"Wait here." The centurion pointed at a bench up against the wall and then walked off without another word.

Jason sat down at the edge of the castrum where he was told to and looked around. There were a lot of soldiers milling about, all at least a couple of years older than him. The buildings all looked to be in such good condition that he'd have an easy time being convinced they were built yesterday. It all looked so organized, and he could easily understand how the Republic had gained so much power in such a relatively small amount of time.

Strangely though, he didn't feel at home here; he'd thought he would. Here he sat in a military castrum in the middle of Rome, the city he'd been born in as Lupa had informed him, and he was left feeling empty. He was trained to be a soldier, and now he was about to become one. So why wasn't there anything telling him this was where he belonged?

After many minutes of waiting, the centurion that had escorted Jason to the castrum returned with a man at his side. His first impression was that the man looked so. . . Roman. Everything about his appearance was just the pure essence of the Republic. It wasn't just the armor, either. His black hair that went down to his neck, despite being unconventional, matched his full beard perfectly and gave him the gruff appearance you'd expect from a military leader. He had a brawny build that was complemented by his armor, giving him a look of power. Most importantly though was his posture and gaze, which would be enough to bring any legion to heel. This man was Roman through and through, there was no doubt about it.

"Jason Grace," he said whilst giving him a scrutinizing look. "My name is Legatus Marcus. I run this legion. Are you aware who ran it before me?"

"Uh, no. No sir," Jason replied.

"Legatus Catreus Grace married a woman of renowned beauty. Her most prominent features were her blonde hair and blue eyes. Do these traits seem familiar to you?"

Jason stared at him in disbelief for as long as he dared. "Are you saying she's my mother?"

"I'm saying I don't think this is a coincidence that you bear a striking resemblance and share her husband's name. Despite no knowledge of Beryl Grace bearing my predecessor any children, here you sit before me."

"I never knew my mother."

"Hmm. Well come with me, boy. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Legatus Marcus turned and walked away without even checking if Jason was following him. The young demigod quickly got to his feet and went after him, his mind racing. He was about to meet his mother. The legatus was leading him to the woman that he'd never known whether she was dead or had just abandoned him. He was going to get the answers he'd been asking for his entire life, and he didn't know whether to be excited or worried.

After a bit of traversing through Rome's streets, they arrived at a decently sized house called a "domus". Marcus marched right on up to the front door and knocked while Jason trailed behind. It was just a house, but it looked so intimidating. His mother and her husband, whose name he bore, were inside of it. This morning he thought the biggest thing that would happen to him was joining the legion. He hadn't prepared himself for this.

The door opened just as Jason reached Marcus. A man at least fifty years old that shared no resemblance at all to Jason appeared in the entryway. He could only be the aforementioned Catreus Grace.

"Ah, Marcus," the man in question said. "This is a surprise."

Marcus nodded respectfully. "Catreus, I believe I found something that may belong to you." He then pointed.

Catreus followed Marcus's finger to Jason, who was watching him cautiously. He could see the man's facial expression change in real time, going from confusion to recognition and then a slow, dawning realization. Catreus stared at him with his mouth hanging open.

"Jason?" he said.

"Yeah," he answered. "It's me."

"Usually we don't allow boys of his age to join the legion," said Marcus. "But since he is your son, I'll defer to your judgement. Send him back to me with a sealed letter of approval and I'll put him with my other special case."

Jason decided bringing up the fact that Catreus wasn't his father wouldn't be a good idea, so he held his tongue.

Catreus cleared his throat and closed his mouth. "Of course. Thank you, legatus."

Marcus nodded. "I'll leave you to reconnect." He walked away.

Catreus fixed Jason with a contemplative gaze. "Come inside. Your mother will want to see you."

Jason entered the domus behind him and entered the main living area. There was a woman sitting in a chair filing her nails down matching the exact description Marcus had given. The instant her eyes saw him, a tense silence ensued. It lasted for five seconds before she ran over and embraced him in a suffocating hug.

"My boy!" she cried. "Oh my sweet, brave boy. I knew you'd return. I knew you'd find your way back to your mother one day."

It took a couple minutes to finally get her to let go. After that it took another few minutes for her to stop crying. Then Jason was told to leave the room while the two of them talked. All in all, it was at least half an hour before he was finally able to sit down and speak with them.

"So you want to join the legion then," said Catreus.

Jason nodded.

"And why's that?"

Before he could respond, his mother answered for him. "Because it's his destiny. He was always meant to be a soldier, and the strongest of them all."

Catreus gave her a cold look and she went silent.

"You're not my son," he said. "I know this, you know this."

Jason took a second to respond. "Do you know who is?"

"I know who your mother thinks is your father."

"Jupiter?" Jason offered.

Catreus's eyes widened while his mother's sparkled.

"You met him?" she asked.

"No. Juno, and Lupa."

Her expression tightened. "Juno's the one who took you away from me. She's the one who stole you when you were two."

"She said she 'guided me' to Lupa, who trained me to fight and use my powers."

"She stole you away," his mother insisted. "I wanted nothing more than to raise you as my son, but she took you against my wishes. She called you a peace offering, promised you'd 'bridge the gap'. I didn't know what she meant. I thought she was going to kill you."

"She didn't. I'm here."

She smiled. "You are. And you look so strong."

"What powers are we talking about here?" Catreus asked with a doubtful tone.

Jason felt his skin tingle and he could taste just a hint of metal on his tongue. He channeled lightning through himself and willed it to show itself. Several small sparks danced around his eyes before fading again. Catreus gulped.

Jason's mother turned to her husband with hopeful eyes. "You know what this means? He can carry on the family line."
Catreus looked thoughtful. "I'm not fond of the idea of a bastard heir. I'd rather my blood live on in descendants named Grace, but so long as your mother fails to bear me children, I say a god's blood is more than suitable for my name."

Jason gritted his teeth. He didn't like this man. He saw his wife as something he owned and could control and children as a personal prize he was owed. But he stood between Jason and the legion, so he kept his opinions to himself.

"I'll allow you to keep my name and for people to believe you're my son," he continued. "In return, I expect legitimate grandchildren. No bastards. The name Grace will live on through you."

"We'll have to find you a bride," his mother said. "You'll have a beautiful wife who'll give you gorgeous, strong children."

"What?" said Jason. He hadn't asked for this. He just wanted to enlist in the legion.

"Well you must be married of course," she said as if it were obvious.

"I have a number of associates that could have viable daughters," Catreus offered. "We'll find the perfect one."

"Hold on," Jason protested. "I don't want to marry anyone."

Technically it wasn't true. There was one person he wanted to marry, but she was probably either already married or soon to be; she also didn't live in Rome.

"Don't be ridiculous," his mother chided. "You must."

"Why?"

"To carry on the family line! Have you not been paying attention?"

"But —"

"You want to join the legion, do you not?" Catreus cut in. "Marcus expects you to hand him my seal. I will not be writing any letters of approval unless you agree to do your part for this family."

Jason had a lot of things he wanted to say in response to that. This wasn't his family; his mother was his family. The name Grace meant nothing to him. He couldn't care less if this man's legacy was carried on. He had half a mind to tell them both off and just wait until he was of age to join the legion, but he knew that'd be a bad idea. Catreus could easily make sure Jason never be permitted entry if he wanted, or do something worse. His options were to agree to his terms or return to Neapoli, and he would never consider that.

Jason wondered if there was another legion he could join. Rome most likely had one stationed in former Greece, but getting there would take a lot more hoops to jump through. Perhaps he could manage to find mercenary work to earn coin and purchase passage there.

Then he thought about Piper. He realized the irony in his situation. Piper took a spouse she didn't get to choose and now Jason would have to marry someone he didn't want to if he's to do what he's meant to. He wondered if the woman his mother wound up choosing had her own love she'd be forced to split up with. That thought in and of itself was almost enough for him to just say no, but he knew it'd be pointless. If Jason didn't marry her, she'd be forced to marry some other "important" bachelor. At least if it was him he could let her live her life how she wished. He doubted anyone else would give their arranged wives that option.

"Fine," Jason said, realizing there was only one right choice to make. "I'll do it."

"In there, trainee," the legionnaire said while pointing to an isolated building at the back corner of the first cohort's castrum.

Jason walked up the door while the legionnaire walked away, his job of escorting him here done. Inside he found four beds with trunks at the end of them. There was also a weapon rack filled with dull-looking metal swords and four armor mannequins, three of which were empty. One of them had a simple set of leather armor that would only fit someone with a smaller build than him.

"Um, hello," a voice said. Sitting on one of the beds was a girl close to his age, probably a bit older. She had braided black hair and eyes of an identical color. She was definitely pretty, but Jason's heart still only yearned for Piper.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Jason. I'm a new trainee, I guess."

She nodded in understanding. "I'm a trainee too. I've been here for almost a year now. My name's Reyna."

"I wasn't aware that Rome was allowing women to fight."

"Do you have an issue with that?"

"Definitely not."

She gave a thin smile. "Good."

"You mind if I ask what it took for that to happen?"

"Probably similar circumstances as you. My father. . ." She paused and swallowed. "He was well known for his service, so the Senate chose to give me a chance."

"That makes sense. My. . . father, used to be legatus, so that's why they let me in young."

"I hate to break it to you, but you're not going to be doing much until they decide you're old enough to be a legionnaire. It's just training and chores."

"Figures. I suppose it's in the title."

"Indeed." Reyna walked over to the weapon rack and picked up two practice swords. She handed one to him and it felt comfortable in his hand.

It felt like a proper sword that could actually have some power behind its strikes, as opposed to the wooden ones he'd trained with. He gave it a small flourish and did a couple of swings to get a feel for it. He could get used to it.

"Where'd you learn?" Reyna asked.

"A wolf taught me." He said it like a joke, but her eyes widened as if she took the answer seriously.

"A wolf?" she repeated, her posture suddenly tense.

"No, of course not. I taught myself with a friend when I lived in Neapoli."

"Oh." Her shoulders relaxed, but she still looked doubtful.

"Anyway," Jason said, changing the subject. "Can we practice outside or do we need to wait for someone to tell us what to do or something?"

"It's usually later in the day when my — sorry, our — instructor comes. I think we have time to spar."

"Sweet. It's been a bit since I got some decent practice in, so I'm probably rusty."

"Don't expect me to take it easy on you."

He smirked.

She kept her word. The two proceeded to leave the building and went to a secluded area where they could spar freely. Once she attacked, he knew her skill matched his own. She had the upper hand at first and boasted three victories before Jason fell into his groove. He managed to pull a clever trick and claim a win of his own, but then she defeated him once more. It was during that last fight that he finally picked up on her patterns — which were actually his patterns. Her fighting style was identical to his.

Once he realized that, her movements became more predictable. He changed his tactics to use more improvised moves in order to try and catch her off guard. And it worked. He was able to anticipate the actions she was going to take and counter them. This only proved to make her less difficult to defeat, because she was still incredibly skilled. In the end though, he swung the winning strike. She still had two victories on him, but he didn't care about that. He'd learned something.

"Where did you train?" he asked her.

Reyna, who was in stance ready to go for another duel, lowered her sword. "My father taught me," she lied.

"Not Lupa?"

Her eyes widened, but only slightly. It seemed she'd come to the same conclusion as him. "I knew it wasn't a jest."

Jason smiled. "So you're a demigod too."

She nodded. "My mother is Bellona. I trained with Lupa for a few years when I was twelve, and then I came here."

"I was raised by her for less than ten years before I went off on my own."

She stared at him. "How young were you?"

"Probably around two when she first took me in. I can't remember my life before Lupa."

She looked impressed. "So who's your mother then?"

"A mortal, who's married to the former legatus. My dad's Jupiter."

She seemed even more impressed by that. "So, if your father's the king of the gods, does that make you the prince?"

"I don't think so. That'd be cool, though."

She nodded in agreement. "I suppose the 'prince of the gods' wouldn't be serving as a legionnaire in a mortal army."

Jason raised his sword again and then took a stance. She followed suit quicker than he'd expected, as if she were constantly ready for a fight. Jason gave his sword a twirl and then pointed it at Reyna.

"Well we can't have the 'prince' losing four to two, can we?" he said.

She smirked and then struck.

Jason walked past some homes a year and a half later. It was only a couple months prior that he and Reyna, who he'd become close friends with, were officially promoted to full legionnaires. The two had been assigned to the same century in the ninth cohort and hadn't even needed to go through any probationary period like most soldiers, due to them having already gone through all of the training. In their short time as legionnaires they'd proved fully capable of completing their duties and even earned the respect of their centurion.

As he did his patrol with his sword sheathed at his side and wearing a full set of legionnaire's armor, he noticed something. One of the more lavish looking homes had a single one of its windows open and there was a person casually walking away from it with a sack slung over his shoulder. The sack was bumpy and jagged, as if it were filled with solid objects made from maybe wood or metal. The person's clothes looked dirty and weathered, and he wasn't wearing any form of footwear.

Deciding to investigate, Jason approached the person at a quickened pace and then called out, "Excuse me!"

They turned to take one quick look at him, and then bolted. Having his suspicions all but confirmed, Jason gave chase.

He cursed his armor as he ran. He'd gotten pretty used to wearing it recently, but couldn't deny that he was a lot slower with it on. He couldn't maneuver as well which made running after someone quite difficult. Luckily, the burglar was also being slowed down by the heavy bag they refused to let go of.

After a couple of tight corners, Jason tackled the thief when they hesitated at an intersection. The thief protested and tried to feign innocence, but if they were innocent they wouldn't have run. Once Jason returned to the house with the window open, he found the fretful owner outside of it. Their expression turned from one of annoyance to one of joy when they saw him approach with the thief and their bag of stolen goods.

The owner showed him inside the house where multiple cabinets had been raided of silver plates, goblets, and cutlery. Opening the bag revealed the items listed. The thief had no comment.

"You are a true friend," the house's owner said to him.

"I was just doing my duty," Jason replied humbly.

"A lot of soldiers wouldn't. You have my deepest gratitude."

"Yeah, sure. You're welcome."

"If you ever need anything from me, feel free to ask. You just saved me a fortune."

"That's really not necessary."

"I insist."

Jason contemplated saying no again before realizing there wasn't a point to it. "Alright."

The owner gave him some rope to bind the thief's hands and Jason set off to escort them to the nearest castrum. As he walked around the outside of the house he caught a glimpse into its fenced in area. Inside was a gorgeous garden, a gazebo, and a fountain.

Jason thought about Piper. He knew she'd like it. He could see the two of them sitting under the gazebo and having a nice picnic or something. He stopped that thought in its tracks. That bridge was burned. He really needed to find a way to move on. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

"Hey!" someone called out.

Reyna and Jason stopped their path through the ninth cohort's castrum and turned to the source of the voice. A legionnaire from their century approached them. He was an attractive man that Jason didn't know all that well. All he knew was that he was a good soldier and always friendly to them, so he had Jason's respect.

"What is it, Alexi?" Reyna asked him.

"Sallic is retiring," Alexi informed them.

Jason was surprised by this. "Really?"

"Yeah, and he wants to talk to you two. Said if I saw you I should let you know."

"Did he say what about?" Reyna inquired.

"No. Didn't sound upset though, so I don't think you should worry."

"Right, thanks. Is he in the praetorium?"

"By the training grounds, last I checked."

Reyna gave him an appreciative nod and headed off. Jason patted his shoulder and smiled at him before following her. Sure enough, they found their centurion speaking with his optio there. Reyna waited patiently for them to finish their conversation and then stepped up as soon as the optio walked off.

"Sir, you wished to speak with us?" she said dutifully.

Sallic turned his eyes on them as Jason stepped up next to her. "Arellano, Grace. I'm sure you've heard by now I'll be resigning from my position and retiring from the legion."

"Yep," said Jason.

Reyna shot him a stern look before returning her gaze to their centurion. "We did, sir."

"Then you'll know someone else will have to take my place. And I believe it should be you." His eyes were on Reyna.

She looked between him and Jason twice before accepting that he was talking to her. "Me?"

"Who else? You're the most capable legionnaire in the century. In your relatively short time of service you've proven quite adept, and achieved more than most legionnaires do in half a decade. You're the woman for the job."

"But. . . has a woman ever been centurion before?"

"A woman has never been a legionnaire before. Would you accept the position or not?"

Reyna took a moment to regain her composure. "Of course. I'd be honored."

"Now before you get too excited, it's not a guarantee you'll get it. I'll be giving my recommendation, but in the end it's not up to me. I just thought I'd let you know I'm putting your name up."

"Right," she said with a bit of disappointment in her voice.

Sallic turned to Jason. "And I assume you'll get the optio position. She'd be stupid not to pick you."

"Uh, right," Jason replied after a moment. "Thank you."

"Just know that I'm rooting for you two. And I'm glad to have been your centurion."

Without waiting for a response, he walked away and left them behind with the unexpected news. Jason turned to Reyna with a grin.

"Stop looking at me like that," she chided. "You heard him. It's not guaranteed."

"The Senate likes you," he reasoned. "And with your record probably even more so now."

"Yes, but Marcus hates me. He could shoot down the idea before it ever reaches the Senate."

"That won't happen. You'll get the promotion. No one deserves it more than you."

She remained silent.

"Alright, we were going to the mess hall, remember? I'm still starving."

"Yes. Let's go."

Jason wasn't known for his excellent swimming capabilities. He lamented this fact as he hurriedly kicked his way back to shore with a massive sea monster not that far behind him. He'd managed to hit it with a lightning bolt, but that seemed to serve little more purpose than to momentarily stun it. He could feel the beast closing the distance behind him and he picked up the pace. Finally, Jason reached the beach and dashed out onto land, the serpent snapping at him and just barely missing.

Once on the shore, Jason spun around and raised his sword. He eyed it disdainfully. Its make was plain old iron; it was capable of making the monster bleed, but it wouldn't kill it quickly. He really wished he had a celestial bronze sword like Percy or his old imperial gold spear back. The sea serpent might already be dead by now if he did.

It roared at him and Jason retreated even farther onto land. The monster's name was Cetus. It was a large, scaly serpent with a dragon-like head, massive fins, and dozens of razor-sharp teeth. Its eyes were gold and pupils slits, like a snake's. Currently no more than a bit of its neck rose above the water as it stared at him furiously. It was ready to pounce the second he moved into its range.

It may not come as a surprise, but Hercules killed this thing once (he got around in his time). Apparently he defeated it by actually allowing himself to get swallowed and hacking at it from the inside. There wasn't a chance in Tartarus he was going to attempt to repeat that. Jason's strategy was to poke it full of holes — which he'd been succeeding at by precisely striking between its scales — until it was weakened enough to deal a fatal blow. Judging by the faded crimson in the water surrounding Cetus, he figured he'd done that, and now was the time to deal the killing blow.

Jason dashed forward just enough to taunt it and then jumped back out of its reach as soon as it lashed out at him. His reflexes kicked in and time seemed to move slower. Cetus came at him with its mouth wide open, ready to bite him in half. The air thickened and his hairs stood on end. Lightning shot down from the sky, bounced off his sword, and arced straight into its mouth. Jason celebrated in his head, as he'd attempted to do that twice before and failed because it'd been too fast.

The sea monster let out a gurgling shriek and flopped to the ground, half its body on land and the other still in the water. Unfortunately, it still looked to be alive. Jason had a small window to attack and didn't hesitate to take advantage of it.

He leaped onto the top of its head and used his free hand to get a grip under one of its scales while it wriggled around in agony. He dug the tip of his blade under a different scale and sliced, several coming loose and flying off. Jason immediately began hacking at the exposed bit of skin with his sword over and over until a sizeable gash was visible. Just when the serpent seemed recovered enough to lift its head, Jason called to the skies one last time. A massive bolt of electricity came down and struck squarely through the wound. Cetus made one final struggle and threw Jason clear of it, hearing it shriek all the while.

When Jason got to his feet, the monster's head was completely severed and its body was limp. The head remained but the rest of its carcass turned to golden dust that sank into the ground and sea. He sat down and took a couple of minutes to recover from his exhaustion.

Once he was rested enough, Jason walked past his defeated foe's head to the sea. He removed his armor and used the water to rinse the serpent's blood off of it. He finished one piece and splashed a bit of water in his face to keep himself alert, and then he heard something. He turned and quickly raised his weapon.

Running at him full speed with a sword in hand, was a man several years older than him. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a large scar over his left eye. Percy had painted a clear enough picture for Jason to guess who this was — Luke, the leader of the rebellion.

Jason met his blade with his own and the duel began, and then ended surprisingly quickly. Percy had stated perhaps too many times how skilled this man was in combat. He'd used the words "one of the best swordsmen I've ever seen." And yet here he was, fighting an extremely worn down Jason, and losing in barely a minute. He was good, definitely, but didn't meet Jason's expectations; he was wholly unimpressed.

He dragged the unconscious rebel over to Cetus's head and left him there. He then turned around and spotted the gift Juno had promised him right before the fight began: a large pile of chains.

"Thanks," he said to the air, knowing Juno would hear.

A while later, once the sun had gotten low, Jason set up camp with his trophy and prisoner. The chain proved to be one long one with shackles on one end of it. He bound Luke and then wrapped the rest of the chain around Cetus's head so that he could drag it behind him. It made travel slow, but he thought it might be necessary if he wanted Marcus to forgive him for deserting.

Jason took a seat leaning against a tree while Luke sat with his back facing him. Jason considered whether he should trust the chains to hold him or wait until Luke was asleep. Before he came to a decision, Luke spoke the only words he'd say on the trip.

"Why do you look like her?"

Jason stared at the back of his head for a moment in surprise. His attempts to get him to talk had been previously unsuccessful, and he'd resigned to thinking it'd stay that way.

"Like who?" he asked.

There was no response.

"Who do I look like?"

Luke remained silent.

"You're going to ask a question but not make it possible for me to answer it?"

The rebel still refused to elaborate. Jason gave up and rested his head back against the tree. He thought for a moment. Obviously he'd lost on purpose. There was no other answer. He'd wanted to get caught, but why?

Try as he might, Jason came up with no answers. Eventually he decided to just let himself sleep. If Luke wanted to get caught, he had to have something bigger in mind than just killing him while he was unconscious. His eyes slid shut and soon he drifted off.

Not even an hour passed after Percy departed on his quest to save the Greek gods when Jason saw something weird. Standing in the middle of the castrum — which itself was practically in the middle of Rome — was a goat. He looked around to try and gauge everyone else's reactions to it, but they were all acting as if it weren't there.

"So I'm seeing goats now," he muttered. A passing legionnaire gave him a strange glance at that but made no comment.

Jason approached the goat and it trotted off; he followed it. It led him out of the castrum and down a street. It took a turn between two buildings and Jason entered the alley behind it. When he turned the corner, the goat was gone. In its stead, Juno stood waiting for him.

"My champion," Juno said with a warm smile at his approach.

Jason kneeled before her. "My lady."

He should have assumed it was her doing. Goats are sacred to her after all. She literally wears a goatskin cloak.

"Rise," she said impatiently.

Jason stood. "What do you need from me, lady Juno?"

"One more quest," she said.

Jason paused. "One more?"

"Yes. This is the last time we will be speaking."

"Why? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing has happened. I only require one last quest from you, and it is undoubtedly your most important one."

"After that I won't be your champion anymore?"

"You'll always be my champion, Jason Grace. If not in deeds, then in title."

"What is the quest?"

"You shall find my guide outside the city. He will lead you to a location, and there you'll find your answers."

"Is that all?"

She nodded. "Our time together has concluded. You've made me proud."

"Thank you, my lady."

"As much as I'd enjoy a long, teary goodbye, we haven't the time. You have a small window to reach your destination, so make haste. Goodbye, my champion."

Then she disappeared. He'd never see her again, if her words were to be believed. He wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.

Jason jogged after the goat, quickly running out of breath. He'd left his armor back in Rome but kept the sword and all the supplies he'd purchased with his own money. He doubted even Reyna — who he hadn't even been able to say goodbye to — being legatus would be enough to forgive his second desertion, but he knew stealing legion armor wouldn't help his chances.

After a very long time of jogging and a handful of short rests, Jason reached his destination. It was after the sky had been dark for a while that the goat led him off the road and into the trees. Jason followed it but it picked up speed and then he lost sight of it. He continued in the general direction the goat had gone until he spotted light. He came out into a small clearing in which there was a camp occupied by three people. A centaur he'd met before stood by the fire holding a bow. A pretty girl with blonde hair and grey eyes that seemed to be analyzing him was standing next to a tree, a dagger in her hand. And toward the edge of the camp, Percy was asleep on his back.

Jason raised his hands in surrender but the centaur had already returned his arrow to its quiver and slung the bow over his back. The girl was still looking at him skeptically and Percy remained asleep.

"Ah," said Chiron. "You're Jason, if I recall correctly?"

Jason nodded.

"You know him?" the girl asked the centaur.

"I do," Chiron answered. "He is a friend of Percy's. Jason, this is Annabeth."

"Annabeth?" he repeated in recognition. "You're Percy's — you were Percy's. . . uh."

He trailed off, the deadly look in her eyes unnerving him.

"You were in the rebellion," he finished awkwardly.

She didn't respond. Instead she sheathed her dagger and sat down with her back against the tree. Jason turned his attention from her back to Chiron.

"I didn't know I'd find you here, or Percy," he told him.

"So what did bring you here?" Chiron asked.

"Juno sent me here," he answered, deciding to leave out the detail about following a goat. "She said I'd find answers here."

"To which questions?"

"She told me I was to do my most important quest, but didn't say what it was."

"Indeed?" The centaur stroked his bearded chin and looked thoughtful. After a moment he looked Jason over. "You look tired."

"Yeah, little bit," he said casually, even though his legs were incredibly sore and he felt like he could sleep on a rock right then.

"Rest, then. It'd be best to discuss these unexpected circumstances once Percy is awake."

A few minutes later, Jason lay in a simple makeshift cot and closed his eyes. It didn't take long for sleep to take him, and dreams followed shortly after.

He saw a girl, maybe a couple years shy of adulthood. She had a face that kind of reminded him of his mother's. She had choppy black hair and blue eyes of a lighter shade than his own. He felt like he should know her, but didn't.

Then the girl wasn't alone. She was standing with a spear in hand next to a teenage Luke. They stared down a large ugly man with only one eye in the center of his head. He held a jagged, rusty greatsword in one hand. The girl charged at him but the cyclops smacked her away effortlessly, slashing at her with his sword while she was airborne. She let out a yell as she hit the ground, and then stopped moving. Luke called her name but remained in stance. A young girl ran out of hiding to her side, narrowly avoiding being hit by the cyclops's sword. She looked like a child version of Annabeth.

Then the scene changed. The girl lay on the ground looking very pale. Luke was kneeling beside her with a tearstained face, clutching her hand in his. Annabeth was on her knees on the girl's other side, pouring water into her mouth. Then the girl batted the canteen away. She let out a cough, and whispered her last words. Then she was gone.

Jason woke with a start. He looked around and saw that Annabeth had fallen asleep but Percy had yet to wake up. Chiron was still by the fire, stoking the flames. The sky only looked a little bit lighter.

He didn't know why he'd woken so early. There'd been a dream, but he didn't know what it'd been about. The image of her face was in his memory, but it was fuzzy. He knew she had black hair, and that was about it.

Jason brushed the thought aside. If the dream was important he'd remember it. He took a seat by the fire and accepted a bowl of stew from Chiron. He sipped at it and not long passed before Annabeth was awake. A little while later, Percy finally woke up too.

Jason felt lighter than air. For the first time in years, he was completely happy. All this time he'd had that one thing holding him back, but not anymore. He finally had the answers he'd always regretted not asking for and felt completely satisfied. For once, he was excited for the future to come, but right now he needed to focus on the present.

After about half an hour of searching for Percy, he finally found him near the docks; in hindsight, that should've been the first place he looked. The son of Poseidon was standing at the pier looking out over the sea. Jason walked up to him and cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Oh, hey," Percy said after turning to face him, then he frowned. "Why are you smiling like that?"

Jason hadn't realized he'd been doing it. He made a conscious effort to make his face look normal then said, "It's nothing. How did it go with Gallio?"

Percy didn't seem content with that answer but accepted the change of subject regardless. "Great, honestly. He was pretty grateful for stopping his would-be assassin and returning the horse and all. I told him about the things that went down back in Rome recently. Turns out he never liked Marcus either."

"That's awesome. So what about the boat?"

Percy pointed at a ship off in the distance, slowly making its way closer. "That's ours."

"It's ours?"

"Well, for at least a little while. There'll be a crew and captain and everything, but Gallio promised it'll take us all the way to Lamia. We can sail tomorrow morning."

"Nice. So why are you just watching it then?"

"I wasn't sure whether you'd try to find me at Leo's workshop first or here. I didn't know how long whatever you were doing was going to take, so I decided to just chill here for a while."

Jason chose not to mention that he hadn't thought to check Leo's and Archimedes III's workshop. "Well I guess we need somewhere to sleep tonight."

"Leo said to stop by before we left anyway, so we may as well ask. I haven't got the money for an inn room."

Jason motioned for Percy to lead the way and then followed him back to the workshop.

A/N: There is a really big hint in this chapter to a long unanswered question. I'm curious if any of you can find it. Here's a hint to find the hint: it is a Google-able piece of knowledge about Greek mythology you wouldn't find in the books. Good luck.

P.S. This was the rest of what I wanted to fit into last chapter, so there won't be a part 3 to Jason's P.O.V. Back to Percy's P.O.V. probably for the rest of the story, excluding the post-story one-shot chapters I'll be writing afterward.