Epilogue Part Two

Okay, so it was maybe, just a little bit possible that Annabeth had made a mistake.

She had shown up to New Rome with three things in mind—making sure Frank and Hazel were okay, helping them design a Pantheon, and hopefully making the Romans understand that a supreme military leader was not needed to run their camp. The first two goals had gone flawlessly. Hazel had been so excited by her new roles in the camp that she spent nearly forty minutes explaining aspects of magic that even Annabeth didn't fully understand, and Frank had seemed so comfortable in his job that she felt her mood lighten in ways she needed. Designing the Pantheon—or Pantheum, as the Romans so religiously insisted—had gone really, really well. The chief engineer, a son of Hephaestus named Gregory Wulf, had met with her from day one, showing her his own plans, as well as the plans of other selected architects, to be used for the temple. It was a mix of the classic Pantheon design, standard Greco-Roman temples, and a forum. Annabeth had immediately spotted several, admittedly minor, flaws in the design, and when she pointed them out, Wulf had smacked his forehead before scribbling corrections out. Every day, twice a day, she met with the team, and she was damn proud of what they had designed.

That said…it was on her third task where she might have possibly made her mistake. Jason, Frank, and Hazel had all made comments about how much better the Greeks treated their spirits, and so Annabeth had naturally assumed that she'd find strong allies to spread her message about true democracy. She thought she had been subtle, had thought that she had made the right connections, and instead, she found herself a persona non grata in the Spirit District after two weeks. The way she found out was arguably the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to her. After her morning meeting with the Pantheon Team, she made her way down the winding via Claudia as she always did, and when she reached the gateway that led into the district, she found a wall of Satyr's blocking her path, one very angry Nymph at their head. Annabeth came to a slow halt, so the nymph stomped over to her, jabbing a bony finger into her chest.

"How dare you!" She exclaimed, and Annabeth could already see people stopping what they were doing to investigate. "You come here as a guest and you go around trying to turn people against out Imperator? Is this the friendship we should expect from other Graeci? Smiles in the front, but a knife in the back?"

"I'm not—" Annabeth tried, but the Nymph wasn't having it.

"Don't try to deny it! I've had people coming to me since you arrived, telling me all about the little comments you were making about the Imperator." The nymph declared. "Let me tell you something about him—my husband died to save him, and I fully expected that to be the end of it. But he made an effort to track me down, to apologise in person, and to make sure my son and I didn't want for anything. When your warship fired on our city, this district burned down, and it was the Imperator who made sure that our homes were rebuilt to the standard of every other home in this city. He's the one who has fought for us, not against us, and if you think that you can come here and try to make us see him as a bad person, then you've got another thing coming. You are no longer welcome in the Spirit District, Miss Chase. Do not try to come here again."

"What?" Annabeth's mouth fell open.

"You cannot enter the Spirit District." The nymph repeated, slowly. "We don't want you. We don't need you."

"Hey, hey, Angie." A new voice interjected, and Annabeth glanced over to see a young teen approaching them. He was in that awkward stage of growth, where his limbs seemed a little too long for his body, and his voice cracked just a little too much. "What're you doing, Ang? The Imperator invited Miss Chase to New Rome, you can't just ban her from an entire section of it."

"Don't you get me started, Kyle Patterson." The nymph—Angie—shook a finger at the boy. "I'm not going to have anyone come into our home and tell us that we don't need an Imperator, or that our Imperator isn't the friend we've been praying to have for centuries. So yes, I can ban her from the Spirit District. We voted on it, as a district."

"Gods, really?" The boy, Kyle, groaned. "Okay. You know I'm going to need to tell Legate Reyna, right? She's going to have questions."

"And I'll tell her the same thing I told you." Angie huffed. "We won't have her, Kyle. We won't."

"Miss Chase, it might be best if you went somewhere else." Kyle suggested, quite sharply, before turning back to Angie. "I'll handle it from here, Ang. I promise."

"You'd better." Angie warned, before pivoting on a heel and stalking back into the district, the small mob of fauns falling into a trot behind her. Annabeth was still so shaken by the whole ordeal that she could barely comprehend it. The nymph was clearly some sort of leader, but no one had ever made mention of her when Annabeth was visiting the district before, and she had never seen her out and about, talking to the other spirits present. How had she missed this?

"Miss Chase." Kyle said, and she turned back to him. "I need to go report this to Legate Reyna. Do you want an escort to take you anywhere? The spirits probably won't do anything, but if they feel you've insulted the Imperator, they may try to take matters into their own hands, regardless of treaty obligations."

"No." She replied stiffly. "I'll be fine."

Somehow, the fact that a tween was looking at her like she was being stupid was the second most insulting thing to happen to Annabeth that day, and she couldn't do anything but stew as she marched back to the villa she and Andy had been given to stay in. She threw herself onto the couch and then screamed into a pillow. This was all going so wrong. Annabeth wasn't sure how long she laid there, but eventually, she felt Andy rubbing her back sympathetically. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and then she cleared her throat softly.

"I, uh, heard you had a not-so-nice encounter with a nymph." Andy said. "You should know that the story's spread far and wide. You're…not the most popular person right now, especially with the legion."

"What?" Annabeth bolted upright. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Beth—"

"No, I didn't! I know I didn't! They have freedom of speech here, right? It's still America! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Annabeth, you've been trying to agitate against Percy for weeks now." Andy pointed out. "I just found out, but Reyna's known since you started, and she's been trying to keep things quiet. I don't think you really understand just how important Percy is here."

"Everyone keeps saying that, but all I've seen is a prick who likes using a private army to get his way!" She huffed. "It's stupid. They don't need a dictator when they have a Senate!"

"Wow, okay, I didn't realise it was this bad." Andy sighed. "Look, I know you think the Senate is great and all, democracy, yay, but they're really not. A sizeable majority would have voted to destroy Camp Half Blood and kill anyone of age there. Do you know who refused to let that happen? Percy. The Senate is split up between those who support Percy and those who want more power, just for the sake of it."

"They can learn." Annabeth insisted. "They like you!"

"They like me because I'm powerful, and I found their Eagle." Her girlfriend shook her head. "And really only the Fifth Cohort likes me. The others just don't want to upset Percy. He's…okay, bear with me for a second and don't run with this analogy exactly where I know you will—Percy's role here is the same that Luke's was when I first showed up at Camp Half Blood."

"So he's—"

"The first among equals." Andy interrupted her with a pointed look. "He has the most experience and the most skill, so everyone looks to him for leadership. That was happening even before Percy was an officer, when he was just a legionary. After he became Primus Pilus, they had someone incredibly competent in charge, and Percy was able to politic enough that we didn't arrive in an active warzone. After the Battle of New Rome, the legion just decided to…formalise that position. They didn't choose Percy because he wanted them to, because he had manipulated them—Styx, he wasn't even conscious when it happened—they chose Percy because out of everyone in this city, he's the most qualified to lead them through what is admittedly a very chaotic time. They couldn't have chosen better. Can you imagine how awful it would have been if someone like Octavian had managed to end up in charge for the war?"

That was…a remarkably good point. The Pontifex Maximus was cordial with them, but he made it clear that it was only because he had been ordered to, not because he had any desire to be. Considering how often he talked about the ancient Roman's triumphs over both the Greeks and Macedonians, as well as, oh, the entire Mediterranean, Annabeth was able to admit that the notion of someone as imperialistic and traditional as that would have made for a much worse war. Annabeth knew Andy was smart—she had been a key factor in winning the Titan War, and an idiot couldn't have pulled that off—but sometimes she was able to completely blindside Annabeth with just how calculating and observant she was. It was a little intimidating…and kind of hot.

"The point is, no matter what you think Percy is like, he was the only one here who was supporting us—and he wasn't even convinced that we were innocent, at first." Andy continued, squeezing Annabeth's hand gently. "I know you don't like him. I know that something happened that you didn't like, and it soured what could have been, but for my sanity, and your safety, please don't go around New Rome trying to convince people to stage a revolution. Not only is it not wanted, but it would also arguably do more harm than good. Having Percy in power means we have a friend in power—anyone else might be…less than eager to work with us."

"…I still don't like him." Was she being petty? Yes. Did she care? Also yes. Was she going to do anything about it? Not yet.

"That's okay." Andy chuckled softly. "Percy doesn't like you either. But he was the one who invited you. I asked Reyna if it was her idea, and she told me it wasn't. This was his way of trying to make peace. All that said…we've been summoned to the Senate."

"Why?"

"I don't know—no one does. Lupa just showed up, told us we were going to attend an emergency session of the Senate, and then left. We've got to be there in…fifteen minutes. You good to go, or do you need to vent?"

"I'm good." Annabeth promised. "I'll even be nice to Octavian."

"Hey, don't go out of your way on that front." She laughed. "Reyna told me that she treats him like she does the parents of any legionary asking about their kid, and that relationship seems to work for them. It's—oh my gods, Reyna's the exasperated teacher dealing with the out of touch mom at a parent-teacher conference. Oh, that's hilarious. She's going to love that."

"Let's go before you start crying from laughing too hard at your own bad jokes." Annabeth tugged Andy up with her.

"What do you mean?" Her girlfriend protested. "I'm hilarious. A comedic genius. The next big thing."

"I mean, you're no Bill Hader, but really, who is?"

XXX

The Senate house was almost in a state of suspense when they arrived. There was quiet whispering amongst the senators, and even the officers of the legion seemed unsure. The fact that no one knew why the meeting had been called was clearly weighing on everyone's mind, and they were all glancing to Reyna in the hopes that she would have some idea. Annabeth could tell that she didn't, though, even through the blank mask she wore. Her eyes were slowly tracing the room, as if she was searching for an answer herself. Throw in the fact that Lupa hadn't shown up yet made the whole situation even more tense. It was weird, watching the body in its somewhat natural state—there were no looming threats, no upcoming wars. This was just the Senate unsure of what was about to happen, and from the private booth where she and Andy were watching from, they were getting the golden view of the whole thing.

"Hello Andromeda. Annabeth." A quiet voice interrupted their own little bubble, and a tall, beautiful woman sat between them. She was wearing what Annabeth assumed were traditional (read, ancient) Roman clothing. The thing was, Annabeth had no idea who this was. Andy's eyes narrowed, and her head cocked to the side.

"Lady Lupa?"

"Ah, yes, you've never encountered my human form." Lupa smirked, and in that moment, all Annabeth could think about was Percy freaking Jackson. He had learnt it from a goddess, because of course he had. "I am interested to see how this session goes. I was very surprised when I was told to summon it."

"Why would Zeus, er, Jupiter want to summon a session of the senate without Percy?" Andy asked, wincing at her slip.

"Jupiter did not pass the order down." Lupa said simply. Annabeth processed that for a second.

"Wait." She said. "Do you mean—"

The doors to the Senate flung open, cutting her off, and in strolled in two of the biggest men she had ever seen in her life. They were as tall as Tyson, as muscular as Ares, and looked like they had walked out of a history book, . Almost dwarfed between them was none other than Percy freaking Jackson, slightly tanner, wearing shorts, a tank-top, and flipflops with a cap stuck on his head backwards, looking far too much like a frat-boy for a senate meeting. The tank-top also revealed that he had gotten tattoos, on top of the one branded on his arm. She couldn't make anything out from her spot, however.

"Sorry to drop in like this." He greeted the Senate, sounding entirely unapologetic. "I just arrived an hour ago, so I didn't have time to change. Sorry about the whole look."

No one answered him, still too surprised by his arrival and his guests. Percy didn't seem to care. He stopped to lean down and press a kiss onto Reyna's head, and then continued on to his seat. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "I'd like to introduce you to Marco and Tank. They're part of my new bodyguard unit, the Germani Corporis Custodes. They're former Goths—Tervingi, specifically. Dead for a millennium or so, but they managed to escape during the whole situation with Terra."

"I—what about the Amazons?" Vanessa Grey, one of the two consuls, asked.

"They'll keep serving as my guards for now. The Germani will take the night shift, while the Amazons take the day shift. Once their contract with me is fulfilled, they'll return to their queen." Percy answered easily. "Now that they've been properly introduced, Marco and Tank are going to leave. I'll introduce the others in a less formal setting, but those two were important to meet."

The Germani—Goths? Tervingi? Annabeth wasn't sure what the right term was—left without a word. A glance to her left showed Lupa actually smiling with pride.

"Onto further matters. I've been checking in with some of my sources, and it looks like there are remnants of both Saturn and Terra's armies hiding around, trying to remain under the radar. That won't do, so starting next month, I'm going to send the cohorts out for rotations in the field, tasked with tracking down and eliminating any of these groups west of the Mississippi River. I've passed the information about any groups east of that to the Greek camp so they'll be able to handle it as they please." Percy said easily. "Questions about that?"

"How many cohorts?" It was Frank who asked, a small notebook resting against his knee, and a pen ready to jot down notes.

"That's up to the Legate." Percy replied with a nod to Reyna, who returned it with a small smile. "As we're not in an active state of war, all matters regarding the operation of the legion fall to her. I simply provide the targets. She can brief you on anything you need to know, Tribune."

Annabeth watched him as he fielded more questions, answering them with ease, and after a while, she realised why it seemed so familiar to her—it reminded her of Andy, during the Battle of Manhattan. Taking charge, being helpful, but not taking any crap either. She supposed that there must have been some similarities between the two half-siblings, but where Andy only took charge when she needed to, Percy took charge because he had to. There was no hesitation in his answers, no comments that could be taken any particular way. It was Percy at his finest, and watching him now, mostly without bias, she was able to see why the Romans had picked him to lead them. He was a brilliant politician. After a while, he raised a hand, and the room became silent again.

"This is…a particularly heavy topic." He said after a moment, shifting in his seat. "Marcus Greer is going to be executed tonight."

The room became still, and all eyes were on Percy. His face was annoyingly blank, but unlike Reyna, Annabeth couldn't read further into it. He wasn't giving anything away.

"Ignoring the fact that he tried to kill me personally, Greer also tried to kill a minor. He did kill a Faun." Percy said. "Even if it wasn't treason, it's still something that would have happened. However, it ends with Marcus. His family are not to be touched. If I hear that the Greer's are being harassed in any capacity, I will respond. That goes doubly for the legion. Anyone found violating the privacy and the safety of the Greer's will be expelled from the legion without a less than honourable discharge. I am not in the business of pursuing vendettas, and neither should anyone else."

"One could argue it was a staple of Roman society." Lupa called out. Percy cocked his head to the side, a small smirk overtaking his features.

"Maybe. But there are a lot of aspects of Roman society that were outdated and flat out wrong. We left them behind for a reason." He replied. "Thank you, my lady."

Lupa didn't reply, simply retook her seat. Percy turned his focus back to the Senate.

"There's a few more things that we need to cover before we're finished, so we'll get those out of the way." He continued. "It hasn't been done yet, but I'm considering a waiver for those Greeks who fought beside against Terra to be admitted into New Rome University. Normally, they'd be required to take the entrance exam, but I feel in this case their bravery and heroics in the face of a Giant Army, as well as standing beside us unflinchingly despite the previous tension should grant them access. Keep in mind, this is only for those who fought, not every Greek camper."

There was a quiet murmur around the room, but Percy was on a roll, clearly.

"I've written several further proposals that will be presented to the Senate over the following weeks, so get ready for a busy winter and spring." He pressed on. "We should expect an influx of demigods and legacies in the near future—Queen Salacia informed me that a large group should be coming of age over the next six months or so. The timing is…interesting, of course, considering everything that's happened, but I've learned that some things just aren't meant to be questioned, and I'd advise you do the same."

"Lastly," he paused, before his gaze locked directly onto Annabeth. "I'd like to personally extend my thanks to Annabeth Chase for coming all the way from New York to help us design our Pantheum. She's done us a great favour, and from what I was told, her work on Olympus was loved by all, so I know that we're in capable hands. Miss Chase, should you ever decide to come to New Rome University, know that there's a spot waiting for you in the Architecture Program. That's everything for today's emergency session. The Senate will meet per usual next Friday. Thank you, and may Fortuna bless you all."

Percy made no effort to leave in a hurry, she noticed. He stopped and spoke with anyone who engaged him, shaking hands, telling jokes. After five minutes, he left her line of sight, but she could still hear people calling out to him. She was somewhat surprised, then, when he suddenly appeared behind her and Andy, ruffling his sister's hair, and giving a polite bow to Lady Lupa.

"Sorry to drop in like this." He apologised. "Annabeth, mind joining me for a walk?"

"Percy…" Andy said hesitantly.

"Do you really think that if I was planning on doing something, I would let anyone, let alone you, know I was the last one with her?" He asked, not as a threat, but as a simple statement. "I just want to talk. In private, without any other demigods, spirits, or gods around. No offence, Mother Lupa."

"None taken." The goddess replied. "I will be waiting for you at the Wolf House, when it is time for Marcus Greer to die."

"Wow, okay, that's dark." Andy muttered. "I'll just…wait at home, I guess?"

"We won't be long." Percy said, before stopping. "Actually, she hasn't agreed to go with me anywhere, so I guess I should wait before saying anything about time."

Annabeth studied him closely for a moment. He was at ease, there was no tension in his body—he seemed genuine. "Okay. I'll see you in half an hour, babe. Don't send the search parties before then."

She followed Percy out of the Senate House, and immediately, they were greeted by a small mob clamouring for his attention. But at the same time that the crowd started to surge forward, the Amazons and the…Germans? Goths? She still wasn't sure. The new bodyguards surged forward to counter them, and it was a damn impressive wall of bodies—the Amazons were hardened warriors, and despite not being allowed to carry weapons inside the city limits, they did carry four foot long steel rods, which, technically, were not weapons. The new guys, on the other hand, didn't need any sort of help. They towered over everyone in the crowd, and looked like they could turn a bowling ball into powder with their hands. The Romans seemed to realise they weren't going to get any of Percy's time, and they backed off quickly and respectfully, bowing their heads to him. It was weird, seeing so many demigods and mortals showing reverence to another demigod, but she supposed it was just how things were here.

It wasn't long before they were out of the city, standing on a small hill overlooking the Little Tiber. As they stood there, Annabeth swore that the water seemed to get a little clearer, and that a distinct hint of salt permeated the air. That couldn't be right though. They were far from the ocean, and the Little Tiber was a fresh-water river. She pushed the observation aside for later.

"This is where Marcus Greer tried to kill me, you know?" Percy said conversationally. Annabeth's brain, on the other hand, stuttered to a halt at his words, and a small indescribable sound may have escaped her throat. "You find it weird that I'd bring us here? A lot of people do. But I don't associate this place with Marcus Greer."

"How couldn't you?" She asked. "That's a pretty horrific event."

"I associate it with Marco Perez." He told her, pointing to a small sapling growing to her right. "He died trying to save me. A Faun, unarmed, threw himself onto a veteran of the legion because he saw I was in trouble. I'd never met him before. I'd couldn't have picked him out in a crowd. But he saw me, and he heard me, and he believed in me. He died for the belief. You know what happens to Fauns when they die, right?"

"They're reborn as a plant." She nodded. "That's his?"

"A dogwood tree." Percy laughed softly. It was a lot like Andy's—like Poseidon's. "They represent loyalty. Strength. Affection. All things that his faun—this man—felt for me, despite knowing that I didn't know him. One thing I very much admire about your camp is that you see your fauns as equals worthy of respect. It's not something very common or popular here, but I hope that one day it is."

"That's very encouraging and a little sweet." She admitted. "But why did you want to talk to me?"

"Because from what I understand, you had an encounter with Marco's widow earlier today." Percy said, immediately raising his hands. "I'm not coming after or anything like that because of it. You were…doing something you felt was right. If anyone else was in charge, you would have picked the right place to lay the foundations for a revolution. But you would have gotten them all killed. Good intentions can still lead to bad places."

"I'm well aware of that." Annabeth snapped, before sighing. "Sorry. Sensitive topic."

"That's fine. I was going to leave it at that anyway. The main reason I wanted to speak with you was about the Pantheum."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I got a glimpse of your blueprints. Honestly, it's the best design I've seen yet." He told her, and while Annabeth didn't feel pride at the compliment, she did feel a sense of accomplishment. "There's just one thing I'd like you to change."

…and there it was. This is where it would start. She had dealt with it on Olympus, and now she was going to deal with it here. One thing would turn into two into three into a dozen.

"You've made the shrines for the twelve principal Olympians bigger than the rest." Percy continued, unaware of her internal fuming. "And while the notion is appreciated, this is a Pantheum. A temple of all gods. They should all be represented equally. No one bigger, no one smaller."

"There's enough space for it." Annabeth felt obligated to point out.

"I know. It's not a matter of space, but principal." He explained with a small smile. "My goal is to get a temple for each Olympian built over the next few years, but the gods who won't get them need to be seen to be just as important, and the Pantheum is where that will happen. The main ceremonies for Jupiter will happen at his temple, but at the Pantheum, his shrine should be no bigger than Spes' shrine."

"Who?"

"The goddess of hope." He chuckled. "Jason sent me a list of every god and goddess that'll need a shrine. There's four hundred and eleven of them, Greek, Roman, and both."

"Wait—both?"

"What, did you think we shared every god?" He asked her with a curious expression on his face. "You have some gods that we don't, we have some gods that you don't. Bellona comes to mind."

"My mother—"

"Isn't Bellona." He pointed out. "Just because they fulfil the same role doesn't make them the same person. Immortal. Whatever. Anyway, it's a temple for all gods, not just Roman gods. There's enough room for at least twice as many shrines, so one of the decisions we'll need to make is if the different aspects share a shrine or get their own individual one. We'll be working on that later, but I thought you could do with some heads up."

"Why did you invite me to do this?" Annabeth blurted out. The question had been weighing on her mind since she had been given the offer by Jason. He had thought it was an olive branch, and she did too, but hearing his reasoning would take that weight off her mind.

"Because you're the most qualified person for the job?" Percy blinked in confusion. "You worked on Olympus, I'd have been an idiot not to ask you to help, at the very least."

"But I was—"

"Awful to me?" His lips twitched in amusement, just like Lupa's had earlier. "If I stopped working with everyone who was mean to me, talked about me behind my back, or both, I'd be able to work with like, six senators. I'm popular, but even those that work with me can get a bit frustrated by my decision making. I'm sure Jason told you it was a peace offering, and it was, but honestly, even if you had decided to keep hating me, I wouldn't have changed anything. You're smart and capable. I can tolerate being disliked. I can't tolerate idiots. This was a good talk, but you should get going before Andy comes charging in and ruins my spot."

"Yeah, that wouldn't help with the whole peace-between-camps thing." Annabeth agreed. "And, uh, it was a good talk."

"Oh, and one last thing, Chase." Percy called out as she was walking away. She glanced over her shoulder, but he wasn't even looking at her, instead, his gaze was locked on the Dogwood sapling. "If you ever try to instigate a rebellion against me again, I won't stop the mobs that come after you."

MMXXI

And here we go. Epilogue II is done, and with it, this story. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Thank you all so much for the support and kind words you've given me over the years.

Yours,

CombatTombat