January, 24th 2012

I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!

Beta for this Chapter: None

A/N: Hey there, loyal readers :)

Thanks to your opinions, I'm just going to keep my story the way I planned it. Trust me, I have some cool scenes planned, some drama etc. Most of it is coming near the end so I understand if you find it boring on the way. I'd be glad if you kept reading though, because I AM going to continue. I hate people that give up their stories. I once did too and I hated myself for it and still am. I don't want that to happen again so I'd be really glad if you guys sticked with me. No, I'd be honored, brought to tears, overjoyed if you did. Really, every review helps me and I'm always so glad when you say my story is good even though I prefer it more book-like than oneshot-like. Btw, the reunion is not the final scene but it's coming near the end. That's how I thought Rick Riordan planned the book as well. Obviously, we were all ditched when he just left the reunion out in the end to make us all suffer from tension T_T Authors are cruel sometimes I know. I'm like that myself.

To Shitty,shitty,shitty,shitty: I hope you had fun copy and pasting. As soon as you found your niveau again, I'd be pleased to hear your reasonable critique. ;P

And yeaaah, it's Roman again! Now please enjoy :3


Chapter LIII

Percy

He tried to calm himself. It wasn't that bad, was it? Lupa wanted to talk, big deal. She couldn't kill him, right? He had iron skin after all. On the other hand, that didn't really save him from that hellhound poison, for whatever reason. So this thought didn't really reassure him either. The son of Neptune took a few deep breaths as he followed the big she-wolf farther away from the place the other soldiers treated the wounded and reorganized things. Percy had handed the strange sword –which hadn't disappeared into dust- to Reyna and told her it was probably better to seal it away. That thing gave him the creeps, like it was never getting warm and absorbing all his life as it tried to build its own. Plain creepy, honest.

Anyway. Lupa was leading him farther and farther away until they finally landed at the beach. It was the very bay he had rescued Dakota on his first day. Wait no, that was just yesterday. His time here seemed to pass so slowly it was unbelievable. He had experienced so much that it was almost like two weeks passed even though it was barely a whole day. Lupa stopped and looked out onto the sea without saying something. Percy kept his mouth shut even though his lips were burning to say something that was probably really stupid. But he had learned with Lupa. If she was already upset, he'd better not step onto her patients any longer. Finally, she spoke. Her voice was again overly controlled but also calmer than before.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?" she asked, still not looking at him. Was she speaking to him? Because he had the honest feeling she was talking to the ocean himself. No kidding, even she couldn't be that mad…could she?

"Er, w- excuse me?" wow, that was close. He remembered the last time he had almost slipped saying that and saved it just in time. Lupa now finally turned, studying him closely.

"Your shoulder. How did that happen?" she asked, her voice severely serious. Wait, what? That was it? She asked him how the wound on his shoulder happened? Lupa of all people…or gods, whatever. Percy opened his mouth, then shut it again, completely dumfounded. Didn't Gwen say she would kill him when she found out that he was being weak? Now this really took him by surprise…

"I- That was a hellhound. It bit me this morning." He finally said and touched the bandage under his shirt that could be seen because the shirt wasn't really…well, in one piece. The she-wolf narrowed her eyes and seemed to think about his answer. Wait…why did he get the feeling that she knew exactly why his skin would normally not let anything harm him? This goddess certainly knew more than she let on about him and that angered him somehow. Why wouldn't she tell him! There could be crucial information for him, he wanted to know what his whole past life was about! It was obvious that it had been full of strange events that happened to only demigods and he wanted to know about Annabeth and his past friends in general. But then again, the wolf goddess was silent a few seconds, when not even minutes. It was hard for Percy to tell how much time passed with him just standing there stupidly, staring out at the water and watching the sun creep towards the horizon. Somehow, the picture of a burning Maserati Spyder shot into his head but he just let it go, thinking that was a crazy thought for this situation.

"She's after you. And she's really serious. That many monsters in only a day. Defeated her strongest son…I wonder…" she studied him from head to toe, her eyes resting on his hair a little longer, probably on the grey streak there. Her paws made her step closer to him until Percy had to step back so she wouldn't cross the line of his comfort zone. Her silver eyes were so intense the son of Neptune found it hard to look straight into them. He still managed though, raising an eyebrow and returning the gaze with his seagreen eyes.

"Who are you really?" she finally questioned and tilted her head a little. Percy blinked and then smiled a weak but also confused smile. Again, was she kidding him?

"Er, memory loss? Thought I told you. I have no freaking idea who I am." He admitted and tried to sound upbeat about it, which wasn't exactly easy. After all, this whole thing freaked him out just as much as it did everybody else. Even though he had given a rude answer, Lupa didn't seem to care and just turned around again, ignoring him.

"I suppose so. I know where you are from though. And trust me, I don't like it how I was just ditched with the responsibility to have one of your kind here at my Castra. I don't know what the gods are planning and I certainly don't like how they're not giving me any insight at all." She glittered her teeth and growled as the sky again gave away a rumbling sound even though the sky had been clear for some time. Zeus doesn't seem to like that statement; he thought but quickly shook his head to let it go so he was able to listen to what Lupa was saying further.

"But I guess I have no other choice but to prepare you for what's coming." She now really sounded like she regretted that. Then she looked directly at him again and stared intently.

"So, you noticed your skin being invulnerable to weapons, right?" Percy nodded so Lupa continued.

"You have to know that it's not for your whole body. I don't know where but on some part of your body, there is a weak spot. You can't be hit there, under any circumstances. Because when that happens, you're certainly dead. There would be no saving you, no matter how powerful the healing would be. Do you understand what that means?" she asked. Percy paused for a second, then shrugged.

"I guess I should keep my armor on more often then." He grinned. Since Lupa didn't laugh, he was serious fast enough and caught himself.

"Er I mean…I guess I should be careful where I'm stabbed?" he added nervously. Lupa ignored him but she already seemed annoyed.

"Do you coincidentally know where that spot is?" That one had Percy thinking. Then something dawned in to him. When Lupa had touched his back, the opposite of his navel…..Annabeth stretching a hand out to him…

It was just a very faint memory that was disappearing quickly again but as soon as he thought it, Percy was aware that it was true. The mentioned spot on his back tingled and he let go of his shoulder slowly, feeling as if it was getting better. It could just be his imagination but maybe…no, that didn't make any sense. He put the thought aside and looked at Lupa again.

"I-I think I do…" he admitted and Lupa nodded, this time more pleased.

"Good. Whatever happens, keep it to yourself. The risks of this blessing or curse, whatever you want to call it are very risky. You tire greatly when you fight often so training somebody like you only has a reason when you are able to increase the amount of strength that doesn't lie in your body but in the potential that your parentage gives you." She stopped talking, waiting for Percy to let that sink in. He just nodded and stared out at the ocean again. In the meantime, the sun had almost set, leaving the sky all red, almost like blood.

"The water?" he asked and Lupa nodded.

"Indeed. That is one of the things that we'll concentrate on. But you have to find out something I can't teach you myself." She paused and glared at him seriously, as if this topic was something she didn't wish him to speak of.

"The essence of you and your father's power."

Percy blinked, frowning. What now? Essence? What was that supposed to mean? But Lupa just continued, ignoring his confused expression.

"I sense that you inherited many treats from your father, Percy Jackson. That also means that you tend to step out of your role sometimes, stubborn as you are. Neptune is aware that he is powerful enough to equal if not beat both his brothers but that's beside the point I want to get across. You see, in a legion, everyone has his position. Somebody gives the orders. Some just follow, some always take offense, some defense et cetera. It's the same with the gods and their kids in a way. I want you to find out what your position is. Try to follow your instincts but also think about the powers you already possess. It's no easy task, it took the best demigods really long to figure this out. If you can actually do it, maybe your uncertainty will wash away and make place for real control and you would become a proper Roman soldier. I hope you'll make up your mind about this. Even if you are not from the kind I normally teach, that is also a very important topic for yours. Sons of Neptune cause destruction. That's mostly why we Romans call them bad luck."

"Wow, reassuring." Percy muttered and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He didn't exactly understand completely what Lupa was saying but he tried, already trying to figure out what that essence could be.

The rest of his day was a blur. Lupa send him back to the infirmary for some Ambrosia and Nectar which Percy ate reluctantly while talking to Gwen and Dakota. He asked Dakota why she had disappeared this afternoon but she didn't seem to want to talk about it so he let the topic drop. Gwen told him that they had sealed away the sword somewhere in the basement of their mean house, which had been difficult because the demigod carrying it had just passed out somehow and they had to wrap it in a very thick layer of clothing before transporting it again.

Going to dinner was also kinda funny. Even though everybody had hated him this morning, the mood had seriously improved because everybody was told he was the one who had the plan of how to defeat that scary skeleton monster, making him kind of an attention magnet, which Percy tried to ignore as much as he could. Nobody knew where that monster came from but they were all glad they were able to defeat it before it could have done any serious damage. Since the infirmary was now overcrowded by hurt soldiers, Percy was send back to his tent for the night and he was really glad about that. Since the sword training center and the stables were damaged, the repairs were put up for the next day and they were divided into groups that had to do certain things on the repair but their training wasn't cut out even though rebuilding those things seemed like a lot of work to him.

This night, his dreams were again not what he expected. When he laid down into his hammock, he had almost waited to see Annabeth in one of his dreams again, he had hoped for it. But it came a little different. When the dream formed a proper picture, the face of a sleeping woman formed directly in front of him, he was completely surrounded by dark despite for that spooky face in front of him.

"Do you still think you can oppose me?" the woman spoke. It was the same bone shaking voice he had heard yesterday but even more intense, as if she was now standing right in front of him. Her presence was unlike anything he had felt before, he was pretty sure of that even though he was unsure of what he faced in his life before the Castra Roma. He felt so small, tiny even in front of her and she radiated such immersive power that his body wanted to back away and curl into a ball. But he still tried to stand tall and glare at her. Honestly, it was no piece of cake, even in a dream.

"That little skeleton was only the beginning. If you keep staying at this Castra, you will put everyone in danger, little hero. I only want you, the rest is meaningless to me. There are some things I have to set straight with especially you. Or you could still join me. That wolf is right, your strength isn't something to laugh at. But she doesn't want you, you don't belong there. Don't you think I could tell you where you are really from? I know it….you just have to ask. Otherwise, there will be more monsters, far more." She grinned creepily and even chuckled in a scare tone which shook the entire earth around him.

"Do you really want to risk the life of your new 'friends'?"

And with a scream, beading in sweat, the Son of Neptune awoke and almost fell out of the hammock, looking around in panic. His tent was completely quiet and he could see the moonlight fall through the windows, forming strange figures on the wooden floor. For a short second, he thought he could still feel the earth vibrating as if the woman was still laughing to her hearts content, obviously enjoying herself…


Yeah, Gaea is persistent. And evil. Does she know his flaw already? We'll see. I had nearly no time to read this over again, I hope there aren't too many mistakes. I'm also sorry for the late and that the action in the Roman part takes so long. I'm going to skip a little bit in the next chapter. WELL! University stress is coming with a last flash now, I hope I'll be able to write this weekend, we have an event at university and I'm probably busy. But I hope I'll make it ^^. Next one will be Roman too ;P

Please tell me what you think and no flaming! (Never thought I'd have to say this...seriously) I'd be really glad to hear your thoughts! Btw, thanks for the congrats on my 1 year anniversary! *hugs*