Chapter 38

Percy had not seen a party be prepared like this since his victory over the Trojan Sea Monster. When it was first proposed to hold celebrations for the new appointments to Praetor, and Consul he had dismissed the idea. When the Senate then proposed a celebration of their defensive victory over the Titans, and the new government appointments he relented, and allowed them to form a committee to prepare for festivities. Some of the Guard had even joked that this party would be a dry run for the party that would be held once the Titans were truly defeated.

Truth be told the party was nowhere near 'dry'. Percy had never seen so much alcohol in New Rome until the evening of the party, and since there was no real drinking age in Rome, and for all effects he was their governing leader no one questioned his place as he partook in the celebrations.

The area was covered with people in the city limits of New Rome, and Percy had shaken a lot of hands, and gave out many hugs to people he had been acquainted with in his nearly 8 years of service in the active legion.

As the night wore on Percy began to stick with his core group of friends. It consisted of the entirety of the Praetorian Guard who had formed small groups with some of their own friends in the forum. Bianca, Jason, and Percy had hardly stepped more than a few feet away from each other for the entirety of the evening. Bianca had been closer than most would have deemed appropriate, but considering how things had gone over the past week Percy could not gather a single bit of strength to complain.

The young man as a son of Neptune had gone through many near death experiences in his time in the mythological world, but the last week had literally been a leap from one violent incident to another. Sitting here as the Consul of Rome, and his two best friends beside him as Praetor's was something he couldn't have even dreamt of.

The young man took a long swig of the wine glass in his hand remembering the love he lost along the way to his dream. It was for Gwen he had originally wanted to become Consul. He had built many of his childhood hopes, dreams, and fantasies around such an idea, but now that he was here without her a dull pang hit him in the chest.

Seeming to sense his discomfort a soft hand went on his own as Bianca laughed at a comment Jason made about the lares threatening each other. Turning to the dark haired girl Percy couldn't but thank the gods for the daughter of Pluto beside him. She had been his rock in ways that Jason had been unable too. She hadn't filled the gap when Gwen died, but she made it seem smaller. She stood beside him when he was fighting his way through towards the Trojan Sea Monster and she stood beside him when he was fighting for his life in the Labyrinth.

Jason's importance couldn't be dismissed though Percy as he glanced at his cousin. The boy had stepped into his leadership position when he had disappeared with Bianca, and with the help of the rest of the guard kept the cohorts intact. Jason had also come to his aid when he was knocking on death's door against the Trojan Sea Monster, and against the fight with Kampe. The young man was the closest thing he had to family over the years, and he was beyond thankful the boy had been rewarded by the gods to ascend to the Praetor position. It was well deserved, and the boy was a true Roman.

Turning his eyes back on the girl who had taken a huge step in his life recently he noticed she was introducing her brother to some of her friends in the Guard. Percy could tell the young man had his defenses up, and could feel a little awkward, but the others did their best to try and be cool. They could all undoubtedly remember when Nico had fought for the Titans at Mount Tam. It was a day none of them were likely to ever forget, and the fact that Nico had been on the wrong side of them that day was something that wouldn't be overlooked. The Consul of Rome had little doubt that had the boy's efforts not been invaluable in the battle of the Labyrinth they would not even have tried to pretend to be civil. His group was strong willed, and stubborn like that, but Percy wouldn't have replaced them for anything.

"Enjoying yourself brother?" A voice came from Percy's left, and the familiarity snapped him out of his train of thought.

Triton, the heir of Atlantis, was standing there with a striking dark haired woman both wearing tired smiles on their faces that were pointed at the new Consul of Rome, "Triton! What are you doing here?"

Percy shooting to his feet, and walking towards the tall humanoid caught the attention of all the nearby onlookers, and they watched curiously as the two embraced briefly. The woman who Percy recognized from the wedding that took place in Atlantis answered the question, "As usual Triton is being your father's messenger, but I wanted to come along too, and congratulate you on your promotion to Consul. It is a very big honor you are carrying on your shoulders Perseus. Your father, and brother are very proud."

Triton grumbled about his wife speaking for him, but offered Percy a small smile, "She's right, but as my protege I expected nothing less. Olympus and Atlantis are already regaling with the tales of our fight with the Titan Lord Saturn, and we have given our side some hope. You did well that day on the battlefield brother, despite your disadvantages."

Thetis snorted, "That was one of the worst compliments I have heard in 3000 years."

Triton looked abashed, while Percy grinned at the interaction. He had not often seen his brother and Thetis together. Only during their wedding day, and the brief interaction before his summonings in front of the High Sea Council. The two seemed to be a good match as Triton sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Yes, well Perseus I must also offer you my congratulations as does our father. The war against Oceanus is in a stalemate, and I do not see one side gaining advantage over the other until the surface world has been won. That means your task is doubly important for the sake of your home and ours. Now I have brought you some intelligence if you are sober enough to take it."

Thetis chuckled at the lime green humanoids words, and Percy blushed, "Of course."

Triton then looked around the Praetorians who looked very interested in his words, but the Atlantean shook his head, "The Praetor's are welcome to this meeting, but I suggest keeping this information as low profile as possible for maximum chance of success."

Percy frowned, "I trust all the Praetorians with my life, and have done so many times."

Triton nodded solemnly, "History is littered with great leaders who trusted people that they shouldn't have. This is merely a precaution."

Knowing that a disagreement with his older brother would take him nowhere Percy could only nod his head and follow the man into the Senate House nearby with Jason, and Bianca hot on his heels seemingly anxious.

When the door behind them closed Triton turned to Bianca, "Do you sense any Lares in the room?"

Without question the girl closed her eyes, and when they opened they were black as night as they scanned the room, and answered with confidence, "No Lord Triton."

The man nodded and pulled out a small disk that projected an image about three feet above the object, "This is a cruise ship that you should be familiar with, son of Jupiter. Bianca, Percy, this is the cruise liner known as The Princess Andromeda. It is currently a floating fortress, and a base of operations for the Titan Lord. They are planning an attack on the Greek's that will decimate them down to the last man, woman, and child. We have sent auxiliary forces to attack the ship, but they have been repelled by Oceanus' forces. We are unsure if Saturn himself is on the ship or I would lead an attack myself, but without being certain I risk harsh punishments from the fates for breaking the ancient laws. We need a small strike force to attack the ship, and send it to the bottom of the Ocean. This will buy the Greeks some much needed time to defend Olympus."

Percy was bursting with questions, but Bianca beat him to the first, "How small of a strike team are we talking about?"

Triton shook his head, "I would only recommend taking people who can breathe underwater. That only leaves you with one option for now."

Percy shook his head, "Dylan is a son of Trivia. He is on the Praetorian Guard, and can create magic that could allow him to breathe underwater."

"Why would they need to be able to breathe underwater?" Jason asked with concern in his voice.

"An aerial strike will be fruitless. It seems that they are under the protection of the North Wind. As we speak his sons and daughter will be ensuring that they are safe from aerial invasion. It's why the Greek's also have no way of handling this themselves." Turning towards Jason Triton grimly said, "Your sister is leading the Greeks. They suffered heavy casualties in their own battle that erupted out of the Labyrinth. Half their camp was destroyed, but they survived. It is quite the enthralling tale, perhaps you should get your sister to tell it when you meet."

"When we meet? I haven't seen my sister outside of an Iris message in over a year. With the way things are going I don't see that changing until the war is over." Jason said, looking at Triton in surprise, but the worry for his sister was clear on his face.

"This will not be a war of attrition my friends. We must defeat the Titans by the time Perseus turns 16. I believe that gives us just over two months if I am not mistaken?" Triton said looking to his youngest brother.

Percy nodded his head, but even with the alcohol in his system he felt the inkling of fear creep into his stomach, "What exactly are you proposing Triton?"

The man sighed, putting his large hand up to his face and rubbing the bridge of his nose softly, "I hate being the messenger some days...Perseus if we are to defeat the Titans you must lead an assault on Mount Othrys and topple the Black Throne of Saturn. This will leave our grandfather severely weakened, and it will be our only chance to defeat him. If we can do this it should delay his ability to assume his true form as well."

Jason groaned, "A Titan in true form? We haven't faced one of those yet. Atlas was too weak from his burden to even attempt it."

"Lord Saturn's true form would be a hundred times worse. The true form of a Titan King would burn mortals just by being in its very presence. It would be the end of the Olympian rule, and the Titans would reign supreme once again. We cannot allow this to happen." Triton said fiercely.

The three leaders of Rome nodded their heads each attempting to steel themselves with determination. Percy asked, "What do we do after we destroy the Black Throne?"

"You march on Olympus. Defend it. Defeat Lord Saturn in his mortal form, and save Western Civilization. As the prophecy predicts." Triton said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

Bianca snorted, "Oh that's all?"

Triton nodded stiffly, "It will be no easy task, but it must be done. The Greeks and Romans must work together in our most desperate hour, or all will be lost."

Feeling the pressure return Percy could only nod his head in understanding. The gravity of the situation truly started to take form. It wasn't just Rome they would be fighting for, but the world as a whole. Saturn would have to be stopped. Whatever the cost may be.

"So a small strike team will take down this cruise ship out in the Ocean, while the legion begins to prepare for an assault on Mount Othrys. IF we are successful on both those fronts then we have to go to Olympus and defeat whatever is left of the Titan's forces." Percy said hoping he didn't sound as hopeless as he thought.

"That about sums it up, yes." Triton said dryly.

Looking from Jason to Bianca Percy felt their hopelessness, and couldn't help but feel some himself, "Triton." Percy said carefully, "Saturn wiped the floor with me less than a week ago. Had you not been there I would've been murdered on the Field of Mars. Please tell me Olympus, you, dad, anyone has some sort of idea how we are supposed to-"

"Speak with the son of Hades." Triton said, looking tense.

Thetis' eyes widened like her husband said something he wasn't supposed to. The three demigods blinked, and Percy shook his head, "Speak to Nico? I don't understand."

The son of Neptune's eyes went to Bianca's whose onyx eyes were wide and confused, while Triton looked to the ceiling as if he was expecting something to interfere with what he wanted to say, "Speak to the son of Hades. It is your only hope if-"

"Triton." Thetis said warningly, and the man flinched in recognition, before frowning as thunder rumbled in the sky, "I have said too much as it is. You must make do with the cards that have been dealt to you. There is hope though Perseus. I spent many years training you, and the fruits of our labors will soon be seen by the world. Rome recognizes you as one of their greatest warriors in history, now it is time to show it to everyone else. Never have a child of Neptune, Pluto, and Jupiter stood together, and history will not ever forget the time they do."

Percy felt strength from his brother's words, and nodded his head, "We will do everything we can to ensure Olympus is victorious."

Triton nodded, "It's all we can ask of you."

"We must be going Triton." Thetis said, looping an arm through the heir to Atlantis', "It is getting late and the young leaders of Rome still have a bit of a party left to enjoy."

Bianca sighed, "Just one party I'd like to make it through with no immortal appearances." The girl blushed as Triton raised his eyebrows at the girl, and she quickly defended herself, "Of course we are always happy to receive intelligence from you Lord Triton, just maybe one day can it just be a social call?"

Triton stared at the girl for a moment before shaking his head, "Ms. Di Angelo, if you win this war then I offer you a solemn promise to attend the party Rome throws in the wake of victory."

Bianca grinned at the man happily, "You have yourself a deal, my lord."

Percy smiled, putting an arm around the girl feeling better as the moments passed, "You have just made a deal with the devil brother. I hope you know what you are signing up for."

Triton and Thetis raised their eyebrows at the younger son of the sea, and both looked pointedly at the arm that was around Bianca, but neither said anything.

Triton and Thetis departed shortly after the end of their conversation giving the leaders of Rome time to think, and discuss possibilities in private. They game planned the likely scenarios that would follow in the coming days, and summoned Nico to the Praetoria the next day.

The young man was wearing a black aviator jacket, black t-shirt, jeans, and a silver ring Percy had not noticed before now. He seemingly played with the ring as a nervous tendency, and the son of Neptune noticed that the Lares that usually occupied the room or area were suspiciously absent in the gathering of four children of the eldest Olympians.

Jason seemed to be the least sure of the young man before them, but didn't fire off accusing questions right away. In fact both were waiting for Bianca to start the line of questions, and she seemed to catch on to her cue as she stood from her chair. Her black and purple Praetor toga falling to the floor elegantly. Percy tried not to be distracted by the girl as she seemed to have put some extra effort into her appearance today. Her hair had been braided into one long curl, and her olive skin looked perfectly unblemished in her Praetor robes as she spoke, "Nico… Jason, Percy, and I received some critical intelligence last night from Lord Triton of Atlantis. He was under the impression that you might have information for us that could be crucial in defeating the Titans. Do you know what he may be referring to?"

Nico glanced around nervously, and Bianca picked up on it right away saying, "No one can hear us here. The room is checked often, and I have pushed the Lares away before we invited you here. We know you spent some time with the Titans, and that has been forgiven, but if you have information that could be the difference between life and death we need to know it now."

The young man swallowed audibly, and shuffled nervously, "I saw things when I was with Luke. I followed him around for months when I was with the Titans, and as you all know he bathed in the Styx to become invincible."

The three demigods nodded, and Nico sighed, "What you may not know is that I was the one that gave him the means to do it."

Bianca flinched, while Jason glared at the boy. Percy however was the one to voice the next question, "Nico we already told you that anything you did with the Titans has been forgiven, so can you elaborate on what you mean when you say that you gave Luke the means to bathe in the Styx."

Nico nodded, not meeting their eyes, "It was Kronos' idea to bathe in the Styx to prepare the body of Luke Castellan or Kyle Logan to be his mortal host. He needed the body to survive their ritual. What he wasn't sure of was why so many throughout history had failed. That is actually the reason they recruited me, and kept me so close. They needed me to summon the fallen warriors who had died bathing in the Styx, while also summoning the few who had been successful."

Jason stirred in his seat, "The curse of Achillies is a Greek curse, to the best of my knowledge-"

"That actually isn't true. Achilles was not even the first hero to bathe in the River Styx." Nico said carefully.

This seemed to surprise all three of the leaders of Rome, and Percy leaned forward in his chair, "Explain."

"It's been carved throughout history that demigods had bathed in the Styx. One of my brothers actually succeeded in WW2, but he was killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. He was an unstoppable force on the battlefield, and had been decimating his way through American forces. It was speculated by my brother that it was one of the reasons America dropped the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and not one of the other ports. They had received intelligence he was there, and wiped him off the face of the Earth knowing it would be the only way to defeat him. In early times however the demigods that successfully bathed in the Styx often grew arrogant, and challenged Olympians in open combat. As you can imagine that never ended well, and the gods tried to keep it silent so their other children would not fall into that same trap." Nico explained carefully, "Needless to say the victims of the demigods that had been slain were more than happy to talk about the invincible force that defeated them in combat, so I dug throughout history to find a method to the madness of those who had been successful. There were steps that needed to be taken, and most of those a hero would complete on being a demigod, but most importantly all the successful bathers had their mothers permission."

The three were silenced by the young man's words, and Percy pinched the bridge of his nose, "So it's not a Greek curse, and Luke along with Kyle got blessings from their mother to bathe in the River. I don't understand how that really helps us."

Bianca broke the long silence that ensued following his words, "What were the words Triton said to you on the battlefield Percy? You said that Triton told you something odd, something you didn't understand?"

Thinking back to the moment on the battlefield the words immediately came to Percy's mind. They had stung when they set in after the battle was over, but the feeling of dreading was coursing through him as the feeling that he had missed something set in, "He said that I was hopelessly outmatched, and that I would need drastic action to win."

Silence once again fell over the room, but Jason stood to his feet, "Now wait a second here. I don't like where this is going."

"Triton wouldn't have suggested something like this if he didn't think it was necessary." Bianca said immediately.

"That is literally suicide. We are basing all this off someone who was fighting for the Titans six months ago!" Jason barked out.

"He wouldn't turn against me like that." Bianca spat back heatedly, "He is on our side and trying to help us. If you don't trust him you should certainly trust Triton who has helped us more than any other immortal."

"We don't know if that is what he was referring to for sure." Jason pointed out.

"What else could it be?" Bianca retorted angrily.

"I don't know, but in case you forgot Percy's mom has been gone for a long time. How are we supposed to get her permission?" Jason said irritably.

"I can get him into Elysium for a few hours. I can get permission from my father, and get the blessing we need. Jason this may be our only way. Triton said we needed to talk to Nico, and find out what we needed to know. You saw what it did to Kyle Logan, and he was worthless. Can you imagine the kind of power it will give to someone like Percy? This is the ace in the hole we need. The kind of power that will make Percy a Titan Slayer."

Silence reigned throughout the room, and the girl took a deep breath, "I don't want to lose him either, but Jason. If he doesn't do this I don't see how there is any scenario where we are all celebrating this victory together. Even with this I am not sure it's possible."

"They are right Jason." Percy said quietly.

Six eyes went to the silent Consul of Rome. He had his fingers in an interview position close to his face. No one in the room could read minds, and even if they could it would've been worthless as the thoughts flew through his head at a million miles an hour. Bianca's words had hit him right in the chest, and the impact was startling.

Saturn's time curse was powerful, and he had barely survived the first encounter. Had Triton not been there Rome would've been burnt to the ground, and all his friends would've been killed. The Curse of Achilles was supposed to be immensely painful, and historically Greek despite what Nico says, but it seemed like the only option, "Jason do you have any other solution to beating the Titans? The actual Titans? You know at least one will be guarding Othrys."

Jason grunted, "Together. We will fight them together."

"We will lose." Bianca said simply.

"Then we will do that together too." Jason said stubbornly.

"Bianca is right." Nico said, cutting off further response. Percy's heart hurt watching his two cousins fight. For two people who did not have a lot in common the two rarely disagreed on anything, and he only hoped that Nico had a peaceful solution, "Other demigods throughout history have taken the curse, but none like Percy. I have seen his power at Mount Tam, and during the battle of the Labyrinth. The River Styx power flowing through Percy's veins could be immense. Not to mention no son of Poseidon or Neptune has ever attempted it. If there was ever anyone more equipped to do this than any before him it's Percy."

Percy didn't look at Jason or Nico, but instead looked to Bianca, "Can you commune with the dead and confirm Nico's information? Can you get me into Elysium to meet with my mother?"

Without hesitation the girl confidently nodded her head, "Yes. I will do everything in my power to give you a chance at surviving this."

Thinking for a long moment Percy finally nodded, and turned to Jason, "We have to do this, or he's going to kill me."

Jason looked pale. The color of his skin seemed to go whiter and whiter as the conversation devolved, but now he was white as a sheet, "I don't know what to say."

"Say you are with me. You are my best friend, and your opinion, and support means a lot to me." Percy insisted.

Jason looked from Bianca, to Nico, back and forth several times before sighing, "This better work."

"Bianca begin your communes immediately." Percy commanded.

"I will start at twilight." She said in acceptance.

"Until then I need to brief Dylan on our plan of attack, and see if he is willing to follow me into battle against The Princess Andromeda. By the time all this is worked out it may be approaching game time to start the assault on Othrys. We will need to move quickly to get me in the Styx, and then get me into battle. The margin for error here is nearly zero. It will only work if we all work together." Percy said insistently.

Three nods told him the plan was accepted, and he mumbled, "May the wisdom of Olympus guide us to victory."

(A/N) A battle plan while the lines in the sand are being drawn. If you want to read chapter 39 join me on discord! Otherwise I will see you all in two weeks on February 11th. Sorry for the 1 day late delay. Cheers!

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