"Oh. Well that's why I'm here. We need you to save Camp Jupiter. They're currently under siege."

Everyone stared at Neptune as if he'd grown a second head.

"WHAT?!"

The god blinked pointedly. "That's why we need you there now. An army—we believe it from Othrys—has set up around the major entrances to the Camp. I believe the mortals see a protest of some kind."

"Why didn't you lead with that?" Percy asked, exasperated.

"I was going to, but then we had to explain to your family what was going on."

Ignoring that he'd called Annabeth family (because he did not have the mental spoons for that can of worms just then), Percy put a hand to the bridge of his nose. He was Greek. He didn't want to deal with idiotic Greek gods, let alone idiotic Roman ones.

Except Mars. He'd take Mars over Ares any day. Not that that was a high bar, but hey.

But then, who else would step in to help? And they were still demigods. And legacies. And their families.

"Fine," Percy said before anyone else could put their two cents in. "Though going on a road trip across the country seems like a great way to attract too much attention. How do you want me to get there? Water travel?"

"Hmm," Neptune said, brushing a hand over his beard as he thought. "Not dramatic enough."

"Wait," Sally said suddenly. "You're going to accept? Just like that?"

Percy turned to face her worried gaze. She was shaking. He reached out, gently taking her hands.

"Mom, we need the Roman camp. Ignoring that I do have friends there—even if they don't know who I am right now—and you know how far I'd go to save my friends, we need New Rome to attack Mount Othrys so the Greeks can defend Mount Olympus. Even if neither of those applied, I used to be the god of demigods, and I still have that domain. I have to do whatever I can to help them."

"But you're Greek," Annabeth said. "Didn't you both say that Greeks and Romans don't get along? Won't they kill you?"

"That's if we tell them," Percy said. "I don't plan on it—at least not until the time is right—and I'm pretty sure Neptune won't."

"The more I can avoid talking to them, the better."

Annabeth frowned. "Won't they be able to tell somehow?"

Percy tipped his hand back and forth. "Maybe some of them will get an inkling, but if Neptune is claiming me, there shouldn't be a problem."

She bit her lip. "But, you're essentially going into enemy territory. Without backup."

Percy shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. The way Annabeth's brow furrowed in something akin to horror said as much. He'd wanted to reassure her, though. How had that backfired?

"No," she said firmly, setting her jaw. Uh-oh, he knew that expression. She'd just gotten an idea and she would not back down on it. "You're not going in alone. I'm going with you." Then she seemed to realize who she was talking to and turned to Neptune, annoyed but respectful. "If you'll let me, sir."

"I don't mind, but I can't claim you. Minerva would have my head."

"Names," Sally said tiredly.

"Right," Neptune said, actually sounding sorry as he glanced over at her.

"I'll just tell them I'm a daughter of Min—the Roman counterpart of my mother then," Annabeth said. "Or unclaimed."

Neptune shook his head. "No god worth their salt would send an unclaimed demigod as a part of a delegate party. But claiming to be her daughter could be… problematic."

The daughter of Athena pursed her lips. "And why is that?"

"Romans take vows of chastity very seriously," Percy said. "You'd be open to a lot of ridicule and skepticism at best, outright hatred at worst."

"We can explain how most of my mother's children are born. That's how we do it here. Why wouldn't that transfer over?"

Neptune shook his head. "You don't understand. Min…" he glanced at a glaring Sally, "your mother's Roman counterpart is considered one of the most important goddesses of Roman religion. As I recall, Greeks believe in the 'Big Three', being my counterpart and my two brothers." Annabeth nodded slowly. "Your mother was considered by many to be one of the first founding gods of Rome instead of me. She's just as important in her own way as my brothers and sisters." He snorted derisively. "Definitely more so than me." *

Annabeth's frown deepened.

Percy sighed. "They'd expect you to be Big Three powerful."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I'm not strong enough?"

Percy held up his hands. "I think anyone who underestimates you deserves exactly what they get. They'd just expect… flashier is all."

"Well they can take their expectations and—"

"Annabeth," Sally said quietly. "If you're going, you need to know what you're up against. That's what they're explaining."

Percy nodded emphatically, grateful for his Mom's tact. "We're not saying we agree. We don't." He glanced at Neptune. "Well, I don't."

"I think most Romans are ridiculous," Neptune muttered. "I had one intact temple that was built to last in all of Rome. ONE."

Percy sighed. "Dad, this is about Annabeth, not you."

He held up his hands. "I'm just saying I don't agree."

Annabeth huffed. "Look, I'm coming. I'll make them acknowledge me if I have to, or we'll go and stop their siege and I'll leave. I'm going to San Francisco anyway. We'll figure it out."

"You can take your cyclops brother too, if you want," Neptune said. "Make it a three-man team to help with odds of success."

Well, when he put it like that….

"But if they're under siege, and I'm not water-traveling—because I still can't take anyone else with me—how do we get in?" Percy asked again. "Or is this something we have to figure out." And if he sounded really tired or completely done, could anyone really blame him?

"I'll sneak you up the Little Tiber and into camp that way," Neptune said, nodding firmly. "We can make a big show of it. I can be there too. The more of an impression you make, the less of a problem they'll have accepting you."

Percy sighed. He wasn't wrong. "The one thing Greeks and Romans have completely in common is their theatrics."

Neptune raised an amused eyebrow. "Are you any different?"

Percy opened his mouth, thought about it, then closed it again and slumped back against the couch, arms folded, though he wasn't sulking. "No." He couldn't deny it. He was probably one of the less flamboyant (god or demigod), and he still managed to stick out like a sore thumb. Especially when he got angry. Then he started more or less wanting to both intimidate his enemy and power his way through problems. Not exactly subtle.

"Didn't think so."

"I still don't like this," Sally said.

"I don't think any of us do," Percy muttered.

"No." Neptune had gone back to looking ridiculously annoyed at the entire thing. "But we'll like what happens less if we don't do something about it. Unfortunately."

"Why can't you do something about it?" Sally asked shortly.

Neptune shrugged, albeit stiffly. "Mainly because of laws and rules in place, some by Chaos themselves, and some by my loving brother." Wow, that had been sarcastic, even for Neptune. "Demigods are involved, so I can only do so much. Same for the other gods."

"It's a form of protection," Percy said, rubbing his temple again. Just like every other time, it didn't help the headache much, but he'd take what he could get at this point. "The kind of power gods and Titans can throw around just…. An aura from most gods can cripple and even kill many humans. That's without them pushing full-on, Mom. By setting that precedent, that gods aren't allowed to blatantly interfere with mortals without extremely good reasons, they could protect humans, and those who didn't follow those rules could be punished and/or captured justly."

"Allowed us to restrain some power on most of the Titans," Neptune said, nodding.

"That doesn't mean it shouldn't be tweaked," Percy said, eyeing the god pointedly.

He held up his hands. "Take it up with my brother."

Percy sighed. "I will.

"About the quest, though: can we try and get a couple more hours of sleep, or do you need us there asap?"

"Well, Western Standard time is three hours behind here."

"And it's four in the morning," Sally said firmly.

"For maximum effect, we'll probably want to get there during morning rotation," Percy said dryly. Neptune nodded thoughtfully.

"I'll be back at 10."

With that he vanished.

The three remaining mortals sat in silence for several seconds.

"I think… I need some time to process this," Annabeth said, standing up. She glanced at Percy as she passed him. "I will have questions."

He nodded. "I'll answer as many as I can tomorrow."

She returned his nod and went back down the hallway. A couple of seconds later, he heard the bedroom door close. Then he turned to his mother, who sat staring at him sadly.

"I'll be fine, Mom."

"This didn't happen last time, did it?"

He bit his lip. "No."

"Then you can't guarantee it'll be alright."

Percy looked down, hands clenching into fists. "I never can."

More heavy silence.

"Is it always like this?" she asked, voice shaky. "Is it just… the way it is?"

"I was changing it," he said firmly, feeling that spark of right in his chest at the word and conviction. Stupid new domain. He ignored it. "I was doing what I could to make them see, and it was working, Mom."

Her lips thinned, like she was trying to stop herself from crying. "I'm sorry you had to."

A lump formed in his throat. "Yeah. Me too."

There didn't seem to be much to say after that, so his mother gave him a hug and they returned to bed. He hoped they got some more sleep. He did, but only after a very long time staring at his ceiling, and even then it was fitful and restless.

xXx

The next morning, Percy explained everything to Tyson, who was thrilled to be going to help his big brother. Then Annabeth sat down at the breakfast table, gaze intense, and he resigned himself to answering her questions. Most of them dealt with how the camps differed—she was more than a little shocked when she found out they had a city where they could stay safe and raise families—and how she would be expected to act. He answered the questions as best he could, but there were things he didn't know or couldn't remember, mainly dealing with how the gods were different and what exactly that entailed, much to both of their frustration.

After breakfast and the hour-and-a-half long questioning session, the three children went to pack. It didn't take them long to get ready to go as Annabeth already had most of her things packed, Tyson didn't have a whole lot (they were working on it) and Percy didn't need a lot.

After triple checking that he had everything, he dragged a duffelbag and backpack out into the living room ahead of Annabeth and Tyson at about 20 to 10 to see his mother and Neptune in a deep, serious discussion. Huh, when had he arrived?

"Lord Neptune," Annabeth said, which was probably a good thing because Percy wouldn't have used such respect.

Both of the adults looked over at them, his mom biting her lip worriedly.

"Mom," he tried again, "we'll be fine."

She frowned. "You know you can't guarantee that." She glanced at Neptune. "No one can."

To his credit, the god looked away, ashamed.

"What I can do is give you this," he said after a moment, holding up three medallions with a trident on them. "These will home in on each other, among other small things. Focus on the person you wish to contact and it will point you in the correct direction. They also cannot be removed without your permission. This way, your questmates will always find you. It will also identify you under my protection as a representative party from my kingdom."

The three questers each took a medallion and slipped it over their heads. Annabeth shot Tyson an uneasy glance, but still put it on. Percy immediately felt less tired and more alert when his newest charm laid warmly against his chest. Was that the medallion itself? Or its connection to the sea? He glanced at Annabeth and Tyson but didn't see much of a difference.

"Now," Neptune said, holding out his hand to Percy. "Take my hand, and that of one of your questmates. I'd prefer you all to be touching."

"Makes flashing easier," Percy whispered to Annabeth. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away, hurrying over and taking Neptune's other one, albeit respectfully. The god didn't seem to know what to think of that, and Percy still didn't want to enlighten him. So he just took Tyson's hand and closed his eyes.

"I love you, Percy," his mom said, wrapping her arms around him in one last hug.

"I love you too, Mom." He leaned into her, relishing her warmth. "We'll come back."

And then they were gone.

xXx

Percy opened his eyes and found himself on a boat.

He frowned, spinning around to take everything in. It was a new boat, larger than the one he, Luke, and Annabeth had taken to the Sea of Monsters. Not too large, but very, very nice. Annabeth and Tyson had appeared on the deck beside him, both blinking in surprise, trying to get their bearings.

"Is this the lake by the camp?" Annabeth asked, frowning at the large expanse of water around them.

"No. This is the Pacific Ocean," Percy said, confused. "Just off of San Francisco."

She paused. "I have to see if I can get a refund on those tickets," she muttered.

"Dizzy," Tyson said, holding his head and thumping to the deck, shaking the boat.

"Wait, why did we get the free ride all the way over here?" Annabeth asked suddenly, cheeks beginning to darken in anger. Entirely fair. Bianca and Clarisse had nearly killed themselves getting from one side of the country to the other the year before. Percy had told her about their own trip across the country during that first quest too.

"Because the quest has not yet started," Neptune said, appearing before them. Although, instead of his old-man visage, he looked far more like Poseidon. A man in his mid-to-late twenties with a physique The Rock would be jealous of under long, black hair. Much longer than Poseidon usually wore it. He also sported a much longer beard that seemed to flow down his chest, more akin to supermodel hair than a normal beard. Poseidon kept that much shorter too.

Neptune had also kept a sort of grizzled aura around him that his Greek counterpart did not have. He was not a happy god. Which actually ticked Percy off. If Neptune couldn't find a home in his own Pantheon, where could he?

There was more to that he'd have to explore. Just, later.

"This is actually different from your normal quests, Annabeth Chase."

"Is it… a Roman thing?" she asked carefully.

"No," Neptune shook his head. "As you are specifically representing me in this endeavor, your deeds will automatically be associated with my name. Until this 'quest' is finished, I am your patron god, and you represent me. Thus it is my responsibility to prepare you."

"How is that different from going on a quest for a god?" she asked. Percy could tell she'd valiantly tried to keep accusation out of her voice, and it had only really seeped in a little to her credit.

"You do not represent the god in that instance, and getting to the quest is often considered part of the challenge. That is not the case here."

Percy knew that. He'd never liked it, but he knew it. Annabeth wasn't happy about it, he could tell, but she nodded and let it go.

Good, because Percy had some questions of his own. "How will this work? Will you be able to shield us from the armies as we travel up river?"

"No need, I will teleport you all into the lake inside the Roman border, underwater. I will go up and announce you myself. From there, your quest will begin and I can only give you so much help."

"Because of rules," Annabeth said.

Neptune shot her an unimpressed stare that had her gulping. "Yes."

He turned back to Percy. "I will be able to help you at times, but if you stray from the goals I have given you, I may not be able to help at all."

"Those being to restore your temple, help Camp Jupiter prepare for war, and somehow end the siege on New Rome." Always best to double (and triple) check. Again.

"Yes."

Percy sighed. This would be so fun. Not.

Annabeth, though, had a sudden light come into her eye. "About your temple? Can we make adjustments to it?"

Neptune snorted. "You may tear it down and rebuild it for all I care."

Definitely the wrong thing to say.

"Can I design a new one?" The utter excitement in her voice made Percy smile. That was so her.

Neptune paused, blinking. "Yes," he finally said after a minute. Then, "You may be a better fit for this than I initially thought. You are a loyal and helpful child. Minerva should be proud to call you hers."

Annabeth's face went bright red and she looked down, but Percy could tell she was pleased. "Thank you, my lord."

"Hmm," was all Neptune said, studying her for several seconds longer before turning back to Percy. "Do you have any questions?"

"Should my cover story be that I was under the sea with you?"

"That is fine. Although you," he said to Annabeth, "were a lost demigod my son found wandering."

"Ah," Annabeth said, nodding slowly.

"And Tyson?" Percy asked.

"Is coming to learn the basics of blacksmithing with the children of Vulcan. He will help you all prepare for war."

"And the imperial gold we may need for those weapons?"

"Wait," Annabeth said, "imperial gold?"

Percy sighed. "They don't have celestial bronze here. That's mainly a Greek thing. I'm sure you know that Silver, bronze, and iron could be more highly sought after than gold in many of Ancient Greece's city-states. Romans came later and have Imperial Gold that fulfills more or less the same role. They're not the same but… I can give you a run-down later."

Her eyes had taken on a hungry glint that promised many more question sessions. Long, exhausting question sessions. With no make out sessions at the end to look forward to.

The things he did to respect his friends' boundaries.

"Oh, you will definitely be giving me a rundown later," she said, then focused on an amused Neptune. "So this quest will end when your temple is restored, the camp is freed, and the Romans are more prepared for war?"

"Yes."

"Any further goals or definitions must be discussed before they are added on?"

"Of course."

"We can call on you at any time and you will listen, even if you may not answer?"

"Yes."

Why did Neptune seem to only be growing more amused by her questions? That seemed dangerous to Percy.

"This is Percy's quest, so we defer to him?"

"If necessary."

"As long as we are making progress towards your stated goals, we can do whatever else we want?"

That made the god frown. "Within reason. Ultimately, we do need the city and the camp saved, so nothing that jeopardizes that."

Annabeth nodded. "What do we tell the camp about Percy's time-travel?"

That brought everyone up short. Neptune's frown deepened in thought. Finally, he answered. "Keep it secret for now."

"What if I have to tell someone?" Percy asked, thinking of Jason and Reyna. Dakota had been pretty cool too.

"Then decide as a group."

Well, fair enough.

Oh, he'd have to tell Annabeth about Jason's relation to Thalia. That would not be a fun conversation. He sighed inwardly.

"Are we allowed to go on quests?" Annabeth asked.

"No. You are not part of the legion."

"Even in a life-or-death situation?" Percy asked warily.

Neptune smiled grimly. "Let us hope it will not come to that."

"But what if it does?" Annabeth pressed.

The god sighed, definitely not amused anymore. "Ask me first."

The two demigods nodded.

"May I call out of here? To the outside world?" was Annabeth's next question.

"As long as you do not spread your location or knowledge of this camp to your own. Also, beware, Romans do not use Iris messages."

Annabeth frowned. "Do they not have an approximate equivalent for her?"

"Yes, Arcus," Percy said. "But again, nuanced differences…"

She hummed and seemed to think on that for a moment. Finally, she looked up at Neptune again.

"I may have more questions in the future," she said after another moment of contemplation.

"I would be surprised if you didn't."

Wait, had he just… Nope. He'd think about that later. Though with Annabeth's pout, she caught it too.

"Right. I think we're about ready to go," Percy said, turning to his brother. "Right bud…dy." Tyson had fallen asleep on the deck again. Sometimes Percy very much envied him.

"I'll get him up," Neptune said, reaching out and touching Tyson's forehead, just above his eye. Said eye popped open not seconds later and he sat up straight.

"I'm here to make things!" he said excitedly, suddenly full of energy.

Yeah, that was definitely jealousy. Or maybe he was just tired.

"You may all stay on the ship for the entirety of your stay. There should be enough room for all of you."

Annabeth eyed Tyson warily. "Thank you, my lord." Any enthusiasm had drained from her voice, but thankfully Neptune didn't seem to take offense.

"Now…" Neptune said suddenly. A bright light flashed around them and they found themselves in an air bubble at the bottom of a lake. A lake in California, Percy could tell. "Let me go and announce you." The god disappeared in a wave of water that splashed to the deck, leaving the three questers staring at a puddle.

"Did he just…?" Annabeth asked.

Percy sighed. "Yes. It was actually fairly considerate of him. It may not have even occurred to Poseidon to give us a warning."

Above them the lake rose. Percy looked towards the surface, annoyed. He didn't have to make that much of a spectacle, did he? Neither Tyson or Annabeth seemed to notice. Tyson was still staring at the puddle on the deck in horror while Annabeth was rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Relatable.

"He's okay, big guy," Percy said to Tyson.

"He's water."

"Well… yes."

"No, he's The God of the Sea," Annabeth muttered. "There's a difference."

Well, she wasn't wrong, but even if Tyson was more intelligent than most people gave him credit for, he was still in some form of shock at seeing his newly introduced father figure dissolve into water. Percy had fully intended on explaining that later. He shot Annabeth a 'why would you say that?' look. She didn't so much as acknowledge it.

Rolling his eyes, Percy turned back to Tyson. "Hey, remember when I said our dad was a sea god?" Tyson nodded. "That's what a lot of sea gods do. And lake and water gods for that matter. And naiads. And nerieds." The cyclops just blinked. Percy frowned. Was he rambling? Probably. And just after he'd thought badly of Annabeth for giving too much information away.

Looked like he was right on his way to becoming a typical Greek god if he was already being that hypocritical.

The thought nearly made him sick and he vowed to keep a closer eye on his judgment in the future. Somehow…

After a couple of moments, though, Tyson sniffed and smiled up at his brother. "Thanks, big brother."

Percy felt himself relax. "No problem, buddy. That's what big brothers are for.

"Now, you should probably stand up. Neptune will want his grand entrance and will be cranky if we don't do everything we can to give it to him."

No sooner had he said so than the ship began to rise through the lake.

"The dramatics," Annabeth whispered to herself. Percy was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to hear that.

He still decided to say something. "Going into a battle where the other side is intimidated gives us an advantage. Dramatic entrances are valid battle tactics."

"Didn't you have problems with his theatrics?" She asked, turning to him with a scowl on her face at being overheard.

"Oh, most definitely," Percy affirmed as he stood at the railing. "That doesn't stop it from being a valid tactic. It's just too much trouble for me to really commit to most of the time."

Annabeth snorted, but looked thoughtful.

A couple of seconds later, the water fell around them and the boat finally came to rest on the surface.

"This is my child, Perseus Jackson. Treat him as you would a delegation from the gods for that is what he and his party are! He is my representative in this camp, here to make sure you do change your ways and give all gods the proper worship they deserve!"

Percy sighed inwardly. Not only did that give away too many Greek ties with his name alone, but that kind of intimidation wouldn't help Camp Jupiter accept him. Or any of them.

"His companions are my other son, Tyson the Cyclops and," he paused, glancing at Annabeth for a moment. Sensing what was coming, the two demigods braced themselves. Percy still didn't think Annabeth realized what she would be in for with this, but he also knew if anyone could make idiots change their mind about stupid things, it would be her. It only took a couple of seconds for Neptune to continue, but it was still noticeable. Percy frowned at the god's lack of evasiveness. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Minerva." Several exclamations drew Percy's attention to the shore of the lake where several Roman campers in various levels of armor (on the way to the Coliseum? Or just training by the lake?) stood with mouths open or whispering harshly to one another.

Percy found himself scanning the crowd for familiar blond hair and glasses… wait, Jason didn't have glasses yet, did he? No. He was pretty sure of it. Right, those had been given to him by Asclepius.

Funnily enough, he actually found two other faces he knew first. To his relief, Reyna and Hylla both stood on the far right of the group amidst several other girls, some of which he definitely remembered from Circe's island. Neither of the two sisters seemed to care about the god raising the lake in a show of extreme force as he yelled at the Romans. No, they stared with dropped jaws at the boat. And the two demigods standing at its railing. Of course.

Oh, and there was a very young Octavian standing next to an older guy in white-and-purple robes. Joy. Percy wondered if he could curb the guy's lust for power and control? That was, very likely, his fatal flaw if Percy was to guess.

Then a head of golden-blond hair lifted from the back and into the air, clumsily—like he was being held up by a cyclone or something (probably not that far off)—and Percy breathed out a sigh of relief at seeing his old friend. He hadn't been the first friend Percy had lost, but his death had been one of the worst guilt wise. And with Percy's fatal flaw/domain of personal loyalty, that said a lot. Too much.

It had never stopped hurting. (None of them ever did.)

Moving on.

"Know I will be watching!" Neptune suddenly boomed before vanishing into the water. Again. Except on a much larger scale than at the bottom of the lake. If Percy hadn't been prepared for it, the resulting wave would have definitely beached them. As it was, it soaked a lot of people, but Percy managed to make the lake calm quickly and pushed the water towards the dock he could see.

"Did your 'dad' just leave us alone in hostile territory after antagonizing the entire Roman Legion?" Annabeth asked dryly.

Percy sighed. "Yup."

A pause. "Why are we doing this again?"

"To save the world."

Annabeth sighed. "That's unfair. I'm supposed to be the reasonable one."

Percy snorted as a smile made its way onto his face. Her words still reminded him so much of his wife… but it was different now, less painful. He hoped it continued to get better.

He steered his thoughts away from that very quickly, instead choosing to focus on the man in a Praetor's purple cape stalking almost angrily down the dock towards them.

"Well," Percy muttered, "here goes everything."

xXx

AN: *So, Riordan has it that Minerva wasn't considered a very major goddess from what I remember in the books, but… um… in my research, she was actually considered one of the three deities who FOUNDED their religion in some areas. So it really depends on where you look, and I figure that would translate to a bit of a complex, where some people absolutely love Minerva and others completely overlook her. However, everyone in New Rome would probably know there was a possibility of any child of hers being particularly dangerous if only because of her standing with some of the people there. *shrug* I like more complex backgrounds and emotions. It feels more real.

*ahem* Also, I got half-way through the final reading of this and realized I'd missed a contingency mistake-a pretty big one-and had to go back and change/add a whole bunch of stuff to make it work. So if there are any issues with this chapter, it's MY fault, not any of my betas! Heh heh...

Hubby's eye surgery went well, btw! He can FINALLY close his eye again!

Thanks to my beta readers and my tier 3 and 4 patr*ons: Srinikha, Snow, Asterius Daemon, Shadow Slayer, Starlight3, The Chromancer, Fiah, Pan_theytic_idiot, aaron E., Rayanne E., Splashbear, Shelby A., Rodger44777, and Quathis for their help on this!

Check out my discord for a link (#announcements or #Obis-podfics-and-youtube) to my youtube and my original book on Amazon! I'm open to suggestions as to where else besides Amazon it would be good to sell. Any thoughts?

Discord: www. discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)