Chapter 18: Unlocking

That night, nobody got any sleep. Every was sitting outside of their cabins watching the Big House, and not even the camp counselors felt like ushering them all inside. They were just as distracted as the rest of the campers.

Only a few people were inside the Big House. The warm fire crackled in the hearth, cheerily ignoring what was happening. Annabeth and Chiron sat on the couch- well, Annabeth sat, Chiron lounged in his wheelchair- facing the boy who had washed up on the beach. He was tall, muscular, with blonde hair and shockingly blue eyes. Annabeth knew he looked so familiar, but she couldn't place it. He was looking around the room, purposefully not meeting the other occupants' eyes. Annabeth found herself staring at his upper arm. There was a black tattoo on it, an eagle over the letters SPQR on it. Underneath it, Annabeth counted twelve black lines.

"Son, do you have a name?" Chiron asked. The boy watched him for a second.

"I'm Jason." He answered.

Chiron waited. "Last name?"

Jason hesitated. "I- I don't know." Chiron's brow furrowed.

"What do you know?" Chiron asked.

Jason closed his eyes, concentrating. "Um…I…I can't remember anything before…before today." He looked up, opening his eyes. "That's bad, isn't it."

Chiron nodded. "Quite."

Jason sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a gold coin. He absently rolled it across his fingers before flipping it into the air. It came back down, landing on his hand, and suddenly he was holding a full-length sword. Annabeth leaned backwards unconsciously, and Chiron blinked in surprise. Jason stared at the sword. "Uh…." He said. "That was not on purpose." He lifted it up, inspecting it. "This one looks familiar."

"I believe that is because you have used quite often in the past." Chiron said grimly. "Whatever I thought before, you were most certainly not a loner. You came from somewhere, but from where-." He stopped, frowning.

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. "If it's any consolation," Jason said, "I don't know either." Chiron cracked a smile.

Suddenly his face became deadly serious. "Jason, do you know what this place is?" He asked, leaning forward.

"It's a safe haven for people who are half god, half human, right?" He said. Chiron nodded slowly.

"Yes." He said. "Do you know who this is?" He indicated a portrait next to a leopard head mounted on the wall. Jason looked at it, cocking his head. It was oddly familiar…. Abruptly, the leopard snarled, narrowing its eyes and watching him. Jason was on his feet in a flash, sword in hand. "Relax." Chiron said, grinning slightly. "That's just Seymour. Our director saved him from a garage sale and gave it life. I don't really know why." He picked a Snausage up from the table and tossed it towards Seymour. The leopard head snapped it up in one go.

"That's just a disembodied head, right?" He asked, putting his sword away.

"Indeed." Chiron said.

"So where do those sausages go?"

Chiron smiled. "It's best not to ask, Jason." Jason nodded, sitting back down. "Now, about the portrait…."

"Right." Jason turned back to the wall, focusing on the big painting. "Is that Jupiter?" He asked.

"Yes and no." Chiron answered. "It's Zeus, actually. Jupiter is his Roman name."

"Oh." Jason said, turning back. They all sat still for a while, Jason with his head down, Annabeth watching him, Chiron staring off into space with a furrowed brow.

Finally he shook his head, jerking them all out of their thoughts. "Well, it's getting rather late. Annabeth, why don't you head back to the cabin. Jason, you can sleep here for now. There are some blankets and pillows in that closet. I trust the couch will be comfortable enough until we find you a proper home." Annabeth stood up and walked out. Jason nodded silently and got about readying himself for sleep.

Line Break

Percy opened his eyes, staring uncomprehendingly at the dark sky above. He blinked a few times, and abruptly sat up, eyes wide. He patted himself, checking. Hesitantly, he reached up to feel his forehead. He felt nothing but smooth skin. He started to laugh, almost maniacally. He was alive!

He could remember the feel of the bullet passing through his skull, that one split-second of agony, and then nothing. He kept touching himself to make sure this wasn't some crazy dream. Grinning widely, he came to his feet. And stopped.

He was staring at a burned-down, brick structure. It seemed to be the remains of a mansion of some sorts. It took a few seconds before it hit him: the Wolf House. "How did this happen?" He asked himself aloud.

"Juno." A voice responded. He spun around, Ashrow in hand. A massive wolf came out of the mist, her eyes glowing in the moonlight. Percy watched her warily. Something about her seemed familiar. "I did not expect to see you so soon, demigod." The she-wolf said, and then it clicked.

"Lupa." He said, dropping Ashrow. He could sense her amusement.

"For a moment there I thought you had forgotten." Lupa said. Percy laughed dryly.

"Of course not." He became serious again. "What do you mean about Juno being the reason I'm here? And still alive?"

Lupa growled softly. "That bullet did not kill you. It left a tiny remnant of life in you, so small that only a god could find it. Juno…Hera…took that remnant and placed it inside your backup body. Your other one is just an empty shell." She said. Percy's face went blank. Hesitantly, with a shaking hand, he reached down and felt the tiny indents on his forearm. Taking a deep breath, he dug his fingers in and pulled. The panel popped open, revealing the complex machinery running on oil beneath. "So…" He stopped and swallowed huskily. "So this is just another automaton body?"

"Daedalus had multiple backups that were replicas of the current one. In case anything like your incident with the gorgons happened again." Lupa said.

"How did you know about that?" Percy snapped.

"Juno told me everything." Lupa said simply.

Percy took a deep, shaky breath. "Oh." He took another. And another. "I'm sorry. This whole thing…with the automaton bodies…." He exhaled loudly, looking down.

"I understand, boy." Lupa said. "But you must put aside your feelings for now. Juno did not send you here because she felt like it. She sent you here because she still has use for you."

Percy sighed. "She forgot to ask nicely." He muttered. Lupa's mouth drew back in a grin.

"I'm certain that she never learned." She said. Percy laughed.

"Right you are, Lupa. So, what's this mission that I'm assigned to?" He asked.

"You are aware of the Romans, correct?" Lupa said. Percy nodded after a moment.

"I had heard rumors and pieced together as much, but never found solid proof." He said.

"Yes, well, you're going to their camp." Lupa said.

"What?" Percy exclaimed.

"Their best leader has been transferred to your camp, and the Greeks don't realize he is Roman. You are a hero among the Greeks. Juno needed to switch you two for reasons she did not care to share with me."

Percy blinked a couple times. "Does he know he's Roman?"

"He knows he's something. His memory has been wiped. But not taken away. It'll return to him in time." Lupa said.

"Ok, well that's good." Percy frowned. "So…I just go to the camp and…what?"

"Earn their trust. In whatever way you can." Lupa said.

"Is that it?" Percy asked.

"For now."

"Wow. Thanks, Hera." Percy said, glancing up at the dark sky.

"Oh, and Percy?" Lupa said.

"Yeah?"

"You might want to get a move on. Stheno and Euryale are on their way right now, and aren't very far." She said. Percy cursed and started running. "Good luck, demigod." Lupa called out. "You'll need it."

A.N.: Hey guys. I know a lot of you are probably thinking, "What? He updated? I thought he abandoned this story!" I know I deserve a big slap in the face for letting this sit so long. I had a busy week, and then I forgot about this, and when I remembered, I kinda lost interest. As you can tell, I picked up the pen again (or keyboard, whatever). I'm on the fence about giving it to someone else to finish. We'll see how it goes.

So…sup. You guys wanted to know what Percy's secret was, and here you go. In case anyway didn't piece it together:

Stheno and Euryale led another attack force from the north in the battle of Olympus. Percy killed them and their army, but got mortally wounded in the process. Daedalus thought the only way to save him was to transfer his soul to an automaton like he did to himself. He had the automaton look exactly like the old Percy, and also made a few extra copies just in case. Which saved his life.

I'm gonna PM the people for reviews instead of answering them here. You guys have full permission to virtually slap me in the face in your reviews. And…I updated finally! Yay!

READ ON!