[ chapter forty-three: jason ]
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The council was nothing like Jason imagined. For one thing, it was in the Big House rec room, around a Ping-Pong table, and one of the satyrs was serving nachos and sodas. Somebody had brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Every once in a while, a counselor would toss him a Snausage.
Jason looked around the room and tried to remember everyone's name. Thankfully, Leo, Hermia and Piper were sitting next to him-it was their first meeting as senior counselors. And as much as Mia hated it, she had become counselor of cabin three since her half brother was still missing.
Actually the one who suggested this was none other than Percy's girlfriend Helena Argent. Which honestly surprised Jason, but he figured that's what Percy would have wanted.
When he and the rest of his friends first meet Helena, she gave off such a strong energy. She was a daughter of Athena so he figured she got her strength from her mother. But for someone who was missing her boyfriend, Helena was putting on a strong face. She was also very sweet and even hugged Mia when she saw her because she was so happy to be meeting her boyfriend's half sister.
As Jason glanced around he noticed Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, had her boots on the table, but nobody seemed to care. Clovis from Hypnos cabin was snoring in the corner while Butch from Iris cabin was seeing how many pencils he could fit in Clovis's nostrils. Travis Stoll from Hermes was holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it would burn. Aaron Moore from Apollo was absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. Diana Rogers-Piper's half sister and co-counselor was reading a magazine.
The counselor from Hecate cabin, Lou Ellen something-or-other, was playing "got-your-nose" with Miranda Gardiner from Demeter, except that Lou Ellen really had magically disconnected Miranda's nose, and Miranda was trying to get it back.
Jason had hoped Thalia would show. She'd promised, after all-but she was nowhere to be seen. Chiron had told him not to worry about it. Thalia often got sidetracked fighting monsters or running quests for Artemis, and she would probably arrive soon. But still, Jason worried.
Rachel Dare, the oracle, sat next to Chiron at the head of the table. She was wearing her Clarion Academy school uniform dress, which seemed a bit odd, but she smiled at Jason.
From beside Annabeth, Helena didn't look so relaxed. Both girls wore armor over their camp clothes, one with her knife at her side, while the other played with the bracelet on her wrist. Annabeth's blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, while Helena left her's down in waves. It amazed Jason to see how two girls who looked nothing alike could be siblings. As soon as Jason walked in, Helena fixed him with an expectant look, as if she were trying to extract information out of him by sheer willpower.
"Let's come to order," Chiron said. "Lou Ellen, please give Miranda her nose back. Travis, if you'd kindly extinguish the flaming Ping-Pong ball, and Butch, I think twenty pencils is really too many for any human nostril. Thank you. Now, as you can see, Jason, Hermia, Piper, and Leo have returned successfully... more or less. Some of you have heard parts of their story, but I will let them fill you in."
Everyone looked at Jason. He cleared his throat and began the story. Piper, Mia and Leo chimed in from time to time, filling in the details he forgot.
Even Mia took the time to explain everything that was happening in her life. She told everyone about working for Gaea, but than added how in the end she couldn't bring herself to betray her friends. Jason didn't know how to feel about the whole "friends" part, but he figured for now Hermia's friendship was better than nothing.
It seemed that everyone was a little on edge when Hermia told them she had been working for Gaea. But Chiron made sure to reassure everyone that they could trust Mia.
The only one who really had a problem with this was Annabeth.
"Are you kidding me? This girl was willing to sacrifice us all just to see some boys from her past? And you're really telling me that this is okay? How selfish can you get?"
Anger burned in Jason's stomach when he saw how hurt Hermia looked. He shook his head as he reached for Mia's hand, which just so happened to be on her lap. Even Piper and Leo looked angry at Annabeth. It was obvious that the four friends will do anything for one another and that included defending each other.
Jason's hard eyes watched Annabeth.
"Are you serious? Hermia has sacrifice so much just so she wouldn't have to betray us. As much as it killed her, she gave up on her boys on that quest. Hermia chose us because she cares about us. Don't ever say she was being selfish."
Hermia squeezed his hand tightly. "It's okay, Superman." Jason looked over at Mia and his gaze softened when he saw she was trying to smile at him.
"No, Hermia it's not okay." Jason was surprised to see Helena saying this. Annabeth looked over to her sister, disbelief in her eyes. Helena sighed as she looked from Annabeth to Hermia. "You know I love you, Annie but if I had a chance to see my sister again, like Mia had, than I would take it as well."
Annabeth shook her head in confusion. "But I'm your sister, Lena and I'm very much still alive.."
For some reason Helena looked even more broken than before. From the looks of it she wasn't just in pain from losing her boyfriend. There was something else behind those broken brown eyes. A pain no one would ever want to deal with and Jason had some idea of that pain because for so long he didn't have his sister in his life.
"I know you are," Helena paused as she whipped a tear from her eye. "But I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Allison."
"Helena..." The whole room was deadly quite. It was obvious that everyone knew about what happened to Helena's sister, but no one seemed comfortable enough to talk.
"Lena." Diana Rogers-Piper's half sister- said as she shared a glance with Aaron Moore. "We understand, you don't have to say anything else."
Aaron Moore nodded in agreement as he smiled softly at Helena. "Yeah it's okay, Lena. All that matters now is getting Percy back."
Helena smiled in thanks. She sighed while whipping away her remaining tears. Annabeth reached over and took her sister's hand in hers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to open up old wounds." Helena nodded back as everyone got back to the original conversation.
It only took a few minutes, but it seemed like longer with everyone watching him. The silence was heavy, and for so many ADHD demigods to sit still listening for that long, Jason knew the story must have sounded pretty wild. He ended with Hera's visit right before the meeting.
"So Hera was here," Annabeth said as she and Helena shared a glance. "Talking to you."
Jason nodded. "Look, I'm not saying I trust her-"
"That's smart," Annabeth said.
"Let him finish." Helena added as she glared softly at Annabeth.
"-but she isn't making this up about another group of demigods. That's where I came from." Jason couldn't feel Mia squeeze is hand tightly. Which surprised him because he didn't think they were still holding hands.
"Romans." Clarisse tossed Seymour a Snausage. "You expect us to believe there's another camp with demigods, but they follow the Roman forms of the gods. And we've never even heard of them."
"Well it makes sense." Mia added as she shared a look with Piper.
Piper sat forward. "The gods have kept the two groups apart, because every time they see each other, they try to kill each other."
"I can respect that," Clarisse said. "Still, why haven't we ever run across each other on quests?"
"Oh, yes," Chiron said sadly. "You have, many times. It's always a tragedy, and always the gods do their best to wipe clean the memories of those involved. The rivalry goes all the way back to the Trojan War, Clarisse. The Greeks invaded Troy and burned it to the ground. The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, and eventually made his way to Italy, where he founded the race that would someday become Rome. The Romans grew more and more powerful, worshipping the same gods but under different names, and with slightly different personalities."
"More warlike," Jason said. "More united. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline."
"Yuck," Travis put in.
Several of the others looked equally uncomfortable, though Clarisse shrugged like it sounded okay to her.
Annabeth twirled her knife on the table. While Helena played with her bracelet again. "And the Romans hated the Greeks. They took revenge when they conquered the Greek isles, and made them part of the Roman Empire."
"Not exactly hated them," Jason said. "The Romans admired Greek culture, and were a little jealous. In return, the Greeks thought the Romans were barbarians, but they respected their military power. So during Roman times, demigods started to divide-either Greek or Roman."
"Than it's been that way ever since," Helena guessed. "But this sounds crazy." Helena and her sister shared a glance. They were obviously thinking the same thing.
Annabeth turned to look at Chiron. "Chiron, where were the Romans during the Titan War? Didn't they want to help?"
Chiron tugged at his beard. "They did help, Annabeth. While you, Helena and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titans' base in California?"
"You're kidding right?" Aaron said as he and Travis shared a glance. "You told us something totally different."
"Hold on, Golden boy's right," Travis said. "Chiron you said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos."
"No," Jason said as Mia watched him in question. He remembered flashes of the battle-a giant in starry armor and a helm mounted with ram's horns. He remembered his army of demigods scaling Mount Tam, fighting through hordes of snake monsters. "It didn't just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself."
Hermia watched Jason with proud eyes and Jason hoped he wasn't blushing. Helena's eyes though were as dark and stormy as a ventus. Jason could almost see her thoughts moving, putting the pieces together. "Wait the Bay Area. We were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn't the only reason, was it? The Roman camp-it's got to be somewhere near San Francisco. I bet it was put there to keep watch on the Titans' territory. Where is it?"
Chiron shifted in his wheelchair. "I cannot say. Honestly, even I have never been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type. Jason's memory, too, has been burned away."
"The camp's heavily veiled with magic," Jason said. "And heavily guarded. We could search for years and never find it."
Rachel Dare laced her fingers. Of all the people in the room, only she didn't seem nervous about the conversation. "But you'll try, won't you? You'll build Leo's boat, the Argo II. And before you make for Greece, you'll sail for the Roman camp. You'll need their help to confront the giants."
"Bad plan," Clarisse warned. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."
"You're probably right," Jason agreed. "But we have to try. I was sent here to learn about Camp Half-Blood, to try to convince you the two camps don't have to be enemies. A peace offering."
"Hmm," Rachel said. "Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Eight heroes of Olympus-some Greek, some Roman."
Helena and Annabeth nodded. "The Great Prophecy-what's the last line?"
"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
"Gaea has already opened the Doors of Death," Hermia added. "She's letting every evil villain of the Underworld escape to fight us. Medea, Midas-there'll be so much more, I know it."
Helena nodded in agreement. "So, maybe the line means that the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, and find the doors, and close them."
"Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death," Clarisse pointed out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."
There was silence as the campers let that happy thought sink in.
"Well, whatever the case my be, I'm going," Helena said. "Jason, when you get this ship built, let me come with you."
"I was hoping you'd offer," Jason said. "You of all people -we'll need you."
"Wait." Leo frowned. "I mean that's cool with me and all. But why Helena of all people?"
Helena and Jason studied one another, and Jason knew she had put it together. She saw the dangerous truth. Even Annabeth seemed to understand what her sister has connected.
"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," Jason said. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence."
"Yeah?" Leo said. "So?"
"An exchange goes two ways," Jason said. "When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you're not my enemy. The Roman camp-they're not so friendly. You prove your worth quickly, or you don't survive. They may not be so nice to him, and if they learn where he comes from, he's going to be in serious trouble."
"Him?" Leo said. "Who are you talking about?"
"Oh, you can't be serious." Aaron said as he shared a look with Helena.
"My boyfriend," Helena said grimly. "He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood-"
"Exactly," Jason agreed. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."
This last part always gives me chills!
Anyway we have officially reached the end of The Awakening!!! I'm so sad and happy at the same time! I had so much fun writing this book, I'm going to miss it.
But on a happy note, we have finally reached The Mark of Athena!
I can't wait for you guys to read that book! And buckle up because that one will be a wild ride.
Thank you all so much for reading!! I love you all!
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