Chapter 5: On the Edge of Insanity

Now this might be a little like one of the stories I've read. If you don't know what I mean, read "The Roman Demigod" by TheMistressofSass

Nero POV

Worth it! Haha. They did not know what hit them! I got the Mural Crown for my cohort, just like how Jason did before becoming praetor! Speaking of my cohort, we partied a little before going to sleep.

Piper POV

Ugh. I hate working alongside those two idiots. They don't have much skill yet they only make themselves heavier burdens. Thankfully, Nero kicked their arrogant asses. Oh my gods. I'm falling for Nero Redgrave.

Third Person POV

The next day...

The son of Vesta was the first to get up. He first listened to music while he conjured a box of pizza without waking up anyone. He wolfed it down before listening to music for the rest of the night. No one in the barracks noticed a thing when they woke up, until they realized Nero had already left the barracks. He was roaming around New Rome, listening to music on his headphones. The Lares never bothered him anymore after his display of might in the War Games.

"Hey, Nero!" someone called out.

The son of Vesta turned to see Frank.

"Hey, Frank! What's up?"

"Nice work last night! It wasn't Roman like but it kinda worked."

"No worries, man. Glad I could help out."

"Your cohort should consider making you their centurion." Frank said, shocking Nero.

"Well...I'll just leave the decision to them." the son of Vesta answered.

With that, he put on his headphones again and left. When he was in another side of New Rome, someone greeted him. It was a beautiful blonde lady in a Roman stola.

"Hello, Mr. Redgrave." she said.

"Lady Venus?" Nero asked, taking off his headphones, again.

"I sense that you love my daughter, Piper." she replied, grinning. Before the son of Vesta could speak, Venus took his arm and they flashed out. They reappeared in a forest in Arizona, where the goddess changed into her Greek aspect.

"What now, Aphrodite?" Nero asked.

"I also realized you sliced her dagger's blade off, clean." she said, making the son of Vesta feel guilty.

"Yeah...I should've swung softer next time." he murmured.

"That's why, I'm lending you this."

Aphrodite gave Nero a sheathed dagger with a dark leather handle. When he pulled it out, the blade was extremely reflective.

"Is this what I think it is?" the son of Vesta asked.

"Indeed. It is Katropis: the blade of Helen of Troy."

Nero took the time to survey it. Katropis was still in top shape after centuries of not being used.

"Keep it, Percy." the goddess said.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! THAT'S NOT WHO I AM ANYMORE!" Nero screamed back, shrouding himself in an aura of flames and making Aphrodite flinch in shock. She looked cold afterwards.

"I see that wisdom b**** clearly damaged your old name. No matter. If I had the chance, I'll make her pay." Aphrodite growled.

"Thank you, Milady." he said, keeping the dagger in his coat as his chaotic flame aura flashed back into sparks.

"No problem, Nero." she replied.

With that, the love goddess flashed him back to Camp Jupiter, where a confused Gwen was waiting.

"Where were you? I was going to ask you to get some brownies." she asked the son of Vesta.

"I had a conversation with Lady Venus." Nero replied sheepishly, clutching Yamato's handle with his left hand.

"Wow."

"I know, right?"

The son of Vesta closed Gwen's mouth before walking away. He went to the bakeshop to get some pastries, only to see Jason there in front of the counter.

"Morning, Jason." Nero greeted. The son of Jupiter turned to him while he was still chewing brownies. He gulped them down with little difficulty then started speaking.

"Morning, Nero. What brings you to the bake shop at such an early time?"

"Well, I was going to get some pastries for Gwen, until I just saw you with brownies in your mouth."

"Oh, sorry. I'm gonna go find Reyna. There might be stuff we have to deal with."

"Sure thing. See you later."

Jason left while eating brownies. Nero looked confused before going over to the counter.

"Uh...brownies, please." he told the clerk.

A few minutes later...

The son of Vesta walked out of the bake shop with his headphones on and a satisfied look on his face as he held a box of brownies. It took all of his willpower for him not to eat it all. Nero walked back to Gwen, only to run into a certain daughter of Venus.

"Oh. Morning, Piper." he greeted, taking off his headphones.

"Morning, Nero. You seem relaxed today, which is not so Roman like if you ask me." Piper replied.

"You noticed? Well, that's fine. Speaking of which..."

Nero rummaged through his coat to grab Katropis. The daughter of Venus seemed shocked by the dagger.

"I think I owe you a dagger."

Curious, Piper grabbed the sheathed dagger and drew it. Its reflective blade amazed her.

"N...Nero. I don't know what to say. It may not be of Roman craftsmanship but...thank you."

"I'm glad you like it." the son of Vesta replied.

"Here's something in return."

To Nero's shock, Piper kissed him on the cheek. When she pulled away, both flushed red like tomatoes.

"Uh...thanks..." the son of Vesta muttered, silently walking away, unaware that he was still holding the box of brownies.

The daughter of Venus looked at the reflective blade of Katropis again. Suddenly, something else formed on the surface of the blade. Piper suddenly experienced a vision of a boy in Greek battle armor, armed with a sword that has a trident symbol on the blade, fighting monsters.

Then, another vision of a giant man made of bright stone with black wings, glowing crystals and curved horns (Imagine the Savior from DMC4, except it's not Sparda's face.) showed itself.

Lastly, she experienced a vision of an insect-like creature with downward ram horns, claws, beetle wings, glowing red eyes, and reptilian gray and gold scales. It held a giant sword whose curved dark metal blade gleamed with power, along with a fuller made of what looked like dark red and black monster parts. There is also a glowing purple crystal at the center of the sword's fuller. The creature began to speak to Piper as it slung its sword over its shoulder.

"You don't know me yet. But you will eventually."

Out of shock and confusion, she dropped Katropis and the sheath, alerting Nero.

"Piper! You okay?" he asked, grabbing her left shoulder while holding the box with Devil Bringer.

"I...I...I'll be fine. Don't worry." she lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Nero. I'll be fine."

Reassured that the daughter of Venus will be alright, Nero patted her shoulder before walking away. Still in shock at the visions, Piper picked up Katropis and the sheath, stored it away, then walked towards the opposite direction.

'Who was that graecus? And what were the last two about?' she thought.

The rest of the day seemed pretty normal for everyone. It was almost sunset and Nero lounged around in the Fifth Cohort barracks, listening to music and dozing off on his bunk. That is, until Dakota barged in.

"Dude, Come with me. There's a quest." he ordered.

"A quest? What's it all about?" Nero asked.

"There's a monster running around the hills around Mount Diablo. We're ordered to hunt it down before it goes down to the countryside and starts killing people."

"Aye, Dakota. Let's go."

The son of Vesta grabbed Red Queen, Yamato, Blue Rose, and Coyote-A, stored them away, and followed Dakota, armed with a sword and shield, to the entrance of Camp Jupiter. Nero silently prayed to Vesta for transport. Seconds later, a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R appeared in flames. Its windshield was replaced for a sleek armor designed to improve aerodynamics, its headlights glowed red, and it was purely black in color. There was also a black sidecar with a similar design.(2014 Robocop motorcycle)

"Gift from your mom?" the centurion asked.

"Close enough. Get on."

With Nero on the driver's seat, and Dakota on a summoned sidecar, they took off at high speeds so fast only the son of Vesta was able to comprehend where they were, and his friend barely knew where they were going. They reached the foot Mount Diablo's hills ten minutes later. It was still bright enough so that they knew where they were going. After ten minutes of trekking, they heard beastly roars and growls.

"What was that?" Dakota asked, tightening the grip on his gladius.

"I have no idea. Stay watchful." Nero replied as he held Blue Rose and was ready to punch something with Devil Bringer.

The noises started to become louder as the two friends scanned their surroundings cautiously. It was already nighttime and later, footsteps were heard and the growls and roars became even louder than usual, until something walked right in front of Dakota. It was a large, golden lion with a terrible look on its face.

"What is that?!" the son of Bacchus screamed in confusion.

Nero turned around and lit Devil Bringer on fire as a makeshift torch.

"The Nemean Lion! Stand back, Dakota. This is going to get ugly." the son of Vesta ordered as he charged the beast, and shot at it with Blue Rose, catching its attention.

He stored his gun away and lunged as the Nemean Lion did the same thing: jumping at its challenger, claws out. Dakota could only stand back and watch as Nero buried his demonic fist right into the beast's face. The lion flinched before pouncing on the son of Vesta again, only this time, the beast had him on the ground. In a flash, to Dakota's shock, Nero managed to snake his arms to two opposite sides of the vicious creature's face before twisting it by many degrees, snapping the lion's neck like a dog and killing it.

"Jackpot!" the victorious demigod screamed in pride. Dakota helped him up.

"That was incredible, man." he remarked, gulping down Kool-Aid.

"Thanks, Dakota. Let's get outta here and tell everyone what just happened." Nero replied, only for them to hear monster roars. The son of Vesta glared at his centurion.

"You said there was only one monster!"

"I did! At least that's what the note said."

"Note? What note?!"

The frightened centurion gave Nero a note. It said in sloppy handwriting:

Centurion Ampelos,

There is a monster that's begun to prowl the hills around Mount Diablo. There is no information about what it is but you must slay it before it tries to attack the countryside.

P.S. Bring Redgrave along since you need a fighting chance.

A second later, three more monsters encircled the two. One was the Minotaur, which made Nero tense a little, and the other two were like empousa except they had snake hair, gleaming tusks, and t-shirts and name tags that said "HI! MY NAME IS STHENO" and "HI! MY NAME IS DEMIGOD SCUM". It was Medusa's sisters, Stheno and Eurayle, and they looked really mad.

"Oh, crap." Nero cursed, pulling Red Queen out.

"Let's do this." Dakota said, raising his gladius.

With battle cries, they charged the monsters. Nero first punched the Minotaur in the groin with Devil Bringer, making the creature drop his battleaxe. Stheno and Eurayle battled Dakota and began to slowly overpower him. The son of Bacchus continued to fight considering the fact that Nero was busy with Beefhead, whose horn was taken off, again. Finally, the beast was vanquished when Red Queen was plunged right into its brain, allowing Nero to help Dakota by blowing Eurayle's brains out with Blue Rose. With the last gorgon confused, Dakota finished her off with a head plopping slice. He was out of breath so he sheathed his gladius.

"That was enough for one day. Let's go." the centurion suggested.

"Sure thing. We need to get some sleep."

They slowly walked back to where Nero's motorcycle was. Dakota decided to drag the Nemean Lion's pelt with them. A presence was felt by the son of Vesta but when he turned around to the source, it was too late. A dragon's head had bitten Dakota and pulled him into the shadows. Screams and sounds of flesh being ripped apart were heard as Nero could only light a fire on his hand and look on in horror as a certain hundred headed dragon had eaten Dakota alive and the heads started licking the blood off their fangs. The demigod looked furious.

"LADON! FIRST, YOU AID IN THE DEATH OF ZOË, BUT NOW, YOU KILL ONE OF MY NEW FRIENDS! FOR THAT, YOU DIE!" Nero screamed, throwing the fireball at Ladon and drawing not only Yamato but also, the sheath. He started slicing the air in front of Ladon as the beast spat acid, which the son of Vesta stopped by breathing a patch of Greek Fire at it, vaporizing it mid air. Nero continued to slice the air before slowly sheathing Yamato. Ladon charged, intending to rip him apart like Dakota but for the monster, it was too late. Nero had completely sheathed the katana and all of the hundred headed dragon's heads got plopped off. Satisfied, the son of Vesta looked at the sky, where he could see his favorite constellation: the Huntress, Zoë Nightshade, daughter of Atlas.

"Zoë...I hope I made you proud." he murmured as if he was trying to talk to the stars. Then, he saw Dakota's gladius and Kool-Aid flask. Out of pity towards his fallen comrade, he took both items then looked at the spot where Ladon had eaten him alive. He kneeled down on the puddle of blood.

"Requiescant in pace." Nero muttered, paying his respects to Dakota before leaving with the Nemean Lion's pelt, another Minotaur horn, Ladon's claws, and the gorgons' tusks. He placed the gladius, flask, and spoils on the sidecar and drove away.

Piper POV

The night would've been perfect, but it wasn't, because we gathered for a funeral. I looked at the names on the graves, and one made me tear up.

Dakota Ampelos, Son of Bacchus

Requiescant In Pace

I didn't know Dakota that much but, he was a friend to everyone, especially to Jason.

Nero Redgrave, Son of Vesta, Champion of Mars and Minerva

Requiescant In Pace

'Nero...why did you have to die? I was starting to love you...' I thought.

I continued to hold the dagger he gave me, which I kept in my pocket. I looked at the Fifth Cohort with pity. Leo and Frank were crying as well. Octavian stared at the graves with a confused look on his face. As for the two assholes, they didn't seem to care. They just smirked with pride.

"You okay, Pipes?" I heard someone ask. I turned to see Reyna.

"H...Hey, Reyna." I choked, trying to hold back tears.

"You miss Nero, don't you?"

"Y...Yes. I...I love him, Reyna."

Jason was about to start with the blessings, until I heard...

BANG!

We turned to the cemetery entrance. I saw a man holding a double barreled revolver pointing at the sky. I stepped forward and I saw him. Nero Redgrave, my secret crush, was alive. But, he looked pissed.

"One of you...SET US UP!" he screamed, storing away the gun as his eyes glowed blood red.

"Jason, here." the angry demigod said.

Nero presented a note which Jason reluctantly took and read.

"What happened to Dakota?" he asked. Clearly, that was not a question you should be asking Nero right now.

"Eaten alive by a certain hundred headed dragon. We were attacked by the Nemean Lion, two gorgons and an angry hamburger with legs."

Everyone was shocked by his statement. Jason became stern again, then turned to us.

"No one issued a quest, and Octavian didn't even make readings. Whoever wrote this note, show yourself!"

I saw one thing that hit me. Larry and Jake tried to sneak out of the cemetery, but I ran and caught them.

"Where are you two going?!"

I was caught off guard when Larry grabbed me and threatened to slit my throat with a sword and Jake drew a dagger. I was put on a chokehold so I couldn't move around much.

"What the Pluto is this madness?!" Reyna screamed, drawing her gladius.

"Come closer, and she dies!" Jake screamed, threatening to plunge his dagger into my abdomen.

"Why are you two doing this?!" Jason demanded, but was cut off when Nero suddenly drew his revolver and shot Larry's sword off. I ran to them after kicking my captor's crotch but not without Jake throwing his dagger at my side. I screamed in pain as Frank and Hazel caught me when I fell and they pulled the dagger out of me.

"NO!" Nero screamed, activating his demonic arm power and punching them at the same time. He pointed the gun and a sawn off shotgun (held with his demon arm) at them. I saw Lord Mars flash in. Larry and Jake stood up and pleaded,

"Father! Kill him! He tried to kill us!"

But, the war god didn't look happy at THEM, and not HIM.

"He wouldn't have tried to kill you, if you didn't take Venus's daughter hostage. Happy punishing, my champion."

With that, Lord Mars flashed away.

"Larry and Jake, centurions of the Second Cohort, you are guilty of taking a fellow legionnaire hostage and most likely, for setting me and Dakota up. Anyone object?!" he demanded, turning to us. None of us objected. Instead, everyone, even Octavian, shook their heads. Nero turned back to the two traitors.

"Aliquod ultimum tantum flagitii commiserint (Any last words)?"

Larry just screamed out:

"YEAH, WE WROTE THAT NOTE! WE'RE NOT SORRY! YOU'RE JUST SOME FREA-"

He was cut off when the son of Vesta shot him in the face with his shotgun, which blew his brains out. Jake tried to run but was shot in the neck and heart with the revolver.

"Ite ergo ad exitus cantet (Go to the crows)." Nero hissed before storing away the shotgun and turning back to us. Just by seeing his eyes, I was scared. Everyone present also got scared and some even hid behind the other gravestones.

"What are you guys scared about?" he asked as his eyes stopped glowing red.

I noticed that realization hit him a second later. We were scared of him. In pure shock and horror, Nero dropped his revolver.

"Y...You're all scared of...me..." he muttered. "I...I am a monster."

"Nero, wai-"

Reyna was cut off when the son of Vesta ran away from the cemetery, not even bothering to pick up his revolver. While everyone else was still in shock, I picked up the gun, still clutching on my wound. There were orange Latin letters engraved onto it.

BLUE ROSE

"You need to see a medic, Piper." Leo said. I didn't care that much.