Seven

Summary: As the Greek and Roman demigods converge in Camp Jupiter and the seven heroes of the prophecy meet to begin on their quest; sparks fly, friendship blooms, jealousy springs and long-kept secrets are discovered. An evocative journey of growth and the empowering notion of love and fate.

By the way, this is set before the actual quest in The Mark of Athena and focuses more on relationships between the characters rather than adventure and such. That is not to say that there will not be any action; just less.

A/N: Okay, so this story is a request; based on Soccerlover5959's Mark of Athena Ideas. Go check it out if you'd like; I'm following the basic plot with some changes obviously. I think other authors may be writing some fics based on the same ideas but as far as I know, no one is writing the entire thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus and in this case, I don't even own most of the plot… but I do own the writing which I guess is some consolation.

Chapter I

June 23rd – 1600 hours

Jason

Jason had heard a lot about the legendary Percy Jackson. It was always; 'Percy did this' or 'oh Percy defeated that monster' or 'Percy is the most awesome thing ever to grace this planet with his presence.' Jason thought if this Percy guy ever heard what his friends had to say about him, his head would explode from the size of his inflated ego.

They were adding the finishing touches to the Argo II, two days ago when he'd gotten the last missing links of his memories back. Annabeth was charging around like a madwoman, fixing the tiniest details while her half-brother Malcolm followed her around, desperately trying to calm her down but she would not. All because of this Percy Jackson. Frankly, Jason was beginning to be annoyed at this guy. He just seemed too – too perfect. No one could possibly be that noble, heroic and flawless, he thought. It was just not possible.

Anyway, he'd finally remembered everything about his past life and the relief of simple, pure knowledge – knowledge of who he was, what he'd done washed over him causing him to lie down and breathe, in ecstasy. That is, until Leo stomped over to him and asked him what in Zeus' name he was doing. Jason had no choice but to get up and continue working on the ship as Leo was wielding a rather large blowtorch and he'd rather not be incinerated into a crisp before seeing his home again.

And also, people comparing him to Percy Jackson in centuries to come would say; behold, here lies the body of Perseus Jackson, Hero of Olympus, the guy who saved the world like a gazillion times; the epitome of awesomeness… and; here lie the ashes of Jason Grace; the guy who was destined for great things but was brutally killed by his best friend because he was too lazy to work. Not very appealing.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by Clarisse who was brandishing a very lethal looking spear. She grinned at him tauntingly, showcasing her crooked teeth. "Hey, Lightning Face! Come spar with me." She waved her spear at him, "this is Maimer 2.0. Stop being such a weakling and a coward. Stand and fight!"

Jason jumped to his feet and flipped his imperial gold sword, rolling his eyes. They stared each other down before Jason made the first move, feinting towards Clarisse's left side. He whipped back and lunged forward, swiping his sword parallel to the ground to her right. She parried with Maimer 2.0, twisting his sword up and jabbing to his stomach area. He dodged, dropped and rolled across the scratched wooden floor of the practice sparring pavilion.

Jason hooked his leg around Clarisse's to pull her down and she landed on the ground with an 'oomph.' He grinned at her triumphantly and brought his sword down with more ferociousness than usual. She moved just in time, sweeping across the ground to behind him and whacking him with the flat side of her spear, sending him sprawling across the ground and leaving him with a severe case of wood burn.

She pressed the tip at the base of his throat and smirked. "Dead. Bolt Head. Even Prissy was better at this than you. You know, I have no idea why Hera decided to swap Prissy with you."

A wave of fury and a desire to hurt; to maim coursed through his veins like adrenaline. He pushed himself up from the floor in one swift, fluid movement and spun, to press his sword on the side of her neck. "Never, speak to me in that way again," he spat and walked away.

Above them, thunder screamed and lightning spidered down to the earth. And then, it started to rain.

June 24th (The Feast of Fortuna) – 0700 hours

Piper

Piper had never thought of herself as an Aphrodite girl. She didn't care about make-up, the clothes she wore or the latest gossip. In fact, she avoided those things just to challenge the status-quo – and to annoy her siblings. She must've taken after her father more than her mother; her father had taught her to be an individual; to be non-conformist. Frankly, it gave her more than a little satisfaction to see the expressions on the faces of her fellow campers as she'd slaved furiously away at the construction of the Argo II. She didn't worry about chipping a nail or sweating out her make-up like her siblings.

But, if she was completely honest to herself; although she seldom was; the other reason of her extreme diligence had something to do with Jason. About a month ago, Piper had been working at fixing the sails of the giant warship – Annabeth was dangling precariously at the tip of the sails, furiously working at it (in fact Annabeth scared Piper sometimes – her dedication to her tasks were absolute and unwavering), when Jason had approached her. Her heart had done one of those pathetic little flutters as he ambled towards her position on the rails, his hands in his pockets and his blond hair spiking in tufts from the wind.

She had desperately reprimanded herself but it was futile. She smiled widely at him, trying to keep her legs from shaking as they dangled over the edge, tapping out erratic rhythms onto the wood to the beat of her heart. Jason had looked unusually nervous and slightly panicked. In retrospect, if Piper had known what was going to happen, she would've run away – or pushed him over the edge and pretended it was an accident rather than trying to comfort him. Stupid, spineless, two-timing prick. She thought with vehemence as she hammered the last nail in with all her force. There, she thought. Now Jason is just a mashed up, deformed piece of metal and I can get over him.

A prickly burst of static interrupted her musings. "Greetings passengers," Leo's hyperactive voice bared from the ship's speakers. "Welcome aboard the Argo II; the ultimate experience in luxury and war thing-o's. Wait, no let me rephrase that; Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Cool, I've always wanted to say that." Piper could almost see the mischievous smile sketching over Leo's face at that moment.

"Emergency procedures will have to be based solely on improvisation as we didn't have time to devise those us 'cause the freaky blonde whirlwind demanded we be done A.S.A.P. so she can find her M.I.A. boyfriend."

"Valdez!" came Annabeth's angered yell.

"Okay, okay, blondie… Don't kill me!" his voice trembled and another pop of static followed. "Uh, prepare for take-off. Emergency bags are in the box in front of your seat so please utilise those if unpleasant emergencies arise. Please don't vomit over the floor; arriving at the Roman camp smelling of puke is totally going to impress them."

Piper rolled her eyes and settled back into the plush blue seat. Someday, she thought. Someday, Jason was going to realise how wrong he was. And with that happy thought, she leaned back and let sleep overwhelm her.

June 24th – 1430 hours

Jason

"Demigods and demigoddesses – is that a word? Anyways, this is your Supreme Commander here –"

"No it's not – it's repair boy!" Piper's melodious voice suffused the air. Something triggered inside Jason; Reyna or Piper – Piper or Reyna? He knew he had told Piper about Reyna and broken it off but what if it was a mistake? Maybe it wasn't the right decision, after all, he and Reyna hadn't even been properly 'together' – but Reyna had more power.

Jason stalked out of the cabin area and leaned over the side of the ship, feeling the exhilaration of wind whipping on his face, his purple praetor's cape billowing behind him. He had donned the cape as a reminder to those at Camp Jupiter where their loyalties really should lie – and to send a message of peace.

"Hey, little bro, be careful there, you might fall over the edge."

Jason spun around so rapidly that he lost his balance and ended up on his backside on the cold floor with his toga dancing wildly around his neck. He glared at the speaker from his graceful position on the ground. "Hey sis," he said finally with as much dignity as he could muster.

Thalia was practically rolling around the ground laughing. "Nice boxers little bro; little lightning bolts – where did you get them?" she smirked.

"Thanks," he replied, sarcasm lacing his voice. "Besides, I'm older than you."

Thalia scowled. "If I weren't a Huntress of Artemis…" she trailed off almost threateningly.

"Oh and also, don't worry about me, I won't fall over; I'm a son of Jupiter – I can fly," he replied, grinning smugly.

Thalia glowered. "No fair," she whined. "We have the same dad! Why can't I fly?" she growled. "Zeus is so sexist."

"Different aspects of each god; Greek and Roman have different attributes and so do their children," came a voice behind them, raised over the billowing gales.

Jason and Thalia spun around, this time both landing elegantly on their behinds. Annabeth smirked and leaned against a pole casually; crossing her arms and watching with barely concealed amusement at the siblings attempting to disentangle themselves from Jason's toga and Thalia's bow.

"Holy Hera Annabeth!" Thalia yelled. "Don't do that!"

Darkness suffused Annabeth's eyes and her expression became carefully blank. She spun on her heel and headed back inside the stuffy cabin until Thalia grabbed on to her arm. "Annabeth wait!" she yelled, following her into the cabin.

Jason sighed and gazed across the empty expanse of clouds drifting below them like a sea of cotton candy…

June 24th – 1500 hours

Jason

"Attention Greeks… and Jason… this is your awesome captain slash supreme commander slash ruler of the Argo II speaking. We will be landing in approximately five minutes so prepare for landing! Over and out!" The screeching noise pierced the air sharply and an announcement tune jingled. "Oh and by the way, I've always wanted to say that too."

Jason rolled his eyes at Leo's theatrics but all previous thoughts abandoned him as the clouds beneath them cleared. Arising from the mist was a hazy assortment of ancient-style stone structures, rolling, lush green hills and a rushing, bubbling azure river winding around in a circular shape. A mass of thimble sized people were gathered in the Field of Mars and other scattered sentries were placed in strategic points around the camp. Banners streaming in the breeze and a sea of waving grass were just below them now; the ship's landing imminent. Jason could almost hear Terminus the god/ statue shouting obscenities up at them and grinned at the prospect of returning. He'd even go through with listening to Leo sing if a safe return was guaranteed.

Camp Jupiter. Home at last.

And then, the war horn blared.

I actually have no idea how long it would take for a warship to fly from Camp Half-Bloof to Camp Jupiter so I just made the times up.

I love Leo's craziness and randomness :)

Please review with suggestions/ comments/ questions or even criticisms.

Thanks,

Blue