Wow, it has definitely been a while. Anyone still following this story knows how terrible I am at updating! I really will try to update sooner next time. Anyway, this (late) chapter is dedicated to rhig122 and What About Yesterday for catching the Dean reference, as well as to the guest who really wanted this dedication, haha. There will be more notes at the end of this chapter, but yeah, I'll stop talking now.

Jason was surprised by how easy it was.

Even though all of Camp Half-Blood had been seemingly in a state of shock ever since Percy and Annabeth's—departure, and it had only been a few days since their return, everyone seemed to be in better spirits. A monster that had been plaguing the camp relentlessly for weeks was finally hunted down and killed; the youngest of the Athena cabin no longer had nightmares about their half-sister; and best of all, the Seven was reunited.

For some reason, it was easy. It did get awkward on occasion, like when Jason mentioned Camp Jupiter and had to spend the next hour explaining the Roman gods to his amnesiac friends, but for the most part, Percy was the same fun person he'd always been, and Annabeth quickly warmed up to her old friends enough to treat them like she always had. The Seven fought off monsters, sang songs around the campfire and sparred, laughing all the while: it felt almost unreal to Jason to see this side of Camp Half-Blood. Everything seemed to have finally fallen into place, especially with a happy Piper by his side.

Of course, it wouldn't last. With the combined bad luck of the Seven, Jason was almost surprised his newfound joy hadn't been wrecked sooner.

It started on what otherwise was a normal sunny morning, Jason snatching up his coin and heading out of his cabin to the drowsy sounds of the rest of camp awakening. His time with first Lupa, then Camp Jupiter, had instilled in him a habit of waking up early, and he usually spent his time in the mornings sparring or eating an early breakfast.

At least, he did, on mornings when there wasn't a gang of Laistrygonian giants trying to sneak into Camp Half-Blood.

Jason did a double take when he saw them, but managed to regain his wits enough to flip his coin hurriedly and shout for help. He was so confused as to how they had gotten into camp that he almost didn't see the giant iron club swinging directly for his head; luckily, he rolled out of the way with a yell of surprise and stabbed the stupid brute in the arm.

The Laistrygonian howled as demigods came stumbling out of their cabins, Jason sparing a glance toward them to see that most were already running toward him, yelling death threats and waving swords bravely despite their pyjama-clad states. Three of the giants lumbered toward the demigods, leaving two of them, including the one Jason had stabbed, to grunt incoherently and stagger toward the suddenly terrified son of Jupiter.

"NOT SO FAST, YA CRAZY SLUGS!" a familiar voice hollered, and Jason felt relief run through his whole body as backup arrived, in the form of a peppy, absolutely-beautiful-even-though-she-had-clearly-just-woken-up daughter of Aphrodite. Flashing him a grin, she ducked and dodged through the Laistrygonians, stabbing and slashing as they turned around in fruitless circles and yelled. Jason helped by waving his arms and distracting them, feeling ridiculously proud of his girlfriend as she quickly had the Laistrygonians practically incapacitated.

Percy jogged up to them a few seconds later, Riptide in his hand and a familiar perplexed expression on his face. Stabbing one of the giants almost casually in the chest—Jason reminded himself to never get on the son of Poseidon's bad side—Percy turned to Jason and asked, "How the Hades did they get in here?"

"I don't know," he replied helplessly, as Piper finished off the last giant. Annabeth came up to Percy's side, doing her hair into a ponytail, and listened as Jason explained everything he knew about what had happened. Admittedly, it wasn't much.

"We should go help with the other three," Piper offered, but the other demigods seemed to have them pretty much in hand. Jason flipped his sword back into a coin and pocketed it, spotting Leo, Hazel and Frank among the throng of worried demigods and making a beeline for them. The significance of what had happened began to worry Jason as he approached his friends; even he, a thoroughly Roman demigod, knew how protected Camp Half-Blood was supposed to be. What had happened?

"What is going on?" Leo demanded as soon as Jason got within earshot of him. "I need my beauty sleep, you know!"

"I heard there were Laistrygonians here," Hazel said, her tongue stumbling slightly over the unfamiliar word. "But I thought—"

"—that camp was protected," Annabeth finished, joining their little group. "You're right, it is. At least, it's supposed to be."

"We're having a meeting in the mess hall," Frank interrupted to offer.

The demigods exchanged shrugs before following the rapidly-growing crowd of demigods to the mess hall. It was almost time for the conch shell to go off and signify the beginning of the morning, but everyone was already awake and confused. Jason heard snippets of troubled conversations as he and his friends made their way into the mess hall. Gradually, though, the babble died down, and everyone found their seats as Chiron raised a hand for silence.

"I am sure you are all wondering what has happened," Chiron began. "That is a question I'd also like answered, especially since it should not have been possible for monsters to pass the camp's borders." Fresh murmurs broke out at that, and Chiron didn't even bother trying to quiet them as he gave Jason a solemn look. People pointed and whispered ("Lucy said Jason called for help!" "Why's he looking at Jason?" "Did Jason let them in?"), causing the demigod in question to shift uncomfortably as Chiron finally managed to shush the babble. "Jason, you were the first to see the monsters," Chiron pointed out. "Tell us the story."

Again? Jason thought, but obliged. "I was up early, like usual, and I was going to head to the mess hall when I noticed the Laistrygonians. There were five of them, trying to sneak past my cabin." Demigods were still talking under their breaths about him, and he scrambled to regain his thoughts before continuing. "I called for help and, well, you know the rest."

"Interesting," Chiron murmured, and held up a hand again for the demigods to be quiet. "I called you all here because I felt it was long overdue that all of you, especially the newer camp members among you, knew about the nature of our borders. Camp Half-Blood is protected by a magical border that is enhanced by the strength of the Golden Fleece, but there is a condition to it." Jason had never heard of a flaw in the Greek camp's borders, and so he listened curiously as Chiron bowed his head slightly, as if preparing himself to deliver bad news. Then again, he probably was.

"As long as I have been director of Camp Half-Blood, there has been a magical border of protection around the camp, put in place by, of all gods, Hera." The low mutters of the demigods swelled to almost yelling, clear incredulity written on everyone's faces, and Jason actually sat back a little, he was so surprised. This was as new to him as it was to everyone else. You learn something new every day, he thought wryly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" several people began asking, Annabeth among them, Jason noticed.

Chiron looked weary, but he had everyone's full attention as he continued. "It is an old memory, one even I had forgotten about until now, but Hera was struck by a moment of sympathy for the demigods to be trained here and decided to put down a barrier, to prevent careless humans from wandering in and monsters from attacking us. But she is Hera, and she cautioned Dionysus and I that if any of the campers were to ever make and then break a promise to a god, the barrier would fall until that god saw fit to reinstate it."

Annabeth actually stood up this time. "Does that mean someone here broke a promise to a god?"

Jason mentally ran through all the demigods he knew from his short time at CHB, but none of them seemed particularly inclined to make, let alone break, promises to deities. "Percy's made promises to gods, hasn't he?" one of the Hermes campers asked rather loudly.

"I don't remember," Percy admitted.

"But he hasn't broken any," Piper said, equally loudly.

"Children," Chiron called over the hubbub, and eventually people quieted down a little. Jason himself hadn't said anything yet, too keen on listening to the old centaur's words. "The war on Gaea was rife with troublesome encounters with gods and other immortal beings. The nature of his camp's magical barriers was never an issue before, but now…" Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "If any of you at all know what could have caused this, please let me know. Dismissed."

The noise grew to a roar as demigods anxiously discussed the war, gods, and any demigods who could have potentially caused such a disaster, but Jason had just gotten to his feet when a terrible, terrible thought struck him. He remembered standing in a whirling ocean with Percy, facing a sea goddess named Kymopoleia. He remembered promising to build her a shrine (and action figures). He remembered the oaths he had made her, and how he had been so happy after Gaea's defeat that he had never again given it any thought.

Jason's heart dropped into his feet, and he felt a sudden urge to burst into tears.

Well then. This fanfiction now suddenly aligns with Blood of Olympus (but not Trials of Apollo)! Like I said: action is finally happening. Thanks for reading! Review pretty please!

PS: I completely made up the stuff about CHB's borders, and I don't think it's ever mentioned if Jason fulfilled his promise, but it makes for a good plot nonetheless. Creative license, am I right?