And here is a long chapter to make up for the hiatus that I placed over this story. Sorry about that, by the way. I needed to get away from Gaining Trust in order to continue working on it, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 22:

Leaving For Camp

When Jaden woke again, he thought he was still asleep. His eyes were covered with something black and itchy. That was when Jaden realised that he wasn't sleeping. Well, it was that and the sound of fighting going on around him. In a matter of minutes, the fight was over. The only problem was, it felt like days to the boy.

" Will, Travis needs you!" a woman's voice called out.

" Forget about me! Get the kid!" a male's voice growled in reply.

" Don't get stubborn now, idiot!"

" But I'm fine! I've just got a cut on my leg. Nothing major."

" 'Nothing major' says he."

" Will you two stop already?" a second male's voice ordered. " We need to get out of here before another army shows up."

" Like I said, get the kid." The first male growled again, but this time Jaden was able to tell that the growl was out of pain.

" Travis." The woman cut her warning off at the man's name.

" Katie, you get the boy and I'll get Travis, that way we're all happy."

At that moment, something started creaking. It sounded like a tree about to fall after being chopped down. What was even scarier was that Jaden felt himself jerk in the direction that he thought was up. It was almost like he had jumped, but he was pretty sure that he wasn't on his feet.

That wasn't the only thing that happened, though. All three voices called out in horror at the same time that a really deep growl rumbled through his body. Something in the distance gave out a howl and a roar that didn't seem like it came from the earth and a gush of wind ran over Jaden's feet. There was more screaming and yelling as well as barking, but because of the black thing over his eyes and his newly discovered sore mouth, the son of Kronos figured that he wasn't going to see or say anything anytime soon.

I should have known that you would get yourself into trouble like this sooner or later. I just wish that I'd have known what those worms were planning sooner. I might have been able to stop what had happened. Someone familiar sighed as darkness shrouded Jaden's mind once more.

" Now what do we do with him?" Someone asked uncertainly, breaking through the darkness of Jaden's mind.

" What do you mean?" Another asked.

" Well, we followed the pitbull and found the boy. Then, when we save the boy from a small army of monsters, we find out that he's the exiled one that everyone's talking about."

" We take him to Camp Half-Blood. That's what we do." A strangely familiar voice responded.

It was that voice which made Jaden blink open his eyes. He was sure that he had heard that voice before, but he needed to see the person to make sure that he wasn't just dreaming them up. What he saw, after he managed to focus on his surroundings, was that he was inside someone's house… and that house looked awfully familiar.

He was lying on someone's L-shaped lounge facing a well-made glass and bronze coffee table that gave off a strong aura that clearly said 'DO NOT TOUCH'. Beyond that sat a television set on a small wooden cabinet and next to a metal door that gave off the feeling that the room beyond was sound proof. Tilting his head to the sound of arguing, Jaden found himself looking at a group of adults sitting around a wooden table in what he would presume was the dining room thanks to the archways into both the kitchen and hallway.

The adults sitting around the table looked to be in their late twenties-early thirties, but Jaden wasn't sure exactly. He just had to look at Chiron and the other immortals to know that looks could be deceiving. What he was sure about was that all four of the adults were sitting around the table so that all of them could see into the lounge room… more specifically at him.

On the left end of the table sat a tall man with blond hair a shade lighter than Jaden's/ he had blue eyes and a golden goatee as well as a scar on his right cheek from an old fight against a monster or something. He was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved top that still managed to show off his muscles. He couldn't explain it, but Jaden got the feeling that he was a son of Apollo just like his friend Gary. Beside the blond haired man, looking into the lounge room, was a familiar looking man. This second man had all the signs of a son of Hermes from the sharp facial features to curly brown hair and blue eyes. But unlike the first time the two had met, he was wearing a pair of trousers and a dark shirt; his jacket hung over the chair he was sitting on. And by his clean-shaven face, Jaden could easily tell that he was Travis Stoll.

Two women sat at the other end of the table. The first, a light skinned woman who was sitting next to Travis, had black hair and brown eyes. She had a stern yet gentle look on her face as she looked down on the baby she held in her arms and a small smile graced her face when the baby yawned and waved with only its first and fourth fingers. Jaden could only guess from the Pokémon blanket the baby was wrapped in that the child was a boy. Either way, the baby was definitely Travis' son. He had black hair like his mother and blue eyes like his father not to mention an angular face but soft eyes and nose.

Finally, at the other end of the table, was a dark skinned woman with dark eyes and a stone like face. She looked like the kind of woman who you didn't want to meet in a dark alley late at night, but that was probably because she looked like she had been working in the camp forge all her life. But it was the animal that was asleep by her feet that caught Jaden's attention.

It took a few minutes for him to realise that it was a dog. And not just any breed, either. The dog was the same breed as Buddy, a pitbull. Instead of a normal collar and tag, the pitbull wore a chian around its neck with an eagle pendant. The animal's fur was mostly a grey-ish blue colour with black stripes dancing through the grey and its head looked like a bucket of white paint had been dropped over it. But it was the patch of blue brindle fur over the dog's left eye that made Jaden realise just who the dog really was.

" Buddy!" the boy called in shock, instantly sitting up.

The reason for his shock was that he had just noticed the numerous cuts and scratches bleeding all over the dog's body. Unfortunately for Jaden, he wasn't able to get up and move to his dog thanks to the room spinning around him when he hastily sat up. Buddy, on the other hand, woke instantly at the call of his name and limped over to his master's side. Neither of the two reunited friends noticed the silence that followed the dog's name.

" Oh gods, Buddy, what happened to you? You look worse than the day I found you. Hold still. Those look like some serious wounds." The boy muttered to the dog before gently placing his hand on Buddy's head.

As he had done many times before, Jaden looked into his dog's eyes and concentrated as hard as he could on what the dog had looked like before he had woken up. It was a technique that Zeus' eagle had taught him – thinking about the past in order to heal the future – and it seemed to work well, especially since he didn't feel as tired as he used to. The only problem with this new way of healing was that the patient always felt like going to sleep halfway through treatment. Finally, after five minutes of intense concentration on Jaden's part, the boy sat back in the lounge and closed his eyes for a few minutes.

" There you go, Buddy." He sighed. " All better. But I don't have any treats for you. Sorry."

" Wow, kind. I didn't know you could do that." Travis' voice interrupted the darkness of Jaden's mind and forced the boy to look over to the adults. " When'd you learn that trick?"

" I… uh… found out I could heal wounds when I found Buddy, Uncle Travis." Jaden stuttered awkwardly.

" Uncle?" The blond male asked in shock.

" He looks familiar." The dark skinned woman muttered.

" Yeah. Jaden here is the son of Luke." Travis replied.

" Luke Castellan? Kronos' number one slave? The one who-" the blond splattered.

" Ixnay on the athersfay, Will."

" What?"

" The kid has two dads and you named them both."

" That explains the gold eyes and Hermes appearance." The lighter skinned woman answered.

The next thing Jaden knew was that the adults had started ignoring him again and chose to interrogate Travis instead. Pretty soon, Travis' interrogation turned into more arguing and some crying from the baby. Buddy, the wonderful dog that he was, trotted back into the dining room where he dragged out Jaden's bag. Jaden took that as a sign that he wanted a treat. But before he was able to check their food supplies, the room changed.

He was back in the amphitheatre of Camp Half-Blood. The sky was heavy with dark clouds as the Oracle stood straight up from her place at the front of the gathering of campers. Jaden knew what was going to come. He had seen it before. It had been over a month ago since he had first had the vision (and he still wasn't sure if it was past or present… that showing anyway). And, just like the first time, Ms Dare spoke in a raspy, snake-like voice that sent chills down his spine.

" He will kneel to fate lest a discovery shall not take place,

For his life to be spared one must make haste,

The white emperor grows wary of those he hath bore,

And only his brother can calm the mighty roar,

But to quell the wrath that doth burn,

The exiled one must return."

Silence immediately fell throughout the amphitheatre and was broken by a massive thunder clap. But unlike the first time, Jaden didn't wake. Instead, the amphitheatre became the rec room inside the Big House. Seymour the leopard had been moved from the living room and was currently being fed snausages from a tall blond young man with a scar on his lips. From the looks of things, Jaden had landed in the middle of a war council.

" Magnar Forza. It is your turn for border duty tonight. And I expect you to be out there this time and not one of your siblings, is that clear?" Chiron ordered from his wheel chair, the tone in his voice clearly said that he was beginning to tire of the son of Ares' failing duties.

" Why should I? It's not like the brats going to come back." Magnar sneered.

" That 'brat' is my little buddy, exiled or not." Gary Rodgers growled, standing up and drawing his dagger in preparation to defend Jaden.

" Mr Rodgers, please put your dagger away and sit down." Chiron sighed.

" Besides." Someone from the Athena cabin spoke up. " The last line of the prophecy that Rachel gave said that Jaden Castellan had to return. He's the only 'exiled one' that I know of, anyway."

A crash of thunder shook the Big House, causing panic to enter most of those in the room. During the commotion, Seymour looked right at Jaden and snarled. It was almost like the body-less leopard could sense where the demititan was going to be or else where he was at that very moment. And it was clear what the leopard was trying to say.

Jaden needed to be back at camp yesterday.

" Perhaps you will be lucky, Mr Forza." Chiron sighed, before dismissing the meeting.

" Travis. Explain." A woman's voice and wet face were what woke Jaden up.

Looking around, Jaden found that he was still in the house that belonged to the son of Apollo. He also found Buddy's head up close to his – which probably explained why his face was wet – and the owner of the house just behind the dog. The man looked both concerned and wary at the same time, like he was dealing with a child suicide bomber.

" Well, you see, Katie…" Travis tried to explain.

" I'm sorry. I sent you back in time with me. At least, I think that second scene was from the past. I'm still learning how to control my powers." Jaden spoke up, closing his eyes to try and lessen the headache that was still forming despite his training.

" Are you okay there, Jaden?" Travis got out of his seat, also looking worried, but Jaden wasn't sure why.

" Yeah. I'll be…"

From then on, everything around Jaden began to darken. Even the voices began to fade like someone was turning off the volume to his ears. Beside him, Buddy started whimpering and nudging at his young master, clearly upset about something. And it was that which alerted the adults to the fact that something was wrong with the boy.

" Will, give him some ambrosia."

" What? Why? Isn't he the exiled one?" Will replied.

" I thought you children of Apollo help those who are in pain." Travis growled.

" Stoll!" the dark skinned woman hissed in warning.

" We've helped him out earlier today and didn't get hurt in any way. The way I see it, we help him now…"

Jaden must have blacked out at that moment because the next thing he knew about was the taste of something in his mouth that he couldn't quite but a name to. He knew he had had it before but it seemed so long ago that he'd forgotten what it tasted like or what it even was. What he did noticed, when he opened his eyes for what felt like the tenth dozen time that day, was that he was once more lying on the lounge with two worried men and a worried dog watching him carefully. As soon as Buddy saw his eyes were open, the dog instantly began to whimper.

" I'm okay, Buddy. I'm okay." He whispered.

" That's good to hear. You scared us there for a minute." One of the men said. He had brown hair and something told Jaden that he was Travis Stoll.

" Uncle Travis."

" That's right, Kiddo. And these are my friends Will Solace and Buddy, though I think you and Buddy have already met."

" Enough with the jokes, Travis." The other man, now confirmed as Will, grumbled.

" Hi." Jaden introduced himself to Will. " I'm Jaden Castellan. Sorry I stole some nectar and ambrosia from you the other day. I ran out of what I had and I didn't know how else to get any more."

" I was wondering why we were running low. But I forgive you for now." Will replied.

Jaden was shocked. No one except maybe Tristan and Gary had said anything like that to him. Okay, maybe a small handful of other people, including Chiron, also talked like that – but that was a really small handful. Most of the people he tried talking to just made him feel bad thanks to his fathers.

" You mean, you like me… sort of?" He asked.

" With what I saw, I think you're an okay kid. You even admitted you stole from me, which is both brave and something no child of Hermes or Kronos or any immortal from what I can tell would admit to. That, to me, is a good sign. But enough chit chat. We need to get you into the car. Your uncle and I are taking you to Camp Half-Blood. It seems you have a prophecy to fulfil." The son of Apollo smiled in reply.

" Can I just ask one question first, please?"

" Sure."

" May I please use your bathroom?"

" Of course. It's down the hall and the first door on your right."

" Thank you."

With that, Jaden jumped off the lounge and hurried down the hallway, giving Buddy the command to stay.

I hope you liked it. Also, if you want to, you can have a guess at who the dark skinned woman is. I'll give you a clue. She's a daughter of Hephaestus ;)