"Hey," Percy said, "You guys ever get a bad feeling something's going to happen?"

Max looked at him incredulously. "Like what, Percy?" She mocked.

"You mean on top of everything else that's ever happened to us?" Harry asked.

"We've been kidnapped from our home realities..." Alek began.

"Forced to fight each other in the first tournament..." Katniss continued.

"And now we're competing against an angry god who enjoys pitting heroes against other heroes..." Carter rounded off. "Yeah, I'd say plenty has happened already."

Percy sighed and shook his head. "You guys are jerks... No. I mean something that's about to happen."

"Pssst. Guys."

The group looked back at the hole to the bunker. Ami had a wide look in her eyes.

"Percy should fight next," she warned. "The others don't stand a chance."

"That's right," Percy puffed out his chest, "Who called it? You guys should start respecting me more."

Unbeknownst to Percy, Katniss caught Max's raised fist as she prepared to punch him in the gut.

"Do not underestimate him," Ami warned, "His magical power is in a league of its own."

Percy cleared his throat. You gotta love it when girls go all "foreboding prediction" on you.

Percy took a Com and jumped the railing.

"Percy Jackson takes to the field," the announcer droned on, "How exciting."

Slightly offended, Percy took to the center of the field. A doorway of light opened before him. Out fell a strange looking guy with pink hair, a black trench coat missing one sleeve, and a white scarf. He had some baggy pants and sandals, as well.

Something fell through with him, a tiny, blue cat with a bag around his neck.

They both fell on their faces, like they were pulled in from a nap. The hard hit on the ground woke the guy up, and he looked around sluggishly.

He yawned and complained loudly, though Percy couldn't make sense of it.

"Wait, what?"

The guy looked around him, irritated. Then he got up and he started talking agitatedly. It took Percy a minute to realize that the guy was speaking Japanese.

"Oops," the announcer said, "forgot the translator." You could hear a loud "click!" over the speakers. "Anyway, it's Natsu Dragneel, and his partner Happy! Champions of Fairy Tail!"

The kid switched to English almost instantly. "-had to do a tournament! Why am I being dragged into another one?" Was it Percy's imagination, or was the guy spitting fire? Natsu leveled his eyes with him, observing him like a snake would a mouse. Then he grinned, "You look pretty strong. I guess I can stick around long enough to pummel you."

Percy felt like he was talking to one of Clarisse's guys, but with more bite to back up the bark. The other heroes that had been summoned, they cooperated immediately, no questions and no fuss. Percy recognized the rivalry magic their enemy used before, but he knew this guy didn't need it. He was the kind of guy that went into a bar to brawl more than drink.

"Hey Happy," he nudged the blue furred cat with his foot, "C'mon, we got a fight on our hands."

The cat continued to snooze, and Percy took this as a chance to contact his friends.

"Guys..."

"Natsu Dragneel is a wizard..." Carter read.

"That is not a wizard," Harry argued.

"Shut up," Katniss ordered, "He's a dragon slayer, whatever that means, and he uses abundant amounts of fire magic. Try to counter that with your water powers."

"Okay," Percy wondered, "What about the cat?"

Percy looked behind him and saw the disturbed looked on Max's face from here.

"What the feathers...?" He heard Max in his ear.

"The cat sprouts wings and flies," Alek read out. "He's also capable of lifting the man off the ground and going high into the sky."

"How are you so calm about this?" Carter asked him.

"It's not the strangest creature I've seen. Definitely more visually appealing though. Might make a nice pet for Deryn…"

"Where are you from again?" Max wondered.

Percy tuned them out. If Pariah was letting their opponents bring comrades, maybe Percy could call for one of his.

The cat sprang up and looked around after his pal mentioned fish. It looked around saying "Aye, sir!" (Of course the cat talks, why not?)

Percy set his fingers against his teeth and did one of the best taxi cab whistles he could muster. Ami came through, and Percy's dog burst out of the shadows.

Mrs. O'Leary was Shadow Hound, a creature of the Underworld. When Percy first met her, he thought it was a stray monster, now she was his pet, and one of his best friends. Annabeth taught Percy a few tricks on how to deal with a new dog.

Percy greeted her as she nuzzled him into her neck. "Hey there. It's been a while. Good girl, you ready for a fight?"

Mrs. O'Leary let out a loud bark in response. Percy faced their opponents. Happy the magic cat was already carrying Natsu a few feet off the ground. Percy hopped onto O'Leary's back and drew his sword.

"ThreeTwoOneFight!"

Mrs. O'Leary charged forward and tried to nip at their opponent. Natsu hovered away and bolted straight upward.

"Fire Dragon…"

Percy had Mrs. O'Leary jump out of the way at the last second as Natsu came back down, his fist covered in flames, smashing it into the ground.

"Iron Fist!"

He put two fists to his mouth, horizontally making a funnel of some kind, "Fire Dragon…"

Percy's arm hairs stood up on end. They needed to move, now.

Mrs. O'Leary acted without command, diving into the shadows and popping up elsewhere on the field. The second he did, the kid unleashed a wave of fire that almost took a little too much off the top for Percy.

"Roar!" he finished.

Percy wondered why he announced his attacks while performing them. It was stupid, in hindsight, to warn your enemies about the exact way you're going to hit them. But this guy had the power to back it up. If Percy hadn't moved, he'd be a pile of ashes.

They charged the anime duo and slashed at them with his sword. They fluttered away, out of reach, but Mrs. O'Leary was versatile. She ran full-sprint towards a wall, shadow-jumping into it and reappeared under Natsu and Happy, using the momentum to launch themselves into the air.

"Fire Dragon Talons!"

He kicked streams of fire at them, which Mrs. O'Leary took to the face. She yipped in pain, and one of Percy's heart strings was pulled. It was one thing to even the playing field, but Percy couldn't put his dog in danger.

They landed on their feet, and Percy dismounted.

"Time out!" he said, putting his hand up to his arm in a 'T'. "Real quick!"

Natsu hesitantly lowered himself down to the ground.

"How about we do this right?" Percy offered, patting the smolders on Mrs. O'Leary's fur. "Man-to-man. I don't want family getting hurt in all this mess. Deal?"

The kid's face changed from fierce determination to concern. If nothing else, he understood family.

"Happy," he ordered.

"Aye sir!" the blue cat dropped him and flew out of sight.

"You did a good job, girl," Percy said, "Go home, and I'll get you some treats. Promise."

The shadow hound left without hesitation, leaving the demigod alone with the pink haired weirdo.

"I hear you're a Dragon Slayer," Percy began.

"A Fire Dragon Slayer, yeah," he answered, "What are you?"

"I'm a Demigod. The son of Poseidon."

"Who?"

"You know…" Percy persisted, "the god of the seas?"

"Oh!" Natsu snapped his fingers, "You're a Sea god Slayer! I've fought guys like you before!"

"That's… not what I said…" Percy responded, "At all."

Natsu ignored him and charged forward. He tried to punch Percy with a fire engulfed fist, but Percy hooked his arm around his and used his free hand to punch Natsu's face. He punched back with his free hand, and they just went back and forth. Of course, Natsu was more experienced at this, so he started spouting insults, and Percy started spouting back.

Finally, Percy shoved him back and tried to swing his sword. Natsu ducked under his swing and nailed him in the gut with an "Iron Fist."

It knocked the wind out of Percy, but he steeled his nerves and stuck his sword into the ground. A geyser spouted and sprayed both of them, but it carried Natsu away and helped heal Percy.

Percy stepped out of the water and saw that Natsu had just landed a few feet away.

"Like a breath of fresh air," Percy taunted.

Natsu got back up and put his hands together. There was fire swirling in his grip; he was charging something up. One final attack.

Percy thought that he should do the same. He held up his sword and a torrent of water started swirling around him.

"Fire Dragon Secret Art!"

Oh why the heck not?

"Sea God Secret Art!"

Natsu attacked. "Exploding Lotus Flame!"

Percy retaliated. "Surging Tsunami!"

The arena was a violent collision of fire and water, everything resulting in a giant mushroom cloud of steam. When it finally cleared out, the two combatants still stood there. They both looked exhausted.

Percy wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Had…enough?"

"Not a…chance." Natsu answered, taking a shaky step forward.

Percy stepped forward too. He didn't have the energy to summon a puddle, and Natsu didn't look capable of starting a campfire. On each of their second steps, they fell forward, completely knocked out. First Percy, with Natsu a split second behind him.

"Looks like Natsu Dragneel is the winner!" the announcer boomed. Excited again. Probably by the fact that the hero lost.

Percy was barely conscious, but just conscious enough to watch and listen. He felt someone rushing to his side and saw a flash of light in the corner of his eye. That must be the blue cat thing taking Natsu back home.

"Let's see how our heroes did today, shall we?" the Pariah came out of hiding. "Oh: no, no, no! We can't have that! That's a pitiful amount!"

It didn't matter what they earned. Pariah was dead set on making their experience here as miserable and tiring as possible.

"Let's see who gets it today!" Pariah spun the wheel.

Percy could feel it on the back of his neck. His hunch came back with a vengeance, and an ache in his gut. He knew who was next.

"Annabeth Chase!"

Then she was there. Looking around, confused, until she saw him.

"Percy?"

"Annabeth…"

The chains came from nowhere, grabbing her wrists and draining her of whatever energy she had to give. Percy was too weak to cry out. Too weak to catch her.

Thankfully, Katniss and Max where ready, and moved to keep her from hitting the ground. They both were carried back to the bunks, and placed on their respective beds. Percy was on the bed next to hers.

"Soon, babe," he said under his breath, "We'll go home soon." He started drifting back to sleep.

"I…promise…"