A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you guys are liking my story. Sorry for the delay, but from now on, I'll most probably be updating once a week... so keep tuned! :) Also, I'm using some of the movie's scenarios. Hope that won't be a problem.

"Now, children, we're going to watch the recaps of all the Reapings. Come here!" She wobbled in those needles of hers and headed towards the T.V. room. At first, when I had arrived and Katniss had told me that watching television was compulsory, I was all like "YES!" but then, when I saw what we had to watch… well, disgusted didn't quite fit. It was worse than watching the guys down there in the Fields of Punishment being dragged all over. It was worse than watching Bianca, Zoë, and all my other friends die, it was like feeling the pain all over again, even though I didn't know any of those guys. I think the time I'll spend in the arena will help me get stronger, faster, and much more important, more mentally stable. Anyway, I saw other poor underfed kids getting chosen, some Ares-like bullies volunteering forward (why on Olympus would they do that?), and some that were just chosen. It didn't matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get how Effie was enjoying herself so much, and blabbing nonsense about the idjits in the Capitol, and some assbutt hair-dye crap… The landscape on the windows started to change. Instead on endless mountain and meadows, countless buildings and odd structures started to appear. It looked as if you multiplied Manhattan times 100, minus the graffiti and the hobos, I guess. But before I could swallow all of it in, we were engulfed again by darkness.

"We are here!" Effie announced.

Holy Hera, if I had thought Manhattan was big; I was because I had never seen these buildings. All was huge, at least what I've seen. And then there was the prep center. I had been like a lot of time in there (What could they do to a guy?), and I had already been washed thrice from head to toe. My chest and back had been plucked like a chicken, even though I was not that hairy. But when they moved on to my legs and arms, I put a stop. I was proud of the little hair I had managed to grow in those parts.

"Please. In District Twelve, if you have hair in your arms and legs, it means you're strong." That was about the smarter I could get.

"Oh, poor dear! What we will do now? We can't let them see you when you look like a monkey!" One of the guys said. His hair was more annoying than Apollo's poetry. And that was saying something.

"Besides, if I want to win, and I want people to believe that, I have to look fierce, haven't I?"

"Oh, well, if you see it that way…"

They kept fussing over me, plucking this, plucking that, washing this… until they saw my wrist. Crap, I had sincerely been hoping that they looked that over.

"SPQR? A big fork? A line? How weird are your scars! Where, or when did you get them?" One of the women said.

"Oh, bandits. They kidnapped me and did this to me." That was very stupid, but hey, what else could I say?

"Let's leave them to Andrea's criteria."

I sighed. Oh, these people were worse than monsters. But then, a girl in a very simple outfit walked in. She couldn't have been more than twenty. She was blonde (and it looked sort of natural), had big brown eyes. She introduced herself as Andrea, my stylist.

"Now, now Perseus, what should we do with you? Eat lunch, for starters." She punched a button on the table and a weird sort of pasta covered in a blue sauce appeared. I dived in, she laughed. She was a quite pleasant person to be around.

"Well Perseus, can I call you Percy? Good. Well Percy, this year's approach is quite different, I'm afraid. The guys up in the Capitol specifically asked to avoid having you lot naked. That was a disappointment, I should say. It simplified stuff. But well, we do have a different idea now."

"Naked?" I hoped I didn't sound as terrified as I thought I did.

"Aren't you listening to me? Not naked, you doof. No, this is gonna be great, and different. So answer me this: What does your District's industry focuses on?

"Uhh, carbon?"

"And, if you apply enough pressure, what does carbon turn into?" Before she gave me time to answer, she said, "Diamond! You know, without all the technicalities, you do get a nice little diamond. And we don't want those dickwads in District One getting all the shiny stuff, don't we?"

"We don't?"

"No, we don't. Now hurry, your costume is ready and they got to fix you up." As I was standing on, she caught sight of my SPQR tattoo.

"We are going to need some fader for that." She said.

"No, we don't." She smiled.

"I guess we can make a soft spot. Good thing you are convinced about keeping it." And she left me to be attacked again by the prep team.

Two hours later, I was standing next to a black carriage wearing one of the weirdest outfits in the world, and thanking all the gods that no one I knew was there to see me. I was wearing this weird black leotard, which was covered by some sort of shirt made up from something that looked like dragon scales, all pitch black, and placed one over the other in a cool pattern. I had pants and a long cape (what the hell?) made in a similar way. I eyed the other tributes. I tried to decipher who of all of them would mean the biggest threat to me. Like, who did I forcibly have to kill to return home? And not for the last time I thought this whole set-up was sick. I felt overwhelmed. Andrea had explained me the whole costume while she was fixing me up.

"You just wait for us to do our job." She said as she was fastening the cape around my neck. "You two will look absolutely splendid!" Her accent sounded like some really old British person that had lived in a farm in Texas for good 30 years. "Just don't panic, all right? You smile wide and nice. You want everyone to love you. Keep that in mind. Keep that in mind and you'll make it. Believe me Percy, I know you'll make it. After all, true beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself — avoid trying to be something you're not." And she winked.

The carriage bumped over a rock on the almost flawless pavement that lead to a thing that looked like a teacher's front desk, only a thousand times bigger. And people, so many people. Shouting at us. Screaming our name. "Percy! Percy! Carrie! Carrie!" I smiled quite widely. I did feel as if I was the king of the world. Battle to the death? Ha! I've killed the Minotaur, fought Polyphemus, and Ares, and killed Kronos, and Athena knows who else. I totally owned this. I could, and would win. As easy as another training exercise at camp. And then, when I couldn't have risen any higher, I felt the weight of the sky on my shoulders. I heard Carrie gasp. And I turned my head. My shoulders were entirely covered by… diamond. I couldn't describe it any other way. I let out a cry; I hoped it had sounded ecstatic. Why was I there, if not to unbalance all those ugly sons of bitches? Looking at it more closely, I could see the cape was really formed by thousands of small mirrors put together in such a flawless way that it looked as if it was made of just one huge flexible mirror. Diamond. Ha, I understood Andrea's idea now. And Carrie shone, shone as bright as the moon on midnight in District 12, and she stood, proud. For one tiny moment I felt intimidated. A wee bit. And then it ended. The whole moment had gone, drifted away. I was being ushered down of the carriage, and I was having the costume taken off. I was startled. I had figured out who my true threat was. And I wasn't safe.

Oh, that night. "How wonderful! What an impression! Great work from the stylists!" Oh Zeus's pants. I was so exhausted. I excused myself from dinner and headed towards my room. I sat on the bed and thought of Annabeth. I had sworn to her that we would never be apart again. And by the Gods, they were going to pay. I was sick of having them toy with me. I undressed, and slipped into the bed (it had blue covers, awesome), still thinking. I had several, painful long weeks ahead of me.

I couldn't remember ever feeling as hungry as I felt that morning. Plate after plate of breakfast I swallowed, and glass after glass of fancy orange juice. It was almost as good as the food at camp. I was already dozing it off when Carrie showed up. She looked like a panda.

"Morning." She muttered.

"Have some coffee. Add some milk. Two sugars. This thing I think is vanilla. Fixes you up in no time." As I mentioned each ingredient, I added it to a steaming cup. I passed it to her. She drank eagerly, and shook her head.

"Aah, it wakes you up, no doubt." Took another sip. "Tastes nice."

"Good morning, children! Today is going to be another big, big day! Your first session of training!" Effie's tones were too high to be considered legal at that time of the morning.

"Remember fellas, you stay away of what you are good at, or at least, know how to do. Learn to survive." Haymitch didn't seem drunk, for a change. He stepped into the dining room wearing the most ridiculous dressing gown I had ever seen. "Get dressed, both of you, they're expecting you at eleven sharp."