Warning: Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Magical Labyrinth' as well as the one shots 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Stolen Chariot' The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Sword of Hades', 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Bronze Dragon' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Last Olympian' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Staff of Hermes' 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero' and 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Quest for Buford' before reading this story as stuff that happened in them will be mentioned. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.

A/N (I recommend reading this): I'm going to MAKE THIS CLEAR. Just like I mention on my bio page about every other fanfiction I done: I DON'T OWN THE PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIAN SERIES OR IT'S CHARACTERS as the rights goes to Rick Rioran. Also I suggest you guys start paying attention to the Author notes and my warnings that I left on EVERY chapter of EVERY story.

Keep in mind it would be hard to be original with Hazel's and Frank's Flashbacks in this story. Sorry if this chapter is too much like the book

Percy's POV Part VI

The Senate House interior looked like a high school lecture hall. A semicircle of tiered seats faced a dais with a podium and two chairs. The chairs were empty, but one had a small velvet package on the seat.

Hazel, Frank and I sat on the left side of the semicircle. The ten senators and Nico di Angelo occupied the rest of the front row. The upper rows were filled with several dozen ghost and adult demigods and legacies that Hazel told me were veterans acting as advisers. Each of them were wearing formal togas. Octavian stood in front with a knife and a beanie babies of a lion. I guess he planned to consult the gods twice just in case. Reyna walked to the podium and raised her hand for attention.

"Right, this is an emergency meeting," she said. "We won't stand on formalities."

"I love formalities!" a ghost complained.

Reyna shot him a cross look.

"First of all," she said. "we're not here to vote on the quest itself. The quest has been issued by Mars Ultor, patron of Rome. We will obey his wishes. Nor are we here to debate who he chosen to be Frank Zhang's companions."

"But all three of them are from the Fifth Cohort?" called out Hank from the Third. "That's not fair."

"And not smart," said the boy next to him. "We know the Fifth will mess up. They should take somebody good."

Dakota got up so fast, he spilled Kool-Aid from his flask. "You thought Percy Jackson was good enough swordsman to join your table last night. Not to mention we were plenty good last night when we whipped your podex, Larry!"

True. Right before the games, Larry was one of the few males who suggested I join their tables where—in their terms—the real heroes sit.

"Enough, Dakota," Reyna said. "Let's leave Larry's podex out of this. Now Mars said that his claimed son Frank Zhang to lead the quest."

A ghost from the second row yelled, "Absurdus! Frank isn't even a full member of the legion. He's on probatio. Son of Mars Ultor or not, a quest must be led by someone of centurion rank or higher. This is completely—"

"Cato," Reyna snapped. "We must obey the wishes of Mars Ultor. There's an opening for centurion," she said. "One of our officers, also a senator, has decided to step down after ten years of the legion and retire to the city, attend college and allowed certain arrangements needed for this quest in return that the recently added camper Percy Jackson earn his first stripe for being the only one who first step up to remove the pilum from her. Although it was a small deed, I have agreed since his method of snapping a pilum in half made it easier to remove. Gwen of the Fifth Cohort, we thank you for your service, and will follow through your request."

I find myself blushing. All I did was make it easier for the pilum to be removed.

There was an explosion of protest about how I fought unroman like and water cannon up their nose, and how I just joined last night, but Reyna flashed a glare at them that ended it.

"We'll start with the new Centurion," Reyna said.

She clapped her hands, and Octavian came forward. He set down his knife and Beanie Babies and took the velvet package from the chair.

"Frank Zhang," he said, "come forward."

Frank glanced nervously at me. Then he got to his feet and approached the augur.

"It is my… pleasure," Octavian said, forcing the word, "to bestow upon you the Mural Crown for being the first over the wall in the siege of warfare." Octavian handed him a bronze badge shaped like a laurel wreath. "Also, by the order of Praetor Reyna, to promote you to the rank of centurion."

He handed Frank another badge, a bronze crescent, and the senate exploded in protest—which was awfully like how they responded to me.

"Silence!" Octavian said in a commanding. "Our praetor recognizes that no one below the rank of centurion may lead the quest. For good or ill, Frank must lead this quest—so our praetor decreed that Frank Zhang must be made centurion. Just as it was her decision to let a son of Neptune earn his first stripe after one small deed."

I quickly realized that Octavian just crafted his words to make Reyna the blame, especially if Frank and I mess up. I clutched my knee, wishing I had my sword, but stayed calm.

By the looks of it, Reyna looked like she wanted to slay Octavian too as an irritation flashed across her face. "Frank Zhang, your ID, please."

Frank removed the lead tablet from around his neck and handed it to Octavian.

"Your arm," Octavian said.

Frank held up his forearm. Octavian raised his hands to the heavens. "We accept Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, to the Twelfth Legion Fulminata for his first year of service. Do you pledge your life to the senate and people of Rome?"

Frank muttered something like "Uh-dud." Then he cleared his throat and manage: "I do."

The senators shouted, "Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

Fire blazed on Frank's arm. For a moment his eyes filled with terror, and I was afraid my friend might mass out. Then the smoke and flame died, and new marks were seared into Frank's skin: SPQR, an image of crossed spears and a single stripe, representing the first year of service.

"You may sit down." Octavian glanced at the audience as if saying: This is not my idea folks. Then he yelled: "Percy Jackson."

I got up and headed toward the annoying augur. When I passed Frank, he was still looking at the marks on his forearm, which were still steaming.

Octavian took out tablet that looked like the one I have excepted it was purple and have the title: Legionnaire instead of Probatio. It still had the Latin translation of Assistant Sword Fighting Instructor, which I guess makes sense since I haven't had time to learn the Roman style which caused quite a riot last night.

"Percy Jackson, your ID please," Reyna said.

I removed my tablet from my necklace which felt odd since I gotten used to it.

"Your arm," Octavian said.

I showed my forearm like I saw Frank did.

Octavian then waved his hands to the heavens and said: "We accept Percy, Son of Neptune, to the Twelfth Legion Fulminata for his first year of service. Do you pledge your life to the senate and people of Rome?"

I still didn't feel like I belong here, but I remember what Juno said about how I would gain my memories if I achieve here. Maybe if I did this, it would get me closer to getting the rest of my memories back.

"I do," I said.

The senators shouted, "Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

Flames blazed on my arm. I thought I would feel searing pain, but it felt more like a stinging feeling like I just removed my hand after touching a hot stove.

When it was over there was images of SPQR, a trident representing Neptune and a single stripe, representing the first year of service.

"You may sit down now," Octavian said after handing me my new tablet without giving the crowd one of his smirks despite the fact that he used me to make Reyna look bad.

I thought back to what Octavian said about knowing about my Mark of Achilles and weak point and a thought occurred to me: Is it possible he saw this coming?

As odd as it sounded, for some reason I believed it. Octavian was the legacy of the god of prophecies, so it might be possible.

However, instead of making me scared, it made me angry. Octavian was using his powers to scare people. He was abusing his powers for his own gain. And that made my blood boil.

I placed it back on my necklace as I head back to my seat.

"We must discuss the quest," Reyna said.

I did not want to look at my marks. For some reason, I started to feel like I may have been closer to getting my memories, but farther away from the place I felt like I belong at.

When I got back to my seat Hazel was pinning Frank's new badges to his shirt.

"Congratulations," Frank said.

"Thanks, you two man," I responded. "Too be honest I don't think I earn my first stripe though."

"Most don't, but obviously Gwen thought you do," Hazel said. "And you must of impressed Reyna to get her to agree with Gwen too."

"Maybe you should have been Centurion," Frank said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You deserve the rank, man. What you did last night? Natural leadership."

Frank scowled. "But centurion—"

"Centurion Zhang," called Octavian. "Did you hear the question?"

Frank blinked. "Um… sorry. What?"

Octavian smirked at the senate and smirked, like What did I tell you?

"I was asking," Octavian said like he was talking to a three-year-old, "if you have a plan for the quest. Do you even know where you are going?"

"Um…"

Hazel put her hand on Frank's shoulder and stood. "Weren't you listening last night, Octavian? Mars was pretty clear. We're going to the land beyond the gods—Alaska."

The senators squirmed in their togas. Some of the ghost shimmered and disappeared. Even Reyna's metal dogs rolled over on their backs and whimpered.

Finally, Senator Larry stood. "I know what Mars said, but that's crazy. Alaska is cursed! They call it the land beyond the gods for a reason. It's so far north, the Roman gods have no power there. The place is swarming with monsters."

"It doesn't matter," I stood up. "Your eagle is up there right? I wouldn't be surprise if the enemy Mars Ultor mention has it right now, using it to lure Romans there like a faun to the Golden Fleece."

"That's a strange way to put it," Octavian joked.

"The point is: if the enemy is holding Thantos, chances are they're holding him at the same place they're holding the eagle. Since it's our quest to free Thantos, if the Eagle is with him, then as members of the Cohort that lost the eagle, it's only right we're the ones who bring it back, along with all the weapons we lost."

Many senators nodded as it was true.

Octavian sighed in exasperation. "And how do you expect to do that and get back by the Feast of Fortuna? That's the evening of the twenty-fourth. It's the twentieth now. Do know you know where to look? Do you even know who this enemy is?"

"Yes." Hazel spoke with such certainty that even I was surprised. "I don't know exactly where to look, but I have a pretty good idea. The son of Gaea and the giant bane of Pluto name is Alcyoneus."

The name seemed to lower the temperature in the room by fifty degrees. The senators shivered."

Reyna gripped her podium. "How do you know this, Hazel? Because you're a child of Pluto?"

Nico di Angelo, who been so quiet during the meeting I forgot he was there, stood in his black toga.

"Praetor, I may," he said. "Hazel and I… we learned a little about the giants from our father. Each giant was bred specifically to oppose one of the twelve Olympian gods—to usurp the god's domain. The king of the giants was Porphyrion, the anti-Jupiter. But the eldest giant was Alcyoneus. He was born to oppose Pluto. That's why we know him in particular."

Reyna frowned. "Indeed? You sound quite familiar with him."

Nico picked at the edge of his toga. "Anyway… the giants were hard to kill. According to the prophecy, they could only be defeated by gods and demigods working together."

Dakota belched. "Sorry, did you say gods and demigods… like fighting side by side? That could never happen!"

"Actually Dakota, they did during the first Giant war," I said a wave of memory of ancient stories ran through my head and the burning sensation from my new tattoos returned, "In fact, your own father: now known as Lord Bacchus, was a demigod himself who fought alongside the Olympians against two giants and earned his place among the Olympians."

Dakota along with a few veterans who I guess were either demigods or legacies of Bacchus, shifted around. There were even a few Lares who disappeared.

"And it wasn't just lord Bacchus," I continued. "Hercules himself was called into battle and aided the Olympians to destroy many of the giants—including Alcyoneus. Right Nico?"

Nico nodded. "That's right. It was difficult as Alcyoneus was thought to impossible to kill by god and demigod. But Hercules learned that Alcyoneus was only immortal as long as he's in his home territory—the place where he was born—which at the time was Greece, Hercules was able used to his advantage by removing the giant from Greece."

Nico paused for a bit. "But Percy, if the rules apply for him being reborn in Alaska—that could still be a problem."

"He wouldn't be able to be defeated," Hazel stated. "Ever. By any means. Which is why our nineteen-eighties expedition was doomed to start."

"That's because they didn't have the greatest heroes from their generation," I said.

"Oh, here we go again," Octavian said.

"When Lord Bacchus and Hercules help the Olympians defeated the Giants they became so great as heroes they earned immortality," I said. "Mars Ultor said that Frank, Hazel and I are destined to be great heroes as well. The fact that he's sending us to Alaska only confirms that our path to our destiny starts with the defeat of Alcyoneus in order to free Thantos and save the camp."

Half of the crowd cheered while the other half yelled and complained.

"Silence!" Reyna called—although I could tell from her expression she was impressed.

"It's still not that easy, Percy," Nico said, "Even if we free Thantos, there's still the situation about the Doors of Death being open. The Doors of Death are personal doors of Thantos, his fast lane between Life and Death. Only Thantos is supposed to know where they are, and the location shifts over the ages. And if Gaea has seized control over the dead she can pick and choose who to let out—the worst monsters, the evilest souls. If we rescue Thantos, that means at least he can catch souls again and send them below. Monsters will die when we kill them, like they used to, and we'll get a little breathing room. But unless we're able to retake the Doors of Death, our enemies won't stay down for long. They'll have an easy way back to the world of the living. They'll be back."

"But Thantos knows where the doors are, right? If we find him, he can retake them," Frank said.

"I don't think so," Nico said. "Not alone. He's no match for Gaea. That would take the massive quest… an army of the best demigods."

"The seven greatest heroes of our generation… possibly ever known," I said.

Reyna's eyes widened as fear struck her. "The Prophecy of Seven…" She looked at me as if seeing the connections of the line I remember. "If this begins the ancient prophecy, we don't have any resources to send an army to these Doors of Death and protect the camp. I can't imagine even sparing seven demigods—"

"I'm certain the other four will appear when the time is right for us to assemble," I stated. "But first thing first, we still have the quest on hand: to free Thantos and getting back by Feast of Fortuna."

"Do you have a plan for that?" Octavian asked. "Because before you were just spouting out what needed to be done."

I looked at my teammates. Too be honest, I wanted to follow Annabeth's advice to stay put, but I can't leave these two on their own. Instead I made a silent vow to find Annabeth after the Feast of Fortuna. "We go to Alaska as fast as possible…"

"And we improvise," Hazel said.

"A lot." Frank said in a small voice.

Reyna studied us with a scared look.

"Very well," she said. "Nothing remains except for us to vote what support we can give the quest—transportation, money, magic, weapons."

"Praetor, if I may," Octavian said.

"Well for starters, a boat would due," I interrupted.

"A boat?" Octavian asked.

"That's right. Hazel told me Romans don't like using sea travel but does use it if needed. And since the enemy is invaded by land, then we can travel by sea and spare the camp any chariot, giant eagles, pegasus, and war elephant they have," I said. "Also the recommended Roman gear for the three of us would do. Armor, pilum, gladius—just enough stuff to support the three of us. As for magic, I think I proven during the War Games that I can handle that."

"That's right!" Frank jumped to his feet. "Percy can manipulate the Mist with a snap of his fingers."

There were many murmurs most of which was from one of the first senator and both second cohort senators talking about how it was strange they were called to the south wall.

"Just give each of us a Ziploc of ambrosia and canteen of nectar and we can make do with the rest," I said.

"Praetor, this is ridiculous!" Octavian said.

"No, it's fair," Reyna said, "They're not asking for much, and it will spare us all the supplies. Let's put it in a vote. Senators, motion is as follows: the quest shall go to Alaska. The senate shall provide full access to the Roman navy docked at Alameda. Only basic Roman gear and a Ziploc of ambrosia and canteen of nectar will be supplied. Nothing else. All in favor."

Hands from all senators from third fourth and fifth rose.

"All appose."

Only the remaining senators from second and first rose."

"Motion pass." Reyna turned to Frank. "Centurion, your party is excused. The senate has other matters to discuss. And, Octavian, if I may confer with you for a moment."

…

I was so glad to see the sunlight after leaving the dark senate hall I wanted to stretch my hands and thank Apollo out loud. But to save me the embarrassment I just took a deep breath of fresh air and thanked Apollo silently. For some reason I had a feeling that if I did it out loud Apollo would want me to show how grateful I was by writing a poem on how great he was.

Hazel picked up a large emerald from the path and slipped it in her pocket. "We're so toast."

Frank nodded miserably.

"Relax guys," I responded. "At least I got us the supply we needed."

"Yeah, if Octavian had his way, we would probably only leave with a boat," Frank said.

Hazel made a grunting sound at the reminder of it.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, fine," Hazel replied.

We were only halfway across the forum when someone called, "Percy!"

I turned and saw it was Gwen jogging toward us.

"Gwen, hey, I been minding to thank you for what you did for Frank and me back there," I said.

"No problem. I was planning to go to college anyways, but with the recent monster activities I've been pushing it back," Gwen said. "Plus, the way you spoke in there, I say you deserved it."

Frank and Hazel patted me on the back as if agreeing with her.

"Anyways, Reyna wanted me to deliver a message to you," Gwen said. "She wants you report to the principia. Reyna will meet you there after the senate adjourns." Gwen turned to Hazel and Frank. "She'd like a private word with you alone before you leave on your quest."

"What about?" I asked.

"I don't know," Gwen said. "Just be grateful I took delivered it instead of Octavian. That guy tends to break people who opposed him before they go on their quest."