A/N: I'm not very good at updating on time, am I? Again, many apologies, and worthless excuses- but I do have them! I managed to break my foot and was on run crew for a play- which eats up a ridiculously amount of time. LOL. This chapter was in equal parts fun and frustrating to right- I'd write a bit, then get stuck, then write some more...yep.

Anyway, here is chapter eight...enjoy!
Read and Review!

~lupuscarmen13

Last Time on Stolen:

"I'm not Percy." I said, looking down at my now-empty table.

"I know."

Annabeth walked away.

~~~~~~~~~linebreak~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sally drew [Annabeth] into her arms and held me again. I relaxed against her and closed my eyes, biting my lip.

I would find the truth. I had to.

Or I feared I would crumble.

RIVER

Chapter 8

I leaned back in my chair, watching as Chiron and some Roman girl- Reyna?- spoke. It was nearly lunch and the sun pounded against my exposed neck. Beside me was Leo, who was playing with a small ball of fire. Around us were orange-clad Greeks and purple-clad Romans. We were in the clearing around the cabins, waiting for Chiron to fully explain what little he had told us at breakfast.

"Where's Annabeth?" I asked, looking up at the clear blue sky.

Leo's fire went out and he looked at me strangely. "Why do you care?"

I shrugged. "It's fun to bug her."

Leo snorted, running a hands through his hair. "Should've figured that's what you would answer. She went to visit Percy 's mother, Sally."

I raised an eyebrow, hiding a wince as a flood of memories shot through my skull. "Why?"

Leo threw his hands up in the air. "I dunno. They're pretty close, I heard."

I leaned forward, letting the chair's front feet hit the ground and traced the empty chess board in front of us. "So, do people play on this thing often?"

Brown eyes met my own. "Dude. What's up with you?"

I smirked. "What?"
Flames danced in Leo's hair. "You...you aren't being a jerk, and you seem happy! What happened?"

I shrugged, leaning back in the chair. "Dunno. Just got a good feeling, you know?" I watched as Reyna shook Chiron's hand, and as the pair turned to us. "Oh, joy."

Leo turned, eyebrow furrowed in confusion, before seeing what I saw. "Oh-"

"Campers and soldiers," called Reyna in a clear voice. The chatter that had filled the clearing died down quickly. The young leader drew herself up and gazed around the crowd with powerful, strong eyes. "I am glad to announce that the Romans of Camp Jupiter have accepted the Greek's invitation to the second annual Games. For those of you who don't know, the Games were established at the end of the Giants War, to keep the bonds we forged in the fire alive, and for us to remember our camaraderie and to test our skill. We- the Romans- will be here for the next two weeks as the Games go on. Please sign up at the Big House for volunteer opportunities to help set up the Games. Thank you."

There was a bit of clapping as Reyna stepped back. Chiron trotted forward, a light glimmering in his eyes. "Campers of Camp Halfblood. If you have any questions, please ask your cabin leader or myself." he smiled. "Training for the next two weeks will not be mandatory, but highly suggested. Also, Poseidon has sent some young cyclops to do dishes and other important jobs, so that training and events can go on smoothly."

There was quite a bit of cheering at that, until Chiron cleared his voice and stomped his hoof. "The first event will take place in two days, at noon. It will be sword fighting," he paused as murmurs rippled through the crowd, "followed by archery."

The Apollo cabin cheered.

"The final event has been decided. Having won the coin toss, I have chosen Capture the Flag-"

Yet another loud cheer ripped through Chiron's speech.

"Very enthusiastic." I whispered dryly to Leo, who was cheering with the others.

The son of Hephaestus gave me a wounded look. "Hey!"

"as the event." Chiron finished. He shook his head fondly as the Greek demigods spoke amongst themselves and withdrew.

"Dismissed!" called Reyna. "Except for centurions and...cabin leaders."

Leo stood as the crowd of demigods departed, but I caught his shoulder. "Hey," I said, sticking my hands in my shorts pockets. "Am I cabin leader?"

Leo nodded, scanning the crowd. "Yep."

I groaned, but then perked up. "Does that mean I get to do whatever I want?"

Walking forward, Leo rolled his eyes. "What do you think, River?"

I grinned. "What do you think, Leo?"

Leo shot a tiny flame at me, but I repelled with a tiny stream of water, then jumped back, pretending to be shocked.

"What the hell!" I shouted, staring at my finger in disbelief. Leo watched silently- strange, that- as I let myself get into my role. "Where-what?"

"Must be your powers emerging." said Leo softly, fiddling with a piece of wire. I looked at him.

"Powers?" I asked, making my voice seem clueless. Leo nodded.

"Son of Poseidon. Earth shaker, god of the sea and horses." Leo said. "I don't know too much- that's Annabeth's job, but you should have a lot of power of water, especially salt water. Percy..." Leo hesitated. "Percy was a really good navigator and could control boats. He could make hurricanes and control large quantities of water. Annabeth once said he blew up of volcano though...so you might be able to control the earth a bit. And you can speak to horses and fish, so don't be too surprised."

I stared at him, more memories flooding my mind. I was honestly interested. Even when I was Percy, I hadn't know too much about my powers, and had only unlocked a small part of it. Since I had lost Percy, I hadn't used my powers...

"Whoa." I said eloquently.

"Yep." said Leo, throwing the object he had been working on into the air. It was shaped like a plane, and it flew around our heads for a few moments before falling back to earth.

I stared at the little plane lying on the ground.

That's us, said Percy gloomily. My eyes widened fractionally; Percy always was optimistic when speaking to me.

What? I asked.

Broken. Useless, Percy sighed.

Shut-shut the hell up! I snapped.

"River?" Leo asked.

My eyes flew up to Leo, who was looking a little concerned.

"Did the wrackspurts get you?" he asked teasingly, like it was some kind of reference.

"No." I said roughly, closing my mind off from Percy. The cabin leaders were looking at us in curiosity.

Leo stared at me for a moment, before lifting his shoulders and letting a mischievous grin form on his face. The easy-going, slightly melancholy boy was gone, replaced by a Leo that I...remembered.

The memories of Leo Valdez were coming back, nearly as vibrant as the ones about Annabeth.

"Sup!" Leo yelled, running forward to meet the cabin leaders and centurions.

Some of the campers greeted Leo in return, and I saw Frank put his arm around Hazel and wave.

"You coming, River?" Leo called, turning around. I gave a short nod and slowly followed, hands in my pockets.

I scowled as the Romans curiously inspected me, a few with shock. A boy who was sipping on a red juice box dropped it.

"Percy?" he asked incredulously. Eyes turned to stare at me.

I clenched my fists, holding down Percy with an iron fist. "I'm not-"

"He's not Percy." Hazel said softly, leaning her head against Frank's shoulder. The Romans turned to look at her. "He says his name is River."

Reyna examined me carefully, her eyes piercing my own. I met them defiantly, secure in the knowledge that Percy was buried out of sight. She then stepped back, nodding slightly. "Hello, River...?"

"J." I replied.

"Jay?" repeated a boy with brown hair. "Like the bird?"

I scowled but accepted it. "Whatever."

"It's nice to meet you, River." said a girl with blonde hair. She held out a hand and I stared at it, before shrugging. I took it.

"Shall we get on with the meeting?" Chiron asked amiably. Reyna cleared her throat and nodded.

"On the Roman side, we have no new changes in centurions," Reyna began. "Cohorts 1 through 4 will be staying in the temporary camp we will be setting up tonight, and the fifth will be staying with...?"

"Hermes cabin." Connor (or Travis) piped up. Reyna nodded. "Later tonight we'll go more in detail. We also had a small influx of new demigods and legacies. What about you, Greeks?"

"We have gained nearly a dozen campers in the past year," Chiron said. "Our newest being Mr. J."

"Who is he descended from?" a boy piped up.

Hank, Percy whispered with slight disdain. Went against us during a Senate vote before my quest with Frank and Hazel.

You, I snarled back, smashing Percy down ruthlessly. I looked up innocently and raised one of my hands slightly in acknowledgment. "Yo."

Yo? Percy said, his voice muffled.

Leo smirked beside him. "Nice." he muttered.

"I'm the son of Poseidon." I drawled, leaning against a near-by tree.

Roman jaws fell open. "Neptune?" one yelped.

"Poseidon?"

"Jackson's father?"

"The God of the Seas?"

"I just said so, didn't I?" I said, running a hand through my hair.

"I still don't get it..." Clarisse whispered to Chris. I smirked.

"Moving on..." Chiron said. "River will lead the Poseidon cabin, and is a full counselor. Other than this, we have no changes." He hesitated.

"Where's Annabeth?" Jason asked, looking around. "She was at breakfast...?"
"She went to visit a friend." Chiron explained. The group nodded, and the centaur's face smoothed out. "However...there was a large group of monsters on the borders earlier this month. However, they were chasing River, and have all been destroyed."

The atmosphere tensed slightly. "Were there any major monsters?" Reyna asked, looking towards me.

I laughed harshly. "Depends on your point of view."

"River." Chiron chastened. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the tree trunk.

"At least three packs of hellhounds, a couple Cyclops, snake-ladies, some harpies, and...the Minotaur."

A chill went through the air at the mention of the mythical monster.

"The...Minotaur?" Gwen whispered, her eyes wide.

I smirked. "Yep. It was fairly simple, really. The dumb bull was easily tricked." I mimicked slashing a sword. "Idiot practically let me kill it."

Some of the demigods let out a nervous grin, but the older campers seemed shocked.

"But.." Jason stuttered.

"The Minotaur!" Katie put in.

"Did you have any training prior to this?" Reyna asked.

I felt my face darken. "Not that I know of."

Liar, Percy croaked quietly from where I had hidden him.

Dude! I snarled. Can't you just go away?!

No, said Percy with an implied smirk.

I groaned internally.

"Not that you know of?" Reyna asked. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "Don't remember getting any training. Unless living on the damn streets with those frickin' monsters count."

A couple of the younger counselors gasped, and Chiron shook his head. "River. Again, I ask that you refrain from swearing."

I snorted, sticking my hands back into my pockets. "Sure thing, Chiron."

But really. This was a camp for turning kids into warriors. Was swearing really what the glorified pony was worried about?

Honestly.

I felt Percy shake his head inside of me, and my decent mood from earlier worsened.

Beside me, Leo was holding back a smirk of his own.

Reyna cleared her throat. "Is there any other important news needed to be shared?"

The area around us chilled and darkened, then a boy with long, shaggy black hair and eyes of the same color stepped out of a shadow. He was dressed in a black army jacket and black pants. He was pale...and familiar.

"Nico?" Hazel asked in surprise. She moved away from Frank, who looked surprised himself.

"What's up, dude?" Leo asked, grinning.

Nico raised his eyes to the group. "Percy's alive."

A/N:

Um...the end?

I'll try to post by Tuesday morning, but it really depends on my access to the computer...better go work on all my other fics and this one...

Read and Review, please!

Oh, and for those who were wondering: The Kane siblings come in later, but will play a major part in this...and yes, Periver still has the charm on him from Carter...

~lupuscarmen13