A/N: To those of you who didn't want the Greco-Roman war: I hope you're happy.

Chapter 36- The Esteemed General

Percy's POV

"Lady Hestia, is Hope alive and well?" I bowed respectfully to the young girl sitting in the hearth.

"Yes, hero. Elpis is thriving. But," Hestia looked at me shrewdly, "from what I've seen of Camp Half-Blood, I do not think this is a. . . . . social call."

"Indeed." I replied, "Would you call the council, as I am not able to?"

Hestia considered this, then nodded. A bolt of fire shot up into the air, and seconds later all twelve Olympians were seated in their thrones. Some were surprised, but some looked like they knew what was going on.

"Some of you know what happened in Camp Half-Blood earlier today." I started, "For those of you who don't, this is what . . . . . . transpired: The Romans and Greeks were going to war with each other. The First Cohort, alone, charged the Greek phalanx. Then monsters, hundreds of them, charged out of the woods and attacked the First Cohort. The Hunters, twenty Romans, eleven Greeks, and I fought our way to the surrounded First Cohort, and held the line. We kept fighting until the Greek's phalanx and the Legion managed to break through the monsters. We won, but I estimate at least ten Romans and eight Greeks died."

I could see shock on some faces, acknowledgment on others, "So, we must go to war on the monsters, and the Titans they answer to. I must lead the demigods and the monsters loyal to us to victory against our eternal enemies. Who among you agree to this?"

I chose the words carefully. Using us and our, I had put myself on the same level as the gods, and right next to them in danger. I said I must lead them, so if they voted, I would command the demigods and monsters.

"Who agrees with Perseus?" Zeus boomed. Most of the gods raised their hands, "Then we are at war."

I bowed to them, "Then I must go and organize my troops."

"Your?" Zeus asked.

"Yes. You agreed that I would be the one to lead them, so lead them I must." I stated, "Speaking honestly, do any of you want Annabeth to command the army? Jason, or Reyna? Perhaps Martin? Octavian could manipulate Jason and Reyna with cleverly spoken words and blackmail. He has nothing against me, and with your favor, he would not dare go against my orders. Annabeth is experienced, but giving her your favor would burn many bridges in Camp Half-Blood. The same would happen with Annabeth's counterpart in Camp, Martin Blake. That leaves me, or Thalia. Thalia must also oversee the Hunt, while I do not have the same restrictions."

"Can you win this war?" Athena was looking at me shrewdly, and I could tell much rode on my next answer.

"Only a fool is confident of victory." I replied, speaking carefully, "And the worst of the fools would be confidant now, as we do not know the numbers of enemies we are facing, nor do we know their quality or position. Once I could find those out, it could be easier to cast a judgment."

Athena nodded, "Good. I had to make sure you were not one of those who are arrogant in war. I am glad you are not."

"Then go and plan, Perseus." Zeus ordered, "You know the what the Ancient Laws say. Remember that even you or I cannot break them."

I bowed, "I would not presume to do so, Zeus."

Then, in a swirl of water and fire, I disappeared. Now, I was back in the Hunters camp. Seconds later, Artemis appeared next to me, and raised an eyebrow, "So, commander of the armies of Olympus?"

I shrugged, "Do you want Annabeth commanding them?"

I could see Artemis' jaw clench, and her fists tightly. I understood why she wouldn't like Annabeth, purely by the fact that she was a women who ran off on a man, not the other way around. But I wasn't expecting that big of a reaction from the usually cool tempered Artemis, "No. Few would follow that female."

I raised an eyebrow at Artemis, "Female?"

"Yes." Artemis replied, "Don't make me start calling you "boy" and "male" again, Percy."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Artemis." I bowed extravagantly, and Artemis chuckled.

Then Thalia walked out from behind a tent, "So, the General of Olympus, huh?"

I sighed, "Does everyone know now?"

"After a voice came down from the sky?" Thalia nodded, "Yep. Everyone."

"What did that voice say? My name?" I turned to Thalia to question her.

Thalia shook her head, "Nope, just the Guardian of the Hunt was now the General of Olympus, commander of all demigods and monsters loyal to Olympus. Quite a promotion."

Face-palming, I turned back to Artemis, "If either of you start calling me General, I will do my best to kill you."

Thalia stuck out her tongue, "No you won't. Besides, now I have a new nickname for you, esteemed General."

Sighing, I pulled out ten drachmas from a pouch at my waist, then summoned a screen of mist beside me. The light of the afternoon filtered through the water, making it a rainbow. I threw all ten drachmas into the rainbow, "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Please connect me to the ten centurions of the Legion, along with the councilors of the Zeus, Athena, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Apollo, Hephaestus, Demeter, and Aphrodite Cabins, and lastly with Nico di Angelo."

Seconds later, the mist screen split into twenty, each showing the face of a demigod. My cowl was up, of course, hiding my face from Annabeth and everyone else.

"This is the Guardian of the Hunt. I need to see all of you outside of the Legion's camp in ten minutes to discus strategy." I ordered. They all nodded, surprisingly. Apparently, beinging appointed by the gods made everyone listen to you.

"Thalia, I also need you to be there." Then I turned to Artemis, "I can't order you there, but your presence would be greatly appreciated."

"Hmm. I'll think about it." Artemis looked at me, then laughed aloud, "I'm coming, Percy. I wouldn't miss this!"

"Oh, and both of you?" I asked, and they turned towards me, "Can you please not call me Perseus or Percy in front of others? I don't want them knowing who I am yet."

They both agreed, then, for eight more minutes, I made sure my appearance was good. My swords sharpened, my cloak clean, my eyes golden, my hair brown. Lastly, I altered my face so that my nose was a bit smaller and my cheekbones were higher. Now, no one would recognize me.

At one minute before the deadline, I teleported myself in front of a narrow road through the ditches the Romans had dug. It was the side facing the Greeks and the Hunters, providing a meeting point. Saracen was also beside me, as I called her to this meeting too.

Over the course of the next two minutes the Centurions of the Legion and the Councilors of Camp Half-Blood met. They both had "escorts", clearly a political move to awe the opposing side. I knew it wouldn't work, though.

"All of you, send your escorts or honor guards or whatever you want to call them away. You won't need them." I said as Octavian, the last one to arrive approached us.

"This is highly irregular." Octavian protested, "These Greeks could attack me!"

"Are you disobeying a direct order from the General of the Olympian Army?" I challenged, "If you are willing to commit treason, you will be removed from your position."

Octavian paled a little, then gestured his guards away. We all stood in a circle, the Centurions on my left, and the Councilors on my right.

"All of you, please, don't try to pick a fight." I started, "We don't have the troops or the time to kill each other while a greater enemy sits back and laughs."

My hood was still pulled up, so most of the people there were glancing curiously. One of them, Annabeth of course, spoke up, "Who are you?"

"I am, apparently, the General of the Olympian Army and the Guardian of the Hunt." I drew a knife, "But if you ever call me General, I will gut you like a fish. Call me. . . . Sean."

"Why hide your face, but tell us your name?" Annabeth challenged, "Are you too cowardly to show it?"

I chuckled, "Annabeth, daughter of Athena, former girlfriend and betrayer of Perseus Jackson, and one of the unspoken leaders of Camp Half-Blood. If you wish to find out more about me, just ask. Don't try to provoke me."

I lowered my hood, showing the face none of them would recognize, "Now, should we get down to business or what?"

They all nodded, and I took a deep breath, then flashed us all down to the Underworld.

"Di immortals!" Will, the Apollo Councilor, yelped, "What was that?"

"And where are we?" Annabeth asked, glancing around.

"We're all in the Underworld. Now, would you all agree that this is the current position and number of your demigods?" I asked, quickly changing the numbers on the map of Camp Half-Blood. We were all in the map room of my house. It was a little crowded, but we all fit relatively well.

Octavian spluttered, "You would take a Centurion of the Legion away from his troops without his agreement? How dare you!"

"Yes, I would, Octavian. I would dare because for one: This map, and I, have more information that your Legion, or the Camp, does. Which, to the strategists among you, makes it the best place to plan. Two: I'm the General, and while I don't plan on micromanaging, the gods have ordered me to that role. Now, we are at war here. Anyone feels they can't follow my orders, please raise your hand and I will send you back up to the surface."

Drew, Aphrodite's Councilors, stepped forward sultrily, and batted her eyelashes, "I think I could follow your orders. Whatever they were."

I chose not to answer that, and as no hands were raised, I continued, "We don't know what the enemy is planning, nor their numbers, nor the position of many of their forces. We know one thing, and that is the location of Coeus, who is in San Francisco."

"Right under our noses." Jason muttered, "We have to storm his building and take him down. We could end this war before it starts!"

"We can't do that yet, Jason." I cautioned, "Coeus is the Titan of intellect, and Prometheus is probably with him. The Titans of intellect and forethought together, which means they have a fallback plan."

"Do you mean to say you wish to hold the line and prepare more defenses?" Octavian spoke again. "We are Romans! If your plan is to cower-"

"It is not." I said loudly, cutting him off, "Jason, Reyna, Annabeth, and Martin. When a army goes to war, what do they send first: The vanguard? Or the scouts?"

Annabeth replied, "The scouts, of course. Find the enemy position and weaknesses so you may kill him that much easier."

Jason, Reyna, and Martin all nodded along with her, Martin clearly disliking agreeing with Annabeth, "Good. We know they have a base in San Francisco. Could they have another in New York? Boston? Chicago, perhaps? I need you all to talk to each other and organize teams of six demigods each. All of different parents, three Greeks, three Romans each. We'll send a few to each city to poke around and scout."

I teleported us all back up to the surface, "Now, get to it. Our enemies are probably already gearing up. So we have to take the first step, get the momentum of this war behind us, and carry us to victory! Romans, Greeks, and Hunters! You know what you get when you combine the three of them? An unbeatable army!"

They all shouted approval, then headed off to do what I said. Meanwhile, Artemis was still next to me, "Well, that worked."

"For now." I replied, "Octavian's gonna stir up trouble, and maybe Annabeth, too."

My fists, which were clenched the whole time I could see Annabeth,unclenched, "I glad I could stop myself from killing her."

"I'm somewhat less glad I didn't kill her." Artemis admitted, "We might need her for this war, but I still want her to pay."

"Pay for what?" I asked, interested to see what her answer would be.

"For betraying you." Artemis answered. Now, that wasn't what I expected, and my face showed it, "You're technically my Guardian, not the Guardian of the Hunt. You've suffered too much for us, and I can't believe Annabeth would ever run away from someone like you."

Artemis walked away with Thalia, leaving me to wonder what exactly she meant by that.

A/N: Pertimis develops right at the start of the war. Romantic, huh? Now, yes, Martin Blake kind of took Percy's place in Camp Half-Blood by now. Annabeth, being the proud and independent daughter of Athena that she is, wouldn't like someone ordering her around, and Percy knows that. Octavian's just a power-hungry bastard who is, in fact, loyal to Rome. (Geary Syndrome, to anyone who's read The Lost Fleet series)

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