1. A Busy Six Months

"Cutting it a little close aren't you, Leo?" Jason yelled up to the deck of the Argo II.

Leo looked down twenty feet to the floor of bunker 9 where Jason was standing, "Finishing touches, bro."

"She looks great." Jason smiled.

"Yeah, I know." Leo said proudly.

The Argo II was the single biggest engineering project either camp had ever undertaken. The arduous task of building the fifty feet long, twenty feet wide ship was tackled by demigods from both camps, and they didn't disappoint. The ship was a beauty. Her hull was plated with polished bronze and had sliding doors on both the starboard and port sides. Behind the doors were cannons, flame throwers, crossbows, and a variety of other projectile weapons as well as ten oars, five on either side. There were three sliding doors on the keel for the landing gear, as well. The ship had a full deck and a small elevated wheel deck at the stern, all made of solid wood. The bronze plated stern, which housed a modified jet engine, curved up like a scorpion tail and hovered over the wheel deck. The bow was triangular shaped and perched at the tip was Festus' head, shining like an eccentric hood ornament. The ship was complete with two beautifully decorated square sails hoisted on a yard. The purple foresail, the smaller of the two, was attached to the shorter foremast toward the bow of the vessel. The larger orange mainsail was attached to the tall mainmast that towered up from the center of the vessel. Atop the mainmast is where the flag would fly.

Leo was the project's foreman, and he had been engrossed in the ship's construction for the past six months. He was so focused on building the Argo II that he barely made time to eat or sleep, much less train, but there was one thing he always made time for.

"Hey Jason, heads up." Hazel said as she tossed the end of a rope ladder over the side of the ship.

"I'll see you later." she told Leo and kissed him on the cheek.

"Miss you already." Leo smiled then Hazel climbed down the ladder and joined Jason.

"So, what do you have in store for me today?" Hazel asked Jason.

"Spear training," he answered. "Kota is waiting on us at the range."

"Well, we better not keep him waiting." she said then took off running out of the bunker and Jason followed.

Training had intensified tenfold in the past six months. Campers had become trainers in their fields of expertise. Percy was a master swordsman so naturally he was the trainer in the sword arena. Reyna assisted Chiron in archery training, and Dakota was the spear and shield tactics instructor.

Jason sprinted into the range with Hazel only a few feet behind him.

"She's going to beat you one of these days." Dakota said to Jason.

"Tell me about it." Jason said trying to catch his breath.

Dakota had mellowed a bit in his six months away from the Roman camp. Camp Half-Blood was not as structured or rigid as the Roman camp, and at first Dakota had a hard time adjusting to the lack of discipline and order. After a couple of months, though, Dakota had integrated the Greeks relaxed nature with his own strict nature. He was still a tough and disciplined trainer, but he had loosened up in other aspects. He let his hair grow out a little, and he always had a few days growth of stubble on his face. All of the girls loved it.

Dakota tossed Jason and Hazel a spear. He had targets set up at distances ranging from ten to fifty yards.

"I'm tired of target practice." Hazel complained. "Can we do some combat training today?"

"Well, I don't see why not." Dakota said. "And since you're both here we can work on cooperation, you two against me."

Dakota grabbed his shield which was strapped to his back and armed himself with a spear. Hazel activated her shield, and Jason grabbed a shield from the arms pile.

Hazel immediately went on the offensive. She shuffled her feet back and forth as she approached Dakota trying to fake him. She lunged her spear toward Dakota's head. He ducked her attack and rammed her shield with his own. Jason came up behind Dakota and slashed his spear towards Dakota's knees. Dakota, still slamming shields with Hazel, stuck his spear down along the back of his leg to block Jason's strike. Hazel broke free and ran a circle around Dakota toward Jason who was now running at Dakota. Jason leaped coming down toward Dakota with the point of his spear. Dakota blocked the attack with his shield. Dakota sliced at Jason's ankles with his spear, and Jason slammed his shield to the ground to block the strike. Hazel swung her spear at Dakota's head, and he blocked with his spear. He spun a circle and sliced his spear toward her head. She did a backbend to avoid the strike, and Jason tried to decapitate Dakota with his shield. Dakota ducked then came around with the same maneuver hitting Jason's spear with his shield and breaking it in half. Hazel lunged, and Dakota blocked. She lunged again, and this time Dakota's block pushed the tip of her spear to the ground. Dakota stomped his boot on the spear and broke it. Dakota stepped back and drove the tip of his spear into the ground. He slung his shield over his shoulder strapping it to his back.

"Thanks for playing," Dakota smiled, and Hazel cursed under her breath.

"Don't worry about it, Hazel." Jason said. "You're getting a lot better."

Hazel picked a piece of her broken spear off the ground. She flipped it in her hand then threw it at the fifty yard target…bullseye.

"Maybe I should just stick with projectile engagement." she said.

Meanwhile, Percy and Grover were shooting hoops at the basketball court. Grover had been back at camp for about two months now. He had been out scouring the country for demigods, but since the gods were still silent, there wasn't much claiming going on and he had run out of leads, so he came home. When Percy was missing, Grover tried to reach him via the empathy link without success. Grover was so relieved when he got word that Percy was back at camp.

"So, I've got something to tell you." Grover said as he dribbled the basketball.

"Okay, what is it?" Percy asked.

"Promise you won't freak out."

"I won't freak out." Percy said as he guarded Grover's drive toward the basket.

"I'm getting married." Grover said.

Percy stopped in his tracks giving Grover a wide open shot which he missed. The ball ricocheted off the backboard and hit Percy in the side of the head.

"Dude, you said you wouldn't freak out." Grover complained.

"Did I hear you right? You said you're getting married?" Percy asked with a bewildered look on his face.

"That's what I said." Grover confirmed.

"For real this time?"

"Yes for real, and the thing with Polyphemus doesn't count."

Percy thought about the concept of Grover getting married. He and Juniper had been a couple for a while now, and Grover had matured a lot since his encounter with Pan. Because Grover looked like he was just a teenager, Percy sometimes forgot how much older Grover was. Grover had just turned thirty two years old.

Percy held out his hand to Grover, "Congrats, man."

Grover shook Percy's hand, "Thanks."

"What's up, guys?" Piper asked as she walked onto the basketball court.

"Grover's engaged." Percy said.

"Really? Aw…that's great. Congratulations. You and Juniper are such a cute couple." Piper cooed.

"What are you up to?" Percy asked her.

"Oh, I'm just waiting on Annabeth." she answered. "We're supposed to do some training, but Rachel just got to camp for summer break so Annabeth went to welcome her back."

"You want to shoot some hoops with us while you wait?" Grover asked her.

"Sure." she said.

Annabeth helped Rachel carry her bags to her cave.

"So, how was school this semester?" Annabeth asked Rachel.

"Horrible, same as last semester." Rachel answered. "But that's the price I pay for getting to come here."

Rachel and Annabeth had become good friends which was surprising considering the rocky start they'd gotten off to. When they first met, Annabeth felt threatened by Rachel and Percy's friendship, but Rachel saved the day on Annabeth's quest in the Labyrinth, and Annabeth returned the favor by saving Rachel from what would've been a fiery helicopter crash last summer. When Rachel became the Oracle and Annabeth and Percy became a couple, Annabeth no longer felt threatened by Rachel or her friendship with Percy, and Rachel thought Annabeth and Percy were just the cutest thing since puppies.

"How's things been here?" Rachel asked Annabeth.

"Crazy," Annabeth answered. "There have been so many kids in and out of camp in the last six months that I couldn't even tell you who is here or who is at the Roman camp. But the alliance is going good, and the Argo II should be completed by the end of the day."

"Good," Rachel nodded.

"You um…you don't happen to know…" Annabeth started.

"Who the seven are…no." Rachel said.

Annabeth shook her head, "It's getting down to the wire. Today is May thirtieth, and we still don't know who the seven are."

"Has Nico heard anything more about what's going to happen day after tomorrow?" Rachel asked.

"He hasn't been able to get any details, but he said the underworld is getting more and more restless as June first approaches." Annabeth explained.

"Has anyone heard form the gods?"

"No, they're still silent." Annabeth said.

"Well, I guess no news is good news." Rachel tried to sound optimistic, but it didn't really come out that way.

"I hope you're right," Annabeth nodded. "Well, I'll let you get settled in. I've got to go meet Piper for training. I'm glad your back, Rachel."

Rachel nodded, "It's good to see you, too Annabeth."

Annabeth was walking through the strawberry fields when someone walked up behind her.

"Hey, girl," Reyna said.

"Hey, Reyna," Annabeth smiled.

"You just missed an awesome archery class. We practiced with flaming arrows, and Jess singed Chiron's tail." Reyna laughed and Annabeth laughed, too.

"Sorry I missed it, but Rachel just got back to camp so I went to see her." Annabeth explained.

"Did she know anything?" Reyna asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately not," Annabeth sighed.

Reyna shook her head, "Something's not right. We should've heard something by now. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me, too," Annabeth agreed.

Annabeth and Reyna had become friends in the last six months. They had a lot in common; they were both master archers and experts with a dagger. They were both highly intelligent as well. Annabeth aspired to be and architect and Reyna had plans to become a doctor. They even shared the same fatal flaw, their pride.

"Well, I don't suppose you want to come spar with me and Piper." Annabeth grinned.

Reyna raised an eyebrow, "That would be a negative."

Reyna didn't like being around Piper and the feeling was mutual. They were both struggling with Jason's indecision about who he wanted to be with. Reyna was almost so fed up with the back and forth crap that she had been thinking maybe the whole thing wasn't worth possibly losing Jason's friendship over…but then again, it could be worth everything.

"Reyna," Annabeth said. "I'm going to be brutally honest with you. I know you really like Jason, but I think you're fighting for the wrong guy."

Reyna just looked at Annabeth without saying a word.

"Just think about it." Annabeth said. "I've got to get to the arena. I'll see you at dinner."

Annabeth walked away leaving Reyna standing by the canoe lake thinking about what she meant.

At dinner that evening, everyone sat at their respective tables. There were about sixty demigods, half Greek and half Roman. Many Romans came to Camp Half-Blood to work on the Argo II, and a number Greeks went to the Roman camp to help out with the daily duties while the majority of their legion was at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron made his traditional toast to the gods and everyone placed a burnt offering into the fire. Campers ate their dinner and talked with excitement about the completion of the Argo II and the chariot race scheduled for tomorrow.

When dinner was almost over, Chiron made an announcement, "As I'm sure everyone has heard the Argo II was completed today. I want to congratulate everyone involved in the project on a job well done. Leo has informed me that the ship will be ready for a test flight tomorrow morning, so the chariot race will be pushed to three o'clock. After dinner tomorrow evening, the Apollo and Dionysus cabins have arranged a celebratory party and dance at the campfire. And, by popular demand, the day after tomorrow we will be having a friendly game of capture the flag…Greeks versus Romans."

The pavilion erupted with cheers. Everyone had wanted the contest, but there just hadn't been enough time because of the construction of the Argo II. Now that it was complete, they could be put to the real test to deem which camp was superior in action.