Chapter Five

The Meeting of the Campers

When Leo first saw Dakota, his mouth wanted to unhinge and hit the floor like an automaton. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, which probably meant she wasn't interested, but who cared!

She was sitting away from the ping pong table, with her arms and legs crossed looking stony.

Leo immediately rushed over to her.

"Hey, I'm Leo," he said, quickly. He held out his hand, hoping he wouldn't start in any fires.

"I know who you are, son of Vulcan," she said, looking up at him. "Now, go away." She added in a fierce growl.

"We can definitely talk later," said Leo, nodding with a smile and going to take his place amongst the other camp counselors. He loved this job. He had the best bunk, could order anyone around (even though he rarely did, unless they were working on their top secret project in Bunker 9), but that was news to the whole camp, even though he liked to pretend it was a secret. He looked around at the weary faces of his fellow counselors.

Clovis, the son of Hypnos, was already knocked out with his face planted on the table and snoring loudly. Lou Ellen, the daughter of Hecate, kept opening her hands and making miniature plasmas lights spark. It was pretty cool and Leo knew she would be hit at his family's Fourth of July picnic, which he never went to because he was always in someone else's foster home or on the run. Miranda Gardiner had her hands covering her face, and Leo got the sinking suspicion that she was slowly sleeping too. Clarisse was there, Will Solace from Apollo, and so was Annabeth, whose blonde hair was a little messy. Piper's eyes were a little red and Leo wondered what was wrong with her.

Jason and Rachel walked in and Chiron rolled up his wheelchair.

"What's the emergency?" asked Clarisse, roughly. "I wanna go back to bed. I have a full hour of weapons training in the morning with the newbies and I don't want them to show me up!"

"Calm down, child," said Chiron. "This is an important meeting. It has to do with Percy."

Annabeth sat up straighter and stared at Chiron with her gray eyes.

"What's going on?" Leo asked, before she could say something.

Chiron nodded his head toward Jason and Rachel. And his eyes rested on Dakota.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" asked Chiron, politely.

Dakota rolled her eyes and got to her feet.

"This is so stupid," she muttered. "I'm Dakota Starlight, daughter of Apollo."

"You woke me out of my sleep for a puny daughter of Apollo?" said Clarisse, outraged. "I should judo throw her out of the third story window!"

"She isn't just a child of Apollo," said Chiron. "She is a child of Rome. Of the Roman Apollo."

"Oh," said Clarisse, staring at Dakota with new found respect. "You come from the war camp, eh?"

"War camp?" said Dakota. "The Castra Roma can't be described as a simple war camp. Like this catastrophe of a sanctuary."

"The Castra," repeated Jason, rubbing his arm. Leo noticed it was the arm with his tattoos.

"Latin for 'camp'," supplied Annabeth, when everyone looked confused. "Castra Roma means Roman Camp."

"You're remembering," noticed Dakota, who was watching Jason. "Good." She pulled up her sleeve revealing a similar tattoo, with six barcode marks with SPQR and some kind of bird, the symbol for Apollo stamped over it.

"The raven," said Will Solace, looking up at Dakota. "Apollo's sacred bird."

Dakota eyebrow rose.

"I am a son of Apollo, too," said Will, with a smile. "We're siblings. So to speak."

"A weak brother," said Dakota, scoffing. "That's the last thing I needed next to an amnesic friend."

"Can we get back to Percy now," said Annabeth. "Dakota can take us to her camp and we can rescue him. Chiron," she looked at him, "we need a quest."

"What?" said Dakota. "No! You're not coming to my camp. Lupa would have my spine in her fanged mouth before she allowed scum like you into our territory."

"But didn't you have a vision?" asked Rachel. "You knew Jason was here and Apollo sent you a sign. Why would Lupa let you leave camp if she didn't know where you were going?"

"I must agree," said Chiron. "Lupa and I don't exactly see eye to eye, but I know she would never allow any of her campers to go on a quest without there being a purpose."

"My purpose is to get Jason and bring him home," said Dakota.

"But the prophecy…" began Rachel.

"I don't care about your Great Prophecy, Oracle!" she snapped.

"Hey!" Clarisse shouted. "You're out of line, soldier. You're on our territory and unless you want to be the next camper to disappear, I'd watch your mouth!"

Dakota summoned her bow and arrow and aimed it Clarisse, who eyed the weapon, but still didn't back down.

"A daughter of Mars would have more discipline," Dakota said.

"I'm not Mars' kid. I'm Ares' all the way," growled Clarisse and with a snap of her fingers, the bow and arrow fell to the floor.

Dakota looked shocked as Clarisse wore a triumphant smirk.

"That was awesome!" said Leo.

"How?" she asked, picking up her fallen weapons.

"Ares is the god of war, soldier," said Clarisse to Dakota. "You should know all battle weapons are in his sphere of control. Including ranged weapons, which I have control over."

"Can you two please stop this," said Piper, suddenly. She had been quiet during the entire ordeal, but it was clear she couldn't keep her peace. Her eyes were locked on Jason though as she spoke. And everyone seemed to be paying attention to her now. "Now," she went on, "I understand why the gods wanted to keep their Greek and Roman kids apart. You're ready to kill each other already. I don't think it's a good idea we go to the Roman Camp or Castra, whatever its called! If we go there, we'll have swords, arrows, and spears directed straight at us ready to kill."

"True," confirmed Dakota.

"I don't care," said Annabeth. "They have Percy and I'm getting him back. Leo, what's your progress on the Argo II?"

"Give me a day and we're ready to fly," he responded. He wanted to be helpful some way. During this whole meeting he just sat back and listened, but now was his time to shine. The Argo II was almost complete and it would soon launch its first test in twenty four hours time.

"I'm not staying here another day," said Dakota.

"You don't have a choice," said Annabeth.

"Yes, I do," said Dakota.

"You can stay in Apollo's cabin," said Will. "Either Greek or Roman, you stem from the central entity that is Apollo. We have a bunk for you and its rightfully yours."

"You don't give beds to the enemy," said Dakota.

"You're not my enemy," said Will, forcefully. "You're my sister. And the last time I checked, Romans honored family above anything else."

Dakota looked like she was considering that statement.

"We promise we're your not you enemy," said Piper. Leo thought she was laying on the charmspeaking pretty good. "Jason is your ally and we're his. I'm sure he can explain all of this better than we can, since he is from your…" She stopped and looked away, unable to speak.

Okay, Leo thought, there is definitely something wrong with the beauty queen. Maybe it was because she didn't get that much beauty sleep. No. Leo had a feeling it was something else. Something that had to do with Jason.

"Please," he said, suddenly looking at Dakota. "We will set sail tomorrow morning. I will go to Bunker 9 myself and finish the Argo II right now. I won't even go back to sleep."

"Are you sure, Leo?" asked Annabeth. "We've been working on the designs and the aerial propellers aren't something you want to take lightly."

"I can handle it, Annabeth," said Leo. "I want to help you get Percy back anyway I can and I know finishing our ride is the perfect way!"

Annabeth smiled and nodded her approval.

"The summer solstice draws in five days," said Chiron, glancing at a calendar on the wall. "You must sail to Castra Roma and retrieve Percy. And then, we must prepare both camps for war against the Giants and their allies. Rachel?"

"I'm already on it," said Rachel, taking a seat on a wooden three legged stool in the corner. She sat still for a moment and Leo always thought this was so creepy. She began to shiver and her eyes flew open, as green mist began to curl around her like a snake. And then, Rachel, in full Oracle mode, spoke her prophecy:

Deadly foes stand in the five's way

to cause war upon the solstice day

The seeing eye will lead the journey west

Campers combined will be put to the test

Secret locked hidden within stones

the Giant's attack shall rattle the bones

And then, she took in a deep breath and blinked hard.

"What the heck?" said Dakota, staring at Rachel in awe.

"Prophecy," said Annabeth.

"Break down time," said Clarisse.

"It's obvious," said Travis, "it said five. Five campers."

"We already know who the five shall be," said Chiron. "Jason, Piper, and Leo have proven to be an excellent team. I believe that they shall once again succeed together in this second quest together."

"And the fourth and fifth?" asked Miranda Gardiner, looking up from her hands timidly liked she hoped she wouldn't be picked.

"Me," said Annabeth, getting to her feet. "I know I have to go on this quest. It's important that I be there for guidance and wisdom. Plus, I need to get Percy back. I'm going."

"And I guess the fifth will be…" began Chiron, looking at Clarisse.

"Me," said Dakota, suddenly.

Everyone's head turned toward her.

"What?" said Clarisse. "You're not even our camper! How do you think our Oracle would give you a quest?"

"That's not how it works," said Rachel. "The Oracle is…"

"…the eye of Apollo itself," finished Dakota. "I also get visions of the future. I don't speak prophecies or anything like that. But my visions are real and they always come true. And when I touched Jason's face in Central Park, I had a vision of us, sailing across the sky."

"What?" asked Jason, looking confused.

"We were sailing back to Castra Roma," she continued. "This must have been what it was. Me…leading you four to my camp to help you in your search for Percy. The seeing eye."

"Chiron," shot Clarisse. "That's not fair!"

"I know, child," said Chiron. "But both seers of Apollo have spoken and we can't fight visions or destiny. It is meant to be."

"But what about the rest of the prophecy," said Will. "What secrets locked within stone? And bone rattling from a Giant? It sounds dangerous."

"All quests are dangerous," said Annabeth. "But we're doing it anyway."

"Alright," said Chiron, in a conclusive tone. "At first light, if Leo can complete the Argo II by then, he, Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Dakota will set out on a quest to retrieve Percy from Castra Roma by the summer solstice. May the gods be in your favor as you embark on a journey that hasn't been attempted in almost two hundred years. Greek and Roman campers must unite and work together or all will be lost to our new foes."