CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Nico Takes A Tumble

Jason was amazed at how fast Leo worked. And within the hour, the Argo II had once again set sail.

Jason went straight to the barracks and passed out on a lower bunk. He was exhausted from battle and his head was still throbbing from having been knocked out by Busiris. But he wished he hadn't gone to sleep, because dreams found him and he knew that what he was about to see wasn't good.

Jason stood high up in the cliffs. Mountains rose up around him and a thick fog descended on the place. He noticed a shadowy figure stood about twenty feet away in front of a crackling fire. He slowly headed toward the figure. And he realized how dumb he was for tip-toeing in his own dream and decided to pick up speed. When he reached the figure, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A kid, maybe thirteen or fourteen sat there. He had olive skin, black hair, and wore all black clothes. A sword made of Stygian iron laid across his lap. But what amazed Jason the most, was what the kid was going. His hands were moving in a series of movements as he chanted under his breath. In front of him was a brown leather pouch. He reached down into it and pulled out a hand full of dust and hurled it into the flames, which got brighter and shot ten feet into the air.

"Hurry guys," the kid muttered. "You gotta hurry."

Jason wanted to call out to him, but he knew he couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, the ground began to quake. The kid got up, holding his sword at the ready, staring into the fog.

"Whose there?"

Then, a sinister laugh that chilled Jason's blood rang out, sharp and clear. And two giant eyes appeared in the fog. They glowed about thirty feet high, like a mountain itself had come to life.

"Ah," said a deep voice, "son of Hades."

"I prefer Nico," said the kid. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I have come to watch the progress of the half-bloods," said the deep voice. "You're efforts are futile. They will never work with you, so why even bother?"

"If you mean the other camp-"

The giant chuckled.

"They are your enemy," he said. "It is best for you to work against them. Work with the Giants and we will make sure the Greeks remain in Gaea's favor. She cares little for the Romans. They are a cowardly bunch, who stole Greek tales and infested them with their characteristics. They are a disease that needs to be wiped from existence."

"No!" shouted Nico.

"Then you're a fool, son of Hades," the giant continued. "They will destroy you and your kind. Hera's plan to swap your camp leaders has failed. Percy Jackson, once your strongest ally, will now be your enemy. You will be begging him for mercy."

"Percy is my friend!" said Nico, with a strained voice like he was trying not to show fear. "And the demigods are on their way. We'll get him back and we'll work together to bring you and your giants down!"

The giant chuckled again.

"Valiant to the end," he said. "Most honorable indeed. But what do you think they will say when they discover you have been killed by lightning?"

A bolt of lightning shot down through the fog but Nico was able to deflect it off his blade and it hit the fire, causing it to explode.

"AGAIN!"

Bolts of lightning struck downward, all around Nico.

Jason wanted to help him, but he was helpless and all he could do was watch as this kid fought for his life, as bolt after bolt was summoned by the giant.

Nico breathed heavily, still with his sword raised.

"The son of Jupiter is even here now and watches as your demise is near," said the giant.

"What?" said both Nico and Jason at once.

Caught off guard, a bolt of lightning struck. Nico was just able to brace himself for impact, when the bolt hit his sword, and sent him flying backward across the mountain through the fog, and out of sight.

"NO!" Jason screamed.

He rushed forward to help and when he got to the mountain's edge, Nico was gone. He looked back over at the glowing eyes that hovered in the air, high above him.

"I hope this is a lesson for you, son of Jupiter," said the giant. He sounded as though he really cared about him and wanted to protect him from harm. "Never work with the enemy. They will always betray you in the end."

Jason was shocked. He couldn't say anything. He was so angry. He raised his hands and sent bolts of lightning flying out toward the giant. But it didn't do any good. The giant laughed happily, almost rejuvenated by the bolts.

Screams rang out in Jason's ears.

He awoke in his bed, as flashes of lightning bolting around the entire room from his outstretched arms. Annabeth dove to dodge a bolt, as Piper raised her voice and said, "STOP!"

Jason took in a sharp breath, lowering his arms that felt like they weighed tons.

"Dude, some dream huh?" said Leo, who was cowering by the door.

"Are you okay?" asked Dakota, rushing to his side. "Jason, talk to me. What happened?"

Annabeth lifted herself from the floor.

"I had a bad dream," he said, looking at them.

"Obviously," said Leo. "You tried to electrocute the barracks!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen," said Jason, feeling oddly annoyed. He normally got annoyed by Leo, but he felt different this time like he wanted to hit him for being so annoying. Stupid Greek, he thought. Suddenly, he shook himself. Did he really just think that? What in the world was going on?

"Jason," said Piper. Her tone seemed to sooth him and relieve tension from his body. "Talk to us."

"There was a kid in my dream," began Jason. He told them about Nico, what the giant had said, and him being knocked off the mountain.

"Nico," said Leo. "I've met him."

"You have?" asked Annabeth, sharply. "When? Where?"

"I saw him too," said Piper.

"What do you mean?" asked Annabeth.

Leo recalled his story about meeting Nico's astral self back in Bunker Nine the night before they set sail. And then Piper said she remembered seeing a kid by Busiris's shack, warning her to turn around.

"Poor Nico," said Annabeth. "We have to find out what happened to him."

"We don't have time," said Dakota. "If he's lost, he's lost."

"He's my friend!" snapped Annabeth, furiously.

"You would worry about a friend on a mission as crucial as this?" Dakota shot back, getting to her feet.

"Girls!" said Piper. "This is ridiculous. Stop it, now! We don't have time-"

"Save it, Aphrodite girl!" said Dakota. "This quest was doomed from the start. Like a child of Rome could lead whimpering Greeks anywhere!"

She had a point, thought Jason. Then, he suddenly changed. What am I thinking? Their my friends, too.

"Nico said something," Leo said quickly, before Annabeth could retaliate.

"What is it?" asked Piper.

"He told me to tell Annabeth something," he continued.

"Spit out, Leo," pressed Annabeth.

"He said, 'tell Annabeth she needs to hurry. The longer she waits, the longer she gives them a chance to take him.' He said you would know that means."

"But I don't," said Annabeth, her eyes wandering away from them. Jason could tell her mind was moving a million miles a second and that she was slowly piecing together the information Leo had just gave her.

"Nico also said," Leo continued, "that he would meet us there. At Legion Camp."

"That's where he was in my dream," said Jason.

"What?" said Annabeth.

"Impossible!" said Dakota. "No one knows where Legion Camp is besides the campers and Lupa. How could a son of Pluto know its whereabouts?"

"But Nico isn't a son of Pluto," said Annabeth. "He's a son of Hades. I'm sure Nico might have been able to find some kind of path out of the Underworld, using ghosts or ghouls for help. He might've found the camp's location, but I doubt if he was able to get into the borders. Jason, did you see where he was exactly?"

"Berkerley Hills," said Jason.

"That's right near the Caldecott Tunnel and Highway 24!" said Piper. "That's exactly the place we passed over while we were flying in that helicopter after we saved my dad from Enceladus."

"It's near San Francisco," said Leo. "It makes sense."

"That's great!" said Piper. "Now all we have to do is get in and we can get Percy and head back to Camp Half-Blood. Jason, are you okay?"

Jason was silent. And so was Dakota. The Greeks had found out where their camp was located. Now, if they just knew how to get through the borders then they would be free to enter the camp and probably attack using the Argo II. Was that reason for it being such a powerful warship? So, the Greeks could invade Legion Camp and use it as a way to recapture the lost son of Neptune? If so, Jason couldn't let that happen. He would have to stop them before they reached San Francisco. He would have to take each of them down and knew that he would need Dakota to help do it.

"Yeah," he said, looking up into her multicolored eyes. "I'm fine."

She smiled at him and returned to Annabeth and Leo, who began to talk about strategy and the giant threat.

But Jason knew now. They were the threat. They needed to be stopped.

Wait a second! What was he thinking? They were his friends. He couldn't…he wouldn't attack them. That was insane! What was going on with his mind? His memory had slowly been coming back to him, but that dream had began to shake his confidence. Did he really just plan to attack Annabeth, Leo, and Piper?

He grabbed his head, his temple pounding.

"Jason," said Piper, moving swiftly to his side before Dakota could react.

"I'm fine." He smiled at her. "It's just a little headache. I just need some sleep. That dream took a lot out of me."

Piper studied him.

"Alright," said Annabeth. "We all should get some sleep. We've been through enough."

"Yeah," Jason muttered, lying back down.

"Do you want me to stay-?" began Piper.

"No, it's cool," he responded, quickly. But he could tell he hurt her feelings. He needed to be alone. He needed to think without the Greeks interfering. There it was again. He called them, Greeks. Like that was the worst term he could come up to describe the Camp Half-Blood campers. He shook this feeling off and watched one by one as they filed out of the room.

Dakota lingered over the threshold. She looked concerned, which he knew was rare for her. Then, she left out, leaving Jason in a dark room, pondering on how he would sabotage the quest.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Just want to say I appreciate the COMMENTS! Keep them coming! Finally, Fanfiction has FINALLY fixed its system and I can UPDATE! YAY! Be on the look out for more chapters this week! U won't be disappointed! ;-)