***Hi all, here's Chapter 20. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, you're all awesome! Next chapter will be up Friday, May 9, it's a kind of "bonus chapter" from Nico's POV. Also, I'm still not Rick Riordan, I'm just borrowing the characters.***

XX. JASON

Jason usually tried to be upbeat but this—this hurt. He felt like he'd been sucker-punched. He also felt incredibly guilty because he was partly responsible for putting Reyna in this situation. Jason was so busy feeling awful about everything that he didn't immediately notice that everyone but Piper had left the mess hall.

She put a hand on his arm. "Jason, I'm so sorry. I know she means a lot to you."

Jason was grateful she said "means" and not "meant" since, as far as they knew, Reyna was still alive and would hopefully stay that way. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "We've been friends for a long time. And she's a great praetor. I just never thought—I mean, I know Octavian is a," he called Octavian a name that made Piper raise her eyebrows, "but I never would have thought he was capable of murder, or attempted murder, or whatever." He put his head in his hands again.

There was quiet for a few minutes, then Jason heard Piper huff in frustration. He looked up to see her sheathing Katoptris.

"The stupid knife never shows me anything useful," she complained. "I ask it to show me Reyna and all I get is the Parthenon. And what looks like a mountaintop."

"Thanks for trying," Jason said, taking her hand.

"Reyna's a fighter," Piper said. "She traveled across the Atlantic and halfway across Europe by herself. She's going to be fine. Unfortunately for you, that means she'll have beaten Octavian to a pulp before you ever get a chance to hit him."

Jason cracked a smile at that. "Yeah, he may not live long enough to regret this if Reyna recovers."

"When Reyna recovers," Piper corrected.

"Right." Jason looked at his girlfriend suspiciously. "Charmspeak?"
"No. I just really believe what I'm telling you."

Jason met Piper's eyes, with their swirling kaleidoscopic colors. He said a silent prayer of thanks to Apollo for helping them today and to Aphrodite for sending the sun god to heal her daughter. Jason had never felt more helpless in his life than he had on that hillside, seeing Ephialtes stab Piper and then being unable to do anything to save her. As if she knew what he was thinking, Piper leaned over and kissed him.

"It's been a long day," she said.

"That's an understatement."

They were quiet again, watching the flurry of activity at Camp Half-Blood on the video feed. Jason had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew the legion. He knew how they would react to what had happened to Reyna, on top of what happened at Camp Jupiter. If Camp Half-Blood couldn't fend off the attack, the Romans wouldn't just win. They would obliterate the Greeks and salt the earth where the camp had once been so that nothing would ever grow there again. Total destruction.

"We can't let it happen," he murmured.

"The war between the camps?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Jason said. "There's good and bad at both places, but if we could work together, both camps would be stronger. Look at our crew—we've got a mix of Romans and Greeks and we're better because of that." He looked at Piper again. "We've got to defeat Gaea and the giants so we can get back and save the camps. We have to shut Octavian up and explain about the eidolon that possessed Leo, and about Gaea, and the Athena Parthenos, and Hera's plan, and all of it. The Romans will listen. They're not all like Octavian. Most of them are good people."

"Like you. And Frank and Hazel. And Reyna." Piper kissed him again. "We're going to defeat Gaea and save the camps. I have no idea how, but between all of us, I know we can figure it out." She got to her feet and held out her hand. "Come on, let's see if the others found anything good on those maps."

Jason took her hand and followed her out of the mess hall.

As it turned out, the others hadn't found anything especially helpful on the maps. And it was only a little after two in the morning, way too early for Frank to fly to Athens. All their equipment and supplies had been checked before everyone went to bed, so there wasn't really anything to do, but no one seemed to want to go back to sleep either. Finally, Percy looked over at Jason.

"Want to spar?" he asked.

"Yes," Jason said immediately. It would actually be nice to work out some of his anger and frustration.

They moved to the middle of the ship. Jason had on jeans and a purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, while Percy was wearing basketball shorts and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt; Jason tried not to read too much symbolism into their shirts. Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth were leaning against the railing, while Frank and Leo were standing at the helm. Jason drew his sword and Percy uncapped Riptide.

"Let's do this," Percy said.

They circled each other for a moment. By this point, they had a good idea of each other's fighting style. Jason knew that if he hung back, he could play off Percy's impatience. Just as he expected, the son of Poseidon attacked first. Jason blocked Percy's strike and twisted the blades so that he could swing his sword up in a slashing movement. Percy dodged the blow and faked another strike from above, but at the last moment he jabbed at Jason's exposed right side. Jason caught the attack on his blade and then immediately attacked low, causing Percy to jump back. Jason pressed his advantage, forcing Percy to go on the defensive as they exchanged blows. Jason's mind went on autopilot, his reflexes kicking in: strike, parry, duck, dodge, block, jab, feint.

Jason was surprised that Percy didn't try to go back on the offensive, but when the son of Poseidon took another step back so that he was standing against the railing of the ship with the sea behind him, Jason realized he might have been led into a trap.

Percy grinned. "Want to make things interesting?"

Jason narrowed his eyes, but he grinned back. "Don't start something you can't finish, man."

"I'll take my chances."

A massive wave rose up behind Percy. Before Jason could move, the wave crashed over him. He heard some shrieks and shouts from the others. When he blinked the saltwater out of his eyes, Percy had disappeared.

"Alright, Jackson," Jason muttered, "it's on."

He summoned the wind to carry him up and over the railing. He stayed about ten feet above the water, alert for any sign of a disturbance. Then, about five feet to his left, he saw a ripple. Jason zoomed backwards just as Percy burst out of the sea on a water spout. Jason blocked and parried his friend's blows, but Percy was significantly stronger on the water; it seemed to add power to his swings. Jason had to resort to flying higher up just to get a quick break.

"It's cheating if I can't reach you," Percy called.

"And it's not cheating when you have the whole ocean at your back?" Jason replied.

"That's just called using your resources."

Jason laughed. Then he dropped out of the sky, almost on top of Percy, but Percy had been anticipating this because he deflected Jason's attack and summoned a wave to carry him back to the ship. Jason followed, dropping lightly onto the deck. "Tired?"

"Not a chance," Percy said. He gestured to the ship. "Neutral ground, though."

"Ah, got it." Since he had hung back before, Jason now attacked first, hoping to throw Percy off. It worked for a second, because Percy was a moment slow at getting his guard up, but that didn't last long. They exchanged blows with a speed that left Jason relying entirely on his reflexes and instincts; if he stopped to think, he was going to be in trouble. It was his favorite kind of sword fighting, just relaxing his mind and letting his muscles take over.

Finally, arms shaking, Jason held up a hand and stepped back. "I give."

Percy lowered his sword. He was out of breath. "Should we call it a draw?"

"Sounds good." Jason wiped the sweat out of his eyes. "You've got some moves, man."

Percy grinned. "Thanks. You too.'

At the helm, Leo whistled. "Glad you guys are on our side."

Jason and Percy walked over to where the girls and Frank were standing against the railing.

"Not bad," Annabeth told Percy. "But you're still letting down your guard too much on your left side. You need to work on that." She handed him a glass of water, which Percy gulped down. "But overall, pretty good."

"Thanks," Percy said.

Jason took the cup of water Piper handed him. "You got any tips for me?" he asked her.

Piper laughed. "That would be a no. To be honest, I could hardly follow what was going on sometimes. You guys are fast."

"We'll keep working on the sword fighting," Hazel assured her. "Pretty soon you'll be kicking their butts."

"Awesome," Piper said.

Jason leaned against the railing next to her. The workout had made him feel better, but he still had a massive brick of guilt sitting in his stomach over what had happened to Reyna. And, since it was long after midnight, today was July 31st. Which meant that tomorrow was the Feast of Spes. One way or another, their quest would be over.

"So, I had a thought," Leo said.

"Uh-oh," Jason replied.

"Ha ha," Leo pulled up another holographic map of Greece and pointed to the blinking dot that showed the Argo II's position near Eleusis. "Since we're all awake anyway, we could go ahead and sail down the coast." He traced the route with his finger. It cut through a channel between an island and the mainland before opening up into the bay near Athens. "We can stay anchored out of sight of the shore, but we'll be a little closer to our destination and it won't be so far for Zhang to fly tomorrow. Or today, technically."

The crew exchanged glances, then Annabeth said, "Sounds like a plan."

"Alright then, let's roll," Leo said. He pressed some buttons, flipped a couple switches, and the engine came to life. Festus blew fire toward the sky.

Jason had butterflies in his stomach. Judging by the serious expressions on the others' faces, they felt the same way. After weeks of travel and months of planning, this was it. The final leg of their journey.

They were on their way to Athens.