Yes, I'm back. Next update won't be for a long time. Sorry.

Leo III

After a morning of evil espresso drinks, knife-wielding psycho best friends, and flying horses, Leo should've checked himself into the nearest mental institution. But all he could think was, This is so cool!

He was standing in the back of the chariot while the guy, Percy, handled the reins. Ever so often, he brushed against her and Annabeth let her guard down long enough to smile lightly. Leo looked away. Normally, he would tease them about it but as they barely knew each other and Annabeth probably looked like a female version of Adolf Hitler when she was angry…

"This is so freaking cool!" Leo shouted over the wind. He spit out a feather and grinned up at Percy.

He glanced over at Reyna, who was emotionless, as usual. Leo couldn't believe it. She was on a freaking flying horse and she had no emotion at all on her face. She just had this look of, Cool story, bro. Tell it again.

But Leo knew that she wasn't completely emotionless. When she had fought those espresso drinks – sorry, venti – she had such a fierce look in her eyes, it was as if Leo was seeing her for the first time. That thought really depressed him.

During his entire stay at the Wilderness School, he had tried to fit in. At least, be considered normal. When Piper and Reyna had appeared, he had been eternally grateful. Piper was a really good friend. And as for Reyna, at first, Reyna had scared the pee out of everyone. Even the popular girls didn't bother her. Finally, Piper and Leo became friends with Reyna after a pick-up line gone wrong.

"Where are we going?" Reyna asked, her voice as cold and sharp as knives.

"We're going to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said, her gray eyes looking straight ahead. "It's the only safe place for people like us."

"Half-blood?" Piper asked, immediately on guard.

Leo understood why. She had been called a half-blood way too many times. Half-white, half-Cherokee. It was never a compliment. "Is this some sort of twisted joke?"

"Calm down, Piper," Reyna ordered, her eyes betraying no emotion. "She means demigods. We're half-mortal, half-god."

Annabeth turned to look at Reyna. "You seem to be quite familiar with our world, Reyna. But yeah, what you're saying is true. I'm the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Percy's the son of the sea god, Poseidon."

Leo could see that. Annabeth looked like a dumb blonde except her gray eyes ruined the image. And Percy's sea green eyes definitely matched up to his heritage.

"Percy's really good with getting along with the pegasi," Annabeth added. She smiled at him.

"You, son of the almighty Poseidon, get along great with ponies?" Leo asked. He nearly burst out laughing. "You're kidding, right?"

Percy scowled. He turned red. "You shouldn't have said that. Now Annabeth will never let me forget it." He nudged her.

"Are you two together?" Piper asked.

Percy turned red and Annabeth suppressed a smile. "Is it that obvious?" Percy asked.

Leo nodded. "Yup."

Piper frowned suddenly as if realizing something. "Demigods? You think we're half-god?"

All of a sudden, lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered and they started freefalling.

"Left wheel's on fire," Reyna called, her voice sounding semi-calm.

Leo stepped back and glanced at the wheel. Like Reyna had said, the wheel was burning, red flames lapping up the side of the chariot.

The wind seemed to blow around the chariot, keeping it suspended in the air while at the same time ripping it to pieces. Leo noticed dark shapes forming the clouds. Storm spirits.

"Hang on," Annabeth called, her eyes narrowing in determination.

Percy flicked the reins. As the pegasi put on a burst of speed, Leo suddenly felt the need to throw up. Little dots appeared everyone and soon, his vision went black.

When he opened his eyes and stood up, she tried to process everything he was seeing. There were strawberry fields, roads, and forests on his right. A green-gray ocean on his left. Greek temples, a huge mansion, ball courts, a lake, and something that was on fire in front of him.

He looked around and noticed a bunch of kids questioning Reyna, Annabeth, and Percy. Then, he noticed that he was completely wet and freezing. A giggling girl handed him a towel and pushed him in the direction of him friends.

Shivering, he covered herself with towel and a shudder went through his body. He turned around and noticed Piper still lying down next to him. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she had tasted something sour.

Right then, a few campers ran up with a huge bronze leaf blower. They blasted Leo with a flurry of hot air and in a second, his clothes were completely dry.

"Thanks," he told them.

They just nodded and walked away as if kids crashing into the lake on a burning chariot was typical stuff. Leo didn't think it was so hard to believe, now that he'd seen pretty much everything that there was to see.

There were a couple dozen campers hanging out from ages nine to nineteen. All of them wore orange T-shirts like Annabeth's. She turned towards the water and noticed those strange giggling girls just below the surface. They smiled at her and waved at a few of the boys, including Leo, which made him freeze for a moment before he collected himself. With a wink, he waved back and stared at them.

The girls giggled one more time before sinking into the water. In an instant, the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby.

Piper suddenly woke up. She was shivering. Leo wanted to stay back and see if she was okay but Percy caught his eye and gestured for him to come over so with one last glance, he rushed over.

There were a bunch of kids throwing questions at them. It was chaotic for a few minutes. When Piper arrived, clean and dry, Percy and Annabeth had managed to regain some control.

A boy with blonde hair and hazel eyes that were a little too bright, stepped forward. He was holding a bow and a quiver was strapped on his back. "Annabeth, Percy! You said you were only going to borrow it!"

Annabeth frowned and sighed. "I'm sorry, Will. I'll get it fixed, I promise."

Percy smiled at Will apologetically. "Sorry, man."

Will scowled at the destroyed chariot before turning his attention to Leo, Piper, and Reyna. "These are the ones? They're like, sixteen or something. Why haven't they been claimed yet?"

"What does claimed mean?" Leo asked.

"Any sign of Drew?" Will asked, ignoring Leo's question.

"Nope," Percy said.

A few pretty girls and some good-looking boys sighed but besides them, no one seemed to be that worried. Leo didn't know who Drew was but he guessed she wasn't that popular.

"We'll need to show these new demigods around camp," Annabeth said. "Hopefully, they'll be claimed soon."

"Okay, what the heck does claiming mean?" Piper asked.

Right at that moment, there was a gasp from everyone. The campers took a step back. They all stared at him. At first, Leo thought there was something wrong with his face but they were looking above him, their faces bathed in some sort of red light.

"That's claiming," Percy said.

"Um," Leo said. "What just happened?" He glanced upwards and yelped. "My hair's on fire!" He tried to duck but the symbol followed him.

Will frowned. "This cannot be good. The curse –"

"Calm down, Leo," Reyna said, her voice sharp. "You've just been claimed by Vulcan, the god of blacksmiths and fire. And no, your hair isn't on fire."

Everyone stared at her.

"How did you know that?" Annabeth asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Vulcan?" Leo interrupted. "What the heck are you talking about? I don't even like Star Trek."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and nearly cracked a smile. "This has nothing to do with Star Trek. Obviously we need someone to give him a tour and then introduce him to his new bunkmates."

"I will," Percy said, stepping forward. He turned to Leo. "Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." But before he could steer Leo off, Annabeth froze.

She turned her attention to Reyna. She looked at her with a sort of analytical gaze, like she was trying to figure out everything about the girl just from a glance. "Your arm."

Leo had no idea what she was talking about. Then he noticed the symbols on his friend's arm. Reyna had taken off her jacket so what he saw came as a shock to him.

On the inside of Reyna's right forearm was a tattoo. How on earth had Leo missed that? The tattoo couldn't have just magically appeared, but it was impossible to miss: Four straight lines like a bar code, and over that a crossed sword and torch with the letters SPQR.

"I've never seen anything like this," Percy said. "Where did you get them?"

Reyna glanced at them for a moment and said nothing, as if she was considering her options. Finally, she said, "I don't know."

The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a glimpse of the tattoo. The marks bothered them, that much Leo could understand.

"They look burned into your skin," Annabeth observed.

No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Annabeth and Percy as their leaders. They were waiting for their decisions.

Annabeth and Percy exchanged glances. "Chiron," they said at the same time.

"Will can take Reyna to the Big House," Annabeth decided. She turned to Will. "That okay with you?"

Will nodded and glanced at Reyna. "Let's go."

Reyna followed him after a moment of indecision.

"We can show Leo and Piper around," Annabeth said, turning to Percy.

"Who's Chiron?" Leo asked. "And what happened to Reyna? How could she not remember the marks? And –"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Come on, guys. Percy and I will give you tour. We need to talk."

Okay, so, things got a little different here. But the plot will really start to get different when Reyna meets Chiron. Reviews, anyone? Any grammar mistakes?

CRUCIO!

-A very satisfied Selene Bellatrix Black