Chapter Seven

The Argo II Sets Sail

Jason's dream started out like this.

He was standing in a deserted field in a low valley, surrounded by high hills. Fog seemed to ring around the area like a barrier. But there was some sense of familiarity to Jason. He couldn't make out too much through the fog, but something loomed in the distance. He walked toward it and realized it was a coliseum. It looked ancient, but something about it, the way it stood erect and strong, made Jason think that it would be a great arena for a large scale battle if need be.

He walked into the coliseum and entered a dark corridor that had a light at the end and Jason headed toward it. He came out in a large circular room, where stone seats circled around the coliseum about ten feet off the ground. But Jason couldn't believe what he was seeing.

There was a war going on.

People in battle armor and weapons clashed in front of him. They battled fiercely and angrily. But what made Jason freeze up was that all of them were kids. The youngest ten, the oldest nineteen, at least a hundred of them, all dressed in purple shirts and jeans. And Jason knew exactly where he was. And something in Jason made his head go to the right and look up.

Standing a dais was a wolf. The same red wolf that Jason had seen before. Lupa. She paced back and forth, staring hungrily down at the battle, almost waiting for the first to fall so she could devour them.

But the campers were trained and they fought amongst each other with great skilled defense and offense.

Suddenly, Lupa raised her head and let out a howl that echoed through the coliseum and Jason forgot how this place had great acoustics, like Carnegie Hall.

"Well done," she growled at them, though her lips didn't move. "It looks like I will be the one to go hungry tonight. Return to your cabins. Rest. But remember, the enemy lurks even there and be prepared for battle even in a resting state."

"Yes, Lupa!" they all chanted.

The Roman campers began to file out in pairs or large groups, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Lupa leapt off the dais and down in front of Jason and stared up at him. For a moment Jason thought she looked directly at him, but she too left the coliseum along with everyone else.

But all of the campers hadn't left.

Two of them remained.

One of them had a interesting bronze sword and he was slashing wildly. Jason thought his technique was pretty awesome, but it seemed to lack focus. The second camper stood by, watching. They took off their helmets and Jason's eyes landed on the second camper. She was about seventeen, gorgeous, tall, and lean. She had long red hair that she had braided across her head, 15th century style, so it wouldn't get in her way, and had soft blue eyes. She smiled a little at the other camper. He had to be about eighteen, with black hair and sea green eyes.

The boy groaned in frustration.

"This is so stupid," he said. "I still can't balance my sword right the way Lupa wants."

"It just takes practice, Percy," said the girl.

Jason froze. So, this was the infamous Percy Jackson: Annabeth's boyfriend, the son of Poseidon.

"I know," said Percy. "I know I'm not the smartest fighter in the world, but I know how to use this sword. It's so familiar to me. And plus, I am invincible for some reason. I just wish I could remember…"

"You've been here for almost six months," said the girl. "I'm pretty sure everything will start coming back to you. This is war strategy. Confuse the enemy so that the opponent can strike faster."

"Why would the gods do this to me?" Percy said, leaning against the coliseum wall. "Hera hasn't come to me in a while and I know she's behind this."

"You mean, Juno," corrected the girl.

"Reyna," said Percy. "I know your theory, but…"

"Well, why not?" asked Reyna. "Why not? You're memory is gone and you turn up in the woods outside of camp where everyone seems to remember you being here and then Jason vanishes. Juno has done something and remember that quest we went on to help rediscover your memory. It lead us into a trap in the east set by Enceladus"

"But Enceladus was in the west and he fell into a pit," said Percy.

"Giants," muttered Reyna. "So stupid. But we barely succeeded in battling the maenads."

Jason knew about the maenads. They were deadly followers of Bacchus who tore apart men and villages.

"Something about him," murmured Percy.

"Are you remembering something?" asked Reyna.

"I know I've met Bacchus before," said Percy. "I mean, Dionysus. He doesn't like me too much. I remember something. He cornered me on top of the Chrysler building when I was riding a Pegasus."

Reyna looked critically at him.

"And we were so close to Mount Olympus," said Percy. "Why haven't the gods ever spoken to us?"

"The gods aren't suppose to mix in mortal affairs," said Reyna. "Especially in the lives of their children. They keep quiet even though they keep making more of us and as you can see, our camp numbers have almost doubled since last summer when they defeated Typhon and Saturn."

Percy stood stock still.

"What?" he asked.

"The gods defeated Typhon and Saturn," repeated Reyna.

"Kronos," said Percy.

"That's the Greek term, I guess," said Reyna. "The Titan of Time. His entire army tried to battle the gods in New York City and they defeated him."

"No," said Percy. "That's not right."

"Neptune opened a portal to Teritus and sucked away Typhon," said Reyna. "The gods battled Saturn on Olympus. That's what happened."

"No," said Percy, forcefully. "It's not. There were monsters there and my friends and I…we…we did something to help. There was a cursed blade and a prophecy. Satu…Kronos was a half-blood."

Reyna laughed. But Percy didn't. She stopped immediately.

"Maybe we should end training for now." Reyna looked worried.

"What?" laughed Percy, trying to break the sudden tension. "The daughter of Mars wants to call it quits."

"Well, right now, I want to be the daughter of sleep," giggled Reyna.

They stared at each other and immediately pulled back.

"Percy, I…" began Reyna.

"No," he said. "I know. I just…I'm no memory guy here. I don't even know where I fit in anymore."

"You fit in here, just fine," said Reyna. "This is home to half-bloods. Legion Camp is a great place. Ruled with a iron fist or sharp fangs, but still, a great place. I promise we'll get your memories and find my boyfriend, Jason."

"Right," said Percy, staring off in the distance.

"What is it?" asked Reyna.

"Someone is looking for me, too," he said.

"Of course," said Reyna. "Where ever you come from, I'm sure they are. I'm sure you're very important to someone."

"I just hope she finds me," said Percy. "I mean, they…I hope they find me."

"Come on," said Reyna. She put her arm around Percy and said, "Let's go to the Mercury cabin and see if we can get Joe to steal us some cheeseburgers and Cola from the local café."

"I liked Colas," said Percy. "That I do remember!"

Percy and Reyna headed out of the coliseum and Jason's dream suddenly flashed forward like a DVR and he was standing in a dark space. The sky was pitch black and the ground was earthy and hard.

"I won't be stopped hero," said a soft female voice from below. "Not this time."

Jason knew who it was and he looked down at the ground. It began to move slightly, but not so much. It felt like an earthquake.

"When I rise," Gaea continued, "the world will fall."

The earthquake intensified and Jason sat up in his bed in Cabin One at a loud rap on the door.

"Jason," came Piper's voice, "are you awake? It's almost time to go."

"Yeah," breathed Jason, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I'll be out in a sec."

Jason met Annabeth, Piper, and Dakota in the commons' area.

Annabeth had on a backpack full of demigod supplies with her bronze knife in her belt. She looked like she was ready to go camping, not slay nasty beasts across America.

"Good weather for sailing," she observed.

"In the sky?" said Jason.

Annabeth nodded.

"Hopefully," Annabeth continued, "with you aboard the gods, more importantly Zeus, will be in our favor."

"Jupiter is known to have a bad temper," said Dakota. "We would should also the remember the wind gods are also out there and the Giants."

"Can't forget them," said Piper.

"Where is Leo?" asked Annabeth. "He was supposed to be here by now. We're supposed to leave at dawn."

And that's when they heard it.

A large shadow overtook them and they looked up and Jason could do was smile. The Argo II was a brilliant reexamination of the original. The oars fluttered in a flapping motion and Jason could see Leo at the wheel, waving and grinning as he brought the ship down to a halt.

Campers came rushing out.

"Awesome!"

"Super cool!"

"Sweet ride!"

"Yes, indeed," said Chiron, trotting up. "Leo and the Hephaestus cabin have now completed their greatest project."

Leo descended the Argo II.

"Come on," said Leo, smiling still. "Time to set sail!"

"Leo, I can't believe you finished it!" said Nyssa, running up and giving him a high five. "Good job, firestarter! This is spectacular."

"Thanks," said Leo.

"Good job man," said Jason. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," said Annabeth, straightening up. "Time to find Percy." She looked at Dakota. "Are you ready to lead the way?"

"This is treason," said Dakota, marching toward the ship. "But I got my friend back. The least I can do is help you get yours. Let's go to Legion Camp and hope we survive on the way."