Character rights belong to RR
19 - Frank
"Praetors!" Frank frowned towards the messenger interrupting the senate meeting. The boy paused to catch his breath for a moment, before saluting. "Urgent message from the Jacksons. They apologize for the inconvenience, but they'll be here in ten minutes and they need to speak with you. Something about a promise they didn't want to call in?"
Frank exchanged alarmed glances with Reyna, who sat next to him on the dais. "In that case, this meeting is postponed. Direct them to our office in the principia when they arrive."
"What? This proposal is very important! If we don't pass it now-"
"Then nothing will happen," Frank interrupted the senator. "Do you happen to recall how Perseus wiped the floor with us the last time he competed in our war games? If he and Annabeth are here to ask for help, do you seriously think rearranging the order of the war games so that the field can be used for citizen events is more important?" The mood in the senate building instantly became somber. "I didn't think so. We'll convene later this week. Iron out some more details on your proposal in the meantime." With that dismissal, Frank stood from his seat and sped out, Reyna hot on his heels.
"What mess do you think they got involved in this time?" Reyna asked.
"Nothing good, I'm sure," Frank replied. "Given what they've been putting up with recently, I'm afraid it's probably going to be an internal problem." Reyna gave him a sharp glance but stayed silent the rest of the way. Less than a minute after they got to the praetors' office Percy and Annabeth burst through the door.
"Sorry guys," Annabeth said. "Didn't mean to interrupt a senate meeting."
"Normally I'd thank you," Frank tried for a joke.
"Normally we wouldn't be hiving this conversation," Percy sighed. He sat heavily in one of the chairs in front of the desk while Annabeth paced behind him.
"What happened?" Reyna asked.
"We got in a fight with our parents," Annabeth answered. "We won, but you know what they're like, so we're booking it." Frank sat back in his chair, alarmed. Reyna let out a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.
"Of course you did," she groaned.
"We're not asking for sanctuary. We're trying not to suck anyone else into our problems." Percy ran a hand through his hair. "We've got a plan of sorts that we're hoping to clear with you."
Reyna leaned forward in her seat. "Please tell me that Annabeth was in charge of this plan?" Percy rolled his eyes as Annabeth huffed out a half laugh.
"I've been working on some of the details but it's something we've been planning together," Annabeth replied. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The plan is to head up to Alaska and build a third camp, one that's open to all mortals involved with a pantheon."
Frank gaped at them as Reyna raised an intrigued eyebrow. "You want to go back to Alaska?" He rushed to continue at the look Percy gave him. "I know, I know, it's strategically smart given your… issues at the moment, but it's so… wild." He gestured vaguely, trying to convey his thoughts. "The whole time we were there… it just felt wrong."
Percy shrugged. "Honestly, I enjoyed it. Besides," he grinned sharply, "I think wild suits me." Annabeth scoffed and shoved his shoulder as she paused behind his chair.
"So what would you need from us?" Reyna redirected.
"To start, Hazel," Annabeth answered. "We'll need to build up magical defenses and camouflage before we can start building anything, and she's the best sorcerer we know in our magic. Once we get set up, we might need materials or help building. We haven't heard back yet from our other contacts so we're not sure how many people we'd end up hosting."
"Other contacts?" Reyna asked. "Like that Sadie girl from your bachelorette party?"
"Technically I talked with her brother, Carter," Percy answered. "He's the current Pharaoh of the House of Life."
Reyna blinked at that. "Pharaoh of what now?"
"The House of Life? That's the Egyptian network. They're split into nomes all over the world – basically single cohorts that work by themselves most of the time." Percy explained.
"I met with my cousin, Magnus. He's Norse." Annabeth continued. "That one's a bit trickier given that they don't help their demigods at all unless they die and make it to Valhalla."
"That's… just wrong," Frank said in disbelief. Annabeth shrugged.
"Like we're much better?" Frank grimaced but nodded. "Anyways, the plan is to have this camp where anyone can come to be safe and train. Since we're trying to keep stuff in line with what each pantheon is used to, at least organizationally, that means a new nome and a new cohort at least."
"And that's where we come in," Reyna realized.
"It's certainly an interesting idea," Frank allowed. He frowned in thought. "It might be easier to create a whole new legion, though. A sixth cohort would create a whole slew of paperwork and red tape, and would be more likely to attract the attention of Olympus."
"A good point," Reyna agreed. "So, which legion can we feasibly revive?"
"And do we go off of tradition or just restart? I know Jason used to support renaming us the First, so we could just make them the Second."
"No, if we do eventually need to reveal this to the legion as a whole, it will cause less chaos to have it fit into the old names."
"Alright, were there any other legions with a high count of demigods?"
"No, not in particular. Most ended up in the Twelfth, but there were always a few in the command chain of the others."
"What about the Thirteenth?" Annabeth interjected. The two Romans blinked in surprise and turned to her. She smirk but continued her explanation. "That was nicknamed Gemima, twin, which would work with what we're doing, and it's only a number away from you guys."
"True…" Reyna thought. "Maybe. Personally I think calling it the Thirteenth is tempting Fate, but the twin theme is good."
"We could revive the Tenth?" Frank offered. "Fretensis, of the straits. The only naval legion, their patron was Neptune."
Percy frowned. "I'm not Neptune," he grumbled. Frank ignored the warning bells in the back of his mind, know his friend wasn't mad at him. "But I suppose it's also a good option. We'll probably at least be on the shore. Getting up to us by boat will be easier for supplies than over land if we ever need it."
"We'll think about a name later," Reyna said. "I'm assuming you two will be the praetors?" Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance before looking back to the daughter of Bellona and nodding. "Easy enough. We can send those of us with similar issues up to you once you're set up."
"Sounds like a plan," Percy agreed. He frowned. "So much for getting out of praetor paperwork, though."
Frank laughed. "Eh, it's not so bad."
"Oh, here's an idea," Annabeth said. "We could get supplies from the Amazons instead. That would take the strain off of the legion and allow us to build bridges with another group."
"Not a bad plan," Reyna agreed. "I'll give Hylla a heads-up."
"Do we need to make a new standard? Do we know how to make a new standard?" Frank questioned.
"Let's maybe find a safe spot and found a new legion before we worry about consecrated weaponry?" Percy replied.
"I guess that's fair," Frank said sheepishly. "Just trying to plan ahead."
"Yeah, cause that works so well usually," Annabeth grumbled. Percy squeezed her hand and she sighed melodramatically. "Oh well."
"So, how can we contact you without attracting the attention of our parents?" Reyna sked after a moment of comfortable silence.
"You remember Fleecy?" Percy asked Frank. He nodded. "She gave us some of these when we left after our confrontation. Works for IMing just like a normal drachma, but it only works with her direct line."
"Neat," Frank said, accepting the small stack of coins from his friends. He passed one over to Reyna as he inspected the coin. "I see you two have yet another fan." He grinned as he flaunted their portrait.
"Oh, shut up," Percy replied.
"Another fan?" Annabeth asked.
"You haven't heard? You've got a whole fan club here," Frank ribbed. "They meet on alternate Thursdays to swap celebrity merch and fanart."
"…please tell me you're joking." Percy pleaded. Annabeth just rubbed her temples.
"Unfortunately, no," Reyna replied drily. "They've asked us on three separate occasions to add a holiday or build a monument celebrating the Seven's achievements."
"See? It's not just about us-" Percy started.
"And since we would be building monuments," Reyna continued, "that we should probably build some for the heroes of the Titanomachy as well, and since you defeated Kronos himself, we should probably start with you guys." She smirked at the married couples' groans.
The foursome joked around for a while longer before Annabeth glanced at her watch and sighed. "We should get going if we want to make it to the meeting point on time." She smiled at her Roman friends. "Thanks again, guys."
"Of course." Frank smiled at his fellow Argonauts. "I'll go grab Hazel and have her meet you guys at the entrance of camp. Oh, and guys?" He waited for them to look back at him. "Please be careful."
"Aren't we always?" Percy smirked.
"That's what I'm worried about," Frank muttered.