Disclaimer: All belongs to the wonderful Rick Riordan.

The Roman Way

"This way," Jason yelled. "Here!"

Leo turned the steering-wheel, taking him for his word. Piper, however, looked at him doubtfully. "Err, Jason," she said. "Are you sure about this?"

He looked at her and dazzled her with a brilliant smile… or maybe a mad grin, it was hard to tell. "Sure? Of course I'm sure!" he cried. "This is my place and I should know…"

She felt as if her heart had been squeezed by an icy hand. She had never seen him like this – so happy, almost ecstatic. Nothing in Camp Half-Blood, nothing in their relationship had ever made him smile like this – as if he had been freed from invisible chains, as if the most wonderful thing would happen any moment now. How could he not see that what awaited them was something to be not eagerly anticipated but feared?

Of course he saw! But obviously, the feeling of being near home was just too strong for him to overcome.

He was practically turning into a stranger.

Multiple screams pulled her out of her misery. Annabeth, Clarisse, Will, and Malcolm were staring terrified at the row of solid rocks that they were flying towards. Leo looked as if he wanted nothing more than undo the course taken. He, in fact, did try, but Jason grabbed his wrists and preventing him from navigating the steering wheel.

"Keep going!" he commanded and they approached the rocks…

…which were no rocks at all. Piper blinked and tried to clear her head of the Mist. At second sight, the picture became clearer: a wild coast with many rocks and no sand. But it was certainly a coast and not a bunch of rocks.

"How…?" Piper started and didn't finish. Of course. The Roman camp was hidden, the same way Camp Half-Blood was. At their coming near, the Mist had dissipated, letting them see the beach.

She shivered. It looked so desolate and severe, nothing like the lovely sand gently lapped by the ocean that she had become used to in Long Island. Here, it was all jagged rocks, brown trees, and two or three vultures in the air. If she didn't know better, she'd never guess that this was California.

Still, Jason could not look away. In this moment, he fully realized how afraid he had been that he'd never see his home again, that he wouldn't really remember... But now memories were coming back, flooding him with the best moments of his life… as well as the worst ones. His first fight with Dakota, freshly arrived at the camp. His first quest. His first monster. The poisoned lake at Mount Tam and the demigods, fighting, and screaming, and dying. The Titan Krios' golden helmet and the ferocity of his attack. The campfire. Touching Christine's brow after the battle, while she lay sprawled on the grass, without realizing that she was already dead – she looked as if she just needed an Apollo healer, her skin was still so pink. Those first special looks he and Reyna exchanged. The fresh aroma of Reyna's long golden hair when he buried his face in it. Lupa's fond growling.

It felt so great to be here. Camp Half-Blood was a nicer place, surely, but it was not his place. His new friends were terrific but they were not the friends he had grown up with.

I am home, he thought. Finally, I am home.

His eyes sought out the silhouette hidden behind one of the rocks – the coast was guarded at all times. There was someone there but they were too far for Jason to make out the face.

And then everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong.

There was a sudden wind – no, a real whirlwind that started hurling Argo II up and down, and then sucking it in a spiral. Everyone screamed. Annabeth lost her balance and fell, rolling over all the way from bow to stern. Will tried to stop her but the fierce wind just crashed him down, almost on top of her, although he managed to direct his body towards the side of the hull. His head hit the wood so hard that Jason winced and wondered whether the Apollo healer would need some healing himself. Then, he hurried to cross Annabeth's path and failed; probably, the only reason the wind didn't knock him down was the fact that he was a son of Jupiter.

The steering wheel slipped out of Leo's hands. Everybody screamed again when the whirlwind hit them, sending them down to the sea that was boiling against them. The ship seemed to be in a whirlwind of its own: all around them, all they could see was a nice silky sea.

"Get us out!" Malcolm yelled and tried to put his own words in motion. Together with Leo, they managed to grab the steering wheel once again while Jason was doing all he could to influence the air and soften the wind. Clarisse and Chris ran to the mast to get the ropes down.

After what felt like an eternity but in reality, probably lasted no more than ten minutes, they managed to get Argo II a few hundred yards back. It was as if they had suddenly found themselves in another dimension where they could enjoy a nice sunny day.

Everyone too ka deep breath. Piper ran to bring some ambrosia for Annabeth and Will. Fortunately, that turned out to be enough.

"So, all here?" Jason finally asked. "All in one piece?"

Annabeth and Malcolm both glared at him. He could see their Athena brains working busily.

"What was that?" Annabeth asked sullenly. "A part of the camp defense that you hadn't remembered yet?"

Jason shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "But that was never a part of the defensive magic here, I am sure of that. This is… a new invention."

That did not sit well with the two Athena campers. In all honesty, it did not sit well with Jason too. He could not think of even one nice reason for this new invention to take its place.

"The beach was supposed to be invisible to mortals," he decided to explain, as if the others did not already know that. "But now it seems it just… rejects anyone who comes near. Maybe it's simply for newcomers."

But he was not a newcomer. Jason frowned and decided to not think about that for the time being.

"Is there another entrance to camp?" Piper asked.

"Yes, there is," he said. "But maybe there is a faster way…"

And before the others could ask him what this way was, he flew upwards in the air and headed for the coast, praying to his dad that the whirlwind would not suck him in and that the lookout was some of the old campers and not a newbie that had never seen him face to face.

His first prayer was answered, partly. There was no whirlwind this time. Still, there was an invisible wall of air that Jason would have hit with full force, had he not decided to be cautious. Simply put, he could go no further. He flew a few yards back and came back. Same result.

The lookout actually came out of his hiding place, shading his eyes and squinting at him. Jason felt an enormous smile splitting his face. Dakota.

"Kota!" he yelled.

Dakota, too, recognized him and shouted something, but obviously, the sound could not get through the ward. They both realized it almost immediately. Still, Dakota pointed at the ground, as if he wanted Jason to come to him. Jason shook his head and indicated that he was obstructed. Instead, he made a sweeping motion with his hand and after a few moments of contemplation, Dakota left his sword on the ground and waded into the ocean. The wall was too far away and the water was deep, so he swam the last half mile. Jason let himself fall and sink into the water. A few moments later, his friend was next to him.

And oh, what rejoicing and shouting, and hugging amidst the ocean there was!

"So glad to see you alive and well, man!" Dakota exclaimed. "We hoped for the best, but it's completely another thing to have you actually here."

"It's good to be here," Jason said and shivered – water was not exactly his element. "Listen, let's go to the ship…"

"Is this the Greek ship?" Dakota asked.

"So you know?" Jason inquired cautiously, then gave up caution. This was Dakota, one of his oldest friends. They could not afford to beat around the bush. The fate of the Western civilization was at stake. "Is he alive?"

"Percy Jackson?" Dakota asked. "Yes."

Jason sighed with relief. "Good."

He had been afraid that this might not be the case – more afraid that he had cared to admit to Annabeth and the others at Camp Half-Blood.

"Come on," he said. "I'll fly you there."

Dakota did not look eager but he nodded.

Three minutes later they were already on the deck of Argo II and Jason's ecstasy disappeared. The air was cracked with tension that neither Dakota nor the Greeks knew how to handle. The mere proximity of the Greek demigods and the Roman one charged everything with battle mood, although they had not come with this intention and, obviously, Dakota did not really want a fight either.

Jason cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "let me make the introductions."

"No," Clarisse interrupted. "Let me take safety measures."

She gave Dakota a stern look – not a glare, by Jason's standards, but unfortunately, Dakota was not familiar with Clarisse's body language, so he was bound to draw the wrong conclusion, which, of course, he did. Juno was really one smart goddess. If that was the result of an informed meeting by two sides, unwilling to continue the conflict, Jason shuddered to think what would have happened, had they met on fully hostile terms. Without his memories taken, he would have surely made a hell of a mess in his first days at Camp Half-Blood, which was by far the more peaceful one. Holy Jupiter, how had this Percy Jackson guy made it so far? He must be really something big, Jason thought, to survive the revealing of the truth. What had Percy done to Jason's fellow campers to make them spare his life?

"Give me the knife that you're hiding in your sleeve," Clarisse said. How on earth had she detected it so fast?

"Not bloody likely," Dakota growled.

The girl sighed. "Okay but you'd better not have me see you using it."

"Okay," he agreed. "You won't see me."

She glared. All in all, the two of them understood each other finely. Jason wanted to laugh.

"This is Dakota Spears, son of Mars," he announced. "Dakota, this is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

Dakota nodded to her but did not shake her hand. Jason introduced the others. Dakota suddenly sucked his breath at being introduced to Malcolm and Jason suddenly knew the reason. A forgotten memory flooded his mind – a boy almost the same age as Malcolm, with the same cool gray eyes. Jerry Rogers, son of Minerva. A friend of his. A hero killed at Mount Tam. A memory buried so deep, never awakening, not once in al those months.

"Annabeth, Percy is at the camp," Jason said as soon as they finished with the introductions, and her face lit up. Jason had never been attracted to Minerva type of girls, the ones who had I am smarter than thou all but written on their face, and still… When she smiles like this, she could almost be a beauty, he thought.

"Is he okay?" Annabeth turned to Dakota. "He isn't… harmed?"

He raised an eyebrow. "We haven't had a son of Neptune in ages. Of course he is unharmed," he assured her. "Mostly."

Fortunately, she did not ask what that 'mostly' was. Truth be told, Annabeth did not trust him to provide her with accurate information. She would make her mind as soon as she saw Percy.

"Did he regain his memory?" she asked instead.

Dakota nodded. "He did. And Lord Neptune paid us a visit. He didn't tell us much…"

"Of course he didn't," Will muttered. 'It would be just too nice if gods did."

"But he gave us the basic outline of what's been going on," Dakota continued. "That's the reason you're still alive. Normally, I would have alerted the others as soon as I saw your ship and realized that you were not fooled by the Mist."

It was all so strange. No one could define whether they were talking like allies, temporary united enemies, or not united at all. Jason wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Yeah, about that," he said. "What's this new ward, Kota? It didn't use to be here."

Dakota actually looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, it's a new supplement," he acknowledged. "It is meant to guard camp against all odds."

Annabeth and Malcolm looked at each other. Of course they had already worked it all out. So had Jason, but he had not wanted to admit it. "Am I shut out of camp, Kota?" he asked softly.

His friend didn't look him in the eye. "I'm afraid it was specifically designed by Vestal Virgins, Jason," he said. "Vestal Virgins and Lupa. It would repel anyone who isn't a true Roman at heart and spirit."

Jason sucked his breath in. That was what he had feared. He had truly become a mix – a Roman with just enough Greek in him to prevent him from entering. His hand involuntarily reached for Piper's. She squeezed back, calming him down. Then, something else that Kota had said sprung to his mind.

"And Lupa shut me out deliberately?" he asked. "You told her about Percy and she let these wards in place, so I could not reach camp?"

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly," Jason repeated. He didn't understand. Then, suddenly, he did.

"You guys didn't tell Lupa?" he asked, alternating between disbelief and anger. "Are you crazy?"

"We deemed it wiser not to tell her… yet."

Jason could not believe it. No, he truly, really couldn't believe it. Now, Dakota and the others – Jason had no doubts that Reyna and Bobby, at least, were also in it; nothing could possibly happen to Kota without these two poking their noses in, - so now Dakota and the others would have to tell Lupa, deal with her anger for keeping her in the dark, suffer their punishment and still convince her that it was a marvelous idea to collaborate with their enemy of how many, two thousand years? Then, they had to convince the other campers before Argo II could come to anchor safely. And they needed to do it speedily. The bloody solstice was coming near.

Piper squeezed his hand tighter but even that did not help.

"So, how are we going to convince Lupa?" he asked aloud.

"After the fact," Dakota said reluctantly. "Valdez, step off. It seems I'll have to take the steering wheel. The ward might just let me in."

"And then Lupa will be faced with a fact, instead of losing time to persuade her in advance" Annabeth said and nodded approvingly. "A good plan."

Jason was not so sure. The plan might be good for the rest of them, but for Dakota, it might result in something highly unwanted. "Are you sure of that, Kota?"

Dakota smiled tightly. "Absolutely. Valdez, I said step off."

Leo did step off, displeasured. Dakota took his place.

"Well," he announced, "welcome to Rome, Greeks."

And he steered them right into the whirlwind.