I had been practicing with the powers I was given. Somehow some came to me instictively while others I had to work on. One time I was accidentally consumed with flames in the middle of the mess hall but I held my ground. When the flames died down I was dangerously close to the Little Tiber and I immediately took a step back; crashing into someone.
"Oof! What the hell Jackson? How the hell did you do that?" The person, now identified as Reyna, shouted loudly.
"What?" I was confused out of my mind as to what just happened.
"You appeared out of nowhere in a burst of flames!" Reyna screeched.
"I have no idea. I was just consumed in flames at the mess hall and when I shut my eyes closed I somehow appeared here..." I explained with bewilderment.
"When are you leaving for your quest?"
"At noon in ten minutes so I must be off." I turned but Reyna grabbed my hand forcing me to turn back.
"You know Percy, I really could use another good praetor. In a few months time I hope that you can fill that spot. We could do great things together. There are other things that come with being a praetor. It's been almost a month since Jason disappeared so perhaps..." she trailed off and I realized what she was thinking.
"Sorry but I have to decline. I have no need for a relationship right now. What I need first is my memories. I have a feeling that I should know this praetor Jason but I don't remember and finding my memories could be the key to finding your lost boyfriend. I don't think he'd appreciate it if he found out you even considered cheating on him." I said before turning around and leaving a dumbfounded praetor standing behind. I stopped and remarked, "I do remember reading that the only women in Rome who wore togas were prostitutes. Perhaps you didn't mean it how I first thought and you meant I could pay for your body. Either way I won't have it."
I looked at her to see rage in her eyes, "Did you just accuse me of being a whore?"
"Actually, I believe I did. Take off that damned toga already and stop trying to 'get' with me." I turned around just as I saw her ripping the toga off with rage. I parted the river and walked across leaving a furious Reyna glaring daggers at me. I walked through the tunnel and waited outside of the camp.
It was obvious that Frank had a crush on Hazel but I was pretty sure she doesn't replicate those feelings. She has a look on her face that I see in the mirror everyday. From the small things I could glean from my lack of memories it was look of despair because of one who had lost someone they loved and thought would spend the rest of their days with them. True love they call it. I know vaguely that there was someone who I had lost of whom I loved; be it to treason, death or both. I felt sorry for my nephew knowing that he would never get what he wanted. I may not have my memories but I just know.
Frank and Hazel both came stumbling out of the tunnel. We originally decided to wait outside the barracks but I changed it later on to being right outside the camp to save time. The two guards who were on duty nodded to us but said nothing.
"Reyna was pissed. She was muttering curses about you in Latin for some reason." Frank said.
"Eh? Oh! Probably just because I called her a whore... Long story, nevermind." I quickly said.
"You called the praetor of the legion a whore?" One of the guards finally asked after a second or two of shocked silence.
"Yea. She was trying to seduce me and she wears a toga. The only women in Rome who are supposed to wear togas are prostitutes. I wasn't sure if she wanted me to pay or actually wanted to date me. Either way I would have said no." I explained and they all looked shocked.
"Dude! Are you gay or something? How can you refuse Reyna? She's the hottest badass in the world! It doesn't matter if it were all an act for her to sell her body, I would still tap that. So she's a whore, huh? Perhaps it's time our watch was replaced and we go check out the praetor and her prices." The guard and his mate rushed off through the tunnel. I could not believe their stupidity but guessed that they were probably sons of Mars.
"This is gonna end badly... Let's go before we have an angry praetor chasing us with phallic shaped weapons in hand." I joked before running off.
"Those sons of mars really are idiots aren't they?" Frank asked, "I really hope my parent is Apollo."
I just shook my head and walked off as Hazel and Frank scrambled to catch me she yelled, "Are you freaking kidding me? We're going to walk there?"
"How'd you guess? For a child of the big three and a legacy of the big three you guys are quite chubby. You can't work those muscles properly without getting rid of that baby fat." I explained without looking towards them.
"I'm not fat." I heard Frank grumble and I laughed.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night Frank." Hazel joked.
"You're one to talk Hazel." I said with a truthful tone to my voice.
"Hey! Since when were you the expert!" Hazel complained.
"You think walking that distance is hard? You should try running from east to west coast. It's not fun. That's not even hard compared to my Spartan training regime. You should see what it does to Aphrodite kids." I ramble but then stopped. I didn't remember any of this but it rolled off my tongue as if I had said it many times before.
"Spartan? Aphrodite? Seriously dude; what's with up with the Greek shit?" Frank was confused but when I looked at Hazel she didn't look confused at all.
"I don't know. It just rolled my Tongue. Like I said I have no memories." Frank went silent but I heard Hazel whisper to Frank that she would explain something to him later.
I suddenly felt an aura of hatred approaching and I yet again stopped and growled like a wolf. I just wanted to grab something and rip it to shreds but I managed to keep my temper under control.
"What is it Perce?" Hazel asks.
I saw a biker approaching us and I growled angrily, "Ares!"
"What did you call me you filfthy Greek?" The man snarled, "How the fuck do you even know about the Romans anyways punk? Oh and I'm Mars not Ares!"
"How's the ankle, Ares? Still sore from when I defeated you when I was twelve?" I had no idea what I was saying but it just spilled out of my subconciousness.
"Ares is nowhere near as poweful as me! You should not test me! I could crush you in seconds!" I snorted at that and sized him up. To be honest he didn't really look like much. He wore Canadian military uniform and had a large rifle slung over his back. Pinned to his chest was an excessive amount of grenades.
"Big talk for a small man! You want to test that?" I snarled and the other two were backing away while Frank was confused out of his mind. I knew Ares would not smite someone and preferred to fight them in combat.
"You have a small amount of respect from me time god! You don't want to lose it!" Ares snarled, "Besides I'm only here because my son is on this quest and I wanted you guys to have a mode of transport! Looks like now you'll have to duel me to get it!"
"Oh what? You going to put me in another 'humane' animal cargo truck?" I snarled.
"No! This is a car we're talking about!" Without warning he pulled the rifle off his back a turned it into a greatsword. I smirked as a scythe appeared in my hand. He just loosed a bit of imformation that I could possibly have powers over time, and if I did, I was going to use it.
I took a practice swipe before stepping forward. Frank's eyes were as wide as watermelons. He obviously wasn't happy with being a son of Mars but seemed more in shock about my eyes, "Your eyes! They're solid gold! There are no whites!"
I smirked and swiped at Mars who in turn blocked with his greatsword. I attacked again and skill with a scythe seemed to come natural to me. However my muscles strained in protest at the different style of fighting and I guessed that it wasn't my usual weapon of choice. I quickly turned it into a trident and lunged at Mars who deftly span away. I flew past him a few meter before turning back to him.
He raised his sword and ball of red energy charged up at the end. My eyes widened as that was the one thing I least expected him to do. I swiftly stabbed my trident forward into air and a ball of golden energy charged up on the tip of the centre spike. Suddenly the energy balls exploded towards each other and met in the middle while we kept charging them up. It looked like some kind of fight scene out of Harry Potter. My ball of energy was pushing towards him but I could feel my energy fading and I knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer. With one final scream I pushed the energy all the way to Mars and he screamed out in pain. Suddenly he collapsed to the ground as I released the energy; feeling as if I had just run a marathon around the world a hundred times.
I stumbled over to him, drawing energy from the godly-grade weapon. Each time I brought the butt of the trident down to the ground a ripple of seismic energy shot outwards but I did not care as I used it like a walking cane. The trident was similar to my father's one in so many ways and the only two weapons more powerful were Jupiter's master bolt and Neptune's trident. I guess the Helm of Darkness doesn't count as a weapon. While Jupiter's lightning bolt had the most explosive power over a large area, my father's trident could kill anything if it so much as sinks a quarter of an inch into it and almost no armor was tough enough to stop it.
I held the three points of the trident to his neck and snarled, "Yield?"
In response he spat in my face. That angered me and I gave him one long cut down the face with a sharp trident spike. He cried out as if it cause more pain than it should. Something in the back of my mind told me that it shouldn't be able to do that anymore.
"I yield! I yield! Please have mercy! Don't make me fade! Please!" He cried out in desperation and I was confused when he said that I could make him fade.
"What do you mean fade?" I questioned threateningly.
"T-th-that weapon, can make g-gods fade!" He stuttered out terrified.
"Swear by the goddess Styx you won't tell anyone else that or I will make you fade!" I was a bit scared that with such great power Jupiter would blast me to pieces.
"I swear on the river Styx to the above!" He screamed.
"The goddess! She deserves honor yet you Olympians treat her as nothing more than a river and ignore the punishments for not keeping to the oath! The oath of the goddess is much more binding and forces you into punishment if you choose to act against the oath!" I bellowed at his lack of respect for the goddess.
"I swear by the goddess Styx not to tell anyone else what that weapon can do!" He cried out with desperation. I could see tears trickling down his cheeks. Thunder louder than the usual oath of Styx boomed and I grinned sadistically; making him shrink in fear.
"Good now car keys?" I held out a hand as he got up. He fished out a ring a tossed it to me.
I narrowed my eyes at him and he panicked saying, "Place it on the ground and a car will appear! Goodbye I have to clean up my face before my 'date' with Venus."
I once again leveled my trident at his throat and he gulped, "One more thing... Swear by the goddess Styx that you will dump Vulcan and Hephaestus's wife; Aphrodite and Venus today, and never have physical or romantic relations with her again."
He had the nerve to retort, "You expect me to dump the most beautiful woman in the world and never have sex with the goddess who practically throws herself at every man she sees? You must be bloody mad to think I would dump my girlfriend."
"Your girlfriend has a husband." The side of me I inherited from my adoptive mother shined though a little.
"Never in a million years would I dump her. That's what makes her such an interesting girlfriend to have!" I jabbed his throat a little drawing a small amount of ichor that made him yelp again. It got the point across because he quickly swore the oath before rushing to his Harley Davidson and speeding off at what sounded like was past the speed of sound.
I turned back to Hazel and Frank to find them staring with shock. They both looked terrified as I put the trident away. "What are my eyes like now?"
Frank hesitantly responded, "No longer solid gold but your eyes are no longer sea green. The irises are gold colored; like Hazels, only a much richer tone of gold." I nodded before placing the ring on the ground and imagining a four door Lexus SUV. Sure enough: there it was. I didn't bother trying to pick the lock as I ripped the door clean off and clambered in the fresh smelling space. To my surprise after a couple seconds the door appeared back on it's hinges and fully repaired from the several dents I gave it by throwing it like a discus. The other two got in, in a more civillized manner but they still seemed a bit wary.
"Don't worry I promise not to hurt you guys." I reassured them, not that it helped. Suddenly I heard shouting from Caldecotte tunnel a few yards back.
"Jackson! I'm going to kill you!" Reyna screamed as she ran out of the tunnel holding a mace. The funny thing was the shape of it. It was the shape of a certain part of the male anatomy but she didn't seem to realize it, "You told this guards I was whore!"
I pulled found a portable camera on the dashboard and used it to snap a shot of Reyna holding the phallus shaped mace. Giggling I flipped her the bird and drove off with an angry praetor screaming abuse.
"Why are you giggling so much?" Hazel asked.
"Nothing. Just the fact that I just took a photo of Reyna holding a phallus shaped mace like I predicted earlier." I said and Frank's eyes widened as he gave me a high five.