O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   T H R E E

( #brason4ever )

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          "THIS PLACE IS insane! Gods, I'm beginning to grow a bit jealous of these Romans!" Malia looked around New Rome with wide, enchanted eyes. The place was beyond beautiful, and she couldn't keep her jaw from dropping each time she saw something new and exciting.

New Rome was something Malia couldn't even describe. It was filled with vibrant buildings and beautiful gardens and winding cobblestone pathways. Every piece of Roman architecture she'd ever seen in any book she'd ever read was before her, her eyes lighting up at the beauty of it all. There were flowers of many colors, each one brighter than the next. Statues of Roman gods and goddesses littered the grounds, standing in fountains and gardens and in front of houses. Malia's eyes grew extremely wide when she spotted a large building with a bunch of teens surrounding it and conversing.

"Is that a college?" she asked, bewildered.

Jason chuckled, nodding. "Yeah. New Rome has a college and a place for people to spend their lives, raise a family. It's the safest place for demigods after their years of servitude to the legion."

Malia couldn't seem to comprehend that fact. She'd known from the moment she stepped foot in Camp Half-Blood that it was the only safe place for her kind. She knew that she'd only be able to spend her summers there, and if she ever wanted to return after graduating high school, it would have to be as a counselor for the cabins. Attending college would be difficult and dangerous and attempting a life after camp would be the same. 

But to hear that New Rome had a college and a place to live after everything was done? She couldn't believe it. The thought made her heart soar in her chest. Could she actually manage to get a college education and live somewhere where she wouldn't have to fear a monster attack at every corner? 

"Did you ever plan on going there?" she finally said, blinking rapidly as she looked away from the building and toward her boyfriend.

Jason hummed in thought. "I'd never thought of it. As praetor, I thought I would be there until I was no longer needed. But now that I'm back again, and everything has changed for me . . . maybe."

"What would you major in, Hercules?" Malia asked, swinging hers and Jason's hands back and forth as they walked toward a coffee shop. They planned on getting some coffee and touring the rest of the city before finding a nice place to sit and talk until it was time for the Senate meeting.

Jason shrugged. "Probably something to do with leadership."

Malia pulled a face. "Gods, please tell me you don't mean politics. I'm not going to date a future politician. Too stressful."

"Arial, you are the only daughter of Poseidon who is currently involved in a huge quest. How much more stressful could your life be?" Jason joked.

Malia shrugged. "If you become a politician, we'll see."

"Okay. What would you be, then?" Jason asked, moving to hold the door to the coffee shop open for her. Malia thanked him as she walked in, Jason following behind.

"Probably something to do with marine biology. Ooh! Or maybe an actress!" Malia said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

Jason perked a brow. "An actress?"

Malia nodded. "I can be very dramatic. You know this! Like, soap opera level dramatic!"

Jason chuckled. "So a politician and an actress-slash-marine biologist?" Malia hummed in agreement. "Sounds like the name of a crappy teen RomCom."

"I'd watch it."

They approached the counter and placed their orders, Jason quickly paying for it before Malia could protest. His argument was "You don't know what a denarii is and you don't have any, so there!" which didn't go well with Malia, who then slapped his arm and called him a misogynist while happily picking up her drink. Their small interaction caused the barista to laugh, which immediately made Malia crack up as well, Jason following.

Malia happily sipped her drink as Jason showed her around the city, pointing out everything he remembered and filling Malia in on some of the stories that he had involving each place. Her cheeks hurt from how big she was smiling, finally feeling content after months of stressing about the upcoming journey to find her brother and bring him home. Despite the worry of the Senate meeting going wrong and the fact that she was technically on enemy territory, Malia was more calm than she'd ever been in her entire life, even before she found out about who she was.

At some point in their small tour, the two had stumbled into Hazel, Frank, Piper, and Percy, who had been taking the time to get to know each other while Annabeth and Reyna had their discussion. Percy's face lit up when he spotted his sister, but fell when he realized her hand was laced with Jason's in a way that was way more than just friends. Malia rolled her eyes at her brother's expression, preparing herself for what he had to say.

"So . . . Jason, right?" The blond nodded in confusion. "What's going on between you and my sister?"

"Oh, for fucks sake," Malia mumbled as Piper burst into a fit of laughter behind Percy, who looked very serious at the moment. "Seriously, Perce? You're choosing now to play the role of protective older brother?"

Percy threw his arms up. "Well clearly I missed the opportunity to give you the lecture on how you're obviously too young to have a boyfriend! So yes, I am."

Malia turned to Jason with an apologetic smile. "Just humor him."

"Will do." Jason sent her a wink.

"Hey! None of that!" Percy said, crossing his arms as he looked between them. "No cutesy flirty shit. Not on my watch!" He jabbed a finger at Jason. "You're her boyfriend and I have no say in this relationship—"

"—First correct thing you've said," Malia muttered.

"—But if you break her heart or so much as make her lip quiver, I'll drown your royal ass. Understand?" Percy finished, his tone completely serious.

Malia glanced at Jason, who was also wearing a serious expression as he met Percy's eyes. "Percy, I can guarantee you that I wouldn't dream of hurting Malia."

Percy cracked a tiny smile. "Good. 'Cause I could totally take you in a fight."

Jason rolled his eyes jokingly. "Sure you could."

Malia met Piper's eyes, the two laughing under their breath as they muttered, "Boys."

The small moment of peace and happiness was quickly ruined as a shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of Malia's eye.

She and the rest of the group turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.

"Giants?" Hazel asked, eyes wide in surprise. "I thought we defeated their army!"

Malia's eyes trailed from the crater to where the weapon had came from, widening when she spotted the Argo II floating in the air. Her mouth went dry in shock and she could barely utter the words that were stuck to the tip of her tongue.

"I— oh my gods. It came from our ship!" Malia managed, heart racing wildly inside her chest as she pointed to the war trireme that seemed to be preparing for another shot at the forum. "What the Hades is going on?"

Frank glared at the ship. "It appears Octavian is trying to start a war."

"Well, he's doing a damn good job," Jason said, pointing to something in front of them. "Look."

Malia's eyes grew even wider when she saw the Roman demigods rushing toward where the ship was hovering, their eyes ablaze with anger and their hands filled with makeshift weapons. They were stopped in their tracks as the Argo II launched a second volley. Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House, and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o'-lantern. If anyone had been in there . . .

"We need to do something!" Piper shouted as the roar of the Romans grew louder. "Leo's on that ship!"

Percy eyed the raging Romans and the ship before turning to the group. "We can't leave until Annabeth gets back. Let's just hope the Romans don't turn their anger on us." Just as he said that, a few Roman demigods pointed in their direction, causing Malia to turn to her brother with a look that told him he'd screwed up. Percy threw his arms up. "What?"

"You're an idiot, you know that?" She turned to Jason and frowned. "What do we do? You know these Romans better than any of us."

Jason swallowed as his face hardened, a look she'd seen anytime they were about to enter battle. It was the look of a leader, one that she'd grown to trust. He faced the group. "Piper, I need you to use that voice of yours. If these Romans come at us, calm them down." Piper nodded. "Hazel, Frank, find anything that could be used as a weapon. These Romans aren't going to care if you're their old friends. You'll need to protect yourselves." The two nodded and raced off to find whatever they could.

"There's fountains all around here. Lia, help me hold the Romans back with water. And please, don't freeze them," Percy said.

Malia rolled her eyes. "Calm down, bro. I'm not Khione." She nudged Jason, eyeing the approaching Romans carefully. "What are you going to do?"

"Try and talk some sense into them," he said shortly.

"Translation: blast their asses with lightning." Malia nodded in approval. "Sounds good. Let's try not to die, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan," Piper said, and the four moved to their stations just as the angry Romans reached them.

Malia stationed herself on the ledge of a great big fountain with Dionysus—Bacchus, sorry—standing in the middle and spitting water out. Percy stepped up beside her, the siblings sharing a determined look before taking their stances and preparing themselves for the oncoming wave of outraged demigods.

The first line of demigods hit, and Malia was definitely not prepared. They threw plates and food at the siblings, trying to knock them down and grab at them. One of the Romans wrapped a hand around Malia's ankle, the girl quickly retaliating by shooting a jet of water in his face and knocking him and a few other Romans back. Percy was handling himself with his usual amount of idiocy, his toga already being ripped to shreds from the Romans grabbing at it.

Malia could feel her strength beginning to waver a bit as she shot blast after blast of water at the Romans. At one point in the battle, Frank and Hazel rejoined them, wooden planks in their hands being used as makeshift swords. Malia shot them a friendly smile before punching a kid in the face that had grabbed at her hair and pulled it.

"Not the hair, asshole!" she shouted, glaring at his bloodied face. "You do not pull a girl's hair!"

Malia had to be honest, though. If weapons had been allowed in the city, she and her friends would have been dead before the first second of the battle passed. The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food, and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless, as most of the stuff fell back into the crowd.

When Malia glanced back at Jason and Piper, her heart fell. Several dozen Romans had surrounded them while the two were trying to calm them without much luck. Piper's charmspeak was useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason's forehead was bleeding. His purple toga had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, "I'm on your side!" but his orange Camp Half-Blood tee shirt didn't help matters—nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby Percy and Malia, blasting a toga shop to rubble.

Malia's eyes widened as Frank let out a strangled gasp behind her. "Pluto's pauldrons!"

Armed legionnaires were hurrying toward the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.

"That'll just make things worse," Hazel said, slapping her forehead with her hand.

Malia shot another Roman in the face with fountain water, keeping them back from her and her friends. As if the angry Romans, burning couches, and exploding buildings weren't enough, hundreds of purple ghosts drifted through the forum, passing straight through the demigods' bodies and wailing incoherently. The fauns had also taken advantage of the chaos. They swarmed the dining tables, grabbing food, plates, and cups. 

Another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull.

Malia then noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.

"Someone push that idiot off the ladder!" Malia shouted as Percy blasted the Roman mob with another wave of water.

Malia then caught sight of Annabeth racing toward them, her eyes wide and her blonde hair a mess.

"Annabeth!" Percy called. "What—?"

"I don't know!" she yelled.

"I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

Malia shook her head, glaring at the man. "Listen here, you pasty son of a bitch! Leo would never do that!"

"I was just there!" Octavian shrieked. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

The Argo II returned fire. Legionnaires in the field scattered as one of their catapults was blasted to splinters.

"You see?" Octavian screamed. "Romans, kill the invaders!"

Malia scanned the forum, spotting Piper and Jason once more. They were in more trouble than she remembered, causing her heart to jump into her throat. She didn't spare her brother and best friend a glance as she raced through the crowd toward her friend and boyfriend, dodging any and all attacks to get there.

When she slipped into the small circle around them, Jason immediately took her hand and pulled her behind him, protecting her from the ring of angered demigods. It was obvious that the crew from Camp Half-Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick (which she thought likely), they'd never be able to convinced the Romans before they were overrun and killed.

"We have to leave!" Piper shouted over the Romans, meeting her friends' worried eyes. "They'll never listen to us and we can't risk it."

Jason pursed his lips. "I hate it, but you're right."

Another wave of Romans came at them, but they backed away when Malia flicked her wrist, revealing her trusty sword which had somehow reappeared on her wrist in bracelet form after she'd removed it on the Argo II. The glowing celestial bronze made them all retreat a bit, their eyes wide as they looked at the weapon in her hands.

"Stay back," Malia said in an eerily calm voice, her eyes storming with power. "I mean it!"

The momentary shock that the Romans around her felt was just that—momentary. They started their shouting and fighting with even more vigor, spurred on by Malia's threat of their lives. They started to throw plates and rocks, one of which nicked Malia's cheekbone and split the skin, a small trail of blood leading down her cheek and toward her jaw. She ignored the pain, stepping back toward Jason and Piper with her sword in hand.

Jason held his hands out. "Romans!" he cried. "Please!"

Suddenly, Malia felt herself get pulled back by Jason as something large and dark hurtled through the air. It collided with Jason's forehead and made him crumple to the ground. Malia spotted the object—a brick—and her heart dropped with worry.

Seeing that their former leader was incapacitated, the Romans surged toward them, ready to take them out as well. 

"Get back!" Piper yelled, her charmspeak rolling over the mob and making them hesitate. 

It didn't last very long, the mob snapping out of it and continuing their journey. Fueled by rage and worry for her friends and boyfriend and brother, Malia twirled her sword before doing something she had only ever done once before.

"STOP!" She slammed her sword into the ground, the blade sinking hilt-deep in the cobblestone. A wave of silence fell over the angered mob at her voice, the power it held. She may not have been a daughter of Aphrodite with charmspeak, but she held a strong voice.

Then, the ground began to rumble. It shook slightly, causing the Romans to teeter on their feet as they began to lose their balance. And, just like before in the battle against Enceladus, a crack formed from where Malia's blade was impaled in the ground. It grew, snaking through the crowd and down the path before growing wider, the earth splitting apart and forming smaller cracks. The Romans screamed as they stumbled over each other, scrambling away from the splitting earth and the girl with the glowing green eyes. 

This caught the attention of Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel. Percy had just told Frank to go and get his sister and her friends, but the son of Mars had halted when he saw that they had everything handled.

"What's happening?" Percy asked as he gripped Annabeth's shoulder for stability, the earth still shaking. 

Annabeth smirked. "Malia."

"What?" Percy screamed. His eyes flickered toward her sister, spotting her at the center of the earthquake. "SHE CAN CAUSE EARTHQUAKES?"

"Percy, we need to leave! You can ask her about this later!" Annabeth said, and the three raced toward the ladder while Frank went to aid his relative and friends.

Once the ground stopped shaking and ripping apart, Malia pulled her sword shakily from the ground and turned it back into a bracelet. All her energy was gone as she stumbled on her feet, Piper helping to stabilize her. She was pale from exhaustion and her eyes were droopy, but she held a triumphant smile on her lips.

"Badass," Piper said jokingly, making Malia laugh quietly.

A loud roar made them snap their heads around, spotting a large dragon bounding their way.

"What the fuck?" Malia screamed in surprise.

The beast was even scarier than Festus, the bronze figurehead of the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard's and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward them. It grabbed Piper and Malia in one front claw, Jason in the other, then vaulted into the air.

"Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck," Malia muttered, clenching her eyes shut as the ground grew further and further away. She wasn't as terrified of heights anymore, but this was scary! A dragon had just abducted her and her friends and was taking her gods know where.

The dragon circled the ship once and landed at the bow, dropping Jason, Piper, and Malia onto the deck without warning. Piper and Malia helped each other from collapsing, but Jason didn't have anyone to hold him up, so he fell face-first onto the deck. Malia, despite feeling just as weak as Jason, rushed over to his side and knelt down beside him, reaching for his neck to check his pulse. A sigh of relief left her lips when she felt one, nearly bringing tears to her eyes. He was alive.

"Go!" She heard Percy yell. "Get us out of here!"

Malia didn't tear her eyes from her boyfriend, flipping him over with a bit of effort to check the cut above his eyebrow. It was swollen and red, blood streaming from the laceration and falling into his golden hair. Piper knelt down beside her and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile to let her know things would be fine.

Then, the ship lurched upward at a horrifying angle. She heard the ship groan as the mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds without warning, nearly throwing the two girls overboard.

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Once the ship was far enough away from the camp and the angry Romans, Percy helped Piper and Malia get Jason to his cabin, where Coach Hedge was waiting for them. Jason was placed on one bed while Malia was forced back to her own cabin by both Percy and Piper, the two ordering her to rest after the stunt she'd pulled earlier against the Romans. 

"Sleep, Lia," Percy said softly as he pushed her back against the mattress with a gentle hand. "You need it."

Malia shook her head. "I need to check on my friends and make sure they're okay."

"You just caused an earthquake, genius," Percy said, cracking an impressed smile. "Which, by the way, was pretty fucking insane to watch. Sleep, or I'll Iris-message mom right now and tell her that you were the one who broke her ABBA vinyl when you were six."

Malia's eyes widened and she immediately relaxed into the mattress. "Fine, I'll sleep! Geez!" 

Percy smirked victoriously. "That's what I thought."

Before he could leave, Malia reached out and grabbed his hand, giving him a small smile when he turned back to her. "I missed you, jerk."

Percy chuckled lightly and walked back over to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I missed you, too, idiot."

He then walked out of her cabin, leaving Malia alone with her worried thoughts and her tired body. Malia reached for a square of ambrosia and bit into it, smiling at the taste as she felt herself slowly grow stronger. She then grabbed the glass of water by her bed and downed it, immediately feeling energy course through her body. Malia allowed herself to relax into her mattress after that, immediately feeling herself fall asleep to the gentle—and somewhat irregular—rocking of the ship.

Her dreams had been filled with flashes of monsters and giants and a woman made of dirt that she knew was none other than Gaea. When she'd woken up from her nap, she had no clue how much time had passed, but she felt regenerated and better than before. With a breath, she slipped out of bed and into her bathroom, deciding now would be the best time to take care of the cut on her cheek that she'd forgotten about.

It wasn't bad, just a small slice through the skin. With a bit of water, the injury was healed up, leaving just a small scar in its wake. Once that was done, she turned on her heel and made her way out of both her bathroom and cabin, immediately navigating the halls until she reached Jason's cabin, finding him still knocked out on his bunk.

She approached his bed and pulled his desk chair up to it, sitting down before taking his hand in her own and lacing their fingers together. She gently ran her thumb over the back of his hand and studied his sleeping face. The welt on his forehead had gone down and the cut was healing, but he was still pretty pale from loss of blood and a hit to the head. Though, she assumed he'd be fine since this wasn't the first time she'd seen him get hit in the head on a quest. That thought made her lips quirk up in an amused smile

"I'm going to tease you relentlessly about this, I hope you know," Malia said quietly, cracking a grin. She reached out with her other hand and brushed some of the hair from his eyes, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. "I'm thinking something along the lines of #brason4ever. I think it has a nice ring to it."

She laughed softly to herself. There was a knock at the door and Malia turned, spotting Piper standing in the doorway with a smile on her lips. "Hey. Glad to see you're awake."

"Turns out I wasn't as tired as I thought," Malia admitted.

"Good." Piper leaned against the door frame. "Leo just landed the ship. We're all going to go and get some things to fix the damages to the ship. Percy, Annabeth, and Frank are going to get some tar while Hazel and Leo get celestial bronze from some island in the middle of the lake we're in."

Malia frowned. "What?"

"I was confused too, but it's Leo, so . . ." Piper and Malia laughed. "By the way, we figured out what happened. Leo said he felt as though someone was controlling him, making him do all those things. It was him doing it, and he remembers thinking it, but he felt as though he was stuck watching it happen."

Malia nodded slowly. "How did the others respond to that?"

"Your brother yelled at him."

"Sounds like Percy."

Piper grinned slightly. "I think they all understand. After all, this is our group we're talking about. Something was bound to happen, especially since we're going against Gaea."

"This is just the beginning," Malia sighed out. "What are you planning on doing while they're gone?"

Piper shrugged. "I think I'm going to try and sleep. I didn't get much last night."

"Okay. I'll be here when you wake up," Malia said.

Piper gave her friend one last smile before leaving the cabin and heading for her own. Malia turned her attention back to her boyfriend, biting her cheek with worry. What had the power to take over Leo's mind? It couldn't have been a god, since they all have issues right now. And it couldn't be a monster, since they were protected by the ship's barriers. So what did it?

"I'll have to look at some books later tonight," Malia mumbled to herself. "Of course, that is, if something else doesn't happen to us."

With a heavy sigh, she leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling, prepared to wait forever for Jason to wake back up. She'd wait forever for him. She just hoped that right now, that wasn't the case.

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A U T H O R S   N O T E

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The long awaited chapter. I'm sorry I haven't been posting as much right now. Summer just began and along with it came summer cheer practices, so I'm more busy and constantly doing things. That, and I have work, so I have to fit this stuff around that. But I promise I'll try and get more chapters out faster because I know how much you guys love this story and I don't want to disappoint all you lovely readers.

Okay, so Malia loves New Rome! That was a given. She also wants to be a marine biologist and an actress combined into one, which is such a Malia thing to want. And she caused another earthquake! Percy is so jealous of this ability even though he can create hurricanes, which is insane. Oh! And we saw some seriously protective Percy in this chapter as well. And a lot of swearing! Sorry about that. I was in a weird mood while writing this chapter.

Anyway, next chapter is the Topeka 32 chapter and the battle. Can't say I'm excited for it, but then again, I'm kind of excited for it. We'll see what the next chapter brings, because I have a pretty interesting twist up my sleeve. One that you guys won't be expecting, that's for sure.

Please comment and vote!

Love you all!

~ a.h.