"Oh come on!" Leo shouted as Festus swerved to one side to avoid a ballista as it went zipping by them. "Every time! Seriously! And why are there forklifts with spears on them?!"

Festus cranked and creaked as he continually evaded the flaming ballista spears that were fired at him in rapid succession. Jason leapt off of Festus's back and harnessed the wind around him, flying towards the camp as fast as he could. The Romans, and what looked like Amazons of all things, were forming up and brandishing various weapons. Jason was certain that he saw a line of archers sighting at him, which did not exactly reassure him. A figure streaked from the forest, making a beeline directly for the ballista and the subsequent defenders of said weapon. "Oh no." Jason moaned as he watched Ryker descend on the crew with cold efficiency. He appreciated the assist, but Jason doubted that the people Ryker was fighting were quite as thankful.

Landing on the ground behind the ballista, Jason immediately put up his hands as a sign that he did not want to fight. He was surrounded by Amazon warriors, more than a few of whom were sporting bruises and cuts from their encounter with Ryker. "Whoa, easy now." Jason said when a particularly angry looking Amazon strode forward and leveled her spear at him. "It's me! Jason! Jason Grace!"

"What are you doing?!" A very angry and very familiar demigod demanded, pushing through the ranks. Jason's heart eased immensely when Piper came into focus and wrapped him in a tight hug. "It's Jason! Hylla, this is Jason!"

"Very well." Hylla said, lowering her spear rather slowly. "But what of the dragon?"

Piper stepped back and glared up at the dragon. It was at that moment that Jason knew that Piper knew exactly who was sitting on Festus's back. At least, she knew one of the people. Leo, buddy, you might want to stay in the air. Jason thought with a wince.

Evidently Leo had not developed mind-reading capabilities in his time away as Fests landed on the outskirts of the camp. Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, and Will showed up a few minutes later. All of them were staring at the bronze dragon with mixed expressions of fury and hope. The difference in the emotions made their faces quite the spectacle. Leo helped Calypso off of Festus's back and seemed to steel his shoulders before turning back around with a grin on his face. "Told you I would come back." Leo said as Calypso took his hand in hers. Percy evidently recognized the Titan and was glancing back and forth between the two warily. Calypso obviously recognized Percy as well. The two sides walked towards one another and stopped when they were a few feet apart.

"Talk about awkward." Jason muttered, glancing back and forth between Calypso and Percy. According to what he knew the Titan used to be in love with the son of Poseidon but Percy had broken her heart due to his need to leave her island.

"You are alive?!" Hazel shouted finally, striding across the distance between them and shoving Leo hard on the shoulder. "And you didn't tell us?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT WAS LIKE?! TO THINK THAT YOU DIED?!"

"Technically I did die." Leo said in a weak defense. "Physician's Cure, remember?"

"The Physician's Cure was supposed to be given as soon as possible." Frank recalled, his eyes hard. If Leo had expected some sort of relief from the Praetor, he was sorely mistaken. "Which means that you have still been alive for these past couple months. Right?"

"Yes." Leo muttered. He glanced hopefully to Calypso but she shook her head. Jason read her message as clear as day. This is your problem. "Look, I knew that I had taken Gaea out. I deserved a little bit of time… right?"

"And you couldn't have taken that time after you told us you were alive?" Annabeth hissed. "'Hey guys, I'm alive! No need to worry about me!' Did that not occur to you?"

Leo was at a loss for words. He raised his hands helplessly, searching for something to say in his defense. He had told Jason previously that he was hoping that the others would be so happy that he had returned that they would forget all about their anger. Apparently Leo had been mistaken, and very badly at that. A tense silence stretched between them before being broken by Will of all people. The son of Apollo stepped forward and offered his hand to Leo with a small smile. "I'm pissed at you for being alive this whole time and not telling us." Will told him seriously. "But welcome back man!"

That did it. The others swarmed Leo and, while they assured him that they were all furious with him, tears were still shed in relief of their friend returning from the dead. Piper held true to her word and shook Leo like a leaf for scaring her so much, an action that was immediately mimicked by Annabeth and Frank. Leo seemed to be nearly overwhelmed by the attention, but he was obviously enjoying it as well. Jason was next in line. The others turned their relief on him and professed their relief for his safe return. "How did you save him?" Percy asked Leo curiously. "Who's holding up the sky now? Don't tell me you managed to get Atlas back?"

"Nope, our old friend Sciron is." Leo told them. He suddenly frowned and then began looking here and there. "By the way, where is Ryker? He's the one who took down Sciron and sprung Jason."

"Ryker took on Sciron?" Frank sighed. "Why am I not surprised? Wait, how was Sciron back? I thought you guys fed him to a turtle."

"We did." Jason nodded.

"I used the Mist to think we had fallen." Hazel added. "He was definitely turtle food though. If he's back… does that mean Gaea is too?"

"I doubt that very much." Juno strode up to their group with a delighted smile on her face. Jason disliked her all the more for the expression of happiness. She was the goddess he liked least of all, meddlesome as she was. "Leo Valdez, you were very effective in ensuring that Gaea shall not rise again for several centuries at a minimum."

"Ah, well, I know how to make an impact." Leo said, glaring at Juno. Evidently Jason's dislike of the goddess was mirrored by the others as well. Only Calypso and Hazel seemed unbothered by the goddess. "What do you want?"

"Merely to see how you are faring after being away for so long." Juno said easily, crossing her arms and regarding him. "I suppose that you are faring well, all things considered. As for your bout with Sciron, I am certain that Gaea is not behind it. However it is good to know that we may be facing old foes as well. Your time away was very informative Jason Grace."

"I'm glad I could help." Jason growled in a way that was most unlike him. Even Piper seemed a bit surprised by his answer.

Juno left them be after that, much to everyone's delight. They began to walk back towards Frank's tent, passing Gina on the way. The daughter of Hygeia was walking alongside Ceres, though as to where Jason did not have an idea. Ceres seemed rather curious about the girl, while Gina was the picture of happiness. When they had gathered around Frank's table, or on the table in Leo' case, they began to catch each other up on what had been happening. "So how did Orion grab you?" Percy asked when the conversation turned to Jason.

"I was flying over a bridge on Tempest when Orion shot him." Jason's expression turned dark when he thought back to how his friend had crumbled away due to the black and red arrow between his ribs. "After I caught myself Orion threw a huge net over me and hit me on the head. The next thing I know, I'm being told to take the weight of the sky from Atlas."

"But I thought that you had to willingly take the weight?" Frank asked, his hands clasped before him as he listened intently.

"You do." Jason said quietly. He glanced to Piper and sighed before answering. "They said that if I didn't take the weight they would kill me and grab Piper. They had already grabbed so many demigods… I didn't want to risk it."

Piper slipped her arm through his and he smiled at her. She frowned back at him, undoubtedly angry that he had sacrificed his well-being for her. Again. But she would have done the same for him, so it didn't really matter."

"How did you manage to make Sciron take the weight?" Annabeth asked. "He's still mortal so he should have had to agree to take it. Right?"

"I doubt he could have agreed to anything." Leo said with a shudder, the memory of Ryker's words making him turn rather green. "Ryker… he…"

"He beat him down pretty hard." Calypso supplied for him. When Leo turned on her in surprise she smiled slightly. "I have been around you enough to know what you would say."

"Great, now there's two of them." Percy muttered. "So if Sciron couldn't agree then how…?"

"Rhea." Jason said simply. "The mother of the gods. She showed up and helped us out. She even helped Ryker save my life."

"So Rhea showed up?" Annabeth seemed to process this. "If she helped us, things might be worse than we thought. And they are already pretty bad."

"What is it with you guys and positive thinking?" Leo wondered. "Seriously. Let's look at it like we just got a crazy strong new ally. Anyways, so what about you guys? How did you get the Amazons here? And was that Gina we passed earlier?"

"Long story, and yes it was." Percy answered. "We were getting the Amazons to come back when we found her. Apparently Orion had taken her and Aiden but she managed to escape."

"What did you just say?" Everyone in the room jumped, unaware that Ryker had entered the tent. Jason turned to see him staring at Percy intensely. "What about Aiden? And what about Gina"

"That Orion grabbed him?" Percy said slowly. "And that Gina was grabbed by Orion during a battle with Camp Half-Blood."

"That's funny." Ryker growled, whirling around and summoning his claws. "Because Aiden Bishop died before Atlas showed up and attacked Camp Half-Blood. And Gina was taken the same night that Aiden died."

"What are you saying?" Frank demanded, rising from his seat.

"That I am going to go kill whoever this imposter is." Ryker swept out of the tent without another word.