionnaire donned his or her armor and made sure that he or she had all of his or her weaponry. The legionnaires packed up their camp just miles from Mount Othrys, and gathered before their two Praetors. "First and Second Cohort will attack from the front!" Marcus announced to the Legion. "Third and Fifth will attack from the right, while Fourth will attack from the left alongside many of the veterans in New Rome! As you well know, the veterans from New Rome will fight alongside you, as well as Lupa's wolves!"

"Marcus and I will lead a small party to the top of Mount Othrys ahead of the rest of you!" Reyna added. "While you fight the majority of the monsters, we will take down Krios!"

Reyna felt the Legion's fear and their worry for the outcome of the battle to come. So she added her strength to theirs until she felt them relax. She saw the tension slip away until they looked ready to fight. Then, and only then, did she release her tattoo and stop feeding them willpower.

Together, the two Praetors faced their Legion. "Senatus Populusque Romanus!" (1) they shouted. The Legion repeated the phrase over and over until it was a loud shout. Then, the Legion marched. Six of the Centurions remained with their Cohorts, but four stood with their Praetors.

"Ready?" Marcus asked the small group of demigods. Jason Grace, Leila Evans, Julian Hamilton, and Morgan Kim nodded.

Reyna took a deep breath. "Pro Romā pugnabimus." (2) she told them.

They nodded and repeated the phrase. The group walked ahead of the marching Legion, and listened to the sound of the Legion's Barritus. It was a harsh, guttural sound which built sound the longer the Legion let it last. Even when monsters attacked the Legion, and when the first line locked their shields into place and began to attack with swords and spears, the Barritus did not die. Instead, if possible, the sound –so similar to that of a stampeding elephant –grew louder.

But the small party of six demigods rushed ahead of the Legion and broke through the weak points in the Titans' army. They did not pause or hesitate to kill, they simply swung their swords, stabbed their spears, and pierced their daggers before running on. Leila, Morgan, and Julian adopted defensive positions to cover their two Praetors and Jason Grace. "We'll watch your backs. No monsters will follow you in, I swear it." Julian vowed. They nodded. He cracked a grin. "Now go and destroy some ugly Titans for us."

The three nodded grimly. "It will be done." Reyna vowed.

She hefted her pilum in her hand and followed Marcus into the place of the Titans. Jason Grace followed just behind her, and he held his gladius in one hand and his shield in the other. The trio shredded and destroyed every monster they came across, until they reached the black throne. Marcus went in first.

With a yell, the son of Mercury and legacy of Discordia charged the Titan in black armor. With just a few blows, the Praetor of the Roman Legion fell to the ground with a muffled thump. "Marcus." Reyna gasped as she watched his body hit the ground. She struggled out of Jason's hold, yet was careful to remain silent. "Why did you stop me, you traitorous bastard?" she asked, her eyes alight with accusatory flame.

"I'm not a traitor, but aren't all demigods bastards if we take the literal sense of the word?" When Reyna didn't grin, he continued. "I couldn't let you go out and get yourself killed as well. I'll distract him, while you attack him from behind. Once he's dead, we'll destroy the throne." Jason planned.

"No, I'll distract him and you do the killing. I have a bone to pick with Krios, and I won't hide behind your shadow to kill him. I'm the Praetor here. I take the risks." Reyna's expression showed no room for argument, so Jason didn't.

"Okay, when you're ready." He said instead. If he couldn't change her mind, he might as well make sure that she didn't die. No way in Tartarus would he break his vow to her and to the Legion. He would protect Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano if it was the last thing he ever did.

Reyna charged the Titan with a yell, while Jason swung around and attacked from behind. "Krios!" Reyna shouted. "You murdered Marcus, son of Mercury! Atone for your crimes!"

"Little godling, I am not the one at fault. You and your little gods are. How pathetic your pantheon really is." The Titan of constellations sneered. "It's a shame, really. There's no honor to gain in killing a little girl."

Reyna jabbed the Titan with her spear, and caused golden ichor to flow from his wound. She attacked again and again and again and again, and then Jason made his move. He rushed the Titan and leaped onto his back. He jabbed his sword into the Titan's ribcage, and then rolled to the ground to avoid retaliation. "Is that it?" Reyna asked Jason in disbelief.

"No, not even close." Krios responded. The Titan rose to his feet and attacked. The pair of demigods rolled out of the way and continued their assault on the Titan. Finally, after Reyna had stabbed the Titan in the gut, Jason managed to climb onto the deity's shoulders and began to choke the Titan.

"Get out of here, Reyna! Get Marcus and see if he's alive!" Jason shouted. For once in her life, Reyna didn't argue with him. She merely nodded and rushed to the body of the fallen Praetor. She made eye contact with Jason one last time before dragging Marcus's body out of the room and towards the three waiting demigods.

"You've sent away your only help, godling." Krios mused. "You must feel guilty and want to die. I suppose that such a sentence could be arranged."

"The only one dying today," Jason managed to say as he attacked the Titan, "is you."

Krios laughed. "Little godling, how little you understand. I'm not going to die! I'll only reform in the pit before returning to the mortal world to one day resume the vengeance of my brothers."

Jason scowled. "Not in my lifetime you won't, bastard." Jason could almost imagine Reyna scolding him for swearing, but he wasn't in New Rome. He wasn't in the safety of home while joking around with the girl he had a crush on. No, he was fighting a Titan, one-on-one to the death. "I'm not dying, Krios. You are."

Finally, he recovered his sword and stabbed the Titan through the eye. For good measure, he cut off the Titan's head and watched as he faded into dust.

"Veni, Vidi, Vici." (3) Jason muttered. "And today, Rome has truly conquered."

Jason began to tear the throne to pieces, one stone at a time. He didn't know how long it took him to completely dismantle the throne, but he didn't stop until it was simply a pile of black rubble, and nothing but a distant memory. Or, more correctly, until it was nothing but a distant nightmare. He collected his sword and flipped it back into a golden coin. He retraced his steps and found the four standing alert while Marcus' body lay between them.

"It's done." Jason said as he approached. "Krios is dead, and I destroyed the throne."

Reyna relaxed and knelt by Marcus' side. "He's truly gone. There's nothing that even Leila could do." At the mention of her name, the daughter of Apollo grimaced and lowered her head. Julian placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and then nodded to Jason. Realizing what the older boy meant, Jason knelt beside Reyna and placed his own hand on her shoulder.

"It's not yet the time for mourning the dead." Jason told her simply. "That will come after we are finished here today."

"He's young, Jason. Seventeen. Too young to die on the battlefield. We're all too young for this."

"Yeah. We are." Jason replied. He stood up and offered Reyna his hand. "Come on, Reyna. We have a war to finish."

Thanks for reading chapter 2! Pleas review and tell me your thoughts.

~Nerd

1. The Senate and the People of Rome

2. We shall fight for Rome

3. I came, I saw, I conquered