Chapter 11
Percy looked up at the cloudless sky. They would be crossing the Arizona-California border tomorrow. which meant that they would be crossing into Roman territory tomorrow. Percy wasn’t quite sure why, but a sense of finality had begun to come over him, like he was just only now realizing just what lay ahead of them and the responsibility he now held.
Percy took a deep sigh, here he went again. It seemed like such a sick joke to be standing here once more, on a quest against insurmountable odds to try and save Olympus from destruction. Talk about déjà vu. Sometimes Percy wondered what life would have been like for all of them if their parents hadn’t been gods. Percy was seventeen, most seventeen-year-old boys were worrying about high school exams or girlfriends and boyfriends, but not Percy, nope, instead Percy had become a divine being on his sixteenth birthday, instead Percy had spent his formative years fighting in a war watching his friends and loved ones die around him. it wasn’t just him either, it was all demigods, Annabeth was sixteen, and Bianca just a few months older. Yet they had all seen horrors beyond mortal comprehension, had watched people be killed, and had killed with their own hands. Such was the life of a demigod he supposed. Not for the first time, Percy envied mortals.
The thought of another quest made Percy want to laugh, hadn’t they he sacrificed enough? Hadn’t they all sacrificed enough? It seemed like such a fucking joke that all the deaths, all the pain, all the suffering, hadn’t even bought them a decade of peace. That not even a year after Luke’s death, their entire world would once again be on the brink of collapse.
It was times like this that he missed Luke like a phantom limb. Luke had been Percy’s rock during the Titan War; Percy may have been the child of prophecy, but it had been Luke who had held the Greek demigods together, keeping them in the fight even during those darkest days of the war after Syracuse had fallen and Washington was under siege. Percy knew deep down that if he were here instead of Percy, he would know what to do, he would know how to keep everyone safe. Percy knew deep down that he wasn’t a leader like Luke, he was fine with being a warrior, but leadership wasn’t something that came easy to him. and now everyone was looking to him for guidance; everyone was looking to him to keep them safe. Gods it had only been two days and he had already failed, Luke would have never let his guard down, would have never let Kyknos attack like that.
Deep down, Percy knew he wasn’t up to the job. Deep down, he knew that Luke should have survived instead of him.
He sighed, shoving those thoughts aside. Dwelling on what should have, or could have been was a pointless waste of time. He turned away from the night sky and headed back inside. They would need a plan for when they crossed into Roman lands.
He passed Piper’s room and saw an odd sight. The daughter of Aphrodite slumped in her bed, tangled up with none other than Annabeth. Percy suppressed a smile. It was always nice to see the rare moments when the crew acted like friends. He didn’t delude himself into thinking that he could ever build anything like that with Annabeth, her words from that night on the deck reverberated through his mind. There was 𝘧𝘢𝘳 to much water under the bridge for any kind of close bond. But still sometimes Percy wondered…
Finally, he came to the situation room. He ducked inside and found Jason hunched over the table. The son of Jupiter had that tired and stressed look in his eyes that Percy knew all too well.
"Couldn’t sleep?"
Jason looked up and smiled weakly. "Nah, a bit too much excitement for all that."
Percy nodded. The son of Jupiter was a true hero. The kind you might find in the old fairy tales that his mom used to read to him. the kind of hero that never thought of himself but only of others. Percy could see it in how he dotted after Piper and always tried to keep Leo on his feet, despite how thankless that last one might have been.
"Figured I might as well get started on a plan instead of staring at the ceiling all night."
Jason gestured to a large map of the United States spread out across the table. Percy peered closer. Spread across California and into southern Oregon were the words 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘶𝘮 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘮- "New Roman empire", with its capital just south of San Francisco. Across the other side of the map, spreading down from the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland lay the words ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΚΡΑΤΟΣ or "Greek State". Looking at the map, it amazed Percy just how well the gods had hidden the two civilizations from one another, two entire empires hidden from view.
"We’ll be crossing into the Mojave tomorrow morning." Jason gestured to the map before furrowing his brow. "If my memories are correct, then the local centurion for that sector is Felix Vitus."
Jason placed a small figurine of a Roman soldier just west of Primm on the map. Percy frowned. "Soo, this Felix guy? He good news or bad news?"
Jason sighed. "Well, I wish I could tell you, but Roman politics moves quickly. Last I heard, he was reasonable enough. He’s the son of some war hero from one of the northern provinces and a legacy of Mars, so as you can probably guess, he’s a little insecure."
Jason spoke like he understood, which, of course, he did. The desire to prove yourself was something that nearly every demigod knew. Percy had definitely felt it, the need to prove yourself worthy of your parents' love and recognition.
"I’m sure you and I can sympathize."
The son of Jupiter smiled weakly. "Yeah, gotta love being put up on a pedestal because of our dads." He nodded his head back to the board. "You got any input?"
Percy picked up one of the small figurines and placed it down near Baltimore, and another near Wilmington and New Haven. "Most of the Greek army is heading east, if what Artemis said is true, then Gaia’s invasion force will be landing on the east coast, probably near New York." He pushed another piece into the center of the map. "The 4th division under Kayala Knowes is currently holding Lincoln, Nebraska, mopping up the last of the Titan army remnants, but they’ll probably be heading east sooner or later."
Looking at it now, they could both see that it was a pitiful sight. The Greek demigod army was still recuperating from the Titan war so many of their best warriors and divisions had been lost, and it was plain for all to see that there was no way for them to hold back the Giants invasion while also dealing with a potential Roman threat.
Judging from the look on Jason’s face, he could see it too. But like a true leader, he said nothing of his doubts. Percy noted that he was a lot like Luke in that way.
"I don’t suppose we have any hidden aces to balance the deck?"
Percy picked another figurine and held it in his palm. "Well, we have me." Percy half-joked. Jason’s eyes remained stormy. "There’s also the Hunters of Artemis." Jason looked at him, confusion on his face. Huh, apparently the Hunters weren’t a thing in Roman society…weird.
"The Hunters are a group of immortal girls that Artemis trains and fights with."
Jason’s brow furrowed. "They aren’t her kids…..right?"
Percy laughed. "No, no, Artemis takes her oath 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 seriously, no the Hunters are kinda like, well I guess you could say that they’re like her adopted daughters."
Jason nodded, looking relieved. "Sorry, its just well, you Greeks tend to play fast and loose with the whole ‘virgin goddess’ thing.
Percy chuckled. It was always funny to see how new demigods reacted to the Athena kids. Just the other day, Leo had rushed up to him and asked in a shaky voice if Annabeth had a belly button or not.
"Anyway, I think we’re getting off track here. So these Hunters, do you reckon we’ll be able to get in contact with them?"
"That’s the hard part, usually I can sense demigods and usually establish some kind of link with them since they all fall under my domain." Percy sighed and rubbed his eyes, just once he wished the fates would make these quests easier. "But the Hunter’s are all sworn to Artemis, which means their souls belong to her, and I cant sense them."
A flash of disappointment flitted across the son of Jupiter’s face. "And I imagine with Artemis being crippled like the other Olympians, she won’t be much help?"
Percy shook his head. "Nope, but I think we can still count on the Hunters' support. If Artemis is incapacitated, that means that command falls to Zoe-"
Jason frowned again, "Zoe?"
"Zoe Nightshade." He smiled at memories of the Huntress, gods they had hated each other at first, but slowly the two of them had become battleforged friends. "Don’t worry, she’s a total badass and she’s always ready to kick ass, Titan or Giant." He paused. "Fun fact: she’s actually a daughter of Atlas, which leads to all kinds of weird situations."
"Wait…..she’s a 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪.....𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯?." Jason asked incredulously.
Percy waved his hand. "It’s complicated with a whole bunch of timey-whimey stuff involved. But what matters is that she’s on our side."
Jason nodded. "Well, it’s better than nothing." He placed a small figurine of an archer in the middle of the map. Before levelling his gaze at Percy, his electric eyes slightly dull.
"I uh, I know I probably shouldn't be doubting us like this, but." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But do you think we have a chance? I mean, we aren’t just fighting any old monster here, we’re fighting the fucking earth itself!" his voice turned small, and Percy resisted the urge to hold out his arm. "I mean, how do we stop something like that?"
Jason's confident persona was cracking apart. Out there on the battlefield, he seemed confident, so confident, but now Percy could see all the doubts flowing out. Percy knew all to well what it was like to be in Jason’s situation.
"We stop it by fighting." Jason looked up at him doubtfully, but Percy pushed on. "We stop it by fighting because that’s the only option we have." He sighed, a weariness overcoming him. "Because the other option is we give up and we all die. And we’re demigods; we don’t give up, because if we do, the whole world goes crumbling down." He braved a small smile "And hey, it wouldn’t be the first time our kind has faced insurmountable odds and come out on top."
Jason nodded slowly. "I guess, but just think about everything out there-"
Percy cut him off. "Then don’t think, Jason, I know you’re a leader, and you think it's your job to worry about everything." Memories of Luke filled Percy’s mind, and he smiled softly. " An old friend of mine once told me that sometimes being a leader isn’t about worrying about the whole army, it's about worrying about those closest to you, keeping them in the fight." He turned to the son of Jupiter. "So don’t worry about all that out there, Jason, just worry about 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴." He gestured to the hull of the Argo II. "Focus on these people, and the fates will take care of the rest."
In all honesty, Percy didn’t know if he believed half of what he just said. But Luke had once said something similar, and Percy just hoped that his fallen brother's wisdom might help him out just once more.
Jason cracked a small, tired smile. "I’ll try my best, Percy." With that, he walked out of the room, leaving Percy alone with his thoughts.