As I woke up, I registered two thoughts.

One, this is most definitely not my cabin.

Two, Annabeth was gonna kill me.

I was in a dark room on what could be loosely defined as a bed, but what really looked like a far too long coffee table. As you could imagine, my back wasn't too pleased by this arrangement, cracking as I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Wherever I was, it didn't feel dangerous, in fact it felt somewhat welcoming, like I was always meant to have come here.

It reminded me of Camp, weirdly enough.

I stood up and took out Riptide, thoughts racing at a million miles an hour as I crept up the stairs at the edge of the room. There were no other doors, no other entrances, and light was leaking in through a door at the top of the stairs. If I was a prisoner, either the monsters had really lost their touch, or there was something I couldn't see, couldn't sense.

The thought put me on edge.

Unlike any other time I'd been captured, I couldn't feel eyes on me. Whatever, whoever had woken me had apparently chosen a good time to escape, I'd have to thank them once I got out of here.

Coming out of the door I was expecting monsters outside, or maybe even to be inside a large room, something built to keep me in. Instead, I was greeted with the remains of what had obviously been a house fire, probably of some kind of mansion based on how big the remaining house looked.

Not what I had imagined for somewhere I was being kept.

Better yet, it looked like a battle had occurred very recently, with gold dust on the ground and flowing in the breeze, making everything around me shine. Even more obvious to me, was the remnants of power I could feel in the air, two very powerful people had used their power here.

Ever since I'd sat on my father's throne, the powers of people had left remnants behind, an identifiable trace for me to see.

Except neither of these were familiar to me, I'd never seen either of whoever had done this in action so I had no basis to connect them to. But there was another set of power traces I could feel, much less powerful than the others yet tantalizingly familiar.

One felt of wind, of the breeze through the forest and the thunder as lightning crashed in the sky, Thalia, my mind supplied, though something in it still felt foreign it was still Thalia's power, one I had become familiar with through infrequent sparring after the Battle for Manhattan. The Hunters did not visit often, but Thalia was strong and her power unique, so it was one he could recognize.

The other power made me think of Annabeth, but I knew that it couldn't have been her, she left no trace of power where she was. This trace made me feel homesick, missing my mother and Annabeth in the same. I couldn't tell what it had come from, only that it had been used.

I heard a growl behind me and I cursed in Greek as I spun around. I'd become too wrapped up in feeling out the power that I'd forgotten my surroundings. I was not in safe territory, and now I might pay for my distraction.

There was a wolf, with more approaching from behind it, and all were tensed, watching my every move. I could only hope that these weren't Lycaon's wolves, I didn't have any silver on me, so if they were I really couldn't do anything. I held my sword up as I got ready, analyzing the field for any advantages I could find before a voice interrupted the standoff.

"You were not meant to awaken, young one" a feminine voice came from my right, and I turned to see a wolf standing on it's hind legs on a ledge, looking surprisingly human for a wolf.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, lady," I snarked back, hiding my growing anxiety. A talking wolf didn't bode well for my chances; these weren't normal wolves.

I wasn't prepared for the wolf to start laughing, most monsters were aggravated by my sarcasm, and her amusement unbalanced me for a second and I faltered, staring at her incredulously.

To be fair, the wolves were doing the same, so cut me some slack here.

"Juno said you had spunk, I'm glad to see that she was right."

Juno? Unless my memory was wrong, I'd never met anyone named Juno in my life, least of all someone in the Godly world. The she-wolf spoke again, shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Stand down, he is no threat to us, I will deal with him."

And again, she curbed my expectations, calling off her kin while also devaluing my threat. Something else was going on, or the world had just gotten much more dangerous, my enemies had never been smart enough to shock me and insult me in the same sentence.

"Who are you," I called, still tensed even as the rest of the wolves padded away, leaving us alone under the charmingly charred home.

"I am Lupa, child, immortal Trainer of Rome and Guardian of her peoples." she responded, padding down the rotting stairs, coming to a stop directly in front of me as I watched, her silver eyes shining with power and her fur ruffling in the wind.

"Rome fell a long time ago, it seems you failed your job," I shot back, mind racing. I was falling onto my monster habits, but if this meant what I thought it did, then my life was going to become much more complicated, something I didn't know was possible.

The she-wolf, Lupa, snuffled, and I realized she was laughing, her eyes looking upon me with amusement.

"Not many would have the confidence to insult me to my face, godling, especially with such unfounded claims."

I tried to come up with a response, but my mind was still in shambles. The last thing I remembered before waking up here had been going to sleep in my cabin after a day at Camp. So why wasn't I at camp? I'm pretty sure I would've noticed getting kidnapped.

And my dreams weren't helping either, images still flitting through my mind as I tried to

understand what I had seen.

"Why am I here," I sighed, lowering my sword, causing Lupa's eyebrow to rise. Apparently, she'd expected more resistance, but I couldn't help that this place felt comfortable. Something deep inside me was telling me to trust this wolf, and my instincts had kept me alive this long, I wasn't gonna start ignoring them now.

"I'm afraid that would be my fault," I heard from behind me, and my sword was up in a flash, "Who..." I began to ask, my words dying in my throat as I recognized Hera, Queen of the Gods, standing behind me, my sword pointed at her throat.

I immediately pulled my sword away. No matter my feelings towards Hera, holding a sword at the Queen of the Gods was never advantageous to demigods no matter your parentage, and I knew despite having saved the Gods only a couple months ago, such actions would not put me off limits for godly revenge. I bowed my head to Hera, capping Riptide and putting it into my pocket.

"Apologies, Lady Hera, you startled me," I spoke, hoping I was able to conceal my contempt. Whatever situation I was in now, it was clear my only way out was through this goddess, and I knew when to to be

respectful to the Gods. Now was definitely one of those times. Hera stared at me as I fidgeted in my spot, wondering if I'd failed to hide my feelings in my voice, and that I'd made things somehow worse. I wouldn't be surprised, it was a talent of mine.

"I hope you know, Perseus Jackson, that you've almost undone months of planning in a single

day, and that I'm none too pleased," Hera finally spoke, and I sagged where I stood. Of course

she was annoyed about the one thing I wasn't in control of, waking up.

"It's not like I planned on waking up here which, speaking of, you still haven't told me where

here even is."

Now I was getting cranky, and I knew I should've been speaking more carefully to such a temperamental goddess, but this was interrupting the peace we'd had at Camp after the Battle of Manhattan, and I was more than a little annoyed that the Gods were interfering with our lives again so soon. All I wanted was to enjoy my winter break at camp

"You would do well to speak with more respect, demigod, but I understand that you must be on edge. You likely feel like you're in enemy territory, your Greek heritage demands it, so I will forgive you this once." Hera spoke to me with steel, and I knew I had to reign myself in.

My mom would never forgive me if I survived the prophecy just to become a cow because I'd

annoyed Hera.

Though I didn't know what she meant about feeling on edge, I chose not to argue as it gave me leeway for my actions, and having an excuse for any outbursts was an advantage for me. Hera waved her hand, and a table with two chairs and dog bed appeared, and she gestured for me to sit at the table, with Lupa already padding to the bed on the end.

As I sat, I realized with a jolt that Hera's power felt familiar, and I blurted "You were a part of this battle?" Before I could stop myself, and I felt her stare into me as I sat down, reevaluating my presence.

"You are more powerful than I had thought child, to be able to sense the remnants of the battle

here days later."

I shrugged, not wanting to focus on my 'power'. I'd never been comfortable with the power I had, just like the responsibility that had fallen to me this past summer. Power was not something I wanted, and it being acknowledged by a goddess did that no favours.

"So, why am I here, and what plan did I disrupt. I'd like to get back to Camp as soon as I can, they must be worried sick about me."

My change in topic left Lupa looking amused, or as amused a wolf could look, while Hera looked like I was causing a headache to come on, which gave me a small sense of satisfaction.

"You cannot return to Camp Half-Blood, Perseus, not yet, at least." Hera spoke, her face bellying the frustration I could read from her voice. "I know not why you woke so early, but you were meant to sleep for another 4 months for the plan to work."

I stared at her, disbelieving. Not only had she told me I couldn't return to Camp Half-Blood, my home, she was telling me that I was supposed to have been asleep for another 4 months? Hearing that made me realize that I didn't even know how long I had been asleep here, how much time I'd missed already.

"I'm sorry, but it sounded like you said I couldn't return to Camp Half-Blood, but surely that's not the case. Camp is my home, and I don't even know how long I've been gone, surely they're looking for me." I retorted, not even working to hide my annoyance. The longer I lived, the more the gods did work to do anything but endear themselves to me.

"I do not mince my words, child." She spoke coldly, "You cannot return to Camp Half-Blood yet, or everything I've worked for will fall apart, and any advantage we have is lost."

Despite the contempt I heard in her voice, there was a level of hopelessness I had rarely heard from a deity before that led me to be curious. What could be causing such a level of care from the Queen of the Heavens. Especially enough to have not yet smited me for my insolence.

"Lady Hera, what exactly would we be losing an advantage to? We've just won the war against the Titans, peace is here, what is there to fight?" I questioned. I'm sure if I was Annabeth I would have already figured it out, but history had never been my thing. Instead of Hera responding, Lupa answered the question, having been observing so far.

"Another war is coming, and this time we fear that cooperation may be necessary to win, unlike

the war with Saturn."

I turned to look at her, and while her poise spoke of confidence her eyes shown in worry, and I realized that whatever plan they had made was all they had, and they were here to try and fix it.

Somehow, I had messed up another plan of the gods, again.

But even beyond that, the thought of another war petrified me. We had just fought one, and lost so many in the process. Michael, Silena, Beckendorf, Zoe, Bianca. The list went on. Despite the peace we enjoyed now, Camp Half-Blood had been hit hard by the Titans and I didn't know if we could take another war so soon. We were lucky that the Gods had been following in their promise, bringing and claiming their children to Camp and giving them new cabins. It had kept us busy, and looking to the future, one that I was now learning still looked dark.

Shaking my head from y dark thoughts, I looked back up, a silent question in my eyes. What was my part in this, and why, if this was coming, had the Gods shut themselves off from us.

"My husband, Lord Zeus, is a paranoid man as you well know, but he also is prone to ignoring threats and hoping they go away. So soon after such a devastating war, he has chosen to cut Olympus off from the mortal world in hopes that our enemies will not come." Hera spat, her disdain for the idea clear to hear. And I found myself agreeing with her, all that would do is leave the world open for those against Olympus to act, not cause them to stop.

"That's ridiculous! Does Zeus even know what he's doing?" I shouted, my frustration with the God coming through. He had always made poor choices, but this was top of the list. There was no logic to this action, and it only condemned the demigods to a harder war.

Instead of looking angry at my outburst like I expected, Hera looked amused, her worry melting back for a moment.

"Peace, child. Your words ring true but we must be careful, Zeus knows not of this meeting and his wrath would come should he learn of it." Hera spoke, her voice calm as she gestured for me to sit down as I blushed, having not realized I was standing.

"Now, originally you were to awaken in April, your memories gone, and you were to train under Lupa before going to Camp Jupiter and earning their trust, just as I have done already with another for Camp Half-Blood."

"You were going to take my memories?!" I yelped, looking between the goddesses incredulously. How would that have been helpful?

"Yes," Hera chuckled, "We had to find some way to overcome your Greek heritage so that you would be able to enter Roman territory without feeling the rivalry that exists. This was the only solution we found in our short time looking."

I still didn't understand, what rivalry was she talking about? I knew that Romans and Greeks hadn't liked each other in history, but she spoke like that mattered now.

"You've been mentioning Romans, and you just mentioned another camp. Are you telling me that there are other demigods? Roman ones?" I asked, my mind feeling like I had already learned too much today to handle yet another bombshell.

"Yes child, as I mentioned before I am the Guardian of Rome, their patron. Before you questioned my existence, but just as the Greeks have survived into the modern day so have the Romans." This time it was Lupa speaking, her eyes sparkling with pride when talking of those she represented. Knowing what I did about Roman history, they were like her children, and I could see why she would be proud.

"Where were they during the war with Kronos then! Surely they could have helped us defend

Olympus!" I asked, agitated at the thought that we could have prevented losses. There had only been 40 of us to defend the home of the Gods, and any help would have been a blessing. Lupa's body took on a more aggressive stance, growling. "Do not presume to judge the Legion, child. They fought and shed blood just the same at Mount Othrys the day Kronos attacked Olympus."

We glared at each other, neither of our pride letting us back down. My rational side knew that what she said was valid, that they had been busy with worthy tasks. But irrationally, I could not equate them. Attacking a stronghold was hard, yes, but desperately defending a city with only 40 demigods stretched thin after years of war had been hell.

"Peace" Hera spoke, her arms resting on the both of us, snapping us out of the staring contest. With my grief being pushed to the back, I shook my head and brought my thoughts back to the present.

"I am sorry Lady Lupa, I did not mean to disrespect those who gave their lives for Rome." I spoke, genuine sorrow at the loss of life coming through. Lupa continued to look at my, seeming to analyze me, to read if I had been genuine or not. For moment, it was silent, as she watched, before her snuffling laugh came through again.

"You will make a good Roman, Perseus." She spoke, my apology seemingly accepted. I dipped my head in thanks, "Please, Lady Lupa, it's Percy." I smiled, happy to have not offended at least one immortal.

"Wonderful, I'm glad your squabble is over," Hera spoke, as both me and Lupa looked sheepish, having gotten caught in our pride.

"Now, I guess I'll just put you back to sleep and be done with it," she said, looking bored. This obviously wasn't meant to have taken as long as it had.

Then I registered her words, and I realized that she was raising her hand to do just that, before I shouted "Wait!" And she stopped, looking at me curiously. Taking it as an opportunity to continue, I quickly spoke, "You said the reason you took my memory was because of my heritage, that if I remembered I was Greek that being in this Camp Jupiter would trigger the rivalry between us, right?"

Both immortals nodded, obviously curious as to where I was taking this. I really, really didn't want to have my memory erased, and if I wasn't going to be able to go back to Camp Half-Blood I at least wanted to be doing something that could help others and increase our chances.

"So I should be feeling on edge here then, right? Like I'm in enemy territory." I said, leading to them nodding yet again.

"Okay, so what if I don't," I said, hoping they believed me.

Hera looked at me in surprise, before her eyes took on a calculating hue, once again seeming like she was reevaluating me.

"What do you feel then, child. How does this place make you feel." Lupa spoke, looking even more curious than she had before. I felt naked under their scrutiny, but I knew I had to answer, it was the only way I could keep my memories.

"It feels like home, like how Camp Half-Blood feels. A part of me does feel weird, like I don't belong but it isn't that strong, and that's how Camp Half-Blood felt too at first." Hera's eyes widened at my description, before she looked to Lupa, obviously having a mental conversation.

It felt weird, sitting there knowing they were talking about me but I couldn't hear it. It was the one part of gods that I hadn't really gotten used to.

Eventually, their conversation ended, and Hera turned to me once again and spoke, "Perseus, you mean to say that Camp Half-Blood and here inspire the same feeling, the exact same feeling?" The intensity in her eyes made me uncomfortable, but I nodded all the same.

"That does work in our favour, it would be helpful if you had your memory when you went to Camp Jupiter. It'd be much easier for them to trust someone without amnesia." Hera began to talk, seeming to be in a world of her own, planning. All I knew was that it seemed I might not lose my memory, and that was a victory if anything else.

"Lady Hera, if I may," I interrupted, hoping she would consider what I said. She snapped out of her thinking and looked at me, before nodding and gesturing for me to go on.

"While I may not be able to return to Camp Half-Blood, I could still get training while I wait to go to Camp Jupiter, would that not be beneficial?" I proposed, hoping she thought the idea merit.

"And where would you train? Lupa's training only lasts a month before she would send you into the world, yet there are 5 months between now and when you should be arriving at Camp Jupiter." She responded, seeming to not be against the idea, but to be curious as to how it would actually work.

"With Olympus shut from the world, I could travel to my fathers domain in Atlantis and request training from him. He will have not broken the communication rule of Zeus, and with Olympus shut he has no need to inform my Uncle of my training until much later." While I wasn't sure what I said would work, it was the best idea I'd come up with in the short time I'd had, and I was sure that traveling to his domain would at least be decent training, and it would allow me to stay awake.

"While I am loath to admit it, your idea has merit, Son of the Sea." Hera spoke after a moment of thought, looking like saying so had pained her.

"Beyond the regular training you may get from my brother, me and Lupa believe that you may be a mix of both Roman and Greek, hence why you feel at peace at this place. If this is true, then you have access to powers that have never been wielded with those you have already shown. Only Poseidon can instruct you in these powers, and it would be foolish to stop you from learning them."

While I was delighted to hear that I would be allowed to stay awake and train with my father, the revelation that I may be a mix of Roman and Greek was shocking to say the least. And the idea of more power made me feel nauseous. I had enough already, and I had to work to keep control when I did use them. Hopefully my father could teach me the control I desperately needed to refine.

Looking back up from my thoughts, I saw the two immortals looking at me with determined faces. Their plan was back on track, and now I could do more good in my part.

"Before you begin your training, Perseus, I shall give you my blessing as a champion of me. Fate has changed on this day, and I have a feeling that you will need my blessing to fulfill what destiny has in store for you." Hera spoke imperiously, and I knew that despite my misgivings about my own power, I would have no say in this matter. She gestured for me to rise, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lupa leaving the table, and as the table disappeared Hera's hand landed on my head, and a rush of power entered my body as I struggled to stay standing.

As her hand lifted from my head I felt both exhausted and more energized than I ever had, and as I met her eyes, Hera parted with one last thing.

"Much will change in the coming months, my champion, and you must be the glue that keeps the others together. Learn to embrace your power and trust your instincts, for they may be all that stands between our world and destruction," and with that, in Olympian fashion, Hera left, a new burden placed on my shoulders and only cryptic words to guide me.

Recovering from the blessing, I turned to Lupa and smiled, "I guess my training begins now, Lady Lupa."