-Percy-

I could tell Addie was angry. Maybe that was why I did not question her at all.

I was kind of afraid she would accidentally blast me to bits.

As we walked along the maze of tunnels, I could feel the earth underneath us shaking slightly. Rocks and debris fell from the sides, and more than once, Annabeth and I traded turns snatching each other out of the way of a falling rock. Finally, Addie stopped in front of us. She kicked the rock wall in frustration, a yell of anger and resentment coming from her.

I pulled Annabeth closer to me, and I could see what she meant when she said she was scared of Addie sometimes. She had started to glow at her hands, the same pale gold light that had been there earlier when she blasted back Iapetus. But at the same time, I trusted her.

Did I blame her for being angry? Gods, no!

"Uh, Addie?"

She looked up at me, and I saw the intense look of sorrow and pain on her face.

"Are you okay?"

Her face went through a range of emotions within the next minute: sorrow, rage, and then regret. Then, the mask was back, her face blank once again. A hole appeared in the rock. She nodded her head, her gaze now locked on the floor. She stood back from the hole, attempting to control her breathing. She made a sweeping gesture, indicating that we should go in.

I felt the rock slam shut behind me. I sat down, my body exhausted from the life that Iapetus had taken from me. Annabeth sat down beside me, her hand resting comfortingly on my arm.

"How are you feeling, Seaweed Brain?"

I smiled at Annabeth, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm fine," I whispered to her.

Addie sat down in front of us, her face serious. She looked to be thinking about something, and then she stared into my eyes. I gazed into her eyes, willing her to tell me the truth. Somehow, it felt important to know, even if it was only to better understand her. Her expression melted, and for the first time since I had met her, she seemed somewhat vulnerable.

"When I was born, Rome was just becoming great. Greece was still strong. The gods wavered between their two forms because they still had people worshipping them in both countries," Addie said. She took a deep breath, pausing. Uncertainty crossed her features, and Annabeth sat forward, her hand holding onto Addie's.

"You don't have to do this, Addie," she said softly.

Addie smiled, a small one, and squeezed Annabeth's hand.

"You need to understand. It keeps getting brought up, and I trust the two of you…I- I have never told this story to a mortal, and I do not talk about it at all unless I am questioned, which does not happen that often. The gods can be quite self-absorbed," she added with a tiny grin.

"They can be more than that," I groaned back. I was actually thinking they could all be assholes, but I felt like I probably should not make them angry right now.

"They were quick to anger and judge. Demigods were not separated back then. Romans and Greeks interacted with each other daily. It was not always civil, but even the Greeks were better than the Egyptians," she continued, rolling her eyes. "After that encounter with Mars, my brother was convinced that the gods had gone too far. Their erratic behavior was causing a strain on the world. Towns were incurring their wrath daily. Appeasing one god or goddess only angered another. The twelfth legion tried to keep things like that from happening. Since most of the legion were either children of the gods or legacies, it was easier for us to deal with them."

"So the twelfth legion served as a buffer?" Annabeth asked.

"Mostly, yes. It was the back-up to the normal legions. The twelfth legion was an emissary, so to speak. I was not allowed to join. I was meant to be a lady of the Senate. It was different for girls back then," she said, smiling at Annabeth. "We were not meant to be warriors. We were something to be admired, to show off for our husbands, to make them look better and provide them heirs. I trained in secret, and I tried to help in any way that I could. That is how I first started drawing attention to myself."

"Mars started coming to me, along with some other minor gods. It was a common thing, back then. The minors would accept my refusals, afraid of angering my father. He was usually more Roman than Greek then, and that is one god whose bad side I would never recommending even seeing. My human father had already planned on me marrying a legionnaire, a Roman one with a lot of promise."

"Tiberius," I said aloud. Addie nodded her head, and true pain crept in her eyes.

"I hated him at first. He was so jealous of me and my brother. He did not understand the bond that we shared, being twins. I did not want to be a lady; I wanted to fight monsters and show the world what I was made of. Mars's offer was almost tempting the first time he made it," she laughed bitterly. "I had not realized what he truly wanted. But then I met Tiberius, and I fell in love. He was sweet and charming, and he did not treat me like I was breakable. He treated me like I was strong like I could conquer the world if I wanted to. He also let me be weak at times, comforted me. He became my strength when I had none."

"Mars would not leave me alone, and finally, Orion told Tiberius what was happening with me. He was mad at first, wondering why I had not said anything to him. My brother hatched a plan. Tiberius and I would go ahead and get married. Ry thought that maybe that would keep him from acting rashly, that Mars would not want to anger Liber or the gods who favored our relationship. The second part of the plan was to sneak me into the legion."

"I was there for months, working under my brother and Tiberius. Ry was the Praetor, and as long as I had a helmet, no one knew I was a girl. Until the war started," she added sadly.

"The war?" I muttered.

"Between the Romans and Greeks. The Romans conquered them, remember? It sent the twelfth legion into chaos. Some of the Romans were calling for our, I meant the Greek demigods, disbandment, the others stating that we could be friends, that we were trusted warriors. Mars approached me one last time, the first since I had talked to him at my family's home."

"And what did he want?" I responded. I had noticed that we had all moved closer together. A faint light shone off of Riptide, and it made Addie's expression look even more haunted.

"He backed me into a corner. He said, 'What hope could you have of resisting, when Rome had already won?' The Greek aspect of the gods was no longer there to save me. Orion walked in on that, and Mars left with the threat hanging. So a small group of us, seven, some Roman, some Greek, decided that we had to help bring balance back, to mend the crumbling relationship between our two nations."

"You were going to return the Parthenos," Annabeth breathed. I was stunned, and I could see the gears working in Annabeth's head. Addie nodded and continued on.

"The ninth legion was on their way back to Rome with it. We spoke to the Senate, pleaded with them. If we were to keep Rome great, it would not be wise to offend the original gods. It would keep the Greeks peaceful, and we could all work together. After all, we worshipped the same ones. It helped our case, my brother and I being what we were. My brother and I were not normal demigods; we had both Roman and Greek blood in our veins. They always said my brother was more like Nep-"

Addie started coughing, her face turned red. I put my hand on her back, rubbing small circles. Annabeth pulled out a water bottle she had been carrying and handed it to her. Addie gratefully took a sip, her eyes closing for just a moment.

"You can't say dad's name? You can't say Neptune or Poseidon?" I asked, shocked.

She shook her head and handed the bottle back to Annabeth.

"So your brother, Orion, was more like Neptune, and you were more like his Greek aspect?" Annabeth supplied.

Addie shrugged her shoulders, "Kind of? My brother and I were walking contradictions. He had power of the seas, whereas I was an earth shaker. We both spoke fluent Latin and Greek. He had pulled some power from our Great-grandfather, Zeus, and I pulled some power from Hecate, though I believe it was her Roman form who was our grandmother."

"Trivia," Annabeth said.

"We were drawing even more attention on our quest. The others tried their best to shield me. They were my most loyal friends, and they had pledged their protection to me. Tiberius begged me to stop, to quit calling attention to myself. My brother was one thing, but I needed to lay low. I did not participate unless I had to."

"Who else was with you, besides Decimus and what's his name?"

"Decimus was a son of Hermes, Philo, a son of Athena- that was the fully Greek demigods. Tiberius was a son of Liber, Amadeus, a son of Venus, and Magnus was the child of Vulcan."

"We worked our way to Athens, but after Mars almost kidnapped me, everything went to… well, it went to shit. The Senate had changed its mind, thanks to Mars, and the rest of the legion was sent after us to stop us. Monsters, minor gods, titans, giants, you name it… all types of them attacked us, and it was my fault. They were slowly picking us off, one by one."

"What happened to Tiberius?" Annabeth asked softly.

"There were only four of us left- Orion, Tiberius, and Magnus, along with me. The Ismenian dragon, Ares's cursed beast, attacked us, and I was so busy trying to protect everyone, I almost died. Tiberius pushed me out of the way, and he got bit. Magnus had died earlier that day. We were all so tired. We had been running for weeks. We had been praying for mercy from our parents, that we were only trying to protect what was right and just. No reply ever came."

Tears were spilling silently down Addie's face now, and her voice grew thick. "I begged Apollo, Asclepius, Epione- every god or goddess of healing I could think of, to please heal him. As he started to fade, I prayed to all of them, for a way to save him. The legion had cornered us by then, and they demanded that we stop our quest. Mars appeared to me, with Tiberius dead in my arms."

"He made a move to grab me, and my brother lost it. He began fighting Mars, and I knew it all had to stop. My brother got injured badly, and the Greek demigods, along with some of the Roman ones, stood up for their Praetor. However, I got there first. I do not know what came over me, but I had to protect my brother, my legion. It did not matter whether or not they were Roman or Greek. They were my family," she said, her voice melancholy. "Somehow, I managed to beat him. I think it was just luck though. I was not really trying to defeat him, only defend my loved ones."

"Then, a storm came, and Mars reappeared, along with some of the other gods, stating that we were all to be punished for our crimes, for defying the will of the gods. My brother was dying, the legion would have been lost…. So I did the only thing I knew to do."

She took a deep breath, and I could feel my heart stop.

"I apologized. Mars said I should be sorry, that it was all my fault, that none of this would have happened if it had not been for me. I told him he was right. I got down on my hands and knees, and I begged the gods to spare their lives, the lives of the legion and my brother. I would accept their punishment; do whatever I had to do, as long as they lived."

"Addie," Annabeth started. Addie held a hand up, and I watched the look of sorrow melt into determination.

"They conferred for just a moment. The other gods vanished, and only Mars was left. He said that the legion and my brother would be spared. My brother would carry the curse that he had already given him, but he would live until the Fates decided it was his time. My curse was to be ageless, to never be able to stay in the mortal world again. My choices were what brought me here, and so my punishment was that my choices would be forever taken away. I gave up my free will and became the servant of the gods. The twelve on the council can give me any command, and no matter how much I dislike it or hate it, I have to follow it. Mars got exactly what he wanted, me, watching my loved ones suffer. The legion forgot I ever existed, and my brother died about ten years later in a battle, just like Mars said he would."

I was in a state of shock. I could not understand how the gods could be so cruel. Had I not done worse things than what Addie did? I was still standing here, scot-free!

"They are awful," Annabeth whispered. "How- I mean- How could they just let Mars do that to you?"

"There are some positive aspects. Because I was more Greek than Roman, I got to serve under their Greek aspects most of the time, which was nice. I got to learn from the best when they were willing to teach me."

"That seems like the only positive," I scoffed back at her. Now, anger was creeping in. The gods had done some pretty shitty things to people- Calypso, Prometheus, Heracles were just a few of the examples. This punishment seemed a tad bit over the top to me.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Percy, even the gods. They are not human, as much as they wish to be. I accepted my fate a long time ago. I would do it all again, the exact same way, if I had to."

"I don't buy it. I think they just enjoy seeing mortal suffer sometimes."

"Did you ever see the movie, Troy?"

Annabeth and I both nodded our heads.

"It was decently close to the real tale. There was a quote in that movie that had stuck with me the past few years, because after all the time I have spent with the gods, I find it to be the truth."

"What is it?" Annabeth asked.

"Achilles said, 'The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.' He was right. We fight for what we love because we might be gone tomorrow. That's what makes demigods so strong. They can change the world because they see it for its true beauty."

"You have got to be friends with my mom," Annabeth said deadpanned.

We all started laughing, but it did not reach our eyes. I felt exhausted, and mentally, I was running on fumes. Annabeth let out a yawn beside me, and Addie's eyes crinkled in a sad smile.

"You two get some sleep. I'll watch over you. Any more questions can wait. We still have a long way to go."

I closed my eyes. I had wrapped my arm around Annabeth, and she was using it as a pillow. Her soft breathing hit my neck, and I felt myself start to drift after only a few minutes.

"Addie?"

"Hmm?" She answered back.

"You are the best hero I've ever known. They should envy you," I muttered sleepily. I was not even sure if I said that out loud. I felt a soft touch in my hair and something warm drape over my body. I sighed, enjoying these few peaceful moments.

I suspected it was our last until we made it out of this place.