It was a swift, casual infiltration. Sera and Echo waltzed down the hillside, casting glances at the orange-clad camper with interest, but never really paying attention to their surroundings. Sera watched two boys rush at each-other, brandishing flashy bronze swords. She fingered her own, hidden beneath her cloak eagerly. It was a long, thick, gold-colored broad-sword with etchings of eagles and a wicked , egg-sized ruby set on the hilt. A present from her father, Ra. The smallest boy was being pushed back, she noticed. The older one, a blonde with a heavy claw-mark across his face thrust forward with his sword and the black-haired boy stumbled farther back, knocking into a bucket of water that a cluster of knives had been soaking in. 'Bad weapon care' thought Sera fleetingly as she skirted around the arena. As she lost sight of the fight, she heard a surprised yelp and a triumphant roar, which was clumsily stifled a moment later.

Sera shook her head. Sounded as if the small one had beaten back his opponent. Neptunes son, she realized, power from the water. Probably reckless and impulsive, probably drastically underestimated. The blonde licked her lips, her eyes flashing a momentary golden. A worthy opponent, at last. She had many a good fights ( in fact she lost to Echo thrice a week ) , but a fight with a natural enemy? Who wouldn't look forward to it. In fact, Sera had been stroking her sword, envisioning sword tactics in her mind, so fervently that she forgot to the forward. As she had been jogging at a pretty fair pace, Echo didn't take well to her blonde companion smashing head-first into her back.

The two stumbled forward, Echo letting out a shriek of surprise as something large barreled into her. As the ground reared up in front of her, Echo found herself suddenly rejecting the weight off her back, shooting Sera at least back onto her feet ( where she swayed, a bit dazed). The weight lifted from her, Echo strained the power of here core, drawing power from the shadows of the arena, and sprung back upright, like a magnet. The raven haired child glared angrily over her shoulder, flicking a silky tress out of her face with a knife. It was a pure black knife, that Echo had pulled from it's sheath instinctually , Sera noticed , and shuddered. It was corpse iron; woven together from fibers of the dead. Echo sheafed the knife, and faced front, where, once again, Sera got a rather nasty shock. A towering man, old, but well-cut, with no legs. Or, no human legs. From beneath his navel, a tangle of pure white hair was growing, until his legs were completely covered. His feet ended in hooves, and his eyes were a suspicious, and dangerous gray.

" Chiron." said Echo. She had felt the knowledge radiating from his eyes. Eyes were, after all, the windows to ones soul, and Echo knew all about souls. The centaur nodded his head curtly. Strange children, he thought, strange clothes.

" Oh, so thats Chiron!" piped the blonde girl from behind Echo. She whipped her hair lazily over her shoulder, an awed smile on her face, " He's so cool! A reverse god!"

The black haired girl ( who had dark, flashing eyes ) whipped around and glared at her, her cloak shifting away to show grimy, dark-colored clothes. Chiron didn't overlook the two had various injuries. The blonde, who was shying guiltily away from her companion, had a vivid scar on her chest, and a long bandage wrapped around her face. The Raven haired childhood herself limply, though she looked steady enough. He cocked an eyebrow, and smiled.

" Are you two by any chance-"

" Demigods?" interrupted the blonde. She had a shrill, though deep, voice, "Yessiree, the last of our kind."

Chiron frowned. The last of their kind? What did that mean? There plenty of hindu demigods left, and the Buddhists never had any from the start. The girls looked western enough to pass for londoners, or even americans , if they changed their garments. But the way they held themselves, sort of formal, curious, but, manipulative. Like they were waiting for his next move to prove themselves. Chiron caught the eye of the smallest girl, and for a second, a damp chill ran down his spine. Demigod, no doubt about it. He frowned. An overlooked, demigod.

" Err, you two... You're the demigods from…?" the centaur petered off. The blonde opened her mouth to reply cheerily, but the smaller girl pushed her aside. She had a steady scowl on her face, but the authority in it was not tempered by any emotion.

" We were sent by our fathers from our homeland in Egypt." said the girl, snapping at the blonde." I am Echo, the daughter of the tomb guardian. This is Sera, the sun gods last descendant."

The rebellious blonde curtsied clumsily. A crowd had grown, the people from the arena had heard Sera shout when she ran into Echo. In the front was a curious looking blonde, with intelligent grey eyes, and the small, raven-haired kid who had stepped into the bucket. Not Percy, sighed Chiron in his mind, he saw the blonde eye him hungrily, and decided to take them in for a more, disclosed, conversation. Why, for one, were they in the west, and in obvious bad, shape?

The thought of war between two types of gods swept over Chirons face, something Echo didn't miss as she was ushered inside. As the centaur ( who had to kneel a bit to fit through the door ) shut the door behind them, Echo pulled her companion close.

" Whatever you do, " she whispered softly in her ear, " Do not make the dweller mad. Don't be rude, don't speak your mind. Don't."

She repeated. Sera gulped, staring into the girls dark eyes, and nodded, tightly. Echo released Sera's cloak and stepped away, following the swaying rump in front of them. They passed through another doorway, onto a bright, sunny porch overlooking fields and some shady woods. A rickety table was set up, and there, a dumpy, whiskery, middle-aged man and some Satyrs with white bears were playing Pachinko. A purple aura radiated heavily from the man in the leopard-print shirt, like the over-whelming smell of strawberries and coke. Beside her Chiron coughed gently into his hand.

" Go on." he muttered kindly, and Echo nodded tightly, feeling her stomach knot slightly.

Ten minutes later a faintly blushing demigod emerged from the cabin followed almost immediately by a tall, foreign-looking blonde. The blonde was giggling slightly, and the raven-haired child looked nothing short of fuming. In her anger, Echo stumbled slightly on the steps. The sun was hot, and Echo didn't thrive in heat. She needed shadows, thick, cool, shadows. Immediately, Echo felt a strong, though thin, arm under her, supporting her weight slightly. She swayed back upright, blushing furiously, and found her unsteady footing.

" You look sick." said the boy beside her. He had dark, chocolate-black hair and sea-green eyes. His shirt was wet and stuck to his arms slightly, where she noticed he was quite, well, toned. Echo instantly reached for her knife, but remembered that she was about to pass out and thought better of it.

" I'm fine." she murmured. Gently pushing away the boy. Behind her Sera was still giggling maddeningly and the boy was shooting quizzical looks between the two of them. Echo dusted off her dress ( something that didn't really help ) and jerked her head to the girl behind her.

" Sera." she said, as an introduction, " A very, very distant relation. You?"

" I'm Percy." he said quickly extending his hand. Echo shook it politely and stepped aside quickly, into the shade of a tall tree. She relaxed, and an easy smile spread on her face. Daughter of Anubis, the underworld lord. Never mix those with a hot summer day. A moment later, Chirons face emerged from the door of the cabin.

" Percy! Great, I was wondering if you would take these two to the Hermes cabin, please." he called, " They're temporary." Echo frowned slightly but didn't protest. Sera looked hungrily at Percy, eyeing the bronze pen he clutched in his pocket. It radiated strength, and power.

" Your Poseidon's son, aren't you?" she said, sidling up to him. Percy looked at her in surprise, then nodded. A great, happy grin spread across her face.

" Sera, daughter of Ra, pleased to meet you!" she said, still grinning. She shook Percy's bemused hand, gripping a little harder than one would normally. Echo slowed a bit, staying purposefully behind them a few steps. She saw Percy's eyes widen, then narrow, and then his face, too, split into a wide, eager grin. The two were still clenching hands, both straining to clench the hardest. Echo sighed, feeling the heat beat down on her neck mercilessly as they trudged around the arena.

A line of cabins rose to meet them, eleven, or maybe twelve, in all. The three passed the largest ones, which looked cool and shady, and were led down the line to a plain, grey one with a caduceus over the large doorway. Further up the line, a few people peeked out of the cabins, peering curiously at the newcomers. Inside Hermes cabin, a large group of people were lounging on various bunk beds and sleeping bags. Some had even stretched out on the floor, leaving little or no foot space. The whole room reeked of trickery and wit, a smell that was almost as bad as the bloodlust from behind her. Sera, she concluded, was enjoying her little match.

A few pointy, elfish faces looked up at her, either grinning evilly or groaning dramatically.

" Claimed or unclaimed?" piped a brown-haired boy from the floor. His twin repeated the question from beside him. Echo glanced over her shoulder where Percy was still wrestling with Sera, and back to the cabin.

" Temporary." she replied cooly. The twins cocked each raised and eyebrow ( 'thats a new one' they muttered). The rest of the hermes cabin relaxed back into there activities, some of them completely ignoring the new demigods, others talking loudly about them. ' How rude', thought Echo, ' they have no class'. The blonde dude however, picked his way over to them, a formal smile on his face.

" Luke Castellan. " he said softly, his voice deep and polite, " Hermes cabin leader, I guess."

Echo took his hand, and shook it, once, then let her hand drop. His hand was strong, rough, obviously a skilled sword-fighter. Sera would create some consternation here.

" Miliana Noise. I prefer Echo, though." she said, her eyes a little brighter than before. Her mother named her, and she hated her mother. They shared the same name. Miliana was just an Echo of her mother. She saw Luke look at her, surprised, then he nodded, once. A tight, understanding nod.

" I take it you don't know your , other, parent?" he asked hesitantly. Echo frowned and shook her head.

" I do know my parent." she said, a bit testily. She hadn't asked to be a burden, which was how she interpreted the cabin groans, " I'm Anubis' daughter. The one, and only."

Immediate silence fell. Even the grunts from Percy and Sera, struggling just outside the doorway stopped. The whole cabin was looking at her, shocked, even Percy, had dropped the struggle to gape.

" A-a-an , Egyptian, demigod?" stuttered a little girl, her eyes wide.

" Holy shit!" cursed another, " Isn't he like, their equivalent of Hades?"

There was a distant rumble of the earth, and the boy clamped his hand over his mouth. Echo nodded, annoyed, and tossed her black hair back from her face. Luke was looking at her, his mouth just a bit open, until she shot him a glare. Echo's glares aren't something to joke about, they access her deep magical core , sending waves of pure fear and intimidation at the receiver. In Lukes case he saw all the things that had gone wrong in his life. Monsters attacking him, his friend Thalia struggling in front of him, his mother babbling wildly, his friend leaping in front of him and a long, wicked claw piercing through his back.

" Here." he murmured, gasping for the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, " You…can put your stuff here…"

He pointed to a blank spot of floor. Echo winced, seeing the fear and horror in his eyes. The heat was getting to her, she realized, she couldn't last long in the cramped, foggy cabin. Not with her powers struggling just under the surface of her eyes.

" No, " she answered quietly, looking away from Lukes scared face, " Thank you, but I don't have any thing, and , well, I think I should sleep elsewhere. The forest maybe…"

Luke, and Percy looked pointedly at the bag she had slung over her shoulder. Then they noticed the raw grief on her face, written all over her features, for just a moment, before Sera whipped the girl around and shoved her out of the cabin. The tall blonde turned around, anger apparent on her face. Luke and Percy, who had stood beside him, stumbled backwards at the sheer heat emanating from her towering figure. Sera grabbed her own, bulging bag and threw it on the empty spot, all the children of Hermes nearest to it clambering away in fear.

" Jerk-wads!" she hissed vehemently, he eyes flashing scarlet, and her blonde braid whipping around her face like a snake, " Can't you americans tell the difference between my bag and hers?!" The cabin shivered collectively.

She glared at each in turn, " Well?!" , she screamed, stomping her foot on the floor childishly. The whole cabin shook.

" W-well, um, your bag is… purple and hers was, black?" stuttered Percy, taking a step backwards. To his relief the girl nodded. The flaming aura of fury around her diminished to a tight, red halo. She took an angry breath in through her teeth, and clenched her fists.

" Corpse bag. It was a corpse bag." she hissed, her voice deep and her eyes bright, " Mil hauls the corpses of her family all the way from Egypt and, its, it's treated as luggage! Luggage! The death of demigods just a slight packing of clothes into a hamper, more sardines in this cabin then?! Why I ought to…."

Here the girl was interrupted by a small pale hand flung in front of her mouth. The cabin relaxed as the halo of bloodlust around Sera blinked out completely. Luke fell down, his legs giving way beneath him. It was Echo, standing limply in front of Sera. Her face was a locked, blank slate. She turned to Luke and percy and a small, sad smile spread for just an it was gone. The girl lowered herself in a bow, holding her torso parallel to the earth.

" Please forgive my cousin. She has been rash from birth. We mean you no harm." she said, her dark hair forming a curtain in front of her face. Percy shuddered. Her voice was just like his when he had just lost his mother, or thought he had, just hollower. Sera looked from Echo to Luke a few times, obviously at a loss, then bowed curtly herself. Echo stood straight up, nodded in Percy's direction and strode from the cabin, hauling the complaining Sera by her collar. The cabin exploded into furious mutterings and depressed moaning. A few girls sniffed the air in disgust, and a mischievous twin poked Sera's bag with one, long finger.

There was a crash from outside the cabin and the wall shook, everyone inside yelping in shock. Then, a loud, angry sounding voice started shouting in an exotic language, the voice obviously a furious Echo, each word punctuated by a loud gasp and a shudder from the wall. Percy looked over at Luke, who was still affected by Echo's fear, completely useless, and jumped as the whole cabin rocked. Uncapping his pen, Percy dashed out of the cabin. If anything happened, Percy would probably get it from Mr.D, cause everything was ALWAYS his fault, someway or another.

But when Percy skidded to a stop beside the cabin door, where a crowd had gathered, the only thing that was left was a large, gaping hole of earth, smoking slightly. A few children of Demeter gabbled wildly about a Goddess striding off into the forest, toting a struggling camper behind her. Percy sighed. Two more traumatized campers. Hopefully they wouldn't need to be added to the list of monsters prowling around the woods, he thought wearily.

WILL ANYONE BEFRIEND THE TWO?

PERCY VS. SERA, A STALEMATE, OR UTTER DEFEAT?

WILL LUKE TRY TO GET RID OF THE TWO?

ECHO AND ANNABETH, MAYBE GOOD FRIENDS?

WILL THEY GET THEIR OWN CABIN?

PLEASE REVIEW, I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON, waaaaaah