"Tag!"

Rachel had caught up to Percy in their game of tag. He abruptly stopped running and turned to her with a sneaky grin.

"Not for long."

He sprinted after her full force as she backtracked to the Amphitheatre. His hand connected with her arm just and she started to go round.

"Tag!" He said triumphantly. Rachel gave him a look of grudging respect.

"You've gotten faster," She admitted, "But still not as fast as me." Before she could start chasing him, however, they heard a loud snap, like a giant rubber band.

Rachel rubbed her ear. "What on earth was that?"

"You seriously expect me to know?" Percy asked, glancing around for threats. His hand was poised over his pocket, ready to go for riptide. The only sign of change in the environment was that everyone else seemed to be moving in slow motion. Well, not everyone exactly. The Stolls were still as active as ever, and Annabeth and Malcolm had appeared from Cabin six to investigate.

Annabeth jogged over to them. "I think I already know the answer, but do you have any idea what that was?"

Rachel and Percy shook their heads.

"We were hoping you might," Rachel admitted.

"So guys, I'm guessing you're just as clueless as us...?" Came a new voice. Leo and Piper came into view, also looking confused.

Malcolm was looking at the slow motion people. "Why is it just them?" He turned to face Annabeth. "Weird huh?"

"Understatement."

Just then, the world seemed to turn slightly white. Gradually, so gently it took a while to notice, but it was definitely happening. Leo waved him arms about as if to test whether it was fog and Annabeth scrutinised the change carefully. No one could tell exactly what it was, though, try as they might.

And then they weren't at camp anymore.

They appeared a few metres above a grove of flowers. Then gravity took over and they fell down. The whole group of them.

Jason, from the bottom, gave a muffled protest.

"Thalia, get off my face!"

"I would, but someone's leg is on my chest!"

That's your own leg!"

"Well, then Jason, you have a very flexible sister."

With a lot of grumbling and untangling limbs, everyone managed to stand up from a mess they had no idea happened in the first place. Now that was done, they could take a look around.

Annabeth and Percy sucked in their breaths. The two had always had a thing for views, but for once everyone else was just as speechless - Even Leo and Clarisse. They were surrounded by a rainbow of flowers, from red roses to blue orchids. To the left stretched a glittering blue lake, dotted with lily pads and surrounded by drooping willow trees. There was a group of small islands in the centre, a few populated by female ducks and their chicks. Some were learning to swim, flapping their wings adorably. To the right, a sandy area, dotted with rocks ranging in height. The rocks had niches in them, looking easy to climb. Looking around, they saw a tall elm tree behind them, with spread branches and pale green leaves. There were some shrubs dotted around it and baskets of goodies. But the main attraction by far was what lay in front - A vast expanse of ruins, yet not ruins. They weren't luxury suites, but they had liveable conditions, and whilst vast, they looked surprisingly cosy. They were a pale colour, somewhere between a white and a peach. Some were tall, with support pillars against them whilst others were short, with domed roofs and rims.

"I see you arrived safely."

It was an effort to tear their gazes away, but the group managed it.

Nico scrutinised the man. "Who on Gaia's green earth are you?"

The man in question had windswept sandy hair, looking as if he stepped through a hurricane. His eyes were dark, with a tint of brown. He wore a grey toga and similarly coloured three quarter length trousers - A bizarre mix of classic and modern.

"That is for me to know and you to not find out," He replied, winking. "But I suppose you're wondering why you're here."

"You got that right!" Lou Ellen put in, irritated. "I mean, you can't just shove us in a pretty place and expect us to roll with it."

"But my dear, you misunderstand. Come, and I shall explain."

Everyone gave each other wary glances, but it seemed to be the only option. They moved into a solid group, guard up and walked after him.

"Now," The man said as they approached the ruins. "The first thing to say is that I mean you no harm - Yet." Cue a lot of eye-rolling from the group.

"Well, that's reassuring," Leo grumbled.

"At any rate, we have more important matters than who means harm to who."

"I have a question!" Cecil exclaimed, waving his hand in the air.

The man sighed. "What is it?"

"So you know you said we arrived safely - Did you think we wouldn't? Were you hoping we wouldn't? Were -"

Mr Man cut him off "It is a polite greeting after travelling somewhere! Maybe you should study up some manners."

Cecil pouted, obviously not happy about being cut off. He might have started on a rant about manners himself, but Lou Ellen took his hand and he forgot all about it.

"So can you explain the bit about why we're here?" Connor questioned.

"Yeah, we're in suspense! We must know!" Travis continued. Katie and Miranda looked at each other. Boys.

"I was getting to that part, but your so called friend interrupted me."

"Hey don't say that about Cecil!" the brothers said in unison. It was creepy how often they did that.

The man continued as if they'd said nothing. "I brought you all here to strengthen your relationships and meet new allies."

"Oh gods," Jason groaned. "It's the Hera thing all over again."

"Excuse me?" Someone else said. It was Hera, cow goddess herself. Without noticing, the group of demigods (And mortal and demi-titan) had entered one of the short, wide buildings.

Jason jumped out of his skin. "Oh, hello Hera. We were just talking about you."

"I could tell." She sighed. Hera wasn't the only god there. Also present was Zeus, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Hades, Persephone, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Hestia, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Athena.

"Now we're all gathered, have a seat and we'll discuss why you're all here." The man said. Various sofas appeared, dotted around the room. Not seeing any other choice - The man obviously had power in this place - Everyone sat, some sending glowering glances towards their host.

"Now," He said taking his own seat in front of them - Read, throne - "Does anyone have any questions? Ah, good questions."

Annabeth raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Who do you think you are?"

"Oooohhh!" Echoed around the room.

The man managed to keep his temper under control. "I said good questions. Anyone else?"

"Why are we here?" Athena demanded. "And don't give me any of the talks about building relationships and meeting people, I mean actually why are we here. we are not going to sit around talking with cups of tea waiting for some of your guests to show up. Do you understand?"

The man looked mildly impressed "Bold words. Don't worry, though, you'll all have plenty to do. Reading, to be exact."

The demigods groaned, going on about dyslexia and books being boring.

"Hey," The man interrupted "I'm sure you'll find these books very interesting. I'll bring them soon, but first I'll have to go fetch my other guests." He smiled and drifted out of the room.

"So," Percy summed up "We're staying with a psycho who wants us to read books."

"Just about sums it up." Rachel agreed from her seat next to him.

Everyone sat about kicking their chairs for a while. The ADHD demigods started getting restless, but just then the man came back, followed by four teens - three girls, one boy.

Girl one had short brown hair, freckles and brown eyes - A melanin overload. Her eyes darted around the room, taking everything in. With her hands and clothes covered in grease she looked like she'd be at home in Bunker 9 - Though with a crossbow slung across her back, it was easy to tell she was also a good fighter.

Girl two seemed to be the leader of the group. Her hair was black and shoulder length, bouncing around her shoulders like a bunch of springs. Her eyes were brown like the first girl's, but her expression was more guarded - scanning for any possible threat. She had a sword sheathed on her belt.

Girl three's hair tumbled past her shoulders, somewhere between a black and a brown. Her eyes were light blue, illuminated by dark skin. She had a staff strapped to her back, humming with energy. Her eyes danced around the area curiously.

The boy had light brown hair and dark green eyes. He seemed uncomfortable with the amount of people and stayed close to girl three. He had a bow across his shoulders, accompanied by a quiver on his back. His skin was toned olive.

The man waved them onto some seats. "Now, it's getting late," He said, even though the sun was still high in the sky. "So I'll show you your quarters. You can start the books tomorrow."

"Great. Now we have to sleep with this psycho around too." The boy mumbled.

The 'quarters' in question were a section of ruins suitable for living. The three girls and boy were sent off to one room. Rachel, Percy, Annabeth and Piper were sent to another, Jason, Leo, Nico and Will in one, Reyna, Calypso, Frank and Hazel in one of the other rooms. Travis, Katie, Connor and Miranda were sharing, and so were Lou Ellen, Cecil, Clarisse and Chris. Gwen, Dakota, Drew and Clovis were also sharing, and Coach, Mellie, Chuck and Malcolm were in the room opposite. The next room had Tyson, Ella, Grover, Juniper and Thalia. Next to that was Artemis, Athena, Hestia and Demeter. Hera, Zeus, Dionysus and Ariadne were sharing another room and so were Amphitrite, Poseidon, Hades and Persephone. The man must have wanted to cause drama because he put Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares and Nemesis together. And finally, Hecate, Apollo, Hermes and Chiron were in the last room.

In the first room allocated, the three girls and boy were having a serious conversation.

"This would make an interesting conversation. 'Yeah, we read some books with random people.' Right Willow?"

Willow rolled her brown eyes. "Yes Jake, I'm sure that's how the conversation would go."

The girl with blue eyes snickered. "Right. We'd turn up back at base and say exactly that. Everyone would be like 'Oh, well that's all right then.'"

The last girl struggled to contain her laughter. "And of course it would be Jake and Raven saying it. They have such a way with words, don't they Willow?"

Willow laughed. "Oh, of course, Bella. Why would anyone think differently?" All four dissolved into laughter. It was a well-known fact Raven and Jake weren't the most effective speakers on the team.

The man stayed in the shadows, watching this unfold.

"Laugh now little heroes. Soon it will not be an option."