Reyna

'Daughter.'

My eyes opened, and for a moment the last seconds of my memories came back to me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the pain, the sounds of anguish.

Opening my eyes again, I took stock of my surroundings.

Total darkness.

I lay on the floor, all around me a uniform black.

A dream. I realised defeatedly. Of course.

I sat up, and immediately flinched.

'Daughter.' Bellona repeated.

My mother was stood a few feet away from me, dressed in her customary US army uniform, an M16 carbine slung across her shoulder.

-¿No he sufrido lo suficiente ya? ¿No me he ganado ni un solo momento de descanso?- I asked, though as jumbled as my head was, I found myself reverting to my native language.

Bellona scowled, wrinkling her nose in distaste. 'Don't speak in that barbaric language to me.' She scolded. 'Speak our country's language.'

'The United States doesn't have an official language. And it's my language. And I've earned myself a moment of rest. Before you send me off.' The last part was only a mutter, spoken bitterly under my breath.

If possible, Bellona's scowl became even more pronounced at my response.

'It would do you good to learn when to fight your battles. You keep putting up this… wall, whenever you disagree with something. You should be more pragmatic. Like that son of Neptune. Perses? Was that his name?' She commented calmly, though I could see the burning ire in her eyes.

I ignored the stab of pain I felt at Bellona's words.

'What do you want?'

'That is no way to address your mother, daughter.'

'You're not my mother.' I responded scathingly.

At an agonisingly slow pace, Bellona walked forwards towards me. Her voice frustrated, yet somehow maintaining that perfectly professional tone I always envisioned came from a militant background.

'We have gone through this before. I gave birth to you. I gave your abilities to you, too. I saw greatness in you, from the moment I first held you in my arms, and yet, you refuse to bend others to your will. You are happy to simply shepherd them along.' By the time she had ended her tirade she held onto my shoulders with her hands, almost as if cherishing the moment between us.

'I will not be a dictator.' I responded resolutely.

Bellona didn't respond, content to simply watch me as I shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze.

'You will need to live in a world where you have the freedom to make that choice, if you wish to prove it.' She stated finally.

'What happened?' There was no use in preamble. I would play my role.

'A group of Greek questers visited New Rome, intent on recruiting the other son of Neptune, or, sorry, Poseidon, as they themselves call him. They're all largely the same to me. Anyways, they needed a couple of Romans too, for their quest. Except, after they arrived on their flying ship, it fired upon the ship, killing many. They have now fled, presumably on their quest.'

Bellona gave me a few moments to digest all this information.

'How do I fit into this?' I asked eventually, though I had many burning questions of my own.

I'll probably have to figure those out myself.

'This has put both our pantheons on edge. So much so that the alliance has been broken, and the gods are now at a level of hostilities unseen since the days of the civil war. Your quest is to return the Athena Parthenos to the Greek camp in a sign of goodwill, and to strengthen their defences, so that both sides may prevail.'

'The Athena Parthenos

'Good. You still are able to prioritise. You will be disoriented. It is currently midnight, in the hospital, where you were being supported. You shouldn't really be able to complete this quest, naturally. You were very close to death. I gave you my strength. You will need it. Find provisions for yourself. Then, sneak out to find the questers at their ship. They will take you to Greece. I will guide you to them.'

'Why me?' I asked weakly.

For the first time since I had spoken to her, my mother smiled, a sad smile which said more than she probably knew.

'Who else? I trust you, my daughter, to succeed. The fate of the world, Olympus, everything you have fought to preserve here, rests upon this alliance.'

Bellona stood back.

'Remember what I have told you. Don't be seen. Set out immediately. You don't have time to lose.'

XIXI

Percy

'Apius, Emilius.' I called out.

The legionnaire, a member of the third, stepped away from his cohort, walking up towards me as I presented him with the golden coin used as the physical representation of the civic crown, the highest military decoration for a legionnaire.

We exchanged a short, but firm handshake before he repeated the gesture with his officer, Hank, who was stood beside me, before returning to his file.

The city was still recovering.

A crowd was supervising the award ceremony taking place in the via principalis at Camp Jupiter, through which last night the whole legion had stormed to provide aid to New Rome after the bombardment began, many still carrying ash on their skin and clothes, a haunting reminder of our defencelessness.

It was doubtless that without their contribution, many more civilians would have died.

I was proud of the Legion I had created, seeing it in action, though I could scarcely show any sort of positivity after the events, out of respect for the dead.

There was however, an air of grim determination in the air. Civilians now acknowledged me with curt nods as I passed by construction sites. Recruitment stations had received the first big influx of volunteers since the conscription, swelling the numbers of the Legion to 1500 active duty servicemen and women.

I knew that more often than not, many civilians had been dubious of my reforms, militarisation was never particularly palatable to anybody. And yet now, I felt for the first time, as if I truly had the entirety of New Rome at my back.

It was a powerful feeling.

I saluted the soldiers of the Third Cohort, who returned the gesture, the sound of hundreds of hands snapping to attention.

Tomorrow I would present awards to the First.

There was no cheering. No repeating of the words senatus populusque romanus. Today would be a quiet day, in memory of those no longer with us.

Gaia must be happy with how this turned out.

I wouldn't dare voice my opinion so quickly after the attack. Telling people that their dead loved ones were simply pawns in a much larger chess game?

It had to have been Gaia. There was no other explanation, short of the Greeks truly betraying us. Jason's promise made me doubt that, however. He clearly held much sway among their people, and had sworn on the styx he hadn't known about this.

The only person who would benefit from this is Gaia. I ascertained.

Still, Gaia or not, the city would have to rebuild what was lost.

Slowly, the legionnaires and civilians spectating started filing out of the via principalis.

'Guard!' Hank shouted.

As they had drilled countless time, the Legionnaires split, moving to the sides of the street, forming a sort of improvised honour guard, allowing the civilians enough space to be able to walk through the streets comfortably.

Another effect of the attack was the new relationship between the civilian population of New Rome and the Legion.

New Rome, despite being made up of demigods and legacies, had always been disconnected from the Legion. It was only natural. Only Demigods who came from outside of the walls were required to serve for a decade in return for citizenship.

Now though, with a significant percentage of the population having either conscripted or volunteered, every citizen knew someone or had family in the Legion.

New Rome would rebuild, I had no doubts pertaining to that, the determination in the faces of everybody I passed spoke louder than any words could.

However, how the population would react, the changes it would undergo, that I couldn't foresee.

XIXI

Percy

Cooking had never been my forté.

My time in the Legion had prepared me for the necessity of being able to cook, or at least pick out food appropriate for a high intensity lifestyle in the Legion, but that didn't include being able to cook well.

As long as it wasn't raw or burnt, it was edible, and that was what mattered.

I, however, held myself to higher standards. I had earned myself a few moments of enjoyment every now and then.

It was already quite late, but I hadn't found it in myself to stop working before now. There was much more paperwork now, what with the reconstruction.

A single steak, a ribeye. Butter, rosemary and garlic sat on my kitchen counter. I had always wanted an island, but it didn't seem to be in the cards for me.

I seasoned the steak on the counter while I waited for the pan to heat up sufficiently.

A silver flash lit up the room momentarily, before footsteps could be heard from behind me.

I smiled as the footsteps got closer, eventually finding Artemis supporting her arms on the countertop beside me as I finished seasoning, moving onto adding the piece of pre-measured butter.

'You cook?'

'I dabble.'

'Hm. Where was that expertise during our quest?'

'Cuisine requires more than just raw meat and a fire.'

'Excuses.'

I turned to get a good look at her.

She was smiling, and although it made me happy to see her happy, there was… something.

I wasn't sure when it had started, or how I was able to tell. Maybe it was the slight tightness in her expression, maybe the way she fidgeted impatiently when she was nervous, and couldn't summon her bow. Something was wrong.

'Something's wrong.' I stated.

'Yes.'

Sighing, I finally added the steak, garlic and rosemary to the pan. 'Tell me.'

'The attack. The gods aren't on good terms. The alliance is officially on a hiatus. From the way it's progressing, I doubt it will get better.'

I squeezed my eyes shut. It wasn't unexpected, but gods, it still made me despair hearing someone confirm it.

'Fuck.'

I turned off the heat, moving the pan off of the stone, before taking a slow step back.

'Fuck.' I repeated. More forcefully, 'What even happens now?'

Artemis turned to face me, leaning back against the counter.

'We continue, and we do what we can. Firstly, the quest must succeed. Beyond that… we must simply be prepared to face Gaia.'

'You're right.' I said, breathing out, not realising I had been holding my breath.

'Any news from… the deity?' Artemis phrased carefully, her tone now more apprehensive.

'No. Nothing for a while now. The signs… they were becoming more frequent. It's leading to something. But I need to worry about New Rome right now. I expect the people will want retaliation of some kind.'

'Aren't we already at war?'

'Maybe, but I doubt most of my citizens will see it that way. Nobody was spared from the atrocities of the bombing. Least of all the Legion, they were called to help. They'll have the military firmly behind them if any sort of committee were to demand retaliation.'

'What will you do?'

I shrugged.

'What can I do? I'll delay it as much as possible, but hell, even I don't know what was the cause of the bombardment. I'm going off of one of my oldest and closest friends swearing on the styx he didn't know anything about this, and I assume he'll update me, but I don't know. And the people won't care either. Gaia is an afterthought. Nobody's seen or heard anything for months. I've kept us all in New Rome, training this massive army. Even the Legion is complacent, whether they'll admit it or not. They'll think of Gaia, and remember some vague attack that was defeated. But when they think of the Greeks… They'll think of the fire. The screams. The stretchers with people on them who could be anybody. Friends. Family. No. There will be a march on the Greek camp. I will just have to hope the questers get done before all this.'

I went silent again, my rambling over. Though I did feel better. I didn't realise how much I needed to get this off of my chest.

Artemis looked worried, opening her mouth to respond, when she paused.

'My hunters, there's been some sort of- I forgot to mention, we're still stationed at the Greek camp. There's been some sort of altercation, I have to go.' She explained quickly, before wrapping me in a tight hug.

'You can always talk to me about this stuff.' She whispered quietly.

'I know.' I responded immediately.

A flash, and she was gone.

I needed some air.

Frustration was the only word I could find to aptly describe how I felt as I stepped out of my villa.

It was already late. Much later than I cared to think about. The moon was high in the sky, a constant reminder. It was comforting, something I could appreciate in this moment.

I noted absentmindedly that my steak was still in my kitchen. Still half raw. I found that I could not find it in myself to care.

The winding streets of New Rome provided little consolation to me, however. Only claustrophobic reminders of what had been lost haunted my surroundings as I passed by buildings in varying states of disrepair, from slightly charred, to completely razed to the ground.

The backlash would come soon. I knew it would. We would rebuild, but that wouldn't take long. Then, the citizens, and by extension the Legion, would set their sights on the Greeks.

It was only a matter of time.

I suppose that's what happens when the connections between the Legion and civilian population are increased.

I made a sharp left at an intersection, following a small street down towards the direction I knew would lead towards the gate.

I squinted my eyes slightly, the shadows becoming more prominent as I continued down the narrow street.

Then I ran into something.

A symptom of my distress must have been cognitive, as I did not think to sense the water molecules in my surroundings before. Now I did, aggressively seeking out whatever I had bumped into, as it too made noise, locating the form before-

'Reyna?'

It couldn't be. It couldn't be. Reyna was in intensive care. She was in a coma.

'Percy-'

'Swear on the styx that you are the real Reyna.'

There was a pregnant pause, before Reyna responded.

'I swear it on the styx.'

Thunder boomed overhead. Nothing happened. I allowed myself to relax my posture.

'How are you…'

'I don't have time to explain, Percy. My mother has given me a quest.'

I scoffed before I could think to stop myself.

'What, another one?'

'I haven't heard of any other quests.'

My eyes widened in realisation.

'Right.'

'I'm going to-' Reyna began before I cut her off.

'Reyna?'

I could have sworn I heard Reyna groan.

'What?'

'Stay safe out there.'

A moment of silence followed.

'You too, Percy.'

I stayed for a moment longer, listening to the sounds of the night as Reyna creeped away.

Sighing, I turned back towards the way I came.

XIXI

Percy

The lights at my house were on by the time I got back, and I entered with caution.

As the aroma of food, and the sizzling sounds of cooking hit my nose and ears respectively, I found myself smiling.

Artemis.

'I didn't know you could cook.' I said as I walked into the kitchen.

'You better hope you're wrong, or you're going to have to put on one hell of an act now.' Artemis replied as she plated the steak, and even from where I was, the smell was already heavenly.

Artemis filled me in on her hunt while I ate, and I listened intently as she listed off the amount of times Phoebe had taken pot shots at this one guy who always passed by their cabin.

After I finished my meal, I just sat back and listened. It wasn't too common, even by now, to have Artemis open up like this. It was nice, for once, not to be the one explaining whatever horrors were taking place in New Rome.

Camp Half-Blood, as the Greeks called it, sounded very idyllic, compared to the lives we lived here.

The Greeks, for all their faults, at least maintain a magical border. Our gods still haven't bothered, it's been months since Terminus disappeared. I thought darkly.

I hadn't realised how late it had become, as I unsuccessfully stifled a yawn.

Artemis paused, noticing the small slipup.

'You're too damn stoic sometimes.' She whispered as she guided me to my room.

I was asleep before my head even settled on my pillow.

AN:

A chapter in three days. Man, brings me back to when I actually had time and energy for this.

I don't know about youse, but music always helps me get through tough times. I don't know, sometimes music from home is the only thing that keeps me from going insane. Luckily it's pretty quiet in Wicklow. Except for the wind. It's always feckin windy.

Reviews:

Azuremane: Cheers man, I'll make sure to do that. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Sophia: Uhhh yeah, sorta just what the AN said. It's been going on for years now, but I really don't know what to do tbh. I have these two weeks to gather my thoughts, but honestly the relationship is so toxic I'm honestly just better off without. I don't know what to do once the holidays end. But I've been dealing with her threatening this for years now, I'll be fine.

Nasapeepolover116: You know, I didn't think of it, but now that you mention it, yeah, sorta. He's not really manipulating anybody specifically, but honestly, that's kinda worse lol.

I don't know. I like how grey this turned out. You could argue that Percy is justified in everything he's doing, and technically you wouldn't be wrong, but reyna is justified in her point of view, and really so is everybody else. I guess it just comes down to the philosophy you subscribe to.

Tri-Edge: Oh boy.

First off, thanks for reviewing so much. Means a lot.

For your first three reviews on chapters 5, 8 and 17 respectively, yes, completely agree.

Chapter 5 is pending a complete rewrite, with 8 also getting an extensive rewrite, and a lot of 17 needs to be changed.

Long story short, I wrote most of those chapters before I really knew what I was doing or where I was going or what tone I wanted for this story, and it shows. So yeah, believe me, I'm going to change those chapters, well aware they are deeply flawed.

But, regarding your third review, that's not what political subterfuge is. It's just assassination lol. Not amateur, (even tho this is amateur as a whole), just something else.

For your comments in your 5th review, I think it's completely justified. The appeal of the hunt has always been that you're enlisting in more than just an army or some militarised group. You're finding a family that takes care of each other. And anyways, whether or not they're justified, that's not going to change that they're clearly going to notice these very noticeable changes about Artemis. Remember, she's their leader. They rely on her for practically everything. It's in their interest to make sure everything's OK.

This ties into your last review. How is Thalia not justified at losing it with Artemis? I agree that she wouldn't get away with it, and she doesn't as Artemis shuts her down, and orders her to keep it to herself. She's stuck in a sort of prison in that regard. She owes it all to Artemis, and yet Artemis has lied to her. Artemis is in the wrong. Artemis makes them all make pledges against any sort of romantic relationship, and yet gets into one herself. She's a hypocrite.

As for your second-to-last review, yeah, I'm not exactly being sneaky. If anything, it would be less realistic if there wasn't any drama between the two. Obviously, for the sake of story, gods age differently to humans, and are fundamentally different. That doesn't change, as Percy found out, that they do display fundamentally human traits. So yeah, it was contrived, but that goes for the original HoO. That goes for almost any story. There are moments like this. I could have resolved it in that scene. But I didn't because I wanted to add some more drama. Because I liked it. And it's only relevant for like two or three more chapters anyways. It shows a progression in their relationship, in their trust towards each other. This will be illustrated better after the rewrite, but it's still plausible either way.

Anyways, that's it for me. See yous soon.

Slán, Murph