Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned in this story from the Percy Jackson series belong to the amazing author Rick Riordan.
Chapter 2: Getting ready
Percy P.O.V.
Percy entered Cabin Three to break the news Chiron had given them. When he entered, he saw Alex and Tyson sprawled on their bunks, talking about their favorite game baseball.
"We are missing all the fun man, Chiron doesn`t even tell us the baseball scores when I ask him," Alex said regretfully.
"Yeah, it all has become very bore this summer," Tyson agreed.
"I think this summer is going to be the best for us," Percy announced and crashed on his bunk. The other two looked at him with confusion.
Alex Morgan was his half- brother, a demigod son of Poseidon. He was very tall, at least six feet, with dark hair and green eyes like Percy. He had a very handsome face, ripped muscles and was good at any physical thing. Surprisingly, he was also very good with knowledge, which was generally not a characteristic of a Poseidon kid. Sometimes he could figure out things quicker than a child of Athena. (Not Annabeth, she had her own standard). He was seventeen presently, and Percy got along well with him even though he sometimes acted like a jerk.
"You guys are gonna freak out when you hear this." Percy told Alex and Tyson what Chiron had told them about the competition being held at their camp, the outsiders who were going to come and the arrivals of Camp Jupiter and the gods.
"Wow, so all 15+ demigods can take part, eh?" Alex said with sudden interest. This is going to be so much fun, man."
"But they won`t let me participate," Tyson said with a groan, "I will miss all the fun!"
"It`s okay, big guy. You don`t have to worry about that. We will hook up you all the front seats during the competition," Alex said, grinning at him, "You can maybe make some extra weapons for us and hang a banner over the audience saying, 'PERCY AND ALEX ROCK!' That will keep our spirits up."
Tyson wasn`t convinced much but he nodded crossly, realizing that he didn`t have much choices.
"But that is not our main problem," Percy continued, "The outside demigods who are arriving don`t look too nice to me. From the way Chiron described them, they look like guys who would love to destroy our camp. And if they are as bad as Chiron said, then they are going to give us a hard time during the competition. They will try to make us as miserable as possible, but we are supposed to reason with them and try to maintain peace."
"Well, I also don`t agree about that 'reason with them' stuff, but really Percy, how much chance do they have at this? The Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter demigods are going to outnumber them easily, and we are not that weak to get brutalized at our own home. They will have to constantly keep in their limits, or we will ground them to death!"
"Um, okay, but still I am thinking that they will not be easy to defeat. And if one of them is a child of Poseidon-''
"He or she is certainly not going to sleep with us!"
"Yeah but… okay, leave it. We shall figure out about them later. Let`s go out and see how other cabins are taking the news."
Everybody was clearly excited about this. The counselors hadn`t taken much time to spread the news and now all the camp members knew. The elder demigods were especially excited because they were the ones who were going to participate. The satyrs and nymphs also got the news, And they were seen chattering near the woods about which Olympian`s autograph would be the most popular.
When Grover got the news, he was so excited that he began to play an utterly horrible song on his pipes and then it dawned on him that he would only be a spectator.
"This is not fair man," he complained, "It is not that we satyrs always play useless. And at such a big event, we should have been taken into consideration. My natural powers have gotten stronger these days, and I could have used them."
Percy wanted to tell Grover that the other players would be much too powerful to be harmed by natural powers, but he didn`t depress his friend more than he already was.
Percy and Alex went up to the Big House and saw the huge arrangements that Chiron was making for the god`s arrival. There was a huge carpet that was being laid from the top of Half-Blood Hill to the stage that was being set up beside the Big House. There was going to be a big podium from where the god`s were going to address the demigods. Nymphs, satyrs and Cyclopes (which Tyson had generously called from the bottom of the ocean) were running about doing the construction work. Some nymphs were taking huge crates of Hermes Express inside the Big House which probably stored the ambrosia and nectar stashes of the gods. The gods were probably living in the Big House because there was simply no other place free of demigods. (They couldn`t sleep in their cabins, that would be too much embarrassing for them).
They went up to Chiron and asked if there was any work for them to do.
"You and the others could clean up all the places inside camp," he replied, "They should not be upset with our tidiness. Also keep all the cabins clean and beautiful. They should be impressed by how well you maintain your camp."
"He has given us the most boring work we could ask for," Alex muttered as they walked back to find their friends.
The group met up and decided the various places they could tidy up as a presentation for the gods. They assumed that the gods would eat with them in the dining pavilion so Percy and Annabeth decided to clean it up. Jason and Piper decided to take the and Alex and Leo decided to take Bunker 9 in case the gods had any wish to see that place (especially Hephaestus).
As Percy and Annabeth approached the dining pavilion, they saw that there wasn`t much left to do. The nymphs were roaming all over the place,putting up posters of symbols and weapons of the gods. We asked a nymph whether we could give a helping hand. She told us that the decorated tables and chairs of the gods were left to be arranged. She also told us that there was to be a special table in the middle of the pavilion. (So that`s why they moved all the rest of the tables to the side. Dunno why.)
As they started arranging the tables and chairs at the head of the pavilion, Percy asked Annabeth, "What do you think about all this?"
She looked at him before answering, "I think that this is a totally new game that the gods are playing on us. I looked up all the info on the web about anything like this on my laptop but even the Google is unknown about anything like this. The closest results I got were about the Olympics, but I doubt our camp has that much place. And the gods must be watching the mortal Olympic games every four years so that will not interest them much. I think this competition was banned because the god`s entertainment led to many demigod deaths. They must have battled for their lives, not just the prize and friends must have ended up killing each other."
"I get it now. So the gods, as always, couldn`t keep control on their promises. They are going to start it again saying that this one will not be as dangerous as the others. After Gaia was defeated, the gods must have wanted some relief entertainment or something, so they are tempting us into this thing."
"Exactly. I wonder what prize they have got in store for the winner. Chiron said it was something that we would be dying to get."
"It can`t be bad to try. Most of the guys out there are thinking of winning and showing off in front of their godly parent, so I don`t want to be left out."
"If you are participating, then I am coming too," she said, smiling at him, "There is nothing greater than beating Percy Jackson at anything."
"So you plan to beat me?"
"You must be pretty high on the list, maybe even at the top, so overtaking you will not be a bad target."
I stepped closer to her. "Even if we do not win, we must make sure that we stay a good lot ahead of those outside guys."
"I think it will be on every camp member`s target list."
He stepped forward and pulled Annabeth into his arms. She didn`t protest but looked questioningly at him. She was really beautiful now. Her blonde hair spread over her shoulders. She stared at him with those startling grey eyes. She always appeared intelligent, no matter where she was. All the boys at camp who were seventeen seemed to like her, but none of them wanted to mess with Percy.
"I just want to have a word with you."
"About what?"
"The demigods who are coming here. You know, your attraction quotient has gone very high these days. All the guys who see you seem to like you. Even the small ones. So if any of those people try to, you know, step in, please tell them that you are occupied, will you? I don`t want anybody to come in between our relationship, even Athena. She was trying to break us up very hard last time. Now she will get to stay here and keep direct watch on us. She might even tell you to stop dating me. You won`t listen to her, will you?"
To his surprise, she pulled him close and gave him a deep kiss. The nymphs were all around, so it didn`t linger for long but he was stunned anyway. It happened to him every time Annabeth kissed him, no matter how many experiences he got. It was just plain amazing. Her lips always tasted sweet and her fragrance was always good.
She pulled away and said, "You don`t have to worry about that Percy. No other boy is going to look more handsome and cute than you, at least to me. Let them come. I will pulverize them if they try anything like that. And don`t even care about Athena. She might not have liked us dating at first but then after so many months, she must have gotten used to it. And if she tries to talk me out of dating you, then I will never listen to her. I will never let anything separate you from me Percy. Not after what all we have been through. So be relaxed."
Percy smiled and gave her a quick hug.
"I knew I could always rely on you Annabeth." I wanted to hold her for some more time but she moved away from my arms saying, "I think we should get this furniture work done. Wow, look how excellently decorated these chairs are!"
He thought they both were too much preoccupied thinking that they didn`t notice the chairs. They were plated with Imperial Gold and were in the shape of thrones. The seats were made of soft silky fabric. All the chairs had the Olympus symbol on their headrests. They were very heavy so they tried to push them up rather than lifting them most of the time. The tables were also pretty impressive and were made of mahogany. They were carved with the pictures of the various brave deeds done by the gods (with the help of heroes of course). As they finished lining up all the tables and chairs, Percy wondered what game the gods were playing on them. He suddenly felt the urge to badly win the competition and prove himself in front of everyone.
Alex P.O.V.
Alex kind of liked all this stuff. He usually liked challenges and was into sports more than anybody else at the camp. He thought he could put up a tough competition against those outside guys who were coming.
Alex had arrived at camp just two weeks ago. His home was far away from Camp Half-Blood so it had taken him many years to reach the place. Being the son of Poseidon, he should have been devoured by monsters the day he ran away from home due to his powerful scent ( Alex had been laughing half the time Percy explained that thing to him). But he was more powerful than most demigods. He kind of was a little good at all things taught at camp. Okay, his water powers were nothing like Percy`s. Not much doubt, though, Percy was excellent at water powers and also he was the hero to all Camp Half-Blood people. Many demigods, like that Jason Grace (Alex had nicknamed Jason Sparky, which he absolutely hated) would like to take over Percy but Alex thought that quite impossible since Percy was much too great.
When he arrived at camp, all the demigods were preparing for a war with the Romans and nobody paid him much attention. Then Percy and his friends had returned successfully back from defeating Gaia and managed to make a peace treaty with the Romans by explaining to them all that had happened. Honestly, that was the only option. Alex had played enough war video games to know that it`s extremely difficult, almost impossible to defeat an army twice more than yours. When all things were sorted, he was introduced to the demigods. Percy, Leo, Frank, Hazel and Annabeth had befriended him almost immediately. Jason and Piper, not so much. It turned out that they weren`t big fans of humor, which Alex considered his strongest talent. Piper didn`t have much against him, but her only problem was that he was targeting her boyfriend for all his pranks.
Sticking around with Percy had helped him raise his popularity. Even if he didn`t handle water very greatly, he still did good at all other things. For instance, he did excellent at sword fighting and had managed to beat Percy once. His aim was also not much bad, and he usually hit Jason perfectly with his javelin whenever he was roaming around their javelin throw area.
Right now, he was helping Leo get Bunker 9 in proper condition, and they had just about finished. Leo was Alex`s most favorite demigod from the younger boys. It must be because he and the guy were pretty much the same. They both agreed that humor was the greatest aspect in a human being`s life. They both liked to impress girls, hoping they would get a girlfriend as they were both alone. Alex understood at least some of Leo`s Hephaestic technology, so he could talk a little freely about his inventions to him.
Alex regretted immediately that they had chosen Bunker 9. He doubted the others had as much cleaning to do as them. Really, as excellent as Leo was, he had no sense how to keep his bunker clean. When they entered, loose pieces of machinery had fallen everywhere. Screws, used batteries, motors and other mechanical rubbish was strewn about. Nothing seemed to be kept in its proper place.
"Really, Leo," he said, "Would the gods even care to see this place? It holds nothing important now. And the most likely god I think to visit this place would be Hephaestus. And when I saw a picture of Hephaestus`s workshop in the myth books, his own workshop was in a horrid state. We should leave it like this."
"We can`t," Leo insisted, "They might want my bunker for the competition, an obstacle course, maybe? They could set up all sorts of traps in here," he added proudly, "It is quiet ingeniously built, you know. And Chiron said we should do our best to clean up the camp as much as possible."
So Alex had regretfully got to work. After an hour of tiring work, the boys managed to make the bunker look acceptable. All the weird things Leo had constructed when he got bored with the Argo II were arranged in an order. All the sharp and dangerous garbage had been thrown at the back. If someone stepped into the bunker he at least wouldn`t think that some psycho maniac who was obsessed with machines and tools had been imprisoned here for many years.
"I could do with some rest, man!" Leo let out a sigh of relief.
'It was your own idea to clean up this place,' Alex wanted to remind him but he restrained himself.
For the first time at dinner Alex wasn`t much interested in the food. He sat with Percy and Tyson at the Poseidon table and stared at the huge table that had been set up in the middle of the pavilion. Percy had brought up the theory that the table may be for the winner but Alex banished it by saying that nobody in his right mind would eat so much food that occupied a whole table unless he had fallen in love with the toilets at Camp Half-Blood. They all started sniggering at that thought when Chiron stood up and said, "Demigods, I need to talk to you about tomorrow."
All the demigods became silent.
"I think the counselors have already given you detailed information about who all will be arriving at camp. We will not go into much detail about the guest demigods. I just wanted to give you some instructions about the gods. Please do not show disrespect, dishonor, misbehavior when you are around them." He gave Alex a grave look. "We all are gathering for fun, so let it stay fun. And um, you will have to adjust to the gods sleeping habits-''
"The gods are sleeping with us?" Jason asked with horror.
"Well, you know that I myself was informed about the competition today itself, so I had no time to get the Big House ready for so many gods. It simply can`t occupy them. The case is different with you all. You can make space for the gods in your cabins. Just try to stop all the late night stuff you people do. The gods may not like it."
"But will they be comfortable with us?" Alex asked.
"I think that if they can go to all the trouble of visiting our camp they can manage it with you."
Instant discussion filled the room. Everybody started panicking about how they were going to sleep with the gods. Some said that they would rather sleep outside their cabins than sleep inside with their godly parent. Alex didn`t blame them. Even if you called them 'mom' or 'dad', the gods are still gods. They always had to be acted formal with. Alex had never met Poseidon before but he doubted that Poseidon would like it if Alex asked him to sleep with him and tell him bedtime underwater stories. No, sleeping with a god was way too embarrassing.
"Calm down, children," Chiron said. "I know very well that you will manage this little matter amongst yourself and your parents as we have paucity of sleeping space."
"Little matter?" Percy almost gagged on his cheeseburger. "He is speaking like our parents are our best buddies," he whispered to Alex.
"I want to further tell you that the gods should be given the utmost respect by you. If they offer you with any work or task say yes immediately. This will keep them happy and they will perhaps give you some safer tasks." He added with a little worry.
"Don`t worry Chiron," Clarisse from the Ares cabin said confidently. "We are trained to overcome all types of dangerous situations. I don`t care whatever tasks the gods give me."
"Yeah, you will go out anyway," Travis Stoll shouted from the Hermes cabin. The entire pavilion exploded with laughter. Clarisse started to give an angry response when Chiron stopped her with his voice.
"Dear Clarisse, you don`t know what the gods made those demigods do in those days. There was almost as much bloodshed as there is in a war. Demigods killing each other. Demigods who are forced to face so many monsters they can`t defeat alone. Why, one time they even had a task where…" Chiron stopped and looked at all of them who were looking back at him expectantly, wanting to hear more. "Okay, I am giving away too much. You will hear all things from the gods tomorrow. Right now, good night and try not to kill our guests tomorrow. Today there will be no campfire. You will all have to wake up early."
All the demigods started to protest but Chiron wouldn`t listen. Finally, they all cleared up their plates and made their way towards their cabins.
"What`s the time?" Alex asked Percy. He looked at the watch on his wrist.
"9:30."
"I have never slept this early before," Alex complained. "Can`t a guy enjoy some things without extreme torture first?"
"Don`t worry guys," Tyson said cheerfully, "Going to our cabins doesn`t mean we have to actually sleep."
"I don`t think so," Percy said with a yawn. "Chiron probably has installed sleeping sensors in all cabins."
"Hey Percy!" Annabeth came running up to them. "I forgot to wish you good night."
She leaned over and kissed him(Percy was extremely tall, only two or three inches shorter than Alex).
"Good night Percy," she said, "See you tomorrow." She strolled off towards her cabin. Percy kept staring longingly in her direction, as if he wanted another kiss. Really, should all couples act so weirdly when it comes to kissing? Whenever Percy and Annabeth kissed, Percy kept acting strangely for many minutes until he got normal. And believe it or not, they did that every day. Not that Alex really cared. It was Percy`s love life, after all. He should handle it the way he wanted it.
They went up to Cabin Three and were shocked to see that a new bed had been attached next to theirs. It was all royal and luxurious with the fishing trident carved on the front.
"I guess it is Poseidon`s bed," Percy said, "Transported from his palace."
"Let`s not sleep on it then," Alex suggested.
They agreed and collapsed on their own beds. Due to some reason, they instantly fell asleep.
AN: - HELLO, READERS. SORRY, TOOK SOME TIME TO COME OUT WITH THE SECOND CHAPTER. VERY LONG. I HOPE YOU LIKED THE NEW OC, ALEX MORGAN. I PRETTY MUCH LIKE HIM. AND PLEASE, REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER. I AM NOT GOING TO POST THE NEXT CHAPTER, WHICH IS GOING TO BE EXCELLENT, UNTIL I GET SOME REVIEWS. I DON`T CARE IF THEY ARE GOOD OR BAD.
