A/N Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so I'm told. If it makes anyone feel any better I had absolutely no contact with any amount of fan fiction in my absence so we all suffered here.
"Normal Speech"
'flashback or thoughts'
Reyna POV
The world seemed to spin as Reyna walked away from all the Giant-Olympian war veterans. It was all she could do to keep a tight grip on Tracy and walk her back to her cabin.
So focused on taking Tracy away that she failed to fully notice where she was going. Her body was on auto pilot. Her destination Poseidon cabin, which would bring too many unwanted questions down upon her.
Fortunately Tracy tugged at her hand and pulled her towards the guest Roman barracks that had been erected in camp and where Reyna often stayed. Of course it was understandable that her mind was in total disarray. She'd just seen someone that many people thought long gone.
It was unbelievable, should be impossible, and a little frightening that Percy was back. Oh yes, unlike some of the other demi-gods that she knew had their doubts, Reyna was certain that man was Percy.
No other demi-god or mortal that she'd ever encountered had the same shade of eyes as Percy. Not even Tracy, who had the same godly parent, albeit in a Roman aspect, had the same eyes as her brother.
Tracy's eyes glittered and sparkled like polished emeralds when happy and only slightly darkened when angry or annoyed.
Percy on the other hand had a base color of jade stone, and when he was angered they darkened and went deep-ocean green. Similar to a tropical storm when seen out at sea, his eyes would darken more the angrier and longer his rage lasted.
Although both siblings had mesmerizing eyes, they were almost opposite shades of green.
On top of that, Reyna had been in many battles alongside Percy. Fights where they watched each other's backs had taught her many of his mannerisms and how he carried himself. Key details that allowed them to fight so well together. They also allowed her to pick him out from a crowd if need be, from his body posture alone.
Those battles allowed her to memorize his walk, his voice, and even his thoughts at times simply by looking at him. When she'd looked at him today, he had displayed clear regret at having to leave and perhaps a little bit of disappointment as well.
What had really clinched it in convincing her that it was indeed Percy was the glimpse at his necklace on his chest. Rather the necklace and what it was directly behind it.
A scar. A scar from a trident wound. One that had been meant for Reyna, meant to take her life.
It had all started with a quest to spy on Gaea and her allies. Somehow Gaea had been tipped off and tried to ambush them. It was as they were beating a hasty retreat that the giant Polybotes had stepped in.
They had been doing well in holding him off since they couldn't kill him without a god. One misstep from Reyna had nearly ended both their lives. She had tripped and fallen on her back and Polybotes had stepped in to take advantage and kill her.
Percy, ever the self sacrificial hero, had jumped in front of the trident and taken it straight to the chest. Luckily this let Reyna throw Greek fire into the giant's eyes and blind him giving them time to escape. Fortune favored them once more as they had been near a river at the time, allowing them both to jump in and try to heal Percy.
Those scars on his chest never faded though, as Polybotes was created to kill Poseidon and any weapon he wielded would be devastating for any of his kin.
Two of the three scars had been revealed when Percy had been lit up by the lightning from his friend. The third was unnecessary to confirm his identity since Tracy had already done that for them.
Finally they reached the Roman quarters. Reyna sat Tracy down on a bed and went in search of a first aid kit. Even if Percy had taken the hit, Reyna still wanted to make sure Tracy wasn't hurt.
It wasn't until she had checked Tracy over for the third time that Reyna worked up the courage to ask. "Why don't you want the rest of them to know about Percy? I know it was him too Tracy. They're his friends, and we all deserve to know that he's really back."
Tracy, clearly uncomfortable under Reyna's gaze played with the hem of her miniature camp shirt. After a few moments the silence got to the little girl and she was forced to answer.
"He made me promise to keep it a secret," she mumbled out quietly, "and I broke that promise by accident already. I don't want my big brother any madder at me than he is. Thalia already made him leave and I know if I say much more he won't want to come back."
Reyna's features softened at hearing the reasons Tracy had silently begged to take her away from the hill. Pulling the little girl into a warm hug she stroked her hair to calm her down. A method that she used ever since she'd met the little girl.
"Please Miss Reyna, I don't want him to be mad that I told his secret and not come back!" Tracy was close to tears now, "So can we keep this a secret? Please?"
Reyna was reminded that Tracy was still very much a little girl. One that was terrified that the big brother she'd been told so much about wouldn't want to be near her anymore.
Even if she was a powerful demi-god because of her heritage, Tracy had all the fears and insecurities that any other child her age would. Especially after her birth mother had pretty much given up on her and refused to raise her. To finally find and meet your older brother only to see him run away would obviously scare her.
She didn't want to be abandoned again. Not after her mother had already done so.
Looking deep into her emerald eyes, Reyna had to explain to Tracy that Percy hadn't left because of her. "He won't be mad at you Tracy. Don't be scared that people found out about him. It's not your fault. If anything he's mad at Thalia right now for scaring you so bad."
"I'll try and keep everyone from asking you anything else ok sweetie? Just calm down and don't be scared of him being mad at you or disappointed in you." Reyna continued as she tried to prevent tears from running down Tracy's cheeks. "I'm sorry about this but I'm pretty sure I know where he's going next and I'm going to go talk to him so I can't stay as long as I wanted to ok?"
Tracy let out a hiccup and a small sob as she nodded her head while buried in Reyna's arms. "Ok. If you see him can you…can you tell him I'm sorry for saying his name?"
"Of course I will. But knowing Percy, he's not mad at all understand? He's just worried that you could have gotten hurt by being around him." Reyna sighed. "Your brother is rather hard headed so I need to go knock some sense into him."
Tracy giggled at that.
Pulling away from the little girl Reyna still had some serious questions to ask. "I know you can't tell me about Percy," Tracy nodded guiltily, "but is there anything you can tell me about his friend? He controls lightning but I didn't think that Jupiter or Zeus had any other kids?"
Crestfallen, Tracy only shook her head. "I'm sorry but I don't know him. He seemed really nice though!" she chirped happily.
Reyna had a small smile on her face at Tracy's lift in mood. "Well, maybe not nice but definitely powerful. I've got to go now ok? I'll be sure to tell everyone to leave you alone though and if they don't want to I'm sure I can get Hazel here in a heartbeat to scare them away. How does that sound?"
The raven haired little girl nodded happily at possibly seeing Hazel.
"I'll watch over her. Don't worry. I might even take her to Lady Hestia. We all know she loves watching Tracy." Nico's voice rang out from the corner of the room.
Reyna immediately froze at being discovered and listened in on. She turned and before she could make excuses about her conversation Nico decided to explain himself.
Hands held in the air in the universal sign of surrender he walked forward and into Reyna's line of sight. "I also figured out that was really Percy. While everyone else was looking at his face I looked for his SPQR tattoo and the trident he tried to slash out. No one but Percy has that scar."
Breathing a sigh of relief Reyna removed her hand from the hidden dagger in her jacket. "So what do you plan to do with that information?"
Nico only shrugged his shoulders in response. "Nothing. I've known Percy for years."
He walked over to a chair and sat down, "If he decided not to stick around and remain hidden all this time, he must have his reasons. Stupid as they may be. So I'm kind of hoping that when you do find him you kick some sense into him for me. I'll keep everyone away from hounding Tracy in the mean time. Fair deal?"
Resigned to accepting his terms Reyna only turned back to hug Tracy one last time. After leaving careful instructions with Nico on what to say to the others she left.
Before pulling out of the parking lot Tracy and Nico caught up to her for a last request. After promising her favorite little girl she would do as asked, she took off as fast as she could to the airport.
Never before had she been so glad that retired Praetors were given a pension as she was now. Arriving at JFK in time to catch the last plane to California she only hoped she could somehow convince Lupa to let her talk to Percy before she attacked.
Demi-gods weren't supposed to ever come back to the Wolf House after finding Camp Jupiter, and Percy well he'd be attacked simply for 'impersonating' a noble hero. Considering Percy was one of the few demi-gods Lupa liked, she wouldn't hesitate to attack anyone foolish enough to dishonor Percy's image.
In case the wolf goddess wasn't feeling particularly chatty, there was always Plan B. She just hoped she had enough time to carry it out.
RotF
Percy POV Sonoma Valley, California 3 days later
Sounds of combat rang across sunny Sonoma Valley. Unlike the last time he'd been here, Percy couldn't even remotely appreciate its beauty.
Sure Jack London's dream home was an impressive and cool land mark, but right now it served as a battle ground for his two friends and himself against a pack of ferocious wolves. The massive ruins of stones and timber beams giving the site an intimidating appearance.
A wolf launched itself at Percy's back while he was distracted.
Heero stepped in and swung his jutte into the wolf's side smirking when he heard a crunch.
Percy and Gunnar were fighting with their bare hands only. Sometimes they used their powers if in a tight spot but neither wanted to give away too much information on how strong they were.
They would use weapons too if not for the fact that Percy didn't want to kill the wolves and both Gunnar and himself only had bladed weapons available. Still not even Percy had predicted that they'd be treated with so much hostility.
"Explain yourself intruder! Who dares to impersonate one of my greatest Praetors and take me for a fool." Lupa howled from her position in front of the Wolf House.
When he'd first shown up, Percy had hoped to gain permission to enter New Rome. Instead, once catching a glimpse of his face and a whiff of his scent, Lupa had ordered an immediate attack on Percy and his friends.
He gritted his teeth in frustration and once more tried to get the attacks from Lupa's wolves to stop. "I already told you, I don't have the time or the authority to reveal anything to you. I just need permission to enter New Rome and speak to the Praetors. I wish no harm upon any of them."
Lupa snorted in disbelief, "If that were true then you would all lay down your weapons and give yourselves up. Pray for a quick and painless death deceiver! Nothing can save you from your fate after committing such a treasonous act."
Sparing a look at Percy's companions she continued with her demands, "Your friends on the other hand shall be handed over to the proper authorities. They will decide their fate. Their coming here was foolish and could have incited a war."
Two wolves tried jumping at Percy, one at each of his sides. Moving quickly he sidestepped one and kicked the other in the underbelly and away from him. Rushing the first wolf he quickly tackled it to the ground and grabbed it in a choke hold.
"Hey captain," Heero called out to him as he struck out at another wolf, "I thought you said your name and image didn't carry much weight with people anymore."
As the wolf stopped struggling in his arms Percy got up and assumed a defensive position, "I thought so too. From what I know many of the hard earned lessons they learned during war were completely forgotten or thrown out the window once it was over. I thought they'd forget me too."
"Yeah what's the deal? When you said that Roman's were a little aggressive I didn't think you meant it was this bad." Gunnar chimed in.
Percy grimaced and punched another wolf in the snout that was trying to tear chunks out of him. "Just be glad Lupa hasn't joined in. That's got to mean something good right?"
Suddenly an enormous winged shadow loomed over Percy. Startled he looked up trying to see its source. What he saw was an enormous eagle common to Camp Jupiter. Riding the eagle were two demi-gods that he couldn't recognize because of the sun in his eyes.
Both of the demi-gods jumped off and landed near Lupa while the eagle dive bombed Percy. Just as Percy was getting ready to jump out of the way the eagle suddenly dropped to the ground and turned into a charging rhino.
Percy panicked as he realized who that was. 'Oh crap. I was hoping I could talk to them face to face not fist to fist. Damn what do I do now?'
He braced himself for what he knew was going to be a difficult fight.
"Whatever happens stay out of this alright guys? And keep the other two out of this too." He called out.
A split second before the rhino ran him over, Percy jumped to the side. Hoping that the momentum from the charge would keep him from turning too quickly, Percy quickly got back to his feet and summoned water from all around him to throw at Frank.
He hadn't counted on Frank getting better at using his powers since the last time they fought. As soon as rhino-Frank had missed Percy he had turned into a swarm of bees and attacked. Thinking fast, Percy cocooned himself in the water in an effort to keep him out.
Frank overcame this by shifting into a silverback gorilla before he hit the water and cocking his enormous fist back to swing at Percy. Percy barely dodged the incoming fist in time by ducking but he didn't escape injury as Frank grabbed him before he could escape. Picking him up by the shoulders, Frank lifted him overhead and threw him into a tree.
Because of the tremendous strength of the gorilla Percy didn't have time to right himself mid air and smashed into the tree. It was only the fact that he was a demi-god that allowed him to stay conscious after such a powerful blow.
Groaning as he picked himself up, Percy wondered how many times his back would meet a tree in the upcoming days. He snapped out of his thoughts quickly as Frank had turned into a bull and charged. Oddly reminiscent of the time he fought the Minotaur Percy jumped as Frank got near him and landed on his back. Displaying enormous strength Percy grabbed him by the horns and pulled Frank's head back hoping to in some way subdue him.
It was a futile hope though, because Frank transformed into a kangaroo and Percy slid off of him. Whacking him with his tail before quickly turning to face him Frank then melded back into his human form.
Frank still sported the buzz cut military type hairstyle that he'd worn since they first met. His face had lost some of the baby fat he'd somehow managed to keep all throughout the last war and he still had a muscular build. That however was where any similarities to his past self ended.
Now he held himself with quiet confidence evident in his body posture. He wasn't carrying a bow or any weapon but then again he didn't really need it with his particular set of powers. He still wore his centurion medal from long ago but had forsaken his praetor cloak to come and face Percy. Only his body armor and purple camp shirt showed he wasn't just some tourist visiting the Wolf House. Luckily he wasn't wearing the leather skirts and sandals of ancient Rome and instead wore jeans and sneakers.
Not bothering to look away from his foe, Percy knew that his friends must be battling the other two demi-gods from Camp Jupiter. He could feel the heat from Gunnar firing off fireballs and the electricity in the air from Heero using his lightning.
This was not how things were supposed to go. What he wanted was a chance to talk to Hazel and Frank the current Praetors and convince them to help him. Instead he was attacked by Lupa before he ever reached camp and now had to face Frank in battle and hopefully convince him to help after it was all over.
Judging from the explosions going on around him, that was becoming less and less likely by the minute.
"Who are you and why are you attacking our sacred ground?" Frank asked suspicion clear in his voice.
Frowning at the implication of attacking Lupa and her wolves first Percy nevertheless stayed silent. Frank was a level headed leader true, but Percy didn't want to explain his quest for the Keys here where anyone could overhear him. The less people that knew the better.
"Answer me! How dare you mock us by trying to look like our friend Percy. Was it a titan that put you up to this? Who was it?!" Frank demanded.
Percy kept his silence.
Frank scowled at receiving no reply. "Fine, we were told you were the leader anyway so all I have to do is capture you and we can get some answers."
Frank turned into a lion but didn't attack. Instead he circled around Percy waiting for an opening.
Percy kept an eye on him and moved around so he wouldn't have his back to Frank but he was still surprised when instead of attacking Frank roared.
Startled at hearing the king of the jungle's battle cry Percy jumped backwards and into the shade of a tree.
It was a costly mistake. The moment he felt a blade at his neck he knew he had been out maneuvered. Raising his hands in surrender he only had one question. "How?"
A smooth voice with a slight southern accent answered, "I am Hazel Levesque daughter of Pluto, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. That is all you need to know."
'Typical. I of course have to get captured by two of the strongest demi-gods Camp Jupiter has to offer.' Percy thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.
He took a second to take in Hazel's appearance. Long curly brown hair now pulled into a pony tail, and golden eyes that held a fierce determination. Those were the immediate traits he picked up on as he looked over his shoulder.
Of course she was now taller so the spatha at his neck didn't look quite as comical as when they first met. She like Frank had foregone the purple cloak of her station and wore only a purple camp shirt, jeans, sneakers and her eagle medal.
Percy looked over at his comrades expecting to see them both unconscious. Instead what he saw made him vow to make Gunnar go through the gauntlet one more time as he'd apparently surrendered to his opponent and was now sitting down under the shade of another tree.
Heero was looking around warily, whether this was to keep an eye on the wolves that were surrounding them all, or to try and find Hazel whose blade was now at Percy's neck remained to be seen.
Frank moved forward in his human form as he saw that Percy was at Hazel's mercy. "Now that we have you in front of us maybe we can get some answers."
Looking between Frank and Hazel and still trying to identify the third demi-god, Percy decided to play nice. "I'll answer any questions you have but only in private with the two of you."
Slowly lowering his hands to show he wasn't a threat, Percy grabbed a hold of his necklace and offered it to Hazel who was still behind him. "Here is my weapon. I'll let you hold on to it and I'll ask my friends to surrender."
Before either of the two Praetors could react, Percy was viciously slapped by the third Roman demi-god. Not having a chance to face his attacker he doubled over in pain from a knee to the stomach from said attacker. An enraged female voice he vaguely recognized through the pain started to berate him.
"Why! Why did you leave after Tracy said your name? Do you have any idea how worried she is?! Well. Do you?! She's terrified that her only other family member would abandon her just like her mother did. What do you have to say for yourself Perseus Otis Jackson?" the girl he now recognized as Reyna demanded.
He heard Heero in the background snicker and ask with barely restrained glee, "Otis? Seriously captain? Lame."
Glaring half heartedly at his friend Percy swore he'd get him back for that later. He also regretted ever letting Reyna know what his embarrassing middle name was. She was the only person he'd ever told, and now he was tempted to pull out HER equally embarrassing middle name just to spite her.
Rolling over onto his back after he'd fallen on the ground he looked up at Reyna, Frank and Hazel who still had her sword out. "Nice to see you too Reyna." He let out sarcastically, "How have you been? I'm just dandy by the way thanks for asking."
Hazel and Frank shared a mild look of confusion at how calm he was.
"Reyna. Look I know you still visit Rome every year, but… look you have to understand that this isn't Percy. He told me what he was going to do and it's impossible for him to ever come back." Frank pleaded.
Hazel added her own opinion, "You told us that he might resemble someone we know and we should capture him alive, but I didn't think he would fool you into thinking it was Percy."
Apparently the reason neither of the two current Praetors were as shocked as the Camp Half-blood councilors was because Reyna had talked to them beforehand.
Glaring coldly at Percy still, Reyna reached into the pocket of her jeans. "It is him Frank. I have proof."
Not doubting that she did indeed somehow have proof, Percy interrupted before she could pull it out. "I request a private setting for the talk we're about to have. I promise neither I nor my friends will make any moves to try and harm anyone. We only want to talk."
Hazel pulled imperial gold manacles out of her bag she was carrying and threw them at Percy and his friends. "Put those on and then we can talk."
Heero snapped the manacles on without a moments hesitation and kicked Gunnar in order to get him to do it too. Percy wasn't the only one annoyed that he'd been sitting under a tree.
"Man. I should've just gone to Canada instead." Gunnar whined sullenly.
"Yeah about that… captain thinks you skipped out on purpose. Add that you just sat here under the tree while we fought and he looks none too happy right now." Heero told him with a devious smirk on his face.
Paling after catching the dark look on Percy's face, Gunnar cursed himself for being foolish enough to tag along. "Yeah definitely should have gone to Canada."
After traveling to a Roman safe house that they usually used as a rest stop for quests Frank, Hazel and Reyna brought their prisoners inside to start their interrogation.
Percy and the others were led to a wooden bench against a wall and sat down while Reyna and the Praetors remained standing.
Frank stood between his fellow Romans and started the inquisition. "Introduce yourselves. Then explain why you felt it was a good idea to attack Roman sacred ground."
Heero went first. "I am Heero Yuy. Son of Raijin god of thunder and lightning."
Understanding how he could control lightning now the three Romans were confused about why he referred to Zeus or Jupiter as Raijin.
The guy with long black hair tied into a short ponytail and unsettling green eyes spoke up next. "Gunnar Strife. Son of Loki god of fire, magic, and trickery."
This was even more confusing for the Roman trio. Clearly he was a son of Hephaestus or Vulcan and like Leo had been blessed with control over fire. Why did he say he was a son of Loki?
Taking a deep breath Percy dropped what he knew would be a bombshell. "Percy Jackson." Ignoring Heero's quiet snicker of 'Perseus Otis Jackson' he forged on, "Former son of Poseidon, champion of Ryujin, Hapi, and Rán."
All three of Percy's old friends were stunned at this revelation. Although this didn't mean Reyna missed the slight look of guilt that crossed Heero's face when Percy said 'former son'.
Hazel recovered quickest and grew angry. "Lies! Percy is gone. How dare you try and use his name to fool us. Mentioning all these other names for gods as your parents. Have you Greeks no shame? Isn't all the harm you've done enough?!"
Reyna grabbed Hazel before she could pummel Percy or any of his friends. Silently she reached into her pocket to pull out what Tracy had given her a few short days ago.
"He's telling us the truth Hazel. Here's the proof." In her hand Reyna held Percy's old camp necklace. All the beads since Percy had joined were on it, so was his probatio tablet from when he first joined Camp Jupiter.
The most important thing on the necklace though, one that could not be forged or copied was the band of silver etched with a sword and torch design. A ring with the mark of Bellona, Reyna's mother. The very same ring Reyna had given Percy on his first quest where he met the Amazons and had turned it over to Queen Hylla.
Hylla had taken it for what it was. Acceptance from her sister and a reminder that though they may walk different paths Reyna still cared deeply for her sister.
Reyna had gotten the ring back during the war after Percy risked life and limb to bring Hylla's body back after she fell in battle. Percy had helped her through her grief. A few weeks later on his 18th birthday Percy discovered the fate of his mother and stepfather along with the demise of Tyson. It had then been Reyna's turn to help Percy grieve.
She had given him her ring, to show him that even if his family was gone there were still many who cared about him. He swore never to take it off and the war had taken a turn for the better as opposed to total slaughter like before.
Percy's face showed no emotion. "Where did you get that."
"Tracy." Was Reyna's reply.
Frank and Hazel knew of the significance of the ring. Reyna gifting the ring had been the only thing able to snap Percy out of the spiral of depression he was going into. They knew he would never willingly take it off nor allow anyone to try and copy it.
They also knew for a fact that Percy had worn that same necklace to the final battle against Gaea. If the necklace was somehow back then that left the very real possibility that the person in front of them was in fact their friend Percy Jackson.
Hazel started to pace in order to try and organize her thoughts. "How did Tracy get it?"
"I gave it to her. The day she was first taken to Camp Half-blood and attacked by the Bear Twins. In order to get her to trust me and also to promise to keep quiet about what happened I gave her my most valuable possession. It wasn't enough as I had to promise to come back and visit sometime too if she kept quiet." Percy explained.
Frank scowled as this explained why she'd been so tight lipped about that day.
Reyna nodded. "Yes that's what she told me too. And I'm happy that you gave it to her Percy. She values it very much, she told me how important it was to you and that's why she knew that one day you would be back."
Percy slumped in his seat. "Then why did she give it up? No offense, I know it's rightfully yours but why did she give it to you now?"
Reyna lowered herself to Percy's level and looked him in the eyes. "She thinks you're disappointed in her and ran away because she accidentally blurted out your name at camp. She broke her promise and understands if you want it back now. She says she's very sorry and wouldn't let me leave without it. She was in tears because of what happened Percy."
Percy looked devastated at hearing how upset he'd made his sister. "Tell her… tell her it's my fault not hers and that I want her to keep it. It really is my most valuable possession and since she now knows about me I want her to have something of mine."
Smiling at how much Percy valued her ring Reyna nodded and tucked the necklace back into her pocket.
Frank chose to interrupt. "Look I'm sorry to cut this emotional moment short but that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. First off, how are you here Percy and what does this mean about Gaea? Second: why did you try and keep your identity secret when meeting Jason and us when simply walking up to our gates would have granted you instant access. And third, why are your friends," waving a hand in their direction, "calling the gods weird names. I didn't know of any other aspects besides Roman and Greek."
Hazel let Frank finish before she added one last question. "Fourth: why are you really here? What's your goal? I know from personal experience that reviving or bringing someone back to life for something usually spells bad news."
All three seated demi-gods straightened as it was time to get down to business. Exhaling a deep breath Percy looked each of his friends in the eyes, "Tell me. What do you know about where gods get there power from? In other words what allows gods and monsters to exist in the first place?"
A/N This chapter just did not want to be written. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and we are finally getting into action stages of Percy's revival. As always don't forget to review on your way out!
