Jason thought the chaos would end as soon as he left Camp Jupiter.

He imagined his friends and the Fates laughing and saying: Pah-LEASE. Where did he get that expression in the first place?

As soon as the view of Camp Half-Blood came into view, he saw a raging game of Capture The Flag going on, and it seemed both sides were equally disorganized. From the people he knew, he saw Nico, Will, Annabeth, Piper and Malcolm in the same team along with the Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo and the Hermes cabin against the rest.

"They've got it! They've got the flag!" cried Katie, who was on the enemy team. "Connor, Cecil, disrupt the left flank!"

The two Hermes kids smirked and raised their swords.

"Sure thing, Katie," Connor teased. "Don't get too close, okay? I want a niece soon enough!"

He was bidded farewell by a flying shield sent towards him. Cecil flinched.

"We'll be going, see ya!" Cecil said quickly.

Jason didn't see what was wrong at first, then he noticed that Annabeth wasn't fighting like she used to. Instead of parrying blades with her ivory sword, she was silently and deathly attacking campers from behind without a sound. Even without her magic Yankees cap, she was as stealthy as Hades.

And, bless her, each strike was powerful enough to knock out even Nyssa.

Nico and Kayla was running back with the enemy flag back to their base. Will was a few feet away from them barking at Nico to not use his Underworldly-magic. Nico kept yelling back.

"I can just shadow-travel back!" Nico protested. "Those two Hermes kids are going to catch up!"

"No!" Will barked. "Doctor's orders."

"Will!"

"I said no!"

Unfortunately for Jason - despite being in air and pratically safe from anything but arrows or ventus or random pegasi - a shield managed to make it onto his head.

Great. In Camp Jupiter, he gets hit on the head by a brick. In Camp Half-Blood, he gets hit in the head with a shield.

Losing focus, the winds under his control broke and he fell towards the ground. Of all of the places to land, he landed on the most dangerous thing in Camp Half-Blood.

"Get off of me!" Clarisse screeched. That couldn't have felt too good. "Who the heck is that?"

"Jason?" Piper said, pushing herself to the front through the crowd. "Why are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be busy at New Rome?"

Jason groaned. "I'll explain everything," he promised. "But . . . but I think Clarisse could use an ice pack or two."

* * *

When Jason told Chiron - in private - that Camp Jupiter is waging war against Camp Half-Blood, the look on the centaur's face was as horrified as ever. It was so ridiculously serious that everyone had to force Clovis to stay up and listen.

"We've made peace," Annabeth murmured, "after the Giant War. Why - ?"

The words died heroically in Jason's throat. How is he supposed to explain that Annabeth and Leo are the ones who started it? It was the Eidolons . .. no doubt, but Camp Jupiter nor Reyna wants to hear it.

"There was an attack," Jason started, "a machine, designed by the Greeks, um, Camp Half-Blood there, attacking and almost killing the . . . praetor."

Leo's eyebrows raised. "You mean someone stole our cool-ass weapon and attacked Reyna? Dang, how did someone manage that?"

"Is Reyna okay?" Piper demanded. "Is she alive and well?"

Jason said, uh-oh in his head. He did not like where the conversation was going. "Reyna wasn't the one that got hurt. The Romans . . . the Romans declared war themselves. They wanted blood. The praetors had no idea until Dakota told us."

He thought he'd hid it well. There was no way he was dropping the bomb that Percy was the one that got hurt. Plus, Annabeth was watching.

Chiron stroked his beard, his expression grim. "I believe that explains why our campers have been denied access. Jason, do you have any more information to notify us?"

"I - I don't think so," Jason lied.

Then she spoke up.

"You're lying," Annabeth said with a hoarse voice. Her gray eyes were duller yet shinier than usual. "You're hiding something. I'm used to reading people. How are we sure you're not a spy? If Camp Jupiter is waging war, where is . . ." Her voice cracked.

"Where is Percy?" Rachel demanded, speaking up next to Chiron. "If Camp Jupiter is at war, how is he still there? Is he captive?"

Clarisse threw her dagger on the table, impaling a bag of crackers. Travis protested.

"If they have our camp leader, we're going to bust him out!" she said. "They crossed the line by taking Percy hostage. How did they manage that, I haven't got a single idea why, but we are taking him -"

The door swung open.

Grover was at the door, his eyes wild and filled with tears. He looked shell-shocked, or he'd just seen Juniper kiss another satyr.

"Romans!" he cried. "They're declaring war on us, and they've got Percy!"

* * * *

Piper didn't know what to expect. When Grover said they've got Percy, the first thing that came to mind was a half-dead son of Poseidon, bruised and held at sword point. She did not expect this.

What Grover actually meant was that Percy was the one declaring war on them.

Once Grover delivered the news, the cain counsellors rushed out to see. Several campers were already gathered at Thalia's tree gaping and yelling curses in different languages. Ever since the Giant War, campers started appearing all over the globe, which also means that they have more of a language barrier. Luckily, they had Nico and Annabeth. Those two knew more languages than them combined.

There was a black limo parked there, and the windows transparent. Piper pushed through the crowd and saw something that she did not expect.

Percy, Reyna, Frank and Hazel were talking and laughing at the map of Camp Half-Blood, waging war as if it was pranking them. Actually, neither of those ideas seemed good, but if it was down to her to choose, she'd rather go to Alaska and never come back.

When Reyna saw them, her face darkened and the others noticed. They looked at the direction she was looking at and groaned visibly.

Reyna opened the limo's door, her purple cape glittering under the sunlight like it was catching light. Her hand was on her sword's hilt defensively.

"Reyna," Piper called down, "why would you do this?"

Her expression went neutral. Dang, this girl was good at hiding her feelings.

"I need not to explain," Reyna said grimly. "You Greeks know what you've done."

Piper was bamboozled, then turned to the people inside. Percy was holding a ball-point pen, ready to storm outside, but Frank and Hazel coaxed him to let Reyna handle herself.

"What about Perce?" Leo demanded, gesturing wildly at the son of Poseidon in the car. "Did you brainwash him with your voodoo magic? I'll show you what a fireball to the face tastes like!"

Reyna exhaled. "I did not convince him."

As if on cue, the remaining three in the car stepped out, their hands on their weapons. Percy's hand was in his pocket, and something in his eyes were different. They seem whole again - but with a new glint of analyzing and seriousness.

"Attack us all you want," Percy taunted, raising his left fist up. "It wouldn't do you any good, you grecaus scum."

"You're a Greek too, you idiot!" Will shouted like duh! "This is your home, Percy! You're really going to attack your home?"

"My home is at Camp Jupiter," he said flatly. "And I am not a grecaus scum, you Greek. I am only Roman."

Nico groaned and facefaulted. Piper wondered what the actual heck did he do to himself again.

"It's decided," Frank said, sounding more serious than ever. "Next week, at the Feast of Hope, we will start our war. Get ready, Greeks."

Reyna nodded and laced her arm around Percy's. Percy grinned and pecked her on the lips. The whole camp gasped. The two returned to the limo like they've returned from a date. Frank and Leo locked eyes for a moment, and he re-entered the limo. Hazel and Nico had a silent conversation by also locking eyes, but with more hurt than her boyfriend.

Then they drove away, leaving the whole camp stunned.

The silence was broken by Annabeth's sobbing.

Piper looked for Jason, demanding to know the whole explanation. But when she looked at Jason, he, too, was shedding tears silently.