Author's Note:

Hi! Thanks for reading. This is my second fanfiction, and I know it is really late to start a Mark of Athena fanfiction, but I'll try my best. This story will probably end after the book comes out, but I will do as much as I can before then.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus or any of the characters. Rick Riordan does. It all belongs to him.

Thanks. Please Review! :)

Edited: 3/24/13

The Mark of Athena

Chapter 1

ANNABETH

Annabeth was standing next to the railing of the ship with Jason and Piper. She was nervous and was probably going to start sweating if they didn't land soon.

"Is this it?" she asked, pointing to the buildings below. The are looked foggy, probably because the Mist was shielding it, but Annabeth wanted to make sure it was the right place.

Jason nodded, but he was pale, nervous about meeting all of his friends and family that he had not seen for about eight months. He gripped the railing tightly, his eyes shifting from building to building and then to watching the people below.

Annabeth's eyes were fixed on the crowd looking for a familiar face, but since they were at such a high altitude, the people looked more ants to her. As the Argo II approached the ground, her eyes again scanned the rows of awaiting Roman soldiers, but she couldn't find Percy. Her thoughts wandered as she imagined the worst.

What if he's dead? Or doesn't remember me or anyone else from camp? What if he's injured? Or what if he thinks he's Roman, not a Greek? What if he's... changed?

That's what had been scaring Annabeth the most lately. The thought that her Seaweed Brain would look the same as he had previously, maybe a little taller, but still the same, and he'd be different. She feared that he'd look exactly the same and act like a stranger... like a Roman. She feared that she'd see those same wonderful sea-green eyes again, but they wouldn't be looking at her, at anyone, in the same carefree way that they had before. He'd still be Percy Jackson, but he wouldn't be the same Percy they all knew.

No, he couldn't have changed. And if he's not there... he could be at the back. Or asleep, or eating… or he might be on a quest. Sally said she got a call from Percy, who said he was in Alaska, right? He might still be there. Alaska's pretty far away, and he probably didn't fly. Or... maybe I just don't recognize him in the crowd. He could have gotten taller, or be wearing armor like the rest...

Her thoughts leaped back and forth, and she realized she was arguing with herself.

But what if he…

Annabeth mentally face-palmed. If she actually had slapped her face, the other crew members would probably become more worried about her than they already were.

I'm not a daughter of Aphrodite! I'm a daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. I'm the official architect of Olympus. I need to suck it up and act like a proper leader. I can't make a scene. I can't make a scene. I can't make a scene…

She repeated those words in her head, like a ritual chant, and that started to calm her down.

Leo started to descend into the city, but Annabeth stopped him. "There's not enough space! D'you want to crush them all? Go back up!"

The ship quickly jerked back up, and if she hadn't grabbed on to the railing, she would have fallen flat on the deck. Jason was still gripping the railing as tightly as he had before, but Piper hadn't been so lucky. She fell back and groaned, muttering something that Annabeth figured was probably a curse at Leo and his subpar flying skills. She made a mental note to talk to Leo later and tell him to either learn to steer the Argo II better, or at least keep his distance from Piper for a while.

Annabeth smiled and let go of the railing, offering her hand to Piper. The daughter of Aphrodite grabbed it, and Annabeth pulled her up. "Thanks," Piper muttered, aiming a glare in the area where Leo was.

"Annabeth!" Leo called from his position at the wheel. "Where do we land?"

"Um," she began, her eyes sweeping over the Roman camp for an acceptable landing spot. "There?" she pointed to a large field, directing her question to Jason.

Jason shrugged. "Sure."

"LEO!" she yelled, "Land in the big field over there, but first, use the cameras to make sure no one is underneath the ship." He grunted in reply.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and turned to Piper. "You know, out of all of the times I imagined our arrival here, I didn't think of a first impression like this."

Piper laughed. "I know. We were just about to crush their city, and then we pulled back up thinking 'oops' and tried to land somewhere else. They'll probably think we're stupid or something," she commented.

"If anyone's thinking that right now, and some probably are, send them to me, and I'll set them straight. Plus, don't tell Leo, but the ship is awesome. At least they'll be impressed by that... hopefully."

"This is your amazing captain, Leo, speaking. The awesome Argo II designed by yours truly will be landing in 10, 9, 8…" Leo's voice interrupted their conversation.

Annabeth smiled weakly and rolled her eyes, while Piper just sighed. She was irritated with Leo after eight months filled with his annoying comments and jokes.

"4, 3, 2…" Leo's countdown brought her back from her thoughts. "1. And... we're here."

The ship hit the ground with a soft thud. Annabeth was surprised. She had expected a worse landing, considering Leo's not-so-amazing flying skills. He was a son of Hephaestus, and could control the ship well, but his ADHD distracted him easily (as well as the various other distractions he'd installed on the ship), and when they had practiced taking off and landing back at Camp Half-Blood, everyone had to hold on to something or fall over. At least this landing hadn't made them look like complete idiots in front of the Romans.

Jason, who had been relatively quiet throughout the journey, paled even more, if that was humanly possible, when he saw the campers approaching the field and the boat.

Annabeth placed her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay." He turned to her, with worry etched on his face, and smiled slightly before the worry and nervousness replaced it again. "Do you remember the plan?" she asked, turning back into a daughter of Athena.

He nodded. "Yes. I go out, explain it to them, and if that doesn't work, then Piper will talk to them, using only a little bit of charmspeak, just in case one of them notices and thinks we're brainwashing them. Then, if that still doesn't work, you'll come out will Leo, and try to explain it more, and we hope that Percy or Reyna will help us out."

They had learned that Reyna was the other Praetor only recently as a result of Jason's memories returning, but Annabeth had a feeling that Jason had remembered Reyna for a while, and didn't want to tell them something.

She nodded in confirmation, and Leo, who had recently come the railing after landing, said, "Yep." He gulped, staring at the approaching Romans who were hopefully not planning to use their weapons to attack the ship. Piper nodded, showing she understood her part of the plan, and Annabeth sighed. Time to meet the Romans, and hope they didn't have a tradition or something to kill Greeks on sight.

Jason stepped on to the ground nervously. Annabeth heard some gasps from those realizing that their lost leader had returned… with their enemies, the Greeks.

Annabeth scanned the crowd once again and frowned. She couldn't see Percy, but he still could be at the back.

"Jason," said a strong clear voice from the front of the crowd. The voice belonged to a tall, dark haired girl, with her long hair pushed neatly away from her face in a braid. Her demeanor showed no emotion, and her eyes were hard. She wore a purple toga with medals, and the tattoo on her arm showed four stripes. She had the look of the leader and probably was one. Annabeth guessed that she was Reyna, the Praetor. And what shocked Annabeth even more, was that she recognized her. It was a vague memory that shut itself into the corner of her mind when she tried to pinpoint it, but it was recognition nevertheless.

Jason looked even more nervous than Annabeth felt. "Reyna, nice to see you again." Piper joined Jason on the ground, looking warily at the heavily armed teenagers standing in front of her.

Reyna raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and still showed no emotion.

Jason addressed the crowd and Annabeth noticed that as he did, his nervousness disappeared, and his face morphed into a carefully controlled mask. "When I disappeared eight months ago, I was sent to the Greek camp, and a Greek demigod was sent here as part of an exchange created by Juno, also known as Hera, the queen of the gods. She did this to unite the camps and demigods because we need to work together to defeat a powerful enemy." He glanced at the Romans, and looked like he was about to talk again, but he was interrupted.

"Yes, Jason," Reyna said icily. "We are aware of Juno's-or Hera's, as you may call her- plan. Yesterday, an army, including the giant, Polybotes, attacked us. Percy Jackson, who is the Greek demigod that was sent here, helped us to defeat the enemy, and explained what he knew of the situation." She motioned someone from the back of the crowd to the front, and Percy walked next to Reyna, with a large, Chinese teenager who had a rather babyish face on one side, and a young Roman girl with dark hair on his other side. Annabeth stared at him. He was alive! He had grown a little, but otherwise looked the same, but a little more tired. Actually, he looked a lot more tired. He was wearing a regal purple toga similar to Reyna's, and she realized they had elected him as their Praetor. She smiled at him, but if he noticed her, he didn't show it, making her heart sink again.

"Hello," Percy stuck his hand out, grinning. "I've heard a lot about you. I'm Percy Jackson."

"Jason Grace," he answered coldly, shaking his hand and not returning the smile. What? Why is he acting like that? Annabeth thought. Percy's smile disappeared and was replaced with confusion at Jason's tone. After a few seconds, though, Annabeth recognized the jealousy in his eyes and stifled a snicker. Reyna quickly filled the tense moment of silence.

"We hope that you find the Romans and our camp… welcoming. We will not attack or harm the ship or the demigods on it, and we hope you will not fight us either. We know about the quest, and have some other things to discuss. There will be a senate meeting at 5 o'clock and a private meeting tomorrow, which I will discuss later." She turned to the Romans. "DISMISSED! Return to your normal activities, and I expect to show hospitality to the Greek campers who joined us. Hazel, Frank, and Percy, you can stay."

The demigods retreated quickly. But one blond demigod stayed behind. He had a knife and a stuffed animal that was ripped open with the stuffing falling out. That struck Annabeth as very odd, and she'd seen a lot of weird things. But after Reyna glared at him, he just glared back at her and the Greeks, before muttering something and walking off with the rest.

Reyna turned back to face the ship, and Leo and Annabeth hurried down the side and landed on the ground. Annabeth could still see some curious Romans at the edge of the field, slowly walking and watching. Reyna glanced backed at the Romans, and shook her head, before looking at the Greeks and the ship again.

"They are curious as to what is happening. An army that included the giant Polybotes attacked our camp recently. I have explained that the Greeks will help us, but they have not been informed much about the Prophecy of Seven or the quest. I advise you not to talk about it openly until I announce it to the soldiers," Reyna said, addressing the Greeks with obvious authority.

Annabeth glanced at Percy, smiling, but he was staring at the ground with an furious expression. Does he remember me? she thought. Obviously not; look at the way he's acting. But, he has to remember me, right? Annabeth wanted to run up and punch him, and then hug him, but she shoved the thoughts to the back of her mind, focusing on the conversation.

"Well, why don't we introduce ourselves? I am Reyna, daughter of Bellona, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion."

Jason introduced himself after. "Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, Prae-" he cut off suddenly, realizing he was no longer praetor, and there was another moment of uneasy silence. Then, Leo jumped in.

He grinned. "I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, and head of the Hephaestus cabin at Camp Half-Blood. I also designed, and helped build the amazing Argo II," he said, gesturing to the ship. "I'm the captain," he added, like that was the most important thing in the world. Annabeth and Piper rolled their eyes at him, and he stuck his tongue out at them.

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin," Piper said. Just like Leo had not mentioned his fire abilities, Piper left out the fact that she could charmspeak. There was no need to give the Romans more reasons to attack or kill them.

The other Roman girl Annabeth had seen earlier stepped forward. She had dark skin and black hair and looked quite young, but the most surprising thing about her was her eyes. They were a brilliant, beautiful, and startling gold color. "Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, Fifth Cohort." Annabeth assumed that cohorts were similar to the Greek cabins.

The tall, bulky Chinese kid spoke next. He had a baby face that didn't quite match up with the rest of his body, which looked a bit odd. "Frank Zhang, son of Mars, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort." So he was in the same cabin as Hazel, but was the leader.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, Praetor, and, uh, head of the Poseidon cabin," he added the last part with a small smile, which Annabeth understood. Being the head of the Poseidon cabin wasn't a big deal because he was the only person in the Poseidon cabin. The important thing was just being Poseidon's son, though Percy didn't show off about that. Percy looked at Jason, Piper, and Leo, giving them small smiles, but then dropped his gaze before reaching Annabeth, which made her angry. Why was he ignoring her?It was obvious he remembered camp.

She knew it was time to introduce herself now. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, head of Athena Cabin, Official Architect of Olympus," she said confidently. Hazel and Frank grinned at her, which Annabeth didn't understand. Reyna just stared at her, making Annabeth feel uncomfortable.

A surge of shock ran through Annabeth's body as she recognized the teenager in front of her. She had only seen her very briefly, but it was definitely her. "I'm really sorry. I mean it. I shouldn't have... it was very irresponsible and thoughtless of me."

Everyone except she, Reyna, and Percy looked really confused. Those who knew Annabeth were especially perplexed at her sincere apology, since Annabeth usually didn't admit she was in the wrong.

"We can discuss that later," Reyna said stiffly. By now, Leo's confused expression was priceless. Annabeth had to resist the urge to burst out laughing.

"Do you two know each other?" Hazel asked.

"Later, Legionnaire Levesque," Reyna reminded firmly.

Percy quickly looked up at Annabeth, and then off to the side, and he looked sad. Why does he have anything to be sad about? It looks like he doesn't even remember anything, or anyone. But, still, he did mention being head of the Poseidon cabin, so he must remember something.

Reyna stopped studying Annabeth to address the group. "You have a couple of hours before the senate meeting. I assume most of the Romans will be there, as well, so be prepared. Tomorrow, at ten, I would like all of you to come to my house. It will just be the eight of us, since I feel there are some matters that we need to discuss privately. Percy, Hazel, and Frank, please show them around. I have some business to attend to," she glanced at Jason, her eyes softening a little. She almost smiled, but still maintained her mask of emotions. "Welcome back, Grace."

Leo and Annabeth noticed this, as well as Piper, who glared at Reyna. She either didn't notice or didn't care. Reyna walked off, and the Romans who were watching from afar quickly disappeared back to their activities, leaving the seven of them alone.

Percy looked up, "Let's give you a tour," he said, smiling, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, making it look fake and forced. Annabeth wondered what that was about.

As they walked, they moved around in the group to talk to each other. Percy, however, maintained a good distance between him and Annabeth, which hurt her. He moved to the front of the group, and Leo followed him. After hearing about Percy's quests, Leo had thought Percy was the best thing ever (aside from the Argo II and Festus). It had worn off mostly now, but Leo still thought Percy was pretty awesome. Annabeth could see Leo pestering him, probably asking if the stories back at Camp Half-Blood were true. Now Percy was laughing and smiling for real, not like before.

Why was he acting like this? Why was he avoiding her? she wondered, feeling crushed. He had disappeared for eight months, and everyone at camp, his parents, and Annabeth had nearly gone crazy looking for him. And now he was ignoring her? Annabeth knew she wasn't going to cry, but that wouldn't stop her from being grumpy and really sad.

Frank was talking with Jason, and Hazel with Piper, so Annabeth walked a little quicker to catch up with them.

"Hi, Hazel," Annabeth said walking up to her. Piper was on Hazel's other side.

"Hi!" Hazel exclaimed happily. "It's nice to finally meet you! Percy's been talking non-stop about you. He's starting to drive us crazy."

"What?" Annabeth choked out, "but he's been ignoring me ever since I got here."

Hazel looked surprised and then confused, like she thought Annabeth was imagining things. "Um, never mind," she said quickly, laughing a little forcefully.

Piper gave Annabeth a confused look, which she returned. What was going on here?

Hazel started pointing out the buildings and labeling them. Cohorts, Barracks, Principalis, Praetor's houses, stables, latrines, the Little Tiber, and Field of Mars, where they had landed the ship.

Finally, they reached the city that the Argo II had almost landed in earlier.

"Oh my gods," Annabeth breathed, "Just look at it. It's amazing! Look, Piper! I thought I'd never be able to see all of this. That type of building… I've never seen it in person."

Hazel gave Annabeth a weird look and Piper explained, "She absolutely loves architecture. She's obsessed." Hazel smiled and nodded in understanding.

At the border to the city, there was a statue with no arms. "That's Terminus, god of borders," Hazel explained. "He's a little, well, OCD, and doesn't allow weapons to be brought to senate meetings because of, uh, you know, the whole Julius Caesar incident."

"No, no, no. No weapons allowed. Give them to me," Terminus said, addressing the group.

"But you don't have any arms," Piper pointed out.

Apparently she had hit a soft spot. Terminus glared at her, before calling out, "Julia! Julia! I see you! Come over here."

A cute little girl, probably around six years old, ran up to the group. She had her hair in two little pigtails, and smiled at them. She held out a tray that already contained some weapons. "I'm a professional," she said, sounding out the word.

Annabeth glanced at Hazel. "Should we give them to her?"

Hazel nodded, and everyone started handing their weapons to the little girl, some more reluctant than others.

Julia glanced at Percy and then at the girls, "I'm going to be him when I grow up."

Annabeth cocked an eyebrow, and Piper just laughed.

Terminus spoke again. "Hazel, those two rocks are far to close to me. I need to move them to the left. Okay, now a little to the right. Yes, right there, no, back a little, and just forward a little. There, that's perfect," he called out, as Hazel made the adjustments.

He glanced at Jason. "Nice of you to come back, but make sure that your hair is at regulation length."

"Nice to see you, too, Terminus," Jason replied.

"Yes, I expected to be treated with respect, after all, I just helped defeat that annoying giant."

Jason raised an eyebrow, but Hazel replied, "It's true, he did."

That ended the conversation with Terminus, and the group continued moving along into the city. Hazel stopped pointing out building to Piper and Annabeth, because she was marveling and talking about the architecture non-stop to everyone. They passed the temples, gaped at the Mars and Jupiter temples, and said nothing at the toolshed that was the Neptune temple. When Annabeth glanced at Percy, though, he frowned and looked a little sad at the place dedicated to his father's Roman form.

Frank checked his watch. "It's time for the senate meeting. We should go now." The seven turned back around to attend the meeting, and as they came closer, they merged with a large group that was also heading to the Senate meeting.

As soon as Annabeth stepped foot in the building, she was impressed. It was huge, with senators in togas that look like bed sheets. Reyna sat in the center along with Percy, who was still ignoring her. The far side was filled with what looked like most of Camp Jupiter and the residents of the city. The closer side had the people in togas, and Annabeth assumed the empty row was for them.

The Greeks took their seats in the second row behind the senators and waited for the meeting to begin. She looked again at Percy, who was looking everywhere, except at the Greeks

Reyna stood up and cleared her throat, immediately getting the attention of everyone in the room. Annabeth thought, this girl must be seriously important. Look at all the respect they're giving her. Now only if the demigods and Camp Half-Blood would do that to me… she grinned and almost laughed out loud right there in the meeting. They would probably never do that at camp. Her thoughts were interrupted when Reyna started to speak. "Senators and campers, as Octavian, our augur, predicted, the demigods from the Greek Camp Half-Blood arrived today along with our lost hero, Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

"KILL THEM!" a scrawny blond boy yelled, "KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL US!"

"Shut it, Octavian!" Reyna said back before regaining her composure and turning back towards everyone else. "The Greeks will be welcome here because the Roman and Greek gods will it. Juno, also known as Hera, took a hero from each camp and switched them. She brought Percy Jackson from the Greek camp to here. She also took Jason Grace to the Greek camp. She then wiped both of their memories. She did this for one main reason: If the two heroes lost their memories and were able to get along with learn the ways of the other camp, then when their memories returned, they could unite the camps to fight a common enemy. That enemy is Mother Earth, or Gaea. I believe that the uniting of the camps should work if Juno wishes it, and that is why the Greeks are welcome here," she finished, giving a glare to the Octavian kid.

"How do you know all of this? Are you a Greek spy, a traitor?" he spat out.

Reyna glared daggers. "Did you not see Percy carry Juno into camp when he arrived? Mars himself requested for the Quest to Alaska and gave a prophecy, and the quest succeeded. And Percy was on that quest. He returned the legion's lost eagle, and helped defeat the army who attacked. And the Greeks haven't tried to harm us since they've arrived." Octavian promptly sat back down.

Annabeth felt like standing up and clapping. She really liked this Reyna girl. Maybe they could be friends. Well, at least after she yelled at Percy. It sounded like he had done a lot of stupid stuff since he went missing and arrived here.

"Well, they came in a warship. How do we know that they won't try to kill us?" Octavian retorted.

"You fool, three Greeks arrived today, even if they tried, they would lose with four of them and two hundred of us," Reyna snapped.

Octavian frowned but continued. "Four? I believe Jason is Roman, and Percy is our Praetor. Surely, he would fight with us." He paused for effect and looked at Percy and Jason. "Anyway, why did you—Greeks—try to land in the middle of our city? I think your ship is a tiny bit too big. Were you trying to kill us by crushing our population?"

Leo looked like he was about to kill Octavian, but Annabeth put her hand on his arm to calm him down. He glared at her, shook her hand off, and continued staring at Octavian furiously.

Reyna sighed. "Does anyone else have a problem with the Greek campers staying until the seven spoken of in the prophecy leave? The prophecy says that seven Romans and Greeks will unite to defeat Gaea, who, along with the giants, is rising. That is why camp was attacked. Does anyone have anything else to say?"

Annabeth stood up, slightly nervous with all the strangers staring at her, some of who might like nothing more than to kill her. "When we were building the Argo II, we planned to first come here and then stop back at Camp-Half Blood before sailing for Rome and Greece. We also figured that not only the seven demigods on the quest, but the entirety or at least majority of both camps had to cooperate with each other. However, the ship does not have the capacity to hold very many people, but it can hold some campers if they want to go to the other camp. If campers need to travel between camps, then we will need to find another means of transportation."

Reyna stood up again to reply, but Octavian butted in. "Why would we take Romans to help your camp? You would probably take that as your chance to attack us. You probably figured if you could trick us into weakening our defenses, then you could destroy our camp. If you want to unite the camps so badly why didn't you bring the Greeks here and leave your camp undefended?"

Annabeth sighed. This kid, who actually was older than her, was a good speaker, but now he was getting really annoying. "You almost tried to kill us when we brought three Greeks and Jason Grace. If we had brought anymore you probably would have attacked us. First you complained about three of us just being here, and now you are asking why didn't we bring more Greek demigods with us?"

He finally looked beaten, and sat down, sulking.

Reyna stared at her in shock like she had just made her day or even week. Annabeth smiled at her and then Reyna addressed the Senate meeting. "Anyone who would be to go back to the Greek camp whenever necessary, sign up with me. Sadly, I will be staying. Also, our camp augur, Octavian, will stay also, to help – er – protect the camp." Annabeth knew that she had said that so he couldn't try and sign up for the trip and create trouble. Again, she thought that this girl was a genius and that she really needed to thank her.

Only Reyna, Octavian, and Annabeth had spoken during the meeting. The senators, audience, Jason, and Percy hadn't said anything.

As Jason led them out of the beautiful senate meeting room and back out into the city, New Rome, Annabeth was still looking through the crowds of people exiting with her and the people in the city. She hadn't spoken to him yet.

Jason ushered Leo, Piper, and Annabeth to a small building next to the mess hall. "This is the Fifth Cohort Barracks. You three will be sleeping here. Piper and Annabeth, you go through the first door on the right and you can sleep in any empty bunk. Leo, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. Dinner is in three hours. You can sleep until then or walk around. Hey… it looks like some memories about the camp are coming back!"

Jason grinned and he and Leo wandered off farther down the hall, and Annabeth dropped the backpack she had brought on the empty bed next to the one that Piper had claimed. She rolled onto the bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep, praying to all the gods she knew that the demigods wouldn't break into all-out war the next day.