Temple of Jupiter

{Camp Jupiter, 19th of June 2006}

Jason POV

The tension in the Senate House was thick enough to cut with a gladius. I could feel the weight of every Roman eye on me, a mixture of confusion, anger, and disbelief radiating from the assembled senators and ghosts. Part of me wanted to shrink away from their stares, to be the invisible new kid again.

Alexandra's voice cut through the murmurs, sharp as an imperial gold blade. "A guard of legacies will accompany the Greek demigods," she announced, her green eyes never leaving our group. "They will escort them to the Temple of Jupiter, where we will consult the remains of the Sibylline Books."

I nodded, trying to keep my face neutral. It was a reasonable precaution, even if I didn't like the implication that my sister and her friends couldn't be trusted. But then again, if our situations were reversed, wouldn't we do the same?

"Understood, Praetor," I said, my voice steady despite the nervous energy thrumming through my body. "Shall we proceed?"

Alexandra nodded curtly, then turned to address a group of older demigods – legacies, children of demigods who often acted as advisors and guards in New Rome. "Escort them to the temple. And keep your eyes open."

As we filed out of the Senate House, I couldn't help but notice the looks on my sister's friends' faces. Percy seemed tense, his hand hovering near his pocket where I assumed he kept a weapon. Annabeth's grey eyes were darting around, taking in every detail of our surroundings. And Thalia... well, Thalia just looked annoyed.

"You okay?" I asked her quietly as we walked.

She glanced at me, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "Oh, just peachy. Love being treated like a potential terrorist."

I winced. "They're just being cautious. It's not personal."

"Sure feels personal," she muttered, but didn't push the issue.

The Temple of Jupiter loomed before us, its white marble columns stretching towards the sky. Even after all this time, the sight of it still took my breath away. As we climbed the steps, I noticed a figure waiting for us at the entrance. The augur.

She was a tall, willowy woman with hair the color of wheat and eyes the color of blood. Next to her stood a younger boy, a year younger than me, with straw-blond hair and a pinched expression. I recognized him as Octavian, the dude who had been making my life a nightmare since he came back from the Wolf House, and also the augur's apprentice.

"Welcome," the augur said, her voice melodious yet somehow unsettling. "I am Cassandra, augur of Camp Jupiter. This is my apprentice, Octavian."

I saw Annabeth's eyebrows shoot up at the name Cassandra, but before she could say anything, Alexandra stepped forward.

"Augur Cassandra," she said respectfully. "We seek guidance from the prophecies. These... Greek demigods claim that a great threat is rising. We need to know if their words hold truth."

Cassandra nodded solemnly, her eyes seeming to look through us rather than at us. "Very well. Let us consult the sacred texts."

We followed her into the temple, the smell of incense and old parchment filling my nostrils. The walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of scrolls, each containing prophecies dating back centuries, we finally reached the middle of the temple, on the marble floor, engraved words stretched out.

Cassandra's eyes scanned the engraved lines, muttering words under her breath that I couldn't quite catch. Suddenly, she stiffened, her eyes going wide.

"What is it?" Alexandra asked, her voice tense. "What do the prophecies say?"

Cassandra looked up, her expression troubled. "I found one that could fit but..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

"But what?" I prompted, unable to contain my curiosity.

She took a deep breath. " It's weird I never read this line before, so I can't make it out exactly. It says... 'Darkness, time will end, while Greek and Roman will mend.' Or... it could be 'Dom, Tom will come while geese and reese will fuse.' The meaning is... uncertain."

I blinked, trying to make sense of the words. Beside me, I could see Annabeth's mind working overtime, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Before anyone could comment, Cassandra suddenly grabbed a knife from the altar. In one swift motion, she turned and slashed at a giant stuffed bear that I hadn't even noticed was in the room.

The sudden movement startled all of us, but what happened next nearly gave me a heart attack.

Two animals – a mastiff and a fox – suddenly burst out of Thalia and Percy's clothes, barking and yipping furiously, they grew to the same size as I was. In an instant, every Roman in the room had their weapons drawn, pointed at my sister and her friends.

"Whoa, whoa!" Thalia yelled, her hands raised. "They're just our animal companions! Stand down!"

For a moment, no one moved. I could feel the electricity in the air – literally, as sparks were starting to crackle around Thalia's fingers. One wrong move, and this whole situation could explode.

"Everyone, calm down," I said, trying to keep my voice steady and authoritative. "Lower your weapons. I'm sure there's an explanation for this."

Slowly, reluctantly, the Romans lowered their blades. The mastiff and fox, shrinked down in size, huddled protectively around Thalia and Percy's legs.

"Explain," Alexandra demanded, her voice cold. "Now."

Percy stepped forward, his hands still raised placatingly. "They're magical animals.Help from Odysseus for this quest. They can change size and were hiding in our clothes."

I could see the doubt in Alexandra's eyes, she then said. "I'm beginning to want to meet this Odysseus person more and more."

Before she could continue, Cassandra interrupted her.

"The stuffing speaks," she said, her voice distant as she examined the torn bear. "The Greeks... they can be trusted."

A collective sigh of relief seemed to sweep through the room. I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders, though I knew we weren't out of the woods yet.

"Very well," Alexandra said after a long moment. "It seems the augury supports their claims. But that doesn't mean we're allies. Not yet."

I nodded, understanding her caution. "What's our next move, then?"

Alexandra's eyes swept over our group, lingering on Thalia and me. "We need to discuss this further. The Senate will reconvene tomorrow morning. Until then, our... guests will be given accommodations in the Fifth Cohort barracks."

I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride at that. The Fifth Cohort – my cohort – had come a long way from being the "losers" of Camp Jupiter. 

As we left the temple, I fell into step beside Thalia. "So," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "Magic animals, huh? Any other surprises you want to share?"

Thalia smirked, a mischievous glint in her eye that reminded me so much of... well, me. "What about you lil bro, any surprises for us?"

I couldn't help but grin back. Despite the gravity of our situation, despite the years of separation and the cultural divide between us, in that moment, I felt truly connected to my sister.

As we made our way to the barracks, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. The prophecy, as confusing as it was, seemed to hint at some kind of joining between Greek and Roman. But would it be a mending, as the first interpretation suggested? Or something more... unpredictable?

I glanced at Thalia and her friends, then at my fellow Romans. I couldn't believe this was really happening, I still remembered my talk with Ozzy but that was more a dream at the time but now that dream had basically become a reality.

The Fifth Cohort barracks came into view, a familiar sight that now seemed charged with new meaning. As we approached, I could see some of my cohort mates peeking out, curiosity and wariness warring on their faces.

"Welcome to your home for the night," I said, gesturing to the building. "It's not the Ritz, but it's not too bad."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "As long as it's monster-free, I'm good."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, then get ready for a good night's sleep."

"Finally," I heard him mutter once more. I could see his sunken green eyes, the dude was probably tired as heck, everyone else also had that same tired look.

"Jason!"

I heard a voice yell from the barracks. A boy, 12 years old, with curly black hair, missaligned blue eyes, and bigger than a bull and a vampire red mouth from drinking cool aid, Dakota a centurion of the fifth.

Time to introduce greek and romans, I guess, i thought a small smile appearing on my face.

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