Percy Jackson son of Neptune

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The Argo II began its descent over Camp Jupiter, and Jason gripped the railings tightly, hoping that he and the Greeks would be warmly received by his former home. He knew Percy would be Praetor by now, he had been gone nine months, they would've had no other choice, especially not with Octavian around. He just hoped that arriving in a massive bronze trireme wouldn't hamper the diplomatic efforts. As they broke through the clouds, he got his first glimpse of New Rome in nine months, Piper holding his hand by his side. The city looked... alive. There was activity in the streets, and Jason could see construction on new sections of the city that hadn't been there before.

A loud 'pop' filled the air, along with smoke, and once it cleared, Jason saw the armless god Terminus on the deck, an angry look on his marble face.

"What is this?" He exclaimed loudly. "An armed warship above my city? Jason Grace, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Jason froze, and unfortunately, Leo chose that moment to speak.

"Dude, where are your arms?" He asked the god, going to poke him with a screw driver.

"Is this how you Greeks treat your gods?" A new, amused voice cut in, and Jason whipped his head around to see Percy reclining on the spar of the mast, head lolled to the side. Jason opened his mouth to speak, only for Annabeth to do so before him.

"How did you get up here?" She demanded, causing Percy to arch an eyebrow.

"You bring a warship to my home, and think I'm not going to come investigate?" He asked them, before looking at Jason. "Cousin, have you told them anything about me?"

"I, uh- I honestly haven't had the time." Jason answered.

"Huh." Percy said, and then sighed. "Terminus, let them dock their ship over the Field of Mars. That's outside the Pomerian Line, and puts them inside our ballista range, if they try anything."

Thalia stumbled onto the deck at his point, clearly agitated at having been woken up. Piper followed shortly after, rubbing her arm. Percy took one glance at Thalia, and then his eyes flickered to Jason, before going to Thalia. She stared at him as if he was an alien.

"Who the Hades is this?" She snapped, looking to Annabeth for an answer. Jason answered instead.

"Thalia, this is Percy, my cousin. Percy, this is Thalia, my sister. That Thalia, too." He finished, looking at Percy, waiting for a reaction.

His cousin stared at the duo for a moment, before leaning backwards, flying off the spar of the mast, performing a backflip, then landing on his feet, and strolling forward, before pausing several feet in front of Thalia.

"Greek?" He asked, and she nodded at him, her eyes narrowed. "Huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked him, eyes flickering with electricity.

"You don't look like Jason, and I remember Lupa saying that he looks remarkably like his father." Percy observed. "Which means you must look like your mother."

Thalia growled, but Percy didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. Suddenly, a group of three Pegasi landed on the deck of the Argo, and their riders dismounted quickly. Jason recognized Reyna and Frank Zhang, but the last person, a young girl wearing a full set of armour, was new to him. Instead of the traditional purple cloak of the Praetors, Reyna wore a red cape, a paludamentum, a symbol of a legate, or a general, rather than Praetor, something which confused him. Frank wore the armour of a Centurion, which made sense, because Percy had been grooming him for command, and upon becoming Praetor, would have needed a successor.

"Percy, you can't just vanish like that now that you're..." Reyna trailed off when Percy shot her a look, but Annabeth didn't like it, so she made herself known.

"Now that he's what, exactly?" She asked sharply, but Reyna didn't even bother answering her, instead looking right at Percy. Jason knew he needed to intervene.

"Percy? What's happened?" He asked carefully. Percy was different than he remembered. More in tune with his emotions, guarding them carefully, which wasn't really new, but it was around him. His cousin let out a deep sigh.

"I suppose I'd rather you find out now than later." He said, and Jason braced himself for the news that the Romans had joined with Gaea. "I've become Imperator. I'm now a Caesar."

Jason felt his heart stop. "What?" He asked weakly, Piper by his side in a flash to stabilize him.

"I, uh, recovered the Eagle in Alaska, rescued the legion, and then killed Polybotes." Percy told him. "They raised me as Praetor afterwards, and the city, and senate, ratified it the next day. I have a pretty long title now. Reyna knows it."

Percy looked over at Reyna, who rolled her eyes, before taking a step forward, and clearing her throat.

"Before you stands Imperator Perseus Jackson, Caesar of the Tertio Imperii, The Titan Killer, The Giant Slayer, Princeps, Patronus to all Romans." She announced, though there was a clear disdain for having to do so. Even Percy wasn't hiding the look of annoyance on his face.

"I'm sorry about all of that." He said with an apologetic smile. "It's required when introducing myself to potential allies. Move your ship over to the Field of Mars. Give me half an hour to assemble the Legion, and then we'll meet you in proper style."

He vanished in a spray of water, something that caught Jason off guard, and he whirled onto Reyna.

"Where did he learn to do that?" He asked her. She shrugged at him.

"Supposedly, Salacia taught him, on the journey north to Alaska," Frank said, "Percy vanished for an hour into the ocean, all he told me was that he met with his step-mother and half-brother."

The trio of Romans mounted their Pegasi and flew away, and Leo began slowly moving the Argo II towards the Field of Mars, as Percy had told them to. Annabeth and Thalia watched with interest as the legion marched into formation, but Piper remained by his side. Eventually, Thalia moved away from the railing, and made her way over to Jason.

"You didn't tell me he was that powerful." Thalia said to him, and he knew instantly who she was talking about, although, it wouldn't have taken a genius to know.

"To be fair, the last time I saw him, he wasn't, or at least, he never showed it off around me." Jason said. "But it's been nine months, Thalia. We're Romans. Adapt and overcome, essentially."

"Are you jealous that he's essentially the king now?" Thalia asked.

"Imperator." Jason corrected. "Rome doesn't have kings."

"He's right." Annabeth agreed. "They have emperors, which is much different."

"How?" Piper asked, and Jason gave her a tight smile.

"Roman Emperors tended to be killed as time went on." He said. "I don't think anything in the world has the stones to kill Percy."

"That powerful?" Annabeth asked.

"More, I'm starting to think." Jason replied solemnly.

MMXVII

AN: Right, so, I just deleted two chapters, and rewrote this one, at two in the morning, after downing an entire cup of tea. Hope you enjoyed it, as much as I did writing it!

Cheers, CombatTombat