Disclaimer: some speech directly lifted from Son of Nepture. All rights to Rick Riordan.
Suddenly a horn blew. A signal of an attack.
The camp sprung to life as everyone rushed to the Tiber – no enemy would pass it, that's where they'd make their stand. Perhaps it was the paranoia which still kept half of the camp (more than half) up at night… the PTSD left over from the second Titan War, from Mount Othrys. Perhaps it was that everyone had been on edge since Jason went missing nearly eight months ago now.
Either way, an entire Roman legion turning up to fight an immense battle, and ending up facing two gorgons, wasn't exactly… expected to say the least.
Reyna stepped forwards, trying to hold a grasp on the situation. Two demigods stood don the nearside of the river, dripping wet (well one of them was… the other was oddly dry). One was Hazel Levesque, fifth cohort. The other wore a tattered orange t-shirt which looked as though it would disintegrate at any second. However, his odd dress statement was not the weirdest thing about the new arrival… No, that mantle probably belonged to the elderly woman on his back.
However, despite the visual equivalent to a unicorn riding an elephant being on one side of the shore, Reyna had to focus on the other.
Probatio Frank Zhang was furiously trying to swim across the river, at that exact second as Reyna identified him however, two gorgons swooped out and grabbed him out of the river, their claws tearing into his skin as his arms flailed helplessly in the air.
"No." Reyna commanded quickly, holding up her hand as the archers drew their bowstrings. If they fired, they'd inevitably hit Frank, and whilst the newest recruit was a bit of a klutz and so far as undisciplined as a Roman gets, he was still one of them: he was still a Roman.
The Romans automatically started rushing towards the river, trying to find a way to fight the gorgons without killing Frank, but before they could put a toe in the water something happened.
The water began moving of it's own accord, two whirlpools began forming, the water raving furiously in the normally calm Little Tiber. Then suddenly the two whirlpools rushed up into the air, forming fists of water and grabbing the gorgons, tearing them away from Frank and pummelling them down into the river.
It was hard to tear her eyes away from the scene before her, the immense power on display seemed like Neptune himself was taking his blessing on Frank… It wouldn't have surprised Reyna as much as it could have.
It was rare for a god to intervene, but, unlike the rest of the Roman legionnaires, Reyna knew Frank's past. His ancestor was Shen Lun, a legacy of Neptune himself, and the cause of the earthquake in 1906. This would perhaps provoke Neptune into saving one of his last known descendants.
Then Reyna saw him.
It was the dishevelled man with the torn orange t-shirt. His arms were lifted in the air, the motions mimicking that of the fists of water that had formed, controlling the tide and destroying the gorgons over and over again so that they wouldn't reform whilst gently caressing Frank's fall into the river.
Finally, the gorgons were nothing more than particles mixed in foam, they'd likely flow out into the sea never to be seen again.
The man lowered his hands to his side and turned to face the sea of astonished legionnaires. A small frown appeared on his face and Reyna began to make her way even closer to this mysterious man: she needed to question him immediately.
However, before she could ask even his name the old woman spoke. Her voice was quiet, yet it carried across the silent fields.
"Well, that was a lovely trip," she said. "Thank you, Percy Jackson, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter."
Reyna choked despite herself. "Percy… Jackson?" She recognised that name, she'd never forget it.
The boy turned to face her, a glimmer of hope in his expression which dissipated the second he saw her. He'd grown up a lot since she'd seen him last.
From a scrawny thirteen-year-old who'd been turned into a guinea pig to a man with the power of a god. All Reyna could do was remember that dreaded day when he'd released all the pirates and chauvinistic men that they'd spent years imprisoning in Circe's island.
The terror that came after as they stole Blackbeard's ship, leaving him and his crew on the island to devastate it, destroying it and tearing it to the ground.
Reyna still had nightmares about that day, looking back on it she still wasn't completely aware how she'd escaped. She vaguely remembered her sister, Hylla, grabbing her arm and pulling her somewhere, and just following her, as she'd always done. Then a month later she'd arrived at Camp Jupiter, she'd met Jason, and her life had started to become what it was today.
The old woman laughed. "Oh, yes. You'll have such fun together!" Reyna barely had time to consider what the woman had said before she began to glow, her form morphing and twisting until suddenly she was seven-foot-tall, her skin shining (literally) in a regal blue dress with a goat's skin cloak.
Reyna recognised her immediately, and even though her legionnaires were too shocked to breathe let alone show their respect, she bent her knee. The others soon followed her lead, as they always did. Everyone except Percy Jackson. Insolent fool with a death-wish.
"Juno." Hazel gasped her eyes wide in shock.
"Juno, huh?" Percy seemed less surprised than the rest – or maybe he just really didn't care. "If I passed your test, can I have my memory and my life back?" He asked and one of the soldiers behind Reyna gasped. None of the Romans could comprehend how rash this new recruit appeared to be; he didn't bow and immediately asked for a favour.
The goddess just smiled. "In time, Percy Jackson, if you succeed her at camp." Her eyes flickered over to Reyna knowingly, it took all of her will and Roman obedience to not go up there and demand Juno to tell her what happened to Jason or where he was.
She was his mentor, he, her champion. Surely, she'd know. "You've done well today," the goddess continued, "which is a good start. Perhaps there's hope for you yet." She turned around to face the kneeling legionnaires.
"Romans, I present to you the son of Neptune." Reyna heard more gasps of surprise behind her. Another child of the big three? A child of Neptune as well. This was not a good omen. "For months he has been slumbering, but now he is awake. His fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortune comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle. Do not fail me!" Her eyes flickered between Percy, Reyna, Frank and Hazel before she glowed, disappearing into the sky.
Reyna walked forwards, projecting her voice so that the entire legion could hear her as she examined Percy. "So, a son of Neptune, who comes to us with the blessing of Juno." It wasn't a usual occurrence. Jupiter's wife colluding with his brother's son.
"Look," He started, his eyes searching her own as the sea churned with in them anxiously. "Look, my memory's a little fuzzy. Um, it's gone, actually. Do I know you?" He seemed genuine, which surprised Reyna even more.
She debated whether or not to mention their past, but, despite her desire for a good cause to skewer him, she heard Juno's warning, and doubted his fate was to become a kebab for Aurum and Argentum.
"I am Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion. And..." her fingers twitched on the dagger, "no, I don't know you." She lied, thankful her dogs weren't here to call her out on it (not that they would, they were too loyal to Reyna). The issue was that Percy clearly didn't believe her. His eyes clouded over, the sea-green growing darker even as he offered a sharp nod in acceptance.
"Hazel, bring him inside." Reyna commanded, she needed to talk to Percy in private, away from the prying eyes. "I want to question him at the principia. Then we'll send him to Octavian." Reyna tried to not sound bitter as she said his name. The auger had once again not responded to the calls of war, and had remained in Jupiter's temple lobotomising teddy-bears. "We must consult the auguries before we decide what to do with him."
"What do you mean," Reyna didn't like the sound of his tone, "'decide what to do with me'?" Reyna gritted her teeth and her hand tightened on her dagger – oh, how she would like to impale him through with it (not fatally of course, perhaps just a light maiming).
"Before we accept anyone into camp, we must interrogate them and read the auguries. Juno said your fate is in our hands. We have to know whether the goddess has brought us a new recruit…" Reyna thought back to the immense power he had just displayed, how she'd initially presumed he was Neptune himself, he certainly had the looks of a god… "Or, if she's brought us an enemy to kill."
"So, this is my new house?" He turned to her with an impish smile, his arms full with two boxes of possessions.
"All praetors receive their own houses. One of the perks." Reyna replied, keeping her eyes poignantly fixed forwards, away from that damned smile.
"Sweet. I think…" He looked uncertain for a second, Reyna turned around despite herself, the question on her face. "I've just never lived alone, you know? I've been at camp since I was a toddler, there's just always been people around. And now I'm leaving the fifth… That's been my home since, well, forever."
"I understand." Reyna replied. "I know I don't talk about my past a lot," Jason raised an eyebrow, "well, ever. When I was younger, I lived with my older sister, Hylla, in this… place. A resort where we both worked. One day these kids came, they recked it, and it was destroyed." Jason put the boxes down inside the house, his eyes full of concern.
Reyna turned around. He didn't need to see her being weak. "Well. My sister and I escaped, alive of course, and then we came to America. I came here." She silently congratulated herself for keeping her voice steady. "What I'm trying to say is, sometimes it's good to have a fresh start. Plus," she motioned across the street, "now you're closer to the bakery."
"That's a win… except for my inevitable descent into obesity." Jason smiled. "I guess it is also not to bad having you as a neighbour." He seemed sincere, but then he blushed slightly and turned around, pretending to survey his new house (or maybe Reyna had just imagined that). "No loud rock past eleven pm though, ok? I have a job to do now." He teased.
"Loud rock?" Reyna snorted. "As if."
"I guess I'll find out sooner or later, neighbour."
"I guess you will." Reyna paused. "So long as I don't end up killing you."
"Killing me?" Jason asked amused. "Why would you kill me? I'm perfect." Reyna laughed. "Ouch." Jason held his heart in mock pain.
"I'm just not sure how long I'm going to be able to put up with you as a neighbour without getting so annoyed I put a spear through you."
"Kinky." Jason replied with a wink and Reyna shoved him.
"This is what I'm talking about." She lifted her hands to the hair as if praying for the gods to help her. "Unbelievable."
"Oh, I know I am."
Reyna rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile (trying to hide her blush). She'd never say this to his face… but Reyna was pretty ecstatic that Jason was praetor – only to stop Octavian from being her neighbour and performing teddy-bear exorcisms late at night… obviously.
"Graecus!" A lar yelled and the ghosts turned invisible scattered. Reyna flinched. Times were tense enough without lares accusing Percy of being a Greek. Not as if there wasn't any truth to the matter…
It was a long hidden secret in Rome, one ordered to be kept by Lupa and the Dei Consentes themselves, but praetors were privy to the knowledge. They knew that the Greeks were still alive, that they had their own camp.
They didn't know where it was (the gods didn't want a repeat of the civil war) and they had no clue about the capacity or how it was set up, but they knew that it existed.
And considering what the lar had said… most people presumed the lares were worthless, stupid, relics to the past, but Reyna knew better. They had a tendency to act like fools and naïve idiots, but they understand the rivalry better than anybody else – they were the rivalry – and if they thought Percy was a Greek…
Well, it made a lot of sense.
Him and that girl from the island, the blonde, Annabeth, it would make sense if they'd been part of a Greek quest, sent from their own camp. Perhaps those obnoxious orange t-shirts were the equivalent to the Roman, regal, purple.
Perhaps this made Percy an enemy. Or perhaps… Juno announced him. The gods rarely made an appearance at the camps… that fact alone indicated that Percy was important, and if a Roman goddess announced a Greek demigod, then perhaps the two factions needed to work together… perhaps there was a bigger threat than a civil war approaching. The Prophecy of the Seven. Maybe it was time…
"Your headquarters?" Percy asked, and Reyna blinked, realising that she'd been so lost in speculation that they'd reached their destination.
As she turned to him, she couldn't help but see the Greek all over him. Unruly hair, the lack of respect to Juno, unchecked and uncontrolled power… Perhaps it was the sea within him. Perhaps it was the Greek. Whether he was an enemy or not… he was a symbol, an omen. And he wasn't a good one "It's called the principia."
"Everyone back to your duties." She commanded the parade of campers who'd followed them through the streets of New Rome. "I'll give you an update at evening muster. Remember, we have war games after dinner."
The crowd seemed more reluctant than normal – often when Reyna gave an order, they obeyed without a word of complaint, like good Romans. Some started mutterings about Percy's situation.
"Would be those two who found him," Reyna overheard a snooty voice say, Chris, from the first cohort (one of Octavian's friends).
"Yeah, let him join the fifth cohort. Greeks and geeks." Reyna scowled at the legionnaires and they quickly scattered away. She did not need rumours of Percy being Greek to spread any further. "Hazel, come with us. I want you report on what happened at the gates."
"Me too?" Frank piped up. "Percy saved my life. We've got to let him-" Reyna suppressed a satisfied smile as he halted under her glare.
"I'd remind you, Frank Zhang, you are on probatio yourself. You've caused enough trouble this week." He, like Percy, had too much of the sea in him. Unruly, unconstrained. Dangerous. "Go to the armoury, check our inventory. I'll call you if I need you." Reyna ordered, even though she knew there was no chance that she would.
"But-" Frank stopped himself. "Yes, Reyna." Reyna turned around so that Percy and Hazel couldn't see her, before rolling her eyes as Frank hurried away. "Now, Percy Jackson, let's see if we can improve your memory."
"Do you remember when we first met?" Jason collapsed into the chair besides Reyna. The senate meeting had dragged on painfully long – mainly due to Octavian being a prick, as per usual. Ever since he'd become auger the spineless boy had become more arrogant.
"Yes." Reyna replied, her mind casting back to Jason sticking out a hand and her rejecting it.
"I thought at the time that you'd rejected my handshake because I was from the fifth, but then later I realised you had no idea who I was or which cohort I was from."
"Right?" Reyna asked, confused as to where Jason was going with this.
"Well, I've always wondered why you did reject me then. If it wasn't because I was from the fifth…?" He cast his head towards her, running a hand through his hair. It was getting a little bit too long (not that Roman regulation ever permitted it got too out of control) he needed a haircut – especially as he was Praetor now. They led by example, as role-models.
"Oh." Reyna had been twelve at the time, only a month had passed since the incident at Circe's island. "Remember when I told you about the kids who ruined my home?"
"Yeah." Jason asked, his brow furrowed, but he didn't push further, letting Reyna go at her own pace.
"The place where I was at, well, they didn't exactly like boys."
"Like an anti-male maiden cult or something." Jason joked.
"Basically." Reyna replied seriously and Jason stopped laughing.
"Oh."
"I didn't really tell you the whole story that day."
"You don't have to." Jason reassured her.
"It's fine. I trust you." Reyna admitted, and Jason smiled, reaching out his hand across the small gap between the two chairs. Reyna took it despite herself. It really wasn't in her nature, but it was Jason. The way Jason made her feel denied all logic; he made her feel safe, happy, loved. He reminded her of New Rome, and New Rome felt like home. Jason… Jason felt like home.
"The place I stayed… It wasn't just a resort; it was an island. Circe's island."
"Circe? As in the witch?"
"Yes. As in Odysseus and the pigs and all of that. Whenever men washed up on our island, she'd turn them into guinea pigs."
Jason shuddered. "That sounds horrible."
"They were bad men." Reyna defended them straightaway. She didn't even know why, why there was still a part of her who needed to defend Circe, to defend the other women there. A bad habit perhaps.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to critic-"
Reyna waved him off. "It's fine. I mean, the guinea pigs were cute and all, but it wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do. Though, some of them definitely deserved it. Some of them didn't." The boy, the boy she hated, the boy who ruined her life… She hated him, but he probably didn't deserve it either. He was only her age, he wasn't a pirate going around looting and killing innocents.
"That's what happened." Jason cocked his head in confusion. "These two kids came, a boy and a girl. The girls get makeovers, and Circe tries to persuade them to join – that's what happened with me and my sister. So, my sister gave the girl, Annabeth, a makeover, whilst they changed the boy, I think his name was Percy, into a guinea pig.
"Then, I don't know how, but he managed to change himself back with her help, some sorts of pills, I think. The issue was that they didn't just change Percy back, they changed all of them. All the pirates, the rapists and murderers, and the genuinely bad men were all let free at once… and they were angry. Really angry." Jason squeezed her hand.
"Percy and Annabeth stole one of the pirate's boats, and him and his crew got even angrier, so started to destroy the island, and take wome-" Reyna shuddered. It was in the past, and she'd escaped with her sister before anything could happen, but it was still terrifying to think about, to consider what would have happened if Hylla wasn't there, or something had gone wrong…
"My sister got me, and we escaped and ended up here, then we split up, she was more influenced by Circe, she still hated men, so she joined the Amazons. I saw what the Amazons were doing, and it reminded me too much of Circe, so I didn't want to go with here, so I came here. I guess, to answer your original question, old habits die hard. You were a man, well, a boy. You sort of remind me of him.
"The kid, Percy, who ruined everything. You look completely different, but there's a similarity there too, you both… I don't know, maybe that's why I rejected you. I'm not entirely sure." Reyna shrugged; her hand still entwined with his.
Jason stood up, and came to stand in front of Reyna, his hands by his side and a mischievous grin on his face. "Hi. I'm Jason. Jason Grace." He stuck out his hand. Reyna took it.
"So…" Percy started to say, but Argentum and Aurum growled at him and he froze.
"Easy guys," Reyna told the greyhounds, smirking as she finally felt like she had some power over him. "They won't attack," she paused, "unless you try to steal something, or unless I tell them to. That's Argentum and Aurum." She patted their heads, the two dogs leaned into her hands happily, Aurum started to wag his tail slightly and Reyna grinned.
It was always amusing whenever her greyhounds started behaving like actual dogs, who loved humans – instead of acting as if they see you as their next meal.
"Silver and Gold." Percy blinked, as though he was surprised that he knew the answers. He looked at her closely, and Reyna had to fight to not squirm under his gaze. "We have met, I don't remember when. Please, if you can tell me anything-"
"First things first, I want to hear your story." It was good, he sounded desperate. Reyna could use that to work in her favour. "I want to hear your story. What do you remember? How did you get here? And don't lie. My dogs don't like liars." Aurum and Argentum snarled, just as they had been trained to do.
Jason in the past had accused her of being dramatic, so she definitely wouldn't ever admit to having trained her dogs to snarl at that line…
"It started when I woke up in some mansion in Sonoma. I couldn't remember anything, except my name an-" He paused, biting his lip. "I woke up and Lupa and her pack was there. She taught me how to survive, how to fight, about this crazy world and all the monsters and demigods, what her responsibilities were, what mine – our – responsibilities are. She made me strong.
"Then she threw me out in the wild. Telling me to trust my instincts and go south, that if I survived, I'd find a home, and maybe regain my memory." He scowled at that. Clearly, he hadn't yet been successful. It also (unfortunately) sounded like he was telling the truth, everything that happened with Percy and Lupa, had happened to her, and other demigods and legacies.
"No memory at all?" She asked, just to be certain. "You still remember nothing?"
Percy glanced at the dogs. "Fuzzy bits and pieces." Reyna could tell he was holding something back, but the dogs didn't immediately attack him, so it can't have been too serious. How confused he looked was almost enough proof that he didn't remember anything about Circe's island, or whether or not he was a Greek as Reyna speculated.
Reyna confirmed his travels, affirming that that was normal. "If Lupa thinks we're worthy, she sends us south to join the legion. But I've never heard of someone losing his memory. How did you find Camp Jupiter?" Percy launched into a tale of gorgons who refused to die, how he'd been forced to scavenge for food, unable to sleep, about Juno – formerly June – up until meeting Hazel and Frank.
Percy seemed exhausted by this point, and Hazel took over. She described how he carried the goddess across the Tiber, fought off the gorgons and saved Frank.
"You're old for a recruit. You're what, sixteen?"
"I think so." Percy replied.
"If," emphasis on the 'if' Reyna thought, "you spent that many years on your own, without training or help, you should be dead. A son of Neptune? You'd have a powerful aura that would attract all kids of monsters." Though Reyna already knew that he must have had help, the girl, Annabeth, she'd been skilful with that dagger, as if she was trained.
"Yeah," Percy cracked a smile. "I've been told that I smell." Hazel laughed and Reyna had to restrain herself from smiling, she couldn't let him see any weaknesses in her armour.
She continued to grill him, questioning where he came from, answering his questions about his father, Neptune – if his father even was Neptune and not Poseidon… Questioning that top he was wearing, the beads on his neck. It all seemed to point to a Greek camp, it all seemed to point to the fact that it was true, that those documents weren't some fear-mongering tactic, or some ill-placed joke.
The Greeks were real. And it seemed as if Percy was one of them. Even his damn sword was Greek.
"If he's survived as a loner all this time, maybe he's seen Jason." Hazel piped up, turning to face Percy. "Have you ever met a demigod like us before? A guy in a purple shirt, with marks on his arm-"
"Hazel. Percy's got enough to worry about." Besides, Reyna couldn't afford to get emotional about Jason now. She couldn't afford to be seen as weak when Octavian was vying for power.
"I haven't seen anyone like you guys before. Who's Jason?" Reyna's heart dropped, despite already knowing that Percy wouldn't have seen Jason. She reprimanded herself, once again letting her head fill with foolish hope. Then she sent an irritated glare towards Hazel, she was the one who brought it up after all.
"He is… he was my colleague." The word sounded strange in her mouth. So professional and business like, as if the two hadn't been friends, hadn't been… whatever they had been. Reyna gestured towards the empty chair. "The legion normally has two elected praetors. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, was our other praetor until he disappeared last October."
October. Meaning it had been seven full months (pretty much eight) since she'd last seen him. For a demigod, being missing for this long, almost certainly guaranteed they were dead, yet still, Reyna held that foolish hope that Jason would just come back one day with that impish grin and be here again.
"You mean he's been gone eight months, and you haven't replaced him."
"He might not be dead," Hazel said firmly. She still believed too. That's what Jason did to people, he made them fall for his charms, his confidence, he made people believe in him, trust him, lov- care about him. Then he disappears. "We haven't given up."
Reyna grimaced despite herself. It all sounded so desperate, so futile. Percy looked at her curiously, as though he could read her despair off her face. She wasn't normally such an open book, but then again, when it came to Jason, she'd never been good at hiding her emotions.