The next morning, I wake up once again having had no dreams whatsoever. Not much has changed in the Hades cabin. Still dark, dreary. Like a vampire's home. But I decide maybe I can redecorate sometime. Maybe make it less... I don't know. Vampire-y.

After getting dressed and heading outside, I hear the loudest cheer ever. It echoes across the camp. I flinch and look over toward the cabins, where what appears to be the entire Aphrodite cabin screaming joyfully, carrying someone on their shoulders.

"Piper beat Drew out as Counselor." Brit says, coming up behind me. "I heard Drew yelling at Chiron about it."

I smile, crossing my arms. "That's gratifying to hear."

"Yeah, it is. Maybe now some of the Aphrodite kids will have a choice of what they do with their lives."

"Just how bad was Drew?" I ask as we walk together towards the dining pavilion, still listening to the Aphrodite kids cheering Piper's name.

"They have this 'rite of passage'." Brit explains, finger-quoting the phrase. "You have to break someone's heart to be a child of Aphrodite. It's awful, and most Aphrodite kids hate it more than anything."

"Why didn't someone like Endora ever challenge Drew?" I ask. "Or Evie?"

Brit smiles. "I'm sure Dori would've liked to. But the rules are you have to have been here longest, or been on a quest. And Dori got here a few months after Drew, and has never been on a quest."

"What about what happened during the whole thing in Manhattan?" I demand. "That should---"

"Loopholes," Brit sighs. "are the worst. You make an exception once, and then suddenly all the rules fly out the window. Dori got that she couldn't undermine the rules that way, so she works more in the background, trying to stop Drew. I'm sure she's happy Piper is Counselor now."

I look over and see the golden-haired girl trailing behind the Aphrodite cabin as they dump Piper into the pavilion, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"You know, the longer I'm here, the more I like it." I tell Brit.

"I'm glad. Now let's go eat!" She cheers, hooking her arm through mine and dragging me into the pavilion. I still notice a few hurried glances from other campers, but what really makes me smile is the fact that the grins my way outnumber the glares.

_____________________________ 

Every cabin Counselor—which, since Nico Di Angelo is MIA, means me for Hades— meet up in the Big House rec room for the Council meeting. I don't know what I was expecting from a camp where kids regularly climb a lava wall and shoot arrows at one another for fun. But we literally sit around a Ping-Pong table eating nachos and drinking soda. Because every good Council meeting has soda pop and cheese.

I'm happy to report that I recognize most of the kids sitting around me. There's a cheetah head on the wall that moves every so often to snap up sausages (totally jumped the first time—I don't think anyone saw, luckily), while Piper and Leo sit close to each other and look around as if trying to remember names. They both look at ease here, though, already having a place. I know one of Sera's sisters is the Counselor of Ares, but I can't remember her name at the moment. I kind of thought Sera was the Counselor at first. Anyway, Ares Counselor has her boots on the table, but nobody seems to care. The kid from Hypnos—Clovis—is snoring away while Butch from Iris sticks pencils into his nose. Connor—or Travis—Stoll is holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball while Leo watches him, fascinated. Will Solace stares off into space, and the Hecate Counselor—Lou Ellen—steals Miranda's (Demeter kid) nose. Chiron is at the head, with Rachel Dare and Annabeth next to him.

The moment Jason sits down, Chiron clears his throat. "Let's come to order. 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, 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 looks at Jason. He kind of flushes pink a little, but clears his throat and starts his story. It couldn't have taken more than a few minutes to skate over their entire quest, but dang. They went through a lot in just three days. I'd already heard some of it, but even after the return, Jason keeps talking. They tell us about Bunker 9, about the plan for the Argo II. Oh, and Jason apparently got a visit from Hera just now in his cabin. Hooray. I've heard enough about that goddess.

"So Hera was here," Annabeth says in a steely voice. "Talking to you."

Jason nods. "Look, I'm not saying I trust her—"

"That's smart," Annabeth grumbles. I wonder what her beef is with Hera?

"—but she isn't making this up about another group of demigods. That's where I came from." Jason says, without a trace of doubt in his voice.

"Romans." The daughter of Ares tosses the cheetah head a sausage calmly. "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."

Piper sits forward, leaning on the table. "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," Ares girl says. "Still, why haven't we ever run across each other on quests?"

"Oh, yes," Chiron says 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 agrees. "More united. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline."

"Yuck," Travis puts in. I notice pretty much everyone seems to agree with this sentiment, but Sera's sister just shrugs like she'd be okay with it.

Annabeth twirls her knife on the table, her gray eyes narrowed. "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 corrects. "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."

"And it's been that way ever since," I guess aloud. "But this is crazy. If they've been here this whole time, where were the Romans during the Manhattan thing? Didn't they want to help?"

Chiron tugs at his beard, looking at me as if I should've already known the answer. "They did help, Ellie. While Annabeth and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do you think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titans' base in California?"

"Should I know what that is?" I grumble under my breath, but nobody reacts so I assume it went unheard.

"Hold on," Travis says, holding his hands in a T-time-out-thing. "You said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos."

"No." Jason says firmly. "It didn't just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself."

Annabeth's eyes turn stormy, calculating. "The Bay Area. We demigods 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 shifts uncomfortably 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 says. "And heavily guarded. We could search for years and never find it."

Rachel, freaky prophecy girl, steeples her fingers together, leaning on the table. She seems perfectly at ease, talking about another whole world of gods and myths. "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," Ares girl warns, pointing her knife at us. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."

"You're probably right," Jason agrees. "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 says thoughtfully. "Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Seven heroes of Olympus—some Greek, some Roman."

Annabeth nods. "Your Great Prophecy—what's the last line?"

"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"Gaea has opened the Doors of Death," Annabeth says. "She's letting out the worst villains of the Underworld to fight us. Medea, Midas—there'll be more, I'm sure. 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," Ares girl—Clarisse! That's her name—points out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."

There was silence in the rec room, minus the cheetah head comping on sausages, as the campers let that joyful thought sink in.

"I'm going," Annabeth says firmly, standing up. "Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you."

"I was hoping you'd offer," Jason says. "You of all people—we'll need you."

"Wait." Leo frowns, scratching his neck. "I mean that's cool with me and all. But why Annabeth of all people?"

Annabeth and Jason look at each other for a few moments, like they're talking telepathically or something. It kind of feels like they're agreeing on an idea.

"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," Jason says finally, looking each of us in the eye. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence."

"Yeah?" Leo said. "So?"

"An exchange goes two ways," Jason explains carefully. "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 says dumbly. "Who are you talking about?" But I get it, in that second. It makes total sense. I finally understand why Annabeth and Jason look so worried.

"My boyfriend," Annabeth says grimly, confirming my suspicion. "He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood—"

"Exactly," Jason agrees. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."

_________________________________

Yikes it's been a year since last update I did not realize that whatsoever. Sorry?

Also for those of you who already read this chapter I forgot to add the part where Ellie sees Piper becoming her cabin leader so I went and added it lol