Hey Guys! Here's chapter 4! This will be the final chapter of this story, so I want to thank all of you who have read, reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story. You all are awesome! Thanks a lot!

In case you didn't know this already, A New Perspective is kind of an excerpt from another one of my stories: Long Road Ahead. Please, if you haven't already, check out that story! Pretty please with sugar on top? :)

Anyway, to the story! As always, please R&R.

Disclaimer: PJO/HoO belong to Rick Riordan.

Percy knocked on the front door and took a step back, glancing at me. I met his eyes, trying not to look nervous. We were having dinner with Julia, the cute little seven year old legacy who lived in New Rome, and her family, and truthfully, I didn't really know what to expect.

From what experience I'd had with the Romans, which, granted, wasn't very much, they were pretty good people and I actually liked most of them. That really only went for the campers though. I hadn't had much interaction with the grown Romans, very little actually, but Katherine, Julia's mother, had seemed friendly enough when I'd met her, and she'd been kind enough to invite us over for dinner, so I was trying to look on the bright side. Being a child of Athena however, not knowing things kind of drove me crazy.

Percy gently squeezed my hand, which was in his, and let go. A second later, the door opened to reveal Katherine, whom I'd briefly met earlier that day, a tall man with an athletic build, and Julia, who wore her adorable dimpled smile and bright blue eyes.

"Percy!" she exclaimed happily, and ran past her parents to greet us, or, actually, him. Percy smiled at the little girl and held his arms out as she ran to him and hugged him tightly, as if she hadn't just seen him a day earlier.

"Hey, Kiddo," Percy greeted her, smiling almost as wide as Julia.

"Hi!" she replied, nearly exploding with energy and excitement, which was probably from ADHD, which she probably had.

Julia let go of Percy and gave me a hug which was almost as big as the one she had given him. When she let go of me, Percy and I greeted her parents. I greeted Katherine and turned to her husband, who shook my hand and introduced himself as Robert, then turned to Percy. The couple didn't seem to know what to do with Percy. Normally, Praetors were greeted formally with bows and respectful nods. However this wasn't the Legion and that wasn't really Percy's style. They settled with handshakes and introductions.

"Come on in," Katherine told us, beckoning us with her hand, "Dinner is ready."

The meal consisted of traditional Italian food, which made sense, I guess, being as they were, well, Roman. It was good though, and Percy certainly had no problem with it.

Katherine and Robert asked many questions, mostly about Camp Half-Blood and the Quest to Greece. Thankfully, they seemed to realize that Tartarus was still a touchy subject, and they left that topic alone. The conversation never really ended. Not that it would have anyway, because whenever the story or conversation became uninteresting to Julia, she would interrupt with questions of her own, most of which, didn't really pertain to the current subject of conversation, but they were answered nonetheless.

Faster than I'd realized, it was time for us to leave. As we made our way toward the door, Julia kept bringing us pictures she'd made, and at the end, I had a handful of colorful papers, almost as many as Percy had. We said goodbye to Katherine and Robert, and gave hugs to Julia, who was sad that we had to leave, but we promised to visit her one more time before we left Camp Jupiter, and eventually, she allowed us to leave.

As we walked through New Rome, making our way back to the City Limits, where Terminus' statue stood guard, I couldn't help thinking that I had actually enjoyed having dinner with Julia and her parents, and I was pleasantly surprised, because I hadn't been sure that I would. The thought left me in a good mood, and Percy walking next to me, holding my hand, only helped.

We made our way back into the camp headed back to Percy's house to drop off our drawings and change clothes. The war games were tonight, in about half an hour, and Percy and I had promised to participate.

We walked toward the Field of Mars, strapping on the last of our armor, which, even though we were walking, proved no problem at all. From years of battle training, if you learn nothing else, you learn how to put armor on like a pro. Only a few of the participating demigods were there when we got there, but I could see groups of them making their way from the mess hall and the barracks.

A few minutes later, everyone was assembled, for the most part, into their cohorts. Percy and I stood up front and off to the side with Jason, while Reyna explained the rules and the objective of the game. The first and second cohorts were one team, while the third, fourth, and fifth were on the other. Jason, was assigned to be with the First and Second cohorts, while Percy was put with the Third, Fourth, and Fifth.

Reyna assigned me to be on Jason's team, with cohorts one and two. At first, I wasn't exactly happy about this arrangement. I mean, aside from Jason, I didn't really know anyone in the first two cohorts, and, of course, I wasn't with Percy, which wouldn't have been my first choice, but, I reasoned, victory over Percy was always fun, so maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

I made my way toward my team, expecting to take orders from whoever was giving them, most likely Jason, and do the best I could to win.

Our team was on the offensive, going in and trying to take the other team's banner. I didn't know much about the opposing team's abilities, aside from Frank, Hazel, and obviously, Percy, but I knew Percy alone would be a huge advantage for them, and I was certain that he would be leading.

I joined the group as the first and second cohorts assembled, half a mile away from the fortress, obviously waiting for orders and the plan. Jason stood a little in front of them, as the last few made their way over, but he didn't appear to be in charge, though if he wasn't, I had no idea who was. The son of Jupiter was scanning the crowd of Romans, as if looking for someone. He met my eyes, and seemed satisfied that I'd made it or something, then he turned to the crowd, as if he was going to address them, but he didn't. He simply waited as the last few Romans joined the group. When the team was together, the Romans all quieted, as if by some signal I'd missed, and looked at Jason expectantly, but the son of Jupiter wasn't addressing them. He wasn't even looking at them. He was looking directly at…

Me.

The Romans began following the praetor's gaze, and pretty soon, almost the entire first and second cohorts were looking at me expectantly. I blinked and glanced behind me, but I was at the back of the group, and there was no one behind me. For a moment, I felt stupid, but it was quickly replaced again with confusion.

My eyes darted back and forth between the faces of the Legionnaires staring at me, before finally settling on Jason, since he was the most familiar and, at least right then, the least intimidating.

"What?" I asked, which sounded stupid, but at the moment, I didn't care. Jason cracked a smile, amused at my confusion.

"Come up here," he told me, gesturing with his hand.

I narrowed my eyes. "Um, why?" I asked. The rest of the team collectively caught it's breath. Praetors weren't really supposed to be spoken back to, but I wasn't really Roman, so technically, I wasn't under Jason's authority. Besides, we'd been through too much for me to really think of Jason as superior.

Despite the team's reaction, Jason seemed unfazed by my question. "Come here," he said again, more forcefully this time, but his tone was light. He was enjoying this. I obliged and made my way through the crowd, which parted, allowing me through. Soon, I was standing next to Jason, in front of the Legionnaires.

"What am I doing up here?" I asked Jason. I was only talking to him, not speaking very loud, but I could tell the Romans were straining to hear what we were saying.

"You're leading," Jason told me, loud enough for the entire team to hear.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What?"

"You heard me," Jason replied, "You're a daughter of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and Battle Strategy. You're one heck of a strategist, a lot better than me, and I know firsthand that your plans are pretty darn good, and that they work. So, you're going to lead us tonight."

"Really?" I asked. It sounded pretty stupid, even to me, but I hadn't been expecting that. At all.

"Yeah," Jason answered, and then quietly added, grinning evilly, "Besides, I can't let Percy's team win." His words caused a smile to slowly spread across my face.

"Okay," I said finally, "Okay, sure." The Romans politely applauded, all except Octavian, who stood front and center, and was clearly not happy, which was oddly gratifying.

I explained the basic layout of my plan and the best way to go about it, and where I thought the other team's banner would most likely be. Jason helped when I started assigning positions, explaining who seemed best fit for each job, which helped a lot, being as I knew little to nothing of almost everyone.

My plan was pretty straightforward. The team would divide up into two groups, a big one and a smaller one. The larger one would advance from the front, as a diversion, while the other advanced from behind a few minutes later. The smaller group would be the one that actually went after the other team's banner, while the larger kept Percy's team occupied.

As I assigned tasks to each person, the Romans listened intently, sometimes nodding in approval with my choices, which made the overall discomfort of the situation better. Pretty soon, everyone had been assigned positions and tasks, except for me and Jason.

"You should lead the group around the back," Jason told me, loud enough for everyone to hear. I turned from the group before me to look at him.

"Are you sure? I was thinking you would want that job," I replied.

Jason shook his head. "No. This is your plan and you're leading it. You should go for the glory tonight." Then, he added quietly enough that only I heard,"Plus, I've seen you and Percy fight. If anyone can hold him off, it's you."

I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that. I had been planning on leading the first group in the diversion. "Uh, okay. Sure," I said and turned again to face the Romans before me. "One last thing," I told them, "Watch out for the water cannons. The fortress is lined with them, and they have Percy. That's a bad combination for us." The team murmured and nodded to each other. "Okay," I concluded, "Get into position. Good luck." The Romans cheered and did as I told them.

The game started a few minutes later, when night had fallen and everyone was in position. Jason had led the first group in and the fighting had commenced. We had given ourselves a wide berth to get around to the back of the fortress, but I could hear the metallic clang of swords connecting against each other and the splashing of water as Percy used the water cannons to his advantage, though we weren't in range yet.

I led the group over the walls, into the enemy base, where we were met with all of two guards, which we were able to take down easily, before they could call for backup, though they probably weren't going to get any anyway, as the rest of their comrades were engaged in battle at the front. Apparently "divide and conquer" wasn't a motto Romans were familiar with, or, at least, no one had registered that there may be more of us.

I led the group down the corridors, toward where I was almost positive the banner was being held. We were practically there when we were met with the first wave of resistance, a group from Fourth Cohort. That was when all hell broke loose.

The Romans fought well on both sides, so we were pretty evenly matched. About half of our group was left in the chaos, but they kept the opponents occupied, allowing me, along with the remaining half, to continue on.

We were met with more resistance along the way, and I was forced to leave a few Romans behind, due to injuries or fighting, and continue on. I'd never liked doing that, be it a game or not, but I had no choice if we wanted to win. It was the only way we wouldn't be overrun.

As we progressed, we were met with hordes of opposition from the other team, and I realized that, maybe, they weren't as ill-prepared as I'd originally thought. Percy's leadership and strategy skills had improved hugely from his years spent at Camp Half-Blood, and probably around me, but he was still a son of Poseidon. He would always be more brawn than brain. I, on the other hand, was a daughter of Athena. Battle strategy was in my blood. It was one of the main things that made me who I was, demigodly speaking at least, and Athena's plans never failed. Mine, well, they sometimes did, but very rarely. This one wasn't about to either.

I'd gone over with the team a basic Greek formation of fighting before the game. It was ridiculously simple and the Romans took to it easily, but the other legionnaires wouldn't know what was going on. In the midst of the chaos that surrounded us, I called for the formation to be made. The Romans obliged, and we pushed through.

We made it to the center of the enemy base and the opposing team's banner was soon ours. As we fought our way out, I led the way, which, boastful as it sounds, helped the team a lot.

I led the Romans a different way than we had come, which helped greatly in avoiding more adversaries. My plan was to get us to the top and exit over the walls from there. We were making progress, and had left the fleet of enemies behind us.

As we reached the top, few guards remained, as most had come after us below. The remaining ones were still engaged in battle with Jason's group, though very few were left. We took down the border patrol fairly easily and kept right on going.

I led what was left of the group around the last corner, and was blasted with enough water to fill the Little Tiber. It blasted me back a good twenty feet at least, almost sending me over the side. Unfortunately, my comrades weren't so lucky. The burst of water sent most of them off the side of the fortress. All I saw were Eagles swooping down to catch them.

I was pretty much alone after that, save two or three legionnaires who had been blasted back much farther than I had. I figured out the reason for this almost immediately.

Percy.

Percy had gone easy on me. I was going to make him pay for it too. He was blocking the exit, but I was glad to assist in moving him. I was soaking wet and out of breath, but I lifted my knife and ran at Percy, who wore an amused smile, probably at my current condition.

"Something funny, Seaweed Brain?" I asked as we began to circle around each other. I didn't give him a chance to respond. The water cannons still exploded with water, but it was less powerful and more unfocused. I was taking up a lot of Percy's concentration, more than anyone else had that night. His expression hardened, focusing in on my movements.

I'm not sure how long we fought like that, but I eventually saw an opening and took it, taking Percy completely by surprise. I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my shoulder, much in the same way I had after I'd first gotten to Camp Jupiter that past June, which was pretty ironic. Percy hit the floor hard, the impact of his armor echoing all around. I clamped my arm over his chest, locked his arms at his sides and held him down. For a split second, my face was inches from his, before my head snapped up, scanning for the banner. There were very few people at the top of the fortress, though the fighting and commotion could still be heard below. As I scanned, my heart sinking more with every second I didn't see it, I heard, "Annabeth!"

I turned, as much as I could with armor and my current position, to see Jason grabbing the banners and holding them high, turning in the direction of the exit.

"Go!" I yelled, though he was already doing just that.

"Cannons!" he yelled over his shoulder, and I knew what he meant. The water canon closest to the son of Jupiter was vibrating from the water pressure as Percy focused solely on it.

"I've got it!" I yelled, "Go!" With that, I leaned forward and kissed Percy, not taking no for an answer, though little persuasion was needed. It was safe to say that my distraction worked, because the sound of rushing water stopped and Percy stopped resisting my hold on him.

Yeah, maybe it wasn't exactly the traditional way, but a minute later, cheering erupted and a laughing Reyna announced that the game was won. Only then, did I let Percy up.

He glared at me, doing his very best to look angry, but his cheeks were still flushed and he still had a faraway look in his eyes, which totally ruined the image. I just smiled sweetly at him.

"Cheater," he accused, like a little kid.

I shrugged, "Athena always has a plan," I told him smugly. Percy rolled his eyes, but gave in to a smile in the end. I chuckled at him, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the exit.

Back in the Field of Mars, the Romans were gathering, some tending their wounds. I received many smiles, along with high fives and handshakes, which seemed oddly normal, like something that Camp Half-Blood campers would do. Jason saw us and approached, grinning.

"Thanks for the help back there," he told me and turned to Percy with an amused expression.

"Don't say anything, Grace," Percy told him, though he was smiling, "You wish you could lose like that." Jason laughed and Percy and I joined in.

As we walked back to Percy's house that night, hands entwined, I couldn't help thinking that I'd actually had fun that night. I hadn't been expecting almost anything that had gone on, though really, that could be said for most of what had happened during our stay at Camp Jupiter.

Tomorrow morning, Percy and I would be heading into San Francisco to spend the rest of our vacation with Sally and Paul, and, as I thought about it, I was blown away with how much my thinking had changed in regards to the Romans in such a short time. I had gone from not even wanting to come, to regretting having to leave in the morning; from generally disliking the Romans, to viewing them as my friends, some even as brothers and sisters.

I had come to Camp Jupiter, expecting rejection and contempt, when, in all actuality, I had received quite the opposite in almost every case. I had hoped to teach them some respect for Athena and her children, but really, I had needed to learn some respect for the them. In the end, it probably went both ways. The Romans probably had learned a little respect for children of Athena, or me at least, and I now definitely held the Romans in much higher regard than I had before.

Honestly, as opposed as I had been to coming on this trip to visit the Roman camp, I'd really needed to go. I'd needed to see that they really were good people, and they deserved to be viewed by me as such.

As I held Percy's hand that night, walking under a starry sky and enjoying our remaining time at Camp Jupiter, I noted just how wrong I'd been before. I'd been extremely wrong, and about so many things, which was unusual for me. I was a daughter of Athena. I was supposed to be wise and intelligent, but in the case of the Romans, I had been far from that. I had been dead wrong. Period.

Normally, being wrong annoyed me to no end, but here, I had learned my lesson, and an important one at that, and I was surprisingly okay with having been so far from the truth. Had it not been for such a mistake, I wouldn't have gotten to experience the Romans in the way that I had, and I wouldn't have met so many great people.

I had needed to visit the Romans this weekend. I had needed to see who they really were and just how great they could be. I had needed to have the fun that I'd had with them, and I'd needed to learn their way of life and experience it for myself. In the end, I'd needed to be wrong, so my point of view could be made right.

I'd needed a new viewpoint.

A new outlook.

A New Perspective.

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