I begin to sing about Poseidon, the great god,

mover of the earth and fruitless sea

god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae.

A two-fold office the gods allotted you,

O Shaker of the Earth, to be a tamer of horses

and a saviour of ships!

Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord!

O blessed one, be kindly in heart

and help those who voyage in ships!

Homeric hymn to Poseidon

Chapter 5: Romans and Flashbacks

Jason Grace was not having fun.

The monsters were a huge pain in the ass. And Atlas hadn't even stepped foot in the battle yet. The Titan had trapped an immortal under the sky, to free himself. Jason feared that if Atlas decided to step in, Rome would be lost.

"Centurion Grace!" he turned around when he heard his name, trying to suppress the groan that came with it.

"Yes, Chris?" he asked calmly. He wanted this conversation to be over quickly, he needed to go to the walls and check the defenses. An attack could happen at any moment.

"Praetor Julius and Praetor Leila wish to see you now, sir," Chris gulped hesitantly. From what Jason could remember, Chris was a shy little son of Mercury who had been inducted into the legion and instantly put into a messenger role because of the speed he inherited from his father.

Jason sighed and dismissed the runner, going to Leila's office. Maybe they wanted to know about the preparedness of the fifth cohort or the improvements in the wall, to protect them from further attacks. He crossed the field of Mars, lost in thought, as he slowly reached the office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in,"

The oak doors creaked open.

"You wanted to see me, Praetors?"

"Yes, Jason, sit down. We have valuable intel," Leila said."The Titan of Endurance is making a move,"

"Making a move?" Jason asked as he sat down in front of the two senior officers.

"Yes, he appears to be leading a party of a few monsters west. To perform some sort of ritual,"

"A ritual?" Jason furrowed his brows. "What ritual?"

"We don't know," Julius said. "But we know you must pursue them,"

"Me," Jason said. "Pursue a literal Titan Lord,"

"Yes,"

"You're kidding me,"

"I'm afraid you must," Julius said. "The god of beginnings and ends, himself came down from his abode to give us this quest,"

Jason frowned. Janus? A god showing himself to the demigods was unheard of, and to provide information about a Titan and issue a quest? That was impossible.

"What?" his voice clearly showed his disbelief. "You're kidding me,"

"No," Lelia shook her head. "Both of us have decided that due to this quest's importance, you shall lead it. You may take a party of five members,"

"Why me?" Jason asked. "Why not other people like Michael, or Dakota? They've been here longer, they know more than me, they can fight better than me,"

"You are a prince of the sky," Julius said. "A prince of Rome. This is your chance to prove yourself and gain your favor with the people. You may take Dakota or Michael along with you, but you will lead this quest,"

"Why-"

"Because you're strong Jason," Leila said, not allowing him to finish his question. "You might think that your friends are better fighters and that might be true, but your heritage gives you certain powers, boosts, you are an important figure to us. A son of the king always is. You will lead,"

"So it's just because of my father?" Jason asked. "Just because of my heritage?" he knew the real reason. He was a threat to them, their praetorship. They didn't particularly care that Janus had issued the quest, but rather they saw it as a method of ridding themselves of somebody who would pose a threat to their rule in the future.

"Yes," Julius said, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "You will lead because of your father. You will lead because of Rome,"

Jason glared at Praetors. "Fine. I accept,"

"You didn't have a choice,"

"I can choose whoever I want, right?"

"Yes,"

"I choose Dakota, Michael, Reyna,"

He paused, his smirk worrying the Praetors.

"And Julius,"

"Wait a minute!" Julius protested. "I'm a Praetor, I can't go on quests,"

Jason smiled. Julius wasn't raised on a shield, he was elected, by the senate. He hadn't witnessed a battle or wielded a sword properly. Jason doubted if the son of Ceres had ever gone out of the boundaries of Rome before. Sure, having him on the quest would be a huge burden, but he didn't give much of a shit. He didn't like the guy, and making him go through a few near-death experiences on the quest would be nice to watch.

"You said I could choose anybody," Jason shrugged. "Leila can handle things while we're away,"

"I-I can't," the boy said, horrified. "I'm needed b-by the senate, the wall-"

"Will be upgraded under the supervision of Lee Holmes. He's the head of the builder's union," Jason finished for him. "Leila can handle the senate, and you don't need to fight here anyway,"

"Jason," Leila said. "Please, Julius is a high-ranking officer, he is needed by the city and its people-"

"Are you volunteering instead of him?" Jason shrugged. "You can come instead, I don't mind,"

"Gods no!" Leila shook her head. "Why do you insist on taking a praetor? You can take a centurion from another cohort, or the primus pilus even,"

"I would," Jason agreed. "But I think since we have to pursue one of the strongest Titans, I thought the expertise of one of the praetors would be invaluable. I'm sure the senate would agree, we can take this issue there if neither of you wish to volunteer,"

"No!" Leila gulped. "I'm sure Julius would be much inclined to join you," she smiled weakly at her counterpart who was horrified by her betrayal.

"No! I refuse!" the boy began, but Jason cut him off.

"Are you," he smirked. "Julius Parker, the great praetor of the twelfth legion fulminata of Rome, declining participation in a quest issued by the gods themselves?"

"N-No,"

"Great," Jason got up. "I'll see you at the gates tomorrow morning. Be prepared," he turned around and left. He grinned as hard as he could as the gates of the office closed behind him. He loved the look on the praetor's face, and he would love it even more when the boy encountered a monster for the first time. He knew why they had wanted him to lead the quest, they wanted him gone. While he would take of Leila when he got back, Julius was going to learn his place on the quest, and hopefully gain some sense. He made his way down the steps and walked towards the field of Mars, thinking about how they would track the Titan.

"Jason!" Dakota called out to him, waving his arms.

"Hey Dakota," he said. "I need to tell you something,"

"Yeah you do," the boy took a sip of Kool-Aid from his flask. "How'd the meeting go? Did they find out that we were the ones who stole Octavian's stuffed animals?"

"No," Jason smirked. "They'll never figure that out,"

"So what was it about?"

Jason smiled. "We need to find Michael and Reyna first. I'll tell you all together,"

The son of Bacchus widened his eyes. "Quest?"

"Better,"


Luke knew he was in trouble when we stopped at the Goodwill drop box. Five minutes later, Perseus had him outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat.

"Oh, yeah," Thalia said, trying not to bust out laughing, "you look completely inconspicuous now."

Perseus nodded with satisfaction. "A typical homeless dude"

"Thanks a lot," he grumbled. "Why am I doing this again?"

"I told you. To blend in."

Perseus led the way back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the docks, he finally stopped in his tracks. He pointed down a pier where a bunch of homeless guys were huddled together in blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.

"He will be down there somewhere," the son of Poseidon said. "He never travels very far from the water. He likes to sun himself during the day."

"How do I know which one is him?"

"Sneak up," He said. "Act homeless. You will know him. He will smell… different."

"Great." Luke didn't want to ask for particulars. "And once I find him?"

"Grab him," Perseus said. "And hold on. He will try anything to get rid of you. Whatever he does, do not let go. Force him to tell you about the Titan. If you need backup, yell,"

"If he really knows everything," Luke said, his brain churning. "Why doesn't he know that I'm coming to catch him?"

"As far as I know," Perseus scratched his head. "The old man has a ten to fifteen-minute delay in his powers. He knows everything, just a short while after it happens,"

Annabeth opened her mouth to ask a question but Thalia immediately clamped her hand over the girl's mouth. She could not stand any more questions.

"Oh. But, why can't you go catch him instead of me?" Luke grumbled. "You're a son of the sea, you can catch him better than me,"

"I can," the green-eyed boy agreed. "But, I won't,"

"Why?"

Perseus stared at him blankly.

Luke groaned.

Perseus gave him a thumbs up.

"I can't wait to meet him," Annabeth said, her eyes glazed over. "I have so many questions. So many questions,"

The other four quest members shuddered.

"Alright, enough stalling," Beckendorf patted Luke on the back. "Off you go, good luck,"

Luke pulled his hat down and stumbled like he was about to pass out, which wasn't hard considering how tired he was. He passed a homeless guy from the Embarcadero, who was still trying to warn the other guys about the metal angels from Mars.

They smelled bad but didn't smell different from what Perseus had told him.

There was a lady with a bunch of plastic flamingos sticking out of a shopping cart. She glared at Luke like he was going to steal her birds. But, she still didn't smell different.

At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a patch of sunlight. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He was fat, with a white beard that had turned yellow, kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa had been rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.

And his smell?

It was different.

"Gotcha," Luke grinned, making his way towards the man. He slowly sneaked around the sleeping man and jumped on him.

"AAHHHHH!" The son of the Earth and the Water screamed. "Help me! This boy wants to kill me!"

"No, I don't!" Luke yelled. "He said the flying spaghetti monster wasn't real! Can you blame me?" he yelled to the crowd of homeless people staring at them.

"Makes sense," one of the guys said, and the crowd dispersed.

"Curse you!" Nereus groaned. "I don't have any money!"

"I don't want money,' Luke said, trying to hold onto the man. "I want information, I'm a half-blood!"

That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always pick on me?"

"Because you know everything!"

He growled and tried to shake Luke off his back. He thrashed around, making it impossible for the son of Hermes to keep on his feet, but he gritted my teeth and squeezed tighter. They staggered toward the edge of the pier.

"Perseus! I need some backup! Please!" Luke yelled out.

Nereus immediately stopped struggling.

Luke was surprised, the man suddenly stopped resisting, and this made his job a lot easier.

"Perseus?" Nereus spoke curiously. "Perseus Jackson?"

"Yes, Nereus," Perseus came into view. "Perseus Jackson,"

As soon as the immortal's name was said, a huge ray of light blinded the demigods. When it died, a huge seven-foot man stood before them, wearing dark blue robes. He was muscular and lean, with a short trimmed beard, he looked to be in his mid-thirties.

"Two centuries," the man drawled. "It has been two centuries since a person had the audacity to say my name in front of me," he smiled. "You just continue to surprise me, Jackson,"

"Thank you,"

"Wait," Luke raised his hands. "Time out. You're the old man of the Sea? The homeless dude I was just wrestling right now?"

"Yes,"

"Amazing," Luke shook his head. "Fucking immortals," he whispered to himself.

Perseus chuckled.

"Why would you say my name? You know we don't like it when mortals call upon our true selves," Nereus tilted his head. "I could kill you right now for your cheek,"

"Of course," Jackson nodded. "But where's the fun in that?"

"Agreed," Nereus smiled. "Your adventures continue to keep me amused, Jackson. For the entertainment you provide, I shall answer two of your questions,"

"Oh great lord," Perseus bowed dramatically. "Thank you,"

Nereus waved his and Perseus immediately slammed into the ground. "Don't test me, boy,"

The crazy demigod laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it. For the first question, Lucas, if you would?"

Luke still looked a little surprised. "Uh yeah. Where is the general?"

"You sure?"

"Um," Luke looked towards his companion who was still getting off the ground. "Yeah?"

"He's currently near Camp Jupiter, slowly approaching the wolf house,"

"What?" Luke raised a brow.

"Thank you, my lord," Perseus bowed, but Luke could see his face, he looked shaken.

"The second question?"

Luke was just about to open his mouth to ask if aliens were real, but Perseus clamped his hand on his shoulder.

"I'd like to save that one for later,"

Nereus smirked. "Done. I hope to see you alive next time, Jackson. Keep entertaining us,"

Perseus grit his teeth but bowed nonetheless. Nereus transformed into a goldfish and jumped into the water.

"Percy," Luke asked, causing the already annoyed demigod to get even more annoyed at the use of his nickname. "What's a Camp Jupiter? And what's a wolf house?"

Perseus groaned.


"Romans are real?" Annabeth asked, her mouth hanging open. "What the fuck?"

"Language," Thalia reprimanded. "But, yes I agree. What the fuck?"

Luke just shook his head in disbelief, why hadn't Morpheus told him about the existence of the other gods and demigods?

"Yes," the son of the sea god said. "All the gods, except one or two, have a Roman form. They're a bit different, but essentially the same,"

"And Roman demigods exist?" Beckendorf asked. "My father has Roman children? I have siblings I never knew about?"

"Yes," Perseus nodded. "Romans have a camp too. Camp Jupiter. Beautiful place, it has a city, college, coffee shops,"

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "They have a college? A demigod college?"

"Yeah," Perseus smiled. "I guess we'll have to meet up with the Romans. They must be on the move too,"

"Damn," Charles Beckendorf summed up all their emotions in one word. "This is a lot to take in,"

"You don't know the half of it," Perseus said. "Rest, and let what I've told you sink in. We'll leave tomorrow, and reach the wolf house by night,"

All of them nodded, except Annabeth, who was dragged away by Thalia.

"You're not fooling me," Luke said after everybody had left. "There's more,"

"Of course there is," Perseus said. "There always is,"

The son of Hermes chuckled. "Y'know," he leaned against the minivan. "There are times I wish that it'd all just end, or I just change sides,"

"Really?" the son of Poseidon tilted his head. "The hero of Camp Half-Blood, the favorite son of the Thief, Champion of Dream, Lucas Castillo, wanted to join the other side?"

"I would have," Luke admitted. "I would have. But Dream helped me with that stuff. I had other issues too though. After a while fighting monsters and roasting s'mores at camp, didn't feel all that great. I felt like my purpose had been served. Like it was my time,"

"Happens," Perseus agreed.

"But I realized that something mattered to me more than the Gods or Titans,"

"You're gonna say family right? I feel like that's very cliché and unorigin-"

"Shut up!" Luke punched the boy in the shoulder. "Family was part of it, yes. But I realized that family would be with me in Elysium too. So why did I continue living? Why not just go out at the hands of monster and then enjoy paradise forever?"

"The lines are very long down there," Perseus shook his head. "It'd take ten to fifteen years for your application to reach the judges' table, and afte-"

"No! Just shut up and listen," Luke said. "I realized, that I wanted to stay alive for myself,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah," the blond boy nodded. "I decided, that after all this is over, everything is done and finished. No Titans, no Gods, no Dream, I'll travel to Nepal, and I'll climb the Everest,"

"You'll climb the Everest?"

"Yeah," the boy grinned. "I'll reach the top, and I'll scream 'Fuck you!' to the Gods. Then I'll have no qualms about dying. I'll be happy,"

"That sounds like a good dream," Perseus smiled. "That sounds like a good dream," he repeated to himself.

"What about you?" Luke asked. "You're young dude. I know you've seen some shit, and I know you don't like the Olympians, I don't either. But they're not all bad,"

"Yeah, they aren't all bad," he let out a deep breath. "I just think they need some better management,"

"A new king?"

"A new king,"

"Who?" Luke laughed. "You?"

"No," Perseus cracked his fingers. "I'm still looking for that,"

"So what do you do?" Luke asked. "Just complete quests from the Endless, and cause chaos?"

"I've done a bit more," the green-eyed boy nodded. "But, yeah,"

"Sounds fun," Luke smiled. "They are better than the Olympians, at least,"

"They saved my life," Perseus said. "They saved yours too, you just don't know it yet,"

"Again with the temporal anomaly shit?"

"Neither of us was supposed to be this way. You-"

"The villain. Yes, I remember," Luke stood up. "But I'm not. I'm not a hero, I'm not a villain. I don't care what I was supposed to be. For all I care, the fates can go fuck themselves with their threads,"

Perseus laughed.

"But," Luke turned around. "I'll be damned before I let anybody destroy the world before I climb the Everest," he said as he walked away.

"Checks out," Perseus got up too. "Luke!"

The boy stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"I have a dream too,"

"Yeah?"

"I'd really like to punch him in the face," he said, pointing to the sky.

Luke grinned. "I'll help you,"


"Yes, strategos?" Atlas asked the other Titan.

"We shall depart tomorrow. I have it on good word from our monster underlings, that the huntresses of the moon goddess are making their way toward the wolf house too,"

"The huntresses?"

"Yes, Atlas," Koios nodded. "Your daughter among them,"

The Titan's face darkened. "She is no daughter of mine,"

Koios chuckled.

"Why are they coming here? I thought they were going toward the mountain. To free their goddess?"

"Your daughter, it seems," Koios smiled at Atlas' reaction. "Is a smart one. She suspects there to be a trap and they have decided to go to the wolf house to ask the wolf goddess for help and reinforcements,"

"They seek Roman help?"

"It seems so,"

"Then they shall die," Atlas said, slamming his javelin into the ground.

"Good,"

"And what of the Greeks?" Atlas asked. "Are they coming?"

"They will reach by the night," Koios said. "It seems their conversation with the old man went quite well,"

"And my father?" Atlas said. "How are the preparations in the Underworld going?"

"They go well," Koios nodded. "It seems that the foolish Lord of the Dead has not noticed anything awry with his realm just yet,"

"What of the rivers?" Atlas said. "Have they pledged their allegiance?"

"They have not," Koios grumbled. "They want to wait until mother rises,"

"Cowards,"

"Yes," Koios agreed. "Iapetus tells me that the Pit is turning in his sleep. Hopefully, our Giant brothers will rise soon too,"

"I don't care for them," Atlas shook his head. "They are brutes, born to oppose the Gods,"

"But they are valuable fighters,"

"Bah! They are annoying! Especially their king, Porpoise, or something. So infatuated with the Queen of the Gods. Their motivations are baseless,"

"Atlas," the older Titan warned. "Do not act against them, Mother seems to like them,"

"The Earth can wait, can it not? Our King needs to rise first,"

"Our King needs sacrifices to reform. Iapetus can only do so much from the Underworld. His power was changed. Even I do not know what must be done. Only Mother can help him,"

Atlas grumbled. "Fine, but do not expect me to listen to any orders from those brutes or follow them around,"

"As you wish," Koios said. "I just want one thing,"

Atlas smiled.

"I want to tear their thrones down. Tear Olympus down,"

"Brick by brick," Atlas finished for him.

"That was our promise before we were cast down," Koios agreed.

"And we shall make good on it,"

"Yes, we shall," Koios said. "Now go, rally the monsters. We shall wake the destroyer at the wolf house,"

"Yes, strategos," Atlas said as he left the tent.

Koios smiled. The North would be his again, and the world would be razed. A blank slate, a new beginning.

A new age.


"Zoe, I don't know how long we can keep doing this,"

"I know, sister. But the wolf goddess will help us. She will not stand by while our lady is imprisoned,"

"Why could we not have just waited for the campers?" Atlanta asked. "They had supplies,"

"They had Perseus Jackson," Zoe grumbled. "I will not go anywhere with that male,"

"If this is about that silly little capture the flag game, I mus-"

"Leave it, Atlanta," Phoebe said. "You do not know the half of it,"

"I'm sensing there are some unresolved issues here?" Bianca asked dryly.

"Yes," was all that came out of the huntress' mouth. "For now, sleep sisters. We have a long day ahead. We shall not let Thea's death be in vain. We shall save our goddess,"

The other three huntresses voiced their approval and turned in. The batmobile was quite spacious, thank the Gods for magic. As the lights turned off, Zoe let her thoughts wander to the male that most of the Gods on Olympus despised. Perseus Jackson. He was an enigma, showing up so early in her life, and continuing to annoy her through the thousands of years that she had known him. She still remembered their first meeting, nearly three thousand years ago.

"Who are you?" Zoe asked. "Who sent you here?"

"Look, lady," the boy said. "I don't know where this place is, but could you please direct me to the nearest McDonalds? I need a cheeseburger,"

"What?" Zoe was perplexed. "What is a cheeseburger?"

The boy looked like he had seen a ghost. "You don't know what a cheeseburger is? What have you been doing all this time?"

"I-"

"No! You have to know what a cheeseburger is!" the boy yelled. "It's one of life's greatest gifts!"

"I have never heard of it,"

"Sucks to suck," the boy said.

Zoe got a better look at him. "What are you wearing?"

The boy finally noticed her attire. "Jeans, what the fuck are you wearing?"

"What I am supposed to wear!"

"Yeah!" the boy laughed. "Because everybody is supposed to wear a white cloth!"

"Yes,"

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh shit. What year is it?"

"What?"

"Fuck,"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh… Nothing?"

"What is a jeans?"

"It's a type of clothing, made from denim,"

"Denim?"

"DAMN IT!"

Perseus Jackson was shrouded in mystery. He was weird. Infuriating. Annoying. But he was the first friend she had ever made.

She wondered where it all went wrong.

How could the boy have changed so much? Over all the years of knowing him, he always changed. This time though, she would not let him affect her. She would never let him hurt her again.


Huge thanks to Fate and Spartan for helping me with this.