The Mark Of Athena
Annabeth
Annabeth paced back and forth upon the deck of the Argo II. She had already checked everything 12 times, and was prepared for any incident. Since she had nothing to do now, other than panicking, she went to see how Leo's doing.
Leo had curly brown hair and a wild look in his eyes. Makes him look sort of like he's had WAY too much sugar. But that's how he looks, crazy and all. He seemed a bit upset.
"I think… I think something's wrong with the engine… Better check. But I can't leave here. If something goes wrong… and I'm still fixing an engine…" he muttered to himself.
"Uh… Leo?" Annabeth asked, "Are you okay?"
Leo whirled around. "Oh. Hey Annabeth! Check it out! I had enough spare time so…" he leaned toward her, "I painted Piper's bedroom hot pink." Annabeth managed to laugh. "Well, everything seems fine here so I'll go check on Jason… for the 24th time." Annabeth said to herself.
Jason was on the front deck, holding on tight to the railings. His blond hair REALLY needed the help of a comb. Annabeth sighed. Then, she looked at his face. He looked worried, and his icy blue eyes were almost saddened. Piper, his girlfriend, noticed it too. "Cheer up! You'll get to meet your old family again!" Piper said, sounding as enthusiastic as she could. Her charmspeak was so powerful, that Annabeth almost stopped panicking and actually WANTED to meet the Romans. She shook her head, and decided to leave the couple alone.
Annabeth walked into her bedroom. She plopped onto her bed and cried. What if Percy doesn't remember me? What if he… moved on? Got another girlfriend? The more she thought, the more painful it became.
You should move on too, forget about Percy Jackson. Get a new life, trust a better person. A soothing voice said.
But maybe… maybe… maybe he still remembers. Annabeth countered.
Pfft! Whatever. But he will betray you. In his heart, he loves another.
"No." Annabeth muttered.
Yes. The voice insisted.
Annabeth shook her head and walked back on deck. The wind blew through her blond hair. Her stormy gray eyes were still watery. She spotted Piper and turned around. Annabeth was not in the mood for talking and wanted to be left alone. However, Piper saw her and skipped over. Seeing the sad expression on her face, Piper stopped.
"What's wrong?" Piper asked. Annabeth looked away.
"Is it about Percy?"
Annabeth gave a small tiny nod. Piper looked down. "I'm sorry. I mean, it would be very heartbreaking to find out that your boyfriend doesn't remember you. And it would be even more painful if he… moved on." Annabeth finally let out a sob. Piper hugged her tightly. "It's okay. Cheer up! He might still remember you!"
Annabeth felt comforted by Piper's words. She thanked her and sped into the Command Room.
Leo was there, drinking some Capri-Sun. He kept sneaking glances at the controls. "How's everything doing? Is everything still functioning?" Annabeth asked Leo. He turned around, "Uh… yeah? I just keep having this weird feeling that… I should've drawn happy faces on the deck!"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. Leo grinned. Looking at the deck one last time, he smiled. Then, he talked into the microphone. "Attention! This is the Supreme Commander of the Argo II. Camp Jupiter is in view. Say hello to all your fans. Supreme Commander, over and out."
"REPAIR BOY!" Piper shouted from the deck.
Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. However, if Percy doesn't remember her…
"WE ARE LANDING IN… UH… 5 MINTUES SO GET READY!" Leo announced again.
Annabeth pushed all her feelings aside. It was time to get ready to face the Romans.
Percy
Percy stared longingly at the arriving warship. He prayed to every god or goddess he knew (Roman and Greek) that Annabeth was there. He could almost hear her voice laughing, "Come one, Seaweed Brain!" and picturing her hugging him.
Percy prayed again, this time to Aphrodite, hoping that Annabeth would still like him. Hazel came over, Frank at her side. The two were holding hands and Percy FINALLY blurted out, "Are you guys dating yet?" Hazel blushed and Frank pouted, "Percy!"
Hazel laughed and nodded. "Congrats!" Percy exclaimed, "Since when?" Frank was still a bit nervous. "After the battle with the giants." He replied. Then, all three of them turned up to the sky. The Argo II was going to land any minute now. Then, he heard an outraged voice, "Graecus! In MY city? STOP THEM! NO WEAPONS INSIDE THE BORDER!" The trio looked at each other. "Terminus must be having a heart attack," Percy joked.
"I'LL PERSONALLY STRANGLE YOU WITH MY HANDS, YOU GOT THAT? STAY OUT OF THE CITY LIMITS! AGH!"
Too late. The warship had already landed.
The door opened. About a dozen people came streaming out. Percy scanned them, searching for a certain… someone… "There she is!" he whispered. A girl with blonde hair also searched among the crowd of people. Percy hurried to reach the Greeks. Reyna was staring at a blond boy. "J-Jason?" she asked, her voice crackling with emotion. But she immediately regained her posture and shook hands with him. A girl with choppy brown hair came out.
"I am Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, or as you call her, Venus. We Greeks came here today, not to attack, not to invade, but to cooperate with you and fight against Gaea."
Reyna stepped forward and shook hands with her. "I am Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion. We hope that you could…assist us."
The other people who came with Jason introduced themselves, too.
"Leo, the Supreme Commander of the Argo II. Son of Hephaestus. Fire user." A boy with curly hair said. This Leo seemed familiar to him… He sort of reminded him of Dakota. Except he isn't drunk-ish. More like he ate 2 pounds of sugar. Percy then realized why he recognized Leo. "Sammy Valdez." He whispered. Hazel noticed him too. She immediately began to panic, and hurried to the front of the crowd to get a better look.
"Annabeth… daughter of Athena or Minerva. Strategist." Annabeth said. Percy's heart was immediately full of joy. Annabeth…after EIGHT months! He decided to hold back his emotions… just a little… so that he could formally introduce himself, Hazel, and Frank. Percy saw Thalia, Clarisse, Rachel, and a couple more friends.
Octavian basically was in shock when Rachel said, "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The Oracle of Delphi." Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Percy stepped forward. He turned to Jason, Piper, and Leo. "Percy Jackson, Son of Neptune. Praetor of the Twelfth Legion." Jason nodded, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
Annabeth stepped forward. "P-Percy? It's me… A-Annabeth." She looked at him with hopeful eyes. Percy decided to play around with her. "Who?" he asked.
"A-Annabeth. Your girlfriend."
Percy hugged her tight. "Of course, Annabeth. I never forgot you." They shared a long sweet kiss, with the whole legion looking.
Jason
Jason looked at Reyna. Reyna returned the gaze. "Jason?" Piper asked, "Are you okay?" Jason nodded. But in his heart, he felt betrayal. Quickly shaking away the feeling, he turned to Reyna. "Good job on not letting Octavian become praetor." He said. Reyna shook her head, "Thank Percy Jackson on that. He proved himself worthy of the position. Plus, he was reasonable on an argument with Octavian."
Jason felt a twinge of jealousy. But in a way, he felt glad that his position was given to a person who deserved it, unlike Octavian. Speaking of Octavian…he turned around. "So, you're the oracle?" he heard Octavian ask. The redheaded girl named Rachel nodded slowly. Then she looked at Octavian, who was gaping at her, clearly still in shock that oracles still exist. "What?" Rachel asked, slightly annoyed. Jason let out a laugh. Piper noticed and smiled too. Then, she chatted with Reyna while Jason continued to listen to Octavian's conversation.
Dinner that night was delicious. Jason missed his old home and family so much. He chatted and chatted. "Hey, Dakota!" he called out. The centurion turned around, his mouth still permanently red. "You should really watch where you're going." Jason suggested, "You were about to get squashed under Hannibal's…yeah…"
Percy came over and discussed about the prophecy. "So I've been wondering, who are you going to take with you?" asked Percy. "Leo and Piper." Jason immediately answered. Percy nodded, "I'm definitely taking Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel. And some friends of mine will be coming part of the way, too." Jason agreed.
That night, Jason had a dream.
I see that you've returned to Camp Jupiter, haven't you? Gaea asked.
Jason clenched his fists. "What do you want?"
Oh, nothing. Just a warning that I'm sending one of my children to destroy you. He is so legendary, even the gods don't remember him. And so, he's also the strongest. Good luck.
Jason's dream switched. He saw a girl. She had sea green eyes like Percy, dark almond hair, and perfect skin. She had an aura of power that somewhat represented a god's. Then, he realized that her eyes were also like his, in a way. "Who are you?" Jason asked. The girl stared at him. "I am…?" she asked. Immediately, Jason felt sorrowful. "Do you need help?" he asked again. The girl smiled. "Disdain. Reincarnation of Disdain. Disdain…she faded. Like Lord Pan." Her smile evaporated. "My name?…Elena."
Jason felt confused. He heard voices calling to him from reality. "Wait! What do you mean?" he shouted. The girl waved, "You see me!" she called out, which made absolutely no sense to Jason.
Jason awoke. He saw Piper looking at him. "It's time for a senate meeting or something. About the quest. The prophecy." Jason nodded.
On his way to the meeting, he met up with Percy, Hazel, and Frank. Percy looked shaken up. "What happened?" Jason asked him. Percy looked up. "Nico…he's in danger. I had a dream that he went looking for the Doors of Death. I think he's been captured by Gaea."
Jason frowned. "The Doors of Death…are they in Greece… or Roman?"
Frank shrugged. "Well, I guess in Greece…since Thanatos is a Greek god…"
Hazel had a look of confusion on her face. "Though I still think it's in Roman. After all, the gods sent roman demigods to go on the quest…" Soon, all three of them were arguing about where the Doors of Death may be.
Rachel caught up with them. "Hey guys…?" Jason, Frank, and Hazel stopped arguing. Percy smiled. "Hey Rachel. Any prophecies that may help us during the quest?" Rachel shook her head, "I've been trying…though I can't seem to. Maybe it'll come when we're on the quest."
Percy nodded. Jason stared at Rachel. "Hey, didn't you have a harpy friend who memorized the Syllibine Books?" Jason asked Percy, who had told about Ella yesterday. Percy smacked his head. "I almost forgot! But we can't force her to recite verses. She'll say it when she feels like it."
Hazel looked forward. "ACK! The senate meeting! We're gonna be late!"
Luckily, the four of them arrived in the nick of time. Percy was seated next to Reyna. Jason felt jealousy again. He pushed the feeling aside. Reyna stood up, "As we all know, the Prophecy of Seven has begun. We shall now select our members." She looked to her left. "Percy?" she asked.
Percy stood up. "I will choose Frank, Hazel, and of course, Annabeth." Reyna turned to the crowd. "Any objections?" No one replied. Reyna looked at Jason. "Jason?" she asked. Jason stood up. "I will choose Piper and Leo. And of course, there will be some helpers onboard the Argo II. Members of the Hephaestus cabin will be coming, to make sure the Argo II is working."
"Thalia, daughter of Zeus will come, so that we'll have two children of Jupiter to keep balance in the sky. I'll be there when we sail. Clarisse is a child of Ares, and she's a good warrior. Rachel will come, for the prophecies, and so will Ella. Tyson too, since, well, he's my brother and can work in fire." Percy explained.
"Not fair!" Octavian objected, "There are more Greek than Roman! What if you rebel against Jason?" Percy glared at him. "I swear on the River Styx that will never happen." Octavian gave a small smile. "Then, shall I come along with you to 'make sure?'"
