Hello, hello again. Sorry it took forever to update, I've been busy. My sister had her 12th birthday party on Saturday, and then I went to see The Avengers with Greg and Izzy on Sunday, so...that's my excuse. I was hoping to finish the story by the end of the month, but...I find that doubtful by now. Either way, I'm wrong often.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Day one, morning of competition.

Percy woke up with a start; the sound of sirens blaring in his room had jolted him awake. The day he had been itching for all summer had finally came, but he was still a little ticked off from his disturbing alarm clock.

"Gods…somebody shut that thing off!" Most of his words were drowned out, since his head was now covered with his pillow. Despite the racket, Percy could still hear the doors slam and the sirens abruptly cease. Someone shook his shoulder.

"Percy, are you awake?" It was the voice of his father.

"You don't think the alarm system woke me up?" Percy mumbled.

Poseidon removed his hand, "I guess you're right. Anyway, I was here to give you something. It will keep you safe." Percy slid his head out from under the pillow,

"Really? What is it?"

Poseidon turned and picked something up from by his feet. He was holding brand new armor, shining and ready to be worn. He grinned at Percy's reaction, "Look at the back. Go on, go on." Percy turned it, a trident had been etched on, and the outline glowed shades of green and blue. "I cannot take credit for it. Your brother made it for you."

Percy managed to utter, "W-wow."

Poseidon beamed, slapped Percy on the back, and stood. "Good luck out there, Perseus. Be safe, will you?" He shifted into a column of sea breeze and fluttered away. Regaining confidence, Percy boldly stood and started to put on the layers of the armor. He took a look in the mirror, it fit perfectly. Another person opened the door, it was Grover once again.

"Rise and shine, Perce!" He tosses Percy a hefty pack. "That's the only thing you can bring in, besides Riptide and woah-"Percy was about to question Grover on why he had cut off, and followed his eyes, he had finally noticed the armor.

"Oh, I know right? Tyson made it for me." He pretended to swipe some dust off his shoulders.

"Alright, alright, no need to brag about it, mister. Come on, there's an honor guard outside for you." Grover lightly shoved Percy out the door, following right behind him. He saw that the other five had lined up in between the guardsmen. Percy spotted Annabeth, and lined up in front of her.

"Nervous?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder slightly.

"Just a little. And you?" She replied.

"Same." They started to walk slowly as the guards began to move. Finally, after what seemed like an hour (even though it was more like five minutes), they stopped in front of what looked like a huge arena. There was enough screaming coming from it to make you partially deaf for a little while.

"Good luck, dude! I've gotta leave so I can track down some nachos or something!" Grover screamed over the crowd, running toward the ticket booth. A booming voice louder than all the others combined rose up above the racket.

"Welcome to the first ever, King of The Competition!" Percy recognized it as Alec's voice on an intercom of some sort. "First off, let's have all the competitors out on the dirt! Come on out, heroes!" He said in a cheery voice. The guards pounded their shields on the ground, and stepped aside in an orderly fashion, out of the way for them to enter the stadium easily. The six of them jogged out, and the screams, cheers, and wails gradually got louder as they got out to the very center of the stadium…

The whole world seemed to tune out. There was a rundown of background information on each of them on the stadium screen. Things like their age, height, weight, and their preferred weapon. Percy snapped out of his daze when he heard, "Percy Jackson!" come from Alec's mouth. He hadn't heard the incline of the screams when the others names were called, but the screams nearly shattered his ears when his was called. Percy nodded slightly. "If the competitors would please make their way to their designated plates at this time." Alec boomed. Percy turned and saw metal mounds that were sticking up out of the ground slightly. He walked over to one and stepped onto it. He checked the other plates to see where everyone else was standing, but seemed to freeze when he heard an automated female voice.

"Identifying…" Percy straightened up, putting his feet together awkwardly. Something scanned his eyes. "Identified…Percy Jackson. Please remain motionless; you are to be given your earpiece and contacts now." He saw a pair of clear discs get closer and closer towards his eyeballs until they finally entered his eyes. Percy also felt the earpiece get clicked into place. "Good luck." The voice said in an emotionless drone. Percy tried stepping off the plate, but an invisible barrier resisted…a force field. The field changed into a dark shade of color, enough to make it impossible to see what was going on outside his confinement. It was bad enough being last for whatever awaited him, but this? Being trapped in a claustrophobia triggering container for Gods knows how long?

"I guess I shouldn't complain." Percy muttered to himself, it wasn't like anyone was going to hear him. The commotion faded. "Oh great, it did make me deaf after all." His armor felt stickier and more uncomfortable by the minute. A beep came on from his earpiece,

"Percy Jackson? Can you hear me?" A shady sounding voice said.

"Ugh, yeah. Can you tell me why-"Percy was quickly cut off.

"This is the first test. You have ten minutes."

Percy heard the whir and click of his plate, and he felt it begin to lower into the ground. The field around him was getting streaked with something. He squinted his eyes, and leaned in to get a better look at it. It was a shade of black and browns, and it sort of looked like chocolate cake batter. Percy nearly had a heart attack when it finally dawned on him-mud. He was completely submerged in mud.

Mwahahahaha! Cliffhanger!

Well, peace out!

~iGwyn12