When Perseus awoke again, the world was on fire. Quite literally, it seemed like everything around him was burning to the ground. He threw himself out of the bed, coughing as smoke began to fill his lungs. He drew his sword, the bronze gleaming brightly as it reflected the light the fire around him gave off. Breaking through the ceiling-to-floor window that laid to the right of the bed, he realized that the rest of the city of Rome was alight as well.

He hopped down from the balcony, rolling on the dirt outside of the manor. He looked back at the manor, almost entirely consumed with flames. He didn't care about anyone in there, but... he turned to the other house that had flames slowly licking towards it... he needed the keys to the slave's quarters. He rushed back into the house, this time on the ground floor.

He burst into the master bedroom. His Lord was sitting there, charred to a crisp, but Perseus could barely bring a shred of pity to his eyes. The man meant nothing to him. He grabbed the keys on the bedside table, then made his way quickly back out. The flames had reached the quarters by the time he was out of the manor, and the heat was blistering.

Perseus jammed the keys into the lock, but the door refused to open. Growling, he twisted the keys harder, only for the cheap metal to snap due to the combination of stress and heat. The sea-green eyed gladiator yelled out in anger, but realized a simple solution. Quickly, he switched his sword to his right hand and cut through the door hinges, letting the door fall towards him before he jumped out of the way.

Empty. The slave's quarters were empty. He checked every room, remembering the terrible conditions he had lived in less than a month prior. Yep, there was nobody in there. Getting to the last room, where the walls were starting to turn red from the heat, he saw why - a large hole had been cut through the exterior. Someone else had already saved them - but who? Perseus was quickly given an answer when he heard a sound behind him.

The girl who had been serving him ever since he had won in the Colosseum weeks prior stood there, her face much cleaner than the past two weeks. Perseus had been correct - she was pretty. Very pretty, indeed. He kept his eyes on her face, noting the two blades on her hips. Riptide was still at the ready, though he made no move to swing it.

"Well done, boy," She spoke. Her voice was like snow - smooth, but cold. It was like a slap in the face when compared to their surroundings. "I thought that you would leave these ones to die, if you even made it out of the house, but my Mistress was convinced otherwise, for some reason. She was correct, it seems."

Perseus frowned. "Thanks... I think. Who are you, and what have you been doing here for the past fortnight? I'd never seen you before that night, and you're only proving that you're no simple servi privati."

The girl rolled her eyes. "You're so dull. Didn't Lady Hestia tell you?" Perseus' eyes widened at her use of the Greek goddess' name.

"I assume you're Zoë, then?" The girl sighed.

"Yes, now that we've got that out of the way, can we leave this blasted furnace? I have no desire to test whether or not I'm fireproof." Somewhere else in the building, a beam collapsed, but the girl didn't even flinch at the noise. Perseus nodded, making his way out of the hole in the wall. Once again, he was greeted by the sight of Rome in flames. Concentrating, he heard it - yelling. He sighed. Another peasant revolt. Popping his joints, he started walking towards the center of the Eternal City.

Zoë quickly tried to lead Perseus to the forest at the edge of the property, but realized after a few moments that he was not following her.

"Where are you going?" Zoë questioned, seeming slightly annoyed. Perseus turned around, grinned at her, and winked.

"I've got a tyrant to kill."


Most of the guards were in the city, putting down the rebellion. Perseus sprinted through the city, feeling free to get his revenge on the guards whenever he saw them. He felt no love for Rome, and knew he was right in bringing justice to these filth. Everything had fallen into place - his repeated participation in the Colosseum, his Lord telling him about the Imperator Caesar's interest in him, and Lady Hestia appearing to him in a vision...

The Imperator Caesar was trying to kill him. Perseus didn't know why, but he was certain of it. He made his way to the palace, the roads becoming more and more steeped in flames as he got closer to the center of the city. Then, like bursting through a veil, he saw it. The palace was devoid of flames, oddly enough. The rioters were possibly afraid of divine interference. Perseus grinned at that. Divine interference... check.

He burst into the palace, but had difficulty finding the throne room due to the maze-like corridors. "Damn, couldn't have a map or something?" He questioned half-jokingly as he got to a split passageway. As he was deciding which path to choose, a sheet of fire suddenly appeared, covering one entrance. Perseus' eyes widened. "That works too, thank you, Lady Hestia." A calming warmth, different from the one coming from the flames outside, let him know that his appreciation was heard.

Finally, he made it to the throne room. Imperator Caesar Augustus was sitting on a golden throne, two terrified handmaidens feeding him grapes as they listened to the screams outside. The man seemed to have lost his mind, his eyes glazed over as he stared in Perseus' general direction. "Lord Jupiter? Is that you, here, to elevate me to a god?" He suddenly laughed maniacally. "Of course it is! How could I have ever been worried about that puny Graecus?" Perseus' eyes narrowed.

"You tried to kill me. I don't really appreciate that, Imperator Caesar." Perseus quickly closed the gap between himself and Augustus, the latter's eyes clearing in horrified realization a second before Perseus got there and chopped off his head. Dark red blood spurted out of the neck, a clean cut, and Riptide dug a few inches into the gold throne behind the headless corpse. The two handmaidens screamed and ran, making Perseus feel slightly regretful for a moment before he put it out of his mind.

The crimson blood dripped off of Anaklusmos as Perseus turned it back into a hair clip. Sighing, he saw that the tip of the hair clip was now red as well. 'I wonder if that will ever go back to normal?' Somehow, he knew that the blade was as changed as he was as he walked out of the throne room, the former Imperator Caesar's body slumping onto the floor behind him.


I felt like this was a good place to end the chapter. Only 1200 words this time, but that's okay. Lots of symbolism at the end of the chapter, there. I actually don't think I got a single review on chapter three, though, which makes me sad... I'm a sucker for reviews, people. They encourage me to write more :P

Thanks!
PJO Fan Power, over and out (until next week!)