REPLY TIME!

all about hope(Guest): (1) omg thank you for pointing that out! Clearly I don't know anything about injuries lol, (2) Oh no! Hope you're doing good! I know :(( it's so sad that hope is ironic during these bleak times :(, (3) Haha Yes she definitely will! I'm really looking forward to writing all her embarrassing exploits XD Thank you so much for all your reviews! It really made my day i love u! ;;

CrystalHeartZyx: I love you! Thank you so much for your review, same I died a lot trying to put Kiara's thoughts into words she's really chaotic XD glad you think she's down-to-earth! She's really conscious about the hidden issues and realities of demigods that weren't really delved into by the series (they were kinda glossed over with humor and I get why with Uncle Rick's writing style), so I'm also really passionate about pointing them out.

Jinglebells852: Hello again! Thank you so much for your support ;; I love you! Also I had written something different with her Leo interaction in this chapter but I read your review and you gave me an idea so I scrapped it all out and started over again! HAHA Thanks for the inspiration x

TimeBlade-Neo: Thanks so much for leaving a review! You really helped me decide how I'd stir the story XD Get ready for a montage of Kiara's suffering lmao Also hmm good guess! Wait to find out ;D

RandomBlondeChick: Thank you so much! I'm really really glad you think so uwu

Guest 1: Ahhhh thank you! Sorry for this late update but here it is! Hope you like it ^^

Guest 2: Hahahhahaha I know right? The days of the week are blurring right past me too. Tho I am currently in uni in my country right now and summer is still a long way ahead ;;

Thanks for the follows and favorites! TimeBlade-NEO, AlecLightwoodMagnusBane, , Mta1, mk0008, , Kuraikonechan, leafery

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WE DON'T TALK ABOUT AUTOPILOT KIARA

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It's hard not to be in awe when you're faced with something majestic like Camp Half-Blood.

Will must have sensed my dampening mood because he dragged me around Camp with an exuberance that I could only get after downing around ten cans of Red Bull. He toured me around the cabins, training areas, armory, stables, canoeing lake, even the god-forbid climbing walls—the whole CHB shebang—while acting like a very comedic real estate agent: complete with an obviously fake British accent and jazz hands. I figured he wouldn't have made a very good real estate agent; he's not making me want to buy anything with his corny jokes.

It didn't help that Victor, another Apollo kid, joined us as we stopped by Cabin 7—

(I blinked. "Wow… this is very, uh, blinding."

Will winced as we took in the glowing bright gold as the sun's rays hit the cabin full-front, with it being high noon. "Well, home is home."

A few beats passed. "The ego is real with this one, huh."

"We tend to just not talk about it."

"Deal.")

—apparently, he was sparring with the Ares kids which caused him to be passed out exhausted, missing lunch and thus failing to introduce himself to me. As compensation, he decided to tag along and contribute to my very special Camp Half-Blood first tour: featuring Will, the fake-British estate agent, and Victor, wildlife documentary commentator.

"And to the side we can see a band of Gorillas," he said loudly, gesturing to the Ares kids playing at the basketball court. Not a moment I'm proud of, but I literally froze in fear from how fast they all stopped their game to turn to where we are like synchronized meerkats.

("Is he trying to get us killed!?" I hissed to Will. The ass just snorted.

"He knows what he's doing.")

And oh boy, does Victor know what he's doing. He winked at me as he angled himself just right for the Ares kids to clearly hear what he's saying. "You can see them in their natural habitat, a constant battle of dominance just for show. Fun fact about gorillas is that they can effectively turn their awful stench on or off in the wild, not sure for this type of gorillas though, methinks it's always on for them—"

A burly teenager barreled over us to tackle Victor to the ground, the rest of his siblings following to join in on the free meal.

I was horrified but Will wasn't rallying the troops for back-up so I figured everything was fine. He walked away from the rumble without as much as a glance back and I had no choice but to hesitantly follow.

Yeah, Victor is insane. I mean, I'm weird but he's god-tier. I appreciate someone who embraces his status as the black sheep of the family and turns it around. I can now see why my "siblings" easily accepted me in their circle.

Will shakes his head in exasperation but no one can deny the slight upturn of his lips. Yep, he may not be the oldest but Will definitely deserves the role of head counselor. If someone can make decisions for us without our consent, it's got to be Will.

Now, Victor is not as a surprise to me as Erin was, because unlike Erin, I actually know Victor. Well, except for one obvious difference.

"Aren't you supposed to be a Victoria?" I balked the moment Will introduced me to him.

Victor shrugged it off like it's normal to get that question from a complete stranger. "Yeah, that's what my mother said too when she gave birth to me."

Victoria was not a named character in the books, but she did appear briefly in The Lightning Thief video game. She was described to be an Ares fangirl (I know right, like WHAT!?), going as far as being the President of the Ares Fan Club. Is that a thing in this world, too? Who the hell in their right mind would join that? I doubt any of his kids would even agree to be members. More important question though: WHO ESTABLISHED IT?

Anyway, in the game, Victoria acted a lot similar to Clarisse—all haughty and grumpy. Victor, on the other hand, seemed more friendly and chill. Thank god that changed too with his gender because I don't do well with those types of people. I would have said the wrong thing one time and next thing you'd know, I'd be a miserable pile of pulp beaten to the ground. Victor over Victoria any day. We stan Victor. Victoria is cancelledt.

Yes. I bought and played the game. I was THAT MUCH of a Percy Jackson nerd.

Will steered me as we moved away from the volleyball courts, commenting on some things that didn't really register to my brain because I was focused on what I was seeing. Camp Half Blood really took my breath away. The noise of activity, the electrifying buzz in the air, heck even the occasional shriek of those who singed their eyebrows off in the climbing wall—the atmosphere just radiates a warm feeling of home. It's not because of the smell of grass and dirt, it's also sure as hell not the clanging of weapons or the thrill in the atmosphere from the various dangerous activities—what drew me in was the laughter of the people who clearly love this place. I wanted to belong here too.

My heart twinged slightly.

Too bad I never would, at least not fully. Not while I still have the memories of the PJO universe in my head.

Panning my gaze across the landscape as we walked across, my eyes caught a shape peeking through from behind the cabins. Interrupting Will from his passionately dictated anecdote (sorry bro, I did have attention issues even before becoming a demigod), I asked, "Will, what is that?"

Will let out a low whistle as we started walking towards what seemed to be a huge structure. "Oh yeah." He grinned, turning to me. "It's a work in progress but once it's finished, it would definitely add to the total value of this property. It's a great investment!" Jazz hands.

I rolled my eyes. "Will."

"Tut, tut. Impatient clients—never is a story of more woe. Follow me, madam."

Walking towards the structure located behind the cluster of cabins, I could finally make the bronze material the shape was made out of, as well as the unfinished state of its form. At first I thought it was some kind of statue, and with the slight curve of its outline on one side, it vaguely reminded me of the Cornucopia from the Hunger Games. Just with random poles sticking out of it.

But as my view was finally cleared from the cabins and we stepped onto the clearing, I realized I couldn't have been more wrong.

It was long and slender, a structure mixed of bronze—celestial bronze, I figured—and wood. It was hollow and had gaps at some areas, particularly the upper half (like it was missing some puzzle pieces), with its bottom looking the most structurally sound. A couple of oars were poking out of the base, and I can see more oars stacked by the side waiting to be attached. Scaffolding encased it all around for easier access, as orange-clad people scurried on it with purpose and urgency. They didn't mind that the scaffolding would sway or shake with their steps.

Now, I may not be knowledgeable with my architecture and engineering but even I could recognize what it was from its shape. A half-done ship—it could only be one thing.

Oh my god, it's the Argo II.

A work-in-progress Argo II.

HOLY FUCK.

A group of demigods were busily darting around the ship's framework, hammering nails and hoisting metal and planks. A make-shift tent was constructed near its base and from between the widely open flaps, I could see two or three worktables with several Cabin 9 campers hunched over, fiddling with some metal and various devices. Standing by a platform near the mast was a scrawny black-haired Latino, shouting some instructions to two of his siblings who were in the middle of installing one more piece of the frame.

I could only gape like a fish.

"Cabin 9 was originally working on this in their bunker in the woods. They recently brought it out since it was getting too big for their workspace," Will said, as if sensing my unspoken question. "Cool, right?"

"I-I- What—" I stammered, flailing my arms around as words failed me and my brain short circuited.

My "brother" grinned, chuckling good-heartedly at my flabbergasted state. "C'mon, let's go closer."

Following Will, we drew in nearer to the hurried chaos, ducking just in time as a suspicious-looking pulley system suddenly swung in our direction, the metal sheets it was carrying almost knocking us off our feet.

"Sorry!" yelled the ten-year-old manning the machine.

I stumbled back onto my feet, winded. "Oh my god, that was so dangerous. Is he allowed to operate that? Aren't there age restrictions or something!?"

Will just shrugged it off like it wasn't such a big deal we almost got beheaded. "Cabin 9 knows what they're doing."

Fuck, I'm getting culture shock from these demigods. I guess that's what happens when you put hyperactive kids with special abilities together, little to no adult supervision present. I don't understand how they can absorb everything with nonchalance. Glancing at Will as he side-stepped another scurrying camper hauling a huge jar of steaming tar (which was spilling all over the place BY THE WAY. Is there any form of safety precautionary measures around here!?), I realized that this was an ability they had to develop to survive. They had to go with the flow, no matter what type of crazy the gods or the villains throw at them. They had to remain calm in any situation for better chances of staying alive.

Well, here I am, freaked out just by a haphazardly-put-together demigod construction zone. I clenched my fists. I would never fit in.

I didn't realize we arrived at the base of the mast until Will yelled. "Leo!"

I whipped my head up so fast I saw stars.

Leo Valdez's head popped out of the edge of the platform as he looked down at us. I don't know if it's my imagination, but his gaze stayed a little longer on me before he waved. "I'll be right down!"

Okay folks, here's a disclaimer. This is where the panic attack starts.

SHIT. Shit shit shit holy guacamole AHHHHH—

I wish I could say that there was a logical reason for my borderline hysterical reaction. I could say that I was concerned about the consequences in canon, that I could botch the plot with my meeting with Leo Valdez. I could say that it was self-preservation, that I wanted to stick to my plan as close as possible so I wouldn't trigger any hidden events the stupid powers-that-be had for me. I could say that I was being very objective at that point in time, that it was a flight response from my observational analysis.

But that would be lying. And my dear Spartan mama didn't raise me to be a liar.

"Hypocrite" —my brain sneered, finally gracing me with its presence. "You never had problems lying to her face before."

My heart beat faster and faster with each step Leo took down the scaffolding. My hands felt clammy as I gripped the edge of my shirt like a lifeline. It was like I was meeting a celebrity in person. Suddenly, I was back in my room and re-reading Chapter VIII of Mark of Athena for god knows how many times.

Here's my confession. You see, the truth is… Leo Valdez is my favorite character from this fictional universe. He's my HOO crush. I squealed every time the next chapter was in his P.O.V.

I took in a sharp intake of breath in a desperate effort to remember how to breathe. Fuck.

He stopped right in front of us and grinned. "Hey man, what's up?"

My brain shut down. My faculties went offline. My hands relaxed from its tight grip of orange fabric. I don't know who the fuck was manning my (Alena's?) body but it sure as hell wasn't me. I was a goner. From here on out, I was on autopilot.

Will draped an arm over my shoulder. "My sister was interested in the ship."

You can see the mischievous twinkle in Leo's eye brighten. He patted the trireme. "Just the ship? What about the maker?"

I—rather, the spirit who possessed me—smiled. "Well it does say something about the maker doesn't it? With a ship as amazing as this, even half-done."

His eyes widened as if he didn't actually think I would follow-up with his flirting. Will looked at me like I grew a second-head.

I cleared my throat, glancing at the working demigods. "I mean, look at all these people working together. You can clearly see the effort and passion you guys are putting into this, of course the outcome would be awesome," I continued, as if I was pertaining to the whole of Cabin 9 all along… and not just you know, Leo.

There was an awkward silence before Leo coughed, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. "Right… yeah. My siblings think it's a great honor so we're really working hard, double-time and all with the deadline…" He shook his head, recovering as an impish grin once again rested easily on his lips.

"Glad you like it." He beamed proudly. "It's nowhere near done but I know it's gonna be the best ship ever. The Romans would be so jealous of our spanking ride they'd be begging for a chance to go on it."

He then looked at me teasingly. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, Ms. I'll-fall-from-the-sky-for-a-grand-entrance."

I still felt as if I was an astral projection watching everything unfold. "Is that what they call me now?"

"Nah, just me. It's usually shortened to 'Ms. Grand Entrance'. I heard 'Skydive Girl' and 'Cupcake Pajamas' thrown around though."

Great. I have nicknames now. Couldn't they have thought of anything cooler?

"Well what can I say?" I rolled my eyes then smiled. "I've got to set the standard somehow. I bet no one's going to beat my entrance for like 50 years."

Leo laughed. "Can I get an autograph, then? It'd be a limited edition." He grinned mischievously. "You'll earn me a lot of cash in the future."

Before I could reply something more embarrassing—trust me, autopilot Kiara is not all suave, that was a lucky save—a girl yelled as a crash was heard in the distance. Leo looked over in that direction before he groaned. "I knew we should have replaced the screws on that crane, that thing is ancient—"

He turned to us apologetically. "Sorry, guys. I'd really like to chat a little longer, maybe give you a tour of what we've done so far…" He said this mostly to me, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I couldn't help the giggle that I let out. If I wasn't zoomed in on him like a hawk, I wouldn't have noticed his slight falter.

"But uh… I gotta go back to work before anything else breaks."

As if on cue, another crash boomed as a piece of metal fell off the deck. "Damn it!" a guy despaired.

Leo suddenly looked like he was in physical pain. "Urk. See ya around. Have fun in Camp, Skydiver!" He grabbed a hammer from his toolbelt, muttering as he dashed away.

After a few seconds of silence, Will raised an eyebrow at me. "What was that."

I held my hands up defensively. I still felt kinda woozy from the whole exchange. "What was what?"

Will looked at me like he already knew my whole being after just a few hours and was decidedly unimpressed. "Alena."

I gulped. Luckily, I was saved from a lecture—that was really out of nowhere, what did I do wrong Will!?—as Austin suddenly appeared and dashed over to us.

"Chiron needs you at the Big House, Alena."

Oh shit. I blanched. Maybe I should have let Will lecture me instead.

It felt like I was on death row.

"Well technically, you are." —my unhelpful brain pointed out.

NOT HELPING.

Walking with Austin to the Big House did its job as a reality slap to my face. Slowly, I felt myself being tethered back into my body, giving me the ability to finally review and analyze my conversation with Leo. Frankly, I was mortified.

What the hell was I thinking, flirting back like that!? Kiara you're in a delicate situation right now! Remember the plan? You know, the one where you avoid everyone in the main crew because you want to stay alive? You know, the one you just trashed with your talk with Leo fucking Valdez? I groaned, smacking my palm to my forehead many times. Get your shit together girl! YOU'VE GOT THE FUCKING TIMELINE TO WORRY ABOUT.

Peeking from my fingers, I saw Austin looking at me quite horrified. I grimaced, massaging the red welt on my forehead. "Yeah, no. I don't tend to have the habit of self-harm in stressful situations, don't worry." I smiled awkwardly.

"Right." Austin coughed, seemingly unconvinced.

The Big House loomed nearer and nearer with each heavy step and suddenly my panic over Leo Valdez was suppressed with my panic for whatever Chiron needs to talk to me about. From what I know, Chiron never summons anyone to the Big House unless it was a drastic situation, and boy was there an awful feeling in my gut telling me that Chiron would be the harbinger of bad news.

I was probably buzzing with an overwhelming amount of nervous energy because Austin kept glancing at me as if he wants to say something, opening his mouth only to close it afterwards. Normally I hate awkward atmospheres and do my best to avoid them but I'm fearing for my life. Cut me some slack.

If I trudged any slower than before, Austin didn't comment. He just matched my pace and let me be, giving me space.

Crap, now I feel bad. He's nothing but a great "brother" and here I am stewing on my own like a storm cloud. I didn't even take the effort to try and make small talk, that's the polite thing to do right? I'm honestly the worst.

But try as hard as I can, we were still going to reach our destination in the end. The Big House may seem like a symbol of home to others but it only looked bleak in my eyes. Putting aside my bias for being the place of my death, big old farmhouses just seemed really creepy to me. The old creaky wooden floorboards and the fading baby-blue paint just screamed big "a serial killer lives here" energy. Looking up, I squinted at the bronze eagle weather vane before slowly panning down to the dark window of the attic. I gulped. Yeah not staring there any longer.

Slowly, I walked up the steps to the porch, stopping at the single French door. I must have stared longer than I should have because Austin cleared his throat.

"You don't have anything to worry about, really!" Austin reassured suddenly with wide eyes, seeming to finally find his courage. He started flailing his arms around. "It's probably just some orientation stuff, I think? And maybe he'll ask questions about how you got here or what Dad told you. Though, I mean, he did seem pretty serious when he told me to call you…"

Something must have shown on my face because Austin flinched and started flailing his arms around faster.

"BUT! But, I mean, Chiron is always serious though, especially now with the gods and all… which... you don't know about, right. He's probably gonna fill you in— You know what, that's probably why he called you! So really, just tell him what you told us and it would be fine—"

I smiled. There were no tears forming in the corner of my eyes, no sir. "Thanks, Austin."

He blushed and seemed to tuck into himself in embarrassment. "Anytime," he murmured.

Squaring my shoulders, I opened the door and walked to my doom.

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A/N: Ok. Uni killed me. We recently went back to online classes and I'M DYING

This chapter is actually half of the original Chapter 5, so I'm sorry if it feels like it was suddenly cut in the middle. It was getting too long so I just decided to split it here and reserve the more eventful stuff for the next chapter. I'm really not satisfied with this since there's really not much happening in here, but I wanted to update (I HAD TO UPDATE) so TADA. I'll try to finish chapter 6 quickly but no promises. We have 35-page readings for my course daily ;;

Also, yes. Victoria is a real character from the game. I don't know much about her though, I didn't really reach that PJO-nerd-extent as Kiara did haha Decided to change her to Victor cause there's a real lack in males in the Apollo Cabin. I had to even it out.

Also, not much embarrassment for Kiara in front of the Seven in this chap (definitely for next chapter tho ;D). Poor Austin had to take the whole brunt this time that precious cinnamon bun.

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QUESTION TIME!

(because i'm curious. and nosy af)

What do you all think of Kiara and Leo's first interaction? There's gonna be a lot more. You all can read the pairing above after all.

Also don't worry. Things will get more complicated than this, this was a very lucky save for autopilot Kiara.

Lemme know at the review section! :D

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I'd love to interact with you guys at the review section! If you liked the story so far or have any thoughts please don't hesitate to drop a review~ *hopeful look uwu*

peez awt