CHAPTER SEVEN: WAR GAMES PART ONE

ALRIGHT GUYS, CHAPTER SEVEN. NEARLY FIFTY REVIEWS! I HAVE A QUESTION. ARE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS TOO OC? I TRY MAKING THEM AS CLOSE TO THIER PERSONALITIES AS POSSIBLE, BUT I'M OBVIOUSLY NOT RICK RIORDAN. BUT I READ THE BOOK AND NOW THE CHARACTER PERSONALITIES ARE FRESH IN MY MIND. I'LL PROBABLY STILL SUCK AT IT THOUGH...

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PJO OR HOO, RICK RIORDAN DOES.

LEO VALDEZ'S POV

Okay, so I'm dry now and I feel better. People see a little smoke and automatically assume that I'm on fire. The fact that I can create fire never even crosses their minds. I caught a glimpse of Percy's powers, right before I was doused by a couple gallons of water.

"Hey, Leo ," I heard someone say. I looked around and saw Percy walking towards me.

"No more water!" I screamed while cringing. I covered my face with my arms in defense.

"No! I'm not going to do that again. I sincerely though you were on fire," he said.

"Oh, in that case..." I said. This was kind of awkward.

"Yeah, sorry about that by the way. I have a problem," Percy said. He was coming to me with his problem? He didn't even know me.

"Uh, so what is it," I urged him to continue. To be honest, Percy was kinda intimidating.

"I think Annabeth may be the seventh demigod in the prophecy. It makes sense doesn't it?" Percy asked. He was talking to himself really. I was getting a feeling that he asked me to listen so people didn't stare when he's walking by them, talking out his problems to himself. I know from experience that people tend to look at you weird when you ask yourself questions out loud. Don't judge me, when you work long hours on a ship, surrounded by nasty fumes, you become temporarily insane.

"Dude, not seeing the problem. Annabeth's all ninja and stuff, so what are you worrying about?" I asked him. What was wrong with Annabeth? You'd flee for your life if you ever saw her fight.

"You don't get it, what if something happens to her? What if she can't defend herself?" he looked really worried.

"You know she would kick you butt if she heard you say that," I told him.

He smiled at that, "Heck yeah, she would," his smile dropped. "But... never mind."

I could tell he cared a lot about Annabeth. The same way I care about my tools. Okay, that wasn't the best comparison.

"Percy," I had to ask him a really important question, "Do you know where I can get something to eat?"

"Yeah, follow me. Make sure you watch out for Arion, though. He's Hazel's pet and he doesn't like meeting new people," he said sternly.

"Oh, what type of animal is Arion? A cat?" I asked hopefully. Please don't let it be a dragon. Last time I rode a dragon, it crashed. My little robotic dragon, Festus, was smashed to bits by lasers. Okay, maybe he wasn't that little, only about sixty feet.

"Arion's a flying horse," he answered. Sweet! I want one! "You are lucky you don't understand horse, he needs a couple pounds of soap to wash his mouth out with. Seriously, his favorite word is-"

But Percy didn't get to finish because a grand horse had stopped by Percy's side and hit him on the top of his head.

"Ow," Percy grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

The horse let out a series of neighs. I didn't understand a word, but I could tell the weren't compliments that made you feel like frolicking in a meadow.

"You take that back!" Percy yelled at the horse, "Where did you learn words like that? You're a horse for crying out loud!"

Arion neighed in triumph and walked away.

Percy yelled as he galloped into the horizon, "I'm telling Hazel, then you won't get any dessert!" That was a good comeback Percy. It truly was.

Someone grabbed me from behind and my first instinct was to call for help. But I didn't because I was supposed to be a heroic demigod. That would be like Superman needing assistance. So I decided to go killing machine on them.

"Hey, you, watch it, I got mad skills," I threatened.

"Shut up, Leo," I heard Annabeth say irritably. Oh, good, it wasn't some pyscho with a chainsaw, "Get in the building." She said as she pointed to a small... hut? If you could even call it that. It was in ruins like most of the camp.

"Okay, but that better be the kitchen," I told her. She rolled her eyes and when to retrieve Percy who was still calling to the horse who was long gone.

I got in the hut and there were about a dozen other people there, sitting at a rectangular table. I recognized a couple of them like Jason, Piper, that girl named Reyna, some guy named Frank and another girl named Hazel.

"Sit down, Leo," Reyna said. I just noticed, but that girl looked mighty fine.

"Can do," I said taking a seat across from Piper. I sat down next to Hazel. She kept looking at me weird so I decided to divert my attention elsewhere. Annabeth and Percy walked in and sat down on my left.

"We are here to discuss the Great Prophecy," Reyna started, "It is quite clear that six demigods have been chosen for the prophecy, but we need one more demigod."

"Okay, so who's going to get me a sandwich?" I asked. Anyone who didn't know me looked at me intently for about ten seconds. They were probably trying to decide if I was joking. I wasn't.

Then Jason spoke, "Please excuse Leo. He doesn't always use common sense. But he has a brain... I think."

I shook my head like, I cannot believe you just said that. That comment hurt my feelings. Then I said, "Dude, I though we were buddies, but now I'm officially making Piper my best friend."

"Er, thanks for the offer," Piper said, "But, no" Fine, Piper, be that way.

"Anyways, continue, Reyna," Annabeth said.

"Wait, let me get this straight I'm not getting lunch?" I asked. What were they going to do if I died from starvation?

"LEO!" Annabeth, Jason, and Piper yelled in unison. Okay, I think I'll shut up now.

"So we need a seventh demigod, and since I am willing to sacrifice myself, I will do it," A scrawny boy said from the other end of the table.

Someone told me his name earlier. It started with an 'O' I think. Oh, got it, "Your name's Oblivion, isn't it?" I asked him.

Percy and Frank burst out in laughter, while Jason and Hazel were covering their mouths to keep the laughter from escaping. Even Reyna, the serious girl, was struggling to keep a straight face. What did I say wrong?

"It's Octavian, boy! How dare you mock my name?" Octavian growled. He didn't look that menacing. Did he have fluff in his hair? That's just weird.

"Leo, this is Octavian, the augur," Percy explained once he calmed down. Then he muttered something under his breath. It sounded like 'panda murderer' but I think I heard him wrong because there aren't any pandas in Rome or San Fransisco. Excluding the zoos.

"I swear I didn't know, man. It was a mistake," I told him, in defense.

"You shall pay for this, son of Vulcan," he threatened.

A cyclopes ran through the door. I'd be lying if I said I didn't scream a little when he ran towards me. He grabbed Annabeth and started to strangle her.

"Annabeth," I said loudly.

Her response was, "Tyson, you're crushing me."

I'm not Tyson and I wasn't crushing her. Was she talking to the cyclopes?

"Tyson, I think you should release her so she can breathe," Percy suggested to the cyclopes named Tyson.

"Oh, I just miss Annabeth so much!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too, Tyson," Annabeth said between deep breaths.

"Uh, we were kinda discussing something, Tyson. Could you, ah, leave for a while?" Percy asked Tyson.

"Yes, brother, I will walk now. Ella and I find Mrs. O'Leary," he said while walking away. Brother? Him and Percy? I don't see the resemblance.

"Can we please get back to the conversation at hand?" Octavian asked impatiently. I don't like this guy.

"Yes, Octavian, keep your pants on," Percy told him. Then he corrected himself, "I apologize. I realize you are not wearing pants. So keep your toga on."

Octavian turned red and shut up. Hallelujah.

"I believe that the seventh demigod must be a daughter of Athena," Reyna said. Percy's head snapped up when he heard this. He glanced at Annabeth. She just nodded her head like she has thought this through, which she probably already had.

"Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Hazel recited. What was that supposed to mean?

"Annabeth," Piper said. Oh, I get it now. Not really.

"Annabeth, you're the last demigod," Jason said.

"I know, I thought about it earlier," she said.

"Reyna, is this okay?" Jason asked. Why wouldn't it be okay? The worst that could happen is we all die.

"What do you mean?" Reyna asked confused.

"There's an unequal balance between Romans and Greeks. I'm okay with it, but what about the camp?" Jason asked.

"I'll deal with it," Reyna said with an air of authority, "But for now, you should train. We are going to have war games tonight."

PIPER MCLEAN'S POV

Awesome, war games. I get to die at the hands of the Romans. I was still a little shaken up from my fall, but I guess I was okay.

I can't believe Leo asked for a sandwich in the middle of the meeting like that. Then again, he's Leo, you can't change that.

I was warming up right now with Annabeth and Percy. For some reason, I wasn't able to perform to my best ability. I guess a near-death experience can do that to you.

The war games were similar to capture the flag, except they were more violent. In my opinion at least. The Greeks that had come on the Argo II hadn't been placed in cohorts. Apparently we were being offense. All of us.

I was in the middle of a training match with Annabeth (she was just about to win) when someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "May I have a turn?"

"Sure," I said without thinking. I wasn't about to let Annabeth beat me. I turned around and there was Jason, gladius in hand, ready to fight.

"On second thought, Annabeth and I should finish this fight," I said turning around to face Annabeth again, "Ready to beat me. Again?"

"Piper, go," she said giving me a look of exasperation.

"No, I'm fighting with you," I told her stubbornly.

"Yeah, well, I'm fighting with Percy now, so you have no partner," she said. Then she called to Percy, "Seaweed Brain, are you ready to lose?"

"Bring it on, Wise Girl," I heard him say from a distance.

I turned around to face Jason again and he put his hands up in surrender like, it's not my fault. I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine, but you are definitely NOT going to win."

He smirked and got into a fighting stance, "That's what you think."

Then we started. I was doing pretty well considering I fell off a building earlier. Which reminded me that he had caught me. Which in turn, made me fight harder to prove I wasn't in need of protection. Gods, why did he have to be so skilled with a sword?

I was going to win this for sure. I wasn't going to give him a reason to see me as weak. I saw his eyes calculating his next move. He made eye contact with me and I looked away. That probably wasn't the best thing to do in the middle of a fight, but whatever.

I could feel myself getting tired; I had to do something before he won. So I asked a devious question, "So, Jason, how's your girlfriend, Reyna?"

He stopped fighting and stood in shock. I managed to disarm him, but he still stood staring at me, like it didn't matter.

His blue eyes bore into my multi-colored one and I froze as well.

"What?" I asked him, "Are you going answer?"

"Reyna isn't my-" he started to whisper, but was cut off.

"Let the war games begin!"

OKAY, SUPER WEIRD CHAPTER. IT WAS SUPER BORING BECAUSE I'M SUPER STUPID. AND I'M SUPER SORRY. ALSO, I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR, LIKE, FOREVER. NOW THAT I'VE READ THE BOOK AGAIN I REALIZE THAT MY CHARACTER ARE WAY OFF. ALSO, THE BOOK ISN'T IN FIRST PERSON POV. IT'S TOO BAD. I'M NOT GOING TO CHANGE IT NOW. TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.