#*asph

asph is far more powerful. not only does he have prophecy (precognition), mnemokinesis (retrocognition), and mist manipulation relating to memory, he also has: probability manipulation, pylikinesis (portal creation), slight chronokinesis, seeing through lies & illusions, and doorway manipulation. asph & janus still have their telepathic link through asph's reflection.

this asph is far more angry. he's more willing to give into his impulses.

he still reunites with sheamus at fourteen. however, the brothers don't get a lot of time together. asph shows a skill for prophecy and is given the title of "augur of the fifth" so he doesn't have a whole lot of time to reconnect.

that makes it so easy to leave at sixteen when janus says it's time. without his brother's stabilizing unflappability, asph is less tethered. less connected to new rome.

spends his time on the princess andromeda (16-19) after janus portals him there. asph keeps his father updated through their link.

he survives the andromeda's explosion by portalling himself to shore. allies find him a few days later. the final battle is almost here.

during manhattan (19), janus reaches out to his son with fallback orders as asph passes a reflective window. kronos-aligned demigods call him "abandoner" because he didn't finish the battle.

he doesn't return to new rome. and he doesn't go to camp half blood. asph is a wanderer (much like alabaster in "son of magic").

he doesn't fight the monsters that come after him, instead portalling away.

olympus is after him for forsaking his own prophecy.

asph has pretty much no company. janus hasn't spoken to him since manhattan and there's no time to forge connections while running from monsters & the gods. he's very lonely :((

THOMPSON STEPHEN CARPENTER (m.ark sh.eppard) —

the patriarch, married to danielle. fifty-six years old.

DANIELLE ANALISE CARPENTER nee MURDOCK (j.ennifer an.iston) —

the matriarch, married to thompson. fifty-five years old.

JANUS, GOD OF DOORWAYS ( j.ared pa.dalecki) —

asphalt's biological father. has no other relation to the family.

SHEAMUS BARRON CARPENTER (b.renton th.waites) —

the adopted son of thompson & danielle.

KIRA DESIRÉ CARPENTER nee KEBE (m.ame-a.nna di.op) —

sheamus's wife. a demigod daughter of vulcan who guided sheamus to new rome to find his brother.

ASPHALT "ASPH" ROBIN CARPENTER (c.olin fo.rd) —

the demigod son of danielle & janus.

NOT SHOWN —

barron murdock. danielle's father.

robin murdock. danielle's mother.

He looked around, noticing the exact house he ended up in front of. One story. Off-white. Dark red door. The only difference was the lack of children’s toys scattered around the front yard. His house of seven years.

Neglecting trying to figure out the quest, Asph moved to open the door. It still had the same code. 12021, Sheamus’s birthday with a zero interjected to break up the date. Twenty-five years of the same code. They really should change that. Someone could break in.

Well, good for Asph if nothing else. Even if this would be considered breaking in. Would his own parents even recognize him? Last they’d seen, he was a scared seven year old in his brother’s baggy hand-me-downs. Now he was twenty-two and wore clothes that actually fit. Then there were all the scars he had. The side of his head came to mind, as well as his calloused hands, and the brand on his forearm.

"Thompson?" a woman's voice called out. "I thought you wouldn't be back for another hour?"

"Then he probably won't be."

Glass shattering. A woman with skin as pale as his, hair sandy as the beach, and eyes blue as the pool water came through the door leading to the kitchen. Danielle’s eyes scanned his form, latching onto a small leather pouch tied to his belt. “Asphalt?”

“Good to know you remember the son you abandoned’s name.”

“I didn’t—you weren’t abandoned. You were left for your father. It’s what he said to do. Did… Did he not take you in?”

“The gods aren’t known for caring about their kids. Spent six years training with a wolf and another making my way to civilization. Had to take an ER detour. Super fun. Where’s Dad?” He changed the topic, not wanting to talk about his time with Lupa. Or the year-long trip from the Wolf House to New Rome. Or New Rome in general. It was a bad split-decision to enter. Curiosity was sated, but now Asph had to deal with his mom’s questions—something he was not apt to do.

“Book club,” she answered. “I’m sorry Asph, but your father—”

“The father who never claimed me.”

Silence.

“I— What?”

“He never claimed me. Still don’t know who he is.”

“Janus. It was,” she glanced at the vial around his neck, red string tying it together. “He’s Janus.”

“The bitch who fights with himself?” That... that actually explained a lot. Gods may not have DNA, but they sure did pass on traits. All of the angry kids of Mars, every Ceres kid's green thumb. A more fitting explanation for his own constant turmoil could not exist.

“Don’t talk about your father like that!” Danielle admonished.

“Why not? He’s not my dad. I am Thompson Carpenter’s son, or did you forget that? He is the man who raised me despite not being his own blood. If any man in my life deserves the title 'father’ or 'dad,’ it’s him, not Janus.

"Or am I no longer allowed that title? Am I even your son anymore, or is that stripped from me, too?"

"Of course you're my son. Why would you— I love you, Asphalt."

"Could have fooled me."

"Asphalt, please sit down." Danielle moved to the couch, sitting and tapping the seat next to her. "We can talk about this. About why you're here and your feelings—"

"My feelings? You want to know my feelings?" He didn't move to sit down. Quite the opposite. Asph started pacing the living room, nails digging into his palms from clenching his hands so hard. "Abandonment, for starters. Regret, for being the reason you and Dad stopped working. Anger, for being left in the dark with no explanation. Hurt for the same reason."

Asph stopped. A picture on the wall caught his attention. His family, all crowded around Danielle in a hospital room. A small baby in her arms that she was giving a forehead kiss. Thompson smiled down at her. Nine year old Sheamus and his toothy grin were the only ones starring at the camera.

"I wish we could go back to that. To the tranquility of when you were first born. Of when we could all believe that it would work out. Your grandfather captured the perfect moment and we'll never get it back."

He turned to his mother. "I do to."

He hadn't even know there was a time when they were happy. His whole life something had been off. But now that he knew that there had been a time the Carpenters were happy—that was all he wanted. Not some stupid prophecy hanging over his head.

(Of course, without the stupid prophecy he wouldn't be here, but wouldn't that be just the same? The family of three had been happy before he came along.)

"I should go. Before Dad gets home. But here—" Asph ran to the kitchen, grabbed a sticky note and a pen, write down a phone number, and gave her the note. "—It's Sheamus's number. I don't have a phone, but he'll be able to get to me. Or you can just talk to him instead."

"Sheamus?"

“Sure, but you don’t get to go charging head first into a quest just because your reflection said to.” Not the weirdest sentence to leave his mouth in the years Sheamus had been in New Rome. "We gotta talk about this first." He let go of his brother's shirt.

"What's there to talk about?" Asph shrugged, "If the gods say to go, then I have to go."

Sheamus took a deep breath. Nostrils flaring. So many demigods he's seen go on a quest only to never return. "You're not a centurion. They'll never let you go."

"That's why I'm sneaking out?" The last two words were accented with a pointed look and moving his hands from one side to the other. "Gods, what is your fucking problem?"

Anger seeped into the elder brother. A tightened jaw. Hand clenching the opposite arm.

"Don't you get it? This is the whole reason I exist. If I don't do this then..." Asph trailed off. If he didn't do this, "Then our parents' marriage fell apart for nothing!" He hadn't known about the prophecy until he was seven, but something had always loomed over him—knowing he was the reason his dad was always yelling, knowing he was the reason his mom was always apologizing for something out of her control.

The anger that had been building in Sheamus fizzled out. Of course Asph would feel guilty about it. Their parents had put on a happy face, working through what the gods did to their family, but if that stupid prophecy had never been uttered, there would have never been anything to work through.

"It wasn't you fault. It never was."

"I'm going, Sheamus."

"Nothing I say will stop you?"

"No."

Sheamus released his arm from his own grip. "Be safe. Come back. Don't make me lose you a second time."

random new rome resident: hey sheamus, are you going to be henry again? sheamus:

What would a fourteen-year-old version of his baby brother even look like? Would he still be swamped by fabric? Would he have grown lanky? Would he look like their mother or would he be unrecognizable? So much time had passed it was hard to even recall the seven-year-old’s face.

He was mid-conversation with his ex-guide and current best friend, Kira, when a commotion was heard outside.

“Someone new crossed. And it made a big splash,” she chugged the rest of her sparkling water (“You drink TV static?” Sheamus asked when she first ordered it. / “You don’t?” Kira responded, downing the glass in one go.) “Let’s go see, Mr. Hopeful.”

“I hate it when you call me that.” The mortal rolled his eyes before slamming back the last of his own drink—a much more sensible Coca-Cola—and following her.

By the time the pair had made it to the Little Tiber, the newbie had already crossed, receiving the cleansing. They collapsed, sending a pang through Sheamus. Curse his bleeding heart. When once he couldn’t care less about children, now there was a soft spot for them. A need to protect them from the horrors of the world. Too many had been through too much. Especially the demigods.

His eyes caught hair that was just-shy of a light brown. The pang worsened. That was his brother’s hair color. When the kid shook the water off, his eyes landed on a scar peaking out from their ear. While not one he remembered his brother having, there was the near-miss in the ER. (“This ID isn't valid, I can’t let you in.” / “Don’t tell anyone, I could lose my job, but he’s doing quite well for someone who took a lawn mower to the side of his head. Now leave.”)

“Hey, they look about the right age.” Kira’s voice was drowned out by the waves of regret. Sheamus had only been a teenager, unable to do anything, but he still felt that he had abandoned his sweet baby brother all those years ago. Was now the time to make it right?

~~

Asph had finally settled into the barracks when his new centurion joined him. “You are requested in the Fifth’s Meeting Hall.”

“The… where?”

They grabbed his wrist and marched out the door, dragging him with. They only let go upon arriving at said meeting hall. “Newbie’s here,” they shouted into the door as they shoved him in.

He regained his balance and stood straight up, hands behind his back. “I was told you needed to speak with me?”

“Damn, you look so much like him for not being blood,” a woman said. She was flicking a coin back and forth.

Instead of speaking, Asph tilted his head. What was she on about?

“Kira, you’re going to freak him out.” A man in his early twenties spoke up from right next to her.

Wait. Dressed only in blacks. Triangular head. Brown eyes. He was older than last seen, but it was clearly “Sheamus?”

“Seven years. Two of which I was stuck at home. Four of which I spent searching. The final one, I spent here. Waiting. Hoping.”

Asph’s confusion grew. “Why would you do that? It wasn’t like we were friends or anything. We aren’t even really related.”

Sheamus stepped back. “I may not have been the best at first, but you disappearing was the worst thing to ever happen to me.” He had wallowed for years, changed schools, leaving D.C. as soon as he could.

“You were such a sweet kid. What happened?”