Chapter Three:

Hi, guys! Another loooong chapter! Why does it seem like a good thing when other authors do it but when I do it, I feel like it's a bad thing?... On another note, I should have mentioned earlier that Marco's backstory takes place right after The Titan's Curse, sometime in the spring. So hopefully the references I make in this chapter will make sense! Anyways, thanks to LimesLovePotter and ShadowTravel for reviewing! They make me SOOO happy!

Reviews:

LimesLovePotter: That was pretty good :) Thanks so much, lovely! Your kind words mean so much! :)

ShadowTravel: Yay, long chapter! I thought Mr. D was really funny… Soooo… Marco can beat a Chimera with three arrows? Puts Percy in his place ;-) Hahaha! Glad you liked it, dearie! I hope you like this chapter, too. And in Percy's defense, Marco had a long–range weapon. :)

Disclaimer: I only own Marco. Everything else is Ricks's. Blah, blah, blah!

Dinner in a large, open–air pavilion ended my first day at Camp Half–Blood. The pavilion sat on a hill overlooking the sea. Torches blaze from the columns, and a central fire burns inside a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each table has a white cloth with purple trim. All the campers lined up before marching towards it. One of the head councilors, 'Connor?.. Travis?.. Oh, one of them!' said we lined up in order of seniority. I, of course, was dead last. As we walked up the marble stairs, I noticed a long scar across the polished floor. It must've been at least twenty feet long. 'Wonder what happened? The rest of the marble seems pretty solid...' I watched in awe as girls melted from the trees, carrying platters of barbecue and pizza. A goblet sat on the table in front of me, but it was empty.

"Think about whatever drink you want, it'll appear in your cup. Nonalcoholic, of course." Someone said.

I turned to look behind me and saw Percy standing with a goblet in his hand.

"Watch." He said. He addressed his cup. "Cherry Coke."

Sure enough, the goblet filled itself up with a caramel-colored liquid.

Percy grinned. "Now watch this." Once again he addressed his goblet. "Blue Cherry Coke."

The liquid turned a violent cobalt blue.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Percy asked.

I nodded in amazement. "Can you request a drink from a certain place?" I asked.

Percy nodded.

I turn to look at my cup. "Okay, then. Iced lemonade from El Sol Cantina."

Immediately my cup fills itself will a light yellow liquid, ice cubes dancing across its surface. I took a sip.

"Perfecto."* I sighed.

Percy chuckled. "So listen, before you eat, we all take a portion of our meal to the brazier," he gestured to the flaming bronze brazier, "as an offering to the gods. You know, the juiciest piece of meat, the best part of the olive pizza. They like the smell."

I stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

Percy shook his head. As his wavy black hair shook along with his head, I saw something I hadn't noticed before; a streak of gray. "I thought the same thing on my first day. Oh, and you can't switch tables. Everyone has to stay at their assigned one." Percy said.

I looked at the other Hermes campers. Some were laughing, some were trying to prank each other, and others were looking at me suspiciously.

I sighed again, this time in exasperation. "Great.."

Percy looked at me sympathetically. "Just don't let your stuff out of your sight, and don't accept any sort of "gifts" from them. You'll be fine." Then he headed back to his table, the Poseidon table.

The only other camper at his table was– 'Is that a CYCLOPES?!' Even though I wasn't a Greek mythology buff, I knew what a Cyclopes was. I was brought out of my thoughts by the tree girls passing by with the trays of food. I helped myself to the barbecue and buttered rolls. 'I've never had American–style barbecue.' I was about to dig in (I was starving), when I remembered what Percy said. I saw the other campers making their way to the burning brazier, so I grabbed my plate and followed. When it was my turn, I scooped what looked like the best piece of meat into the flames.

'Uh, Father? Hi. It's me, Marco.' I felt like an idiot. 'Um, please, can you keep my familia* safe? If anything happened to them, I don't know what I'd do. You don't even have to claim me, just protect them. Thanks.' I realized the flames really did smell good. Barbecue, olive pizza, buttered rolls, the smell of springtime and summer breezes; all smells that shouldn't go together, yet somehow did. I made my way back to my seat. Once everyone had had a turn at the brazier, Chiron clopped his hoof on the marble loudly, getting everyone's attention. He raised his goblet.

"To the gods!" He announced.

I followed everyone's lead and raised my cup, repeating the blessing. I ate in silence, still trying to process the day's events.

That night, I learned to sleep with one eye open.

–•—•0•—•–

Fast–forward, and I had been at camp for a week. It took me almost that entire time to settle into the routine. The lava wall was brutal, I struggled with Greek mythology, and flying on a pegasus was slightly terrifying. The only things I excelled at were Ancient Greek and archery. I could already speak two languages fluently, so it was easier for me to learn another. Archery, I had no explanation for. Besides the Chimera incident at El Sol Cantina, I had never used a bow in my life. Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena who taught me Ancient Greek, and Chiron who taught archery, were both pleased with my progress.

"You know, you might be a son of Apollo." Annabeth said one day.

I shrugged. I admit, the idea intrigued me. But I only said, "Maybe. We'll see when I'm claimed."

It wasn't until Capture the Flag that I was claimed. Athena and Ares were team captains. I may not have been at camp long, but I still knew this game would be brutal with the children of two war gods facing off. Athena made alliances with Poseidon and Hermes. Ares made alliances with the other cabins; Demeter, Apollo, Dionysus, and Hephaestus. If the Hermes cabin wasn't so big, we would have been grossly outnumbered.

Annabeth handed me some armor. "Here. These should fit you. I just need to find a sword..."

"I want a bow." I said bluntly.

Annabeth stared at me with a calculating look. Her storm gray eyes were intimidating. I was worried she'd call me crazy or stab me with her knife, whichever came first.

But instead she said, "Okay."

"Okay?" I asked, slightly stunned.

"It's a little unusual, but who knows? Maybe you'll be our secret weapon. Wait here." She disappeared through the crowd of armored campers, her blonde ponytail bouncing. As her hair swished, I thought I caught sight of a streak of gray. 'No. What are the odds both she AND Percy have gray streaks in their hair?' I shook my head. When Annabeth returned, she held a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"Try not to shoot anyone wearing blue, okay?" She asked.

I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

"Uh, yeah." I said.

She nodded. "And take this, just in case."

She handed me a bronze knife, similar to hers but longer.

"Thanks." I said.

She nodded again before putting on her helmet. Then she strode away. I strapped the quiver to my back and tested the bow string. 'It'll do.' I thought. Then I strapped the knife to my belt. The Hermes campers gave me strange looks, but I ignored them. Annabeth went over her plan and everyone agreed to it. After she dismissed everyone, she pulled me aside.

"I have a job for you." She said.

"Okay?" I was surprised she picked me.

My face must have shown it because she said,

"I wasn't kidding about you being our secret weapon. I want you stationed in a tree. If the guards get overwhelmed, start shooting opposing campers."

I stared at her in shock. "Shoot directly at campers? What about no killing?" I asked incredulously.

Annabeth reached behind me and pulled out an arrow. Instead of a normal arrowhead, a thick white pad was on the end. It looked like a jumbo marshmallow. She handed it to me. It was weighted and thick. It would be a little hard to shoot with. 'Then again, if I'm up in a tree, the weight might give me an advantage.'

"Exactly." Annabeth said, as if reading my mind. "They won't kill, but a direct shot will feel like a punch from an Ares camper."

I nodded. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." I said.

Annabeth smirked, her gray eyes flashing. Just then, Chiron blew the conch horn signaling the start of the game.

"Good luck." She said. "Team blue! Take your positions!" Then she disappeared.

Literally disappeared. She stood in front of me one second, then she pulled out a baseball cap and went to put it on. Then the next second she was gone. I remembered Chiron saying something about magic items being allowed to be used during the game. 'Cool. Wish I had one...' The other campers on my team let out whoops and hollers, charging into the woods. Percy came and found me.

"Follow me. I'll show you to your post." He said. Then he dashed into the woods.

I quickly followed. We tore through the foliage. We ran around trees and other blue helmet–plumed campers, then jumped over a creek. Soon we came to a large pile of rocks. A blue flag was stuck in between two large boulders at the top. I remembered that Annabeth called it "Zeus' Fist." To me, it looked like a pile of deer droppings. Percy led me to a tall pine tree.

"Can you climb it?" He asked.

I examined the tree before nodding. "Yeah."

I slung my bow over my back, then began to climb. After a few minutes, I got to a large branch, high enough to have a good vantage point and sturdy enough to hold my weight. I settled myself and pulled my bow off my back and drew an arrow. I was ready. Percy gave me a thumbs up. I returned it, and Percy took up his post of guarding the flag. I realized I was pretty well camouflaged. The branches provided significant coverage, so the opposing campers would have a hard time of finding me. I waited.

—•—•0•—•—

It felt like I had been sitting in this tree for an eternity. My rear end had gone numb. I could hear hoots and hollers and the sounds of weapons clanging, but nothing came near us. After at least an hour, the first few opposing campers came rushing out. As much as I wanted to be a part of the action, I knew Percy and the other three campers could handle them. Then the wave came. At least twenty opposing campers swarmed the four of ours. I quickly notched an arrow. 'But where do I shoot first?' Then I saw three burly Ares campers ganging up on one Hermes camper. He didn't stand a chance. I fired my arrow at one of them, aiming slightly high to compensate for the weight of the arrowhead. It hit the Ares camper in the helmet, sending him sprawling. The group froze in shock. I quickly notched two more arrows, taking out the other two Ares campers. The Hermes camper looked around, stunned, before letting out a whoop and joining the others in battle. I fired at opposing campers left and right. A couple of them tried to climb Zeus' Fist, but a well placed arrow knocked them down. Soon, screams and yells could be heard. I paused my firing to see Annabeth charging across the creek with the red flag, chased my a dozen opposing campers. As soon as she crossed the boundary line, the flag shimmered and turned silver, an owl embroidered on the front.

Chiron came galloping up. "Blue team wins!" He announced.

Our team cheered while the other team groaned, some of them throwing down their weapons in anger. I saw Percy give Annabeth a high–five. Suddenly, a yell pierced the air. I quickly slung my bow over my back and climbed down the tree. A Hermes camper had collapsed. I ran over. I recognized him as the Hermes camper I had rescued earlier. He was mumbling something about "foul play," and "maiming," between moans. I wanted to help, but didn't know how. My hands hovered awkwardly above him. An Apollo camper knelt on his other side.

"Where does it hurt?" The Apollo camper asked.

But the Hermes camper continued to groan. "It hurts, Lee."

"Jordan, c'mon! Tell me where it hurts?" The Apollo camper, Lee, demanded.

Suddenly, it felt like a magnetic force was pulling on my hands. A burning pain blossomed on the right side of my rib cage, quickly growing stronger. It felt like the bones had cracked then caught on fire. A yelp of pain escapes my lips. A sudden spike of agony rips through my torso and I lurch back, the magnetic force disconnecting. I landed on my back, the burning pain in my ribs slowly subsiding. I realized everyone was staring at me.

"Ribs. Right side." I gasped out.

The Lee kid looked at me suspiciously, but he swatted the Jordan's hands away and removed the kid's breastplate. He lifted up Jordan's shirt. Sure enough, his side was swollen and turning a shade of dark blue. Once again, everyone turned to me in shock.

"How did you know?" Lee asked, slightly awed.

I stumbled to my feet. "I don't.. I don't know!" I stammered.

The other campers just stared at me.

"Look, you gotta believe me. I–"

An explosion of golden light exploded above my head, blinding me. When my eyes adjusted, everyone was staring at me. 'Wait.. Not AT me. At something above my head.' I looked up. A flaming golden bow glowed above my head, showers of golden sparks raining down. I gaped in astonishment.

"Wha–What is–" I stuttered.

Annabeth made her way to the front of the crowd, followed by Percy. They both stared at the glowing bow.

"You've been claimed." Annabeth said.

"What?!" I asked, slightly panicking.

Chiron's voice startled me. "Hail, Marco Alvarez! Son of Apollo; god of the sun, healing, music, archery, and prophecy." Chiron bowed at the waist.

Following Chiron's lead, all the campers bowed... To me.

'Me voy a enfermar.'* I thought.

*Translations:

"Perfecto."= Perfect.

Familia= Family.

'Me voy a enfermar.'= I'm going to be sick.

So, like I said before, this takes place after TTC (hence the gray streaks, the crack at the dining pavilion, Lee Fletcher, etc. Gah, I miss Lee! Not that Will isn't great, but still!). Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! The next chapter will begin Marco's new adventure and introduce more new and old characters! So exciting! It might be a week or so before I update Burning Sun, though. Some details involving Hidden Hero will be mentioned and I don't want to spoil it! So hang on guys. I promise it's coming!

Thalia Bolt