I'm aware that it has taken me awhile to update. I re-wrote this chapter about five or six times, and I am still not happy with the beginning.

Please understand, I am writing this story purly for fun. I don't outline or write five chapters every week, I write chapters when inspiration hits. It is summer, it's nice out, I have a life, things happen etc. I don't appreciate people flooding my inbox and posting nasty reviews reminding me how long it's been since I last updated. Now, people who post something along the lines of "awsome story, udpate soon, the wait will kill me" etc. I have no problem with. All I'm asking is that you be respectful, I will finish this story before MOA comes out in October, so relax.

Keep in mind that the beginning of the chapter, where it switches from Percy and Reyna, the reunion parts, are happening at the same time.


Percy

Percy wasn't prepared for Annabeth to throw herself at him and punch him in the arm. "Gods Annabeth," he took a step back, rubbing his sore shoulder, "what in Hades was that for?"

Annabeth's grey eyes were fierce, like always, but the anger burning within them made Ares look like a fluffy kitten. She moved toward him, and Percy would have taken another step back if Aurum and Argentum weren't standing right behind him.

"Where in Zeus' name have you been?" Annabeth's tone was so harsh, that even Reyna backed away from her.

Reyna

Reyna backed away from Percy, leaving him at the mercy of his extremely upset girlfriend. She made her way over to the Greeks and focused her attention on Jason. The son of Jupiter still had his head in his hands and it was clear from the tense set of his shoulders that something was wrong.

"Jason?"

He sat up and just stared at her. As always, his blue eyes were guarded, the emotions within them flickering and changing too quickly for her or anyone else, to decipher. She picked at the ring on her right hand, with her thumb, but other than that, she remained perfectly still, matching Jason's stare.

"Who will look away first…" The short, dark haired Greek, Leo, stage whispered in a dramatic voice.

Jason glanced away from her, and glared at his friend. Leo smirked and pointed at her. "The point goes to the daughter of baloney."

The daughter of Venus, who was sitting on the other side of Jason, rolled her eyes. "It's Bellona, Leo, she's not the daughter of a lunch meat."

"Would you two just stop?" Jason's tone froze the two Greeks in place. Leo snapped his mouth shut and Piper rested a hand on Jason's arm.

Percy

Percy opened his mouth to reply, but the look Annabeth gave him made the words die in his throat. She was standing right in front of him, barely an inch of space between their bodies, and under other circumstances, he would have pulled her against him, but he was terrified that she would hit him again if he so much as breathed wrong.

"I have been looking for you everywhere." She poked him in the chest, hard. "Of all the Seaweed Brained things to do, you go off and get kidnapped by a goddess and then taken to some enemy camp! Honestly Percy, did you even try to stop Hera? There was nothing, nothing, disturbed in your cabin and no one heard a thing the night you disappeared. You're one of the best swordsmen at camp, you've been on a ton of quests, not to mention, you defeated Kronos, the Titan Lord, and you get kidnapped by the goddess of marriage?" Annabeth's voice raised an octave. "What is WRONG with you?"

"Annabeth, I-"

She ignored him, her eyes still burning, her hands balled into fists at her side. "Everyone has been looking for you; even Clarisse led a search party-"

"Wait," he couldn't believe what he had just heard, "Clarisse organized a search party to find me?"

Annabeth crossed her arms and glared at him. He swallowed nervously and motioned for her to continue.

"Yes," Annabeth gave him a wry smile, "I guess she missed stuffing your head into toilets and throwing you in the canoe lake."

At the mention of the canoe lake, Percy couldn't help but smile. Annabeth frowned and glared at him, probably guessing what he was thinking about. Though her expression was cold and harsh, the faint color staining her cheeks gave away how she really felt.

Percy couldn't stop himself; he just had to tease her. "You know, Camp Jupiter has a canoe lake too."

Carefully, he tucked a stray curl behind her ear and grinned at the blush under her tan. She tipped her head down, gently swatting his hand away. When she glanced back up at him, her grey eyes were no longer burning with fury. As quickly as the anger had come, it was gone, replaced by sorrow, exhaustion, confusion and a thousand other emotions he couldn't make out. Percy felt his chest tighten; he had seen her like this, once before, at the bottom of Siren's Bay.

"I thought…" Annabeth shook her head. "It's been months Percy. Almost everyone at camp was convinced that you weren't going to come back, that I wouldn't be able to find you."

He held out his arms. "You found me."

Percy gave her a weak smile, he hated seeing her like this and he hated the fact that he didn't know what to do in these situations. Annabeth laughed, the sound was somewhere between a hysterical giggle and a sob. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. He in turn wrapped his arms around her, bringing her even closer, and pressed his lips against her hair. Annabeth was trembling ever so slightly, and he knew that she was seconds away from losing it. Not wanting to have a repeat of Siren's Bay in front of an audience he couldn't order to leave, Percy loosened his hold on her and tried to take a step back.

Reyna

"Are you okay?" Piper asked. Her tone was soft and full of concern. Try as she might, Reyna couldn't stop herself from giving the daughter of Venus a dark look.

Jason sighed. "I'm fine," he stood, the daughter of Venus following suit, "I've just got a massive headache from getting my memories back."

"I thought you already had them all back?" Leo stretched out in his chair, short legs crossed at the ankles.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. Reyna knew that gesture, she knew that light in his eyes. "You lied." She explained.

"Why would you do that?" Piper looked hurt.

"It wasn't important." Lack of details, a tone that made it clear he was done answering questions; all tells that he was lying. Reyna could read Jason Grace like an open book, sometimes.

"But Jason-"

"You didn't need to know Piper." The daughter of Venus gave Jason a hard look. Jason sighed and explained further. "It's," He glanced at her and Reyna gave him a questioning look, "it's personal, okay?"

Piper crossed her arms and nodded. The look on her face screamed, you're-explaining-later. Jason shoved his hands in his pockets and turned his attention on her. Everything that had happened in the past few months came boiling to the surface. All the late nights she spent alone, all the anger, the confusion, and the fear. She wanted to yell at him like Annabeth was yelling at Percy, she wanted to hit him, and she wanted to blame him, even though it wasn't his fault. Blood roared in her ears, but she pushed the fury aside. This was the gods doing, not Jason's. It was all part of the prophecy, destined to happen. The past was the past, he was here now, alive and well, and that was more than she could ever ask for.

"I'm glad you're back."

Jason studied her. "So am I." He replied carefully.

"We'll talk later." Jason nodded, seeming to understand her lack of emotion, her need to sort through everything. Of everyone she knew, with the exception of Hylla, he always understood the most.

Reyna turned and looked at Percy. He seemed to be in one piece, which was surprising considering how upset his girlfriend had been. As if sensing her stare, he stepped away from Annabeth and looked at her. Her gaze slid past the son of Neptune, to the blond Greek who looked as if she were seconds away from losing it. Annabeth discreetly brushed the tears from her cheeks and re-tied her ponytail. Gone was the overwhelmed girl, replaced by a steel gazed Greek hero.

"What?"

Reyna ignored Annabeth's question and looked back at Percy. "Are you ready?"

"For dinner?" Percy questioned.

Reyna took a deep breath and resisted the urge to role her eyes. Argentum pressed against her leg and she rested her hand on the greyhound's head. "The legion is going to be hostile. People will talk, comments will be made and questions asked." She glanced at Annabeth again, and Percy grasped the girl's hand, lacing his fingers through hers. "They are going to be merciless and I can tell you now that your relationship with the daughter of Minerva will be the biggest target."

"What exactly are you asking of me?" Percy's tone had taken on a dangerous edge.

"I'm asking you to handle everything with a level head. The second you lash out, they will tear you apart. Don't rise to the bait, ignore the comments, look past the glares and for the love of Olympus don't start a fight with Octavian."

Percy grinned. "Relax, I'll behave."

Reyna found that hard to believe, but hopefully his girlfriend would be able to keep him under control. The dark haired Greek, who had been lounging in one the chairs got to his feet and stretched.

"You make it sound like we're about to walk into a lion's den."

"More like a wolf's den." She whispered. Through the open doors of the Senate House, Reyna could just see the pavilion. The windows were alight with the flames of the braziers that circled the couches and inside the large glass and marble building two hundred and fifty demigods were discussing the arrival of their enemies, and hopefully, soon to be allies.

"There's a reason the motto of Rome is conquer or die."

Reyna laughed. Jason had no idea how right he was. "Alright," she straightened a medal handing from her toga, "let's get this over with."

She strode to the open doors and down the stairs, Percy behind her, his hand still in Annabeth's. The other two Greeks stuck close to Jason, who kept pace beside her as they made their way quickly up the road, toward Terminus. She tried not to let the fact that Jason was walking beside her, like old times, once again, after so many months, distract her. If Percy, Jason and the Greeks were going to survive dinner, she had to be completely focused; otherwise she would get caught up in the taunts and start a fight, and the gods knew Octavian was just waiting for a reason to prove she was unqualified.

Frank

"So," Frank tightened a strap on his armor, "how badly do you think we're going to lose tonight?"

At the end of a very awkward and hostile dinner, Reyna had announced that Octavian would be the referee of the war games. Though no one dared protest, Frank knew that at least half the legion was unhappy with Reyna's decision.

"Considering that Octavian is the referee, we're defending a half-finished fort and the First, Second and Fourth cohorts get Hannibal," Hazel tied her hair back with a leather string, "I say we'll all be dead before the tenth person breaches the wall."

"It's just not fair!" Frank cried.

Tommy, a legacy of Janus, glanced at him. "Story of the Fifth."

"No, it's actually the motto of the Fifth." Dakota, who had been arguing with Octavian, walked over to them.

The Fifth was sitting along the four foot wall of the fort. The wall was so small that it would simply act as a launching pad for the attacking demigods once the games began.

"I thought our motto was Greeks and geeks?" Hazel replied sarcastically.

Dakota gave her a wry grin. "That too."

"Hey, speaking of Greeks," everyone turned to look at Gwen, who was standing with the centurions of the Third, "where's Percy?"

"In the principia with Reyna." Frank couldn't help but add, "That's why we're going to lose."

Gwen frowned. "Why is it that our best soldiers are always unavailable, or missing?"

Before anyone could answer, a messenger came running down the road and onto the field. Frank had always wished that he had had reference letters that would have gotten him a job as a messenger. They were almost always excused from war games and when they had to play they were usually a part of a cohort that won.

The messenger handed the note he carried to Octavian, who ripped it open with the knife he usually used when gutting teddy bears. As he read the note, Octavian's cold eyes narrowed. Frank's stomach knotted and then dropped to his shoes when the augur looked at him, or rather, who was next to him.

"Hazel Levesque." Hazel looked up from her spatha, which she was polishing in her lap and stared at Octavian. "The praetor wishes to speak with you in the Principia."

Frank couldn't help but notice how Octavian didn't use the plural form, clearly refusing to acknowledge Percy as his praetor.

"Oh come on!" Dakota threw his flask on the ground, and everyone froze. "You," the son of Bacchus pointed at Octavian, "are setting my cohort up to fail. We have nothing but this heap of rubble and now you want to send one of my best soldiers away."

Frank caught the flush on Hazel's cheeks and he wondered whether it was from Dakota's praise or the fact that she was causing an argument.

"I," Octavian placed a hand on his chest and waved the note in front of him, "haven't ordered your legionnaire anywhere. Reyna is the one who has caused your disadvantage."

Dakota went from upset, to livid. People weren't kidding when they said Octavian could twist anything to benefit him. Dakota took a few steps towards the augur, growling something in Latin.

Cold fire burned in Octavian's eyes. "Watch yourself Dakota. Don't forget that I outrank you."

"I don't care if you're Jupiter Optimus Maximus, I'm going to-"

"Dakota!"

Everything seemed to stop. The tension in the air began to dissipate, and the crowd behind Octavian parted. A boy strode through the crowd, armor polished so that the light from the braziers reflected off it. The boy didn't seem to notice the looks he was getting from the people around him and carried himself with confidence and ease. As the boy walked past Octavian, he made sure to knock into the augur's shoulder. It must have been a hard hit because Octavian was almost knocked to the ground.

A few people laughed and the boy had a small smile on his face as he clasped a hand on Dakota's shoulder. "Relax, I'll fill in for Hazel."

Octavian looked as if he were about to explode. Dakota turned to face them, draping an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Gwen," Gwen rolled her eyes at Dakota's ecstatic and slightly crazed expression, "I do believe our luck is beginning to change."

"I do believe you're right." Gwen said.

Dakota and the boy walked forward to stand beside her. Dakota threw a taunting look over his shoulder at Octavian, who was still standing with his fists and jaw clenched.

"We may just have a victory for the Fifth tonight!"

The Fifth answered Dakota with cries of, "Ave, Jason!"

"Well, good luck." Frank tore his gaze away from Jason and Octavian's furious face, to look at Hazel. "I'd better go see what Reyna and Percy want."

As she climbed the hill to the road, Frank shouted after her, above the din of voices and clanking armor. "Tell Percy I, Dakota and probably the rest of the cohort are going to kick his podex for missing this game."

Hazel turned to look at him as she made her way toward the principia. Her smile was bright and as lame and clichéd as it seemed, he really did think that it lit up the night. "Don't worry, you've got Jason, you don't need Percy."


Now, this chapter was about 2,500 words longer, but I grew tired of deleting nasty reviews and PM's, so I cut out the end (which was un-revised) and posted the "chapter". Thus the reason why it ends so abruptly.

We'll hear from Hazel in the beginning of the next chapter, and perhaps I'll give you, if everyone is respectful, a little Percebeth fluff, possibly even some Jeyna fluff...who knows.

Please review, and I appologize for my rant.