Diclaimer: I don't own PJO, but JGO is mine.

I apologize for the lateness of this update. I've been so busy planning the final few chapters, making sure they are as epic as possible. Thanks to everybody who reviewed, I appreciate it.

CJM86: I'm glad you like the story, and thank you for leaving so many reviews. You raise some some pretty good points, and I thought I should comment on some of them. With King Arthur being a demigod, half-bloods fight each other all the time, even if they are all Greek or all Roman e.g the Trojan war, WWII. King Arthur is such a fabled figure that I had to make him a demigod. With the Saturn dream, I realize now that it was too early. I was trying to show give a sense of urgency, that Jason has to find the master bolt before it falls in the hands of older, evil forces. I hope the story's still bearable.

Here's chapter 12. Read, enjoy and of course review!

XII

Monster doughnut

Think, Jason. How do you defeat the immortal son of a Big Three god? Jason pondered this as he brought his javelin before him for an attack. His shield arm was numb, but he had to use it in this fight. Otherwise it would be a very short one. Before him Triton set his jaw in determination, the water tentacles around him undulating rhythmically. Jason brought his shield arm up and was about to attack when the god beat him to it.

Triton surged forward, taking his watery maelstrom with him. A liquid tentacle lashed out at Jason, forcing him to duck low. Another tentacle swung at him, this time lower, and he sidestepped hastily. A third tentacle came crushing vertically down on him. He couldn't move out of the way in time, so he brought his shield up in a block. Jason was half expecting the tentacle to splash against his shield harmlessly, since it was liquid. Instead, it fell on him with the force of a giant hammer, driving him onto one knee and a few inches into the sand. Ok, he thought with a groan. Avoid the magic super water.

He rose to his feet and charged again, his shield in front of him. Triton unleashed a pressurized water jet, almost at point blank range. With surprising speed, Jason brought his shield arm back and sidestepped, stepping through the watery wall of tentacles. Swirling seawater buffeted his legs, but he forced himself forward. Wasting no time, he thrust Ivlivs at Triton's chest, but the god was quick. He blocked and struck, and for a few moments the pair went back and forth, thrusting and parrying. A jet of water knocked into Jason's back, sending him into the trident's path. He barely brought his shield up for a block, and was sent flying backwards by a swing from the trident.

As he was sailing through the air, a tentacle snaked around his torso and slammed him hard against the ground. His breath was snatched from his lungs and his shield fell from his grasp, but before he could recover the tentacle dragged him back into the air. Fighting frantically, Jason swung Ivlivs repeatedly, trying to sever its hold on him. The blade passed through without any damage, just as it would through regular water. The tentacle slammed him against the ground again, and he swore there was now a Jason-shaped hole in the sand. He was pulled back into the air and flung backwards into the ocean. He only fell into shallow waters, but getting onto his feet was a challenge. He tried to walk forward, but the current dragged him further into the sea. He had to get back on dry land, he could feel the water sapping the last of his energy. On the beach, Triton was smiling cruelly at him. Maybe he should give up, just let the current drag him into Neptune's realm.

As quickly as the thought came, he banished it. He was Roman. Romans never give up.

With a shout he leaped into the air, his determination letting him forget about the laws of physics. He jumped, impossibly high, into the air and in a trajectory bearing for Triton, the winds giving him a temporary boost. He held Ivlivs above his head with both hands, ready to run the god through. As he fell upon Triton, the god merely swept his hand to the side and a giant tentacle slammed against him, sending him skidding across the sand like a skipping stone. He came to a stop a few yards from Dakota and Gwen. Surprisingly, Gwen had managed to hack away all the ice around Dakota. The son of Bacchus lay on the sand with his eyes closed, frost and pieces of ice covering his face and body. Nectar dribbled from his mouth, melting the ice around it. Suddenly his eyes shot open and he gasped audibly. He sat up, his hand clutching his head.

"Ugh," he groaned. "What happened?"

"We'll tell you later," said Jason, standing up and picking up his weapon. "First we gotta protect you."

Triton was making his way over to them. He had discarded his tentacle-armed whirlpool and now stood tall on a wave.

"Gwen, help Dakota. I'll hold him off."

Jason stepped forward, but Gwen grabbed his arm.

"Remember what Mrs Masterson said. You can't beat him alone, you need our help."

Jason wanted to argue, but she had a point. He had thrown everything he had at the god, and it hadn't left a single mark. Besides, he didn't want to face Triton alone, though he wouldn't admit that to his friends.

Triton stopped in front of them, and Gwen picked up her gear and stood next to Jason. She gave him a look that said, it was nice serving with you, and readied her sword. Triton sighed, he still saw her as an annoying obstacle between him and Jason.

"There is no use trying to fight me," he said. "Sooner or later I will kill you."

"We'll see about that, fish face," said Jason bravely.

With a battle cry, they charged the god. Jason's shield lay halfway across the beach. He would have to fight without it. Triton unleashed a horizontal band of water from his wave which expanded toward them. With a huff, Jason leaped over it while Gwen slid on her knees under it. As he fell, Jason gave a vicious superman jab which was parried rather easily. Using his momentum, he twisted around and reversed his grip on Ivlivs, stabbing quickly at Triton's side. The god blocked and moved to parry Gwen's attack. For a few moments the three of them were locked in a deadly stalemate, the sound of their weapons clashing ringing across the beach. Triton quickly gained the upper hand and Jason found himself on the defense. The god buffeted him backwards with a small jet of water and, with a yell, disarmed Gwen. Before she could react, he aimed his trident at her gut and stabbed.

Jason was too slow to recover, but he watched as vines erupted from the sand and wrapped themselves around the trident. The god watched, dumbfounded, as they snatched it from his grasp. It fell onto the sand with a muffled clutter. More vines burst out of the ground and lashed at Triton, some attaching themselves to his fish legs and his arms. Behind Jason came Dakota, his shield arm extended. He looked a bit pale, but was steady on his feet, his weapon raised. The wave beneath Triton lost its power and splashed on the sand, the god still struggling with the vines. Jason remembered the feeling of being suffocated by vines, but he was sure Triton would overcome.

Inevitably, Triton ripped the vines out of the ground and picked up his weapon. He now stood on the beach with his bare fish legs. Jason was half hoping he would flop around like a fish out of water, but the god stood tall and angry. Gwen picked up her weapon and, together with Dakota, formed ranks around Jason.

"Guys, I don't have my shield," said Jason to his friends. "But we can try out attack plan Byzantium."

Gwen's face lit up. "It could actually work," she said optimistically.

Triton attacked, and this time they were ready. Attack plan Byzantium involved protecting the legionnaire in the middle who was without a shield, while he did most of the offense. They had practiced it numerous times at camp, but Jason still wasn't sure they could pull it off. Practice was one thing, but real danger was wholly different, and Jason was still tired from his earlier skirmish with the god. Triton stabbed at him with his trident before he could talk himself out of it.

"Retreat!" Gwen shouted.

Immediately, Jason took a step back. Gwen and Dakota closed the gap in front of him, and Triton's weapon clashed against their shields. They opened the gap, and Jason dashed forward, delivering a jab at Triton's chest. The god blocked and swung his trident in an attempt to cut Jason's head off. He blocked and twisted around, striking Triton's fish leg with his lance shaft.

"Retreat!"

Jason jumped backwards and his friends closed the gap. Triton attacked their shields viciously, angry that Jason had landed a blow. He brought the trident down on Dakota with a vertical slash, but the son of Bacchus brought his shield up to block and stabbed with all his might at the god. Dakota's spear caught Triton in his left shoulder. It was a shallow cut, but golden ichor, the blood of immortals, poured out. Triton snarled in rage and pain, and summoned a gigantic wave which fell on them like a tsunami. Jason summoned the winds that held back the wave, causing it to break a few yards from them. Cold seawater buffeted against their legs, but they kept on fighting. Gwen and Dakota opened the gap and Jason ran though, ready to capitalize on Triton's injury. He moved toward the god's injured side and jabbed multiple times. Triton was now using only his right hand to wield his weapon, but he still used it well.

"Retreat!"

Jason continued forward, thrusting and the god blocking. He swung his javelin in a wide arc, but Triton sidestepped.

"Jason, retreat!"

But Jason didn't listen. He planted his lance head first in the sand and used it like a pole vault to jump kick Triton in the chest. The god stumbled backwards, but recovered incredibly quickly. He pushed Jason away with his elbow to put him within the range of his weapon, and slashed at his chest. With a pain filled cry, Jason fell to the ground.

"Jason!"

His friends ran forward to protect him with their shields, but Jason hardly noticed. All he knew at that moment was pain. He tried to take in a gulp of air, but more pain flared up. He writhed slowly on the sand, his hand clutching his chest. Blood poured out of the gash, and Jason's vision swam. He was dimly aware of the battle still raging on before him, which brought him back to his senses. He had to help his friends. He had to defeat Triton.

He got to his feet, behind Gwen and Dakota, and picked up his lance. The gash in his chest burned and his vision continued swimming. He gripped Ivlivs with both hands and felt leftover adrenaline enter his veins. He ran forward as quietly as he could muster. Gwen and Dakota hadn't realized that he had recovered, and they jumped out of the way in surprise as he came charging through. Triton was just as shocked and had no time to recover as Jason sunk Ivlivs into his gut. The god's eyes bulged and he looked down at the weapon protruding from his stomach then back to Jason. His trident fell from his grasp. Golden ichor poured freely out of the wound, some coating the lance.

"Fool, I cannot be killed," said Triton, his teeth clenched. "I am a god!"

"Yeah, but you can be knocked unconscious. And how long do god comas last? Three, maybe four years?"

Triton gave a low grumble. "I will be back, Jason Grace, and I will make you wish you were never born. That is if my father doesn't crush you first."

"Yeah, yeah. Less talk, more vanish, Fish stick."

Triton snarled, then started to shimmer. Within a few moments he disappeared, leaving behind the smell of seaweed. Jason felt his adrenaline disappear, and he collapsed heavily on the ground.

...

Jason woke up in the chariot, his head on Gwen's lap. The chariot was in its original form, and was speeding down a path in a forest. Dakota was perusing the map intently, a frown twisting his features. Jason sat up slowly while clutching his head and groaning. His chest no longer hurt, and close inspection revealed that it had almost fully healed. He must have been given a lot of god food. Was it his imagination, or was steam rising from his skin?

"You're awake," Gwen exclaimed. "Thank gods."

"Yeah, dude," said Dakota, looking up from the map. "You were starting to scare us."

"Where are we?" Jason asked them.

"South-eastern Missouri," answered Dakota. "But we're kinda lost."

"What do you mean?"

"We've been going around in circles since noon. It's now four o'clock. The map keeps changing."

Jason took the map from his hands. Sure enough, the Roads were moving as if alive, and constantly changing positions.

"Do you guys think what Neptune did to get us to Florida might have messed it up?"

"I don't know, maybe. All I know is, we aren't getting out of here anytime soon, and I'm starving."

Jason thought Gwen would reprimand Dakota for thinking about food at a time like this, but she nodded in agreement.

"We ran out of food five hours ago," she said."And there's been no sign of civilization so far."

Jason stood and grabbed the reins, pulling the unicorn into a stop.

"I suggest we look for food out here," he said. "And who knows, maybe we'll be able to find a way to St. Louis."

"You guys go," said Gwen. "I'll stay here and look after the chariot."

She was looking down as she said this. Jason hadn't noticed, but she was acting secretive again. What had happened? She had been back to her usual cheery behavior until now. She was even sharing a few close moments with Dakota. Jason wished she would just tell them what was going on.

"Fine by me," said Dakota. "Come on dude. Let's go."

They left Gwen on the chariot and went off path into the forest. A chilly wind blew across the trees, ruffling Jason's hair.

"Are you sure you're okay?" said Dakota. "You took some serious damage back at that beach."

"I feel fine. The cut wasn't too deep, thankfully. I think using my powers so much is what made me pass out."

"Yeah, I was pretty exhausted, too."

They continued into the forest, Jason's shoes making a squelch on the damp ground. He doubted he had fully dried after being doused by so much seawater. Jason's sleeve made contact with Dakota's arm and there was an audible crackle, as if a jersey was being stretched.

"Ow!" Dakota shouted. "Did you just pinch me?"

"Dude, no."

Dakota frowned. "I just felt a shock on my arm."

"What kind of shock?"

"The kind you get after playing basketball and touching another person. A static shock. But this one hurt more."

Jason didn't know what had happened, so he let it go.

"Gwen did a pretty good job patching us up, didn't she?" Dakota said after a while.

"Yeah, she did. I wonder if she's secretly a child of Apollo and not Fortuna."

"I never really thanked her..." A few seconds passed. "Hey, Jason, what do you think think of Gwen?"

"What do you mean?" Dakota must have also realized something was off with her, he thought.

"I mean, as a girl."

Oh, so that was this was about.

"She's okay, I guess."

"Just okay? Dude, have you even started thinking about girls?"

"Of course I have, I'm not six. Just the other day I was thinking about Diana. You know, before I found out we were related and all."

"Yeah, when you look past the trying to kill us part, and the punching me in the face part, she's actually really pretty."

"Anyway, what do you think of Gwen?" Jason challenged the curly haired boy.

Dakota got a faraway look in his eyes.

"I don't know, man. I mean, she's great, and really nice, and she does this thing when she laughs. She kinda leans forward and her hair falls in front of her face. It's really...cool."

"You should go for it."

"What?"

"You like her, don't you. Ask her out."

Dakota gave him a weird look. "I couldn't. She probably doesn't like me back."

"I'm sure she does."

"You really think so?" Dakota was looking at him hopefully.

"From what I've seen, yes. If you like, I could talk to her for you."

"It's fine, man. I need to do this by myself. You know, be a man about it. But thanks anyway."

"Maybe you could do it after the quest."

"Maybe, if we manage to survive. At this point-what the hell is that?"

They had walked to the edge of a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a food place with a parking lot and drive by. It looked newly-built and fully functional. The sign in the front said, Monster Doughnut, and had the a cartoon monster taking a bite out of the O in doughnut.

"I've seen one of these," Dakota said. "Yeah, back home in Pittsburgh. It's like a Starbucks, but for doughnuts."

"What's it doing all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere?" Jason asked.

"Maybe there's a city nearby. But who cares, dude, we finally found our food."

They walked up to the building and went inside. The interior looked like an ordinary doughnut shop. There were a few people seated at the tables who eyed them closely. One was even slack jawed, his doughnut long forgotten. At the counter, a dark haired girl greeted them with a symmetric smile on her face.

"What can I get you?" she asked them.

They ordered two whole boxes of doughnuts. She handed the boxes to them and Dakota paid her. He took a whiff of the frosted delights.

"They smell great," he said.

"Yes they do," she said, looking straight at them.

"Okay then, thank you," said Jason.

"You're welcome, Jason."

Jason's turned his head so quickly, he almost snapped his neck.

"How do you know my name?" he asked warily.

"Oh, you are quite the famous hero in these parts," she said, her smile never wavering.

"Jason," Dakota whispered. "I think we're in a monster's lair."

I knew this was too good to be true, Jason thought as they slowly backed toward the door. The customers at the tables stood, a hungry look adorning their features. They backed out off the door, but the people, who were clearly monsters, followed them up. The girl, who was in front, suddenly looked past them and her smile died.

"Oh, great. He's here."

Jason turned to see who she was talking about, and his heart almost stopped. In the parking lot stood a fully grown hydra with eight diamond shaped heads.

"Now there won't be any left for us," complained another monster before going back inside with the rest of them.

Jason and Dakota stood alone in the parking lot as the hydra lumbered slowly toward them, its heads snarling and hissing.

"I don't think I'm hungry anymore," said Dakota quietly.

A/N: Wow, that fight scene was really long. I hope it didn't bore you guys. Also, it's kinda hard pairing two characters when neither of them have a point of view. I'll try my best though.

Next chapter: a little monster battling followed by a big event. It's finally here, guys. Our hero finds the lightning thief. Stay tuned!