Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel were heading towards the place Jason told them about, they found the spirit in his story. It was Venus or Aphrodite. The group sat down on a little picnic. Venus talked until she said something that caught their attention, "You have met my grandson." She was smiling when she mentioned him, "You all have no idea what to think of him." They nodded, none of them could figure him out. Venus smiled again, "He does that to people. I believe it may help to hear his story. I met his grandfather, a Roman noble, he was so kind and charming and handsome, I fell in love with him and we had a child. A beautiful girl, Claudia, we named her. She was the light in both of our lives, I told him of my nature and he accepted me, he understood me," her smile dropped and she looked almost pained, "he was killed when Claudia was seven, his best friend raised her. She grew into such a beautiful woman, she attracted the attention of a god, Mercury. Or Hermes as you call him." She smiled once again, Annabeth then said, "They had Cassius together." The goddess nodded, "Yes, Mercury and I were so overjoyed when she told us, we had Juno tell us if the baby was safe, he was. He was born with Mercury's bright blue eyes and Claudia's blonde hair. Everyone adored him, whenever someone met him, they immediately loved him." Her smile once again dropped, she lowered her head and the other three saw a tear roll down her cheek, "Claudia died of sickness a few weeks after his birth, Mercury and I were heartbroken. We knew we couldn't take care of him, so we gave him to the man that raised Claudia. The First Roman Emperor, Gaius Octavian Caesar. Octavian named him Gaius Cassius Caesar, he loved and raised Cassius like his own. My grandson was happy and at peace for four years, he was raised to be a proper Roman noble. But Jupiter sensed his power. Cassius had almost all of Mercury's powers, my charm speak and natural beauty. Jupiter and Juno had him taken from his adoptive father and they placed him with the Lotus Eaters." Piper said, "We know this, he stayed there for two thousand years and then got taken to CJ." Venus looked up at her daughter, "Yes, he was. Mercury and I couldn't see him for thousands of years. I lost his grandfather, the love of my life; I lost his mother, my daughter; then I lost him. His power outmatches all of my children and legacies. He was in the Third Cohort, he fought very well, I watched him from Olympus. He was so innocent and intrigued by the world. Cassius did what he does best, talk. He can convince, argue, persuades like no one the gods have ever seen. His father, his grandfather, his adoptive father, me. All of us were or are great at those things, but Cas surpasses us."
"Yeah, thanks for the story," Piper started. "It isn't over. Cas was elected Senator, then Centurion. He reached some of his goals. You may believe that his goals are a result of his ambition. They're not, he has these goals to prove himself. To me, Mercury, his family. He doesn't want to fail them, he wants to make us proud. He thinks that he needs to succeed and prove himself for people to love him, really love him. My grandson has this persona, the one you all see, the always smirking, wise, charming person. That's not Cas. I see him for who and what he truly is, broken. He's lost in time, doesn't understand anything. He thinks he's failed his family. He knows that people only like him because they are charmed by him, like when he was a baby, because of his natural good looks and charisma. Cas thinks he isn't good enough, that's why he wants to be Praetor and then Consul. All he wants is for somebody to love him." That last sentence stuck in their heads. The three girls couldn't imagine what Cassius goes through. He never knew his real family and barely remembers the one person who cared for him. "And now, he has turned the Senate and all of New Rome against us. They're following us and planning to attack Camp Half-Blood. He was elected Pontifex Maximus." Venus smiled, "Ah, my grandson has done well, but he thinks his success will make him happy," her smile vanished, "dark times are coming for him, please save him." The goddess looked almost desperate. The group nodded, but they were very confused.
Cassius had caught the group. He was wearing Roman armor and a golden laurel wreath. He stood in front of Jason, smirking, "Hello, Jason." "Cas." "I am here to stop you, you and your Greeks have been declared traitors. You are an enemy of New Rome." "Cas, you don't have to do this." His smirk dropped and he looked outraged, "Of course I do! Your friend attacked my home, our home! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" "Look, I-." "I see, you have chosen your side, with those Graeci. And I have chosen mine, with Rome and the Legion." Cassius drew his gladius and pointed it at his friend. Jason flew up into the air, using his wind powers, and Cassius followed him, using his winged sandals. The two were fighting with their swords while they flew in the air. They were locked in fierce combat, Cassius glared at Jason, "It didn't have to end this way. We could have fought side by side, like in the Titan War. But you betrayed our home, you betrayed me." Jason's glare softened, he realized what he had done to his best friend, he remembered how Cassius thinks about himself, Cassius was doing everything to prove he was good enough to his family. Jason hesitated and so did Cassius, suddenly an arrow struck Cassius in his left shoulder. He cried out in pain, he started to plummet down to the ground. Jason's eyes widened at his wounded friend, "No!" Jason quickly flew down and caught him. Cassius had dropped his sword and his right hand was gripping the arrow in his shoulder. He quickly pulled it out and cried out in pain again. Jason quickly scanned the area and his eyes settled on a Roman soldier, who was holding his bow with wide eyes. Jason's face morphed into anger but he looked back at Cassius. Cassius said, "Go! Just leave, you already did. I'll be fine, most of it was stopped by my armor." Jason nodded and ran back to the Argo II.
