AN: First off, big thanks to Rohan for helping me with this chapter. Head on over to his profile and go read his fic "The Cradle of Olympus" if you haven't already. He's just starting arc II of his fic and it's off to a great start.
Now, this will be a bit of a filler chapter and expect chapters like these to fill some gaps here and there as the fic goes on.
A week after the eruption of Mount Saint-Helens
The Island
Perseus flashed himself deep into the forest and unleashed a wave of power that was begging to be released as his emotions raged within him after days of trying to calm himself as Iapetus tended to the members of his Gauntlet and his daughter. The Titan, with help from Calypso after she swore her allegiance to his mother, tried to rouse Thalia only to find out that they couldn't, bringing him to a near-state of panic as they tried to figure out the cause and possible solutions.
The conversation he had with his Gauntlet a few days after the incident was brought back to the forefront of his mind.
"What happened after you regrouped with my daughter?" Virtus asked hoarsely. The past few hours granted none of them a minute of peace with the centurions still covered in ash and grime with the smell from the eruption and the subsequent destruction of Mount Saint-Helens still lingering on their armor and clothing.
Aurelius touched the bandage that was wrapped around his head while he held his dented helmet underneath his arm and winced from the lightheadedness that overcame him as his brothers helped him sit down.
"Instead of finding the god of the wild as you instructed us to, we found her heading to Typhon's prison with two of the demigods from the Greek camp." Hadrian replied with exhaustion.
Virtus furrowed his brow and turned around to face them, "What was she doing there? She knows what that mountain holds." he asked with confusion.
Hadrian continued, "Apparently, Lord Vulcan requested herself and the questing group investigate his forge underneath the mountain. He claimed that something or someone was using his forge and in exchange for their help, he would assist them in finding Daedalus." rubbing at the ash on his knuckles as he talked.
"What of the questers with her? What of them?" Virtus inquired.
"The Faun and Cyclops split off from the main group after it seemed like the Faun caught wind of Pan's scent." Darius said with some regret. "Our apologies, Lord Virtus, for not following up on the scent." he added.
Virtus waved a hand half-heartedly at the apology, "It's no matter. Your duty first and foremost is to ensure the safety of my daughter and nephew and you have done that. I do not doubt that we will track down Pan eventually." Virtus assured. "What of the other two? The son of Neptune and daughter of Minerva?" he followed up.
"Incapacitated those two and moved them away. Those two should be back at the camp." Hadrian said
Virtus nodded before he frowned, "What happened to her while you were all down there?" he asked himself, concerned for his daughter's state of wellbeing.
Aurelius snorted, "Lord Janus fucking happened." he said in anger.
Virtus narrowed his gaze and the four centurions just barely squirmed in their seats as he felt the penetrating gaze of his patron burn a hole into his head. "What do you mean by that? What did Janus do?"
Darius sharpened his spear-head with harsh strokes with the whetstone and flexed his fingers, "That asshat-"
Before he could explain what happened between the group and the Roman god, Zoë and Marius walked in with grim and uncertain faces with the latter approaching his centurions, checking up on the four of them. Zoë went to her husband and Virtus shifted back into his Greek form at his wife's touch.
Perseus wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his forehead against hers and exhaled deeply while pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around him and placed a soft kiss on his lips to calm him. "How are you doing with all this?" Perseus asked quietly, shutting his eyes and just taking in the comfort his wife provided.
Zoë snorted and nuzzled his neck, "I should be the one asking you that." giving him the barest hint of a smile before it fell off her face.
"Still nothing?" Perseus questioned in defeat.
Zoë shook her head regretfully and felt him tighten his hold on her.
Everyone waited with bated breath each day, waiting for positive news to strike them instead of the nervous anticipation that they encountered.
Zoë flashed to where her husband was and found him leaning against the stump of a tree. A quick survey of the area, she found the ground, blackened, split, and upheaved with trees split and chopped and boulders crumbled on the ground. Leviathan was embedded in the ground next to Perseus as he stared dead ahead at a lone patch of dirt.
Zoë approached him tenderly, causing Perseus to look up at her. She saw the guilt, pain, and worry beneath his gaze and while she had her worries, no one could ever deny that her husband and Thalia had a much deeper bond even compared to the one he had with Jason. She gave him a sad smile and kneeled between his outstretched legs, cradling his face in her hands. She ran her thumbs across his cheeks as his arms went around her waist.
She rested her head on her shoulder as Perseus pulled her closer. No words were said as she ran a hand through his hair. "Everything will be fine." she quietly said and closed her eyes.
"I know."
Zoë pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes, "Then why are you so worried?" seeing him give a heavy sigh.
"Just feel like I failed somewhere." he admitted without looking her in the eyes. Her eyes softened at his despondent look, "I thought I made it clear to both of them that they are still my priority and that nothing would ever change that. I don't know why she thought that would all change if you and I were to have a child."
"Jason never felt that way?" she asked curiously. He shook his head with a small smile as he thought back to past times.
"The only thing he cared about when he was younger in terms of family was that I would love his sister more than him. He pretty much hung on to me whenever he felt like his sister was outdoing him and competed with her." he revealed, making her snort.
"That sounds entertaining." Zoë replied with a laugh.
He gave her a small smirk and replied, "For them, it was." before a grim line replaced his smirk.
She bumped her forehead against his gently, "Hey, she'll be fine." and watched him give her a small nod at her reassurance. Shrugging her shoulders, she pecked him on the nose, "Well, the worst-case scenario is we go grab Hades by the throat and tell him to bring her back." she said with a small grin. He rolled his eyes at her suggestion, making her huff.
He saw steel in her look the next moment, "Did you tell them to find him?" she asked.
He shook his head, "I'll task the Gauntlet to find him after we pick up Jason. Lupa will arrange everything on his end."
"And how is he holding up?" she asked with concern.
Perseus sighed heavily, "He's worried. Lupa almost caught him trying to sneak out the night I told him. Ignatius and the others have been watching him closely since, thinking that he was a hair away from doing something stupid."
Zoë gave him a small frown at the news, "I can't imagine the rest of Camp Jupiter would have been pleased by that. One of their centurions abandoning their post in the middle of war preparations isn't the best look." she commented with a slight frown.
"No, they would not." he replied with a small chuckle meant only for her ears.
The two sat in tense silence despite all the reassurances that were given as Perseus tried to erase his worries with his wife's presence while Zoë's mind wandered.
Camp Jupiter
Senate House
Reyna looked at Jason with concern as the blonde-haired demigod that sat in front of her kept jittering in his seat while somehow maintaining a depressed look on his face.
Reyna would have said something but she was in the middle of a senate meeting. As much as she wanted to inquire about her friend and the incident that took place between him and the second cohort, she knew that her focus right now should be about the status of their war preparations. Her friend's behavior of late was concerning with the usual kind-hearted demigod becoming snappy and his mind elsewhere and not to mention irritating since they were friends.
Throughout the meeting, Reyna delegated her attention to answering whatever questions were thrown at her and focusing on Jason.
As the senators were in discussion with each other, she gave everyone a brief recess. Octavian's annoying voice tried to chime in every so often to get in more good graces of the other senators, Reyna pulled Jason out of his seat and off to the side.
"Spill it." Reyna demanded with a glare.
"Just leave it, Reyna." Jason said with a frown. "It's not even your problem."
"It becomes my problem when I have to worry about where your head's at." Reyna argued.
He shook his head, "You really don't need to do that. Never asked you to."
She rolled her eyes and punched him on the shoulder, "Hence why we're friends, dumbass." her look softened just a tiny bit when he said nothing, "Just… remember, alright?" when it seemed like he wouldn't answer any questions she had based off of his current behavior.
He nodded and was about to say something when he spotted Octavian walking their way, a sigh of annoyance leaving him, and grabbed Reyna by the shoulders, turning her around just as all emotion left her face.
"What do you want?" Reyna asked, crossing her arms across her chest as the two of them stared down the Augur.
Octavian held his hands up with a smirk, "Nothing. I was just wondering what was so important for you to hold a conversation with Centurion Grace so quickly. Surely someone like you wouldn't be holding bias towards a subordinate"
Jason rolled his eyes, "And you wonder why most of us hate you. You think Adrian doesn't do the same with Celia?" pointing to where the centurion of the third was off talking to the other praetor.
"As a son of Jupiter, you are expected to be the standard as a sign to the other legionaries." Octavian reminded none too politely.
"I'm doing just fine with that. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from me." Jason mocked.
Octavian raised an eyebrow and looked at Reyna, "No words from you? How odd."
"I'm just wondering what the best way to kill you would be. I'm currently thinking of sticking a dagger in you right now and shoving my boot into your face, letting Aurum and Argentum eat whatever is left of you." Reyna remarked.
"Careful of those words, Reyna. Someone could interpret those words wrongly." Adrian mentioned with a grin as he and Celia walked towards them. "Augur, Grace." he greeted in a neutral tone.
"Adrian." Jason replied, bowing his head slightly.
"Hey, guys." Celia nodded at them.
Adrian looked at Octavian with a look of displeasure, "Augur, don't you have omens to interpret? Why are you still here?" he inquired.
Octavian gave a forced smile as his hands clenched into a ball. Giving the two praetors a deep nod of his head, he left the four and walked out of the Senate House.
Celia sighed and looked at Reyna, the praetor remaining stoic next to Jason, "Believe me, you're not the only one who's thought about the ways possible."
"The others won't like that." Jason replied with a shrug.
Celia laughed and looked at Adrian, "Hey, that can be the present you give me when I retire." nudging him on the shoulder and making him chuckle.
"I don't think the gift of murder is a very good gift." he suggested with a teasing smirk before looking at Jason.
Reyna looked at Celia questioningly, "You're retiring?"
"Perhaps after this one. I've had a good run, but after all this, it's onto New Rome for me." she said with a grin.
Reyna looked at her co-praetor, "And you?" waiting for his answer only to get a noncommittal shrug.
Adrian fixed Jason with a questioning look, "Is everything all right?" he asked as he noticed Reyna's eyes flickered over to Jason.
"I'm perfectly fine." Jason said, brushing off the question and the look.
"Hank informed us of the incident with the legionnaire from the second and that makes me inclined to believe that everything is not fine. We just want to make sure everything is ok." Adrian informed as he eyed Jason.
"I'm fine." Jason said.
"Adrian." Reyna said with a warning, "Don't push it. I have this handled."
"The legionnaire he put in the infirmary would say something different." Adrian replied, doubting her answer. "I don't appreciate being lied to, centurion." Adrian pressed on. "I need to know if your cohort and the legion can trust you in the heat of battle. If not, then you will be replaced." he added with heat.
"And I don't like accusations being thrown at me, so you should change your phrasing." Jason retorted, his eyes dimly glowing blue.
"Jason." Reyna warned when she heard the sky rumble above them.
Before either of the praetors or Reyna could say anything, the doors to the building were slammed open. The conversation came to a close as Lupa walked in, her eyes already locating her target.
"Lady Lupa, I wasn't aware that you would be gracing us with your presence?" Reyna greeted with a bow.
Lupa nodded silently at the praetor and focused on Jason, noticing the slight movement of black and gold in the corner of the room and the sheathing of a blade out of the corner of her right eye. "I require the son of Jupiter for a task." she informed.
Reyna noticed how Jason looked hopeful for a second before composing himself when he noticed her watching. She had an idea that Jason was doing more than he let on when Lupa took him away from the camp a year back on undisclosed business and any attempts to get Jason to tell her was stone-walled by him.
"What for?" Adrian inquired, looking at the mentioned Centurion differently.
"Something." Lupa replied with a slight growl at being questioned. Adrian took a step back from the wolf goddess at the warning.
Adrian didn't like that one of his centurions was being taken away from the preparations, "Lady Lupa, with all due respect, surely you must know that we need every hand with us amid incoming war with the Titans. Centurion Grace is a formidable fighter that we must have remain within our ranks in case of an emergency." he told her politely though the displeasure was clear on his face.
Jason raised an eyebrow at his change of tone and rolled his eyes.
"Should you ever question my word and the regard in which I hold the legion again, I will make sure you regret it. As it is, this is from above me." drawing looks of surprise from everyone as they thought that Jason was being requested by Lord Jupiter himself but Jason, however, knew better. "He will be here for the battle, that you have my word." she said.
"I'm ready to depart, Lady Lupa." Jason said.
Lupa gave him a quick nod, "Good." already in the process of turning around and walking out of the building. Reyna gave him a confused and suspicious wave as he left the Senate House.
"Well, isn't he just special?" Adrian drawled, leading to Celia slapping him on the back of his head and Reyna's mind filled with more questions.
Jason followed Lupa out past the borders of the camp with Marcus and Tiberius trailing behind them and Cassius and Ignatius at the front once it was clear of Romans. Jason brushed off the reassurances given to him by his uncles, negative thoughts only plaguing his mind as they walked.
They stopped at the base of Berkeley Hills and Jason could see the rest of the Gauntlet, his uncle, and Zoë waiting for them up ahead.
Perseus nodded at Lupa, the wolf returning the gesture and bowed before leaving the group alone.
Despite how he should be reacting, Jason ran to his uncle and felt his arms wrap around him.
Ignatius, Cassius, Marcus, and Tiberius reunited with their brethren. "You four still look and smell like shit." Ignatius said, leading to chuckles.
"You try going through a volcanic eruption while fighting a bunch of dogs wielding blades." Hadrian mentioned.
"Telekhines?" Tiberius asked.
"Telekhines." Darius confirmed
Magnus nodded his head over to Jason and looked at his brother, "How's the boy holding up? Can't imagine that it was a pleasant experience for him." he asked.
Marcus shook his head, "Lupa almost caught him leaving the camp one night." he revealed.
A sharp intake of air was present from the four that weren't at Camp Jupiter and Marius gave a small understanding nod. "You shake him up for that?" Hadrian asked only to see them shake their heads.
"None of us had the heart to." Ignatius told them. "How's the other little one?" he asked.
Marius tightened the shield on his left arm, "She's unresponsive still, but other than that? She's safe."
"Fuck." Cassius swore, running a hand through his hair. "What do we do now?" looking at their patron even though his question was directed to Marius.
"We await our orders from Lord Virtus." he instructed. Nods were made all around as they got into formation, waiting for their orders.
Perseus only pulled away from the hug to make sure Jason was fine physically, catching how Jason practically oozed anxiety and concern for his older sister.
"Are you ok?" he asked quietly. He felt Zoë's hand slip into his and saw her place a hand on Jason's shoulder in an act of comfort.
"How is she?" Jason asked in a cracked voice.
"Still the same as when he told you, but she'll be fine. Your sister's tough." Zoë said to him softly. "I can take you to see her. I imagine that Lupa left it vague enough as to when you'll return." she stated instead of asking.
Jason nodded to confirm, "Yeah." and saw Zoë give him a small grin.
"Good, you'll have plenty of time to annoy Thalia for worrying you when she wakes." she said to Jason, a small smile appearing on his face as well as on her husband's.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll love that." Perseus quipped.
"She can't complain when she's had us all worried." Jason defended.
"I know." Perseus said, clapping his hands once. "Alright, go with Zoë." motioning to his wife and squeezing her hand.
"What about you?" Jason asked.
Perseus gave him a small smile, "I just have something to do." he said, and the way he said it with his eyes pulsing made it clear that he wasn't budging on it.
"Ok." Jason relented.
"Love you, kid." Perseus said, ruffling Jason's hair and giving Zoë a chaste kiss.
"Don't even think of starting without me. I mean it." she added with a glare later.
He nodded, "Promise."
Zoë wrapped an arm around Jason and flashed him home to see his sister as her husband and the Gauntlet stayed.
Perseus shifted into Virtus and his centurions approached him with emotionless faces.
"What would you have us do, Lord Virtus?" Marius asked, his fingers grazing the hilt of his gladius.
"Find Janus and bring him to me. How you approach this, I will leave it to your discretion." Virtus ordered, receiving nods.
"And should he not comply?" Ignatius asked.
"Should Janus refuse to come peacefully, you are to bring him to me by force." Virtus told his Gauntlet firmly.
Aurelius smirked, "That is our specialty, Lord Virtus."
His centurions all put their helmets on, preparing to depart when Marius banged his armored hand against his chest, "We won't fail." with the sentiment being echoed by the other eight.
Virtus waved his hand over them, a shadow draped over their forms and melted into the ground, taking them away. Leviathan flew into his outstretched hand and he sat on a rock slab, brandishing a whetstone in his other hand as he started to run it down his symbol of power.
He'll wait here.
