Chapter-3

Jason

"Oi, wake up." Jason's eyes opened as he noticed a Branwen bandit looking at him with his arms crossed.

"The boss will call you soon." He spoke before walking off.

Jason sighed as he sat up. He still remembered what he'd learnt last night.

I am in another world… Jason thought. Even if he came from a world where gods and creatures of myths exist, somehow finding himself in a completely different planet still seemed unbelievable, like something from a sci-fi film.

Why did Hera do this? Jason thought bitterly.

Because of Hades. Another part of his mind chided him as Jason nodded slowly. There was no way he would have survived if Hera hadn't saved him. Hades was supposed to get his soul, as decreed by the prophecy…

"The prophecy…" Jason muttered before his eyes widened in horror.

Wait, if I'm alive, then Piper-! Jason thought in panic before shaking his head.

Hold on, Jason. Tempest said he carried Piper to safety. He thought furrowing his eyebrows. The prophecy stated that if he or Piper went after the Emperor, one of them would die.

Is it possible I guessed the wrong word? Jason thought. But that wasn't possible. He may not be a walking dictionary, but he was pretty sure there was no other word that fit other than 'die'.

Dip? Dig? No, those don't fit. I'm pretty sure it was 'die'. Jason thought. So that theory wasn't right.

Maybe our deaths will come later? But that's pretty obvious considering we're not immortal beings. No, the prophecy won't just drop an obvious thing like that. Otherwise the prophecy would be completely pointless. Jason thought. Second theory also not true.

He racked his mind trying to find any more explanations, but nothing came up. The two that he had were logical enough to be considered.

"I feel like I'm running around in circles in my own head…" Jason spoking putting a hand to the side of his head. Was the Prophecy fulfilled or not? Were he or Piper still in danger or not?

It was so confusing, and Jason found it difficult to stay calm.

Why can't I be left alone? He thought. The fates had already toyed with him, giving him hurdles throughout his life and basically telling him that he was going to die and never see Piper again. Why are they still being cruel and making his sorrow even worse by not only separating him from Piper, but anyone he knew and placing him in an unfamiliar world, unable to figure out what he was supposed to do now.

"A wind that blows aimlessly is of use to no one." Jason remembered Auster's words to him and couldn't help but compare that to his situation.

"I am truly like an aimless wind right now." Jason spoke.

But even then, I still have to find a way to get home. Jason thought closing his eyes. There was no way this is a one-way trip. There had to be something on this world that could get him home.

But first, it was important he got the details from Raven as soon as possible. He did not want to remain with the Branwen tribe for long, lest he get into trouble with anyone who has a bone to pick with them.

"Hey! It's time!" Jason heard Vernal yell as she walked up to his cage and unlocked it before beckoning him to follow.

Here we go. Jason thought before getting up walking out with Vernal.

"So, what do I have to do?" Jason asked as he walked behind Vernal, ignoring the hungry stares of the bandits at his armor and weapons.

"Hold on there, buddy. Jumping straight in is going to benefit no one. We first need to check what you can do?" Vernal replied as Jason bit his lip.

Oh no…Am I going to be sparring? This is going to suck. Jason thought. His weapons couldn't harm mortals, so he already had to resort to unarmed. And considering he was right now an ally to them, using his powers would not be a great idea.

So, essentially, he had to fight bandits armed with weapons that could kill him with one good hit with his bare hands.

While he could do hand-to-hand as he had learnt it in legion training, Jason couldn't help but feel the odds were stacked against him.

Although…I am a demigod, and my opponents are normal humans. They wouldn't be having the speed or strength to match me. Nor are their senses built for the chaotic and fast-paced nature of combat as well as mine are.

Even with these unfair odds, Jason felt he could get through this.

Vernal brought him to a large gathering of bandits around a clearing, with Raven standing in a spot with a wide space around her. Jason began sizing up his competition.

Well, they certainly do fear her. And Raven does look like an experienced warrior. So she's not going to be easy if I have to fight her. Jason thought. But she's still human. If I can learn how she fights, I can overcome her with my superior physical abilities. As for the others, they're definitely not amateurs, but neither do they look like crazy skilled fighters like Pandai.

After his experience on the ship, Pandai were pretty high on Jason's list of 'Monsters he did not want to mess with', even though he's more confident of victory now that he knows just what exactly pandai can do.

"Well, Jason. The Branwen Tribe operates on the principles of strength." Raven spoke as Vernal brought Jason to the center of the clearing.

"The strong survive, and the weak perish. We have a deal, but I want to see whether you can live up to your end of the deal. You will be having three bouts. Win at least two, and I will be confident to trust you with some of my jobs. I'll even be generous enough to say that if you can survive the second bout for a long time, then I will accept it."

Three bouts…doesn't sound too bad. Unless Raven's the third bout. Jason thought. "Ok."

Raven nodded. "Good. Now draw your weapons."

Jason tensed up. The moment had come.

"I'll be fighting with my bare hands." He spoke as the bandits whispered amongst each other while Raven chuckled.

"I like that confidence, but no. You'll be using your weapons."

Crap. Now what do I do?

"Can I use some other weapon?"

"Again, no. I want to see what you're capable of. And for that, I want to see you fight with the weapons you're most familiar with. I'm not entertaining anymore excuses. If you can't fight with your weapons…" Raven's gaze went to Tempest's cage. "Then I'll consider you have broken our deal."

Jason sighed. While Raven couldn't really control Tempest, she still had valuable information.

Alright, I have no choice. That's one secret out I guess. Jason thought as he drew his gladius, making the bandits grin.

Gods, I feel like a Gladiator about to fight in the Colosseum in Rome. Jason thought before blinking.

Oh wait, technically I have done that before. Bacchus is one lazy god, after all. He thought.

"Let the first bout commence!" Raven spoke as the long haired dude came out.

"You?" Jason questioned as the bandit smirked. "Me. Name's Shay."

Shay. Jason thought. For some reason, a bandit being named Shaun seemed a little silly but ok.

"Shay's going to nail him in the first shot." Jason heard one of the bandits speak.

"Yeah, Shay's got a scary drawing speed." He heard another speak and smiled softly.

Thanks for the info. He thought.

Jason decided that a defensive approach was a bit better and stayed put, staring at Shaun for any signs of an attack. Jason spotted a revolver and a sword on his hips.

Revolver most likely coming up.Jason thought before Shay drew his revolver and shot at Jason, who deflected the bullets with the flat of his gladius before charging at Shay and slashing his gladius at Shay's thigh. The bandit did not have the time to dodge.

But instead of passing through, the hit actually landed and a gash opened up on Shay's thigh.

"Gah! You little-!"

"What…?" Jason spoke in confusion before parrying Shay's clumsy strike and bashing his nose with his gladius.

How…? Jason thought as he looked at the red blood dripping down Shay's nose and thigh, his mind feeling like it was getting scrambled trying to register the absurdity of the scene before him.

Something was seriously wrong with this world if metals like Imperial gold could actually harm mortals. Even though Jason was slightly relieved he wasn't that defenceless, but it still made him concerned about what else was strange about this world.

Shay tried to get up, snapping Jason out of his state of shock as he quickly pressed his gladius against Shay's neck, jolting at feeling his the gladius press against Shay's neck.

"Oh…" Shay growled, but before he could do anything, Raven raised her hand.

"That concludes the first bout." She announced as some of the bandits started chuckling while Shay looked at them with anger.

"Shut up!" He snapped before glaring at Jason and returning to the crowd.

"So, you're at least not some rookie with non-existent combat experience trying to pose off as a huntsman. You have some combat skill. But I will have some faith in your abilities if you can win this next one." Raven spoke before nodding her head as suddenly a group of bandits charged at Jason from the crowd from all directions.

Jason's instincts kicked in as he ducked under the swing of one bandit and quickly escaped the circle before running towards some bandits with guns.

The bandits were caught off-guard by Jason's speed as his fist cracked against the jaw of one of the bandits as he crumple to the floor.

The second bandit fired her revolver in panic but Jason deflected all the bullets before cutting off the revolver's barrel and bashing his Gladius' hilt against her temple, knocking her out as well.

Jason quickly turned around to parry the strike of a bandit wielding a sabre before kicking them away to duck under another bandit's swing and countering with a stab to the legs. The bandit hissed and fell to one knee before Jason backhanded him. Jason blocked the other bandit's slash before pushing her back and stabbing at her. The bandit blocked the thrust with the flat side of her blade, almost shattering it before Jason adjusted his gladius and twisted it, disarming the bandit before knocking her out with a punch. A bullet hit his armor and Jason hissed, but it didn't penetrate, although the blunt force did sting.

Jason could now see there were four bandits between him and the gunner. Jason took off and charged at the bandits, who charged with their swords raised before Jason crouched down. The bandits lowered their blades to hit him before Jason sent a little gust of wind to trip up one bandit and suddenly getting up, using the bandit to launch himself over his enemies and towards the gunner.

The gunner fired their rifle, only for Jason to deflect the bullets again and lashing out with a kick, sending the bandit flying back into the crowd.

Jason turned back to the last four bandits before running to the side, picking up speed as he quickly found himself by the bandits' side. Jason used a gust of wind to launch himself towards the bandits, slamming into them as the force of his charge sent them tumbling. Jason quickly cut their blades in half, ending the bout.

The bandits now looked at each other nervously, although Jason could see curiosity in Raven's eyes as she stared at him.

"That concludes the second bout." She spoke before chuckling. "Honestly, you looked like you could get through this. But I wasn't expecting you to get through this this quickly. Well, you're at least ready for the easier missions." Raven spoke before looking at Vernal. "Now for the final bout…"

Here she comes. Jason thought before blinking in confusion as Vernal came in.

"You'll be fighting my second-in-command, Vernal." Raven spoke as Vernal smirked.

"You know, I was reserving my opinion about you earlier. But now, seeing you fight, I think I'm going to enjoy this." She spoke.

"You're not fighting?" Jason asked.

"Nah, I'm going to sit this one out. But anyways, you've impressed me so far, Jason. Don't disappoint me now." Raven spoke.

Vernal pulled out two ring-shaped blades and took her stance.

"Ready?" Raven spoke as Jason noted that Vernal wasn't as terrible at combat as those from the other two bouts were.

She's going to be a fast opponent. Jason thought, if her lack of armor and type of weapons were any indication.

"Let the Final bout commence!"

Vernal dashed towards him, as Jason's eyes widened at her speed.

What the… Jason thought before Vernal swung her blades with speeds a lot faster than any mortal could achieve.

Jason quickly parried the swings before getting hit by a kick that had surprising strength behind it, sending Jason skidding back.

Ok, how is she this fast and strong? Jason thought as Vernal did not give him a chance to breathe and was immediately upon him again. Jason's gladius darted left and right blocking Vernal's swings. One swing got through and cut a line of blood on Jason's left arm. Jason pushed Vernal as she stared at his wound.

"Well, no aura, eh? Pretty risky." She spoke casually before standing cockily.

Aura? Jason thought. He had no idea what Vernal was talking about, but whatever it was, it made Vernal less guarded.

Well, I'll figure that out later. Jason thought as Vernal gestured for him to come at her. Jason charged at her and swung his gladius that Vernal sidestepped before countering with a slash to his legs.

However, Jason had gotten over his surprise and his sword arm quickly changed direction to parry the strike.

Vernal's eyes widened slightly before she started swinging at those speeds again. Jason now found himself more accustomed to her speed and now was able to block in a more controlled manner.

Jason's legion training kicked in and he began analysing her style.

Blitz the opponent with swings before stunning them with a kick. Swings focussed towards the arms and legs. Jason thought as he slowly started reading her moves, completely leaving the blocking approach and simply dodging her swings.

Soon, Jason could see Vernal's cocky mask slipping and frustration slipping in.

"How're you dodging this?! You were barely able to keep up your guard when we started?!" She yelled as Jason dodged two swings in rapid succession before batting one of Vernal's arm away.

"Legion training." Jason replied before slashing at her shin. But then, his gladius scrapped against something, not hitting her leg at all.

Jason's eyes widened before Vernal landed another gash on his left arm and Jason stepped back as Vernal suddenly just flew up in the air.

"Have I gone insane?" Jason spoke. Was he actually looking at a regular human floating in the air like he could?

How is she doing that? Why did my blade hit something instead of her shin? Just what world did I end up in?! Jason thought in panic.

Vernal crossed her arms and smiled mockingly. "As you can see, my semblance is just flying. Pretty annoying, isn't it?" She spoke casually before somehow firing bullets from her blades.

Jason dashed away from the bullets, even though he just noticed another absurd thing.

A blade that somehow has a gun fitted onto it? Strange force fields that block my strikes? Regular humans performing feats I'm capable of? What other crazy things am I going to see in this world?! Jason thought as Vernal swooped down, Jason dodging her swing. This continued for a few more times before Jason looked at Vernal in the air.

Alright, just to confirm… Jason thought before narrowing his eyes in concentration as Vernal went for another swoop. Jason's eyes never left Vernal as he narrowly ducked under her swoop and before she could fly past him, swung his gladius.

The gladius scrapped against the same force field again, although Jason could hear Vernal yell in pain this time and tumble to the ground.

"No aura, eh?"

"Damn it, he got my aura really good…" She spoke, confirming Jason's suspicion.

"So, this world's humans have some force field called aura…" Jason muttered, his mind calming down from the overload of craziness he'd just seen.

I wonder if I can get that. Jason thought. For a demigod, a force field shielding them from harm would be the best thing ever.

But from the last one, he could see aura didn't make them invulnerable. Vernal hadn't gotten up yet, which made him suspicious and he approached her cautiously.

Suddenly, Vernal raised one of her blades and smirked, before a bullet different from the rest shot out. It seemed more yellow than the previous ones.

Jason quickly raised his gladius to block the bullet. The bullet shattered and electricity spread across Jason's body.

"Got you now!" Vernal exclaimed as she charged in to land a serious hit, only to find her strike blocked as Jason stared at her unaffected by the electricity.

So she was expecting me to get paralysed by that taser round she shot at me. Lucky I'm the son of Jupiter. Jason thought in relief before he scowled.

If aura's like a shield, then it can only take so many hits. Time for payback. He thought before driving his fist into Vernal's stomach. Vernal stumbled back and Jason slashed his gladius at blistering speeds, going on the offensive and using what knowledge he had picked up from analysing Vernal's style to exploit its flaws, finding his momentum as the full force of Jason's offensive crashed into Vernal's guard.

Vernal found herself struggling to block Jason's attacks which now seemed to come from everywhere, and at angles which her blades were too short to intercept. Many hits connected, and each with the force of a hammer as Jason demolished what remained of Vernal's aura.

"Holy…shit!" Vernal exclaimed as Jason's gladius slammed into her blades, the strength behind the strike making her stumble to the ground before Jason stomped down on her stomach to pin her and pressing the gladius against her throat.

"How the hell…did you get so fast?" Vernal spoke out of breath as she stared at Jason in surprise.

"And the final bout ends." Raven spoke, and Jason could note a hint of surprise in her voice as well.

Jason stepped off Vernal as she got up and looked at Jason with a pensive look before walking back to Raven.

They stared at each other in silence before Raven exhaled.

"So, you won all three bouts. You passed my test."

"…"

"In this world, the weak die, and the strong survive. And you clearly have the strength to survive."

That's a concerning philosophy. Jason thought. Such rules he believed fit more with lives that were constantly in danger. And with the grimm that he fought in Oniyuri, Jason was afraid this world isn't a peaceful one.

"But…I want to ask, where's your aura?"

"…"

Uh… Jason thought as he looked around awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Do you know what's aura?"

"Well, its something of a force field that protects its user from harm?" Jason spoke as Raven snorted.

"It's a lot more than that. And I'm pretty sure you just figured that out from the fight with Vernal. Well, now you've gotten a lot more interesting. It's rare to see someone who doesn't even know what aura is be able to defeat some who can use aura. I only wonder what you can do with aura." Raven spoke with a smile as she walked towards him.

"Well, I supposed I'll have to unlock your aura. Close your eyes." Raven ordered as Jason did so.

So I'm getting a cool force field. Nice. He thought.

"Now focus on my voice." Raven spoke as Jason nodded and Raven began chanting.

Jason felt like he was back with Piper and Leo, roasting marshmellows over a campfire and his mind felt relaxed.

Soon, Jason felt his body grow warmer as Raven seemed like she was finishing her chant.

But then, Jason felt his body burning. The feeling of relaxation soon turned to disgust as Jason suddenly wanted to stop.

"Gah!" Raven screamed as a jolt went through Jason's body and he opened his eyes, finding himself on the ground as Raven stared at him with clear shock on her face.

What happened? Jason thought. Why did his body feel so tense now?

"…Take him back to the cage. We're done here." Raven spoke as Jason got up and noticed a lot more bandits come up with spears to surround him with wariness.

As he was escorted back to his cage, Jason couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at whatever information he'd gained today.

But still, I do have to see about why my aura didn't unlock? He thought.

Raven sat with Vernal in her tent, thinking about what happened.

"He's one strange person." Raven noted as Vernal looked up.

"Yeah, not aware of the kingdoms' names, has a mount that is neither a regular horse nor a grimm. And of course, the fact that he's stronger and faster than me without even having aura. What happened when you unlocked his aura?"

Raven looked at her. "You know how unlocking aura by another person temporarily syncs that person's soul with yours? Well, while I was doing that, the sync got cut off all of a sudden."

Vernal raised an eyebrow. "It got…cut off? So does is he infected with enma?"

"No, enma doesn't even let you sync your soul with the patient's soul. No, something cut it off. It felt as if I got hit with the lightning bolt."

"…So we keep an eye on him?"

"Of course. He's very skilled, and he's got a tactical mind. I would have assumed he was an undercover atlesian specialist if he wasn't so genuinely clueless about simple concepts like aura. When I send him out, you'll be tailing him to make sure he doesn't try anything funny."

"Got it."

"Now go, Vernal." Raven spoke as Vernal went to leave.

"Hey, boss. One last question, what's his first assignment?"

Raven put a finger to her chin. "Hm…right. We'll send him to Shion tomorrow morning."

"Isn't that where we're planning to raid?"

Raven smiled. "…Exactly."

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had some IRL stuff to sort out before I could get back to this story. As for the chapter, poor Jason hasn't even had more than a day ever since he discovered he's in another world before he gets hit with that world's bullshit. I won't explain how Imperial gold affects Remnant's humans but I did smile whenever I wrote Jason's reaction to seeing aura and semblances as well as him actually hitting a mortal because just how absurd that is with Riordanverse's humans.

Jason also isn't getting aura because let's be honest, with how strong Jason is, giving him aura would make him too OP for me to write intense fights for him. Sorry to those who wanted Jason to get aura.

Hopefully I won't be dragged off by IRL stuff again.

Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!

Response to reviews:

Xedornox: Maybe its because you and I have different interpretations of Jason, so let me just explain my thoughts while writing Jason's interactions in the last chapter. First of all, its important to note that Jason in some ways is the opposite of Percy. Percy is a very reckless person and if he had been in this situation, he would have beat up Shay and his goons and then walked off. Jason, however, is much more cautious. He wouldn't try to approach every situation with a fight, because I personally don't think it would fit with his tactical mindset. Jason isn't a battle junkie, especially when interacting with humans and I'm pretty sure if he could find a way to get what he needs without a fight, then he will go for it. Jason is accepting Raven's demands because they are reasonable enough for him, and he wouldn't have to try to engage in unnecessary violence. In short, Jason's not being a pussy, but cautious.

Second of all, Demigods are not emotionless machines. They have mental strength, but that does not mean demigods can't have mental breakdowns like humans. Annabeth herself has broken down several times in the PJO series and it almost broke Percy when his mother 'died' at the hands of the Minotaur. A demigod wouldn't go 'I can't get emotional because that would be inconvenient'. Even the mentally strongest of Riordan's characters would not think that if something really bad happened to them. Jason himself kept a stoic mask in the legion while hiding his own despair at being the 'Golden Boy'. It's not farfetched to note that Jason must have at some point just wished to never have been born as the Son of Jupiter. But the story itself shows that Jason's grown softer with Leo and Piper, and that mask has slipped away, meaning Jason expresses his emotions a lot more than he did before HoO. Jason's a serious person, not an emotionless person, especially when its the Jason after all the things that happened in HoO and ToA.

And if you think he's losing his composure way too easily, was Jason screaming and thrashing like a madman? No, he got spooked by the fact that he's in a completely different world with possibly no way to see his loved ones again and just sheds one tear. Does that look like easily losing composure compared to Annabeth's full-blown sobbing when she finds out Luke has given up his body to Kronos and she may never see him again? Getting separated from your own and loved ones is a lot more serious than how Isekais put it and I think Jason was justified to at least show some form of fear and sorrow.

There. That's what I think.

Cleddyf: That he does.

Guest: Ah, I was confused with your statement at first but I got it now. Eh, it's fine. It's not going to have much impact on this story but I'll go change it.

Shadowhunter2077: Exactly! Jason is smart and tactical. While Percy is more of an 'action before thought' person, Jason is more 'thought before action'. Not that Percy's dumb, of course, but Jason wouldn't try to fight the bandits straight off the bat.

Again, totally agree that Jason got shafted.

And yes, I always hated fanfics that present Zeus as a complete joke. Riordan does show Zeus being a bit of a brat in PJO, but he still maintains respect for Zeus' title as the King of Olympus and shows that Zeus, despite what the other Olympians think of him, is a force to be reckoned with. If Zeus was anything like how he's presented by many fanfics, he would have already been toppled from power a long time ago.

Guest: That could work too.

CRUDEN: Thank you.

Iron M. Writer: Thank you. I have a dislike for writing stories with unbalanced power levels and I'm always willing to buff or nerf characters if it balances out the story. It's just way more fun watching the protagonist struggle than just power through everything without breaking a sweat. I love the fatal flaw system of PJO because it makes it really easy to create challenges for PJO characters in crossovers. Exploiting Jason's fatal flaw would be more than enough to create his struggle, especially when someone pointed out that Jason most likely died BECAUSE of his fatal flaw.

But about the flaws, I personally don't think Jason would be brought down by overconfidence, because he doesn't a lot of self-esteem for that overconfidence to develop. Thalia definitely would get overconfident because she inherited Zeus' arrogance and short temper, but I think Jason being the Son of Jupiter actually spared him from that problem, since the Romans depicted Jupiter to be wiser and a lot more reasonable than Zeus, supposedly guiding Rome's second king to establish the laws and principles Rome will function on. So, I think Jason has inherited Jupiter's wisdom and sense of judgement and hence would face more of a problem of not being fully committed to his decisions rather than overconfidence.

But oh boy, I can imagine Jason's flabbergasted reaction as his lightning bolts just make Nora stronger. Although to be fair, Nora's limited Electrokinesis wouldn't work on Jason too plus Jason's also got wind powers which would be a big problem for Nora