Percy

Rain poured down on us as we trudged along the path. It was small and largely overgrown, likely unused for years.

Montana was a sparse state, something which I only really appreciated as I looked out through the treetops, seeing the masses of mountain and forest which sprawled onwards as far as the eye could see.

Granted, with the rain and fog it beckoned, that didn't turn out to be particularly far.

Really can't see shit at night. I mused.

'There's nothing here.' Artemis said.

Pulling on my connection to every little raindrop around us, I expanded my senses, searching in every direction for anything that might alert me to even the slightest presence of Gaia.

I sighed. 'I can't sense anything.'

Artemis nodded. 'We tried.'

She walked up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder, before everything turned white.

XIXI

Percy

My villa was predictably empty when we returned. I hadn't had to worry about any intruders. Nobody would dare enter my villa without my knowledge.

More like anybody who would have is too scared. I thought darkly.

Artemis had been made dry the moment she touched me and the only sign we had been halfway across the country moments before was the multitude of mud we were tracking from our boots.

'He might have just died from his injuries.' I suggested.

Artemis fixed me with a deadpan stare as she stretched.

'We're looking for Gaia's armies.' Artemis replied, her voice steely.

'Coulda fooled me.' I muttered.

Artemis scoffed. 'What, do you think I still care about Orion?'

I shrugged. 'Not to be blunt, but he outmanoeuvred you and killed half your number, if that was me, I'd be fuming.'

'It wasn't quite like that, Perseus, and you know it,' Artemis said, 'and anyways, he survived. I know he did. Immortals don't die from the types of wounds I gave him.'

I sighed defeatedly. 'Well, if you can get Olympus to actually figure out a strategy and get it to me, I'd greatly appreciate it. This war is starting to advance at a snails pace, and my Legionnaires are getting impatient.''

'What, your little Legion can't find its own enemies?' Artemis jabbed playfully.

'Turns out thirteen hundred heavy infantry isn't very effective outside of pitched battles,' I responded, 'who knew?'

Artemis gave me a quick peck on the lips before stepping back. 'I'll be sure to pass on the message at the next inter-pantheon meeting,' She commented, 'but I can't promise anything. I do know there are some new reports to come in from the meeting, hopefully that amounts to something.'

Walking away, I quickly averted my gaze as the now familiar flash of Artemis' teleportation blinded me.

XIXI

Percy

'Michael! My favourite officer. How's the Legion doing today? Still having issues with armour sizes?' I greeted as I entered the Central Office, trying to introduce as much cheer into my voice as I could approaching his desk area, overflowing with papers, everything from maps to scrolls of papyrus letters sprawling across the giant mahogany desk he worked at.

After a couple of weeks of chasing down my centurions all around New Rome and Camp Jupiter, I eventually decided to turn one of the many unused halls of the forum into a general purpose HQ of sorts for my new general staff.

Though originally I had planned only for a small officer corps to be in charge of logistics and planning, I soon came to the realisation that my officers already had a cadre of assistants helping with much of the running of the cohorts and the general Legion.

So I had yet another reason to create the Central Office.

'Morning Percy.' A voice bleated to my left.

'Don.' I acknowledged, giving a quick nod.

The faun waved animatedly as he passed by, holding a couple of binders precariously as he made his way to another room.

'Percy.' Michael greeted me tiredly. 'The armour sizes have been sorted. I had to have a couple made bespoke for those two giants in the third, those took the smithies a couple of days, but apart from that the rest of the changes were finalised last week already.' He reported.

I nodded. 'Good. With a fully equipped Legion, we can finally try new cohort-on-cohort tactics.' I informed Michael. It was my final stage of the new conscription. Every single Legionnaire, both regular and conscript, taking part in our regular wargames, just this time on a much larger scale.

'Look, I know they've been drilling hand-on-hand for weeks now, but I still doubt whether most of them are properly in the mindset for actual combat.' Michael tried to reason. I noted he still held his doubts about the conscription.

I shrugged. 'That's what wargames are for, Michael.' I responded. 'And anyways, it won't be right away. I'll give them a couple more days, for the benefit of those who got defective gear.'

Michael sighed. 'Some of them will never be ready. There is a reason conscript armies are considered unreliable. We have been drilling them for over a month, and many of them are still far behind the standard. I am honestly considering moving a fair lot into the auxiliaries, and replacing them with some of the regulars from there.'

I pondered it for a moment. 'Not the worst idea. We could use with more veterans, and frankly auxiliary duties might suit some of them better anyways.'

Michael nodded. 'I'll get on with that when I can.'

'Right.' I said, looking around at the multitude of papers on his desk. 'Should I get your assistant to help you clean up this place? I still don't understand how you find anything here.'

Michael shook his head. 'Most of these are old. I just have to get through this last message for my Centurion of the first for permission to use the fortifications in the field of Mars today.'

I gave him a pat on the back. 'I'll leave you to it.'

I clenched my fists discreetly as I walked away.

Although he had mellowed out considerably since I had given Leila a stern talking to, he still held onto his stubbornness, and at times I could practically feel him thinking of ways to make the new Legion as impractical as possible.

Who's fucking side are you on, Michael?

I made my way through a hallway, continuing up a flight of stairs before I finally entered my new office.

It was smaller than my old one, but these days I barely used it, as I was always conversing with my officers in their own, much nicer and spacious areas anyways. I just needed a small space to retreat to when necessary.

Collapsing in my familiar chair, I allowed myself to lean back, clearing my mind from the clutter of mental notes and reminders I had begun to compose at some point.

For now however, I simply sat there, attempting to get a slight bit of rest before the day truly begun.

It was so stuffy, I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment.

I had only gotten two hours of sleep last night, what with having been out with Artemis. The reason I had been out was to search for more of Gaia's armies, more specifically around Camp Jupiter. I wanted to make sure that there was no danger for the Legion, the training had made it more vulnerable than I had thought.

It was a nice change of pace though, even if it was taxing. It brought me back to our quest together, the beginnings of our friendship, and later relationship.

Honestly, it's just nice to be able to explore again, not have to constrain ourselves like we did in New Rome. I thought.

I sighed defeatedly. That wouldn't be happening before the war ended. And now we were stuck in a phony war of sorts. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans have heard anything from Gaia. There was nothing to do, other than drill the Legion, and hope for the best while scouting.

I could feel my lethargy beginning to win over my senses, my eyes beginning to droop.

Gods, just just give me something to work with. I thought, before my eyes finally closed.

XIXI

Percy

'Pontifex? Pontifex? Please wake up, sir!' I vaguely heard a voice, though it sounded far away, as if I was trying to listen to someone through water.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, quickly assessing my situation.

I had fallen asleep in my office.

Fuck. I cursed. I was getting soft.

I next noticed the girl waiting worriedly across from me, behind my desk, attempting desperately to get my attention.

'Pontifex?' She asked one more time, noticing I had seemingly woken up. I vaguely registered that she was Michael's personal assistant.

'I- Yeah,' I answered as I got up, trying to blink away the tiredness I still felt, 'what is it?' I asked.

The assistant glanced to the door of my office nervously.

'There's a bit of a situation at the senate house.' She explained timidly.

I was up in an instant, alarm bells going off in my mind.

'What happened?' I asked, taking a step forward.

The girl recoiled, quickly stepping back, and I realised with a jolt that I had been too forceful. I felt a pang of guilt as I was reminded to my treatment of Theo, not too long ago.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as I attempted to calm myself down.

'What happened?' I asked more calmly.

'I-I don't know how to explain it.' The girl replied apologetically.

'Fuck.' I sighed, passing her quickly as I stormed through the building, hoping my fears wouldn't be realised.

XIXI

Percy

I found two auxiliaries guarding the doors of the senate, who both saluted me before opening the doors of the senate for me without any resistance.

That had been more or less expected. I had many fears about some sort of coup since I had taken on the role of pontifex maximus, but I kept strict tabs on my officers, and unless they had taken every precaution to hide their intentions from me, I knew them to be clean in that regard.

I stopped abruptly when I entered the building, taking in the scene in front of me.

Michael turned his head when he heard the noise of the door opening.

'Percy.' He called out, and I could hear the elation in his voice.

'This is your leader?' An unfamiliar voice asked.

I glanced at its owner, a knot forming in my stomach as I recognised who it was.

The peacock feathers gave it away.

'Lady Hera.' I greeted, walking down the steps of the circular senate house to the podium, where Lady Hera stood, facing Michael, gladius drawn, flanked by two other Legionnaires.

Hera sniffed unhappily, her face tilted upwards in a show of dissatisfaction as she gazed down at me, as if I was some sort of ant in her way.

'Are you the leader of this… Town?' She asked, disgust laced in her tone.

I nodded. 'New Rome. I believe you have some sort of message for me then? Update on the war effort?'

Hera frowned. 'A surprisingly good guess.'

I scoffed. 'That's the only thing any of you visit us for anymore.' And I may have gotten the smallest hint from Artemis.

It was reckless, to show such blatant disrespect, but I had fairly good reason to believe that if Hera of all people had come to give us the information, it must be damn important. It's not every day the queen of the gods of a different pantheon pays you a visit.

Hera raised her nose in disdain as she regarded me, and even though I was taller than her, I still felt the smallest feeling of discomfort, fighting the urge to close my shoulders around myself.

Those eyes… I noticed. So much hatred in them.

'I thought you Romans were meant to be respectful.' She bit out, her words clipped.

'Disciplined. We'll get the job done. I don't appreciate having to risk my people's lives on a whim.' I returned, maintaining my voice at a respectful, yet forceful level.

Trying to tell a deity something they didn't want to hear respectfully was akin to a razor's edge.

However, my response was more for Michael's benefit than for Hera's, she simply provided me with a good excuse to say it.

Hopefully he can start to work with me properly this time. I doubted it would amount to much, but it wouldn't do any harm either way for him to hear it from me.

'Admirable. Though I suppose responsibility would be a trait needed for a leader. You will have to prove your competence to Olypmus if you wish to maintain your position…' Hera trailed off, still staring at me with disdain, 'I do bring very important news.'

'Has Olympus come to a decision on how it wishes to wage this war?' I asked.

'Indeed it has. The time for deliberation has ended. A Greek quest party will arrive soon to New Rome, and you will have to provide three members to join them on their mission to secure the war for us.' Hera proclaimed.

I felt a tinge of annoyance run through me at Hera's words.

'Another quest to secure our chance for victory?' I asked, sarcasm lacing my tone.

Hera frowned. 'Another?'

'I went on a quest. To make sure we would win the war.' I reminded her.

Hera blinked owlishly, seemingly caught off guard. 'And?' She snapped finally.

'Was that all for nothing?' I asked.

'Oh, that quest,' Hera snorted, 'I believe it was necessary to buy us time. But I am not the god of prophecies. I am merely here to deliver you the news.' She responded.

I frowned, mulling it over in my head.

'Wait, so how did Theo get here then?' I asked.

Hera at this point looked like she wanted to be just about anywhere else but here answering my questions, but she acquiesced nonetheless.

'He didn't tell you?' Hera asked.

I furrowed my eyebrow, thinking back to when he may have mentioned anything relevant.

'I'm going to hazard a guess that that's a no,' Hera recognised with a sigh, 'I brought your brother here. I, and Juno, agreed that this would be the best way to bring the camps together. Nothing brings cultures together like family.' She almost spat the last word out, her face morphing into a scowl.

I had expected it. Porphyrion had already told me Jason had become a cog in Juno's machinations. Though Theo, Theo hadn't mentioned anything.

'Theo knows this?' I asked, my heartbeat quickening. I quickly turned to glance at Michael, who met my eyes with his identical, disbelieving stare.

He shrugged, almost imperceptibly, and I nodded slightly.

Michael didn't know anything.

Hera seemed to be nearing the end of her patience.

'Did know, didn't know, who knows what sort of brain damage the boy sustained. Now you know.' Hera answered impatiently.

I stood stock still, processing the information given to me.

'I- Thank you, Lady Hera. We will make sure to prepare for their arrival.' I responded cordially.

Hera simply sniffed, her lips pursed as she vanished in a plume of black smoke.

The wisps of smoke left in place of Hera had barely dissipated when I turned abruptly, making my way out of the senate house. Noticing the quick clack of footfalls behind me, I came to a halt, staring out at the city before me.

'Perce? What does this mean?' Michael asked as he approached.

I sighed, not turning to look at him.

'It means at least certain elements of the Greek pantheon has been keeping secrets.' I said.

And even from each other. I thought. Artemis didn't know about any of this.

'I am a soldier, Percy. Tell me what that means for me.' Michael said, exasperation laced in his tone.

I finally turned to face him, though the abruptness with which I did so caught him off guard, making him step back.

Fucks sake Michael. I thought frustratedly. What was with everyone lately?

'Michael, you are an officer in my general staff corps. One of five. Arguably the most senior. Pull it together,' Michael seemed affronted at what I said, 'I know you're trying your best, I know. I heard it before. But you're going to be the next to take up the praetorship, short of some sort of massive surprise none of us could account for. You need to start trusting your gut for more than just making my life difficult.' I finished decisively.

Michael opened his mouth to retort, his face betraying his outrage.

'I don't want to hear it,' I cut him off before he could spout whatever nonsense he perhaps even believed, 'I thought one talk would be enough for somebody of your rank and seniority, but clearly I was wrong. Listen, I will be perfectly blunt with you. I can replace you. I will replace you. I will replace every single one of you if necessary. Don't test me. You can either keep the influence and expertise you have now for keeping your soldiers alive, or you can watch from the sidelines. I won't ask you again.' I finished. I didn't have to say who I was talking about. Michael, for looking dumb like rocks, was much smarter than he let on.

I continued down the stairs, checking my watch as I wondered how long I would have to prepare for the quest party to arrive before the quest.

AN:

Another chapter done. Jesus fucking christ what a miserable short fucking disappointment of one given the time taken.

What can I say? My life took control for a bit and fucked me over. It does that sometimes.

We are close to reaching the final arc of the story, the war with Gaia. I have a much easier schedule now, so quality and length of chapters should be increasing again.

And yeah, reviews:

Sankarea396: I absolutely this will have a happy ending.

…For Percy and Artemis. Everything else is still up in the air. I have a twist I'll be looking to incorporate, which should add a layer of tragedy to both Artemis and Percy, but apart from that, I don't really expect too many people to die. Maybe Leo? Like in canon, the way he died fighting Gaia. Whether he returns afterwards may or may not be addressed in the epilogue.

I killed off Thalia for two reasons. A, I wanted to show the stakes of a war. Any good war story has a sacrificial lamb, usually a well established and likeable character, to show the volatility of war, and how it can take anybody away in a second. Thalia was my way of upping the stakes of the story. Death does that.

And the second reason, I just really don't like Thalia, especially how she turned out to be in my story. Let's be honest, with how her time was, this was probably the best way to bring an end to that drama between her and Artemis. Artemis and Percy have had their talk now, they're on the same page, and are fully aware of the repercussions of their relationship. She serves no use to the narrative to the story beyond that other than being annoying.

(If you're a big Thalia fan I'm so sorry but it had to be done, for the greater good lol).

The law thing is also a good point. Though I would point out that most people in New Rome are very much in love with Percy as of now, and he's basically a war hero. I still haven't thought of a way to exposition that into the story. Really, the reason people like Reyna, Michael and Leila are so apprehensive about Percy recruiting all these people is because it's seen more as his army, than the Roman Legion. They're scared he's just using it to consolidate power. If Reyna had survived the assassination attempt in a more healthy condition, for example, I'd imagine there would be an atomisation of the Legion, to make sure no one official could organise its strength into one force, and take power for themselves.

And yeah, I try to say that I'm broke, but some of those artists just don't get the hint. I have to say though your response was hilarious I got a good laugh out of that!

Maitre Inquisiteur: Cheers, looking to really expand on that growing divide between Theo and Percy now, especially going into the Greek prophecy party arc now. It'll play a semi-important role.

Ardwyr: Cheers bud, much appreciated.

Turtle: I definitely love a darker main character, although I feel that I deviated a bit too much from Percy's character at the beginning of the story, so I'll have to go back and fix that at some point.

The Pertemis reveal won't be until the very end, I'll tell you that much, but I've already got some of the dialogue thought out, and in my opinion it's got aura. Hella aura lol.

And yeah, that's about it.

Slán, Murph