Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. All rights go to Rick Riordan. I own Michael T, Killain V, and Alex M.

Percy POV

I deserve the peace we have now. After being in two wars, with friends dying all around me, I need some downtime with my favorite Wise Girl. Annabeth Chase, one of the most beautiful women on all the planet, including the goddesses. Don't tell them I said that. Us, along with the rest of the remaining seven, since Leo 'died', and Nico and Reyna were allowed to not have to go on quests for the next ten years for our part in the Giant War, which is a relief. Quests are a pain in the butt. Sadly, the Fates hate me for some odd reason.

It started when I was on patrol around the barrier of the camp. I was leaning against a tree, thinking about Annabeth, when I heard a roar, a thud, and a scream in that order. I opened my eyes and looked down the grassy slope to see a kid with black hair scooting away from a cyclops. I launched myself down the hill towards the 8-foot beast. Before the cyclops could smash the kid with its club, I barreled into it, knocking it back. Before it could regain its balance I sliced its throat, causing it to burst into dust. I turned back to the kid to find that he was glaring at me with mossy green eyes.

"That was my kill." he snarled. I blinked at his hostility.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I didn't know. It looked like you needed help, so I helped. Forgive me?" I smiled friendly at the end of my statement. The kid didn't smile.

"No, I don't," he said. "I think there's another monster behind you." He looked over my shoulder. I whirled around to find no monster.

"What? There's no-" I didn't get to finish as I was hit in the back of the head and knocked out. When I eventually came to, I opened my eyes to see the roof of the infirmary tent. I tried to sit up but the pain made my vision swim.

"Hey, there." I heard a voice say. "Take it easy, you were hit pretty hard." The owner of the voice pushed me back down. When I could see again I saw that it was Will who was tending to me. For some reason, he looked grim.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse. Will handed me a glass of water and began to speak.

"You remember that kid you saved earlier?" he asked. I nodded. "He claims that you were knocked out by a monster and that he saved you. I didn't believe it for a second, but some of them did. The kid, Alex Mare is his name, hasn't been claimed yet, so it's possible that he is a child of Aphrodite and has charmspeak."

"Yeah, it's probably that." I agreed, handing the glass back to the blond son of Apollo. "Who did believe him?" Will's face tightened.

"Many of the Aphrodite cabin, almost all the Hecate, Hypnos, Morpheus, and Ares cabins, and," Will stopped abruptly.

"Will," I said carefully. "Who else?" He turned away from me in response. After a minute he said a name.

"Annabeth doesn't doubt that you were knocked out, but she doesn't believe it's the whole truth. That's all who I know," he said quietly. I felt my world tilt.

"What is the whole truth?" I asked softly. Will sat down on the edge of my bed.

"You were on patrol," Will started. "And Alex came running in with a monster on his tail. You took care of the monster and he knocked you out afterward. Another kid, I'll tell you about him later, came up with no monster after him and he helped you and your quarter conscious self walk up to the infirmary with Alex lying and saying how he saved you both with the sword on the other kid's back. The kid tried to tell everyone that what Alex said wasn't true."

"Who is the other kid?" I asked. "I want to thank him." I tried to sit up but Will pushed me back down and stood up.

"His named is Michael Triest," he said as he walked over to the cart that held the ambrosia. "He hasn't been claimed either but the Aphrodite cabin is hoping he isn't in there with them. He's certainly a looker. If I wasn't dating Nico I might've been trying to make a move on him." He chuckled and I laughed weakly as he brought over a slice of the golden food of the gods. "He also has an interesting way of speaking. It's what Spanish teachers call Spanglish. Really weird but kind of alluring. Even when he speaks in normal English he has this type of an accent, like he is actually from Mexico or Spain. He doesn't look it though. He has very long, very curly, brown hair and his eyes I haven't been able to see." He held up the slice for me and I took it and popped it into my mouth. As I chewed I immediately started feeling better. "I'm also pretty sure he knows the lyrics to Despacito. The Spanish version. I heard the Aphrodite and Hermes girls whispering that they heard him singing it under his breath." I laughed harder at that.

"He sounds like a cross between your brother and a Hermes kid," I commented after I stopped laughing. "Now help me up. We are going to go find him and you are going to see his eyes." Will chuckled and helped me up. Before we exited he stopped us.

"Just so you know Percy, a lot of dark looks are going to be thrown your way." he cautioned. "Not everyone knows about what happened yet, but it is only a matter of time." He then pulled us out before I could respond.

We looked around the camp, Will occasionally asking an Aphrodite girl where he might be when we finally found him at the Big House. We walked in and heard them before we saw them.

"Señor, I think you might want to try again." A smooth voice said, just like Will described. "I think that he'll wrap his mind around it this time." His voice was indeed interesting. His r's sound sharper than they should in English like there was a 'd' in front or behind them.

"Speak English!" A male voice that I recognized cut in angrily. Will and I kept walking in until we found a red-faced Alex facing a man who I assumed was Michael, who had an amused look on his face. He looked to be around 16 or 17, I couldn't tell. He had a black hooded shirt over a grey long sleeve shirt and written on jeans. There was a sword in a black leather sheath by the chair he was sitting in. I tried to get a look at his eyes but his low hanging hair got in the way. He noticed us before Chiron did, who was in wheelchair form and his head in his hands.

"Hello, Will," he said. He then noticed me."Ah, we have not been formally introduced, have we?" He stood up and strode across the room. "Michael Triest, apparently unclaimed." He held his hand up.

"Percy Jackson," I said while taking his hand and trying to see his eyes.

"Hey," Alex yelled. "I was talking to you! You can't just ignore me!" I could feel Michael's utter annoyance for the boy.

"Chico estupido," he said under his breath as he turned around slowly. "You do not command me, ninito." He talked like he was scolding a little boy. "All you are good for is lying. I can ignore you all I like and you cannot say anything about it. Now leave." Michael pointed towards the door. Alex fumed but did so.

"Thank you, Michael." Chiron thanked him.

"No es problema," Michael said modestly. "Now, what is this claiming business?" After that, Will and Chiron took turns explaining it. We talked until it was time for dinner.

"You will probably be claimed at dinner now." Will finished as the three of us left Chiron at the Big House and headed for the pavilion.

"Cool," Michael said casually. His sword was strapped across his back as he walked with us. I still hadn't been able to see his eyes the whole time and it was starting to bug me.

"Can we see your eyes?" I blurted out. Michael stopped and I had a distinct feeling he was staring at me.

"Is it bugging you that much?" he asked with a hint of a smile on his face. "I noticed that you both were trying to see my eyes during our conversación. Would you like to see?" We both nodded passionately. Michael moved his hand to his hair and moved his bangs out of the way. I stared into his eyes. His eyes were a grayish green. I don't think I've ever seen something like it, or at least as memorable. Michael let his hand fall down and his hair covered his eyes again but I could still see them.

"How can we still see them?" Will voiced my question.

"Es something I can do." he shrugged. "Weird powers. Come on, I want comida." Michael began walking ahead and it took me a couple seconds to realize that comida meant food. I laughed and ran to catch up with him, Will right behind me. The moment we stepped into the pavilion, a bright flash appeared over Michael. I heard several people hiss excitedly, "Yes!" at the symbol over his head. Will looked up and smiled.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, brother." Will grinned. I gasped and smiled. I looked up to see the golden lyre that symbolized Apollo above his head.

"Hello, my second cousin." I greeted brightly.

"All hail Michael Triest," Chiron's voice sounded from behind us. "Son of Apollo, the god of the sun and prophecy."

"Interesante," Michael muttered as Will steered him towards the Apollo table. As soon as he sat down he was bombarded with questions from his new siblings. I quickly grabbed some food, sacrificed the best portions to my dad and Aunt Hestia, and sat down at my own table. I looked up to the table at the front of the pavilion to see Chiron and Dionysus deep in conversation. I looked back around the pavilion to see some people glaring in my direction. I tried to ignore those people as I kept looking, scanning the faces and marking those who weren't glaring. I noticed that Travis and Connor were looking quite fed up with Alex, as was Chris. Many of the other Hermes kids were laughing at what Alex said while he smiled pridefully. I listened in and noticed that a lot of the laughs were scornful or disbelieving laughs. I smiled a little when I noticed that. Alex had no idea there were actually making fun of him.

The next day was interesting. The tension between Alex and Michael kept growing while more and more people either believed Alex or Michael. It eventually became a contest to see who had more followers, though Michael didn't call that. He called it, and I quote, flattening an overinflated ego. I was on Michael's side, as well as Will, Nico, Chris, Travis, Connor, Katie, surprisingly Malcolm, even more surprisingly Clarisse, the whole Apollo cabin, Pollux, and most of the Hermes cabin. Some of the girls were on Michael's side as well, but that was just because they fancied him. Alex had everyone else on his side, somehow. Either he really was a child of Aphrodite or he was just really persuasive. By dinner the whole camp was divided, but not evenly.

"It looks like I win," Alex said smugly. Michael just rolled his eyes.

"Win what, exactly?" Michael retorted. "This was never a competencia. No ganaste nada."

"I proved that I'm better than you." Alex declared.

"In what aspecto?" Michael asked. Alex looked for the words but Michael didn't give him time. "You proved that you can rally some people. Vaya cosa. Rallies are the easiest part. The hard part is making sure they stick by you. We shall see who truly deserves the respect of the populace." It was silent after that. Travis let out a low whistle.

"Nice speech Michael," he said approvingly. Michael flashed him a smile.

"Gracias, mi amigo," Michael said. "Ahora, let us eat. I'm hungry." Before much could be done a blue flash shone throughout the pavilion. When it was safe to look again, what I saw made my stomach drop exponentially. Shining brightly above Alex was the symbol of Poseidon. He was my brother.

"All hail Alex Mare, son of Poseidon, god of the seas and earthquakes," Chiron said from his spot at the head table. I sighed. This was going to suck.