Disclaimer: All the characters and places mentioned in this story from the Percy Jackson series belong to the amazing author Rick Riordan.

Chapter 6 : Behold the Olympians!

Poseidon P.O.V.

All the gods were assembled in the throne room, waiting for Zeus to give the thumbs up. It was his idea that they should arrive at Camp Half-Blood the last, as they were the most awaited guests. Poseidon didn`t care much about that, as he was eager to visit the camp after so many months. The last time Poseidon visited Camp Half-Blood, it was after the Titan War to talk to his most favorite demigod child, Percy Jackson. Poseidon honestly wanted Percy to win the competition, as he had proved himself the most worthy of all his demigod children as yet. He had also played an important role in the Giant War in which Poseidon was mostly inactive. He was much too preoccupied with his Greek/Roman personalities clashing together in his head.

Still, there were other children to worry about as well. Alex Morgan, his other son, was not doing much good in the camp, Chiron had told him. He passed his time by roaming around camp and troubling fellow demigods. Poseidon was going to talk to him. And also… well, he would figure it all out later when they came to camp.

Poseidon looked around at the Olympians. Zeus was watching live video feed from Camp Half-Blood on his specialized Olympian tablet. Apollo looked bored with his earphones in his ears, as Artemis was gone on a venture with her hunters and he could not trouble her. Hermes was busy playing with his caduceus and stopping his snakes George and Martha from eating his shirt. Athena was probably playing chess with someone on the web on her own tablet. Aphrodite was applying make-up to her face and smiling evilly, like she had some secret plan. Her husband Hephaestus was doing something to his machine with a screwdriver as usual. Ares was sharpening his sword and looking at everyone with a furious expression (except Aphrodite, of course). Dionysus was peacefully drinking his Diet Coke as if he had no hurry in this matter. Only three Olympians were not present- Hera, Artemis and Demeter. Hera said she wasn`t much interested in coming as there were no demigod children of hers. Artemis was busy with her Hunters and Demeter was visiting the Underworld to meet her daughter Persephone. Poseidon`s elder brother Hades had become a little lenient this time and increased Demeter`s stay at his palace this year.

Zeus suddenly shouted triumphantly, making them all jump. "The Romans have almost reached Camp Half-Blood. We should leave now."

"Such a wise decision," Poseidon muttered, but nobody heard him. He liked to pull his younger brother`s leg from time to time. They all got up and moved out hurriedly from the throne room. All the godlings, satyrs and nymphs bowed to them as they passed. They reached the elevator and it opened automatically for them. They all went in and Zeus pressed the button for the ground floor. There were only two buttons: GROUND and 600, on which they were now. The way down was really slow, so Athena decided to bore them even more by giving them instructions about how to behave when they came to camp.

"We have to enter the camp with pride and glory, because we are the main guests."

"But don`t they already know we are the main guests?" Zeus said and yawned.

Athena ignored him. "We meet them politely, but stilldon`t give away any valuable info," she said, "We pass a little time and wait until literally all the demigods are bursting to hear."

"This is my line," Apollo said eagerly, "Getting the attention of a huge crowd."

"Control it buddy," Hermes said, "We are not going to a rock concert."

"I like rock concerts, man!" Ares said, "The only form of violent music."

"I am okay with all this, I guess," Poseidon said, "But, um, won`t it be a bit rude to keep the demigods waiting?"

"There is no rudeness in this," Athena said, turning to him, "We have the right to maintain the suspense for some time." Poseidon kind of lost his train of thoughts when he looked at Athena, her blonde hair, storm-grey eyes and nice smile. Sometimes he understood why Percy liked Annabeth so much. Athena had that effect on him, too. Not that he would ever disclose it. He did not want to get killed by his own niece.

"I just hope they all understand the competition properly," Hephaestus said, "I think we made it more complicated than we wanted."

"Don`t worry," Aphrodite said, "They are smart enough to get it. Especially the third task. I can`t wait to see it!" All of them rolled their eyes. Aphrodite was acting way too dramatic about the task set by her.

They finally reached the bottom of the elevator. It opened into the lobby of the Empire State Building. They passed the man sitting behind the counter. He didn`t even pay them any attention, engrossed in his magazine.

Outside the building, two stylish limos were waiting for the gods. Another idea of Athena`s. Travel in the mortal style so the campers don`t suspect them. Wow.

Poseidon obviously got the limo with Zeus, Athena and Hephaestus. Zeus sat up front with the driver, who had no idea he was driving four Olympians. Poseidon sat in the back with Athena and Hephaestus. Athena sat beside him. It was one of the reasons that made Poseidon a little happy, even though she began to tell him the structure of the engine and how everything worked, with Hephaestus piping in the machinery part. Poseidon slowly realized that the limo was a little comfortable, after all. He didn`t even notice the pollution of the traffic outside the car. Still, Poseidon thought that surfboards and ships were more his style.

After some time, they reached the mouth of Long Island. It was a short ride after that to Half-Blood Hill. Before Poseidon decided to give the driver a small tip (he had been well paid before), he made a quick reverse and shot off. The other limo driver did the same.

"I guess we scared them a little," Hermes said.

"Let`s move on," Apollo suggested.

They trudged up Half-Blood Hill. When they reached the pine tree, with the Golden Fleece hanging on it, Zeus said proudly, "This is where my daughter Thalia sacrificed her life to save her friends. Even now it guards the boundary of Camp Half-Blood."

"Technically, the Golden Fleece guards the boundary of Camp Half-Blood," Poseidon said in an annoyed tone, "Without it, the tree would have died. And you didn`t do much help in finding it, Zeus."

Zeus looked angrily at him. But to Poseidon`s utmost pleasure, he didn`t open his mouth after that. When they reached the bottom of the hill, they saw that all arrangements of their visit had been made before. In front of the Big House, a huge stage had been set up and special chairs for the gods had been arranged. A large number of nymphs and satyrs had gathered beside the stage, clutching pens and papers.

"There they are," one nymph shouted and suddenly they were all around them, kneeling to show their respect.

"Get up, nature-lovers," Zeus said, "We all appreciate your devotion towards us."

They all got up and started asking for autographs. Most of the nymphs ran for Apollo or Ares, and the satyrs for Hermes, Poseidon or Zeus. Some fearfully moved towards Dionysus, as he had been at camp more than any other Olympian and they must know of his short temper. Athena and Aphrodite also got considerable response. Hephaestus was the only one left. He seemed like he didn`t care and ignored the autographing session.

A group of satyrs had surrounded Poseidon, leaded by a familiar person. Poseidon recognized Grover Underwood, Percy`s best friend, hero satyr of the Titan war and member of the Council of Cloven Elders.

"We are all big fans of you, Lord Poseidon," Grover said, "Your son Percy is a good friend of all the satyrs and he always helps us in our problems."

"Yes, water is an essential component of nature," the satyr behind him said, "And you are the sea god."

"Well, it fills good to be popular among nature spirits," Poseidon said and laughed, "I will assist you in conserving nature. At least underwater nature."

He signed all of their autographs and they thanked him.

"Send word of our arrival to Chiron," Poseidon told the satyrs and nymphs, "And call all the 15+ demigods immediately." The gods went up the stage and settled into their respective chairs. Some nymphs rushed forward with food and drinks for them. Poseidon was brought blue wine, his favorite beverage.

"Now I`ll just relax and watch the show," he thought.

Percy P.O.V.

Percy was seriously considering going back to Cabin Three and dozing off. The demigods had gathered in front of the stage for over half an hour, to hear Chiron thanking the gods for 'honoring' the camp by coming. He described in detail how each and every Olympian was so busy in his or her work and how they gave it all up for the competition. The only explanation Percy could think of was that the competition was actually a survival test where you had to try hard not to be bored to death and hang on till Chiron`s speech was over. By the looks of it, most of the campers were halfway up the track.

"I think they are doing it on purpose," Annabeth said, next to him, "They want to get us all bursting with excitement." Percy smiled. Annabeth was the only reason he was still present with the others. There was nothing better than to sit in the sun with your beautiful girlfriend. Okay, they were surrounded by over sixty other demigods. So what? Percy could just cut them all out. Annabeth slipped her hand into his. Her grey eyes were sparkling in the sun. Percy wanted to forget everything and kiss her, but he knew it was not a good idea in front of Athena. She was looking right at him and her expression gave a clear message: I am watching you. Really, wasn`t she ever going to quit troubling Percy? If she kept such close watch on him, he would probably have to stop meeting Annabeth.

"I don`t know about getting excited, but if I ever don`t fall asleep at night, I am going to call Chiron," Alex yawned, sitting on Percy`s other side.

"And now demigods," Chiron announced on the podium, "I would like to call Lord Zeus on stage to get to the topic you all want to hear."

Zeus came on the podium with a huge round of applause. He straightened his suit a little and then said, "Hello, fellow demigods. I am Zeus, king of Olympus and I am speaking for all the Olympians. As you well know, we are hosting a competition at Camp Half-Blood this year, which was banned for millennia because of its violent nature. This time, we have made it a little safer and a lot more interesting so there will be no more casualties and all the people at Camp Half-Blood will enjoy themselves."

"Get to the point dad," Jason muttered.

"But I know you all don`t want to hear this," Zeus said as if he had heard Jason, "So I would like to call my daughter Athena so she can explain the details of the competition."

There was another huge round of applause as Athena took her place instead of Zeus.

"Dear demigods, I am honored indeed to be the one to explain the rules and regulations of the competition to you. It includes four stages, each one more dangerous than the other. The first task will obviously test your knowledge about all things related to Greek and Roman history. There`s no use participating in the next three tasks if you don`t have basic knowledge about all the various fields. It will include a test of machines and other mechanisms by Hephaestus, a test on various wars by Ares and finally a test to see your overall talent by me." She smiled at the last words and Percy figured this test was an ultra-difficult quiz based on the most complex parts of the history of the gods, titans and giants.

"Don`t worry, Percy," Annabeth said and squeezed his hand, "I will get us through this one." Percy smiled, but he was not sure whether even Annabeth could get him out of this one.

"Chiron will provide you with all the books and other material for your test," Athena continued, "Just remember that you would have to be equally strong in Greek and Roman history in order to pass this test. 15 demigods will be selected for the next round, that is the scavenger hunt. Hermes is in charge of the scavenger hunt, so he will give you detailed information when the time comes." She nodded at Hermes, who nodded at all the demigods, his snakes George and Martha curled up around his caduceus.

"The third task will be set by Aphrodite," Athena said, "10 demigods will participate in the third task. There will be a wall-climbing race."

"What has mom got to do with wall climbing competitions?" Piper asked.

"I bet there is an unexpected twist in the task," Percy scoffed.

"The details of the fourth task will be kept a secret right now," Athena continued, "The 8 finalists who have qualified from the third task will get to know first so they can have time for practicing."

"What are they gonna keep in the fourth task that needs so much practice?" Leo whispered from behind Percy, "I hope we don`t have to change somebody`s diapers and all that."

"Okay now tell me, how many of you are interested to participate?" Athena looked around expectantly. Not one demigod raised their hands. Percy looked over to where the Roman camp was sitting and Mike`s group beyond them. Not a response from them either.

"Come now demigods," Athena said as if she was expecting the same reaction, "I know it does not sound so intimidating, but let me tell you. It is no joke. I will tell you the prizes offered for the winners. Maybe then you would realize how high the stakes are in the competition."

A considerable silence erupted around the stage. Almost all the people were interested in the prizes. Percy himself sat forward with renewed excitement.

"The first place in the competition," Athena announced slowly, "Gets a one week stay on Olympus in his or her very own palace, and you can take one person along with you, whoever you want."

Athena waited for a moment to let her message sink in. All of a sudden, a large commotion broke out among the demigods. All of them were now talking of how great it would be to win, getting a separate palace on Olympus. Percy imagined roaming on Olympus, being treated like a god by all the people living there. He could also take someone along with him. Who would he take? Annabeth of course.

"It will be great to live on Olympus right?" Percy asked her.

"Yes, but I think that it is not going to be easy to come first, with such a big prize involved," Annabeth replied, "If we want to go there, the gods are going to make us fight like hungry dogs for it. Their way of entertainment."

"Us? You mean other demigods are going to participate?"

"Just see."

"Now tell me who wants to enter in the competition?" Athena asked, "This will be your final chance to enroll."

This time all hands in front of her went straight up, all demigods from Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter and Mike`s group alike.

"So you all consider yourself up to the challenge?" Athena asked loudly.

"Yes!" came the chorus reply.

"Then let the competition begin!" she said and all the gods and goddesses behind her drew their respective weapons. They pointed them in the air and bright rays shot out from each of them. They joined high above to form an ultra-bright shape in the sky. Percy shaded his eyes from the unbearable glow. When he looked back up, the symbol of Olympus had formed in the sky.

"This symbol will stay there till the end as a witness of the competition," Athena said, "We will meet again after the first task. All the best and do well!" She went offstage with a standing ovation and a tremendous round of applause. All the demigods cheered when the other Olympians got up and waved in their direction before they too went offstage. Then finally Chiron came on stage and said, "Your books are being distributed by the satyrs near the amphitheatre. The first task is scheduled exactly two weeks from now. You have till then to prepare for the test."

All the crowd dispersed in a hurry to get their books.

"Why do I never get a break from quizzes and tests?" Percy complained, "They just follow me everywhere. It seemed to me that we would be fighting dangerous ancient monsters, but here we are, reading books and giving tests."

"Why are you getting so worked up Percy?" Annabeth asked, "We will get the books, I will do some research on the topics, fill you in on the important details and I am sure you will be ahead of most of the participants in the test."

"Still, making it to the top 15…"

"Since when have you become such a worrywart?" Annabeth sounded exasperated now.

"Sorry. I know you will help me with this," Percy said.

"You trust me, right?"

"Of course I trust you."Percy took Annabeth`s hand. "You are my Wise Girl after all." She smiled. They collected their books (Percy didn't dare look at them) and Annabeth immediately excused herself saying that she wanted to do a quick research on them. She tried to hide her excitement from Percy, but he could make out by just looking at her face. She was a child of Athena and these sorts of tests were just her speed. She was going to come first in the test, Percy knew it but she would just stuff her face in books and computers the whole time, working very hard, even if it was Percy who needed to do so.

Percy slowly retraced his steps back to Cabin Three and forced himself to try and read the books given to him. He noticed that they were not really big, but the content was much more complex. And his ADHD wasn`t helping him much either. There were some parts of Greek and Roman history which he had never heard before. He gave up after about half an hour and went outside to get some fresh air. He saw that almost no one was studying and everyone was enjoying the calm atmosphere. Percy figured they all had had the same experience as him, so they pretty much gave up the hope of passing the test. A little while later, Annabeth joined him, but she also didn't have any good news. She said that there were no references to the things mentioned in the books anywhere and if they had to qualify for the second round, they had to read those books thoroughly. The rest of the day passed in a blur. The Romans had mixed well with the Greeks; it was hard to point them out from the other people. Mike`s group had probably gone back to their hideout in the woods.

For the first time at dinner, Percy felt so much surrounded. So many guests had arrived all at once, and they couldn`t sit in the middle of the pavilion as the seats there were reserved for the Top 15 from the first task. Reyna was given a seat at the Head Table as there was no place for the children of Bellona to sit. The gods were pretty content in their special chairs, talking and laughing heartily. Mike`s group was absent as usual. Their food must be brought to them in the woods itself. Creeps.

Halfway through dinner, Chiron got up to make an announcement.

"Campers, as you well know, whenever a guest group from outside visits our camp, it is a tradition to hold a Capture the Flag match between them and Camp Half-Blood. So this time too we are going to follow the same rule. Tomorrow evening there will be a match between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter."

All over the pavilion, people started to murmur excitedly among themselves. Even the Romans were happy about the decision. Anything better than an ultra-hard quiz test.

"Now we are getting somewhere," Alex said to Percy.

Author note: Sorry guys. This was a difficult chapter to write. I guess I have messed up a little here and there so you are free to criticize. But not too much.

And PLEASE REVIEW!