Chapter 8

Jason and Piper sat next to each other on the upper deck, while Leo manned the wheel.

"What do you remember?" Piper asked him.

"I remember that I had a lot of friends. Dakota, Gwendolyn, Hazel, Bobby, and…Reyna." Jason told her.

"Was Reyna your old girlfriend?" Piper asked, seeing that now they were dating.

"I'm not sure." Jason frowned, "I remember how she always wanted to be more than just colleagues, but I'm not completely sure if we were."

Piper nodded, not wanting to push him, "Anything else?"

"I remember the night Lupa had tested me, to decide if I were to be her pup or food. Then I remember taking a long trip south to…camp I guess." Jason said with a strained expression on his face, as if he was trying to force the memories back into his mind, "I remember I was a praetor at camp…."

"A what?" Piper asked.

"A praetor. An elected Roman magistrate and commander of the Roman army." Jason explained.

"I guess you were pretty popular at this Roman camp then." Piper said with a smile.

"I guess so…." Jason said shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm guessing we'll be at this camp by tomorrow morning. June 25th." Leo yelled to them.

Jason suddenly looked more alert, "Today is the 24th?" He asked.

"Yeah." Piper told him.

"Today is the Feast of Fortuna." Jason suddenly remembered.

"Ew, dude. You Romans have a feast for tuna? Don't Romans hate the ocean? Why do they have a feast for fish?" Leo asked.

Jason rolled his eyes, "No, not a feast for tuna. We have the Feast of Fortuna. She is the goddess of fortune and good luck."

"So the Feast of Fortuna is just a way to praise the goddess." Piper guessed.

"Not quite. Whatever happens on her feast day can affect the rest of the year. We could get really lucky or we could get really bad luck." Jason told them.

"Then I'm guessing your camp is going to have some really bad luck this year dude. Remember how Tyson said there is supposed to be a war today?" Leo told them.

Jason nodded, "If the camp survives we'll probably have good luck."

"And if it doesn't?" Piper asked.

Jason thought for a moment, "That would be bad."

Annabeth stirred in her sleep for a while before she finally woke up.

She sat up, stretching. She looked around the dark cabin and rubbed her eyes.

It was probably her shift by now. She got out of her bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

She closed the door behind herself and then looked at her reflection.

Annabeth's face was tear streaked and her usually grey eyes were red as a fire engine. She had been crying in her sleep.

She sighed and splashed some cold water onto her face. She looked at her reflection again.

"You need to stay strong." She told her reflection, "Percy can't know about this."

She dried her face off and took her hair out of her ponytail.

She brushed through her messy curls with her fingers and then put it back up in her usual pony tail.

She stared at her reflection, I still look disgusting, she thought.

Sighing, she left the bathroom and headed up to the upper deck.

"It may not be any Feast of Fortuna, but no one can go wrong with Tofu tacos." Leo said as he handed everyone a plate of tacos.

Jason smiled, "It's fine, Leo. Thanks."

"This brings back some memories." Piper said with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Jason and Leo smiled along with her and bit into their tacos.

Annabeth manned the wheel while they ate.

"Are you sure you're not hungry, Annabeth?" Leo asked her.

"I'm fine. My stomach's a little queasy right now." Annabeth had an expression on her face that said, Don't talk to me.

"Your loss." Leo said biting into his taco.

Jason looked at the sky surrounding them, which was now streaked with shades of pink and purple.

"It's 9:00 Eastern time." Jason told them.

"It will only take 3 more hours to get to California, but we should land the ship somewhere, so the flying mechanism doesn't blow out" Leo told them.

"We're just passing into Utah. We should land it in the Great Salt Lake. The mist will prevent any mortals from seeing its true form." Annabeth told them.

Leo nodded, "Nice thinking, Annabeth."

He went over to the wheel and took over. Annabeth stepped aside and allowed him to.

He turned the wheel towards the lake and the ship slowly started to descend.

Jason and Piper yawned, "You guys get some sleep. Me and Annabeth will take it from here." Leo told them.

They nodded and said goodnight, heading to the lower decks.

Jason turned to Piper and gave her a kiss on the lips, "Goodnight."

Piper smiled, "Goodnight."

She was so happy to have a boyfriend like Jason.

The ship gently landed into the Great Salt Lake.

"Good job, Leo." Annabeth told him giving him a pat on the back.

"Praise the awesome Leo!" He said with a smile.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and Leo yawned.

"You should get some sleep. I'll be okay. I took a four and a half hour nap before." She told him.

"Okay…" He said dreamily.

He started to walk towards the stairs leading to the lower deck when Annabeth asked, "Did you send the message to the Roman camp?"

He cursed, "No!... I'll send a new one in the morning."

Annabeth nodded and watched as he went down to the lower deck.

She went to the wheel and manned it, while really she didn't need to.

She did this for 4 hours before Jason came up to switch shifts.

"It's 1 a.m. eastern time. 10 western." He told her when she asked.

Annabeth nodded and headed to the lower deck to get some more sleep.

Percy headed back to the Fifth Cohort barracks and climbed into his bunk. He passed out instantly.

He dreamed he was carrying Juno across the Little Tiber.

She was disguised as a crazy old bag lady, smiling and singing an Ancient Greek lullaby as her leathery hands gripped Percy's neck.

"Do you still want to slap me, dear?" she asked.

Percy stopped midstream. He let go and dumped the goddess in the river.

The moment she hit the water, she vanished and reappeared on the shore. "Oh my," She cackled, "that wasn't very heroic, even in a dream!"

"Eight months," Percy said, "You stole my memory for eight months of my life for a quest that took a week. Why?"

Juno tutted disapprovingly, "You mortals and your short lives. Eight months is nothing, my dear. I lost eight centuries once, missed most of the Byzantine Empire."

Percy summoned the power of the river. It swirled around him, spinning into a froth of whitewater.

"Now, now," Juno said. "Don't get testy. If we are to defeat Gaea, our plans must be timed perfectly. First, I needed Jason and his friends to free me from my prison-"

"Your prison? You were in prison and they let you out?"

"Don't sound so surprised, dear! I'm a sweet old woman. At any rate, you weren't needed at Camp Jupiter until now, to save the Romans at their moment of great crisis. The eight months between…well, I do have other plans brewing, my boy. Opposing Gaea, working behind Jupiter's back, protecting your friends-it's a full time job! If I had to guard you from Gaea's monsters and schemes as well, and keep you hidden from your friends back east all that time-no, much better you take a safe nap. You would have been a distraction-a loose cannon."

"A distraction." Percy felt the water rising with his anger, spinning faster around him. "A loose cannon."

"Exactly. I'm glad you understand."

Percy sent a wave crashing down on the old woman, but Juno simply disappeared and materialized further down the shore.

"My," she said, "you are in a bad mood. But you know I'm right. Your timing here was perfect. They trust you now. You are a hero of Rome. And while you slept, Jason Grace has learned to trust the Greeks. They've had time to build the Argo 11. Together, you and Jason will unite the camps."

"Why me?" Percy demanded. "You and I never got along. Why would you want a loose cannon on your team?"

"Because I know you, Percy Jackson. In many ways, you are impulsive, but when it comes to your friends, you are as constant as a compass needle. You are unswervingly loyal, and you inspire loyalty. You are the glue that will unite the seven."

"Great." Percy said. "I always wanted to be the glue."

Juno laced her crooked fingers. "The Heroes of Olympus must unite! After your victory over Kronos in Manhattan…well, I fear that wounded Jupiter's self-esteem."

"Because I was right," Percy said, "And he was wrong."

The old lady shrugged. "He should be used to that, after so many eons married to me, but alas! My proud and obstinate husband refuses to ask more demigods for help again. He believes the giants can be fought without you, and Gaea can be forced back to her slumbers. I know better. But you must prove yourself. Only by sailing to the ancient lands and closing the Doors of Death will you convince Jupiter that you are worthy of fighting side-by-side with the gods. It will be the greatest quest since Aeneas sailed from Troy!"

"And if we fail?" Percy said. "If Romans and Greeks don't get along?"

"Then Gaea has already won. I'll tell you this, Percy Jackson. The one who will cost you the most trouble is the one closest to you- the one who hates me the most."

"Annabeth?" Percy felt his anger rising again. "You never liked her. Now you're calling her a trouble maker? You don't know her at all. She's the person I most want watching my back."

The goddess smiled dryly. "We will see, young hero. She has a hard task ahead of her when you arrive in Rome. Whether she is up to it….I do not know."

Percy summoned a fist of water and smashed it down on the old lady. When the wave receded, she was gone.

The river swirled out of Percy's control. He sank into the darkness of the whirlpool.

Percy's dream shifted. He was standing in an empty white room. There was nothing there.

Then he saw her, "Annabeth!"

She turned towards him a huge smile on her face.

He ran to her and picked her up, swinging her in a full circle before setting her down.

She kissed him on the lips, and after what seemed like ages later, she pulled away.

"I've been waiting eight months for that." She said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Annabeth, I have so much to tell you." Percy said.

"You can tell me in the morning, I'll be there soon. I promise." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I-" Percy started to say 'I love you, Annabeth', but then his dream faded into blackness.

Hey guys! I love this chapter soooo much! The italic part is Rick Riordan's writing, I don't own that part. It's from pages 499-501 in 'The Son of Neptune'.
I hope you enjoyed chapter 8!

I was thinking of making a sequel to this story but it would take place after the war with Gaea and everything. Tell me if you think I should!

The next chapters will be up on Wednesday!

*I won't be near a computer from Friday to Monday so chapters 9 and 10 will be posted on Wendsday...kk bye guys!*

COMMENT!