Chapter Five

Jason Grace

Barely a day into the quest, a certain son of Jupiter heard a cry of help in the distance, somewhere over the lapping waves.

His ears pricked up, surprised. What was that sound all about? Curiously, Jason looked at his other companions. Leo was somewhere by the tiller, controlling the ship smoothly by steering the wheel with confidence. Piper was helping the Hephaestus son, already better thanks to the supply of ambrosia and medicine onboard, pulling on of the strings that controlled the white sails that rippled gently in the sea breeze. Meanwhile, Annabeth was sitting crossed-legged on one of the benches, frowning while holding up a dusty old notebook. They didn't seem to hear anything unusual.

They were on a break, Annabeth and Jason tired of rowing. They were really worn out, and since the night didn't seem to hold any dangers, Leo had said that they could take a break. Jason was really glad too-although he'd like to spend more time with Piper. The two had barely spoken a word during the day, too busy in their own works to talk.

Jason let out a small sigh. The screams were probably a figment of his imagination. From experience, fatigue could injure a warrior in many ways. Deciding that he had nothing else to do, he stood up from his bench and walked over to Annabeth. Now she had a notebook by her side, eyebrows furrowing as she held up a pencil and was writing something on a piece of paper.

"Need any help?" Jason asked, sitting down next to her and glancing from the paper to the notebook into the drowsy grey eyes of the Athena girl.

Annabeth shook her head, flashing a weary smile. "Unless you count getting Valdez off my back, which is probably not going to work out since we need him, no."

Jason laughed. "What are those papers for?"

"These? Oh, just bits of information that I got about the Roman camp," Annabeth said. "I was wondering if you could help me with that…"

Suddenly, suspicion crossed his mind. What would someone like her want with that? Years of training flowed through his head, while Jason just narrowed his eyes. "And you want that information because…?" he asked, voice trailing off.

Annabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Knowledge," she said simply. "And that I'm not the type of person who likes to step into a war field with not even a slightest clue on what is going on. Besides, we're going to discover about it anyways-why not be prepared now?"

"You do have a point there." Jason mentally shook his head. Why did he ever doubt her? He knew the Greeks well already. From the bits of information that trickled slowly back into his head, the Greeks were a lot nicer than the Romans. Lenient too-but on the other hand, the Romans were more disciplined. Stricter, but a terror to face in battle.

"Veni, vindi, vici," Jason muttered.

"What?" Annabeth pursed her lips, confusion momentarily appearing on her face. Then it vanished, with one of understanding. "Julius Cesar," she said. "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Jason nodded. "Exactly. The Romans are like that-except they probably device a plan first. Whenever they want something, they go there and grab the opportunity. And usually win."

"Smart," Annabeth murmured.

Jason chuckled. "You should see the Minerva kids. They're practically child prodigies."

Suddenly, Annabeth's eyes flashed with some sort of grey storm. "So you're saying that the Greek children of Athena aren't?" she challenged, looking furious.

"I-I didn't mean it that way," Jason protested, wondering why she was acting that way.

Annabeth snorted. "Sure, you didn't."

"Give it up Chase," Leo called from the wheel. "He didn't mean it that way."

The girl hesitated. Then genuine sincerity appeared on her face. "I'm sorry," Annabeth apologized. "I just…I don't know."

"It was probably your Greek instincts. Or something like that," Jason said thoughtfully. "It's alright."

"Greek instincts? I wonder how it'll be when we reach the Roman camp," Annabeth shuddered.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Piper asked, joining them and sitting next to Jason. She looked exhausted. "I'm taking a break." She explained, as Jason gently squeezed her hand.

"I don't know," Annabeth said. "It's just that-no offense Jason-but whenever I'm near you, my defenses seem to go higher. I think it's natural, Greeks have an old rivalry with the Romans."

"But I don't feel that way around him," Piper's face was clouded with confusion.

"You're used to him I guess," Annabeth shrugged. "Or it affects certain people."

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure we'll be fine," Jason said convincingly.

And that's when a loud sound that sounded like an explosion echoed in the distance. The sea rippled, and their echoes vibrated in Jason's ears. Maybe his instincts were correct after all. But there was one problem-what was that thing?

Piper flinched, tightening her grip on Jason's hand. Annabeth widened her eyes, while Leo narrowed his as he scanned the area. Jason didn't betray any emotions, but he was the same as the others: surprised and shocked. So maybe that was the sound he had heard? But it couldn't be possible…he didn't have extended hearing, could he…?

"There's nothing out of the blue," Leo reported. "But…oh."

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"I can see something rectangular in the distance…is that a plane wing?" Then Leo was fumbling through his tool belt, and seconds later his hands popped out with a pair of binoculars.

"They have binoculars in workshops?" Jason said, mystified. "And a plane wing? What's that doing there?" He knew the answer right after he said it.

"Don't ask, just listen," Leo said absentmindedly as he peered through the binoculars.

"Like you do," Annabeth commented under her breath.

Piper elbowed Annabeth lightly, grinning.

Leo looked away from the binoculars. He faced the three, a grim expression on his face. "It looks like a plane crash."

Piper's eyes looked like they were going to pop out from their sockets. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Leo confirmed. "I can see tiny dots of people in the distance. Looks like they're stuck there."

"Well, we can't exactly help them. We have to go," Annabeth said.

"What?" Piper cried. "There could be survivors there! Innocent people who could die!"

"Not our problem," Annabeth looked slightly troubled, but she waved her hand dismissively. "We can't just go rescuing every person we see."

"But we can't just let them die," Piper argued. Her kaleidoscope colored eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and disgust. "What would you do if your boyfriend was there?"

The words seemed to have a slight effect on the blonde haired girl. Finally, she sighed. "That's different. They're all just mortals, we don't even know if there are demigods or such. Besides, how do you think people would act if they were rescued by a bunch of kids?"

"Freaked out," Leo cut in the mini cat fight.

"They deserve a chance to live." Piper crossed her arms.

"But we don't deserve to get caught up into this mess, which could probably attract unwanted attention, meaning if we do attract unwanted attention, it'll delay our pace!" Annabeth yelled angrily, her emotions getting the best of her. "And we're already as late as it is. So I'm sorry Piper, but-"

"Wait." A sly expression crossed Piper's face. "You're not in charge of this whole thing," she said slowly.

"So?" Annabeth huffed.

"They get a chance to speak too." She looked from Jason to Leo, who were both edgily eyeing each other, trying not to get caught up. "What do you think?"

Leo gulped. "Um…I'm going to go with whatever Jason says."

Jason shot an angry look at the Hispanic boy, screaming mentally at Leo. Thanks a lot for putting me in the spotlight! I really wanted to have the opportunity to anger either my girlfriend or a slightly deranged girlfriend hugger.

No problem, Leo's eyes seem to flash back, with a mixture of guilt. He looked down to the ground, avoiding his gaze.

Jason knew that he was in a bad situation. If he agreed with Annabeth, Piper would be seriously upset-well, maybe not as much as Annabeth-but still, upset. And Jason had enough problems as it was, with the whole saving-the-world-thing and trying-to-regain-his-memories-enough-for-them-to-survive-part-too.

But on the other hand, the Athena girl's anger could be pretty difficult to handle too. He wasn't so sure on how Annabeth was going to handle it, for him this was a small thing to argue about, but you never knew what she was going to do next. She had a good point too-they didn't know what dangers were going to be there, if there were any dangers in the first place. They couldn't risk any chances now though. Not when Gaia was hot on their trail, with a pack of her powerful allies surrounding them.

Either way, they were trapped. And either way, Jason knew he was going to both gain and lose something in the end. It was a no-win situation. Should he agree with Annabeth and ride off to save the world, or would the pressure of blood guilt be enough to side with Piper? Gods, why were girls so complicated?

"I think," Jason began, trying to think of words that would not anger the two, "that both of you have valid points. Annabeth is right, we don't have much time…but Piper's also correct. We can't just let them die."

"So what do you mean?" Piper asked.

Jason took a deep breath. "Maybe…we should check it out," he answered. "Just steer the boat several paces away, and check the situation out."

While Piper looked slightly relieved and happy, Annabeth's expression was solemn. "Don't say I told you so," she said darkly. "This is not going to be worth it."

"Who knows?" Piper countered, glaring at her. "Just because it wastes three seconds of our time, it doesn't mean that it'll delay meeting up with your unlucky boyfriend. Why he chose you in the first place, that's a surprise itself."

Annabeth bit her tongue, not daring to say anything. If looks could kill, everyone on the boat and the sea itself would've promptly fallen over and died.

Rolling his eyes at the petty fight, Leo nodded at Jason. "Mind if you raise the sail over there?" He asked, pointing to the sail nearest to the edge.

"Sure," he replied, trying to put the situation behind him. It was probably going to pass soon…they'd get over it.

Jason took a step closer to the rope. He pulled it and adjusted its position. The sail flew with the wind, and the Argo II trailed slowly along the indigo waters. Jason knew that he and Annabeth didn't have to row, because the breeze was getting stronger by the second. It didn't seem to be coming from the east, which was a good thing. He thanked Zeus for the opportunity, since he did not want to row next to a sullen and temperamental girl.

As they got closer to the dots of people, Jason noticed that they were going away. They seemed to be on lifeboats the color orange. The orange boats rocked towards the opposite direction, heading somewhere else. His heart rose. Now it was becoming a win-win situation-Piper would be glad that they were heading to safety and Annabeth would be smug that she was right. Thanks to the gods, Jason thought, hopefully that message would be heard by the one who was responsible.

"Told you so," Annabeth said smugly. Jason knew that things were going to turn out alright. "So, let's head back to the course?"

"Wait, give me a second to restart the coordinates," Leo said, furiously scribbling something on his palm. "So if we went three paces away…what?"

She groaned. "Never mind. I'll recalculate." Annabeth brought out a calculator from her backpack, and started to tap the numbers. "Hm…let's see…"

Piper looked at Jason straight in the eyes, and broke into a grin. "Glad to see they're alright."

"Yeah, me too," Jason said. He felt somewhat awkward, being around her. Not because she was weird or anything…it was just that there was another girl…another girl back there that he had a faint memory of….

He closed his eyes.

A clash of swords. Sweat dripping down his back, and the harmony of his muscles screaming in pain. But he does not stop or complain-he has learned that pain is something to keep silent about. And it helped form a warrior, since the toughest soldiers were the ones who had endured the most.

Jab. Twist. Dodge, and the counterattack. He cannot see his opponent because of the blur and the dark sky, but he can see the familiar flash of the Imperial Gold. The frenzy fight continues on, and then a grin breaks on his face.

"I'm done," he says, flipping his sword and watches as it turns into a gold coin. He faces his opponent. "You win."

"Really Jas?" says a girl with long dark hair and olive skin. Her eyes are the color of the sea at night, surrounded by flecks of black. Beautiful. She puts her dagger by the hilt near her blue jeans, and looks up at him, smirking. "And the strongest camper surrenders. Now that's a story to be told."

"Hey, I was training all night with the Mars campers," he protests, holding his hands up in the air. "And after that, I was forced to carry all the lumber for the next few months for the fire. Plus-you're a good swordsman."

"Swordswoman," she corrects. "Get your terms right, or you might have to die. Plus, you shouldn't complain out loud-Lupa could claw your tongue out for that."

"Maybe it's because I'm tired?" He replies evenly, still smiling. He doesn't bother replying to the statement about Lupa, knowing it was true. Weakness was a sign of uselessness here.

She shakes her head and takes a step closer to him. The scent of mint and sage surround him, making him feel slightly woozy. "No. Because I like you." Then, she puts her arms around his neck, her mouth curling into a smile. The pressure of her hands is gentle, yet firm at the same time.

"Um…" he says nervously, adjusting the position his face to see if anyone was looking at him. There was nobody around-only the two of them and the shimmering stars above.

She laughs. "Don't worry. Everyone's asleep by now. They won't notice."

"Great," he murmurs, pressing his lips into hers. They kiss. For a moment, the entire world is suspended. Time is nothing more but a monster that has been defeated. It's only the taste of peaches and sea salt that he tastes. Nothing else matters, except for her…

He, slowly but reluctantly, moves his face away from her. "I like you too Reyna," he says softly, looking deep into her deep blue eyes. "I like you very much."

Now all he can see is the joyous expression of her face.

"Jason? Yo, JG!"

"Should we pour a bucket of water on his face?"

"No way, he'll hyperventilate or something! It's better to let him finish the memory."

A sigh. "Aw man! I really wanted to dump some water!"

"Shut up Leo, and act like a man!"

"I'm not a man until I turn eighteen, therefore you cannot tell me to act like a man. HA!"

"Ha yourself,"

"Not until you do too."

"Ew, you're so weird Valdez."

"No where have I heard that before….?"

"Probably the first hundred times the probation officer said it."

"Touché."

"Oh gods, he's not breathing. What do we do?"

"I don't know…maybe CPR?"

"You're not touching my boyfriend like that!"

"Who said I was ever going to do that, you slut?"

"I'm not a slut!"

"Tell that to your mother. I'm sure she knows the reason why."

"She's not always like that, you…you…"

"What, trying to find an insult?"

"I don't need an insult to know that practically everyone in camp hates you now."

"Then why didn't you just call me an evil megalomaniac?"

"Because that term is used for Gaia."

"Point taken."

Jason could only listen to the conversation in horror and amusement. This always happened to him after he experienced a memory. It took some time for him to adjust to his surroundings, but in the meantime all he could do was to keep his eyes shut and hope for the best.

"But still-"

"I don't need to hear your words. You've been acting like a-"

"A what? An evil megalomaniac?"

"Exactly."

"Look, I'm sorry! Apology accepted?"

"Not when it's fake."

"What, you want me to go down on my knees and send you roses?"

"Sure."

"Let's get this straight. I have worse problems that you do-"

"But that doesn't mean that you have to take it out on all of us! You've been acting like a whole different person the entire two months! It's not fun to hang out with you anymore-"

"Who told you that?"

"Will Solace."

"Stupid Apollo boy."

"Still! I know it's not fun losing your boyfriend, but please-take it out on a pillow or something."

"We should use the bucket of water!"

"LEO!"

And that sound jolted Jason awake. He opened his eyes in surprise, and cried a curse in pain as something…hard hit his forehead.

"Jason!" Piper yelled, rushing over to him. "Are you alright?"

"Erm…yeah," was all he could manage.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "A memory? What was it about?"

Just as Jason was about to mutter an excuse, not ready to tell her, let alone Piper the dream about the girl, Leo called out something that was drowned down by the roar of the waves.

"What?" Piper asked.

"I see people!" Leo yelled back, peering once more through the telescope. "Three figures!"

"You're kidding me right?" Annabeth asked anxiously. "Are they coming this way?"

"Seems like it," Leo answered, squinting his eyes. "I don't know why, but it seems like that one of them is unconscious or something…they're just letting him lie down on the boat. Either that, or he's dead."

"So why didn't they come onto the lifeboats?" Jason spoke out loud. The situation was slightly perplexing.

"Maybe they're one of us," Annabeth suggested. "Greeks. Or Romans."

The four looked at one another, eyes meeting. Jason cleared his throat. "Maybe…we should have a look?" he said quickly.

Piper nodded. "Yeah. They might need help or something…"

"Or they could be monsters in disguise," Annabeth finished.

Leo sighed. "Let's just take a look."

With his words, the boat sailed forward, heading towards the three people. Jason stood up, and despite his exhaustion, he tottered and wobbled all the way to the deck. He stood up near Leo, trying to gain his sea legs. And then he saw what he had meant.

There were three people indeed, on the similar orange lifeboats. From a distance, he could make out a lithe girl with blonde hair, and seemed to be throwing her hands up in the air. On her right was a boy with dark features and olive skin, while on her left was an African-American with curly black hair, lying on the boat. The dark haired boy and the blonde seemed to be arguing, for what reason Jason didn't know. Finally, the boy pointed to their boat-the Argo II. The girl widened her eyes, and stared from the boat to the boy. She put a palm to her face, and muttered something.

"No way…" Annabeth mouthed as she joined Leo and Jason, Piper right behind her. "I thought he was searching in the South…."

"Who is that?" Piper asked.

"Nico di Angelo," Annabeth said. "Son of Hades. The only child so far in fact."

"Do you recognize the other two?"

"Nope," Annabeth said, narrowing her eyes. "I've never seen them before."

Nico, the boy, started waving his hands furiously in the air. The girl slowly took her hand up, and waved in a way that was both dramatic and mocking. Leo stifled a smirk by biting his lips.

"Yo!" He said, waving a hand to the three. "Do you want to get on or not?"

Yo, wassup peeps? Haven't done an AN in a long time-I was too lazy and hurrying to whip up the next chapter XDD Sorry about that! Was supposed to update yesterday, but had no Internet Access for the rest of you who don't know XDD Anyways, I just wanted to say hi to ya'll, and thanks for the people who reviewed, added this to their Story Alerts or such, 'cause a review a day makes my day! Dank u Well also to the regular reviewers-they tolerate my late updates XD So hopefully you enjoyed this, and have a nice day! And BTW, school's starting here, so I'll try to update faster! Have a nice life!