Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.

Story: Divided Soul

Chapter 15: The Real Scipio

Mount Olympus

Juno and Mars sat on their thrones watching in a glowing sphere the battle that took place between the Romans and Polybotes's army of monsters. Mars sighed in relief once the battle was over. Juno looked at him curiously.

"What?" Mars asked.

"You seem rather concerned about the welfare of Scipio," Juno said as she looked into her son's eyes for any clue to what he was feeling.

"I'm his patron, of course I'm concerned." Mars waved his hand dismissively.

Juno looked at her son curiously. "I've never seen you this concerned, even when your children were fighting in the war last year."

Mars turned toward his mother and glared. "What are you eluding to?"

Juno looked at her son in surprise; he just used the word elude. She had no clue he had such a large vocabulary. "You care for the son of Neptune."

"Of course, he is my student, my cliens. I care about his success and triumph in battle."

"No, you really care for the child."

Mars's face turned red. Juno's eyes widened at the sight. "I don't feel anything toward the boy."

"You do. I can see it in your eyes. You care for him, like a father does a son. I never knew you had it in you."

"I do not care for him like a son."

"You can't deny it. You know it's true." Juno smiled at her son.

"Alright, yes, I care for the kid," Mars huffed.

Juno smirked at her son. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me," she said smugly.

Suddenly, the throne room doors burst open to reveal the god of the seas. Neptune strode into the throne room defiantly. His glare was piercing. Mars sunk down in his throne at the sight. Even Juno looked worried at the sight of her irate brother.

"What can I help you with, Neptune?" Juno asked.

"What have you done to my son?" Neptune yelled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Juno said.

"My son believes that I don't care for him. He doesn't even remember meeting me. He hates me," Neptune said. Juno looked at Mars expectantly.

Mars sighed. "It's Scipio. That persona doesn't have memories of meeting or talking to you," Mars said.

"What do you mean persona? Scipio is just a fictitious person. He isn't real," Neptune said. Juno and Mars looked at each other worriedly. "Correct?" Neptune looked at them in disbelief.

"Actually, Scipio is very much real. He's just not from this reality," Mars answered.

"What do you mean, not from this reality?" Neptune asked as he glared at the god of war.

"We wanted to make sure that Scipio was grounded in reality, that he could actually deliver what we promised," Mars said.

"You promised to protect my son. You said that he would be trained better than any demigod before. That he would have weapons and tools to assist him in this ordeal."

Juno gave her son an unamused glare as she stood up and stepped toward her older brother. "We gave him those things, but to ensure that he would survive we gave him a persona from another possible reality not another universe," Juno said.

"What?" Neptune yelled. "Scipio existed in another reality?"

"Yes, if Percy was born Roman and not Greek, he would have been Scipio, with a few twists and turns. Trivia helped us find him. He was a great Roman Consul. He led the Romans against the Titans and the giants. He was the most powerful demigod ever born in that possible reality," Mars said.

"In this other reality, I abandoned this child," Neptune asked.

"It wasn't you, brother. It was another Neptune, it wasn't quite real, just a possibility," Juno said.

Neptune walked to his throne and sat down. He rested his head in his hands. "What have you done to him? Will he ever be the same again?" Neptune asked sadly.

"We fulfilled our agreement. You agreed to stay away from Scipio. While we agreed to provide him with everything he could need to succeed. He has more than fulfilled that goal. With him leading the Romans and with him as one of the seven we will defeat Gaea and the giants," Juno explained.

Neptune stood up and rubbed his eyes. "I will continue to hold you to that deal. I will stay away from him, but I will do what I can to help him from afar."

"Speaking of help, what happened in the battle? The sea seemed to be against him," Mars asked curiously.

"Pontus has returned. He's helping Gaea," Neptune said. Juno and Mars both looked at him worriedly.

"What about Oceanus?" Juno asked.

"For the time being he's staying out of it. After the recent defeat Pontus has withdrawn, but you can bet that he'll turn up again when we least expect him," Neptune warned as he stood and stepped down from his throne. "I must go. Remember what I have said." Neptune disappeared into a fine ocean mist.

Juno sighed after her brother left. She turned to her son, whose brow was furrowed in thought. "What is wrong with you? Parallel universes, I think you've watched too much human television."

Mars shrugged at his mother's scolding. His eyes gave away his worry and nervousness. "We didn't tell him everything about the Scipio from that possible reality."

"It would only worry him."

Mars sighed. "It worries me mother. That possible Scipio did all those things that you said, but you failed to inform Neptune that after the war Scipio turned on Olympus. He led a unified Roman and Greek demigod army. The gods in that possible reality were destroyed. Scipio became the first emperor of a unified demigod kingdom."

Juno shifted nervously on her throne. "We never gave Percy the first seven years of Scipio's memories from that reality. Those years destroyed the boy's fatal flaw of loyalty. In the end that is what led the son of Neptune to turn against the gods. However, that wasn't everything. The gods in that reality were no better than the Titans they fought."

Mars nodded. "It still worries me. The Scipio of that reality was just a son of Neptune. Our Scipio is a son of Neptune and Poseidon. He is much more powerful and dangerous."

Juno frowned. "I know, but he is what we need to defeat our enemies. Percy Jackson is still in there. He will always fight to save his family."

"You have a lot of faith in the boy."

Juno sighed and moved a strand of hair from her face. "He can be annoying, but no one can question his bravery, loyalty, and kind heart."

Mars nodded. "You're right of course. Let us hope that nothing ever changes that."

Castra Semideus

Scipio opened his eyes. He saw white walls and beds full of other demigods. Most only had slight injuries, but others were worse off.

"The dead awakens," a familiar voice said.

Scipio sat up and saw Reyna sitting to his left. He looked to his right and Annabeth the Greek was watching him carefully. "Is the battle won?" Scipio asked.

Reyna leaned forward and touched his hand. "Yes, the battle is over. We won, thanks to you," Reyna said as she let go of his hand.

"That was some display of power you, Thalia, and Jason showed," Annabeth said.

"How are they?" Scipio asked as he tried to move, but a sudden pain shot up his left arm causing him to sink back into the bed.

"They're fine. We took them to their tents to rest," Reyna reassured him.

"Why am I here?" Scipio asked.

"You're fight with Polybotes left you with some severe acid burns, plus you were pretty badly dehydrated," Annabeth explained. Her grey eyes seemed dull as she remembered the condition he was in after the battle.

"Thank you both for helping me," Scipio said. He gave Reyna a slight nod, but when he looked at Annabeth he couldn't help but smile. The daughter of Athena smiled in return.

Reyna looked at the two of them with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She stood up and cleared her throat. "I need to go check on my legion," Reyna said as she gave Scipio a quick salute before darting out of the infirmary.

A tense silence seemed to flood the space between Scipio and Annabeth once Reyna left. Annabeth cleared her throat and stood. "I should go too," Annabeth said. Scipio grabbed her hand quickly causing electricity to shoot up both of their arms.

Scipio looked up at her nervously. "I-I'm s-sorry that I yelled at you," Scipio said softly. It was rare that the son of Neptune apologized, but in this case it felt right.

Annabeth just stared at his hand. Scipio let go. She looked into his green eyes hopefully, but answered, "I questioned your orders. It was your right to correct me."

Scipio nodded. "However, I could have done that without making you believe that we didn't need your help. We… I mean… I needed your help. Thank you."

Annabeth smiled at Scipio. It was the first time that she really saw Percy in those sea green eyes. The stuttering and the uncomfortable manner that Scipio was displaying was so Percy, but she knew that this was Scipio, not her Seaweed Brain. "Don't worry about it. Get some rest. We all need the Consul of Rome at one hundred percent." Annabeth gave Scipio a salute before making a quick exit out of the infirmary. Scipio just smiled as he looked at the empty place that the daughter of Athena had occupied.

AN: A short chapter, but I needed to get another chapter out because it might be several weeks before I get another one done because of school and the move across country. Everyone please be patient, thank you.