Chapter 35

Arriving at Camp was a breath of fresh air Percy was not expecting. It was almost a certainty that they would be popping into a battlefield, and the fact that the bodies of his friends weren't spread across the field of Mars had him nearly collapsing in relief.

Nico was looking around everywhere looking for an invading force, while Bianca exhaled deeply, "We aren't too late."

Percy shook his head as his eyes glanced towards the nearby mountain, "No, but our odds of success are much higher if we can get to the mountain before the Titan's force comes spilling out of the Labyrinth."

Turning to the son of Hades, The son of Neptune sighed, "Are you with us on this? Can I trust you?"

Nico looked to Bianca questioningly, and Percy didn't need to see her to know her expression was pleading with her brother. The young man seemed to contemplate his question, and the repercussions it might have, before nodding, "For today. What do you need me to do?"

"Take Rachel to the Pomeranian Line. Just pass through the gates over there, and take the Principia to the bridge. Get her inside the Senate house. It's going to be the first building you come to when you cross the line. Anyone you see tell them the Titans are coming, and to either assemble with the legion, or prepare the cities defense. Then shadow travel to the base of the mountain. If you see forces spilling out then run for it, and come find us. My father said we may have to abandon camp, and we need to be prepared to flee if we are overwhelmed before we can even prepare a defensive strategy. We could have seconds, minutes, or hours, but we can't jeopardize Rome for the unknown. A lot of sacrifices may have to be made in the next few hours for the greater good." Percy said solemnly.

Nico seemed to process his words, and then took Rachel by the hand, "My sister and I will be more effective in combat together."

Percy nodded his head in ascension, "She will be leading the fifth cohort with Jason Grace. You three will pack a serious wallop together, so they will be towards the front line."

"I will find her." He said looking at the girl with a flicker of concern, but shook it off quickly and began running towards the gates dragging Rachel along with him.

This left Percy and Bianca alone. They knew the legion would be out conducting training, and field exercises right now, so they could take that as a small blessing. At least this attack wouldn't come in the dead of the night like last time. With just a bit more luck they may even be able to mount a defense. Bianca took his hand not meeting his eyes as she surveyed the area around her, "I will find Jason and assemble the fifth cohort. Anyone I run across from the guard will be told of the coming attack. I will do what I can to raise the alarm."

Percy squeezed her hand, and pulled her towards him as he put a hand under her chin making her eyes meet his when he closed the distance between the two with a kiss. This kiss was much softer than their last, and the son of Neptune was not really keen on separating from the girl, but she placed her hand on his chest before the kiss could continue, and she opened her eyes just enough to see him with a questioning look on her face. He however merely grinned, "Now we are even. If we win this battle I will hope for another."

The hand on his shirt turned into fist, "I didn't wait all these years for you to kiss me to die so soon after what was supposed to be my big moment."

"Well there can be more moments. I'd offer to take you out this weekend, but who knows if Camp or Western Civilization will be standing at that point." The young man joked.

"It better be." Bianca said with a grin, before separating from him, and melting into the shadows nearby.

As he watched the girl he had grown to care about disappear he knew he had one job to do. Find Cassie, and assemble the legion. He wasted no further time in darting off in the direction of the Praetoria. Two honor guards stood at the door, and they both reached for their weapons at his speedy arrival, and once recognition set in the larger one stepped forward quickly, "Praetor Jackson! Thank the gods. We had heard you and Bianca had been detoured, but-"

"Dylan, we can catch up later. The Titans are coming. Abandon this post, and assemble your cohort. Start moving towards the city, because the enemy is going to burst out of the Labyrinth in moments. We have to move NOW." Dylan looked stunned by the tone and seriousness of his friend, but recognized an order when it was given.

"Yes Praetor...you should know sir. Cassie has been having a...well you best see it for yourself."

Percy shot the Centurion a questioning look, but the son of Trivia didn't meet his eyes as he spat some words in Latin to the smaller young woman beside him, and she nodded taking off in the direction of the barracks.

That left the Praetoria unmanned, but Percy knew it didn't matter. Cassie was waiting for him on the other side, and she needed to be brought up to speed. Entering the building he called out to the girl twice in hopes of finding her. He made his way through the building before coming across the young woman with her head down on the table. Uncertainty passed through Percy as he stopped in his tracks. He looked the young woman over and called her names a few times with no response. He knew something was right, but he was unsure what.

"Sad isn't it? Our mighty Praetor reduced to what she is now." A cold voice to his left said.

Percy flinched, but recognized the cold voice. A Hispanic girl with dark black hair stepped from the shadows in red and bronze armor. The symbol of a military helmet and a torch was on the corner of her breast plate, and he took a deep breath before saying, "I didn't know the Praetoria was under three guards now."

"It has to be when she is our only standing Praetor while you, and the daughter of Pluto galavant across the country." Reyna accused sharply.

Shaking his head, "I could have your head on a spike for talking to me like that, besides it's not the way it was. This mission was critical for the survival of Rome, and orchestrated by the Queen of the Heavens herself. Don't you dare speak of things you know nothing of."

The girl didn't flinch, but heaved for a deep angry breath. Whatever was on the daughter of Bellona's mind clearly irked her greatly, "She was the strongest among us, and one of the most well respected."

A feeling of dread began to creep up Percy's spine as he looked from Reyna to Cassie, and noticed for the first time a clear bottle on the floor, "Is she-"

"Drunk? Yes. We have tried to convince her to stop, but she doesn't really listen to us, and we have kept it quiet so the senate doesn't get involved. Michael has been doing an admiral job of keeping the legion in line during our leadership's... absence." The daughter of war said with a tint of irritation.

"We can talk more about this later. The Titans are coming. We may only have moments before the invasion is here. I need you to assemble anyone that was halfway decent on a pegasi, and begin scouting the area. Have Jacob run any information back to me or Jason personally. You will lead the pegasi corps into battle, while the rest of the Centurions hold down what ground we can. I will join Michael with the first cohort. The fifth is going to have plenty of power under their belt today, and a few surprises that may provide us an edge on the battlefield."

Reyna stood straight immediately as she calculated the plan in her head as he spoke the words, "Yes...Praetor Jackson it will be done."

The girl spun around, and began heading towards the door, but before she could make it out Percy called out, "And Reyna." the girl flinched at the tone of his voice, but turned her head to look at him, "I think of us as friends, and we have known each other for some years now so I am willing to overlook your accusations from earlier...but if you ever speak to me that way again I will have you charged with damnatio. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal Praetor." The girl said through gritted teeth.

Percy nodded while calling out a dismissal as the girl stormed out of the room. Reyna and the son of the seas had always had a good relationship, and he knew it was a testament to how things were going in the legion if this was how he was greeted by her. Walking over to Cassie, he shook the girl gently, "Cassie. Cassie please I need you to get up, you aren't safe here."

The girl groaned, and Percy gently forced her to sit up as the girl's body just slumped. Swearing slightly, and knowing time was of the essence he got down on a knee before her, "Cassie I really don't want to douse you with water, but we are going to be under attack at any moment and our people are going to need me. Please."

The girls' eyes fluttered open for a moment, and a small drunk grin passed the girls face, "Percy finally came back yeah? Have fun with little B while you were gone?"

The male Praetor rolled his eyes, "Yeah we had loads of fun nearly getting killed every other hour in the Labyrinth, and nearly getting burnt alive by a volcano full of telkhines. I can't wait to tell you all about it, but we gotta get you someplace safe."

"Here is safe enough Percy. Bianca had her time with you, and now it should be my turn." Cassie said standing up, and stumbling into the young man.

Percy couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had respected Cassie for years, and the girl he had known for all these years would never act this way, "Gods Cassie what happened to you?"

The girl's face reddened a little as she shook with anger, "What happened to me? My best friend was killed on a suicide mission for the gods, my counterpart, and partner in the legion right now went AWOL with some girl that is barely a Centurion, and the odds of us winning this war shrink by the day. My mother is the goddess of victory Percy Jackson, and when victory is impossible even a child of the gods can crumble."

"Even the strongest amongst us." Percy said sadly, taking the teary eyed girl and pulling her into a hug, "I'm sorry for leaving you Cassie. I am here now though, and I am going to protect our people."

Suddenly a voice came from behind Percy, and a young man had just stepped out of the shadows in full black battle armor, "Percy there's a rumbling coming from the mountains. The invading force is seconds from breaching the mountain top."

Percy nodded, and without even asking his counterpart praetor he scooped her up, and began moving her towards the door, "Thank you Nico. Go find Bianca, and tell them I am coming."

Nico nodded, and stepped backwards into the shadow he came from and disappeared, as Percy carried a woman he long looked up to bridal style out the door. The girl was barely conscious at this point as the anger had clearly taken what little energy she had left, and as soon as the young man crossed the door to the principia he gave his best taxi cab whistle. It was mere seconds before a black blur came darting from the sky landing down in front of him, "You call for a handsome horse boss?"

Wasting no time at all Percy carried Cassie, and gently placed her on the horse's back, "Hey buddy I need you to take Cassie as carefully as you can to the Pomerian Line. In the senate building there is a girl with red hair named Rachel. Leave Cassie with her, and come find me as soon as you can. I am going to need you."

"You got it boss. Is she gonna be okay?" The black winged pegasus asked nervously.

"Only thanks to you buddy. Please be gentle with her. She has done a lot for me over the years." Percy explained gently and commanded the horse to go.

In no time at all the Pegasi had shot into the air with a passed out girl on his back. Percy sighed deeply as he looked towards the mountain in the distance. He could see well over a hundred demigods rushing in the direction of the rumbling mountain, and could tell leadership was barking orders trying to assemble a defensive front before it was too late.

With a deep breath of determination Percy pulled the helmet charm off his necklace, and watched as his protection grew to normal size, and placed it on his head. The armor of Priam quickly overtook his body as he began running towards the assembling troops, and it was no time at all when a black Pegasi swooped down next to him, and allowed the son of Neptune to jump on his back.

He reached the front line in moments. Dismounting his pegasus, and walking quickly to where the legions leadership had gathered he could tell most of the Praetorian Guard were having a heated discussion with Jason and Bianca. When Percy arrived Dylan called out, "Praetor on deck."

Suddenly everyone snapped to attention, and Percy shot out, "At ease. The rumbling of the mountain tells us our attacking force has arrived. Bianca, Jason, team up with Nico and lead the charge. Michael and I will take the first and support you. Dylan, Hank, Larry, I need you three to fill in as our numbers fall or tire. Reyna has standing orders to take the pegasi corps and pick off stragglers that may attempt to breach the lines. What sort of defensive measures do we have?"

Michael immediately took point, "We have set up traps using tripwires, and fake ground that will make our enemies fall into traps that they will certainly not survive. The problem is some of the explosives we have left on the mountain are pressure sensitive, and if they activate too late then the devastation will be minimal."

Jason then said, "That's why I was suggesting that I light the mountain side up with lightning."

"Or that I could summon some undead warriors to go spring the traps, and not risk casualties on our side." Bianca added helpfully.

Before a decision could be made an explosion rocked the mountain side. Rock, and debris began quickly falling towards the bottom of the mountain, and a layer of dirt covered the area in a fog that made them blind to what was laying ahead. Percy barked out Bianca's name, but the girl had already surged forward, and held her hands out creating a rumbling of the Earth and a trench large enough to stop the ensuing rock slide from harming the assembled cohorts. Nervous mumbles, and shaking of the lines made the unease of the situation increase.

Staring into the plume of dirt Percy had a feeling something horrible awaited them. He was right. Dark clouds began rolling through the area as darkness began to descend through the area. The cloud of dust didn't settle right away, but when it did Percy knew they were in trouble. A young man with golden eyes stood in front of the battlefield, and with horrifying realization Percy realized he recognized the older teen. Luke Castellan from all those years ago on the Empire State Building stood before him with an honor guard behind him, and a monster army slowly assembling behind him forming ranks up on the mountain.

To his left was Kyle Logan. The son of Heracles that made Percy's blood boil in rage at the very sight of him in the land of the living. To his right was a hideous creature with wings, and a whip-like weapon in the claws of her humanoid hand. Flanking on each side of them were half a dozen giants, a lone empousa, and a massive hellhound the likes Percy had never seen. A lone woman came from behind the group, and radiated a power that could only have belonged to a goddess. She spoke in an enchanting voice, "Romans. The Titan Lord Saturn has offered full amnesty for total surrender. Fight and die, or surrender and live in a new world that will be wrought of Olympians."

Percy could feel the magic in the woman's words, and knew the lady Trivia was trying to enchant the crowd. Instead of answering the woman Percy took the spear off his back, and slammed it into his shield two times in quick succession. He did it a second time alone, but the third time the cohorts picked up the beat.

After nearly a full minute the barrage of noise stopped, and Percy turned to his friends, "Go to your cohorts."

The Praetorian Guard spurred into action as Percy began to step forward, and bellowed out, "Lord Saturn. Welcome to Rome. We weren't around the first time you rose to power, and I can assure you the only thing you will find on this go around is death and blood."

A cheer rang out from somewhere in the ranks, and it spread quickly. The woman in front raised her hands, and silence enveloped the legion involuntarily, "Be warned Romans, while those of divine blood cannot enter the battle today, Lord Saturn possesses a mortal host at the moment, and will lay waste to every man, woman, and child that stands against him."

Percy immediately spat on the ground at her words, "Rome is at the War with the Titans. If you are here to do battle then let's get to it."

A deep chilling voice then filled the battlefield as if it was in full surround sound mode, "I like your Spirit Perseus Jackson."

A chill that seemed solid in nature went right down Percy's spine at the gravely voices words, and he called back cheekily, "Hello grandfather you are looking...young."

A deep laugh followed Percy's comment, and the discomfort only increased, "You have your father's defiance in you. I will break it if you don't step aside."

Percy looked over his shoulder and saw the leaders of the legion looking at him warily, and he knew there could be no surrender, "Have it your way then."

With that he dropped his shield, and dropped to his knees driving his spear into the ground making the mountain in front of him shake with ferocity. The honor guard stumbled, and many monsters were thrown to the ground as a voice called out behind him, "ARCHERS!"

The voice of Jason Grace was clear in hindsight, but Percy kept all focus in bringing the mountain to its knees. Saturn merely stood at the top of the mountain completely unmoved, and in a blink of an eye Percy was tossed backwards hard when something impossibly powerful hit him. Blinking out black spots he felt two hands go under him as his ears rang he couldn't even make out the voices of his cousins checking to see if he was okay. Instead he summoned his spear back to his hand, and looked forward to see what had hit him. Luke Castellan with his golden eyes stood a mere twenty yards in front of him, and Percy felt a surge of fear hit his system. Swallowing his fear however he let out a roar of rage, and blitzed as fast as he could in an attempt to hit the Titan Lord. The golden eyed being merely smiled though as his spear impacted his chest, and watched it crumble like tin foil. Realization hit Percy like a tidal wave. The Titans mortal host had of course dipped into the River Styx, but with the blessing of Saturn he was likely more powerful than he could even imagine. All that training. His whole life. Was about to be for nothing as the man raised his sword in a flash.

Percy closed his eyes prepared to meet the lords of the Underworld, when a clang rang throughout the battlefield. In front of him was a large green humanoid with a massive trident in his hand, "Get away from my brother."

With a quick swipe and a blast of golden energy the Titan Lord was blasted off his feet and sent reeling backwards while Triton materialized another trident of the air and tossed it to Percy who was in shock of what was unfolding before him, "Father sends his regards, and apologizes for not being able to come personally. Oceanus is proving to be a handful, and I am all he could spare for assistance."

Catching the trident he felt a surge of power go through his body, and he felt his connection with the Ocean. He felt the power of his father's domain flow through his body, and he looked at his brother in confusion and only smirked at him in response, "We thought you would like your old weapon back, and we decided to make a few improvements and call it an early birthday present from the seas."

Percy grinned as his eyes met his brother, "You know I have waited my whole life to fight by your side."

The man grinned as he looked across the field to see an enraged Titan Lord, "Well let's hope I don't disappoint."

Percy then looked back to Jason and Bianca who offered him wide grins, and saw that the Romans were thrilled to have an immortal on their side in this fight. Looking back at the army that was beginning their descent from the mountain Percy roared out, "ROMANS! TO ME. ROMANS! TO ME."

At this Percy began running forward with his brother matching his stride. Before he knew however the Titan Lord was back in front of him swinging a sword at his head which he ducked, and watched as his brother attacked the man with ferocity.

The clash of the armies followed moments after the interception of Lord Saturn, but quickly Percy realized all that got in the way of his brother and the Titan Lord would be crushed underfoot. The two fought like demons, as the man raged about interference from pesky minor gods. It quickly became apparent that though Saturn may have had the upperhand in abilities Triton was easily countering them with his prowess on the battlefield. Percy's brother had been in a constant state of war, and had been tangling with Titans at full power for over a year now. This handicapped Saturn he was facing now was probably something of a relief, which was something the furious golden eyed man seemed to be realizing as well.

Not wanting to leave his brother to the fight alone Percy surged forward swinging his new trident at the man with everything he had, and watched in amazement as the blade that was deflecting his brothers trident flash in his direction to stop his strike, and still find time to block the heir to Atlantis' as well. The battle quickly became a flash of offensive maneuvers as Percy and Triton fought in a coordination they had never trained on before. Years of training together however taught them exactly how one another might move, and they took to it like a fish to water.

Percy had become thankful as the minutes passed that he had been pushed as he had been in the past. The stamina that was being displayed by putting the type of blitz performance he had to was considerable. He slashed, hacked, whirled, dodged, and thrusted with every bit of might he could possess. They hadn't gotten much of a reaction out of the Titan Lord until Triton thumped the man across the chest sending him flying backwards into one of his honor guard giants destroying the beast immediately. The Titan King was back on his feet in a split second roaring out, "This isn't over sea spawns. I will pave your blood in the starways for the rest of eternity when we meet again.

Suddenly the man disappeared in a flash, and Triton looked over at his brother triumphantly while looking tired at the same time, "Sorry to disappear on you, but that is about the extent of what the Ancient Laws are going to allow me to do here. Win this battle brother, and we will celebrate someday soon."

Percy ran forward and hugged his brother tightly, "Thank you. You saved us today."

The man looked grave when they separated and said words that Percy would likely never forget, "You are hopelessly outmatched little brother. You saw that today. You don't stand a chance without taking drastic measures. You will know what to do when the time is right."

With that the green humanoid heir of Atlantis fizzled out into the wind.

(A/N) Short, but fun battle scene with Percy and Triton taking on Saturn. Next Chapter Percy wreaks vengeance on the Titan Army, but not without its twists and turns. Can't wait to share that with you guys on New Year's Eve. Until then please join my discord! I have a great admin buffing up the server to be more enjoyable, and of course my team of betas are trying to help me prepare to give you guys a little extra content if you join the discord page. You can join by following the link below. Cheers everyone!

di scor / SfDr4Tv5