𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚔𝚒𝚍 - percy jackson x oc

035

XXXV - THE BATTLE OF MANHATTAN

VALERIA APPEARED AT CAMP HALF-BLOOD and found everyone preparing for war. She quickly found Annabeth, who said that Percy had sent a message calling them to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

Valeria realized this might be the last time she ever saw her home again. She took in the U-shaped arrangement of cabins, the tall trees, the birds chirping. Everything she had grown up with would be destroyed if they did not fight and gods would she fight.

Valeria changed into a fresh Camp Half-Blood shirt and tan cargo pants. She put on her shiny armor and put her hair in a long braid over her shoulder so it would have less of a chance of getting in the way. She grabbed a quiver full of arrows and padded down the hill.

Soon enough, the whole camp was traveling in three Delphi Strawberry Service vans through New York to the spot that Percy had requested. Camp was left undefended, but that might not matter at the end of all this.

They unloaded the vans and Valeria quickly ran up to Percy.

"Hey—woah, what's that look?" she asked.

"Uh, what?" he questioned, blinking.

"You have one of your weird looks," she accused.

Percy remembered his little venture into the River Styx and how he had been tethered by a version of her, holding out her hand and smiling, in his mind. That would explain his weird look.

He shrugged and said, "Huh. Must be nothing." He turned to the rest of the group. "Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you."

Chiron shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."

"But you're our leader."

He smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader."

Percy looked at Valeria and she nodded like, Go on.

He took a deep breath. "Okay, something bad is going to happen by tonight. Some kind of trap. We've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer."

Percy asked Argus to watch Mrs. O'Leary, which neither of them looked happy about.

Chiron shook his hand. "You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware your weaknesses."

Percy nodded and tried to give him a confident smile. "Let's go," he told the campers.

A security guard was sitting behind the desk in the lobby, reading a big black book with a flower on the cover. He glanced up when they all filed in with their weapons and armor clanking. "School group? We're about to close up."

"No," Percy said. "Six-hundredth floor."

He checked them out. His eyes were pale blue and his head was completely bald. "There is no six-hundredth floor, kid. Move along."