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Part one. Chapter ten.

Shots fired

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The ship was empty by the time Aris got back to it. She wasn't too surprised though. Coach Hedge had no reason to be on deck when he could be watching whatever it was that he loved watching so much and Percy was somewhere underwater, conversing with fishes and water spirits. So Aris simply lugged her shopping bags with her to her room and started emptying them.

She had gone on a bit of a shopping spree after seeing her mother. Shopping, oddly enough, was calming for Aris. She hadn't planned on buying anything but there had been a soft wind and a new weight in her pocket. That prompted the young woman to check and find a giant wad of cash there with a note.

Thank you for loving my son.
~H

Aris scoffed slightly. But she wasn't about to refuse money. She pushed her personal feelings about Hermes/Mercury aside and more than happily spent his money.

She bought some clothes for Hazel, Frank and herself. She even grabbed some cosmetic products so that she might not look like a zombie. There was a nice blue hoodie which made her think of Percy. Aris bought herself a pair of sneakers too. She grabbed some books for herself. A copy of the Odyssey, a couple trashy romance novels and this fun little fantasy found family novel about a prison break or something and a book on the history of Rome that looked interesting. Even after all that, the daughter of Venus still had maybe around 850 dollars left.

Hermes had been generous. He must have felt really guilty about Luke's death.

Aris had just about finished separating everything and neatly making piles of clothes to bring to Frank and Hazel's rooms when she heard movement on the deck.

A second later, Hazel was knocking on her door and pushing it open. She seemed so relieved to see her.

"Oh, you're here," she breathed.

"What's going on ?"

"It's—" Hazel paused, blinking at the piles of clothes on the bed and the empty bags around Aris' feet. "Did you go shopping ?"

"Yeah. Got you these." She patted Hazel's pile of clothes. "Now, what's happening ?"

"Oh ! Right ! The Romans are here."

Aris grumbled and moved to go upstairs. "Of course they are."

She separated from Hazel, speeding up to the deck while the younger girl went to get Coach Hedge. The daughter of Venus arrived and ducked with a yelp as a rope from the unfurling sails almost hit her in the head.

"Watch it !" She scolded Percy as Annabeth seemed to fire up the engine from her spot at the helm.

"Sorry," Percy told her when she reached his side.

The oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the Argo II turned from the dock, heading for the island in the distance.

The three eagles still circled overhead, but they made no attempt to land on the ship, probably because the mechanical dragon figurehead blew fire whenever they got close. More eagles were flying in formation toward Fort Sumter—at least a dozen. If each of them carried a Roman demigod...that was a lot of enemies.

Coach Hedge came pounding up the stairs with Hazel at his hooves.

"Where are they ?" he demanded. "Who do I kill ?"

"No killing !" Annabeth ordered. "Just defend the ship !"

"Oh come on," Aris whined. "Not even a little killing ?"

"No," Annabeth said firmly.

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie !" Coach grumbled.

Piper emerged from below. "Got a message through to Jason. Kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. He should be—oh! There!"

Soaring over the city, heading in their direction, was a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden Roman birds.

"Frank!" Hazel said.

Leo was holding on to the eagle's feet, and even from the ship, Aris could hear him screaming and cursing. It was kind of funny if she said so herself.

Behind them flew Jason, riding the wind.

"Since when can this motherfucker fly ?" Aris gaped.

"Never seen him fly before," Percy grumbled. "He looks like a blond Superman."

Aris snorted at that, holding out a hand towards him without tearing her tilted head away from Jason. Percy also kept staring at the blond as he slapped his palm against her, in a high-five.

"This isn't the time !" Piper scolded them. "Look, they're in trouble !"

Sure enough, the Roman flying chariot had descended from a cloud and was diving straight toward them. Jason and Frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. The charioteers fired their bows. Arrows whistled under Leo's feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. Jason and Frank were forced to overshoot the Argo II and fly toward the fort they were heading for.

"I'll get 'em !" yelled Coach Hedge.

He spun the port ballista. Before anyone could even think to stop him, Hedge fired. A flaming spear rocketed toward the chariot.

It exploded over the heads of the pegasi and threw them into a panic. Unfortunately it also singed Frank's wings and sent him spiraling out of control. Leo slipped from his grasp. The chariot shot toward Fort Sumter, slamming into Jason.

Aris' hand shot out to grab Percy, eyes wide in shock as she watched Jason—obviously dazed and in pain—lunged for Leo, caught him, then struggled to gain altitude. He only managed to slow their fall. They disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort. Frank, the real reason for her worry, tumbled after them. Then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and hit with a bone-shattering CRACK ! One broken wheel spun into the air.

"Coach !" Piper screamed.

"What ?" Hedge demanded. "That was just a warning shot !"

The hull shuddered as they picked up speed. The docks of the island were only a hundred yards away now, but a dozen more eagles were soaring overhead, each carrying a Roman demigod in its claws.

The Argo II's crew would be outnumbered at least three to one.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "we're going to come in hard. I need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. Once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of you help him guard the ship."

Aris nodded.

"But—Jason !" Piper said.

"Frank and Leo !" Hazel added.

"I'll find them," Annabeth promised. "I've got to figure out where the map is. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."

"The fort is crawling with Romans," Aris warned. "You'll have to fight your way through."

"Also, find our friends—assuming they're okay—find this map, and get everybody back alive. All on your own ?" Percy completed.

"Just an average day." Annabeth kissed him. "Whatever you do, don't let them take this ship !"

Aris and Percy shared a look before sighing. She was right. Just an average day in the life of a demigod.

🖤💔🖤

Aris had to admit that Percy and Jason working together scared her. The latter had arrived with Frank and Leo pretty soon after Annabeth left. They had joined the rest of them in defending the ship as they waited for the daughter of Athena.

Someone had the brilliant idea that maybe Jason and Percy should create a storm to throw the Romans off. Sure Jason had argued with her a little (condensed version : when he refused to listen, Aris demanded when she had ever had a bad idea which prompted a count down of her most epic top fails) but eventually agreed (when the daughter of Venus told him she would stop talking about their former sex life in front of his current girlfriend). That was how the boys ended up standing together, their swords crossed. They were working as one, summoning the sky and the sea to do their bidding. Water and wind churned together. Waves heaved against the ramparts and lightning flashed. Giant eagles were knocked out of the sky. Wreckage of the flying chariot burned in the water, and Coach Hedge swung a mounted crossbow, taking potshots at the Roman birds as they flew overhead.

Soon enough, Aris noticed Annabeth booking it towards the ship. Aris made for the gangplank and held out her hand as the Argo II started pulling away from the dock.

Annabeth leaped and grabbed her. They both fell back onto the deck while the gangplank fell into the sea.

"Go !" Annabeth screamed. "Go, go, go !"

The engines rumbled beneath her. The oars churned. Jason changed the course of the wind, and Percy called up a massive wave, which lifted the ship higher than the fort's walls and pushed it out to sea. By the time the Argo II reached top speed, Fort Sumter was only a blot in the distance, and they were racing across the waves toward the ancient lands.

🖤💔🖤

It seemed like forever had passed before the sea calmed and the winds died.

Aris was by Annabeth's side, the pair arguing on how to get Percy to drink some water. He and Jason sat with their backs against the mast, their heads slumped in exhaustion. Opposite them, Piper was the same with Jason. While the boys' girlfriends were being nice and gentle, Aris didn't understand why they couldn't just pour the liquid onto Percy's head. He was a son of Poseidon. Getting splashed should invigorate him ! But Annabeth slapped her hand away when she reached for the bottle for the umpteenth time. That just made Aris give up with a groan and sit next to the dark haired boy, head on his shoulder.

Hazel and Frank stood just out of earshot, having an argument that involved lots of arm waving and head shaking. Aris didn't like that. She liked it even less when the argument stopped abruptly when Hazel saw Leo. Everybody gathered at the mast.

Frank scowled like he was trying hard to turn into a bulldog. "No sign of pursuit," he said.

"Or land," Hazel added. She looked a little green. Aris had yet to figure out if it was caused by her seasickness, her lover's quarrel or a mix of both.

Nothing but ocean in every direction. Aris knew it was coming. They had traveled all across the country to get to this ocean which would lead them to the Mare Nostrum and from there, Rome and Greece. The land of their ancestors. The place one part of their heritage came from.

As a history buff, Aris was kind of excited to see the Forum and all the other iconic places in Rome and Greece. As a demigod who knew gods were incapable of making their lives easy, the daughter of Venus was absolutely dreading this journey.

"Did you find the map you wanted ?" Leo asked Annabeth.

Everyone looked to her for an answer. The blonde nodded, though she looked pale. Aris wondered what she'd seen at Fort Sumter that could have shaken her up so badly.

"I'll have to study it," she said, as if that was the end of the subject. "How far are we from those coordinates ?"

Apparently Percy had gotten coordinates from a Nereid and they were heading for them.

"At top rowing speed, about an hour," Leo said. "Any idea what we're looking for ?"

"No," Annabeth admitted. "Percy ?"

Percy raised his head. His green eyes were bloodshot and droopy. "The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but..." He paused, like he'd used up all his energy saying that much. "She also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium : she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

"Wonderful," Frank muttered.

Jason tried to stand, which wasn't a good idea. Piper grabbed him to keep him from falling over, and he slid back down the mast.

"I'm fine..." he muttered, going to stand again.

Aris rolled her eyes and moved from Percy's side to between them and pushed the son of Jupiter back down. She wasn't gentle about it as she scowled. "Don't be an idiot, Gracie. With your luck, you'll fall over and get an other head injury which will knock you out for days," she rolled her eyes.

Jason scoffed gently, leaning against her. "You'd like that, wouldn't you ?"

"Wouldn't be opposed to it," the girl nonchalantly shrugged.

"You said I could go die in a ditch for all you cared..."

Aris blinked, not expecting him to bring that up. It had been months since she has said that. It was the day they broke their arrangement off. Though they hadn't exactly had time to salvage it either. It was maybe a few hours before Jason Grace got involuntarily recruited to Juno's special exchange program. She shook her head, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Stop overworking what little brain you have," she ordered. "I might not care about you but these guys to for some strange reason."

Jason adjusted himself so that he was leaning his head on her shoulder and tiredly asking, "Can we get the ship aloft ? If we could fly—"

"That'd be great," Leo said, eyeing the pair before glancing at a glowering Piper. "Except Festus tells me the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Sumter."

"We were in a hurry," Annabeth said. "Trying to save you."

"And saving me is a very noble cause," Leo and his huge ego said which prompted an eye roll from Aris. "I'm just saying, it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere."

Percy flexed his shoulders and winced. "Fine with me. The sea is good."

"Speak for yourself." Hazel glanced at the evening sun, which was almost to the horizon. "We need to go fast. We've burned another day, and Nico only has three more left."

"We can do it," Leo promised. "We can make it to Rome in three days—assuming, you know, nothing unexpected happens."

"What the fuck, dude ?" Aris looked at the kid in disbelief. "Why would you even put that out there ?"

"Leave him." Jason waved her off as if to say 'let it be', his voice low.

"Fine but if the fucking Trojan sea monster shows up because he predicted this, I'm sacrificing him."

"Thanks," Leo deadpanned.

Aris falsely smiled at him.

Frank grunted. He looked like he was still working on that bulldog transformation. "Is there any good news ?"

"Actually, yes," Leo said. "According to Festus, our flying table, Buford, made it back safely while we were in Charleston, so those eagles didn't get him. Unfortunately, he lost the laundry bag with your pants."

Aris really did not like this kid. She narrowed her eyes at the son of Hephaestus while Frank barked, "Dang it !" which for him was a severe profanity.

He didn't get a chance to further mourn the loss of his trousers though since Percy interrupted by doubling over and groaning.

"Did the world just turn upside down ?" he asked.

Jason pressed his hands to his head. "Yeah, and it's spinning. Everything is yellow. Is it supposed to be yellow ?"

Aris immediately shoved him off her and backed up with a wary look. She gave him a once over as he groaned, falling against Piper who spared her a harsh glare (that did absolutely nothing to Aris) before she started fussing over her boyfriend. Aris had good reason though. The last time Jason had described those symptoms was when they had stolen a bottle of her dad's liquor and gotten drunk in the Gardens of Bacchus at fourteen. Aris had paid hell for it she got back but she wasn't sure if her dad had actually noticed the missing booze. They had so much it wouldn't be surprising if it had gone unnoticed by Edward. He might have just been in a bad mood. You never knew what you were going to get with Edward Mallory.

But Jason, at least, fourteen year old Jason, was a bit of a lightweight. He had thrown up in on of the shrubs. Aris refused that he throw up on her nice denim shorts and top. She really liked them. Also, getting barf out of her hair and off her skin was not how she planned to spend the next couple hours. He had a girlfriend. He could throw up on her.

"Summoning that storm really sapped your strength," Piper told the boys. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea."

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it," Aris rolled her eyes.

"Aris..." Hazel gently said which prompted the young woman to let out a heavy sigh but nod, indicating she was shutting up.

Piper glared again before looking back to the boys. "You've got to rest."

Annabeth nodded agreement. "Frank, Aris, can you both help us get the guys belowdecks ?"

"I call Percy," Aris announced as she started getting to her feet with Annabeth.

She caught Frank glancing at Leo, not exactly pleased to leave him alone with Hazel.

"It's fine, man," Leo assured. "Just try not to drop them on the way down the stairs."

Aris rolled her eyes at the comment but she knew Hazel well enough to know that she wouldn't do anything. So she hummed, catching her brother's attention. She nodded, promising that it would be fine.

He clearly didn't like this but nodded back. He went to Piper's side to help her with Jason. That's when the six of them disappeared below deck.

🖤💔🖤

"I have a surprise for you," Aris sang as she took Frank's arm.

Annabeth had assured her she could handle Percy once the girls had gotten him to his room. After making sure she was sure, Aris agreed and went to find Frank. He was coming out of Jason's room at that moment.

So Aris took that as her chance to lead the son of Mars to her room. Frank chuckled slightly. It wasn't often that Aris got excited this way.

"Tada !" The girl announced, picking up the pile of clothes she had bought him and presenting them to the younger boy.

Frank blinked. He gingerly grabbed the clothing. "These are for me ?"

Aris nodded. "We crossed my mom and I was not about to do that so I went shopping." She shrugged. "Got some stuff for you, Hazel and myself. Oh and I thought of Percy when I saw this and grabbed it." She held the blue hoodie over her body.

"Ari..." Frank grinned, at a loss for words as he looked through the clothes. There were some t-shirts, a couple pair of jeans and a very nice sweatshirt Aris had grabbed because it was just so comfortable-looking. "Thank you."

Aris smiled at him, hands in the back pockets of her shorts. "What are fashionista big sister for ?"

He put the clothes down and hugged her. Aris gladly hugged back. Frank's hugs were the best. He was so tall and cuddly. He practically engulfed Aris' small frame.

"What else did you get ?" Frank wondered once he released her.

Aris gasped, excitedly saying, "Am I about to give you a shopping haul ?"

"Sure."

Aris clapped, jumping up and down. This was the happiest she had been in ages. For a minute she could forget that they were demigods on their way to certain doom. Here, they were just a boy and a girl, bound by some bond who were about to do normal teenage things like talk about shopping or have a potential fashion show. It felt nice.

In that moment, Aris almost remembered what it was like before she left Camp Jupiter. Before it felt like the walls were closing in and that she was so alone and lonely that the only solution Aris could come up with was leaving. She felt like Thea Mallory again, the sweet little daughter of Venus who actually believed that the world might not be so bad.

Someone cleared their throat at her door.

And Aris was back. Her smile faded to a scowl as she turned her head to find Piper there, glaring at her. "What do you want ?"

"Nothing," Piper sneered. She let out an exhale through her nose before begrudgingly informing, "Jason's asking for you."

🖤💔🖤

Aris knew she probably should have just told Piper to fuck off and gone ahead and given Frank a haul of her shopping trip in Charleston. But Aris had to admit she was curious.

Jason was asking for her ?

Why ?

She knew he had an annoying habit of constantly checking up on her and making sure she was okay but it couldn't possibly be that. Not when he was in such a bad state himself. And as much as she wracked her brain, Aris couldn't think of anything he would need her for, specifically.

When the young woman reached his room, Jason seemed to be tiredly blinked at the ceiling.

"You need to rest, dumbass," Aris scowled.

Jason's head snapped to her, looking surprised. "You came."

"Well, you called." She pulled up the desk chair next to the bed and sat down, looking down at Jason. "Your girlfriend is pissed, by the way. I don't even need my powers to tell you that."

Jason winced before looking up at Aris. He studied her face while she waited for him to get to why he had asked for her presence. Jason seemed inclined to take his sweet time which made Aris let out a loud, impatient sigh.

"I actually have things to do, you know. So—"

"I'm sorry."

Aris blinked at him, so thrown off by his sudden apology that she couldn't even scowl or come up with a retort. It took her a beat to process before she creased her eyebrows. "For what ?"

"For being an idiot."

"Can you be more specific ?" Aris wondered. "Being an idiot is a general state for you."

Jason longly looked at her before saying, "I'm sorry it took me so long to answer you that day. For making you think I just wanted you for sex."

Realisation spilled over Aris like a tub it cold water. She shook her head, eyes wide trying to stop him from talking. "Jason—"

"I did want you back. The reason I didn't answer wasn't because I didn't want to," Jason continued, ignorant what this confession would lead to. "I didn't answer because I was shock. I never...I thought you might feel the same."

Aris knew exactly what he was talking about. Which day. It was the day everything fell apart.

She had replayed that day over and over in her head. Wondering if it was her fault Juno had taken Jason. Wondering if she hadn't yelled at him and hadn't told him she wished he were dead in a ditch, if he might have been spared.

That day, she had stayed a little longer than usual after her and Jason had fucked. And it had taken a lot out of both of them. So they had been cuddling, something that rarely happened.

"I should go," she mumbled against him, pushing herself up from his chest.

Jason glanced over before looking at the clock on the wall with a grimace. "It's pretty late."

"Only way I won't get caught," the young woman shrugged. She pushed her hair out of her face, shyly pursing her lips before she sat up, the sheets held to her chest. "Or...I could stay...?"

It was an opening. A sliver of hope. An invitation. The implications were all there. Jason might be an idiot but he wasn't that dumb. He understood that those words were her asking how he would feel about people finding out. Her asking if this could maybe be more than just sex.

When she looked at the boy, Jason had just stare. His mouth was opening and closing like that of a fish. But his silence said more than enough.

Aris felt a spike of shame rush over her. Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head. "Gods, I am so stupid."

"Aris—"

"You're just like everyone else. Of course you don't want me like that." She quickly started putting her clothes on, swiping away invisible tears so that Jason wouldn't notice.

"Aris, wait," he got to his feet, trying to explain.

Aris wouldn't though. She had just pulled her t shirt over her head and buttoned up her jeans. The daughter of Venus was looking for her sneakers when Jason grabbed her upper arms and turned her to him. Aris immediately snatched them back, glaring. "Don't touch me."

"Will you let me talk ?" He begged.

"There's nothing to say. I'm just a piece of ass to you. Like I am to everyone else."

"That's not—"

"Don't." The girl ordered. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not—"

"Gods," Aris shook her head, scowling with a tear filled glare. "You don't even have the balls to admit that I'm just sex to you."

"Because you—"

Aris shook her head, turning to leave. "I don't give a shit, Grace."

Jason grabbed her wrist and stopped her. He towered over her, his expression set. "You really don't give a shit what I have to say ?"

"No, I don't. I don't give a shit about it. And I don't give a shit about you," she snarled, snatching her wrist back. "You can go die in a ditch for all I care."

That was their last conversation. Aris had had eight months to get over it. To get over the guilt that ate at her. To let the wound close.

And here was Jason Grace, opening it up again.

"I'm so sorry, Aris," Jason told her.

Aris just stared in disbelief. "Fuck you, Jason."

"What ?" He blinked, clearly startled.

"I—what am I supposed to do with this ?"

"I just wanted to come clean."

"Yeah," Aris mirthlessly laughed. "You wanted to come clean. You wanted to relieve your conscience. But did you even stop to think what that meant for me ? So you wanted to be with me. It doesn't change anything."

"It doesn't ?"

"No ! Because you have a girlfriend ! And like always, I have nothing !"

Jason seemed to realize. His tired face fell with devastation at what he had involuntarily done. He reached a hand out towards her, "Aris—"

Aris shook her head, shooting to her feet. She wiped away the tears that had left her eyes against her will. "Fuck this. I'm done."

The daughter of Venus stormed out the door, ignoring Jason's voice calling after her. She turned to go to her room, freezing with wide eyes as she ran into someone. Piper looked like a deer caught in headlights right outside the door, just out of Jason's line of sight.

Aris let out a bitter hysterical bark of laughter.

She went to make a snide remark but was cut off by the boat rocking. Looks like they were under attack. Aris was going to kill Leo Valdez for jinxing them.

Pari Speaks !

Fuck...this chapter took so fucking long. I am so sorry guys. Writer's block plus exams is not a good combination. But I got through it ! It's here !

And we have ARSON BACKSTORY and ARSON DRAMA ! Ah ! I love them so much.

I hope you guys enjoyed ! See you next time, lovelies !

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