AN:

Heroes of Olympus time! I decided to start with "The Lost Hero" Simply because this way Percy can meet Piper, Leo, and Jason at a different time than Hazel and Frank; that way I don't have to provide 5 different first impressions of Percy in one chapter. "The Lost Hero" is my least favorite book, just for the record, so I don't really want to spend much time on it, meaning it will only be one chapter. These are just a few moments with Jason, Leo, and Piper during or after "The Lost Hero" essentially. After this, it's "Son of Neptune" time. Hopefully you enjoy the direction I took with this. View it as a transitionary chapter of sorts. Here it is, Chapter 14 of "The Spartan"

Camp Half-Blood, December 2009 CE

Piper stormed away from the Aphrodite cabin, tears in her eyes. She didn't know where exactly she was going, but she knew she wanted to be as far from Drew and her stupid charmspeak as her legs could carry her.

The December air bit at her skin as she traversed through Camp Half-Blood. She had been in the Aphrodite cabin for one day, and already she was ready to leave. She knew it was dangerous, and there was a high probability she'd die, a life-threatening quest seemed loads more pleasant than hanging out with Drew and her whipped cabin mates.

After she ran for a while, Piper's tears began to stop, freezing to her cheeks like crystals before dissipating, the blessing of Aphrodite not allowing her to look like she had been crying. She knew it was stupid but crying and having your tears not even ruin your makeup seemed extra hurtful. As if her makeup were teasing her, saying her problems were so small her makeup didn't even care to run.

Looking up to see where she was, Piper found that she had ran to the beach. She didn't know why her subconscious mind chose here of all places. Maybe in the back of her head she had assumed the beach would be empty, considering it was the dead of winter, and that way she could be alone. Whatever her reason, the beach wasn't empty, and that drew her interest at the very least.

Piper awkwardly approached the girl standing on the shoreline, staring towards the sea. It seemed picturesque in a movie sort of way. Like a scene you'd see in one of the dramas her dad had starred in. Coming to a stop next to the girl, Piper went to introduce herself, but was stopped by the girl turning to her, the sight of her catching her off guard.

Now keep in mind, Piper had literally just come from a cabin full of children of the goddess of beauty herself, along with growing up spending time on movie sets with some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Despite that, this girl was by far the best-looking girl she had seen in her entire life.

Black hair fell in a braid over her shoulder, matching with a pair of dark eyes, inky black, but sparkling like the night sky. Her facial features were sharp and angular, with royal high cheekbones and full lips. The girl was tall and thin, sort of like a model, but Piper could easily see she had some muscle to her. She certainly wasn't just a pretty face. Torn from her reverie by the girl raising one of her perfect eyebrows at her, Piper quickly mumbled out an awkward greeting.

"A little cold for the beach, don't you think?" Piper asked nervously. She didn't mean to come across so strange and awkward, but the sight of the girl had honestly caught her off guard. Luckily, the girl didn't seem to mind. Her mouth quirked up into the faintest trace of a smile, helping to put Piper at ease.

"Yes, but I'm here anyways. It's where I come to… Feel at home." She said, smiling to herself like that was some sort of inside joke only she understood.

"My names Zoë Nightshade." The girl continued, extending a slender hand towards Piper. Piper shook her hand, caught off guard by the strength of the girl's grip. Her hands were calloused and strong, obviously belonging to a warrior.

"Piper. Piper McClean. I've heard of you. Annabeth and Butch mentioned you on the way here." Piper admitted. It was true. They had explained a lot to her, Jason, and Leo. They had talked about the camp, the gods, and even mentioned a few key campers, Zoë being one of them.

"Oh?" Zoë said, a perfect eyebrow raised again. "And what did they tell you?"

"They mentioned Alex, obviously, with him being missing and all. They talked about you. Said you were some badass warrior girl that almost everyone was afraid of. They didn't mention you were so…" she trailed off.

"That I was so what?" Zoë asked with a straight face. Piper thought she could see a mischievous glint in the girl's eye, but she didn't trust herself to read the expression of a girl she had just met.

"Intimidatingly pretty." Piper breathed out. And it was true. Piper had always been self-conscious about her looks, even though people insisted she was beautiful, and comparing Zoë to herself wasn't helping. Her insecurity was why she always tried to dress down her prettiness. If she didn't try to look pretty, she wouldn't feel as bad when she saw herself in the mirror and hated what stared back at her, because she could pretend her distasteful appearance was for lack of trying.

"You're beautiful yourself you know." Zoë replied honestly. Normally she wasn't one for giving compliments, even if they were true, but this Piper girl seemed like she needed a pick me up. "Did they mention anyone else?" she asked curiously, after seeing Piper wasn't going to reply.

"Yea. Butch mentioned this other guy. Percy, I think his name was. But that's all I heard. Annabeth seemed not to like the guy, so he wouldn't really talk about him, which I get. She's kind of scary." Piper explained.

Zoë sighed. "Figures. Annabeth and Percy haven't really seen eye to eye the past few days. Ever since Alex disappeared."

"Who is he then? Why doesn't Annabeth like him?"

"He's my boyfriend." Zoë began. Piper's face grew a lot more curious at that. "As for why they're not getting along. Well… You heard about the gods shutting down Olympus, right? Cutting off all communication?" Piper nodded, signaling for Zoë to continue.

"Well, Percy. He's a… Special exception to that. He's sort of the gods champion, and as pissed as the gods are for whatever reason, they're not just about to let the guy who does all their dirty work for them sit on the sidelines." Thunder boomed overhead at her words, startling Piper, but Zoë continued like nothing happened.

"Annabeth is convinced the gods know what happened to Alex, and since they're only speaking privately with Percy, and he can't reveal what they discuss, she's convinced he knows something and won't tell her. Hence, she blames him for Alex not being found, and she's angry with him about it."

"And what do you think?" Piper asked. She hadn't meant to get this enraptured with the politics of two of Camp Half-Blood's most important members, but it was kind of enthralling. She didn't realize quite how complicated these demigods lives were until now.

"I think that Percy knows, or at least suspects something. The difference between Annabeth and I is, I trust that if Percy knows something and isn't telling us, there's a very good reason for it."

"You love him, don't you?" Piper asked quietly. She could pretend it was some newfound Aphrodite ability that helped her make this discovery, but honestly, Piper could tell just by the way Zoë said his name. The way her eyes sparkled when she talked about him. Piper hoped one day Jason would say her name, see her, love her the same way.

"I do." Zoë said, her eyes looking far away from Camp Half-Blood. "It took me a long time to admit it to myself, and longer still to admit it to him, but now, I've accepted it. I'm in love with him. He's in love with me. Everything seems to work out in the end." She ended her speech by giving Piper a pointed look.

Piper wasn't sure if Zoë's words were meant to comfort her or not, but she hoped they were. Zoë seemed like the type of girl to be perceptive enough to figure out Piper was looking for a solution to her Jason problem too, even if she was genuinely interested in Zoë and this Percy guy.

"Tell me about him." Piper asked quietly. She wasn't entirely sure why she was quite so invested in this, but she figured it had something to do with the fact that Zoë wasn't looking at her like a puzzle as Annabeth and Chiron had, like just another pretty face as the campers had, like an enemy as Drew had. Zoë was looking at her like what she was. Just another person. And that was oddly comforting. She wanted to give some of that back to the girl who obviously missed her boyfriend, wherever he was.

"Percy's annoying. I want to kick his ass all the time." Piper couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't know what she was expecting, but insults weren't it. Then again, Zoë's fearsome reputation must've come from somewhere.

"He's sarcastic, brash, and childish, and he's altogether too wrapped up in his eternal duty." Zoë said, giving finger quotations at the words "Eternal duty". Piper was starting to think she hated this guy, but instead of commenting she just smiled and nodded, letting the girl talk.

"But gods do I love him. He's loving, caring, kind. He knows me. Knows the kind of love I need and when. He's witty, funny, charming, and he has a nasty habit of getting under my skin. He's got something about him that just… Draws you in. And don't tell him I said this but… Damn that boy is good looking."

Piper couldn't help but smile. She hadn't been sure about Percy, but Zoë seemed great, and if Percy could make Zoë look this happy, she figured he had to be at least a little okay.

"He's not here now?" Piper asked.

"No, he's…" Zoë trailed off, eyes trained on something in the distance.

"What in the Hades is that?" Zoë questioned, pointing off into the distance. Swooping down towards the camp was a giant metal dragon, wings beating against the wind ferociously. Without wasting a step, Zoë grabbed Piper's hand, dragging her off towards the sight of the dragons crash landing.

Despite the fact that her new home might be getting burnt to a crisp by a metallic fire breathing lizard, Piper still had a smile on her face, because as she ran after Zoë, she felt like she had made her first friend here at camp. And more importantly, Zoë seemed like a pretty good friend to have.

Camp Half- Blood, December 2009 CE

Piper left the counselor meeting with a lot on her mind. After they had retold the details of their quest, along with Jason revealing his memories of the roman camp, they had left. The campers who knew Alex Jackson had been distraught at the idea that he was trapped at a roman camp, stranded with no memory of his friends, of his home, or even of himself.

Piper, Jason, and Leo had tried to sympathize, but they couldn't bring themselves to miss someone they had never met like the campers obviously missed Alex Jackson. Together they walked towards the cabins, eager to separate themselves from the depressing atmosphere that currently resided in the big house.

Absentmindedly, Piper wondered where Zoë was. She hadn't spoken or thought of the girl much since they had left for the quest, considering she had had a lot to think about during, but now that she was free to do as she pleased, she was curious. She wanted to talk to the girl again. She sensed a friendship could form there, and if not, the girl and her mysterious boyfriend were an interesting investigation to help her fight the boredom of everyday camp life.

"You guys want to go look for that Zoë girl?" Piper asked sheepishly, noticing the confused looks on Jason and Leo's faces.

"That girl Annabeth and Butch told us about? Why?" Jason asked, genuine curiosity written across his features.

"Because, I met her right before we left, and she seemed nice. Plus, we really have nothing better to do."

"I don't know, Annabeth and Butch made her sound pretty mean and dangerous." Leo argued.

"She's really pretty." Piper countered.

"Sold. Let's go." Leo said, a grin spread across his face.

"You coming?" Piper asked Jason, eyebrows raised.

"I'm not so sure Pipes. Maybe another time?" he looked apologetic, but it seemed Piper wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Oh, c'mon Jason. She seemed to know a lot about camp. She can help you get the hang of this whole, 'Replace the mighty Alex Jackson' thing I can tell you're worried about." Piper said, grabbing his wrist and tugging him along. Jason didn't look very convinced, but he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter.

She dragged them to the beach first, explaining that she had first met Zoë there, and had gotten the impression she spent a lot of time there. When they found it empty, they searched the amphitheater, archery range, and even the lava wall.

"Have we checked the arena?" Piper asked, still eager to complete her search. The boys looked significantly less enthused.

"No. She's probably not even at camp with our luck." Leo grumbled, his excitement at seeing the pretty girl having long since faded. Jason looked bored too. They were just humoring Piper at this point.

Together they approached the arena, the sound of clashing metal coming from inside. Piper turned quickly towards the boys, a smug grin on her face. The boys looked rejuvenated, the prospect of their search ending reinvigorating them. Once they were able to see inside the arena, they were met with disappointment. No Zoë to be seen. Piper and Leo turned to leave, but Jason stopped them.

"Who in the name of Pluto is that?" he croaked; his eyes wide. Together they followed his gaze, looking to the far side of the arena. Engaged in combat with a group of automatons was a warrior in impressive armor.

Leo whistled, his eyes scanning the equipment of the warrior. His armor was black and gold, incredibly well crafted, and bearing a trident symbol. His shield was obviously Spartan, and his sword was a beautiful xiphos. His helmet had a horsehair plume, and the mask of a screaming man covering the warriors face. Leo had no idea who this dude was, but his gear was top notch.

"I don't know too much, but that guy seems to know his way around a sword." Leo joked. He watched as Jason shook his head, eyes having been glazed over as he watched the man fight.

Jason had been enthralled. His roman training that he was only just now beginning to remember had kicked in. He had been watching the man fight, examining his technique, scanning for any weaknesses or flaws. He found none.

The man's form wasn't close to the roman fighting style Jason knew, but he was able to tell his form was immaculate. Every movement looked precise, quick, powerful, and calculated. Whoever this guy was, Jason reluctantly admitted to himself he didn't fancy the idea of crossing blades with him, even if the idea of being outmatched hurt his pride.

"Let's go talk to him." Piper said cheerily, Zoë forgotten, leading the way down the arena steps. Leo followed instantly, but Jason lagged behind, taking a moment to realize they had left. He had been too busy watching the warrior finish off the last automaton with a wicked counterattack.

Their footsteps were quiet, muffled by the arena sand. Approaching slowly, wary of sneaking up on a man who had just been in full combat mode, the trio halted about ten feet behind him. He had yet to turn around, instead choosing to lean down and rub some dirt between his palms. For what, they had no idea.

"Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to talk?" the man shot back over his shoulder. His voice was muffled and metallic through his faceplate. Jason wasn't normally one to be intimidated by other demigods but looking into the screaming mask of this man's armor, forced to look up to the warrior's taller frame, he felt an itch in the back of his mind telling him he was in danger. That he wasn't at the top of the godly food chain, this guy was.

Seeming to notice the looks on the faces of the trio, the warrior seemed to realize that he was an imposing figure in all his armor. Reaching up toward his chest, he tapped the trident symbol. Quickly, his armor folded up around him, all condensing into an arrowhead necklace resting comfortably around his neck.

Jason couldn't say he enjoyed the reactions he heard from his friends. It's not that he suddenly hated this guy, but the way his two best friends reacted to the guy made him a little… Jealous.

"Hot damn…" Piper breathed out, a blush creeping up her face. Jason particularly didn't like that considering the crush he was harboring for the Cherokee girl.

"Holy Hephaestus, that armor is badass." Leo praised.

Jason stewed a little, but not too much. He had to admit that the armor the dude had been wearing was pretty impressive. He couldn't blame someone, especially a tinkerer like Leo, for finding it so amazing.

"Thank you. It took me a while to collect it all, I'm fairly proud of it." The guy said with a smile. His voice was deep and rich, and his smile was brilliantly white. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Piper melt a little at it his grin, and he felt a little more jealousy bubble over.

"Who are you?" Jason asked, his voice coming out a little more bitter than he intended it to. He wasn't trying to be rude really, it had been an accident to sound so upset. Luckily, the guy seemed not to care, if anything, he found Jason's jealousy amusing.

"My name's Percy." He said, as if that information held some unbelievable weight. Sure, Butch and Annabeth had mentioned him, so he knew he was at least somewhat important, but they hadn't really said much. Why they failed to mention they had such a skilled warrior at their camp, he didn't know.

"That makes so much sense. Zoë wasn't kidding." Piper said before they could introduce themselves, eyeing him up and down. She was impressed. Piper loved Jason, whether Jason knew it or not, but Percy was gorgeous.

He looked chiseled from marble, and he had the same regal look as Zoë. His windswept black hair looked messy in an endearing way, and his smile was mischievous. Most enrapturing though, were his eyes. A swirling green that held untold depths to them, Piper could see how Zoë had fallen in love with the guy.

"You've met Zoë?" Percy inquired, his tone growing somewhat protective. Jason noticed the tone, his jealousy fading when Percy's voice made it clear that he liked this Zoë girl Piper seemed to know. He was glad too, because Piper had been ogling Percy like a fancy dinner, and despite knowing he was good looking himself, Jason wasn't so sure he could compete.

"Only Piper." Leo mumbled, gesturing toward the girl. He was downtrodden because he had also heard the tone of Percy's voice. Leo hadn't even had a chance to meet this supposedly beautiful Zoë girl, and she was already tangled up with this guy.

"She told me about you a little." Piper squeaked out, shrinking under his intense gaze.

"All good things?" he asked with a chuckle, as if the idea of Zoë saying only nice things about him was hilarious.

"Honestly, no." she admitted timidly, worried he'd be upset. Instead, he laughed.

"That sounds like Zoë." He said, almost sounding proud. "Makes sense. She's the better half anyways. I have way more good things to say about her." Piper felt her inner Aphrodite squeal at that. These two were absolutely adorable when they talked about each other, and she wasn't afraid to admit she found it cute.

"Where is she now? We were kind of looking for her. I wanted to introduce Jason and Leo." Piper explained. She gestured to her friends, finally giving Percy their names.

"Sleeping." He answered easily. "I just got back from a mission of sorts. Checked her cabin and she was asleep, so I came here to blow off some steam." Percy explained, gesturing to the automaton carnage around him.

"That's a lot of steam." Leo commented dryly. Percy smiled at the comment. He seemed to smile a lot, they realized.

"Yeah about that. You're uh… You're really good." Jason commented. He meant it to. He was genuinely impressed. Enough that he was already contemplating asking him for lessons. It wasn't roman fighting, but part of Jason was coming to realize that 'not roman' was okay. Percy's fighting, the family like feel of the camp, and most importantly Piper and Leo, were showing him the Greeks weren't as bad as the legion would have you believe.

"I better be after twenty-five hundred years." Percy said with the same dry tone Leo had used before. Noticing their eyes widen at his words, Percy realized his slip up. He forgot these demigods didn't know him, so it was pretty shocking to hear that a guy who didn't look a day over twenty was older than the roman empire.

Noticing their shock, Percy quickly elaborated. "I'm uh, not from this time. I was a baby when Sparta was sacked a long time ago. I lived through the sack and was raised by Chiron. I grew up and started serving the gods, and after a while, they granted me partial immortality, so I could serve them for eternity, or at least until I'm killed. But hey, I'm not dead yet so..." he trailed off, his face slightly crimson at his own words.

It was a rather abridged tale, but Jason could guess why. Based on the sheepishness he displayed, especially at the mention of his immortality, Percy didn't seem like the type of guy who enjoyed talking about himself. Still, Jason was impressed, and now incredibly intrigued.

"Who's your godly parent?" Piper asked. Jason and Leo had been wondering the same thing, all trying to figure out what god or goddess pumped out this immortal warrior.

"Don't have one." Percy said simply. The trio spluttered in disbelief. "I bear the blessings of Poseidon and Ares, so saying I'm just a regular mortal would kind of be a lie, but I'm no more demigod than a jelly filled donut." Percy said gently, trying to ease them into the idea. He knew it surprised most people when they found out he was a mortal. As if mortals could never achieve greatness. That stigma was why he got so angered when people called him a demigod, as if people were nothing without godly DNA.

"That's incredible…" Piper breathed out. It was seriously impressive. She wondered exactly how much this guy was capable of, considering he had done enough to receive two godly blessings and immortality, albeit partial.

"Thank you…" he trailed off again, sheepishly fiddling with the arrowhead around his neck. "Now, it was nice meeting you guys, but I've been waiting to see Zoë again for a while now, and I'm impatient, so I'm going to go wake her up… I'll see you around?" Percy questioned. They all nodded hastily in agreement. He smiled to himself, seeming pleased with the arrangement, before walking past them and up the arena steps.

"I like him." Leo final said, breaking the silence. The others could only nod in agreement.

Camp Half-Blood, April 2010 CE

Sweat dripped down Jason's brow, stinging his eyes. His breath was ragged, and he decided he had never regretted a decision more in his life than the one he had made about an hour ago. He had thought it would be fun to ask Percy to spar with him, but it was clearly the biggest mistake of his demigod life.

Normally, he would be spending time with Piper or Leo, but they were both otherwise occupied. Leo basically never left Bunker 9, spending his days working on the Argo II with Annabeth. Piper, his now girlfriend, usually spent her time with Jason, but today she was with Zoë, telling Jason that everyone needed girl time.

So, in his boredom, Jason decided to train. When he had headed down to the arena, he hadn't been surprised to find Percy there. The guy came and went from Camp Half-Blood all the time, but when he was there, he was almost always either with Zoë or training. It was no wonder he was so good with a blade.

When he had gotten there and seen Percy training, he had asked Percy to spar. They were decent friends by now, so he figured the guy wouldn't kill him, but Jason was starting to doubt that very much. Sure, Percy hadn't tried to attack him once, but Jason was about to collapse from exhaustion just from trying to get through his impenetrable guard.

"Can we. Take a. Break?" Jason huffed out between breaths. His hands were on his knees now, his lungs gasping for air. When Percy's head popped out from behind his raised spartan shield, Jason fought the urge to throttle him. The guy wasn't even sweating. Jason felt his pride was wounded beyond repair, and he was sure his face showed it too.

"Break time it is." Percy said cheerily, his breathing even as if he hadn't just fought for an hour straight. Jason felt his confidence sink lower. Sure, he knew he was the best duelist the legion had seen in centuries but fighting Percy had made him feel inadequate.

"Look, Jason." Percy began upon noticing the defeated look in the demigod's lightning eyes. "There's no reason to be upset. You're damn good with that sword. You're still a teenager, I've been fighting and training every day for thousands of years." His voice was steely, leaving no room for argument.

"Still, I couldn't land a cut on you. That's a little embarrassing, no matter the opponent. How am I supposed to replace Alex Jackson?" Jason grumbled. Percy knew how much this was hurting the son of Jupiter. He had been friends with Thalia long enough now, along with having known Zeus for millennia, to realize their pride meant everything to them.

"Jason," Percy sighed. He couldn't have one of the future seven sail off to fight thinking he was a bad fighter. Without confidence, Jason would fail. "I know they don't talk about the titan war, or Alex for that matter, much here. It's too fresh, but I have no such qualms."

Jason raised his eyes to meet Percy's, clearly interested in what the immortal spartan had to say. Sure, they were friends now, but it was pretty surface level. Piper was good friend with Zoë now, he knew that, but he and Leo were still on the casual conversation level with the camps two most dangerous warriors, so they didn't know much about them.

"You're not replacing Alex. You're just another person for the campers to look up to. You don't need to be anyone but you Jason. And besides, Alex couldn't cut me even if he wanted to."

"No?" Jason asked.

"No. He's a better fighter than you, but not by a landslide. He's Greek though, and our fighting style is catered more towards solo combat anyways Plus, I've taught him for a few years now. And as much as I try to draw the attention away from myself, I'm sure you've heard the rumors about me. You know exactly why my training would help."

Jason nodded. It was true. Every camper he asked would tell the same story. That Percy had killed four titans during the titan war. That Iapetus had fallen to him in the Labyrinth. That he had slain Perses and Pallas both in one day. That he had singlehandedly defeated the lord of time himself. Hearing Percy confirm the rumors, Jason finally realized just how powerful and skilled Percy was.

"Can you help me? Train me then? If I'm going to be going on this quest to kill Gaea, I need to be the best I can be. Can you teach me?" Jason asked hopefully. Percy grinned at him, as though the idea was the best gift he could have received.

"Jason, I thought you'd never ask."

AN:

There you are, chapter 14. "The Lost Hero" done. Sorry for those of you who liked that book a lot, but I just really don't like it. I do like Jason, Piper, and Leo though, which is why this chapter exists. Now, about this chapter, here's what I was going for. With Piper, I wanted to expand on her insecurity. In canon, she definitely shows insecurity and a lack of confidence, and I want to expand on that, also allowing her friendship with Zoë, along with Zoë's relationship with Percy to help her grow out of her teenage angst. With Jason, I wanted to expand on his own insecurity as well. He's naturally prideful, considering his heritage and his upbringing in Rome, and through comparing himself to Percy and Alex, he's starting to learn to put his pride aside, face his flaws and doubts, and become willing to better himself. Leo didn't get as much attention, even though we know he has issues, and that's for a reason. In the books, we all love Leo, but he doesn't reach out much at all. He grows and changes independently, silently harboring his feelings of inadequacy, worthlessness, and loneliness. Calypso is who really sparks his change, and that's not going to change because of Percy. Leo didn't need friends, he had those in the books, he needed someone to love him, and unfortunately for you Percy/Leo shippers, that's not Percy in this story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, because the Son of Neptune is up now. Until next time,

Peace