Athens
Percy had informed Demosthenes and all the women he now kept in his inner circle of the message from Reyna. They were all looking at Percy. The rage was present in his eyes but his face appeared clam. "Demosthenes, send a rider to Epidaurus. You will go to Korinth…" The advisor cut him off.
"To bring Tanaka." Percy nodded in response.
"Bring Solace from Epidaurus. As for Tanaka, tell her the king allows her to ply her trade demands she come to me."
"Of course, sire." Everyone was looking at him.
"Will Solace can get me Nico. Drew Tanaka runs the most successful spy organization in the Mediterranean from a brothel in Korinth."
"Information for sex," hissed Phoebe, disgust on her face.
"They use what they can for it."
"Perseus," he turned to Zoë, the original one. "Allow Phoebe and I to go to Rome with them. That is where thou intend to send them, no?" Percy nodded.
"I am inclined to believe Reyna's theory that he is being controlled. I want to find who holds the reins and cut them off. But I have been here too long to put faith in a single effort. Thalia, ride to Sparta with Hunter, tell Clarisse to prepare soldiers for war. I don't know how long it will, but I need them ready to fight a war. I'm afraid the days of a battle winning a campaign are over. Naomi, you will find my Navarch, Alexios. Bring him here, you're going to the islands to prepare their forces for movement to the mainland for war." Annabeth looked at him with an unexplainable look on her face. Hunter and Naomi looked to Zoë and Thalia for approval. They, thankfully, did not affirm or deny the order. That left Percy as the authority. Now he turned to Zoë. "Why do you want to go to Rome?"
"Nos autem, ut diximus, sed Graeca fuit Romae, Rex." Annabeth nodded. Percy looked to her. She translated for him.
"She said they are Greek, but have been in Rome, King."
"You never need to call me king, any of you." His eyes flashed with their Greek fire quality. It was an unspoken threat to the two hunters. Zoë, and surprisingly Phoebe, did not question the unsaid "As long as you still follow my orders." The look of awe on Annabeth's face was picture worthy. If there had ever been a weakness of Percy's leadership it was leading peers. It no longer seemed that was the case. She was impressed, hell, she was turned on. His eyes alone had portrayed a message in a moment that she would have overthought for too long.
"Thou art the only one I have wanted call king." Zoë bowed her head to him slightly and took her leave to prepare for the journey. Phoebe turned to him.
"If she will say that, you must deserve it, sire," she too bowed and took her leave. Thalia led the other hunters out, Percy could hear her hissed threats to them. He let out a breath and turned to Annabeth. She surprised him when she jumped him to begin kissing him.
"What is that for?"
"For never ceasing to amaze me." He cocked his head to the side. "If you had one weakness as a leader before it was leading people you considered to be equals, even if they did not. But that impressive. Two of the eldest Hunters calling you king?" Her face fell a little. "But why did you never mention Will and Nico and Drew?" Percy took in a deep breath.
"Nico was with me when we put down the demigod hunters in Achaea. It was really just eh two of us. After all we were forced to do there, he asked to leave and attempt to find peace with Will. After all that happened, I could not deny him the opportunity."
"You never speak about that. Everyone mentions Achaea, but you."
"Nico brought me the report. Throughout Achaea, but mostly Patra, demigods were being hunted. The lucky ones were killed, the others made slaves and used in horrible ways. We snuck into Patra, the demigods were being forced to fight to the death in theater under threat of the female relatives being raped or children killed. We both lost control. He raised thousands of skeleton warriors. I…I.." his voice was breaking, "I did something I had not done since Tartarus. But they…they…they were about to kill a baby by swinging him like a doll into a stone pillar." Annabeth's hand covered her mouth as tears leaked from her eyes. "I don't know how many I harmed or killed. We had passed so many dead on our way into the city. So many killed because of their godly parent. Nico had to stop me, because in my blind anger I had started an earthquake. It leveled parts of the city and tidal wave it caused destroyed more." Annabeth was crying now. "I accepted being king upon returning to Athens. It was the only way I know I could keep them all safe."
"Oh my gods, Percy." She did not seem to hate him, he could see pity o her face though.
"Drew isn't as dark a story. For her, its just business, but her people aren't just spies. They're as likely to use a dagger in dark as collect information. I've used that service as often as I've used the information gathering."
"I never realized how bloody this place has been." Percy nodded solemnly. "Why did you not task me with anything like the others?"
"Because I need you to go north. Find me the best places to destroy legions with phalanxes. Even if we end whoever is controlling Jason, we can't guarantee Rome won't attack." Annabeth nodded, then a dirty smile filled her face.
"It was kind of sexy seeing you be all kingly."
"Ah," he said, a twinkle in his eyes. "But you're the queen."
"Then take your queen to bed, my king." Annabeth laughed as he swept her into his arms.
"Your king is quite willing to do that."
Epidaurus
Nico knew he should have run the minute that he looked out the window of his and Will's house and saw blue cloaked soldiers approaching. While the city's emblem had been altered to respect their king, the owl and trident on the shields revealed them to be Athenian. That only meant one thing. The boy who seemed to be spokesman was young, Nico guessed him to be maybe seventeen. A slight smirk narrowed Nico's eyes in the corners as he realized that he probably had not looked much different when he was younger and trying to fill out armor or maintain a proper balance with his weapons with his slight build.
"What can I do for you, soldier?" The soldier, who while young was beginning to build muscle looked at the slightly built man with dark hair and skin that should be darker than it was considering the Greek sun. Across from him Nico had looked down at his hand and thought, Damn, this is the darkest I've ever been. It's only taken fourteen years in this fucking place.
"I was sent to Nico, the Son of Hades." Nico smiled at him sadly.
"I am just the healer's husband."
"And I quote: Look for the man who is too pale, has dark hair like a shadow, and will act like he has no idea who you are talking about."
"I am the healer's husband."
"And he will act like just the healer's husband."
"Fucking Percy!" Nico snapped. His dark and dangerous eyes turned to the soldier. "What does he want?"
"The King asks that you come to Athens. He is sending people to Rome, he said to tell you someone is controlling the Blonde Superman and he needs saving." Nico froze, he knew people had come back. People who should have been dead that were talking the world, but he did not know Jason was one of them. Fucking Percy, he knows when he frames it that way I can' t say no. It's been over twenty damned years since Achaea and I haven't left this forest since. He turned back to the soldier.
"I must speak to my husband. Then I will travel."
"We can escort you…" Nico cut him off.
"Trust me, you don't want to travel the way I will."
Korinth
"What does he want this time? Another prince of a fucking island? Information on the lords of Thebes?" Drew Tanaka looked at the man before her. She knew who he was and who he worked for, it was her job to know such things after all.
"He summons you to Athens."
"Why don't you just give me the message and save me the trip?" she said coyly.
"Why don't you shut the fuck up and get ready to leave?" Demosthenes glared at Drew and even she felt like withering under his gaze. The old soldier had stood in many battles against great odds. One of words against Drew was not one that would even enter. "The king does not want to wait. You have one hour."
Gaul
When Michael Kahale handed the message to Reyna it had changed hands for the dozenth time. From Percy to the runner to the first leg to Piraeus before a ship took the next leg to the eastern coast of Thessaly. From that port horsemen carried the message into Thebes, where a chariot carried it north to Pella. In Pella it reached the hands of Tribune Antonius, who delivered it to Hazel Zhang, who handed it to her husband, who then gave it to a young cavalryman that he trusted implicitly because he had once been a slave who Frank had paid for his freedom. That rider had express orders to only deliver the message to Praetor Reyna of Legio IX Hispana and Consul Jason Grace's army in Gaul.
Bandits in Illyria wounded him in an ambush. So when he collapsed in front of the Legio XVII Flavia Firma Legate Gwen saw the seal of the Gemini Legions and the boy with a dying breath muttered "For Praetor Reyna only." Gwen opened it by natural curiosity alone and recognized that only someone from their timeline could read it. So she entrusted it to her personal slave who acted as her adjutant, Octavia. Gwen knew that the slave would have more freedom to wander the camp that any of her officers or she herself. Octavia still did not have the freedom necessary for her task. So when she witnessed the Legate of the 8th entering the Praetor's tent late at night, she gambled. Fortunately Michael Kahale had become Reyna's confidant. While many of the officers had began to speculate that they had taken each other as lovers it was not the case, instead they were trying to develop a plan to get at least one of them back to Rome to investigate who this girl that was being held to manipulate Jason was.
"Where did this come from?" Reyna looked at the broken seal. "And who fucking opened it?"
"A slave, personal one of Gwen. She said her master opened it when the original courier died in front of them. When she saw what was written she entrusted the letter to the slave to get it to you."
"Did you read it?" Michael shook his head. "It says Percy is sending people to Rome to investigate. He doesn't say who. But they will hunt for the puppet master. But last lines are troubling. It says "I understand he is being controlled, I would hypothesize an eidolon is involved, but only you are close enough to determine that. I will warn you, even if he does not know he's doing or doesn't want to, I have called upon my armies in Greece. We will not allow legions to enter unopposed. It is not an indictment of your abilities, but I have responsibilities to my people as well as my friends and I hope I never have choose between them." One of us needs to get to Rome to assist his people. Because Rome will demand Greece of us."
"Rome will demand Greece regardless, Reyna. But if we have the real Jason we can at least attempt to cull their lust for power and gold."
"And if we can't, Michael?"
"We march on them, and if the rumors are correct, instead of just an incredibly power Son of Poseidon, he'll have nearly fifty thousand soldiers to meet us on the field or on the sea. Gods bless if Rome decides to fight Greece on the sea against."
"We have to find whoever is controlling Jason. That is the only possible solution or way to save our friends. Like he said in his message, we can't allow ourselves to a position where we have to choose between friends and our country. What if it is friends or other friends?" Reyna let the question hang in the air.
Athens
Nico arrived first stepping out of a shadow. Two days later Demosthenes arrived with Drew Tanaka. An unexpected visitor was a young Spartan a second son of the king and close friend of Clarisse la Rue. Brasidas was his name and like his namesake he hoped to be a great general, Clarisse seemed to believe that most likely to occur under the tutelage of Percy and Annabeth. "Spartans are great tacticians," her missive said, "But you shits understand strategy."
The two hunters had left for Rome. Thalia and Hunter were to depart the next day, Naomi in a week's time with the Navarch. Nico and Percy's greeting of each other was cold compared to the one he received from Annabeth and Thalia. They told him they had spoken to Hazel and that she seemed well and was married now. Drew turned her gaze to the king and Percy was vaguely reminded of the face of a viper. Beautiful with a eye glint that wanted to fucking kill you.
"Why am I here, sire?" She added the last word with only a slight hesitancy given the look on Demothenes' face.
"Two of your girls will go to Rome with Nico and meet up with the Hunters I've already sent. I'll need a boy too, the target's been on campaign for nearly two years now, I'm sure his wife is very lonely." Annabeth looked at this course of action with disdain but she also knew the desire for thatkind of physical comfort well considering the number of times her and Percy had been separated. She had never fallen into the temptation though.
"Who is the target?"
"Jason Grace, he's now a Consul of Rome. I received intelligence from a contact in his army that they believe the consul is being manipulated by an unseen actor. The message they recovered said that a girl was being held hostage to ensure his compliance. Drew, your people, along with Nico and two Hunters of Artemis working for me."
His eyes flashed as Hunter began to hiss, "We don't work for any ma…"
"Silence!" Percy stated and added a tremor from the earth to emphasize it. "You fucking working for me until your mistress comes to reclaim you, understand that now or get the fuck out." Nico looked at old friend. The sea green eyes burned like Greek fire. He's come into his own. He thought with a small grin. "Anyway. Find whoever this girl is and find out how they're controlling him. As consul he can veto any declaration of war towards us. We need him to be himself." Drew inclined her head and Nico, like several others, were pleased to see the slight shadow of fear upon her face.
Thalia, Annabeth, Nico, and Percy huddled together. Nico asked the question they were all wondering first. "What if he isn't being as controlled as we think? Or if we can't figure out who's doing it?"
"Then we'll go to war and the question everyone's always wanted answered will be. Is he or I stronger?"