Percy pulled the boat to the un-occupied side of the dock. The other side had rows of smaller boats in various states of repair tied to it. The dock looked sturdy enough though. At least it held up to a very large praetor's heavy, angry steps.
The trio on the boat watched the newcomer carefully, especially as he looked about ready to tear them apart with his bare hands. Percy had to wonder why, but didn't think voicing the question would be conducive to good relations. Instead he kept studying the legionnaire. He was older, in his early twenties probably, with dark hair and a red tint to his brown eyes. Huh, was that Mars' aura he sensed there? Probably.
Calmly, Percy stepped out of the boat, willing the bow's mooring line to come to him. It did, albeit slowly. Right. Reduced power over boats. Yay. Well, whatever worked.
The praetor's eyes widened as Percy began to tie up the boat while Annabeth and Tyson also stepped (albeit with far less grace) onto the pier. Then the Roman seemed to psych himself up for something and forced a grin that looked far more like a grimace onto his face.
"Delegation of the great Neptune," he said through gritted teeth. "Welcome to Camp Jupiter."
Percy sent a far more real (if mildly more threatening) smile at him. "Thank you for having us!"
The guy's eye twitched, but he pushed on anyway. "I am Praetor Wade Jacobs."
"Percy Jackson," Percy said, holding out his hand. He noted out of the corner of his eye that Annabeth was tying the aft mooring rope to the dock as well. Good. That meant he could focus on their already so warm welcome. "We're here to help out and hopefully stop this siege."
Any pretense of welcome dropped from Jacobs' face. "With all due respect," meaning none with that tone of voice, "we don't need your help. We can handle this on our own."
And there was the Roman pride. Or the Mars/Ares pride. Or both. Ouch. He'd never realized how that might build. Had Frank had to deal with that? Or maybe Percy had never considered it because Frank was just that awesome.
"Wade!" A new voice had everyone turning to the head of the dock, where another praetor was making their way towards them. She was tall, probably in her late teens, with red hair tied into a high ponytail, brown eyes and freckles that just seemed to enhance the shape of her face. Jacobs' eye twitched again before that fake smile went back on his face and he turned to the approaching woman.
"Praetor Parsons."
She rolled her eyes at his address. Hmm, interesting.
"Drop it, Wade. And can you please not tick off the delegation from the very powerful god of water and seas?"
"Their presence is an insult!" he practically hissed, gesturing behind him to Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson. "As if we can't take care of ourselves—"
"Saturn's forces are literally right at our door, and you want to turn away help?" Parsons snapped back. "For your pride?"
"Neptune's children are cursed!" Ah, there it was. "And that one claims to be a child of Minerva! As if Lady Minerva would—"
"Then we bring it before the Senate! We get explanations, expectations, perimeters, and then we vote on what to do!" Parsons yelled. Some of the campers on the shore, still watching them all, shifted uncomfortably. "You've been a praetor for almost four months and a legionnaire for eight years before that! You know all of this!"
Jacobs' eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. Taking that as affirmation, the red-head put a hand to the bridge of her nose.
"It's like you let becoming a praetor get to your head. You don't suddenly get to make every decision! This is still New Rome!"
Percy could hear the older praetor's teeth grinding.
He opened his mouth, but Parsons held up her hand. "No. I don't want to hear it. Go call an emergency Senate meeting while I—you know, the one of us who seems to have any manners at all—take care of our guests."
"What right do you have to order me around like that?" Jacobs' asked, looking about ready to attack his fellow Praetor. "We have the same rank!"
"The right of clear-headedness and some intelligence. Also, I get home before you and I can make sure you sleep on the couch tonight."
Oh. Were they dating? Lovers? Married? Wasn't that a conflict of interests? Hmm.
Percy could almost see steam coming out of Jacobs' ears. He opened his mouth once again, but once again Parsons cut him off.
"Fatal. Flaw," she said.
That seemed to reach Jacobs, and he snapped his mouth closed. His anger flickered to one of… worry? Fear? Something akin to that. It was just a second, but Percy still caught it.
"Fine," he snapped, then turned and stomped up the dock towards the Roman demigods waiting there.
Meanwhile, Parsons let out a long sigh and watched him go worriedly. After a moment, she schooled her expression and turned to the trio of questers. "I apologize profusely for that," she said, inclining her head deeply. "The war has been weighing on him and he tends to lash out when he's overwhelmed.
"I am Praetor Mia Parsons, daughter of Feronia."
"Goddess of wildlife, fertility, health, and liberty." Percy said.
The praetor seemed surprised.
"Among other things." She extended her hand. "Call me Mia or Praetor Mia unless it's before the Senate. Although, speaking of, I will have to escort you there as soon as possible."
"What for?" Tyson asked, curious.
Mia didn't jump, but it looked to be a near thing as she eyed Tyson carefully. "Mainly to vote on what to do with you."
Annabeth stepped next to Percy, confusion plain on her face. (She hated being confused, he knew.) "What about Lord Neptune's orders?"
"Lord Neptune is… not a very welcome god around here," Mia said nervously. "And while I know it would be… problematic to go against those orders, I have as much authority as Praetor Jacobs."
"Well, we're here to change the misconception of my father's children anyway!" Percy said happily.
"They may vote to kick you out of camp," the red-head warned.
Percy snorted. "They're not that stupid."
Mia blinked at him, as if wondering how he had the audacity to say that, before throwing her head back and laughing. "Debatable. Especially during war."
"I guess we'll just have to convince them then," Percy grinned. "This way?" He pointed down the dock.
Mia just seemed amused. "Yes. I'll show you a couple of sights on the way there."
"What happened to 'as soon as possible'?" Annabeth asked.
The praetor raised one eyebrow. "As a daughter of Minerva, I thought you'd want to see the library."
Oh, she was good. Annabeth's eyes lightened hungrily. "Well, I suppose just a couple of stops wouldn't hurt…"
Mia laughed again. "I think we'll get along just fine. Now, if you'd like to follow me."
And with that, they made their way into New Rome.
xXx
They almost didn't make the meeting. First, Terminus gave them issues (big surprise there) and then the fountain, then Mia had to explain to a very concerned Annabeth and Tyson about the ghosts who stared at them and whispered 'Graecus' under their breaths. Fortunately, when they caught a glimpse of Tyson watching them, they skedaddled. Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances but otherwise said nothing about it as Percy patted Tyson's back and told him that it wasn't his fault the ghosts were mean. Tyson said he appreciated that.
Then things started to look up as Mia took them to some guard towers that stretched out over the city (thankfully, she didn't say anything about the 'best' architecture as Reyna had—that would have been a fight).
Annabeth's face almost went blank when she saw the city in the distance and Mia explained about legacies and families. That was something they'd have to discuss later. Their mini-tour ended on a high note with the Public Library, then smashed back to a low note as Percy almost had to physically drag Annabeth out of it, especially when she found out she couldn't get a library card because she didn't belong to New Rome or the Legion. When the librarian—a sharp-eyed man with reading glasses and a receding hairline—said that aloud, Percy thought Annabeth might just attack right then and there.
She was still fuming when an amused (and intrigued) Mia led them into the senate chamber. Right up onto the dais in front of the enormous half-circle filled with annoyed, purple-dressed senate members.
Right, Percy always hated this part. Even as a god, he'd never ended up in front of the Senate when they were happy. He wasn't sure they could do "happy". Something about the seats, maybe?
Jacobs sat in the left-most seat meant for the praetors, arms folded and lips pursed. He made it look menacing. Definitely a Mars kid. And if this was what everyone remembered about Mars kids, then no wonder Frank with his clear head and reluctance to rush into things had been (would be) such a surprise.
The praetor watched the four in their group approach him with a cold gaze. Formulating. Just accentuating the difference between Roman and Greek. Ares kids were usually itching for a fight. They were battle crazed. Mars was more about the war. Didn't mean Mars kids weren't battle crazed, but they did tend to be more controlled about it and think about future repercussions better.
Percy may be a little biased, but he still didn't think Mars kids pulled off calculating like Athena kids did though.
Yeah, definitely biased.
They crowded onto the dais, the three newcomers lining up behind the praetors as Mia took her seat. There was barely enough room for all of them, especially with Tyson, but they made it work. Percy stood in the middle with Tyson on his left and Annabeth on his right.
He didn't listen as Mia announced them and their goals according to Neptune. Apparently, the Roman side of his father had laid those down clearly: Restore his temple, listen to their instruction for fighting (they'd undoubtedly have to prove they were worth listening to later), and allow them to help with the siege. While Mia laid that out, Percy studied the people of the Senate. Many of them were faces he remembered. Not everyone in the Senate was a legionnaire, but they had to have been at some point. It had always bothered Percy that many of the people there were in their thirties and forties. Why were children out there fighting battles when these people sat here making decisions they wouldn't have to fight through?
It had been something he'd been working on in New Rome in the future. It was pretty common for legacies to go into the legion at fourteen to sixteen. Lupa's demigods could be anywhere from nine to thirteen. He'd had to fight really hard to get that raised to sixteen and thirteen respectively. Had even gotten a program in place for the new Roman demigods from Lupa to be fostered with different families until they could join the legion, making sure they received a formal education before they entered service at the least.
He still found the fact that he'd had to do that ridiculous. Lupa had disagreed, saying the younger they learned to train and fight, the more chance they had of surviving. He'd argued that once they got to New Rome, that became more or less moot. It had been an ongoing thing. The idea of having to start all over with that again both ticked him off, and made him aware of a very heavy weight on his shoulders.
Percy took a deep breath. Later. He had to focus on the immediate to get to the later anyway.
"We don't need their help!" Jacobs' voice brought Percy out of his musing. "We are New Rome. We are Camp Jupiter. We solve our own problems!"
Several shouts of agreement. Including one from Octavian, who wasn't a part of the Senate but sat off to one side next to a very old man Percy had never met before. Was Octavian in an apprenticeship of some kind? For becoming an Augur? He had to be in the legion already too. Hmm.
"Solve our own problems?" Mia retorted. "Undoubtedly we can, but at what cost? How many more legionnaires do we have to lose first? Especially when we don't need to?"
"What can three people do?" Jacobs asked scathingly. "Especially these three? One cursed, one liar, one monster!"
"Excuse me?" Percy said shortly while Annabeth's eyes narrowed.
"Am I wrong?" he asked, whirling on them. "You are a son of Neptune! Children of Neptune are cursed! Children of Minerva don't exist, for obvious reasons, and he's a cyclops!"
"Can we speak?" Percy asked dryly, making his displeasure obvious but refusing to rise to any bait. "Or are you just going to sit there and make more assumptions you know nothing about?"
"Yes," Mia said before Jacobs' face could grow any redder or protest.
"First," Percy said, taking the offered opportunity before anyone else could and turning to the Senate body, "I'm surprised that such an astute body as the Roman Senate would mistake power for a curse." He was definitely drawing on his more Roman side just then. And here he hadn't thought he still had one. The fact that he'd had to learn to address the Senate to get his changes across in the future may have helped.
"Yes, children of Neptune can be powerful. Yes, my father is the Earthshaker. Yes, responsibilities for my abilities come with that. Hence why I was training away from camp. Unlike my brother one hundred years ago, I have control over my water and earth abilities. My father made sure of it." Okay, he was making that up off the top of his head at this point. Although, he technically hadn't lied. His father had made sure. That had been more as a god than as a demigod, though, and it had been Poseidon, not Neptune, but details. "I can guarantee that unless this camp is in dire need and I have no other choice, the earthquake of 1906 will not happen again." He could guarantee that.
"Are you saying Lord Neptune didn't send you to destroy us?" someone from the senate shouted.
"As if Lord Jupiter," ugh, he really hated saying that, "would allow such a thing. All Lord Neptune wants is respect. Something sorely lacking judging by the state of his temple."
"You haven't even seen it, yet," Jacobs said.
Percy eyed him, turning his head only slightly. "Am I wrong?" He so enjoyed throwing other people's words back in their face. And judging from Jacobs' silence and clenched jaw, he knew it.
"As for my brother, Tyson, he is meant to work in… my father's forges in the future." He'd almost said Poseidon there. Yup, still more Greek than Roman. Probably always would be. And he had no problem with that. "As the children of Vulcan are said to be the best of the best," one thing he'd learned in the future, flattery worked. He still hated it. "Father figured that sending him here to learn the basics will be beneficial to both him and us." Something else he'd learned was to reveal an angle. If people knew why someone was doing something, they didn't often look deeper.
"We did get some new imperial gold to make weapons from," someone—probably a daughter or legacy of Vulcan—said. She was a woman, probably in her twenties or thirties, likely of Polynesian heritage if Percy had to guess. He made a mental note to find and befriend her later.
"And as for a Daughter of Minerva," Percy went on after giving the woman an acknowledging nod, before turning to Annabeth, "I'll let her explain."
He stepped aside and glanced at his partner. Her mouth had set into a firm line—one that said she was nervous but determined. Percy had to withhold a nostalgic smile.
"My name is Annabeth Chase, daughter of the virgin Goddess Minerva."
Cue protests. "How can that be?" the man sitting next to Octavian asked, his voice somehow rising over everyone else's. He didn't shout, but his voice projected, and he had a sort of calm certainty about him. He was someone to watch.
Percy wondered how Annabeth would respond to that. He almost expected her to take them to task and just tear everything wrong about their culture down right then and there. He hoped she had more tact than that, but this was thirteen-year-old Annabeth.
He shouldn't have worried.
"Have you such little faith in your goddesses?" she accused. "Do you think they are held to the same mortal limitations? Of course not! My mother met my father while he was studying at Harvard. I suppose she thought him worthy of a gift, because I was birthed from her head—from their union of minds, not bodies. Much like my mother was born from… Jupiter's head, so was I born from hers. I am a demigod because my father is mortal."
"Why would such a goddess be interested in plebeian human ideas?" someone asked. Percy memorized his face and made a mental note to 'talk' to the guy later. Still not someone he recognized… yet.
"You will have to ask my mother about that," Annabeth snapped. "However, if you wish to call Lord Neptune's own words into question, then please, proceed."
Yeah, that shut them up. No one here was stupid enough to get on a god's bad side. Especially if that god already seemed very unhappy with them.
Percy would have left that off with a last snarky shot had he been in Annabeth's place, but she just seemed satisfied when no one spoke against her. Nodding firmly, she stepped back beside Percy. He shot her a smile and a nod. She returned the nod.
"In any case," Mia finally said, "Lord Neptune wishes for his temple to be restored, but obviously understands that we cannot currently take any time or manpower to do so. He surely has his reasons for his timing, but for now, I motion for a vote that allows them to stay."
"In what capacity?" Jacobs asked suddenly. "To rebuild temples or make armor and weapons is all well and good, but what about instruction? Or allowing them to help us stop the siege?"
Percy raised his hand at that. "If I may?"
Jacobs turned to him, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. He was definitely one of Lupa's.
"Please," Mia said when her fellow Praetor didn't answer.
"Obviously you should not take instruction from someone who has not proven themselves," Percy conceded. Jacobs looked surprised and suspicious. Percy had to withhold a smirk. "I propose that at a time we agree on now, both myself and Annabeth will fight three people of your choice. Each." Whispers broke out around the room. "Let us prove that we have the skills necessary to instruct you."
"Why should we learn from self-taught newbies?" someone yelled. That one was definitely in the legion, Percy knew his face but not his name.
"Other than the fact that I learned from my father's own guards?" Percy asked dryly. "The Roman way is good. No one can deny that. But even the best fall into habits. Habits that can be taken advantage of. Fighting those of us who have different strategies can only strengthen the legion.
"Also," he grinned, "I've been learning to fight for well over a decade—" centuries counted— "now, and Annabeth here has been learning since she was seven."
More hushed murmurs.
"Then I move to postpone the vote," Jacobs said. "Tomorrow, after they have shown us their…" he paused and sneered at them, "skills, we can put it to a vote then!"
"I second," the same legionnaire who had just questioned them said.
Mia looked mildly annoyed as she nodded and moved forward. "All in favor?"
The vote was nearly unanimous.
"All against?"
A handful of people raised their hands, some of them ghosts. Percy couldn't remember if they had a vote around this time or not. They did in the future, but it didn't hold the same weight as a live Senate member.
"Then I move that tomorrow at 1000 hours, our guests will spar with three people—chosen by myself and Praetor Jacobs, unless someone disagrees…" she faded off, but no one spoke. She nodded. "Until then, we treat them as the guests they are," she emphasized. "All in favor?" This time it was unanimous. And honestly, Percy was fine with that.
"Where will they stay?" the old man (the current Augur?) by Octavian, asked.
"Our boat will be sufficient," Percy said. "We are here on Lord Neptune's behalf. He has graciously provided accommodations. Even if we are allowed to stay, we would likely remain there unless instructed otherwise." He seriously doubted they'd be stupid enough to not let them stay, but letting them know they would be out of the way as much as possible could work in their favor.
The old man nodded thoughtfully.
"Very well," Mia said, then turned to the Senate. "Are there any other questions or problems?"
"What of their food?" the woman who Percy had pegged as a child or legacy of Vulcan asked. "We have limited resources."
"We have enough for today," Percy said. "Any other resources, we are willing to work out with if we are allowed to stay." This really brought back his memories of standing in front of the Senate before. At least this was going better. The first few times in his first lifetime had been awful.
That seemed to appease several people in the room. Just how bad was their condition?
"Any other problems or questions?" Mia asked again.
No one spoke this time. After several seconds, she nodded. "Then I move to adjourn. All in favor?"
Another unanimous vote and the senate chamber emptied almost immediately, groups of two or three huddling together and whispering as they left, shooting the newcomer trio several glances ranging from intrigued, through wary, and into downright hostile territory.
Mia sighed and turned to Jacobs, who still stood next to them, arms folded and eyes narrowed. Maybe that was his default? "We can discuss who to pick for the demonstration at lunch?" She posed it as a question. Jacobs nodded once, the gesture firm and resolute, before turning and marching away.
The remaining praetor let out another sigh before turning to the delegation. Percy noted that Tyson just seemed confused, but Annabeth was obviously hiding a storm of anger below a stony mask. The way her pupils flared and her nose scrunched ever so slightly…
She'd probably hate that he knew her so well, so he said nothing as Mia spoke.
"I'm sorry for this, but although I said 'guests', I'm going to have to ask you to remain on your ship or the dock for the rest of the day, unless something extreme comes up. In which case, please find me. I'll be in the Second Cohort barracks. Just… be careful. You can find Wade there too."
"Wade?" Tyson asked.
"That's the other guy's name, remember Big Guy?" Percy asked. "Wade Jacobs."
"Oh," the cyclops said, nodding. This was probably a lot for him. Percy made a mental note to talk with him about everything later.
For now, though, he turned back to the Praetor. "We will return to our boat then."
"Allow me to accompany you," she said. "We may also have to post guards at the dock, for your own safety as well as ours."
Annabeth's fists balled and she looked about ready to start yelling—or verbally tearing apart—so Percy jumped in first.
"That's understandable. We are newcomers here."
Mia smiled gratefully. "Thank you for understanding."
"No problem," Percy said.
Annabeth scoffed, but otherwise didn't say anything as Mia led them down from the dais and out of the Senate building.
"So," she said once they found themselves under Apollo's rays. "You said you trained with your father? What is it like, under water? Is he in the sea, or a lake? Have you met other gods there? Merpeople?"
Percy almost laughed, especially when he noticed Annabeth perking up in front of them. Apparently Mia wasn't the only one interested.
"Well, my father lives in Atlantis, obviously under the sea…"
xXx
AN: Woo! Another chapter done! That being said, there will obviously be OCs in this. It's really not avoidable. *shrug* That being said, I'm going to try and keep them to the minimum, focusing on characters from the actual series first and foremost.
Also, I can't remember if the guy from 1906 was a son of Neptune, or a legacy. If you know, please let me know. :)
Getting hubby home rn is not going too well. Could use prayers/thoughts in that direction. Please.
Thank you so much for your continued support!
Also, thanks to my beta readers and my tier 3 and 4 pa*trons: 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)