Camp Jupiter.

San Francisco.

California.

The United States.

Percy Jackson was probably the most famous demigod in the world. He defeated the God of War and retrieved both the Master Bolt and Helm of Darkness at twelve. Sailed the Sea of Monsters and brought the Golden Fleece at thirteen. Lifted the sky, rescuing the goddess Artemis and the Ophiotaurus at fourteen. Wandered Dedalus' Labyrinth and fought to defend Camp Half-Blood at fifteen. Defeated the Titan Lord and his army at sixteen. Brought doom to the Earth Mother along with six other demigods during the last year. Along with many other titles and achievements.

He was now approaching his eighteen birthday, but recent events have molded his mind in a different direction, to say the least. Jason Grace, his friend, had died fulfilling a prophecy. Percy personally hated prophecies, they had claimed enough lives and brought him and his friend into deadly dangers so many times that he couldn't even count.

The thing was, Jason agreed with him in many things. He vividly remembered Jason's words when he confronted his own father, the king of the gods, at the Acropolis after defeating the Giants.

Father, I made a vow to honour all the gods. I promised Kymopoleia that once this
war is over none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps.

My point, is that blaming each other isn't going solve anything. That's how the
Romans and Greeks got divided in the first place.

Apollo wasn't the problem. To punish him for Gaia waking is... unwise.

It wasn't really Jason's words that stuck out with Percy, but the attitude. The attitude to oppose the more powerful ones. The Olympians were supposed to be a council, but Zeus reigned with an iron fist. Percy thought that this wasn't the best way to rule. It was simply a tiranny. Shortly after defeating Gaea, Percy asked Jason to speak with him privately, while the Romans were still at Camp Half-Blood.

"Hey, bro."

"Hey, Percy, what's up?" Jason replied with a smile.

"I'm going to go straight to the point. It's about the conversation that you had with Zeus at the Acropolis."

Jason's smile dropped instantly.

"Hey, thank you for... well, you didn't actually help, but you looked ready to join me there."

"I would have, if Artemis hadn't intervened." Percy admitted. "You know, since then I've been thinking more than I should."

"What do you mean?" the son of Jupiter asked with concern.

"This tiranny, Jason. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't think Apollo is innocent, by any means, but is punishing someone really appropriate? Wasn't attitudes like this that made all of this mess possible to begin with?"

Jason was even more concerned now, looking around to see if no one was hearing them.

"I agree with you, but what do you suggest? I've heard that the Titan War was basically what we are feeling right now. Demigods supported Kronos because he looked like a better option. I hope you are not sugge..."

"No!" Percy interrupted. "No, really, who would I support? Kronos is gone, I made sure of that, along with Gaia. I'm saying that... we should take matters into our own hands."

"What?" Jason's eyes widened. "You're saying that..."

"Yeah." Percy nodded. "We don't need a king, or anything like it, really."

"I... Look, we should talk about this later and evaluate our options then. For now we are too disoriented to do anything."

Percy, while frustrated, could not debate with that.

"I guess. But this conversation isn't over. See ya, take care."

"You too, Percy."

After this conversation, Jason and Percy discussed for many months what would be a better replacement for the god's rule. Other immortals were out of the question. Maybe try to force the Olympians to be more democratic? That wouldn't work, Zeus would never agree with that. Then, one day, inspiration struck.

All power to the demigods.

They were literally doing the dirty work, so that made sense. The parallels were there.

He told Jason through Iris messages what he had researched, and surprisingly, Jason agreed with him on everything. Percy was very excited, perhaps now was the time to put the plans into action.

But suddenly, all godly communications were cut off. And some forms of mortal communications as well. Percy did not know what was going on, and this made him unable to contact Jason. For he was in the dark, making plans and sketches for what to do next. Eventually Percy came to know the reason for that. Some old Roman emperors were rising up, and it was Apollo's task to stop them. He was happy that he didn't have to say the god's butts for the third time, because he had a very long journey to make, Cali was waiting for him and Annabeth. And he was very eager to talk to the son of Jupiter again.

However, when he got to Camp Jupiter, what he found was a broken spirit, a destroyed camp and city, along with countless deads. On top of everything, Percy found out that Jason had been killed a few months back. That was the final straw for him.

Percy rapidly began making more and more plans, strategies on how he could gain power. He finally had the ultimate idea, adding what Jason had made into the equation. He should gain power in the Roman Senate, now shaken after the battle against the emperors, and enact major reforms. Camp Jupiter was already very militaristic, if he could highlight to the people of New Rome their own strenght, not the strenght of the gods... Maybe, just maybe, he could be successful.

He had assembled a collection of books that would help him gain knowledge, and make him more aware about what do his mission. Right now, he was in the process of reading an work of Mao Zedong, Little Red Book, but he didn't really have much simpathy to Maoist thought, just some elements regarding changing the culture. Social Democracy looked fine to him, though, but he was not sure if it could be applied here. And of course, it wasn't easy at all for him, a demigod, to read in English, but he did the best that he could.

Unfortunately for him, that was the moment when his girlfriend, Annabeth, decided to barge in their home in New Rome.

"Hello, Seaweed Brain!" greeted Annabeth, putting her bag on the table.

"Oh, hey, Wise Girl." Percy replied, quickly closing the book and putting it in the nearest bookcase.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, with suspicions.

"Percy, you've been reading a lot recently. You were never the type that read that much. What's going on?"

"Uh, you know, we have to get into college, I might as well compensate for all those years at school that I was more worried in not dying by the hands of a monster than studying."

Annabeth didn't seem like she had believed a single word that came out of Percy's mouth. Without replying, she went to the bookcase, and tried to grab one of the books.

"No!" Percy held Annabeth's arm and got up. The daughter of Athena widened her eyes, surprised.

"Excuse me?"

"How about we go do something else, let's go eat something, I've heard that there is a nymph's place that serves cheeseburgers now."

Annabeth simply removed Percy's arm from her's.

"Perseus Jackson, what are you hiding?"

Percy sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Fine! Alright, go on." Percy sat in the nearest chair. Annabeth went for the bookcase, removing three books and analyzing the covers.

She inspected the first one, Manifesto of The Communist Party, by Karl Marx.

"What."

She went for the second one. Das Kapital, also made by Karl Marx.

"..."

At last, she read the third book, The State and Revolution, written by Vladimir Lenin.

Annabeth was speechless after seeing her boyfriend's collection of works.

"Percy, WHAT THE FUCK?" yelled her, in a state of shock.

"Alright, I can explain!"

"THEN DO IT!"

Percy sighed and began talking about how he saw through the lies of the Olympians, the corruption, the deception, and how he planned for a better world, not ran by despotical maniacs, but by the ones who got their hands dirty. Percy knew she would immediatly think of Luke, so he made sure to explain that he was not serving any immortal, because there wasn't any that could be really trusted with power, because they would all fall into the madness that Uranus, Kronos, and finally Zeus fell.

At the end of Percy's speech, Annabeth had her jaw on the floor. She never had expected Percy to voice all that he did now, even less to express such thoughts. When Luke betrayed the gods, he went to the former king. Now, Percy was saying that a king wasn't necessary at all, and that the demigods needed to take their own decisions, without the corruption that the divine overlords forced onto them.

"P-Percy... I can't... I don't know, alright..."

"Think, Annabeth, think!" Percy said. "Do we really want the future generations dying to fulfill the needs of that corrupt royalty?"

"What are you gonna do?" Annabeth asked with caution.

"I'm gonna apply to join the Senate, and try to enact reforms from the inside. After what happened here, they are probably willing to accept changes."

"You do know that you have to be a Centurion, a Praetor, Augur or the ambassador of a god to have a voice in the Senate, right? And no god would ever accept what you are saying."

Percy smiled.

"That might be true, but there is one vacant position that if taken, could earn me a seat in the Senate."

Annabeth stood for a moment, and then widened her eyes.

"No..."

"Oh yes, Wise Girl, I think I have enough credibility to be declared Pontifex Maximus, considering what I made the gods do after the Titan War, and how I'm an avid supporter of what Jason fought for."

"But you're just gonna take his position just months after he died?! Plus this an extraordinary position, how the Hades are you gonna convince anyone to give it to you?!"

Annabeth expected Percy to back down, but instead, to the shock of the daughter of wisdom, he smiled widely.

"You see, Jason and I were planning this for months after the war with Gaia ended. He supported my ideas, and I supported his... Unfortunately..." Percy hesitated, undoubtely remembering their friend's death. "Our cooperation was ceased before it could really take off. But I've gathered what he left for me, and it's genious. You know who our Praetors are now, right?"

"Frank... and Hazel... Two people that have great connections with you. That's nepotism!"

"Nah uh, that's politics. I'm going to ask for a vote on the Senate for me to take the vacant position and have my say in the senate. And as a cover up, I'm still gonna oversee the construction of temple fsor the minor gods, just like Jason had promised."

Annabeth didn't know what to say. On the one hand, this was a plan worthy of Athena, truly a work of a genius. On the other...

"Why the Hades communism? Why not something, you know, less bloody!"

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Wise Girl. Do you really think people will be inspired by "democracy now!" mottos? No, they want overthrows, revolution, and that's what I'm gonna give to them. Plus, do you really think any Olympian would be on board with this?"

"Maybe. Many are not satisfied with Zeus' rule."

"Only at first! Just look at when my father, your mother, Hera and Apollo tried to overthrow Zeus. It was wonders at first, but they could not decide what to do, and who should lead, everyone wanted to take Zeus' place, and in the end their indecision was their downfall. No way I'm letting this happen."

"Even if you gain power overhere, how do you plan to get the support of Camp Half-Blood?" Annabeth questioned.

"Come on, some people there would lick our feet if we asked them. Of course I'm not gonna do that," he clarified when Annabeth had an outraged look on her face. "but they wouldn't hesitate to join us if we asked. Let's be real, they have more problems with the gods than the Romans have."

For a moment, Annabeth remained silent.

"Us?"

For the first time, Percy hesitated.

"O-of course, us! Do you really think I'm gonna leave you out of this?"

Annabeth waited another moment to reply.

"It's just 'cause I'm unsure, Percy. I don't want you to be blasted, but you are saying such extreme things..."

Percy put his hands on top of Annabeth's.

"Look, Wise Girl, it's our best shot for having a change. A meaningful change."

"Maybe, alright, but I don't want to lose you like I lost Luke, for some utopia that will eventually be your doom!"

Percy completely understood that.

"I know, more than you realize. Look, how about you read some of these books? You can have at look at mine and Jason's plans too, if you are interested. I know you are not going to oppose me..."

"No, even if I find this extreme, you have some reason behind it." Annabeth admitted, rolling her eyes.

Percy grinned.

"Who could have thought, huh? Now, I think I need to have a talk with our wonderful Praetors."

"Again, please just don't get blasted by a lightning bolt, Rhodopytha Brain.

Percy froze.

"What?"

"Uh..." Annabeth put one hand behind her head. "You know, red seaweed, and by looking at you recent ideas..."

Percy couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I guess that you are right. I love you, take care until I come back."

"You're the one who wants to start to a revolution, and you say that I should take care? Gods."

Percy smiled and kissed her.

"It's just who I am, right?" he said, and left their house, eager to have the awaited conversation with Hazel and Frank.