SO uh, fanfictions been down. That was a thing. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter, this is one of the longer ones.

Percy

I slammed my hand down on my alarm as it blared, feeling a wave of nostalgia at waking up at my usual five in the morning, which I hadn't become accustomed to since the quest, and my late-night escapades.

Artemis had been right, again.

I conked out almost immediately after my head hit the pillow, ignoring the backlog of paperwork I still had to complete for the lodgings of both hunter groups,

I groaned into my pillow.

What a nightmare.

I focused on my breathing, an old ritual since my days leading my squad in the last war, preparing myself mentally and physically for the day.

I brushed my teeth, splashed some water on my face, which did wonders for my sleepiness, and got dressed, today deciding on simple jeans and a purple SPQR T-shirt.

I wanted to at least be comfortable for the hours of paperwork ahead of me.

I mulled over mundane things as I trudged down the path from my villa to my office in Camp Jupiter in the praetorium.

Not a soul was about this early in the morning, and probably wouldn't be for a couple more hours.

That gave me a fair amount of time to get through some of the backlog I had left mostly forgotten the last couple of days.

I sighed tiredly as I took a seat in my office, staring at the pile of documents with dread clearly written across my face.

Accepting the futility of procrastinating, I pulled the first bunch of documents, going through planning permission for a new set of stirrups for the pegasi that were to be borrowed by the city for an upcoming theatrical performance, a retelling of the second punic war, and the saga of Scipio Africanus.

As I started to get into my rhythm, getting through more and more of the documents, everything from HR complaints about bad sword trainers to requests for more toilet paper in the third cohort barracks, my mind started to wander.

Artemis had given me a pretty considerable advantage over Reyna yesterday.

I mean, she practically handed over the reins of the negotiations yesterday. I thought. I had the entirety of the senate following me around.

I smiled to myself softly. Despite it really being a nuisance, it was rather comforting to know Artemis had my back like that, despite everything that had transpired.

And I hers. I thought.

Suddenly, my hand stilled on the paper as I realised the implications of this.

If Artemis has practically sponsored me to take charge of the visit… I sighed defeatedly.

Fuck.

I would have to organise formalities as well. There was no way I would squander a perfectly good opportunity.

But what could I bring to the table?

I mulled over it, considering my options, looking up to check the time, finding that it was only five thirty.

I assumed that since the Legion was on standby, due to command being with the Greek envoys and me, it would be free for some wargames, which in fairness, were always funner than whatever drills any of the Centurions might come up with.

I stood up abruptly, a couple of papers sent flying before lethargically falling back down to the ground, as I quickly crossed the length of my office, grabbing my cloak from where it hung at my door, quickly fastening it as I continued down the hall, the soft thumping of my footsteps of my shoes on the carpet gradually fading into the background, becoming more sharp and pronounced as I stepped out into the cobbled streets of New Rome, making my way quickly through the streets, not worrying about anybody being awake at this hour, the main bustle of the city still lying dormant for the moment.

I was still formulating some of my plan for the day as I passed the gates of the city, saluting a couple of star-struck sentries as I continued down the via praetoria, although unlike the countless times I had continued down this path to the camp, this time I took a sharp left turn, stepping off the cobbled path into a still well-trodden earthen path.

The first thing I noticed was the noise, even this early in the morning.

As I finally entered into the faun camp proper, I was able to fully appreciate the bustle of the place, fauns adding their final touches to bunches of flowers or bags full of fresh produce, a group of musicians tuning their instruments, and I passed a group of hard hat-wearing construction workers swearing loudly and profoundly, who's thoughts quickly dissipated as they noticed me, also going quiet as I passed.

The noise gradually died down, whispers beginning to sound as I walked through the camp, making my way to a familiar house along one of the sides of the 'street', if it could even be called that.

It was a small thing, barely more than a hovel, made of planks and held together by some rusty nails.

'Ma, I told you already I've already eaten.' A whiny voice complained.

'Enough out of you, young man! You sit your scrawny ass back down and finish your porridge!' An older voice responded forcefully, and the younger voice groaned, before I heard the unmistakable sound of the rasping legs of a chair being dragged back.

I knocked on the door, waiting politely as I heard a bustling shuffle from the other side, the door opening slightly as a beady eye peeked out, which promptly widened at the sight of me, the door slamming shut again before a lock turned, the sound of chains being handled becoming known to me, before the door opened properly.

'Percy? Is that you? My oh my have you grown! Now what are you doing standing outside in the cold like that?' The old faun exclaimed in rapid succession, ushering me inside quickly, despite it being overcast out, locking the door behind her quickly. 'I heard that the big city keeps people busy, but I knew you would check in sooner or later.'

I laughed goodnaturedly, 'How could I resist your cooking Mrs Woodward?'

The elderly faun blushed, fussing over me nonsensically before calling out to someone in the adjacent room.

'Felix? Felix! Your friend popped by, d'you wanna say hi?'

'Who is it ma?' The voice asked, and I once again heard the scraping of chair legs, before a thumping trudge gave away, revealing a young, gangly faun.

'Felix! It's been a while.'

Felix simply stood there frozen for a second, before a wide grin broke out on his face, patting me on the shoulder. 'Percy! My man.' He discreetly motioned me to the door as he excused himself to his mother.

'You haven't finished our oats! Don't you dare waste food young man!' Mrs Woodward called out menacingly, as Felix did his best to placate her.

As we walked away, strolling leisurely down the streets of the… camp, I suppose you could call it, Felix finally addressed me.

'So, what do you need?' He asked bluntly.

I raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised. 'Who's to say I didn't just want to catch up?' I returned diplomatically.

Felix sighed. 'You're my friend man,' I smiled in agreement, 'so do me a favour and don't bullshit me.' He finished.

I sighed. 'I guess I owe you that much. Especially with what I need from you now.'

Felix scoffed. 'What, do you want us to suicidally storm an army of water spirits again?'

I scowled. 'It wasn't like that.'

'Sure it wasn't. But I guess it's easy to just ignore your problems when you don't have any responsibility to resolve them.'

I decided to ignore the clear baiting, I didn't have the time to debate the actions of my younger self.

'I need you to gather whomever you consider trustworthy, invite these people to this place,' I said, pulling out a slip of paper with the information. 'To dress yourselves presentably, I got you this,' I pulled out a heavy pouch full of dinarii.

Felix's eyes widened comically at the money, looking up at me in shock.

'Whatever you don't need, you split between yourselves, if you do a good job, I have another as a bonus afterwards. Now get yourself and whomever to the tailors's.' I ordered nonchalantly, pretended not to notice his shock.

Felix nodded over and over, almost tripping over himself to take the pouch of silver coins from me.

'Thank you so much Perce, I promise you you won't regret this.'

I nodded, smiling slightly, although it wasn't truly sincere. 'That's alright. You deserve it after all the hard work you've put in.' I assured him.

Felix's words failed him as he simply nodded over and over feverishly, taking a couple of steps back and turning, running away as he called out to some other fauns, likely those which he would work with.

The smile I had plastered on my face previously fell off my face, and I sighed defeatedly, praying to every deity I could think of to make sure this wouldn't backfire spectacularly.

XIXI

Percy

I checked my watch as I made my way back onto the via praetoria from the spirit quarters, this time making my way towards Camp Jupiter, finding it was just six thirty.

Just when the centurions usually start prepping. I thought to myself. Perfect.

It was still completely quiet when I passed the gates of the Camp, saluting the sentries on duty lazily as I passed, the only sounds present being the chirping of birds in the surrounding trees of the Berkeley hills.

As quietly as possible, I opened the main door to the barracks of the first, creeping through empty hallways to the Centurion's quarters at the end.

I decided on knocking softly first on the off chance that Michael had woken up extra early.

The silence persisted, and in the end I opened the door softly, stepping into the familiar spacious yet crammed Centurion quarters of the first's barracks.

Michael lay sleeping in his bed, not a care in the world, snoring very lightly.

I smirked. Despite the stress and seriousness of the whole situation, nothing would ever make waking up Michael not funny.

I shook him roughly, the bed creaking slightly as it moved, a lethargic swipe being directed my way by one of Michael's massive hands.

'Oh fuck off Leila, five more minutes.' He muttered softly, and it took all my willpower no to burst out laughing right there and then.

'Well, I may not be as pretty as Leila, but I'm sure you can use your imagination.' I commented drily.

The reaction was instantaneous, Michael's eyes snapping open in an instant as he rocketed straight up.

'Percy!' He exclaimed, half anger, half embarrassment.

'Michael.' I responded calmly. 'Change of plans for the itinerary today, wake up the other Centurions to muster their Cohorts, I want them all ready for morning muster at seven thirty, sharp.' I explained, not giving Michael even a moment to recover.

After a moment of silence wherein Michael attempted to process what I had just dumped on him, he finally spoke. 'What time is it?'

I checked my watch. 'Quarter to seven.'

Michael fell back into his bed. 'You're evil.'

I shrugged. 'On the brightside, today will be wargames. If I'm lucky, we can even get a couple of matches in against the hunters.'

Michael groaned. 'Well, if nothing else at least it'll soften the blow for everyone.'

I snorted. 'Oh, relax, what, you never had to train six days a week.'

'We just had a massive battle, dick. Not all of us have a heart of stone.' He snapped back, a dark cloud settling back over him again.

I blinked. He's pissed.

'I'll leave you to it.' I said, stepping out of the room, closing the door behind me.

I made my way back out of the barracks, through Camp Jupiter back out on the Via Praetoria back down to New Rome as I considered Michael.

It had been nice, talking with him like friends again, after things had been so frigid.

And you fucked it up again, Jackson. I thought bitterly.

Still. I thought. This can't keep going on like this forever. I'm going to have to apologise.

It hurt, but it was the truth.

XIXI

Percy

I sipped on my coffee conservatively, trying to get the most out of the meagre caffein in the drink.

It would be a long day, a notion that I accepted with a heavy heart.

It was eight in the morning, and yet it felt like half my day had already disappeared.

Half my energy too, for that matter.

The inside of the café was elegant, as always, and the ambient was much more formal indoors as opposed to the terrace where I usually took my morning coffee.

Gods, I really thought I would have recovered from last month by now. My aching frame begged to differ.

Footsteps rang out in the relatively secluded booth I had reserved, usually made use of by the more affluent families of New Rome when they required privacy.

'Good morning, Praetor Jackson.' A familiar voice called out.

'Morning.' I returned, glad to have Artemis near.

I had missed her, our moments by the willow tree.

Pushing those thoughts away, I felt a jolt of alarm at a slight gasp of indignation, and I finally looked up, noticing Artemis' lieutenant accompanying her, following just behind her, a look of shock and indignation on her face, along with Felix, who had freshened up nicely, wearing a three-piece pinstripe suit, and likewise seemed scandalised by my response.

I blanched, trying to maintain my poker face as to not give away any sort of indication I had made a mistake, my mind going at breakneck speed trying to think of some way out of this.

'Lady Artemis.' I choked out, glancing conspicuously at her lieutenant. 'I apologise, I mistook you for somebody else.'

Artemis smiled at me, aware her lieutenant could not see her reaction.

Or maybe she doesn't care? I mused.

'That is quite alright, praetor. Mornings aren't for everybody.' She quipped lightly, and the implied warning, empty though it was, seemed to satisfy Artemis's oblivious Lieutenant, who smirked arrogantly, taking a seat beside Artemis, who took a seat directly across me, calling on a waitress, ordering a flat white for herself and her lieutenant, before the table lapsed into silence again.

I looked towards Felix, who gave me a thumbs up. I nodded discreetly towards him, and he seemed to get the message, bidding Artemis goodbye before making his way out of the café once again.

'I hope the time wasn't too early for yourselves? I can't imagine how far you have travelled to get here.' I brought up, deciding to play up the role of gracious host when the opportunity provided itself.

'It was just fine, thank you. Our hunt is up much earlier than this anyways. And the guide you sent was quite charming. The woodland spirits you Romans have are much more lively than our Greek counterparts.' Artemis responded, and I got the distinct feeling that she disliked the formality of this situation just as much as I was beginning to.

'Artemis told us that we would be doing some military stuff as part of this military diplomatic thingamajig. You got any plans for that?' She asked bluntly, and I was surprised at the absence of… Finesse, for lack of a better word, in her lexicon.

The finding led me to a realisation though, her mannerisms reminding me vividly of myself during my later years in the first cohort, once I had taken command of it.

She was a Centurion. And I could work with that.

'Glad you asked that, my plan for today was to simulate some assorted scenarios between cohorts and your hunters. I was actually hoping to ask if that would be possible?' I asked.

Thalia's eyes widened comically, seemingly like a kid during christmas, the idea clearly having piqued her curiosity. I tried not to laugh at her one eighty in terms of behaviour, admiring her self control as she turned to Artemis, who seemed to consider it.

'I suppose it would be good for my hunters to get some action against a properly organised force. Zeus knows it's been a while.' Artemis mused. Glancing over at Thalia, she seemed to have made up her mind. 'Do you think the girls are up for it today? We did have a long trek getting here.' Artemis asked her.

'Yes. Definitely.' Thalia said, with a look on her face that said: And if they aren't, I'll make them be up for it.

'Will Diana's hunters be taking part?' Artemis asked nonchalantly, although I could hear the strain in her voice.

'I shrugged. 'They are welcome to join, but I didn't organise any of the drills with them in mind. I suppose I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.'

This seemed to satisfy Artemis, who nodded her understanding, her posture relaxing as she took a sip from her coffee.

Just then, I heard a loud baa, turning my gaze to see Diana striding forward purposefully, followed by a gangly faun, with whom she was in deep conversation with.

'And the redwoods have been healing?' She asked.

'Oh yes, you could practically forget you were in a battleground to begin with if you were to walk through the forest now. We sacrificed many trophies to you.'

'I am aware. Nevertheless, it gladdens me to hear the forests are healing.'

In their insistence to finish their conversation on redwoods of all things, their progress in arriving at the table had slowed down to a snail's pace, and my patience eventually began to wane.

'Lady Diana.' I called out.

'Diana turned to face me, her face showing annoyance at being interrupted, although she dismissed the faun anyways, who trotted away happily.

'Praetor.' She returned, and once again the frigidness in her tone surprised me.

They may have the same domains, but she and Artemis are nothing alike. I thought to myself.

She took her seat near Artemis, and I noticed idly that she seemed to try to maximise the distance she kept from me while still maintaining a good distance from Artemis as well.

Now things really started to get awkward, as I had nothing to talk to Diana about, nor would I have wanted to converse with her regardless of whether I did or not.

Luckily for me, at that moment Reyna, Theo and Octavian all showed up, saving me a very awkward silence with the two goddesses.

Once pleasantries, (If they could be described as pleasant), were exchanged and everybody was seated, I addressed the group.

'I assume everybody has noticed the absence of the senators.' I began, skipping any needless pandering. 'That is because today will be focused on military collaboration, specifically between the hunters of Artemis and the Legion.'

At Reyna's shocked glance towards me, i deduced that this was not at all what she had planned for today, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

I nodded towards Diana, who had not reacted to the news whatsoever. 'Of course, the hunters of Diana are welcome to participate if they wish to.'

Diana nodded, but did not confirm whether they would take part.

'When would we begin?' Artemis asked. I got the distinct feeling that Thalia was egging her on, the hopeful look on her face being a dead givaway.

I checked my watch. 'Well, the Legion has been on standby for around three quarters of an hour, give or take, so really it's up to how quickly the hunters can be ready. I'll have the cohorts run some exercises against each other until then.' I explained.

I stood up, signalling the end of the meeting. It had been rather short, but the main point I had wanted to discuss had already been cleared up with Artemis beforehand.

Oh well.

Reyna and Theo were the first to leave, the former seemingly on the verge of a tantrum as she walked out briskly, shooting me a glare of pure loathing.

Diana left as well, and I exchanged brief pleasantries with Octavian before Artemis addressed me, forcing Octavian to forfeit whatever he had been planning to bring up with me as he quickly scampered away, not wanting to be caught under the goddess's wrath.

'Where should I assemble my hunters?' Artemis asked.

'On the Field of Mars should be fine. The Legion will be drilling there, you can't miss it.' I replied.

Once Artemis and her lieutenant had left I was left alone in the café, and I let out a deep sigh.

That could have gone a hell of a lot worse.

XIXI

Thalia

I didn't know what to think anymore.

Just yesterday I was sure that my Lady Artemis was more or less fine, definitely not acting suspiciously, or strangely, as Phoebe and the others had put it.

And yet…

The more and more I watched her interact with the praetor, the more and more I started to doubt myself.

Phoebe was right. I concluded. I need to keep and eye on her.

XIXI

Percy

I was overlooking a pitched skirmish between the Third and Fifth Cohorts when Reyna approached me, pulling me away from the Centurions and Theo wordlessly.

'What the fuck, Jackson?' She hissed angrily once she had ascertained that we were out of earshot.

I refused to lose my cool, maintaining my poker face as I answered nonchalantly.

'You have a grievance, Praetor Ramírez Arellano?' I asked. Reyna hated it when people used her last name.

It was petty, yes, but I had just organised a day of military drills completely on short notice, completely undermining her itinerary, so realistically this was a miniscule slight in comparison.

'You know what you did.' She hissed.

My face turned stony cold in a second, surprising even Reyna as she took a hesitant step back.

'So do you. You dropped the ball. Just like always. I'm just cleaning up after the clusterfuck you made yesterday.' I laid into her. It wasn't true at all, Artemis having clearly had it out for her from the beginning because of me.

But Reyna didn't know that.

'I- I can't explain that, but it still gives you no right.' She reiterated resolutely.

I scoffed. 'It gives me every right. This diplomatic mission is sealing the alliance which may well win us the war. I won't let you jeopardise that.'

A horn rung out, as both my and Reyna turned towards the source of the noise, finding Artemis and her hunters assembled along the edge of the Field of Mars.

'I don't have time for this.' I snapped one last time, turning on my heel and making a beeline towards the hunters, meeting up with the Centurions on the way as they were also headed in that direction.

'Ready to face off against the hunters?' I asked no one in particular.

'It'll definitely be a challenge.' Leila answered, what I called her 'battle mode' taking over, her bubbly personality nowhere to be seen. 'I know the fourth hasn't really fought an adversary quite like them before.'

I smiled to myself discreetly, happy to see the Centurions prove my concept, happy to fight a brand new type of enemy. No doubt the Legion would be strengthened unimaginably by the tactics developed from these drills.

XIXI

Percy

The sun travelled lazily across the sky as the Legion and Hunters simulated different scenarios, from ranged ambushes to insurgency suppression techniques. The Cohorts rotated every now and then, and I marvelled at the stamina and discipline of the Hunters, who only took a break for a quick lunch at midday, a laid back affair, with the respective goddesses eating informally with their hunters in impromptu campfire circles, while the Cohorts were passed out ambrosia rations and unicorn draught to rehydrate, most of our command not wanting to eat together, as Theo, Reyna and a couple other Centurions conversed in isolated pairs, while I chatted idly with Octavian, the public setting not allowing for any serious conversation.

The afternoon continued much the same as the morning, Artemis' lieutenant, who's name I finally learned was Thalia, giving some of the Centurions and squad leaders some pointers before the exercises resumed.

Throughout this, Diana and her hunters hung back on the sidelines, some of the more forward hunters booing some of my male soldiers and Centurions if they got within earshot, much to their chagrin.

Eventually, the sun started to dip over the horizon.

All the cohorts were sweaty and panting, completely tired out after the long day of gruelling drills.

Likewise, despite their excellent conditioning and training, the hunters of Artemis were also looking worse for wear by now, some simply lying down on the floor, trying to regain some energy.

Only Thalia herself still seemed to have energy, and she was ready to lead the hunters through one last round against the Legion.

Artemis smiled amusedly as Thalia begged her. 'Please My Lady, just one more round, anything. Even close combat.' She said with a revolted shudder.

Artemis thought to herself pensively. 'It has been some time since we have gone over close quarters fighting.' She mused, before turning to me. 'What do you think, Praetor? One last drill? A pitched battle? It would be good for my girls to have at least one proper fight against a force that fights primarily as such.'

I shrugged. 'Fine by me.'

I turned to the Cohorts, attempting to ascertain which seemed the least tired out.

Well, the first always claims to be the best. I thought. I'll give them a chance to prove it.

'I nominate the First Cohort.'

'Thalia, prepare the hunters.'

Thalia nodded, going to rally her hunters.

I went to find Michael, who already looked resigned as I approached him.

'Mercy, have mercy.' He mock pleaded.

Snorting in amusement, I ignored his half-hearted jest. 'Get the First assembled on the Field. You're going up in a pitched battle against the hunters.' I told him.

Michael sighed. 'The pay is definitely not worth the job.'

I clapped him on the shoulder supportively. 'Go get 'em tiger.'

Michael flipped me the bird as he walked away, and I smiled, though it became tinged with sadness as our issues came back to me.

XIXI

Theo

The wind whipped through my hair as I yawned, checking my watch.

'I just don't understand.' Reyna remarked.

'Don't understand what?' Leila asked.

I lay down on the ground, with Reyna to my left, and Leila across from her, though she was still panting heavily from the exertion of the drills she had led the Fourth through that day.

'Why she favours him so much. Everything points otherwise, or even if she did get on with him, there's no reason she would prefer him over me.' She explained, staring with naked hatred at where Percy and Artemis were discussing something as they watched the First Cohort clash against the Hunters of Artemis one last time, this time in what seemed like a pitched battle.

I shrugged. 'You know I stay out of it.'

Reyna shook her head. 'Even without the drama, it's still strange. A maiden goddess should never really get on with a male, let alone prefer one to a girl.'

'I think you're taking this a little too personally.' Leila said, smiling sympathetically. 'And anyways, Percy's always had a knack for subverting expectations.'

Reyna didn't take her eyes off the two individuals talking.

'Yeah.' She muttered. 'He does.'

XIXI

Thalia

Victorious whoops and chants could be heard from the whole Legion as the First walked away from the battle, bruised, yet victorious nonetheless.

My Hunters were understandably less enthusiastic at the idea of having lost, but at this point they were too drained to really do anything about it.

I was about ready to hit the showers and go to bed, when I caught the praetor whispering something into Artemis' ear discreetly, to which she nodded to before he walked away.

XIXI

Percy

It was already midnight when she arrived.

The woods surrounding the Hunter's camp were by far some of the most spectacular the area had on offer, further magnified by the beams of moonlight refracting through the leaves, creating intricate patterns on the ground.

'Good morning Praetor.' A teasing voice called out.

I groaned. 'You're never letting me live that down, are you?'

Artemis shrugged as she approached me. 'It was cute. Just not to my lieutenant.'

'Her opinion's not the one that matters in this case.'

'Charming, are we?'

'Just for you.'

Artemis came to stop right in front of me, leaning forward, the kiss chaste, yet it communicated everything we hadn't been able to tell each other.

'I can't stand this, Perseus. All the hiding, sneaking around.'

I brought a hand up to her cheek, stroking it softly.

'We don't have a choice.' I responded sadly.

She smiled, moving in again, my heart beat speeding up again in anticipation.

'I love you.' She said.

I went to respond, my mind and heart made up.

'My Lady?'

AN:

God fucking dammit this is a long feckin chapter.

Yesterday I just powered through like three thousand words worth of chapter, so yeah it is entirely possible that it's completely shit, let me know, it's definitely in the cards for it to get a rewrite.

Onwards with the reviews!

TurtlesTale: Thanks man, I can promise you that short of dying I'm not going to abandon this story, so there's that. I really don't think there's any other fic like mine on the platform, so I'm trying my best to do the concept justice. Although honestly I'm completely fine with other people using the idea. Better this than any more chaos guardian fics.

fugy: See, she won't. She'll never come around. It's one of the cornerstones of her character in my opinion, she's just incredibly stubborn. I mean, she literally tried to have Percy killed instead of even mildly compromising on her ideals. I like your idea about the dialogue, but knowing me I'd still find a way to mess it up.

And as always, the struggle to find any sort of good, long pertemis fics that I haven't already read persists.

I have no clue when I'll upload next, hopefully soon.

Slán, Murph