Jason

This wasn't my New Rome anymore.

The streets, the people, it all felt cold, foreign, as if I didn't belong.

I genuinely stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes wide as I noticed armed guards patrolling within the Pomerian line.

I didn't get my weapon taken off me when I entered the perimeter. I realised with a jolt.

Gods, what had Percy done?

I knew partly that it was necessary, but the other part of me wondered how much of this was done for the benefit of the people of Rome. Percy had changed. Much more than I was comfortable with. And he had already been worrying me before I left. I knew I would only be able to keep him from praetorship for so long, but this…

I had failed.

Failed to show Percy a better way.

Whatever happens with this war, New Rome is going to be a bloodbath.

I snapped out of my reverie as I got closer to my destination, pushing the door to the hospital open. I had left the rest at the Villa to get settled in, hoping to any god who might listen that they didn't cause trouble before I came back to them.

There was somebody I had to see first.

A figure cloaked in a doctor's white coat pushed past me at breakneck pace from my left as I entered, muttering something incoherent under their breath.

I went to continue on my way before the figure stopped, their clear footsteps ceasing as they turned around to face me, and I realised with a jolt who it was.

'Howard?'

I didn't get an answer, instead letting out a groan as the air was knocked out of my as Howard hugged me tightly, bridging the distance between us before I could even register it.

'Gods, Jason, I thought we had lost you.' Howard muttered as he pulled back.

'It's good to see you too.' I responded.

A small, awkward silence continued between us as Howard fixed me with a critical stare.

'I know why you're here.' He stated.

I nodded. 'Percy filled me in… Somewhat.'

'I'll take you to her room.' Howard said. Motioning for me to follow, he set off on a brisk pace down the main hall of the hospital, before taking a right into one of the many other sub-hallways of the building.

'Weren't you in the middle of something? I can probably find my way around.' I told Howard as I half-jogged to keep up with his pace.

Howard scoffed. 'You don't believe that yourself. And anyways, what kind of doctor would put paperwork of people?'

'One that stays on top of his responsibilities?'

'You know, on second thought, maybe you should just stay with the Greeks.'

I groaned, the particularly memory from the street before coming to mind. 'Don't even start with that. I don't know what Percy's done, but people here seem to hate me now.'

'Look Jason, people are fickle. Does it really matter what they think? And anyways, people are starting to become more sceptical of Percy. Nobody really knows how to take it when a son of Neptune is in power for the first time in, well, ever.'

I mulled it over as we continued through the maze of hallways Howard was leading me through.

'I guess I am being quite selfish, amen't I?'

Howard came to a sudden stop in front of a door.

'I'm a doctor, Jason, not a therapist, but if you ask me, maybe you should give yourself a bit of a break. And Percy too. This isn't easy for any of us. Anyways, I have responsibilities, I'll leave you here.' With that, Howard once again disappeared through an adjacent door.

I considered Howard's words, before taking a deep breath.

How long has been now since I've last seen Reyna? I thought to myself.

I slowly pushed the door open.

'Look, I'm sorry, I know it's after hours, but she's getting better, I'm telling you.' An unfamiliar voice spoke.

I stood still as I recognised the person sitting in a seat beside a bed which was angled away from the door, not allowing me to see who was in it, gingerly holding the person -presumably Reyna's- hand.

'Percy?' I asked, but even as I said it I knew it wasn't the case.

This person was eerily similar to my… friend, but there were enough minor differences, be it the hair, or his clearly Manhattan drawl, which gave him away.

'No, not Percy. Who are you?' The boy asked, his tone much sterner now.

'Jason. Grace.' I responded haltingly, still confused as to who this person was.

The boy blinked, his eyes widening in recognition at the name.

'Son of Jupiter?'

'The one and only.'

The boy smiled, before gingerly placing Reyna's hand back on the bed to her side before standing up.

'I'm Theo. Son of Poseidon.'

Suddenly, it clicked.

This is the Theo Annabeth was talking about?

I bowed my head slightly to him in recognition. 'Annabeth has told me about you.'

Theseus glanced past me where I knew the door to be.

'So you're with them then?' He ascertained.

I nodded. 'We're here for the final quest members for our quest. The stakes-'

'I know the stakes.' Theo responded calmly, and I could've sworn he glanced down the figure in the bed. 'In fact, I'd say it's pretty damn lucky we met here.'

XIXI

Jason

I made sure to walk with the same pace as I left the hospital.

Through the winding streets of New Rome once again, trying to avoid what attention, and distrustful looks I could, given my status, as I hurried my way back to the villa Percy had assigned us.

The door was stiff, as if installed recently, as I employed a bit of brute strength to make the door swing open once I unlocked it with the key which was under the mat when all of us first arrived. Inside, I found the other three quest members gathered around the living room, splayed out on the multitude of sofas in the room as they discussed something off-handedly.

Leo was the first to react to my arrival.

'Boss man! Good to see you back in one piece. I swear, I thought those civilians would lynch you if they saw you out again.' He exclaimed.

I tried to ignore Leo lack of tact as I came over, sitting myself down beside Piper with a groan, shooting her a quick smile as she embraced me.

'You were out for a while.' Annabeth noted, lying back against the armrest of the armchair she was occupying.

I nodded. 'I had to check up on something. But anyways, you won't believe who I met on the way there.'

'Epstein?' Leo offered.

'Jesus christ, Leo.' Piper admonished.

'No, not Epstein, Leo.' I responded, deadpan, before continuing. 'I met Theo. Your son of Poseidon you mentioned.'

That caught Annabeth's attention, as she sat up perfectly straight.

'You did?'

I nodded once again. 'What's more, he knows about our quest. Turns out, he already has himself and two other trained legionnaires we can trust ready to depart with us as soon as possible.'

'Why would we need to leave as soon as possible? Aren't the Romans supposed to be our allies, even if just on paper?' Piper enquired.

I sighed. 'It's… A bit more complicated than that. Right now, Rome is Percy. Unlike Theo and his allies, he doesn't know yet about where this quest is going to take us. And the less Percy knows, the less he can interfere.'

I took a deep breath. 'The moment Percy finds out we are headed to the mediterranean, all hell is going to break loose.'

Annabeth frowned. 'Why even come here then?'

I shrugged. 'You talked about Theo. Nothing about the Mare Nostrum is going to be easy, it would be a massive help to have a son of Poseidon along with us, even if we couldn't recruit any actual Legionnaires. Worst case, we'd just circle back to Camp Half-Blood and pick up two more campers.'

'And… I guess I wanted to see what had happened to my home.' I muttered briefly at the end.

Nothing could have prepared me for this. I thought forlornly.

'The Mare Nostrum. My my Jason, whatever would Lupa say, seeing her precious little golden boy making such a terrible choice.' A mocking, cruel and hard voice entoned.

I dropped my head as I set my jaw in anticipation of what was to come.

'Percy. How long have you been there?' I called out. It didn't matter where exactly he had been, from his words, it was clear he had heard everything worth hearing.

'Long enough.' The rest of the quest members jumped in surprise when he materialised in the centre of the sitting room.

He was staring right at me, a quiet contempt which seemed to burn into my eyes.

'Percy, this is for the sake of the war, sometimes rules have to be broken-'

'The irony, the fucking irony of it. You know what, I would even reckon that Reyna would agree with you if she was here right now.' Percy hissed, cutting me off with an air of finality. 'The Gods will judge your actions.'

Percy snapped a finger, and legionnaires in strange, black and gold armour started pouring in, until our group was completely surrounding by helmeted strangers with full heavy armour, gladii drawn and pointed right at us.

'You are all under house arrest for treason against the sacred laws of New Rome. Punishment for breaking such a cardinal rule will be decided by the gods themselves. Baker, they aren't to leave the premise under any circumstances, understood?' Percy addressed the only soldier without a helmet, who nodded his understanding.

'Percy, what is this?'

Percy glanced at me, almost seeming surprised that I would have the audacity to address him. I clenched my fists in annoyance.

'This? This is the praetorian guard. They'll be taking care of you for now. I doubt it'll be more than a couple of days before the hearing.'

XIXI

Percy

It was with a jolt that I realised that I didn't know how to contact Artemis.

I had retired once again to the balcony of my villa, the part of town where I lived quiet during the day.

Quiet most of the time. I noted.

My knuckles were a sickly shade of white as I gripped the stone railing of the balcony.

You will succeed me. I have ordained it.

The words kept playing over and over in my head, and I just wanted it to stop. Something deep and meaningful inside of me had broken, and it terrified me.

So much.

I had scarcely felt many emotions apart from anger and frustration, and the last… one-ish months? If even? Had caught me off-guard. I didn't know what to think, or do. In fact, I didn't even have to. Something had done it for me.

I didn't want to contemplate any of this alone.

Artemis… How do I- Fuck. I cursed at the end, hating the sound of my own voice in my mind. It felt foreign, an alien presence which couldn't be trusted.

If it was taken over once, it can be taken over again. I decided calmly.

I thought back to ways in which mortals had called upon deities before, and scouring my admittedly surface level knowledge of Greek mythology led me to an answer fairly quickly.

I'll pray to Artemis. I decided.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, grimacing slightly as I heard my own voice again in my head, calling out to her.

Time passed. I was vaguely aware that it hadn't been too long, though beyond that I didn't know. Then I heard more than saw the flash of silver light, indicating Artemis presence.

I opened my eyes, only to furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I didn't find Artemis in her usual spot beside me on the balcony.

Turning around, I found her standing in my room, a quizzical look on her face as she regarded me, before approaching me.

She was unsmiling, worry written across her features.

She stopped when she was directly in front of me. Neither of us said a word. She placed a tender hand on my cheek.

'Perseus… What is it?' She asked softly, her eyes searching mine for an answer.

I didn't respond, simply letting my head fall forward against her shoulder, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Artemis reluctantly returned the gesture, her right hand rubbing vague patterns on my back as she held me, giving me much-needed comfort.

'Perseus…' She reiterated, and I noted her voice getting more worried, though it was distant, as if it didn't affect me. Though slowly but surely, in the safe cocoon I made myself, I forced myself to associate once more.

'There's something, Artemis, something out there.' I whispered softly. 'I don't know how to protect myself from it. How can I do anything with a threat like that hanging over my head?'

I felt Artemis go stock still at my words, and for a moment I felt genuine fear.

What if someday it's not just shock, and she'll never move again?

It was a ridiculous idea, she was an immortal deity, and as per her own words, deity had the annoying habit of not dying when they should, but that didn't stop the seeds of doubt from spreading, my chest feeling like it was slowly going hollow, my head, a violent sea of misguided, hysterical intent.

'We can talk this through, Perseus, I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you.' Artemis said, leaning her head against mine where I had laid it to rest in the crook of her neck.

I took a deep breath. 'I don't know how to explain it. I was talking to my Centurion, and he asked me a question, and then suddenly I just wasn't in control anymore. Just like that. But, it wasn't malicious. Hell, it wasn't even intrusive at all to be honest. It was just there. And the message… I directed it to my Centurion but… It was for me. I just know it was.'

'What was the message.'

'The presence said that it had chosen me, and that I was going to succeed it.'

I could feel the silence as vividly as the sun on my skin as Artemis mulled my words over, waiting impatiently for her answer.

'There is, no precedent, that I know of, for anything like that.' Artemis began haltingly, her words measured, though they had the barest hints of a nervous edge to them.

A memory shot up in my mind, and I realised in a moment that I had had another experience like this before.

'I have.'I interjected, quickly pulling out of the embracing as I began to pace feverishly around the limited space in the balcony. 'During our fight with Nereus. I didn't think about it until now, but there was a voice there too, before I was able to strengthen my dominion of the seas.' I did a double take. 'Wait, and a dream. Aphrodite. She told me someone was looking out for me. Oh my gods. I've been told about this for ages.' I realised, burying my face in my hands. 'How didn't I see this?'

Artemis simply stared at me worriedly. 'Perseus, are those all the incidents?' She asked carefully.

I nodded. 'That I can remember, anyways.'

'At least it doesn't seem like the being has any ill will towards you.'

I shook my head. 'Maybe, but what exactly am I going to inherit? When am I going to inherit it? Gods, not knowing is killing me.'

'I'm sorry you're dealing with this.' Artemis offered.

I continued my feverish pacing. 'That's not even the worst bit. I have the four quest members under house arrest, because their quest stipulates that they have to go to the Mediterranean.'

Artemis' eyes widened, and for a moment both of us forgot about my strange interactions with the unknown being.

'The mediterranean? But that's forbidden. The fates declared it completely out of bounds for demigods under divine law.' Artemis said incredulously.

I nodded. 'I know. I could have them trialed for treason on Olympus for even attempting this.'

Artemis nodded, her expression morphing into one of pity as she realised my dilemma.

'You could let them go.'

I nodded. 'I could. I have a choice to make here. And from what Hera has told me about the importance of this quest, perhaps even the choice which could make or break the entire war. I cannot get this wrong.'

Artemis leaned back against the railing of the balcony. 'What did Hera say about the quest?'

I sighed. 'She said it would decide the war.'

Artemis frowned. 'Wasn't that what our quest was for?'

'Apparently, our quest just gave us a chance.'

Artemis was silent for a moment, before she steeled her resolve, once again walking over to me.

Once close enough, she pulled me into a deep kiss.

It was slow, and perhaps lacking the ardent passion of others before, but filled with meaning.

Artemis pulled back, smiling softly as she ran a hand through my hair.

'No matter the choice, we're in this together.'

AN:

I'm so sorry I left youse hanging for so long, but it has been a crazy long week.

I've come to the conclusion that, despite my best efforts, it's going to take longer to finish this fic than I anticipated. I hope to been done by new year, but that's wishful thinking to be honest.

Long story short?

It'll be done, when it's done.

From now on, uploads will be more scarce for a while. Partly because of academics, partly because I've decided I can't wait any longer and I'm going to begin rewriting the earlier chapters. I already rewrote the prologue, and am going to keep rewriting until chapter 10-11 ish, and afterwards I'll be going over the rest of the chapters, but those'll be the main ones.

SO basically, updates will be biweekly from now on, I just don't have the time or energy for any more.

Reviews:

Sankarea396: Honestly, I don't really agree with that.

A, Percy and Artemis are both very cold people, and can be cruel as well. I don't think just because they're main characters and the ends justify the means makes them immune.

B, most people are assholes to a certain extent. The point of people making Percy's life hard isn't a reflection on their intelligence, but on how Percy treats people. More like tools to be used and then thrown out when done with. That's the key difference in his relationship with Artemis compared to practically everybody else in his life, he actually treats her like a person, but on the flip side, she also treats him like a person, which most of New Rome equally doesn't do, for varying reasons.

So yeah, moral of the story? Everyone's an asshole, just assholes with justification for their behaviour.

As for Jason, I thought the child scene would be a good, and sorta absurd way to show how Jason doesn't do well when pressured, or scrutinised, citing his lack of difficulties socially as the son of Jupiter. I wanted to show that nobody is perfect, and all have problems according to the lives they faced. Idk how I did portraying that though.

Maitre Inquisiteur: It is rather unique, isn't it? I personally like this blend of serious and dry humour, I think it suits the story well, even if I was wildly inconsistent with implementation, especially at the beginning. Oh well, here's to the rewrite.

Lorde Pedro: We're definitely ramping up to the climax, and there's going to be some good action next chapter, so yeah, look out for that.

PhantomFuryJP: Cheers bud!

theronjohn325: Percy's not going to be a god. I'll dismiss that right now. As for where he's going to end up, or better said what he's going to end up as… Well that's a surprise.

PaladinKaladin: Glad you enjoyed! Hope this chapter is up to scratch.

OceansFuryAndHatred: HEHEH yeah I love seeing fics or books where Jason stops being the perfect stoic brainchild of Rome. He's a human for fucks sakes, he has to have something he's not good at. I chose to make it scrutiny, because logically after being treated so well for so many years as a son of Jupiter, he wouldn't be used to not being seen in such a positive light, and the treatment that comes with it.

Aausdmr: Heh, like I mentioned before, no godhood for Percy, but I do have something else in store. You'll hav to wait to find outm, but I promise it's not far off now. Thanks for the support!

ramtasitic: Thanks for the encouragement. And no, I'm not abandoning this story out of sheer stubbornness. Short of literally dying I am going to finish this fic.

Ardwyr: I love that you mention Percy's perspective. I love writing from different perspectives because when writing in first person as the character you're never getting an unbiased account. That way I can contrast opinions and points of view and get the characters to bounce off each other. Thanks for the feedback!

Astral8: Hope this answers your question about Theo. Though I will warn you once the quest is off him and the rest of the questers will basically b written off for the rest of the fic. So uh, yeah, more pertemis yay!

And that's about it for everybody. Thanks for reviewing, it really means a bunch to me, and I always respond to any questions you might have.

Slán, Murph