Opposite

A Heroes of Olympus Fanfiction

©- Rick Riordan

By:

xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx


AN: This chapter is seriously long. Btw, I need reviews if I'm going to keep this story up!

Chapter 2


Reyna

Oh crap.

Dakota looked downright scary right now, considering this is my first battle. I squeaked, dodging his sword. I pulled out my dagger, deciding to leave the only arrows I had for my later battles.

Ugh! How can they expect me to go up against the best fighters in this stupid academy?

Get in close. You have the shorter blade. an unfamiliar male voice said in my mind. My eyebrows furrowed, but I obeyed the voice. I slashed at Dakota, and he nimbly sidestepped it.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Reyna." he said, chuckling. I gritted my teeth together, once again slashing at him. Again, Dakota dodged, but this time, he managed to cut my side.

I yelped in shock and pain, clutching my right side. "Oh, now it's on." I muttered, pulling out my bow and arrow. Oh, screw not using my arrows. Jason said that the dagger was my back-up weapon, not my bow and arrow. I narrowed my eyes at the son of Mercury, aiming my bow.

He smirked at me. "I'm so scared, Rey." he said sarcastically. I released the arrow, and it pierced his thigh. Dakota yelped in pain, crumpling to the ground.

"You should be." I growled, pointing my dagger at his throat.

He smiled, putting his hands up: the universal sign on surrender. "Alright, you win this round."

I grinned, letting him up. "Sorry about that, Dakota." I apologized.

He waved it off. "Beginner's luck, daughter of Apollo. Good luck beating the big guys like Bobby and Jason." I took a deep breath. Maybe Dakota was right; maybe it was beginner's luck.

"Gwendolyn!" Lupa barked. No pun intended. "Get over here!"

Gwen, as Jason called her, stepped forward, a confident smile on her face. She sent a small smile my way, which I gladly returned. At least there was someone nice here.

"Begin!" Gwen automatically lifted her hands up, and vines sprouted up from the ground, which made no sense whatsoever. She grinned as the vines came towards me, getting thicker by the second.

"Crap," I muttered, pulling out my dagger. I sliced some of the vines up, in a desperate attempt to reach Gwen. I kicked another plant that almost seemed… alive. Like human-alive, not plant-alive. "Back, off!" I grunted, slicing it in half. The plant withered to the ground, but the other plants kept coming at me.

I will never, ever underestimate Ceres again.

"Crap, crap, CRAP!" I yelled, as the vines lifted me up, tightening around me. "Is this really necessary, Gwen?" I shouted to the daughter of Ceres.

She shrugged. "Never underestimate the gods!" she warned. I groaned as the vines shook me up and down.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" I moaned. My hand subconsciously moved to my dagger, which I had strapped to my belt. Huh. How did that get there? But if I could just reach it…

"Give up yet, Reyna?" Gwen called tauntingly. "You may be able to beat Dakota, but you don't stand a chance against any of the other praetors!" I finally reached my dagger, then I cut one of the vines that had me in its grip. I crashed to the ground, landing in a heap.

"Ah, ow." I mumbled, shakily getting up. "Stupid plants!" I grunted, kicking another plant. I caught a glance of Gwen, who was facing the opposite direction, and I grinned. Unbeknown to her, I ran up to her and tackled her.

"Oof!" Gwen yelped as we both crashed to the ground.

"Miss me?" I yelled in her ear.

"No need to yell, Reyna!" Gwen snapped. "I'm right here!" I let her up, pulling out my dagger.

I scrunched my nose at her. "Do you ever fight without your plants?"

"Rarely," she answered, manipulating the vines to wrap around my ankles and pull my down.

"Not again!" I shrieked as I crashed to the ground. My dagger fell out of my hand. "Great," I muttered, reaching for my bow and arrows. "Plan B time." I notched an arrow, looking straight at Gwen, who was standing near a tree that was inside a stone pillar. In fact, she was leaning up against it.

"Perfect," I whispered, releasing the arrow. It pierced the sleeve of Gwen's purple t-shirt, pinning her to the tree. I released another arrow, this time aiming it at her other sleeve. Now, both of her arms were pinned to the tree, causing her to loose her concentration on the vines. I jumped up, grabbed my dagger, and made my way to Gwen, who was struggling to get the arrows out of her shirt.

"Give up yet, Gwen?" I mocked, smirking.

The daughter of Ceres rolled her eyes angrily. "No! Now let me go so I can finish you!"

"No," I said casually. "I don't think I will." In one swift movement, my dagger was pointed at her throat. "Surrender?"

Gwen's eyes crossed, looking at the dagger that was pointed at her throat. "Fine," she said reluctantly. "I surrender." I smirked smugly at her, removing the dagger from her throat and the arrows from her sleeves.

"Reyna wins! Again." Lupa muttered, glaring at Gwen. "Five minutes."

"Two out of three praetors," Jason said, approaching me. "Not bad, newbie, but the next three praetors are stronger than Dakota and Gwen combined. Good luck."

"Thanks," I said, grabbing a drink of water. "But I seriously am nervous about facing Hazel. Daughter of Minerva, right?"

He nodded. "Don't worry. Hazel's more of brains than brawns." he reassured. "Still, Minerva always has a plan."

"A plan to get me killed." I grumbled.

Jason forced a smile on his face. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. Lupa isn't just looking if you can beat all the praetors; she's looking for your characteristics. Do you have what it takes to survive in the academy? Would you get back up even though you were seriously injured?"

"Depends on the injury," I said casually, wincing at the cut on my side.

"Here," Jason said, a small smile on his face. He handed me a small cookie-like square. "Ambrosia, the food of the gods."

"Oh," I said, taking it from him. I took a small bite of it and realized it tasted delicious. It tasted like… fresh brownies. My mom's. "Thanks." I said softly, the heat rising to my cheeks. Urgh! Why did I feel like this?

"No problem," Jason said casually, his blue eyes sparkling. Oh gods, they were gorgeous. Ugh, Venus, what are you doing to me?

"Ready to get creamed, Reyna?" Hazel asked coolly, smirking at me as she passed by Jason and I.

"Ready to have your arse kicked by a newbie, Hazel?" I retorted.

She scowled. "You're pretty confident for someone who's gonna lose, newbie."

"You're pretty confident for a person who's gonna get whooped by an amateur."

"Okay," Jason intervened. "Enough, you two." I shot him a glare, as did Hazel.

"HEROES!" Lupa yelled loudly.

"That would be our cue." I said. "Later, Jason."

Hazel nudged me as we walked back into the amphitheater side by side. "Someone likes Jason." she whispered.

I scoffed. "As if!"

"It doesn't take a daughter of Venus to see, newbie." Hazel said coolly, taking her place.

"Begin!" The daughter of Minerva stared me down, analyzing our surroundings.

"Well," I asked expectantly. "Aren't you going to do something?"

She smirked smugly, pulling out her gladius. "Just wait and see, newbie."

"Time's a tickin' Hazel!" I sang, a natural thing for me. Did I mention I love music? "We don't have all day!"

"If you're so concerned about our time," Hazel mused. "Why don't you attack me first?" Ooh. Good point. Hazel: 1 Reyna: 0

I shrugged. "You first," I said casually.

"No, ladies first."

"So, I take it you're not a lady?" Hazel: 1 Reyna: 2

"N-no!" Hazel sputtered, a red blush on her cheeks.

"Well," I said. "That's what you were implying…"

"Urgh!" she shouted. "You are about as annoying as Dakota!"

"Thanks, that's good to know, hon." I said, a permanent smirk on my face. "I try." I notched an arrow. "Can we please fight now?"

"You first, newbie."

I feigned a yawn. "Not this again, Hazel. Fine, I'll be the better person here, and I'll attack you first." So, that's exactly what I did. I strapped my bow and arrows to my back, pulled out my dagger, and attacked Hazel.

She smirked, nimbly dodging my attack. "Miss,"

"Miss who? Independent?" I questioned. "I'm pretty sure that's like a song."

Hazel scowled, knocking my dagger out of my hand. Time for Plan B. Which is bad, because Plan B is to use my bow and arrows in this situation, and using a bow and arrows wasn't exactly the best option right now.

But then again, it was the only option.

Unless…

I faked falling down, yelping in pain as I accidentally landed on my ankle, twisting it.

"You are pathetic, you know." Hazel mused, smirking. I scooted away, my arms behind my back. Where was it?

"Oh, don't even try getting your dagger, newbie." she said. "I already know you're trying to get it. Hello? Daughter of Minerva here!" Crap. I may have overlooked at little detail. Next thing I knew, Hazel's gladius was pointed at my throat.

"Crap," I muttered, my eyes crossing as I looked at the sword. "Alright, alright, I give." Hazel smirked, removing the short sword from my throat. She pulled me to my feet.

"Good luck, newbie. You're gonna need if you're gonna even get five minutes into your battle with Bobby." she said, a small smile on her face.

"Tell me about it." I muttered, limping.

"You'll do fine, Reyna. And if you survive this," She paused. "We might just become good friends."

I smiled slightly at the daughter of Minerva as Bobby walked out into the middle of the amphitheater.

"You may have come close to beating Hazel, but you won't even come close to beating me!" Bobby boasted.

Me, being a petite twelve year-old, looked like a shrimp compared to Bobby. "Sometimes," I said confidently. "David beats Goliath."

Bobby laughed. "A bunch of folklore!"

"Not the point, Booby." I said, smirking.

"You're going down, newbie." he growled.

I smiled. "Au contraire, son of Mars. I'll show you. All of you."

"BEGIN!" Lupa yelled loudly.

"You know, newbie." Bobby said casually, patting his gladius. "If you don't beat me, you'll be killed."

"Good to know," I said weakly. I pulled out my bow and arrows. Better use my stronger weapons now. I notched an arrow at Bobby and released it.

He pushed the arrow away, smirking. "You're going to have to do better than that."

"Oh c'mon on!" I cried. "Dad? A little help here!"

"Gods are not allowed to help demigods." Bobby said stiffly.

"Well maybe," I snapped. "This is an exception!"

"Sure," he said dryly, cutting my bad side. I yelped in pain. Again. "Whatever you say, newbie."

"I have a name, you know." I grunted. "Reyna."

"I know that," Bobby said, tripping me. I landed flat on my butt in the dust. "I just choose not to call you that."

"Well, how would you feel if I called you Booby all the time?" I countered, smirking despite my pain.

"…"

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. I bit my lip so hard, drawing blood. I shoved my dagger to his throat, just as he did the same to me.

"Well," I mused. "Seems we've reached a little problem here." Problem. Obstacle. Impasse. Well, aren't I just a walking dictionary?

"I suppose we have." he agreed.

"So," I suggested. "Why don't we just drop the weapons at the same time?"

"Fine," he said reluctantly.

"One," I said.

"Two,"

"Three," I finished, dropping my dagger. Bobby smirked at me, gladius still in hand. "Cheater," I accused.

"All's fair in love and war, Reyna." he said, smirking. "Give up yet?"

"Yes," I said reluctantly, seeing no way out of this mess. "I give."

The son of Mars smiled smugly, removing his gladius. "Good luck," he snorted. "You're dead meat, newbie."

"That's nice to know." I muttered. "Everyone keeps telling me I'm gonna die, so why keep going?"

"Because, silly," Gwen said, approaching us. She handed me another piece of ambrosia, which I gladly accepted. "Lupa's not just looking if you can defeat all of us. She's looking for your strengths. She wants to know if you'd survive. And trust me, you would survive. Correction: you will survive." She punched Dakota in the gut, smiling cheekily.

"Ow—er— yeah you'll be fine." he said, glaring at Gwen.

"By the way," I asked curiously. "Where is Jason?"

"Pre-battle prep," Hazel answered. "That son of Jupiter always has to meditate before the battles with newbies because he doesn't want to hurt them."

"Oh," I said slowly. "But isn't that the point?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Bobby answered. "But Jason's this big, righteous hero who doesn't want to hurt anyone that's on his side."

"Not to mention," Dakota sang teasingly. "Jason loves Reyna!" I felt the heat rise to my cheeks.

"Shut up, Dakota!" a guy's voice yelled. I turned to see Jason Grace, walking over to us.

Did I mention that he was shirtless?

Oh my freakin gods. Was he trying to be the death of me?

"Close your mouth, Rey." Bobby whispered. "You'll catch flies." I glared at him.

"You ready, Reyna?" Jason asked, putting his arm around me. Ooh.. He's so warm… and so strong… SNAP OUT OF IT!

"H-huh y-yeah…" I said dreamily. Dakota, Bobby, Gwen, and Hazel smirked at me, and Dakota and Bobby made kissy faces at us.

"Shut up, guys." I snapped, my face tomato red.

Jason smiled. "They're messing with you?" I nodded. "Oh, don't worry about it. They do that to everyone."

"Not like this though!" Bobby sang, smirking. "JASON LIKES REYNA! REYNA LIKES JASON!"

"Shut up," Jason and I said in unison, both of us blushing.

"JASON!" Lupa barked. "REYNA! GET OVER HERE!"

"And that," I said, wincing. "Would be our cue."

"You'll be fine, newbie." Hazel reassured. "No offense to Jason, but we're all cheering you on."

I smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Yeah," Jason muttered. "Thanks, guys." We both began to walk off, but someone grabbed my arm. I motioned for Jason to go on ahead of me.

"Reyna," Hazel whispered. "Just a heads up. Jason's fatal flaw is personal loyalty. He honestly doesn't have it in him to hurt you."

"Okay…" I said slowly.

"REYNA!"

"Coming!" I shouted, running up to Jason.

"Slowpoke," he muttered.

"Just go… Air Head." I said, smiling smugly at my nickname for him.

"Air Head?"

"Would you prefer Sparky?"

"Air Head it is." Jason said, taking his position.

"BEGIN!" I notched an arrow, carefully watching Jason.

"You know," he said casually, suddenly floating in the air. "This is an unfair match for you."

"I'll say," I muttered. "You can fly."

"More like manipulate the air currents," he corrected. Jason had a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Reyna." And with that, he shot a lightning at me.

"Eek!" I squeaked, rolling out of the way. "What the flip, man? Are you trying to kill me?"

"No," he answered, shooting another lightning bolt at me.

"C'mon, Reyna!" Gwen cheered. "You can do it!" She nudged Dakota and Bobby.

"Er—yeah! Go Reyna!" Dakota cheered awkwardly.

"Come on, newbie!" Guess who said that.

"Reyna!" Hazel yelled. "Remember what I told you!" I yelped, barely dodging another lightning strike. Now what had she said?

Jason's fatal flaw is personal loyalty. He honestly doesn't have it in him to hurt you.

"If he can't hurt me…" I muttered, forming a plan. I grinned, getting up.

"Why don't you fight me yourself, Jason?"

"I told you!" he called. "It'd be unfair!"

"Unfair, schmair!" I shouted. "Fight me like a man!" Jason winced, having a mental conflict with himself.

"Oh, fine!" he reluctantly agreed, floating down. He took out a golden coin, flipped it in the air, and it turned into a gladius. Jason came at me and successfully cut my side.

Guess which one.

"REALLY?" I cried to no one in particular. "AGAIN!" I winced in pain, clutching my side.

"Told you so." he muttered, cutting my thigh. Ow. Again. Jason managed to disarm me, smirking the entire time. I stepped backwards, trying to avoid him.

"Quit running, Reyna. It's over." he said softly. I winced in pain, crumpling to the ground. Black dots danced in my vision. "Reyna? Are you alright?"

"My side," I mumbled, half acting and half not. "Hurts…"

"Okay," Jason said finally, looking back and forth between Lupa and I. "I'll go get an Apollo kid.

"No," I protested weakly. "Just… finish me…"

"I'm not cruel and ruthless, Rey." he said softly, kneeling down next to me. Jason had changed his sword back into a coin and tucked it into his pocket by now. I smirked, looking down, and in one swift movement, I had my bow and arrow pointed at his throat.

"Gotcha," I said, smirking.

"Y-y-you tricked me!" Jason sputtered, reaching into his pocket.

"One more move, and it's bye-bye Jason." I warned. "Surrender."

The son of Jupiter looked around, finding no means of escape, and sighed. "I surrender." he muttered reluctantly.

"What was that?" I asked innocently.

"I surrender." he said, slightly louder.

"I still can't here you." I sang, enjoying this.

"I SURRENDER." Jason shouted, blue eyes angry. "HAPPY?"

"Thrilled," I said, shakily standing up. Jason too stood up, and Lupa announced that the battle was over. I shakily walked over to Hazel and Gwen, stumbling like… an old drunkard.

"That was awesome!" Gwen squealed, giving me a huge hug. I smiled wearily at her.

"So," Hazel mused, smiling lightly. "You figured out what I meant."

"I suppose I did." I answered.

"That was some pretty awesome acting, you know." Dakota said, coming over to us with Bobby and Jason.

"Wasn't all just acting," I muttered, wincing at the pain still evident in my side. "By the way, is that where you all cut up newbies? In their right side?"

"Nah," Bobby said casually, patting me on the back. "We just all happened to cut you there."

"Except the girls," I muttered. "All three guys sliced open my right side."

Jason smiled sheepishly, handing me another piece of ambrosia. "You've got to stop getting hurt, Reyna. The ambrosia is going to make you combust."

I paused mid-chew. "Well, that's good to know." I swallowed the rest of what was in my mouth, then stuffed the other half in my pocket. "So, when do I find out if I survive or not?"

"Oh, you survived." Hazel reassured. "Lupa would've killed you by now, had you not been strong enough to survive at the academy."

"So, now what?"

"Well," Bobby mused. "You're probably going to get your tattoo."

"My… tattoo?" I repeated, paling slightly. Did I mention I was deathly scared of needles?

"It's not like other tattoos." Gwen reassured, sensing my fear. "No needles involved."

"Oh. Good,"

"There is, however," Jason added. "Burning it into your skin involved."

"Oh," I squeaked.

He patted me on the back. "You'll be fine."

"I hope so, Jason."

"REYNA!" Lupa yelled from the amphitheater. My friends gave me sympathetic looks as I walked back in there.

"I hope so."