Mark Of Athena – Percy Jackson fanfiction

Chapter 1 - Percy

The message that the Greeks were coming, in numbers and in a large warship spread like wildfire. Within minutes every demigod of every cohort was summoned to the edge of Camp Jupiter's boundaries, the Lares, Amazonians, and even a small crowd of veterans gathered behind them and at a distance.

The Little Tiber flowed by not ten feet from where Percy now stood. The authority which he now possessed, he used to get the cohorts in line and, with help from Reyna, some 200 demigods now stood as if they were being inspected. Weapons were gleaming inches from twitchy fingers and even Octavian dared not speak.

Following the revelation that the Greek warship was on its way, Percy and Reyna agreed that they should assemble by the Little Tiber, to force the ship to land on the opposite bank. This was an easy means to separate the bulk of the Greeks and the Romans, The swift-flowing river also giving Percy an edge if violence occurred.

Before long, a dark smudge appeared on the horizon. The ship approached cautiously which allowed Percy to marvel at its design and also to consider who was aboard. He had not forgotten that Annabeth had probably spent months worrying about him, but he was also confident that the ships arrival meant that his whereabouts were now known and in all likelihood Annabeth was one of those on their way.

"Pretty impressive, don't you think?" Percy whispered to Reyna, who stood shoulder to shoulder to him in the same purple toga of a praetor.

"That it is, but don't forget the stakes of this meeting. Jason's return would help avoid a fight and also take away some of Octavians influence from his supporters." She answered curtly, Her eyes tracking the ship with a detached look.

Before long the ship slowly came into land on the opposite bank, a faint thud as it came down a little harder than intended. As movement was heard within the ship, Percy uncapped Riptide and held a defensive, yet neutral posture at the river's edge.

Before long a gangway was lowered over the side of the ship though nobody was in sight on deck. Then three people emerged, followed almost immediately by a jet-black Pegasus.

One of the people, Percy immediately recognised as Annabeth. Her face was a mixture of relief and anxiety as she caught sight of his face, Percy couldn't help but smile at her and give her a sly wink as they slowly closed the distance.

The person in the middle could only have been Jason. Recognising his face from a picture in Jason's old praetors room, Percy took in the blonde hair and the electric blue eyes as he heard sharp intakes of breath from behind him.

It was the last person that caught Percy off guard. The black spikey hair of Thalia Grace coupled with eyes identical to the person next to her caused something to click in his head as he walked into the river and strode across the surface as if the water was solid.

Chapter 2 – Jason

Descending from the ship and taking in the view of Camp Jupiter once more cleared some of the haze that withheld those few memories that had still to return. It was unanimously decided that Jason be the first one to greet his old friends as a show of good faith, as where the other two companions. The black Pegasus known as Blackjack apparently had other ideas though as he smartly trotted out right behind them.

Annabeth was there as the unofficial leader of Camp Half-Blood and Thalia came along as support. The goddess Diana commanded all the Hunters to join up with the ship, something about the number of demigods outside the protection of magical boundaries attracting monsters. Diana herself disappeared after saying she would dissuade any monsters still crazy enough to pursue the ship.

The one thing Jason didn't remember was the eagle standard featured prominently in the midst of the fifth cohort. He also didn't recognise the boy striding towards them on the crest of the wave with a sword in his hand, but before he could reach the gladius at his side Thalia grabbed his hand and motioned him to wait.

The boy stopped in front of the small group as a smile played across his face. It was then that Jason realised who this must be; Percy.

The tanned face and the black hair betrayed nothing of his father's power but his eyes were something different. Jason had heard from many different people that his innate powers caused the very air around him to crackle, but the boy in front of him was completely the opposite. His eyes seemed to convey the vastness of oceans and a combination of sheer unpredictability and raw emotion. Jason could see why he was so well liked as he also noticed the praetors robe he wore.

Percy's gaze lingered on Jason's and Thalia's before turning to Annabeth with great restraint, as if his longing for the daughter of Athena was tempered by the conditions of how they were reunited. Finally, Percy moved towards her and encircled her with his large arms. Giving them a brief moment to themselves, Jason and Thalia took a step to the side by quiet consent.

A few seconds later, they broke apart with whispered mutterings in each other's ear. Annabeths eyes slightly red though accompanied with a small smile and Percy taking her hand in his.

It was then that the Pegasus approached the son of the sea god. Percy's smile widening even further as he scratched the horse behind the ears and saying, "Yeah, missed you too man….stop calling me boss or sir, you know you don't need to….no I don't intend to leave you behind again anytime soon, it wasn't my fault in the first place…"

He didn't get much further before Thalia lost patience and hit him on the arm; I know, real subtle of her. Percy grimaced slightly as he said, "Nice seeing you too Thalia." He shifted his gaze to wink back at Annabeth before adding with a smile, "bet my adventures trump yours recently!"

"We'll see," was the answer as Thalia and Percy quickly embraced, before Percy turned his attention to me.

"You must be Jason Grace then?" he asked with a glance at Thalia, "son of Jupiter?"

Jason was about to explain as an explosion of light blinded everyone.

Everyone raised their hands to shield their eyes in a futile gesture as the light disappeared as quickly as it came to reveal a girl of about 14 in a moonlight-silver tunic and a bow strapped to her back.

In a voice that could be heard by the Romans across the bank, shattering the silence that had fallen like a crystal bell, Lady Artemis eyed Percy as she approached and said "Well met again young demigods."