Nico watched anxiously. He had never seen Percy this angry before. The trees were all blown backwards from the sheer force of power radiating from the god man. Percy's eyes were glowing a fierce gold, so bright that the world seemed to have simply stopped moving, and in truth, it had. Only Nico seemed to be able to move at all. He wasn't sure that was a good thing.
"How dare they?" Percy shouted in anger. "I gave them everything! I have done more for Rome than any of those senators! And Lupa!" he hissed out the wolf goddess' name like a poison. Nico blanched.
"I-I don't know," he said hesitantly before shrinking at the glare Percy threw his way. "Don't get mad at me. I tried to make them listen to you."
Percy sighed and collapsed to his knees, time returning to normal.
"I'm sorry, Nico," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I should've expected them to react that way. Rome hasn't changed at all. Neither has Lupa."
Nico stood up, realizing that his entire back was drenched with sweat from his nervousness.
"About that," Nico said slowly. "Lupa called you father. Is-Is that true?" He flinched, expecting Percy to explode. Percy just nodded, not wanting to explain it any further.
"I need to find Artemis," said Percy, standing up determinedly. He was still furious with Rome and how the senate had treated him, but he couldn't let his personal emotions get in the way.
"I'll find my father. If Rome won't help, he needs to know as well," Nico said before jumping into a shadow. Percy scanned the forest, determined which way was northeast, and ran towards where he assumed the hunters would be. It did not take long before he found a small clearing full of silver tents. As he approached a silver arrow flew just passed his eyes, stopping him in his tracks. Percy looked up into the trees and glared. A melodious chuckle only made him glare harder. Artemis dropped down from the trees, her bow now slung across her shoulders. She smiled warmly at Percy before noticing his dark look.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly, reaching up to cup his cheek.
"The senate refuses to send reinforcements to New York." The anger in his voice made Artemis flinch.
"I'm sorry," Percy said with a sigh. "I'm just so very angry with them. After all I've done for Rome they still behave like the bigoted fools they used to be."
"So that's it? We won't have any more soldiers to defend Olympus?" asked Artemis, seriously. Percy shrugged.
"I need you to speak with Lupa. She needs to be convinced that Olympus must be defended at all costs."
Artemis nodded.
"I'll go at once. What will you do?"
"There's someone in New Rome I need to speak with. Two people actually. They may be willing to help our cause."
[LINEBREAK]
The moon hid behind dark clouds, casting an eerie look on the world below. A lone figure sat atop a massive oak tree, watching. Waiting. His cloak was wrapped tightly around him to keep from giving his position away. The wind was blowing with full force, and it was all he could do to keep from slipping. For hours he sat there, waiting for something to happen.
Just as his eyelids began drooping, his mind edging closer and closer to sleep, a rustling in the undergrowth beneath him instantly alerted him. He slowly moved his hand into his cloak and removed a rather long dagger. The fact that the moon was hidden helped keep the blade hidden since there was no light reflecting off of it. Another figure emerged from the shadows of the bushes. The new figure wore an intricate, dark robe embellished with silver linings. It seemed as though it had been created entirely out of shadows.
"Why does it have to be so cold tonight?" cursed the shadowy figure. The man in the tree smirked maniacally. He carefully placed his feet on the tree branch he was perched on and watched as the figure him below him made his way through the bushes towards him. One… two… three… he counted. When the figure was just below him, he pounced off the branch, dagger above his head. He expected to kill his target easily. He didn't expect him to disappear into the darkness itself.
The shadowy figure reappeared right behind the man, a stygian iron sword held in his hands.
"Who are you?" asked the figure, his voice strong but the man could detect a trace of fear.
"I am the Nameless," came the response. The Nameless lunged forward with his dagger, but the figure parried it away, and spun to his left. The figure brought his sword up in a powerful thrust that nicked the Nameless' shoulder. He cursed loudly and rolled out of the way. The figure charged at him, sword held above his head. The Nameless waited till the last second before dodging to his left and thrusting his dagger into the figure. The figure gasped in shock and pain as the dagger pierced his heart. The Nameless watched with glee as the light left the figure's eyes.
"Y-you killed me," whispered the figure as he fell to the ground. The Nameless knelt down and pulled out a white, linen cloth.
"So long, Nico Di'Angelo," he said and wiped his cloth over Nico's wound and put it back in his cloak. With one last look at the dead, he turned and left the area. He never saw the ground open up and swallow up Nico's body.
[LINEBREAK]
Percy crouched behind a tree on the edge of the forest. The gate leading into Camp Jupiter stood only a few feet in front of him, guarded by two legionnaires. As far as he could tell, neither of them were who he was looking for. Percy glanced down at the ground and found a rather large stone. He picked it up and pulled his arm back to throw it. He stared into the darkness, thanked the fates that being able to see in the dark was one of the godly gifts he retained, and threw the stone several meters away at a tree. The sound alerted the guards who, in turn, went to investigate. Using the distraction Percy scurried through the gate into the camp.
Inside the gates Percy was pleasantly surprised to find that security was lacking. Apparently the Romans did not expect there to be any threats to them at night. Technically, thought Percy, I'm not a threat per say. He morphed his leather jacket into a full Roman cuirass. If someone spotted him, at least they wouldn't think anything of it. He quickly made his way to the building in which he had first met Reyna and Jason. Thankfully, there was no one guarding the door so he silently slipped inside. At the far end of the hall, Jason stood alone, staring at a map of the U.S. Percy made his way as quietly as he could towards him, but his foot stepped on a creaking floor board. Jason whirled around but did not unsheathe his sword.
"Legionnaire, what are you doing here?" he asked. Percy could tell that he was exhausted from his voice. Percy turned and put his hand on the door knob, closing his eyes and using his godly power to completely seal the room shut. He turned and walked over to Jason.
"I require your assistance, Jason Grace." Percy's Roman armor morphed back into his leather jacket. Seeing the familiar face, Jason pulled out a coin from his pocket.
"You shouldn't be here, traitor," he sneered. Percy held his hands up, showing he bore no harm.
"I only came to talk. Can we sit?" he asked, motioning towards two seats sitting next to the wall. Jason narrowed his eyes but nodded. They sat down, Jason on the edge of his chair, and Percy leaning back with his hands clasped on his lap. "I wasn't joking when I said that we need help in defending New York."
"And we weren't joking when we said we cannot spare any legionnaires. If you really are a god you shouldn't be able to even interfere in mortal affairs," Jason countered.
"It's a long story," explained Percy. "But I'm not just a god. I'm fully god and fully mortal. I am the perfect balance of the two." The thought seemed to confuse Jason greatly. His brow furrowed and he cocked his head ever so slightly.
"How does that even work?"
"It's difficult to explain. I'm not entirely sure myself. All I know is that it worked."
"So are you immortal?"
That made Percy hesitate. "No. I do not believe so. One of the draw backs of what I did."
Jason just nodded.
"So why come back to Camp Jupiter? Lupa already made it clear that you should be executed if you ever returned."
"I came back because there are two people here in New Rome that I need. Two people that I believe can help tip the scales in our favor," Percy said with a sigh. "I realize just how angry Lupa is with me, and to be honest I sort of deserve it. But Olympus must be defended."
Jason narrowed his eyes at Percy.
"And just who are these two Romans?" he asked. Percy took a deep breath.
"Mathan Foley, son of Vulcan, and you, Jason."
Jason stared at him for a hard moment, before throwing his head back and laughing. It took him several seconds to compose himself and he glared at Percy.
"You expect me, a Roman Praetor, to leave the legion, take a fellow centurion, and go with you to New York? Who the hell do you think you are?" Jason's voice was full of fury and he gripped his coin tightly in his fist. Percy glared right back at him, inwardly smirking when Jason flinched. He stood up on his feet, his golden eyes shining brilliantly.
"I am Gabriel, eldest of the Olympians, founder of Rome and the one person you do not want to insult," he said firmly. Jason paled and shrunk back in his seat. "I need you both. Dark times are ahead and if Olympus falls nothing will stop the Titans from taking over the world. Your precious Rome will collapse once more, for good, if you do not come with me."
Jason felt a bead of sweat trickle down his cheek.
"I-I can't just leave my home," he said, his voice barely a whisper. Percy sat back down.
"I know its hard, but I know something else that might change your mind."
"What's that?"
"You had a sister correct?"
[LINEBREAK]
"Lupa, come on! You have to realize that to disobey Olympus is to forfeit your life!" cried Artemis. Lupa scowled.
"I will not bow down to the demands of an ungrateful former god! He had his chance to come to our help and he never took it!"
Artemis growled with frustration.
"Don't you think it was difficult for me too?" she asked. "I loved him! When he left it felt like he ripped a part of my heart out!" A tear ran down her cheek, and she wiped at furiously. It wasn't like the man-hating goddess to cry. "I know he hurt you, my friend, but this isn't about him. This is about saving the world. The Titans are marching towards New York. They'll be there in just a few days. Please Lupa. Please we need your help."
Lupa sighed and stared at the ground for a minute.
"Fine. I'll allow only a few legionnaires, but I cannot send more than that."
Artemis smiled with relief and pulled her old friend into a hug. Lupa couldn't help but smile. Despite how angry she was with her father for abandoning her, Artemis had always been very close to her, and it was hard to deny her anything.
"I have one condition though," said Lupa seriously, pulling away.
"What is that?"
"Bring them back alive."
[LINEBREAK]
"Are you sure he is here?" asked Percy. Jason nodded and led them towards the mess hall.
"He usually comes here after his shift on the north wall."
Percy followed him into the mess, his eyes scanning the room. He had his leather jacket morph into the casual purple camp shirt so as to not stand out. Thankfully, Reyna and the senators were not in the mess.
"There he is," said Jason, pointing to Mathan who was sitting alone by the back corner. They walked over to him and sat down across from him.
"Praetor," said Mathan with a nod before looking at Percy. His eyes widened. Jason put a finger to his lips.
"Quiet. I realize that he's not supposed to be here, but he has something interesting to say to you."
Mathan shook his head. "I can't do this. Just by speaking to you two I can be tried and executed."
Jason frowned.
"Sit, centurion. That's an order."
Mathan glanced around the mess, obviously conflicted, but ultimately decided to remain quiet.
"Fine. But if I do not like what you have to say, I will go to the senate."
"That's fine," said Percy. "Now about my being here." He then proceeded to explain everything. How the gods had been lying for years. That there was actually a Greek counterpart to their camp in New York tasked with defending Olympus. Mathan was skeptical at first, but the fact that his praetor believed Percy helped.
"So what you're saying is that I need to go with you and Jason to New York, against the senate's wishes, to protect Olympus from falling to the Titans alongside Greeks?" he asked suspiciously. Percy nodded.
"In short, yes."
Mathan grinned. "When are we leaving?"
Percy and Jason grinned back and glanced around the room.
"We need to leave now. Artemis and her hunters are waiting for us just outside the camp. Lupa knows that you two are coming with me, but she cannot defend you two from the senate. Unfortunately Rule of Law still applies to her," explained Percy. He was grateful for having remembered how to mentally communicate with other gods. Having Artemis be such good friends with Lupa made things much easier.
"So how are we going to get out? It's the middle of the morning," asked Mathan.
"We have an unexpected patrol to do," Jason said with a smirk. "Now let's go centurions, daylight's wasting."
The three of them stood up and left the mess hall.
"Do you have your weapons, Mathan?" asked Percy. Mathan nodded and patted his pocket.
Jason led them towards the gate, but just as they were about to leave an unexpected voice stopped them.
"Jason, where do you think you're going?"
Jason cursed and turned around slowly. Percy and Mathan dared not turn around.
"We are going to patrol outside the gate, by order of Lupa."
Reyna narrowed her eyes and stared at Percy and Mathan.
"Three centurions need to do this?" she asked suspiciously. "Where are your orders?"
Jason fumbled in his pockets trying to buy sometime.
"They're… they're… run!" he shouted. He grabbed dirt from the ground and threw it in Reyna's eyes, momentarily blinding her. The three of them ran out of camp, before the alarm could be raised. Just as they reached the edge of the woods they heard the horn blow behind them.
"Quickly," yelled Percy. "Artemis is just over this way."
They followed Percy through the undergrowth to a small clearing where Artemis and her hunters waited. The hunters glared at the two new boys, but said nothing having already been informed.
"Get us out of here!" shouted Percy. They all jumped onto Artemis' chariot and took off just as Reyna stormed into the clearing, eyes red with rage. Percy, Mathan, and Jason sighed in relief. Thalia stared at Jason in confusion.
"Do I know you?" she asked hesitantly. Jason looked up and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I don't believe so."
Percy and Artemis smirked.
"Jason, this is Thalia Grace. Your sister."
Jason stood up immediately, his eyes wide. Thalia herself seemed about to break down into tears.
"H-how is this possible?" she asked.
"That's another story for another time," said Percy. "What matters is that you both are together again."
Everyone smiled at the two of them, though shock was clearly evident on the hunter's and Mathan's faces.
[LINEBREAK]
They flew for only a moment, just long enough to get out of range of Rome, before Artemis brought them back down.
"I can't have the moon be up in the sky this late in the morning," she explained. "We'll have to go the rest of the way either by Apollo's sun bus, or find another way."
The hunters grimaced at the thought of riding with Apollo. Mathan and Jason just looked confused.
"Man-haters and a womanizer don't work well together," explained Percy. "Let's find a train or something to get back."
"Don't you remember what happened the last time we went on a train?" asked Zoe. Percy opened his mouth before stopping.
"Good point. And bus in definitely out of the question." He tapped his chin. "Any other ideas?"
"What about a plane?" asked Jason. Everyone shrugged and nodded except for Mathan and Thalia.
"I don't do well with heights," he said. "My father was thrown off Olympus." A collective ahh was said. Thalia sighed with relief.
"Alright, so no train, no chariot, no Apollo, no bus, and no plane." Percy sat down and rubbed his eyes. This was much harder than it needed to be. Suddenly he had an idea and jumped up, clapping his hands together.
"What about motorcycles?" he said with a smile. No one said anything so he cheered for himself. "Okay so give me a few minutes and I'll have a couple of motorcycles for us to ride to New York."
In reality, it took Percy around an hour to round up enough motorcycles for all of them. The guys each had their own motorcycle while the hunters each shared one.
"That's not fair," complained Atalanta.
"Well we guys can't ride together," said Percy. "We're too big, and I'm sure you don't want to share a bike with one of them, so this is the best choice." Atalanta grumbled but did not argue. Soon they were all on the interstate headed east towards Manhattan. They rode has fast as they could, making it all the way to Kansas. Having two gods to speed things up really helped. They stopped to rest just outside of Kansas City when Percy received an Iris message from his brother.
"Percy," came a deep voice.
"Hades? What's wrong?" asked Percy, concerned. "Did Nico reach you?" The look of pain on Hades' face alarmed Percy.
"Nico… Nico was killed, Percy."
Percy fell to the ground.
"How did this happen?" he whispered.
"The Titans sent an assassin to get him. I found him dead just after he left my palace."
"Th-thank you for telling me," whispered Percy. Hades nodded and ended the message. Percy's eyes flashed a brighter gold than they had ever before. The darkness around him fled instantaneously and the trees were blown back as if by a tremendous wind. The world stood still.
"I will kill him. I swear it on the Styx." Thunder boomed in the distance sealing the promise. The world began moving once more, and Percy stood back up on his feet. He walked back to their camp to find Mathan and Jason hiding in a tree as hunters tauntingly shot arrows at them. Percy, despite being furious with everything that had happened the last few days, couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, that's enough ladies," he said with a chuckle. The girls groaned but obeyed and walked back to their tents. Artemis stood beside Percy with a wide smirk.
"T-they listen to you?" asked Jason, shakily. "I thought they hated men."
"All men 'cept me," Percy proclaimed, proudly. "I helped start the hunt in the first place. Didn't I Artemis?" He put his arm around her shoulder and was greeted with an elbow to the gut. He grunted but smiled at her. Jason and Mathan blanched at the strange sight but dared not anger the Moon Goddess. "Come on guys, get down."
"Okay, I have a question," said Mathan. "How exactly did Jason end up with us in Rome, and Thalia ended up with the Greek hunters?" Thalia, having heard her name, walked over to them, interested as well. Percy sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Long story short, Zeus slept with their mother two times. Once as Zeus and once as Jupiter which is forbidden. Ms. Grace had Thalia with Zeus and Jason with Jupiter. Zeus was planning on killing Jason in order to protect his own reputation, but Hera stole Jason away and made him her champion," Percy explained. Jason and Thalia's eyes widened.
"Father wanted to kill me?" whispered Jason. Percy nodded sadly.
"Unfortunately, Olympus has fallen much farther than I had ever expected since I was there." Percy put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "But don't worry, the tide is changing."
"How can Jason and I help defend Olympus? We're only two demigods." Mathan's voice was not worried, simply wary. Before Percy could respond, a loud explosion erupted from behind them.
"What was that?" cried the hunters from their tents. Suddenly, a swarm of monsters came charging into their camp. The hunters, being ever prepared, pulled out their hunting blades and bows and began mowing them down. Jason pulled out his coin and flipped it, a massive lance appearing in his hands. He charged the monsters and began expertly stabbing, lunging, and parrying. Mathan, too, pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and clicked it open, a battle hammer appearing his in his hand. He then pulled out a razor and pressed the power button and it too became a battle hammer. Duel wielding, he charged in after Jason. Both of them, having been trained together fought seamlessly. Percy smiled; this was why they would help tip the scales in the gods' favor. He morphed his leather jacket into his hybrid armor, yanked Isorropia from his watch, clicked on his shield, and jumped into the fray. Artemis and the hunters pulled back and climbed into the trees to pick off the monsters from a safe distance. Mathan bulldozed his way through the enemies' lines with his hammers, as Jason picked off the stragglers with his lance. Percy fought his way to the monsters' flank and began pushing them towards the Romans and hunters.
"Jason, Thalia, use your powers!" called out Percy as he stabbed his sword into an empousa. She screamed and exploded into dust just as a storm began brewing up above. Percy smirked. Lightning began crashing down, striking monsters and covering the ground in a thick layer of golden dust. Thalia called lightning down on her bow and began shooting charged arrows at the enemy. Jason's lance became electrified and he began burning the enemy to a crisp. Mathan pouted at not being able to do as much. A giant came lumbering into the clearing, and Mathan smirked. He charged the giant which smiled dumbly at the prospect of his food coming to him. At the last second, Mathan leaped into the air and brought both hammers down in a downward arc. They smashed into the giant's skull killing it instantly. Percy was very, very impressed.
The battle itself did not last long. In minutes all of the monsters were dead and the demigods hardly had a scratch on them. They put their weapons away and Percy walked up to the Romans.
"That's why I chose the both of you. You have such power and talent that together we can save Olympus." The idea of so much glory and honor brought bright smiles to their faces and they nodded at Percy.
"Now let's rest. We have a long way to go tomorrow," said Percy. "I'll take first watch."
A/N: Here's the next chapter! Let me know what you guys think! Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following it means a lot and every review and favorite/follow is great motivation to write the next chapter. You guys are the best!
I have decided that Balancing Act will have a sequel TBD at a later date. Thank you to the few of you that voted in the poll. Have a great week! Until next time!